Anthropology

Review / 1: Cheating: gaining advantage in videogames by Mia Consalvo

Review / 1: Cheating: gaining advantage in videogames by Mia Consalvo

I admit without shame that I often cheat when I play video games:  I have skipped missions on Starcraft when loosing repeatedly became too frustrating. I don’t think I have ever played Quake on anything else than Godmode. Cheating allows me to manipulate the game experience, exploit the aspects of it I enjoy the most and free myself from some of the more demanding aspects when I don’t enjoy them. 

However, because I cheat to enjoy easy and fun gaming, I would not go out of my way to cheat. Additionally, I would not cheat if the game-play is enjoyable and rewarding. And I have found that cheating can rob you of some of the best rewards games have to offer. When I got stuck on the final stage of Portal 2, I looked up a walk-through and ended up discovering the final step without wanting to: to this day, I wonder what kind of amazement I would have felt had I been able to figure it out for myself.

Confessions of an Anthropological Geek

Confessions of an Anthropological Geek

For as long as I can remember, I have been a geek. When all my other classmates were socializing or playing outside on their weekends, I was in my basement buried in the complicated task of building complex, intricate worlds. Sure, I would play outside, but my neighbor and I would invent fantastical quests, transforming a shrub into a secret fortress and collecting flowers to mix into “magical potions.” At sleepovers, when my friends would pile around the TV to watch the latest Mary-Kate and Ashley movie, I’d slink away to watch Titan A.E with their brothers.

There’s still time!

There’s still time!

You can still submit your proposal for the panel Nick Mizer, myself and other colleagues are planning for the American Anthropological Association (AAA) 2013 annual meeting. Check here for more information on the panel about geek anthropology and send your proposal before April 10th!

We look forward to hearing from you!

– The Geek Anthropologist