Case Study - Farm Town

Basic Information

• What is Farm Town?
– Farm Town is a Flash-based browser multiplayer game.
• Who is the developer?
– It is developed by software company Slashkey.
• When was it released?
– Farm Town was released on February 1, 2009.
• How many people play this game?
– Until October 2009, there was near twenty million people playing Farm Town.
• How popular is?
– In June 2009, the game was added to the Facebook Application Directory.
– It is the fourth most popular game on Facebook.

Function

• Each user creates a virtual farm.
• The user then begins the basic activities of plowing, planting and harvesting crops.

• plowing, planting, harvesting and buying things can increase the empirical value.

• As the player accumulates empirical value and coins, they rise to higher levels which have more options, such as allowing to buy more land, improvements and buildings.
• Users can earn money from harvesting, and buy tools and animals to decorate their farm.

• The game developers periodically add new crops and items to purchase, keeping the game interesting.

The History of ‘Farm games’

• As same as others farm games, the players are encouraged to operate a farm (e.g. plowing, feeding animals), gain empirical value, and achieve the goal (the highest level).
• Those farm games had a long historical development, for example, the Nintendo company developed a series of farm games called ‘Harvest Moon’(牧場物語). Another example is the facebook’s game ‘Happy Farm’.

Features of farm town

1. Encouraging the users to ooperation with other players and make new friends.
• The game incites cooperation with other players and makes new friends.
• For example, it costs nothing to hire players to assist with plowing and harvesting;
• the farmer can gets a 25% bonus for hiring other players do the work.
• Players can also establish a buddy list which indicates when friends are online and chatting.

2. Encouraging the users to share with friends.
• the player is encouraged to invite at least five Facebook friends to play the game.
• Coins and experience are earned by visiting neighbors and helping them to work. For instance, friends can earn experience and coin from raking, weed and water their flowers, and by exchanging gifts of animals,flowers and trees.

Conclusion

• The players enjoy the fun of developing a virtual farm.
• Also, they can make new friends and encourage to learn the spirit of ‘sharing’.
• Therefore, I think it is no doubt that ‘Farm Town’ is a morally good game.
• It also slow that the mode of playing computer game is from individual to multiplayer games.

Discussion of four important games - should we consider these as works of art?

Discussion of four important games - should we consider these as works of art?

No. It is because I think this video just imitate the 'Super Mario' and lack of narrative elements and Creativity.

Also, it is quiet understand the meaning and what the artist really want to present. Maybe the artist want to make fun, but it doesn't mean that it is meaningful.

Also, in my opinion, the video lacks beauty and just showing clouds and blue background, and it is not an artwork.

Should governments have the right to ban certain games? Why or why not?

Should governments have the right to ban certain games? Why or why not?
Although Ithink those games bring disvantages, I think the government should not ban certain games.

It is because the people should have human right to play/develop the game, and I think the government have no permission to stop or avoid it. Also, it is so difficult to prove that playing video games is the main reason of causing violent crime (e.g. murdering), maybe it happens because of other reasons.

However, I think the government should set some limitations of playing certain games because it really affect the growth of children. For example, the government can set up the age limitation, to avoid the child play or be touch with those video games. To avoid the violate crime, the government also can have more promotion and education on public.

LEC9 Technologised Bodies

To what extent are we already experiencing a man -machine symbiosis that has turned us into cyborgs?

To a certain extent, we always use the machine in our daily life. For example, we use mobile phone to connect with others, use watch to check the time, use computer to calculate something....etc.
Ususally, some people who have health problem would have some operation to implant machine.
For example, the heart disease patients sometimes implant heart pacemakers to save their life. Some people who is hearing disorder would use audiphone to help them in daily life.

What are some pros and cons of becoming a cyborg?
Pros:
1. more convenient
2. strengthen our body
3. make our body more beautiful as our wish

Cons:
1.unnatural, against the natural law
2. may be harm for our body because our body cannot adopt it.

What do you think of Stelarc's work?
I think it is systematic, lifeless and electronic. It looks like a robotic system.

Identity

"Lau Mei Yee" - my real name.
"June" is the name for the foreigners and colleagues when they call me.
"Ar yee" is the name for the schoolmates and friends.
"Mei Yee" is the name for my parents and relatives.
"Alien Mei Yee" is the name when I use the ICQ messager, because there was a cartoon many years ago called "Alien Mei Yee" (in Chinese).

I have 4 email accounts, included yahoo, MSN, gmail, Lingnan university.
Also, I have facebook account.

