“What it means to be Different—in Virtual Reality”

By: Shelley Jane Graff

                I have often wondered what the appeal of switching one’s gender online truly is…I can imagine that the individual’s reasoning for doing so varies greatly.  Admittedly, I always assumed that these reasons were more perverse than not, with individuals perpetuating their views of gender versus challenging the norms established by society.  While cyberspace does provide a realm in which one is able to explore alternate identities, it also provides a realm in which one is able to reaffirm his or her biases regarding gender and sexuality. 

                In his article, “Sex Lives in Second Life,” Dr. Robert Brookey explores how users of the “MMORPG” Second Life explore sexual identities, suggesting that perhaps this anonymity and freedom creates a realm that has the potential to be liberating, but the extent to which people will use such technologies to do so may also be limited.  The belief in academia that cyberspace liberates the oppressed seems pervasive; however, the belief that it provides another (more sinister) sort of outlet appears less.  Brookey writes that, “It is often the implicit assumption of queer scholars that traditional forms of media will cater to established norms in order to attract the broadest audience.” (p. 148) Who is to say that this will not apply to newer forms of media as well? 

                In the article, “Gender @ Cyberspace” by Moses A. Boudourides and Evangelia Drakou, the authors suggest that the underrepresentation of females in cyberspace may contribute to the fact that the female persona is still presented in a more stereotypical fashion than one may hope.  Indeed, for the voices of the oppressed to reach the general public requires participation on the part of said oppressed group members.  Whereas the anonymity of cyberspace provides the opportunity for the aforementioned group members to express themselves, it also provides the opportunity for individuals who are not members of these groups to represent themselves as members—further perpetuating their own biases regarding what it means to be “different.” 

                (Word Count = 327 words total) 

“A Whole New World…Is What We Really Want—We Just Don’t Know It Yet”

By: Shelley Jane Graff 

                New technologies are often met with extreme skepticism and harsh criticism; after all, change is threatening, and we as human beings find comfort in that which is familiar to us.  We love to wax philosophic about how advanced we are, and how everything’s going to change.  It seems like things are always just about to be ‘different.’  Rarely does it seem like they actually are.  Corporate agendas reign supreme and increasingly society resembles something out of George Orwell’s 1984, in which a totalitarian government lives up to the self-fulfilling prophecies that it manufactures for its own self-interested reasons.  Call me cynical, but I believe that if you follow the flow of money—you will reach reality lickety-split. 

                The video game industry is a notoriously volatile and risky business, and many things have been blamed for the massive amount of bad video games that exist today—fragmentation, lack of development time, the typical up-front costs of production (making breaking even the industry “ideal”), and the list goes on.  In his book, Hollywood Gamers, I commend Dr. Brookey for adding another potential culprit to this list.  This notion has been progressively fetishized in recent years for the “potential” that it has, when the simple fact of the matter is that it may just be the inevitable result of a handful of corporations owning an entire industry.  I am talking about digital convergence. 

                Digital convergence is (and has been) occurring whether we like it or not.  Yet, Brookey suggests that as a result of convergence and the movement towards such centralized market control, the gaming industry is bound to produce more of the same.   He writes, “My analysis…offers a possible explanation: in the context of convergence, the design of games accommodates interests other than those of quality game play.” (P. 138) Brookey reminds us that incredibly powerful forces exist behind these industries and it would be poor business to advance game play merely for its own good—yet simultaneously these products “speak” to us about the world that we live in and our place within it.  Game play progression’s most influential advocate has become the game player: the true agents of change have become none other than us. 

                [Word Count = 339 words total] 

(Video: Comedian Kumail Nanjiani discusses the conflicted feelings that he has about today’s video games, primarily, concerning the choices made by the designers of the popular video game franchise--Call of Duty.)  

