Slenderman

Slender version 0.9.4 located:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3291397/Slender%20v0.9.4%20All.rar

Origins of Slenderman, Victor Surge's post on the Something Awful forums, and the spread of the legend here:

http://theslenderman.wikia.com/wiki/Slender_Man

 

Marble Hornets series:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MarbleHornets/videos?view=0

 

The fan-made video that inspired $20 Mode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0wPdfArGy4

     Slender is a very effective game in that it creates in the player a sense of paranoia and creeping dread.  During the opening credits, the player hears sounds of someone climbing a chain link fence and landing on the other side.  After the title screen the player is in a dark woods with only a flashlight.  Turning around the chain link fence is seen, which suggest it serves as the perimeter where the game takes place.  Here we are given the parameters of the game: unable to climb back over the fence, no compass or map, limited visibility due expanse of trees, and it is at night.
     Audio plays a big factor in the environment of the game.  In the beginning there is the sound of the players footsteps traversing the terrain, along with the chirping of insects.  After finding the first disturbing page (8 pages total) a slow beat is now heard in the audio track, like the slow beat of a drum (it could also be attributed to a heart beat, as the player realizes something is amiss).  Upon finding the second page, an unpleasant chord is heard.  During this time upon finding the first or second page, glimpses of Slenderman can be seen, between trees or around corners.  When he is sighted, the auditory and visual distortions affect the monitor.  The longer Slenderman is glimpsed, the more severe the distortion, and if looked at too long the player is captured and the game is over.
     Slenderman makes good use of transmedia.  There is a blog dedicated to the canon, or mythos, of Slenderman, explaining his origins and earlier sighting throughout history.  I am not sure if the accounts are based on actual myths and legends, but they do give a sort of "urban legend" feel surrounding Slenderman - if Slenderman is not real, the people who talk and write about him believe his is real.  Also there is a Youtube channel dedicated to the Slenderman mythos in the style of found footage.  A filmmaker begins a slow descent into madness as he is plague by visits of Slenderman.  The production devolves as the director can no longer function, and finally production is halted and the tapes handed over to a friend of the director.
     Another aspect I feel can be attibuted to Slenderman is panopticism.  The player can't help but feel he is constantly watched.  I often found myself turning quickly around, thinking there is someone behind me.  This becomes more prevalent when the first page is discovered and the first disturbing encounter with Slenderman is experienced.  Even though his first few appearances he is quite a distance away, the havoc he plays on the audio and visual as well as the tentacle the sprout from his back when beheld too long lend to the frightening encounter.  As I moved along - if not fast enough - the distortion would come and I would quickly turn around to see Slenderman in the trees, or around the corner, and I would sprint to put distance between him and I.  It felt as if I was being herded, coupled with the numerous trees that, after awhile, looked the same and I would find myself back at the rest stop by the tankers.  Going around in circles increased the paranoia that Slenderman was toying with me and my mind.  A sick cat and mouse game until the inevitable pounce where I would catch just a glimpse of his unfeatured face and then game over.  I never found the fourth page without Slenderman catching me.
     The game Slenderman does a good job with instilling dread in the player.  The moody atmosphere, along with the audio and the extensive mythos help to lend a sort of foreboding when exploring the woods and create a memorable experience.  There is the belief that all legends and myths are based on some instance of fact.  Over the years it can become embellished and added upon, but there is still a lingering in the back of the mind that it can be real.  And that belief gives substance to the monsters that we fear lurk in the dark.

Unit Operations and Ludology

Chapter 1 of Ian Bogost’s Unit Operations:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9VahGwIokRiRWs1OVJjRFZISTg

 

“Simulation versus Narrative: Introduction to Ludology” by Gonzalo Frasca:

http://www.ludology.org/articles/VGT_final.pdf

 

     I believe a game can be analyzed by looking at the parts that comprise it.  Each individual facet of a game - the gameplay, narrative, controls help to tell the story, or simulation.  How these facets work with each other

The Binding of Isaac DEMO
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/581168

     The Binding of Isaac is a game with a top-down view, with game play similar to the first Zelda game.  The character, Isaac, is about to be sacrificed by his deranged mother (the mother thinks she is obeying the voice of God in her head) and escapes through a trap door in his room.  In a cave system under his house exist many rooms where Isaac must fight grotesque, horrifying monsters.  This is only the demo of the game, not the full version.  I played for about an hour, and I got to what I believe is level 3, but couldn't get past a type of monster that revives itself after I reduced it to something like hamburger patty.

Design Outside the Box

Jesse Schell’s ‘Design Outside the Box’
http://www.g4tv.com/videos/44277/dice-2010-design-outside-the-box-presentation

Reactions
http://www.critical-distance.com/2010/04/21/jesse-schell-design-outside-the-box

Post-Humanism

Francis Fukiyama’s Our Post Human Future
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9VahGwIokRiT0hWY05lTDV5amM

Walter Jon Williams’ “Daddy’s World”
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3291397/Williams%20-%20Daddy%27s%20World.pdf

Time Fcuk!

"Time Fcuk"
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511754

Time Fcuk article of TVTropes.com
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TimeFcuk

TVTropes defense of tropes: Tropes are Tools
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools

    

Otaku Culture

“The Animalization of Otaku Culture”
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/mechademia/v002/2.lamarre.html

     This article deals in the evolution of Otaku Culture, from the Era of Ideals to the Era of Fiction and finally to the Era of Animals.  The Era of Ideals takes place during post-war Japan (1945-1970) where unitiy in rebuilding a country was the abundant feeling, with grand narratives, ideals and society being the norm.  Next came the Era of Fiction (1970-1945) where the grand narrative has broken down but still considered fiction.  Then came the Era of Animals (1995-present) and the grand narratives disappeared.

