ENG101, section 7. Spring 2020. Emory University.
I created this image based on a common comment on Porsche cars: they look like frogs. The iconic design that hasn’t been changed carries within every model in the brand and they all resemble frogs from multiple views. I figured it would be a great idea to combine a green car and a green frog in an image. This image can be used as an appreciation for the timeless design of Porsche and how the curves and shape convey the beauty.
Honestly speaking, I did not expect this to be the final image. I simply clicked around on Flickr, and this Lonely Sausage distinguished itself as a high-quality picture. As it appears, most of Mcmennamy’s work depend on color matching in addition to shape. So I went on to search for an adorable pig with reddish-brown fur. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the appropriate species. Then, this squirrel popped up, and I used it. The background of the two pictures are disparate. Here I bent the rules by cropping the squirrel out of the original image. What message does my image deliver now? “Imagine yourself to be devouring an adorable squirrel whenever you savor a sausage?” Well, that’s a bit extreme. Guten Appetit.
Squirrel picture:
Sausage picture:
For my combophoto creation, I chose a photo of the Empire State Building and a rocket ship being launched into space. I chose the image of the Empire State Building because I am from the suburbs of New York City and I believe that the skyscraper is a great representation of my hometown. The building displays different colors and patterns over Manhattan and is recognized by everyone around the world. On top of the building is a radio antenna that stands tall and thin. It took me some time to think of something to combine the picture of the Empire State Building with, but in the end, the image of the Space X Falcon 9 rocket lift off to the International Space Station fit best. This image is really interesting because you can see the line of flames coming out of the bottom of the aircraft. It meshed well with the building picture because both backgrounds are the sky and the rocket looked just as skinny as the antenna.
I found it very challenging to find two images that would form a great combophoto. It was hard to think of objects that looked similar enough to match up in a combined image. After going through pages of Flickr photos, I decided to think of things that meant something to me or things I could use as inspiration in my life. The Empire State Building reminds me of home and the rocket ship taking off is symbolic of my perspective on life. If I put in hard work and dedication to something I want to accomplish, I could do it. NASA has completed years of research to be able to launch rockets into space and the pictures and observations from space made it all worth it. I believe my final image conveys my perspective and meaning in my life because New York is where I grew up and the rocket ship shows the endless opportunities I will present myself with in the future.
“File:NYC Empire State Building cropped.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. 2 Feb 2020, 19:50 UTC. 9 Feb 2020, 03:53 <https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:NYC_Empire_State_Building_cropped.jpg&oldid=391795346>.
NASA TV. “Liftoff: SpaceX Dragon En Route to Space Station.” NASA Blogs, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, 25 July 2019, www.blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2019/07/25/liftoff-spacex-dragon-en-route-to-space-station/.
I’ve heard an idea a long time ago: that our planet is merely a tiny single cell of another grander world. The assumption is interesting and legit, the planet and the virus both come in as different sizes and shapes, somehow follow certain rules, they can die, and they can be “merged” or “eaten” by other individuals of their kinds. How we view a moon or a cell completely depends on the standpoint of us. That’s how I came up the idea of generating a picture putting a single cell under a microscope and a planet and make the comparison.
I left for dinner after I put the thoughts together, and I saw my friends were sending me links and ask if I would sign a petition to ask for a formal apology from wall street journal writer and editor for publishing an article called “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia” talking about the Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak. The article itself seems objective and fair, but the title was an undoubtedly racial discrimination. I decided to change my “cell” into a computer-generated picture of coronavirus. Coronavirus, like any other species, struggle to find ways to survive and thrive. Unfortunately , this year they were able to breakthrough the barrier between wild animals and human and start to cause nation-wide infectious diseases. I have had controversial feeling on Coronavirus for a while. After-all it did all start in a wildlife market in China, and the government did not take the correct responses in time (from my opinion, maybe they did their best). But when I see jokes and criticism online from foreigners about Chinese citizens, I also want to dispute their opinions. There is no way to cut interactions between human and wildlife, and people of my country has been trying their best to fight this battle physically and psychologically. I do not want to comment on the government actions, as I do not actually know what has been hidden from or shown to us for various purposes, beneficial to our people or not. At least I know that the patients, medical caregivers and just any civilians do not deserve criticism for possibly carrying a disease.
This picture might not work 100% well as a combophoto because of the difference in the backgrounds, but it’s the best-matching ones I could find. I guess it helps me make the point, just like a silver-glowing full moon, a virus can be pretty looking from a different perspective. And just like the existence of the moon, it is no one’s fault of carrying a type of virus. I had a hard time deciding whether I should post political viewpoints in this side quest, because it should have been fun and relaxing. I did it anyway because this is probably the only place I could express my feelings and thoughts without being attacked by people with all sort of objections, and
Picture Reference:
https://pixabay.com/photos/moon-universe-space-milky-way-2048727/
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/virus-microscope-infection-illness-1812092/
If you know you want to be in a specific group with someone else in the class, add your names to the group list in the podcast planning document. Anyone who hasn’t signed up for a specific group will be randomly sorted into groups on Thursday.
