Art and choices

If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice! There seems to be a lot of “choice” in video games. Mass Effect, Deus Ex, Skyrim, and many others use the draw of “choices” to bring in more players to buy their games. It’s even on the back of the box. But, all of these choices are set by the games parameters. Sometimes you come across a game that gives you the ability to choose how you go about playing it. To write your own story, to create your own experience. While watching an episode of Extra Creditz on penny-arcade.com. They had an episode about using the game mechanics as a metaphor (http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/mechanics-as-metaphor-part-1). They asked the viewer to take a break and play the game that had been linked in the videos description. The game was a “non-game” made by a former teacher for his students. The game was called “Loneliness” and it didn’t have any objective, description or anything of the like that would really drive the player. It opens with instructions on how to play, saying, use the arrow keys to move and to keep going until it ends. The graphics of the game are simple grays and blacks, with the “characters” being represented by black squares. Throughout my experience of playing this non-game, I created several different stories in my head. Was my little black block a crazed axe murderer running rampant on the streets? And that’s why all the people were running away from him? Or was my character a plague character, grotesque in his nature and appearance, and that’s why people would flee from him? Then it dawned on me, the mournful piano playing in the background, and the dark grays and blacks. My character was alone. Anyone whom I tried to approach would flee, because of their shallow nature. No matter who I approached they would all leave. They wouldn’t stay. This was the most emotionally engaging game that I’ve ever played. Maybe because I kind of connected with the character. Whatever it was, I felt something for that little black square. However, this is about choices that are made in games. There were no real choices in this game. I suppose players had the choice to approach or avoid other black squares. But, what was their motivation in doing so? Players could write their own story with this game. They could create their own motivation. Maybe they decided to roll with the mass murderer gig. Or maybe they created something completely different. The thing is, that it was up for interpretation. And that, is what makes art. Art is an expression, of some kind. It can be an expression of emotion, or an expression of a story. Art can depict anything that it wants to. The artist that creates the piece may have something in mind of what he or she wants to convey through the piece, however, when that piece hit’s the public eye, all bets are off. The viewer, the audience, the player may see something different than what was originally conceived. It is up to the sole viewer to decide what he or she thinks about the piece, and what it means. I think that if games were to be more like this, then we could really be considered an art form. That’s not to say that we already aren’t and that there aren’t already games out there which could be considered art. There are many games which convey story, character, and have different overtones, morals, philosophies and different points in them when the creators can truly express their opinions. Many games do this. Whether in the writing, or some sort of task that the player carries out. Bioshock is a great example of delivering messages to the player. Throughout the game there are many, many pieces of propaganda surrounding Andrew Ryan and his vision for his underwater utopia. Could this be the writer proclaiming his opinion of the individual, or how he thinks that the world should be run? In the opening sequence, the player is treated to a video, Walt Disney World style, as he is lowered below the surface of the sea to Rapture. The video is Andrew Ryan speaking of the wrong doings of the surface world. Players quickly find out that Andrew Ryan is a character that is all about the individual, and what one person can accomplish with hard work. A man of capitalist notions. Meanwhile, there is another who usurps Andrew Ryan by uniting the citizens of Rapture. Atlas, you’re guide through the hellish environment of this underwater city. Players gather that Atlas lead the resistance movement against Andrew Ryan, and helped those who couldn’t make it in Andrew Ryan’s world. Is this the creator of Bioshock speaking of how, if we all band together we can accomplish anything? Also, throughout the game of Bioshock players have to make choices. Which ultimately end up with ending A or B, yet there are subtle differences in gameplay depending on what choices the player has made. If the player chooses to save the little sisters, then they gain only a small amount of Adam, with which they can upgrade their powers and abilities. They are also treated to the sunshine and rainbows ending. If the player chooses to harvest the little sisters, they gain much more Adam, and are able to upgrade their powers freely and make many changes to their skill set. However, with these decisions of harvesting over saving, the player gets the ending where the main character takes over the world and darn near blows it up. What is the creator saying here? Is this about the corruption of greed? Is the good ending about the meek inheriting the earth, with the player not being greedy and saving the little sisters? It’s up for interpretation. I think that’s what makes art. Though, with that definition, art is up for interpretation. Art can be found in whatever. Though, I think that having something more open like the Loneliness non-game, is a good example of what games could be as an art form. Though, I’d like to see something a bit more mainstream. Like Flower, or other games from That Game Company. Keep track of those guys for games that are more on the artistic side of the industry.

