Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll.!!!!!!!!!!!!! ~ Shigeru Miyamoto!
! Video games are abundant in households, arcades, on the internet, and have become a feature of PDA s, cell phones, ipods, and cable TV packages.!! Nolan Bushnell founded Atari, the first widely popular video game system, in 1972.!! In 1980, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong, introducing the story driven game.! Tennis-like sports game PONG! Mario evading barrels in Donkey Kong!
! The first third-person perspective game, in which the player could move the characters through the game world, was released in 1984.!! In the early 1990 s, first-person shooter games arrived, which allowed the player to occupy the subjectivity of the main character.! Opening scene from King s Quest! Shooting demonic monsters in DOOM!
! Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG s) are games set in virtual worlds that require users to play through an avatar of their own design.! Custom avatars in Second Life! Yahoo! Fantasy football!! Online fantasy sports players assemble teams, and use actual sports results to determine scores in their online games.!
! Contemporary video games can be played with and against players all over the world, via the internet.!! Players can also broadcast their game sessions over the internet for others to watch, interact with, etc.! Broadcasting Call of Duty 4! Interactivity of the Wii console!! Games and consoles themselves have become increasingly interactive as technology has developed.!
! The most common video game image is the white, aggressive, hyper-masculinized male protagonist.!! The overwhelming majority of video games construct whiteness as normal, while stereotypes are typically invoked to show marginalized groups as other.! Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series! WWE 2K14 commercial!
! The most common video game image is the white, aggressive, hyper-masculinized male protagonist.!! The overwhelming majority of video games construct whiteness as normal, while stereotypes are typically invoked to show marginalized groups as other.! Prostitutes & criminals in Kingpin: Life of Crime! Mokoto as the sissy in Enchanted Arms!
! The damsel in distress is often central to a game s back story. She fills a minor role during game play, and often disappears from the game altogether until the final scene, when the hero eventually rescues her.!! The typical rewards for rescue kisses and hugs suggest affection with veiled overtones of sexuality between heroes and the damsels they rescue.! Nintendo s Zelda II! Nintendo s Mario 64!! Fighting games have consistently offered femme fatales who are as skilled as male characters. However, in exchange for personal agency, most female protagonists are depicted with overtly sexualized bodies.!
! The damsel in distress is often central to a game s back story. She fills a minor role during game play, and often disappears from the game altogether until the final scene, when the hero eventually rescues her.!! The typical rewards for rescue kisses and hugs suggest affection with veiled overtones of sexuality between heroes and the damsels they rescue.! Baiken from Guilty Gear! Juliet from Lollipop Chainsaw!! Fighting games have consistently offered femme fatales who are as skilled as male characters. However, in exchange for personal agency, most female protagonists are depicted with overtly sexualized bodies.!
! Excessive sex and violence become normalized in video games.!! The effects of evolving video game technologies are twofold:! 1) Spectators can be shocked/challenged by graphic depictions! of sex and violence.! 2) Exposure to such images can desensitize the spectator.! God of War sex mini-game! Violence in the Grand Theft Auto series!
The Mean World Syndrome! Written & Directed by! Jeremy Earp!! Media Education Foundation! (2010) 51 mins.!!