Science of Gaming

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Science of Gaming Learn about the effects of gaming on your brain and learning capacity! Discuss whether or not games like Portal, Bioshock or Fallout are plausible in reality! February 23rd, 2015 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM Mitchell Hall 121 Attend S3 event for a chance to win a FREE Kaplan course, Explora! Membership or $40 to Rude Boy Cookies Like Our Page At: Facebook.com/S3UNM Support, Strength, Success Support, Strength, Success S3 is dedicated to creating a community of support, friendship, and resources for your journey as a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) student at UNM and CNM. @S3UNM Facebook.com/S3UNM [email protected] http://goo.gl/pNs0qB What Is Happening? Main Character: Chell Robot narrator: GLaDOs (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating system) Weapon: the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device Nature of Portals A doorway that connects two distant locations separated by spacetime Instantaneous transport of an object Could be used for teleportation, time portal, other planes of existence Fun with Portals: Perpetual Motion Inconsistencies There must be a power source with a finite level of power Cannot create energy, no free energy Possible solution: energy is generated as objects are moving through the portals What happens if the portal closes when there’s something in it? Object should be bisected or object blocks the portal from closing but are instead ejected from portal Bioshock Trailer http://youtu.be/zHRNLIx6qwY What are Plasmids? Small, circular DNA found in bacteria Different bacterial plasmids do different things Plasmids traits can be passed to different organisms via horizontal gene transfer Can be manipulated for use in genetic research Inconsistencies Sea slugs are not bacteria Why inject them into orphaned girls? Superpowers? Questions/Discussion Time!.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Now We Are All Sons of Bitches
Now We Are All Sons of Bitches MICHAEL BONTATIBUS “Wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes,” the enigmat- ic G-Man murmurs as he leers into the camera, finishing an eerie opening monologue—and so begins Half-Life 2, Valve Corporation’s flagship game. The last time we saw Gordon Freeman, the protagonist, the same rigid and mysterious (though more poorly animated, since the prequel was released six years earlier) G-Man was handing him a job offer after witnessing the former scientist transform into a warrior, bent on escaping from the besieged Black Mesa Research Facility alive. Now, suddenly, Freeman finds himself on a train. No context.1 Is it a prison train? The three other individuals on it wear uniforms like those the inmates wore in Cool Hand Luke. The train soon stops at its destination, and we realize that it is a prison train, in a way—Freeman has arrived at the Orwellian “City 17,” where the ironically named Civil Protection abuses and oppresses, where antagonist Dr. Breen preaches poet- ic propaganda from large monitors hung high above the town. In the years since scientists at the facility accidentally opened a gateway between dimen- sions and allowed a bevy of grotesque creatures to spill into our universe, Earth has been taken over by the Combine, an alien multiplanetary empire. Breen is merely Earth’s administrator—and we realize that the ashes the G- Man spoke of were the ashes of the prelapsarian world. It’s classic dystopia, complete with a Resistance, of which Freeman soon finds himself the “mes- sianic” leader (HL2).
[Show full text]
Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015
Repositorium für die Medienwissenschaft Jennifer deWinter; Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2 2015 https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996 Veröffentlichungsversion / published version Sammelbandbeitrag / collection article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: deWinter, Jennifer; Kocurek, Carly A.: Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in PORTAL and PORTAL 2. In: Thomas Hensel, Britta Neitzel, Rolf F. Nohr (Hg.): »The cake is a lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen des Computerspiels am Beispiel von PORTAL. Münster: LIT 2015, S. 31– 48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25969/mediarep/14996. Erstmalig hier erschienen / Initial publication here: http://nuetzliche-bilder.de/bilder/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Hensel_Neitzel_Nohr_Portal_Onlienausgabe.pdf Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Creative Commons - This document is made available under a creative commons - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Weitergabe unter Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 3.0/ License. For more gleichen Bedingungen 3.0/ Lizenz zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere information see: Auskünfte zu dieser Lizenz finden Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ Jennifer deWinter / Carly A. Kocurek Chell Game: Representation, Identification, and Racial Ambiguity in ›Portal‹ and ›Portal 2‹ Chell stands in a corner facing a portal, then takes aim at the adjacent wall with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Between the two portals, one ringed in blue, one ringed in orange, Chell is revealed, reflected in both. And, so, we, the player, see Chell. She is a young woman with a ponytail, wearing an orange jumpsuit pulled down to her waist and an Aperture Science-branded white tank top.
