Test 2

The Sand Castle was a really cool film that retold the story of Genesis in a new way with sand. The reading mainly compared it with it's parallels to the bible story.

The animated short wasn't a perfect mirror of the origin story. It uses it's own story that simply reflects the genesis tale.

The Stories in the Cards

Magic: the Gathering is a collectible card game based around battling with spells and summoning creatures to fight another 'Planeswalker.'

The basic premise of the story is powerful Mages called Planeswalkers (As the player is in the metagame) can leap between different worlds, or Planes as they're called, and have different adventures. The five colors of mana in the game each have strengths/weaknesses, goals and personality traits associated with them.

Recently, the story has become a much bigger focus for Magic. A group called the Gatewatch was formed who swore to combat threats against the multiverse and are the central part of the story now, giving the game a more character driven narrative.

It's been really cool to see them start showing the story through the cards, bringing the story to those who didn't previously follow it at all.

The Gatewatch, swearing to protect the Multiverse, each for their own reason.

Jace, a Mindmage and Gatewatch member, investigates the Madness of the angelic protector of the plane of Innistrad, Avacyn's, descent into madness...

Sorin Markov, hedonistic vampire native to Innistrad, has to end Avacyn to protect the plane of Innistrad. It has bonus to it that the pain he feels from the decision is even represented as life loss for the player.

Chandra, a pyromancer and member of the Gatewatch, is reinitiated with her mother on the plane of Kaladesh, after thinking her parents dead for years. 

Mini Ninjas (Video Games, Part 6)

Mini ninjas is a game that is about, well, mini ninjas. The basic plot of the game is an evil samurai who has been covering the land in darkness and turning the animals into evil samurai minions.

And yes, it is as cheesy as it sounds.

Though, cheesy doesn't mean bad. It's geared more towards a younger audience but was still fun for me to play. The characters were lovable and goofy, The boss fights were curious puzzles and required some genuine creative thinking at times and combat was wonky, completely nongraphical and fun . I really enjoyed playing.

And, it was a great co -op game. I have young cousins, all under the age of ten, and it was nice to have a game that that I could play with them and have no reservations about it. It was just a blast of funny jokes and ninjas. Square Enix nailed the game and I really hope we start seeing more kid focused, older person friendly games in the future.

Hyper Light Drifting (VG: Part 5)

Stories are easy to get across with words. Books do it. Comics do it. Movies do it. Games do it. 

But, what if, you didn't have that? (Well, these blogs would be a lot more colorful and picture-d then.) Well, Hyper Light Drifter tackles that mode of story telling. In this call out to older games, no words are spoken in the whole game. 

Cutscenes are quiet except for the music. Dialog is pictures. And the game still manages to tell a fantastic story with being heavy handed. 

In reading up for this blog, I also learned that the story had heavy analogies to the main creators struggles with a weak heart and struggles to live. These aspects bleed into the game and I realized that I had taken that struggle into account and relating to it without that theme being the focus but still taken into account.

"Like playing a movie..." (Video Games, Part 4)

"Playing a video game is like playing a movie." This quote, paraphrased from Peter, is a very common point of view.

And I believe that it is a load of crap. Sorry Peter. :(

Video games and movies have been tied together since the beginnings of gaming. And it's a disservice to both media. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but comparing them ignores that.  Movies are better for being more fluid and carrying the entire narrative at one point without missing things. Video games are more chopped up, gameplay to at least some extent during gameplay, and players often story points.

Video games really have that immersion factor. The ability to have the player experience the environment and characters first hand and FEEL a connection connection and responsibility for the world you're hurtled into.

This comes with a...paradox on it. The story tellers and telling the story but, as a player, you're not being told it. You're discovering it, you feel as if you're writing it yourself. You get a special connection that draws you in, letting you miss things and fill in blanks that aren't necessarily there, miss things for the sake of the game. Each story isn't told, but discovered in gaming.

There's a lot of good stuff out there... (Video Games, part 3)

Something that always bothers me is how video games don't get the same recognition that movies and books get. The feeling "There's a lot of good stuff out there, if you can wade through the crap." The simple idea that while it's not all good, that doesn't mean there isn't hidden gold.

Most people who hear video games think of Call of Duty or GTA. They think of guns and mindless violence. Which is unfair to the medium that has a lot more too it.

