#Digital Media Sources & Significance

[abhinavuhblog]

Digital Media : Sources & Significance

Critical Analysis

H.. Desamsetti & K. Lal(2019) , “Being a Realistic Master: Creating Props & Environments Design for AAA Games”, Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. 6 No.2 

Introduction  

The data I've chosen to analyze is an article on Being a Realistic Master: Creating Props & Environments Design for AAA Games, which is written by Harshith Desamsetti & Karu Lal from Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics (volume 6, No 2). H. Desamsetti is the Senior Software Engineer at Charter Communications in USA and K. Lal is the Integration Engineer at Ohio National Services in USA. Both authors have unique perspectives about this topic and have solid authorities in their fields. 

The overall article talks about the process of creation and realistic environments for AAA video focusing on the techniques, limits and strategies involved in creating visually stunning and authentic environments. The authors states that “the games come to life because of a well-designed environment, which provides additional layers of depth, context and emotional effect to the narrative. And here, I’ve chosen pages 195-196. In these pages the authors have been discussed as two main topics, ‘Role of An Environment Artist’ & ‘Environment Design from Scratch’. 

Role of  An Environment Artist 

The duties and responsibilities of an environment artist can be discussed as two, ‘making the world & Teamwork’.  

In the creation of game world the main duty of an environment artist is to create a realistic world which includes a variety of tasks such as designing the layout, creation of layout elements and props, and handling overall elegance. The size of the project (small independent game or AAA development) has a big impact on the artist’s performance. In small-scale manufacturing, the environmental designer may own a large portion of the pipeline, handling various activities from dressing & these impacts in scale effect. In the independent game development design to final product. AAA games can have a focus on specific elements like set decorating , the artist can be involved in the process of designing, blocking and creating the last form of props and structural parts. The process can vary greatly in AAA productions, with concept art providing the settings and level artists handling the blocking. Decorating the set, the addition of various elements to the environment for the quality of being real is the key point in both cases. 

Working as an environmental artist play an important role in collaborations with other departments which includes working with level designers, art directors, concept artists, prop artists and animation directors to turn blackout designs into suitable form of levels, it is the result of Teamwork. These highlight’s the varied and dynamic roles of environmental designers, emphasizing flexibility depending on the scope of the project. Designer responsibilities range from world building to highly collaborative teams, reflecting their role on tangible aspects of the video game environment. 

There are some departments that environmental designers often collaborate with to create a cohesive and immersive gaming experience. 

Level Design: Responsible for playing the initial block at game level. Blockout collaborates with environmental designers to transform a beautiful and playful environment. 

Prop Art: Creates props and additional content, including textures. He coordinates the export of props, which contribute to the overall aesthetic and functionality of the theater. 

Animation: They keeps the spirit or order in the environment alive. The animation seamlessly integrates with the game world and collaborates with environmental designers. 

Game Design: They focus on the overall design of the game. He works with environmental artists to showcase game elements such as weapon availability, player abilities, and other interactive elements. 

Concept Art: Through conceptual art, he generates ideas and plans for the environment. Concept designers provide visual feedback and inspiration in the development of game worlds. 

Art Guidelines: Collaborates closely with concept designers and other department members to ensure visual cohesion throughout the game. Art directors play an important role in shaping the overall artistic vision. 

Technical Art: It ensures that the game works properly on different hardware platforms. Creates tools and products for environmental designers and other departments to increase operational efficiency and solve technical challenges. 

Marketing: The one who is responsible for promoting the game. Although not directly involved in the making of sporting assets, the marketing department plays an important role in exposing the work of environmental designers to a wider audience. 

Environmental Design from Scratch 

The process of designing environment begins with brainstorming. ‘Google’ and ‘Pinterest’ can be used to collect a variety of visual references. That might be photographs, film, and conceptual art of people and ideas. The artist intentionally looks only for references that may be loosely related to the main concept. This’ll helps in creating unique and innovative ideas by drawing inspiration from a wide range of sources. A selection of screenshots and references have been compiled into a mood board. It acts as a visual collage encapsulating the aesthetic, style and desired perspective of the project. Artists then proceed to rapidly create images based on the collected references. These diagrams are a preliminary analysis of ideas and help visualize the overall layout. Depending on the needs of a project, artists can create a set of drawings or detailed utility drawings. This phase involves refining the baseline image to produce a more realistic representation of the suspected objects.  

Artists use sketching as a problem-solving tool if there are already elements in the layer that need to be fixed due to artistic connection or technical limitations. These images were created with the specific purpose of finding answers to design challenges. The methodology described goes beyond the traditional steps of brainstorming, gathering reference data, gathering reference data, and creating a sensitivity score. Instead, the team immediately starts simulating the environment in the game engine. The team may work with little or no feedback, or they may only work in group sections selected by art direction. This simplified process shows a spontaneous and immediate way of translating concepts into the game environment. Sketching is sometimes used as a tool to find solutions for existing features in a layer. This includes addressing artistic confidence in a particular game universe, such as “for the sake of honor” or overcoming technical limitations imposed by level design. After creating a design on the engine, the team seeks approval, obtains it and proceeds to remove the asset. This includes ensuring appropriate calculations and making enough adjustments based on feedback from the art director. The modeling is then outlined, and high-quality renderings of the elements are created using tools such as ‘ZBrush or 3ds Max’. Then Unwrapping (UV mapping) occurs during or after the modeling process. The group continues to go first with materials, textures and lighting.  

The team’s responsibility at Ubisoft focuses on modeling and level art. The team works independently across projects, and the workflow is more organic. Once the team is satisfied with the results, they move on to polishing the lighting, followed by polishing materials and designs to achieve the desired effect. 

Conclusion 

In overall, the authors discuss about the artist’s duties range from world creation to extensive collaboration across departments, demonstrating the significant roles they play in shaping the visual aspects of video game environments. While the environment artists work collaborates with several elements, such as level designing, animations and the overall artistic direction in the process of game creation. A graphic approach to problem solving and integrating different roles within the team implies a dynamic and iterative process in environment design. 

[bairusong23conceptart]

Academic Blog #2

(If I had known I'd need to cite so much reference material, I would have quoted less content. And it seems I might have been a bit too chatty in my last piece.)

This time, let's talk about one of my personal favorite designs in the Mobile Suit Gundam series: the YMT-05 Hildolfr.

1/100 Model of YMT-05 Hildolfr (Mobile Mode)

1/100 Model of YMT-05 Hildolfr (Tank Mode)

From a conceptual and hard-surface design perspective, the YMT-05 Hildolfr's design by Hajime Katoki is noteworthy for several reasons. The transformable nature of the Hildolfr, which allows it to shift from a mobile tank to a humanoid form.

The hard-surface design is especially prominent in the Hildolfr's tank form, where the emphasis on angular, protective plating contributes to a believable armored vehicle capable of withstanding and delivering heavy firepower. In MS form, these surfaces transition seamlessly to accommodate bipedal movement, showcasing Katoki's ability to blend form and function without compromising the integrity of either mode.

Additionally, the design of the main cannon, which maintains prominence in both forms, is a successful example of integrating a significant weapon system into the overall form factor. This not only enhances the visual impact of the design but also implies a practical and purposeful construction, an essential aspect of hard-surface design.

And the color scheme and the detailing work, including the panel lines and mechanical joints, give a sense of realism and practicality to the design. It suggests a machine built for purpose, rather than spectacle, aligning with modern design principles that value utility as much as aesthetics.

The Hildolfr's design strengths lie in its transformative ability, practical hard-surface detailing, and a functional weapon system integration, all encapsulated in a design that communicates speed, agility, and ruggedness.

Though it seems that not many fans have taken to this design, leading to its lukewarm reception. Perhaps, in the Japanese sci-fi domain, which often venerates the trendy aesthetics, a design that prioritizes practicality over flashiness fails to capture attention. But I'm quite certain that if such a design were to be more widely seen, its allure would surely spread far and wide.

References

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War (2004) Directed by I. Takashi. [Feature Film]. Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc.

[zoewilkinson]

Critical Analysis

BEHM-MORAWITZ, E. and TA, D. (2014) ‘Cultivating Virtual Stereotypes?: The Impact of Video Game Play on Racial/Ethnic Stereotypes’, Howard Journal of Communications, 25(1), pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2013.835600.

The text I have chosen to analyse is an article that was published in the Howard Journal of Communications. It is an article written by Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, a professor and chair in the department of communication at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and graduate student David Ta from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Behm-Morawitz’s work focuses on examining the impacts of media and how it influences perceptions of identity. Ta’s work focuses on cultural theory, communication and gender. Both authors provide an insightful perspective into the topic of medias impact on racial stereotypes, with a focus on the effect that video games have on impressionable audiences.

The article as a whole looks at the effects of video games and how they contribute to an understanding of virtual representations of ethnicity and race, and the real-world impact related to this. The authors focused on the game play of white college students, analysing their racial stereotyping based on the content of a specific game or genre.

