Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=873https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3456Ok, now I have gotten as far as I can possibly go, to hell in the game of DOOM. I wondered before why in the previous part of the game I had to be Eric even though Dylan seemed to be the guy running the show and barking the orders, but now I am Dylan so it must be a way to force you into the mindset of each player, which is why you can’t choose. I have been fighting in hell/DOOM for at least a half an hour and I can’t make any progress. The only way I can rationalize this is that when Eric and Dylan were alive they were the ones in power with all the weapons, everyone else was weak and rarely fought back. The boys believed in survival of the fittest. Everyone had to die and then them. But after death they became the weak ones, stripped of all their weapons except for a pistol. Everyone Dylan comes across has a weapon and can make vital attacks, many of which kill him. But before, he couldn’t die. It’s almost impossible to avoid the attacks from the characters in hell/DOOM; it becomes the player’s personal hell that dooms them to play endless repetitive attacks. Overall, I felt that the game tried to show sympathy or rather empathy for the two boys because it was shown purely through their eyes. The game humanized them and their actions by telling us why they felt they had to do what they did and showing us their depression medicine and where they take their inspirations from (DOOM and NBK). To top it all off, they ended the boys life with a photo montage of them when they were happy and innocent. The game toys with realism, violence, profanity, and the idea of empathy and morality, leaving the player conflicted with the entire situation.Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:59:44 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3456&iddiary=6516https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3456In my second time playing the game I got as far as killing myself and ending up in hell, which I assume is DOOM, the game they reference. But before I died, I had to go through a non challenging mass killing spree. Everyone I came across was labeled. There were preppy girls, jocks, goody girls, nerds, and church girls who could heal themselves with prayer. Everyone is categorized into clicks based on their appearances. This reminded me of the lecture we had in class on labels. Nobody is just one kind of person, so I feel like what the character does in the game is exactly what he feels is happening to him. He is being picked on for not being in those groups so now everyone not in his group must die. So what click do Dylan and Eric belong to? The Nazi types? They believe in survival of the fittest and speak German phrases. At one point Dylan said I am God and Eric said No Mercy. I wonder if they real guys Eric and Dylan actually spoke German or if these phrases were added to give them a more vilified appearance. It is interesting to note that even though they are the “villains” of the game, they still have inner conflicts. We see this when Eric tells his friend Brooks to go home, thereby saving his life. In a game it doesn’t really make sense to save the life of just one but it really makes it realistic by putting that scene in because that’s what happened in real life. This brings me back to my point before about how terrifying this game is, you play it with little control, causing violent acts to occur with no responsibility for your actions, it all becomes too easy. This is perhaps the point that the game creator is making, the boys did what they did because they didn’t fully understand the consequences of their actions and they knew it would be easy just like in DOOM.Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:34:17 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3456&iddiary=6474https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3456I found playing this game to be quite scary. Although the graphics were terrible, the realism represented in the conversations between Eric and Dylan, was terrifying. I could see how the real event occurred as it unfolded. I assume that was perhaps that goal of the game’s creator, to show how two people could do what they did and how we can see the signs for the future. It is interesting however, that the player does not actually play the game. You cannot actually do anything other than what the game wants you to do. Instead it is more like an active movie. You watch and you occasionally get to push the enter button but you cannot go where the game doesn’t want you to go, you simply have to continue with the boys’ plan or lose and start over. I only got as far as planting the bombs in the cafeteria my first time playing the game, but it became very clear what the player’s motives were, how they would achieve their goals, who their targets were, and their inspirations for doing what they are supposed to do. Eric and Dylan take inspiration from the game DOOM and the movie Natural Born Killers as well as the violent music that played throughout the scenes. Of that music, Marilyn Manson’s CD was said to “inspire aggression and rage”. It makes me wonder if the game’s creator is commenting on the stereotype that violence in games and movies does in fact cause real violence to occur, or if he is actually reinforcing it.Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:54:39 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3456&iddiary=6455https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3378Since my last session playing the game I have completed another five missions. In doing so, I have gained respect from my gang and therefore more money and weapons. However, I still do not see how this game is anything but a perpetual cycle of stereotypes, gang violence, and crime. Some of the non-violent activities seem pointless, but do in fact have ulterior motives. For example, when you have to go to the gym it is so that you can build muscle and therefore win fights. When you go to get a new wardrobe it is so that you can blend in with your posse, in this case that means getting clothes that sport the green color that represents the characters' gang. When I explored wardrobe options I was shocked to find out that you can wear nothing but your underwear in public and no one says anything about it, not even cops. This says a lot about the realistic elements in the game. If I were to go outside naked, I would be not only be reported my neighbors but arrested and put in jail were the cops to see me. I also noticed that I can commit a crime in front of a police officer and not get in trouble for it. My wanted status only goes up if I directly hurt a cop. This almost makes it seem if the cops are just another gang in the game; they certainly seem to act like any of the other gangs, minus the drive by shooting effect. As I played the game I kept looking for anything that might be considered moral, by any ethical theory. However I was unsuccessful. Utilitarianism seemed to totter on the line between amoral and moral, simply because doing something like killing the crack dealers might bring more happiness than unhappiness but happiness is not quantifiable and therefore hard to measure. Also it was a good idea to stop crack dealing, but, then like everything else in the game, it was gone about in the worst possible way, by killing them. The biggest problem I had with this game, however, was that the immoral objectives, the violence, and the vulgarity were all made to seem normal because nothing else was present. It reinforces stereotypes of blacks and Latinos in areas that are presumed to be concentrated with them. Impartiality is not even an issue in this game, because it is very clear that no one is of equal importance or value. All in all I find this game quite immoral and a detriment to society. On a gaming level, it's unrealistic and repetitive, making it a not enjoyable game for me.Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:54:50 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3378&iddiary=6322https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3378My first experience with the game really brought out a lot of key points made in our ethics class as well as in our book. This time, however, I was not to much impressed with the connections that were being made. The game seems to be nothing more than violence, crime, and becoming the best possible gang member you can without getting caught by the police. Since I am not very good at these kind of games, I often get caught by the police and am unable to complete my missions, and therefore have to start all over multiple times. The missions themselves seem rather pointless. As I mentioned in my last blog, this game plays up to the stereotypes of society and therefore everything in the game seems normal for the characters to be doing based on those stereotypes. My second mission had me get a haircut and then buy and eat food while my "brotha" stood up the joint. As we ran away we were shot at by the owner, something that would clearly not happen in real life. This was all rather pointless and when I crashed my car and died on the way to the hood I had to start over. So I began to experiment. Instead of buying food I tried to rob them and beat them up, thinking that that would gain me "respect points", however, this only made me lose my mission. Why is it that some bad things are acceptable to do and you benefit from doing them but others either go unpunished or unrewarded? Is their a double standard for violence in the real world as well? The last of my missions before I finished my session was to spray paint 100 walls. First of all this is really boring and difficult to do because other gangs and cops are hanging around the site, and secondly it was stereotypically racist. I can't imagine one thing in this game that teaches anything other violence, crime, racism, and hate. Why do we find these games amusing?Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:33:26 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3378&iddiary=6304https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3378This was my first experience with any of the Grand Theft Auto games. I knew that there would be a decent amount of violence but participating in an ethics class really opens ones eyes to the ethical dilemmas put forward in these kinds of games. What immediately drew my attention was that you are not allowed to choose your character. Instead you are a violent black man from the ghetto who joins a gang in order to build a reputation and get money. I find this brings up controversial and provocative issues of racism and stereotypes of the black population. Everyone in this game is characterized and presented by the stereotypes real society has assigned them. For example, the black people are "ghetto", in gangs, and inherently violent in that they are the ones committing drive by shootings; even their outfits fit the typical stereotypes. Mexicans are discriminated against even in the game as people shout out "stupid Mexican." Most of the girls are dressed as sexual objects rather than actual people and often referred to as b*tches. I haven't played enough to know the objectives very clearly but the game described to me some of the actions and repercussions for those actions. As my character I have obtained a gun and can use it, I can pull people out of their cars and steal their vehicle, and I can punch anyone at anytime for no reason and in doing so kill them. Which it's interesting to note that the controller buttons allow you to jump, punch, open a car door/get on a bike, and shoot a gun, but none of the buttons have pacifistic actions. The repercussion for my actions is an increase in my wanted level. This means if I am caught, the police will either kill me or just give me a warning after taking my money as a bribe. If this doesn't speak to the stereotypes of the police force during the mafia and prohibition eras, I don't know what does. Not to mention that this presents a moral dilemma that is simply accepted in the game. This means I can steal a car, kill a person, and ruin public property without being punished. I'm interested in seeing how the game plays itself out with further practice.Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:00:40 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3378&iddiary=6290