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lovelivingmydreams · 3 years

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A story by heroes and Villains

Season 2: Secrets revealed Logan Anker: Old wounds and worries

Master list book 1

The wounds of the past can hurt. Not just you but your surroundings. No wonder we keep those secret to protect them... or is it ourselves we are protecting mort that way?

Waiting until the end of patrol was torture.

Logan didn’t like talking about the past. At all. He had trouble talking about Hannah and Caleb in any capacity to Virgil, or Patton, or Thomas or even Picani. And the Collector… Logan wanted to forget about him. But he couldn’t. If he was honest, that man showed up in his nightmares to this day. And he likely would keep showing up until he was behind bars. Patton and Thomas did their best to comfort him. A gesture he appreciated even though it wasn’t very effective. Finally Prince arrived. The young hero took in the atmosphere in the room and was clearly annoyed. “Listen, I promise I was safe. But I could’ve been in the middle of talking someone out of making a bad decision at the time. You can’t just shout in my ear out of nowhere. That was dangerous and frankly, I expect you to be more levelheaded BS. Anny other night and Logan would have insisted Prince gave him a detailed debrief on what exactly was so important that he couldn’t even let them know he was okay. But today… “That isn’t what this is about Prince. Take a seat,” Thomas instructed. Giving Logan a moment more to collect his thoughts. “Ok…” Prince said as he sat down, Looking around confused. Logan took a last moment to calm himself before he started his story with an apology. “Prince. I must offer you my sincere apologies. I didn’t want to tell you this right away, and maybe I should have.” Had his decision really been about allowing Prince to live his dream before burdening him? Was withholding the truth for Prince’s benefit? Or his own? “You shouldn’t have gone out without knowing the risks… We talked a little about nemeses during your training.” Prince nodded. Clearly still confused. “Yeah, but I doubt I’ve done anything that warrants one yet. Those come later in a career unless…” Prince paused, frowning. “But you were a villain. Any nemeses you had would be heroes… Right?” Prince was a good student indeed. He’d realized that Logan was telling him he was about to inherit his mentor’s past. And he had a good point. A nemeses of Logan would be on the side of the heroes. “Technically, the collector isn’t my nemesis. At least not in the traditional sense,” he agreed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ever since he stopped using his powers, high stress situations got him small headaches that got worse over time. “I’ll start from the beginning,” he said, thinking back to a time he’d erase from his life all together if he could. “I became a villain because I needed the money and fast. Plain and simple. Any legal means were insufficient, so I made a name for myself and eventually, when I said ‘give me 10.000 dollars or I destroy this building,’ people handed me the money because they knew I very easily could make good on my threats. I always picked an amount they could easily provide without harming the business or individual too much financially. One day I found myself running from the police force. I had misjudged the time it would take them to arrive,” he had gotten arrogant with success. “And I got helped by a stranger in a haphazardly put together disguise. When we lost them and caught our breath, he introduced himself as ‘the collector’. I fairly quickly understood him to be a fanboy of sorts. He was a big fan of my ‘work’, though he misunderstood the intention entirely. Not that I could get him to understand that.” Everything he said that didn’t fit Collector’s narrative was ignored or dismissed. “He thought I was taking the money as proof that I was superior or something like that. I didn’t listen too closely to his speech at the time. I was concerned with getting away. He said he wanted to help me. Gifted were still considered fairly new. Nowadays most people alive have lived most of their lives in a world with gifted.” The first super powered individuals had appeared around the time Logan was born. “But back then, most of the population still saw it as strange and there weren’t any real initiatives to help train the powers. So the gifted that were around often were untrained and had their powers act up without warning. Which could be quite destructive.” Logan recalled the park bench and every instance of loss of control after that, all the way up to a wine glass in a restaurant less than a year ago. He looked at his pupil to make sure he hadn’t lost his attention. The wide, attentive, green eyes and firm nod told him he still had an audience. “Anyway, the collector thought that people should respect and celebrate our existence. He compared the stigmas we faced to those of people of color, or the LGBTQ+ community, then still called the Gay or Queer community. He said it very nicely, it almost sounded reasonable, if you ignored the slight notes of supremacy. And if I had been trying to ‘stick it to the man’ as they say, I might have been tempted. But I just wanted…” to pay form my sisters treatment and my research for a cure. “I was selfish in my actions and therefore not interested in his big revolution, which turned out to be a good thing in some ways.” He didn’t want to even imagine the kind of person he’d be then. He wouldn’t have Patton that was for sure. And Virgil… No. He was glad Virgil was kept away from that madness. And he intended to keep it that way. “I told him I wasn’t interested in leading any resistance, thanked him for the assistance and left. Shortly after this, I encountered Manifestor for the first time. He blessed one of the people in the building with super speed.” Said gifted was now one of the heroes patrolling the city. He was actually one of the heroes who’s territory Prince shared. Thomas hadn’t gotten the hang of permanent and temporary power boosts yet at the time. It was always a game of chance. Thomas chuckled. “I remember. I was so pleased that it worked.” Pleased was one word for it. “You were insufferably delighted, even though I defeated your champion.” While he and StarBucker were amicable nowadays, at the time, Logan had been thoroughly annoyed at the inconvenience. But thinking back to Thomas’ triumphant smile he could not quite help his own amusement. “You did retreat though,” Thomas pointed out. “I stalled you long enough to make you give up that mark and head out. So it was a win for me.” Logan let out a sigh, he couldn’t argue with that, but they were getting of topic. “I saw the Collector a few more times after that, though I managed to avoid conversation. One day, during a stalemate with Manifestor, he asked me about him. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who’d been approached about his plans. He had actually advanced them. He was now not only collecting gifted, but also individuals worthy of a gift. Be it they joined him out of free will, or got persuaded through different means.” Blackmail, intimidation, manipulation. Those were the collector’s tools. “And he wanted me to ‘grant them that blessing’,” Thomas added uneasy. Logan patted his old friend on the back in support. A conversation with the collector had never been a fun experience for either of them. “Manifestor had enlisted the help of others to free some of his victims,” Logan continued. “The Collector claimed I was championing his cause. I assured Manifestor that I had no intention of assisting in his plans. That is about the time Manifestor started winning me over to redemption.” He thought back to those times with a bittersweet feeling. He’d been so excited by the idea. A nice place for him and Hannah to live. A good job that would let him take care of her and have her be proud of him. Things hadn’t gone quite how he’d wanted, but at the same time, one thing had gone better than he could ever have imagined. “Next time I spotted Collector, I told him in the plainest possible terms that I was not interested…” It should have been a firm ending to this story. Or so he had thought. That was naïve of him, he now knew that. Obsession and fanaticism don’t disappear just because one piece of that craziness did not cooperate. He’d been arrogant once again. Thinking too highly of himself. It took him a moment to continue. “He assured me I would be…” He suppressed a shiver as he recalled the polite, almost pleasant way he’d spoken. Sort of soothing. As if Logan had merely been a child afraid to go in the swimming pool and Collector was indulging him for the moment. “I haven’t seen him since, but that promise… I don’t know what exactly he has been up to in the past 14 years. But one can only imagine how someone like that matures... Or what he has planned for me when he finds me.” Or much more importantly, his loved ones. Thomas, Patton, Virgil, the Bullards who despite the current situation were still family to him, and Prince too if he was completely honest. There was no telling what Logan would do if any of them… Not now. “Prince, the collector will not consider you his enemy. But he is yours. Anyone who meets his criteria of ‘worthy’, is at risk. And he does not take no for an answer.” The words had barely settled in the room or Prince shot up panicked. “Phantom!” he exclaimed. “Phantom might be in danger! What if someone on the chief’s team passes on information to Him? Or what if he has connections to these crime organizations!? I’ve got to go out now and find him…” Prince was clearly about to head out again right away. Admirable, but not very prudent given the circumstances. “Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow you can try again. Even if you find him, you are not in the right state of mind to deliver this kind of news delicately.” Prince paused, clearly contemplating his words. Seeing, or feeling, an opening, Patton added his two cents. “You’ve done great today sport! You just go home and sleep on what you’ve learned. Tomorrow night there is another patrol and you might run into him then.” And to make the set complete, Thomas finished: “I’m glad you are so eager to meet this young hero Prince. Just know that there is no pressure. They’ve been evading unwanted contact for almost a year now. It is okay if you don’t find them right away. And we’ll give you the support you need.” Prince clearly did not like it but he conceded. “Can I ask a favor though? Can I bring him some of that dye and a modulator? I doubt he’ll have a very sophisticated disguise if he’s on his own. It could be a sign of comradery?” he explained awkwardly. Logan nodded. It made sense, and it wouldn’t take him long. He led Prince through a few doors to his lab. Once he got to his desk he put his family picture down. It was a digital picture frame that played an album of family pictures once the camera registered his face in front of the desk. Even if Prince didn’t look at it on purpose he might catch a glance of Virgil, Patton or him in passing. And Prince was a curious person. His territory included Logan’s new neighborhood, he might see Virgil on one of his runs while he was on patrol. Or see any of them in passing. For Prince’s safety and that of Logan’s family, he wouldn’t take risks. He handed Prince a black hairdye stick. Fitting for a gifted who relied on stealth. He picked up a dark purple modulator, the darkest color he had and plugged it in to program it. Prince clearly had an idea of how Phantom’s voice should sound. “Could you make it so it’s like, deepened by an octave and doubled? With an echo effect?” Logan nodded. It fit the moniker Phantom was given, that was for certain. “Thank you. This should help a lot,” Prince grinned as he took the modulator. “I shall be heading home now,” he bid before leaving the lab, followed by Logan who watched him get in the elevator to leave the facility. Logan let out a relieved sigh. “Come on. Let’s go home and see Virgil,” Patton said gently, knowing what Logan needed right now. Logan smiled gratefully and as they headed up, he handed Patton the keys. He didn’t feel clear of mind enough to handle driving tonight. He let Virgil know they were on their way so he would know to expect them. Otherwise he might think they were burglars.

