Group Appraisal:
For our first act on this project we had to come up with an idea of what our project would entail. Firstly Daniel Whittaker came up with an idea of creating a question related interactive piece, which would then determine a piece of art work done by someone who is based in the Ferens Art Gallery. After considering this idea as a group we felt that this would be a bit too psychological for what we needed and would take a lot longer than the time limit given to us. Chris Dunn then came up with the idea of having a face changing mechanism. This would consist of a set of portrait images and then the user would be able to change such things as lips, eyes, ears, hair and nose. After considering this idea we felt that this had already been done by a number of different people so we wanted something that had a bit of individuality. In the end we decided to go with Andrew Howard's idea of creating a portrait photograph which would then be drawn on with a two minute time limit.
As a group we then decided which areas we would all go into. Myself, Andrew Howard and Chris Dunn were given the task of putting together the flash side of the project, Daniel Farrell and Daniel Whittaker took up the website side of the project. We based this upon our general knowledge as we some of us had stronger points within website production and the other being flash production.
We felt that Andrew Howard had the best knowledge of flash which was vital in the production of it as he created the functions within the web cam, keyboard, colour pallette and image fader. This was vital as Andrew created a big part of the flash piece that was finally produced. My part in this was creating the paint tool which was used in the final design, the keyboard but after finding out it didn't work once rotated we had to use Andrew's keyboard and I also came up with some of the colours which we would use for the colour pallette. Chris Dunn came up with the initial design and layout of what the full project would look like with storyboards. Then Chris came up with how the installation piece would be displayed and also the name Quick Draw and the logo which was changed at a later date. Daniel Whittaker and Daniel Farrell both had involvement in the design and php side of the Quick Draw website.
Upon completion of this task we felt that the level of interaction was to a high standard as it involved the user a lot. We gave the user the enjoyment of taking a photo followed by drawing all over it which we felt would be enjoyable from any age ranging from youngsters to elderly people.
When showing the initial idea for our project to Adele Howitt she was very impressed and seemed to really like our idea which I feel gave us a lot of confidence and helped us have more motivation to get this complete to the best of our ability and in hope that it would be put in the Ferens Art Gallery.
I feel as a group we could of interacted a bit more as sometimes we tended to split off into our own individual groups but on the whole I feel that the overall outcome of this was to a good standard but in future I would prefer more interaction.
Conclusion:
Overall I felt that this project went very well as the flash interactive piece is very visually pleasing and easy to use. The website looks very nicely designed as well so all in all the project has been a success in my opinion.
Thursday 6 January 2011
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Marketing for the Web
Intro:
This blog will show all of my work from my Studio Eleven website project. It will go through the design ideas, search engine optimization, PHP, user testing, improvements and a conclusion. Also my website has a brief bit of information, follow the link of www.designdave.co.uk/marketing.html
Research:
I viewed a lot of art gallery websites but the main two which really had an impact were, vernissage.co.uk and blueshiftgallery.com. These show art in a simple form as it straight to the point and doesn't confuse the user. My personal favourite was Vernissage as they had everything that my gallery website needed to have, such as artists, exhibition artists, gallery, about etc. This gave me a good platform of where to start and helped when thinking of how to layout my work with information, photographs etc.
Below is my final draft design:
Getting on a search engine:
The main consideration when wanting your website on a search engine can be a lot of key things. This can be whether your site has been coded in the correct manner, if the design looks feasable enough to be on the internet as ametuers tend to be creating websites a lot more, whether the website has the right amount of content on it, keywords which help the search engine detect what your website entails and the description of your site. Registering your website on a search engine can also help but isn't always required.
Visitor Overview:
This tells you how much your website has been viewed over the last month. When clicked upon for further information it tells you all the information required i.e. unique views, page views, average time on site, which browser the site was viewed in, connection etc.
Traffic Sources:
This code lets search engines know I do not wish to have my site shown on their listed search engine.
User-agent: *
Disallow: /
* = Select all search engines
/ = Disallows access to the site
This code lets search know I wish to have my site shown on their listed search engine.
