A Scholarship For Gaming?!? Sign Me Up!

Derek Micheau loved playing sports and was hoping a basketball scholarship could get him into high school. Unfortunately, during his third year of high school he suffered an injury that ruined that. However, his luck changed when he stopped playing sports and began playing more video games. He found out Robert Morris University was offering a video game scholarship. Along with Micheau, 34 other gamers were chosen for the new scholarship. Micheau said his mom thought this scholarship was a scam. But, it is very real--he saved about 15,000 dollars with this revolutionary scholarship.

The new gaming team at Robert Morris University

This new scholarship from Robert Morris is from and eSports program. The school has spent around 100,000 dollars building a gaming center with high-tech computers and snazzy chairs. Robert Morris has formed two "League of Legends" playing teams. So far, both are undefeated. I think this new scholarship is amazing because gaming requires skill just like physical sports. These even gamers have fans that pay to see their matches. I hope more colleges will make scholarships for gamers. Do you think gaming is just as serious as sports? And, can you envision getting a scholarship for gaming in the future (if so, for what game)?

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Can Video Games Help In School? These Players Got College Scholarships." Newsela. 11 Dec. 2014.Web. 13 Dec. 2014.

"Ebola" the Video Game?

A picture from the demo of the new Ebola 3-D simulation

There is a new 3-D simulation "game" that will be used to realistically teach people how to navigate an Ebola treatment facility. I use the term game loosely because it will be a serious tool that could help save educate people; however, it will be accessible for "average joe's" on Microsoft Kinect. The game will have multiple obstacles and a plethora of different situations to make sure you know what to do in an area affected by Ebola. I think this "game" could definitely be useful because the developers plan on forming a Web-based game to educate those in regions with the virus [globalization]. I believe acting out the procedures during the simulation will help people stop stressing about getting Ebola. Like in To Kill A Mockingbird, acting something out can eliminate fear of it (the kids pretended to be Boo Radley and then they weren't afraid of him).

As previously stated, the game has realistic concepts and various situations. For example, the player will have (personal protective equipment) PPE. If a child comes in the facility and is infected, you are not supposed to get down because the floor can have diarrhea. This simulation will show you  that you are not supposed to sit on the beds of patients and will give you negative reinforcement until you know not to touch your face. The release date of this simulation has not been stated. However, I assume it is in the near future because there is already a demo. What do you think of this new simulation? Personally, I'm just glad we've moved on from Goat Simulator.

**!You Can Watch the Demo Here!**

Nsikan Akpan. "Ebola In 3-D: A Game To Guide Health Care Workers Through A Ward."NPR. 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Gaming News: Throwback To Atari's Big Mistake

More than 30 years ago, Atari released "E.T. The Extraterrestrial." The game was quickly identified as poorly made.The gaming community was outraged that they spent money on such a worthless game. This game is an example of popular culture. It was mass produced for many people even though it was poorly made. E.T. is an adventure game in which players control an alien (E.T.) from a top-down perspective. The objective of the game is to collect three pieces of an interplanetary telephone.Ultimately, E.T. uses these collected pieces to "phone home." However, the game is to simple, the graphics were poor, and was not well received by the gaming community.

The old Atari game cartridges were found in a dump by people making a film about the game company. I'm sure the companies most memorable screw-up will make for interesting footage. Film director Zak Penn was excited to find such classic memorabilia and they also found other old products of Atari's. However, they left those products secret for their movie. So, what else (Atari related) do you think was found in the dump?

Associated Press. "Atari Tried To Hide Forever A Video Game Some Call the Worst Ever." Newsela. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Gaming News: Have You Heard of #Gamergate

As you know, most of the gaming population is male. And for some reason, they are not taking kindly to females in the industry. These women have had their phone numbers leaked and have received rape and death threats from anti-feminists gamers. Recently, a jouranlist who writes about female roles in video games, Anita Sarkessian, was going to give a speech at Utah State University, but couldn't out of fear a student would commit "the deadliest school shooting in American history." This needs to be resolved because these women deserve respect.

