DMA Street Fighter

I don't know how but I came across this on Youtube. So um yea I'm just going to leave this here...

Toy Story 4.

The other day, Disney Pixar announced  there plans to make yet  another Toy Story film that is going to be released around  June 2017. There were some slight rumors about some of our biggest  childhood movies to release another movie such as Cars 3, The Incrediables 2, and also Finding Dory. All and all, I am more excited about the new Toy Story movie, because Toy Story was my favorite of all Pixar and Disney movies growing up. I know that there's a potential possibility of it ruining the series of Toy Story, but I think that it is going to be successful , because Toy Story film has always been successful. Well, in my eyes anyways.

Video games: going mobile

After my last article I will say that I really haven't had time to play video games as much as I used to. There's a "new" form of gaming, though, that has taken the world by storm. I put marks around new because mobile gaming has been around since the game boy days, love me some pokemon, but it's blasted off to new heights with smart phones. Take the anger inducing Flappy Bird for example. The creator made over a million dollars a day on ad revenue alone in the short time it was on the app store. Mobile gaming now fulfills the same area of the brain that holds addiction because, just like txting, every time we get a notification we feel the urge to play it.

Is mobile gaming bad for us? Well, yes and no. No because there are some fun creative titles out there that help grow the brain, but also no because there are many games that just turn our brains into mush. Just like anything else there is a good and bad so it is up to us to be responsible and have self discipline not to not only control how much we play, but to make sure we don't spend outrageous amounts of money on it either. Games that are labled "free-to-play" really aren't free if you want to get an edge over everyone else or just flat out don't have the patience to wait to harvest your crops. In game purchases are something that needs to be stopped, but will only continue to grow and as even reached console gaming as well.

Now quickly relating this article to my last, yes, mobile gaming can also be considered art. I look at the recent Angry Birds, Transformers, and I can't help but feel nostalgia for the 80's. The music is great and the animation is as well. Reminder that art will always be to each his own though.

So, mobile gaming. What does everyone else think on this subject? Does it lesson are abilities to focus or are they a nice quick escape from reality given controlled perimeters?

Video games: more than just headshots

 

For as far back as I can remember I have played video games. Heck, the first time I cussed was when I was fighting my brother in Street Fighter. Video games where also the way I lost 100 pounds. Any way, I have always seen video games as not just an experience, but a form of art. In just speaking of console gaming it has definitely come a long way from the days of Pong and Pacman. Yes, I do know that PC gaming has the better graphics, but nonetheless it's amazing how far we've come. With the new release of the Master Chief Collection you can really see the progress of graphics in gaming with just the flip of a switch.

Two games in particular that stick out to me as unconventional art are Little Big Planet and Project Spark. In both you can create games inside of games. Speaking of Pong and Pacman, you can literally create your own versions inside of those two titles. I think user generated art inside of a game is a great way to express. Do I need to mention the unicorn in the room that is Minecraft? My brother can't understand the concept of these games, all he likes to do is play COD or GTA, but, again, they're something special. With the mention of GTA would I also call that art, as well as every other game, yes, I would. To me, gaming is more than just head shots. It's a tool of expression just like painting.

One of my favorite gaming series is Dynasty Warriors. Yes, it is just a mindless hack and slash, but from the moment I first played it I latched onto its story. It is based off the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Would I ever read that? Uh, no. That is why I appreciate that gaming has created a new form of art to where you can experience the story for yourself and really feel for the characters if they die. In conclusion, just because a game makes millions it doesn't mean it's not art and just because a game doesn't hit the mainstream doesn't mean it's not successful. Not every painting is viewed in the same way, but it doesn't mean it's not art. Although I would contest that there are some "art" pieces out there that shouldn't be consider so, but that's a convo for another time.

The Video Game Lecture

The lecture we had today gave me a lot of insight on the development of video games over the years and how they changed.  Sad to say this, but now I want to play some of the games.  The graphics and the settings in some of the games are amazing and are simple without being way over the top.  Maybe even watching someone play the games would be good enough for me to see what the game is like and watch the story unfold.  I may not be a huge fan of video games, but I'll give it a chance just for the sake of art and storytelling.

