ALCHEMY- Faris Lecture

Alchemy was a transformative process which will change lead into gold, or otherwise, to purify one’s soul through the body and its senses beyond the material world to a spiritual transcendence. During the Renaissance, a new generation of designers emerged as erudite, philosophical, and learned in the form of art and architecture. Art and architecture was proved to be an original science based on Greek philosophy, Christian Faith and Roman ambitions. The soul was greatly valued and medicine evolved into a medium for art. The doctors are also artists who believe that the right medicine for the soul would be to channel heaven’s divine energy through the eye to the soul. The patient’s medicine would then be to study pieces of art related to the divine by sight. How does this relate to DGDD? The artists of the Renaissance age weren’t only learned in the arts, but in science as well. Games have the potential medium to perform “alchemy”. People find enjoyment in games, so can games cure illness or purify our soul? Games may actually be a medicine already. Without the entertainment industry, where would our souls be? We wouldn’t be exposed to the divine and wondrous realm we call the alternate universe, which we can find so easily in entertainment. Games may be the most direct medium with the alternate universe, because of that, we can create games to actually benefit us beyond entertainment. Games can appease our souls to realize the ‘if’ of reality.

Pervasive Games and the Future of Gaming

A pervasive game is a game that has one or more salient features that expand the contractual magic circle of play socially, spatially, or temporarily. Pervasive games exist in reality where there is no specific platform, genre, or location to limit the entertainment that it will bring. Examples of pervasive games are the Amazing Race and Singapore Idol where they break they expand the boundaries of traditional games. Although the future of gaming is uncertain, we can see how games can develop. Casual games are a popular industry for being enjoyable while utilizing simple gameplay at an accessible time. The media is changing, games are transforming into other forms of media or vice versa. Games will be used for enhanced interaction, and educational purposes. The interaction with games will improve when we wouldn’t need to use a controller to control the way we interact within a game. Even our daily lives will become a game. In the future, games will become an essential part to our way of living whereby we not only have fun, but we benefit from it in reality.

Video Games in reality?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeNr33gIhIM

Sharing dreams to create a reality- Paprika the movie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqg3Sw3s9Wg

Games in Movies

Games have existed in movies where the character follows the hero’s journey and is faced with challenges. The character has a will to win and complete the game, but must keep in the boundaries of the magic circle, which is an area for the game to take place with its own set of rules. Stepping out of the circle would break the magic. In some movies where the character steps out from the magic circle of the game which they are put in, and suffer severe consequences. Why people watch movies instead of playing games is because the game in watching movies is putting themselves in the role of the character in the movie. Movies offer an indirect immersion into an alternate universe while games offer a direct immersion.

The game "Heavy Rain" is an interactive movie where you have to follow the actions of the character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnck2oXdxMo

PSEUDOscience and FRINGE science

Pseudoscience and Fringe science are quite similar as their ideals are sourced from traditional science. Pseudoscience is usually the unconfirmed and rejected phenomena which we can barely link to our understanding of traditional science. Examples of Pseudoscience are Alchemy, Astrology, and Psychology. Fringe science is usually the partially confirmed phenomena which we can link to traditional science, but remains impossible because of the limits of current technology. Examples of Fringe science are hypnotism, psychic phenomena, and dimensional travels. Pseudoscience and Fringe science have developed throughout history as myths and speculations. Now in modern media, we have an idea of how we may reach the frontier of traditional science to develop into Pseudoscience and Fringe Science. As a conclusion, traditional science limits our capabilities, but not the creativity of the mind to wonder how the impossible can become reasonable.

Time Manipulation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXUO8l5NCIY

Philosophy of the World of Warcraft

The World of Warcraft is an immensely popular massive multiplayer online game. Gamers play the game for its epic gameplay elements. The common topic concerning the World of Warcraft though is Nihilism, which means nothingness and pointlessness, whereby gamers who play the game are doing it for a lost cause. These gamers may think that life and reality is pointless, play the game to give themselves a virtual purpose, realize that the game is pointless as well, but continue playing anyway because they feel fulfilled with a sense of satisfaction. Because the characters in the game are played by real players, the personalities of everyone are similar to reality. Even attributes such as racism, politics, and morality come into play in building an alternate universe. In truth, there is no war in Warcraft, but the game elements make the player believe there is. Although the World of Warcraft is a virtual universe which doesn’t reward the player in reality, it has become a popular game as an escape from the sad reality. It is up to the player to decide whether to devote to his/her real life or his/her virtual life.

