Reading 3 - Jon Good

The gaming industry has grown immensely since the 1970s and 80s when the first 2D games were released.  Now our technologies have developed so much in the gaming world that basically anything is possible now.  It has created another form of entertainment that has exploded and has created a different definition in this realm.  Photographs are still images, film is moving images, and now video games have created the definition for themselves as being "actions."  

In the reading of “Gaming : Essays on Algorithmic Culture," there is a breakdown of what video games can do and how they work.  The "video game" is broken down into a table of diegetic and non-diegetic actions and then whether it is controlled by the operator or the machine.  

  

These different areas of a video game are associated with different processes.  A non-diegetic act would be something such as dying in the game or having save stations along the way to prevent you having to start the game over everytime.  Where a diegetic act is more based on the world in which the game is played.  The interesting thing about these 4 basic parts to a video game is that with a growing technology in gaming, the lines get blurred quite a bit.  Some examples of this already are the Xbox Kinect where gestures and even body language can be used in a game.  

I am in fact fond of the gaming world.  I have been playing video games from my N64 in the day to my Xbox 360 now.  One game in particular that has been sucking my life lately is Grand Theft Auto 5.  I think it's interesting to bring up this game while discussing this topic because GTA is a prime example of blending the quadrants of the 4 categories of a video game.  There is so much that is put into this game that it is intense in the sense of it seem like a movie.  I personally have been enthralled by the game play.  It's really cool to see all of the factors that take place in the game that you don't control, but then can get involved in if you want.  An example of this would be maybe you see a regular plane just flying minding it's own business and you can just shoot the pilot and take the plane.  Even though it's a fun game it's also quite violent.  Rated M only.