Examination of Games

An actual definition for the term 'Game' has been, by some, deemed impossible to clarify. My personal definition would be 'an activity in which people (players) take on roles to act out certain situations defined by set rules." 

The first instance of computer games were built on a machine back during the Cold War in 1958. This game was called 'Tennis for Two' and used an oscilloscope to simulate a game of tennis or ping pong. Created by William Higinbotham, an American physicist, the machine was designed to stop the guests who visited his laboratory where he worked from becoming bored. Higinbotham had used an old Brookhavens computer's ability to calculate ballistic missile trajectories as the starting point for the game. After 2 hours of designing and 3 weeks of building, with the help of Robert V. Dvorak, they had created a game that could even go as far as creating a 'drag' effect when the ball hit the net. The game was controlled by an aluminium controller with a button to hit the ball with, and a knob to alter the angle of the shot. There has been controversy over whether this is the first video game or not, due to the fact that the game is displayed on an oscilloscope rather than a traditional (by today's standards) CRT monitor or television set.

Higinbotham's Tennis for Two

After a few years, games such as Pong and Asteroids would go on to be the first mainstream games, which would then evolve into Arcade classics like Pac-Man. When Magnavox and Atari were releasing consoles during the 1970's, Pong was the game that got the public aware and interested in this new-found media. Up until the early-80's, Atari were the kings of the home console industry with games such as Space Invaders behind their belts. They survived every video game stock crash that forced smaller companies out of business, and carried on making consoles for years to come. It wasn't until Nintendo jumped onto the scene that video games would truly be changed forever.

The 2600 would lead Atari to the top for
years.

In 1983, when Nintendo released the Famicom (Family Computer) in Japan, it gained instant popularity with it's high-quality graphics and longer games. When it was released under the name Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in America by 1985, the popularity continued and Super Mario Bros. went on to be classed as one of the greatest video games of all-time. SEGA released the Master System to try and compete with the NES, but to no avail. Consoles would be released year after year up until the present day, with companies still battling it out for their share of the market. Nintendo, even after all these years, are still on the high-end of the market with the Nintendo Wii and it's innovative motion-sensing gameplay and trademark titles. Not to say there isn't any competition, however, as Microsoft and Sony are hot on their tail with the Xbox and Playstation.

Super Mario Bros.: Nintendo's greatest success.

'Fun play' with video games is now slightly more difficult to define. As time goes on, people want more new and fresh ideas. It's reasons like this that Nintendo are selling the Wii so well. It's a unique and family-friendly type of gameplay which appeals to all ages and cultures of people around the world. Microsoft and Playstation are also breaking from their traditional styles of gameplay with the release of Kinect, the controller-less gaming device and Sony's Move, a Wii-Remote with a light on the end.

The Nintendo Wii is a ground-breaking piece of hardware.

Games have also transferred into mainstream life as a major form of media. Some people are still uneasy about video games, especially when it comes to violence and more realistic situations. Some people are so concerned, in fact, that their governments are trying to create regulations on video games. The main argument here is showing graphic content to minors, but ratings boards and parental locking suggest that it's not easy at all for minors to see anything they shouldn't be unless parents are careless.

Reference:


Anderson, John (1996-) Tennis for Two: The Story of an early Computer Game. Available from:
<http://www.pong-story.com/1958.htm>
[Accessed 19th October 2010]

My Personal History of Gaming

In the Beginning...

At the age of around 3-4, I picked up Nintendo's Game boy for the first time ever and I was absolutely astounded by it. Even though it had no bright colours or flashy graphics, at the time it was revolutionary to me. The first game I ever played was Kirby's Dream Land (see below). It was a simple game, but that by no means meant I still couldn't enjoy it for years to come. Other Game Boy games included Super Mario Land, Tetris and Donkey Kong Land.

