Counterpower

2008-06-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

this is my youtube channel that didn't upload properly on my site http://youtube.com/watch?v=xsSaEXKqFR0

Website

2008-06-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is the link to my final hypertext. It's about morality and it's origin.

http://eng138.x10hosting.com/index.html

Final Project

2008-06-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to my final hyper-text:
http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/kotoole/splash%20page.html

and here is the link to my homepage:

http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/kotoole/index.htm

Enojoy, and happy summer!

gaming di

2008-06-02T02:14:00.000-07:00

Gaming Diary

When I read about the social impact games, I wondered how these simple games could inform in such a way to actually effect social change. It seemed like a good idea to get people learning interactively, but once I played the games I found that any sort of learning value extracted from the game play was nothing that couldn’t have been stated in one simple sentence. For example, “The McDonald’s industry uses unethical practices to maintain profits,” or “Kinko’s employees become bored and apathetic in their work environment.”

I played the McDonald’s game first and decided to play it in French to see how a French person, who is especially likely to hate McDonald’s, would be affected by this game. I spent a while clicking on random things to see what they did. In one place, an image appeared showing an evil McDonald with a starving African baby, which I found to be a powerful image.

Soon I was raising cows and harvesting crops. I thought this would bring me profit in no time, but I quickly lost money. I went to the cow pen and slaughtered cows by clicking on them. I thought this would bring me money because it meant I would be selling hamburgers, but instead a little person starting jumping up and down and screaming at me, and I continued to lose money. I went into the corporate board room and tried to adjust the budget, but nothing worked! When I went into the negative ten thousands, a mean scary McDonald face appeared shouting, “Shame on you! You’ve brought the company to bankruptcy! You’ve destroyed years and years of business culture.” I didn’t care that I had failed; I was proud to have single-handedly brought down a huge corporation that sells unhealthy food to the masses.

Next, I downloaded “Disaffected!” to my desktop and began to play. This game emulates working at Kinko’s. You’re supposed to wait for customers to walk in and then retrieve their mail package from the storage counter. It took me several tries before I was able to satisfy a customer. The clients get impatient quickly, I noticed, as a sort of ticking clock floating above each client’s head indicates.

The game allows you to switch between either of the two employees who are on shift, so that if one employee is closer to the counter you can switch to him and have him get the package for the client more quickly. The annoying part is that the two employees often get in each other’s way, and that slows down the whole process.

I usually brought the clients the wrong package at first, and then I would have to endure their angry shouts before trying again. If I failed again, they were out the door.

Social impact gaming seems to be a great idea, and I’m sure some games that choose the right topic and the right mode of game play can be effective. The games I played didn’t seem to make a bold statement or inform players of anything new or significant.

game

2008-05-29T21:21:00.002-07:00

For my social impact game, the player would begin by choosing a pet which they would like to raise. The participant can choose the type of animal they would like to raise, for example, a dog, cat, pig, horse, any animal out of a variety of choices, as well as the gender of the animal. The player can choose the appearance of the pet, its color and size. The player is also given the opportunity to “adopt” a pet from the local pound. The player is then provided the opportunity to walk around in “pet world” where the player will encounter several variables which will evaluate the player’s capability of successfully raising and taking care of a pet. Over time, the pet will begin to change and develop as a result of the decisions made by the owner concerning its well being. The pet’s size will change, it will grow or shrink depending on the amount of food it is fed and its temperament will change depending on how much attention it is given. Pets in “pet world” can get sick as well as recover, if the player chooses to help treat the animal. The social impact effect of the “pet world” game would be to teach responsibility. The player is responsible for the pet and the pet’s well being. Because the player can view how their own choices affect another being, the player should learn what choices are beneficial towards others and are good choices to be made. The pet world game provides players with an idea of if raising a pet is a good idea, depending on their own lifestyles. The game is meant to simulate how much responsibility comes with owning a pet and to help the player decide if they are prepared for that responsibility. The pet world game is meant to reflect the immense amount of animal neglect and mistreatment in the United States today. Hopefully, the game will help players realize they are incapable of the responsibility of a pet or motivate players who are prepared to adopt a pet. At the beginning of the game, players are given the choice to create their own pet or adopt. This choice is meant to reflect the choice which future pet owners have, to buy a pet from the pet store or adopt one from the local pound. At the conclusion of the game, the player can choose to quit at any point, the player is given information regarding the adoption of animals and the benefits they can provide to an animal’s life.

2008-05-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Professor,

I emailed you my learning essay and webpage but here is the link to the webpage incase it didn't get sent for some reason.

http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/jvcesena/index.htm

Game in Space

2008-05-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

Game Proposal

-----------------------------------

Game Type: MMORPG

Summary: Space Vehicles mines Helium 3, simulate low gravity environments while transporting materials / take off / landing.

Creating a game that would be both academically stimulating while capturing the imagination (and interest) of adolescents is not an easy task. Not only does it require a “fun” game, it also requires a lengthy amount of research as well as timing.

At this particular point in time, I would choose to create a space game. Not only would it raise awareness of our nation's stagnating, inefficient, poorly funded space program, it would raise interest in the subject and potentially create future replacements for the aging ranks within NASA.

This game would be an MMORPG (hopefully funded like the government-- like Army Operations), and would focus around the economic repercussions of fossil fuels and the search for alternative sources of energy. An integral part of the game will be harvest Helium-3, Deuterium, and other fusion-able resources commonly found in our galaxy. While the game begins somewhat a hundred years in the remote future, the player begins his journey 200 miles above the earth's surface in one of the many space stations orbiting the earth. Real-Life physics will be an important part of the game. While it is understood that if accurate real-life physics would make space travel time consuming and near unplayable, it would be my intention to the make the game as accurate as possible, while making it still playable. This would mean tweaking the physics so that perhaps scale is slightly adjusted for better interaction and travel, while interaction between players and objects, etc was still realistic. Here's an example: A player travels halfway around the earth while in orbit to a debris field to clean up debris. Realistically, it would take the player possibly half an hour to an hour to arrive at his location. In game, to maintain player interest, the travel would have to take at most 5-10 minutes. When the player arrives at the debris field, interaction with debris should be realistic. If the player is traveling too fast, the debris should destroy his ship. Additionally, if he/she bumps into the debris, it should bump / shatter in a realistic fashion, and possible cause a chain reaction (kessler syndrome?).

The main theme in this game will be exploration and teamwork. Online communities are what power MMORPGs and so naturally great emphasis would be put in building that community. “Missions” given (generically known as quests) would require players to team up with other players, perhaps performing docking maneuvers, pooling resources together to to get to a location, etc. Combat could be introduced as an additional incentive, although it would need to be as realistic as possible (civilian ships would at the most have mining lasers, etc).

Potentially this game could be used for realistically simulations. The game engine, if open source could be used for much more than simply for entertainment. A program such as this would have application purposes in the military, commercial enterprises, and even future space travel.

Social Impact Game: Rickshaw Driver

2008-05-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

I was sick this week, so I played quite a few of the social impact games. Some of them were very monotonous (like Tuboflex and Tamatipico) but I guess that was sort of the point. It was depressing to complete the same boring task over and over again, but for some reason I still really wanted to do well, hoping that I could get ahead and get high points. I also played faithfighter, which I felt was not very successful in getting its point across. The game was meant to make people realize the arbitrary nature of religious conflict, but when I started to play, I quickly forgot this message. Basically, I just wanted to win the battle and wasn't contemplating about the terrible repercussions of religious violence. I felt that the McDonald's game was a little more developed. It was interesting to view the company from the point of view of the owners. I saw myself cutting down forests because it was cheaper than cleared land. Then I simply gave money to NGOs to appear ecoconscious. This was a good anthropological study because it shows the complexities of running a global corporation.

For my final project, I am examining the culture of poverty among rickshaw drivers in India. For a social impact game, I developed an idea that exposes the difficult decisions and lifestyle that rickshaw drivers face daily. The player will be a rickshaw driver, forced to decide where to wait for customers (the airport, the bazaar, the IT district, the university, etc) Then the driver will be forced to make a series of decisions (haggle with customer, take 8 persons and risk getting a ticket from the police, pursuade the customer to go to a shop where you will receive a commission, etc) The results of each decision will be variable, mimicking real life. The game will also feature meters expressing happiness, energy level, available money, hunger. The driver will have to make decisions like when to pull over and sleep, or when to stop for a chai or naan. Each of which will cost him time and money. The driver will also have opportunities for self-improvement. At the beginning of the game, the player is given a driver from a rural village who speaks either a tribal language or a language not spoken in the city to which he moves. If he learns the language, he will be better able to communicate with customers and will likely have more clients. But language classes will cost money and time that could be spent working. Also, the driver will be new to the area and may get lost. To improve his sense of direction, he can take time out to learn new routes, but this will cost time, raising hunger levels, lowering energy, no monetary gain etc. The driver will also have to account for unforeseen repairs and stresses. For instance, he will need to refuel, repair a tire, buy a new horn. There may be a strike, or monsoons may prevent him from working. To make the game even more complex, the driver could have a family that he supports and must make time to see and provide for. The intent of the game is to reveal the difficulties that rickshaw drivers face in daily life. Not only can the work be tiring and unpredictable, but it is difficult to maintain a living wage, especially when one has dependents to support.

socially aware gaming, cat fights and such... [PLEASE COMMENT]

2008-05-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Social impact gaming just might be the way to reach upcoming generations who have been brought up on the X-box, PSP, or Nintendo DS. Nowadays, gaming begins when you’re a toddler, with the creation of games and gaming systems like “Leapfrog”, young children are learning to read, write, and spell on these digital systems. It makes sense that people who are aware of this growing trend, would try to capitalize on it for the advancement of social and economic justice. Games are something that no one really ever grows out of, and free gaming on the web allows groups to target a wide variety of audiences. Instead of games being mindless for of entertainment there is actually a purpose and message that is relevant to current events.

Out of curiosity I followed a link from social impact games (.com) to see exactly how people were using these games to educate and entertain. I visited http://www.darfurisdying.com/ and it was sort of weird to know that I am playing a game that is someone in Africa’s reality everyday. Even though I knew that what was happening to my character wasn’t real (being caught by refugees and being placed in a camp) it was disturbing to think that young women and children are often caught by these military extremists and raped, kidnapped, and/or murdered. Another really profound gaming software program that I found was one that focused on finding a solution of peace for Palestine and Israel. I mean, that is a HUGE issue! And now nearly everyone has the ability to play a game that allows them to have a hand in resolving this historical conflict.

If I were to create a game that would embody the vision I have for my final project, I would create some sort of game aimed at young women (ages 17-22) that directs them away from materialism and encourages sisterhood, ambition, solidarity and intellect over the body-obsessed, self-criticizing and increasing materialistic media. There is nothing out there that screams “GIRL POWER” (not so cheesy though!) and encourages a do-it-yourself attitude for females in my age group. I would also want my game to have some sort of international aspect….maybe the characters could be from different countries or you can select which country you want to play in and from that there are certain rules and regulations etc. Now I have no idea what the actual game might be. But I am open for suggestions [[ comment please ]]

Possibly some sort of uber materialism and superficiality—like having a character which you have to “make-up” and then the whole objective is to find a boyfriend, have the most friends, money, and stylish clothes and become a “star”. The way that you would do all of this is by 1.) stealing other girls’ friends 2.) spreading rumors that make your character look better or make someone else look worse 3.) stealing boyfriends and the other usual cattiness and passivity associated with teenage girls. Doing all of these things would allot you “popularity points” .

I hope you can see what I’m getting at. Any suggestions?

Game Proposal: Teaching kids about drug and alcohol usage

2008-05-22T17:38:00.001-07:00

For my social impact game I thought that I would make a game based on the idea of trying to teach kids how to be responsible when it comes to starting and using drugs. Kids will enter their real age and it will create a character that is their age, but ages more quickly so that they can be thrown into complicated and mature situations more quickly in the game before they encounter them in real life. When the kids enters their real age, however, the game will determine whether or not they need to be informed on drugs and alcohol or it will encourage them to go and talk to their parents if they feel uncomfortable or have any questions. It will also ask if their family members have had any problems with addictions and the game will incorporate this aspect later. Kids will be approached by their friends who ask them if they want to drink or try a drug and the kid playing will have to choose what will happen if they choose whether or not to take the drug. If the kids decide to take the drug the game will show an alternate scenario of what would have happened if they had chosen not to take the drug or drink, but if the kid decides not to take the drug they’ll get some sort of reward. For example, if their friends want them to come and drink with them and they decide not to and just go home instead their mom will have a surprise for them that they would not have gotten if they had gone out to drink/do drugs with their friends.
As the game goes on the character matures and they are posed with more challenging situations as their friends start to do drugs and drink more frequently and in great numbers. This is where the main point of the game comes in. The point of the game is not to immediately show kids that drugs are evil and if you drink or do drugs you will die or they will make you a horrible person; it is to teach self control, self awareness, and their values. There will be choices where they can either choose to go and hang out with their friends or they can stay home to study for a midterm or just spend time with their family. If the child entered that their family has a history of drug or alcohol abuse they will sometimes be shown a choice of what to do, but the game will choose for them. If they go hang out with their parents or study instead they will be rewarded by doing well on tests or completing homework so that they can go out and do things while their friends have to study for a test because they did poorly on the last one due to their lack of studying to go “hang out” with their friend. If they spend time with their parents they will get random parental appreciation or rewards such as money, new clothes, gaming systems, or whatever the child playing the game is interested in.
After reading Kai’s (sp?) proposal on her game, I think that getting different perspectives in the game can be good; possibly a game within the game for the parents to teach them about talking to their kids appropriately about drugs or respecting their space. For example, parents can look through their kids stuff while their kid is at school school, but they won’t know whether or not their kid will notice. You could even have a little bar on the side that shows how much your kids trust you, which will be based on whether or not you violate your kids space or if you talk to them effectively and appropriately about drug use.
Let me know what you think!

The Gang Life - Game Proposal

2008-05-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

My father is one of the most important people in my life. He has not only provided me with a life full of vast opportunities, but he has taught me to be strong and independent. My father is a dentist in Denver, Colorado and a majority of his patients are Latino. His life, however, was not always so seemingly perfect. At six years old, he migrated from Chihuahua, Mexico to East Los Angeles, California, with his mother, father and nine siblings. During his teenage years, he joined an East Los Angeles game, whom called themselves “Barrio Nueveo” (The New Neighborhood). He became involved with the gang and dropped out of high school his junior year of high school. It was not until many years later, he decided to return to a junior college and pursue a career in dentistry, dramatically turning his life around.

We have all heard the stereotypes and discriminations surrounding gang members. They are typically envisioned as violent thugs who roam the streets strapped with guns and stealing from corner stores. After a life of petty crime, most end up in jail or in a coffin. Rarely do we hear the stories of those who end their life of chaotic violence and crime and end up contributing effectively and successfully to society and the community. My final project will focus on telling the story of those gang members, who turn their negative lives into positive, particularly with the inclusion of a detailed account of my own father’s experience.

Anyways, on to my social impact game. My brief proposal for a social impact game of my own would be entitled “The Gang Life.” In this game the player would start off as an experienced gang member, convicted of murder, but released into society. The player then has to do good deeds, as he is confronted with situations that could cause him or her to resort back to the violent ways that his or her life once was when in the gang. If the player successfully avoids using gang ways to handle various situations, then he or she is able to move on to the next level. Each level confronts the player with more and more aggressive and complicated situations. It is the player’s job to respond reasonably and productively.

Each time the player uses a gang way to resolve a problem he or she loses a “freedom life,” in which each player starts off with three. At the end of these three “freedom lives,” the player loses the game and must start over in order to continue playing the game. Now, this game sounds pretty simple and sounds pretty boring, but please understand, I am in no way a gamer and in no way have experience with these types of computer games, other than the games we experimented with this week. But it is just a proposal and an idea. Hopefully, my website, however, will be of great interest and uniqueness.

Game Proposal: Sales can educate!

2008-05-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

After playing several online videogames, both for this class and in the past, I have found that the most effective social-commentary games are the ones that are not blatantly propagandizing. The most effective and attractive games are obviously the ones that offer entertainment value. My idea for a social impact game would consist of a game that explains memetics to the general populace. That said, it would be an educational game without a particular agenda, that is, a game that only teaches.

Functionally speaking I think that the game would boil down to a salesmanship type of game. What I mean by this is that the gamer would control a traveling salesman, similar to a Mary Kay consultant or Willie Lowman. They would operate in a simplified world that reflects society in its current state; perhaps this would work well in Second Life. The salesman would have many things to sell. Some items would require a payment in time, some would require a payment in money, some would require both. There would be a myriad of items that represent everything from entire ideologies, to individual ideas, to things as simple as a YouTube video. These would be called “items” or “memes.”

The gamer/salesperson would be able to both make appointments with people who have requested a viewing of the merchandise as well as approach random people on the streets, or perhaps do a bit of cold door-knocking. The customers would be simplified individuals, meaning they might become stereotypes to some extent. So when a transaction occurs it might look like a nerdy-type purchasing a piece of technology, a hipster-type buying music or other underground cultural item, or a soccer mom purchasing computer-security software to protect their children from the perceived high threat of predators. Herein would lie the challenge of the game: trying to judge what series of items to show to the customer to keep their interest and ultimately sell a meme. There would be an “easy” setting where it would be simple to judge a person by their appearance or position in society and sell them items (memes) that would typically fit into that person’s lifestyle. The “hard” setting would be a challenge and perhaps closer to real life; on this setting customers would be interested in a wide variety of items. If the gamer misjudges, then the customer becomes disinterested and tries to end the appointment or get away from the salesperson. One would have to keep up with certain quotas or sell certain items in order to succeed in the game. If quotas are not met in the time-frame allotted, then one loses the game and ends up being fired.

The game might be a bit complex to create for an online venue—perhaps it could be kept simple enough to do so—but perhaps the game would be more successful as a console game.

Educational Game Proposal- snail bait... ahh!

2008-05-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

(((Sorry this is so long... I dont really know if this is even a "game" but it's all I could think of that applied to my final project. Either way, here ya go...)))

My final project is going to be on the use of snail bait. Although both types of snail bait (toxic and non-toxic) are available for consumers, many people are not aware of the potential harm it has on their pets. The idea for a game that I have is to see through the eyes of the consumer, manufacturer and the veterinary technicians that have to treat the pets who eat this product.

The game will start out with the character you play going to the store like OSH or Lowe’s in order to pick a bag of snail bait for their horrible snail problem in their garden. Once they buy it they can choose the places in the garden of where to place it. Then the dogs come in (although cats can be affected by it too, dogs are just more common to consume it). The dogs will not be able to be controlled by the player but once he/she eats the bait the fun begins…

As the player you then see your dog on the ground not moving because they ate the toxic snail bait. Then you will have to rush to the veterinary hospital to treat your dog. You walk in the hospital and they take the dog to the back automatically. On the side of the screen once you enter the hospital you see a bill that keeps wracking up the longer you stay there. The initial charge is $118 just for the doctor to see your pet. At the end of your stay, if you pet survives, your bill will be near a thousand dollars. You must pay ½ of this upfront or get Care Credit.

Then as you sit in the waiting room and look at your bill wracking up, the game will shift to the back of the hospital- the treatment area. You bring in the box of snail bait that you used in your garden. You will then have to decipher if it is the toxic or non-toxic form of snail bait. If it is non-toxic then you are fine and the player learns what types are acceptable to buy. Your bill then will only be $118. If you bring in a toxic box of snail bait, which will happen most of the time you will see your pet on the treatment table seizing.

As you go along, there will be little “Problem Pop-ups”. These will go through all the issues dogs experience after they eat snail and it gets into their blood stream. One example would be: “Your dog has a fever of 107.1°. What do you do?” It will be multiple choice- a) put them on a cold surface b) apply ice packs c) give more drugs. “You have to give your dog an enema. What are you looking for in their stool? a) green gooey stuff b) solid brown stool c) speckled grainy black stuff.” You have to answer the questions right otherwise your pet dies.

I want this to be more of an educational game that helps people realize how serious the problem of toxic snail bait is. Therefore, another question will require the player to do some math. For example, you will have to calculate doses of drugs to treat your pet. “The Doctor has prescribed __mg of Valium, if Valium comes in __mg/ml, how many mls should you give your pet?”

If you get to the end of the treatment and you pet gets better you win because you get your pet back but you are stuck with a huge bill. That’s the reality of using toxic snail bait. The ending question will be: “Is having a snail-free garden worth all of this trouble, stress, and money?” Of course, it’s not!

Sexual Assault...Game Proposal

2008-05-22T16:57:00.001-07:00

My idea for my final project is to do a website catered to Santa Clara students that have been sexually assaulted. I am a Peer Health Educator on campus and have worked closely with Every 2 Minutes and 1 in 4 and feel that people on campus don’t believe that sexual assault happens here, but the truth is IT DOES. The approach I want to take with the website is to offer an interview by someone who was sexually assaulted here on campus and how drastically it altered her life. Also I hope to have the website offer a blog that Santa Clara students can post their survivor stories anonymously or give their name, and also for friends of survivors to be able to voice their worries and feelings. I want students to feel like they can share their story and be heard.

