All posts by rdc372@nyu.edu

Infrastructures of Labor

December 8, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

The presentation that I attended today dealt mainly with socials sciences and environmentalism. There were four different panelists. The first two talked about flood risk and wetlands. I found the last two, though, to be the most interesting.

One of them discussed the garbage situation in Senegal. The garbage collectors in that country began a string of protests for their poor compensation as well as lack of fair treatment. They are important members of the community and therefore wanted to be given greater respect. One of their biggest complaints is that their equipment tends to be inadequate. For example, the garbage trucks that they drive are usually broken hand-me-downs given to them from Europe. After they formed a union, they protested by leaving the trash on the streets. Many neighborhoods followed this example and began to leave their waste on the streets as well.

The other panelist talked about the dangers of lead poisoning. She opened her discussion by stating that most of the refuse found in landfills is from abandoned homes that were demolished. This leads to large concentrations of lead. A common misconception is that lead is safe when contained or surrounded by other materials. This is why men and women working in construction and home renovations will use lead and then apply a coat of paint over it without giving any second thoughts. The problems is that the lead still exists and when homes are destroyed, large concentrations of it can be found around the deconstruction zone. This proves to be a problem because lead is a material that is not easily broken down by dirt. Some have opted to use wet demolition which essentially sprays down the lead after the buildings are torn down. While this helps remedy the problem to some extent, the lead still poses risks to those around the deconstruction zones or landfills.

The reason I found the last two especially interesting and relevant to our class is because they bring up problems that affect many different communities and would be great subjects to discuss through social media. I find it sad that social media has become powerful enough to drive change, but some issues get overshadowed by the ones with better coverage. I think that people can contribute in helping solve these problems easily with the power of the internet. One of the biggest fads these days is called clicktivism. Even does not take much effort to help spread a message across the web. People can help others become more aware simply by liking different news stories or sharing them.

Final

More annotated bibliographies

November 27, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

Max, Velmans. “PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND VIRTUAL REALITIES.” University of London 45–60. Web.

Max Velmans is a professor at the University of London working in the Department of Psychology. Being an expert in psychology, he is well qualified in discussing the neurological effects of virtual reality. Velmans believes that the effects of virtual reality and its experiences far differ from that of physical and even psychological reality. The author’s main audience seems to lean towards students majoring in psychology or any others working in that field. With its above-average terminology and usage of diagrams to explain its arguments, this article is most likely not geared for the average reader.

Being a psychologist, the author may over analyze the differences between the different realities. Although I understand that there may be slight neurological and cognitive differences in the varying experiences, I also think that if a theoretical perfect virtual reality were to exist, the differences would be more negligible than what the author is proposing. Other than that, it tends to be more wrapped up in definitions making the whole article surprisingly neutral as a whole. Perhaps the greatest strength of this article is that it touches upon all five senses. He explains the projections of virtual reality on people through the different senses that are triggered. The article is extremely thorough and does a great job defining the different realities as well as explaining what it truly means to be in a virtual reality. However, it is also very concerned with definitions. While it helps better our understanding of virtual reality, or group will get no opinions, case studies or examples to further illustrate our cause. For the most part, it supports our thesis that virtual reality will give its users a unique experience, but because the author spends so much time defining terminology, the article tends to be quite neutral. Still, this article is very appropriate for our paper because it explores all the different ways something can be a virtual reality. By focusing on the projections working on our senses, the article becomes even more relevant as we are talking about synesthesia.

J.D., Sartain. “Virtual Reality Gets Real.” N.p., 24 Sept. 2012. Web.

The author, J.D. Sartain, is a simple freelance journalist and therefore is not affiliated with any organization. The author does not have real thesis or stance but simply presents the various forms of virtual reality that already exist. The author’s intended audience is the average user and anyone who wants to find out more about virtual reality technology. The article is supplemented by an easy-to-use slideshow that has images and small paragraphs of text to supplement each picture. The presentation is simple meaning that the author wants his article to be easily accessible.

As I mentioned before, the article takes no real stance on virtual reality. It simply presents facts about the virtual reality technologies that are either in development or have already been released. Being a simple journalist without a psychological or scientific background, I cannot see him swaying the information in any way. The strengths of this article is that is has no bias and that it also presents an easy-to-read list of virtual reality technologies. It gives eleven different examples of devices and programs that utilize virtual reality giving readers a broad understanding of the way science is pursuing this field of study. On the other hand, the author has no scientific background and the article does little to go in depth with this topic. Aside from just referring to the article for examples of technology, it does not add much for our paper. The article does not really support nor negate our thesis. It does, however, still hold relevance as we would obviously want to compare our project with technologies that already exist. With this information we can fine tune our product by looking at what is already available and how our technology can offer something different.

Final

Synesthesia Annotated Bibliography

November 23, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu 1 Comment

“Reading with Your Ears: Readers’ Advisory and Audio Books.” Reference & User Services Quarterly. Vol. 37–50. American Library Association. 318–323. Web.

The author, Katie Mediatore, is library professional and has worked with a number of library associations. She specializes in reading trends and programming for adults. Mediatore explains the format preferences for listeners as well as what makes audio books so appealing to people who use them. She does this by proposing why people would need or want to use audio books as opposed to traditionally reading text. By using various examples and situations in which the user may prefer audio books, Mediatore is able to show that this medium is perhaps more relevant than previously thought. The casual nature of her writing suggests that her book is meant for the average reader and does not strive to be overly intellectual.

