Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1121https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003Blount Game Log3 Playing the game the third time I started to look at it purely from the creative stand point. Without looking at the very controversial theme, I am able to appreciate what the author of this game was trying to put together as far as content, rules, elements, and systems. Without looking at the skill of the artist and just observing the constructional and semiotic development used to create a style that fits the technical limitations of the execution, I can see that the overall concept was well thought out and really is a successful composition as a whole. What is interesting is you see objects in this game from a top/side view. This arrangement compliments the grid restricted movement that correspond with the embedded danger zones representing the range of the security cameras. The grid is further loaded with” kill zones” based on proximity of the characters to one another. The relationship to characters to interactive back-story symbols completes the system. I have not figured out all the rules of the game but speed and agility of your characters movement is one physical rule you must master to advance, and get past obstacles. One hidden rule is, to experiment and try everything. Doing so allows you to find out what’s interactive and what’s not. I was looking for a moral dilemma that the creator of the game had to face, or one that players of the game has to face. And the dilemma that I see the author had to consider was; “Do I create the characters to kill the students or not”? Is that just too violent or must there be some sort of buffer to tone the violent nature of the theme and player characters down? In the first part of the game its seems that the players character really can’t harm the student monitors until it’s time to blow the whole school up, and yet the school monitors have the power to catch and send the player’s character back to the beginning of the game. My conclusion is that in order for this game to be fun within the artistic structure of the game the author had to tone the very hard core attitudes of the characters down a little to make the game play enjoyable.Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:05:30 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003&iddiary=7483https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003Blount Game Log2 This is my second time up at bat playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG and I finally made it pass the hall guards and into the cafeteria to plant my first bombs. Maneuvering around the tables and avoiding the cameras seem to be the hardest challenge. I don’t really know how to dislodge my bombs yet, I don’t really have enough experience. Approaching the game from the eyes of realism; even though the graphics are not created to resemble real objects in shape, texture or form, There is a lot of suggested realism going on in the game. From the items in Eric’s bedroom and basement, to the attitudes of two disillusioned suicidal teens, you get the sense that these two guys are really enjoying toying with death, only because they don’t really understand what life is about. Every thing is a big joke, and the story line succeeds in convincing the player that the only thing important in the game is to hurry up and get these guys blown to kingdom-come, along with the school. The possible actions and situations that may occur executing such a plan is experienced some by the player. The cameras, the school hall guards, and cafeteria workers, communicate the idea that Eric and Dylan are really trying to blow up the school. The maneuvering of the character Eric however, takes you mind completely off the goal, and makes all the dodging that Eric does the main game-play. I haven’t experienced any violence yet; maybe because I haven’t learned the purpose of or how to use the weapons. But it almost seems that you can maneuver your way to where you want to go by learning when to dodge by trail and error. The realism in this game lies in your ability to use your mind to make the realism valid. The punishments in this game guide you to performing the right actions to advance you forward. The punishments so far are all related to getting caught, which adds the much needed conflict in the game. Getting caught is a repeated action that allows you to learn the strengths and weaknesses of your obstacles: cameras, hall guards etc. The realism of these obstacles is experienced as real as it can be for this type of game design.Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:33:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003&iddiary=7481https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003Blount Game Log1 My first attempt to play this Pac Man style game was full of frustrations, but I finally figured out the plot. This game is about two restless dude’s whose fantasy is to get back at society by blowing up the high school. After spending ten minutes checking out dude one’s room, I finally figured out that only until I picked up every thing that was interactive in the room would I find out what to do to get the game going. The graphics are very pixilated and take a little time for your eyes to get used to reading the pixel styled objects in the room. Once you figure out that you have to make a phone call to your partner in crime to start the dialogue going and get the action going. The rawness of the graphics in a way works with the somewhat raw attitudes of the two main characters that you meet close up in the backstory and experience the dialogue between them. In this game you play the bad guy who is the hero and any thing normal is bad, and anything bad is good. When you finally leave your room and your partner comes over, after you grab your bombs in a duffle bag, you leave your living room to start the “big day” that you have been planning. At this point I started filling uncomfortable with the game. Unlike other games that mirror violence, in this game the violence is against innocent people. The object of the game is to blow up the school with people in it. Knowing this put a damper on the game because you have to in the name of having fun ignore the theme of the game in order to really enjoy it. This game is another case of cultural relativism gone wild; a world where bad is good and good is bad.Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:31:37 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003&iddiary=7475https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003Blount Game Log1 My first attempt to play this Pac Man style game was full of frustrations, but I finally figured out the plot. This game is about two restless dude’s whose fantasy is to get back at society by blowing up the high school. After spending ten minutes checking out dude one’s room, I finally figured out that only until I picked up every thing that was interactive in the room would I find out what to do to get the game going. The graphics are very pixilated and take a little time for your eyes to get used to reading the pixel styled objects in the room. Once you figure out that you have to make a phone call to your partner in crime to start the dialogue going and get the action going. The rawness of the graphics in a way works with the somewhat raw attitudes of the two main characters that you meet close up in the backstory and experience the dialogue between them. In this game you play the bad guy who is the hero and any thing normal is bad, and anything bad is good. When you finally leave your room and your partner comes over, after you grab your bombs in a duffle bag, you leave your living room to start the “big day” that you have been planning. At this point I started filling uncomfortable with the game. Unlike other games that mirror violence, in this game the violence is against innocent people. The object of the game is to blow up the school with people in it. Knowing this put a damper on the game because you have to in the name of having fun ignore the theme of the game in order to really enjoy it. This game is another case of cultural relativism gone wild; a world where bad is good and good is bad.Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:31:04 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4003&iddiary=7474https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3930My game experience was different when I played the game to investigate and log the physics of the objects and characters, and how they may contribute to the value system of the game. The first thing I noticed was how the characters reacted to being injured. Some characters who where hit by an auto, where knocked off their feet and rolled over the car before hitting the ground. Sometimes if you bumped into the wrong group of people on the street Blood spurted from arteries and bodies crumpled after there was a spray of bullets. As I played J.C., my auto flipped over and I was able to drive upside down on the roof of my car in any direction that I wanted to before my car blew up and I was knocked to the ground by the exploding car. Even though I was able to get out, I was still in harms way and I was killed by the explosion. A message then appeared on the Screen: ‘Wasted”. The autos that I drove took a generously long time to explode. This extended time contributed to the value of the auto as a key piece of equipment to move around in the game. There seemed to be a glowing life monitor in the form of a damaged glowing red hot engine manifold. This glowing area served to warn the player the car will blow up soon; you better plan to get out! The damage to an auto was cumulative and compounded as you ran into, over and through things. As this damage grew I wondered why I could still drive, in real life a car would have been totaled by hitting the first light of utility pole straight on. Instead of the front of your auto being totally smashed, the poles deflected like bowling pins out of the path of the car. Food plays a very important part of your energy level in this game and controls the value of the life of your character. Physically food and the different types available have their own value system and contribute to developing your character’s longitivity. Having the stolen cars immobilized created a situation where your character continues on the mission on foot until there is an opportunity to steal another auto. It seemed that the focus of the auto thief would be on car type and street value during the first stage of the game, but instead it is on proving that you are “down” with your homies, and that you still have what it takes to be a part of a group. Being down means to show trust, loyalty and a sense of covenant and family. The ordeal that is developed for your character is for the purpose to make a bond. This bond is more valuable than the cars in the game at this point. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:48:59 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3930&iddiary=7358https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3930My latest experience with the game Grand Thief Auto is from the perspective of race. The way my avatar character J.C. is portrayed and how he interacts with the environment makes me wonder why minorities in the game are portrayed so violent. It almost seems that every character that is a black male in the game is violent. But what is more disturbing are the activity choices that the characters participate in on a continual bases, and how the game allies with the media stereotype portrayal of black males who live in economically deprived neighborhoods. The game suggests that the main activities of most of the people who live in poor neighborhoods are violent criminal acts. There is little evidence of what happens on day to day bases in a real economically deprived neighborhood .or the choices that the people who live there make. The only culture that is shown in the game is the negative criminal culture. To portray an ethnic group in this way is very racist. Choosing a negative activity that takes place in a poor environment and emphasizing it through suggestive isolation perpetuates a negative stereotype of that ethnic group. The game suggests that the main life style choice for black males in poor neighborhoods is to be very violent, and criminal. The game also suggests that the violence that takes place in these environments, takes place so frequently that there is no resistance from the honest people that live there and there is no reaction to the violence that takes place. The honest people in the game calmly drive through the war zones and get robbed of their possessions without any complaint. The game makes it seem like J.C. or his homies and rivals has no fear of getting caught, and that they have no real need to take precautions, except to arm themselves with weapons. Anyone who has really lived in an area like this knows the gangster is the most afraid person in the neighborhood; he trusts no one! Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:48:31 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3930&iddiary=7357https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3930My first half hour of play was very reckless; it was like learning to ride a bike and drive a car all over again. There was a thrill attached to being able to run over people and kill them without being held morally responsible for your actions. There also seem to be a very quick conditioning that takes place that causes you to lose your value and respect for the lives of the people that you encounter during the game play. Some of the desensitizing is created by the graphic images of blood spurting and death, which seems to be the main objective of most of the interactions between characters other than your homies. This lack of sensation takes place for the player character almost instantly. You know that your avatar character you are playing is heartless and hardcore. In this game environment violence is encouraged and rewarded by a show of respect through the dialogue of your homies. There is a lack of justice for people on the streets and drivers of the autos that you force out of the vehicles they are driving. The police that you encounter are corrupt and seldom respond to the killings that take place every time you rub someone the wrong way. In fact the justice in the game seems to be the violence that you get to perform as you try to complete your mission. A drug culture type of justice; kill everything in sight that happens to purposely or mistakenly gets in your way. They deserve it! For this games environment system this is right. In the players real environment this is of coarse is wrong. The game is an example of cultural relativism where the standards of the culture dictate what is wrong or right. In the culture of Grand Thief Auto San Andreas, killing is the right thing to do. The rules of the game support and reward this action, and the more blood you spill the more respect you seem to have. The killing is impartial; all the character types in this game are candidates for death, and it can be supported by reason; if you kill you have a good chance of living and completing the mission. This of coarse is a direct conflict with the real world of the player, since random and first degree murder is wrong. This brings to mind a controversial dilemma that I feel one should deal with ethically. I had to ask the question, since the marketing of the game is to kids and teenagers; is this game ethically sound, is it right to market this game to youth knowing the value and justice system it supports? This argument I feel is worth investigating and will help guide designers of games to a better ethical position. Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:48:03 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3930&iddiary=7356