My Final Thoughts

“You’re wasting your time.”



These are a set of words that I have become very familiar with during my exploration of gamespace. Ever since I started playing games as a child the time I spent within the virtual world often fell victim to scrutiny at the hands of my parents, siblings, and peers. As a result of the constant siege to my gamespace, I have believed for years that video games are indeed a tool that squanders attention and dissipates sequential time within the workings of reality. Until I took this class and made a mental transition from gamer to game theorist, I unfortunately got caught up in the storm of censure and disapproval, that kept the “ship of my gamespace”, from making its journey of philosophical realization. Acceptance of game theory and allegorical depiction has allowed me to understand that video games can be used as a tool to further one’s understanding of the veracity of reality.

A tool often used within the philosophical workings of game theory is The Prisoner’s Dilemma (Wark 125). Law enforcement officers capture two criminals. The conspiring convicts are given an option to confess to confess to their crimes and incriminate the other.

The Prisoner’s Dilemma

(source: Math 152)

If neither man pleads guilty, then they both will serve one year in prison. If both of the perpetrators confess than the two prisoners will go to jail for ten years. But, if one burglar confesses and convicts the other, and the other burglar doesn’t confess to any misgivings, the prisoner who tells the truth goes free, whereas the other thief will go to prison for twenty years.
(source: gametheory.net)

The logic of this situation being that the prisoners will choose a path that is mutually beneficial only if their past has given them reason to do so. It also shows that as a gamer one must lose in order for one to win.

Within gamespace this theory would apply to Halo 3 on Xbox Live. I would be more inclined to trust and work in collaboration with my brother, who I have trusting past interactions with, over some random guy I just met online.

My Halo 3 Avatar

(source bungie.net)

In real life this situation applied to real life can explain the alliances made post World War 2. The Americans were more inclined to establish relations with countries that demonstrated democratic qualities over those that exhibited non-democratic qualities. This is because of America’s past relations with dictatorial governments such as colonial England under monarchical rule, and the previous wars with Germany, which was dictatorial.
(source: Game Theory)

Game theorems not only has the potential to elaborate upon historical situations, but on other aspects of “the human condition”

Video games are potential tools that can assist a “game theorist” in understanding and elucidating upon social stipulations. Video games are an interactive media that more often than not partially simulate and imitate or share characteristics with “the possible”. Because gamers react and interact with this medium they can offer insight into real life quandaries.

Gamers also knowingly or unknowingly solve problems within games by using the same conventional strategies that allow them to achieve and choose lucrative upshots within the analog.

Video games are satiated with situations in which avatars, controlled by users, pursue individual interests at the disbursement of tangible or intangible commodities (being time or emotional labor respectively). Games more often than not place the interests of a player in direct conflict with the game’s algorithm. In order for the user to “win” or achieve their objective requires them to make decisions that allow the player to achieve the maximum output towards their goal.

This “gamer logic” is used in real life situations. In the reality of analog, “players” have to abide by algorithms that are either set by society or by physics, while they achieve their own personal goals. And these goals are either set by themselves, imposed upon them by society, or a higher power.

A striking example of this reality versus digital parallel is evident within the game I most recently played during my exploration and evolution of my gamespace, Street Fighter Alpha 3. Before I began my mental advancement as a game theorist I would play games without offering up, or thinking about critical theory. For example, previous fighting games that I played were done so believing that I was actually just “trying to beat up” my opponent. “Initially I thought of SFA as a "beat em up" game that revolved around and translated from the premise of real "street fighting". That premise being "unsanctioned brawling with" which would translate into "gamespace" as "button mashing" (Journal Entry #1).”

Street Fighter Alpha 3 for PS2

(source: megghy.com)

After reading the theoretical treatises of McKenzie Wark within Gamer Theory I realized that there was a complex philosophical echelon involved regarding user’s game play decisions. In chapter three of Gamer Theory Wark abstractly discusses the progression and evolution of humanity’s cultural circumstances. He than theorizes that our past and present cultural complexities can be classified in one of three forms:
1. The topic
2. The topical
3. The topological

“What was the topical, redrawing and rewriting it a continuous and homogenous plane. The lines of the topic are traced into the page; the lines on the page are traced back onto the earth as the topographic. History is a story and geography an image of this topography, in which the boundaries are forever being expanded and redrawn. This play between the topical and topographic is the first level” (Wark 052).

When I began to play street Street Fighter as a budding and maturing game theorist I began to see that the game in actuality is not a "beat em up" game. But is “a game about controlling the topographic”. Each character abides to the Street Fighter engine utilizing an individual set of algorithms. Each special algorithm confers the different avatars with control over different types of space. “When you pit yourself against another player you're trying to implement a battle plan that makes them fall out of the realm in which they possess topographic control allowing you to cause your adversary maximum damage.”
(Source: Journal Entry #1)

For example, Ryu’s different special attacks allow him to exercise control over horizontal and vertical planes:

(source: Monobasin)
The Hadoken
“One part of my strategy was using “Hadouken” to exert control over Ryu’s horizontal field.”
(Source: Journal Entry #1)
Shouryuken

(source: Monobasin)
“If the computer decided to jump and avoid the attack he would enter the vertical plane. I would than use the Shouryuken that allows me to control all vertical space within Ryu’s immediate area” (Journal Entry #1).

As my understanding of game theory and gamespace advanced I began to point out connections and theoretical dissertation not only within the confines of the virtual, but the connections between the analog and the digital.

