Wii, expanding the boundaries of video games
Obviously today's video games sessions winner was the Nintendo Wii.
Of course, it was the most recent one and it has been the most hot platform on the
video game market recently. But obviously our wonderful, *cough*, instructors had
something on their mind when they brought it in to our session.
Wii is different from other video games because it expands the virtual video reality
from the images we see on the screen to our immediate reality.
Maneuvering that joy pad into set positions and moving it around in the air was something really different from just pushing buttons at the right moment, like conventional video games have been. The actual actions you take in our immediate reality takes affect in the virtual reality in the video game, thus connecting those two.
It was also important that Wario, the main character in the game, found the exact same Wii control pad that the real user uses. What that does is that it directly connects the player with thevideo game world. It is no longer you assuming this other identity and doing unrealistic
actions , for example shooting rockets or flying airplanes by a push of a button.
When playing Wii, you direct very "urgent" girls and boys to each of their restrooms, you pick your nose, you literally drop the joy pad, you make food; all actions that are rather realistic and more intimate to us.
I think this connection Wii established between the player and the video game reality is why Wii was so successful worldwide. The unique joy pad and the skillfully made games took gaming to another level, shortening the gap between virtual and "ultimate" reality, in my opinion.
Of course, it was the most recent one and it has been the most hot platform on the
video game market recently. But obviously our wonderful, *cough*, instructors had
something on their mind when they brought it in to our session.
Wii is different from other video games because it expands the virtual video reality
from the images we see on the screen to our immediate reality.
Maneuvering that joy pad into set positions and moving it around in the air was something really different from just pushing buttons at the right moment, like conventional video games have been. The actual actions you take in our immediate reality takes affect in the virtual reality in the video game, thus connecting those two.
It was also important that Wario, the main character in the game, found the exact same Wii control pad that the real user uses. What that does is that it directly connects the player with thevideo game world. It is no longer you assuming this other identity and doing unrealistic
actions , for example shooting rockets or flying airplanes by a push of a button.
When playing Wii, you direct very "urgent" girls and boys to each of their restrooms, you pick your nose, you literally drop the joy pad, you make food; all actions that are rather realistic and more intimate to us.
I think this connection Wii established between the player and the video game reality is why Wii was so successful worldwide. The unique joy pad and the skillfully made games took gaming to another level, shortening the gap between virtual and "ultimate" reality, in my opinion.
Labels: mike
posted by Mike Kim at
11:46 PM
2 Comments:
I do enjoy the Wii quite a lot. In fact I own one. But there are times when the Wii does fail at picking up your motions, kind of going back to the New Temporality essay we just read. Technology has indeed advanced, but has not gone far enough so that we can properly mimic all of human motion to produce smooth and fluid gameplay. The Wii does do a good job though. Going back to Virlio's essay, today's session filled with games just showed us more and more loops, but fun nonetheless.
Yup, I agree. When I'm playing the Wii, I get so excited because I can actually move and make the game do things based on my movements. It seems real and fun, because sometimes, when I play other video games, I say to myself, "only if I can pick this up and move it around." But the Wii lets me do these things and it's awesome. Another thing I love about the Wii is that it actually brings people together. I'ts like watching a football game. When I'm playing the Wii, my friends gether around and cheer for me. So it creates more intimate hang out environment for me and my friends, like playing board games back in the days. So in this way, the Wii proves Virilio wrong by showing different ways to create a new kind of intimate community experience rather than limiting people in one space.
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