It's the weekend! I'm sleeping in til noon tommorrow. Hua! (Marine corps style)
Every good work of fiction needs plot twists. If everything in a book is something we'd expect then we get bored pretty quick. But there's different types of expectations and suprises.
People don't like "What they expect" in a book because that makes the book too easy to figure out and doesn't tell them anything they don't already know.
But people do like "what they've been waiting for" in a book because if you've been building something up then you gotta let it down somehow. Don't leave 'em hanging.
People also like "what they don't expect" in a book. This gives them a sense of something new and leaves them wanting more. However, if you're twist is too unexpected then people will find it "cheap" or "random" and feel like you took the easy way out.
So, the literary sweet spot for a plot twist is:
"What they expect not to expect"
When something happens that the reader didn't see coming, but completely understands why it happened, that is the sweet spot. It's not easy to set up. The process of setting it up can often clue the reader into what is going to happen or the lack of set up can make the twist, too random. If you get it though, you're readers will love you for it.
I've been reading Stephen King's, "The Dark Tower." No sweetspots in this book yet. It's kinda random, but like I said, people do like the unexpected, just not as much as the expected unexpected. But he's been building something and I don't know what it is yet.
The ACM is still thinking about working on an augmented Pac-Man game, where you walk around with a Pac-Man helmet on and the screen shows the grid as if it was in real life. It's an interesting project, but I think it's a bit too lofty and misdirected. I was kinda hoping they'd all be working on a real computer game and I could get my hands dirty on a real programming project.
I went to ACM movie night tonight, but no one was there, maybe it got canceled.
And then...
I spent several days pirating with the crew again. During that time I looked up a necromancer to take Ash's remains to.
Necromancers aren't bad guys, and being undead isn't that bad either. You're not dead. Yes you have a craving for brains, but with a good support group and the patch you can get over that pretty quickly. Fine, think what you want, but I thought it was worth a shot.
The necromancer took the tupperware container of ashes and looked it over. He picked up the powder and rubbed it between his bony fingers. He was a gaunt fellow in a long black robe.
What'd you expect?
He stood there in contemplation for a while and then handed the box back.
"I can't resurrect her."
"Because..."
"Because she is not really dead. I'm not really sure how or why, but she's not. Trust me, I'm an expert."
"Will she ever be ali... Will she be sentient... Will she ever be humanoid again? Yea, let's go with that one, humanoid."
"She may possess the powers of the Phoenix. If so she will rise from her ashes, I assume, but I cannot tell you when."
"That's not good."
"I thought you wanted her back?"
"Yea, but I didn't expect it to happen. We kinda spent all of her share of the treasure we found."
"Change your name? Move out of the galaxy?"
"Naw, not again, this time I'm just gonna tell her and try to pay her back."
"Keep her remains with you. When she reincarnates, she will be disoriented and need someone to care for her until she recovers, probably."
"Thanks doc."
"One last thing, be careful. When she emerges, she will have the power and fiery fury of the Phoenix and only an animalistic instinct to survive."
"Like a woman scorned."
"Indeed, now if you'll excuse me, I have a skeleton army to raise in the first step of my conquering the galaxy."
"You have fun with that, you crazy necromancer."
He seemed like he was guessing. I didn't really believe him, but I was keeping the ashes with me anyway, until I could find someone who knew what they were doing.
I was busy right now. I bought a ship! A wooden spaceship designed after 17th century sailing vessels. It was in disrepair, but a few more lucrative missions and I'd have enough to get it running. I decided to head to Notmos Eisley and look for some jobs.
Until next time fellow pirates.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Dirty Little Secret
Patrick Swayze, teengirl heart-throb actor, died recently from cancer at the age of 57, I think. I'm saddened by this. Keep it a secret, but I thought Patrick was a pretty good actor. A friend of mine tried to help me hook up with this friend of hers that was a lesbian. It didn't really go anywhere, as you might imagine, but they both forced me to watch Dirty Dancing and I thought it was a really good movie. So now you know, don't tell anyone, like I just told you, random person reading my blog. That's my only guilty girly pleasure, I'm not a fan of Gilmore Girls or anything, Who said that? (Nobody technically, I'm writing all this.)
Some guy in my computer lab was telling me that Final Fantasy Dissidia was a really good game. This is a request to any of my friends reading my blog. Any of you played it? Post comments if so. I'm not dying to know, I don't have a PSP and don't really intend on getting one.
I think the DS is a better system, the games I've seen played on PSP have long loading times and often small text. I'm not that fond of the touch screen, but it's better than the Wii motion controls. However, I think the DS's combined screens have more area than the single larger PSP screen. Before I saw the PSP in action I thought it was going to be better. I liked the UMD media better than the tiny DS cartridges and the media capabilities of the PSP were attractive. I liked the PSP's joystick, but my friends have told me it messes up often.
