Sunday, August 14, 2011
Real Life Writes the Blog.
Hey guys, sorry to say this but I'm putting the blog back on hiatus/spotty update schedule. I've had a lot of personal stuff go on that I won't get into here (my twitter followers are vaguely aware of what I'm talking about). As such I haven't had the time or energy to make coherent posts. I'm not sure when this hiatus will end but I will try to get out updates whenever I can. See you next update.
Monday, August 1, 2011
A General Look At: Standard Fantasy Setting
Welcome to Pixellated Culture. This week we continue the discussion about setting with the standard fantasy setting.
Most of you are probably very familiar with the standard fantasy setting. Kings and castles: check. Magic: check. Magical creatures (some of which are probably very big): check. Evil Empire/Kingdom/Force of Corruption: check.
Basically an easy way to sum this up is if you can put any character from Lord of the Rings in the setting and they don't feel out of place, you're most likely in the standard fantasy setting. However, just because it's used a lot (it wouldn't be standard otherwise) doesn't mean it's a bad thing. A lot of great games include the standard fantasy setting. The most obvious being the early Final Fantasy games. We're going to use the Final Fantasy series as our base because this is one of the most well know franchises and it's easy to see the evolution of the settings. Final Fantasy I-IV use the setting in the most standard matter, but these games are still well liked today. The Dragon Age series also uses the standard fantasy setting, though it is a little darker in tone than your usual Final Fantasy game.
However, the standard fantasy setting is very flexible. This is one of it's strengths: you can have all the workings of a standard fantasy setting, but change it up to fit your needs. Final Fantasy V took it and made a parody. Final Fantasy VI added magitek, technology that runs on magic so it can still be fantastical with a modern spin. This adds a whole new dimension to the setting: what kind of technology is allowed.
This is where later Final Fantasy games actually don't fit the standard fantasy setting, instead choosing to make their own. Final Fantasy IX does go back to the standard setting, but with more technology than ever before. So the lines between modern fantasy and standard fantasy get blurred, especially with the popularity of steampunk, clock punk and the like.
A perfect place to see the blending of the standard fantasy setting with other fantasy settings is World of Warcraft. Look at your weapons, your armor and the buildings around you. How many of them are medieval style and how many of them magitek or steampunk.
Last week I said that the medieval setting and the standard fantasy setting were on a sliding scale. Well the standard fantasy setting is on a lot of sliding scales, but that's beside the point. The point here is there is a smooth gradient between the two. If you made a game about King Arthur would your idea be more historical or more fantastical? The answer is more complicated than whether or not you made Merlin's powers real magic or smoke and mirrors. One wizard does not make a standard fantasy setting. What about games where there are magicians in medieval times but there is a strict masquerade so not everyone is aware? Let me know what you think.
Most of you are probably very familiar with the standard fantasy setting. Kings and castles: check. Magic: check. Magical creatures (some of which are probably very big): check. Evil Empire/Kingdom/Force of Corruption: check.
Basically an easy way to sum this up is if you can put any character from Lord of the Rings in the setting and they don't feel out of place, you're most likely in the standard fantasy setting. However, just because it's used a lot (it wouldn't be standard otherwise) doesn't mean it's a bad thing. A lot of great games include the standard fantasy setting. The most obvious being the early Final Fantasy games. We're going to use the Final Fantasy series as our base because this is one of the most well know franchises and it's easy to see the evolution of the settings. Final Fantasy I-IV use the setting in the most standard matter, but these games are still well liked today. The Dragon Age series also uses the standard fantasy setting, though it is a little darker in tone than your usual Final Fantasy game.
However, the standard fantasy setting is very flexible. This is one of it's strengths: you can have all the workings of a standard fantasy setting, but change it up to fit your needs. Final Fantasy V took it and made a parody. Final Fantasy VI added magitek, technology that runs on magic so it can still be fantastical with a modern spin. This adds a whole new dimension to the setting: what kind of technology is allowed.
This is where later Final Fantasy games actually don't fit the standard fantasy setting, instead choosing to make their own. Final Fantasy IX does go back to the standard setting, but with more technology than ever before. So the lines between modern fantasy and standard fantasy get blurred, especially with the popularity of steampunk, clock punk and the like.
A perfect place to see the blending of the standard fantasy setting with other fantasy settings is World of Warcraft. Look at your weapons, your armor and the buildings around you. How many of them are medieval style and how many of them magitek or steampunk.
