*note* I know this is probably terribly late. I've had just the worst time ever over finals week. Trust me, it will be worth the wait for my gnarly gimp collages!

uggghhhh....rendering pictures on gimp is aggravating...but they look cool and will be up soon.

And now they are up! Enjoy my collages! (cause they look awesome!)

       In doing the research for my papers in this class and thoroughly reviewing and discussing my classmate's papers, I have learned about the many different ways in which video games affect people. In my first paper, about a game called Second Life, I took a look at how people can warp their in-game identity with their real identity, confusing a virtual world for reality. In my second paper, about video games and their ever-increasing interactive capabilities, I discussed how video games cause people to interact with other gamers all over the world while they play their games in the comfort of their homes. I believe that both of my previous papers will help me in this final paper, as I attempt to explain the aspects of games and what about these aspects draws in players. The aspects that I will be looking into come in the form of the three rhetorical modes, defined a little differently, to apply to the gaming world. I will be explaining how pathos, logos and ethos are used within video games to attract players into this world of gaming. I will begin by explaining how pathos, ethos and logos are related to video games.

       In this paper, the three rhetorical modes will be defined a bit differently. Pathos will still pertain to affecting the emotional senses, such as video games containing well-developed characters and storylines, as well as games such as Second Life in which players are connected even more with their personalized characters. Logos will continue to mean logical thinking, but related to the puzzle-solving and critical thinking portions of video games. Ethos will pertain more to player knowledge and expertise within the game, tying into my second paper about competitive playing and interactivity. Looking through the scope of the three rhetorical modes as defined above, I will explain how they are used to draw different kinds of players into different kinds of games. I will also be creating collages with the GIMP program to help illustrate my ideas and give examples.

       Pathos is used in many aspects of video games. It is because of a need for pathos that some video games have storylines and well-developed characters. Storylines and well-developed characters give players something that they can connect to emotionally within the video game. It allows the video game to become more than just a game, creating the illusion of events ocurring and affecting the lives of the characters. Storylines are important in pathos because they keep the player riveted on what's happening in the game. Video game storylines can be anything from action-packed stories about revenge to heroes on a mission to end evil or a character just fighting to survive. The better the storyline, the more likely players will be lured into the game. Along with an excellent storyline comes dynamic characters. Well-developed characters give the player someone to relate to within the game, often the very character that the player is controlling. Whether the characters are incredible hard-asses or sarcastic, wise-crackers or happy-go-lucky optimists, the more personality a character has, the more likely that character will draw players into the game.  The storyline and the characters together create a mission that the player can feel more involved in and feel that the game has a purpose. It could be the main character's destiny to save the world or their quest for vengeance, but it is this enthralling experience that draws people towards the pathos side of games because the storyline and characters give the story meaning and make the outcome matter to the player.

       In my pathos collage, I included some well-known video game characters to help me explain why characters make games more interesting and alluring. The guy on the top left with the big sword handle is Cloud of Final Fantasy VII. Cloud is the hero of Final Fantasy VII, fighting to keep Sephiroth, the bad guy, from causing many deaths in order to become a god. This hero figure character of Cloud draws in players because he is fighting against the odds for the greater good, a cause which many players will support. The man on the top right with the gun is Mattias Nilsson, one of the the main characters in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. Mattias is a wise-cracking mercenary whose main goal in the game in revenge against the crime lord Ramon Solano for, well, for shooting him in the ass. Much different from the hero approach, this badass character with a need for explosives and blood attracts the more action-oriented fans, who are more interested in bringing down a crime lord, albeit by breaking the law repeatedly, with a louder and cruder approach. On the bottom right is the infamous Bowser of Super Mario Brothers and another million Mario and Nintendo games. Bowser is the villain that's easy to hate. Having a well-developed "bad guy" allows the player to get more into wanting to beat the evil bosses and beat the game too. Zelda and Link of the Zelda games are on the bottom left. Although Link is very much a hero figure in the games, they are called Zelda because she is why Link sets out to save the day. When the beautiful princess Zelda is kidnapped, it's up to Link to save his woman. Mushy, yes, but this romantic aspect of video games does attract some players to pathos side of games.

Looking for a good story and a good game? You may like: any of the Final Fantasy Games, Eternal Sonata, Mercenaries 2, X-Men Legends 1 & 2, or Turok

       Logos is the part of video games that attracts a more logical mind. Most games have some aspect of logos, usually in the form of critical thinking or different sorts of puzzles. Often times logos is used in stalling a player from moving on in a game, whether it be the small tests about patterns to get to the gym leaders in Poke'mon or the maze-like passages through parts of Final Fantasy. Logos is aimed more at the player who wants to be challenged mentally and wants to use their brain while playing a game. The games I just mentioned are a mix of both pathos and logos, but there are also video games that are exclusively logos. Games such as Brain Age and Flash Focus are all about testing the brain in different ways, such as the speed with which the player can think and react to mini tests. These are games meant for the sole entertainment of thinking logically and critially to win.

       My logos collage consists of characters from popular games in which players are required to think in order to beat the game. I thought these would be more appropriate in explaining my ideas because games like Flash Focus and Brain Age mentioned above are not win or lose games, but games meant only to challenge the mind to think in a fun way. In the center of my collage is Link of the Zelda games. In order for Link to collect artifacts from temples and move on in the game, the player must often work out patterns and codes in order to retrieve artifacts and beat the game. On the left are Jak and Daxter, from the game Jak and Daxter, in which players must constantly work out the correct order of events and figure out which way to go to propel the story further. On the right is the Prince of Persia from the Prince of Persia games, in which the player must think critically about how to get to the next stage of the game because time has been reversed and may be reversed for a few seconds by the player. These games are for people who enjoy thinking and reasoning while they play video games.

Want to challenge you mind? Try out: Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Jak and Daxter, Assassin's Creed, or Brain Age

       Ethos is an aspect of the reputation games, the games that players play to gain skill, knowledge and expertise in the gaming world. These are very often the more serious and competitive games. In my second paper about interactivity, I address the fact that there are video game competitions that are played for a prize of money and gaming status. This is the category that those kinds of games fall into. Ethos type games are often played by serious gamers who play a lot and practice to gain skill over whatever ethos game they are playing. This is what attracts players to the ethos aspect of video games. A need to know how to play a game and play it well and be known for playing it very well are often what people who are attracted by ethos aspects of games feel. The ethos aspects of games usually include a few different levels of gameplay, the goal being the very difficult top level. Online interactive play, both for normal players and professional competition teams of players, is usually a main part of the ethos aspect of games as well. These games and their ethos aspects give the players an amount of status in the gaming community if they are good enough.

       In my ethos collage are the logos of some of the most competitive ethos type games. Halo and Call of Duty are two of the most popular first-person shooter games that are played widely online. Many players in first -person shooter games are judged on how well they do in online combat and there are competitions online in both of these games. Guitar Hero is another very competitive game. There are many videos on Youtube of proficient players taking on difficult songs on expert, an accomplishment which others gamers will recognize as worthy of attention. I can relate to this as a player; my boyfriend has played until the underneath of his fingernails were bruised because he was competing with his friend to see who was better. Super Smash brothers is a Nintendo fighting game, in which players can beat each other up and improve their gamer status online. The ethos aspect of games in competitive, all about gaining knowledge and skill in the new gaming world. 

Looking for an online boasting match? Play: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, or Rock Band

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