Some background to my query:
I am a final year Aerospace Engineering student at university (UK version of US College) and I am writing a lecture for the annual Student Lecture Competition at my university. The competition involves giving a short lecture to members of the Royal Aeronautical Society (For those who don?t know the RaeS is a professional organisation dedicated to promoting professional standards and offering a source of specialist knowledge in aviation, quite a big deal). I competed in the competition a few years ago giving a talk on Future aircraft design about ground effect planes, Car/plane hybrids, modern airships and aviation legislation.
This year I decided to focus on a more unorthodox topic and include something I was personally interested in. The topic of my lecture is ?How is Aviation represented in the media?, a Mythbusters style investigation into whether some of the over the top airplane stunts shown in the media could actually be achieved in real life.
Those of who played the Ace Combat series of games (Specifically AC 6 Fires of Liberation & Assault Horizon) will remember some of the staples of the games including chasing down ICBM?s in flight, flying through tunnels and shooting down flying aircraft carriers. I therefore decided this would be a good opportunity to put these stunts to the test and using maths calculations estimate whether these could be achieved and present my findings to in the lecture.
Whilst having a chat with one of my fellow engineering students I mentioned my idea for the lecture and it sparked a debate between us over whether or it was a good idea. His main point was that a lecture based on the subject of a video game would look rather foolish in a professional environment. (For context we?re both avid gamers although my friend prefers ?real to life? flight Sims like X-plane and doesn?t particularly like the over the top combat simulators)
Personally I think that games are as valid a topic as any other form as media. Are the works of Shakespeare degraded if read on a Kindle rather than a leather bound book? (See web series like Extra Credits for more views on video games perception in the media)
In the end we came to the compromise that if done in a professional manner then it would be as good as any other topic.
I would have left it there but what really got me thinking was when he suggested that instead I should investigate a scene out of Mission Impossible and see if that is plausible.
So my question is do you believe that video games are a worthwhile topic of academic investigation as opposed to other forms of media such as books or films?
UPDATE:
So, for those who requested an update on the conclusion I?m happy to say that my presentation was accepted and was presented as a finalist in the Royal Aeronautical Society Competition.
Admittedly like allot of ventures my overly ambitious idea had to be trimmed for time and presentation purposes but the overall idea remained. Is what Ace Combat 6 shows true to life? The three topics were:
Can you fly an F-16 through an underground Tunnel?
Can you land an SU-33 on a flying aircraft carrier?
Is a flying aircraft carrier feasible?
My main concern going in was that I was going to forget my lines and the audience of professional engineers wouldn?t take the topic seriously because A. It?s based on a video game & B. It sounds ridiculous on paper.
When I spoke it turns out I actually didn?t need the crib sheet and I felt that my performance gave a certain enthusiasm and confidence I wouldn?t get if I didn?t really enjoy what I was talking about.
In the end though they found it very entertaining and original and the questions asked were mainly comments on how it could actually work in reality (Assuming you had the budget to build it). Mainly the comments were how since the carrier flies you could use VTOL or a hook to land the aircraft without using a runway. Also where can you land/take off an aircraft every 72 hours (The stated endurance) that is nearly a kilometre long? My answer, somewhere in the desert thereby making it a nice big target away from any civilian population meaning you can just carpet bomb your enemy?s super weapon first and break for tea later.
One person who used to work for Airbus (One of the biggest commercial aircraft manufacturers in the world) even said that he was part of a study into using an aircraft carrier to fly smaller planes over the Atlantic. In the end the concept wasn?t feasible and it made a nice bit of marketing but ultimately doesn?t expect any flying carriers just yet.
In the end I?m really proud of being able to present my idea and have it taken seriously, especially since games as a medium are only now being recognised in the same way as TV or film. I?m also quite glad the response to whether a flying aircraft carrier could exist or not was not simply ?No, it will never take off?.
I am a final year Aerospace Engineering student at university (UK version of US College) and I am writing a lecture for the annual Student Lecture Competition at my university. The competition involves giving a short lecture to members of the Royal Aeronautical Society (For those who don?t know the RaeS is a professional organisation dedicated to promoting professional standards and offering a source of specialist knowledge in aviation, quite a big deal). I competed in the competition a few years ago giving a talk on Future aircraft design about ground effect planes, Car/plane hybrids, modern airships and aviation legislation.
This year I decided to focus on a more unorthodox topic and include something I was personally interested in. The topic of my lecture is ?How is Aviation represented in the media?, a Mythbusters style investigation into whether some of the over the top airplane stunts shown in the media could actually be achieved in real life.
Those of who played the Ace Combat series of games (Specifically AC 6 Fires of Liberation & Assault Horizon) will remember some of the staples of the games including chasing down ICBM?s in flight, flying through tunnels and shooting down flying aircraft carriers. I therefore decided this would be a good opportunity to put these stunts to the test and using maths calculations estimate whether these could be achieved and present my findings to in the lecture.
Whilst having a chat with one of my fellow engineering students I mentioned my idea for the lecture and it sparked a debate between us over whether or it was a good idea. His main point was that a lecture based on the subject of a video game would look rather foolish in a professional environment. (For context we?re both avid gamers although my friend prefers ?real to life? flight Sims like X-plane and doesn?t particularly like the over the top combat simulators)
Personally I think that games are as valid a topic as any other form as media. Are the works of Shakespeare degraded if read on a Kindle rather than a leather bound book? (See web series like Extra Credits for more views on video games perception in the media)
In the end we came to the compromise that if done in a professional manner then it would be as good as any other topic.
I would have left it there but what really got me thinking was when he suggested that instead I should investigate a scene out of Mission Impossible and see if that is plausible.
So my question is do you believe that video games are a worthwhile topic of academic investigation as opposed to other forms of media such as books or films?
UPDATE:
So, for those who requested an update on the conclusion I?m happy to say that my presentation was accepted and was presented as a finalist in the Royal Aeronautical Society Competition.
Admittedly like allot of ventures my overly ambitious idea had to be trimmed for time and presentation purposes but the overall idea remained. Is what Ace Combat 6 shows true to life? The three topics were:
Can you fly an F-16 through an underground Tunnel?
Can you land an SU-33 on a flying aircraft carrier?
Is a flying aircraft carrier feasible?
My main concern going in was that I was going to forget my lines and the audience of professional engineers wouldn?t take the topic seriously because A. It?s based on a video game & B. It sounds ridiculous on paper.
When I spoke it turns out I actually didn?t need the crib sheet and I felt that my performance gave a certain enthusiasm and confidence I wouldn?t get if I didn?t really enjoy what I was talking about.
In the end though they found it very entertaining and original and the questions asked were mainly comments on how it could actually work in reality (Assuming you had the budget to build it). Mainly the comments were how since the carrier flies you could use VTOL or a hook to land the aircraft without using a runway. Also where can you land/take off an aircraft every 72 hours (The stated endurance) that is nearly a kilometre long? My answer, somewhere in the desert thereby making it a nice big target away from any civilian population meaning you can just carpet bomb your enemy?s super weapon first and break for tea later.
One person who used to work for Airbus (One of the biggest commercial aircraft manufacturers in the world) even said that he was part of a study into using an aircraft carrier to fly smaller planes over the Atlantic. In the end the concept wasn?t feasible and it made a nice bit of marketing but ultimately doesn?t expect any flying carriers just yet.
In the end I?m really proud of being able to present my idea and have it taken seriously, especially since games as a medium are only now being recognised in the same way as TV or film. I?m also quite glad the response to whether a flying aircraft carrier could exist or not was not simply ?No, it will never take off?.
