tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post7106242544769860160..comments2024-02-25T05:24:24.948-05:00Comments on Beyond Easy: Chrono QuestionPatrick Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-48367021059566707762012-10-22T15:01:48.156-04:002012-10-22T15:01:48.156-04:00A great post. Thoroughly engaging, and I especiall...A great post. Thoroughly engaging, and I especially like your take on what defines 'High' and 'Low' Art. However, it's interesting you know, being in my early teens on the release of FF8 and playing that game throughout those formative years (a time when one is certainly on par with Squall for being a moody bitch) it really did transcend a mere occupation of time into something more instructive and, I suppose, resonant in a 'coming-of-age' sort of way. Like a Holden Caulfield for the 'Mario generation' as you aptly described it - but more of a prick.<br /><br />Anyway, this blog is great. Very representative of, if not a generation, then certainly a particular contingent of that generation. I spent so much of my fucking youth on video games man, and although I still got 3 generations of Playstation set up in the corner, I'm lucky if my attention can stick with a particular game for more than a couple of hours these days.willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15507599248593826713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-52045703289656809082010-12-06T17:49:50.129-05:002010-12-06T17:49:50.129-05:00Good post - food for thought. Among the responses,...Good post - food for thought. Among the responses, I particularly like and identify with Seth's.<br /><br />I will echo the sentiments of some other posters in this comments section and point to Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross as two games that had a tangible and real effect on me as a person. Both games offer sincere and perhaps even profound ruminations on the significance and consequences of our actions, even those which appear to be inconsequential. Trigger shows how our actions in the present can reverberate in the future, while Cross has a much more personal focus on how both our circumstances and decisions can mold our personalities. One of the most potent aspects of that game, for me, is a small subplot early in the game. While exploring Arni Village at the very start, you can talk to a fisherman with a happy family who ponders what his life might have been like if he hadn't decided to take up fishing as his vocation. When you travel to Another World, you meet him again, only in this world he's a cultist, a pathetic man alienated from his family and the world who begs for divine intervention rather than taking responsibility for himself. He tells you that after Serge's death in this world, he decided not to become a fisherman, and so this is how he turned out instead. There are tons of little things like this in the game, and they all really made me (back at age 12) think about how every action has a consequence and how significantly we can affect the people around us. (I loved the ending, too, but talking about that, or the rest of the game in detail, would likely necessitate an entire essay's worth of material.)<br />Anyway, my point is I can definitely think of games that have directly influenced the way I perceive the world and myself, but sadly these games are in the vast minority compared to those which have merely given me a few dozen hours of entertainment and then been put away forever. I've lately been thinking that I ought to lessen the presence of video games to focus on my passion for (and ambitions regarding) film, and also to rediscover reading. There will always be some truly great games out there to play, but those are few and far between and both my time and my wallet would benefit if I were to be more selective as to which ones I chose to invest both in. Reading some of these blog posts has inspired me to further pursue this goal. I think this evening, instead of grinding away at a game, I'll watch a classic film or start on one of the many books I've been intending to read, knowing full well that great games made by people I respect will always be there for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-89781382673886852472010-11-14T17:26:26.200-05:002010-11-14T17:26:26.200-05:00Durp. "Two hours of my time."Durp. "Two hours of my time."Tigthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11018253211543720641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-64705609605464425252010-11-14T17:24:25.742-05:002010-11-14T17:24:25.742-05:00In regards to this:
"There are a lot of very...In regards to this:<br /><br />"There are a lot of very intelligent and artfully-designed video games, and there are a lot of really fucking stupid books and movies."<br /><br />Working for a book publisher has shown that the complaints about the web allowing for publication of less and less worthwhile things are silly. At least the web doesn't kill trees to tell you how Alternate Hitler's empire culminated in a motorcycle standoff.