Due to her role as a library professional there may be a slight bias or over exaggeration on the popularity of audio books. She makes it sound as if audio books are more common place when in reality, it is probably more of a niche market. The strengths of this article is that it provides a number of reasons why someone would choose audio books in particular over reading. However, a weakness is that is does little to come up with theories about why audio books are still overshadowed by more popular mediums like books or kindles. In addition, her examples are highly theoretical, and there is no scientific support for her arguments. As a result, there is appears to be a lack of solid research and few quantifiable facts that can bolster her claims. The article still however definitely falls in line with our thesis because it shows how utilizing one of our other senses, hearing, has positively affected a number of people’s reading experience. With this, it is easy to claim that fully using synesthesia will garner the support from a number of readers. While the article focuses only on audio books and the sense of hearing instead of synesthesia as a whole, it still holds relevance by closely examining one particular form of medium that strays from the traditional reading experience.

Adam, Halley-Prinable. The Oculus Rift and Immersion through Fear. Bournemouth University, 2013. Web.

Halley-Prinable is an expert at using C++, Lua and Python. He primarily works as a game programmer but also works as a contract programmer to work on any project. In this book Halley-Prinable claims that the Oculus Rift may have a greater potential to be more immersive than a regular computer screen monitor. By attempting to quantify fear through heart rate monitors and using test subjects, he shows the extent of immersion from the Oculus Rift. The author’s intended audience is probably gamers although its research exceeds that of just gaming. It calls into question the idea of a true virtual reality and the effects that is has on people.

Being a game programmer, Halley-Prinable may be too quick to praise the Oculus Rift and want to promote the new gaming device. The strength is that the author uses a scientific approach to come up with an experiment that measures the effect of the Oculus Rift in a way that is more than pure speculation. Due to the nature in which he conducted his research, there are many arguments that are backed up with facts instead of unsubstantiated, bold claims. The weakness, however, is that it emphasizes the emotion of fear while ignoring any other effect the Oculus Rift could potentially have. Another weakness is that it mostly focuses on the difference between the Oculus Rift and a normal computer screen monitor. Comparisons to other mediums of engagement are largely ignored. It is also important to note that not all experiments are perfect. There will never be a perfect control and test group. Certain individuals may be more prone to fear than others resulting in swayed results. This book supports our theory that creating an experience that fully utilizes our sense can create a positive, immersive experience for all users. Despite the fact that the Oculus Rift only triggers the sense of sight and sound, the information provided still shows studies of levels of immersion that can help support our argument for a product rooted in the idea of synesthesia.

Final

Mirrors

November 15, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

The product that I would like to propose to the class is one that prizes versatility. It does not serve just one purpose. Its functions are so vast that it becomes a Swiss army knife for readers and writers. It can help organize, clarify, correct and inspire those who use it. What makes this possible is an intelligence that is ever growing and can adapt to one’s needs as a writer. I am talking of course about using AI technology to the best of its ability. It will act within the word processor itself making the writing process more efficient. The actual product though will take the form of both a software program containing the AI and will hook up directly to a pair of glasses that will aid the writer’s efforts. I will call this new invention “Mirrors” because it is a reflection of the individual’s thoughts during his or her writing process.

Much of this product is inspired by tools that already exist. Search engines always put the most relevant and popular searches at the top of the list. Google even makes recommendations for what the user wants with the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. Typing in key words also triggers a drop down with a variety of options for other popular searches involving those words. The AI in my device will act in a similar manner. As the user writes, the AI will provide a number of references and sources for the writer to utilize if he or she wishes. The writer may incorporate quotes from well-known books or movies. In these instances the program will automatically recognize the words and provide quick references from the internet for the writer to use so that the writer does not have to search for the reference him/herself. In addition, the program will also pickup on the subjects that the writer discusses. Sensing key words like “pharaoh” or “pyramids” will result in a dropdown list of available resources that have information on Ancient Egypt. Kirschenbaum criticizes that some technologies force the user to switch between “different screens or interfaces” which he calls “modes” but as technology increases, these transitions are made “as invisible and seamless as possible” (Kirschenbaum, 8). Although these technologies exist, the program streamlines the process by making the searches by itself while the writer is still in the word processor. Hayle makes claims that the research process for scholars has changed due to the inclusion of digital media and states that “the main advantages are worldwide dissemination to a wide variety of audiences, in many cases far beyond what print can reach” (Hayle, 3). Similar to how the efficiency of digital media expedites the research process by eliminating manual searches through book shelves, the AI removes the manual search on the internet.

The real innovation here, however, is the AI’s ability to predict and think about the content of what the writer is expressing. As the user continues to write, the AI will also sense writer’s block if the computer experiences little activity. At this point, the AI will attempt to make sense of the writer’s thought process and come up with a number of words that can best complete sentences if the writer stops midway in a sentence. Technology these days are “a material matrix against which we manufacture an ongoing array of haptic, affective, and cognitive engagements” (Kirschenbaum, 10). Essentially, the tools a writer uses should be just as engaged in the writing process as the writer. If the writer stops after a complete thought, the AI will even give suggestions and comments on the flow of the paper as well as make valid recommendations on the possible next step by searching for content relevant to the paper on the internet. It is important to note though that the AI is not attempting to replace the writer but simply give inspiration for the writer’s next move.

