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Maurdakar

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Vegas

Fallout Vegas was everything I could have hoped for in the next fallout game. If what i hoped for was the same bugs, the same glitches, the same upsides and the same downsides and fifty hours more playtime. Which it was.

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An abridged version of an Opinion Essay I wrote.

Modern Politics has become a battlefield of slogans, discrediting evidence, and false
promises. Upon the popular front many politicians look for easy targets to criticize, thus
gaining more of the popular vote. Culture and media constantly finds itself under fire
from politicians, however, most modern entertainment mediums such as television and
cinema have become so integrated into our culture that criticizing them now is seen as
backwards. Interactive entertainment and video games, are new phenomenon, and to
capitalize on ignorance and fear popular speakers will heavily criticize these arts. The
video game industry finds itself under a constant stream of criticism and censorship from
moderators worldwide. Digital art and media has only been around for a miniscule period
in comparison to other well accepted art forms such as music, books, or paintings, and
even though all other arts are found within interactive entertainment, the industry is still 
not granted the same level of respect as its peers. In Canada, but more particularly,
worldwide, interactive entertainment has been subject to censorship and regulation more
so than any other creative form of expression. It is important for all of us to be aware of
emerging methods of storytelling and creativity so that we can support them for free
speech. I hope to convince anyone who reads this that video games are an art form, and
their production and relevance in our culture is as sacred as all pre existing expressions.


      Many artists will agree that an act of creativity, pure creativity, is creating something
from nothing, something which has deeper meaning, emotion and relevance to other
expressions. By every standard video games originate in the same place all other art does,
in our minds. The way it is brought into the world is highly technical, but so is
architecture, so are many forms of music and painting. Video games include music,
painting, and architecture. Many video game studios employ entire orchestras to provide
musical scores tailored to specific games, and scenes within a game. Architects are hired
to help ensure that any building in a game would actually be able to stand up, and to
influence the buildings towards a certain genre or theme. Artists are employed to draw up
concept art of locations, creatures and items which appear in the game, keeping to the
general feel a company wants to project into their production. Script writers are hired to
work on dialogue, voice actors to speak that dialogue. Film graduates are hired to tailor
scenes and movies within the game itself into a flowing narrative, the story that the game
is telling. All the examples I have provided are evident at video game studios like,
Bethesda, Bioware, and Square Enix. So many people write off the plight of censoring
interactive art as minor even though as a form of expression it is protected under free
speech.


      Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands are rife with politicians bashing the
interactive entertainment industry. There is censorship on blood, on foul language, on
content in games constantly, but none of this is imposed on other mediums like cinema or
painting, or music. The first counterpoint which comes out is that video games are largely
mindless violence or action oriented stories with little emphasis on art, story or character
development, and this is true. Many games are created to sell, to cater to mass
consumption, a public which generally speaking, has little interest in higher art. However,
so are most books, movies, music and television shows. How many movies in the theatre
right now would you consider high art, the finest productions of cinema and examples of
the art form? Critics of the gaming industry like to pick and choose examples of games
like Grand Theft Auto or Doom, but they better watch themselves because we gamers can
pick and choose plenty of examples from cinema, books, or television that are just as
mindless, stupid and un-creative products designed to sell. The similarities between
games and all other art is always lost when the industry comes under attack.


      Freedom of speech is a right we have guaranteed to all our fellow citizens. Especially
when your fellow citizen is saying something you do not like. When the television was
first introduced it was subject to a huge a myriad of regulations and rules of what you
could and could not see, or say, or even imply. This was partly due to the culture of the
time, but it was also partly due to politicians capitalizing on public fears, over the power
which television was inheriting. Over time more and more leeway was granted on
television until finally, as a storytelling device television had come to wield all the
freedoms it needed to tell engaging stories. Sex and violence in video games however still
makes a big splash when it is encountered. Mass Effect, and Dragon Age Origins both
were roughly 22-30 hours long and both had about thirty second sex scenes in them. Both
games also made headlines. The first big reason for this is because games are still widely
perceived as “for kids”. Many games are made for children but as the gaming generation
has aged so has the content, and now the industry produces titles appealing to almost
every conceivable market. The second reason is ignorance, how are parents supposed to
know about the content of the games they are buying their kids? Well ten minutes of
research before a purchase can clear this up. In both cases the responsibility rests solely
on the parents, just as it does with movies, television, and literature people who buy
games, have to know what each game will express. Games are not for children anymore,
and just because parents or purchasers are ignorant is not a legitimate reason to challenge
an art on its freedom of speech.


      Never let politicians sway you by demonizing something you do not fully understand.
Video games have become an easy target for individuals who want your vote or support,
but now knowing that there is an even deeper struggle at this issues root, you can voice
your opinion for or against censorship. Just because we live in an age of new emerging art
forms, doesn’t mean that the old arts are dying, or that the new ways of telling stories or
expressing oneself should come under fire. It is up to individuals to understand the
content of games they may purchase for their themselves or  for their children. Hopefully,
now knowing what you do about the developing industry of video games you can
intelligent choices about their content and stories for yourself.

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Video Game Hype

I am becoming incredibly uneasy with the hype surrounding Brink and Fallout New Vegas. It has passed a threshold where you kinda stop smiling at all the stuff coming out, and start questioning wether the developers are pushing first week sales on a crappy game. 
 
With Brink they stuff like - "It will change FPS forever." and that it will "Revolutionize the Genre." Now it is looking like TF2 Meets CoD-if CoD had art, and with a premise and setting I really dig. Seriously though? Don't go around claiming this high shit about your game, its more of a turnoff than anything else. I know devs LOVE thier own games but the Dev commentary trailers for Brink just get way out of hand, way way out of hand, I know a good ad campaign is crucial for your game to sell and for you to eat but; "Brink will change everything from the day of its release"? Come on.
 
Ive always been a huge fan of the Fallout series all the back to wasteland. However, even though I have already pre-ordered the game over steam I kind of cringe at all the stuff coming out for it so far. It is the same bloody game, while that is exactly what I wanted it looks like Vegas will suffer from sequel syndrome sickness, not because the gameplay wont be amazing or because it wont have shock and awe like Fallout 3. Vegas will suffer because it looks like an expansion pack, albeit an expansion pack which will nearly double the content... I am not articulating my feelings very well, but I  will just say Vegas is making me uneasy. Even if it is a success it still feels like Obsidian is riding Bethesdas coatails on this one, basically copy pasting thier ideas and the pre established Fallout universe on an engine that Bethesda made, to a sequel to a Bethesda RPG. I hope the quest quality can really be amped up.
 
I really feel these lead up to these two games represent the direction the industry is taking, big, cold and corporate. Which is understandable as Video Games dawn as a big buisness. Still I really hope devleopers know most fans will be picking up these games, with thier high hopes ringing in thier ears, the future rep of these Devs is really hanging in the balance now because of the words THEY have said. Heres hoping for two awesome games.

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SC2

How could Blizzard really live up to that mountain of nostalgia anyways? Either they didnt change enough or changed too much or you dont like the new (insert unit here), too long too short. Everyone already decided wether they were going to like or dislike SC2 before even the demo was revealed. True trolls are easy to spot like this, they pick a side on a whim and never change it. If we play our games as unbiased opinions as possible with few preconceptions you may find yourself liking it more, or your dislike will at least be original and justified. Try to start a game without a strong opinion, or your after youve played it you will find it has not changed, psychology dawgs.

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Amnesia

Everyone whos a fan of the horror genre should check out Amnesia the Dark Descent right away. Resident evil, and silent hill has not been scary for a long time, try some real Lovecraftian horror for a change.

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