<br /><br />And the thing about video games with me lately, is that I can choose how fast I tear through a book, depending on how much I want it to sink in. Even the dumbest movie only asks for about an hour of my time. <br /><br />But video games are horrible to my productivity. I've blocked Kongregate and hidden my DS just so I can do things other than homework (and yet I still play Minecraft. Purchasing that may have been one of my worst decisions, or best). Why does it take 50 hours to become a Pokemon Master, god dammit?Tigthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11018253211543720641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-92077708130137092312010-10-01T09:52:24.831-04:002010-10-01T09:52:24.831-04:00Here's a question. Have you seen any films tha...Here's a question. Have you seen any films that have changed your life the way those dozen books you mentioned did?John Thyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17629076787737164071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-19074512418651481442010-09-30T04:17:23.938-04:002010-09-30T04:17:23.938-04:00Duke: It's what I subscribe to, personally. In...<b>Duke:</b> It's what I subscribe to, personally. Individual mileage may vary. But I do think that time spent engaged with art that can teach, enrich, and transform is better spent than with art that provides momentary amusement.<br /><br /><b>John:</b> Me too. But that's why I've become very choosy about the games I play for any length of time.<br /><br /><b>Adam:</b> I can relate. Sometimes I wonder if I would have taken the English major route if video games hadn't diverted my fledgling interest in natural science some twenty years ago. (Not that I'm complaining. Scientists seem to be only slightly less SOL than writers these days.)<br /><br /><b>Seth:</b> I will consider this! (I apologize for answering with a disproportionately small reply; it is four in the bloody morning and I need a few more minutes to ruminate your 1.5 before offering a fully-baked response.)Patrick Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-11637886092069933312010-09-30T01:47:01.813-04:002010-09-30T01:47:01.813-04:00I have long struggled with the question "Of t...I have long struggled with the question "Of the ideas that are sent out, how effective are they at making a difference in the world?" <br /><br />While I would definitely say that the greater number of people who have experienced Chrono Trigger fall into category number 2, I have a <br />different perspective. <br /><br />Despite my rare bouts with cynicism and even nihilism, my major life experiences keep bringing me back to this point: When attempting to send out a message that we believe in through any medium or discipline, we should strive to do the best we can with the circumstances that are presented to us, and then be grateful for the change that comes out of it rather than lamenting the change that doesn't come out of it.<br /><br />Last year was my first year as a teacher of High School English. I really put my heart into the lessons that I felt could challenge minds and ideas. Teaching "Fahrenheit 451" I tried very hard to implicitly teach the idea of "This is what could happen in a world where people only care about base pleasure never think critically about what's going on around them."<br /><br />It seemed that the message was lost on them, but then I read their final papers and I realized that nearly half of my class "got it." Through the lens of the novel they understood that it is important to learn, to think, and to question and they understood why it is important to learn, to think, and to question.<br /><br />I believe that your ending question overlooks an important category, a 1.5 as it were:<br /><br /><i>But I wonder: of all the people who played and praised this sequence...which do you suppose the greater number of them are more <br />likely to have done later on:<br /><br />1.) Gone outside and planted a tree themselves?<br /><br /><b>1.5) Internalized a true sense of how what they do affects the world around them?</b><br /><br />2.) Sat indoors and played another RPG?</i><br /><br />I propose that while substantiality may be defined by its ability to enact change, change isn't neccessarily dependent on action. Sometimes a change may mean that a person is, on some level, more sympathetic, <br />more empathetic, more thoughtful. This change will, in turn, have some effect on behavior, but it may not be so obvious as immeadiately going out and planting a tree after the credits roll.<br /><br />There are people such as Matsuno Kato and Johnathan Blow who have striven to effectively convey meaningful messages through the medium of video gaming, to do the best they could through the medium that they <br />strove to work with. Kato himself said, "Cross is undoubtedly the highest quality Chrono that we can create right now" and explicitly stated that he was attempting to send messages to the player of Chrono Cross.<br /><br />Having said that, I go on to declare that there are many people like myself who confess to experiencing personal changes and revelations because of their experiences with certain video games. Maybe those changes aren't as profound as going out and planting a tree, but I'd bet that only a small minority of people who read "A Modest Proposal" took up anti-poverty activism. That doesn't mean that Mr. Swift's satire didn't have any effect on the minds and hearts of those who didn't.<br /><br />As for whether or not this validates video games or qualifies certain games as art, I'm gonna have to echo you: <i>I subscribe to the classic (and increasingly unpopular) view that the substantiality of the content being delivered is more important than the means by which it is delivered. There are a lot of very intelligent and artfully-designed video games, and there are a lot of really fucking stupid books and movies.