Category: Unit 2 (Page 1 of 5)

Dunn, Ben. “The Problem With Ludonarrative Dissonance.” SUPERJUMP, 16 Aug. 2020, https://medium.com/super-jump/the-problem-with-ludonarrative-dissonance-625e7c67ed2. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022. 

qBen Dunn talks about how he feels the term ludonarrative dissonance is often being used incorrectly and objectively with the tagline “At what point does narrative consistency become more important than having fun?”. He describes several video games and explains how ludonarrative dissonance applies to those video games. He explains how some games do merit this criticism due to the story often saying things completely opposite to what we have been doing while playing, but plenty of games do not really warrant it due to the world or universe of that game not necessarily reflecting reality or the way we perceive things in the real world. He proceeds to talk about how ‘open-world’ games allowing us to do certain things does not necessarily make them ludonarratively dissonant since they are at the behest of the player and not the game itself and addressing this issue would mean the removal of the players mean to interact and experiment with the game world, citing the Grand Theft Auto series to be a common victim of this due to its open ended nature. Ben Dunn says while ludonarrative dissonance is a topic which does warrant discussion, throwing it around to objectively describe games people do not like only serves to make it meaningless in the long run.

Freelance writer and avid gamer Ben Dunn writes about ludonarrative dissonance with various examples and brings up some very valid points about the argument I had not really thought of. The tagline of his article “At what point does narrative consistency become more important than having fun?” is a question which brings the usage of this concept to critique video games into perspective. Video games being an interactive medium cannot help but allow its players to do with the world as they see fit. This will undoubtedly introduce many actions which may necessarily not agree or with the plot. Games being ludonarratively dissonant is has been a very contentious topic but I think it mostly applies to story-driven games and games which are trying to portray reality. Incorrectly using the term is also something he addresses and I feel is important as it would otherwise dilute its value and relegate it to the various other terms people use to insult video game they do not like.

Dunn also addresses plenty of video games which have been critiqued or even reviewed as being ludonarratively dissonant. He brings up Tomb Raider, which does indeed aim to portray the main character Lara Croft as a frightened and inexperienced adventurer but in many sections of the game we have no choice but to mow down hordes of human enemies, which completely flips the narrative on its head. He also compares this to another similar game Uncharted which is also often critiqued for being ludonarratively dissonant. The point he makes about the world of Uncharted being different to ours and not reflecting real world perspectives is valid, but the same can be said for Tomb Raider, both worlds being supernatural and mystical in their own rights. Despite this I think the point he is trying to make is still quite valid that games require ludonarrative consistency when they are trying to realistically portray the real world.

Talking about the Grand Theft Auto games, especially GTA IV, is something very contentious but I think Dunn has explained his perspective on it very well. The game is very gritty and tells the story of a broken man trying to stray away from life’s horrors. As dark as the narrative is, the players are still in control and can do almost anything they want, let loose in a fictional but realistic rendition of New York City. The GTA franchise is known for its open world and giving the player complete freedom with very minimal restrictions, so removing this aspect of the gameplay just to fit the narrative is impossible, and as Dunn puts it, the actions of the player are completely their own, especially if they are not being forced to choose between any styles of play, and should be seen as completely separate from the narrative. If the player however does choose to follow the narrative without deviating from it in gameplay they will find their actions very much coinciding with the narrative and can actually experience the game for what it was meant to be. This brings up another point that games are not necessarily just a story-telling medium but an experience as well, allowing us to do things many of us would normally not even consider, like in this case skydiving from the Empire State building or driving a car inside the subway.

Franklin, Chris. The Debate That Never Took Place. YouTube, Errant Signal, 30 Jan. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBN3R0m31bA. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022.

