[RESEARCH] Apocalyptic Dystopian Scenarios in Games

There are many Dystopian like games out there, and most of them also contain machine guns and a lot of blood. But there must be some sort of reason for there to be blood shed amongst so many beings, may they be aliens or humanoid figures, there are reasons for there to be plots to destroy the world, to wipe the world clean and start a new. Apocalyptic scenarios doesn’t sound the most pleasant of situations you would like to find yourself falling into, but when one race wants to destroy another for a new world, for a new start, you then have to think of both sides.

So when you look at a game like Mass Effect, and see how the plot progresses in time into something which then looks towards the games main antagonist: The Reapers. The Reapers were built to contain planets and clear them of all living life forms, because their people believe that the living organisms have lived for long enough, bringing so much war and destruction to all the planets they land upon and creating havoc where ever they go. It’s breaking the universe apart, which is stopping progression of peace around worlds, and everyone has now created a mind of their own without actually having some sort of guideline any more. When the Reapers decide that enough is enough, and start clearing planets, the beings begin to weep, to beg the Reapers for forgiveness that they don’t deserve to die. As they clear the planets of destruction, the Reapers are suggesting peace (a clean ‘utopian’ slate) and if the beings are crying for forgiveness then they are suggesting guiltiness of their own actions (a dystopian action towards the Reapers distruction).
And Assassin’s Creed: with the First Civilization giving the humans, the Templars and Assassins prompts to get together the Apple of Eden to activate a power that will save the world, there is then the slight plot twist that the need to wipe the world clean will help the First Civilization rise again as a new powerful and perfect being. Because of the release of one, bringing them back into life with the use of another, the being then states that they have to now “play” their part in the whole deal of the fight between two factions of the world. Now its unsure as to whether the person will make humanity kneel down and do their bidding, or they will destroy the world, the the solar flare was meant to during the 21st of December, but there is a certain Utopian feel for the person, because now that they have the power and the Apple at their own disposal, they can control anything they want, for as long as they want, creating the ‘end of the world’ themselves. Possibly, the Dystopian aspect would be the control of the human race, but unfortunately they will become zombies to the being’s bidding, as they listen and do everything in which the First Civilization being wants.
Last, but not least, Dark Souls. Now this isn’t really an ‘end of the world’ scenario, in fact, it seems as though it has already happened, and many are trying to get by, by using others souls as currency and lit bonfires to keep their beings attached to them. Because of this, people are desperately trying to kill each other for loot and Bonfire Keepers have to keep themselves protected to keep the flame of ‘life’ safe from harm. Because of this world already becoming a Dystopian story in itself, and many other struggling and loosing their own minds by the sheer weight of the catastrophe at hand, the world became barren as the Lord Vessel’s souls have been taken by evil demons that thrive around the universe. Now that these demons have full power over the ‘weaklings’ or the Undead, they are able to do what ever they wish to do, stealing life from many sources, having unlimited power. Because they are corrupting the world with their needs and desires, they are making the characters their slaves, their corrupted beings against their will.

Apocalypses are mostly seen in games as a clean slate, which makes it much more believable that it could also be a Utopian ideal. When does a Utopia become a Utopia? When everything is going to plan, and everything is balanced and level in the world, like having a piece of pure white paper. But as soon as you start adding paint and details onto the page, you begin to dirty the paper, unable to change it without throwing it away and bringing out another. But it is, of course, a dystopian ideal for the life which inhabits the worlds in which an apocalypse happens, and makes them scared and nervous about the surroundings around them, and become a survivalist group, trying to live out the harshness as best as they can.

[RESEARCH] Text Based Games

(Regarding the text based game which I and many others created in a group, we had decided to do a little research on some text games before creating a text game.
I will be giving personal opinions on them, and how they would help us create an effective Text Based Game.)

Zork

(“Play Online” Link)
Zork is an amazing game, full of great attention to detail and a lot of work has been placed into such a grand project. As I was playing Zork, I couldn’t help imagine it all in a slight Dungeons & Dragons scenario, but that’s quite normal for a text based game I feel. When I progressed through the game, it was much harder to figure out where I was, and I was having much trouble to find out where I could go back or forward through the traps and ally ways that were given to me. There were times where I also found it quite scary because I seemed quite blinded by the lack of direction. Unfortunately I couldn’t get past the first Troll, so I decided to leave the game there.
I believe this game has a lot of potential, and it’s amazing how far games have really come from such a simple way of just telling the player the surrounding areas. I feel, however, without giving the player pictures, I want to at least give the player a way to see a map of where they have been and where they haven’t. But, I do want to give the player great descriptions which help the player to visualise where about they are in the world.

