Lego Harry Potter

The Lego series of movie games are a lot of fun. I haven’t gotten very far in any of them but my roommate wanted to play Lego Harry Potter. I thought it was good motivation to actually play a game since I am finding it quite difficult to find time to play games. Unfortunately I only fully completed the year one part of the game, which goes through the first four years of Harry’s education. But the structure for the first part is independent enough in the game so it counts. All of the elements are present, but the story would be extremely confusing to anyone that has not read the books or seen the movies. A lot of the story comes through in cut scenes, but they don’t have dialogue so you need to be somewhat familiar with the story already.

Dramatic arc:

Exposition: Harry lives a rough life being raised by and Aunt and Uncle. He finds out that he is a wizard and Hagrid takes him to Hogwarts.

Rising action: Harry learns all about wizardy and makes friends and enemies within the school.

Climax: Harry finds out about the Sorcerer’s Stone and mistakenly thinks Snape is behind the attempted theft of it.

Falling Action: Harry navigates the complex puzzles guarding the stone and discovers that it is actually Quirrell, the defense against the dark arts professor, who is behind the attempted thefts. He is possessed by Voldemort and attacks Harry.  In the game the player actually has to defeat him using Harry, which is different from the book/movie.

Dénouement:  Quirrell melts and ghost Voldemort tries to steal the stone from Harry who is passed out, because they both damage each other when they touch. Oh spoiler for how to beat Quirell.  Also Harry’s parents watch from a mirror and they are happy.

Formal elements:

Players: 1-2 players playing co-operatively against computer enemies and puzzles.

Objectives: The players need to navigate the levels to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Procedures: Use the control to guide the characters’ paths and actions.

Rules: The game will not let you do anything that it doesn’t want you to. The constitutive is all of the formulas that allow the game to run. Implicit: don’t look up how to do everything online. Or at least try many times before giving up and cheating.

Resources: Health, money, time in some parts, spells

Conflict: Red herrings (Snape), all sorts of creatures (like a troll) and Quirell, various puzzles.

Outcome: The player figures out all of the puzzles and successfully beats the opponents or just gives up.

Boundaries: Sudden cut scenes break the personal involvement with the action.

            This game is a lot of fun and fairly simple for the most part. However, there are a few annoying bits, especially when you are a non-magical character, so I give this a 4.5 out of 5.

State of the Onion

            I don’t really have a favorite novel, but my favorite that I have read in the past year is State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy. It is a fun mystery about a White House chef taking on a world-class assassin. It falls into the category of cozy mysteries, meaning that there is not a lot of sex, language, or violence, but it is one of the most engaging examples of that subgenre. It is extremely well written and is narratively thrilling.

            The exposition introduces us to White House Assistant Chef Olivia “Ollie” Paras. She is a talented young chef who dreams of taking over the soon to be free position as Head Chef. On her way into the White House one morning a man is running around the grounds outrunning every secret service agent. Ollie does not want to get involved but knocks out the intruder with a gift for the retiring head chef, which just happened to be a frying pan.

           

            The rising action is her having to deal with the Secret Service that want her to stay out of the way, a new asshole authority figure in the White House, her Secret Service boyfriend worrying about both of their careers and her life, and another chef vying for the Head Chef position. Oh yeah, and being the only person who can identify the assassin, who still tries to kill her, and her struggle with the mystery continually dragging her back into it.

            The book leads up to a monumental ceremony of peace talks between leaders of two nations. Ollie has barely escaped major trouble with her employment and with her life on several occasions. At the ceremony she notices several suspicious people and must decide who to watch and what actions to take.

            She tries to stop the assassin, and in the mass chaos she ends up his hostage, but only because she figures out whom the assassin is pretending to be, against the lead Secret Service agent. But she is brave and makes it possible for the assassin to be no longer a threat. I don’t want to say too much because I do really recommend reading this book.

            The denouement is her trying to get back to work and sort everything out. And of course she ends up getting the position as Head Chef.

           

           

            As for the macbook box:

Exposition: looking at the outside of the box and seeing what we know is inside.

Rising Action: I guess figuring out the best way to open the box (there are oh so many ways to open a box, but in this case, just the one right way).

Climax: Opening the box, seeing what is inside.

Falling Action: Taking off any wrappers or coverings.

Denouement: Getting to use an awesome new macbook, well if there had been a new one that we actually got to play with.

