Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

1. I am most proud of my extensive research on my topic. This is because I put a great amount of effort in to finding good interviews, and articles to draw knowledge from. I feel that this produced a greater sense of confidence when I actually went to present.

2. a.Presentation: P
    b.Project overall: P

3. I think what worked for me was my independent components, as each one gave me valuable first hand experience in reviewing and writing about games in general. If it were not for those components, I would not have had that extra hands-on experience that made me all the more confident in my answer choices.

4. I feel what didn't work for me was my speaking length during my presentation. If I had the capability to go back in time, I would attempt to add more slides with talking points for me to go off of during my 2-hour.

5. Senior project has been helpful to me in that it has helped me prepare for presenting for great lengths of time, and it has improved my analyitical skills. The improvement in my analyitical skills comes from my topic. As a result, I know now the aspects of a game that do and do not work, something I can apply to a design career. For example, I now know that low health and small maps in FPS games is not an effective formula for tactical gameplay, rather, large health and maps are the better choice. In addition, the ability to sustain a presentation of this length could be useful in presenting ideas to game development companies. This is because games are multi-million dollar projects that would require extensive evidence and persuasion to pitch.

Extra: The best answer

New games journalism is just that, it is the new version of what we call "games journalism." This is why it does not surprise me much that I would arrive at it as my best answer. This is because new games journalism gained its traction as a result of what the consumer has begun to demand. These new styles of writing never would have survived if it were not what those reading took interest in. As a result, writing in this style will not only become more familiar, but it will keep the reader more engaged. This is essential in a industry whose life blood is that of its readers. Without a great multitude of gamers or consumers reading their pieces, publications would cease to exist.

Extra: The state of games journalism

The state of video game journalism can seem grave to many. However, as pointed out to me in an article, games journalism is not as bad as people think. This is because video game journalism is filled with a great number of passionate, unrelenting, critics; gamers. As a result of this constant inspection, honest video game journalists are far less likely to commit acts of dishonesty or deceit. Essentially, reading about something done wrong in the industry should not be disheartening, but rather, refreshing. As it is proof that at the sign of wrong-doing those which are guilty will quickly find themselves under the close eye of the public.

Extra: Movie License Games

Oh the terror, oh the humanity. It is the bane of the video game journalist's existence, the movie license game. These are games that are made under a movie studio's license, meaning that they are meant to tie in with the movies they are based off of. There is one problem with this, that tie results in heavy pushing on the developers of that game. This means that the game comes out rushed so that it can fit the release of the movie and attempt to maximize its sales. As a result, there is often a great deal of corner-cutting, and a lot of lazy work. This means that movie license games are almost always just, plain, bad.

Extra: Planetside 2 mini-review

Planetside 2 has a great idea on its hands. The primary piece of innovation that it brings to the table is its massive servers. As Planetside 2 has joined a minuscule handful of games that are capable of supporting literally hundreds of players on a single play map. Overall the game looks great, in fact, the quality is high such that only efficient systems will run it well.

The game plays well, though it does have a "Battlefield 3 feel" to it at times, it feels good and the guns are believable. The vehicles as well are a nice touch, and the massive size of the battlefield makes it almost impossible for lone wolves to make a large difference in the battle. So I would definitely recommend playing this free game to anyone who enjoys a teamwork oriented FPS.

Graphics 8/10
Gameplay 9/10
Sound: 7/10

Extra: Games Criticism Shrinks

I've found through multiple sources, that games criticism has a shrinking audience. This is because there are fewer people who take interest in its academic nature. The group which primarily stays true to the style, are game designers. These are people who, when they read these pieces, are seeking to improve upon their own designs and ideas. They may look to the articles on cultural stereotypes in games, and the games that are guilty of them, for the purpose of avoiding those errors. For some time, there was an audience outside the industry that took interest in this knowledge. However, now the audience has shrunk.

As a result, there is only one real strong "bastion" of this writing style. That is GameSutra.com, as the website focuses upon pieces written by developers or simply writers with great knowledge of the industry. That is not to say games criticism is disconnected from games journalism, one can still find pieces which remind us of the connection it bears. 

