Tag Archives: wishing

are we making the correct question?

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A common question I hear is: why games are immersive?.  If there is an answer, I believe it is not a simple one.  Some game researchers respond to the previously stated question of immersion with the flow phenomena that is reported the players experience while playing.

However, I consider the question we should be asking ourselves is: why real life is not immersive?
Yes, newspapers offer a clear answer why real-life is not as appealing 🙁

But let’s be honest, when Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi researched the flow phenomena, he did not research games or players. Csikszentmihalyi’s research was based on individuals who are passionate doing what they like in their real life.

Perhaps because I live my life intense and I am playful in it,  undoubtedly it is  immersive 🙂   But I also know what is to avoid something, trying to be immersed elsewhere…. So, I wonder, are we making the proper question?

discovering the world as a child

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Lately I am conciently subscribing to the “slow movement ”, like slow food  or slow schooling. I might be getting old. But after any “crisis” one can realize the richness of time. I want to use my time as wisely as I can while living intense. Today for me that implies stop stressing only in the rush, and give time to the time. (no an easy thing to do for my persona)

People, individuals need time to process things, even to sense our environment requires time. Or at least I require time.   I agree that some actions can be performed fast.  However, our reflections might require its own time, what we need to put on it is discipline. Discipline shouldn’t wait for example, is from the habits that should be present as early as possible!. As it will help us to enjoy even further, and keep on moving, specially in difficult moments.

Discovery is one of our innate characteristics. However as older I get, I realized that the idea or feeling or “rushing” emphasis on the “control” of the outcomes instead of the process and experience. Hence, this rushing that emphasis in the control of the outcomes actually constrains the living experience. No wonder our planet is in such a crisis!

The point of my post is the wish to promote a discovering of any experience in a most natural level, just discover it. Allow oneself to be “bewitched” by the “new” experience before we even try to catalogue or say something about it. In few words: first LIVE IT in its purest form! without an work-on-process conclusion.  As when we just come to this planet, as a new born do. Just later, when the time is proper, the same discovering experience will transform in reflection that will connect with other experiences, but as a second step. That implies to surrender to our thirst of “control” of the situation. I know THAT is hard stuff!

 To discover in such levels requires to do not be stressed. Just give the time. Time that our “modern western society” might not want to offer, but it is up to us how we want to take the time to live our lives in the way we want to. At the end, who is in control?  I know this question is the most difficult one to answer, but part of the ride!

My utopia would be that after one had experienced something, a book, a trip, a game, etc. One could say and feel that  it is not the end of the journey, but the beginning of a new day in one’s life.

View of the frozen lake from Noljakka, Joensuu. It takes time to have such a wonder.

View of the frozen lake from Noljakka, Joensuu. It takes time to have such a wonder.

 

 

 

small consternation…

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First I read about DOPA:
The US is in a process to create a law to forbid the use of networking sites and chat room in schools and libraries, which could mean digitalized thoughts, reflections and discussions will be prohibited at school time, which are places that theoretically have people and resources to guide you in further reflection, criticism, discussion and understanding.

Later about PeaceMaker:
My wish came true 😉 and there is a simulation game call
Peace Maker, which simulates the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It seems they are doing a great effort on it, and they are really enthusiastic about it. Actually, I hope we will get it for our department now when it is out, it will be great to see it, and over all to play it. I am really looking forward!. But a new wish comes, and it is to hear or read the Palestine opinion of the game, not only from Israel.

Then to finalize this post, with the information that I have at this point of those two events, leaves me with a small concern feeling

search engine just of images with no words

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Today, I have face myself with a known personal problem: “Words”

Well it is not my strong side at all, even though some people would say I can talk a lot. But the words, and/or writing properly is not my gift, even though I love to read. Anyway, today I was looking for a game that I played a lot as a teenager. And I search for this game, in this virtual world full of information (our internet) for some time. First with the name I remember of it, but nothing. Then, I try different combinations, descriptions, and so on, and nothing.

Suddenly I though, it will be so nice that I can make a diagram of it and search for it, there is no way I could miss it, it is SO simple. As a “natural” consequence I would be able to have a search of it just putting the picture and said look for similar, and I bet, the probabilities to find it would increase.

I know there is people working with this image databases, but I realized in this “fantasy” moment, that ALWAYS you have to put a word to get an image, or select a word of a menu list, but mainly always is a word involved in the topic. I haven’t seen an image database, still, in which the query is an image as well. At least no starting from zero. I think I had seen for the second round search, the possibility to click in a line which says: looking for similar, but no so sure. Or do you know of any Database of that type?

Now, I have no idea if that sounds silly, but today I felt I require it. I have no idea if that makes sense, but it would be interesting to express ourselves with drawings as well. At the end besides text the internet is full of icons, images, pictures and others graphical elements. In fact thinking further it might even help to those who do not know how to read and write (even though read and write is quite useful) or don’t have the common language, but they can communicate by dragging and dropping images, then each one can look later on what is the meaning of that image in their own language…. anyway, it might not have sense what I am saying, but today I got craving to have access to one of those “fantasy” applications.