“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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