McGonigal and her Games

"In fact, as Brian Sutton-Smith, a leading psychologist of play, once said, 'The opposite of play isn't work. It's depression.'" (McGonigal, Pg 28, 2011)

Many gamers and none gamers out there probably would not have known that work in fact is not the opposite to play. The majority of gamers out there believe that when they leave their work and come home and play their video games that this is an escape from what they believe is the enemy, work. This however from reading McGonigal's text is not the case, in fact we as gamers are actually looking for harder work out of a video game, work that challenges our brains and puts us to our maximum potentials to complete task that keep us active. We as gamers are not trying to escape work, we are trying to escape the boredom of tasks that are too easy and that can lead us into depression where as video games give us harder and more entertaining challenges that allow our brains to expand more and be free from boredom. This information is useful to gamers as they are slated fro being lazy just because they enjoy challenging gaming experiences over the boredom of tasks set out for them that do not stimulate their brains enough. (McGonigal, Pg 28, 2011)

"When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation." (McGonigal, Pg 21, 2011)

From this quote McGonigal is trying to tell us that not all different types of games are that different after all. For example this may sound a bit far fetched but we could compare the video game Call Of Duty and its Search and Destroy mode to a game of golf. In the Search and Destroy mode the goal is to find the enemies bomb and blow it up, the rules are simple, each player has one life and only one player can carry the bomb at once, in the feedback system it tells us how many players are left and how long we have left on the time limit. Golf has got all these defining traits, the goal is to get a ball in a hole, the rules are that you must stand so far back and hit the ball with golf clubs and the feedback system is seeing how many shots it takes to get the ball in the hole. With this quote and text McGonigal could change the way people view games altogether.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

J.McGonigal, Reality Is Broken, The Penguin Press, 2011

Infinity Ward, 2003-2013, Call of Duty, Video Games, Activision.

McGonigal's Analysis of Game Culture

Games  have been a crucial aspect of our culture for millenia, and its analysis is significant in relation to how we understand new media. In modern society, games have become more universally accessible and varied. "You have games you can play on your personal computer, your console, your hand-held device, and your mobile phone- not to mention the games we still play on fields or on courts." (McGonigal, 2011:20)  McGonigal argues that there are four main characteristics that define what a game actually is . These are a goal, a feedback system, a set of rules and voluntary participation. Anything else, although possibly important, is not defining. These characterises can be applied to any sort of gaming, from golf to gameboys. 

Essentially, philosopher Bernard Suits argues that, "Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles." (Suits, 2005:54)  McGonigal demonstrates how this simple statement explains everything that is enjoyable about gaming. One of these enjoyable elements can be the impossibility of winning. Although it may sound bizarre at first, incredibly popular games like Tetris have used this format, whereby the player is, "playing to the very edge of [their] skill level, always on the brink of falling off." (McGonigal, 2011:24) The player becomes engaged in a "flow," whereby quitting or winning are equally unsatisfying. This is due to the feedback system that games such as Tetris employ. 

McGonigal asks why so many people are prepared to volunteer, collectively, 3 billion hours a week to tackle the unnecessary problems that games provide us. Psychologist Brian Sutton-Smith reveals that opposed to "work," depression is in actuality the opposite of "play." McGonigal even goes as far to debate that playing and working are very similar concepts. We work just as hard to complete a game, as for example we would to complete mundane paperwork. The difference lies in the way that we accept each task. "Hard work is often something that we do because we have to do it... We resent that kind of work." (McGonigal, 2011: 29) This is in direct contrast to when we voluntarily challenge ourselves to tackle a game. The game industry today is fulfilling our need for better hard work, and helps us to choose the right work at the right time. "When we do hard work that we care about, we are priming our minds for happiness." (McGonigal, 2011:29) Games are now offering a diverse range of work. There is high-stake work, busywork, mental work, physical work and teamwork. These types of work create a sense of positive stress, or "eustress" within the gamers mind, stimulating confidence and optimism. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

McGonigal J | Reality if Broken | 2011 | The Penguin Press

Suits B | The Grasshopper: Life, Games and Utopia | 2005 | Broadview Press 

McGonigal's Analysis of Games

Games are a substantial part of our culture today. They come in many different forms, platforms and genres for example card games, quiz games, puzzle games and console games. However as McGonigal states “When you strip away the genre differences and the technological complexities, all games share four defining traits” (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 21).

Firstly there is the goal; that all players strive to achieve, to ‘beat’ the game. Although there is no reward when completing a game, players feel the sense of accomplishment and self-belief if they manage to reach the goal.  The rules are another trait that makes the goal more difficult to reach. This trait creates restraint and makes the player think and unleash creativity in order to complete the game. The feedback system is provides the motivation to keep playing the game as it lets the gamer know how far they are and how close they are to achieving the goal. Finally there is voluntary participation that is up to the player to accept the other three traits in order to play the game correctly. Bernard Suits expands on this trait by stating “Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 22). In our day to day lives, we develop a routine that sometimes doesn’t push us to our limits. Gaming provide us with voluntary obstacles that help us put our personal strengths to better use.

