tute6 24/01 response

Narratology and Ludology are 2 approaches that I am going to write about today as we had a lecture on video game studies. As a brief sum up I define these 2 approaches: Narratology is the study of video games from the perspective of them being stories or literary work. Ludology is not concerned with the story elements of games but rather with the Game Play elements. I think that they should combine the two approaches as video game is a whole with a story element and a game play element. However looking at video games from another angle make people think of media and semiotic approach which is concerned with how the process of making meaning operates in particular games. Here is the point as video games are precursors of media considering the fact that console and gaming machine were the early computer where you could immerge yourself in a virtual world through this game or medium. Another aspect is that the game has to have a meaning and has to make the player feel that he is doing something in that virtual environment (game play elements), the game has to be logic and in a chronologic order of difficulty where the story is understandable and involving (Narratology). Today majority of video games have an option to play online with other friends or versus friend, they can also chat, exchange idea and games items, shop online and so on. These video games are making virtual community; and all academic approaches of study are important as they examine their own domain in terms of what the player expect and what impacts this could have on them. I have heard about addiction but is it a problem coming from the user or the designer…?