Today was really dull. I sat through two classes of teachers telling me what they were planning on assigning at later dates and going over material we had already covered. I went to the ACM meeting, but the only interesting thing was that the fighting game tournament they were planning on hosting has been postponed. Woo hoo. But hey, maybe I'll have a more entertaining weekend. Oh yea, Friday, well it'll be over with before I know it. I watched an episode of SG-1 about a computer virus alien that infected the brain of Major Carter, (she's hot) but it ended with them beating the virus and getting Carter back and there really wasn't anything interesting in between. I think there might have been some message about making peaceful contact at any cost or something, but it was more about seeing Amanda Tapping shoot lightning from her fingertips. Yeah.
And then...
I warped back to warp point resting in the hallway before the refractor room. Last time I was in the refractor room and had an urge to jump out. As I suspected, the ninja-robot was standing directly behind where I was standing before I warped. I could see that if I had so much as blinked instead of warping I would have been sushi.
Now was my chance, probably the only one I would get. I charged the thing with my sword raised high and my pistol firing shot after shot towards the thing. The robot took the first shot in the back, nothing he could do, but he whirled around and blocked the next shot with his sword. Yea, they do that. He retreated into the refractor room, lept onto the wall above the door and continued to climb to the ceiling. I kept a sharp eye on him and fired off another round. He jumped onto the tower in the center of the room so fast it was just a blur flying from one side the room to the other.
He stood on the wall as if he was standing on level ground and held out a single hand.
"Enough." His voice was deep and sounded synthetic.
"Your ability to move faster than my sensors can indicate clearly outmatches my own abilities. I will surrender, for now. I must seek out new abilities to better protect the main power unit."
He didn't realize how my warping power was limited. He couldn't, N.O. can't be detected by machine. Most people can't feel it at all. He tossed a small orb down in front of me. I tried to shield my eyes, but I was too slow. The bright flash disoriented me and when I got my vision back, he was gone.
"Does someone need my help?" a brassy superhero-ish voice rang out behind me.
"Captain Comic here and...AHOY! Firstmate Keelhaul! You've taken too long getting back. Do you need HELP?"
The guy sounds like a Buck Rogers knock-off and his pirate lingo is so forced that it sounds like he's desperately trying to fit in. Besides his demeanor, he's a good captain, and I could have used him in that fight.
His blond wavy hair looks like it was squirted out like toothpaste. His large muscular physique is wrapped in a glaring red jumpsuit with oversized white gloves. A big "Blastola Cola" endorsement is pasted on the front of the suit depicted a soda can with an explosion on it. He's always smiling with this huge Colgate smile that either says he's a really good guy or says that he likes you, a lot, too much.
"No thanks cap'n. I had deal with a ninja-robot, but it's taken care of. My contact was killed, do you have an urn? I'd like to take her ashes to have someone look at them."
"You cremated her? Man, you work FAST!"
"No I... Nevermind, have ye an urn or not?"
"I've got a tupperware container on the ship, but let's get this haul of booty here first."
"I want fifty. I did most of the work."
"Twenty." "Forty." "Twenty-FIVE!"
"..."
"Forty it is."
Until next time fellow pirates.
Some guy in my computer lab was telling me that Final Fantasy Dissidia was a really good game. This is a request to any of my friends reading my blog. Any of you played it? Post comments if so. I'm not dying to know, I don't have a PSP and don't really intend on getting one.
I think the DS is a better system, the games I've seen played on PSP have long loading times and often small text. I'm not that fond of the touch screen, but it's better than the Wii motion controls. However, I think the DS's combined screens have more area than the single larger PSP screen. Before I saw the PSP in action I thought it was going to be better. I liked the UMD media better than the tiny DS cartridges and the media capabilities of the PSP were attractive. I liked the PSP's joystick, but my friends have told me it messes up often.
Today was really dull. I sat through two classes of teachers telling me what they were planning on assigning at later dates and going over material we had already covered. I went to the ACM meeting, but the only interesting thing was that the fighting game tournament they were planning on hosting has been postponed. Woo hoo. But hey, maybe I'll have a more entertaining weekend. Oh yea, Friday, well it'll be over with before I know it. I watched an episode of SG-1 about a computer virus alien that infected the brain of Major Carter, (she's hot) but it ended with them beating the virus and getting Carter back and there really wasn't anything interesting in between. I think there might have been some message about making peaceful contact at any cost or something, but it was more about seeing Amanda Tapping shoot lightning from her fingertips. Yeah.
And then...
I warped back to warp point resting in the hallway before the refractor room. Last time I was in the refractor room and had an urge to jump out. As I suspected, the ninja-robot was standing directly behind where I was standing before I warped. I could see that if I had so much as blinked instead of warping I would have been sushi.
Now was my chance, probably the only one I would get. I charged the thing with my sword raised high and my pistol firing shot after shot towards the thing. The robot took the first shot in the back, nothing he could do, but he whirled around and blocked the next shot with his sword. Yea, they do that. He retreated into the refractor room, lept onto the wall above the door and continued to climb to the ceiling. I kept a sharp eye on him and fired off another round. He jumped onto the tower in the center of the room so fast it was just a blur flying from one side the room to the other.
He stood on the wall as if he was standing on level ground and held out a single hand.
"Enough." His voice was deep and sounded synthetic.