Although games are seen as a hobbie, they still make us work and think to reach the goal. Gamers can get lost in the game, play them for numbers of hours, keep being defeated but still will consider it as an enjoyable experience. “Games make us happy because they are hard work that we choose for ourselves, and it turns out that almost nothing makes us happier than good, hard work.” (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 28)

Games, especially computer games are known to receive bad press and how they are a bad influence for children growing up today. However after reading this text, I agree with McGonigal that games give us a sense of freedom and personal accomplishment. “A good game is a unique way of structuring experience and provoking positive emotion. It is an extremely powerful tool for inspiring participation and motivating hard work” (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 33)

Bibliography:

McGonigal. J (2011) - Reality is Broken

Gameness of Games

Video games, board games, card games, roll-playing games, play-ground games and so on. There are countless numbers of games to be played and a large variety of consoles and devices to be played on. Bernard Suits states, 'Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles!' (McGonigal, 2011, P.22) When we play games we are coming to do voluntary hard work, work we enjoy doing, unlike work in real-life.

There are four defining traits of games; a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation. The ability to win is not a necessary trait of games. (McGonigal, 2011) Tetris, one of the most popular computer games of all time is the perfect example of a game in which you cannot win. If you play tetris you are always guaranteed to loose, so why it is so addictive? Many gamers do not wish to win the games they play, 'in high feedback games, such as Tetris, 'the value of being intensely engaged may ultimately be more pleasurable than even the satisfaction of winning.' (McGonigal, 2011, P.25) Gamers would rather work at playing a game rather than be entertained. This is why gamers spend less time watching television and more time playing games. (McGonigal, 2011)

'There are two different kinds of games: finite games, which we play to win, and infinite games, which we play in order to keep playing as long as possible.' (McGonigal, 2011, P.25) 'Jack-Change-It' is an example of a finite card game, once a player has gotten rid of all their cards they are the winner and the game is over. 'The Sims' is an example of an infinite computer game, the game has no end so the player keeps on playing because they enjoy the game.

Games have the ability to make us feel happier. 'A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we're good at and enjoy.' (McGonigal, 2011, P.28) Games today are addictive and mood-boosting, which make them extremely popular. We feel more satisfaction with ourselves from doing hard work in games than doing work in real life.

Finally, 'the most primal emotional rush we can experience is called 'fiero." (McGonigal, 2011, P. 33) The Italian word for 'Pride', fiero is the emotion we feel after we triumph. It is extremely powerful in producing motivation for hard work. The bigger and harder the obstacle is to overcome, the more powerful and intense the fiero. (McGonigal, 2011) 

Bibliography
McGonigal, J., (2011), 'Reality is Broken, Why games make us better and how they can change the world, Penguin Press HC

Gaming I.R.L.

'Gamers' can be seen as a cultural group that some people do not want to belong to. In an 'IGN' interview the massively popular video game franchise 'Call of Duty' (2003 - 2013) creators 'Infinity Ward' stated that their fans and players "aren't hardcore gamers, or even gamers, but they play Call of Duty every night." (IGN, 2013) This throws up a question of what a gamer is, which differs to what person you ask. Jane McGonigal would argue that games make us better and she dies so in her book 'Reality is Broken'.

When describing a game McGonigal states, "When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, a voluntary participation" (McGonigal, 2011: 21). If we look at an  example we can easily see what she is talking about, let's look at the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title 'Super Mario Bros.' (1985). The goal in Super Mario Bros. was to rescue the Princess, the rules were that you have a certain number of lives, creatures can kill you and you can get power ups for your character. A feedback system was in place that told us how we got on, how many coin we have collected and how far into the game we are. As for voluntary participation, at anytime we can walk away from the game if we choose. McGonigal's explanation of a game in this sense seems spots on though what if we looked deeper into why we play the games?

Video Games can be viewed as an escape from real life, a common new media term when talking online and even when in person is 'I.R.L.' (in real life). Even this term suggests that we view games as another 'universe', somewhere were our lives are different. Our own realities are not as satisfying as within our games, no stimulation, challenge or goals. This could end in no enjoyment in our life, although with games we can have immediate gratification, whether it be saving the universe in 'Mass Effect 3' (2012) or living a fantasy life of adventure in 'World of Warcraft' (2004).

Games can have a good effect on our lives in real situations, take the game 'Tetris' for example, this improves our puzzle solving skills while we play, or our team building in the 'Halo' series (2001 - 2013) while playing team objective game types. There are even games designed to improve us, like 'Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training' (2006) which tries to improve our reaction time, mathematics, spelling and more.
"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we're good at." (McGonigal, 2011: 22)


Bibliography

Bioware, 2012, Mass Effect 3, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Electronic Arts.

Blizzard Entertainment, 2004, World of Warcraft, Computer Game, PC and OS, Blizzard Entertainment.

Bungie, 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved, Console Game, Xbox, Microsoft Studios.

IGN (2013) Call of Duty Players 'Aren't Hardcore Gamers', Says Infinity Ward [Online]. Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/10/21/call-of-duty-players-arent-hardcore-gamers-says-infinity-ward (Accessed: 13 November 2013)

Infinity Ward, 2003, Call of Duty, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Activision.

McGonigal, J (2011) Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better And Why They Can Change The World. Penguin Press HC.

Nintendo, 2006, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?, Nintendo DS, Nintendo.

Nintendo EAD, 1985, Super Mario Bros., Console Game, NES, Nintendo.

Pajitnov, A, 1984, Tetris, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Spectrum HoloByte.

