Category: Rhetorical Analyses

Soulcalibur II is a fighting game released by Namco, and is similar to games like Mortal Kombat and Tekken. In the game, female characters such as Ivy, Taki, and Talim are all clad in very objectifying clothing, as well as their dialogue in the game being flirtatious and suggestive in tone and nature. In this way, the game suggests that men who play the game are only interested in women who can serve some sort of sexual desire or appetite. Also the female characters’ fighting techniques all tend to focus on distance attacks or defensive attacks, which would imply that the game argues that women either attack from a distance or they tend to hide behind something while they attack. An example of this in the game is the character Ivy, who wears very revealing body armor and whose weapon is a sword that can extend across the field of play to do things like choke her opponent from behind. She also has attacks where she crushes the opponent’s head between her legs and tells them to “stay down”. These attacks and aspects of play all suggest rampant misogyny  on the part of the game designers.

Laser Tag is an interactive strategy game that places its players within a video game-like environment. It’s dark, there are black lights everywhere and you are fully-equipped with a battle pack and laser gun. The game can be high-intensity, unnerving, and is intended to pump up your adrenaline. You are given a name like “Ninja,” “Neo,” or “Shuttle” and sent out to shoot at opposing players. There are often two modes, where you can either play in teams or it’s “every man for himself.” Ultimately, laser tag draws you in by convincing you that you are actually playing within a different world, much like virtual reality. Laser Tag transports you to this space where everything looks different, and the sounds are different. It’s definitely an interesting mix between reality and video games. It exists in a space between the two areas. Strategy is also a very important part of laser tag. The more strategic and stealthy you are in your movements, the more likely you are to come in first or second place.

Link for Reference: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Red_and_Blue_Versions

The goal or purpose of a game is crucial to its overall playability and popularity.  But there are games that treat play’s purpose in an interesting way – one that leaves it open to shifts in understanding and direction.  And this is an area in which a game may create divisions in its player-base.

Take Pokemon Blue, for example.  The game sends players out on a quest given by a character named Professor Oak, who enlists the protagonist as a researcher.  So, from the game’s start, the player is told that their mission is to fill the Pokedex (a Pokemon database) with every Pokemon in the region.  However, as the player sets out on this quest, there are other goals that become the purpose of playing the game: eliminating Team Rocket and besting the Elite Four.  And these goals become just as focal purposes of the game as completing the Pokedex – perhaps more so.

This creates a dilemma at the game’s end, wherever it may be.  Because if beating a game means fulfilling its purpose, which of the three tasks must be accomplished in order to officially beat Pokemon Blue?  Different players argue for all different answers to this question, which ultimately leads to the varying play-styles practiced (and degrees of effort exerted) by players of Pokemon.

There has recently been a discourse around the idea that some games are stupid and/or stupidly simple but at the same time fulfilling. Herein the saga of Bennett Foddy appears relevant, whose ridiculous online games have gained notoriety for their intensively specific and limiting nature. Fairly difficult to master, his games such as QWOP and GIRP became infamous for said attributes; the fury they incur has become their lasting legacy, as unending YouTube videos will attest. However, theses seemingly fruitless endeavors foster a new form of determination that turns into a games designated reward when finally conquered. So, no medal or trophies are awarded within his games, as is the usual expectation for success, instead, the recognition and mastering of said canons is in and of itself the journey and the prize.

http://www.foddy.net/

 

 

The physical space of play has a lot to do with how we experience games. Often times, a player can enjoy play more if he/she is in a comfortable environment/position. A lot of video games can be played sitting down, but some, like specific arcade video games such as PacMan, etc., are played standing up. What does the arcade environment do to the space of play? It makes it more social. A video game arcade is a space dedicated to creating a social gaming environment. It’s unique, nostalgic, and a little archaic, but still fun. Arcades can encourage physical social interaction while playing. The way that arcades are are set up encourages others to watch an individual who is playing the game, thus becoming the player’s audience. It doesn’t always have to happen this way, but the arcade seems to be an accepted place for this. The mood and atmosphere of the arcade creates a social space where others can come together to experience games as either the player or the audience.

Link for Reference: https://bindingofisaacrebirth.gamepedia.com/Binding_of_Isaac:_Rebirth_Wiki

The Binding of Isaac casts each player as Isaac, a very young boy who has just fled from his mother into a trapdoor to avoid being sacrificed to God.  From here, the player must fight their way farther and farther down into the ground beneath Isaac’s house, killing monsters and bosses along the way.  Looming over the player’s head throughout each playthrough, however, is the unshakable message that death is unavoidable.  There is no real chase – only a power struggle.

If the player loses the game, they are killed by Mom (Isaac’s mother).  If the player wins the game, then they have successfully killed themselves, as Isaac must un-birth himself in order to reenter his mother’s womb and defeat her from the inside out, destroying her heart.  In either case, Isaac dies; there is no victory on the side of life in The Binding of Isaac.  Instead, the victory comes in controlling the terms of death – not its timing, but its dealing.  Winning in The Binding of Isaac is wrestling the reigns of death from God and from Isaac’s mother in order to administer that fate upon one’s own self.  This is shown all throughout the game, from the items you pick up, to the monsters you fight (many of which look like dead or aborted forms of Isaac), and everything in between.  Under such a light, death is revealed as nonnegotiable, although the hands that bring it are not.