This video by Chris Franklin owner of the YouTube page Errant Signal provides a brief history of video game criticism particularly on the debate, or nondebate as he puts it, between ludology and narratology in video games. The study of storytelling falls under various fields of study and thus, narratology combines these elements into a single study. Similarly, ludology had been coined by senior video game developer Gonzalo Frasca, “We will propose the term ludology (from ludis, the Latin word for ‘game’), to refer to the yet non-existent ‘discipline that studies game and play activities’. Just like narratology, ludology should also be independent from the medium that supports the activity.” But at some point ludology and narratology were misinterpreted to be at odds with each other and there seems to have been a pseudo debate ever since. This misunderstanding seems to stem from the idea that looking at games as a system opposes the idea of looking at games as a story or that they must be at harmony with each other for a game to be proper. Despite this being long debunked, the fall out from it still remained and critiques, reviewers and even players had gotten into the habit of distinguishing between gameplay and narrative when judging games. Franklin also references Clint Hockings original blog post about BioShock, which brought the term ‘Ludonarrative dissonance’ into public use, saying how it has been reduced to a joke term due to its continued misuse and overuse. He states looking at a game’s system and its story separately is unfair and unjustified, since we do not do so with any other medium, like films or books. He also states how this way of thinking has become increasingly prevalent, given terms like ludocentrism / ludofundamentalism have been coming up and are being used to talk about games that focus more on gameplay rather than story. Franklin states we do not compare the cinematography of a film and its narrative against each other when judging them and it should be the same for video games. He believes pitting story and gameplay in opposition to one another might actually be detrimental in the long term since games should not be defined or restricted by terms like these because afterall, video games are a medium of their own and should be allowed to grow and flourish in its own way.

Chris Franklin provides a well informed analysis about the history of this debate and provides a great perspective on the matter. I believe his title already says a lot, referencing how it is a debate that never took place but people still believe in. As Franklin says in the video we don’t compare the cinematography of a film and its narrative against each other and the same should also apply to video games, which I also believe is true. . Video games are a separate medium and we should not look at it the same way we look at other forms of media, since video games have the unique element of interactivity. Video games also do not yet have a very long history as a medium so limiting it to be defined by terms like this will ultimately not allow it to flourish, discouraging experimentation and creativity. The fact that not all games are not set out to accomplish the same goal also makes this a point of contention. Some games purely focus on being a good experience not really focusing on the story, while there are others games which play out more like a movie than a game, as well as all the other types in between. This video really got me thinking about my perspective on ludonarrative dissonance. While maintaining ludic and narrative harmony might be important for games that wish to tell a compelling and powerful narrative, not every game needs to follow this. Being too focused on merging gameplay and narrative together might ultimately make video games as a whole lose its identity.

Logan Aloise

Source entry 3

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/business/energy-environment/electric-vehicles-climate-bill.html

Ford has stopped taking orders for Lightning electric pickups, with a theoretical starting price of about $40,000, because it can’t make them fast enough.

“Policymakers in Washington are promoting electric vehicles as a solution to climate change. But an uncomfortable truth remains: Battery-powered cars are much too expensive for a vast majority of Americans.”

“High prices are caused by shortages of batteries, of raw materials like lithium and of components like semiconductors. Strong demand for electric vehicles from affluent buyers means that carmakers have little incentive to sell cheaper models. For low- and middle-income people who don’t have their own garages or driveways, another obstacle is the lack of enough public facilities to recharge.”

Source 3: https://investedwallet.com/money-is-important/

Works Cited

“Why Money Is Important And The Role It Plays in Our Lives?”

