O.R.P. – Urban Stitch (Re-Posted on Vimeo in Full)

I’ve been a little quiet with the Oakland Renaissance Project but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working on it.

Over the summer we interviewed aspiring fashion business owner Alanna Rayford when she was a few months away from owning the keys to her downtown store front. Her business — the Runway Style House — is currently being constructed but to kick off the space she has since opened the Runway Style Lounge upstairs. The lounge is a community space, a chill spot and a venue for local designer Baba Afolabi to sell his SuRu clothing. I followed Alanna around for a few weeks to document the opening of one of Oakland’s most recent Black owned businesses.

* The title Urban Stitch is the property of Alanna Rayford. SuRu Apparel is the property of Baba Afolabi. Stay tuned for a short on Baba later this Summer. 

Playing a Black Commander Shepard, Part 1 – “Rich with Daddy Issues”

In every Bioware developed game the player has to deal with intimacy between other characters. Yes, that sounds about as strange to a person that doesn’t play games as it did to me when I wrote it. Obviously, it isn’t actual intimacy but more like a simulation of it. It’s an optional mini-game. The player must interact with the characters through dialogue trees to determine what type of relationship he/she would like to have with each character: professional, friendly or that’s my boo.

Sounds silly, but over the years, Bioware has really mastered this aspect of their games. In the case of ME2, the characters are so intriguing and the dialogue between them and Shepard are so well written that you really get into it. But, for those who don’t care for it there is a strategic reason to play this mini game. The way you interact with your crew will determine what happens to them in this game and the next and, if you don’t work on the relationships with your crew you can all die.

So, faced with having to build a relationship with Miranda, Jacks and Tali’Zorah, I slid into this rather strange role as the Black Commander of a spaceship crew. As the hours passed, I began to consider the experiences of American Black men and the kind of guy I thought this Shepard was. I started to ask what kind of relationships do I feel comfortable building with these three women? I was surprised to learn by the end that the result was an uncanny reflection of my personal experiences and personal bias.

“Miranda Lawson is a rich white woman with daddy issues”

Shepard’s Executive Officer, Miranda Lawson, is the daughter of a powerful businessman who had her artificially created for pique intelligence and attractiveness. This quality of Miranda ends up being the centerpiece of her personal story (and one that presented the most problems for me). Seemingly perfect in ability and appearance, she is an incredibly privileged woman who is dealing with a demanding father.

I really wanted to build a closer relationship with Miranda. Her icy demeanor made me wonder what kind of person she was underneath her uncompromising logic and professionalism. [I did enjoy her side story where she breaks character and shows true vulnerability for a sister that she tries to keep away from her father]. But, my interactions with Miranda forced me to acknowledge a personal bias. I have an issue with spoiled rich white women, and the game forced me to make decisions where this was shockingly thrown in my face in what was perhaps one of the best therapy sessions I’ve ever experienced.

I once worked with someone just like Miranda. She was a white woman from a privilege background who just so happen to be working with and for a very different demographic. She also had issues with an abusive father. I liked her, a lot even, but I hesitate to say that we got along. We had our moments, long stretches of them, in fact. But, inevitably we would get into it over something and eventually we became two people who were not able to work comfortably in the same space.

Like my coworker, Miranda and I often but not always butted heads around important decisions. I had an issue with her attitude, something that my activist colleagues would call white privilege. And it’s important to note that I didn’t feel this way about the other white female crewmembers. (I loved the ships doctor and I flirted with the ships shrink every chance I got). I found it interesting that as the game went on her and Jacob began to get into disagreements. Jacob was clearly someone that I looked at as a brother (in the Black ideological sense of the word), so after a while she started to rub me the wrong way.

Slowly, throughout my play through I noticed we were not getting along so I used every conversation opportunity to build a good rapport with her. I liked Miranda as a character and I wanted her to be an ally. I wasn’t sure what kind because I kept having trouble relating to her, but I did value her and desperately wanted to explore why.

After her side quest where we managed to keep her sister safe, Miranda and I began to get along fine. At that point, there was the matter of deciding what type of relationship I would have with her. I flirted with the idea, coming into her office to talk with this new and more open Miranda Lawson. If I kept coming to talk to her after missions and such, I would get to the bottom of this character, I thought. I could get beyond the perfect physique and amazing hair, the callousness, the rhetoric, the obsession with being correct or being heard. The privilege. I figured, but the end of the game that I would understand Miranda, and I hoped by extension, my former coworker. Actually, I was convinced this would happen, until the moment Jacks entered her office.

Jacks and Miranda were arguing and after getting the facts around what they were arguing about it became obvious that I had to pick a side and end the dispute. Neither character had a truly correct position but it was Miranda and the way she talked to Jacks that kept rubbing me the wrong way. She was essentially talking down to a character that I had just learned (through Jacks’ side quest) was abused and tortured throughout her entire childhood. It was a classic case of a person of wealth devaluing the oppression of another person… and I was not cool with that shit.

