|
Last semester I took a class named video game theory. I found out that not only is academia decades behind study of vg's, but the people who do are just applying theories and ideas from different disciplines which don't make sense. A small portion of the literature on games is spot-on (mainly stuff by Eric Zimmerman & most of the stuff out of certain books). There are a lot of ideas and concepts which are latent in our generation, but are rarely explored. And they're really f*cking interesting.
As I did papers, projects and research it became obvious there weren't any sites which condensed and simplified the information. There wasn't one good source. I was writing for a professor who didn't grow up playing games while to a class full of people who did, and some who didn't--so it constantly felt like I was trying to explain things to my mom while making sense to my brother. There is a severe hole here where there should be information.
I have so many ideas, so many things to say. My challenge is to say them in the right way.
I learned/am learning how to make websites and I'm going to launch a blog on VG theory. I want it to have good information in bite-sized chunks so somebody casually reading (clueless parent or knowing child) could be interested while a student writing a report would have worthy information to cite. Basically I want to create the website I wished I could find. But before I put hours and hours into writing the content I think people will like, I'm gonna ask around. Here's a rough draft post I put together.
So, for a second, imagine you stumble onto a new website and you start reading this.
+ Show Spoiler +Have you ever replayed an older game you remember as groundbreaking where you thought, “man these graphics suck”? Here’s why. This is a triangle made by a man named Scott McCloud and since he has the same last name as Star Fox, it’s definitely trustworthy. “The bottom left is the extreme of absolute photo-realism. In the bottom right are things that are somewhat abstract and semantically meaningful, and at the top is pure abstraction; line and form without any specific symbolic meaning.” ( source) You can put any video game on this triangle somewhere. If you plot the direction of games since their inception, these dots would push closer and closer into the bottom left corner—games have been ALL about the graphics. This is because games are about immersion. Can’t get into it? Doesn’t matter how great the rest of it is. The more realistic a game seems, the more immersive it is. Graphics are an easy, in-your-face aspect of games which lend themselves to simple quantification and comparison. The games with the best graphics give reviewers an easy time hyping and comparing to other games, show immediate and dramatic leaps forward in technology and lend themselves highly to immersion. They’re the perfect, novel pre-release tool.
I'll be adding more content throughout and a conclusion, discussed further down
I know some things;
1) This will not interest everyone. But it should
2) I need to develop and refine my writing. Open to suggestions
I would like to know;
1) Does this make sense? In a convo I can explain this perfectly because its dynamic and gives me feedback. In writing, I have to have the perfect string of words to keep you with my thoughts.
2) Did it keep you reading?
3) Point out one weaker part (for whatever reason) and suggest how to change it
4) Do you agree with what I say?
5) What would you title it?
6) Any jokes or catchy titles around the words "Video Game Theory"?
Some other places I’d expand on this in other posts I'd link to within the post
a. Games that didn’t follow the trend and their commercial success.
b. The ever-expanding technology ceiling: as processing power gets bigger and better, ideas used in older games don't make sense in newer ones. (Like the world map/separate battle screen in FF back then wouldn't work on the 360, and the open-world see all the monsters system today is the replacement)
c. Reality ceiling/uncanny valley. There will come a point, as there does in every medium, where the advances in realism will become so marginal that forward progress isn't possible. After this plateau, the medium explodes in the other two directions of the triangle. When the ability to create perfect graphics is pervasive there will come a massive shift--gameplay will become the focus of developers. This will make everything AMAZING
d. There are 3 generations of gamers; those who grew up and invented them, those who grew up with them during this graphics-obsessed novelty phase, and those after this phase. We're nearing the end of this novelty phase. Already Nintendo is branching out into this final generation, Xbox is getting on board, don't know what Sony's doing.
Other Areas:
Here are some other general areas I'll write on. I have a ton of writing already done, but not blog post quality writing. Do any of these sound interesting?