[Show full text]
PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours
Spatial Awareness PORTAL 2: PLAYER IMPACT GUIDE Ages 8+ | 1-2 Hours “There’s a lot of challenge in trying to figure out how as the player is moving through this, in terms of a story space, how can you make a gameplay space out of this so they can travel through it in an interesting way.” --Jeep Barnett, designer and engineer In Portal 2, portals are used to navigate obstacle courses filled with deadly hazards inside the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories. To navigate the game, you must move through the space by following a simple concept: anything that enters one portal—including boxes, lasers, bridges, and you yourself—will exit the other without changing speed. In order to escape Aperture Science and defeat GLaDOS, the lab’s computerized overlord, you must think in three dimensions and use physics to solve puzzles in unusual ways. In this guide we invite you to think about the ways Portal 2 challenges players’ special awareness. As you play, reflect HOW TO on your experience. How is spatial awareness important in Portal 2? How is it important in your life? What kind of USE THIS impact does it leave on your understanding of how the world works? GUIDE Answer the questions below and add up your points when you’re finished! What is a “portal?” How do portals work? [+1] What are some tricks for using portals? What happens when you put a portal directly above you and another one directly under you? [+1] GAME What do the different types of gels do? [+1] How do the Excursion Funnels work? How are they different from Hard Light Bridges? [+2] How does the game indicate the steps you need to take when solving a puzzle? [+3] Many Portal 2 marketing materials use the tagline “Now you’re thinking with portals!” What do you think it means to “think with portals?” Do you find yourself “thinking” in this way as you play the game? [+1] What challenged you when thinking about using “space” in the game (e.g.
[Show full text]
Portal: Impact Guide for Players
Portal: Impact Guide For Players Portal and Portal 2 are games developed by Valve Corporation available for consoles and PCs. The games are first-person puzzle solving games but also provide rich narrative development, interesting characters, and have developed a strong cultural impact including merchandise and a popular series of internet memes. The popularity of the Portal series stems from the quality of the games and from the way the games teach players how to play them so seamlessly. Indeed, Portal is one of the very best games at presenting players with embodied learning and scaffolded instruction – a model for 21st century teaching. How to use this guide: Players – We’ve identified several interesting or important themes in the game. As you play through, reflect on your play. How have you experienced these themes? Are there other important ones present in the game? What kind of impact does your play allow in the larger world? Answer the questions we’ve provided – but feel free to add more at www.gamesandimpact.org. Warning: Questions contain some spoilers about the games. Theme: Problem Solving Portal begins with a player alone in a test chamber; solving puzzles is a key mechanic for both the gameplay and for the story of the game. Puzzles gradually get more difficult as players are given tools sequentially in order to build on top of their previous solutions. Game Why do you think the game doesn’t give you the portal gun immediately? What is the point of limiting you in the early part of the game? Why do you think the test chambers are designed the way they are? What do you think the game’s designers are trying to teach you? At the end of the 19 test chambers, you begin the second part of the game where you get to face GLaDOS directly.
[Show full text]
Portal Prima Official Mini Eguide.Pdf 2008-05-31 12:20 3.1 MB
PRIMA OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE DAVID SJ HODGSON STEPHEN STRATTON MIGUEL LOPEZ Prima Games David SJ Hodgson A Division of Random House, Inc. Originally hailing from the United Kingdom, David left his role as a writer of numerous 3000 Lava Ridge Court, Suite 100 British video game magazines (including Mean Machines, Computer & Video Games, Roseville, CA 95661 and the Offi cial Nintendo and Sega Saturn magazines) and a bohemian lifestyle on a dry-docked German fi shing trawler to work on the infamous GameFan magazine in www.primagames.com 1996. David helped to launch the fl edgling GameFan Books and helped form Gamers’ The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., Republic in 1998, authoring many strategy guides for Millennium Publications, registered in the United States and other countries. Primagames.com is including The Offi cial Metal Gear Solid Mission Handbook. After launching the wildly a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., registered in the United unsuccessful incite Video Gaming and Gamers.com, David found his calling, and States. began authoring guides for Prima Games. He has written over 30 Prima strategy guides, including The Godfather: The Game, Knights of the Old Republic, Perfect Dark © 2007 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be Zero, Half-Life 2, and Burnout Revenge. He lives in the Pacifi c Northwest with his reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, wife, Melanie, and an eight-foot statue of Great Cthulhu. including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Prima Games.
