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525055

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A traditional eight paragraph essay written with Intro - main point 1-3 / counter arguments 1-3 / conclusion. Critique it, please, I would love it.
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Joining a discourse community is a very important task that most people should strive to achieve. In doing so, one creates a road for many experiences in life. It allows one to make friends. It allows one to gain more knowledge in any particular field. But, many people think that discourse communities lie only in the academic fields. That is not the case. From joining a chess club to creating an online community centered on video games, one can join a discourse community practically at the touch of a button. Because I played a large variety of games and came to understand a lot of topics in those games, I sought out other people that shared similar interests in video games and discovered an online community by the name of Wii U Center.
I first entered the world of video games from a young age. I started with action adventure games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 then I branched out other genres such as the puzzle and third person shooter types with time. Playing games allowed me to learn a lot about sequence of events not just from a gameplay perspective but also from a storyline perspective. Using the aforementioned Zelda title, for example, I was able to craft several theories based upon information relayed in the games; with knowledge gained from the Mario title, I helped several writers in the gaming community talk about concepts such as the Difficulty Curve – wherein any given game’s difficulty would begin at a level that would allow a newcomer to understand the basic mechanics of control then it would rise exponentially, forcing any player to master the game’s inner mechanics such as random number generating elements and how fast in frame advancement that some animations take very quickly or else face a string of game overs – and eventually world design. Regarding world design, it is distinct from level design in that level design pertains strictly to how a level functions within the scope of the video game where world design envelops level design and focuses on how the architecture and content of each level coupled with the interactions between player and non player characters come together to form what would be a believable plane of existence. For example, the city of Skyloft in the fantasy game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is very effective as a hub city because many of the main quest and side quest objectives occur in and around the area. However, it is incredibly ineffective as a “world” or believable city because the events that do occur in the area, such as the kidnapping of the governor’s daughter and the destruction of the land below, are made out to be of a disaster greater than Pandaemonium itself, yet that does not reflect on the happy-go-lucky characters as they never express anything beyond a smile and concern for their selves.
Many people will argue that writing about video games and playing video games does not qualify me as a member of the discourse community. I agree with the stated message. Simply playing Angry Birds on one’s lunch break and writing blog posts about how much fun they have had on level 1-1, for example, is not enough to say they are a part of the Angry Birds discourse community. In that instance, the player would not have much to contribute other than their enjoyment of the game, and anybody can do that. I do not, however, agree with the stated message attempting to blanket all game players and game writers under the same cloth. Some members display a degree of expertise where others demonstrate only cursory knowledge of the games they are discussing. That is the drawing line: when a player begins to dissociate a game’s elements and analyze them both on their own merits as well as when they are combined with other elements, they have acquired the skills necessary to join a gaming discourse community.
Knowing information is an important thing and serves as a basic part of any discourse community, but one must also establish credibility in order for others to consider their opinions and stay open to their voices. It cannot be said enough that one must have a backbone and be able to stand upright in a discussion. Common ways of creating that backbone are through corroboration of spoken or written word, building a character and maintaining the values and positions of that character concretely, and crafting a professional appearance for oneself. For instance, I have had discussions with many friends regarding the workings of knockback in the video game Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Although the game is still in its infancy and naturally not much testing has been done, what little testing has been done has been corroborated across sites such as SmashBoards, a popular competitive Super Smash Brothers site that analyses frame data for each individual character, and YouTube which hosts a slew of Super Smash Brothers videos for reference. I held the view that the rules surrounding knockback in the game were vastly different from previous Super Smash Brothers games. Because I obtained the demo of the game and exhibited some curiosity, I set up my own testing sessions with the game’s knockback systems. I showed my friends my research that the game relied on a system more akin to adding and subtracting vectors than to influence from holding a direction on a control stick, but they didn’t take my word for it. So, I showed them the videos on YouTube that indicated that my stance was credible as well as the research that was currently done on the game within SmashBoards, and they conceded that I was more than likely correct in my stance. The synthesis of a higher position from credibility and a knowledge base stood in my favor.
There are some opinions that state that credibility does not admit everyone into a discourse community and I am inclined to agree. Credibility does not equate to knowledgeability. Simply having people repeat one’s word and staying in what is essentially a vacuum does not prove that one truly has knowledge, and that aspect of an argument is easily countered thanks to the fallacies of ethos and anecdotal evidence. However, reality has the pieces set in such a way that humans tend to be privy to names that have followings attached to them and shy away the words of a nobody. One simply has to get the upper hand by being a professional – and that entails being calm, having sources that are approved by experts, and knowing one’s field of interest.
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KingdomKey

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I'll do my best to critique this.

I'd suggest separating your paragraphs, since it's somewhat hard on the eyes to read. Everything else looked good. :3 I do like your opinion about credibility, when it comes to certain things. It may be a faulty system, but it works for those that need it. I believe this is more of an opinion than a story. So I'll admit it's hard to judge this outside of the events you mention; that occurred as you went about each community and immersed yourself in the knowledge of video games and the statements occurred by others.

Therefore, it was a refreshing thing to read about. Hopefully my critique satisfies you.
 
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