2.4 Play with me!: Having fun with media

Its topic 2.4 and we are looking at online games and the impact they have on new media and society. First yp in an article on adult gaming and the definition of a game. According to Thornham (2009) there are many things adults do to legitimise their gaming habits. As discussed on the blackboard, it is common for a child to "play a game"  and not specifically computer games. Therefore when an adult indulges in a bit of game play, they struggle to justify why they do so. As a gamer, I found it entertaining the way in which Thornham (2009) discussed the various excuses adults come up with as to why they own a gaming console - particularly because I recently found myself justifying the same thing by saying that I was happy to get a PS3 because you can watch movie and surf the internet on them too. Really, I just want to play some rad games and those added benefits are just  bonus! I personally think that gaming has a certain stigma to it due to the social history of gaming making gamers out to be work-shy and "nerdy". The matter of fact is, that in this day and age, gaming is so entertaining, interactive and popular it shouldn't just be restricted to kids and teenagers and adult gamers should be able to do so passionately and freely.
 

 I love all types of games - sporting, role playing games and first person shooter games. I find its a great outlet when you need to focus your attention onto something and while not everybody views gaming as something positive, I feel gaming enables me to tweak my problem solving skills and helps keep up with co-ordination. Your not going to get any physical exercise from it (Wii not included) but you will get to exercise your brain and that suits me. I chose to play Plant vs Zombies from the suggested games from the tutor, but I only allowed about 20 minutes in my schedule to try it out. I must play it more, and more, and more...I do like stumbling across a good online game, one of which I found during Net102 in the last study period called Sissy's Magical Ponycorns, which was created by a 5 year old...pretty cool stuff and it just highlight where gaming is going. If a 5 year old can do it, surely so can you?



Remediation is due soon, I have stuck with my idea of turning a music video into a web comic and pretty much completed it. I do wish I had have had more time to possibly do a game but I guess it would have been a very difficult feat if I had chosen that.

Thornham, H (2009) Claiming a Stake in the Videogame. Convergence: The international Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 15(2), 141-159