Day: November 27, 2006

The World of Video Games

I’ve been busy with random stuff so here’s an essay that I wrote for English class. It’s on the history of video games.

Beep, buzz, zing, wakka-wakka: these are the sounds that echo through any hardcore gamers head. Video games have been a part of popular culture ever since their creation in the early 1970s. It was only two paddles and a ball that started the craze and the world has never been the same since. That is why video games need a monument that not only talks about the history, but the cultural impact that they have instilled across the world.

It was in 1972 when Atari released their first arcade game known as Pong. Although not the first video game, its basic principles it led the way to the video game industry boom. Pong showed that if a video game was simple, fun, and addictive it could make a company millions of dollars. These are the same principles that I would found my monument on. Gamers are people looking to be entertained and my monument has to feed that craving. At the height of the video game arcade boom, arcade machines started appearing in stores, restaurants, and even churches. When video games first came out, they were able to break through all consumer barriers. It did not matter whether one was old or young, black or white, or male or female, as long as one had a quarter one could play a video game. This is why the monument needs to educate its visitors about video games. Not all the visitors attending the monument understand or even have the hand-eye coordination that is required to play video games. Non-gamers will feel left out if they are not told why video games are such a popular medium.

As video games evolved, some parents began having issues with them. As video games are addictive in nature, their children fled to the arcades when they should have been doing other things such as attending school or using their lunch money to play video games. Not only that, but video games grew in their violence. In 1976 a game called Death Race had players running over gremlins in order to win. The problem arouse when the simplistic graphics made the gremlins appear as stick figures, which were mistaken for humans. Violent video games were only the beginning of things to come. Eventually sexually explicit games started appearing on home consoles. The most disturbing of these was called Custer’s Revenge. In this game players played as a naked cowboy who had to rape an Indian whom was tied to a stake. While my monument would, overall, celebrate video games, dedicating an area that discusses the controversy in video games is needed.

In recent years, video games have been at the center stand when politicians want to blame someone for the corruption of America’s youth. In 1994 Congress forced the video game industry to form a regulatory body, which rated games based on their content. The Video Game Rating Act of 1994 jump-started the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). While this independent organization has made it easier for consumers to understand the content that they are looking into buying, it does not enforce whether or not specific age groups are allowed to purchase a mature game. In 1999 the Colombine tragedy occurred and the world yet again blamed video games as the cause of the school shooting. The Colombine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were avid players of the violent shooter game Doom. Even more recently, in 2005 the Hot Coffee Mod was created for the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This modification allows players to go through a sex mini-game. But these are the only type of games that make media headlines. Every month multiple games are released that are kid friendly and educational. Most gamers will say that video games are not reality and that know the difference between the real world and the virtual world. They recognize the consequences if they brought over this violent mentality that video games allow them to express.

As with any medium there are plenty of monuments that show off its industry, but video games have always been treated as a child’s play thing. To many extents this stereotype used to be valid. According to the Entertainment Software Association, as of 2005 the average age of a gamer is 33 years old. It has only been since these past couple of years that seniors have begun playing casual video games across the internet such as poker.

While the video game industry has surpassed $10 billion in revenues, according to NPD Group in 2003, few people can name one worker on a video game project. It is interesting that people can name the directors of movies yet they cannot name the creative directors behind popular video games. There is no reason to say that someone who makes a video game is lower class than if they made something on another medium. I want to give video games and the people who make them respect they deserve. No job in the video game industry is 9am-5pm. At times people may work over 15 hours per days. Writing thousands of lines of code or drawing hundreds of concept artwork sketches is a tough job. According to GameDaily.com, a video game industry insider website, a major video game developer Electronic Arts did not pay for overtime work from 2001 to 2006. Electronic Arts was sued by its programmers and forced to pay $14.9 million.  This goes to prove that video game professionals have had their own hardships to work out just like any other industry. In my monument I want to honor developers for their dedication to making their games fun for people that enjoy them.

While my monument would be held in a building, I would try to make it an interactive experience. I would put the information about a game next to a playable copy. Next I would include tons of mini theaters that showed off game play videos, trailers, game commercials, etc. Throughout the entire monument there would be a collage of game characters and their creators. It would start from the very first video game and go into current time. As the video game phenomenon is not only in the United States, I would have an area for video games that were developed around the world. It is important that gaming community feels connected to the monument itself. Unlike other monuments I want the environment to be casual and laid back. The monument would be made for gamers. The idea would be to get them to revisit the site again and again. In order to get a steady visitor count I would hold monthly tournaments with cash prizes for the winners. Also I would invite actual game developers to come and talk with gamers about their games and how they got into the industry. It is important to inspire the next generation of game developers and a monument with these features truly could. The monument must have the support of the people inside the video game industry, as they are the ones who drive the video game community. They are the ones who will make this monument something special to gamers all around the world.

