Epic

E P

I C

By: Meagan Logan, Jason Gatej, Carter Sherrill, Michael Cabaceira, and Eli Clark

Featuring: RTX: A New Era of Gaming (12), The War of Wars (20), The Art of Horror (22), The Tragedy of Failed Video Games (30),and Winning in the Modern Gaming Industry (36)

EZINE Spring 2019

GAME

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START

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Level Select

6-

Meet the Editors Photo Courtesy of KissPNG

8-

The Affordability of Gaming

Photo Courtesy of Origin PC

12-

RTX:A New Era of Gaming Photo Courtesy of GeForce RTX

14-

Not Everyone’s Battlefield

Photo Courtesy of EA

20-

The War of Wars Photo Courtesy of Xbox

Photo Courtesy of PNGkit

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22-

The Art of Horror

28-

Will you Survive Until Dawn?

Photo Courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment

30-

The Tragedy of Failed Video Game Movies Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

34-

Video Game Console Timeline

Photo Courtesy of Nintendo

36-

Wining in the Modern Gaming Industry Photo Courtesy of 2K Games

40-

What Game is for you?

Photo Courtesy of Rockstar

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Character Select Jason Gatej is a 14-year-old freshman at LASA. His first video game was Frogger on the Super Nintendo. Jason got into gaming after playing Halo 4 on a friend’s Xbox 360. He Currently plays Halo 5 and Titanfall 2.

Photo Courtsy of EA

15-year-old teenager Meagan Logan enjoys RPG and story games (largely Bioware productions). Their first experien was watching their dad playing the Mass Effect saga whi Since then, their favorite games so far are Skyrim, Mass (2018), and Dragon Age II.

P

Photo Courtsy of Motion Twins

Michael Gilbert-Cabaceira is a fifteen-year-old student at LA high school in Austin, Texas. Michael first experienced gam 2008, when he saw his older brother playing 2K8. In more years, his favorite games have been Dead Cells and Super Bros. Ultimate.

Eli Clark is a 1 5-year-old LASA student that enjoys casual gaming and movies. Currently, their favorite game is Tetris.

Eli also grew up playing the Super Mario games, hence why Yoshi is their favorite character.

Photo Courtsy of Nintendo

Carter Sherrill is 15-years-old and currently attends LASA high school. Carter started gaming on an Atari playing Pole Position and Mrs.Pac Man but switched to Xbox 360 where he played games such as Halo, Assassin’s Creed and Forza. In 2018, Carter purchased the Xbox One S and his favorite games include Forza, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Shadow of The Tomb Raider.

Photo Courtsy of Ubisoft

y-based video nce with gaming ile growing up.

Effect 3, God of War

Photo Courtsy of Bioware

ASA ming in recent Smash Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 7

The

Affordability of Gaming

By Carter Sherrill

Maybe you have been working or saved some cash from your birthday and want to splurge on the best gaming setup or want to just casually game for a few hours a week. What to purchase can be a hard decision that will affect your gaming experience.

E

very person fits to a different platform depending on where they play, how much they have to spend and what they are most comfortable using the controls with. Some platforms to choose from include PCs, consoles such as the PS4 (Playstation 4), Xbox and even mobile devices. With each of these platforms there are different versions and many different configurations to choose from. With the tech market growing companies are giving the consumers many decisions.

There are three main popular platforms for gaming and each one has its pros and cons. Consoles including the Xbox one and the PS4 are some of the most used platforms

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throughout the world to game on and there are many reasons for this popularity.

Before the Xbox and Playstation were popular, Atari, Sega and Nintendo made the first consoles setting up the path for future home gaming machines.

“My mom’s sister had an Atari or some sort of Sega so we would play games on that, you know, the old school duck shooting game and ‘Donkey Kong’,” TJ a member of the U.S army and current console player said. Currently, TJ plays on an Xbox One X and he experiences “no frame drops” at 60FPS, which for most games, even competitive, is right in the sweet spot. The same goes for the PS4 which also gets a constant 60FPS.

Cover photo for Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

Photo courtousy of UHD PIXLE Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 9

“The only way I’m going to lag is if I have a connection issue. It’s not going to be issue on the Xbox,” which shows the reliability and consistency of consoles.

Consoles are also one of the cheapest ways to get into gaming only costing 200-300 dollars.

For someone trying to get into gaming while not having to worry about the machine failing and how much it costs, consoles are the way to go.

PC gaming is the top tier in gaming performance but is can also be the most expensive. “I built my first PC when I was 12”, Eli McDaniel who still builds PCs and races drones on his free time said. With PCs, you can achieve much higher frame rates while also being able to customize and upgrade in the future. Eli believes that building your own PC is the best way to go. “Start with youtube and look up some of those easy $600 builds,

Forza 7 is one of the most popular racing games on Xbox. Photo courtesy of GamingBolt

good budget setups” Eli recommended. “You can get more for your money and plus you can customize it however you need” another reason to build a custom PC. For someone who has a little more to spend and also wants to be able to use their machine for work a PC is the way to go.