The game idea I have would deal with this disturbing experience of being sexually assaulted. I would have a student be sexually assaulted and then after the occurrence there would be a series of choices. Whether they reported it, told a friend, told a CF. Did they go to the hospital and get a rape kit? Did they call campus safety and file a police report? Did they go to trial and testify against their attacker? Did they go to counseling after? Or did they keep it inside? After each choice the character will have different occurrences in their life that follow those choices. I know it sounds kind of depressing but I think it is important for everyone to know what choices you have and hopefully making these choices in a game will give someone the empowerment to do it in real life.

I also think it would be really cool to have an option in the game where you can be a close friend or family member of the survivor of sexual assault. These confidants play a huge role in the survivor’s recovery and it can be just as draining, painful, and stressful. They would have choices of whether they attempted to force the survivor to speak, broke their trust, or just provided support. What to do if they decide to press charges? Will you do all you can to get them to see a therapist? This can be a very difficult position as a friend or family member and hopefully this game would provide strength and answers to questions of those in this tough place.

If anyone has any ideas for the website please let me know!!!

Social Impact Game Ideas (sorry its long)

2008-05-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

After playing the social impact games, I thought of the possibility of games that can be used to educate. As far as my project goes, I would like to focus on education and support for sexual assault and rape, particularly focused upon young women. How this translates into a game was difficult for me to imagine. In one of the lectures I had been to illustrate how it is to do something without your choice. While I think that the actual act of sexual assault is too much and too sensitive to be a game itself, I imagine a game where you set up a character, and use similar instances of people taking power from you. I played this game in a paper version once in a sexual assault workshop and thought that the medium of a social impact game might make it more powerful.

To begin with, you set up a character, and list 16 things that are important to that character. You can pick the age, race, gender, clothing, socio economic status etc. By creating a person, you are not perpetuating the stereotype that sexual assault happens to the loose girl on the street. Then you are asked to name 16 important things. The importance must include 4 people, 4 special characteristics or skills, 4 favorite activities, and 4 other personal belongings.

As the game goes on, you move your character through the town. Events occur that make you more and more uncomfortable and angry. Someone cuts you off in traffic, and then someone steals your wallet. With each act you must choose to take away and lose something that is important to you. The acts against you escalate as you reach home. Someone mugs you. Someone steals your car. With these acts you get to decide between the choices the computer gives you to take it away. Finally at home with only 4 important things left. You see someone break into your apartment. The computer chooses what to take away with you and you are left with only two personal things not of your choice.

This game works, and it has worked for me, because it shows that when sexual assault happens, you lose your ability to choose for yourself. In the end you have literally no say in what part of yourself is taken from you. After the game, there would be a message that this is what you are left with after an assault, only parts of yourself. You can lose family, friends, personality traits, personal belongings and that this loss can happen to anyone, because you can design the personal character in the beginning.

I am not certain how feasible this game would be, but as I said, dealing with sexual assault might not have a correlating social impact game that is feasible to educate. The point of this game is to make everyone feel the potential loss associated with sexual assault.

The other game I thought might work is simpler, but it’s kind of pick out the victim and pick out the perpetrator. By having both men and women dressed beyond the stereotypes in both roles, showing that it can happen to anyone and can be anyone is important in breaking down these stereotypes. After guessing, real statistics could pop up saying that no, it is not always the drunk girl in a short skirt who is “asking for it” and it is not the huge scary man who is the perpetrator. This game would work to break down stereotypes by presenting facts about sexual assault and by showing that you really cannot tell who it happens to and who does it. This would be a good tool because it shows how important it is to be on guard and educated about the potential for assault in the everyday, because more often than not it happens with someone known not a stranger.

Elements of Addiction

2008-05-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

The basis of any successful videogame is not just playability, but re-playability. Bringing back your players time and again, providing enduring enthrallment is a secondary layer that separates one-hit-wonders from classics. Games like Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64 are over a decade old, yet they continue even to this day to provide high quality entertainment due to the sole fact that the final product released way back then was so polished and well thought-out that the enduring playability of it would far exceed other games of that time. For this reason, my proposal for a game is one that integrates successful aspects of previous games in the nature of being able to keep the players motivated (through systems within the game) to continue to play.

In a sense it’s difficult initially to pinpoint exactly what makes games addictive. On one hand, there is the notion of success through continual improvements to the game, as is the case for World of Warcraft (the leading online game, currently.) Content patches are released on a multi-annual basis to provide players with new rewards and goals to strive towards, preventing the game from becoming stagnant and engaging the playerbase to continue their time throughout the world, all the while paying monthly fees and such. Based off of this, the cornerstone of my game, which I dub The Tower, will be a focus on pivotal rewards that engage players to spend time in the game with fewer incentives but at the same time stronger incentives.

How will I do this? By creating avatars. It’s not a new concept, but the sense of ownership players have over their virtual avatars remains at the forefront of addictive tendencies, to the point where players are literally driven to improve themselves virtually as an ego-booster in real life. It’s so effective that players simply log online to catch a glimpse of the avatar they have spent so much time on, thereby increasing their interaction with the game environment and improving their chances of returning to see it once again.

The next major concept I wish to include is the concept of risk vs. reward. A very successful tactic is the nature of giving players in my virtual world tasks that they are meant to overcome. They continue to play many hours longer than necessary with the motive being that they are working ever closer towards an underlying goal, something that will keep them motivated to return, which is the main driving intention.

Lest we forget, a major driving force in society is the concept of sex, or sexual appeal. Giving people taunting messages of sex or even simply physical attraction gives them motive to keep engaging themselves in the world. They see these messages as inviting and engaging, giving them a sense of inclusion and belonging, something they perhaps lack in normal life. By doing this, I am honing in that message of continued enhancement and inclusion, keeping players coming back again and again.

I will include more of my proposal in future updates, but again the sole purpose is to tap into the addictive tendencies that are making today’s games as popular as they are. By looking into what they are doing correctly, we can take that and refine it to a level that can provide players with a new, equally engaging experience that will have them returning.

Holiday Chaos

2008-05-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

One of the games I played for a while was the one entitled "Xtreme Xmas Shopping" on the Persuasive Games site. It is quite realistic if I say so myself. We, as Americans, are consumed by the idea of getting our children the hottest, most expensive toys for the holidays. In fact, we are so engulfed by this idea, that we have honestly lost the true spirit of the holiday season. How often do you attend a mall or department store after Thanksgiving and see consumers happily shopping and employees happily assisting? Very rarely. Everyone is so stressed, consumers stressed with how many gifts they still need to buy and employees stressed with the idea of having to deal with disgruntled costumers. Christmas is slowly becoming a competition, rather than a family holiday.

In this game, you are a costumer, with a list of toys you need to attain. Now depending on which level you choose (call ahead, arrive early, camp outside), you must go around and gather the toys you need, one at a time, and pay for them at the register. Meanwhile, there are other shoppers busily gathering the toys they need. Now, if you miss just one toy and the store runs out before you have a chance to get it, than you automatically lose (hence, in the real world, if one misses the opportunity to obtain just one of the gifts, than the holiday is a bust). Now one of the most interesting aspects of the game consisted of the violence. Now if another costumer possessed a toy that you needed than you could fight them for it, literally, by punching them in the face. But it is necessary if you want to win the game, because if you miss just one toy you lose. Now this is pretty consistent with the real world, we have all at one time or another heard the horror stories of tired mothers fighting one another for the last tickle-me-elmo.

This game interestingly created a sense of what our holiday season has become. We are so consumed with the materialistic aspect of the season that we have lost sight of spending time with our family and friends and giving the gift of love and compassion. My own mother has said that she hates going to the mall to get our presents, my sister and I are limited to two presents each, an expensive one and a thoughtful one (Last year I got a digital camera and the dvd of a movie I had grown up with as a child). We have never really been into getting the latest and crazed toys at that time. We need to leave behind the need or want for the hottest items on the market and return to the season of love and spending time with family and friends. Perhaps a little too idealistic...but still a nice thought.

Social Impact Gaming

2008-05-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

After looking around on the sites that were recommended, I chose a few games that I ended up playing for quite a while. The vast selection of game topics was really interesting because there was something for everyone it seemed like. There were definitely some that appeared to be more affective than others. I think having these games is fairly important because it definitely puts players inside the minds or lifestyles of various social problems. However, I am not totally convinced that these games are as great as some claim. Yes, it teaches us a little bit more than we may know about social issues, similar to sites like Indymedia, but I don't know how effective the games are at encouraging people to fight for the issues or make changes in their lives. This would make for a good experiment-to see if social impact gaming has an affect on player's perception of the social problems, and if the players plan on making any changes in their lives after playing certain games.

The first game that I played was the McDonalds game. It was actually very hard to play. I found myself going bankrupt after only minutes of playing. I got better at it the more I played, but I never did succeed at accomplishing anything. What made it so difficult was trying to maintain the farm land, the animal feed, and the actual food service. It was a constant back and forth motion and I could never stay in one place for too long, otherwise I lost track of things in the other areas. It definitely made me think about the reality of this game. When people eat at McDonalds, I don't think anyone likes to think about the cows that are actually used to make their hamburger. What was interesting within the game, was that for the grains and soy, you could choose to genetically alter the crops to create more. In the feed storage area, you could choose to add hormones to the meat that was ground up. It was interesting to think about these aspects because I always hear about restaurants and fast food companies who use these type of alterations within their products to create massive amounts of the product for less money and labor. This game was so complex with all of the aspects that you have to worry about. It definitely made me appreciate the gaming industry because I cant imagine the amont of time and thought that went into creating a small internet game like this one that has not even been seen by the majority of the public.

The second game that I played was Operation: Pedopriest. I am a Catholic, and when I saw the advertisement for this game, I was very curious to see what the game entailed. I ending up disliking this game, primarily because of the subject matter, but also because there didnt seem to be much of a point to playing the game. The game consisted of players watching over a house-like structure that had priests, children, and adults walking around. There were men in red robes, who I believe were bishops or church authorities, who the player is in charge of. These men distract or talk to the police who roam the house looking for priests who have abused the children. Basically, you watched the priests inappropriately touch the children, and your job was to make sure that none of the police came in contact with these priests because they would interrogate the priests and ultimately arrest them. If 2 or 3 arrests were made, you lost the game. What disturbed me about this game was that you had no control over the priests actions, you just had to sit there and watch them touch the children. You could only have control of the people whose job was to keep the inappropriate behaviors a secret from the media and the police. I realize this was a huge controversial issue, but it kind of sickened me that it would be made into a game. It almost promotes child abuse because nothing is being done about the abuse, instead it is being kept a secret. I could rant and rave about my opinion of the this issue, but I will stop myself since that isnt the point. But I guess it is the game's purpose to strike up an interest, or to at least create some sort of emotion within the player after experiencing the game. If this is in fact the purpose, then it succeeded with me because it disgusted me, that is for sure.

If I were to create my own social impact game, I think I would make one about eating disorders. It would consist of the player going through a course where they must get to the end before developing an eating disorder. Of course, there would be setbacks involved in the game. There would be magazines, which would create self esteem issues and would encourage the player to be thing. There would also be groups of friends who were judgmental and who may have eating disorders themselves. Finally, there would be parents who would also encourage the player to lose weight and to maintain a thin body. The player must avoid these setbacks in order to get the end of the course. I would want to create this game because of the prevalence of eating disorders, especially among girls. I believe that there are numerous factors that go into a person developing an eating disorder, including genetics. If society focused on removing these horrible things, girls would not develop eating disorders as much as they are today. I think that the games that focus on health issues are very important and could potentially influence people to live healthier lifestyles.

Anti-Indoctrination Game

2008-05-22T12:21:00.001-07:00

My idea for a game goes as follows. The world must be rid of unrealistic beliefs. Christianity is a massive system that operates on indoctrinating young children. So I feel that as a rational being, that is capable of making rational decisions, children should be given the same opportunity.

As a player you will seek to provide children with books that emphasize critical thinking and science, rather than reading fiction/quasi historical books in the bible that emphasize faith. In this game faith is what loses the player the game. So there is a varying bar running on the bottom of the screen which measures a children’s faith versus their rational knowledge. How is this done?

You, the player approach a classroom which houses young students of impressionable age. In side the classroom is also a faith based individual that is preaching the “word of God” to students that ask for it. The students have the freedom of deciding which person they want to listen to, but all of them start with a blank slate. Upon first arriving in the classroom you will present a number of facts that coincide with scientific data that is applicable to children of their age group, such as animals change colors in order to survive from being attacked from predators, this is the concept of natural selection. You also present them with the concept of the strongest surviving in nature and the evolutionary process throughout the course of history. On the other hand, the Christian will present the child with stories which speak about how humans arrived on the planet and why there are different races that inhabit the earth. Their stories will have no credence and be based strictly on fairy tale stories from the bible.

After each group is done giving their introduction the children will then ask questions. Based on the level of difficulty selected at the games start, the amount of children which ask questions will appear. As far as this is just a simple online game, there will not be a significant amount of detailed processing that can be done by the children, but the goal will be of the player to present the children with solutions to their questions. For instance if the child asks why Hurricane Katrina occurred, it will be the goal of the player to drag an article out of your briefcase on global warming and place it on the child’s desk. However if you do not get to the child in time, the Christian will vomit onto the child the words, Sin, homosexuality, fornication, and gambling.

I feel this game adequately represents the real scenario that has been occurring throughout history. I am targeting Christianity here, but it doesn’t stop with them. Every major religion seeks to indoctrinate children at young impressionable ages. This is a sickness that has been spread throughout our history of human beings. I am not opposed to literature and old literature, but I am opposed to pseudo science, and presumptive individuals that think they know, what is not known. The fascinating part about our place in history is that there is so much that we do know currently, we are tapping the resource of knowledge that is tangible and empirical to research and observation, everything else is fairytales and a detriment to our civilization and community as we have seen it.

I Lost The Point...

2008-05-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

As I said in a comment to someone's post, I found that most of the games' correlated very easily and clearly to their message of social impact. However, there were a few that I found lost that message amidst the play. Not to say that this happened to everyone, this is simply a personal opinion. Now, although embarrassing to admit, I did play the social impact game entitled "Orgasm Simulator" on the Molleindustria site. Now, at first I took a second look at the name and the picture featured on the site's page and chuckled a bit. Then I read the description: "a good sexual understanding with one's partner is essential to be successful in affectivity, in the family, in the job and all the everyday little challenges. Often, we build wall around us, because of our insecurity. These walls defend us but also keep us from communicating with our men."

Targeted primarily at an audience interested in men, this game's entire strategy is to "fake" an orgasm, yet fake it so that your partner has no idea. Right here I lost sight of the game's point, which is to promote effective sexual understanding in order to promote effective communication in the real world. Yet, a good sexual understanding should not promote the act of "faking." It should rather promote a comfort level, in which an individual should be able to comfortably tell their partner what works and what doesn't, so that a "fake" orgasm will be non-existent.

Now, after this initial realization, I reread the game's description. In this description, it is stated that faking an orgasm "takes great sensibility" and it is this simultaneous orgasm with your partner, whether you are truly done or not, is an effective and successful sexual understanding. However, I still do not understand how a good sexual relationship promotes healthy and successful communication in the real world. If the point was to promote the importance of effective communication, I feel like another game would have been appropriate. Is the game entitled "Orgasm Simulator" complete with sexual sounds, the only game that can promote their intended idea? I guess in America, sex sells. After all, I played, which is what the creator wanted. They just want to get you to play, whether you agree with the game or not.

Point Taken

2008-05-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve never been good at playing video games but these video games are simple enough and interesting enough that I liked figuring out how to manipulate their behaviors. The first game I played was called Oil God. Oil God is fun and indicative of all the angst we have towards oil companies and the assholes holding it as leverage over the rest of the world. But I digress. I found that it is more challenging to jack up the price of oil if you go about the routes of destabilizing the economy and changing the politics than if you go to war. How reminiscent is this situation to our current? The answer seems very and their point is easily noted. When I first began playing I had all my ducks in alignment on how to hike up those black gold prices, I spent a long time trying to do this. I found the game a little tricky and there’s definitely a learning curve, however once you get it down you can see who you have battling who and so forth. After a while of destabilizing economies and creating civil unrest I found that if I began civil wars the prices went up very quickly and I went to strictly war the prices went up even faster. Are they trying to say something? Huh, I think I get it. And hey, I agree.

The next game I played was Airport Security. Very funny and hilarious concept, that’s one of the reasons I picked it. Somehow it seems like it would be fun to have that type of job and just be considered the “ambivalent screener.” I would like to first give my opinion on this intrusion upon our civil rights. We don’t need the government snooping through our belongings every time we decide to board a plane, it’s unethical and violates everything the constitutional values of low government intrusion into our personal lives is all about. They develop this mock entity that they call Homeland Security, which is an albatross of beurocratic b/s. If they were sensible they would allow the airlines and airport to monitor their passengers themselves. That way if there is an incident it reflects on the inadequacy of the airport and not the government. They flew the airplanes into private property from private property. What business is it of the government in any of these affairs? I’m pretty sure we’re all convinced and aware that there is adequate reason to believe that an airplane did not crash into the Pentagon also. I hate to tote the free market, but it is a reasonable solution to the issues concerning airport security. Again I digress from the game, yes, let’s talk about the game.

Obviously the point of the game is to illicit frustration in how difficult it is to constantly check the bags and keep up with the ever changing new items which cannot be carried on board anymore. Is this supposed to make me feel more understanding of the people that are running the security? Am I supposed to feel sympathetic for them? I don’t. I think the government did a good job of hiring a bunch of slackers to do the work. And it’s not the slackers fault; they’re within the price range of what the state wants to pay. If this was open to private organizations you better believe it would be in the best interest of the airport and airlines to check their passengers adequately before they get on board. Otherwise who’s going to patronage their service?

I thought the previous game was supposed to instigate frustration, but the last game I played caused even more. I played Activism, the public policy game. I think they’re trying to say that it all a matter which mouth you’re most inclined to feed. This is definitely directed towards Democrats and their desire to control most of everything regarding our nation; education, military, immigration, economy, security, and social security. Perhaps this is part of the issue with the altruistic philosophy; no specific group is capable of running everything. Furthermore if they do, can they do it accurately so that no specific group loses out to another. Also what becomes of the people that become dependent on these programs? But more about the game; it’s obviously frustrating keeping up with all the people to take care. Is this game supposed to evoke sympathy for the altruists that somehow feel it’s their responsibility to care for me and everyone else in society that they feel needs help? It’s not even people that need help; they want to help people that may be capable of helping their selves, if given the chance.

I swear ever single one of these games is massively frustrating. So I get the point, living in a completely over governed and restrictive nation is a full time job. I get it. The last game I played was the farming game where you are supposed to harvest foods and monitor and clean up any troubles you have with terrorists, farm wastes, and Mother Nature. So what happens is you plant crops and along comes your little customers and they get a few good pieces of vegetables but then comes along some terrorists and evil mother nature, and what is equivalent to the potato famine and you give your little customers, which are children, ecoli and diaherrea among other things. So what are they getting at? This one I agree with somewhat, I feel like we are being poisoned by the food we have to choose from and the worst part, the organization that is supposed to protect us, the FDA is massively influenced by lobbyists and other industries that have a vested interest in profiting from our need for food. That is a game I would consider developing, a game that influences politicians. Laws get passed by the powerful, mainly the industries that are paying the lobbyists, and all the other laws that are getting passed are ones that keep the politicians in office. These would be the laws that support their constituents.

4 games: Faith Fighter the Best

2008-05-22T01:42:00.000-07:00

The first game I engaged was one made by the Arcade Wire (perhaps the name is a play on the Arcade Fire, an indie rock band) called Airport Security. The game featured very decent graphics as it focused on a long rope-maze, which was perpetually filling up with a line of people trying to get through airport security. The gamer (myself in this case) played the role of an airport security guard—perhaps one affiliated with or working for the Department of Homeland Security. There were two boxes that hosted the current airport-goer and the contents of their suitcase. At the top was a bar that showed the randomly revolving list of items that were forbidden by the Department. As a gamer I had to click on the items the traveler was wearing and particular items in their suitcase to seize them for further scrutiny. It essentially became a game of trying to beat the clock, that is, trying to keep the line from growing by performing my job as quickly as possible. Eventually the line would fill up, or I would seize improper items and this would result in my losing the game. The social commentary was hilarious, as I was seizing peoples’ hummus, ice cream sundaes, pants, and other ridiculous items that would not seem to ever present a threat to airline security.

The second game I engaged in was not a very fun game; I could not figure out exactly how to play, even though I am a well seasoned gamer and read the instructions carefully. It was also an Arcade Wire game, which are hosted by Shockwave, which is great to see because Shockwave has been around since my middle-school days—its good to see the site is still strong. The game was called Bacteria Salad. The goal of the game was to harvest lettuce and tomatoes for consumption by consumers. One had to make sure the threats, cows, terrorists, and rainstorms, did not infect the crops. I could not ever figure out how to stop the threats from contaminating the crops, so I was never successful for long, but it was fun to watch people eat the bad food and become ill. Overall, I believe that the social commentary was laid on too thick, and that it hurt the fun factor of the game, which means it was not successful as either commentary or a game.

