Game Thoughts: Visual Novels

I haven't really been playing anything super new. I survived the Summer Steam Sale so far.

I got Banner Saga 2...which ends on yet another cliffhanger! (You're killing me guys!)

I've spent a lot of time playing Visual Novels I've found on Steam and places. I record my playthroughs with my atrocious voice acting. Not available publicly...they're pretty bad. I may start doing some visual novel reviews though. (I say these things but don't expect a follow through.)

Most of these VNs have been out for a few years so there are guides and walk-throughs already.

I've noticed lots of cultural differences between VNs made in Asian countries vs Western made games. And lots of disturbances between them too. Here are my top 5 disturbing differences:

The games I'm factoring in are: Dandelion, Nameless, OzMafia!, Blood Code, Amnesia
Western Games: Backstage Pass, RE:Alistair, Nicole, Remember Me, Seduce Me

1. Abuse. So much physical and psychological abuse! And in many it gets quite disturbing. It can be as minor as an overly jealous boyfriend to a straight up psychopath. The worst part is that the main female character will end up with them in some kind of "good ending". NO! don't do it! It breaks my heart.

2. Rape. While there are no explicit scenes drawn out the description is enough to trigger me. Look, if you don't have consent and the girl has NO idea what you're talking about, it's rape. This ties into the controlling nature of many characters I run across. But this one makes me so sad.

3. Passive Women. In a majority of the games, the female character is a naive, passive, polite, and pure maiden. A perfect recipe for a victim. I know this stems from a cultural difference but it still frustrates me. I love it when the girl talks back with some sass or backbone for herself. Oh and add amnesia/lost memories. It works in a sense that it makes the character carte blanche for you to fill in. But she has a personality sort of.

4. Cohabitation. It makes sense in a game design perspective, but it's SO dangerous. Usually there are about 5 men and they all live in the same place.

5. Murdering Fangirls. I don't usually see this phenomenon in Western games where one of the male characters will have a literal fanclub. And they will straight up murder your sorry bum if you get too close to their bae. Also murder. So many of these somehow ended up with murder.

So why do I still play? Usually the characters outside the main girl are interesting and take you on a fun little journey. And pretty art. I'm a visual artist and love looking at pretty things. And something that's usually a bit better in Asian games is the art and visual design. Currently I'm going through OzMafia and it's watercolor pallete is gorgeous although a weird mix for the setting where there's mafia violence. (And guns...very rare in a game like this. Makes me a bit happy being a resident of Texas.)

However, I prefer the protagonists, stories and situations in Western Style games. Usually the main character has an active personality and sticks up for herself.

Again, I fully realize it just MAY be the collection of games that I've played or watched Let's Plays for, but seriously. These cultural difference make for something quite disturbing.
And I feel slightly guilty for enjoying them like trashy romance novels, but I'm usually just yelling at my screen "NOPE! Don't do it!"

Dragon Age Iniquisition Part 2

So I've moved a little bit further into the story, not by much but by enough to add a NEW PART.

I haven't had a chance much to write about game soundtracks. Soundtracks are my favorite genre of music. I have the soundtracks or parts of them from all the Dragon age games. Orchestral swells that make things seem grander and more moving. This is the power of music. A good soundtrack can really make a game more endeared and memorable.

Games with good music stick with me. Legend of Zelda has always been big into music, and Halo has that haunting chant that has become a staple of the series. Now at first, I didn't hear any repeating melody that I would consider memorable in DA:I. That is until one scene where characters break out into a song. It starts a Capella but then you hear the theme song swell in at the end. Then I started noticing the melody everywhere in the game. It did have a running them. And it was a pretty song too. I'm glad I got the soundtrack.
Also...this is now Dragon Age the Musical. Ha ha! (And characters do comment on the scene. "Hey you made people start singing all together." "Yes...please don't break into song now." "...Fine...*pout*")

Also, it finally happened I met the cameos I was HOPING to meet. King Alistair makes a brief appearance. But Hawke is a character. Unfortunately it kind of stops the game and makes you recreate Hawke or use the default. Pssh...of COURSE I remade Hawke to look like AJ from my stupid fan comics. Yes I may have scripted some out before I even knew what the game was about. But sadness, I lost the thumbdrive on which they were stored.

It breaks up the gameplay and story flow to do a character creation but I kind of appreciate the effort too add the character in. So how much farther did I get? Not far at all. I keep going back to play other characters until they're at the same point. I don't know why I do this to myself.

I lied I do know. I want to see how different the world is based on the world states I used for each saved game.

Anyway, as I get further in I'll add more. Until next time.

Game Thoughts: Dragon Age Inquisition Part 1

This will probably be a bit of a series as I try to get through the game. It's already ruining my life/sleep cycle. So there's that. I think I've put in a good 10 hours for each character I've made. For now I've narrowed down my game to one character to go through the game. I've designed maybe 6 characters with more on the way.

Currently I have:
- Self-Insert Elf version - similar to my first playthrough of Origins, I started with an elf. Although this one is a mage, not a warrior.

- Fanfic Self Insert - based on my fancomic Tale of Mage Angelo and Warrior AJ...now we have Inquisitor Modesty...also a shameless self-insert.

- Mage Angelo - he has a playthrough in every game and manages to make the world worse. :D It's his thing.

- Willow Qunari Mage - because qunari are playable, I had to make one.

- Malkia - My buck-toothed dwarf warrior. She was a happy accident of the character creation and I just like her.

- Bigby - Male qunari warrior. ...I had to have someone be my ruthless playthrough. And I like the Fables Series.

Anyway, on to some overall thoughts on various aspects: aesthetic look/Art Design, gameplay, graphics, story, and characters.

Art Design

By George, I think they've finally done it! They've taken the iconic look of Dragon Age 2 and added the fantasy flair of old. I am so very pleased with the new art direction...and yes I do follow one of the art director's art blogs. Now the world I feel is coming into its own with unique art for each culture. However, even the UI has seen some nice touches that make it feel like a fantasy game. The codex in particular uses this fascinating almost tarot card art style for the entries.

The armor designs are also much better than Origins, finding a nice balance in visual interest, personality and so on for each main character. Let's just say, I'm loving my Vash The Stampede style mage coat that flutters in wind. And I can't wait to get that Carmen Sandiego style hat.

Graphics

Hand in hand with the art design the graphics have seen a major upgrade from the first two games in the series. It's a good mix of stylization and "fantasy realism". But if your computer settings aren't just right, it like you're in the future because everything here is shiny. Tip: Set Meshes to high to get rid of the extra glisten to hair. I'm hoping there's a fix or mod for this. Also the graphics are INTENSE, so it's no wonder the system requirements are so high. Also world map size. Good gravy.
So that gets us into gameplay.

 

Gameplay

It feels like each game in the series has it's own unique gameplay style. Unlike Mass Effect which was always had a semblance of consistency with gameplay. Dragon Age Origins was yet another D&D style RPG game. You had a camp, companions, and a campaign. Dragon Age II was almost an episodic game with an MMO quality to it. Dragon Age Legends was a flash game where you did fight 2D RPG style but also managed a castle. I can't say I've played Dragon Age Heroes but I'm sure it's unique.

What's this to say, Inquisition feels like a completely different take: It mixed a bit of open world like the Elder Scrolls games, some resource management and a bit of politics. It's weeeeird. But in a good way.

PC control scheme is crap though. Completely unintuitive and hard to utilize. I switched to a game controller because that noise...still. The movement systems in the other games worked fine for PC gaming. /sigh/

Story

Seems a good point to segway into story. Now I'm still in the earliest portions of the game, I don't have a stronghold yet. BUT I am happy to see that one of my biggest beliefs about stories is illustrated so well: Time Travel Ruins EVERYTHING. No spoilers, you can read that elsewhere. To be honest I was wondering how things were going to go between DA2 and other titles. I'm still a bit confused as to how things progressed. The character is sort of thrust into the situation.

I'm not so much of a lore nerd to notice the inconsistencies yet. I know they are there though. I can feel them. But I'm too distracted by throwbacks to characters from earlier games. (Just like in Mass Effect 3.)

However, overall, I feel that so far the story has the epicness of the first game but now with more established lore to back it up.

Characters

So there are several "types" of characters: Advisers, Agents and Companions.
Companions fight with your character, similar to other games. Agents are usually around to run specific crafting or game altering influence in the game. Advisers are like companions but don't fight directly in battle. Okay, so I'm not clear on how this all fits together yet but maybe it will make sense.

