Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
associated with participation, reality of display and communication. The
development of technologies for games has been done in close cooperation
with technologies for national defence (Halter 2006; Huntemann and Payne
2010)—Odyssey, for example, was a product of a defence contractor and
there remains a large segment of active military participants in the indus-
try (cf. Readman and Grantham 2006). Then there is McLuhan's startling
statement that led us to the approach to this study (1964, 70), “The artist
is always engaged in writing a detailed history of the future because he is
only person aware of the nature of the present.” This observation suggests
Snow Crash , for instance, might be a predictor of future. One should not
worry too much that the topic is ten years old. In fact, if we had some-
thing older, it might be better—note that Jules Verne was writing about
things approximately one hundred years ahead of his time. One important
aspect should be pointed out here: with the homogeny of game developers
and their preferences for science fi ction this observation might be a self-
fulfi lling prophecy. Unfortunately the persons responsible for developing
video games are today very similar, from many dif erent aspects. This is
problematic as games, just as any other cultural product, convey symbols
of the society we live in. Those who get to decide the symbols we interact
with through video games are in no way representative of the wide span of
gamers; still these persons dictate what we interact with, why and how.
It is this last observation of McLuhan (1964, 70)—“The artist is
always engaged in writing a detailed history of the future because he is
the only person aware of the present”—that leads us to pieces of fi ction
to appreciate the nature of video games. In this respect, we have made
two selections: Thurber's short story concerning Walter Mitty (1945) and
Stephenson's Snow Crash (1992). It may be surprising that we go back
to Mitty, but it is a classic in describing one's daydreams. The date does
not concern us too much—Verne writing around the time of the U.S.
Civil War forecast things to develop a century later. Stephenson's novel,
of course, is a recent classic.
THURBER THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY
In this short story, Thurber describes a few hours in the life of Walter Mitty.
Walter is married to a domineering wife and apparently copes with this sit-
uation by daydreaming. On a trip to town for her beautician appointment,
we get insight into the nature of his daydreams. The story is woven around
fi ve of them (see Table 12.2). In them, we see how Walter sees himself in
his imaginary world. Four of them revolve around a theme of personal
courage, achievement and then adulation. In the fi rst he is the captain of
a ship that he guides through a fl ow of icebergs; in the second a surgeon
who repairs a machine with a fountain pen and subsequently saves the life
of a millionaire banker; the third revolves around an expert witness and
accomplished marksman; and in the fourth he is an ace military pilot. Only
Search WWH ::




Custom Search