Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1245https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4241After a long cut-scene of photos from the real event including photos of Eric and Dylan before the shooting and photos of the victim’s families and friends after the shooting, the gamer suddenly finds himself (or herself) in hell trying to escape demons as the chase you… For me, this was the most appalling segment of the game. I thought it was incredibly disrespectful and downright cruel to depict any person’s memory in Hell chased by demons especially after viewing a particularly sobering cut-scene of the tragedy. After playing through Hell for 30 minutes, and repeatedly dying at the hands of demons I stopped playing the game. Just from a technical perspective, the game is infuriating in that it offers few clues outside of the narrative as to what to do – no maps and no “objectives”. This makes for very a very unpleasant gaming experience. From an ethical perspective, I don’t think there is anything wrong with making a game like this if the intentions are from a baseline of understanding. If the goal of the game creators is purely to bring some understanding of the event and those affected to the gamer through the gameplay then that’s fine. This game seems to have too strong of an agenda and strong negative judgments for gamers to think for themselves. The argument the games seems to be pushing is that violent games, movies, television, and music was the number one accelerant in Dylan and Eric’s path towards the extreme violence and aggression of April 20th, 1999 and that their actions have surely sent them to Hell. I wonder who created/financed this game…Mon, 17 May 2010 11:37:05 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4241&iddiary=7921https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4241With a quick search on Google I found a walkthrough for the game which instructed me to plant two bombs, one on each end of the cafeteria. With this new knowledge I was able to successfully plant the bombs and get out of the school. I first wandered around the park not sure of what to do but then reloaded my saved game and figured out that I forgot to gather the weapons in the car. So I went back to the car, got the duffel bags full of weapons and went to the park where Dylan was waiting on a bench far to the right. After a retrospective cut-scene we loaded up “to the teeth” with shotguns, automatic weapons, pistols, small bombs, and knifes. We went back to the parking lot to watch the bombs explode and none of them worked. After the third bomb failed to detonate we went on a killing spree through the parking lot. Eric told one kid that he likes him and that he should go home. But no other kids on the parking lot received like mercy. Wandering around the parking lot and encountering kids, pokemon-like battles took place. I manually completed a few battles but quickly switched over to the auto mode. The fact that there is an auto mode at all kind of tells you that the battles are pretty pointless… Through the parking lot and the school building, Dylan and I killed pretty girls, openly gay men (odd character inclusion – doesn’t seem like your normal high school stereotype), goodie goodie girls, popular girls, nerdy girls, church boys, janitors, sheltered girls, and various teachers. When destroying computers in the library the game showed a cut-scene of the president Bill Clinton addressing the nation regarding the tragedy in progress. Another cut-scene went back to when Eric was in love with an older woman when he was 17 named Brenda. The cops came and a cut-scene takes place showing Eric and Dylan on an island where no one could touch them or tell them what to do – free of “shitheads”. Back in the school, Eric and Dylan just committed suicide. I thought it was odd and pretty sexist that every girl seemed to have no health at all and only "braced for attacks". The jocks and the janitors seemed to be strongest of the victims.Mon, 17 May 2010 11:11:23 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4241&iddiary=7919https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4241The first thing I noticed about the gameplay was how hard the text is to read! After waking up in the game, I started to wander around the room. I went over to the stereo, pressed ENTER, and Nirvana started to play. I went over to the video game console and learned that the Eric is into Doom, the video game of “desensitized violence”. I went over to the calendar and learned of the current data: Tuesday, April 20th, 1999. Now the Nirvana makes sense. I learn of his attempt to join the marines which was denied due to his prescription of Luvox, an antidepressant. With a phone call, I learned that he and his friend Dylan plan to commit mass homicide that day. Their cover is a bowling class. Eric calls Dylan the nickname “V” on the phone which I later learn is short for Vodka. Dylan calls Eric “Reb” which I assume is short for Rebel. I went down to basement to gear up for the event. There is a Marilyn Manson CD in the room which encourages “impulsive aggression and rage”. I can clearly tell so far that this game is making the argument that these additions to a young man’s life – violent video games, rock music with mature, sometimes troubling lyrics - promote aggressive behavior and hatred. I went over to the two large propane bombs and place them into two duffel bags on a table. While waiting for Dylan to arrive I explored the large