"Gojira" Godzillaaaaaaa!

Tonight was my first time seeing Gojira(Godzilla). Well seeing Godzilla in general, but it was worth it. I have not yet seen the 2014 Godzilla. What I found most interesting, and funny, about the film were the miniatures that symbolized the destruction Godzilla caused. I found it funny because it looked so odd seeing the fake jets on a string shooting missiles, that completely missed Godzilla, but you could tell it was a toy or some craft of a sort. I understand that there was no technology back then like we have now but thats the best part about it, the creativity.  Ishirô Honda used what he had and made something out of it and in my opinion I think it's one of those movies that it is so bad that it's good.

Blood, Sweat, and Time

The talk today from Blake made me think about a lot of my dreams of making a film or game, and then it made me realize how fundamentally unattainable these goals are in the here and now. It takes a lot of sacrifice, hard work, and time to make a good game or movie. But not only that, but you have to be able to deal with the business world and the legal stuff that comes with bringing a vision into reality. This casts a huge shadow over all the sunshine and rainbows that freshmen come in with. Does this mean the rainbows are gone? No. Spend a few evenings on Becker 2nd and you can't help but get into the spirit of the game. People goof around from just talking Loony Toons and playing with their frustrating rigs for a much needed laugh or playing Jack-Be-Nimble with the trashcans. These hopeful film makers, animators, and game designers know how to get a laugh but for the most part they are working the Wacoms down to their graphic cards. And yet these aspiring feel well accomplished for what they do, whatever it is. And it is well that they should. We are climbing a ladder in this program, and as cliched as it sounds, it all starts with the first step. So one day, I might get to make my imagination into a reality, but the desire to control my own project has lessened greatly after today. 

Thanks for the reality check Blake!

 And at the same time, going back over why we are here and why we are learning how to do digital media art, has bolstered my confidence to keep plugging along with my assignments. And I hope this might help someone else who might be feeling low on enthusiasm as we come around the bend into the last few weeks of the semester. Now is not the time to slack of, except for when you're rendering.

 

 We are the many, caffeine flows through our veins, we are DMA and we are coming for you world!

The Metroid Prime Trilogy

I am not an avid gamer. I have never owned a video game system in my entire life. Now that I am in college I can at least play the games I have been long denied. One of those games (or rather game series) is Metroid. Since I have been on campus I have started the Metroid Prime trilogy. As someone who has not played video games as faithfully as some other people I could mention, I have to say that it is one of the greatest video games that I have ever played.
Metroid Prime is not a heavily story-driven series as it focuses more on exploration and backtracking. The worlds created in these games are atmospheric, and the soundtrack sounds like it is a living organism in and of itself. You get this feeling of isolation as you traverse these hostile environments where it seems every living creature wants to disembowel you.
The greatest part of this game is it's way of using a wide collection of weapons and tools that you acquire as the game progresses. There is something you left behind somewhere a few miles behind you or even on another planet. This way in which you are forced to backtrack gives you the illusion that this a great expansive world. It is a thoroughly enjoyable experience that I will definitely wish to have again.

Reaffirmed on Gaming

Todays lecture on gaming by Blake really helped open my eyes back up to gaming and I think it opened up a few other's eyes up on the subject. The immersion factor is definitely something that gaming has it going for it. While I don't think that gaming can get to the same level of narrative that a film can get to because it has other things to focus on in gameplay because obviously.....it's a game. I like the way Blake approached games where he divided it into two different categories.

 One category focusing on how some games build up one aspect like gameplay or narrative and build around that, while others choose to give the players an all around immersive experience to take ahold of. Depending on how the game is developed can lead into how much one may enjoy that type of game, how you might critique it, and how much the general audiences will enjoy it. I think this is a fine way of viewing games and while I enjoy film more I have a special place in my heart for all story-telling mediums. Art is seriously fantastic.

I met Blake at ACOC, he's a pretty sweet guy. I enjoyed listening to him share his passion for video games with us. It's amazing how far along video games have come since the 1950s, with tic tac toe and tennis being some of the very first games. In 2014 games are looking like movies, and people are able to immerse themselves entirely into a gaming world with an Oculus VR. With this much advancement in less than a century, I wonder what video games will be like in the future. It's kind of strange/scary to think about what they'll come up with next. 

