Gaming is hard work!

According to McGonigal the concept of a game can be defined by four core elements; The goal, the rules, the feeback system and finally the voluntary participation. The gaming industry is set to grow to a total valuation of $83 billion by 2016
, making it one of the most lucrative industries in the world. So why is it such a popular industry when, as Bernard Suits states, a game is fundamentally “the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles”. (Bernard Suits, p55, 2005) 

McGonigal further questions our romance with games; “Why do unnecessary obstacles make us happy?” (McGonigal, p27). The short answer is humans love hard work, especially hard work chose for ourselves. Immersing ourselves into a game creates all types of positive emotional response. The journey towards the “goal” is an exhilarating rush of interactivity, focusing our energy that we are working hard at to succeed whilst getting both better and positive reinforcement, we actively shift towards the positive side of the emotional spectrum. As McGonigal states “gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.” (McGonigal, p28). The most successful games evoke a strong engagement of optimism, we are activating all the neurological and physiological factors that make us happy, “We are actively conditioning our minds and bodies to be happier.” (McGonigal, p28)

You may consider not many like hard work in reality, but this is often work we have to do. It usually has negative emotional responses, and does not evoke the “fiero” that voluntary hard work does, or as McGonigal puts it “the craving for challenges that we can overcome, the battles we can win and dangers we can vanquish.” (McGonigal, p33) 

Games have the ability to inspire numerous amounts of people. Humans would rather work hard than relax or chill-out, as Tal Ben-Shahr put it, “We’re much happier enlivening time rather than killing time.” (McGonigal, p33) In short games can inspire people to work harder. “If we actively surround ourselves with people playing the same game that we are, then we can stop being so wary of “players” playing their own game.” (McGonigal, p34)

Bibliography

http://www.develop-online.net/news/game-industry-worth-83bn-by-2016-research-claims/0113816, By Craig Chapple, Posted Jan 16th 2013, Accessed 13th November 2013

McGonigal, J., (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, Penguin Press HC, (P.19-34)

Fun Work

The fact that we use games to relax form the hard works of life is fantastic even though games are work as well, as they set obstacles for us and give a way to over come them. “Compared with games, reality is too easy.  Games challenge us with voluntary obstacles and help us put our personal strengths to better use.”(McGonigal, J.,(2012) p.g.32) Games create different forms of work weather that is busywork, mental work, physical work, discovery work, teamwork, and creative work each giving us different senses of enjoyment. 

The reason we love this type of work so much it that this form of work is work that we have choose for ourselves. The ability to choose your own work is amazing; we can finally pick work for ourselves that play to each of our individual strengths, however this form of work is usually none productive and is an escape of life’s reality.  We find enjoyment form this type of work because it is good hard work that has been done based on your ability’s and strengths. 

Ok now lets break down a game and look at how someone can find enjoyment from completing work. For example if we take a look at Star Trek online. Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online game producing different forms of mental and team working work as your player progresses through the Star Trek universe. Mental work revs up our cognitive faculties for example in Star Trek online there are a number of different puzzles to be carried out with in the given time scale. This rush is the feeling of accomplishment when we put our brains to good use. Teamwork emphasizes collaboration, cooperation, and contributions to a large group. For example in the twenty people team assaults in Star Trek online, we take great satisfaction in knowing we have a unique and important role to play in a much bigger effort.

JANE McGONIGAL (2012). Reality Is Broken. New York: THE PENGUIN PRESS. 32.

REMEDIATION

There is a real effective presence of media in our culture. It has a claim to reality as more of a cultural artifact such as photographs, films and computer applications being as real as building and aeroplanes.  There are two logics of remediation which both have a history for their interplay which defines a genealogy that dates way back to the Renaissance and the invention of linear perspective.

Within our digital media culture today hypermedia plays upon our desire for immediacy and transparent immediacy which makes us hyper-conscious of our act of seeing. The term immediacy refers to the idea of closeness like people would be with their families and friends. It is an expression of our fascination with the medium itself. It has been described as ‘an entirely new kind of media experience born from the marriage of TV and computer technologies’. (Bolter, 2000, p.31)

Remediation puts us one step from reality when it involves the media. In early to mid-1990s, Hollywood produced numerous filmed versions of classic novels. ‘They do not contain any overt reference to the novels on which they are based; they certainly do not acknowledge that they are adaptations.’  (Bolter, 2000, p.44) Consumers going to watch these movies would have expected direct referencing to the novels they had previously read. The content or the storyline had been borrowed but had no direct reference or quote to the medium that had been created. As most other things remediation sets off a number of arguments, we can argue that remediation is a defining characteristic of the new digital age that we live in. It comes with both pro’s and con’s.  What we can’t argue is that remediation is a key factor in what industry uses to entertain us.