User-agent: *
Allow: /
* = Select all search engines
/ = Allow access to the site
User Testing:
For my user testing I asked three people questions about my website, in total I asked four questions.
Is the website straight to the point?
Gary Heads: Yes I could tell that it was art based due to the images on the homepage.
Steph Greaken: Yeah the website had the right information for a gallery.
Steve Coope: Yes the text told me all that I needed to know and the images were appealing.
Is the website easy to navigate through?
Gary Heads: Yes the only problem was that the blog only had a link from the homepage.
Steph Greaken: Yeah all the links work.
Steve Coope: Yes everything is highlighted well and you know it is link.
Are the pages consistent throughout?
Gary Heads: Every page is exactly the same apart from the Info page.
Steph Greaken: Yes apart from the info page as other pages seem to have paragraphs and this doesn't.
Steve Coope: Only the info page isn't the same.
This blog will show all of my work from my Studio Eleven website project. It will go through the design ideas, search engine optimization, PHP, user testing, improvements and a conclusion. Also my website has a brief bit of information, follow the link of www.designdave.co.uk/marketing.html
Target Audience:
The target audience for this project in my opinion would be artists who are local to Studio Eleven as they tend to showcase a lot of work from artists who are around the Yorkshire area. I would also think it would be for anyone who has an interest in the redevelopment of the Fruit Market as this displays a certain aspect of what the area is trying to accomplish. Art lovers would also have a big input into the target audience as Studio Eleven gives the chance to arists who may not be known in the art world as of yet and hope to do so by showcasing work at the studio.
The target audience for this project in my opinion would be artists who are local to Studio Eleven as they tend to showcase a lot of work from artists who are around the Yorkshire area. I would also think it would be for anyone who has an interest in the redevelopment of the Fruit Market as this displays a certain aspect of what the area is trying to accomplish. Art lovers would also have a big input into the target audience as Studio Eleven gives the chance to arists who may not be known in the art world as of yet and hope to do so by showcasing work at the studio.
Research:
I viewed a lot of art gallery websites but the main two which really had an impact were, vernissage.co.uk and blueshiftgallery.com. These show art in a simple form as it straight to the point and doesn't confuse the user. My personal favourite was Vernissage as they had everything that my gallery website needed to have, such as artists, exhibition artists, gallery, about etc. This gave me a good platform of where to start and helped when thinking of how to layout my work with information, photographs etc.
Draft Ideas:
When planning my designs for my website I already had an idea which I was stuck on as soon as I thought of it. The idea was to have a fairly basic looking website which would then draw attention to the art work displayed. I was planning on making the image all black and white but then on the main subject having that with a normal colour but edited to make it a lot more eye-catching than the original. After considering this idea I decided that this would make the website look a bit dull, as the website would have a basic look to it so adding to that wouldn't really appeal in my opinion.
When planning my designs for my website I already had an idea which I was stuck on as soon as I thought of it. The idea was to have a fairly basic looking website which would then draw attention to the art work displayed. I was planning on making the image all black and white but then on the main subject having that with a normal colour but edited to make it a lot more eye-catching than the original. After considering this idea I decided that this would make the website look a bit dull, as the website would have a basic look to it so adding to that wouldn't really appeal in my opinion.
Final Design:
For my final design I didn't really change anything from my draft which I feel had the right amount of colour followed by content. This was evident as I displayed a jquery slider in the middle of my website so as soon as the viewer opened the website they would see art work from the artists based at Studio Eleven, which I feel was very important in getting the message across that it was an art gallery website. I felt that the homepage had to have as much information as possible but also displaying a good use of design and not putting too much within the site on first viewing. With this in mind I used a four column layout on the homepage as I felt I could display information about the gallery, exhibitions, artists and a blog. This would then have a link to the page saying 'view info page for more' as an example, this would open the larger page which would display more information relating to the selected subject. The website consisted of a homepage, info page, artists/gallery artists page, gallery, workshops, exhibitions and contact. The one page that didn't have a link via the main navigation was the blog as I felt this was relevant on the homepage to only have a link in the selected text container as it isn't always a key area for the galleries target audience. The pages within this site all explain themselves just by viewing the titles which I felt would be key for the use of the website as I wanted it to be very easy to navigate through and not complicate the user in any way.