This Intro to DMA class is forcing me to talk about things I have no clue about. Leeper is lucky because he can bring in someone like Blake to do his job for the day, showing that he is by no means an expert on the subject of gaming. Unfortunately, I don't have an out. I can't get someone to do my job by writing these blogs for me. Half the time I feel like my entries are just mumbo jumbo, and I'm saying things I half-heartedly believe in, just because I know they would sound good to the teacher. It's difficult, but I guess college is forcing me to press on.

 My favourite part about this class is discovering all the different communities out there. I'm learning that there are so many groups of people passionate about making art, wether it is painting, film, animation, or gaming. Everyone in those communities loves the same thing, and huge parts of their time, money and effort are devoted to it. I think finding your passion and being a part of a community is the best thing in the world. It's inspiring to see all the gamer's eyes light up when Blake talks about a revolutionary game, or the interest shown in his senior project. I don't really care, and the things he talked about didn't make much sense to me. But I can fully appreciate everyone else's excitement, because I know that indescribable feeling that gaming gives them in their stomachs. I get that same feeling when I think about skateboarding. It's a pretty good feeling. 

A Knight's Tale

A Knight's Tale is a movie about a peasant named William Thatcher that wants to become a knight by jousting in competitions. It has action, comedy, and romance all mixed into one. One of my favorite parts is when William's love Jocelyn asks him to lose the competition he is in to prove his love. He refuses and is determined to win till he decides to start losing to show her. After the first round he is hurt and Jocelyn's hand maiden tells him to win to prove his love. They go back to the arena and William's announcer says to him there she is your Venus, William looked at him and said and oh how I hate her. But yet he still tries to win to prove his love. I love this part because it shows my relationship with my girlfriend when we argue. She irritates me and makes me "hate" her but yet I would do anything to show her how much I love her.

Games for Games Sake

...and movies for movies sake.

OK, so this is purely a personal opinion, but I don't think a game can "immerse" you into some kind of storyline better than a movie can.  Video games allow you to interact with the world on the screen (which is cool), but when you base a game all around a story, I feel like the "game" in "video game" is lost.  Storytelling should be the sole job of a movie, because when it's thrown into a game, it feels like there's two completely unrelated aspects to the game: you have the actual gameplay side, and then you have the narrative side.  Though I'm not a gamer (as you can probably tell), from my limited experience, a narrative in a game just slows things down and prevents you from actually playing the game.  No doubt, the trailer for the game "Left of Us" looked pretty cool, but it looked like the trailer for a movie.  When you play out a storyline in a game, it puts you, the player, completely in control of the storyline, even if you don't know how it goes.  I understand there may be a few surprises along the way, but nothing beats sitting in a movie theater completely unable to control what you're watching.  The way I said that makes it sound bad.  What I mean is the best movies are the ones that are unexpected.  If you can make a game like that, then great.  But as it stands so far, it seems that games are currently caught in an uneven balance between story and gameplay.  So, what can you do?  I say play the old arcade games.  Those were always the best.  Why? Because they were purely games for games sake.  They didn't need complex stories.  They were extremely fun and addicting to play because they were only focused on objectives.  I think to add anything more to a game puts it in a weird space squashed between a game and a movie.

That's all you need.

Now, it you want to make some nice looking graphics, I have no problem with that because it's art.  And video games today do have some pretty stellar art.  But they lack the story simplicity of Galaga.  Heck, Galaga doesn't even have a story.  So, simplicity is key in a  video game.  But again, I'm not a gamer.  This post makes it look like I'm very into this "debate", but I'm not really.  The bottom line is that video games should be designed for fun (read my post "On Gaming").  

Video Game Addicts.

There are many people in the world that have a addiction to playing video games. I for one enjoy playing video games a little bit a day if I have time for them. I on average play an hour or so a day if I have some free time. I am not one to sit in front of the TV screen from the time I get out of bed, to the next day. I would classify people like that as an, addict. I enjoy video games, but I will not waste my whole day lounging myself on the couch for a game, I feel that there are so many alternatives for playing a video game all day, everyday. People who play video games all day, are simply key values of life.