I had to make a decision. I sided with Jacks. Little did I know, however, the person you side with becomes unquestionably loyal. The other person, Miranda in my case, no longer trusts you. But, here’s the kicker…no matter how you play the final mission, and believe me, I played it eight different times, she dies.

I applaud the writers for the way they wrote her character. Miranda is genetically perfect and she acts like it. We don’t have genetically perfect people in the real world but we do have near perfect looking rich people and some of them do, in fact, struggle with separating their supposed better ways with the way everyone else behaves. “The educated need to be street-ucated,” a colleague of mine would say.

Although I appreciated the humanity they gave Miranda she never rose above a rich spoiled white woman with daddy issues, one that my version of Commander Shepard would never mess with. As for my coworker, no she did not die — heaven forbid — but I did quit a few months later.

The galaxy just wasn’t big enough for the both of us.

* Like it? Check out Playing a Black Commander Shepard, Part 2 – Brotha Jacob Taylor and Part 3 - A Gangsta and a Ridah ain’t the Same Thing.

Playing a Black Commander Shepard, Part 2 – “Brotha Jacob Taylor”

The best Black character to grace a video game is Commander Shepard of the Mass Effect series, but most notably, Mass Effect 2.

There, I said it.

I’ve had this idea of writing about my experience as a Black Commander Shepard after I read Leigh Alexander’s brief thoughts about her experience playing as a man in a Persona game. In it she danced with a great idea, something that most gamers are familiar with:

Story driven video games, at their best, make the player feel connected to the character and the world they’re playing in. But, they do so in a way that is entirely different than movies or books. A good video game puts you in the shoes of a foreign character and asks you to make decisions on their behalf, from choosing how to approach a major plot point to deciding what to look at.

So, in the case of Mass Effect 2, I had to ask myself: How would a Black Commander of a space ship handle an intergalactic crisis? I didn’t start the game off thinking that way, of course. It’s important that I say this because I’ve played many games that allowed me to change the facial features of the protagonist to make him look Black, but I never felt like I was actually playing a Black person.

But, ME2 is unique. Whether by design or by accident, or perhaps both, the themes of the story relate closely to the experiences of the modern day Black male and with ME3 releasing this week I thought this was as good a time as any to post my thoughts on playing the first Black space Commander since Avery Brooks cooled out Deep Space Nine.

 Brotha Jacob Taylor

 As if to burn away the experience of the first Mass Effect title, ME2 opens with the destruction of Shepard and his ship. When he wakes up in a hospital bed, the player is aware that the protagonist has been rebuilt. How appropriate. After a brief escape through a complex that is under attack, the first person Shepard runs into is a Black company man name Jacob.

The game shifts into conversation mode and as I begin to converse with Jacob I notice that I’m feeling a little different. At the time I thought it was the excitement of a fantastic opening act. I realized later that I was juiced for a much cooler reason. My conversation with Jacob was the first time I played a well-directed scene between two Black characters.

Unlike, the filth-flarn-filth-like dialogue of video games like Saints Row or Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, or the pedestrian conversations between Redgaurds, the dark-skinned people of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Skyrim, Jacob and Shepard are professional, competent and amicable. They speak to each other like the people I know.

Thankfully, the impression Jacob made didn’t end there. His side story dealt with the mistakes of his father, a popular theme amongst my generation — the Hip Hop generation — who are defined by the fallout of the civil rights movement and the devastation of the drugs that followed. For many of us, to grow into manhood, we have to hold our fathers accountable – whether directly or indirectly — for the mistakes that too many Black men fell victim to during that tumultuous period in American history.

The discomfort I felt while playing Jacobs story was surprising. I didn’t want his father to be flawed in the way he was. But, as a metaphor for the experience of too many thirty-something Black men, it was appropriate, and after completing the mission it formed a familiar bond with Jacob, a non-playable character that I began to look at as a brother? I though I was delusional. I was playing a video game, after all. So, after settling in back on my new ship I went to pay Jacob a visit and what was the first thing he did? He gave me a Black man’s handshake. It is important to note that brothas don’t often give white dudes the Black man handshake. Even though that would have happen no matter what ethnicity I was you have to understand that as a black man talking to another that subtle handshake meant a lot.

* Like it? Check out Playing a Black Commander Shepard, Part 1 - Rich with Daddy Issues and Part 3 - A Gangsta and a Ridah Ain’t the Same Thing.

Playing a Black Commander Shepard, Part 3 – “A Gangsta & a Ridah is not the Same Thing”

Faced with having to build a relationship in Mass Effect 2 with Miranda, Jacks and Tali’Zorah, I slid into this rather strange role as the Black Commander of a spaceship crew. As the hours passed, I started to ask what kind of relationships do I feel comfortable building with these three women? I was surprised to learn by the end that the result was an uncanny reflection of my personal experiences and personal bias.

Continuing my three part discussion about playing Mass Effect 2 as a Black Commander Shepard (the best ever black character in a video game) I address the issue of “intimacy” and how the “circling moons of” Miranda Lawson (discussed in Part 1), Jacks and Tali Zorah vas Neema helped define my character.

