Halo and Philosophy

Halo and Philosophy
Author: Luke Cuddy
Publisher: Open Court
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2011-04-12
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0812697286

Since the Doom series, First Person Shooter (FPS) videogames have ricocheted through the gaming community, often reaching outside that community to the wider public. While critics primarily lampoon FPSs for their aggressiveness and on-screen violence, gamers see something else. Halo is one of the greatest, most successful FPSs ever to grace the world of gaming. Although Halo is a FPS, it has a science-fiction storyline that draws from previous award-winning science fiction literature. It employs a game mechanic that limits the amount of weapons a player can carry to two, and a multiplayer element that has spawned websites like Red vs. Blue and games within the game created by players themselves. Halo’s unique and extraordinary features raise serious questions. Are campers really doing anything wrong? Does Halo’s music match the experience of the gamer? Would Plato have used Halo to train citizens to live an ethical life? What sort of Artificial Intelligence exists in Halo and how is it used? Can the player’s experience of war tell us anything about actual war? Is there meaning to Master Chief’s rough existence? How does it affect the player’s ego if she identifies too strongly with an aggressive character like Master Chief? Is Halo really science fiction? Can Halo be used for enlightenment-oriented thinking in the Buddhist sense? Does Halo's weapon limitation actually contribute to the depth of the gameplay? When we willingly play Halo only to die again and again, are we engaging in some sort of self-injurious behavior? What is expansive gameplay and how can it be informed by the philosophy of Michel Foucault? In what way does Halo’s post-apocalyptic paradigm force gamers to see themselves as agents of divine deliverance? What can Red vs. Blue teach us about personal identity? These questions are tackled by writers who are both Halo cognoscenti and active philosophers, with a foreword by renowned Halo fiction author Fred Van Lente and an afterword by leading games scholar and artist Roger Ngim.

Philosophy Through Video Games

Philosophy Through Video Games
Author: Jon Cogburn
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2009-09-10
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 113585968X

How can Wii Sports teach us about metaphysics? Can playing World of Warcraft lead to greater self-consciousness? How can we learn about aesthetics, ethics and divine attributes from Zork, Grand Theft Auto, and Civilization? A variety of increasingly sophisticated video games are rapidly overtaking books, films, and television as America's most popular form of media entertainment. It is estimated that by 2011 over 30 percent of US households will own a Wii console - about the same percentage that owned a television in 1953. In Philosophy Through Video Games, Jon Cogburn and Mark Silcox - philosophers with game industry experience - investigate the aesthetic appeal of video games, their effect on our morals, the insights they give us into our understanding of perceptual knowledge, personal identity, artificial intelligence, and the very meaning of life itself, arguing that video games are popular precisely because they engage with longstanding philosophical problems. Topics covered include: * The Problem of the External World * Dualism and Personal Identity * Artificial and Human Intelligence in the Philosophy of Mind * The Idea of Interactive Art * The Moral Effects of Video Games * Games and God's Goodness Games discussed include: Madden Football, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Sims Online, Second Life, Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, Elder Scrolls, Zork, EverQuest Doom, Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto, Civilization, Mortal Kombat, Rome: Total War, Black and White, Aidyn Chronicles

BioShock and Philosophy

BioShock and Philosophy
Author: Luke Cuddy
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2015-04-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1118915879

Considered a sign of the ‘coming of age’ of video games as an artistic medium, the award-winning BioShock franchise covers vast philosophical ground. BioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational Book presents expert reflections by philosophers (and Bioshock connoisseurs) on this critically acclaimed and immersive fan-favorite. Reveals the philosophical questions raised through the artistic complexity, compelling characters and absorbing plots of this ground-breaking first-person shooter (FPS) Explores what BioShock teaches the gamer about gaming, and the aesthetics of video game storytelling Addresses a wide array of topics including Marxism, propaganda, human enhancement technologies, political decision-making, free will, morality, feminism, transworld individuality, and vending machines in the dystopian society of Rapture Considers visionary game developer Ken Levine’s depiction of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, as well as the theories of Aristotle, de Beauvoir, Dewey, Leibniz, Marx, Plato, and others from the Hall of Philosophical Heroes

The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy

The Legend of Zelda and Philosophy
Author: Luke Cuddy
Publisher: Open Court Publishing
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2008
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0812696549

"Chapters address philosophical aspects of the video game The Legend of Zelda and video game culture in general"--Provided by publisher.