I have chosen to look specifically at pages 11-12, as they focus on the key points presented by this study, which includes the impact of game play in relation to ethnic and racial stereotyping based on game content, and how this compares with their real-world opinions.

The first section introduces the main information and findings from the study that they previously conducted, with an emphasis on the effects of the game content on the group of white students racial stereotyping. It argues against the previously made idea that the cultivation effects are specific to certain games, showing that people’s response to game play is a better predictor of stereotyping and racial bias than a real-world interaction. The article debates the way racial and ethnic stereotypes appear in games and looks at the way that these stereotypes aren’t applied to white character in the same way as they are to black and Asian people.

The next section of the article looks at the way that the amount of time a game is played for has a connection to the beliefs of white people about stereotypical representations of black people. The study shows that more frequent gameplay has a significant association with negative views against people of colour. It focuses on the cultivation theory’s idea that repeated exposure to stereotypes has a real-world impact on the way an individual’s attitudes and opinions are formed or changed. The idea of a “video game diet” presents an interesting concept that compares video game exposure to someone’s diet, showing that what you consume has an impact on your mind and body.

The following section looks at an analysis of how a player’s preference for specific game genres impacts their racial bias or views. The study indicated that there was a potential for genre specific impacts, the main issue was coming from the frequency of the games being played. It also specifies that video games are just as impactful as other media forms at changing someone’s ethnic stereotyping, focusing on how television can also be impactful. By connecting video games to television as a storyteller, the authors show that video games are a powerful and under-utilised media format that should have more attention.

Looking further into how virtual representations can affect public perceptions of races, the text draws connections between the way that video games represent different races to the way players perceive them in real life. By understanding this, the article shows that diverse and authentic portrayals in video games is an important topic to look at and shows the responsibility game developers have to create more inclusive characters and narratives that avoid adding to dangerous and harmful stereotypes. While the study shows a correlation between gameplay frequency and racial bias, it’s important to look at other factors that could influence this. External influences and pre-existing beliefs have not been considered in this article and would have a huge impact on the outcome of the study.

The final section of this article looks at how people’s perceptions on race are impacted differently through video games and through real world interactions with different racial and ethnic groups. The outcome of this part of the study revealed that video games consistently had a stronger association with racial stereotypes than real world interactions. The concept of the “mere exposure effect” from Zajonc’s theory suggests that the way video games have repetitive ideas creates a familiarity with racial stereotypes, which ends up normalising it to the player as they are repeated exposed to the same stereotypes. This shows that people that the more players engage with video game content, the more likely they are to internalise stereotypes that change their perceptions. The article discusses the possibility that real world interactions between races are likely to be more diverse and varied than the interactions seen in gameplay, and that people are more familiar with the stereotypical representations shown in video games. This in addition to how immersive video games are nowadays and the repeated exposure to negative representations has the biggest impact on the way people’s perception and behaviours can be changed.

The concluding paragraph of these two pages focuses on the study’s results on cultivation theory and the way white people perceive black people based on racial and ethnic stereotypes in video games. The authors discuss the fact that cultivation theory can also be applied to video games, when previously it had mostly been applied to television, adding to the argument that it can be used for multiple media forms.

This article was interesting and important to my work as a games artist because it further confirms the importance game developers have in creating a more diverse and positively represented industry. The authors make a strong analysis on the way video games directly impact public perceptions of different racial and ethnic backgrounds and was successful in showing the connection between different media formats and cultivation theory. This article shows a strong understanding on the importance of authentic and diverse representation.

[angelkiyo]

haikyuu characters as romance tropes + songs in my playlist ❀

a/n - this was a thought i needed to get out..! i love music n i love haikyuu soooo. i also did a series similar to this but w actual one shots but tbh compiling them is smarter ngl. totally fw the spotify linked in my nav btw :0 — unedited drabble/thought piece

——“ they just can't reach her, princesita inalcanzable / le rompieron el cora, pero nunca se la perdió" (igual que un angel, 2023) - after years being your friend, getting friend-zoned for so long and finally getting a chance to date you, they're whipped and put you on a pedestal. they know all that you've gone through regarding relationships and would want nothing but your happiness. they're the immense green flag you need and would treat you with nothing but respect, sending you notes in class, and making you little bento boxes filled with their cooking, sending small poems that remind them of you but then again, you deserve it. you're as sweet as sugar and in their eyes, you're an angel on earth. they don't know when their feelings for you started, but when they finally confessed to you, it was the happiest they've felt. you've been their “other half” for so long that all your mutual friends have been telling you to get together, so imagine your friends' reaction when they see you and them on a date one random day, hand in hand and with your head on their shoulder as the two of you sat waiting for the bus back to your place.

best friends to lovers : kageyama tobio, BOKUTO KOTARO, ojiro aran, IWAIZUMI HAJIME, SHIMIZU KIYOKO

——"only like myself when im with you / nobody gets me like you” (nobody gets me, 2022) - both of you strive for excellence, only really wanting to achieve the best academically and on the court during gym class. it's obvious how strong your rivalry with him is, that even your friends jokingly tell you "just kiss already" when you already do. the two of you would be taking little secret rendezvous when you're supposed to be studying to be at the top of your class and staying up after his volleyball practice when everyone leaves. it felt thrilling as no one knew about your relationship (after constantly bragging that you didn't need a significant other). but once your grades began to slip, you couldn't risk losing the source of validation you've gotten to know for so long. you still had your ego and your pride to maintain, and he understood. he understood more than anyone which is why you felt yourself so emotionally attached to him. leading the both of you to enter an almost endless cycle of attempting a secret relationship while also trying to achieve validation from academic success.

rivals to lovers (and rivals again) : shirabu kenjiro, KITA SHINSUKE, tsukishima kei, sakusa kiyoomi, KUROO TETSURO

——"i burn for you / and you don't even know my name" (close to you, 2024) - after accidentally adding them on social media from quick add (due to mutuals from school), you find yourself in a predicament. you're from the same school and know of them, but know that you have never talked to them. you've never even interacted with them at all in real life. though, for the past few weeks, they're earned themselves the title of a talking stage, staying up until 3 in the morning sometimes, just to talk to you. you two would play valorant or whatever video game you’ve been wanting to play and last hours on video call, sharing playlists and being mutuals on everything. although, talking for so long caused him to be a little bold, flirting with you a bit. you're in different classes yet every time you have a break in class, you talk to them, sending snaps of what you do and so does he. so when you finally have your first date in person, you panic and in all honesty, he does too. what if you two don't get along? what if you thought he was weird? your first thought was that he's very handsome, that's for sure. though, it felt that all you really needed was to just talk as you've gotten past the digital barrier and had natural chemistry in real life.

online love : kozume kenma, SUNA RINTARO, miya atsumu, TENDO SATORI, terushima yuji

——"no one's ever good enough / i want a love like i've seen in the movies" (like the movies, 2021) - you met them at a barnes and noble during a regular day after school. you’ve always been a hopeless romantic, longing for love between the pages of a romantic comedy book or film. so when you bumped into them, books in hand, it felt like a spark between you two. the two of you ended up exchanging numbers to talk more, then meeting up and talking / hanging out in person (a date in your opinion). being in a relationship with someone else who also understood the want to fall in love “romantically” felt amazing. every time your school would have a game, you’d go and cheer them on from the sidelines, wearing his spare jersey. good morning texts, gift baskets for monthaversaries, huge love letters, and frequent dates felt too good to be true, and it was. you can always expect them to have heart eyes and only for you, as well as listening to your rants and theories surrounding different romance novels and films. especially your thoughts on the concept of the meet cute.

meet cute : AKAASHI KEIJI, yamaguchi tadashi, sugawara koshi, OIKAWA TORŪ, miya osamu, SEMI EITA

[xenosagaepisodeone]

the people who made (and people who update) the disturbing movie iceberg should be flogged for successfully getting a significant number of people to catalogue actual Films like Martyrs (2008) as the same thing as ogrish live death footage mixtapes. technically the race to the bottom to see the most horrible thing that could happen to someone on film has always existed in some form or other, but the cottage industry propped up around digitalized death is something that a lot of viewers dont even understand theyre participating in. the guys who frankenstein together death mixtapes sell them for real money, youtubers react to them or talk about them for millions of views and ad revenue, and regular people are primed by this whole transaction to view media like this as an endurance test instead of the suffering of real people being monetized. It's not really a coincidence that a lot of the clips are seemingly sourced from the global south either. victims of freak accidents or violent crimes are rarely granted privacy or reprieve, but I imagine that the outrage would at least be greater if most of the content of these videos were sourced from Your Town, USA or whatever instead of latin america or SE asia. there's a grotesque chauvinism to what is already a very demoralizing phenomena of gazing slack-jawed from your computer at death tailored for mass consumption. It makes the glib narration in Faces of Death (1978) seem poignant.

for years people asked "Does snuff exist?" and the answer was usually "probably", but now it doesn't really matter anymore. The guy making a profit from supplying Cute Dead Girls Volume 14 on private telegram chats is providing the same seedy market component that made people curious about the existence of snuff, but the public's response is "you got anything else I'm so boreeed".

