A discussion centered on memory and ludo-narrative dissonance is emerging in video games journalism. The question of whether cut scenes (a portion of a video game that presents the player with a cinematic sequence, of which the player has no control) impact the way we remember gaming experiences is being raised in games journalism (Ingram 2010) (Reisinger 2008) (Westbrook 2011). A cut scene takes control away from the player, potentially invalidating their agency. Cut scenes can contribute to ludo-narrative dissonance in a negative way, taking the player out of an immersive experience and exposing them to a narrative that can feel foreign to the rest of their game experience.

Similar experiences that are comparable to video games

According to a Standley, our memories of narratives and music are remembered differently; music memories are tied to emotions while narrative memories are tied to specific authors or books (Standley 2008). This may be analogous to the ludic and narrative elements in video games, in that the ludic elements may be similar to music, while the narrative elements may be similar to stories.

An experience which also may be similar to an immersive gaming session is viewing films with subtitles, because reading subtitles engages the viewer in a separate cognitive interactive action. A study done on subtitled films showed that films with subtitles that were in the same language as the dialog lead to higher comprehension, while films with subtitles in a different language than the dialog (with the viewers being proficient in both languages) lead to lower comprehension (Hayati and Mohmedi 2011). This may mean that a game with a complementary relationship between the ludic and narrative elements provides a better platform for storytelling than a game with a high ludo-narrative dissonance.

Memory

In a study done by Wolfe and Woodwyk, learning was more effective from expository texts than narrative texts (Wolfe and Woodwyk 2010). This may suggest that a story gets in the way of learning, while presenting raw information may be better for learning. However, this was framed in the context of whether readers were reading for entertainment or for knowledge. Reading for knowledge provided greater retention than reading for entertainment. This may have an effect on how gamers remember a game experience, because gaming it is most often done for entertainment. However, there are some that say the reason we play video games is to learn ((Tamalasca 2008) (Peck 2008). One study suggests that quality of the narrative determines how well it is remembered (Kulfosky, Wang and Ceci 2008). Biazak et.al. found that with preschool children, activities tied to the narrative did not result in higher memory of the narrative passages (Biazak, Marley and Levin 2010). Multitasking has showed to have a negative effect on memory performance (Glenn 2010)

Immersive gaming experiences can lead to what is called flow, where a person feels “so intensely focused on their present activity that they lose reflective self-consciousness, feel in control of their environment, sense merging of their actions and awareness, experience temporal distortion, and are intrinsically rewarded by the activity they are engaged in.” (Lee and LaRose 2007). According to another study, players can also become disassociated when gaming, and enter a trance like state where they feel “outside of yourself” or “watching yourself”, or even feel like a different person altogether while playing a video game (Wood, et al. 2004). A player can also experience lapses in time while immersed in a virtual environment, leading to both positive and negative consequences (Richard, Griffiths and Parke 2007). While in an immersive gaming experience, ludic feedback is what keeps players in an immersive gaming experience. “The player is motivated to invest energy in the game because the game evaluates the player’s performance.” (Juul 2001). This constant feedback shapes the players experience by providing them with either rewards or sanctions, motivating the player to keep pursuing achievement.

Clint Hocking, in a blog post, discussed how the ludic and narrative elements of a game called Bioshock 2 were at odds with each other, and resulted in a dissonance that disrupts the player’s experience that he calls ludo-narrative dissonance (Hocking 2007). While Hocking argued that ludo-narrative dissonance was a negative thing, Michael Abbot argues that it is not all bad, and may even contribute to the gaming experience (Abbott 2008). Hartmann and Vorederer argue that moral disengagement is positive in gaming, because it frees the player to shoot characters and enjoy the virtual environment (Hartmann and Vorderer 2010)

Within the virtual environment are 3 types of objects that contribute to the process of immersion: bridging objects, false friend objects, and non-analogue objects. Bridging objects are objects in the virtual environment that behave exactly like their real world counterparts. False friend objects are objects in the virtual environment that superficially appear the same as their real world counterparts, but behave differently. Non-analogue objects are objects in the virtual environment that have no real world counterparts (Neville and Shelton 2010). Bridging and false friend objects allow players to bring their real world experience into the virtual environment, while non-analogue objects challenge the player’s understanding of the virtual environment (Roudavski and Penz 2005). Taylor notes two types of gaming experiences: diagetic, in which “the player is immersed in the act of playing the video game” and intradiagetic in which “the player is immersed in playing the game and in the experience of the game space as a spatial and narrated space” (Taylor 2002). In the diagetic experience, the ludic elements are the focus, while during the intradiagetic experience, the ludic elements provide a pathway to the narrative elements. Neville and Shelton talk about the Cybernetic Feedback Loop, in which players interact with the narrative through the ludic (Neville and Shelton 2010). This would suggest that ludic elements are more memorable than narrative, because of the possibility that a player may not be engaged at a level that is immersive enough to access the narrative elements. Even if a player reaches the narrative elements, they do so through the ludic elements.

