tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15665687143533096562024-03-05T18:46:15.272-05:00Musings on the MediumsA periodical blog where I discuss my musings and opinions on various forms of media, including movies, books, and, the main focus of this blog, video games. Unfortunately, I do not know enough to talk about things like television or music, so those will only be designated to a rare post. Read as I explore the confines of each medium, and which games I feel best utilize those confines and change both the nature of the medium and our ways of viewing it.Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-22356845399904090242013-11-02T15:20:00.000-04:002013-11-02T15:20:13.927-04:00Album Review: Fleetwood Mac, Extended Play <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeD3HnHCm0I54a6hWU3LPEH3Vw7V0BKe7WvXczwZdVZ_A9sTxIrjtumgASQvl6wFSZNFmR6APhOq6rqsYijbSvN0CVY6uclxvczLz3AhdQ28j47yO5SbG4EdWvSPmdipoVqwzMK5pfg/s1600/Fleetwood_Mac_Extended_Play_(2013)_-_album_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeD3HnHCm0I54a6hWU3LPEH3Vw7V0BKe7WvXczwZdVZ_A9sTxIrjtumgASQvl6wFSZNFmR6APhOq6rqsYijbSvN0CVY6uclxvczLz3AhdQ28j47yO5SbG4EdWvSPmdipoVqwzMK5pfg/s1600/Fleetwood_Mac_Extended_Play_(2013)_-_album_Cover.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It seems like Fleetwood Mac make some of their best
music in periods of great volatility. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rumours</i>,
the band’s 1977 masterpiece, was written and recorded during a time when the
band’s personal lives were in the toilet. The Mac’s latest release, the four
song EP <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Extended Play</i>, was recorded
in another bout of uncertainty, with multiples recording projects being
derailed by Stevie Nicks’s and Lindsey Buckingham’s solo careers. Like during <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rumours</i>, the band somehow remains at
their most focused during a storm, and has produced an incredible record.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the best things about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Extended Play</i> is that it sounds like Fleetwood Mac. In an era where
the music industry seems to be pressing for more homogenization, it is great to
hear a band that sounds like themselves. The EP’s lead, and best, track “Sad
Angel,” is a classic Mac song of the highest caliber, reminiscent of many of
the tracks from the beginning of the Buckingham-Nicks era Mac. Buckingham’s vocals
effortlessly blend with Nicks’s, showing the potency of this long partnership. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In fact, all four of the tracks on the EP fit
seamlessly in the canon of the first few Buckingham-Nicks led Mac. Buckingham’s
electric and acoustic guitars shine together, for an incredibly well blended,
bright sound. John McVie’s bass flits between sweetly accentuating the melodies
to pounding along with Mick Fleetwood’s steady, reliable drumming, showing the
strength of the consistent core of the band. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, like many good Fleetwood Mac songs, love
is at the forefront of these songs from the haunting Buckingham solo piano and voice
track “It Takes Time,” to the pleasant day dream of “Miss Fantasy.” Despite
none of the band members being romantically linked any more (Christine McVie
left the band after divorcing John, and Buckingham and Nicks terminated their
romantic relationship during the recording of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rumours</i>) it seems that these old habits die hard. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a musical culture where artists, consumers and
producers keeping pushing for “the new,” it is refreshing to hear something so
classic. Fleetwood Mac reasserts themselves as a still relevant and superstar
band in 2013, and remind us why these bands are still around, and still kicking
ass. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rating:
9.0/10</span></b></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672325584895961978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-57671634357203757272013-09-21T14:32:00.001-04:002013-09-21T14:32:20.788-04:00Teen Star Summer Singles: An Overview<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not have
the best history with music made by stars of teen shows. This is both due to
both professionally disliking the music, and disliking the music on principle.
Recently, though, my professional opinion towards teen pop music has thawed and
so I wish to publically reflect this. In past couple months, four former teen
show stars, two Disney and two Nickelodeon, have released new singles – all of
them, in some way or another, being a shift in career for the artists. This
post will be dedicated to my thoughts on each of them, as I discuss the good,
the ok…and the “Miley.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Good</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The
Way” – Arianna Grande feat. Mac Miller</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy7cuFmwziAfDzacJF5npl0Fbd24ndWjRpySO39UdDVKZMmj3oTuW1NuFvI1kmJ5y-M-TlhxB7wVjcIBx3mHXhu5b7qnfeWKNh_InjfjNW63cZugMr1d1tYsrC7d3MJfu-ePlcCvuHw/s1600/Ariana_Grande_-_The_Way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoy7cuFmwziAfDzacJF5npl0Fbd24ndWjRpySO39UdDVKZMmj3oTuW1NuFvI1kmJ5y-M-TlhxB7wVjcIBx3mHXhu5b7qnfeWKNh_InjfjNW63cZugMr1d1tYsrC7d3MJfu-ePlcCvuHw/s1600/Ariana_Grande_-_The_Way.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Ms. Grande is the first of two of the Nickelodeon
stars on this list, both from the same show: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Victorious</i>. While Grande put out a single in 2011, in many ways I
think this should be considered her proper “debut” single. Unlike 2011’s “Get
Your Hearts Up,” “The Way” feels pointed and focused, suggesting that she knows
her artistic direction. Grande’s new track allows me to introduce an idea that
will be seen throughout this review; maturity. Despite the differences in the
way each track handles maturity, one of the reasons that I like these tracks is
because of that theme. After hearing many of these artists make simple, bland,
for-kinds-and-teens pop songs, it is refreshing to hear them sing in more adult
terms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> While Grande is not explicit, as everyone but Miley
will be, she sings about desire and wanting that has more in common with lust
or mature romance than teenage attraction. On that note of her singing – OH
BOY, can she sing! As other critics have noted, “The Way’ has a strong Mariah
Carey-vibe to it, especially in the airy vocals Grande lays down as a
pre-chorus section. The song allows Grande to run her sweet, airy voice along
the octave and timbre spectra. While the main vocal stays at a consistent pitch
and timbre, the accentuating vocal flourishes show off, brief as they are, the
stellar range of her voice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Mac Miller’s intro lines and verse also fit
extremely well into the flow and feel of the track. Miller not only provides
the perspective of the other half of the love in question. Miller also flits
between teenage and adult, as he goes from talking about “it being groovy,” to
watch a movie, to telling everyone how she “Is a princess to the public but a
freak when it’s time.” Grande and Miller create a fun love song that flits
between teenage and adult understanding of love, and show “The Way” that other
teen artists should follow.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rating:
8.0/10</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 21.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 21.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Come
and Get It” – Selena Gomez</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Next up we have the new
single from former <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wizards of Waverly
Place </i>star Selena Gomez. To Specify, this is Gomez’s debut single as a <u>solo</u>
artist. For those that might be confused, previously Gomez was backed by her
own band, The Scene. The most striking feature of “Come and Get It” is its
international sound, introduced from the song’s get-go. The song starts with a
chant-like vocal line over a bhangra, dhol beat that lulls one in before the
explosive intro. Gomez then enters in force, backed by a Skrillex-y, roaring
dubstep electronic riff that fills the corners of the speakers. These two
musical ideas trade back and forth throughout the song. The Indian rhythm and
melody dominate the verses, with occasional dub fills, while the electronic/dub
sound of the intro dominates the chorus.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gomez’s production staff has apparently been
rather steeped in the British pop scene of the 1980s, not only because of
Bhangra influence. Much like the Police’s megahit “Every Breath You Take,” the
romantic, sweet sounding lyrics are a lot darker and more aggressive than at
initial listen. When Gomez sings “This love ain’t finished yet,” it is hard to
tell if she means it romantically or, to borrow a term from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fairly Odd Parents</i>,
“threatmantically.” Much like Sting, Gomez’s writers play up the darkest parts
of stalking, as she sings “This love will be the death of me / But I know I’ll
die happily.”The music video helps affirm the lyric’s underlying darkness, down
to the black color of her dress, are a main visual in the video. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Either
way, the song is a great show of maturity for Gomez, and her best work yet. While
fellow teen-y boppers Amanda Bynes and Miley Cyrus struggle with the transition
out of teen stardom to adulthood, Gomez has done so with maturity and grace.
“Come and Get It,” is a reflection of this coming into adulthood.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rating:
8/10</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
OK</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Gold” – Victoria Justice</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YSNjCI-GTGb9OdD2Eu3fB8CEXepyfzS7uIBl_nuOt6i__qLUOzgN5Q3fGkXGns166x6FVxwzYwFXgV1I9EyZaYYx-NDfGSZUpnVQS0aG6iNSygy0byWadpA5GpDU9hvsM8fm8zNONw/s1600/victoria-justice-gold-artwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YSNjCI-GTGb9OdD2Eu3fB8CEXepyfzS7uIBl_nuOt6i__qLUOzgN5Q3fGkXGns166x6FVxwzYwFXgV1I9EyZaYYx-NDfGSZUpnVQS0aG6iNSygy0byWadpA5GpDU9hvsM8fm8zNONw/s1600/victoria-justice-gold-artwork.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Like the other former Nick star on this list,
Victoria Justice’s debut single is another simple, fun love song. I admit it,
when I first played the song, I found myself surprisingly drawn-in to the
track. Justice clearly does not have the same vocal ability as Grande, but her
voice fits in the pop-y aesthetic well. The lyrics are somewhat simple though
there is a mention of a “Catch 22”, but I suppose that comes with aiming for a
more teen audience [and just because you have a team of seven songwriters does
not mean you’ll get “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” as your first single]. One of the
things I DO enjoy about the lyrics, and track overall, is the nature of the
relationship it describes. For the first time, in a while if ever it seems, we
have a song about the girl wanting the guy to break out of the friend zone.
Impossible, slander, </span><a href="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l619/LinnScarlett/HeresyEverywhere_zps8d86edab.png"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">HERESY</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
you may ask, well I was just as surprised. This is one of the main things I
laud “Gold” for, breaking both the mold on pop and real relationships by
actually wanting the guy to emerge out of the deepest, coldest circle of hell
that is the friend zone. I also really appreciate the music and production as a
whole, with one complaint I address below. The popping, bright guitar really
accentuates and compliments Justice’s voice, while the drum and bassline both
dance as airily as we picture our heroine. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> As you may notice, this song is in the “OK”
category, so I do have some problems with it. The main problem I have with this
song is the title word “Gold.” My contention is not with the lyric itself, but
the execution in the song. Despite having Justice singing at a fairly
consistent mid-range for the majority of the song, for whatever reason, someone
decided it would be a great idea if she basically shrieked the word “Gold.” I
cringe every time that word comes through on the song. The tie in issue is, if
not for that one word, I would like this song a lot more…like A LOT. The song
lulls me into this happy, pop, lala land that I actually enjoy, but hearing
“Gold” shrieked far beyond her uppermost register immediately snaps me out of
that happy place. That one word essentially ruins the song. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> This is not the only problem. The other complaint I
have is with the bridge…basically all of it. This is another point where I put
my head in my hands and wish to know what the producer was thinking. The bridge
is this semi-rapped section that features Victoria Justice trying WAY too hard
to sound “street.” It just…it does not work at all. I actually think it would
be possible offensive to some people, seeing how it almost sounds like offensive
parody rather than a genuine performance [maybe they thought the Puerto Rican
heritage would give the street flare they needed]. Not only is it borderline
offensive, but it is a musical non-sequitur. There is no precedent or real
reason for the bridge to be structured this way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> I really wanted to like this song, but the two
colossal red flags prevent me from thinking its ok. I still give credit to
Victoria for making what would otherwise be a fair/strong debut. Also, this
song seems to be proof that she should just let the writers provide the lyrics
– she co-wrote the B-side “Shake,” and that makes “Gold” almost look like
Lennon-McCartney by comparison <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</u></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rating:
6.0/10</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Miley</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We Can’t
Stop” – Miley Cyrus</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlT8IYwNlxL-XFWLAW_z9Zk8ho-zpjziWBlzGqwB0eKcYPf9mH0QPaonO4tdrMu3pA5iUXuK4CciE5P-uHZeiHCjkJS9tC1mSOck4egsg-jDh2HCeM1h4sGG3_Kj7CXpLaCxKTqI_2g/s1600/miley_cyrus___we_can_t_stop_by_other_covers-d66bqyt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlT8IYwNlxL-XFWLAW_z9Zk8ho-zpjziWBlzGqwB0eKcYPf9mH0QPaonO4tdrMu3pA5iUXuK4CciE5P-uHZeiHCjkJS9tC1mSOck4egsg-jDh2HCeM1h4sGG3_Kj7CXpLaCxKTqI_2g/s1600/miley_cyrus___we_can_t_stop_by_other_covers-d66bqyt.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I
tried. I tried so very hard to find anything redeemable about Miley Cyrus’s
summer jam “We Can’t Stop.” But I just cannot. “We Can’t Stop” has officially
shot to the top of my “Worst Songs of All Time” list…yes, I think it is that
bad. The usual criticisms will apply here: poorly written, poor
beat/production, too much auto-tune, but these are not the ultimate reasons for
my sheer hatred for this song. I admit, “We Can’t Stop” had the potential to be
the new, definitive party song, and powerful “song of the summer” at that. The
problem is that, despite having the qualities of a huge, party anthem, “We
Can’t Stop” does not sound like an anthem. Miley Cyrus sounds somewhere between
just bored or too stoned to care about anything, leading the song to just sound
as bored and careless as she is. A song about partying all night - about
essentially saying “F*** tha police” - should sound like it. “Rock and Roll All
Nite” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” would be scarcely remembered relics of
rock and roll if Kiss and Twisted Sister sounded as bored and “give no bothers”
as Miley. The only time the song displays anything close to trying to be as
anthemic as it should comes during the bridge, when background voices echo the
end of Miley’s lines. These people sound like they’re at the party Miley wants
to be at, but she’s so stoned that she actually just imagining that party. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Aside from the main complaint, the song just sounds
like it was written by 20 year old, I-have-way-too-much-of-daddy’s-money party
monster. There is no hint of intelligence in songwriting, just a
near-incoherent jumble of thoughts and drunken shout outs. The issue again is,
I would forgive Cyrus and her songwriting team for the bad songwriting if she
actually sounded excited about what she was singing. If she sounded excited,
then the line “To my home girls here with the big butt / Shaking it like we at
a strip club / Remember only God can judge ya,” would actually sound empowering
and “f*** yeah, we’re all awesome at this party” – like a party anthem should
be. Also, Miley, TuPac is the only one who sounds cool saying “only God can
judge __” you just sound like an overly, happy drunk, party chick who just
wants to “spread the love.” Just because “You Can’t Stop” Miley, does not mean
that you shouldn’t stop.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Raitng:
0/10</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
(If you couldn’t tell already)</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This review may be a bit too harsh towards Cyrus and
all the stereotypes I could think of, and I apologize for that. Part of my rage
towards this song is that, except for the fine minds at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rolling Stone</i>, most other critics met the song with positive
review. In essence, my build up and concentration of vile here is meant to
compensate for all of their reviews. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So there it is, an exercise in reviewing teen star
pop music. I gave the Good, the OK, and the “Condemn forever to the darkest
corners of Space,” also known as “The Miley.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> - Jackson Sinnenberg</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So
maybe I have watched their shows, what’s it to ya?</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672325584895961978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-56998392923363810752013-08-14T15:32:00.002-04:002013-08-14T15:32:39.524-04:00Album Review: Alice In Chains, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Just
so we get this out of the way first, no the title is not referring to the band.
Alice In Chains, arguably the first grunge band on the Seattle scene in the
late 80s, could be considered a dinosaur by some cynics. The band has a rocky
25 year history, marked by severe drug problems and the death of original front
man Layne Staley. Regardless, Alice is back with frontman William DuVall, who
recorded with the band for their last album <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Black
Gives Way to Blue</i>.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> At
the very least, of this new release, I can say that Alice In Chains is far from
approaching “Dinosaur status.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> is a
classics-sounding Alice In Chains record. For the longtime fans, all the
elements that they love the band for are there. The riffs are heavy and
distorted, the vocals harmonize in an eerily, ethereal way, and there are
moments of great softness on the album. Unfortunately, things start to blend
together early in the album, making it confusing to keep track of the tracks. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In
better news, only the first few tracks of the album blend together which each
other – and the rest of the band’s catalog, so there is enough room for new
life to emerge. Tracks like “Stone” and “Pretty Done,” sound rather similar,
and classic Alice-y, so they easily fall prey to the “sounds like every other
song they’ve recorded” complaint, as do others on the disc. I suppose the issue
is that due to the heavy and slow nature of the riffs, the elements create a
hypnotic effect on the listener. The hypnosis lulls one into being unsure of
the lengths and starts/stops of tracks – not exactly the affect you want to
have to keep people interesting in listening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">On
the other hand, the classic Alice vocal harmonies are always a welcoming touch
to the tracks. The harmonies, beyond the eerie sweetness, also help to build up
the sonic landscape and assist in creating a full sounding record. In addition
to this, one of the disc’s other strengths is the split in aesthetic. About one
third of the tracks are more acoustic-based or softer numbers, in contrast with
the sludgy, heavy tracks that make up the majority. Songs like “Voices” and the
title track are done in this softer fashion, and showcase the group’s lyrical
ability and musical beauty. The title track also provides Alice In Chains a
soapbox, from which they take jabs at the hypocrisy of Christians’ opposition
to the LGBTQ movement. The band’s thoughts are perfectly captured by the line
“The devil put dinosaurs here / Jesus don’t like a queer / The devil put
dinosaurs here / No problem with faith, just fear.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">These
two sides, the soft/melodic and heavy come together well on the seven
minute-epic, “Phantom Limb.” The verses take the heavy, creeping riffs common
throughout the album, while the chorus uses beautiful harmonies and echoing
guitars to create this haunting track. While not an emotional climax, it defintley
represents one of the more ambitious, and successful, tracks on the disc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Overall,
the album’s hypnotic, sludge- y tracks weigh the project down. Yes the riffs
and melodies are heavy, interesting and rock out – but only on the first listen
through. Even during the first listen, those riffs and melodies begin to blend
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undoubtedly the
Alice-In-Chains loyalist will be pleased with the LP. Those of us who have not
drunk the punch-in-chains, will undoubtedly want something a little different.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Key Tracks: “</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hollow,” “Voices,”
“The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here,” “Phantom Limb”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating: 6.5/10</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jackson
Sinnenberg, whose reviews can usually be found at The Rotation, WGTB Georgetown
Radio’s music blog</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br /><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672325584895961978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-47430225587720972492013-07-30T23:07:00.001-04:002013-07-30T23:07:29.461-04:00Interview with Sean Velasco of Yacht Club Games <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2013/03/titleimagejpg-e20e4b_800w-610x457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2013/03/titleimagejpg-e20e4b_800w-610x457.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Shovel Knight </i>exploded on the scene a few months back with it's enormous Kickstarter efforts, becoming one of the first game ideas to raise a surprising amount of money (As of writing, the project has over $300K raised), receiving an absolutely enormous boost in fundraising after publicity efforts with the Two Best Friends and Game Grumps of YouTube fame. In this interview, I talk to Sean Velasco of Yacht Club Games (and the voice of Skullmaggeddon of <i>Double Dragon: Neon</i>) about the project's origins, the kickstarter rewards, and other questions. I'd like to thank Mr. Velasco for his time and wish him the best of luck with the project! </div>
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<b>1. Where did the idea for <i>Shovel Knight</i> come from? Did you look at the games you wanted to imitate first? Or did the idea of a "Knight who fights with a shovel" come first?</b><br /><b><i>Sean Velasco:</i></b> We started with the idea of an 8-bit game built around a single mechanic. Most of our favorite games NES games were built around a single mechanic, or a couple: jumping on enemies' heads, pogo stick bouncing, whipping and jumping, jumpin' and shootin', etc. We wanted a down thrust to be our main mechanic, and we built all the ideas around that. Flipping! Stabbing! Digging! We were talking about a shovel. So we went with it, and <i>Shovel Knight: The Shoveling Knight</i> was born! </div>
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<b>2. The biggest inspirations seem to be Mega Man and maybe even a little Duck Tales, but are there more inspirations that you guys had?</b><br /><b><i>Sean:</i></b> Our down thrust definitely has some <i>Zelda II</i> inspiration. We were inspired by the collected great works of the NES, but we have also been citing things like <i>Mother 3</i>'s emotionally engaging story, and <i>Dark Souls</i>' intense risk-reward structure and combat. We feel like these games are the gold standard, and so we have their greatness in mind when we are developing <i>Shovel Knight</i>. However, we are making <i>Shovel Knight</i> it's own game, with totally unique story, mechanics, and visuals. Don't expect too many direct influences, or for anyone to say "it's dangerous to go alone, take this!"</div>
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<b>3. How did you get the famous Jake Kaufman (also known as "Virt") to do the music for Shovel Knight?</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.biglionmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/jakepic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.biglionmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/jakepic.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jake Kaufman (aka Virt) <br />(Check out his incredible <i>Double Dragon Neon</i> album in the links below)</td></tr>
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<b><i>Sean:</i></b> I've collaborated with Jake on over half a dozen games; at this point I can't imagine working on a game without a Jake soundtrack! Getting Jake to do something usually involves getting him excited about it; with rapid arm movements and passionate babbling, you can usually fool him for long enough to get some songs.</div>
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<b>4. Shovel Knight has gained a lot of press for its success on Kickstarter? How did you decide to use this new crowd funding tool? How did you come up with the rewards, like the "Official Dirt" and "Director for a Day"?</b></div>
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<b><i>Sean:</i></b> We spent a lot of time thinking about rewards that would be awesome for backers, and not too expensive to produce or manufacture. This idea of inexpensive but fun rewards led us to think: what if an envelope of dirt was the $100 pledge reward? After the laughter died down we thought it might make a funny addition, so we went for it. As we had hoped, people really loved it, and <span style="background-color: #cc0000;"></span>now we have more than 300 envelopes to send out! </div>
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The Director for a Day and our other collaboration-style rewards are about transparency, and bringing other people into the process. We love making games and we want to share what we do with everyone... this is just the first step! Part of the Yacht Club plan is to help inspire and teach future developers.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/yachtclubgames/bosses/shovel_knight_bosses_610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/yachtclubgames/bosses/shovel_knight_bosses_610.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bosses of <i>Shovel Knight</i> (an a fantastic reference to <i>Mega Man</i>)!</td></tr>
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<b>5. Can you give us a window into the team's reaction to see that the project had been funded?</b></div>
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<b><i>Sean:</i></b> At the end of our crazy Kickstarter, I would say there was electricity in the air, but we also wanted to pass out from exhaustion. It's tremendously gratifying and still sort of surreal that we are now working in an our own office, at our own company, on our own game, for a legion of wonderful fans. So I'd say we still feel how we felt on the day the Kickstarter succeeded: both wired and tired!</div>
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<b>6. Shovel Knight had a huge boost in funding after having some play through videos from let's players like the Two Best Friends and the Game Grumps? Did you contact them, or did they contact you? How did you decide which people to send the game to?</b></div>
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<b><i>Sean:</i></b> The Two Best Friends did some playthroughs of a couple games we had worked on in the past, so we contacted them in hopes of getting them to look at our new game! Luckily, they were really excited about it and did a hilarious video, as did the Game Grumps. It was wonderful exposure, and we also had several Twitch TV players play the game, like on Destructoid's Mash Tactics. We tried to find people and groups that would be genuinely into the game we were making, and give them the opportunity to test it out. They generally responded really positively!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130407143415/twobestfriendsplay/images/6/61/Shovel_Knight.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130407143415/twobestfriendsplay/images/6/61/Shovel_Knight.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Best Friends Zaibatsu enjoy <i>Shovel Knight</i>, and so will you!</td></tr>
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<b>7. You plan to upload Shovel Knight to the PC, but also the Nintendo 3DS, a decision that stands out to a lot of people? Why did you choose to release it to the 3DS? Can you give us a hint at what stipulations and restrictions Nintendo has for its store?</b><br /><b><i>Sean:</i></b> We grew up playing NES games, and <i>Shovel Knight</i> is firmly rooted in that era in the 80's. Supporting Nintendo on the Wii U and 3DS was a no-brainer as our heritage systems! On top of that, Nintendo consistently delivers fun and inventive hardware that is always game-centric. We are a gameplay-first company... so we chose Nintendo as a lead platform. That said, we are cross-platform gamers and want to release on all viable platforms!</div>
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<b>8. When can we expect to see Shovel Knight released? </b><br /><b><i>Sean:</i></b> We're hoping to get <i>Shovel Knight</i> out by Holiday 2013. After that, we'll be releasing our stretch goal content with a couple of free updates a few months down the line.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://www.destructoid.com//ul/251254-hd%20shovel%20knight%20interview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.destructoid.com//ul/251254-hd%20shovel%20knight%20interview.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">A possible reference to <i>Dark Souls?</i></td></tr>
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<b>9. What are your plans for after Shovel Knight? </b><br /><b><i>Sean:</i></b> It really depends on how <i>Shovel Knight</i> does! If it sells well and we can be a thriving studio, the sky's the limit. <i>Shovel Knight 2</i>? <i>Super Shovel Knight</i>? <i>Shovel Knight 64</i>? Something totally original? We don't know... let us finish this one first!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theonlinegamereviewer.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/shovel-knight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://theonlinegamereviewer.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/shovel-knight.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Let the digging adventure begin!</td></tr>
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<b><u>LINKS</u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">The </span><u style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Shovel</i></u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"><i> Knight</i> Kickstarter Page:</u> <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight" target="_blank">http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight</a></span></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Yacht Club Games' Website:</u> <a href="http://yachtclubgames.com/" target="_blank">http://yachtclubgames.com</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Yacht Club Games' Twitter:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/YachtClubGames" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/YachtClubGames</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Yacht Club Games' Facebook:</u> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/YachtClubGames" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/YachtClubGames</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Sean Velasco's Twitter Page:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanyfaceYCG" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SeanyfaceYCG</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Game Grumps' <i>Shovel Knight</i> Video:</u> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcP3yp6w7Pw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcP3yp6w7Pw</a></div>
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<u><b>Two Best Friends' </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Shovel Knight</i><b> Video:</b> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77elof_AZbk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77elof_AZbk</a></u></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Virt's <i>Double Dragon Neon</i> Album:</u> <a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/double-dragon-neon" target="_blank">http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/double-dragon-neon</a></div>
Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-43480494529019300352013-07-29T10:03:00.000-04:002013-07-29T10:03:25.888-04:00Album Review: Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hey Guys, this is Jackson, one of Ben’s
co-hosts from Natural Double d20s. With my specialty being music and music reviewing,
I figured this blog could use some discussion on this medium. This will be the
first in a series of music reviews I do for the blog. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If 13 year old
me – the age I was at when JT released his last album – knew I was a fan of a
Justin Timberlake, he would enter an existential crisis. However, I have grown
up and matured since then [or would like to think so], and so has Timberlake. <i>The 20/20 Experience</i> <i>(1 of 2)<a href="file:///C:/Users/SinnenbergJ/Downloads/2020experience%20edited%20(1).docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></a></i>
represents Timberlake’s most complete work to date, a fully realized artistic
piece. Timberlake takes the maturity and intelligence that he put into <i>FutureSex/LoveSounds</i> and develops them
further, to create the masterful work on the disc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is not to say the LP is without flaws; it has several. Despite this, it is
still laudable as a whole body of work and represents a great artistic direction
for Timberlake to take up. The flaws I find with the album are probably just
based on my own musical sensibilities, so take them with a grain of salt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One
of the strongest features of <i>The 20/20
Experience</i> is that it is filled with the sounds of old R&B and Soul. As
a friend noted to me as we listened to lead single “Suit & Tie,” the song
sounds like classic Marvin Gaye. Indeed the song drips with the same
soulfulness and melodic richness that filled Gaye’s 1972 masterpiece, <i>What’s Going On</i>. The harp is the heavy
lifter on this track, as it is that specific instrument that gives “Suit &
Tie” the Marvin Gaye, <i>What’s Goin On</i>
sound. Timberlake’s artistry and charisma lends itself extraordinarily well to the
Marvin sound, and is one of the classic sounds JT aims for on the LP.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Throughout
the disc, JT hits Motown-style falsetto, bringing one of American pop’s most classic
sounds to the foreground of the music. JT seemed to be highly influenced by
Motown, as two of the albums strongest tracks – “Pusher Love Girl,” and “Suit
& Tie” – sound like early and late, respectively, Motown tracks. Howver
they are not purely Motown, this is Timberlake’s modern take on classic R&B
and Soul, with Motown remixed with electronic music and backing vocals. I was
quite frustrated by these songs when in comparison to some of the disc’s weak
tracks like “Tunnel Visison.” In “Tunnel Vision,” specifically, Timberlake’s
over-produced voice almost blends in completely with the repetitive electronic
backing music; making the track sound generic amongst a trove of distinctly
original gems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
generic-ness of some of <i>The 20/20
Experience’s</i> songs is, as one might tell, my foremost complaint. With songs
like “Pusher Love Girl” and “Mirrors,” a much more modern (“neo”) soul
sounding, killer track, Timberlake proves that he is capable of making very
distinct music. And yet, he throws in
stuff that I could find on any sort of electronic or modern R&B record. The
overproduction of these tracks steals all of JT’s charisma and charm, one of
the major elements that make him a great entertainer and artist. My other
complaint is that JT seemed like he had too much material to try and put on one
record. Either way, many of the seven-minute plus songs on the LP will have
one-and-a-half to three minute outros that are a bit aesthetically different
from the rest of the track. Sometimes this is quite frustrating as I found the
last two minutes of “Strawberry Bubblegum,” to be much more enjoyable and interesting
than the first five – as a breakdown, the first five suffer from the same
overproduction as “Tunnel Vision” and others, while the last two represent the
neo-Motown sound that pervades the LP. For me, this creates a feeling of
disunity across the album, and the sense that, with some of these tracks,
Timberlake was throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Overall
though, it is a good album [how can you not like an album where JT refers to
Jay-Z as a “ho”?]. It is not a great album, but certainly represents a great
step forward for Timberlake’s artistic ability. He took a gamble diverting from
his old “pop” sound, and I believed that gamble paid off. However, I believe
that JT has not yet realized the full potential of the music he is now making.