Last week I said that the medieval setting and the standard fantasy setting were on a sliding scale. Well the standard fantasy setting is on a lot of sliding scales, but that's beside the point. The point here is there is a smooth gradient between the two. If you made a game about King Arthur would your idea be more historical or more fantastical? The answer is more complicated than whether or not you made Merlin's powers real magic or smoke and mirrors. One wizard does not make a standard fantasy setting. What about games where there are magicians in medieval times but there is a strict masquerade so not everyone is aware? Let me know what you think.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
A General Look At: Medieval Setting
Welcome to Pixellated Culture. This week we're going to do something different and look at a general aspect of gaming.
Many games use a setting that involves kingdoms, knights, bards, and potentially wizards and dragons. This tends to come in two flavors: the medieval setting and the standard fantasy setting. Today we look at the more historical medieval setting, the next post will be looking at the standard fantasy setting.
Off the top of my head, I thought of the games that use a medieval setting. My list was a little lacking because I tend to play more of the standard fantasy setting. And this is one of many reasons I'm so happy Google and Wikipedia exist. I'm going to put a nice disclaimer here that I haven't played any of these games so some of what I say could be inaccurate. Feel free to correct/support/add on in the comments.
When I did get a list, a glance lead me to a further split: how historically accurate the games are. Here we take a look at what the medieval setting is used for. Some games are about reproducing the life and events of the medieval era. Ethereal is a new game that actually took data from SCA combat (which tries to be as accurate as they possibly can) to make a mulitplayer medieval combat sim. They were interested in reproducing the battle style as opposed to event, but still wanted historical accuracy. Similarly, Stronghold appears to be more interested in being semi-accurate. In Stronghold you are a Lord and are concerned with making your area a stable economy and being protected from invaders as well as gaining new territory. The battles are based more on realism and have fire be very dangerous for your area as pitch, boiling oil pots, wood and thatch were all present, some of those in abundance,and nicely flammable. Yes it uses standard RTS controls, but is more accurate than some others.
And here we see the other side of the medieval setting coin. Stronghold may not sound like an exact historical replica, but it uses the same medieval setting as Medieval: Total War. This too is a strategy game, made by the same guys who made Shogun: Total War, but things get a little silly if you think about it. You start as the nameless head of a faction (no guarantee you are the king, just some higher-up guy) and then through time, fighting, diplomacy and so on you can basically be King of Europe. Some famous names like Richard the Lion Heart and Saladin do get dropped as your generals but you can take over everything in Europe. Factions who should be fighting constantly bow before your will as you basically become the next Alexander the Great. Yes there is some historical accuracy here, but there are also a lot of liberties taken.
The difference between the medieval setting and the standard fantasy setting are in degrees of fictionality. But instead of being total opposites, there is a sort of sliding scale. For example, Jeanne d'Arc is a game with roots in the story of Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years War. It then promptly adds magical gauntlets. This sits squarely in that middle ground where there's enough historical base to say so, but also lots of fantasy elements that don't totally override the historical stuff.
For other games. The lines are not clear cut where they stand. Where would you put Vampire: The Masquerade- Redemption?
Looking at these examples of games, I'm curious why developers choose to do what they do. Mostly by comparing the two strategy games. On the surface they look very similar, but one choose more historical liberties over the other. Why? Why even remain historically accurate in certain situations? Does it make the game more compelling or was it because they didn't want the label of fantasy? Let me know what you guys think and I'll see you next time for the discussion of the standard fantasy setting.
Many games use a setting that involves kingdoms, knights, bards, and potentially wizards and dragons. This tends to come in two flavors: the medieval setting and the standard fantasy setting. Today we look at the more historical medieval setting, the next post will be looking at the standard fantasy setting.
Off the top of my head, I thought of the games that use a medieval setting. My list was a little lacking because I tend to play more of the standard fantasy setting. And this is one of many reasons I'm so happy Google and Wikipedia exist. I'm going to put a nice disclaimer here that I haven't played any of these games so some of what I say could be inaccurate. Feel free to correct/support/add on in the comments.