Kirby's Dream Land for Game Boy (1992)

Seeing the Bigger Picture

When I made the transition to console gaming, my tastes mostly remained the same. For a while I had just a SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), which played home to some of the greatest games ever made including Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario Kart. A few years down the line, I'd get my first taste of mature gaming on this console with the bloody Mortal Kombat series (see below). As great as all of the Nintendo mascots were, my focus would soon be driven to a faster atmosphere...

Midway's Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)

True Blue

When SEGA released the Mega Drive (Genesis in the USA), I was captivated by the one and only, Sonic the Hedgehog (see below). It has since become my favourite series of all-time. With it's bright graphics, excellently catchy music and addictive speed-orientated gameplay, it was just perfect. The sequels somehow managed to get even better, with bigger levels and more involving stories. Other games on the Mega Drive seemed to cater to a slightly older audience, with games such as Earthworm Jim and Zero Wing being highlights in the shooting genre.

The start of SEGA's rise to glory: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)

The Jump to 3D

After the days of the Mega-Drive, my family owned both the Nintendo 64 and SEGA Saturn. On my first play, I was instantly drawn in by the captivating 3D worlds and, like many others at the time, my gaming experiences would never be the same again. Since there weren't a great array of games available for the Saturn, most of my time was spent on the N64 playing the likes of Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, Paper Mario and Kirby 64. Then we got a Playstation.

My colour of choice for the N64: Clear Blue

Crashing the Party
With the launch of the Playstation, families around the world were amazed by the (slightly) crisper 3D graphics and library of amazing games such as Crash Bandicoot. With Mario 64, they gave Mario a voice to add a little more personality. With Crash, he had the movement, the facial expressions, and a voice to give him a perfect personality. The gameplay and environments were unique, the characters were amazing, this game had everything a kid my age could want.

Crash Bandicoot by Naughty Dog (1996)

Old-SchoolOver the years I shifted between each console, including the PS2, until the Nintendo Gamecube came along.  Here I went back and stayed with my childhood heroes like Mario and Sonic for a long while, right through to the Nintendo Wii's release. Since then, I've slightly drifted away from the Mario franchise but  my die-hard love for the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise grew even more as time went by. Although most of the Sonic games released weren't up too scratch, it didn't put me off at all. I impatiently awaited each game's release, from the Gamecube to the Game Boy Advance and DS and the Wii. 

Sonic and the Secret Rings was a personal
favourite of mine.

Caving In
Eventually, when the Wii's catalogue of games started to run a little dry, I turned to the Xbox 360. Since, by the time I decided to buy one, the console had been in it's like for 3-4 years already it had a huge library of great games. Here, I got lured into games like Crackdown, Bioshock and Gears of War. Some of my usual taste in games had carried over from the PS2, such as Burnout and Grand Theft Auto. Luckily, Sonic games were also released for the 360 too, so I got my fix in that respect. I also remember playing over Xbox Live for the first time ever, and I remember it being an amazing experience. I'd never done anything like it, and now I use it like a second nature. It's funny what can change over only a few years, and what can stay the exact same.

Chris Goodswen

Recently, we had a very interesting lecture from ex-NUCA student, Chris Goodswen. He explained to us how, since he was stuck in a "dead-end office job" and had a love for drawing, he decided to quit and start studying again in hopes of getting into the industry. When he started, he was afraid of trying new things like 3D work, but when his 2D work was exceptionally great, he threw himself into it. He is now a 3D Character Artist studying at the University of Abertay.

Chris Goodswen: 3D Character Artist

I was glad that Chris elaborated on things that I wasn't so sure about involving the industry itself, such as how important things like anatomy and time are, and how 90% of most work is research and the other 10% is work. The one thing he did say that slightly worried me, however, was the speech about finding a job in the industry. I've always known it's a difficult place to get into, but with things like contacts and a perfect portfolio needed, it's a little overwhelming at this stage of my course. I'm glad he said it though, it's just going to push me to work a lot harder! Overall, a very informative and entertaining lecture with some excellent work on show.