Game Definition

 Nearly everbody the plays game at least once in own your life.From the tetris game, millions of people try to play diferent types of games. Every years many games and player participates supply and demand equilibrium.In this complicated balance, game desciribing from McGonical(2011) and he says own the essay that "When you strip away thr genre diiferences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, feedback system and voluntary participation."

 Firstly the goal "the specific outcome that players will work to achieve."(McGonical 2011) Getting high level and finishing stage are minor part of goal  . Every game creater know player's optimum level and they create the game in this optimum goal.  In the some games , achievement is unlimited. Forexample, football games are continuing every time and not finihing  when player played manager game, league will not finish and can win everything but not finish.

Second one is rules, "place limitations on how players can achieve the goal"(McGonical 2011) This rules need to measure player's skils for the game. Forexample Some games have limited  time and equipment for player and this cause stress for achieve. This stress increse blood presure and body's other mechanism and this rule effect cause depending the game and playing more than more.

 Third feedback system, "tells players how close they are to achieving the goal"(McGonical 2011) This feedback system calculate player's game performans and guide to player for achieving. Forexample, counter strike showed player score end of part and player try to kill more for succesing the game.

 Last one voluntary participation "requires that everyone who is playing the game knowingly and wilingly accepts the goal the rules and the feedback."(McGonical 2011) All these tree definition is relevent the game and succes. The most important one is voluntary for the game. Because people who want to play the game can do everyting for this. Forexample, firstly pay for buying game after that buy some credit or equipment. This desire create more profit for game developer.

Bibliography
McGonical, J. (2011) Reality is Broken: Why game make us better and how they can create the world, penguein press

'The Gameness of Games

Games have become increasingly used in today's society. We can play games on a number of different platforms and can play games almost anywhere due to mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

McGonical states when playing games we are 'actively participating' (McGonical 2011 pg:21) In other words we are willing to overcome obstacles that we would never be willing to do in reality. Gamer's knowingly accept the rules and the goals of the game they are playing and have the freedom to enter or leave a game whenever they choose to. (McGonical 2011) This ensures that the game is as a safe and pleasurable to play as possible. But why are games so satisfying to play? McGonical writes 'Compared with games, reality is too easy. Games challenge us with voluntary obstacles and help us put our strengths to better use' (McGonical 2011 pg:22)

Games provoke positive emotions because they let the gamer have a sense of achievement through the game. In reality we see hard work as something that we have to do to earn a living and to keep ourselves and our families in good health, care etc.. We usually try to avoid hard work as we see it as something that will stress us out. McGonical states that games are a form of hard work. It is because of this that games can help us feel positive. 'Games make us happy because they are hard work that we choose for ourselves, and it turns out that almost nothing makes us happier than, good hard work' (McGonical 2011 pg:28) This is why games are so mood boosting. It may be hard work even though we do not usually think of playing a game as hard work, but when we play a game we are working but it is work that we enjoy doing. So we both have a feeling of enjoyment and fulfillment when playing a game.

An important benefit on emotions when playing a game is 'Fiero' (McGonical 2011 pg:33) this term is an Italian phrase that for 'pride' it's when we have a sense of triumph which we often feel when playing a game. When shouting and throwing your hands in the air after finishing a mission on Grand Theft Auto or Getting a nuke on Call of Duty.

Overall games can have a positive effect on your emotional state. They may be hard work but it's fun work. Work that you the gamer can enjoy and leave you on the edge of you're seat. 'It is an extremely powerful tool for inspiring participation and motivating hard work. And when this tool is deployed on a top network, it can inspire and motivate tens, hundreds, thousands, or millions of people at a time' (McGonical 2011 pg:33/34)

Bibliography: Jane McGonical, Reality is Broken, 2011, The Penguin Press (USA)

McGonigal: Gameness of games

McGonigal states that we have taken games into our culture and use it in our language.  She mentions that we use the words 'game' and 'player' in our everyday language. Other terms such as "Don't play games with me" and  "This isn't a game" are all things that I along with friend, family and other people that share in the same culture as me have used. (McGonigal 2011, pg: 19 & 20)  "This admonishment implies that games encourage and train people to act in ways that aren’t appropriate for real life." I think that McGonigal is making a valid point here, when we think about it we are actually aware of what we may become due to playing games. Even though these metaphors so not 'reflect' what it means to play a well-designed game, they are just reminders of our 'worst fears' about games. (McGonigal 2011, pg 20)


Gaming is becoming more and more popular year on year. "Games today come in more forms, platforms, and genres than at any other time in human history." (McGonigal 2011, pg: 20) There are many forms of games and gaming platforms in the 21^st century. There are many forms of gaming around like video games, board games, internet games, arcade games and much more, too much to mention really. This just shows the sheer size of the market for gaming. A game invites the ‘gamer’ to come up against needless hurdles which involve hard work and optimistic engagement. McGonigal believes there are four defining traits of games. They are the goal, the rules, feedback system and voluntary participation. (McGonigal 2011, pg: 21)

McGonigal points out to us that ‘winning’ and ‘competition’ are features which enhance the gaming experience. However, they are not considered as defining traits of gaming. The defining traits are broken down;

The Goal: The end achievement, the purpose of starting the game there must be a triumph

The Rules: The restrictions that the gamer must obey to get to ‘The Goal’

Feedback system:  A personal/unique reflection of the gamers performance which include levels and scores, unlocked items etc.

