Book Snippet: Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks - Ethan Gilsdorf (2009)

Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks by Ethan Gilsdorf reads like a memoir, a personal journey from a Dungeons and Dragons player to adult, but with a twist, he shuts all fantasy gaming and the such out of his life in order to be an ‘adult’. When he confronts the cooler box which contained his D&D maps, sketches, rule books and hex paper he asks himself ‘how healthy was it to have devoted so much mental energy to a world that didn’t exist? Had we checked out of real life?’ p. 20.

And so began his journey, in which he would staunchly be an observer, (‘Did I want to be a cool observer?’ p. 22), not participating in any activity. However, he lets himself be pulled into Live Action Roleplaying and with glee he gets involved seeing how people escape into a fantasy world, with context and rules.

He understands that times have changed; being a geek is seen as cool and desirable,

‘I knew that the perception of fantasy hobbies had changed since I was a card-carrying member of the D&D tribe. Today geek is no longer a four-letter word. Playing fantasy games, reading fantasy books, and watching fantasy movies are definitely more permissible now than when I was exploring dungeons…’ p. 21

We have shows like The Big Bang Theory, documentaries with cool science: Mythbusters and celeb-slash-scientists like Bill Nye, Brian Cox and Neil Degrasse Tyson. Comic books are part of everyday life, videogames are widely discussed and not banished to a subculture, it is a culture, it has earned its placed near films.

‘Fantasy subcultures have shifted from the fringe to pockets of cool, and their associated terminology and cultural references – Gandalf, levelling up, griefing – have been absorbed into the mainstream’ p. 21.

Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings are a brilliant example of fantasy multimedia and fandom. Cosplaying is not confined to one or two special events, but many events like Comic Con and Eurogamer, celebrating the fan’s dedication. And so, Ethan Gilsdorf ‘embarked on a nonlinear, non-contiguous odyssey of self-reflection, cultural analysis, and free mead’.

Book Snippet: Trigger Happy - Steven Poole (2000)

Quick snippet on Steven Poole’s Trigger Happy (2000): a tutor recommended it to me and years later I bought my own copy because it was such a brilliant book. I describe it as a nonlinear tale full of fact but written in a jovial and insightful way. It peers at game culture under a lens and in a general context. 

He looks at games and films and the inevitable comparisons of their conventions, idiosyncrasies and industries;

‘The media buzz is that cinema and videogames are on convergent paths. If this is true, Hollywood ought to be worried that videogames are going to swallow it whole’ p. 78

He puts to the reader a question of why horror games seem to hold filmic similarities,

‘Why is it particularly the horror genre, and to a lesser extent science fiction, that largely provides the aesthetic compost for supposedly ‘filmlike’ videogames? No one has yet claimed that a videogame is like a good comedy film…, or that a videogame tells a heart breaking romance’ p. 79

His answer is ‘the horror genre can easily do away with character and plot; it is the detail of the monsters, the rhythm of the tension and shocks that matters’ (p. 79).

He ends with what he hopes will be achieved, however he speaks of clichés and conventions that have been done and redone;

‘With the advent of the next generation of hardware videogame designers do have a broader canvas to work on. But they could easily continue to paint the same old compromised clichés in prettier colours; and, as in any cultural form, most of them probably will’ p. 254

Overall, he wishes for games to carry on with their journey into a respected artist landscape;

‘This book was written from the assumption that it makes sense to talk about videogames in artistic terms – not in order to argue that games already constitute a fully fledged artform, blossoming’ p. 254.

However the book was published 2000 and since then, and during that time, there have been shining examples of games that are still on their respectful pedestals.

Book Snippet: The Design of Everyday Things – Donald A. Norman (1988)

Another book snippet, this time it is from the school of design, Donald A. Norman takes a wander through the world of design and psychology in an endearingly conversational way.

He looks at how basic designs of doors and light switches are either fatally flawed or intelligently simple. His first argument is about the psychology of making mistakes using objects like photocopiers and even doors. Interestingly, the book was previously published as The Psychology of Everyday Things;

‘With badly designed objects – constructed so as to lead to misunderstanding… no wonder people feel guilty when they have trouble using objects, especially when they perceive (even if incorrectly) that nobody else is having the same problems’ p. 42

The author uses the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant accident in 1979 as an example, describing how the light and valve were not apparent indicators of the leak and suggested that bad design was at fault. Overall, he demonstrates the importance of good design should not only be present in the household or office, but in industry too.

I looked at his segments on feedback because it is an incredibly crucial aspect of game design, showing feedback, input and output. It is the way the player interacts – and knows they are interacting – with the game, be it with the main menu or shooting enemies. One example, though primarily visceral, is blood erupting from the enemy when the player shoots them.

