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mariacallous · 1 day

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Last December, Mahesh Odedara signed a contract to live and work for five years in a foreign country thousands of miles away from home and mired in a state of war. Odedara, a 30-year-old farmer from Porbandar, a city in western India, was aware of the risks of working on an Israeli farm. But Odedara’s contract promised him a steady, eight-hour workday, robust workers’ rights under Israeli law, and a 5,571 shekel ($1,500) monthly salary—many times more than what Odedara earned in Porbandar. It was too good to turn down.

Israeli farms are in dire need of agricultural workers like Odedara. Following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, the Israeli government barred tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers, a critical component of Israel’s agricultural workforce, from entering the country. By early winter, farms were facing a “manpower crisis.” With no sign of government policy changing, farmers have since turned to importing thousands of foreign laborers from countries such as India, Malawi, and Sri Lanka to stay afloat.

At first, Odedara’s expectations were high. With his newfound salary, he would be able to send home hundreds of dollars each month to support his parents; the money could also go toward purchasing equipment for the family farm. One day, Odedara hoped, he might even be able to buy a home for himself in Porbandar.

But soon after arriving in Israel, Odedara realized that his employers had little intention of honoring his contract. In Ahituv, a farming community in northern Israel, Odedara worked grueling, 11- to 12-hour shifts picking produce; he was forced to work on weekends and was told he would be paid far below the legal hourly minimum wage. Then, at the end of the month, he was not paid at all—Odedara’s boss informed him that his wages had been sent, inexplicably, to his employment agency instead.

(When reached for comment, Odedara’s former employer denied that Odedara had ever worked for him; however, another migrant worker who independently mentioned working for the same employer corroborated Odedara’s claims about labor conditions and missing wages. The employment agency did not respond to a request for comment.)

Odedara’s housing, which farms provide for their workers, also bordered on the uninhabitable. In Khatsav, where Odedara worked for eight days, he slept in a makeshift room erected out of wooden planks and panes of sheet metal; his bathroom was a toilet in an outdoor shack with a dirt floor, and the shower had no hot water. In the first few months, Odedara lost nearly 25 pounds.

Odedara now “really regrets” coming to Israel, he said, even though he counts as one of the lucky ones: Odedara’s brother, Bharat, had already worked in Israel as a caregiver for four years and was eventually able to find him a job at a farm with far better labor conditions.

Yet Odedara’s experiences in Ahituv and Khatsav are far from unique. According to Bharat, abuse and illegal labor practices are widespread. “I used to meet all the new people coming in for agriculture. I was talking to them, and everyone has the same problem,” Bharat said. “They have to fight for their salary, for their rights, for their basic requirements. Nobody is helping them. They are helpless.”

Farming is fundamental to Israel’s national identity, yet the country’s agricultural sector has been reliant on non-Israeli labor for decades. In 1967, after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza, the government decided to integrate the territories’ residents into the Israeli economy. Since then, “Palestinians have been integral to the Israeli labor force,” said Adriana Kemp, a sociologist at Tel Aviv University who studies Israeli labor. “You could not talk about whole sectors like agriculture or construction without talking about this large number of Palestinians.”

By the 1990s—following spates of violence from Palestinian militants—Israel began “talking about the possibility of opening the gate for overseas labor migrants,” Kemp said. “That’s when they started actually bringing [in workers] from different countries.” But even so, Palestinians stayed in large numbers; in 2021, tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers made up a quarter of Israel’s total agricultural workforce.

Then came Oct. 7. Claiming that agricultural workers from Gaza had provided intelligence to Hamas fighters, the Israeli government barred some 20,000 Palestinian agricultural laborers from reentering the country. (Israel’s internal security service has since partially disputed this finding.) Around the same time, some 7,800 Thai workers, previously the largest population of overseas workers in Israel due to a 2012 Israeli-Thai bilateral agreement, fled after at least 39 of them were killed in the Hamas attack.

Almost overnight, the agricultural sector lost over a third of its entire foreign workforce. In the early weeks of the war, even though Israeli volunteers stepped in to help struggling farmers, farms hemorrhaged profits. By November, to replenish the labor force, the Israeli government announced that it would allow up to 5,000 overseas workers into the country via a new immigration scheme.

When Orit Ronen heard about the scheme, her immediate thought was that it would lead to “one big balagan”—Hebrew for a “chaotic mess.” Ronen, who works at Kav LaOved, a Tel Aviv-based labor rights nonprofit, was acutely aware of how vulnerable the new arrivals would be, given existing exploitation. Ronen also knew that many farms lacked sufficient infrastructure to house workers, since the farms’ previous Palestinian laborers had simply commuted in from the West Bank or Gaza.

Ronen was right to worry. Since early December, when thousands of new laborers began arriving in Israel, Kav LaOved has received more than 300 requests for information and assistance from workers reporting a litany of abuse. The conditions Odedara and others have experienced are blatantly illegal under Israeli labor law. But ever since the Oct. 7 attack, labor law enforcement has been “less than before,” Ronen said. “And even before, it was low.”

The Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA), the Israeli government agency tasked with labor law enforcement, did not respond to requests for interview. “We have the call center for foreign workers, where they can explain exactly the problem, and they will be checked,” PIBA spokesperson Sabine Haddad wrote in an email.

Migrant workers also often hesitate to contact PIBA’s call center for fear of retaliation; employers “are telling [workers] that we will send you back to India if you will not work as we say,” Bharat said. Employers “can’t do that. I know that, but [the workers] don’t. They are new.” (Israeli law allows workers to stay in the country for 90 days to find a new employer if they have been fired.)

The threat of deportation is especially potent because most workers are effectively stranded in Israel for the duration of their five-year contracts, thanks to the outsized fees they paid before departing for Israel. In Odedara’s case, an agent in India asked him for $6,300 in an under-the-table payment, which he paid for with his family’s savings.

These fees are not a new phenomenon, but labor advocacy organizations scored a major victory in 2012, when Israel and Thailand established a bilateral agreement that eliminated predatory fees for Thai migrant workers. The post-Oct. 7 immigration scheme, which has no such provision, threatens to undo this progress. “The [workers] that come, especially from India, paid thousands of dollars” to brokers, Ronen said. “For them, that’s a very big deal, and that makes them very vulnerable.”

And then there is the war. Melbin Paul, a 29-year-old from the southern Indian state of Kerala, was assigned to work at a poultry farm close to the Israel-Lebanon border, which the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has fired rockets across nearly every day since Oct. 7.