“Gangsta-Boo”

Jacks is a dangerous and powerful prison inmate. As a child she was experimented on, tortured and held captive by a private company called Cerebrus. Once she escaped, she became one of the galaxy’s most notorious criminals. She’s a bad girl beauty. Sexually promiscuous, scantily clad and covered in tattoos, she tempts the player to make tawdry decisions just to see what happens, or play the role of Captain Save-a-Girl. But, beyond all of her appealing qualities is a character that is motivated by an abusive childhood.

Jacks was definitely my Gangsta-boo. My Shepard character flirted with her but in the end she felt like the damaged sistah’s that we see most often from the aforementioned Tyler Perry, women I know really well. Sexy and aggressive she uses her attractiveness as a sort of revenge on other men, as a way of maintaining control.

She is a more troubled Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She’s the perfect modern day damsel in distress. Messing with her by the end of ME2 say’s a lot about your ego, if you ask me. I think these women need support and friendship not a salivating man with a hit and quit attitude or a Superman cape.

Sure, that might be a little too deep or a statement for a video game but I did say that Mass Effect brought out emotions that I never expected a game could ever do. Needless to say, I never messed with Jacks and I was glad that she lived through the end of the game even if that meant Miranda couldn’t.

“Ride. Or. Die. Chick.” 

Tali’Zorah vas Neema is a female Quarian, a race of people who travel the galaxy in a massive convoy. The Quarian’s unique characteristic is their sensitivity to most environments so they wear form fitting pressure suits that cover their entire body. Having met in the original Mass Effect, during her pilgrimage, Tali rejoins Shepard’s crew later in the game.

She is clearly the female lead in this trilogy. She was featured in the first game so she’s familiar and she pops up twice in ME2 before joining Shepard’s crew. She’s also the most emotionally grounded character on the ship as her personal story revolves around a sudden problem – she is accused of a treasonous act that turned out to be a mistake made by her father — not the abuse and daddy issues of Jacks and Miranda.

Once Tali discovers her father’s mistake she decides to take the blame for it and asks Shepard to support her, a decision that will get her exiled from the fleet. As a player, I had to choose to tell the truth and risk pissing Tali off or lie for her as she asked. There are two other possible options – Shepard can convince the Admirality Board or a sizable group of folks on the board run to Talia’s defense — but it didn’t have these options in my play through.

Basically, I was faced with the decision to support a friend who got in trouble or not.  This was a no brainer. Tali was the homie. She was loyal. She made it through the first game with me. Even though I didn’t like that she was about to be exiled from the fleet, I had to support her. So, I lied my ass off. And, that is when the black man kicked into my decision-making and I decided to roll with her.

Y’know, the realistic depiction of intimacy and the beautiful character models of the women in the Mass Effect series has a way of brining out the perv in some men. I’ve read hundreds of comments about Miranda and Jacks, braggadocios statements of sexual conquests. Even my boys who played the game use to boast about messing with one of the two.

It’s a little sick but I get that it’s a fantasy. It’s an opportunity to try on a coat that they would/could never buy. But, damn if I haven’t been disappointed at the enormous diss of Tali Zorah.

The thing we respect most from our women in the black community is loyalty, grace and a fierce warrior mentality. That could be a hard statement to swallow considering the nauseating use of women in hip hop music videos, the under developed roles for black folks on film and television or from Tyler Perry’s exploitation of black cultural pathology. But, this is what we love. This is what we value. And, that is Tali Zorah.

To be clear, Tali Zorah is not a black woman. But, considering that her appearance is masked from head to toe she can look however I want her to.

I imagined her as a black woman.

And, why wouldn’t I? The Quarians are refugees, a resourceful race of people who live in transient while looking for a home like the lives of my Eritrean friends before they came here to the US. They recall Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man in the way they exist in the Mass Effect universe, never in one place at one time and invisible even when they are right in front of you (Tali has been in every game but people spend more time talking about her other female colleagues). Around others they live in pressure suits. They’re last names (the ships they live on) are not only indicative of their nomadic existence, but they remind me of the reasons why black folks call each other brother, cousin or sister. It is the idea that stripped from our original family any of us could be related.

Tali Zorah vas Normandy was permanently named after my ship after I lied for her. She is my engineer. And, she occasionally rolls with me on missions with a pistol side arm ready and willing to bust major caps in both alien and robotic assess.

Miranda was serviceable but we didn’t get along. Jacks is my Gangta-boo. Tali Zorah vas Normandy is my Ride or Die chick. I was nervous as hell on that final mission as I knew it was possible that she might die but she lived. I can’t wait to see what Bioware has in store for her in ME3. I am looking forward to seeing what she really looks like (something that is rumored to have been stressing the creative team out) but if it ain’t reminiscent to Zoe Saldana, Paula Patton or Anika Nani Rose consider me pissed!