My classmate: (Christine Yan)
Christine is a name used for work or studies. She said, 'It seems that it is more serious or more elegant.'
Cow is use for common, she would pefer my friends call her cow rather than Christine. It is more fun and friendly. It is very warm if her friends call her "cow cow".
Evil Cow is a name used for net name.Since she always treat other people so they give her the name.
Yan Ching In is her real name and this name is usually for her family used. They call her when she do something wrong,they would shout her name"Yan Ching In, come out and see what she did!!!!!"'

Christine has account of gmail,yahoo,facebook, forum, msn, and she uses 'yaninhk' as her internet name.
'yan106' is the username of her email and the username when she surf the forum.
Her username in Lingnan University is 'christineyan'.

Review--youtube

Quote 2“…Through their many activities – uploading, viewing, discussing, and collaborating—the YouTube community forms a network of creative practice. In his book on the social worlds of art, music and design, Howard Becker (1982) described this kind of formation as an ‘art world’—’the network of people whose cooperative activity, organised via their joint knowledge of conventional means of doing things, produces the kind of art works that art world is noted for’ (Becker, 1982: x). He argues that the construction and negotiation of aesthetic values and ‘proper’ techniques is not confined to academics or experts, but involves everyone who contributes to the process of cultural production, including audiences. Similarly, on YouTube, aesthetic values, cultural forms, and creative techniques are normalised via the collective activities and judgements of the entire social network—forming an informal and emergent (and by far from homogeneous) ‘art world’ that is specific to YouTube”.

I'm most agree with the quote 2.Actually, the youtube created a new form of sharing creative video, music and art. It is a cooperative activity, it does not need professional technique, it only needs the creativity of andiences. Andiences/people have a great platform to show their ideas by uploading videos.

Mark Napier - "shredder"

Source from
http://www.potatoland.org/shredder/shredder.html - Mark Napier - "shredder" (Accessed from Oct 14, 2009)

What are some challenges digital art presents to the art world?

What are some challenges digital art presents to the art world (ie galleries, exhibition goers, art critics and scholars)?



The art world is very broad and the information always change. The audiences are difficult to follow or find the information because it changes all time.

Some people cannot accept the digital artwork because it is not traditional.

Some people think that the digital artists are not professional because they do not use the traditional art skill. It's only technology and not really artistic.

Compare to traditional art, we need to access on the internet otherwise we cannot view/appreicate the digital artwork. It is difficult to promote in some place which do not have internet services. (e.g. developing countries). This is the limitation.


Some people think that the digital art are just commercial, not really artistic, reproduction and copy. It may decrease creativity.

Screening of 'Mission of earth'

Screening of 'Mission of earth' (2003-2004)

by Lev Manovich

'Mission of earth' is a digital cinema.

According to the story outline, 'Inga is an alien who comes to Earth from twenty years behind Earth culturally and technologically. Mission to Earth is an allegoryof both the Cold war ear and of the contemporary immigrant experience that is so frequently the norm for inhabitants of 'global cities'. The film reminds us that, while hybrid identity is often celebrated as progressive, it also entails psychological trauma. '

Actually, I think this movie is quite boring because of the monotone, monotonous music and the boring story plots.

What is new or different between 'Mission to Earth" and tradtional ways of telling a story and constructing a film?

For example, the Mission to Earth used a special layout. In most parts of the film you will see both video clips and motion graphics clips appearing side by side. However, it usually only have a video clip at the same time.

The motion graphics correspond with videos but they are also independent. They form a parallel film that follows the same narrative but visualizes its themes and the characters's interfeeling at the same time.

The movie remind me of Mondrian because the whole movie looks likes a Combination of many boxes/ grid squares. It uses simple colours, sketchy lines to form it.

Piet Mondrian, Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1930

Sources from:http://chelseaartmuseum.org/projectroom/2005/manovich/ -On Soft Cinema (accessed Oct 11, 2009)

Hong Kong Bus Uncle with English and Mandarin Subtitles

Hong Kong Bus Uncle with English and Mandarin Subtitles


Hong Kong Bus Uncle feat Sammi Cheng


Positive:
Since it is easily to upload, everyone can share their movie easily through internet.At the same time, it encourages the creativity.
A new way to become famous/ advertisment. (e.g. bus uncle/ Susan Boyle)
Apart from words, it is a new way for people share their viewpoint/opinion, or express their feelings.(e.g.Leave Britney Alone)
The comments may inspire producers to improve their films/ video.

Negative:
It provides a new channel to bully others.
Some video may be taken clandestinely, or without permission, it may have the privacy problems.

