Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1003https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3701I've finally managed to get passed the hall monitors. I went into the cafeteria in which we planted bombs by a vending machine and underneath a table. We head out to gear up. In this scene, Eric and Dylan speak of how much they hate the people around them and wished that they could kill them all. While I do see the pressures these boys face, to me, they are warped. It seems that everything irritates them to no end regardless of how minor it is. They even find people pestering them to be healthy are so annoying that they should die. Beneath all this you can see that the boys from early on began to believe that there wasn't much that they could make out of their lives. During an earlier flash back, Dylan, even though he was accepted to study computer science at a university, still thinks that there isn't anything for him in life. He says that he got accepted into the university, but it doesn't really matter. Eric mentions that he planned to go out for the marines because of his father. The boys overall seem hopeless. After gearing up, they head back to the school. On their way they run into someone who they tell to go home. Had I not researched this a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have known that was one of their friends. He is the only one they spare as they now (or rather I) begin to kill the students and faculty around me. The students are all grouped by high school social classes: preppy girl, jock, nerdy boy, etc. I remember reading a while ago, that during the shooting, Eric and Dylan yelled out to the students, referring to them by their high school social class. Saying things like "All jocks, stand up," so that they could shoot them down.Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:52:52 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3701&iddiary=6935https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3696I know the point of this assignment is to analyze the game, but how can I do that if I cant progress in it? I'm stuck trying to get to the cafeteria. Avoiding the hall monitors is virtually random because you can get spotted by people off screen. The orange and green haired hall monitors go into you hiding spots near classroom doors and follow you around making you run into spotter. I've been trying to get passed this part for over an hour, but the poor design of the game makes it impossible. After much frustration, I had my sister try and it seems that she cannot get passed this part either for me.Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:07:04 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3696&iddiary=6931https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3696I remember reading about this game years ago in a gaming magazine. I remember it had something to do with how this game was barred from a game festival for it's controversial theme. I played for about a half hour. I took time to explore Eric's house. Lying around are various things used to blame the massacre, such as a Marylin Manson CD, the Doom game, and the Luvox anti-depressant. In Eric's basement, he and Vodka do one last recording to leave behind. They talk about how everyone in their high school deserves to die for what they have put them through. So far it seems to me that they were already miserable, but other things amplified that. So far I've gotten up to the part where I have to go to the cafeteria. It's been really tough trying to get in because it seems that I'm being spotted by a character off screen. It's frustrating because I've tried for over 20 minutes and cant seem to get it right. I guess I'll have to keep trying though.Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:58:34 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3696&iddiary=6926https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3612The next mission I played was the 'Drive Thru' mission. Through my many failed attempts at saving my homies from the rival gang drive, I got another glimpse into the atmosphere of the game. Because of the many time that I had repeated the mission, I noticed the radio advertisements playing in the car. Two that stuck out were for a clothing store for over sized people and for cough medicine. These advertisements revealed the satirical nature of the game from how outrageous they are. The clothing store advertisement says stuff like (paraphrased) 'If making love means eating three hot dogs, then come down to (name of store). We're just the clothing store for fat people'. The cough medicine advertisement talks about how it can make you forget about any cough or cold and even your own name. The special formula for the cough medicine includes alcohol and morphine. It's stuff like this with the stereotypes that makes the game joke. It's 'M' rating suits it. Although I do need to play more before I can completely judge the game, I think that the entire point of the game is to exaggerate these stereotypes and make up an environment that other people can enjoy. While others may classify it as a 'gang game', like I did before, that encourages destructive behaviors in the game, I change my mind about my initial thoughts about the game. A responsible adult would be able to identify these stereotypes and the exaggerated nature of the game. Therefore, the 'M' rating makes this game suitable because it is intended for people ages seventeen and up. Sure, some people have committed acts of violence and claim that it is because of games like GTA, but even before playing GTA, I always questioned their mental health. This all causes me to agree with both the 'Gamers' and the 'Athletes' we discussed in class. The game exaggerates a lot of different elements and uses stereotypes, while providing the player with quite an amount of objectives, making the game enjoyable. I think the game itself is ethical because of this. Any well-minded adult would be able to spot these things and not take the game as a way to learn to be a criminal by emulating it.Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:38:42 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3612&iddiary=6767https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3612I continued playing for another hour. Before heading out on another mission, I explored the house and found a wardrobe. Although I left wearing the same clothing that I was wearing before, it brought to my attention the stereotypical gangster outfit, specifically, the sagging jeans that revealed the top part of his underwear. The entire game seems to be built on stereotypes. The biggest is what gang life is. All characters talk in slang and dress in way that society has stereotyped gangsters. However, I have seen in real life people who dress and speak in similar ways, yet I wouldn't classify those people that I've seen as gangsters. This time, I completed two missions. One in which I was required to spray paint over another gang's graffiti and another in which I was to beat down crack dealers. The first was just a matter of claiming, while the other was about protecting my homies from the harmful effects of crack. The crack den mission conveyed one of the values of my gang, 'drugs are bad'.Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:06:24 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3612&iddiary=6761https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3612I played the game for about one hour, completing three missions. During the beginning cut scene, I could see the corruption of the cops mentioned by the 'Athlete' group. It managed to draw even more sympathy from me, as my character was only coming back to bury his dead mother. Carl was human and not some blood thirsty, 'let's go destroy everything' person, as I had imagined him to be from the things I have heard about the game. I had thought my prejudice of the game had been shattered. As I continued to play, I realized that my previous idea may have been right, in that this game is essentially, a 'gang' game. You go on missions with others in your group and complete an objective that is assert your group's power. So far, nothing I've done in the game is over the top, bizarre violence. The only bad thing I've done so far is help hold up a pizza place. Of course the the game allows you to run over pedestrians and crash into other cars, but I didn't find this to be a big deal as I didn't find there to be any award for doing any of these things. Rather the game was being realistic in that running over someone will kill them and leave a pool of blood. However, even when doing these things in front of cops, I was never chased. This may further convey the corruption of the cops. I makes the city seem like everything is corrupted and so it doesn't matter that you are part of it. This is the social norm of the environment in the game. I've heard that you do get chased by the cops if you do break certain laws. I'll have to continue playing to see when these chases actually happen. It will allow to me to further evaluate the city's police force.Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:56:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3612&iddiary=6759