JT has a lot of good ideas on this album, and I hope that he takes some of
those ideas and runs with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Key Tracks:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Pusher Love
Girl,” “Suit & Tie feat. Jay-Z,” “Spaceship Coupe,” and “Mirrors.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rating: 7.5/10<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> - </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jackson
Sinnenberg, whose reviews can usually be found on <a href="http://georgetownradio.com/blog">The Rotation</a>, WGTB Georgetown
Radio’s music blog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/SinnenbergJ/Downloads/2020experience%20edited%20(1).docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> The
follow up album due out in the fall will be called <i>The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2)</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672325584895961978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-2034968886995491852013-07-23T21:47:00.001-04:002013-07-23T21:47:44.908-04:00An Interview with Ethan Nicolle, the Co-Creator of Axe Cop and Bearmaggedon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td><a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Components-ImageFileViewer/CommunityServer-Components-UserFiles-00-00-43-77-81-Attached+Files/8206.nicolle_5F00_brothers.jpg_2D00_610x0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://www.gameinformer.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer-Components-ImageFileViewer/CommunityServer-Components-UserFiles-00-00-43-77-81-Attached+Files/8206.nicolle_5F00_brothers.jpg_2D00_610x0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Ethan Nicolle (Left) and his young brother/the writer of Axe Cop, Malachai</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you know anything about webcomics, you have probably heard of the Internet sensation known as Axe Cop. Created by Ethan Nicolle and his young brother Malachai one Christmas night, Axe Cop is a brilliant adventure into the mind of a young boy and the heroic and sometimes sociopathic hero known only as Axe Cop, as he cuts bad guys' heads off. The comic's childish and zany humor has garnered praise and millions of hits, making it once of the most well known webcomics. So much so that it has even become a television show on Fox's Animation Domination HD block. The show features Nick Offerman of <i>Parks and Recreation</i>, Patton Oswalt, and other comedy stars. But, unknown to most "Axe Cop" fans, Nicolle is also the writer and artist for another comic named "Bearmaggeddon, " which tells the tale of a young man and his friends fighting for their lives in a apocalyptic situation full of mutated bears. In this interview, I ask Mr. Nicolle about the origins and workings of Axe Cop, his thoughts on Bearmaggedon, and the <i>Axe Cop</i> television show.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Axe Cop</u></b></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding dinosaurs is a regular occurrence for Axe Cop.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>For the uninformed, can you let us in on how the comic started?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was playing with my little brother, Malachai one Christmas and he said he wanted to play "Axe Cop", which was his way of turning a toy fireman axe into a tool for fighting bad guys instead of fires. It was one of those moments where a cartoon character instantly appeared in my head, and even though Malachai was not intentionally inventing a character, everything we did during that play time inspired me to draw a one-page comic and post it online for friends. During that visit I did 4 or 5 comics with Axe Cop in them and the stories kept building on each other. I eventually made an Axe Cop web site as my way of "practicing" web comics and unexpectedly the comic went viral.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How do you write a comic with Malachai? How do you keep track of all of his thoughts, the characters he creates, and make it coherent?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I really let him go nuts and I ask him a TON of questions. Sometimes I get him to give me multiple possible outcomes and plotlines and I pick the ones that fit together the best. I take notes, record video, record phone calls and just build up material. I make sure all the content is from him, but it is heavily organized and presented by me. It is a very natural and fun way of creative partnering that is a great exercise in creativity for both of us. He creates entire worlds verbally then I have to take all the crazy things he has said and create it visually, and figure out how best to tell the story. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'd vote for him.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Has Malachai’s story telling prowess improved as Axe Cop has gone on? Has he become more in-tune with drama and narrative structure, or does he still seem as free form and fantastical as ever?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, he has gotten a better understanding of why it is so helpful to a story to have a bad guy in it who is really powerful and has a motivation for evil. It used to be a lot harder for me to get those kinds of things out of him because he really didn't understand why he would ever want bad guys to be any sort of threat if he had any say in things. But he has even been writing stories lately where Axe Cop almost loses, but then he wins. He has grown to appreciate incorporating a journey and a struggle, I think because he has seen that those are the things that make stories interesting through the process of creating Axe Cop with me. He also has gotten a taste for plot twists. He likes to surprise the audience by saying "but really it was...!!!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Have you ever had to change the story because Malachai created something you found you couldn’t draw, like a character that had too much detail to properly convey?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">No, like I said, I do not write the story down verbatim from his mouth. I take lots of notes, ask lots of questions over a period of weeks or months and then I form a story out of all the material I get. So I do edit, but I make sure all my raw material is from Malachai. So I have never changed his story, but I have come to a place in the story where I feel like he could do better, so I will call him and see if I can get him to go another direction and usually that is no problem for him. Unlike most adult writers, he is excited to reinvent his ideas rather than offended when someone suggests he could come up with something more original. He truly loves the process and doesn't live for the final product. For him, the best part is making stuff up. I think for adults the part we focus on is releasing the creation into a finished product and selling it. Malachai isn't distracted by those thoughts (or pressure to sell) as much. That pressure is on me because I create the finished product, but he gets to write free of it and I think that is one of the great things about our partnership.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What do you think draws people to Axe Cop? Is it the beautiful art, or the pure zaniness of it?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think people are fascinated with the idea of going so in depth with a kid's imagination, and not holding him back or forcing him to tell stories we want him to tell that are nicer or sweeter. I let him write stuff I know he will probably regret later because I know it will be fascinating to see how he makes Axe Cop change his mind on things. It makes Axe Cop not so one-dimensional and it makes Axe Cop develop as the stories go on. Axe Cop grows up in his own way with Malachai. Most of the time people will let a kid tell a story for a short period of time and it will be cute and quick. With Axe Cop we go in depth, I put real effort into the art and the designs. I try to imagine and present the world as epic and crazy as it might be in Malachai's mind. I think people are fascinated by that, and I think they are fascinated with how often Malachai creates Tropes and plot devices common in most adult-written action stories without even realizing it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A common mistake.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How do you and Malachai deal with the fame of creating a culture sensation like Axe Cop?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Axe Cop is still relatively small. It is pretty rare that anyone recognizes us on the streets. It has happened to me a handful of times, because I live near Hollywood and Axe Cop is more known out here </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">where</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> pop culture is a big deal. Malachai lives in a small rural town, so right now he doesn't get a lot of strangers who are aware of him or his work. It will be interesting to see how that is effected by the TV series release, which will push Axe Cop into a much more mainstream position. At conventions we are known, but it is isolated and it doesn't feel like normal life. It feels like a special time, then we go back to the real world.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>What inspired your artistic style? It’s quite unique, but did you base your art style on any cartoonist in particular?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I grew up on SLG comics, Ninja Turtles, Calvin & Hobbes, Doug TenNapel, Ethan Van Sciver, the Far Side... I had a good mix of influences and luckily I never latched onto one style but combined a lot of my favorites into something I think is fairly unique. I think I have a lot of love for more realistic/detailed art like that of Jim Lee, and also the more cartoony animated looking art like Doug TenNapel, so I combine the two. The most obvious example is in my other web comic, Bearmageddon, where the bears look real but the humans look like cartoons. This is done in Axe Cop too. Some of the characters look cartoony, some look realistic. I don't really know why I do this, I just like it and sometimes it just feels right.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Where do you think the comic will go from here? Do you think it will eventually end when Malachai can’t come up with stories like he used to? Will you find someone else to come up with Axe Cop’s adventures?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have some ideas but for now we are playing it by ear. I think that if the TV show affords opportunities for more Axe Cop adventures to be created without Malachai and I directly involved, it would be interesting to see Axe Cop done by another young kid, maybe even one written by a girl. I think that Malachai and I will write Axe Cop off and on for the rest of our lives. That is my best guess anyway, I have no idea what he will want. I think that the Axe Cop created by Malachai and I will go through a lot of changes and growth and stuff, and I think that would be fun to watch, but I think it would also be fun to involve other kids at some point who are around 5 years old to keep the spirit of Axe Cop alive. So maybe have a couple different Axe Cop series going, one that continues on as Malachai grows, and maybe a couple others by other kids and adults, or maybe even written by adults in the spirit of Axe Cop. People think that couldn't be done, but I think there is enough Axe Cop material our there now that a world has been set up and there is enough out there to create a profile of what the Axe Cop chaacter is like. Malachai and I are not incredibly possessive of our creation, we like seeing other people's take on it. I do think you would have to find the right artists and kids for the job, which would take some searching.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.todd-a.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/axe-cop-chop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.todd-a.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/axe-cop-chop.png" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The man who will fix the economy by chopping its head off.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Bearmaggeddon</u></b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.murderpark.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/BEARBANNER1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://www.murderpark.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/BEARBANNER1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've had nightmares like this.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Where did the idea for Bearmaggedon come from?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My friends and I had a couple different inside jokes about bears attacking a town and this guy named Dickinson Killdeer who is this bad ass mountain man. Then one day the title "Bearmageddon" hit me and I started playing with combining these ideas into a story. I worked on various scripts for the story for over half a year until I settled on the one I am now drawing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>You seem to do a fantastic job of creating the tense nature of an apocalypse movie, even making the various bear creatures to be an absolutely terrifying presence. How do you keep this atmosphere present in the comic? Was this inspired by any movies or books?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I appreciate that, because I really am trying to do that with this story and it feels good when people affirm that I am pulling it off. I did study some of my favorite films that create good tense moments like that. I really liked the tension in Spielberg's <i>War of the Worlds</i>, so I took detailed notes and wrote a whole outline of the film on note cards so I could understand how he built his tension and raised the stakes. I did the same with<i> Shawn of the Dead</i>, <i>Jurassic Park </i>and <i>Attack the Block</i>. These are all movies that involve a take over by creatures and follow average people through that apocalypse. That is the kind of story I wanted Bearmageddon to be. I wanted it to be a little more comedic than a Spielberg film, but still have that tension.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If bears weren't terrifying enough, just add some tentacles. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>This comic is written by yourself, and you had to come up with characters’ appearances, personalities, and arcs all by yourself. Did you find this to be harder than working with Malachai?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing the script was hard because I am trying to tell a story that has some meaning to it. But with Bearmageddon I never have to rely on Malachai for content, so in that way it is a lot easier. Sometimes Malachai is just not up for creating and I can't force him to work on ideas. He has gotten much better at jumping into creative mode which is a skill I think he will cherish as he grows up, because I know a lot of adults who do not have it. Also, sometimes I will have to talk to Malachai for hours to get a small amount of useful material for the comic. I like the freedom and the ownership I have with Bearmageddon. It is 100% mine and I do not have to work with anyone else or give anyone else credit (except the great coloring of course).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How planned was the comic? Do you have a set arc for everyone, or are you playing this one as it comes?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sort of both. I wrote a full 120+ page script, but it was rough. I had set a deadline for when I was going to start drawing the comic and decided however far along the script was, I would just start drawing it on that date so that I did not linger in writing mode. I have changed a lot from the script, especially dialog-wise. There are entire scenes I have cut and added in the process of making the comic. For instance the entire scene currently being posted online right now was not in the script, but as I created the comic I realized it was needed, and the scene I did have before was not needed. I do have an end in mind, but I am going to take as long as it needs to take to get there. This will definitely be an epic, because we are not even halfway through the story yet.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGEOkxPnxP6A_yjmUPk9yQRLezcPtd3HHES9_U0F9-umfGRGjZpbtmJ8HoMKcQQ_3KUIHi9JAcprtMlI-F0Y_VrZIM6TL6QkT2JwPiNK7ZzS326Roo8I3Y2DwJFQREKq5x-cOEZjJMaY/s320/Ken+O+bearmageddon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFGEOkxPnxP6A_yjmUPk9yQRLezcPtd3HHES9_U0F9-umfGRGjZpbtmJ8HoMKcQQ_3KUIHi9JAcprtMlI-F0Y_VrZIM6TL6QkT2JwPiNK7ZzS326Roo8I3Y2DwJFQREKq5x-cOEZjJMaY/s320/Ken+O+bearmageddon.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of the reasons I don't go to concerts.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Axe Cop TV Show</u></b></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The show's official logo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How did the idea for Axe Cop, the TV show, come about? Did you approach Fox, or did they contact you?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They contacted me. More specifically, they hired Nick Weidenfeld to run their ADHD block on Saturday nights, and Nick had been a big Axe Cop fan for a while. He had wanted to bring it to Adult Swim when he was there but it didn't work out. He had been waiting to get his hands on Axe Cop for a while, he is very passionate about it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>How much say did you have in the development in the show? Did you retain creative control, or did the studio take over casting and animation style?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a lot of involvement on pretty much the whole first season of (6) episodes. I had some involvement in the writing on other episodes written in anticipation of more being ordered, but there are also a number I did not have much involvement in. I haven't been real involved in casting, but I will make recommendations and a lot of the guys who loved Axe Cop before the show deal were people I wanted to see make it onto the show, and they did (Offerman, Serafinowicz, Marino). I get to make comments and notes on the designs, and most of the time my comments are "wow that looks amazing" because the artists on the show are wizards.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Did you work with the main voice actors of the show? Can you tell us what people like Nick Offerman and Patton Oswalt were like?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I did get to sit in on some voice recording sessions and that was fun. One thing I have realized in meeting and working with a lot of these talented comedians is that their personality really is their character. Nick Offerman plays himself, he is a jovial man's man. Patton Oswalt really is a somewhat hyper fast paced, talkative guy. Jonathan Banks looks you deep in the eyes and talks to you real tough, like he does when he is a hit man in Breaking Bad. I haven't had a bad experience with any of the voice talent. Ken Marino, Peter Serafinowicz and Nick Offerman were already all Axe Cop fans lined up and excited to be a part of whatever Axe Cop became, so I had met and spoke with them before the TV show deal was made. It's exciting to see all this talent on the show who is there because they are in love with the content. I think a lot of comedians have to act and tell jokes on shows that they don't always find funny. I think one of the really special things about the Axe Cop show is how much people involved really love it, from the board artists to the actors. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE FIRST EPISODE OF AXE COP: THE ANIMATED SERIES CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK:</u> <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/513224" target="_blank">http://www.hulu.com/watch/513224</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span><br />
<b style="text-decoration: underline;">Nicolle's Personal Website:</b> <a href="http://ethannicolle.com/" target="_blank">http://ethannicolle.com</a><br />
<u><b>Axe Cop Website:</b> <a href="http://axecop.com/" target="_blank">http://axecop.com</a></u><br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Bearmaggedon Website:</u> <a href="http://bearmageddon.com/" target="_blank">http://bearmageddon.com</a><br />
<u style="font-weight: bold;">Nicolle's Twitter:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/enicolle" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/enicolle</a><br />
<br />Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-34269014715274403052013-07-04T21:10:00.002-04:002013-07-04T21:10:23.087-04:00An Interview with Bryon "PsyGuy" Beaubien<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super PsyGuy</td></tr>
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There are few people on the Internet who are involved in as many projects as Bryon Beubien, more well known by his Internet moniker "PsyGuy." With projects like his review show the "Super PsyGuy Super Show," two webcomics, a podcast, and the YouTube channel "Does A Thing," Psy's name is everywhere on the Internet. He's even been included as a guest voice actor on various abridged series and other YouTube channels. In this interview, I ask Psy about all his projects, his comedic influences, his Internet fame, and other topics. I'd like to thank Psy for his time, and suggest that you check out all his links below.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>Super PsyGuy Super Show</u></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How did the idea for the show come about?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of my favorite content providers had been a little lax on game reviews, and I noticed a lot of more informational vs. entertainment reviews coming up. Like DYKGaming, VGFacts, Game Theory, Game Exchange; I love those shows. They're great. They're not meant to be very funny though like some of the others that, well, it's hard to find an update from. I'm not going to name names but you know who I'm talking about. I don't really like Let's Plays as a main feature because I feel like it's lazy. I have my own channel for my Let's Plays when my friends and I doink around but it's just for shiggles. Long story short - I wanted to put a "funny" game review show out there. Where the only facts about the game is the name of the game and everything else is subjective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I noticed a LOT of shows just have game footage and a camera. I didn't really want to do another one of those shows and I wanted something more visually interesting and I asked Frob if he would be up for drawing, animatic style, my review show. He was up to it and it all kind of just fell into place. I would rant for a couple minutes and he would draw it. People think I'm funny I guess and Frob's a machine in churning out art so it worked out great.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who influences your writing style and comedic timing? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I really admire EgoRaptor and Jontron's ability to be funny out of the most mundane things in the world. It's all meant in good fun, doesn't rely on references, and can stand alone, Little Kuriboh is extremely witty that he's very funny in regular conversation and can light up a room on his feet totally unscripted and create pure gold from nothing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also take after my father. His humor's super cornball but I love that kind of junk. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you choose which game you are going to review?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Really, whatever feels good at the time. I started off reviewing newer games because I had them, but I felt the need to talk about older games. I try to do whatever feels like it could work or what my heart's into. It's gotta feel right or I'll just be forced.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you caught flak for giving a poor review to a game which another person liked?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes. I pissed off a lot of people saying Sly 4: Time Lords in a Van was a giant piece of garbage. I don't really care because the show is my opinion and that's just too fucking bad.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How did you and Frobman meet?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uhhhh, Frobman and I met over twitter where he would draw basically every other tweet. I talked to him once - and his voice, for those of you that don't know, is totally monotone. My podcast, Whachow, is full of a lot of over the top in your face personalities so he was a really good contrast voice to have. It went from there basically.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What games are you interested in reviewing?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pretty much anything. Except a lot of FPS and horror survival type games. I don't, in general, like those types of games. Even a well-made one I wouldn't know because it's not my thing. I feel I would be a poor representative to tell fans of those genres if they would like it because I'm just making one of these "</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">:P" the whole time.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Can you give us a small inkling of what games you like and don’t like? To get a better sense of what kind of video game player you are?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My favorite game of all time is <i>Sonic 3 & Knuckles</i>. I love Mario, Kirby, and Mega Man. I'm a big fan of platformers. I liked <i>Banjo-Kazooie</i> more than <i>Sonic Generations</i>. I've liked <i>Halo</i> and <i>Half-Life</i>, and my interest just kind of wanes. Maybe because it's not very cerebral? I loved Portal 1 & 2. I played [the] <i>Metroid Prime</i> [series], but felt 1 was the only real good one. I hated <i>Metroid: Other M</i>, but <i>Super Metroid</i> is one of my favorites. I adored <i>Pilotwings</i> for the SNES and 64. I bought an N64 just so I could play <i>Wetrix</i> properly. <i>Bomberman 64</i> was amazing, but I prefer <i>Bomberman Hero</i>. Newer games - like <i>LittleBigPlanet</i> was astounding but <i>Metal Gear Rising: Revengance</i> and <i>Ninja Gaiden</i> get extremely repetitive. I think that's enough. Is that enough? Sure.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What makes a game “good” to you? A focus on story? A sense of fun? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">You can totally miss out on story and still be fun, [such as] <i>Sonic Generations</i>. If you try to have story the story can just be weak and ruin the whole everything. <i>Sonic Adventure 1, 2, Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog....</i>ggggghh. If it's an RPG it needs to be water right - like the first half of <i>Tales of Symphonia</i>. And not the 2nd half, because whaaaaaat the fuuuuuuck. Gameplay is really the main key because that's why we're playing games: to play them, not watch a movie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>GG Guys</u></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How did you and Dave meet?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave was a huge fan of mine from the olden days of my stuff from 1996 and pretty much begged me to collab with him, so I pondered on GG-Guys and poof.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This happened to me with the 3DS. Nintendo is full of crafty bastards.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you come up ideas for each comic?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">While playing a game I get a stupid idea and I go, out loud, "</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">HA HA THAT COULD BE FUNNY." And then go, "OH. THAT COULD BE GG-GUYS FODDER." I write it down and send it to Dave. If he likes it, he draws it. I've sent him several scripts that were total trash, mind you. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The comic has not been updated since February, is the comic done, or is this just a short break before you and Dave start making more?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave and I have focused our energies on DoesAThing, an YouTube channel focused on the same "line" as GG-Guys, but with animated shorts. It's still video game characters doing something funny, but sans GG-Guys. Dave's talent lies with animation and I love the experience of scripting motion. Having too much on your plate makes all projects in your pool suffer so I only like to focus on one thing.</span><br />