"Your ability to move faster than my sensors can indicate clearly outmatches my own abilities. I will surrender, for now. I must seek out new abilities to better protect the main power unit."
He didn't realize how my warping power was limited. He couldn't, N.O. can't be detected by machine. Most people can't feel it at all. He tossed a small orb down in front of me. I tried to shield my eyes, but I was too slow. The bright flash disoriented me and when I got my vision back, he was gone.
"Does someone need my help?" a brassy superhero-ish voice rang out behind me.
"Captain Comic here and...AHOY! Firstmate Keelhaul! You've taken too long getting back. Do you need HELP?"
The guy sounds like a Buck Rogers knock-off and his pirate lingo is so forced that it sounds like he's desperately trying to fit in. Besides his demeanor, he's a good captain, and I could have used him in that fight.
His blond wavy hair looks like it was squirted out like toothpaste. His large muscular physique is wrapped in a glaring red jumpsuit with oversized white gloves. A big "Blastola Cola" endorsement is pasted on the front of the suit depicted a soda can with an explosion on it. He's always smiling with this huge Colgate smile that either says he's a really good guy or says that he likes you, a lot, too much.
"No thanks cap'n. I had deal with a ninja-robot, but it's taken care of. My contact was killed, do you have an urn? I'd like to take her ashes to have someone look at them."
"You cremated her? Man, you work FAST!"
"No I... Nevermind, have ye an urn or not?"
"I've got a tupperware container on the ship, but let's get this haul of booty here first."
"I want fifty. I did most of the work."
"Twenty." "Forty." "Twenty-FIVE!"
"..."
"Forty it is."
Until next time fellow pirates.
Friday-like, Wednesday
I'm still tired. I wanted to post, but I'm gonna keep it short. I had two exams yesterday and one today, but the good news is I'm done for the week, with exams I still have class. Classes are gonna be booring with all the teachers just lecturing and no assignments or tests but hey no work. I have some stuff that'll need to be done by sometime next week and I'll probably get a jump on some of that, but nothing urgent.
Oh, oh, listen to this, I got stuck in my apartment this year because I tried to sign up for a good room deal, an early bird special, my friends kinda led me into. They both bailed on me, one of them really tried to help me out, but the office staff just wouldn't let me go. This is all just background, what's cool is that because I signed up early, I got a $200 gift card! Cha ching! I guess it's not so bad living here after all. The random roommate they stuck me with ain't a bad guy either.
Okay, so I played some Blackthorne on the SNES, great game I'll review it later, maybe tomorrow. I finally got past the underground area.
And then...
I warped back to Reeva, but not in front of the ninja-robot where I'd likely get split in two from his next blow, but to the room where we fought the giant robot.
Ash had started to grow on me. I still can't believe that she died in my arms. Actually, I guess she was probably dead before she hit my arms given the decapitation. I still don't understand why her body crumbled into dust either, the sword the ninja was using looked like an ordinary katana, maybe adamantine like my sabers, but still nothing disintegrating.
I had a pistol in one hand and a saber in the other. This ninja could be anywhere. As I walked, every once in a while I would duck just in case. I heard this improves your odds. I walked down towards the area where we had passed. I would check around corners before walking down them and I would walk very slowly and listen. All I could hear was the sound of my own not-so-stealthy footsteps.
The hallway where the ninja attacked was dark and the walls were littered with pipes and machinery to hide behind. I checked carefully before entering the area again. The ninja wasn't here, I knew he wouldn't be here probably. I kneeled next to Ash's ashes, ha, wait that's not funny. I made sure to keep my head up so I could see the ninja coming, hopefully. It was still there scattered across the smooth metal floor. Fine gray powder that clumped a little. It didn't have an odor. It was just dust. I'd collect it all later once I had defeated the ninja-robot.
I continued down the hall in my usual fashion. At the end of the very same corridor the ninja had attacked us in, was a huge room. In the center of that room was a mechanism as big as a nuclear cooling tower. It looked like one too, but a little square window on the front was open and inside it I could see a huge ruby colored refractor crystal. It was as big as a microwave oven. It however did not look like a microwave oven, much more like a crystal, yep.
Just then I had a sudden urge to warp back to Earth, I listen to those types of urges and ask questions later. It helps. Sometimes.
Until next time fellow pirates.
Oh, oh, listen to this, I got stuck in my apartment this year because I tried to sign up for a good room deal, an early bird special, my friends kinda led me into. They both bailed on me, one of them really tried to help me out, but the office staff just wouldn't let me go. This is all just background, what's cool is that because I signed up early, I got a $200 gift card! Cha ching! I guess it's not so bad living here after all. The random roommate they stuck me with ain't a bad guy either.
Okay, so I played some Blackthorne on the SNES, great game I'll review it later, maybe tomorrow. I finally got past the underground area.
And then...
I warped back to Reeva, but not in front of the ninja-robot where I'd likely get split in two from his next blow, but to the room where we fought the giant robot.