Search Engine Optimization:
SEO is a vital part of this project as we have to show evidence that we understand SEO and marketing. For my SEO I used Google Analytics which gives you statistics of where your website has been viewed, whether they are from search engines, direct traffic etc, the bounce rate, which pages have been viewed on your site, average time on the site and many other tools.
SEO is a vital part of this project as we have to show evidence that we understand SEO and marketing. For my SEO I used Google Analytics which gives you statistics of where your website has been viewed, whether they are from search engines, direct traffic etc, the bounce rate, which pages have been viewed on your site, average time on the site and many other tools.
Getting on a search engine:
The main consideration when wanting your website on a search engine can be a lot of key things. This can be whether your site has been coded in the correct manner, if the design looks feasable enough to be on the internet as ametuers tend to be creating websites a lot more, whether the website has the right amount of content on it, keywords which help the search engine detect what your website entails and the description of your site. Registering your website on a search engine can also help but isn't always required.
Visitor Overview:
This tells you how much your website has been viewed over the last month. When clicked upon for further information it tells you all the information required i.e. unique views, page views, average time on site, which browser the site was viewed in, connection etc.
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Traffic Sources:
This tells you how your site has been viewed, whether it is direct traffic, reffering sites and seatch engines. My website had a 62.03% rate for direct traffic, 37.97% rate of reffering sites and 0.00% from search engines. I was unaware as to why my website didn't get on search engine but after being told it can take between a couple of days up to a few weeks so this is the only reason why I would of thought my website didn't appear on search engine.
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Keywords and Description:
This helps Google read the website and what it has within it. Say for instance if the viewer was to type studio eleven hull this would then look for the keywords within the site and if they were to be found it would then show up. The description is also what comes up on search engine under the link to the site. This can define whether the viewer has found the website they are looking for as it gives a brief description of what the site is about.
Robot.txt File:
This can be added to a website to either tell search engine that you would like them to place your website on search engine or not to place it on search engine. The robot.txt file is placed within a website as a .txt file which isn't viewed visually within the website but is uploaded within the public_html/ folder.
This code lets search engines know I do not wish to have my site shown on their listed search engine.
User-agent: *
Disallow: /
* = Select all search engines
/ = Disallows access to the site
This code lets search know I wish to have my site shown on their listed search engine.
User-agent: *
Allow: /
* = Select all search engines
/ = Allow access to the site
Social Media:
For my website I used social media such as Tumblr and Twitter. I felt that these were two relevant websites which an arty sort of background would use. I feel that Twitter is fast becoming the main source for social media within design based work and I feel that this was a big area when promoting my website on Twitter. I made an account under the name of elevengalleryDJ as this was my own individual one due to the DJ initial at the end. When tweeting I would add a # tag into my tweet with something like #art #artist #gallery. This would mean anyone who wants to detect art, artist or gallery would see my tweet which would then appear with my link to my website. This I feel helped me get a few more visits to my website. I also linked my Tumblr account so when I blogged it would also appear as a tweet with a link to the Tumblr blog. I didn't use Facebook in my website as I felt this didn't have any real relevance to the target audience. In my opinion Facebook is a website that has a young target audience and I felt that a lot of youngsters don't have much interest in art unless they have an art sort of mind. I felt that a lot of artists, art galleries etc all used Twitter and not Facebook which is why I didn't use it.