The Hobbit

(“Play Online” Link)
People knowing the story, having read the book, will understand where this game is going with its texts. If you are able to recite the whole book from the very beginning, there’s a possibility that this game won’t be so hard for players. However, because I haven’t actually read the book, or know anything about The Hobbit, I found it daunting when I made my first steps in the world. There are images which show you where you are in the world, not the most beautiful, but just enough for you to understand the basic shapes and figures of the wilderness. As the colours change from time to time, it does give you a sense of time progression (night to day), which is quite the touch for such a simplistic game.
Pictures seem like a nice idea, but not for every area that the player finds themselves in. Maybe special areas in which they manage to find themselves in, where the pictures will be a little bit more detailed in the game, but not too much, to match the size of the previous text games. I found the game appealing because of it’s nice taste in vocabulary and beautiful scenery.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

(“Play Online” Link)
This is also a book referenced game, so I also couldn’t get past majority of the places without dying at least once. However, I do know most of the Hitchhiker’s references due to having heard it from various people (Ex. “Don’t take the towel!”) The references and quirky moments were really uplifting after trawling through such harsh scenarios, and having trouble with having the house bulldozed by a huge bulldozer whilst I am still inside of it. I know this isn’t just it, and there is a lot more which I can explore, but I had a lot of trouble just being able to escape and make a run for it. Unfortunately I played a remade version of the Text Adventure, so there were many things that were added to help the player remember and get through scenarios much easier and faster.
The interface of the new one, however, is very beautiful, and full of little gizmos which could help the player to remember where abouts they are and how far they have come in the game. Possibly there could be a little progress bar to the side of the screen in which our player can see. Or, maybe having pixel items which they have collected and they can hover their mouse/cursor over, which will then show them a text prompt to say what the object is.

[RESEARCH] Gender in Music, and Representation of Women

Music, a worldwide phenomenon that everyone has heard of at any point of their lifetime. It’s a think which gets us pumped up and ready for anything, may that be dancing or just burst in song. But, times like these, you really realise how music has changed from being just a musical and inspirational piece, to just plain disgusting and horrible habits that musicians and celebrities have gotten themselves into.
There are many artists, however, which want to break the wall and say “This is all wrong.” Here are some of the few examples which I feel are very good videos and pieces of music which can really show some of the ugly parts of today’s culture.

P!nk – Stupid Girl

P!nk, the most iconic woman in pop music to this day; everyone knows one of her songs, she’s known for not caring about what other people people think of her and bringing out pieces like Stupid Girl. Many of her songs are pretty based around her own lifestyle, but at some points, she really takes things to a new level, to flesh out and bring out some of the worst forms of realistic culture.
As the video begins, you can see a little girl perched onto a sofa, watching the TV. On both of the little girl’s shoulders is a ‘Devil’ and an ‘Angel’ that is trying to tell her what she should watch and learn from. Each channel the girl goes through, it’s showing how females should act in certain situations and in every day life, how they should look, and how they should be in the eyes of the man. The video actually takes snippets of what other music videos are like, how other celebrities and ‘showy’ women are like in the world, and how THEY get more attention then the normal, ‘unfortunate’ girls.
This is a great video for everyone to watch; you realise by the end that you are fortunate with what you already have, and how you already are. You don’t need to prove or become another to gain what you need in life. Everyone is equal  both male and female, and even if you don’t have the most perfect body, you will possibly have a better personality or better well being instead. Everyone has their own flaws and problems, and that is something worth learning.