Hoosiers

     Hoosiers is one of my all time favorite movies and my personal favorite sports movie. Not only is it based off of an Indiana high school team, but it also tells a great story about overcoming impossible odds to find success. The unlikely success the team finds throughout their season creates a feel good movie with a classic basketball feel to it. Gene Hackman delivers an absolutely incredible performance as the coach of the small town high school team that is able to win the state championship. Some people may think this movie is a little cheesy or predictable but that doesn't mean it's not worth seeing. I think it is a great experience because of its David vs. Goliath plot and the trials the team is able to overcome.  

                                             

The Definition of Success and Call of Duty

We covered a lot in class on Tuesday, and I'll try and compile my thoughts on some of them in my upcoming blogs.

The Definition of Success 

Personally, I wouldn't say success is only measured on how much money you make.  I define success as how well you achieve what you set out to accomplish. So using this definition, lets take a look the Call of Duty franchise, particularly some of the most recent ones. 

While Activision publishes all the games, there are all made by different developers (Treyarch, Infinity Ward, and the newcomer, Sledgehammer Games) who bring there own nuances to the franchise.

What does each game have to offer? There are three main parts to a current Call of Duty game: the single player campaign, the online/local multiplayer, and the online/local co-op mode. The campaign is usually pretty straight forward, and to most people is really just "training" in a particular game's mechanics to prepare them for multiplayer. Some don't even play it at all.

The co-op mode is for 1 to 2 players locally or 1 to 4 players online, and usually involves surviving hordes of enemies while completing objectives. Treyarch has Zombies, Infinity Ward has had Spec Ops and Extinction, and Sledgehammer has Exo Survival. Each one of these has a slightly different focus and style of gameplay. This mode has a somewhat connected but separate story line from the campaign, and for some people (especially for Zombies) is the only reason they buy the game in the first place. 

The main reason that most people buy Call of Duty is for the online multiplayer. There are many game types, ranging from the kill based games like Team Deathmatch and Free-for-All to objective based ones like Domination and Search and Rescue. There is also a progression and XP system, which rewards playtime and feats of skill by unlocking gameplay items such as guns and attachments as well as cosmetic items.There are also ranking events, such as League Play or Clan Wars. In addition to the online multiplayer, there  are online private matches and local offline multiplayer that allow for the tweaking of gametypes, and even the inclusion of AI controlled opponents (called Bots).

So why is Call of Duty so successful? I think it is because in terms of an arcade-style FPS competitive multiplayer experience, the Call of Duty franchise is what all others are compared to. And in a genre where from the outside observer it appears to be the same thing over and over, the little details matter. 

So using my earlier definition of success, have the last few Call of Duty games been successful? Lets look at 2013's Ghosts by Infinity Ward, which is considered by many COD fans as the worst game in the franchise. Why is that? The campaign was okay, and a lot of people loved Extinction (myself included). However, without going into too much technical detail, they completely flopped on the multiplayer side of things.While somethings were good in theory, including a complete revamp of the perk system, new streak rewards, and a lower TTK (time to kill), in practice the new perk system made everyone have to use the same things in order to be competitive, and poor lag comp and hit detection, combined with the lower TTK made the game unplayable for some.And the new and fun streak rewards caused many players to "camp" in order to keep there streaks going, ruining the flow of the game.  So in the goal of providing the premiere multiplayer experience COD fans expected, they failed, and were not successful. Some have even sworn to never buy an Infinity Ward product ever again.

I haven't played it enough yet, but this year's Advanced Warfare appears to be delivering what they set out to do: A new focus on the campaign, and a completely new and fresh take on the Call of Duty franchise. I'll go into more detail on how in a future blog; right now I gotta run to class!

The Making of The Last of Us

I think it was really beneficial that we watched the indie game documentary in class, as it illustrated some of the technical challenges that goes into making video games. If you enjoyed that, and would like to see some behind the scenes look at the creative process behind making a video game, I highly recommend watching this documentary about the development of the game The Last of Us. WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS THROUGHOUT! So if you plan on playing the game, you'll want to wait. 

There's also a short feature on the making of the Left Behind add on content (which is also worth playing). 