For my website I used social media such as Tumblr and Twitter. I felt that these were two relevant websites which an arty sort of background would use. I feel that Twitter is fast becoming the main source for social media within design based work and I feel that this was a big area when promoting my website on Twitter. I made an account under the name of elevengalleryDJ as this was my own individual one due to the DJ initial at the end. When tweeting I would add a # tag into my tweet with something like #art #artist #gallery. This would mean anyone who wants to detect art, artist or gallery would see my tweet which would then appear with my link to my website. This I feel helped me get a few more visits to my website. I also linked my Tumblr account so when I blogged it would also appear as a tweet with a link to the Tumblr blog. I didn't use Facebook in my website as I felt this didn't have any real relevance to the target audience. In my opinion Facebook is a website that has a young target audience and I felt that a lot of youngsters don't have much interest in art unless they have an art sort of mind. I felt that a lot of artists, art galleries etc all used Twitter and not Facebook which is why I didn't use it.
PHP:
The PHP that I used in this website enables myself to change the 'info' page with the use of registering, logging in and then editing the post. I also have an email mailing list which if required would be able to send a newsletter to every person on the mailing list.
Registering via PHP:
Firstly the user would have to use the page known as register.php on my website. Link here, http://mfweb05.artdesignhull.ac.uk/cms9790/register.php This page enables the viewer to enter their details and then once they have completed this correctly they have the ability to log in.
The register function can also detect if a user has inputted any incorrect information.
Logging in:
This function is fairly simple once the register has been completed. The user needs to follow the link of http://mfweb05.artdesignhull.ac.uk/cms9790/ this will take them back to the original page which has the log in feature. Once this appears all that is required is the username and password that was inputted upon registration and then logging in has been completed.
The log in also has a feautre if the fields are not entered correctly and show this message.
Editing Data:
Once the viewer has logged in, a blank page will appear with just the Eleven logo visible.This confirms that the log in was successful. The next step is to follow the link http://mfweb05.artdesignhull.ac.uk/cms9790/edit.php this then shows an 'update' link and a 'back' link, the user needs to click the 'update' and then they have access to change the content which is on the 'info' page of my Studio Eleven website.
Once the data has been edited the page will show what has been written in the intro box.
Newsletter:
This function lets the viewer sign up to the Studio Eleven newsletter. This sends the viewers name and email address to a mailing list which can then later send information such as a newsletter via email.
User Testing:
For my user testing I asked three people questions about my website, in total I asked four questions.
Is the website straight to the point?
Gary Heads: Yes I could tell that it was art based due to the images on the homepage.
Steph Greaken: Yeah the website had the right information for a gallery.
Steve Coope: Yes the text told me all that I needed to know and the images were appealing.
Is the website easy to navigate through?
Gary Heads: Yes the only problem was that the blog only had a link from the homepage.
Steph Greaken: Yeah all the links work.
Steve Coope: Yes everything is highlighted well and you know it is link.
Are the pages consistent throughout?
Gary Heads: Every page is exactly the same apart from the Info page.
Steph Greaken: Yes apart from the info page as other pages seem to have paragraphs and this doesn't.
Steve Coope: Only the info page isn't the same.
Is it easy to get in touch with Studio Eleven via the Contact page?
Gary Heads: Yes they have email, phone number, map and twitter.
Steph Greaken: Yes a full address is shown with telephone number etc.
Steve Coope: Yes everything is clear and easy to find.
Gary Heads: Yes they have email, phone number, map and twitter.
Steph Greaken: Yes a full address is shown with telephone number etc.
Steve Coope: Yes everything is clear and easy to find.
Improvement:
I feel for my website I would of maybe changed the layout for my php as sometimes it was fairly basic i.e. update page. I also noticed when viewing my gallery at first it would be out of time but after testing it again it seems to have changed and works properly. This I felt was a bit strange as I didn't make any changes to the format of it so I was a bit unaware of what happened with that occurance.
I feel for my website I would of maybe changed the layout for my php as sometimes it was fairly basic i.e. update page. I also noticed when viewing my gallery at first it would be out of time but after testing it again it seems to have changed and works properly. This I felt was a bit strange as I didn't make any changes to the format of it so I was a bit unaware of what happened with that occurance.
Conclusion:
I felt that I made a website which was consistent throughout and met the criteria for the learning outcomes. My website has a Content Management System were the registered user can change the text on the 'Info' page of the website. I also used such things as Google Analytics which showed me statistics of my website. Follow the link below to my blog for more information.
