Games History & Context
Our most challenging task so far write about the course and what you learned, always a hard task to complete especially when your comments may make your final mark. But to be fair I have enjoyed and learnt a lot from the course.
Heading into the first lesson unaware of what I was about to learn, I found myself thinking about what we could actually be learning. Thoughts such as Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Donkey Kong and Alex the kid (to name a few) all games that I had enjoyed as a child could be discussed which only heightened the anticipation.
The fist assignment was fun to complete as we were given the option of writing about a game of our choice. Naturally I chose Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as it was my favourite game at that time. Through this assignment I found myself learning about different features and what the game does through the game mechanics within the game. Also through some intense research I was able to find similar mechanics in other older games which help me understand where ideas may have come from for the game.
Another fun assignment was writing about first person shooters. I found this to be an exiting challenge as I was writing about a game I had just recently completed on the Microsoft Xbox 360 Call of Duty 2. The video that was shown to the class prior to this assignment was quite amusing to watch. To keep it short the plot was about how first person shooter games mainly Counter Strike are absorbing the younger generation. Although the video has a few points that should be voiced, I personally felt it was one sided and didn’t explore the beneficial side of games to produce a fair argument.
As the lectures rolled on as weeks passed the topic in class became more detailed and explored different areas within the games industry. For example learning about the different cultures and how this affects the way a game is made or developed. How games have evolved though newer consoles and PCs are developed.
The cultures within games are astonishing when it is looked at in detail. Japanese games with their style using different colours and focusing on bright, eye-catching tones. Then there is the western approach using what only can be said different shades of brown. Also the way the characters look and move show signs of the area in which the games were developed.
Another informative lesson and assignment was researching developers of games such as the Oliver brothers and how they began from a small bedroom to a multi million pound franchise. Learning about the origins of Atari and Nintendo was also very informative.
Although the deadline for these assignments was flexible, it did start to become clear that work wasn’t being completed. A good idea on some of the assignments was a stricter deadline which encouraged us to complete what was assigned.
One thing I found to come rather annoying and boring with the in class discussions was the constant eventual debates about World of War Craft. Although a popular game and does deserve a mention it is a new game and the module does say games history. I think that time spent on it could have been used talking about something older and more relevant to the module.
Apart from this negative part about the in class debates, I found that many opinions were put forward and issues were discussed fully no matter what they might be. As all students come form different backgrounds and grew up with different games it was interesting to find out about games that I personally had never played or even never herd of. This only encouraged me do some of my own research and look back into games history and just look at what I had missed.
Perhaps one area that was not dealt with or just briefly looked at was the inner workings of a games company. For example how business was conducted in the early days to the more modern way of business it is now. With our lecturer coming from this background I’m sure he could of spilt the beans on some of his previous employment, without causing too much embarrassment to himself or the company/companies.
The module I thought was relevant to the course as it is teaching us to look back at the older games so we can move on into the future. This helps a game designer I think because week areas of games can be worked on, therefore improving the game play. Also by looking back new ideas can be thought of and written into a game. Perhaps certain game mechanics those were not possible on older consoles, but are on the next generation ones like the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony Playsation 3 or Nintendo Wii.
On a final note I would like to congratulate Phil Carlisle on his teaching methods as I have learnt a lot and I can honestly say I look at games in a whole new way. Instead of looking at graphics and game play to rate a game, I feel I can look further and appreciate all the hard work that has gone into it. Knowing about the game mechanics behind the flashy exterior of a game now provides me with excitement for what new ideas may appear.
posted by Adam Council at 10:08 am
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