Dissertation on "Politics in Video Gaming Do Video Games Side With Certain British Political Ideologies"

Dissertation 33 pages (9936 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Video games have for a long time been associated with the passage of certain ideologies. The concept of video games has therefore been instrumental in the process of passing certain social and political ideologies. This paper seeks to explore the element and role that the video games play in the process of passing certain political ideologies in the British society. The main aim is therefore to expose the extent to which video games side with certain British political ideologies. This paper begins by analyzing the role that video game play in the passage of general ideologies and then it narrows down to the real specifics that are involved in the process of influencing the British ideologies. The exact parameters are then evaluated and then the extent of influence of video games on the British political culture is the evaluated.

Introduction

Video games are electronic games that engage the user through an interactive interface. The interaction involves the use of visual feedback mechanism which is generated on a specially designed video device. Just like any other medium, the use of video games can be used as an effective communication channel. The content of the specific game is however the determinant of the specific ideology that it expresses.

A video game is a computer program that is enabled to respond to users directions. In common use a personal computer refers to a form of media that involves a player interacting with a personal computer connected to a high-resolution video monitor. Aconsole game is played on a specialized electronic device that connects to a standard or high-definition television set or composite video monitor. A handheld gaming device is a self-contained electronic device that is portable and can be held in a user's hands. It is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a visual display unit or a video device. Platforms are electronic systems used to play video games.

A video game, like most other forms of media, may be categorized into genres based on many factors such as method of game play, types of goals, art style and more. Because genres are dependent on content for definition, genres have changed and evolved as newer styles of video games have come into existence. Ever advancing technology and production values related to video game development have fostered more life-like and complex games which have in turn introduced or enhanced genre possibilities (e.g., virtual pets), pushed the boundaries of existing video gaming or in some cases add new possibilities in play (such as that seen with titles specifically designed for devices like Sony's Eye Toy or Nintendo's Wii Remote). Some genres represent combinations of others, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or, more commonly, MMORPGs. It is also common to see higher level genre terms that are collective in nature across all other genres such as with action, music/rhythm or horror-themed video games.

Platform refers to the specific combination of electronic or computer hardware which, in conjunction with low-level software, allows a video game to operate;examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use.

A game controller is an input device used to manipulate video games, and varies across platforms. A dedicated console controller might consist of only a button and a joystick. Another may feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer games often needed a keyboard for gameplay, or more commonly, required the user to buy a separate joystick with at least one button. Modern computer games allow, or even require, the player to use a keyboard and mouse simultaneously. It enables the multiple use of joystick and other various keys on a dedicated keyboard which in most cases sends binary functions to the system and enables movement in the game.

Video games typically also use other ways of providing interaction and information to the player. Audio is almost universal, using sound reproduction devices, such as speakers and headphones. Other feedback may come via haptic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral o "Peripheral"peripherals, such as vibration or force feedback, with vibration sometimes used to simulate force feedback.

Early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947 -- a Cathode ray tube Amusement Device was filed for a patent on January 25, 1947 by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. And Estle Ray Mann, and issued on December 14, 1948 as U.S. Patent 2455992.Other early examples include the NIMROD computer at the 1951 Festival of Britain, OXO a tic-tac-toe Computer game by Alexander S. Douglas for the EDSAC in 1952, Tennis for Two, an interactive game engineered by William Higinbotham in 1958, Spacewar, written by MIT students Martin Graetz, Steve Russell, and Wayne Wiitanen's on a DEC PDP-1 computer in 1961.

Arcade game is a game played on an even more specialized type of electronic device that is typically designed to play only one game and is encased in a special cabinet. These distinctions are not always clear and there may be games that bridge one or more platforms. Beyond this there are platforms that have non-video game variations such as in the case of electro-mechanically based arcade machines. There are also devices with screens which have the ability to play games but are not dedicated video game machines (examples are mobile phones, PDAs and graphing calculators).

It has been shown that action video game players have better visuo-motor skills, such as their resistance to distraction, their sensitivity to information in the peripheral vision and their ability to count briefly presented objects, than nonplayers. Researchers found that such enhanced abilities could be acquired by training with action games, involving challenges that switch attention between different locations, but not with games requiring concentration on single objects. It has been suggested by a few studies that online/offline video gaming can be used as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of different mental health concerns.

It has been proven through elaborate research that video games have a profound influence in the manner which an individual thinks and behave. Certain experimental and analytical data shows that the playing of video games has a direct influence on one's thoughts. The playing of violent video games has been proven to increase the level of aggressive and hostile thoughts (Anderson, Buckley, & Gentile, 2007;

Anderson, Carnagey, Flanagan, Benjamin, Eubanks & Valentine, 2004).The engagement of a player in games that have positive content has also been proven to elicit positive outcomes. A perfect example is the playing of video games by children which has been proven to help in weight management. In this paper we explicitly investigate whether video games side with certain British political ideologies.

In the recent past, researchers have questioned the validity of passing on political ideologies in videogames. This has always drawn the conclusion that the reputation of the video game industry despite being a disposable form of entertainment which serves a very wide audience does in fact have a degree of political discourse. This notion of political ideologies being encoded in the some games is true but has a degree of flaw.

Thus notion for example overlooks the effort of certain independent game designers and developers. Games such as Super Combine massacre RPG and Cutthroat Capitalism go to a large extent to dispute the notion of apolitical landscape in the industry of videogames. The level of success in the process of communicating the various political statements which incorporate military, social and economic issues just illustrate the political nature of these videogames. Video games by design and existence are a true example of cultural artifacts which bear a certain degree of political messages. It is a proven fact that even the simplest of the video games despite their low level of mindlessness can never fail to portray the politics of the underlying culture in which they are designed.

The mainstream video which games do seem to lack political ideologies in actual sense have an implicit political undertone. The basic design of these games is not supposed to handle or tackle any form of political issue directly. The design also does not allow for the carrying of political messages covertly. The reality however is that the games do reflect the underlying social values and most of the popular ideologies of the resident culture in which the game was intended to be deployed in. Even in the conservative and economically centered eighties or even the liberal society, politics are in fact intertwined in the very underlying codes of the video games that we do enjoy

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