tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63936834767891968122023-11-16T06:37:46.009-08:00Delving into the world of gamesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-1958077182010748112013-09-14T13:14:00.001-07:002013-09-14T13:14:53.543-07:00Guild Wars 2: The next step in MMOs?<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
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Moving is serious business, especially
when you're playing tetris with your furniture. While not everything
is unpacked yet, I didn't expect it to take quite this long to get
back to blogging, but life is life. That said, I want to continue the
discourse from my last post regarding how cooperation is executed in
games. With the advent of Guild Wars 2's first anniversary August
30<sup>th</sup>, I thought it would be a great parallel post to focus
on.
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<i>Gotta love XKCD</i></div>
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I've only been able to be at launch for
one other MMO in my life so far and that was <i>Shin Megami Tensei
Imagine</i>. While I loved the idea of the game and the ability to
persuade demons & youkai to my team and go around Pokemon style
in a cyberpunk setting, the MMO never quite picked up like <i>World
of Warcraft</i> or <i>Guild Wars</i> has. The lag, lack of players
(and friends playing with me) after the first couple of months, and
the inability of my laptop to play the game made me give up. I needed
friends to really do dungeons, and when you can't even get a party
together after a couple of hours because you can't find anyone within
your level range and willing, it's rather a detriment. I'd like to go
back eventually because I love the whole SMT series, but ultimately I
think the MMO failed because of it was an earlier free to play MMO.
To get ahead in the game, I would have had to spend money- money I
couldn't afford, which was why I was happy to play this MMO.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1T3BrR3SNtWBGwqLLUcrSuP6kXrTIsoI5vjKn5ZlxiKhzcpp6bQJXzC_p385Gfaf9oXlAK5eq8OfkGr9vI8LQ-0IgnZfckJ2i8v15VFfUcOvc0FRTdj6-0RYZYG1ebfxcLNAEeFjk-pU/s1600/Megaten_913_413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1T3BrR3SNtWBGwqLLUcrSuP6kXrTIsoI5vjKn5ZlxiKhzcpp6bQJXzC_p385Gfaf9oXlAK5eq8OfkGr9vI8LQ-0IgnZfckJ2i8v15VFfUcOvc0FRTdj6-0RYZYG1ebfxcLNAEeFjk-pU/s400/Megaten_913_413.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>A great game artistically at the very least, I hope it's something I can go back to someday without having to pay to win/play.</i></div>
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With Guild Wars 2, While I never played
the original, I paid my initial $60.00 to buy a physical copy (I'm a
bit old fashioned in that aspect I guess, I like being able to hold a
game if I can) But having a company at least having an initial bit of
money to fund the production of the game plus any money spent into
its in game currency called gems in this instance, Guild Wars two
takes a middling approach from the traditional monthly subscription
fee business model. I for one enjoy this. I don't have to feel guilty
that I'm wasting my time not playing because of how much I might pay
a month or that I would need to cancel and renew as needed. With this
more laid back attitude, I'm more relaxed in playing and thus I think
more people are willing to play as the MMO is not bare bones, yet not
as grindy for a constant need to keep player count active. I will say
though that player count did drop significantly for a few months
before they started releasing their monthly and bimonthly <i>Living
Story </i>expansions. By these mini
expansions coupled with a few game mechanic aspects unique to Guild
Wars 2 gamer attendance is relatively stable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoeGdxIbe4BqSRxSte1rfTwwRGrhVMI1LT2RVFAYvLBCjujRulUE0SirkYl8tXvISnFrB2D7Hv-NEmgAFEm3ioe4UGLcK5WPbWbyE-5juA8UrZ78mK70xUPs1WWe6U6fi9G_7pjyqNxg/s1600/GW2-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoeGdxIbe4BqSRxSte1rfTwwRGrhVMI1LT2RVFAYvLBCjujRulUE0SirkYl8tXvISnFrB2D7Hv-NEmgAFEm3ioe4UGLcK5WPbWbyE-5juA8UrZ78mK70xUPs1WWe6U6fi9G_7pjyqNxg/s400/GW2-logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Rawr! I'm a dragon!</i></div>
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The
biggest mechanic that I want to mention here is the dynamic event
mechanic. A player can find come across a random event that will
trigger upon arrival into the area. It can be pretty much anything
from collecting to escorting, to killing something really big. You
don't have to be there from the start however and any amount of
participation (whether alone, or in a zerg group) will net you some
amount of reward. With this along with regular heart quests (which
take place of regular quests), regional bosses, and three behemoth
sized dragons make playing together in a group or as a map easier and
much more fun. Luckily, most of these dynamic events and heart quests
can be soloed, but for any world events or map event such a the claw
of Jormag, Tequatl the sunless, or the Shatterer, dragon champions
representing elemental dragons that have been plaguing the land of
Tyria with their corrupted minions in tangent with Zhaitan, the games
ultimate boss must be played cooperatively. Because of this, Guild
Wars 2 rewards accordingly. Along with daily, monthly, and a slew of
other achievements, the rewards for most of these feats are rather
nice. In addition, a character is never vying for a fair share of the
loot; every person is allotted a balanced share of the awards so
there isn't the tension of rolling for loot within a party or guild.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdP3FHavDOIS46RJj8_EXXutm6XoyANuGRpMUw3K_dgi-NC1dSzeLw4QKZL2xzrdYsMY6TFjlLtdVK8M0KHNp6WDSPANYGhW_6SNl7nVkjJ2sGdSox0dzXtoC4zMs5OLg3ELsKbdT76v0/s1600/Tequatl_01_-_Breath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdP3FHavDOIS46RJj8_EXXutm6XoyANuGRpMUw3K_dgi-NC1dSzeLw4QKZL2xzrdYsMY6TFjlLtdVK8M0KHNp6WDSPANYGhW_6SNl7nVkjJ2sGdSox0dzXtoC4zMs5OLg3ELsKbdT76v0/s400/Tequatl_01_-_Breath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Tequatl the Sunless, who is actually going to get beefed up in the next expansion since players have figured out pretty much everything about this guy.</i></div>
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Finally
dungeons round out the PvE experience. These are the one other aspect
of the game that cannot be soloed. One has a party of up to five
people (though it's possible with one or two less) to tackle a
dungeon particular to that area. There is incentive too to play more
than just the initial time in “story mode” as there are three
different branches opened up to the player after story mode in
“explorable mode”. Explorable mode has a different boss to fight
at the end of each branching route of varying difficulty and add
extra fun and variety to an existing dungeon.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJM9GqI843VrCtEyrem1jirFPGj1w0KNHGAVwimMopt7QaMQlSV7074CWHJRr3CmoXGri3QnizuXJduKgMESCfFGWGCeR2nBCE3PYRYLQskLkcYYnwZrftf_W3NJsBS3fR05z8Q7Xh6o/s1600/Honor_of_the_Waves_story_loading_screen-600x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJM9GqI843VrCtEyrem1jirFPGj1w0KNHGAVwimMopt7QaMQlSV7074CWHJRr3CmoXGri3QnizuXJduKgMESCfFGWGCeR2nBCE3PYRYLQskLkcYYnwZrftf_W3NJsBS3fR05z8Q7Xh6o/s400/Honor_of_the_Waves_story_loading_screen-600x300.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Honor of the waves, one of the prettiest dungeons, you're fighting on a giant ice ship trying to save the Kodans, giant polar bear people who have had to flee from Zhaitan, the colossal death dragon that's the boss of the MMO so far.</i></div>
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By
having parties team up and creating a bonding experience over
something completely new or the slightly familiar, I think Arena Net,
the creator of <i>Guild Wars 2 </i>has
the right idea in the particular mix they have going for them. There
are other aspects which I haven’t mentioned such as World v World,
a gargantuan map that pairs server vs server or SpvP which is more
scaled down to individual teams of players fighting against each
other with the mob Ais aren't enough of a challenge anymore, but that
will be for another time. The cooperative focus on parties and
spontaneous groupings of players to defeat a threat create a more
engaging and familial environment, building upon the MMOs that came
before it. Coupled with the biweekly expansions constantly churning
out new content, Guild Wars 2 certainly can be considered a
evolutionary step up in the MMO theatre.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLYpT79MDTWetDPZGMeA2eqkPp0lQqRuG4GM3kIlNhQwNCAhHzFrVZUwoKgfzTis7Ak5uyy6pCU5QUtP2HVj8P9jFB02HsEiQkdRKego_MDxfZzoD4_G47t-5HFJB-zM9q-VyJbxbpH0/s1600/0A7mO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbLYpT79MDTWetDPZGMeA2eqkPp0lQqRuG4GM3kIlNhQwNCAhHzFrVZUwoKgfzTis7Ak5uyy6pCU5QUtP2HVj8P9jFB02HsEiQkdRKego_MDxfZzoD4_G47t-5HFJB-zM9q-VyJbxbpH0/s400/0A7mO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>The events even overlap with other heart quests or even other dynamic events</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-49947196630798214542013-08-23T22:06:00.001-07:002013-08-23T22:06:24.094-07:00Cooperation is the Name of the Game<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
No post last week due to some birthday
celebrations. Next week will have no post as well unfortunately due
to it being near moving day. This week's post however will be a two
partner post. This week's post will focus on Cooperation mechanics in
games and how they evolved to reflect gamers for nearly 30 years. The
post after will then focus on Guildwars 2 for PC, focusing on the
cooperation mechanics in it and how they compare to current MMO's in
the market.</div>
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With that in mind, it's a great idea to
first get acquainted with the onset of playing cooperatively rather
than competitively. In Pong, one could play against both the computer
or another player. Competition was encouraged and while the game was
simplistic, it started a trend as the first successful video game to
play against a friend rather than with them. Usually when we think of
games, we think of a player by themselves or playing against another
player. Back when games were taking off in the 70's the limitations
on technology blocked the progress of co-op. Therefore some of the
earliest co-op games were beat 'em up/brawler games like <i>Double
Dragon</i> or <i>Streets of Rage </i>which
came out in the 1980's and culminating popularity with <i>Street
Fighter II</i>. Later on when more
advanced games came to home consoles, they reached a new level of
popularity. Some series like the <i>Tales</i>
games were unusual in that they were co-op RPGs. They had the ability
to play with up to 4 players which otherwise would have been
controlled with AI. Games like Sonic, Donkey Kong Country and co-op sports games continued
the trend which continued until the introduction of 3D games like the
N64.
