Omni-Tools? Yes, Please!

Through Digital Media, changes in the social and technological culture of civilization are progressing to new levels of understanding and comprehension.  Each day a new idea is formed towards the betterment of the human race whether sociological, industrial, or digital. The concept of Media Richness and Immersion is one subject that is shaping the way digital media is being processed by individuals across the planet. The purpose of this blog is to discuss what these theories are, and how they are being implemented in the games industry to create new gaming experiences for the community.

Media richness is the theory of peer-to-peer communication, the richer the communication method or means used, the more effectively the message is sent and received. (Daft, Lengel. 1984) Take for example a text message, it is harder to pick up on sarcastic cues or body language over a mobile phone then it is talking face to face. The game Mass Effect 2 created by BioWare touches on an advanced form of this subject with a communications relay that projects a person’s image to another location, allowing two individuals to speak with each other in person. (BioWare, 2010) Ideally this would be the richest form of digital peer-to-peer interaction, yet the implementation of the concept is at present fictitious. Immersion on the other hand, according to a definition from the Dictionary, is a ‘state of being deeply engaged or involved; absorbed’. (Dictionary.com, 2010) It is the combination of these two concepts that encourages discussion on the subjects of Virtual and Augmented Reality.

According to Ronald T. Azuma, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) “Immerse a user inside a synthetic environment. While immersed, the user cannot see the real world around him. In contrast, AR allows the user to see the real world, with virtual objects superimposed upon or composited with the real world.” (Azuma, 1997) It has long been the desire of the games industry and the game community to experience VR, as seen in the Sony advert showcasing the Playstation 9. (Sony, 2006) Yet, it is arguable that games already encompass a sense of VR, if not in the traditional sense. If “immersion” into a VR simply means to experience a game so enthralling that the real world is blocked out, surely VR has been achieved. So long as the player remains in what Huizinga calls “The Magic Circle” where “Players exist within this circle, and are thus forced to abide by the rules of the game when inside, yet upon exiting the “circle” regain consciousness of the outside world.” (Huizinga, 2009) essentially, the player has entered VR. Unfortunately, devices that provide gamers with VRs that affect all 5 senses are still in the making.

Where VR is still being contemplated and researched, AR is already branching out. Relating back to Mass Effect 2, the story highlights a device that is a common use within the narrative’s universe. The device is called an Omni-Tool, which is a glove that can project a virtual screen across the arm to perform a range of different functions. (Walters, Karpyshyn, 2010) Though based in a fictitious universe, researchers at Carnegie Mellon have already started prototyping an early, if not closely related device that can project a screen onto the arm and functions by sensing tap pressure applied to certain parts of the skin. Currently, the device is being trialled for the use of iPod functionality, even a game of Pong can be played on the device using finger to palm taps to move the paddles up and down. (Crecente, 2010) This could be the very beginning of VR as games start to become skin touch oriented. Who knows what will come from further research into devices such as this?

As technology continues to advance, especially gaming devices, soon the idea of a “Sony Playstation 9” will become a reality and no longer a science fiction story. Delving deeper into media richness, the world will witness new means of communication and peer-to-peer interaction derived straight from narratives and games like Mass Effect 2. Until then, pass the controller and let the age of computerised information processing continue to churn out fanciful perspectives of what’s to come.

Gamography

Mass Effect 2, BioWare, 2010

Pong, Atari Inc, 1972

References

Azuma, T. R. (1997, August) A Survey of Augmented Reality. In Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 6, 355-385.

(Sourced from: http://www.cs.unc.edu/~azuma/ARpresence.pdf)

BioWare. (2010, Feburary). Mass Effect 2: Exclusive Illusive Man Gameplay [HD] [GameTrailers]. Accessed 14 november, 2010, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkvj3xzNgf0

Crecente, B. (2010, March). New Tech Turns Your Skin Into a Game-Controlling Touch Pad. Accessed 15 November, 2010, from: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/03/new-tech-turns-your-skin-into-a-game-controlling-touch-pad/#more-385692

Daft, R. L. & R. H. Lengel (1984). Information richness: a new approach to managerial behavior and organizational design. Research in Organizational Behavior 6, 191-233.