‘Feedback – sending back to the user information about what action has been actually done, what result has been accomplished – is a well-known concept in the science of control and information theory’ p. 27

His examples are clever and made me think:

‘Imagine trying to talk to someone when you cannot even hear your own voice, or trying to draw a picture with a pencil that leaves no mark: there would be no feedback’ p.27

Although games are described as being user friendly up until the game starts, the challenge constituting the main form of entertainment and reason for being hooked, the above example immediately sounded like a game to me, a challenge, a clear goal: to communicate or to draw a picture accurately. When reading this from the point of view of games design, it becomes intriguing: to get across an office in real life should be made as easy as possible. In a game, however, the office plan will be convoluted and elaborate, and plenty of chest high walls! Good examples are the offices in Serif Industries in Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011) and the Abstergo laboratory filled with animus machines at the very start of Desmond's escape in Assassin’s Creed 2 (2009).

Interestingly, Norman states that ‘Designers often think of themselves as typical users’ and that ‘… there is no substitute for interaction with and study of actual users of a proposed design’ p. 155. Play testing and user testing is essential in any design, I have been on both sides of the evaluation, and it is fascinating how you may find something difficult or hindering while someone else finds it is a non-issue, demonstrating the importance of having a wide-ranging set of testers, based on the products intended target audience.

Norman’s idea on packing things with features is that of overkill:

‘Creeping featurism is the tendency to add to the number of features that a device can do, often extending the number beyond all reason… [it] is a disease, fatal if not treated properly’ p.  173

Considering when the book was written, hopefully it could be said that designers have since vastly improved the user’s experience of handling their products, especially as tablets are used for educating children with their interactive and exciting apps.

His funny anecdote of a study into law firm’s choice of photocopiers suggests the importance of complex looking equipment to bolster their image with their clients;

‘The designer –and user- may further be tempted to worship complexity… They discovered that the most expensive, most feature-laden machines were best sellers among law firms…’ p. 174

Overall, his argument revolves around user-centered-design, smart design, thoughtful design. He talks about the human mind being incredibly intuitive, ‘give it the slightest clue and off it goes, providing explanation, rationalization, understanding’ p. 2. Much like how game players are given a hint, a lit alley way, and the player knows which way to go, not the cleverest example, but an effective one.

Norman’s ending statement is poignant and cheerful, a positive note to end on;

‘Walk around the world examining the details of design. Take pride in the little things that help; think kindly of the person who so thoughtfully put them in… the designer may have had to fight to include something helpful. Give mental prizes to those who practice good design: send flowers’ p. 217

Perhaps that’s an idea for another blog entry I will write in the future because I have many flowers to send.

Ad Analysis: PlayStation: Michael – Sony (2001)

Such a wonderful advert, I think this appeals to people in different ways, seeing your character come alive is brilliant, it is the reason we love games, the accompanying graphic novels, movie tie-in, action figures. The multimedia makes the characters, their story and their universe three dimensional, not only being stuck inside a Blu-ray. 

The authenticity of the characters is sublime, Nathan Drake’s costume and Snake’s clothing camouflaging into the wall, I really do believe the attention to detail is what consumers notice, they spend hours playing as some of these characters, investing in their stories and lives, and to see them in an advert lauding the player is brilliant. The words ‘Long live play’ echo as a parallel to the well-known phrase ‘long live the king/queen/x’, which connotes an important concept, royalty, to continue usage and to glorify and celebrate play.

It breaks the fourth wall slightly, referring to the player/controller in a universe where it is normal to do so and to see lots of characters together in one tavern, makes it special, adding to the chanting of Michael’s name as a hero. The viewer knows their name isn’t being chanted by the symbolism is strong, it easily places their name in Michaels’ place, remembering their adventures with Ezio and frenetic fighting with Rico and the wrath faced by Kratos. What is the company trying to communicate? That the player is the hero, that the players are grateful for their effort; that the player is a hero with a thousand faces like Joseph Campbell so aptly wrote.

Ad Analysis: Labels Against Women – Pantene (2013)

Another Ad Analysis! This time I am looking at Pantene's Labels Against Women campaign (2013). I saw this advert while watching a video (yes, a game trailer) on YouTube and it struck me and stayed with me. I recall a class in English language when we looked at the word “client” and the differences when used in the context of different genders. The argument was that if a man was said to have clients, he was a businessman. However if a woman was said to have clients, she would be thought of as a prostitute due to the contextual connotations surrounding the word “client”. Thankfully, perceptions have changed; however, it seems deep-rooted that the word client could possibly be seen as a pejorative term for describing a woman’s business associates.

