Week 8 - Are games a waste of time?

Video Games - the great time waster? This weeks lecture was all about video games and the theories about them. We briefly looked at the first ever video game Spacewar. In just 30 odd years games have rapidly advanced from what Spacewar could achieve.

But more important was the theory or studies dedicated to games. For instance, the idea of Narratology vs Ludology. Narratology defines games as being another medium of story telling and gives them textual significance. Ludology believes that any narrative or storyline in the game is decorative or incidental and the most important part of a game is its game play. If i were to agree with only one of these theories, i would go with Ludology because i think games are merely for entertainment purposes and the kinetic reactions to the game are what makes if challenging and fun.

The reading this week discussed the flawed realism that games employed - and the advantages that come with this. For example, it brought out the ways in which physics are exploited or changed in virtual worlds to suit gaming interests. A laser beam in real life would be instantaneous. You wouldn't have to take into account your targets speed or allow for the lag of the laser beams you are firing. But in games such as Freelancer or Star Wars games the lasers you fire are anything but instant.

The reading also discussed the coherent or incoherent nature of games. Games can have rules and objects that are applicable only in certain situations. For instance, Lara Croft in the game Tomb Raider can destroy enemies with a rocket launcher. Yet this same explosive device does no damage to a door - you need a key to get through that. Despite advancement in gaming technology today, there is always a place for flawed realism in games - it makes them fun.

Unfortunately our first tutorial task this week had nothing to do with games or testing games. We were required to create a mail merge in Microsoft Word, and also a table in excel that would update itself relevant to the data input by the user. We had to make formulas that allowed this dynamic updating. There isn't much to say about these tasks, i followed the instructions carefully and everything worked. It should keep me in good stead for future careers that require basic and some advanced knowledge of these widely used programs.

Our second task was more interesting. We had to download some sort of 3D chat client. I chose Active Worlds.

After finally figuring out how to start the client, i got in and wondered around the default starter world. Without having much clear direction, i just said "what the hell do you do here?" One person said i could do whatever i wanted, or make friends. Another, called NurseMommy, started giving me helpful tips and hints on how to play the game. That was noticeably different from simple message services like MSN messenger. Whereas with MSN, i only add who i want - Active Worlds was a community of people from all over the world. Active Worlds was somewhat limited in its graphical capabilities and the avatar that represented me - a man in a Hawaiian touristy t-shirt was not like me. However those that could chose who they wanted to be or look like (by paying $6.95 a month, a complete rort) could better use the 3d aspect of a chat engine like this. In Active Worlds you can walk, gesture dance and play games - its more interactive than MSN. As i walked around i asked a question to some in my world (the most populous one, yet there were only about five or six people i saw and only a few of them were talking). I asked what an application like this could be useful for in the future. The only real response i got was from NurseMommy, who said it could be used to usher in world peace. While she said it tongue in cheek (she put a smiley behind it), it is possible for programs like this to break down racial and cultural barriers.

However if i was to use my brain i would say it could be used practically as well. Business partners could have virtual board meetings. Or better yet - you could virtually walk around in a town that has virtual online banking, an eBay auction center where you could bid on real items and see who you are bidding against. You could also use it to do online shopping - the possibilities are endless.