Siothrún

Evoland I and II are games by the indie developer Shiro Games and were released in 2013 and 2015. Evoland was inspired by older games in series like Final Fantasy and Zelda, and, it somewhat takes the player through a bit of video game history in its premise. The gameplay, despite the shifts in playstyles that took place, flowed well, according to a reviewer. Evoland II definitely builds on the premise of capturing the feeling of how older games played, and has more mechanics in it than the first game. However, it could be said that there are too many mechanics that contradict and break flow.

For this topic, the topic taker should look into reviews on both games to see if these games set out to capture a truly nostalgic feeling while adding their own twist to the genres the games were influenced by or if something about the older styles of gamplay simply don't mesh in the modern era of gaming.

The topic taker can consider the following avenues of research for adding foundation to this analysis:

– Consider the history of the video game industry and the limits of technology that affected game mechanics and graphics and whether the current technology is too good to correctly capture how older games played.

– Figure out what the developer intended for their games, if possible, and if they achieved that intention.

– See if there are any other games similar to Evoland that mixes up different kinds of genre and gameplay and see if they are successful or if they fall into the same problems as Evoland.

– If the topic taker has played Evoland and Evoland II, they are free to add in their personal experience with how the games felt as it relates to this topic.

Here are links that might help the topic taker start their research:

Evoland: (link)

Evoland II: (link)

Matrix: Resurrections released in 2021 and returned viewers to the world that was built on in the previous trilogy. The first movie, The Matrix (1999) has been confirmed by the Wachowskis to be a trans allegory on some level, and the meaning of the first trilogy is still debated. The topic taker should examine if the themes of the most recent film add something to the trilogy's discourse. Along with that, the topic taker should examine if any allegories are made within Matrix: Resurrections. Specifically, the topic taker should aim to answer the following question after their theme and allegory analysis:

Does Matrix: Resurrections provide any meaning to where society finds itself with technology and the rise of AI?

The topic taker is free to go into the history of the Matrix as a whole, including how it was produced to see if there are any similarities to how Resurrections was produced and if the new film took this history and the discourse surrounding the original trilogy into consideration. The topic taker can, of course, include any research on this topic that they wish. For example, if following the trans allegory of the original Matrix helps establish something that Resurrections is conveying, please include that in your analysis!

Link to an interview excerpt by Lilly about The Matrix's trans allegory: (link)

In certain writing circles, SubStack and Ghost are popular ways of getting writers' work into a email newsletter format. These sites promise that the writer's rights remain with them, and, supposedly, revenue can be made through these sites. Ghost in particular sells itself as being a place where a writer can build up their brand. Furthermore, places like Royal Road and Wattpad are places where writers can post their work as web novels, which then might be picked up by a publisher. These places may accept donations on the writer's profile so that they can make money from their craft.

The topic taker should research the following things for this topic:

Does writing a web novel or posting writing on a subscription service affect the writer's process?

Is this way of allowing writing to be placed out into the world good or bad–for example, does creating a web novel cause the writer to burn out?

Are places like these sites using writer's aspirations for free revenue on their behalf? In other words, are these sites promising something like notoriety or a path to publishing that they cannot keep?

Finally, does writing for sites like these mean that the publishing industry might be going through a change, or, are sites like these a new way of gatekeeping making money off of writing/getting work published?

The topic taker can also talk about problems within traditional publishing and the toll it may take on a writer and their psychology or process of writing if they wish as well.

Relevant links for research:

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The 2000s had quite a few anime that dealt with what it means to "become" justice, in a sense. Fate Stay Night has a protagonist who tries to fight for his sense of justice. Claymore examines the topic in a more brutal way that also deals with what it means to be human, and, of course, Death Note and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion both examine what would happen if their protagonists were given a means to end the wrongs of the world in which they live, only to pay a price for it later.

The topic taker should examine each of the anime listed, if possible, and compare and contrast how each anime dealt with the theme of justice it wanted to convey. How did each anime handle the toll it took on its protagonist? What could be gleaned from the outcomes of the individual anime surrounding what it means to be a savior figure, even if that ideology is subjective?