Ash had started to grow on me. I still can't believe that she died in my arms. Actually, I guess she was probably dead before she hit my arms given the decapitation. I still don't understand why her body crumbled into dust either, the sword the ninja was using looked like an ordinary katana, maybe adamantine like my sabers, but still nothing disintegrating.
I had a pistol in one hand and a saber in the other. This ninja could be anywhere. As I walked, every once in a while I would duck just in case. I heard this improves your odds. I walked down towards the area where we had passed. I would check around corners before walking down them and I would walk very slowly and listen. All I could hear was the sound of my own not-so-stealthy footsteps.
The hallway where the ninja attacked was dark and the walls were littered with pipes and machinery to hide behind. I checked carefully before entering the area again. The ninja wasn't here, I knew he wouldn't be here probably. I kneeled next to Ash's ashes, ha, wait that's not funny. I made sure to keep my head up so I could see the ninja coming, hopefully. It was still there scattered across the smooth metal floor. Fine gray powder that clumped a little. It didn't have an odor. It was just dust. I'd collect it all later once I had defeated the ninja-robot.
I continued down the hall in my usual fashion. At the end of the very same corridor the ninja had attacked us in, was a huge room. In the center of that room was a mechanism as big as a nuclear cooling tower. It looked like one too, but a little square window on the front was open and inside it I could see a huge ruby colored refractor crystal. It was as big as a microwave oven. It however did not look like a microwave oven, much more like a crystal, yep.
Just then I had a sudden urge to warp back to Earth, I listen to those types of urges and ask questions later. It helps. Sometimes.
Until next time fellow pirates.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Zot! and other stuff
Zot! was a comic series written by Scott McCloud. Scott wrote a book called "Understanding Comics" that I would recommend everyone who is interested in comics takes a look at. But today's post is about his work in Zot!
Zot! has a lot of emphasis on romance, so if you can't stand mushy stuff then don't bother with this. The comic isn't just a romance though. The titular character Zot is a superhero from another world. He kinda feels like a mixture of Adam Strange and Superman.
Zot's world is almost perfect, free from most crime and natural disasters. Every once in a while a supervillain will attack which is where Zot comes in to defeat them. Even the supervillains are almost supposed to be there just to keep people from being bored.
Zot suffers from some culture shock when he travels to our world and finds that it's not so perfect. The story focuses on his relationship with a Earth girl named Jenny who has some confidence issues and often thinks about living in Zot's world.
I bought the Zot! paperback trade. Some of the issues are just cheesy fun, but most of them deal with interesting psychological issues and Scott uses various art styles.
I have heard from SOMEONE, he knows who he is, that the Penny Arcade people don't like Scott McCloud. I think Scott may have some Quentin Tarintino qualities to him. He makes really good work, but he might think a little too much of himself. I don't let that sorta stuff get in the way of me enjoying things, but I'll leave that to your individual discretion.
On what happened in the last few days, I have yet to get that book from the bookstore. Tomorrow after class I'm going to go in there and if I don't get my book, I'm gonna ask to talk the manager. I'm never ordering a book from the bookstore either. I've got a lot of tests this week coming up so you'll have to forgive me if the blog is a little spotty.
I beat Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. My friend, SOMEONE, gave me some advice that really helped me beat the last level. I worked on some of the extra levels today.
And then...
I made the most angry face I could at Ash. As stated before, it was rather difficult to do this.
"I just had a nice, but rather lengthy, discussion with a nice old man for the Intergalatic Bureau of Investigation. They're on the lookout for the girl who killed the inhabitants of the people of Reeva."
Pause.
"You wouldn't happen to know who that is, WOULD YOU?"
"Listen Keelhaul, I know who killed Reeva, I think, but you don't and neither does the Bureau. I'll tell you who that old man is looking for. He's looking for my sister, Lee. But she wouldn't... didn't do this."
"Fine, but we have to wrap this up here, becuase I get the feeling that old man is going to plan a trip here real soon... with backup."
"Okay, but the last robot guarding the crystal is more dangerous than those last two. This robot is designed to use stealth to avoid intruders and perform quick killing blows."
"A robot-ninja? Great, number one killer of space-pirates."
"Like you said, we better hurry."
We began our march closer to the main power chamber. Even I could tell where we were going now. All the cables were leading into it. As we walked down the corridor, I snickered.
"What?"
"Ash and Lee? So together you're Ashley?"
"Yes, my parents thought it was funny too."
Just then the robot-ninja fell from the ceiling and severed Ash's head from her shoulders. The head dropped to her feet. Her legs gave way and her headless corpse fell into my arms.
I panicked. A little.
As I was screaming with my eyes wide open in horror. Her body crumbled into fine gray powder. Not a bad time for a relaxing trip back to Earth.
Until next time fellow pirates.
Zot! has a lot of emphasis on romance, so if you can't stand mushy stuff then don't bother with this. The comic isn't just a romance though. The titular character Zot is a superhero from another world. He kinda feels like a mixture of Adam Strange and Superman.
Zot's world is almost perfect, free from most crime and natural disasters. Every once in a while a supervillain will attack which is where Zot comes in to defeat them. Even the supervillains are almost supposed to be there just to keep people from being bored.