[fans4wga]

Welcome to fans4wga, a central hub run by fans who work in the entertainment industry and want to promote inter-fandom solidarity with the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

We're here to support the writers and actors on strike with both financial and moral support, combat misinformation, and disseminate helpful information for how you and your fandom can get involved!

why support the WGA/SAG-AFTRA? -> The people who make the entertainment you love are being systematically underpaid, understaffed, and undervalued by gigantic corporations with CEOs who make millions every year. Writers and actors are striking for fair pay, better work conditions, and an end to exploitative labor practices like mini-rooms and scanning people to use digital likenesses to replace real actors. Writers and actors deserve a fair contract, but the studios have refused fair negotiation at every turn.

how can fans get involved? -> Please boost info about mutual aid and strike funds, correct misinfo when you see it (and cite sources when possible), and keep strike morale strong in your fandom spaces!

want to support the strike? -> donate to the Entertainment Community Fund and the Green Envelope Grocery Aid Fund, or join a fandom group that's organizing on Twitter: Our Flag Means Death, Star Trek, and Manifest fandoms are already active in organizing food and drink donations to the picket lines. Join a picket line if you can. Support the strike on social media with the hashtags #IStandWithTheWGA #DoTheWriteThing #Fans4WGA

who are you exactly? -> this hub is run by Ani (@abnerkrill) and Algie (@equalseleventhirds) on behalf of the #fans4wga movement, supported by WGA members Jo Miller and Rob Kutner.

should I stop watching TV shows/movies to support the strike? -> there is currently no official call for a boycott! Some people are canceling their services in support of the WGA. However, this is not an official ask and could in fact damage viewing numbers that give the unions leverage. In other words: No need to change your watching activity, but please vocally support the WGA/SAG-AFTRA on social media and in real life!

is fanfic scabbing? -> Definitively no! Please keep writing fic. The confusion about this question comes from SAG-AFTRA's guidelines against influencer promo. Influencers (by SAG-AFTRA's official definition) are being asked not to promote present or past studio works. However, fans and hobbyists without significant social media followings who don't want to join SAG-AFTRA in the future can keep posting normally.

have any others questions? ask box is open!

[please note anon is currently off to limit spam and hate mail. apparently some people side with corporate CEOs over workers. couldn't be us!]

[bijoumikhawal]

hello! i hope it's alright to ask you this but i was wondering if you have any recommendations for books to read or media in general about the history of judaism and jewish communities in egypt, particularly in ottoman and modern egypt?

have a nice day!

it's fine to ask me this! Unfortunately I have to preface this with a disclaimer that a lot of books on Egyptian Jewish history have a Zionist bias. There are antizionist Egyptian Jews, and at the very least ones who have enough national pride that AFAIK they do not publicly hold Zionist beliefs, like those who spoke in the documentary the Jews of Egypt (avaliable on YouTube for free with English subtitles). Others have an anti Egyptian bias- there is a geopolitical tension with Egypt from Antiquity that unfortunately some Jewish people have carried through history even when it was completely irrelevant, so in trying to research interactions between "ancient" Egyptian Jews and Native Egyptians (from the Ptolemaic era into the proto-Coptic and fully Coptic eras) I've unfortunately come across stuff that for me, as an Egyptian, reads like anti miscegenationist ideology, and it is difficult to tell whether this is a view of history being pushed on the past or not. The phrase "Erev Rav" (meaning mixed multitude), which in part refers to Egyptians who left Egypt with Moses and converted to Judaism, is even used as an insult by some.

Since I mentioned that documentary, I'll start by going over more modern sources. Mapping Jewish San Francisco has a playlist of videos of interviews with Egyptian Jews, including both Karaites and Rabbinic Jews iirc (I reblogged some of these awhile ago in my "actually Egyptian tag" tag). This book, the Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry, is avaliable for free online, it promises to be a more indepth look at Egyptian Jews in the lead up to modern explusion. I have only read a few sections of it, so I cannot give a full judgment on it. There's this video I watched about preserving Karaite historical sites in Egypt that I remember being interesting. "On the Mediterranian and the Nile edited by Harvey E. Goldman and Matthis Lehmann" is a collection of memiors iirc, as is "the Man in the Sharkskin Suit" (which I've started but not completed), both moreso from a Rabbinic perspective. Karaites also have a few websites discussing themselves in their terms, such as this one.

For the pre-modern but post-Islamic era, the Cairo Geniza is a great resource but in my opinion as a hobby researcher, hard to navigate. It is a large cache of documents from a Cairo synagogue mostly from around the Fatimid era. A significant portion of it is digitized and they occasionally crowd source translation help on their Twitter, and a lot of books and papers use it as a primary source. "The Jews in Medieval Egypt, edited by: Miriam Frenkel" is one in my to read pile. "Benjamin H. Hary - Multiglossia in Judeio-Arabic. With an Edition, Translation, and Grammatical Study of the Cairene Purim Scroll" is a paper I've read discussing the Jewish record of the events commemorated by the Cairo Purim, I got it off either Anna's Archive or libgen. "Mamluks of Jewish Origin in the Mamluk Sultanate by Koby Yosef" is a paper in my to read pile. "Jewish pietism of the Sufi type A particular trend of mysticisme in Medieval Egypt by Mireille Loubet" and "Paul B Fenton- Judaism and Sufism" both discuss the medieval Egyptian Jewish pietist movement.

For "ancient" Egyptian Jews, I find the first chapter of "The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words 1000 BC-1492 AD” by Simon Schama, which covers Elephantine, very interesting (it also flies in the face of claims that Jews did not marry Native Egyptians, though it is from centuries before the era researchers often cover). If you'd like to read don't click this link to a Google doc, that would be VERY naughty. There's very little on the Therapeutae, but for the paper theorizing they may have been influenced by Buddhism (possibly making them an example of Judeo-Buddhist syncretism) look here (their Wikipedia page also has some sources that could be interesting but are not specifically about them). "Taylor, Joan E. - Jewish women philosophers of first-century Alexandria: Philo’s Therapeutae reconsidered" is also a to read.

I haven't found much on the temple of Onias/Tell el Yahudia/Leontopolis in depth, but I have the paper "Meron M. Piotrkowski - Priests in Exile: The History of the Temple of Onias and Its Community in the Hellenistic Period" in my to be read pile (which I got off Anna's Archive). I also have some supplemental info from a lecture I attended that I'm willing to privately share.

I also have a document compiling links about the Exodus of Jews from Egypt in the modern era, but I'm cautious about sharing it now because I made it in high school and I've realized it needs better fact checking, because it had some misinfo in it from Zionist publications (specifically about the names of Nazis who fled to Egypt- that did happen, but a bunch of names I saw reported had no evidence of that being the case, and one name was the name of a murdered resistance fighter???)

[cyberpunkonline]

What is a Cypherpunk?

The term "cypherpunk" refers to a movement and a community of activists advocating for the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cypherpunk movement is a confluence of libertarian political philosophy, hacker ethos, and cryptographic science.

The Core Traits of Cypherpunks

1. Advocacy for Privacy and Anonymity: Cypherpunks champion the right to privacy, emphasizing that individuals should have control over their personal information and digital footprints. This advocacy is often in direct opposition to government surveillance and corporate data collection practices.

2. Use of Cryptography: The cornerstone of the cypherpunk movement is the use of strong cryptography to secure communications and transactions. Cypherpunks believe that through cryptographic techniques, individuals can protect their privacy in the digital world.

3. Open Source and Decentralization: A significant trait among cypherpunks is the belief in open-source software and decentralized systems. This ethos promotes transparency, security, and resistance to censorship and control by central authorities.

Who are the Cypherpunks?

The cypherpunk community consists of programmers, activists, academics, and technologists. Notable figures include Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks; Jacob Appelbaum, a former spokesperson for the Tor Project; and Hal Finney, a pioneer in digital cash systems. The manifesto "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto" by Eric Hughes (1993) [https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html] eloquently encapsulates the philosophy and ideals of this movement.

The Cypherpunk Movement

Cypherpunks are not a formal organization but rather a loosely associated group sharing common interests in cryptography and privacy. The movement's origins can be traced to the “Cypherpunks” mailing list, started in 1992 by Eric Hughes, Timothy C. May, and John Gilmore. This list served as a platform for discussing privacy, cryptography, and related political issues.

Relation to Cyberpunk Principles

While cypherpunks share some overlap with the cyberpunk genre of science fiction, they are distinct in their real-world activism. Cyberpunk literature, like William Gibson's "Neuromancer" (1984) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088006-neuromancer], often presents a dystopian future where technology is pervasive and oppressive. In contrast, cypherpunks aim to use technology, specifically cryptography, as a tool for empowerment and resistance against such dystopian futures.

Notable Contributions and Technologies

The cypherpunk movement has been instrumental in the development of technologies that emphasize privacy and security:

Tor (The Onion Router): A free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication [https://www.torproject.org/].