The third game I encountered was called Faith Fighter, and was by far the best game I played for this assignment. It was a typical side-scrolling, versus fighter game—but it featured gods of today’s prominent world religions as the characters one could use to fight. It came complete with special moves, like Buddha’s dharma wheel projectile and Jesus’ Holy Ghost projectile that looked like dove in a blue fireball. The game was true to the versus-game aesthetic, which made it instant fun. The commentary of the game was also well received by this particular audience; I found the joke about the world religions constantly fighting a bit unoriginal, but still a pertinent subject nonetheless. My favorite part of the game was that at the top of the tournament tree was a surprise final fight, with none other than Xenu, the dictator of the Galactic Confederacy and god to the Scientologists. He turned out to be a chump though, not even putting up as good a fight as Buddha or Mohammed. Over it was a solid game with an interesting, somewhat open-to-interpretation commentary.

The fourth and final game I played was not an entertaining or engrossing game at all. The commentary was not veiled nor conveyed in and interesting or creative manner, it was simply blunt. The “game” which was more like a crossword puzzle than a true videogame, was called Corporate Greed: Names, Faces, and Deeds, and can be found under the “Public Policy Games” section of Social Impact Games. Basically one was presented with a grid of boxes filled with corporate tyrants names and faces. It was the gamer’s duty to match the faces with the correct names. After a correct match, one was presented with a multiple-choice question asking what heinous deed they had committed. Lame.

Overall I found the games with creative commentaries were the most effective, and will be the games I remember and ponder later on.

crazy gamers

2008-05-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

I first began to play the crazy Christmas shoppers game where you had to run around the store and buy different things on your Christmas list before the certain items were gone. Not only could you run around trying to grab your own purchases but you could also take something you wanted from another person. The only catch was you couldn’t ‘harass’ another customer when a child was present. I had a hard time figuring out which ones were the kids and which ones were the shoppers so I think I ended up actually taking things from the little kids in effect hurting my score.
The second time I attempted to play was the fatworld one, but this ended up being a little more complicated than I thought. I tried to make a world and go through the orientation of the game but my character kept on overworking it self and panting. But since I couldn’t figure out how to buy it food, I wasn’t able to visit all the places I needed to in order to actually begin playing the game. In effect my character started walking really slow and I wasn’t sure what to do with it so I kind of gave up with that one. Not fast moving enough for me, like the shopping one.
I wanted to try the Elemental game but you had to contact the creators, etc before you could play.
One of the more entertaining games I played had to have been the faith fighter where you could choose a character like Muhammad, Jesus, God or Buddha. Each of them had their own special powers that they could perform. You basically played a three round boxing match between them all. The best part was that they had a disclaimer at the beginning of the game stating that the creators had no intention of specifically targeting any specific religion, but rather to have people understand that wars are fought over different religious beliefs.

My own game:
If I were to have to create a game I might consider setting up something where the player would be a technician in a lab working on stem cell research. In order to proceed with research the lab techs would need to prove to the government that stem cell research is effective and the research is in need. Also you would have to deal with the protestors against this technology. Not only that but funding must be raised in a variety of ways and decisions must be made on which direction the research will go in. Sounds like a way complicated game so I’m not sure how I could work it all out, but after skimming through some of the other games they seemed to involve a lot of variables as well, so it may not be that bad.

Social Impact Gaming

2008-05-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

I am not someone who usually engages in video games online. It has never really been my forte, but I tried to go about this assignment with an open mind. The first game that I played was Dying for Darfur. Darfur is a situation that I am very familiar with, so I thought it would be interesting to see how this situation translated into a video game. Although it was very informative with the facts about the refugee camps and the foraging for water game, I cannot honestly say that this website increased my knowledge of the situation in Darfur.

The next game that I played was the McDonald's social impact game. This game was more difficult than anything else, trying to perform all of the activities to keep everyone happy and the company making money. I must say I never thought about all of the individual decisions that go into making a business run successfully. I thought it was interesting that the environmentalists would be angry over the cutting down of the rain forest, but not over the over slaughtering of the beef. All in all, this game was pretty entertaining and did try to bring to light the impacts that McDonald's has in the business, environmental and consumer world.

I am still not convinced of the avenue of social impact games, but I think that it will be interesting to see where this medium will go in the years to come.

Social Impact Gaming

2008-05-21T09:13:00.001-07:00

I just played the 3rd World Farmer game. It's pretty dark. It is meant to simulate the experiences and hardships a 3rd world farmer endures. You have to buy crops, livestock, tools, a home and amenities every turn. You push the arrow button, and then a season passes, at which time a news-feed appears, telling you what happened that season to set you back (it always always sets you back). I experienced a drought, famine, disease, fire, revolts, military training, parasites, everything. It sucked! Apparently there's no way to win the game; you, your family and your farm inevitably die. I guess the game is good in that it informs the player about all the terrible hardships a 3rd world farmer in Africa endures, but I didn't get much else out of the "game." It wasn't fun or engaging, but rather depressing...

My social impact game, relating to my final hypertext project idea, deals with inequalities in health care. The game is pretty dark (again). The object is to create a character with the "correct" circumstances to attain health care and health insurance, five different ways. You must choose different combinations of class/income, race, religion, and base-line health. If you don't choose the right combinations in a certain amount of time (the time before you develop a serious disease and need health care), you die.
A "correct" combination could be: middle-class, Irish, Catholic, pre-disposition to high cholesterol.
Another "correct" combination could be: no income (therefore can apply for Medicaid), Cambodian, Buddhist, no known health problems.
You must be careful about putting certain combinations together, such as "no income" together with "pre-disposition for diabetes, stroke, and heart disease," as you may just not get health care coverage.
The game would also include an appeals system, in which you could argue your case to an insurance company in order to try to gain health insurance for you and your family. But again, you need to be quick, as time is ticking!!
The point of this satirical game is to raise awareness about inequality in health care and health coverage due to social, racial and economic factors.

Other games I played and a bio game tell me what you guys think!

2008-05-20T23:40:00.001-07:00

The second game I chose to play was named Tuboflex. I loved it! It is a great illustration of the way low wageworkers are taken advantage of today. MacDonald’s is a great example of a company that takes advantage of its employees. For example it workers try to organize or get better pay they are generally fired. I remember reading about how MacDonald’s employees tried to organize in Fast Food nation. As a result that particular MacDonald’s was shut down. This game is a cute short game that spreads awareness of the abuse of low wageworkers while being entertaining at the same time. You inevitably end up homeless on the street playing “Are You Sleeping, Brother John” with your dog which you can make bark.
I next played Ben’s game. This was a really heartwarming game designed for kids with Leukemia. I think it was great that someone from Lucasarts designed this game for the make a wish foundation. It is actually quite a good game, although the message from Ben made me want to cry. I think that attacking the red cells that are sick is a great way to help kids understand why they are having bad side effects. This game would probably also help them keep their mind on something entertaining, which is also not very strenuous. At first I was worried about what would happen if you lose, but even when your health gets really low you never lose. This is a great message to cancer patients especially, kids. I think that giving them hope and motivating them to fight is a great idea, and if a game helps then that’s great.
Lastly I played the MacDonald’s Video game. It was pretty entertaining that the makers of the game stated that the MacDonald’s video game in no way mimics factual events, yet in reality they are doing just the opposite. It was actually pretty well thought out game, but it made me somewhat depressed to play it. I am glad I don’t eat at places like MacDonald’s. I felt bad for the cute animated cows I was slaughtering and trying to keep workers from organizing was damn near impossible. An interesting game, but not one I would want to play for fun.

Designing a Video Game:
If I were to design a Video game it would be entitled Viruses. It would be a game that would educate the general population about how to avoid getting the common cold. It would be like a board game like Mario Party. All players would start at the start spot and then have to roll the dice and move the appropriate number of spaces. At each space there would be a question or a game that would involve avoiding or catching a virus.
If a player makes the wrong choice in a question or loses a game then they get sick and cannot move spaces for a certain number of turns. If they get the right answer or win the game they get immunity, therefore if they land on a space where they are exposed to the same virus they are immune and therefore get to move another space forward.
Each space would also give a short fact about disease around the world. There would be spaces for HIV, Small Pox, HCV, Chicken Pox etc… This would help players become aware of the viruses around the world. At the end of the game there would be links to websites and organizations that explain how people can help donate money to fund research against viruses around the world.
Questions:
What are surfaces that expose people to viruses called?
Fomites.
What are primary cells that initiate the specific immune system?
T-cells.
When you are exposed to someone with a flu or cold what is the number one thing you can do to protect yourself?
Wash your hands?
Can you get the same cold virus twice?
No, once exposed to a specific virus and recover from it and become immune?
Does Vitamin C help with colds?
It has been shown in several studies that Vitamin C can help decrease symptoms of the common cold.
Mini Games:
Fight infected cells and viral nucleic acid: You are a B-Cell that can produce antibodies to fight of viruses. You must create an antibody that matches the antigen on the infected cell or virus. Create the antibody and as you travel through the blood stream attack any pathogens that match your antibody. Don’t attack your own healthy cells or you will end up hurting yourself.
Travel through the human landscape: You are in the airport and you must avoid exposure to as many viruses as possible. You are equipped with sanitary wipes and can wash your hands in the public toilets. Try to minimize the number of viruses you are exposed to while traveling from one side of the airport to another.
Name that cell: match the description of the immune cell with the name.
Name that virus: match the virus with the description.
Goal of the game: Once you reach the end of the game you have become immune to all the viruses on the board. At this point to win the game you must take your own blood and make vaccines that will make all the other players on the board immune and healthy. Once accomplishing this you win the game.

A life less ordinary

2008-05-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

I propose a social impact game whose goal is to satirize people who spend the majority of their lives pursuing meaningless careers and never achieving a real sense of joy or fulfillment. The purpose is to open the eyes of people who need it—to show them some alternatives to leading hollow lives.

The game would start out with an introductory scene in which a divine-like voice asks two characters, “Why were you put here on this planet? What would you like to spend all yours days going?”

Character B responds, “I have no idea why I’m here, but all I know is I want to feel good, be with people I love, and make them feel good too.”

Character A says, “Yeah, that sounds about right!”

The voice says, “O.K. How are you going to do that?”

Character A says, “Well, I guess I’ll go to business school, get a high-paying job, raise my family with Christian morals, and then we’ll be financially secure so we can always be fed and relax. And drive big cars.”

"Be my guest,” responds the voice.

Character B says, “Ehh…I’ve got my own plans in mind,” and exits the screen.

Now the game play begins. Players race to get into the best universities, have the most prestigious summer internships, and then climb the ladder of the corporate world while raising a family. Digital rolls of dice move characters along a virtual playing board through these life milestones.

The player who gets to the center of the board first wins.

He is congratulated, but then goes to jail for the rest of his life for insider trading.

The frame pans right and shows the lives of Character B and his friends. Character B is performing a live DJ set for a crowd of ten thousand on the shores of Miami. People are going nuts, and Character B knows he has found a real form of living.

One of his friends, Character C, is shown running a club in San Francisco, where hundreds gather every night to be happy and dance. Character D is shown on the set of an independent film in the Mojave Desert. Character E, a professional surfer and skateboarder, is shown feeling fresh and invigorated on the beach in Costa Rica.

Finally, an interactive web page provides links to all sorts of websites, blogs, and online communities that foster music, film, and extreme sports. Hopefully, inspiration ensues.

Don’t sit in a cubicle; get out and do something REAL.

Some of the websites may be:
Sonic Academy
Everyone Is Famous
Rodney Mullen, Best Of
Moontribe - The sound of Moontribe is the sound of possibilities realized.
Transworld skating
Blow Up SF – Club Party
“What do you call a huge super-seekrit electro/house/hip-hop party in a downtown warehouse? A new religion: DANCISM.”
Girls Behind the Camera

"Nosy Neighbors"

2008-05-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

My social impact game, called “Nosy Neighbors” would present the difficulties facing people when presented with a world where information can easily run rampant. I don’t know if any of you have visited the website, http://www.rottenneighbor.com, but it’s fascinating and lends itself to a potentially great game. In it, you can type in your address and you are given a satellite map of your neighborhood along with blips that indicate comments about the neighbors that surround you. The idea of providing extremely negative personal information about your neighbor might seem appealing in the moments which you hear them screaming at their wives for the fiftieth time this week, but how do you think publishing those thoughts can affect their lives?

My game provides a simulated environment where you are the neighbor who is being slandered. You go about your daily activities but are presented with a very stressful life, where you must make choices and sacrifices in order to survive. You get points for keeping your family clothed and fed, while not being ostracized by the community at large. A roll of the dice will determine your lifestyle and your job. In no way will you be able to support your family at the economic level that they desire and still be able to give a good impression to your neighborhood. You will be given options – either neglecting the upkeep of your house to make sure you get to work on time, or making sure the outward appearance of your home is perfect but failing to meet the needs of your family which propels a loud fight between you and your spouse. Later, you find out that your neighbor has posted that you are either abusive or a drug lord, assumptions he makes because of the state of your marriage and/or your home. The game unfolds as people around you react to such a posting. You lose your job, you are investigated by the cops and people in general, no longer respect you. Points accumulate as you attempt to navigate your extremely stressful life; the more difficult it becomes, the more advanced your level. Winning the game is virtually impossible, as you success is hindered by more obstacles because your reputation has been severely maligned.

This game propels us to understand the true significance of internet information. Virtual gossip is not innocent and can deeply affect the lives we have outside of the digital world. By putting us in the shoes of someone who has been slandered, the game challenges us to look deeper into possibilities of internet information. Sometimes misunderstanding and misrepresentations of the truth have profound repercussions that cannot be easily overcome. “Nosy Neighbors” tries to engage our understanding of the difficulties facing us in a world where an angry comment can be technologically amplified and lead to the detriment of a person’s success.

Increasing Awareness (Persuasion)

2008-05-20T17:06:00.001-07:00

Since children are my passion, I plan to team up with my wonderful friend, Lauren Garcia, to help execute my final project. She runs her own non-profit organization, Mano en Mano, which helps to provide food, water, clothing, medical aid, education, and housing to the underprivileged children of Nicaragua. Since the focus of my personal website lies primarily on the world of modeling, we thought it might be entertaining and beneficial to hold a fashion show fundraiser for her organization while using students as models. Immediately, I was able to think of a social impact game that I could use to generate awareness and motivation from young adults.
This social impact game would be centered on persuading people to care. Each person would be able to create an avatar of his choice. The goal of the game would be to set up fundraisers and donation events while managing available funds. The more people you can get on your team, the more events you can put on because of increased funds. After every event, you and your crew will travel to Nicaragua and put the donations and funds to use in building houses, providing vaccinations, supplying nutritious food and clean water, and promoting education— all of which cost money. The challenge in the game will be to manage funds, since putting on a successful event also requires quite a bit of money.
The purpose of this game is to encourage young adults to act for a cause. Since the game will provide a massive amount of options and ideas for events, it will make young adults realize that giving back to underprivileged members of our world can be fun and fulfilling. Along with the challenge of managing money, the main goal of this game is to be as convincing and moving as possible, in order to attain more supporters and increase awareness.

2008-05-20T16:51:00.001-07:00

The game will be a composed of a series of images and representations of members of certain ethnic groups. The player will encounter a series of characters and will have to click and choose which representations are positive and why. The player wins by earning the most points at the end of their journey. This game will be based upon a dscussion of the psychology behind African American female bodybuilding as a sport including its effects on the self-image, emotional well-being, and self-esteem of competitors in terms of its use as a mode of self-expression and self-presentation used to challenge and recreate collective/ individual images of black womanhood in popular media and consciousness. (As opposed to the criminal, the jezebel, and the asexualized mammy). Also a discussion of how this subculture of black female bodybuilders and women body builders in general (women’s participation in sports/ fitness ) act as a postcolonial, gendered, and racialized means of feminist expression. Also how these African American female bodybuilders act as models of African American female identity for black female youth, especially female collegiate athletes, being alternatives to the typical over-sexualized, degraded images of black femininity portrayed in popular media. Also the paradigm shift in American social consciousness and norms of physical desirability that have begun to shift from an obsession with abnormal thinness to extreme levels of muscularity regardless of gender. Also a discussion of the visual aesthetics and an inversion of Eurocentric ideals of beauty-i.e. in bodybuilding it is more aesthetically pleasing to have dark skin because it displays the muscles in a more defined manner and because of this white women are forced to go to extreme tanning lengths to become as dark as they can.

growing pains

2008-05-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

If I created a game it would be called, “Growing Pains”. It would kind of be like life but a little different. Your life will start out as an 7 year old. As your making friends you have to make choice of whether to be a bully or not. If you bully another kid and get caught you get a note home and lose points. You will have choices like do your homework or play video games, another situation where you can lose points. This game will also have a situation that will teach you to run away from strangers.
Age 10
You’re start doing chores. There will be options like mowing the lawn, helping a neighbor, or cleaning the house. With these chores comes allowance, the more chores you do the more money you get. With these new additions there are still the old choices too of bullying, making friends, homework, and video games. If caught and punished you not only lose points but chances to make money as well. If you don’t do chores and you want something you have the choice to steal the object you want or not. If you steal there is a chance that you will be caught by the police and punished by you parents.
High school
You have choices like playing a sport, joining a club, volunteering, and being a TA. In this level there is a portion where your character starts to take drivers ed. At the age of 17 if your character passes his or her driving test they get their license. Later in this story they get to be the DD at a party. At the party they get offered a drink which they can accept of deny. If they accept the drink they can keep drinking. When drink home from the party the game will with have them get in an accident killing people or severely hurting them. Or the game will have a cop pull you over and breathalyses you. You will have an automatic DUI. The game will then have either scenario play its way through a court trail sentencing the characters. If player does have to go to jail and has made the choice to go to college rejection notices will be sent to the player’s character.
College/Job
Depending on the choices that the player made in high school they will be able to go to college, find a job, or be in jail. In college you will chose major and the relationships that you want to have. There will be similar situations like in high school with drugs and alcohol. If the character chose work instead they will have options of moving up at their job in proper ways or in ways that could land you in jail. After four years in college or at a job the character will be able to get married or not and or live happily ever after. For a while…You have kids and it’s the same thing every day. You have choices to make like to how healthy you are. Will you cheat on your wife/husband to move up in your career or because your bored with your life.

I want my game to make people think about the choices that they make and how they have a big impact on your life. This game is also about taking responsibility for your actions and what they do to others.

Social Impact Game

2008-05-20T16:48:00.002-07:00

I have a few ideas for a social impact game, primarily based off of my own interests. It seemed to me that the trend for these games was the purpose of education. This education was both traditional, offering games that benefitted academic skills like math, but also on a grander social scale. Both of course, are valuable. With that said, the following are my ideas. I'm finding it hard to choose.

One applies to the thesis I wrote last quarter for the comm department. I analyzed the ways the 2008 presidential candidates were using new media to target the youth vote and though this scope was very specific, it also forced me to filter through a great variety of political information. I think it would be really great to have a game that asked players a series of questions that would then match them to the candidate with most similar views. It was found in most of my research that while today's youth is becoming more interested and active in politics (due largely to easy access to the internet and social networking sites), they were still more inclined to parrot the views of their parents' or the opinion of their peers. To have questions that pointedly ask about their personal stances on everything from homeland security to health insurance and taxation would be to create a nation of more informed voters and a nature of stronger, more informed opinion. Because the elections are now getting down to the finals days before a representative for each party is chosen, it may be better though, to create a game that establishes each player as "conservative" or "liberal," with a likert-scale type variety for results. Because this game would be online, it could go further to serve as a poll on all the major political issues and could continually collective informtation from today's youth, showing collective national opinion with the percentages that on the news, most commonly only pertain to a small part of the population. I think it would help impressionable minds think independently and to allow them to understand their place in the U.S. government in which participation is key to having an active voice.

A second game that I have thought of but have not developed as fully, is a game that would entertain children while at the same time, promoting greater literacy or writing/reading skills. As a volunteer in classrooms for the past eight years of my life, I am often astonished at how few kids read at the appropriate level for their age. To create a game that incorporates spelling, reading, and grammer, but also makes it fun would be a great service to a community whose learning is becoming so computer-based. I think it should incorporate a goal to the game, like saving the princess does in the popular "Mario" video games. They could fight to overcome obstacles, so pass levels but have to do so through spelling words accurately and quickly, being quizzed on reading, filling in the blank with grammer questions, etc. I used to play typing games of this sort when I was younger. In fact, it's one of my first memories on a computer. But i think if a game like this were developed and utilized in the classroom, kids would become more inclined not only to learn these necessary literary skills, but to become excited by learning them and maybe more willing to explore them independently.

Healthy Day

2008-05-20T16:48:00.001-07:00

Social Impact Game Idea

The main focus of my game is to educate on health decision that children are faced with through out the day. Having gone from an inactive unhealthy child to a active healthy adult who is a competitive triathlete at the collegiate level I know the importance of getting in shape and eating right now how it can affect your daily life.

