DS1 Research Articulation Video Game Addiction and Wayang Kulit

23/5/17 - Week 8
DST60103, Yip Jinchi
Design Studies I: Communication Theory
Research Articulation Video Game Addiction and Wayang Kulit

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Instructions

Assignment 2 Introduction
Research a social/economic/environmental/animal issue in Malaysia. Create a visual design to help solve the issue utilising Malaysian cultural art forms and styles. Write a rational to accompany the final design.

The assignment lasts from week 6 to week 11. Submission is through TIMeS and a class presentation.

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Research and Work Processes

A short history of video games in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the early history of video gaming in Malaysia is quite vague and unknown, as during that time video games were still a new and somewhat niche fact of the entertainment industry. The gaming industry in places like Japan and America were still in their infancy, and as such didn’t really garner a wide interest from the general public until later years. Especially in a developing country like Malaysia.

However, many do agree that the first video games in Malaysia were played on the earliest gaming consoles and arcades. Many of whom were imported from Japan; the most popular being the Atari and NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) which were released in 1982 and 1983. There isn’t much information concerning when the first imports of these first-generation consoles arrived in the country, however they did find their way into the homes of families before the beginning of the 1990s. Cheaper imitations of these popular consoles were also imported by Malaysia.

The earliest personal computers in Malaysia could only be found within wealthy households and universities during that time, so most people who first played video games in Malaysia were only able to play through public arcade machines or consoles found in computer cafes or ‘CC’s, as commonly known in Malaysia. Bootlegging of game CDs and consoles was also a major factor in the distribution of video games during those early years.

Malaysia youths, who often passed the time through physical activities such as Futsal, Badminton and Swimming, have now found an entirely new and exciting way to entertain themselves. Children and teens would often spend time at computer cafes or on their parents’ personal computers to play games during that time period, where video games were still trying to find a foothold in the country’s entertainment industry.

As access to the internet, computers and phones become more widespread, so too does access to video games. As such, video gaming has become part of the entertainment culture within the country. In Malaysia, competitive video gaming is becoming more prominent and well-known with each coming year. A wide variety of national and even international tournaments are held within the country throughout the year. An example is Malaysia Cybergames or MCG, which is held on an annual basis and showcases professional teams playing popular games such as Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and FIFA.

A report published by Statista.com in 2014 has stated that the number of PC gamers alone has risen from about 7.62 million to 9.9 million (Malaysian Digest, 2016). As of 2015, there are has been an estimate that there are about 14.9 million video gamers in the country, about 52% of them spend money on video games (Newzoo, 2015). This has caused Malaysia’s games market to reach $293 million in 2015.

Addiction and health issues

For many, video games provide a source of enjoyment and enjoyment in their everyday lives. Gaming also, allows people to escape from the routine of the real world for a brief while as well. Many people play video games to escape issues they may be facing in the real world; e.g. social anxiety and stress. More of Malaysia’s youth are spending increasing amounts of time in these virtual worlds, to the point where it starts to become detrimental to their health, both physically and mentally.

Compulsive and obsessive gaming, social anxiety, depression, unemployment, decreased productivity and physical health problems are all issues that arise from excessive gaming. In some extreme cases, some people have died because of excessive gaming, specifically because of the immense amount of stress it has on the human body. Improper gaming conditions such as poor lighting, bad posture coupled with excessive game time can quickly lead to a rapid detriment in a person’s health.

In 2014, a 14-year old in Cyberjaya was so obsessed with gaming that he hadn’t left his home for half a year. His parents brought him to therapy for internet addiction (Cheng, 2016). During therapy, the doctor said he became irritable and angry when separated from the internet and video games.

In 2013, 23-year old Ong Yee Haw who was found dead over his keyboard at home in George Town, after having come back from a gaming session at a Cybercafé that lasted 15-hours the previous day (Cheng, 2016). His uncle who found him said that he had confined himself to his room.

In 2016, a disagreement between two gamers at a Cybercafé in Taman Bukit Serdang over a video game console ended in tragedy when one of them slashed the other’s throat (Cheng, 2016). This is the first reported instance of this kind of incident within the country so far.

A study by the International Society of Internet Addiction said that 37% of Malaysian parents’ believe that video gaming was interfering with their children’s lives, at home and in school (Cheng, 2016). 18% said that their children were sacrificing basic social activities for these virtual worlds.

An overview of Wayang Kulit

Wayang Kulit or shadow puppetry is a form of traditional storytelling that originated in Bali and Java. When Hinduism came to Malaysia and Indonesia, Wayang Kulit was a way to teach and spread the culture of the religion by telling stories from great Indian epics such as the Ramayana. Over time, Muslims and others in Malaysia also adapted this form of storytelling to tell their own stories, moral values and visual aesthetics to people of all generations.

