Web+2.0+Games


 * Gaming and Web 2.0**
 * What is Web 2.0?**

Web 2.0 is often discussed, but not fully understood. When asking a casual user of the internet what it is, one might simply reply that its "Facebook"or "Wikipedia". Although this is correct, it does not answer the question, but merely provide an example. Would that answer help you identifyother examples of web 2.0? Maybe, if what you're looking at is similar toeither of those sites at least.

Web 2.0 is thecollaborative internet. It is the comment section under a news article, thepage you are able to change with your own thoughts, and the message you cancreate for the public to see. It is a website (or service) that allowsindividuals to add or edit information usually with the purpose of sharing.Popular examples of web 2.0 include blogs, wikis, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube,and now Google +. (This is Reggie. I understand why you explained Web 2.0, video games, and web 2.0 gaming in different paragraphs, but I think the reader could greatly benefit from having a completion introduction of what to expect in your chapter before diving into the definitions.) What are video games? Video games are digital games that are played on a monitor. The idea of what a video game is has changed with both technology and societal views. At one point in time, this meant heading out to an arcade and standing at a machine. Over the years this has undoubtedly evolved. What once carried the connation of having asthma and living with your parents has become mainstream //(hmm, I dont really get that example here)//. Today gaming can be accomplished at home using a game console, through handheld devices, cellphones, and on computers. Gaming now even exists without a controller // (what does that mean? //). (Will you please give examples of video games? A well known example from each platform may help. Also, I'm seeing a lot of spacing issues. I'm assuming the wiki did it. Just be careful when you copy and paste this document into something else.) Much like web 2.0 on its own, web 2.0gaming has a broad definition that can encompass a lot of sites. To state itsimply, is any game that involves sharing and/or collaboration. Playing a game on a website, or even a socialnetworking site such as Facebook, is not enough to consider a game part of web2.0. //( do you have a cite for that? or is this your opinion? I think its important at that point, when you define shortyl what a web2.0 game is to have a cite for it)//
 * What are Video Games?**
 * What is web 2.0 gaming?**

There aremany different kinds of web 2.0 gaming. The first kind of Web 2.0 gaming wasstarted by a community on the internet that calls themselves modders (// cite?). // Theycould be considered the pioneers of web 2.0 gaming. Modders are people who editcomputer games and then share them online for others to play for free. This canbe as simple as changing what they characters in a game look like to as complexas creating a whole new game out of the original. Modding started in 1981 withthe release of a computer game called "Castle Wolfenstien"."Castle Wolfenstien" was a world war two game featuring Nazis as theenemy. A few guys came up with the idea that the game would be better if itfeatured smurfs as the enemy instead of Nazis. In 1983 "CastleSmurfenstien" was created. At the time the game was shared by copying themto floppy disks and passing them around. They spread the same way bootlegcassette tapes did in earlier days.

Althoughthis in itself is not an example of web 2.0 gaming it did lead to a movement ofmodding that would be the first example of one form of web 2.0 gaming. The riseof the internet helped to take what started as an idea and turn it into acommunity. As popular games were released people would have their way with itssource code. After they have finished their mod people hoped onto the internetto share. Websites popped up specifically to host mods of released games. Thewebsites would allow the people who downloaded the mods to rate and comment onthem. They could also edits already existent mod and reupload them to thewebsites.

Astechnology progressed further the gamers were able to create mods in unisonover the internet. These modders were able to join a virtual room and work onthese mods together. The modders are able to communicate via voice chat andtext. These mods were also posted on the web for users to comment and rate.Some mods have become so popular the publishers of the original game willinclude them with bonus editions of the retail game. Some of these modders haveeven gotten hired with the original developers of the game. It has now becomestandard for most PC games to ship with tools to help people mod the game. Thenext kind of web 2.0 gaming comes in the form of a specific genre. That genreis known as the massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Thesegames are similar to second life but in a gaming form. Players create their owncharacter, choose skills/abilities, and complete quests. Completing thesequests (and playing the game) gains their character experience which allows theplayer to update stats. Some popular MMORPG’s include “World of Warcraft”,“Everquest”, and “Runescape”.

The web2.0 aspects come from the community who plays the game. These games allows forboth voice communication and text chat while playing the game. Thecommunication tools serve many purposes in the game. At its most basic levelthey are used for socializing. Within the game there are many items. Thesetools are used to barter with others when trading or selling these items.Finally there is the team aspect. Any quest within the game can be completed aspart of a team. These tools serve as a means for planning and execution tofinish the quest successfully.

There areweb 2.0 aspects of MMORPG's that occur outside of the game as well as othercomputer and console video games. There are wiki's that exist to findinformation about the game. Forums and chat rooms for players to ask questions,get answers, plan, and in general discuss the game. Many other web 2.0 meetingplaces exist for as well such as Facebook groups, Google + Huddles, IRC chats,message boards, twitter Hash tags, and YouTube videos. //(so, from this it would follow, that part of what web 2.0 gaming differentiates from not web.2.0 gaming is the fact that people share their knowledge about these games in the web?--> I think it would be important to make this point here)//

(Will you somehow tie in the previous definitions into this Web 2.0 gaming section. for example, could you explain that technically Web 2.0 games are video games? )
 * Evolution of Gaming 2.0**

What beganas game modding today has become something completely new. One of theweaknesses of modding was it was mostly limited to computer gamers. There areinstances of modding consoles games but it could not be shared with others inthe same way. The mods also could not be edited in the same way andredistributed. Likewise, the social networking tools used on a computer werenot available for use on a Playstation or Nintendo system. With the changes oftechnology comes an answer to some of these problems.// (again I am missing citations here...where did you get all that info from?) //

Gameconsoles today have become web 2.0 platforms. When first turning on a gameconsole one of the first things it asks is to be connected to the internet.Once connected the system allows you to register a user ID. This user id is thegateway to connecting your gaming experience with others // (great!) //. It will allow you tohave a friends list, send text messages to players, connect via voice(sometimes with video) to chat with other users, and track accomplishments within games to compare them with people onyour friends list. The Playstation 3 even has its own second life typeapplication built into the system.-// -> wow, didnt know that..cool stuff! // (You can reference Playstation Home for this paragraph.)