After reading a chapter in a book I Know Who my Comrades Are, I wanted to muse on what privacy actually is, specifically in relation to mobile apps. While many users of mobile apps, when they first install an app, are asked if they want to allow the app to use their camera, microphone, and location, they don’t actually think about the implications of what that actually entails. For all intensive purposes, whenever a user of the app gives consent to the app to use their microphone, camera, and location, they essentially allow the app to not only use these things when they want it to, but also when they are unaware of it, as well.

It’s almost as if the app argues that unless someone wants to give up certain aspects of their own privacy that they will not be allowed to participate in the realm of the app. Many different types of media make this argument that one cannot participate in society while maintaining their own type of privacy. This is similar to many websites that do not allow people access without signing up for the website and creating an account when, for all intensive purposes, one would be able to enjoy what the website or app has to offer without needing to sign up.

Niantic, the parent company for the now infamous Pokemon Go, has just dropped information about an upcoming “Harry Potter” game they intend to release. Presumably under the umbrella of ubiquitous play, as that’s what Niantic is known for, the game was given no release date, but promises to immerse it’s players in the fictional world’s canon. Of course this marriage is as strong an allure as the aforementioned Pokemon Go was, as there exists a current generation wherein these  discourses, among many other, have become a connecting dialogue. Does this trend of nostalgia re-imagined, as the recent revamp and release of Crash Bandicoot will further attest, mean that the culture of gaming itself will turn less towards originality and lean more towards familiar foundations in the future? If so, how will that impact the industry, and what will happen when all the nostalgic oil is tapped? And if the revamped games aren’t up to par with their origin materials, will that halt production via gamers’ disappointed expectations? Will, like with Pokemon Go, the shine wear off fast and this trend disappear? Or will humanity’s obsession with the past be a driving force forward within gaming culture?

http://www.businessinsider.com/harry-potter-game-pokmon-go-iphone-android-2017-11

 

This week, I will analyse in a rhetorical manner the video game Crusader Kings II. CK2 is a dynastic simulator, where the player takes control of a medieval dynasty somewhere between the years 769 and 1337. What this translates to in-game is a lot of incest, infanticide, possible genocide, human sacrifice, cannibalism, and all sorts of wholesome family activities. The game is an absolute sandbox, so the player’s goal is whatever they make it. Thus a player might make a goal like conquer all of Britain, or convert India to Norse paganism, or seduce the pope and have his babies. Every character in game is represented by a group of traits that also determine their in-game personality (for example, with a character with the ambitious trait will be more aggressive and will be much more willing to act against their liege if it gets them something). The game excels at emergent story telling, where in-game events will form a narrative that creates a coherent story in the context of that specific game. I’ve had the game form interesting stories of assassination, familial intrigue, insane rulers, unstable political situations, and much more that is nearly akin to reading a novel like Game of Thrones with more interactivity.

Twitch is a site dedicated to interactive online video game streaming. It was recently bought by Amazon for around 970 million dollars. My question is: what does this online platform do to the space of play? If players are streaming their playtime live on screen for others to see, then how do other’s interactions with the game affect the way the player plays? How do these online gaming communities expand the space of play? I think that websites such as Twitch can enhance the motivation of a play only in the sense of achievement or ego-boosts a player gets while performing for an audience. However, this leads me to think that Twitch makes play a more superficial performative act once it is broadcasted out. In this sense, does Twitch transform the space of play into instant-gratification? Does play, then, become more about showing skill to viewers than it does about actually defeating the game?

On Sunday, November 5th, the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Denver Broncos 51-23, and given the nature of the game, there was a great amount of celebration among Eagles fans. By the end of the game, the Eagles used their back-up quarterback, Nick Foles, instead of their starting quarterback, Carson Wentz. This example of switching players argues that a team is willing to not play as hard if they feel that they have certainty of their win in a game. Because of this, it could be suggested that the better a team is playing, the more willing they are to slack off in the end of a game. This is almost like an analogy for the tortoise and the hare story; the hare feels far enough ahead in the race so it decides to take a break.

What one may wonder, though, is when does this point occur in a situation of play? At what point does a player or team decide to throw in the towel and stop playing like the game is on the line and become content with just relaxing? One could argue that this choice is directly related to the choice of how seriously one takes the game to begin with. If the team truly cares about winning, they would not at any time decide to take things easy.

Call of Duty: World War II – https://www.callofduty.com/wwii

As a die-hard fan of the original Call of Duty game play in games like Modern Warfare and World at War, I couldn’t be happier to see the Call of Duty franchise return to its traditional way of play. The recent games were fun to play but the movement mechanics brought me out of the game. In older Call of Duty games, I got consumed in the game play because of the small details that made the game play feel more real. Details like my character gets tired after sprinting for a while and would stop, the sway of a sniper scope when trying to pin point a distant shot, and the gore helped build the world in game play because they were aspects that I would expect from real world war. I would see other players get their legs blown off during a multiplayer match and in recent games, that wasn’t the case. I would shoot somebody in the kneecaps with a 12-gauge shotgun and the enemy player would fly back like a rag-doll. In real world experiences, the enemy should have no legs and the realistic consequences in the older games are what brought me in to the game play, ultimately investing me into the game further.