Invested Wallet April 11, 2022 https://investedwallet.com/money-is-important/

Summary

In this research by Todd Kunsman He explains why money is important and the role it plays in our lives.  Todd Kunsman states that “the reason money is so important is that it provides options for you to live a better life that you choose and puts you in control”. Which means that all the options you may have in mind money plays a major role because it helps you benefit more throughout your advantages of living a better life for better opportunities. Todd Kunsman also states that “having money and being comfortable with finances also gives you freedom and options to decide how you want to live and support the things you care most about in your life”.  This means that when you have money in your hands and have some sort of comfort within their finances it gives you freedom and opportunities on how you may want to live and also support the things you love the most. Todd Kunsman also states that “while your whole life does not need to focus on money and accumulating wealth, it is still important to dedicate your time to understanding it and building a strategy. Which means that money may not being important to people as much but it shows a understanding of how people can use money to build a strategy to build amongst more sources of income and financial needs which is known as a 6 figure which is a strategy in terms of own multiple business and earning more money from those business to serve a higher income to achieve more wealth and success.

Todd Kunsman states that “Money is important because it gives you the freedom to do what you want, when you want, where you want”. which means you reach a point where you can just walk away from a job you hate and are not reliant on anyone’s financial support.  Todd Kunsman also mentions that “Being able to make choices and have options is one of the best feelings in the world. Knowing you are stuck in a particular situation because you need the money or financial help is frustrating, so removing that from your life is a great relief”.   Which means that being able to make your own choices shows a better influence in your life not only that you have the options but also removing negative emotions from your life which would be a great relief of stress because you may not need money or the use of financial help anymore this is why money gives you multiple options.

Reflection

Throughout this part of my research I was able to acknowledge reasons from Todd kunsman about why money is important and the real benefits of money.

Todd Kunsman has showed how money gives you your financial freedom in many ways and how money can give you other options as to how you value the choices you make in terms of being wealthy. Todd Kunsman believes that money should not be your stress at all in facts he states that money allowes you to “make choices and have options is one of the best feelings in the world”. Todd kunsman also mentions that “At some point, you may reach a level of income or financial freedom where you can afford to give back”. Which means that not only money lets you give back but it also helps support the communities beside you in the american society you live in. Todd Kunsman also states that “Helping out charities, your local community, or other causes is a great feeling and it can create happiness when you are helping others”.

Which is true helping out charities can be a supportive way of treating your local community in a positive way and can create happiness for others who would like to go above and beyond when they have money in their hands.

Brief rhetorical analysis

In terms of Todd Kunsman writing style I realized he provides a meaningful purpose about how money can benefit throughout people’s lives and also how money can give you your own freedom as well.   Todd kunsman has implemented people’s lives to mot only know how money holds something special in your heart but also shows how money can get you to do anything you may dream of it gives you options how you may want to use your money within the financial advantages that you may use to support others in a way of their own living standards.  One of the most powerful things that Todd Kunsman has mentioned is that you may not always have to rely on money because that’s where financial stress is a common problem among people and families.  Which is true because some families may have different experiences with being in debt of having money.

Short Analysis

Many reasons why Todd Kunsman chose to genre mainly was because he wanted to persuade readers that money is not only important amongst the people who have it but it also creates opportunities for people to help others and live life to the fullest whether you may have choices to choose from in particular to more experiences you may want to do with your families while you have your high income of money.

Todd Kunsman wanted to create life experiences with money so people won’t end up regretting what they truly earned or deserved.  Todd Kunsman impacted people to a point where he makes the audience feels more less worried about money in complicated situations. In fact, he wants the audience to feel happier and more desired for their own money they make because that way they can enjoy their freedom more willingly and not feel depressed or ashamed of not being wealthy.

Quotes

“The reason money is so important is that it provides options for you to live a better life that you choose and puts you in control”.

“Having money and being comfortable with finances also gives you freedom and options to decide how you want to live and support the things you care most about in your life”. 

“Money is not everything in this world, but it can be powerful in helping you achieve your goals and let you make the best of the short life we all have”. 

“Money is important because it gives you the freedom to do what you want, when you want, where you want”.

“One of the most powerful feelings you can have is knowing you do not need to worry about money”.

“Having money and having a financial plan creates more security for you and your family”. 

“When you have money, it creates opportunities for you to get more out of life, travel the world, try new things, and get out of your own bubble of where you live”.

