Essay

How the Internet has Affected Video Game Culture

Video gaming online has been around since the 1970's but has evolved and advanced so much over the past ten to fifteen years.

What was video gaming like before the internet?

Before the internet became available to video games, gaming was a very unsociable thing to do, mostly attracting the common "nerd" who would isolate themselves for hours playing by themselves on a simple yet amazing form of virtual entertainment. The extent to which the activity was social would be limited to arranging a friend to come over to your house and even then it was limited to two player gaming. It was much different to today, where video gaming is viewed as a serious industry comparable to the movie industry or the music industry. News outlets cover video game console releases in the same manner as they cover the release of a highly-anticipated movie.[1] Because of this video games were less popular with most people and playing outside with friends was a more widely used source of entertainment. Also video games were geared to the younger audience rather than adults. If an adult were to spend their day playing video games they would be looked upon as being childish and wasting their time.

How gaming become more social through the Internet

In the past ten to twenty years the internet has revolutionized gaming completely and transformed into an amazing social experience. Bringing the internet to gaming has made it possible to talk to people all over the world who you might never talk to otherwise. Most people even create strong friendships with people all over the world without even meeting them, for the simple fact that they can talk all day everyday without any problem. On most modern consoles such as Xbox 360 you do not even have to be playing a game to be talking to anyone from anywhere in the world.

The internet has made it possible to play with anyone worldwide without actually being by their side. Gamers in these online worlds participate in many-to-many forms of communication and one-to-one correspondence. The games are not only massive; they are also "intimate and social". [2] It has created the chance to play games with much more people than ever before. Some online games you can even be playing with thousands or millions of other people all at the same time. This has also created Competitive gaming, where a group of real life or online friends can create a Clan and compete against other Clans around the world to prove who is the best at the certain game and sometimes even win prizes or money. Overall the internet has made it much easier to be social when gaming which has made millions more people around the world interested in video gaming.

How Internet gaming has changed the lifestyles of younger people

Gaming on the internet has vastly changed the lifestyle of younger people for the good and bad. It has obviously made it easier for them to be social with friends and making new friends whilst doing it. It has also increased the creativity of a lot of younger people, and influenced them to use the games in other ways. Although these are good things, internet gaming has also caused many younger people to substitute internet gaming for going out and socializing in the real world. It has given them the mindset that if they can socialize with all of their friends from home and have a good time whilst doing it, why should they bother going out and taking part in activities such as going to the cinema or going to a museum.

Not only has it caused some younger people to go outside less, but it has caused a large amount of addiction in certain people from certain types of games. There has been an increasing rise in the prevalence of gamers living together to save costs through sharing utilities and physical resources. Whether they are apart of a clan, guild, or other online association costs can be shared so that more time can be spent gaming. [3] One of the main types of games for this addiction are role playing games. To be more specific there have been many cases of addiction from a role playing game called World of Warcraft. People develop major addiction and their games become a form of escapism because the idea of the game is so close to real life, although you have much more control over what happens in your characters life. Addiction is very easily created because people can get so hooked up in their characters world that it becomes a better alternative to them than their real life. People would rather wake up in the morning and kill a dragon as their character than wake up in the morning and go to a job that they hate for the day.

How internet sites have helped gaming as a whole

Many websites have helped gaming extremely well in the past few years, one of the main sites being YouTube. YouTube has only been around for around seven years and gaming on YouTube only started appearing around four years ago, but it has boomed in that short space of time. It has greatly helped out game companies by giving them free advertising by way of people uploading videos of their game.  This is the main reason that game companies are happy for people to upload footage of the games. Not only does it help game companies in that way, but by people uploading glitches and faults games, it gives them an easy source of research which they can act from to fix these problems.

Since people started uploading gaming videos onto YouTube a strong gaming community has been created, encouraging gamers to be more creative with their games and also giving them the chance to make money from their videos depending on how successful they are. The YouTube gaming community also has many small communities within, each as creative as each other. One of the main communities are Commentators, who review games, share their thoughts about certain topics and share stories of their life and others as a source of entertainment for the viewers. The gameplay is used more as something for the viewer to watch as they listen. Another main community within the gaming community are the Montage makers. Creating a Montage is a great way for video game players to show off their skills in the game, but at the same time giving a set idea and footage for people interested in video editing and animation to work from.