While the AI helps with the cognitive side of the writing process, the glasses serve a more physical use. While I already see the connection between computer screens and eyewear in the form of Google Glasses, my glasses will specialize in the writing process by utilizing scanners. The glasses will scan the user’s pupils and sense their movements. Through this, the glasses can detect what lines the user is reading. I often sometimes lose my place while reading or reread what I just read to help get a better understanding. The glasses will sense perplexity or confusion if my eyes dart up and down trying to find the previous line. The lenses in my glasses will act as an additional screen that will highlight what I have already read using a yellow tint and use a green line to highlight the last line I just read. If it senses that I am reading the same lines over and over again, the AI that is connected to both the computer and the glasses will kick in. At this point the AI will attempt to reword or restructure the sentences to better help the user’s understanding. If the reworded sentence is still awkward, the writer can always refresh for more options that the AI came up with. At the same time, the glasses are a form of engagement for the user making the writing experience so immersive that they do not lose focus or concentration. Because the scanners are constantly fixated on the user’s eyes and need to correlate the eye movement to the words on the screen, there is almost no room for distraction for the user. The document and the user become one blocking out any outside distractions. When the user turns his or head away from the screen, the lenses in the glass disengage and wait to be reconnected. In a similar manner, George R.R. Martin claims that his “secret weapon” for combatting distraction was WordStar, a basic and archaic program that “accounted for his long-running productivity” (Kirschenbaum, 6). Although Martin’s method was to utilize a basic program to block out his environment, I want to have the same effect but move forward with technology in the form of Mirrors’ glasses.

These tools can be used by both professional writers and the everyday user. Due to its simple user interface, it is easy to use and learn by all. In fact, there is very little to learn as the AI does not need commands to function. Therefore, the AI will take care of the processes by itself resulting in a practically non-existent learning curve for this product. All the user needs to do is connect the glasses so that the user’s computer recognizes the device and follows the guided installation for the program. After these simple steps are completed, the user will be utilizing the program with quick succession. With its user-friendly interface, I plan for my product to target a multitude of different customers. The main consumer base will be comprised of students ranging all the way from elementary to college level. This tool would also be effective for businessmen and white-collar workers in general. While its functions serve many purposes, I intend to market the product for educational or work-related uses.

Because this product is both software and a physical object, there will be two different processes for manufacturing. The program will obviously be worked on by computer science professionals who will code and distribute it digitally or put the data on discs for those that want a physical copy. The glasses, on the other hand, will be manufactured by a number of engineers who will carefully put the lenses that will act similarly to a computer monitor. While the majority of the glasses will be made of simple plastic materials, the engineers would have to incorporate putting in certain technology that will help the glasses connect to a computer wirelessly as well as scan the user’s eyes to detect movement.

As with most other products, much of the success can be attributed by the marketing. Wanting to associate my product directly to writing, my catchphrase will be “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who will answer the writer’s call?” Going back to the meaning behind its name “Mirrors”, the logo will be comprised of the famous statue of “The Thinking Man” inside a mirror. This will further enforce the idea that Mirrors is supposed to help guide the thinking and writing process. Advertising will be restricted to a few TV commercials but will not involve anything too elaborate. I believe hearsay and good critic/customer reviews will be enough publicity. That being said, the commercials will be strictly informative and will rarely utilize humor or other methods of marketing. A website will launch explaining the key features and give examples of its usage. I would rather the consumer research and evaluate the product themselves because the ones giving the time to do so will be the kind of people interested in buying my product. Any other marketing would be unnecessary expenses. Because of its technological nature, it would only make sense to have this product be found in stores such as Best Buy. Another outlet would be Staples because it stresses work and school related usage.

As the consumers will soon see, Mirrors is a product that values professionalism while still maintaining a certain openness through simple user interface. Just as Microsoft Office is a staple product used by millions, I want the same for Mirrors. A couple years after its initial release, I would hope that Mirrors finds itself on every home computer or school/work environment.

Works Cited

Hayles, Katherine. How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2012. Print.

Kirschenbaum, Matthew. Track Changes, A Literary History of Word Processing. N.p.: Harvard UP, 2014. Print.

Reflections

Track Changes Questions

November 11, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

1. in contrast to George R. R. Martin using WordStar in order to block out distractions, artists prefer to fully engage themselves with their surroundings for inspiration. In what ways are artists and writers different in the way they create?

2. There is a lot of discussion about the layout of keyboards and criticism on the inefficiency of switching between reading and edit modes in some word processors. If the world adopts technology so efficient that our thoughts instantly get put on the document, would this make future writing only comprised of the stream of conscious?

3. How much does the writer’s environment affect the actual writing process? What kind of environment do you prefer?

Reflections

Oryx and Crake

October 26, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

Much of the story is told between Jimmy’s flashbacks and the present. From the very beginning readers begin to get a sense that Snowman is the only one who is able to reconnect the past world to the current one. When the children around him ask about the objects washed up by sea he is easily able to identify all of them as a “hubcap, a piano key, a chunk of pale-green pop bottle smoothed by the ocean” (7). Only Jimmy is able to remember these items. The book suggests that Jimmy’s past may be our future. There are certain science fiction elements like the “sprayguns” and the genetic advancements that show a distinct technological sophistication that far exceeds our own. From this readers can conclude that there was some cataclysm that plundered Jimmy’s world into a primitive heap. Although it is still early to predict what exactly that world-changing event was, I predict it will have something to do with the genetic research that was being done by Jimmy’s father. This also explains the “green eyes” (102) that everyone has. At first I thought only the young children had green eyes and when men and women were mentioned, I believed they would have varying traits that would show that they are also survivors of the cataclysm much like Jimmy. Instead, they too possess the universal trait of green eyes which means that Jimmy must be much older than all of them. This sentiment is further supported on page 100 where Jimmy notes that all of the women, though ethnically different, all have the same kind of beauty to them. Perhaps this is to show how genetics has played a role in creating “more perfect” humans.