I don't have all the companions yet and I purposely avoided all promotional stuff...or as much as possible. I went in only knowing their names and sexual preferences because that's how they market these things nowadays.

Like Mass Effect 3 it's fun seeing old friends and see how they've changed. Meeting new characters which at first you're resistant about but then they grow on you. Like Fungus.
My take on the characters I have so far...

Cassandra: She's remained consistent throughout the media I've seen her in. I like her brash, opinionated personality but peppered with experience.

Cullen: Hello familiar face I recall from the rest of the series. I know you're popular with the female fan-base...it's great to see how you've grown and changed over the years. Also, awesome feather pauldron things. It's soooo fluffy! Also super cute, this is obscuring my better judgement.

Josaphine: Mole...mole...molely molely molely. I like her though. She's crafty and got a great accent.

Lelianna: Poor girl. You were so innocent now...so dark. Mage Angelo would be SO SAD. He never should have left you. Shame on him this is all his fault. ...now this post is getting silly...ANYWAY, she's clearly dealing with hard struggles which I like to see, I hope she maintains some of her innocence. Probably not. Which is fine too I guess.

Solas: He sounds like a proper, older gentleman. I do enjoy his conversations. Again just the sound of his voice is...comforting. Which is kind of awesome. Also, the straight man in a lot of jokes.

Varric: His personality is unchanged from Dragon Age II, which is why he's a bit more endearing to me at least. It's something familiar to cling to in a world gone mad. But you CAN change his armor to be something with a closed shirt...this should not be allowed. ...Just kidding.

Sera: ...she...confuses me. She's incoherent most of the time. She's also raunchy. I keep hoping for funny banter from her but I'm left wanting.

Blackwall: I thought he'd be more stoic. But he's actually more like a mildly drunk lumberjack. He's actually kind of funny. It's oddly endearing. And that beard...is so attractive. *fans* Oh my...what was I talking about again.

Iron Bull: See I was sure HE'D be the inappropriate macho man. So far, he's just macho and more serious than I thought. I will never understand the qunari. :P

Vivienne: I...LOVE...Vivienne. I find her super attractive. Elegant, well-spoken, and a touch of sass.
And proof that mages can indeed pull off the MOST silly of hats.

That's who I have so far. I'm looking forward to running into Hawke . I've already run into some of my Hero of Ferelden legacy. (I'm using a world state based on my first playthroughs of previous titles. So...my warden is dead.) Also Alistair and Morrigan. I kinda wish Anders came back...but I can see how that would make things incredibly awkward with the party.

Update: I just ran into one cameo of Alistair. I was pleased to see he's wearing the armor from the comics which means I have a much better reference for the cosplay. But what happened to the beeeeard. :( And since the hair style no longer include the Nathan Drake duck butt carved out of wood...he looks mildly dignified. Mildly. But he also looks a lot like Cullen. :/ I hope the hair mods come out soon.

Overall

I've been gushing a lot. But that's because I'm on the honeymoon period still. It's long. It takes a lot of time. And I had to buy a whole new computer JUST to run it. (Now I have 2 desktops to get rid of.) That's the part that makes me the maddest. The requirements are intense. Also the control scheme and the initial graphic-lighting issues I had were distracting. I had a rough start with the game but I am enjoying it now. As the plot thickens. But I'm also trying NOT to spend too much time on sidequests...but I'm failing horribly. Also the sound effects of some creatures are awfully ear wrenching...particularly the Red Hart. :P It squeals and screams so terribly.

I am enjoying it...maybe too much. I must take time off to sew this upcoming long weekend.

Tips: Set meshes to high to remove the hair glare.
I used Pinnacle to create a profile for the game controller so I could keep the layout of the mouse/keyboard. However, it's seriously nearly impossible to play with the current mouse/keyboard set up. 

Game Thoughts: Dreamfall Chapters

So after 8 years, the sequel to Dreamfall: The Longest Journey has finally been released. It started as a Kickstarter campaign. Red Thread games is the new company developing the game made up of most of the original team. Instead of the full game, they are going for the episodic gaming route.
So this will be a look at the first chapter which is the only one out at this time.

Synopsis

We return to Zoe Castillo who is still in a coma and living in a world between called Storytime. She wakes up and starts her new life after her coma. She's starting a new job, volunteering for a political campaign and got back together with her boyfriend Reza. Meanwhile, Kian is in prison awaiting his execution. He is assisted in an escape. The first chapter closes with another between world's location where you play as a baby named Saga.

Virtues

Choice system affects later events in the game. It's similar to some of the aspects in The Wolf Among Us, where choices selected will affect later chapters.

Lovely graphics, beautiful scenery, and a great soundtrack. The atmosphere in every location is well crafted and detailed. The character models have improved, but we still have that familiar voice acting.

Female lead, not overly sexualized. Lots of strong female characters. Good diversity in characters.

Puzzles make sense so far.

Vices

There's lots of rough language, f-bombs, and a few instances of the Lord's name taken in vain.

Co-habitation. Look I'm Catholic, I take issue with this although it's common. Granted the relationship is portrayed realistically. Sex is only discussed never shown.

Performance issues. Maybe it's because I'm on a laptop...but hey, I was able to play Mass Effect 3 without lag. A patch did go in to help though. It worked for me. But the framrate would really chug and drop in a lot of places.

Bugs here and there. People floating, characters getting lost/stuck in the geometry. No lip sync or improper lip sync.

Having to wait for the next episode.

Did Kian get whiter? I thought he was black. I'll blame the lighting.

Conclusion

I'm invested in the series, but personally it might be worth waiting for a couple episodes to be out. The stories flow better when they're done all at once. But that's okay too. I enjoyed it very much and I wonder what themes will come out of this one. It's also worth playing through a few times.

Objectification and Games

Recently the infamous Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency came out with a new video in her series Tropes vs Women. This one focuses on female characters in the background of games specifically those that are "objects".

The video itself does contain explicit examples that are Not Safe for Work or Children.
A copy of the video's transcript can be found here.

I was particularly fond of Anita's look into the psychological effects of these visuals and gameplay have on players.

One of the points I really liked in the video was this:

A toaster is still a toaster regardless of whether or not you choose to make toast with it. It’s still designed for the express purpose of toasting bread. And it still communicates that fact even while sitting unused on your kitchen counter.

Likewise a sex object is still a sex object regardless of whether or not you personally choose to use and abuse her. And that fact, in and of itself, still communicates extremely regressive ideas about women.

This seems like a problem that won't go away, but that is the big lie. It can be stopped.
We begin with prayer, one of the most powerful tools in the Catholic armaments in our fight against evil.
Then support is given to better games.

Game Thoughts: Hometown Story (First Impressions)

The other day I was browsing a game store before an appointment when I noticed Hometown Story. I remembered that some months ago I had heard about this title and was interested in checking it out. My interest was due to the fact that the creator of Harvest Moon was also the creator of this title. As a big fan of the HM series I figured that the new venture would be worth looking into. However, I have found that I may not be the biggest fan of Hometown Story (now HMS). Here's my look at the game.



Synopsis
After the passing of your grandmother, your character returns to the town she/he grew up. Upon meeting a magic creature that now lives at Nana's shop, the protagonist is suddenly recruited into running the shop and restoring the town population. In the game your character forages or buys stock from locals or traveling merchants, arranges the shop layout, stocks shelves adn sets the price for products. Customers come in and buy items, make suggestions as to their favorite products and so on. There is a social aspect where the protagonist is able to woo and marry one of the villagers.

Virtues:

Non-violent: Like most games in the HM series, HMS takes on the tradition of a non-violent storyline.

Good Graphics: The characters are visually appealing and the color scheme is very relaxing.

Customized Avatar: You're able to create your avatar and change their look at the beginning of the game. You can play as either a male or female protagonist.

Vices

Lack of Concrete Goals: The game taught only the most basic of controls. The storyline was not very motivating nor the goal clear. Was the town dying? Were people leaving en masse? No, from the in-game dialog it's almost a kidnapping. The protagonist answers a letter and a strange creature basically tells you that you now must own and run the shop.