When I did get a list, a glance lead me to a further split: how historically accurate the games are. Here we take a look at what the medieval setting is used for. Some games are about reproducing the life and events of the medieval era. Ethereal is a new game that actually took data from SCA combat (which tries to be as accurate as they possibly can) to make a mulitplayer medieval combat sim. They were interested in reproducing the battle style as opposed to event, but still wanted historical accuracy. Similarly, Stronghold appears to be more interested in being semi-accurate. In Stronghold you are a Lord and are concerned with making your area a stable economy and being protected from invaders as well as gaining new territory. The battles are based more on realism and have fire be very dangerous for your area as pitch, boiling oil pots, wood and thatch were all present, some of those in abundance,and nicely flammable. Yes it uses standard RTS controls, but is more accurate than some others.
And here we see the other side of the medieval setting coin. Stronghold may not sound like an exact historical replica, but it uses the same medieval setting as Medieval: Total War. This too is a strategy game, made by the same guys who made Shogun: Total War, but things get a little silly if you think about it. You start as the nameless head of a faction (no guarantee you are the king, just some higher-up guy) and then through time, fighting, diplomacy and so on you can basically be King of Europe. Some famous names like Richard the Lion Heart and Saladin do get dropped as your generals but you can take over everything in Europe. Factions who should be fighting constantly bow before your will as you basically become the next Alexander the Great. Yes there is some historical accuracy here, but there are also a lot of liberties taken.
The difference between the medieval setting and the standard fantasy setting are in degrees of fictionality. But instead of being total opposites, there is a sort of sliding scale. For example, Jeanne d'Arc is a game with roots in the story of Joan of Arc and the Hundred Years War. It then promptly adds magical gauntlets. This sits squarely in that middle ground where there's enough historical base to say so, but also lots of fantasy elements that don't totally override the historical stuff.
For other games. The lines are not clear cut where they stand. Where would you put Vampire: The Masquerade- Redemption?
Looking at these examples of games, I'm curious why developers choose to do what they do. Mostly by comparing the two strategy games. On the surface they look very similar, but one choose more historical liberties over the other. Why? Why even remain historically accurate in certain situations? Does it make the game more compelling or was it because they didn't want the label of fantasy? Let me know what you guys think and I'll see you next time for the discussion of the standard fantasy setting.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Silent Hill Shattered Memories: A Memento Of You
Welcome to Pixellated Culture. This week we'll be looking at one of the story devices in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories.
I know some of you may object saying I've already done Silent Hill (and on a Lit Day no less), but Shattered Memories takes the series in a totally different direction. This is obvious if you look at the storyline of Silent Hill. Shattered Memories cannot fit with any other game other than the first and provides a distinct split in the storyline. It cannot exist along side SH2, SH3, or any of the other games except the first and then only for one of the many endings (spoiler: for the curious, the ending where SM meet SH1 is the Dying Dream ending). Therefore, SH:SM is basically a game unto itself and the mechanic were looking at only exists in this game.
SH:SM takes place in them titular town as most of the other games do. You follow Harry Mason as he runs all over town looking for his daughter. Yes this sounds remarkably similar to the first game, except you don't have weapons and you have a smart phone. This games makes no mention of evil cults or religion or any other staple of the other games' plot (there are still aliens, so you still get one funny ending).
Harry Mason wanders all over Silent Hill looking for Cheryl, every where from his home to the shopping mall to the high school. The game does encourage mild exploration with cute little references and collectibles called mementos.
Mementos have no gameplay purpose. They do not unlock anything. They are there to collect. However, they do serve a minor story purpose. The mementos are not for Harry, they are for Cheryl. (There are spoilers from this point.) Harry collects mementos in the game, but we never see him do anything with them. The player is hard pressed to find any significance in them. That's because all of these mementos are trinkets accumulated across Cheryl's life. Harry shows no sign of recognizing these objects, as many, if not all, of them came after Harry died. The end of the game reveals Cheryl is the one in the therapist's office and she is much older than the little 7 year old Harry thought he was chasing.
All of the mementos allude to a part of Cheryl. These objects have subtitles alluding to their greater significance. The first memento you find is a snow globe with a lighthouse inside called "A Winter Beacon." This alludes to A) the winter weather outside B) the lighthouse is a beacon for the player to eventually get to C) the therapist's office is called The Lighthouse. This little trinket shows where Cheryl currently is in her life and provides a dose of foreshadowing. This is just one example of the many mementos available.