It would make sense that Jimmy would be the oldest. After all, he appears to be a wise shaman of sorts. The way he talks about Oryx and Crake makes them seem like gods. He even describes their path to fame as their “gradual deification” (104). It is unclear why those two specifically are the subjects of all his stories to the tribe. As with most ancient and primitive civilizations, mysticism is a recurring theme due to their inability to explain certain phenomena. Jimmy, having the knowledge of the old world, would have the answers to all of their questions but may be too tired to explain them or maybe he doesn’t want one explanation to lead to another. Having only read the first third of the book, the watch, in which Jimmy “listens” to Crake is still shrouded in mystery.

Much of the ideological conflicts can be found between Jimmy’s mother and father. Although both had worked for the same corporation, they begin to divert rapidly. Jimmy’s mother believes that science may have crossed the line. She criticizes that her husband’s work is “interfering with the building blocks of life” and that his work is “immoral”and “sacrilegious” (57). Her stance seems to be one in which she wants the world to retain its natural order. This is further demonstrated when she decides to run off with Killer, Jimmy’s pet, wanting the animal to be free to roam in the wild. Jimmy’s father has a very pro-science and big business vibe. When Jimmy’s mother says that she is depressed, he simply demands that she should “take some pills” (57). Instead of trying to console her with talking, he immediately resorts to using a drug to control her emotions. The domestic arguments taking place are not simply to outline Jimmy’s rather depressing childhood. It also serves as a way of showing what is wrong with world. The book does a good job of personifying ideological conflicts through the verbal arguments between the couple.

The most disturbing part of the reading were Crake’s and Jimmy’s time spent browsing the internet. Two young boys viewing pornography wasn’t really anything too alarming. It was their indifference towards the executions and other grotesque images that shocked me. Crake even explains that the executions “could get monotonous” (83) showing how prolonged exposure can make people indifferent about anything. Maybe this is what makes the internet so dangerous. Our voyeuristic ability to watch something so impersonally can drive us towards indifference about the most gruesome and morally-ill subjects.

Reflections, Uncategorized

Brian Sirgutz

October 23, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

A lot can be said about Sirgutz’s experiences as a band manager and his struggle to find himself in Gallatin, but what is the most interesting, especially for this class, is his role as a driver of social impact through media. Even before his role as Senior Vice President of Social Impact at the Huffington Post, he was a founding member of the company called Causecast. This company enables other businesses to manage their donations, community offerings, and other philanthropic practices through Causecast. In essence, Causecast acts as a hub, mainly for nonprofit organizations, to organize the way they give back to the world. This demonstrates a direct way in which technology can help social impact. Through technology, companies are able to streamline their efforts to build on their philanthropy.

This lead to his talk on the Huffington Post. Sirgutz managed many different groups within Huffington Post in order to create the social impact columns. Sirgutz explains that his particular columns are the ones that readers will often bring up in conversations to discuss and debate rather than the top news stories that seemingly overshadow them. Although it is still hard to quantify the effects of these columns, the Huffington Post is still able to see the impact, to some extent, of the social impact column by seeing if the column gets tweeted or spreads through other means. In the middle of his explanation of what he does, Sirgutz brought up his most powerful point. He raised his iphone and said that “with this, any civilian can be a journalist”. In an age where people can readily record videos, take pictures, and tweet about events around them, bystanders are able to become part of the machine that drives social impact awareness. Much of what he said during his visit relates to our class’s study of the media, but those words stuck out to me the most. With tools like the internet, cell phones and social media at our disposal, we can all become writers, photographers, and commentators.

Reflections

Kari Kraus Questions

October 20, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

1. Technological fluency is “the capability to understand, use, and assess technology beyond its rote application” (76). If technology is really meant to be built upon and altered, who is to say what the “rote application” of an object really is?

2. One page 83, Kraus discusses the meanings of books and their inaccessibility. While it is true that in order for a book to be successful it needs to be accessible to readers, interpretations can still vary wildly. Even if the book is widely read, does the implied message ever indefinitely make it across to all readers? In this case, should authors ever strive for their works to be more selective towards those who will get the meaning right away?

3. I agree with sentiments expressed on page 87. The effect some text has is lost between the various mediums in which to read them. Kraus mentions how the Kindle only can view one page at a time. Although this can hurt an author (if the author wanted to present both pages at the same time like in a normal book in order to get the reader to see broader) can it not also help? What if the author wanted to create dramatic effect and leave a cliffhanger on one page that gets resolved on the next? How much does the physical manifestations of text affect the way we read?