* Like it? Check out Playing a Black Commander Shepard, Part 1 – Rich with Daddy Issues and Part 2 - Brotha Jacob Taylor.

Letters from Tucson, AZ – Part 2

Here is another letter from Tuscon High School teacher, Curtis Acosta detailing the fallout of the Tuscon Unified School District’s declaration that their Ethnic Studies program is illegal.

Dearest colleagues and supporters,

Forgive the lack of communication as of late, but the new situation that we have been handed since the dismantling of our Mexican American Studies program has been overwhelming. In fact, I am fairly certain the reason why my family and I have been sick so much recently is in direct connection to the stress of this situation.I want to thank all of you who have pledged your support through the No History is Illegal campaign or the other petitions that have circulated. Your testimonials have been inspiring amidst the chaos in Tucson and our students were thrilled to see so many dots on the globe. It is another act that has helped them feel that people care since our district administration has shown little sensitivity to their pain. They did find the time to visit some of our classes to give a thinly veiled threat that students will be punished if they continued to actively protest during school time. One student leader, Nico Dominguez, was threatened with suspension after a respectful, yet critical, statement to the four members of the school board who voted to eliminate our classes. Fortunately, we were able to advocate for him and make sure that there was some accountability for the administration to follow due process and magically the threats disappeared.

As far as in the classroom, I have been exposed to a word that I have never heard before in any of our Mexican American Studies classes, and that word is “hate.” On three different occassions I have heard my students comment that they hate something that we were doing in class. First, it happened as I wheeled in the district adopted textbooks into our room over a month ago. I heard two girls say, “Ewww” and another student say, “I hate reading out of those books.” I have never taught out of textbooks in my 16 years of teaching so I was struck by the rawness and veracity of the comment. This happened again yesterday in class when a young woman refused to write an essay citing that she feels dumb when she reads out of the textbook and hates it. Finally, a young man in my senior class was taking a quiz at the end of the first Act of Macbeth and said he hated these types of tests. Of course, these are all district approved instructional materials that I was encouraged to adopt in my classes in order to avoid discipline and possible termination. The students know this, but they still yield visceral reactions that break my heart.

In a similar note, you’ll be happy to know that upon the first monitoring session of my class last week, I was found to be in compliance. Of course, when I asked for written criteria or an evaluation instrument that was used to make such an assessment, none was provided and no answer was given. For over a month we have tried to get written expectations and have been ignored. Thus, we now have monitors entering our rooms with an invisible checklist for compliance. This will only get more dangerous for us in the coming weeks since the State is now getting involved. Since my last message, the Arizona Department of Education has informed our district that we will be undergoing unannounced observations for our compliance by specialists. This is without the criteria for our safety being defined, and our district still isn’t sure who these specialists will be, nor their qualifications or experience in public education. We were also forced to box up more materials for the state including PowerPoints, texts, and even copies of a vocabulary list I use with my students.

We are in uncharted waters in terms of vagueness and our district remains consistent. Their meager defense of our program during the appeal process is closely related to the open door policy they have given to the state department of education. They have continually played Pontius Pilate in this struggle and we are convinced this will be why justice will prevail. As many of you may know, the Arizona legislature continues to target teachers with outlandish legislation about teacher language and partisan instruction. We have told our colleagues for years that our situation is precursor to the types of government intrusion that could happen to us all. During this spring, I fear we will see such a statement become prophecy.

In the meantime, thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and actions. Our students and community refuse to embrace this awful reality as permanent and are hopeful that our classes will return.

In Lak Ech,

Curtis Acosta

A Debate About Skyrim and Dark Souls

I’ve been dying to write about Elder Scrolls: Skyrim but the kid has been swamped with graduate school and other endeavors. I did have a cool email discussion with my boy Chuy. In lieu of a better more critical analysis I’ll include our exchange below. It started with text messages that I can’t recover so I apologize that you’re coming into the conversation midway through and for Chuy’s rather…colorful descriptions. 

DAMON: There are many, many on line discussions about whether a person has to beat a game or not before they can write a review. Most people agree that “no”, you don’t. There is a difference b/w reviewer and critic. The critic is the one who should beat the game depending on what they are critiquing.

I’m sure there are some great reviews from IGN, Gampro, 1Up, etc about Dark Souls which is a great game. But, don’t get it twisted. Most of them will give it to Skyrim for GOTY and/or best RPG. It has over 50 perfect scores!

As good as people say Dark Souls is, it says something that Skyrim is being considered a better game. It means that Skyrim executes what “it” is trying to do better than Dark Souls executes what “it” is trying to do. That brings me back to me original point that something doesn’t quite work w/ the Souls games. Great as they may be there is something they are trying to do that doesn’t quite work.

Really good discussion. I’m going to write about this.

CHUY: So, on this premise, all games then fail to do what they are trying to do since it isn’t as good as what Skyrim did with its “it”?

I see….Afterall, Skyrim will get GOTY, right? Shit, that can be its own website.