I visited the Metreon, a mall owned by Sony that honors video games, in March 2006. It was actually a depressing experience. It was great that they had some stars on the floor with the name of the honored game or developer, but it was the rest of the site that failed to live up to my gamer dreams. The fact that the site itself is in a mall, where most of the stores are shut down is absolutely pathetic. They had an arcade room, but half of the machines were broken and all of the games themselves were outdated. Why would I as a gamer want to go to a place that doesn’t respect video games? A mall is about commerce, video games are fun and exciting. Honoring video games in a run-down mall just does not work.

On October 15, 2006, I attended the Los Angeles National Cemetery. The layout of this monument does not work as well because it is an outdoor environment. My monument needs to be enclosed in a building so that there is no glare on all of the television screens. Also the whole mood of any cemetery is sadness. Video games are the complete opposite in that they can bring out joy and that is the mood that my monument needs.

With the deep history that video games have had in our culture I’m shocked to see that no one has properly honored them. That is why I would want to make a monument dedicated to them and the people who make them. Uniting gamers with the games they love could have a lot of potential. With an industry worth over $10 billion it is definitely the industry that has always been misunderstood and underrepresented. My monument would change that.

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Brightman, James “EA Settles Overtime Suit, Pays $14.9 Million.” 26 Apr. 2006. 31 Oct.

2006. .

“Columbine High School Massacre.” 2006. 21 Oct. 2006

.

“Death Race.” 2006. 22 Oct. 2006. .

Lieberman, Joe. Video Game Rating Act of 1994. US 103rd Cong., 2nd sess. S. Rept. 

     1823. 1994. Washington: GOP, 1994.

Los Angeles National Cemetery. Los Angeles. 15 Oct. 2006.

Metreon. San Francisco. 6 Mar. 2006.

“The NPD Group Reports Annual 2004 U.S. Video Game Industry Retail Sales.” 

     NPD Group.18 Jan. 2005. 31 Oct. 2006.

2076>.

“Top 10 Industry Facts.” Entertainment Software Association. 2006. 31 Oct 2006.

     .

Let’s Go to Prison

Remember the previews for Let’s Go to Prison? The Warden says that if anyone is innocent, they should step forward, and they can go free. One poor soul chooses to do so, and gets a gun butt to the face. Pretty much the character of the whole movie.

“We should be cellmates. I don’t snore, and I’m a quiet masturbator. Hell, I’ll even give you the top bunk.”

Though the movie is pretty crude, its definitely not as vulgar as I expected. It has a healthy mix of what one would expect as prison humor, and amazing performances by supporting roles. Chi McBridge’s performance as ‘Barry,’ the huge “black dude” inmate, has such heart that its impossible NOT to fall in love with him: unless, I suppose, its you he is wooing. I kid you not: “Prepare to be woo-ed, by the master.”

Another great supporting role is that of the Warden, played by Dylan Baker. His cold demeanor, coupled with his dry ‘humor’ makes this guy funny because he’s NOT if you know what I mean. I mean honestly, what a dick.

The writing is pretty good, even though the premise is pretty silly. When criminal John Lyshitski finally gets out of prison another time, he goes after the judge who’s sent him there, time after time. When he finds that the judge is dead, he goes after the judge’s **bleep** son, gets him sent to jail, and decides to commit a crime to follow him in. When a surprising turn of events turn Nelson Biederman the IVth into boss of the slammer, things are a little less fun for John Lyshitski.

With good acting, great dialogue, and some great plot twists, this movie is one to stop by and check out, even if you’re not running there NOW. Go see it with some friends, and hey: if your babe can handle The Pick of Destiny, go ahead and make a date night to see Let’s Go to Prison. You know you want to.

The Pick of Destiny

The tagline: The greatest motion picture of all time. I think it pretty much lives up to it, if you narrow the category to the greatest Tenacious D motion picture of all time.

That said, the movie was great. If you’re a Tenacious D fan, this movie has everything that you’ll expect from a Tenacious D movie. That is to say, if there were a Tenacious D movie, this is exactly what it would be like. Which it is.