"Video Game" is Becoming a Loaded Noun

I loved our discussion during class on Tuesday. I appreciate how the discussion evolved and changed and there were opinions from all sides being shared clearly and listened to with respect. At least that's how I felt. 

There's so much to be said about video games. Like the title says, it's becoming a loaded noun; like a loaded question, there's much more behind the phrase than just a couple of words and a meaning. People's lives are invested in this medium, people like designers as well as the audience. Some people live in an ocean of pixelated stimulation, while others simply sit down to enjoy a game or relax after a long day every once in a while. 

 I think one of the biggest game changers (metaphorically speaking) in this conversation is how we, as an audience, can actively influence the media we interact with. By showing support for a franchise or style of game, or even games with particular values in expression, we have a say in what gets made. We cannot allow ourselves to forget our role in this situation. If you see a game that you really think hits the nail on the head for a rich, well developed, positive video game, what are you doing to support it? Do you want more of this kind of thing in the future? Then say so! 

I personally experience this because I don't own many consoles on my own, nor do I have a PC, so I'm limited in the games I can play. But if I research a game that looks like something I truly want to experience and think I would learn something from, I tell other people about it! I share it on Facebook, I reblog it on Tumblr, I may even try to contribute to their Kickstarter or something like that. I don't want to look at something great and move on before communicating to the game industry that I want more stuff like this. (For me, that's games like Transistor, a sci-fi RPG released last month by Supergiant Games.)

This is the stuff that the game industry sees and pays attention to. In a lot of ways, it does come down to money. But even if we don't have the money to buy every game we want to play, we can still support the artists and designers by drawing attention to their creations.

That said, here's a game that Mack was watching a play through of on youtube and I did some further research on. It's a really amazing idea: a first person shooter in which time only progresses when you move. It's called SUPERHOT and it's really cool. 

The Church and the Ratings System

As sort if an introduction to our reading and discussion for Thursday's class on the 6th I think it's good to ramble and rant a little on the film ratings systems in the United States. I knew that early ratings and censorship was heavily influenced by the Catholic and Protestant churches, but I guess I underestimated just how involved they were. The church essentially headed the front on these organizations that censored our art and essentially limited a lot of creativity in the United States. I think that's why often times we see foreign films with more graphic or uncomfortable content versus seeing that stuff in the US because we were made to do without it for a few decades. I was surprised to see that the Catholic church was even crazier about it because most of my friends and schoolmates from all my years of Catholic schoolings seemed to be way more open to film and pop culture as opposed to most protestants I have met here. Also the introduction of the MPAA was kind of a bittersweet moment. On one end we get this system that rates our movies, allowing us to have more freedom in what we create knowing there will be a warning on it. But then you get a lot of people complaining about the system and having problems with their agency in general. So we have quite a few problems there. I think it is a very interesting topic so I'm ready to see where the discussion will lead us in this next class period.

Christian game developers

Personally, I think Christian game developers are far and few between. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, game developers in general were rare.

Growing up, video games were never on my radar. The only games I owned were educational, or Harry Potter. They just weren’t anything I got into.

I remember being given a new game by my friend Stacy. It was a game about the books of the bible. You had to find the verses and put them back in the correct book.

The developer was actually one of her friends, and I actually ended up becoming friends with most of the family after I started going to church with them.

Since then, I have started paying more attention to the gaming community, but I’ve never been as involved as I am now. While I still don’t really play that many games, I’ve grown to love watching other people play, especially when they have running commentary.

While I want to start getting into games more, I also know how they treat women in the gaming industry. Women are treated as if they are only there for men’s entertainment. Many Men in the gaming industry believe Girl gamers don’t know what they are talking about, or are faking it to impress a guy, when as far as I can tell, many girls are better at the games than most guys.

I need to get better at doing blogs, like I need to be banging these things out

But I'm not. Oopsie. I have another blog (this is actually me going to be gushing over my senior project I'm so sorry. Feel free to scroll on, I hate feeling like I'm just pushing things I've done in people's faces, I'm so sorry) I keep blogging to the other blog, and then I'm like, yeah that's good. I don't have any other blogging things to do, I have finished all the blogging I need to do. And it's not true but I fall for it every time.