Images of website:
I felt that I made a website which was consistent throughout and met the criteria for the learning outcomes. My website has a Content Management System were the registered user can change the text on the 'Info' page of the website. I also used such things as Google Analytics which showed me statistics of my website. Follow the link below to my blog for more information.
Images of website:
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| Homepage |
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| Info |
 |
| Artists |
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| Gallery Artists |
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| Gallery |
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| Workshops |
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| Exhibitions |
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| Contact |
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| Blog |
Sunday 2 January 2011
CATs Ethics Essay
David Jones
BA (Hons) Web Design
Hull School of Art and Design
The University of Lincoln
January 2011
PPD3 Ethics Essay: Consider the ethical and moral obligations of game design companies. Should game design companies be responsible for the behaviour of players of their games to any extent?
Intro:
For my ethics essay I am going to discuss whether games design companies should be taking responsibility for the behaviour of their players when they play their video game to any extent. I will be looking at the ethical point of view and the moral obligation point of view followed by my own argument as to what my opinion on the matter is.
The three subjects that I will discuss all relate to the behaviour of the person playing a video game, the first being a story from South Korea of a gentleman who played Starcraft for fifty hours straight with a limited amount of breaks and later passed away in hospital from exhaustion, the second subject being the story of six American teenagers who went on a Grand Theft Auto related rampage on members of the public, vandalizing anything that got within their sight and the third and final subject is a story of two young men who burst into an American school murdering thirteen people and wounding twenty-three before committing suicide shortly after.
South Korean man DIES from playing Starcraft
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm
This subject is about a twenty-eight year old Asian man who played the game Starcraft for a total of fifty hours before collapsing and later dyeing in hospital. It was reported that he only had brief breaks from the game for short sleeps and toilet breaks, he also consumed very little food or drink during this time. This incident received mixed views from the nation, as South Korea usually view gamers like sport stars and gaming for hours and hours is really no surprise to people in the country.
Blizzard Entertainment are the company who created the game Starcraft and have had rave reviews for the game itself. This proves the game is very successful with a high user rate which with users who play the game for short periods of time have a much better way of playing the game and have more enjoyment. Players who play the game for a mass amount of time are to blame for bad health, as shown by the incident we are currently discussing.
Games are rather enjoyable when played and can become very addictive but the problem sometimes is that the user doesn't know when too quit. Games can give the user a whole new lease of life. Some people who are that into games, portray themselves as the actual computer character they are playing and often get that involved with thinking it is themselves it makes them become addicted. With games such as The Sims you can create your very own person with hairstyles, clothing, accessories and any other minor details, which users tend to take upon and don't usually portray their real human life self. This I feel makes the user a lot more happy and gives them a comfort that real life doesn't give them and this is a reason some people become fixed on games.
Games are not meant to be played for hour and hours, it is fair to say a lot of people who are big game enthusiasts may play games for a few hours straight a day but even that sort still revert to keeping up with the right health guidelines of taking regular breaks for food/drink and use of the lavatory.
The gamer has to be blamed if they cause any harm to themselves, as games usually always state to take regular breaks. In my opinion I would say that the man who played this game has something wrong with himself as someone who plays a game for fifty hours straight without eating/drinking etc must surely have something psychologically wrong with them. It is of their own responsibility to know when enough is enough and stop playing if they have any problems. Obviously this man from South Korea didn't realise that and this in my opinion is his own doing.
Six American teenagers cause GTA related crime
Source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84706-Police-Blame-Youth-Crime-Spree-On-GTA
This subject is about six American teenagers who ranged from the age of fourteen to eighteen who went on an apparent Grand Theft Auto game related crime. They mugged a man outside a newsagents, robbed a female motorist of her cigarettes and attacked a van with baseball bats and crowbars. The police department that arrested the teenagers had said they felt that the youngsters had an idea of relating their actions to the game GTA.
