Gamer: Is It Really a Game?

               I find it ironic that this movie begins with the song Sweet Dreams, as the future presented in Gamer seems much more like a nightmare.  In the movie, the future of videogames has arrived with gamers controlling real people instead of virtual characters.  Every movement or command of the gamer must be obeyed by his or her character because of mind controlling nano-cells implanted in the person’s brain.  There are two different types of games, Society and Slayers.

                       In Society, players can pay to control someone else or get paid to be controlled by someone else.  It’s basically a much lewder version of Second Life with real people.  Gamers can make their avatars socialize, go to raves, or engage in some kinky sex.  The movie also shows how the gamers use Society to take on new identities.  For example, a morbidly obese pervert uses a woman in racy attire as his avatar.  Of course, he doesn’t care because his fake identity hides the real him. 

                      

Society looks a lot like a Lady Gaga music video

                         In Slayers, gamers control death row inmates in Modern Warfare like death matches.  When a player dies, it is a real person getting killed.  Slayers’ creator defends the ‘game’ by arguing that the convicts volunteer willingly because they will be released if they can survive thirty matches.  So is it really a game?  Certainly not for the convicts themselves.  They may volunteer, but within the arena or ‘the magic circle’ they are little more than puppets. 

 My finally question is: can anything designed to take a human life really be considered a game?  What about games that can put human life at serious risk, such as mountain climbing or bull fighting?  What about Society, in which the gamers force their avatars to do terribly demeaning things?  Don’t games ultimately require fun and harmlessness as a fundamental part of their nature?

Do you have a Second Life?

For those of you who are not familiar with the virtual game, Second Life, let me explain. Second Life is a game that has introduced a unique virtual world. In this game, users have the ability to create an avatar of anything they can imagine, regardless of who they are in reality. According to its developers, Second Life is, "A place to connect, a place to shop, a place to work, a place to love, a place to explore, a place to be different, a be yourself...and a place to love your life." Second Life is a game that facilitates a world away from reality in which users explore a world unlike that of our own. By creating their own fantasies, hundreds-of-thousands of Second Life users have the ability to interact with individuals throughout the world and connect with them via their avatars. 

Boston's Financial District *E#494

Avatars Interacting Via Second Life

The first time I heard about Second Life was in 2010, when I watched the Sundance Film Festival documentary, Life 2.0. Made by documentary filmmaker, Jason Springarn-Koff, Life 2.0, explores the world of Second Life, and how it has transformed the lives of its users—not just in the virtual world, but in the real world as well. It is a game that is truly unlike any other I've ever seen. I, myself, have yet to play Second Life, but I am fully aware of the potential effects the game can have on its highly active users. I am curious as to how players perceive this game, and why they have become so entranced. 

We all have passions in life (real life); ambitions we seek and hope to achieve sooner rather than later. In Second Life, users have objectives as well. In both lifestyles, there are various paths for individuals (or avatars) to take. If a person (or avatar) is on the right course, he or she should pursue it. However, when it comes to direction, it is never too late for anyone (or anything) to change. Why spend so much time organizing your Second Life, when you have the potential to change your real life? Second Life is a game, and so is life—you can play it however you want.

Super Bowl Rematch: New York Giants beat the New England Patriots

Did you have déjà vu watching the NFL Super Bowl last night, or did New York Giants actually beat the New England Patriots again in the Super Bowl? Oh yes, that’s right, history does repeat itself; at Super Bowl XLII, four years ago, the Giants—2007 NFC Conference Champions—beat the Patriots—AFC Conference Champs—in Glendale, Arizona. But, as if beating Bill Belichick and the Patriots in 2008 wasn’t sweet enough, Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning did it again last night; four years since their last face off, Coughlin, Manning and the NY Giants beat Belichick, Brady and the Patriots in a Super bowl rematch on February 5th, 2012. The final score of Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants—21, New England Patriots—17.

Mike Segar/Reuters

For me, the Super Bowl this year wasn’t about sifting through the most entertaining commercials. This year, it was all about the game. Actually, it was all about the New York Giants. Americans’, for the most part, love the game of football. I know I find great enjoyment watching the NFC and AFC Conference Championship teams face off in the Super Bowl year-after-year. 

I have always had enormous faith in the Giants, especially in MVP quarterback, Eli Manning. Having evaluated each teams’ dynamic, as well as each quarterbacks’ performance, I believe the Giants deserved to win. As a proud New Yorker (born-and-bred), I couldn’t be more proud sporting my 2011 NFC Conference Champions’ apparel around Ann Arbor.

HOWARD SIMMONS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

I believe the Giants won because overall, they were significantly more consistent than the Patriots. The Giants communicated, performed and executed as one team, with adeptness and confidence, which is why they prevailed. With dignity and determination, comes success—especially in sports; and during last night's game, the New York Giants were the true epitome of success. GO GIANTS AND GO BLUE!

Feelings of Flow

In class today we discussed the sense of flow.  For me, when playing lacrosse, I experience this sensation because it is something I have dedicated several years of my life to.  I have been playing lacrosse since I was in sixth grade, and played up until my senior year of high school.  Throughout practice, we engage in various kinds of drills in which we are practicing for the sole purpose of improving our abilities in lacrosse.  Flow is described as the mental state where a person is fully engaged and focused on a certain activity.  Psychologists have also added that when in a current state of flow, it is as if nothing else in the world matters.  I am able to experience flow when I play lacrosse because I have engaged in various types of deliberate practice.  During lacrosse season, my entire team is given specific workout instructions and explicit drills in which we are to complete.  These drills are designated by both our coach and our trainer, ensuring we are training to be the best we can.  Even during off-season we are also participating in deliberate practice.  We each meet with the trainer several times a week and have a detailed workout plan that we must adhere to in order to keep us in shape.  Before every game, especially those that determine our rankings, I tense up with fear and nerves.  However, once I am placed in the game and focused on winning, it is as if nothing else matters, and the plays that I do seem to come naturally, without thinking.  Because I am fully involved in the game, and I seem to be playing without thought, I believe I experience flow each time I play lacrosse. 

