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Oct 28th, 2010 at 13:15:57 - Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) |
Day 2
Um... wow... This game has been just down right creepy to play. As for the game-play, its really boring, because your walking around and killing people who can't sufficiently defend themselves, and it doesn't end! So far anyways... it just feels like there's no point, but I found the more I played the more I kept thinking about what the characters were saying. I think I'm understanding why this was made into a game, and not a movie of sorts. From what I gather, this is because they treated it like a game when they were running around killing people. They saw themselves as the "hero" and the other kids/teachers as taints that needed to be dealt with.
I found it interesting that they actually let some people go free. The text was going a bit fast, so I'm not sure what they were talking about when they talked to the first kid, but it made me a little sad when they talked to the cheerleader telling her, "from this day forth, you will know that it wasn't divine power that saved you. It was me who decided if you should live or die". It was an eerie thought.
Then there was the part after the gym where Eric, I think, talked about how long he'd been waiting to give the jocks what they 'deserved'. It made me think about how serious bullying can warp the an unstable mind. I can't say that I know how unstable the kid was at the time, but it couldn't have been a nice experience for him either way.
I'm not sure how I felt about the moment when Dylan, I think, talked briefly to his English teacher about papers that she didn't grade well. It made me wonder about how some students take grades they don't like. I know that when I got low grades in some of my classes, I cried, but low grades in other classes seemed to not bother me as much. I never thought that a bad grade would drive me to loath someone to the point that I would be satisfied with their death.
Overall, a very uncomfortable game.
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Oct 27th, 2010 at 14:39:57 - Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) |
Day 1
Ok... My first impression of this game, was that I didn't really want to play it because it was based on a true event. Playing the game only made me dislike it more... its not that it's a bad game, but the subject matter is uncomfortable and depressing. It's hard to comprehend that someone would hate the world or their own lives so much to think out something so elaborate. I know this kind of behavior is not uncommon, considering all the serial murders and suicides that occur in our society, but it's still hard to take in.
The game-play is basic and simple. Arrow keys to move, and space to use. So there's nothing really to comment concerning that. First I'd like to comment that it is quite difficult to read the text. I'm not sure why they used that text, but it definitely makes it a job to follow the game at first. Even though things went smoothly once I became familiar with the text, it was annoying in the beginning.
I found myself wondering how they knew what the boys were talking about when, for example, they were in the park after planting the bombs, or when they were in the car going to the school. Did the pair really have camera's with them the whole time? or was that left to the digression of the game-maker?
As I went on playing the game, I starting realizing that this game wasn't, I think, meant to be an enjoyable game, per se. It was more over meant to be an in depth history lesson of for people who don't fully comprehend the tragedy, or people like me, who was either watching cartoons or playing games when it occurred.
the only other thing I can think to comment on this game, is... whether or not I think it was ethical to make this tragedy into a game in such a way. I'm not sure how to answer this question... I don't think it's unethical to make this game, but I think that it's interesting that Dylan and Eric talked about how people would be fighting to make this situation into a movie, but it turned out to be a simple 8-bit game, instead... I wonder what they would think if they saw this...
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Oct 5th, 2010 at 12:23:26 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) |
Last time playing. I have to say that when I started this session I tried to do so with an open mind. It helped, I think, to read the excerpt out of _Games and Culture_ because it made me think of the inspiration for the game.
It was a bit annoying because I had to start from the beginning again, since I didn’t have a memory card to save my progress. However, I think it was ok, because I was able to take in the same scenes in a different light. In the excerpt the author talked about the creators of the game, and how they based it on Los Angeles. With this in mind they visited California to get a first hand experience of what it was like, and were disappointed at how “normal” it was and not at all like the moves that took place there. Remembering that as I started the game over, I started to see and understand. It really was like a movie, in the sense that it was heavily stereotypical in order to get the point across for the sake of the story.
