Have Y'all Noticed the Movement Towards Video Games?

As we watched the Ted Talk which discussed the hidden meanings in children movies, I began to wonder. Movies have had such significance to society ever since they first appeared. They've captured the minds of every generation and have continued to expand into a being of such importance that it's almost unimaginable.

They originally started as black and white, silent, short films. They had limitations for special effects due to the technology at the time. Yet, these films still captured the minds of people who've never seen anything like this before. However, as everyone grew used to the idea of movies being in society, Hollywood - and others like it - had to step up their game. They needed ways to continue to captivate their audience.

They succeeded.

With the special effects adding to the reality of a film, what could be done was expanded. The limitations which this industry once had now seem to be nonexistent. Still, there is another industry which has appeared in the last few decades which is doing the exact same things as the movie industry did (in regards to the expansion and the captivation).

Video games are expanding and some can argue that it's doing so faster than the movie industry did.

Games like Pong laid the first stone down a new path which is being built faster and faster. The industry started out with little squares moving on a screen to detailed animations of humans, creatures, and beautiful scenery. It's still in the process of captivating the imagination of its audience as the expansion continues to flow around the world.

However, what I've discussed above only deals with what the audience sees. There is also the connection to the audience's emotions which really allows these two industries to expand to what they are and will be.

Both connect to what we want, what we have gone through, and what we view with as incredible, indescribable, and a sense of awe. These allow us to let our minds run rampant and keep us coming back.

There is so much which can be said about both industries but what I know for a fact is that the video game industry will continue to expand rapidly. This industry also has the opportunity to surpass that of the movies if they play their cards right.

Critics: The good and the bad

In response to a writing into the day we did in class about Peter Elbow's Believing Game, all I could think about is what I've always believed and been taught. And that is: critics can be amazing with feedback.

First off, I like to get the two separate types of critics labeled:

The first is the one everyone knows. This one is the group where you can get constructive criticism back about anything you put out there. They help advance your work into something better (most of the time).

An example of constructive criticism is so:

      Wow the plot to this has great potential! Sure you need to double-check some spelling and grammar but that's easily fixed with a beta. Also, on this website's format you should try making the paragraphs shorter (even though it's not something we're supposed to do on essays) - it's easier on the eyes. I think that as long as you don't push the relationship between these two characters too much then it should come out as possible. Just pace yourself and don't get trigger happy. Can't wait for the next chapter!


The second is one that everyone should ignore. To get an understanding of this, just look at what they're called on websites like fanfiction.net. They're called "flamers" and everyone ignores what they say.

An example of a "flamers" criticism is so:
    
     Your writing is crap. It doesn't even deserve to be found on this pitiful website. You can't spell for your life and you can't even figure out how to write a sentence correctly. The story itself sucks. I mean, what's the point of writing this? It doesn't even come close to being good. Those two characters are never realistically supposed to get together and it's just sick. Get a life and actually work on something you're good at.

.... It's kind-of obvious why websites have a way of reporting these flamers isn't it?

Even for writers trying to get a book published, sometimes they'll get flames back. People just have to know the difference and ignore the one's that lower your self-esteem.

Now, I've taken a Creative Writing class when I was in high school and it was one of the best classes I've ever taken. I learned so much in that class and one of the things I was taught was to get a tough-skin to rebound these flaming comments on my work. Yet, I also needed to make it a sponge that way I could absorb the constructive criticism that way I wouldn't just stay at one level of writing potential all my life. I need to hear how to make myself better from the second best (the first-best critics being our own selves).

This is personally what I need to become better at something (isn't that what we got when we worked on our rough drafts for English essays?). I don't know it everyone needs that but I always believed that it helps us so much into becoming a better writer/artist/music player... etc.

Again, create a spongey-shield and you should be fine.

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.

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!).

Final Reflection

Dream Catchers

By Sarah Walker

All those children,

those teenagers,

those grownups,

raise your head towards the sky.