When they got home they found Virgil on the couch with his headphones on. He looked up and smiled as he spotted them. “Welcome back. I gotta ask though. Who’s your fourth guy?” he asked playfully. Logan blinked confused. “What do you mean?” “For your poker nights,” Virgil joked. Patton giggled at Logan’s side, taking the lead. “No cardgames I’m afraid kiddo. We’ll tell you about the project once it’s finished. It’s all confidential for now I’m afraid,” he said. Virgil cocked his head and studied Patton for a moment, then he shrugged. “Okay, Keep your secrets,” he sighed as he stretched and got up. “Night Pat, night Lo,” he said casually as he headed to the door. Logan cringed a little at that. Lately his son, on occasion, used his surname. He was assured by Picani that this was in no way a reflection of Virgil’s affection for Logan as a father. He had no less than 3 fathers now. Him, Patton and an unknown biological father. To differentiate between the three he likely used surnames in his head. Which may slip out verbally on occasion. Even knowing that, it stung a little. “Goodnight Virgil, I love you,” Logan replied, trying not to show his inner discourse. Virgil paused in the door and looked back with a smile. “Love you to dad.” And just like that the tightening in his chest loosened. “Love you three kiddo!” Patton added. “Love ya Pat,” Virgil snickered before disappearing to his room. Logan kept staring at the door for a moment. Patton hugged him from the side. “What do you say I make us a nightcap before bed?” he suggested. Logan nodded. “That would be pleasant,” he told him.

