Mkhan333's Blog

The IT profession is considered a male-dominated and male-oriented field. If we include game developers as part of the IT profession, we find little exception to this dominance. Video games are thus designed from the minds of male game developers.  In her essay, “Narrative construction as play” Brenda Laurel highlights this lapse in the inclusion and interaction of girls in game design.

Laurel reinforces this claim by questioning why most video games are based on mechanics and constructivism, which predominantly engage boys as opposed to narrative construction, which has a tendency to uphold the interest of young girls.

The early attempts to make video games appealing to girls largely consisted of having female protagonists and making the content nonviolent. The gendering of games was furthered by the advertising, promotion, and packaging of the games in the ubiquitous pink and purple boxes.

Moreover, one of the most comprehensive survey studies of the 1980s found that even kindergartners of both genders viewed video games as more appropriate to boys (Wilder, Mackie, and Cooper 1985). Boys figured out the intricacies of the game, such as the different levels and the strategies appropriate to each; they were also seen comparing notes about the levels they had reached and the scores they had obtained. This whole-hearted absorption in the game was missing among the girls, who were not overtly enthusiastic about playing and seemed almost relieved when they finished their training session.

In her essay, Laurel includes Jenkins’ research to reinforce her argument. Jenkins states; “The heart of fan culture is the ability to relate to, appropriate and repurpose characters and story materials in order to create personal meaning. Fan behavior provides an excellent example of narrative construction as play.” Laurel defines this role of the computer as that of theatre and performance.

Laurel argues that unless there is more of a focus on narrative construction, game design will continue to negate the gender make up of its audience. She argues that the use of narrative will allow a more collaborative interest in gaming amongst both girls and boys. She gives the XMEN series as an example of the success of such interactive collaboration, as the XMEN series is popular amongst both girls and boys.

In his essay, “For an art against the cartography of everyday life”, Griffis provides an in-depth analysis regarding the various possible applications of locative media. It asserts the possibility of locative media acting as a pathway between life and consumption. This is done through regulating movement on a global basis. The Author compares it to walls and highways, to reiterate the utilitarian need for locomotive media.

The Author does put forward the various criticisms which locomotive media as a practice, has been subjected to. The most prominent one is the notion of it being a form of “global invigilation.”To be honest, prior to using Google earth, I found the concept of global mapping and the fundamentals of locomotive media somewhat troublesome.  However as one gets accustomed to the software and realizes the potential for all aspects of art as well as other fields that software’s such as Google earth have to offer, such issues become relatively derivative. As the author rightly puts it, applications such as Google earth empower the public by enabling a share of experiences with photos and products.  As mentioned by the author and introduced throughout the duration of this course, mapping projects and initiatives can assume the role and function of art.  In the article, the author also mentions Gilles Deluze’s notion of a “controlled society” analysis, which re-introduces locomotive media as more systematic and rewarding rather than purely disciplinary.

One particular example which befits Griffis’s idea of using locomotive media as a tool for mapping one’s lives, was a project I came across on the internet. A teacher from an elementary school described how he used the Google Earth pro 2 technology to teach his students about their neighborhoods and geography. He used Google Earth to locate every students home and placed a thumbnail of their face on top of their house. The students then drew a picture of their home using a drawing program (Pixie). After the Pixie portion was completed, the students had a writing assignment – they had to write about their home/neighborhood. The teacher also recorded the students reading their paragraphs. If you clicked their face in Google Earth the drawing of their home would appear and you would hear the audio of the student reading their written paragraph. This reiterates the possibility of simple yet effective and creative usage of locomotive media.

The Author ends the article with pertinent questions which as an artist, tends to unfold various disciplines and attributes of one’s society. He questions if technology replaces ideology? To me this question raises a challenge which would be interesting to take on using locomotive media as a tool to introduce, reinforce or subvert ideologies.