Obsessions101's BlogSperience

Open source software and gaming.

2008-05-01T04:40:00.000-07:00

What is open source?

It is "`free" as in "free spe ech," not as in "free beer." Open sourcing is "freely revealing and sharing new ideas [as] an innovation" (Bruns, p.37). Open source software in short is able to be customized and improved by users who have the capacity to understand software and "code". This type of sourcing allows users to see exactly how something works and also allows them to, if they wish, change it making it both transparent and malleable.

-An open source model which depicts the back and forth motions of open source users-

Open Source in Gaming Culture

In gaming culture open sourcing gives players and users a unique ability to change the things they think need changing. These are beneficial acts such as improving bugs or flaws in the system, creating more customizable input or allowing players to game in a more personalized way i.e. designing a different layout for a gaming interface or HUD. There are even instances where entire gaming engines are open sourced which gives people the ability to create an entirely new game and world, example Counter Strike. This however is not the core of open sourcing in gaming culture and although important will not be discussed here.

Any modifications that are not released either by software expansions or updates from the original producers of a game require altering codes. These changes to the code can only truly be utilized if the codes are open sourced. This would mean that the codes are available to anyone to change and improve which allows a gamers experience to be bettered by improvements they or fellow gamers may create.

Why Open Source?

Organizations such as the open source initiative exist to promote the idea of open source use. The reasons? These groups believe that if gamers or users have access to source code they can contribute to the betterment of both the game and the community. An independent games producer wrote that if the project is open, the community can rally behind it.. This is the core benefit of open sourcing in gaming culture, that a community with a similar interest has the ability to rally behind a game they find interest in because the creation of said game is open to anyone. This in short allows more than just one person to understand and in turn better the project.

Susan Wu, a worker in consumer technology on the topic of Second Life said that "one of the primary benefits of open source is that it can make the platform much more accessible to many new audiences - e.g. open source creates economies of scale around innovation and distribution."
It is not only the customization of a game that open sourcing offers to a community. Virtual communities such as those that communicate through any online platform - be they games, social sites or online environments - benefit from open sourcing because it allows innovative ideas and innovative products to be both produced and distributed.

The question of cost is always a factor when dealing with open source. There are many beliefs out there that agree that sources should be free while others believe that people should have to pay for the ability to change original code. The later opinion was dominant in ages past when producers believed their hard work would only be exploited however now with the push for open sourcing producers realize that gamers can aid in the betterment of both the game and gaming community.

The Conclusion

In gaming culture the ability to customize and create is an import one and an ability not taken lightly by produsers. Gamers have grabbed the opportunity to create and shape their own works with both hands and as it stands open sourcing is seen as a successful venture for those producers willing enough to implement open sourcing within their games.

References;
Bruns, Axel. (2008). Open Source Software Development: Probabilistic Eyeballs in Bruns, Axel, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage, New York: Peter Lang, pp.37-68.

The experiences in my Second Life

2008-05-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

Personal Experiences

To put it bluntly I have found the transition into Second Life difficult. Not because I'm technologically illiterate or that the idea of virtually socializing (amongst other things) scares me, it is just that in my mind a second reality or "Second Life" should include aspects of life that I'm not finding.

Second Life has been described as an "online environment" but I, as a gamer, have found it lacking aim. Games provide stimulus i.e. getting a character to the next level or completing a puzzle to get the shotgun bonus, however since Second Life is an environment it lacks this aspect of a game which I personally have found enjoyable.

New Interactivity

In keeping with the current "phenomenon" that is "interactive gaming" (note the success of Sony's eye-toy, Nintendo Wii etc.) Second Life seems to be taking eagerly to interactivity in a way that it hasn't previously by designing a 3Dimensional webcam that will allow people to control their avatars simply by moving.

Click here to see video examples of the product during testing.

Gaming Culture Oppinion

It seems to be the opinion of the gaming community that SL is not a game and does not incorporate any elements of a traditional game however as a gamer I personally see potential for SL to draw in gaming audiences with new technologies.

"Second Life is not a game. It's a social environment, an experiment in virtual worlds, devoid of actual game mechanics. It's closer to the evolution of Internet Relay Chat than it is a branch of the gaming industry.

Gaming press always bends over backwards whenever SL comes up in the news to alienate it and Linden Labs from the gaming industry. Why bother? Your readers already recognize they're not with one another, and Linden Labs itself is proactive in making the distinction clear as well." Writes one commenter 'eakolb' on a fellow poster "slamming" SL.

Specific to gaming culture, we as a society are used to using email or instant messaging to interact with fellow gamers. SL offers a specific opportunity for gamers to not only converse but to also interact, create and control. The camera mentioned previously however brings aspects of gaming -interactivity- to Second Life.

Nintendo has identified the existence of "casual gamers" who are the target audience of interactive gaming due to their ability to be picked up and put down at any time. Potentially the camera previously mentioned will give way to "casual Second Life-rs" who enjoy the interactive aspects of motion control but who also enjoy the benefits second life brings to social interaction.