Something special, for all the ladies in the world

Just want to do something special, for the ladies in the world… I’ve been seeing a lot lately that there is a lot of talk about the sexism in the geek and nerd society. I think it’s great that we’re getting around to it finally, but it’s also kind of sad that we have to bring it up at all. What I mean is that it’s pathetic that this is an issue at all, this is the 21st century after all, yet humanities ignorance will transcend generations. Sexism in gaming and every other form of pop culture that is to be considered “nerdy” or “for geeks” has had some amount of sexism. As a medium that is predominately intended for males, and males of a certain age, it’s not a surprise that there would be overtly sexual women in these pieces of the media. Overtly sexual women are everywhere in the media, and it’s a shame. Yes indeed, the ladies are good looking, but there’s more to them than just their looks. I don’t know how or why we’ve come to treating women like this. It doesn’t make any sense, being that there are so many strong, powerful, confident, and cool female heroes in our media. Maybe we should treat girls that we come across, in real life or in the online realms that we visit, more like we would those super heroes. Though maybe that’s not a good idea…. See, while all of those female characters are strong, powerful, confident, cool etc. etc. they all choose not to wear clothes. Well, I spose they don’t choose anything, they are cartoons after all. Cartoons made by men. Men who like looking at women who are attractive. Maybe that’s the thing. It’s that all of these geeks and nerds, and creators of nerd culture see women from a voyeuristic stand point, and that they create their characters the way that they want the women to act. Lately we see super hero movies that are trying to be more and more realistic. Like with the Dark Knight series. It tries to create a plausible Batman. With technology that most likely exists and can be achieved through modern conventions. Well, maybe we should try and create another realistic aspect, by making the female characters in super hero movies, comic books, video games, and all that other stuff, a bit more human. There’s more to a person that you realize than when you first meet them. Say you meet someone who shares the same interest as you. That’s what you connect with. Say this person is the same age as you. This person has been around the earth just as long as you have. They’ve done things that you haven’t, thought different thoughts, created their own philosophies and principles from their experiences and they see the world differently. This is a human being. Treat others the way you want to be treated. And I think that we all want love, we all want respect, we all just want someone who is kind to us and will accept us. Well, that goes for both men and women, male and female, nerd and jock. It doesn’t matter. We’re all human, with our stories, and our past. You don’t know the events that have lead to this person being where they are. So, that’s what I have to say about it. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t treat someone a certain way just because you see something about them. Get to know them. “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, “Treat others as you would want to be treated”, “Be polite”, these are all things that we heard growing up. And yet, our ignorance and preconceptions about people arise from what we only see. Well sometimes, our eyes can deceive us. Get to know someone. Really truly know someone. So, even if they like Star Trek and you like Star Wars, don’t hate them. Find out why they think Star Trek is so fascinating. Hey, you might even find that you like Star Trek a little bit yourself. The fact is, that these are people that you are so hatefully insulting, without even knowing about them. There’s more to them than meets the eye. So, basically what I’m saying is, people are like The Transformers. And because this person, this individual, this one of a kind being has breasts, you decide to make comments and exclude them because of such things. You shout hateful remarks at this individual, or you objectify them. That isn’t right. That isn’t right at all. It isn’t fun, it isn’t funny, there’s nothing admirable about it, no good can come from it. So why do you do it? What if someone did it to you? What if someone hated you for no reason. Sure, it wouldn’t be terrible if it was just one person. But what if that is what you heard every single time you played Halo, or Call of Duty, or World of Warcraft, or League of Legends, or any other online game. This is the kind of thing that must be put to an end. It’s senseless, pointless, hurtful and it gives gamers, nerds, geeks and everyone who is associated with that which you love a bad name.

Borderlands quick review (and Borderlands 2 speculation)