Scream to the Gods,

towards the stars,

towards the impossible.

Throw a table at the crowd

and give them a backwards peace sign.

Smirk and act as if you don't care.

Drag your feet,

claw fingermarks into the dirt,

be as vulgar as any proud sailor.

Laugh at other's frustration,

place a shadow in front of your own.

Pause,

shrug,

and move on.

Continue to hit those high notes 

and cackle at the crowd's cringe.

Then stop,

open your hand - palm facing upwards,

and catch the invisible,

the improbable,

the unthinkable.

Don't open.

I repeat:

Do.

Not.

Open.

Your.

Palm.

Hold your breath

and fly down towards

the bottom of the sea.

Land,

turn 360 degrees,

breathe.

Swat away the curious fish

and close your eyes.

Open them.

A hitch in your breath,

reach out and caress the stone

of a floating castle hidden in clouds.

Pull back,

fly back,

hit the ground that suddenly appeared.

Heat,

almost unbearable - but still durable.

Sit up,

look towards the sunrise

on the edge of the African savannah.

Smile,

laugh,

raise your head towards the sky.

Send up a silent thank you.

Finally, gratefully,

open your hand.

A new day has come.

Reflective Blog Post for Ethnography Project

At the beginning of this project, my group and I had absolutely no idea what we were doing. Still, we followed the directions and just tried to find places where music was on campus and document them. We had absolutely no idea why for quite a while. However, I knew that I wanted to include the Anime Club we have on campus into our project.

I always loved anime and I always knew that anime had a lot of things to offer. Thankfully, this was one of those times that I could include anime into my education. The sing-a-longs really did make me realize how much I could use anime for this specific project.

Finally, my group and I we're starting to get a basic understanding of what we were supposed to do. I jotted some notes of a rough outline of what our group would be doing in my daybook before we three went our separate ways to get our individual work done. I was thankfully able to get mine done the next day with the interview of a representative of the Anime Club on campus.

Now I had to figure out how to use technology I've never used before and make the interview of better quality. I got it figured out, saved, and ready to share with the rest of my group. In between this, I started to try and think of a reflection for my part. I realized some important key points:


1) Anime is not only a style for art and for entertainment, it is also a place where imagination can run rampant. There are so many ideas that one can observe from the anime they watch and there are so many ideas one can come up with because of this. Writers are able to get new material inspired by anime and can let it grow by watching more anime. It's the new jungle for writing, music, and art. It's a creative thinker's wet dream.

2) Anime is a place where people can share their thoughts and come together. There is a sense of community one gets with anime. In fact, this sense of community is so strong that conventions have come to be - like Animazement - and people can say with pride that they were in the Anime club. They can even say that they're an anime fan. A small group of people, from all over the world, can immediately bond with each other by only knowing that the other person is also an anime fan. They need no more information to be friendly with a complete stranger.

3) Anime is always a place where one can escape the real world and relax. Every single time my friends and I have gone to Anime Club, during high school and now currently during college, we end up using the time as a stress reliever. We have fun, laugh, dance even, sing, and goof off with others in the club by watching anime, singing the openings/closings, or sharing inside jokes. It's a place where even adults can act like a child no matter how mature they have to be outside the club. In a sense, it also keeps us from screaming our heads off from frustration. We calm after these few hours and feel as if we can take on the world over and over again.


I now understand, once again, why I love Anime so much and how just the sing-a-longs during the club meetings can mean so much to me as well as to others. Yet, back to the process of my group and I getting to our final draft in a sense of this project. We hit a road block. My interview wouldn't go to any other file and we spent an entire class period just trying to figure that out. Heart attack, indeed. Anyways, we finally got it working and I sent all I had for my part of the video to the others. Now I can breathe with a sigh of relief - my part is done!