Mobile gaming, while still having a bad stigma form the gaming community, has taken off over the past few years. Sam Hatch — better known as Ducky The Gamer — is one of the most popular mobile game streamers.

The Xbox One S, the mid teir for Xboxes, was released on August 2, 2016. Photo courtesy of Carter Sherrill

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“My first gaming platform was a PS2 way back in the day, then I moved to a Wii, followed by an Xbox 360, Xbox One, and finally mobile.

I switched to mobile around 2016 when I began uploading content on the video game ‘Madden Mobile’” Hatch said.

Mobile gaming is becoming more and more competitive with newer devices, where games can be run at 60FPS no problem. Some of the most popular games in the world have made their way to the platform. You can play mobile games on either a phone or a tablet both of which can be used daily for work and other functions.

If you are always on the move or just enjoy gaming on a handheld device then this is the platform for you.

With consoles there are only a few choices for hardware. You can choose between a Playstation, an Xbox or some more casual devices such

as the Nintendo Switch. With Playstation there is two choices, the PS4 or the better PS4 Pro which has improved hardware and the ability to upscale the resolution to 4K. With Xbox there are three choices, the Xbox One, the Xbox One S, or the Xbox One X the most This gaming PC is built from the best hardware in the industry including powerful console the new Nvidia 2080 TI graphics card and the Intel i9-9900k CPU. Photo ever created.The X courtesy of Carter Sherrill “has upgraded ram and an upgraded graphics card the newer device that can and I do actually notice the New hardware is being run games at 60FPS. These difference” TJ said. The S designed and released at a devices include the new has the same capabilities as rapid pace by long standing Iphones Ipads, Galaxies and the PS4 Pro while the X can and new companies. As Tabs. Recommended apple run games at true native 4K hardware becomes better, devices include the Iphone resolution. All consoles except XR, XS, XS Max and Ipad Pros pricing will most likely stay the Nintendo Switch can run which all house the most the same but you will get most games at 60FPS at 1080P. powerful phone CPU ever more for your money. In the If you are looking into 4K future consoles could become made. The newer Android gaming for cheap, you might devices such as the Galaxy customizable and even have look into the Xbox One X. the ability to push 120FPS. S9, S10 and Samsung’s tablet

With PCs the amount the TabS4 are counted on this Mobile devices might have to of customization can’t be beat. list. “Spending $800 on the power to run even the most AMD has come out with there latest phone would yield good demanding games. The future inexpensive Ryzen series for gaming is bright and in performance in-game, while of CPUs helping lower the also letting players use their the years to come the ability cost of building a PC. “The for everyone to game will phone just like any other” motherboards are cheaper increase and the power of Hatch, highlighting the and the CPUs are cheaper, machines will improve at an versatility and performance the socket is not licensed as ever growing rate. of these new devices, said. heavily as an Intel socket,

Choose whichever so they don’t have to pay device suits your needs the ridiculous amounts of money best based on price and what The Logitech G502 is a popular mouse to get an Intel socket on their you are most comfortable for gaming PC’s. Photo courtesy of motherboard” Eli, while gaming on. Console is the Carter Sherrill talking about the Ryzen cheapest way to go but has series, said. Every part of the some limits on other things PC can be customized to you it can be used for. Mobile liking and price point. devices and PCs can be used

For mobile gaming, for daily work as well as a you want to have one of gaming machine.

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RTX:

New Era of Gaming New hardware and new technology is hitting the market at a rapid pace.

This is whats new from Nvidia.

By: Carter Sherrill

New RTX 2060 anounced at CES 2019.

Ray Tracing

As videogames and graphics cards have progresed, so has the way that the cards process the image. Ray Tracing is an AI based processing program. Ray Tracing, like the name implies, tracks the rays coming from the light source in the game and cretes better shadows, lighting, and reflections.

Photo Courtesy: Road to VR

About The Company

Nvidia, the most popular grphics company in the world, was founded in April of 1993 and curently leads the industry in new technology and designs.

Photo Courtesy: Nvidia News

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Information Courtesy: Legit Reviews

Comparing The Cards

All of the new RTX graphics cards can run the most popular games, but there are still some differences in preformance. From the 2060, the cheapest card, at $350 to the 2080 Ti at around $1,200, is a difference of almost 100 FPS (frames per second)

DDR6 RAM

Photo Courtesy: Nvidia

With the release of a new wave of graphics cards, Nvidia has made an extreme change to their hardware. Random acces memeory better known as RAM, determines how many things the card can run at a sigle time. Nvida has upgraded the ram on RTX cards from DDR5 to DDR6.

