Caitlyn+Journal

Week One I am not quite identified, or self-identified as a gamer, not able to devote seven hours a week to the industry. However I have been in the world of video games from a young age. My mother didn’t have systems until an adult, but enjoyed playing them, so we have kept mostly relevant with the nintendo systems. My father is a giant child, and his house always had playstations, and xboxes. Some of my fondest early memories are play Tetris on the Nintendo 64 with my mother and siblings, and Tak and the Power of Juju with my father. As I started college, I’ve gotten less and less connected to video games personally, though I still make time to play with my sister, but I am a fan of what YouTube labels, the Let’s Play genera, where you watch others play video games, and the surrounding video game genres, like theory videos, such as The Game Theorists. Virtual identities, I don’t play games online with others. My most “social” online “gaming” is comparing mobile game scores with others. Identities I take while gaming, I tend to put on an air of competitiveness. I guess the best example of this would be playing Mario Kart, verses playing Legend of Zelda (like I said, I’m pretty much Nintendo based). In Mario Kart I’m a pretty conservative player, until I play with others, in which case, every race is a life or death competition, and I will shove you off of Rainbow Road if you get to close, but in reality when I’m playing games like Legend of Zelda, where grinding, and cut throat playing isn’t required, I’d rather avoid fights, and play passively. As a Socoiologist Gee’s definition of literacy resonates with me deeply. If you don’t understand the symbols of a culture, then you can’t understand a culture. It doesn’t matter if you can read or write in whatever language that culture speaks, you might as well not speak it if you don’t understand their visuals. For example not understand the difference between the Virgin Mary of Catholic religion, and La Virgen de Guadalupe, a similar looking mother of Jesus, but represents a completely different thought. Teacher’s should be culturally literate, and understand that their students are coming in with different levels of symbolic literacy. To me what semiotic domains remind me of is fandoms. Giant groups of people who gather to like the same show, book, and yes video games. Fandoms have their own symbols, figures of speech, and images that don’t make sense to other people, whom exist outside of the fandom. There is a fandom process, first you have to get initiated into the world. Perhaps you read all the Harry Potter books, watch the new series of Doctor Who, or play Undertale, and really enjoy it. So then you start learning the language of the fans. “Always,” “I don’t want to go,” “It’s Kill or Be Killed.” These phrases hold deep meaning within a fandom, but sound odd, even offensive, in outside conversation. As you become affiliated with this social group, you become more connected to this world, you learn the symbols, and other symbols of their “domain.” For example I cannot tell you how many times I have been approached by cohort members asking if the sticker on front of my computer is the Hogwarts crest, (yes, yes it is). Other examples would include understanding why internationally people are afraid of angel statues with their hands over their face. But it extends beyond just love of the show, changing what a person values. There is a study of what is called “The Harry Potter Generation” those of us who grew with Harry, and how children who are in this generation, grow up to be more tolerant and patient people. I can see how this might replicate itself within game cultures, especially those like Undertale, where Mercy is always an option. I played Ludwig for my Educational game. It was an interesting concept. The demo only goes until you first learn about Fire. So I could see if it went to show how the little robot could use fire to make the burner I was gathering materials for it could be very educational. It was a cute game, and could easily entertain children around 8/9 years of age, but it has some many buttons to try and remember, and the mouse which you need sometimes and don’t need others. There seems to be a disconnect between the target knowledge age, and the control/movement controls age.