Link for Reference: https://youtu.be/9UOXhb6ZeHw

In many instances, the audience can play an important role in the game at hand.  The cheering crowd at a sports arena, the coaches on the sideline of a boxing match, the audience at a game show, etc. – all of these examples show a distinct and momentous relationship between the spectator(s) and player.  But, in my daily life, there’s one player-audience relationship that sticks out to me most prominently and interestingly.

Imaqtpie (a popular Twitch streamer and YouTuber for League of Legends) and his video editor, Sequence, are a perfect example of this relationship between the player and spectator(s).  Essentially, Imaqtpie only plays the game.  He spends his gaming time live-streaming on Twitch, just him, his natural commentary, and the gameplay itself.  He does not, however, create any of his YouTube videos himself.  Instead, Sequence does.  Sequence, as a member of Imaqtpie’s audience, goes through all of the day’s live-stream footage and compiles the best parts into a ten-minute (approx.) video that flows almost as if it were happening real-time.  He edits the video with his own appreciation and knowledge of Imaqtpie’s gameplay and style, creating content of his own in turn, full of jokes, sound effects, and overall feel characteristic of Sequence.  These YouTube videos are quite different than Imaqtpie’s live-streams on Twitch despite the gameplay being the same.  And this magic comes to fruition each time because of the interplay and understanding between Imaqtpie and Sequence – the player and the spectator.

Trivia Crack is a mobile app game. It was launched in 2013 and was modeled after Trivial Pursuit. The game allows the user to play against friends and strangers around the world. There are six different categories: Entertainment, Art, Sports, History, Science, and Geography. The player will spin a wheel that determines what category of question they will be asked. If they answer correctly, they will earn an icon representing the category they got correct. The first player to earn all six category icons wins the game. This app allows players to continue socializing with friends they may not be able to interact with in person. A player can use their Facebook friends or search by username in order to play games with people they know. This option allows players to maintain a constant social communications with friends over long distances. Players also have the option of choosing a random opponent, in which they will be placed in a game with someone from any location in the world.

While video games come with an array of graphics, there is one thing that a lot have in common: bright colors. Games such as Candy Crush use bright colors to stimulate the the player’s vision, allowing for more visually-appealing game play. But what is the strategy behind these bright colors? Why are they there, and what do they do? Essentially, in color theory, colors set the mood or tone. Usually, in video games, the colors and the background music go hand-in-hand. In Candy Crush, the bright colors are accompanied by happy music. Colors can certainly have an emotional response ; the bright colors in Candy Crush seek to appeal to happy emotions (as does the music). In this way, color theory is an important rhetorical strategy in video games. If the goal is to insight a specific emotion, that emotion’s coordinating colors should be used. In Candy Crush, the bright colors are supposed to insight joyful emotions.

Rhetorically speaking, literature has long since employed the tactic of foreshadowing, an action that has translated just as excellently into cinema, wherein foreshadowing can be even the smallest aspect of a sequence that still holds importance. The recent release of Stranger Things highly anticipated second season highlights aforementioned mechanism for a second time around, wherein an everyday game play later on becomes an obvious foreshadowing item. In the first season the infamous Dungeons and Dragons acts as the catalyzing impetus and final answer for the seasons big questions, and season two has kept that construct alive with a video game rather than a board one. Without dropping any spoilers, there exists a less obvious connection within this season’s prophetic game play and its predecessor arc, but that doesn’t lessen its inevitable impact. Therefore, as both tactics work wonderfully, are games therefore a potentially potent literary and rhetorical mechanism within foreshadowing? (on top of everything else games culture can do)

 

While it may seem that Dungeons and Dragons is a simple role-playing game, it actually argues that one’s success in life is not reliant on how well equipped someone is for a situation, but rather how they are able to find solutions to a situation with what they already have.

The definite aspect of dice rolling in the game, while it does leave certain aspects of a situation up to chance, it never guarantees that a player is going to have a situation play out in a definitive way until the Dungeon Master says whether or not the roll was successful. With this in mind, players must continuously take into account the role of uncertainty with the decisions that are made.

The only real certainty that a player has is in their ability to make new decisions after seeing the success of their first decision. This aspect of the game appeals to cynical players who are willing to scrutinize every decision that they make, understanding that all things in life are uncertain. It is almost as if the game argues that every situation in life has a different type of kairos to it that is unknown until the situation plays out in its entirety.

http://dnd.wizards.com/

After reading Montola’s argumentation on pervasive games, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about games that expand past the point of having a particular time, place, etc. for their play.  Many of such games have become known to us so recently, because they use mobile phones as their platform of play, and many pre-existing games have developed mobile versions to follow this craze, as well.  Old School RuneScape, for example, is about to release a mobile version this winter, which will allow players to use all of OSRS’s features anytime, anywhere.  And this focus on mobile phones, devices that have become essential to and inseparable from everyday life, has sparked my interest in some of the other applications on our phones – staple applications that necessitate the use of smart phones.

Facebook is arguably the world’s most popular role-playing game.  It lets the player create an avatar that looks just like themselves, and it lets the player use that avatar to navigate the game’s complex web of social situations.  The way the player conducts their avatar’s behavior in these interactions inevitably comes with the reward of social acceptance and appraisal or the punishment of social rejection and disapproval.  To improve or maintain their avatar’s dignity and fame on Facebook (or any social media), the player must make posts that they hope other players will enjoy and support.  The posts don’t necessarily have to coordinate with the player’s real life either; even if the player’s current life experience is a negative one, the player’s avatar can purport to be having positive experiences.  And, with Facebook’s integral role on our phones, the game never ends – the game is carried with us everywhere.

Play and Emotion

This week I’m going to talk about one of my favorite games, Verdun. The game is a WWI first person shooter with a heavy emphasis on trench warfare and (near) realism. Gameplay centers around capturing the enemy teams trenches; whichever team has advanced the most wins. Since the game centers around capturing and holding territory rather than killing as much of the enemy as possible, teamwork is absolutely essential to victory. Players won’t accomplish much if they aren’t working in coordination with their teammates; a team must cover all parts of the trench in order to successfully defend it, must outnumber the enemy in their trench to take it, must coordinate gas and artillery strikes to where it would be most effective for the team.

 

Other than the game objective, the main element of the game that encourages teamwork is the squad-based organization of teams. When the player joins the game, they are put into a four-person squad that represents a specific military unit. Each squad has four different roles that are meant to fill specific functions. For example, the U.S. Army unit, the “Doughboys” (as they were called in the war), consists of an NCO, a sniper, a machine gunner, and a grenadier. Each is meant to accomplish something that the others can’t (the NCO calls in artillery while the machine gunner provides cover fire, or the sniper picks off enemy machine guns while the grenadier lobs grenades around corners to clear out enemies). While a player could try to go it alone, working with the other members of their squad is their best bet for overall victory.

Earlier in the semester, I did a rhetorical analysis of the Battlefield 1 trailer. I thought it would be interesting to do an analysis of the actual game.

Battlefield 1 is a high-intensity game, meant to be extremely realistic. The graphics are so good, it makes you feel like you’re actually within the game. Since the graphics are so realistic, there are times when playing gets a little unnerving. Because you can have an array of weapons, like knives, axes, etc., when you attack someone with these weapons, it looks like you’re actually attacking them. In the same way, if you get attacked, the screen spins around and simulates an actual attack. The music that plays in the background is also very ominous, fueling feelings of uneasiness and panic. Battlefield 1 seeks to simulate the same emotions that you would feel when watching an action movie, except now you’re playing a part in that movie. In the future, I think games such as this can develop, using virtual reality technology, to simulate emotions similar to those felt in actual combat situations. Games like that, then, could be used to potentially emotionally prepare soldiers for combat situations.

This week, Alexa, Emily, and I will be leading a discussion on emotions and gaming. We will be looking at how games are able to manipulate players into feeling certain emotions. One genre that does this is horror games. They are able to use different aspects of play in the game to make the player feel anxiety and fear. One horror game that does this is the PS4 game Until Dawn. In until dawn the player controls a handful of different character in a snow cabin who are being hunter by monsters. The game creates anxiety and fear in the player a few ways. One way is that the game implements jump scares so the player is always waiting for things to pop out at random and scare them. Another way they game designers create anxiety is by requiring players to quickly hit button on the controller. This will usually happen when a character is being chased by a monster. The player will have a few seconds to hit a series of control buttons or else their character will die. This creates anxiety in the player because they are always waiting for this to happen and are pressured to quickly hit the correct buttons. They also use sound effects to their advantage in the same way that horror film do, in that the music will get faster the closer you get to a jumpscare.

Link for Reference: https://youtu.be/QysVPZlwJ-I

When watching gaming videos on YouTube, it can sometimes become clear that much of the YouTuber’s in-game choices are almost entirely based on the intention to pander to their audience, rather than based on their own personal will.  For example, this has become the case in Torvesta’s (a RuneScape YouTuber and Twitch streamer) Dead-Man Mode videos recently.  At the end of the attached video, he asks his viewers to give the video a like if they want to see him PK (player-kill) with an Amulet of Fury (expensive, rare item) in the next video.

This sort of behavior consequently predicates the whole reason for the following video on the wishes of Torvesta’s audience.  Torvesta, if the conditions of his request for likes are true, is driven by forces outside of the game (money, fame-based gratification, etc. from likes) when he plays for his videos.  Therefore, Torvesta (or any other gaming YouTuber who does this) is not truly engaged in play in such cases, at least according to Huizanga’s notion of play.  On the other hand, if Torvesta does play for his own in-game purposes and desires, fulfilling his request for likes is a futile action.