Lecture 5 - Review

Microsoft and Apple

(a) Is there any problem with simply using the products that thse two companies create to us?

Yes, I think there are some problems when we use those products.
First, their software cannot be acceptable to each other. That means when you use Microsoft software, for example, a Microsoft excel file, you cannot use Apple's computer to open it. This is so inconvenient to the user.
Second, it takes long time to fix the problem. If you computer has some technical problems, it takes long time to report to microsoft/ apple.
Third, those programs might not be user-friendly. Some people say Microsoft products such as Vista contain 'bloatware' is unnecessary software that uses a lot of memory and makes the computer run slowly.


(b)Why do some people choose to use open-source software such as Linnx?

Some people choose to use open-source software, because:
1. it is more flexible to update the data/choose suitable programs.
2. it is no restriction/have freedom to change/ use/ share software/ increase functions.

According to wikipedia, open-source software has:
1. Free Redistribution
2. Source Code
3. Derived Works
4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
7. Distribution of License
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral

Since there is no any restriction to use it, some people choose to use software such as Linux.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software

(c)Who owns the right to modify your digital tools? Does it matter at all? Why or why not?
I think it based on the policy. If the software own by a company, we have no permission to modify it. However, if we use open source software, we have right to do it.

Steven Paul Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955)

-American businessman

-co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc.

-formed Pixar Animation Studios.

-resigned from Apple in 1985 and returned in 1996

-He was named the most powerful person in business by Fortune Magazine on 2007.

-After he came back to the company, he stopped the projects such as Newton, Cyberdog, and OpenDoc.

-Then he took a reformation in Apple Inc.

-In recent years, the company has branched out, introducing and improving upon other digital appliances. With the introduction of the iPod portable music player, iTunes digital music software, and the iTunes Store, the company made forays into consumer electronics and music distribution.

Source from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_jobs - Steve Jobs (accessed Sept 30.2009)

Week 3: Photos edited by Photoshop

Cats, cats and cats

Week 3: Digital Photography VS Traditional Photography

PHOTO

Wikipedia vs Encyclopaedia Brittannica

Wikipedia vs Encyclopaedia Brittannica


1. What is a brief history of the encyclopedia?
The encyclopaedia as we recognize it today was developed from the Dictionary in the 18th century.
Encyclopaedia Britannica is the oldest and one of the largest contemporary English encyclopedias. It found in 1768.


2. What are some key features of that encyclopedia
a) according to Wikipedia (established on 2001)
-E-book
-non-profitable
-13 million articles (3 million in English)
-articles are written collaboratively by volunteers around the world
-available languages: 271 in total

b) according to Encyclopedia Brittannica (published in 1768)
-language: English
-aimed at educated adult readers
-written by a staff of about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert contributors
-printout but also have online version


3. Which encyclopedia was most useful for this research?
Wikipedia, because the information is more updated than Encyclopedia Brittannica, and it is free of charge.

4. Can you trust this encyclopedia 100%? Why or why not?
I think I can't trust wikipedia totally. Although it provides lots of information, we can't prove those data are reliable because it wrote by anonymous, and the data can be change by vandals. Sometimes, the context of controversial subjects (e.g. political topics) ruin or change by vandals.

Source from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia - Wikipedia (accessed Sept 23.2009)

Information Revolution

Information Revolution




Discussion


1. According to the short video, how have computer technologies changed the way that knowledge is stored, created and shared?
2. Is the picture that this video paints too bright and optimistic? Does it leave anything out?


In this video, it shows computer technologies changed the life style of people. In the past, if you want to find data/information, you need to take a long time to search from filing cabinet, take the number card and find another cabinnet. This action repeats and it really waste time.
However, these technologies improved the way of data searching,creating and storing. Nowadays, when we use the search engine, data can be found easily and it only take a few second.

I think the viewpoint of the video diector is neutral. In the video, it shows good and bad thing at the same time. For example, the video shows the tremendous speed of the search engine, it is convenient and it makes revolution. Meanwhile, it also brings bad effect, such as unreliable information and loss of privacy.

write second blog entry:"What are some pros and cons of the internet and new computer technologies?"

Write second blog entry:"What are some pros and cons of the internet and new computer technologies?"
Pros:
1. convenient and make less mistakes, more accurate
2. easy to find information (internet) for work and study
3. easy to communicate, e.g MSN, Email, etc.
4. entertainment, e.g computer games


Cons:
1. loss of creativity
2. loss of privacy
3. become lazy and depend on computer
4. the pirate problem become worse

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