“The Production of Personal Investment across Platforms: The Successful Adaptation of Films into Video Games”

By: Shelley Jane Graff

                The video game industry and the film industry have, in recent years, become inextricably linked with the emergence of the film adapted video game sub-genre.  The subsequent mashing of resources via various major media-producing outlets that such a genre requires is bound to come with a whole new set of issues.  However, one question at this point in time seems to reign supreme:  what does it mean to make a successful film-adapted video game? 

                The obvious answer to that question, being: income/sales; yet, upon further investigation one can conclude that far more is at stake than mere revenue returns.  According to Dr. Robert Brookey in his book, Hollywood Gamers: Digital Convergence in the Film and Game Industries, the film adapted video game as a product has far more significance than most other ancillary film merchandise does.  Such games have become an extension of the franchise.  Brookey writes: “…the interactivity of the games draws players in while constantly relating the experience of game play to the experience of the theatrical films, allowing the fan of LOTR to become more closely connected with the film franchise.” (P. 37) These games have the unique ability to act as fodder to further support one's personal investment in said franchise as an “involved” fan. 

                Perhaps it would be worthwhile to examine those film adapted video games that seemed to fail to supplement their respective films to be able to understand this inquiry more completely.  In the article, “5Video Game Adaptations That Missed the Point of the Movie,” an examination of various video games proves that despite the fact that video games have the capacity to extend the narrative/franchise, the game’s content must still significantly connect to, or represent, the original product.  Failure to faithfully represent thematic elements from the movie in the game play works against the synergy that both industries (video game and film) are inevitably banking on.   

                (Word Count = 316 words total) 

“The Marriage of Metaphorical Meaning in Systems & Simulations—Speaking Up for the Potential of Video Game Technology and the Worth of Experiential Knowledge”

"GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT GAMING..."

By: Shelley Jane Graff 

                Considering the fact that video games are a development of very recent history, then it would seem that the notion of using these “games”—these “toys”—in such a way that attempts to maximize their potential would result in a premise that is bound to come off sounding somewhat odd, or “off.”  Yet, as similar digitally based interactive systems of communication continue to play an ever-increasing role in our society, in both the practices of the general population/society, and in the American government administration’s affairs—including those of national security; it is becoming easier to intellectually grasp the enormity of the field of computer technology and to recognize the gravity surrounding the extraordinary potential that resides within its future development. 

While nothing about conceptualization of the “progress” of technology is necessarily “easy” to comprehend, the idea proposed by Bogost in Persuasive Games arguing for the use of his concept of ‘procedural rhetoric’ to design politically motivated “video games” may initially come across as sounding a tad strange, but ends up being shockingly agreeable.   Bogost seems successful in making one thing quite clear—computers and the digital realm possess a colossal—if not conceivably unlimited—amount of potential.  So, it seems entirely fair that—video games, and their status as being their own ‘kinds’ of computer based technology, should be critically examined with every bit as much seriousness as other recognized, major communications tools of the modern day.

                Indeed, there is a complexity to experiential learning that positions the learner in such a way that any attempt at articulation of the issues would wither and fail to ever do the actual experience any real justice.  These “games” are arguably responsible for breeding another sort of existence: a realm for the simulation of experiences.  Potentially, they have the capacity to become a legitimate scientific tool in which the academic is able to deal directly with the hypothetical and situational intricacies involved in political discourse —versus being dependent on the “factual accounts”/generally agreed upon historical account of the culturally specific and statistically limited results of isolated events on a worldwide scale.  Or, as Bogost writes, ""When we interrogate political issues as procedural systems--as the emergent outcomes of interconnected, independent rules of cultural behavior--we can gain a unique perspective on such problems." (p. 98)  
 

                *[Word Count = 348 words total]

*(VIDEO: Stephen Colbert, on his show The Colbert Report, speaking with Bruce Bueno de Mesquita--a professor/author on 'game theory;' talking about his experience working with 'game theory' as it applies to making predictions about the current geopolitical realm.  Clip from www.comedycentral.com.]  

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