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Beetleman</span></u></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">What inspired the decision to write a satire of superhero comics? How do you pick what features of superhero comics to make fun of? </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I always wanted to write a "___man" story. batman. superman. spiderman. I thought of Beetles because I think beetles are f'n cool. Then I tried to pick a lot of genres I like. Power Rangers, Ratchet and Clank, Mega Man. I'm not making fun of any one comic but there are various tropes I like to poke fun at.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PsyGuy's own illustration of his character</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are you a fan of superhero comics? If so, who do you like?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Spider-man and Batman. A couple others but that's really about it. Venom is one of my favorite characters period.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where do you think the comic will go from here? There seems to be a bit more drama and storylines developing.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well I'm trying to keep a cohesive storyline. I'd like for it to feel like Firefly. Action adventure but it's obviously humorous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>Wha-Chow!</u></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">This a radio show/podcast you do with your friends, can you tell us a little bit who is featured and how you came up with the idea to do this show?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I started recording people on Skype and slapping it online before the term "podcast" was even thrown around. I just thought my friends and I would have some golden moments on Skype and I wanted to share those experiences with other people</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Does the show have direction, or do you just introduce one topic, and then see where the conversation heads?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I pick several topics we can talk about that would usually spark conversation. Then we do SILLY VOICES to a god awful (OR AMAZING) fanfic. Or script. Or butts.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://whachow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/972195_586745771359202_1099668509_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://whachow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/972195_586745771359202_1099668509_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Wha-Chow Panel</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wha-Chow has become so popular that its panels now have long lines at conventions. Did you expect this level of acclaim and success?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It does? Where are these panels and why haven't I been in them. I've done Whachow live a couple times but the only long lines I've had is because I've had Egoraptor featured and the room was super small. I actually feel like the show is very small. Our facebook has less than 2k likes and I feel it's audience is very niche. It's fine. But I don't think it's very successful when compares to, like - Little Kuriboh, Egoraptor, or anything else really.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>Does A Thing</u></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How did this idea come about?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Dave:</u> Whoa Psy I need money. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Psy:</u> Fuck! Let's make a youtube channel where you animate short projects! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Dave:</u> Okay! I can't write! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Psy:</u> I can! Dave, Okay!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The videos always defy expectations in what they present. You would never expect “Morrigan Does A Thing” to feature dolls and Supernatural slash fiction. How do you come up with ideas for what “thing” each character does?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I just try to come up with funny scenarios for various characters. That being said, going forward, I'm trying to make a huge jump to focus on something that relates to the game the character is from vs. just throwing a video game character into a situation and have them be replaceable. Like, for Morrigan does a thing - you could literally take her out and replace her with ANYBODY - and all the jokes still work. That shouldn't happen. For Wario does a thing, it needs to be Wario because of his "Wah". That's about as "far" away from the source as I want to go. It could still be in his universe since Waluigi and Yoshi's are there - and the Wario games don't take place in one specific spot so it still follows the Wario games' logic. And Sonic Does A thing. It HAS to be Sonic or none of that works at all. Street Fighter does a thing is something I don't really appreciate because I tried to cash in on the Harlem Shake. Ha ha. Who knew that would die out in 2 days? Not me! With that's out now, I'm most happy with Spyro does a thing. Relates to the game, the joke is about a game mechanic - it's very true to the source. That's what I like. I think people will really enjoy Crash Does A Thing, coming out either this month or next - as it follows VERY closely to the source material. Except Luigi makes a brief cameo, but whatever.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are there any characters you are really looking forward to making “Does A Thing” videos for?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bomberman. Without a doubt. Silver should be good. Team Rocket. Goku (yes, Goku).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>Internet Fame</u></b></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you balance so many projects at once?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's easy when you're the writer for a bunch and you spend a couple hours writing content that takes months to produce. I love writing so I just kinda DERNK around in my hobby and everybody else does the hard stuff and I get the credit, YAY ME. [For example, there is] the SuperPsyguy Super Show; ignore the fact frob does all the work, MY NAME'S IN THE TITLE, OH BOY.</span><br />
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<b>Having an Internet presence like you do brings you in contact with not only a lot of fans, but other online creators as well. How have your experiences been with both groups? Any horror stories or awesome tales?</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Horror stories would include both of them mixing together at once. I've had several internet celebrities on my podcast so people think I'm best buddies with these people so they try to be friends with me thinking I can shoot a message to EgoRaptor and have him care or JonTron or WHOEVER, and it's like - no dude. Usually most content creators are very gracious. It's been a little easier recently because DoesAThing is finally putting some weight to my name and when people LIKE your stuff it's much easier to be yourself and not worry about being a total asshole. I worry a lot. When I was first hanging with Little Kuriboh, I was having World War II go off in my head because I didn't wanna say something so stupid he didn't want to deal with me. And now we're pretty close buddies. I'm pretty sure I've touched his butt.<br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Horror stories are those fans who think they're a big deal but they don't do annnnything online. They're only way of being self expressive is to be an annoying twat. Wouldn't recommend that route kiddos.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>PsyGuy's Facebook Page: </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SuperPsyguy" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/SuperPsyguy</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Psy's Twitter:</b> <a href="https://twitter.com/SuperPsyguy" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SuperPsyguy</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Psy's Tumblr:</b> <a href="http://superpsyguy.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">http://superpsyguy.tumblr.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Psy's YouTube Channel Page: </b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/superpsyguy" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/superpsyguy</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>GG-Guys: </b><a href="http://www.gg-guys.com/" target="_blank">http://www.gg-guys.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Beetleman: </b><a href="http://www.beetlemancomic.com/" target="_blank">http://www.beetlemancomic.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>"Super PsyGuy Super Show" YouTube Channel Page:</b> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/tSPGSS" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/tSPGSS</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>"Does A Thing" YouTube Channel Page:</b> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/DoesAThing" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/DoesAThing</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Wha-Chow site: </b><a href="http://whachow.com/" target="_blank">http://whachow.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>PsyGuy on an episode of the Abridge Series, Nullmetal Alchemist: </b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkKMz0cRemY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkKMz0cRemY</a></span></div>
Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-63361409648752082242013-06-28T12:34:00.001-04:002013-06-28T12:34:33.545-04:00Interview with John Kleckner of Hejibits<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3437139119/954dbe54c50c8a01dc9c7668a10af288.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3437139119/954dbe54c50c8a01dc9c7668a10af288.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Kleckner (Self Portrait from his Twitter Page)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even if you don't recognize the name John Kleckner or the name of his webcomic, "Hejibits", chances are you have seen many of his comics floating around the internet. With his combination of puns, silly faces, and cynical commentary on the video game industry, Mr. Kleckner's comics have made millions laugh (or cringe) at their humor. His comics have even inspired several popular internet memes, such as "Boardroom Suggestion" and "Haunter Used Mean Look." In this interview, I ask Mr. Kleckner about the origins of the comic, his artistic and comedic influences, and his views on video games. I would, of course, like to thank Mr. Kleckner for his time. Check it out!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>1. How did the idea for the comic come about? You are an art student, but how did you decide to create comics and put them online?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a pretty annoying roommate in my freshman year of college, and I found comics to be an amusing outlet to vent my passive aggressive frustrations. My friends liked them, and encouraged me to start a webcomic. "That's a dumb idea," I said. Joke's on me, I guess!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://hejibits.com/comics/2010-05-17-roommate-comics-12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://hejibits.com/comics/2010-05-17-roommate-comics-12.png" width="78" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of Hejibits' earlier comics, featuring John's infamous roommate,</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>2. Are there any artists that your art style is inspired by? Your art style for the comic is very simplistic, but, as seen from your Twitter and uploads from your days at Art School, you have the potential to do very detailed and realistic work. What made you decide the simplistic style? Just for the sake of time and energy?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I can't really say I take direct inspiration from other artists, but there's definitely some subconscious influence happening behind the scenes. As a kid, I was creatively inspired by cartoons like Courage the Cowardly Dog and Ed, Edd & Eddy. Most of my comic punchlines rely on dumb faces, which I don't think works that well with a realistic style. I'm also extremely incompetent with proper drawing software, so I'm somewhat restricted to the 'cel-shading' (for lack of a proper term) style of Adobe Flash.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>3. What is the process for creating a comic? How do you decide which kind of joke to make? Do you plan out how the panels will look before drawing them?</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Most of my video game ideas stem from my frustration with a game, or from a stupid thing in a game that I can poke fun at. I have a running list of comic ideas on my computer, which are generally just a short summary or a couple sentences of dialogue. I don't really plan that far ahead; when I start a comic I usually just pick an idea from the pile (either the most topical or the most amusing), and start drawing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://webcomicoverlook.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/2011-08-08-breadwinner.png?w=604" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://webcomicoverlook.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/2011-08-08-breadwinner.png?w=604" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of puns and funny faces, two of the things in which Hejibits specializes.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>4. Your humor often fluctuates between puns and commentaries on the video game industry, but both have a very (at least, from my perspective) cynical point of view. Do you feel that your humor was influenced by any thing or person, or do you think your humor comes only from yourself?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My dad is a very cynical dude, always finding things to complain about. My mom is a very sarcastic lady, always making fun of dumb things. I inherited both of those traits on an exponential level.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://hejibits.com/comics/2011-09-12-nintendont.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://hejibits.com/comics/2011-09-12-nintendont.png" width="111" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a little bit of commentary on the video game industry. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>5. What do you think draws people to your comic? The silly faces? The puns? The sarcasm and cynical humor?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't know! I have such a weird range of comic topics that it's a wonder I have any consistent readers. I just make the comics I want to make, and some people dig that, I guess!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>6. Have you ever given up on a joke because you found you couldn't draw something or just couldn't figure out how to properly visualize it in the panels?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All the time! Sometimes, I still go through with bad comic ideas, against my better judgement. Making bad comics is part of the learning experience, I suppose!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>7. Having a popular webcomic like you do brings you in contact with not only a lot of fans, but other online creators as well. How have your experiences been with both groups? Any horror stories or awesome tales?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm extremely humbled to have a handful of super talented web[comic] artists reading my stuff, which is super great and inspiring. Weirdly enough though, I haven't had a whole lot of terrible fan experiences. One time a kid on Twitter was personally offended that I don't "follow back." That was a thing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://data.whicdn.com/images/14292317/2010-04-26-scuba-entei_large.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://data.whicdn.com/images/14292317/2010-04-26-scuba-entei_large.png" width="72" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The comic that features the famous "Haunter's Mean Look" Image</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>8. Can you give us a small inkling of what games you like and don’t like? To get a better sense of what kind of video game player you are?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I play pretty much everything except MMOs and sports sims (I don't like games that don't end), but I love me a good platformer. Recent-ish/upcoming games like Rayman Origins/Legends, Super Meat Boy, and the obligatory Nintendo platformers tickle my fancy like nobody's business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>9. What makes a game “good” to you? A focus on story? A sense of fun? </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Focused game design is important to me. Lately I've been straying away from games that waste my time by padding out game time (JRPGs, story-focused games with unnecessary filler, etc.). That's why I like platformers. Concise, and to the point. Well, except Super Paper Mario.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably the most well known Hejibits comic, which spawned an exploitable meme that comments on other shady or just plain confusing business practices.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>10. What video games are you looking forward to, especially after E3?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh man, where to start? Super Mario 3D World, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Super Smash Bros. 4, Final Fantasy XV, Mirror's Edge 2, to name a few. I still have at least a bajillion games on my backlog as well, no thanks to Steam sales and PS3 HD collections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>11. Where do you think the comic will go from here? Will you pursue Webcomics as a career, or just continue it as a hobby and side project?</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I would like to pursue a career in animation (as it is my major); probably in the 3D field. Webcomicing is a fun hobby, but I don't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Depending on where I end up working, maybe I'll keep doing comics if I have free time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Come back in the next few weeks, where I'll be uploading even more interviews with famous Internet celebrities like SuperPsyGuy and Ethan Nicolle, the creator of <i>Axe Cop.</i></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Hejibits Website:</b><u> <a href="http://www.hejibits.com/" target="_blank">http://www.hejibits.com</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>John's Tumblr: </b><a href="http://hejibits.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">http://hejibits.tumblr.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>John's Twitter: </b><a href="https://twitter.com/Hejibits" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/Hejibits</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Hejibits' Facebook Page:</b> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hejibits" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/hejibits</a></span></div>
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<b>The Know Your Meme Page for the "Boardroom Suggestion" Meme: </b><a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boardroom-suggestion" target="_blank">http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/boardroom-suggestion</a></div>
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Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-931448831269198922013-06-23T20:16:00.001-04:002013-06-23T20:19:06.630-04:00An Interview with Zach Weinersmith and James Ashby of SMBC and SMBC Theater<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In terms
of presence on the Internet, the name Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (or,
better known by its acronym, SMBC) is one that stands out, being constantly
found in most forums, Reddit threads, and even Facebook posts. A daily webcomic written and drawn by Zach
Weinersmith, SMBC exploded in popularity due to its zany, intelligent,
satirical and sometimes crass humor. As
one of the Internet’s longest running webcomics, Mr. Weinersmith joins other well-known
webcomic titans like Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik of Penny Arcade and Scott
Kurtz of PvP. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jasonoberholtzer/files/2011/05/photo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jasonoberholtzer/files/2011/05/photo.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zach Weinersmith</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 2009,
Zach and his long time friend, James Ashby, created the SMBC Theater, a sketch
comedy channel on YouTube that shared the comic’s social satire and adult
humor. The channel now has almost eighty
thousand subscribers and over 20 million views.
In the following interview, I interview Zach and James about the origins
of the comic and the Theater, their comedic influences, the workings behind the
Theater, and their Internet fame, as well as one major upcoming project from
SMBC Theater. I’d like to thank Zach and
James once again for their time, and ask that everybody check out the comic and
the channel.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3682440682/95087c6285dd31859eab637971f51783.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3682440682/95087c6285dd31859eab637971f51783.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Ashby, King of SMBC Theater</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">SMBC Comic<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How did the comic come about? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>Zach Weinersmith:</u></b> [The comic] started long ago in high
school as a way to write things and make fun of friends. Years later, it became the only way out of a
very shitty job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://comicbooked.comicbookedllc.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/smbc.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://comicbooked.comicbookedllc.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/smbc.gif" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of Zach's more intellectual jokes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The art style of the comic has definitely
improved as time has gone on, but remains quite distinct in its simple, yet
effective portrayal of characters. How do you think you have grown as an
artist in the years of drawing SMBC? Have certain shortcuts or computer
programs come out that have made your life easier, or does a daily comic just
make art simpler?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> I'm more of a writer (i.e. my art sucks), but yeah, it's
incrementally improved over time. I recently got a tablet and manga studio 5,
which has been a godsend. I was getting very painful hand cramps for a long
time, and now I can work faster without the pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Are there any artists in particular that
have inspired your art style?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> Parking Lot is Full, perhaps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/files/2010/03/smbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.indecisionforever.com/files/2010/03/smbc.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a bit of social critique.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you ever had to give up on a joke
because you found that you couldn’t draw a character or object, or just
couldn’t figure out how to visualize how the joke would look?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> Not really. If it works in the writing phase, it'll work in
the art, unless you write yourself into a corner or something. Now and then
I've fucked that up. Some things are easy to say and hard to visualize. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you keep up doing a daily
comic? How do you keep thinking of material? How do you keep up
your drive and motivation?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> I try to read a lot.
If I'm behaving myself, at least 3-5 books a week, plus some deeper
studies for perspective. I'm very
motivated by the idea that I don't want to have a real job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The humor of the comic has definitely
evolved over the years as well. Originally starting as one-panel, bait
and switch humor, the comic has definitely become more intelligent, discussing
concepts like philosophy, physics, government, and other topics. What
inspired this change?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> Generally speaking, the comic reflects what I'm currently
interested in. I used to try to just do
gags, but I found that people actually liked some of the more thick stuff now
and then. Since I do dailies, I have a bit of latitude in terms of nerdiness. That is, if today's joke is too in depth, I
can do a joke about boners tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMl2iNJwvRy1Urf3GQzS2zJjpla6bcOi7kwrip270-Tom9ap58iO-xwGkjdivxzCpymslnrCbnuIFOfOyl7BEzlwyviRvRAU4FJmAtZzjPar1HWRPIiBIgRPyQZSsKzQ3KuPIpLcoVaA/s400/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYMl2iNJwvRy1Urf3GQzS2zJjpla6bcOi7kwrip270-Tom9ap58iO-xwGkjdivxzCpymslnrCbnuIFOfOyl7BEzlwyviRvRAU4FJmAtZzjPar1HWRPIiBIgRPyQZSsKzQ3KuPIpLcoVaA/s320/Picture+1.png" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">An example of Zach's "bait and switch" joke style, where the caption betrays the image.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you think the change to the humor was
well received?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> Not by everyone. I
could probably have more readers if I stuck with something, but I think it'd
get boring after a while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who has inspired or influenced your
humor? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> Early on, I really liked Glen Baxter and PLiF. I loved the understatement in Dilbert. I don't read too many comics, but in terms of
humor authors, Mark Twain and Stanislaw Lem are awesome. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite SMBC comic.</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you feel about being one of the
longest lasting, and most influential webcomics on the Internet?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> If there were a cash prize for that, I'd feel great. Honestly, I kind of live in a bubble (on
purpose), so the numbers are a bit abstract to me. It's nice, but it also
offers a temptation to relax a little, which I want to avoid. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where do you think the comic will go from
here?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> No idea. I've been getting into political theory and some
more advanced (for me) physics lately; oh, and Robert Burns, so maybe something
hideous amalgam of those is coming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">SMBC Theater<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whose idea was it to create the Theater?
Were these ideas that Zach felt he couldn’t properly convey as a comic?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> James and I had wanted to do it for ages, way before the
comic was a "thing." At some point we just barely had the resources
to pull it off, and voila. In terms of
ideas, not really. James and I wrote them together, which already gave them a
different flavor. Plus, comics and sketches are pretty different. In comics
it's very easy to control composition in timing. Video is harder. But, in
video, you have Real Live Humans, which means you can get a lot more out of
expression. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>James Ashby:</u></b> Yeah, we never wanted to try to recreate
the comic. Comics are about a perfect moment captured as well as
possible. Sketches are about pacing and delivery and performance and a
number of intangibles. Zach and I had tried to do some film work in our early
20's when we lived in a bachelor apartment with another friend and Zach's
un-spayed cat, but we didn't have any money or connections. 6 years later
I graduated with an MFA in screenwriting from Carnegie Mellon with some prize
money and Zach had a trickle of income, so we decided to spend it on sketches
instead of health insurance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who comes up with ideas for the
sketches? Does it vary? Does the person who came up with the
idea also write it, or have there been times where a person comes up with an
idea, but has someone else write it?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> James and I, 50-50. For a given sketch, it varied a lot.
