Category Archives: Bio

Bio, Review

Final Essay

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The Secret Levels of 'Super Mario Bros.'

After a semester of classes, not much has changed in how I view or play video games. Unlike others, I’ve always considered videogames an art and literature. I have been playing them since I was 6 starting with Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart, so video games have been in my life since the beginning.

Valve shuts down Steam Greenlight, replacing it next week - Polygon

The class gave me an opportunity to play some games that I never had a chance to play, and other games the I never heard of. I’m usually a fan of competitive sports games, and most of which I’ve played weren’t really perceived as story heavy.  What Remains of Edith Finch, Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite, The Walking Dead, and Chrono Trigger; none of these games were what I’m used to, but I genuinely enjoyed all of them, nonetheless. I always knew there were some games out there with deep and heavy story lines, but I didn’t know just how many there truly were.  I’ll definitely continue to think about video games through a literature lens just like I always have. I always thought anything that can be looked at as art can be looked at as literature. More so, there was a whole different aspect of video games that I hadn’t really experienced prior to the class.

Overall, I really enjoyed the class. I got to experience story games that I probably wouldn’t have played. And the class proved me right by showing that video games can be considered literature. I’m going to continue to keep researching and exploring different types of games. As for now, I don’t know what game I’ll play next, but I’m sure it will still be a great game. All I can do at this point is keep playing as many games as I possibly can. Hopefully the future student that take this class can learn the same thing I did.

Bio

First Essay

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Videogames have always been a big part of my life.  I have been playing videogames ever since I was five years old. The first game I had was wii sports when it came out. I always used to play bowling, baseball, golf, and tennis with my siblings and friends. I was not really good at boxing, so I did not play that as much as the other game modes. Out of all of them, my favorite game mode by far was bowling. I was a bowling prodigy and I used to destroy everyone at bowling. I used to have to make more Mii characters because my bowling scores were so high.

Growing up, I also used to play Mario and Sonic racing and competitive games all the time. One of my friends used to have Sonic Riders on his PlayStation 2, and we would play against each other all the time. He never taught me how to play so I was really bad at it. But I had Sonic Riders Zero Gravity on my Wii, so I would always get my revenge when he played me on my console.  I even got an Nintendo DS and got into Pokémon.

Now these days, I play sport competitive games like Madden and the NBA 2k Series. Madden is actually my favorite game because I love playing football whether it is in real life or if it’s virtual reality. I do anything to stay attached to football, and playing football videogames allows me to do that.

Analysis, Bio, Chrono Trigger, Review, Story

Chrono-Trigger First Impression

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Chrono Trigger Review - IGN

Having played about five hours of Chrono Trigger, I’ve never played a game like this before.  This game has been a unique experience compared to the games I’m used to playing.  It took a little while to get the controls down and get used to the gameplay, but I eventually got the hang of it.

In terms of the story, the game  has met my expectations and my approval. I haven’t gotten to any plot twists yet, so this is why the story has been basic so far.  It is hard to say where I think the story will go since it is so early, but obviously time travel is a huge factor. I do think the backstory of the world will eventually start to come into play as the game goes on.  I also liked the leveling system and how items can be used and equipped the higher the level. The fights have started to become a little irritating, only due to their repetitiveness but they are still manageable.

The one aspect of this game that  exceeded my expectations was the trial scene. I was not expecting this style of game to feature a moment where all of my small, and seemingly insignificant actions would be judged. I enjoyed this part and so far, it has been my favorite moment in the game.  There should be more sections of the game like this, and I hope there are.

Overall, Chrono Trigger has been surprisingly enjoyable considering its age and genre, although it is not a game I’m used to playing. This isn’t a game I would go off and play on free time. I do appreciate what the game brings and I am excited to see how the story plays out in the future.

Analysis, Bio, Featured, Mechanics, Review, Story

BioShock Infinite Part 2

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BioShock Infinite: The Complete Edition

Having finished Bioshock Infinite, my opinion changed  since getting half-way through it.  I enjoyed this game  and thought it offered an experience that was completely different from the first BioShock game.  I think the setting of the first BioShock game was more of a straightforward story, but BioShock Infinite was more complex and less straightforward.

My positives with the game are Booker and Elizabeth better as protagonists, compared to Jack who was not as good. An emotional bond was built with the two of them which made an improvement in the game. I found the gameplay to be better in Infinite because of the added unique verticality, as well as a wide sandbox to fight in.