HOWEVER, speaking of games, my whole senior project is a game which right now is called Project Oriana. (we have a website. and a twitter. and a tumblr. and a facebook. I'm not saying you should like us, but just in case: Facebook! ) And it's so cool because we get to research other games and their process, and all the concept art is gorgeous and building a story and a journey is so intricate and magical. I'm also doing alot of color keys, and color is like my favorite thing in the whole world (except maybe female superheros.)

Games aren't just a way to waste time, it's an interactive story that you get to experience, often first hand. And it's wonderful.

After this I'm going to get better at blogging, I swear. Y'all will get sick of me.

shhhhhh just let it happen

The Real Reason CoD Lost Popularity

I think the biggest reason why Call of Duty lost its popularity is NOT ONLY just because it's the same thing over and over again, but (like we discussed in class) there are other games that are thought of as amazing and they are still the same thing over and over again.  The real reason in my opinion why Call of Duty lost its popularity is because its become more of a killstreak based game.  Who can get the most amount of kills in one game?  However, this has created a huge problem.  While most FPS games will never be able to mimic real life warfare, Call of Duty failed by not trying to pursue a more realistic game.  In fact their earlier games were much like this.  Modern Warfare, World at War, and Modern Warfare 2, we're probably they're closest thing to real like warfare.  Reason being, some of the maps were actually big.  You could roam around in them longer before getting torn up.  In the new Call of Duties however they've created maps that are much more close quarter type combat.  I'll admit I used to play the new CoD's when they had this kind of map set-up however, once Modern Warfare 3 came out it had the same exact "type" of graphics from the second one just with different guns and much closer maps.  For Call of Duty to ever go big again, they need to realize that we want to feel like were actually they're fighting, not running around small maps like idiots without checking our blind spots.  No one in real war runs around a corner at lighting speed expecting there to be nobody there.  Call of Duty needs to implement the game types that they have created along the way, research more guns and basically give us World at War back with better graphics with EVEN BIGGER MAPS.  Give us the real thing. Give us maps that we can hide out in and snipe each other.  Give us real life physics like leading our targets if they're moving or aim above them if our target is far away.  This would bring a difficulty to the game that is similar to battlefield however, I would be awesome to see a game from Call of Duty like this. If they want to save they're company, they need to make a game that people will start talking about.  I mean really start talking about, I want my friends coming up to me and saying "yo you have to buy the next Call of Duty." I've always been a huge fan, but I refuse to play because I just can't get back into it for these reasons.

RIP Call of Duty

Brain games day one footage

So as everyone knows Jesse had been in charge of creating a zombie movie.  So as a little unwind thing afterwards we filmed an after film thing.  In it we talk about some of the things that happened that day.  Just to give a little as to what happened that day we filmed some of the basic shots that were indoors.  Those shots were Alex preparing to fight.  It took a lot of preparing.  We learned how to do filming inside and not also break open dorm rules.
In the video we are talking in the wright conference since open dorms is over and there was no where else to go we went there.  So we are just being idiots in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtH0ci2HyoM&feature=youtu.be

Please enjoy it!!

On Halloween I went to Huntington 7 and watched Nightcrawler! I heard it was getting fantastic reviews, and the trailer got me pumped every time I watched it, but I walked into the theatre with low expectations. I find that when I do that, I end up being pleasantly surprised by the movie I'm seeing. I remember when I saw Transformers 2 I was pretty bummed. I loved the first one, but the hype for the second was built up too much between my friends and I. After it was over I remember feeling let down :( Sorry Quinton, I know how you feel about Transformers.

Anyways, Nightcrawler! Best movie I've seen in a while. I was in love with Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Lou. He is portrayed as a cynical, manipulative person whom the audience is supposed to hate. Honestly, I loved him. I thought his personality was the most human of any movie I've ever seen. It should be no surprise that sometimes people actually have dark thoughts, use others to get what they want, and lapse into moments of only caring about themselves. A lot of times I am sick of dealing with humans and putting up with them. I have moments when I feel like everyone else is incompetent and unworthy of my time. Maybe its mean, but it's the truth, and I know others would admit to that too. In my mind, Nightcrawler captured that truth perfectly. As well, most of the film took place at night in Los Angeles- only cool things can happen when that time and place is put together. I was completely taken by the movie and I remember leaving with childlike excitement. I highly recommend it! 

