Danny Pan

Half Life 2 (HL2), unlike a movie or a book, possesses a non-linear narrative. Movies or books (with the exception of those neat "Choose Your Own Adventure" stories), have linear narratives, that is, the story will play out in a specified way. The nature of HL2 is that of an interactive media; the game is capable of accepting my input, and allowing me to influence the narrative in a way that reflects my actions.

Download the cat
Download the lamp

animation and modeling was a familiar and frustrating experience with SoftImage. Familiar in that its very similar to the system in Maya, frustrating in that I keep hitting keys that I would hit in Maya. >:O

What is art? Art is the manifestation of our desire to create. Art is our ultimate freedom, it is expression without boundaries; it is our purposeful rebellion against boundaries.

I think videogames can be one of our highest forms of art as humans. It allows us to create our visions of ulimited perfection (or unlimited imperfection) and gives us the ability to share this with the world in a way beyond watching static images or even moving ones. Even better, it is art that we allow others to shape by playing (and modding).

The game I choose to talk about is JFK Reloaded (which, i believe, is not mentioned in the book)

I think that what makes this game art , like all good art, is that it is evocative and forces you to examine your notions of truth.

As the player, you assume the role of Lee Harvey Oswalt and his role as the assassin in the murder of President John F. Kennedy. The game has a higher message than, "kill the president, get some points." The goal of the game, as an art piece, is to get people thinking about the truth behind the event, because even though the game is set up perfectly to simulate every detail of the event, it is extremely difficult to pull off the supposed gun shots that Lee Harvey Oswalt took on that day.

Another question I ask myself about this game is whether or not I should feel bad about feeling entertained by this game. I've played other games where I've had to kill aliens, insects, Arabs, men, women, and more, yet this is the first time I have actually felt some remorse for enjoying the act of killing someone.

McLuhan writes that games are "social reactions to the main drive or action of any culture". Describe at least one "social reaction" that might be activated by video games. Include at least one game as an example.

I choose to talk about Carmageddon, 1) because its an interesting game to discuss, and 2) its continuing my theme of controversial video games.

The premise is simple, its a racing game. You can win by finishing your laps....or by running over pedestrians.

I'm actually kind of disgusted to think about what kind of social reaction this game may be activating in some sick individual out there. Granted there are individuals out there that take games like this too far and actually use games like this as a form of fantasy fulfillment, most of us who play super violent games like Carmaggedon are normal, sane, everyday people.

So what attracts us normies to violent video games? What kind of social reaction could possibly be activated by a game like this?

I think it has a lot to do with aggression, and our desire to "let off the steam" and alleviate the natural stress that builds when we are feeling aggressive. Aggression is our drive, it is the energy that drives us to accomplish our goals, it is (was?) the energy of our survival as human beings. Aggression is also very primitive; in the ancient days, we relied on aggression because we survived as a group by being aggressive, by claiming territory from others, and fighting others for food and materials. In these modern times, when we are expected to share, cooperate, and deal with each other in non-confrontational, non-violent ways, aggression is rarely ever "vented."

Violence/destruction is aggression at its most extreme. So being able to channel our aggression to its most extreme form, as violence, is one of the most effective ways to quickly relieve the built up aggression.

So, our need to play violent video games are not a result of our violent natures, but of our aggressive natures.

I'll add more later, maybe. sorry for submitting so late.

Youtube Here.

"He often would dance, and the birds would look and clap..."

This is a HL2 machinima titled Dennis, a part of the machinima series Rusty Whispers. Dennis is a bittersweet short story about a man named Dennis who only has his birds, his music, and his dreams.

What I find interesting is how, technically, its not that elaborate, but its still able to tell a touching story. Just goes to show that you don't need to know all the ins and outs of a software package to make a good machinima film. Just bring your creativity.

Bonus:
this is just so silly and stupid I have to throw it in:
A Half Life 2 Story.

Game Design Sequence in Five Convenient Points

1) Choose a goal and a topic