My negatives with the game revolve more around the story, setting, and antagonist. It was difficult to understand the inter dimensional, style story. It took a while for me to understand.  The whole timeline of events still did not add up in the beginning, especially the time when Anna  was being taken away and Booker being on the boat with the twins. While I do understand the story, it feels like it is trying too hard to be intelligent. This caused an imbalance between the game being too complex but not being complex enough, which killed it for me. Bioshock had twists and turns too but was more simplistic by how the game was presented. It also offered deep hidden messages.

I also felt Comstock was a worse villain than both Ryan and Fontaine even after learning he is a version of Booker. This is because his motivations and desires are more bluntly evil and he had no regard for anything else. Those are the villains that I honestly can not stand. I liked Ryan and Fontaine because there was more gray area in terms of their actions. Ryan had logical ideas but was going to extremes to keep his city under control. Fontaine was trying to grab some of the power from Ryan who was abusing it in the end.

Overall, Infinite was definitely worth playing and I would suggest other who haven’t played it to play it. The gameplay and characters were very emotional and complex. This was a huge improvement over the first BioShock game.

Bio, NPCs, Review, Story

Twisted Walking Dead Finale

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After playing the game, I was happy with the ending of The Walking Dead. I also have no regrets on my decisions leading up to it. It surprised me when it turned out that Clementine’s kidnapper was the owner of the station wagon full of supplies back in Episode 2. I felt great that I sided with Clementine back then and didn’t steal any supplies earlier in the game. However, I still was not sure on how the stranger knew it was Lee’s group. I thought it was a cool twist to end the season nonetheless.

Clementine: Walking Dead Season 4 | Walking dead game, Clementine walking dead, Walking dead season

Also, I really loved the last bit of the final episode. I chose telling Clementine to shoot Lee, and it was one of the weirdest deaths I’ve seen in a video game. Clementine’s reaction to knowing she will be all alone and losing the man who had been through all of this with her was hard to watch. It was also weird because you wouldn’t think she would shoot someone who had went through a hard time just like she did. But that just shows how great the characters are and also the storytelling. I think Lee’s death hit so hard because it affected Clementine in a horrible way. We cared for her and essentially become her legal guardian throughout the game. Then she kills us, and we can no longer protect her and she is completely on her own.

In the article that talked about NPCs, she states, “In a game, players can themselves interact with those others—spending hours journeying alongside them…” (20). This quote hit on exactly why I had a emotional reaction to Clementine killing Lee. I spent the entire game prioritizing Clementine over the others besides Carley. After each episode, and all the bad things her and Lee go through, I became closer to her. It was almost as if she was actually my child and it was my job to protect her. I also liked how Lee comforts her by bringing up how he had to kill his turned brother back at the drugstore, and how she learned from us as Lee how to protect herself.

In order for this finale to work, you have no option but to care about Clementine. This game indirectly forces you to go through  great character moments, such as preparing her for the future on the train. Thinking back, there is not much I would have changed in my decision making. I still go back and forth on if I should drop Ben after I learned he can come with you if you choose to save him. A big reason for that is because of how much he annoyed me throughout the game with his complaining. Overall, I was happy with how my story played out.

 

Bio, Review, Story, Telltale

Walking Dead

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Tell Tale’s The Walking Dead is a video game that was inspired by the tv show. I heard about the tv series and the game when I was younger, but since the game was rated M, I wasn’t allowed to play the game. I could even watch the tv series either because my parents told me I was too young. Even though it was embarrassing, I couldn’t blame them because I was too scared to even play Mortal Combat.  So even though I never watched the show or played the game, this gives me a chance to enjoy the game to see what I missed out on when I was younger.

Episode 1 was  very action-packed and an enjoyable experience for me. I was introduced to the main character of the Walking Dead, Lee. Lee is a very complex character with an interesting storyline, and I was introduced to him in the back of a cop car. I later found out the reason for that is because he was suspected  for the murder of his wife’s lover. The lover happened to be the Senator. Given this back story with no other context, you would think this guy is a serial killer mad man. However, Lee seems to be a decent guy with a good heart who doesn’t do things with malicious intent. The Walking Dead - Rotten Tomatoes

On the other hand, this is the impression that I got because of the choices that I made Lee make. This is a unique experience that this game provides the player compared to someone watching the show. As a player playing the game, you are provided choices that will impact how the game will move forward. So in this case, I chose for Lee to act like a good person. Although in a story, a character already has a written persona. This means that the watcher doesn’t have much of a choice on how to interpret that.

Analysis, Bio, Edith Finch, Story

Edith Finch

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After playing Edith Finch, I learned that it was an interesting game. I haven’t played many story-mode games and the two that I can remember off the top of my head are GTA V and Batman. If you played these games before in the past, then you should be able to understand why Edith Finch was a bit of a different experience for me.