Borderlands is a first person shooter that is heavily inspired by the game Diablo by Blizzard. That makes Borderlands a dungeon crawler, with guns… lots of guns. The game allows you to pick from four different classes. The soldier, the hunter, the siren, and the brick. Each of the classes has their own unique skill trees which change up how you go about playing the game. While each of the different classes can use every kind of gun available, the classes have their own specializations. The soldier can focus more on assault rifles, and the hunter focuses more on sniper rifles. The gameplay of borderlands is all about exploration and completing fetch quests, the kind of missions where you are sent out to pick a small trinket in a highly dangerous area. But, this is the way of the wastes. The game takes place on the planet Pandora, no not the one from Avatar. The planet is rumored to have an impressive treasure, that could make anyone who finds it rich beyond their wildest dreams. Many have tried, and failed to locate the so called treasure, and have been driven insane by the constant hunt for it. Thus making mostly everyone you come across on this desolate planet a tad on the irritable side. There are some folk who are friendly enough to see reason over gunplay, but they’re all quest givers. The environment of Pandora is a bleak, desolate wasteland, with no distinguishable qualities from one area to the next. It’s not a pleasant place, and it really isn’t supposed to be one. However, this makes the whole experience of Borderlands a bland trudge through a boring brown dust pit with nothing really interesting to offer. The main draw of Borderlands is its host of guns. There is a ridiculous amount of unique guns, all with their own look, style, stats, and abilities. There are shotguns that spit acid, or submachine guns that cause the enemy to ignite in flames, or a sniper rifle that shoots explosive rounds that blow the enemies to bits. It’s all about the guns. And that is it for Borderlands. Guns, guns, and more guns. Complete a quest, get paid, get more guns. Borderlands. The game does offer online and two player split screen co-op, which would make the game more entertaining, provided you could find a friend that has the game and a character that is about the same level as you are. I’ve tried starting up a game of Borderlands several times with my brother, and we both quickly lost interest. It was the boring and drab environments and the excessively slow start to the game that just could not hold our attention. As the game progresses, there are some interesting moments, but they are few and far in between the tedium of the rest of the game. I would say that playing through again with a different character class, or trying to focus on one of the other skill tress of the class that you played before would change things up enough to warrant another play through, but it just isn’t. Maybe it’s just because I played through the entire game solo, and wasn’t entirely motivated by the story, or characters, or gameplay. Oddly enough, I am looking forward to the sequel, imaginatively called Borderlands 2. Having done a little bit of research here and there on the upcoming game, I’m rather excited for the game. What 2 does different from 1, as far as I can tell, is make the game have more character. The side characters have more personality and are more involved with their own stories and quests that they hand out to the player. Rather than just getting the flash of a boss with some witty punch line about the character, there seems to be more motivation for the player to destroy him rather than just being told to do so. Also, Pandora now has some foliage to liven up the place. Screenshots of the new and improved Pandora have really caught my eye. The environments are lush and colorful, and are places that I want to visit and explore. Also, the guns have gotten an injection of character as well. In the original Borderlands, there where the different gun manufacturers, but in all honesty, one could not distinguish. It was all about the stats and abilities. I just remember having my blue sniper rifle that had a revolver cylinder for a magazine that was super powerful and could one shot almost anything. There were a few unique guns that were rather special, but all of them came from boss fights, and were pretty much useless outside of said boss fights. Borderlands 2 claims that the player will be able to tell the difference between a gun made by this manufacturer rather than a gun from that gun manufacturer. And while the characters that players can take control of don’t seem to be quite as colorful as the last ones, at least there is more customization to them. All in all, Borderlands is not great. It does something different with the whole dungeon crawler formula, but at the end of the day, you’re still just clicking over and over on an enemy until it dies. While Borderlands 2 will undoubtedly have the same format, at least it’s looking like I’ll have some sort of motivation for doing so. D

Mass Effect is Racist.,

The first mass effect game wasn’t necessarily triumph in my mind, but it’s still one of my favorite games of all time. What I like about it so much is the way that it introduces the player to this new galaxy. This new universe, that is in peril. And guess what. In come the humans, american humans, who all speak English. But so do the aliens, so no biggie I suppose. Either way, this is turning into a racism argument against mass effect for some reason, and it shouldn’t because the whole aspect of race is thrown right out the window with the fact that there are extraterrestrial beings everywhere. I mean, there are some culture things that come up in mass effect, but they’ve all got to do with the humans, I suppose it would be a bit much to ask for the developers of mass effect to think of different continents and different cultures and subcultures within the aliens. Because, wow! That would be a lot of work. But I still love the mass effect series. I do love the different alien races, no matter how single raced they seem to be. Also, there’s only one race of aliens that you see in the game that have females, which turns out to be a race of aliens that are entirely female. So that’s weird, but I can’t really imagine a female turian. I just couldn’t imagine what the fairer sex would look like, and apparently neither could the developers. But again, that’s ok. Whatever, I love it all the same.

I think the main thing that gets me with mass effect is the whole galaxy. That’s not to say that everything in the game is the best thing ever. I’m talking about the different planets. I’m talking about the different places that you visit. I’m talking about the environments. And oh the places you’ll go. What a wonderful thing. To travel the galaxy. I just wish that there was more to do on all of the planets than just the limited space that you get on each one. If they expand the universe, which I’m sure they will because it would be a safe bet (LAME!), they should have it be on a certain planet. And have it remain there. The citadel itself has five different legs(?) to it which are all about the size of manhattan island, and how many video games have we played that just take place in new york city? Where as that place only has 3 different locations to visit, only one of them being a bustling metropolis, the citadel has five. BAM! Take that reality! Anyhow, the citadel is where they would most likely go. I would. Well… actually I wouldn’t. I would go to either omega, or illium. Both of those places where my favorite in Mass Effect 2, which is my favorite game in the series, because of it’s environments. I loved the environments! So much. Exploration was a big part of the game for me. And it should be in a game all about space exploration and saving said space. It makes sense. Commander shepard was basically a tourist with a gun. I love it! Either way, bioware drew me in so much with it’s awesome places that I could visit. They were all so engaging. From what I’ve read in the mass effect books, omega was supposed to be a cluster fuck of a living situation. But, bioware designed it a bit differently than I imagined, which is fine by me because I get Closter phobic. Back in 1 and 2 they still had the writer drew karpishyn. or, however you spell his name. Why I mention that is because it was his vision to make Omega like that. So, we're all good. However, my favorite place of all to visit in the mass effect universe is illium.