Aside from the fact that sites can help promote gamers and help the designers find faults in their game, websites like facebook which are running social games have brought a huge amount of regular people into the gaming world in the past few years aswell. Facebook games attract more than 56 million people a year in america alone, so its no wonder that they are amongst the most popular games played in the world, with several products with tens of millions of players. [5]

Has the internet made video gaming better or worse?

I think that the Internet has made video gaming an extremely useful tool and has definitely changed it for the good. I think how it gives you the option to talk to anyone across the world is amazing and has made it one of the best social tools of today. I also think that internet gaming has really brought out the creative minds in people that might not have known previously how creative they could be. It has also generated a large stable community where gamers can interact with each other easily and share interests. This wasn’t possible before the internet and I really think it was needed.

Although I agree that the internet has improved gaming, I can see why some people do not. It has definitely made the excuse for more people to stay in all day playing online rather than socializing and experiencing things in the real world. It has been said that certain violence in games can lead to violence in the real world. Fox News reported that a Montreal shooting case in Canada was carried out by the criminal Kimveer Gill, who is a player of Super Columbine Massacre, whose narrative attaches with strong violence sense. [4] Although i can see how they linked the playing of a violent game to violence in the real world, i do this that said human being must have some sort of mental issue to go with it, to cause such an event to occur. It has also brought forward the problem of people enjoying online gaming too much and spending too long in front of the screen, sometimes resulting in physical damage such as blood clots and seizures.

This being said I believe that it is up to the gamers themselves to control their use of internet gaming and remember that real life should be the priority.




Bibliography

1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_culture

2 - Marshall, D in Turner, G & Cunningham, S, 2006, 'The Media & Communications in Australia' in 'Computer Games', Allen & Unwin, Sydney, pp. 279–300.

3 - www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/k0kdm/confirmed_team_solo_mid_moving_into_gaming_house

4 - Foxnews (2006)

5 - "Social network games catch the eye of computer giants" by Zoe Kleinman from BBC News (Nov. 2009)

Artist Research

Sam Didier
Most Famous for his Major work on Warcraft.

Sam "Samwise" Didier is the lead art director at Blizzard Entertainment. Among the veteran Blizzard employees, Samwise Didier has been a consistent artist for many years, and recently his style has been the artistic direction of choice for all Blizzard franchises from the past and present.

Didier's greatly exaggerated physiques and vibrant, bright color palette has dictated the artistic style of Warcraft III, World of Warcraft, and even the now defunct StarCraft: Ghost. Didier has also designed and drawn many of the graphical icons found in Warcraft III and World of Warcraft, and even provided some voicework for both.

Just by looking at the home page of the site "Sons of the Storm" that Sam Didier created, you can tell the amount of effort and detail he puts into his unique semetrical and orderly style of drawings. He has also managed to keep to the Quest style of layout very well, which keeps to the genre of Role playing games.

I picked this piece by Didier as one of my favourites of all his works. He has done an amazing job at showing the power and speed of both the dragon and the hero. I think the emotion he has managed to put across on the faces of both is amazing, it really gives the viewer a sense of how the hero would of felt in that one situation.

I picked this sketch done by Didier for Warcraft because i think it may well show how he develops his ideas from scratch. If you look closely i think you could just make out where he has started off by making a rough dark shape of a figure. I think he then sketches a general figure based upon the dark figure and gradually adds detail and changes slight things to fit the style he is looking for. Once the full sketch is done he either fills in the gaps with shading in black and white or adds colour.


I found an interview where Sam Didier was asked "So tell us what your job is in regards to Starcraft."
In my opinion his reply gives a great insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a game being designed.

"I am the art director on the game. Back when we started, I was providing a lot of concepts, working on models and textures and all that. Now the bulk of the art is on its way to being done. There are still things that we need to hit up, but a lot of it now is just sort of overseeing, making sure that anything new that has been generated has that kind of Starcraft feel or it looks enough Zerg, it looks enough Protoss, that sort of thing."

Info From : http://www.wowwiki.com/Samwise_Didier
Interview From : http://www.joystiq.com/2009/08/31/blizzard-interview-samwise-didier-talks-starcraft-2/

Space, Rhythm and Colour

Space -

Sky Arts Ideas & Research

Sky Arts Ideas & Research

Initial Ideas :

-Animation of Text Floating in Water

-Animation of Text being made by Pencils

-Animation of Text being made from Plane Exhaust

-Animation of Text coming out of Clouds

-Animation of Text and Paint Floating

Examples :

 Analysis :

I really like the idea of this intro because i think it gives a very organic feel to such a simple word. The Plugin used was Realflow, which gives such a realistic watery outcome. I think if i were to use an idea such as this, i would have the text standing up and have the water dropping down to form it. I think my idea would work alot better as you could use alot more camera angles instead of just a straight on view.