The police who dealt with this incident claimed that the attacks made by the six teenagers had a link to GTA as the weapons they used related to ones in the game i.e. baseball bat, crowbar etc. This isn't necessarily true as any human who would do a related attack like that of GTA, would surely be a bit more twisted and not just revert to using hand combat weapons. This attack is a disturbing occurrence but a lot of other incidents in the world have been worse. This incident sounds like a set of youngsters who are still learning the ways of life and still have the childish arrogance of a young teen, this can be avoided in later life once they realise they can't go around using harmful weapons on random members of the public. At a young age they wont receive much punishment but in later life if they were to act like this again then stern action would surely be acted upon.
Due to this I would say that GTA doesn't have any real responsibility for the players of its game. It clearly states on every GTA game package that this game should be played by people over the age of eighteen, this I would say makes for strange reason to accuse the teenagers as the people in question were aged between fourteen and eighteen respectively. This shows that security for selling games should be blamed if this incident was fully related to GTA.
In my opinion this incident has to be blamed on the youngsters as they are just genuine hooligans who only had one concern, and that was inflicting any physical pain on innocent members of the public. I feel that GTA shouldn't be blamed even if they got the idea off the game itself. I for one have played this game and I never have a thought in my mind to go out and act like an animal. So these youngsters should take full responsibility as GTA doesn't make you copy the game, the players follows what every their brain tells them so they must be psychologically harmed as games are just reality not real life.
Two men attack BRUTALLY attack school
Source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723
This subject is about two young men called Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who brutally attacked a school in Colorado, America. They murdered thirteen and wounded twenty-three before later committing suicide. Reports say that the two men were influenced by the US army licensed game Doom, which US soldiers play on to learn how to kill effectively. A group which tracks internet hate groups found out that Harris had customized a version of Doom were he and a friend would have extra ammo and weapons, and the other people in the game had no way of defending themselves as they had no protection.
This subject is very disturbing as murdering/injuring people for fun who are defenceless is a very strange occurrence which you don't usually hear that often. Harris and Klebold must surely have planned this sort of action as given in evidence that they created a custom version of Doom themselves which had a very similar sort of story line to the one they committed in the real world.
The game Doom has been largely criticized by a lot of gaming critics for being to violent, having to much gore and satanic imagery. People have said that Doom has a lot of violence which can cause a lot of real life situations, which is the current subject we are discussing. Doom was classed as a game that US army licensed soldiers could play to gain better knowledge of how to kill. If this was the case, surely shouldn't the producers of Doom made the game only allowed for the US army. This comes back to the same argument that every game with violence had an age limit but no one abides by it.
In my opinion Doom is pushing the boundaries in a sense, for a very early released game to be that gory with the graphics that were about in that era is quite shocking but also the gamer should realise not to take these actions into the real world.
Conclusion:
My overall opinion on whether games design companies should be taking responsibility for the behaviour of their players when they play their video game to any extent is that the player of the game should take most the responsibility. I can back this up as I have played such games as GTA, Doom etc. All very violent games but none of these games have ever made me once want to commit to doing anything that has been shown in the game. I have to say that Doom is far too gory in my opinion for a game which came out in the nineties as the graphics then were none to shabby and it was just gory moments throughout the game.
Also relating to the first story of the player who didn't take enough breaks to be classed as healthy is also very silly as I have played Metal Gear Solid 4. This game has a round about time limit of three hours for each area of the game, once you complete this you have to install the next part, but whilst you are waiting it gives you countless reminders to take a break, not sit to close to the screen and also sitting in a well lit room. These guidelines should be followed and this also backs my argument up that gamers should take the responsibility and not the games company as it is of good knowledge that you only play a game for a few hours at a time with regular breaks.
Games companies have some role to play when it comes to making sure their game fits the right guidelines and doesn't cause any harm to the player, but sometimes this doesn't happen as shown by the stories listed above. Most of the time people view games as being an enjoyable experience whether you are alone or with a friend and this is how it should stay, but sometimes people who have psychological problems do not see it that way and this then turns them into thinking the game is reality. Games are for enjoyment but people with difficulties should be notified before playing the game.