Many players dismissed the mementos once they realized it didn't affect the game. However, these things represent how Cheryl grew from the innocent child to the woman we see in the therapist's office with a criminal record. There is one gameplay event. There is always a scene with all the mementos the player/Harry collected across the game in a box. Cheryl takes one more look in the box before closing it up and leaving it in the attic. A fresh start for young Cheryl as she is able to put all the memories aside and continue with the life after Harry's death for the first time.
 |
| Image from the Silent Hill Wiki |
SH:SM takes place in them titular town as most of the other games do. You follow Harry Mason as he runs all over town looking for his daughter. Yes this sounds remarkably similar to the first game, except you don't have weapons and you have a smart phone. This games makes no mention of evil cults or religion or any other staple of the other games' plot (there are still aliens, so you still get one funny ending).
Harry Mason wanders all over Silent Hill looking for Cheryl, every where from his home to the shopping mall to the high school. The game does encourage mild exploration with cute little references and collectibles called mementos.
Mementos have no gameplay purpose. They do not unlock anything. They are there to collect. However, they do serve a minor story purpose. The mementos are not for Harry, they are for Cheryl. (There are spoilers from this point.) Harry collects mementos in the game, but we never see him do anything with them. The player is hard pressed to find any significance in them. That's because all of these mementos are trinkets accumulated across Cheryl's life. Harry shows no sign of recognizing these objects, as many, if not all, of them came after Harry died. The end of the game reveals Cheryl is the one in the therapist's office and she is much older than the little 7 year old Harry thought he was chasing.
All of the mementos allude to a part of Cheryl. These objects have subtitles alluding to their greater significance. The first memento you find is a snow globe with a lighthouse inside called "A Winter Beacon." This alludes to A) the winter weather outside B) the lighthouse is a beacon for the player to eventually get to C) the therapist's office is called The Lighthouse. This little trinket shows where Cheryl currently is in her life and provides a dose of foreshadowing. This is just one example of the many mementos available.
Many players dismissed the mementos once they realized it didn't affect the game. However, these things represent how Cheryl grew from the innocent child to the woman we see in the therapist's office with a criminal record. There is one gameplay event. There is always a scene with all the mementos the player/Harry collected across the game in a box. Cheryl takes one more look in the box before closing it up and leaving it in the attic. A fresh start for young Cheryl as she is able to put all the memories aside and continue with the life after Harry's death for the first time.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Phoenix Wright: For Great Justice!
Welcome to Pixellated Culture. This week we'll be looking at Phoenix Wright and his pursuit for justice.
This is going to be a bit of an odd post. Since this is on my calendar as a history week, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney seems like an obvious choice- legal systems and history go together very well. However, getting into Phoenix Wright isn't very historical, just very legal. Legality and judiciary matters are still important and I'm going to discuss them anyway. I'm going to call it a "still counts" just a very loose "still counts."
I'm going to discuss a couple cases from the first game only, so beware spoilers, but not too many spoilers. I'm going to analyze Phoenix Wright's tireless pursuit for justice from a western perspective. Phoenix Wright's pursuit for Justice means a very different thing in Japan and has a completely different context. If you are interested in this, I recommend you read this article. This article is part of what got me thinking about Phoenix Wright.
In-universe, Phoenix Wright is part detective, part lawyer and has a grand total of four days to figure out an entire case. Obviously, this would never happen in real life and this allows for some interesting scenarios. In case 1-4 Turnabout Goodbyes, you have to cross examine a parrot. I am not making this us. You have to cross examine a parrot. Her name is Polly.
The reason for the cross examination is Phoenix is trying to prove the nameless crazy boat guy is neither crazy nor nameless. Polly is trained to repeat certain things. Those familiar with Phoenix Wright are aware case 1-4 deals with two cases- the murder of Hammond and a case from 15 years ago known as the DL-6 Incident. As the case for Hammond continues on, 1-4 and DL-6 become more and more intertwined. Eventually this leads to Phoenix proving Edgeworth is innocent in both and finding the real killer for both, right before the statute of limitations runs out on DL-6. Phoenix went out of his way to solve two cases, one of which he didn't have to solve. He is the embodiment of justice in this game. Going back to look at old cases is something relatively new in our world. We don't see Phoenix use any forensics besides basic ballistics on a bullet (and that's off-screen) in 1-4, yet he manages to solve two cases through simple logic. Phoenix basically becomes an embodiment of justice, finding the real criminals at a super-human pace.
