Collapsus

(stuff)

Reflection on the Gaming Presentation

One of the key elements we had trouble explaining or defining was who are audience would be. The game concept was so expansive, and adaptable, that it could really be written to accommodate most audiences. The aspect we wanted to hone in on was social interaction in exuberant, extravagant high-spending society, so that would appeal to people in their consumptive stages of life, from teens to late forties.

We had a problem defining the audience, and ultimately communicating what the game would be about, because we didn’t have an end goal in mind for the game. We wanted the player’s options to be limitless in these ‘levels’, these stages of social interaction, but the limitless options would drown the player in purposelessness. We had a hard time trying to find a balance between a sandbox game and real fake life.

The objectives of our game were hard to describe because there didn’t seem to be any. There were plenty of goals, optional conditions a player could meet to gain a reward, but that’s all there were. Like a define-your-own-adventure book, the player would need to ‘create’ his/her own objectives through interacting with the NPCs of the world. It would have been better if we could define a particular objective for each scenario - for example, the player would have to interrupt or stop the wedding in that level. In that case, there would be multiple paths the player could take to stopping the wedding, but each path would have goals that would need to be met to advance towards the ultimate goal (objective) of stopping the wedding.

The rules were difficult to explain for the same reason as the objectives: there wasn’t a defined motivation for the character, so it was hard to define what the character would be willing (and therefore able) to do to fulfill a goal or solve a problem. For example, could the character climb around in the environment? Unless there was some object to obtain or person to talk to on a roof, it seems like that wouldn’t be necessary; but we want the game to accommodate anything the player wants to do.

The goals were easy to define. They were integrated into the interface in the List menu, and would be updated every time a player gains new info about the goal. The mechanics of the game were built around achieving these goals through dialogue and action. There would be potential for mini games built into the context of the game narrative.

Heros and Villains

Here are Corey Longstreth and Ian Reynold's superpeople: http://clongstreth.blogspot.com/2011/02/hero-vs-villain-characters.html

Corey Longstreth created the hero Merman, who contrasts pleasantly with his enemy, Petroleum Man. The lighting in Merman’s animation is very soft and natural, besides his tail, he has almost no shadows. This could suggests that Merman has nothing to hide, and he is a valorous and honorable hero. As far as shadows and symbolism, because the shadow on Merman is in fact on his tail, it could denote that any evil within Merman is the bestial, animal side in him. Merman’s colors are also very bright, and not very saturated. He seems sort of washed out, but this starkness seems to compliment his character. Although Merman shares blue and yellow with Petroleum Man, it’s hues are brighter and more inviting. Merman also has some green in him, which makes him seem more dynamic and whole.

Petroleum Man contrasts very slightly with Merman, which is just fine, as the similarities help the audience believe they are part of the same fictional world. Petroleum Man has many more shadows on and around his figure, which creates a more sinister mood than Merman’s portrait. The shadows also make Petroleum Man seem like he is in deeper water than Merman. The dark, murky depths of the sea is a scary and evil sounding place, so it follows that Petroleum Man is shadowed as such; just as Merman, being the transparent hero, should be closer to the surface, and less shadowed. The similar colors with varied hues also helps the audience distinguish between this good and evil duo. Petroleum man has darker blues, and a duller yellow than Merman.

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This American Life

Click on the title of the post above to listen to Chris Ware talk about superpowers on the radio show This American Life.

Tree Man, concept drawing by Dan Ahrens.

Joke Video Reflection

My internet took four hours to crash trying to load this video so they're not embedded, but here are the links:

Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XwO60nodM0

Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWuFW-3QaPk

Video joke number one primarily uses the concept of limited space to represent the relationship between the mother and her son. They never occupy the same plane in the frame, they are always separated by some sort of space. This emphasis on space between them is best seen in the shot at 1:45, where the mother and son are separated by space along the most dynamic of all, the z axis. The blocking in the video also has an effect on how graphic lines are perceived. The child is often lying down on the floor, occupying horizontal space, which emphasizes his youthfulness. The mother, on the other hand, is often framed within a frame, or next to a vertical mass, that emphasizes her established and experienced personage. The editing pace of joke number one is quicker, which gives it a faster rhythm.