“This can also help drive more happiness overall as you are experiencing more that life has to offer”.

Hendelmann, Viktor. “What Happened to Cyberpunk 2077? Why Did It Fail?” Productmint, 17 June 2022, https://productmint.com/what-happened-to-cyberpunk-2077/. 

Summary

The author begins by describing what cyberpunk 2077 is. The game is an open world roleplaying game (RPG) in which you play as V, a mercenary who has discovered an implant with the conscience of another person inside of it. You can tailor the game to however you want by customizing your character and your backstory which can alter the ending you get. Due to the open world aspect of the game, there are many possibilities of what you can do in game. The creators of Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red) based the premise of the game on William Gibson’s “Neuromancer,” a novel that is considered to be the quintessential cyberpunk book.

The author continues by bringing up previous works made by CD Projekt Red. The Witcher series is a critically acclaimed trilogy that brought the studio the heights of other AAA studios. So much so that the game series received a live action adaptation. As such, Cyberpunk 2077 was anticipated by fans to be even greater than the Witcher games (Only 2 at the time). The first trailer was released in January of 2013 which had received millions of views within a few weeks. It was silent after that until April of 2017 after CD Projekt Red received a huge staff upgrade where they trademarked the word Cyberpunk for their future game. Then, at E3 2019, Keanu Reeves led an exhibition of the game where he starred as a main character which raised hype even further.

Finally, the game was released on December 10th, 2020, after being pushed back three times with developers working six days a week. The game had so many pre orders that the company had broken even on their costs on release. However, players were incredibly disappointed when the game was nearly unplayable on release and even worse on older gen consoles (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One). The amount of people demanding refunds led to Sony removing Cyberpunk from their online store. The poor release also led to several lawsuits in which CD Projekt Red paid out $1.85 million. The author concludes that the reason that cyberpunk failed was because of a combination of the game not being ready and the game being overhyped. The release was a failure but after many updates over the 6 months after release, the game was in a mostly playable state and ended up being really good.

Reflection and Analysis

In my opinion, Cyberpunk 2077 had one of the most disappointing launches. Mainly because the game had the potential to be amazing if it had more time to be worked on. Unlike other studios though, CD Projekt Red put in the effort to at least try and save their game. Even if it took several months post release to fix, the game is now at an optimized state for most people. Older Gen consoles will still have some issues, but it isn’t as bad as it was before. Truly the game is fun now that most of the issues are gone but the game’s failure at launch will always be a part of the game. Even though CD Projekt Red actually fixed their game, Cyberpunk is still a part of a trend of AAA games releasing games that didn’t live up to what they were meant to be. The hype around this game didn’t help the situation either considering the game was played up to be this grand open world RPG where you can do as you pleased. Instead, we got a game that was barely playable. I also don’t think that having developers work six days a week helped either. We are prone to make mistakes when we are tired, and I’d bet that all those minor mistakes made by overworked developers kept adding up until we got the messy release of Cyberpunk 2077.

As for the article itself, the author uses a lot of logos and not much of anything else. He doesn’t “call out” CD Projekt Red nor does he appeal to the reader’s emotion. He primarily focuses on stating the dates of events that pertain to Cyberpunk 2077 and CD Projekt Red. The author’s use of Kairos made reading the article easy as everything was flowing forward instead of back and forth. I believe that this form of Journalism makes sense to use as a way to inform people of the timeline of events, but there is a level of disconnect that comes with the article. Since the article wasn’t opinionated, I didn’t see much of any criticism of the Studio or much criticism at all really. It leaves the reader to deduce their own conclusion, yet they can’t compare with the authors to get a different point of view. Overall, the article seems credible as it only reports on the events involving the game and its development.