Furthermore, the topic taker should delve into whether or not the sense of justice being displayed is entirely subjective to the protagonist of the anime, or if it tackles the idea of objective justice and the toll that takes on groups as opposed to the individual. The topic taker can include other anime that they feel may fit this idea, so long as it was released between 2000-2009, as there seemed to be a trend with anime around that time that shared a certain thematic work and aesthetic which is to be examined in this topic specifically. In this regard, the topic taker could also deepen the topic by looking into what was going on in Japan and/or the world in general at the time to see if current events or recent history evoked the theme of justice being culturally relevant to its viewers. The topic taker may also include, briefly, how anime from the 2000s with this theme of justice may have influenced other anime to re-examine the themes later on, such as with 2012's Psycho-Pass or more current day anime.

Most games, since the rise of the PS3 and Xbox 360, have introduced some kind of trophy system that marks completion progress. Some trophies or achievements provide some challenge, while, depending on the age of the game and if multiplayer is involved, some trophies are nearly impossible to obtain. In more current generation consoles, particularly if a game is known to be difficult, like Dark Souls, or long, like the Persona franchise, there is usually a tedious nature to obtaining that coveted platinum trophy or other mark of completion. However, especially in older games that received a remaster or port from a time when there were no trophies or achievements to mark progress, a lot of the added in trophies can become a little ridiculous and suck the fun out of the game until you have that one flawless run.

The topic taker should examine whether or not platinuming or otherwise achieving a maximum achievement score has become too tedious for players, given the example above. Clearly, completing any game to that level is a matter of choice, so that aspect should also be touched on. In addition, the topic taker should consider whether or not achieving such feats adds or detracts from the fun of gaming, if it may add too much bloat to the game, and, as the title suggests, if it forces a causal gamer to feel more like a let's player or streamer at the end of the day.

For resources to start with, the topic taker should consider the list of achievements for platinuming or reaching the most achievements with a variety of games, some remasters or ports that did not have trophies or achievements when they were released, such as the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 releases, as well as more modern games, such as Assassin's Creed: Valhalla where the trophy/achievement system is innate to the product, for example, focusing particularly on any trophies or achievements that seem to not make much sense in the list, or clearly have a lot of players complaining about the difficulty to achieve the trophy or achievement–likely resulting in a low trophy or achievement percentage–that bars them from 100% completion.

Using these starting points, the topic taker could then jump into the phenomena of completing a game and what it means at a societal, within gaming communities, and/or psychological level and then from there determine if completing games for the reward is worth the time put into it or not.

From Tomb Raider (2001, Angelina Jolie) to Sonic the Movie (2020, Jim Carrey), there have been quite a few games likewise adapted into movies, though to varying degrees of failure or success. Tomb Raider was somewhat considered a flop when it first came out, and it currently has a 5.8 on Imdb: (link) a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics, and a 47% by audiences: (link) and a 33% on Metacritic: (link) though some consider it underrated: (link) By contrast, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie had a 6.5 on Imdb: (link) a 63% critic rating and a 93% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes: (link) and a 47% on Metacritic: (link) The success of the Sonic movie garnered it not one, but two sequels.

The topic taker should analyze the trends of adapting a video game to a movie, including the history of it, and what makes so many of the adaptations fail. The topic taker should really dive into what made good video adaptations good and see what trends their analysis reveals. The topic taker may also consider the future of video game to film adaptations and whether they think there will be more successes or failures as well.

To help the topic taker, consider looking into the following films to start forming trends based off their reception via reviews/to start forming the history of video game to film adaptation as they see fit:

Tomb Raider (2018) in order to compare/contrast it with the 2001 film
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Detective Pikachu
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Assassin's Creed
Doom
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
The Super Mario Bros. the Movie (2023) to contrast with the 1993 adaption

I think it would be interesting to see why we play video games on an intellectual level. What do the mechanics of the gameplay influence in the player's surroundings and what influence does the setting of the game have on the story that may teach the player through the immersion process games tend to have? Sure, video games are fun, but what more do they have to teach us?

I recommend looking up Game Theory on Youtube to see what is out there on this topic, though I'm coming at this topic from a more philosophical nature versus a scientific one.

I would like to see what writing does to people on a psychological, emotional, and mental level. I know of a study that suggests writing about an issue we are facing in life helps us heal, but I'm wondering about writing in the realm of fiction and creative nonfiction, rather than just journaling about the issues in life. I'm also wondering if other studies exist on this subject and encourage any takers to go deeper than the surface for this topic.