The editing pace of video joke number two is slower, but this fits better with the old silent film style. Quick cuts were used, however, a few times, to punctuate a particular punch-line in the story. Space was also used to visually communicate the story. At 1:00 in the video, the child is framed in the lower left third, drowning in the space of the blank wall behind him. This shot could represent the humbling experience a child has when he or she is caught saying something naughty. The majority of movement on screen happens at a right angle from the camera, either going left or right. This bias of movement along that plane could emphasize the stark duality in perspective between the young energetic child and old tired mother.

Fear and Loathing

Click on title

Reframing

Original on bottom, modified on top.

I cropped Helen Frankenthaler's image in a way that personifies, or anthropomorphizes the image in the center. By reframing the image in a slightly tighter view, the audience's attention is immediately grabbed by the warm splash of orange that lies on the left imaginary vertical line and in between the two imaginary horizontal lines that outline the rule of thirds. The space in front of the orange splash acts at nose room, that further personifies the splash as a sort of head. Also, by cropping the image down and omitting the right side of the frame, the image becomes flatter without the contrast of the blue edge and the faded pink. The flatness of the image helps focus the audience's attention on the subject; the flatness makes the picture feel like a portrait.

The line that runs from the bottom right to the middle of the portrait is the essential connector between the other bits of color in the center of the frame, it acts like a backbone that provides structure. It is a very dynamic line, especially when compared to the relatively flat line of the blue floor. Because this line is dynamic, it provides visual movement that guides the eye up and forward, giving the impression that the figure may be flying over the surface of some water.

Given the anthropomorphized nature of the subject in the middle of the picture, there could be some tension to the picture, especially when considering the graphic weight (visual rhythm)? of the objects in frame. The two largest, warmest splashes of color are supported precariously by a very small graphic object, an almost line, that may or may not be anchored to something big enough to support it's load. If the orange is a head and the red/pink is flesh on a backbone, the audience feels tension, because it seems like the figure it going to fall over into the water.

Joke Movie

Click on the title of this post.

Soundscape Critiques

http://www.mediafire.com/?7rhr1yjviddubov

Above are three critiques of three different soundscapes. Below you can find each soundscape I refer to, in the order of referral.

Meng's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN35vZinGK4

Andrew's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCfl42iOlIk&feature=player_embedded

Matthew's: http://mdeimlingj.blogspot.com/2011/01/soundscape.html

Mac and John - "Don't Stop"

Fleetwood Mac:

http://www.mediafire.com/?4w6esarh3gffbra

Elton John:

http://www.mediafire.com/?k3243aysqkdochq

It’s not often that I find covers that I like about as much as the original, especially when the original is produced by a great group like Fleetwood Mac. However, Elton John’s cover of “Don’t Stop” certainly gives the original a run for it’s money. His intricate and layered composition gives the classic a fresh new feel.

The rhythm in Mac’s is driven by the drums and the bass. Both of these components are tightly woven together and in the pocket, they don’t stray from the rhythm to fill. The drums are the main source of rhythm in John’s, while the base supports, and the synth and piano help fill. The vocals drive the melody in each of the songs, while the piano supports in Mac’s version, and the synth supports in John’s version. The stadium piano provides soul and spunk, while the synth provides soul and funk. The melody of each song shares a stark affinity with each other, due to in part by the similar pitches and structure.

The overall pitch is contrasted in each song. Mac’s has a high, fleeting synth in the background, which is supported by a muted, low baseline, mid to low piano and mid to high vocals. Each of these elements stay the same pitch throughout the piece. The texturing of these different pitches mixed together coupled with the stalwart tempo gives the song a sense of simultaneous depth and thinness. John’s song, on the other hand, has elements that change pitch throughout, which gives the track a larger sense of depth. His synth starts low, and squeals up to a higher pitch, while the base grounds everything else in it’s consistency.

The timbre of each song also heavily contrasts with each other. Mac has a rich, crisp stadium piano that, combined with the reverb-vocals, provides the texture for the personality for the song. The muted base isn’t meant to stand out, and keeps time with humility. Finally, the slightly distorted electric guitar is a punch-in-the-mouth, a shrill watermark that brands the song, making it original and recognizable. John has more elements to his song with more variation in timbre. The deep, thick, low synth is a bit more soothing, especially when combined with the thick, echoed guitar solo. The flat throaty bass is a bit more flashy in this version, it begs to be noticed every time it’s slapped. The tension that is built throughout the song by the low tones and fuzzy timbres is finally released when the angelic, hearty, choral vocals are introduced to support John’s peppy singular voice.

