My So-Called Gamespace

Do you sometimes feel like your life is just like a bad videogame?

We'll be reading what M. Wark has to say about the 'gamespace' of life in his book Gamer Theory. In essence, gamespace is the real world as it behaves like a game, with players competing against each other according to rules they did not conceive. Wark suggests that for us to begin to articulate a critical theory of gamespace, we must "start with the curious gap between the games you love and an everyday life which, by the light of the game, seems curiously similar and yet somehow lacking" (25). That's what this assignment is about.

Your assignment consists of writing an essay in which you describe your life in terms of one or many of your favorite videogames. Is your family life like The Sims? Does your love life sometimes feel like Donkey Kong? Is your work life a bit like Grand Theft Auto (hopefully not!)? Describe your life as if it were a videogame.

Write a 1000 word (approx. about 3 double space pages) essay and post it on a new wiki page (create a separate page linked from your user page for this assignment - see the Tutorials for help on how to do this).

When you are done, read some of your peer's assignments. Provide some comments right on their assignment page by using the Comments feature of the wiki.

Be creative and have fun with this assignment!

Remember: Everyone is going to read these.

---