On the morning of March 4, Paul looked up from trimming an almond tree and saw a missile heading straight toward him and his fellow workers. “There was no time to run,” he said. The projectile, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile, made impact “in the blink of an eye.” Paul’s friend, 31-year-old Kerala native Pat Nibin Maxwell, was instantly killed. Paul, who had stood a few yards away from Maxwell, was left with dime-sized shrapnel wounds scoring the right side of his body.

“Even before the war, it was very common for agricultural workers that work near the Gaza Strip to be injured or killed,” said Michal Tadjer, a lawyer who runs a workers’ rights clinic at Tel Aviv University. Maxwell is one of at least a half-dozen agricultural workers who have been killed by rocket fire in the past decade.

Following the April 13 Iranian strikes on Israel, the Indian foreign ministry urged its citizens in Israel to register themselves at the Indian Embassy and “restrict their movements to the minimum.” The warning belies the reality that the new workers have far less understanding of the security situation than longtime Palestinian laborers or Thai migrants, who have been in Israel for decades.

Paul and his friends had never even been told that their farm was located in a closed military zone that Margaliot residents had evacuated in mid-October. “This is my first time in Israel,” Paul said. “I [didn’t] know where the firing and war” was.

Yet the scale of migrant worker exploitation could soon grow even worse. Fewer than 3,000 new agricultural workers have arrived since November; an additional 8,000 to 12,000 workers are needed to bring farms back to full labor capacity, according to Ronen. A separate deal is already in place to bring 10,000 Sri Lankan laborers to Israel over the coming months. More balagan is likely to follow.

There will also be profound security consequences to shifting away from Palestinian labor. Before Oct. 7, the income of Palestinian laborers in Israel made up about 20 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s GDP. For months now, Israel’s internal security service has called for Palestinian workers from the West Bank to be let back into Israel, warning that increasingly dire economic conditions in the West Bank will lead to further destabilization and violence. But right-wing ministers in the Israeli government have refused to lift the ban, citing the need to move away from Palestinian labor at all costs.

For the workers, their salaries are far beyond the meager sums they could earn back home. For Odedara, there’s much left to do: His current job, while a significant improvement over his previous stints, still pays below what his contract stipulates, and then there is the matter of getting his missing wages back. Odedara is “going to find a solution,” Bharat said. “He wants to stay here but in a good condition—not like this.”

Regardless, the post-Oct. 7 wave of new arrivals will remain in Israel until 2029—meaning that, for at least the next five years, many Palestinian farm workers will not have a job to return to even if the ban on Palestinian labor is lifted.

The only certainty, it seems, is that Israel will have to continue to look beyond its own population for labor. “Israel has relied on noncitizen labor in agriculture for a long time, whether Palestinian or non-Palestinian,” Kemp said. “This structural dependence will not go away.”

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artbyblastweave · 2 years

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Thinkin’ About Alexandria

An important thing to keep in mind about Alexandria, I think, is that she (and the rest of Cauldron’s inner circle) have been sticking like glue to an organizational schema she developed when she was fifteen, using power-assisted cognition but the life-skills, worldview and experience of a fifteen year old; I think this goes a long way towards explaining why her mindset was finding the most efficient way to martially oppose villains instead of, say, finding a way to financially disincentivize villainy through social safety nets. (alternatively, she wanted society to be a thunderdome of sorts to get everyone trained up for gold morning, but that’s got just as many holes that could be explained by being fifteen.)

Her power answered her fear that she’d die without getting to grow and change by arresting all her biological processes and permanently locking her into her late-teens-early-twenties; she has to pretend in order to seem as old as she actually is. Her cognition is completely offloaded to her power; her brain is vulnerable, but it isn’t clear if she’s actually doing any thinking with that thing. Unmovable, unbreakable, clad in fortress imagery, sticking like glue to a specific plan, and a specific value (they’ll be alive, that’s all that matters) derived from her own root fear of death, her preference for mutation over death by cancer, which she projects onto everyone else in the world and uses to justify everything she does to them. Incredible calculative power, incredible resources, incredible martial power, and a fighting style that, to my recollection, consists of hitting the other guy until they stop moving.

So, you know, conclusion number one that I’m drawing from all of this is that Alexandria is Taylor with all the world’s resources at her back and no one to ever tell her no. Conclusion two is that Alexandria is subtly in the same kind of power-induced arrested development as Contessa; she’s got the brains and the brawn to think up and execute bad plans perfectly, she faces no criticism or scrutiny, she (usually) faces no consequences. She’s not “stand-on-a-beach-for-three-days-in-a-stupor” levels of brainscorched by her power but there’s a real degree to which I read the training wheels as never having come off with her. I get a vibe of R/Iamverysmart permeating Cauldron’s set-up and self-assuredness, and this is part of why.

Conclusion three (the big obvious one) is that she’s a metaphor for institutional inertia. When she dies and the Protectorate uses her as a scapegoat for everything that’s wrong with them it’s very obviously self-serving but it’s also not, like. Incorrect. She’s a synecdoche for everything wrong with the system. Rigid, inflexible, callous, arguably necessary but nearly impossible to remove or change or challenge.

And then she gets replaced by a guy whose whole schtick is that he can mix and match the best properties of wildly different component elements on the fly to create the best possible response to any problem.

#parahumans #worm #wildbow #worm thoughts #worm analysis #worm meta #alexandria #rebecca costa-brown #thoughts #meta

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howtofightwrite · 2 years

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Do you know any weapons that are easy to wield one-handed or sitting down? It's for a character with a cane, she has a disability that hobbles her movement. Currently the only thing I can think of is a gun, but I kinda want to get away from them right now. Is there anything good or is a gun the only choice?

The movement restriction is a huge problem, this will even get in the way of her using a firearm.

The issue is that movement is a critical component of combat. If your weapon, literally, cannot reach your opponent, you have no way to attack them. If they can attack you, and you cannot reciprocate, you will lose. Given one of the options was a handgun, it's reasonable to assume these are fights where losing will result in her death.

Worth remembering, she may still be incredibly dangerous. To carry on a theme from the previous post, a character with serious mobility issues could still shank someone without warning. If she's planting a knife in someone's throat, or running it into the base of their skull, before they know she's hostile, their relative mobility isn't a practical advantage.

The problem with firearms is twofold.

Unless we're talking about some hypothetical future-gun, she'll eventually need to reload it, which requires both hands. It's certainly something she can do, but may require she stabilize herself first, probably by leaning against a wall, or something similarly sturdy. Ideally, something her foes couldn't get through. (This depends on exactly how her mobility affects her. If she can stand unaided, she may be able to put her cane in the crook of her arm while reloading.

