Videogames

Introduction:

This blog is based on the third chapter of the book “Playing with Videogame” by James Newman. There are two main aspects of videogame creation that this blog focuses on, the first being a certain type of aesthetic that provides the character’s dialogue on screen and makes the scripts an important part of the gaming experience, and the second is on the impact that fanfiction has had on videogames and how the writers are providing genuine work.

Summary:

Videogames similar to, for example, The Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger and The Legend of Zelda each have their own special and prosperous themes as far as illustrations and audio, what is maybe most striking about these titles is the sheer measure of content they present (Newman, 2008 p.57). For all the discussion of intuitive films that the game industry indulges in, videogames and specifically, Role-Playing Games divert naturally from the pictorial theme (Newman, 2008 p.57). Dialogues normally show up when two characters are physically near one another, and a discussion happens with different key presses, a character's single articulation is displayed (Newman, 2008 p.58). At times the player is allowed the chance to pick between two verbal reactions, normally key presses are just used to ensure the dialogues appear as fast or gradually as the player wants. when total storage capacities were measured in megabits, verbal scripts were simply not possible (Newman, 2008 p.58). In that capacity, the RPG has created as a type in which on-screen discourse has progressed toward becoming an aesthetic of the game. The essential point here is that the entire types of videogames, are enormously dependent on players reading the dialogues and is not to be displayed as just audiovisual. Presenting discourse in this way, not only does the story of the game is further elevated but the player is also more involved (Newman, 2008 p.59&60).

As fanfic authors only have access to a limited scale of resources, their work is viewed as a procedure of changes that benefit or dispose of specific parts of the videogame (Newman, 2008 p.62). Fanfiction is a way for audiences to widen their imagination, although it may seem irrelevant, fanfic is actually a huge part of recent game productions. Many games have been designed that follow this aesthetic, the game will have a storyline and the character’s discussions along with some narrative point of view dialogues, then the player can pick certain actions and lead the storyline (Newman, 2008 p.63&64). Reviewing the videogame doesn't normally occur happen up until a piece is submitted as opposed to during the writing process, however given that numerous authors would rather write longer books, numerous sections of scenes that are distributed and looked into independently, there are conditions in which this criticism may advise the direction of the continuous work (Newman, 2008 p.65&66).

Writers who began with writing fanfiction and indulged in feedback and support could proceed to distribute genuine and compensated work (Burt, 2017 para 7). In depicting characters that other individuals are already familiar with, characters whom audience expect more from and want to experience further adventures, nonprofessional makers can discover an entirely intentional, non-paying group of onlookers of individuals whom are more than willing to sit down and read these new versions of existing stories (Burt, 2017 para 10).

Reflection:

Almost everyone enjoys playing Videogames but it is not very common for people to actually look into the production of it or the simple aspects that make it special and appealing to the players. This blog really opened my eyes to the smaller details in videogames that I had not thought about before, I found the on screen dialogue display very interesting since I have myself played many games that where in that format but I never realized the impact the on screen dialogues had until now. The game seems more interesting and as a player you feel much more involved in the game when you have a say in how the storyline evolves and what your characters not only physically does but also verbally says. I had not been familiar with fanfic to this extent, it is very encouraging that anyone can write fanfiction without any professional background in writing. I recently had to create a game of my own, it was a very simple recreation of an old space game, and even though the coding wasn't complex i was able to get an idea on the basics of game creation.

Here is a link to my game: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/269625258/

James and Dave Franco playing video games in the early 90's

References:

Burt, S. (2017, August 23). The Promise and Potential of Fan Fiction. [online] The New Yorker. Retrieved (28-12-2018) from https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-promise-and-potential-of-fan-fiction

Newman, J. (20080. Chapter Three: Videogames and/as stories, Playing with videogames (pp 57-79). 2 Park Sqaure, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX144RN: Routledge.

u/The_AbusementPark. (2017). Dave and James Franco playing video games in the early 90's. [image] Reddit. Retrieved (28-12-2018) from https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/6ccijr/dave_and_james_franco_playing_video_games_in_the/