04 Jan 2008 [ Prev | Next ]

Strong Bad on Videogames

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Our assignment is to watch a short cartoon that introduces (through humor and exaggeration) several important details in the development of video games.

If you aren't familiar with Homestarrunner.com, you might first watch Strong Bad answer a letter from someone asking for help writing an English paper. Then you can go on to watch Strong Bad offer his opinions on Video Games.

Stick around after the animation ends -- there will be four more things to do. (Click the boxes.)

Sample all four of them, and then choose two to investigate in more depth. Leave brief comments on the course website, on the pages devoted to each of the two items you chose to investigate more carefully. [It's 4pm Jan 3 as I write this... I hope the course web site will be fixed by tomrrow, but if not, just put your comments into the response/position paper that you e-mail me each day.]

  1. On this page, post a question or observation prompted by what Strong Bad had to say about video games.
  2. Then, post an in-depth comment on at least two of the following pages:
    1. Secret Collect
    2. Strongbadzone
    3. Thy Dungeonman
    4. Rhino Feeder
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» Rhino Feeder from Video Game Culture and Theory (EL250)

Part of Strong Bad's Videogames animation.... Read More

» Secret Collect from Video Game Culture and Theory (EL250)

Part of Strong Bad's Videogames animation.">Videogames animation.... Read More

6 Comments

Derek Tickle said:

After watching the Video Games video by Strong Bad I thought it was interesting how he focused on the very basic video game graphics to the more developed ones. He mentioned old graphics, 3-D graphics, text based adventures, and photo realistic games. These all contribute to the development of the video game world. I enjoyed watching the movie and thought it was interesting to watch. A question that I thought of was were these really video games many years ago?

These games were all created a few years ago to go along with the animation, but they're excellent spoofs (exaggerated, but in a loving way) of each kind of game.

Brandon Gnesda said:

I found it both entertaining and humorous and at the same time informative to the history of video games. I enjoyed that he touched on the different elements in each era of game. I chuckled at the first game because it was exactly like games of that time, and yet still we find them entertaining today.

Some day will a 3D holographic cartoon mock us for not being able to play games on the insides of our eyelids?

Brandon, I think you've gotten one of the important points I wanted to make. Games can still be fun even if they don't have great graphics, and better graphics does not automatically make a game more fun. (It is true that deeply immersive multiplayer games do depend on good graphics to keep the player's attention for longer, and I remember being creeped out in a scene in Half-Life 2 when an NPC looked at me and gave a nervous smile, and I could actually recognize the subtle emotion. So blocky graphics with bleeping sounds are OK for some kinds of gameplay, just as some people still write novels even though the novel is a 300-year-old art form, and some people still write plays and poems, which go back thousands of years.)

Ashley F said:

I really liked it. I thought his accent was really funny and how they incoporated his bad english into bad writing. It is interesting that he basically hit all the main graphic details of gaming. We have all played each types of those games including the last which is basically something like Mario, cept worse. I agree with everyone, that everyone enjoys old school gaming. Theres nothing like sitting back and playing one of your old favorite games. (Mine's 007 Golden Eye for 64) The graphics suck compared to Halo Xbox 360, but theres still the same point

Zach T said:

I thought Strong Bads view on video games was some what funny. It was also cheesy at the same time, just with the old graphics and language of the video. It was also interesting that Strong Bad could not talk or type correctly. I agree with the other students on how he touched on the different graffic details of gaming. The website and Strong Bad reminded me of a game, Oregon Trail that I used to play a long time ago.

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Recent Comments

Zach T on Strong Bad on Videogames: I thought Strong Bads view on video games was some
Ashley F on Strong Bad on Videogames: I really liked it. I thought his accent was really
Dennis G. Jerz on Strong Bad on Videogames: Some day will a 3D holographic cartoon mock us for
Brandon Gnesda on Strong Bad on Videogames: I found it both entertaining and humorous and at t
Dennis G. Jerz on Strong Bad on Videogames: These games were all created a few years ago to go
Derek Tickle on Strong Bad on Videogames: After watching the Video Games video by Strong Bad
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