If her firearms options are smooth bore musket pistols, things are going to get a lot more complicated. She won't be able to reload without solid cover, and her best option may be to carry multiple ready to fire pistols. (This was a somewhat unusual practice, but did appear in history. One of the most famous examples was the pirate captain Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, who carried six loaded pistols when going into battle. Six would be a bit extreme, though a second pistol would be quite reasonable.)

The second problem is that she has limited ability to adjust her position, and limited options for concealment. She won't be able to duck behind concealment, or run to get to safety from unexpected gunfire.

Worse, and this may not be a factor, but personal experience dealing with my own leg injuries, walking on the impaired limb is far more physically exhausting than on a healthy one. The chronic pain, quite literally, wears you out.

So, in the interests of writing what you know, when approaching a character with a physical impairment like this, it's important to remember this is someone who is needs to expend significantly more energy to cross the room, than you'd experience. This can result in someone who is perpetually worn out, but it can just as easily result in someone who hides a frighting amount of willpower, and has absolutely zero time for anyone else's shit when she's starting to run ragged. These aren't, necessarily binary states, and you have a character who could easily transition into someone borderline unrecognizable when she's had to engage in significant physical activity.

This is also a situation where you'll see severe diminishing returns depending on how much violence they engage in. If she's regularly getting into gunfights, it's likely to strain credibility, and the audience will become desensitized to her shooting (or stabbing) people, however, if she hauls off and executes (or assassinates) someone with little to no warning, that has the potential to be far more impactful. Given her injury, she'd be very likely to try to ensure that she has people around her who she can use to engage in violence for her, if this is a regular part of her work. Potentially even to the point that the audience may forget that she is personally dangerous, so that when she does haul off and shoot someone, it's (at least potentially) startling. This can fit neatly into a structure where her foe has removed her allies with the intention of taking her out while she's vulnerable, only for her to drive a purloined letter opener through their eye socket.

An approach that may work for you, when staging out this character would be to maintain a kind of inverse rule of three. You have, at most, three opportunities for your character to get violent, or cue your audience in that the character is violent, before the audience accepts that as a part of their identity. This means, you want to avoid that third incident, if possible, or accept that it will carry significantly less weight than the second time. This could be structured as an unusually graphic threat of violence (possibly by someone else) earlier in the story, a single explosive outburst of violence, and a final, less intense, instance during the climax. (In the context of the rule of three, you're explicitly skipping the second stage of confirmation your character warns someone that she's violent, but never reinforces that, she simply goes for the kill, or using violence as your reinforcement. You can also bury an establishment and reinforcement, by downplaying the severity of what she's about to do, while still maintaining a traditional rule of three structure, warning your audience that, “no, really, she's going to do something utterly horrifying,” but not giving them the tools to appreciate how hard she'll go.)

Somewhat obviously, this is your character, and you can do what you want with them, but you'd probably benefit from carefully rationing out their acts of violence to preserve the amount of weight they carry with the audience. Also, this is a character who has to pay (physically) for everything they do, they can't afford to screw around, if they're willing to kill, they'll do whatever it takes to end a fight before it starts because they can't afford to get into a war of attrition.

-Starke

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#Starke answers #writing advice #writing reference #writing tips #Starke is not a real doctor

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reflections-in-a-critical-eye · 2 months

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Film question. And this is a NOT an ask about the Oscars!

I know you're not a fan of Christopher Nolan's work and have been sharply critical of Oppenheimer, but I wonder if you are equally critical of Dunkirk?

Specifically, the timeline--from the one week of the retreat on land, one day of the rescue at sea, and one hour of the fight in the air--all happening at the same time. It seemed so innovative to me--once I got used to it--but you would know better than I if there are directors who have attempted similar ways to tell their stories? What did you think of it?

p.s. Also, Nolan's steadfast refusal to use CGI to properly populate the beach was weird. To fixate so much on historical accuracy and then miss the one thing we all know about Dunkirk because of an obsession with authenticity or whatever it was--it just seems inexplicable to me.

Hello @isaidnothankyou. Not only is a non-related Oscar question, I'm answering it after the award season is over.

As to my thoughts on Dunkirk, I don't have the same criticism for it, as opposed to Oppenheimer. I actually find it one of Nolan's best and his only film that I have watched twice. From a technical perspective and his work as a director, I'd say it's better than Oppenheimer. The subject matter was perfect to experiment with the timeline and finding an innovative way for storytelling. I think he pulled it off because it created tension and contrast and kept the viewer engaged at all times. The extra diegetic component (which I complained about in Oppenheimer) worked better in Dunkirk because it contributed in creating a sense of urgency and danger (even though I heard people complaining about the sound mixing and the volume level).

As much as I find faults in him as a person and a director, I sort of admire those who refuse to use CGI, particularly if they are able to find other means to set the scene. I'm also of the opinion that historical accurancy is not essential to cinema and particularly fiction. It's not a documentary, which means that under the artistic license and creative freedom, such details do not really harm a film, including in this context.

As to other films with a convoluted timeline and a more experimenting editing, other Nolan films come to mind, but also Run, Lola, Run. I remember it having quite an impact when it was released.

#m thoughts #film talk #dunkirk

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oblexoidbriar · 1 year

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Metal Madness AU Lore dump

it’s just essentially a bunch of what-ifs smooshed together (i’m just describing what an AU is haha) coupled with a bad ending premise.

For those that don’t want spoilers- long story short, Bunk Bed Junction became the big bad after some events and now they rule the city (or what remains of the city) and they’re all edgy and stuff.

I hc that all genres of music can become “corrupted” or used for evil, EDM or Rock or any musician can be corrupted regardless.

In my headcanoned NSR, magic/power can be harnessed in two ways- Natural abilities (the stuff that people just kinda have from birth) and magic harnessed through creative passion (music, art, all the stuff with creativity involved). For music, you need three components: Passion, Fan Power, and well, how well the music is. The better the music, the more powerful it is. Genre is somewhat of a factor as well (mainly minor tweaks like “oh well rock is more on attack than for example, lo-fi which is defensive and support”).

But a musician can be corrupted when they harness Hatred, and Fear. Twisting their abilities to hurt others around them and even themselves unintentionally at points. While it does make their music more powerful by a lot, it comes at very very high prices. It changes them as a person. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, after all.

Though now I think Madness wouldn’t be a good term for what May and Zuke are experiencing, more of a corruption- but Metal Corruption wouldn’t sound as good as Metal Madness. So in this AU, Madness = Corruption. Not Insanity or any pretty awful “ooh i’m goin insane n evil” tropes like that as this corruption is more of an entity possessing them and the duo succumbing and listening to this entity as their personalities and beliefs are being affected supernaturally. There are auditory and visual hallucinations induced by this entity to further coerce them into making bad decisions and further losing themselves.

