Comparatively, the second podcast that Jose and I produced was much smoother than the first. In this podcast, we discussed the societal and analytical impacts of “STACK”, a mobile game. Since we chose to center both podcasts about phone games, we strove to delve into the unique qualities of mobile gaming that is exclusive to that parameters.
This podcast felt a lot less scripted than before. In the first production, Jose and I outlined with great meticulous detail the exact outline of our speech. This in turn led to a podcast that more so mirrored the writing processes of a traditional essay. The second podcast was characterized by much more fluidity in our speech.
Rhetorical Composition
Rhetorical Composition played a key role in developing our analysis of this production because we cross referenced other games. This strategy of analytical comparison led within itself a production rich of unique modalities of perspective and insight. Furthermore, these skills are particularly useful because they encourage holistic approaches to understanding multifaceted concepts and ideas.
In reflection of my most recent podcast upload with Jose, I believe that we did a good job at covering the objectives of the assignment. At first glance, 10 minutes of length seemed quite daunting at first to tackle. Fortunately, time would reveal that 10 minutes of production, in actuality, was shorter than expected. We ended up having to edit out quite a significant portion of the uncut audio to fit the time limit.
Pokemon Go was a go-to option for our game choice because Jose had extensive experience with the game. I had personally not played the game itself but was familiar with the gameplay and the nuance of what it was about. I purposely waited until the actual recording to play the game so that we could capture a raw, first hand experience of Pokemon Go.
After we chose what game to play came the preparation phase. Jose and I did preliminary research on the effects of the game on society and the underlying histories that served as the foundation of the inception of Pokemon Go. We compiled the research and assignment parameters into an outline that we used as the guiding force of the podcast.
During the actual recording, we had a guest speaker, Sam Han, to assist us in the production of the game. He contributed as an extra member of the podcast. We chose to do this because I purposely waited to play the game. Having a firsthand experience may offer unique benefits in terms of analysis, but has several drawbacks concerning a detailed explanation of the game. In bringing a new speaker onto the podcast, we hoped to make up for the lack in gaming experience.
Editing the podcast went smoother than expected. Majority of the editing was spent on trimming down audio when necessary to increase the overall flow and transition of the production and to cut down the length of the audio to the specified 10 minutes. By far, the learning objective that served most valuable was collaboration: having a new member meant that we had to collaborate and communicate with an extra person. We all worked together, both during and outside of production, to bring forth a quality podcast for the world to enjoy!
In reflection of my most recent podcast upload with Jose, I believe that we did a good job at covering the objectives of the assignment. At first glance, 10 minutes of length seemed quite daunting at first to tackle. Fortunately, time would reveal that 10 minutes of production, in actuality, was shorter than expected. We ended up having to edit out quite a significant portion of the uncut audio to fit the time limit.
Pokemon Go was a go-to option for our game choice because Jose had extensive experience with the game. I had personally not played the game itself but was familiar with the gameplay and the nuance of what it was about. I purposely waited until the actual recording to play the game so that we could capture a raw, first hand experience of Pokemon Go.
After we chose what game to play came the preparation phase. Jose and I did preliminary research on the effects of the game on society and the underlying histories that served as the foundation of the inception of Pokemon Go. We compiled the research and assignment parameters into an outline that we used as the guiding force of the podcast.
During the actual recording, we had a guest speaker, Sam Han, to assist us in the production of the game. He contributed as an extra member of the podcast. We chose to do this because I purposely waited to play the game. Having a firsthand experience may offer unique benefits in terms of analysis, but has several drawbacks concerning a detailed explanation of the game. In bringing a new speaker onto the podcast, we hoped to make up for the lack in gaming experience.
Editing the podcast went smoother than expected. Majority of the editing was spent on trimming down audio when necessary to increase the overall flow and transition of the production and to cut down the length of the audio to the specified 10 minutes. By far, the learning objective that served most valuable was collaboration: having a new member meant that we had to collaborate and communicate with an extra person. We all worked together, both during and outside of production, to bring forth a quality podcast for the world to enjoy!
In a flurry of narratives and laughs, I found myself at the conclusion of the grand story that our group created for ourselves. After a series of Wild West murders and opium drug deals, I found myself killed in the middle of a family opium operation. As the dust of Boomtown settled on the piles of cash and dead bodies of the narrative, my group felt an extensive assortment of emotions. Instead of a structured game, Fiasco revealed itself as a freeform narrative. The story was created together, which resulted in a feeling of collaborative story telling.
I was pleasantly surprised to realize that our narrative followed the pattern of events and actions of literary works. A clear introduction, complications, climax, and conclusion were evident in our crazy story. This was due in respect to the nature of the game that laid out a setup, act one, and act two. Majority of the introduction was established in the setup of the game. This stage was a stilted in comparison because we had a hard time finding a starting point. We were all new at the game, so it was hard to figure out the game parameters and play at the same time. Complications arose primarily in Act one when the needs of the characters began to clash. The climax was found in the Tilt phase in which the story took unexpected turns. For example, Frunk Trump’s prized Colt Revolvers were stolen by Killary Hilton, who was ultimately betrayed by her cousin, Lucy Kane. Killary Hilton went on crazy kill-rampage that ended in the deaths of side characters in the narrative. Most of the conflicts were forms of external issues. The conclusion was formed in the aftermath of Act 2.