Lets take Halo for instance. Most who haven't bothered to play it or follow the game think of simple sic fi violence. The Big Bang Theory even "plays" the game and describe "bloody chunks" and explosions in the game, which is pretty inaccurate. Halo places a huge emphasize on the story of humanity fighting for their survival through the eyes of their hero, Master Chief.

Binary Domain and Mass Effect are games that change endings and fights depending on the decisions you make and the your squamates opinions of your character.

Undertale and Thief are games that focus on choice, whether to kill or spare lives. To fight or to make peace.

Chrono Trigger has large emphasize on characters relationships in your team and the repercussions of your actions, directly tying and reacting to what you do.

Tomb Raider focuses on puzzle solving and timing to overcome obstacles, and even has a strong female protagonist (That could have perhaps been handled better but was attempted and was not done poorly, despite the rap Lara Croft gets.)

Alan Wake and Heavy Rain take on more low key combat, when any, and utilize the environment to represent the characters inner struggle.

The list goes on and on, hundreds of deep engaging stories. They range from kid games to commentaries on the human psyche. Stories that engage and have never been told before yet only get the label of the machinations of violence and anger issues.

RPGs 101 (Art of Games, part 2)

Role Playing Games are a hard nut to crack. You have to convince the player that they have all the control and choice yet still tell them a story. But it leads to some really cool stories.

These tales bring you into their world in a special way as you make decisions for the world. You quickly get involved in the world as you interact. These games are a personal experience, making you connect in ways that other mediums simply can't accomplish.

RPGs are a fun way to make the player look at something differently, make them see the situation from the perspective of their character or feel an emotional impact more or pay more attention to the story. RPGs just give a unique storytelling option that is unique to its art.

A Twist on War Games (Art of Games, Part 1)

Video Games have a lot of crappy, story less games out there. Call of Duty is one that certainly comes to mind, each game cookie cutting the last one. And Spec Ops: The Line seemed like the same old thing at first glance.

(Warming: Spoilers, mentions of graphic content ahead.)

Then it flips that expectation on it's head, using that expectation to make a point. And a point it makes.

Spec Ops markets itself as a Call of Duty knock off, with promises of shooting hordes of mindless enemies. Yet it's quickly apparent that it's all wrong. The shooting of the game is as if mowing down mobs of enemies, the game is always seemingly progressing downwards (repelling, crashes, etc.) and similar gameplay mechanics leave the player with a profound sense of wrongness.

Then the story. Choices between different characters from the enemy or criminals to have to execute, firing white phosphorus on the enemy only to learn of the civilians caught in the fire, and the villain Konrad who questions the morality of Walker (Your character)'s actions.

Finally, the game climaxes with the player finally reaching Konrad without the support of your squad. Then, you discover that Konrad was nothing more than a creation of Walker's Sanity shattered mind. The man recaps the horror of the game, then looks at the camera and says the haunting words.

"All of this because you wanted to feel like something you're not. All of this, because you wanted to feel like a hero."

The games ends on this tone, looking you the player in the eyes and calling you out on faking heroism in games. It's a twist on games, movies, games and calls media out on its problems. If nothing else, it leaves you with a lot to think about and the unique immersion of gamings is perhaps the only venue that could prove the point so effectively.

"Requesting extraction from Dubai...Survivors....one too many..." -Walker

Food Inc.

Food Inc. is a documentary about something extremely simple and relevant to all of us. Our food. Or rather, something that should be simple.

The documentary follows the corruption of the system. It talks about how Family farms are all but a myth now, how corporations willing use harmful chemicals in their operations and they mistreat and torture their animals.

The entire thing was rather enlightening and terrifying to see how much power food companies wield and how little restraint they actually have.

Voting

Alright, first off, can't believe I'm posting on this and I apologize to those who will be offended or miffed my post. I'm being harsh in this blog on non-voters, but I mean no offense and a bit of a warning.

"I didn't vote because I was so angry at the election." In my opinion, that's about the peak of arrogance, especially when it's immediately followed by complaints about the government system. How dare you complain about other people's behaviors and actions if you can't even vote because of your emotional state? Not even vote third party, that's voting at least, but skipping the ordeal altogether. Instead completely forfeiting that right in the Government.

Voting is an important decision to make, and choosing to give up that power is inviting bigotry, dictators, and corruption, the very ones you want to prevent, directly into office. Instead of thinking through that decision and making a hard choice, many people take the easy route and simply don't...and then commenting on the results. That hardly is merited. Of you want something, if you hold it important, than vote for it.