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Once
the N64 came out with 4 ports for controllers, other consoles
followed suit including Dreamcast, Xbox and Gamecube. With the new
threshold came more delay in co-op as the 64 was limited in capacity
at first. Two games even required extra ram which was sold separately
a few years later but only had competitive multiplayer in Donkey Kong
64.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kOqy_fLhqYdhHKTnpIwxmVUH9zJ1QdsuZtabX16O5a1ujjbdd6Ru_oEFejmbvYX2cLFToTTikIQ3Q3w9seB0AHdDxC828LLV5jL8J-KMSbxbeHTxcs6GGpmbdU7n2MbE2TB7Eayuegg/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kOqy_fLhqYdhHKTnpIwxmVUH9zJ1QdsuZtabX16O5a1ujjbdd6Ru_oEFejmbvYX2cLFToTTikIQ3Q3w9seB0AHdDxC828LLV5jL8J-KMSbxbeHTxcs6GGpmbdU7n2MbE2TB7Eayuegg/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>It's as fun as a mine cart full of monkeys (and apes of course)</i></div>
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On the
PC side however, technology was introduced much faster by nature of
the PC itself. This rapid improvement led the PC to become a mainstay
for co-op gaming. <i>Doom</i>,
release in 1993 led the way for FPS's. While it's competitive
deathmatches were most popular, it did support co-op. <i>Diablo
</i>the help of Battlenet let
characters complete campaign modes together. It wasn't much of a jump
then until the early MMOs then started to emerge. MMO gaming changed
the whole outset of how many gamers play games today. The ability to
actively fix a live game for bugs rather than live with a defect or
to interact with players experiences and wishes gave rise to the
notion of a connected gaming community. In games like <i>Baldur's
Gate</i> and <i>Neverwinter
Nights</i>. The most well known MMO
of course is <i>World of Warcraft</i>.
By partying up to work on completing quests and later on in Dungeons,
world bosses and raids, players could collaborate on a much wider
scale and could then accomplish feats that simply weren't possible
with console games. Antics such as the famous <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU" target="_blank">Leeroy Jenkins</a> meme show the consequences of individual's actions on the group are that much more magnified as such acts can have widespread repercussions. Everything is live compared to redoing or restarting a game. Taking the time to plan dungeons runs or strategies to take down a boss are dependent on everyone withing a group.</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i>Yay! They did it!</i></div>
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Games such as MMOs could also retain a constant
presence in cyberspace as it could be played around the world. Some
more recent MMOs that are great examples of games that have complex
co-op games such as <i>EVE Online </i>(a
truly neutral environment), <i>Left for Dead 2</i>
(one of the most popular Steam co-op games) and <i>Guildwars
2, </i> by Arenanet. <i>Guildwars
2</i> uses WOW's techniques and
builds upon them, stressing cooperation between other players on the
server by not dividing a set amount of loot when dropped by an enemy.
Each player receives their own nominally equal share of the loot. In
addition, one gains experience by reviving a fallen player. More
will be discussed on this and how such reciprocity affect the
culture of <i>Guildwars 2</i>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7owvWPansxILnxXseCMNJiaRCOLBy6gwMGGqpch6a34mfOg1emG1e6fAsnwqyeDsea7QAIuPF7NAqs6CMhKp11WOr1aE_oqRQRtK3ZMFm_kULxM5rvutQO4CRZAQgArowwYvt5ziFewA/s1600/6f669880-499a-4d51-93d5-c1960a6a9c23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7owvWPansxILnxXseCMNJiaRCOLBy6gwMGGqpch6a34mfOg1emG1e6fAsnwqyeDsea7QAIuPF7NAqs6CMhKp11WOr1aE_oqRQRtK3ZMFm_kULxM5rvutQO4CRZAQgArowwYvt5ziFewA/s400/6f669880-499a-4d51-93d5-c1960a6a9c23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i>The Claw of Jormag, a rather fun battle that can draw players from all over the world map.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
The
next time you play something, try thinking about the general
atmosphere and culture of the game you're playing. How does it
compare between competitive games and co-op games. While many
competitive games are great ways to release tension and aggression,
co-op can can be help in creating community and bonds between players
as they much work together to solve a problem which I think can be
under appreciated sometimes. Every player has their own preferences
of course, but I must encourage others to think on the amount of
positive impact they can have as compared to competitive games,
especially for younger gamers.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9rX0iWfDoIfcajlL9ocmvs6ZPpBXz2TqOK_PdxZuSljbucVT1GZ03aDc4DMKwKJ4Sl6j982wcsjlUkTkHcw2MPD_6GrLLbi45dIZDnErmRLt0QkFvOz5umJKSdnzSxpukg8yXbRMihs/s1600/gJDSGLr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9rX0iWfDoIfcajlL9ocmvs6ZPpBXz2TqOK_PdxZuSljbucVT1GZ03aDc4DMKwKJ4Sl6j982wcsjlUkTkHcw2MPD_6GrLLbi45dIZDnErmRLt0QkFvOz5umJKSdnzSxpukg8yXbRMihs/s400/gJDSGLr.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>My own toon. If you're on IoJ, maybe you'll see me.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-66711052255862167582013-08-12T13:12:00.002-07:002013-08-12T13:14:25.437-07:00JRPGs Today: The Dissipating Health of Full Blown JRPGs in the Global Theatre<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When
was the last time you played a proper JRPG? No, I'm not talking about
something on your phone, or a ported DS or Vita version of something,
I'm referring to one which you can view on that flat screen of yours
in all its glory. Such occurrences and getting fewer and fewer as
many JRPG's that are localized are either being
ported to handhelds or simply not making their way to the States or
the EU at all, forcing lovers of certain series to obtain
translations or find non region locked handhelds in order to play the
next installment What happened? Is it simply a money issue that we
aren't seeing such games? Was the 90's truly the end of a golden age
for non Japanese RPGers?</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When
I talk about RPGs or <b>R</b>ole <b>P</b>laying <b>G</b>ames to those
that are new to the genre, I'm typically talking about some grand
epic that you have a party of characters setting out for in a turn
based or RTS based setting. Such games usually get the most bang for
your buck if you are speaking simply about content completion, having
many games span over 40 hours and more if you intend to play any side
quests that are frequently there to flush out the game or incorporate
character development. One of the most important aspects of such
JRPGs is the bonds that you create with your party. After developing
your characters for hours living a story with them, you tend to grow
attached to them. When a game can get you caring about a character by
the experiences you've shared with them, I'd like to say that makes a
great game.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
perfect example of some of the issues I'd like to bring up can be
found with the Tales Series. Developed mainly by “Namco Bandai Games</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(formerly Namco</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">),
and primarily developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><span style="color: black;">” (wikipedia), </span>It has had the issues of lack of localization,
porting to less powerful systems, and overall, a general lack of
advertising outside of Japan. While advertising has always been an
issue for any non American game in the states, the ability to procure
legitimate copies of games or games on their original formats is
quite troubling. </span></span></span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_(series)#Tales_of_Destiny" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank">You can find a list of the games in the series here.</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9rDe4EuvRMSPNhIPGpX7JDmMUFb3tLWCiBx-c2MlSwI2sF4VrD61XsXBVnlzqCH_1Eo_tEsEGTAokiF4Ls7NK3v7-mh6fybDeGMxj77na-YmnoIqSivoccgjHhZBr18sQKenXek02uw/s1600/screenshot_psp_tales_of_phantasia_narikiri_dungeon_x012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV9rDe4EuvRMSPNhIPGpX7JDmMUFb3tLWCiBx-c2MlSwI2sF4VrD61XsXBVnlzqCH_1Eo_tEsEGTAokiF4Ls7NK3v7-mh6fybDeGMxj77na-YmnoIqSivoccgjHhZBr18sQKenXek02uw/s400/screenshot_psp_tales_of_phantasia_narikiri_dungeon_x012.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i>Tales of Symphonia was the first 3d Tales game and the first released on GC in the States. Tales of Phantasia here is the first game of the series and used a side scrolling battle system for their battle mechanics.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">With
the Tales series, if you had wanted to play </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">Tales
of Phantasia,</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
the first game in the series in America, you had to wait til 2006
from 1995 to play it. A difference of 11 years is rather much. And
while each game (with a few exceptions) is an independent installment
of the next games, the fact that such things are so out of touch with
outside markets where there are plenty of fans and potential
customers seems to only harm the outlook of future games. In
addition, Tales of Phantasia originally started out on the SNES.
While in this instance being ported to GBA was an inprovement in
systems, the difference of 11 years needs to be taken into account as
Nintendo wasn't selling regular Game boys at that point. For Their
newest released games which I am currently playing, Tales of Xillia
released August 6</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">th</span></span></span></sup></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
of this month here in the states. In Japan, Tales of Xillia 2 is
already out. The original Tales of Xillia being released there in
2011. While a difference of 2 years is much more understandable,
especially in regards to laws and the task of translating, my
interest is piqued as to why at this point in time if trends of
popularity for games such as this have been proven, why not
incorporate alternate subtitles upon release of the original game?