But, we had a big honkin' list of ideas we'd grind on every 2 weeks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> We've been doing this so long it gets muddy. Zach and
I have written together since we were in our late teens (NO ONE EVER GETS TO
READ THAT STUFF), so at this point it's mostly a tag team sifting for funny
through email. One of us will have an idea for a joke, another will write half
a page on it then pass it off, etc etc. Then we fight for a week about
the last line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">How do you cast each video, given the
pool of talented actors you have? Do some people just play certain
characters well, so they are always cast as such? Like JP Nickel as a
news anchor or creepy dad?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> James can answer this better than I. We *did* have people
who were really good at certain characters, but I think we also tried to vary a
little. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> We have a few recurring tropes (JP Nickel as a newscaster
is always funny), but we have an all-volunteer army so there's an availability
factor that comes into play. I never cast anyone I don't feel is right
for a part, but we have some very talented people who can do some really
wonderful work when given a chance to stretch. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">You have created a persona for yourselves
in the SMBC Theater canon. For example, James (now the “King of the
Theater”) is portrayed a disheveled, sociopathic, schizophrenic slob. How
do these personas get developed?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> James can answer this better than I. I think early on our personas were sort of
exaggerations of the real us from a few years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> Zach and I like to write about the id and jerks because
we're very polite in person, and the ability to say things bluntly is a great
comedic tool. Slobby James and King James can say things that make people
laugh, so we can say interesting things without being boring or pompous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">You also have a new project, a science
fiction series called Starpocalypse, can you give us a hint of what the show is
about and when can we expect to see it?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> This is King James territory. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> THIS FALL! It's called Starpocalypse and an AWESOME
team of artists have put in hundreds of hours of work to bring it to our
audience. We're really proud of this dark, weird, crazy space comedy. It could
only have been made through crowd-funding. The major plot thrust: God is
a space alien with a fetish for watching humans fuck and murder each other.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other topics<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">It often seems like everyone on the
Internet knows each other, as illustrated by your constant collaborations with
the 5secondfilms crew. How did you all meet?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> King James again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> Michael Rousselet and Kelsey Gunn came to do a cameo for
Starpocalypse and seemed awesome. They invited me to come have a beer
during a 5secondfilms shoot and I met a ton of other awesome people. The
rest is history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having an Internet presence like you two
do brings you in contact with not only a lot of fans, but other online creators
as well. How have your experiences been with both groups? Any
horror stories or awesome tales?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> Ha! If I have horror
stories, there's no way I'd tell them. James
knows more about the YouTube/vid community than I do, but the comics community
is pretty tight. Almost everyone who's a
professional knows every other professional. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> I've found following the rule of only networking with
people I like and respect has really worked out nicely for me. I'd say we
actually have a very supportive fan base. Some dudes might be a little
awkward when they come to meet us, but Zach and I are kinda awkward. Who's
judging? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Snowflakes</i></b><b>
is a comic you both do with your friend Chris Jones, and features a very
different sense of humor than we see in SMBC and SMBC theater. It’s much
more mellow and childlike. How did this comic come about, and how do you keep
it in this more innocent, less racy tone? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>ZW:</u></b> As I recall, Chris Jones and I had recently finished
Captain Stupendous, and wanted a new project. And James and I wanted to work on
a comic together. I think perhaps it was Chris who suggested a kids' comic, but
honestly I don't exactly recall how the final decision was made. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>JA:</u></b> Chris wanted to do a children's comic and had this vision
of kids in an orphanage in the snow. Zach and I developed characters,
then I did story structure, plotting, and character development while Zach
focused on dialogue and Chris made us look way better than we
deserved. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Comic:</u> <a href="http://www.smbc-comics.com/" target="_blank">http://www.smbc-comics.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">SMBC Theater's YouTube Channel:</u> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/smbctheater?feature=watch" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/smbctheater?feature=watch</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">SMBC Theater's Facebook Page:</u> </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/smbctheater" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/smbctheater</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">SMBC Theater's Twitter Page:</u> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/smbctheater" target="_blank">http://www.twitter.com/smbctheater</a></span></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Zach's Twitter Page:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachWeiner" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/ZachWeiner</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">James's Twitter Page:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/jsandlinashby" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/jsandlinashby</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;">Parking Lot is Full:</u> <a href="http://plif.courageunfettered.com/" target="_blank">http://plif.courageunfettered.com</a></div>
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<u style="font-weight: bold;"><i>Snowflakes</i> Comic:</u> <a href="http://www.snowflakescomic.com/" target="_blank">http://www.snowflakescomic.com</a></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-63565226074903067912013-04-20T22:54:00.001-04:002013-04-20T22:54:43.209-04:00Interview with Ross Scott
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2010/08/ross-scott-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="119" src="http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2010/08/ross-scott-thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. Scott (right), looking remarkably like the character he voices (left)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the last interview for a
while. I will try to do more over the
summer, but this is the last of all the ones I have done over the past year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Humor is a tricky thing. Sometimes, it can be as complicated,
intricate, and subtle as the satire of Jonathan Swift’s <i>Gulliver’s Travels</i>, to vulgar and base as…well, Jonathan Swift’s <i>Gulliver’s Travels</i>. It can come in many forms, and a comedian
will never know if they will strike gold with an idea for a comedy short. Ross Scott, the creator of the Machinima
series, <i>Freeman’s Mind</i>, struck
gold. And all it took was Valve’s <i>Half-Life</i>, a microphone, a bit of
creativity, and an endless stream of utter nonsense and criminal psychosis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sekritforum.com/storybook/main/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/freemans-mind.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://www.sekritforum.com/storybook/main/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/freemans-mind.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Series's Iconic Logo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For the uninformed, <i>Freeman’s Mind</i> is a series featured on
Youtube, where Gordon Freeman (voiced by Scott) goes about the events of <i>Half-Life</i>, constantly narrating his
activities and going on random tangents of his days at MIT, his fantasies of
world domination, his constant yearning for shotguns and explosions, and his
chastising of the aliens trying to eat his face. It’s a bizarre romp into the psyche of
everyone’s silent scientist protagonist with hilarious and sometimes even
fascinating results. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In this interview, Scott discusses how
the idea for Freeman’s Mind (and his other series, Civil Protection) started,
his process for making each episode, his past, his reaction to the imitator’s
of the “Freeman’s mind style”, and many other topics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Again, apologies for the low quality of
this interview. Despite the late release
date, this was actually the first interview I did. I was still figuring out the microphone and internet
connections that worked best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">INTERVIEW WITH MR. SCOTT:</u> <a href="http://www.hulkshare.com/9onkg5e43534" target="_blank">http://www.hulkshare.com/9onkg5e43534</a></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Accursed Farms Website:</u> <a href="http://www.accursedfarms.com/" target="_blank">http://www.accursedfarms.com</a></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">YouTube Playlist for Freeman's Mind:</u> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/show/freemansmind" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/show/freemansmind</a></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-7968280186674116752013-04-13T11:23:00.000-04:002013-04-13T11:23:51.247-04:00Interview with College Humor Best Friends Video Game Club<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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<a href="http://loldwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/bestfriendslogo3_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://loldwell.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/bestfriendslogo3_web.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In
addition to making a living at College Humor, one of the most popular sites on
the Internet, the Best Friends Video Game Club – composed of Caldwell Tanner
(artist of Loldwell.com), Brian Murphy, Owen Parsons, and Marina Cockenberg –
started their own video series, focusing on their bizarre lives, terrible
friendships, and rage-filled game nights.
So far, the best friends have had a failed intervention about Marina’s
multiplayer gloating, invited a homeless man with a knife to their apartment,
started a fight at a party, and other things you would not believe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4sy59PoLX1rucj7bo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4sy59PoLX1rucj7bo1_500.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The "Best Friends" (Clockwise: Caldwell, Brian, Marina, and Owen; From the Episode "Split Screen")</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> However, this is not the only video
game focused material the four have made.
From their partner site, Dorkly, the crew (along with the other staff at
College Humor), has made a number of video game videos called “Dorkly
Bits.” These videos have been all the
rage online, garnering millions of views on Dorkly and YouTube.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/751LAJ1kwEM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
In this interview, the crew
discusses their comedic influences, the origins of the series, what it’s like
to work at College Humor, and other topics.
Check it out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">LINKS</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Interview with the BFVGC: <a href="http://www.hulkshare.com/hsaf4vm920hs" target="_blank">http://www.hulkshare.com/hsaf4vm920hs</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Their Channel: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/bfvgc?feature=watch" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/bfvgc?feature=watch</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Loldwell.com: <a href="http://loldwell.com/" target="_blank">http://loldwell.com</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dorkly: <a href="http://www.dorkly.com/" target="_blank">http://www.dorkly.com</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">College Humor: <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/" target="_blank">http://www.collegehumor.com</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Brian Murphy's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/chmurph" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/chmurph</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Owen Parson's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/owenBparsons" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/owenBparsons</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Marina's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/marinarachael" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/marinarachael</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Caldwell's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/caldy" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/caldy</a></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-78805054830154324782013-04-06T11:03:00.002-04:002013-04-06T11:03:24.211-04:00Interview with Extra Credits' James Portnow
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.genrecon.com/wp-content/uploads/James-Portnow-600x189.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="100" src="http://www.genrecon.com/wp-content/uploads/James-Portnow-600x189.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Many Faces of Mr. Portnow</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">James Portnow is a huge presence in the video game industry
and its advancement. A professor at
Digipen, a game designer (who has helped), and a writer and the main force
behind the popular web series <i>Extra
Credits</i>, James is a man of many hats and talents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://buniko.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/extra-credits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://buniko.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/extra-credits.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Animated Extra Credits Team (From Left to Right<br />LeeLee, James, Daniel, and Allison)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <i>Extra Credits </i>is one of the biggest
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Daniel Floyd and the art of various artists, including Allison Theus and Elisa "LeeLee"Scaldaferri. On each episode, the crew
explores concepts in game design and culture, from the simplistic (like
Achievements) to the complex (such as the Hero’s Journey and the relationship
between story and mechanics). With the
visual aids of Scaldaferri and Theus’s art and Portnow’s writing, <i>Extra Credits </i>becomes a perfect learning
tool for all those who are interested in the gaming industry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrXoJ_zw7ucgKVDVjdUQKte1vaXZFPSEiHYRe8yhcL_QmVyPudyE1G8qNyirCuKtBnb6nrIfgAlsXIo8VCWBhwWfwHY7IhyphenhyphenNvn8vXP-q-kjYhqqq3PG2RdvStIV0dbvWBHjRHPa6x0brT/s1600/team.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrXoJ_zw7ucgKVDVjdUQKte1vaXZFPSEiHYRe8yhcL_QmVyPudyE1G8qNyirCuKtBnb6nrIfgAlsXIo8VCWBhwWfwHY7IhyphenhyphenNvn8vXP-q-kjYhqqq3PG2RdvStIV0dbvWBHjRHPa6x0brT/s320/team.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The EC team (From Left to Right: James, Dan, and Allison)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In this
interview, James and I discuss many things, including the first game to create
his passion for gaming, his views on the gaming industry, and other
topics. An eloquent and in-depth
interview with a man who is probably the biggest advocate for the artistic
side of video games in modern era. Check it out!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Interview: <a href="http://www.hulkshare.com/bcnj0tie8j5s" target="_blank">http://www.hulkshare.com/bcnj0tie8j5s</a></span></div>
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Mr. Portnow's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesPortnow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/JamesPortnow</a></div>
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Extra Credits' Show Page: <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits" target="_blank">http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/show/extra-credits</a></div>
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Extra Credits Facebook Page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ExtraCredits" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/ExtraCredits</a></div>
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<br /></div>
Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-12770884821927155392013-03-23T17:18:00.001-04:002013-03-23T17:48:39.834-04:00No Right Answer Crew Interview<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/88/88923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/88/88923.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The No Right Answer Crew, Drawn by Cory Rydell of the Escapist's Critical Miss</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Today's interview and show is based on the Escapist's popular series "No Right Answer", where Chris Pranger, Kyle Martinak, and Daniel Epstein debate everything from Best Science Fiction Job Ever to worst Green Lantern weakness ever (wood or the color yellow (yes, those are actually part of the Green Lantern canon)). The show is quite popular on the Escapist as the show's comedic writing and editing, along with interesting premises for each debate leads to quite entertaining spectacles. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://the-escapist.trailertheater.com/trailer-images/t/h/d3BFRFo4X09Dd2s=.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://the-escapist.trailertheater.com/trailer-images/t/h/d3BFRFo4X09Dd2s=.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Chris (Left) and Kyle (Right) in a deep debate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
It's also interesting to see the relationship between the three debaters. Chris is more along the lines of the emotional, energetic comedian, while Kyle is calm and collected and Dan is somewhere in between. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5dwV4Bo98U5OMw9FIDoROTDte3-g0KQTaGe8um4BoE4VeMLSROciQ49OryE5wtzEuPMDFPUXnEgYrsjBHboM9Uf4lgUP4y7vwThMBjr4mJacjyZcHabsPIkWydHAV9DGuFbzrjB1Vfk/s1600/053021b0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5dwV4Bo98U5OMw9FIDoROTDte3-g0KQTaGe8um4BoE4VeMLSROciQ49OryE5wtzEuPMDFPUXnEgYrsjBHboM9Uf4lgUP4y7vwThMBjr4mJacjyZcHabsPIkWydHAV9DGuFbzrjB1Vfk/s320/053021b0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris, Kyle, and...sleeping Dan</td></tr>
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<div>
In this interview, possibly our longest interview yet, Chris, Kyle, Dan and I discuss the origins of the show, the story behind the show's famous Jones's sodas, the Escapist convention, and other topics. Enjoy!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>LINKS</u></b></div>
<div>
The Interview: <a href="http://www.hulkshare.com/i8gz1u6v5i4g" target="_blank">http://www.hulkshare.com/i8gz1u6v5i4g</a></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Apparently I reached the limit of minutes on Soundcloud, so I will be using various sites for now. If anyone has any good suggestions of websites to which I can upload an MP3, that would be much appreciated.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
No Right Answer's Facebook Page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Right-Answer/240937029305023" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Right-Answer/240937029305023</a></div>
<div>
No Right Answer's Twitter Page: <a href="https://twitter.com/NoRiteAnswer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/NoRiteAnswer</a></div>
<div>
No Right Answer Collection at the Escapist: <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/no-right-answer" target="_blank">http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/no-right-answer</a> </div>
Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-17196707278294687032013-03-15T18:13:00.002-04:002013-03-15T18:13:44.903-04:00Interview with Grey Carter and Cory Rydell
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/galleries/display/66/66761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/galleries/display/66/66761.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Equal parts drama and comedy, the
Escapist’s well-acclaimed webcomic </span><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Critical
Miss </i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">has run for more than a year, with almost all of the site’s traffic
addicted to every new comic. The comic
is composed of two types of comics: satirical jabs at the occasional idiocy of
the video game industry, and a storyline of main character Erin, a internet
game reviewer who sees and interacts video game characters that only she can
see. To put it plainly, both parts of
the comic are a joy to read. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2D2QOZd57NN8ZQcy2xG_W8ONVPTQpTxvG6F1sZDdGU7BQJkxW3PAGN4NiEy-1_qo8XGI1f_bZ2nzw5ByhgcA4bHrJlC44nKm8ski57DKmv8Xi2UerJT1cIsyxXgTL05PO8DnRA3CjhI/s1600/Mortal+Bus+Kommute.+This+picture+belongs+to+Escapist+Magazine+and_ca3737_3950117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2D2QOZd57NN8ZQcy2xG_W8ONVPTQpTxvG6F1sZDdGU7BQJkxW3PAGN4NiEy-1_qo8XGI1f_bZ2nzw5ByhgcA4bHrJlC44nKm8ski57DKmv8Xi2UerJT1cIsyxXgTL05PO8DnRA3CjhI/s320/Mortal+Bus+Kommute.+This+picture+belongs+to+Escapist+Magazine+and_ca3737_3950117.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of both humor and storyline. One of my favorite comics.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Carter and
Rydell’s mocking of the video game industry has the same quick wit and vitriol
as Daily Show episode, and Erin’s story is intriguing, endearing, and
entertaining.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/49/49717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/49/49717.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A satirization of Killzone 3's..."interesting" villains. Carter admits he strongly dislikes the game for it's "insulting" story.<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Rydell’s art can truly
steal the show, for nothing can put a bigger smile on your face than watching
Erin and Kratos from </span><i style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">God of War</i><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
sledding merrily down a snow-covered hill. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/405/405750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/405/405750.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kratos can be a pretty fun guy if you get past the murdering...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In this interview, the two creators of
the comic (writer Grey Carter and artist Cory Rydell) discuss the origins of
the comic, their process, their interactions with fans, their future projects,
and their views on certain issues in the gaming industry. Both are eloquent and fascinating, and I
greatly enjoyed interviewing them. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m90ztzAY9t1r5hvego1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m90ztzAY9t1r5hvego1_500.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">Apologies up front for the background noise: finding a quiet spot on
Georgetown’s campus is harder than one thinks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><b><u>LINKS</u></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">Interview:</u> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mazzjammin22/grey-carter-and-cory-rydell" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/mazzjammin22/grey-carter-and-cory-rydell</a></span></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Critical Miss Collection on the Escapist.com:</u> <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss" target="_blank">http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss</a></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Grey Carter's Twitter:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/GreyTheTick" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/GreyTheTick</a></li>
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">Cory Rydell's Twitter:</u> <a href="https://twitter.com/Cory_Rydell" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/Cory_Rydell</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><u>GREY CARTER'S FAVORITE VIDEO GAME MUSIC</u></b></div>
<div>
As always, we like to give our interviewees a chance to list their favorite video game music. Here are Grey's. Enjoy!</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>"Use Your Head" from <i>Earthworm Jim</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6QJ1m7EQ3I" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6QJ1m7EQ3I</a></li>
<li>"Ice Cap Zone" from <i>Sonic the Hedgehog 3</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxlqTpZ-24" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxlqTpZ-24</a></li>
<li>"The Magnetic Tree" from <i>Dustforce</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCp9YJKgrQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCp9YJKgrQ</a></li>
<li>"Amethyst Caverns" from <i>Shatter</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldBKPWjD1os" target="_blank"> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldBKPWjD1os</a></li>
<li>"Game Over" from <i>Shadow of the Beast</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGf5xpaRIx8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGf5xpaRIx8</a></li>
<li>"Live And Learn" from <i>Sonic Adventure 2</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9zZus_1_ag" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9zZus_1_ag</a></li>
<li>"Setting Sail, Coming Home" from <i>Bastion</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDflVhOpS4E" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDflVhOpS4E</a></li>
<li>"Seen It for Days" from <i>Comix Zone</i>: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-cREb_Ig1I" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-cREb_Ig1I</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-53944702327955200462013-01-01T20:56:00.003-05:002013-01-01T20:56:20.627-05:00Spinal Tap and the C.S.A. Live: An Analysis of the Various Forms of Mockumentary Techniques
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The following is a deviation from my typical video game themed posts. The final paper of my documentary class, where I analyze the effectiveness of two mockumentaries (comedy films that use the style of a documentary (though the events in the movie itself are staged and often used with actors) to give the film a false sense of authenticity). If you have not seen either of these movies, I would highly suggest you watch both of them. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.massmoca.org/museum_images/672-eventpage-spinal-tap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://www.massmoca.org/museum_images/672-eventpage-spinal-tap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/40/Csa1.jpg/220px-Csa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/40/Csa1.jpg/220px-Csa1.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This Is Spinal Tap</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is certainly an interesting film. With its larger than life characters and
ridiculous situations, any observant viewer of the film would find it obvious
that the film is a <i>parody</i> of concert
films and biopic documentaries, rather than a completely legitimate film about
the band “Spinal Tap.” Yet, the film’s
director, Rob Reiner, once noted that while more critical and “sophisticated”
audiences in urban areas (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto) easily
determined the film’s falsity and thus enjoyed its humorous nature, not
everyone could see through the ruse (Platinga, 320). Reiner notes that when they showed the film
to an audience in a Dallas shopping mall, the film was noticeably less
successful. “A small section of the
audience laughed,” he says. “The rest
asked why we would make a serious documentary about a terrible band they had
never heard of” (Platinga, 320). Now,
many more conscientious viewers and film buffs would find this reaction
baffling. How could anyone find a film
that features exploding drummers, cartoonish characters, and such bizarre and
awkward situations to have any appearance of validity? How can anyone actually believe that lead
singer David St. Hubbins’s assertion that “dozen of people die from spontaneous
combustion every year”? The answer, put
simply, is the execution and style of the film.
Through an expert replication of the same styles used in other concert
films and direct cinema documentaries, <i>This
Is Spinal Tap</i> makes itself seem like every other documentary because it
looks and acts like every other documentary of this style. Through meticulous camera work and editing,
the film is able to perfectly replicate the direct cinema style, and thus
Spinal Tap comes to life, regardless of how cartoonish and childish they
are. This is what every mockumentary
must do to ever try and convince an audience of the “veracity” of their
film. And films like <i>This Is Spinal Tap</i> and the Ken Burns
parody <i>C.S.A.: The Confederate States of
America</i>, accomplish this with remarkable ability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/27900000/Spinal-Tap-this-is-spinal-tap-27913310-348-411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/27900000/Spinal-Tap-this-is-spinal-tap-27913310-348-411.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These three seem totally relatable and likable.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
how in particular is this possible? Let
us use <i>This Is Spinal Tap </i>as our
first example. What <i>exactly </i>did Reiner do to make the characters of Spinal Tap “come
alive?” It is certainly a hard task to
accomplish; the characters, as mentioned, certainly aren’t “normal.” They are larger than life parodies of every
stereotype of the heavy metal and rock genre, with everyone serving a
particular role, from the overly macho lead guitarist Nigel Trufel, with his
phallic use of the guitar and his complete lack of knowledge of his own
instrument, to bassist Derek Smalls, who tries (and fails) to embody the
“silent intellectual” trope often associated with rock bassists. Yet, as mentioned, some audiences felt the
band was real, and that is due to the stellar acting of the band’s
“members.” The basis of this
“believability” was due to the fact that the film was largely improvised, with
the actors only having a rough outline of what was going to happen in the
scene. Thus, they were able to create a
sense of the band members being real people by giving genuine reactions to the
questions and situations they were presented.
With the lack of a “strict” story and script structure found in other Hollywood
films, Spinal Tap’s “members” rants and dialogue seems more in the vein of just
normal conversation. A particularly good
example would be when Rob Reiner’s “Marty Di Bergi” (an affectionate parody of
Martin Scorsese, the director of the concert film <i>The Last Waltz</i> (1970) asks Nigel about Nigel’s amp that goes “up to
11.” Di Bergi asks why Nigel could not
simply have just “made 10 louder”, and Nigel stops for a moment, considering
this idea, before sheepishly and childishly replying “but it goes up to 11.” However, in the moment before his answer, we
see the cogs in actor Christopher Guest’s head slowly moving, and Nigel seems a
little more human. His response is
still comedic and childish, but as we see him slowly try to put the pieces
together, and eventually failing, he seems more like a real person. If the script was more regimented, and Nigel
responded even a second quicker with the same line, it wouldn’t have the same
level of believable earnestness the moment in the film does. Thus, with the improvisation, the film
becomes more like a direct cinema film, since the reactions of the characters
become (or seems to become) more genuine.
And, in many ways, the members of Spinal Tap become very much like “Big
Edie” and “Little Edie” from Albert and David Maysles’s <i>Grey Gardens</i>. Though, on the
surface, both groups seem almost too cartoonish to be real, the way they act
and interact with each other creates a layer of believability. Though both the Beales and the members of
Spinal Tap both act in ways that no rational person would ever consider to be
true, when we actually meet and witness their interactions, they become
“real.” We can follow their thought
processes, and their inabilities and failures to understand “normal”
thoughts. In this way, the members of
Spinal tap walk the fine line and explore the beautiful limbo between fantasy
and reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews46/spinal_tap_blu-ray/large/large_spinal_tap_blu-ray2x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews46/spinal_tap_blu-ray/large/large_spinal_tap_blu-ray2x.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It goes to 11. No further questions.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
even if the actors were acting in a believable manner, the film still would
have lost some feeling of a “direct cinema” feel if the cinematography was too
structured. If there were too many crane
shots or even a use of a more high quality camera, the film would have lost the
feeling of an “on the fly” style of filmmaking.