[Show full text]
Super Mario Portal Game
1 / 2 Super Mario Portal Game Lessons of Game Design learned from Super Mario Maker ... The portal gun is one of those mechanics that sounds like it has an unlimited .... The game combines the elements of the two popular video games: the platforming Super Mario Bros and the puzzle solving Portal. The game retains the traditional .... It's a mashup of Nintendo's classic Super Mario Bros. platform game with Portal. That's right – Mario now has a portal gun, which he can use to .... New Super Mario Bros. U is a game ... Portal 2, like Minecraft, is a highly popular console game that encourages experimentation and flexibility.. Last August we were promised to be able to play the classic Super Mario Bros. with 1 major difference integrated into the game. Aperature ... mario portal game · super mario bros meets portal game · blue television games portal mario.. Mario Bros Mappack Portal Mappack Mari0 Bros Mappack No WW Mari0 ... If you enjoy this game then also play games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64.. Much like nuts and gum, Portal and Super Mario Bros. are together at last.. Click on this exciting game of the classic Super Mario bros, Portal Mario bros 64. You must help the famous Mario bros to defend himself from all his enemies in .... and Portal hybrid from indie game developer Stabyourself.net. Yup, it's the old Super Mario Bros. with portal guns, user created content, a map .... Mario and Portal, a perfect mix. Super Smash Flash 2. A fun game inspired by Super Smash Bros.
[Show full text]
The Heroic Journey of a Villain
Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Enska The Heroic Journey of a Villain The Lost and Found Humanity of an Artificial Intelligence Ritgerð til MA-prófs í Ensku Ásta Karen Ólafsdóttir Kt.: 150390-2499 Leiðbeinandi: Guðrún B. Guðsteinsdóttir Maí 2017 Abstract In this essay, we will look at the villain of the Portal franchise, the artificial intelligence GLaDOS, in context with Maureen Murdock’s theory of the “Heroine’s Journey,” from her book The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness. The essay argues that although GLaDOS is not a heroine in the conventional sense, she is just as important of a figure in the franchise as its protagonist, Chell. GLaDOS acts both as the first game’s narrator and villain, as she runs the Aperture Science Enrichment Center where the games take place. Unlike Chell, GLaDOS is a speaking character with a complex backstory and goes through real character development as the franchise’s story progresses. The essay is divided into four chapters, a short history of women’s part as characters in video games, an introduction to Murdock’s “The Heroine’s Journey,” and its context to John Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey,” a chapter on the Portal franchises, and then we go through “The Heroine’s Journey,” in regards to GLaDOS, and each step in its own subchapter. Our main focus will be on the second installment in the series, Portal 2. Since, in that game, GLaDOS goes through most of her heroine’s journey. In the first game, Portal, GLaDOS separates from her femininity and embraces the masculine, causing her fractured psyche, and as the player goes through Portal 2 along with her, she reclaims her femininity, finds her inner masculinity, and regains wholeness.
[Show full text]
The Cake Is a Lie!« Polyperspektivische Betrachtungen
Michelle E. Ouellette/ Marc A. Ouellette Make Lemonade: The Pleasantly Unpleasant Aesthetics of Playing ›Portal‹ This paper takes its title and an important cue from the folksy premise of the axiom, »When life gives you lemons, make lemonade«. The paradoxical posi- tion that something unpleasant can be turned into something pleasant offers not only an entry point for an engagement with the Portal series, but also an opportunity to consider directly the applicability of Friedrich Schiller’s model of three inherent drives to the study of video games. Thus, our paper will sit- uate Schiller’s aesthetic principles within existing game studies scholarship, will examine how these apply to the Portal series’ implementation of rules, play and affirmation, and will consider the ramifications of the commentary which inheres in the process. Most importantly, the three drives – normative, sensuous, and play – map directly onto the rules and the rewards of the games. As well, this pattern appears in the form and in the content of the games so that the ways in which rules, affirmation and their linkage through play produce en- joyment also make the Portal series obvious examples of good art. In the case of affirmation, the fact that these rewards are through negative affirmation makes no difference. GLaDOS and Wheatley’s taunts and barbs, and the jour- ney on which they lead us, engages both the cognitive and affective responses of the players. The pleasure of this game is located in both of these responses; we are driven to think about the game, and the game makes us feel (bad).
