The Medium of the Video Game

This particular book drew my attention from its title. The book is not what I had anticipated, as it mostly concentrated on how games developed technologically, rather than discussing games and an influential medium. I did however find some parts interesting and relevant to my project.

                                                                                                                                                 

'Different aspects, such as technology, art, and the nature of the experience need also be considered in defining the term.' (Wolf. M)

Here Wolf shows that when we define what videogames are, there are many factors that need to be considered. He continues to explain the videogames can be defined both as 'Video' and as 'Game'. 

When something is defined as 'Video', we generally picture a film, a TV series, or our own digital recordings. Each of these are simple moving images, and all draw us into the story being shown, and we often become lost in the world beyond the screen, if only for a moment.

Games are easy to understand. Games are fun to play, whether it be a fully-fledged sport, or a game of hide and seek between friends, we play them because we enjoy the experience. 

Defining video-games and both 'Video' and 'Game' makes it easy to define, and I agree with the definition. However, videogames can go beyond this statement of meaning. I have for a long time been aware that games can be used for a great number of purposes, and reading 'How to do things with videogames' helped to strengthen this understanding. Games can be used to educate people, as a way of creative expression, and can be used to revere certain principles. Art is creative expression in itself, and there are a great many artistic movements and method that exist, one such style is minimalism. 

'Artists such as Donald Judd, Sol Lewitt, Tony Smith, and others worked with squares, cubes, stripes, geometric shapes, and other minimal forms to create abstractions. Early video game graphics, with their points, lines, and blocks of colour, often on black backgrounds, coincided with minimalist, abstract style of art.' (Wolf. M)

The artists at the time were unlikely to have approach the visuals from an artistic perspective, but may likely have been working with the limitations of the technology, resources, and knowledge base that was available at the time. Though this may be the case, such visuals may very well fall into the 'Minimalistic' style. Like many forms of art, people only tend to appreciate it, when much time has passed since its creation. Art however is not just the visuals in a game, it is the emotion gone into creating it, and the emotion a person receives from viewing it. This definition of art is a key part of my project.

If I am to create games with young people, my skills cannot just be used as a way of creating games that teach people about Christian ethical values. As I have stated, art shows the emotion the artist used when creating a piece of art, and many people use creative expression as a form of therapy. The art created can give an insight into the emotions a person may be feeling. It's a method of communication that can be used when a person cannot put their feelings into words. 

With games being such a prominent factor in the lives of young people today, many dream about creating their own video game. For many, it is simply a dream, and may never get a chance to make their own ideas become a reality. This is where my skills as a Game Designer will become useful. I can provide these young people with the opportunity to create the games that they dream up. This could give me an insight into their emotions through their individual creative input, and thus help me to relate to them more. I can use this understanding to help them grow spiritually, and to develop, or begin a faith of their very own.

                                                                                                                                                 

Space in the Video Game

One particular chapter is titled 'Space in the Videogame'. The chapter explains the different variations of spatial structures that can be found in the virtual gaming environment.

1.     No visual space, all text based: This particular space refers to text based games that require the player to make choices in order to determine the final outcome. The game itself has no visual space, but relies on the player's imagination to create the space as a mental picture. Just like reading a book, such games focus heavily on the reader to interpret what is written in order for the story to progress.

2.     One screen, contained: This space includes visuals on the screen, yet the space is limited to the screen space only. There is no space off the screen that the player cannot see, the player's viewpoint can't be moved or scrolled, their view is fixed in position.

3.     One screen, contained, with wraparound: This space is very much similar to number two. The space is contained within a bound area, however there is a very distinct difference. Should an object leave the screen, it will reappear at the opposite side; this is referred to as 'Wraparound'.

4.     Scrolling on one axis: This space is created in a long strip, either vertically or horizontally. The player's viewpoint will scroll across the created space in the corresponding direction. This particular space moves in one direction only.

5.     Scrolling on two axis: This space is very much the same as number four, yet it is able to move in both the horizontal and vertical directions. This space has a much larger area, and there is a lot of space that exists off the screen.

6.     Adjacent spaces displayed one at a time: This space is built up of many individual areas, each being linked together to form one large area, yet only one of these areas is visible at once. When the player exits an area from one side of the screen, they will instantly appear in the next conjoining area at the opposite side of the screen. In effect, it appears as though the player has moved into a new area, and has left the previous area behind.

7.     Layers of independently moving planes (multiple scrolling backgrounds): This space is formed from a number of layers, each one moves at a different speed. The background moves more slowly, while the foreground move more quickly, giving the illusion of depth in the space that the player is viewing. The background could consist of slow moving clouds, and the foreground as the grass under the character's feet.

8.     Spaces allowing Z-axis movement into and out of the frame: This space allows for movement further into the area, and further out, rather than just moving on the X and Y axis.