Midterm

Video Game Business Ethics (final draft)

October 17, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu Leave a comment

There is no greater motivation in this world quite like the promise of having a thicker wallet. Entertainment has arguably been at the forefront of this sentiment. Whether someone is a pop diva or an NFL running back, they all belong to something called the entertainment industry. The keyword there is “industry”. Although comparatively young in regards to sports and music, the video game industry has become wildly successful over the past decade. What started off as being nothing more than a specialized hobby has grown into a massive mainstream form of media. With triple-A video game releases even beating out Hollywood in terms of revenue there is clearly something they are doing right (Chatfield, 1). Despite all of these impressive sales figures, inevitably greed will come into play. What remains important though is that an industry learns from its errors. From creative business models to practically stealing from customers, the video game industry has strengthened modern business ethics even through their mistakes.

Perhaps it would be best to start off with the good. It is common knowledge by now that expanding your acquisitions in the form of small companies helps bring a new set of skills to your service, but it also gives those same small businesses a chance to grow. Steam supports working with a number of smaller developers in addition to the big ones. While the console wars rage on between Sony’s Playstation, Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Wii U pitting their communities against each other, Steam remains practically unchallenged in the PC gaming market share. While Steam does rely on some exclusives such as Counterstrike and Dota 2 which boast hundreds of thousands of players daily, much of its success can be attributed to the large library of games that were made possible by its continued support of those struggling to break into the gaming industry by “greenlighting” (a form of approval) their products (“Steam” n.d.). Playstation, and more specifically, Xbox try to stay in the game by providing a number of other services such as Netflix and blue ray players in their machines to make up for the fact that neither are as outgoing in giving smaller developers a chance. The Wii U trails far behind all three platforms due to its lack of almost any third party developer support (Vargas, 2013). Not only does Steam essentially promote smaller businesses, it has proven to be profitable as well. Consoles may not necessarily be dead but PC elitism has grown over the past few years due to the number of titles, specifically indie games, Steam has accumulated over the years. Their inclusiveness may understandably win this war of platforms as they continue to take chances forging alliances with dozens of other developers in order to cater to the many different kinds of gamers.

“Steam.” Steam, n.d.http://store.steampowered.com/.

Speaking of PC gaming, World of Warcraft, although fallen in numbers, still remains the biggest MMORPG of all time. It once was able to claim a whopping 12 million players. How is all of this possible? It relied on subscriptions. Most video games at the time of its release were single products that had a one-time purchase and less reason to revisit the game once you were done. World of Warcraft’s formula offered more than just a product. It was also a service. Constant patches and add-ons convinced players that they were living in an ever-changing and ever-growing online world. This gave incentive to keep playing even for veterans. In a sense, the game never abandons the player and constantly tries to reward player loyalty. Off course server maintenance and constant reworks would cost money, but they made all of it back through the sheer amount of support from the community. Blizzard had successfully created an IP (intellectual property) that would last more than a decade and still go strong (“World of Warcraft” n.d.). With just one product, Blizzard capitalized on the idea of customer loyalty by both brining in new players and accommodating the old ones.

Trying to capitalize on Blizzard’s success, a number of other companies tried their stab at a big MMO release. Bioware’s The Old Republic appeared promising at first, but does not appear to have the longevity that World of Warcraft does. However, it still is far from being a failure by including an in-game store (“The Old Republic” n.d.). People are quick to nay-say micro-transactions, but it is all about the manner in which they are implemented. The reason why micro-transactions and in-game stores are criticized is because of their encouragement of a pay-to-win model. This essentially means that people are forced to pay to pass levels and not give the time or effort required to progress in the game. The Old Republic relies more on selling in-game items that offer no real gameplay rewards, but you can give your character a cool looking hat. There’s really nothing advantageous about a hat as it only serves cosmetic purposes. Small purchases like this keep the business afloat but does not go as shallow as to make players pay in order to proceed to the next level.

“The Old Republic.” The Old Republic, n.d.http://www.starwarstheoldrepublic.com/.

Wildstar, a new MMO on the scene, makes money from an even more far-fetched angle. Knowing that entering the MMO market is difficult, they came up with a formula that encourages its current subscribers to keep playing. They believe that there are essentially two different kinds of people that play their games. Person A is fine with paying subscriptions but does not have enough time to play in order to progress in the game. Person B has plenty of time but cannot keep playing because he/she is unable to keep up with the subscription fees. Wildstar allows person A and B to alleviate their problems. Person A can give some of the time purchased through his subscription to pay for some of person B’s hard-earned in-game currency/items. This is basically a trade between money and time. Person A gets the in-game items he/she needs to progress without having to dedicate their life to the game while person B gets the time needed to play longer (“Wildstar” n.d.). This understanding of the mindsets of different customers helps create better connections between the company and the consumer. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time a video game company has let players trade directly between each other.

Eve Online has more than just a simple trade system. It has an entire living economy in its virtual space that players control and utilize with real money. The market inside this virtual reality is so complex that it has actual inflation and deflation rates for the in-game items being traded. Players themselves set prices and can make auctions at their own will. Very little is monitored in this in-game economy except for any “illegal” trades. Plumer, a game journalist, describes the game as being its own “small country” even going into further detail about how players “speculate on commodities” while forming “trade coalitions and banks”. The amount of user power in this game is remarkable. There is virtually no middleman which gives a sense of trust between the developers and the players. At no point does the game developer itself step in to moderate trades. Instead of trying to control everything they give power to the people, and through this ideology they have secured the loyalty of their players ensuring that their IP will stay relevant in years to come.