However, Reiner saw to this too, for he “contracted documentary producer
Karen Murphy to give the film a surface authenticity, and hired cinematographer
Peter Smokler, who had worked on <i>Gimmie
Shelter</i>, as director of photography.” (Platinga, 320) In other words, in order to give the film an
aura and feeling of a concert style film, like <i>Gimmie Shelter</i>, Reiner hired producers and cinematographers who had
worked on these kinds of films. To
anyone, this concept seems obvious. Who
would know this style of filmmaking better than people with experience? And it certainly pays off. The concert scenes in particular are shot in
a style very similar to other concert films and even some early music videos,
with the camera frequently moving around and creating a rapidly moving
cavalcade of dynamic images and angles, making the film’s audience feel like
there are witnesses to a true Spinal Tap concert. But the cinematography is also impressive in
many very subtle ways. In fact, one
could say it is the subtle differences that give the film it’s direct cinema
feel. Sometimes, when the camera is
moving, it will shake and shift since the cameraman is walking with it, giving
the impression that Di Bergi and/or his cameraman is always present in the
scene. Adding to this effect are the
times where you can actually see glimpses of Di Bergi, catching quick glimpses
of his hat or jacket. While in a more
structured film this would be considered a glaring flaw, the “accidental”
inclusion of Di Bergi in scenes makes the camera work seem rushed and in the
moment, just like a Maysles film. There
are also many times where the characters in the film look directly at the
camera, and then guiltily look away, as if they are remembering they are not
supposed to do such a thing. There are
even two occasions where certain characters in the film question who Di Bergi
and his crew are, presenting something not even the Maysles have shown: how new
people react to the presence of the camera.
These touches, as well as the generally sloppiness of the film’s
cinematography (sometimes shots are obstructed or noticeably shaking), give the
film the more “direct cinema vibe.”
This, combined with the acting, give <i>This
Is Spinal Tap</i> a strange sort of genuineness that <i>can</i> make people believe the band is real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCcuC6pIwpn0CJm1V_1UwUj3pL8sa6dj8b0ZGmtPlrSWXD88OnIAIu8xwkMtRrDBhHjK10gAS4R2Sf5Le4apmr66wcN_66vy05db6kNo_4lDdLykHSAp5wiFuRxnEieWBJ9jXd2dQOOV7/s1600/600full-this-is-spinal-tap-screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbCcuC6pIwpn0CJm1V_1UwUj3pL8sa6dj8b0ZGmtPlrSWXD88OnIAIu8xwkMtRrDBhHjK10gAS4R2Sf5Le4apmr66wcN_66vy05db6kNo_4lDdLykHSAp5wiFuRxnEieWBJ9jXd2dQOOV7/s320/600full-this-is-spinal-tap-screenshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reiner's Di Bergi (Left) and Christopher Guest's Nigel Trufel in one of the many "interviews"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet,
just as there is not only one style of documentary, there is no one style of
mockumentary, and just as <i>This Is Spinal
Tap </i>perfectly parodies and mimics the style of “direct cinema”
documentaries, the 2004 film <i>C.S.A.:</i> <i>The Confederate States of America</i>
presents an affectionate parody of the dry style of Ken Burns, the documentary
filmmaker famous for his extremely lengthy documentary, <i>The Civil War</i>, that aired on PBS in 1990. However, before going into how <i>C.S.A.</i> mocks Burns’ style, we must first
go into what Burns’ style <i>is</i>. To put it frankly, Burns’ style is what most
people consider when they think of documentary, and features several very
particular kinds of footage and techniques.
The most noticeable and recognizable technique is the “voice of God”
narration, which drones over the poetic descriptions of battles and the history
of the conflict. It also features many
photos, which are panned over or zoomed in on in order to make the shot more
dynamic or to shift the focus from object to another. For example, Burns may focus on a specific
area of a painting of a Civil War battle before zooming out to show the rest of
the canvas as the narrator drones on, as well as some dramatic music, or a
reenactment of a song performed at the time (such as “Dixie” or “When Johnny
Comes Marching Home”). Speaking of
reenactments, Burns uses these quite often to convey a certain meaning. For example, he can just use the marching of
feet on the ground to convey a moving army or a firing cannon to convey a
battle. Another common trope of Burns’
documentary is the interviews, or “talking heads.” From intellectuals to former Senators and
even descendants of those involved in the fighting, many people put in their
two cents on the importance or significance of a certain event. Finally, Burns often used different voices to
read the letters and diaries of famous historical figures or common soldiers,
as if the people themselves are reading the letters instead of the
narrator. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">C.S.A.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> utilizes all of these tropes and more in its portrayal of
an alternate history, and while it may not convince any American of its veracity,
I can see where it would confuse someone who is not familiar with the
history. From the voice of God
narration, to the reenactments, to the “talking heads,” <i>C.S.A.</i> uses Burns’ style perfectly.
In many ways, one could say that <i>C.S.A.</i>
uses Burns’ style to point out how ridiculous and manipulative the style
is. For example, in order to create an
alternate history, the filmmakers have to use a lot of re-contextualization of
certain pictures and documents in history to keep the film somewhat grounded in
historical accuracy in order to make this alternate history seem believable. One scene that caught my eye in particular
was the use of photographs of the destruction of a particular city. In Burns’ film, he never says the name of the
city, and merely mentions that the “South” faced terrible devastation in the
war. As one would expect from a
documentary, Burns used a photo to convey a meaning he could not really show in
detail. However, in <i>C.S.A.</i>, the <i>exact same</i>
photos that Burns used to convey Southern destruction were now applied to the <i>North</i>.
In a matter of fact tone, the narrator in <i>C.S.A.</i> tells us that these photos are now supposed to represent <i>New York City</i>’s devastation. In this moment, I had an experience similar
to the viewing of <i>Land Without Bread</i>,
noticing the huge assumptions I had made when watching Burns’ film. I could certainly understand that the narrator
of <i>C.S.A.</i> was lying, but how could I
be sure that <i>Burns</i> was telling the
truth? In this moment, the makers of<i> C.S.A</i>. were almost pointing out how
easily it is to be manipulated by the images and official sounding narrator of
a Burns-style documentary. In fact, this
seems to be the main interesting point of the film. While there are some images that do fail at
“reworking history” (some of the fake historical characters have photos that do
not match the same grainy quality as others from the Civil War era), many of
the created images do make the film seem quite official. Many political cartoons, paintings, and
photographs are either doctored or re-contextualized to have completely new
meanings, and have the potential to confuse the uninformed or inattentive. The Confederate Flag can seem perfectly
natural on top of the White House’s flagpole.
John F. Kennedy’s speech about “freedom” during his televised debate
with Richard Nixon can take on a whole new meaning when taken in the context of
the Confederate system of slave labor. The
footage taken in World War I can be easily reworked to be taking place in
Mexico instead of Germany if the narrator claims it is. And while some images are more humorous in
nature, the ability <i>C.S.A. </i>has at
creating such an official portrayal of this alternate history is rather
startling and disturbing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Once
again, the brilliance lies in the subtleties that make the film very similar to
Burns’ <i>The Civil War</i>. Even the smallest of touches, like the
repeated “commercial buffer” of a soldier walking silhouetted across a red sky,
with a cursive “C.S.A” imposed over the image, seems almost directly ripped
from Burns, just with a different title.
In addition, the “talking heads” segments in both Burns and <i>C.S.A.</i> share a similar tendency to have
bizarre angles and zooms on the faces of those interviewed. While there might be some shots of the
interviewees shot from a comfortable distance, other times the camera is zoomed
right into their face, sometimes at strange tilts. In both films, it is jarring, yet it meant to
create more dynamic shots. These talking
heads segments also capture the rather long-winded and pompous ways some
intellectuals portray themselves on camera, adding in the same dramatic pauses
and reactions of hatred or admiration that scholars often present in films like
Burns’. Another good example of these
subtleties would be the press conference of fictional senator John Ambrose
Fauntroy V (the great-grandson of one of the men who helped to create the
C.S.A.). In an almost direct parody of
Bill Clinton’s denial of his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, Fauntroy
denies that his ancestor had “sexual relations” with one of his servants, thus
making Fauntroy of mixed blood. While
the scene is indeed humorous in itself, the real magic occurs in the presentation,
which marvelously mimics an actual press conference, not only in the camera
angles, but even in the low quality camera used, making the scene seem ripped
from a cable news channel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.slantmagazine.com/images/house/film/duesouth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.slantmagazine.com/images/house/film/duesouth.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This looks way too familiar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another
interesting section of the film is not part of the documentary itself, but the
fake commercials. While mainly used for
comedic effect and to reflect the new, incredibly racist society that formed
under the C.S.A., these commercials are brilliant in their techniques. From bizarre, Snuggie-style infomercials
advertising a tracker collar for one’s servants (featuring the same terrible
acting and attractive models that one would find in other infomercials), to an
incredibly macho commercial for a cigarette brand called “Niggerhair” (based on
an actual product) featuring footage of cowboys and horses in a wide open
plain, these commercials perfectly reflect not only the culture of the C.S.A.,
but mock our own commercials by merely presenting the same footage with small
differences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thus,
by following the styles of the different kinds of documentaries to a striking
amount of accuracy, these filmmakers are able to create a surprisingly
believable new “reality.” The question
becomes not “how could someone believe a band like Spinal Tap is real?”, but
“how can one not be sometimes tricked by the presentation of the films?” In
their cinematography and their stellar acting, both films have a lot that could
possibly confuse or misinform a less attentive viewer. And while the situations they portray might
be ridiculous, are they ever really more ridiculous than the Beales of <i>Grey Gardens</i>? Are they ever presented with less matter-of-fact
assertiveness than Burns’ <i>The Civil War</i>? By performing such effective parodies of
documentaries, these filmmakers make us aware of the all too common tropes we
find and take for granted in documentaries.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">WORKS
CITED<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Civil
War.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Prod. Ken Burns.
Dir. Ken Burns. PBS, 1990. Digital Distribution.</span></li>
<li><i style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">C.S.A.: The
Confederate States of America</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: right;">.
Dir. Kevin Willmott. By Kevin Willmott. IFC Films, 2004. Digital Distribution.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: right;">Plantinga,
Carl. "Gender, Power, and a Cucumber: Satirizing Masculinity in This Is
Spinal Tap." </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: right;">Documenting the Documentary: Close Readings of Documentary
Film and Video</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: right;">. Ed. Barry Keith Grant and Jeannette Sloniowski. Detroit:
Wayne State UP, 1998. 318-32. Print.</span></li>
<li><i style="text-align: center; text-indent: 39pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">This Is
Spinal Tap</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: center; text-indent: 39pt;">. Dir. Rob
Reiner. By Rob Reiner and Rob Reiner. Perf. Rob Reiner. Embassy Pictures, 1984.
Digital Distribution.</span></li>
</ol>
<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-11724624347107999082012-12-31T17:36:00.002-05:002012-12-31T17:36:36.645-05:00This is the World that We Live In (Indie Game: The Movie Paper)The following is a paper I wrote for a documentary class about the documentary <i>Indie Game: The Movie</i>, a movie that I think every self-respecting video game fan should watch. It's an inspirational piece about the development of indie gems <i>Fez</i>, <i>Super Meat Boy</i>, and <i>Braid</i>.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://evbdn.eventbrite.com/s3-s3/eventlogos/2875019/indiegame1500px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://evbdn.eventbrite.com/s3-s3/eventlogos/2875019/indiegame1500px.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God, do I love minimalist posters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">To the average viewer of James
Swirsky and Lisanne Pajot’s </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Indie Game:
the Movie</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">, the film appears to be just your typical underdog story, with
the filmmakers following four “indie game” developers – Jonathan Blow of </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Braid </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">fame, </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Super Meat Boy </i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">developers Edmund McMillen and Tommy Referens, and
Phil Fish, the creator of the recent indie gem </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Fez</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> – as they slave and strive for success.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">But such a simple summary of the film would
discredit what the entire documentary </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">truly</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
represents, not just in the filmmaker’s decisions to show the true brilliance
of the developers on whom they focus, but also how the developers’ efforts have
an </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">artistic</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> meaning.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The film also strives to dispel some of the
misconstrued ideas about video game culture and the people who make and play
games. For example, video games have often just been seen as a fun hobby to
many of the uninitiated masses, something to pass the time and/or alleviate
stress, but nothing to fully dedicate one’s life to.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">But, through their subjects, but also through
their brilliant camera and editing work, Swirsky and Pajot show that this “just
a hobby” theory is not true at all.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Video games are </span><b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>not</i></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> just a hobby; they are a way of
life.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Like any other artist, the games
are an expression of the creator’s ideals and life experiences.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Therefore, these creators do not just work on
and off on these games like anyone else would treat a hobby; rather, like a true
dedicated artist, these men work endlessly to create enjoyable, meaningful, and
lasting experiences for their player. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">This
constant dialogue between creator and player, between artist and audience, as
well as a true elucidation of what video game culture becomes the grand truth
of the story.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/39/2111178-mv5botk1oda5nzk1n15bml5banbnxkftztcwnzmxnzcxnw__._v1._sx640_sy528_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/39/2111178-mv5botk1oda5nzk1n15bml5banbnxkftztcwnzmxnzcxnw__._v1._sx640_sy528_.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pajot (Left) and Swirsky (Right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Let us just focus on the work of the
developers and what their projects truly mean to them. And, to answer that, we must ask the
question, “What is an indie game?” On a basic level, an independent (or
“indie”) game is a game that is not financially supported by any big name
publisher. As opposed to the better-known
titles such as <i>Call of Duty </i>or <i>Mass Effect, </i>an indie game is either
financed by the developers themselves, or by a variety of financers that do not
represent a company. For example,
Jonathan Blow’s <i>Braid</i> was financed
completely by Blow himself. However,
while that may be what be what an indie game <i>is</i>, what an indie game <i>means</i>
is quite different, and the answers to such a question might vary. A developer might make an indie game in order
to make friends, to communicate a specific message with the player, or to
express themselves and all of their hopes, fears, and vulnerabilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/230978-33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/230978-33.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edmund, and one of his various forms of facial hair.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Edmund
McMillen, the creative designer of the game <i>Super
Meat Boy</i> and one of the subjects of the film, represents this idea of
expression quite well as he describes one of his previous projects known as <i>Aether</i>.
The game follows a young child as he explores space with a strange,
octopus-like creature. As the boy
explores the various planets and stars, he meets many of the various planets
denizens, most of whom have problems or fears that the boy must solve. But, as the boy solves more and more the
creatures’ problems, the smaller the Earth becomes until he tries returning at
the end of the game, and the earth shatters under his weight. This concept might seem bizarre to the
outsider, but to Edmund, the game had deep artistic and psychological
meaning. According to Edmund, the game
itself is a commentary on the dangers of isolation and obsession, for the boy
is so focused on solving the creatures’ problems (which are the same problems
Edmund experienced as a child, including painful stomach aches and extreme
loneliness) that he forgets, and eventually destroys, his connection to Earth
and the real world. In many ways, this
reflected Edmund’s experiences as a child, when he lived with his grandmother due
to a poor relationship with his stepfather, and often felt isolated within
himself and his graphic artwork. To
truly convey how much this game means to Edmund, the filmmakers often compare
the gameplay of <i>Aether </i>to some of
Edmund’s childhood drawings, with one particular drawing of young Edmund
imagining himself in space eerily resembling the game as a whole, as if the
young Edmund knew he was going to make a game about this exact topic in the
future. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.indiegames.com/images/timw/aether3a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://www.indiegames.com/images/timw/aether3a.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boy, that's the most adorable psychological trauma I have ever seen.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even
the game focused on in the film, <i>Super
Meat Boy</i>, has a large significance to Edmund. The filmmakers focus on Edmund’s face, and
also use clips from the game where the eponymous character dies over and over
in the game’s death traps. Solemnly, Edmund
admits that the character is not supposed to be a light-hearted character. With no skin and constant resurrections from grisly
deaths, Meat Boy feels only pain and dread of his next demise. But, there is more to it than that. The objective of the game is to rescue Meat
Boy’s girlfriend, who is made of bandages.
As Edmund explains how Band Aid Girl completes Meat Boy and takes away
his pain, the filmmakers drop heavy hints of this having a double meaning to
Edmund, as we see a woman’s hands sewing plush toys of the two characters. It is only after this explanation that we see
Edmund’s wife, who is his moral support, and the relief to the pain and
suffering that comes with his artistic mind and pursuits and the constant work
that comes with game development. In
many ways, the game presents itself as a love letter to Edmund’s wife and all
that she does for him. When <i>Super Meat Boy</i> is eventually a massive
success and critically praised, this is not only a victory for Edmund on a <i>financial</i> basis. As Edmund tearfully admits, the idea that a
child would stay home from school to play his game and be inspired by his
life’s work – just as old games were an inspiration to him as a child – is the
ultimate victory. He was able to put
himself out in the world, and was not only accepted, but also praised and even
adored. For a person who suffered all his life with isolation and escapism,
this acceptance means everything to Edmund.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/super-meat-boy-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/super-meat-boy-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This has a deep meaning. I promise.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
Edmund is not the only one with something to express. To Phil Fish, his pride and joy, <i>Fez</i>,<i>
</i>is also a reflection of his childhood (which we can see through pictures of
a young Phil building Legos, which draws parallels to the blocky,
low-resolution design of <i>Fez</i>) and the
childlike wonder he experienced with games like <i>Super Mario Brothers</i>, <i>Tetris</i>,
and <i>The Legend of Zelda</i>. Thus, his tragic frustration when everything
seems to go wrong in the development process – including losing his fellow
developer and then fighting a legal battle over whether Phil can continue
making the game, his parents’ divorce, his father’s cancer scare, his loss of a
girlfriend, and even the crashing of the <i>Fez</i>
demo at a video game convention – not only becomes an affront and problem for
the game, but also Phil as a person.
This connection clearly illustrated in a brilliant sequence when the
filmmakers cut between gameplay footage of the <i>Fez </i>main character jumping from a cliff into a small pool of water
and then, just as the character hits the water, we cut to Phil below the
surface of a hotel pool, as if it was one continuous jump. In one quick moment, we know that Phil and
the game are one in the same. With this
in mind, Phil’s rather shocking declaration that he would kill himself if <i>Fez</i> was not released does not seem like
much of an exaggeration, since this game <i>is
</i>his life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i2.cdnds.net/12/24/300x225/gaming_fez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i2.cdnds.net/12/24/300x225/gaming_fez.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suicide has never been more family friendly.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
also have Edmund’s partner and programmer Tommy Referens who, throughout the
movie, is constantly stressed and seems quite embarrassed to be in front of the
camera. Though McMillen claims Referens
is not as stressed as he is presented in the film, the filmmakers often use
Referens to show the dark side of development, along with Fish. While Edmund seems happy go lucky, Referens
works himself to death (somewhat literally as well as figuratively, as the
filmmakers constantly focus on Tommy’s poor eating habits and insulin
injections). Thus, possibility of the
game’s failure significantly weighs on Tommy since this game has been his work
for years. His sour behavior throughout
the movie is not unfounded, and his declarations to just “curl up and die” or
just “not do anything for the rest of [his] life” if <i>Super Meat Boy </i>does not do well clearly illustrate how much the
work means to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Tommy_Refenes_GDC_2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Tommy_Refenes_GDC_2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Referens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally,
the same artist-work connection applies to Blow as well. Though we spend not as much time with
Jonathan in comparison to the other developers, he not only represents the
aftermath of what comes with an Indie game’s success, but also what happens
when the culture surrounding the game does not understand the meaning an artist
presents. Blow has often come under fire
for commenting on Internet threads criticizing his game (the filmmakers
representing this by not only showing Blow at his computer and the threads with
his comments, but also the negative reactions people have had to it (including
several videos and blog posts presenting Blow as a know it all or as overly
sensitive to criticism)). But, the
filmmakers choose to <i>sympathize</i> with
Blow’s pain and his frustration with the massive gaming audience, particularly
when they play a video of rapper Soulja Boy playing the game and being more
shallowly caught up with the time manipulation technique rather than the complex
meaning behind it. Echoes of Soulja
Boy’s review continue throughout Blow’s monologues, with a caustic “this is the
stupidest shit ever” reverberated over Blow’s saddened face. In this moment, the filmmakers truly
emphasize how horrible it is when an artist’s message is not accepted, or even <i>considered</i>, by the audience. For Blow, a rejection of the game is a
rejection of the self, and given Blow’s misunderstood persona in the popular
culture, it does seem he shares the same fate as his works.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Jonathan_Blow_-_GDC_2007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Jonathan_Blow_-_GDC_2007.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My game is very complex. You probably wouldn't understand it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Indeed,
the culture and the surrounding video games and these men is another focus of
the film, though it is much subtler. For
if we only truly focused on the developers and their side of the story, we
would not truly understand why one game succeeds or why one fails. As mentioned, the filmmakers use constant use
of internet forums, YouTube comments, and even interview some members of video
game culture outside of development, including Gus Mastrapa of <i>Wired</i> Magazine, Chris Dahlen of the
video game website Kill Screen, and Brandon Boyner of the Independent Game
Festival, among others. These men, and
the numerous nameless Internet commenters represent the developers’ audience
and the more <i>realistic</i> side of the
story of game development. These are the
people the developers are presenting their work and themselves too, and the
filmmakers show both the good and the bad.
We have the YouTube commenters, infamous for their blunt, harsh language
as they curse out Phil Fish for his constant delays on the game. As Phil vocalizes some of the more common complaints
he hears, like “When is [<i>Fez</i>] coming
out?” or “Is Phil dead?” we also see the more caustic comments, as one
commenter simply states, “Fuck you, Phil Fish.
Fuck you.” Other commenters on
the popular website Reddit upload pictures of Phil with sarcastic text on them,
such as “I’m Phil Fish, and I hate my life.”
Indeed, the filmmakers often try to convey how daunting the mass
audience sometimes appears to the subjects of the film. At one game convention, before the doors open
and Phil has to present his demo for <i>Fez</i>
for the first time in four years, the convention goers are presented in silhouette
and in profile (commonly used through the film), giving them an eerily feeling
of being a faceless, judgmental mob.
However, when things finally go well for Phil and those at the
convention enjoy <i>Fez</i>, we finally see the
faces of men, women, boys, and girls as their faces light up with child-like
wonder, just as Phil intended. In these
moments, the filmmakers truly try to portray what video game culture is
actually like. While it can seem
daunting and overwhelmingly negative on the grand faceless scale of the
Internet (whose role in the culture is also emphasized in the aforementioned
use of chat rooms and forums), it is the little moments of interaction, and the
moments when a creator’s message or game truly hits with the audience that
video game culture becomes a wonderful place.