The next morning, Logan woke up to hearing Virgil move about and singing to himself downstairs. That boy never sleeps in. He let out a yawn and stretched, feeling Patton curl into his chest. “Do you regret moving in with us yet?” he teased. “Never,” Patton muttered sleepily. “I smell bacon,” he hummed. “First awake makes breakfast in the weekend. It’s a tradition we have. He was ten the first time I found him trying to fix me breakfast in bed,” Logan recalled fondly. “He made a mess, but it was really sweet. He was following all my rules. He didn’t touch the knives or the stove without me there, which of course limited his options. I helped him make breakfast the that day. After that I made sure to lay some things ready for him on Friday and Saturday nights in case he tried again. Which he did.” “That is adorable,” Patton squealed with a kiss to Logan’s cheek. “Let’s see what our son has in store for us today,” Logan suggested as he got up. He waked to the closet to select some clothes for the day. He felt Patton’s eyes on his back and turned around. “Everything alright Patton?” Patton bit his lip. “It’s just… Our son. I really like the sound of that,” he explained. Logan nodded. “I do too.” Patton bit his lip. “I was thinking of maybe looking into… what it would take for me to adopt him? Make it official?” he suggested. Logan’s heart skipped a beat. Patton had mentioned adopting Virgil in a burst of emotion before. But it seemed like he meant it. He knew that it would mean the world to both him and Virgil to have Patton be an official part of their family. “That would be excellent Patton,” he told him sincerely. Patton’s face lit up at that. “Would you help me figure it out? I want to know what steps I have to take.” Logan walked back to the bed and sat himself next to Patton, taking hold of both his hands. “It would be my greatest pleasure,” he told him gently. Patton’s shoulders relaxed, his gaze still thoughtful, and then he let out a giggle. “May I inquire where your mind has taken you now?” Logan wondered fondly. “It’s just. Look at me being practical. You have rubbed off on me,” he scolded playfully. “Well if it helps, you have changed me too. For the better that is,” Logan assured him with a kiss to his forehead. “Now get downstairs before our breakfast gets cold.”

Breakfast was pleasant. Virgil rolled his eyes and teased them with how ‘cute’ they were being this morning. Logan responded by giving Patton an extra kiss to his cheek. And then Thomas picked Virgil up for their trip to the zoo. Logan and Patton distracted themselves by preparing classes for the next week, answering email and spending some quality time together. Logan had told Thomas that he could tell Virgil about his teenage years. If the topic of parents and siblings came up, he could mention what he knew. Logan knew that he was risking moving up his time table. But part of him hoped he’d be forced to tell Virgil everything tonight. He should have told him long ago. But he kept finding excuses to postpone. He had still not decided whether he’d talk about BrainStorm or not. “I’m home!” Virgil called all of a sudden. Logan glanced up from his book. Time had flown by. Patton was almost done with diner after which they had to leave for Prince’s next patrol. Logan was torn on that subject too. On one hand he knew the young hero wouldn’t need constant supervision for much longer. But on the other, he’d worry about Prince the whole evening if he didn’t personally keep an eye on him. “Dad!” Virgil grinned brightly as he gave him a hug. Effectively ending his inner turmoil. “Virgil? Not that I do not appreciate you seem excited to see me. But is there a particular reason?” he wondered. Virgil let go and stepped back. Logan absentmindedly took note of the fact that the height difference between them was almost gone. Would he outgrow him? Caleb had been a little taller than him. “Uncle Thomas told me about your teen years. I didn’t know you were on the debate team!” he grinned excitedly. Logan was a little flattered that this little bit of information seemed to mean so much to his son. “Well, yes. It was a bit of a hobby of mine, as well as an attempt to get better at socializing,” he confessed. Virgil’s eyes sparked at that. “You were a socially awkward nerd,” he chuckled. Logan frowned at that. “Hey, that’s a complement. I’m a socially awkward artsy kid. Sounds like I’m your son after all,” he chuckled happily. “Speaking off. Uncle Thomas told me you wrote poetry back in the day.” “Really?” Patton exclaimed from the kitchen. Logan was flushing bright red. “I… Experimenting with different forms of self-expression is a natural part of discovering one’s identity as a teenager. It was a phase. I would like to forget about it,” he said stiffly. “Aw, but poetry is so romantic,” Patton pouted. Logan made a mental note of that. Just because he didn’t write anymore didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy reading it from time to time. There was something soothing in the format and he knew of a few poems Patton may enjoy. As far as Virgil was concerned though, poetry was firmly in his past. “That’s too bad. I thought I could maybe make a project around your old work for art class,” Virgil said disappointedly. Oh, that was not fair. “I’ll see if I still have one of my old notebooks,” he allowed. “Just ask my consent before you pick one.” And before he knew it he was once again hugged tightly by his son. “Thanks dad. You won’t regret it. I promise.” Virgil’s excitement was worth any embarrassment that his pubescent ramblings may cause. During dinner Virgil told them about the trip to the zoo and the many sketches he’d made. He also informed them that his session with Picani had gone well. After dinner Virgil bid both of them goodnight in case he’d be asleep when they got back from the university. Patton was smiling the whole way there. “What is on your mind?” Logan wondered. “Did you ever write something for a crush?” Patton asked giddily. He had sort of expected this. “I… Didn’t really have a romantic interest in high school. Thomas was the only person my age I got close to. I was… Well you know what I was going through back then. Between my mother and school… All I had on romance was rather resentful or, once Hannah introduced Caleb to me, from the eye of an observer. Perhaps I can find one of the latter. It might be nice for Virgil to use something inspired by his parents as a base for whatever project he is working on,” he mused. “That sounds like a lovely idea,” Patton agreed.

Half an hour later, Logan was pacing the floor. Prince should’ve called in ten minutes ago. He might just be late, but… Then a beep announced that Prince’s communicator went active. Logan rushed to the comstation. “DreamPrince you are late. What is yours status?” Had he ran into trouble? Was he hiding? Or had he simply forgotten about his com until now? “I am currently debriefing Phantom. I’ll let you know when I’m done here. Tell chief I’ll stop by with a package,” he informed them swiftly. “Radio silence until further notice.” And just like that, the line went silent once again. “He has him…” Logan muttered. Almost in disbelieve. “Oh thank goodness,” Thomas breathed in relief. They’d all be worried about the child out on their own. But it seemed like they were quite a few steps ahead of Collector. An advantage they sorely needed.

Hero au

@cirishere @hestianerd1 @moonlightshow00 @naturallyunstablegamer @alias290 @meowthefluffy @frida0043 @angelic-cali @selenechris @theblackveilinreverse

#sanders sides #ts sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #thomas sanders #virgil sanders #heroau

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vivianwritesaboutgames · 5 years

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More Isn’t Always Better: Splatoon 2 and Overwatch

This is an essay I wrote in October of 2017 for my Multiplayer design class.

