Monday, April 4, 2011
Who Influences me as a Creative Person
Gears of War 2 Rendezvous trailer
The original Gears of War is what inspired me to become a Digital Media Major. Cliff Bleszinski is the lead designer of Epic Games (which created the Gears of War franchise) and is an extremely influential artist to me. This was one of the very first trailers for Gears of War 2, a video game created for the Xbox 360. Cliff Bleszinski has not only influenced me but has also influenced the entire gaming industry. Gears of War was the first game of its kind and many other franchises have used the ideas and innovations created by Cliff in their own games. By creating such a unique and strong set of ideas, Cliff has shown me the power of innovation.
In this particular trailer the main character, Marcus Fenix, is shown walking alone through a corridor with only the voice of a narrator filling the speakers. He is then shown charging into a massive battle between his comrades and their enemy, the locust horde. Through out the trailer, the sound of drums slowly grows louder and faster while a narrator with a very calm and solemn voice is speaking. This is great use of tension and release. The beginning of the trailer shows a quiet and gloomy scene with a quiet and gloomy narrator's voice speaking. As the drums become louder, it creates tension as Marcus is charging into battle. Finally, the narrator stops speaking and there is a climax in the drums. The screen fades to black and the drums go silent returning releasing the audience of the tension and returning them to a familiar setting.
Bioshock Infinite Gameplay Trailer
Ken Levine lead designer of the Bioshock franchise and is an influential figure in my creativity. Ken Levine, like Cliff Bleszinski, created a game the first of its kind. Many of the ideas in the game, as well as the game play itself, are outside of the box. He helps me realize that not all ideas have to be accepted at first or seem rational. By thinking out of the box, ken shows that unorthodox ideas can many times be the best ones.
This is the first footage of the upcoming installment to the Bioshock franchise. In the previous installments, you play as a character who has the ability to make choices through out the game. In fact, the choices you make in the game directly affect the ending of the story. With many video games now, Bioshock gives you the ability to be active instead of didactic. In this short demo of the game, you can see varying choices made by the player and how they affect his next interactions. While one player might view the theme of the game as seeking revenge against an enemy, the other might see the theme as being the hardships of survival and making the right choices. With varying views, the players can have very different interactions with the game. By using an active theme instead of a didactic one, the game is able to immerse the player much deeper than if there was one specific theme.
Lost in the World by Kanye West
One of my favorite artists is Kanye West. Recently, he came out with a new album which is the reason I began to like him so much. He is so influential to me because he produced the beats and rapped for this album. Seeing someone produce something almost entirely on their own inspires me to tap my creative power for all that I can.
This song is a prime example of the use of text and subtext. If the lyrics of this song were to be read literally, it would have no meaning what so ever. But through the use of subtext, Kanye is able to use creative language to make meaning out of technically nonsense. One the lines in the songs speaking about a woman he loves is "You're my stress, you're my masseuse." He does not mean that she is actually his stress and his masseuse. The subtext of the lyric is that she can frustrate him sometimes and cause stress, but other times she is what calms him down and relieves his stress such a masseuse would.
No comments:
Post a Comment