Watching Starcraft, Strategy and South Korea. Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Review - Essay Example

?Explaining the Different Concepts in the Article “Watching Starcraft, Strategy and South Korea” by Christian McCea Using the Strategy Game “Warcraft3: The Frozen Throne” One of the most in-depth articles written on the effects of gaming cultures unto societies, especially in the dawn of real time computer strategy games, is the article written by Christian McCea, entitled “Watching Starcraft, Strategy and South Korea” (McCea 2009). In this article, McCea actually talks about reading South Korean culture through their gaming experience with Starcraft, a real time strategy game. As stated by McCea, “So it was with some surprise that I caught myself attempting to read South Korean culture in the texture of strategy. Boxer subverted the play methods built up over six years and deployed a usually unsuccessful strategy to an embarrassing, crushing success, three short matches in sequence. That the strategy worked three times in a row testified to its perfect timing and his dedication to training. The broadcast cut to Boxer’s reaction, wracked by sorrow by having to short-circuit the drama of extended play and so convincingly defeat a friend. This was no longer about Starcraft.” (McCea 2009) In this case, the researcher would like to clearly explain the concepts in the article by using another game. In this case, the researcher of this paper would use the game “Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne,” which is also a real time strategy game like Starcraft. By using Starcraft, the researcher of this paper would try to contain a brief overview of the key points made by the article, wherein the researcher of this paper would also discussed the stated points according to the game that the researcher of this paper chose (Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne). Finally, the researcher of this paper would also consider on whether the gameplay that the researcher of this paper experienced is similar to the concepts written by McCea in his article “Watching Starcraft, Strategy and South Korea.” One of the first concepts that McCea has shown in his article is the fact that real time strategy computer games actually reflect societal changes in a society, especially in the transformation of society’s culture in relation with its changing material conditions. As McCea has stated, in the case of Korea and the Starcraft game, “…youth culture ‘abandoned popular leisure activities such as billiards, arcade game and Korean checkers’ in favor of wholesale uptake of the game. The game has a degree of synonymity with Korea’s growth of digital leisure, and especially with the development of PC bangs. The game has become a site in which a multiplicity of other dramas and narratives unfurl and unfold; a toy map for larger cultural dramas to express themselves.” (McCea 2009) Another important concept that was shown by McCea in his article was the concept of “patterns of consciousness” (McCea 2009) which is actually used by players who engage in real time strategy computer games. According to McCea, “The players of strategy games arrange matter and units in accordance with patterns of consciousness in a consistent way exploring their capacity to think backward and forward in the space optimized to represent their thought: the designated game board. The games are meditations on temporality, operating vertically through scale and horizontally through time. The rules of the game expand and contract the sociality; the competitiveness and the quality of play…because different cultures play the same game in different ways and create variants…” (McCea 2009) Last but not the least of the concepts presented by McCea in his paper is the fact that success in real time strategy computer games actually contribute much to one’s status and fame, especially when “…constitutes success becomes conflated with fame, with narrative surprise and conduct—more and more with the continuance of all the strata that feed into the readable surface of the game” and that, as “Geertz identified the center bet as the means and device by which deep play emerges, but not the reason,” pro-gaming Starcraft in Korea “uses the conflation of strategy, fame biography as a commercial and cultural driver” (McCea 2009). Using the game “Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne,” it can clearly be seen that the development of online computer games, especially those that harbor real time strategies, are always dependent on material, specifically technological developments in a society, for it to flourish and be accepted by people. Of course, for a society that does not have access to computers in the first place, real time strategy computer games may not just have sense: it will be of no use to gamers in such a society. Conversely, when a society undergoes technological changes, wherein computer technologies become easily available to the general public, especially unto the gaming population, then it is natural that leisurely activities that depend upon computer technology would be more popular to the gaming public, which explains why real time strategy computer games such as Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne are more popular in developed industrialized countries that have access to computer technologies such as the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea (Leyendecker 2003). In addition to that, the development of the features of real time strategy computer games, as well as its acceptance by the public, surely depends upon keeping its pace to the most recent technology, as displayed by the following review of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne: “The 3D units introduced in WC3 haven't changed, really, and the new units don't look any more detailed than their predecessors. The emphasis remains on compatibility with mid-range systems, so you won't have to go buy a new video card or processor just to play this game. Battle.net play is rock-solid from a network aspect provided you're not downloading music on KaZaa or anything. (Or porn - 2Lions) It can get a little hairy when 6 armies collide in a multiplayer game, but other than that, there are no serious network issues.” (Leyendecker 2003) With regards to the second point, the game Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne perfectly illustrates the fact that “the players of strategy games arrange matter and units in accordance with patterns of consciousness” (McCea 2009), all with respect to optimizing the spatiality of the game, the sociality that is afforded by its rules, and as well as the race against time. As stated by another review of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne, the reason why such a game actually racks high in game ratings is because of the fact of its gameplay and as well as the strategic opportunities that is presented to players, wherein “The game's single-player campaign delivered an interesting and engaging story told from four unique perspectives, its online multiplayer mode was the best in the real-time strategy genre, its four distinctly different factions featured numerous viable strategies and tactics, its gameplay was focused on action and rewarded skill and practice, and its powerful scenario editor let you design your own missions…using the game's great-looking 3D engine” (Kasavin 2003). In addition to that, Trivedi also adds “Warcraft 3 fan base doggedly supports the latest sequel by creating…complex user modifications…even full-blown single player campaigns” (Trivedi 2003). Resources Adams, D 2003, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Review, IGN, viewed 19 May 2011, http://pc.ign.com/articles/426/426863p1.html Kasavin, G 2003, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (PC), CNET, viewed 19 May 2011, http://reviews.cnet.com/search-results/warcraft-iii-the-frozen/4505-5_7-30602384.html#reviewPage1 Leyendecker, M 2003, Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne Review, Actiontrip, viewed 19 May 2011, http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/warcraft-3-the-frozen-throne.phtml McCea, C 2009, ‘Watching Starcraft, Strategy and South Korea’, in Gaming Cultures and Place in Asia-Pacific, Taylor and Francis, New York Trivedi, D 2003, Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne Review, SharkyExtreme.com, viewed 19 May 2011, http://www.sharkyextreme.com/features/games/article.php/2242261/Warcraft-3-The-Frozen-Throne-Review.htm Read More