Cojo

Cojo

I just like a good story, no matter what the medium is

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    Latest Articles

    Games
    30

    Sesame Credit: The Dark Side of Gamification

    Have you ever rifled through your purse or wallet at a cash register searching for your rewards card? Have you...

    Cojo

    Games
    30

    Plastic Instruments Have Risen Again?

    In the mid 2000's the gaming world was rocked (pun intended) by the introduction of what would become a phenomenon...

    Cojo

    Games
    28

    Dark Souls Lore Explored: Who is the Old Dragonslayer?

    After pulling on a lever, a drawbridge falls down with a harsh crash in front of you. Surrounding you are...

    Cojo

    Games
    61

    Loneliness in Fallout

    In the early days of video games the most important thing that a game could do was be fun. Arcades...

    Cojo

    Latest Topics

    9
    tv
    Avatar's female characters
    Write this topic

    Avatar The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra's female characters

    Both Avatar series have had a slew of promanent female characters serving a multitude of different roles, something rarely seen in the action genre of animation. In many other shows female characters are secondary characters or simply love interests for the main hero; but in both Avatar series women are protagonists, antagonists, side characters, mentors and everything in between. For this article the author should go over the Female characters of Avatar (Toph, Katara, Korra, Azula, Mai, Jenora etc.) And see what makes them not only good female characters but good characters in general. They can look at the characters individually or look at them as an overarching group.

    • Writing about each powerful female character would take forever (which is a good thing!) For the reader's sake, I would cut it down to maybe a list of protagonists that serve your purpose for the point you're trying to get across. One thing I loved about Avatar is that it never seemed to be about gender. It wasn't your typical show where men drove the plot. The females had as much of a role as the males in terms of deciding the fate of their world. Guys watching the show could identify with female characters, and vice versa. Toph, for example, would just crush somebody with a rock if they said anything about her petiteness or apparent frailty. That sounds quite masculine; however, the show did an amazing job of reminding the audience that she is, in fact, a girl, and she kicks butt. You could focus on the lack of gender discrimination being a staple or model for other cartoons to come. Not just cartoons, but TV series, video games, you name it. – chaz 9 years ago
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    • I agree with Chaz's comment. The writer of this topic would be best off by choosing a few female characters in the series and maybe doing an in-depth analysis of their roles in the show, and how they overcome traditional female stereotypes. It might also help to identify a key trait that they all share that make them stand out as both female characters and characters in general. – Christina Legler 9 years ago
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    • Idk why the show ever stopped – aasteriou 9 years ago
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    • I think this would be a fantastic article to explore. The Avatar series is fantastic! Definitely brings back childhood memories with the old school Nickelodeon. – kgbell44 9 years ago
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    • I recently discovered Legend of Korra through the Artifice and watched the first season. I would love to see an article on this topic. – Munjeera 9 years ago
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    Add Note
    1
    games
    Kickstarter
    Write this topic

    Gaming Kickstarter Success Stories. A Look at How Kickstarting Games is Changing the Industry

    The title says it all. Look at how kickstarter is bringing back some old titles via fan support. Whether its directly like Shenmue or spiritual sequals like Yooka Layle kickstarter is allowing more games that fans really want to come back. The author should look at some of the fail stories as well to show its not all perfect.

    • In terms of video games, Kickstarter has also bolstered the indie scene and dramatically changed the market; Jotun and Broken Age are notable examples of successful crowdfunded video games, both now very successful on Steam and award-winners. A number of *new* games in addition to old ones wouldn't have existed sans the website, and a larger share of the market now includes indie titles thanks to crowdfunding - it's a new source of competition for long-standing companies like Nintendo and Sega. Board games are another topic to consider as well, although probably not within the same article. – Apdenoatis 9 years ago
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    2
    Web-Videos
    Roosterteeth
    Write this topic

    A history of Roosterteeth

    Roosterteeth started as 6 guys playing halo and has emerged as an internet multi media juggernaut that can succeed in almost all forms of media. Machinima (Red vs Blue), live action (Lazer team, shorts), Lets Plays (Achievement hunter, Funhaus), animation (RWBY, XRay and Vav), Podcasts (The RT Podcast, The Patch) and even game development, they have done it all in the online scene. An article following their moves from bedroom machinimators to multimedia giants could find some interesting parallels to other online companies (Rocket Jump, Machinima) or even some larger companies.

    • Two places that would be notable to focus upon are the Let's Plays for Minecraft and GTA. – JDJankowski 9 years ago
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    1
    games
    Konami
    Write this topic

    What is going on with Konami?