Unintuitive Gameplay: In my gameplay, I was able to figure out stocking and setting the price easy enough. I was able to ring people up without a fuss. However, for the longest time I could not figure out where to get new products. In my mind, I had to man the shop from open to close, but here's the thing, the store actually does NOT close until the protagonist goes to bed. What I did not realize until I read a walkthrough was that you are able to leave the shop at ANY time to collect new materials and talk with townsfolk. This simply did not make sense to me. A store has business hours. After business hours, the owner can do other things. Or the owner has the power to close the shop for a period of time.

Boring: Perhaps it is the slow start, the uniteresting dialog and descriptions, or the traces of a plot. There is not much to motivate me to play this game. The pacing is very slow, the work is tedious. Now I've play shop simulation games that I enjoyed. HOwever, the style of gameplay was different. (Both had annoying floating sidekicks but the other at least had RPG elements that drive the shop.)

Disorienting Camera: The camera changes angles on its own in every location. It becomes disorienting moving between screens. The layout of the town is quite empty and tricky to navigate. Luckily the map is very good. It also weirds me out that everywhere you go, the floating mouse thing follows. And speaking about the floating mouse thing...

The Pet thing: The little "guide" is some kind of magic floating creature that after the tutorial seems to have no real purpose. The model often gets in the way when trying to place items on shelves. It would make more sense IF the pet thing could be sent to collect for forest items while the owner stays in the shop. OR to man the register while the owner is out.

Uninteresting Characters: The 2D graphics and character designs look very plain and uninteresting. The visual style of the characters lacks something distinct.

Conclusion:

I hate to say that I'm going to sell this game back to the store to get something else. I am disappointed with how this final product came out. It could work but the execution just did not meet my expectations. (These weren't high expectations either.) That said I am still looking forward to the new Harvest Moon, Linking the New World.

Maturity and Game Plans

This is just a mild response to a video from The Escapist by the Jimquistion. In his most recent video rant, he talked about the latest Bioware interview that the "sex scenes" in the upcoming Dragon Age Inquistion would be "more mature and tasteful". (Insert my internal groaning...because I'm not surprised.) His point was that no, they were not. They were the same as any "sex scene" in a game: pandering, with no consequences, and often following a mechanic of "give gifts, get reward".

For the majority of this I say, true. Yes. This is a thing. This element is a selling feature and making such promises about possibilities, boosts sales. And to be honest, some element of romantic interest is something I look for in a game story. But, personally I wish that explicit sex scenes were not allowed in any form of media ever.

 I would love a game where the romance had more weight and consequence and if it weren't just a coin slot. So, I guess I'm up to the challenge. Next month is NaNoWriMo month which many writers use as a challenge to write a novel in 1 month. (National Novel Writing Month...by the way.) While I'm not writing a novel, throughout November (and into December), I'm going to write up and plot out a romance option game that does not cater to the stereotypes of gifting and complimenting, displays a maturing relationship within an overarching adventure story. It will be a challenge to myself to then translate that into some form of game engine. That part will take much longer.

Also for fun, one of my favorite video blogs about Sex in games. I'm sure I've linked it before but it deserves more linking.

I'll try to keep this blog updated with progress if any gets made.

Video Share: David Gaider's Presentation on Sexism and Sexuality in Games

Video Link (50 minutes)
Note: The video is pretty clean but there are some mild swears and sexy pictures. (nothing explicit).

I want to be a bit jaded about the video article, but he makes some very good observations and solutions. Still recognizes that very broken nature of business.

Basically advocates player centric design practices (feedback from fans, research etc), hiring a diverse staff, and trying not to please all audiences all the time.

Also noted that games normalize some behavior or makes it seem okay.

I like these practices. but I have my scruples about how sex is portrayed in games and other media in general. They are still aiming at the base nature and male fantasy portion, not so much the consequences, responsibility, etc.

That's my piece on it.

Ideals and Objects

This past week, I enjoyed a little video by Jimquistion on the Escapist about the "objectification of men" in video games. While his presentation style may not be for everyone, the point he made was very solid and worth the discussion.

A common argument against objectification of women in the medium is that male characters are equally objectified. To which Jim argues: "No, they're idealized, not objectified." He went on to say that this too was a problem.

It was a very well worded piece and I recommend watching it if you can stomach his style of "humor".

Ideals: Good or Bad?

While most moral people can agree that reducing a person to an object is wrong, holding someone up to an ideal should be preferred. But what do we mean by "ideals".
One definition is an archetype or something that exists only in fantasy.
Another definition is a principle or value that one pursues as a goal. (wikipedia) 

So an ideal is abstract and often used in characters to uphold said value. For game characters or heroes, that value often reflects the values held by the culture which is a mixed bag of good and evil.

For example, courage, strength and sacrifice are all values that game heroes often ascribe to. These are generally good. Other values such as womanizing, sarcasm and callousness are often portrayed as well.

A good character is generally a mix bag of virtues and vices. It's necessary for them to seem human or relatable to the audience.

Ideals and Idolatry 

Idols are images that we worship or uphold that we believe support our system of values. To take an example outside of games, Team Edward or Team Jacob in Twilight fans illustrates this concept rather well. Large groups of people uphold Edward as the ideal lover for his qualities of protectiveness, focused attention and faithfulness. (Which most sane people translate to controlling, jealousy, and obsession.)
There are many examples of our culture idolizing celebrity status for a myriad of values: beauty, singing talent, wealth, political standing, leadership, knowledge, etc.

The danger lies in setting that person as only that value. Placing the person as a goal to be attained. Which is often why we become disappointed when a celebrity does something completely human like cheat on their spouse or lies.

Holding a person to represent an ideal value perfectly is unrealistic. It turns them into "objects".

Ideal Characters

Characters set in a fantasy world are not human in the same sense that a celebrity is human. They can be vessels of values attained near perfectly. In morality stories, they work well to illustrate a moral value or lesson.

The question becomes: Is this bad for games?
When considering an audience and the nature of the story told, it will be more or less effective. It's good for characters to uphold good values and overcome vices. Audiences generally like that sort of thing.

Conclusion

Art idealizes many things. The human form is made beautiful, but it does not exist in that way in our current reality. Simply because such perfection or idealization cannot exist in our reality does not mean we cannot hope for it in true reality (heaven).
It is common in our culture to reject ideals because they're unrealistic. Realism is what matters most. It's a very utilitarian viewpoint.
Should video game characters be less idealized? Or perhaps should they portray different values?

Games with Sexual Content

So I'm back again to talk about sexual content in video games. One of the biggest hurdles facing the industry is not only the issue of gratuitous violence but the objectification of people and what I like to call sexploitation. This is not going to be a gender discussion, but a general overlook of sexual content in games.

Excuses, Excuses
Some of the common defenses for including sexual content in the gaming medium that I have comes across are as follows:
1) It's not real, it's virtual.
2) It's not really hurting anyone.
3) It's not any worse than movies or TV
4) It's an outlet so they don't do this in real life
etc etc ad nauseum.

My rule of thumb for content, if you have to make an excuse for something, that means there is something wrong somewhere. It is either the perception that is wrong or the content is straight up wrong and you don't want to admit it.

Being wrong is not a great feeling. Guilt is not fun. (*Insert stereotypical Catholic guilt joke).

Now there's probably more excuses out there, but I'm going to focus on the four above.

Virtual Reality
I've seen this line of reasoning to validate anything that is drawn or CG sexual content. From cartoons to cutscenes, the fact of the matter is that in a sense these "people" are not real. It's a drawing or pixels. These are objects. So what is wrong with that?

Art represents something. You do not see it as a random collection of lines and dots, but a form that is familiar. A drawing of a human can not be mistaken for a drawing of an apple. It is symbolic and holds meaning to our mind. The person is not real, true. The symbol however is real.

What's the big deal about symbols and symbolism? Associated meaning is one thing that stands out. Symbols can be powerful tools to motivate or readily associate with a group. A red flag with a black swastika on a white circle is immediately associated with Nazi Germany of World War II. The symbol still reminds us of that group and what they did.

Reducing someone or something to a symbol, as is often done in propaganda, can be used to dehumanize a group or individual. While characters and avatars are not real, their symbolism and meaning is real.

No One's Getting Hurt
One 3D model shooting another is not murder. However, as I mentioned in the previous section, it carries meaning and symbolism. The harm may not be happening to actors, but that does not disqualify the harm it causes the viewer. What applies to live action pornography applies to artistic renditions as well.

There are many studies that look at the effects of prolonged viewing of pornography on family and individual levels. So it may be that the viewer is hurting themselves.

