It would be interesting to look at first player shooter games like Call of Duty and Halo, and look at the impact they have had on the gaming industry. It would also be good to connect these games to society's ever changing views and perhaps how they downplay war.
Are you referring to desensitisation of war? If so, this topic could be expanded upon Games and into other forms of media. Maybe this topic should become a series of articles which focus on desensitisation of war. – Ryan Errington10 years ago
I recommend you read "On Killing" and "On Combat" by LTC (Ret.) David Grossman before writing these articles. He deals in these books with such little known facts as the low shooter rates in earlier wars. It turns out, as many as 50% of Soldiers in the Civil War shot high, chose to reload for others, or actually continually reloaded the same weapon. It is why shilhouettes at shooting ranges are human shaped today; Soldiers are more willing to kill now.
I suggest you also look at how photography and the telegraph changed the outlook on war in America after the Civil War. I have a paper that touches on this but is about something else. I could forward the bibliography to you. – orenhammerquist10 years ago
If you are looking at whether it is right or wrong, looking at Halo would be looking at whether or not it changes the effect shooting at aliens, things that don't look even remotely human for the most part. Also does a game tell both sides of a war or just the one, and if so which side is it in favour of, and does it glorify this. Their is a lot of areas you could explore with this topic. – Tyler McPherson10 years ago
I would strongly recommend looking into information on drone pilots specifically. I remember reading that there is an unprecedented rate of PTSD amongst drone pilots, and one theory is specifically because many early drone pilots felt like they were playing a video game, then they killed a dozen people without any real sensory feedback. I don't know if this is specifically the intended direction you had in mind, but it seems fascinating and relevant. – Christopher Vance10 years ago
It might also be interesting to compare the classic video game depictions of war to something like This War of Mine that examines the civilian side of conflict too. – Hannah Spencer9 years ago
This article should talk about the various different archetypes of geeks, and what role tabletop games have as a culturally biased medium.
When you say "archetypes of geeks" what do you mean exactly? I feel that there is a way that this article could be very satirical or just plain offensive so figuring out that direction would be good. – Jemarc Axinto10 years ago
You also should look into how tabletop games have evolved in North America. The industry that is largely focused around European strategy games like Settlers of Catan. These games take hours to complete and come with collectables which create a stereotypical "geek" culture. However, these games have also become extremely "cool" and mainstream through the growing popularity in board game cafes (ie. Snakes and Lagers in Toronto) and Wil Wheaton's popular Youtube series Tabletop with Wil Wheaton. In fact, I would go so far to say that board games are cooler than they've ever been! – Samantha10 years ago
What do you mean by "archetypes of geeks"? – T. Palomino2 years ago
What do you mean by "geek society"? – T. Palomino2 years ago
The Wii's major selling point last gen was the whole motion control party system thing. But that concept barely seems to register as a thing these days.
How many video games have actually benefited from motion controls? I'll list the ones that come to mind:
Wii Sports & Wii Sports Resort Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 (did they even serve a purpose here? can't recall) Metroid Prime Trilogy No More Heroes
Not that many, frankly. And there were other Wii games where the motion controls actually made it worse (Donkey Kong Country Returns, GoldenEye Wii) or weren't even used (Xenoblade). And the Wii U uses them pretty sparingly. Plus the handful of Sony or Microsoft games with motion controls seemed to suck and/or shamelessly copycat Wii games.
Time for a good coverage of this topic. What's the overall takeaway when it comes to motion controls? Innovation or gimmick? Fun or tedious? Relevant or irrelevant?
