<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=http://www.laserpointersafety.com/simulating_files/coherent.gif
>
</div>
Your vision is dark and you can only see a fuzzy green light at the center of your scope of vision. You realize you are in the sitting position and try to get up. However, it seems you are strapped to what seems like a chair. “Where am I?” You ask yourself. You realize there’s what seems to be a controller attached to each of your hands. You try taking them off but they won’t budge. And in the fuss of not being able to see and trying to take the controllers off your hands, you accidentally push a button. “Welcome to Game History Simulation!” exclaims a loud female voice. “What the heck?!” you scream in surprise and shock. “Today you will be exploring the many aspects to game history and be immersed in a world where you will learn valuable lessons!” Explains the female voice. The voice seems to be coming from every direction but you can only see the blinking green light in the center of your vision no matter which way you turn your head. “Okay hold on, what’s happening? Who are you? How did I end up here? Why-”, the voice cuts you off, “Remember that this is just a simulation and none of it is real and that you’re going to learn more about game history which is awesome!” “Okay that’s great but could you answer-”, the voice cuts you off again, “In the wise words of David Myers, ‘The simulation references something other than itself, yet the simulation is also necessarily something other than that reference: an act of pretense’” (Myers 393). You pause, trying to process what was just said and then suddenly, the blinking green light begins to blink rapidly and it’s too late. The simulation has [//[[begun]]//].
{
(set: $character to false)
(set: $roleplay to false)
(set: $switch to false)
(set: $left to false)
(set: $right to false)
(set: $farleft to false)
(set: $farright to false)
(set: $count1 to 0)
}
<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.onsolve.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/OnSolve_Blog_1000x668_Implement-Critical-Event-Management-to-Respond-to-a-Cyber-Attack.jpg
>
</div>
You arise in a bed and it takes a second for your thoughts to recollect. You remember that you are now in a simulation trying to learn about game history. You sit up and see a man hunched over in front of a computer rapidly typing away. “Ah so you’re finally awake,” the man says. “Yes… Ummmm who are you?” You ask. The man stops typing and turns to face you. “My name is Mark Sample and I have been programmed into this simulation to teach you where the beginnings of digital games have come from.” You had already forgotten that you were in a simulation. You think to yourself, “Wow, he seems so real and my short interactions with him made me believe he was real.” You realize you left Mark hanging for a moment too long and ask him, “Okay, so I’m supposed to learn about game history in this simulation but I have no idea what to do or how to get out. Will I ever see the real world again? I miss my friends, family, and the life that I was living.” “You’ll eventually be freed from this simulation. However, you need to complete the three lessons of game history. Only when you successfully learn all three lessons will you be freed,” explains Mark. You nod your head in understandment. “Good. My lesson is fairly simple. Promise me that you’ll remember this quote, ‘It is a mistake to think about code as always and only instructions to a computer,’” (Sample 57). “Can you remember that?” Mark questions. You nod your head again and he smiles and simply says “Great!”
[//[[learn about characters]]//]
[//[[learn about role play]]//]<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://d2v9y0dukr6mq2.cloudfront.net/video/thumbnail/BY8x1xp/female-killer-making-multiple-stabs-insane-woman-killing-person-with-knife_rl47mrljux_thumbnail-full07.png
>
</div>
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" You hear a man shout in agony. You quickly turn your head and see a figure of a woman. And in her hand is what you make out to be a dagger covered in fresh blood. "Uhhhhhhhh..." You see a limp body on the floor at the feet of the woman. "Are you okay down there?" You call out. "You... the one from before..." The limp body responds. It lifts its head up and you remember that face. It's Mark Sample! "Wha-?" You freeze in shock. "She's the ex-" interrupted mid-sentence, Mark permanently remains silent. The woman slides her dagger out of the back of Mark’s neck and opens her mouth saying “Now, now. We wouldn’t want Mark spoiling my identity do we?” Your eyes light up. “Wait a second. That voice,” You say aloud. “It’s the same voice before I entered this simulation! She grins and looks in your direction thirsty for bloodshed, “Don’t be scared. Remember. This is just a simulation. None of it is real.” She then recites a quote, “Games are said to be immersive when play is so compelling that it completely captivates the player, and the game world so fully elaborated that it seems to overflow the limits of representation” (Belisle 247). But your not having any of it. The world you are in feels so real and you are truly fearful for your life even though you’re really somewhere else strapped in a chair experiencing this moment. You look around and see that there are two exits to your [//[[left]]//] and [//[[right]]//]. All you want to do is get out of here away from this terrifying woman.