As the Church teaches, it is sinful, and the Church in her wisdom says this because it does harm to the soul and can weaken the will.

Other Media is Similar
This should not matter. Comics, TV, and film are all over saturated. This is merely the "mob" mentality that because "everyone is doing it so too can I." As history has shown, many people can be morally wrong while a minority is morally correct.

The Digital Outlet
Virtual worlds provide a "safe-space" to experiment with anti-social behavior without the same repercussions. This does not really address the core of the problem, which is this individual has a misguided sense of propriety or possibly a disorder. Viewing such material may cure a symptom, but not the root cause of the problem.

This line of thinking poses that the troubled person can either perform it on a virtual person or a real person. Naturally we would think that the lesser of the two evils, the virtual crime, is better than someone actually doing the crime. But that's just it. Narrowing the focus to two alternatives is not the reality of the situation. Most people can agree that a person who molests a child is disturbed in some way. It's a bit of a stretch to say that for that person, playing a game that portrays sexual content with young looking characters is somehow preventing that person from committing the real crime.

Perhaps it's just me but I don't see it as therapeutic.

Art vs. Porn
Granted not all nudity is sexual. It is an unfortunate sign of our times. The human body is sexual and beautiful. It is only in our current times where a naked body is seen immediately as erotic and shameful. (Thanks sexual revolution.)

I've not come across a game in which a sex scene was for anything but gratuity. (Same could be said for any film, comic and TV series). Same could be said for nudity. There's a difference between Michelangelo's David and say the recent DMC's Dante. And again, much of the "problem" might be our cultural Puritan tendencies or perception.
The blog Bad Catholic really does a great job illustrating the issue in this post. (I'm a lazy writer. :B ) The gist is that the culture of our generation sees the naked body ONLY as an erotic object. Even looking at Michelangelo's David might be considered erotic.

I would say that a majority of the time nudity is featured in a game, it is for titillation. It is turning the body into an object to SELL the game to you. I've only seen a handful of games in which showering was normal. (And that's mostly the Sims titles.)

What about Softcore/Suggestive Content? 
This is one of the things that absolutely boggles my mind. There is a scale on how extreme a particular medium's sexual content can be.

Softcore is what you often get in a major movie and in a few video game titles (Heavy Rain comes to mind), it portrays nudity or partial nudity and the act itself without exposing genitals. It's often a loving relationship and consensual. So what could be wrong about that? It still removes intimacy of the act for the sake of titillation.

Suggestive sexual content is presented as an abstract or simply does a before/after cut. I want to say that this kind of a grey area especially. For example, the Sims franchise "whoohoo" turns into shuffling around under covers and a cartoonishly bouncing bed. This is an abstraction that never involves full nudity. It seems harmless, but that does not mean it's any less disrespectful.
However, before/after cuts I find to be at least more respectful a suggestion than softcore porn. Usually because those parts are mostly conversation and may be plot moving/character development.
This was the big difference between Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2 as well as Dragon Age Origins to Dragon Age 2. In the first part of these franchise games, sex scenes were soft porn. In the subsequent games, the romance scenes are heavily suggested with kissing and a fade to black only to come back to the couple lightly clad and talking.

Conclusion for now
Sex is NOT evil and something to be regarded with disgust or aversion. Many of us do because our upbringing may have taught us to react in a very binary fashion of you either do it or you don't. If you do, you should feel ashamed. If you don't, you have some kind of repression problem. The Church teaches that intercourse is sacred. Very, very very special. So special in fact that you have to have a sacrament to seal the union. That is what sexuality is: self-giving. However, most depictions of sex in media is self-pleasing.

At most, I feel suggestive content in games can be done respectfully and not tempt. However, games favor the soft porn or explicit content in most M rated titles. As a Catholic, we have to consider our souls and wills when playing such titles.

Game Thoughts: Fire Emblem: Awakening

After many years of HATING hype from co-workers...this one I'm glad they pressured me into getting. I've know OF the Fire Emblem series, but never played the games. Couldn't tell you why either, but I'll definitely be exploring earlier titles.

This will currently be a "first impressions" as I've only played the game  for six hours or so. (Probably more as I kept deleting files and remaking characters.)

So on we go with synopsis, virtues and vices.

Synopsis

We have what I'd ironically call "standard" fantasy fare. (Only in our modern age could fantasy become "standard".) There's some great dark (the fell dragon Grima) stirring up trouble in our neighborhood, namely war mongering. The player is a tactician in a military group called "Shepherds" that start fighting invading brigands and a new threat called the "Risen". (Darkspawn, Zombies, that whole reanimated dead evil guy thing.)

Gameplay is strategy based with a grid plane and various character classes in a very complicated game of chess. (That's really a gross simplification.)

Virtues

Fire Emblem boasts of a near infinite ways to approach party building, classes and battle strategy.

You can play as a male or female avatar with mild customization.

Women in the game are for the most part (so far) presented in a respectful way. There are many females in roles of leadership both politically and militarily. While they still fall into roles of "healer without a way to defend herself" (no male characters take up this role), women are equally shown as lancers, swordswomen and so on. There are some "sexy" outfits but there are more examples of modest dress and actually functioning armor. And some male characters have very impractical armor that's just for show. Also...a woman of color as a leader. :)
Edit: The more I play the more "sexy" armor I see particularly with female riding armor which lacks enough material to cover a bum. :/

This particular title in the series allows for partnering which is a new mechanic. There is also importance put on developing relationships so that on the battle field, they support each other better. There are romance elements that are pretty much "clean" that lead to marriage and eventually children that can join the battle.
...
I'd like to repeat that...MARRIAGE that leads to CHILDREN that play significant roles in game.
I want a BIG FAT highlighter on that. Although the romance is all narrative driven and not really a "date sim", for the longest time I've been looking for examples of games where marriage is a POSITIVE and end goal of a relationship.

Death...if you play in "classic" mode (aka the way the franchise is "supposed" to play) is permanent for pretty much all characters. For immersion, I REALLY think this is cool. But I'll also be listing it as a Vice.

So far, I haven't seen a "revenge" plot.

*Update*...there was a line that "only men can be priests, women are clerics". Granted this is a completely fantasy styled religion, but that line got a little smile from orthodox me.

Vices

If you don't regularly play the grid  type tactical battle games, it's hard and may not appeal to a large audience. I list this under vice only because I really think showcases many positive qualities narratively. The only reason it is hard is that there are so many nuances to remember.

Time travel. No spoilers but there's a bit of "time travel" involved. It follows Back to the Future logic instead of Bill and Ted logic. I tend to follow the Bill and Ted school of time travel. "Time has told." Honestly, this is really a MINOR vice that is more personal than anything.

Classic vs. Casual, because I'm not very good at this type of game I play in casual mode. I started in classic because I wanted to understand how it's "really suppose to play". It ends up I'd pretty much lose everyone within 5 maps. Even on "easy classic" setting, it's NOT a very beginner friendly. Really this fits in with my first vice about accessibility.

So many characters...omg...This could be a "good" thing and it's also part of games of this type. However, many other strategy tactics games like this...say like Disgaea only have a handful of named characters (I only remember 6 from Disgaea). FE pretty much has named every character. So far I think I have about 16 named characters that I can send into battle. I had the same problem with NWN2 with the huge cast. There is a narrative being told, I'm not sure how many of my current characters are really all that important. Some get characterized, while others only seem to get a mention every now and again.

Values...now I haven't played far enough into the game story yet to really get a full read on the values it promotes. So far I've only seen violence in a violent situation and a dragon cult. Most of the battles have been as "defense". I know these sound more like virtues, but let's just say I'm going to reserve judgement. So far, it's the "typical" fantasy medieval village raids, war crimes and so on with a very "clean" look to it. (No rape or visible murder of innocents.) This tends to be a vice of most games, making "light" of real violence. At the same time, horrors of war don't fit the tone of this game.

Addiction warning. Playing this game takes time and once you get going it's hard to stop. This is a vice of compelling gameplay design and story. There's so much stuffed into this game!

*Update*
Ah yes...a value I usually have a problem with just occurred: suicide as sacrifice. This one straddles the fence for me but I'll put it on the vice list as I have fairly strong feelings about suicide. I won't give any spoilers but this is something common I see in JRPGs. You could argue it's self-sacrifice, but the context is different. Self-sacrifice is like Boromir in LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring or Gandalf in Two Towers. I know that suicide is viewed a bit differently in Japanese culture but here it's no es bueno.

