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Research Log Entry 1
Research Log Entry 1
Potential Research Topics
Potential Research Topics
1) LEGO Monkie Kid
1) LEGO Monkie Kid
In my last digital archive activity, I was thinking about potential areas that I wanted to conduct my research on. One potential area that I was interested in was looking at the more modern adaptations of Monkey King in recent years.
While I mentioned some movies, what really draws me is this animated TV show called "LEGO Monkie Kid." In this adaptation, it focuses more on continuing from Monkey King's previous adventures through a new character MK (a.k.a. Monkie Kid) in a modern setting.
A potential research question that I thought of and potential sources that I could use are:
How does this modern interpretation of Monkey King teach new generations about Chinese Mythology?
Focusing on specific myths, research the ways these figures have been depicted in their origins/Journey to the West
Find articles detailing how other interpretations of Monkey King had left an impact, possibly use the same connections and apply them to Monkie Kid
Research how animated shows in general teach kids new information
Research fan culture:
Research how fans can spread problematic views through their own interpretations (such as fanart) (ex. depicting these Chinese characters with yellow skin)
How does "LEGO Monkie Kid" integrate Chinese culture?
Focusing on specific myths, research the ways these figures have been depicted in their origins/Journey to the West
Possibly include the history of depicting Chinese people with yellow skin
2) Stardew Valley
2) Stardew Valley
Being a GDIM major I obviously had to consider games as part of my research topics. However, I didn't really start thinking about this until I looked at example primary sources in seminar. From there, I started to think about how some of the games I played do worldbuilding.
One that immediately came to mind was "Stardew Valley," a game where players can leisurely work on their farm and become friends/romance other characters in the town, all while improving the town they live in. This one would require me to know a decent amount of the events that happen in-game, which would be a big task for me since it's a game with so much content.
However, I think what I would specifically focus on would be the depictions associated with one of the main goals of the game: choosing to repair the Community Center or giving it up to the Joja Cola Corporations (first and second images, respectively).
Based on what I have played, I came up with these for potential research questions and sources:
What messages about capitalism is promoted within "Stardew Valley"? Anti-capitalism, pro-capitalism, both?
On the surface, "Stardew Valley" could be interpreted as anti-capitalism due to its depiction of Joja Cola being the "bad guys." However, the same could be said about the player themselves.
Research about the system of capitalism/other systems being represented
Research the ideology behind being anti-capitalism
Research the impact of games similar to "Stardew Valley" (ex. how it offers a form of escape from the outside world)
How does "Stardew Valley" create a world of escapism during times of crisis (the pandemic)?
This is kinda similar to the first question, but in this one I would focus less behind the depiction of capitalism and more so on how "Stardew Valley" offers the players the power to take back control from big corporations, something that is harder to achieve in real life.
Research the impact of big corporations, drawing parallels to Joja Mart/Joja Cola Corporations
Research the impact of games similar to "Stardew Valley" (ex. how it offers a form of escape from the outside world)
Research different game theories (could use what I'm learning right now in Games and Society)
Research Log Entry 2
Research Log Entry 2
Thinking Deeper Into my Research Topics
Thinking Deeper Into my Research Topics
1) LEGO Monkie Kid: Connections to Chinese School of Thoughts
1) LEGO Monkie Kid: Connections to Chinese School of Thoughts
Lady Bone Demon: "...You and I are not so different. We both fight for what we think is right. That pursuit only leads to one thing."
Lady Bone Demon: "...You and I are not so different. We both fight for what we think is right. That pursuit only leads to one thing."
Monkie Kid: "Mhm, to destiny, right?"
Monkie Kid: "Mhm, to destiny, right?"
Lady Bone Demon: "No...to pain..."
Lady Bone Demon: "No...to pain..."
Since my last entry, I haven't really found the time to look further into what sources I could use for each potential topic that I have. However, scrolling on TikTok has surprisingly given me another branch of research that I can take for "LEGO Monkie Kid."