Akuma an avatar within Street Fighter has a Japanese kanji on his back:

(source: zen_master187)

(source: photobucket)
This symbol on his back means "Beyond The Limits" which means to surpass one's physical and spiritual limitations through training, meditation, concentration and focus

This struck me as funny for a number of reasons. Mainly because, what are gamers trying to do? As referred to Wark in the Analog chapter, gamers when allegorically compared to the plight of Sisyphus, doom themselves to an "eternal struggle" to surpass their own limits/high scores:

Sisyphus, the allegorical representation for "the gamers' plight"

(source: UP@NIGHT)

“This is the new labor of Sisyphus. Gamespace is always and everywhere the imposition of the digital as a way of laying an invisible hand on the world — or an all too visible fist” (Wark 089).

This excerpt recapitulates the exertions depicted within Akuma's own gamespace. Akuma, fanatically obsessed with augmenting his power travels the world challenging the world's strongest fighters in an attempt to either outstrip his own limits as a warrior, or die trying. It's funny how this "die trying" mentality plagues the workings of our gamespace.
(Journal Entry #5)

A social representation between analog and digital was evident when I explored gamespace as Guile.

An American military sergeant represents Guile’s sprite. Aside from the American Flag tattoos on his arms, it is very obvious to even the most immature gamer that Guile is an American. Why? His blue eyes and structured jaw line defiantly make his sprite resemble a Caucasian.

Guile the "American Hero"

(source: surbrook)

“Guile can possibly represent the stereotypical image of what an American would perceive as "a hero", within the perceptual boundaries of Japanese culture. This might be because of the United State's military occupation of Japan after World War II. Thereby, causing the Japanese as a culture to associate the United States with military power (explaining their decision to make the American character a soldier).”

Guile in English also means “treacherous cunning” or “skillful deceit” which is seemingly sardonic.

In my journal I mentioned that this could be reference to describe Guile's gameplay style. Which is defensive based, anticipatory, and revolves around controlling the movements of your opponents. Either that or they are trying to make a satirical statement about America’s foreign policies.
(Journal Entry #9)

The United States on an international level is famous and notorious for overthrowing governments they don’t like, or advocating régime changes within countries well outside their immediate region. For example, the U.S.A. had a fundamental role in the bloody overthrow of Indonesia's President Sukarno.

In 1965, six Indonesian generals were murdered by through the direct orders of their leader, President Sukarno. Sukarno alleged that the men were killed because they were plotting to overthrow the government body. A resulting effect of the “overthrow scare” was a nation wide retaliation against the “perpetrators”, which happened to be the Communist Party of Indonesia. The erupted violence resulted in the deaths of over five hundred thousand people.
(source: The United States and the Overthrow of Sukarno)

As my familiarity with gamespace augmented I began to find connections not only within Street Fighter Alpha 3, but within other aspects of the digital.

Gameplay of Metal Slug 3

(source: playyourstation)

When I switched games to Metal Slug 3 I began to notice philosophical attributes that reflected the “human condition”. Instead of probing at the corporeal properties I tried to take a deeper look at the relationship between the analog and the digital.

MS3 is a side scrolling game similar to Contra. Although many of its operations and programming has many unrealistic roots (in relation to reality) and algorithms it also has some similarities to “reality”. In MS3 your character progresses linearly. Sometimes you can choose branch paths that will make you temporally take different routes, but at the end of the level you are fated to end up at the same boss. In addition your character can never “retreat” or progress in a backward fashion. Any opportunities that were previously offered will never be seen again, any missed items or power ups are lost forever within gamespace.

This MS3 philosophy is similar to our “avatar’s” fate within reality. No matter what we do our lives always progress in a linear fashion, we can only operate and exist in the present, any missed opportunities or decisions whether they be bad or good can not be relived.

In the “game of life” no mater what path we take we will always end up at the “end game boss” in realities’ case that boss can represent death.
(Source: Journal Entry #6)

Recognizing relationships between the analog and digital are key when developing thoughts as a game theorist. It’s impossible for digital to exist without the analog, and to some degree the analog can’t exist without the digital. “Without the analog, play leaves no trace. Without the digital, the analog yields no score. Neither analog nor digital is play itself” (Wark 091).

Game theory on a personal level allowed me to be a philosophical cartographer during my advancement through gamespace. During a large portion of my journal entries I was playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 with a player that was superior and more experienced than me. Because of this, I learned more than I would’ve testing the game’s algorithms alone. Roy, the superior player gave me much needed discourse on the algorithmic workings of the Street Fighter series allowing me as a player to advance on a mental level and on a skill level.

This concept of “learning through the learned” can be found as parallel within reality. A good example of this is within this class. Without group discussions with a professor or a learned figure our class would have not mentally advanced as a collective entity. Either those that had natural adaptation towards critical theory would eventually get the material, or we would have been stuck somewhere within the topic as an uninformed illogical body.

Another personal relationship that game theory has shed light on is the one my little brother shares with video games. My little brother has a social impairment that keeps him from efficiently socializing with his peers. He has recently picked up World of Warcraft a Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game.

Avatars interacting in the World of Warcraft

(source: file-extensions.org)

World of Warcraft (WoW) is a game in which you control an avatar that develops skills over time. Perhaps because he is unable to develop socially as a result of his impairments he gets some satisfaction within the “cave” of the digital.

As I have progressed through this course I feel like I’ve made a rational alteration from a game player to a game theorist. Instead of giving into the perceptions of others about a new and misunderstood media that is often called “a waste of time”, I have begun to analyze gamespace and use critical theory in many different aspects and planes of my existence. Acknowledgment of game theory has let me to be aware of the hidden value within video games as a tool for philosophical maturation.

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