2009年11月25日 星期三

the ethic of video games

THE ETHIC OF VIDEO GAMES--- Sex and Violence


}What is Video Games?
}It refers to:


Games played using computer power,where the computer upholds the rules of the game and the game is palyed using a video display


--(Juul 2005,p.36)


}Such as: the Sony PlayStation 2, the Nintendo GameCube, or Microsoft’s Xbox
}games played on computers


}The player takes on the role of a fantasy character moving through an elaborate world, solving various problems
}Violent or not
}The player builds and maintains some complex entity
}Eg.army


}James Paul Gee’s arguments for video games’ positive impacts:


}“Playing video games is not a waste of time, but a kind of visual literacy.”
----What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy


}We can learn popular culture / certain kind of knowledge
}Eg. The names of the weapons in the game C.S.
}increase our creativity
}Eg. Design our house in the SIMS


Argument against:


"Unlike games, which suspend the rules
of reality in order to use the rules of a game,
simulations attempt to model a system in a
manner that is consistent with reality
"

---(Heinich,et al. 1996).


}Reality VS Virtual World
}Nowadays, the boundary between Reality and Virtual World blurred gradually
}Teenagers may treat their asset in the Virtual World as their real properties
}E.g. : Committed suicide after losing some weapons in the game world


}Some immature youths with weak willpower may imitate the behaviors of the games’ characters(Sex and Violence)
}E.g. :Use violence as the only means to solve problems/Bullying other people
ØRaised the ethical concern of the video games



}Dating Game
}Heartbeat Memorial }Dating simualtion












}Basic information
-Heartbeat Memorial/Tokimeki Memory/心跳回憶
-Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
-Designer: Koji Igarashi (Programmer, Scenario Writer)
-First released for the PC Engine on May 27, 1994
-Has many series; Game Boy Color, mobile phones, PC, PC Engine, PlayStation, PlayStation Portable, Sega Saturn, Super Famicom, Nintendo DS
-Based on a Japanese animation “Only love”/ 《純愛手札》
-Visual novel genre
-Single player
-A romantic dating simulation game


Dating simulation


-Unknown basic information
-Online gameRPG, a dating sims


}Shared Characteristics
-When the game ends, the player either loses the game if he failed to properly win over any of the girls, or "finishes" one of the girls
-often by :
-Having sex with her(D.N.A)
-marrying her (as in Magical Date)
- achieving eternal love


}How to win?
-Depended on "attraction meter" :
-Looks ,charisma, sports, art, health, etc.
-Can be boosted through going on diet, buying new clothes, doing gym, rest at home
-Buying gift to those girls in order to raise the attractiveness.
-Keep dating the girls can make a good impression.
-Is it just a game?
-Is love just about calculations?


}What’s behind the fancy game?
-Evil >curious and immature teenagers
-Influenced their minds unconsciously
-Misinterprets the concept of love/ marriage
-Long lasting, respect ,responsibility and commitment
-Only focus on appearance (dress up)
-Materialism (expensive clothes, accessories)
-Love is a careful planning and strategies ?
-Love seems be possessive
-Relationship only last for a few weeks
-Ignored inner beauty
-may allow the player to romance / having sex with characters in their teens or even younger


}Impacts on society
-A 19-year-old man shoot the parents of his 14-year-old girlfriend after they disapproved of the age gap between the lovers.
- By Harry Mount in New York Published: 12:01AM BST 15 Jun 2006






Violence game: SAW


}Basic information
}Saw: The Video Game
}Third person survival horror video
}Developed by Zombie Studios and published by Konami.
}Released on October 6, 2009 in North America






}How to play the game
}traverse the asylum and solve traps in order to escape
}find things as weapons, health, or clues
}The player combat to other people in order to survive



}Problems
}Brutal and realistic scenes
}E.g. cutting people’s body to search the things
}Negative impacts to teenagers; Increased aggressive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
}violent video games are highly engaging and interactive. They reward violent behavior, and the violent behaviors are repeated constantly over the course of the game
}If played frequently enough, games like this can skew a young person's perception of violence and its consequences.



