This is the first time I have been given the opportunity to critique the games I am playing, and I think it was a really rewarding experience. While Guild Wars 2 isn’t a game I would have picked up on my own, it was surprisingly enjoyable and really fun to examine. I think there’s a lot of room for developing this concept and bringing critical thinking in relation to video games into the academic environment, and I hope it will be explored more in the future. It feels as though this is the beginning of a new era in game design and I can’t wait to be part of it.

I think one of the most rewarding aspects of this semester was being able to examine games that I play currently along with games and experiences I have had in the past in the gaming community. It’s refreshing to be able to reflect on my experiences with a new look and be able to examine why a game was popular back in 2014 versus the games that are popular now. I almost wish I could go back to working at EB Games again just so I could have more access to games waiting to be critiqued and analyzed.

However, with ReFig underway and the exciting things coming in the Fall to UBC, I feel like I will have a wonderful opportunity to do just that, but with a focused group of peers excited to do the same. This is only the start!

All in all, it’s been a great semester with a lot of positive outcomes and not a lot of regrets. How can I complain when I’m getting credits to play a video game? I simply cannot.

For the past 11 years I have been involved in the gaming industry as a consumer, retailer, and researcher. Throughout this time I have witnessed the positive and negative effects that video games have on society. When I worked at EB Games, I experienced the joy that Animal Crossing could bring to both a five year old child and a grandmother – their enthusiasm in learning the inner workings of the game, their gratitude to my tips and tricks, and their happiness when I offered to exchange some in-game items with them when I got off work. I also experienced a grown man crush a Call of Duty video game disc in his palms and throw it at my face when I refused to provide a refund even though the day prior I told him I couldn’t do such a thing. The impact that games have on people varies so widely, and I think society puts a lot more worth on games than we tend to realize.

I do believe that some franchises have given us the opportunity to desensitize ourselves from violence – we spend our working dollars on video games that lay neatly out the ways in which we can enact violence on society. Whether it is Call of Duty where I am instructed to kill the terrorists or Grand Theft Auto where I am given the freedom to rape and murder a prostitute, these games undeniably allow players to be voyeurs in situations that are otherwise highly illegal and frowned upon. When an 8 year old boy comes into my store to buy the newest installment in the GTA series, I turn him away and tell his parents the realities of the game. But it is up to the parents if they buy that game for their child or not. I do my part but after that it is out of my control.

I do, however, have control over the games I choose to play and the games I choose to recommend. Sure, the majority of the games I play steer away from explicit violence, but I also indulge in games like GTA or Guild Wars 2 because at the end of the day they are enjoyable to a degree. I recognize that I am desensitized to the violence – surely I wouldn’t go out of my way to murder women (such as in GTA) or cats (such as in GW2) in real life, but I do these things because the game is written in that way. I think it’s important for consumers to acknowledge how desensitized we become, along with why and what the impacts are on not only ourselves but society as a whole. Opening up space to these types of discussions is where our society needs to start in order to make headway into the video game violence debate.

Throughout my Guild Wars 2 playthrough I have seen my fair share of chatty players. Surprisingly, I haven’t run into many trolls or toxic situations, compared to other online games I play. Usually I go out of my way to block or mute a toxic person, as I know they must be at least 10 years younger than me and are in that “edgy” phase of their life. I think Guild Wars 2 has a lot of older players though, which cuts a lot of trolls out of the mix.

In fact, most of my interactions with players have been very positive! Recently a player was giving out free dyes for clothing, based on the receiving player’s favorite colors. They gave me a handful of free green dyes from the “uncommon” section of dyes, which I greatly appreciated! It allowed me to connect more closely to my character and I was really grateful of their kindness.

I also find that gamers don’t chat as much in Guild Wars 2 compared to other games I play. I don’t know why it’s so silent – most of the player messages in the chat are invitations to join specific guilds. Perhaps if I join a guild there will be more chat involved, but honestly based on my experience I am unable to comment on toxic players in the game. Everyone has been a delight to play with, whether it’s getting free dyes or getting revived by more experienced players.

Even when resorting to reddit for help and beginner advice, all the information was listed in a respectful and helpful manner.  There’s a lot of guides for new players and it seems like experienced players of the game are quite passionate and are willing to help grow new passion into the Guild Wars series as well.

Maybe I’m just lucky, I don’t know. But outside of Guild Wars 2, as I said I have experienced a lot of trolling. I find it is predominant in free mobile games. Many kids will use anonymity to their advantage and release their verbal army of slurs into the chat when no one asked for such a thing. It’s easy to block these kids and carry on with my day, but sometimes I simply have to have a stern talk with these kids just for my conscience.

It’s kind of a breath of fresh air playing Guild Wars 2, in that sense. I’m not constantly bombarded by slurs or oppressive comments, and the game feels much more welcoming in return.

Guild Wars 2 plays with both violence and narrative, entwining them together as many video games do.  However, I don’t think it’s a good pick for Anne Burdick’s quote, as the narrative of Guild Wars 2 is largely about perpetuating violence.

 

I think video game narratives are an amazing and accessible way of storytelling. Free games, like Guild Wars, allow people to experience an engaging story without limitations. Many games also offer their stories with voice dubs in different languages, which makes them more accessible to so many groups of people. Gamers don’t have to be limited to their class or ability to enjoy the storylines that come with so many free games.

 

Personally, I appreciate games with a riveting storyline that makes use of its fully fleshed out characters. Wind Waker in The Legend of Zelda series comes to mind – A young boy on a quest to save his sister, accompanied by a badass pirate-turned-princess and a talking boat that used to be the ruler of the kingdom.