The Conclusion

Seemingly this post has no direction however the point of this is to indicate the sever lack of connection that gamers feel to Second Life. Seemingly this connection may soon be established with the integration of interactive control which is at the moment a key concept in particular gaming systems.

Produsage, user-lead creations and gaming.

2008-04-23T23:54:00.000-07:00

Community Produsage + Gaming Culture = Win

In the article posted previously the definitions of "Commercial Production" and "Community Produsage" were defined, in this article the idea of Community Produsage will be explored in relation to the history of gaming culture and society.

The Movies - Game

One example of produsage is Lionhead Studio's game "The Movies!". In this game players would choose what genre of movie to create, what set to use even down to what movements and scenes were played through, how their actors acted and even gave players the possibility to record voice overs or dialogue to be incorporated into the films. Lionhead allowed gamers to create animated movies and share them with others through a website. Players were even able to share ideas, custom made costumes or scenes and even swap written scripts or dialogue through this function. This is not evidence of simple creation and use but embodies aspects of the community produsage theory.

Here is one example of a film created using Lionhead's game.

The Sims 2

Finally in relation to gaming Bruns mentions here the Maxis collection "The Sims" who's latest creation -The Sims 2- has to date sold over 100 million copies labeling it a very successful product indeed even though 90% of the content is user created. When you purchase The Sims 2 you register on their website through which you as a user are able to produce, share and use other members' items which they have created be they places, characters or a number of miscellaneous things. This is evidence of the community produsage theory in full swing. The community aspect of the term is represented by members with something in common (the video game) coming together to help create and improve items within the world they find interest in.

The Sims collection has also helped to create other assets within virtual societies. The video below for instance was created within "The Sims 2" game world. It uses similar ideas discussed about Lionhead's The Movies game.

Put to the theories this film is evidence of Community Prosumer-ism where gamers have produced a piece of art using objects other players or makers have created be they game items, sounds or effects. The argument stands however that Community Prosumer-ism in this case stems from Commercial Production due to the games development origin (being sold in a box on a shelf by a company).

The Sims 2 however classifies as both community produsage and commercial product. This is because Maxis uses databases to store user created data, scours through them and packages the best data into sell-able, concrete and numerous products. Maxis' The Sims collection cannot be labeled entirely the product of community produsage because the company behind it still creates the original data as a tangible product in which it follows commercial production theories.

The Conclusion

So what can be derived from all of this? Community Produsage is a betterment of commercial production but not a complete replacement in the area of gaming. Community produsage is successful in gaming culture and evidence of produs-ing theory is ever growing today. The act of produs-ing is beneficial to gaming communities since it expands the creative purposes of gamers and allows them to express themselves and share content as they wish.

Commercial Production and Community Produsage Definitions

2008-04-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Commercial Production

The term "Commercial Production" has survived since the industrial age. This time signified the beginning of mass production of material goods. The word "Commercial" is a step back into the industrial era when commercial goods first became commonplace. Before the industrial age goods were not industrially / mass produced, instead specialists were employed to custom make items to order.

As the industrial age was introduced so too came the reality of a future of mass production. This assembly line vision was realized thanks to companies investing in technologies that would help them pump out mass amounts of the exact same item which in turn could be sold cheaper and quicker than their previous more individual version.

By mashing these two terms together we end up with "Commercial Production". The term itself signifies what the industrial era represented, the introduction of commercial practices and mass creation of products. The term in short describes the creation of items from materials to a particular solid number and solid state.

Community Produsage

A new term has been created to incorporate the ideas of a new era. This is
"Community Produsage".

This term differs in its integration. The term was first coined Brauns and is a mash up of the terms "Produce" and "Useage". This term in short is the name of a person who both contributes or "produces" and "uses" or consumes. This term when bundled with the word "community" gives a phrase more of a group meaning. The term "Community Produsage" in short refers to groups or communities whose members both produce works and consume or use works and also incorporates the fluid "never finished, always growing" view of community works. This being said most creations of a Community Produced nature are not physical goods but instead things like art, films, music, and other intangible assets.

Although Community Produsage is not a replacement for Commercial Production it does increase the amount of choice and opportunity for both consumer and producer. Commercial Production will always have a place in the world, community produsage allows intangible assets to be created, re used, recycled and always improved by anyone anywhere.

What is Web 2.0?

2008-04-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

Now for those readers out there who have never heard of or had never understood the concept of Web 2.0 DON'T PANIC. No you have not missed an important update that will allow your internet connection to be twice as fast nor have you missed an OBVIOUS change in the way the internet is currently working.

Stop.

Breathe.

And read on...

The Term

The term "Web 2.0" has since it's birth in 2001 been the target of much criticism. The name in itself incurs a thought of an upgraded web much like when a software package is updated. There are arguments that resemble those of Tim Bray that the term is a marketing ploy and is not a solid way to refer to the webs evolution. That being said however it is not the term specifically being analyzed here it is the evolution of the web that this term has come to incorporate.

