Brendan Downey
#50190372
DMS 448
Week 7

In week 7 of class, we streamed the game “Gone Home” as a class. In “Gone Home,” the user experiences a first person game of exploration and mystery, where you are free to explore a massive house however you see fit. Within the first few moments of the game, the audience is immediately thrust into a nostalgic world as you unravel some clues about your character. Soon, it becomes clear that this is not a simple game of exploration, but rather an intricate narrative that you slowly begin to understand as you are completing the game. By the end of the game (spoilers), the once mysterious and dark landscape is transformed to a nostalgic home. Personally, I loved the experience “Gone Home” provided. Although it is not a game that I would purchase for myself, “Gone Home” completely changed my perspective on what a nostalgic exploration game is. It is a combination of a vast landscape, freedom as a player and a well written plot. This is my first experience with this genre of game but will surely not be my last.
Throughout class this week, one main point of discussion was nostalgia; What is it? How do you perceive it? Can you translate it? To me, nostalgia is a deep feeling for the past, or some moment that you are striving to hold on to. It’s “the good ol’ times.” For example, as a former baseball player, I still get butterflies when I walk into a stadium or hear the sound of a bat “crack.” However, while listening to classmates examples, I have a new outlook on nostalgia. Nostalgia can be found anywhere, whether it be an antique camera, childhood memory or from a single video game. The important thing is that it carries some significant meaning to the individual.
In our reading this week, Martin T. Buinicki singled out the popular 2K title “Bioshock Infinite” when discussing nostalgia in video games. The Bioshock franchise, totaling 3 games, all take past in the past and are perfect examples of nostalgia. Having played Bioshock Infinite extensively, there are many examples to pull from in the games plot and design. Throughout the entire game, the player is bombarded with a new American history formed by blending fact and fiction. In the reading, Buinicki describes the dystopia of history, or an imagined state.
This week, one thing became extensively clear to me: I was not exposed to enough Nintendo as a child. After listening to Joan (and others) talk about childhood memories based around Nintendo, I felt left out.

CITATIONS:
Kocurek, Carly A. “Coin-Operated Americans.” 2015, doi:10.5749/minnesota/9780816691821.001.0001.
Cote, Amanda C. “Writing ‘Gamers.’” Games and Culture, vol. 13, no. 5, 2015, pp. 479–503., doi:10.1177/1555412015624742.