Thank Goodness for Collective Intelligence
Pierre Levy’s notion of collective intelligence being one of the most important effects of the internet is one that I have always found compelling. However I did not realize how vital this capacity can be for scholars, particularly scholars working in the world of video game studies. During my research project on BioShock I had reached a point of frustration. In the darkly lit, immense and richly detailed world of BioShock, while constantly getting shot it or attacked by security bots, it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, for me to locate every single audio diary. Since the player is not told how many diaries exist I didn’t even know whether or not I had found them all. Furthermore much of the games narrative, world-making, and ideological content comes not from the diary but from radio messages from your content and from system announcements, propaganda, or advertisements played over the loudspeaker. These recordings may be heard while the player is in the middle of the gun-fight. Although you can pause the game to write the messages down to the best of your recollection their is no such things as re-winding the game and so accuracy is a concern.
Enter the BioShock wiki at http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page. One I discovered this wiki it was a like a miracle. With 400 seperate articles edited by a large group of gamers it is a great example of Levy’s collective intelligence at work. Together the wiki’s editors were able to compile the content of all the audio diaries, radio messages, and speaker announcements that they have accounted. Although this list may still be incomplete it is infinatly more accurate and complete then a single average player would likely be able to compile on their own. And because the content of the site is never closed and can always be edited any player who discovers something new can add it and contribute to the communities knowledge. As scholars begin to look at new media artifacts that are much less closed and linear then films or books that might otherwise take hundreds and hundreds of hours just to track down the elements of resources like these I expect will prove more and more valuable.
Writer,
kglass
Topics: Resources | 1 Comment »
One Response to “Thank Goodness for Collective Intelligence”
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April 16th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Interesting example of how collective knowledge is being used to solve video games. Unlike the past, where gamers had to pay “professionals” for video game tips and hints, now this information can be freely exchanged from one gamer to the next because of the internet.