Absence note for Practice in Context (11/12/2012)

Unfortunately due to a sickness bug in the winter of 2012 I was unable to take part in this session.

I hope that I will be able to go back and complete any work set for this day, but until then I just felt it was only fair to write in my blog why the work was not put online.

Presentations 2 (26/11/2012)

Feedback on 'Meta-fiction and The 4th wall in video gaming':

Personal notes on this presentation: 

• The fourth wall is the barrier between the player and content e.g. the character Deadpool from Marvel Comics is always breaking the fourth wall as he knows he is in a comic book.
• Meta-fiction is similar to the fourth wall in that parodies are used e.g. Easter eggs that the player can find in games that reference other franchises.
• Both of the above are fun to include in video games as players love this type of humour and discovery. However, if the game is meant to be serious then including these may not be a good idea as it can disrupt the intended atmosphere of the game. 

• Used a lot of very good images and even Gifs which was nice to see as this was the only presentation to include animated aspects.
• Very confident and loud. They also asked the audience for input at points which I felt kept us engaged. However, even though it was a very good presentation only one of the pair spoke, the other did try at the end, but was left with nothing more to say. Therefore maybe next time they should try and figure out who says what, otherwise it may seem unfair on the other person who didn't talk, though this could just as easily be a confidence issue.  

Lecturer's thoughts:

• An example of a movie to break the 4th wall is at the end of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' when the police stop the epic battle from happening at the end by rounding up the knights and one of them even covers up the camera with his hand, thus ending the movie.  
• Pantomime also uses a lot of these features as the characters are constantly engaging with the audience and making pop culture references. 

Feedback on 'Stereotypes, Male versus Female':

Personal notes on this presentation: 

• Used good examples e.g. the protagonist from the first 'Silent Hill' game is a caring and vulnerable hero with a skinny build, whereas Marcus from 'Gears of War' is a super musical solider that uses a lot of swearing, thus the stereotype seen in most war games. However, whereas the first character example character is more human and thus players may relate to him better, Marcus is also a lot of fun to play as as he is what most people would call a 'bad ass'.
• Princess Peach from the 'Mario' series is almost always captured in ever single game and thus not only is she the damsel in distress, but she is also the player's goal in terms of saving her. Whereas Lara Croft from the series of the same name is a strong female character who has proved over the years that she can look after herself. She is however also considered a sex symbol as the first game in her series was created by an all male team who set out to create a likable female character in gaming due to the past industries shortage of them.  
• Ashley from 'Resident Evil 4' is a example of a very bad female character in gaming as although she is meant to be the President's daughter she seems unable to not only defend herself, but also look after herself, thus the player is forced to constantly save her in this game. 

• Used a lot of good images as examples for their presentation. 
• Overall a good presentation, shame one of the group was missing, but at least someone else stepped in to read his notes.  

Feedback on 'Female Characters & their Representation in Games': 

Personal notes on this presentation: 

• Talked about how video games over sexualise women and make them look weak or sulty in games. Sadly however they didn't have an overall conclusion. This was a shame as the girl who spoke brought up some good examples and interesting points.    
• Their slides seemed to be covered in lots of example images that were both good examples and related well to the presentation. This was good as they did have text, but at the same didn't over fill the pages with them as I have seen before. 
• Sadly most of the group looked bored and hesitated to back up the only girl who spoke who was nervous. This was a shame as most of the group was female and thus their opinions could have strengthened whatever argument they were trying to get across. However I say good on the girl who spoke and gave it her all, thus making the presentation interesting to listen to.  

• At the end of the presentation I decided to ask them what they thought of the new upcoming Lara Croft game as this one will still portray her as a capable character, but will also make her more human as she is put into vulnerable situations and reacts to them realistically. In response they said they did like this change for the series and look forward to seeing how it turns out.     

Peer comments:

• This group as well as other peer members brought up the fact the many Japanese games put their characters (both men and women) in revealing outfits and argued whether this was a good thing or not in gaming. I personally believe, as others in the group did that this is merely a cultural thing, and whereas they can over do it at times they have been known to come up with some wonderful and orignal designs which help to keep their games fresh in comparison to others.
  

Feedback on 'History in games':

Personal notes on this presentation: 

• Talked about the history seen in gaming and how games don't always get it right e.g. technology, architecture and character appearances.    

• Used mountains of white text on peach backgrounds which overcrowded the screen and made it hard to see. This together with the fact that they went through the slides very quickly meant that you couldn't read them in time, let alone understand what the pages were saying. 
• Did a lot of research as demonstrated by their examples. 
• Some slides were just read to us and not simplified.
• All of them had the chance to talk and even though some were nervous they at least gave it their all.  

Lecturer's thoughts:

•  Historical games can still be unrealistic e.g. endless waves of the 'evil Nazi's'.

Feedback on 'Grand Theft Auto, Female representation':

Personal notes on this presentation: 

• Women in the series don't wear a lot of suitable clothing and tend to be over sexaualised.
• The game contains lots of controversial content including the 'hot coffee' mod that allows the player to play a mini game in which they have sex with their girlfriend. 
• No female cops seen until the previews of the upcoming GTA5. 
• GTA5 will be the first GTA to feature three playable characters, however, all of them are male, thus continuing the GTA trend of no playable female characters. 
• All the GTA posters have always had suggestive women on them e.g. revealing clothes and big chests.  

• Only one person did the presentation, but he was confident and overall did very well. 
• Used too much text on the screen, but explained it well.
• Did a lot of research as he gave many good examples. 

Feedback on 'The killing of children in video games':

Personal notes on this presentation: 

• As some game developers are concerned  with having the killing of children featured in their titles some don't allow the player to kill or even harm children e.g. 'Fallout 3' and 'Skyrim'. Yet some games have included the death of children in them including the 'Persona' series and 'Zone of Enders'.

• Good simplified slides, but went through them far too quickly and had no images. 
• Only one of the two talked, but he was confident and the topic was interesting.  
• Overall, the presentation was short, but sweet.

Peer comments:

• Some peers after the presentation argued that players should be able to kill children in video games as you can already kill adults and that an adult could just as easily be as innocent as a child.

Lecturer's thoughts:

•  A morial justification should be included in games if gamers want this feature to be included.

Conclusion:

After paying attention to two weeks of presentations I am pleased to have seen and heard many interesting topics which have made me think.
Although it was a shame to see many members in the groups looking bored and/or hesitant to even take part or help their team members.
I look forward to covering these topics again in the future as I am always interested in not only the gaming industry, but also the content of it titles and how they deal with difficult subjects, breaking new ground and the representation of characters.