About the article, what pisses me off is the line, ” I can’t imagine Dark Souls even has an ending. Partly, this is because story-wise I wouldn’t have a clue what is actually going on or what my goal is. And, partly, because there is little hope of me ever actually finishing it.” As a reader, I would then ask, how far did you actually get. Are your bitch ass gaming skills in gaming limbo? At least have a preface or disclaimer: I have only played 15 hours and am in such and such. From this juncture, I’ve made an observation, an interpretation of what I think this game is about (since nobody knows, and I guess that’s the beauty).

Whatever you do though, beat the games (back to back) and then write the piece since you are critiquing it, right?

“That is the point of Dark Souls, I feel: to be in Limbo, to be just another lost, undead soul wandering a stagnant world.”

“Dark Souls is about the journey. One long, neverending journey.”

DAMON: [The] game aint about being no hero, son.

CHUY: [That] idiot didn’t [even] beat the game. He would have seen that these stagnant towns do get freed once you feed the last soul to the lord vessel. These stagnant people walk up to you and thank the fuck out of you. They can’t believe it. You can’t believe it. You did it.

You feel like the greatest hero ever in a game.

In solidarity, you see people who have beaten it and you rest at the last bonfire, admiring the other heroes who decided to not only take the journey, but actually have the nuts to finish it. What an idiot.

Just another bitch who ain’t got no gaming skills. Sad.

DAMON: I – kinda hear what you’re saying. It still doesn’t refute my point. Skyrim will be widely considered a better game. It won’t take anything away from Dark Souls but it does inspire questions about the Souls games and their ability to be as ground breaking and game changing as people boast they are. It say’s a lot that the same sites that jock it put it second best. Now, I could be wrong. They might turn around and give it to Dark but based on what is currently out there I don’t think they will.

But, to your point let us look at it this way… Demon Souls came out in 2009 and garnered nearly the same acclaim that Dark is getting yet it has failed to influence other games, let alone the RPG genre. That begs the question: how “good” is this game? To clarify, this is how I measure the “success” of a game.

• wide critical success
• commercial success
• awards presence in nominations and/or wins
• critical discussion after release and for how long (is it good? bad? fair?)
• clear influence(s) on other games
• (to a small degree) general player reactions

When you look at Demon Souls it hasn’t done a lot to surpass other games, let alone the leading RPG’s in these categories. Also, from what we know of the games that are coming out in the next year or two there is no discussion of that game design being used — in any way — in any other games. That say’s something about a game that has yet to score higher than its previous game. Metacritic is only a sliver of what I look at but it’s score vs. Demon Souls‘ score is indicative of that games’ reaction. It is really, really good but there is something about it that doesn’t quite work.

CHUY: Yeah…but Oblivion was clearly influenced by other rpg games, right? Does that make the others better games? What other RPGs have betesthda games influenced? Wouldn’t its influence be seen throughout games which play and feel similar like Oblivion? Bioware says light weight, “fuck it.” Shit…what other RPG developers are there to influence and or compare?

How do you measure influence?

In that case, one could argue that the best game ever is clearly Doom. Shit, that made gaming since it [made] the fps, no?

DAMON: Which RPG’s influenced Oblivion? Uh, perhaps Elder Scrolls 1 through 3… You tell me if there are any others and then we can have a discussion about them but until them you’re just speculating and arguing over one bullet point that I never professed to be more important than the others.

About those games influenced by EC: O…

How about the Two Worlds series? That isn’t influenced by Oblivion? Witcher? Fallout 1 and 2 looked nothing like Fallout 3. I remember reading a review of Hunted: The Demon Forge that described it as a game that would hold Oblivion fans over until Skyrim. I thought both Deus Ex and Dragon Age had a little Oblivion in it. You don’t think Obsidian Studios was hired to make New Vegas for their ability to use elements of that design in Alpha Protocol? And, one of those Lord of the Rings games had an Oblivion-like design.

The most famous RPG series before Oblivion on consoles were Biowares’ shit and Final Fantasy. When Oblivion came out in — what, 2007 — it was a wrap! Now, if you want to make a hit RPG you have to go with a Bioware or a Bethesda design (why do you think people aren’t feeling Fable anymore?). Hell, even hack & slash RPG’s (which is what the Souls series are) have not adopted that design since 2009. Torchlight? Diablo? Nope.

CHUY: Notice that Alpha Protocol ate cock. Two Worlds ate cock and a half. New Vegas compared to Fall Out: cock. In other words, all that “influence” didn’t achieve the “metacritic” score of Dark. That “influence” didn’t translate to what, according to you, makes a good game: sales, acclaim, etc. Influence, in all the examples you’ve given, matter to what degree? Well, you know. Money. Same shit. Cookie cutter. Wash and repeat. That’s what’s plaguing the industry. You said it best: if you don’t adapt, you lost. In other words, shit starts becoming predictable, feeling the same, and looking the same. Fuck, it’s the equivalent to top 40 music, all sounding the same/looking the same to make a hit.