Zot suffers from some culture shock when he travels to our world and finds that it's not so perfect. The story focuses on his relationship with a Earth girl named Jenny who has some confidence issues and often thinks about living in Zot's world.
I bought the Zot! paperback trade. Some of the issues are just cheesy fun, but most of them deal with interesting psychological issues and Scott uses various art styles.
I have heard from SOMEONE, he knows who he is, that the Penny Arcade people don't like Scott McCloud. I think Scott may have some Quentin Tarintino qualities to him. He makes really good work, but he might think a little too much of himself. I don't let that sorta stuff get in the way of me enjoying things, but I'll leave that to your individual discretion.
On what happened in the last few days, I have yet to get that book from the bookstore. Tomorrow after class I'm going to go in there and if I don't get my book, I'm gonna ask to talk the manager. I'm never ordering a book from the bookstore either. I've got a lot of tests this week coming up so you'll have to forgive me if the blog is a little spotty.
I beat Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. My friend, SOMEONE, gave me some advice that really helped me beat the last level. I worked on some of the extra levels today.
And then...
I made the most angry face I could at Ash. As stated before, it was rather difficult to do this.
"I just had a nice, but rather lengthy, discussion with a nice old man for the Intergalatic Bureau of Investigation. They're on the lookout for the girl who killed the inhabitants of the people of Reeva."
Pause.
"You wouldn't happen to know who that is, WOULD YOU?"
"Listen Keelhaul, I know who killed Reeva, I think, but you don't and neither does the Bureau. I'll tell you who that old man is looking for. He's looking for my sister, Lee. But she wouldn't... didn't do this."
"Fine, but we have to wrap this up here, becuase I get the feeling that old man is going to plan a trip here real soon... with backup."
"Okay, but the last robot guarding the crystal is more dangerous than those last two. This robot is designed to use stealth to avoid intruders and perform quick killing blows."
"A robot-ninja? Great, number one killer of space-pirates."
"Like you said, we better hurry."
We began our march closer to the main power chamber. Even I could tell where we were going now. All the cables were leading into it. As we walked down the corridor, I snickered.
"What?"
"Ash and Lee? So together you're Ashley?"
"Yes, my parents thought it was funny too."
Just then the robot-ninja fell from the ceiling and severed Ash's head from her shoulders. The head dropped to her feet. Her legs gave way and her headless corpse fell into my arms.
I panicked. A little.
As I was screaming with my eyes wide open in horror. Her body crumbled into fine gray powder. Not a bad time for a relaxing trip back to Earth.
Until next time fellow pirates.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Editorial: Videogames as Art
So, I've heard this question tossed around: Are videogames art?
Short answer: Yes
Long answer:
I always think that someone is asking the wrong question when they ask if something "is art." If it's trying to send you a message or invoke an emotion, it's art. I think the question they mean to ask is "Is this good art? Is it quality art?" The quality of art is an opinion, but there are some qualities that most people expect from art. Whether something is art or not is much more factual. The first rule being, if you care enough to argue whether it is or isn't art, it probably is.
So let's assume now that art encompasses videogames in the same way it encompasses television commercials, carpet patterns, and crudely drawn anatomy on the walls of restrooms. Let's asses whether videogames are high art, quality art, and art worthy of respect.
Some videogames are no simpler than television commercials. Burger King released a series of XBox games specifically as a commercial. Are these quality art? Hardly. It does take time and effort to produce games like this. Graphics artists, sound producers, and programmers have to collaborate in an overall effort certainly more impressive than the boobs drawn in the Men's room. The games lack a certain finesse though. It needs to tell people more than "Kids have fun at Burger King" and strike more of an emotion than a lust for less expensive car insurance.
But some games are worthy of respect as artwork. Games are mixed media productions and so there are several facets of art that games employ.
Graphics - Actual artists actually draw graphics for videogames.
Animation - A well made cinema event can be as good as a clip from a Hollywood movie
Music - Many respected composers and musicians create pieces used in games that are even sometimes sold next to regular music
Literature - Some games, especially RPGs can have prose or scripts that stir emotions and tackle deep philosophical thought
Gameplay - Even gameplay can be well crafted and if you don't think gameplay can stir emotion then you should watch a bunch of frat guys huddled around Madden.
I'd like to list some, not all, of the games I consider to be of the highest quality of artwork. These are games that blended several aspects of art together in a way that sychronized smoothly:
Chrono Trigger
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Final Fantasy VII
Shadow of the Colossus
Super Metroid
Earthbound (Very abstract art)
Halo, campaign mode
Legend of Zelda: Windwaker
Pac-Man
Final Fantasy Tactics
Saga Frontier II (Water color actually)
In conclusion, are videogames art? Definitely. Are they good art? Sometimes. Can they be bad art? Of course. The same can be said of paintings, symphonies, and sculpture. You get the picture.