Quotables

“If the studio manages to keep the game exciting, for example by releasing add-ons or introducing a multiplayer mode, Cyberpunk 2077 could actually turn out to become the success it was intended to be.” This quote happens to already be true as CD Projekt Red released a Cyberpunk Netflix series called Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. This show brought back a significant amount of hype back to the game and is what got me to return to the game as well. Even with Cyberpunk’s terrible release, the world that CD Projekt Red made is genuinely compelling and it is worth getting into. I just wish that the game itself had more time to be worked on as we would’ve gotten a great game with a great world and a great story to follow.

Source: Blacc, Aloe. “How ‘Message Music’ Inspires Social Change | Aloe Blacc | TEDxWestBrowardHigh.” YouTube, TEDxTalks, 19 Apr. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2mpE6Nwh2g&t=732s.

Summary: Blacc talks about how “Message Music” inspires change through emotion and feelings. He describes “Message Music” as music with a message, something simple that is born from a community with a struggle or problem where it forces an artist to come together and create an expression or message that presents the problem and gives the listener a feeling of what they are going through. Artists such as Woody Guthrie, Sam Cooke, Martin Gaye, and many others artists vocally painted their oppression and struggle, sending out a message in the form of music.

Blacc relates his music to real problems and problems that exist internationally such as immigration. Blacc releases an acoustic version of Avicii’s song Wake Me Up which it gained a lot of popularity. Blacc however, used the music as well as a video to paint a picture that humanizes immigrants since the problem of immigration in California was worsening and Blacc being a child of immigrants felt really distressed by it.

Blacc talks about his inspiration from Michael Jackson where MJ releases a track called Black or White. The song is about how black or white, it doesn’t matter, you are human. The song goes platinum and topped the charts, becoming one of Blacc’s biggest inspirations in music because of the message that MJ was able to express.

Throughout his talk, Blacc sings multiple pieces by multiple artists, mostly the most inspirational parts of “message music” by activist artists. Blacc finishes his talk by talking about how he will continue to use his voice and sing about what he deems in need of change.

Analysis: I agree with Blacc strongly. Surprisingly, I never looked at it as “message music” because I thought it was more than that, but its importance is the message. Blacc helped me realize that message music is music that conveys the voice of the community and that is the role that it plays in the movement. He does this by singing songs by artists such as Marvin Gaye and Sam Cookes, artists who faced oppression, injustice, racism, and inequality. Their songs paint a message to the reader through words and emotions portrayed by the voice. I think that his speech was very effective in the way that he was talking. He would bring up multiple artists, each with their own “message music” to prove his point that artists from different communities that faced a struggle are the voices of that community and sing/write a song that can be interpreted by others in the form of music. The voice can express pain, anger, excitement, joy, pride, etc. He then uses pathos by connecting his real life to his song, “Wake Me Up” where he tries to humanize immigrants. Blacc chose to say his speech vocally because he was able to express himself using his voice and send a message, ultimately what his overall message was: to use his voice and stand for what’s right and become the voice. I think that it was a good choice for the intended audience because he was able to demonstrate it himself and show the beauty in music.

Quotables:

Q1)”When Marvin Gaye stood his ground he believed so much in his message that he knew that these words needed to get out he knew that he could say through song what so many other people felt. He said, “I’m not a poet, I’m not a painter, but I can do it with music.”

Q2)”I wanted to use the music video to discuss immigration to humanize immigrants because the story is so near and dear to my heart being the son of immigrants. So in the video, I depict the migration of the family from Mexico to Los Angeles and the lead character in this music video is a girl named Hareth. In real life, Hareth is a dreamer. A dreamer as a student who is going to school in the US, but is undocumented and she is granted the right to continue her school. And also in real life, Hareth’s father is an undocumented worker who was going through a deportation hearing. Luckily and thankfully, after the release of the music video, Hareth’s father was able to stay in the United States. His case was closed.”

Q3)”Marvin Gaye inspired me to make music with a message and my purpose as a songwriter is to make positive social change and that can either be through the lyrics that I write, songs that I sing or publicly sponsoring or supporting the issues that I think are important.”