The game will fallow a teen through one day. You will have the option of playing as a male or a female so the participant can identify with their virtual character better. The game will start in the morning. The first choice will be to sleep in or to get up and exercise in the morning. If the character chooses to exercise in the morning they will have the option of swimming, running or lifting weights at the gym. There will be interactive mini-games with each of these options to keep the player engaged. Then they will have an option of what to eat for breakfast. They can choose from; fast food, sugary cereal, healthy cereal (i.e. Kashi Go-Lean, Grape nuts . . .), Fruit Smoothie. With each of these options they will be able to choose what exact cereal or fruit goes into what they eat. Next they will go to school and choose to take part in gym class or to use a health excuse and go sit out where they will have the option to play simulated cell phone games. If they choose to participate in gym class they will be able to play another mini-game (i.e. dodge ball, soccer, baseball, basketball). Then they will go to lunch where they will be given the options of a healthy bag lunch that their mom sent with them to school or greasy/fatty cafeteria food. After that they will be released from school where they will have the option of going and playing a team sport (i.e. cross-country, foot-ball, wrestling, basketball, baseball). There will again be mini games associated with each option. They will then be given dinner options (i.e. fast food, salad w/ chicken, pizza . . .) They will then go home were they will have the option to do homework, go to the gym or watch T.V. Each option will again be associated with mini games that involve the option they have chosen. They will then be given the option of evening snacks. At the end of the game they will be shown their total amount of calories burned, amount of calories consumed, and activity sheet showing what they did in the day and a prognosis associated with a photo to show how they will look and what their physical state is if they do that on an average day.

The game is to educate students about the possible risks associated with a sedentary and the image of what they will look like. There will be different body types and prognoses associated with combinations of options. The goal is to try and get teens that are inactive to try and get involved in sports and eating healthy.

Independence - Social Impact Game

2008-05-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

As some of you know I am Scottish, and hold my nationality dear to my heart. Scotland, a nation without it's own sovereignty and right to self rule, is considered to be, to some greater extent, a puppet of the British (read English). One of the 4 remaining 'home' countries, including England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, it is a national and personal desire to see Scotland achieve full independence, much like the formally ceded Ireland.

The game concept revolves around the simple, and common, platform of a historic strategy game similar to popular game brands such as Hearts of Iron and Age of Empires. The initial aim of the game would be to rule/govern Scotland and lead Scotland though history, primarily to independence, but secondly to flourishing politically and economically on the international scene. Following the basic strategy/action game the simple goal would be to gather resources, build cities, defend/expand the borders, fight battles et al. Ultimately, while the chance to lead Scotland to international glory will encourage the patriotic intent of the player it will not necessarily effect the social change intended. To encourage the players desire for Scottish indepdence it is imperative to base the game in an accurate historical context, educating the player about the historical realities that led to Scotland's absorption into the entity of Great Britain. The game will educate about Scotlands past, and allow the player to virtually chance or avoid the consequences of these events, thus realizing what can be done politically to affect change in Scotland. Additionally, the game will clearly and dynamically highlight the possibilities and affluency that awaits Scotland should it achieve independence.

Ultimately, the game revolves around a historical core allowing the player to interact with AND change history to the players benefit. It will educate and encourage, and perhaps, with awareness raised Scotland can be the new Ireland.

speaking out about shooting up: a social impact game

2008-05-20T16:41:00.002-07:00

My final project will deal with whether harm reduction, because it does not require individuals to either reduce their use of illicit drugs or to abstain from these substances, can be ethically justified. However, in order to make this topic appropriately into game form, I would approach the concept from a social justice lens.

The game would force players into the life of a drug addict, thus revealing how harm reduction alone is inadequate to address the root causes of inequalities in health and access to health care for such a population. Players would be able to choose between two choices in order to advance in the game. Each choice would involve certain implications that can negatively impact the player’s health and, eventually, life. Players would realize how limited their options are regarding one’s ability to survive in such a situation. For example, at the beginning of the game, one would state their gender, age, and ethnicity. In accordance with current HIV and AIDS statistics in the United States, one would be identified as either an HIV positive or negative intravenous drug user. A set of possible actions that could be taken would appear and the player would try to navigate life on the streets as an IDU. One would experience the real life difficulties of trying to balance one’s addiction with one’s needs for survival. Decisions concerning all aspects of life would be addressed: whether to work (if this is even a possibility depending on one’s health status and level of addiction), whether one can have a family (dependant on one’s financial situation as well as health status), whether one would/could receive treatment and where this treatment would be available, and one would also be able to interact with the general public, health care providers, law enforcement, one’s family, and other IDU’s. One’s survival is highly dependent on the choices one makes as well as on the barriers that are firmly placed in our society.

I hope that this game would make it clear that IDU’s are individuals who have fewer resources available to deal with actual and potential health needs that can mean life or death. Likewise, the game would allow users to interact with various harm reduction programs. I hope this would allow others to see the immense potential for such programs and simultaneously allow users to identify how the current system of abstinence significantly affects every aspect of an IDU’s life and potential for healing. Thus, within a social justice framework, it is possible to address the harms of current drug policy not as a matter of individual choice but as a matter of health and well-being.

Learning Your Lesson

2008-05-20T16:41:00.001-07:00

The most important idea to be taken away from the social impact games are the messages that they intend to impose on gamers. Most of the games are relatively straight forward and make no attempt to hide their message, whereas others have more subliminal messages that come out the farther along you get. My idea is to make a racing game where you start out with a relatively nice car (I didn't see any racing games that had social commentary so I figured it might be an interesting alternative.) The game would allow you to race your car, but there would be more realistic consequences when you violate the law or get into accidents. The fact is, most racing games promote aggressive driving because the consequences tend to be minimal.
Although my game is kind of a downer, it can be interesting to play more realistic games than the dramatized and exciting ones usually marketed to kids and teenagers. Ultimately, social impact games are not always intended to be fun, but rather have a more important message.

The Life of a Colombian

2008-05-20T15:17:00.000-07:00

So here is my idea for a social impact game. A lot of people know Colombia for one thing, and one thing only: drugs, more specifically, cocaine. I was to enlighten people about Colombia, and also the moarl dilemma that people face when it does come to the drug trade. I want to do this because I am Colombian, and I want people to know more about the people there.

First and foremost I want my game to inform. So you start out as a Colombian with less than adequate savings. So you are forced to get a job. You can go right away into the drug trade, or you can decide to get another job (this bit allows the player to see options that a Colombian has, most would not choose drugs, and I would make that clear). Next, as they are working, a drug lord would move in next door. This drug lord would be very nice to you and your family and offer you money and things for nothing in return. Then later down the line, as you are working in your trade, a police man will come and ask you to rat out the drug dealer. Now you choose, rat out the man who has been so nice to you to the goverment who has done nothing for you, realizing that what he does is obviously wrong, or do you help him? This way people will begin to see the moral dilemma's present in Colombian society because what I have described is very common. The game will unfold in different ways depending how you play.

Fatworld - ah, the irony...

2008-05-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

I just played a game called "Fatworld." This persuasive game introduces the intersection between socioeconomic factors, health and nutrition to players. You create a character, choosing its age, hair color, predisposition to disease (heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes), class status, and body type. Then you create a "fat world." In this world, you age, exercise (or not), create meal plans (healthy or otherwise), and your character's life runs according to the nutrition/health you choose. You can influence public health policies, go grocery shopping and make other life decisions. Neat idea, right? The idea is for you to learn about how these decisions affect your life (in real life) - and you try to get your character to live as long as possible. I made my character "represent" me; I chose the diseases that have occurred in my family, my social class, my body type... and I chose to grow green hair. :) And then I ran around my world, followed the directions, visited the cemetery the suburbs, the projects, the estates and the city. And while I ran around this world, "learning" about how health, class, exercise and nutritional decisions intersect, I was actually sitting in front of a computer, sipping my iced latte and thinking about how it was amusing that I was playing a computer game to learn about these issues. Ah, the irony of sitting in front of a computer, learning about the importance of exercise...
On the Fatworld general site, one can download and play the game as well as link to sites that discuss and inform the topics related to the game. There were links to nutritional information and exercise regimes - all "legitimate" sites, such as Harvard's public health site on nutrition. I learned more through these links than the game, but perhaps that's because, after designing my character, I sort of lost interest in the game. I still think that these games have some merit, especially for teaching kids, in an interactive way, about disease and nutrition, but only if they realize the application of this new knowledge to their real lives, only if they realize Life isn't just a game.

Playing games with "meaning"

2008-05-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Most of the games that I played were on Sticking it to the Man. I like things that have to do with going against the norm. http://www.molleindustria.org/en/games
The first game I played was “Faith Fighter.” I played the normal version of this game, which means that it was uncensored. The players that you could be were God, Jesus, Buddha, Budai, Muhammad, and Ganesha. The good things about this game were how it incorporated special moves for each faith. Like when you were Jesus one of your special moves is called holy ghost. It makes you see how fighting over which faith is better is pretty childish. Doing the moves weren’t as easy as the instructions made it seem. I guess I’m used to have a controller in my hand. I was pretty bored after an hour.
Another game that I played on this site was “McDondald’s I’m playing it.” This is a game I got addicted to because I really wanted to win even though all the moves I was making was wrong for the environment. No matter what I’d I would go bankrupt within 10 minutes! It takes a lot to keep McD’s running. This game makes you think about what you’re supporting when you got to fast food joints like McD’s. When your in the corporate world of this game you get to corrupt people so that they’ll say or do what you want them to. It kind of what lobbyist do so sway things their way. Advertising part of this game was interesting to like you would put advertising out their saying that little kids wanted McD’s and that it was good for them. Those poor cows I was feeding them hormones and parts of other cows. I had to kill all the cows that got mad cow or disease before they became hamburger mean. If I did not catch them in time, they would go into people’s hamburgers. I had to fire employees that weren’t working with a smile! I did not know McD’s was Disneyland! I think everyone should play this game!
Queer power this game was interesting. I was kind of like “Faith Fighter” but instead of fighting moves they were sexual moves. It had a way of making you get over being uncomfortable playing this came really fast. Mind you, I was playing this game at work! The winner of the match was who ever orgasms first. You had three choices dick lover, pussy lover and curious. Just like “Faith Fighter” I had a problem getting the moves down. I was also possible for you to chance you sex in the middle of a match. This one match I had I was a girl the other person was a guy we had a simulations orgasm. This game is kind of saying everyone does it, most people like it, so why hide it? I feel like you have to be really open minded to play this game.
The last game I played was “fatworld” http://www.persuasivegames.com/games/. I got to create my own character and make him or her under weight, average, over weight, obese or extremely obese. I think this is a great game to teach kids the importance of eating right and staying active. In this game to stay a live you must eat, exercise and run a restaurant. It was interesting to see in the fat world that in the projects there were many fast food restaurants and in the suburbs there were hardly any. In your restaurant that you own you are able to pick what you serve to your customers. Overall, it is a fun game but it takes a while to set it all up and do things in it.

Diary of Flash Games and my Social Impact Game Proposal

2008-05-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

The first game I played was 'Presidential Pong', an outdated, semi-informative, glorified version of Pong. Supposedly one learns little tid-bits from the lives of the candidates, but honestly it was a waste of time. Having read the articles about game-informed learning I can say that this was an utter failure if the game designer was actually trying to impart some sort of knowledge about the candidates to the gamer. It would have been much simpler to simply wikipedia or google search these candidates than spend time playing a version of Pong to learn little, hardly useful snippets about their lives.

The next game I played was called 'Food Import Folly'. The idea behind the game was interesting, but honestly all of the learning occurred when I read the synopsis. This makes me think, again, that flash-gaming like this isn't the medium of choice for informing the public. Or, maybe it is, because if one was simply interested in playing a game they might stumble upon this useful information quite by accident. I doubt this is what the designers envisioned, and I can't imagine this type of gaming being utilized by schools for educational purposes.

I next went onto Molleindustria and played 'Faith Fighter'. I felt like once again the disclaimer at the beginning, which said that the purpose of the game was to demonstrate how religious intolerance fuels violence, was the real piece of education. Without that disclaimer, it wouldn't have carried much educational value. I understand the motivation that the game designers have when creating these types of games, but this isn't in any way more useful than reading an article or a book or, in many cases, simply watching the television. The amount of 'education' is so minimal as to almost be pointless, in my opinion.

I read the introduction part of 'Operation: Pedopriest' and it seems simply like general slander. I'm not a proponent of the RCC, or any church for that matter, but for the creator of the game to say that the RCC is attempting to avoid scandal and protect their priests through lies and fabrications is simply wrong; the cardinals and the pope have addressed the issues. In any case, once again, the 'learning' is all done when one reads the synopsis. And, once again, an article on New York Times.com would have been infinitely more informative.

The ideas I did like were straight-forward learning applications, like the one 'The Algebots'. The intro was insanely, ridiculously, painfully dull, dumb, and repetitive. And, it was simply a preview for a game that the company was soliciting. But, still, it was my favorite flash 'game' so far because it actually took a field of education and tried to create a game out of it. The other so called 'instructional' games simply peddled anti-blank sentiment. This one, supposedly, would help a student pass Algebra. If, indeed, the game was usable and well-done, then I don't see why such a platform couldn't work as an instructional tool. However, that's a large assumption, because if the same company that did the introduction to the game manufactures the game itself I can only imagine it will be a horrible failure.

For my Social Impact Game I would make a game that teaches a child to read music. The format would be relatively simply, with digital 'sheet music' of simple pieces like Bach's 'Ode to Joy' from his 9th followed by progressively more complex pieces from other composers. The child would do something like fill in the blanks for where a c-sharp would be placed on the staff, and would eventually learn more complex things like key-signatures and tempo and how to write accidentals. The best part of the game would be, after filling out the required fields, listening to one's version followed by the actual version of the composer. If the two match, the child 'wins'. Of course, the winning would be the actual education of the kid.

-Jacob

Is there room for games in the workplace or classroom?

2008-05-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

In the Innovate article, there was mention of using video games in two different ways- in the workplace and the classroom.

Foreman talked about using video games to train people for the workplace. He called these “epistemic” games that would teach people the “skills, habits, and understandings of a post-industrial society”. I would think these would not be as effective as opposed to professional training from actual employees, but maybe I am wrong. If these programs were to be implemented online, who would have access to them? Would you have to pay for them, or could anyone with internet access gain these skills provided by the games? Also, what implications would this have on our workforce? Would we have more workers that aren’t as well trained in their duties or would their skills actually be more effectively acquired through games as opposed to traditional training?

One example he used was simSchool for helping teachers prepare for classroom settings and decision making, but what about for professions that require more strict education? (For example, a doctor) Should we be teaching med students through online games instead of using lecture based classroom settings?

As a personal note, I got a Nintendo DS for Christmas (that I quickly returned) with a veterinarian game. The game led you through a case in which you had to make a diagnosis based on the symptoms then you had to perform surgery to treat the patient. I thought it would be really cool but it was confusing, boring, and slow. Maybe these would be beneficial for young people interested in the field but not for older students.

Foreman also talked about using video games in the classroom. To me, there are pros and cons for this. In one way, the games could spark interest in subjects kids would not normally be interested in, but they also could lead to decreased social skills in kids. When we were kids, we learned by reading and interaction but nowadays kids are using technology to learn. When you become a parent, would you want your kids to learn by computer games or the ways we learned? Personally I think games should be used but only as a supplement to the curriculum and not as a basis of learning or teaching.

Also, another issue that comes up is creating or manipulating already made games to serve educational purposes. Should we create all new ones or manipulate the ones we already have?

Guess that song! My game proposal

2008-05-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I should state that I wouldn't choose to spend my time playing these games unless I am required to. I do like the concept of learning through online games, but I think it is really difficult to create a game that people are interested in and entertained by while trying to properly educate them about a topic. And I think this is where a lot of the games I played recently failed, they didn't hold my attention for very long or they weren't challenging. I don't know if this game proposal would do either of these things but it's the best I could think of.

I am a theatre major and think that going to the theatre can be a means of informing, educating and/or inspiring people. However, popular theatre today consists of musical theatre that is first and foremost entertaining, and frequently does not educate the public. To help bridge this gap, I would create a game where a clip of a musical theatre song is played and the person has to guess what the song is, what musical it is from etc. And then, there would be a screen that pops up that gives the background of that song, if there is a historical context, underlying meanings or significance etc. Maybe with each level the musicals get more obscure, the clips get shorter, or just the score is played without lyrics, I don't know. But I think this would give people a more historically and analytically founded perspective on popular musical theatre and not simply understand theatre just for its entertainment value.

Swing It

2008-05-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

If I were to make a flash game, I want it to teach people how to appreciate music in school programs. Although the object of the game is for the player to enjoy music played by the classical, jazz, or latin music orchestra, they will have to understand the fight to keep music in education programs. So, I propose an assortment of easy mini-games so the player can empathize with teachers.

At the beginning of the game, the game will ask whether the player wishes to start a jazz band, classical orchestra, salsa band, or rock band. The first mode takes place in a teacher’s garage or apartment (depending if you want to be in an urban setting or not). Throughout the location there will be a bunch of miscellaneous items with instruments strewn about. At the top of the screen, a certain instrument will appear. The player must guide the teacher with the arrow keys to the instrument under 7 seconds. Depending on the music group the player selected, the instruments available will change. The mode will finish when the player collects enough instruments for the ensemble in mind. Also, the joint retail price for all the instruments would flash across the screen.

The second mode is a teacher teaching the player how to read, write, and develop an ear for music. For this, the player will be quizzed on basic musical theory such as recognizing notes (single) on the treble, alto, or bass clef, hearing chord qualities (minor, major, augmented, or diminished) through sound clips. Essentially, the clef will appear across the screen and the note will appear on the clef. The player will have to identify the note via the letters from a pool of all the notes on the bottom of the screen. Since music theory may not be everyone’s forte, there is no time limit. For the aural section of the game, the player will hear a chord played. The chord can be played melodically or harmonically depending on the player (you can toggle between the two on the side). Once played, the player will have to identify the quality of the chord from a similar pool seen in the note game. The player will also have the option to have the chord played again by clicking on button labeled, “play again.” The second mode is beaten once the player can get twenty drills correct, ten in the note section and ten in the chord section. Once you beat it, the player is allowed to select an instrument they wish to play within the ensemble.

The third mode is not a part of the game but a reward for the player. Depending on the group selected, the player witnesses the student ensemble perform a standard to an audience. The classical ensemble would play Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 In G Minor, the jazz ensemble would play Haitian Fight Song by Charles Mingus, and Estudio En Trompeta by Cachao. Then the game would finish with a screen filled with links to organizations which seek to help keep music programs within public schools.

Flash Games: We Need Some Depth Please

2008-05-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

I remember why I stopped playing flash games back in high schools. They suck up a lot of time. They are easy to find, easy to load, and are useful distractions at work. Honestly, I think I have lost a month of my life playing Rocket Man on Facebook when I should have been answering phones on the job. I can’t imagine turning to a flash game for information on an issue especially since flash games do not lend themselves to listing in-depth information on a topic. Or rather, the nature of the game generates more interest than the topic itself. In Faith Fighter, the shock value of playing as a deity wore off right after I selected my character. As soon as the fight began, all I wanted to do was to beat every deity into submission until I reached the final boss. I did not care about the cultural stereotypes built into each character. If anything, one takes these as symptoms of a crappy game where a developer did not put time into creating likable characters.

So, I am left with a perplexing question. If games were to be used for educational purposes, does the medium of the game shadow the message of the game? If a message is contained within a frame like a one on one fighter or a puzzle like game, then I wonder if the game just becomes the player’s focus. The relationship is interesting because a game like Howard Dean’s Dean for America needs to be fun to play if it is going to keep an audience. Yet, if it is too fun, I wonder if the message loses focus.

The four games I played were Operation: Pedopriest, The Arcade Wire: Airport Security, and Presidential Pong.

Faith Fighter...A deathmatch between Muhammad and Jesus? Sign me up! Many people are sure to be offended by the fact this game dares to show Muhammad but since it is a one on one fighter, why not have a little fun? Besides these two, you can play as God, Buddha, Budai, and Ganesha. Each battle takes place in their respective countries of origin as you try to pummel you foe into submission with a flurry of fists, kicks and special moves for each character. The destruction doesn’t stop at the deities. Each level is covered with a variety of believers who root on their deity even though their deity just jump kicked God on top of their house. Out of all the games I played, this was the best because I actually had fun playing it.

Operation: Pedopriest

Out of all the flash games I played, this one provided the least enjoyment. I should have expected to see some unsavory material with a title like Pedopriest but I didn’t expect the shock value to resonate so deeply. I felt uncomfortable as I told the Eunuchs to intimidate witnesses after they saw a priest molest a kid. The actual molestation wasn’t pornographic but it was graphic enough that I couldn’t play the game too long. Especially since the Eunuchs most intimidate the kids to stop crying after the priest’s molest them so the Church can avoid run-ins with the police. I grew so disgusted with myself that I allowed the cops to arrest as many priests it took until I lost. I have yet to make it past the first level of this game.