Apps Are Getting Even More Random

Game designer, Roger Dickey, is trying to prove a very valid point. Roger Dickey is attempting to show that games (specifically apps) can be based on ANYTHING and still maintain the consumers attention. I noticed that games often contained pointless themes a few years ago when I heard about "Make It Rain: The Love of Money." The objective of the aforementioned game is to tap on money, get more money, and waste your time gaining virtual funds. Game consultant Nir Eyal says,"...these games have underpinnings in consumer psychology." Dickey wanted to say if you could make an addictive game out of anything. Dickey tasked his game designing team to make an addictive app about toast.  That's right, toast. The psychology of the game occurs when leveling up, which increases dopamine;also, time pressure is factored in and it produces adrenaline, says Shokrizade. They plan on making money from the game by introducing an obstacle, (called "fun pain") that players can pay for to evade. I've seen these methods used in games like "Candy Crush" and "Subway Surfer." But, what does it say about society if we are persuaded so easily to waste time on apps with little though behind them? Nowadays, our attention is quickly gained by meaningless things and game designers are taking advantage of that. There are people in the game industry migrating to specific positions to form the new pointless app. So how do you feel knowing game designers are calculating what type of apps you'll like, waste time with, and even financially invest in? And what do you think the next pointless--but, popular-- game will be about?

Roger Dickey the game designer and entrepreneur.

Smith, Stacey V. "You Can Create A Hit Video Game About Anything. Even Making Toast." (n.d.): n. pag. National Public Radio. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. 

Games Are Beginning to Reflect Our Progressive Society

According to Jagger Gravning, a journalist for The Atlantic, our progressive society is beginning to diffuse into video games. If you pay attention to protagonists like Aveline de Grandpre (Assassin’s Creed: Liberation) and Lara Croft (Tomb Raider series) you may have noticed their sexual orientations are never clearly stated. This is due to the fact that the writers of these characters want them to be LGBT characters, but want to be subtle as not to offend homophobes. I am not an impartial party when it comes to the treatment of the LGBT community and it’s equal inclusion in all aspects of society. So, I am proud that our society has progressed far enough where there are all types of characters. However, we don’t know if the writers of these LGBT characters include them for the same reason. The hasty generalization is that these characters are just involved for sex appeal and that would explain why they are both women. Although games like Mass Effect 3 include scenes involving men and women. In the future there will likely be just as many LGBT characters in games as there are on TV.  But, let me know how you feel about these new characters.  And what type of characters do you think video games are lacking?

Lara Croft of Tomb Raider

Gravning, Jagger. "How Video Games Are Slowly, Quietly Introducing LGBT Heroes." The Atlantic:   Web. 5 Oct. 2014. 

A New Type of Violent Video Game

If you're a gamer, you've definitely heard of BioShock Infinite, the biopunk first person shooter developed by 2K Games. The game has excellent graphics, a creative theme, and game has received a plethora of praise because "its a rich narrative packed with philosophy."  However, the game has been called a "case study in unnecessary violence." I have personnally played this game and it does contain very violent themes. I remember sommoning crows from my hand with a vigor and the crows pecking the flesh off my enemies. Themes like this beg the question, could the story of the game be represented without depicting so much violence. In addition, what does the success of such a violent game say about our culture.

The sweeping generalization of games today is that their violent and corrupt youth.  Fortunately, games are starting to contain deeper underlying messages,but do they have to be paired with violence to maintain the attention of gamers? Considering most of the gaming population is male it might be so. Interestingly, scientists have yet to come to a consensus on whether or not the violence has negative effects on people. So, until then, lets enjoy the creative themes and "unnecessary violence" of BioShock Infinite.

Booker DeWitt of BioShock Infinite

NPR Staff. "Modern Video Games Go Beyond 'Jumping On Blocks'" NPR. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/06/28/326437835/modern-video-games-go-beyond-jumping-on-blocks>

The Emotional Side of Video Games

Let Video Games Take You on A Journey

Video games demand respect and thatgamecompany has a plan on how to get it. Thatgamecompany believes some people would rather read a book or watch a movie than play a video game because of the lack of emotional appeal.  And thatgamecompany might be on to something.  Most games today are first person shooters or online multiplayer games in which, unlike a book or movie, you are less likely to get emotionally invested in the characters.  Luckily, thatgamecompany has made more emotional and deeper games like Journey and Flower.  If video games began to have a deeper meaning to people and became more popular in our society, gaming could become part of our culture. 
Although nontraditional, thatgamecompany feels more depth in games will earn the industry more respect  and entice more mature gamers. After releasing Journey, a veteran told the president of thatgamecompany the game gave him hope and desire to go out and live again. As a gamer, I'm proud that something I love is evolving into an art. With that said, games focused on emotion sound like they're worth a try.

The robed character of 'Journey', released in 2012 for Playstation 3 by thatgamecompany.

 Stark, Chelsea. "Tapping Into the Emotional Side of Video Games: Developing Hope, Healing and Love."  Mashable.com. 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 9 Sept. 2014.