The Dirty Halo of Everything

The Dirty Halo of Everything
Author: Geoffrey Dyer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 88
Release: 2003
Genre: Poetry
ISBN:

Poetry. "Geoffrey Dyer's impressive first book is filled with beautiful contradictions, its lines turning over into lush, angelic underworlds...Be careful when you read this book. It's like being twice as awake"--Elizabeth Willis. "Welcome to the 'valley of the near yonder hell, an Out West sort of place,' where you will find 'Golgotha embellished in cement' and the 'mascara of Andromeda.' When you are here, 'pay attention to the words collaborating inside [y]our skull.' Geoffrey Dyer certainly does"--John Yau. "His tanks grow roses..."--Anselm Berrigan.

Halo Encyclopedia (Deluxe Edition)

Halo Encyclopedia (Deluxe Edition)
Author: Microsoft
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2022-04-12
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1506731163

The universe of Halo is remarkably vast in scale and astonishingly elaborate in detail, telling rich stories filled with bold characters, breathtaking worlds, and thrilling conflicts. In celebration of the 20th anniversary of Halo, Dark Horse and 343 Industries have teamed up to deliver the most definitive guide to the universe thus far. The Halo Encyclopedia­ Deluxe Edition holds some of the Halo universe’s greatest secrets, which is why it is contained within a Forerunner cylix—a device that holds their civilization’s greatest secrets! The Deluxe Edition also comes with a cover exclusive to this edition, as well as a lithograph not found anywhere else.

The Halo Effect

The Halo Effect
Author: Phil Rosenzweig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2008-12-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1847397026

Why do some companies prosper while others fail? Despite great amounts of research, many of the studies that claim to pin down the secret of success are based in pseudoscience. THE HALO EFFECT is the outcome of that pseudoscience, a myth that Philip Rosenzweig masterfully debunks in THE HALO EFFECT. THE HALO EFFECT highlights the tendency of experts to point to the high financial performance of a successful company and then spread its golden glow to all of the company's attributes - clear strategy, strong values, and brilliant leadership. But in fact, as Rosenzweig clearly illustrates, the experts are not just wrong, but deluded. Rosenzweig suggests a more accurate way to think about leading a company, a robust and clearheaded approach that can save any business from ultimate failure.

Halo

Halo
Author: Tom Maddox
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2018-10-28
Genre:
ISBN: 9781729601549

In the latter half of the twenty-first century, freelance data-auditor Mikhail Gonzales has been contracted to monitor an AI-controlled orbiting colony. Complications arise when an experimental treatment for a critically injured man is opposed by Gonzales' employer, the SenTrax corporation

Football and Philosophy

Football and Philosophy
Author: Michael W. Austin
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2008-07-11
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0813139023

“Vince Lombardi—who relished his undergraduate studies in philosophy—would have loved this book.” —Booklist Football and Philosophy: Going Deep investigates many of the issues surrounding the nation’s biggest sport. From a review of the flaws of the Bowl Championship Series, to a study of the violence inherent in the game, to an examination of Vince Lombardi’s views on winning, to the problems created by the development of instant replay, the essays in this collection tackle the moral and philosophical principles behind gridiron competition. The result is an insightful, humorous, and original book that will engage all fans of the game. “Insightful and informative, as well as provocative and entertaining.” —Charles Taliaferro, author of Consciousness and the Mind of God

Imagologies

Imagologies
Author: Mark C. Taylor
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 1994
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780415103374

The authors propose a new philosophy of communication which reflects the media and technology of the "electronic age."