Analysis :

The idea of this music video is incredibely creative, i love the way the pencils seem to have a life of their own, especially when they are being sharpened to different lengths. I think i could use this idea very well to create the Sky Arts logo using pencils sharpened at different lengths and then animating them to make the word. I also think that i could include some close up angles and maybe some glitch effects which would add to the feel of the animation as a whole.

Design and Art Directions Evaluation

The task for the day was to create a way for internet explorer to attract more users. We had to make one that was virtual and was that can be used in the real world.
I have learnt that i find it hard to develop ideas thoroughly, by making lots of different drafts.. i could only stretch my abilities to about 5 or 6.
I think that the point of the task was to stretch our design abilities and to come up with more ideas that can develop into a finalised concept. I think it will useful in the future for jobs when the same situation arrises.
I think my ability to come up with ideas for the one draft i picked were good, as the one i chose had many different things that could of branched from it. I decided to choose an idea that can be stretched to many other ideas. What i think went slightly bad was that i couldn't think of a way to persuade people to want to actually use it.
I think i could improve by researching more into advertising and marketing stunts that will attract people to the certain idea. This would help the idea as a whole as it would attract a wider audience.
Overall i think i achieved the task quite well, but there is still room for improvement.

The Interactive Design Project

Research on a Range of Images + Annotation

- Historical images

Literal - This is an ancient wall painting showing humans hunting deer.
Abstract - The hidden meaning in this photo is that humans have power over animals and they wanted to show future humans how to get food.
Feeling - The image makes me feel interested as to how humans made their weapons back then, and also annoyed that i didnt get to witness the epic battle between man and deer.

Literal - This is an ancient Egyptian wall painting representing Anubis taking a woman to Ra.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning in this picture is that men and gods had power over woman, and they were used as rewards.
Feeling - This makes me confused as to what they are doing with the woman and what she is holding in her hand.

Literal -This is an image of Uncle Sam, promoting joining the army.
Abstract - The hidden meaning in this image is the pressure it put on people, making them think they they were needed more in the war than anyone else was.
Feeling - This makes me feel nervous as it could relate to the Illuminati gaining control over the people, and just proves how easy it is to persuade people with just a poster.

Literal - This is the image of Jesus and his disciples at the great supper.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning in this photo is that sharing is needed, and a little bit of food can actually go a long way.
Feeling - This makes me feel intrigued as it could be proof that Jesus existed.

Literal - This is an image of some soldiers putting up a flag to mark the land as theirs.
Abstract - I think the hidden message in this image is that America are trying to show that they have power over everyone else and can put their flag anywhere they want to.
Feeling - This makes me feel interested as to what they are standing on.

Literal - This is an image of some soldiers holding a nazi flag and smiling.
Abstract - I think this picture is meant to convey their happiness that they beat the Nazis and to show relief that its over.
Feeling - This makes me feel happy for them in the sense that they survived.














- Urban Signs and Symbols

Literal - This is a piece of graffiti art by the Artist Banksy.
Abstract - The hidden meaning of this image is that there is always something better on the other side.
Feeling - This makes me feel happy because it reminds me that even if things are boring and bland, there is always something better waiting for me soon.

Literal - This is an image i took at the docks of some graffiti.
Abstract - I think the meaning behind this piece of art is that there is a relationship between the two beans.
Feeling - This makes me feel confused as to what the two green objects are and what the left one is yelling.

Literal - This is another image i took in town of a security camera with graffiti underneath it.
Abstract - I think the meaning behind this photo is that we are always being watched no matter where we are.
Feeling - This makes me feel safe and also nervous at the same time.

Literal - This is the Black Eyes Peas emblem from "Where is the Love".
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this photo is that it is suggesting if love exists and where exactly do you find it. Its in red to represent love.
Feeling - This makes me feel confused as to where the love is.

Literal - This is an old graffiti done by Artist Robbo on the side of a Train.
Abstract - I think the meaning behind this is to spread the Christmas cheer with everyone who uses the train and the underground.
Feeling - This makes me feel merry and happy that someone would do this to share the happiness.