Bibliography:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6943835.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84706-Police-Blame-Youth-Crime-Spree-On-GTA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Harris_and_Dylan_Klebold
http://www.konami.co.uk/
http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/index.html
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Video Game)
BA (Hons) Web Design
Hull School of Art and Design
The University of Lincoln
January 2011
PPD3 Ethics Essay: Consider the ethical and moral obligations of game design companies. Should game design companies be responsible for the behaviour of players of their games to any extent?
Intro:
For my ethics essay I am going to discuss whether games design companies should be taking responsibility for the behaviour of their players when they play their video game to any extent. I will be looking at the ethical point of view and the moral obligation point of view followed by my own argument as to what my opinion on the matter is.
The three subjects that I will discuss all relate to the behaviour of the person playing a video game, the first being a story from South Korea of a gentleman who played Starcraft for fifty hours straight with a limited amount of breaks and later passed away in hospital from exhaustion, the second subject being the story of six American teenagers who went on a Grand Theft Auto related rampage on members of the public, vandalizing anything that got within their sight and the third and final subject is a story of two young men who burst into an American school murdering thirteen people and wounding twenty-three before committing suicide shortly after.
South Korean man DIES from playing Starcraft
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm
This subject is about a twenty-eight year old Asian man who played the game Starcraft for a total of fifty hours before collapsing and later dyeing in hospital. It was reported that he only had brief breaks from the game for short sleeps and toilet breaks, he also consumed very little food or drink during this time. This incident received mixed views from the nation, as South Korea usually view gamers like sport stars and gaming for hours and hours is really no surprise to people in the country.
Blizzard Entertainment are the company who created the game Starcraft and have had rave reviews for the game itself. This proves the game is very successful with a high user rate which with users who play the game for short periods of time have a much better way of playing the game and have more enjoyment. Players who play the game for a mass amount of time are to blame for bad health, as shown by the incident we are currently discussing.
Games are rather enjoyable when played and can become very addictive but the problem sometimes is that the user doesn't know when too quit. Games can give the user a whole new lease of life. Some people who are that into games, portray themselves as the actual computer character they are playing and often get that involved with thinking it is themselves it makes them become addicted. With games such as The Sims you can create your very own person with hairstyles, clothing, accessories and any other minor details, which users tend to take upon and don't usually portray their real human life self. This I feel makes the user a lot more happy and gives them a comfort that real life doesn't give them and this is a reason some people become fixed on games.
Games are not meant to be played for hour and hours, it is fair to say a lot of people who are big game enthusiasts may play games for a few hours straight a day but even that sort still revert to keeping up with the right health guidelines of taking regular breaks for food/drink and use of the lavatory.
The gamer has to be blamed if they cause any harm to themselves, as games usually always state to take regular breaks. In my opinion I would say that the man who played this game has something wrong with himself as someone who plays a game for fifty hours straight without eating/drinking etc must surely have something psychologically wrong with them. It is of their own responsibility to know when enough is enough and stop playing if they have any problems. Obviously this man from South Korea didn't realise that and this in my opinion is his own doing.
Six American teenagers cause GTA related crime
Source: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84706-Police-Blame-Youth-Crime-Spree-On-GTA
This subject is about six American teenagers who ranged from the age of fourteen to eighteen who went on an apparent Grand Theft Auto game related crime. They mugged a man outside a newsagents, robbed a female motorist of her cigarettes and attacked a van with baseball bats and crowbars. The police department that arrested the teenagers had said they felt that the youngsters had an idea of relating their actions to the game GTA.
The police who dealt with this incident claimed that the attacks made by the six teenagers had a link to GTA as the weapons they used related to ones in the game i.e. baseball bat, crowbar etc. This isn't necessarily true as any human who would do a related attack like that of GTA, would surely be a bit more twisted and not just revert to using hand combat weapons. This attack is a disturbing occurrence but a lot of other incidents in the world have been worse. This incident sounds like a set of youngsters who are still learning the ways of life and still have the childish arrogance of a young teen, this can be avoided in later life once they realise they can't go around using harmful weapons on random members of the public. At a young age they wont receive much punishment but in later life if they were to act like this again then stern action would surely be acted upon.