In video above, following her defeat, one last conversation takes place between Lady Bone Demon (the main antagonist of the season) and Monkie Kid. Here she states how similar they are in their goals, stating how they "both fight for what [they] think is right." Emphasis is placed on the notion of destiny and how fighting for this goal will lead to pain. I think there's something to said here about that that I could further explore, but what I initially thought of when I saw this clip on TikTok was possible connections to school of thoughts such as Buddhism as was discussed last quarter. I don't remember much about what each school of thought entails (so I would definitely need to review my notes and do further research on that...), but I think that if I chose to write about "LEGO Monkie Kid" I could pay closer attention to moments in the show that reflect those ideologies. And if I did choose to go down this route, that would mean that I would need to rewatch all four seasons so that I don't miss anything important.
Going back to the theme of destiny, this theme was pretty consistent up to the most recent season. From what I can remember on the top of my head, Monkie Kid's main conflict is that he feels that no matter what he does his fate is sealed, internalizing what Lady Bone Demon had told him at the end of the last season. Near the end of the season, he learns that this isn't necessarily the case through different figures such as Macaque (who was a previous antagonist).
Macaque:
Macaque:
"...You were supposed to realize by now that the choices the game's giving you aren't the only choices you've got. Life isn't some prewritten thing like a video game, where you have to do what the tutorial says."
"...You were supposed to realize by now that the choices the game's giving you aren't the only choices you've got. Life isn't some prewritten thing like a video game, where you have to do what the tutorial says."
Again I feel like I can make a connection to Buddhism or Taoism, since up to this point MK has been letting nature run its course because he felt that there was no other way. There is potential here, but first I need to review those notes before I can dig deeper.
2) Stardew Valley: Using the MDA Model and Other GDIM Readings
2) Stardew Valley: Using the MDA Model and Other GDIM Readings
For "Stardew Valley," there really hasn't been much that has crossed my mind for what else I can look deeper into, so I don't have much to say here.
BUT I've been delving more into how video games are categorized the way they are, what they can represent, and more in my GDIM class, which I think would be very useful if I were to choose "Stardew Valley" as my primary source. We've covered some interesting aspects such as how components of a game can represent status in real life in the case of Balinese people. Basically, because these sources are peer-reviewed, I would have a starting point for what I can use in my essay.
Right now in class, we are covering the MDA model, which details how mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetic all work together in a video game. Already I know that this model will be vital to my research if I go down this route because of how it correlates to one of the points I would like to cover in my essay: how "Stardew Valley's" mechanics are being used to create an anti-capitalist narrative while also promoting capitalism.
Research Log Entry 3
Research Log Entry 3
Developing My Thesis
Developing My Thesis
Main connection: Stardew Valley and its relation to capitalism
Main connection: Stardew Valley and its relation to capitalism
Now that I have chosen Stardew Valley to be my primary source and have gathered some sources for it, it's time to start thinking about what specific aspects I want to focus on and how.
From my time spent researching through academic research engines, I noticed that the topic of "pastoral idyll" came up a decent amount in relation to Stardew Valley. From what I can understand, "pastoral idyll" is the idealization of living in an rural setting versus an urban one (though, I will need to reread these sources...). My main focus is on establishing a connection to capitalism (though this could change as I write my essay), and because of this, an idea that I have been thinking about is how Stardew Valley incorporates this perspective in its anti-corporation narrative.
Based on this, a work-in-progress thesis that I have right now is:
Through the use of pastoral idyll, Stardew Valley portrays itself as an place to escape from the harshness of a capitalist society, reflecting what players want to have but ultimately can't under a capitalist system. Through its game mechanics and depiction of Joja Corporations, Stardew Valley shines light on the flaws of our capitalist system.
I think this thesis is alright for a start, but it definitely needs to be developed further. I'm lacking sources on Stardew Valley and its relation to capitalism, which is why it's a little harder to find specific aspects of capitalism to focus on. I came across a few from the UCI Library, but unfortunately either the links were outdated or there was something wrong with the website that held it because I was unable to access them when I was working on my bibliography. I'm sure there are academic sources out there that I haven't uncovered yet (...because I didn't bother to look outside of the provided research databases...). However, if there isn't for some reason, I can look into how other games have depicted capitalism and pull my information from those related articles.