    It is no secret that Konami has made some questionable decisions as of late. An article looking into the facts of Konami's business practice would be interesting. Look at rumors why Konami kicked out Kojima for validity. Look at their recent use of intellectual property for clues behind their decisions. Look at their history as a gaming company and see why they are making the decisions they are making today.

    • The fact that it was recently reported that Metal Gear Solid V earned more money on day one sales than Age of Ultron did for day one is interesting as well, as Konami still seems to be determined to cut ties from future AAA titles. – nsnow 9 years ago
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    1
    games
    Games to movies
    Write this topic

    The new video game movie

    We've all seen the terrible video game movies that don't grasp onto the feel of a game we love. They change the characters, story, and feel of some of the classics of the medium often ruining them. Recently theres been a change though, and video game movies have changed what they're about. Shifting from "Mario Bros The Movie" to things like Pixels or Wreck it Ralph we're seeing more and more movies about games rather than about a game.
    What is causing these changes? There are still plenty of games that have an engaging story and fast passed action but they aren't getting adaptations. Meanwhile movies about the conscept of video games are becoming more and more prevelent. What caused those changes? Why are directors staying away from pre-made stories? Is this an evoluion in how video game are seen by hollywood?

    • I think it's because everybody recognizes Pac-Man, et al, but you can't make a movie about Pac-Man since there's no story within the actual game. So they sort of set these characters aside, as a reference most people will get, but at the same time, the writers won't feel obligated to flesh them out, because there's nothing there. – MaxEngel 9 years ago
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    • The interesting thing about video games are that it is dynamic. If it's not about the character you're navigating, the farm you're ville-ing, the league you're becoming a legend in, or even when your stoning a hearth, it can be about the how you tried so hard to get a better score or beat a boss. Now, with mobile devices, video games are expanding to more casual users. So, the arena of gaming and the term "gamer" has changed. Video games, interactive media is a large part of society where almost anyone can be a participant. The reason that video games are becoming a prevalent subject in Hollywood is because it's becoming a prevalent part of life: learning games, casual mobile games, the expansion of E-Sports, and other interactive media. Also, gaming culture is interesting and shifting. It's niche but broad enough that people can recognize it. I.e. Almost any Nintendo character. – jambles 9 years ago
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    • One point that people often overlook is that video game stories are told over the course of dozens of hours. Even for games like Metal Gear Solid that mostly tell the story through the cinematic sequences, those still add up to much more than epic three hour long movies. And it can't be solved by splitting them up into more sequels because no one would want to invest in that kind of risk. So I think that filmmakers are likely to find more success by synthesizing game culture into their own stories, like Wreck-it-Ralph (which as a gamer I enjoyed, even if it wasn't completely faithful to video games). – marknm 9 years ago
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    • I'm going to wait til Ready Player One comes out until I lay judgement on this one. – Lazarinth 9 years ago
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    • I think maybe part of video game adaptations not being so specialized is because of the fan base for those games. It's probably unlikely for someone to get mad over Wreck-it-Ralph "screwing up" the plot line (like MaxEngel said, there's no story within the actual game), but God forbid anyone ever adapt Bioshock for the screen. I would cry myself to sleep. For me, I prefer not to see my favorite games turned into movies. I guess part of it is out of jealousy (I don't want to share my favorite game with a more mainstream audience) and I don't want to be let down by a terrible adaptation. Plus, it's hard to adapt games for the big screen. Video games are unique because of the platform on which they're produced. Some games practically play like movies (The Last of Us), but others don't. – clegler 9 years ago
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    • The revolution here is the same as the Super Hero movie genre. Video games are being looked as a medium, finally, rather than something for kids. The shift in attitude is not only because of this change in perception, but also the fact that people who grew up playing video games are beginning to make these movies. Both of these are reasons why, but it could also be the shift in movie making in general, that good entertainment sells. Either way, I'm glad it's happening at all. – Emishson 9 years ago
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    7
    games
    Write this topic

    Religion in Video Games

    Many video games with their own universes create a religion to follow it. It is tough to create a religion that seems both believable and also seems like something that people would purposely devote themselves to. Lots of these religions (like in Dead Space or Resident Evil 4) are cults but occasionally there are religions that mirror real life faiths to such a degree that they almost seem believable in their own world's mythos. Religions like the Chantry in Dragon Age or the comicly overdone Epsilon Program of GTA V feel believable in their world because they represent a lot of things that people believe in within that world. I personally don't know much about religion in the real world so I don't feel qualified enough to really write about this but it could be an interesting topic to write on.

