surge.gamer's GameLogBlogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=919Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) - Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:35:59https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3662In the final sitting with Super Colombine Massacre, I was already sick of the game and really had no desire to play it. In fact, I spent the entire time during the third game just going around trying to figure out what the "building key" item unlocked. Once again this time I was drawn into many unnecessary battles by the stupid computer victims. I found myself getting angry at the game because of all the unnecessary things I was doing. It is no suprise why this game was pulled from all game festivals it was entered in. The content is so disgusting that I felt physically ill by the words I was reading and the gameplay. Enough with ranting about the games bad points. I will point out that the game does have some interesting commentary on the composition of the student body at the school. Most of the characters you run into are jocks or preps, which, by nature seems to be the standard in most modern high schools. Also, the jocks are the ones that seem to have bullied Eric and Dylan the most in their past. A thought that crossed my mind only after playing through the last time is an element of racism that occurs in the game. In all of the battles each time I played, I think I only counted 4, maybe 5 black boys. Why this disparity? It was the same with the openly gay male. Also, the black boys didnt appear anywhere except when encountering a group of boys. I don't know the intent of this action, but it is one more thing that makes this game terrible. If the sole purpose of the developer was to create a rediculous game which no one would play due to the controversial nature of everything, then he succeeded with flying colors. I think that the level of offensive content is so over the top to help remind the player of how wrong and twisted things were in the minds of the two shooters. Due to this, the game gets a high score in terms of intrinsic value, but as a game without analysis, it fails miserably.Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:35:59 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3662&iddiary=6861Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) - Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:35:37https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3662As I was playing through the game for a second time, I decided to get as far as I could without killing anyone. That didn't last long however because I soon learned that there were a couple encounters that had to be made in order to continue. Also, there were times when I could not evade the other students and teachers in the game. I thought it was interesting that you, as the technical "enemies" in real life were forced into conflicts with students if you ran into them, even if by accident. Most RPG's have the protagonist attempting to avoid most battles, unless grinding to level up. Eventually I got trough the school portion with very few levels gained and reached the Hell/doom section of the game. Now, the first time through, I mentioned I went and killed every person I could, simply to fully immerse myself in the game, however, this time when I didn't kill everyone and was at a low level, I went to hell and couldn't progress from there. There was no way for me to even consider beating the enemies, because they were so much stronger than I. The Demon Imp alone did 50-80 damage with his "summon fire" technique. Due to this specific game play mechanic where the player was rewarded for killing off every person instead of letting some of them live, i was extremely offended by the game. The system of morals in the game is twisted and wrong, forcing the player to commit the heinous acts of violence to just progress through. I found myself becoming numb to the game and just clicking auto-attack in every battle i could, pounding the space bar rapidly to complete the battles.Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:35:37 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3662&iddiary=6860Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) - Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:40:52https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3662To start, this game is absolutely disgusting. I played it once a while ago when it first came out for a short period of time, but was sickened by it and stopped. This is the first time I actually sat down and played it all the way through. It took me roughly 4 hours to complete the game start to finish and I made sure to kill every person/creature possible. The game starts off as being a re-enactment of the Columbine shooting however when taking a second look at the game there are a lot of small nuances that come through. The game gives the developer's personal opinion on the occurrence at Columbine. All of the dialogue in the game is fabricated between Eric and Dylan, as no one actually knows what was said between the two as they were preparing and fulfilling their plan. The developer also portrays the two main characters positively and seems to sympathize with their situations. It was interesting to see that side of things when all anyone discussed in the media was what horrible monsters the two boys were. However I was shocked back into reality when reading the content of their discussions after a short while, what their motivations were beyond just being picked on and exiled. For them to take the meanings of certain music and writings literally, that alone shows the immaturity and delusions that they were suffering from.Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:40:52 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3662&iddiary=6841Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC) - Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:27:54https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3536This log is from this morning: While playing the game this morning I went on a spree of trying to ride around on top of cars while they are moving. This is something I always find amusing simply because of the reactions of the people inside the cars. I often times carry a baseball bat and start beating on the hood of the car when the driver doesn't start going. Usually that causes them to peel out and veer off the road. This doesn't always end well for CJ, who sometimes ends up being run over or simply falling to the side and getting hurt. This doesn't necessarily involve any kind of moral implications, but if the driver speeds off while CJ is on the car and I didn't do anything it poses the question: Does the AI have a moral system? The answer to this is of course yes, but in regards to your character, the AI can do whatever it pleases, however if you so much as punch someone, it can cause an entire gang of thugs to come after you or draw the police to you as well. As my final entry, I figure that reflecting on the situation brought up by games like GTA would be prudent. As in our class discussion, game makers are constantly under scrutiny for what is portrayed in their games. GTA was originally somewhat cartoony and unrealistic, but with the birth of GTA4, the game entered a whole new realm. The level of realism and grit of the game increased exponentially, even though at times, it is still obviously fiction. With the new higher power gaming systems on the market, the line between reality and game is getting more and more blurred as the worlds created grow to be more and more like our own. At what point will things start becoming so detailed they are virtual reality, with full body immersion and sensory assault? As a game design major, these are questions and possibilities that need to be thought about as the game industry evolves.Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:27:54 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3536&iddiary=6697Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC) - Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:16:46https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3536This log is for late last night. This time when I decided to play the game I decided to enjoy playing basketball near CJ's house at the beginning of the game. The basketball can be kind of boring, but it is also fun for a bit when you haven't played for a while or when you are looking for something to do to kill time. After I finished playing basketball, I found a hand gun and worked on some of my shooting skills. Practicing blowing pedestrians' heads off. This is senseless killing, and I am consciously participating in it, but does it make me a bad person? I do not believe so. GTA is one of the most notorious games for promoting senseless killing. The sandbox environment gives the users the ability to give in to their own sick fantasies that they could not ever do in real life. Granted, most times after these long killing sprees, the player ends up being killed because of a high wanted level and ridiculous law enforcement units.Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:16:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3536&iddiary=6694Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC) - Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:02:43https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3536First off the game is a bit different than previous GTA's. You start off in the ghetto with your home boys in your crib and this is after you return home after being away for a while. The primary focus of the storyline in GTA:SA is centered around the role of gang warfare and "turf." Another thing about the game that is different is the added ability to customize CJ's physique (I have played/beaten this game before). Being a GTA vet and having a full save of the game, I immediately decided to go to the downtown area of Los Santos so I could go to the roof of the central building and sky dive directly into the ground with my face. I always find this amusing. In regards to morals, I suppose this brings up the thoughts of suicide. What right do I have to send the protagonist to his painful and messy death on the pavement? At this point, it doesn't matter, as I have respawned and now am intent on running down some pedestrians in my El Camino. As we discussed in class this is something that is socially wrong, however the fact that the action is done in an enclosed virtual environment removes the gamer from the action, as there are no real consequences. It is a point often argued about super-violent video games. Do they or do they not affect the gamers who play them? Are teens desensitized by the graphic nature of the mature rated video games that are available?Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:02:43 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3536&iddiary=6619