By the way, please let me know if I’m writing anything not very good from a different standpoint/perspective, I want to write a story that involves corruption and making bad decisions as this is a bad ending, but I want to avoid things such as the Insanity trope or villainizing people who experience such things like hallucinations! I'm open to taking suggestions for a new name and for how better to write this AU while keeping all the important plot points and some of the vibe. I'm researching things as best I can so it can be enjoyed by everyone. Of course I know I can't please everyone, but constructive criticism will still help me out in the long run!

Now for the premise/lore that is full of SPOILERS!

After Tatiana was defeated, Mayday learned the truth: That the person making the shots against all the indie artists in Vinyl City is actually her idol- Kul Fyra. But instead of a funny gag we get in game, Mayday is overcome with rage and attacks Tatiana, forcing her to flee- with the legendary guitar. (that'll be a special thing we'll talk about later)

So Kliff and Tatiana don't get to have their little spat in front of May and Zuke, which means May and Zuke don't realize that Kliff has just been using them this entire time. They take their rightful place as Queen and King of Vinyl City.

They're..not very good at the whole running a city thing just yet, but they're at least trying at this point in time. The stress is kind of getting to them so they're relying on Kliff more to ease the load which means they're a lot more dependent on him.

But, of course, as Tatiana predicted, EDM supporters, plus NSR Charters did fight back to claim back the city. And when Tatiana mentioned that Bunk Bed Junction wouldn't stand a chance when they're at a level playing field, oh boy does she mean it. Imagine having to juggle all the charters in one fight.

Kliff, in what he'd call a "moment of genius", recommended B2J to..switch up the genre. With Metal, which would be easy to transition to considering B2J's genre of Rock, and it gives them a significant power boost.

It all went fine at first, the music just giving them an advantage, and they beat the charters one by one like before. But..when it came to Tatiana, Mayday was immediately getting corrupted due to her hatred and feelings of betrayal. Tatiana was defeated, again, but was injured greatly.

The win certainly changed Vinyl City, and Bunk Bed Junction..as now, Mayday had other plans. She was gonna allow EDM to keep on thriving, but..she decided, if they're just gonna make another uprising, why not give them a taste of their own medicine? She banned EDM entirely.

While ruling the city from there on afterwards, the duo began to slowly get corrupted, even kicking out Kliff from Vinyl City after an argument over power distribution. They ruled the city however they pleased, and their sense of justice twisted. They still had good intentions, and believed they were "helping" the city but did more bad than good.

And that's where the story leaves off~ Current day of the duo still ruling, but who knows? Things might change.

#lore dump #big text wall #metal madness au #hoping to reveal more of the story in an ask blog or a comic #no straight roads #nsr #nsr au #i really hope i'm not getting too paranoid over the story #idk if some tropes are fine and if some are not

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takerfoxx · 1 year

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So this youtuber called Terrible Writing Advice just did a video on literary deconstructions, and as someone who has talked a lot about the topic, I'm curious to see what you think.

I mean, he's totally right, especially in how people often mistake grimdark for deconstruction (Shrek is a deconstruction, y'all! You can, in fact, have fun and optimistic deconstructions!), but given a lot of my early writing, I can't help but feel a little called out.

And no, I wouldn't. It's a bedtime story. The fact that the protag starts of as just some guy with no desire to go on an adventure is a trope as old as time.

...

Actually, you know what? This is a good time to address something I've been seeing a lot of. So, here's goes.

Guys.

Yes, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a deconstruction. No, not because it's dark and fucked up, but because it literally deconstructs the fundamental tropes associated with the Magical Girl Warrior genre. Yes, there have been dark Magical Girl shows before, but that's not the point. The point is how that darkness is used.

Look, the Magical Girl genre is primarily an escapist power fantasy for young girls, and there is nothing wrong with that at all. But what Madoka Magica did was not make it all grimdark with the blood and violence (of which there is a lot less than people remember), but by taking apart the components of that genre and injecting a dose of reality. Kids and teens being given magic powers with awesome outfits and neat mascot helpers to fight aliens and monsters sounds awesome AF, which is why the genre is so popular. Because it is awesome! But in reality, it would only end up with those same kids ending up horribly traumatized by what they do, see, and experience, resulting in massive mental health issues that compound over time. Furthermore, they would also regularly make very bad decisions in critical life or death situations (because they're, you know, kids) that result in destruction and loss of life, including their own.

Also, why is it always kids that these cute mascot helpers give these special powers to defend their cities? Because, again, it's a power fantasy. That's why it's so popular. But realistically, children would make for a terrible choice to be given those powers, for reasons already stated. Yes, there's usually an in-universe handwave explanation, but that's just to sidestep uncomfortable questions. In fact, the whole thing sounds pretty danged exploitative, doesn't it? Children are impressionable and quick to make rash decisions without considering the long-term affects of those decisions, so specially going to them for recruitment sounds kinda fucked up.

Well, as it turns out, it is exploitative. The whole system is rigged to harvest those same turbulent emotions. That's why kids are targeted. Those emotions and the trauma is the whole point. The cute mascot helpers and their Magical Girl system are the true "villains," and the horrible monsters that the girls made a contract to fight against are just other victims like themselves, in the final stages of their victimhood.

That is why Madoka Magica is a deconstruction.

Furthermore, when people say that Madoka Magical "destroyed" the Magical Girl genre, what is meant is that it so thoroughly took apart the base components of the genre that it was hard to play them straight going forward. It was a massive shock to the system, one whose ripple affects are still being felt to this day. And in its wake a slew of half-baked imitators rose up, cluttering up the genre trying to capitalize on its success by churning out a bunch of grimdark Magical Girl shows that don't seem to understand what made the original so special.

But that doesn't mean the genre is broke beyond repair, either. These sorts of trends happen all the time. Evangelion did the same thing to the Magical Girl genre's distaff counterpart, the Giant Mecha genre (albeit unintentionally), but Gurren Lagaan came later and put it back together. And for all I know (I don't really pay attention), one might have already.

So, yeah. Madoka Magica was very much a deconstruction, and it did change the genre, possibly not for the better in the short term, but the long term may prove differently, as future entries might take what was learned and use that knowledge to make even better feel good Magical Girl shows to give power fantasies for kids in the future.

