Chris Selig

I remember the first time I played Half-Life 2 (HL2). It was for the Xbox (my PC at the time wasn't worth the electricity it ran on) and I was blown away at how the game began with such conviction and dedication to the story of the series. Typically I find sequels to be slow and preachy at the start of the game, but HL2 throws you directly into the mix, forcing you to find your way through the misery and strife that has engulfed City 17 (the starting location of the game). As I was walking around learning the controls and testing out the various interactions with the other people around me, I saw something through a fence... something sweeping the floor. I hadn't played the original game at that point so I was thoroughly confused and was instantly craving more information.

The story of HL2, like many video games, is a story that encompasses the very nature of science fiction. I have always found video games, especially those of the science fiction genre, to be more engaging and provide a level of interaction that a movie or book simply do not have. HL2 is one of those special cases in which the user is thrown into a world that is so remarkably different from our own yet somehow feasible. A book will allow the user to interpret the words in strange and fantastic ways limited only by imagination. In some instances this can limit how engaged the reader can become with the story. HL2 plays like a mystery; it gives the images to the player, allowing for the imagination to take on the task of sorting out the story, characters, and puzzles. A movie spells out all of the solutions and connections by the end, so from a certain perspective, there is no real mystery in film. Also, both books (with some exceptions) and movies are told as linear narratives. HL2 - among many other video games - is a non-linear narrative that allows the player to experience the story at his or her own pace and in whatever direction they choose to take it.

One of the first images seen in HL2 is that of G-Man. I was instantly pulled into the story, wanting to find out as much as I could and get to that inevitable stand-off between good and evil - hero vs villain. I simply cannot wait for the release of Half-Life 3 so that I can discover the epic conclusion to this amazing experience.

Cory Arcangel is a computer artist whose work is concerned with technology's relationship to culture and the creative process. He is known for his use of physical computing, cartridge hacks, and game modifications. He also recycles and reworks old consoles such as the Commodore 64, Atari 800, and Nintendo. Cory is probably most famous for his Mario hacks such as Super Mario Clouds and Naptime. If you have a Nintendo emulator then you can run the roms of his work:

Super Mario Clouds
Mario Movie (Naptime)

One must understand that Cory Arcangel does not view his work as art, but rather as a form of rebellion and pranking. He hates programming and using his hands, but he likes changing and manipulating things that people think are important and will pay attention to. Cory describes his work as follows:

"This is hard to pin down. I really have no general interest: each project tends to be different, cause I like to tinker with stuff. Take it apart, put it back together again, etc, etc. The art part of it in many ways is a seperate interest. They collide, cause basically I want these things I make to in some way affect people. Therefore I can't just tinker, I have to tinker with something people care about." ~Cory Arcangel

Screenshot from Super Mario Clouds

I believe that video games, whether out of the box or modded into something completely different are a form of art. Super Mario Bros. is a piece of digital and technological art consisting of graphic art, programming, and computer technology. To me, how this comes together to form one of the most beloved and played games in history is amazing. It is art within itself. Cory Arcangel has merely taken it to another level of design. His work is art taken from art, which is what his work is all about and has had a major impact on how I approach the process of design for interactive multimedia.

Finished the demos after downloading Mod Tools. I kinda personalized the cat so it now looks more like a pokemon... not my original intent.

Lamp Demo

Face Demo

I have been playing video games since I was five years old. Whether on my Nintendo, my Dad's work computer, or at the arcade, I loved playing video games. I wasn't until many years later that I realized the motivations behind these cravings to play video games lies not within any primitive urge for violence, as some lobbyists would claim, but rather a deep-seeded desire to explore and understand new and strange worlds and engage in fantastic adventures that would realistically be impossible. Video games are an escape mechanism for me. My life wasn't particularly unpleasant growing up; in fact I grew up in a nice home with a nice family. As McLuhan states, "Games are dramatic models of our psychological lives providing release of particular tensions." I have always had a strong creative side, and games that are exceptionally creative or possess particularly elaborate story lines tend to attract me more than, for example, sports titles or racing games. The Legend of Zelda series has been one of my favorite mediums of escape over the years. I have played through some of the titles in this series at least a dozen times. Why? Because it makes me feel heroic, if only for a fleeting moment. I am aware that it is merely a simulated adventure, but even a simulated adventure is capable of providing a distraction from the tensions of real life.

I am not alone in this. Millions of gamers spend billions of dollars a year on video games for various reasons, all of which likely stem from one single motivation: to engage in a life other than their own. McLuhan believes that people must succumb to the machine - become a "puppet" of the machine for it to work. The game mimics real life in that people must give in to the rules of the simulated world, just as people must give in to the rules of their real world. He concludes that games in fact both teach us how to adjust to this "collective demand" and provide a release from it.

In a book I am currently reading called "Paid to Play: An Insider's Guide to Video Game Careers", I learned that some employers are now considering World of Warcraft to be an acceptable reference for collaborative experience. This is especially true if you are the head of a guild. The skills necessary to run a guild are somewhat similar to the skills used within the video game industry. So in a sense, World of Warcraft is a game that both provides a release/escape from life, and teaches skills necessary to succeed in life. World of Warcraft provides a new type of game play never thought possible. Gamers have never before had the ability to create alternate persona's and live out a "second life" in a virtual world... A Brave New "Virtual" World.

"Death Engine" is an example of a WoW guild.

"A Few Good G-Men" from YouTube.com

This machinima that I found on YouTube is a great representation of what machinima is all about. I love the use of audio from a real movie and the fact that it is synchronized pretty accurately to the movements of the character's mouths. I also really like the little gestures that the characters make while "speaking" because it adds another level of reality to it. I truly appreciate the time and effort that the creator put into the design of the level, character animations, camera work, and editing. There are other machinima that parody the games they are based on, and this in a sense is a parody, but I believe that it falls under a more artistic category than other's (such as Red vs. Blue). I like comedy machinima, but I also appreciate more subtle humor, and more technically impressive works. This video is exactly what I look for for inspiration.

According to Chris Crawford, here are the main concepts of the "game design sequence."
(or at least the one's I believe to be the most relevant)

1. Research and Preparation:
Ideation & concepts. Research your subject... know what you're doing before you do it.

2. Design Phase
"The I/O structure, the game structure, and the program structure."

3. Game & Program Structure
Identify key elements and build around them.

4. Pre & Post Programming
Self explanatory. Basically just putting the game structure together. He says that this is the easiest part of game design.

5. Evaluation of Design
Check for problems in the design and programming. e.g. Fixing any unintentional shortcuts, or limiting certain variables like money.

6. "Post Mortem"
Prepare for harsh criticism.