Category: Uncategorized

I realize that I should have had this done by the beginning of class, my apologies. The first site that I looked at was the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency. I chose this subject since this is the subject of my HIST 298 paper! I found that the last edit was was made back in 2018 and it was just someone adding a new section. All of the edits have been relatively minor edits such as adding new section and revising some of the information on the site. In terms of talks, the last conversation was back in 2008! It was someone asking a question, but with no respite which was kinda sad. Overall, the site has not received too many major revision in the last couple of years.

On the other hand, I chose another topic which is much more controversial in out times which is the 2020 United States Presidential Election. There have been numerous edits even two years after there election! There are also numerous discussion by people claiming bias and inaccuracy. I found it very interesting how people are very passionate about these pages. This raises an alarm though since we do not know the credibility of who is writing these entries and edits. I feel like Wikipedia is a great tool when people use reliable sources to back up their information, but strict rules would take away from the magic of being able to participate in this grand digital project.

In terms of CC license we are still working on it, but it will play a crucial role in how our project will be viewed and used by anyone in the future. There sometimes is a stigma with strut copyright rules , so I would not want to surround our site with those strut rules and have people be dissuaded or scared of using our site in educational ways

I took a break to go eat and do some other things, so I find it fitting to label this as the second and last part of my journal. The puzzles so far were not that hard, they were creative but not to the point of frustration. Many of the creative ones involved a bit of timing, while the majority require pushing and pulling objects. 

A good portion of the game is dedicated to parkour and puzzles, so I thought I should sprinkle in some of my theories here. 

By definition, Limbo is a hellish place where lost souls, most of the time children, are in for who knows how long. Using this definition, and the information that I obtained playing so far, I believe that we are in that place. I say this because a lot of the bodies look to be the size of children. I also believe that this game shows the main character’s quest to escape this “hell” and reach heaven or someplace better.  

Soon enough the environment starts to change, it goes from a forest to a factory. The two could not be any more different. While the forest gave me more creepy vibes, the factory gave me more anxiety since I felt like there were more dangers in this area. 

This is where the puzzles started to ramp up a bit more in complexity since they involve more precise timing and add more elements, including water and electricity hazards.

Once again, a megalophobia trigger warning should be in place because of the HOTEL sign! This is one of the sections that has stuck with me, although I am not sure why. Going back to my theory, I think that the major events and settings in the game are things from when the main character was alive. In a sense, this game is a story of his journey while also giving us insight into his life, specifically his fears.

The factory is the most “mechanically” pleasing section of this game since the puzzles here contain different objects, you would find in a factory setting and use them to create interesting obstacles. There are buttons, conveyor belts, elevators, etc. 

Another memorable part is when you get to the gear section. Once again, the objects here are giant, and at some points, you spin the environment around you completely. This reminds me of the megalophobia idea since this gameplay mechanic serves to remind the player that he is tiny, and he is not significant in the face of enormous dangers. 

ONE OF THE HARDEST PARTS was right before the minecart cave section. The timing required me to be almost perfect to avoid dying, which I did a lot. It is after this where I see a contrast in gameplay. 

Here we get music that sounds like a church choir, and we get more fantastical puzzles that include odder components such as laser detection guns and anti-gravity switches. To me, this is where I picture the main character getting closer to heaven, or whatever end he may be searching for. Here too is where the puzzles get a bit harder. I would be lying if I say that I did not consult a guide on how to do the final few. I was stuck for a while, and would have been stuck a lot more, had it not been for them.

As soon as I saw the scene where I break through the glass, I knew that this was going to be the topic of my Close Playing assignment. In my opinion, the ending is perfect. It’s an ambiguous ending to an ambiguous game. There is no resolution, we learn nothing, we are just left to imagine what will happen next. 

In the end, I feel like my theory was partially correct. However, the end goal here is different, since he made this journey through his hell to reunite with, I guess to be his sister. 

Overall, I enjoyed this game because of many reasons. The aesthetics gave me a creepy vibe, but it was not overly scary. Although Limbo only utilizes a few buttons on the controller, the gameplay is very intriguing since I had a tough time doing some puzzles. I am excited to play Inside and see what is had to offer!

Due to the short duration of both games, I decided that I would try to play them each in one or two sittings. I also felt that this was best since I would be able to remember more details about my gameplay to record.

I already had Limbo in my PlayStation library for a few years now since I got it when it was one of the free PlayStation plus games of the month a long time ago. It had caught my eye because of the eerie theme that it had, but I never got a chance to play it and I forgot about it eventually. Therefore, I was excited to see that it was an option for one of the games for this assignment.