“Katawa Shoujo”
http://katawa-shoujo.com/about.php

     I have never played a dating-sim game, so Katawa Shoujo is very different yet somewhat interesting in that it deals with adolescents who are disabled.  Through narrative and dialogue choices, the player navigates the dating scene at a unique school, with the goal of narrowing his options and choosing one girl to be exclusive with - at least that is my impression, for I haven't played to the end yet.  This weekend I will try to finish the game and give a better review.

    

Superflat

“Earth at my Window” from Takashi Murikami’s “Little Boy”
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9VahGwIokRiSFZ5UjBjWUxRZHFkYkRDNWtNcVYzQQ

Takashi Murikami’s  “Superflat Monogram”,
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C84FLwm3DA

     Superflat is a term that refers to the two dimensionality of not just anime and anime characters, but also how Japanese pop culture and fine arts are compressed and the shallowness of consumer culture.  It is interesting to see how Japan's culture and way of thinking was influenced by the dropping of the two atomic bombs, one at Hiroshima and the other at Nagasaki.  The article also discusses how certain tropes have turned up again and again: how a certain character will behave based on their appearance, how they behave, and the expectations the audience have towards a given character/story.  Also it is a reflection on consuermerism and the culture towards anime and manga.

Jenkin’s “Convergence Culture” Chapter 3

Jenkin’s “Convergence Culture” Chapter 3: Searching for the Origami Unicorn

     Chapter 3 of Henry Jenkins deals with the phenomena created the Wachowski brothers' movie, The Matrix.  The Matrix trilogy challenged consumers to go behind the visuals on the screen and talk about their experience, coaxing viewers to look to websites, blogs, and other forms of media to explore the meaning to the question: What is The Matrix.?
     Jenkins describes The Matrix as transmedia storytelling; where the story is revealed through various media (film, television, novels, comics, web sites, blogs).  Each form of media, through their respective strengths, contributes to the story, but also must standalone for that consumer who may not have seen the movie, or not read the novel, etc.  As the consumer explores each medium, the particular story's dimensions are discovered, bringing depth and understanding behind the tale.  Although critics felt the Matrix sequels were incongruous and not self-contained, and that the Matrix games relied to heavily on the film instead of giving gamers new content, the avenues in storytelling the Wachowski brothers' delved into is a major influence for future storytellers.  Because transmedia is relatively new, careful navigation is required to ensure each waypoint of a story offers something new while simultaneously possessing solid foundation to introduce a new consumer to a new world of idea.

Jennifer Hepler Controversy

Jennifer Hepler controversy
http://www.blisteredthumbs.net/2012/02/editorial-entitlement-to-ignorance-in-defense-of-jennifer-hepler

Jim Sterling's response
http://www.destructoid.com/bioware-writer-s-vagina-versus-the-internet-222206.phtml

Reaction to Jennifer's Hepler's comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLz0CqtMVc&feature=plcp

Summary of objections to Hepler
http://postimage.org/image/y7u6srwbb

     I feel it was overreaction in regards to the statements Jennifer Hepler made in an interview.  Gamers are very passionate about video games (almost to a fault) and will voice loudly their frustrations.  Was it justified to treat Hepler as a punching bag?  No, I can't think of anything she said that would warrant the name calling and threats.  But I do find it odd that someone, who does not video games, would work for a video game company making video games.  I am reminded of working on a film called "Renee" while going through the Film Production Course at Valencia.  My entire film class were essentially interns, working alongside professionals in the film industry.  One of the professionals I worked with said he spent about nineteen months working on the movie "Miami Vice."  I told I thought the movie was pretty good.  He told he didn't know, he never watched it.  He then proceeded to tell me he has never watched a movie he worked on, he wasn't much of a tv or movie person.  I thought this odd.  It is long hours working on a movie; of the three films I worked on, we never worked less than twelve hours a day.  Time was of the essence as well as money.  I remember working seventeen hours one day, as the director did take after take trying to get the right shot - I was exhausted that day.  If I am going to spend a lot of time working on something, I naturally would like to see the fruits of my labor.  But everyone is different.  Was the film any less because this professional didn't really care about it.  No, he did his job and did it well.  As soon as we were done on "Renee" he was off to work on "Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon."  (Working beside him for so long, I know him enough to know he probably didn't watch that either).
     I think most of the animosity directed to Jennifer Hepler is because of her casual stance of video games.  She said she wants to be able to skp through the combat and just experience the dialogue.  To me that is a novel, no longer a "game."  Gamers became incensed when they saw a person, who has a job many gamers would love to have, not have the love of labor to their labor of love.  Gamers think this casual attitude is what is wrong with games and developers today, moreso with Bioware and the overwhelming feeling that their games have slowy gone downhill qualilty wise.  How can someone who doesn't like video games create a worthy product in the process?  But isn't that the case with most companies.  Do all employees love their job, and the product they create?  If a BMW employee doesn't like cars, but works on one aspect of the vehicle's production, be it through manufacturing, design, assembly line, etc. is that vehicle any less because of that?
     Jennifer Hepler's task, if the assebly line analogy can be applied, is to write for the game.  When her work is complete, others take over: programmers, concept artist, voiceover, etc.  If she works at a video game company but doesn't like video games - more power to her.  How many of us has worked at a job we didn't like, for a company we couldn't care less about, for a product we would never use?  For many, especially gamers, it would be a dream to work in the game industry; for others, it is just a paycheck.

