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Introducing Myself through Fantasy

Fantasy? If it were a person, I would consider myself merely an acquaintance. Fantasy has many layers to it, and as a 19-year-old college student in a STEM major, I have only been able to peel very few of those layers. My experience with fantasy is very much limited. Still, my rare exposure to it has only brought me a better quality of life.

To put it most simply, fantasy is something that does not exist in my real life at that moment. I would consider fantasy anywhere from a fictional world to a plot of “normal” life that I am not experiencing. In other words, fantasy was anything that was not my reality. Because of such, my experiences with fantasy have almost always become my escape from the real world.

The closest I’ve ever been with fantasy was as a young child–the most innocent and imaginative stage of life. The television shows gave me a sense of what fantasy was like. I especially enjoyed Pokémon, Mickey Mouse Club House, and Winnie the Pooh. Ultimately, they brought upon my imaginative play beyond the television. For example, I used to fantasize about being a Pokémon trainer. Like most who watched the show, I, too, had a favorite Pokémon. Probably due to my lack thereof and desire of a pet dog, my favorite Pokémon was Growlithe. Often, in the series, this Pokémon belonged to the characters known as Officer Jenny. These duos most likely resemble motorcycle-riding police officers with a canine unit. So, to achieve my dream as a Pokémon trainer, I tried to bring this character to life. Every time, I rode my bike, I imagined myself on a motorcycle with a Growlithe running alongside me. I was such a weird kid. To me, this fantasy I created was both fun and enjoyable. I consider this reoccurring experience a defining part of what I feel is my childhood.

As my life became consumed with school, fantasy faded away, and so did my imaginative play. Although called epics, plays, and historical fiction, books I’ve read in my English classes became my definition of fantasy literature. Usually, I found myself enjoying the fantasy literature; however, the assignments that came with it always made it less enjoyable. Reading fantasy became something I no longer enjoyed.

Luckily, fantasy can still be enjoyed through other forms of media. Bless technology! For example, binging on Netflix is how I often choose to spend my “me” time. Whether it’d be a dystopian TV show or a drama, they always bring me a sense of enjoyable fantasy, as if I was a young kid again. Another form of media I utilize is Youtubers’ vlogs. Like most, I feel that a Youtuber’s life is ideal at my age. They had money and always seemed so happy in their videos. However, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I use it as motivation to keep going, so I can achieve the same level of success and happiness in the near future. Both alternatives allowed for a satisfying experience with fantasy to be still accessible in my life.

My experience with fantasy was quite typical. I never became a Star Wars fanatic or anything like that. I simply enjoyed and hated fantasy based on different experiences. Luckily, most have been rewarding and enjoyable; hence, my interest in it now. I will probably never study fantasy literature, but it does not hurt to learn more about myself through the eyes of fantasy by taking this course.

Video Game Reflection

I’ve never been into video games, let alone build one, so this project was not something I was looking forward too. However, after completing the video game project, it is not too bad. Still not my favorite thing ever, but I can bear it now. There was much to learn when creating my game, but I managed and am quite proud of the game, For Lysteria.

Before I started creating the game, I needed a storyline. What did I want it to be about? What did I want my users to do? I asked myself these two questions quite a bit through the process. Eventually, I settled on a hero’s journey game set in Lysteria. In my opinion, the hero’s journey is easy enough to write creatively. I did not want to get stumped half-way into creating the game. However, the hero’s journey is very common, and I wanted the game to feel like my own. So, to do this, I chose to utilize my created world from the World-Building Project. With an idea and storyline to follow, I started to build my game for my audience of potential users.

I didn’t have any audience in mind when creating it. But, now looking back, it seems that the audience would be for middle schoolers to even college students. There are some aspects of romantic emotion, and I feel that a young kid might still have the immature notion of ‘cooties’ in mind. Also, there is some violet ideas and death within the game that may be deemed controversial for a younger audience. I find that an older audience might not enjoy it as much since the storyline is quite simple and does not require much thought; older audiences prefer some complexity. Despite all my critiques to determine an audience, my game is quite universal as long as the user’s guardians deem it appropriate and have an interest in a fairytale and heroic quest game.

