Maybe we don't want accidental pregnancy???!!!!!

I'm going to write this blog as I read the article because it's hilarious.  Aren't we trying to keep people from overpopulating?  This author really seems to care about people fucking and/or bullshitting together an essay with as many descriptive words as possible.  Maybe that's just my own personal problem with reading?  People try way too hard to make something long out of a small idea just o make money or seem cool.  Like look at the introduction.

"If you have been around a little while, you come to realize that the
formation of new humans occurs generally through sexual congress between a
human male and a human female"

This person literally described sex as if we didn't know it and in a bizarre manner.  Is the author trying to be artistic or does he really think we don't know how sex happens?

He states that "Pornography is an old art form" and says that phone sex started to exist, then cyber sex, now virtual reality sex.  I can't even imagine pornography becoming extinct.  If anything it is a supplement to most masturbation session and/or leads to the desire of real sex or virtual reality sex.  All of these forms of pleasure aren't going to limit our desire to ave sex with real people.  if anything it is stimulating us to make relationships in order to get the real thing.  I'm sure some people would prefer robot sex but those people are probably not fit to be fathers anyways.

Oh this part was hilarious

"Things move rapidly. Consider the technology of remote erotic stimulation
known as teledildonics (tele (Greek τηλε- "afar") + dildo (English, obscure origin,
an artificial penis used for female gratification) + ics (Greek -όs "pertaining to")."

By reading the text that follows this highly descriptive definition of "teledildonics" I still didn't figure out what it was.  Let's look it up on google...Oh wait my boyfriend knows.

"lol
i read about teledildonics a few years ago
is it a real thing?the book isnt really telling me what it is
its like
a man puts a stroker thing on
the chick gets a dildo thing
what the man does triggers the woman to feel it and vice versa
i think it started with porn movies
like interactive ones that youd feel on the stroker"

He goes on to write:

"The technology seems to be emerging under a rule of anything and 
everything but that; it is providing all kinds of opportunities for orgasm, none 
of which will produce children."

My response is just "DUH".  Sex is pleasurable, that's why people do it.  Orgasm is a highly satisfying thing no matter what anyone says so there may as well be a market for it.  The people that want children will have children.  OBVIOUSLY.  If they don't want children, then thank the lord that we have contraceptives.  I'm pretty sure teledildonics or whatever will just reduce the amount of abortions, horrible parents, and accidental pregnancy.  If anything this author is promoting accidental pregnancy.

"A woman have sex in any way that does not deposit the man’s semen in the 

woman’s vaginal channel, children will not result from that sex."

Tell me something no one knows. PLEASE.

An a similar note here is an experiment made with the Oculus Rift where people see what it's like to be in each others bodies
http://www.wired.com/design/2014/02/crazy-oculus-rift-experiment-lets-men-women-swap-bodies

Middle ground Narratives

The start of the second half of the reading spoke about agency and transformation.  Transformation related to how many paths a person can take and giving the person a new experience each time.  But agency needs to take place, that is a sense of urgency (to me) that makes the player choose a path even though they could potentially choose a random path.  We talk a lot about Skyrim in class and even this topic relates to it.  Although it's up to the player to make their own story for the majority of the time, having an actual story line/story quest helps drive the player to move in a semi linear path.  I personally get too caught up in other activities though.  Players often times want to fee like they are progressing, so having agency is very important.

The rest of the reading discussed how the player experiences narrative throughout the game.  Sometimes there are cutscenes, with a lot of storytelling, and there are others where there is only text and clues around you that you can explore.  Somewhat like Gone Home.  It's up to you to figure out the story.  I personally like that idea, because some people might not be interested in so much storytelling.  For example, in MMORPGs, some players are there for the community and pvp aspects for the game, whereas there are a large group of players that are interested in the lore and immersion.  It's nice to have a good in between.

Narrative vs. Story

This week's reading discussed the approaches and problems involved in interactive media's storytelling and narrative.
The author started us off with computer gaming.  He mentioned that with advanced technology, cinematic camera angles and visual provide narrative but still don't provide a story.  The cinematography and visuals can aid in narrating an pre-made story though, like Star Wars.  But mainly story telling is a linear plot with progression, not about the player's exploration.
A middle ground to this is an emergent narrative.  Those provide a framework that players or groups can build off of and make their own narratives.  One example was The Sims because users could create and share their own photos in the form of photo albums.
Interactive literature is also something that was looked at in this essay.  This includes writing where there are multiple points of view, paths can be chosen by the reader, and/or hyper linking text.  I honestly don't even know what any of this is.  I'm assuming an example is some sort of online book that lets you pick your own path via links?  Sort of like an online "choose your adventure" book.
Later, the author discusses dramas and how they relate to game play.  He used this chart

Dramatic narratives            Literary narratives
Enactment                         Description
Intensification                    Extensification
Unity of Action                  Episodic Structure

This compares dramas to literature.  This reflects the story vs. narrative argument.  Dramas relate to non story driven games where the player can make their own path.  Literature is related to story driven games, aka linear plots.
Lastly the author talks about Murray's three aesthetic categories for the analysis of interactive
story experiences: immersion, agency, and transformation.  Immersion is how much the player involves themselves in the game.  Where things in the game deviate from real life but still feel real.  Agency is the feeling of empowerment that comes from being able to take actions in the world whose effects relate to the player's intention.  Transformation refers to how well the player becomes the character they are playing.

Binary Oppositions in Gone Home

A1. Explore some of the binary oppositions presented in the game. What symbols or other content in the game represent each? Examples: public / private (secret). Male / female. Light / dark. Exotic / domestic. Are these oppositions organized hierarchically (i.e. is one side presented as superior)? Do any of these relationships between oppositions evolve over the course of the game? How do these relationships adhere to or deconstruct prevalent cultural ideologies or stereotypes?

The story and the setting of the game didn't FEEL like a very typical boy or girl game, but after learning about boy and girl space more, Gone Home seems more like a girl game.  The idea of snooping and learning about a girl's life problem fits the criteria.  Having the setting in a scary, dark house in a thunderstorm with stories about ghost hunting made it feel slightly boyish.  There was a fair enough balance to attract either genders though.

As far as oppositions, there is the common light vs dark.  The house is mostly dark until you turn on the lights.  I would say dark is prominent, and that play a role in how cautious the player is about entering an observing objects in the rooms.  Another would be between male and female.  The house was fairly gender neutral besides Sam's room, which contrasted because it was filled with boy things like a pirate flag, videogames (and a note with combo attacks from street fighter? lol), old locker, etc.  But the game was more about Katie, so that overwhelmed any boy like oppositions.   And the last would be comforting vs scary.  There are many comforting home objects around the house: The typical key underneath a statue, family portraits, typical furniture, and handwritten notes which made the house feel realistic.  On the other hand were creepy dark passageways, lights turned off, and tvs left on.  I was constantly comforted by Katie's voice and the surroundings at one moment, then terrified the next.  Overall the game had a prominent creepy feeling to it.