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #deconstruction

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caparrucia · 1 year

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I just finished God of War Ragnarok, and I wondered what your thoughts on it were? I loved all the little callbacks to the first one throughout the game

I hope you enjoyed it, anon!

I really enjoyed my playthrough right until I hit post game and the combat really started to piss me off. It was a bit disappointing. It's not unique to Ragnarok, I had similar issues with the combat in 2018, but the fact Ragnarok had so many moving pieces to its combat (4 weapons, if you count barehand/fists, and different amulets and two arrow sets, and artifacts, and such an emphasis on special effects in armor sets... etc.) really made the places where battles became essentially puzzles with very specific answers, and if you're not willing to meet the game in its own terms, you're gonna have a Bad Time. My bone with gear-based combat is that it reaches a point where your skill level doesn't matter. Your understanding of mechanics and combat doesn't matter. If you're not geared up appropriately, the game will not let you through, or will make the experience excruciatingly obnoxious. I found the valkyrie fights, and specifically Sigrun, to be one of the best combat experiences in a game, because it became... a conversation, of sorts. I did not feel that way, about a lot of combat encounters in Ragnarok. Some of the berserkers were incredibly infuriating because it seemed like anything I tried to respond with resulted in a loud "NO, WRONG! TRY AGAIN!" from the game, because I wasn't spec'd properly, and I mostly ended up overleveling to tank damage and get through some of the toughest fights. The fight with Gna was frankly disappointing, when compared with Sigrun, because it had a lot more about status effects and pushing towards specific needs in your gear load out to make your way through it. Which to be perfectly fair, it's a logical extension of the original gear-based combat in 2018, it's just not one I particularly enjoy.

That's about the only thing I didn't like about the game. Everything else?

Holy fuck.

The music, the visual compositions, the camera work... I've heard quite a few criticisms about rushed writing, but I think the writing of the entire game is superb. I think it's definitely much more effective than 2018's - I think the "Atreus goes mad with power" sections of 2018 are pretty maligned and often blown out of proportion, but Ragnarok definitely doesn't have a section like that. I think the writing reveals a deep understanding of the component blocks of each character and a clear, chartered plan to where they're going. I love that the twists are very well setup and you can actually call them if you're detail oriented (@darkpuck clocked The Spoiler in my streams over an accent mark!) and that the development feels like pay off. Most of the story and writing in this game is just. Aggressively to my taste. People in my streams called out that Kratos echoes a lot of my personal choices writing characters like Cor and like... yeah! Yeah! He's pure Rie-nip. It's great.

The music is absolutely gorgeous and works fantastically well with the visual design. I love the care put into every bit of everything that appears on screen. There's a lot of love and thoughtfulness put into every aspect of this world, distinct design that creates tiny dialects and languages across the different groups of people, the different cultures. I specially loved the way the team clearly knew the mythology, and every specific choice they made, that changed or contradicted the mythology, was done purposefully and with enough build up that it felt like a fucking wink. It was amazing.

I'm going to be having feelings about Kratos, Freya and Mimir wandering the realms and having adventures and figuring out shit for approximately forever. It was a GOOD game. (I just got really salty about the post game combat.)

Speaking of callbacks, the way the most important scenes in the entire game reuse dialogue from the previous one, but fundamentally changing its meaning in the process just... GodDAMN.

I seethe with envy and jealousy at the master skill on display.

#rie answers #Anonymous

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kae-karo · 2 years

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Do you have any Chennett headcanons to share? 👀

YES HI HELLO ANON DEAR i do indeed lmao most of them stem from one very concrete and critical idea which is that bennett is FAR more fucked up than childe in every single way except that childe thinks he's the one who's more fucked up and it's often humorous except for when it's a little dark/depressing lmao

i think chennett is ripe for like. childe, who thinks he's some badass with an extremely harrowing past (not that he thinks it's too bad, mind you, but objectively speaking) to meet this lil bunny of a guy who's so eager and doe-eyed and sweet and caring and think that he must be protected at all costs

i think childe would take one look at benny and be like oh my god he's just a little guy i gotta keep him safe and protect his innocence etc etc which like. if that were the actual entirety of chennett's dynamic, i probably wouldn't really be into - cause for me i think that feels a lot like how he treats his siblings, and i'm pretty uninterested in exploring that as a concept

BUT childe finding out that bennett is not only disillusioned but so beyond disillusioned that it's almost depressing? finding out that he's been on the receiving end of more injuries/bad luck than even childe has? to the point that benny doesn't even flinch at the prospect of more? finding out that benny is into some very kinky stuff, if things turn down the smut route? like that is so good, and i think it's what makes this dynamic so spicy for me?

and i think childe could take that a LOT of ways, depending on the theme of the story being told or components being brought to light, beyond just general surprise. like. childe could be pissed, absolutely livid that the world has convinced this kid that there's something wrong with him and he just has to deal with it. he could get angry and feral in his unhinged sort of way cause benny is so fucking good he doesn't deserve that shit and childe just feels like he's somehow failed to protect him (even though he wasn't involved obviously in any of benny's life prior to that point)

or he could just be damn impressed. or relieved, maybe, that a kid who got so much shit handed to him in life can still turn out this kind and good. maybe that there's some kind of hope for childe, too, to not be viewed as the villain, cause he's still not a Bad Person, really. maybe. most of the time.

or he could be very intrigued, like. oh fuck he can keep up with me? and just having his eyes light up at the prospect. cause i think there's a part of childe that absolutely had to grow up way too fast? and that's why we see so much of his like. idk i'm hesitant to just call it childish but like? his more fun side? idk descriptors have evaded me, but the guy just wants a friend he's made that so blatantly obvious and i think the second he figures out benny isn't gonna treat him like a harbinger he's just like. 😳😳 oh.

i think it levels the playing field for me too for them? like, benny isn't just some kid who has no experience in life. he's not sheltered in some perfect happy bubble (like, picture diluc at 16 or so, right? very different imo) and i think that puts him on more even footing with someone like childe - benny's no stranger to death or danger or fighting for his life, he's not wildly out of his depth when it comes to situations that childe might find himself in (also, i just think childe would be drooling over watching benny fight for like 5 seconds, knowing he can hold his own and take a hit and get back up)

anyway all of this to say that like, i think childe is not in the habit of underestimating people but damn does he underestimate benny at first, and finds out the hard (fun) way that benny is not the little bunny he thought he was ☺️☺️

#ask #anon #chennett #genshin #genshin impact

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julescollins · 2 years

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September 12th 2022

‘Enriching and Assessing Young Childrens’ Multimodal Storytelling’ by Christy Wessel-Powell, Tolga Kargin, and Karen Wohlwend

‘Why Children Need Play’ by Deborah Leong and Elena Bodrova

‘Building Language and Literacy Through Play’ by Scholastic

Enriching and Assessing Young Childrens’ Multimodal Storytelling

Big Takeaway: Literacy playshops and multimodal storytelling allow children to develop creativity, meaningful stories, collaboration, communication and provide opportunities to engage with crafts, scripts, movement, perspective and other literacy building experiences.