As a person who doesn’t play or like games that much, I had a hard time convincing myself to be the “game writer”. I didn’t know what I was doing. But, through this learning experience, I think I have been able to find my “game writer” self. I am essentially creating a story, so my job as a writer is to guide my users through this story. I do that. In many emotional parts of the game, I let my users know of inner thoughts. This allows them to know exact details and give them context to their decision in the game. I am essentially telling them how to feel, and as the user, they must trust this if they want to understand the game and the decisions they make.

As the users are making decisions in my game, they are utilizing my game’s procedural rhetoric. Every decision they make can change the outcome and experience of the game. For example, if the user chooses not to ‘share the blanket,’ the user may not feel as much of an impact later on when Lexi dies. The user makes the conscious decision to interact with Lexi, and within that decision, the user has developed a romantic connection with Lexi. On the other hand, there would be less interaction with Lexi to build feelings upon. Another example of procedural rhetoric within my game is that individual decisions can lead to entirely different endings. These endings allow the user to explore beyond a winning experience and, in turn, learn of new feelings and experiences within the game. No matter the decisions made in this game, I hope my users may still find it a pleasant experience.

Now, learning of the processes and procedures of my game, I hope you enjoy my game’s play experience. Will you play my game?

“There’s No Game” Game Response

The game I chose is Mario Kart. Since it is a more fun-play game, it doesn’t really have a set story line to it. You go on and you race, trying to place the highest as possible every round. If I have to put a message to it, it would be about competition racing in a virtual world can be quite fun. Quite a lame massage, if you ask me, but at least it’s fun! How is it fun? Well, let me tell you!

As a modern videogame, this game involves high graphics and vivid colors. Everything you see, although cartooned, is clear. The interface is also easy to use. There is generally no learning curve to the game, but it takes practice and skill to win. This means you can have fun right away. First, the game is not set in reality. It’s set in the virtual world of Mario. Many of the racing stadiums are creative and have their own theme to it. For example, the Rainbow Road stage, is set in space and is colorful all around. On the hand, Browser’s Castle is dark and is surrounded by lava and other obstacles, befitting of a villain’s lair. If one is familiar with the Mario world, this adds depth to that world. If not, you become immersed on how creative each track stage can be. Secondly, this is a racing game, so racing noises is a must. The game provides detailed acceleration noises and racing noises, such as the wind against the vehicle. These noises immerse the player into a racing mindset. Also, the characters all have their own distinct sound. In my opinion, the purpose of this is to allow the user to embody the character. No longer are you the player, but actually the character. Lastly, the controller the user uses also plays a part. It vibrates to let you know when you’ve been hit. In addition, if one buys a wheel controller, like I did, you can actually almost replicate driving. How interactive! These elements of visual rhetoric, auditory rhetoric, and gameplay all help to make Mario Kart as fun as it is. 

The game also shows procedural rhetoric. Not only is the game about simple racing, it also is about strategy. Built into the game, one can obtain items to boost oneself ahead or attack another player. These items may be mean to use on other, but it’s all fair. One of the worse items is the Lightning Cloud. This cloud will zap the player in first place. If you are strategic about it, one would use it when the player is near the finish line. A zap will stall the player, buying you time to cross the finish line before them, thus gaining a higher placement. It completely changes the game. Another item that can be obtained is the Bullet. The Bullet can launch a player falling behind to nearly the front. It is a huge advantage. These items are procedural rhetoric, altering the game into one player’s favor and another player’s loss. Always beware of the unexpected. No win is guaranteed until you cross that finish line. 

“King’s Quest IV” Game Response

Compared to Zork I, I actually enjoyed King’s Quest. 

