Here are the final project presentations. Please take a look and make comments for your fellow classmates.
16 thoughts on “CP470a SU14 VGT Final Project Presentation”
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Dr. Leigh's Cinematic Tours
Hold on to your popcorn.
Clark I love the basis for your game. I like the concept of it being basically a better version of guitar hero while having a deeper backstory.
Parrish I have yet to play Far Cry so your analysis has made me decide to definitely play the game. I never really peered into the depths of abstraction in gaming and your analysis was very thorough and thought out well. Very good job!
Aaron I like your game’s premise. Even though an apocalyptic/post- apocalyptic game is very common now in days, your game has points that are unique, like how the disease turned viral so quickly. I like the idea of siblings needing to work together and the importance of family ( even if its just your community) as well.
I didn’t have time to look at all of these, but what I saw looked really good. Some of the game proposals were really creative and blew mine out of the water! Good job everyone!
Parrish – First off, that game sounds really cool and made me want to play it. I especially like the literary references. I do think that lack of abstraction has turned some games into horrifying experiences these days, so games that provide an alternative are increasingly necessary.
Natalie – I’m not 100% sure what the game you were researching was about or what it entails, but I do agree that indie games have more of an outlet to create comedic content. That is something I think is lacking in the far too serious games of the mainstream.
Clark – The game idea is really cool. If the game had the ability to process your jokes and tell if they were funny or not would make for a much more interesting experience than pushing buttons, but the technology is not quite there I imagine. Overall it would be a fun game, I was just wondering where theory is applied because I did not catch that in the presentation?
Stefan – I enjoyed the game idea. It was very reminiscent of the plot for the film The Devil’s Carnival only not quite as playful as that film and more dark. It seems like a very interesting game and I like that there are multiple playable characters.
Chelsea – This game sounds kind of awful. I’m a bit confused as to what kind of game this is, like what is the player actually doing within the game? it looked more like anime porn than a video game.
Ryan – I love the aesthetics of Limbo. I love German expressionist artwork so the style of the game I find beautiful to look at. It’s one game that truly mixes art and video games into a very gorgeous game.
Aaron,
It was a simulation game mixed with a puzzler-platformer. In the day, you would make decisions that would affect your ending, in the night there was a puzzler that you had to climb to the top of a tower before the blocks dropped that you were on.
The puzzler part was fun to play and challenging, but the blatant sexism throughout it made me really dread playing it. It felt a lot like porn when watching, making me uncomfortable.
Parrish, I was intrigued with the parallels you drew between Alice in Wonderland and Farcry 3–I’m wondering now what other games have the same narrative structure of someone finding their way in an unknown world. I wonder though in what ways Farcry 3 is different from Alice in Wonderland?
Natalie, I’m not sure what to say about Octodad. If we take it as a problem that there are no alternatives to violent video games then this game only introduces one alternative game, and I’m not sure this is a game we can honestly market to any 12 year old or older boys and girls. I’m wondering what kind of games would we need to develop to hold the interests of say a 20 year old? Also, depriving people from a choice doesn’t address the allure of violence. As far as if Octodad is a superhero or not, he’s only a superhero if he fights crime or evil.
Clark, What I like about your presentation and game choice is that there seems to be an added component of not just diversion and entertainment but an education and simulation element that seeks to instruct someone not only on the career arc of a comedian but also the technicalities of comedy (rhythm, cadences, et cetera). Your section, “look to the future” I thought really looks at an opportunity for people to practice their skills by using a voice recognition microphone in a way similar to Guitar Hero.
Aaron, I really like how strove to make a game that incorporated real, average people. The brother/sister duo as both playable characters, good idea, but can I go back and forth or do I just choose one? I’m assuming this is third person? How are the missions/levels/objectives set up? What do the characters want? I love how you considered the character’s sexuality and the player’s sexuality as part of your theoretical process. You mention several times that you wish to make a game that is accessible to all people of all sexual persuasions, but don’t you think since there already are so many games only accessible to heterosexuals or games that are unconcerned with sexuality that it’s about time someone go ahead and make one that is for the LGBTQ community?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N7qOP0BMQ0
My link
Thomas, I fixed your link, sorry about that.
Garretkay- I really enjoy adventure games with a nice narrative. What I find the most interesting is the challenge the gamer faces when he/she plays their own antagonist. How do we as a player face the conclusion? Do we choose who wins? I like games that bring us to face these kinds of questions because it thoroughly involves the player to way in on who these characters are and which one they as a player relate with the most.