With a whole new lineup of songs, you won’t be bored by listening to the tracks from the album you may have already heard a thousand times. Though there are a few teasers alluding to the previous album. I don’t want to ruin it for you, though.

Definitely a soundtrack you’d want to get your hands on. That aside, Jack Black does his usual, which pleases the fans but may irritate those specific people who don’t specifically like that guy. So don’t go to the movie with those boring people. Kyle Gass does a great job on-screen, and his acting is fabulous. Though, with those two, I’m pretty sure they aren’t acting too much.

As far as the writing, I really liked the plot. It delves into the fictional creation of the band, which is an entire great subplot in and of itself. After discovering that a single pick has been used by all the Rock Masters, the duo embark on a quest to acquire this item so that they, too, can become great. I don’t want to spoil too much, because so much of comedies especially ones like these are pretty fantastic when you’re surprised by the absurdity.

I will say though, that Ben Stiller makes a worthwhile appearance, and that’s pretty fun. He does a good job. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this as a movie to see when you’ve got the guys together, but you might want to avoid this one as a date movie: unless you two are cool like that.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (-)

We all saw the first The Santa Clause, a charming holiday family movie featuring Tim Allen. We probably liked it, and then the holidays were over. I vaguely remember the second installment, though I never saw it and don’t remember any advertisements. When my small cousins came to town, I went ahead and took them to the third installment.

Some of us like Tim Allen and Martin Short, but go ahead and skip this one. While the first Santa Clause was a charming family movie, this one is definitely for the kiddies. And while none of you guys are likely choosing this one when you go to the movies, when taking the family’s young’ns out, go ahead and choose something else.

The plot is the usual unsatisfying children’s formula: we’re presented with a common family social problem, and while the villain starts out as a mischievous troublemaker, the climax is over and done before he does anything really bad. By the end of the movie, the villain miraculously sees the error in his ways and gets to join in for the big family photo-finish.

Nothing really remarkable about the performances, I thought Martin Short did okay with the script he was handed, and Tim Allen did his usual. (Oh, too bad it wasn’t tool time THIS time.) Just go watch Jungle 2 Jungle and be sated.

One good thing must be said though: Martin Short’s costume looked great. Maybe it just stood out against the gruesome obviously-studio-fabricated-background.

Ad-damonium

There’s some news coming out of Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority will no longer allow advertising on their vehicles for video games that receive a rating of M (mature) or AO (adults only) from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. This is the result of complaints for the advertising of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the side of Boston subway cars.

Honestly, I could be okay with this. The Grand Theft Auto series is known for having violence/nudity/language that isn’t appropriate for children, and everyone sees these subway cars. I’m sure that as much as they would like to have it, Rockstar doesn’t really need these ads to sell the game. If a customer would like it, they’ll find a way to get it.

But the advertisements only say the title of the game, and a picture of a character on it. In order for an underaged citizen to play this game, when many stores don’t allow for games rated M to be sold to minors, or even be rented, they need their parent/caretaker to purchase it for them. That means the responsible adult needs to see the words “Grand Theft Auto”, plus a “Rated M” symbol on the cover, which isn’t much different from a “Parental Advisory Warning” on a CD, and actually bigger than a “Rated R” on a movie.

And that’s why we’re complaining about it, yes? Because of the kids? Well, kinda. But also because the game encourages unlawful behavior. And as the MBTA is a public entity, according to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, “[it] has a responsibility to protect the public from being bombarded by violent images.” Well, yes. I suppose. But then are we going to stop all violent images? There will be no movie ads for rated R films? No ads for the new 50 Cent album?

You can’t ban one medium on some merits, but not ban another that has the same properties. It’s not being blamed for being a violent game, it’s being blamed for condoning violence. So if Rockstar can’t advertise GTA, why can the Clerks II DVD show up on the side of the bus? And if they actually do allow the banning of “adult” themed ads on public transportation, what about the billboards I can see from the bus? And then the commercials on the air? Everyone sees those too.

Everyone knows that the GTA series is violent. Stopping the ad on the side of a train isn’t going to stop the sales of this game, nor future ones like it. I understand why they’re doing it, because I agree, the world could use less violence. But the manner they’re doing it is wrong, and just creates precedence in the United States that can lead to more harm than good. In the end, the problem doesn’t lie in the game developers, for they are a business, just like all others, nor the transit system, who didn’t discriminate before, and had no reason to, but the customers, for being ill-informed. Parents still aren’t paying attention to what games their kids are playing and are blaming it on everyone but themselves.

Sources:
Boston Globe
GamePolitics