Frank Turner – The Way I Tend To Be

Frank Turner is a great composer, and sings ever so beautifully to the songs he writes. It’s an inspirational song, more then something which represents gender, but it also brings out some of the truth in himself, and in others as well.
As the video starts, you can see a man walking towards nothing with a shovel on his shoulder, as if he is lost or unaware of life, of living. As he progresses, he feels the need to do something, to ‘dig’ his fears away of the way he is. Maybe this is to show that he doesn’t like himself for what he has become by looking at beautiful women and wishing (‘each time with each beautiful woman but somehow it never works out.‘ – Lyrics), or what he believes in to be right when others feel like it’s wrong. This being is almost like shining light on how that all men can be, how they can act towards other people and pretend that nothing is wrong. However, the woman, so pure and able to get through anything, he is taking lessons from, and learning from ‘her’ as if it will make him a much more better person. This could mean that Turner is changing the way the roles carry out, and that the woman knows what she’s doing, and the man is lost without her.
The video doesn’t really show the whole meaning of the song, but the lyrics give you a clear understanding of what Turner really wants to show to the listener.

Clutch – Cyborg Bette

Much known for their very descriptive lyrics and songs; Clutch is a an American band whom aren’t very popular, but have some of the most gruesome and imaginative songs from them.
Unfortunately there is no music video for this track, but Cyborg Bette is basically a song based around a robot woman that a man is using as his own wife. Then he goes on to say that the ‘robot woman’ has been created specifically for himself, and for no one else. As the song progresses, Cyber Bette then becomes a little more unresponsive, and almost unlike herself, which the man doesn’t like the way she’s now acting. From here, he then starts to brag to her, after he found out that she was cheating on him, and has been treating him wrong the whole time, that she has easily bought a new model, and she’s ‘Mine, oh mine!‘ This is quite a horrible thought, the concept of actually throwing away women and finding it so easy to grab another. Robots to represent women is a great way to show how women are sometimes represented in general, robots are distributed easily and are created and give them commands to keep in check of what their creators want them to do.
This song is pretty brutal to how women should be represented, but however, maybe the lyrics are trying to teach the listeners just how badly they’re treated in the wide run.

[RESEARCH] The Gender Issues in World of Warcraft?

World of Warcraft is a very great MMO that many gamers and non-gamers alike have played over the passing years. With a staggering 9 to 10 million players still playing the game since 2004. There is no wonder that it is still one of the biggest MMO’s out in the big wide world of crucial gaming. But, is there still some gender issues, even with the glorious expansion Mists of Pandaria released just months ago?

With a world as big as any other, World of Warcraft has so much to offer to players who recently started or have been playing for many, many years before the new expansions time. High rulers, both male and female, look down at their land and feel proud of how far that they have become, even through the current war between Alliance and Horde. May these high rulers be Alexstrasza the Queen of Dragons, Sylvanas Windrunner the Queen of the Forsaken, Vereesa Windrunner the Leader of the Silver Covenant, I don’t feel there is an imbalance in sexuality, as these women have quite a lot to offer in terms of story, as well as fighting abilities (Male rulers consist of Garrosh Hellscream the Leader of the Horde, Varian Wrynn the King of the Alliance, and Farseer Nobundo the Leader of the Alliance Broken of Azeroth. These leaders bring backstory also, giving their own piece of ‘warcraft’ to the game with their different backgrounds and traits which really make these games a very special experience for all lore lovers.) Yet, if you compare both male and female ruler clothing, you can certainly tell that there is some imbalance. High cut armor and very revealing clothing for the female characters, and for the males, whom may have ‘revealing’ clothing, but they are shown in power, with muscles and weapons that are considered really intimidating.