Picking a favorite between these two songs is about as hard as granite. They both have qualities that I enjoy, and even worse, they both seem relatively flawless. This is an interesting point to note: while perfection warrants pristine timelessness (that is, that which is perfect cannot change, without forfeiting perfection), there are still clear differences in each song, so it cannot follow that each song could necessarily be perfect. But, music is all subjective, and subjectivity deals in ranges instead of absolutes.

I am biased towards the Fleetwood Mac version, because I heard it and them before Elton John. So, while I like the Elton John version better, my favorite version is the Fleetwood Mac one. This means, if I could only listen to either song once, I would choose John; if I had to choose either song to be the only song I can listen to for a year, it would be the Fleetwood Mac version.

Huzzah.

Coming Down

The slow slide into sobriety.

Soundscape

Can you guess the emotion?

The Hoping Hopper

Visit http://changethis.com/ to read Jonathon Flaum's Find Your Howl.

One of the stories in this article was written by Flaum's friend when they were both in 5th grade. The story was about a tiger trapped in a zoo, and his sisyphean task of trying to escape his cage. Every night the tiger tries to jump over the fence of his pen, and makes the leap, only to land in another cage in an adjacent zoo. The tiger does the same thing every night with the same results, no matter how high or where he jumps, he always lands in another cage. The story fittingly ends in an ellipsis, suggesting that the tiger's toil continues on for eternity.

Pretty insightful for a 5th grader. Flaum suggests that this allegorical tale represents a person's struggle to escape their own confines. The cage in the story represents the walls each individual subconsciously erects around themselves with their own prejudices and limited perception about themselves and the world around them. Trying to hop over these walls may give one a sense that they are achieving some goal, but this is false progress; treating the symptoms of the situation instead of treating the source of the problem. To really escape this construction, Flaum proposes, one must look inward and explore oneself, instead of exploring the confines of your own personal cage.

NOTE: I tried uploading the audio bit for this post but I feel there is something wrong with blogger, because I tried multiple different file types and nothing uploaded even after an hour apiece to do it. I emailed this part to my TA to postdate it and show I completed the assignment on time.

Ways to Get Ideas

Mitch Ditkoff wrote an article with 14 points on ways to get ideas: find it at http://changethis.com/

Ditkoff's article gets you thinking about thinking, and tries to answer Einstien's question "Why is it I always get my best ideas while shaving?" He defines two schools of thought on thought: one that claims ideas come from individual attention and effort (the Western view), and one that claims ideas exist in a transcendental ethos, accessible by those in sync with the vibes (the Eastern view). His 14 techniques for conceiving ideas work regardless of which school of thought the reader ascribes to; you might even find you practice a few of these techniques without even realizing it. Most of the tips are concerned with manipulating either your state of mind or your environment, and they all are worth trying.

For example, tip #8 shows you how to manipulate your environment by reminding you to "take a break". This is a good tip if interpreted correctly, otherwise it can just be an excuse to disconnect and expect answers to knock on your door. It's important to add that taking a break only counts when it comes after long periods of focus, otherwise it's not a break, it's just being lazy. There's something important about the transition your mind makes from focusing to relaxing, I often find my best ideas in the few moments after I walk away from my work to do something else. I use this creative technique all the time in the form of cleaning. Doing dishes, straightening up, or doing laundry are all physical tasks that require little mental effort; I find my hands welcome the activity and my brain welcomes the rest.

Tip #3 shows you a way to manipulate your state of mind by "tolerating ambiguity". This is a great tip because it helps you realize that the penumbra between thinking and realizing a solution is not your enemy, rather, it is valuable creative space. This is especially true in creative fields like animation or music production, where the final product is absolutely arbitrary. The grey space in these situations are endless possibilities, and as things are ruled out and decisions are made, the project begins to take form and become less ambiguous. I believe tolerating ambiguity could also include allowing yourself to let go of a certain idea and plunge further into the grey space in order to conceive of a better idea. Sometimes I'll come up with an idea for a scene or character and I'll be so excited to be out of the grey zone that I'll want to call it finished, but rarely do these first draft ideas stay the same. After some time and reflection I'll be comfortable enough to scrap certain details, or whole concepts altogether, and re-enter the grey zone to see what comes out the other end.