}Useful links
-http://www.konami.jp/visual/tokimemo-anime/
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokimeki_Memorial
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokimeki_Memorial_(series)
-http://www.video-game-addiction.org/violence.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(video_game)


}Useful books
}Andy Clarke, Grethe Mitchell, ed. Videogames and Art, USA: The university of Chicago Press, 2007
}Arthur Asa Berger, Video Games: A popular Culture Phenomenon, USA: Transaction Publishers, 2002
}Jon Cogburn,Mark Silcox, Philosophy through video games, London : Routledge, 2009
}James Paul Gee,What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning And Literacy, New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003
}Sicart, Miguel, The ethics of computer games Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009















































2009年11月11日 星期三

Lecture11:Are digital art considered to be art?

Features of the game:
-It oringined from the old game called "Mario Brother"
-the artist copy nothing but only the clouds
-it can just see and can't play (moving clouds in a blue sky)
(accessed on 11 november 2009)
Art or not?why?
No,I think it is a kind of art.
it did compose a message (by saying that people looking at it will have the feeling like playing in the game), but is this so called message has meaning and worth looking at? I don't think so. It is just simple and just like pretended to make an idea to support this art work as I has no resonance and can't get the idea after looking at it. In other words, It is not aesthetically interesting to me.
(accessed on 11 november2009)

Lecture11:Are digital art considered to be art?



A)How does Adams define art? Do you agree with his definition?


Adam consider art as:

-a form of communication from the artist to viewer

-has message/ theme

-has content

-has aesthetic quality/value

-aesthetically interesting

-makes you feel something

-does not involve merchandising


my opinion:

I think aesthetically interesting is the most important factor for an art to be considered as an art. It is because not all the art has a message, ie some artists may think just "art for art's sake". But all art can considered to be art is because they are innovative and interesting to viewer. It doesn't confined art to has ceratin boundaries and allow artists to create art more freely.

B) According to Adam, what is needed for videogames to be considered as art?

He said that :

-games should be include formal and aesthetic qualities, like the colour,form,lines and etc.

-should has ideas and something message to say

-should be innovative

-should appropriating the game and representing in a new idea

2009年11月4日 星期三

Lecture10: ethics of digital games


should games be more like fantasy and less like real world war?
I think the games can be include the war like scene but doesn't need to be so real in games because the kids are not mature enough to dintinguish between real world and game world. Or they are more easily influenced by the games if they are additicted to. Therefore, it might be dangerous to make the game too real in screen.
But if the games are totally forced to become fantasty in nature, it may too dull and may constrain the creativity in designing the games. so, I think one coin has two sides, we don't need to force all the game to be fansy.

Lecture10: ethics of digital games

A) According to the film, what are some pros and cons of playing videogames for individuals and societies?
pros:
-provide a way for people to relax, entertain
-enrich people's knowledge in a certain way
for example, the names of the weapons, the map of a place and the culture of different nations
-train people 's mind
for example, people can learn strategy
-kill time
-became more creative
-may interersting and educational

cons:
-people may additiced to the games or lose their mind in the game
for example, teenagers may became more violent as get used to kill men in the game
-most of the games are about war and violence
for example, the games always count the number of people that you have killed

2009年10月28日 星期三

lecture 9 Technologised bodies

about the spider like six legged performance of Stelarc

lecture 9 Technologised bodies




what do you think of Stelarc's work?

I find his work a bit scary and very shocked to me! It's because his work and performance often involve robotics or other relatively modern technology integrated with his body. By looking at this photo I think it' s hurt , really hurt! doesn't it?
In another performance he has hung himself in flesh hook suspension and he has also performed with a robotic third arm and a spider-like six legged walking machine .
It's a bit horrible to me and really shock! I am just amazed that how can he do these to himself and what's his aim of that? Is he want to shock the public? His actions make me to rethink that what's really art? and what's the function of art? Do they need to bring people amusement?