The Arcade Wire: Airport Security

The interface for this game did not offer insight into the world of the airport security guard. First off, the bar on the top of the screen tells the player which items a person may not bring on the plane. As a guard, the player is entitled to remove whatever item they want as long as it matches the item in the bar. Pick the wrong article and the crowd gets riled up. Do it too many times and you lose the game. The message: guards can do whatever they want as long as they don’t abuse their power too often. Is that really useful information?

Presidential Pong

As far as game ideas go, I can’t imagine Pong lending itself well to an informational experience. Once the ball starts moving quick, I stopped caring about any sort of candidate as I tried—in vain—to keep my cursor within the little box on my screen. It’s sad, my own reflexes kept me from learning about the candidates via their special powers during the match. I can see this game being useful a ways back when I didn’t know the candidates but too little too late.

Eli's Gaming Diary

2008-05-20T03:22:00.000-07:00

I enjoy playing video games. They can be a lot of fun and can take your mind off of the general stresses of life. Yet there have not been many games that one can really call informative. I guess that is where these "social impact" games attempt to come in.

Now I have always been a fan of flash games (I love addictinggames.com, especially the entire "bloons" series) so simple games are totally fine with me, but you have to draw the line somewhere, and most of the games that I played definitely fell short of that line.

The first game I played was "Presidential Pong" where I played pong as Obama against Giuliani. Now first of all this game was, for lack of a better word, lame. Secondly, Giuliani is nowhere near in the running anymore, so this game is not even informative anymore. Thus I argue that this game was just plane terrible.

Next, I played "The Arcade Wire: Bacteria Salad." This game looked like a sim game, where you try and manage crops, but for a flash game had way too many rules (I've come to realize that the simpler the flash game, the better). You had to build a farm, then grow crops, then I think a pig would come out and poo on the crops and your customers would get ecoli, or something. All that I got out of this is that farming is probably hard, but I knew that, so overall this game seemed too hard to play, boring, and uninformative.

Then I moved onto the more delightful "The Arcade Wire: Oil God." Here you played God. You could send a tornado down upon the earth, or an earthquake, you could change economies and political systems, etc, all in hopes to raise gas prices. The goal was to double the gas prices as fast as possible. My top score was in 64 days by pitting every nation against each other at war, and also putting them all in civil war. This game taught me different reasons why gas prices go up. It was also easy to use, and pretty fun.

Now, I moved onto "Faith Fighter." This game can definitely be described as wrong. The tag line was: "Faith Fighter is the ultimate fighting game for these dark times. Choose your belief and kick the shit out of your enemies. Give vent to your intolerance! Religious hate has never been so much fun." So basically you choose what religious figure you want to fight as. I had the most success as Jesus, but you could also play as God, Muhammad, Ganesha, Buddha and Budai. Then you fight all of the other religious figures. Each one has his own special power and they can all punch and kick. After defeating everyone you play the final boss, Xenu. Now I'd have no idea who this was if it weren't for "South Park" that taught me that Xenu is the figure that Scientologists believe in. This game was very easy to play, kind of fun, not very informative, and yet kind of felt bad to be playing it, especially when I was playing as Jesus and knocked out God, thats just weird.

The last game I played was Queer Power. At the start you say if you are a "Dick Lover" a "Pussy Lover" or "Other or Confused." Depending what you chose, different sexual positions are better or worse for you. The game is as sexually explicit as a naked silhouette with an erection or breasts can be. The object of the game appears to be to reach an orgasm before your partner does and you can change sexes and positions and some give you more pleasure than others. Its an easy game to play, but really strange and not informative at all.

Game Proposal

2008-05-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

After some thought I came up with a game that deals with social impacts and issues with gaming itself.

The game would function similarly to 3rd World Farmer, however instead of farming as a family, you are a high school-college age student that enjoys playing video games. Your ultimate goal is to be the best in the virtual world of competition, but you must balance that with your social life, grades, and family as you get older and graduate from college (if you make it!). You can't focus on just one thing, or you risk the integrity of your other interests.

The game, I hope, will appeal to those that strive to be the best at the games they play, or rather, their competitive nature. I would hope that the game would raise awareness among those that play about the importance of the rest of their world, and not just the screen in front of them. Being the best, or striving to be, can be addictive. While I don't think this game would be a magical fix for those that are easily immersed in the virtual world, my hope is that it would spark the feelings in the back of their minds where they actually entertain the idea of cutting back on game time.

Gaming Diary

2008-05-19T23:45:00.000-07:00

After spending some time looking for working links to a playable game, I finally settled on FaithFighter, pedo-priest-arrest-game, 3rd World Farmer, and Brooklyn Judge, along with several others.

I didn't see much of a point to Faith Fighter. Each fighter had unique powers that some how applied to their religious background, though I couldn't figure out exactly why some powers were chosen. The game came across as an extremely vanilla fighter, no different than any other, however this one featured religious deities as the combatants. There was zero educational aspect to Faith Fighter. I learned as much goofing around with this Flash game as I did playing ClayFighter on Super Nintendo in 6th grade.

Similarly, the game about arresting priests that molested boys held about as much merit. The Church has been under fire for some time about the abuse of young boys by priests. This is not new news. The game is an attempt to make old news more news, and the attempt fell flat on its face. From a purely entertainment oriented point of view, the game fails as well. The sounds are weak and the controls are clumsy. Overall, the game is about as shallow as the amount of work that went into it. I was entirely disappointed, and not because of the subject. I have a thick e-skin, and have seen worse, but this was just a disgrace.

The game about becoming a Brooklyn Judge wasn't exactly a game (and neither was its counterpart about saving a city). The game was a repeatable trivia game where the user simply answered factoid questions about Brooklyn and New York. I suppose these two games could be considered educational, but the simple fact was, they were boring. If you got the question wrong, you could just go back and enter the correct answer. Woohoo.. a challenge.

The only game worth playing, out of anything listed on all 3 websites, was 3rd World Farmer. The game is actually well thought out and put together. It has a logical interface, is easy to use, and has a variety of outcomes as you play. I played an older version of the game with less options, but this was a new experience. At first, just as I expected, I was having trouble keeping my family alive. Health levels were important to keep up, and various problems each year would usually destroy whatever I was growing. However, I slowly accumulated money over time by planting corn (the most resilient crop). This was dangerous, but being that corn is a hardy plant and almost always the cheapest, it posed the least risk. The key to success as the game went on was balance. I split my crops between corn and wheat and balanced my livestock so no one disease, etc. would destroy all of my income. Over time I built up huge funds and a large family. I think the game was supposed to portray how difficult it is to survive in a 3rd world country, but I ended up proving it wrong I suppose. Before I got bored and quit I had a 10 person family (3 marriages into my own through my sons) and over $60,000. I also had put in all achievements but the school, as installing that would have finished the game. Overall, it was a well done game, though I think I bypassed its true message.

The long search: finding games that actually effectively inform or educate

2008-05-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time finding games that actually worked on the Social Impact Games site, multiple times I clicked the link of what I thought would be an interesting game and experienced some kind of error. But I did find one that I thought brought awareness through playing the game. I played Darfur is Dying. For people who are unaware of the situation in Darfur, I think this is a good way to bring awareness and introduce the topic. Of course, the game does reveal an agenda when a page pops up saying different ways you can help in real life, like writing a letter to the president. I always question anything that is pushing an agenda, even if it is to promote positive change.

In this case, I think this game is an example of a positive and potentially effective way of provoking change. But, not all online games that presume to effectively and positively contribute to change actually do. I think there were plenty of games that exemplified this second instance, and it required a lot of searching to find games that reflected any sort of acquirement of agency or awareness embedded in the framework of the game. Like every other online resource we have been exposed to through this course, there are positive and negative aspects to online gaming; it has the potential to empower or destroy. I think that in the future, online gaming will become even more prevalent, and along with this, I hope to see more games that empower and inform people.

I dare anyone to play devil's advocate and defend the honor of this game!

2008-05-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

I like the idea of bringing about awareness through the use of online games. And I think that satirizing situations can be a very effective way of getting a point across. But I think a line was crossed with the game Operation: Pedopriest on the Molleindustria web site. Even though it is only a cartoon, it actually shows priests sexually abusing children, sounds included. The game fails to inform the gamer of anything. So the church tried to cover up pedophile priests, does this in turn demand that a game be created that provides an audiovisual of this act to inform people of it? Absolutely not.

I was unimpressed by the Molleindustria games in general. I didn't play all of them, but after playing the ones that I did, I know it is impossible to play one of these games for an hour. They may entertain for about five minutes, which is about how long it takes to beat each game, but after that, what more can you do? There is no substance or challenge to these games. In the "Stick it to the Man" article, it is stated that Paulo Pedercini, one of the Molleindustria game designers, believes that game play can be a a good way to let users understand the complexities of economic and social systems. That's a great mission statement, but the games fail to meet this end.

This is why good games aren't free

2008-05-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

So, there goes 4 hours of my life. I played Oil wars, Airport Security, presidential pong, the McDonalds game, orgasm simulator, and faith fighter. Although these were slightly offensive in many different ways none of these were very fun. Either not much thought was put into the game or it was badly designed and hard to pick up. Although I usually experienced extreme boredom during these games, I found Presidential pong and orgasm simulator to be hilarious both because of the animations and the ideas behind the game. Oil wars was hard to play and I ended up just randomly clicking stuff in the end. Airport security was interesting but lacked fun game play. Faith fighter was a fighting game where you chose from various religious figure heads and use stereotypical fighting moves. Although this was probably the most offensive of all the games the fighting sucked and thus the game sucked. I think the game that had the most time spent on it and as well the most value was the McDonalds corporation game. This game put you in charge of all aspects of the McDonalds corporation whether that be creation of the farms and cows, hiring of workers in the kitchen and at the register, marketing and business, as well as bribes and partnerships. If I actually wanted to manage an imaginary McDonalds company this would be a really good game. Unfortunately I don't. In conclusion it is pretty rare to find an enjoyable free game which is why good games aren't free.

The Future is Now

2008-05-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite blogs.

This one in particular is called Shrinktalk.net and it's a blog about a psychologist. In each of his blogs he reveals a little bit of what it's like to be on the otherside of the table, whether it be his personal thoughts and feelings, to his personal struggles. It humanizes his plight (and hopefully all psychologists' out there) and shows that doctors, especially mental health practicioners are human and have plenty of problems of their own that they struggle with. Because I am a psychology major, I find his frank way of expressing his personal experiences enlightening, but above all it is an excellent insight into the lives of one of the less heard of professions in our nation.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Also check out www.ubuntupoint.com, the ubuntu community blog.
In case you didn't know, Ubuntu is a FREE operating system powered by the linux kernel. While there is a lot of stigmatism surrounding linux, the Linux of today hardly resembles its ancestors 10 years ago.

I got into ubuntu around a year ago. Having grown disenchanted with Windows, I began looking for an alternative. At first, I was a little hesitant because of what I had heard about linux in general, but I quickly found those myths to be baseless and on the contrary, the exact opposite of what I found. The newest version of ubuntu out is 8.04 Hardy Heron. I won't bore you with the specifics, but pretty much in short: this particular release is built for security, stability, and ease of use. If you want, you can head to the site and download a Desktop CD (or have them ship one to you free of charge), and boot it up WITHOUT ANY CHANGES TO YOUR SYTEM. It's a livecd, which means that you can boot it up like a real operating system and play around with it (at the expense of decreased performance) and decide if you want to install it. The installation is actually much easier than any other installation I've ever had to use (XP, Vista, etc). Pretty much, you boot up the live cd, select install, and the whole thing finishes in under 25 minutes.

Despite what Microsoft would like you to believe, Ubuntu is in many ways, more advanced than it's competitors. Unlike Vista, Ubuntu does not ridiculous hardware specs and is infinitely faster. Graphically, it has the best of both worlds housing both MacOSX and Vista effects (and blazingly fast).

Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lawkc3jH3ws
This was created 2 years ago... Compiz-fusion has evolved much since then.

And in case most of those people didn't know, MacOSX is actually built off a derivative of BSD (mac share similar code to BSD derivatives... not so far from linux)

Most importantly however-
"Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'Humanity to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software --www.ubuntu.com

It's quite an interesting proposal-- Because F/OSS (Free / Open Source Software) is completely free, there are already a lot of people pushing for government / academic use, as well as deployment to third world developing countries. It's an unique blend of software and human ideology and I don't think its potential ends only with software. Applied on a global scale-- academics, government, corporations, etc. The level of transparency and freedom that this allows could transform humanity as we know it.

The future is now.

PS:

If any of you do decide to try out ubuntu, as a general word of caution-- be careful. Read up a little before you install it, and play around with the live cd. There are several alternatives (you don't actually have to install it to use it) so you have the luxury to pick and choose. For those who worry that their windows programs will no longer work with linux...
http://www.winehq.org/

2008-05-19T17:00:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm not going to make this very long because I think the specific details of my game may get boring and I think the general idea is more interesting. Also, you may all have input because this is a common issue that can be related to for those in college.

I think a really interesting Social Impact Game would be one that addresses drug and alcohol use. No one really knows how much one night of drinking or taking one pill of Ecstasy can really affect them, so wouldn't it be educational and beneficial for people to have that information in a game? Yes, I agree that people can learn it by reading books and asking doctors, but there is definitely a majority of people who retain information more efficiently when they are actively learning and interacting with the material.
What if you were a character in a game, and instead of "Fatworld" where you see how food affects you, you would navigate through your virtual life by accepting or rejecting events and substances, like marijuana or a night at the club with X amount of drinks. Maybe you would have a split screen that shows your brain on one side, and their your navigation screen on the other. As you drink more alcohol or take more drugs, your brain will be highlighted in the places that are being affected and hurt.
The reason I got this idea is because I was thinking about an MTV "True Life" episode on binge drinkers. The people were shown the brain of an average 18-21 year old, and then shown theirs. It was startling to see how big of a difference there was...

My Game Idea

2008-05-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Not sure if we are supposed to post these since they are kind of long, but...here goes. It's sort of dorky, but...well, here it is. :)

My final project would have to do with the Intertidal species of California and how they can help predict global warming effects. My game would center on earning “points” by visiting the intertidal, doing research on the animals, and deciding what to do with the data that is gathered. You gain points by getting data (i.e. temperatures, abundance measurements, etc), and you “win” if you make the right decision with that data. For example, if Pisaster seastars are absent from the intertidal, then you could hypothesize that the intertidal community would crash because they are a Keystone species. If the intertidal community on screen indeed gets overtaken and crashes, then the hypothesis would be deemed correct, and the player wins. If the limpets have too high of body temperatures and thus are upregulating heat shock proteins, you can predict that they will not survive warmer temperatures, and many intertidal organisms would die as well.

You would lose points for simple things like falling into the water and getting hit by waves. You definitely lose if you get stranded on the intertidal because the tide came in and you didn’t leave. By gaining points, you can buy certain things that will help you form your hypothesis, like hipwaders (so you don’t get wet), thermometers, dry ice (to collect samples), lab supplies, etc.

The game would be conducive to a learning environment because it would help students see what could happen. The game would have various built in automatic occurrences that happen if the player doesn’t a specific thing. For example, the player wants to see what happens when seastars are removed, then the computer would automatically generate an on screen scenario where mussels would take over the intertidal and ruin the community. There will be various scenarios built in to help the player come up with their overall conclusion of what could happen if the rocky intertidal community was to fail.

This game would clearly require some knowledge of the intertidal species and how the community is structured, so it could be used as a learning reinforcement for a biology class. It could be used to visualize what could happen when Keystone species are removed and also when temperatures get too hot. There are many conclusiosn that the students could come up with and various ones would be built into the system. The overall point of this game is to help students learn that the intertidal isn’t some far off land, rather what happens there can affect and sometimes resemble what can happen to other organisms if temperatures get too hot. Since most intertidal animals can’t make their own heat, it would be important to know what could happen to them, since reptiles (and other organisms) also can’t make their own heat, and losing reptiles in this world could cause some problems.

Games--Offensive?

2008-05-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

I first played various games on the Social Impact Sites and those seemed a tad boring and the topics relatively safe. I played a learning game (Tropical America), a Health game (Ben's Cancer), a game on the Lego Site, and also a Social Game (3rd World Farmer).

Then I went to Molleindustra. I was surprised when i read the first game title which was "Faith Fighter" (Give vent to your religious intolerance!) and then i was shocked when i read the next game title "Operation Pedopriest." The more titles I read, the more shocked/disgusted I was. But then I realized that the site wasnt meant to offend anyone, rather to show how ridiculous some things are, like religious intolerance. I think that while games like these are on a fine line between offensive and satirical, that they more or less get the point across. I thought this site used shock and awe to their advantage and made games that drew people's attention in with catchy titles, descriptions and topics.

Games that Educate and Impower: Ben's Cancer Games

2008-05-18T16:17:00.001-07:00

When I came across a few games such as the McDonald's game and Presidential Pong I found them slightly entertaining but overall unpersuasive. It was not until I came across Ben's cancer game that I actually became a little moved while reading the description of the game. Ben, a survivor of leukemia created a game for other children who have cancer in which they can go through their body killing all the mutated blood cells and collect shields to help them fight the residual effects of their chemo treatments. This idea of a game that helps children with cancer fight through the chemotherapy treatments and gives them the feeling that they are in control is a great idea for their mental well being and possibly for there physical well being depending on whether or not you believe in the idea that your mental state affects your physical well being.Games like this can be highly beneficial. Children fighting such diseases don't always want to talk to someone about their situation, but this game and games like it have the possibility of giving these children the support they need as well as that small sense of control which can make all the difference in their mental state as they fight such a difficult disease.

This area of gaming has huge possibilities for growth in helping the treatment of childhood and adolescent diseases. I also saw games to help educates children about asthma and things they could do to help their symptoms and to help with depression. These games give the players the ability to get support while keeping a certain level of privacy.

Gaming

2008-05-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Gaming Review
I thought the concept of persuasive games was a very interesting one. The parody of MacDonald’s, which illustrates to the player the corrupt inner workings of MacDonald’s really stuck out to me. I think that a video game is great way to get information to people. Many people don’t have time or don’t care to read, and playing a video game would be a lot more appealing to them. The incorporation of education and gaming is a very important concept, because games keep people interested and motivated, unlike a lot of lecture based education in schools. I am always more engaged in a class room when a teacher tries to incorporate a game into the learning in the classroom. Today video games are easy to access over the internet and very popular, and therefore a great tool for learning. What do you guys think?
I think that Ryan Lambourn’s V-Tech Rampage is very sad and sick. I really think that someone who would design a game like this so quickly after such a tragic event is truly unfeeling and needs help. Anyway, I think this kind of game really illustrates that creating games to make a statement is a very powerful tool and it can be used for both negative and positive purposes. I personally believe that the creation of games should not be limited or bound by laws, but I also think that one of the negative effects of having such freedom and in the game world is that it can be abused. Although I think that the positive effects outweigh the negatives. What do you guys think?
The first game I played was called Fat World. I have to say I think the concept is interesting, but I don’t think that playing the game will have the desired affects on the users of the game. For example, the game may spread awareness of the fact that many people are obese and, that it is generally much more convenient to buy cheap fast foot than make healthy food at home. Yet, I don’t think a game like this would encourage people to go out and exercise and buy better food. On the contrary I think that it may cause people to sit in front of their computer and play the game instead of exercising. I think the best way to get people to eat healthier or exercise is actually to get them to do it somehow.
I think the concept of the Wii fitness is a great way to get people to exercise who don’t normally. The Wii fitness unlike Fatworld actually gets people exercising while playing the game. I think this is a much better incoporation of exercise and health in a game.
Also I thought this game was not well thought out. It was pretty boring first of all. It froze every time I tried to exercise, and the games like running were really unexciting. I don’t know about anyone else but pressing the G and H buttons over and over again to get a little animated player to run fast is not my idea of thrilling. I even play video games and I am not a fan of Fat World.

Social Impact Games

2008-05-15T21:37:00.000-07:00

So far I've played two Social Impact games. I couldn't register with the ling provide in our syllabus, so I just had to Google the topic. One of the games I've played is called "Matchit", where you simply match faces with names (like Martha Stewart and Steve Case). Then after you get one right, a multiple choice question regarding that person pops up. It was pretty basic, but definitely something that would help the public start to recognize important figures in our country and around the world ASIDE from musicians/artists/actors etc.
The next game I played was Solitaire, and you could choose to play a game surrounding either Sexual Harassment, Ethics, Technology, or Math. I first chose the Sexual Harassment topic, and assumed I would be quizzed on it. But it turned out that it was just normal Solitaire, with a new element of facts on Each of the cards. Although this is a good opportunity to learn new information, it wasn't very interactive, and it was easy to ignore the facts and just play Solitaire. Which I did after about fifteen facts... Two, for example, were, "Educate your employees about sexual harassment" and "Sexual Harassment can cause a loss of reputation"... Both are true, but not stimulating enough to continue reading.
So I changed the topic after simply playing Solitaire for a while, (which was actually great because it's hard to find free Solitaire online that isn't just a "trail period") and switched to math. This was pretty basic, and I eventually discovered after, once again, getting bored of Solitaire that there were categories at the top that provided multiple choice questions.
Overall, I think learning through games is a really productive and appealing way to learn. When I was younger my mom bought some computer games that were for Math, Spelling, and French, and they definitely kept my attention longer than any teacher did.