Insert analysis here

Nancy Drew: The Ghost of Thornton Hall already has your ethos established from the start: you’re Nancy Drew…acclaimed teenage detective. The rest of the game prompts you to live up to that ethos through critical thinking, problem-solving, and keen observation skills. By assuming the role of Nancy Drew from the start, the ultimate goal is to find out who is haunting Thornton Hall and find the missing bride-to-be. The game needs you to be active and productive at all times; every puzzle, conversation, and in-game text serves a purpose. The best way to solve the mystery is to take note of everything. When I first started playing this gaming series when I was in elementary school, I would create sheets of notes. Anything I saw I wrote down because I needed to remember it all. This helped me beat the earlier games. As I got more well-versed in these games, I relied less and less on my note-taking and more on my learned abilities and experiences from previous game play. These games prompted me to be more observant, showing me the importance of observation skills.

Though it fell into and out of face quickly, the phenomenon that was Pokemon Go is a discourse that is still prevalent, as its foundations speak highly on a technological level. The main idea of this game is to incorporate physical activity and social dynamics into the world of gaming, while the cult aspect of its origin media added to its overall allure. However, the workings of this game fall into the world of ubiquitous computing and transmedial constructs, wherein the real world and the created one lively parallel. This hole punctured membrane is an ever increasingly popular tool incorporated into modern virtual game plays, and holds a strongly mimetic and escapist dialogue.

Evan Cowgill

ENG 400

Dr. Cream

28 September 2017

Rhetorical Analysis 5: Old School RuneScape

 

Link for Reference: http://oldschoolrunescape.wikia.com/wiki/Old_School_RuneScape_Wiki

Old School RuneScape is an MMORPG set in the medieval, fantasy world of Gielinor.  The game used to be called just RuneScape, but now there’s a current version of the game (officially called RuneScape 3) that arose by way of all the various updates that turned RuneScape into something different than what it used to be.  Old School RuneScape, however, reverts the game to its 2007 iteration and beckons old players of the game to pick up the mouse again.

The game’s developers strategically draw from wholly retrospective appeal.  The graphics are kept at their now ancient quality; the mechanics are almost entirely point-and-click; the combat is of a clunky, turn-based nature; and the leveling system requires unrealistic patience.  Old School RuneScape, at first look, doesn’t boast any features that would be respected or even accepted in the modern gaming industry, yet its popularity reveals success in some other, more complex criteria: nostalgia.  The game’s charm comes from these arguably negative features as they contribute to a playing experience that pulls each player back into the memories of their childhood, and Old School RuneScape boasts of this quality at every chance – even in the title.

DDR (released for Playstation in 1999) was one of the first games that encouraged active exercise and rhythm within game play. It deviated from traditional games in that it made the feet and legs control the game, instead of the hands and fingers. DDR pioneered the dance genre of video games, necessitating the player to get off their couches in order to play. What DDR succeeded in doing was to encourage the gamer to actively exercise while gaming. This exercise/gaming experience then introduced a healthy/active aspect to game play, and forged the idea that a video game could potentially be a healthy activity for the body. DDR strategically persuaded its players that exercising while gaming could be active, engaging, and rewarding. Although it was not necessarily marketed as a way to exercise, a player could potentially burn hundreds of calories during prolonged periods of play. DDR encouraged these long periods of play through lightning graphics and enjoyable songs, all meant to pump up adrenaline and almost addict the player to the game. Thus, while the appeal of DDR might not necessarily be excerise, it succeeds in providing its players hours of gameplay which just so happens to be exercise as well.

http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html

The Enchiridion is essentially the 52 commandments of Stoicism. With no introduction, the text begins listing rules that Epictetus believes lead to a good life. Many of these rules read more like anecdotes or analogies that the reader is supposed to extract the meaning from and apply to their own context.

Individual autonomy forms the basis for each rule. This is clearly established in the first few paragraphs, under the first number. This autonomy is found in our “opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and. . . our own actions”. Everything else is out of our control, and if we should want to live a happy life, we should be undisturbed by. Most passages follow and reinforce this idea, often stressing the importance of diligence and self restraint when it comes to maintaining your own agency.

I also couldn’t help but notice that many of the ideas Epictetus has about the impermanence of the material world, and how we should react to it, echo eastern philosophy. Not only does he think that we shouldn’t become attached to objects, but also our loved ones. Being an ancient Greek philosopher, this was surprising.

Evan Cowgill

ENG 400

Dr. Cream

25 September 2017

Rhetorical Analysis 4: Epictetus’ “The Enchiridion”

 

Link for Reference: http://classics.mit.edu/Epictetus/epicench.html

“The Enchiridion”, written by Epictetus and translated by Elizabeth Carter, attempts to assert a series of rules, principles, and values belonging to the author as the proper way to live a relatively happy and undisturbed life.  And, while I may not agree with everything that Epictetus puts forth, I find it to be a very interesting text to rhetorically analyze.