Voluntary participation: The gamers ability to follow the above traits in order to play the game correctly

Games have lots of benefits like being a form of physiotherapy, improve hand-eye co-ordination, induce decision making, team building and communicating, enhance creativity and can teach you problem solving, motivation and cognitive skills. I agree with gaming for all the above benefits but not all is so positive. Gaming can encourage violence, crime, alcohol and drug misuse as well as that it can effect academic studies and can even lead to addiction.

 

 

The Gameness of Games..

McGonigal firstly talks about what a game is and how they can be attached to certain types of behaviours, such as 'players' and there ability to manipulate others into getting what they want. (McGonigal,2001,PG.20)

I also understand that the word 'game' can used in other references completely unrelated to video games. Such as people using certain metaphors such as 'Don't play games with me'. although these metaphors are widely used everyday, the fact that they are unrelated to actual gaming activity raises the suspicious that a lot more people know and accept gaming as more widely used within society.

'Games these days come in more forms, platforms and genres than in any other time in human history' (McGonigal,2001,PG.20)

This statement is true, simply for the fact that gaming and the ability that game designers have nowadays is unbelievably more advanced than at any other time and they will only continue to become more advanced with better traits such as graphics and online game play. Also for the fact that we can play games on so many different platforms which gives us almost 100% of the time access to gaming. For example, gaming in the house would be easily done on the XBOX, PS3, laptops and personal computers. And gaming on the 'go' can happen on iPads and mobile phones. All this ability and connectivity to games gives it a huge advantage to prospective game designers and software companies. 

Games share four defining traits which are Goals, rules, feedback system and voluntary participation.(McGonigal,2001,PG.21). Goals which the player hopes to achieve, rules which place limitations on how the achieve that goal. A Feedback system which tells players how close they are and voluntary participation which need the participation of all players regarding the first three traits. 

McGonigal states that when we are playing a good game, we are placing ourselves at the positive side of the emotional spectrum. (PG.28). I think this is very important when it comes to gaming, as we all have things that play 'games' with our emotions and the fact that games developers can make something as to affect your very emotion with simple touches of a button is something to be amazed at. 

Bibliography - Reality is Broken, Jane McGonigal, 2011 - The Penguin Press

Defining 'Game'

 

Although the majority of us have played or participated in numerous different games, not many of us consider the actual definition of the word 'Game'.

According to McGonigal, "Games come in more forms, platforms, and genres than at any other time in human history" (McGonigal: 2011: pg.20). Whether it is a card game, online game, board game or a games console, it is still a game, but the only thing making it different is the format which we play the game in. In this day and age, you can play board games such as monopoly and the popular card game 'Uno' online.

McGonigal argues that "all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation" (McGonigal: 2011: pg.21) each trait system has a function.

1. Goal: gives a "sense of purpose" to the player
2. Rules: "place limitations" on the way the player can accomplish his goal, making the game more challenging
3. Feedback system: indicates to the player "how close they are" to finally achieving their goal
4. Voluntary participation: where "everyone accepts the goal, the rules and the feedback" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 21)

According to McGonigal, regardless to the format of the game, it must share those four traits in any way for it to be a game. Bernard Suits, a great philosopher, according to McGonigal provides the best concluded definition of a game, "playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 22)

 

"Many gamers would rather keep playing than win" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 25)

 

In her book, McGonigal refers to several examples of games which support her theory amongst which was the 'addictive' game Tetris, which "awaits for you to fail" and one is "gauranteed to lose" but we continure playing the game because as we lose, we "feel the urge to climb back on" (McGonigal: 2011: pg. 24), attempting to beat our high score.

 

Another example that would support her theory is the Candy Crush Saga which became increasingly popular over the past 2 years, where there are different goals for each level and you are given tasks which become increasingly challenging as you go through the levels, and the moves you are allowed become limited, where in some cases causes the player to lose the level and becomes addictive in the sense that one feels the urge to pass the level and the next and so on.

 

References:

 

McGonigal, J. 2011 'Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change The World' ,The Penguin Press

Gamification & Work.

"A good game is a unique way of structuring experience and provoking positive emotion. It is an extremely powerful tool for inspiring participation and motivating hard work" (McGonigal, 2011, p.33). This sums up the point that McGonigal is trying to convey, that being the gamification of the work process. McGonigal states that the emotional state of the worker and the work being done are closely related. When one is doing 'busywork' it is often seen as predictable and boring, a chore. However when we choose to do this work for ourselves we feel more invigorated and productive, we feel that what we are doing is having a real time impact on the world around us. (McGonigal, 2011, p.30)

McGonigal states that all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation. These traits are designed to give players a "sense of purpose...foster strategic thinking...motivation to keep playing" and "to establish common ground for multiple people to play together" (McGonigal, 2011, p.21). These four traits describe what is so compelling and addictive about games, games are engaging because the players have agreed upon a predetermined set of rules which limits their actions, they have "agreed to make the work more challenging than it has any reasonable right to be" (McGonigal, 2011, p.23). McGonigal proposes that reality is too easy as games challenge us with these voluntary obstacles that put our personal strengths to better use and we should incorporate this into everyday life.