Extra: Gameplay

Gameplay is supported by many things. This is because gameplay is but a piece of a larger puzzle, each piece is supporting of the other. However, gameplay is the most important piece, the piece that can spoil the others if it were to fail. When any consumer plays a game that has irritating or frustrating gameplay, it becomes almost impossible to appreciate the great graphics, music, or story. This is result of the fact that games, no matter how they change, are still entertainment. If a designer takes away from what makes games that unique entertainment, that is the interactivity, the whole game will suffer. When one plays a game, it is a experience, gameplay is the core of that.

Extra: The death of many scores

Traditional games journalism has been undergoing a gradual change. For a considerable amount of time, traditional styled game reviews had multiple scores. One for each aspect of the game, and then a final “overall” score. As time has progressed, this has become less so. Even the “champion” of traditional games journalism, IGN, has done away with its multitude of scores in favor of a single one. This is a change that has come gradually after the increased popularity of the website Polygon. Polygon is known for New games journalism styled reviews, which utilize a singular score. This is likely why the multiple scores of traditional games journalism has begun to fade.

Extra: Review Scores?

Review scores are not as necessary as some think. As pointed out in an article by Kevin Grant, Review scores are the “short cut.” The reason review scores have come into existence is because it is the easy way for people to get a sense of whether or not to buy a game.

However, this is not a detailed representation of the game itself. It is simply a score, given to said game by a journalist with his or her own views or opinions. The area where a reader is most likely to get a real sense for the quality of a game, is through the main body of the review. When a consumer reads this main body, they can learn about features and details that would not be revealed to them through a simple score. This can mean the difference between a purchase, a rental, or simply ignoring a game.

Extra: Bias in a review?

According to Erik Kain:

Media today likes to strive for this great arch of fairness, and unbiased opinion. However, this is all a big facade. There's this ever present structural bias and cultural pretense that makes that sort of thing non existent.

Furthermore, it is not necessarily a bad thing to have bias when it comes to writing reviews. Bias provides a different prospective, should you make it known to your audience when you write. For example; you may be able to say "I don't like first person shooters, her is what I think of this game from that perspective."

This is important, and most certainly relevant, because not everyone who considers a game is going to be a die hard fan of that franchise already. There will be those who may want to see what they might think of a game, should they not be fan. 

This requires a great degree of honesty, as often times people will ridicule writers who dare write about game genres they do not like. However, it is more important to write and be open with your personal opinion than to strive for some fake "fair" prospective.

Extra: World of Tanks (A new games journalism short)

"Clunk!"

The sound of the heavy armor piercing shells against my steel beast's chest made an all too familiar noise. Annoyed at the fact that anyone would dare fire munitions in my direction, I cautiously took cover behind the nearest boulder.

I carefully scanned the horizon for the red silhouette that marked the location of an enemy vehicle. At last! I spotted the pest who had scratched my new paint.

"Bang!" I sent a shell hurdling towards him, landing with great effect on his turret.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" I kept up the fire, until all that remained was a smoldering pile of twisted virtual steel.

Satisfied, I drove off towards the enemy's base, our primary capture objective.

Blog 25: Mentorship

Literal

• log
• Andrew Canales: (562)708-0185

Interpretative

• The most important thing I gained from this experience was learning about the restrictions that are a part of the process in which each written journalistic piece goes through before being published. This was important because it taught me what was acceptable in journalistic world, and how an article can be changed by not abiding by those acceptable things. 

Applied

• What I have done provided some assistance in answering my EQ by showing me that some forms of writing may be more acceptable to the journalistic world than others. For example, the games criticism style may not be as accepted because of the fact that it focus on "hot button" issues that are not typically addressed in standard publications. This means that answers like traditional games journalism or new games journalism are more realistic options.

Blog 24: Exit Interview Questions

1. What is your essential question? What is your best answer to your question and why?
-My essential question: How can a video game journalist best create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a game's gameplay?

-My best answer is; by using new games journalism styles when writing about the game. This is because new games journalism focuses on the experience of playing a game, and gameplay is the core of what creates that experience. The other games journalism styles (traditional, criticism) may inspect elements that are influence gameplay, and the experience it creates, but new games journalism puts emphasis on it. Therefore if the goal is to truthfully analyze gameplay quality, new games journalism is the best choice.