Nugget: I loved the system the teachers put in place in this experiment to help the students develop their stories. From the minilessons to the checklist to peer feedback, all of it fostered innovation, communication, reading, responsibility and other skills that will carry over into later school years and adulthood.

Why Children Need Play

Big takeaway: Allowing children self directed, dramatic, and symbolic play has been linked to growth in linguistic, cognitive, social, emotional, self-regulatory and memory abilities, and thus will foster school readiness and academic accomplishment.

Nugget: Play can be ‘unproductive’ when the children repeat the same familiar roles or argue during play, because they are not growing in their understanding of other roles or developing appropriate social skills.

Building Language and Literacy Through Play

Big takeaway: Dramatic play is an important component of literacy skills, with symbolic representation, planned play, and open-ended, play rich environments/props being critical aspects of mature, high quality play.

Nugget: I never considered that the arguing that occurs during pretend play could be because the children are unfamiliar with the variety of roles that can be played in pretend situations; they may be fighting over one role (ex. Store cashier) because they are simply unaware that there are others (shelf stockers, customers, cleaners, etc).

Readerly Exploration: For my exploration, I chose to explore relationships with other people through reading by using the text to gain insight into another persons’ perspective. I shared an excerpt from ‘Building Language and Literacy Through Play’ with my friend who is a business major to get his perspective on the reading. I chose this exploration because I’ve found that letting kids learn through play is an almost controversial topic right now in parenting/teaching spaces, so I was curious to hear from a friend of mine who I knew wasn’t involved at all in either of those spaces’ opinions. We facetimed to discuss an excerpt from the article. I was surprised that, after reading the first page that gave a general overview of the article and mentioned a few of the ways play aids literacy and academic growth, he said it ‘went over his head’ and he had ‘no idea how advanced and difficult information in early education courses were’. To me, the article seemed very easy to comprehend, so to have someone so intelligent tell me it was hard for him to understand was surprising! I asked him to share any agreements, disagreements, points of confusion or things he was curious about. He mentioned that he agreed children nowadays do not have as much time for play because they are always on screens. After reading about how play develops delay of gratification, communication, and social skills, he said he had never thought of how valuable play could be in contributing to those areas, but he can definitely see how kids would grow in those areas through play. He said there wasn’t anything he could pinpoint that he disagreed with, but he was confused as to how toys could be used as symbolism, which I explained to him. He said something he was curious about was if there is some way that teachers could teach kids self regulation, communication, delay of gratification and role playing in an explicit way, rather than just letting them figure it out themselves. He said maybe if we figured out a way to teach those skills, the kids could develop them more quickly and efficiently. Although I understand where he is coming from, I countered that by saying the academic pressure on kids is getting larger and larger, and affecting kids younger and younger - plus, ‘teaching’ those skills might create social skills and communication that only stems from obedience to rules rather than authentic desire to communicate kindly and appropriately. He agreed that that was a possibility. considers how engaging in this readerly exploration helped you better comprehend what you read and deepen your mastery of course content. This readerly exploration helped me to consider perspectives and thoughts outside of the teaching space, and see how literacy, play, and childrens’ development might be seen through the eyes of someone with no experience in these areas. I found our conversation about ‘teaching’ those skills to be interesting. I viewed communication, delay of gratification, etc as something that couldn’t be explicitly taught; more so, just gained through life experience. On the other hand, he saw it as a potential academic topic.

Cole & I facetimed to have our conversation because he is currently travelling. He said he had to read the article excerpt twice because he wasn’t used to all of ‘this hard psychology stuff’! :)

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agape-philo-sophia · 2 days

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➝ The Physiological Expression of the Three Aspects of Consciousness.

Understanding certain basic structures and functionality of the human brain is part of the discovery of self. Many of us do not understand what the components of the brain are, how they work and what they give rise to with respect to qualities of our personality-identity-ego construct. Understanding the human brain is to understand a core aspect of ourselves and is critical for our understanding of what is going on in the world. Our species is gifted simply by possessing a brain of the order and magnitude that we have.

Symbolism operates on many layers, levels and depth. Rigidly applying rules in one direction will prevent us from perceiving greater revelations through the frequencies of color and shape being used. Taking another symbolic look at the components of a Trinity based on the father, mother and child, we can see how the Christian narrative is represented by the hindbrain, limbic and forebrain respectively. The reptile survival hindbrain is the law-obsessed dominator god from the Old Testament. The mammalian emotional brain is the sacred feminine Holy Spirit. The neocortex higher order thinking brain is the Divine savior and Light of the world.

• The Brainstem “Reptile” Hindbrain

The brainstem can be considered the foundation and hence the oldest and lowest part of the brain. The brainstem and cerebellum are responsible for physical activity, motor skills, and the instinct for survival or the fight or flight mechanism. In a dangerous situation, a decision needs to be made between staying and fighting or fleeing to survive. The heart will pump blood towards the areas of the body that require it. Blood will be pumped away from the vital organs of the torso and brain because a fight or flight response of survival to fight or run away requires blood to be sent to the areas of priority which are the extremities. When we are trying to survive we are not going to be thinking about deep higher order conceptual ideas nor do we need to be doing much digestion or other intensive functions of other organs. Our richly oxygenated blood will be sent to our muscles, such as the arms to be yielded as weapons if we have decided to stay and fight, or to the leg muscles for us to be able to flee the situation.

This functionality is effective for fending off an attacker. However, in our modern society we are not in many dangerous situations where we physically need to make a decision to fight of flee, yet this mechanism is activated frequently because we are often engaged in stressful activities. This beneficial survival technique has become a detriment in modern society because we engage and remain in this modality of consciousness for a large portion of the time. Our lifestyle is hectic and busy, from one thing to the next without having much time in between the various activities we occupy our lives with: a job, children, traffic, other people, and other daily activities. Always being busy and having all of your time occupied is also known as stress. This creates a construct whereby responsibilities of adhering to a scheduled way of living traps a person in a survival modality of being with no standard ability to fight or flee from the situation presented. This causes harm to other structures of the brain.