Austin- I’m glad someone did Metal Gear. Metal Gear is one of my all time favorite game franchises. One of my favorite elements of metal gear is the elaborate world the game created for itself. Metal Gear is known to use History as a double-edged sword. They have their own personal narrative history that they rely on especially in the later Metal Gear’s, which are technically prequels. But they also use askew historical references to broad stroke the time era the player is in.
Sam- I enjoyed your presentation, and believe it or not I have actually never heard of Slender. I enjoy Horror games because they figuratively scare the crap out of me. But any more horror games are becoming mockeries of themselves (Dead Rising), inviting the player to kill the bad guys. I’m glad you brought attention to the horror games that focus on being along in the dark and having to run rather than fight.
Hey everybody! My sounds not working, so I will have text for each slide here. going from European Cinema to Control.
European Cinema-It is no mystery video games are inspired by other media. While many games are inspired by Hollywood Spectacle, Limbo takes influence from European Cinema such as German Expressionism, Poetic Realism, and Jean Luc Godard’s Brechtian cinema, and utilizes this to challenge player control.
German Expressionism- German Expressionism is notable for it’s highly contrasting lights and darks, setting out to achieve mood and tone rather than realism. It also has overpowering and dream like sets, and all this comes together to portray people in a fatalistic world of insanity. Limbo demonstrates this with its world full of large dark sillhouttes belittle a small silhouette avatar, demonstrating he has been infect by the environment.
Poetic Realism-Poetic realism at once embraces and fights against the stage. It is constructed to look natural, but locks the character in the setting, with no escape. Limbo, while highly stylized, is constructed to look like it is composed of actual silhouettes, giving a natural feel. It also locks us into the setting with 2D side-scrolling, with fog in the background and tree silhouettes in the foreground. The end is itself fatalistic, with the protagonist and his damsel dying in limbo.
Jean Luc Godard-Jean Luc Godard films such as Breathless take Brechtian approach. It has humans characters but distance the audience so that they may be honest and not biased in their analysis. He does this with shifting his editing and giving commentary on film within the film. Limbo achieves this to through its history appreciation of the cinematic apparatus. History is conveyed in it influence from European Cinema. The game also is made to it has film grain. Ironically, the cinematic apparatus makes the film and game feel more real, not hiding there was something to be filmed.
Control- Jean Luc Godard- Jean Luc Godard films such as Breathless take Brechtian approach. It has humans characters but distance the audience so that they may be honest and not biased in their analysis. He does this with shifting his editing and giving commentary on film within the film. Limbo achieves this to through its history appreciation of the cinematic apparatus. History is conveyed in it influence from European Cinema. The game also is made to it has film grain. Ironically, the cinematic apparatus makes the film and game feel more real, not hiding there was something to be filmed.
Bibliography for Essay:
Wolf, Mark J.P “Chapter 2. Abstraction in the Video Games.” The Video Game Theory Reader Edited by Wolf, Mark J.P and Perron, Bernard. Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Rehak, Bob “Chapter 5. Playing at Being: Psychoanalysis and the Avatar.” The Video Game Theory Reader Edited by Wolf, Mark J.P and Perron, Bernard. Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Eisner, Lotte H. The Haunted Screen: Expressionism in German Cinema and the Influence of Maz Reindhartd Pg. 17. Le Terrain Vague, 14 rue d Verneuil, Paris VII’ 1952. University California Press Berkley and Loss Angeles, California Thames and Hudso 1969
Bazin, Andre and Gray Hugh “The Ontology of the Photographic Image.” Film Quartlerly, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Summer, 1960)
Austin, Guy Contemporary French Cinema: An Introduction Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M12 9NR, UK and Room 44 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010, USA
Sterritt, David “5. Mieville and Godard: From Psychology to Spirit.” Jean Luc Goddard’s Hail Mary: Women and the Sacred in Film Edited be Locke, Maryel and Warren, Charles. Southern Illinois University 1993
Butler, Judith “43. Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Feminist Theory Reader Third Edition Edited by McCann, Carole R. and Kim, Seung-Kyung Routledge 711 Third Avenue Ney York, NY 2013
McMahan, Alison “Chapter 3. Immersion, Engagement, and Presence: A Method for Analyzing Video Games.” The Video Game Theory Reader Edited by Wolf, Mark J.P and Perron, Bernard. Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Stefan, I like the stealth dimension of your game. I’m wondering to where the characters are escaping. Is it heaven or back to their lives that their after?
Chelsea, what I don’t understand about Catherine is this: is it suppose to correct men’s sexist perspective or reinforce this? It seems to me like it’s something that would be much more appreciated within the context of a certain culture.
Sam,
I really enjoyed your little history lesson on horror games. I usually do not choose horror games, as I have trouble even sitting through horror movies. I have seen a few Youtubers play them though, and find that more enjoyable since I can watch their reactions.