Information provided by Nvidia, Road to VR, Nvidia News and Legit Epic —Reviews.

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The much anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed Battlefield series is finally out. Does it meet or even exceed our expectations?

By: Jason Gatej

A

stick grenade goes off next to your rabbit hole.

As bullets whiz above your head, you hear your commander shouting orders to hold your position. Gritting your teeth, you rise out of cover and spray hot lead into the mass of charging Germans.

Today though, your luck runs dry. A sniper takes a shot. And hits. You’ll be fine though. You can just respawn.

Battlefield V is the 13th game in the Battlefield series, which

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is developed by DICE and published by EA. Set in World War Two, Battlefield V seemed to continue following the precedent of 1900s-era shooters set by DICE’s 2016 release Battlefield 1. Unfortunately, Battlefield V’s release saw much controversy regarding the marketing and lack of ingame content. Because of this, Battlefield V saw poor sales, selling less than Battlefield Hardline, DICE’s unpopular spinoff.

“I’ve played a few war stories, but not all of them. They’re almost all the same. Their plots are almost nonexistent and they are all are very cliche,” Matthew Awhitan, who has been a fan of the Battlefield series since Battlefield 3, said.

War Stories is Battlefield V’s equivalent of a traditional single-player campaign in a first person shooter (FPS), but instead on focusing on one long story, it consists of several short stories, each covering a

Photo courtesy of EA

The player character is a paratroper on a suprise attack on the German defenses in Norway.

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In one cutscene, a squad of British commandos navigate their way through a forest behind enemy lines.

Photo courtesy of EA

different section of the vast conflict that was World War II.

Photo courtesy of EA

“I think both games were quite poor regarding War Stories”, Taras, creator of the youtube channel Late Night Gaming said. “Conceptually I like the idea of telling small disconnected tales about the “common soldier” but the gameplay completely Stealth sections are unfortunately a large and undermines the narrative goals underwhelming part of Battlefield V’s War Stories. by being just another COD-style superhero power fantasy where kind of stupid.” mission where you are playing you kill hundreds of nameless music from loudspeakers while evil enemies.”

The full spectrum of capturing mowing down entire platoons this feeling of an adrenalineof enemies.

Ever since Call of Duty (COD) filled, fun campaign can be set the framework of the felt in Battlefield V’s war In Under No Flag, the modern FPS campaign with stories. The stories range level design mostly favors the bombastic, balls-to-thefrom enjoyably stupid in the Battlefield’s strong suits, being wall release of Modern Warfare first mission, Under No Flag, semi-open world and giving 2, other studios have been to just plain stupid in the the player many options to attempting to recapture that second mission, Nordlys. The traverse the map- from planes super-soldier feeling that campaign quality is mostly to transport trucks- and still Modern Warfare 2’s campaign derived from the level of self packs some genuinely touching gave the player, with varying awareness the mission has moments. degrees of success. about its particular power fantasy. Under No Flag fully “Where DICE REALLY needs to Santiago Montesinos, a high embraces the campy fun power improve is the design of the schooler who has never played fantasy concept, establishing gameplay, encounters and a Battlefield game before, said, the player as a criminal who structure of the levels and “I played the first two war enemy AI,” Taras said. “I want specializes in demolitions. stories. The first one was pretty There is even a section in this the gameplay improved. War good, but the second one was stories’ gameplay feels like a fan-mod at times.”

Photo courtesy of EA

This poor gameplay design seems to climax with the level Nordlys. The mission has dialogue so cliche that it could fit into any game from Mass Effect to Skyrim, weather that goes from bearable to giving the main character hypothermia in a matter of The commandos meet an untimely fate after being captured and killed.

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The player character surveys a German occupied power plant.

Photo courtesy of EA

seconds and gameplay that actively hinders the player’s desire to explore and appreciate the beautiful scenery. In Nordlys, gameplay feels poorly put together at the best of times, and feels like it’s actively falling apart at the worst of times.

While DICE is struggling to make a campaign that doesn’t become stale in seconds, the majority of Battlefield players have just jumped to the multiplayer- which is easily Battlefield’s largest selling point- and never thought twice about what Battlefield’s campaign.

Battlefield is certainly renowned for its multiplayer, with destructible environments and heavy emphasis on vehicle combat. Destructible environments means that even the buildings around you will crumble if hit by enough explosives or gunfire. Coupled with the vehicle combat, which is also a series staple, Battlefield can provide an experience that can add tension to a situation and make the player feel more engrossed in the game than it is possible in other games.

