Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=975https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3659So now I have played through most of the game and watched the documentary based on the game. Overall my opinion of the game has been one of an effective tool. We had discussed this thoroughly in class and I agree with the side that said that Danny Ledonne, the maker of both game and movie, did not release the game with the full intent that he says he did in the movie. We thought that most of the things he talked about he had come up with after all of this controversy on the game came about. However, we did think that he had some motive of actually getting people to talk about the event. Whatever his purpose for making the game may have been, it did turn out to be a tool used to get people to talk about the event that took place. After watching the movie and finding out more about the maker of the game, I found that I could understand more things about the game. When the event happened he had been a high school student and he had had experiences being bullied himself. To me this helped to explain some of why he had made the game. I feel it was a way that he found to finally express his feelings on the topic. He used it as an outlet so that he could start to move on from the event. The event must have had a greater effect on him than he states because he has stood by his words and defended them. My thoughts on the creations of Danny Ledonne are this, I think he is a pretty brilliant man. He not only created a simple yet effective tool about a major event, but he has outlasted all of his critics. His game and movie are not only effective teaching tools, but they act as a way of saying, this is what happened and what I think of it. Ledonne was strong enough to do what he felt that he should and share his feelings with the world.Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:15:15 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3659&iddiary=6898https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3659So after revisiting the beginning of the game I have found that it is possible to pass through this game without killing anyone other than the two main characters. The bombs that are planted, all three of them, do not work and do not go off; and with a little effort you can not run into anyone on your way to the library and where they shoot at the cops and then end their own lives. I found this to be a loophole that the creator used in order to feel ethically right about it. He left a way for the story to play out in a less violent manner than the actual event. I think that this is fascinating because of how this game is normally portrayed. I like that this was there, it made me feel as though this game which I previously thought as bad and horrible did have a saving grace. Overall I found this assignment very beneficial to myself and how I think about things. I think that it will help me to keep a positive outlook on things even when all odds are against me.Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:33:12 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3659&iddiary=6867https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3659So I just finished up 45 minutes of this wonderfully bad game. Since I am now in hell it is near impossible at least for me to get past this part. All I have been trying to do is get through this hell. I think that it is quite ironic that you are taken to hell and given a near impossible task to accomplish after what you have previously done in the game. Throughout the first parts of the game the two main characters can not wait for the killing to start because they feel as if this is all they have left. Now in the impossible search for the other character I feel as though the creators of the game do not want me to reach the end of this hell because I was the one that got the character here. I have been reflecting on the first part of the game and realized that if you try and avoid the frantic NPCs that are running around; you can avoid killing people. I then realized that I had assumed that because the premise of the game is about the Columbine event, that the only way to continue on with the game is to kill the innocent NPCs. I think that this does a lot to speak of culture we have as a country and also the society we live in. Why is it that instead of trying to avoid killing as many people as possible, which is what I do in real life, I actively tried to run into these NPCs in order to progress the game. I find this to be a mirror where I can look at myself as a person and realize this goes against what I believe in. I am going to go replay the first part of the game to see how it works when I try to NOT kill all of these innocents running around. On a side note, there is one thing that I wanted to write about after reading some of my classmates entries. This being the GAME OVER screen. It has a picture of suit, as if a person who is invisible was wearing it, with a large amount of guns in a fanned out pattern behind the suit. The text on the screen reads "...suburban monotony lives on" or something like that. Another student had written that he thought the creators put this there to say that without chaos there was no point to life. I think that the creators probably did not think this. I think that the creators felt the two gunman in real life felt this way. One of their big reasons for doing what they did was because of how they saw the world around them. I find that it is a very fitting game over screen for this game. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:13:55.)Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:06:28 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3659&iddiary=6853https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3569So im back after some epic adventures. This game is way better than i remember it being. I had to quit playing though and get some sleep. So this will be my last entry for this series. As far as gameplay went, I stopped about midway through flight training, despite my longing for my jetpack. I will have to come back to this game for awhile until I beat it again. It has been a pleasant experience. Now as far as the morality and ethics of the game. In a nutshell, this game has neither. It is a perfect example of what is unethical behavior as it is all based around illegal activities. I am not really too sure what I would do if i actually met the creators of this game. I do not think i would be unable to hold back my criticism. Im sure you are wondering how i could criticize a game that i have already said is enjoyable. and the truth is that yes this game is bad but it makes for a wonderful way to escape from the everyday monotony of our society. overall this game has provided a fun and exciting experience, even if none of it is realistic at all. That is what video games are all about, isn't it? I thought the whole point was to not have to deal with what is real. But this brings to light a new question. Do video games in general, stand for something that we hold immoral or unethical. The answer all depends on how you classify video games. If we take the standpoint that they are meant to escape reality then yes they do represent something which we choose not to associate ourselves with. But what if video games are exactly that, games. Something that is not real. Then what difference does it make what we do in them. Would it not make more sense to use them as an outlet for our unethical and immoral feelings? I think so. I mean come on isn't that why we all play these games?Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:51:10 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3569&iddiary=6685https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3569So I'm back after a half hour of some more GTA-SA and i would like to write about the game content itself. Looking at the game from a moral standpoint the game does not have much support for itself. Many would argue about why the game is as violent and corrupt as it is. Every aspect of the game illuminates some part of a racially discriminating stereotype. From the way the characters talk, to the hookers on the corner, to the type of fast food in the game that is what heals your character, from how the police are the most corrupt, to the way that graffiti is part of the game. This game is not subtle in any way whatsoever. Many people would argue that such an activity should not be promoted as nothing positive comes out of it. However, how are we to know if there is nothing positive coming out of something if we dont try it for ourselves. And after playing this game for well over an hour I can tell you that there is NOTHING about this game that even comes close to seeming realistic. Therefore, one might question the claims of critics that, violent games lead to violent children, when if the child has any sense of what reality is then they would know that life and GTA are not comparable. Even though this is a valid argument, there is evidence that some children are incapable of distinguishing between the two. I personally find the game to be somewhat amusing but not much beyond that. The storyline appears to be weak to the point that I have more fun doing my own thing than the storymode. So far, I have been loving the fact that you can go to the gym and lift different muscle groups. This is quite funny to me. Well I am off to see if I can beat thhe story mode in an hour and a half. So far it says I have progressed about sixty percent, so I have a good chance at succeeding.Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:31:40 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3569&iddiary=6682https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3569So after playing through the opening campaign of some GTA-San Andreas, which was pretty much the standard GTA opening, I decided to take to the streets and do some exploring. After I left the "gang" street I came across a stoplight with several cars; non of which looked decent at all. So I walked over to the blue sports car and jacked the driver out and hopped in. After i took off i was just holding down the gas to go as fast as possible. I was running into people, cars, streetlights, etc. as if nothing mattered at all. This was all fun and what not but I was like, where are the guns at? So I roll back through some bad parts of town and spot some "gangsters". I then roll up on them and take my brass knuckles to their dome. After I beat the life out of them their guns and money pop up and i snatch them all up. Now that i have a strap I decide to make some drive bys through some enemy turf. As I roll up on them they start shooting, so i hit the gas and blast on them. Once they were down I looted their stuff. Next thing I know this cop rolls up on me and beats me down and takes me to jail. So as I'm leaving the cop station I steal a car and start rolling around. soon enough i got some heat on my tail and then my car catches on fire then BOOM im blown up. So i leave the hospital and i see this bike park across the street. so i run over and find out that its a mini game where you get a high score for collecting all the rings. i soon bore of this and decide to roll back to the hood. at this point its been a little over a half hour so im off for the next block of my assignments. stay tuned for the next update in about thirty min.Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:39:45 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3569&iddiary=6681