Project Space(Essay)

Kassandra Corral

Sean Pessin

English 114A

16, April 2011

Video Games and a New Experience

For project space I decided to do a variety of things.  My first step was going to an arcade just to get a feel for the atmosphere of the video game life.  It was quite intense it was like watching a fight, but instead of watching a fight between two people it was against man/women v. machine trying to win the game.  As I watched the gamers play I noticed that they were very much focused, but I wondered how is it that they can focus with the yelling of all the other gamers, the smell of the food and the chanting of their friends cheering for them to win.  It was an interesting experience.  

The second step that I decided to take was to watch my cousins play on their Xbox.  It was relatively the same as watching the gamers in the arcade, it was loud, and it smelled (since I was in their room); also they were very much focused.  My cousins on the other hand did not cheer each other on but fought, mostly about how one was doing better than the other.  As they were playing I decided to analyze the space in the game (Call of Duty: Black Ops).  Space in a game is the unbounded three-dimensional expanse in which all matter exists.  In a video game space is used differently in all games.  Space in a video game is used to create different scenarios.  From what I saw them play they were in a small narrowed cave.  In that cave I also saw how there were things that you would usually find in a cave, such as branches, roaches, and rats.

 The third step was going on you tube and finding different video games and analyzing the space in the game.  The first video game that I found was Call of Duty: Black Ops demo.

The space in the video was actually quite interesting because in the first scenario was what I had already scene with my cousins, which was the small narrowed cave.  The second scenario was outside the cave.  Once outside the cave you could see the camp ground in the middle of a forest.  The view is limited so one can only see what one needs to see and nothing more. The gamer does what it has to do and got where it needed to get which was to the helicopter.  Once inside the helicopter the view changed, one could now see the top of the trees, waterfalls, a river, and other camp grounds. Call of Duty: Black Ops takes place during the Cold War, in the 1960s. The story focuses on the CIA-backed clandestine black operations carried out behind enemy lines. These missions take place in various locations around the globe such as the Ural Mountains in central Russia, Cuba, Hong Kong, Laos, and the Arctic Circle.

Mass Effect

I also found Mass Effect 3, which also limited view as space. Mass Effect 3 begins on Earth, with Commander Shepard relieved of duty for the consequences of his/her actions in the Mass Effect 2 as the forces of Earth are overwhelmed by an oncoming Reaper onslaught. Admiral Anderson tasks Shepard with uniting the forces of the galaxy while he coordinates human resistance forces on Earth. Before leaving the system, Shepard stops at a research facility on Mars and saves former squadmate Liara T'Soni from Cerberus troopers. T'Soni has discovered blueprints in the Prothean ruins to a weapon that may have the power to destroy the Reapers. The blueprints are forwarded to Hackett, who dubs the weapon "The Crucible" and begins preparations for its construction.  The Citadel Council is reluctant to provide aid to Earth with Reapers attacking their own systems. To foster goodwill, Shepard is sent on various missions throughout the galaxy, gathering allies for the ongoing war and resources for the Crucible. In addition to opposition from the Reapers, Shepard must also fight the pro-human organization Cerberus, as the organization's leader, the Illusive Man, believes controlling the Reapers is better for humanity than destroying them.

  The following video that I found was portal. Portal is far more different than Call of Duty: Black Ops.  In portal what one has to do is that you have to use a portal to get from one point to another.  Such as in this picture: 

Portal

Using the portal gun one obtains in the game, one has to figure out where one has to place the portal in order to get to the desired location. The game is a series of puzzles that must be solved by creating a portal that the gamer's character uses to create portals between two flat planes. Portal takes place in the Enrichment Center for Aperture Laboratories, which is the fictional research corporation responsible for the creation of the portal gun.  Portal I believe is mostly played on the computer, so one should be sure to have a comfortable chair and snacks nearby.

             The final video that I found was Halo.  In Halo all that I saw from the video was the gamer shoot all the creatures.  Just like in Call of Duty: Black Ops the view was also limited in Halo.  Again the gamer could only see what the programmer wanted the gamer to see. The game opens as the Pillar of Autumn exits slipspace near a mysterious ring-shaped space station, called "Halo" by the enemy of the game, the Covenant. A Covenant fleet attacks and heavily damages the Pillar of Autumn. Captain Keyes initiates "The Cole Protocol", a procedure designed to prevent the Covenant from learning the location of Earth. While Keyes prepares to land the ship on Halo, the Master Chief and Cortana escape via an escaped pod, which crash lands on the ring. Cortana and the Chief are the only ones who survive the impact of the escape pod crash. Keyes survives the Autumn's crash landing, but is captured by the Covenant. In the second and third levels of the game, the Master Chief and Cortana gather human survivors and rescue Captain Keyes, who is imprisoned aboard the Covenant ship Truth and Reconciliation. Once rescued, Keyes orders the Master Chief to beat the Covenant to Halo's control center and to discover its purpose

 I believe that Halo took place in some kind of old where house and that the player took on the role of the Chief, an enhanced super-soldier.  Halo can be played on the Xbox 360, which you can pretty much play anywhere just as long as you have a television or a projector.