Conclusion

So far, I can give my approval for this game. Unless it does a 180 and it turns out the Catholic Church was the villain the whole time. (Highly unlikely.)
These are my thoughts "so far". I may add an addendum later in the game.

Game Thoughts: Neverwinter Nights 2

I am almost ashamed to say it took 3 years before I finally played through this whole game. The game was originally purchased as a "text book" for one of my classes in which we used the toolset to learn about Game Writing. Best class ever, but I never got very far in the game whenever I started it.

Although every time I restart, I spend a few days trying to remember how to make the camera not suck...and adding several graphical mods to make the player character look like how I want. But that's not what I'd like to talk about today. Today I intend to talk about the writing, pacing and characters of this game.

Synopsis
Like many RPGs of the Oblivion/Bioware Family, it follows the Mono-myth/Hero's Journey pretty much to the letter. Your character starts off in a quaint village that is suddenly attacked before being sent away on a journey that leads into fighting a larger over-arching dark lord/King of Shadows.

Pacing
Normally, I LOVE playing stories that are epic and sprawling but NWN2 campaign felt like it was dragging its feet. Perhaps since I was not familiar with D&D lore that the game takes place in that I failed to find any significance in certain characters, locations and creatures. The main plot feels like its slow going into it because it takes a long time to finish enough of a quest to get to the next leg of the story. In particular, in the First Act, the player can either join the city watch or a thieves guild to enter a part of the city that has been quarantined. To get into that district of the city requires several gopher quests that neither develop any of the side characters nor moves the story forward in any significant way. Most of the main leg of the campaign feels like this. The major plot point that the player tries to reach is padded out with seemingly pointless or dull quests.
 Maybe it reflects more on D&D campaigns in tabletop versions that can take days with lots of menial quests along the way. However, it made it kind of a chore to pick the game back up to see if I could make it to the next main plot point battle.

That is to say there is nothing wrong with smaller quests but they have to feel like they add to the story in a significant way or develop the characters further or offer a significant reward that helps in a final battle. There were points in the game that I felt were better paced. The very beginnings of each act were interesting and provided great set up.

Writing
The way the story was portrayed could be confusing at times. Cinematic portions showed enemy movement behind the scenes but might not be significant until much later in the game. For instance, late in Act 1 a mage hires another mage to make a construct that will kill one of the party members. The player does not meet the construct until the middle of Act 3. There were many occasions where this happened an event was hinted at or suggested early on, forgotten, then brought up again as significant in the last part of the story.

Now because of the style of gameplay, NWN2 has story branches that are triggered based on player responses in certain quests. How the story flows has to funnel into a situation that makes sense whether or not the player chose to help the City Watch or become a Thief.

Characters
My favorite part about these games are the companions that join the party. They provide not only much needed battle support but a certain amount of entertainment value with quirks, personalities and extra layers of story to explore. You would think that with a cast of roughly 14 possible party members, you'd have some real gems. However, I think this starts to become a stretch for the story as characters are introduced late in the game or get killed off. Due to the type of character you create, certain roles are more necessary than others. Instead of including a character I might have wanted to get to know more because the character seemed interesting or amusing, I was forced to stick with characters that offered the right battle support in quests.

Not all the characters were "winners" as far as characterization goes either. The most interesting characters tended to be the ones that went through ordeals and changed, had curious backgrounds, or an unexpected personality. But with such a high number of potential party members, not everyone could get a significant amount of screen time or quest time to develop fully. Either that or character development occurred at odd points in the game. Bishop for example doesn't give his backstory until just before the 2nd last battle of the game.

Most of the other games of this type that I play have at most 9 potential party members. I think that's the magic number they settled on for a 3 act story. Other game series are able to simplify their class system but NWN2 is based on D&D lore and rule sets. The ideal party make-up changes depending on the class you roll for your character. I first started playing with a paladin which turns out to be pretty tough in the first part of the game when the only other companions you have are a fighter and a rogue with low combat skills. Then again, I'm spoiled and need some form of crowd control when faced with swarms of enemies. Restarting the game as a Druid helped with that. (I'm not a good D&D player I guess.)

I also may be spoiled by other game titles and have high expectations. Many of the characters were well written although some of the dialog choices weren't as diverse as other games and often retained questions that only matter in Act 1 when you first meet the character. (I could as Khelgar "Who are you again?" throughout the WHOLE game even though he's the first real companion recruited.)

Conclusion
I'm sure fans of the Forgotten Realms will be able to relate to the story better. I wanted to finish the game out of pure stubbornness for having owned the game for years and years but never really finishing it all the way to Act 2. (I always got bored or had a computer problem around that time.) 
There are parts I enjoy and I especially love games I can mod. However I do think that after playing games like KoTOR, Dragon Age, and such like that I have become elitist towards these types of games. Handling repeat information, checking for flags (I've built partial mods...I know how these things work.), individual character quests (optional) make the cast more part of the story than functions in the game.
(I had to have that dullard Casavir in my party all the time because he was my best tank.)

However, I do intend to check out the Baldur's Gate 2 re-release to see if the writing is good in that. I hear it's pretty awesome.

Game Thoughts: Harvest Moon

For the past several weeks, I've been enjoying my new Wii console with the game Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. The Harvest Moon series is one that I have enjoyed for many years. It was first introduced to me on the N64 system. So now I'd like to share with you my thoughts and reflections about the game series.

Game Concept

The primary goal of the game is to gradually build a successful, efficient farm and start a family. In most versions there are several secondary goals to achieve that can help with the primary goal.
All the games come with a story premise as to why you want to restore the farm. Some it is to please a departed grandfather, save the productivity of a town, or save the mythical Harvest Goddess.
The story premise usually changes the secondary goals of the game allowing for subtle differences between each version of the game.

Game Virtues

There are a few positive aspects of the game that I'd like to highlight. It's one of the few examples of a non-violent game with fantasy elements that I can think of.

The game also encourages the setting of goals and forming strategy on how to achieve the goals. It encourages the virtue of patience...sometimes too well.

It's about nurturing and the affect it has on others. What you ship from your farm in some titles will affect businesses in town. In incredibly simple terms it shows the relationship between industry and agriculture.

Relationships are viewed in a positive light with no objectification of men or women. (Granted the personalities are incredibly simple, but distinct.) Marriage and family is the goal of a relationship.
It's also fairly "pro-life" in that it really encourages the player to marry AND have a child. (Although where the baby came from is a MYSTERY TO ME. ;))

Game Vices

There are of course many flaws to the game. The major one is the repetitive and seemingly slow paced game play. At the beginning of the game its more interesting because you use old, rusty tools which makes working the land difficult, so you don't make too much money. But as you get new tools, the challenge decreases and it becomes kind of dull. This makes the game a test of patience which can sometimes be its downfall.

Some may feel that it over-simplifies complexities of farm life. If you're looking for an accurate farm simulation, Harvest Moon does not provide that. There are no pests, cows always produce milk without hormones (except in the GameCube version A Wonderful Life. Cows needed to be impregnated to continue to produce milk.), and you water all crops by hand with a watering can. (It's more of a vegetable garden really.)

It could be said that its too idealistic or too happy. This is a matter of taste but sometimes even I feel bothered that there's no trouble in paradise. In a few titles there ARE a few incidents that might be considered tragic. However, there are enough fantasy elements to cushion the blow in most cases. (There is ONE that just doesn't get better.) It could be said that the beginning of most HM games are impending tragedy and failure is tragic. In earlier games, failing to run a successful farm in a set number of years meant failure. Which brings me to another vice.

Many of the later titles have the games set up in a way where you really can not lose. It just takes time. In earlier games, the time limit and farm success provided more motivation since there was an end goal. I feel like this element of suspense is not as present in later titles. The game doesn't end or it simply ends when you want it to.

Conclusion

 I know this may sound like I'm poo-pooing on the game with my very elaborate vice report, but it's one of the few games...scratch that...the ONLY game I have literally played for nearly 10 hours STRAIGHT. I really like this game series. I really feel like the virtue outweighs the vices for me. However, I think if games like Harvest Moon were promoted more it might help change the public image of video games. While the graphics are anime-cartoonish, it really tackles some oddly mature topics. Or at least treats them in a mature fashion. I say mature fashion because although simplified, it's positive and not juvenile. That's is important to highlight, I feel. While the concepts are fiercely simplified, it does not feel immature. It's simple to "save game time", because you're patience is always being tested!