1) A look at Final Fantasy - how the series has evolved and why its still able to dominate/what it needs to change
2) Concept-Driven v. Superfluous game processes - how games age, explains why SC is still an amazing game 10 yrs down the line
3) Why the JRPG is really dying
4) WRPG v. JRPG
5) The Future of RPG’s - it isn't what you think
6) The power of consumer nostalgia
I'm still constantly reading books & literature on VG theory so I'm open to any suggestions on what to look into, really. Right now I'm mainly focusing on consoles and games in general, eventually I'll bust into the rich tradition of PC gaming & possibly e-sports if I get physically involved with them.
|
This sounds extremely interesting though, the reasons why JRPG is dying and the final fantasy article are going to be a filled with lots of duhs of and THIS CAN BE FIXED arguments by myself haha.
|
My opinion is that when engaging in any kind of academic activity 2 things are extremely important to avoid.
1) Forming views based on too few sources. Reading a handful of books doesn't give you a well rounded conceptual understanding. Also, relating opinions to first principle observations is very important.
2) Don't write a load of stuff that everybody knows, but in academic language. The stuff in the spoiler section certainly falls into this bracket in my opinion. Merely describing the way things are is rarely meaningful if it doesn't also lead to some new conclusions.
Rambling on about this and that, using a good vocabulary might get you good grades in school, but when people are reading something for fun you've got to actaully have something to say, and you should also get to the point pretty sharpish.
|
First I have a question, what exactly is videogame theory? Does it have to do with which factors make video games a success and what makes it flop? Thats how im interpeting it for now.
Anyways, I read the part about the triangle and its partly true, but realism is not only in the graffics, its allso in how, for example, the story is written and how good the voice actors are and so on.
Another thing I dont really understand is what the model is good for. Since there are games in each "quadrant" that where succesful. Or do you want to define the player that likes X type of games and base your marketing strategy on that?
I allso dont really agree that a game is all about immersion some games are there just to relax or entertain you, for example wii-sports, tetris, free-cell and all these other windows standard games. For the hardcore games though I would agree, for a game to be good it should immerse you, in one way or the other (Could be gameplay, story, graffics general goals you can reach, community and so on).
Now to awnser your questions real fast:
1. Pretty much what i wrote above.
2. Read everything untill these question and skimmed the rest.
3. The whole triangle thing just doesn't feel finished, so I cant really comment here.
4. Party agree, again I refer you to what i wrote above.
5. Something like: "Understanding the language of games"
6. Only really childish once that I'll refrain from postinh here 
|
On June 09 2011 08:01 KurtistheTurtle wrote:
Here are some other general areas I'll write on. I have a ton of writing already done, but not blog post quality writing. Do any of these sound interesting?
1) A look at Final Fantasy - how the series has evolved and why its still able to dominate/what it needs to change
Not really.
From a pure game perspective there are major differences to the point where they're not really connected.
2) Concept-Driven v. Superfluous game processes - how games age, explains why SC is still an amazing game 10 yrs down the line
Could be interesting, although a competitive game is completely different than a single player game.
3) Why the JRPG is really dying
The JRPG is "dying" in places not called Japan, and yet it's still fine in the US. I would expect some drivel about how detached they are from Western fanbases and such.
4) WRPG v. JRPG
I think analyzing JRPGs without understanding Japanese entertainment on a whole, and in Japanese, is kinda pointless.
5) The Future of RPG’s - it isn't what you think
Sounds kinda arrogant.
6) The power of consumer nostalgia
I... guess, although it's really just Nintendo.
|
+ Show Spoiler +On June 09 2011 08:16 Monokeros wrote:
This sounds extremely interesting though, the reasons why JRPG is dying and the final fantasy article are going to be a filled with lots of duhs of and THIS CAN BE FIXED arguments by myself haha.
haha, yup! a lot of things are blatantly obvious, but others are really subtle cultural differences which produce huge differences in sales
+ Show Spoiler +On June 09 2011 08:27 deathly rat wrote:
My opinion is that when engaging in any kind of academic activity 2 things are extremely important to avoid.
1) Forming views based on too few sources. Reading a handful of books doesn't give you a well rounded conceptual understanding. Also, relating opinions to first principle observations is very important.
2) Don't write a load of stuff that everybody knows, but in academic language. The stuff in the spoiler section certainly falls into this bracket in my opinion. Merely describing the way things are is rarely meaningful if it doesn't also lead to some new conclusions.
Rambling on about this and that, using a good vocabulary might get you good grades in school, but when people are reading something for fun you've got to actaully have something to say, and you should also get to the point pretty sharpish.