McGonigals theory's in action are evident in the PSB Idea Channel video "Is Minecraft The Ultimate Educational Tool?". The video explains the processes in which educational work is becoming gamified. Although not necessarily a game created with educating in mind, the video explains that teachers have been using minecraft to teach a variety of subjects such as computer science, foreign languages, art etc. Mods have been developed which allows the players to create, code and execute programmes within the game effectively teaching them computer science. This is due to its ability to become a creative, collaborative, entertaining environment where the students themselves are in control of their own challenges. McGonigal envisions a school and a world which does not use games but is a game in itself.

Bibliography

McGonigal, J., Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World..[Online]
Available at: https://learning.ulster.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=courses&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FcontentWrapper.jsp%3Fcontent_id%3D_1811422_1%26displayName%3DLinked%2BFile%26course_id%3D_62517_1%26navItem%3Dcontent%26attachment%3Dtrue%26href%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Flearning.ulster.ac.uk%252Fbbcswebdav%252Fpid-1811422-dt-content-rid-4330029_1%252Fxid-4330029_1
[Accessed 11th November 2013]

Is Minecraft The Ultimate Education Tool? 2013, video, PSB Idea Channel, 6th March [Viewed 11th November 2013] <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI0BN5AWOe8>.

Reality is Broken But Games Are Fun!

"Games today come in more forms, platforms and genres than at any other time in the human race." (McGonigal; 2011, pg. 20)

With this quote McGonigal simply states that in today's world there is many many forms of games available to the population, these range from Board games, Card games, Puzzle games, Quiz games, Computer games and Console games. She goes onto tell us that even though there is all these kinds of games out there they all share the same attributes that essentially make them games.

"When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation." (McGonigal; 2011 pg. 21)

These four defining traits are what make games what they are, each one of these traits add another level of structure to a game and each one makes them entertaining for the participant. Each trait has its own purpose for a game.

The first trait the Goal is what any participant strives to achieve when they first start to play whichever game they tackle. With the Goal it gives every gamer a purpose to play.

The second trait Rules, this trait is what binds the participant to what the restraints of the game and also gives it a purpose otherwise there would be no challenge for the gamer.

The third trait Feedback System, this is the trait tells the participant how they are doing in the game and how close they are to their main objective. It comes in forms of levels, scores and progress bars.

The final trait is Voluntary Participation, the last trait is the one that combines the first three traits, this one is accepted by every player who starts the game as they agree to abide by the first three.

"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism  at something were good at and enjoy" (McGonigal; 2011 pg. 28)

McGonigal goes on to talk about the effects that games have on people outside of the gaming world. She believes that taking all the benefits that video games give to the participants and utilizing them in the real world would make the human race is some way thrive as everyone would be testing their limits daily and enjoying what they do.

Bibliography: 

McGonigal. J (2011) - Reality is Broken

HYPERMEDIACY

Hypermediacy is a logic which is about how a certain type of media represents itself in a way that reminds the viewer of the medium. It is also where video graphics, audio and hyperlinks intertwine, like on a website where there would be many different texts, images and videos all on the one page for you to look at. "It is a media that offers random access"(Bolter, Pg 31, 2000), from this texts the theorist is trying to point out that the media has changed from the command-line interface to the graphical interface. Command-line interfaces consisted of text only and there was no random access about it because text was simply the only thing in it where as a graphical interface can consist of many things like text, video, audio and hyperlinks or a lot of the time they consist of all of these which makes the interface look like it is not there so that browsing these sites feels more natural and flowing rather than stiff and rigid(Bolter, Pg 31, 2000).

Hypermediacy is an example of our overall interest in the medium itself. "an entirely new kind of media experience born from the marriage of TV and computer technologies."(Bolter, Pg 31, 2000) We have become so fascinated in the medium that it spreads all over our media, like in the film "True lies" where a man has a double life, one as a normal guy in an office and then the other as a spy which is nearly surreal and us as an audience love this which shows our expression of desire to be the likes of spy. Video games are another source to which we show our extreme fascination of the media in and as new games come out that are better and more crisp than the last, it becomes even harder to put the controller down. Take the game "The Last Of Us" for example, Naughty Dog were well known for their compelling stories in the Uncharted series but no one expected them to create a game like this, it had more drama and close to tears moments than most films and the story and graphics were so good, that you could of mistaken it for a film and this is an example of how people can be so fascinated by the media.

Remediation: Medium inside Medium

"Remediation is a defining characteristic of new media." (Bolter, 2000: pp.45). Bolter talks of how mediums constantly remediate each other, as technology moves on mediums adapt by using old mediums to 'evolve' from.
This happens all the time in our lives, take a popular film that you have saw, for example the recent release of Alan Taylor's 'Thor: The Dark World'. This film was remediated from a Marvel comic book series of the same name. The words and images may not match exactly, although it is definitely following the printed comic's storyline.




If we take a closer look at one subject and analyse it for remediation we can truely see the process at work. 'Transformers' started as toy vehicles that transformed into robots, toy company 'Hasbro' bought the rights to these toys and then went on to co-produce a television cartoon from them. As the cartoon grew in popularity Hasbro wanted to release new toys for the fans to buy, their way of introducing a mass batch of new toys was to have a feature length theatrical film release that killed off most of the current characters and introduce a whole new set to the audience. Transformers went on as a television cartoon although had many generations of it. As technology progressed computers were used to create the cartoons instead of them being hand drawn, this was seen in 'Transformers: Beast Wars'. Technology kept improving as did the quality of the new generations series of Transformers cartoons.