“Battlefield V’s map design I think is a mixed bag. Some maps are quite excellent and feel closer to home as “I don’t know much about ‘Battlefield maps’ while others Battlefield, but I have heard the (Narvik) feel like Battlefront 2, multiplayer is really good. Not lane-style maps that funnel many games give you a similar you into engagements. I believe experience,” Montesinos said DICE is trying to “streamline” before playing Battlefield V. their maps to make them less 18 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

grand” Taras said.

Unfortunately for Battlefield V, both the destructible environments and the vehicle combat are what most fans have been lead to expect from the franchise, because both have been a large part of the series’ success in the past. Most of the legitimate criticisms of Battlefield V are, at least partially, directed at the map design. Some maps leave the player feeling like they are just throwing you into a chokepoint so you can get gunned down by half the enemy team.

The knocked state is really the only gameplay mechanic in Battlefield V that feels really rough around the edges. Now, when your health drops to zero, you are put into a firstperson view with a timer symbolizing the time your character has before bleeding

out and dying. Before the timer runs out, you can be revived by either a medic, like in the previous games, or your squadmates. The issue with this system is that smart players can use you as bait to draw out the rest of your squad, resulting in painfully easy squad wipes.

a bit of content and while I do love the game, I’m a patient guy and I understand that others are not,” Taras said.

“Maybe this summer [you can] check it out and see what the game is like after a few content drops.”

Battlefield V released with barely over half the When asked what changes weapons of its predecessor, he would make to the game, Battlefield 1. As one reviewer Awhitan said, “Not really on metacritic pointed out, ‘In any big changes, because the this World War II game, there mechanics are all pretty solid; is no M1 Garand.’ This is just [I would just like] being able to embarrassing. The Garand is drag people into cover so you almost synonymous with US can revive them as a medic.” involvement in World War 2, and its lack of inclusion was If DICE implemented a a surprise, just not a pleasant feature allowing medics one. and/or squadmates to drag downed teammates into cover, Of course, DICE and EA’s teammates would be better justification as to why incentivized into attempting a Battlefield V is so lacking in revive, with much less threat content is that there will be of being killed in action. a steady flow of updates that add to the game. While many “Battlefield V is missing quite people appreciate this, the

Photo courtesy of EA

general consensus is that the game should have shipped with more. More maps. More weapons. More game modes.

More reason to play.

Despite the heavy criticism of Battlefield V, I still think it is a good game. Much better than the poor sales would lead you to believe. But, while Battlefield V is a good game, it is far from a great one. The lackluster campaign, lack of content, and poor design of some maps all hold Battlefield V back from being the game the fanbase wanted.

Overall, the campaign needs extensive improvement, because although the multiplayer is enjoyable, and there is some sort of looming controversy. It’s Battlefield, and more so, it is a representation of modern gaming as a whole. And I certainly like the games coming out these days.

A cutscene shows the aftermath of a battle with soldiers and spent cartriges laying dead in the snow.

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The

of

War wars The Battlefield franchise is one of the most prolific in today’s gaming scene. Lets look at the two newest games in the series.

Battlefield V

2.0

Release Date:

User Rating

Nov. 20, 2018

(Metacritic)

7.3

Million

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Copies Sold

30

Primary Weapons

55 Primary Weapons:

Battlefield 1

Release Date:

Photos Courtesy of EA

Oct. 21, 2016

15

Million

Copies Sold

7.9 User Rating (Metacritic)

Sources: EA IGN Polygon

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r a the

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e

re is n e g r horro dcurdling e h T o f blo d intense o e n on es a is is how n i l t plo ign. Th ade. m s e e r ’ d they

By M

r o r r o h f o rt

gan

Lo agan

GameStop is one of the leading video game providers and sponsers for players.

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A horror game is more than just a medium for jumpscares. It’s bloodcurdling, expressive, and can even slip its way into dreams. To craft a truly “horrifying” game, one must blend story, music, and the intricacies of programming.

S

weaty hands shake and a thundering heart pounds. The illuminated pixels of a computer screen seem to be alive, screaming with the scratch of a violin.

Survival horror games began officially in 1996 with the release of “Resident Evil” by Japanese producer Capcom and have since spiraled into a beloved genre by many, with iconic names such as “Amnesia: The Dark Descent,” “Silent Hill” and “Outlast.”

There is a wide range of commentary on how exactly a good horror game is crafted, but for many it’s the design, plot and playerinteractive features that can truly place a gamer in the main character’s shoes.

Depending upon the idealized feel of a work, crafting the perfect story entails having a solid story that immerses the player into the universe, the right ‘taste’ of music and interactive

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programming. Blending together tonal elements with the genre and sound of a work is what makes the horror genre the massive franchise we know it as today.

The process behind it all, however, is an intricate seesaw of leveling the

‘suffer’ by adding so much musical tension to the game, and also letting him breathe for the right amount of time before diving back to hell,” the Outlast series composer Samuel Laflamme said.