I think one of the cooler things that the Wii did was use the motion controls for DBZ: Tenkaichi Budokai. It was beyond awesome that you could use special moves with the corresponding motion. The game brings to mind an important point: at what point are motion controls unrefined enough such that using them becomes a poor design decision instead of a good one? For a game such as Budokai, the motions are distinct enough to distinguish one special move from another but remain simple and seemed to be an integral and self-explanatory aspect of the game. It's also a lot cooler to be blasting a Kamehameha when you do the motion as opposed to pressing circle left on a controller. Other successes follow a similar trend: Okamiden utilizes a paintbrush, to which a wiimote is similarly used; Wii Sports makes you go through realistic swinging motions, whether you're throwing a punch or swinging a bat. Things are a little different for other genres, say, platformers, in which there's no real naturally befitting control scheme. You're not going to run and jump with your Wiimote, that's for sure. Let's take a look at Golden Eye. At first, it seems like a cool concept to use motion controls as a substitute for a conventional controller. It seems natural and self-intuitive to use the Wiimote as a gun. However, a lot of the complaints about the game comes from the clumsiness of the controls. The finesse of motion control isn't convenient for the likes of a fast paced game that requires both a good reaction time and precision. Even playing Just Dance will reveal the fact that the motion sensor isn't the most reliable mechanism. Running out of space here. There are games in which motion controls are boons (DBZ, Okamiden, Wii Sports), inconveniences (Golden Eye, DKC), and gimmicks without introducing new gameplay (Twilight Princess). I didn't discuss the last one, but I think discussion of motion controls affected games in – Austin10 years ago
The game is Okami, not Okamiden. My bad. – Austin10 years ago
Ever since Slender went viral, it seems that survival based horror games are gaining attention. An analysis of the effectiveness of horror in video games could create an interesting article. SCP Containment Breach is another survival based horror game. SCP is particularly interesting since the game was created from multiple horror stories. Although both of these examples are PC games, it could be interesting to analyze the use of horror in other game mediums as well.
A lot of resources out there for whoever decides to pick this up. Here's a brief list of some things that might be worth taking a look at:
-Jump scares vs. true horror
-The Uncanny
-Creation, climax, and decline of tension
-The knowledge of the object of horror within a game
-Instances of horror that occur outside of strictly "horror" games. – Austin10 years ago
I think it important to discuss how graphics affect the horror elements. For example the first Slender game is often considered to be the most scary despite its low res graphics. Where as Slender the Arrival has an expanded story and better graphics but pales in comparison in terms of scares. It also be cool to discuss the atmosphere in survival horror. – Cagney10 years ago
I think it would be interesting to explore how recent survival horror games, such as Outlast or The Evil Within, to other titles such as Resident Evil 6 which deviated from the survivor horror aspect in favor of action. You could explore what made games such as Slender effective compared to action-focused horror games and maybe how they use atmosphere and sound design to create effective scares. – Seth Childers10 years ago
An analysis of the eyesight correlation in the kingdom hearts game. Talk about the game design of the hud and how it effects the game play
I love Kingdom Hearts! This topic would be interesting, not just because it relates to Kingdom Hearts, but because the HUD can vary greatly between games. Players get a different experience with every game. Also, the HUD in the Kingdom Hearts series has varied but maintains similarities between them. – S.A. Takacs10 years ago
The gameplay throughout Kingdom Hearts is very similar. Each game is a variation of the same basic system. This would be fun to read. – Travis Kane10 years ago
An article discussing the greatest movie-based video games. Some to consider including: – Alien: Isolation was a fantastic surprise. Really enjoyed that one. – The Riddick games have also been very good. – Wallace and Gromit: Curse Of The Were Rabbit
in this case the bad would out way the good, just make sure you are prepared to address certain arguments your audience could throw at you – DoctorAgency10 years ago
Two axis of "good" in play here -- the playability of the game, and the extent to which it conveys the sense of the canon it's portraying. Part of the issue with movie-derived games failing in the marketplace is that they have to be good in both ways. Might be interesting to use examples of games that succeeded in one way but not in the other. – Monique10 years ago
Also, what elements made these more successful/better to play over other movie to video game adaptations? While many superhero games fall short, why are the Lego adaptions more successful? – Liz Watkins10 years ago
Some good movies based on video games... yeah, definately have to include Prince of Persia and the Resident Evil saga (with the exception of the second to the last one). – jmason89 years ago