Literal - This is a photo of graffiti made by Sweet Toof.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this is that we all look the same underneath the skin, but our expressions change.
Feeling - This makes me feel happy cause of the sun and the bright colors used on the piece of art.








- Artworks

Literal - This is a drawing of a spider hanging from a woman's eye.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this drawing is that it is showing the fear of spiders and overcoming that fear.
Feeling - This makes me feel uneasy because having a spider hanging from your eyelid would not be very nice and i don't really like spiders in general.

Literal - This is a drawing of a punk style haircut on a woman.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this photo is showing how styling your hair in an unusual way can look good, even if most is shaved off.
Feeling - This makes me feel happy as i like the hairstyle and the piercings that the woman has in the drawing.

Literal - This is a painting of a woman's face and hair.
Abstract - I think the abstract meaning of this painting is that you don't have to have every feature to be beautiful and your hair does not matter.
Feeling - This makes me feel calm as the colors are calming and subtle.

Literal - This is an image of prehistoric sea monsters.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning in this image is that we are still amongst monsters of the sea and should be more careful.
Feeling - This makes me feel nervous as i do not like swimming in the sea, for the fact that sharks could be beneath. 

Literal - This is an image of a woman with an apple dripping down onto her head.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this photo is that she is trapped inside the depths of the woods. Encased in fear.
Feeling - This makes me feel strange as the colors are very dark and concentrated, making it harder to see the details.

Literal - This is a picture of a Doll type girl with roses in the background.

Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this image is that it portrays sorrow and loneliness. She is looking into your eyes as if to drag you down with her.

Feeling - This makes me feel confused and sad, her eyes are almost looking into your soul and making you sad.


























- Good examples of design

Literal - This is a picture of a famous building in Sydney.
Abstract - I think that this building is meant to represent a ship with huge glorious sales.
Feeling - This makes me feel cheerful because of the weather in the photo and also the curved design of the building.

Literal - This is a photo of a famous building in London shaped like a cucumber.
Abstract - I think the building is meant to give off a very futuristic aura. Also i think the designer wanted to create something that had never been done before.
Feeling - This makes me feel confused as to why they would make a building in this shape.

Literal - This is a photo of the Taj Mahal in india.
Abstract - I think there is a hidden meaning in the reflection of the Taj Mahal on the water. Also i think that the shape may be meant to give a hidden message to onlookers.
Feeling - This makes me feel royal because of the magnificant building work and red sky.

Literal - This is a photo of a Building styled in a strange and original way.
Abstract - I think this building is meant to resemble a ship sail, particularly this is why it is places on a small island in the water i think.
Feeling - This makes me want to be there, as it looks magical and stands out from a mile away.

Literal - This is an image of the Suspension bridge in Bristol.
Abstract - I think this is meant to give a glowing feel to bristol and the dull brown cliffs either side of the glowing bridge.
Feeling - This makes me feel happy because of the beauty of the lights and the red sky.

Literal - This is an image of a Pyramid in the desert of Egypt.
Abstract - I think there is a hidden meaning within this pyramid to do with the Illuminati and the Mayans. It was left on the earth to give us a warning.
Feeling - This makes me feel bored because of the colours but also intrigued as to what is inside of the pyramid.














- Media, Advertising and Propaganda

Literal - This is a poster questioning communism in America.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning in this image is that its questioning whether america is going to fall apart or not. Or a better way of putting it, "Go up in Flames".
Feeling - This makes me feel confused as i dont fully understand the meaning of the poster and communism as a whole.

Literal - This is a propaganda poster from the war.
Abstract - I think this poster was meant to introduce fear to the people of the country so they would keep their nose out of the armies business. Also making it easier for the Army to spot Terrorists.
Feeling - This would of made me feel scared at the time as it means you could be suspected as being a terrorist just for simply asking some questions.

Literal - This is another propaganda poster from the war.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning behind this poster, is that the soldiers are trying to say they have the power over what they do and who they bomb, so you are either with them or against them.
Feeling - Again at the time this would of made me scared and nervous about what i could and couldnt say, but now it doesnt mean anything to me.

Literal - This is a War poster promoting the vengeance of Peal Harbor.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning in this photo, is that its meant to persuade more americans to join the army to get back at the japanese for what happened in Pearl Harbour. The picture of uncle sam with his fist in the air is meant to mean "We can do this".
Feeling - This makes me feel interested as to whether this actually worked on people.