A little snapshot of today. I still haven't gotten one of my textbooks. The bookstore has been swearing it'll be here soon for the last three weeks. My patience is wearing thin with them and I'm about to ask for my money back. My brother has caught bacterial bronchitis and the rest of the family aren't feeling that hot either. I'll continue to be praying for them. I've been hooked on Harvest Moon lately, farming game. I have it emulated on my PC and whenever I feel like playing a game I get sucked into playing it. So, I played some Harvest Moon.
And then...
I went to the local Greyhound station. Most people don't know that they actually offer rides to other galaxies as well. Bought a ticket to Reeva and boarded the bus. I had some down time now. Even though the bus travels at several thousand times the speed of light it still takes about four hours to reach Reeva from Earth.
I already told you that time does not pass relative to myself on the bus and myself on Reeva due to Special Pirate Relativity. So when will I arrive on Reeva? According to Adamsian physics, not only are you not certain when my other self should arrive on Reeva, but neither is the universe. The universe will therefore take an educated guess, which usually turns out to be both convient for the universe and me.
I sat next to some old dude with a backpack that looked liked it held all his belongings. He kept asking me questions.
"Where ya headed? Reeva? I been there, not as much the tourist spot as it used to be. What you going there for? You have to save the shellfish? Save yourself! Oh, got it. Is that some kinda metaphor? Oh you warped here, that makes sense. I don't warp anymore, bad for my lower back. What were you doing on Reeva? No, I don't suppose it's any of my business. I just wondered if you might be looking for the person who killed it."
At that, I stopped dead in my tracks. Ash had mentioned she knew who killed the people of Reeva. She sounded guilty too. The old man told me how Reeva and Kattox used to be good trading partners, but the Kattox Refractor Crystal Incorporated began using Reeva's dependence on their product to influence their political decisions. Reeva boycotted further crystal purchases in an attempt to get their political rights back. Kattox Refractors demanded their crystals be returned to them. When their demands were not met, they razed the planet to the ground. Only underground equipment remained operational and until the scrubbers had time to recover, the entire planet's atmosphere was unbreathable.
After that discussion and a few more on the fine art of macaroni sculpture. I arrived on Reeva. I ran to the facility, bolting towards my last known location. I arrived just in time. I watched as my previous self fell from the robot's blast. I saw myself make a dash towards the robot and slide under his short stubby legs. I quickly ran towards the robot as it spun around. I reached into the access panel that Ash had already opened and ripped the safety cord.
The robot grinded to a halt and my previous self warped to Earth, unaware of the robot's deactivation, as I had done. I was glad. Contrary to popular opinion, temporal paradoxes do not cause rifts in the space time contiuum nor are they impossible to commit. However, they can lead to severe emotional and psychological problems in later years.
Ash picked herself up and dusted off, despite the lack of dirt to dust off, and looked at me with a "I coulda done that look." I was thinking about more important things.
"Ash, I gotta ask you something."
Until next time fellow pirates.
Short answer: Yes
Long answer:
I always think that someone is asking the wrong question when they ask if something "is art." If it's trying to send you a message or invoke an emotion, it's art. I think the question they mean to ask is "Is this good art? Is it quality art?" The quality of art is an opinion, but there are some qualities that most people expect from art. Whether something is art or not is much more factual. The first rule being, if you care enough to argue whether it is or isn't art, it probably is.
So let's assume now that art encompasses videogames in the same way it encompasses television commercials, carpet patterns, and crudely drawn anatomy on the walls of restrooms. Let's asses whether videogames are high art, quality art, and art worthy of respect.
Some videogames are no simpler than television commercials. Burger King released a series of XBox games specifically as a commercial. Are these quality art? Hardly. It does take time and effort to produce games like this. Graphics artists, sound producers, and programmers have to collaborate in an overall effort certainly more impressive than the boobs drawn in the Men's room. The games lack a certain finesse though. It needs to tell people more than "Kids have fun at Burger King" and strike more of an emotion than a lust for less expensive car insurance.
But some games are worthy of respect as artwork. Games are mixed media productions and so there are several facets of art that games employ.
Graphics - Actual artists actually draw graphics for videogames.
Animation - A well made cinema event can be as good as a clip from a Hollywood movie
Music - Many respected composers and musicians create pieces used in games that are even sometimes sold next to regular music
Literature - Some games, especially RPGs can have prose or scripts that stir emotions and tackle deep philosophical thought
Gameplay - Even gameplay can be well crafted and if you don't think gameplay can stir emotion then you should watch a bunch of frat guys huddled around Madden.
I'd like to list some, not all, of the games I consider to be of the highest quality of artwork. These are games that blended several aspects of art together in a way that sychronized smoothly:
Chrono Trigger
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Final Fantasy VII
Shadow of the Colossus
Super Metroid
Earthbound (Very abstract art)
Halo, campaign mode
Legend of Zelda: Windwaker
Pac-Man
Final Fantasy Tactics
Saga Frontier II (Water color actually)
In conclusion, are videogames art? Definitely. Are they good art? Sometimes. Can they be bad art? Of course. The same can be said of paintings, symphonies, and sculpture. You get the picture.
