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The Devolution of Video Games: Perspectives on Patience

December 29, 2017

comparing, experience, nostalgia, patience, society, technology, video games

Today’s topic focuses on the devolution of video games. Now, If I start talking about the video games of my childhood, you might think I’m planning to talk about nostalgia.

Undeniably, if I start talking about such computers as the Spectrum 128k, the Commodore 64, and the Amstrad CPC 6128, some older people will feel a sweet tingling in their hearts. Anyone over 35 years old has certainly heard of MatchDay II, Renegade, R-Type, or Ghosts ‘n Goblins.

In actual fact, however, today’s post will have more to do with something else. If you remember this article, I drew parallels between the expressions of mediocrity that frustrate modern life and the lack of patience displayed by modern people.

The video game evolution is a proper term only when the topic is approached from a technical perspective. Conversely, if you focus on society and culture, we should be talking about video game devolution.

If you recognize this, congratulations; you’ve had a happy videogame childhood. In a framework related to the devolution of video games, it seems the more complex *and easily accessible* games become, the more devolved they are.

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Writing Motivation: Why Do We Write Fiction

December 28, 2017

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, creativity, experience, literature, writing

People approach the motivation behind an action usually from a linear, cause-and-effect perspective. This isn’t necessarily wrong: we eat because we are hungry, and we drink because we are thirsty. However, increased complexity begins to blur the lines between a cause and its effect. Sometimes we might eat not because we are hungry, but because we are sad. Writing motivation, that is, the force behind the production of text, is such a complex issue.

To some extent, you can claim that writing motivation originates from the desire to write. I write because I want to tell a story is probably a basic, simple way to describe it. But there is a problem there. “I want to tell a story” indicates volition. Writing fiction cannot be a process you do willingly.

The first thing you see when you visit the main site – https://homeforfiction.com – is a quote by George Orwell that aptly describes the madness and self-conflicting feelings behind writing fiction. Any author will tell you: they hate writing; every word, every sentence, every page and every chapter. It’s exhausting, life-sucking, it messes with your head.

So, why do we do it?

writing motivation — To paraphrase an oft-quoted phrase, authors hate not writing and hate writing. They only like having written

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Fake News, Based on a True Story

December 27, 2017

Society

feelings, Gothic, ignorance, literature, reason, social media, society, writing

Why Are There Fake News?

There’s a question that has suddenly become relevant. But just because the question has acquired momentum, it doesn’t mean fake news is a new thing. It’s all about narrative, affect, and control. Here’s a piece of fake news that’s already a couple of thousand years old: “God comes to earth in the body of his own son [sic], he is crucified, he is resurrected [by his own self, presumably?] and everyone is suddenly absolved [from the fact that a woman supposedly once ate a goddamn apple].

As a narrative, this fake news has a linear progression, but with plenty of intertextuality, which enhances its appeal. Crucially, it also has a personal-experience perspective. It’s not just about some random nameless character in a galaxy far-far away, but about you – yes, you, you sinner! As a result, it has great affective power, and is therefore effective in its mission: To exercise control over the populace.

The Discovered-Manuscript Trope of Gothic Fiction

Whoa, I hear you say. What kind of a leap was that? How did we get from fake news to Gothic fiction? Bare with me, and you’ll see.

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