As Phil laughs and chats with the players, we plainly see the dialogue
between artist and audience that is so important in any interactive and
creative medium, and we see the communication and feeling of camaraderie that
is not often associated with the mainstream opinions of video games and the
people who play them</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://planetivy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/229407-hd-indie-game-movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://planetivy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/229407-hd-indie-game-movie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This tends to happen after an intense bout of Mortal Kombat on the SNES.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
image often associated with <i>Indie Game:
the Movie</i> is a Super Nintendo controller wrapped around a telephone wire like
old sneakers, showing how video games are like a neighborhood with its own
culture and traditions. From this
culture, there will come artists who wish to use this medium to express
themselves. The film’s subjects all are
products of the video game culture who wish to share their life experiences
with the world, and, as the filmmakers constantly strive to show, only video
games (and indie games in particular) can be used to truly achieve this goal. When we look at clips of Edmund’s old projects
(with them ranging from bizarre, like a game about a creature who solves
problems by vomiting, to the just plain absurd (a penis fighting an enormous
vagina)), he explains to us that he has always been interested in pushing the
limits of what can be done in video games and in culture in general, and AAA games
(games produced and financed under a publisher) are too caught up in how a game
will sell. It is only through independent
games can people like the film’s subjects can produce such wild ideas and go
against the conventions and the norm. It
is only through this medium and lack of restriction that the audience can go
past the exterior, and we can truly learn what these men are about. In the final moments, in the “where are they
now” sequence of the film, the viewer watches as Jonathan, Tommy, and Edmund begins
production on new projects. And those
declarations are the firm example of why video games are an art like any other
medium, such as literature or film. No
matter how painful the experience is when one makes a game, the developers
eagerly jump into their project. For it
is not only a passion or a hobby, it is their life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-21048826206573668342012-12-30T21:43:00.000-05:002012-12-30T21:43:51.573-05:00Lore and Story Telling<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another day, another post. The following two emails are about a topic that is close to my heart: video game story telling. Of course, as with all mediums, I have personal preference on how to properly tell a story, with the appropriate amount of subtlety and interaction with the player. Hopefully the two emails seen below, as well as the commentary I provide can help detail my positions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The following is from a commenter from my friend Simon Wu's website, <a href="http://gameinsight.org/" target="_blank">http://gameinsight.org</a>. The member, named Whiplash, provided the following commentary on story telling:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I was listening through the podcast one night when I heard John Tarr's thoughts on the <i>Mass Effect 3</i> ending. Him calling the stories "fanfiction" put a smile on my face. But then I remembered something he mentioned back in his Dark Souls walkthrough. He blatantly denounced that the game has no story, and although he's partially right, there really is a story to be had in Dark Souls. That, and he clearly hasn't watched EpicNameBro's lore series of Dark Souls. I saw his pretentious comment as sheer blasphemy of the <i>n</i>th degree. It got me in the topic-writing mood and began conceiving a topic to discuss about, which so happens to be the one right here.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To state that a game has no story without putting any decent form of effort to interpret the meaning behind the game is to cut off the opposable thumbs on your hands and attempt to grab an object without dropping it. Any form of entertainment has a story, no matter how minuscule it may seem. One person could manipulate the story and get a completely unique story out of that, while the other might just turn an eye from it, ignoring the "mindless" monologue that is a nouveau closet of the former's vast knowledge of the story that may hold great weight to the discussion.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Going back to John's mindless blabber about symbolism in games and how they are "fucking stupid" as he so elegantly remarked (spoilers, that last bit was sarcastic), he mentioned that we <i>know</i> of the symbolism of the green light in the Great Gatsby. But how did we learn of it? Through long brainstorming of the subject and learning what it may mean or what correlation it might have with atrabilious topics of social commentary or of dodgy, corrosive discussions of world views or of the like. For example, in <i>Gulliver’s Travels</i>, the story as a whole is a cleverly laid out satire and grim social commentary of many discussions, such as human nature and depravity, the European government in the 18th century, and whether mankind are inherently or gradually become corrupt throughout their lives. One does not just immediately "know" about symbolism in a story; it is recognized and learned through patience, hard thought processing, and research of things that may relate to the subject and use of imagery to assess a plot line.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Back to the topic at hand, games can have dark stories such as <i>Gulliver's Travels</i> or of the like, and you would be surprised at how many games can, and have, achieved this in their stories. At this point, I'm sure I've been given a lot of hate for what I said in Episode 10 of the podcast when I said I loved Final Fantasy XIII, but I feel the need to use it as an example once again. If you look at XIII in an objective standpoint, at first glance of the story, there seems to not be anything that would keep someone interested in the plot line, and this will turn off many people with a lesser mind. But I see the story with a different pair of contact lenses. I see a more dark and gritty shape, one that leaves a great amount of left over food for the brain. I can only assume I pieced this all together and hasn't been discussed before, since we all know the critical backlash of the game, but I digress.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Whiplash continues with a comparison and his own fan theory on how the story of the game <i>Final Fantasy XIII</i> is an allegory for "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Slavery movement during the 16th-19th century in America.</span>" That will not be included, due to lack of relevance to this post. But he finishes his email with the following paragraphs:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And while I'm talking about Demon's Souls and Dark Souls, let me discuss about lore. I find that stories that are non visceral and full of substance are the type of stories that add more meat to the story than ones so easily discovered and completely blatant to the point that everyone and their children can understand the story. I don't like stories with extremely clear-cut content that just involve the individual to just hear what's going on in the story; it tends to ruin the experience for me when it comes to understanding what's going on, especially considering that half of the time the stories from "professional fanfic writers"—which isn't saying much— are just contrived to the bitter end.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tying in with this section of my article, Mass Effect is a great example of what I don't want from a story. I don't want the developers to punch me in the face with the story and spill everything at me with what's happening before me; I want to discover the story in small chunks overtime, and have times where the story is, ultimately, left to the audience's imagination through atmosphere, NPC dialogue, item descriptions and specific items/enemies/etc. in key locations. I want more developers to embrace From Software's approach to story telling where the story is cryptic and unostentatious when attempting to find the story. It isn't something you just find out. <i>You</i> have to take part in learning and researching the story of your own volition. And that's what I love about lore like this: it gets the player involved in an NPR-like discussion of what's really going on in the story.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I soon responded with my own email, which was discussed in the podcast found here: <a href="http://gameinsight.org/com-cast/2012/12/24/ep-18-the-aftermath" target="_blank">http://gameinsight.org/com-cast/2012/12/24/ep-18-the-aftermath</a></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After reading the email, I have to say I completely agree with the writer's point about lore and story telling. I haven't played much of <i>Fantasy Fantasy XIII</i>, so I can't verify the slavery allegory, but you know what? I like that the game has the potential for allegory and a secondary meaning. To me, that is when a story becomes interesting. Take Monolith's <i>Condemned 2: Bloodshot</i>. The game's story, by itself, is pretty awful. It explains the mystery behind the violence in the game (taking away the mystery, and thus the fear that accompanies it), and inserts a terrible story of cults and ends with the main character with some strange Super Saiyan powers or something. It's pretty bad. However, when I played the game, I found that the main character, Ethan Thomas, with his mental instabilities, makes the story much more interesting than it is. Because Ethan hallucinates entire levels of the game, one begins to question how reliable Ethan is as the first person narrator. How can we trust if any of the game's events? How do we know that the whole game is not an extension of Ethan's broken psyche? This is where terrible stories can become fascinating character pieces. So, I must say I LOVE fan theories. And the best games are where there is room for fan theories.</span></blockquote>
I feel like I should clarify something, that was made I think too much of in the discussion that occurred in the podcast that discussed this email. Of course, I understand that a game should not ONLY stand on a potential fan theory. Rather, a fan theory should benefit a well crafted universe, showing the subtleties and potential mysteries of the universe provided. For instance, the many theories about Lavender Town from <i>Pokemon</i> should not be the sole thing that makes Lavender Town interesting, but should <i>benefit </i>one's experience of playing through Kanto's creepiest town. So while <i>Condemned 2</i>'s story is still terrible, it did not bother me as much, due to the theory I listed above.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And games like <i>Mass Effect</i>, to me, don't have that. You know why? Because the story telling doesn't allow for it. There is no mystery in <i>Mass Effect</i>, because they explain EVERYTHING. The game doesn't value the intelligence of the player, and doesn't think that the player can piece together the cultures of the world they present (which, I must admit, is detailed and fascinating, though there are some moments of "shameless fan service", such as a race of incredibly beautiful alien women proud to be consorts and prostitutes and have crazy mind melding sex powers...yeah, OK. Sure. Whatever.) Look at this video from Internet Celebrity Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson, where he describes how the <i>Mega Man</i> games let the player figure out how the mechanics of the game work naturally and without text or explanation. If this technique works for gameplay, can it not work for story? I say that it can.</span></blockquote>
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think the games I like most are where the player has to piece together the stories from the evidence presented. Games like <i>Dead Space</i>, <i>Bioshock</i>, and <i>Red Dead Redemption</i> rarely or never openly explain what is going on. They present a variety of evidence, and the PLAYER, not the GAME, is supposed to figure out how it works. <i>Bioshock</i>'s Audio Diaries are not presented in a neat and tidy order or feature an exact explanation of how Rapture went wrong. They present a variety of viewpoints and opinions that are satisfying to listen to in themselves and are like the puzzle pieces to Rapture's grand and complex narrative. John Marston in <i>Red Dead Redemption</i> never gives his life story in a "smack across the face" way that <i>Mass Effect</i> would. Keeping things natural and sticking to the character's personality, the writers kept John's dialogue vague as to hint at how he is trying to forget his past. Any concessions of his past are usually begrudging and terse. You know, like a <b>person</b><i> </i>would, rather than an <b>exposition dump</b>.</span> </blockquote>
Take a notice on the emphasis I place on player interaction and effort on the player's part to try and piece together the story. When one reads a book, one is not explained the subtleties, allegories, references, and metaphors that make up a novel by Orwell or a play by Shakespeare. The reader and the scholar are left to discuss and debate it. Why should video games be different?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, <i>Dead Space</i> is the best example of a "Show, Don't Tell" writing style that I have always been raised and taught to be the best form of story telling. After two games and number of movies, books, and comic books, the mythos and history of the game is still vague. We still aren't sure what exactly the tenants of Unitology are, or what exactly the markers do. We certainly have a lot of hints and can try and piece together a theory, but if <i>Dead Space</i> was told like <i>Mass Effect</i>, I'm sure we would have someone explain every little facet of the Unitology religion in minute detail. And then we'd read a codex article about it. And then I'd lose all interest, because it feels more like I'm sitting through a Ken Burns documentary than a living, breathing world, where such things are supposed to be common knowledge.</span> </blockquote>
Once again, note that is a <i>personal preference</i>. A lot of people responded to this email that they in fact enjoyed this kind of story telling. While they realize it has no subtleties, they still can be interested and even engaged with such long winded story telling. If you do enjoy this kind of story telling, that is perfectly fine with me. I just can't find it interesting. According to one commenter, I am in the "very vocal minority" about this issue.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The difference between the two is that games like<i> Dead Space</i> know that when you enter a new world, you are an outsider to this world looking in, and the characters in this world are carrying themselves without knowledge of their presence, so they don't care about explaining everything about their world. Why would they? Why would you detail everything that is considered common knowledge? We certainly don't do that in normal day life. And I know the Mass Effect argument is that Commander Shepard doesn't know the cultures that he encounters, but I've never liked that argument. This guy, who is supposed to be the top military commander on Earth, did not learn anything about the cultures he would be interacting with? WHY? Was that part of his training? Shouldn't it have been? It seems like a bullshit way to try and fit in discussions of the various cultures.<br />Look, I'm not saying <i>Mass Effect</i> is a bad game series. In fact, I hold ME as one of the most well designed games of all time, and applaud its emphasis on story and world building. I just have A LOT of complaints with their execution of story. Oh, it has it moments of tense or though provoking moments, but to get there you have to slog through hours and HOURS of standing around, staring creepily into an NPCs face, and listening to their life story or the tenants of Asari Culture. </span></blockquote>
Apparently, the explanation for this problem I had is that while Commander Shepard can know about the military facets of each culture, he is unfamiliar with the other facets. I counter with, why would he care? Sometimes it is relevant to the mission he is involved in, but other times, it just seems like annoying filler.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At least RDR saved these moments for when you were riding on horseback so the discussions became the most interesting part of riding to missions with someone. You could learn about the same things as Mass Effect (philosophy, foreign cultures, political discourse), yet your doing this while riding into the sunset, or on the way to or from a gun fight. In addition, the dialogue is written and voiced in a way that seems natural. Mass Effect's always felt a little bit stiff and robotic to me, like I was talking to animatronics from "It's a Small World" while RDR's felt like real people.</span></blockquote>
THIS right here I think is the most important point and the main problem I have with Bioware's games. I don't mind talking in games. It has to be done, and it would seem unnatural to play a game where no one stops to have a normal conversation, but in Bioware games, this can make up over 50 to 60% of the gameplay. THIS is where I find conversations to be frustratingly uninteresting. Bethesda games, for example, have a tolerable amount of dialogue, keeping it down to about 5 to 10% of the game. ONCE AGAIN, this mainly concerns personal preference.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let me summarize my thoughts by using one of my favorite teaching examples of the last year: <i>Skyrim</i>. Two moments in particular stand out to me as interesting storytelling. The first is the opening minutes. Now, the very famous Internet show "Extra Credits" has torn this moment apart, saying this moment presents too much information for a player at once, putting in too much jargon for a person to be comfortable or interested in. I disagree. I had never played an Elder Scrolls game before, yet, hearing all this stuff without an explanation for what it was, it made me WANT to know. Who are the Stormcloaks? Who are the Imperials? Why is Ulfric so important? By having the game throw me in the world without giving a damn of whether I knew what was going on is a risky move, but here, it made me very excited to explore and find out as much as I could. The other example is, well, everything else in Skyrim. Every cave feels like it has a story that one can make up in his or her head. Why are the Foresworn in this cave? What is this burned down house in the middle of nowhere? Where are the inhabitants? Who are the dead men that became Draugrs? How does one even become a draugr? Once again, Mass Effect would have probably had a five minute tragic backstory that would have killed my interest, but Skyrim doesn't have that. It's silent, leaving me to ponder what happens. It shows, but leaves the player to tell. This is what <i>Condemned</i> does with Ethan's psyche. While the "telling" of cults and superpowers ruins the narrative, the silent conveyance of Ethan's instabilities piques much greater interest.</span></blockquote>
Others have shared my interest in creating interest for the numerous caverns of <i>Skyrim</i>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Maybe it is my educational background, but I have always found such things to be much more interesting than anything Mass Effect does. Oh, Mass Effect has a great world, but it seems like they are trying too hard to throw in everything they created. It's like when you gather quotes for a paper, you try and fit them all in because you put all this effort in, even if they don't fit or feel natural. And that's when I lose interest. Also, they could help to work on their facial modeling and animation. I'm getting kind of sick of the "Bioware face."</span> </span></blockquote>
So I hope that clarifies my preferences in story telling. I still perfectly accept all various points of view and preferences. Yet this is just what I like and dislike.Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-78394335593197921632012-12-29T16:46:00.000-05:002012-12-29T19:04:22.395-05:00It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s… <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Once again, it has been a while since my last post, due to Georgetown's finals and Christmas festivities, I have been extremely busy these last couple of weeks. But, to make up for the lack of posts since school started, I will be posting one post a day for the next week or so. These mainly consist of papers and lengthy emails I have made about movies, comic books, video games, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">This first post is a final paper from Fall of 2011, my first semester at Georgetown. For some reason, my class about the Post Modernist period in literature allowed us to write about anything from the period, not literature in particular. But, if I got the chance to write about Superman, I wasn't going to complain. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> . . .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcaw7792Uj1r6amdjo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcaw7792Uj1r6amdjo1_500.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm amazed Superman could fight crime with his eyes closed all the time.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Harold
Donenfeld, the owner of the relatively new </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Detective
Comics</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> publishing company, had no idea what to think of this startling
development.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">When he published the
“Superman” story in </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Action Comics #1</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> a
few months back in June 1938, he worried that the character would be too
fantastical for audiences to handle.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Thus, in the following four issues of the line, he kicked the
red-and-blue muscle man off the cover and returned to the safe and familiar
pulp stories that he knew people loved.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">He felt fully confident that the character would merely fade into
obscurity, leaving him to one day scratch his head and wonder why he would ever
publish such a ridiculous tale.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">A man
from space, endowed with the powers of a god, lands on earth as a baby and
dedicates his life to fighting crime, while disguising himself as a
weak-willed, pathetic journalist; who would buy that?</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Who would believe it?</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">According to a newsstand study that Donenfeld
requested, a lot of people would.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">In
fact, while other comic book titles only sold up to two hundred thousand comics
per issue, the </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Action Comics </i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">line repeatedly
sold over half a million copies (Bongco, 95)!</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">More fascinating, however, was the fact that despite Superman’s removal
from the cover, children continued to request “the comic ‘with Superman’”
rather than </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Action Comics</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> (Bongco,
95).</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">After the survey, Donenfeld decided
to put Superman back on the cover of Action Comics, trying to prove to himself
that it wasn’t a fluke, and watched each succeeding issue sell out.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5a/Action_Comics_1.jpg/250px-Action_Comics_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5a/Action_Comics_1.jpg/250px-Action_Comics_1.jpg" width="230" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superman: Keeper of truth, justice, the American way, and smashing the fuck out of people's cars when they double park.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">His
mind was blown. Every notion that he,
and many other publishers, had conceived about the comic book industry had been
blown. To think that two introverted
teens from Cleveland had somehow created the perfect comic book character
astounded him, as did the idea that the two had failed to sell their idea for
years with no luck because editors had the same line of thinking as he did. Amazingly, by taking this chance to publish
the story that no one else would, Donenfeld had stumbled onto a cultural and
financial gold mine. Soon, Superman would
have his own radio show and become a staple of American culture. Even in the mere months after Superman’s
monumental success, dozens of imitators would begin to pop up out of the
blue. Men in capes and masks fighting
crime, including bizarre creations like the “Bat-Man” and “Captain
Marvel.” No one, not even the Man of
Steel’s creators, really knew how it happened.
To everyone, it seemed like unexplainable luck. Yet, given the factors behind his creation, such
as his appeal to the children and adolescents that eventually became his main
reader base and the time in history he was published, Superman was, in many
ways, destined to succeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Take
the influences and early lives of Superman’s two creators, Jerome “Jerry” Siegel
and Joseph “Joe” Shuster, whose age was a huge factor in Superman’s
appeal. When they developed the concept
of Superman, Siegel and Shuster were the same age as the children and
adolescents who became the Man of Steel’s biggest fans. The two Cleveland boys knew their own
personal interests and emotional struggles and knew to tap into these interests
and emotions to make Superman appeal to themselves, and thus any potential
readers of their own age group. In other
words, they wrote Superman as much for themselves as they did for anyone
else. For example, Siegel himself noted
that Superman rose from his “own personal
frustrations,” which were
quite prominent and overbearing due to the fact that Siegel was an introverted
bookworm who was bullied by his classmates and completely ignored by the
beautiful girls he adored from afar (Siegel, “Happy Birthday, Superman!”). Perhaps, he thought, he could finally get the
respect and attention for which he constantly yearned if he “could run faster than a train, lift great weights easily, and leap over
skyscrapers in a single bound”
(Siegel). Thus, when creating Superman,
he knew that he wanted to create two sides to the Man of Steel in order to
obtain his personal wish fulfillment (Siegel).
He knew that Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, would have to be a
stuttering, pathetic mess of a man that perfectly mirrored the inhibited,
intellectual appearance of Siegel and his friend Shuster (Siegel). Indeed, the bespectacled Kent possessed many
of his creators’ traits, from his ineffectual wooing of the tough and
independent Lois Lane to his timid and cowardly nature. In fact, even Kent’s reporter position was
similar to Siegel, who was a constant contributor to his school paper (Siegel). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.redboots.net/comics/siegshus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.redboots.net/comics/siegshus.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Siegel (Left) and Shuster (Right)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet,
as everyone knows, Kent’s timorous behavior is just a front. With a removal of his glasses, Kent becomes
Superman, “a physical marvel, a mental wonder…destined to reshape the destiny
of the world” (Siegel and Shuster, 13)! Clark
Kent may be just a face in a crowd, someone who is overlooked or even shunned
by all his peers, but by a simple costume change, he becomes the person
everyone adores! Yet there is more to
this transformation than just the drama it provides. When writing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Clark Kent personifies fairly typically
the average reader who is harassed by complexes and despised by his fellow men;
through an obvious process of self-identification, any accountant in any
American city secretly feeds the hope that one day, from the slough of his
actual personality, a superman can spring forth who is capable of redeeming
years of mediocre existence. (Umberto and Chilton, “The Myth of Superman,” 15)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Umberto and
Chilton point out exactly what makes the dichotomy of Superman and Clark Kent
so appealing: adored by women and feared by the bullies of the modern world,
Superman is not only the epitome of Siegel and Shuster’s desires, but of the
desires of many young children and adolescents who experienced the same
self-consciousness and feelings of isolation as Siegel and Shuster did, and this
desire to be noticed, adored, and respected by one’s peers despite one’s
physical and social inadequacy is what makes Superman such an engaging and
inspirational hero. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5ta3tqStd1qf133o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5ta3tqStd1qf133o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's also one hell of a dancer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet,
as appealing as such a simple transition sounds, this dichotomy would not have
been as influential if Superman’s grand adventures did not perfectly reflect
the culture and/or respond to the emotions of the late 1930’s. While Superman’s dichotomy and simple
transition from unknown to idol would have probably appealed to most people at
any time, it was especially potent during the 1930s, a time when society was
becoming more mechanized, and men desperately tried to cling onto their
individuality in spite of society’s trend of forcing them to feel like numbers and
statistics (Umberto and Chilton, 14). The general public needed to find someone that
was above the trivial pressures of modern life, like the failing economy and
the increasing mechanization of labor, and Superman became that person. He stood above the skyscrapers and machinery
and became almost a mythological figure.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-e2-MoAqEOeEpQPQ25y2VlDBUHQcjaN22V-RPj8uuXzcFrge7BYErHekLrTBePknKiGw2b0bs-l9R1GM_H6lDKEmgphRXiqcxVfqjhC-56BjsSnqZNk7mqH2D9966c5oJdPqmk_yeVI/s400/superman+beating+up+Hitler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-e2-MoAqEOeEpQPQ25y2VlDBUHQcjaN22V-RPj8uuXzcFrge7BYErHekLrTBePknKiGw2b0bs-l9R1GM_H6lDKEmgphRXiqcxVfqjhC-56BjsSnqZNk7mqH2D9966c5oJdPqmk_yeVI/s320/superman+beating+up+Hitler.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superman's going to give Adolf a stern talking to.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore,
by reflecting the culture trends and media of the 1930s, Superman was a modern
and present hero, and was much easier to explain and understand than most future
based comics, like Flash Gordon. Throughout
Superman’s romp in <i>Action Comics #</i>1,
the dialogue was rich with slang, such as “seeing pink elephants” as a
reference to inebriation (Siegel and Shuster, 10). As mentioned before, Kent’s romantic
interest, Lois Lane, was a strong, independent woman and a fellow reporter
rather than a repressed and obedient housewife.
The art in particular was heavily influenced by pulp art that was
popular in comic books at the time, with Superman looking more like a bruiser than
his more graceful modern depictions, and his costume was influenced by the
artwork of muscle-building magazines, which Shuster frequently purchased and
were quite popular at the time (Benton, 12).
Even the name Clark Kent was influenced by actors Clark Gable and Kent
Taylor, and the concept of a man from space with superhuman powers coming to
modern society was borrowed heavily from Phillip Wylie’s 1930 novel <i>Gladiator</i>! Furthermore, the bulk of <i>Action Comics #1</i>, from the ads to the stories, appealed to children
of the 1930’s, and included cartoons of famous baseball players like Lou
Gehrig, and caricatures of famous actors.
From cover to cover, <i>Action Comics
#1</i>, and its famous creation, <b><i>was</i></b> the 1930s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But
more important is Superman’s struggle against social problems that were
prevalent during this time. As mentioned,
Siegel noted that Superman was a vent for his frustrations, but it was not only
bullies that bothered him. With a
looming World War, a Great Depression, and even a greater awareness to political
corruption due to more advanced journalism, children back in 1938 lived in an era
of immense fear and anxiety. Thus, in
his grand adventures, Superman tackled these problems. Specifically in <i>Action Comics #1</i>, Superman confronts a well-known lobbyist who was
supporting a mysterious Congressional bill that would have forced the US into
the conflict in Europe. By carrying the
lobbyist away to jail (or for more information; the issue ends a dramatic
cliffhanger) Superman was doing his part to cut down on corruption (Siegel and
Shuster, 11 - 13). What is interesting
about this moment is not only that Superman takes such action, but also the depictions
of the ratty faced, conniving lobbyist and the abnormally plump fat cat
Congressman he meets with, making it somewhat obvious that two creators were pointing
out the people they felt responsible for rampant corruption in government and
portraying them in an unflattering way (Siegel and Shuster, 10). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But
what is so special about attacking these modern social problems? Wasn’t the aforementioned fact that he was
above all of this corruption and social pressures enough for readers? Not at all.