The advertisement for the new race, Blood Elf, in Burning Crusade

But, if you compare the ‘nakedness’ of the women to the ‘impurity’ of the women, you would then have to think of story. Story (or Lore) is also crucial to really sink your claws into, if you really want to know a character. The Horde are full of corrupt beasts, which pretty much makes up their own faction, with many of the races giving themselves away to magical lust or the need for power and land, it a very messy faction, full of impurities and disillusion which draws them out as the Horde. The name Horde can also be compared by the term ‘hoard’. The name in itself has a slight impact on what exactly these creatures are: they are hoarders of the world, they take from everything and fight for what they believe in to get what they desire.
So, what does this have to do with their feminine outfit? Character design can go from making some one ‘sexy’ to just ‘corrupt’ in the matter of tweaks and changes to the way the character is presented to the player/viewer. Lets take Sylvanas Windrunner (one of the Horde) and compare her to her dear sister, Vereesa Windrunner (one of the Alliance). Sylvanas doesn’t have as much clothing as her sister, yet Sylvanas isn’t really treated the same Vereesa. Her own sister, being a High Elf, has to look professional in a way, as that is what the Alliance is all about. The Alliance is full of characters which are built to be powerful, built to not be changed by the addictions which they could find themselves taking aboard. Veressa has lost so much, and has come to the point that she cannot trust any one but the people who are close to her, who are as collective as her. Sylvanas, however, has died, brought to life again and was then corrupted by another to do an others bidding. Her own feelings had been changed for the worse, the thoughts which went through her own head were not her own, making Vereesa not trust Sylvanas at all. Sylvanas is agile, she fights her own wars and doesn’t sit back and wait. As she rules the Undead race, she will also be at the front lines, protecting what she feels is right to stay in power. Being agile and always engaged, but also corrupted and uncollective, makes it feel like the outfit chosen for her is really the best. Seductive, yet fitting for the personality and character, intentionally I don’t think it was meant to appeal as being one of the Horde, corruption and indecency is pretty much the norm. Vereesa, collective and content, her outfit matches her personality and position in the Alliance quarter.

Sylvanas Windrunner on the left and her sister, Vereesa Windrunner on the right.

Being a High Elf (basically the original elven species that evolved from Night Elves), an Elf which has not given into the magic lust that the Blood Elves have unfortunately fallen into, she is not dressed in a corruptive manner. Neither is she surrounded by the deep darkness that the Horde thrive in, as the species around her are pure humanoids that haven’t given in, as stated before. Yet, there are many times in which Vereesa could have become a Blood Elf, because of the loss of her whole entire family, she has tried desperately to not turn into what she believes is a ‘disgusting’ race. She is experienced, she has made a truce with herself that she won’t become some one that no one can trust, and therefore, her chosen outfit makes her seem powerful and beautiful, just like the Elf wearing it.

Pulling away from the high rulers in World of Warcraft, there is also many other races which really don’t fit the appeal of a ‘sexual’ appearance.

Some examples: Tauren, Pandaran, Worgen, and Undead Races

Possibly because some are anthropomorphic then regular characters which are ‘Human’ looking species, but even if there is a low cut top, or high cut trousers which are used for armor, the game doesn’t stop you using it for the male characters. Armor isn’t cut specifically for a certain gender, so you will get different types of people wearing different types of gear that could have been built for either male or female. Having that multiple choice is always nice, especially if you want to make a great character (whom is female) that has exceptional armor that is just mind blowing.
Then you think of advertisement. Advertisement is there to get a consumer caught on something you want to sell, and WoW really does have quite a variety of different advertisements. However, each video which is brought out, each advert which has been seen by the public, have only animated male characters fighting and the female characters playing their own part in beauty and exotic acts, coyly looking away from the viewer and commencing the things that they are currently doing. Then there was the commercials that contained very well known male actors and musicians, showing how manly, how glorious their male characters are, and how ‘YOU’ should start playing to become one like them. Comparing the feminine acts to that brutish male battling really doesn’t help the balance at all, making it impossible to not see the difference in the two sides. So, there is arguments, there is ways in which you can feel that World of Warcraft is still a mans game, and warcraft being a mans sport, but when you take in mind the stories in which it beholds, then you start to realise that it isn’t all a male dominated world after all.

[RESEARCH] Gender in the Media

In the wide world, gender roles are very well rehearsed from birth. Though the years, Females and Males have had their own battle of gender representation and their own feelings towards it. However, only recently has it come to light that what we have been doing is wrong, manipulating the mind to
consider biological things which really don’t exist in the living world.
Depending on where you live, and what your culture believes to be acceptable, you can see advertisements or media everywhere which drives forward a desire in their customer. Tugging on the heart strings of the consumer is something which every advertiser/creator wants, so they will push forward images or anything which attracts attention.

