Determination: Essays About Video Games and Us | Page 4

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I am not ashamed to admit I keep up with the Kardashians on a weekly basis , and I love it . While their antics may be ridiculous , their voices annoying , and their “ reality ” not all too real , the Kardashians know how to entertain . One of the things I love about them that I find less common in other reality television stars is their self-reflexivity and awareness of their own power , not just as celebrities , but as business women . The Kardashians have evolved a reality show , arguably created from Kim ’ s scandalous sex tape , into a fully fledged empire . They have created numerous spin offs , including , but not limited to Khloe and Lamar , Kocktails with Khloe , Kourtney and Kim Take Miami , and Dash Dolls . Every Kardashian / Jenner sister has her own iPhone app with behind the scenes details of her life ; Kendall and Kylie Jenner have their own clothing line ; Kylie has a cosmetics line ; and of course , they are all working models .
As much as I enjoy Keeping Up With The Kardashians , I wasn ’ t immediately in support of their 2014 business venture , Kim Kardashian : Hollywood , the iPhone game . Cosmetics and clothing are the Kardashians ’ expertise ; video games are not . I assumed the game would be an extremely corny and “ girly ” one , where you get to pick outfits and do photo shoots . I have never been interested in those types of games , that is , games where nothing really happens , but you have a character and you can make her look pretty . A day after the game was released , critics were already all over it , calling out the Kardashians - specifically Kim - for inventing yet another attention-seeking marketing ploy . It didn ’ t help that the game ’ s release coincided with record low ratings for Keeping Up With The Kardashians . About a week after the game came out , a few of my friends started playing it . As the resident Kardashian expert , I finally had to cave and download it , mainly out of fear that I would miss out on secret behind the scenes Kardashian secrets .
Kim Kardashian : Hollywood is very simple . You are a model , new to Hollywood , and you ’ re trying to make it to stardom . You start as an E-List celebrity , and are given the opportunity to “ kustomize ” your avatar to look like you . With help from the always kind-hearted Kim Kardashian , whom you accidentally bump into on the street , you get an agent and start attending modeling and acting gigs to climb your way up the Hollywood social ladder . Progress is made in the game by tapping items on the screen and using “ energy ” to perform certain actions , like folding shirts in the store that you work at , or changing your pose during a photo shoot . Each time an action is completed , stacks of money and sparkling silver stars with K ’ s on them fall onto the floor .
The more tasks you complete , the more money and stars you collect , and the more “ fans ” you gain . By gaining fans , you climb from an E-List celebrity to an A-Lister . Throughout the game you encounter highstakes obstacles , such as having to decide between two different products to promote , or a knock-off Paris Hilton tweeting mean things about you . Your decisions on how to handle these obstacles affects your character ’ s popularity . For instance , if you

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