Throughout this case we see Phoenix jump through hoops to get evidence. His tireless pursuit for the truth is what makes Phoenix special in Western eyes. Phoenix doesn't just want a not guilty verdict, he wants to find the real reason for the crime. We get a direct contrast with Hammond, who was the defense in DL-6. He encouraged his defendant to pretend to be insane as he couldn't find evidence that he was innocent. This ruined the defendant's life, as he could no longer keep his job, he had to maintain this ruse, and due to the stress of everything his fiance committed suicide. Phoenix Wright would never do that. In case 1-2, in his pursuit for the real killer Phoenix gets thrown in jail and now has to defend himself. And he does so spectacularly. Phoenix Wright is willing to put everything on the line to find the truth. Isn't that what we want our judicial system to be about? We want the verdict to reflect the truth.
This is going to be a bit of an odd post. Since this is on my calendar as a history week, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney seems like an obvious choice- legal systems and history go together very well. However, getting into Phoenix Wright isn't very historical, just very legal. Legality and judiciary matters are still important and I'm going to discuss them anyway. I'm going to call it a "still counts" just a very loose "still counts."
I'm going to discuss a couple cases from the first game only, so beware spoilers, but not too many spoilers. I'm going to analyze Phoenix Wright's tireless pursuit for justice from a western perspective. Phoenix Wright's pursuit for Justice means a very different thing in Japan and has a completely different context. If you are interested in this, I recommend you read this article. This article is part of what got me thinking about Phoenix Wright.
In-universe, Phoenix Wright is part detective, part lawyer and has a grand total of four days to figure out an entire case. Obviously, this would never happen in real life and this allows for some interesting scenarios. In case 1-4 Turnabout Goodbyes, you have to cross examine a parrot. I am not making this us. You have to cross examine a parrot. Her name is Polly.
 |
| Image from the Ace Attorney Wiki page for Polly. |
Throughout this case we see Phoenix jump through hoops to get evidence. His tireless pursuit for the truth is what makes Phoenix special in Western eyes. Phoenix doesn't just want a not guilty verdict, he wants to find the real reason for the crime. We get a direct contrast with Hammond, who was the defense in DL-6. He encouraged his defendant to pretend to be insane as he couldn't find evidence that he was innocent. This ruined the defendant's life, as he could no longer keep his job, he had to maintain this ruse, and due to the stress of everything his fiance committed suicide. Phoenix Wright would never do that. In case 1-2, in his pursuit for the real killer Phoenix gets thrown in jail and now has to defend himself. And he does so spectacularly. Phoenix Wright is willing to put everything on the line to find the truth. Isn't that what we want our judicial system to be about? We want the verdict to reflect the truth.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Echo Bazaar: Make Your Own Story
Welcome to Pixellated Culture. This week we'll take a look at the story mode present in the browser game Echo Bazaar.
At first I wasn't sure I would write this today, but then I hit my 40 action limit and here I am. Yes the game is that good. However this is a particular kind of game. You don't have any action sequences, but you still have to grind your stats up (explaining where half of my actions went) and you do everything by pushing a button and waiting for your result based on chance (sort of). These mechanics may sound annoying/familiar to some, as many browser games take this approach but where Echo Bazaar shines above everything else is the story.
The story is the driving force behind everything. You are in Fallen London in 1889. Who you are, why you're here, background, skill set, interests, lodgings, pets, clothes etc. are all up to you and your decisions. That's what makes this post hard. It's my old friend Choose-Your-Own-Adventure popping out of book form and onto the internet. I can't say what kind of experience you'll have because it's very flexible.
Each of the stats can be raised in a section of the city (i.e. Watchful in Lady Bone's Road, Shadowy in Spite, etc.) each with the potential for their own story. Some of the tasks are arbitrary raise the stat tasks with the potential of finding goodies. So you can choose how many stats you want to raise, how many of the storylets you want to pursue and so on (don't worry, this is all easily kept track on in your character profile). Over the course of the stories you can accomplishmets, quirks, contacts, menaces and ambitions (which as far as I can tell, ambitions are the closest thing to an story arc and are hard to change once you pick one). All these will affect your interaction with the story and how the NPCs react to you.