In 2007 'Transformers' made an entirely new step into 'live action' film. The story, that had been revamped already many times, was again revamped and a new breed of transformers, taking heavy influence from the previous cartoons took shape. Actors were used and state of the art sfx teams made these Transformers come to life. Bolter stated that "The new medium remains dependant on the older one" (Bolter, 2000: pp.47) and in the case of Transformers this can be seen to be very true.

Mediums taking influence from other mediums for remediation is one thing, although we can also see some mediums in their current fields taking a greater influence and actually incorporating content into it's own form to create something new. This can be seen in music videos and is called 'visible remediation'. An example being 'Linkin Park's music video for their track called 'Iridescent'. It takes clips from 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' (2011) and uses them very obviously throughout the music video.

The relationship between Transparent Immediacy and Virtual Reality

The aim of virtual reality is to merge seamlessly into the users real life. It's efforts to be as undetectable as possible, "means that it is a medium whose purpose is to disappear." (Bolter: 2000, 21) This immediacy can only truly be represented through total invisibility. 

Bolter states that in Hollywood, the stuntman is increasingly being replaced by digital compositing, to fulfil the desire for immediacy. He even argues that eventually the actors will themselves be replaced too. Much of the time it is hard for the viewer to distinguish between what is CGI and what is not. The computer desktop is another everyday reflection of the integration between real life and virtual reality. Whilst several decades ago, a physical office would have contained files, folders and a waste-basket, Bolter points out that today, this has been replaced completely by virtual counterparts, yet they are used in the exact same way. 

Transparent immediacy does not have to be found solely in high-tech, computer generated simulations. Contrary, it can be witnessed in more traditional mediums, demonstrating that we have been moving towards indistinguishable virtual reality for centuries. Classical paintings can demonstrate this. Theorist Alberti argues that he could draw a simple rectangle on a canvas, and still have the viewer transported beyond the image and into the subject that it is conveying. Bryson mentions how in the nineteenth century, artists would try to erase their brush stokes to attempt to 'hide' the fact that the picture was an artificial creation. 

What designers continue to strive for is an "Interfaceless interface," (Bolter: 2000, 23) effectively ridding the display of any trace of the typical elements to be expected of a virtual interface. The user will interact with simulations as if they would their real life counterpart.  This will create an immediate relationship with the simulation. Transparent immediacy will allow us to smoothly integrate out lives alongside the technology we use, regardless of the implications. Luxury lifestyle items like the Oculus Rift and Google Glasses are already making that a reality. In the future, we may be wholly unable to distinguish between what is real and what is not. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Bolter, J | 2000 | Remediation: Understanding of New Media | MIT Press 

Remediation

'We call the representation of one medium in another remediation, and we will argue that remediation is a defining characteristic of new media.' (Bolter, 2000, P.45)

Remediation is the representation of one medium, in another medium. For example, films are sometimes remediation's of books, the content has been 'borrowed' (Bolter, 2000) but the film has its own adaptation. Bolton examines the fact that remediation ensures that the 'older medium cannot be entirely effected, the new medium remains dependent on the older one in acknowledged or unacknowledged ways.' (Bolter, 2002, P.47)

Bolter states that television and the internet are in competition with one another 'in which each now seeks to remediate the other.' (Bolter, 2000, P.47) We can now access internet on smart televisions and we can watch TV on the internet. This is because of digital new media, new technology enables even more content to be provided and it is also enables interactivity. When this book was written in 2000, film was also trying to incorporate digital technology in its production and editing. Thirteen years later it is very seldom that we watch a movie without it being digitally enhanced or used special effects within the film. With special effects and other digital constructions the goal was to make them look as 'natural' as possible so that the audience would watch the film and not think about watching a movie, but watching, or living, real life. This is the concept of transparent immediacy, which looks at making the screen, the computer or television disappear and make characters and what is happening on screen look as real as possible. (Bolter, 2000)

Virtual reality such as video games remediate television, the World Wide Web and film. Because of the ability to see/play through the eyes of your character, so that you can see what they see and experience what they do. 'Virtual reality won't merely replace TV. It will eat it alive.' (Bolter, 2000, P.48) Virtual reality enables us to escape to different places, become different people and live different lives. But for some people, because of virtual reality being transparent immediacy, they get so caught up in playing a video game that they can forget they are actually playing a game. The game becomes reality to them.

Bibliography:
Bolter, J.D., (2000). 'Remediation: Understanding New Media, New Ed.', MIT Press

Remediation of New Media

 "Remediation is a defining characteristic of new digital media." (Bolter, 2000, p45)When we start to say about new media and remediation, we must start with technology.Current technology is changing and developing fastly. In this process , new media dont be just name of "new" media and new media must be developed the technology. Greek philosopher Herakleitos say that "the only thing that constant is change." because process of changing is very effective. For example, if  something didnt change other form or situation, it is changed or be passive by force. The new media is included this process and some part of media is change and other part is passivization. For example , when radio is lanched first time, lots of people buy the radio and place great importance. Afterthat television and other media tool increased radio's important and radio is just antique or application in the mobile phone.