A little snapshot of today. I still haven't gotten one of my textbooks. The bookstore has been swearing it'll be here soon for the last three weeks. My patience is wearing thin with them and I'm about to ask for my money back. My brother has caught bacterial bronchitis and the rest of the family aren't feeling that hot either. I'll continue to be praying for them. I've been hooked on Harvest Moon lately, farming game. I have it emulated on my PC and whenever I feel like playing a game I get sucked into playing it. So, I played some Harvest Moon.
And then...
I went to the local Greyhound station. Most people don't know that they actually offer rides to other galaxies as well. Bought a ticket to Reeva and boarded the bus. I had some down time now. Even though the bus travels at several thousand times the speed of light it still takes about four hours to reach Reeva from Earth.
I already told you that time does not pass relative to myself on the bus and myself on Reeva due to Special Pirate Relativity. So when will I arrive on Reeva? According to Adamsian physics, not only are you not certain when my other self should arrive on Reeva, but neither is the universe. The universe will therefore take an educated guess, which usually turns out to be both convient for the universe and me.
I sat next to some old dude with a backpack that looked liked it held all his belongings. He kept asking me questions.
"Where ya headed? Reeva? I been there, not as much the tourist spot as it used to be. What you going there for? You have to save the shellfish? Save yourself! Oh, got it. Is that some kinda metaphor? Oh you warped here, that makes sense. I don't warp anymore, bad for my lower back. What were you doing on Reeva? No, I don't suppose it's any of my business. I just wondered if you might be looking for the person who killed it."
At that, I stopped dead in my tracks. Ash had mentioned she knew who killed the people of Reeva. She sounded guilty too. The old man told me how Reeva and Kattox used to be good trading partners, but the Kattox Refractor Crystal Incorporated began using Reeva's dependence on their product to influence their political decisions. Reeva boycotted further crystal purchases in an attempt to get their political rights back. Kattox Refractors demanded their crystals be returned to them. When their demands were not met, they razed the planet to the ground. Only underground equipment remained operational and until the scrubbers had time to recover, the entire planet's atmosphere was unbreathable.
After that discussion and a few more on the fine art of macaroni sculpture. I arrived on Reeva. I ran to the facility, bolting towards my last known location. I arrived just in time. I watched as my previous self fell from the robot's blast. I saw myself make a dash towards the robot and slide under his short stubby legs. I quickly ran towards the robot as it spun around. I reached into the access panel that Ash had already opened and ripped the safety cord.
The robot grinded to a halt and my previous self warped to Earth, unaware of the robot's deactivation, as I had done. I was glad. Contrary to popular opinion, temporal paradoxes do not cause rifts in the space time contiuum nor are they impossible to commit. However, they can lead to severe emotional and psychological problems in later years.
Ash picked herself up and dusted off, despite the lack of dirt to dust off, and looked at me with a "I coulda done that look." I was thinking about more important things.
"Ash, I gotta ask you something."
Until next time fellow pirates.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Back from Dragon*Con
I have returned from DragonCon. It was incredibly fun, and there were at least 30,000 fellow con-goers there. I took over 50 pictures on some disposable cameras which I will have developed sometime this week. I will post them at that time.
I saw George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. I also saw George Krstic one of the creators of Megas XLR, an amazing show that ended too quickly. I also saw Richard Epcar, the English voice of Batou from the anime series Ghost in the Shell. There were more celebrities that I missed or didn't have time for at the con. I heard that Lenard Nimoy and a couple of the cast of Enterprise were at the con, but I didn't see them.
I competed in a Magic the Gathering card game tournament, but I didn't make it past the first round. The guy I went up against was very experienced. The whole thing felt kinda cheap, the judge was one of the contestants and made it at least to the third round as I recall. Most of the contest was kinda on your honor and there was a lot of room for people to cheat and no one would know. I didn't stick around to see who one, but I wouldn't doubt it if the judge himself won the tournament.
I noticed that there were dozens of game sessions for a game called Shadowrun that I had never heard of. I tried to sign up, but they all booked solid. Interested in why this game was so popular I decided to buy a copy from the Dealer's room, but the Shadowrun vendor had SOLD OUT of copies of the core rulebooks. At that point I gave up. I checked reviews of the game online and wasn't impressed and I still have no idea why the game was so popular.
I bought a t-shirt:
And a game called Dungeoneer.
The experience was definitely great overall, but there were some excruciating parts. We arrived at the con around 11 on Saturday, but it took us til 4 PM to register! We literally stood in line for FOUR HOURS. When I got through the line I understood why. They only had two cashiers taking credit cards and the data entry guy who put my registration info into the computer, COULDN'T TYPE! I have to ask, why would you sign up for Data Entry position if you Can't Type?
We got back from the con on Monday evening. It was definitely worth it. When I got back, I had caught a bug sometime during the weekend, but I'm feeling much better now. My mom and people also caught something on their camping trip, keep them in your prayers for getting well soon.
Today I've been drudging through class with a tissue. I got done doing some homework. I played some video games.
And then...
I played some more games.
You expected me to jump right back in front of that robot's blaster? No, I was going to be smart about this. I picked up my cell and called an old friend.