Due to this I would say that GTA doesn't have any real responsibility for the players of its game. It clearly states on every GTA game package that this game should be played by people over the age of eighteen, this I would say makes for strange reason to accuse the teenagers as the people in question were aged between fourteen and eighteen respectively. This shows that security for selling games should be blamed if this incident was fully related to GTA.
In my opinion this incident has to be blamed on the youngsters as they are just genuine hooligans who only had one concern, and that was inflicting any physical pain on innocent members of the public. I feel that GTA shouldn't be blamed even if they got the idea off the game itself. I for one have played this game and I never have a thought in my mind to go out and act like an animal. So these youngsters should take full responsibility as GTA doesn't make you copy the game, the players follows what every their brain tells them so they must be psychologically harmed as games are just reality not real life.
Two men attack BRUTALLY attack school
Source: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723
This subject is about two young men called Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who brutally attacked a school in Colorado, America. They murdered thirteen and wounded twenty-three before later committing suicide. Reports say that the two men were influenced by the US army licensed game Doom, which US soldiers play on to learn how to kill effectively. A group which tracks internet hate groups found out that Harris had customized a version of Doom were he and a friend would have extra ammo and weapons, and the other people in the game had no way of defending themselves as they had no protection.
This subject is very disturbing as murdering/injuring people for fun who are defenceless is a very strange occurrence which you don't usually hear that often. Harris and Klebold must surely have planned this sort of action as given in evidence that they created a custom version of Doom themselves which had a very similar sort of story line to the one they committed in the real world.
The game Doom has been largely criticized by a lot of gaming critics for being to violent, having to much gore and satanic imagery. People have said that Doom has a lot of violence which can cause a lot of real life situations, which is the current subject we are discussing. Doom was classed as a game that US army licensed soldiers could play to gain better knowledge of how to kill. If this was the case, surely shouldn't the producers of Doom made the game only allowed for the US army. This comes back to the same argument that every game with violence had an age limit but no one abides by it.
In my opinion Doom is pushing the boundaries in a sense, for a very early released game to be that gory with the graphics that were about in that era is quite shocking but also the gamer should realise not to take these actions into the real world.
Conclusion:
My overall opinion on whether games design companies should be taking responsibility for the behaviour of their players when they play their video game to any extent is that the player of the game should take most the responsibility. I can back this up as I have played such games as GTA, Doom etc. All very violent games but none of these games have ever made me once want to commit to doing anything that has been shown in the game. I have to say that Doom is far too gory in my opinion for a game which came out in the nineties as the graphics then were none to shabby and it was just gory moments throughout the game.
Also relating to the first story of the player who didn't take enough breaks to be classed as healthy is also very silly as I have played Metal Gear Solid 4. This game has a round about time limit of three hours for each area of the game, once you complete this you have to install the next part, but whilst you are waiting it gives you countless reminders to take a break, not sit to close to the screen and also sitting in a well lit room. These guidelines should be followed and this also backs my argument up that gamers should take the responsibility and not the games company as it is of good knowledge that you only play a game for a few hours at a time with regular breaks.
Games companies have some role to play when it comes to making sure their game fits the right guidelines and doesn't cause any harm to the player, but sometimes this doesn't happen as shown by the stories listed above. Most of the time people view games as being an enjoyable experience whether you are alone or with a friend and this is how it should stay, but sometimes people who have psychological problems do not see it that way and this then turns them into thinking the game is reality. Games are for enjoyment but people with difficulties should be notified before playing the game.
Bibliography:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6943835.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/84706-Police-Blame-Youth-Crime-Spree-On-GTA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Harris_and_Dylan_Klebold
http://www.konami.co.uk/
http://www.konami.jp/kojima_pro/index.html
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Video Game)
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