But, through life, mythology and past, the male population have dominated considerably in life and that everything we see in gender roles have been passed down by men, and male desires. This leaves the females out in the open, and used as a tool to get attention of others, and left as the less dominant race. It may not seem that way in these times, and equality has really heightened over the years, but there are still many who believe that this equality should not exist, making one side higher then the other.
In Mythology, the tales told view males as strong, muscled and courageous in everything they do; males were the most strongest, well organised in combat and great at taming their own belongings. Females were beautiful, fluent but very weak; they were always asking for trouble, and when trouble arose the men would save the beautiful maidens which would then be considered to be a ‘prize’ for the man when the battle was done. This same sort of concept for males and females are still desired to this day, but because of its mythological state, these concepts we have gained have passed the wrong message along generations.
During the past (1970-1980), women artists began to use their body as a symbol of their engagement against the male population. Some of the photos consist of very graphical imagery that it became quite apparent to what women were trying to say. One of these women was Hannah Wilke, who posed herself in such a way that was quite intimidating for the western audience  and went against all sort of beauty, fashion or model related factors of western culture. She also did pieces which tribute to stereotypes of her own culture, including her Jewish mother and the relationship between them both. She did this to get across her own image of her own body and will, which defied all understanding of the stereotypical feminine body in western culture. Another artist, Valie Export, took the representation of women in media to the extreme by walking around an art cinema with crotchless pants. This performance was called Aktionshose: Genitalpanik (or Action Pants: Genital Panic). She wanted to express the passive role of the female nature in cinema, showing that her actions were about the

women offering their own bodies freely and not in control of the male directors and producers. And Grayson Perry, who is known for is alter ego ‘Claire’. Through Perry’s own life, he realised that he was a transvestite at a very young age and started to practice and shape himself into a woman. Because of this, his parents did not see eye to eye with him and was thrown out of his own home out of disgrace. Many years later, Perry just couldn’t accept his double life any more and wanted to become this person who he has always wanted to be, and wanted others to see that he is: “Grayson in a dress, deal with it” (Grayson Perry, Telegraph, October 2011). This shows that in this day and age it’s unacceptable to be a ‘female’ in a male body, because it brands a certain state of uncomfortable feelings when seen in the public eye (‘it’s unnatural’). It’s a strange twist which feels out of place, however it is perfectly acceptable to act out as a male in a female body, and/or have feelings for the same gender.

Because these very straight forward interpretations of content which have been shown all around the world, artists have pulled in a rather different approach to show their own feelings towards the media in the later years. Sarah Lucas, a well known artist who takes photo’s which contain puns and sexual humour, did a set of images which use inanimate objects to represent genitalia rather then using real models for the shots. Why? Looking back at other images, women were using their own bodies and body language to show that the representations were offensive and wrong; they wanted to pull it all out of context. However, Lucas (and many other artists) then decided that wasn’t enough to show the objectification that genders have been put through for years. Objects, clothing on objects, the way the objects that were placed in images, made the viewer see representations through cross examination. A good example would be Lucas’ creation called Au Natural (Sarah Lucas, Au Natural, Saachi-Gallery, 1994), where she uses fruit and objects which represent genitalia on the human body. She also plays on words which have been used for genitalia through generations: Bucket, Melons, Cucumber and Oranges. This gives the image much more then just a personal touch, but more of how far we have come to realise we have been sabotaging ourselves through these words.
Tracey Emin also does this, but she uses imagery which contains text, or just scenes which she has modified. Emin uses much more of a personal approach in her pieces, and rarely does something which is quite mainstream. It’s quite an effective way to show how people represent others, and why it hurts people in the way it does.

[RESEARCH] A Utopian and Dystopian Game

A task was set, and we had to find what we believed was a Utopian and Dystopian game. It really depends on preference, but anything could really be a Utopia or a Dystopia. Here are just a couple of ideas that I feel is a Utopia and Dystopia in games.

Dystopia – Half-Life 2

City 17 isn’t a place where most people would like to end up, but if they just did what they were told, they will be “safe there”. Dystopian as it might seem, it’s also controlled until a stray man comes running through, this man going by the name of Gordon Freeman. Neither is it easy to find out whether it becomes a ‘Utopia’ after a place is then taken over by the rebels with the help of Gordon, but it certainly makes things a much more nicer place for everyone.
What is Dystopian about City 17 and the Half-Life image is that a lot of areas are controlled and contained by sheer brute force. There are a lot of soldiers which protect the city or people from going bad, and becoming corruptions, but it’s also scaring them into believing that what the soldiers and the head of City 17 is doing right by being this violent and allowing them to bring justice through violence. When Gordon Freeman comes along, he has the power to make people change their minds, because he also has brute force in his hands. People then took on another leader instead, because he gave them hope, which makes me feel that Gordon can aspire to greatness, and also take charge of a huge population, gifting a Utopian promice.