The first two episodes are due in just over a week, so two groups need to sign up for the first episodes in that planning document too and we should schedule a time to meet this week. Because it is especially difficult to be the first to publish episodes, I will grade the first two with extra leniency — in case that encourages you to take the plunge and claim one of the first two spots.
00:12 After a hefty meal at Waffle House, I am finally poised infront of my laptop, in the LSM lounge, and ready to play Gone Home. I have absolutely zero expectations, for all I know this could be a first person shooter. Time to click ‘New Game’.
16.37 A bout of tiredness struck me down last night so I am about to boot the game back up.
16:58 I may be doing too much exploring and not enough in terms of progressing the story, but I just don’t want to miss anything. So far I know that a girl names Sam moved in to a house where her uncle lived. Her uncle went ‘psycho’ which made it hard for her to find friends at her new school. There is also a locked cabinate in the library which I am DESPERATE to find the code for.
17:05 I’ve ventured upstairs after exhausting all of the downstairs possibilities. Lonnie is the only friend Sam feels ‘normal’ around. She also has a funky taste in music based on the cassette she gave to Sam.
20:38 I’m back from classes and dinner. Time to get stuck in again. I’ve explored most of upstairs and discovered there’s a secret passage in the library. Sam’s bath had what looked to be blood staining on it. Upon inspecting a hair dye bottle, a monologue began describing how Sam had dyed Lonnie’s hair. It implied there was a romantic undertone to their friendship. The plot thickens!
20:47 I picked up a crusifix in the secret passage and the lights went out, it’s the first time the game has made me jump. After finding the code to Sam’s locker it’s been revealed that Lonnie and Sam kissed. Up until now I was unsure who the character I was controlling was, but by the shocked text that appeared when I hovered over a womens sports magazine in Sam’s locker or the condom found in the parents’ room and the fact that I’m reading from Sam’s journal; I can only assume I am her sister, Katie, who is becoming surprised as she learns about Sam.
21:00 I am definitely Katie. I have also now found 3 books on the JFK assassination. I’m curious as to what that signifies.
21:18 Fourth book found, they are being written by the father or uncle of Sam. Sam just gave a very heartfelt monologue on her and Lonnie’s relationship. They are being forced apart due to Lonnie enlisting in the army. As someone who is also thousands of miles from my significant other, the speech really hit home and felt very real. The voice acting by Sam is really amazing. I’ve now found the location of an exorcism. It wouldn’t be a proper horror game without an exorcism, here we go!
21:30 So I’ve finished the game… Slightly underwhelming ending it has to be said. I spent a good amount of time exploring all avenues looking for potential easter eggs only to accidentally end the game by reading letters to Katie. The strange appearance of JFK books was an intriguing find but ultimately led to nothing. Gone Home did not have enough replayability, variety and new explorable content to warrent starting again to figure out the mystery of the JFK books.
The character of Sam was incredibly well voice acted. I believed every single word she uttered. Her personality was constantly being expanded and revealed with every voice note. We followed Katie as she learned about her sister’s true thoughts.
23:00 I’m returning to post my blog. Having read my previous paragraph, I believe my comments on the underwhelming nature of the game may have been harsh and poorly thought through. It is very easy to judge Gone Home by the same standards I’d judge previous games I’ve played. It’s not trying to be FIFA or Portal, it is telling the story of a girl who is finding herself, through the medium of a game. There are aspects of creativity and problem solving but they are minimal. The real purpose of this game is to deliver a story in a way that a movie or a book can’t. The player progresses the story themselves. Yes, there are defined checkpoints (journal entries) that every player will arrive at, but the way each person gets there is unique and reflects aspects of themselves. I, for example, took my time with the main story and made sure I wasn’t missing out on any cool side features that the developers programmed in for the eagle-eyed player. Others may have rushed through, encapsulated in the dialogue.
When I look at Gone Home through the lens of the games I usually play then it does not rate highly. After considering the purpose of the game, my perspective changed. It was a movie where the script had already been written and I was the director.
As I liveblog Going Home, I’m referencing the instructions for the post here. I’m starting the game now, and instantly love the color’s being used. I need to squint, turn up my brightness and lean in for most of the room, yet the colorful “outside” is vivid, live and interesting. I can’t look at the glare for longer than a few seconds without scouring my eyes or tearing up.