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP): A data encryption and decryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication [https://www.openpgp.org/].

Bitcoin: The creation of Bitcoin by an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto was heavily influenced by the ideas of the cypherpunk movement. It embodies principles of decentralization and financial privacy [https://bitcoin.org/en/].

Wikileaks: Founded by Julian Assange, WikiLeaks is a multinational media organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources [https://wikileaks.org/].

Conclusion

The cypherpunk movement is a critical lens through which to view the ongoing dialogue about privacy, security, and freedom in the digital age. While not an organized group, the collective impact of cypherpunks on modern cryptography, internet privacy, and digital rights is profound. As digital technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives, the principles and contributions of the cypherpunk community remain more relevant than ever. - REV1.

[crossdreamers]

New study of how American LGBTQ people use the internet

The report "ctrl+alt+lgbt: Digital Access, Usage, and Experiences of the LGBTQ+ Community" by Data for Progress highlights the critical role of digital technology in the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals.

The study, based on a survey of 1,304 LGBTQ+ adults in the United States, reveals several key findings:

Internet usage is nearly universal among LGBTQ+ adults, with 96% using it daily, demonstrating a strong reliance on digital connectivity.

LGBTQ+ adults frequently access the internet in public spaces, including coffee shops, libraries, and LGBTQ+ community centers.

The internet is widely used for essential services, with 87% searching for health information online, 61% using telehealth services, and 44% finding LGBTQ+-friendly healthcare providers.

Social media platforms play a significant role in the lives of LGBTQ+ adults, with many joining before the age of 18 for social connections and self-expression.

Online spaces have had a profound impact on LGBTQ+ identity and self-expression, particularly for transgender adults (90%), younger LGBTQ+ adults (87%), and LGBTQ+ people of color.

Unfortunately, many LGBTQ+ adults experience online harassment and encounter misinformation, with transgender individuals facing higher rates of these issues.

Despite challenges, a majority of LGBTQ+ adults feel safe in online spaces, which is crucial for their continued engagement and expression in digital environments.

The report emphasizes that while the internet provides vital resources and community for LGBTQ+ individuals, it also reflects real-world inequities and prejudices.

Source: ctrl+alt+lgbt: Digital Access, Usage, and Experiences of the LGBTQ+ Community

See also Georgia Voice: Trans Experiences with the Internet Range from ‘Harrowing’ to ‘Powerful’

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8 Tips for Writing Crime Fiction

People love a good whodunit. It’s why there are so many crime fiction subgenres: detective fiction, courtroom fiction, thrillers, cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, and more. 

If you want to try your hand at a story centralized around a crime, you might wonder if you need detective experience or a lifetime in the actual crime world to make a great short story or novel.

Check out these tips to find out what you need to get started.

Tips for Writing Crime Fiction Stories

1. Read Crime Novels or Short Stories

When someone wants to become great at sports, they find a coach. When they want to start a new career path, they go to school or find a mentor.

If you want to write crime fiction and you’ve never tried it before, treat yourself to some new reading material. You can browse the latest crime novels or short story collections to see what readers can’t get enough of. As you read with the intention of studying the work through your writer’s eyes, you’ll learn how to pull a crime story together.

Pay attention to how the authors build tension, introduce new facts and pull characters together through the primary criminal act in the plot. Note whatever interests you or makes you excited to read the next page.

2. Pick Your Conflict

While you can have multiple types of conflict in a successful story, you should pick a primary conflict as your crime fiction plot device. The crime itself could kick off your story and push everything forward, or it could be what makes your story fall apart on purpose.

Will you write an interpersonal detective story or involve the criminals themselves? Maybe your narrative will center on a victim’s loved one who becomes your protagonist. Your primary conflict will shape your plot and help you create the best protagonist to carry your story.

3. Create Your Crime First

It’s not impossible to write a crime story without detailing the crime itself before you start writing—but it’s much easier. It’s especially important if you’re planning to write a novel because there are so many elements that rely on things like:

Who does the crime?

What is the crime?

When does it happen?

Why does it happen?

Where does it happen?

What’s the motivation for doing this crime (if any)?

What are the repercussions of this crime (for all of your involved characters and their world)?

You’ll spin everything out from the crime, so start by picking an illegal event you want to write about. If you need help, read newspaper articles or browse true crime documentary descriptions to make a list of possibilities.

4. Save Your Most Helpful Research Sources

The realism of crime fiction plays a significant role in interesting your readers. You’ll need to research so much when you know what your plot will hold and what crime it involves.

You might spend weeks, months, or even years reading about things like:

How your protagonist’s world works before the crime and how the crime changes it

How DNA profiling does and doesn’t work

How first responders and cops handle crime scenes

How people are treated by the media when they or their loved one are hurt in a crime

How the legal proceedings afterward work for your protagonist

Once you know how the framework of each element works, you can create plot twists by causing slight breaks in the systems. I highly recommend saving pictures, links, and detailed notes in digital documents like a Google Doc or spreadsheet. You can also use the resources listed here to find other ways to visually save your research.

5. Give Your Antagonist a Motivation

Many crimes happen because people plan them to their advantage. A robber steals money because they have overwhelming medical debt. A killer murders someone who hurt them in the past.

The motivations won’t always be morally right, but they have to exist. Make sure your antagonist has one before and after the crime occurs. How does the event change their motivations or goals? That’s essential to know to keep them grounded within their own realm of reasoning.

If you’re writing a crime that wasn’t intentional, there has to be a motivation carrying your antagonist forward in the aftermath. What’s making them make their decisions regarding how they cover up the crime or distance themselves from it?

Tips to Take Care of Yourself While Writing Crime Fiction

1. Check In With Yourself

It’s so easy to bury your emotional well-being while writing a dark story. You might want to finish it on time or get through a particularly gruesome part of the plot, but pushing your emotional state to the side will only lead to burnout or worse.

Check in with your emotions to see what you need throughout your writing process. Sit quietly by yourself and ask what emotions are present. Let them speak above your story’s needs or your other responsibilities. Then see if those emotions have been lingering for the last week or two. Journaling can help with this, but you can also record your thoughts in the Notes app on your phone or a spare piece of paper by your laptop.

You might need to step away from your work for a bit or write a more laid-back story to give your mind a break. Maybe a good cry will release the pent-up emotions from your hours of research into how cruel humans can become.

Writing about darkness doesn’t mean you have to be trapped in that darkness for however long it takes to write the story.

Take care of yourself first. You’re more important than any story.

If your mind ever starts to feel overwhelmed while you’re writing a story with heavy thematic elements or violent events, please get help. I highly recommend the sliding-scale therapy available through OpenPath (sessions can become as little as $30/hour). You can access licensed therapists in your area, arrange in-person or virtual appointments, and make each session fit within your budget.

2. Take Breaks

Pausing your creative writing for the day or even the week could be what your mind needs. Research shows regular breaks make people more productive because they utilize other areas of our minds and help us return with fresh energy.

It’s also important to take breaks for your emotional well-being. You may not feel as sucked into your antagonist’s (or protagonist’s) violent, dehumanized state of mind by walking away from your manuscript. Talk with someone you love, watch your favorite show, or go to that farmer’s market you’re always talking about.

It’s easier not to get caught up in negativity when you retain control over it through things like breaks.

3. Don’t Sweat Your Search History

Cops won’t show up at your door if you’re googling which artery pumps the most blood and how long it would take to bleed out if that artery opened. That’s not how the internet works.

There are very few odds that police will need your search history while trying to solve a crime one day. However, if it makes you uncomfortable, look into a VPN and use incognito mode (if you’re on Chrome. Firefox users can use Private Browsing.).

You can also avoid specific internet searches by watching true crime documentaries on a similar crime or reading books about similar cases. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable, especially if you’re writing a long-form manuscript that could take months or years to complete.

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If you’re interested in writing crime fiction, these are a few ways you can get started. Remember, you don’t have to write a perfect first draft. That’s impossible. All you need to do is start creating your world and use tips like these when you need help along the way.

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Digital Media: Sources & Significance

Academic Blog

Academic Blog Post #01 

I would like to use the theory we’ve learned about emotion and affect to examine how movies can be affective and how it evoke emotions in audience. So I chose one of my favorite movie, “Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale” as an example to explain the theory of Affect. 

Plot 

The movie is based on true story of a most loyal dog in Japan. The film exhibits the tale of Hachi’s lifelong devotion to his master. The story begins when college professor Parker Wilson (Richard Gere) finds an abandoned dog at a train station and out of the goodness of his heart, takes the dogs home. Unable to find the dog’s owner, Parker and her family eventually adopted the dog. Overtime, the two formed an inseparable bond and went on adventures together. Hachi has made a habit of walking the professor to the station every morning and waiting for the professor’s train to arrive in the afternoon. Ten years after his master’s unexpected death, Hachi still waited devotedly for Parker at the train station every afternoon. The story conveys the deep relationship and commitment between a human and a pet. It clearly shows the value of respect between humans and between humans and their pets.  