First of all, confronting such problems is what forms the basis of
Superman’s appeal: rather than being a ordinary man in an extraordinary place
and time, like his predecessors Flash Gordon and John Carter of Mars, Superman
was an extraordinary man in a ordinary time and place (Benton, 13). Unlike those men of <u>pure</u> fantasy, Superman
would be doing all he could to attack problems that kids really felt should be
fixed in their lives. This is clearly
seen in another segment of the story, where Superman fights and defeats a man
who had been beating his wife and reprimands the man as he landed each blow. Is that not what any child in a house of
domestic abuse, or even a friend of such a child, would love to do? By taking such action against crimes that have
been seemingly ignored by adults, children may see Superman’s fantastical
actions as achieving things that adults never could, and the comics provide “an
indictment against…older folk who have not succeeded in lessening crime
perceptibly or in seeing that justice prevails” (McCarthy and Smith, “The Much
Discussed Comics,” 100). Also, due to
the enormous stresses of the time, Superman’s adventures provided a much-needed
escape from the disasters that children felt they had no control over. One child, when asked why he liked reading
comics, noted that the bright and colorful pages of his favorite comic book
“took [his] mind off the war news for a while,” showing that comics were more
appealing to children than ever during a time of constant bad news (Strang,
“Why Children Read the Comics,” 339).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There
are many other reasons children adored Superman’s adventures, however. When asked by Dr. Ruth Strang of Columbia
University, children provided a variety of responses for their love of comics, thus
hinting at why Superman, and the comic book medium in general, appealed to
children and adolescents. It was not
only the desire to, as Strang describes it, fulfill their need to “overcom[e],
in imagination, some of the limitations of their age and ability for obligating
a sense of adventure denied to them in real life” or the release “from feelings
of inadequacy and insecurity and fear from aggression toward or from others” as
we have described before (Strang “Why Children Read the Comics”, 336). Some children just read them for relaxation or
for mental catharsis from the work of school.
Or, due to the mixture of art and short, yet still descriptive,
sentences, some children used them to learn to read, or even to supplement their
diction with new vocabulary that could be easily explained by the art provided
in the comic’s panels. This mixture also
made reading comics simpler than reading a novel in general, requiring less
thinking and strain than what was constantly required at school. Yet, Superman was quite proficient in two
comic book conventions that drew readers back to his comics week after
week. The first can be properly
described by a high school boy:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Comic strips appeal to the average reader
like myself by three little words, “To be continued.” In almost every case
before Superman puts in appearance, Lois, the leading lady of this strip, is
ready to lose her life. Just when death
is about to strike, “To be continued” pops up, and the reader anxiously waits
for the next issue in order to see how Superman pulls Lois out of this
one. These adventures go on forever.
(Strang, 340)</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: left;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In other words, by
leaving the reader in suspense of what is going to happen next (like <i>Action Comics #1 </i>did), Superman not only
makes the reader care about his adventures and even his supporting characters,
he makes the constant saving of Lois or the constant battling of evil never
lose its luster, even if it is a situation a reader has encountered many times
before. By leaving those three words, a
reader’s imagination takes off, letting them wonder what could possibly happen
next. The temptation and excitement to
see if what they have predicted comes true is too alluring to resist, and
Superman continues to draw their interest.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dyom.gtagames.nl/5790/tobecontinued.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://dyom.gtagames.nl/5790/tobecontinued.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WHAT DOES IT MEAN?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The second trait provides the answer
as to why Superman’s adventures never seemed too silly or fantastical to
readers, as Donenfeld and other editors expected. One reader mentioned that while she did
realize Superman’s actions were indeed impossible, Siegel’s skillful writing
and Shuster’s impressively realistic art presented the Man of Steel in such a
way that gave the reader a feeling that “it is not fiction but really fact”
(Strang, 338). Indeed, Siegel and
Shuster did their best to see that Superman’s romps never become too
fantastical, such as the fact that Superman was not able to fly until 1943,
well after he was an established character (Booker, 614). Even in <i>Action
Comics #1</i>, Siegel does his best to explain Superman’s powers in ways
children can comprehend. After
describing how the residents of Superman’s home planet achieve super abilities when
reaching maturity, the narrator answers the reader’s disbelief with a jubilant
“Incredible? <i>NO! </i> For even today on our world exist creatures
with super-strength!” before providing the examples of the “lowly ant” that
“can support weights hundreds of times its own,” and the grasshopper, that can
leap “what to man would be the space of several city blocks” (Siegel and
Shuster, 1). By imposing examples a
reader can comprehend and have most likely already learned in schools, and then
imposing them onto a man, Superman’s actions become comprehendible and not
beyond the limitations of imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> There were, of course, other reasons
Superman and the idea of the superhero was not an extreme departure from the
norm as many editors believed. From
cinema to plays to classic novels, Superman has had many predecessors that, when
recognized, made Superman’s arrival seem more like a grand progression rather
than a complete departure. Beginning in
the era before comic books, which author Peter Coogan describes as the
“Antediluvian Age,” there have been dozens of men with superpowers, who fought
crime and maintained a secret identity, or have gone on grand and fantastical
adventures; Superman was merely the first to combine all of these ideas in a
pretty red and blue package (Coogan, 127). In particular, Coogan lists three categories
of adventure heroes that Superman eventually encapsulated and even defied: the
science-fiction superman, the dual-identity vigilante, and the pulp übermensch
(Coogan, 126). The first category included
beings like Mary Shelley’s <i>Frankenstein</i>
and H.G. Wells’ <i>The Invisible Man</i>,
and was often defined by a character that is somehow more evolutionary advanced
than those surrounding him. Superman
defied this concept, however, for while the usual character was often tragic, considered
an outcast, and eventually grew to look down upon his supposed inferiors,
losing whatever humanity that remained, Superman remains completely supportive
of his adoptive planet and its inhabitants, and, in turn, most of the planets
residents support him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYexmCISFaB5eBDOMFWFI1LoJRyCIJ_P5OyzMkOLHMWazKbRV6t_CY4mHC0ntjtVWF8mfqfMt_1CE3j-f6cKGnZMnwJM_dI4UKaer6s4W54FxrDtNyMm72X_NSn_JXviK4F2Y1AXTp_Y/s400/reign376.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYexmCISFaB5eBDOMFWFI1LoJRyCIJ_P5OyzMkOLHMWazKbRV6t_CY4mHC0ntjtVWF8mfqfMt_1CE3j-f6cKGnZMnwJM_dI4UKaer6s4W54FxrDtNyMm72X_NSn_JXviK4F2Y1AXTp_Y/s320/reign376.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just one of many results for a "Frankenstein Superman" Google Search.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
“Dual-Identity Vigilante” has been around since the times of Robin Hood, but
regained popularity with Baroness Orczy’s <i>The
Scarlet Pimpernel</i> (1903), which featured a French aristocrat dressing up as
The Scarlet Pimpernel in order to save other aristocrats from the guillotine in
revolutionary France. Like Superman, the
Pimpernel also had a pathetic alter ego, Sir Percy Lord Blakeney, whose “wimpy
playboy secret identity…contrasted with the stronger hero identity” (Coogan,
156). Superman defied this definition as
well, for Clark Kent was even more of a nobody than Sir Percy, making him so
superbly average it appealed to children in a time of lesser individuality. Also, while the masked avengers of this
convention were considered criminals for their illegal behavior, Superman fights
all crime, respects the laws of the land, and is loved by most of the police
and the government (with, of course, some more modern notable exceptions)
(Coogan, 154). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://hereticaljargon.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/identity1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://hereticaljargon.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/identity1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's because nobody cares about you, Clark.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally,
the pulp übermensch included men like Edgar Rice Burroughs’s <i>Tarzan</i> (1912) and the character <i>Doc Savage</i>, both of whom influenced young
Siegel and Shuster. Yet, while these
characters were often called “supermen,” in was more in the vein of a
“physically and mentally superior individual who acts according to his own will
without regard for the legal strictures that represent the morality of society”
(Coogan, 162 – 163). Superman, of
course, would never go against the wishes of society, and in many ways, he
defines them. Yet, despite this contradictions, Superman stills owes his
origins and success to these characters, for, as Coogan notes “by the time of
Superman’s creation, these conventions so suffused pulp fiction that their
presence in the color-costumed adventures of superheroes would go unquestioned”
by readers (Coogan, 157).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/9/92644/1829287-l80f_super.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/9/92644/1829287-l80f_super.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's not to say he hasn't done stupid shit in his 70+ years of comic history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> But Coogan also notes that while
Superman may not be the first superhero – mentioning characters like Popeye,
Hugo Danner from the book <i>Gladiator</i>,
and even another character by Siegel and Shuster known as Dr. Occult, who even
featured a similar color scheme to the Man of Steel – the Last Son of Krypton
was the first character to “fully embody the definition of the superhero and
prompt the imitation and repetition necessary for the emergence of a genre”
(Coogan, 175). And he did so by
presenting the three features of every Superhero that followed in his footsteps
– mission, powers, and identity – all in the first page of <i>Action Comics #1</i>. After
discovering his fantastical <b>powers</b>,
including running faster than a train and deflecting bullets off his skin, a
young Clark Kent states his <b>mission</b>,
dedicating his life to using these powers “into channels that would benefit
mankind” and, at the bottom of the page, he stands triumphant in the his famous
costume, thus presenting his<b> identity </b>(Coogan,
175). And while some other characters
may have had these concepts before, Superman was both the first to combine them
and to, as Dr. Randy Duncan and Dr. Matthew J. Smith note, redefine these
concepts that fit his hero personality.
In particular, the two point out that Superman’s mission is completely pro-social
rather than self-serving, so he is not fighting criminals for his own desires
and drives or out of vengeance, he is doing so to solely benefit society. And when it comes to identity, Duncan and
Smith note that Superman’s mission and powers are perfectly represented in his
image. Not only do the bright colors of
his costume reflect the fantastical nature of his powers and deeds, the famous
“S” on the Man of Steel’s chest becomes what the two define as a “symbol signs”
– “an arbitrary pattern…that reference an idea or thing” – of both his mission
and his desire to help others. (Duncan and Smith, 320). That is why the colorful picture of a man
lifting a car above his head while wearing blue and red tights did not confuse
the reader or dissuade them from buying the comic as Donenfeld expected. More likely, it fueled interest!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> This is just a sampling of why
Superman was so influential and destined to succeed. The culture Siegel and Shuster were raised
in, their interests, their early lives, and even the books they read, all came
together to form a new, yet not radically different, character that perfectly
represented both the ways of American culture and the wish fulfillment of young
children and teens living in Depression-era America. Yet, as Duncan and Smith point out, superheroes
were not only tales that inspired wish fulfillment, they became an “optimistic
statement about the future and an act of defiance in the face of adversity”
(Duncan and Smith, 243). Superman was
not only the hero everyone wanted to be, he was hope in a time of poverty and
looming war. He came when America needed
him most, just as he always does in the comics.
Thus, it is no wonder why something so powerful, so fascinating, and so comforting
would sell prolifically, and become the definer of the American culture. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/13/132377/2557979-superman-with-flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/13/132377/2557979-superman-with-flag.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">God DAMN, my patriotism is so rock hard right now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Works Cited</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Siegel, Jerome, and Joe Shuster.
"Superman." Comic strip. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Action Comics #1</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> June 1938: 1-13. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">American Studies @ The University of Virginia</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">, Dec. 2000. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
<http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug02/yeung/actioncomics/cover.html>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Benton, Mike. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Superhero Comics of the
Golden Age: the Illustrated History</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. Vol. 4. Dallas, TX: Taylor, 1992.
Print. The Taylor History of Comics.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Coogan, Peter M., and Dennis O'Neil. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Superhero:
the Secret Origin of a Genre</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. Austin, TX: MonkeyBrain, 2006. Print.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Duncan, Randy, and Matthew J. Smith. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">The
Power of Comics: History, Form and Culture</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. London: Continuum International
Pub. Group, 2009. Print.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Siegel, Jerry. "Happy Anniversary,
Superman!" June, 1983. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Superman.nu</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. Fortress of Solitude Super
Network, 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://superman.nu/a/siegel.php>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Strang,
Ruth. "Why Children Read the Comics." </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Elementary School
Journal</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 43.6 (1943): 336-42. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">JSTOR</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/997772>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">McCarthy, M. Katharine, and Marion W.
Smith. "The Much Discussed Comics." </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Elementary School Journal</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">
44.2 (1943): 97. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">JSTOR</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. ITHAKA. Web. 12 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/997572>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Eco, Umberto, and Natalie Chilton.
"The Myth of Superman." </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Diacritics</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 2.1 (1972): 14-22. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">JSTOR</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">.
Nov. 2006. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/464920>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Booker, M. Keith. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Encyclopedia of
Comic Books and Graphic Novels</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. Vol. 1 and 2. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood,
2010. Print.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bongco, Mila. </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">Reading Comics:
Language, Culture, and the Concept of the Superhero in Comic Books</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: -0.25in;">. New
York: Garland Pub., 2000. Print.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<!--EndFragment-->Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-32923716704822097752012-12-08T12:21:00.001-05:002012-12-08T12:26:10.826-05:00Interview With Gavin "Miracle of Sound" Dunne/ Things to ComeBefore I get to today's illustrious interviewee, just a small update. This will be the last uploaded interview for a while, due to it being the last radio show for the semester. This will also be the last blog post for a week or two, given finals at Georgetown. But after that, there will be a massive increase in posts during Georgetown's Holiday Break. I will not only be uploading new posts on topics I wanted to talk about for a while, but also some of my papers and emails about video games that I have written in the past semester. But enough of logistics!<br />
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Today's interview and show is focuses on Gavin "Miracle of Sound" Dunne, who has a musical series on the Escapist.com, where Gavin writes various songs based on video games. From <i>Gears of War</i> to <i>Skyrim</i> to <i>Mass Effect</i>, Mr. Dunne has rocked the internet with his own form of brilliant songs that perfectly convey the feeling (or at least, <i>his </i>feeling) on the most recent video games. Using a variety of styles, genres, and tempos, Mr. Dunne makes it so no two songs are the same. <br />
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In my interview with Gavin, we discuss his introduction to music, his first video game song, and his commissioned song with Bioware, "Take It Back," which was used to promote their recent release, <i>Mass Effect 3</i>.<br />
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Please check out Gavin's two albums, <i>Level One</i> and <i>Level Two</i>, which are available on iTunes<br />
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Listen in tonight at 7 PM EST on WGTB for our season finale and "Miracle of Sound" themed show! I'm looking forward to playing my favorite songs.<br />
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<b><u>LINKS</u></b><br />
The Interview with Gavin: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/mazzjammin22/gavin-dunne-miracle-of-sound" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/mazzjammin22/gavin-dunne-miracle-of-sound</a><br />
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WGTB Website: <a href="http://georgetownradio.com/" target="_blank">http://georgetownradio.com</a><br />
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A listing of all of Miracle of Sound's songs: <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/miracle-of-sound" target="_blank">http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/miracle-of-sound</a><br />
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Miracle of Sound's Website: <a href="http://miracleofsound.net/" target="_blank">http://miracleofsound.net</a><br />
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Gavin's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/miracleofsound" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/miracleofsound</a><br />
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Gavin's Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MiracleOfSound" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/MiracleOfSound</a><br />
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<br />Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-21179712358890519962012-11-09T23:19:00.002-05:002012-11-09T23:19:39.952-05:00Interview with brentalfloss<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.toy-tma.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/brentalfloss-Sitting-Outdoors.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://www.toy-tma.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/brentalfloss-Sitting-Outdoors.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent "brentalfloss" Black</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This week's interview and this week's show focuses on video game lyricist, comedian, and internet celebrity, Brent "brentalfloss" Black. Mr. Black came to fame with his extremely popular "With Lyrics" series, where Brent provides lyrics to songs from classic games, from Mega Man 3 to Banjo Kazooie. It is in these videos where we see Brent's comedic and musical talents, as he not only points out the ridiculousness of certain concepts in gaming while keeping in time with the tempo and melodies of the original songs. For example, in his popular "Contra WITH LYRICS," video, Brent (dressed in eyeblack, headband, and a tank top) details the wonder of the famous "Konami Code," his love of the spread gun, and...let's say his "penchant" for Bjork. <br />
<br />
Brent's efforts do not just extend to the "With Lyrics" videos, for Mr. Black also includes Lyric 101 videos on his channel, as well as political rants, among other things. He also writes a comic about a fictional version of himself (called, as you might expect, "brentalfloss: the comic"), as well as some collaborations with internet celebrity and movie critic Doug "The Nostalgia Critic" Walker. In Walker's admittedly "favorite" review, <i>Moulin Rouge</i>, Black not only co-starred in the review, but also wrote four out of the five songs featured in the musical review.<br />
<br />
And this is just the beginning of Mr. Black's career and projects. He claims to be interested in making games and further expanding his videos beyond just comedy, heavily considering more tragic, or just more dramatic and deep, songs about classic characters. We'll just have to wait and see what Mr. Black creates, but I am waiting eagerly.<br />
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<b><u>LINKS</u></b><br />
INTERVIEW: <a href="http://soundcloud.com/mazzjammin22/brentalfloss" target="_blank">http://soundcloud.com/mazzjammin22/brentalfloss</a><br />
<br />
Mr. Black's Website: <a href="http://www.brentalfloss.com/home.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.brentalfloss.com/home.cfm</a><br />
<br />
Mr. Black's YouTube Channel: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/brentalfloss" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/user/brentalfloss</a><br />
<br />
Mr. Black's Facebook Page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/brentalfloss/126828580671866" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/pages/brentalfloss/126828580671866</a><br />
<br />
Mr. Black's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/brentalfloss" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/brentalfloss</a><br />
<br />
The "brentalfloss" Comic: <a href="http://www.brentalflossthecomic.com/" target="_blank">http://www.brentalflossthecomic.com</a><br />
<br />
The "brentalfloss" Comic Panel<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Part 1: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk3HBWk1W_c" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk3HBWk1W_c</a></li>
<li>Part 2: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW1oTC-hqT8&feature=fvwrel" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW1oTC-hqT8&feature=fvwrel</a></li>
</ul>
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<br />
The <i>Moulin Rouge </i>Nostalgia Critic Review: <a href="http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/33417-nostalgia-critic-musical-review-moulin-rouge" target="_blank">http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/33417-nostalgia-critic-musical-review-moulin-rouge</a><br />
<br />
The <i>Baby Geniuses 2</i> Nostalgia Critic Review: <a href="http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/35939-baby-geniuses-2" target="_blank">http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/35939-baby-geniuses-2</a>Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-18007400366382863282012-10-27T13:55:00.002-04:002012-10-27T13:55:39.300-04:00Interview with Edmund McMillen of Team Meat<span style="font-family: inherit;">Due to some very busy weeks here at Georgetown, I wasn't able to upload an interview last weekend, but this weekend, we have a very special one: an interview with Edmund McMillen, the creator of games like <i>Aether </i>and <i>The Binding of Isaac</i>, as well as the co-creator and developer of the critical and commercial indie darling, <i>Super Meat Boy</i>. Edmund is truly a man who knows what video games can do artistically and emotionally. In the recent documentary, <i>Indie Game: the Movie</i>, Edmund himself admits that he is always trying to push the boundaries of what can be done in games. But this does not just mean he just makes games that are obscene or absurd (although, with games like <i>Spewer, </i>where players try to solve puzzles by vomiting), but also games that deal with the emotional struggles and traumas we all have. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="goog_1528045917"></span><span id="goog_1528045918"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a>Let's take the example of one of Edmund's past projects, <i>Aether.</i> The game follows a
young child as he explores space with a strange, octopus-like creature. As the boy explores the various planets and
stars, he meets many of the various planets denizens, most of whom have
problems or fears that the boy must solve.
But, as the boy solves more and more the creatures’ problems, the
smaller the Earth becomes until he tries returning at the end of the game, and
the earth shatters under his weight. This
concept might seem bizarre to the outsider, but to Edmund, the game had deep
artistic and psychological meaning.
According to Edmund, the game itself is a commentary on the dangers of
isolation and obsession, for the boy is so focused on solving the creatures’
problems (which are the same problems Edmund experienced as a child, including
painful stomach aches and extreme loneliness) that he forgets, and eventually
destroys, his connection to Earth and the real world. In many ways, this reflected Edmund’s
experiences as a child, when he lived with his grandmother due to a poor
relationship with his stepfather, and often felt isolated within himself and
his graphic artwork. To truly convey how
much this game means to Edmund, the filmmakers of <i>Indie Game: the Movie</i> often compare the gameplay of <i>Aether </i>to some of Edmund’s childhood
drawings, with one particular drawing of young Edmund imagining himself in
space eerily resembling the game as a whole, as if the young Edmund knew he was
going to make a game about this exact topic in the future.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2839788806_9451a3d53e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3155/2839788806_9451a3d53e.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Even the game focused on in the film, </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Super Meat Boy</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">, has a large significance
to Edmund. The filmmakers focus on
Edmund’s face, and also use clips from the game where the eponymous character
dies over and over in the game’s death traps.