(Sourced from: http://learngen.org/resources/module/lgend101_norm1/200/210/211_3.html)

Dictionary.com (2010, November). Immersion. Accessed 14 November, 2010, from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/immersion

Huizinga, J. (2009, September). Huizinga’s Magic Circle. Accessed 14 November, 2010, from: http://vgc.zachwhalen.net/content/huizingas-magic-circle

Sony. (2006, December). Sony Playstation 9 the Future of Gaming in Year 2078. Accessed 14 November, 2010, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2gzRQ5f3No

Walters, M. & Karpyshyn, D. (2010, February). Mass Effect 2 Manuel.  Edmonton: Electronic Arts.

Over the past one hundred years, human understanding has expanded to levels our ancient ancestors could never have anticipated. With this understanding, humankind has forged great achievements both socially and technologically. It is only rational then to discuss what are the most prominent and exponential changes that have brought us to where we are now and where we will be in the future. This blog will argue how Citizen Audiences and Participatory Culture is changing the way in which gaming related information is spread across the planet by individuals, and how this could lead to the possible death of none digital media within the Games Industry.

According to Henry Jenkins, Participatory Culture is “A culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices”.  (Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A., 2005, p.3) This theory is closely related to that of Transmedia Storytelling and Collective Intelligences. Through digital media this is possible, using websites such as Facebook or Twitter all the way down to instant messaging and live streaming.  This type of Participatory Culture is classified as “Affiliations – memberships, formal and informal, in online communities centred around various forms of media.” (Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A. 2005).

The most beneficial aspect of this concept is the power it gives to individuals within the community.  It has opened up doors for your average person, in this case, average gamer, to become involved in gaming communities with a common interest in speaking up about current affairs, acting as reporters, journalists, even delving into aspects of politics. Henry Jenkins calls this type of Participatory Culture as a “Circulation” which is “Shaping the flow of media (such as podcasting, blogging).”  (Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A., 2005, p.3) This potentially means that game development companies can have shows based in one location exhibiting their new products, like Blizzcon for example, (Blizzard Entertainment, 2010) and rely solely on gamers from the community to film, blog etc. the content and distribute it across the planet using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Kotaku etc. Not only is this beneficial for the gaming community, it is also highly innovative for the developers themselves as the gameplay they need to distribute can be shared with their potential market without ever having to pay for marketing. Though these companies still use traditional media channels, TV, Print etc. the evidence suggests a high probability that this form of Participatory Culture will be the best form, or even the only form of information distribution that the games industry will employ in the future. This will mean less money for marketing, advertising, media coverage and more money towards new IP and/or greater gaming experiences.

These channels of Citizen Audiences and Participatory Cultures have also begun shaping game politics and the way in which governments view regulations concerning this industry. In Australia, the issue of a non-R18+ classification for video games has contrived a large amount of response from the Citizen Audience. (Wildgoose, D. 2010) It is a continual fight for gamers of Australia to be heard, yet, gamers voicing their opinions has thus far been the overarching factor swaying politicians to support the classification. The Australian Attorney-General stated, “I have no preconceptions about this issue and intend to listen to the arguments. I can neither support nor wisely argue against a position if I am not aware of the relevant factors.” (Rau, J., 2010) Regardless of the ruling not being a definite ‘for R18+’, it is because of individual gamers, blogging, tweeting, writing articles etc. that has drawn eyes towards the issue where common media channels, such as TV, Print etc., have not had as great a response.

There is no doubt that the Games Industry is strongly based around digital media. News feeds, forums, websites dedicated to games coverage such as Kotaku or Gametrailers, all bring to gamers the relevant information they need. It is no consolation then to state that medias such as TV or Print are being matched or to go as far as saying, out-shadowed by the public mind voicing their views through mediums such as blogs, or tweets. It is only a matter of time before all medias become digitised and placed in the hands of the individual, allowing every man women or child to have the power of Journalists, Reporters or even Politicians shaping the future of mankind.

Reference 

Blizzard Entertainment. (2010, October). Blizzcon. Accessed 2^nd November, 2010, from: http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/

 Jenkins, H. Puroshotma, R. Clinton, K. Weigel, M. & Robinson, J. A. (2005). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century. Accessed 31^st October, 2010, from: http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf

Jenkins, H. (2007, November). Participatory Cultures. Accessed 1^st November, 2010, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H3UzRtmX24

Rau, J. (2010, April) John Rau and the R18+ Issue. Accessed 1^st November, 2010, from: http://www.r18games.com.au/2010/04/john-rau-and-the-r18-issue/

Wildgoose, D. (2010, April). GAME Throws Even More Weight Behind R18+ Push. Accessed 1^st November, 2010, from: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/04/game-throws-even-more-weight-behind-r18-push/