 "We need to transcend the old to discover completely new worlds of expression." (Bolter, 2000,p45) ıf people depend on just one or a few tool, they  cant invent new things. People who want to become part of innovation must broad their horizon. when first camera phone release, people think that this thing is high technology's product and it can be last function of phone and scientist  cant add more function but internet , navigation and etc added.

 All these changed affect film industry such as photoshop or adobe premier. When this program changed the reality,  screen show this changed stage and people who watch movie is affected. This manipulation create delusion. for example sometimes film which didnt changed with adobe premier audience says that this part is manipulated or the exact opposite situation.Finally, developing technology is changing people's mind and the perspection of accuracy.

Bibliography
Bolter, J.D. (2000) Remediation: Understanding New Media New Ed. (MIT Press)

Immediacy and Virtual Reality

Immediacy is a quality that enables the user of a medium to feel as if they are participating and controlling the story or the actions even though they are not actually involved; instead they are involved in a "virtual reality".

Bolter and Grusin argue that the aim of New Media is to create interactive technologies that remove their presence from the viewer, creating a virtual reality that is indistinguishable from the reality.

This virtual reality feels extremely realistic due to the "transparent interface" which Bolter claims attempts to "erase itself" causing the user to deny his confrontation to the medium and consequently, the user feels involved. (Bolter: 2000: pg. 24) Another sense of virtual reality could be the emotions that one encounters while watching a movie that engages greatly with its audience, allowing them to experience the same emotions as the characters on screen where the viewer may cry.

In other words, the psychological state that is generated by immediacy is that the viewer is under the impression that the medium no longer exists, and that he/she is participating in the event. The viewer is authentically experiencing the matter, in his beliefs, as reality. Hodges states that "the viewer should forget that she is in fact wearing a computer interface and accept the graphic image that it offers as her own visual world." ( Hodges: 1994: pg. 22)

Bolter claims that "virtual reality is immersive, which means that it is a medium whose purpose is to disappear". (Bolter: 2000: pg. 22) We enter virtual reality as we interact with technology, for example video games. Through this interactivity, we can experience things beyond our imagination, for example, like Jaron Lanier suggests, one can "visit the world of the dinosaur, then become a Tyrannosaurus. Not only can you see DNA, you can experience what it's like to be a molecule". (Bricken: 1991: 372) 

REFERENCE:

Bolter, J,  2000,  Remediation: Understanding New Media pg. 20-50

Transparent Immediacy & Virtual Reality

"Virtual reality is immersive, which means that it is a medium who purpose is to disappear. This disappearing act, however , is made difficult by the apparatuses that virtual reality requires" (Bolter, 2000, p.22). Bolter talks here of transparent immediacy, this transparency refers to the way the designers of such technologies make them an almost interfaceless interface, a piece of technology with no recognizable electronic tools often used by conventional media platforms. Immediacy refers to the users desire for immediate access to interact and understand the medium. Bolter states that with this technology the user will move through this virtual space interacting with the objects naturally in the same way they would in the physical world.
(Bolter, 2000, p. 23)

Active participation within a world which they control makes the user feel truly involved. Bolter states "The transparent interface is one more manifestation of the need to deny the mediated character of digital technology altogether" (Bolter, 2000, p.24). Users do not simply want to use technology to participate but to fell as if their own actions are making a difference, that they are engaging with the content. For example a viewer is not simply watching a film so much as that are emotionally connecting with the characters in the film, these characters have meaning the viewer wishes to identify themselves with. "A transparent interface would be one that erases itself, so that the user is no longer aware of confronting a medium, but instead stands in an immediate relationship to the contents of that medium". (Bolter, 2000, p.24)

These interfaceless interfaces are at work in modern day society in a variety of ways. Developers seek to immerse consumers in open ended worlds filled with unique experiences without the constraints of technology holding them back. Microsoft has made an attempt at this with thier 'Kinect' add-on for Xbox. The Kinect removes the need for a traditional controller and instead places the user as the controller, allowing them to use their body to dictate whats happens on screen. Another attempt at manufacturing this 'Virtual Reality' comes in the form of the Oculus Rift. The rift is a virtual realty headset which truly immerses the user in the world which they are viewing. The user forgets that they are here in a physical sense and instead exist on a virtual plane, blurring the lines between our physical bodies and virtual identities.

Bibliography
Bolter, J., 2000. Remediation: Understanding New Media. [Online]
Available at: https://learning.ulster.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=courses&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FcontentWrapper.jsp%3Fcontent_id%3D_1811421_1%26displayName%3DLinked%2BFile%26course_id%3D_62517_1%26navItem%3Dcontent%26attachment%3Dtrue%26href%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Flearning.ulster.ac.uk%252Fbbcswebdav%252Fpid-1811421-dt-content-rid-4330030_1%252Fxid-4330030_1
[Accessed 4th November 2013]

Transparent Immediacy

When describing transparent immediacy, Bolter and Gusin state that “Virtual reality is immersive, which means that is a medium whose purpose is to disappear” (Bolter: 2000, pg 22) This shows that virtual reality aims to be as transparent as possible so that the user makes the technology apart of their body. In this text, the authors state that creators of technology strive to to make “virtual reality should come as close as possible to our daily experience” (Bolter: 2000,pg 22) One example of technology doing this would be ‘Google Glass’. Google Glass is described as a wearable computer that we can wear 24/7 and make it a new addition to our human body. Although still shaped like a pair of glasses, this piece of technology is the best example of transparent immediacy as of yet. If in 2013, Google Glass can produce a piece of technology that will change how people work, eat, and interact with others it makes us wonder how far can this product grow and develop and in the near future all it could be is a contact lense that turns the human into a cyborg like character.