A puppet made from varying types of leather or hide is carved and painted to create the character. The more important the character is, the longer it will take to create. The puppet’s limbs are attached to sticks which the puppeteer uses to animate the characters. The puppeteer and his puppets are behind a linen screen which has light projected on it, so when the puppets are animated all the audience sees is the puppets.

This form is storytelling is quite prominent in my homestate of Kelantan, and I find the style and aesthetic of both the characters and the performances fascinating. I’d definitely like to learn the art style used for the shadow puppets, and I feel that I can somehow utilize it in my own design. My task is to figure out how to combine such an old-fashioned form of storytelling like Wayang Kulit with a very new issue such as video game addiction.

SELECTED ISSUE AND JUSTIFICATION

I selected video gaming addiction as my issue because I feel that it is an up-and-coming problem in Malaysian society and culture. It’s a relatively new problem that isn’t talked about as much, and I feel that more should be done to spread awareness about it to help people who do have this problem. If left alone, it could be just as bad as various other kinds of addictions. As such I believe that producing an artwork to help spread awareness about this topic would help solve the issue by bringing it into the public light.

SELECTED MALAYSIAN ART FORM AND JUSTIFICATION

Wayang Kulit or traditional Malaysian shadow puppetry is a classical medium used for storytelling. It’s intricately designed characters, exciting animation and immersive voice-acting makes it an interesting and compelling narrative platform. As gaming addiction is quite an obscure problem and not many people know about it, I felt that it would be best if I help people understand what the problem is by telling them a story about gaming addiction. Because of time constraints and limitations, I was unable to create something more ambitious like a full-on puppet show or animation, but I felt that the Wayang Kulit style was dynamic enough that I could utilize it in a still illustration to tell my story.

SELF REFLECTION

A major aspect of this assignment was the research and exploration that took place before I even put pencil to paper. It was an opportunity for me to do some reading into social issues within the country as well as to improve my research skills. Compared to other projects and modules, this assignment and the Design Studies course in general helps us get into touch with the real world more to make us not only better designers, but designers with a firm understanding of what we’re designing for. I feel that truly knowing and understanding the problem through research beforehand helps us make better choices when it comes to design.

Through the research I’ve done and the various consultations I’ve had with my lecturer, I’ve learnt an important thing about myself: I come to final decisions too quickly. When we were initially given the project, I came to a final decision on what topic and what medium I wanted to do right away. Something I need to try to work on is to focus more on exploration of ideas and conception, in order to come up with more and possibly better ideas for my future projects. I feel that learning this about myself is something quite major I’ve taken from this assignment and module. If I learn to be more open-minded and try to be less tunnel-visioned in the future, it is bound to improve my future project and concept work.

I feel that the freedom we are given in terms of exploration and facilities is quite a positive aspect about the module, however I feel a better communication pipeline between the students and lecturer for things like inquiries would improve our workflow greatly.

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Final Submissions 

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References & Bibliography

• ·       Cheng, N. (2016). Internet addiction on the rise among Malaysian youths - Nation | The Star Online. [online] Thestar.com.my. Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/10/07/internet-addiction-on-the-rise-among-malaysian-youths-enough-evidence-to-show-links-to-anxiety-decre/ [Accessed 22 May 2017].
  ·       Kiew Li Wen. 2013. How to overcome video game addiction. [ONLINE] Available at: http://eng.tzuchi.my/index.php/culture/culture-news-k2/item/1463-talk-on-how-to-overcome-video-game-addiction. [Accessed 12 June 2017].
  ·       Malaysian Digest. (2016). High Risk Of Video Game Addiction Leading To Illnesses - How Can Gamers Avoid The Pitfalls?. [online] Available at: http://malaysiandigest.com/features/589926-high-risk-of-video-game-addiction-leading-to-illnesses-how-can-gamers-avoid-the-pitfalls.html [Accessed 22 May 2017].
  ·       Marla Mallett. 2015. Wayang Kulit Shadow Puppet. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marlamallett.com/w-4798.htm. [Accessed 12 June 2017].
  ·       Newzoo. (2015). Malaysian Games Market 2015 | Newzoo. [online] Available at: https://newzoo.com/insights/infographics/newzoo-summer-series-23-malaysian-games-market/ [Accessed 22 May 2017].
  ·       Saigoneer. 2015. Watch Malaysian Puppeteers Bring the Story of Star Wars To Life. [ONLINE] Available at: https://saigoneer.com/asia-news/5913-video-watch-malaysian-puppeteers-bring-the-story-of-star-wars-to-life. [Accessed 12 June 2017].
  ·       Tintoy Chuo. 2016. Actiontintoy Design Lab. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.actiontintoy.com/. [Accessed 12 June 2017].
  ·       Yellow Menace. 2017. Asian Star Wars Art Collection. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.yellowmenace.net/2017/01/asian-star-wars-art-collection.html. [Accessed 12 June 2017].