Chapter 9.
Online
gaming has been around longer than most can remember. It all started with the
first game Spacewars. Since then gaming has grown into a huge and thriving community.
The very first online games were called
MUDs, or Multi-user Dungeons or Dimensions. In MUDS players could communicate
with each other while doing other in-game activities such as question, killing
monsters and find loot. Without these first games we wouldn’t have the giant
MMORPS that we do today such as World of Warcraft, or Everquest.
While
playing with a lot of other people, the amount of socialization will occur.
Relationships can and will be made, and some enemies will be found. With so
many people playing at once, you are bound to find someone playing with you
that would share the same likes and dislikes. While on the other hand, you will
find people who are just mean and only in it for themselves. With this high
amount of socializing that you have to do in the game to get though some of the
parts, so you have to be good at typing and multitasking. Some that have
problems doing this would be turned off of the games and not want to play them.
Some of
the issues with online gaming is that it is very “addictive”. The dependency to
the internet to play this game makes people want to go back and play it more.
This is a problem when you spend all of your free time playing the game,
instead of doing homework or other social activities. Online games have their
own good sides to them as well. For people who have disabilities, they can play
the game and communicate like everyone else. Also you can relax and unwind
while playing these games. You can be who you want to be while playing them. It
helps people “escape” the problems of real life, which may be one of the
reasons why people are addicted to them.
Online reading.
Not all
of the things we do were made in America. Some have been made on the other side
of the world, such as movies and videogames. They got here by the “trading” of
culture between the two countries. This is called contra-flow. This mainly
happens due to the other culture wanting to know what the other is doing, or
trends that spread because of media or other ways of communication.
Video
games have been available to the western market because of contra-flow. A few
of the major game industries are based in the eastern market, such as Sony or
Nintendo. Without the access of either of these, we wouldn’t be able to any of
the games we play today. A few television shows that came from other countries
that are able to see consist of Power rangers and the majority of Anime Shows.
In the
early stages of online gaming, the majority of them came from Korea. Now they
are hybridized from both western and eastern markets, making the game industry
itself hybridized. The most of the games being made today are focused towards a
western market, more specifically an American one.
Chapter Questions
1. Why do you think MUDs and other online gaming such as MMO’s are so addictive, and why do you think people are willing to spend a lot of time playing them. Why can’t they just simply “turn it off”, when they are addicted to it?
2. Do you think that an online friend from a game where you online know them from their online presentation is that same as having a friend in real life?
Online Reading Quesitons.
1. What sort of items have you been able to have or use due to contra-flow, and do you think these items have had an impact on how you? Do you think your life would have been different without them?
2. Why do you think most of the games being made are geared for a western audience compared to where they are being made at?
