Well, unfortunately with the end of the semester comes the end of this blog. I hope that anyone who stumbles across this out on the web has as much fun reading my rants as had writing them. I would ask that you approach these idea with an open mind and who knows? You might even go try some of these games. It never hurts to try. Remember, video games may have destroyed my life, but I got enough bonus points for an extra one.
This is James L. Dowdy III, signing off.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Digital Anatomy
In the realm of video games, developers come up with stories that take place in worlds that don't always exist. And in these worlds are, as one may expect, creatures that do not necessarily exist either. However, no matter how twisted these creatures get, they all bear a semblance to creatures of the Earth we know today. Sometimes, the reference can be blatantly obvious, like in the case of Mammoths and Horkers in Skyrim.
The Mammoths look almost exactly like the mammoths of Earth's ice age and Horkers look like walruses. The only subtle differences are in the tusks. Sometimes, however, the references to Earthly creatures' features are less pronounced. This can be seen in Corpsers and Brumaks in Gears of War.
The Corpser, the first image, looks somewhat like a spider, and the Brumak after it is built much like a gorilla. However, the game designers have altered their anatomy a bit more for extra style points.
Sometimes, to create a new creature, developers simply combine two or more creatures from the real world and blend their characteristics to form a new being. One example of this can be seen in Mass Effect.
This is a Varren. They were created by combining a fish and and a dog. They show aspects of both, but are a completely new animal.
All of these creatures exist only in a digital world and yet still retain the images of Earth's natural inhabitants. Mostly because it is weird to think of any creature with anything but two, four, six, or eight legs, a head, and a similar body structure. Still, the game designers do a good job of inventing things for people to see in video games.
The Mammoths look almost exactly like the mammoths of Earth's ice age and Horkers look like walruses. The only subtle differences are in the tusks. Sometimes, however, the references to Earthly creatures' features are less pronounced. This can be seen in Corpsers and Brumaks in Gears of War.
The Corpser, the first image, looks somewhat like a spider, and the Brumak after it is built much like a gorilla. However, the game designers have altered their anatomy a bit more for extra style points.
Sometimes, to create a new creature, developers simply combine two or more creatures from the real world and blend their characteristics to form a new being. One example of this can be seen in Mass Effect.
This is a Varren. They were created by combining a fish and and a dog. They show aspects of both, but are a completely new animal.
All of these creatures exist only in a digital world and yet still retain the images of Earth's natural inhabitants. Mostly because it is weird to think of any creature with anything but two, four, six, or eight legs, a head, and a similar body structure. Still, the game designers do a good job of inventing things for people to see in video games.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Cost of Our Mistakes
In many a video game plot, humanity is faced with some sort of conflict that threatens to destroy them. Without this conflict, there would be no story. However, many games, even ones with differing conflicts, have one thing in common: the conflict exists because of some grievous error on humanity's part.
One such game series is Gears of War. In this series, the human inhabitants of the planet Sera are under siege from an underground race of monsters known as the Locusts. They look like this:
Don't they look a lot like humans? If you think so, you're right. In Gears of War 3, you find out that the Locusts used to be human. However, when humanity starting using a new fuel called emulsion, it turned out to be radioactive. Emulsion turned humans into Locusts. The Locusts were forced underground and are bitter toward humans and want to take over the surface world. All because humans gave in to using a "miracle fuel" without knowing its side effects.
Another game that has a good example of humanity causing its own predicament is Dragon Age: Origins. Dragon Age: Origins takes place in a fantasy medieval world. In the back story leading up to the game, some powerful mages or magic users desired more power and tried to enter "The Golden City", which is the game universe's version of heaven. When they do this, "The Maker", the game's version of God, is outraged and curses the mages to be darkspawn, embodiments of evil and corruption. In the game's plot line, the darkspawn have spread and become a hoard so to speak and are causing a blight upon the land. As a member of the Grey Wardens, the warriors sworn to fight the blight, you stand against a horde of these:
All of these situations could have been prevented if humans would just think before they act. But instead, some poor sucker, namely your character, has to come in and clean up somebody else's mess. Let's just hope we have heroes like that in the real world.
One such game series is Gears of War. In this series, the human inhabitants of the planet Sera are under siege from an underground race of monsters known as the Locusts. They look like this:
Don't they look a lot like humans? If you think so, you're right. In Gears of War 3, you find out that the Locusts used to be human. However, when humanity starting using a new fuel called emulsion, it turned out to be radioactive. Emulsion turned humans into Locusts. The Locusts were forced underground and are bitter toward humans and want to take over the surface world. All because humans gave in to using a "miracle fuel" without knowing its side effects.
