Thursday, February 25, 2010

Post 3 for Friday 11am Section

I grew up playing games like Doom. I grew up watching my father play games like Myst... OK, so that second statement isn't entirely true. Its more like “I grew up occasionally walking into the office to find my dad playing Myst.” Manovich cites both games as means by which one can see the potential and originality of new media. In my childhood “spatial journeys” I traveled down blocky corridors shooting aliens and demons and whatever else Doom-type games threw at me. When I saw my dad playing Myst, he would be swearing, struggling with where to go next or what to do to advance his narrative. When I walked in, I could give him advice and he would move on in a few minutes. Reading Manovich and reflecting back, I couldn't help but think about how one's familiarity with new media dictates or influences their experience. Though I was more accustomed to more action oriented games, I could give advice for more thought-provoking games like Myst. My father, on the other hand, just had a free CD-ROM that he figured he would try on his new computer, and found himself generally frustrated and confused.

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