basement room. I discovered the plan written out. I will place the bombs somewhere, gear up in a park, and then attack once they go off. I am still unsure where the bombing will take place and its significance to Eric and Dylan. I came across some pizza which triggered a flashback. __________ Dylan and Eric were using something called Black Powder in a discrete location. They used it to blow up a nearby dumpster. Eric told Dylan that his boss Chris at Baskin Robins thinks he’s the best employee there because he “detonates” aerosol cans in the storage room. Dylan shared that he has been accepted into Arizona State and might major in computer science but “who cares”. I learned that Eric’s dad was/is in the Air Force which was the driving motive behind signing up for the Marines. The flashback ends with the introduction of a guy named Phil who will be selling the guns. ___________ The game also seems to be making the case the childhoods of these boys might be playing a part in their aggressive plans. Perhaps having a military childhood contributed? Back in the basement I learned that the current time is 7:05am. Dylan arrived and said “Let’s do this” and “I’ve endured this shit for long enough”. I learned that they plan to “level” their entire school. Before they leave, the two record a final message. Dylan expresses a parallel with what they are doing with the Doom video game. Eric expressed some remorse for how his parents will be affected by his actions. Dylan expressed that he is fed up and generally angry with everyone. The watched a video for inspiration. It seemed to be an interview with an army/military veteran who had witnessed some terrible things. He speaks of the strength to push feelings and judgment within so you can kill. They left the basement and in the car, Eric put on some KMFDM music. The song titles flashed by: they were all violent and aggressive. The two then arrived in the parking lot of the school. I was instructed to go into the cafeteria and place the bombs. This was harder than I was expecting. Getting past the cameras and hall monitors took quite a bit of trial and error. I finally arrived at the cafeteria and went through the entire room, avoiding the janitors and camera and could not figure out the right action to take. I once pulled the fire alarm which was the wrong thing to do. Before I start my next session I am going to Google the correct action to take as I am at a loss. It seems ironic that the video game is making the argument that violent games/music lead to aggression when it itself is a video game. I find the opposite reaction to be more apparent. I empathize with the characters but at the same time feel myself to be saddened and at times am just angry at these kids.Sun, 16 May 2010 23:45:42 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4241&iddiary=7903https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4201Upon starting my third session, I went over to Ryder's house to start another mission. The mission was unavailable for a few hours so I went to the gym down the street and pumped some iron. I increased my strength to a perfect physique and I learned some new moves in the boxing ring. To execute power moves you have to press the return key while targeting an enemy, an awkward action considering I had my right hand on the mouse and my left hand near the WSAD movement keys. I went back to Ryder's house and started a mission to steal some guns from a house across town. We drove over in a large truck and parked in the parking lot. The mission took place late at night while everyone was sleeping. It was my job to sneak into the house to retrieve three crates of guns without waking anyone up. It was a pretty easy, yet boring, mission. I collected all of the guns with plenty of time to spare (we were to finish before sunrise). Once we had everything loaded up, I drove the van to a lockup garage. Ryder seemed pretty mean and agitated throughout the whole mission. On my way back to Grove Street I stopped in a tattoo parlor for some new ink. I got a gun on my chest, Africa and a blade on my arm, and a Grove Street tattoo on my back. Represent! I got back to Grove Street and entered Ryder's house again. The police came in and told us about some merchandise on a train they wanted us to steal. The police officers continued to pressure me with comments regarding the increased amount of crime and murders of police officers. Ryder and I drove over to the train where we saw that some other gang members were after the same items off the train. We shot all of them and I hopped on the train while Ryder stood in the bed of the pickup truck while another Grove Street Gang member drove close to the back of the train. I threw crates back to Ryder who stashed them into the truck. After we got enough crates I jumped off the train and we drove back to Grove Street. I went over to Ryder's house again and he was smoking outside scheming and exclaimed that he was a genius. He wanted to steal guns from the National Guard this time around. We drove over to the National Guard compound in another large van. Ryder told me to hop over the wall to let him in. I scaled the wall and shot the keypad next to the entrance which opened the gate for Ryder. He came in and I covered him by shooting the guards that came out. I followed Ryder to the hanger of interest and shot the keypad along the side which opened its door (Why the doors open when the keypads are destroyed is beyond me - in some movies, shooting the