This is mostly due to how obviously intended for persuasion the text is, as it reads like a speech or argumentative presentation.  Epictetus holds up his claims – all of which completely based in opinion and theory – as if they are fact.  He does not introduce any of his points with “I believe”, and he even structures his points as numerical tenets or proverbs of passed-down wisdom.  And, since the text’s topic of life and how to properly live doesn’t really have a window of opportunity that would ever close (since most of humanity wonders about living life to its fullest and most ethical extent), its rhetorical situation is timeless.  This allows for “The Enchiridion” to reappear repeatedly over the timeline of human existence and possibly increase its credibility for some audiences as it becomes more and more ancient.

In the most recent NBA 2k game that was just released, their is a particular game mode titled myCareer that lets you create a character and step into the story of “DJ” and play through his career from the streets to the NBA. In the game mode, you are able to customize your own player that may or may not look like your actual self, with the option to even scan your face with a cell phone application and scanned into the game and onto your player. Throughout the game, you can customize your players attributes to the playing style of your choice and focus on bringing up your skills in selected areas of your game.

Though overall your goal is to be the best and win as much as many championships as possible, there is no exact end goal, rather specific goals one might set for them selves outside the realm of the video game. This begs the interesting conversation then, comparing the type of play that can be compared to a Sims type environment where you are creating a player and setting goals outside the realm of the video game, would Juul consider this a none game, even though you are still competing and winning the basketball games that are being played inside the game.

This article starts off with a typical attention grabber, a question, and then attempts to answer that question throughout the article. The first paragraph uses typical, relatable things parents fear as their child is growing up. An example of this strategy appears in the second line of the article, “Some researchers even claim that these games are comparable to illegal drugs”. By saying this early on in the article, it gains the trust of the reader by adding a credible source in such as a scientific researcher. However, in the second paragraph is where the main idea really appears, is that games are not addictive at all and that they are normal behavior. The author of this article placed the main idea after listing all of the bad things that are typically said about video games. This can be seen as a strategy to gain parents attention who do not like their children playing video games to continue reading on if they relate to the information present in the first paragraph.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/opinion/sunday/video-games-arent-addictive.html?mcubz=0

There are chairs specifically designed for gamers. Through the way they are designed and marketed, they encourage the gamer to play for longer periods of time by increasing comfort levels. They are usually marketed as ergonomic and relaxing, and are designed to provide support for the lower back, neck, and head. Sometimes they even recline or have wheels (my cousin even had one with built-in fans). This is one aspect of gaming/play that is interesting. The gamer’s experience/comfortability while engaging in play enhances the gaming experience as whole by providing appropriate back, head, and neck support. If the player is constantly hunched over or uncomfortable while gaming, they may not notice or even realize how much this strains the neck and back, and affects healthy posture. Thus, the chairs are also designed with health goals in mind. Keeping the player in an appropriate position allows not only for healthy posture but proper blood flow to all parts of the body. It is important to understand the health implications that can occur from poor gaming posture/position. These chairs succeed at addressing and correcting these issues while providing comfort for the player at the same time.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/94221954/BTEXPERT-Ergonomic-Leather-Gaming-Chair-Napping-Pillow-Headrest-Lumbar-Support-contemporary-gaming-chairs

 

Life Is Strange (and its recent partner Life Is Strange: Before the Storm), an interactive graphic media game, treads the finest of lines between reality and construct. Devised so that the player chooses between given options within ‘real life’ scenarios, this gameplay is at certain times overly mimetic. This urgent tone and informal distance that the work creates with its players is very possibly an attribute to god complexes. When one can virtually be God, what are the ramifications thereof? Or do (video) games not influence their players? I would say they do, as movies and shows, two other highly consumed visual medias, have immensely dedicated and loving fans, and if (video) games are anything, they’re immersive films. So, do works especially like Life Is Strange act as cathartic outlets, or is there another option available? Featuring high levels of artistic design, Life Is Strange could potentially be seen as a gallery, perhaps. Or maybe it serves as a template for how to confront the monotony of life? More likely, its a mix of all these and more, which makes Life Is Strange a prevalent example of how multimedia games especially offer unending potential meanings and purposes. Games are games are games.

Assassin’s Creed is a video game series that combines action and history. The main storylines and characters a fictional. However, each game contains real life historical figures and historical events. For example, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is set in Victorian Era London. Famous historical figures that you interact with are Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, and Queen Victoria. A game like this is an example of the way a player can learn from a video game. Players get to enjoy the action and adventure of the main storyline and topic. The side missions focus on true historical events with true historical figures. Games like this allow its players to play through while also learning about history. For example, in one side mission, the player has to track the victims of Jack the Reaper. In another, the player has to collect pieces for Alexander Graham Bell, and Bell uses the pieces to build the telegraph. The story also has an accurate map of London and includes all the major landmarks which allows the players to learn the geography of a location they may have never been in. For example, the player needs to climb Big Ben and gets to go inside Westminster Abbey.

In The Oregon Trail, players must make decisions in order to keep characters alive until the wagon train makes it all the way to Oregon. The game, however argues that lives are of no value in lieu of attaining an ultimate goal. While some may argue that the game takes a rather blasé stance on death and disease given the time period it is meant to emulate, it is evident that the stance of the game toward death is that it is of no greater purpose, and there need not be any reason for it other than the direct cause. This is seen in the way the game words the causes of death, ie “You have dysentery.”