The difference between the two is pretty obvious. One was all text and the other had visuals. And I have to say the visuals in King’s Quest made the game experience much more enjoyable. For a 1992 game, there were some actual detailed visuals. First off, from the intro, one can see the detailed animation that went into it. The water actually looked rough when it was sailing. Throughout the game, these animations in nature remained present. For example, some screenplay scenes would actually have moving leaves at the bottom of the screen as if there were winds blowing and when at the dock, the water was also moving. In fact, the water actually showed strong waves; however, not paying close enough attention, I jumped in the water and died. These animations help the player, the audience, feel immersed in the fantasy world of the game. In some cases, it even warns the player to beware of danger. Secondly, the game even gives hints as to what to notice sometimes. For example, the royal insignia on the beach was shining. Similarly, the book in the library was also shining. In addition, the game also wanted us to notice the glimmering eye in both the library and the castle. These hints allow the player to infer there’s something to do or think about. Lastly, visually, the scenes were created really well. In Zork, it was difficult to keep track of directions and where to go next; however, in King’s Quest, this difficulty is eliminated with clear paths and indications of buildings. It takes the imagination aspect away but allows for some ease. All in all, the visuals of King’s Quest enhance the game experience by much, compared to the frustration experienced in Zork .

Compared to Zork, the game play is also made easier. In Zork, the mechanics were text-based and required the players to type instructions. However, flaws to this input was that not all words were recognized, and it can be quite frustrating when that happens. On the other hand, in King’s Quest, there are only 4 or so mechanics: walking, selecting, talking, and looking. These mechanics are easily accessed with the mouse or the toolbar and have representative images for each action. This type of mechanics allowed the player to know what exactly they were doing. There was no ambiguity in it. This allowed for players to actually just enjoy the game and not worry about the technical things of the game. The mechanics provided for a better gameplay, thus coupled with visuals, enhance the game experience even more.

To further enhance the game experience, the story line of the game follows the widely used hero’s journey notion. This game follows a hero trying to save a damsel in distress. If this is not a hero’s journey plot, I don’t know what is! He is called to her through the mirror. He leaves his home, showing the beginning of his journey. He learns of the villain. he also has to complete small tasks and quests, such as getting the magic map, in order to move towards his goal of saving Princess Cassima. In addition, he faces potential perils and distractions as well, such as the swimmer boy encouraging him into the water. All of these aspects are part of the hero’s journey and because it is a game, the player is the clever and brave hero trying to save the princess. Although it may be a basic and overused storyline, players can’t help but feel intrigued to be the hero and try to prove for themselves that the good guy always wins. 

Although our game will more follow the text-based interface of Zork, there is still things I’ve learned from King’s Quest that I would like to incorporate. The first would be to include visuals, even if it’s a standstill picture. Some visual is better than no visual. I might even also try to find some gifs and or stickers that have aminations to increase the visual aspect of my game. I already planned for my game to also follow a hero’s journey plot; however, I was struggling to make it more interesting. I think an idea I will be stealing form King’s Quest is a distraction, like the boy in the water. In addition, I may even make a wrong option and that automatically leads to death, thus ending the game for the player. This will make it more interesting and increase the risk factor to the game. I am excited to implement these methods to enhance my game’s game experience. 

“Zork” Game Response

To be honest, this game was simply so frustrating. I made it down to the basement and defeated the troll and became completely lost in the tavern and everything. I didn’t know where I was going half the time. Eventually, I gave up because, by that time, I was starting to pull out my hair.

The game is written in an ominous tone, leaving you in constant suspense and interest. Sometimes, when you type wrong commands, it will give you sarcastic answers, making it as if you are having a real conversation. These two components help to immerse oneself in the game. Given that when Zork came out, most people did not own computers, I believe the audience was for the wealthier who could afford one. In addition to the wealthy, it was aimed for people who sought adventures away from their routine life. In my opinion, this could be teenage boys and male young adults. By describing such exact details of the surrounding, one can almost imagine the room and the game’s surroundings. In fact, to help with the game play and experience, maps were drawn.

Literary Inquiry Choice

For the final literary inquiry paper, I have chosen the book “Children of Blood and Bone” by Tomi Adeyemi. Out of all the literature we have read, the style of writing and literature present in this book has garnered the most interest in me and still very much does. Surprisingly, I can’t seem to forget it, even though it was the first book of the class. So far, I have bought the book and have read up to the 6th chapter already. I am slowly, but surely getting the reading done to the best ability. It’s a good thing I am interested in the book; it keeps me going. So far, I’ve already found a few possibilities that I could write about for the final paper.

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