The best part of this is the story is extremely flexible. I started playing the game thinking I'd build up my Shadowy and Watchful stats and be an info gathering ninja. Now these two stats are secondary to my Persuasive skill and I'm really connected to bohemians. And I honestly can't tell you when the change occur. My most recent events led me to build up my horribly neglected Dangerous stat, as it was an option for my ambition. So now I'm a balanced character again, something I thought would never happen. This game drew me in after I realized my experience would be unique from everyone else's.
Part of this is due to chance. Luck plays a role in what events occur and certain events in Fallen London. You can also get cards that depict events outside of the storylets. Today I got a giggling mandrake because I was lucky and that card popped up. I didn't even know giggling mandrakes exist, but I have one in my pocket now. That's what makes it exciting. While chance things can feel like a machine just saying whether you win or not, chance here adds whole new elements that you didn't even know existed. That's what sets this game out: the element of surprise. Joyful, wonderful surprise.
I guess the importance of this post is realizing the thing about self-created stories. Of course, there's limits for what can happen, since the creators only have room for so much, but the options feel endless. I decided to take a break from my usual and go to the carnival and that is where I first met Jack of Smiles, Fallen London's serial killer. He didn't kill me, merely wounded me, but I thought I'd meet him after I wrote that poem about him. So sometimes I make the story and other times the story surprises the heck out of me.
At first I wasn't sure I would write this today, but then I hit my 40 action limit and here I am. Yes the game is that good. However this is a particular kind of game. You don't have any action sequences, but you still have to grind your stats up (explaining where half of my actions went) and you do everything by pushing a button and waiting for your result based on chance (sort of). These mechanics may sound annoying/familiar to some, as many browser games take this approach but where Echo Bazaar shines above everything else is the story.
The story is the driving force behind everything. You are in Fallen London in 1889. Who you are, why you're here, background, skill set, interests, lodgings, pets, clothes etc. are all up to you and your decisions. That's what makes this post hard. It's my old friend Choose-Your-Own-Adventure popping out of book form and onto the internet. I can't say what kind of experience you'll have because it's very flexible.
Each of the stats can be raised in a section of the city (i.e. Watchful in Lady Bone's Road, Shadowy in Spite, etc.) each with the potential for their own story. Some of the tasks are arbitrary raise the stat tasks with the potential of finding goodies. So you can choose how many stats you want to raise, how many of the storylets you want to pursue and so on (don't worry, this is all easily kept track on in your character profile). Over the course of the stories you can accomplishmets, quirks, contacts, menaces and ambitions (which as far as I can tell, ambitions are the closest thing to an story arc and are hard to change once you pick one). All these will affect your interaction with the story and how the NPCs react to you.
The best part of this is the story is extremely flexible. I started playing the game thinking I'd build up my Shadowy and Watchful stats and be an info gathering ninja. Now these two stats are secondary to my Persuasive skill and I'm really connected to bohemians. And I honestly can't tell you when the change occur. My most recent events led me to build up my horribly neglected Dangerous stat, as it was an option for my ambition. So now I'm a balanced character again, something I thought would never happen. This game drew me in after I realized my experience would be unique from everyone else's.
Part of this is due to chance. Luck plays a role in what events occur and certain events in Fallen London. You can also get cards that depict events outside of the storylets. Today I got a giggling mandrake because I was lucky and that card popped up. I didn't even know giggling mandrakes exist, but I have one in my pocket now. That's what makes it exciting. While chance things can feel like a machine just saying whether you win or not, chance here adds whole new elements that you didn't even know existed. That's what sets this game out: the element of surprise. Joyful, wonderful surprise.
I guess the importance of this post is realizing the thing about self-created stories. Of course, there's limits for what can happen, since the creators only have room for so much, but the options feel endless. I decided to take a break from my usual and go to the carnival and that is where I first met Jack of Smiles, Fallen London's serial killer. He didn't kill me, merely wounded me, but I thought I'd meet him after I wrote that poem about him. So sometimes I make the story and other times the story surprises the heck out of me.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Mass Effect: We Are Last In Space
Welcome to Pixellated Culture. This week we'll take a look at the in-universe history of Mass Effect.
Mass Effect has an extensive in universe timeline, not only chronicling humanity's efforts in space, but many other species as well. The wiki has a nice big timeline for your viewing pleasure (with spoilers for the events in the game). Just be aware this post will also have some spoilers, for those of you who haven't played Mass Effect yet.
