Alot of my research centers around the construction and maintenance of avatars in video games. There has been alot written about the desire for female gamers to have avatar options in single player games that represent them in game play. Although Lara Croft offered them a female avatar to navigate, there has been rumblings about her over the top design, being more for the male players than for the female players.

But this isnt really my point. Again, on the dance dance revolution note – the other night (of which the last 2 posts are based on) there was a bit of an avatar disagreement between myself and my oldest daughter. When we were selecting the avatars to be displayed on the screen, I had asked her to set it to female avatar rotation only. For myself, this was a gendered decision – I am a female and therefore saw the avatar on the screen as some sort of representation of myself within the gamespace (no matter how animated). My daughter – in stark contrast, fought for the male avatar rotation only (cause they are cute to look at). For her, the avatar on the screen was a spectacle, for me a representation of self. Humourously, when I made my request for an all female case, my daughter inquired if i was “switching”! (sexually speaking of course).

Which made me come back to the idea that (*warning: broad, sweeping generalization to follow) men prefered avatars they could watch. We see this alot in mmo’s where guys choose female avatars that are hot and many have claimed to me that ‘if i am going to play 30 hours+ a week, i want a hot booty to look at’. Often, women choose avatars that represent themselves (whether consciously of subconsciously) or they choose a male avatar to avoid the sexualized social interaction that often happens when playing a female avatar.

So, with my daughter’s reaction to my desire to have an all female DDR cast, I wonder, does the desire to represent ourselves online and in game spaces a generational thing?

After writing my little post on DDR, I was wondering about the notion of cheating in games like DDR, eyetoy games and the like. The study of cheating in games has a solid place in Game Studies, and for the most part, I have agreed with both sides of the debate (although surely there are many other sides than two) – that cheating affects the integrity of the game, and of the play itself. In social games such as mmo’s, cheating damages the ‘social imagination’ of other players and creates and imbalance of play opportunities. The other side of that argument is that it is just a game, and therefore cheating (if remotely possible, is indeed “allowed” through its design) is not bad but just another way to play.

So, do the social games mentioned above fit into this argument on cheating? Is it only when the play is competitive that it matters? Or collective? …. Why do we care about cheating in games (besides the research angle)? If a group playing a particular game all agree to bend or alter the rules for the sake of entertainment, is it still “cheating”? And is there any difference between digital/video games and traditional social games (board games, cards etc.)?

A gift we bought for my youngest daughter, has become one of the social focal points in my home (and those I’ve travelled to who own a ps2) since Christmas morning. As much as I have enjoyed playing mmorpg’s on my pc, there is something completely different in the gameplay with physically interactive games like the eye-toy, ddr and guitar hero. They remind me much more of the ‘jeux de societé’ (or duly called board games in english) we used to play as a family. Although you can play alone (yes, sadly, I have been known to play scrabble alone pre-pc days!), the fun comes from playing in a group. The game is designed for single player, or competition mode (with 2 mats), but cooperative play is possible if you ignore the design of ‘game mode’.

Along with the game mode, there is a stellar master mode, this allows you to unlock different avatars (for spectators to watch, since the player has little time to look at anything but the scrolling arrows), and new songs to dance to. Each ‘level’ is designed as a planet, and the points are based on cumulative dance sessions in packets of three.

After a few weeks of playing on beginner mode, tonight we decided to play on “basic” (the second of 4 levels – beginner, basic, difficult & expert), figuring we were getting the hang of the movement and the pace of the game. After a few miserable failures, and one physical break down, where a friend, after struggling with the speeding arrows passing her by, chose to simply lay down on the dance mat and roll around the arrows hoping one or two would hit.

So many ways to “play” this game outside of the proposed design. My daughter and said friend played 4 feet 1 dance mat, each person choosing 2 arrows that they would control – sadly, even in all of the chaos, their score was higher than mine was …

Although many of the questions I am thinking are elementary in terms of game studies, I am curious as to how these games (ddr, guitar hero, wii et. al) fit into the ‘social’ study of games. In terms of studying player interaction in physical spaces via the technology they are playing in and with, do these games pose questions different than socially dependent games like mmo’s?

For now, I will try not to think too much and concentrate on the flurry of arrows that will surely pass by in my dreams.

Yet another reason to have done my PhD in Copenhagen, we need more courses like this around here!

Finally back from being on holiday, a nice visit with my family always rejuvenates me. But now it is time to start another year, make a new to-do list for the next 4 months and work towards crossing things off. Finish my thesis, finish phd applications, and blog more are the top three things that are crying for a big black line to be blasted right through them.

Resolutions, as cliché as they may be, are as follows: return to the gym from a 2 year hiatus, eat better (which is directly linked to the first one) spend more time with my family, as my daughter’s turn 11 and 15 this year, I am realizing that they will not be home for a whole lot longer. And finally, to dedicate myself to my work (less procrastination). At least I dont have to give up smoking!

Here’s to a new year!

There are many ways to wish those we know a happy holiday. But I must be honest and say that I could not compose a holiday wish post any better than what I read here. So, click, read and enjoy the time we have together.

After reading this news story of a Quebec man who has received a mechanical heart and therefore no longer has a pulse or a measurable blood pressure. In some ways, this drives at the question of what does it mean to be human. I am both fascinated and boggled.

(*more on this after I have my coffee)

Back to the holidays, as I prepare for my 8th annual (wow!) holiday party this weekend, I have been busy in the kitchen, whipping up a feast of holiday treats – my mother was always adamant about her ‘holiday baking’ – a very fond childhood memory indeed. Since most of my time during the year is spent between my children, school, my work (paid bits) and other life duties, it is feels like a luxury to be able to spend the day (or days as it has been over the last week) in the kitchen making these, these, these, these, and these for those who don’t have a sweet tooth (i cannot forget my mother’s pecan banana bread too!).

As I procrastinate the actual writing process of my thesis, I have found myself reading something new – something I was told I was not allowed to do until my thesis was completed. But I could not help myself. The book has been sitting on my shelf for over 6 months (i cannot believe that I took this book out of the library in March, and not one person has recalled it on me!). Nonetheless, in order to prep my brain for thinking deeper than holiday recipes and new decor ideas for my new house, I cracked open the pages and started reading. I am not sure how helpful it will be for THIS thesis (good thing I have one more left!), but the ideas in it move me. The idea that our longing for a technological state of being has been with us much longer than today’s virtual revolution gives credit – as Ihde puts it, techno-fantasies has been a part of human culture since at least the thirteenth century with Francis Bacon.

In this book, Ihde, who is a ‘phenomenological materialist’ , seeks to understand the current state of the relationship between the body and technology. The impacts of ideas (perhaps even moreso than actual occurences) of virtual reality, embodiement and the internet.

Although I am not done the book, it is taking me in a direction that I have been craving for. A desire to think about games, technology and the self on a relative philosophical level … on a level that has no answers, but only digs up more questions about who we are as a culture and society, what drives us and how long it has been so much the same even though it seems like things are changing at light speed.

If anyone has balked at the price of the next gen console games, and all the add ons that come with it – you might want to think about starting a small savings fund for other, unforseen expenses that come with your new console. Check out this site for potential Wii hazaards.