"Hey Chief, I need a new warp point. What? Yes. I know. Look, I know it doesn't just work like that. Yes, yes. Look, how 'bout you just tell me how much it's gonna cost. THAT much? Well, do you take Space Visa? I'm good for it, I swear! Look, I'm right on top of a refractor crystal. Yes, a Refractor Crystal. So we're cool, great. Can you come to Earth?"
Instantly Nauta, "Chief", warped into my living room. He quickly began rattling off a disclaimer.
"Okay, N.O. energy utilizes the two halves of the user's brain and therefore is not appropriate for everyone. Some risks are involved including but not limited to: dizzyness, headaches, spontaneous combustion, death, pregnancy regardless of gender, and eternal entrapment in an endless void. N.O. is known to cause cancer in the state of California, but only in the state of California."
Warp points move with you, but remain in the same place when you are not present. I have two, one located on Earth and another currently on Reeva. The first two cost a pretty penny, the third was costing me almost twice the original amount.
Nauta picked up his guitar. N.O. always comes with a guitar, I've got one too. He drew back and swung the thing directly at my head. I was knocked against the wall and my mind began spinning. The pain is intense, but at the same time it feels like all the secrets to the universe are being unlocked within you. I blacked out and woke up a moment later.
"Thought I was going to lose you for a second. Well, try it out."
I stood up and began to feel my third warp. It was located right across the room. I willed myself to jump there and I disappeared and reappeared instantly on the other side of the room.
"Good job Chief. I'll catch you later. Right now, I have to catch a bus to Reeva."
Until next time fellow pirates...
I saw George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. I also saw George Krstic one of the creators of Megas XLR, an amazing show that ended too quickly. I also saw Richard Epcar, the English voice of Batou from the anime series Ghost in the Shell. There were more celebrities that I missed or didn't have time for at the con. I heard that Lenard Nimoy and a couple of the cast of Enterprise were at the con, but I didn't see them.
I competed in a Magic the Gathering card game tournament, but I didn't make it past the first round. The guy I went up against was very experienced. The whole thing felt kinda cheap, the judge was one of the contestants and made it at least to the third round as I recall. Most of the contest was kinda on your honor and there was a lot of room for people to cheat and no one would know. I didn't stick around to see who one, but I wouldn't doubt it if the judge himself won the tournament.
I noticed that there were dozens of game sessions for a game called Shadowrun that I had never heard of. I tried to sign up, but they all booked solid. Interested in why this game was so popular I decided to buy a copy from the Dealer's room, but the Shadowrun vendor had SOLD OUT of copies of the core rulebooks. At that point I gave up. I checked reviews of the game online and wasn't impressed and I still have no idea why the game was so popular.
I bought a t-shirt:
And a game called Dungeoneer.
The experience was definitely great overall, but there were some excruciating parts. We arrived at the con around 11 on Saturday, but it took us til 4 PM to register! We literally stood in line for FOUR HOURS. When I got through the line I understood why. They only had two cashiers taking credit cards and the data entry guy who put my registration info into the computer, COULDN'T TYPE! I have to ask, why would you sign up for Data Entry position if you Can't Type?
We got back from the con on Monday evening. It was definitely worth it. When I got back, I had caught a bug sometime during the weekend, but I'm feeling much better now. My mom and people also caught something on their camping trip, keep them in your prayers for getting well soon.
Today I've been drudging through class with a tissue. I got done doing some homework. I played some video games.
And then...
I played some more games.
You expected me to jump right back in front of that robot's blaster? No, I was going to be smart about this. I picked up my cell and called an old friend.
"Hey Chief, I need a new warp point. What? Yes. I know. Look, I know it doesn't just work like that. Yes, yes. Look, how 'bout you just tell me how much it's gonna cost. THAT much? Well, do you take Space Visa? I'm good for it, I swear! Look, I'm right on top of a refractor crystal. Yes, a Refractor Crystal. So we're cool, great. Can you come to Earth?"
Instantly Nauta, "Chief", warped into my living room. He quickly began rattling off a disclaimer.
"Okay, N.O. energy utilizes the two halves of the user's brain and therefore is not appropriate for everyone. Some risks are involved including but not limited to: dizzyness, headaches, spontaneous combustion, death, pregnancy regardless of gender, and eternal entrapment in an endless void. N.O. is known to cause cancer in the state of California, but only in the state of California."
Warp points move with you, but remain in the same place when you are not present. I have two, one located on Earth and another currently on Reeva. The first two cost a pretty penny, the third was costing me almost twice the original amount.
Nauta picked up his guitar. N.O. always comes with a guitar, I've got one too. He drew back and swung the thing directly at my head. I was knocked against the wall and my mind began spinning. The pain is intense, but at the same time it feels like all the secrets to the universe are being unlocked within you. I blacked out and woke up a moment later.
"Thought I was going to lose you for a second. Well, try it out."
I stood up and began to feel my third warp. It was located right across the room. I willed myself to jump there and I disappeared and reappeared instantly on the other side of the room.
"Good job Chief. I'll catch you later. Right now, I have to catch a bus to Reeva."
Until next time fellow pirates...
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