Therein lies the beauty of Dark. It discards everything. That is what’s so refreshing. It treats the player as though he has the capacity to be independent and think for himself. It trusts that the player is smart enough to figure the puzzle out. It feels revolutionary, a breath of much needed fresh air. Like others have said, it’s the blue pill that really allows you to see where games can be and where games currently are.

It’s a fucking rush. Shit, call it a high. No other “crack” provides that. Once you try that other stuff….man….you wish there was more of it somehow.

I like this article since it talks about design and the pressures of Metacritic.

I can’t wait until you step into the dark, boaiii. Im going to invade your bitch-ass and make you run to that pop shit.

DAMON: Sigh… I’ll call this: “Dark Souls isn’t Broken, John. It Just Doesn’t Quite Work”

Plundering the internet for articles that agree with you do not make you or them right. And, it’s counter-productive. One: write your own articles and opinions. And, two: find someone that disagrees so you can understand what’s wrong with the design and your argument. The problem with this article is right below the title, fam: “Opinion: John Dean thinks…”

The fuck is John Dean!?

If you were really paying attention you would have noticed the comments below that terribly predictable article (“Dark Souls is great!” No shit. Now, tell me why it doesn’t quite work. I’ve been reading these type of articles since 2009). Peep. People read through an article PRAISING Dark Souls but actually bothered to leave comments expressing PROBLEMS with it. That should tell you something about the game design. Opinions are split almost right down the middle.

The Souls games moved you…

Here, I’ll put it this way.

In 2007 Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction came out. I loved that game! It came at just the right time for me. I was tired of violent, overly brown, end of the world games that took themselves too serious. Ratchet was fun, funny, colorful and deep in its gameplay. It was the best game of 2007 — for me. The ACTUAL best game that year was easily Bioshock, one of the best games not only this generations but arguably… EVER.

I knew that then. I know that now. I’m not so enamored w/ Ratchet that I don’t see which game achieves its goal better than another game. You can have your best game, but that doesn’t make it the best game, nes pa?

Last, whether the copycats were critical and commercial successes is irrelevant. For some companies they’re cash-ins. How do we make money? Lets copy a design that works. Demon Souls? No, Oblivion. You see where I’m going? There are some bad military shooters out there but nearly every studio has to have one. Why? Because Call of Duty 4 shit on everyone. It was a game changer. Demon Souls was not. Dark Souls? We’ll see.

Also, you neglected to mention anything about Fallout 3. Or, that New Vegas wasn’t [as] good clearly because Bethesda didn’t do it (Obsidian is known for making buggy games). Or, Deus Ex. Or, Dragon Age…

Marinate on [these comments], homie:

“Making a game stupidly difficult doesnt mean it deserves to get good marks . Just because you think that current games “hand hold” doesn’t mean you are correct. From what ive seen, it looks “ok” graphics arnt spetacular, the controls are clunky and you are left in the dark for most of the game. The voice acting looks poor, the facial animations looks poor. the narrative doesnt carry the game well.”

“….Can someone explain how a game like this is fun? I get that it’s uncompromising, challenging blah blah blah but where’s the fun in dying over and over again?”

“This pretty much sums up how i feel about competitive online multiplayer gaming.”

“Totaly agree with you, it’s a great game, just as Demon souls was, its 80s gaming updated for this generation…this will keep me going for weeks, I’m not a great games player but i find this game a great challenge and very rewarding, it’s all down to patience and learning. The only problem i have with this game is trying to find time to fit in Skyrim as well.”

Letters from Tuscon, AZ – Part 1

For those who haven’t had enough of Arizona after the recent incident with President Obama and the Governor of our 16th most populated state, here is letter from Tuscon High School teacher, Curtis Acosta detailing the fallout of the Tuscon Unified School District’s declaration that their Ethnic Studies program is illegal.

Another dark day in Tucson education history for my students and myself. Despite claims by our Deputy Superintendent that MAS teachers willl be given time and the resources needed to completely rewrite our curriculum, the reality is totally different. Here is the link to the Deputy Superintendent’s interview.

http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2012/1/24/1830-mexican-american-studies-books-in-storage/

As the weeks move forward the district and site administrators are becoming far more dismissive to our plight and the antagonism is clearly taking root toward our questions and concerns for our students. We are a mere inconvience to the business of running the district. But what is curious is the question of who are they running the district for if it’s not our students? Take my experiences today for example.

I asked my local site administrator for a reasonable amount of time to prepare for the semester, including time to read novels that I may have not read in fifteen years, or in some cases, ever. It takes time to develop an authentic unit with a novel, and it takes time to read a novel. Not to mention, we are being asked to create a brand new syllabus or curriculum map to prove our compliance to the new policy and law. My request for the days I needed to accomplish these tasks were rebuffed immediately. I even suggested that I spread the days throughout the semester, or be granted comp time during the weekends, so it would be a less disruptive to my students. However, I was told from my site administrator that I would get only three days to familiarize myself with the textbooks and create my new units. I reiterated that this meant that I would not be able to teach any novels this semester to my juniors and seniors, and the administrator shrugged as if this was not his problem, and told me that the time given was adequate.

