Reading 3 - Mariah McCauslin

"Begin like this: If photographs are images, and films are moving images, then video games are actions. Let this be word one for video game theory....Video games come into being when the machine is powered up and the software is executed; they exist when enacted." (2) Out of the entire reading, this quote stuck with me the most. Video games are nothing until the user interacts with them. I think the reason this stuck with me is because of its similarity to Brenda Laurel’s Computers as Theatre. Just like computers, there has to be a relationship between the user and the game in order for the game to exist. Galloway even talked about the similarities between theater and video games, just as Laurel discussed theater and computers. 

One section I found interesting was on page 46 of chapter 2. Galloway points out one of the common uses of the subjective shot, ‘to show the optical perspective of a drugged, drowsy, drunk, or otherwise intoxicated character’. I never realized how much effect the angle of a camera could have on a movie or video game. I find this interesting because I am a gamer myself. It is difficult to go from playing in first-person mode (subjective shot) to third-person mode. After reading about the subjective shot, I recall getting hurt in the game Call of Duty and watching the screen get blurry as if your character is losing consciousness. The camera angle really does play a huge role in games and movies.