keypad locks your enemies with the code on the other side). Ryder hopped out, opened the back doors to the van and told me to load up the van with crates from the hanger using the forklift while he covered. I got into the forklift and started to move crates from the hanger floor to the van. I moved 4 crates from the hanger, occasionally hopping off to take care of the guards shooting at Ryder, and 2 crates from outside to the van. After we're all loaded up, I drove Ryder and the crates to another lockup garage. I went on a quick date with Denise to the Cluckin' Bell and improve my relationship status marginally. Relationships in GTA take way too long... I stole myself a low-rider car and went over to Caesar's to participate in a low-rider car race. The states were high. If I lost the race I lost my car - which I had just stolen. I easily won the race the first time through and gained some cash. I went back to Grove Street and went over to Smoke's house where a meeting was taking place. Sweet was leading an effort to reunite the family. I drive Sweet, Smoke, and Ryder over to a motel where another meeting was to take place. Once we arrived and Sweet got out of the car, Police came by helicopter and repelled in. Smoke and Ryder took off while I shot the police officers and went into the hotel to find and rescue Sweet. I replenished my health at the vending machine with some soda (huh?) and continued down the hallways looking for Sweet. After shooting the police officers in the hallway along the way, I found Sweet in one of the rooms. We make our way up to the roof where officers from the helicopter were shooting at us. I shot it down with my SMG and we took the stairs down to the ground (why was there a staircase from the roof to the ground?). Once we got to the street, Smoke and Ryder showed up to take us away. The police chase the car and I shoot from the back. After shooting down many squad cars and motorcycles we arrive safely back home. I quickly survived three waves of Ballas Gang Members to take over another Ballas Gang Territory The next mission was called "The Green Sabre". Sweet wants to take of the Ballas Gang. Once we left the house and departed to jump on the Ballas territory, I got a call from Caesar who demanded to see me right away. I drove over, got in his car, and we watched across the street as some Ballas Gang members departed a building followed by Smoke, Ryder, and some police officers. It seemed the Smoke and Ryder sold out the Grove Street Gang. Carol realized that his brother Sweet was heading into a trap and I quickly rushed over to his location. I got to the parking lot, hopped out and helped defend Sweet and the other guys from the Ballas Gang waves. After surviving the waves, the police officers came and took Sweet and I in separate cars. Sweet went to prison and I was dropped off in the middle of nowhere. The police still wanted me to complete some tasks for them. The first mission for the police involved killing a snitch protected by feds out in the woods. I was also given a camera to document the successful killing. I jumped on a dirt bike and made my way up the mountain to the safe house. Once I arrived at the safe house, I scoped out the area, and sneaked my way through the patrol guards into the house (why is he alone in the house?), killed the guy, took a photograph of his body, rushed back to my bike, and stumbled down the hill to drop off the camera. Caesar called me after that mission and told me to go meet with his cousin in the area. I drove over to a bar where she was causing trouble. We stole a gas tanker together after a gas station theft failed, and drove it to a buyer while pursued by the tanker's owner. I got a phone call from Officer Tenpenny who told me to meet him. When I got to the house, he was smoking weed. He introduced me to a hippie who needed me to steal a harvester from some "survivalists" and bring it to his farm. I made my way to the "survivalist" farm, stole the harvester, chopped up some of the "survivalists" on my way up, and parked it in a hanger on the hippie's farm nearby. I got a phone call from Caesar who told me that thing are deteriorating in Los Santos. A price had been put on Caesar's head. Carol told him to take his sister and go somewhere safe. I went back to my house in the rural town and finish my third session. I'm not sure why Carol still agrees to go on mission for the police. The don't seem to have anything concrete against him...Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:14:06 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4201&iddiary=7871https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4201At the beginning of my second session I went to the donut place to talk with the police who have been calling me. Interesting quote during our little chat: "I can shit on you from such a height, you'll think God himself took a crap on you" - Officer Frank Tenpenny. I was sent on a mission to take care of another "gang-banger". I picked up some hidden Molotov cocktails and drove to the guys house where I found some yellow-bandanna wearing gang members hanging out outside. I was shot and killed the first time, but during the second run I decided to drive over a bunch with my car which made it easier for me to finish the mission. I torched the "gang-bangers" house by throwing the cocktails through the windows and took care of everyone outside. Then, the game shows you that a girl is stuck in the house on one of the upper floors. I went