Brad, Plumer. “The Economics of Video Games.” The Washington Post, September 28, 2012.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/28/the-economics-of-video-games/

Unfortunately not all video games are sunshine and rainbows in the way they handle their businesses. Let’s take a look at the most casual of games. Just about everyone with a smartphone has played or at least heard of a little something called Candy Crush saga. The entire game is just swiping candy in four directions trying to match colors. For anyone who has had a phone before the iphone era, this concept sounds a lot like bejeweled doesn’t it? The premise of the game has been around longer than most people believe coming in various different forms ranging from a Facebook equivalent to classic NES games. What makes this game a cash cow compared to the rest is the way they make money off of their game. Players cannot go 1 minute without a shameless plead for more of the user’s money. Smosh Honest Game Trailers puts it best saying that players “are given options like paying to unlock new levels, paying for power-ups, paying to make more moves, paying for more lives and paying for the ability to pay for more lives”. In response, King Digital is now more concerned with developing new mobile game apps rather than simply milking their already successful game. Their current product lineup is remarkably similar to Candy Crush Saga, but at the very least they are making money from new content rather than from relying on the old model. It may be improvement in small increments, but it is improvement nonetheless.

“Why Candy Crush Saga Is Taking over the World,” n.d.https://medium.com/mobile-games/why-candy-crush-saga-is-taking-over-the-world-f89203a90c13.

Corporate video game crimes do not end there. DLC, also known as downloadable content, has been greatly panned by fans and critics alike. These digital expansions have been accused of allowing the developers to market games with missing content to consumers and selling that same missing content as an “add-on”. I have to admit that this is a generalization and that some DLC expansions have earned the right to actually call themselves an expansion. The most blatant example of DLC abuse was with a game called Street Fight vs Tekken. This particular game actually came with the content on the disc but could only be accessed through a purchasable code (Gallaway, 2012). Understandably, outrage spread through the community prompting the developer to review their DLC practices in the future. Since then the company has released Ultra Street Fighter IV which expands the roster of characters for Street Fighter IV. People who did not have the original title can purchase the new one and those who had the first can upgrade their version at a reasonable price. Although they could have gotten away with refusing to put up an upgrade option forcing everyone to buy a new copy, they decided against it. This reflects a willingness to change business practice even at the cost of making a quick buck.

If selling a purchasable code was bad, selling an unfinished game to your customers is downright inexcusable. Steam, along with other publishers, have allowed players to partake in early beta tests to judge games that are still in development. The catch is that some beta tests actually require players to pay a fee (Orland, 2013). Gamers are not doing themselves a favor by paying to criticize unfinished games. Of course it is unreasonable to ask game companies to give early access to their projects for everyone before the final product is released. By then, players might lose interest and the company would go broke. Still, they need player feedback in order to improve before their big debut. More and more beta tests are beginning to tackle the problem in a different fashion. League of Legends and a number of other games in the same genre went through extensive periods of beta testing before being officially released. In order to keep the game from being at full access to the public, most beta tests now require sign-ups through their websites to limit the participants (“League of Legends” n.d.). This may sound exclusive but at least they do not cheat anyone out of their money. This flexibility in business practice demonstrates how experimentation can become a win-win for both consumers and producers.

Sadly, even one of the most popular series, Halo, cannot escape the lure of becominga corporate sellout. The embarrassing alliance Halo 4 made would forever be the laughing stock of gamers everywhere. Halo 4 was at the forefront of the Doritos and Mountain Dew campaign at the time of its release. By buying Doritos and Mountain Dew, gamers could level up faster with double XP. Even high profile game journalist Geoff Keighley was nothing more than a mere puppet promoting Doritos and Mountain Dew through Halo 4’s popularity (Vargas, 2012). Capitalizing on an IP’s popularity is not an unjust decision. Understandably partnerships need to be made in order to cover for the high production costs of triple-A titles. That is not the issue. The main problem gamers had were with the double XP. Having another company’s product directly affecting the game and its online community was a terrible decision made by Halo’s creators. No longer was Mountain Dew and Doritos promoting Halo. Halo was promoting them. Since then, 343, the company behind the Halo series, has ended its partnership with the snack and soda to work on their next projects. Both Halo 5 and The Master Chief Collection have only had promotion through gaming conventions and online trailers. Gamers made complaints. The company listened.

Phil, Owen. “No, Game Journalists Are Not Paid by Publishers for Review Scores,” July 28, 2013.http://www.gamefront.com/are-paid-by-game-publishers-for-review-scores-nope/.

More pressing than the Doritos incident is gaming journalism itself. Corruption always finds a way to snare its tendrils into the innocent. There has been great speculation about whether publishers have any power over those that review their games. GMU, a video game awards ceremony came under fire in 2012 when it was revealed that the journalists invited to the ceremony were voted for and sponsored by video game publishers. Journalists were encouraged to tweet positive statements about certain games. In return, they would get a free PS3. Joe Vargas, a youtuber specializing in video game reviews, describes the process as “favors for positive coverage”. Promotion through shady deals have become an increasing problem in the video game industry. Perhaps the high-end professional reviewers have fallen from grace, but this bad press has helped pave way to the legitimacy of bloggers and youtubers willing to weigh in their own opinions on games. Youtube recently went on a spree taking down a number of video game related videos. Although people were quick to point fingers at the developers and publishers it was actually revealed to be the result of third party music companies making claims to music used in the intros of a number of videos. Gaming developers and publishers were actually quick to defend youtubers and amateur reviewers (“YouTube’s Response To Content ID Copyright Controversy,” n.d). Despite a need for better reviews to boost sales, game companies defended the rights of free speech even for those who had spoken negatively about their products. Seeing an opportunity to win back the public’s trust the gaming industry’s bold move has amended some of the disputes with gamers.