Finally, tip #10 and #11, when lumped together, provides a great example of how you can simultaneously manipulate your environment and mental state to get better ideas. Tip #10 suggests "hanging out with a diverse crowd", and #11 suggests "brainstorm". Staying around the same types of people creates a comforting routine, but both 'routine' and 'comfort' are antagonists to great new ideas. It's hard to come up with new, inspired ideas if you always do the same things and hang out with the same people. Providing a little contrast in life will at least challenge your perspective, which usually results in new ideas. We've all heard about tip #11 at some point, but this article emphasizes the group aspect of brainstorming. It takes more than one cloud to storm, just as it takes multiple minds in discourse to come up with an idea. As a writer, I really value the benefits of a good group think session. There is a certain dynamic to group work you can't have if you work by yourself, unless you have MPD. If anything, more minds increases the odds that someone will think of something. More people also means more feedback, a very necessary component to any good idea.

Exercise for #4: "Make New Connections"

Nouns: boot, street, shrew, fence, wire, zombie, trunk, mud, tire, egg

Verbs: squint, drop, roll, search, holler, twist, count, stack, balance, consume

Adjectives: old, fierce, salty, soft, enormous, iconoclastic, orange, eight, wet, near

Intriguing connection story: I had quite the experience searching for easter eggs when I was eight years old. My search of the backyard yielded disturbingly low returns, so I decided to go down the hill and see if any eggs had rolled into the graveyard. I tried to vault the old wooden fence, but I slipped in some soft mud and whacked my head something fierce on a stone. When I came to, I could feel salty breath and a figure looming very near to my face, so I squinted to try to make out what it was. The figure was dripping wet, and upon further inspection, I found it to be missing an enormous chunk of his trunk. My heart jumped to up my throat and dropped down through my pants: it was Manfred, the village zombie. With a holler and a twist, I was back over the fence, loosing my boots while booking it back to the street.

Influence and I

First off, I consider myself relatively mutable, and get rubbed on more often than rubbing off. I've been influenced by literally every person I've ever met, in real life, or vicariously through songs, movies, shows, etc. Three creative personalities that I respect and that have influenced my perspective are MF Doom, Rob McElhenney, and Ricky Gervais.

MF DOOM

MF stands for 'metalface', and MF Doom is Daniel Dumile behind a metal mask. The mask is a symbolic part of Dumile's persona as MF Doom, representing the concept that rappers should be known by their lyrics, message and voice instead of their face. Doom is one of the most talented wordsmiths that I've come across in any genre of music, indeed in any genre that deals with written word. He often rhymes in multiple syllables that cross multiple words, has a clever handle of assonance, and is well-versed in the art of the pun and double-entendre. This last facet of his expertise means his songs are dense with meaning, his texts have subtexts that allow the listener to interpret the lyrics on multiple levels.

Doom's verses are juicy slices of diction steak, and I envy his command of the english language. His work has influenced me to think deeply about each single word I include in my work, and how words can work in different ways.

Rob McElhenney

Rob McElhenney is the creator, producer, writer and actor in his show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I enjoy watching shows and movies that have vertically integrated talent because the dynamic between the writing and acting is always more fluid. Consolidating talent also provides for a clearer identity for production, at the possible cost of being too mono-dimensional. As an artist, Rob McElhenney cited his anger as his primary muse for creating the show. Frustrations with people and situations can be flipped from being serious to being hilarious.

The strong affinity between the main characters' personalities is best illustrated when contrasted with other minor characters outside their group. The Sunny crowd is extremely loud, rude, and inconsiderate to the point of being unrealistic; but this is what attracts an audience. Viewers love to watch the characters bicker with each other and make a scene in public places. While some of their dialogue is improvised, the quick pace and mean tone of their lines are two things I enjoy and try to emulate when writing for my own show diculous.

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant are the creators of The Office, a BBC One sitcom that has since been adapted and butchered for an American audience. Gervais is another creative personality that writes, directs, produces and acts in his own work. The docu-drama style of The Office has been borrowed by other shows (Parks and Recreation, It's Always Sunny, Arrested Development), as it is a great way to create tension by making the diegesis of the show feel less scripted and more organic. The Office is a unique show in that the tension that builds as scenes progress is released incrementally as the situations become more awkward, instead of being released at one single point.

I also enjoy the interview segments of The Office; listening to the employees report and reflect upon what has happened gives the viewer a peek into their minds. The interviews allow the audience to contrast the subjective views of each character, a fertile plot for growing humor.