Money and capital are usually the answer to this, but I would think
that with a greater length of time to sell units would be a plus
compared to waiting years to possibly release something on a global
scale. Namco isn't a small company. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPv_7dus8VUM76o43zZ6rEJaQ5XipTkxN4u1x41gFm6NVtj16PX65gHoeSPc7edC4yyarTf7RGKhrmHDkSPfrCsvEPlcN_PHHSwFG_Fl12IByfZ1AENHIpqsPmAKKccCqx_dnS2x8crVw/s1600/Cast_of_ToX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPv_7dus8VUM76o43zZ6rEJaQ5XipTkxN4u1x41gFm6NVtj16PX65gHoeSPc7edC4yyarTf7RGKhrmHDkSPfrCsvEPlcN_PHHSwFG_Fl12IByfZ1AENHIpqsPmAKKccCqx_dnS2x8crVw/s400/Cast_of_ToX.jpg" width="380" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i>The first Tales of Xillia</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">While
most people new to RPGs would think of the Final Fantasy series being
the first JRPG that they would think about, Square has had different
issues to contend with. Unfortunately, while they have been great
about porting their games within a understandable time frame and
their rendering abilities have only increased, their content, use of
rehashing older installments, and general lack of understanding the
MMO world have dropped them from being the crown jewel of JRPGs. No I
don't think they are dead, but they are floundering. I believe the
upper echelon has become stagnated, and that they need to work on new
IP. With the renaming of </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">Final
Fantasy XIII</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
Versus to</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">
Final Fantasy XV</span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">
after years in development limbo, I think they've lost their focus on
trying to make a great game instead focusing on increased cup size
and of <a href="http://kotaku.com/for-some-reason-lightning-returns-has-boob-jiggling-947463805." target="_blank">boob jiggling</a> </span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lightning, their Protagonist for the Fabula Nova Crystallis series.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHbg2at7AOhZfjc9FA6kxpZbd5P6z5P3ABXcOoI5GtPhzLeTtfYUSjjmuDy9FI1HRkkbjny-rCJOJk1knEkXS8df-7cEhuLipC-E2sHwss8fScz-gMbKSTzFbVhgt4evD3xT8qmXqLgI/s1600/k-bigpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHbg2at7AOhZfjc9FA6kxpZbd5P6z5P3ABXcOoI5GtPhzLeTtfYUSjjmuDy9FI1HRkkbjny-rCJOJk1knEkXS8df-7cEhuLipC-E2sHwss8fScz-gMbKSTzFbVhgt4evD3xT8qmXqLgI/s400/k-bigpic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><i> B to a C eh? Lemme just use some of my magic here and distract these Malboros from using bad breath. </i></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;"> The apparent trend to cater to fan service while leaving story and
strong female leads to the wayside tells me that Square is falling
prey to following rather than leading in the market. The originality
of story line and mechanics were defining factors back in their hey
day. Do I think they can rise again to their former greatness?
Possibly, but they're going to have to act fast or fail if the next
few games keep disappointing us with sub par gameplay. In addition,
with there being much more female gamers within the demographics now,
ostracizing and focusing on male geared fan service probably isn't
the best tactic to use. While I love alternative outfits and JRPGs
have always had a penchant for the impossible as far as keeping
things in their proper place, it's getting rather ridiculous when the
characters starts to lose their sense of self in lieu of some extra
boob jiggle.</span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">So
while I hope to get as many games as I can legitimately, if I have to
I will find a way to play </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="background: #ffffff;">Tales
of Destiny </span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: #ffffff;">here
in America, I'd just rather pay Namco properly you know? Unless they
really do want to keep such games just for Japanese, but I don't
think that's just the case. In the mean time, I better go brush up on
my Katakana or look for a translated script...</span></span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-11684739480811731182013-08-05T08:28:00.002-07:002013-08-05T20:17:10.904-07:00Logo Progress<div style="text-align: center;">
No formal post this week, I'm working on a new logo for the site here. Posting will resume this weekend. The topic for this week will be The state of JRPGs in the current market. Are they doomed to be moved to handhelds (which are being ousted by smartphones themselves)? How about the free to play, or pay to win models? We shall see...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAKWReGyt_SnDKCtlTLWWNZ5FaFoSEdqVBMCRUeEqr8w8UrK28PzI3-FWQl-NY-fHkVzfNPkZRwJZIk_VfygkGs9xrP47rR4AdGp3J_lgj77axYg6Rmrd6r0qIQLogxF0umUyT_O8eo8/s1600/logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAKWReGyt_SnDKCtlTLWWNZ5FaFoSEdqVBMCRUeEqr8w8UrK28PzI3-FWQl-NY-fHkVzfNPkZRwJZIk_VfygkGs9xrP47rR4AdGp3J_lgj77axYg6Rmrd6r0qIQLogxF0umUyT_O8eo8/s400/logo.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>A rough drawing of what's to come.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT6JPt-Zgwsxt4XestY2bB1sbFpcspwufQHpSrlWPsO-Xeobf7PVRvxnisJs6AsxYEcgcQn-GAykAzDp-S_lkK6NKD_B2vmXZi20lSqSHIT-2M-f5fzkQXLHrqrjqReaPJq46w-Fp5xs/s1600/logo+color.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT6JPt-Zgwsxt4XestY2bB1sbFpcspwufQHpSrlWPsO-Xeobf7PVRvxnisJs6AsxYEcgcQn-GAykAzDp-S_lkK6NKD_B2vmXZi20lSqSHIT-2M-f5fzkQXLHrqrjqReaPJq46w-Fp5xs/s400/logo+color.jpg" width="352" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and... a color version. Now to figure out how to adjust it as a header and all that jazz after adding some swanky font.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-27755721103914012182013-07-29T12:21:00.003-07:002013-07-29T12:21:44.729-07:00The Siren's Song of Gaming: Symphonic Renditions of Video games<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br id="docs-internal-guid-1ae68c12-2bd4-910d-858c-c6f747947e07" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was a weird kid. I grew up without exposure to a lot of popular music of the day, unfortunatly so I was always behind the curve on what my friends were listening to. But because of this, I had always had the fantasy of hearing some of my favorite video games in concert instead of these more well known bands. Never would I have thought years later that I was not alone in such endeavors. Nowadays, you have a plethora of concerts touring around the world. <a href="http://www.ffdistantworlds.com/" target="_blank">Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy</a>, <a href="http://zelda-symphony.com/" target="_blank">The Legend of Zelda's Symphony of the Goddesses </a>, and <a href="http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=home" target="_blank">Video Games Live</a> are just a few of the big name concerts to emerge within the last few years. Many of these concerts are affordable to go see as well, selling seats for around $25.00; less than a brand new game in most instances (Steam sales excluded of course). In addition to these professional concerts, numerous tribute bands, remixes, and inspired renditions by fans assault the internet everyday. These showings of appreciation for music emphasis to the casual onlooker the importance of music and musical quality that many developers are now striving to implement in their games as well.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9XJ7IL3OwuEIheBf78eE3rTmIL0byQEaNBAMpAkwjGlxsofXCU6uacHPs2CLrowBMvVCzsSnqIVNrLX09jUKDG0nLz82_APnF4NT2TX3XqWigmyQm8v_WR7jz9jm8R5iH_OJUpQJTas/s1600/FF+DW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy9XJ7IL3OwuEIheBf78eE3rTmIL0byQEaNBAMpAkwjGlxsofXCU6uacHPs2CLrowBMvVCzsSnqIVNrLX09jUKDG0nLz82_APnF4NT2TX3XqWigmyQm8v_WR7jz9jm8R5iH_OJUpQJTas/s640/FF+DW.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I haven't gotten the chance to see Distant Worlds yet, but it's on my list.</i><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While we are long done with the days of 8-bit music, retro games such as <i>Minecraft </i>make use with the comparable graphics as it fits the nostalgia factor. Many franchises are hitting 20 and 25 years respectively, bringing about an awareness of the progress they’ve made throughout the last two decades in video games. While some companies are getting back to their roots with ports and reboots, others are shooting for more and more realistic graphics using motion capture technology. This new standard equally calls for quality musical composition, of which more and more composers and organizations are collaborating with. Pacific Symphony orchestra in Costa Mesa did the music for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Diablo III</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a Level 5 game for PS3 had the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra as its soundtrack for the game (and no wonder, with Studio Ghibli doing the art for it!). Even if Music isn’t your “thing”, you can't deny the power of presence that it evokes on a game. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rawr! I'm a dragon!</i><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Another interesting phenomena that has been taking place are the introduction of soundtracks in collector editions or on their own on sites like Amazon or itunes. The notion of being able to listen to your music from a legitimate copy rather than a rip from the game helps to bond fans further with the games they love. And while not everyone loves every games they play, you have to admit, it’s rather fun to drive on the highway blasting some fighting music (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Soul Calibur V</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is a favorite of mine right now) on your way home after a day of work. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Not to mention an artbook, but that will be a post for later when I touch on concept art.</i><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While classic composers like Koji Kondo, Shoji Meguro, or Nobuo Uematsu might not be household names yet, there are nonetheless a current stream of up & coming composers that are redefining the industry with the current pace of technology. Composers such as Jesper Kyd of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Assassin’s Creed </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">series, Gustavo Santaolalla from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Last of Us</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, (normally a film composer) are taking center stage with their music. This focus on quality music rivals many tent pole films nowadays, so the next time you unwrap a new game (or finish downloading it) give a thought to who is making the music, you might just hear it in a concert near you.</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-84219917739164642892013-07-21T02:11:00.001-07:002013-07-21T02:11:13.818-07:00The Evolution of the NPC & Morality Mechanics<div style="text-align: center;">
I apologize for not posting last week. Real life kept me busy a bit more than I thought and I recently got into Magic the Gathering, so I was off learning about extort & detain mechanics<br />
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NPC's are without a doubt essential to gaming. They move the storyline along, provide goals & incentives for the player, help them out via actions, items, or upgrades & add to the overall immersion & ambiance of believably for a game. Having a town with no people is rather an eerie thing in real life, yet when working in the early days of 8 & 16 bit gaming, NPCs solely for ambiance were few & far between to where they are nowadays. Regardless of how such rendering has improved, the fact that they are there & interact with the player are crucial factors that lend to the immersion. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2alMcJuSvsSPiyQE2bC0DpnUkaNQWtNNr6sqhTL1NgNyVymrK-LsoWu-FKHAT2bb9v12OiY-R7j404L7f7-rwclRe-k-F7sdVMzhGOMXnsg6HJsbFWg13dlvIK2cFF69eC-9YxCu23g/s1600/600px-Pokemon_RBY_CeladonCity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2alMcJuSvsSPiyQE2bC0DpnUkaNQWtNNr6sqhTL1NgNyVymrK-LsoWu-FKHAT2bb9v12OiY-R7j404L7f7-rwclRe-k-F7sdVMzhGOMXnsg6HJsbFWg13dlvIK2cFF69eC-9YxCu23g/s400/600px-Pokemon_RBY_CeladonCity.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Celadon City, the early days</i></div>
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In addition to NPC's being more present in current games, that means we have more and more ways to interact with these NPCs. New mechanics such as the paragon/renegade stat in the Mass Effects series (or morality as a stat which effects choices you can make in general), the morality mechanic in many of Bethesda's games & the Fable series, of which then alter your character psychically to reflect their inner self.</div>