References 

Hachiko: A movie review (no date). https://thepinoywanderer.blogspot.com/2012/04/hachiko-dogs-story-movie-review.html.

Academic Blog Post #02 

For this blog, I would like to discuss about transmedia. For an example I chose my favorite game league of legends. 

League of Legends is an incredibly popular video game worldwide, developed by Riot Games. It has garnered a massive following due to its captivating gameplay and strategic elements. The game revolves around a team-based competitive format, where players must employ tactics and take on their opponents with skill and precision. With its complex mechanics and fast-paced nature, League of Legends offers a challenging and exhilarating gaming experience.

 

In a typical match, two teams of five players each work together to destroy the enemy Nexus before the opposing team does the same to their Nexus. To enhance the gameplay, players can select from a vast pool of around 140 unique characters, known as champions. These champions possess their own distinct strengths, abilities, and personalities, allowing players to find a champion that suits their preferred playstyle. 

Intriguingly, League of Legends extended its influence beyond the realm of gaming with the debut of its animated series called "Arcane" in 2021. Created by Alex Yee and Christian Linke, the show offers a captivating narrative that delves into the lives of two orphaned sisters who grow up together. However, their paths diverge as they mature, leading them to become bitter rivals. The series explores the consequences of their choices and the transformative power of circumstance. 

To partake in the game, teams select different locations on Summoner's Rift, which is the main map utilized in League of Legends. This map serves as the battleground where teams compete against each other, vying for control and dominance. As the game progresses, players engage in various operations, such as battling computer-controlled minions, demolishing enemy turrets, and eliminating enemy champions. These actions yield gold rewards, which players can invest in empowering their champions, thus increasing their chances of controlling the game. Ultimately, the team that effectively exploits these advantages can push forward, overcome their opponents, and emerge victorious. 

References

Arcane (TV Series 2021– ) ⭐ 9.0 | Animation, Action, Adventure (2021). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11126994/

Walser, A. (2021) How is Arcane related to League of Legends — and what changed? https://collider.com/how-is-arcane-related-to-league-of-legends/.

Academic Blog Post #3 

Realism in film focuses on the mundane aspects of everyday life and brings a “real” aspect of life to the screen. The images are generally static with little movement, and the camera tends to visualize the images. There is no art in the lighting and composition. The scenes are shot on location and not on custom sets. The films are edited for continuity rather than artistic effects to capture the attention of the audience. The music and soundtrack are particularly digestive (like when the characters visit the world in real time). Virtual reality advocates believe these guns are highly targeted.  

An example for realism is the movie of Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice(2004), starred by Al Pacino. Especially in the opening sequence of the film, realistic techniques are used to transport viewers to “Venice, 1596” which is announced on screen. 

There are no graphic devices ( like the television reporter in “Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet). Several intertitles using a camera using film as a documentary lens in the installation shot describe historical cases of anti-semitism and long shots show monks preaching from a ‘Venetian Gondola’ with a christian cross blocking the Rialto able to see it in the right direction. 

References

Realism – Screening Shakespeare (no date). https://screenshakespeare.org/theory/realism/#:~:text=Some%20realist%20filmmakers%20include%20Vittorio,2004)%2C%20starring%20Al%20Pacino.

Academic Blog Post #4 

In the case of Narrative story telling, I would like to choose the game, Tomb Raider developed by Crystal Dynamics, Core Design & Eidos Montreal. The game has adapted from, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft : Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003). 

Narrative is a choice of events to associate with and in sequence – so the narrative is the manifestation of a particular position or object, rather than the narrative itself being a simple way of remembering the difference between a novel and a novel between novels by changing the sequence of events . Another sequence of events means you have another version of the same story. Narrative transforms narrative into information, or better yet, knowledge for the recipient (viewer or reader). Each event is a knowledge search by the audience. The story is a paradox, because it seeks to conceal and reveal the truth. The storyteller arranges the sources of knowledge so that they are revealed in chronological order, suggesting that the truth behind the initial claims is elusive Such deliberate authorial intent creates a sense of mystery or oppression , the audience's desire to know what happens in the story and why It's reporting conflicts. 

In case of the game Tomb Raider (2013), narrative is a masterclass in the use of the video games medium to create emotionally charged and character-driven experiences The game achieves a delicate balance between demanding gameplay and complex storytelling by Lara Croft's early narrative analysis upon. Breaking down the key elements that contribute to Tomb Raider's successful narrative, examines how the game deftly blends character development, environmental history, and player agency to provide a cohesive insight and it’s exciting about the effort that goes into such a game. We’ll discover storytelling techniques that elevate this game above just an action-adventure theme, add cheating landscapes alongside Lara and set it as a model for the art of interactive content. 

References

Dherman, C. (2023) 'Tomb Raider — A case study in the design of game narrative,' Medium, 3 December. https://medium.com/@christopher_dherman/tomb-raider-a-case-study-in-the-design-of-game-narrative-06dc4669b404.

Academic Blog Post #5 

The word Virtual Reality gives the feeling of near and reality what we experience as human beings. The term virtual reality is used to describe a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment that can be explored and interacted with. That person becomes part of this virtual world or participates in this environment and while there is capable of manipulating objects or performing a series of actions.

 

The virtual environment must provide relevant information – in real time- as the person explores their environment. Problems arise when there is a lag or delay between an individual’s actions and a system’s response that then disrupts their experience. The individual is aware that he or she is in an artificial environment and adapts his or her actions accordingly to result in sophisticated, mechanical interactions.  

An example for virtual reality is the game known as “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR” which is the full-length open world game is from "Bethesda Game Studios". "Skyrim VR" reimagines the epic fantasy masterpiece in its entirety with unparalleled sensitivity to volume and depth of immersion.

References

PredCaliber (2022) Skyrim VR in 2022 is not just a game anymore... it is everything you always wanted it to be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLuZ7C58wSg.

Academic Blog Post #6 

From what we’ve learned about Culture, I would like to analyze the Race and Cultural representation in “Walt Disney’s Moana”. 

Plot 

An adventurous teenager named Moana sets sail on a daring mission to save her people from a perilous threat that looms over their island. Filled with determination and courage, she embarks on a treacherous journey across the vast ocean, encountering perilous challenges and breathtaking scenery along the way. It is during this extraordinary quest that Moana encounters the once-mighty demigod Maui, a charismatic and mischievous figure. With his help and guidance, Moana learns the art of way-finding, a skill passed down through generations, transforming her into a master navigator capable of charting a course through the unknown. Together, they navigate through treacherous waters, facing gigantic sea creatures and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Yet amid their thrilling adventure, Moana begins to uncover the ancient secrets and wisdom of her ancestors, discovering the powerful connection she shares with her roots. As she delves deeper into her heritage, Moana also embarks on a journey of self-discovery, searching for her own identity and purpose in life. Through her determination, bravery, and unwavering spirit, Moana not only fulfills the ancient quest set forth by her ancestors but also finds a newfound sense of purpose, realizing that her greatest strength lies within herself. 

Although Moana originates from the fictional island of Motunui some 3000 years ago, the story and culture of Moana is rooted in the real heritage and history of the Polynesian islands of Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga and Tahiti In fact, once you start to make a connection with the Polynesian culture in Moana, it’s hard to stop! Everything from the island homes (with traditional Samoan palm trees) to the Maui backgrounds (a nod to Polynesian calligraphy) are a tribute to Polynesian heritage Culturally as Disney tried to make Moana, the company and the film don’t speak to Polynesians and people in general. The film did get some parts of the heritage wrong, and as much as it tried to incorporate Polynesian tradition and history, there is still so much to discover! Find out below a few ways the story of Moana is rooted in Polynesian history and folklore. 

Reference

Where is Moana from? The Home and Heritage of Moana (2023). https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/where-is-moana-from.

Sloss, M. (2020) '‘Moana’: Here’s what Pacific Islanders really think,' BuzzFeed, 1 May. https://www.buzzfeed.com/morgansloss1/heres-what-pacific-islanders-really-think-of-moana.

Academic Blog Post #7 

I like to use the idea of Semiotics by analyzing the animated film “Shrek”. Shrek is a ‘DreamWorks animation film released in 2001. Shrek is a series of movies dedicated to the adventures of a green monster named Shrek. Loosely based on the 1990s novel by William Stagg, the film follows Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) as he is forced on a journey to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). The sin of Lord Farquad, at the hands of a dragon Along the way, he encounters an endlessly talking donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) who reluctantly acknowledges him as a friend for the trip. Shrek eventually marries Fiona and in the subsequent films travels to her distant hometown to meet her family where there is a lot of adventure on her! The movie is full of laugh out loud gags, some for adults only, adventurers and fugitives which proves that Shrek is loved by all ages 

The Ogre denotes a hero in this movie. A hero is typically depicted as peaceful, noble,  diplomatic, compassionate and prince charming. The Ogre in the film is demonstrated by a green, ugly, violent and selfish animal. Fiona implies a princess (Lee & Kwon 103). By and  large, a princess is classically as beautiful, a sophisticated girl in distress waiting to be saved by her prince charming. Fiona is portrayed in the Shrek movie as a fierce, brave, talkative, and a great martial art expert. The donkey is another character in the film and signifies the side chick. A conventional donkey is usually friendly, dependent and a beast of burden. 