Not voting isn't noble. It's not a statement. It's not formal complaint. It's lazy.

And if you don't win, than exemplifies the qualities that you voted for, not helping the hate fester. Encourage healing. Encourage kindness. Encourage good things.

In summary, I'm so sorry for writing this and I hope that I didn't offend anyone. To say sorry, here's a picture of a puppy in a teacup to make you feel better.

Seasons in the Seasons RWBY (Part 3)

Part 3 of a series on Blogs on RWBY. (The other parts are written by Hunter Rose, not myself though)

In case this is the first you're hearing of it, RWBY is a series created by the massively talented Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth, following the training of a team of four heroines as they train to fight monsters, the creatures of Grimm.

Now that thats out of the way, we can get to the good stuff. That meaning, massive, massive spoilers. (If you haven't seen the show, go watch it, then come back.) SPOILER TIME!!!

The first four seasons of RWBY are themed and inspired by the four seasons of the year (And by that extent, the metanarrative). Each of the fours season, 4 is currently airing, corresponds with the four seasons of the year.

Season one is Spring, a happy season. The challenges are small, the tone of the episodes cheery and happy. It's a lot of character introduction and development, a lot like simply normal kids with the excitement of fantasy thrown in.

Season Two is summer, still happy but with some advancement. The danger is a bit more real and the show has some more serious moments and character development. The season is more serious but still largely jovial in nature.

Season 3 is fall, a darker chapter in the tale. It's early happiness quickly gives way to a horrible sense of dread. The academy is ripped apart by Grimm, the heroes painted as villains, and climaxing in the Fall of Beacon Academy, the seeming loss of Headmaster Ozpin, and the gut wrenching death of Pyrrha Nikos.

And season 4 is themed after winter. What waits in store for the fractured team RWBY...?

Red Like Roses

RWBY is an amazing show produced by Rooster Teeth that follows the character of Ruby Rose and several other Hunters and Huntresses (Hunters-Basically the guardians of the land) in training. It truly is a fantastic show and I'll be writing about it soon. Look for it but this post, I'm talking about the music.

Jeff Williams writes the music for the show, both songs and scores (With some assistance, of course). For the songs, the vocalist brings an extra charm to the lyrics, being the writers daughter. The music is amazing, a huge variety of musical style and emotional depth.

Red Like Roses (Part II) is a surprisingly deep song that is deceptive with it's early rock theme. The song is an emotional roller coaster that follows Ruby's struggle with her mom's death. You quickly realize that it's not just this fun rock piece for a fight scene but a song about struggle and loss.

"Red like roses

Fills my head with dreams and finds me

Always closer  

To the emptiness and sadness 

That has come to take the place of you ...!" (Chorus)

Some of the lyrics are deep and really hit that note of loss and echo a bit with people. Jeff also does something really special with it was that Ruby's Mother, Summer, was voiced by Casey's Mother/Jeff's Wife, Sandra Williams giving a little extra depth to it.

All in all, the song really resonates and gives a lot to think about, not just about the character it was made for but for people struggling with the death of loved ones.

Auditory Polyhedrons (Tabletop Podcasts)

Welcome to part 3 of my blogs of Dungeons and Dragons (And other assorted Tabletop RPGs, of course) after a bit of a break. Today, if you didn't read the title, I'm going to address that special little niche of Tabletop Podcasts. Because this is a DMA class and podcasts count as media too.

The RPG Academy, One-Shot/Campaign, Party Roll, City of Brass, and Have Spellbook, Will Travel are just some of the podcasts that populate this area of the world wide webs. They range from simple advice on how to run games as a DM better or playing better to actual podcasts of players running the game (From just a group with a mic to comedians) or DnD styled humor radio play podcasts. It's a wonderful diversity.

And that's something I love about podcasts and the tabletop community total. You're telling stories, you're having fun. But that's not all. You're learning some things about yourself and friends in the process. Sorry, digressing. The point is that it's such an inclusive society. Despite the nerdy stereotypes, players to tend be surprisingly accepting. Jocks, nerds, men, women, diverse cultures, whatever. You're there to play a game and have fun. People have a lot of differences, possibly even rivalries or bones to pick, but everyone puts that aside for the sake of a fun night of rolling dice or setting up a podcast for an equally diverse audience to enjoy.

To summarize? Podcasts are a wonderful contribution that brings both stories and community to the vast expanses of the beast known as the internet.