Another game that has a good example of humanity causing its own predicament is Dragon Age: Origins. Dragon Age: Origins takes place in a fantasy medieval world. In the back story leading up to the game, some powerful mages or magic users desired more power and tried to enter "The Golden City", which is the game universe's version of heaven. When they do this, "The Maker", the game's version of God, is outraged and curses the mages to be darkspawn, embodiments of evil and corruption. In the game's plot line, the darkspawn have spread and become a hoard so to speak and are causing a blight upon the land. As a member of the Grey Wardens, the warriors sworn to fight the blight, you stand against a horde of these:
All of these situations could have been prevented if humans would just think before they act. But instead, some poor sucker, namely your character, has to come in and clean up somebody else's mess. Let's just hope we have heroes like that in the real world.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Carbon Footprints
As a project, I went to the EPA's website and calculated the carbon footprint for my family's household back home. I have a family of four (counting me) and we have 5 cars. I expected our carbon output to be very high. The average carbon output for a family in America is about 83,000 pounds of CO2 per year. However, my family only produces about 60,249 pounds of CO2 per year. This was a pleasant surprise.
After calculating my family's carbon footprint, I decided to check my grandmother's. She lives alone and doesn't use a lot of excess anything. The average carbon output for a person living alone is about 20,750 pounds of CO2 per year. I would have been surprised if she produced more than that. As I thought, she only produces about 18,061 pounds of CO2 every year. It was good to learn that my family doesn't contribute exceptionally to global warming.
After calculating my family's carbon footprint, I decided to check my grandmother's. She lives alone and doesn't use a lot of excess anything. The average carbon output for a person living alone is about 20,750 pounds of CO2 per year. I would have been surprised if she produced more than that. As I thought, she only produces about 18,061 pounds of CO2 every year. It was good to learn that my family doesn't contribute exceptionally to global warming.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Hundreds of Years in the Future
Many video games take place in the future, sometimes hundreds of years. In these scenarios, the writers paint very unique pictures of what the future holds in store. Some paint a picture of perfection and other, well, don't. Some games show an eminent doom. One such story is Fallout.
In the Fallout storyline, a nuclear war breaks out between China and America. The subsequent radiation kills a large portion of the world's population. The Earth's landscape turns into a barren wasteland, like this:
In the Fallout storyline, a nuclear war breaks out between China and America. The subsequent radiation kills a large portion of the world's population. The Earth's landscape turns into a barren wasteland, like this:
Even though in the end, the hero begins to purify the radiation, Earth will never truly be the same.
On the other hand, the outlook on humanity's future is not always so grim. In Halo: Reach, humanity has spread throughout the galaxy and many if not all planets are still very beautiful. Earth may have become covered in cities, but Reach, after years of human habitation still looks like this:
So, we must ask ourselves, would we rather peacefully inhabit the planets of our galaxy, or turn our own home world into a wasteland? Like in Beauty Bleak by Miracle of Sound?
Monday, November 26, 2012
Hope
Thanksgiving was just this past week and we have all been contemplating what we are thankful for. During my break from school I got the opportunity to play Halo 4, which was great, but I also read Bill McKibben's book, Eaarth. What I read was disheartening.
In Eaarth, McKibben is very pessimistic about the future of the environment. He says that global warming is destroying the environment faster than people think. According to him, the one degree increase in global temperature is putting our world at risk right now.
Now, I'll be the first person to stand up in defense of the environment. However, I have to disagree with having such a negative outlook on our situation. It is my belief that if we have hope, we can fix anything.
In Eaarth, McKibben is very pessimistic about the future of the environment. He says that global warming is destroying the environment faster than people think. According to him, the one degree increase in global temperature is putting our world at risk right now.
Now, I'll be the first person to stand up in defense of the environment. However, I have to disagree with having such a negative outlook on our situation. It is my belief that if we have hope, we can fix anything.
Monday, November 19, 2012
The Most Powerful Force
One of my all-time favorite ideas in in video games to think about philosophically is the portrayal of what I and many others believe to be the most powerful force in existence: the will of Man. In many sci-fi/action games, particularly the shooters I enjoy, humanity as a whole is forced to put aside its differences and band together against a common enemy, commonly an advanced alien race. In these scenarios, humans are often outnumbered, usualy outclassed, and almost always outgunned by their enemy. However, when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, the will of Man comes through and with sheer determination and refusal to back down, humanity always rises the victor. I love thinking about this topic and I love finding real world examples. I have found one such example in the Curitiba chapter of Hope, Human and Wild that I mentioned in my last post.
In the book, the enemy isn't an advanced alien race, but lack of money, lack of time, and outside pressure. The city of Curitiba was under pressure to be like the rest of Brazil and be more "modern". Instead, the citizens banded together and with their sheer will, they overcame this and made a city they wanted to live in. This show of force of the will of Man is what gets me excited about the book, the video games I play, and the rest of the world I live in.
In the book, the enemy isn't an advanced alien race, but lack of money, lack of time, and outside pressure. The city of Curitiba was under pressure to be like the rest of Brazil and be more "modern". Instead, the citizens banded together and with their sheer will, they overcame this and made a city they wanted to live in. This show of force of the will of Man is what gets me excited about the book, the video games I play, and the rest of the world I live in.
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