through with a fire extinguisher and was able to find my way upstairs (why were the stairs in the back?) and rescued the girl before the house collapsed. She introduced herself as Denise Robinson and I drove her home. She became my "girlfriend" and I'll have to take her out on dates. I took Denise on a date. I remembered from my last time playing through the game that she likes fast food so I took her to the Cluckin' Bell and she seemed to enjoy that! I went on another Grove St. Mission which involved saving the brother and his girl from a gang that had them pinned down. After entering one of the Grove St. houses I entered another mission that took me to some low-rider suspension party where I had to make the car dance to the beat. The mission interface was basically DDR for low-rider cars. I felt pretty stupid going through it and for some reason couldn't jump the car diagonally using the numpad. I succeeded anyway. I went on another mission for OG Loc which involved killing a driver for Mad Dogg, stealing his car, driving with the motorcade to an Awards Show to pick up Mad Dogg, and then launching Mad Dogg and his girlfriend off the Pier. I jumped out a little late, landed in the water, and swam back to shore. I took over a Ballas Gang territory by killing three waves of their members. I got a new haircut and thread for a OG Loc party on Grove Street. After leaving the party, the crew is warned that the Ballas Gang is heading over for a fire fight. We survive through the waves and Ballas Gang members and completed the mission. I haven't been back to the gym or gone to eat since my first session. I think those little tasks are pretty mindless and boring. This is where I saved the game and ended my session. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:12:55.)Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:11:33 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4201&iddiary=7827https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4201I have played this game before but for the class (IT 228), I have decided to start from the beginning. Overarching reactions: - From a cultural/ethical perspective: The game is extremely violent and glorifies crime, potentially desensitizing the user to violence/crime. - From a technical perspective: The game is expertly engineered. With all Grand Theft Auto games, I am tremendously impressed with the responsiveness of the system despite the huge amount of data being thrown to the user. The system seems to be able to do this by creating a spatial bubble around the user and everything outside of that bubble simply ceases to exist. As you move around the world, the game fetches elements that "live" in that area and drops elements as you travel away from them. Gameplay Notes: From the introductory sequence, I learned that the lead character's name is Carol (later nicknamed CJ). The police suspect that he might have killed another police officer and promise to keep an eye on him. Back in his home turf, on Grove Street, he reconnects with his friends and brother. I leaned that his mother was killed years ago. I get a new haircut and later some green colors to reinstate my loyalty to my crew. I learned about the importance of eating and working out (told I am too skinny) and how to do both within the game. *I have decided not to use any cheats throughout the game this time around. As annoying as it is to alternate pressing the Left Mouse Button and the Space Bar to work on my biceps...* I am introduced to our rival group The Ballas Gang and how much we hate them. I go on a tagging mission to assert our power. The first time through this mission I sprayed a Ballas member in the face with spray paint but then was chased and killed by police officers. To "Clean the Hood" I travel with Ryder to two crack-dealing apartments and take care of the guys working there. Went to a drive-thru for chicken and saw some Ballas Gang members who we killed. We meet Emmit who seems like a crazy guy with a bunch of old guns. He'll become my gun supplier for the time being. One of the harder missions in the beginning of the game involved chasing down a guy on a motorcycle on one of my own with G Loc on the back shooting (horribly). Died the first time - the trick is not to go too fast and keep your distance from the gang members once the guy you're chasing dismounts. One confusing mission involved a beach party. I was supposed to steal some DJ equipment from the van parked on the sand but the doors were locked and when I talked with the cute DJ girl I didn't at first understand what I was supposed to do. Dance? I started moving around, jumping, even threw a few punches. Turned out I was supposed to continue pressing the Y button to answer positively in order to start the dance sequence (very DDR). I then went on another mission for G Loc in which I stole Mad Dogg's Rhyme Book from his house up in the hills. I had to sneak up on guards, stab them in the throat covertly (brutal), steal the book, and then shoot the rest of the guards as quietly as I could with a silenced pistol. I received a few phone calls during my gameplay: 1) Ryder: Things have changed - watch your back 2) Officer Hernandez: Don't try to leave town; we're watching you 3) Smoke: You're too skinny. Go to the gym. 4) Officers: We need to talk This is when I stopped for my first session. Played around 3 hours or so.Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:52:13 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4201&iddiary=7823