A Quick Update and a Lengthy Insight

Hello all,

I am pleased to report that research is once again underway for my Genius Project! That being said, I have new results to report regarding my survey of the students of Sage Creek High School!

As of 7:25 PM on Monday, November 11, 2016, my survey has received 146 total responses. The current breakdown of the data is as follows:

• the Action genre is the most popular, with a total of 44 votes (30.1% of voters)
• the Adventure genre is second most popular, with a total of 26 votes (17.8% of voters)
• the Sports genre is third most popular, with a total of 21 votes (14.4% of voters)
• the Role-playing genre is fourth most popular, with a total of 18 votes (12.3% of voters)
• the Action-adventure genre is fifth most popular, with a total of 13 votes (8.9% of voters)
• the Strategy and Simulation genres are tied for sixth most popular, with each having a total of 7 votes (4.8% of voters for each, resulting in a total of 9.6% of voters)
• the Idle Gaming genre is seventh most popular, with a total of 6 votes (4.1% of voters)
• the Massively Multiplayer Online genre is least popular, with 4 votes (2.7% of voters)

As the second trimester and Biomedical Innovations approach, I am growing excited to begin analyzing both the data obtained from my survey in addition to my Internet research. Like I discussed in my previous post, I am certainly challenged by multiple facets of this project (conducting research is never as simple as one would like to think), and I cannot yet say that my project has had any impact on the community, as it has largely been focused on gathering data from the students of Sage Creek High School. I hope that by the time May 2017 arrives, however, I will have been able to utilize my findings to enable anxiety-prone individuals to "take a breather" and relieve their anxiety with a video game genre prescribed for their needs. This goal may very well be a long shot; nevertheless, I am dedicated to my efforts to make this goal a reality.

I would like to take some time to deviate from my usual style of blog post in order to provide a glimpse into my incentives for choosing this project. In order to do so, I am going to talk about one of my favorite video games of all time: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, published by Bethesda Softworks.

The The Elder Scrolls series has been my go-to relaxation series of video games since I first played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in 2014. With The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I instantly found myself utterly drawn into the game world thanks to a number of factors:

Atmosphere: the atmosphere of a video game is a crucial factor in determining how it will affect individuals who play it. For example, a video game with a dreary atmosphere may serve to darken the mood of the individual who plays that game, whereas a video game with a light, happy atmosphere will likely raise the spirits of those who play the game. In the case of Skyrim, the atmosphere is one of utter peace: while the player is exploring the world, a calm soundtrack plays in the background while the sounds of nature are abundant. This type of atmosphere creates a level of immersion ideal for escaping, if even for a small amount of time, one's real world problems to find refuge within the world of a video game.

Setting: the setting of a video game is also important when it comes to individuals seeking to relax. For example, the chaotic settings of games such as the Call of Duty series may serve to agitate players, whereas the serenity of the environments in a game such as Minecraft allows players to experience an immersion where they are free to explore the world as they so choose. I find this to be exactly the case with Skyrim: I am often awestruck by the grandeur of the various mountain ranges, open valleys, and glorious vistas. As I explore the world, I am captivated by how alive the world feels, but it is alive in a peaceful, rather than chaotic, sense.

The northern lights illuminate the night sky as I explore the northern regions of the province of Skyrim. The absolute tranquility of this scene is a prime example of why I so enjoy The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Photo Credit: David Meinen

Gameplay: the gameplay that a video game offers differs greatly by genre. Video games such as those in the Dark Souls series are renowned for their crushing yet rewarding gameplay, but such difficulty is not ideal for achieving relaxation (the Dark Souls franchise is my favorite video game franchise of all time, though). By contrast, the gameplay of Skyrim consists of exploring an open world at the player's leisure, engaging in brief combat, and completing myriad quests. As such, Skyrim is a game that almost anybody can pick up and play, regardless of video game experience.

Soundtrack: while often the most overlooked factor regarding the ability of a video game to relax players, the soundtrack of a video game is actually crucial. Using the Dark Souls series as an example once again, the soundtrack of this series is largely powerful and awe-inspiring; this is, of course, inevitable since no other music could capture the grandeur and majesty of the series' plethora of diverse boss battles. In contrast, the soundtrack of Skyrim is largely ambient and serene; it is meant to be a soft background presence that enhances the atmosphere already established by the setting. In my opinion, the music of Skyrim excels at immersing the player in the fully-realized world of the province of Skyrim by subtly underscoring the vastness and magnificence of the game world. 

Lore: the lore of a video game is not quite as significant to relaxation for most people as it is for me, but I nevertheless felt the need to mention it. The lore of a video game is the entirety of the story behind the game's events: the events leading up to the game, the events that take place during the game, and the events that could possibly take place following the game's events. Additionally, lore reveals information about characters and about the game world itself; while most players willfully remain ignorant to such information in favor of gameplay, I find myself in some cases preferring the lore of a video game over gameplay. Once again, the Dark Souls series and Skyrim are both prime examples of games that I immensely enjoy the lore of. In all three Dark Souls games, the player takes on the role of a nameless Undead whose goal is to prevent the Age of Fire from subsiding into the Age of Dark. To accomplish this goal, the Undead must journey through an unforgiving and perilous world filled with menacing and powerful bosses to ultimately arrive at a critical decision: whether to link the First Flame and prolong the Age of Fire for another thousand years, or to let the First Flame fade and initiate the dawn of the Age of Dark. Regardless of the player's decision, the player can discover through context hidden within the game that neither choice is the "good" outcome: linking the First Flame prolongs the Age of Fire but guarantees that the cycle of life, death, and undeath will continue, while letting the First Flame fade shrouds the world in Dark. Similarly, Skyrim tells an engaging tale of the last Dragonborn, a mortal with the blood of dragons who sets out to prevent the destruction of the province of Skyrim, and subsequently the continent of Tamriel, at the hands of the dragon Alduin, the World Eater. As is probably obvious by this point, the lore of both the Dark Souls series and Skyrim is crucial to my enjoyment of these games.

I do hope that my lengthy explanations serve to provide enlightenment as to why my project interests me so. I know that this post is by far the lengthiest yet, but I believe that an understanding of what I spent the majority of this post discussing is crucial to achieving understanding as to why I chose the project that I did.

At any rate, I hope that this post proved to be an interesting read. I will continue to keep you all posted with updates regarding my research progress, and I look forward to the continuation of my project in Trimester Two!