TomKeefe's GameLog

Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (PS2) - Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:58:49

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:58:49 CDT

Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) - Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:08:53

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:08:53 CDT

Today I played from the start of the shooting portion to a little bit past where they commit suicide. I found myself unable to even attempt killing every npc that I came accross both because it is very difficult and time consuming with the SNES RPG style combat system, and because of what the killings are a representation of. After dying once, I skipped past all the rooms that I had been to previously and found the library. The bathroom event was very bizzare. I almost had to laugh at the idea of killing four bullies to rescue a little kid in exchange for four 4 medpacks. It was just so strange. Instead of shooting everyone, I took to finding as many computers to blow up as I could because the fire effect was kind of cool. Once I finished destroying the library computers I initiated the shootout scene at the window with police, and then allowed the 2 to commit suicide. I was not expecting pictures of their bloody corpses at the end. I didn't know such pictures were available and it was very disgusting. Blood in video games does not bother me at all but seeing real blood makes me sick. I was a little confused by the hell scene at the end. Reminded me of Dantes Inferno when I read the sign at the start. I don't know how long one can play through the hell level or whether or not you can eventually play through it with both characters as I died when I fought the first Doom monster. I get the whole hell idea, but I thought that it was just a bit silly and unnecessary. After dying in this level I decided that this was enough and stopped playing.

Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) - Mon, 25 Oct 2010 23:11:33

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 23:11:33 CDT

Today I played from the parking lot up to the point where it is about time to start the shooting portion. It took me quite a long time to realise that I needed to manually take the bomb bag out of the trunk before going into the cafeteria. I only realised this after already having made it to the cafeteria a few times. The run past the security cameras and hall monitors is quite annoying and took me many tries to get right. The cafeteria security however is very easy to slip past. After the two bombs being planted objective was done, it took me a while to realise that I also had to get the gun bag from the trunk before going to the overlook area.It's interesting that none of the bombs went off as planned. I imagine that of the 3 times I play this game, this time was the one which will feel the least weird. I just read about the event a little and it seems like so far the game basicly has the main facts straight. I'm really not sure how to compare the actions to morals and things discussed in class. As for the game itself however I feel there is more room for discussion. I suppose, though I havn't looked into the reaction the public has had to this game, that it would be considered quite controversial for making a game out of the event. From a utilitarian view, the game doesn't do any more actual harm than any other violent video game. However, the emotional harm that it could cause to those who lived through the event is something to consider. This is a difficult issue to say anything about with any certainty.

Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) - Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:17:46

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:17:46 CDT

I was very curious as to what type of graphics a game such as this would choose to use. I was surprised that it looks like a SNES game. This is neither good or bad, just interesting. Today I played from the start of the game up until the parking lot, as it says its the only place to save. So far the game has felt like a normal SNES style game, except for the very odd feeling I get from playing it while knowing what it is about. It really is a strange feeling to play this game, I've never felt so awkward playing a game before. It's hard to not think about what I am playing when I am playing this game. The backstory from exploring the starting house area of the game is chilling considering this is about a real event. I am not very informed on the details of the event so I do not know how much of the background events in this game are based on known facts and how much is infered. Either way, those two were very messed up people. I'm not exactly looking forward to continuing this game for the other 2 entries, but at the same time I am curious about how the game will play it out. It's creepy.

Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (PS2) - Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:29:56

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:29:56 CDT

Today I took a car and drove it to an area of the game marked by 'No Trespassors' signs and drove past them. I found an abandoned farm with an old pickup truck and I took that and drove it around for a while. After crashing it into some cars on the road and causing a traffic jam I took out the bazooka/rocket launcher and shot some of the cars that were piled up. Everything started exploding in a chain reaction and I ended up being teleported to the hospital. Obviously the game mechanic where you are teleported to the hospital entrance after you 'die' is just a way of resuming the game, but if one thinks about it in a realistic sense there is a funny moral issue with it. After someone causes a big chain of exploding cars on a highway and gets injured by it but recovers at the hospital, wouldn't they be arrested as soon as they get better instead of being released freely back on the streets?

Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (PS2) - Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:35:21

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:35:21 CDT

This time around I continued to go around the game stealing cars. Eventually I remembered hearing about some special rumored occurances in the game such as ghost cars. I looked it up online to see if there was any truth to it, and then found out what area of the game to go to. I got on a motorcycle and went there. Apparently theres an empty, kind of spooky wooded area in the game where you can find a few old beat up cars just sitting abandoned in the forest, and they look like they were left after a crash. If you drive them, leave them and go back to where you found them they are there again. People have also made mods where they turn into actual haunted cars and chase you, but I am playing on the PS2 and do not have access to those mods. My time during this session was spent finding the place, and then driving the 'ghost cars' around until they blew up. I must say that I found the whole thing a little spooky, especially how empty the forest that you find them around is. It's little things like these ghost car stories that add a little extra bit of interest to a game. The same ethical issues as last time were present this time. That being hijacking peoples cars and running them over with them. I didn't do anything particularly different than last time in the way of moral issues.

Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas (PS2) - Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:47:47

Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:47:47 CDT

Back in 2008 was the first time that I played this game. A friend of mine owns it and so I borrowed his copy. The storyline of the game and it's characters are not what I find interesting about this game. What I do find interesting, is the large sandbox feel the game has, particularly in the way of vehicles. When it comes to video games I love vehicles, especially if they are destructible and San Andreas certainly has a lot of different destructible vehicles to play with. For the first of three sessions in which I play this game, I simply walked around until I reached a street. I then proceeded to jack a random car that was passing by and start driving around like a lunatic. After a short while of speeding around the game world running over or hitting most of the things in my way, I ended up driving off the road and into the water. I got out and swam until I found a boat which I then used to get back to land. Once back on land I stole another car and drove around damaging things until the car started on fire. At this point I jumped off a bridge and found another boat. I've always found it funny how the normal thing to do in this game for transportation is to either jack someones vehicle, or steal a random parked one. What's even funnier is how doing this rarely leads to the player ever getting a star which causes the police to chase you. True the police aren't always there to see you commit the crimes, but the people who just had there car stolen don't seem to call for help much if at all. It's probably for the best, however, as the game would probably be far less fun if the police came after you every single time you do something bad in the game, which is usually all the time.