“It’s all about creating the right musical universe. The research for the right musical color, what instruments I’ll use to expose this. It’s also important to establish where the music will play, and what role it will have to [do so].”

The intricacies of the music can make all the difference between a terrifying playthrough and a grating chore, of sorts.

Nathan Zimmerman, a freshman at Bowie High School, also recalls from his horrifying, chase-scene esque casual gaming experience the vitality of creative direction moments with building in a game. tension throughout the rest of a game.

“You take away the music; you have nothing,” The Framework Zimmerman said. “Music is “It’s finding the right balance just as strong if not stronger than the actual thing you’re between making the gamer seeing. Music creates the Art courtesy of: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Bowie High School student Nathan Zimmerman plays “Star Wars: Battlefront” in his home. The game, while not horror, quickly became a popular MMO and way for gamers to test their shooter skills against AI and online players.

tone.” He also mentioned the importance of nonrigid storylines, saying that letting an anticipatory mind wander in “Slenderman” and having the scenery add to the mounting fear he felt was what made the experience truly horrifying for him.

Zimmerman emphasized that the moment when a game reaches from its universe into the player’s, such as the player-interactive dialogue in Doki Doki Literature Club, is “why it’s terrifying.”

"I

t gives actual impact to your actions; your actions genuinely have consequences.

That's what I love."

said. “It goes to yours.”

Zimmerman similarly added on the topic of jumpscares that “if [a game or movie] relied heavily on jump scares without having to implement “It breaks their rules-it breaks a sort of story or something to help” then it wasn’t done their reality,” Zimmerman

well.

A moldable universe, and game design that reflects that, can also create a chilling sense of immersion.

“I had to put [myself] in that context and observe what I felt, then try… as much as I [could] to translate it in music,” Laflamme said.

“Every project is different.”

Personalizing music, and a game’s play overall, is an important role of game design. A fictional universe and its creative potential can only make a bad work if its elements can’t contribute to Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 25

alone . You hear more crickets and then you hear an owl and then you hear a bush start to shake very loudly.

You run. You move. Then, for a brief glimpse, you see a figure… when it’s done like that—when you create the tone and you create the atmosphere and you create the tiny details… you create something effective.”

Proper programming and game design similarly plays a fundamental role in “scary” scenes as well, as reflected on by

programmer Tony Bennett.

“A gameplay programmer would set the tone by creating certain triggered events or by linking up animations to sound and by also setting things in

motion based on character interactions,” Bennett said.

"Y

ou take away the music; you have nothing," Zimmerman said.

"Music is just as strong if not stronger than the actual thing you're seeing."

Character interactions are a fundamental part of what separates games from movies.

They make a game truly personable and affect a player intimately. It gives them a feeling that their actions definitively influence the end result of the game, even if that may not necessarily be true. For Nathan, “it gives actual impact to your actions; your actions genuinely have consequences. That’s what I love.”

The scariest moments of a game, according to Bennett, sources from “well-timed lighting and audio effects… [and] pre-scripted events based

The cover art for “The Evil Within” exemplifies the bonechilling horror aspect of the game itself as well as the player’s intended fears.

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on character location.”

The Games

atmospheric thrill, but for gamers that are looking for a scary game that has more physical controls and first person action, the “Resident Evil” series is a first person shooter wherein the player navigates a zombie infested world where the monsters serve as a looming threat.

“Amnesia: The Dark Descent” has been praised by many as pulling off its elements especially well, wherein the player fears both the character’s mind and the setting. It plays upon the fear of the unknown to have the player descend, per se, into the The Art castle’s labyrinth-like walls and further into the character’s The work behind a story own madness. is just as important as the playthrough and success of a “Corpse Party” and “Until game, if not more. Hours of Dawn” work upon the player’s painstaking programming, preconceived expectations of music composition, and how a horror movie functions, tone building all lie behind with the first festering hope franchises that are so welland a mounting dark tone known in the modern world. before dashing it with a jarring The process behind creating death and the latter playing a “perfect game” is crafting fully into the character horror’s art so as to reflect a archetypes and general story properly. As Laflamme markings of a thriller. said, “It always starts with the nature of the project.”

Of the games that use jumpscare horror as a threat and source of growing terror, the FNAF and “Slenderman” serieses are among the most renowned, and are considered

by Zimmerman to be successful inclusions of the jumpscare archetype. “[They] kept well to [their] story and atmosphere so [they] did well… [their] theme was spot on,” Zimmerman said.

Art courtesy of: Sony Computer Entertainment

“Until Dawn” character Emily dangles in terror from a rope after falling from a watchtower. The many struggles of the game, her fears included, assist in contributing to the overall draw of this horror game.