Mr. Jenkins Goes to Washington

Mr. Jenkins Goes to Washington http://www.mit.edu/people/cshiley/Content/NotMine/jenkins.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzB9p82RmjQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpIBLTPMN_U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePQm-hxolcY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsRxR31_MNU&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj_ogXKN95o

     The hearings reminded me of the Salem Witch trials I read about in school (from junior high on up).  It appears whenever a violent catastrophe occurs, those in power with influence - in order to placate the masses - are quick to brandish their pitchforks and torches in search for a scapegoat.  Proceeding with just enough information, often provided by special interest groups, they pursue the most likely of causes with the tenacity of a houndog.  The hearings clearly show how footage, articles, essays etc. were manipulated to cast video games, and other forms of media, in a negative light.  The members of Congress and the Senate would like the public to believe that negative, violent images are the catalyst, the end all be all, of reasons why violent behavior springs up in young people.  If that is the case there should be an epidemic of violent crime based on the millions of video game players that play games with violent content.  This is not the case.
     I feel it lies solely on the person consuming the media, and their propensity to be influenced by said media.  My nine year old daughter has played through the entire Halo series, has play Gears of War 1-3, Call of Duty (the first one), and has started playing Crysis 2.  Her favorite thing is to do headshots, after which she exclaims, "Boom!"  This is the same girl who, when we walk out to the car for school, she begs me to pick up the worms and snails on the walkway and put them in the grass, so later in the day they don't die when the sun bakes the concrete.  My daughter also enjoys Viva Pinata and Uno as well, switching back to the former and latter games with no problem.  As a parent, I am always in the room when she is playing on Xbox or on the Internet to monitor her, and of course I always enable the parental controls if they are available on a particular game.
     The focus should switch from storming the castle in search of the monster to the houses with the picket fences.  It is in the home that a dialogue should take place between parents and children on the subject of what is consume through various media, where each side and angle can be explored equeally; not in a hearing.

Covering Sexual Diversity in A Closed World

Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights
 https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3291397/Yoshino_the%20new%20civil%20rights.pdf

This chapter deals with the pressures society places on individuals to conform to a standard regarding how a person acts or behaves in regards to race, beliefs, sexual orientation, etc.  The author, Kenji Yoshino, talks about his experience coming out as not only a gay man, but a gay Asian-American, and also the act of covering.  Covering, or cover, is to conceal one's true self, and perpetuate a false self in order to be accepted in society.  But just like any kind of armor, the cover is more likely to be stifling, resticting the body's (and the mind's) natural movements, and most of all, it serves as a barrier between our soul and the world.  In order to find our place in the world, we must be bold enough to place our true self in the world.

“Sexual Diversity” by Extra Credits
 http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sexual-diversity

This episode of Extra Credits deal with the lack of gay lead characters in a video game, or at least the lack of gay lead characters that are represented with taste and quality.  Perhaps due to homophobia, or a fearful response from Washington, gay characters are rare in mainstream games.  A gamer, wishing to play a video game with a gay lead character or one the deals with gay issues, may have to search far and wide for less known and less marketed games.  Much like going into a video store and slowly, and non-chalantly, walking into the adult section, hoping the other customers not witness this foray into questionable territory. 

“A Closed World”
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/summer2011/aclosedworld_play.php

A Closed World is an incredible game in that it deals with same sex relationships and the hatred and bigotry that comes with it.  Although in the beginning of the game the player is asked to choose male or female, the lead character is dressed in a hoody so details of sex are obscured, which, I feel, adds to the game.  The narrative details the lead characters anguish of a society that does not condone same sex relationships, and is described by another character in the game as "not normal".  The game shows that navigating life is like a trek through the woods, it is unknown territory and dark and forbidding in some areas.  The monsters withing seek to devour the traveler with hate and self-loathing, or at least turn back the traveler.  To fight against the monsters is to fight against society's norms, but also to fight inner doubts, and the lead character fights for the missing lover as much as for him/herself.

The Male Body Beautiful and Storytelling

Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body by Susan Bordo
http://wendtenglish201f10.wikispaces.com/file/view/Wendt.Beauty+(Re)discovers+the+Male+Body1.pdf

     As I started to read Susan Bordo's article, I immediately thought of the classical Greek art that showcased the male body, either in the nude or semi-nude.  It appears as the centuries passed, and as noted in the article around the 14th century, that a specific style of dress emerged concerning and reflecting the roles of men and women.  In the royal courts both sexes dress to impress, and compete, albeit as much as their wealth can sustain such extravagance.  Afterwards, as the middle class gained prominence, the style of dress adhered to the social norms of a given time period.  Men were the breadwinner, and as such their style exuded a quite power, of a man who can get things done, he just happens to look good even he considered function over form.  From the stock broker in his press suits, to the construction worker in his overalls and hard hat, a sense of "get 'er done" is felt in the style of dress.  If that was what one needed for the job at hand, so be it and he wore it.  The article then goes on to detail the liberation of the male body as a subject to be look at and admired; what is under the clothes mattered as much, if not more so, than what covered it.  Clothes do not make the man (but considering the ads, some articles of clothing do make the man sexy).  I found it interesting when Bordo discusses the gender biases inherent when scrutinizing a scantily clad form, be it male or female.  The female is expected to vain, and consider form or function.  The woman seen preening, looking in the mirror, and, whether conscious of the fact or not, is expecting to be looked at.  So the woman goes to great pains to be good looking, or a "looker".  She may not like or condone such a label, but she knows how to use the tools she is given to make her way in the world.  Now we come to the (re)discovering of the male body.  I do feel it is a rediscovering, while, judging from the reactions of a few critics in the article, it may have seemed at the time something foreign and taboo.  Society's belief about the male form, at that time, could be attributed a number of reasons: the social norm, the idea of the male as a stoic, the role of the male to be active, or as noted in the article, to act.  The male form was to be acknowledged, but not ogled.  Making what was old new again, the underwear ads displaying a semi-nude (or sometimes nude) brought sexuality to the otherwise believed not-so-fair sex, revealing that the male form can be both strong and sensual, both passive and participant, and both rousing as well as arousing.