Visual snapshots of the game in the early and late phases would serve to hugely juxtapose one another; in the beginning, we were all very confused and rigid in creativity. As the game quickly picked up, crazy narratives were formed, and the story quickly turned out of control. This made us realize how self-perpetuating plot formation was for writers or game developers. The narrative developed on itself as both logical progressions and unexpected tilts nurtured and energized the story. Not only did the narrative develop, but also the roles that we all took. Instead of acting out the game, we collective told a story in which we all contributed to. Clear personalities and character traits were made apparent for each player in Fiasco as we role-played the story in natural progression.
Playing Fiasco proved to provide a unique experience that was much unlike most of the work that I completed this semester. This game was more of a literary narrative than an analytical assignment or game. Since we all just contributed to the narrative on the spot, the story was not carefully constructed. From that, I learned to find a balance in my writing between creative idea sketching and structured plot making. Too much of one aspect leads to either an entirely unstructured plot or a stilted progression in the narrative.
I invite everyone to read my take on the impact of trauma in Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle. Utilizing the structural uniqueness of the narrative and the importance of refuge, I discussed the impetus in which drives the effects of perspective in understanding trauma. In particular, the second learning objective, Critical Thinking and Reading Resulting in Writing, was used in formulating my arguments. I hope to see everyone there!
Kentucky Route Zero: Real-World Setting of Magical Realism
The setting of environment plays an incredibly significant role in which it can resonate harmoniously or discongruently with the theme. In “Kentucky Route Zero”, the latter suffices in which the strangely realistic realm of world that is introduced to us seems to contradict with the strange absurdity of the universe. Though it juxtaposes with the quirky and seemingly crazy feel of game, the setting actually serves to enhance the supernatural mood. I believe that this is so because the stark contrast between setting and theme allows us to analyze the extent of the absurdity in a mind of perspective.
The significance of reflection in regards to produced work is tantamount to that of the final product itself.
On a multifaceted level, my entry for Unpacking Manuel’s served a variety of roles in which all ultimately culminated in the development of myself as a writer and producer of work. Whereas the research process opened myself up to what would have normally been a rather recondite and seemingly useless information, the revision processes developed myself as a writer to transform the pieces of cacophonous research information into a coherent, multimedia form of communication that actively reflects upon my findings and interpretation of the artifact.
In a more idiosyncratic sense, this revision process was unlike that of other “traditional” paper revision because it forced me to pay respect to the type of medium in which I published my work. Had this assignment been introduced in a classic paper format, my revision process would have looked completely differently. During my revision process, I had to delicately traverse the revision process keeping in mind of the strengths and weaknesses of this particular medium of communication. This in particular, I believe, contributed the most to the objective goals of this process in respect to myself as writer (as outlined by the learning objectives).
Rhetorical Composition comes naturally with this nature of assignment. As someone who is not familiar with maintaining blogs or online articles, I really forced myself in the perspective of a digital medium publisher. Digital Citizenship is also another learning objective that I feel is particularly relevant to this assignment. My initial and rather perfunctory (in respect to the final publication) draft, upon evaluation, lacked appropriate citations and crediting where due necessary. The online medium calls for unique methods of maintaining references, so this was a good experience for me to understand and participate in the digital medium world. Overall, I believe that this revision process was effective because it covered the learning objectives very well, improved my writing in unique terms of a online publisher, and because it gave me insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the medium.
Back in a time when 3D glasses were totally not overdone…
I chose this newspaper article about 3D movies as my focus concentration on Unpacking Manuel’s. 3D glasses share a rather intimate history with Manuel’s Tavern, and I would love to share with you my findings. But first, let me take you back in time.
Let us journey back to Manuel’s Tavern on 602 North Highland Ave NE. The date? July 23rd, 1982. As a regular patron of Manuel’s, you walk into the tavern as always. Ordering a House Burger and an IPA (Congrats you’re at least 21!), you look around in amazing to see an unusually large crowd congregating towards the TV by the bar. You lean over to see large, cardboard glasses with blue and red films. Those glasses are wayy to edgy to be in style right now. To find out why these crazy people are crowding over a TV with such weird glasses, check out my piece on Unpacking Manuel’s Tavern!
I totally underestimated the complexity of the plot. When I first started to play the game, I had no idea that the narrative would follow this way. The shock and rather absurdity of the plot empowered the game with an emotional appeal that I did not quite frankly expect. Although I have played narrative, decision-making games before, this game felt different. Despite its absurdity, the realistic emotions that Henry goes through, as well as his confusions, were able to pervade through the medium. Henry’s growing relationship with Delilah despite his wife and the feeling of sabotage were especially powerful. When Henry found the transcripts of the conversations between Henry and Delilah about destroying the camp, I felt truly outplayed.
The level of engagement that Firewatch offers is absolutely astounding! Much unlike Gone Home or Dear Ester, Firewatch, actually empowers the audience to change the course of the game and history.
After a few fading screens of text introduction such as the setting in Boulder, Colorado in 1975, the first actual scene of gameplay is a decision. The series of decisions change the text responses of the game, which gives the player the illusion of actually living the life of Henry, the hearty firewatch.
hehe… Henry with butt jokes
As the game goes on, the series of decisions to be made become more and more intense, and I found myself thinking under great personal scrutiny. I thought the Yale job question was difficult to decide. When Julia’s dementia was first introduced, I was shocked. The realistic fear that I felt compelled me to sympathize for both Henry as Julia as I continued to live a chapter in Henry’s life. I am very excited to continue this game and learn more about Henry’s continuing struggles in his life.
