In reading Hector Postigo's article exploring the relationship between the game industry and "modders," the audience is exposed to a feeling of urgency as the author calls for critical participation from the masses. Seeing as to how much time the users of technology spend consuming cookie-cutter software and media that caters to the status quo, Postigo suggests that it is the responsibility of the consumers to take initiative in molding our mass media environment. Ironically, the article stressed the fact that modders did what they did not as a job, or in an attempt to rebel, but out of passion for the games that they based their modifications off of.
Most modders were unanimous in saying that they believed that modding provided a closer understanding of the game mechanics and allowed them to truly make the game their own if not spawn an entirely new creation. Although I understand that the media we consume today is a result of a technologically deterministic society, or one in which we are shaped by the technologies we consume, I do not believe this single article has enough depth to persuade its readers to take action against this fact. While it is true that for gamers, the modding community has provided visible benefits for all those involved from the major game companies to the players and modders, it will not be a simple task to do so with popular media in general. There is only so much that people can change through the rare and feeble software developer kits made available by companies such as Apple or Android, focused on small portions of the media market. Either the author is being overly optimistic, enjoys making outlandish attempts to spur public reaction, or I am horribly misinterpreting Postigo's closing argument. Either way, we as a people do contribute, both knowingly and unknowingly, to the "digital media stream" but to say that there is the potential for public participation in molding this stream, I believe should be saved for a different journal entry altogether.
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