 

“No Redeeming Value” by Extra Credits http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/no-redeeming-value

I, for one, have never played the God of War series, but the breakdown of the storytelling can be understood by those uninitiated.  From what I got from the video, the first God of War was a critical success both story wise as well as play wise.  Maybe it was not, at first, considered a trilogy, so the game designer and writers perhaps put more into the story to give it a tragic end (where Kratos throws himself in the sea after his labors are completed).  This is seen a lot in films.  I like the reference to the Star Wars films.  The original, episodes 2, 3, 4 started that way because the backstory drew the viewer in: who is this Darth Vader? what is the Force?  When episodes 1, 2, 3 were released, the viewer was subjected to the knowledge the Vader is Luke's father, as well as midi-chlorians as the reason for the Force.  Sometimes telling too much is worse than telling enough.  Now, if the episodes are watched in order, gone is the shocking revelation of Luke's true parentage, gone is the mystical nature of the force and is its place a paramecium.  There are numerous sequels where the protagonist,  as we are reintroduced to him in the sequel, is far removed from the success in the end of the prior movie.  I am reminded of the Die Hard series, where McClane and his wife have reconciled their differences at the end of the first movie.  Then, sequel after sequel, McClane is separated from his wife to finally divorced with a daughter that despises him.  The writers, thinking that viewers won't feel sympathy or empathy towards the character, gave McClane more faults and woes to outdo the previous faults and woes.  Many may not have noticed this, but I did.  And I thought, "What the hell?"  How can so many things happen to one person, and how can he get to rock bottom each time after saving the day?

“Who Is Laura Croft?” http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/benzaie/dg/20790-who-is-lara-croft

The fascination with Lara Croft stems from the fact the she is a female in an otherwise predominately (at the time) male role, catering to mostly male video game players.  Here is a female lead character, whose short shorts were higher than the bottoms of the holsters of her gun, blasting and killing while looking sexy at the same time.  Of course, her anatomy was exaggerated, what with the pixilated bullet bra and wasp-like waist.  And she couldn't be weighed-down with even the slightest of body armor, not if it would get in the way of sex appeal.  I played the first Tomb Raider, which was my first 3-D game that I remembered playing.  Although it was fun staring at Lara's butt as I explored the landscape and ruins, after awhile it grew tiresome and I just wanted to raid some tombs.

Video Game Theory 2

Chapter 3 The Video Game Aesthetic by Eric Zimmerman

Conventional thoughts on literacy were confined to reading and writing, then later branched out with media literacy through music, film, and television.  The advent of the computer and the internet gave rise to a new form of literacy: Gaming Literacy, which the author states will become important in this new century.

The Magic Circle, as it applies to games, is an idea that during play, the game exist within this circle, with its own rules and beliefs, that is apart from the world without.  When applied to video games, the magic circle is more permeable, meaning that the game can be used to see the world outside; how we play learn in the game is applied to the real world.

The author is quick to point out that gaming literacy is not:

about serious games (to teach about math, science, etc).

about persuasive games (to deliver a message)

about training game designers.

Gaming literacy is the ability to understand and create meanings based on systems, play, and design.

System - understanding the individual parts and how they relate, or work with each other, to create the whole.  In gaming literacy this pertains to the underlying rules of the game through algorithms and subroutines.

Play - the action that follows understanding, and sometimes changing or modding, the rules of the game.

Design - the meaning imparted to the game player through the virtual world of the video game and the possibilities that existed within.

The author concludes that games are one way to become literate for a future that is leaning more towards technology and how it relates to information, communication, and learning.  Gaming literacy is but one avenue, with which the experience and learning is applied to the outside world.

                                                                             * * *

I especially liked the quote in this chapter, attributed to James Paul Gee, "video games are good for your soul."  I wish I could get my fiance to play video games with our daughter and I.  To my fiance, it may seem like just pressing buttons to perform an action on the screen, but I feel it is not that far removed from conventional games.  When kids play tag, dress up, nurse, stick ball, street hockey, etc., the games serve as roleplaying and rehearsal, and through observing or modifying the rules, children look past that imaginary boundary into the outside world, the play acting like a lens.
In Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, I watch as my daughter navigates her garden, planning which parts will have the pinata animals and which will have plants; I watch how she manages the choclate coins (the in game currency), deciding items to buy, and how much to save to aquire the more expensive ones.  In Minecraft, my daughter wants to build a treehouse next to the home I have built in the side of a mountain.  For this game she is planning, on a piece of paper, how to build that treehouse based on the in-game mechanics and she is learning how to allocate the in-game resources for her goal.
There is a lot learning in games, video games is just another way to play.

Research and game

My conference paper will be on Minecraft, specifically on the environment of the game.  The games aesthetic if very simplistic, harkening to the 8-bit days of video games.  So, something else must draw in the gamers, like myself, who return to Minecraft to chop down one more tree, to smelt more ore, to build.

Video Game: Minecraft

The Video Game Theory Reader 2 – possibly Chapter 2. Philosophical Game Design, Chapter 3. The Video Game Aesthetic: Play as Form and Chapter 4. Embodiment and Interface.

