My Research Progress

My research seems to be... going... I have been able to come up with a topic which is females and video games but I was having trouble trying to figure out what exactly do I want to talk about with this idea. I felt that at first it was kind of broad and it was after doing a little research on that alone. As I continued to do research on this topic I found articles that I helped to narrow down to a certain idea for my paper. I have been able to narrow my topic down to how the video game console Nintendo target females and how other leading Game Consoles can learn from Nintendo. It is a work in progress but it is getting there. I am working on my outline for my topic. My topic has become very narrow and I am hoping that I can be able to have enough information on how Nintendo targets female and why they are ahead of the competition having everyone playing their games.

Gaming research

For my gaming research paper I have picked as my topic "Girls and video games". I have started to research on it a bit. I still have a major problem of picking a theses for it. I'm not sure if I should do how video game new auidence are girls or how video games are a girls things. Maybe I will incorporate both not sure yet. I have been able to find a few online articles about girls and video games under google search I haven't checked the library catalogs yet. What I have found was just the search of the broad topic girls and video games since I do not have a complete thesis yet.

Game Research topic

For the game research paper I am kind of stuck on what to write about. I am really interested in writing about how video games target teenage boys and how it's sexist. I am having trouble on choosing where to start with it. I am thinking of also writing about how although video games creators have been sexist, they have also evolved and created video games that are made for girls. Another topic sticking with how video games have evolved I was thinking about researching how more and more girls have been playing video games and are as addicted to it as boys. I am kind of stuck on what to write about exactly. I have so many idea and things to choose from but just don't know what to do. They are all interesting to me and I think thats the problem. I think I would start off with a little mini research on each topic and see what information I can find the most on each topic. I have to make sure that I do not take a long time in doing this because I do have to pick a topic very very soon.....

Field trip

Last week we had the chance to go to a couple of game stores and to see what is being sold. The first stop was Toys R' Us on 42nd st. I first found it funny that they asked for ID but thats besides the point. Walking around Toys R Us I noticed how video games has its own little location. When I entered the video game section I noticed a lot of things about video games. Each type of game system has its own section. It was kind of amazing to me. Only because I am not a big gamer. For one I am still playing N64. I also noticed how games have a lot accessories to go with it. When I had a Nintendo Gameboy I didn't have the opportunity to have a Hanna Montana, or Hello kitty bag to go with it. It was amazing how much is now incorp. with video games. The board game section in Toys R' Us was interesting too. Many of the games that I played as a child has really been upgraded. Scrabble which is still one of my favorite board games now have different types of boards and styles of scrabble such as fashionista scrabble. Other games that has change a little is perfection and operation. Operation is no longer just operating on a red nose man. You can now operate on Homer, and Spongebob which is cool. The next stop on the field trip was Game stop. Game stop had more to offer in the sense of they did not only offer video games for game systems. They also offered PC games although they did not have a variety of PC games to offer. Game stop also sold used video games as well.

Cluster classes

So far I am enjoying my cluster classes for the most part. Some of things that I have learned are kind of interesting. My Mass Media class is pretty fun. Prof. Louis is pretty cool and the topics we discuss in class are interesting. I have learned somethings about the Rock&Roll Era, internet sites where I can read online newspapers from all over the world, and how much of an impact the media has around the world. Within this class I have had a few assignments due which I have been able to complete all of them however I have been procrastinating which was something I've been trying to avoid the most. For my English 101 & 103 class I am enjoying the fact that I am learning about games. SO far I had the opportunity to read articles on gaming which have been interesting, played online games and what I noticed about the way they look, and watched the film the matrix. In my American Film class I am learning a lot about the impact the film industry has in the world and how movies have come about and the vocabulary for that is used to make a film. I have manage to complete all my assignments for all my classes as of now. I am trying to continue to keep working hard and continue to try my best to not procrastinate and manage my time wisely.