What Really Influences the Outcome of Sports?

     During this past week, as a student of the University of Michigan, I was able to attend to the basketball game our school had against Indiana University on Wednesday night.  I normally do not attend our basketball games, but as a fan of basketball in general I found the game to be very entertaining and quite an experience.  However, the impact that this class has had on me made my experience a little different than a normal sports event, but very interesting.  As a spectator, I was able to observe parts of the game in very different perspectives that gave me a very different insight into sporting competitions in general.

Point Guard Trey Burke drives past Indiana's Victor
Oladipo during the game.

     One major concept we learned about and discussed in class is the psychology behind sports/games and the motives associated with it.  Specifically, Mr. Garcia had explained to us what drives us towards close competition with others, including both situational factors such as number of competitors, and individual factors such as relevance and relationship closeness.  As I kept these in mind at the game, the entire environment all of a sudden seemed to make so much more sense to me.  Right from the start, you could observe the high levels of excitement and energy throughout the Crisler Arena.  As one of our conference members and among our top rivals, Mr. Garcia’s theories explaining relevance and closeness to the competitor became very appropriate to the situation.  Because the other team was so close to us in ranking (22 vs. 20) and very relevant to us because of our conference, the game’s importance and competitiveness was sky rocketed.  You could easily tell how hard the players were battling each other as well as the intensity of the crowd.  Also, pertaining the the concept of the “N-effect,” in a game like basketball there is only one other competitor, which also led to an increase in competition.  Knowing these theories behind competition not only bettered my game experience, but also enhanced my understanding of the game’s environment.

     Another important perspective we learned about in the course so far was the incorporation of game theory.  Game theory involves strategic decision making based on both the consequences you will receive and the decisions that your opponent also makes.  What makes the game theory complex is the fact that you do not know how our opponent will act, so you must weigh your options accordingly.  It is all basically a mind game deciding between what you should and/or how you could deceive your opponent into doing something that either helps you or hurts them.  I found this theory to be very relative to how the basketball game played out.  During the beginning stages of the game, Michigan held a big lead, but soon enough Indiana had cut down the lead to about 3 points.  After another half of close battling, Michigan finally came out with a safe victory.  When I think about the course of how the game played out though, game theory was the first thing that came to my mind.  It became apparent to me that in the beginning of the game, Michigan must not have only been scoring easily on Indiana, but clearly they knew their opponents’ tendencies well and used this to also play great defense.  Like game theory, Michigan was making the best decisions for their team to succeed while keeping in mind the actions of their opponents.  Additionally, when Indiana started to make a comeback, it became evident to me that at that point during the game, they were performing exactly as Michigan was previously.  Essentially, game theory was the prime factor behind the outcome of this game.

     Sports and games have always been a pretty big part of my life, but the perspectives we’ve learned so far int he course have significantly changed my outlook on them.  Watching games is not simply rooting for my favorite team anymore, but rather examining very influential aspects of the game that normally are not even discussed.  Both the psychology behind competition and game theory are two concepts that are much more relevant to my life than I had originally thought.

Do Video Game Graphics Matter?

According to Bleszinski, the graphics of today's games are not good enough... and he wants video game graphics to resemble Avatar quality. He says "The Xbox 360 is great, we've pushed it further than we ever have with Gears of War 3, but I want 'Avatar' in real-time and beyond. I want fully realistic CG, and are we there? Absolutely not. I think there's absolutely room for improvement."

The stress they are putting on improving the design of video games leaves me to think about a few things: 
Are people more likely to buy video games with beautiful graphics and design? Do people prefer video games that are better designed?


A microsoft representative told CNET, "as an innovator we're always thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect. We believe the key to extending the lifespan of a console is not just about the console hardware, but about the games and entertainment experiences being delivered to consumers."


So...how important do you think the graphics are in playing video games? And, if video games do not evolve and improve with today's technologies, will their lifespan be shortened as well?


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'Avatar' Like Graphics  
The above article talks about the computer graphics of video games.

Let "The Hunger Games" Begin

The Magic Circle's journey in UC 256: 22 Ways of Thinking About The Games We Play at the University of Michigan has just begun, and so has our "Hunger Games" book quest. 

It was bound to happen sooner or later, and I'm glad the time has come. At last, I finally started to read the novel everyone's been talking about—"The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins. I believe every aspect of this book relates to the theories we have (and continue) to discuss in this course. Everything about games; what are games, why do we play the games we do, what are the rules of the game, etc. In "The Hunger Games," the mysteries surrounding District 12 and the reaping, the purpose of this game, the decisions made during this game, and how Katniss Everdeen and the rest of the Seam play the game. 

Suzanne Collins

I am proud to be one of the 9.6 million people who have purchased a book in the "Hunger Games" trilogy. So far, everyone I've spoken to highly recommends this novel and I definitely understand why. I'm 40 pages in, and I am already hooked. I'm surprised I have time to write this blog post! Must. Keep. Reading.

This book is entrancing and highly captivating. And from my understanding, Lionsgate is releasing its movie adaptation of "The Hunger Games" on March 23. Friends of mine have tried to show me the trailer, but I continue to refuse until I finish this book. Although I read "The Hunger Games" Media Decoder, by The New York Times, I refuse to have my imagination tarnished by the trailer! I am so excited to discuss this book with the rest of my Magic Circle guild members. So, let the games and reading begin!