Those games may rely on Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 27

WILL YOU SURVIVE

UNTIL DAWN?

Will YOUR actions let YOU survive? Is your personality one that will survive UNTIL DAWN? (Credibility referenced by: Forbes “The ‘Until Dawn’ Ending That...”, VentureBeat “Tips on how to save...”)

By: Meagan Logan Art courtesy of: Sony Computer Entertainment and www.vinylprintcess.com

28 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

The horror game “Until Dawn” has swept the gaming world and inspired countless Playstation sessions of terror. How do your skills stack up for this thriller?

DO YOU MAKE GOOD CHOICES?

YES

NO

DO YOU HAVE FAST RELFEXES AND CAN STAY COMPLETELY STILL?

YES

NO

MATT, SAM, JESS, ASHLEY AND EMILY DIE.

DO YOU LIKE ANIMALS?

YES

NO

MATT DIES.

ARE YOU GOOD AT FINDING CLUES?

YES

NO

JOSH DIES.

DO YOU CARE ABOUT ALL YOUR CHARACTERS?

YES

NO

DO YOU PAY ATTENTION?

YES

NO ASHLEY AND EMILY DIE.

JESSICA, CHRIS AND MIKE DIE.

YOU will survive until DAWN Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 29

The Tragedy of Failed Video Game Movies By: Eli Clark

Image courtesy of Atlas Entertainment. Image from the video game movie “Warcraft.”

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Over the years, video games that have been adapted into movies have always been considered a flop by critics.The reasoning behind this lies with game formating and interactive vs noninteractive media.

Video games inspire wonder and often give people a feeling of nostalgia. When the world that they fell in love with is adapted for money and changed into a mess, however, it brings a tainted view of the story.

Mediocre movies aren’t out of the norm in society.

However, it always seems that great video games get a dishonorable treatment and don’t end with dignified adaptations. Video games not adapting well can linked to them being an interactive medium. Unlike books or movies, video games require the player’s full involvement.

“In video games, you have to engage fully.” James Klein, Center Director at Code Ninjas, said. “If you turn on a video game and let it run in the background, you’ll die. But if you put on The Office in the background, you can listen to 30 episodes without paying attention.”

Television and film takes less energy and engagement. But

in the storytelling in video games relies on the player’s decision. Moreover, in movies, no matter what the watchers say or do, the story will continue on the same linear course.

“We think about game narratives like game narratives don’t actually work unless you hit buttons and played right your actions your play your agency is the thing that forwards the narrative.”

Suzanne Scott, Assistant Professor in film at the University of Texas, said on the difference of interactive and noninteractive narratives

that,“You have (greater) sense of control and you have oftentimes much more of an investment in that narrative because you yourself feel like you are guiding that right when you play a video game or when you’re participating in interactive narrative..”

Which games are chosen to be adapted into film also affects the final result. Some games have more storytelling, which means the movie has a solid base to build on.

Sarah Abraham said that, “I did actually enjoy...the Final Fantasy Kings Blade movie...

Image courtesy of Disney.

The image is a shot from the movie “Super Mario Bros.”

Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 31

are adapting games into films to, Due to this, not all adaptations “Start with a strong story that have a story to build on, meaning the interpretation allows characters to develop of the game is very open and without a player making fluid. choices.”

From all this analysis of video games versus movies, what can filmmakers seeking to adapt a game do to escape the trap of mediocrity?

“ I think a lot of games would work Image of a Nintendo Entertainment System better as series than courtesy of Best Buy movies because a lot of what you experience in the game is sort of building up and there’s these little arcs.”

Abraham said when giving advice on how to do adaptations, “I think maybe shorter games would work. I would almost think something where you could take something a little bit more abstract and make “Games are not always first and it more tangible.” foremost about telling stories,” She believes that games Scott comments on with the take more time to “build up problems with adapting video this relationship with the games, “A lot of games are characters,” than the two hours either non narrative right movies are allotted. Plus, it is or they have very limited easier to her that the story isn’t narrative structures that kind of get hung on that... So I think trying to follow exactly the same as it was in the game. one of the problems is to like presume that all games have narratives. A lot of them don’t.” “I think Grand Theft Auto was a strong game with The storytelling in games aren’t just different due to it being interactive experience, but also the fact that most games don’t have a strong, or story at all.

32 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

major storytelling elements and fleshed out Non-Player Characters and stories that could lend themselves to a movie.” Klein said.

Scott seems to have a similar view with Klein as she would adapt the game Bioshock because, “It does narrative in a really fascinating way. It has a very clearly conveyed narrative, there are things like cut scenes that are conveying narrative in a very classical, non-interactive way, but they don’t disrupt the game play.”

They both would adapt these games because of the game’s story elements.