My goal is original content that's interesting to read for a wide audience. If it's smart and insightful, it will be simple. My ideas are simple and obvious when you think the right way, its just a matter of getting the concepts across. I can do this in conversation, anybody who plays games cares, but I'm having torubles getting it through writing. I'll have another draft up when I can sit down and work on this uninterrupted
The Professor from my class liked what I did so much she's trying to go against the budget cuts in my state to get me a job doing research on this & submitting it places. The content is no problem, its how I say it where I need work.
+ Show Spoiler +On June 09 2011 08:52 Madoga wrote:First I have a question, what exactly is videogame theory? Does it have to do with which factors make video games a success and what makes it flop? Thats how im interpeting it for now. Anyways, I read the part about the triangle and its partly true, but realism is not only in the graffics, its allso in how, for example, the story is written and how good the voice actors are and so on. Another thing I dont really understand is what the model is good for. Since there are games in each "quadrant" that where succesful. Or do you want to define the player that likes X type of games and base your marketing strategy on that? I allso dont really agree that a game is all about immersion some games are there just to relax or entertain you, for example wii-sports, tetris, free-cell and all these other windows standard games. For the hardcore games though I would agree, for a game to be good it should immerse you, in one way or the other (Could be gameplay, story, graffics general goals you can reach, community and so on). Now to awnser your questions real fast: 1. Pretty much what i wrote above. 2. Read everything untill these question and skimmed the rest. 3. The whole triangle thing just doesn't feel finished, so I cant really comment here. 4. Party agree, again I refer you to what i wrote above. 5. Something like: "Understanding the language of games" 6. Only really childish once that I'll refrain from postinh here
To point out a rough metaphor, imagine build orders in Starcraft. With them the game takes on a whole new life, finding them, refining them, building them against each opponent but tailored to the moment--it's all the thinking that goes on above the actual game.
VG Theory is the conceptual framework which defines what's going on inside of games, the player, and how each affects everything else on an individual & macroscopic level. Sounds complicated but its not, its just a communal mental system which clarifies and analyzes where things belong.
|
On June 09 2011 09:16 kainzero wrote:Show nested quote +On June 09 2011 08:01 KurtistheTurtle wrote:
Here are some other general areas I'll write on. I have a ton of writing already done, but not blog post quality writing. Do any of these sound interesting?
1) A look at Final Fantasy - how the series has evolved and why its still able to dominate/what it needs to change
Not really. From a pure game perspective there are major differences to the point where they're not really connected. Show nested quote +2) Concept-Driven v. Superfluous game processes - how games age, explains why SC is still an amazing game 10 yrs down the line Could be interesting, although a competitive game is completely different than a single player game. The JRPG is "dying" in places not called Japan, and yet it's still fine in the US. I would expect some drivel about how detached they are from Western fanbases and such. I think analyzing JRPGs without understanding Japanese entertainment on a whole, and in Japanese, is kinda pointless. Sounds kinda arrogant. I... guess, although it's really just Nintendo.
1. The series carries its own set of iconography and has created a sort of "in-group" outside the US. There are themes present throughout the entire series, start to finish. On top of that the games have always used progressive ideas and game processes for the time. The series is a contiguous whole.
2. Depends on the dynamic processes the game is capable of creating.
3. The JRPG is dying. There will be a place for it, a niche, but compared to what it was, its dying. This is because its largely based off of completely superfluous processes.
4. I took Japanese through high school, college, I've been to Japan & while I'm not a *fluent* speaker I understand enough about the society to understand what I don't understand. For this I have Japanese friends who can explain it to me.
5. Arrogant or not its the truth.
6. What? The thought is half-baked. Blizzard uses consumer nostalgia in their marketing & products PERFECTLY. If you played Diablo, remember when you got to Tristram in D2? Griswold was there. The town was in shambles, but instead of the main function as in the first game it was a small piece of the world underscoring how much greater the threat was you were facing this time.
And for me, who didn't play Diablo first, I went back through the original game. The entire experience had a sort of dramatic irony-esque feel, I knew they were all doomed. What I was doing was only fruitful in the short term. I don't know if they intended it but they even created a "reverse" nostalgia.
|
On June 09 2011 08:27 deathly rat wrote:
2) Don't write a load of stuff that everybody knows, but in academic language. The stuff in the spoiler section certainly falls into this bracket in my opinion. Merely describing the way things are is rarely meaningful if it doesn't also lead to some new conclusions.