Utopia – Fez

Fez is such a beautiful game, with it’s colours and gorgeous textures which brings the artistic beauty out in the world, which makes this environment seem very Utopian.
Gomez is the protagonist, destined to save the world from the glitch which has been happening, he solves puzzles and decrypts hard codes to collect items for his world. Even though everyone has been changed, or is scared about the glitch in the world, it’s a very peaceful and subtle world where not much really goes on. There is so much to see, and all the worlds seem to be built to compensate both mother nature and ‘human’ nature alike, so that no side is doing better then the other. It’s economical  but there is so many puzzles and pieces which have never been uncovered in the world, it’s almost like the whole world is an adventure. Adventures could end up good or bad, depending on the world, or even the elements. But for Gomez, it’s just another walk in the park, finding clues to the world in which he lives in. He is also a tiny soul, with a great reputation with his fellow friends and family in the home world, which is quite endearing.

[RESEARCH] Twitter, DeviantART and Linked In

Twitter

Link to my Twitter Page

Twitter is a great way to get your own name out there, whether you’re well known or no, you will always get people very interested in your own work. There are always options to link your blog, art page or even website to feed and tweet automated messages so that other’s following you will be updated with the latests works of yours.
What this means is, if professionals are looking for your work and want a quick preview of what they are putting themselves in for, they can easily click on the links provided on the Twitter page, or just research into what you tweet about and so-forth. The bad thing about Twitter is the unfortunate back log you may find as you follow more and more people. Some information is glorious and interesting, but at times, you can get much rubbish information which you really don’t need if you want professionals to approach you.

Linked In

Link to my Linked In Page

Linked in is a very professional website, that has many knowledgeable people that lurk around, very interested in your own work themselves. This is a more direct approach, and takes on the style of what Facebook does; it’s a social media for the working class/career based employees that are looking for (possibly) more work.
What you do is you fill in your details of the things you are, the things you have achieved, and the things you want to become. This way, when people look at your profile, they examine your qualities and the things which you have going for you, and they can then realise that you could be the person they were looking for. When that is the case, there is a way to contact through a personal message to the person you wish to speak to. From there, millions of things can happen. However, you have to be careful for whom ever is contacting you, because you never know what would be in store for you.

DeviantART

Link to my DeviantART Page

DeviantART is my personal approach to getting my own name out there. If you are artistic and want to make it easier for people to view your forms of media and get to know your own work better, DeviantART as a great set up system for both portfolios and image hosting. Millions of contributors place and post their news, images, write-ups, stories and many more every single day, and is one of the biggest running media websites.
DeviantART is full of great contributors  however you must be careful for what you search for, and what you use from this valuable website. Art Theft is quite common from this website, as it is with many others, but you can add your own mark on the images to stop that from happening. There are also groups and so many forums which you can join. It’s a great community, with unlimited image postage.

[RESEARCH] The Theory of Illustration

(These are just my notes, quotes and thoughts from the wonderful book Illustration: A Theoretical and Contextual Perspective by Alan Male.)

I chose this book because, as an artist myself, I have always been interested in Illustration and what goes behind the images produced.