(Art by meeeee. Whoot. :P)

After talking about podcasts, what better way to leave you then a link to one? Wrought Iron is produced by the one, the only, RPG Academy. It uses 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons and takes place in the home-brewed world of The Reforged Isles. The podcast chronicles the adventures of three brave adventurers as strange happenings begin around the Isles, prompting them to adventure and heroics. Wrought Iron*

(*Wrought Iron does contain some extremely serious issues, such as death of loved ones, and some profanity. Fair warning!)

Knights of the Eternal Throne

Star Wars: The Old Republic is an MMO run by Bioware. Now, while the story of the game is pretty fantastic at times and it's a fun game, it's not what I'm here to talk about.

I'm here to talk about the trailers.

The animators for the trailers, Blur Studios, handle them wonderfully. They fit action into it like people are expecting but they fit in characters who put off surprising amounts of emotion in a 6 minute trailer. (More like short films than trailers, honestly) The first trailer, Hope, shows a desperate stand and the struggles of a war. Return and Deceived show the brutality of the sith. Sacrifice catches sets up the character of Arcann (The main antagonist from the main expansion to the game) and shows how he grew up to his eventual cementation as a villain. Of these trailers, Hope and Sacrifice stood out to me with the scale and emotion put into them, delivered with some fantastic techniques.

Trailer order below; Return, Hope, Deceived and Sacrifice.

The latest trailer does something special though. It takes a character that, if you've played through the game, you already know. Arcana's sister, Vaylin. a character that most people loath. She's sadistic, murderous and just an all around nut case. A few jaws short of a sand crawler, in other words.

And the trailer makes you relate like her. Or rather, feel sorry for her. It takes this character and flips the view of her on it's head. Suddenly, it's not some villain casually hurling one of her troops of a bridge because the trooper failed her. Suddenly, it's a little girl who was outshined by her brothers and felt hurt by her mother's seeming betrayal. And it also catches Senya (Vaylin and Arcann's mother and an ally in the game) throughout it, showing her love for her children and hurt at what they become.

Anyway, rambling again. I'll leave you with this wonderful trailer.

"While the sacrifices are heavy, we fight knowing that a single spark of courage can ignite the fires of hope...."

They see me rollin'...

I'm back on the topic of the tabletop RPG. Why? Well, honestly I don't think I did this medium enough justice.

RPGs like DnD are a special kind of media. The stories that are told here are some of the most diverse ever told. Sure, many won't ever leave the dining room table where you and your friends are joking around while saving the known world from goblin hordes, Sith Lords, or Cthulu it's almost always a fun time.

Yet, this isn't the case a lot of times. People share their stories with their friends. The publish adventures, make podcasts, the stories even inspire books or movies. These tales that result from a group of people rolling dice in the basement surpass the simple pen and paper of their origin because of the care and joy taken in crafting them.

These adventures or campaigns really touch humans in a special way. What happens at the table isn't planned. It's edge of the pants improv storytelling to yourself and your friends with stories of triumph and failure, drama and levity that ends with fantastically special stories that are sometimes simply great. It's hard not to resonate with a story that you helped make, one that you made with your friends. With people making decisions in the moment, the story just gets an extra dose of human in it.

Then again, some people are playing the game to kill some orcs and find some loot. But hey, that just shows the versatility of the game and of humans.

Tales at the Tabletop

The four adventurers wander through the corridor, mist floating lazily about their feet. Feeling of dread sank into them, testing their resolve. They finally turn the corner at the end, opening into a large cavern inhabited by enraged orcs. The fighter swears in elvish before deftly drawing his dual blades....

Table top roleplaying has been around for quite long time (Fifty years, give or take) and has frankly gotten a terrible rap. The partakers of this hobby, or art, are immediately judged upon announcement of inclusion. Originally, some completely misunderstood the hobby and cried satanic worship or that it made people into murderers and bred violence. Luckily, those days have (mostly) past but yet another stigma remains. Players of tabletop (Shortened to Players from here forward) are marked with a stigma of being, nerds and geeks. Assumed to be anti social and unskilled in human interaction. 

Which is quite frankly wrong. (Again, in most cases)

These games are often engaging and interactive, requiring large amounts of creativity. Each game takes place in fantasy worlds and craft unique tales using nothing but some dice, some paper and some friends. Friends, you say? But aren't these players ungroomed, anti social nerds with no sense of tact or proper hygiene? Nay! These games require co operation and communication to function. Game masters must properly convey the game, players must subtle inform the Game master of what type of game they want, players work together to overcome hurdles. All of these things take good communication skills and patience for your friends who seemingly sometimes lack the brains to fully understand your plan to slay the dragon.