 

 

In Guild Wars 2, I sadly have found myself more detached from the storyline. The narrative feels forced and unfocused. There’s simply too much going on for me to keep up or get invested in it. I think the lack of introduction or backstory to the many characters makes everything seem flat, which caused my attention to move elsewhere – onto the gameplay itself.

 

 

However that’s the thing with MMORPGs: the game narrative comes second to the gameplay. So even though I’m used to single player adventures, I can’t compare the two. The two genres are simply too different in their content and delivery. Perhaps my experience with GW2 will be the final nail in the coffin of my MMORPG experiences; I will most likely stick to my single player games after this. 

 

In summary, I think free to play games like Guild Wars 2 does an exceptional job in providing accessible entertainment, but the storytelling falls short compared to single player games. There’s a heavier focus on gameplay and propelling the linear narrative forward, and the flat characters don’t do the storyline any favours.

 

One thing I found interesting about starting Guild Wars 2 was that depending what race you chose, you would end up in a different area with different quests. After creating my final character, I was placed into the Plains of Ashford, where some rivalries have been taken place. This area seems to be in a constant state of Autumn – many warm colors and dead foliage. Compared to other areas, this place feels quite dismal.

Here, my character is surveying the surroundings. The landscape itself feels depressing, and the storyline is created to give off the same feeling.

In the Plains of Ashford, the Charr are constantly fighting against each other – it’s basically a civil war. Unfortunately, I wasn’t given any option to negate the conflict. This concept of being forced into a situation created by the producers with no option out echoes Longan’s quote: this dominant ideology that war must be completed rather than negated has been situated in this game with no other possibility.

I wanted to see more of this area, however after much exploring I have realized that the Plains of Ashford is all quite similar – some lakes, a lot of yellow-green tones, and the same enemies re-spawning every few moments.

The quests in the area (along with in my personal storyline) generally involve destroying the enemy, civil war style. Morally, this is upsetting for me. While there may be reasons for this civil war, I wish I could be given the option to go through this part of the game in a peaceful, harm-reductive way. On a very simple and rational level, killing cute cats kind of sucks!

I suppose it is safe to assume that a game titled Guild Wars would involve war between guilds – but I do wish there was an option to play the game as a neutral player and avoid or solve the war peacefully.

Also, I do find it interesting that the initial setting introduced to me was that of a dry, dying landscape. The developers of this game have neatly packaged this together for the most depressing effect and I must admit that it works.

Back when I was manager of an EB Games from 2013 to 2016, we carried copies of Guild Wars 2 as well as cards that people could buy for in-game currency. It was one of those games that we always had about two copies of, but never sold. I figured it was because the game was unpopular, but I had no idea that most people purchased the game or in-game currency at home from the comfort of their couch.

I’ve always been a fan of role-playing and adventure games, though I leaned more toward Nintendo titles, as it’s what I grew up on. When I worked at EB, I had a lot of opportunities to try out new games – and that I did. However, I never picked up Guild Wars 2 simply because I didn’t know enough about it. MMORPGs in general would usually give me some type of anxiety – I had never played games online and felt as though I would be watched or judged. I attempted to play World of Warcraft and Elder Scrolls Online along with some other online titles, but in the end I felt burdened and overwhelmed simply because I didn’t take the time to immerse myself in the atmosphere.

When I found out we would be playing Guild Wars 2 this semester, I was excited, curious, and nervous. All my old memories and anxieties from my past career bubbled up to the surface, but I’m determined to simply take my time and enjoy the game for what it is. It helps, too, that my partner also downloaded the game and is enjoying it. In fact, at the time of writing this, they are beside me on the couch playing on their own laptop. It’s become something of a family event that we put time towards each evening.

“Video games have increasingly being deliberated as a propaganda tool to influence people with regards to some targeted matters. Design of game’s character plays an important role for such objectives”

When I first began to make my character, I went immediately to ones that resemble humans. Choosing a human character was an instinct based on what I thought would be acceptable in this society – I am human, so my character should be human. But I quickly became uncomfortable with my decision, especially after reading the quote above by Lokman et al. While I don’t know yet what the true intentions are behind Guild Wars 2’s character creation system, I really felt the need to step back and play this game in a way that helped me feel comfortable. My first character was a male necromancer, but I ended up deleting it and creating a different character – one that I could feel a distinct connection towards and see myself enjoying throughout the game.

After diligently deciding on features of my character, I noticed I grew some sort of motherly instinct for her. She is a Charr, and I decided to mix features from both my cats into her and name her appropriately (Puppybox – a mixture of Puppy, my white Scottish Fold, and Lunchbox, my black domestic shorthair). I got lucky with the name – other names I had come up with, for both of my characters, were taken, but I felt that Puppybox suits her perfectly as she truly feels like a hybrid of my cats.

I really enjoyed being able to choose some background information for my character. I feel like this creates a type of early-game bond that is rare for other RPGs. It really stood out to me. Usually character creation stops at appearance, but it really is so much more than that. Being able to assign Puppybox as a charming thief before I even stepped foot into the game allowed me to push the boundaries on standard character building. I was already thinking of her life and adventures before I knew how it would play out. I chose a charming thief for two reasons: one being that I generally play thieves in RPGs, and two being that my cats are truly and utterly charming thieves. This resemblance between my virtual reality cat and my real life cats seems to be creating a comfortable gateway between the overwhelming online atmosphere and the solace of my personal life. It’s allowing me to keep my anxiety at ease while also enjoying the Guild Wars 2 experience.