The game does not give any form of sympathy or explanation for the acquisition of the illness. This happens throughout the entirety of the game whenever there are any negative consequences for decisions or during negative events. The game, through this, seems to say that one should not question the negative things that occur in life, but rather just recognize them and not fight.

Insert analysis here

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! is a role-playing game in which the user assumes the roles of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine school-shooting. The game understandably attracted significant controversy, but also opened dialogue regarding video games’ role as an artistic medium. The game not only mimics events of the massacre, but also formative moments in the lives of the perpetrators and the media’s perception of Dylan and Eric. The author aims to approach the subject with some serious sensibilities, but only through outrageous satire. The game ends with a press conference mimicking the media reaction to the massacre, depicting a society quick to find a scapegoat — Marilyn Manson, a lack of gun control, and of course, video games. The game itself is made for a both tech savvy and socially conscious audience — the creator seems to know what he’s doing by having Eric and Dylan fight characters from DOOM, which was another cause for the massacre in the eyes of some. The game was made using RPG Maker, a program that attempts to open the art of video game creation to a wider audience by allowing one to make a game with no programming skills.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Columbine_Massacre_RPG!

 

Evan Cowgill

ENG 400

Dr. Cream

14 September 2017

Rhetorical Analysis 3: Voice and Expertise in YouTube Game Guides

 

Link for Reference: https://youtu.be/r5lbQvOXN9U

Joseph’s Place is a YouTube channel that exclusively makes videos for Runescape 2, namely guides and analysis-videos.  In this particular video, he (Joseph) provides an in-depth explanation of the Magic skill in Runescape and how it can be best trained.  But with so many other methods and opinions held within the community of Runescape’s players, Joseph chooses to increase his credibility by presenting his information in a way that convinces the audience that he’s an expert at the game, so they should accept his assertions as fact.

He uses many means to establish this throughout the video.  Joseph clearly displays all of his math and offers backing sources in the video’s description, attempting to prove to the viewer that everything he claims is logically sound and mutually agreed upon.  Joseph also speaks with an almost super-standard English that mimics that of a lawyer’s argument, a public speaking speech, or an NPR podcast.  The features of this style of speech include deliberate enunciation, almost no contractions, de facto tone of voice, and much more.  What’s especially interesting is that this same style of speech can be found in many other YouTubers who also want to exhibit an air of expertise in their respective game.

All About Eve is a 1950 film that argues that women are unable to create lives for themselves outside of their connections with men. The film does this through its focus on Eve and Margot. Eve and Margot are both rarely seen without either their faces or figures being exploited for the purpose of their beauty. While both of them are in different stages of life–Margot being exploited in that her beauty is fading and what a shame it is to her, and Eve being exploited for her beauty in being young. While the film never outright mentions their beauty in regards to their success, it is overtly suggested by not only the male gaze from a cinematographic point of view, but through the gaze of the male characters in the film, as well. Characters like Addison and Lloyd when being spoken to by Eve and Margot will rarely focus on the eyes of the person that they’re talking to, but rather scan the face of the woman or take multiple quick glances at their body. Once the men have decided that the women are up to their standard of beauty, then they use their power to directly affect the women of interest to them.

In the second half of the first chapter of Homo Ludens, Huzinga spends a lot of time comparing the act of play with that of a sacred rite or ritual. The reason for this is to point out that both have specific, predefined sets of rules and practices that take place inside of a designated world space (church, playing field, etc.). He also makes the point that those who violate this world-space (for example, by breaking the rules) are often shunned or looked down upon.

From a rhetorical standpoint, this comparison lends some credibility to the idea that play is something that should be taken and studied seriously. By comparing it to something that is already taken in such a manner, the kind of association gained from such reasoning creates the idea that the act of play is a deeper and integral part of human culture, one that fundamentally cannot be divorced from human existence.

Huizinga uses historical examples to date/link play and culture, and also to justify his definition of play as a “representation of something”. One example he uses is when ancient civilizations initiate boys of their society into the male community when they come of age (12). This example allows us to think of play in a whole different light, and allows us to make the connection between the history of play and culture. This example emphasizes how old the act of play is and how it has been a part of everyone’s life and culture.

Tradition is another term Huizinga uses to date play and it’s cultural significance (10). In today’s society these examples can be compared to and initiation into a group such as a sports team, or Greek organization on a college campus. It is “tradition” to initiate new members of these groups and organizations so they can have the same experiences present members have, thus allowing them to gain an understanding of the group of people, the organization and it’s beliefs.

In the article “The Rhetoric of Video Games” by Ian Bogost they start by talking about the game Animal Crossing. It seems that the audience for this game is younger kids. They kids seem to be learning basic life lessons and skills by playing this game. For example, Bogost talked about how his five year old son learned how to save up money to pay of a mortgage by playing the game. I’ve never played Animal Crossing, but I have played the Sims computer games and I feel like similar lessons could be learned from it. For example, in the Sims, unless you use cheat codes, you have to earn enough money by working to pay for a house and food and other items you want to buy. You even have taxes that you have to pay every week in the game. Games like these seemingly introduce children to the idea of savings and much more.