I believe that in almost all games space is limited and the makers of the game designed it that way in order to set limits and boundaries as to how far one can go.  Video games are frequently being limited when it comes to the amount of space one has to move around in.  The video game itself is a world a virtual world but still a world.  One in which you can play in an alternate reality which is one were you can reach the impossible, such as doing things that a human can’t do  such as flying, running at an impossible speed, have supernatural powers, and also stealing and shooting others without getting arrested.  The programmers like ones parents created rules for their video games but luckily in a virtual world there are cheat codes which sadly in reality there is not.

Where one chooses to play is also a very important.  If one chooses to play on a computer one is must have internet access at all time and you are restricted it sitting in a chair.  Although if you’re smart one can find a comfortable chair to sit on and have snacks close at hand in order to avoid getting up as much as possible.  Also one may not be able to yell at the computer, if one is at the library or playing at a Starbucks, where your internet access may not always be available to you.

            One can also play on a console where you are limited to playing at home or at a friend’s house.  When playing on a console one can play in any position such as in bed, sitting down, or simply on a comfortable chair.  In order to play on a console though one must have a television or a projector, if not one cannot play.

Others may also choose to play in an arcade, but in an arcade one is restricted to a time limit, so one must carry a pocket full of quarters.  An arcade is also very noisy.  If you get mad because one lost the game and you yell at the machine then others might think that you are crazy.  Several others may also play on handhelds such as the DS, or the PS3.  With the DS and the PS3 you can play just about anywhere as long as one’s DS or PS3 is charged.  You must also have the proper lighting so one can see the screen.

Another important factor when it comes to playing video game is choosing where to play, and making sure that one is comfortable.  One must choose a designated space where to play and to be completely focused.  When one finds themselves playing in an uncomfortable location it may see that the game is harder than it usually is.

Assassins Creed

The final step that I decided to take was to play a video game myself.  I choose to play Assassin’s Creed, since my sister had a DS and I borrowed the game from my cousin.  Since I played on a handheld I carried with me just about everywhere.  I played the game in many different locations such as in the bus, the car, and in bed.  For me it was very important to have a comfortable location to play which was outside.  Assassin’s Creed was very difficult for me at first to understand since I have never played a video game before.  Assassin’s Creed space was very limited I could only see what I needed to see.  In certain areas I couldn’t go through and most of the game took place on the roof tops.  Since I was an assassin I had many different choices of weapons such as a sword, hidden blade, and a grappling hook and others items.  Not to mention that I could also climb walls and other things that I have yet to unlock.  When I had to interrogate or assassinate people I had to use the stylus and make sure to touch the screen at the right time or I would lose.  It was very difficult for me to get through the game because I kept making many mistakes, which I felt I should not have made.  The game seemed easy but due to my lack of skills I got frustrated with the game many times.  I would simply turn it off and play again later.  I am still very much at the beginning at the game because I kept getting killed or I would make a wrong move and die.  I also had two screens.  The top screen had the game and the bottom screen had options such as being able to look at the weapons that you had and how to use them.  The bottom screen also showed you a map of where you were and where my enemies are.  As I continued playing the game it got more difficult for me to play.

            Desmond Miles, a bartender, is kidnapped by the Abstergo Corporation. There, Desmond is forced to interface with the Animus, a device that is able to replay the genetic memories of the user's ancestors. In Desmond's case, they seek information about his ancestor Altair, an Assassin during the time of the third crusade. Within the Animus, Altair’s memories reveal that he was attempting to stop Robert de Sable from taking an artifact from a temple, but broke all three of the Assassins' Brotherhood's tenets in the process. The Brotherhood leader, Al Mualim, demotes Altair to the rank of Novice, and assigns him the task of assassinating nine people to regain his former status

Playing Assassins Creed was an interesting experience and I also learned that I will never play a video game again.  As was going to an arcade and watching the gamers play and be completely focused as if that was all that they lived for and nothing else.  Also form having watched the video games from you tube I saw how spaced in a video game was used.  Space is used differently in all games, also that the space and the view is very limited.