<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://virily.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/quiz-1799935_1280.jpg
>
</div>
The setting shifts and you are immediately met with a woman in a blank room. The woman wastes no time in introducing herself. “Hello there, my name is Katherine Isbister and I will be your instructor on characters in video games.” You greet her back but she hardly acknowledges you and begins the lecture. After about an hour and a half she finishes and says that it is time to start the quiz. “You need to answer all of the questions correctly in order to pass!” She exclaims. You panic and all your senses heighten. You read the first question: What are some psychological strategies that game designers have used to get you to feel connected with the player avatar or npcs in the game world? You list out: having parties of characters like in Final Fantasy, avatar customization, and camera and motion-based technology to see the player model respond to the real player’s action. You look at the next question and it says: What is the significance of characters in video games? You immediately smile and quote word for word Katherine and say: “Characters ground players in what to expect and how to feel, providing them with challenge and emotional engagement that is readily mapped to deeply ingrained patterns in the human psyche” (Isbister 42). You search for the next question to answer but realize that the quiz was only those two questions. You look up at Katherine and hand her the quiz. She examines it and is shocked at your accuracy.
(set: $character to true)
(if: $roleplay is false)
[//[[learn about role play]]//]
(if: $roleplay is true)
[//[[go back to reality]]//]<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.gameswirtschaft.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Role-Play-Convention-RPC-2017-GamesWirtschaft-1021x580.jpg
>
</div>
You now see people dressed in strange costumes speaking in interesting accents and acting differently. You survey the area looking for any sign of who the new instructor could be. However, nobody seems to have noticed your sudden appearance and everyone seems too busy with their various activities. You approach a group of people dressed up as farmers. “Hurry! We need to harvest all the vegetables before the storm approaches!” One farmer shouted. People were rolling dice and taking certain tokens based off the result of their die rolls. Suddenly, someone from the group points to you and says that you should be harvesting vegetables too and that if they don’t meet the quota before the storm comes, everyone will surely perish. In a panic, you start “collecting” vegetables too and start rolling your own die furiously thinking the situation is truly dire. You eventually get caught up in all the action and you end up participating. You learned how to get rid of rats and bugs that would eat the crops, you fought off dozens of wolves trying to attack your sheep, and scare off thieves and poachers. And while you and your farmer friends were intensely fending off a swarm of locusts, someone approaches you and says, “Excellent work, well done!” You stop your dice rolling and turn your head to see a woman dressed as a knight. She introduces herself, “My name is Esther MacCallum-Stewart, and I am very impressed with how you got lost in the role play!” “The best way to learn about role play is to simply engage in it personally and I saw how you really got into it!” Esther says. “However, remember that role play can take many shapes and forms and ‘the development in complexity of video games is allowing role-play as an imaginative form of play to reemerge’” (MacCallum-Stewart 383). You realize how much time and energy you put into being some farmer and it's time to put down the dice and move on.
(set: $roleplay to true)
(if: $character is false)
[//[[learn about characters]]//]
(if: $character is true)
[//[[go back to reality]]//]<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://static.wixstatic.com/media/91a586_a2e0d222dc8842d3865783ebaf1d58d7~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_498,h_498,al_c,q_90/file.jpg
>
</div>
You find yourself sitting in the same chair from before, and all the contraptions that were attached to you disengage. You take the contraption off your head and look around. All is quiet. You look to your left for the woman you saw in the surveillance camera, but there's nothing there. "Hello?" You ask for anyone. No answer. You continue to look around and see a single quote written on a chalkboard. “We can observe the ways in which vision is mediated by the technologies that shape it, which makes video games truly unique” (Gaboury 365). And with that you get up and follow signs for the exit feeling empowered and amazed at the complexities and power that video games have offered.
