Video Games Good or Bad?

Video Games, Good or Bad?

Eduardo Tellez-Giron
University of Texas at El Paso
Professor Salome
RWS 1302

Video Games Good or Bad?

Video Games Good or Bad?

Video game usage has increase in the past fifteen years, and its increment has turn some
important heads. It has been a lot of controversy about videogames. Parents worried if the
video games could affected their children, universities making research about the topic,
its been a topic that has made it to the best news paper in the world, as in the best
conferences in the world also. This topic has been presented in two genres: Jane
McGonigal in The game that can give you 10 extra years of life , starts with a simple
phrase I am a gamer so I like to have goals (gamer is a person who plays video
games). She implies that gamers usually have goals. Jane Mcgonigal is a video game
developer that has dedicated the last 10 years of her life to research about the topic. The
second genre is are video games bad for your health? Virtual worlds cause us to ignore
symptoms of illness and make us care less for others by Rachel Reilly. The three main
points Rachel talked about in her article are, that games are becoming so advance that
players are losing sight of reality, that the line between human and machine are becoming
increasingly blurred, this leads to players ignoring or missing health issues in their own
bodies.

Audience and Purpose

The first genre, Jane Mcgonigal the game that can give you ten extra years of life is a
presentation at a conference name TEDGLOBAL, in June of 2012. The purpose of her
presentation is to persuade people to play more video games and to encourage people

Video Games Good or Bad?

with traumatic events to try a new game that its been developed to help, she is trying to
encourage people to think differently. The audience at her presentation are from 25 years
old thru 65 years old. The second genre by Rachel Reilly, at Daily Mail in October 2013,
is about a study made in Melburne University at Australia. In this study its been proved
that people that play immersive games can ignore or miss their own health issues.
According to Daily Mail, Rachel Audience is mostly females from lower middle class to
upper middle class.
The first genre by Jane, it has more opportunity to express herself its a presentation at a
conference that last 19:30 min and has visual aids humor, and personal experience
examples. The second genre its just 644 words long and has just two visual aids, which
one of those visual aid didnt were used to prove a point but just illustrate a fact that was
said below that image. The second image its used correctly supporting a fact she wrote.

Rhetorical Issues
Both genres present rhetorical appeals, at some point both use ethos, pathos , and logos,
one genre better that the other in somethings.

Ethos
In the first genre, Jane Mcgonigal, its a game developer that has research for more than
ten years of her life about video games and how we can use video games to improve real
life. She also supports her points with studies made in universities around the U.S. Jane
not only used her own research but supported it with someone else research and explain it
with examples.

Video Games Good or Bad?

The second genre is written by Rachel Reilly a University College London graduate, that
supports her topic with the study made by Melburne University at Australia. Rachel only
used one research and not another one to support her opinion. The website that the article
is in, is fill with advertising that doesnt help to support her credibility in the topic. She
basically just gave her opinion and supported with one research that gave her the reason.

Pathos
From genre number one, Jane share a personal experience with the audience, to explain
why she was talking about the subject, why she was so sure of what she was saying. She
explains how life put her in a tough situation, and how she walk it successfully thanks to
a game she invented, and she explains that it sound ridicule and she would thought the
same if she hasnt experienced by herself.
The second genre, use an aggressive tone, Rachel throws facts without examples, and just
says that research found this continued by a dramatic phrase. She never used any personal
experience. If this article creates any emotion it could be more of invoke fear about video
games.
Logos
Jane explains every one of her points with examples and image, even with personal
experiences. Jane its a game developer, obviously she is trying to persuade people to
play more games, but in every point she has, she explains why, with image, examples and
interaction with the public. At the beginning of her presentation, the audience seems a
little skeptic about this topic, at the end when she finished her audience stand up and gave
her a obviation.

Video Games Good or Bad?

Rachel from the second genre, explains a research made in Melburne University, she used
two images were one of the images were just something related to the matter but not
something to support any of her points. She used bold font under the images to take the
attention of her readers. Her title is a question and also she answers that question in the
same title.
Structure and Delivery
In both genres the authors began with a statement, the first one with a personal statement,
the second genre began with a question answer title.
First genre had it easier, Jane gave a presentation of 19:30 min with visual aids and she
had the power of controlling how the audience receives her tone by just expressing
herself in one way or another. In the second genre its a article 644 words long, not much
to create a good statement or to pursued people in agreeing with her. The limitation of
Rachel in the way to deliver her message made her article no competition for Janes
presentation that was in front of an audience and last more than 644 words.
Conclusion
Both Genres discuss the same topic video games but the way to deliver their topics was
completely different. Jane had a presentation prepared, interaction with the audience,
games, lots of visual aids and jokes along the way. Rachel from the article, She just had a
limited space were she could express about the topic, with so little words she had to go to
the point and that affect her sounding a little aggressive in trying to imply that the article
was absolutely correct. Jane from TEDGLOBAL talked about the topics and their counter
parts were Rachel never wrote a word about the possibility of being wrong about the
subject.

Video Games Good or Bad?

REFERENCES
Jane Mcgonigal (2012) the game that can give you ten extra years of
life Retrive from
http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_the_game_that_can_give_yo
u_10_extra_years_of_life/transcript?language=en
Rachel Reilly (2013) are video games bad for your health? Virtual worlds cause us to
ignore symptoms of illness and make us care less for others retrieve from
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2479022/Are-videogames-bad-health.html#top
http://www.newsworks.org.uk/Daily-Mail
ted.com