9.     Multiple, non-adjacent spaces displayed on-screen simultaneously: In simple terms, this space is essentially, and more commonly know as 'split screen'. As the name suggest, the screen is split, with each section showing the viewpoint of each of the players that are partaking in the gameplay.

10. Interactive three-dimensional environment: This space is the most easy to define, the space is very much constructed like the way we see in our everyday lives. The space is created in 3D, and can be seen either around a character through an in-game camera viewpoint, or from a first person point of view, where the player is looking through the eyes of the character.

11. Represented or 'mapped' spaces: This space is essentially an ingame map, that shows the player a layout of the land. It shows both the space that the character is in, and also spaces that are currently off the screen, and cannot be seen.

Though this particular section it's not particularly related to my topic of using games to teach young people about christian ethics, it is still interesting to know of the various game compositions (though already aware of them), and no doubt will become useful in the future.

                                                                                                                                                 

Time in the Video Game

Wolf continues to discuss how time works within the virtual world, and how it compares to the real world. He discusses topics such as; stillness (static images with no movement, like time is frozen), repetition or looped time (like a repeating day), and time pressure (where the player is under pressure to complete a task on time). But the most interesting of the topics discussed is 'Game time vs Real time'.

In real life, time is constant, and there is not changing that, but in the gaming world, the perception of time can be altered. A daylight cycle could last as little as 10 minutes, making time seem much faster, or could be done over a more extensive game play experience to make time seem slower. Some games even follow the time of day based on a built in clock and calendar.

Time can also be warped at certain points. The visuals of the game can be slowed to allow the player to complete quick time events easier than usual. Time can be sped up or slowed to relate the feeling of the scene being played out.

The most obvious is the relation of time between the game and in reality, and the player perception of time. During more arduous sections of a game, the player may feel like time is passing more slowly. This contrast to more enjoyable and engaging areas in a game, where the player may not realise that any time has passed at all. This clearly links to the well-known phrase, 'Time flies when you're having fun'.

                                                                                                                                                 

Narrative in the Video Game

A game's narrative is the story line of the game. The player can usually tell what genre of narrative the game may be quite quickly, whether it be an adventure, and action, detective, or other such game. The story of a game acts quite like a film or a book, it wraps the player in another reality, and lets them relate to the characters, to feel sad when they get hurt, or happy when they win a battle.

Game narrative removes the need for written descriptions of scenery (unless it's a text based game) and gives the player a visual representation of the scene, as well as any characters, enemies and other aspects that would otherwise be visualised in the player's imagination. Without the player needing to image the visuals, they are able to concentrate on the storyline, and may possibly relate more to characters, as they can see their progression before their eyes.

Some games still contain written word. This is commonly included though text that shows what a character says, rather than using a voice actor. It can also provide the player with visible choices in the game, such as if an in game character asked a question, onscreen text showing yes or no would give the player simple a way to answer.

As with writing any story, an author can choose many methods to engage their reader. Whether they throw them straight into the action, or build tension slowly, make an ending that is satisfying, or create a cliff-hanger that leaves them longing for more. Story writing technique come in very useful, yet for many game, there are multiple choices, and therefore multiple consequences. Therefore the writer would need to think up a great number of possible outcomes when writing the narrative of the game, rather than a single linear storyline.

Game types can also allow the player to experience the story in different ways. A first person game places the player right into the game, and lets them experience the world for themselves. Playing in third person allows for a different experience, and gives the player control over the character and their actions.

Narrative can also be explained through the use of cut scenes. These can be used in game to give the player a better understanding of the story, or when the player is on the main menu, to give them a feel for what the game is going to be like. Narrative can also be very prominent in a game, and can be its sole focus, or it can have barely any story at all.

                                                                                                                                                 

Genre and the Video Game

Wolf discusses how games can be classified by interactive genres, and created an extensive list of such genres, which can be seen below.

Abstract, Adaption, Adventure, Artificial Life, Board Games, Capturing, Card Games, Catching, Chase, Collecting, Combat, Demo, Diagnostic, Dodging, Driving, Educational, Escape, Fighting, Flying, Gambling, Interactive Movie, Management Simulation, Maze, Obstacle Course, Pencil and Paper Games, Pinball, Platform, Programming Games, Puzzle, Quiz, Racing, Rhythm and Dance, Role-Playing Games, Shoot 'Em Up, Simulation, Sports, Strategy, Table-Top, Games, Target,  Adventure, Simulation.

                                                                                                                                                 

This book has presented a great deal of valuable information. It revealed the various genres of videogames, as well as the different spatial formations that can be found inside the each videogame world. Games are capable of forming an environment that the player can interact with and potentially relate to, which can be particular important when creating spaces for use in Christian youth work.