Player communication is a must to include in almost all multiplayer games, but especially so in online team based games. People need to communicate in order to work well as a team, so how do you allow and incentivize players to communicate? Most games, including Overwatch, use voice chat to solve this problem, but some also include methods of communication for those who don’t want to or can’t use voice chat. These can range from a very simple “Yes!” or “I died” to more complex phrases like “My Ultimate is ready” or “Defend the point,” but having more phrases to communicate doesn’t always lead to cooperation.

In Overwatch, a competitive team based shooter, two teams of six players each attempt to accomplish a goal which varies by map. These goals can include moving an object from one end of the map to another, contesting a king of the hill style point on the map, etc. To communicate with their team, the player has access to both voice chat, text chat, and a wheel of pre-recorded phrases their character can say. Each player has access to the following phrases from the wheel: “Hello”, “Understood”, “Group Up Here”, “Thank You”, “I Need Healing”, saying the status of their ultimate meter, and more character specific emotes and voice lines that the player can get from loot boxes. Apart from those acquired from loot boxes, all players have access to all of these phrases, some such as ��Understood” can be bound to a keypress and be used to say even more phrases like “Move the Payload” while looking at an object in the game world. However, this wealth of options to communicate has led to Overwatch’s community becoming incredibly toxic.

In a popular online multiplayer game, toxicity is inevitable. When people have anonymity and can essentially say whatever they like without consequence there will be those who abuse the system to abuse and insult others. That doesn’t mean that forms of open communication shouldn’t exist, but there should be some way to punish unsportsmanlike behavior. Overwatch does include a way to report this behavior, but players are unsure if it actually does anything as no feedback is received to show that action was taken by the moderators against the offending player. To avoid toxicity in the first place, players can turn off voice chat and text chat, though they cannot opt out of chat entirely as phrases will still be heard and displayed and abused by players spamming certain phrases. Overwatch gives players a wealth of options to communicate, but as a result it is very difficult for players to avoid toxicity.

On the opposite end of the communication spectrum, there is Splatoon 2, a competitive team based shooter. In Splatoon 2, players attempt to cover the majority of the map in their team’s color of ink, escort an object to a certain point of the map, or control a certain place on the map. The game focuses on mobility in that players can turn into a squid to swim through their color of ink. In contrast to Overwatch, Splatoon 2 offers a total of 3 ways to communicate during gameplay. By pressing up or down on the D-Pad, players can say the following phrases: “This Way!”, “Booyah!”, and “Ouch” which is only available when the player has died and replaces the “This Way!” command. While there are fewer phrases, they are more generic and can be used in multiple situations. For example, the “Booyah!” command could be used to congratulate another player, to say “I just killed an enemy player or multiple opponents,” or even “We’re winning, good job!” In essence, it is a positive exclamation. “This Way!” and “Ouch!” can be used to tell your team where to go next or where enemies are, and generally indicate a location where action needs to be taken. Outside of matches, Splatoon 2 also includes a way for players to display messages in the game’s hub through drawings. These drawings must be shared through either twitter or Facebook in order to be posted and are heavily moderated as well, with players having a multitude of options in reporting inappropriate or mean-spirited posts. This system has resulted in a thriving community of artists as well as generally positive messages, for example over the summer of 2017 there was a flood of transgender positive posts and even though there were some who were angry at this development they were few in number and easily reported.

Splatoon 2 avoids toxicity by limiting the ways players can communicate, but toxicity does still exist in the game. During matches, toxic players will “Squid Bag”, or rapidly switching between Squid and Kid forms, to insult others. Other ways players can be toxic not unique to Splatoon 2 are players repeatedly targeting an opponent instead of completing the objective, killing players just as they spawn, or disconnecting from a match they are losing.

Disconnecting players is a common problem Overwatch and Splatoon 2 face, though they attempt to solve it in different ways. In Overwatch, the game attempts to find another player to fill the empty spot, though this often results in the joining player immediately seeing their team lose before even being able to pick their character. Splatoon 2 does nothing; the disconnecting player’s team is just at a disadvantage for the rest of the match. While matches in the game are very short, about 5 minutes, it feels unfair that players who were already losing the match no longer have a chance to make a comeback. Both games also attempt to punish people who disconnect, by reducing experience earned and a temporary ban respectively, though they are very weak punishments that don’t serve to discourage disconnections.

A significant challenge in designing a multiplayer game is trying to ensure that players are courteous to each other and encourage positive player interaction. There are a few options: rewarding players for good behavior or helping others; punishing players for bad behavior; or letting players police themselves and doing nothing. Overwatch and Splatoon 2 take the latter two approaches, with Overwatch focusing on punishment (however lenient) and Splatoon 2 focusing on letting players police themselves.

Not many games attempt to reward good player behavior, but Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (FFXIV) has a mentor system in which experienced players and new players are given access to a special chat channel in which mentors can give advice and help novices. The reward for becoming a mentor is a crown symbol next to your name in game. This system hasn’t had much of an effect on the game’s community, however, as some players become mentors and proceed to not help players it has improved the experience for some starting players though.

In her book Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds, Celia Pearce writes about The Gathering of Uru (TGU), a group of players who met in a now defunct game called Uru: Ages Beyond Myst in which players worked together to solve puzzles. This group has stuck together even after the game they all met in was shut down, so obviously they must have had a very positive experience playing the game and interacting with each other. Since Uru was a cooperative, not competitive game, it fostered an environment in which players could easily form relationships with one another. FFXIV is also a mostly cooperative experience, however when players interact it is usually with people from other servers who they will never see again or people who are already a part of their circle of friends or guild, so the type of game and how frequently players see each other is also a factor in how players will interact.

While Uru had puzzle solving, according to people Pearce interviewed most players focused on socializing and while there are many games with this focus their communities aren’t generally considered toxic. So how can competitive games encourage players to be nice to each other aside from rewards and punishments?

One solution is to match players of similar skills together, if players feel like they played a fair and balanced match they are less likely to become angry with each other. You can determine player skill in many ways such as matches won, kills per match, etc. Although there will be some players who are mismatched for one reason or another, this system would help more players than hurt.