Web2 2.0 in short is based around the break down of the barriers between producer -> distributer and -> consumer. It is breaking down the limits of the browser and the production of individualized applications that cater to the needs of the consumer. It is turning consumers into producers and making them in turn "prosumers". Web 2.0 is the customization of the internet for individuals.

The History

It's no question that the internet has revolutionized the way people live their lives. Be it ordering your Australian only groceries for delivery to booking flights or organizing one's travel plans. However in 2001, at the end of the "dot com crisis" (a perfect example of which can be found here), two men Dale Dougherty and Tim O'Reilly paired up and brainstormed over exactly what had occurred. Both of these web professionals agreed that the internet was a platform in which to launch revolutionary ideas be they companies, programs, or consumer content.

The Comparison

From that meeting between Dougherty and O'Reilly this table was drawn up;

Web 1.0		Web 2.0
DoubleClick	-->	Google AdSense
Ofoto	-->	Flickr
Akamai	-->	BitTorrent
mp3.com	-->	Napster
Britannica Online	-->	Wikipedia
personal websites	-->	blogging
evite	-->	upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation	-->	search engine optimization
page views	-->	cost per click
screen scraping	-->	web services
publishing	-->	participation
content management systems	-->	wikis
directories (taxonomy)	-->	tagging ("folksonomy")
stickiness	-->	syndication

The entire article can be found here. This table is a perfect example of comparing services provided under web 1.0 and web 2.0.

This video encompasses what the term web 2.0 means to the Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropolgy at Kansas State University, one Michael Wesch. It explores the ideas of hypertext and the multitude of applications that have been created to customize the internet.

The Prosumer

In the beginning (of the internet) there was the consumer. He was a greedy person, always interested in taking and never of giving. He was ever intent on ordering and reading but never willing to contribute. In the age of Web2.0 the consumer (as an "only option") has perished and to replace him is our hero, The Prosumer.

In the above table the Prosumer's work is evident. In the left hand side evidence of a producer is obvious. Take for instance the term "personal websites" these would of course refer to a website created by one specific person usually used as an advertising platform for the persons services or as a biography for that person. These sites are still in production today however in the Web 2.0 section of the table the term "blogging" is employed. Blogging employs the prosumer. The "blogger" both produces - in the form of his or her blog entries - and also consumes - in the form of reading other blogs, or comments or links-. In these ways bloggers are now prosumers, where once the consumer simply created to exist on the web in the form of personal websites, now the prosumer creates to both produce and consumer blog information.

This is a video depicting the future of the internet. Its focus is around the Prosumer and describes quite clearly his role in web 2.0. It also forms a great comparison between old and new media.

The Conclusion

Web 2.0 caters to the individual and with the introduction of user specific applications, makes using the internet and existing on the web easier. It also allows anyone to become a producer of information. Be it through text, video, music, photography, art etc. web 2.0 has allowed anyone to create and show anything. This differs to web 1.0 where people believed and acted in such a way that they were consumers OR producers and never both. Web 2.0 is the prosumers playground and an ever evolving one at that.

The Organization of Gaming Communities.

2008-04-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

With the introduction of the internet communities are no longer bound by delayed information transfers as they were in the age of the newspaper, nor are they bound by geographical constraints. An online community is a group of people with common interests who use the Internet (web sites, email, instant messaging, etc) to communicate, work together and pursue their interests over time.

In the beginning (of the internet) online social groups organized not under hobbies as they do today but under activist groups. For instance in the seventies anti-Vietnam communities organized demonstration and protest times, meeting places and general information over the internet. This was due to many issues some of which included conspiracy theories but the major benefit protesters saw in the internet was the ability to quickly transfer information and organize their community. One example of these organizations who took advantage of these new technologies was the peace corps.

As the internet has advanced as have the possibilities for groups to form. Now groups and communities are able to communicate on any topic be it something as vague as digital art, to something as (important) as political ideals and opinions. These communities communicate through the internet with focuses around specific interests and the interest in question is defines how the community is structured. In general however communities will consist of a single Administrator or a group of Admins who are able to police content as well as restrict certain use within the community medium. There are also members of communities who may need to meet certain criteria before being able to participate.

Gaming communities specifically are organized using themes that surround the game in question. There exist two types of game societies;

The first; are communities that do not focus on any specific game or type of game. These societies are very general in the they are communities primarily about gaming culture and for members of the gaming society to use as a general space for finding information or even for contributing information. Examples of these include gamefaqs.com and gamespot.com. Both of these sites are general gaming sites focused on news and / or information.

The second; are communities that have one specific focus and a specific audience. An example of this is hellgatelondon.com. Not all of these sites are created by gaming companies however that is not to say that gaming sites created by games producers do not include elements of gaming communities. Hellgate for instance has set up both large knowledge bases as well as forums for players to interact within, be it to answer fellow gamers specific questions or to engage in organizing in game elements such as meetings and "raids".

In short the organization of communities in general has become easier with the introduction of the internet. Virtual cultures have been given the ability to pass information about any aspect of the specific society in literally no time and the benefits of this can be seen in online communities and organizations both globally and locally.