Well I just got through the door and it was frustrating. Despite one of the first things I checked was the duck, I didn’t check under it and instead inspected the duck profusely. After deciding there wasn’t anything of importance, I spent a long time around the rest of the room. I spent an embarrassing amount of time inspecting the nutrition information on a fictional soda can before re-checking the drawer.
I really enjoy the expanse of space and ability to alter the perception through lights. I’m not sure if it’s my computer or the game’s intention, but my walking rate is painfully slow. Eventually, I decide the downstairs isn’t too interesting and head upstairs.
I want to note the importance of the score and sounds in this game. The sudden crackling of thunder builds up tension and makes me feel like a jump scare is coming.
The song that Sam has in her drawer besides the cassette player is pretty horrible, I might add. It reminds me of a teenager rebelling against their parents for having to mow the lawn on a Sunday morning. I’m not criticizing; trust me, I’ve been there plus some.
Trying to figure out combinations for Sam’s locker. Trying stuff related to the 1990’s because she seems to be into it. Maybe something to do with Aliens due to her posters; Area 51? 0051 doesn’t work.
I can’t get in and the slowness of movement is killing me.
Moving through the hallways and bathrooms upstairs. I’m really enjoying how difficult it is to parse out what’s important. When I inspect an element I have to go through the process of deciding whether or not it hold’s some unknown information. Some of the items seem to be in clear sight while other’s are hidden. As not all important items are hidden I can’t skip over anything. This feels very boring however. I wonder if that’s the point.
I’ve stopped playing the game after about an hour and a half. I finished by making my way back downstairs and inspecting more elements carefully. Not too helpful I don’t understand the point. For a while I was super engaged but after a while I just felt disengaged.
The opening sequence is very interesting. In particular, I felt like the lack of exposition dumping enables the player to feel connected to the protagonist. Both are in the unknown and the information I garnered brought me closer and feel more involved. I loved the little details like the boarding pass, name-tag on the luggage, and creaking of the floor. The game establishes itself through the player’s curiosity rather than through a traditional method of narration or storytelling. In fact, the nonlinear nature of Gone Home seems to challenge the all-action games. Gone Home seems to push back on the popular wave of games, movies, and books–modern entertainment, more generally–being action packed and lacking a distinct connection to reality. The build your own story aspects to Gone Home make each time a person plays the game unique to the individual. In a time where media is catered to the population, I appreciate Gone Home’s sentiment; I just wish it wasn’t as much of a slog to get through.
As far as predictions for where Gone Home will end; I feel like similar to Depression Quest, there’s no true end. Rather, you find yourself completely immersed in a world where there are never any true answers. You won’t know where the family went, but you might know each family members ambitions, secrets, and affairs.
#sq3 #gonehome #liveblog
By Rachel Vellanikaran
6:30 – Gone Home is downloaded on my laptop, and I’m ready to play.
Link to post with assignment directions: https://eng101s20.davidmorgen.org/quests/side-quests/side-quest-3-liveblogging-gone-home/
The opening of Gone Home is suspenseful darkness…But I think that’s just my laptop taking its sweet time to launch this game. I can already see that the game design is advanced, especially in the audio and visual aspects. The sound of rain, for example, would shift from ear-to-ear as my character(mouse) moved. This game is giving off horror-movie vibes with the dingy house and ominous flickering of lights as you enter. Everything in this game is very creepy and dark. It’s incredibly frustrating navigating the poorly-lit house.
I’m impressed with the sensitivity of the mouse as it corresponded to the movement of the character’s head/eyes. Occasionally I would slightly tap my mouse pad, and I’d suddenly be looking down at the floorboards or up towards the ceiling.
7:00 – Now that I’ve played a little more of Gone Home — my laptop immensely struggling to support this game — I’m not sure that I’m entirely captivated yet. All I’ve been doing for the past 20-30 mins is picking up random objects and putting them back down. I’m having trouble discovering clues and piecing them together. I think I’ll try again at some point when my laptop decides to cooperate.
The game, itself was quite interactive and detailed. Thoroughly examining objects, reading brochures and letters, trying, with much difficulty, to find a light switch, and the advanced audio aspects I mentioned before…It all made it feel like I, as the player, was personally experiencing the narrative and story they are trying to tell.
After waiting in agony for the game to begin, frustrated after the purchasing process, the game title slowly appears on the screen. I am unamused. Eventually I am thrown onto the front porch, the quality is slow and the camera is jerky which quickly gave me a headache. After learning that the doors were locked, which I already knew, and that I could pick up a cup and put it back, I found a way to change the settings which made my experience a little bit more enjoyable. The rain sounds are soothing, and there is not much I can click on. Finally, I found the key and was able to get inside the dark home.