Illium was badass in my mind. I don’t know why, but illium, as a planet, seemed like it should have had more natural elements to it. But it didn’t. it didn’t at all! Which is badass! Like humanity, the alien races have completely overridden the natural environments with towering skyscapers and metropolises. I don’t know why I would think that I would see a patch of dirt on this planet. The description of illium is all about how it’s a fringe planet. How it’s on the edge of citadel space, and how it’s a major trading port for outlaws. FANTASTIC! This place is a dream! It’s a civilized place that has many refined qualities to it, yet is full of danger! This is a perfect place for commander shepard and me. I just wanted to spend as much time as I possibly could there. While the space was limited to just the two major areas and a bar, which sounds like a crap sitcom, I just had to spend my time there. It was a wonder to behold all the different transactions that were taking place in the market district, some legal purchases, some not so much. Over hearing the customer and the sales person discuss prices and tastes, gave you a feel for the galaxy, and the people that were around you. Like the volus that wanted to redecorate his living space so that it would make him look more powerful, or the salarian and the asari out on a date, trying to purchase something for the asaris mother. Or the two asari talking discussing a deal of a product with questionable legalities. It’s fantastic! And then, when you head up to the bar, there’s a bachelor party. The groom to be is not having any of it, and just wants to go back home, while his human and turian buddies want to stay and watch the asari pay for her student loans, if you know what I mean… then there’s the side quest that you find in the bar with the slave trader and the quarian. This reinforces the fact that you’re not exactly in the friendliest of places. And the fact that your once best friend, Liara, is now a cold-blooded ghost face killah! When you first walk in on her, she’s threatening a client of hers the same way that her evil indoctrinated mother threatened you in the first game! That shi cray! So, this once lovable and sort of naïve doe-eyed asari, has now become this mean and powerful information broker who doesn’t like to have any payments missed. This is the other thing that I love so much about number two, and why it’s my favorite. The first game introduced the player to the galaxy and all of the characters on your ship happened to be an encyclopedia of knowledge regarding their particular race. I remember a majority of conversation with my alien crewmembers revolving around their race, and their traditions and their peoples. Nothing about the character, it seemed, was really conveyed. Well that‘s not true, garrus and wrex were, and still are total badasses. But, that’s what I remember. ME2 took those characters and made them just that: characters. I guess they realized that you’ve spent a lot of time talking to your alien crew and learning all you could about these sadly nonexistent races, now to get on with the characters as individuals and not databanks. So, garrus became more of a badass, wrex became a responsible leader, tali because an expert explorer and soldier. Liara turned into a murderous information broker, who is a total badass in the Shadow Broker DLC. Yet, kaiden, or Ashley, whoever you let live. Change as well, seeing that you’re working with cerberus. But the fact is that all of these characters have changed and they’ve really come into their own. They develop different aspects to them. And I love it so much! There’s a lot of love going on in this rant, but hey isn’t that all you need? Either way, Mass Effect 2 was way better than one, and even better than three because it had impressive engaging environments that had character and where so enveloping, that you just wanted to know everything about them. And Mass Effect 2 had characters that were likable, or dislikable, and they had character, they had depth, they had problems, all of which you had to solve, they had regrets they had sorrows they had ambitions. They had all of these things, and it made you care for them. So rather than getting together with one of the aliens, because you wanted to go on some sort of sexual quest to sleep with every race in the known galaxy, you hooked up with these characters because you actually liked them and because you cared for them. You found yourself spending more time with one character than another because you enjoyed the conversations that you would have with them. That was the kind of world that I wanted to be in. that was the kind of universe that I wanted to be in. and bioware made me believe that there were aliens out there and that they were this cool. In fact, bioware made me believe that if there were aliens out there, they would be these races, and my hours and hours of playing these mass effect games would prepare me for interaction with them because I would know everything about them before they even spoke to me. And it would be awesome! I’m Commander Pell, and I love Mass Effect 2.

Funny thought: Commander Shepard spends the entirety of the game trying to build up the trust and loyalty of his crew, but will quickly sell out his loyalty for a 10% discount at a kiosk in the citadel, what up with that?