But you still had so many questions.
Who was the mysterious woman? Was she real? Why was she out to kill me? Where even am I? How did I get here?
All of these are questions to be answered another time.
<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.drunkduck.com/users/gameguy888/comics/Pokemon_Shroom_Version/web/00716248.jpg
>
</div><style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://s18670.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/Old-fashioned-classroom.jpg
>
</div>
(if: $right is false)[You flee into the room on your left but can hear that the woman is close behind. You have a few seconds to think to yourself. Who is that woman? Why is she chasing me and what did Mark say? “She is the ex-” you repeat. Ex what? Ex-girlfriend? Ex-men? Executioner? Yea that must be it, the executioner. But why? What is her purpose?]
<endif>
*knock, knock, knock*. You hear the woman’s footsteps approaching. You shuffle around the room looking for anything useful. But the room is despairingly full of useless objects. The room looks like it used to be an old classroom and all you could find was bits of chalk, papers, and books. You come across a heavy looking book and in the book you find a paper with a quote in it. “The metagame explodes the logic of the game, escaping the formal autonomy of both ideal rules and utopian play via those phenomenal, psychological, material, and historical factors not immediately enclosed within the game. What the metagame identifies is not the history of the game, but the histories of play” (Boluk and LeMieux 321). Feeling empowered in understanding the meaning of what the metagame truly is, you stand ready to face the woman head on with the book in hand. When she enters the room you shout, “HAVE A TASTE OF THE TRUE MEANING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE META!!!” You throw the book at her, but she slices the book in half mid air and states, “Bitch, I am the meta.” Suddenly, you fill with fear again and continue to [//[[flee left]]//].
(set: $left to true)
<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.winsted.com/files/cache/fa66342dadec8a6c2608c0234ea1c53f_f1012.jpg
>
</div>
(if: $left is false)[You flee into a room and have a few seconds to think to yourself. Who is that woman? Why is she chasing me and what did Mark say? “She is the ex-” you repeat. Ex what? Ex-girlfriend? Ex-men? Executioner? Yea that must be it, the executioner. But why? What is her purpose?]
<endif>
You find yourself in a surveillance room and try to find more clues by taking a look through the camera footage in front of you. You look at the many screens and see all the past rooms you've been to. But what shocks you the most is a tiny screen in the upper right corner. It's you! You can see yourself sitting in that chair with the contraption stuck to your head and the controllers strapped in your hands. You take control of that camera and try to see what else is in that room. "No way..." You gasp under your breath. When the camera pans over to the left, you see a woman sitting in chair with the same set up as you. Although it's hard to see the face, you know it's her; the woman trying to kill you. You pan the camera over to the right to look for anything else and see a quote on a poster. It reads, "The camera is not focused on the character in the same way that it would be in a movie; the character's emotions or actions are not the purpose of a scene. Rather, the camera is on the character's environment, affect what actions the character can likely do (deWinter 177). "So am I watching myself watch myself through this camera or is it the camera strapped to my head that's letting me see all of this???" With your head hurting on so many levels, you realize you haven't seen the killer woman on any of the camera screens this entire time. "Where did she go?" You ask nervously. "Hello there, looking for me?" A familiar voice says softly. Chills run down your spine and you turn around to see the woman with dagger still in hand. "Why are you doing this?!" You shout in desperation. But she doesn't seem interested in reasoning with you. She simply pounces and you take that cue to [//[[flee right]]//]
(set: $right to true)
(if: $farright is false)[
<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://pm1.narvii.com/5675/96f2b934151b3025291e8514c2d9d0ed25bded35_hq.jpg
>
</div>
It's a dead end. You turn around and see that the woman is running towards you. 20 yards away, 15… 10… You wonder if the cliche moment where someone steps in at the last second to save you will come. 5 yards away… “Nope, I’m going to die here to this mysterious woman’s dagger.” You think to yourself. You close your eyes, 4…, 3…, You can hear the footsteps getting louder and louder, 2…, 1… THUD! You open your eyes and see someone half dead in front of you with their arms out open protecting you. “OH MY GOD IT HAPPENED!” You shout excitedly. “Hey...” Your protector says feintly. You collect yourself and put on a straight face. "Yes?" You respond embarrassed at how disrespectful your outburst was. "Take this. It's a piece of my life's work. May some of my knowledge and wisdom live through you." Your protector speaks painfully. You read what they gave you, "A couple of things are clear with respect to indie games, because of them, the games community is a more inclusive and varied space, and players have a wider range of play experiences at their disposal than ever before" (Sharp 265). "I won't let your act of random kindness go to waste." You reaffirm to your protector. You start running to the other room that was on your [//[[right]]//] and you look back, seeing them give their last smile as the woman pulls her dagger out their chest, and see their body collapse to the floor.]