[Show full text]
GRID Broadband Content Delivery Platform
Integrating Narrative and Design: A Portal Post-Mortem KIM SWIFT and ERIK WOLPAW, VALVE SPOILER ALERT!! Leave the room now if you hate spoilers Topics Why Should You Care? Our Narrative Philosophy Our Development Process Why Should You Care? Why should you care about Portal? • We had a small team. • Portal has been both a critical and commercial success for Valve. • After all is said and done and we don't have any regrets. Why Should You Care? Why Should You Care? Why should you care about how we integrated narrative and design? • By itself, the story wouldn’t make much of a novel. • The gameplay on its own would be dry. • The tight integration of our story and gameplay resonated with people. • Team size imposed constraints on our design choices. • Our design methods: • Low impact on both our time and energy budgets. • Helped creatively sidestep our constraints. Our Narrative Philosophy Delta Theory • Two Stories • Story-story • Gameplay story • Lowering the delta will make your story more satisfying. Our Narrative Philosophy Games with a high story delta: Our Narrative Philosophy Games with a high story delta: • Clive Barker’s Undying Our Narrative Philosophy Games with a high story delta: • Clive Barker’s Undying Our Narrative Philosophy Games with a high story delta: • Clive Barker’s Undying Our Narrative Philosophy Portal Narrative Design Goals • “Story” story must never intrude on “Gameplay” story • Less is more • Be ruthless about trimming narrative fat Our Process Playtesting Reflecting Story in Your Environment Evolve Narrative Out of Gameplay Evolve Gameplay Out of Narrative Playtesting Important to Narrative and Gameplay • Watch your playtests • Find out what your players actually want • Adjust gameplay to what players look like they need.
[Show full text]
Universitatea
10.2478/ewcp-2019-0006 ‘The Cake is (Not) a Lie:’ Intertextuality as a Form of Play in Digital Games DIANA MELNIC, VLAD MELNIC “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Abstract Since Julia Kristeva’s first use of the term in the late 20th century, intertextuality has given rise to one of the literary theories most frequently applied in the interpretation of texts across different media, from literature to art and film. In what concerns the study of digital games, however, the concept has received little attention, in spite of the fact that the new medium offers a more than fertile ground for its investigation. The aim of the present essay, therefore, is to propose that digital games can be and, indeed, are intertextual in at least two ways. First, we argue, games deliberately refer to other games, which may or may not be a part of the same series. Secondly, they connect with texts from other media and specifically with literary texts. In both cases, the intertextual link can be a sign of tribute, a critical comment, or a means of self-reflection. Ultimately, however, these links are a form of aesthetic play that reveals new similarities between digital games and traditional media for artistic expression. Keywords: intertextuality, aesthetic play, digital games, game criticism, game philology First coined in the 1960s by Julia Kristeva, the concept of “intertextuality” was firmly rooted in literary theory and the Diana Melnic, Vlad Melnic 91 intellectual climate of mid-20th century Europe. However, it did not remain so for long. It extended from works of literature to spheres of philosophy, from texts to all forms of art, and well into the 21st century, where it was recently redeployed in media studies.
[Show full text]
Half-Life 2 (Orange Box)
PRIMA OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE DAVID SJ HODGSON STEPHEN STRATTON MIGUEL LOPEZ Prima Games David SJ Hodgson A Division of Random House, Inc. Originally hailing from the United Kingdom, David left his role as a writer of numerous 3000 Lava Ridge Court, Suite 100 British video game magazines (including Mean Machines, Computer & Video Games, Roseville, CA 95661 and the Offi cial Nintendo and Sega Saturn magazines) and a bohemian lifestyle on a dry-docked German fi shing trawler to work on the infamous GameFan magazine in www.primagames.com 1996. David helped to launch the fl edgling GameFan Books and helped form Gamers’ The Prima Games logo is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., Republic in 1998, authoring many strategy guides for Millennium Publications, registered in the United States and other countries. Primagames.com is including The Offi cial Metal Gear Solid Mission Handbook. After launching the wildly a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., registered in the United unsuccessful incite Video Gaming and Gamers.com, David found his calling, and States. began authoring guides for Prima Games. He has written over 30 Prima strategy guides, including The Godfather: The Game, Knights of the Old Republic, Perfect Dark © 2007 by Prima Games. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be Zero, Half-Life 2, and Burnout Revenge. He lives in the Pacifi c Northwest with his reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, wife, Melanie, and an eight-foot statue of Great Cthulhu. including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Prima Games.
[Show full text]
Roles of Female Video Game Characters and Their Impact on Gender Representation
Roles of female video game characters and their impact on gender representation. Author: Paulina Ewa Rajkowska Thesis Supervisor: Else Nygren Master's Thesis Submitted to the Department of Informatics and Media Uppsala University, May 2014 For obtaining the Master's Degree of Social Science In the field of Media and Communication Studies Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5 2. Background Information ................................................................................................ 5 What are video games? .................................................................................................. 5 Important terms .............................................................................................................. 7 Evolution of games ......................................................................................................... 8 3. Literature review: ......................................................................................................... 12 Media Effects: .............................................................................................................. 12 The concept of Gender ................................................................................................. 13 Gender in video games ................................................................................................
[Show full text]