Decisions, decisions: Picking something to write about

On 04/01/2013 at 11:21 PM by Caesar

Things are picking up a little bit for yours truly, and as the semester winds down I'm looking forward to the opportunity to write more pieces for the site and perhaps for other outlets, as well (if that's possible).

But perhaps just as bad as writer's block or crippling depression is not having a clue where to begin! I'm a man of ideas, as it were, and I've had a few different plans for feature-length topics to cover. And wouldn't you know, I haven't the foggiest which should come first.

Some of you from 1Up might remember me planning to cover the contentious topic of video game piracy. It's an issue that effects all of us as gamers and consumers, even if we don't really consider or talk about it on a daily basis. I've had some great sources on the matter, and it's something that I actually think about pretty often, especially when I read or hear about new games or systems on the horizon.

And of course, even "this long" after the Newtown tragedy, I'd like to write at least a little bit about video games and politics. I study politics (and I love me some political science courses), and I would like to bridge those gaps which exist between our hobby and "the real world" (no, I'm not speaking on the behalf of your parents). I'm not sure how long I could stretch that topic out, though, at least not off the top of my head.

Another idea that popped up in my head recently was the Vietnam War in video games, which could probably end up in a larger conversation of wars in gaming. RangerGirl kind of kicked that off that idea for me in a post a few weeks ago, and I'm certain that'll end up being a pretty lengthy series.

The last idea I've got on the list is archiving video games. I've heard people bring this up every now and again: do we make a library of games? How would we do it? What would get chronicled first? I think it's a pretty interesting idea, and definitely not as dramatic or "big" as some of my other plans.

So with all of these ideas rattling about in my head, maybe it'd be a good idea to get some feedback from you all. Seriously, I'm not being lazy about this--I honestly have no clue where to begin. So please, let me know what you might want to see, and please leave me some good sources for research! Every little bit helps and I would greatly appreciate it.

asrealasitgets

04/01/2013 at 11:27 PM

Well you could drop your hat into the "Always Online" debate brought on by that SimCity launch. Everyone whos anyone had something to say about that. Give it a go.

Caesar

04/01/2013 at 11:34 PM

I'd put that into a piracy article. That's why such features are implemented in the first place. But I was planning on making the piracy topic a series anyway, because it's hard to discuss all of it in just one or two pieces.

leeradical42

04/01/2013 at 11:40 PM

I think you should write about ps2 games or system as im trying to get everyone back into the collecting aspect of ps2 games especially Shin Megami Tensie, NIS,Working Design,Pretty much anything Atlus only because the Atlus games are so collectable and some of the prices are going way up cause more people are buying these games, anyway just a thought.

04/02/2013 at 12:53 AM

I'm not sure I know enough about that to really write about it. I mean, I think there's something to be said about game price in regards to both piracy (availability = potential drop in pirated copies) and digital distribution (Final Fantasy VII coming out for PSN led to a drop in prices/demand for physical copies of the game). But collecting is something a person just does; there isn't really much to discussion behind it.

But hey, keep doing your thing, and I'll be sure to look out for your posts!

BrokenH

04/02/2013 at 12:18 AM

All these seem well thought out and interesting! A tad controversial maybe (many of these topics have opposing sides) but sometimes rocking the boat is a good thing. If noone did noone would actually have the opertunity to "think outside their boxes".

04/02/2013 at 12:57 AM

Some are indeed controversial! I've got my opinions on all of the topics I mentioned, but opinions are like nipples: everyone's got a couple, and some people might even have three! But I'm the type of person who likes showing why I have an opinion on something, based on as many facts as possible. It isn't enough for me to say "Don't pirate games, it's bad"; instead, I'd like to tell the reader how I came to that opinion, and hopefully give them something a little more to think about regardless of their stance.

TheMart22

04/02/2013 at 10:08 AM

I think the "archiving video games" topic is an interesting one going forward. A little OT perhaps but as games requiring DRM or always online become the norm, I think we may reach a time where we are no longer able to go back and play a previous generations games due to server shutdowns. This concerns me. I don't want to spend $60 on a game this year and find out in 2016 I can't replay it for some reason. This would hit collectors especially hard.

04/02/2013 at 08:55 PM

One of the things that actually sparked that idea was the second episode of the podcast A Life Well Wasted. They interviewed a games archivist at Stanford University about the problems that would come with trying to archive MMOs: because those are games which are entirely dependent upon online presence and server upkeep, you kind of can't replay it once the server goes offline. However, what they didn't mention were MMOs which have private or now fan-run servers. I think Gundam UC Online and maybe some versions of Phantasy Star Online have had fans maintain their own servers once official support has been cut. So that's definitely something to consider mentioning.

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/02/2013 at 01:14 PM

Only sources I found Googling video game piracy had more opinion than information, so I'm hoping your more extensive research leads to better results than what I found.

04/02/2013 at 09:24 PM

As far as analyses go, I think this is probably anyone's best bet as a starting point. It's ten pages long and not exactly brief, but it's one of the best sources I've seen on piracy and covers a lot of ground. Even with the author's opinion at the end, it's probably the the most objective and thorough insight on the topic.

I think part of the reason why it's such an opinionated issue is that everyone talking has some sort of personal stake in it. It seems to me that there exists a very defensive, stand-offish attitude of piracy ("Someone else will buy it/They don't need any more money/I'm poor/Copyright laws are dumb and archaic/etc."), which really boils down to "Don't judge me." I think the internet's made thieves of us all, even if unconsciously, and trying to get the message across to people that piracy really can hurt the games industry (PSP, anyone?) is surprisingly difficult. But if gamers wish for themselves and their hobby to be taken more seriously, then we need - more than we may think - to really shed more light on this issue.

goaztecs

04/02/2013 at 05:49 PM

I like the video games and politics topic especially from someone who plays video games, and loves politics. It seems more interesting to read your take considering you know both sides rather than having a poltician who has all their info fed to them.

04/02/2013 at 09:28 PM

Here's something to think about:

As you're reading this, more people who will seek or attain elected office will have been raised in a video game culture, and even more will comprise the electorate. Just let that one sink in for a bit.

PixlBit