With therise of social networking being built into modern gaming consoles came a newform of 2.0 gaming. Games began shipping with tools built in to make your owncreates. This movement began with the release of "LittleBigPlanet"for the Playstation 3. "LittleBigPlanet's" slogan was play, create,and share. This game shipped to players with the same tools the developers usedto create the game. The idea was players would take the developer tools andmake their own levels. The players could then share their creations on anonline hub within the game. Other players can then comment on the levels, rateit, and download a copy. Once the users have downloaded a copy they also canedit the level and reupload it to the hub for others. // (super important info here...again, where did you get it from?) // "LittleBigPlanet" haschanged the way people will look at gaming 2.0 forever. Many games, such asHalo Reach and Infamous 2, since "LittleBigPlanet's" release have launchedwith map, level, and all sorts of other editors. Each game had included a wayto comment, rate, and share the players creations. "LittleBigPlanet"was so successful it spawn a sequel with deeper creation tools and a new way toshare. A website was launched so that players could rate and comment on levelswithout being in the game. It also allowed players to queue player createdlevels to start when turning on the game.

(Ok, you tied in the definitions in this section. )
 * Social Networking Integration**

Whilenot all games are putting web 2.0 features into their games directly many arechoosing to integrate with existing social networking technologies. Console,computer, and cell phone games, such as Uncharted 2 and Angry Birds, now shipwith integration on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, andYouTube. As tasks are accomplished within these games they will tweet them orpost them to your wall. They also allow replays to be directly uploaded toYouTube. (PS3 will automatically post all trophy achievements on Facebook. )

Socialnetworking sites have gotten into the act as well. Website such as Facebookoffers game directly on its website. Each game integrates different with web2.0 game technologies. Some of them post to your wall and others allows for directcommunication with other players. A popular Facebook game,"Farmville", challenges players to build their own farm. Players mayalso visit other players farms to help them. Working together allows the playerto earn more coins to use in developing the farm. It is rumored that Google +will be adding games to its site.

As youmight have noticed, web 2.0 and gaming have a unique connection. While many web2.0 options are limited to what is found on a website, gaming and web 2.0 isabout the bringing together of many different services. Message boards, chat rooms, forums, mediaposting, micro blogging, bloging, wikis, and social networking come together tomake web 2.0 gaming. In some instances gaming 2.0 can occur leading topropriety forms of web 2.0 and gaming. Only technology can tell us where web2.0 and gaming will go in the future.

// Josh, nice work here on the development of gaming in web 2.0. As the other reviewer already stated in the discussion, I guess you have to include some learning stuff here too. Sorry, I only saw your post now of how to get to the articles. You have to log into the FSU library with your FSU password. On the left corner of the FSU library page is a button saying external login or something, do that and you will have access to the journal data bank. Choose from the menu "article and databases" click on "most used databases" and select the first one (academic search complete). Just type in web2.0 gaming and learning or something and it will give u tons of good stuff. // // All in all I think you have to put citations in your writings, where you got the info from. // // All in all I think you are definately on the right track and I think if you pimp it up with a little bit of academic literature about how we may be able to learn through gamin in web 2. 0. through even the whole sharing of knowledge how to make more points in World of Warcraft, your paper will be just great! // Sophie

(Josh, I understand it is hard to find educational references on video games. It is pretty much impossible, unless you include references from video game websites. I would be careful to make sure the paper flows and make sure the introduction paragraph accurately describes what you will discuss. What will be the key issues and concerns of Web 2.0 gaming? Also, I read an article about how the gaming industry is shifting again because of Web 2.0. For example, Sony and Microsoft have to consider gaming apps such as Angry Birds as a threat. Technically, Zynga become a $1 billion dollar video game company without a dedicated gaming console. Good job and if you need more feedback from me, let me know! -Reggie)

What is Web 2.0? What is gaming?

History and how it relates to web 2.0 gaming - Start of web 2.0gaming - What is web 2.0 gaming - PC mods [] - Where they are today

Examples of web 2.0 gaming on the internet/social networking - Facebook games -farmville/mafia wars - How they create a sense of responsibility to the gamer [] - Web 2.0 gaming off the computer - Ps3/ xbox 360 - Games that integrate uncharted 2 - Mobile phone

Evolution of web 2.0 gaming - Where its heading

Not just paying for content anymore/now creating as well [] - Littlebigplanet 1 and 2 - Infamous 2 - Halo reach

//REview: Looks like a good structure you have here. I especially like the last part of creating gaming content and also all the stuff related to facebook games as I think they reach a very broad audience. What I would additionally be interested in is some scientific studies about gaming and web 2. 0 specifically in the context of "serious" gaming which may have implications for learning with games in web2.0.// I //just typed in your topic in Academic Search complete and already came across some very itneresitng titles of papers// [|EBSC] //Maybe you want to look at that too. Iam looking forward to your chapter!// Sophie

Appreciate the feedback Sophie. How do I get a login for the link you provided? I know my outline seems a little lacking but when writing a paper it works better for me to work off something like this. I just need the big ideas written down. Anymore then that and I spend to much time thinking and not enough time working (if that makes sense). -Josh