           

            

Damn Birds

I have unfortunately again not had time to thoroughly play a console video game (hopefully will for next week). But I did have time to replay an Internet game called Damn Birds. In this game the player is a statue that protects itself from being pooped on by shooting birds. I just love that concept for a game, especially because the game is not gross when dealing with the excrement.

            Players: This is a single player game that interacts with the computer that presents itself as a multitude of birds of various types that randomly drop excrements as they fly across the screen. 

            Procedures:  The player uses a mouse to aim the gun and clicks to fire. Additionally they can use the tab key as well as the numeric buttons to switch between weapons if they have more than one. ‘R’ reloads and ‘P’ pauses the game.

            Rules: The operational rules are that you shoot birds to remain as clean as possible using what weaponry and ammunition you can afford. Become too dirty and you lose and must start back from the beginning. The constitutive rules are all of the formulas that determine how many points and dollars you get from killing the birds, and also how much you must pay to clean yourself off at the end of a round. The only implicit rule I am aware of is that the player only shoots birds within the game and does not try to do this in real life. But they birds would fly away from the sound of gunshots so I say good luck.

            Resources: Players are given what I will call a health bar, but it really is a bar that fills up the more substance falls onto the statue.  The player also receives money for killing birds, which they can use to clean themselves, buy new weapons, ammunition, and something called defense points, which I can’t figure out exactly how much they help, but supposedly they make a difference.

            Conflict: the conflict is between the player and the birds trying to make the statue dirty. There could also be conflict within the player if they find the game overall immature, or do not want to spend time shooting virtual birds.

            Objectives: The objective is to kill as many birds as possible to avoid becoming too dirty. As far as I know there is no way to actually beat the game and it just goes from level to level until the player is defeated or gives up.

            Boundaries: The biggest boundary from me is that when the game starts it prevents Pandora from playing, which aggravates me and I have to find an alternate source of music or just do without. It would normally seem that outside music would be a boundary, but I’m just used to it so not having it while I was just listening to it is detractive.

            Outcome: The ultimate outcome is the player loses or gives up. But it is hard to tell when that will happen. Sometimes I make it much farther than other times. The health bar is also hard to read to determine when you are about to lose.

            This game is surprisingly tough to get really far in. Either that or I am just pretty bad at it. It really isn’t a very good game, but it is fairly entertaining for a bit. The concept is better than any other part of the game.

Overall I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Games of our Lives

(ipod shuffle I won at my high school's graduation party)

            One instance where a game invades my life is Zune. The software keeps track of how many and specifically what songs I have been listening to. Sounds great, this way it can recommend artists for me based on my listening habits. But it also displays this information for everyone to see. This entices me to listen more, because I want my total play count to be higher, not that I expect anyone I know to look at the count. What I have been listening to being available to everyone as well as me sharing my laptop with other people that I DJ with makes me conscious of what I am actually listening to. Maybe I’ll listen to Justin Bieber’s latest hit through a different program so it doesn’t come up on my Zune account (hint: that was a joke).  This augmentation of my life is detractive, because it prevents me from freely listening to whatever I am in the mood for, or from sampling while looking for new music to play without worrying who the song is by because it might look funny that I was listening to that.

            Those stupid little preferred customer cards that clutter key chains also invades my real life. Whenever I shop at Marsh I scan my card and do I look to see what my total savings have been this year every time I get a receipt. Damn straight I do! It doesn’t really make me shop there more often to rack up my total, I am a bit too thrifty for that, but it redefines my shopping experience. I leave there feeling good because I have “saved” all of this money. This influences me to go back there more often than I would otherwise because my reflective experience of going to Marsh is always that much better because of this number. It enhances my life because it makes me less depressed to spend a bunch of money on groceries.

            Dating can feel like a game sometimes. You gain experience points by putting in time and effort into the relationship. Fall behind on experience points and you lose. There is also a set of rules that must be followed, and breaking them sets you back or ends the game. It is quite like playing an old Mario game, most people lose and lose and lose and eventually win or some give up. However, there are always those people that can beat the whole game in ten minutes. There may be times when it feels like this “game” detracts from life, but ultimately it enhances it.

            We definitely live in a bubble of fake bullshit. Just about every product we purchase or consume is artificial to at least some degree. We also ingest a huge amount of fake bullshit from the media on a daily basis. This usually adds confusion to individuals’ lives. Reality TV is almost never realistic but people buy into the bullshit and often have unrealistic expectations for their lives.  

This bullshit is fed by technology. Artificial products come from technology, as does media. But that has been a trend that has always existed. Read something written by Thomas Jefferson and there is a good chance it is about how newspapers are rubbish and just filled with said bullshit. Of course there are always exceptions, but I am strictly speaking overall.