<endif>
(if: $farright is true)[
<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://www.glsaudio.com/assets/images/37-078-coil-1500.jpg
>
</div>
You enter what seems to be an old storage room and see that it is also a dead end! There's nowhere left to run and you panic looking for anything to use to defend yourself against the crazed woman. You rummage through the messy room and pick up an old whiteboard and look at it. "Maybe I can use this to hit her and break her neck?" You think aloud. You notice there's something written on it and take the time to read what's on the board. "The term independent games or indie games, as it is often phrased, refers to video games made by amateurs, video games published and played outside traditional markets, and video games made with avant-garde intentions" (Sharp 259). No, I need to find something more AAA. You come across a set of power cables coiled up nicely. "This will work." You say with a smirk. You grab them ready to make a break past the woman to the other room that was on your right. "You can't escape me! Hahahahahahaha!!!" The woman enters the room. "Run all you like but your death is inevitable!" She shouts. "I can die trying!" You shout back. You throw the coiled cables at her imagining them to perfectly spread out midair to entangle her. But, the cables simply hit her in the face and fall pathetically to the floor. You back into a corner bracing for death. "Nice try but it's time for you to leave from this plane of existence!" The woman exclaims. She raises her arm and delivers a direct blow to your chest. You can feel the life draining from your body. You look up one last time, tears in eyes, and [//[[collapse]]//].]
<endif>
(set: $farleft to true)<style> img {
max-width: 100%;
max-height: 100%;
}
</style>
<img
src=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56102f83e4b0edf3da1e2019/t/5791045c3e00be032d3ae22c/1469121641550/?format=1500w
>
</div>
To your surprise you enter a museum full of realistic-looking, human sculptures. You take the opportunity to hide and freeze next to a group of sculptures. To your luck there are hundreds of sculptures in this room so it's easy to blend in. "I see, very clever. But I will find you!" The woman shouts when she walks in. You can see the woman carefully walking in the aisle of sculptures over carefully inspecting each one. You try taking a look around your surroundings without moving your head. You see the way you came from out the peripherals of your vision, and keep in mind that's where you're going to run. You don't see any other exit anywhere else which confirms to you that's where you're trying to go. Above the exit, you see a large banner that says, "Game art is a type of creative work made by people identifying as artists in the art historical sense" (Flanagan 153). You think to yourself, "I wonder if these sculptures are concept art for npc's in this world." "What do I look like? Now that I think of it, I've never had the chance to see what my avatar in this world looks like." You freeze up even more. The woman just circled around the last sculpture in the other aisle and is now working her way down the aisle you are in. Walking by each one ever so carefully, the woman finally stares straight into your soul. You try your hardest to keep your nose from flaring, chest rising and falling, and eyes from blinking. You can feel her eyes judging you, and you can only hope that you don't give yourself away. (if: $farleft is false) [You manage to stay calm and absolutely silent. She moves on. And when the woman reaches the furthest point from the exit, you make a break for it, and yell "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YOU MISSED ME SUCKAAAAAA!" You go to the room that was on your [//[[left]]//]]
<endif>
(if: $farleft is true) [But then you feel a timely urge to sneeze. And it's too much for you to stay still. You close your eyes, take a huge breath, and "ACH-", interrupted mid sneeze the woman stabs you with her dagger in the lung. "So... fast...", You say shocked. "Told you I'd find you." The woman says with a smirk on her face. The woman pulls the dagger out of your lung and you [//[[collapse]]//] lifelessly to the floor.]
<endif>
(set: $farright to true)