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PowerPoint Presentationoutlinewhat’s in a game engine?game “mods”movies with game enginesprogramming: an examplegames research and developmentwhat makes a good game?ludology versus narratologySlide 10history of computer gamestwo issues to consider from film theorySlide 13Slide 14more than identificationvideo games as ...identificationevocative objectsvideo games discussed by turklehow did we get from here......to here?spacespace: what’s a boy’s space?space: what’s a girl’s space?games and genderhot and cool mediahot or cool?next time: more on computer gamescomputer games fdm 20c introduction to digital medialecture 13.11.2008warren sack / film & digital media department / university of california, santa cruzoutline•computer games: how do they work?–how do they work “behind the screen”? i.e., how do they work from the perspective of an engineer?•a simple example of pong in javascript–how do they work “in front of the screen”? i.e., how do they work for the audience or participant?•sherry turkle on computer games and processes of identification•henry jenkins on computer games, gender and spacewhat’s in a game engine?•graphics•physics•ai•...and a lot moregame “mods”•example development environment: epic’s unreal engine: http://udn.epicgames.com/Two/WebHomemovies with game engines•example: tum raider: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXLGzKxeZPg•utilities for learning how to do machinima: http://www.machinima.com/machinima101/index.phpprogramming: an example•pong in javascript–physics: what makes the ball bounce?–ai: can an opponent be programmed to play against a human player?games research and development•example groups and events:–the game developers’ conference: http://www.gdconf.com/–game studies: academic journal: http://gamestudies.org/–research groups:•academic: e.g., Center for Computer Games Research, IT University of Copenhagen•industry: and, of course, the folks at Microsoft, Electronic Arts, etc.–art:•e.g., the show Bang the Machine: Computer Gaming Art and Artifacts (Jan 17–Apr 4, 2004 @ Yueba Buena Arts Center, SF)•e.g., alternative games competition, Rhizome.org at the New Museum, New York City, March 2004what makes a good game?•play? or,•story?ludology versus narratology•"One of the reasons I think Myst was successful was that people are used to being entertained with stories. There're lots of ways to entertain, but the two primary ones are story—which is television and movies and books and all that—and the other is gameplay—blackjack and football and Parcheesi. There’re other ones, but those are two we are very familiar with. I think the mass market audience is more familiar with story. The first campfire the guys on the hunt come back with a story to tell--that is something anybody can partake in.”–Rand Miller, co-creator of Myst and Riven, speaking about his new game Uruwhat makes a good game?•play? or,•story? or, •realism? or, is it•something else?history of computer games•see http://www.videotopia.com/games.htm•see SpaceWar! on the CD for the NMR•see The Java Arcade Emulator: http://web.utanet.at/nkehrer/jae.html•do games get better and better every year?–how? is it•play? or,•story? or, •realism? or, is it•something else?•or maybe they don’t get better every year? maybe they get worse?two issues to consider from film theory1. identification:–how do people relate to the characters and action on the screen?•e.g., what do women do/think when the hero is a man versus when the hero is a woman?–what does a designer or filmmaker do to facilitate the audience’s/players’ relations with characters and actions on the screen?•e.g., filmmaking techniques: POV, suture, the 180 degree rule, etc.2. spacetwo issues to consider from film theory1. identification:2. space:•what is the space of cinema/games? what can the audience/player see or do there?•what can the designer or filmmaker do to increase, decrease, or change the space?•e.g., montage and also think about the filming and editing techniques llisted above concerning identificationtwo issues to consider from film theory1. identification: sherry turkle on identification2. space: henry jenkins on space and gendermore than identification•“When you play a video game you enter into the world of the programmers who made it. You have to do more than identify with a character on the screen. You must act for it. Identification through action has a special kind of hold. Like playing a sport, it puts people into a highly focused, and highly charged state of mind. For many people, what is being pursued in the video game is not just a score, but an altered state.–from Sherry Turkle, “Video Games and Computer Holding Power”video games as ...•video games as “metaphysical machines”•...as “perfect mirrors”•...as “drugs”•...as “contests”–from Sherry Turkle, “Video Games and Computer Holding Power”identification•Identification is known to psycho-analysis as the earliest expression of an emotional tie with another person. It plays a part in the early history of the Oedipus complex. A little boy will exhibit a special interest in his father; he would like to grow like him and be like him, and take his place everywhere. We may say simply that he takes his father as his ideal. –from Sigmund Freud, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego –Cf., Jacques Lacan on “The Mirror Stage,” and writings about identification in film theory by Laura Mulvey, Kaja Silverman, Christian Metz, Stephen Heath, and othersevocative objects•What is Sherry Turkle referring to when she writes about “evocative objects”?–Melanie Klein, along with Sigmund Freud and W.R.D. Fairbairn, contributed ideas to make up what we now know as object relations. First Freud introduced the idea of object choice, which referred to a child's earliest relationships with his caretakers. Such people were objects of his needs and desires. The relationship with them became internalized mental representations. Subsequently Melanie Klein coined the term partial objects, for example the mother's breast, which played an important role in early development and later in psychic disturbances, such as excessive preoccupation with certain body parts or aspects of a person as opposed to the whole person. Finally, Fairbairn and others developed the so-called object relations theory.


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UCSC FDM 20C - computer games

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