Nonetheless, it was a very interesting experience for me. For starters, when I launched the game on Xbox, I was expecting to see a starting menu screen. However, we were just thrown into the game to begin exploring a story that was told in a Diary. There was very little visual guidance as to what exactly you were supposed to be doing in the game, and how to even win the game at all. Even if the game has a story, there is usually an achievement meant to be obtained to win something. As the game continued, you start to see patterns of how to interact with certain things in order to progress to the next step of the game. 

Another thing I also noticed was as the game went on, and the farther you went up the family tree, the stories of the characters became more developed and complex.

What Remains of Edith Finch - Annapurna Interactive

When I was introduced to Molly, her story was told as different animals chasing around other animals, and I did not really understand where the game was going with this. Whereas a character like Lewis’s story, were about his mental health issues, and it is told in great depth through his wild fantasies, which would unfortunately lead to him dying. That threw me off when I was moving on in the game, and it was a sad ending. I believe that this was intentional, because the people that was closer to Edith on the family tree had more developed their story was for it to really resonate with the player using Edith.

Analysis, Bio, Review, Story

My New Favorite Author

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Matthew Patrick was easily my favorite author.  At first, I was drawn to Mat Pat because I watch YouTube on a regular basis, and he was able to keep my attention with his interesting theory. For years, I find myself browsing through YouTube watching various types of videos for my own entertainment. I also see that it is possible to learn something from YouTube if you are actually looking for something. For example, the goal of watching watching Mat Pat’s video was to understand what exactly what a Kirby scientifically is.   However, it was not only this that made Mat Pat stand. There were other good authors, such as Samuel Gronseth that used Youtube as a platform too.

Mat Pat really caught my attention because of  visuals, as well as his storytelling. Solely from this video, it began to  change my perspective and the way I perceive video games. Now carrying this view on games over into our class moving forward, Mat Pat will help me notice more of the details in these games. This  could help me clearly understand the overarching plot of different types of games. Also, this is not me saying that every minute detail in a video game is a game-changer in the storyline, because nothing is ever 100%. Everything does not need to always be scrutinized by every detail. But it does establish a new appreciation for the little things that makes each game special, and the story too, if there is one.

Game Theory: What is a Kirby? The SCIENTIFIC PROOF! – YouTube

Bio

My relationship with video games

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My first ever experience with a video game was when I was gifted a game boy when I was around 6. I played Dogz, Catz, along with a Sponge Bob game. A couple years later I was given a DS. That was when I discovered games such as The Simpsons Game, Monster Lab, Petz Rescue Ocean Patrol, Squeeballs, and Mario Kart. I also began watching people play video games on YouTube when I was around 9 and fell in love with horror games. I would play on my step-brothers PlayStation and began falling more in love with the stories that games had. It was like being a part of a movie. I have since stopped playing as much, and only playing games that I have large interests in such as The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, Resident Evil and others. But there are times that I spend a week or two focused on a game like The Binding of Issac.  I recently stumbled upon my DS when moving and I have been revisiting my old favorites. I still like to watch others play games online when I don’t have the time or money to play a game.  But I have mainly followed games less for the game play and more for the story as I love movies. Games can be better than movies because they can be way longer, and make you feel included in the adventure. I think even as I continue to grow video games will always be something I enjoy and revisit.  Over the course of the semester I expect my relationships with games to grow as now I can spend even more time playing them and really analyze their story lines.

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Bio

Past to Present- My Relationship with Video Games

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MVP Baseball 2004 Xbox

Retrieved from https://www.lukiegames.com/MVP-Baseball-2004-Xbox-Game.html

My relationship with video games goes back to when I was a young kid. I first started playing with my brother back when I was about 4. Our first system was the original Xbox which we would play sports games and Lego games on. The first game I ever played was MVP Baseball 2004, which is a game I wish I could still play, but unfortunately it broke years ago. Since then, I played on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and recently the PS4.

Currently, I play a variety of different games. My favorite games for the past five or six years have been superhero games such as the Batman Arkham series and Spider-Man PS4. Besides that genre, I play FPS games like Call of Duty and Halo, and also open world games such as Skyrim. I also enjoy Madden and MLB The Show. L.A. Noire is another game I have enjoyed recently despite it coming out years ago, but it has become one of my all-time favorites.

Over the course of this semester, I expect to have a new appreciation for video games in terms of how much truly goes into them. I think it’s easy for fans to overlook how much work goes into one single game, and understanding video game creation from just a narrative perspective will allow me to realize the true art in what many see as disposable entertainment.