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In regards to a good/evil dichotomy which many games started out with when dealing with morality mechanics, many were either be too simplistic in its transparency of choices. By blatantly having you make choices that were extremes of good or bad, it could deter from the game in not giving the player interesting or ethical questions to think about. Such black & white sides often block out deviations of plot scenarios or force the player to make uncharacteristic choices according to the story. In addition, many games that utilize this mechanic do not have the player take responsibility for their actions. If you were to go and kill a village of people in a game, most likely the next town wouldn't react to murder on that scale and treat you as any other traveler. With a more grey scale system, such acts could either be accumulated in points or scale of the act. </div>
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As with the <i>Mass Effect</i> series, Shepard's morality is based on the <a href="http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Morality" target="_blank">paragon/renegade system</a>. While the player is able to complete the storyline with a focus on either paragon or renegade, dialogue is changed or may not be present, and character reactions are different as well. Her physical appearance changes as well, if not to the degree of the <i>Fable </i>series. While the responsibility factor is not as highlighted as other games, this control and customization over the Shepard's personality & reputation help to form a better bond between Character & player through her interaction & decisions with NPCs.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzPXH3iytYJfnb8DYkUAApD1lTM9Wh30jnIjup4eh9q4LkANj9qOewd2nJnbixJKSyQkO0h7jmmUk8pHx3H3UfbDxYwGd7yZiQ63ycwISOYxiGK22MoV5cpKibUEFvxxn0KltRhRcXQk/s1600/MassEffect2+2011-01-02+15-13-53-37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzPXH3iytYJfnb8DYkUAApD1lTM9Wh30jnIjup4eh9q4LkANj9qOewd2nJnbixJKSyQkO0h7jmmUk8pHx3H3UfbDxYwGd7yZiQ63ycwISOYxiGK22MoV5cpKibUEFvxxn0KltRhRcXQk/s640/MassEffect2+2011-01-02+15-13-53-37.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Just because she's evil doesn't mean she can't do nice things now and again.</i></div>
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In regards to the utility of NPCs in current games, the Fable series is a great game that integrates morality & how NPCs can interact with the player as well, which change depending on the morality (and corresponding psychical appearance) of the player. It's a bit of a simulation, so you can eventually get married, have kids, and even rule a kingdom, which only highlights the choices you have to make. </div>
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<i>Yes minion, your service is appreciated.</i></div>
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Having more interaction also means having more dialogue. We've come a long way from the one liners that never change, even if the protagonist is on the run from the royal guard or some princess gets kidnapped . By engaging and reacting to the players' actions with more realistic and empathetic responses, the NPCs within a game are another major factor in creating an established connection and giving a sense of a game being alive. Having a city with a bustling market & only 5 people in it doesn't lend to its credibility in this day and age. Before, having to create multiple characters for background purposes and aesthetics was cut down heavily in lieu of other mechanics that mattered more or because a developer might have had a deadline to meet. With the advancement of rendering technology, different textures on NPC's, more diverse character skins, gender markers (such as bows or beards) and bigger budgets from larger developers, such parts of games that were previously glazed over are seeing proper treatment as developers realize that these additions can lend to a more polished game.</div>
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<i>Looks much more like a market now doesn't it?</i></div>
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In addition to these deeper bonds, some will lead to romantic relationships. Some games, such as Persona 3 & Persona 4, even track more advanced interactions usually seen in dating sims. By maxing out a relationship with a character, the protagonist can become closer to an NPC, which grants better stat bonuses and a greater affinity for the arcana she represents. This affects the ease of capturing certain personas and also unlocks the ultimate persona of that arcana. These added benefits are the driving force in how someone picks how they interact with another character, but the amount of choice required to build that relationship makes the gameplay much more morally ambiguous. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZF4IvBmh2_D_zglqknjLbnpkkexzjShOhyphenhyphena6A9hR4Zs630LfWX1WzQ0aeR3htZA4eEByzEdArxIeU9Ou2b_P38VoQNM-M5CYi81II-yGi8Y2SO5hkz7lsEfOl5MDYtQsz-a07laIiII/s1600/Stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZF4IvBmh2_D_zglqknjLbnpkkexzjShOhyphenhyphena6A9hR4Zs630LfWX1WzQ0aeR3htZA4eEByzEdArxIeU9Ou2b_P38VoQNM-M5CYi81II-yGi8Y2SO5hkz7lsEfOl5MDYtQsz-a07laIiII/s640/Stats.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>I went for Yukiko myself, she was such an Oujousan</i></div>
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Having that "market feel" as a character is introduced to a city, the sorrow of seeing a child you helped in an earlier side quest get killed, the excitement to joining a guild and learning all about them & their secrets are all much more believable now that these choices must be made. And while imagination will always trump an a a game with a certain visual setting, much like a movie of a book can change how you see the book from then on, the refinement of NPCs via their relationships with a character as well as their reaction to a player's choices all lend to the sustaining of believably and enjoyment of a game.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-60895829152492361372013-07-07T20:02:00.001-07:002013-07-07T20:02:59.422-07:00The Mad (and not so Mad) Scientist<div style="text-align: center;">
WORLD DOMINATION! A UTOPIA! FREE ICE CREAM FOR EVERYONE! All could be valid excuses for the myriad mad scientists within videogames. From the outset, these power & control hungry men & women of science have been standard villains. Many of these villains also frame our term of "classic" videogames and are the foundation for popular games today. My question here is why do they make such great villains to begin with & how madness (in relation to villains) affects the story & player.</div>
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One of the great things about Mad scientists is that they truly believe what they are doing (whether it be destroy the world or to turn everyone into robots), so they can have noble intentions that for whatever reason goes askew. Sometimes, the plan is benign as well & it's simply an accident that almost dooms the world that makes the scientist "mad" for simply attempting something. These lovable characters like Lucca are on the low end of the scale. Usually they might be protagonists or friends of the protagonists and they try to right the wrongs they've created. Sometimes you get such characters as villains as they either change their mind & go along with such mistakes or they attempt to solve the problem but makes matters worse.</div>
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<i>A little crazy, but a loyal friend to the group. She even sets up an orphanage later on! </i></div>
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In other instances though, the scientist has either lost touch with their faith in humanity, their empathy, or are seeking revenge that they believe to be retribution for the grievances done to them. Dr. Neo Cortex would be a great example of this. He's seeking revenge in the form of world domination by creating a chimera like army with animals. After creating & rejecting Crash the protagonist (who is linked greatly with Cortex as he wouldn't have such a persona otherwise), he turns his attention on eliminating Crash, who keeps foiling him. </div>
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This Blood feud only escalates every games, making the mad scientist who can try world domination with another invention ( and thus letting the same antagonist live throughout the games) be a great commodity for sequels. By creating a bond with the same villain, it saves on the developers end for roughly the type of relationship between characters and give a sense of familiarity between games. This works for most games as long as they are not too similar in plot and/or mechanics and can even lead to creating a villain gone friend trope by having them both band together against a common enemy. </div>
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<i>Pew Pew guns are cool don't you know?</i></div>
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For many games that only intend to due a limited number of sequels or one shot games (usually, but not in all cases of course) the disconnect of the mad scientist to the rest of the world & the reasons why a "crazy" person has been put in charge of something that can change or destroy the world are possible is the main focus. Ideologies such as alturism, hubris, or playing god; issues that are fragile to begin with that much more dangerous when they become warped or rationalized to the point that everything is going to hell. The brilliant denizens of Rapture from the<i> Bioshock</i> series are great examples of this, not realizing that even though they think they are above scrubbing the toilets, that such jobs are integral functions to society. Andrew Ryan & Sofia Lamb are on opposite ends of schools of thought, but both beliefs are taken out of control, igniting a civil war that turned the city into a dystopia. </div>
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<i>You look errr lovely...dear, that glowing around the eyes really suits you</i></div>
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At other times, the scientist needs to lose their empathy specifically to gain the ability to save the world. I was talking to someone earlier about how someone pressing a button to bomb a city that has a plague for making zombies is in a tight position if they are trying to be simply a humanist. Do you go the altruistic route & knowingly kill people to potentially save the world, or do you quarantine the place with the potential of not being able to stop the plague/virus in the hope that it won't get out of hand? I had previously thought that both would be just as bad because you were unable to save everyone, so you should try & quarantine them, based on the fact that you don't have facts, you have assumptions (that you can't find another way, or a cure, or that this plague won't spread regardless of killing the city). Having the issue be based on logic however, the altruistic choice of killing the city "for the greater good" seems the best of a worst situation scenario. But that also means that you just commited murder as well (you monster!). Or are you? By doing such a thing, you could be labled as "mad" & "monstrous" couldn't you? You lose your reputation & agency at that point unless you continue to act out to keep your power, which could then verify people of such "insanity on your part". And then you have an "us against them" mentality, or a pesky hero trying to stop you from destroying more cities, or coming your way to put an end to you. You see where this is going?</div>
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Ultimately such a fine line of labeling is largely based on ethics & perceptions then, which is so interesting to see such a humanized (and thus identifiable) story from a different angle. Some games use this to their advantage having you pick sides that both seem to be "right" to them. In the area of the mad scientist trope however, the "other side" is usually explained as it sets the rules and goals that the protagonist must reside within to resolve an issue or meet a goal.</div>
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<i>Cave Johnson here!</i></div>
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In games where mad scientists themselves but the effects they have on a game play a more important role such as the people of Chronopolis in <i>Chrono Trigger </i>& <i>Chrono Cross </i>the <i>Portal </i>series their failures are seen as hamartia of the human race and warnings to future generations. These lasting effects are usually big plot points in a story and play an active role in how a game plays. Because the Scientist trope is all about inventing & imagination, these instances become great little experiments to further explore human nature with things we are believing we can invent (or at least want to invent) & the ramifications of each. And while things may go terribly wrong in the games, the issues being dealt with are all great things to think about as our world is constantly upgrading itself.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-6803810318478399092013-06-28T20:06:00.003-07:002013-06-28T20:06:43.227-07:00Our Infatuation with Zombies & the Apocalypse<div style="text-align: center;">