Thinking of it like that also changed my mind about how it’s “racists”. I was suddenly reminded of comedy shows when I was younger and how there were some with nothing but white people and some with nothing but black people. I never really thought about it before, but it really did seem like they didn’t _want_ to mix. I’m not sure why, and I still can’t figure out if its unethical or not. It just seemed… normal.
I went through the storyline again, quicker this time since I knew what I was doing, and realized that it would take a _long_ time before I would really get anywhere. I thought it was interesting that at one point they actually impressed something “good” to the player. The part when they hit up the drug dealers and ranted about how bad crack was for people was surprisingly moral, I think. However, their means of handling it was probably not the best way to deal with the problem. I mean, I suppose a “scare method” is effective, in that if you do crack then CJ will come after you with a baseball bat and beat you up side the head, but I think its probably a bit extreme. It also “teaches” that the best form of punishment is death, which is not so good.
Anyways, after I got to a point in the storyline that I couldn’t succeed at, I decided to roam to the parts of the map that I hadn’t yet explored. When I did this I found that the world in San Andreas was a lot more extensive and diverse than I originally thought. I only got as far as the upscale neighborhoods, but that alone showed me that this game had more to it than just gangster fights in a poor community. It was intriguing to see the different places, and I wish I better understood how the gameplay worked so as to understand the moral and ethical findings of the areas outside the hood.
However, the game had exhausted me at this point and I was ready to put it down. I do have a bit more respect for the effort put into the game, I only wish it wasn’t as focused on crimes and gangs and more focused on the player doing what they wanted. I wish they gave the player more options to be himself or herself in this world in California, instead of forcing the main character to be a certain way. They could’ve created other missions and situations that would come up depending on where they went and who they met. But I digress. The makers obviously had this in mind, and the only thing I can do to protest is not play the game.
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Oct 4th, 2010 at 21:10:36 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) |
Ok, second time around wasn’t as bad as the first, mostly because I had a working controller so I was able to figure how not to get killed every 5 minutes. The game play is still a bit foreign, but I think I figured it out ok. Driving is a pain in the butt, however with some practice its not that bad.
Ok, so I started with the storyline, because the last time I tried to wing it, I hadn’t the slightest idea what I was doing, and that’s mostly how I got killed so frequently. When I began playing the storyline, I noticed that that’s when the game starts teaching the player it’s inner workings and how the game played. However, I found is difficult to understand what the NPCs wanted me to do half the time, due to the fact that whenever they gave me a command it was hidden and encrypted under a crap load of foul language. I notice that this is something that could prove influential in an unnoticeable way. Its bad enough that there are people using this language before the game came out, but to encourage more people, who probably don’t utter it as frequently, to use it so casually is dangerous for player.
Subjects, such as bad language, are more difficult to discuss as a moral issue, because it is not physically harming someone. Similar to lying, people argue that in certain cases its ok, and, according to Utilitarianism, can be considered ethically sound depending on the situation. However, something like that is highly psychological in the sense that if you become familiar with it, then it is bound to slip out when you don’t want it to, thus hurting either someone or yourself.
Another thing that bothers me concerning the game that I haven’t heard much about is the fact that not only does it teach you how to hurt someone with spray paint, but it encourages you to do so. This is bothersome mostly because, in contrast to a gun or something of that sort, a can of spray paint is easy to find in almost any garage. Kids, although I recognize that this isn’t necessarily for kids, have access to this, and may decide to explore its functions due to what was portrayed on the screen.
Another tidbit is that your character is shunned if you don’t have tattoos… I’m not allowed to choose my personality, for example, if I wanted to help someone, I can’t do it without being rude or violent to someone else. I have _no_ choice. I feel like I’m being forced to do something and be ok with it, no matter what _it_ is, in order to move on in the game.
Other little things about the game I’ve found annoying and relentless were the fact that if you get caught hitting someone the police are on you in no time flat, however, if someone starts hitting you and a policeman is present… they do NOTHING! Jerks!
Not a very good second round.
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