So what does all of this mean? One implication is that we may not be getting to the story part of our games if we aren’t successful with the ludic elements. Lately I’ve been introducing video game to my wife and this concept is rearing its ugly head. She didn’t grow up with a controller in her hand like me, so she faces a steep learning curve every time she sits down (with me) to play a game. Simple things that we take for granted as gamers like the idea that in a platformer you can alter your momentum mid-jump are as foreign to her as the nuances of Victorian literature is to the common person. She’s not used to a dual analog stick setup, so any game with a camera is an uphill battle, usually resulting in frustration. I can see how the game mechanics are keeping her away from the narrative experience. But, she is a beginner. What effect the ludic elements have on a more experienced gamer is what is in question here. If the player can prove to be proficient with the game mechanics, does it disappear into the background or does it still make a meaningful impression? Do games fail at telling stories because of game mechanics, or do the game mechanics enhance the story telling ability of video games?

When we play a game (electronic or otherwise), we enter into what Johan Huizinga calls the “magic circle”. The magic circle can be a visible or invisible boundary within which the real world and play are delineated (Huizinga 1950). Inside the magic circle, we are constricted by rules that constrain or free players to act differently than in the real world. For example, when you play basketball, you act differently than normal because you are constrained by rules that don’t exist outside of the basketball court. You also do things within the ‘magic circle’ that you wouldn’t do outside the game (such as try to put a ball through a hoop, or mine a planet for some sweet Element Zero).

Huizinga also defines play as something that is special, and done for fun; displacing play from everyday life. Although Huizinga’s book ‘Homo Ludens’ is seen as one of the seminal works for anyone talking about the ludic, it has come under criticism. Daniel Pargman has pointed out that the magic circle “lacks specificity” (Pargman and Jakobsson 2008). He argues that because the lines between play and non-play are blurred, a hard line cannot be drawn between the two. The solidity of the boundary drawn by the magic circle has also been called into question by Edward Castronova, who argues that the membrane of the magic circle is porous, and that “rules of play inside and outside influence one another, with unpredictable results for both” (Castronova 2006). Eva Nieuwdorp also points out that Erving Goffman described the phenomenon in his 1961 essay Fun in Games. Nieuwdorp argues that when Goffman talks about how the barrier between externally realized properties (games and game-like experiences) and the real world is more like a screen than a wall; and that it not only selects, but also modifies anything that passes through it (Nieuwdorp 2005).

When we play games, we not only engage in rules that apply to the virtual environment exclusively, but we also bring elements of the real world into the virtual world wth us. Not only do rules and elements of play cross the lines of the magic circle, but they also influence one another. Elements of the real world leak into virtual environments by way of the game designers. Game players take what the game designers have made from the game to the real world, transporting norms and other cultural artifacts with them through the membrane of the magic circle.

1. I’m ALMOST done with my BS in Sociology. When I started this blog, I was a wet eared freshman, just barely out of English 1010. Now I’ve written more papers than I care to think about. Allot has happened in the last 2 years; I’ve lost touch with friends on account of academia, and somehow managed to get married in the process. Bottom line: my writing has been sculpted for a couple years, and my point of view has changed quite a bit.
2. I’ve been thinking allot about technology and life, and the convergence of the two. Somewhere in the ballpark of how technology has shaped our interactions with each other, and our social norms.
3. I’m working on my senior thesis which is titled Memory of Ludic and Narrative Elements in Mass Effect 2: What the Player takes from a Gaming Experience. Lengthy title, I know (it still needs some pruning).There has been a bit of a buzz around the idea of ludic versus narrative recently; I want to measure what is it we remember more; the ludic or the narrative elements of our gaming experiences. Working on my very own research project with PhD level supervision has been SO much fun, and I’m looking to use this blog to help my thought process, and also share the information I discover; both in the form of nerdy statistics and exploratory rhetoric.

So, that’s about it. I’m mostly excited about my research. Last year a switch clicked in my head, and I realized that instead of letting video games work against my academic pursuit, I needed to let my academic pursuits complement my views and beliefs when it comes to video games (and media, for that matter). After all, what good is a liberal arts education if you can’t use it to see some new side of life?

Stay tuned for more on my research, and thoughts. I hope for this to be quite a ride!

Tick tock

Tick tock tick tock
Gently wraps the clock
As I lay still
Napping on the couch

Time washes over
Passes by
Motionless I stay
As it goes its way

Tick tock tick tock
Unwinds the clock
Its hand slowly moving
The rhythm gently grooving

It fills a bucket
As the next is filled
Turning now
Against its will

Tick tock tick tock
Signals the clock
Puts into motion
Stirs up commotion

Spinning now like a top
Top to bottom cannot stop
To and fro now a prop
Fizzy fizzy soda pop

Flip flop flip flop
Walking down the block
No turning now slowing
No time to stop

One foot two foot
Left foot right foot
Good foot bad foot
Bare foot shoe foot

Flip flop flip flop
Now begin to rock
Take time take stock
Give thanks give props