The Difference between Research and research
Research in Illustration is key, fictional or non-fictional you will need to have a vast understanding of the world around you before making statements in drawings. This ensures that the person looking at the illustration slightly understands what it is on the page but they are still there contemplating on what the imagery actually means. This goes for any form of art, but because illustration is used to illustrate a certain subject or scenario, it is more key.
As this is a normal state of mind for illustration, the difference between Research (with a big R) and research (with a smaller R) determines that outcome of a concluded image. These terms are normally assessed at the “early stage of development” (Research, Illustration | 01 | Education, Alan Male, Page 32), meaning that tasks go under way to know how much time has been spent on one project to make it complete.
Now the difference; research (with a small R) consists of just gathering random images or products needed to make a final item, not fully ‘researching’ what exactly needs to go into the illustration; to make it a believable piece. This has been a “debate in relation to Art and Design” (Research, Illustration | 01 | Education, Alan Male, Page 33), according to Male, as it is unsure that whether this is a real way of artistic recreation. This debate comes from reference; references are often used to construct a being straight from other things which already exist in the natural world. Then this information, which has been accumulated into the reference, then draws the viewer to examine and create their own imaginative feedback. Without conducting research into reference and historical materials, things which are “influenced by something real” (Research, Illustration | 01 | Education, Alan Male, Page 33), then creates a problem with visual communication.
Research (with a big R) on the other hand, has more in depth detail which takes a whole new direction from just gathering relative images. Full of “academic discipline” (Research, Illustration | 01 | Education, Alan Male, Page 33), having the will to press on through hundreds and hundreds of historical, environmental and many other facts and files to progress on a piece. With Research, it broadens into a wide range of ideas that can be contributed into one single page, making it flourish with more development ideas that, previously, couldn’t have been possible with just selecting images for a lone illustration: “Illustration practice becomes more holistic” (Research, Illustration | 01 | Education, Alan Male, Page 33) – Research is more thurow and shows true companionship of examination with the artist and the illustration.
So when you figure that Illustration is all about teaching the viewer something spectacular, it is important that there is a historical meaning, a natural resemblance to our own world. Also shows the stages an artist has gone through, bringing forwards detail, understanding, and concepts that could trigger the imaginative mind.

[RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT] My Genre Concept Project

Currently we have been assigned to do a concept based on a genre we are very interested in. I have done this quite a few times, but I decided to do something a little more personal.
Here is some of the text I will be using in my presentation, as well as images that really explain the whole concept of what I am trying to grasp at.

What Genre Will I Be Doing?

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I pick a “Musical Platforming Game”
Musical platformers (such as Bit. Trip Runner) use momentum to create exciting sound effects and a beat for the player to follow. If the player does this correctly, the game flows fluently. However, one wrong mistake, or out of time with the music, you fail. Games like these are normally fast paced and use obstacles, colours, animation and other things to throw you off balance.

Environments and Musical Feelings
Musical games are all very different, but all really focus on how music makes us feel (even self-consciously). Because we all have some sort of rhythm, games which ask you to keep in time with the music also throw bright and distracting colours at you. This is the competitive side of the game, and can really keep you on edge or make you frustrated. Bit. Trip Runner does this quite a lot, but because of the fast pacing of the game, you keep coming back for more.

Platform Games and Characters

Platform Games and their characters normally don’t have the greatest appeal, and normally don’t have an emotional attachment (Mario is a good example). But what if you bring quite a big story concept with the character? Great games like Limbo and Dust: The Elysian Tale have, and gain great emotional attachment through their own stories.

  
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I used these examples because I wanted everyone to realise what kind of character, scene and story I would like to incorporate in my concept game pitch. I also wanted to show how much detail I had looked into these games. Through all the searching and examining these games, I came to the conclusion of my back story I would like to do for my game. I wanted something very intricate and very open for people to use their own imagination to come up with a story they wish to conceive.

My Games Backstory and Idea

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“What is it like to be part of a program that you never knew existed? Yuki Kenba contemplates this every day. As he strives to be the musical artist that his heart desires, he feels a lack of motivation, courage, and self esteem. He blames the program, the machines inside of him. Not only does it suppress his own encouragement, but it only guides him to do what they want. He will fight back through the only thing he has control of; his dreams.”
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[RESEARCH] Relationships and Sexuality in Video Gaming

(Relationships Powerpoint Document)

In the same group as we were in the Text Adventure task we were set, we were also set a research task on a topic which really struck your interest. We decided to set our mind on Relationships and Sexuality and how it is portrayed in video games today.

★ List of characters and topics that the group had chosen:
This is my own research and ideas on these Characters.

Relationships
Nathan Drake and Elaina Fisher (Uncharted Series) – We chose these two characters because they have a sort of short ‘bond’ between each other. This slightly represents how couples deal with relationships and problems which occur every day in them.

John and Abigail (Red Dead Redemption) – John, the common man who has lost his woman to the thugs of the game. However he is continually trying to fight off a woman named Bonnie MacFarlene who is quite interested in John. Despite her attempts, John says he is not interested and carries on with life and duty. This shows how strong males can be and the idea of a perfect marriage.