What this will mean is that my students will go from a college preparatory curriculum to one that is remedial at best. My desire was to work within this horrible climate and shameful situation in way that did not damage the students any further and was confident that I could create this. It is painfully obvious that the district does not care about the quality of education that our students receive regardless of their press releases and interviews. Can you imagine such attitudes and low expectations being shared with the AP teacher at our school, the students, or their parents? Can you imagine them being satisfied with internet lesson plans and textbooks instead of novels? Can you imagine the AP teacher being rebuffed after begging for a few more days to prepare a new curriculum for his students, after ten years of lesson plans, units, and curriculum were scrapped? At the grassroots level, we know better. We know that the elitist, dismissive attitudes of these administrators are nothing new, and that communities of color have had to endure such indignities for generations. There is a serious lack of honor and respect being displayed by these actions.

Things are becoming toxic with administrators in our district and the working environment is becoming increasingly hostile. I would not be surprised if one of my colleagues is dismissed within the next few weeks. Already there are district supervisors monitoring our classrooms for violations, including a 45 minute visit to one of my colleagues today. What is even more frustrating is how many of our questions have been ignored or dismissed that would help specify how we can protect ourselves from termination while we continue to help our students prepare for college. I know that this will only increase as the days unfold and the normalcy sets in that Mexican American Studies and heritage are banned. That is why it is so important to have the support of our friends throughout the nation. We are humbled and honored to have so many people care enough about our students and our plight. Thank you to all who have been working on the February 1st MAS solidarity action, No History is Illegal. Without all of these efforts and attention then we would soon be a memory. Thank you for keeping us alive in your minds, hearts, and actions.

In Lak Ech (Tu eres mi otro yo / you are my other me),

Curtis

Tuscon High School Ban’s Ethnic Studies Books

It has been awhile since I’ve written about the ongoing legal battle between the state of Arizona and the teachers of Tucson High School. Unfortunately, things are not well. Earlier this month I received an email from Curtis Acosta, one of the ethnic studies teachers whom I interviewed in 2010. Here’s what he had to say:

Last night the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board voted 4-1 to immediately eliminate the Mexican American Studies program. All other ethnic studies programs are unaffected and I will know more today how this will impact our students and content of our classes. Many rumors are swirling around that the composition of the classes may change which would drastically affect our students through mass schedule changes.

This optimism cannot be shared in regard to the content of our classes which we believe will be completely eliminated or altered beyond recognition. Assignment changes are expected for all of our colleagues, including the Director of Mexican American Studies Sean Arce.

And, it gets worse as news has come out that school officials confiscated books during the middle of class including Paulo Freire’s A Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Rodolfo Acuña’s Occupied America, and Elizabeth Martinez’s 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures and Rethinking Schools’ Rethinking Columbus. As you can imagine students described their books being boxed up as “heartbreaking.”

I’ve written quite a bit about this but at this moment I’m at a loss of words. Pedagogy of the Oppressed is perhaps one of the most important books written in the last fifty years, and how can one decide not to rethink Christopher Columbus in this day and age? Is it not a forgone conclusion that the man didn’t discover a part of the world that was already inhabited by people; people who are still here?

Like the students of Tuscon High School I was fortunate enough to have a history teacher that taught me a side of history that was more personal and honest. It was this type of honesty that inspired me to study harder, and to have pride in myself and others. I can speak from personal experience, as a student and educator, that this type of education is important to us all.

The true history of this country (in all of its glory and messiness) is something to be far more proud of than the cookie cutter, surface level history that we are taught the day we enter public education. As we have been forced to say again and again over the last few years…shame on Arizona.

For more information on the debate I implore you to read Jeff Biggers’ Salon.com article, “Who’s Afraid of the Tempest?“

“The only other time a book of mine was banned was in 1986, when the apartheid government in South Africa banned ‘Strangers in Their Own Country,’ a curriculum I’d written that included a speech by then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela,” said [Bill]Bigelow, who serves as curriculum editor of Rethinking Schools magazine, and co-directs the online Zinn Education Project ”We know what the South African regime was afraid of. What is the Tucson school district afraid of?”

Debbie Reese’s, “Teaching Critical Thinking in Arizona: NOT ALLOWED.”

I’m pretty sure that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House of the Prairie is not on the list. Towards the end of that story, Pa learns that the federal government wants squatters (he doesn’t use that word) to get off of Indian land. They load the wagon and as they drive away, they look back and see that that “their little log house and the little stable sat lonely in the stillness.” Pa says that it is a great country, “but there will be wild Indians and wolves here for many a long day.” Books like Little House teach readers to resent a race or class of people, too, but I doubt it is being removed from classrooms in Tucson.

Biggers’ Huffington Post interview with Tucson teacher Curtis Acosta.

