Comprehensive Exam

This is a take home exam. Please consult the schedule for the dates.

Please suggest questions to be included in the exam below.

You should contribute at least one question, but you can do more if you want.

Questions should be based on the readings you have done for the class.

Questions should be short-essay format only (no True/False, multiple choice, etc). In other words, someone should be able to answer them in a couple of paragraphs, not a single word or phrase.

Try to generate questions that ask us to apply knowledge instead of merely repeating memorized definitions. For instance, instead of asking "What is technological determinism?" you should come up with questions like "Is the saying 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' an example of technological determinism or cultural materialism, and why?"

Do not enter the answer to the question! You may, however, provide some indication of where the answer can be found (chapter or page number).

I will be selecting 5 to 8 questions for the exam, depending on their complexity. Obviously, you won't know which ones I will be selecting, but you can use this page as a study guide!

If I don't like any of the questions or if not enough questions are entered, I will come up with exam questions of my own. They will be brutal!

Enter questions below:

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1) Name and define at least three words Wark has made up in the reading.
-Nate (Pretty awesome)


2) How does society "dictate" who plays which types of games? What factors come into play? Which games are "acceptable" and/or "not acceptable" for which players, according to society? Chapter 7 VPT
Rob S.

3) What is a Utopia? How is different from an Atopia and a Heterotopia? Relating to a video game where does it fit?
-Vlad

4) How do analog and digital relate in terms of Katamari Damacy? Are they more alike or different? Do they both rely on each other?
-Matt

5) What is "Empire" as used by Dyer-Witheford and de Peuter? Why did they choose to use this word and how does the concept relate to video games?
-Ian

6) Have "Active" video games had a positive or negative effected on humanity? Defend your answer with specific examples.
-Jeff - Millington: Wii Have Never Been Modern

7) How has racism effected video games and people who play them?
-Jimmy

8) "The contradiction is that for there to be a game which is fair and rational there must be a gamespace which is neither". How is this possible and why is it necessary? Does this apply to your idea of gamespace? (Wark: Allegory)
-Rachel

9) Are "Third Places" going to become even more prevalent in our society as technology progresses? For example virtual reality, what are the benefits and harms to this?-Drew

10) In Gamer Theory, what does Wark mean when he is referring to the “Cave”? What does it mean in the theory of video games? -Alan

11) Can the iPhone/iTouch/iPad be considered a gamming console? Explain your answer in terms of what it means to be a game -Alan

12) How do “sandbox” games differ from traditional forms of gamming? - Alan

13) Describe the gamer avatar relationship. How does this high tech form of playing another relate to each other? -Alan

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