College Writing

Screenshots taken from Megaman X

Screenshots taken from Super Metroid

Screenshots taken from Zelda: Link to the Past

Screenshots taken from Final Fantasy III

I am somewhat decent of a writer but not very good though, and that sort of weakness lies with my handwriting that is pretty bad. I’m a very good reader(slow and silent reader) but I just don’t like reading out loud all that much, it’s just that I’m somewhat paranoid of sounding weird, screwing up on something, and just flat-out terrified. My vocabulary is pretty good  when it comes to a variety of words when writing my assignments. Speaking of which, when writing essays and whatnot I’m not very good with the organization of essays, but I am very good with paragraphs(I am not very organized when comes to writing these types of assignments). As for a pencil or pen I prefer to write with a pen despite not having the ability to erase mistakes(I would just use a White-out type of liquid). When it comes to ether writing on paper or typing on the computer I guess I would choose to type since I’m a computer type of person, but I would write if it felt easier for certain types of assignments I suppose. As a writer I can only write slowly for a reason, and if I were to write too fast I easily make a spelling errors, missing  words, and etc.  Upon retrospect, I am writer with a few flaws but still pretty decent when it’s writing things at all vs nothing(meaning it’s better than nothing).

For my Ethnography Essay, I typed about Google+ Social Network and how it was a place for humans to interact. Also compared Google Plus to Facebook both of their similarities & differences of these social networks. I described how Google Plus works and how I & other humans use it to communicate/share with each other. My experience with Google Plus was typed down to that very day that I signed up for while logging on to my Gmail account. I wanted to tell the focus of how Google Plus was becoming a cultural phenomenons for social networking such as Facebook.

The Memoir Essay that I typed was about my history of playing video games. I put a thoroughly detailed walk-through of a game I played when I was a kid; when I would play it with the other video games on the Super Nintendo. I thought I would use the advices that were commented on my Memoir post to talk about a game that I liked, and go into details about it(gameplay, information, game-mechanics, & my experience).

On my Argument Essay, I typed about a view on whether or not video games promote positive/negative human influence upon playing. I typed down my history on how I somewhat honed my skills while playing certain video games; also to show some of the examples that skills from video games are relative. My social connection to video games that are expressed when me & other players when playing video games. I also typed down how video games were linked towards soothing humans from stress that usually goes on in life.

Sincerely,

Joel Greene

• Henry, Alan. “In Defense of Video Games: More Than Just an Entertaining Time Sink.” Web log post. Lifehacker. Gina Trapani, 1 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 May 2012.
• Brockway, Robert. “5 Real Skills Video Games Have Secretly Been Teaching Us.” Cracked.com. Cracked, 12 Oct. 2011. Web. 01 May 2012.
• Cox, Kate. “This Video Game Actually Treats Teenagers’ Depression.” Kotaku. Brian Crecente, 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 01 May 2012.
• Cox, Kate. “Why Gamers Love to Fail.” Kotaku. Brian Crecente, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 07 May 2012.

People disagree about the effects of video games for one example my mother says video games were “a waste of time”, but I think that video games are for more complex than they may think. Many others(Parents, fundamentalists, politicians, & etc.) think video games are harmful, corrupting, immoral, and most of all on the controversial subject violent & most of that are valid points. On the article “In Defense of Video Games” by Alan Henry, about how video games can be somewhat beneficial for certain brain skills, the author Alan debates on how video games can be in ways of stimulating skills on the body or mind. But, some may think that video games are just for entertainment and just a waste of time, but some of the research in his article may convince you other wise(It certainly did for me, even though I have read an article or subject on this very same matter). I would certainly have to agree with the author because video games can help you learn in some ways for example(and true) when I was a kid I would play the Pokemon games(Blue version, Pinball, & Silver version) to fight & catch a bunch of those creatures, for each one captured by me I would read each Pokedex entry(with facts about behavior, habitats, history, anatomy, & etc)  that’s unlocked depending on which one I capture(It’s not very exciting, but it is informative), and by doing that I think that is why I can read so well(even though I don’t read any books at all sadly, but I have thought about reading Manga’s… but moving… on). In my opinion video games are valuable because they have means to hone certain skills of human being that can be very useful in real-life.

Video Games can influence good motor-skills like from my example above, but there are other types of skills to consider like with organization, resources, & customization from certain RPG/Strategy games to organize toward your liking desire, and with resources if you would need a certain thing like a HP recovery item against tough enemies/bosses ahead keeping you prepared for almost any sort of situation; this sort of skill would be used for managing your personal belongings or keeping inventory of items for workplace. Like presented from an article called “5 Real Skills Video Games Have Secretly Been Teaching Us” by Robert Brockway, he said some of those examples of skills through playing video games; also by mentioning  in-game experiences from video games like “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” & “Final Fantasy III”. I was somewhat amused when Robert mentions the Wallmaster enemy from ”The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” (that were usually found in the Forest/Shadow Temples) how they would sneak above the player, & grab him/her from above, but this aspect on fighting off enemies in video games applies more in the next paragraph.

Aside from having mortal-skills from playing video games, they are also a therapeutic way of treating depression & stress from life. From the article “This Video Game Actually Treats Teenagers’ Depression” also by Kate Cox, a research team in New Zealand does show that through the game SPARX they made to test their subjects with indicates that the depression was gradually reduced from 26% to 44%. Ultimately the treatment via SPARX with the subjects depressions was significantly reduced to the total of 80%, which proves that they’re research is accurate. I think that this is quite interesting, it reminds me of the other article from Alan Henry that I posted a couple of weeks ago about the developmental factor of video games. I would be relaxed when I play video games & it’s very vital to get rid as much stress as possible(because stress can cause heart-attack, weight-gain, and even death at max); it also ties in to winning/losing in video games but for me it’s ether win or lose for the thrill of it all but other wise I wouldn’t want a game that is completely impossible to beat(or do I?). So in a way video games help me keep my composure when I’m somewhat stressed or depressed at times.