    • Religion is also a major theme in the Legend of Zelda series and at this point is pretty much accepted by fact as all the characters. It is also constantly evolving and plays a more and more major role with each console game. It would be interesting to compare this to how religions operate in the real world (which is often very static) – Grace Maich 9 years ago
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    • Assassin's Creed would be a great example here. – Joseph Manduke IV 9 years ago
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    • I know Final Fantasy XIII is not that popular, but the storyline has a lot of against gods and fate. – Jill 9 years ago
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    • Final Fantasy ten would be a great case here and specifically looking at Seymour and the conflict with Sin. Organized religion is usually made to be either a main villain, or some type of sub villain. This topic would be fairly broad though. Maybe focus on either spectrum? The representation of religion in video games as evil or good? Maybe ask questions as to why this might be the case. – Xemnas 9 years ago
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    • The Order in Silent Hill could be examined too. – Lexzie 9 years ago
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    Latest Comments

    Cojo
    Jan 26, 2016
    Cojo

    That’s what is potentially so dangerous about this system. If there is mathematical proof (like a score) that shows you are not a good citizen, then it is possible for people to believe it.

    		 Sesame Credit: The Dark Side of Gamification
    Cojo
    Jan 26, 2016
    Cojo

    How

    		 Sesame Credit: The Dark Side of Gamification
    Cojo
    Jan 26, 2016
    Cojo

    Its the fact that having a poor score has negative repercussions that really worries me about the Credit system. If there was no punishment for having a bad score then it would be ok but forcing people to follow the whim of the government or suffer the consequences is troubling to say the least.

    In the US and the UK there is an overarching social norm but breaking that social norm isn’t bad. With how easy it has become to socialize anyone can find other people who share their personal interests, no matter how outside of the social norm it lies.

    Also the people in charge of the scoring system didn’t accidentally make buying Manga from Japan negative, they did it on purpose to try and discourage imports (something that costs the nation) and also discourage leisure activities (something that stops people from contributing to society). They won’t change the score to be positive because that would completely undermine what they are trying to do.

    		 Sesame Credit: The Dark Side of Gamification
    Cojo
    Jan 26, 2016
    Cojo

    I agree with you to an extent, however the problems that I found with the way Sesame Credit is doing things is that 1. The government is deciding for people what is good and what isn’t good and 2. there are negative consequences to having a bad credit score.

    		 Sesame Credit: The Dark Side of Gamification
    Cojo
    Jan 26, 2016
    Cojo

    We kind of do that already in our society. Demerit points on your drivers license (in Canada and some parts of the US) are negative points for breaking driving laws. The ethical debate really hinges on personal taste for people as long as it doesn’t violate international law but I personally believe that the gamification of these types of things is perfectly ethical as long as losing or doing poorly doesn’t have negative side effects on your life outside of the game process.

    		 Sesame Credit: The Dark Side of Gamification
    Cojo
    Dec 23, 2015
    Cojo

    What constitutes a proper video game in your opinion?

    		 Plastic Instruments Have Risen Again?
    Cojo
    Dec 23, 2015
    Cojo

    Guitar Hero is different to playing a guitar. Guitar Hero is basically Simon, you click buttons along with the rhythm onscreen but it simulates the full Rock Star experience. Its a simple task with simple rewards.
    Its like sports games. Playing sports games is nothing like playing the sport, but it simulates playing in the biggest stages of all time. It simulates in an easier scenario the rewards for the full thing.
    Being a rockstar would be awesome but as a guitar player yourself I’m sure you understand the incredible amount of work that goes into it. There have probably been times when you practiced even when you didn’t want to, or times when you practiced something that wasn’t fun but you knew that it would make you a better player to practice it. Guitar hero is a lesser reward for lesser work, but above all its just fun. Its fun to play along with the game, to be in the fake limelight. Its fun to play with friends and on your own.
    Also its arguable what the usefullness of the skill is. It is different skills but neither is useful in the grand scheme of things. You can argue that you find Guitar playing more useful because you have a community of friends that enjoy playing and listening and learning with you, but if someone doesn’t care about the guitar and doesn’t have friends who care about it then they won’t care if they are good playing guitar. Those people could have nights of drinking and Guitar Hero where being able to play well would make the whole night more fun, therefore having Guitar Hero skill is more useful to them.

    		 Plastic Instruments Have Risen Again?
    Cojo
    Dec 23, 2015
    Cojo

    A black widow movie would have a lot of significance to the DC vs Marvel rivalry. DC has barely even touched their female heroines while marvel has pushed for greater inclusivity of under represented people in superhero movies.

    		 Black Widow: Audiences' Expectations for Female Superheroes
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