We have quantitative academic results and brilliant graduates who are outstanding young people dedicated to their community. That is why the lack of support from our own district has been so frustrating and tragic. We have worked tirelessly for the students and families in the district for decades and the same cannot be said by the politicians and officials that ended our program on January 10th.

And, if you want to hear the argument from the state, watch the debate between John Huppenthal, Arizona superintendent of public instruction and Richard Martinez, the attorney representing teachers and students in Tucson Unified School District’s Mexican American Studies program.

 

The Blogaboutech Mixtape, v. 3

At times when it comes to the Danger Brain blog I have nothing at all to talk about (and other times I’m ridiculously busy) so, in an attempt to keep the words moving the Blogaboutech Mixtape is just that: a  ”mixtape” of today’s more interesting tech news. Yeah, sure it deviates a bit from what I usually write about but hey, I’m trying something new… but fully intend to jump back into some serious game and media writing as soon as the next post. I promise!

South Korean Prisons are Employing… Robots!

Yeah, you think I’m kidding don’t you? I’m not. Beginning next year, South Korea will be using 150cm-tall robots on wheels to police their prisons. The $850, 000 machines will be used mainly at night — those damn overtime hours — using sensors to report suspicious behavior to the other lifeforms we call, uh, people.

The robots will be tested out for a month, but if it works out we know its a copycat league. Be prepared to see more robot police guards, followed by Robocops, Termintors, then those freaky-spider things we saw in the Matrix movies. Fucking Cylons!

Attempting to assuage such fears Kyonggi University professor, Lee Baik-chul had this to say:

“[T]he robots are not terminators. Their job is not cracking down on violent prisoners. They are helpers. When an inmate is in a life-threatening situation or seriously ill, he or she can reach out for help quickly.”

Isn’t that how all of these movies start!?

Video Game Controllers and Google Chrome Sitting in a Tree…

Arizona State University professor, James Paul Gee is just that, a “G”. We’ve got a lot in common. Both of us grew up in the Bay. We share the same alma mater (Go Goucho’s!), but it was his theories around video games that really sold me on the man as my spiritual brother from another mother. Namely, his belief that “video games are a new literacy.” They are literally something that one must learn how to play in order to access the information and experiences one can get from them.

Yeah, people use to think I was a nerd for stating such a thing. Cue the recent announcement that video game controllers will soon be compatible with Google’s Chrome web browser. No announcements yet on why Google decided to do this (although my guess is we’re going to see the end of video game consoles soon) but if you don’t know how to use your typical game controller than whatever a controller is used for — on a web browser or otherwise —  you can’t access it. And, considering how technological and interactive everything is moving towards not knowing how to use a game controller is akin to not knowing how to use a computer.

So, to the people who used to think I was crazy, nerdy or making lame excuses for playing Grand Theft Auto 4….Ha!!

I SPIT on My iPhone!

Phones these days have an app for just about anything, right? Well, they don’t have a doctor app — not yet, anyway. New Scientist is reporting that the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Learning is working on, uh, something that will allow a touch screen to read a person’s saliva the way it currently reads your fingertips.

Stop laughing! I’m not finish.

Apparently… they’ve already taught the device how to detect chlamydia through a persons loogie. They anticipate that the company can make billions over night with the San Francisco market alone.

Geek Porn

I swear — I’ve not nothing.

Sony Planning to Cut Out the Middle Men?

In the Blogaboutech Mixtape, v. 2 I briefly wrote about YouTube and its $100 million plan to get star power onto its channel. My thoughts — besides the pun about Ashton Kutcher, Shaquile O’Neal and the Armageddon — were how this could be the beginning of the end for cable television. Well, here goes another potential nail in the coffin.

Sony is in talks with several big media companies to create internet streaming televisions that will cut out cable service providers, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal back in November. The idea is to bring television back to the way it use to be with a few channels. Y’know, quality over quantity. I’m totally over simplifying it but you can check out the links for more info. Point is: internet “television” is blowing up and… I love it!

I gave up cable television a long time ago. Paying over $80.00 a month for a ton of channels I won’t watch nor care for got old a long time ago. Every once in a while I’ll head over to my neighbors crib for a little Walking Dead or to watch the football game, but the commercials make it almost impossible to enjoy television. Television advertisements are so intrusive that I feel like I’ve tuned in to watch commercials with a little dramatic or comedic break in between.

Netflix on the other hand allows me to watch shows back to back without someone trying to convince me to use Tide with bleach or to buy a brand new Ford. Sure, I’m about a season behind Mad Men, or I’m watching the canceled but seriously GREAT Flash Forward (any other time and that show would have been a hit). But, I rather like the idea of paying for customizable options, zero commercials and the right to watch what I want, when I want to.

Being able to watch television streamed live on a television connected to the internet presents so many possibilities. Web series’ like Osiris and 12 Steps to Recovery would be better enjoyed on television than a computer screen. I, for one, am excited for this. That is, until advertisement companies figure out a way to ruin the whole thing.

Yes, that day will come.