Many may say that video games are pointless but they do have beneficial values as I mention above. I have been playing video games for many years now and had quite a history with every video game I’ve played even to this very day; like the levels I play, the music, characters, bosses/enemies, winning/losing, graphics, earning certain things required to get through game(Items, Weapons, and etc.), and the memories I have playing each game. The valuable aspects of gaming are quality in gameplay, the duration of a video game, balanced difficulty, the fixed or hidden glitches within the game, and a good structured story & genre of the game(also depends on how good it blends with the gameplay I suppose). So in retrospect, some of those may think that video games hold no values at all, however they can teach us new things that may help in real-life tasks, and they also connect us gamers(friends, family, & relationships) together for the same fanbase culture of video games.

“Article”(Language Warning)

This article is about the 5 skills from playing video games that’s beneficial in life. These skills are timing, organization, interior design(for strategic puzzles and fighting enemies), resource management, and basic morality(but sometimes the other way around). The examples that were used to explain the sort of skills of life are from video games like Super Mario, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Tetris/Dr. Mario, and Final Fantasy III(6 in Japan) along with other RPG’s. I would say that these points are quite valid since I’ve played most of those games stated in the article; like that ceiling-hand enemy from the Forest & Shadow Temples on Zelda: Ocarina of Time, they would creep above the player and the shadow around you would distort bigger & bigger until it drops down, grabs you, and pulls you up(you would lose a couple of hearts & end up in the beginning of room/area that you were currently in). What I would do is just wait for it to come down to get me, to move away at the right timing, & finally I move in on the thing to slash it like hell!! But anyways these skills are quit vital to real-life tasks & etc.

A view on whether or not video games promote positive/negative human influence upon playing. The reason of this is because that people on & on would say that video games would have an impact on social/mental skills that were whether positive or negative.

• Relationships (Family, Friends, Dating)
• History with video game violence/controversies
• Human mortar-skills
• Video game fan knowledge
• Cultural sense

“Article”

This one is about the study of video games being therapeutic toward teenage depression. Research in New Zealand does show that through the game SPARX they made to test they’re subjects with indicates that the depression was gradually reduced from 26% to 44%. Ultimately the treatment via SPARX with the subjects depressions was significantly reduced to the total of 80%, which proves that they’re research is accurate. I think that this is quite interesting, it reminds me of the other article that I posted a couple of weeks ago about the developmental factor of video games. Video games calm me down if I’m in such a rutty mood, and I would be relieved in some way; but if I’m on a frustrating level or whatnot I guess I would just play another game or other wise.

[Portfolio due on May 10 2012]

-3 essays plus cover letter, 1 with MLA research

-["Final Draft" due April 30 2012]~argument

-[the other piece - May 7 2012]~photo essay

Both can be done on dates either way (if switched)

Google+ is the most popular, social networking website in the world when Google forged in 2011. This sort of thing I signed up on Google-Plus when I was logging on to my Gmail account that day, I had no idea what it really was at the time but Google-Plus turned to be much more then just any other feature on Google like Gmail and whatnot. It was a type of site that humans, friends, celebrities, companies, websites, and etc. can interact socially in media, webcam/typing chats, photos, and even in games (with high-scores in ranks, & for example I would play the Angry Birds game to beat the other scores that my friends in my circle made). There is also a mechanic on Google-Plus that allows you to add & organize friends accordingly that is called “Circles” (you can even create your own circles in means of specification). I have been on Google-Plus almost every day to see what people in my “circles” post & comment to see if it’s an interest of me and I would recommend that (or G+ it) kinda of the “like/dislike” mechanic of Facebook. The environment of Google-Plus is the sense of colorful-graphic user interface that is updated every second with user posts, photos, and share articles. I myself am not a Facebook user(I’m willing to admit that) but I can somewhat compare Google-Plus & Facebook; First that thing I said about Google-Plus’ G+ button being a little similar to Facebook’s “like/dislike” button feature, despite Google-Plus “circles” for adding friends(to be in someone-else’s circle you must be added and then you have to add that corresponding user as well) is quite different then Facebook’s mechanic of adding friends(like when you can only become friends with a corresponding FB user if he/she choose the accept button for the option) but they are kind of similar however, with profile viewing Google-Plus gives out options whether or not to give certain personal information like with Facebook when they can choose to have their profile viewed by anyone or just Facebook users(also limited if profile can only be viewed by friends), and with sharing posts, photos, media, & articles Google-Plus can implement all the user shares into a pool that updates almost every second(but depending on friends & circles) and Facebook has live-feed for all the user’s shares(but I don’t know much about that). I feel more comfortable with Google-Plus because of their security policy & I don’t really hear anything about them being hacked; but compared to Facebook however I’ve heard they’ve been hacked dozens of times and which has to with me never having a Facebook account in the first place(no offense FB users). Upon retrospect, Google+ is something that can bring many humans together(including me) to interact, have fun, & share information.

“Article”

This article is about the Terrafugia, the new type of car that can fly in the air. This is the very first car model that can drive on the road terrain and unfold wing-spans that can successfully fly in the higher terrain which is in the sky(Terrafugia’s Test-Run). They’ve also developed the PAL-V helicopter car that can also do a complete “Maiden Flight” like the Terrafugia can and it(PAL-V) can also be driven on the road as well(PAL-V’s Test-Run). For my views I find these marvels cool and very unique, because we almost at the juncture point of making cars that actually fly. I mean sure we haven’t made any Hover-cars(like in Back to the Future movies!) but maybe someday it can finally be done! But having flying cars like planes is quite an advancement of the future to come.