The Most Important Videogames Ever

By zach whalenWed, 2009-12-23 17:53

1 comment

The Fall 2009 semester is over, final grades are in, and we're all catching our breath before plunging into Spring 2010. At this point, I like to post a final blog entry to try and sum up the semester from my point of view. Also, though this class blog will remain active indefinitely, I often find that students rarely make use of online discussion platforms of communities after the main reason for it's existence (class) has been completed.

Thus, this blog entry is directed both at my students and at whoever happens to find this blog, perhaps months from now, and wonder what's going on.

This semester, my third at UMW has gone by fast, but then again, that's what semesters always seem to do. For this seminar, that rapidity meant that there were some things we didn't have time to do, and some things we did do that I wish we'd taken more time to do well. When I look back over the schedule, I see reminders of many interesting discussions and projects, but I also see missed opportunities that I hope I can structure better in future iterations of this seminar.


Continue Reading ...

A Burden To My Family

By hollerbackgamerMon, 2009-12-14 14:17

Leave a comment

The first semester is done and we're all off campus for Winter Break. Looking back on last week, I didn't realize how much of an impact this class would have on me. I mean, it's just a video gaming freshman seminar class, right?

As soon as I got home on Thursday night, I ran to my brothers and told them to get to the living room for a game of Super Mario Smash Brothers Melee and maybe Mario Kart it up. As we continued to play, I realized that I wasn't really thinking about my playing or getting an item. To my surprise, I was thinking about canon and culture...CANON. AND. CULTURE. What was going on?

To make things even better, I started discussing the game's play and textuality with my brothers, who were actually excited to be able to talk about these things with me. Thanks for this guys. :)


Tackeled From the Past

By pak066Thu, 2009-12-10 16:33

Leave a comment

The NFL blitz franchise began with the release of NFL Blitz in the late 1990's and kicked off a very violent, but entertaining sports game where NFL players were seemingly super powers and many of the actual governing rules of the NFL are disregarded.  The disregard for the actual NFL rules such as late hitting (there is actually a small period of time after each play where a player on the defensive team can hit opposing players after the whistle), pass interference and I think it is fair to say unneccesary roughness.   After not playing the original Blitz for a few years, it came to my attention that while the game is all about the rules of the sport it ignores, there is a surprisingly meticulous attention to rules in Blitz which actually parralel real NFL rules.  There are several obvious rules which are needed just to call it a "Football videogame" such as touchbacks, an existence of a line of scrimmage, and a 100 yard field, however there is one rule that does not fit the "obvious."  This rule is rarely used in the NFL as it is a rarity for this event to actually happen.  When the ball is fumbled and it goes out of bounds in the opponents endzone,


Continue Reading ...

Beyond the fields of Blogging Love

By Omega 2Thu, 2009-12-10 14:11

Leave a comment

This blog marks the end of the VideoGame Canon Seminar with Dr. Zach Whalen.  Looking back on what I personally have gathered from this class I realize that it has helped me to not just look at videogames in a new light but it has also helped me with my classes as well. 

This class has had me looking at videogames like a text, in depth and analytical.  Now when I play videogames I don't just notice how good or bad it is I also notice things like: oh this guy made the game so that if you die you have to start al over from the very beginning to represent death in the real world in a videogame.  I'll then be able to draw from that to find the overall meaning of a videogame being something like how the game was made to mirror real life.

While taking this class I discovered that when an English Professor teaches a seminar class then it will contain tons of writing.  Other than complaining about how the class should be writing intensive, this class actually helped me with my actual writing intensive class.

I will continue to post blogs on the VGC website after this semester.  I will post a wide variety of things to the website much like I do now, from videogame analysis to interesting news about videogames or videogame related elements like my previous post Do Re Mi Fa So La Bleep Bloop. 


Custom Content in PC Gaming - Part 2

By ArkanepriestThu, 2009-12-10 03:13

Leave a comment

Link to Video Blog (Imbedding not functioning)

Part One

Video Dialogue
Hello, this is Arkane Priest and this is part two of my blog on Modding in PC games. I’ve linked back to part one below this video in case anyone missed it.

Today we’re going to look at the game Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, and one of its most comprehensive mods, Firestorm over Kronus. We’ll look at the base game first, and then see what the mod has changed.

Dawn of War: Dark Crusade is a real-time strategy game, pitting players of one of several different factions against each other. Each faction has a variety of units that excel at different tasks, creating a classic strategy environment. The footage you see here was taken in-game.

Some of the problems associated with Dark Crusade are that there are several simple, one-minded strategies that dominate all others. This somewhat deters competitive gameplay, as it will essentially boil down into who is using the most overpowered strategy at a point. Another problem is the game’s fan-base, comprised of players of the table-top Warhammer community, was somewhat let down by the exclusion of some units in the table-top game. Misrepresentation of some units also caused somewhat of a controversy. It really left a lot of people saying “I could do it better”


Continue Reading ...

