[GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]

Anything to do with games at all.
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A.I.
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Post[GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]
by A.I. » Thu Aug 21, 2008 2:31 am

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Anonymous wrote:Global Gaming

The great cultural schism of the modern world lies between East and West. Since the collapse of the Roman Empire in 44BC, the world has seen no end of progression in these respective regions, branching off in unfathomably different ways. As we progress into an age where Wikinomics and Peer to Peer Sharing are redefining our global community, East and West are being pushed closer together than they’ve been in two millennia. In some fields, this has led to fascination with a different culture and social ethos, where as other practices leave us dumb founded and ethically abhorred.

Many would argue, that to an extent, the art form of video games has the capacity to bridge this social gap, and allows our respective cultures to have real insight into a radically different world. Successful video games must be designed with global appeal in mind, and in recent times we have seen this ethnological transition as one that has proved hard to master for most developers.

The sociological and anthropological causes of this gap are altogether too multifarious to consider adequately here – ranging from heritage through to political tolerance, it is evident there are an infinite number of variables to be considered by developers. Reaching the equilibrium where a game has global appeal is what these social innovators strive for.

Global releases are an expected norm, and a game that does not appeal in both regions is often labeled a ‘failure’. In style and brand obsessed Japan, the latest console will be sold as a must have accessory and in thrifty Europe, the extra features a machine offers will be the primary selling feature. In this generation, we have seen a more global demand for increasingly similar qualities. Now, games and machines have to meet world criteria, cranking the pressure up on designers more than ever.

Video games evolved into big business around the same time as the World Wide Web did. The impacts of this cannot be under estimated; players were able to correspond across the globe about a common interest, they developed their own stereotype and created their own totem figures of worship. Now, online play is an integral part of the current batch of video games on the market, and the thrill of being able to play with anyone in the world is a selling point highlighted by every company.

Nintendogs is perhaps the great success story of this generation. The idea of carrying a pet in your pocket had been a proven success in both markets, with Tamagochi’s and Pokémon being incredibly lucrative crazes. However, the incredible foresight of Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto in creating Nintendogs, was unfathomable. It launched the DS’s sales on a trip to the stratosphere in Japan, which has only now started to slow down. Eclipsing it’s rival, the Sony PSP, the DS has now even outsold the PlayStation 2 system. This phenomenon was mirrored across the waters, and the simple philosophy of cuteness and universal appeal unleashed the beast that we now refer to as ‘casual gaming’, setting off a chain reaction that has been the centrifugal marketing point for any system on the market, with titles such as Guitar Hero, Sing Star, Buzz and Wii Sports being the great modern system sellers.

Casual gaming is the love child of East and West co-operation. It is here to stay and is a financial steamroller. Generally, casual games are easier to create and thus cheaper to produce. They always offer incredibly collectable or competitive elements and have a simple aesthetic charm. By reverting to base game play styles and graphical output, games have once again become as accessible as they were in the first days of arcades.

Videogames now need to be a cultural inebriate – they offer the possibility of financial viability for large PLC’s as well as the small time developer. Anyone who can engineer the right balance between East and West, casual and hard core and fun and accessible has a memorable place in this social unification.


All comments and feedback welcome. Thank you.

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Pilch
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PostRe: [GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]
by Pilch » Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:02 am

I like it. Some interesting points are raised and a nice conclusion is reached, which is often a difficult thing to do, as I've found myself. If I'm going to nitpick, there are a couple of places where the article gets a bit bogged down in fancy language, such as:

The sociological and anthropological causes of this gap are altogether too multifarious to consider adequately here...


Also, there are two tiny little grammatical errors that I noticed.

Tamagochi’s


No apostrophe required.

Eclipsing it’s rival...


Again, no apostrophe required.

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TS2Master
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PostRe: [GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]
by TS2Master » Fri Aug 29, 2008 2:02 pm

I like this, we can be nitpicky!

Anonymous wrote:...the capacity to bridge this social gap, and allows our respective cultures to have real insight into a radically different world.


This should be allow or you are changing tense or perspective or something (can't remember the proper term).


I am also doubting the semantic legality of the author's use of the word "centrifugal", but I cannot be sure.

Overall, extremely impressive. The author appears to know how to write well constructed and poignant articles. However, I think the whole package would actually be improved by a slight drop in the quality of language used, as Pilch pointed out. At times it seems it is just there to astound and impress rather than to add to the meaning and point of the paragraph.

8/10 Trés Bon!

I am Weasel.
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Eighthours
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PostRe: [GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]
by Eighthours » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:01 pm

It's a bit try-hard in places, with needlessly flowery language - like someone's swallowed a thesaurus. I assume that this is not the author's "natural" writing style:

Eclipsing it’s rival, the Sony PSP,


This kind of basic error (you can't typo an apostrophe into that word) is usually a dead giveaway.

The points that the article is making are valid, though, and it's a good read. The argument's well thought out. But rather than enhance it, the use of language actually takes away from it - at least in my opinion.

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Hero of Canton
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PostRe: [GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]
by Hero of Canton » Wed Sep 10, 2008 3:26 pm

Yep, definitely trying too hard. This bit in particular:

The sociological and anthropological causes of this gap are altogether too multifarious to consider adequately here


That being the case, there's absolutely no need for that sentence to be present, then! Other than to show off an extensive vocabulary (or what an excellent thesaurus the author possesses).

Also: repetition of 'unfathomable'.

Like Eighthours, I feel that some good points are swamped by the language a little bit. More clarity would definitely benefit what's otherwise a fairly interesting piece.

DML wrote:F'NARR!
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Kinetic
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PostRe: [GRWC8] Global Gaming [Article]
by Kinetic » Thu Sep 11, 2008 1:32 pm

I don't think there's much I can add above and beyond what HOC and Eight said. A good piece, somewhat spoiled (as often tends to happen in these competitions) by the author trying to hard to up the register of the piece.


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