Upon starting the game, I got the feeling that this would be a creepy game. It certainly did not help that I was playing the game at night. The main menu was spooky enough!

First impressions: it is very spooky indeed. There was no music at all, and the only sound emanating from the tv was the sound effects of my character moving, and some environmental sounds. I’ll admit that I thought this was going to be an easy game, but I was very wrong. Not only did I die quite a bit, but I also got stumped here and there. 

Upon starting the gameplay, I immediately turned left, just out of curiosity, and I found a secret white thing which gave me a PlayStation trophy. I was not really intending to find any more secrets, but I found another one a little bit after. After much jumping and moving objects, I got to what I think would qualify as the first boss: the spider. I’m sure that anyone with megalophobia or arachnophobia checked out as soon as they saw it.

It was interesting since I did not understand how to deal with the boss until after I died a few times. The game aesthetics played a part in this struggle since the black foreground made me think that the beartrap used to damage the spider was just for decoration. After running away from the spider and going through some more parkour and puzzles; I encountered the first other human. Embarrassingly enough, it took me a few more deaths to realize that if I held the x button a bit longer, then I could have a longer jump instead of spamming the button. 

The more I played, the darker the tone got since I started finding dead bodies, what I presume were children. Coincidentally enough, I started getting cold in real life, and I grabbed a blanket. One of the first instances of music appeared when I found another person who was dying. I noticed a pattern that there was music whenever something startling came up, and it worked to convey a sense of anxiety since you could also not see their faces. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this game are the few white glowing objects that must signify something that I have yet to figure out…

Privacy can mean many things. The amount of privacy I want or need probably differs from the amount which the person reading this desires. I believe that there was and never will be any 1 definition of what privacy means, and the digital age has only made it more difficult. Technological innovations which give us a digital identity and a place where we insert our personal information have become more commonplace, which should encourage us to rethink what exactly we put out into the web. Technology has made effectively made priavacy a bigger issue since malicious actors can pose as institutions we trust and phish out information, with us not batting an eye. That is the issue here: our care-free mentality.

Technology’s easy use has put us into a position where we completely trust the institutions we use. Places where we put our personal information such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where we usually skip the TOS and overlook security options, due to our confidence in them, have put us into a false sense of security where we do not really care what we put out there and how our privacy it their top concern. Evidence of our trust is how many people fall prey to spear phising emails. According to research, 70% are opened by people and 50% of the opened emails result in clicked links leading to data breaches. Technology has made us get too comfortable in putting our information online which results in more people falling prey to data breaches and phising, with the end result being more panic about privacy.

Therefore, it is important to recognize that these institutions are not perfect in protecting our data so that we can also think before we put whatever about us online. All in all, there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy suspicion:)

8/10!

I started this game not knowing too much about it, the only information I knew about this game came from a trailer I watched many years ago in a showcase. I was not expecting too much out of this game, but my first impression indicated that it was more than just a beautiful game. After playing through the game, I definitely stand by the idea that it handles multiple themes that many people deal with in life. Additionally, this game can also serve to be an escape from stresses and anxieties of daily life.

The story is pretty impressing, the way that they make the plot relate to themes of addiction, isolation, and escape really helps sell Firewatch to its players. The game also does a neat job by building up tension and making it seem like there was going to be a twist some unrealistic twist at the end, This idea was echoed in many other reviews of the game that I looked at after I finished it. Many people were upset that there was no twist ending and there were certain characters that we did not even get to see. While I initially thought that there would be some unexpected final twist and that some characters were not who they seemed to be, I realized that after experiencing the themes that the story evokes a twist was not necessary for the game. While I enjoyed having the rug pulled out from under my feet, I felt like the story was realistic which was their goal all long. The relatable themes also compensate for the “walking simulator” that many people call this game. Although, at some points, I felt like I was walking forever, it paid off when I could find some cool setting to gaze at, and it took time away from my other stresses.

The mechanics here are simple, you walk from point A to point B and investigate the items to move the game along. The main way we got information is by talking to Delilah, our supervisor. Although, we never get to see her, we get enough information and she adds to the story enough that her identity is not relevant here. That is another part of the gameplay that is interesting. The game is very vague, there are many questions left unanswered, which is both a good and a bad thing. It is good since it is not necessary, but it is also bad because if leaves the players sometimes wanting more. Another important gameplay mechanic, is choices. Like I said before, there are many choices in the dialogue throughout the game, although I am pretty sure it does not affect the outcome of the story.