I highly recommend the following website if you are curious about the various games of the series: Ushi No Tane (All in english despite the title.)

Moral Choices

 In our experience of life we have to make decisions on moral situations. Our conscience helps us guide our decisions. This aspect is often times mimicked in video game stories. Some of these "systems" fall under harsh criticism from reviewers and players alike. Do these games offer a good reflection of moral choices?

Linear Story
Most games do not offer a "moral choice system". The game will usually support some reflection of a moral code. In a game like Uncharted, it is acceptable for Nathan Drake to shoot people because it is self-preservation. It is acceptable for him to steal, simply by virtue of being the protagonist. In many adventure stories like this (i.e. Indiana Jones), normally reprehensible behavior is justified somehow.

In this case, whether the player agrees with the story's moral standard or not, it is out of their direct control.

Sandbox Games
There are a few games that allow for a style of play with only a story world to play in. There may or may not be consequences for in-game "moral" actions. Red Dead Redemption has a series of "quests". John Marsten's reputation in various towns changes based on how the quests are completed and other random in-game actions. Killing an innocent bystander will result in a Bounty on your head. You can either pay the bounty or get arrested.

The actions the player takes have in-game consequences similar to consequences one might expect to meet with in our own world. Bad choices are "punished" and good choices are not. 

Story Games
There are some sprawling RPG titles that allow the player to co-author the story. Mass Effect serves as a good example as there are three ways to respond to situations of conversation: Paragon (Good), Neutral, or Renegade (Evil). These responses affect the narrative and the types of "conversations" the player can have with other characters. The player can interpret if the moral system of the story rewards or condemns certain choices.

These types of games also tend to reflect on moral standards we accept in our society and apply game rewards accordingly.

Our Morals in Games
Culture shapes our entertainment as much as it shapes us. I find in games there are always going to be actions in which the consequence is obvious to us. However, I've noticed in some of my games some actions which are morally reprehensible and/or outright sinful.
Most commonly is the revenge storyline which will somehow justify ANY mass murder. These actions carry much of the same reasoning used to defend the death sentence in the United States.
Another growing theme is the casual nature of sex or sex for fun. Not only is it marketing gold, but reaffirming people in their beliefs of treating other humans as toys. And lastly, a demonizing of anyone practicing an orthodox religion or presents qualities of being concerned with moral behavior. Most commonly, it is some sort of Catholic doctrine which somehow ends up on the chopping block. The character will be poised as intolerant, naive or somehow reprehensible/foolish. (And of course become my favorite characters.)

These are just a few things I've noticed in games with strong narrative worlds that are just so obviously modern in a non-modern setting. (For example, I've heard some modern linguistics in a medieval set game which continues to make me roll my eyes.)

Lessons Learned in Game
In one or two of my Video Game Theories courses, we discussed how games like Grand Theft Auto and Mass Effect could be platforms of discussion. They can become case studies of behavior, morals and philosophy if played in the right frame of mind. I personally tend to compare notes with a Catechism when I play certain game titles which have moral systems to see if they really line up with what the Church teaches. At times a game title will make me wonder about a moral issue and how I project my own moral compass onto those in game decisions.

This frame of playing a game is not something I always do. It is not uncommon to completely ignore the morality system and only make in game decisions that provide the best ending, the best gear or the best rewards. However, I feel more powerfully moved by a narrative if given the chance to immerse myself and get a feel for how actions can affect others. In my play-through of Dragon Age Origins, I was moved powerfully by some of the results of my in-game choices. In all cases I tried to apply my own morals. (Avoiding confrontations that would end in violence, remaining chaste, and not giving into revenge.) The results were bitter, but I think by far it was my best play through. It actually made me wrestle between wanting a particular ending and accepting the results of my "decisions".

This is merely a possibility that such games can allow. They may unintentionally reaffirm some good moral decisions. Yet there is still the prevailing modernism and moral bankruptcy saturating the storyline. It takes someone strong in their faith to really view gameplay and game narrative through that lens.

Conclusion
Games provide a pretty good reflection on what our society considers "good morals". Protecting the poor and unfortunate is good, accepting outcasts is good, murder for the sake of murder is bad, and prejudice/racism is bad. Some things that are in the grey area are homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, and vengeance. Such topics have pretty clear boundaries in light of the church but in games the Church more often than not is an evil conspiracy sink. 

Even if fantasy worlds provide a bit of escapism there is always elements of our own culture within it. Virtual worlds provide us a "safe place" to test anti-social behavior or gives us moral choices we probably won't face in our own lives. As I've mentioned many times, exposure to such stories and "systems" can lead to a weakened will. Game Narratives are no place to learn a good moral system, you must have one prior to playing to fully appreciate the nature of in-game choices.
God Bless!

The End is Bittersweet

This is just a reaction post to the uproar against the ending in Bioware's Mass Effect 3. Be forewarned this is an outside looking in kind of reaction as I've only played the ME3 demo and watched the first hour of game play of ME1. So I can not say I'm familiar with the whole story. However based on this spoilery video detailing the top ten plot holes, I can say I might understand the unhappy reaction of the masses. (I  will try my best to avoid the obvious puns that I could use in a Catholic blog about mass.)

- Ending a Story 
There are expectations for the end of a story that a consumer expects. The main thing is a resolution of all conflicts the story presents. This is something basic that is taught in creative writing. Resolutions need to follow logic in order for them to work. The resolution needs to fall back onto previously established story events. According to the linked video, that doesn't seem to be the case in this particular story since it was a co-authored story. But I'll get to that in the next sections.

You can have a bittersweet, hopeless, sad, or even cautionary ending. Such as the ending in Huxley's A Brave New World or Orwell's 1984. 

- Ending a Game
The style of the game's narrative presentation will affect how the player accepts the ending(s). Delivering a narrative through a game is not the same as delivering through a book or film. There is a style of narrative delivery in which the game story is narrated or told directly to the player regardless of their in-game actions. This is called "Linear" in gaming. A linear game is something like the newer Legend of Zelda games or Final Fantasy. You play the game to be told a story.
The ending for a game like this can also be bittersweet, sad, etc.

Non-linear games such as sand box games or games with multiple endings are different in how they are perceived by the player. This is because the player becomes co-author of their experience and the storyline. They play not to be told a story but to in part direct the story.

In both cases reaching the end goal is a reward for in-game challenges. A resolution satisfies our narrative needs.
 
Ending Games Continued
 Okay let me take a mostly linear game Odin Sphere by Vanillaware. This is a story based on an already established story...well...loosely. It's based on Wagner's Ring Cycle Opera. The game allows you to play the story at various points from the perspective of 5 characters. The various endings are affected only by which boss each of the characters decides to fight. There is ONE correct combination based on an in game prophecy which will tell you who should fight who.

In my first play through I mixed up a couple of the boss fights. Each character completed their arc in a satisfying way, however, the world was completely destroyed.  I was surprised and a little saddened that despite the effort it took me to complete the game I got a "sad" ending. However, replaying the boss battles in the correct combination allowed me to see the happier ending. So I did not have to completely replay the whole game.

My reaction was still negative toward the sad ending but it was in a way the game "punishing" me the player for not really paying attention to that prophecy element of the story.
BUT this was a linear game. I did not feel "cheated" because I did not co-author any of the characters.  I was just following their story, not directing it.

Trilogies

Trilogies are a way of telling a very large story in 3 Acts. Depending on how each ends will satisfy our following of this long journey.
For example let's look at Lord of the Rings. I will use the films as examples because it's been over a decade since I read the novels and I can not quite remember where each left off in the story.
The first film Fellowship of the Ring follows a story to a satisfying and hopeful end. We are introduced to the status quo, the characters, the conflict and the goal. The ending of the film while a little sad holds promise of more adventure. It's hopeful.
The second film continues on from the darker side of the first film and while it ends with a victorious battle there are still unresolved ends and a little less hope. It's harder to watch because we don't have that serene, happy beginning which is true of most "middle" sections of a trilogy.
The Return of the King starts dark but brings us to a happy resolution. All the ends are tied, the heroes win, we feel satisfied.

It is also heavily based on the Hero's Journey/Mono-myth story format which seems to satisfy some human desire within us. (It's all in the Bible too!) 

