Tuesday, 26 February 2013

Childrens games


One site at I have been looking at is the site that teaches children French: www.poissonrouge.com I think it is really fun, not that I am a child or anything bu there is one level where you can paint your own picture in the style of  Jackson Pollock. There is a lot of different marks that you can use and they are all different sizes and rotations. The picture to the right is from that site. I find it really fun, I think I could spend all day on it making different pieces of art to be honest. It teaches kids really what kind of marks that Mr Pollock used in his art and could inspire them to make their own painting out of all the different options hat are available. There are lots of different arty things to do on this part of the site. This is a game on Poisson rouge, going by the name, It’s obvious that it teaches children how to talk french. This one is an Escher game, basically all you do is hover over the different hexagons and they turn into what looks like a painting from Escher. It is only black and white bu it could make kids want to do their own drawing like Escher. There is another one that lets you change the colours on the picture that Andy warhol made of Marilyn Monroe. I think that this is fun because you can make the all look really bright, ad the fact that there is a lot of them it means that you can edit a lot of them and make them all look different. There are a lot of different games on this site. I don't find hem fun but that's probably because they're not for 17 year old girls. There is another game hat teaches you the alphabet, and when you hover over a certain letter, a word in french appears on the screen. For example, When you hover over e, a star pops up, and the french word for star (I'm only basing this off the game) is star, "étoile"  I think that these games on this site are educational because  it teaches children French and it teaches them about French artists and so on.  There are lots of different activities, there is one of a clock where you can move the hands and underneath, It tells you which time you have set on the clock. The downside to this site is that  It does not spell out the proper time that you have set, it just shows the digital version of the time. if children were going to learn it properly then it would have to be spelt out properly for example “nine o’clock” or “half past nine” You can set the clock to lots of different looks, there is one with roman numerals which can teach them the roman numbers which is rather educational and could help them understand those type of clocks.

Monday, 25 February 2013

Manhunt 2 - Banned in the UK

Manhunt 2 Wii Box Art FINAL.jpg
Manhunt 2 was banned in the UK because it had excessive violence, after it was banned they had modified it and released that version The video game Manhunt 2 was rejected for its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying", the British Board of Film Classification said.  -- this was initially refused classification as well, but was allowed to be sold after an appeal.Manhunt is a stealth based game made by rock star games (they also made the Grand Theft Auto series of games) The basic game play of Manhunt 2 is similar to the original Manhunt insofar as it is a stealth-based psychological horror game played from a third-person perspective, which also incorporates gun play, and brawling. This affects the game industry because of all the violence that is in it, it also affects you the player because it is rather gorey (well from what I've heard, I haven't played it) The controversy surrounding Manhunt 2 began two days after its announcement, before any footage or information on the game had been released. The initial topic of discussion was the fact that the first game had been inaccurately connected to a murder in the UK. The United States Federal Trade Commission has recently found by its own stings on stores that despite the "Mature" rating on video games, they are still sold 42% of the time to kids under 17, this is bad because it could change their personality, it is a long shot but it could still happen to kids nowadays, They could take the way that people act in that for real. When a game gets banned in a certain country, this has a big impact on the game industry because it gives them a bad name -- people will start wondering why and stop buying it, it also takes a chunk of the world away from buying it, which is a whole lot of money that the industry has lost. Manhunt 2 was met with mixed to good reviews. GameSpot said the game's "not as shocking as you'd expect, but Manhunt 2 still satisfies your primal instincts.  It means the Manhunt sequel cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK. The parents of a Leicester schoolboy who blamed the original game for the murder of their 14-year-old son said they were "absolutely elated".  How can this problem be overcome? Well personally, I would higher the age restriction to 18.. Even if this doesn't change weather or not children play it is up to their parents but after reading about the 14 year old boy and his parents, I think that pretty much tells the story to parents that kids shouldn't be playing it. Manhunt's maker Rockstar North has always insisted its games are geared towards mature audiences and are marketed responsibly, Children shouldn't be taking actions from the game and using them towards other people in real life, what is in the game should really stay in the game. If they are not mature enough to buy it then they are definitely not mature enough to play it.

Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Character bio - Alicia [Rin]

Key:
Basic Statistics
Distinguishing features
Social Characteristics
Attributes and attitude
Emotional Characteristics
Involvement in the story
My Character Biography - Alicia
My characters name is Alicia [Ali-see-ah], The only people that know her real name is her grandparents and her little guardian, they are the only family that she has left. Her alias is Rin ~ This is what most others know her as. Her height is 1ft. She weighs about 3kg. Her sex is female. Her eyes are made from black buttons and she has cream and lilac fur. She doesn't wear any glasses or contact lenses - she doesn't need them. She is from the Shinigami realm (Another world above the human world) That is her nationality. She doesn't have any skin because it is just fur. Her face shape is round.
Rin doesn't wear any clothes, she doesn't really have a full body to put clothes on. Her mannerisms are . Her health is just normal, humans can't hurt her, only other shinigami (death gods) Her habits are picking apples and eating them all in one bite. Her hobbies are going on adventures underground to the human world (she loves apples - Apples from humans taste better) She can see how long of a humans life they have left just by looking at them - she can see it in days and hours, also she can see their real name. Rins favourite saying is "death gods love apples". Her voice is a little high pitched, She doesn't talk much she just makes little noises if she's happy or sad. She doesn't have a walking style, Seeing as her body is a spring she just bounces everywhere. Her disability would be the fact that she has no arms or legs, She can't write in her death note, That would also be her greatest flaw. Her best quality is that she can see how much time a certain human has left. When they are going to die and so on.
Rin's hometown is the town of Kito [kee-to] in the shinigami realm. Her current residence is the human world, She is there because she likes to have adventures and explore what humans do in their everyday life. Rins occupation is a death god. This means that she kills humans and gains life. It is rather grim, but that's hat death gods do. Her income is apples from the human world. She cannot receive them from the shinigami realm because they don't taste as nice (or that's what she thinks) Her talents and skills are being able to use her shinigami eyes to see how much life a person has left. Her other talents are being able to jump really high and solve tough or tricky problems. Her family status is her grandparents, She got left with her parents when she was born because her parents weren't interested in her being. She also has a little guardian that floats around with her to keep her company and look after her (it also does things and helps with things that Rin can't do) Rin is already a child, so she is small and quite friendly. I haven't designed her as an adult for now so I'm not too sure about what she is going to be like.

 Rin doesnt really have any education, she just picks up what others do around her and then finds a way to fend for herself by copying others and doing what she thinks is right. She is quite smart for a child, so she is rather intelligent for a girl of her age. Her goal in life is to put the human world right and rid it of any evil that lurks in the shadows. Rin isn't bothered about the way she looks, so she is quite confident with the way she looks and is presented. She inst too bothered about the way she looks, for example she isnt trying to impress anyone. She is oblivious to everything in that sense.  Her emotional state I think I would have to say is normal, she is always rather happy and bouncy whatever happens and wherever she is.
Rins motivation is the fact that she knows that every day she goes on a different adventure, this is what gets her out of bed in the morning, she looks forward to each day because of the adventures that she has. The relationships that she does have is with her little guardian and her grandparents. she doesn't really trust anyone else because her parents were taken away when she was younger, everyone that she lets into her life ends up betraying her or screwing up her trust into a ball and chucking it into the bin. Hr biggest ear is that one day she will find the people that kidnapped her parents, she won't know what to do or how to get revenge. Rin is an introvert, she likes to keep everything that she feels to herself and only her guardian knows when she is upset, angry etc because of all the time that they spend together. normally she lets everything out when she is alone though, so even then her guardian isn't 100% on what Rin is feeling.

Rins Archetype is the fool, She likes to make a lot of jokes and trick with people, she is also very sarcastic towards people, for example if someone asked her what time it is she would decide to say time to get a watch, something along those lines. She is very clumsy, too. She trips a lot or forgets things a lot, and she doesnt know that she is doing it. She can also "go off on one" and start ranting about something completely irrelevant or off topic and she is oblivious to the fact that she is making absolutely no sense at all.
Rins environment, as I have mentioned is in the shinigami realm. (this is a world just above the human world that is controlled and populated by death gods, they are creatures that each have a book which is called a Death Note and they control human lives. They can see how many days a human has left to live with their shinigami eyes. They can only interact with humans if the humans have touched their special notebook.) This world looks really dark and everything is made up black things and basically it is really dark and gloomy. so this is why Rin likes tovisti he human world, one because the apples taste better (death gods love apples) and because everything is a lot brighter and looks nicer.



Tuesday, 8 January 2013

Character bio - "the hero"

Key:
Basic Statistics
Distinguishing Features
Social Characteristics
Attributes and Attitudes
Emotional Characteristics
Spiritual Characteristics
Characters involvement in the story
Link - The Legend Of Zelda
The character that I have chosen, his name is Link, he does not have a second name, or he might but it has not been mentioned in any of the games. Nor does he have an Alias, It's just Link. In some of the games, Link is said to just be a young boy, around the age of 10 or older probably. In the Ocarina of time, Links height changes, because it swaps 7 years. but he is short in the games (because of his age.) Links weight is never really mentioned in the game, but from what I have observed he is relatively heavy because he makes a rather large splash when jumping into the water. His sex is male (duh!) His race is elven, because of his ears (elf ears) and his facial structure. Links eye colour is blue (In the wind waker or Phantom hourglass, they are just black and white) He does not wear any glasses or contact lenses. He does sometimes use the hawk eye (like binoculars) His nationality would be earth? His skin colour is white, And the shape of his face is rather pointy, thin maybe.