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If you're still with me here, I'd like to thank you for continuing to read my post. I don't want to turn people off to my posting, but by writing about the world, games, or pretty much anything, certain topics need to be addressed even if they're uncomfortable. On that note, I'd like to bring to your attention the sheer mass of zombie everything that has been popular for the past fifty years or so. Zombie movies, games, tabletops, the "what weapon would you use in the event of a zombie apocalypse" quizzes on your Facebook feeds, etc. I always make a joke about learning how to use my bow "in the event of a zombie apocalypse" because they are quieter than guns and I can make my own ammo. But! why is it exactly that we love retelling such a modern myth, especially in video games and what does that say about our culture and society in general? Why are games such an efficient medium to convey the<i> how</i> of such an event?</div>
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<i>The psychological issues alone are worth discussing. After getting through it, having to live in it, and in Ellie's case not knowing any different are something to think about. How would you behave?</i></div>
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To put it simply, it's a release of tension and "play acting" of our society in the event that something like this does happen. We might have vastly different fears such as terrorism, our growing lack of privacy as the whole Snowden issue is currently playing out, or the issue of the income gap making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Whatever the reasons in real life, giving a dehumanized (and thus, killable thing) to push all our anger and fear at, our society can release tension and then begin to rationalize what all this means for our future. As I will come back to when I post later on about robots & androids, there's this <b>uncanny valley</b> that we all subconsciously categorizes humanlike beings into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley" target="_blank">which you can find here</a>. This includes dolls, puppets, furries (if you have to ask...), androids (I would suggest watching Bladerunner or reading <u>Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep </u> and <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2012/10/isaac_asimov_explains_his_three_laws_of_robotics.html" target="_blank">Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics</a> to get an idea of the separation issues between humans and androids), and dead people aka zombies. It's a good indicator in video games in general if a game is "good" graphics wise in some cases if this valley can be suspended somewhat or why something that might be a little too realistic might be a bad thing.</div>
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<i>While this identification can be a good thing sometimes like the case of a transformer or Astro Boy, it generally leaves a sense of unease, especially in the case of constant interaction and the issues that arise. Think about what Data from Star Trek The Next Generation had to deal with and how he changed through the seasons to become more human to bridge this gap in the valley.</i></div>
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In the case of zombies, and specifically video games zombies, their humanness has been doubly distanced to the point that they become walking shooting targets of which many of us had a great time rekilling in classic arcade games like the <i>House of the Dead series</i>, and <i>Resident Evil/Biohazard</i> series, and a multitude of others. In many cases, they are the basic unit of a game, being noob fodder for players in tutorial levels and whatnot. I'm currently playing the last of us and the rendering and mechanics for the Clickers in the game is a nice deviation from the traditional zombie.</div>
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How the zombie is infected or killed and reraised is sometimes of consequence, but for all intensive purposes mechanics wise, you're meant to exterminate them or put them to rest. By coming back to a problem we'd thought we'd dealt with already, the comparison of having to "fix" one's past mistakes or "ghosts" lends me to ask the question of how comfortable people are with responsibility on a micro and macro level. Most of us know that dealing with an issue at the advent of an issue rather than running away is usually best, but sometimes we aren't prepared to take on these monsters and have to regroup. But, knowing that such things are lurking out there, we can never feel quite safe until we can clear a room and search every nook and cranny, especially if we're trying to flee from beings like Slenderman (or problems that we know we can't get away from and have no ability to halt or stop from coming to get you.)</div>
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<i>Oh hell no...</i></div>
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When you think about it then, each tweak on the classic undead monster trying to nom your brains out could be a particular issue that we as a society might be going through at that time. This of course includes not just zombies but aliens as well, which though similar has some different undertones. Facing a zombies specifically means that at one point this thing was a rational human being that for the most part had the same issues as we the players do. They probably don't want to eat you if they knew what they were doing and retained their humanity, which is why the runners in <i>The Last of Us</i> and some "smarter" zombies are that much more pitiable to kill, because they are trying to resist but unable to, and that we would be in the same position if not for some random reason or skill that has prevented us being being killed/eaten yet.</div>
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This lack of agency and control is a fear all of us have when dealing with these situations. Putting it all in the context of an apocalypse only amplifies such fears further. That there might be millions of these things across the globe if not billions? That's a frightening thought indeed. The next time you're playing a survival horror game (think resiliency in spite of _____ ) ponder exactly why and how you're suppose to deal with your situation. Can there be a cure? Is it something that must be exterminated in order for humanity to start anew? And how do these particular issues reflect what is going on right now in the world. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-48683133196527869522013-06-23T18:25:00.001-07:002013-06-23T18:25:17.587-07:00The Feminism Discussion<div style="text-align: center;">
So I admit it: I'm (gasp!) a<i> feminist</i>. And yes coming out to that on the internet is still seen as something dirty to many eyes, especially in the gaming community. Many think extremes of trying to think that women are superior to men and that we all want to usurp the men around us by validating our womanly agendas. So stop that right now, because that isn't what it's about at all. You've been misled and uninformed for probably good reason.</div>
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When<i> I</i> talk about feminism (and while this relates to games more it applies to everything else as well) I'm talking about equality and balance here. Everyone is good at doing different things and that goes right into gaming. Different genres and scenarios/tropes appeal to different men & women and that's just peachy. I like RPG's because they're story driven and I enjoy searching every nook and cranny for that elusive sidequest or weapon that I missed, or jonesing after that 100% map completion. That's something I attribute to me being more "girly". It also seems to me why JRPG's in particular are a dying breed in America at least. Many developers gear FPS's to guys for catering a sense of masculinity. In manipulation on both ends to generate sales and Many companies unfortunately are in denial about the demographic of their gamers nowadays in addition to the buying power that women have in regards to their game purchases. At the very least, you have mothers and siblings and daughters wanting in on what their other male family members enjoy to such a degree, but what I've heard o' too often is that a strong female protagonist doesn't sell. That I will say right now is bullshit.</div>
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<i>This is according to the ESA</i></div>
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In the world of MMO's a fair amount of male gamers pick female toons because they would rather look at a female than a male while playing. I was mistaken for a dude awhile back when I mentioned my fiance could help out in Guild Wars 2 when suddenly a party member ditched our pickup group in the Molten Facility dungeon. I was amused rather than taken aback because I tend to play females as I identify with them more as well as that they don't make very many good looking male toons to play. That this is a normal thing to do begs the question then of why. While it used to be vastly skewed that you'd find the token gamer girl within a group that is not the case. There are plenty of girls around but feel they have to hide their gender as they'll be treated differently in addition to having to fend off being hit on or harassed. I've heard of women modulating their voice in vent because some gamers wouldn't play with them if there was a female in the group. Feeling like they are intruding on a male haven, they are either belittled (oh isn't she a gem trying to kill that zombie with a shot gun!) to insulted in ability based solely on gender (regardless of verified game time or experience) to being sexually harassed (creepy pm's or blatant come on in chat) it is still very much a man's world in the gaming community. </div>
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I do not blame men as a demographic though, since that would be just as bad. Generalizing and being prejudiced blindly would be reciprocating the exact opposite of what should be done. It's a little bit of everyone fault here but I frankly don't care about handing out blame. What I want is a discussion and progress towards making games a more inviting environment for men, women, gays, trans, etc. It doesn't matter what's under the pants, it's the mind, mentality, and skills that matter. If you can pick off a Boomer with the grace and agility of a proper sniper- that's what I care about. If you can place first in Mario Kart because you know how to control Luigi like a boss- that's what I care about.</div>
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I'll probably get some backlash for even discussing this issue which is probably a zombie horse by now nonetheless needs to be restated again and again. The adverse retaliation to Anita Sarkeesian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Sarkeesian</a> is unacceptable. Death threats, sexual insults, etc etc are the type of crap women (and men) have to deal with when simply addressing the issue and trying to bring change. It's 2013 and yet we still (And women are sometimes the worst of this) have a 50's mentality of roles of men and women when video games didn't even exist back then.Just take a Bechdel test and see how things have degraded some of the more recent releases for instance. Everyone has a mother (Sorry Batman), a female friend, a sister that I sure as hell they wouldn't want treated as such, yet might be unknowingly perpetuating such a mindset. What I'm asking of everyone is to be conscious of such things and choose hard and carefully of your actions, whether it's something you type in local, something you say on vent, or an action you do in a game.Anita's show Female Frequency is a good review of some of the most common issues with the condition in gaming. While a bit slanted, from my personal opinion that facts themselves can't really be refuted as while it is hard to prove<i> why </i>exactly, such things are happening.</div>
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<a href="http://www.feministfrequency.com/" target="_blank">http://www.feministfrequency.com/</a></div>
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<i>Granted, this type of armor would kill you alot quicker too...</i></div>