Dominic Santiago and Maria Santiago (Gears of War Series) – Looking for his missing wife, Dominic ‘Dom’ Santiago spends years trying to find where his wife was. He finally finds her, but because of a fatal virus she passes away in Dom’s arms. Loosing everything by the end of his travels, Dom commits suicide to be with his family once more. This really shows how Doms intentions in life was to protect his family, as a father and a lover, but did not fulfil his duty and dies to save others.

Mario and Peach (Mario/Super Mario Series) – The most famous relationship known to this day is none other then Mario and Peach. Normally at the start of a Mario story, poor Princess Peach gets stolen away by evil Bowser and it’s Mario’s job to get his ‘girl’ back safe and sound. This is a stereotypically enhanced story, suggesting women cannot save themselves from danger without a man in their life.

Homosexuality
Kanji Tatsumi (Persona 4) – Kanji is a very strict and powerful young man who adores authority and power over everyone else. It is unsure whether Kanji wants to do this to hide is Homosexuality from people, or to show that he is perfectly capable of looking after himself. This shows how it can be quite hard to be a Homosexual like Kanji because of peoples lack of understanding.

Leonardo Da Vinci (Assassins Creed 2 Series) – Not a lot is known about Leonardo’s sexuality, but there has been records of Leonardo being arrested for sodomy. Even if this is true, this would mean that being a homosexual was clearly not aloud back in the Renaissance period, and being out spoken about it meant time in jail even if no actions were made. During the game, Leonardo comes to confess the protagonist Ezio that he is ‘gay’ and Ezio deserves to know about it.

Kaiden Alenko and Steve Cortez (Mass Effect 3) – They may not be a Homosexual couple, but both Kaiden and Steve are portrayed in a way that it is not even remotely noticed whether you are homosexual, lesbian or straight, because it doesn’t matter (you are treated as an equal, which is how it should be in ‘life’). The developers of Mass Effect wanted to have a Homosexual relationship with Kaiden in the first game but was turned down.

Anders and Zevran (Dragon Age) – Unlike Mass Effect, Dragon Age was quite open with relationships and you could choose who ever you wanted, as long as you met with the right requirements. However, I feel this is quite a change from regular ‘homosexuality’ in real life because of the species of people (such as elf and dwarf) doesn’t exactly appeal to many players. The availability of having a relationship with the same gender, it seems, it is just part of the ‘funny aspect’ of the game and isn’t really taken seriously (Anders and Zevran are part of this laugh factor).

Gender Confusion
Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4) – Naoto is a sweet girl who really wanted to be in a male dominated occupation (detective). The dialogue of Naoto really explains that it’s hard being a woman in Japan because of jobs being so male dominated. Because of this, Naoto decides to have a sex change from female to male so that she will be accepted and appreciated in the department. However, she is very unsure to whether she would like to be a male or no because she finds both sides have their happiness points and down falls. This is extremely unfair but Naoto sees no other alternative because of who she wants to be.

Birdo (Mario/Super Mario Series) – Birdo, one of the first ever gender confused characters, is quite a lovely example of how some one can mistake a male for a female. Because of the colour, the clothing, and the style of Birdo people originally believed Birdo to be a female as the stereotypical examples are all around him. Even though Birdo was made to make people believe that he was female, the developers decided it was a ‘mistranslation’ and Birdo is in fact a girl, despite Birdo still having a low tone voice.

Erica (Catherine) – Erica is a waitress, with beautiful curves and a perfect face. After ogling her through the entire game, you are then told by the end that she was indeed a male. If you were told at the beginning that she was a ‘male’ at one point, people would have sighed away and believe it was wrong to be attracted. It all goes to show that you can be what ever you want to be if you really want to because you deserve freedom female or male.

★ Why, as a Group, we wanted to approach these matters:
We thought it was quite important that we touch on these issues and realise that games do express their own opinions of Relationships or Sexuality, but developers are just too scared that it may shock the player and make them feel uncomfortable or uninterested. This could be true, but I think it’s very silly to shy away from being true and face the facts that making a different kind of game that includes relationships and sexuality is going to be a bit iffy and people won’t like it at first, but it sure beats having to play the same sort of game over and over again. It also gives tension in a story, which is what some gamers really strive for. That ‘edge of the seat’ story when something bad is going to happen to your favourite character, or couple even. Just as long as it is done right, you can achieve anything with these concepts in them, because the examples above have done it greatly.