30thNov Update/Lesson:

Philosophy In Games:
The fist was thought to be Deus Ex, we looked at Flower and Journey by Thatgamecompany also and the philosophy behind them.
Flower - An escape for everyone, feeling free, pleasant to play.
Journey - Encourages goaless co op, not working against eachother like in COD. Not competing, nothing to lose, just enjoying the experience. The journey, like life, just getting to somewhere. Everyone experiences it differently, thatgamecompany use allot of philosophy behind their games.

 

Games I have Played Which are of a Philosophical Nature…

MGS4, SH2, ME2/3, Bioshock 1/2,

Bioshock 1 and 2:

A big idea meant with good intentions gone horribly wrong because of human nature, the dependence on ‘Adam’ meant to make life easier, exploited. Though this world is isolated because of this, (people dying, the city left to decay)with not many living people left and its way underwater, it still never stops, the sound of machines, remaining splicers and the ocean can always be heard. Much like our own world.

MGS4:

There is lots of subtle messages and not subtle at all messages in all the MGS games, there is always a big dialogue quite often that usually in some way can have meaning in our own world, war, right and wrong, how to live your life etc.

SH2:

I might be wrong but I think this is one because of the message behind the horror itself; the monsters are incarnations of James’ guilt over the death of his wife. What is in his head, what isn’t? It can be looked upon from how we live our own lives. The creatures are dependent on the individuals issues, if you are innocent, like the children often lost and seen in the series, then they see nothing, made obvious by the fact whenever you meet someone they certainly aren’t seeing what you’re seeing. The fog world is meant to be a neutral space where the individual can look upon their issues, the otherworld being the darkness within themselves when they come across information they cannot handle.

Mass Effect 2and 3:

As this game is all about morals, you could look at the philosophy behind the morals, behind what you choose to do, save something at a personal cost, or let it die etc so you’re all good.

Heavy rain:

Same as above.

Report Update:

Ive now finished it, i'm just over the word count and i'm really happy with it, the structure and everything, I decided to keep the NASa section small as i wanted the focus to be on the mission as thats what the essay is about as in class we thought NASA should have a larger section of the report but i thought it would make more sense to keep it small and only talk about what NASAs missions have achieved for us and the funding they get for it, I thought this was relevant to my subject and there was no need to talk about NASAs influence on pop culture etc.

Now I need to hand it in to get feedback on it then I can put it into Photoshop to get it looking like a magazine article.

Friday 16th Lesson

Yesterday we spoke about each others reports and where we're up to. I got my essay back with Joe's notes on and I also decided to read through it myself to se what needs changing, adding to and so on. Printing it out and reading through it actually helps to see the blaring grammar errors and accidental wrong spelling. - I'm a good speller!
I actually learnt allot listening to what people are writing about.
Now I can begin the last part of my report now I am happy with the first part.

11 Nov 2012

Today we looked at sustainability.

First of was hybrid cars-

What is a hybrid car?

The hybrid car is able to monitor driving conditions, and decide if it’s best to run on electricity, petrol or both.
This helps it to be economical with its petrol usage meaning less fumes being let out into the atmosphere.
It also means less fuel needs to be bought meaning less drilling for oil which is very bad for the environment.
It is also quieter because of the electricity.
All this leads to less environmental impact.
What were the factors that drove its intention?
It was designed because of a world with scarce oil and too much greenhouse gases.
What innovations have come about with the hybrid car?
More manufacturers making hybrid cars as the Prius took off.

The Triple Bottom Line:

People, planet, profit. The triple bottom line is made up of "social, economic and environmental" factors.

We then looked at sustainability in games:

We decided games that are brought out-usually in a digital format, that then create revenue continually after release are sustainable, such as WoW and Moshi Monsters.

Games you download, like on PSN or Steam seem to be eco friendly but the usage of electricity these games take up, such as servers can prove otherwise.

 

2 Nov Lesson

Today we:
• Looked at culture, exploring all aspects such as traditions, food, dance and popular culture.
•We looked at events, significant ones such as Halloween and the Jubilee,
• We then chose one to explore and present, my group chose Bonfire Night.
• Using what we learnt, we came up with a game idea. We chose an educational kids point and click game. Using a timeline to unlock events and change the game from black and white to colour.

Next week we must bring in a first draft essay of our chosen subject.