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And while this is one aspect of a "solution" if you will, what essentially it boils down to is that there are too few female developers making some of these decisions. STEM majors are vastly geared towards men and boys from an early part of our childhoods. The competitive environment deters many women from completing degrees or (if they do) from getting a job within gaming companies in key positions <a href="http://www.igda.org/sites/default/files/IGDA_QualityOfLife_WhitePaper.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.igda.org/sites/default/files/IGDA_QualityOfLife_WhitePaper.pdf</a>. </div>
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The same problems in game permeate to the workplace unfortunately. Brosie the Riveter is one of the newest "switches" - that of putting male characers is sexualized clothing and posing usually retained for their female counterparts <a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/05/hawken-brosie-meteor-k2/">http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/05/hawken-brosie-meteor-k2/</a>. A wake up call like this is an extreme case of stating the obvious, but it seemed to have made a dent in their boss's awareness in the office environment. Granted this particular issue has been recently brought some awareness and has been taken into account with a fair number of top games. Hilde from Soul Caliber, Shepard from Mass Effect, some of the Skyrim armor, and others have made great attempts at making more realistic (at at least practical) armor that protects better than a metal bikini. Not to say they aren't beautiful in their outfits, but more of how that number is going to deflect a sword blow.</div>
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Finally I'd like to conclude with my uncertainly over being considered a bitch, and why that is either a good & bad thing. A <b>contronym</b> meaning that it means it's opposites makes using the term in context that much more important. Bitch can be good in meaning taking charge and not letting anyone push you around but also being a stubborn or strong female (<i>She's/He's such a little bitch right?</i>). If directed at a man, implies that being female is something of a lesser quality blah blah. The fact, it's ambiguous and contradictory use makes it an overpowering negatively skewed word. You should both want to be a bitch but not be a bitch simultaneously (If that's not misleading...). Frankly I'd rather you use some varying length of adjectival descriptors and be a bit more witty rather than calling me out as a one syllable insult I'd respect you a bit more. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-90013140814738949002013-06-16T13:46:00.000-07:002013-06-16T13:46:40.132-07:00E3 and the Safety of Sequels<div style="text-align: center;">
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Now that E3 has come & gone, I'd like to point out the staggering proportion of sequels to new IP (or intellectual property for the layman). On IGN's site of games announced which you can find here <a href="http://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/Big_Games_at_E3_2013" target="_blank">http://www.ign.com/wikis/e3/Big_Games_at_E3_2013</a> quite a fair share of sequels or dated games make the list. This phenomena both helps and hinders developers and gamers alike for multiple reasons.</div>
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For some game series, multiple games are needed as they are planned. This happens rarely I have found in earlier years, but seems to be more and more common with the larger developers that can afford to do so. Most games (especially in earlier years) never had their sequels planned out. If it made money and the gamers clamored for more, it happened. Games like <i>Chrono Trigger</i> and<i> Chrono Cross</i> are great examples here. <i>Chrono Cross</i> is considered an Indirect sequel so as not to rehash the story & mechanics and to let people enjoy the story regardless if the had played <i>Trigger</i> before. This was during the highlight of the Square days as well, so<i> Cross</i> was able to come out rather quickly compared to some other sequels.</div>
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<i>Undoubtedly one of the best game series I have ever played (Their soundtracks are top notch as well if you haven't heard them).</i></div>
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Another issue is simply the piggybacking method, notably used in any <i>Madden</i> game or any other sport game that revolves around the actual IRL comparison of players and their game counterparts. Essentially the same game every year but with changed rosters and better graphics, games like<i> Madden</i> ride on the popularity of outside factors and rehash them,selves year after year for a nice and steady tribute of $60.00+ from their fans that happen to own consoles. I have nothing against this from a fan's point of view (though I have never owned one of these sports game I understand the fan dynamic of wanting to support something, whether it be a team, a fashion, or some other hobby). But the issue is that such games lack substance and tend to bled into the notion of "what games are" in the public's eye. This can be detrimental if one of these games are the few bits of exposure that someone gets from what a video game "is" to them simply because there is so much more out there than the pixel count of Brett Farve's muscles. </div>
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<i>I think I see a pattern here...</i></div>
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The other issue of piggybacking in respect to more traditional games can be highlighted by series such as <i>Shadow Hearts</i>. The story essentially takes place over two games, yet we have a 3rd installment entitled S<i>hadow Hearts: From the Brave New World. </i>It is set in the same universe much like<i> Chrono Cross</i> is to <i>Chrono Trigger</i>, yet is playing on the previous popularity and fame of the previous two games. </div>
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Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to play it, but from my understanding I feel that I need to play it simply because it is related to that universe rather than on its own merit. This is exactly what has stopped me from playing it so far even though I do mean to play it at some point. I've even heard that the game was subpar in comparison (though I leave my own judgement for later on that) yet I know I will still play it regardless. Such a conscious compulsion however doesn't make many gamers happy as it gives a "have to" rather than "want to" mentality. </div>
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This type of piggybacking goes hand in hand with the simple notion that sequels are SAFE. The first one made money, so why shouldn't the second albeit repackaged a little differently work the same? It's why we see so many movies doing the same (Does Hangover really need a 2nd and 3rd installment? No. It was a standalone movie that the producers wanted more from). Games that have no business having added storyline then can get considerably ruined from having sequels in this way. Characters that had developed empathy and character suddenly forget all they have learned in the first game and must again slay some evil that eerily seems like their last encounter. Such sequels invalidate the worth of the first games as such and it pulls at my heart to see them treated so. One of the games getting redone is FFX-2. All that Yuna did and sacrificed so you could dress her Rikku & Paine in different outfits as she looks for Tidus seems rather coarse towards what they all went through in the original FFX <a href="http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dressphere" target="_blank">http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Dressphere</a>. I like that it's getting the HD treatment along with FFX at least, but X-2 is not the game that FFX is. Others may disagree with this specifically and that's ok, but you cannot deny that this rough treatment has been done to other great game franchises.</div>
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<i>You rock it ladies</i></div>
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Obviously then as mentioned in my last post you have the issue of games not fitting into any sequential order or subverting themsleves in between published game timelines. Games such as these cannot be grouped together with other direct sequels because they are not trying to be direct sequels. Lots of racing games or series that have established universes if not characters that a player are tied to fit this bill. These type of sequels usually don't have the same numbering system as well tending to have subheadings. Take the Need for Speed series. EA has produced a plethora of these, most having their subheading and sometimes even a second one to denote the particular version that it's compatible on. With the onset of mobile and tablet devices taking wing over the past few years each installment has more freedom to focus on a particular feature or mechanic. Better graphics and new choices in cars is considered standard for them much like the sports games as they are dependent on cars in real life, yet they are not trying to be as realistic as a football player in that sense (Play some Gran Turismo instead if you want that) which grants them a much greater amount of freedom. As long as it continues to make money then, such a model seems like the way to go.</div>
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This doesn't usually work for more story driven games however. It's why I believe Biohazard/Resident Evil 6 flopped so hard. Games trying to reboot themselves need to take much greater care when trying to recreate themselves as they have an established fan base and particular character personalities that they need to work around. Games like Prince of Persia were able to do this fantastically as they were able to create a character for the Prince, while Games Like Fallout focused on the player and the choices that the player makes themselves to liven up the series. Unfortunately, if a company deviates too much from a pre established character however, such reboots are usually left in the dust for not being able to bridge such a connection between the player and the original game. </div>
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<i>From this...</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddbjwEq7tIiEsWkdlC8jb_GflfkvcRkWp8CRuIRaH3TpcYSrM_M_3pK8lMI2RabOhSKDcijRKOA5q1r0QBuWTJ6l3V64pgxvG1wjjiLL30nK0_OH6kX6FyLC665xUPPzLbDINeFupDSk/s1600/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-game-wallpaper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhddbjwEq7tIiEsWkdlC8jb_GflfkvcRkWp8CRuIRaH3TpcYSrM_M_3pK8lMI2RabOhSKDcijRKOA5q1r0QBuWTJ6l3V64pgxvG1wjjiLL30nK0_OH6kX6FyLC665xUPPzLbDINeFupDSk/s640/prince-of-persia-sands-of-time-game-wallpaper.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>To this.</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-81350656845823603702013-06-07T23:59:00.000-07:002013-08-19T21:51:59.590-07:00The Aging of Gaming<div style="text-align: center;">
Time incessantly rolls on. It's a fact that cannot be denied in real life no matter how much wish fulfillment we get from other games that might let us control, manipulate or otherwise alter the flow. With that in mind, it has been fascinating to watch how both game franchises and game developers have aged. There seem to be three options that come to mind as I observed the choices of companies as we raced passed the millennium mark and on to the 21rst century proper. </div>
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<b>1.</b> <b>FAIL: </b>Some companies have failed or been devoured into larger giants. Clover Studios, the maker of our favorite reincarnated sun goddess is no more. Disney interactive has recently been incorporated into (cringe) EA. SEGA, the makers of Sonic, probably the second most recognized video game character ever stopped making consoles and its own games in 2001, currently pairing with other 3rd party developers. While the majority of people that were the creative cogs have moved on or been encompassed into these other companies, it bears reminding some of the groundbreaking games that these now ghostly logos have been a part of making into video game history.<br />
