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Monday, February 18, 2008
Underneath the surface.
 Now this is certainly something to watch out for. Lila Dreams is a macabre, Flash-based indie MMORPG being developed by Creatrix Games. The game takes place inside the mind of a young girl, and players take on the roles of "memekins" that protect her psyche from the danger of apathy. An interview from Wired.com explains: The "Big Threat" is a darkness which literally surrounds the world, constantly encroaching inward and eating away the landscape. But there is also going to be an array of strange creatures from Lila's thoughts and nightmares with which to contend and befriend. Different areas will provide different challenges.  The memekins themselves can be aligned with eight different emotions, each receiving benefits when Lila's mood changes to match. Instead of grinding for levels, players customize items to optimize their power in combat described as a 2D platforming style with "RPG mechanics." In order to gain these items, a unique crafting system lets your memekin grow them like plants. Jason, one of LD's three -- yes, three -- development team members assures us that in this surreal world, "plants are not just plants."Creatrix is teaming up with publisher Kongregate to get their game onto the Internet. With such a small team, strange premise, and unusual execution (World of Warcraft this ain't), Creatrix needs a big name like Kongregate to reach MMO-loving gamers with a thirst for something fresh. While LD will be free, Creatrix first plans to release a small amount of polished features that will hook players and hold their attention. As the player base grows, hopefully funds will as well and then the game's content will grow. Lila Dreams is a crazy, risky, unique game that aims to push the boundaries of more traditional MMORPGs. The premise blends science fiction, psychic powers, and psychology to fascinating effect, taking us into the illustrious mind of an eleven-year-old girl. The game's developers hope for a release by Halloween of this year. In the meantime, you can keep tabs on their progress and check out some cool concept art over on the official Lila Dreams blog. As for me, I plan on sneaking into the beta as soon as it's available. Labels: BomberGirl, Indie, MMORPG
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Another One of Those Days (Weeks? Months?)
Real life is keepin' me down, and I can't quite resist it. I don't have a substantial update for you this week, my dear readers. Still, I'll leave you with this thought: Thinking back on my article last week, I remember commenting on the fact that you couldn't play a female dwarf. Oh, how wrong I was!  I'd forgotten that the Tolkien mythology states that male and female dwarves are close to indistinguishable--this means that the only way to tell boy and girl dwarves apart is through gendered names! This revelation officially makes the female dwarves the butchest of all female characters. Ever.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
I Like a Woman with Big Feet
Hobbits in Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar  I’m always a few months behind on MMO games, but a friend of mine recently introduced me to Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar (April 2007). I’ve heard the game has taken a lot of slack for being too similar to World of Warcraft, but since I’m not particularly familiar with the latter, so it makes no difference to me. What I’ve seen of Shadows has impressed me, though. I appreciate the different approach it takes to several of the classes. For example, minstrels are the healers, boosting morale with their songs. The hunters are the game’s “nukers,” dealing massive damage with their long-ranged bow attacks. The loremasters provide crowd control and debuffing instead of serving as the usual full-powered mages (after all, if anyone could be a wizard like Gandalf, Middle Earth would be far more frightening!). Players have the option of creating either male or female characters (with the notable exclusion of the ever-so-rare female dwarves). Here’s what caught my attention: The hobbit women are just as fat as the men! That might sound like a silly thing for me to be excited about, but I think it’s awesome that the female characters aren’t put up on a pedestal. Their feet are just as big, and their bodies are equally portly. It would have been easy for them to take the stout Hobbit women and transform them into something “prettier,” or at least what some might call shapely. It’s nice to see a non-human race where both sexes possess the same physical traits.  Another point of note: you can’t put scars on the elven men. They’re deprived of such manly potential. The only appearance “features” they can get are headbands. I’d guess that it’s related to the perceived femininity of the elves. If you’re into MMO’s and want to take a look at the game for yourself, the Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar website offer a free seven day trial of the game. Or, if you've already played it, tell us about your impressions of the game! Labels: Calabar, Getting it Right, MMORPG
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Gaming, Identity, and Sexuality
You may have heard the news already, but take a look at this: "Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA) subsidiary Aurora Technology has frozen game accounts of male players who chose to play female in-game characters in its in-house developed MMORPG King of the World, reports 17173. Aurora stipulates that only female gamers can play female characters in the game, and it requires gamers who chose female characters to prove their biological sex with a webcam, according to the report." Article from Pacific Epoch Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited’s homepage does not include any news of the ban. The company is one of the leading online entertainment providers in China, offering everything from MMOs to casual online games. I’m not about to get involved in a discussion leagues outside of my area of expertise (particularly China’s stance on topics like transsexuality and gender bending), but I do feel comfortable enough to say that I find this simultaneously fascinating and horrifying. My fascination comes from my inability to relate to the individuals responsible for this ban. Their fear and ignorance leave me dumbfounded. I am horrified because I see this as a stepping stone to something worse—the notion that this ban could be a reflection of policies that may affect real life. Perhaps I’ve read too many dystopian novels. I'd like to focus on one particular facet of this ban, as Shanda has not publicly explained their decision for implementing the plan. Before continuing, I’d like to include a quotation from Technologies of Gender: Essays on Theory, Film, and Fiction by Teresa De Lauretis: “For since the very first time we put a check mark on the little square next to the F on the form, we have officially entered the sex-gender system, the social relations of gender, and have become en-gendered as women; that is to say, not only do other people consider us females, but from that moment on we have been representing ourselves as women. Now, I ask, isn’t that the same as saying that the F next to the little box, which we marked in filling our the form, has stuck to us like a wet silk dress? Or that while we thought that we were marking the F on the form, in fact the F was marking itself on us?” (pp 12) Lauretis was referring to a concept known as interpellation, or the process through which social representations of identity are accepted and internalized by an individual. This example extends beyond the male-female binary it initially suggests and instead suggests that all conceivable genders are limited when equating sex with gender. Shanda’s ban serves as an example of one of those imposing sources attempting to restrict our definition of self. Personally, I feel that this kind of imposed thought-filtering fetishizes the so-called “perversion.” By focusing on eliminating these desires from ourselves, we actually think about them a great deal, and they don’t simply go away. After all, we’ve invested so much time and energy into the act of renunciation. In terms of the ban, this means that if a male player wants to play as a female, he may initially go along with the rules to play as a male. As he continues to deny those desires, however, he acknowledges their presence. Eventually, he may wish so strongly to play as a female character that he has a female friend create the character for him to play. I find it absurd that the individuals responsible for this ban would attempt to limit the ways in which others could construct their identities. We don’t know gender through our bodies, but rather the stories we tell about them, even in video games. Because of the society in which we live, our sex burdens us with faulty expectations and limit our self-expression. The self is not such a simple concept, however, and it is impossible to choose a single element that contributes most to our socially constructed gender identities. The problem with this issue is that we do not know official reason that the Shanda company implemented this policy, and this is why my views on the matter may seem somewhat narrow. To broaden them, it’s important that we consider the “why” of the matter. Was it because of intolerance on the part of the company, or were players being intolerant of one another? Could it be to limit problems with sexual harassment, or does this policy amount to harassment in and of itself? Please feel free to share your thoughts or concerns in our comments section. Labels: Calabar, LGBT, MMORPG, Sexuality
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