Comfy cozy rosy red
Lying silent in a bed
No thoughts no worries
Peace instead

Tick tock tick tock
Declares the clock
The time for moving
Has come to stop

Ocampo said that the reason it is so important it is to arrest Joseph Kony is because he is abducting children 8 to 10 years old in the Sudan and Northern Uganda, and that all he wants from them is two things: 1) to have his own kingdom in the bush, and 2) to have a population of sex slaves and soldiers that will cater to him. From December 4^th to January 9^th, it is estimated that Kony killed 1000 people and abducted 500 children.
He went on to talk about the fact that Joseph Kony was the first person the ICC indicted. Without a doubt, Kony is the single worst perpetrator of human rights violations, and he must be arrested. 7 times, Kony has agreed to peace talks, but has instead used the peace talks as an opportunity to regain strength, and launch more killing sprees. He has proved that he is not willing to negotiate, and that the peace talks are a joke to him. This leaves the international community with no other option than to apprehend him and hold him accountable for what he has done. At this point, Kony’s entire ‘army’ is made up of child sliders. He murdered his top ‘generals’ and replaced them with teenagers he abducted years ago. There is no one to take his place if he is gone. This means that if Kony is taken out, the LRA will likely disband, having no one to fear any longer.
Ocampo said it is not feasible to engage the LRA as an Army because it is made up entirely of hostage child soldiers. Once rescued, they can be re-integrated into communities, and the proof that this is possibleis in the child soldiers who have already been successfully reintegrated. Ocampo called specifically for arrest, not war.
There are no legal barriers to apprehending Kony. The UN has recognized the need to disarm the LRA. The PRC (People’s Republic of China) has committed to support arrest efforts. The UN has passed resolutions condemning the atrocities committed by the LRA. France has committed to support an arrest operation. The EU (European Union) has passed a resolution condemning the atrocities of the LRA. Uganda has asked for help militarily in apprehending Joseph Kony. The international community has spoken, and we all agree that Kony must be arrested, and the LRA must be disarmed.
Ocampo closed by outlining what Uganda needs from us. They need help with planning, resources, and special forces. We must assist in planning and coordinating an operation that will be successful in plucking Kony from the bush with no casualties. Our superior technology to track, and capability to suppress without killing are sorely needed. The resources we can commit are beyond what Uganda is capable of on its own. The critical need is reintegrating of child soldiers into communities. Without this, there is a chance they will go back to the only life they have known for 23 years.
Ocampo has a clear passion for human rights, and believes in the young generation to carry the torch. Let’s not let him down! Visit www.invisiblechildren.com and see how you can join us as part of the solution.

I have allot of blogging to catch up on, so they’re gonna come quick and plentiful today. Stay tuned!

Some great info about non-profit organizations: Uncharitable.org Asks important questions like why are non-profit companies held to stricter standards when it comes to employee standards and advertisement. How much should a non-profit worker be paid? How about how much they are worth, or now much they can produce? If someone can provide the solution to world hunger, why should we limit their salary so we feel they are making some arbitrary sacrifice? Makes sense to me!
I’ve noticed there are ALLOT more women than men here. Just thinking about what that means for this movement, what does that say about men, women’s role in society, etc? Are women more willing to be vocal about humanitarian issues? This morning, Ocampos talked about modern atrocities and how the perpetrators focus on raping women, in other words, women are being targeted specifically as a ‘war’ tactic. Are women being more active in response to this?

Tomorrow I’m meeting with Senator Bennet at 245, Reed Ryan from Senator Hatch’s office at 10AM, and Steven Peterson from Rep Rob Bishop’s office with fellow Utahns Emily and Adrian. Some of the states represented here have a few hundred people meeting in large groups with their reps. Only two other Utahns made it out, so I’ll get some good face time with our representatives. If you would like to join us, you can do so by sending an email or calling their office! For info on how to contact the Representatives I’m lobbying tomorrow, go here.

Right now, our international reputation is not so good. Many countries view us as an Imperialistic Nation, hungry for money and a militaristic foothold in every corner of the world. Our motives for going into Iraq are still murky, and our presence in Pakistan and Afghanistan are constantly under criticism. The situation with the LRA in Northern Uganda is a pure human rights violation. The LRA is a boil on the Nations of Uganda and the DRC that must be removed. If they are allowed to continue abducting children, an entire generation of Ugandans will be gone, leaving the Nation vulnerable to becoming a failed State. There is nothing for anyone to gain except the preservation of peace, the restoring of child soldiers to a childhood they have been robbed of, and justice. France and the European Union have passed resolutions saying that they are willing to be a part of apprehending Joseph Kony and disarming the LRA. The ICC has indicted Joseph Kony (in fact, he is number one on their list), and the U.N. has tried peace talks on multiple occasions, to no avail. The time is right, and the time is now. There are about 1500 activists on Capitol Hill this week lobbying for this cause. Join us by writing a letter, sending and email, or calling your representative. Let’s stand together and call for an end to the atrocities in Northern Uganda. We’ve raised awareness and now we are calling on our government to step in as an actor and do something about it.

Here is a website detailing how to wrote your representative, and here is a link about how to call them. Don’t waste the opportunity we all have been given by those who have fought for our freedom so that we may live in a free democracy where the government has to listen to the people. I personally served 12 years in the military for this ideal. Stand with us, and help put an end to the longest running war in Africa!