2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

-The process I took in arriving at my best answer maintained itself primarily in the realm of research, but had some assistance from interviews. I first found through research that traditional games journalism divided a game into sections, game criticism analyzes technical and cultural aspects primarily, and new games journalism uses a narrative style to focus on a experience. Then, I discovered from my third interview that a review should be able to exemplify an experience well enough to the point that the reader will feel the review described it perfectly. Finally, I found in my fourth interview that gameplay is the core of what creates the experience that is created when playing a game. Therefore, new games journalism is best suited to analyze that, as its focus is on that experience.

3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?

-The problems I faced were in the area of interviews and mentorship, as it was difficult to locate a mentor, and it was also difficult to obtain effective interviews. I sought to resolve this primarily through perseverance. Essentially, I continually contacted as many publications as I could in search of mentorship. Until finally, the Poly Post was willing to assist me. Furthermore, I would reach out as often as possible in order to see if I can obtain good interview subjects. This eventually paid off on my fourth interview when I was able to question a journalist who had a great deal of experience in the field.

4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

-My first most significant source was an article off of lostgarden.com entitled "A Blunt Critique of Games Criticism." This is because the article was effective in outlining the different styles of writing about games, what they focus on, and where they primarily come from. Second, was my fourth interview with journalist Erik Kain, as he was very informative about what it means to be "truthful" in a review, what gameplay effects, and why it is important.

5. What is your product and why?

-My product is a significantly greater ability to write about games. This is because, though I had some understanding before, I have come to learn what is really effective and important in 'good' games. In addition, I have learned a lot about the different writing styles that exist in the realm of games journalism. As a result, it is now much easier for me to write on games with structured and logical arguments.

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

1. Aaron Hutchings

2.Possibly a topic related to North Korea, or architecture. Aaron has an interest in the culture of North Korea, however, architecture is also a good topic idea as it may be easier to find an internship for.

3.North Korea: No ideas as of yet
   Architecture: Internship

4.Aaron hopes to see a focus on logical flow in the presentations.

5.Aaron had no questions at the moment.

Final Three Column

Chart

Blog 21: Independent Component 2

Literal

a. I, Cristopher Hernandez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
b. "Bow Nigger." Www.alwaysblack.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://www.alwaysblack.com/blackbox/bownigger.html>.
c. Log
d. I played completely through the game "Bioshock Infinite" and wrote a piece on it using style of new games journalism.

Interpretative

Playing through the game with the purpose of using it as the subject for my writing required noting anything that I found interesting each time I played. In the end I produced a relatively short article, that is filled with first-hand experience of what the game is like.

New Games Journalism Piece

Applied

This component helped me better my answers by giving me first hand experience on what it is like to write in the style of new games journalism. This meant that as I was writing I found it's limitations, for example, the more narrative method prevented me from going into specific detail on mechanics. Where as traditional games journalism allowed me to go deeper into detail because the focus was on the game as a product, rather than on telling a story with the game. In addition, it helped me further my knowledge on what to look for in 'good' games, as I have come to identify how when things like health and ammo may or may not be provided to the player can affect the gameplay experience.

Blog 20: Three Column Chart

Three Column Chart

Blog 19: Senior Project and ESLRs

1. I feel I have excelled most in the area of being an effective communicator.

2. I believe I have excelled in this area because I feel I have been able to explain well what makes games 'good' in my topic and how reviews are written. This is augmented by the fact that my project revolves around an ability to communicate and explain experiences.

3. The best piece of evidence I have is my written review of Medal of Honor: Warfighter (which was my Independent Component) found here: Game Review

Blog 18: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #3

1. How can a video game journalist best create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a games gameplay?
2. A video game journalist can best create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a games gameplay by using game criticism styles during its creation.
3. - Game criticism focuses on both technical and philosophical importance of games
    - Gameplay is not only an important technical portion of the game, but it can also have great influence on philosophical importance.
    - A game with gameplay of low quality will be noted as unremarkable technically speaking, and will also very likely have more difficulty maintaining philosophical importance.
4."Game Criticism and Analysis." Game Design Concepts. N.p., 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/level-19-game-criticism-and-analysis/>.
5. I plan to look for books and college level papers on game criticism, as that is generally the area that "game critics" tend to publish their ideas.