It may be wrong to praise all of the business practices of the video game industry over the past years, but the events that have transpired have nonetheless become important lessons in business ethics as a whole. Each success and each folly have become a stepping stone further shaping what it means to be a good business. There is no shame in an industry making poor decisions as long as it is motivated in improving itself. The tales of the video game industry will undoubtedly transform the corporate world into something that both consumers and businessmen can rally behind.

Works Cited

Brad, Gallaway. “The Consumer’s Seven Laws of DLC,” April 8, 2010.http://www.gamecritics.com/brad-gallaway/the-consumers-seven-laws-of-dlc.

Brad, Plumer. “The Economics of Video Games.” The Washington Post, September 28, 2012.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/28/the-economics-of-video-games/.

“Business Model.” Wildstar, n.d.http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/game/features/business-model/.

Candy Crush Saga (Honest Game Trailers), 2014.https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=candy+crush+criticism.

Kyle, Orland. “Valve Lets You Pay for the Beta with Steam ‘Early Access’ Program,” March 20, 2013.http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/valve-lets-you-pay-for-the-beta-with-steam-early-access-program/.

“League of Legends.” League of Legends, n.d.http://na.leagueoflegends.com/.

Phil, Owen. “No, Game Journalists Are Not Paid by Publishers for Review Scores,” July 28, 2013.http://www.gamefront.com/are-paid-by-game-publishers-for-review-scores-nope/.

“Steam.” Steam, n.d.http://store.steampowered.com/.

“The Old Republic.” The Old Republic, n.d.http://www.starwarstheoldrepublic.com/.

Tom, Chatfield. “Videogames Now Outperform Hollywood Movies.” The Guardian, September 26, 2009.http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/sep/27/videogames-hollywood.

Vargas, Joe. Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2012!, 2013.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54s_jyjMUxY.

Vargas, Joe. “Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2013!,” n.d.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voVpvKlntDM.

“Why Candy Crush Saga Is Taking over the World,” n.d.https://medium.com/mobile-games/why-candy-crush-saga-is-taking-over-the-world-f89203a90c13.

“World of Warcraft.” World of Warcraft, n.d.http://us.battle.net/wow/en/.

“YouTube’s Response To Content ID Copyright Controversy,” n.d.http://gamerant.com/youtube-content-id-copyright-controversy-response/.

Midterm

Video Game Business Ethics

October 12, 2014 rdc372@nyu.edu 47 Comments

There is no greater motivation in this world quite like the promise of having a thicker wallet. Entertainment has arguably been at the forefront of this sentiment. Whether someone is a pop diva or an NFL running back, they all belong to something called the entertainment industry. The keyword there is “industry”. Although comparatively young in regards to sports and music, the video game industry has become wildly successful over the past decade. What started off as being nothing more than a specialized hobby has grown into a massive mainstream form of media. With triple-A video game releases even beating out Hollywood in terms of revenue there is clearly something they are doing right. Still, despite all of these impressive sales figures, inevitably greed will come into play. From creative business models to practically stealing from customers, the video game industry has undoubtedly affected modern business ethics both positively and negatively.

Perhaps it would be best to start off with the good. It is common knowledge by now that expanding your target market to be more inclusive will rake in bigger profits. While the console wars rage on between Sony’s Playstation and Microsoft’s Xbox, Steam remains practically unchallenged in the PC gaming market share. While Steam does rely on some exclusives such as Counterstrike and Dota 2, much of its success can be attributed to the large library of games that it provides from a myriad of different developers and publishers. Playstation, and more specifically, Xbox try to stay in the game by providing a number of other services such as Netflix and blue ray players in their machines. The Wii U trails far behind all three platforms due to its lack of third party developer support. Consoles may not necessarily be dead but PC elitism has grown over the past few years due to the number of titles Steam has accumulated over the years. Similar to how the Xbox 360 arguably won the console war several years back due to Playstation’s loss of certain exclusives (Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto to name a few), Steam may understandably win this war of platforms as they continue to forge alliances with dozens of other developers in order to cater to the many different kinds of gamers.

Speaking of PC gaming, World of Warcraft, although fallen in numbers, still remains the biggest MMORPG of all time. It once was able to claim a whopping 12 million players. How is all of this possible? It relied on subscriptions. Most video games at the time of its release were single products that had a one-time purchase and less reason to revisit the game once you were done. World of Warcraft’s formula offered more than just a product. It was also a service. Constant patches and add-ons convinced players that they were living in an ever-changing and ever-growing online world. Off course server maintenance and constant reworks would cost money, but they made all of it back through subscription fees. Blizzard had successfully created an IP that would last more than a decade and still go strong. Other companies needed to constantly innovate creating new products that could keep the company afloat or destroy them.

Trying to capitalize on Blizzard’s success, a number of other companies tried their stab at a big MMO release. Bioware’s The Old Republic appeared promising at first, but does not appear to have the longevity that World of Warcraft does. However, it still is far from being a failure by including an in-game store. People are quick to nay-say micro-transactions, but it is all about the manner in which they are implemented. The reason why micro-transactions and in-game stores are criticized is because of their encouragement of a pay-to-win model. This essentially means that people can pay to pass levels and not give the time or effort required to progress in the game. The Old Republic relies more on selling in-game items that offer no real gameplay rewards, but you can give your character a cool looking hat. There’s really nothing advantageous about a hat. Small purchases like this keep the game alive and running.