Another way is for players to rate each other after a match based on various criteria, like teamwork or helpfulness. Positive rated players would be matched with other positive or neutral players, while negatively rated players would be matched with other negatively rated players or eventually outright banned. This could be abused by some players, or not used at all, but even if only some use it properly it would help to sort out unsportsmanlike conduct.

A third solution is to give equal rewards to winners and losers, or to not punish losers. Competitive games often reward winners with items or experience. To discourage players from leaving a match early, the game will give them the same reward if they win or lose. While this would help with some disconnecting players, there are those who just can’t handle losing and would disconnect anyway or some who wouldn’t see a point in trying if they get the same rewards win or lose.

In conclusion, outside of social games it is difficult to encourage players to be kind to one another due to multiple reasons such as the anonymity of the internet or knowing you will most likely never see that person again. There are many ways to encourage kindness, but each comes with its own drawbacks. When designing a multiplayer game, a designer should assume the worst case scenario when it comes to player behavior, design their game around that, and adjust the game as necessary according to the needs of the players.

Bibliography

Overwatch, Blizzard, 2016-2017, Video Game

Splatoon 2, Nintendo, 2017, Video Game

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Square Enix, 2013, Video Game

Pearce, Celia. Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds. MIT Press, 2011.

#video games #gaming #splatoon #overwatch #ffxiv

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markwatkinsconsumerguide · 7 years

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Consumer Guide / No.42 / independent film-maker Sharon Woodward with Mark Watkins.

MW: Sharon, why is promoting awareness of Ataxia-telangiectasia important?

SW: I am very lucky to be able to work in this film-making world that I love, Mark. I also feel I have some responsibility within that to explore areas and issues that are not given mainstream airtime.

With regards to this subject particularly, I wasn’t at the time aware of A-T (Ataxia-telangiectasia). I was commissioned by the CEO William Davis. He contacted me a couple of years ago with this idea about giving a voice to the individuals with the condition rather than it coming from a medical perspective. I ended up making two short films both around 4 minutes each. With a third film being a longer 10 minute project.

The 10 minute film has been shown at the FERFILM International Film Festival (Open Air Cinema). It was broadcast in November 2016 on a number of Freeview Channels via the wonderful Community Channel. Also shown at the 23rd International Independent Film Festival, PUBLICYSTYKA, in Poland.

The social work course and the health and well-being course at Northampton University are also using the film as a resource for discussion and debate.

The condition and the manner in which it manifests is varied and only hit me at the beginning of the year. Rupert, one of the main characters interviewed in the film, speaks candidly and at length about having Ataxia-telangiectasia. Sadly he died aged 31 in January 2017. I didn't really know him : we met during filming.

Yet, when editing an interview over a long period of time you listen and watch what people say and how they say it. You start to feel like you know and understand them. I didn’t know him and I can’t possibly comprehend what it must be like to have this condition, but all these people opened my eyes and made me aware of it. I hope I never stop learning.

MW: How reflective are you as a creative person? How does this trait manifest itself when producing film projects?

SW: I think this is hard to answer. I do feel I have a responsibility as I indicated before. I do think about the world, the way we live, how we treat each other. Perhaps at times I overthink and would be wise to let go.

Growing up, I never felt in my wildest dreams I would ever be given the opportunity to make films. It was a pretty dreadful environment and I was damaged greatly by it and the experiences I had. My saving grace was going into care. I later met some wonderful people - kind, caring - and, I also received help and support. So when the film-making presented itself to me I ran at it. This was a fantastic thing to have happen and I want to at least try and make a difference by using these skills.

I am clear that I have a belief system and trust it attracts like-minded people and organizations.

If it is only about money, then quite frankly, unless you make the big time you are more likely to make a profit and earn more doing something else.

MW: What was your involvement at Tyne Tees TV?

SW: This was an incredibly long time ago now (1988/89). I had been training at the BBC in Wales (cutting rooms) outside Cardiff. This was before, and after, I graduated from Newport Film School.

It was just another Trainee/2nd Assistant Editing job. Most of us (graduates at the time) realized that we were no longer going to be offered places in the industry. Permanent jobs were giving way to short term contracts : we were all going to be freelance. I was offered a feature film (I knew the director as she was a mentor for me). The film ‘Women In Tropical Places’ was funded by the BFI (British Film Institute), Film 4 and Tyne Tees who were offering facilities and housing the production. I was taken on as a freelancer for the production. During this time I also assisted the 1st Assistant Editor in the cutting rooms with a Tyne Tees documentary.

This was not a glamorous job as you were at the bottom of the pile. I was running around after people, sharpening Chinagraph pencils, getting coffee and Twix. I did a lot of what they called rubber numbering which you had to do on film. So when you cut the clapperboard off you could keep the film in sync until it went to the Neg Cutters. So logging footage : labelling up film cans. It was a low-level position but it was fantastic for learning about putting a film together. I always say to students try and get some work experience with an editor because the learning covers everything.

MW: How did you get your first big break with Channel 4, Sharon?

SW: This was by accident, Mark. I’d been a drummer in a punk band ‘Limited Relief’ and a youth performer in a drama group ‘Teenage Zits’. All this resulted in some of us from the drama group making a video called 'Not A Girl Anymore'. Maybe now this isn't so unusual, and perhaps seen as a natural progression for youth groups? However, back then, you had three TV Channels until Channel 4 came along. Video was not the accessible technology it is today. We raised funds via The Prince’s Trust.

Back then, in the early 1980s, we had no idea. I didn't even know about editing. Just thought that you set the camera up and everything just happened including the music and credits. Very naive by today's standards. If Google had been around it would have been a case of looking it up on-line.

The film had already been shot when commissioning editor Rod Stoneman decided to take it on for the youth series.

It was filmed in 1983 ; first broadcast in 1984/85 ; and again in 1986/87 as part of the Channel 4's youth series 'Turn It Up'. The production standards are not high and Channel 4 didn't have the same set up and criteria it does today. However, I was bitten by the film-making bug and from that point on I wanted to know more.

MW: How did you come to collaborate with ska band Symarip on your new film project?

SW: I first made contact with Monty Neysmith and Roy Ellis back in 2008 when I used a song 'Skinhead Girl’ by the Symarip in a documentary I was making called ‘Thank You Skinhead Girl’. It was about teenage identity and the song was just right as the theme.

