Emotional Contagion 2

for the majority of their existence games have been considered simple or a child's plaything and never considered as anything more. They, for a long time, have been disregarded by the art community because they could not see beyond the pieces, rules, and controls to what lied underneath. They believed, in part, that games could not invoke the emotions and spark the imagination of gamers as art should. But as I have mentioned before, games have been doing just that for quite some time. It is only within the last 10 or so years that games have been coming into the spotlight as art, this being due to the increase in quality of the writing and graphics. 

Before, games typically used symbolic pieces that represented players, enemies, and obstacles and boards that represented the world of the game. Some games didn't even use boards or pieces, only pencil and paper. These games required you to learn rules and use one's imagination to "see" the happenings of the game such as in the classic role playing game Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. 

Even after videogames were invented and much of the rule keeping and mechanics were handled by the game itself, games in general were still seen as playthings. This due to the need for players to use their imaginations as these primitive games still required players to "fill in the blanks" the game presented due to their technological limitations, such as imagining a players voice, and their actions within games. 

How can you not feel rage when look at his face?

But, as mentioned before, in the last 10 years or so that games have become more accessible to the general public as the writing and graphics have increased in quality. This is most evident in the popularity of the original God of War game. This game presents the classic tale of revenge while instilling the emotions of rage, hate, and sorrow within the player. This was achieved through the use of voice acting, high graphics quality, and an appropriate soundtrack. After all, it is much easier to feel as the main character, kratos, does when you can see and hear the rage and hate he has for the god, Ares. 

Everything about him screamed rage, from his character design to the brutality of his actions and the gruffness of his voice. It instantly made me feel for him and his hate towards the Ares as I brutally tore apart legions of minions seeking to get the way of Krato's revenge, of MY revenge. 

The game also gives the player a sense of wonder that stirs their imagination  through its use of sweeping landscapes and larger than life boss battles. 

In conclusion, the God of War game was a beautiful game that struck me emotionally and sparked my imagination through its use of modern graphics, character design, and level design. It represents the movement of games from simple playthings to a serious medium within the eyes of the general public and the art community. 

sources 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Role_playing_gamers.jpg 

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20051101170512/finalfantasy/images/c/c9/Final_Fantasy_VI_Final_Kefka.png

http://th02.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2010/128/6/6/Kratos__The_Ghost_of_Sparta_by_AminATM.jpg

http://origin.playstationlifestyle.net/assets/uploads/2009/11/God-Of-War-Collection-11-16-22h40m16s195-685x385.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUjhDKsg4lwPz9Vep7CWP2mc6AOqBPbOpmPO48BZjG1_dvh91XF5bQ7LP3Z-Tm-QByO1j98odoPghEp70nfRbc33J9NcpG8Cu1TDYPaOM1SoC8Jk7uFmVe74CpQssq3aeZT8QlDGMcfo/s400/3401_rw_godofwar-ps2_full1.jpg

Design Your Game Item

Game mechanics can be thought of as a set of rules within a game that allow gameplay to happen. In videogames these mechanics are usually presented to the player in the form of items that they encounter within the game world. These items give the player access to new abilities allowing them to access new areas and perform new feats and strategies. A clear example of this is Metroid Prime because initially the player has little more the basic beam weapon but as they progress through the game they obtain other beam weapons allowing them access to other parts of the world as well as allow them to be able to take on different enemies as well as to more efficiently deal with older ones.

Within the game Metroid Prime you play as the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran and take part in her missions to destroy the space pirates who have set up a base on Tallon IV. During your adventure you find numerous items like suits such as the Varia Suit and weapons like the Plasma beam which allow the player to deal with different enemies and access more of the world. Though there is one item I thought the player could use in their battle against a certain enemy, that being the chozo ghosts that appear within the game, usually around chozo temples.

These enemies are quite fast and I believe that the player could have  made use of an item I call the tachyon bomb which when detonated slows the movements of all enemies and objects within its blast radius except the player this allows the player to more easily hit the chozo ghosts. This item would also give the player additional options in how to deal with other enemies as the slowed time would also effect blaster shots as well allowing the player to fire multiple shots that hit the target at the same time or from different angle simultaneously.

This new mechanic also allows the designers to implement additional puzzle elements such as multiple sensors that must be shot at the same time in order to trigger or obstacles (such as spike walls or pulverisers) that move too fast for players to navigate by any other means.

The tachyon bomb would be on the same level as the power bomb item as Samus only has a limited number of them and must replenish them through pickups. This keeps the item from being abused by the player and forces them to think about when and where to use them as well as makes the player try to make every bomb count.

sources 

http://86bb71d19d3bcb79effc-d9e6924a0395cb1b5b9f03b7640d26eb.r91.cf1.rackcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/metroid-prime-logo-title-screenshot.jpg

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130218230109/metroid/images/d/d1/Metroid_quarantine_a_power_bomb.jpg

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120712144636/metroid/images/3/30/Missile_Ammunition_Scan_images_dolphin_hd.jpg

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130710122656/metroid/images/a/ab/Deep_Chozo_Ruins_Screenshot_(14).png

Emotional Contagion

For a long time game developers have been striving to transcend the normality of games being simply a source of entertainment. To make games more than just pieces on a board or sprites on a screen, they sought to make them an experience. To draw players into the world of the game, to sweep them up in the emotions of the characters, hold them at the edge of their seat, and leave them inspired. Some would argue that games have yet to achieve this level of depth. But some, including myself, would argue that games have touched us on an emotional level and inspired us to many things.

ooh gotta love dialogue!

Personally, there have been quite a few games that have affected me but one such game was Final Fantasy 7. The Final Fantasy series is well known for its deep stories and Final fantasy 7 was no different. The basic storyline was the usual “group of heroes save the world from a great evil” type story but it was the characters and the relationships between them that drew me into their world and caused me to become attached to these characters.  Given that before I owned the Playstation I only had the NES of which I only had five games, it is safe to say that I had never I had never experienced characters like that before, with sorrowful pasts and hopes for the future. Alongside the writing and design of the characters and story was the graphics which in my opinion helped to instill the characters within the hearts of the players. I will admit that the overall graphics for the game were pretty bad but it was because of these graphical limitations that further allowed the player to more easily become invested in the characters because they made the player fill in the blanks of the characters and what was happening on screen therefore allowing the player to project themselves or at least a part of their imagination onto the characters making them more endearing to the player.

Another memorable part of the game was its use of pre-rendered cinematics. These cinamtics noted special events that happen throughout the story, usually showing key events that progress the story and pull the player deeper into the game. These cinematics were so different in graphical style to the graphics of the game world that they inherited a kind of ecstatic feel to them. The player, already wrapped in the emotions of the characters leading up to that moment are pushed further emotionally when the cinematic starts as control is taken away from the player as they watch eagerly to see what will happen next. The perfect example of this was the part of the game where Aerith is killed. The area leading to the cutscene is triggered is a set of jumping platforms that keep Aerith in sight of the player. This invokes the emotions of the player who, already excited and emotional to be so close to meeting Aerith again, is forced to slow down. Then within the cutscene the death of Aerith is drawn out, which really drives home the gravity of what just occurred.

In conclusion, games have been emotional quite some time it is only that people haven’t given the medium a chance to stire their emotions and spark their imagination.  

http://borderhouseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/ff7logo.jpg
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/909/512o.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNgcATFUyr0