The advergaming assignment was somewhat interesting due to the fact that it made us analyize the media we consume everyday and see the different applications of advocay and rhetorical stratagies.
I agree that is interesting. It makes us look deeper into the media that we are taking in and wonder what they are advocating and what rhetorical stratagies are they using.
I agree with you on how the games made us take a step back, and analyze how the media affects us, and how we then interact with others as a result of it.
With this assignment, I realized that people can advocate in many different ways. I learned that people can advocate through video games. At first, I was confused about the assignment and what exactly does it mean to advocate something. But as I played the game and wrote many many drafts for my paper, I realized that when people advocate, means they are trying to persuade people one way or another or making them aware of an issue. This assignment wasn't my favorite because it was confusing at first, but at the end, I did learn something new about what it means to advocate on an issue.
I agree, it was interesting to see how many different ways something can be advocated for as well as learning how some things (games for example) can try to persuade you without you even realizing it on occasion. Though also I agree that this assignment was really confusing at first and the paper was hard to write, but after you started the ball rolling it seemed a lot easier to keep it going and get a lot out of it.
I somewhat liked the advergaming activity. I was unaware that there were games available on the internet that advocated. The game i choose what "Ayiti: The Cost of Life." I did like my game and it was in fact entertaining, however it was frustrating and it did not advocate its message as well as it could have. I found it much easier to write this paper because it was writen directly about what we experienced from our game and how well the game advocated to its players.
I played "Bush Backrub." I thought the game was stupid, but it worked with advocacy very well. Bush was advcating three other world leaders into liking him by giving them massages. It was a clever idea and it makes fun of Bush, but it wasn't a game that I'd want to play everyday. Although, the more and more I played the game, the more I wanted my high score to go up and place first on the statistics page!
The game sounds funny but really boring as well. Do you think that the creator of the game could've made like different levels where you do other things rather than just massaging the leaders and help them in some other way?
I revised a paper about "Bush Backrub"... it seems really silly how the game opperates; I also wouldn't play this game ever again, but I see what the game advocates for.
I played "Bush Backrub" too! I think it is probably the lamest game ever and I stopped playing it after 5 mins. Although the game does have a pretty good underlying advocating message, I do not think I would have even thought about playing this game if it wasn't a writing assignment. Good job on the high score! :]
I was not very familiar with advergaming or even advocacy at all before I had written the paper on it. After writing it, I realized how many different ways advocacy can be used to inform and appeal to different audiences. There were alot of subtle ways these games were showing the problems and difficulties in many different societies. I really enjoyed writing this paper and becoming more familiar with, in my case, the tragedies that have been occuring in Darfur for many years. I usually do not like writing papers on topics I am not familiar with, but this paper really caught my attention. I actually researched the topic of Darfur and Sudan just to learn more about the topic for my own benefit.
I agree with you. I really was confused at first about what exactly it meant to advocate something and after this assignment I learned many ways and ideas people advocate against. I didn't exactly play the game you played, but I did play the Septemeber 12th and I realized how war on terror really impacts people. So I do agree with you on your opinion on this assignment!
I am on the same page with you as being unfamiliar with the Advergaming sites. Did you happen to find the video on the Darfur is dying web site - It was a film made by three college students who went to africa, and it was actually really interesting to watch.
I didn't understand those who would play these online games at the library in between their works, until I took time playing them. I found the games really simple and very entertaining. There are hundreds different kinds of games. After playing few games and writing the advergaminig paper, I realized how and what the games advocate for.
I thought that the advergaming paper was interesting because the game that I played was being used to tear down McDonalds. The game also used curse words that suprised me because it had a cartoon look and at first seemed to be for children. I was suprised that someone would think that internet games could be used to sway the general public.
Well Jeff, That is an interesting thought.I'm sure if i had played that game, I would have thought the same thing! Although....think of Family Guy and South Park...those are cartoons, and there is quite a bit of cursing in those!
Wow, I am surprised to hear you played a game about McDonalds. I didnt even know that there were games about McDonalds, especially ones that tear it down. It also surprises me that read that the game uses curse words because when I picture McDonalds, I think Happy Meals.
I think that advergaming is a very interesting concept, instead of just targeting people who enjoy reading news and magazines and the like advergaming reaches out to many new people. I think through this it helps spread the word a lot faster and to previously mostly uninformed people.
Also I think advergaming is interesting because if you happen to make a very good game that also is advocating something your message could spread like wildfire as people tell others about this amazing new game that they found and that they want to show. Though also I believe the opposite could happen just as easily, if a game was made advocating something and the game itself is terrible even though the cause is good people could begin to not like the cause because of how the mind connects the emotions together.
I defiantly agree with your comment about how advergaming is a very useful tool in reaching those who dont catch up regularly on world events...also the abilty for these games to spread is almost infinite and that is a huge advantage over other media outlets who are trying to advocate a social reform or political topic to the public.
I found the concept of Adver gsming intesting as I have never played on online game sites that are geared at specifically Advocating for a certain cause in the world, such as the conflict in Darfur. However, I did not find the game itself to be very interesting, and did not really enjoy playing it since most of the game was spent running around on a barren landscape looking for water and having to hide as trucks came by.
I played the game showing the conflict in Darfur also. I was not very good at it, however! But I did like how it told you what occurs in real life when you do not succeed in bringing the water back to the village and are caught by the militia. I liked the fact that there are games online that are developed just to bring attention to a serious matter in the world.
I thought that the idea of the advergaming excercise was good. It helped me to realize that many games are advocating an idea that i haven't noticed until now. It has made me look deeper into some of the games that i enjoy playing, and wonder what they are trying to advocate through the game. i think that it was a good excercise overall that made me realize there is more to a game than just the playing of it. That in every game there are messages that are hidden in the background that subliminaly talk to the gamer.
Advergaming was a unique expirence. Being a frequent video game player and frequent movie watcher, i would say that the games did not hit me as it may have others. Most media contains some message and i would say that no matter how subtle or blunt the message was i pick up on it. Recent movies with realworld agendas include titles "Night at the Museum", "Happy Feet", and more recently "Bee Movie" all of them were movies aimed at kids with a message aimed at adults of current political events. Advergaming is another way to push political agendas through something aimed at a younger auidience. I believe we will be seeing more and more games advocating different ideas in the near future.
I'm not really a big fan of video games so the exercise wasn't one that I was particularly excited about, but I did learn something from it. I don't know much about video games because I don't ever play them, but it showed me that sometimes it's more than just a game, and is actually delivering a message. The game that I played was all about the war on terror and was showing how horrific the conditions at war can be. There were innocent people being killed, and the town was basically being destroyed with each attack toward a terrorist. The creator of the game used a variety of appeals to advocate his opinion. They used logical appeal showing that you cannot target the terrorist alone, and you end up hurting anything and anyone around them. The creator also used emotional appeal because everytime you went to shoot a terrorist, after the bomb went off there was a woman crying in the background. Overall it was a..."different" assignment.
Advergaming was a step in a different direction than I am used to in an english class. I have never been in an english class in which we were told to play some type of videogame.
I did not have any personal issues with playing the game. It wasn't the most ideal thing, but I did not mind it. The games themselves were a little lame in themselves. Game play in these advergames cannot compare to the games that come out on the major consoles.
The concept of them was intuitive. Making a virtual game about important issues going on around is very clever idea given how children and teenagers are growing up these days.
They are trying to inform almost everyone in a easy and fun way. Smart idea to get news out there.
I agree that putting current events and news in video games is a good idea. I believe that it is a great media to get to teenagers. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
It's true that the quality and excitement of the internet games can not compare to those of the major consoles. However, these games are not necessarily intended to be fun or even look that great. They are primarily political and trying to get the message out, hence the assignment. And I do agree that it is a great way to communicate important issues, but if people never get there, then what is the point? But it is a clever way to get news out there.
I agree with the fact that this was a big step to the left in an english class. i would say that i also did not find any problems with any of these very simple games. i also agree with the fact that this is an up and comming way to "get news out there." however, what happens when people start seeing messages everywhere and then just ignore them? by making more of these games could we just desensitize ourselves to the problems of the world? i remember when my mother told me about the scariest movie she has ever seen when she was a child. it was the classic "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock. What i mean is now that movie is almost a comedy compared to todays movies. Once again, will making more games just desensitize us?
I think that this assignment was helpful and interesting. The game that I played (Darfur Is Dying) shocked me. I had no idea that people would make such a game that involved a crisis of death and destruction such as Darfur. I was already aware that it is possible to advocate through a game, but I did not know to what extent. Some games do it better than others. The assignment helped me to better understand the concept of advergaming. It was a nice change of pace to work with internet games that would usually get you in trouble in other classes because the games are considered distractions. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment.
Prior to the game I was aware of advertisement and advocacy in games. At first I viewed the game as a normal flash game that I would play on a website such as addictinggames.com. The game I played was quite complex. It required strategic planning and economic knowledge. The game makes your mind focus on the goal and subliminally inserts the message during game play. I must admit that at first I was oblivious of this until I reflected on it.
I thought the same thing about these games. They really try to nail in a point with out you realizing it. No one really thought that playing video games might actually change your stance on a certain topic.
The Advergaming excercise in my opinion was not a very exciting assignment to do. At first, I thought that playing a videogame and writing about it would be something I would enjoy because I love playing videogames. However, the flash games that we could choose from did not really appeal to me because the games were very basic and not very fun. I was also not a very big fan of the writing assignment because there was not a very strict guideline to what to write. It was very "free" writing assignment in my opinion because I am use to writing essays which have specific things that I need to write about and specific formats that need to be followed. I felt that this paper was more of an informal writing excercise.
I thought that the games were boring as well, but I didnt really pay attention to the graphics as much as the message. I agreed that the assignment lacked outlines.
I was not moved by the games as others may have been, I am not good with them in the case that i get lost in the game instead of seeing a message, I am not big on having to search for the message, maybe its me, maybe i'm a boring person, I would just rather the information be right ion front of me, and not all of the games are so hidden, some of them are pretty straight forward, I just get lost in the game either way.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:21
The advergaming assignment was somewhat interesting due to the fact that it made us analyize the media we consume everyday and see the different applications of advocay and rhetorical stratagies.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:30
I agree that is interesting. It makes us look deeper into the media that we are taking in and wonder what they are advocating and what rhetorical stratagies are they using.
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 11:59
Mark, I think that anything could become interesting if we pay attention or if we have a plan to analyze it.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:33
I agree with you on how the games made us take a step back, and analyze how the media affects us, and how we then interact with others as a result of it.
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 11:57
Maria, good observation.
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 11:53
Good point, Justin.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:22
With this assignment, I realized that people can advocate in many different ways. I learned that people can advocate through video games. At first, I was confused about the assignment and what exactly does it mean to advocate something. But as I played the game and wrote many many drafts for my paper, I realized that when people advocate, means they are trying to persuade people one way or another or making them aware of an issue. This assignment wasn't my favorite because it was confusing at first, but at the end, I did learn something new about what it means to advocate on an issue.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:32
I agree, it was interesting to see how many different ways something can be advocated for as well as learning how some things (games for example) can try to persuade you without you even realizing it on occasion. Though also I agree that this assignment was really confusing at first and the paper was hard to write, but after you started the ball rolling it seemed a lot easier to keep it going and get a lot out of it.
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 11:57
Ryan, yes, so many things are trying to persuade us, and we do not notice it sometimes.
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 11:55
Nicole, I am glad that you learned something from the advergaming project. This means that the game may have achieved its purpose.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:23
I somewhat liked the advergaming activity. I was unaware that there were games available on the internet that advocated. The game i choose what "Ayiti: The Cost of Life." I did like my game and it was in fact entertaining, however it was frustrating and it did not advocate its message as well as it could have. I found it much easier to write this paper because it was writen directly about what we experienced from our game and how well the game advocated to its players.
Wed, 03/05/2008 - 12:00
Elaine, I agree that advergames can be frustrating. When they are, they achieve their goal.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:23
I played "Bush Backrub." I thought the game was stupid, but it worked with advocacy very well. Bush was advcating three other world leaders into liking him by giving them massages. It was a clever idea and it makes fun of Bush, but it wasn't a game that I'd want to play everyday. Although, the more and more I played the game, the more I wanted my high score to go up and place first on the statistics page!
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:31
The game sounds funny but really boring as well. Do you think that the creator of the game could've made like different levels where you do other things rather than just massaging the leaders and help them in some other way?
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:33
I revised a paper about "Bush Backrub"... it seems really silly how the game opperates; I also wouldn't play this game ever again, but I see what the game advocates for.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:34
I had the same problem with the games, they are repetitive, making them kind of boring, and the score seemed more important than the message.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:34
I played "Bush Backrub" too! I think it is probably the lamest game ever and I stopped playing it after 5 mins. Although the game does have a pretty good underlying advocating message, I do not think I would have even thought about playing this game if it wasn't a writing assignment. Good job on the high score! :]
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:23
I was not very familiar with advergaming or even advocacy at all before I had written the paper on it. After writing it, I realized how many different ways advocacy can be used to inform and appeal to different audiences. There were alot of subtle ways these games were showing the problems and difficulties in many different societies. I really enjoyed writing this paper and becoming more familiar with, in my case, the tragedies that have been occuring in Darfur for many years. I usually do not like writing papers on topics I am not familiar with, but this paper really caught my attention. I actually researched the topic of Darfur and Sudan just to learn more about the topic for my own benefit.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:31
I agree with you. I really was confused at first about what exactly it meant to advocate something and after this assignment I learned many ways and ideas people advocate against. I didn't exactly play the game you played, but I did play the Septemeber 12th and I realized how war on terror really impacts people. So I do agree with you on your opinion on this assignment!
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:36
I am on the same page with you as being unfamiliar with the Advergaming sites. Did you happen to find the video on the Darfur is dying web site - It was a film made by three college students who went to africa, and it was actually really interesting to watch.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:24
I didn't understand those who would play these online games at the library in between their works, until I took time playing them. I found the games really simple and very entertaining. There are hundreds different kinds of games. After playing few games and writing the advergaminig paper, I realized how and what the games advocate for.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:24
I thought that the advergaming paper was interesting because the game that I played was being used to tear down McDonalds. The game also used curse words that suprised me because it had a cartoon look and at first seemed to be for children. I was suprised that someone would think that internet games could be used to sway the general public.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:30
Well Jeff, That is an interesting thought.I'm sure if i had played that game, I would have thought the same thing! Although....think of Family Guy and South Park...those are cartoons, and there is quite a bit of cursing in those!
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:30
Wow, I am surprised to hear you played a game about McDonalds. I didnt even know that there were games about McDonalds, especially ones that tear it down. It also surprises me that read that the game uses curse words because when I picture McDonalds, I think Happy Meals.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:24
I think that advergaming is a very interesting concept, instead of just targeting people who enjoy reading news and magazines and the like advergaming reaches out to many new people. I think through this it helps spread the word a lot faster and to previously mostly uninformed people.
Also I think advergaming is interesting because if you happen to make a very good game that also is advocating something your message could spread like wildfire as people tell others about this amazing new game that they found and that they want to show. Though also I believe the opposite could happen just as easily, if a game was made advocating something and the game itself is terrible even though the cause is good people could begin to not like the cause because of how the mind connects the emotions together.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:33
I defiantly agree with your comment about how advergaming is a very useful tool in reaching those who dont catch up regularly on world events...also the abilty for these games to spread is almost infinite and that is a huge advantage over other media outlets who are trying to advocate a social reform or political topic to the public.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:25
I found the concept of Adver gsming intesting as I have never played on online game sites that are geared at specifically Advocating for a certain cause in the world, such as the conflict in Darfur. However, I did not find the game itself to be very interesting, and did not really enjoy playing it since most of the game was spent running around on a barren landscape looking for water and having to hide as trucks came by.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:32
I played the game showing the conflict in Darfur also. I was not very good at it, however! But I did like how it told you what occurs in real life when you do not succeed in bringing the water back to the village and are caught by the militia. I liked the fact that there are games online that are developed just to bring attention to a serious matter in the world.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:26
I thought that the idea of the advergaming excercise was good. It helped me to realize that many games are advocating an idea that i haven't noticed until now. It has made me look deeper into some of the games that i enjoy playing, and wonder what they are trying to advocate through the game. i think that it was a good excercise overall that made me realize there is more to a game than just the playing of it. That in every game there are messages that are hidden in the background that subliminaly talk to the gamer.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:27
Advergaming was a unique expirence. Being a frequent video game player and frequent movie watcher, i would say that the games did not hit me as it may have others. Most media contains some message and i would say that no matter how subtle or blunt the message was i pick up on it. Recent movies with realworld agendas include titles "Night at the Museum", "Happy Feet", and more recently "Bee Movie" all of them were movies aimed at kids with a message aimed at adults of current political events. Advergaming is another way to push political agendas through something aimed at a younger auidience. I believe we will be seeing more and more games advocating different ideas in the near future.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:27
I'm not really a big fan of video games so the exercise wasn't one that I was particularly excited about, but I did learn something from it. I don't know much about video games because I don't ever play them, but it showed me that sometimes it's more than just a game, and is actually delivering a message. The game that I played was all about the war on terror and was showing how horrific the conditions at war can be. There were innocent people being killed, and the town was basically being destroyed with each attack toward a terrorist. The creator of the game used a variety of appeals to advocate his opinion. They used logical appeal showing that you cannot target the terrorist alone, and you end up hurting anything and anyone around them. The creator also used emotional appeal because everytime you went to shoot a terrorist, after the bomb went off there was a woman crying in the background. Overall it was a..."different" assignment.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:27
Advergaming was a step in a different direction than I am used to in an english class. I have never been in an english class in which we were told to play some type of videogame.
I did not have any personal issues with playing the game. It wasn't the most ideal thing, but I did not mind it. The games themselves were a little lame in themselves. Game play in these advergames cannot compare to the games that come out on the major consoles.
The concept of them was intuitive. Making a virtual game about important issues going on around is very clever idea given how children and teenagers are growing up these days.
They are trying to inform almost everyone in a easy and fun way. Smart idea to get news out there.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:32
I agree that putting current events and news in video games is a good idea. I believe that it is a great media to get to teenagers. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:35
It's true that the quality and excitement of the internet games can not compare to those of the major consoles. However, these games are not necessarily intended to be fun or even look that great. They are primarily political and trying to get the message out, hence the assignment. And I do agree that it is a great way to communicate important issues, but if people never get there, then what is the point? But it is a clever way to get news out there.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:36
I agree with the fact that this was a big step to the left in an english class. i would say that i also did not find any problems with any of these very simple games. i also agree with the fact that this is an up and comming way to "get news out there." however, what happens when people start seeing messages everywhere and then just ignore them? by making more of these games could we just desensitize ourselves to the problems of the world? i remember when my mother told me about the scariest movie she has ever seen when she was a child. it was the classic "The Birds" by Alfred Hitchcock. What i mean is now that movie is almost a comedy compared to todays movies. Once again, will making more games just desensitize us?
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:27
I think that this assignment was helpful and interesting. The game that I played (Darfur Is Dying) shocked me. I had no idea that people would make such a game that involved a crisis of death and destruction such as Darfur. I was already aware that it is possible to advocate through a game, but I did not know to what extent. Some games do it better than others. The assignment helped me to better understand the concept of advergaming. It was a nice change of pace to work with internet games that would usually get you in trouble in other classes because the games are considered distractions. Overall, I enjoyed this assignment.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:28
Prior to the game I was aware of advertisement and advocacy in games. At first I viewed the game as a normal flash game that I would play on a website such as addictinggames.com. The game I played was quite complex. It required strategic planning and economic knowledge. The game makes your mind focus on the goal and subliminally inserts the message during game play. I must admit that at first I was oblivious of this until I reflected on it.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:33
I thought the same thing about these games. They really try to nail in a point with out you realizing it. No one really thought that playing video games might actually change your stance on a certain topic.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:39
... but if you think about it even great games, such as Metal Gear Solid, has a way of getting messages across sub consciously.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:29
The Advergaming excercise in my opinion was not a very exciting assignment to do. At first, I thought that playing a videogame and writing about it would be something I would enjoy because I love playing videogames. However, the flash games that we could choose from did not really appeal to me because the games were very basic and not very fun. I was also not a very big fan of the writing assignment because there was not a very strict guideline to what to write. It was very "free" writing assignment in my opinion because I am use to writing essays which have specific things that I need to write about and specific formats that need to be followed. I felt that this paper was more of an informal writing excercise.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:36
I thought that the games were boring as well, but I didnt really pay attention to the graphics as much as the message. I agreed that the assignment lacked outlines.
Wed, 01/16/2008 - 12:31
I was not moved by the games as others may have been, I am not good with them in the case that i get lost in the game instead of seeing a message, I am not big on having to search for the message, maybe its me, maybe i'm a boring person, I would just rather the information be right ion front of me, and not all of the games are so hidden, some of them are pretty straight forward, I just get lost in the game either way.