I had the idea about the Symarip story then, but put it on hold at that time. Eventually, after a number of failed attempts at interviewing anybody from the band, I revisited the idea once more in 2012 (after a brief conversation with Roy Ellis prior to a gig he was doing in the UK). The filming began at Club Ska (100 Club) in London. We recorded Roy performing with The Moonstompers. This turned out to be an amazing night, much more than I had expected as Neville Staples showed up and we captured them on stage together.

I was very fortunate to interview four of the original Symarip band members, that’s Roy Ellis and Frank Pitter (face-to-face) and Monty Neysmith and Mike Thomas (via Skype).

I also have a number of other artists as well as fans and also interviewed the late Graeme (Goody) Goodall who sadly passed away in 2014, Co-founder of Island Records & Doctor Bird.

So a wonderful documentation of history - both social and economic - as well as a film for the fans.

MW: Tell me your overall plans for 'Ska'd by the Music'... including funding / promoting...

SW: Well it is near completion. I’ve been working on it for five years and I’m aiming to finish around July/August 2017. I had no financial backing. It was a difficult project to get funding for, and therefore I’ve been making it around my commissioned film work. This means what available time I’ve had has been spent on this production. All those involved: musicians, promoters, the narrator, researchers - everybody who helped me - they all put time in because they wanted to contribute. I’m extremely grateful to all of them for supporting this project.

The technical side has been another matter i.e filming, logging, uploading, editing etc. not to mention negotiating with music publishers. This is all time consuming and labour intensive and still ongoing (by myself). So has taken over my life quite a bit. I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to take this story out to a wider audience. However, as I have already said it will be nice to have my life back.

Obviously there are somethings I have to fundraise for. I can’t clear the publishing rights of the music or get DVD duplications processed without money. So I will be crowdfunding. This will enable me to raise funding to complete the project. Those that contribute and also meet certain criteria will receive a copy of the film (those interested should look out for the crowdfunding page all information and criteria will be clearly explained on the page).

The plan overall is to complete the film, first and foremost. This will be achieved by fundraising, clearing publishing rights, sorting paper work etc. The absolute date is still to be confirmed. However, I would say the end of this year at the latest. On release of the film copies will be sent to the funders/donators to the crowdfunding page, they will receive a limited edition of the DVD.

I will set up a Facebook page for ‘Ska’d by the music’, so that those interested can follow what is happening. The film will be entered into film festivals so dates of screenings will be posted so interested audiences will be aware of when and where it is being shown.

Distributors - Concord Media (they distribute other work of mine) are an educational ‘Not for Profit’ organisation, so I’m expecting that they will be interested in distribution. The Community Channel is also interested so a possible UK broadcast as well.

Synopsis: Ska’d by the music (Symarip story)

The creators of the ‘Skinhead Moonstomp’ album. The Jamaican band that engaged a generation of working class teenagers.

They were known as The Bees, Seven Letters, the Pyramids and Zubaba. In 1969 they would head straight into the British music charts with a Ska anthem to be remembered.

Not the first group of black musicians to appeal to a predominantly white audience. But this was different; Symarip were appealing to council estate kids.

Following the Nationality Act in 1948, many Jamaicans migrated to Britain in the hope of finding work. The outcome is well documented and not all found the country as welcoming as they had been led to believe.

However, leading into the mid to late 1960s, through working alongside each other in factories and visiting the same dance halls and clubs, white working class teenagers saw their own alienation and lack of opportunities, echoed in the young Jamaican counterparts.

MW: What sorts of ska / two-tone treasures can be found in your own record collection?

SW: Originally a lot of my records were on vinyl and like many of my generation I have the ‘One Step Beyond’… and The Specials, The Selecter, Bad Manners, The Beat as well as ‘The Dance Craze – The Best of British Ska...Live!’ album. Much of this has also been purchased on CD and downloads as well.

You will also find Prince Buster, Dandy Livingstone, Desmond Dekker, The Pioneers and of course, Symarip. I do love the originals and many of the covers. What a brilliant first album UB40 created with ‘Signing Off’. However, you can’t compete with Tony Tribe singing ‘Red Red Wine’.That first guitar string, like the strings of your heart. Always sends shivers down my spine.

MW: What's the best thing you've ( a ) read ( b ) watched and ( c ) listened to recently?

SW:

A) Read – I’ve found with the ongoing and non-escaping political scene at the moment I have been sent further into the world of fantasy. I do love vampire novels and science fiction. I am now on the final book of the Deborah Harkness All Souls Trilogy ‘The Book Of Life’. I got hooked on ‘A Discovery Of Witches’ because I know many of the buildings in Oxford that she writes about in the book. The idea of this history professor being a witch amused and appealed to me. So I’m on the last book in the trilogy, but haven’t been able to read as much as I would like.

B) Watched – I’m into boxsets. I have just finished watching the final of series six ‘The Walking Dead’ and found it very disturbing. Having said that, Andrew Lincoln is truly fantastic and I also love the strong female roles such as Danai Gurira’s stunning sword swirling Michonne. If you speak of fantasy often people just think you’re a nerd. Which of course I am, but wasn’t sure about this series in the beginning, it has grown on me. My husband had originally been very keen on watching it and zombies have never been my thing. However, what has engaged me is the concept of how society, humanity could, and let’s face it, would, probably break down. I find all the characters very believable, complex and scary as hell.

The other boxset recently watched was volume three of ‘House of Cards’. Amazing performances by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in this tale of corruption in the political arena. You begin to wonder about art imitating life, or visa versa.

Films I watched quite recently ‘Europa, Europa’ directed by Agnieszka Holland. Based on the 1989 autobiography of Solomon Perel (he also appears in it right at the end) it’s the story of a German-Jewish boy who escaped The Holocaust by masquerading not just as a non-Jew, but as an elite "Nazi" German. It is very intense at times, but also has dark humour. One dreamlike sequence shows Stalin and Hitler dancing together.

