AM ST 475 Final Week

I missed Thursday class because I had finals.

I worked in lab literally for 24 hours also. Like I didn't get to go home and I slept on the couch.

It's not that bad though. I just have to change some computer settings every hour which takes about 10 seconds then I go dick around on the computer for another hour.

Anyways. Not much to talk about, all presentations this week. Most I felt were fairly lackluster compared to what I was expecting.

Still working on my paper/presentation.

AM ST 475 Final Project

Project idea is pretty simple.

The bulk of the project is in a big paper divided into four sections. The first three sections use three games as the medium to talk about things. Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Fallout 3. The last section ties together all three and talks about the similarities between them to discuss how we view things, and how we process/digest/interpret information.

The 'Mass Effect' discusses how, despite being set in an advanced space-aged future, all of the issues the game presents are essentially the same types of ordeals we have in the present.

Bioshock will discuss the never-ending struggle between democrat/republican ideologies, the nature of linearity in gameplay and how the game serves as a harsh critique of un-regulated capitalism.

Fallout 3 will discuss how the game is unique in the sense that it creates a fusion of cyber-punk and steam-punk genres; and why the world it's set in is so fitting to examine different social settings. Communications in the wasteland is severely limited, and groups/communities are vastly separated. Because of this and little interaction with one another, you see different towns growing in different ways.

Last section touches on how in all three games, you the player are constantly being observed and given feedback to. Etc etc. Stuff like that.

WoW Character - Race/class/gender etc

So for class we had to play WoW. Brings back memories. It's changed a lot though, too bad the trial only covers the first game so it doesn't really matter.

I picked a Tauren Druid. I'm already lvl 16 and it's been like 2 days. It's kind of sad. Anyhow, for the most part, the starting 'n00b' zones are fairly empty, since most people pretty enthusiastic about the game are on the expansions and/or other servers. So, interaction with real people is a little lackluster. I DID meet this girl (yes a real girl and not a guy pretending) near crossroads. Basically I was getting my ass handed to me by a pack of stupid lions and this undead hunter saves my ass. This other toon follows and starts apologizing, saying 'my step son has AD HD blah blah'. And we just started whisper/chatting. I was very honest about myself, and she seemed honest enough about herself I guess. We're both Canadian, although she's in Calgary. She's never been to college, but interested in psychology. Plays a ton of WoW. I told her that I was only playing for class and she thought it was very intriguing. That was the bulk of my random interaction really.

The thing is, for games like this I don't even care about the lore. As in I read nothing. All I do is follow the objective markers until I reach the designated point, find the NPC, grab quest, then follow the marker to where the quest is, then kill X amount of monster Y for Z amount of item Q. It kind of ruins the whole discourse about race/class/gender, but that's just really how it is for a lot of seasoned gamers, especially of the MMORPG crowd.

The same probably can't be said for players who have been in the game for a long time, who are playing in the zones with far more things going on.

I DID join a dungeon group though. However, it was a random join. Nobody really said much, there was kind of an unspoken agreement about what to do. There were several different classes/races/genders in the group, but all it really came down to was 'Tank, DPS, healer.' Which is pretty much what I expected.

In order to gain further insight into the social constructs of the game, one needs to be fully immersed in it and actually participate (i.e join a guild, raid, get addicted, try the auction house, etc etc). However due to the limitations of time/trial account I regret to admit that these things probably won't be fully realized.

AMST 475 Post #3

Let's see. Been sick for a while and I can't stop coughing so it's annoying. Work sucks.

I can't say I've learned all that much in this course yet, because the bulk of the material I've already seen through another course. However, I've never seen it applied in so many unique and interesting ways.

This is going to be fairly short, but, we're just supposed to write what we've learned and what we hope to learn. I enjoy being in the class and having discussion, so....maybe just keep rolling with that?

Race, Media, Cyberpunk - Class blog #2

Shawn - didn't go to class on Thursday. Every 2 weeks I have an exam at 1:30 for this other class. So, I'll probably be missing those 3 days total.

Not sure what to talk about. I was brewing up this great storm in my mind a few days ago but kind of lost it over the course of nights where I actually got to sleep.

It's interesting to note the racial dynamic in cyber punk films such as blade runner and the matrix. Although, there is definitely a disparity between the analysis given in the text, and the actual context of those films. i.e I highly doubt that the films' original writers/directors intended for all of those things the analysis calls for. However, that does not refute the validity of Nakamura's writing either. Her writing serves as a good insight into contemporary attitude towards race and gender. I am simply implying that there are various superfluous reasons why certain characters are cast.

It is true that in cyberpunk genre, it is typical to depict racially mixed characters in that idealic blending of cultures concept of the future. However, those films all have one thing in common - that they are made in the present where racism exists, and that media controls and practice ultimately decide what happens in a film. For example, nearly all lead protagonists are white actors, while seemingly ethnic actors are nearly always put into one of these roles: naieve young sidekick, cannon fodder, old wise man, forced awkward love interest ( if you're a woman - why are there so many of these?), or villain. This has been slowly improving over the years, but there are still waaays to go.

Also, whenever minorities are present in films, I feel like it's always African Americans. Likewise with race issues, it's always black vs. white, and every other minority group is neglected. Granted, African Americans are the only ones who were technically enslaved, if that counts for anything.

Again this is age old present day rhetoric. That when a white dominated media portrays ethnicity in anything it displays, it often romanticizes or bastardizes culture into bite size pieces in order to make the content more accessible to whom they THINK is their primary viewers i.e other whites.

I talked a lot in the class chat. And uhh.... yeah not much on my mind right now.