Because it is fed by technology, the bubble is completely different for different groups of people depending on what technology is available to them and the presuppositions they have about said technology. But the bubble isn’t necessarily positive or negative. It is positive in that it is quite pleasant living in a bubble of blissful bullshit. But it is also negative because it still isn’t real. You can be the most powerful player on World of Warcraft (I have no clue about the mechanics of that game so I am assuming saying that made sense), but that doesn’t really mean anything, it isn’t real. It could be argued that it is real for the person experiencing it, but my view is that it very much is bullshit. I’m not against playing such games or anything like that; I am just stating that it is not reality. What is great about the bubble is that we have the ability to exit it at any moment. Many people and cultures live outside of the bubble and we could live as they do. It could also be argued that us living in this bubble are just progressing with time and those purposely not entering the bubble are the ones that are actually living in a bubble of bullshit. However, those people often have real consequences to deal with. Think of the people starving or living in conflict areas around the world. Every day brings real consequences. If the creators of Farmville decided to flood a player’s farm that is not a real consequence. It may ruin someone’s day, but ultimately that has little impact on their reality, whether they can recognize that or not.

Playing with Fire 2

What's better than a Bomberman ripoff? The sequal to a Bomberman ripoff. Playing with Fire 2 is an updated and expanded version of a simple blow up the opposition in an arena game. The only differences between this game series and Bomberman is that: this is free online, the graphics are completely different, and there are no bombs, just sticks of dynamite. This version and its precursor are single player, while the third installment is multiplayer only.

This game is painfully easy at times.  Occasionally the computer will blow itself up while you still can't reach that player. But it is also nice to play a non-stressful game every once in a while. I especially like to play this game in the time before I go to bed and at work, times where I just want to be relaxed.

There are a few annoying parts of this game. The music is redundant and incredibly annoying. Thankfully there is a button to mute music and sound effects. I never play with either of them on because it takes away the relaxing feel of the game. Besides, I prefer to add my own soundtrack. This version of the game has a lives system, meaning touching the 'blast' once won't kill the player, but it is unclear as to exactly how many times a player can do this without actually dying. It seems to most often be the third one kills, but it seems at other times to be 2,4, or even as many as 5. I much prefer a clear objective so I know exactly what I have to do. There are also four arenas to choose from, but only the traditional one (see picture) is really worth playing to me. One has an annoying line of what I will call keg powder that ignites whenever a blast touches it. Another has teleporting squares with the other having no boxes and every player starts out with the same power-ups that usually only come from items.

I would play the multiplayer version except that I like the ability to walk away or switch windows in between rounds. Actually I would love a pause button, especially since I do occasionally play this at work. The single player aspect changes game strategy because of how unintelligent the computer players are. When playing against people that fully understand the benefit of getting items I try to stay away from them and blow up as many boxes as possible for the best chance of getting items. However, since the computers frequently only get items when they happen to run into them, it is more beneficial to work your way to their  
area so you can also collect whatever the boxes they blow up reveal.

This type of game suits me well because console video games usually require at least an hour's commitment to really feel satisfied or accomplish anything. Usually I just want to play a game to relax with the option of only playing for a short amount of time. Also, with this game I can also listen to whatever music I want. With more intense games I find it more beneficial to stick with what is given to increase the dramatic feel of the game to stay more engaged.

Marble Hornets

Let me start out by saying this is a very creepy project these guys did. Its use of two accounts on youtube, twitter, and the somethingawful website made it an interactive experience. This is not just a series of videos to watch, there is more story beyond the videos that the viewer has to seek out. This makes it feel more real, increases the emotion of the story. It also adds to the character of Jay, again making it feel more personal and real.

But now lets look at the formal elements of games because interactivity does not constitute a game.
There is no way to win, a participant may have a more accurate theory about what is going on, but there are no winners and no losers.
I should be saying players because they are trying to figure out puzzles and are following the story across multiple platforms.
There is no clear objective to this "game". What are players supposed to accomplish? I guess they could gain theoretical points by the number of people they convince that this is real. But that would be a game that they made up out of this.
The only real rule is that this is all fantasy and nothing is real. Also don't contact the guy through AIM.
The resource given is people. Other players are there to discuss what is going on.
Conflict is absent from the project. Yes there is conflict within the story, but players do not compete against each other or the game.
The players' boundary is that they know only what they are given, however they must actively seek it.
The outcome is the player watches it all and keeps diving into the mystery, or they give up.
It engages the player by releasing the story bit by bit and has information available in multiple places.