As for what game mechanics I want to cover in my essay, I have a few in mind so far:
For sure that one thing I want to cover is how the narrative paints Morris (the owner of Joja Mart in Stardew Valley) negatively, yet through the player's actions we are really just trading one capitalist for another when Morris is run out of town.
Analyze dialogue from each (or most) of the romanceable characters, as some reveal how they moved to Stardew Valley because they grew tired of life from the city (or are just hammering in pastoral idyll and harshness of capitalism)
Research Log Entry 4
Research Log Entry 4
Outlining My Essay
Outlining My Essay
How do I want to approach my analysis?
How do I want to approach my analysis?
Up to this point I have only been vaguely thinking about what I want to talk about in regards to Stardew Valley, but not how its structure will look like. After writing my prospectus, however, I have a better idea of what my essay is gonna look like. As of writing this, I have yet to start on my draft and along with its outline as I have to replay the game to see what small details I might've missed. Despite this, I think that writing down my thoughts here will help me better organize what I want to say and make it easier for me to materialize the main points of my essay.
The main idea of my essay is that I want to argue that Stardew Valley constructs both a capitalist and anti-capitalist narrative, and that the contrast between these two narratives reflects what players wish they could have in real life under capitalism, thus revealing its flaws. Essentially, what I want to touch upon is Stardew Valley's depiction of nature coinciding with the anti-capitalist narrative seen through the representation of Joja Corporations (since being in touch with nature and respecting it is emphasized early on); and how as the player progresses further along with their farm and such the less in touch the player becomes with nature, which circles back to being a capitalist narrative. In my conclusion I want to talk about the So What? part of my thesis, which is to talk about how while players are essentially putting themselves through an alternative of real life labor (reinforcing the capitalist ideology), it's the freedom to do so that makes the labor appealing. Stardew Valley's construction of this idealized labor constructs an idealized version of capitalism that players would like to participate in.
Taking above as a summary of my essay, below I will organize the different game aspects that I want to focus on and then rewrite them better in my essay draft, using these lists as reference:
Capitalist Narrative
At the start, players are given the option to customize their farm, with each farm offering their own benefits and drawbacks
emphasizing profitability
Robin prompting you to upgrade your house/farm
need to cut down a LOT of trees and mine for rocks, not sustainable for environment
while trees can drop seeds, hardwood trees don't always drop seeds, making them a scarce resource
focuses on expansion,
Foraging becomes less vital as you progress
In order to expand your inventory, you must buy backpack for 2000
you start with only 500 g and 15 parsnips, so you are encouraged to grind for more gold
The more time you upgrade your farm, the less time you have for "leisure time"
more crops = more time watering, especially if your tools haven't been upgraded
upgrading tools requires time spent getting money and more gold
option to make/buy sprinklers, better sprinklers requires rarer resources
emphasizes profitability/efficiency
Anti-capitalist Narrative
At the start, can only buy from Pierre, the local business
Willy and "the arts of fishing"
could work as a metaphor of how capitalism eliminates leisure time due to how little time we have because of work
Game encourages you to get in tune with the natural: nature, emphasize on fostering human relationships
encouraged to meet everyone in town, gives chance to explore entire town/get to know the area
Willy is how you get the ability to fish, he mentions the "art of fishing"
Leah, Elliot, and Linus are ones with nature
mention dialogue, likes/dislikes, where they live
Encouraged to forage early game, establishing another connection to nature
another way to establish better relationships with others, as foraged items can be used as gifts
Completing Community Center is depicted as the "good" route
evident with cutscenes, Morris's character, the rewards that come with it, especially regarding the achievement award
Research Log Entry 5
Research Log Entry 5
End of the Year Reflection
End of the Year Reflection
2 more weeks until summer break! Yippee! Looking back, this year in the Humanities Core program has been pretty hectic. While I learned a lot of interesting material about how worldbuilding is done through different means, I'm honestly just glad that I won't be writing as much as I have for this year, at least not for a good while. Regardless, I'm thankful that by taking this series my writing has improved a lot and has gotten me to think and reflect more critically about the world around me.
