Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=901https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3477There are undoubtedly deep ethical issues associated with the tragic events that took place at Columbine high school. However, the game makes no attempt to broach the subject, with or without any sense of tact. Look at it this way: What if the characters and events which take place in Super Columbine Massacre were entirely a work of fiction? What would we have? 1. Hideous art direction. 2. Vapid, hokey, macho dialogue. ("Let's do this, dude!" "Fuck yeah, bro!") 3. A horrific linear story suffering a complete lack of compelling material 4. Game play mechanics which revolve around pushing blobs of color around and restarting levels as punishment. All in all, I'm glad freedoms exist which allow forms of expression such as this game. However, if Super Columbine Massacre was created with any serious form of creative effort in mind, as someone whose played it for what I would call a decent length of time, I feel owed an apology. I feel a slight sense of comfort in the fact that I'm not alone: In 2006, PC World declared the game #2 on its list of "The 10 Worst Games of All Time." (Source: Wikipedia)Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:16:37 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3477&iddiary=6507https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3477Ok, you're apparently supposed to hug the wall under the security cameras, while avoiding the endless stream of students chasing after you. If you don't position yourself EXACTLY under the camera or if you happen to get within 20 feet of another students, the game punishes you with the absolute worst and most frustrating game mechanic ever to be thought up: you re-start from the beginning. As an unintended side effect, ironically enough this part of the game is so frustrating it did make me feel like an angst-ridden teen. I've replayed the game up until the parking lot/hallway area, and I'm certain I haven't forgot to do anything that might help me get through the hallway. If you hit the esc key, it brings up a menu where you can "gear up", but it doesn't appear to do anything. I seem to be at an impasse.Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:15:52 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3477&iddiary=6506https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3477I've made it out of the characters house with the duffel bags, sat through some really poorly written dialogue, and had to listen to a looping midi of Nirvana for about 12 minutes. So far, I feel as though I've absorbed a decent amount of plot, however no ethical standpoint has been taken, and no issues have been brought up. There has been no gratuitous violence, and the ethical issue of whether or not Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were entirely culpable for their actions due to any amount of cultural or media influence feels like the proverbial gorilla in the corner. As an aside, STRICTLY from a game development standpoint, when I remember Columbine I think of the censorship advocates, lawmakers, and the resulting shitstorm that descended upon the game industry like a plague of locusts in order to point fingers and spread blame. I think of restrictions placed on creative forms of expression, liberties taken away "for our own good", and the notion of punishing all for actions of "the few."Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:15:27 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3477&iddiary=6505https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3425Ryder's First Mission You make your way back to your old neighborhood (Grove Street) and begin working for your old friend, Ryder. The story unfolds that your old gang/family, the "Grove Street OG's" have been losing strength and numbers, while their major competitor, "The Ballas" have been getting stronger. Ryder wants to re-establish himself or gain respect by knocking over a pizza place while using you/CJ as an accomplice. On the way there, CJ decides to stop by "Old Reece," the barber, for a haircut. After the barber, the game's active tutorial leads you into the pizza place across the street for "nourishment." While ordering a "Buster Meal," Ryder comes in half-disguised and tries to rob the place. The man behind the counter immediately identifies him, brandishes a shotgun from behind the counter, and begins to pursue CJ and Ryder into the parking lot, where you make your getaway. For me, the most morally ironic or difficult decision wasn't whether or not to fire back at the pizza clerk, but which haircut I wanted from Old Reece, the barber. I didn't shoot the clerk, but I did buy cornrows.Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:10:07 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3425&iddiary=6395https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3425Aside on "Active" vs "Passive" playable characters My thoughts about the active vs passive character's voice: The most recent GTA game I remember playing was GTA 3, around November 2001. The biggest distinction between that story's protagonist and GTA: SA's "CJ" was the switch from the character having a passive to an active voice. In GTA 3, your character never spoke nor used any strong body language in the affirmative or negative towards another character in the game's world. However in SA, "CJ" speaks up, talks back, and defends himself verbally. Although his actions or words may not directly be in line with what the player is feeling, I feel they serve as a strong moral or at least narrative compass by which the player should act. On the negative, however, if a player emotions or desires aren't in the least in line with the characters, there's a definite disconnect between doing what you want to do and doing what the game wants you to do. Aside from any moral dilemmas this may create, this "rail-runner" type of disconnect also breaks immersion and forces the player to act outside the scope of any conceptual interactivity to the narrative.Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:08:54 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3425&iddiary=6394https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3425Introduction The introduction to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas plays out like a movie, with characters represented via social roles and racial stereotypes propegated through mainstream movies. The player's avatar is represented via the character "CJ", an African-American gangster with a sordid past returning home to attend his mother's funeral. Immediately upon his arrival, he's taken hostage by the local police (one of which is played by Samuel Jackson!) and is framed for murder. After being dropped off in "Baller country," the player is left with little alternative other than cooperating with the police by making his way home and starting the first mission. The game continues much like any other movie or story whereby the player's used as a pawn, as the protagonist finds himself in a moral dilemma with repercussions yet to unfold... During my first few moments of actual game play, the limitations forced on the player to act with any kind of moral guidelines or frameworks became glaringly obvious. Upon meeting another non-playable character, how many ways can you interact with them? You can stand in their way, shoot them, or run them over. I'm reminded of a quote Ernest Adams once gave during a lecture on interactive narratives: "When all you have to interact with the world is a BFG, everyone else is a cacodemon..." (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:20:10.)Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:08:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3425&iddiary=6393