Relevance and meaning on a platter. What a nugget. My writing sucks
On June 09 2011 08:52 Madoga wrote:
I allso dont really agree that a game is all about immersion some games are there just to relax or entertain you, for example wii-sports, tetris, free-cell and all these other windows standard games. For the hardcore games though I would agree, for a game to be good it should immerse you, in one way or the other (Could be gameplay, story, graffics general goals you can reach, community and so on).
Heres another way of saying what I mean:
With games, the bottom-line product is an emotional experience. Immersion is the measure of how invested you are in the outcome of whatever you're playing. The methods vary wildly by genre and technology but the ability to become immersed is the common thread throughout all successful games. The opposite of love is indifference, the opposite of a good game is one you don't care about.
Also, good perception. This triangle is the rough simplistic form of what I've actually developed off of it. I don't want to post content on here then move it to a blog later.
|
1) Does this make sense? In a convo I can explain this perfectly because its dynamic and gives me feedback. In writing, I have to have the perfect string of words to keep you with my thoughts.
Makes perfect sense. My poor english skills could understand well enough, without having to worry about your writing at any point.
2) Did it keep you reading?
Yes, you got be hooked up with the joke at the beginning, that's a good strat.
3) Point out one weaker part (for whatever reason) and suggest how to change it
Maybe it's a bit to short? I'm usually for short but effective summaries. But your article seems like it's missing something. Maybe a conclusion about which direction stuff is going in the future would be great. (like you actually did later in your post, but outside the article)
Probably the lack of sourcing gives it some feeling of "I'll just have to take your word for it". Which isn't really bad, IF you can make a name for yourself and people go after your content because they trust you.
4) Do you agree with what I say?
I think so, never gave it too much thought before. But what you say makes sense.
5) What would you title it?
6) Any jokes or catchy titles around the words "Video Game Theory"?
Aren't these 2 the same question? I would probably try to take one common gaming meme and change some words to lean the meaning towards game dev. Like "All your theorycraft belong to us" or "Super Game Theory Turbo" or "Game Theory Gosu" etc. Or just work on some common gaming memes and experiment changing some words until you come up with something funny.
On June 09 2011 08:01 KurtistheTurtle wrote:
Here are some other general areas I'll write on. I have a ton of writing already done, but not blog post quality writing. Do any of these sound interesting? A little bit, I'm intrigued about what you're gonna write on the future of RPGs. I wanna read that. The ones about JRPGs or WRPGs sounds kinda meh to me. All in all it seems you're a bit too focused on RPGs only too much. Which might be good or bad. I think it's good that you find a niche audience, specially if you're really good at that subject. But it will depend how much can you talk about that alone and keep it interesting.
Some things that I would like to read from you. Was expecting you to talk about these, but unfortunately you didn't. Hopefully you do in the future:
- Game balance. What is it? How it works? Is it possible to achieve "perfect mathematical balance"? What is "fairness"? What is "luck"? How important are all of these for both casual games and e-sports?
- Game platforms interactions with each other. Consoles vs PC vs Browser vs Mobile devices. How are these platforms competing with each other? Who is winning? Are mobile games ever gonna get as visually good as console? Will that kill console? Or are these platforms gonna converge together? How? When?
- Business models. Old school pay for the game. Freemium models. In-app payments. Free games used as free advertisements for other paid games or products. How each model interacts with newest technology, how piracy affects each. Is the future Blizzard gonna adapt into something like Zynga? Or is the future Zynga gonna adapt into something like Nintendo? (E3 shaked my personal predictions on this one)
- How do new technologies affect games of different genres. Social apps, location based apps. Are we gonna see more console games posting to your facebook wall? Is nintendo gonna come up with a game where you actually have to phisically go somewhere to catch a pokemon? etc
Overall I liked you. I'm hooked up, and wanna read more about you. If I could subscribe to your rss I would do it already  gl hf
|
I never even knew they had classes like these :D
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT![[image loading]](http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/8519/mccloudtriangle.png)