MEGA MAN!

By motoWed, 2009-12-09 22:48

Leave a comment

In looking for a topic for my final blog entry for the semester, I was searching through the game informer website. When the website page loaded, the first article that struck my eye, was Mega Man 10 Confirmed! I was so excited, I started to read the article as well as some of the comments below, and I kept thinking back to the days of Mega Man X for Super Nintendo.  In reading the article, it looks as if Capcom is going to keep the basics of Mega Man the same in the sense his brother Proto Man (who looks like Shredder from TMNT in the drawing) as well as Capcom is going to bring back some of the classic characters.  Some new aspects of the game appear that Capcom is going to go more indepth in the level design to give the player something to talk about after playing the game.  Capcom also gave out one of the names of their new bosses for Mega Man 10, and his name is SHEEP MAN! Now that doesn't sound too bad right? Wrong, Sheep Man is able to turn himself into four cotton clouds "and reign down sheepy death from above!" The weapon you get for defeating Sheep Man, none other then Thunder Wool!


Continue Reading ...

come on now! Naughty bear? really?

By cemorebutts013Wed, 2009-12-09 19:43

1 comment

alright now i have seen some pretty weird games but this one  takes the cake." Naughty Bear" is a game that is pretty much the exact same as chucky but in a video game and instead of a psycho killer doll, the main character is a teddy bear." Creating a truly original game is a tough task for any developer. With so many games flooding the market there's a fishing out that happens when it comes to good game ideas. Naughty Bear, at the very least, presents an original premise for wreaking havoc. You play an evil little stuffed bear whose job it is to cause all sorts of mischief throughout his tiny bear village. While my demo for Naughty Bear was extremely short, it certainly left me wondering just how much chaos one minuscule ball of fluff could cause and how much fun it would be to do so myself."(Nate Ahearn) with games like these in the making, i really wonder to myself what is in store for the future of video games! could games start to get less and less compelling to play? or could games sales go on a major decline?


Don't Overthink It

By truplaya_mtlWed, 2009-12-09 03:27

1 comment

When I tell someone I’m taking A Videogame Canon, they’re surprised the subject is even offered. Depending on the age group, they may tell me how envious they are I get credit for playing videogames. Then they ask me: “What do you guys do in there?”


Continue Reading ...

Golden Sun DS???

By ariesbaby91Mon, 2009-12-07 10:56

1 comment

 After tones of fake posting and flocks Golden Sun is officially coming back to the Nintendo and making its long awaited debut on the DS. As a huge fan of the Golden Sun series you could say that I am overly excited for the release and that the series will be continued on the Nintendo DS system. This is a sign of relief and thanks for E3 for getting the scope on this great role-playing game.
 
Golden Sun DS from its E3 demo looked incredible. The game opens cinematically, sweeping a mountaintop home into view in glorious 3D against a backdrop of distant peaks. You see Isaac, who is the hero in the original Golden Sun game, has been re-imaged in 3D as well. You take control of him and run across a bridge, taking it all in. Then the demo is over.
 
Even thought the demo last less than 10 seconds does not defeat the presentation, as a video of battle sequences, exploration and character glimpses follow after you lose control of Isaac’s movements. When you check out the trailer from the E3 conference one can see that Golden Sun DS could be setting the new high bar for 3D role-playing on Nintendo’s handheld. Looking at the trailer you can still enjoy this game knowing that the graphics have been redone dispite the old versions still being playable and enjoyable as well.
 
The walking controls are just fine.


Continue Reading ...

From a Gamer to Analyizing the Game

By ariesbaby91Mon, 2009-12-07 10:16

Leave a comment

 

When I first signed up for the Freshmen Seminar: A Videogame Canon, I thought that my prior knowledge in gaming made me an expert. Yet I was sadly mistaken. I had researched games when it came to if I wanted to buy them but I had never looked into the history of a videogame. The “cannon” list showed a bunch of games that for one I had never heard of or even thought had existed. Prior to being in this class, my knowledge of gaming history went back to Pokémon and Tetris. But I soon learned that the history of gaming expanded from one of the oldest games Pong and Tennis for Two.
 
 My understanding of video games was much appreciated with the help of learning the history and development to the games we have now. With everything that I learned I can say that when I played a game for this class that I utilized what we learned while playing them. Every game that I play is hard to just play for the fun of it because now when I play I am analyzing and interpreting the game as text.
 
This class was an enjoyable experience into the working of what constitutes as a videogame. The way this class has the way I view games has made me less interested in playing games for fun. In my past games used to be for amusement and just for the fun of it, but lately every time I play a game it gets boring and I keep over analyzing.