Adaptations of video game movies have had a long history of negativity around them.

None of the sources really had a video game to movie adaptation that they genuinely liked. However, some of them had movie to game adaptations that they enjoyed.

“I think it is actually in some ways easier because you’re just taking the characters and some of the maybe some of the things people love from the movies and kind of turning it into this other experience maybe adding in mechanics,” Abraham said about adapting movies into video games.

Scott doesn’t necessarily agree

as these games (and all games) have “ issues of expectation.”

Both Abraham and Scott agree that the Spider-Man video game that came out recently is a good tie in.

The challenge of adapting games can be attributed to many causes, such as the leap from interactive to non-interactive media. The expectations of fans that all have different ideas and desires for an adaptation of a game also leads to resentment when the movie isn’t exactly how some fans wanted it.

“I think that (video games are) a little bit of a different space and you can experience another media. Again, I don’t think there’s anything saying (video game movies) can’t be (good).”

“I think that (video games are) a little bit of a different space and you can experience another media. Again, I don’t think there’s anything saying

(video game movies) can’t be (good).” Scott said. “But I think they should think about being a movie first rather than a videogame movie.”

Video games movies have many causes that can be attributed to why they aren’t considered successes. However, recognizing that the difference in the mediums of games versus movies helps give insight into the reasoning behind these films being ill-received.

Image courtesy of Eli Clark. Picture of the interviewee, Sarah Abrham, a video game professor at UT

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Video Game Console Timeline By: Eli Clark Image courtsey Playback

Edward U. Condon--He premired the first video game, “Nim” in 1940 at the World Fair. It was about picking matchsticks.

Image courtsey of Wikipedia

Ralph Baer--He created the first home video game system, Odyssey in 1968. This allowed people to play video games at home.

Image courtsey Sitepoint Image courtsey of Wikipedia

Willy Higin Bothman--Pong is created, which many consider the first video game in 1958. It is a similuation of a ping pong game. It would later become popular in the arcade.

34 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

Mattel -- First handheld video game, Intellivison in 1979. It continued to help the popularity of home video games.

I

Image courtsey of Best Buy

Nintendo --Nitendo Entertainment System (NES) was made in 1985.

Nintendo would grow and become the big company it is, making games like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby, among others.

Image courtsey of Wikipedia

Microsoft--Xbox is created in 2001.The xbox allowed online gaming and interaction with other gamers.

Image courtsey of Wikipedia Image courtsey of Wikipedia

Sony--Playstation is created in 1997.

These game stations had discs that held more storage than the NES. The graphics were also better.

Nintendo--DS is created in 2009. It was more advanced than other handheld systems and had a touch screen, which was new.

Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 35

Winning in the Modern Gaming Industry By: Michael Gilbert-Cabaceira

You want to be a videogame designer?

You better get started!

A

blood covered zombie stumbles towards the player, chanting for brains. The player aims the pistol and fire three times. The zombie falls to the ground, but before the player can recover from the near-death experience, a hand made of rotting flesh grabs them from behind and there’s a flash of red. Is it a Hollywood film? No, it’s a video game called “The Walking Dead.”

36 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

In 1958, the first video game, a simple tennis game, was invented by physicist (and atomic bomb inventor) William Higginbotham. As video game design advanced, games became more and more complicated, requiring larger numbers of game designers. According to some sources, in the past five years alone, the value of the game design industry has risen from 81.5 billion dollars to 140 billion dollars. With this massive industry growth, the

average game designer makes somewhere between 60 and 100 thousand dollars a year.

You Need to Start Somewhere With the job market for game designers predicted to grow 10 percent over the next 10 years in the United States, the opportunities to become a game designer are growing strongly.

Many aspiring designers don’t know where or how to begin.

Frank Coppersmith, co-founder

Photo by: Michael Gilbert-Cabaceira

of Smarter Reality and board member for the Austin Game Developers Association said, “The best way to try to figure out if you can learn how to make games is to just make them.”

In order to begin designing games, you need a place to start, a jumping off point.

Coppersmith recommends that “you should make games on paper.” Paper games open a world of opportunity for your

The Nintendo Switch, Nintendo’s newest gaming console. Released in March, 2017.

imagination to run wild, and they will let you see how people react to your games.

Coppersmith continues, “If you have the right mix of creativity, detail, talent and skill, people will play your games.” If the idea of making paper games doesn’t seem that exciting, another great place to start may be with drag and drop software programs.

Whether you’re using Gamesalad, Game Maker or a

similar program, just by creating, you can see how people respond.

Furthermore, if you want to be successful, your first game shouldn’t be something extremely elaborate and complicated. It should be a game where you are able to pinpoint and describe exactly what makes your game enjoyable.