Reference

Everything you need to know about the Shrek films! (2021). https://www.shreksadventure.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-shrek-films/.

StudyPool Homework Help - Semiotics Study of Shrek Movie (no date). https://www.studypool.com/documents/903956/semiotics-study-of-shrek-movie.

Y2pinku (no date) Semiotics study of movie shrek. https://www.scribd.com/doc/19050402/Semiotics-study-of-movie-shrek.

Academic Blog Post #8 

By choosing Realism as a topic there are a lot of movies we can talk about. Another example is “The Lion King”.  

When Disney’s remake of The Lion King begins, there is a strange sense of déjà vu. Lebo M. That jarring first "naaa" with its Zulu rhythm plays and the sun rises over the Pride Lands. The first animal to appear on screen is a monkey that rears its head, just as it did in the animated film. What follows over the next few minutes is an almost perfect remake of the original animated Lion King opening sequence, but this time done in photo-realistic form surprisingly In some places, the viewer can also forget that what they're watching isn't 't the original movie, just IRL Eve. But then Rafiki climbs Pride Rock with a red twig and a root in his hand instead of getting nuts from his staff to splash red on baby Simba’s forehead—creating the first major change from the original animated film— immediately reminding viewers that they have been a unique experience. 

References

Desta, Y. (2019) 'The Lion King, Hand-Drawn Animation, and the Problem with Photo-Realism,' Vanity Fair, 18 July. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/07/lion-king-remake-disney-photorealism-animation.

Academic Blog Post #9 

Here I would like to talk about the emotion affects in Marvel’s “End Game”. The end scene in the movie shows the sacrifice of common man among the powerfull gods & heroes & I's affects the viewers emotionally. 

As the cosmic jewels melted into his armored fingers, Tony Stark ripped off his fingers, turning Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his army into pieces of ash, effectively vanquishing the imminent threat to the universe. But, as is often the case, victory came at a steep cost. The tremendous blast of energy not only decimated Thanos and his henchmen but also caused severe burns and inflicted grave injuries upon Stark himself. Despite the excruciating pain and the toll it took on his body, Stark was surrounded by loved ones who gathered around him, offering solace and support in this time of need. 

The arc reactor in Stark's chest, the source of his power and a symbol of his resilience, began to slow down, hinting at the toll that his heroic acts had taken. In many ways, it appeared to be a natural consequence of his unwavering dedication to protecting innocent lives. Time and again, Stark had placed himself in harm's way, risking everything to save others from the clutches of arms dealers and other nefarious forces. However, even with a lifetime of selfless acts behind him, the decision to sacrifice himself for the greater good was not an easy one. The weight of the world rested on his shoulders, and the hope and inspiration that Iron Man had provided to fans over the years further complicated his deliberations. 

Tony Stark has always grappled with his self-worth, questioning whether his actions justified the sacrifices he made. Both on and off the silver screen, Robert Downey Jr. embodied the redemptive journey of his character, demonstrating the power of transformation and growth through the fantastical lens of fiction. The story of Iron Man resonates as a testament to the human capacity for change and a reminder that each individual has the potential to make a difference, no matter the personal cost. 

Reference

Justin (2021) How Avengers: Endgame fulfills the emotional arcs of Marvel’s characters - Justin Kownacki. https://www.justinkownacki.com/avengers-endgame-character-plot-marvel/.

Burt, K. (2019) Avengers: Endgame Prioritizes emotional strength over physical power | Den of Geek. https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/avengers-endgame-prioritizes-emotional-strength-over-physical-power/.

Academic Blog Post #10

The transmedia has various examples to provide. A blog article titled "Transmedia Storytelling 101" was written by Henry Jenkins in 2007. In this enlightening piece, Jenkins provides a comprehensive definition of transmedia as "a process where essential components of a fiction get systematically distributed across multiple delivery channels in order to create a cohesive and well-coordinated entertainment experience." This elucidation by Jenkins (2007) serves as a fundamental understanding of the concept. Essentially, transmedia storytelling involves the art of narrating a story or narrative across various media platforms, compelling the audience to engage in a mental jigsaw puzzle to uncover the complete narrative. Each medium involved in the transmedia experience contributes a unique and distinct portion of the tale, captivating the audience through different perspectives and elements. Only when these individual fragments are skillfully combined does the full picture emerge, leaving audiences immersed in a truly multidimensional story.

What sets transmedia storytelling apart is the wonderful synergy it creates between the various media forms employed. By skillfully intertwining mediums such as film, television, literature, and even video games, transmedia narratives seamless complement and enhance one another, elevating the overall storytelling experience to new heights. It is within this rich and diverse landscape that we find examples of transmedia storytelling at its finest, with beloved franchises like Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and the narratives from the Marvel Cinematic Universe standing as shining exemplars of this innovative and captivating storytelling technique.

Reference

Transmedia and Convergence: World-Building in the wizarding world of Harry Potter (2023). https://www.diggitmagazine.com/papers/transmedia-and-convergence-world-building-wizarding-world-harry-potter.

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Academic Blog #10

Finally reaching the last planned piece, I'd like to touch upon one of my all-time favorite game series, Bayonetta, discussing how this female-led game series has made a unique impact in the action game genre with its distinctive material and artistic style.

Bayonetta (2009) & Bayonetta 2 (2014)

Today's gaming world still largely lacks charismatic heroines as protagonists, and the action game genre, often dominated by masculine traits, finds a refreshing change in Bayonetta, carving out a female-centric cultural niche. Created by Hideki Kamiya, also the founder of the Devil May Cry series, Bayonetta was envisioned from the start as an action game filled entirely with feminine elements. This idea, which seemed crazy and obsessive at the time, gained immense popularity upon the game's release. Defeating enemies with dance-like grace and moving seductively through dangerous battlefields, Bayonetta’s character design, handled by concept artist and fashion designer Mari Shimasaki, skillfully blends fashion elements and unique interpretations to create an iconic and fancy character image.

Concept of Bayonetta for Bayonetta 2 (2014), from the art book The Eye of Bayonetta 2, by Mari Shimasaki

Bayonetta offered players an unprecedented freshness, combining excellent gameplay design and a tactile experience, achieving immense success upon its debut.

To me, Bayonetta's most appealing aspect is its rebellion against stereotypes and traditional conventions. The protagonist, Bayonetta, a witch who and her kin were persecuted in the Witch Hunts – a reference to the unjust historical trend against women that actually occurred in the medieval world. Women not conforming to the mainstream were stigmatized, accused of witchcraft, and harmed as heretics or witches. Bayonetta uses witchcraft and magic to defend herself, collaborating with various demons from Inferno, breaking through any force that stands in her way.

Enemies encountered in the game are mostly angels from Paradiso (Paradise), named after beautiful and praiseworthy things.

Grace & Glory, from Bayonetta (2009)

Though adorned with lavish elements like marble, gold, and holy halos, most angels have bizarre body structures and fierce faces, which enhances the uniqueness of these characters. Even at the end of the first game, Bayonetta faces her biological father as the last boss, which can be interpreted as a challenge to traditional patriarchy. The idea of beauty corrupted into threat reflects how the Bayonetta series has carved a rebellious path.

This rebellion has been warmly embraced by the queer community among the players, perhaps because queer culture itself is often seen as rebellious by society. Even in defiance, one can be stylish, strong, and beautiful – a profound resonance Bayonetta brings to these players.

References

Platinum Games (2009) Bayonetta [Video Game] Sega.

Platinum Games (2014) Bayonetta 2 [Video Game] Sega & Nintendo.

Sega & Platinum Games (2014) The Eye of Bayonetta 2. Japan: Udon Entertainment.

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Reader Sources

Abramov, S. et al. (2022) ‘Analysis of Video Game Players’ Emotions and Team Performance: An Esports Tournament Case Study’, IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, 26(8), pp. 3597–3606. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1109/JBHI.2021.3119202.

In this article, the connection between emotions and the quality of the performances of Esports players is analysed. Looking at the player’s emotions, there is a direct connection shown between their mood and how well they play, as well as their decision making processes. By understanding this connection, games artists and developers can create a more immersive experience by using different objects and appearances to create a specific emotion, which will change the way the player engages with the game. This research shows the importance of considering what emotional impact you want your work to have, especially looking at competitive gaming and how the players will respond to the content.