Bolter, J.D. (2000). Remediation: Understanding New Media New Ed. (MIT Press. P.20-50)

Become a Cyborg: Humans are outdated.

Image simulations or computer manipulation is suspect to the concept of “truth.” Simply framing a composition manipulates an image through the process of interpretation and authorship; cropping out surrounding imagery to anchor the semiotics. However, how has this manipulated our cultural understandings online? Furthermore, how do 'we' as a culture '[re-]invent' (Shaw, 2008, p.81) previous conceptions of embodiment in order to participate in an uprising online cultural development? Stiegler suggests that the 'human' (Stiegler, 1998, p.141) has re-appropriated social linguistics as he “invents himself in the technical by inventing the tool – by becoming exteriorised techno-logically.” (Stiegler, 1998, p.141) Contemporary culture is pivoted by upgrade; an unwearying perception of never becoming the 'ideal.' We continue to develop knowledge and understanding, continuously improving previous work; the 'previous work' of Shaw's influence being the body. In opposition to what is referred to as the 'docile' body; one of which is manipulated, shaped [and] trained' so that it 'obeys, responds, becomes skilful and increases forces', (Foucault, 1991 [1977], p.136) Western culture recognizes media as a cultural object - we don't want the physical exertion of repetitious work, instead we wish to work with computer based skills.

This brings forth a selection of epistemological questions: Is access to infinite amounts of information on the web instead of the 'human' mind (Stiegler, 1998, p.141) “dumbing down” culture? Is this perhaps artificial intelligence? Marx insists '[m]achinery is put to a wrong use, with the object of transforming the workman, from his very childhood, into part of a specialized machine', (Marx, 1990 [1867], p.547) however surely using online sourcing as an influence can be seen as less derivative with 'participatory culture'; (Jenkins, 2006, p.) 'increased levels of audience participation, creative involvement and democracy.' (Creeber, 2009, p.20) 'Bodies are obsolete.' (Shaw, 2008, p.87) Instead of enforcing outdated repression against New Media as a propitious 'tool', surely it would be more valuable as a cultural to embrace it as a 'virtual body'? (Shaw, 2008, p.86) Data needs a new discourse; new rules and new conventions.

'By observing people who suffered from varying forms of ataxia – a breakdown in this communication resulting in a loss of control over the simple actions necessary to respond to stimulus from immediate environment', (Shaw, 2008, p.89) Weiner observed how machinery can now mimic the 'characteristic activities' (Wiener, 1948, p.8) of the body. Images can become completely constructed from pixels with no truth, indexicality or authorship. This has developed from manipulation of an image to simulation of an image. Images become remodelled, rendered and structures according to no substantial origin; for example user avatars need no aesthetic source. There is no documentary evidence that is pure of source; and this can furthermore become enforced for the 'user', giving attributes to an online experience which may not be 'truth' or physically possible outside their 'virtual body.' (Shaw, 2008, p.86)

Bibliography:

Creeber, G. (2009) Digital Theory: Theorizing New Media & Cubitt, D. (2009) Case Study: Digital Aesthetics in Ed. Creeber, G. & Royston, M. (2009) 'Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media'; (Maidenstone: Open University Press)

Foucault, M. Burchell, G. Gordon, C. Miller, P. (1991) 'The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality'; (University of Chicago Press)

Jenkins, H. 2006. 'Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide'; (New York University Press)

Marx, K. (1990) 'Capital: Volume 1: A Critique of Political Economy'; (Penguin Classics; Reprint edition)

Shaw, D. (2008) 'Technoculture: The Key Concepts'; (Oxford Berg Press)

Stiegler, B. (1998) 'Technics and Time, 1: The Fault of Epimetheus'; (Stanford: Stanford University Press).