The ESA

To kick-start this unit, I will research the 'Entertainment Software Association' (ESA). The ESA provides services for companies that publish computer and video games for consoles, personal computers or the internet. These services include (but are not limited to) anti-piracy programs, business and industry research and intellectual property protection efforts. The company is also the owner of the world-known E3 annual gaming event, where publishers and companies hold conferences to unveil new products and ideas to the press and public.

The ESA is a strong supporter of the video games
industry as a whole.

In 1994, the company was formed under the name 'Interactive Digital Software Association' (IDSA) and renamed to the ESA in 2003. Almost all of the top games publishers are members of the ESA in some form or another, including Nintendo, Microsoft, Sega, EA and Sony. These publishers are supported by the ESA through their services such as battling against piracy of software and against governmentally-imposed regulations on releasing video games. The most notable case in current times would be the Supreme Court case 'Schwarzenegger vs. EMA/ESA', in which the Great State of California is trying to put a regulation on the sale and rental of games because of violence. Most people disagree with this decision because  "video games are entitled to the same treatment as movies, music, books and other forms of entertainment." (Gallagher, 2010). I personally believe that no such law should ever be imposed, as it would take one of the most important aspects of video games away, free speech. Games are now seen as a form of art, and are protected under the First Amendment as such. It is fair to say sexual content and such can be regulated, as that is still classed in today's society as obscenity and not protected in any way. During the Supreme Court case, the representative from the state of California, Mr. Zack Morazzini was first to present his case to the panel of Judges. Immediately they started to find holes in his case, and pick it apart just as the opposing side would when they expressed their side of the case. When ESA counsel Paul Smith stood to present his argument, he elaborated on what the judges had already said. "California, as we have heard today, does not seriously contend that it can satisfy the usual First Amendment standards that apply to such a law," Smith said. "Instead it's asking this Court to grant it a new free pass, a brand-new Ginsberg-like exception to the First Amendment that would deny constitutional protection to some ill-defined subset of expressive works, and I submit not just video games, but necessarily movies, books and any other expressive work that describes or portrays violence in a way that some court somewhere, some day, would decide is deviant and offensive." (Smith, 2010) Smith then went on to explain how "[there are a] number of defenses parents and the industry have as a whole to prevent minors from playing too-mature games, such as ESRB ratings, parental control settings and the fact that games, at their current price, are a tad too expensive for your average minor." I believe that, as a player of games, I don't feel any more engrossed with a game than a can be with a book or film. The Californian Government seems to have the false belief that if a minor was to play an excessively violent game, they would go on to re-enact those actions in real-life. I believe that people are still a little sceptical about video games because it's a much newer form of medium than anything else. Paul Smith says it perfectly; "We do have a new medium here, Your Honor, but we have a history in this country of new mediums coming along and people vastly overreacting to them, thinking the sky is falling, our children are all going to be turned into criminals." (Smith, 2010).

I've now learned that ESA is a vital part of the gaming industry. Without them, there would be much less support for games companies and boards such as the ESRB and it's also an incredibly helpful source of business and industry information. They care a lot about this form of media, and will stop at nothing to keep it at the top of it's game.

Reference:


Gallagher, Michael (2010) Schwarzenegger vs. EMA, the recap. Available from:
<http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/03/schwarzenegger-vs-ema-the-recap/>
[Accessed 3rd November 2010]

Smith, Paul (2010) Transcripts from Supreme Court's violent game case available now. Available from:
<http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/02/transcripts-from-supreme-courts-violent-game-case-available-now/>
[Accessed 3rd November 2010]

An Introduction to Games Studies

In this unit, I aim to identify and come to understand how games have changed from being a novelty to an everyday use in almost every part of the world. I will also look into Games as Art and how they are now used as a form of study, when this was frowned upon in recent years. Using lectures and screenings, I can gain even more research to aid me in pin-pointing these key factors in Games Studies.