I had a difficult time with this project. When my group and I tried to get together, someone, including me, were at some part in our individual work but we couldn't really share much until we were ready to share it. We were literally down to the wire with this one. Also, none of us had any idea on what the ethnography project was about until a few days before it was due. Thankfully, we all understood by the time we had to get it finished.

I found this project different and hard because it was in a group, which I always have a difficult time with, and because it was something I've never really done before. I was out of my comfort zone and I did not like it. At all. Guess that's a pattern that I'll have to get used to for the rest of my life. Still, we got our project done and now that stress is over, I just want to go back to my club and relax with my friends.

Stranger Danger

I've decided to go back and look over all that I've written in my daybook for class. For some reason, I'm reflecting on many different things in my life. I've actually noticed that I do this every once in a while (maybe this is how I keep my ego in check). However, I chose the entry that I titled "Stranger Danger" which is about an event in my childhood that changed my life.

When I was seven years-old, I was playing in the driveway of my house. I then noticed a man taking pictures of houses just on the other side of the street. Out of curiosity, I approached him and asked him what he was doing. In response, he said that he was a photographer and he's trying to find the construction area that is further into our neighborhood (I am seven so that didn't sound weird at the time).

I chose to help him out and show him where the construction area was.

The walk itself isn't far from my house, it's just down the road and to the left. I took him to the corner just before someone would take a left and pointed out the construction area. He then asked me if I wanted to join him on exploring.

This is the part where I thank god for instincts. All that I knew at the time was that something was wrong. So, I told him the most convincing lie I have ever spoken to this day. I said to this man that I had to get back and eat lunch otherwise my parents get the neighbors to help look for me. Therefore, after saying goodbye to him, we went our separate ways.

Immediately, I went home and told my dad about him because I knew that he was acting strange. My dad called an officer who then came down to take my statement. The stress I was under and the fear that I was in the wrong caused me to tell the officer that he took a picture of me and ran off (He did ask for a picture of me before we went our separate ways, by the way). I think if I said what really happened then the officer would have done a patrol of the neighborhood or something. Instead, he left and I never heard anything about this man again.

All that I heard were rumors that my friend at the time told me. Rumors suck, just so you know.

I was told that they caught the same guy taking pictures of little kids at a pool just down the street. I decided not to think about it at the time. Yet, it all came back to me during middle school when another friend of mine described a scary event that took place just a few days prior.

He told me about how this little girl, that looked exactly the way I did when I was seven, was following him around the neighborhood. They came across this homeless man that fit the description of the man who I remember. This homeless man (which I now believe isn't the same person) had seen the little girl and started to come towards them. They called the police once they got away and there was nothing else.

However, when my friend told me this, I had a near panic attack. All those thoughts and memories of the close call I had came back and I was left with a large puddle of confusion, guilt, and much more. At the time, I felt as if I put a guilty man away or that the man was guilty and went after someone who looked like me. I was so confused and I didn't know what to do. I had an anger management problem at the time and that got worse because of all of this.

Now, however, I know better than to doubt that this stranger from my past wasn't in the wrong and was, in fact, up to no good.

I had to figure out if I had to live with the thought of putting an innocent man in trouble with the police or not. I had to figure out if I was a good person and where I stand in life, morally. I had to figure all of this out in middle school because leaving it alone would have caused me to become an emotional wreck. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever gone through.

The good that came out of this though was that I came out stronger, more mature, and wiser. I know better now and that shows in everything I do. The confusion and guilt I went through are remembered but I don't experience that at all anymore. It has made me stronger but I always am amazed at how close I came to having something really bad happen to me.

To think all of these thoughts and emotions were caused just by a close call. I am so glad that nothing else happened because I think that I wouldn't have been able to handle the aftermath as well as I had.

I had to get this out because I'm in one of my reflecting moods once again and I like to see what will make me into a better person. I also want to tell you all my short story on this traumatic event (for a seven year-old). It's incredible how short events that really don't physically harm you can have such an impact on your lives. Especially when those events occur during your childhood.