“You can only really do one Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 37

thing in ‘Mario;’ you can jump, but jumping is fun. It’s impossibly fun,” Coppersmith explains. “It’s the most fun thing ever.”

top Indie Game of 2018) said.

So, if you want to be successful in game design, there is probably coding on the horizon. When you picture code, Your goal should be to make you may picture images of long something simple fun, not to strings of complicated, random make something complicated number and letter with the occasional tidbit of fun. combinations. Experts suggest it really isn’t that scary. There are You Need Something various computer languages for people to learn.

Extra

After you’ve built a solid base through drag and drop software, or simple paper games, you may not make it very far in the world of game design if you don’t know how to code.

Xbox 1 Controller, released in November 2013.

“The most difficult part for most game designers is that they don’t code. That’s a weakness because when they have an idea, they have to rely on someone else to create it.” Sébastien Bénard, lead designer for “Dead Cells,” (the

Courtsey of Microsoft

“If you are not a fan of making codes, don’t go C + + (computer language), or something complicated like that… try to learn code using things like Unity… you don’t need more

Dead Cells was first released in May, 2017 by Motion Twins

Photo Courtousy of Motion Twins

38 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

than that.” Bénard said.

Learning code can give you a successful advantage and a lot more freedom as a game designer.

Look for Something Special

Another tip from insiders is to not copy a game that has already been made or simply rely on the greatest games for inspiration. Instead, take bits of different games, then include new pieces that change how the game is played.

“Something that comes in and is a little bit new is fun,” Coppersmith said.

“It doesn’t have to be something major or fundamentally different, but it needs to be different.”

Coppersmith said that a great example of this is the first Bioshock game. Up until six months before the release of the game, it was a very rudimentary firstperson shooter. The designers wanted to make something different, and what they came up with was to have the major bosses wander a set pattern on the map. This allowed players to set traps, so that even weaker characters had a chance to win. This

completely changed the gameplay and turned Bioshock into a seminal game. It was a very minor change, but so effective that it was copied throughout the industry.

The idea that seems to come across in the gaming industry is that there is no single “most important” part of a game. Even with Bioshock, it wasn’t just the mapping/boss change which turned it into an extraordinary game, it was that change combined with a wellexecuted first-person shooter.

This really changed the player’s experience.

“The best video games typically bring you 90% of game experience you’re familiar with and 10% of game experience that’s really new,” Coppersmith explained.

The first Bioshock Game, released in August, 2007 featuring a Big Daddy, the main bosses in the game.

Build to Your Audience Whether you are trying to make money, create your name as a designer or make a game that people will enjoy playing, Bénard warns us that “it’s about making a game that people would like…you’re not just making a game that you would like. If we don’t follow this advice, a game could quickly become shaped to just your interests, and the only new additions will be things that you like and enjoy, not the things that your audience will like. It is also important to remember that as new ideas are introduced, you must evolve with your game, otherwise you may never be successful. Once a game is released, the work isn’t done; in fact, you have a lot more to do. Positive and negative feedback from fans can help to

re-shape a game and make it better fit the audience it was intended for, not just your personal wants. After releasing “Dead Cells” to early access, Motion Twins had a set plan of what they would change.

“After one week, we had 10 times more tasks to complete,” Bénard said.

Are you Ready?

Based on the insight from industry specialists, there is a lot of opportunity in the game design world. Taking advantage of insider knowledge is a good way to better understand the industry and carve a path to success, but the first step is to start designing games. “If you want to be a designer, you should start making games,” Coppersmith said.

So, are you ready to start?

Photo Courtsesy of 2K Games.

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What Game is for You? This flowchart will help determine which top game from last year is best for you!

What Genre Action/Adventure

Modern SettingSpiderman

Non-Modern Setting

Non RPG GameGod of War

Role Playing Games

Singleplayer Games

MultiplayerMonster Hunter: World

Realistic SettingAssassin’s Creed: Odyssey Animated

Multiple Characters 1 Character OptionMoonlighter

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Developed Story Ocopath Traveler

No Obvious StorySmash Bros Ultimate Image Courtesy of Rockstar Games

Sources “Best Shooters to play in 2018.”, GameSpot article.

“Top 10 Best Action Games.”, Twinfinite article.

“The Best Games of 2018.”, Games Radar article.

do you like?

Shooter Only Closed WorldCOD: BlackOps 4

Open WorldOption

Western SettingRed Dead Redemption 2

Non Western Setting

Multiplayer

SingleplayerFar Cry 5

Developed StoryAnthem No Obvious Story

No Horror Futuristic Aspects Destiny 2: Forsaken

Modern Aspects Insurgency: Sandstorm

HorrorThe Walking Dead

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Game 42 | Epic — Spring Ezine 2019

Over Epic — Spring Ezine 2019 | 43

Art courtesy of 2K Games