Sunday, January 27, 2013

Minority? Really?!

As we wrote into our daybooks on Wednesday in response to Mimi Ito on HOMAGO's video, I noticed how they were studying the generations (mine as well as the few before and behind us) which have impacted the digital world through social media like Facebook. In the beginning, I felt excited when she mentioned fanfiction in the list of websites they observed in their study. Then, by the end of the video once she mentioned that the people in our generations visiting these social media websites (and fanfiction - cause I don't really consider this close to Facebook just because of the layout of the main website which people use), I started to feel as if I was a part of a minority.

This then led my thoughts onto a tangent of what else I could be a minority of. Thus, I realized that I am a minority in three major parts in my life:

1) I go onto fanfiction.net for hours and hours (As stated above - it is a minority that does this)
2) I play video games.... a lot (A minority I gladly say seems to be increasing every day)
3) I am into Anime (which is a huge minority group in the world that would lead me on a tangent days long!)

I then started to feel bad since minorities have always had some type of negativity attached to them. If you haven't already felt a small inkling of this, then try to think if you're part of a minority whether it be because of ethnicity, hobbies, or anything else. And then start to think about how rare you find it to discover others around you (physically) that are fit into these minorities as well. That will lead your thoughts onto all sorts of tangents that may leave a bad taste in your mouth. Not fun.

After I finished this tangent, I started to wonder about the social ideas we place on certain minority ideas, opinions, and hobbies.

For example, when I hear about Facebook, I think that everyone is on there. However, from what I got from the video, that apparently isn't the case.

Also, another example is my idea about the Anime minority in the world. I've met so many people that are into this television style (don't forget the manga!) that I've grown up with the idea that many people like Anime. In fact, it wasn't until I came to college that I realized that this wasn't the case.

It's an interesting concept that has many more examples attached to it. One large one that I noticed in my later years of high school was that not a lot of people enjoy writing stories after stories and essays after essays.

Just think about some examples about yourself that you've noticed recently and you'll realize just how many there really are.

There. That was my thought tangent for the video. Hope I encouraged some for y'all.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Reflective Blog Post 1

For the writing into the day done on January 16, 2013, we were to respond to a video explaining the importance video games have on children and how they're significant to the learning experience of those kids. During the video, the man discussing this information stated that there was an issue with having more girls getting interested with video games.

That caused me to want to challenge certain issues he brought about this.

First off, I am a female and I'm a gamer just like any other male out there - I've been so ever since middle school. The population of female gamers is out there and is also gradually rising from a minority to a large percentage of all gamers. Female gamers have also received acknowledgement to their existence through television shows like G4TV's Top 100 Games

As seen on the television show above, female gamers play the same games as males (the Halo series, Silent Hill, etc.). Therefore, questioning how to get girls more involved into video games is an irrelevant question. What will attract the female population to video games will nearly be the same for males: a wonderfully designed control system, great graphics, amazing character development, incredible plot, and anything else in between these or anything else not mentioned.

However, there's always a variation to what an individual gamer wants in a game. I cannot speak for all female gamers out there, yet I can give my opinion on what I seek out in a game and what I want to see. This could be used in comparison to other female gamers to see if there is an average desire for certain aspects of future games.

I like RPGs mainly. Yet, I like them to be simple in their control system (that way there isn't much I need to learn in that aspect). Also, I want a deep plot - one that dives more into the emotional journey characters (well-developed ones at that) will experience whether the characters are ones that you will create or npcs the player will come across. Though that does not mean I want romance - no that is not what games need to change to (if they need to change much at all)

I have also recently discovered the wonders of a first person game whether it be a shooter or any other type (Thank you Skyrim). Yet, a third person view point in a game is still what I favor most.

The only game that I enjoyed that had romance as a big aspect (at least I thought so) in it was Final Fantasy X and that was because the plot that went into it was well-thought-out and amazing to play through. The other games I have are Mario Kart (don't really like sports games), Kingdom Hearts (it plays to my memories as a child), Batman Arkham Asylum, Assassin's Creed, inFamous, Dance Dance Revolution (the older versions and only because it was good exercise, some good music, and my first set of games I got as a child), and much more.

I enjoy games with a thrill (not too much gore - like I can't stand the slow-motion kills found in the Fall Out series for some reason), with violence, strategy, and humor. There has to be a character that will stand out in my mind (Master Chief, the Joker, Sephiroth, Mario, Nathan Drake, Alucard from Castlevania, Snake, etc.) and one that had me jumping out of my seat.

These are only highlights of what I enjoy in a game. If you're not a gamer, go buy a game that interests you and see if you enjoy it. Once you do, you'll be addicted for life. This is a phenomena that will not leave society for a long time to come (I'm so glad to predict that!).