Indymedia Sites

2008-05-15T12:40:00.000-07:00

I cruised around the links on marc's site. The first I clicked on was the directory for Indymedia in the US, a site that seemed so jumbled and unorganized that I couldn't stomach looking at it for an extended period of time. It was just too busy. The topic bar on the left was enough for me to get a general understanding of what 'Indymedia' was all about, though, with topics like '9-11' 'anti-imperialism' 'corporate dominance' 'economic justice', etc. Idealism, anyone? I'm sure that I'm being too shallow, but I can't help but picture these contributors as anything but liberal-hippie-idealists. In any case I know I'm not providing an unbiased opinion, but for me the layout on the site and the content it contained was simply too much for me to handle.

I tried the link supposedly on 'Zapatistas', but the page wouldn't load for me.

RTMark was an interesting little site. I especially liked the list of projects. There were some interesting and unsettling ones, like noting which cereals/snacks were made by tobacco companies, dropping food off onto impoverished locations in the US, etc. This is the first site that had any real style, class, or wit in my opinion. I liked very much the project proposals, a kind of sarcastic slap at the practices of major corporations and our government. I found it interesting that a caveat for the donations was almost always 'and the media must report on it'. I wonder if any of these schemes have been successful? I hope so, because it seems like a good way to raise awareness of these issues.

The YesMen site was rather entertaining. Although I'm curious, is it legal to so obviously and untruthfully slander the individuals involved in these corporations in real life? Hopefully nobody is idiotic enough to take as truth what is said on this site. The first piece I read was about WTO proposing slavery for Africans affected by Western trading practices. It was ridiculous but somewhat funny. My favorite was the solution to global warming taht Halliburton came up with. I think it did a good job of epitomizing the ideology of major corporations like Halliburton that seem to have no regard for anything besides profit.

Adbusters was another cool little Indymedia site. i browsed for a while, and my favorite article was 'Future Soldiers'. One can tell from reading this article that the author greatly dislikes the use of amphetamines and medications for soldiers. I was a bit taken aback, though, on his dismissal of the use of amphetamines during WWII. Without anti-fatigue pills the soldiers would have been in no condition to fight. The brutalities of war are such that some compromises and sacrifices must be made. In a war like WWII, with the allies defending freedom from tyranny and oppression, I simply can't see how this author can criticize the methods used to win the war. In some instances, I'm saying, the end does in fact justify the means. I do completely agree with the author about his comments concerning unmanned weapons technologies. Something seems incredibly dangerous to me about removing the human element from combat; the human ability to make split-second decisions must be somewhat marginalized when the human is controlling remotely a weapons device of some sort.

In the end I can't say for certain what my feelings are about Indymedia. I like that it doesn't follow the typical news-network playbook in its reporting of events, but at the same time I think a lot is lost from the original story when it's satirized.

-Jacob

Reflecting on Mass Communication

2008-05-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Since all of us read the article on Flash Mobbing, I do not want to describe what they are because I feel like that gets really repetitive. Instead, I wanted to focus on a few statements made within the article, and share my thoughts on them. I could not help but laugh a little when the author quoted someone who said that texting has become a form of liberation for users in regards to place and time, and it has also disrupted the integrity of face-to-face social encounters. I am a fan of text messaging myself, but I totally agree with this statement. Texting allows people to "say" things to people that they may not normally say in person. I am sure that text messaging has in fact changed social interactions, because there is no longer a need to meet someone in person to speak with them. Instead, you can punch a few keys and transmit a message to their phone within seconds. Sometimes, full conversations that would probably be better off over the phone, or in person, are carried out over text messaging. I drives me crazy when people text me and are looking for a long conversation, and then when I call them instead of responding to the text message, they don't pick up. Its as if our society is developing a phobia for face-to-face interactions and even simple phone call interactions.

Beyond this though, I do think that text messaging is an important tool for mass communication. The article provided great examples where text messaging was used to gather people together to fight for a cause. As I sit here thinking about the use of text messaging, I have thought of another example of mass-communication that affects all of us. I just received a text message from Campus Alert that is testing out the school's new system for reporting on campus emergencies (if you haven't signed up this on ECampus, you really should!). This type of mass communication could prove to be vital for students' safety if an emergency should happen on campus. It is text messaging that could save students in an emergency, and prevent occurrences like the Virginia Tech tragedy.

I also liked the idea that cell phone users have become broadcasters, and have changed the roles of citizens to contrast the traditional role of being a spectator or viewer. I never really thought of it until reading this, but being the creator of a mass-communication text message really does empower the average citizen. Rather than relying on reports from the media, we can be the broadcasters. Although my text messaging use has probably been limited to gossip and not-so-important news, I do not doubt that some of the most well known news stories could have been made possible by text messaging. The newscaster cannot always be in the right place at the right time where a story happens to be taking place. I imagine that in a lot of cases, a bystander witnessed whatever occurred and either called, emailed, or text messaged others informing them of what happened, which would eventually end up in the hands of the media.

Although my discussion did not focus on flash mobs themselves, I thought that it was important to touch on some of the other statements within the article. Regarding flash mobs, I think they sound fairly comical. They seem to be pretty harmless, but to the people who are in the mob, they can seem to have a powerful affect. Obviously people notice the significance of flash mobs because there are now written reports on them, so I imagine that anyone who has taken part in one is satisfied with this.

YesMen

2008-05-14T18:38:00.000-07:00

I just read the website about YesMen, who are people that impersonate others to get their version of the 'truth' out. The first article i read was about these YesMen impersonating Exxon oil executives at conference just today. Not only did they falsely imply that they were the executives giving this talk, but they were believed. They gave a speech about how Exxon had been researching into different fuel methods after oil, including using humans that are already dead to be burned into oil, much like the former whaling industry. These men went so far as to say that the candles they had everyone hold were a dead janitor. Although at this point people caught on, I had to ask what the point was. What kind of Truth, with a capital T are the YesMen trying to bring?

To me, I wonder where in this new media the accountability has gone. With this YesMen, posting articles, and essentially breaking into/stealing identities and giving out false information, where is the accountability? I think that not only is this idea to me a rather stupid one, but it cannot be legally sound.

I guess if you think the point of it all is to make other people think, then the YesMen accomplish it, but if I were in the audience listening to a lecture that was supposed to be based in factual evidence and by true authorities in their field, I don't think I would think it that funny. I think there are better ways to bring about attention to issues than to impersonate others and look like nothing more than prankster frat boys.

MONEY MONEY MONEY

2008-05-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

MY SOCIAL IMPACT GAME:

If I were to create my own social impact game I think I would do something that has to do with the repercussions our material life has on happiness. I think I would make it similar to FATWORLD game but instead of measure consumption of food to health I would measure consumption of material goods, things that are not necessary to personal happiness. I would allow the avatar to create there own look and to pick a profession based on how much money they want to make, then I would give the avatar the options to buy products like cars, clothes, houses, etc. Somehow I would find the relationship between the two and calculate the level of happiness. My game would also include different things that can happen to an individual. For example one character with a lot of money may get sued at his or her work… they loose all of their money in the lawsuit and now they are broke. Through the game the catastrophes would affect the persons life especially a person who wants a lot of material things. For those characters that do not have or want a lot, the catastrophe would affect them to a lesser degree meaning that their happiness would only waver a little in comparison. My goal of the game would be to show the over consumption of not only our society but how over consumption stems first from the individual. In an attempt to show that, I hope that the character would see that money and material things does not necessarily bring happiness and that anything could happen at anytime and you could loose it all. I think it would be funny to have some absurdity in the game, like having a character loose all of his or her money to a pirate. I may also use the amount of money earned to dictate what catastrophe should happen to the character. I think this would be a good social impact game because in our society so much is driven by our desirous nature, our need to fill some gap with material goods. I think it would be interesting to see how people would respond to this game and if they could lean anything from it. I think that there are many other things I could add to this game. For example other repercussions of our materialistic attitudes like global warming, overpopulation and other things that are greatly influencing us today. I think that by creating a game focused on looking at our materialistic culture many players would see the correlation between our society and the way we behave.

I'm a gamer

2008-05-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

I played several games on the different sites provided. The first game I played was concerning the presidential election. It was called presidential pong and you compete as a president against another president. The first time I played I was john McCain and I learned quickly that each candidate has “special powers. McCain’s special powers where that his is a military vet. Obama’s special powers were Lincoln’s state house and Giuliani’s was the ability to recognize his name. I lost every game because I was not fast enough to keep up with the ping pong ball, but found that I learned very little from this game. There was no real information given about these candidates and in order to win you only needed to beat the other candidate in the game. Another game I played way Airport Insecurity. This game showed the different tradeoffs and inconveniences of flying and whether or not it is really effective in the war against terror. This game was not very user friendly, many other users had complained and I found it very difficult to even figure out what you are trying to do in the game. Once I got the hang of it, I was still unable to score anything above 50 points. The Next Game I played was very interactive and informative, FATWORLD, takes you into a world of nutrition and is set up very similar to a second life setting. You design your character and body weight and then you go into the town and you try and live a healthy life. You can go grocery shopping, buy fast food, go exercise, buy a house, start a restaurant, and even create recipes. This game was a lot more interesting to play because it was so interactive, as a character you choose everything you are going to do and you goal is to live to be 100. You can what your progress as time passes and even see the amount of calories consumed and works off. It was fun to see my avatar like character change throughout one year playing the game. I tried to eat as much junk as possible and at the end of the year I had developed diabetes and hypertension. It is a social impact game because it aims at teaching you the right way to live to be healthy, the only problem I have with is the fact that you are sitting in front of your computer while playing it when you could be getting outside and burning real calories. The last game that I also really like was called Mapjib. It is a game that teaches you to speak Korean by observing and listening to a conversation between two avatars. The game itself is kind of boring, but I liked it because I felt like it could be a successful way of teaching and learning other languages. I have heard that many people who come to America not speaking the language will learn to speak English by watching American TV and American Movies. This game follows that same premise except it gives the English translation and gives key phrases that people of all languages use on a daily basis. I think that it would be a good teaching tool for anyone trying to speak any language. I spent a lot of time on these sites, testing out different games, many seemed pointless and without any social context, but the ones that attempted to show something relevant to our society were the one that were the most interesting and fun to play. I was amazed to see the number of games that were available for anyone to play there were games to teach chemistry, games about food imports, sexual orientation games, games about the McDonalds corp and more. Some of them seems like they were trying to make fun of American in some way, like the airport games and fat world game. I can see the satirical creativity that went into these games to make a point. Specifically I found the president candidate funny because the debate/ping pong match seems to be pointing out the absurdity of you political system right now. I found that all of the games were pretty creative and tried to make a point… most of them accomplished that.

Smart Meme!

2008-05-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

This site is the base for a non-profit organization that works with social justice activist groups to more effectively campaign / advocate their position. They emphasize the story-telling element in a campaign, as personal stories more often hit a person's emotional side (and therefore more likely convince them to harden their convictions and lead to action) than statistics and numbers. I read an article about how they help these groups to re-frame or re-shape their stories to more effectively reach the public, or policy-makers.
A meme is sort of a catchy phrase that has a political or social purpose. Apparently Smart Meme came up with the "Billionaires for Bush (or Gore)" a few years ago during the election period. The slogan was put on bumper-stickers and used in other ways, but didn't lose its message.
I like the idea of this organization's approach to assisting campaigners and their cause. It's such a simple idea, to use the personal story to fight for change. And it seems like their approach could easily mold into the internet sources and reach a wide audience. Their influence could almost be limitless, if you think about bloggers connecting and sharing stories, advertisements (memes)... I wonder if they could delve into Second Life... hmm.. Tell the Second Life story to advocate for social change? Well, that cyberspace rape article certainly told a story and got people thinking...

Flash/Dwellers

2008-05-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Flash mobs more recently have been characterized by large groups of online communities gathering together in a public environment to perform, often times, a zainy-off beat-performance that proves some point, [perhaps so, perhaps not], but overall reinforces the notion that there is power in numbers. Flash mobs are not new however, they've been around for a few decades, they used to go by the name of Star Trek conventions. A group of misfits, that were often times personified as nerdy-geeks. In this vein, I would like to take my point into a different direction. I primarily wanted to use the Star Trek groupies as an example of group of primitive flash mobbers to exentuate what the evolution of their actions has arisen to.

If we consider the power of organized communication, we must consider the internet. I don't know how the ancient Star Trek conventions were formulated but I imagine it was probably done through small networks, newsletters, small newspaper classified ads, and perhaps "snail mail." With the introduction of email, websites, and most recently blogs-the organization for fringe groups is monumental. This is demonstrated in the zainy actions of flash mobs for instance. I like the steps taken by the Durban Shack Dwellers. Mobilizing and sustaining such a movement of people, using internet technology is synonymous with our introductory talks at the beginning of class. If the marginalized realize the power before them, the implications for mobilization and realistically organized resistance, or revolution is insurmountable. More than likely the problem is that people don't realize freedom when they see it before them.

It will take little effort by ruling class to spin the power of internet towards their favor. Over the past few years we have heard about civil liberties being walked over in regards to wire taps and more recently we have seen that google, the hip cool search engine that is supposedly progressive and a fresh look at what is the future, has created programs for the Chinese government that tracks searches performed on the internet that oppose their rule. In this light can we trust the hand that feeds us this new found freedom? When is the time going to come when google bows down to our government and begins the same investigation into online dissidents? Is this already happening?

Still choking on propaganda

2008-05-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

How ironic that Indymedia seems to be plagued by the very problems of those organizations it claims to resent the most. Just as the proponents of globalism, including the likes of the WTO and NATO, Indymedia has encountered a similar fate. Obviously begun with worthwhile intentions, each of these organizations has however become so overcome with differing directions and internal confusions that it is increasingly difficult to determine what those intentions may have ever been. While the faults of the former organizations are much more brazen than those of Indymedia, I still hold that, while its potential surely exists, Indymedia (in its current state) must undergo much change to its infrastructure in order to provide what I believe is its basic mission, a means of access to those news stories we typically do not encounter. While Indymedia does make these articles readily available, they seem to be either hastily written with little attention given to the global importance of the event in question or so completely biased I began helplessly choking on the propaganda shoved down my throat. While it is obviously much easier to provide only one side of a story, in order to be taken seriously, I believe Indymedia may find it beneficial to request article submissions to attempt a discussion of the opposition.

In addition, when I tried a simple search regarding the topic of my final project, harm reduction, I was bombarded with a multitude of articles with absolutely no relevance. After refining my search, I was provided with a mere one thousand irrelevant articles. While I did find one interesting article concerning the Thai government’s recent decision to continue their fruitless war on drugs (sound familiar anyone?), the article was surprisingly brief and did not touch on any of the country’s policies surrounding AIDS prevention that are actually quite in touch with its large sex worker and IDU population. Even more troubling, those reading this article with no previous background on the topic may experience feelings of resentment directed toward the wrong government. Thailand has made many advances in harm reduction and AIDS prevention while our government is still working to hide the fact that such epidemics even exist. Needless to say, after reading this article as well as many of the other haphazardly organized topics, I stopped reading. Just as I turn off the television when U.S. army propaganda infiltrates my senses, I quickly exited Indymedia with the ominous fear of another organization looking to taint the innocently ignorant on their never ending quest for pure knowledge.

While I am disgusted with our country’s media “coverage,” I found the articles of Indymedia to be no better. It seems Indymedia has forgotten the fundamental fallacy that two wrongs do not make a right. Just because the U.S. media is severely biased and often silent on key global issues, that does not grant Indymedia the provision to do the same. I had hoped that such an organization would provide a media source that demonstrated how global news should be relayed, yet, sadly, it seems Indymedia has fallen into the same trap that America’s detested corporate conglomerates have, choosing only those stories that serve only to fill another agenda.

The Second Superpower...

2008-05-13T13:12:00.001-07:00

Wow! Moore comes right out of the gate and slams the US for its belligerency at home and abroad. Well, I can't say I disagree but commencing an article with such obvious bias won't make the reader feel like the article is an objective, informed piece.

Just a thought as I started reading, and touching on something I said in my post about 'netizens'. The internet is the first truly international political scene, but the barriers between communication haven't been erased even though thoughts are being sent and received electronically; users around the world speak different languages, use different sites to communicate with each-other (usually other citizens of their nation). Simply put, the internet's existence doesn't necessarily change the fundamental underpinnings of international relationships.

I do like what Moore says about 'bottom-up' movements, especially his comment that the 'second superpower' desires policy improvements on issues like global warming, human rights, third-world rights, etc., that the US government doesn't seem to really care about. This is interesting to me because such grassroot organization and mobilization will, I am sure, amount to much needed change. With the internet as a tool to organize people with shared desires, it will only become easier and easier to affect the change that typical US citizens (or should I say 'netizens') want for a better world.

His message about the power of a mind in the second superpower also rings with truth. The representative democracy in which we've found ourselves has, in my opinion, become a bloated, grotesque mis-representation of what was originally envisioned by our fore-fathers, who lived in a much more compact and less populated country than we've found ourselves in today. It is very true that these representatives wield a disproportionate amount of power. An occasional vote which counts for very little won't affect much change, especially because this type of voting discourages one from educating oneself about the issue. The largest advantage I see from an internet culture, or even an internet society, is that facts and information must always be (and, conveniently, can be) corroborated by other online sources and informations. One without an extensive political background (and wealth, for how else can one run for office) yet regarded as an intelligent, thought-provoking individual will be able to amass influence and respect on an online forum by virtue of his ideas, something that will most likely never happen again in US politics. The internet society is more fluid, less bound by regulations and stubborness and greed, more easily molded into the shape which helps the greatest number of peoples.

-Jacob

The Sensational Appeal of Flash Mobs

2008-05-13T12:58:00.001-07:00

People love a sensation. If you look at Britney Spears or the death of Anna Nicole Smith, anything that is sensational gets loads of attention from the media. Personally, my first impression of flash mobbing was that it was merely to cause a sensation. And I think that it is for that reason that people appeal to the idea. And while flash mobbing can be used for no foreseeable end, or even used for a negative end, I think it has tremendous power to make a positive statement or evoke positive change as it did with People Power II.

Although not planned through the use of email and text messages, for some reason flash mobbing reminds me of the sit ins of MLK Jr's time in that it can be a nonviolent act with the potential and intent to create positive change. Sensational events cause attention to be paid. And while I don't believe that this attention should be devoted so heavily to Britney and Anna, I believe that if used wisely, it is positively using our advanced technology for good. And in doing so, implements power in numbers to create "a catalyst and site of actual and symbolic struggle."

I don't know if I liked Indymedia

2008-05-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

I had a difficult time with Indymedia and I am not sure how I feel about it. I felt like my attention was diverted to too many places. Although all of the articles seemed to have a common thread of considering injustices, I thought it was overwhelming to be loaded with so many stimulating stories at once.

Although it is incredibly valuable to have a general understanding of what is going on in the world, I prefer getting in depth about a certain topic. I also tend to not like reading newspapers and this site struck me as being of a similar genre but on the net. In addition, like all media, I worry about getting a well rounded and accurate picture of what is going on. This is not to say that I don't support websites that promote the end of injustice, but I know it is easy to be influenced to support a cause without proper consideration of every side.

Netizenship, Online Organization

2008-05-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

I'll run with this definition of a 'netizen' :

"one who is empowered by the Net
to have an impact on politics, journalism, culture and other aspects of
society"

First I'd like to note that 'Net' is capitalized. Maybe the Net will become
the next nation-state, a conglomerate of international ideas and policy-
making governed by those
with the most intimate knowledge of the processes and how-to-dos of the Net.

Doubtful.

In any case, the key point I extrapolated from the Netizens piece is
that internet
culture has empowered these South Koreans to make something of themselves,
has spurred them
into finding a role in society.

It's also cool to note that this new 'netizenship' can only exist because of
the forward-looking steps that the South Korean government took in creating
a high-speed backbone for internet use, a large expenditure that ultimately
ended up paying huge dividends.

Tying the 'flash-mobs' into the coordination involved in organizing such a
huge gatheringfor the 2002 world-cup, it seems clear that the internet has
become the main way to spread information to parties. Facebook is just the
most basic example of this, with our generation essentially dependent upon
the networking site to know when a party is, wherepeople are meeting, what
events people are attending, etc. It's simply the most convenient
and practical method for the organization of people, so naturally it has
been adoptedby a large percentage of the population.

These organized protests, proposals, events, whatever one wants to call them,
do completely rely upon the actual physical presence of the people. The internet
can only be used, in these cases, as an organization tool. Simply signing an
online petition to protest the death of the two South Korean schoolgirls,
for example, probably would have accomplished very little. So I think it's
important to note that while organization is much improved
through use of the Net, without a physical presence very little will be accomplished.


I really like the Government Online Forums. What a brilliant idea, and so
perfect fora democracy. These forums effectively allow anyone to say anything
they want wheneverthey want; ultimate freedom in discussing the functioning
of the government. Cool.