- Reaction 
According to the linked video, there are many plot-holes that upset players and seemed to betray story logic. The whole experience over 3 games seems disregarded which means the experience the player co-authored is disregarded.
It was not like the linear game experience where if you made "wrong" choices you get the bad ending.

Apparently there was also developer promises for endings that were not shoehorned in or allowed the player only flavors of the same ending. These promises were not kept.

Is the reaction appropriate? Campaigns demanding a better ending from the developer?
Personally I think that because the developer Bioware is very connected to fans that they have let down their customers. They probably could never satisfy all fans, but since a majority is so disenchanted then there is some incentive to comply with the desire for better endings.

From what I see in the ending I have a feeling I can guess what kind of ending they wanted to give. But it seems to try and fail to fit a player's experience into a singular ending. They wanted to give a sense of the gravity of sacrifice.
This was done a bit more elegantly in a previous Bioware title Dragon Age: Origins. However that was one game, not the finale of a trilogy.

Summary
Games like other mediums can offer lessons in sacrifice and offer a bittersweet ending. My Warden in Dragon Age died at the end of my first playthrough. Which upset me at first but then it really got me thinking that sacrifice IS hard and upsetting because there is no earthly reward. I could have let someone else die in my place or performed dark magic to save my character but I elected that based on everything that happened to my character in the story she would do the Jesus thing and die for everyone.

Since it is Lent and sacrifice is a big part of it, we like to see appropriate reward for it. Like Jesus dying for our sins reaps us everlasting life. Pretty awesome right? I think Mass Effect wanted an ending LIKE that, where the hero's sacrifice allows everyone to live. But did that fit with the rest of the set up? In a game where you can be a selfish jerk does it make sense to have a last minute change of heart? Feels forced right?

In any case, I can understand where the unhappiness comes from.I can understand an author's desire to really drill in the gravity of sacrifice with the death of the trilogy's hero.
But that's my take on it.

EDIT: There was a fairly well thought out vlog on the subject matter of changing the ending of release games and ART. It basically claimed that this outrage is part of games "growing up" as an art. As a work of interactive literature or art it is beneficial to developers to re-work it, such as films having a Director's Cut.
It was a well thought out vlog but I'm hesitant to post it here because it was also a bit crass. 

Gaming and Gay Marriage

This topic will be mostly focused on how gay marriage and the gay movement is having an effect on video games. In discussions about this topic, I tend to fumble around with my words so it is most likely this post might contain something you find offensive. So I'll put it out there, I do not support same-sex unions and stand on Church teachings on the matter. Now let's talk about games.

Popular Culture's Influence
You know who benefits from "negative" marketing? Most products, but especially games. They at times thrive on the negative attention they get because at least it's attention. If it upsets someone you do not like then you support it by spreading the word about it. Likewise, those that are upset about it and whine about it also advertise it.

The topic of homosexual encounters in a game's story tend to net positive attention from various groups so it has become appealing. As illustrated here rather eloquently by David Gaider's response to an unhappy fan "Straight Male Gamer". Mr. Gaider makes very valid points against the arguments brought to the table by the original post. However, the point is that the LGBT community is also a MARKET for products. It is a very vocal minority, more so than straight female gamers. The game in question also netted some public controversy thus making the possible homosexual relationship seem like a huge deal.

It is a very valid and seemingly open-minded (read relativist) point of view. The game neither praises nor condemns the morality of...well...any in-game choices. It tolerates. In a way it is a space in which you can project your own morals and see how things play out. I'll have a better article about this style of gameplay on another day.

Romantic Elements in Games
You know what else draws attention to a game? Having romance OPTIONS. For some games they bank on these options to help sell the game. And I'm not thinking only of the big name companies that have stoked the controversy flames for attention. No...I'm talking more about a niche series, Harvest Moon and a few other Japanese titles. Dating sims are a bit more popular across the ocean than they are here. There is a cult following but it's a minority.
A few years back there was a version of Harvest Moon where you could select a female avatar and have a "best friend" ceremony with another female NPC. (There were only 2 characters of supernatural nature that you could perform this with under my understanding.) However, the North American release removed this aspect from the game because well, they knew it would not market here AS WELL to have what looked like a lesbian marriage.

 It's fun to have a choose-your-own adventure type story where you can choose what character gets to be the romantic interest. Why not right? Now what if I want the romantic interest to be the same sex as my character? Does that make it an interesting option to explore or a promotion of a sinful lifestyle?


Marriage vs. Romance Scenes
To better answer that question I would like to discuss what the differences are between marriage and romance options when talking about games.
A romance option can mean two things depending on the intended audience of the game and the game style. In a game marketed to a "Rated T" or "E10", it means someone you date or ultimately becomes your boyfriend/girlfriend. Generally because that intended age is not ready for marriage.
In a game marketed to the "Rated M" or more crowd, romance means you get a sex scene with this character or "mature relationship". Generally because sexual promiscuity is more marketable as fun for a predominantly male audience...and a growing female audience as well.

However, there are a few titles that offer marriage options. That is to say that the goal of the relationship is to net a spouse.

From a Catholic perspective there is a severe lack of positive views of marriage and sexuality in games. It either means nothing or its tacked on as one option out of many. FOR EXAMPLE:
In Dragon Age: Origins you create your main character and can choose their appearance, background, sex and "race". The main character travels with companions which can be interacted with and develop over time. There is only ONE marriage option. It is only for a human female character of noble origins. There are no marriage options for male characters. Which at least to me says: marketing has shown that female players are more interested in marriage than our males who just want a fun fling or a threesome. A majority of our players are not into commitment.

Harvest Moon (a farming simulation game) in the earlier games of the series had a "purpose" for the spouse character. She would perform some of the chores on the farm every so often. In later games the spouse just says nice things to you, brings you a present on your birthday and is required to have the child character. On the other hand, the whole point of romancing a character is to eventually marry and you only get one choice. There is no option to divorce and pick someone else. It treats marriage in a fundamentally traditional way although it's still very superficial on the surface.

In game marriage is fairly common in MMO settings where the gameplay depends on social contact. The setting provides some stat boosts when the characters play together and opens up "couple only" quests unavailable for single players or even groups. This helps not only in-game situations but can help real relationships. Most MMO games restrict that marriage has to be between a female and a male avatar. Unlike single player games, the union is between two players and may represent a real life romance, friendship or marriage.

In almost all cases (MMO's being the exception), romance or marriage restricts focus on a character to a very specific role. It can be the characters defining aspect in the eyes of a player. Games tend to categorize characters into "functional roles" since that is part of game mechanics. It is very easy to see a character as "healer" or "range fighter" instead of a character.

Games influence on our Culture
 Ahh...yes, there is something very important as to why as Catholics we should care about how this is handled in a medium such as games. Art and Stories and Entertainment have a large hand in shaping our conscience and beliefs. This is why propaganda is a powerful weapon. It can dehumanize a group of people in our imagination.. Now, not all media propaganda is so overt, but social pressure influenced by the news, our films, and games makes an individual feel ostracized or attacked for believing or living in a way opposed to what is seen as popular.

There are games that do try and get an honest look at what a homosexual or Same Sex Attracted person struggle with in society without attacking any one belief system. It is usually through a "spokesperson" character in a narrative setting. The best example I know of being Persona4.
However, take that character and make it a romance option changes the perception of that character. It can narrow the view of the character to only be defined by their sexual orientation.
The character wasn't "FOR" you. You have other choices. Suddenly there is an US vs THEM instead of an attempt to open discussion on common ground. The same can be said of any female "option" in a game. Her struggles with society won't be taken seriously if she is also a romance option.  

For example, (I'm sorry I keep using Dragon Age...its just illustrates everything SO easily.) the character Anders from Dragon Age was a party member in one of the expansions. There were no romance options. The character was interpreted as a character of a certain personality and most likely assumed heterosexual.
This changed in Dragon Age II when Anders returns as a romance option. This caused a bit of turbulence since he revealed he was bisexual and open about being in homosexual relationships. The player's view of him changes between the two games because as a romance option we care about his sexuality as a character and it became his defining feature. Instead of thinking about what kind of struggles the character went through the player feels "cheated" because now Anders is flirting with us and we don't know why and our avatar is NOT homosexual at all.
In the end, it caused a lot of discomfort which instead of reflecting on WHY and trying to understand the source it reestablished that dividing line of us and them.  
(Side note: If playing as a female avatar, Anders does NOT talk about being homosexual directly. If you are a  male avatar, he admits it. Really not sure if I should interpret that as he's bisexual only if you play as a male character or not.)