Club & Organziation fair

Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to attend the club and organization fair at school and it was cool. There was about ten clubs and organizations total to choose from however, there was one club that I decided to join which was the breakdancing club. I figure why not give it a shot. I love to dance and there isn't a dance club offered at Lagcc. Although I can start my own dance club, I decided to join the breakdance club because it was different. I do not know how to break dance have no clue whats the first step in breakdancing. I join so I can learn it looks interesting to do. Another organization I was interested in was Phi Theta Kappa which is an honors society. Since I am a new student at Lagcc and do not have a GPA yet, so I was unable to join the honors society. However i can still partcipate with Phi Theta Kappa with the volunteer activities they do around the community.

Good Video games and good learning

I read the article "Good video games and good learning" written by James Paul and it was fantastic. It was a really interesting article about how you can actually learn something from playing video games and he compared it to learning in school. I play video games once in a blue when I have the chance and when I think about when I play video games, I do learn something new faster compared to learning in the classroom. Gee explained how video games is a good learning principle which I agree because it actually focuses on what keeps peoples attention into always wanting to play. Video games gives you a challenge, it motivates you and it entertains you all at once which is what people like and enjoys where as in school depending on the topic of study that your focusing on can be boring and just not interesting. For the most part you don't have a choice of what you want to do and learn in school because most of the stuff you learn is part of a curriculum that you just can't change. Another thing I liked about the article was how Gee broke down good games and what it gives you. He explains how good video games give you identity, interaction, production risk-taking and customization and a few other things as well. With factors like these apart of gaming, you have total control compared to school where you have little to no control sometimes on how you learn.

Game:Play:Simulation

What do we mean when we use the word play? What do we mean when we say lets "play"? What does it mean when we use the word "game"?My definition of both the words play and game is to do something fun, entertaining, and enjoyable. Both words are always used to togethere. You will always hear someone say "Let's play a game."

I am a Cyborg

Erica Mariano
Title: I am a Cyborg

What is a Cyborg? A Cyborg is a human robot. In today’s society, many people are Cyborg. With new technology being a part of today’s society it is hard for people to live without it. I am not ashamed to say I am one of many who cannot live without technology. Therefore, that is why I consider myself to be a Cyborg.
My cell phone is the number one electronic that I cannot live without. This is one invention that I feel was the best to be invented. My cell phone is my life. It has everything in it. It is my planner, alarm clock, mp3 player, and of course my telephone. My cell phone is always attached to me. There have been times where I did not have my phone with me and when I do not have it, I feel like I do not exist in the world.
The computer is another electronic device that makes me a Cyborg. I always need to use the computer. The computer is also around when I need. It serves for almost everything that I need. It is available for homework purposes, online shopping and banking, instant messenger, and online gaming.
The last thing that makes me a Cyborg is my debit cards. I never ever have cash on me or I rarely carry cash. Almost everywhere I go, I am able to charge what I want to buy on my card. I feel important when I use my debit card because all the ‘big shots” uses it and that’s all they use. My debit cards has made me kind of lazy in the sense that I never have to go to the bank and stand on line to withdraw money.
Technology is what everyone relies on in today’s society. Many people cannot live without their favorite electronic gadget. In conclusion, I have to admit that I am one of many who rely on technology. My cell phone, computer, and debit cards are a few things that have created me into a Cyborg.

The Matrix

This past week, I had the opportunity to see the film “The Matrix” for my English class. I never seen the movie before only because it was never a film I was interested in seeing. After watching the film for the first, I thought it was good but, not great in my eyes. I didn’t really enjoy it. I think the reason that I didn’t enjoy it was because I wanted to long to see the film from when it first came out. The movie to me, starts off kind of slow but it becomes a little interesting in the middle of it. I am still kind of confused about exactly what the Matrix is. Maybe I kind of missed the part where they explain what it is. The character Neo who is played Keanu Reeves was a computer hacker who wanted to know what the Matrix is and what it is all about. He was introduced to the Matrix by Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne) who explained to him that the world humans live in is fake and we do not see the real world. I was totally able to understand that part of it the film. Now comes the famous scene of all where Morpheus gives Neo two choices. The first choice of taking the red pill he would see, learn, and live the matrix and the the second choice was the blue pill which he would live his regular life as a computer hacker and never get to see the "real world". Neo of course picked the red pill and began to learn the Matrix. I am just confused though in what it is. What I did like about the film was the fighting scenes with the martial arts techniques. It was cool.