-Jacob

(For some reason the original post didn't format correctly)

Linkset

2008-05-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

I searched for weblogs related to electronic music and found LINKSET, a blog that provides links to download sources for electronic tracks and mixes of all subgenres. For example, the most recent post was about a rare new track by French electro duo Justice, and the one before that provided a download link for a live mix by Dj Diplo at a New Year's Eve afterparty.

On the right hand column, all download links and posts are sorted into about 90 subgenres, from breaks to house to minimal. There are 6 contributors running the site. The posts go back to 2005. They also have a discreet ad section in the lower right, which runs through Google. This is assumably one way the contributors make money upkeeping the blog.

Given there are relatively few ways to download music nowadays, I am extremely grateful to have found Linkset. People running electronic music blogs are an integral part of the electronic music scene and fan base. I'll be searching for blogs similar to this one in the future.

Indy Media

2008-05-13T10:17:00.001-07:00

On the Indy media site i found an article about how the Chinese Kidnapped Pachen Lama in 1995. This was just another thing that the Chinese have done to the Tibetans to show their power and domination over the Tibetans. The post on indy was in put up because it is the Lama 17th birthday and he is still missing. The Dalai Lama named this boy a Lama in when he was 5 after that he was kidnapped by the Chinese and still there has been no sign of him. On the site for the lama there is a petition for the release of the 11th Panchen Lama, I decided to sign the petition and then look at the other signatures of those who have also decided to sign. Interestingly enough there were very few signatures from the United states. Which makes me wonder how media is being spread between our community. Is this something that just doesn't interest our community, does it have to do with the way we view media everyday? are people unfamiliar with these independent media centers? This was my first time to an indy site, but I found it very interesting and i think that it is a testament to how we can connect the world globally. On the site you can click on any country and a various number of different topics allowing the participatory culture to become aware and involved of what is happening around the world. i found this indy site very interesting full of news that is never shared in our newspapers or news stations. I think these sites prove to be a place for people to become more and more engaged in what is going on around them, what our leaders are not telling us, and how we can begin to change this as a media community connected to the whole world.

Flash! Mobs in the Age of Mobile Connectivity

2008-05-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

What i found most interesting about the flash mobs article was the participation and communication from people using mobile technology as their mode of communication. Judith Nicholson makes the claim that this flash mobbing was enhanced by the use of mobile phones and how this was shaped by participators who began using their mobile technologies for more than just private use and began using them for collective communications through text messaging. She calls this "mobile mass communication" and this form of participation that allowed one person to communicate with many changed the way these people organized and participated in this movement. I also found it interesting in the section target mobbing that Nicholson quotes McClelland: “Officials always tried to prove the existence of some form of criminal conspiracy in the heart of the mob, to show that something important enough to justify their fears was going on. These were fears of a very generalized kind, fears of order, or for the world as we know it, threatened by subversion.” I think that by pointing this out Nicholson makes it clear how important this movement was not only for the participants but for the new media community, how they participated and communicated. It is interesting that although there were no violence that the flash mobs were being held under high surveillance as it became more and more popular. Lastly i thought the part on public performing was very interesting because it points out the parallel to art like surrealism and dadaism. She furthers this claim by saying "If mobile mass communication was generated in response to social, political, economic and technological conditions of the late 1990s, can flash mobbing, which was also called ‘guerilla art’ (Merritt, 2004) and ‘swarming art’ (Morrison, 2003), be considered a response to the social and political conditions of 2003, particularly conditions that existed in New York where the trend was started?"This shows how the use of mobile texting, influenced mobbing and public performance and protesting that made flash mobbing so significant and how continues to be meaningful in different political, cultural, and intellectual medias.

The Power of Ants

2008-05-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'd never considered the power of utilizing the internet as a tool for democracy. In Moore's article, he describes the internet as the "second superpower." I agree that nothing has come close to enabling people to have a voice as effectively as the internet has. The internet as the second superpower places the power in the hands of individuals, not government leaders. Because of this unique characteristic, Moore compares the internet to a community of ants by pointing out that "when ants invade my kitchen they command my attention." It is impossible to ignore the internet today. I think it is an effective way of communing with people when used in the right way, to make positive change. Although it is not always used for positive change, I see hope in the fact that now individuals have a way of putting ideas out into a community, and that if it is a powerful idea, people may rally behind it.

The link on Marc's site doesn't work, but I found the link to the article if you guys want it:

The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head

Week 6

2008-05-12T23:43:00.001-07:00

I think it is inexcusable for the ICE to separate immigrant workers from their families with no explanation or information for their families. I don’t think this helps the situation at all, and I think that it is great that people are organizing to protest this. The parallels between slavery and this event are somewhat shocking, at first I thought the woman in the article was being too extreme, but then thinking it over more, the parallels between the small amount of control slaves had over their own lives and the amount of control these workers have over their lives is quite similar. What do you guys think?

The organization of the shack dweller’s movement is pretty impressive. There website is very well done and it almost makes me want to join. It is obvious that the government needs to address a larger problem of housing and land for its people, but since the government does not seem to be helping the people they are organizing and protesting. I think it’s pretty impressive, but I think that groups like this can get out of hand very easily and become violent. I think that organization is key, because it will help prevent chaos, and the Internet is a great tool for that. What do you guys think?
I love the idea from the rTMark list to put a statue of Bush in a tourist area in Washington D.C. and then film crowds cheering as authorities take it down. At first I didn’t really understand this site, but as I kept reading I understood that its purpose was to organize protests for all parts of life, like politics, health, and even biology.
At yesMen I read the article about the survival ball. I really thought this type of protest (impersonating people whose only interest according to this site are money) seems immature and useless. I think that global warming is a problem, but I think that time would be better spent educating people how they can decrease their own carbon emissions on a day to day basis. I think this would be much more effective than spending time making fun of government officials.

At adbusters I watched a video called Angry Kid, that is supposed to raise awareness about saving the environment. It was pretty powerful I have to say, but I don’t know if it would actually appeal to adults. In my opinion it seems like an ad that is more targeted at empowering young people to act. What do you guys think? http://www.adbusters.org/abtv/

SmartMeme seems like an organization that helps causes organize and build up their cause. This is such a strange concept. Unlike the text mobs or soccer fans in South Korea this is actually an organization that helps such organic groups form. Does anyone else think this is strange?

Random Acts of Reality

2008-05-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

The blog I couldn't stop reading was "Random Acts of Reality" by London Ambulance Service worker Tom Reynolds. It's insane that I can enter the gritty world of disease and violence in London through the eyes of a contemporary EMT. Without the blogosphere, I wouldn't be able to witness emergency medical situations in London until five or ten years down the line when (mayyyybe) someone might make a documentary or write a novel about their experiences. It would be a time lapse, though; I wouldn't be able to see what's happening right now, as Tom's blog has allowed me to do.

"Random Acts of Reality" enriches not only Tom's life but those of all his readers. While Tom has found a new hobby that allows his to re-hash and analyze his life on a new level, his viewers not only are reminded not to take LAS for granted or call 999 (London's 911) in unnecessary situations, but they are also entertained and become emotionally invested in the life of someone perhaps across the globe from them. It's a new category of relationship, this one between a random blogger and his random viewers. With both the blogger's interest in writing himself into being and the readers' interest in engaging in the blogger's reality, a strong bond is formed. In fact, as Jane Perrone's article said, Tom's readers anxiously followed him along a three-month scare that he might have contracted HIV on duty because an HIV-positive medical patient coughed vomit and blood into his mouth.

Shy, kind Tom has made himself into a media creator--an influencer--through a simple blog. He has been interviewed on the news in London (click here to view on YouTube, and he has written a book called "Blood Sweat and Tea" (click here to view it in Amazon.com). His mixture of tender wit and modest tone with the gravity of his work with the London Ambulance Service has charmed many, bringing them happily into the realm of Tom's blog, which is yet another amazing demonstration of the power of the blogosphere in today's global village.

Street-Style Weblogs

2008-05-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

A recent genre of blogs that has established itself on thousands of browser’s “Bookmarked List” is Street Style Blogs. When talking about this type of blogs, one must mention: thesartorialist.blogspot.com. The Sartorialist is like the Napster of street style blogging, it started it all. A few months ago, when looking at a Time Magazine Article on the Top-25 Blogs on the Internet, I learned about the Sartorialist Blog. This weblog ignited my interest in the blogging world and became the first blog I regularly checked.
The concept of The Sartorialist and other Street-Style-Blogs is simple: the weblog operator (For the Sartorialist, a retired fashion industry executive with the hobby of photography) roams through the streets of their city (New York, Milan, and Paris) taking pictures of complete strangers they encounter that they believe exude a strong and colorful sense of personal style. The weblogger will post a few of these photos each day, with a small caption stating the location and some description or insight like: “Yves Saint Laurent Trench Coat” or “Vintage Floral.” [As you read, open up The Sartorialist in your browser for a better understanding of the nature of these Street Style Blogs.]
Amazingly, this simple blogging concept of The Sartorialist has had a profound influence on the fashion world, Internet blogging, and many individual’s personal style.

Fashion World: these “street-style” images of [a complete stranger pausing in the motion of their everyday life to be photographed displaying solely their daily persona] has found their way to many “inspiration boards” [for brainstorming the brand’s next line] of many prominent designers all over the world. In addition, capturing fashion in the time and space of a random moment in a person’s “everyday” life on a random urban street, introduced a new form of Media. This contrasts with the previous portal of fashion in the Public Eye: Pre-Oscar Red Carpet Shows, E-Fashion News, Vogue Fashion Magazines, etc. The Sartorialist images feature everyday people [not celebrities or models], on the streets [no red carpets, Greek isles, or costly backdrops], in every-day clothing [department store clothing, thrift store items, and high-fashion pieces]. These were images of “clothes in action,” gently embracing our skin while we experience life. These images reminded us that fashion is not solely about pristine faces and physiques graced in wearable works of art that cost enough to feed an entire African village for 1 year. Couture began to be viewed outside of the glass cases and off the mannequins.
Fashion, more particularly personal style, is the way we approach and present ourselves to the outside world. It is the shells that we put on to protect ourselves from the natural elements. Our personal style and image (like it or not) shapes the way we and the people around us think of ourselves as unique individuals.

Blogs: revolutionized the Media-type expressions of many fields. In this field, it presented a piece of art [photograph of the art of clothing (fashion)] on a weblog for people to reflect, comment, learn and/or be inspired by. Also, it proved to major fashion corporations that the street style blogs that are significantly transforming the public expression and conception of fashion (the fashion media) are here to stay. Both Gucci and Absolute Vodka have paid The Sartorialist weblog operator for ad-space on the blog. Numerous street style blogs have now arisen out of this wave: look into the “Cool Hunter Blog’s” list of each of these city’s street style blogs: Helsinki, Finland New York City London Berlin Stockholm Moscow Australia Tokyo Shanghai Paris Sao Paulo Toronto Barcelona Zurich Vancouver Reykjavik Oslo Milan Mexico San Francisco Lisbon Munich.

Personal Style: The Sartorialist and other street style blogs feature the diverse pallet of the human race. Capturing people with various ethnicities, ages, backgrounds, values, tastes, environments, financial statuses, etc. One image might feature a NYC Painter taking a cigarette break while the next image shows a store-manager of Bergdorf Goodman. The value of These blogs have reminded us that being fashionable is not possessing a Louis Vuitton Hand Bag or wearing a particular pricy-emblem to conform to the “fashionable bunch.” Fashion is important, and should be unique to all of us; it is the distinct representation of our unique place in the world. Looking beyond the superficiality of fashion and fashion media, these street style blogs express and reflect on the task we each have every morning: constructing our personal image. As we match colors, textures, materials, and purposes to suit the weather and our plans for the day, we are the artists and our body becomes the canvas. Although it may appear tawdry, these personal blogs have helped many people become aware of the potential and significance of their own style.

I understand how this trend can be considered dull and inane. There is logic in the thought “Fashion is dumb, individuals that focus on fashion or style are superficial, and people should be concerned with the greater content of an individual over their personal exterior style.
However, many consider fashion a significant art-form. There are countless people working in and around the fashion industry. In addition, millions pay a lot of their money for their love fashion. In turn, the fashion media plays a major role in the media-world and our culture at large (both artful and consumeristic).
Regardless of one’s own beliefs, with such a mass of people, this transformation and influence, originating from Internet-Weblogging must be recognized. Street Style blogs are moving fashion into a new direction, expressing it in a more pure and relevant form.

[I apologize for the length]

Adbusters and Honeybees

2008-05-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

What Agribusiness has done to the HoneyBee

I searched for "genetic" on Adbusters since I am interested in genetically modified organisms. I thought this first article that showed up was pretty good. It talks about how humans (those that work with honeys, mostly) have modified bees to gain more money. I think, in general, this site is really interesting. It's really interesting that it tries to sort of "fight" or protest online, and via a magazine. Using such a widely read site and magazine that is sure to reach a lot of people is smart because their cause is brought to everyones attention. I wonder, though, how often the people that read their site/magazine "stick" with the cause (i.e. do they get passionate for a while or do they stop eating GMO's for life because it's messing with nature).

Seals, Heirs and Vivoleum Make the Internet an Interesting Place

2008-05-12T15:48:00.001-07:00

I perused the readings for this week and really focused my attention on those that seemed to try and spur people into action. I've been thinking about it and Im really interested in starting a conservation website for the final project. I think the greatest way for me to make an impact would be to put together a website that let people know exactly what is happening on the big cat conservation front and how we can all put our brains together to find some solutions. With that in mind I foound a few projects that I thought would have similar goals as mine would... as well as some entertaining ones... and I summarized them for you.. yay.

Indymedia

Seals being killed to protect salmon, and FBI ruling "It's not our thing." This to me shows how grassroots activism can make an impact and how sad it is that it usually takes something so simple as a few protesters for the government to take interest in what its supposed to protect... mainly, seals.
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/05/375443.shtml

Abahlali baseMjondolo
It's taken a year and a half and countless lives to protest land being taken that should have been given to dwellers, but as long as the fight continues the goal is in site it is worth any sacrifice... isnt it?
http://www.abahlali.org/node/16

RTmark
I looked over this months featured projects and was delighted to find one that claimed George Washington as the great great grandfather of as lineage of monarchs that should be recognized as the rightful rulers of the US... what can ya' say, sometimes anti-Bush campaigns get clever...
http://www.rtmark.com/featured.html

YesMen
Imposters poing as representatives of Exxon and NPC stand up in front of an assembly of 20,000 "oil" people and deliver the companies' most innovative ideas yet.. to use the bodies of people who will die due to global calalmities related to fossil feul emissions to make more Vivoleum. It's pretty funny, and by funny I mean disturbed...
http://www.theyesmen.org/en/hijinks/vivoleum

Smartmeme
A site that helps you structure how to get your message across. I found myself at the page that helped you define you're social narrative as not just telling what is happening but why it is is happening. This is obviously an extrememly helpful link to get a project up and running, but on the other hand if it is creativity that really hits people then is it smart to follow models? Maybe it is, I dont know. Im still going to browse it to see what I can use in my final project...
http://smartmeme.com/article.php?list=type&type=16

anit -war

2008-05-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

Like Caroline, I had never been to an indymedia web site before. I agree with her statement about the set up, I find that it was easy to get around. One thing that I’ve found I like is that the stories are different than main stream media. I get to read about news that is happening right here in the bay area and Santa Cruz. The anti war demonstration put on by UC Santa Cruz students I thought was pretty cool. I do agree with their point of view on the matter of how the military recruits. The fact that they came during a career fair to recruit is interesting to me. Do you guys think that being in the military is a career? Do you think that it is right for the military to recruit during this event? I don’t think that its right when the military tries to recruit on high school campuses. These kids are in high school still not knowing what they want to do with life. The military recruits come in promising so much of course these kids straight out of high school are going to take it. Recruiting in college I think is more responsible of the military because these students are older and wise than they were at 18. http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/23/18494728.php

After looking at this one article on antiwar in Santa Cruz I starting looking at other anti war stuff on the indymedia page. There are anti war events going on all the time! I feel so not up to date on the current events of our world. Nancy Pelosi is trying to raise money to keep the war going and to get a bill passed for the war too.

http://www.indybay.org/antiwar/

Indymedia

2008-05-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

Before this morning, I had never before visited an IndyMedia website. As a Portlander, I spent some time cruising through the Portland IndyMedia site (which I had never heard of), and read several articles, including the one about the murdered sea-lions and past articles about the 9/11 attacks. Both articles demonstrate the very "lefty" Portland tendencies, and I found it refreshing to read such an open point of view. However, I found the format of the site more interesting than the content itself. I loved that, at the end of each article, there were links to allow readers to contribute to the article and/or comment on it. These options made the material and sites more participatory than simply spewing information to the public. I also clicked on the "volunteer" link to find that the site encourages the public to become independent reporters, to share their insight about events they have attended or witnessed. This site provides a unique avenue for people who have something important to share, something they're passionate about, to potentially reach a lot of people. I struggle with the idea of using the Blog to reach a wider audience with injustices or inequities I have seen around the world - issues that need to be addressed - so this legitimate site seems to be the ideal answer. It acknowledges the public's insight and knowledge.

Reflections for week six

2008-05-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Indymedia US directory has several interesting articles which were all fairly liberal writings concerning things such as walks against the death penalty, support for the homeless as well as an article on the killings of sea lions near the Portland, OR area. Throughout the site were a multitude of links providing information on a huge number of causes. I usually don’t visit sites like this so it was interesting to read the different excerpts and article titles.

I thought the Abahlali BaseMjondolo site was very interesting. How it is that a ‘shackdwellers’ movement’ has a website? This really shows how globalization has taken the world by storm. Do these people have access to the internet and update the information? I read the short history section but I’m still a little confused as to how this website works.

Finally a few thoughts on the yes men link. The stories on this site were hilarious. The whole article on how a fake representative from ExxonMobil tried to convince a group of oilmen that we can utilize humans in the future to make ‘vivoleum’ by processing dead bodies was pretty ridiculous. I really enjoyed looking through this site and reading about these controversial ideas.

Netizens and such

2008-05-10T20:17:00.001-07:00

Counter power Responses:

I thought the People Power II uprising in the Philippenes was pretty amazing because the government had no control of communication through mobile phones. The crowd could gather with very little planning and quickly communicate messages to all its members through texts. I think mobile communication allows the mob as defined during the French revolution become more organized and therefore more able to accomplish its goals, political or entertainment.
I actually watched a video before reading this article about a flash mob in central station in New York. All the participants communicated through texts on cell phones. It is really shocking to watch because about 1000 people just froze in central station all at the same time for 4 minutes, and then just kept walking. This kind of organization is really powerful, and could be very dangerous for governments and big corporations who would have very little control over communication through cell phones.

The case study about the Korean Netizens was really interesting. I liked how the organization of the soccer fans through the internet changed the connotation of wearing red. Apparently before it was anticommunist to avoid red, and the “Red Devils” as the soccer fans called themselves changed it so that wearing red was a sign of support of the soccer team. I also liked how the young girls were organizing protests through the internet to prevent teachers from cutting their hair in school. This is an abusive and unreasonable tradition and its great that students can find a way to organize outside of the control of the school’s authority. This reminds me of the pillow fight at Santa Clara organized on Facebook. The organizer did not announce the location until the day of and then changed the time a couple hours before to throw off campus safety. About 100 students showed up to participate in the pillow fight. I like the idea that we are not always totally at the mercy of the Santa Clara University Institution.

The Homeless & Post Secret

2008-05-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

While I've visited Post Secret in the past, the homeless blog is new to me. I find that both blogs represent similar ideas (at least for me). They both speak to potentially darker sides of our society, and yet provide an avenue for redemption. I use the term 'redemption' loosely with no religious connotation. It's great that people can find a way to get out their darkest secrets, despite what it is. Also, I'd like to think that the fact they are thinking about it (or sending it to an internet blog for the public to view...), means that it troubles their conscience on some level and they acknowledge in their psyche (whether consciously or sub-consciously) that it is something something that they may use to identify themselves with. Obviously while the majority of the posts are of this nature, not all apply so this pseudo-blanket statement doesn't apply to all of them :).
With the issue of the homeless, I rather agree with his statement that homeless people are treated horribly. While I understand that most people (myself included) may feel uncomfortable or even a bit scared when dealing with a homeless person, there is no excuse for not treating another human being with the respect afforded as such. I think blogs such as his will become extremely important in the future, bringing important issues like his to light for discussion. In this particular example, it also helps erode the line of separation between the homed and the homeless, as it evokes discussion and allows the homeless to be cast in closer and more humane light.

PS: I will be posting a response to one of the the homeless dude's blog entries as soon as I get back to my room. Assuming you believe the blog is real (I really don't see any reason for it not to be...), I challenge everyone that reads this post to donate some money. Even if you don't have a job or "it isn't your money", think of it as sacrificing your next dinner out, or trip out to McDonalds.