Explore, Create, Survive: ‘Minecraft’ is a versatile and fun game with broad appeal

http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a349e821-7ca3-451f-9d9f-3b818c6779b5%40sessionmgr115&vid=3&hid=103

The Improbable Rise of Minecraft by Chadwick Matlin

http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=2&sid=9712d2c9-78e9-4400-9e11-eb6362f4d82a%40sessionmgr10#

Oiligarchy

http://www.molleindustria.org/en/oiligarchy
    
     Oiligarchy is a play on the word oligarchy (a type of government where power is held by a few).  The game puts the player in the role of an oil executive, trying to exploit demand, politics, and imperialism for profit.  I tried several playthroughs, with each result ending in M.A.D.  Trying a different approach, the demand then exceeded supply and I got fired by the stockholders twice.  I participated in elections, betting on the winner based on the percentage a particular party, and achieved an "oiled" president.  It was interesting being granted access to "underground" to sanction clandentine forays in other countries for the interest of big oil through political upheavals.  I understood what the game was trying to accomplish through a satiric look at our oil dependence and at oil executives.  This is reflected in past events: from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to oil executives appearing before Congress to explain price gouging.
     The Oiligarchy Postmortem did well in explaining the goals of the game, and detailed the different endings possible (which I was unable to achieve other than the M.A.D ending).  It noted that the game did not provide a true account and activities of the oil industry, maybe this is due to the constraints that come from a flash game, but I felt it did present the crisis that is looming if our dependence on oil is not kept in check and alternative resources are explored.  The realism seems skewed towards being bad, for when I tried to influence the game towards a "green" playthrough, I could never production above demand, at best I production tied with demand for a while, but ultimately I was fired by the stockholders.  It did help to "oil" players in the political arean, in the hopes for tax breaks and oil-friendly representatives to counter environmental bills.  Expanding to other oil rich countries presents the dilema of malcontent among the locals to power hungry, militia forces.  I did not notice any con for playing the ultimate, evil oil executive when I razed villages and polluted the lakes and oceans other than a few oil platforms being protested.  I would like to have reached "retirement" with a decrease in oil addiction as noted on the Postmortem, but I was unable to attain that (which does reflect the real world problem of oil addiction as well).
     The McDonald's Game is similar to Oilgarchy, but tackles the fast food industry and its effect on the health of citizens.  The McDonald's Game is less effective because I spent more time clicking back and forth trying to resolve the problems at each juncture of a burger's journey from pasture to its place in a combo meal.  Several times I was rewarded with the incensed visage of Ronald McDonald accusing me of bankrupting the venerable company. 

Games and Culture

Video Games and Embodiment by James Paul Gee

Modes of problem solving:

Embodied - involving the body

Affective - involving emotions

Technological - involving tools/technologies

Interactive - involving participation

Sociocultural - involving social and cultural identities and groups

Theory of processing - connectionist view of mental processing that encompasses embodied, affective, technological, interactive, and socioculture.

Gee's article will focus mainly on embodiment.

Previous analogies of the mind:  like a blank slate to be written on, or like a computer making calculations.

Video games, like Half-Life 2, Rise of Nations, Oblivion, World of Warcraft considered "action-and goal orientated simulations of the embodied experience.

Language is connected goal-directed experiences in the material and social world, and are stored in the mind similar to dynamic images joined to the perception of the world and the individual's body, internal state, and feelings.

Human thinking is like modding a game: in real life humans take a situation or event, and play out different outcomes based on the goal or end result.  The actions of the event are influenced by the person's perspective, biasness, or values; and can even play out conflicting values/perspectives to role-play an alterative outcome.
 

Early child play prepares for real life situations in the future.  The games are simulations to build on the experience as the child grows.

Players inhabit the avatar in a game, whose mind and goals become the player.  The player takes on the traits, skills, beliefs within the confines set forth in the game.

Three-way interaction: virtual character - goals - virtual world

Player must use the skills, traits, beliefs of the avatar within the game that is designed for that specific gameplay.  Conversely, players can impose their goals on the avatar, as much as those goals will work in the rules/confines set forth in the game world.

Projective beings - game characters that are "projects" of the player and also the player projects their goals and desires into.

Projective stance:

1. See the world, its people and properties for patterns of actions

2.  The actions realize desires, intentions, and goals for a certain role.

3.  Humans play out the certain role, but bring with them their own specific goals.

Humans take on a role in games, much like in life.

 

There is No Magic Circle by Mia Consalvo

Magic circle - bordered space that is set apart from normal, real life.  Inside the circle there are different rules where the player can experience events not allowed in regular life.

Cheaters count on rule, and others playing by the rules, so he can cheat.
 

A spoilsport wants to ruin the gameplay experience for everyone, ex. driving wrong way in a racing game.

Some cheaters justify their actions, "Everyone cheats/or is cheating," "I cheat only when I am stuck," while others have no problems with the act whatsoever.
 

Cheating displaces the sense of accomplishment, cheapens the gameplay.

Magic circle as they apply to today's games are becoming less separate from life - from researching a game beforehand, watching previews and trailers, video of gameplay.

Two agencies vie for control: the game creator(s) and the players.  The players try to influence/change game, making the magic circle moot (not playing by the rules).

Cheating in WOW: glider mod to automate an avatar's pathfinding, fighting, skinning, looting.  Blizzard considered it cheating.  Justifications: to fast forward an alternate characters, to alleviate tedious gameplay for leveling, or to sell the characters.

The "magic circle" has been broken.

Alternative thinking: keys and frames

Life is a series of events contained in frames.  Keys, or keyings, are meanings of the frames.