Link wears a green tunic, these are called the hero's clothes. It is a green tunic with a leather belt, white/beige leggings and leather boots, with a green pointy hat. I've not really noticed any mannerisms that link has, only that he uses his sword with his left hand (obviously meaning he is left handed) I also haven't noticed any habits he has, Seeing as he is controlled by the user. Links health is measured in hearts, If you're going by the start of the game then he has 3 hearts, and you can collect more as you go along. so his health rises the further you get. I think that one of his hobbies could be horse riding, because he rides a horse (Epona) in the ocarina of time and phantom hourglass. Link doesn't have any sayings, apart from the little noises that he makes when he gets hurt or rolls. He also doesn't have a voice, but he would have a high pitched voice because he is portrayed as a child throughout the games. His walking style would be normal walking, he also rolls and swims. He doesn't have any disabilities. Links biggest flaw would be that he has to use items to control things, instead of having powers. He also isn't very good at jumping. The best quality about him is that if you think of it the way I do, he could never run out of life, the things he eats restores his health, so if you keep using healing potions etc, he will never die.

Links hometown is a small village, he lives in a treehouse. In the ocarina of time he lives in Kokiri forest (small treehouse village) but in the twilight princess he lives in Ordon village, a little part that branches off from there. His current residence would be a treehouse. I guess his occupation would be a hero? or the hero of time as said in the story. He get any income, you can gain money along the way (collecting it is more or less optional) but you do collect items after defeating bosses (mini and full on) His talents, I guess, would be mastering the sword, and picking up skills very easilly. I would class his good swimming as one, too. In some of the games, Link doesnt have family. but in others, for example The wind waker, he has a little sister and a grandmother. His mother is also mentioned a the beginning of OOT (ocarina of time) In one of the VERY first games, A link to the past, his uncle lives with him. He leaves at the beginning though to fight in the castle, soon Link finds him injured in the sewers. His character as a child would be very submissive. He takes on all of the quests that he is given without a second word. and seeing as he is ONLY a child, I wouldn't be able to describe his character as an adult.

Links education would be really just learning things as he goes along doing quests, fighting monsters and things. It isn't mentioned that he goes to school or college at all. His IQ isn't mentioned either, but I suppose he would be very clever because he comes across as intelligent. His goals (duh) are to be able to free princess Zelda from Ganon (Ganondorf) and rid any evil of Hyrule. In some other games for example The phantom hourglass he is off to save Tetra (basically Zelda) He never looks in the mirror because he is too focused on saving Zelda. His confidence would be kind of so-so, he looks left and right a few times whenever entering a room "the classic look left-look right" that he does, to check as if anyone is there.

I think Link would be an Introvert, he hardly ever shows any emotion, so I guess he would be bottling it all inside. When Zelda gets kidnapped he just makes an angry face then he's all fine again as if it never happened, then gets on with his business again. The things that Link would change in his life is o stop Ganon kidnapping Zelda because no matter how many times he is defeated, he always comes back for more. Even if he is killed (going by the order of the games) He does change this (until another game comes out!) Links motivation is Zelda. He only gets out of bed because she has been kidnapped or because Ganon has spread evil, once again! I think Link would be scared of the monsters (because who wouldn't be!) The fact He defeats the temple bosses makes link happy, It means he is one step closer to saving Zelda! Obviously Link is rather close to Zelda, because she wouldn't give her lullaby to any old kid willy nilly..!

I don't believe Link would be very religious, so no I don't think he believes in God, or a link to anything spiritual..

Link is the hero Archetype, because he saves Zelda (the Anima) and defeats Ganon (The Shadow) Who took away Zelda. I think the Environment in which Link is in affects him because of the clothes he wears, He has different clothing for each environment. The top 5 events in Links storyline would be(going from The ocarina of time):  He is born during the Hyrulian civil war, he got left in Kokiri forest by his dying mother in an attempt to spare him from the violence. He was fostered by the great deku tree, who then raises him as a kokiri so that he fits in with his peers. The Deku tree sends a fairy, Navi, to Link after refusing to hand over the spiritual stone of the forest to Ganondorf. Links friend Saria gives him the fairy ocarina, which then turns into the ocarina of time thanks to Zelda (when she gets captured. He then defeats 5 different temples (after the first 3 as a child) in order to save princess Zelda.