• The Limbic “Mammal” Midbrain

This is the middle-brain that is responsible for the chemical interactions through which we experience our emotions as feelings, and despite emotions not being derived from here, without this “middle chamber” we would not feel emotions. Mammals display physiological reactions of emotional states that reptiles do not show. Reptiles are more instinctual and based in survival and are where we get the term of being a “cold blooded” person.

• The Neocortex “Human” Forebrain

The Neocortex is the most developed part of the brain containing the most neural activity and manages all higher order thinking. The cerebrum is bilaterally symmetrical being divided into the left and right cerebral hemispheres. The left brain is symbolic of the masculine principle and is related to the thought functionality of logic, analysis, science, mathematics, language and the use of words. The right brain relates to the feminine qualities of holistic thought, intuition, creativity, art, music and all other forms of creative expression.

This triune component of the brain is setup as a hierarchy of three different aspects of being into one, and information is processed in a certain way if the functionality between these layers is operating correctly. Proper functionality means the cerebral hemispheres are cooperating together, balanced, unified, harmonious, coherent, consistent, and integrated, as can be demonstrated through EEG coherence where neural and synaptic activity is distributed throughout both hemispheres. The forebrain is the executive command center of the whole brain responsible for our reasoning capabilities to determine how we use our actions in harmony with our thoughts and emotions. Having a balanced neocortex without one side dominating over the other allows a person to become capable of higher-order conceptual thinking and reasonable behavior which is governed through our ability to recognize patterns and derive meaning. The neocortex is the most advanced computer that exists and the most complex substance we know of in the universe and therefore our greatest gift. The feminine midbrain that governs emotions sends data upwards to the masculine reasoning-processing center of the brain, both to the logical-analytical masculine left-brain and creative-intuitive feminine right-brain, which then sends signals down to the motor centers of the brain complex referred to as the reptile brain in order for our actions and behavior to be based on higher order reasoning and not automated responses based on instinct and survival.

Failure to understand how we function, as a component of who we are, places us in a position where we are susceptible to manipulation and mind control. Understanding the basic functionality of the brain brings us closer to becoming a being that governs ourselves and less subject to the influence of those attempting to commandeer our mind and behavior.

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howtobreakvpn · 6 days

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who invented vpn

🔒🌍✨ Get 3 Months FREE VPN - Secure & Private Internet Access Worldwide! Click Here ✨🌍🔒

who invented vpn

History of VPN Technology

The history of VPN technology dates back to the late 1990s, where the concept was initially developed to ensure secure communication over the internet. VPN, which stands for Virtual Private Network, was designed to create a private network over a public network infrastructure, such as the internet. This innovation allowed users to securely access and transmit data over the internet, protecting sensitive information from potential threats.

The first VPN protocols, PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) and L2TP (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol), were introduced as early methods for creating secure connections. In the early 2000s, the introduction of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) VPN technology brought further advancements in security and encryption, allowing for secure remote access to networks.

The widespread adoption of VPN technology gained momentum in the early 2010s, driven by increasing concerns over online privacy and security. As more individuals and businesses sought to protect their data and online activities, VPN providers began offering a range of services to meet these needs.

Today, VPN technology has evolved to offer a variety of features and functionalities, catering to different user requirements. From ensuring anonymity and bypassing geo-restrictions to encrypting data transmissions and securing public Wi-Fi connections, VPNs have become essential tools for safeguarding online privacy.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, VPN technology remains a critical component in the fight against cyber threats and unauthorized surveillance. With ongoing advancements in encryption methods and security protocols, VPN technology is poised to play an increasingly vital role in protecting online communication and data in the years to come.

Innovators in VPN Development

In the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, innovators in Virtual Private Network (VPN) development have played a crucial role in enhancing online privacy and security for users worldwide. These trailblazers continuously strive to improve VPN technology, making it more efficient, reliable, and user-friendly.

One of the key innovators in VPN development is the team behind OpenVPN, an open-source software that has revolutionized the way VPNs are deployed and managed. Their commitment to transparency and security has earned them a loyal following among both individual users and businesses looking to secure their online communications.

Another major player in the VPN industry is NordVPN, known for its advanced security features and commitment to user privacy. Their development team is constantly working on implementing cutting-edge encryption protocols and server technologies to ensure that users can browse the internet with peace of mind.

Moreover, the developers at ExpressVPN have been instrumental in creating a user-friendly VPN solution that offers lightning-fast connection speeds without compromising on security. Their dedication to providing a seamless user experience has set them apart as leaders in the VPN development space.

Overall, innovators in VPN development continue to push the boundaries of technology to offer users around the globe a safer and more secure online experience. By constantly improving their products and services, these developers play a vital role in safeguarding our digital privacy in an increasingly connected world.

Origin of Virtual Private Networks

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a technology that enables a secure and encrypted connection over a public network such as the internet. The concept of VPNs dates back to the 1990s when businesses started looking for ways to securely connect remote offices and allow employees to access company resources from various locations.

The origins of VPNs can be traced back to Microsoft's Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) developed in collaboration with other companies like Ascend Communications, U.S. Robotics, 3Com, and others. PPTP was one of the first protocols used to create encrypted tunnels over the internet, allowing for secure data transmission.

Another milestone in the development of VPN technology was the creation of the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) by Cisco and Microsoft. L2TP combined the best features of PPTP and Cisco's Layer 2 Forwarding (L2F) protocol, providing a more secure and reliable VPN solution.

The most significant advancement in VPN technology came with the introduction of the OpenVPN protocol, known for its open-source nature and strong security features. OpenVPN has become the industry standard for creating secure VPN connections due to its flexibility, reliability, and high level of encryption.

Today, VPNs are widely used by individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide to ensure their online privacy, secure data transmission, bypass geo-restrictions, and access restricted content. As the internet continues to evolve, VPN technology will play a crucial role in safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining online anonymity.

Pioneers of VPN Creation

The concept of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) dates back to the late 1990s when a group of tech pioneers envisioned a secure way to connect networks over the internet. These early visionaries can be considered the pioneers of VPN creation, laying the foundation for the widespread use of VPN technology today.

One key figure in the development of VPNs is Gurdeep Singh-Pall, a Microsoft engineer who played a crucial role in implementing the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), one of the earliest forms of VPN technology. PPTP allowed for the creation of secure, encrypted connections over the internet, paving the way for remote access to corporate networks and ensuring data privacy.

Another notable pioneer in the world of VPNs is Philip Zimmerman, the creator of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). While PGP itself is not a VPN protocol, Zimmerman's work on encryption and digital privacy laid the groundwork for many of the encryption technologies used in modern VPNs.