Real life is the primary frame, whereas a game is a clone, with each having their respective keyings, or meanings/understandings.

Three frames in regards to game:

the world of commonsense knowledge

the world of game rules

knowledge of fantasy world.

 Players can change from frame to frame quickly, bringing knowledge of real world into gameplay of virtual world.

Ron Gilbert's Words of Wisdom to Tim Schafer

    
     Ron Gilbert told Tim Schafer that gamers today lack the patience and diligence to solve the puzzles in point-and-click games of the past. I agree that that statement applies not only to gamers, but to this generation overall. For some, the puzzles break the flow of the gameplay, instead of being a part of it. The run-and-gun mechanic is stalled to stop and use critical thinking to solve the puzzle, and that could spell death in today's action oriented crowd. Then, to actually spend time searching for clues, learning about the puzzle and how it works, the short attention span of the gamer will be insulted and the gamer will look to another game. I call this the culture of now, where today's technology allows almost instant communication. Sending a letter in the mail, or even calling someone, is now replaced with a text. Waiting for photographs to develop and mailing them to relatives is archaic; just take the picture on your phone and send it digitally to another phone or put it on Facebook for all to see. Somewhere along the line, we seemed to have lost hours although there the same 24 hours in the day. Information can't come fast enough.

     Also discussed in the interview is the need sometimes to walk away from the puzzle in the game to reflect on it. As the player is doing another task, the subconscious is working on the problem and the result is the "Eureka" moment.  That flashbulb above the head realization.  I read an article about Benjamin Franklin, who, when trying to solve a problem, would go for a nap in his chair.  In each hand he would hold a small cannonball, and place his arms on the armrests.  As his subconscious worked on the problem, he would eventually fall asleep, relax his hands, and the cannonballs would drop to the floor, awakening Benjamin Franklin at the moment his subconscious would either solve the problem, or be close to it.

     This kind of patience and diligence is not popular with gamers today.  Gameplay consists of trying to get to the next level as fast as you can by gunning or hacking as fast as you can.

 

    

     Myst would be the only game that I've played that comes close to the point-and-click mechanic outline in the interview and in the Host Master and the Conquest of Humor adventure game.  In Myst, you walked around and clicked on things to see if there was a reaction, and then apply that to solving the puzzles.   I don't remember a time limit, you were free to explore and even admire the scenery.

     In Host Master and the Conquest of Humor game, it did seem a bit cumbersome to have to click on the commands (use, look at, pick up, turn on, talk to) to interact with the environment.  And as discussed in  the Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer interview, there is a trial and error approach to some of the puzzle elements.  I would click on the overhanging tablecloth that had the fake fruit on it.  Tim's avatar would have a funny comment.  Then I would try using it, moving it, turning it on, pulling or pushing it, finally using the cigar cutters to cut the hanging cloth thereby revealing the not under the table.  I found the cigar box and the open matchbook first, before I revealed the safe behind the picture, so I already knew the code on the matchbox was the combination for something.  The mobile phone I could not figure out how to use: the newspaper I combing with the half of another note to reveal a joke, and tried texting the joke to the number on the newspaper but got some kind of "message could not be sent" error.  Before I had to go to work, I had found 7 jokes out of the 22.  I did not want to use an online guide (I am sure one exists), just so I could have those "aha!" moments that were discussed in the interview.  Like Tim Shafer said, when you are truly stuck on a puzzle perhaps then use a guide, but if you use a guide for all setbacks, then the puzzles just becomes a hurdle, a hindrance if you will, to the game experience instead of being a part of it for the gamer.

Does a video game have an author?

     I don't think the majority of video games can be considered as having an "author".  Unlike a novel that generally has just one creator, many of the games today I believe are collaborative efforts, in which one person or a group of persons will have a general idea for a game, and then other people are brought in to flesh it out in the manner of writers, storyboard artists, programmers, conceptual artist, etc.  Out of many the ideas that are blended together help to create a whole, finished product, a process similar to an assembly  line.  It's rare to see a name on the front cover of a video game box, usually the credit goes to the developer.
   

One Play Games

The game "You Only Live Once", started out frustrating.  It took me multiple tries just to jump over the first hill, or hurdle, but when I finally succeeded I died right away.  The ending was comical, with the interviews and character resolutions.  I did delete my cookies to see if there was more to the game, but I experienced again the frustrating game controls and died right away.  I don't know if this was the creator's intent, but it made me not to want to play a third time.

The second game "One Chance", I did embrace the one play design and truly only played it once.  I agonized over my decisions, knowing I couldn't (or wouldn't, as I didn't delete the cookies) get a second chance.  In the game, my wife committed suicide, and I took my daughter to the park, where I assumed she died when a picture of two crosses appeared.  Finally, my choices led my character to die alone in the lab.  There was no "game over" prompt, so I waited about a minute and surmised the game is over.

The last game, Why Is Johnny in an Art Game, was the least enjoyable game I played of the three.  The game consisted only of pressing "left" and reading texts (like in one of the Stanley Parable path, the character questions his role in the game - which is actually just the narrator questioning) until the Johnny walks off the edge of the building.  Since you can't go back, the only two choices were to either stop and end the game before the plunge, or jump.  Just like in the second game, I did not delete my cookies or otherwise attempt a second playthrough.