C) Listened to – Occasionally I listen to ‘The Craig Charles Funk And Soul Show’ on BBC Radio 6 Music and ‘Elaine Paige on Sunday’ on BBC Radio 2. Otherwise, it’s Classic FM in the car but I don’t listen to much radio. I admit though that I started tuning in to ‘The Archers’ on BBC Radio 4 when they had the Helen and Rob storyline going, but I often forget!

MW: How do you see the future of film making for independent production companies such as yours?

SW: I’m a freelance individual not a Limited Production company. So fortunately I don’t have to worry about employees.

The nature of funding has changed, smaller film agencies getting moved to bigger under one roof organisations. This signals regional film-makers missing out more and more on funding. Many film-makers are moving towards crowdfunding and other ways of finding support for their projects. Also technology is constantly changing, so I think how we watch films will also impact on the film-makers themselves.

MW: Aside from 'Symarip', any other film making projects in the pipeline?

SW: I am still pushing to get ‘Ska’d by the music’ completed so will be a while before I think about another personal project. However, I’m always looking for commissioned work and have a keen interest in history so we’ll have to see what the future holds.

MW: Where can we find out more on Woodward Media?

SW:

http://sharonfilmblo1.blogspot.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/SharonWoodward

https://www.facebook.com/woodwardmediacom/

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sherlenev7774-blog · 6 years

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Why I Actually Use Tonka Fire Truck

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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An incomplete list of Hollywood’s favorite excuses for whitewashing and why they’re nonsense

Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell

Image: paramount

Between Iron Fist, Ghost in the Shell and that first Death Note trailer, it’s been a banner month for racially insensitive casting.

But while the problem may be getting extra attention right now, it’s not new and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, either. In fact, with each passing controversy, the excuses have just started to sound more and more familiar.

SEE ALSO: Netflix’s ‘Death Note’ teaser trailer opens the book on horror and destruction

Hollywood’s racial bias comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s “whitewashing” casting a white actor to play a character who was originally conceived of as non-white, like the Major in Ghost in the Shell or Light in Death Note. (John Oliver has an excellent primer on the industry’s long history of whitewashing here.)

Other times, it might be favoring a white lead character in a narrative that borrows problematically from non-white cultures like positioning Iron Fist‘s Danny Rand and Doctor Strange‘s Stephen Strange as the ultimate practitioners of mystical martial arts that they learned in made-up Asian countries.

Perhaps most insidiously, it can also mean simply overlooking POC talent, and defaulting to white characters and white actors time and time again, even when there’s no narrative reason to do so. We adore Tim Burton and the Coens as much as the next person, for example, but it’s hard to deny that their films tend to be pretty homogenous.

(And we’re just talking about casting here, though the data shows that there’s racial inequality in basically all areas, at basically all levels of the industry. More on that here.)

Image: giphy

If there’s a bright side to these seemingly endless controversies, it’s that they’re making headlines moviegoers seem less and less willing to let this kind of prejudice slide. Even as journalists and audiences have become more critical, though, too many stars and filmmakers seem to be stuck pushing the same old defenses.

So in the interest of saving everyone some time, we’ve compiled some of Hollywood’s favorite excuses for favoring white people in casting and some thoughts on why each one falls apart.

Actually, this is a really diverse cast.

Eddie Redmayne and Katherine Waterston in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Image: Warner Bros.

Recently used by: J.K. Rowling, who insisted, “Everyone in Fantastic Beasts is not white.”

Also used by: Steven Paul (Ghost in the Shell), Joe Wright (Pan), Ridley Scott (Exodus: Gods and Kings), Finn Jones (Iron Fist).

Why it’s nonsense: This excuse might hold up if it were actually true in any meaningful sense if, in fact, the real problem was that detractors were just woefully misinformed about the makeup of the cast and/or the significance of their roles.

But very often, the “diverse” cast members turn out to be supporting players or even extras, while white stars get the meaty leading roles. Yes, it’s nice that America’s wizarding community has a black female leader in Fantastic Beasts, or that Tiger Lily’s tribe is a racially diverse bunch in Pan. It’s just too bad they get fuck-all to do compared to the white leads.

Even in Iron Fist, which is a bit more evenhanded than some of these other examples, there’s no question of whose story gets top priority and it’s not Claire Temple’s or Colleen Wing’s.

This argument, then, turns out to be disingenuous. It makes no distinction between a high-profile hero and a half-baked love interest, a one-off guest star, or a non-speaking extra.

This is a universal story.

Russell Crowe in Noah

Image: paramount

Recently used by: Producer Ari Handel, explaining why Darren Aronofsky’s Noah was about a bunch of white people. “From the beginning, we were concerned about casting, the issue of race,” he stressed, before going ahead to put his foot in his mouth:

What we realized is that this story is functioning at the level of myth, and as a mythical story, the race of the individuals doesnt matter. Theyre supposed to be stand-ins for all people. Either you end up with a Bennetton ad or the crew of the Starship Enterprise. You either try to put everything in there, which just calls attention to it, or you just say, Lets make that not a factor, because were trying to deal with everyman.

Also used by: Lilly Wachowski (Cloud Atlas).

Why it’s nonsense: Leaving aside that it’d actually be really nice to see a cast diverse enough to make up a Benetton ad, why should “everyman” default to white? (We can’t know the ins and outs of casting for Noah, but Handel makes no indication that they ever seriously considered the possibility of, say, an all-Middle Eastern cast.) The assumption here seems to be that only people of color have race, while white serves as a totally neutral default.

Cloud Atlas and Noah might think they’re beyond race somehow, because they’re concerned with lofty ideas but they’re still movies made by and for people who live in this world, with all of our weird racial hangups and troubling cultural contexts.

We wanted to avoid stereotypes.

Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange.

Image: marvel/disney

Recently used by: Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson, who in trying to avoid one controversy face-planted straight into another. It was a challenge from the beginning that I knew I was facing with both Wong and the Ancient One being pretty bad racial stereotypes1960s versions of what Western white people thought Asians were like,” he said. “We werent going to have the Ancient One as the Fu Manchu magical Asian on the hill being the mentor to the white hero. I knew that we had a long way to go to get away from that stereotype and clich.

Also used by: Johnny Depp (The Lone Ranger).