</i><br /><br />Indeed.<br /><br />I also will end by saying that I firmly believe Johnathan Blow's "Braid," is a beautiful creative expression, a labor of love, and a strive to challenge the mind and heart of the one experiencing it, and if that's not art, I don't know what is.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06557999178893716748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-66061034094189418212010-09-28T22:00:28.639-04:002010-09-28T22:00:28.639-04:00If I could name a significant thing that video gam...If I could name a significant thing that video games contributed to my life (aside from monopolizing a significant portion of my free time and disposable income of course) is that it has helped me nurture my passion for writing and storytelling, including a select few examples that showcase what works and whole lot that don't.<br /><br />Also it helped me creatively when developing concepts on my own, particularly titles from the 8/16-bit eras that left a lot to the imagination.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10016188508658731186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-7716253286764770172010-09-28T19:02:16.660-04:002010-09-28T19:02:16.660-04:00I agree in that I know video games haven't mad...I agree in that I know video games haven't made anything even close to the artistic value of "A Clockwork Orange", the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven's Symphonies, or "1984", and those who say they have are deluding themselves.<br /><br />On the other hand, I can still name a number of games with more value than 97% of what Hollywood releases annually, and that's an accomplishment for a 25-year old medium.<br /><br />I also can't name any games that have changed my life like several novels have, though a few have offered the kind of deep, meaningful choice that forces the player to sit down and think through his own morals. Chrono Cross was one, as you said, and the other was Silent Hill 3 (the confessional scene, for any concerned.) These are beautiful moments, and I wish there were more of them.John Thyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17629076787737164071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-38565309133714793572010-09-28T14:35:20.751-04:002010-09-28T14:35:20.751-04:00Braid's available for PC, too. I got it on Ste...Braid's available for PC, too. I got it on Steam, but the website says you can also use Greenhouse, Gamer's Gate, and Impulse.J. Durdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04375379773057800113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-39199398934536995782010-09-27T21:32:16.696-04:002010-09-27T21:32:16.696-04:00An auteur like Kato would develops games with the ...An auteur like Kato would develops games with the hope of changing the way gamers think. Does that place a burden on the gamers themselves? That's an exhausting pronouncement to make. <br /><br />If even one person played Chrono Trigger and was inspired to "live well", as the shame-filled phrase goes, isn't that enough? I've read books that have changed my belief system, and thus some of my decisions. But whether they've changed my overall behavior....ehhh. That I can't measure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-1293233209061132512010-09-27T19:16:03.449-04:002010-09-27T19:16:03.449-04:00Deezee: Not yet. I haven't had a 360 on hand i...<b>Deezee:</b> Not yet. I haven't had a 360 on hand in several months, and I'm not really in any hurry to get one. This might change if they drop the price around Christmas (I have limited funds and always come down with awful bouts with S.A.D.), and Braid is already the first game on my list.<br /><br /><b>Zachery:</b> I was tempted to include the Marx phrase myself, but was hoping people would think of it themselves. Cool.Patrick Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02410016566636603639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-11311384591780017772010-09-27T02:44:05.951-04:002010-09-27T02:44:05.951-04:00I play a lot of video games.
However, I'm mor...I play a lot of video games.<br /><br />However, I'm more concerned that video games have become a mollifier, not for violent behavior, but for any kind of behavior that could, for example, change society.<br /><br />To paraphrase the famous Marx saying, video games might be the opiate of the masses for our time, although certainly not the only one.Zacheryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15647158438578812228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8972120889629675714.post-21338926204246938202010-09-26T18:13:52.431-04:002010-09-26T18:13:52.431-04:00In answer to the end question, number 2, most cert...In answer to the end question, number 2, most certainly.<br /><br />In response to this: "But I do not believe video games have yet produced anything that clears the bar set by the greatest works of film and literature. (They probably should not be expected to, but for now let us assume they should.)"<br /><br />Have you played Braid? I review it <a href="http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/955510-braid/reviews/review-138235" rel="nofollow">here</a> and muse a bit more on it <a href="http://forums.sirlin.net/showthread.php?p=68061#post68061" rel="nofollow">here.</a>J. Durdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04375379773057800113noreply@blogger.com