During one of my usual video game study break I ended up finishing
one of my favorite games from this generation of consoles, Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption is an open world game
made by Rock Star Games, the creators of the Grand Theft Auto series. In this game you are placed in the shoes of
John Marston, a family man recently released from prison who is seeking revenge
on his bandit brother hood who left him for dead. This game takes place in the late 1800’s, and
the environment is incredible. You will
be crossing the border to chase down a murder, and fulfilling meaningless tasks
for your friends around the south west united states.
I share identification with John Marston. Identification is
when us as game players share the perspectives of the characters. No, we do not look alike in the slightest, or do
I condone all of the actions he takes, but I do identify with him. John Marston is a family man who always wants
to do what is best for everyone. I feel
like I share those qualities with him as well, and this is why I have grown to
like the character.
The more of the game you play, the more you begin to grow
closer to John. You actually feel hurt
when he’s hurt, and you feel bad when he feels bad. I started having a parasocial interaction
with John Marston. A parasocial interaction
refers to a media interaction between the game player and the avatar; it is a
relationship of friendship between a gamer and their character. Flash forward to the end of the game (SPOILER
ALERT!!) and you see that John finally gets reunited with his wife and son, and
everything is roses. But that does not last
long. Soon, every person that John has
crossed came to confront and kill him and his family. Well, John dies in a hail of gunfire during
his last stand. When he died, I felt
like I lost a friend. He is one of the
greatest characters in video game history and I felt terrible when he got
shot.
References: Hergenhahn, B.R., & Olson, M. H. (2005). An introduction to theories of learning. Seventh Edition. Pearson: Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River: New Jersey.
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