After reading Warren Spector's "Fun is a Four Letter Word" article, I do understand the creators' intent on making these one play games.  It brings an immediacy and also an anxiety knowing you are not able to learn from your mistakes and take a different path (if you don't delete cookies, or other methods, to override the one play restriction), to just respawn or load a previous save file.  As to whether the games were fun, and in trying to get past the one play mechanic destroys the author's intent, I would say it depends on the player.  Games, by their very nature, are interactive.  Gamers will try to go outside the bounds in making the game character do or behave outside the confines of the game.  Reading a book or watching a movie does not allow this, so we accept the linear experience those medium provide (which are no less enjoyable).  As for the fun factor, that will also depend on the player.  For myself, I would say they provided a diversion, albeit temporary, but I would hesitate to classify them as fun.  Fun, I believe, is something I would do again and again - and I did not want to play these games again, unlike more conventional games.

Games As Art

    

            I agree that Roger Ebert believes that Video Games can never be art; everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  Do I believe video games are art?  Some, but not all; and I feel the same way about movies, novels, and actual art.  Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and what I behold, and how I behold it, can be entirely different from another person.  If it moves me, captivates me, and makes me talk about it with others then it is art to me.  I am not a famous, lauded critic (I have never heard of Roger Ebert), nor do I visit a critic’s site to justify my appreciation of a game, movie, novel, etc; but I will listen or read what people of my ilk have to say and use that as a basis of whether to spend money on a form of entertainment.  A critic like Roger Ebert will analyze a film base on his perceptions, bias, and ideas of what makes a story good, which may not align with my notions.

            So what if a movie critic thinks games can never be art?  Does it cheapen my enjoyment of it because someone occupies a position where he is considered an authority on all things of the imagination?  If Roger Ebert retracts his statement in favor of games being art, will the gaming community give a collective, vindicated shout that their pastime has been elevated to the prestigious label of art?  Will a shaft of line from the heavens part the clouds to illuminate a stone tablet that decrees “Games, Thou Art Art”?

            If art is an representation of life - be it a nature landscape, the human figure, a person’s life story – then art already existed before it was transferred to canvas, page, celluloid, or pixel.  It is up to the person that is observing, reading, watching, and playing to decide what is art.  When I look at my young daughter’s drawings and painting through the years that occupy every square inch on the refrigerator, I don’t worry if they would be considered art by a perceived higher authority.  But I know that I love my daughter very much, and at the end of the day, I admit I don’t know much about art, but I do know what I love.

Panopticism and The Stanley Parable

     We proceed in life yielding to the notion that we, and are actions, are governed: be it by government, by divine decree, or even by self-imposed goals or ambitions and limitations.  The presence of governmant may not be direct; manifesting itself in the form of cctv on street corners, data mining - records kept of our browsing habits, purchases, texts, calls, and wages.  Divine proclamations that oultline the narrow path that a follower should adhere to, in order to attain a celestial reward.  To become successful, wealthy, leave an impact or mark on the world to show we exist, and in doing so justify our existence to ourselves.
     With Foucault, it is understood that power exists outside ourselves, and this outside power, whether directly seen or not, is essential to the survival of a society.  Just the idea that we can be seen, our actions annotated, by "Big Brother" ensures that a populace's citizens will do right.  Without this outside power, this lighthouse whose gaze is all-seeing and all knowing, there can be no semblance of civilazation and all will fall into anarchy.
     In The Stanley Parable, much like other video games, the gamer embodies the "hero" of the game, whose path, or journey, is already preordained (though there are other, meandering paths, which the result is usually at best a dead end, or worse, death with the only option is to respawn and/or load the last save).  Either through an instruction manual or a tutorial, we are given the parameters of how to move and interact within this virtual world.  And the narrator of this story, through text boxes, voiceover, or a non-player character, with give the backstory and motive for the avatar the gamer has control of - but the gamer is also being controlled.  The gamer embodies the proverbial rat in the maze, who through trial and error, seeks to find the exit, goat, destination, etc.  Some mice will remain inert, at the beginning or at other stages of the maze, and can either languish there or recieve some sort or prompt: in a game it could be in the form of character tapping its foot in impatience, a voiceover telling the gamer to continue, ultimately the game will pause until the player is ready to adhere to the games rules of play - that is, to go on, throught the twist and turns and the dead ends and revelations until the reward at the end.
     We see this in every aspect of our lives.  We come to a red light, we step on the brake and stop.  It is what is expected of us, it is the law.  We know the consequences if we run that light.  There might not be any of authority currently at the stoplight, no flashing of lights if we were to ignore that scarlet command.  So, some will choose to go through anyway, and deal with the repercussions if any should arise.  Now, if a camera is placed at the stoplight, and its presence known through warning signs: would that enforce a more general obediance?  Do we know if that camera is actually recording?  Is there anyone on the other end, to alert superiors to a witnessed infraction on their screen.  Or is it just a visual deterrant, like the lighthouse of a panotican - the mere thought of a power, omnipotent or impotent, present or absent - is a pall over in the back of our mind, and so we act accordingly?
     The Stanley Parable message is to show us humans that, even while we yearn for free will, we cherish it, demand it even, there is no such thing.  Much like the limitations in a game: reaching that invisible wall at the edge of a map, the number of choices a given situation allows, the responses an npc can generated; limitation exist in our life.  We can't just do whatever we want, unless that individual were to isolated himself on an island and have no other interactions with another soul.  Living in a society, with its laws and regulations, we have to adhere to the morals and legalities that are adherant to the society.  For many, that structure is integral.  To suddenly wake up one  day, with all that structure and its denizens gone, they would crack.  It is like the air pressure that constantly surrounds us, we don't feel it because we have grown accustomed to it.  But in its absence, in the vacuum, is when many explode.
     Coversely, when there is to much pressure, as exist many leagues under the sea - then we notice it, we feel it continuously, until too much makes us implode.  A life of to much limitations makes for questioning - in a game we ask "why can't I go over those mountains?", "why can't kill this npc?".  The limitatoins in the game mimic the ones in life.  Art imitates life, life imitates art.  We may want to explore, to travel outside our state, or country; but limitations could exist (finances, border crossing restrictions, a job and/or family to care of - many can't just up in leave, to go against the narrative of life).