There are quite a few interesting things to note about this timeline. First is the earliest date on this timeline is 37,000,000 BCE where a mass accelerator round was fired at a Reaper. So long before humanity there were living things in space and these living things in space had guns. They were also dying. The entry implies that the Reapers as a species were around well before this date. For those unaware, the Reapers are called such because they go around killing species to near-extinction/total extinction. This is part of their reproduction. Reapers are bad news.
So not only was there more than one advanced alien species in the universe long before humanity was in the picture, there were plenty of others you run into in the game when humanity was just getting into the swing of things, you also have to keep in mind this timeline only track the Milky Way galaxy. All of the events in Mass Effect are contained to the Milky Way galaxy. When you start to think about it, this makes humanity feel really small and insignificant (or maybe just me). You see this reflected in humanity's attitude toward other council races: humans have a tendency to make themselves sound pompous by trying to sound like the most important thing in the room, despite the fact that humanity is the newcomer in Council Space. There are many races in Mass Effect and now humanity has competition on every front. If you haven't felt that incredible shrinking feeling yet I am amazed.
Now here's the part where I link this to our history. I know it seems hard mostly because I've been marveling at Mass Effect's long detailed timeline and ideas that we're not alone and are far behind the curve. But that's the thing: in the Mass Effect universe, we are far behind and quickly trying to catch up. In Mass Effect, humanity has started setting up colonies on the moon in 2069 C.E. That's a mere 58 years from the date of this post. This is before we discover the mystical element zero which makes all the aspects of space travel a million times easier, so Mass Effect is presenting a plausible idea for it's audience. Unfortunately, reality comes to rain on the parade of space adventure. The last couple years have shown cuts in spending for space exploration in the United States. Mass Effect is implying we have the technology or the potential for technology for living on the moon in viable colonies. This could be instrumental in solving some of humanity's problems like overpopulation. Yet here we are limiting that potential. I don't know much about the international scenario for space funding, so I don't know how dire the space funding situation is. But wouldn't it be awesome if we could live on the moon in 58 years.
Bonus: Here's a map of the Milky Way in the Mass Effect games from the Mass Effect Wiki.
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| Image from Mass Effect wiki |
There are quite a few interesting things to note about this timeline. First is the earliest date on this timeline is 37,000,000 BCE where a mass accelerator round was fired at a Reaper. So long before humanity there were living things in space and these living things in space had guns. They were also dying. The entry implies that the Reapers as a species were around well before this date. For those unaware, the Reapers are called such because they go around killing species to near-extinction/total extinction. This is part of their reproduction. Reapers are bad news.
So not only was there more than one advanced alien species in the universe long before humanity was in the picture, there were plenty of others you run into in the game when humanity was just getting into the swing of things, you also have to keep in mind this timeline only track the Milky Way galaxy. All of the events in Mass Effect are contained to the Milky Way galaxy. When you start to think about it, this makes humanity feel really small and insignificant (or maybe just me). You see this reflected in humanity's attitude toward other council races: humans have a tendency to make themselves sound pompous by trying to sound like the most important thing in the room, despite the fact that humanity is the newcomer in Council Space. There are many races in Mass Effect and now humanity has competition on every front. If you haven't felt that incredible shrinking feeling yet I am amazed.
Now here's the part where I link this to our history. I know it seems hard mostly because I've been marveling at Mass Effect's long detailed timeline and ideas that we're not alone and are far behind the curve. But that's the thing: in the Mass Effect universe, we are far behind and quickly trying to catch up. In Mass Effect, humanity has started setting up colonies on the moon in 2069 C.E. That's a mere 58 years from the date of this post. This is before we discover the mystical element zero which makes all the aspects of space travel a million times easier, so Mass Effect is presenting a plausible idea for it's audience. Unfortunately, reality comes to rain on the parade of space adventure. The last couple years have shown cuts in spending for space exploration in the United States. Mass Effect is implying we have the technology or the potential for technology for living on the moon in viable colonies. This could be instrumental in solving some of humanity's problems like overpopulation. Yet here we are limiting that potential. I don't know much about the international scenario for space funding, so I don't know how dire the space funding situation is. But wouldn't it be awesome if we could live on the moon in 58 years.
Bonus: Here's a map of the Milky Way in the Mass Effect games from the Mass Effect Wiki.
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