Self-Experimentation: Final Project

So I've been looking around on the internet for a while (on and off), and it was just a matter of time before I thought of the correct sequence of words to find some interesting ideas for my final project.

As I've told a few of you, I'd like to do a formal "self-experiment" on myself involving the effects of video game violence. I have a couple of ideas:

First, in a general sense, I found stuff on the scientific method. I figure for anything I would do to be taken remotely seriously, I would have to adhere to the scientific method. So first would be the research phase, which I am beginning to enter right here and as I begin to play the game (not to mention all the other violent games I've played). Research has also been a large part of the class, since we had the presentation on Resistance: Fall of Man and Zelda/Okami, all of which involve some degree of violence.

The next step would be the formulation of a hypothesis. I believe in the "keep it simple" dogma (i.e., Ockham's Razor). There are several possible hypotheses I could choose, but when it comes down to it, the one with the fewest complexities will be the easiest to work with and prove/disprove.

Then there's the predicition aspect. This is fairly self-explanatory. I expect little to no change in behavior.

Then comes the actual experiment. I found this Roberts and Neuringer article on self-experimentation, where one of the discussions revolves around behavioral studies. They even offer a numerical scale for quantifying behavior changes. So I wanted to use ideas these guys presented and have sketched out ways of planning the experiment:

The constant would be the game and setting. The game would be God of War II and the setting would be my room, at a fixed distance from the television sceen in the same chair (to eliminate any accident variables).

Possible variables:
Time playing the game, e.g., half hour compared to two hours.
Toggling the settings (difficulty, blood animation, etc.)
Presence/Absence of Sound

I've also got two other ideas floating around in my head:
The inclusion of another, non-violent game (like Tetris) as means of comparison.
The inclusion of randomization. Let's say, after I play for an hour, I write down the first dozen words that immediately come to my head.

Finally, there is the conclusion, which at this point I can obviously say little.

Please send any comments you have or articles you might have come across. I'm trying to base this in the scientific method, but I'm the first to admit I'm no scientist. I really think little actual attempts (besides mindless correlations made by politicians) have been made in this area that has such a prominent place in adolescent (and yes, adult) culture. I'd like to have some sort of video presentation for the exerpiment as well, but obviously a lot of that has yet to be worked out.


References:

http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~roberts/self/#Mood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-experimentation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ockham%27s_razor
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/scientific_method.html

God of War II: First Impressions

So after having seen 300, God of War II is the perfect next step to the violence study I plan to do for my final project. I've played through the first hour of the game, and the gratuitous violence and nudity doesn't stop. I would like this opportunity, however, to argue that the gratuity does not limit the games capacity to reach its audience on a meaningful level. In fact, I think it has much to offer the thoughtful gamer.

Moreso in this game (so I am told) than in its predecessor, mythology has a greater role at the story's center. More is more, but it has a purposeful place. Yesterday I was reading Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, and I found a place where the narrator, Jake, references one of the characters as Circe, a goddess from Homer's Odyssey. God of War II takes that sort of metaphor to ancient culture and extends it to its fullest capacity. Already in the game's first hour I see the manipulative relationship gods have with humans. That point does not stray at all far from depictions gathered in Homer's epic poetry. Regardless if the game's authors depict the mythological facts correctly, they have a core theme in place that is central to mythology of antiquity.

However, as I type I notice a potential counterargument. From my perspective, someone could say the FPS persona Duke Nukem is a satiric, pointing to modern decedence and excess. Duke Nukem, a lewd, foul-mouthed gunslinger, would be far removed from many thoughtful gamers' minds. However, just like there is no "reading too much into" Hemingway, as long as you have the support of the text, you as a reader and gamer can make any argument valid. There very well may be elements in Duke Nukem that could support this argument (admitedly, I have not play the game in a long time). But certainly the argument could be made above for God of War II.

This is my jumping point into my research. Please provide any insights you all might have that you think would be helpful.

Games and Music

We saw before the the break the extensive detail given to sound effects in Resistance: Fall of Man. The shrapnel grenade had an individually programmed sound for each shrapnel's hit of a particular surface. But the musical soundtrack -- varying in composition from game to game -- plays second violinist to graphics and gameply, somewhat unjustly.

A band by the name Select Start performs their own rock renditions of many popular video game anthems (e.g., Castlevania, Metroid). Bands like these cover their favorite video game tracks and play them in front of crowds. Nobuo Uematsu, composer of most of the Final Fantasy game soundtracks, tours performing some of his game music around the world. People find video game music entertaining outside the games which they normally inhabit.

Much effort goes into composing a video game soundtrack. A game for PS2 called Xenosaga even uses the talents of the London Philharmonic Orchestra to compose a soundtrack that enhances the game while standing on its own merits. The same could be said for movie soundtracks, and video games use music in a similar way.

Now that I've briefly established that video game music is popular and important to the game, it is important to note again that video game music is a clique-ish by default, even though its increasingly becoming a valued part of the gaming experience. Some electronica music, taking inspiration from jazz, also finds material from even the 8-bit Nintendo games. As video games become a greater part of our cultural experience, the music they present, especially that which is well-composed, becomes a part of our musical cultural history.

Looking to the Shadows for Guidance

After thinking more about the Wark interview and what he said about looking more at the shadows in Plato's Allegory of the Cave than for the shadows' sources (the Ideal), I tried to think of way I could concretely justify this with elements I saw in the presentation of Resistance: Fall of Man yesterday. FPS does provide an interesting way for attempting to create an authentic illusion of reality.

The game does capture elements of war that would otherwise be absent from many people's experiences. The interface suggest that the gamer holds the weapon and responds to the sounds and movement presented by the speakers (even more intensified by surround sound) and the TV. The feeling of urgency that often comes out in a battle is mimicked in a game. In that sense this "shadow" of a real experience aid in understanding.

However, there are plenty of elements in the game that do not refeclt anything. Many of the weapon do not exist (alien), and the enemies, though humanoid, have transformed feature that dehumanizes them. The gamer kills a cartoon rather than an actual representation of a person. Most importantly, the type of fiction the narrative presents is escapist, not really engaging the gamer into any introspection.

Overall, like books, FPS provides insights into what might be an Ideal, but ultimately just presents one of the chained person's perspectives.