Pyrian on 25/7/2012 at 20:53
"Adolescent power fantasy" is a phrase just begging to be analyzed. We're talking about interactive entertainment. "Interactive" implies power, and "entertainment" implies fantasy. At the very least, virtually any form of entertainment allows you the freedom to just walk away. Being interactive invariably involves quite a bit more. Now, you can stretch the definitions of "fantasy" and "entertaining" to exclude each other, but it takes some doing; some entertainments are more cerebral than imaginative, I suppose, and one can enjoy being challenged or scared. But that's still a form of fantasy, at the very least in that you can just walk away, you're not in any real danger.
A game is pretty much a power fantasy by nature.
That leaves the relevant core as "adolescent". Maybe I'll say more on that later. (Maybe not.)
Eshaktaar on 25/7/2012 at 23:28
It means shooting people with big guns and making endless sexual references about said guns and said offed people.
ZylonBane on 26/7/2012 at 01:03
Quote Posted by Pyrian
"Interactive" implies power, and "entertainment" implies fantasy.
I'm entertained by watching Mythbusters. How the smeg is that fantasy?
Captain on 26/7/2012 at 16:28
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
I'm entertained by watching Mythbusters. How the smeg is that fantasy?
You're entertained by them living out your fantasy of blowing shit up and trying to make ridiculous urban legends happen?
Although that fails to address being entertained by the parts that are actually somewhat educational, or things like humour. I don't know what Pyrian's on about either.
ZylonBane on 26/7/2012 at 18:54
I interact with this forum software by typing and clicking. IMPLIED POWER!!!
Pyrian on 26/7/2012 at 18:56
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
I'm entertained by watching Mythbusters. How the smeg is that fantasy?
:confused: I really can't file that under anything other than "you are missing the completely obvious". "Mythbusters" is about as fantasy-wish-fulfillment as TV gets.
Quote:
Although that fails to address being entertained by the parts that are actually somewhat educational...
Education about real things alone is basically by-definition not-fantastic; but that doesn't preclude fantasy elements, usually included to
make it entertaining. And then there's the things we like to fantasize about, that happen to be real, so we like learning about them, or playing games about them. Wars, for one example. I'm using a pretty loose definition of fantasy, but so was Spector.
Quote:
...or things like humour.
Okay, that's fair enough. Maybe someday they'll be able to make a game about creating jokes, where the computer judges how funny you are. I'm not holding my breath, though.
EDIT:
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
I interact with this forum software by typing and clicking. IMPLIED POWER!!!
No, that's different. I mean, there's still
some level of power, but not like gaming, where the game world either revolved around your actions, or it pretends it does (MMO) even though it's patently obvious it does not.
It's not like I'm making this stuff up or it's never been written about before. Even games so simple that people debate whether they're even games at all (e.g. Farmville), tend to have clearly recognizable and relatively easily attainable goals. You click a couple times, wait a little while, congratulations, you've grown strawberries.
That's a power fantasy. Yet people argue about whether it's even a game!
ZylonBane on 26/7/2012 at 20:48
Quote Posted by Pyrian
:confused: I really can't file that under anything other than "you are missing the completely obvious". "Mythbusters" is about as fantasy-wish-fulfillment as TV gets.
Riiiight. Exactly what fantasy is being fulfilled by watching Mythbusters? Or, say,
the news?This should be good.
Koki on 28/7/2012 at 06:09
Quote Posted by ZylonBane
Riiiight. Exactly what fantasy is being fulfilled by watching Mythbusters? Or, say,
the news?The Onion fulfills many of my fantasies.