Wiener, N. (1948) 'Cybernetics, Second Edition: or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine'; (Cambridge: The MIT Press; second edition)

New Media

Looking back on the history of old media there are a series of events, technologies and cultural conditions which gave rise to the concept of New Media.  Industrialization can essentially be looked upon with various opinions such as “the enemy of free thought and individuality; producing an essentially cold and soulless universe”. (Creeber, 2009, p.12)  Creeber believes that with the significant development and advance on technology it is having brutal effects on human life.
“Consumer culture dominates the cultural sphere that we live in”. (Creeber, 2009, p.14) Cultural changes are accepted as the inescapable due to our consumer society, where both consumption and leisure have become what clinch’s our experiences rather than work and production.
“Some critics have suggested that the differences between human and machine is now beginning to disappear, tending to eradicate the old ‘human’ versus ‘technology’ binary opposition upon which so much off the pessimistic theories of modernism were based” (Creeber, 2009, p.17)
Modernism tends to believe positively when it regards the power of modernity and to revolutionise human life for the better. Then modernism discerned modernity as self-contradictory due to the clash of it celebrating the technological age and an uncivilised disapproval of it.
We can select and approve which identity we want to adapt to. Creeber argues that with the significant increase in interactivity of New Media, consumers get to make their own identities. This is helped through websites like Facebook, twitter and MySpace where the user can create profiles where there is no filter to the content that is published, whereas in the past we were limited to things we do with our lives.
Andy Warhol’s pieces of work can be understood as basically ‘postmodern’. Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s soup cans’ (1962) disorganises the distinction by which we seen as “’art’ and products of ‘mass production’” (Creeber, 2009, p.17)

The Cyberdemocratic Network

“Modernism is the umbrella term we give to the way that human society responded to the changes that took place during the industrial revolution.” (Creeber, 2009, p11)

Through new media, we have changed the way we participate and consume media, in turn increasing the interactivity of audiences. This has caused a “remix culture” to form, blurring the lines between author and audience, original and replica. Creeber views this culture as “The hyper-textual ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ culture of New Media – that seemingly encourages sampling, poaching and remixing ” (Creeber, 2009, p19) this in turn according to him “produces not only copy-right problems, it also further confuses the very means by which we conceive of the media and its relationship with its audience.” (Creeber, 2009, p19)  The treasured “memes” of the internet are a perfect example of this remix culture, each meme is re-contextualised via each author, stemming from the merging of sub-cultures or ideas. The original author is lost, “The people who make and the people who watch are slowly becoming the same group” (Anon, 2011, 0:25) distance is no longer an issue as “things move back forth between different countries all the time, it’s so easy to” (Anon, 2011, 3:40).

“This increased interactivity among the New Media audience has also prompted some critics to suggest that there has even been an increased ‘democratization’ in the nature of New Media compared to old.” (Creeber, 2009, p20) This has resulted in the theory of the “Citizen Journal”. Multiple blogs and social networks document the everyday lives of millions of people portraying just one example of how ordinary people can become actively involved in the production of the media, therefore “moving power away from the ‘author’ into the hands of the ‘audience’” (Creeber, 2009, p20) This would have been the Frankfurt Schools nightmare, and I hardly imagine memes would live up to their idea “that only ‘high art’ (particularly a strain of it known as the ‘avant-garde’) could sustain the role of social and aesthetic criticism.” (Creeber, 2009, p12)

New media has given the consumer not only the ability to become the producer, but also the ability to have a say in the media. It gives each and every person a platform to share ideas and collaborate with others. Creeber even suggests “the Internet provides a ‘Habermasian public sphere’ – a cyberdemocratic network for communicating information and points of view that will eventually transform into public opinion. As voting on the Internet becomes more widespread so it may increase our democratic rights even further.” (Creeber, 2009, p20)

Bibliography

Anon, (2011), “Visual Culture Online, Off Book, PBS Arts” accessible at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL7R9CjkxjY&noredirect=1

Creeber, G. (2009) DIGITAL THEORY: Theorizing New Media & Cubbit D. (2009) Case Study: Digital Aesthetics in Ed. Creeber, G. & Royston, M. (2009) Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media; Maidenstone, Open University Press

Modern and Post Modernism

Glen Creeber has analysed and examined the modern and post modern media through schools, theories and methodologies. Modernism refers to the early start of industry evolution which began at the end of the nineteenth century. During this time The Frankfurt School perceived the media as a standardised product and they believed that audiences passively consume the media. According to Adorno, who is involved in the school, he believes consumers crave 'standardised' culture products because they seem to validate lives that are themselves standardised. 