Literal - This is a propaganda image about late abortions.
Abstract - I think the hidden message in this poster, is that its trying to make out people who want to abort their babys too late into the process are selfish and horrible people.
Feeling - This makes me feel confused as i both agree and disagree with the idea of this poster.

Literal - This is a Pop-Art style poster of Obama representing his morals.
Abstract - I think the hidden meaning in this picture is that he is going to bring hope to the american people. He has a very wise expression on his face and also this red white and blue is meant to back up the idea that he is there for america and is their leader.
Feeling - This makes me slightly nervous because of how some very small features of a photo can mean such bigs things in the subliminal form.












- Scientific Images or Optical illusions

Literal - This is a photo i took near the Docks of a Illusion style street art.
Abstract - I think the idea of this illusion is that the monkey is meant to look like its further back into the wall, sort of like a 3D effect.
Feeling - This makes me feel slightly confused because of all the spirals and black and white opposites.

Literal - This is an Optical illusion involving some builders and a balcony.
Abstract - The illusion here i that you cannot tell which balcony is facing up and which one is facing down, you also dont know whether both are facing the same way, this is done by the angle and perspective of the photos.
Feeling - This makes me confused because i cannot figure out how they have managed to merge the two images together so well to make that effect.

Literal - This is an Optical illusion of a knight on a horse.
Abstract - The idea behind this illusion, is that if you look at it quickly without paying much attention you see a mans face with a crazy hairstyle. But if you look closely you can see the actual image and that there are many face involved within the image aswell.
Feeling - This also makes me confused and slightly freaked out. I also cannot "not see" the eyes of the face, no matter how hard i try.

Literal - This is an Optical illusion of a naked woman.
Abstract - The hidden illusion in this image is that if you look quickly you see the naked woman sitting by a waterfall, but if you look closely you can see a mans face with long hair, and also faces in the cliffs.
Feeling - This makes me wonder whether you are actually meant to see the mans face or not, and whether your brain is just putting it there with imagination.

Literal - This is a brightly coloured Optical illusion.
Abstract- If you look at this out of the corner of your eye, it seems to be moving in all directions. But if you look at it straight on its static still. I think this is done with the size of the shapes and the black lines, taking advantage of a certain part of the brain.
Feeling - This makes me feel dizzy and slightly sick if i look at it for too long.

  
Literal - This is a simple Optical illusion, but a very effective one.
Abstract - I dont know how this is done, but somehow the image tricks your brain into thinking there is 3 poles where actually there are only 2 attached to the base.
Feeling - This image also makes me feel dizzy and slightly sick if i look at it for too long.












- Interactive Media

Literal - This is an image of the Google home page logo.
Abstract - I think the logo uses bright colourful colours to attract users to the site and to branch out to all age groups.
Feeling - This makes me feel welcome and safe. It feels like i can trust this site and it seems like a very professional standard.

Literal - This is an image of the sky news internet home page.
Abstract - I think they have laid this page out in a very orderly fashion to make it easier for people to navigate around the different news types.
Feeling - This makes me feel bored and slightly intimidated. I think having more curves would make it look more welcoming.

Literal - This is the Yahoo logo coloured in a dark shade of purple.
Abstract - I think that the yahoo logo is made in a "fun" font to attract people of all ages, and make it so it sticks in your head.
Feeling - This makes me feel comfortable with the site as a whole because of the fun font and the style of the logo.

Literal - This is the Facebook login blue.
Abstract - I think that Facebook made there logo simple, so that its memorable and easy to think of in your head. Also i think they made the text in white and the background darker to make it stand out.
Feeling - This makes me feel calm because of the cool colours and the simple design of the Logo. It seems like they know what they are doing.

Literal - This is an image of a Nintendo Wii in white.
Abstract - I think they made the wii clean and white to attract the every day person into gaming. I think they have tried to make it look like a more social console as appose to a black detailed console which would relate to the "Basement Gamer".
Feeling - This makes me feel welcome and calm. If i wasn't a gamer before i saw this console i think it would attract me to gaming as it looks simple and fun.

Literal - This is the Youtube logo that has been the same since youtube started.
Abstract - I think they have separated the two words "you" and "tube" so that it appeals to you, making you think that youtube is made specifically for you, and great for you to use. It also reminds you with the phrase "Broadcast yourself".
Feeling - This makes me feel calm and collected because the logo is in an orderly and simple design.