Solemnly, Edmund admits that the character is not supposed to be a
light-hearted character. With no skin
and constant resurrections from grisly deaths, Meat Boy feels only pain and
dread of his next demise. But, there is
more to it than that. The objective of
the game is to rescue Meat Boy’s girlfriend, who is made of bandages. As Edmund explains how Band Aid Girl
completes Meat boy and takes away his pain, the filmmakers drop heavy hints of
this having a double meaning to Edmund, as we see a woman’s hands sewing plush
toys of the two characters. It is only after
this explanation that we see Edmund’s wife, who is his moral support, and the
relief to the pain and suffering that comes with his artistic mind and pursuits
and the constant work that comes with game development. In many ways, the game presents itself as a
love letter to Edmund’s wife and all that she does for him. When </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">Super
Meat Boy</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;"> is eventually a massive success and critically praised, this is
not only a victory for Edmund on a </span><i style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">financial</i><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0.5in;">
basis. As Edmund tearfully admits, the idea
that a child would stay home from school to play his game and be inspired by
his life’s work – just as old games were an inspiration to him as a child – is
the ultimate victory. He was able to put
himself out in the world, and was not only accepted, but also praised and even
adored. For a person who suffered all his life with isolation and escapism,
this acceptance means everything to Edmund.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/super-meat-boy-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/super-meat-boy-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">VICTORY!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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And these are just two examples of Edmund's brilliance. Another would be <i>The Binding of Isaac</i>, Edmund's commentary on religious extremism and the dangers of imagination, as well as a love letter to games like <i>The Legend of Zelda</i>. Or Team Meat's next game, <i>Mew-Genics</i>, which does not, as of yet, have many details released about it, but will sure to be an interesting, and maybe even twisted, experience.</div>
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<b><u>As Always We Have Some Links:</u></b></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0px;">
</div>
<ul style="text-indent: 0px;">
<li><u style="font-weight: bold;">INTERVIEW WITH EDMUND:</u> <a href="https://www.opendrive.com/files?OV8zMzYzOTYyX0tNbGp3" target="_blank">https://www.opendrive.com/files?OV8zMzYzOTYyX0tNbGp3</a></li>
<li>WGTB (Click the "Listen Live" Button to Access WGTB's radio feed; Our show is on Saturday's from 7 to 8 PM): <a href="http://georgetownradio.com/" target="_blank">http://georgetownradio.com</a></li>
<li>Team Meat's Website: <a href="http://supermeatboy.com/" target="_blank">http://supermeatboy.com</a></li>
<li>Team Meat's Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/SuperMeatBoy" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/SuperMeatBoy</a></li>
<li><i>Indie Game: The Movie</i> Website: <a href="http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/" target="_blank">http://www.indiegamethemovie.com</a></li>
</ul>
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Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-21919075135786436752012-10-13T12:47:00.002-04:002012-10-13T12:47:25.355-04:00Interview with Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin from the Behemoth<span style="font-family: inherit;">This week's interview is actually a text interview. Once again, this weekend is quite busy with a large amount of work (Hooray for Midterms!) and Parents' Weekend. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/4344/933491-portrait_39954298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/4344/933491-portrait_39954298.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Yep. Chickens.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, this week's subjects, Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin from the Behemoth games, who are responsible for games like <i>Alien Hominid</i>, and the Xbox Live Arcade success <i>Castle Crashers. </i>With its fun cooperative play and bizarre sense of humor, <i>Castle Crashers </i>was a MASSIVE success, changing the way Xbox Live Arcade played into the online distribution of games for years to come. With such a massive effect on the game industry, it was obvious that we would interview them. Mr. Fulp is also previously successful with his website, Newgrounds.com, which features flash animations and games. Ranging from the brilliant and emotional to the quirky and just plain disturbing, Newgrounds and its users has movies for every type of audience. But let's begin the interview:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.notactualgamefootage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/convention1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://www.notactualgamefootage.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/convention1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Mr. Paladin (Left) and Mr. Fulp (Right)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Castle Crashers has been considered one of the greatest indie/downloadable games of all time. How do you handle such praise? Do you feel that the game deserves such praise, or do you feel completely off guard by it?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The success of Castle Crashers caught me pretty off-guard. We put a ton of blood sweat and tears into it and expected it to be a bigger success than Alien Hominid, but nothing in the range of two million sales. My personal dream was 250,000 sales; I couldn't imagine much beyond that.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Yeah, this was a really amazing surprise for us. We were proud of our game and thought it'd hold its own, but to be #1 rated ever since release, and to reach so many people.. that's just awesome. We're glad people enjoy our work this much since we really gave it our all.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Your games, especially Alien Hominid, finely walk the line between “fun-challenging” like VVVVVV or Demon’s Souls and “frustrating-challenging” such as Call of Duty on Veteran. How did you find that kind of balance in gameplay?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I don't consider Alien Hominid's difficulty to be a found balance, it feels like more of a mistake. We fell into the trap of getting too accustomed to the challenges and making it more challenging as a result. There's also just some bad design in general, where death can be unavoidable and a matter of luck. I try to take as many lessons away from it as I can. I still think it came together as a fun and crazy game.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I think we just made a very dated mistake. When it used to just be 1 person total on an entire development team it was easy to fall into a trap. The way we're built is a lot like that old system. So, if you know every trick the enemies are going to use, the game can't really be very hard for with that level of understanding. Being so close to the project, Tom and I could fly through Alien Hominid like it was nothing, and I think we may have tuned it for ourselves accidentally -- although nowadays, being separated from it for so long, I can get my butt kicked by that thing. Now, we take the game to shows, have more employees, and have a usability lab.. so it's hard to fall into that trap ever again! Whew!</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Your games are also very inspired by old school games. Castle Crashers, in particular, seems to be inspired by beat ‘em ups, like Final Fight or maybe even Golden Axe. What were your inspirations for each project?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: With Alien Hominid my personal inspirations were Gunstar Heroes and Metal Slug, although I wish I had leaned more towards Gunstar Heroes than Metal Slug. Any game by Treasure is an inspiration to me.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Castle Crashers was a much more varied mix of inspirations, namely every brawler ever made (I've tried to play them all), Guardian Heroes and general RPG influences. </span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I was more or less inspired by the entire genre, or the overall feeling I'd get when playing that genre. I don't feel like a lot of the games that inspired me nowadays are as fun as they were when I was a kid. I'd have to say one of my largest influences came from River City Ransom. That game is still awesome, and has such a nice balance. To recreate that balance is near impossible.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Your games definitely have an “interesting” sense of humor to them, which makes it quite distinct from other, serious indie games like Limbo. Why did you decide to place this humor into the game?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I think that just happens spontaneously. The silly stuff tends to come in the middle of the night, when we've been grinding away at something that has become boring and decide to throw something crazy into it to make it fresh.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: We just get silly sometimes. It's interesting how a moment like that can end up being very iconic in our games, like the pooping deer. Seeing it now, it's really nice that people laugh along with us and get a sense of how we are when they play.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. As one of the initial success stories on XBLA and the indie game market, do you feel your success has inspired the growth of indie game market? Do you think we would have titles like Limbo or Cave Story without the success of Castle Crashers?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: We felt like we had accomplished something big when we got Alien Hominid on PS2 and Gamecube, although for indies the real market change came with downloadable. We faced another challenge convincing Microsoft to let us self-publish Alien Hominid on XBLA; the traditional publisher model was still in place and was being enforced. It felt like we were knocking down some barriers at the time but I can't really speculate on what games would or wouldn't exist without the success of Castle Crashers. I like to think it helped inspire other small teams to aim for consoles.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Doesn't Cave Story pre-date us? Anyway, just due to Castle Crashers' reception, I'd imagine it has shaped a bit of how things are going, but I'm not entirely sure what was shaped and how. I think what Castle showed was not that indie's could be successful on XBLA, but that XBLA was a new legitimate platform in its own right. Many of the top XBLA games, such as Castle, Trials, Minecraft, etc., are from independent studios.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Recently, one of your fellow indie game developers, Edmund McMillen was featured in Indie Game: the Movie. Did you receive an invitation for the film? Did you want to be featured?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: To my knowledge we were considered a bit too successful already, since the movie was focusing on developers struggling to break through. It would have been awesome to make some appearances in there, since it's such a great movie, but I'm happy enough that Castle Crashers and Newgrounds got some recognition throughout. The movie did a great job capturing the emotional rollercoaster of game development. I've had to suppress bug-related panic attacks at a lot of conventions over the years.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I know we're mentioned in the film, and I'm in it for about 1 second shaking Edmund's hand, but I don't recall being invited. We wouldn’t have minded giving our angle.</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are you close with any other indie developers?</span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I'm close with a ton of developers on Newgrounds, including guys like Edmund and Tommy from Team Meat and Tyler Glaiel and Jon Schubbe who made Closure for PSN. </span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><br /></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I know Edmund, Tyler and Jon as well. Also Jen Zee from SuperGiant, and I've hung out with a few of the Doublefine guys a few times, and the Trap Door guys. </span></b><b id="internal-source-marker_0.3719181625638157"><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We just don’t go out of our way to publicize our “indie friendships” and tag them in every Facebook picture.</span></b><b><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> All of these people are genuine and cool. </span></b><b><br /></b><b><br /></b><b><br /></b><b><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8. Have you ever been contacted by a triple-A publisher? Would you ever take them up on an offer a make a high-profile game?</span></b><b><br /></b><b><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TOM</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I don't think any of us have any interest in that. The only thing that tempts me once in a while is taking on an established cartoon franchise, especially now that I have kids who love specific cartoons on TV. Working with big companies is such a headache though so in the end it's worth just going your own way.</span></b><b><br /></b><b><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I remember once in Japan that a Square guy came up and said he wanted to work with us. But, it quickly became clear that we were unable to work anything out that made sense for both companies. I was initially really excited by the idea, but looking back.. I have no idea what we'd do that I'd feel right with. In Japan, most developers stick with traditional retail games, which we have moved away from. Downloadable games allow us to create the games we want to make, and on our own terms, and make it available worldwide. </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span></span></b><b><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">9. Your next game is BattleBlock Theater. Could you give us a little bit of info on it? What were you trying to achieve with it? The gameplay looks like a very unusual mix of puzzle and platformer. Is that right? Or is it something completely new?</span></b><b><br /></b><b><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">DAN</span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: BattleBlock is definitely its own animal. It has familiar mechanics, but somehow it wouldn't be a fair comparison to any game I can think of. It feels very strange just calling it a platformer as it provides both cooperative and adversarial experiences that are unique. I think we were just taking our stab at platforming and letting the design lead us the way it wants to go. I think it's accurate to call it something new, which is what makes it so hard to explain.</span></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></b>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">LINKS:</span></b></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The Behemoth Website: </b><a href="http://www.thebehemoth.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thebehemoth.com</a></span></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>BattleBlock Theater Website: </b><a href="http://youtu.be/dxHV5n6AkSI" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/dxHV5n6AkSI</a></span></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, Tom and Dan were nice enough to provide us with their favorite game music. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">TOM's Playlist:</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The entire Ys 1&2 soundtrack.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38dR1YYulio&feature=relmfu" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38dR1YYulio&feature=relmfu</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Monster Lair</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGpzTOUQ5_w" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGpzTOUQ5_w</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bonk's Adventure</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGp2KBoYomI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGp2KBoYomI</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mutation Nation</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMWYx2vIIZA&feature=relmfu" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMWYx2vIIZA&feature=relmfu</a></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sengoku</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQOLMLtlPv8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQOLMLtlPv8</a></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Phantasy Star</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgG1LNk-Qo8&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgG1LNk-Qo8&feature=related</a></span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">DAN's Playlist:</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">River City Ransom<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7mpWPKt4wk&feature=relmfu" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7mpWPKt4wk&feature=relmfu</a><br /><br />Warcraft 2<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vGnzKki5aA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vGnzKki5aA</a><br /><br />Wargasm<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CM2GfniuTk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CM2GfniuTk</a><br /><br />Kid Icarus<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOg2NWQgltI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOg2NWQgltI</a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><br /></b></span>
Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-23362844029762423332012-09-29T13:15:00.000-04:002012-09-29T14:28:20.725-04:00The First Radio Show, and an Interview with "The Stanley Parable's" Creator, Davey Wreden<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it's been a while since my last post, but due to work ramping up with upcoming midterms, and all of my extracurricular activities, the blog has been put indefinitely on hold. I might upload my review of Paul Thomas Anderson's <i>The Master</i> soon, but school work comes first. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
However, one of my extracurriculars is my new radio show on Georgetown University's radio channel, WGTB. Named "Natural Double d20's," the show features my two friends and I discussing games, movies, and other facets of nerd culture, as we would on this blog. The links to our Facebook page, as well as the WGTB website, can be found below. (Click on the "Listen Live" button on WGTB's main page to access the channel.) The first show premieres at 7PM EST tonight (9/29), and features my co-host and roommate (Jackson Sinnenberg)'s favorite game music. If we you want to keep listening to our show, it will be on Saturdays, from 7 to 8 PM EST.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VJACTvGGIyK35c5f5YpfecJeEy5L24U9-mdbkLX0olAwStRGxkYelF8901NqdWH_QjUN13nOTvXZBIrwGzGi1D6eE-7LwL3IzAfUyiaWxslcu8orlVpTamnd3rXxzQoYMqqsLB0ahEo/s1600/Show+Picture+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0VJACTvGGIyK35c5f5YpfecJeEy5L24U9-mdbkLX0olAwStRGxkYelF8901NqdWH_QjUN13nOTvXZBIrwGzGi1D6eE-7LwL3IzAfUyiaWxslcu8orlVpTamnd3rXxzQoYMqqsLB0ahEo/s320/Show+Picture+copy.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Yeah, it's pretty much like that.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, tonight's show is also the premiere with our first interview. Specifically for the show, I interviewed a variety of people involved in nerd culture, including Edmund McMillen (the creator of <i>Super Meat Boy</i>), video game songwriter and internet celebrity Brent "brentalfloss" Black, and, tonight's interviewee, Davey Wreden. Mr. Wreden is the creator of the fantastic Gary's Mod game<i> The Stanley Parable</i>, which involves you controlling a generic man named Stanley as he goes about his day while an official and (at times) quite sarcastic and deadpan narrator tells the player what is going on. But beyond that, the game is about choice and the reasons we do things. The player can follow the narrator's orders, or they can do whatever they wish. But don't expect the narrator to be happy about that. The game can be found in the link below (as well as a YouTube walkthrough), and I highly suggest taking a look at either of them. As a person who loves ruminating on man's intuition and the choices we make and the concept of "free will," I thoroughly enjoyed this game. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.galactic-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Stanley-Poster-2-v2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.galactic-cafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Stanley-Poster-2-v2.jpg" width="242" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">It is up to you to decide what is right or wrong.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the interview, Mr. Wreden not only explains things like the concept behind the game, but also his influences, and even how he met the infamous "Narrator." Today is also his birthday, so we would like to consider this Mr. Wreden's birthday present!</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2011/08/davey_wreden_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2011/08/davey_wreden_resized.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The Man Behind the Myth.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mr. Wreden Also gave us a playlist of his favorite game music, as well as the music from the game. We have also provided the links. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nn6rtTgeKU&feature=fvst" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nn6rtTgeKU&feature=fvst</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dead Already - Thomas Newman (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWll2mqPD0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWll2mqPD0</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pink Batman - Dan Deacon (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ44w-tfSbo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ44w-tfSbo</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wind Garden - Mario Galaxy (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HpyOkKWpCM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HpyOkKWpCM</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Build That Wall - Bastion (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Little Furnace - Sword and Sworcery (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbF6IgAllKY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbF6IgAllKY</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sticker Brush Symphony - Donkey Kong 2 (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Road of Trials - Journey (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdG-e_Joc8Q" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdG-e_Joc8Q</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aerith's Theme - FFVII (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CK2hx377iU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CK2hx377iU</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Royal City of Rabanastre - FFXII (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvW9KQ5vu8Y" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvW9KQ5vu8Y</a>)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Title Theme - Metroid Prime (this one: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42u0KB6f5eU">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42u0KB6f5eU</a>)</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<br />
IMPORTANT LINKS:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The WGTB Website</span><br />
<a href="http://georgetownradio.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://georgetownradio.com</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Our Facebook Page</span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/257787470921694/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.facebook.com/groups/257787470921694/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Link to the Interview with Mr. Wreden</span><br />
<a href="https://www.opendrive.com/files?OV8zMTk2NjgyX2h0enAx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">https://www.opendrive.com/files?OV8zMTk2NjgyX2h0enAx</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Where to find the mod:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Mr. Wreden's Website:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.galactic-cafe.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.galactic-cafe.com</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
YouTube Walkthrough:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gblvOhnv2k0" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gblvOhnv2k0</span></a>Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-21285040165555005812012-08-28T18:21:00.001-04:002012-08-28T18:21:49.417-04:00Everything in Its Right PlaceWow, it's been a while since my last post. Well, between packing and moving into college for another year of classes, my time has been pretty occupied. I don't even know if I can fit in more posts with classes. Hopefully so. But, in case I can not post more with my workload, I'd like to have a very serious post as my potential "last" post. <br />
<br />
This issue was spawned in a debate my friends and I had last night when we were walking around. After discussing video games for a while, we eventually began a debate on one of my favorite games, Visceral's <i>Dante's Inferno</i>. In particular, we were debating <i>Dante's Inferno</i>'s Condemn/Absolve system. For the uninformed, throughout Dante's trek through Hell, he comes across not only the minions of Hell but also notable sinners throughout history, including Pontius Pilate and Attila the Hun. Dante then has the decision of whether to "absolve" this souls, sending their souls to Heaven, or "Condemn" them, in which Dante burns the souls and condemns them to stay in Hell forever. The mechanic doesn't have much story application, it mainly just serves as a way to get upgrades. It does the usual trade off you've seen in other moral choice games (Evil choice gets the bigger short-term gains, Good has the better long term gains).<br />
<br />
The problem I have with this mechanic is not any particular flaws with it. It works well, and there is nothing I would particularly fix. But the problem I have with the mechanic is that it has no real reason for being there. It's there because it's <i>cool </i>and because it worked in other games. There is no narrative reason for it being there. And while I have no problem with games putting in mechanics to be cool or fun, I think it doesn't work in a game like <i>Dante's Inferno</i>, where other elements have a narrative application. The enemies, for example, represent the Circles of Hell. The weapons represent the difference between Heaven (Dante's cross) and Hell (Death's scythe). Everything is there for a particular reason and to represent something about the world or the character. But the Condemn/Absolve mechanic doesn't represent anything. It doesn't change anything about Dante and other characters' views towards Dante don't change regardless of what you decide. The mechanic, in other words, has no narrative weight or meaning. It's just there.<br />
<br />
But the saddest thing is, this mechanic could have weight! It could have been Dante's reaction to the things he has seen in Hell. If he absolved the souls, we could have seen a kinder, gentler Dante; one who forgives himself for his actions. If he condemned, we could have seen a meaner, colder, more callous Dante, who still believes he is holier than others and learns nothing from his trials and thus deserves his sport in Hell. It could have made Dante a deeper, more interesting, and just more human character. <br />
<br />
See, as much as I love games that are just generally fun and cool, sometimes I want a game that feels planned and feels like every element, from the mechanics to enemies, is there for a reason. Let's look at two examples, one a novel, the other a game.<br />
<br />
My favorite book of all time is George Orwell's <i>Animal Farm. </i>By itself, the novel is a brilliant story of a revolution of farm animals against their cruel owners and the aftermath, where the leader pigs soon become as corrupt as their former, human owners. But when you learn that is an allegory for Stalinist Russia, and every character, from the pigs to the sheep to the horses, represent something in the Russia. The Horse is the working class, who blindly and fervently works on government projects to serve Napoleon the Pig, who represents Stalin. With these concepts and allegories in minds, the story has more weight and meaning, and you care for the characters more.<br />
<br />
Let's now take <i>Silent Hill 2</i>. As explained in a previous post, all the enemies represent something about James's character and psyche, and thus, his actions and violence against these enemies thus have a psychological meaning that can be analyzed. That's why people complain about more modern <i>Silent Hill </i>games including the sexy nurses and Pyramid Head. Those creatures meant and represented something to James. They really don't for the other characters without seriously convoluted reasons.<br />
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So what am I saying? I think we can still have our fun games, but I think the games that want to tell a story and send a message truly need to think about what they are including in their game. The people who created <i>Dante's Inferno</i> would have to truly consider the Absolve and Condemn mechanic and what it could mean to the character. In other words, more artistic games will have to consider EVERYTHING in a narrative context when in the concept stage of development.Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1566568714353309656.post-81409642408759998872012-08-12T21:24:00.003-04:002012-08-12T21:24:57.650-04:00Phoenix Wright: Ace Attoney; Ace GameWell, this post has been delayed due to visiting family, odd work schedules, and general busyness. Also, a little procrastination due to my latest addiction, <i>Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, </i>which you can find on the Apple App Store for $5. Go buy it. Now. Seriously. Stop reading this and buy the game. This blog will be here when you get back. BUY IT. <div>
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You want a link, here's a goddamn link: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phoenix-wright/id372166015?mt=8" target="_blank">http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phoenix-wright/id372166015?mt=8</a><br /><div>
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OK, for those who remain unconvinced, let me tell you why you should support the <i>Ace Attorney</i> series. For starters, there is nothing else like it on the market. Even this morning, I had extreme difficulty describing the game to someone. I tried to say it is like a odd mix of point and click detective game and a little bit of critical thinking truth and dare game. Add in clever and humorous writing and Monty Python-esque characters with extremely clever names (half of which are puns, which I actually enjoyed), and you've sort of got the <i>Ace Attorney </i>series. Confused? Most likely, because that's how unique the <i>Ace Attorney</i> series is. But let me try and clear it up.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/28671/2042609-phoenix_wright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/28671/2042609-phoenix_wright.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Man, the Myth, the Legend.</td></tr>
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You are Phoenix Wright, a up and coming defense lawyer in Japan. (Yeah, I know it's supposed to take place in America, but the game is so obviously influenced by Japanese culture that it actually makes more sense to just SAY it takes place in Japan.) The game takes place in episodes, with each episode taking place over one of Wright's cases. The game is then separated AGAIN into two different different styles of play: an "Investigation" section, where Wright interviews suspects and witnesses and looks for clues to use during the court case. Then, when you find all potential clues, the game skips forward to Wright's time in court, where he must deconstruct the witnesses' faulty testimonies (using the evidence you found during the "Investigation" portions) in order to clear his clients' name. Both sections are full of clever and head-scratching puzzles, clever writing, and plenty of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preview of Investigation Mode. This woman's name is Wendy OLDBAG. YA GET IT?</td></tr>
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And as engaging and entertaining as the gameplay is, the real star of the show is the writing. Since the game is pretty much an interactive book, you got to have clever writing. And boy, does this series have it. It doesn't just have humorous characters with clever dialogue, but it also has some of the most likable and even fleshed-out supporting characters I have seen in any form of media. From Phoenix's assistant, Maya Fey (M. Fey...you see what they did there?), whose jubilant and bright personality brings a smile to anyone's face, to the gigantic manchild that is Detective Dick Gumshoe (YOU SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE?), every new character that graces the screen is full of fascinating character traits, making you look forward to each new character and inspring progression.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There is a shitload of characters. And you will love ALL OF THEM.</td></tr>
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But the absolute stars of the game and the prime examples of the series's great writing is the prosecutors, particularly Miles Edgeworth and his adoptive sister, Franziska von Karma. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple suit and a cravat? MAXIMUM SWAG DETECTED.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That whip is worrying.</td></tr>
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At the beginning of their respective games, both Miles and Franziska play the roles of the snobby rich villains you've seen in every 1980's sports movie ever (talking down to Wright, calling him a fool and such). But after Wright eventually defeats them, tarnishing their perfect win records (the thing they based their entire life's motivations on), they begin to have changes in their personality and eventually become friends to Wright. They grow as characters, and the player grows to like them. For example, when I started playing the game, I couldn't stand Edgeworth for his aforementioned snootiness. But, as time went on, and I saw his growth from snooty villain to kind, yet still socially awkward, hero, I actually began to root for him. Now, I can even say he's one of my favorite characters in gaming. He's got a sick cravat, he's a closet nerd, and he has no idea how to deal with women, though they seem to latch on to him to a great extent; what's not to love?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His only weakness is camaraderie. (Seriously, he's trying to flee because he felt uncomfortable with everyone being happy.)</td></tr>
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I must admit these games aren't perfect, however. The gameplay is a little bit too structured, making it seem like you are just going through the motions the game is giving you rather than making it seem like you are the great detective and lawyer the game makes you out to be. And, like most adventure games, there is often one solution to problems that may not seem obvious at first, leading to some puzzles going from puzzling to aggravating very easily. This also aggravates me because I could always think up several flaws in a witness's testimony, yet Wright has to find the most convoluted way to prove their lies. Also, the story has some major flaws at times, such as the fact that the police almost NEVER consider things as important as motive in their investigations. Finally, I must say I don't really like Phoenix. He's the clumsy, sarcastic, yet easily flappable everyman they we are supposed to latch on to and identify with, but I found him to be too much of a wimp and really, a very shitty lawyer. </div>
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Yet, despite the flaws, these games are great. Unique, witty, and all around fun. AND ONLY 5 DOLLARS. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, BUY IT.</div>
</div>Benjamin Mazzarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05095765847543016887noreply@blogger.com0