Post modernism refers to the changes that happened after the industry evolution. Post modernism includes the change in consumer culture and interactivity. Audience have began to create and control their own personal identity online. Harley calls this 'DIY Citizenship'. Consumers have began pick and choose how they wanted to represent themselves but also choosing what to discard and reject. This allows individuals to decide how they are defined "...rather than simply having to stick to the narrow and limited number of choices that once defined the past." (Hartley, 1999: 177–85). With this level of active participation, consumers become the producers as well as the receivers of New Media. Another example of power moving into consumers hands is 'Citizen Journalism'. Consumers become self made journalists as they write their own blogs, post comments online and share videos on topics of the days. 

These are positive examples as consumers are more involved with the media and can express their opinions. However, post modernism in New Media also has its disdvantages. For example, as the Internet is becoming increasing popular, people are relying on it more especially for communication. Face to face communication is being effected as people would rather email or message each other. "As more and more virtual communities come into being so some critics argue that real relationships and communities are being neglected; the one-to-one human contact on which civilization was based becoming increasingly redundant." (see Lister et al. 2003: 180–81). The Internet has also been accused of narrowing people's choices and it is encouraging them to be involved with unimportant media products such as low quality television programmes. 

In a media saturated world, the distinction between media and reality is becoming more unclear. What is represented in the media, consumers are treating as reality. Sean Cubitt believes that what is represented in the digital world is aesthetically different from what is provided by analogue. New Media represent audiences glossy images and limitless communication however "technological utopianism might suggest that New Media will automatically improve our world for the better, but our future well-being clearly lies in how and what we do with the choices we now have on offer." (Creeber, 2009 .p7)

Bibliography:


Creeber, G. 2009. DIGITAL THEORY: Theorizing New Media & Cubitt, D. (2009) 

New Media is Born

When we look back on our history we can pick some events that helped form New Media, as we know it today. Through time we have seen media change as are technologies have developed and advanced. If we think of Marshall McLuhan's "Medium is the Message" and depicted how McLuhan explains each era of media. For example the Tribal, Detribalization, Retribalization era’s.

If we now think about what was happening in the world round the time as McLuhan puts it as the detribalization era. During this time we discovered how use different techniques such as Henry Fords product line to mass produce object faster and cheaper which then lead to the Industrial Revolution which was a period were these new manufacturing processes give rise to new media forms such as comics, and newspapers.

During what McLuhan calls the Retriblzation era we can see a cultural shift in our society, as old modernism ideologies were being push aside with new postmodernism’s idea. “So while modernism tended to search for meaning and truth, postmodernism appears to accept that the pursuit for such universal truth is futile.” (Creeber,2009, p.3) With these new postmodernism Idea we seen the rise of pop culture as we used new ways of thinking to mass-produce culturally products. For example Andy Warhol used these new ways in thinking to become one of leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. This is why Warhol’s work is often conceived as intrinsically.

During the Industrial Revolution we seen the necessary advancement in technologies through modernism cultural ideological values and new manufacturing processes to form a society where postmodernism values where a common thing. Through these new ideas we can see the foundations that new media have been set on. All new media content can be mass-produced at a click of a button, we have begun to simply pick what identities we want to adopt and what ones we want to reject. This allows the individual to decide how they define themselves rather than having to stick to the limited numbers of choices which are set out form are past events.

Glen Creeber and Royston Martin (2009). Digital Cultures. Berkshire: Open University Press. 3.

Death of the Author

Common misconception dictates that although texts can appear as an original concept, they are often the most derivative, with no innovation from aspects of other pioneering media. Using the work of others is a conceptual tool. It's a way of thinking, a way of operating. It's a process of artistic expression with 'increased levels of audience participation, creative involvement and democracy.'(Creeber, 2009, p.20) For example, internet Memes have become a subversion from the original text; re-contextualised from images adopted by internet sub-cultures, and re-appropriated according to context. But how has 'the hypertextual ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ culture of New Media – that seemingly encourages sampling' (Creeber, 2009, p.19) changed how theorists conceive Analogue and New Media? Producing 'copy- right problems, it also further confuses the very means by which we conceive of the media and its relationship with its audience.' (Creeber, 2009, p.19)