Wildstar, a new MMO on the scene, makes money from an even more far-fetched angle. Knowing that entering the MMO market is difficult, they came up with a formula that encourages its current subscribers to keep playing. They believe that there are essentially two different kinds of people that play their games. Person A is fine with paying subscriptions but does not have enough time to play in order to progress in the game. Person B has plenty of time but cannot keep playing because he/she is unable to keep up with the subscription fees. Wildstar allows person A and B to alleviate their problems. Person A can give some of the time purchased through his subscription to pay for some of person B’s hard-earned in-game currency/items. This is basically a trade between money and time. Person A gets the in-game items he/she needs to progress without having to dedicate their life to the game while person B gets the time needed to play longer. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time a video game company has let players trade directly between each other.

Eve Online has more than just a simply trade system. It has an entire living economy in its virtual space that players control and utilize with real money. The market inside this virtual reality is so complex that it has actual inflation and deflation rates for the in-game items being traded. Players themselves set prices and can make auctions at their own will. Very little is monitored in this in-game economy except for any “illegal” trades. Plume, a game journalist, describes the game as being its own “small country” even going into further detail about how players “speculate on commodities” while forming “trade coalitions and banks”. The amount of user power in this game is remarkable. There is virtually no middleman. At no point does the game developer itself step in to moderate trades. They give power to the people, and through this ideology they have secured the loyalty of their players ensuring that their IP will stay relevant in years to come.

Unfortunately not all video games are sunshine and rainbows in the way they handle their businesses. Let’s take a look at the most casual of games. Just about everyone with a smartphone has played or at least heard of a little something called Candy Crush saga. The entire game is just swiping candy in four directions trying to match colors. For anyone who has had a phone before the iphone era, this concept sounds a lot like bejeweled doesn’t it? The premise of the game has been around longer than most people believe in various different forms ranging from a Facebook equivalent to classic NES games. Despite being predated, King Digital, the creators of Candy Crush saga, made it their mission to sue every other game that was similar to theirs. Games that simply have the words “Candy” or even “saga” were not safe from the legal attacks by King Digital. Even more outraging is the way they make money off of their game. Players cannot go 1 minute without a shameless plead for more of the user’s money. Smosh Honest Game Trailers puts it best saying that players “are given options like paying to unlock new levels, paying for power-ups, paying to make more moves, paying for more lives and paying for the ability to pay for more lives”.

If selling your game in chopped up pieces one at a time to your customers was bad, selling an unfinished game to your customers is downright inexcusable. Steam, along with other publishers, have allowed players to partake in early beta tests to judge games that are still in development. The catch is that some beta tests actually require players to pay a fee. Gamers are not doing themselves a favor by paying to criticize unfinished games. This problem has extended to kickstarters. Games that began as kickstarter projects receive funding from hype that builds as they get closer to their release date. Not every game gets fully developed and some projects eventually get scrapped. While some kickstarters are legitimate, others abuse the mysteriousness of their projects reeling in consumers to sink their money into something that may not even be finished.

It may be wrong to praise all of the business practices of the video game industry over the past years, but the events that have transpired have nonetheless become important lessons in business ethics as a whole. Each success and each folly have become a stepping stone further shaping what it means to be a good business. There is no shame in huge profits as long as they are earned by just means. The tales of the video game industry will undoubtedly transform the corporate world into something that both consumers and businessmen can rally behind.

Works Cited:

“Business Model.” Wildstar, n.d.http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/game/features/business-model/.

Candy Crush Saga (Honest Game Trailers), 2014.https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=candy+crush+criticism.

William, Volk. “Free-to-Play Games Are Having Their Soupy Sales Moment,” August 6, 2013.http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/16/free-to-play-games-are-having-their-soupy-sales-moment/.

How to Run a Successful Videogame Kickstarter, n.d.http://www.dorkly.com/post/66182/how-to-run-a-successful-videogame-kickstarter.

“League of Legends.” League of Legends, n.d.http://na.leagueoflegends.com/.

Phil, Owen. “No, Game Journalists Are Not Paid by Publishers for Review Scores,” July 28, 2013.http://www.gamefront.com/are-paid-by-game-publishers-for-review-scores-nope/.

“Steam.” Steam, n.d.http://store.steampowered.com/.

Brad, Gallaway. “The Consumer’s Seven Laws of DLC,” April 8, 2010.http://www.gamecritics.com/brad-gallaway/the-consumers-seven-laws-of-dlc.

Brad, Plumer. “The Economics of Video Games.” The Washington Post, September 28, 2012.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/09/28/the-economics-of-video-games/.

“The Old Republic.” The Old Republic, n.d.http://www.starwarstheoldrepublic.com/.

Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2012!, 2013.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54s_jyjMUxY.

“Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2013!,” n.d.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voVpvKlntDM.

Tom, Chatfield. “Videogames Now Outperform Hollywood Movies.” The Guardian, September 26, 2009.http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2009/sep/27/videogames-hollywood.

“World of Warcraft.” World of Warcraft, n.d.http://us.battle.net/wow/en/.

Thinking and Writing Through New Media

All posts by rdc372@nyu.edu

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Video Game Business Ethics

NYU Gallatin First-Year Writing Seminar, Fall 2014