Gaming: A Human Right?

For a long time when i first started playing online games i didn't interact with other players or really engage the holiday festivals and things of that nature. I always had questions about running dungeons in groups and what level you needed to be. I never knew how people acquired the good items or even knew how to go about getting them. This really limited my engagement with the game world and others in it.

Then i heard of Thottbot. This player created database would always be running in background in case i had a tough question regarding a quest, a dungeon or anything else.

Of course there are other player run databases for similar information such as Wowwiki which is a Wikipedia style, open form database anyone can edit or contribute to. The problem with these sites, as with all Wiki sites, is that the information is often not current or updated frequently enough to be of use. Most multiplayer games have Wiki sites and other similar database resources. It seems there is real community outside of the game; even if it is still focused on the game. Third party contributions to games like WoW have really kept the genre flourishing over the years. With new content releases, there is a new flurry of activity to update databases and create new third party Add-ons to enhance game play.

Add-ons such as those offered at Curse.com If you need to know what is on the blank ares of the map you can use Cartographer which will show you the entire map of the game world in addition to dungeon maps. If you need to know where to go for a quest there is a Quest Helper Add-on. If you don't like the user interface of the game there are many choices for a customizable interface. The possibilities are endless; all installed via a painless installer. You don't even have to paste files anymore.

All this highlights the freedom some game companies give players to customize their experience in game. We live in the "information age" where the amount of information we have access to is virtually limitless. Even if you are having trouble with your virtual reality there are databases and other resources to help you manage your questions and provide excellent answers. Gaming is a part of the big picture of access to information which (i believe)will be the next human right.

Witness the burgeoning of the middle class and decentralization of church authority with the printing of the Bible in languages other than Latin. Witness the power of the printing press to bring knowledge, and power, to the disenfranchised. The early twentieth century saw the daily paper as a similar power for freedom of information as every town had at least a couple independently owned newspapers which reported news from your area of the world.

Today all these modes of gaining information about your world are owned by corporations which have complete control of the content these media outlets deliver. The last great free source of information is the internet. Still uncensored in our country, the internet has a fantastic potential provide information about anything and everything a first or third world person could desire.

Recently during Iran's tumultuous elections the only open channel of information in or out of the country was online games.

A man in Malawi recently made a windmill to generate electricity after looking at a picture of one once in a book an aid worker had. This information transformed the life of his entire village. Now think about entire nations which have little to no access to information such as this which can provide the bare necessities of life for them. This boy had zero help from aid workers or money from the west in the creation of his windmill. All he needed was the knowledge of how to do it.

Considering the state of the third world in the 21st century, a little information could save thousands if not millions of lives. Information is necessary for people to protect themselves against hunger, injury and disease. How can it not be considered a human right?

While gaming may seem like a frivolous part of the big picture, it too, contributes to the democratizing power information has to change lives.

Please take a moment to look at the linked articles in this post.

For tomorrow please work on the final project and have a tentative topic and thesis ready for Wed.

Currently i have only received the first weeks essay from the following students: Heather Tracy, Dawn Trombley, Christie Sausa, Julie Peacock, Lelah Lavene, Sarah
Saxton.

I only have journals for the following students: Julie Peacock and Dawn Trombley

If you wish to receive a grade for this course you must hand in the assigned work when it is due. Please look at the course calendar for specifics on work that is due.