 "in this sense, a transparent interface would be one that erases its self, so that the user is no longer aware of confronting a medium, but instead stands in an immediate relationship to the contents of that medium." (Bolter: 2000, pg 23-24)

 Another example of how virtual reality is incorporated into our lives is video games such as The Sims. We all have a curiosity and desire to see what its like living a completely different life and games like The Sims allows to do so. The freedom and opportunity to do what we want do gives the user a thrill and an escape from everyday life. This effect doesn’t just happen with the state of the art video games as Rheingold states “It is remarkable how easily a player can project herself into a computer game” (Bolter: 2000, pg 29) We ourselves have control over this technology but we choose to let the technology to control us. As Bolter states ‘the marvelling could not have happened unless the logic of immediacy has a hold on the viewers” (Bolter: 2000, pg 31)

Bibliography:

Bolter. D and Grusin. R (2000) - Remediation: Understanding New Media

Virtual reality and Immediacy

Immediacy lets the user of a medium feel as if they are in control or connecting with the medium that they are using. They may not actually be involved in the medium but they are involved in a virtual reality. A virtual reality in which they can control and have an affect on what happens in their virtual reality.

'The viewer should forget that she is in fact wearing a computer interface... Virtual reality should come as close to our daily visual experience' (Bolter: 2000 pg,23) This is to get the user under the impression that the virtual reality is their reality and to further more question their beliefs to the point were they are unsure if it is their actual reality or not.

In other words the user in a virtual reality should not acknowledge that they are in a virtual reality. The virtual reality should show no differences from real life experiences. Bolter claims that its the 'transparent interface' (Bolter: 2000) pg,23) that makes the virtual reality so life like and almost indistinguishable to real life. A virtual reality can also be engaged when a person is watching a film in active participation. The film is so real to the viewer that they are entranced in the film and the viewer expresses the same emotions as the characters or actors in the film. 'The desire for immediacy is apparent in the increasing popularity of the digital composition of film and in Hollywood's interest in replacing stunt men' (Bolter: 2000 pg,24) This can also be the case with reading a book, watching a television series or playing a video game. To achieve this interactivity the medium they provide them with a faceless interface to try and deceive the user into a virtual reality.

'A virtual reality is immersive, which means that its a medium whose purpose is to disappear' (Bolter 2000 pg,22) When in a virtual reality we interact with all sorts of different types of technology. When reading a book or watching a film the viewer is in a virtual reality when interacting and connecting with the character in the book or film. A larger interactivity of virtual reality would be in video games where you the user are connected with the environment you are virtually in. You can experience a world beyond your imagination 'You can visit the world of the dinosaur, then become a tyrannosaurus' (Bolster 2000:pg,24)

Immediacy is consistently growing in all sectors of new media and will continue to grow as virtual reality's become more and more consistent to our every day lives.

Bibliography:

Bolter. D and Gruson. R 2000 Remediation: Understanding New Media







 

Immediacy, Hypermediacy and Remediation

In the first chapter, the authors Bolter and Grusin mention immediacy, hypermediacy, and remediation. Appropriately, they offer up that they make no assertion that any of these three concepts are universal truths. Instead they are practices of certain groups at specific times. "We do not claim that Immediacy, Hypermediacy and Remediation are universal or aesthetic truths; rather, we regard them as practices of specific groups in specific times." (Bolter 2000, pg:22)

I would like to focus on the concept of Transparent Immediacy. First I think we need to understand the two concepts separately to gain better understanding of the both together. Transparency refers to the goal of interface designers and developers to make a '"interfaceless" interface'(Bolter 2000, pg:23) This meaning to make it so natural in its feel and look it eases itself on the user. The goal is "to foster in the viewer a sense of presence; the viewer should forget that she is in fact wearing a computer interface and accept the graphic image that it offers as her own visual world (Hodges et al. 1994)" (Bolter 2000, pg:20). Take pilots in training to fly an aircraft, the point of the virtual spaces is to make the whole procedure seem real in every way, the reason for this is that although the student pilot is not actual thousands of feet in the air he/she must feel like they are to gain a benefit from the training in order to attain a pilots license. On the other hand, not all transparent immediacy has such a positive outcome and can result in the user becoming so immersed that they lose their sense of reality.

Immediacy is the users’ reference for immediacy in access as well as interaction and understanding. In other words, the users want an instant connection with the medium. “The automatic or deferred quality of computer programming promotes in the viewer a sense of immediate contact with the image” (Bolter 2000, pg:28). Bolter is saying here that when a person/user is in use of the video to converse with another, they have an equivalent or better sense of this immediate contact, accept with the individual that appears in the virtual reality world. 

My understanding of transparent immediacy is a person that removes themselves so that the user is no conscious that they are confronting a medium, but stands in an immediate relationship to the contents of that medium. 

Bibliography:

Bolter. D and Grusin. R (2000) - Remediation: Understanding New Media

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