Them Warcraft players
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-0EePhJEfw

ANIME & MANGA

Manga is a style of comics created by the Japanese. It is drawn in black and white, and tells a story through the visual use of panel after panel of story progression. Mangas also specialize in effects to catch the reader’s attention such as sound effects, and facial expressions of the characters. The Japanese had also invented the term Anime in around 1917. Anime is defined as animation where cartoons have motion. Anime is a style of Japanese animation, and is not the same as other styles of animation. Anime has become a hit in the media industry and it has branched out into the gaming department. A game can take the theme of the anime, and vice versa. These creations have become part of the modern Japanese culture. Cosplay, also known as costume play, is a major impact of Anime and Manga, whereby fans would dress up as fictional characters as a means for entertainment. Merchandise relating to Anime and Manga is collected by fans. Anime and Manga had created a cultural impact in Japan, and the craze is spreading all over the world.

Cosplay is fun, you gotta admit it, just wait till the ending XD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQKbolMVLwk&playnext=1&videos=wsi1HdWAItU

Anime is not all about fighting and violence ^_^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss8sq6o61u0

Sword and Sorcery

Sword and Sorcery is a sub genre of fantasy. During the hero’s journey in a game, he/she is bound to encounter conflict that would force him/her to fight physically. That is when the hero would rely on his/her Sword and Sorcery to overcome the obstacle. The Sword of the hero may not be literal as it is but a general term for the hero’s weapon. Anything can be used as the hero’s Sword, even a coin or silverware can be used. Sorcery gives the hero a special ability which defines who he/she is. Sorcery depends on the world setting and acts as the science in the fantasy world. Sorcery can be implemented into objects such as ancient artefacts that in turn would contribute to the story. In the case of the hero’s journey, the situations of the story, such as the obstacles the hero will face, must be appropriate for the hero to apply his/her skills. In the process, the hero will ‘level up’ by defeating enemies who have their own special abilities to counter the hero. The medium of anime has used this to its advantage whereby the enemies would have an unbelievable power, and the hero would have an even more outrageous power. Sword and Sorcery in games play a major part in gameplay as the character’s abilities as well as making the setting, battles, and story far more engaging.

Damn those petals!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-lbRH6vufo

Traditional Sword and Sorcery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-bV5ktbHfA

NUM83R5 & T4R0T

Numbers as we all know is the basis of mathematics and is used for counting and many other uses. Numbers and mathematics is important for us to make sense of reality. It would be impossible to live our lives as it is without mathematics. Numbers are used for symbolism as well. For example, the number 0 can symbolize nothingness, fairness, emptiness, and pureness. Maths is a language created y humans, and because of our belief that humans are imperfect beings, then that makes math an imperfect product. Is everything wrong? When we define things, we confuse ourselves, so does that mean that simplicity is beauty? If everything is fake, then reality isn’t real. Tarot is a card game played by the people of Europeans in the past. Other than being a card game, it is used by mystics and occultists for divination purposes till the late 18th century. The card game was turned into an occult tool after it was thought that the cards relate to the Tree of Life in terms of the total number as well as the Hebrew letters. The Tree of Life is a symbol used in many religions and cultures to represent the connection of all life on earth to god. Symbolism helps people identify an icon. How can we rely on Tarot cards to predict our future when it could all be pure coincidence? Our belief in Tarot cards makes it such that we can be assured or warned about future happenings, and then we would act to follow the predictions. In the end, our belief these predictions grow. It seems that we create our own reality. Then can we destroy what we have created?

Espionage & Crime

Espionage is the act of stealing confidential information without permission from the one responsible for its secrecy. Crime is an offence against the law of nature and society. Espionage and Crime are related to each other by their similar offence to society. The individuals carrying out the devious act of Espionage are Agents. Espionage existed ever since ancient times such as ancient Egypt where secret societies investigated competing nations. The Cold war was another example where Espionage helped to give the parties at war an upper hand over each other by retrieving special information. In Espionage, it is not only to gain an upper hand to defeat the enemy, but to also be definite of the loyalty of your allies. Modern Espionage concern Industrial Espionage, and hacking. In the media, the arsenal, personality and character of the Agent is taken into consideration to interest the audience. The grand action scenes are highly unlikely in the Agent’s assignment which tends to give people the wrong idea of an Agent. In the end, isn’t an Agent’s main objective Espionage? Why should he be saving the world when all he has to do is steal something important and get away with it?

The Bourne series has always been a realistic story of espionage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJoVljaZP0k

A hilarious take on the spy in the game "Team Fortress 2"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnuYi-nzE90

WAR, TERRORISM, FREEDOM FIGHTERS, AND HOLY WARS

War begins with a change of ideals. War shows how impactful an idea, even from an unconscious state such as a dream, a thought, or visualization. The subconscious mind is independent and absorbs whatever you have experienced. Idealists take the subconscious mind of others to spread their propaganda as they return to their conscious state. As a child, our subconscious mind is at its peak, and that is where we absorb anything our parents teach us. That goes the same to the children whose parents are involved in affairs of war. In war, parties have their own ideals and different perspectives of the situation. It is difficult to discharge what our subconscious has already absorbed, so only will the consequences of war shake people to their consciousness. War has become a familiar thing for us although that isn’t the truth. Games even propagate the false enjoyment that war promises. If we believe that war is a game where you will always win, then chaos will ensue. But does this mean games cannot be violent?