Bazzini, D., Curtin, L., Joslin, S., Regan, S. and Martz, D. (2010), Do Animated Disney Characters Portray and Promote the Beauty–Goodness Stereotype?. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40: 2687-2709. https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00676.x

This study looks at how Disney plays into the stereotypical character portrayal that “beautiful equals good”. Disney often uses a character’s appearance to associate their personality to, which reinforces the conventional beauty standards modern media. This stereotype is damaging to younger audiences, who are unintentionally being taught that anything other than conventional beauty is bad or even evil, which will impact their attitude to their own or other’s appearances. These implications by Disney have also impacted different media types, especially female video game characters. Artists seem to follow this “rule” created by Disney when designing characters, which limits diversity and unrealistic body types being normalised in games. While challenging this stereotype in my own designs would make a statement, there is concern that the audience would be less receptive to certain character appearances in certain roles now because of how the market has been flooded.

BEHM-MORAWITZ, E. and TA, D. (2014) ‘Cultivating Virtual Stereotypes?: The Impact of Video Game Play on Racial/Ethnic Stereotypes’, Howard Journal of Communications, 25(1), pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2013.835600.

Looking at how racial stereotypes are portrayed in games, this journal shows ways that racial biases are still sadly represented in game narratives, and the impact they have on different races and ethnicities. Games artists have an important role in creating narratives that are inclusive and diverse, positively representing all races and creating different character roles without the main focus of their personality being where they’re from. Some games artists don’t follow this, which has a real-world impact on how audiences visually stereotype people, influencing their attitudes and opinions on different ethnicities and races. I believe as a character artist I have a moral responsibility to accurately and positively portray all racial groups, knowing how the industry can have a huge impact on how people perceive things. Moving forward, I think games should be working towards being a more inclusive medium to all backgrounds.

Chess, S., Evans, N.J. and Baines, J.J. (2016) ‘What Does a Gamer Look Like? Video Games, Advertising, and Diversity’, Television & New Media, 18(1), pp. 37–57. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476416643765.

Understanding the way that the game’s industry audiences are changing and diversifying everyday is important to my work as a character artist, in order to create more inclusive and diverse characters that players can see themselves represented in. This article provides insight into how the demographic of gamers is changing and gives a new perspective on how to represent a wider variety of identities, as well as how to break away from old and outdated stereotypes of gamers. The authors argue that the games community is diversifying, and the need for more inclusive content and representation of different backgrounds needs to be acknowledged by the media. With this knowledge, I can create characters that the gaming community resonate with and relate to, as it provides an awareness of how the community is changing and how to make the industry an inclusive space for all identities.

Domsch, S. (2013) Storyplaying : Agency and Narrative in Video Games. Berlin/Boston, GERMANY: De Gruyter, Inc. Available at: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/detail.action?docID=1000613.

In this book, Domsch looks at the connection between player engagement and the narrative, focusing on how the player choices change the overall storytelling experience in an interactive gameplay. By providing the player with control over certain elements of the story, it creates an interactive and more enjoyable experience, presenting the narrative of the game in a new way each time depending on the way they choose to play. This book gives game artists and developers a better knowledge on how visuals like environments and characters can enhance a narrative, and how to create an immersive experience by considering different paths the player could take in the narrative based on these visuals.

Jenkins, H. (2006) Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers : Exploring Participatory Culture. New York, UNITED STATES: New York University Press. Available at: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/detail.action?docID=865571.

Participatory culture has a huge impact on the games industry. Jenkins looks at the way interactions between fans and developers or artists contribute to the development of projects, and how it creates a collaborative environment. This has an impact on the player engagement because the fans have a better connection to the game, and an opportunity to have their opinions listened to. Having this engagement between games artists and fans helps them have a better idea of player preferences and gives artists direct feedback for further refinement. Allowing artists to connect more personally to their audience can be very beneficial to their personal development as an artist, as well a improving the overall quality of the game or character design while targeting a certain audience.

MacCallum-Stewart, E. (2009) ‘“The street smarts of a cartoon princess”. New roles for women in games’, Digital Creativity, 20(4), pp. 225–237. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14626260903290299.

It’s nothing new to talk about the way women are represented (or misrepresented) in video games, but this article discusses the ways women’s roles in games are evolving, moving away from the “damsel in distress” stereotype and developing into much more empowering representations. MacCallum-Stewart looks at how women’s roles in gaming are transforming and puts an emphasis on the importance of creating diverse and strong female characters. This article is an important contribution to the discussion of gender inclusivity in the gaming industry and how we can create a more inclusive depiction of women, which is important to my work as a games artist because it challenges my thinking when designing female characters, expanding my art in an inclusive and empowering way.

Pallavicini, F., Pepe, A. and Minissi, M.E. (2019) ‘Gaming in Virtual Reality: What Changes in Terms of Usability, Emotional Response and Sense of Presence Compared to Non-Immersive Video Games?’, Simulation & Gaming, 50(2), pp. 136–159. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878119831420.

Virtual reality has had a huge impact on the games industry as a whole, especially in the last two decades as it has become more accessible to the target audiences. This article looks at how VR has changed the way we experience games, which in turn changes the emotional response to the game content as it creates a completely immersive and interactive experience. This level of immersion creates new challenges for games artists, requiring an increased attention to detail to create visually appealing environments. This article discusses the way artists create visuals to enhance the use of VR, and how it influences the aesthetic choices overall. Games artists have an important role in the way VR is incorporated and developed in the future to create a fully interactive and immersive experience, making these digital worlds feel real.

Salmond, M. (2021) ‘Video Game Level Design : How to Create Video Games With Emotion, Interaction, and Engagement’, in M. Salmond (ed.) Video Game Level Design : How to Create Video Games With Emotion, Interaction, and Engagement. 1st edn. London: Bloomsbury Academic, p. Available at: https://www.bloomsburyvisualarts.com/encyclopedia?docid=b-9781501380907.

In my opinion, the level design and environment of a game can have the biggest impact on the audience’s emotions and engagement to the content. This book looks at and explains how using specific obstacles, assets and narrative ideas can create a specific emotion in the players. The emotional connection to a game completely changes the player interaction and creates a more realistic reaction or response to the game content. Artists can use this to create environments that match the intended emotions, creating an immersive experience. Level designers have the skills to create a functional level that matches the narrative seamlessly, enhancing the overall emotional engagement. As a character artist, I can learn from this to create an emotional connection to my own characters, which will create an overall deeper connection to the game content they’re involved in.

Shaw, A. et al. (2019) ‘Counting Queerness in Games: Trends in LGBTQ Digital Game Representation, 1985-2005’, International journal of communication (Online), p. 1544+. Available at: https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/apps/doc/A592665059/AONE?u=uniherts&sid=summon&xid=5a7a1a4d.

This article analyses LGBTQ+ representation in video games over two decades, looking at trends and giving perspective on how the LGBTQ+ community have been represented previously. Looking specifically at 1985-2005, this article shows how inclusivity has changed and grown, as well as problems that are still appearing in modern media. It discusses the importance of accurate representation in games, which can be used as a reference for all areas of game development to consider ways to better represent the community in inclusive and accurate ways. Looking specifically at how the LGBTQ+ community has been represented historically, we can learn how to grow and move forward to create a more inclusive and diverse industry, creating characters and narrative ideas with more diversity and accuracy.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Andrew Doyle

Published: Mar 11, 2024

As a child of the Eighties and Nineties, I remember well that homosexuals were fair game in the mainstream media. One columnist in The Star railed against “Wooftahs, pooftahs, nancy boys, queers, lezzies — the perverts whose moral sin is to so abuse the delightful word ‘gay’ as to render it unfit for human consumption”. After the death of Freddie Mercury, sympathy in The Mail on Sunday was limited. “If you treat as a hero a man who died because of his own sordid sexual perversions,” one writer cautioned, “aren’t you infinitely more likely to persuade some of the gullible young to follow in his example?”

It was sadly inevitable that the AIDS crisis would exacerbate this ancient prejudice. A headline in The Sun declared that “perverts are to blame for the killer plague”. And while a writer for the Express held “those who choose unnatural methods of self-gratification” responsible for the disease, letters published in its pages followed suit. One reader called for the incarceration of homosexuals. “Burning is too good for them,” wrote another. “Bury them in a pit and pour on quicklime.” Someone had been reading his Dante.

I happened to come out in a much less hostile climate. In the early 2000s, we were enjoying a kind of Goldilocks moment, neither too hot nor too cold. We weren’t generally on the receiving end of homophobic slurs, but nor were we patronised by well-meaning progressives. My memory of this time was that no one particularly cared, and I was more than happy with that. Being gay for me has never been an identity, it’s simply a fact, as unremarkable as being blue-eyed or right-handed.

And so it has been troubling to see a resurgence in the last few years of the kind of anti-gay rhetoric that was commonplace in my childhood. Of course, it could be argued that the rise of social media has simply exposed sentiments that were previously only expressed in private. As Ricky Gervais has pointed out, before the digital era “we couldn’t read every toilet wall in the world. And now we can.”