This story does not meet many of the formal elements of a game. It seems more like a puzzle in that the goal is not to beat an opponent, but to find a solution. But that is also assuming that the purpose of this is to find a solution. If it is not, then it may not be beyond just a story. It is without a doubt an interactive experience, but it does not have the conflict and objectives that make a game what it is.

Just Cause 2

In Just Cause 2 agent Rico Rodriguez, or Scorpio as he is usually called, hunts down rogue agent Tom Sheldon who has stolen intelligence and millions from the Agency. Scorpio has the entire island nation of Panau to search through as well as playing with and against three rival gangs and dictator Baby Panay’s military.

Story wise this game is seriously lacking, but the concept is pretty cool and the dynamic of using and abusing the gangs helps create an overall fun game experience. Part of the goal for the game is to create chaos, and doing missions for a gang can help that become easier. With every mission the gang’s influence expands and the area in which they operate expands. Clash gang members with military and fun gun fights will ensue with possibilities for mass chaos.

If the player gets bored with doing missions there is an entire island nation to play with. The map is impressive in itself. A player can go from a city to a ski resort to jungle to a desert, all without a loading screen. However, navigating the map can become quite daunting. Thankfully there is a vast array of vehicles to use, including jets. That being said, it can still take close to five minutes to go from one corner of the map to the other even in the fastest jet. Thankfully the game includes a way of quickly navigating jungle too thick for vehicles. Scorpio can navigate using a series of grappling hooks and parachutes. It seems a little ridiculous, but try playing this game for hours every day for a week and then try to play another free world game without it. The frustration with not being able to use grappling hooks to get around is astonishing.

Part of what makes this game so much fun is the wide variety of things to do. Even after beating the game there was still so much left unaccomplished. There are many side challenges, although most of them are tough race type challenges that I did not even attempt to complete. It has nothing to do with the story or any mission but my favorite part of the game is a Lost island. Yes that capitalization is correct and yes this is about the awesome show. Flying over part of the island flying in the right direction causes your plane to crash and if you search enough you will find a hatch and I have heard that there is a smoke monster, but I could not find it.

Now for the not so good. With such a large map dying can be an issue. Some respawn  points are far away from anything including helicopters or airplanes. So much time is spent traveling in this game that sometimes I would get in a plane, get my bearings, and then go to the kitchen to grab a drink.  Ammunition can also become difficult to come across is certain areas, and if you run out you have to run away or become creative with the grappling hook. There also is not a wide variety of weapons to begin with, but I cannot imagine there being more given the scarcity of ammunition that already exists. The largest problem with the game I had was that is was 3^rd person, which I can rarely stand in a game with guns. I feel that 3^rd person shooters have more unrealistic aiming in most cases and that takes away some of the excitement of fights.

Overall this is a fun and engaging game. It is imaginative with its grappling hook and parachute usage, which it really needs with the size of the map and distance between points of interest.  It is not a good example of story telling and may become frustrating at points, but there are enough interesting things to do that breaks from missions can help ease any frustrated feelings.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Continuum of Interactivity

1: The cute kitten. The cat responds to the touch of the person and even communicates that it does not want to be touched by pushing the finger away. It is conscious of what it does and does not want.
2: Pleo the dinosaur. This toy has a number of preset emotional states, uses both vocal communication and body language as well as simulates the stages of life. The toy can even respond to touch and sound, as well as use sound to communicate what it wants. However, this is still simulated life and technology is nowhere close to fully replicating real emotion.
3: Arcade Fire's Interactive Video. Although the video only asks for input by entering an address and creating a postcard, the site takes it a step further. They create physical postcards and send them out or the band takes them on tour with them for people to view.
4: Pepsi Refresh Project site. This website categorizes the projects, each with their own page and video. People had the opportunity to submit videos and now interact with the site by voting for which project they want to receive funding.
5: Pulitzer Prize nominated Multimedia story. This story has many links to click through as well as related videos and photographs for the page the viewer is on. What really makes this interactive is that it creates an experience by releasing more of the story each day and viewer's cannot get all of the information at once.
6: Jim Carey's website. This site may look nice and have the appearance of interactivity, but it is seriously lacking in this aspect. It really is just a series of fancy looking links, which is a basic level of interactivity with websites.
7: Play rug. Kids physically interact with this this mat, but there is no response from it. It will always be the same unless someone physically alters it's appearance.