Monday, 7 January 2013

Character archetypes in games/films

Archetypes~

The Hero
Link - Zelda!
In The Legend Of Zelda Series, The hero is called Link, he wears green or otherwise known as the Hero's clothing. Although he is only a child (He is around the age of 10-ish) He still saves Zelda. He also uses a sword which isnt right because he is too young!~ Link often travels through Hyrule, defeating creatures, evil forces and the series' primary antagonist, Ganondorf, while attempting to save Princess Zelda and her kingdom.





Lara Croft - Tomb RaiderLara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game series Tomb Raider. She is presented as a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic English archaeologist-adventuress who ventures into ancient, hazardous tombs and ruins around the world. She is the most famous female video game protagonist, because of her very sexy and intimidating looks.

The Shadow
Ganondorf - Zelda
Ganondorf, or Ganon for short is the one that kidnaps Zelda In the TLOZ series. (The Legend Of Zelda) Although in the Phantom Hourglass it is Tetra that Link has to save and the shadow is the ghost ship. But mainly in the Games, It is Ganon.
In the games, Ganondorf is the archenemy of Link and the leader of the Gerudo, a race of desert brigands, until he steals a piece of the triforce granting him the power of a God.

Bowser - Mario
Bowser is just like the Mario version of Ganondorf, He kidnaps and traps princess Peach, who is like Zelda. Basically they are very alike. Bowser, also known as King Koopa, is a video game character and the main antagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise.


Anima/Animus


GLaDOS - Portal
In the beginning of the game, you are trapped and have to solve puzzles and work your way through the chapters, GLaDOS is the shadow at first but then in chapter 5 or 6 there is a cutscene where Wheatley changes places with GLaDOS and he puts her into some sort of "potato battery" Which you then have to save her. She is an Anima.

Oliver - Far cry 3
Oliver was kidnapped by Vaas Montenegro along with the rest of the group of friends visiting Rook Island. Vaas planned on ransoming him as well as the rest of his friends and, rather than release them, he planned on selling them to a willing buyer. Oliver Carswell is a good friend of Jason, rich and an avid drug enthusiast. It's implied from the intro that he was the one who paid for the vacation which landed him and his friends on Rook Island.

The Fool  
CL4P-TP - Borderlands 1CL4P-TP  Robots, commonly known as Claptraps are Hyperion manufactured work robots, in Borderlands they served as the stewards of Pandora, and were found in populated areas and guarding access points between different maps. They were more commonly found in need of repair, and would give rewards when fixed. When the Vault Hunters leave the bus at the very beginning of Borderlands they are met by the Fyrestone Claptrap, who introduces them to Dr. Zed, Near to the end of the game, Fyrestone Claptrap was reprogrammed by Hyperion to attempt to kill the Vault Hunters.

Gollum - Lord Of The RingsGollum, also known as Sméagol, was a creature who bore the One Ring. He lived in the Misty Mountains for most of his life. He lost the Ring to Bilbo Baggins. For the rest of his life he sought to recover his "precious" otherwise known as the one ring. During his centuries under the Ring's influence, he developed a sort of multiple personality disorder: Sméagol, his "good" personality, still vaguely remembered things like friendship and love, while Gollum, his "bad" personality, was a slave to the Ring and would kill anyone who tried to take it

The Mentor
Professor Oak - Pokemon
Professor Oak is a Pokémon Professor who lives and works at his research lab in Pallet Town. He works in the lab of Pallet Town with his aides. He is an idol to many Trainers and researchers, including Professor Elm, and always plays an important supporting role in the many games that he appears in. Professor Oak was always well-known in Kanto but in the second generation he became more of a celebrity, a "star Pokémon Researcher".

Deku Tree - ZeldaThe Great Deku Tree is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda series. Although the two Great Deku Trees that appear are different, their purpose remains the same: to protect the spirits of the forest. Shortly before the events of the game, the Great Deku Tree was cursed by the evil Gerudo King of Thieves, Ganondorf, as punishment for not giving him the Kokiri's Emerald. Knowing Link's destiny and that his own time is short, the Great Deku Tree sends Navi the fairy to retrieve the boy.

The Trickster
Waluigi - Mario 
Waluigi is portrayed as a dark and even sinister character. Whenever Waluigi scores a point, his eyes glow purple. aluigi is a generally overconfident character who is easily angered. He also shows very poor sportsmanship; Waluigi is quick to taunt his opponent, break into victory dance, and cheer for himself, while he is easily angered when his opponent makes even a little progress. Waluigi's accusations tend to involve cheating, which he considers himself adept at.

Wheatley - Portal 2
In portal, at the beginning you follow this small robot around, he is called Wheatley. He is sort of a comedian, making sarky comments and replies.
He is Chell's sidekick and guide during the first half of the game. (Chell being you, the player.) In the other half of the game, wheatley swaps with GLaDOS, he is nice at first but then he kind of goes mad with power, and leaving GLaDOS in a "potato battery" which you then have to save.