Closing Thoughts
So what's the big deal with gay marriage in games? If marriage and romance is so "cheap" and superficial in games it should not be our concern. Well, to be fair, games have not moved out of the 'entertainment' realm into 'art'. The handling of deep human exploration is basic right now but there is potential to get deeper than what film and literature can provide.

Extra Credits does a good presentation on the state of sexuality in games: http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/sex-in-games
I recommend it strongly.
However, that does not change video game's role as an idea shaping medium. The ideals it promotes are usually only a base level that is skewed toward a young, white, male demographic. This may be more worrisome. There is a need for views on intimacy and marriage within games (and other media) that offer more positive situations outside of a character being married in the past or cheapening sex and relationships.

At this point the inclusion of a homosexual romance option strikes me as pandering or marketing without much deeper thought about what marriage or being homosexual actually means. The only thing it does do is "normalize" the idea of same-sex marriage in our imagination. Just as it normalizes the objectification of women, human trafficking, prostitution and solving problems with violence. If you are not confident about your stance on these subjects, it is easy to be influenced by fiction and imagination.

If you don't feel up-to-date on the Church's stance on Gay Marriage, I suggest reading the following articles:
What the Church Teaches about Homosexuality
Catholic Answers: Gay Marriage
How to Make the Case for Marriage (Using Non-religious Language)

Whew...this was a tough one to write.

The Church in Games

Intro
The Church's representation in modern media is a fickle thing. But it's also everyone's favorite scapegoat for a corrupt world power, old-fuddy-duddy traditionalists OR conspiracy.
As a Catholic you have to accept and follow this rather unpopular religious system and its rather colorful history. For some fun I found a few examples.

Assassin's Creed (Brotherhood)- Alternative History Sorta
I played this game 2 hours as a rental. I liked the setting (I LOVE ITALY!!), I liked the characters, I liked the voice acting, and I really liked the gameplay. (The Prince of Persia style building climbs and such.) And I liked some of the story, like the concept of the memories and the chair thing. But I could not keep playing because the Church and Templars were the villains. And not very well developed villains either. Their motivation was to control the free-will of mankind. Even for a villain that just doesn't seem like a good motive and smacks of fanatic conspiracy theory. Or the TV Trope Conspiracy Kitchen Sink.

All in all it reflects the Church in a very negative light in its alternate history storyline. Part of it historically true, we has some really terrible Popes in those days that had a LOT more political influence than religious. (Thus a LARGE number of Saints were alive in these times. They were seriously needed.)

Tales of Symphonia - Anime Church
Set in the fantasy world, with Angels and Popes. Wait, Popes? Really. Okay so this is a fantasy church with some very heavy and obvious influences of Catholic Clergy. This story also casts the Church as "the bad guys" since the angels are "bad guys".
All in all it falls into the TV Trope: Anime Catholicism.

Dragon Age Series - Obvious Church Influence
There are many reasons why I fan-heart this game series so much. The writing and world building are done very well in my opinion. Not perfect and heavily influenced, but well it is influenced by some of my favorite things. And I really appreciate that their "church" or chantry is not cast as the evil villains. Nothing is so black and white or decided for you. There are people in the chantry that are corrupt and do bad things. At the same time there are good, faithful people doing good things.

One of my favorite characters as a religious type character is Sebastien from Dragon Age 2. While his romance dialog kind of sucks his banter is interesting. He's not terribly preachy...not more than anyone else in the game.  

It is still a fantasy religion and a fantasy church but the influence is incredibly Catholic all the way to having a schism with two Popes.Well, the only big difference is the sex of the clergy, but fantasy world. The story managed to immerse me enough and NOT insult my professed religion to allow me to explore it further.

Conclusion
Dealing with a religion in your narrative or game can bring depth. Like most double edge swords, it can cut off a portion of the potential audience. For me the first two examples, it was singling out a single religion and drenching it with negative conspiracies. The Catholic Church is the most visually present and obvious Christian Church to poke at. We are very distinct in our outward symbols and many are familiar with the Church's bloody, fallen history. So, it's low hanging fruit for conspiracy theorists, negative narratives or even villainy.

I could get through Tales because it was Anime Church and so much of it was 'wrong' that I could pass it off as a fantasy church. But I couldn't sit through another conspiracy drama involving a corrupt church and templars in Assassins Creed (especially after playing a LOT of Dragon Age. I'm so sick of Templars.). Despite the fact I REALLY loved the gameplay and some of the funny DNA memories, I can't get into the story in the same way I can't get into the Da Vinci Code. 

Angelo et Diablo

Intro
Let it be known that the following is heavily opinionated, but based on teachings. I personally struggle with taking stories in any medium that use angels and demons. I am a little more forgiving about depictions of demons but I'm still picky. I have yet to see or read something that really satisfies outside of Scripture or the lives of Saints or C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters.


Depictions of Angels - Tales of Symphonia, Bayonetta
Starting with Angels, I thought of two games both originating in Japan: Tales of Symphonia and Bayonetta. In both games, Angels are considered villains to fight. (It's more subtle in Symphonia). In Bayonetta they appear more abstractly while in Tales they are more human.

The theme is usually that angels are a race of arrogant beings that are hung up on virtue and exist solely to stop demons or prevent humans from becoming evil.



Depictions of Demons - Disgaea, Dragon Age, Dante's Inferno
Demons seem to have a wider range of interpretation. In Dante's Inferno and Dragon Age, demons were creatures/monsters that personified a deadly sin. They are always evil and always monsters. This seems to be a common theme in games with a few exceptions.
In Disgaea, you play as a demon trying to reclaim your throne as overlord of the Netherworld. Demons are depicted as petty and power hungry, but redemptive. Meaning they can repent and be "good".


East vs. West
The idea of Puritan, Tyrant Angels and good-hearted demons is more often found in games from Japan. This comes from a different cultural perspective in which spirits are neither good or evil. (Like fairies.)Yokai is usually translated as "demon" in English but does not mean the same thing as the Christian idea of 'demon'. Yokai are folklore monsters and shape-shifters that can be good or evil. In most Japanese games where you fight "demons" it is more likely you are actually fighting Yokai. The same could be said about Japanese Angels.

In Western culture, it is also common to depict demons as monsters, but stories and games never depict them as something that could possibly be good. Demons are always evil and never trusted. Dragon Age had a good visual representation on Western belief of demons and their relationship with humans. 1) They really could never be trusted they only want power for themselves. Possessing a human to move in the physical world was the goal. 2) Humans/Elves infected by a demon became deformed and ugly. (The effect of sin on the soul. ;))

Angels tend not to show up in Western games too much. Sure there are the "good spirits" in Dragon age as well, but I've talked enough about that game for now. Moving on. 


Catholic Teachings
There is this theme in the use of supernatural and that is its involvement in the natural world. This is probably the only point in which the depictions of angels and demons is true. For a Catholic, Angels and Demons are not creatures of myth or fantasy. These are real supernatural creations. As humans, it is impossible for us to understand their true nature as they are beings of pure spirit and perfect reason. However, we find lots of influence from history, art and Tradition in our understanding.

As far as Angels are concerned, meeting one was usually a TERRIFYING event. In Scripture, those who met with angels had to be comforted with the words "Be Not Afraid". This suggests that the sight of an angel is a lot for a human to bear. People usually fall on their faces.
The role of an angel is to serve God at his throne, but also to act as messenger. The word angel comes from the Greek word for message.

Demons are the other side of the coin. Demons are fallen angels in Catholic tradition. And meeting with a demon is as terrifying as meeting with an Angel. However, they are conquered by the Salvation of Christ. A demon can be exorcised or banished from this earth.

More about angels and demons can be read about here:
(TBA)

Conclusion
I am a fan of anime and Japanese games, but I am uncomfortable with teaching the concept that demons are just like people with bad habits.  A  healthy dose of caution is necessary to protect one's soul. Most of my problems with "incorrect" depictions is from my belief that these are not fantasy creatures made up by our ancestors to scare me into being good. The rules of fiction are looser for creatures of fantasy like unicorns and fairies. However, a creature that exists in reality does have a correct depiction and a wrong one.

Reducing the supernatural to myth is dangerous. Myth can help us by being a lens to understand reality.
However, that doesn't mean that angels and demons can not be in stories or video games. Just take the time to do the research.