Creeber proposes individuals are 'manipulated'; 'shaped by sociological, psychological and linguistic structures over which they have little control.' (Creeber, 2009, p.14) This is due to the 'encoding' of semiotics within our culture, and the 'coherent methodology... of any text [becoming] read objectively' (Creeber, 2009, p.14) However, the encoded semiotic meaning adapts, coercing to the ways in which it is 'decoded' (by its receivers). (Hall, 1973, p.53) 'Rather than being a passive... consumption... is seen increasingly as an activity with its own practices.' (Creeber, 2009, p.19)

Digital culture gives rise to new practice; 'the content being constantly developed through self expression, conveying emotions.' (Anon, 2011, 2:15) Memes are a product of both post modernism and digital culture; 'technology... increased levels of audience participation, creative involvement and democracy.' (Creeber, 2009, p.20) Algorithms of sites such as Youtube allow you to argue against fair use law for the use of copyrighted media if presenting a point. Appropriation is appreciation, however the locking down of finances from distributing companies often results in the the removal of content online. 'Websites like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook appear to reflect this recent understanding of ‘participatory culture.’(Jenkins, 2008, p.3)' (Creeber, 2009, p.19) Birth of the reader has emerged from 'writing movements'. (Manovich, 2001, p.47) Meaning isn't locked into text, but interpreted though audiences, as remix develops into a political process.

Bibliography:

Anon, (2011), 'Visual Culture Online | Off Book | PBS Arts', Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL7R9CjkxjY

Creeber, G. (2009), 'Digital Theory: Theorizing New Media & Cubitt, D.' (2009) 'Case Study: Digital Aesthetics in Ed. Creeber, G. & Royston, M'. (2009) 'Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media; Maidenstone', Open University Press

Manovich, L. (2001), 'The Language of New Media', Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Jenkins, H. (2006), 'Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide', New York University Press

Hall, Stuart ([1973] 1980): 'Encoding/decoding'. In Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (Ed.): Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cultural Studies, 1972-79 London: Hutchinson

New Media is Interactive

As Manovich addresses cinematography as the 'essence of cinema', he strips the term, underlining the concept of a 'writing movement.' (Manovich, 2001, p.47) 'Film images would soothe movie audiences, who were eager to escape the reality outside', (Manovich, 2001, p.46) but how has this interactivity further developed through New media? As the lines of a fictitious space continue to blur, products and merchandise from fictional story lines are available elsewhere. Media texts don't necessarily exist primarily in a fictional space, but also expand knowledge, spilling out into "the actual." This has now become 'transcoded' (Manovich, 2001, p.64) throughout our society, influencing the convergence of Alternate Reality Games and "Second Screen" developments; allowing the consumer to interact and produce their own idealogical material through platforms of familiar media. 'Audiences become active outside the home.' (Hayes, 2011, p.16) 'Writing' (Manovich, 2001, p.47) becomes a movement increasingly difficult to establish. 'Old media involved a human creator who manually assembled [texts].' (Manovich, 2001, p.56) The interactivity of New media integrates human intelligence from not only the creator, but also the initiative of its users.

Unified and coordinated viewing experiences have been conveyed through multiple media platforms. For example, although games are commonly perceived as an inherent medium, it gives the possibility of character manipulation and participating in an active role; rather than becoming a passive consumer. Manovich's suggestion potentially opposes this; 'computer characters can display intelligence and skills only because the programmes put severe limits on our possible interactions with them.' (Manovich, 2001, p.54) We follow a scripted development, however our viewing experience varies as we interact not only with 'simulated human intelligence' (Manovich, 2001, p.54) within games, but furthermore with each other. The 'information left by other people, [helps] you find your way around'; (Manovich, 2001, p.55) particularly through social networks and specialised forums.

Although 'the popular definition of New media identifies it with the use of a computer distribution and exhibition,' (Manovich, 2001, p.43) when virtual story lines begin to merge into our 'reality', or 'humanity', (Barthes, 1977, p.75) they no longer distribute ready-made content, instead 'wanting the audience to produce' (Barthes, 1977, p.163) based on ideologic experience; 'the most perfect realization of the utopia of an ideal society.' (Manovich, 2001, p.61) 

Bibliography:
Manovich, L. (2001), 'The Language of New Media', Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Barthes, R. (1977), 'Image Music Text', London: Fontana Press.
Hayes, G. (2011), 'How To Write a Transmedia Production Bible: A template for multi-platform producers', Australia: Screen