Journal Block 1

-Nick Walker

Entry #1: Introduction

The introduction was well written overall, but the part that I found the most interesting was where the author writes about how critique of literature is comparable to the critique of video games. While it is not a direct comparison I still think it is a cool idea because both literature and video games have a sense of structure and composition that you could draw a formula of criticism from, like is mentioned later in the same paragraph. The writer mentions how to qualitatively study games they look at: Object Inventory, Interface Study, Interaction Map, and Gameplay Log. I just found this really interesting because when I look back at a game that I would consider reviewing I don't just think about gameplay but also how the UI is laid out an weather or not it is fluid and easy to understand. Also if the gameplay is not only good, but flows from one part to the next well. The idea that this is similar to how you would close read literature but to a video game is something I think is fascinating. When the writer mentions that reading is a “complex phenomenon... a gateway into a rich combination of experience, meaning making, and interpretation.” This is is something that directly applies to games, it is almost an exact definition of what a strong game is. Games and literature are not just about the story being told or the ideas that are trying to be conveyed, they are about the experience of the reader or the player and what those experiences mean.

Entry #2: LIMBO

I wanted to focus more on LIMBO because it is the game I am more familiar with of the two and I am able to relate more with the author of the review. The opening and closing of the author's review were my two favorite parts, the opening for the questions it raises and the ending for how much I related to it. The author brings up the point that the old cliche is that in order for games to be a form of art they need to be able to make us cry. Why is the antithesis of an art form it's ability to make us cry? I personally have never been brought to tears by a video game or any form of art of media for that matter. I have, however, been emotionally attached to games and their characters before though, and they certainly have made me feel something. And I defiantly think that video games are an art form because of that, not because they made me cry but because they made me feel anything at all. All of the examples that the author mentions; like guilt, responsibility, ruefulness, triumph, accomplishment, and these are all things I have felt before in games. Because LIMBO made me feel any of those is why it is a beautiful game and a work of art, but most of all it made me wonder, it made me think. I theorized what the game and it's ending meant. I read up on ideas that other had on the internet like the author mentions at the end of the review. Because LIMBO got me thinking so hard about a possible meaning for its ending is why I think it is a true work of art and one of my favorite games.

Entry #3: Toy Soldiers

My favorite part of the author's review has less to do with the game Toy Soldiers and more to do with the author's description of how we play when we are kids. He talks about how we use or imaginations to craft a world and so many outlandish scenarios. We are able to do this with just some toys and things laying around the house and that this is what leads to our ability to tell stories and create our own little fictional worlds. This paragraph struck me because I had never really thought about it before. Making up our own stories was something that I did as a kid and it is something that I still do now, to this very day. Making up stories is something that I do every day, like when I hear the ending of a random conversation on the way to class, I like to imagine what the conversation was like leading up to that point with no context. Another good example is LIMBO and why I liked it so much. LIMBO gave me a sort of canvas to paint my ideas of what happened and is happening to the boy in that story and that is probably why I enjoy it so much. It is also probably the reason why I did not like Toy Soldiers, because in my mind it is World War one, a concrete fact of history in my mind, something that has already happened and that I can't really imagine any other way.

Entry #4: Street Fighter

The author of this review talking about Street Fighter bright up a point that takes place in any game that fairly difficult or hard to master and is making a sequel or expansion. That argument is his point of the Street Fighter team, “trying to reach a mass market.” The other sums up the two sides of the argument pretty nicely. One said is for accessibility and the other is opposed to the watering down that would be necessary in order to reach said accessibility. That is an argument that took place leading up to each World of Warcraft expansion, Diablo 3, any Elder Scrolls game, Dark Souls 2, and so on. I believe this argument takes place because the people who dedicated hours to mastering and enjoying a game don't want to see that accomplishment diminished in any way and want that experience to continue. The side that fears that a sequel to a game will be made simpler than its predecessor is the side I support because the game in it's original form is the game that I wish everyone could enjoy as much as I did. The feel of learning and mastering something that is truly unique, difficult, or just fun to learn is a feeling that I would love to re-experience and want others to experience as well. That is why I think myself and many other fear that sequels to games will be watered down and made too simple for the sake of accessibility. While I think I understand the other side of the argument I don't think I would be able to do it proper justice.

Entry #5: Pokemon

At the beginning of this review the author mainly talks about how Pokemon is a great learning experience to kids and how it positively impacts the player even though it is still frowned upon for children to have simply because it is viewed as a game and a toy. This is all interesting stuff, by my favorite bit is when the author talks about memory, having game knowledge, and knowing what parts of that information were important to have and when. This is a huge part of any game and one of the coolest things games are able to do with their players. Learning through playing is my favorite thing in any game. In Pokemon I remember trying to learn which order a gym leader would send his Pokemon out in and which one of my own personal Pokemon would be best for me to send out next. In Dark Souls, learning where exactly to stand behind any given character in order to properly execute a back stab. In Bioshock, knowing what combination of plasmids and weapons work best in each situation. All of these things I learned through play and while I could tell you all about the lore in the world of Pokemon, or Lordran, or Rapture, I can tall you that because I hear or read it, not because I directly experienced and learned it. That is what I think is the most powerful tool any game has, be it Pokemon or any other video game.