You did a great job of connecting the history with Slender and of explaining your paper in such a short time.
Chelsea- I completely agree! This game is made like a Mens Rights Activist statement. Katherine is evil for wanting a career, Catherine is sleezy for liking sex, Patricia is both an insult to transwomen because she is wrongly effiminate, yet also is bad for overpowering men with her deception.
Aaron- Awesome idea!!! As a Fallout 3 fan, I like that you improved on it in a way. In it family is more of an excuse for a masculine journey, take action like your dad and avenge your mom who is made spiritual perfection by being dead (that is a very problematic display of women). In this, it is the major focus. The siblings breaking the heteronormative chain reminds me of one of the reasons I like MLP: FiM. While there will still be people to sexually obejctify the characters, just like there is people that like incest, the show makes character more universally relatable byy making them ponies and not cloned sex ideal, like the Bratz (yes I know about Equestria Girls, but the show itself is great). This makes a safe space for people that want to reflect on character’s personalities and understand them, as well helps prevent people from sexualizing them and leading them to thinking about them as not just ponies, but people.
Sam- Reminds me of mine. I use psychoanalytical theory to explaining how Limbo locks a character in a certain environment and threaten player control. Instead of empowering character, these games make them feel afraid,and thus limited in ability. This is very interesting! You should do more about horror games and creepypasta!
Parrish- I really like how you tie Farcry 3 to Hollywood Spectacle and Alice in Wonderland!!! I think a game like this taking various influences tells us how important intertext is in understanding media!
Stefan-your game sounds like it will be interesting as a horror genre and that you can pick in the end which characters are to get a second chance following there subplots, my only question would be how do you necessarily defeat the boss on the level is it so simply trap or block them or would there be something else since you cannot fight them
Chelsea- your look at Catherine and how gender can be represented in games did show quite a few things to think about especially since this game sounds like it was pretty blatant in proving the points that we have read about and you were able to reinforce
Jaylin- I liked your take on retro games as it did bring interesting points on how some games like Cave Story and others can continuously be remade to always hold a place in video game industry and how hardcore gaming has roughly the same definition for games now as it did then, and how you seem to hint that with time it may be possible for the games we play today could bring future generations some of the same feeling that “retro” games do now
The Boss is never really defeated, It will always be patrolling that level
I think it’s great that some of you now want to play the game. I think it’s a good game and I’ve only played one other fps
Natlie I got Octodad’s character traits through some context clues, but still have no idea what the game is about or what you do in the game.
Clark I think it’s very possible that your game could be made because they’ve made a DJ hero and that other Michael Jackson game so that would be interesting to see.
Ryan I love the idea love the game it must be made…
Thomas I haven’t gotten a chance to watch yours all the way through yet but from what i saw you were giving some interesting information.
I like Stefan’s game and it actually sounds like something I would get if I just discovered it browsing. You got really into detail and I can definitely see this as a game.
Parrish- I agree with most of the others in saying I’m interested in playing the game now. The comparison between it and Alice in Wonderland is very interesting. Is that something you found on the internet and if so did you make the same connections as you were playing through?
Clark- Very interesting game idea. If I’m interpreting correctly, would the gameplay be similar to Parrappa the Rapper except instead of the character “rapping” he would be telling jokes instead? Also as you progressed through the game would you also unlock new jokes to tell?
Stefan – I really like the idea of your game, however I’m pretty sure I would be too terrified to ever play it. The idea that you can’t see the NPC on a minimap would keep the game interesting at all times and the player on their toes. It would also make hiding and running from them more interesting than in most other games. I would suggest introducing an idea Skyrim uses by having a “Spotted” or “Hidden” icon. Perhaps when hiding after being spotted, a “cool off” time could be introduced in which the NPC is more sensitive to noise and movement. I also like your idea of using 3 different characters as a team to make it through each level. I could see this game doing very well.
Chelsea – The premise of this game is very interesting, and seems almost as if it plays through like an anime (is that true?). After reading a full synopsis, it is easy to see that women are defiantly used as tools and almost even the “bad guys” in the game just because they are women. What seems like an important part I think you should have mentioned as well is the fact that Catherine is actually a succubus who changes into the “targets” dream woman, and is also a character who is trying to trick men, along side the Transwoman you mentioned.
Garretkay – I like the mixture the Batman and Infamous game, as I have played both and it would be fun to play a game where they are combined. One question about the storyline I have is how would the two main stories meet up (if ever)? Would there be a final showdown between them where at the end you get to pick to play as one character and have to defeat the other, perhaps giving two separate endings?