Fun eh?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7qcU_c3aD4

But how do you know you'll be the winner? You may end up like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk9GzQc2s6o

Somethings funny but somewhat true
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skao1oTvjQM

Supernatural

In horror, monsters of the traditional age were abominations of religious culture whether they were cursed, abnormalities or bastard children. Modern horror was a fusion of technology and humans where we are shocked by the deformities of the transformation of a man. In this time, horror relies on the feeling of death. Death is a stage we are uncertain of and because of that, it is utilized in horror where we speculate the darkness that death holds. Ghosts, devils, vampires, zombies, and other horrifying subjects are a common asset to induce horror in media because they are already dead , therefore the audience is horrified of life after death. Gore is also used for the audience to indirectly experience the terrifying pain which the character has to endure. Traditional subject have been used in media and is becoming splurged or originality. Is there a way to go beyond tradition to cook up a new and much more terrifying subject for horror?

Traditional Horror in games can be scary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xQRluXTgk

But a bear?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixvh-8W1OS8

secret SOCIETY

The Secret Society is an organization which keeps its activities secret from non members. A well known Secret Society is the Illuminati which was formed by Adam Weishaupt. The Illuminati studied law, economics, politics and history, but was then introduced to strange topics such as Satasnism, Egyptian cults, and Teachings of Essens. The Illuminati strive for goals to build a world as they see fit, no matter the cost. They cause chaos by having bringing people in to a cause they are oblivious to because of disguises created by the Iluminati. The Illuminati breaks human reasoning to create their new world with an ideal way of leading with freedom and liberation. In games, a corrupted government, much like when the Illuminati takes over the world order, will be a hindrance to the Hero. The hero will eventually destroy the government. In games, we speculate what would happen if the Illuminati wins. Would there be a hero to put an end to their plight?

Assassin's Creed holds secrets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfA1Da8R2pU

A.!. & Robots

A.I. and robots is the imitation of the human. In the past, humans have always explored their own capabilities. From our knowledge about the human mind and body, we imagine how we can create an imitation of ourselves. Alan Turing was a man who observed subjects from an entirely different perspective whereby the human can be defined with the use of mathematics. From his theories, the idea of Artificial Intelligence and Robots spawned. Issac Asimov wrote a short story on Robotics whereby the Robot is a guardian but also a slave to the humans. To the humans, a Robot is a machine that runs on the sole purpose of making life better for the humans. Robots have no soul. Yet one Robot rebels by behaving like a human, and seeking freedom. As an imitation of human nature, will we be ready to deal with a perfect Robot? In games, the enemies are Robots whereby their Artificial Intelligence is finite, and we destroy them without feeling because we know that they are not human. What if there was a game where you played as the Robot, and had to follow by a set of rules? As a human mentally, you would seek freedom from your oppressors. The game itself is a Robot which we interact with.

Meet Milo! Whether this is true or not... Probably not but it'd be cool if it was
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPIbGnBQcJY

If robots were an accurate representation of us...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRnq-PFboMI

Time---------------Travel

Time travel is a hypothetical journey to the past and future through the dimensions of time. The theory of time travel had been thought of by the famous scientist Albert Einstein, whereby if a body moves faster than the speed of light, time would slow down, and time travel would succeed. Another theory of time is that it has no straight path, but the probability of something else happening would create a new branch from the path of time, and that branch will become an alternate universe. Applied to games, it has given the player a chance to play the story as he/she sees fit. When the player has control of time, the player will have special abilities such as slowing down time. Taking control of time is not possible in reality (yet) but that gives games a chance to present the player with abilities which are totally impossible. Games give players a preview of the unlimited possibilities of time control.

A time paradox in the game "Metal Gear Solid"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APH1LIJaq7A

Is Time Travel Possibleah?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X02WMNoHSm8

Space Operaaaa

Space opera utilises the science fiction genre as a platform to build up a dramatic story. It has evolved from the regions of space of which we know, to distant galaxies where our imagination is merely limited by the limitless space. In these fictional galaxies, we create these alien systems such as lifestyle, politics, transportation, and such that would represent our normal human lives in the manner of science fiction. That goes the same for the story where factions of good and evil fight against each other. Elements in drama are also included such as sibling rivalry, power seeking, friendships and romance. These elements fit into the universe by giving these drama situations a body. An example is Star Wars where the protagonist fights the evil empire to regain peace, and in the process, make new friends and fall in love. In some cases, romance may include a mix of other species. The hero’s journey does not change even in a galaxy far, far away. Space opera is simply defined as a story taking place in a new and alien universe where elements of reality remain present for the audience to relate to as humanly possible.

Mass Effect 2 is a perfect example of Space Opera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx9sPQpjgjU&feature=related