Why it’s nonsense: Avoiding stereotypes is a good goal to start with, but casting a white person to play the part of a person of color doesn’t fix that problem. It just creates a different one. The better approach in scenarios like these would be to subvert the stereotype, maybe by using the character to comment on it or simply by fleshing them out so much that they’re not a flat, two-dimensional archetype any more. Or, better yet, start by asking yourself it’s even worth resurrecting such an outdated and possibly racist property in the first place.

But we hired a woman.

Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell

Image: paramount

Recently used by: Ghost in the Shell star Scarlett Johansson, who used Hollywood’s woman problem to deflect a question about Hollywood’s race problem. “I certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. Diversity is important in Hollywood, and I would never want to feel like I was playing a character that was offensive.”

However, she continued, “having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity. Certainly, I feel the enormous pressure of that the weight of such a big property on my shoulders.”

Also used by: Tilda Swinton and Kevin Feige (Doctor Strange).

Why it’s nonsense: We’re all for seeing more and better female roles, but gender and race aren’t somehow equivalent or interchangeable. Bringing in a white lady doesn’t magically make up for erasing a person of color. Plus, this line of argument conveniently forgets that women of color exist. Ghost in the Shell wouldn’t have been any less female-led if its star had been an Asian or Asian-American woman.

We hired the best person for the job.

Characters voiced by Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson and Matthew McConaughey in Kubo and the Two Strings

Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

Recently used by: Director Travis Knight, addressing why his Japan-set fantasy Kubo and the Two Strings has a mostly-white voice cast. Ultimately, what matters most for us is the ability for an actor to convey the nuance and the emotional truth of the role using the only tool that they have at their disposal, which is their voice, he said. “There are very few actors in the world that can do that. There are a lot of great actors that cant do that.

Also used by: Tina Fey (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot), Scott Buck (Iron Fist), Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell).

Why it’s nonsense: “Hiring the best person for the job” sounds all good and fair in theory. But “best” is a subjective measure, and the specific criteria are set by the filmmakers. If they believe the “best” person for a non-white role is a white person, it means the filmmakers decided that racially sensitive casting wasn’t something they felt they needed to address.

(Keep in mind, too, that “best” can encompass all sorts of qualities that have little to do with the actual quality of an actor’s work, like how famous they are or what their public image is. It’s not as if the casting process exists in some artistically pure plane before race is factored in.)

Furthermore, there are plenty of films that seem to fare just fine with racially appropriate casts. Kubo itself was shown up a few weeks later by Moana, which went out of its way to find stars of Polynesian descent and was rewarded with praise in addition to all its of excellent reviews and truckloads of money.

Non-white stars arent bankable.

Joel Edgerton, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro and Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and Kings

Image: Fox/Scott Free

Recently used by: Ridley Scott, who blamed the business for making his Egypt look so white in Exodus: Gods and Kings. “I cant mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such,” he said. “Im just not going to get it financed. So the question doesnt even come up.”

Also used by: Dana Brunetti (21).

Why it’s nonsense: This argument sounds kiiinda pragmatic until you start to break it down. Sure, Exodus star Christian Bale is world famous. But is Joel Edgerton’s international fanbase really that big? Is 21 star Jim Sturgess’? And why are the options here “white A-lister” or “nameless nobody”? Non-white stars exist some of them even starred in Scott’s next movie, The Martian.

This rationale also conveniently forgets that Hollywood doesn’t just employ stars it creates them. Indeed, Sturgess himself was just a scrappy up-and-comer when he landed 21, which would turn out to be one of his first big breakthroughs. Brunetti could’ve used this opportunity to boost an Asian-American actor; he just chose not to.

And yes, while conventional wisdom might state that only white-led movies do well overseas, the conventional wisdom in this case is wrong.

Why would we need non-white people in this?

Ella Purnell, Asa Butterfield, Eva Green and more in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Image: fox

Recently used by: Tim Burton, justifying the lily-whiteness of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. “[T]hings either call for things, or they dont. I remember back when I was a child watching The Brady Bunch and they started to get all politically correct. Like, OK, lets have an Asian child and a black,” he said.

“I used to get more offended by that than just … I grew up watching blaxploitation movies, right? And I said, thats great. I didnt go like, O.K., there should be more white people in these movies.”

Also used by: Joel and Ethan Coen (Hail, Caesar!).

Why it’s nonsense: Once again, this argument only makes sense if you assume that white stories and white characters are the default, whereas non-white stories and non-white characters have to be specifically “called for.”

This, by the way, is how you end up with stereotypes: by presuming that, say, a Latino character should only exist if there’s something “Latino” about the story.

And never mind that the blaxploitation genre, which Burton cites in his own defense, was created specifically because black people weren’t being represented in “mainstream” (i.e., white) movies.

This character is supposed to be (or look) white.

Matt Damon in The Great Wall

Image: Universal

Recently used by: Matt Damon (The Great Wall). I didn’t take a role away from a Chinese actor … it wasn’t altered because of me in any way,” Damon said, adding that he hopes criticism of the film will die down once people see that its a monster movie and its a historical fantasy.

Also used by: Cameron Crowe (Aloha), Ben Palmer (Urban Myths)

Why it’s nonsense: Of course you can have white characters in a story full of non-white people. Of course some non-white people can pass for white. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense to cast a white person as the star of a story about a person or a culture of a different background.

The reason it’s frustrating to see Damon in The Great Wall or Emma Stone in Aloha or Joseph Fiennes in Urban Myths is that it’s hard enough for an actor of color to snag a meaty role without getting shut out of stories that borrow from their culture or revolve around people of their heritage.

In short, as Hollywood continues to drag its feet on casting actors of color, their arguments are only wearing thinner. The only real fix is for this industry to become more inclusive.

That might mean reinventing an old property by bringing in a Native-American lead. Or launching the next big movie star from the pool of overlooked Latino actors. It might even mean gasp! hiring an actual Asian person to play an Asian person.

What it definitely doesn’t mean is returning to the same old excuses for keeping out people of color. We’ve heard it all already, Hollywood. It’s time to write a new story.

WATCH: Viola Davis is the first black woman to win an Emmy, Tony, and now, an Oscar for acting