The design and visuals of this game are what really make it great! I absolutely loved the free roam feature. I played it after I was done with the first play through, and I was definitely interested in just roaming throughout the entire park. I’d say that the one things that disappointed me is that I wish that we had more options to the dialogue. Sometimes I felt that I did not like any of the options that I had, that is not too important though.

This game relates to a culture of those who are overwhelmed by daily life. In the story we see a man escape his issues by going to work in almost complete isolation in park. We see this in our culture a lot through people who are fed up with 9-5s, their relationships including their families and marriages, and of the fast paced life in general. The ways people deal with this include, but are not limited to, converting to minimalism, going to the country, and sometimes ending their relationships. Here we see a game that does not try to create a sensational story, but instead make a story that resonates with a generation who sometimes feel overwhelmed whether it be by loans, jobs, and many other issues. In my opinion, the developers of this game have succeeded due to the game’s critical reception and many positive reviews by fans.

The biggest thing that surprised me was how relaxing this game can be. The last time I played this was when midterms were coming up. I was really stressed with the amount of work that I had to do so I got on this game after a long day and I let all my anxieties go. I felt like I escaped from all my earthly problems, and very few video games that I have played have done that. Overall, I plan to continue playing this game whenever I feel like I need to get away from issues and life in general.

I have not been to an arcade in years, so this visit brought back nostalgia from my childhood. Despite not visiting one in a long time, I have always loved arcade games such as Pacman, Mappy, Dig-dug, and Bosconian; so I was very happy to see some of those there. It as very cool to walk through the VHS rental entrance and to see the living room. I have never seen a VHS rental store, but I will probably return since I still have a VHS player at my house. The basic features of an arcade was there, the dim lighting and the multitude of games with their distinguishable sound effects. A very nice addition was the music playing in the background, their choice of music was also adequate since they played hits from the 70s and 80s. One of they key differences was that all of the games were free. This is a liberty that many people who played in arcades back in the day did not enjoy. I was really glad that it was free since I would not have been able to have so many attempts at some of the games.

I did not have much time to be there, since I had class in an hour so I only got to play a few games. The game that I chose to focus onwas Centipede, developed by Atari and designed by Donna Bailey and Ed Long. Something interesting that I found afterwards is that this game was aimed for female gamers since one of the designers was a woman. The cabinet has that standard arcade cabinet shape similar to many others in the arcade. The design on the cabinet is really comic-like, with a giant centipede on the side being shot at by the ship (us) from the bottom. There are three buttons and a ball like roller on the game. Two red buttons are dedicated to either choosing one or two players, with the last being the button pressed to shoot the gun on the spaceship. The interesting control is the roller, which is one that I have not seen before, that was used to control the ship. The cost is 25 cents per play, which is the norm for many arcade games. The game uses raster graphics and the game’s attract mode is just the game being played.

The game’s graphics are similar to that of other games at that time. It has 8-bit graphics, and the enemies are insects which have basic shapes. The centipede is comprised of circles with two small moving dots as legs and small red dots for eyes. The other insects form representations of what we think about them in real life. The spider looks like an 8-bit arachnid and is very pesky since it moves around very quickly. The lizard appears every once in a while going across the screen and it slithers at slowish speed, while the fly looks like another circle with some smaller circles for details, the same goes for the mushrooms riddled through the area.

This game’s genre can be best described as sci-fi similar to Galaga since you have to presumably destroy aliens using guns from your ship. It has a high score list and I was able to take the bottom five scores out of the eight in total. The highest score that I got was 25,355, while the high score was 57,397. I probably would not have been able to reach that even if I stayed all day! The objective of the game is to destroy the centipede by shooting out each segment. There are many things that awards points in this game, shooting the centipede, shooting the mushrooms all around you, killing the spider and the fly, and killing the lizard, which can also give you a life, that moves across the screen periodically. Interestingly, after every level the spider gets faster, but it maintains the same pattern. The lizard randomly rewards a life when you kill it, otherwise it just gives points. It is also ideal to kill the fly since it falls creating more mushrooms in a vertical line. Lastly, there is not really any specific design intended to keep you playing other than it keeps getting more difficult. The perspective of the player is looking from above to give a birds eye view of all of the arena.

The game is about killing the centipede and other insects and amphibians in order to defend what I assume is Earth. Although I do not believe we are on Earth since some game art shows the setting which look to be an alien planet, perhaps the centipede’s planet. This makes me think that perhaps this game is about us invading their planet, while the enemy is simply trying to defend it.

9/20

Brandon R