Similar, the word “emotional” was always linked to woman, both positively and negatively, be it emotionally fragile or happily emotional because they’d heard great news for example. However, with men, it seemed to be a sign of weakness and a derogatory word, completely removing his masculinity. Again, it seems deep-rooted that the word “emotional” can be damaging when describing a man which is strange since, biologically, chemically and neurologically, men and women both have emotions and is a totally natural fact of life, that men are derided for having emotions is wholly unfair. That something natural is seen as being negative and goes against the standards for male conduct shows that there is a lot to think about with seemingly simple words, which is why I found this advert thought provoking.

The juxtaposition of scenes with both men and woman lends itself to the comparative observation; on its own I do not think it would have been as powerful. We see “boss” turn into “bossy”, a simple addition of a y and perceptions change completely, dovetailing into the negative stereotype of a nagging woman.

However, an interesting analysis could be from the point of the product being cosmetic – the shampoo being used to talk about superficiality, that being superficial is not negative; it is empowering and does not mean you are shallow. It is quite daring for a product to discuss labels when it could be suggested they rely on (more positive labels) like “beauty” and “natural” to sell bottles. An interesting spin could have been showing a woman with no hair, the advert speaks about beauty being an integral part of a woman, but not to the extent where it should become a label or standard.

Nonetheless, it is powerful and emotive; “Be Strong and Shine” is not a directive to wash your hair, but to be show-stopping in other walks of life and to show resilience. Linguistically, “pushy”, “persuasive”, “bossy”, “boss” the use of alliteration is a simple but effective technique to cement the comparison with the same starting letters.

Overall, the comparisons are a look at how men and women are perceived, not everyone will agree with them, and some are more scathing than others, but what I have taken from this advert is how small words are very powerful, whether they relate to men or women, language is power.

Ad Analysis: Bravia LCD TV - Sony (2006)

Mentoring media students requires in depth analysis of movie scenes, covers, posters and adverts and I usually have to be reminded not to complete the analysis myself! So I'll channel this into my blog starting with the memorable advert marketing Sony's Bravia TV.

It is an iconic advert that stays with you well after it’s not on TV anymore, simply because of the simplicity of the adverts’ visuals. There is something satisfying about falling objects, something about physics; objects shedding energy to be at a resting state by giving in to gravity (Thanks Brian Cox, Wonders of the Solar System!) Much like how slinkies are delightful to watch springing down a flight of stairs, this is an industrial level slinky, thousands and thousands of coloured balls bouncing through the undulating hills of sunny San Francisco.

Another idea that makes this advert appealing is the “is it real or CGI?” that surrounds high definition TV, it’s the ultimate deception that the audience appreciates, asking whether it is real or not. If real, how impressive, they got that! If not, how impressive, the CGI is great!

Collectively it looks like confetti or a flock of butterflies swarming in front of the backgrounds that almost become the focus of the foreground, houses, water pipes, parked cars. It is visually aesthetic, lots of one thing, brightly coloured, appeals to some part of the brain where sheer overwhelming numbers make you happy, much like collections of many of one thing.

The music is acoustic and calm and could be seen as the opposite of the frenetic energy of the bouncing balls; however it lends the piece a calming tone. The ending statement “Like no other” is hyperbolic and brave, a statement that tops all else, Sony is able to dismiss all competition with confidence.

Book Snippet: Emergence by Steven Johnson (2001)

Sharing your thoughts on a book is brilliant, so I'd like to start with a Book Snippet on Emergence by Steven Johnson (2001).

I was first introduced to the concept of emergence in my second year of university; it was a weird concept to get my head around, Steven Johnson looks at how collective intelligence is created by looking at why people tend to bunch up in town and how communities are made on websites and forums, he used clear examples that demonstrated the phenomena in action.

Emergence is alive in biology, psychology, urban planning and computing among much more; Johnson explains this in his introduction,

‘We’ll look at computer games that stimulate living ecologies, the guild system of twelfth-century Florence; the initial cell divisions that mark the very beginning of life; and the software that lets you see the patterns of your own brain. What unites these phenomena is a recurring pattern and shape: a network of self-organization, of disparate agents that unwittingly create a higher-level order’ (p. 21).

He also looks at The Sims and the seemingly arbitrary choices the player has which are actually extremely important to the function of the game, to create a living example of a person and their life. It’s a fascinating subject and I found the concept of how towns are created most interesting, I took a look at Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) where she looks at the car-centric and people-centric ideas that evolved cities. It also gave me important theories and ideas to think about while writing my dissertation: how games use mise-en-scene to portray a story in the game space.