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2.<b> Linear Love:</b> While others may fall, many are still growing strong. What is interesting to examine though is exactly how games and developers have let their games "grow up" with the players. Obviously this is much easier with T or M rated games as there is more room for content and complexity within a narrative as well as graphics to support any more vivid imagery. In addition, there could be a complete division in either graphics or story, even across mediums. Sonic the Hedgehog, while not a game takes on a darker theme of a war torn world set after an apocalypse. That seems to be a bit headier than the simple antics of foiling Dr. Robotnic/Eggman in a desert while eating chili cheese dogs. Jak & Daxter, seems to grow with the player as well (just looking at the box art says much to that end). And in a special place in everyone's hearts, what was a spin off of a spin off, Conker's Bad fur day, one of the few M rated N64 games and Rare's last game for the console gave Conker a completely new personality, making him a far cry from his persona in <i>Diddy Kong Racing</i>. Whether this is good or bad really depends on a few factors of course. Companies want to make money. If their target audience grows up they can either follow them and claim some of that cradle to grave brand loyalty that's all the rage with those Baby Boomers or they can try and keep recreating the past with the current formula and world that they've created for their characters. In creating older more adult games, players might be too young to play later incarnations at first. This could alienate some players who are impatient, yet overall I don't believe this to be too much of an issue given that many customers (of which many are parents) are unaware of the ratings system.<br />
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3. <b>Pick & Choose</b>: Lastly, and what seems to be the most common with target audiences that pander to the younger crowd (I'm looking at you Nintendo) tend to stick to non linear sequels, or sets (such as the Paper Mario series within the larger Super Mario series). These then keep their target audience to s specific age group that is usually more family friendly and accessible to all ages. Some exceptions are made of course (Twilight Princess and some of the issues in Wind Waker are decidedly more complex and existential issues such as rebuilding a culture after a devastating flood that killed most of a country's population, or the repercussions of the execution of Ganondorf from "The Hero is Triumphant" timeline as mentioned in Hyrule Historia, page 69). Series such as the Star Wars' franchise benefit greatly as they can simultaneously integrate non Canon story into new games like that with Force Unleashed, or expand on other areas that only briefly were described in the movies or books. These games and developers tend to be more widely accepted and known for the larger set target group, yet if not carefully groomed or rehashed one too many times (Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix?! a hd version of essentially two reduxes of the original KH game). This could be for many reasons such as the issues with FF XIII Versus and Kingdom Hearts III or the disbanding of former contributers. It can even come down to issues with voice actors. Kevin Conroy for example will not be voicing our beloved dark knight in Batman: Arkham Origins as well as Mark Hamill for the Joker, which is a shame really.<br />
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What each of these companies and series must ultimately ask themselves is how they want to adapt to the ever changing environment. More and more people are aware of games and play them at at least a casual level. Many of us gamers that are growing up or have grown up now have their own children to introduce to the wonderful world of video games. Yet gaming will never again be like it was in the 80's 90's or 2000's. I find that being able to play a franchise as it came out is vastly different and rewarding in some different and pivotal ways from being able to instantly access (provided I have the hardware or emulator or credits on the estore) a series. Both have their merits, and though the pick and choose companies have circumvented the lack of hardware issue by lettings older games be accessed through an estore, all of these companies must be vigilant in their assessment of themselves in their mutability in the market. Unfortunately it all comes down to money yet with the advent of emulators, even if you've never gotten the chance to play Chrono Trigger on the SNES, you can still do it on your gameboy or on your computer.</div>
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<i>Guess which one is which!</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-61712679256627531102013-05-31T19:57:00.000-07:002013-08-19T20:16:42.376-07:00The ratings system and hypocrisy between media <div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's post is focused on censorship; that is what the ratings system is for games, movies, the lack thereof for books, and how these ratings coincide with other forms of media in America. I can only give my own perspective, therefore I can't give a full opinion on other countries views of cultural norms and what is deemed acceptable for certain age groups.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First off, when you purchase a game in America, there's a little letter in the bottom left corner of a game (most anyway) that indicates the suggested or legal allowance of censorship. The <b>ESRB</b> or Entertainment Software Ratings Board provides ratings mostly for parents to make informed choices for their kids http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp. Now note that as long as a guardian for a child buys the game (as many of you have probably come across) you get the issue of kids playing games that they might not be ready for maturity wise. I've been a Gamestop employee in the past and having a enraged parent come to return a game that they bought for their little darling that was overtly violent (occasionally) or sexual (usually the case,and with this it is predominantly of the female figure). The label is clear on the boxes, yet parents (or other guardians) either aren't understanding the ratings systems as they do the MPAA guidelines, or they fail to realize that games these days aren't only for children. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I haven't played any Animal Crossings yet as I know I would get sucked in just as bad as I did for Skyrim, but I have a feeling that I might try this one out...</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now before I go further on that thread, I'd like to outline the MPAA guidlines. The <b>MPAA</b> or Motion Picture Association of America was established much earlier than the ESRB http://www.mpaa.org/ratings/what-each-rating-means. The ratings for movies are also generally to be understood by mainstream America as well as movies are a pretty large chunk of popular culture today. Their site's ratings loosely define things that the said movie has that could offend parents or children of various ages. This ambiguous gray area is up to much subjection and can change with the popular values of when the movie was made. G rated movies in the 70's might be rated PG in terms of sexual issues and a PG-13 movie back then with a fair amount of violence then might only be labeled PG in 2013. This skewing between violence and sex is from my understanding somewhat revered in other cultures ratings wise, yet nevertheless persists in that vast gray area in terms of context. The issue is further complicated as how the MPAA compares to the ESRB. They are two independent organizations enforced by law (for M rated games and NC-17 Movies as you have to be 25 or older as a guardian to purchase something for a minor) that have some overlap between what is legitimate in a movie versus a game. I find this disparity and hypocrisy needs to be examined further in terms of how much censorship (and what exactly) should be kept from children and what is allowable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This financial/economic issue with Adults Only rated games is that popular consoles will not allow such rated games to be played on their machines. Because of the negative image this would otherwise present for console makers trying to identify with a "family friendly" persona, you won't find an A rated game in your local Gamestop or any major retailer. The list Wikipedia displays is predominantly on the sexual side as well I'd like to note, which is why most of these games are on the PC, Mac, or mobile platform http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AO-rated_products circumventing the console "problem".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Obviously some 13 year olds will be more mature than others, yet the conundrum of how books are then thrown into the mix baffles me further. Unless it's going to be taught in schools, in this day and age banned books seem a historical hallmark rather than a current day issue when it comes to pleasure reading. Print Pornography aside, a child (with enough money) can go to a bookstore and buy a copy of a harlequin novel; complete with multiple amorous endeavors written out in explicit detail or the horrific killing of children by other children for survival as is in <u>Lord of the Flies</u>. The fact that the imagination prompted by words versus visual images renders a lack of censorship mandated by law seems an interesting (to say the least) paradox within our culture. I learned much more in books than I ever did in a movie or video games ironically because of this. Imagination or a certain perspective brought on by visual images then are differentiating factors that render censorship and ratings necessary. Yet the imagination is boundless and for now cannot be censored on its own. Because of this, it can be even more explicit, frightening, or valuable in growing up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Now I didn't say they were literary canon material, but my, aren't these some delightfully cheesy titles?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Games like <i>Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</i> sparking outrage because of its Hot Coffee mod become irrational to me then when the game is highlighted because of the freedom to do violence on it's denizens (There are no children that you can kill in most of them however, which is a hallmark across the board with most games) such as killing hookers or police officers are lauded. While there is fun to be had and things to be learned from having the access to freedom and its consequences within these free roaming games, I ask that the next game you play to take note of how you would rate it based on your experiences. What do you think should be censored more and why? What would you do differently? Should parents be held more accountable for their children's game collection or should kids be taught earlier about decision making and why some complex issues are better encountered when they are a little older? Should there be ratings at all if parents are going to buy their child a copy of <i>Amnesia </i> or <i> Dead Space</i> anyway for their 8 year old?</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-53757845372573207602013-05-24T19:09:00.002-07:002013-08-19T20:09:36.762-07:00Progress & PerspectiveFor this week's post, I wanted to talk about one of the biggest reasons video games helped me so much when I was growing up. It really took me a few years in hindsight to put my finger on it and how by even being aware of it did not diminish the importance of it. The role of progress in a video game and how that affects an individual is a concept that I don't believe has been studied very much (if at all yet) in a scholarly sense. When my life was crappy, I knew I could turn to video games and make a difference, whether it was collecting heart pieces, catching that elusive Pokemon, or defeating Kefka.<br />
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<i>(He's Square's version of the Joker I swear! All he needs is Mark Hamill's voice.)</i></div>
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Regardless of how your real life may be, by supplementing any "real life" progress (tests, dates, family, and other stressors) by accomplishing something that often rewards you psychically with in games items or experience also does so psychologically in the real world. I know it boosted my confidence and gave me a sense of accomplishment which was not imaginary by any means. Having that effect helped me to get through many things, and that confidence boost was sometimes the extra bit that pushed me to strive for something. I definitively had ambition to do well with my life, but at the time lacked self esteem and self worth. When you can say you just defeated someone trying to conquer the world though, anything that you might be dealing with at school just got a little less daunting. Such things didn't replace any real life accomplishments, but they helped to make them happen.<br />