Also check this out, it's pretty funny :)
http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/hate-me-if-you-want-but.html

-Dennis

This is the list of all of the blogs that I read...
May or not pertain to class, click at your own risk.
All of them *should* be SFW...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/jul/05/nhsstaff.society
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/apr/04/observerreview.britainuncovered
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/jul/05/nhsstaff.society
http://www.tonypierce.com/blog/2004/06/how-to-blog-by-tony-pierce-110-1.htm
http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2004/07/blogs_bandwidth.html
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogs_as_virtual.html
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/formation_of_norms.html
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/women_and_children.html
http://www.myboyfriendisatwat.com/
http://waiterrant.net/
http://anonworkblogs.blogspot.com/
http://purplepiranha.blogspot.com/
http://ambulancegirl17-151.blogspot.com/
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/
http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/
http://randomreality.blogware.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/28/japan.socialexclusion
http://boingboing.net/
http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2008/05/08/bbc-removes-doctor-who-fans-knitting-patterns-from-the-web/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/1938076/The-Get-Out-Clause%2C-Manchester%27s-stars-of-CCTV-cameras.html
http://ubuntupoint.com/
http://www.markshuttleworth.com/
http://www.gaijinsmash.net/
http://www.shrinktalk.net/

Link not working

2008-05-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Second Superpower rears its ugly head link does not seem to be working

Second look at Indymedia

2008-05-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Another Indymedia article I looked at was on 9/11 conspiracies. This one had at least 15 contributors, and over half of them made multiple posts. An actual conversation was started, where people would respond to someone and then in turn get a rebuttal. Also, a significant amount of the posts were at least a paragraph long, as opposed to a sentence long. This made for much more engaging and persuasive arguments... however I realized that although this length reflects someone’s effort, there is also a fine line between too little and too much. Just like on our Counterpower contributions, when someone is reading online posts they may not initially know how credible the poster is, and a never-ending post may not be appealing if you can’t even be certain that it’s reliable. I think contributing smaller posts on a regular basis will not only be more appealing for people to read, but also more focused and distinct from rants.

But as far as credibility goes, how can we determine who is and who isn’t credible? This is definitely an issue on the Internet, because anyone and everyone can post. On Indymedia there are so many opinions surrounding one issue… how can we allow ourselves to be persuaded one way or the other when we don’t know who is trying to persuade us?

Flash-mobbing

2008-05-09T13:02:00.001-07:00

I am quite fascinated by this idea of flash-mobbing. As the author first described this "phenomenon," I couldn't figure out what the point of it was. Is it a practical joke? A demonstration of the strength of the community? A political action? And then I wondered who initiates the flash-mobbing. The author said that one of the weaknesses of the gatherings is the lack of a leader, but SOMEONE has to start it, and wouldn't they be considered the leader? Flash-mobbing has enormous potential as a political activist tool or way to raise awareness, but it seems that many avid mobbers want to stay away from there actually being a point to mobbing and rather mob because it's "fun." Honestly, I am not sure if I would respond to a text-message or email telling me to be at one place at one time. Call me a pessimist (which I am usually not), but I think I'd be pretty "sketched out" and wonder who wants me to be there, and why. Would any of you respond to a flash-mob invitation? I would be more receptive to the word-of-mouth phenomenon. On the other hand, the Spain example, in which over 5,000 showed up to "learn the truth" about the government, sufficiently demonstrates the potential power in technology's ability to unite large groups of people for a specific cause. Perhaps future activists and politicians will implement this tactic to advocate their cause...

Could the net really bring us together?

2008-05-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

I will be one of the first to admit that I am harshly skeptical of the Internet as a source of community. After these readings thought I find myself asking if the judgment I have so readily and hastily passed on the Internet as a form of community is just. The paper on Korean Netizens was especially thought provoking. The use of the net to speak out against hair length in Korean schools was an interesting insight. Korean high school students are already plagued with exam prep classes, often times starting at 6 AM and then studying into the late hours of the night. That coupled with the extreme pressures placed on them to perform are only enhanced by the pressure society and family placed on them to proudly represent the family in society make Korean youth prone to suicide and mental breakdown. The net gives them a chance to come together and speak out in a mini mutiny of sorts. The net lets them speak out in away that is not accepted else where in their society. The extent to which the net has connected the people of South Korea, from elections to soccer games to hair length, is inspiring to say the least.

New kids on the blog

2008-05-08T15:15:00.001-07:00

When i read the statistics presented by the article "New Kids on the Blog", i was not surprised that teenage females made up the majority of journal/diary type blogging out there on the world wide web. Women seem to have more of an inclination (although this is not true for ALL women)to write about their feelings and life. The article did make me wonder about the content of these blogs. I immediately thought of the movie "Mean Girls" where a group of girls kept a giant book, slandering those at their high school. I can't help but think that bashing one's classmates makes up a large majority of the content on these blogs--i'm thinking "Mean Girls 2.0". The internet, especially one relevant in high school circles can get rumors, speculations, and general gossip spread around far faster than any phone call or book. It acts as immediate access for all the world to see.

In some cases, where students have utilized the internet to spread rumors and harass their contemporaries the school has actually interceded and pulled transcripts off of the websites as proof and justification for the punishment of the offending party. Teasing and harassment is no longer limited to the halls; through e-mail, AIM, Myspace, Facebook, and blogs bullies now have a variety of ways to attack their prey. Speaking from experience, I had a friend post a picture of the girl her ex-boyfriend was currently dating on myspace, she called the girl a "gremlin" and a "hoe". To me and my group of friends, the posting was funny but i'm sure that to the girl it was humiliating.

This is just one example of how blogs can be abused (and commonly are), especially in the high school setting where teen's insecurities are at their highest.

Interesting read...

2008-05-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

After reading several blogs and discussing two of the funniest that I found, I decided to blog about one that was not funny, but instead, it was fascinating. I visited "Homeless Guy" after reading a few of the class's posts. This was, in fact, very interesting. In case no one else has been on it recently, our class was featured on the site as of yesterday. The author even provides a link to our syllabus. Since other's have already written about content of the blog, I will not go into detail because it would get way too repetitive. I read the author's posts on his trip to Japan and how he was homeless even in another country. I enjoyed his posts because I feel like I am reading his thoughts. I realize that blog posts are thoughts, but I felt like I was reading what he was thinking in his mind...does that make sense? The way that the author writes his posts are as if he is thinking outloud. He writes seemingly pointless things, like how long it took him to walk to a certain place, or what he feels like eating, or how bored he is. But, in the context of the site, it works because he is allowing people to put themselves in the place of a homeless person and really get a feeling for what life would be like. While most of the other blogs are opinions, or funny quotes, or reactions to things, his is basically an autobiography. I feel like I am reading a book when I am reading his blog. He describes his setting in detail, descibes every minute feeling, and even describes any movements he makes: "I looked to my left and...." "Im standing here opening a small can of beans...."

I have never experienced homelessness, but it was incredibly interesting to read about someone who has, and in such detail. I think a lot of people could learn something from this blog. If people do not find the site interesting, I think it is at least a possibility for people to learn empathy and understanding. Our society has such negative stigmas surrounding homelessness and I think blogs like this could really make an impact on the way people view homeless people.

If I Were To Maintain a Blog....

2008-05-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

If I were to maintain a blog, I would do one similar to the postsecret weblog. However, mine would be dedicated to girls/woman only (sorry boys) and it would be a safe space where girls could reveal their feelings freely. For instance, maybe you felt like crying today simply because you don't look like the size zero models in the magazine. Or maybe you want to vent because you hate having to put on your make-up every morning for fear that someone might throw you the "are you ok? you look so tired" line and all you want to scream is "NO, I WAS JUST TOO LAZY TO PUT MY MAKE-UP ON!" You would be free to write three little words or an entire paragraph entry to express your feelings. On this blog, girls and woman would be able to express their true feelings in this self-conscious, judgmental world. It would be the female safe space, dedicated to maintaining our sanity. Being a girl is tough, being a girl in a world where looks are everything is even tougher!

Blog Search on Technorati

2008-05-08T13:14:00.002-07:00

Entered search keywords like:

Barack Obama
European Politics
Global Warming
Fascism
God Delusion
World Travel
Evolution
Darwin
Fatalism

and here are the links to some of the ones I found worthwhile:

http://technorati.com/posts/IgPgPnYLU17SDKjpcW%2FYTQH8PxBcepmX7sfaWDBr4mA%3D
http://technorati.com/posts/diWpMwxWzg7lzbhNvm5%2BM1BYtwHHyH3eeoBy14sy%2BCQ%3D
http://technorati.com/posts/PH1JIp1p5%2FYd5VK3xbeymDSEk2fJfkogG%2FhPHz4fIQ8%3D
http://technorati.com/blogs/www.hawaiianbeachrentals.com%2Fhawaiitravelblog

If I were to maintain a weblog...

2008-05-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

If I were to maintain a weblog, I'd like to make it like the blog 'Overheard in New York', which seems to be able to sell a bit of online advertising space. I like the idea, very much, behind this blog but it would be a bit of a rip-off to create something like, 'Overheard on Santa Clara University Campus', wouldn't it? Although one does catch some interesting one-liners in a typical day here.

The blog I couldn't stop reading was 'PostSecret'. A good friend of mine owns a book collection of these things, and I think they're quite fascinating and often really clever. I kept reading and reading and scrolling down on this blog, thought it was quite awesome. I'd say this is also the blog I'd recommend to other people.

-Jacob

Blogging Structure

2008-05-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

First, I'd like to say that I find the structure of blogging a bit bizarre. Posts are placed on the blog with the most recent post at the top, and as such when one reads a blog one effectively reads anti-chronologically, or backwards. Tracking down the original themes and thoughts can become somewhat difficult, mumbled and jumbled as they will be among the more recent posts. It seems like the original thesis is almost always inevitably lost. At the same time, though, it is quite fascinating to watch the evolution of a blog. The blog moves and molds and seems to have an identity of its own, independent of the bloggers. In any case I found this an interesting thing to note, as context in which content is placed is at least as important as the content itself.

From 'New Kids on the Blog':

Last year, a survey of 3,000 blogs by the software company Perseus concluded that in the United States 91 per cent are maintained by those under 30 and 'the typical blog is written by a teenage girl who uses it twice a month to update her friends and classmates on happenings in her life'. It estimated that by the end of this year there will be a million web logs, although most won't last a year and, like clasped diaries in the physical world, the majority will be abandoned within a month.

Thought that was quite interesting. I'd never blogged before taking a Bousquet class.

Grey's Blog

2008-05-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I was searching for interesting blogs on Technorati.com and found the Grey’s Anatomy News blog. It had people leaving comments about the new episodes and where they think the future of the show will go. It was pretty cool to be apart of a group who shared the similar love for the show, but I would much rather be watching the show!

Grey’s Anatomy (the show) is my kinda blog. The point of personal blogs is to read them and be able to relate to the author, right? Well, that’s what I get from watching Grey’s. I am Meredith Grey. Ok, maybe not literally, but we have so much in common it’s not even funny. My boyfriend and I were talking the other night about how writers design the characters so they are relatable and people can connect with them. This is totally what they did with Meredith. She has all the relationship and commitment problems that I have. It’s like watching my life on TV!

As I’ve said before, I don’t really like readying other people’s personal blogs but maybe watching Grey’s can be considered a form of blogging…? It’s like watching Meredith’s personal blog on TV every Thursday night. Or maybe it’s just an excuse to watch it even more.

So many blogs!

2008-05-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

I've actually already read through most of these... so just bare with me -__-; (i forgot about the post slowly part)

The more I read these articles, the more I suddenly realize how all of them pertain to me! It's quite an enlightening experience, and I feel that this class impacts me in more than simply academically, it also helps to expose me to new things. I'll get more on this later in the post (or possibly in future blog entries)

First off, the short article on the history of web blogging is interesting. I feel especially close to the issue because both my parents are computer engineers and my dad worked at Netscape; I was surrounded by talk of next-gen technology and the internet. I also remember the time in which (as the author said) web blogs and person html sites used to be only maintainable by those with html knowledge, limiting the actual sites out there to be very little. Slowly this changed though. Interestingly enough, my memories of this all changing distinctly coincides with the explosion of internet blogging / journaling websites and the advent of online social networking. In particular I remember this, because a bunch of my friends at introduced me to "xanga", and although I never really put a lot of time or effort into it, it struck me how fast the web was growing. As the author says, it really is the ease of use that has allowed the web to trickle down it's everyday use to the public-- from the homeless guy, to the EMT, to particularly Lynn Gomm and her son. I find her entryto be the epittome of what I have found myself to expect from personal blogs. Being a veteran blog reader myself, most of these *personal* style blogs speak of the individual's life. It doesn't have to be much-- in fact some of the best blogs are not dramatizations (at least I think...); the more honest and real the blog, the better it is. In this example, there is a certain catharsis in speaking of your child and the personal struggle going through and expressing the feelings of sadness, anger, frustration, fear, etc of learning of your child's lifelong impairment. To me, I find it touching and appropriate to her life. Many people fear that the internet is a disease in which estrange people from each other, but I argue that there is a sense of place and intimacy in sharing one's most personal thoughts through this medium of text known as blogging.

*sigh* If I had my own blog (actually it's something that have considered in the past) I wonder what I would write about? Lol, who would want to hear about the life of some sophomore university student at some middling overshadowed college in the silicon valley?

This is the list of all of the blogs that I read...
May or not pertain to class, click at your own risk.
All of them *should* be SFW

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/jul/05/nhsstaff.society
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/apr/04/observerreview.britainuncovered
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/jul/05/nhsstaff.society
http://www.tonypierce.com/blog/2004/06/how-to-blog-by-tony-pierce-110-1.htm
http://www.sixapart.com/blog/2004/07/blogs_bandwidth.html
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogs_as_virtual.html
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/formation_of_norms.html
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/women_and_children.html
http://www.myboyfriendisatwat.com/
http://waiterrant.net/
http://anonworkblogs.blogspot.com/
http://purplepiranha.blogspot.com/
http://ambulancegirl17-151.blogspot.com/
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/
http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/
http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/
http://randomreality.blogware.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/sep/28/japan.socialexclusion
http://ubuntupoint.com/
http://www.markshuttleworth.com/
http://www.gaijinsmash.net/
http://www.shrinktalk.net/

My perfect blog

2008-05-08T00:08:00.001-07:00

To be perfectly honest, I've actually entertained the idea in the past of creating a blog that could house the different tangents of thought that I go through, but then I realized that those tangents number in the hundreds per day, so then it would come down to a popularity contest. I'd go over in my head the ideas that I figure OTHER people would enjoy reading about, and in doing so would lose the very concept of personal expression that I had originally intended to pursue. Instead of simply branching out into the nonsensical diatribe that goes through my mind hourly, I'd have to actually cordon it off and put it into something thought-provoking, exaggerated and verbose. It's for this reason I've held off.

Of the listed material I chose Doose, mainly because his style of writing is arbitrary yet somehow he managed to get a point across. I particularly enjoyed today's rant about his family, because the dysfunctional nature of it was all too similar. There's a condescending nature that seems to evolve from older and younger generations that both empowers the younger to out-do the older, but at the same time unnerves the hell out of them. Of course, everyone wants to see their progency succeed, but you can't help but wonder if the methods are truly promotive instead of destructive, which reminds you that parents too, are just human.

Indymedia Contributions: Quality or Questionable?

2008-05-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

I watched the youtube video on Indymedia about an E-40 concert that was canceled because of security and safety issues. People in Tacoma were concerned that bringing hip-hop music into their city would encourage or instigate more gang violence and activity throughout their downtown area. Local artists, E-40 fans, and impressionable youth were all blamed for bringing violence into the suburban culture of Tacoma… there were only two comments below, both of which were brief and relatively extreme in their claims. There’s nothing wrong with being radical in your argument, but I think in order to do so people should back up their claims with reasoning and examples… the first comment was “END CRACK CULTURE AND MAYBE HIP HOP CAN GET BACK ON TRACK”… although this may or may not be an accurate statement, the format of commenting on the web leaves no requirement to thoroughly argue a point or provide substantial backup. Extreme comments can be made, and no one is forced to give an explanation or really get a conversation started. I think having a place to share your own thoughts and see other people reactions/responses is potentially beneficial, but I don’t think it will really be significant or productive unless people put time and substance into their contributions.

Another funny blog experience....

2008-05-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

Well i definitely found the genre of blogs that attract me: others people's stupidity. After viewing "Passive Aggressive Notes.com" the other night, I decided to go back to get a few more laughs. It was on this site that I found another funny blog, "Funny Exam Answers.com." The title of the site is fairly self explanatory. People post either their own exams or others’ exams that have been corrected by teachers or professors. There are pictures of the exams, along with some commentary, and viewers can comment on the post right below it. Although I laughed a little bit, the site got a little boring because I felt like some of the exam answers were written by students for the purpose of posting it on this site after it was corrected. If this actually occurs, I think it is ridiculous that students would be willing to receive poor grades for a few laughs from people they do not even know. I think the one post I laughed at the most, was a short reflection on a quote that was given to the students of the particular class by the professor. The quote was, “Some people don’t look up until they are flat on their backs.” The student responded with a few sentences and concluded with this example: “Like if someone is kicked by a Kung Fu midget, they won’t look up.” My response was basically, “Wow, what an idiot.” The answer may have been slightly comical, but I think I laughed more at the fact that someone would actually write that. I really hope they were not serious. Another post that I found on the site was funny simply because I actually know someone that did the exact same thing. The final exam was a true/false test, so the answer was either “A” or “B”. This particular student marked “C” down the entire scantron, which obviously gave the student an F on the test. The teacher wrote to the student, that it may be true that on a normal multiple choice test if one does not know the answer, it is most likely that the answer is “C” in terms of probability; however, this test only had two answers, neither of which was chosen. The professor ends with, “B is the new C.” Clearly the student came unprepared, and then made it worse by not even reading the directions.

Although it was funny to laugh at people’s stupidity, I really liked the first blog that I read over this particular site. Like I said before, I think that some people may have sent in their exam answers just for the “fame” they might receive on a blog. As expected, crude humor can be found on the site, but some of it really crosses the line into perversion. The site made me wonder if the students who post these exam answers get more satisfaction from the possibility of gaining a few minutes of an unknown viewer’s attention than they do from succeeding in school. Although this may be extreme thinking, I really hope that technology, blogs and personal digital media in particular, does not disrupt education. It would be not only pathetic, but also very sad if people chose comedic performance on a blog over academic performance in school. I know that there is a good chance that most of us have spent some time on Facebook or Myspace during class, whether it’s to kill time, to “stalk” people, or to edit our profiles. But can you imagine if people started failing exams on purpose to gain a few laughs from some people on a blog? Some people will never cease to amaze me.

if i only had a blog....

2008-05-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure what I would call it. BUT I do know that it would be a work of art to say the least =)
I would make sure to put all my quirky little personal philosophies on life out for the world to see. In addition to blogging about my life (and those close to me), relationships, school, and fashion, it would be completely necessary for me to throw in the latest about the true madness which is commonly referred to as "Hollywood".
One blog I truly enjoyed reading was one by a girl named Raymi. There was a link on Tony Pierce's blog to Raymi's site and I actually sat at my computer and read at least 20 of her blog postings! No, I'm not a weird stalker but her blog was fairly interesting, there was a definite sense of voyeurism going on that was oddly addictive. I know nothing about Raymi, what she sounds like, or what her favorite bedtime snack is; the things she posts in her blog are the only snapshots of her life that i have to make a character judgment...and so far so ~~good~~ interesting!
I think my blog would be a mix of Raymi's "notorious b.l.o.g.", Crunk & Disorberly, and the M.I.S.S. blogspot.
Actually I'm pretty excited to start my own blog, who cares if no one ever reads it?! My satisfaction will come from the simple fact that my opinion is out there for the world to read (maybe??). Tony Pierce makes blogging not seem like such a daunting task. It's the new wave of communication!

Digital Express

2008-05-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

The difficulty with digital communication is the affect of body language is lost. One could argue that online digital communication makes up for this with the invention of webcams, which, do to a certain degree compensate for the 1:1 personal aspect. However if we observe the dilemma that exists within the restriction of language in general we also find the same hurdle.

How do you know what you feel? We have learned that words describe our inner feelings and emotions. Expressing those emotions and feelings uses the tools of words in order to communicate to another person what is happening with you. The invention of blogs, and more specifically websites that have the capacity to support video and pictures among other mobile programs allows the user to bridge that words may not express. To restrict ourselves to words may seem primitive someday. I know this is a long stretch, but if you think of how can express so much to another person in music or a movie. It's a combination of words, sounds and movements that communicate to another person the message you want them to receive, which in some cases is singular. Like for instance, you want to break up with someone. Maybe you send them a song that tells the story of a love that once was, but because a guy was an idiot and did something stupid it's over, couple that with a picture of a casket with a the imprint of ya'll's name in a heart and message is received loud and clear.

It is in this manor that blogs allow individuals to communicate beyond the bounds of mere words, except most often times blogs are used a means of expressing the person as a whole. If we consider a movie director for instance, we can conclude that by the end of his career, as we look at his life's work, we get an impression of what his tastes were like and get a sense of the person. Blogs act in a similar manor, they are an online expression of oneself.