     This Stanley Parable is much like the choose-your-own-adventure books I used to read as a child.  The "Zork" series come first to mind.  I read the passages, and at critical plot points I would be given several choices, or paths, to continue on: choose this path, go to page so and so, take that action go to that page.  A path could result in a dead end, at which you go back and explore the other options until you are "back on track", or, alternately, just end the story there.  The story in the book is really linear.  There is the one, "true" ending, or true goal that you pursue.  The other endings are less satisfying, based on the readers perspective and viewpoint.  In the case of the Zork books, the narrative is the lighthouse, watching as the reader runs through the passages.  The reader knows the power that is in the narrative, but still may wonder why doesn't the character do this instead, or that?  At that moment, the reader embodies the character on the page, and experiences that choices that character makes, for good or ill depending on how the story ends.  But the end is just that - the end.  It is the paths that the character takes, the reasons he takes them, and how his actions influence other characters that should be examined.  We know of our mortality, no matter which way we step it is still a step in the direction of our inevitable death.  What matters is how we step.

Existentialism and Before the Law

     In Before the Law, a man from the country seeks the law, or seeks to gain entry to the law.  Perhaps, being from the country, he is without advance education, and wants to better himself and raise his stature.  Later in the story the man from the country states "Everyone strives after the law."  The man is following the expectations of society, in this case to be a "learned man", instead of being true to himself.  He might have been more content to remain in the countryside if that is his true self.  The man chose to define himself by gaining access to the law, in the hopes that in succeeding he will belong to the group that has the law.

     When he is denied entry by the gatekeeper, the man languishes in indecision.  Should he go further without permission?  Are the other gatekeepers more fearsome as the first gatekeeper implied?  The man then spends years contemplating and asking questions, when he would do better to act.  If the law is what he truly wants, and not what is expected of him, he should pursue all avenues to attain it.  Instead he lets propriety influence and conforms to society's norm.  Now he should wait, now he should appease the gatekeeper who continually denies him even while accepting the man's bribes.  The law is like the carrot that dangles just out of reach of the donkey, who ceaselessly trudges in circles turning the grindstone, ever thinking that just one more step will bring him closer to the prize.

     Finally, at the end of his life, with his last dying gasp he notices an illumination emanating from the gate as the darkness comes for him.  The illumination doesn't come from the law, which, according to the first gatekeeper, is well past other gates.  The illumination is free will and the will to act.  To take that one step past the gate; then more steps through more gates, through however many gates it is necessary.  A man's inaction define him as much as his action.  In the final moment the gatekeeper shares a final revelation: the gate was meant for man, and only he could pass it.  All the man had to do was walk through it.

     In the game Before the Law, the player is given the option ignore the gatekeeper and press on through the  gate.  As the man from the country trudges forward, the world around him falls and shudders away, as it no longer has any importance, or existence, to the man.  The man's sole focus is the law, to obtain it like a possession.  And in obtaining it defines himself by it.  The law will help make him and his life better, in his eyes and in the eyes of his contemporaries.  At the end of a path suspended in space, with nothing all around him, the man reaches the law in the form of a book.  But the book is empty, much like his motivation for obtaining it.  The man was not true to himself; chasing, like everyone else, after an object or idea.  The man might have fared better fighting against expectations, and instead sought that which defines himself: his own personal choice.

Before the Law

     My first playthrough of the game Before the Law mirrors Franz Kafka's Before the Law in that we are introduced to a person who strives for the law.  Upon meeting the gatekeeper and being denied entry, I chose to wait.  As the years go by my character from the country grows old and feeble.  In his last dying moment the gatekeeper reveals the gate exists only for this sole person from the country, which he has failed to pass through.  This traveler from the country represents someone who has not received much education and now strives for knowledge.  He is faced with an obstruction in the form of a gatekeeper, which symbolizes the roadblocks and challenges a person would face - be it his class, upbringing, or lack wealth - that would hinder him from attaining knowledge.  Instead of boldly pursuing his goals, investigation every avenue available to him, he chose to wait for the opportune moment to gain entry.  In this case fortune truly does favor the bold.  One can not just sit idly by waiting for chance to impart her grace; one must be active and persevere, knowing each challenge is a test of character, and upon passing it, builds that character.

     On my second playthrough, I chose to press on through the gate rather than wait for the gatekeeper's favor.  The gatekeeper, much like his authority, cracks like a mirror and he utters "Brave of you" before finally dissipating.  Much of the barricades in our life are self-imposed, with names like doubt, procrastination, fear written on a mirror over our reflection.  It is by breaking past this wall that we can see past ourselves to the world beyond.  As the person from the country continues on his course towards the law, or knowledge, he forsakes everything.  The world around him shudders and falls away as he becomes more removed from it; in his tunnel vision all he sees is the Law, far in the distance but with each labored step closer and closer.  As he reaches his goal, he finds the Law, in the form of a book, empty.  In his forced march, his many days of labor, he has attained no more knowledge than when he first started.  When an individual pursues a goal he must exercise caution in that he doesn't become devoured by it.  The character from the country strives so much for knowledge at the end of the path he fails to find it along the way, just by living.  As expressed in Eastern Philosophy, it is the journey that is to be exalted, not the destination.