Yet the most virulent homophobia appears to be coming from a new source. Whereas we have always been accustomed to this kind of thing from the far-Right — one recalls Nick Griffin’s remark on Question Time about how he finds the sight of two men kissing “really creepy” — but now the most objectionable anti-gay comments arise in online spheres occupied by gender ideologues, from those who claim to be progressive, Left-wing and “on the right side of history”. The significant difference is that the word “cis” has been added to the homophobe’s lexicon. Some examples:

“Cis gay men are a disease.”

“Cis gay men are truly some of the most grotesque creatures to burden this earth.”

“I hate cis gay people with a burning passion.”

“If you’re a cis gay man and your sexuality revolves around you not liking female genitalia I hope you die and I will spit on your grave.”

“Cis gays don’t deserve rights.”

“There’s so many reasons to hate gay people, most specifically white gays, but there’s never a reason to be a transphobe.”

“It’s time to normalise homophobia.”

Of course, any bile can be found on the internet, but these kinds of phrases are remarkably commonplace among certain online communities. Even a cursory search will reveal innumerable examples of gender ideologues casually branding gay men “fags” or “faggots”, praising the murder of gays and lesbians, and claiming that the AIDS epidemic was a positive thing. Many thousands of examples had been collated on Google Photos under the title “Woke homophobia: anti-gay hatred & boxer ceiling abuse from trans activists & gender-identity ideologues”. The site was taken down last year, presumably because it violated Google’s policy on hate speech — or perhaps because it revealed the toxicity of the ideology the company has spent so long promoting.

If such ideas were restricted to the demented world of internet activism, we might be justified in simply ignoring it. But we now know that the overwhelming majority of adolescents referred to the Tavistock paediatric gender clinic were same-sex attracted. Whistleblowers have spoken out about the endemic homophobia, not simply among clinicians but also parents who were keen to “fix” their gay offspring. And of course there was the running joke among staff that soon “there would be no gay people left”.

And now a series of leaked internal messages and videos from WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health), has revealed that clinicians in the leading global organisation for transgender healthcare have openly admitted in private that some teenagers mistake being same-sex attracted for gender dysphoria. The result of the “gender-affirming” approach has amounted to what one former Tavistock clinician recently described as “conversion therapy for gay kids”. Homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organisation’s list of psychiatric disorders in 1993, and yet here we are medicalising it all over again.

So how did we reach the point where gay conversion therapy is being practised in plain sight by the NHS? Much of the responsibility has to lie with Stonewall, a group that once promoted equal rights for gay people but now actively works against their interests. It has even gone so far as to redefine “homosexual” on its website and resource materials as “same-gender attracted”. It should go without saying that gay men are not attracted to women who identify as men, any more than lesbians should be denounced for excluding those with penises from their dating pools. What trans activists call discrimination, most of us call homosexuality.

Indeed, activists often claim that “genital preferences are transphobic”, or that sexual orientation based on biological sex is a form of “trauma”. The idea that homosexuality is a sickness was one of the first homophobic tropes I encountered as a child. Now it is being rebranded as progressive.

As for Stonewall, its former CEO Nancy Kelley went so far as to argue that women who exclude trans people as potential partners are analogous to “sexual racists”. She claimed that “if you are writing off entire groups of people, like people of colour, fat people, disabled people or trans people, then it’s worth considering how societal prejudices may have shaped your attractions”. It is worth remembering that Stonewall is deeply embedded in many governmental departments and quangos, as well as corporate and civic institutions. Anti-gay propaganda is being reintroduced into society from the very top.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service has been meeting with trans lobby groups such as Mermaids and Stonewall to discuss changes to prosecutorial policy in cases of sex by deception. Since these meetings — only revealed after sustained pressure from a feminist campaigner who submitted Freedom of Information requests — the CPS has recommended what Dennis Kavanagh of the Gay Men’s Network has described as “a radical trans activist approach to sex by deception prosecutions that would see them all but vanish”. In trans activist parlance, the barriers to having sex with lesbians and gay men are known as the “cotton ceiling” and “boxer ceiling”. Now it seems the establishment is attempting to support the coercion of gay people into heterosexual activity.

Consider a recent post on X by Stephen Whittle, OBE, a professor of equalities law at Manchester Metropolitan University. In a reply to LGB Alliance’s Bev Jackson, Whittle took issue with the notion that “love is all about genitals” (an argument that Jackson has never made). Having dismissed this straw man as “a very hetero/homo-normative perspective”, Whittle then claimed that “a lot of gay men can’t resist a young furry ftm [female-to-male] cub”.

While it is true that there are some bisexuals who identify as gay, it is simply not the case that homosexual men “can’t resist” certain kinds of women. As Jackson rightly noted in her response, this is rank homophobia, “disturbed and disturbing on every level”. Yet it has been expressed by an individual who has been described as a “hero for LGBTQ+ equality”. With heroes like these, who needs villains?

Another example is Davey Wavey, a popular online influencer, who has encouraged gay men to perform heterosexual acts in a video called “How to Eat Pussy — For Gay Men”. It may as well have been called “Gay Conversion Therapy 2.0”. We are firmly back in the Eighties, where gays are being told that they “just haven’t found the right girl yet” and lesbians are assured that they just “need a good dick”. And yet now these demeaning ideas are being propagated by those who claim to be defending the rights of sexual minorities.

The Government’s recent guidance on how schools are to accommodate trans-identified pupils — in which biological sex will take precedence over identity — has been met with horror from gender ideologues. One of the common refrains one hears from activists is that it represents “this generation’s Section 28”. But this is to get it precisely backwards. Gay rights were secured on the recognition that a minority of the population are same-sex attracted. In dismantling the very notion of sex and substituting it for this nebulous concept of “gender identity”, activists and their disciples in parliament are undoing all of the achievements of previous gay rights movements.

The widespread homophobia of the Eighties, epitomised by Section 28, was based on the notion that homosexuality was unnatural, dangerous and ought to be corrected. Present-day gender identity ideology perceives homosexuality as evidence of misalignment between soul and body. In other words, it seeks to “fix” gay people so that they fit into a heterosexual framework. It is no coincidence that so many detransitioners are gay people who were simply struggling with their sexuality. Gender identity ideology is the true successor to Section 28.

The proponents of this revamped gay conversion therapy dismiss our concerns as “transphobia” and “bigotry”, or as part of a manufactured “culture war”. Worse still, the new homophobia is being cheered on by those it will hurt most. While prominent gay figures continue to feed the beast that wishes to devour them, we are unlikely to see this dire situation improve any time soon. It was bad enough in the Eighties, when gay people were demonised and harassed by the establishment. Who thought we would have to fight these battles all over again?

[thealogie]

Do you ever worry that media being so widely scattered and ubiquitous with no central source means good media will eventually just be lost to obscurity? I worry about that. Or do we just have to take it upon ourselves to share our favorite media in person/offline as much as possible in hopes people will take us up on the suggestion?

It more makes me think about how for most of human history it’s been like that. I wonder how many things we’ve lost! How many incredible wonderful things. I do worry about everything being on digital libraries though where big companies can pull it at any moment. We need a library of Congress that archives everything regardless of significant cultural and artistic value

[caixinliang]

Practice 1

assignment 8, Concept Art -Development assignment 02 Acquire 3D Technique

. Blog post

In addition to using images to tell stories, I would like to explore the use of 3D technology in concept design. With the advancement of computer technology, today's concept design is not only expressed in the form of 2D drawing, but with the popularity of 3D software (e.g.: zbrush; Maya; blender, etc.), more and more concept artists are beginning to use 3D technology as an aid to their own concept design, which not only improves efficiency, but also facilitates communication with the 3D modelling department.

So learning how to use 3D technology was the other main reason I came here.

I was going to make a 3D model of the bionic woman I designed in my first section of Creating "Concepts" (below).

However, once I had drawn the 'front view', 'back view' and 'structural breakdown' of the character(As shown in the picture below), I realised that the amount of work involved in this design was too much for me to do in a short three week holiday.

In my short three-week holiday, I couldn't do it all at once:

1. storyboarding of "knock".

2. digital media: source and significance.

3. 3D model of bionic woman.

I changed direction in time to explore 3D technology with another design project, 'human and inhuman', which is one of the most popular of all my blog posts. That's also the reason why I decided to continue with this project.

I used Zbrush to sculpt more detail for the monster character, especially the face (shown below)

I chose the 3d software that most concept designers use: blender to adjust the material and render the model, in order to reduce the pressure on my graphic processing unit, I streamlined the model that has subdivision in zbrush to the minimum number of facets and saved the model and imported it into blender. But the result was not good, because the 3D model was streamlined in the number of faces, so many details that I had already sculpted in zbrush disappeared, and the edges of the model became so rough that you could see poly (as shown in the picture below).

So, I went back to zbrush and re-expanded the UVs for the "sub-tool" of each model.

Create a displacement map for each "sub-tool" and export it (as shown below):

Connect the displacement map of each "sub-tool" as a "texture map" to the material output of the blender (as shown below):

The final result was achieved by tweaking the lighting and material modifiers to achieve a highly detailed, lit and textured result, and rendering a Spinning turntable animation.

Thanks for watching~