One of the most popular contemporary discourses is that of movies and TV shows. A media consumed daily, these visual outlets especially allow for mercurial rhetorics, something particularly seen within the adult cartoon Rick and Morty. Based around a fusion of Back to the Future, Doctor Who, and Futurama, with copious amounts of violence and absurdity added, this young institution has gripped the masses rapidly with its ridiculousness. I propose that the entire show itself is a game, wherein the acceptable parameters of society are tested.

The comedic aspect inherent to adult cartoons is obviously a staple of Rick and Morty, however, it breaks the tropes often assumed within this denomination, thereby creating a whole new trope onto itself. When one exerts agency by deciding to watch this show, it is with a certain understanding (for those who are familiar with it), that the end goal of said watching is to observe pure childishness ground into adult humor; its simply the way that goal is reached that play comes into question. Each episode is a maturely ad-libbed adventure only a child could conceive, often creating more questions than any other twenty minute show ever could. The actual act of viewing this series parallels the game played when one enters a maze, as aforementioned ridiculous juxtapositions create a myriad of rhetorical labyrinths. Therefore the overall game is trying to find ones way to the end of this rhetorical maze, sifting through the self created tropes and expectations, to arrive at an end goal of excited confusion and dazed acceptance.

Bully

Rockstar Games’ infamous private school simulator Bully was very controversial upon its unveiling and well past it’s release in 2006. Part of the confusion was from early developmental content that seemed to involve the player controlling a student who bullies fellow students, however this is not the plot of the finished product. Instead, the game involves a new student, Jimmy Hopkins, who aims to rise the ranks socially as well as unite the student population, who are terrorized by certain problem students.

The rhetoric of the early promotional material paired with the title is what gave rise to such controversy. However, the finished product also stirred emotions. The game explores violence amongst youth through a lens of humor and satire typical of a Rockstar game. The game also boldly gives the player the option of either kissing girls, boys, or both. The rhetoric of infamous activist/disbarred attorney Jack Thompson did not help either (Thompson referred to the game as a “Columbine simulator.”) Thus, the game was banned in places such as Brazil, despite its fairly mild content, especially compared to other, legal games. The game is an interesting case of how rhetoric can inaccurately warp public perception.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bully_(video_game)

The preview for Xbox’s Battlefield 1 game, is clearly created to look like a movie trailer, with the exception that we are also invited to interact with the action. The trailer persuades us to partake in the actions of the game through a few different strategies. The first being a perspective strategy. Since the commercial is seen through a first-person perspective, it feels like we are already a vital part of the game, thus making us feel important and needed within the game. The next approach appeals to our emotions through the portrayal of action and crises, set to a remixed version of The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army.” This song acts as a battle call, and, mixed with the chaos, is intended to amp up our adrenaline. The realistic graphics also make the game feel as real as possible. Because it simulates actual historical events as well, perhaps there is the appeal of time-travel in that we as players could potentially recreate historic battles. All of these approaches succeed in bringing us as close as we can into the story, before we even pick up our controllers to play.

Polybius as a Cultural Artifact

The Boogeymen of urban legends exist only in the minds of those that understand and contribute to them. As a result, they reflect the fears, doubts, and morbid curiosity of those communities that create them. Polybius may not exist, but its story gives an interesting insight video game culture and the suspicions of those outside of it.

Polybius is not a creature or demon out to terrorize unsuspecting victims. It is an arcade game that draws children in willingly, making it all the more insidious. Further, it’s known for its addictive qualities, sending players into a fervor as crowds awaited for their turn to play.

This part of the Polybius myth echos parental fears during the arcade boom of the 80s. Video games were demonized, with arcades frequently compared to casinos or bars. Skeptics feared that children’s enthusiasm for gaming was the result of harmful addiction.

Evan Cowgill

ENG 400

Dr. Cream

7 September 2017

Rhetorical Analysis 2: Your Mom Hates This

 

Link for Reference: https://youtu.be/nKkPFDEiC6Q

In their commercial, “Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2”, Visceral Games (the main developer) and EA Games (the publisher and most likely culprit for this advertisement) try to assert that Dead Space 2 is a game so violent and horrific that every player’s mother is going to hate it.  The commercial is broadcast with the intention of convincing young games that their mom’s disapproval is the reason why they should buy Dead Space 2 – or any game for that matter.

It starts with several video clips of moms reacting to footage of gameplay, immediately setting the stage in this way before the game has even been shown.  No room is allowed for other interpretation of the gameplay, because it is entirely framed by the disgust present on the participating mom’s faces.  Following this introduction, a deep-voiced narrator speaks over a frenzied series of clips from Dead Space 2 with a potent slogan: “It’s revolting; it’s violent; it’s everything you love in a game, and your mom’s gonna hate it.”  I can’t help but think of Heather Chaplin’s warning against games that rely solely on violence for incentive to buy and play, as they increase the danger of inorganic imbalance in the game industry.