Now I want to take the time to reflect on my favorite lectures throughout the year.
Fall Quarter - Professor Giannopoulou
Fall Quarter - Professor Giannopoulou
I definitely think that my favorite lectures by far in fall quarter were from Professor Giannopoulou. I loved how passionate she was when discussing The Odyssey and The Republic, and how well she tied things together. It was a great idea having her be the first lecturer to start off the year, as her lecturing style helped me get used to taking better notes and actually kept me engaged with the material she was covering.
For example, I wasn't exactly a particular fan of reading The Republic. For me, it was a harder text for me to digest, which didn't exactly help in keeping me interested in reading through each chapter. Yet through Giannopoulou's lectures, I was able to understand enough for my midterm and for my paper.
Professor Schemek's lectures were alright I suppose. I enjoyed reading The Decameron, but after having an engaging lecturer like Giannopoulou, Schemek's lectures were kind of a snoozefest. It was nice having everything on the slides, but because of that it felt a little bit unnecessary to have Schemek lecture at all since everything she said was already on the slides.
For the last lecturer, I did enjoy analysing The Parable of the Sower because I prefer visual analysis over literary analysis. It was very interesting learning about speculative storytelling. I didn't exactly like Professor Alexander's style of lecture (since there was so little content on the slides), but I guess it helped prepare us for how the future lectures were gonna look like.
Winter Quarter - Professor Cooks
Winter Quarter - Professor Cooks
For winter quarter, my absolute favorite lecturer was Professor Cooks. Being a fan of art, I was extremely intrigued by how art museums construct history and how they also erase it through their cultivation of art. I really enjoyed writing the paper for this part of the quarter as I love analyzing every part of a piece of artwork when I can. While I can't say that I remember how exactly Cooks formatted her lectures, I do remember feeling pretty engaged with her content (though not to the level that I was with Giannopoulou, of course). Regardless, her material was by far the most interesting one for this quarter.
When Professor Robertson started his lectures, I remember this being the time where I stopped paying attention as much as I have in the prior quarter. Because of that, I don't really have much to say about his lectures. Learning (when I actually was paying attention) about these different figures and their part in Communism was interesting, though.
The same thing happened when it was Professor Wasserstrom's turn to lecture. From what I do remember, was how little content there were on his slides, similar to how Alexander formatted his from last quarter. I don't think I really absorbed any of his material.
Spring Quarter - Professor Ruberg
Spring Quarter - Professor Ruberg
Being a Game Design major, of course I have to say that Professor Ruberg's lecture was my favorite for this quarter !! While I didn't like reading most of the required articles (because they were so looooooong), I enjoyed learning about the different ways worldbuilding can be done through video games. I was already somewhat aware of how it could be done, but learning about, for example, how speedrunning can act as a way of worldbuilding was intriguing, especially through the lense of queer worldbuilding. Their lectures definitely helped push me into choosing to write about a video game rather than an artwork or animation like how I originally intended.
Professor Fan's lectures were also pretty interesting, though he kind of lost me when we started covering How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. Learning about the concept of having one's racial identity be intended to be hidden yet revealing itself in different ways that the author didn't originally intended regardless was crazy.
Professor Betancourt's lectures.....
Well his lectures are my least favorite out of the whole year. When I originally heard how we would be covering how worldbuilding is done in the real world, I was a bit excited. Seeing what's been covered, though, I regret being excited at all. It doesn't help that his required readings are some of the longest for the entire series. Maybe it's because I have no interest in building material, but I had a hard time staying engaged with his topics and digesting what he was talking about for a majority of the time. I think the only interesting part was when he talked about the depictions of cutting off a woman's breasts.
Header Image Source: Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-writing-on-a-notebook-6806426/
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