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Obviously only having such things to one's name can be dangerous to a degree. Hubris and overconfidence distorting one's abilities and skills is not the best thing to be touting. But, I will say that's also a part of growing up and getting to know yourself within that context. So, even if you do become rather egotistical and like to rub it someone's face with a sense of superiority by the setup of you're Pokemon lineup, only to realize that someone just kicked you're butt with a Magicarp, it is nevertheless a learning experience.<br />
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Specifically focusing on Pokemon, when you originally caught all 150 (Mew didn't count in the lineup achievement wise back then I believe) what you received in the end was a diploma from Celadon city that you could print out as a thanks from the developers. What this says to me (among many other songs, movies, and books) is that it is the journey and the act of progressing through the journey (and thus the self discovery) that matters.<br />
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The fact that all this really comes down to one's attitude and perception is rather amazing. The problems you have to face are still there, it's simply the way that you now are facing your problems that are different. On that note I'd like to leave you with a rather succinct quote from everyone's favorite pirate Jack Sparrow: </div>
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<i>"The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem"</i></div>
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<i>Now where's my jar of dirt?</i></div>
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*As a side note, I'd like to bring to your attention a kickstarter that my friend the wonderful Matthew Ritter, is helping to create. <i>Welcome to Boon Hill</i> is a game about graveyards, tombstones, and the joy of solitude. It has just reached the 10k mark, which means the game will be <b>crossplatform</b>, including ios and Android. If you've always been interested in the tombstones that you find in games and enjoy the simplicity of exploring a graveyard, Boon Hill is right up your alley: <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607565961/welcome-to-boon-hill/posts/490899?ref=email&show_token=dc6f92238695bd45">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607565961/welcome-to-boon-hill/posts/490899?ref=email&show_token=dc6f92238695bd45</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-51259633441886588842013-05-18T12:21:00.001-07:002013-08-19T20:05:22.182-07:00The life of an immortal: Lost Odyssey<br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Developed by Mistwalker and Feelplus and published exclusively for the 360, <i>Lost Odyssey</i> is in my opinion the real Final Fantasy 11 as it was produced by Hironobu Sakaguchi. The notion of having an immortal protagonist seems overpowered to the initial observation, but with the way the game mechanics work, you'd be surprised how many game overs you get if you aren't careful. You team is made up of both human and immortal characters. If an immortal is downed, they rise after 3 turns, but they can only progress with new moves via learning from a human character. This symbiosis and self balancing (at least initially) of weaker human characters like Jansen with the "stronger" immortals like Kaim and Seth make for a pleasantly challenging experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most notably unique to my own playing, the aiming ring system that makes the player sync up their attacks for the right time to strike their enemy is a great and engaging mechanic that helps deter boredom after hours of gameplay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In tangent with this, there are front and back positions to help guard any squishy characters<span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"In combat both the player's party and enemies are arranged</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in two lines, front and back. Up to five party members can participate in battle at once. At the start of battle, the back line is protected by a special defensive "wall" which is based on the combined hit points of the front line. This wall reduces damage that the characters in the back experience. However, as the front line takes damages, the wall weakens, and can only be recovered through the use of certain spells or skills. When the wall is completely gone, the back row will have no damage reduction. This mechanic also applies to groups." (Wikipedia)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Timing your hit up to just the right moment lands you a perfect which will almost always lead to a critical attack. Not bothering to go with this mechanic (unless you are a higher level) will make you miss the target, so actually participating and getting the rhythm of the game is essential to both understanding and mastering the battle system.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The music is another great aspect that I'd like to mention. While the main battle theme is only changed up for boss battles and special side quest fights, the music is both gorgeous and appealing for an updated call back to previous rpgs. Composed by the famous Nobuo Uematsu (Another Final Fantasy regular), I expected nothing less and before I even played the game was excited to know that the attention to detail in the soundtrack would be topnotch. The militaristic notes to some of the early tracks plays into the advent of some of the countries magical industrial revolution. War and other Imperialistic expansion are constant threats to the citizens and it is only later on in some of the exploratory areas that the lasting effects are seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd like to mention one other aspect of the game that I haven't found to such a degree of quality. The inclusion of the a thousand years of dreams journal entries adds character development to the immortals and humanizes them as well. Kaim's suffering is quite evident in the encounters he has with the people he meets in the journal entries. Compounded with the fact that the immortals cannot remember anything about themselves from the onset of existing in these lands, they stumble and struggle to understand themselves and those around those who's lives are a flickering of their own.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Overall, the tone of the entries evokes a pacifist view in light of all the violence that takes place in the game. Especially regarding Ming's situation, I'd like to mention the irony of her being the ruling queen of a more aesthetically Chinese country and the unrest that the nobility and her council has with an undying monarch. That many emperors have tried in our history for an elixir</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to be in this exact situation begs the question of examining the ramifications of such wish fulfillment. With her murky memories leading her to be manipulated and wrested from power, is living for close to 1000 years something to truly strive for?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Living through multiple lives, including that of your children and grandchildren, living with the guilt of people one has killed, the diminishing of experiences of both joy and tragedy all ask the player to consider the ramifications of living for hundreds of years. Unable to kill oneself if one chose to, how does someone with the psychology of a person continue to live with themselves? If you're up for a beautiful and philosophical games with great mechanics from some of the most notable makers of rpg's, I suggest picking up a copy to play. I'd like to know what your experiences were if you have had the chance to play as well.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759697369585231220noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6393683476789196812.post-28559420716485124842013-05-16T21:28:00.000-07:002013-08-19T20:00:14.038-07:00The First of Many, the Impact of Ocarina of Time<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As an aspiring writer and editor, I have to talk about things I love, and besides books, video games have had just an important an impact on my life as anything else. I've been playing them for over 20 short years now, and let me say, while I will never be able to play them all, the ones that I have played have been some of the best games that the both consoles (and more recently) PC have had to offer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I intend this blog to be an attempt into the ever changing world of video games through the lens of a 25 year old gamer. I hope to shed some light on some of the inner workings through impact, content, performance, and many other ways in order to highlight certain aspects that might not be apparent to others. Most of these games I will review has been on single playthroughs or files exceptions permitting of course. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWpkfsmt81tuYGqrEd3zpwbJ80ng0W8C5h7WiXWrfHK2FQOv7VksjSo3x7JKNBKnD8P5Wgsn_Z5a9bQKb3ZBtB80s33d1W7lQFs0VP5ClJA1z4Auj28EjCmCWlHS8P5j3sbm1VvhzWYc/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWpkfsmt81tuYGqrEd3zpwbJ80ng0W8C5h7WiXWrfHK2FQOv7VksjSo3x7JKNBKnD8P5Wgsn_Z5a9bQKb3ZBtB80s33d1W7lQFs0VP5ClJA1z4Auj28EjCmCWlHS8P5j3sbm1VvhzWYc/s320/15.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While not necessarily the first game I played, my first love of video games came with the advent of <i>The legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time</i>. I have played this game numerous times at different points of my life, most recently with the 3ds port introduced last year. This game has had an impact on me from clothes that I wear to the replica master sword leaning against my wall to buying tickets to see Symphony of the Goddesses at the Greek Theatre. I see myself as that much of a fan. Zelda pretty much permeates my life, and that's ok. Knowing the schism between fantasy and wish fulfillment, I can pretty clearly make a distinction between my daydreams and the rest of my life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia57eab_Ga1OMYzt9DIWFnKNsoAW4wph7DJu049wCxUaa3XecTlnQCsk3Q9nmJzlk5GKuZ88XcKWsfhIruQ6t83R0pkvdWhDvsU4dzbVmzCk_pFtSVNr257r55uR76HIBVpNRXZT50BU8/s1600/fdytru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia57eab_Ga1OMYzt9DIWFnKNsoAW4wph7DJu049wCxUaa3XecTlnQCsk3Q9nmJzlk5GKuZ88XcKWsfhIruQ6t83R0pkvdWhDvsU4dzbVmzCk_pFtSVNr257r55uR76HIBVpNRXZT50BU8/s320/fdytru.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Today's post will be about impact as this is my first ever blog and I attempt to engage you pleasantly while you otherwise browse Reddit or wait in line to see Star Trek Into Darkness. OoT (Ocarina of Time) not only won numerous awards when it was introduced but has remained one of the best games of all time.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"> I had briefly played a neighbor's copy of <i>Link to the Past</i> for the Super Nintendo but did not own it until the GBA port in 2002. Thus it was the first Zelda that I had actually played completely. Having a 3D universe at the palm of my hands (the controller was big, but never as gigantic as the original Xbox of which I could not hold properly via my tiny hands) opened up a world of possibilities, expanding my imagination and interestingly putting my frame of reference in a male child and adult's perspective. From a 9 year old's </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">tomboy's </span></span>psyche</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"> this seemed natural. I have unfortunately never played Metroid at this point, and so was used to the standard suspension of disbelief of putting myself in their shoes (or hover boots in this matter). It wasn't until I was older that I even questioned such issues when I discovered that more males were gamers than females </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">"Video games were fun, why wouldn't everyone be playing them?!"</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"> I thought. It's one of many other issues with the gaming industry and community, and will be discussed more generally as a whole later. </span></span></div>
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Nevertheless, I was (and still am) happy with how Zelda impacted my life from then on. The friends I met, how it's encouraged me to have more confidence in myself, the search for a job to create more of what I love, and the idealist notions of trying to make a difference in other's lives through video games all came down to the meeting between a girl and a cartridge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a side note, while I can only speak on things in my own perspective, I hope to discuss things in as neutral manner as possible when it comes to more tremulous topics. I will not censor my opinion, but I fully respect the right to the other sides opinions and will deal with such as a gentleman in a top hat and monocle. Good day to you all.</span><br />
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