Do Games Count?

Do games count? Yes

To be studied critically and scholarly? I'm on the fence.

Let me explain.


I grew up with two brothers and even before their balls dropped and their voices changed we had video games in every room. They had gameboys of every kind and an Atari. We eventually were given a PS2 which then was traded for a PS3, and now we own a PS4 as well. Gaming is important to my brothers and as a child I grew up around them yelling and cursing at the screen or even at each other. I always looked at video games with disgust because I had always believed that they always revolved around killing someone. They played games for hours.

And now that I look back at the games they played I can see that the world of gaming has become much more oriented around killing other people. For some reason I have this terrible memory of my brothers playing some kind of "Pokemon" game, or a "Tomb Raider" game. Neither of which are terribly gory. So why did I always think that they were killing people?

Terrible Graphics, good story. 

I think it was the yelling. Yes it was this. The immersion.
They became so connected to the game that they physically became angry when they lost and would throw things, or they would fight over cheating. I guess I never bothered to look at the games that they played or I would have been confused at seeing a big chested lady in small clothing fighting mummies or a small yellow mouse cat throwing electricity at other small cute creatures.
Nonetheless, I have a hard time believing video games should be studied scholarly. Only because of that memory do I feel conflicted. But throughout this strange adventure of learning about the Digital Humanities I look at the question "do games count?" and find myself in the middle. Somewhere I did not expect to find myself. When I think about the one and only video game that I had played and completed to the end, with my new knowledge of DH, I see how this game could be counted as interactive fiction which would merit it worthy of being studied scholarly and/or critically.

Favorite Game of all time!

It seems strange to think about "Kingdom Hearts" being a piece of electronic literature, even interactive fiction, but with the views of DH how can I not see it that way?

The game revolves around a kid named Sora. He has a few friends named Kairi and Riku. Riku and Sora both love Kairi and one day darkness swallows up their world. Kairi vanishes and Riku, yes you called it, becomes evil. Sora ends up going on this quest to save all of the other worlds, which happen

So many overlapping characters from other disney games. Magnificent.

to be inhabited by all of your favorite disney characters, with Donald Duck and Goofy. Sora wields the Keyblade and it turns out that all of the bad guys from the disney movies are in this together. Play the game to figure out what happens in the end.

My point, I guess after all of my pointless babbling, is that I suppose games do count. Considering the amount of work that is put into creating them matches the amount of work put into movies and maybe even literature, games should be studied the same way the others are. In the end it is another form of entertainment right? So why are they not treated with the same respect?

Games do count.

I just changed my own mind (blown).

A Good Life: Overcast (Life of a UPJ student)

Threatening clouds almost continually overshadow the forgotten blue skies. Rain never fails in Johnstown.

Rain-boots are a must, but they have been on the list of things to buy for school since freshman year 2011. I have gone to shoe stores with intentions of picking up a shitty pair of rainboots to get me through the years of trudging around campus in hurricane conditions and in fact I work in one, but I remain bootless. The idea of committing myself to one pair of boots to wear on the massive amount of “rainy” days in Johnstown seems overwhelming. That means wearing the same shitty pair of rainboots almost everyday. Yes, I have contemplated buying a highly recommended pair of rain boots, but that would cost more than I can afford. And lets be honest, all extra money is forwarded straight to food. And not just the highly coveted ramen noodle soup or mac and cheese, but the really good shit; Sheetz.  

Many rainy days are spent plotting ways to skip class so me and a few friends can run fast through the rain, cutting through Biddle, past the crying flag on the flagpole, jumping over benches, zipping through Krebs, and ultimately making our way to Eastyabumfuck. 

 

The commuter parking lot. 

Why we risked our lives so many times to simply eat the delicious food of sheetz is beyond me. We never really risk our lives. It just seemed so scandalous to be skipping class. We have learned that professors don’t really give a shit if we miss, but it’s our loss for not going to class and possibly missing a quiz or something important. Also, it seems rather pointless to not actually attend something you pay so much for. 

The parking lots are laughable, it's nonsensical that we have to pay even more money to acquire a parking pass (not an actual spot, it's very limited) is even more comical. Many mornings are spent cursing those damn freshman, or screaming profanities at no one in particular just because I drove around every parking lot and end up having to park in the middle of no where just to walk a mile to class anyway. That empties half my tank of gas, because I ended up circling through the Biddle parking lot TEN times, and I even waited for a guy to pull out of a spot, but refused. When he did eventually pull out I had already moved on, circling the lot another time, when another car had beat me to the spot. The profanities fly.

Then there are the always exciting parking tickets that all students fear, but if they are smart they just secretly lose them or forget about them. Maybe even make their parents pay for them. I never register for a parking pass. I find myself to be one of those rebel kids, the ones that professors secretly hate when they see that the car parked in their spot (I never park in the teacher lot) has no pass hanging from the mirror. There is always a feeling of fear when I park my car because I know that there is a possibility that I could receive another $110 parking ticket, but then I come across those two shits that I don't give and keep on parking with no pass. I like to live on the edge.

These are a few of the things that I will take with me as I leave UPJ. The spring 2015 semester is to be my last one at good old UPJ and I dream of the moment where I will no longer trudge through torrents of never ending rain, or fight for parking as if my very own life depended on it. That moment will be a sweet one of realization that my college days are done (for now) and that I may finally be an adult (as if that's exciting). Which in the real world means a life in debt (Yay, college loan payments)The excitement is almost too much for me too handle. These last few months will go by quickly, but they won't be taken for granted (savoring every last day without monthly bills). 

UPJ you have sucked me of everything I am, (financially) but you have repaid me with ridiculous parking tickets, constant rain, a decent education and (yes, there will always be some sap) some really classy, grade A, bitchen' besties that will always be willing to make a sheetz a run with me. Cheers 

to that. 

 

(Where's the beer?)

 

Google Maps essay: The People You Meet

This Google Maps essay has been created to introduce a few important people in my life. They may not be people that I will ever see again, but I felt like I had to recognize their existence in some way. This essay takes you through five years of mission work. Four of which took place in Westmoreland, TN. You will meet a few key characters as well as learn a few embarrassing stories about myself. I chose to write about these trips because I knew they had come to an end and I wanted to cap it off somehow. I hope those who read it will enjoy it and maybe even laugh a little!

The People You Meet