Now, I'm going to cut my rant, er blog, off here as I am well over the 200 word suggestion but my point hopefully got across to some extent: Tabletop gaming is wonderfully creative process that helps sharpen a lot of different crucial skills and have a great time while doing it.

Resonance

Why does art resonate so much with humans? There are a lot of reasons why the different arts make these impacts. The meta-narrative, the challenging of thought of an interesting piece, the excitement of the stories. The one that we haven't covered as much is how stories relate to other humans.

This does tie into the metanarrative. How we relate to good stories because they fit into the one story that we can understand. But something that stories have always done is reminded that we are not alone. Tragedies show us that others have experienced the same losses and troubles, comedy and romance shows us the hope and joy in life.

These stories help us connect with other humans, to placate the fears that we are alone in the world and that there others like us.

Hello, My Old Heart

"Hello my old heart
How have you been?
How is it, being locked away?
Well don't you worry
In there, you're safe
And it's true, you'll never beat
But you'll never break"

Songs have a lot of power. While sometimes they're just some song to sing along to, and there's nothing wrong with that (It's most of my iPod, after all), but sometimes a song doesn't simply entertain. It makes you wonder, just a little. It teases you. It's true you'll never beat, but you'll never break. This line from Hell, My Old Heart by the Oh Hellos, and the whole song, carries a weight. 

What point is your heart if it doesn't beat? None, that's what. You're dead if that happens. Stone cold dead. Which is why we do our best to keep our little buddy pumping blood through our bodies. 

So then why do we treat our heart, our spiritual heart, any differently? Why don't we love unconditionally? Sure, it's hard. Really hard. I mean, there's a lot of really crappy people, hate galore, and just some crummy events in our lives. It's easier to forget it. Yell at those who cheese you off, ignore the stuff that muddles your life, loath those who don't agree with you.

But then your hearts not beating. It's killing you. Unlike your physical heart, your spiritual isn't on autopilot. You don't pump it, if you don't practice loving others, forgiveness, the whole shebang to the best of your abilities all the time, you'll just end up in the same place as those who hated in the first place. Dead.

Now, after that little depressing post, I'll leave you with the awesome song that lead to this post. 

Freedom!

Hans Rookmaaker made a lot of good points in his excerpt on freedom and Christians in the world. Now, I'll admit, I hit the pitfall the first reading. I read about the fact that Christians should have protested better earlier and thought 'Dang ancestors, do better.' Well, something to that effect.

Anyway, I missed the point that first reading. That because Christianity is scrutinized more nowadays and the toxic culture today, I missed what the point was. That because of this negative or rampant secular world view that I matter. That being a Christian today can perhaps help me stand up in a way for something I believe in in a way some never get to. That perhaps this is a gift, to sharpen myself against the maelstrom of society and show others, perhaps myself to some extent as well, the light and love of God. That is, if I can actually stand up to it all in the name of freedom and God.

But hey, William Wallace did it, so what's the worst that could happen?

The Colors at the Bottom

"Where am I going to see colors like those?"

This quote from the clip we saw from Pleasantville really resonated with me. The man at the dinner asks a simple question that has a lot of depth to it. Where was he going to see colors like those?

The question wasn't simply about the color. It was about inspiration. Where does one get there inspiration, their color? It resonated with me, as an artist trying to find out if I can really do something no one else can. What can one person contribute to a world as massive as ours? The challenge of creating something new, to bring color to black and white, is something different to everybody.

Yet, perhaps we ignore inspiration when it falls in front of us. After discussing Tragedy in literature and some introspection, I came to a conclusion. We too often crush our inspiration when it's an unpleasant message. We suffer a loss and we smother the feelings in another simple distraction. What if it's those very losses and struggles that we hide from are our best works waiting to be born?

"So meet me at the bottom, where we've got nowhere to go but up." These lyrics from a Stellar Kart hit on this for me, despite being slightly out of context in this sense. At the bottom, you can only go up. Maybe, just maybe, the tragedies and losses we suffer aren't to mar us but to be a healing, a learning opportunity. To show us that there is a way up when we hit the bottom.

Perhaps those colors lie at the bottom.