Complete BAUWS^^

thinking about success

Last class we discussed a lot of things, but one of those that stuck in my mind was what we consider success to be. It's been brought up that success is money, that it comes from happiness, or that it's satisfying an audience. After a while of thinking about it, I think that success is if whatever you created serves the purpose that you intended for it. If you google success quotes, you get a lot of deep stuff like "don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally" and "the size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire". I believe that success is something that comes as a product of hard work, desire, determination, and purpose. And something is truly successful if it has all of those characteristics: if you get what you wanted out of what you put into it.So when we say that some video games are dumb because there's no purpose or because the game is just some mind-numbing source of entertainment but they're getting a lot of money, maybe the creators intended it to be just that. Maybe they made it just to target an age group and then make a ton of money off of them. If that's what they wanted and if they achieved it, then that's success. If an indie filmmaker makes a movie to express themselves and bring out something unexpected, but it doesn't make a lot of money, their success isn't based off of the cash it's whether or not they feel like they got their message across.
It's a big decision as incoming artists to decide our purpose with our work, and even more important for Christians. Do we make things for money? Do we make it for a message? Do we make work for ourselves? Or do we do it for God? And can we be successful in doing whatever route we choose? Just some things to think about. :)

Mario

Shigeru Miyamoto created Mario while developing Donkey Kong in an attempt to produce a best-selling video game for Nintendo; previous titles like Sheriff had not achieved the same success as titles like Pac-Man. Originally, Miyamoto wanted to create a video game that used the characters Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl. At the time, however, Miyamoto was unable to acquire a license to use the characters (and would not until 1982), so he ended up making Jumpman (later known as Mario), Donkey Kong, and Pauline. In the early stages of Donkey Kong, Mario was unable to jump, and the focus was to escape a maze. However, Miyamoto enabled Mario to jump, saying "If you had a barrel rolling towards you, what would you do?"

                                      

Miyamoto originally named the character "Mr. Video", and he was to be used in every video game Miyamoto developed. According to a widely circulated story, during localization of Donkey Kong for North American audiences, Nintendo of America's warehouse landlord Mario Segale confronted his then-president Minoru Arakawa, demanding back rent. Following a heated argument in which the Nintendo employees eventually convinced Segale he would be paid, they opted to name the character in the game Mario after him.

Inception

     Last night a friend and I watched Inception. I own the movie and have seen it several times, but for my friend it was his first experience and he wasn't as impressed as he thought he would be. While it is one of my favorite films because of its unique plot and storytelling, he felt that the movie didn't live up to the hype that I and others built it up to be. He felt that the movie never quite allowed you to connect with the characters and in turn you never really cared about the fate of them.

                           

  

     I agree with his point to an extent in that the character development isn't the strongest out of my favorite movies, but that isn't what I am really looking for when I am watching Inception. The unique plot and the storytelling is what I love about the movie and I think the characters are allowed to develop as a part of the twists and turns that come along in the real world and in the dream world. For me this is a refreshing change of style in a movie which is why I enjoyed it the first time I watched it and continue to enjoy it the tenth time that I have seen it. However, everybody is free to have their own opinions about each film and I think that having healthy discussions over them only enhances the experience you get from each viewing.   

Call of Gaming

My problem with video games is that I don't see them as art. Any little indie game that is learning new things does not interest me. Story does not interest me. When I play a game I expect to get the thrill of achievement.

If I want a good story I will read a book. If I want good art I will go to a gallery.When a game is just a movie, but I press "x" now and then, it is no longer fun for me.

For Me I only find the thrill of achievement fun in a video game. (not the story or artwork)

But, I feel like others don't understand what I get out of gaming. So, they talk about fun games I like as if they were trash. They are fun to me. Finally getting to the flag in Super Mario Bro's was fun when I was little because I achieved something. Now that I'm older I find achieving a kill-streak in C.O.D. exhilarating.  To me seeing the objective and succeeding at the objective Is what is fun, so Games Like Call of Duty Are Awesome!