Blog 17: Fourth Interview Questions

1. How can a video game journalist best create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a games gameplay?
2. What are the different ways a games journalist can create a review?
3. How should a review analyze a game?
4. What constitutes 'good' gameplay?
5. How is a typical review structured?
6. How do you think game reviews have changed as games themselves change?
7. Who usually reads game reviews, why?
8. What role does gameplay play in a game?
9. How important is gameplay to a game's success, why is that so?
10. How do game genres affect reviews?
11. What factors can affect the quality of a games gameplay?
12. What kind of background knowledge should a game journalist have to write reviews, why?
13. How should a 'truthful' review inform its audience?
14. How should a review engage the reader?
15. What does a game journalist need to do to have enough information to create a review?
16. What are some strategies a game journalist can use to analyze a game?
17. How can bias towards certain games affect a review?
18. Are there any strategies that can be used to reduce bias, if not, why not?
19. What sort of mindset should a game journalist have when starting to review a game, why is that important?
20. How much should a game journalist play a game to create a truthful and representative review?

Blog 16: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #2

1. How can a video game journalist best create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a games gameplay?

2. A video game journalist can best create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a games gameplay, by using the new games journalism style to evaluate the game during the review.

3.

• Gameplay contributes largely to the emotional reaction people have to games
• If a games gameplay is of great quality, the emotional reaction reflected in the review will also be good.
• Games which have low quality gameplay will have a negative reflection in the review.

4. Source ID#21: Gillen, Kieron. "The New Games Journalism." Kieron Gillen's Workblog. Wordpress, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/assorted-essays/the-new-games-journalism/>.

5.I plan to continue my study of answer 2 by using this style to write an actual review of a game in addition to searching for more research related to it.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

1. I plan to play through a game with the ideas of new games journalism in mind. So that I may create a review which follows that same analytic style.

2. Games often take many hours to complete, in addition, the need for a reviewer to get the best possible feel for the game often dictates additional hours. The combination of these things can cause the process of producing a full review of some games to reach into the spectrum of hundreds of hours.

3. This relates to my working EQ (How can a video game journalist create a review that truthfully analyzes the quality of a games gameplay?) because it will give me additional real world experience as to how different reviews analyze the role of gameplay within games.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

L- a. I, Cristopher Hernandez, affirm that I completed my Independent Component which represents 30 hours of work.
b.PC game: Medal of Honor: Warfighter
c.log
d.I played the game 'Medal of Honor: Warfighter' for 30 hours and took notes, and then completed a review of the game.
I-The review I wrote is in depth and is most certainly the result of 30 hours of work. I spent this time playing the game with analytic thoughts in mind, so that the final product would reflect my truthful impression as to the quality of the game.

Pictures:

The Review can be seen here on Destructoid.com: Review

A- Creating this review allowed me to realize first hand what it is like to like at a game with the intent of reviewing it. For example, when I played the game I got to realize what mediocre gameplay felt like though I had played games of a similar nature before, I had never began to look at why they were not as good as other games. When I did this review I had to note everything that I felt was good or bad about the game, so that when I began writing I knew exactly what to talk about and how to talk about it. For instance, when I wrote about the "support points" system of the game I was able to refer to the time I had spent analyzing the game to explain why defensive actions were so ineffectual compared to offensive actions.

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

1. How can a video game journalist best thoroughly review a game?

2. What constitutes a 'good' game review?

3. Do you regret anything in your career?

4. What do you think current game journalists should do differently?

5. What do you think video game journalists provide their readers?

6. What is the most important role of game journalists, why?

7. What do you consider the highest point in your career?

8. Do you think all games should meet a certain criteria?

9. What is the importance of reviews in games journalism?

10. Do you think that video game journalism is successful?

Blog 13: Rough Draft of 30 minute presentation

30 Minute Rough Draft

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 hours check

1. The Poly Post

2. Andrew, the editor in chief

3. 1 Hour

4. I spent the time editing stories for the paper.