As the internet continued to evolve, so did the need for secure communication channels. This led to the development of new VPN technologies such as IPsec, SSL, and OpenVPN, each building upon the foundations laid by the early pioneers of VPN creation.

Today, VPNs are an indispensable tool for ensuring online privacy, security, and freedom. Whether used for secure remote access to corporate networks, bypassing geo-restrictions, or simply protecting personal data from prying eyes, VPN technology owes much to the pioneering work of those early visionaries who saw the potential for a safer, more secure internet.

Evolution of VPN Protocols

The evolution of VPN protocols has been a dynamic journey driven by the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity threats and the growing need for privacy and security in online communications. From the early days of Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) to the latest advancements in WireGuard, each protocol iteration has aimed to enhance encryption, improve performance, and address emerging vulnerabilities.

PPTP, introduced in the 1990s, was one of the first widely adopted VPN protocols. While it provided basic encryption, its security flaws became apparent over time, leading to the development of more robust alternatives.

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) emerged as an improvement over PPTP, incorporating stronger encryption mechanisms. However, L2TP's reliance on IPSec for security led to performance issues and compatibility challenges.

IPSec, a suite of protocols, gained popularity for its ability to provide strong security through encryption and authentication. It became widely used in conjunction with L2TP or as a standalone protocol suite for VPN connections.

OpenVPN, an open-source VPN protocol, brought flexibility and customizability to VPN implementations. Its support for various encryption algorithms and platforms made it a popular choice for both commercial and personal VPN solutions.

More recently, WireGuard has garnered attention for its simplicity, speed, and improved security features. Its streamlined codebase and innovative cryptographic techniques offer enhanced performance and resilience against modern threats.

As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, VPN protocols will likely undergo further refinements and innovations to stay ahead of emerging threats. Whether it's enhancing encryption standards, optimizing performance, or addressing new vulnerabilities, the evolution of VPN protocols remains essential in safeguarding online privacy and security.

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silverpelt3600 · 13 days

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The Ecological Complexity and Science of Avatar

Alright everyone, disclaimer, I'm NOT a professional. I am very early in my college academic career, and more than anything I am a nerd for Avatar and animals. This is designed for a 100-level English class, but you can rip this apart and proofread as you see fit, any criticism helps lol, but I'm submitting this in like 10 hours. Also this is like a 16-18 page word doc that I pasted, so if you have tips for reducing the word count that's cool too.

The Ecological Complexity and Science of Avatar

When Avatar first hit theaters in late 2009, the stunning visuals and powerful storyline captivated movie-goers and critics alike. The combination of cutting-edge new technology in its CGI and the powerful message about environmental conservation landed the movie the record for highest grossing movie of all time, sitting at over $2.5 billion in revenue, a record it held for a decade. But the initial surge of excitement surrounding the movie may have glossed over the significance of Avatar’s design. Avatar’s fictional moon of Pandora features a carefully designed complex biosphere with a unique and visually stunning ecosystem. In fact, several years of development prior to the movie’s release centered heavily on Pandora’s biosphere, and more significantly, the theoretical science behind it all. Jodie Holt, a botanist who was contacted to advise on the development and science of Pandora’s plants, said that “The plants are fake, but the science is real” (Kozlowski). In every scene in Avatar, pieces of Pandora’s natural world grasp the attention of viewers and each piece has some amount of scientific foundation, creating a multi-level fictional world. Avatar’s ecological complexity comes from a scientific basis, solidifying it as more than just another science fiction movie, and instead as one more impressive in its depth.

Avatar is a science fiction movie directed by James Cameron and follows the story of Jake Sully, a human who traveled from Earth to Pandora after he was recruited to take the place of his late twin brother. Jake’s brother was a scientist who had been training for years for this mission, and Jake’s military background and career-related waist-down paralysis leaves him feeling out of his element. In his new role, Jake connects to the avatar body that was supposed to be his brother’s. In this new body that resembles Pandora’s native Na’vi people Jake experiences the beauty and harshness of Pandora’s wilderness through his time spent with the Omatikaya, a Na’vi clan that decides to teach Jake upon learning he isn’t another “sky people” scientist. Taught by the Omatikaya chief’s daughter, Neytiri, Jake learns the ways of Na’vi people and how to survive Pandora, but more significantly, the beauty of Pandora and an appreciation for it. Throughout the movie Jake falls in love with Neytiri, who feels similarly, and this relationship is the primary catalyst for Jake’s doubt in the RDA, the human organization occupying Pandora, and his motivation to fight for the Na’vi.

Pandora, the setting for Avatar, is a moon orbiting the planet Polyphemus, a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri system. Pandora and Polyphemus are fictional celestial bodies, but Alpha Centauri, located four lightyears away from Earth, is a real star system containing three stars named A, B, and Proxima. The stars orbit each other, and Alpha Centauri A and B are bright enough to be visible to the naked eye at night in Earth’s southern hemisphere (Alpha Centauri). The context behind Pandora’s existence in the universe as a celestial body is insignificant compared to the rest of its science-based components, but it does provide enough of a foundation for real science to be applicable in unique and thought-provoking ways, adding to its intricacy.

One of the most prominent components of Pandora’s ecological complexity is its unique geography, which is partly due to its geological content. A prominent metal in both the moon’s make up and Avatar’s plotline, Unobtanium, the fictional mineral that the RDA is mining Pandora for, is scattered throughout Pandora and according to “Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide”, “Pandora possesses a liquid iron core, with circulating currents that produce a dipole field similar in structure to the Earth's, but the presence of unobtanium deposits deep below the surface magnifies its strength hundreds of times,” (Wilhelm). This magnetic field works together with the magnetic field of Polyphemus, and the two magnetic fields are behind the formation of one of the most well-known parts of Pandora’s environment, the floating “Hallelujah Mountains”. The idea is that the mountains contain unobtanium and are suspended because of the two magnetic fields holding them in place by “pulling” from different directions. The scenes featuring these mountains are centered around how unique these formations are and how they interfere with the RDA technology, but the Na’vi navigate them effectively and efficiently. Alongside the mountains, another prominent land formation on Pandora is the Stone Arches that are across its surface. The stone arches are larger than the Hallelujah Mountains and are seen usually formed over significant or abnormal ecological sites, which are located over large Unobtanium deposits. The large arcing formations almost visualize the fields of increased magnetism, creating a unique radial effect over each site.

One such location is the large Tree of Souls that Avatar features as a spiritually significant location for the Na’vi. This pink willow-like tree is larger than others of the same species and its connection to the Na’vi and ecosystem is magnified. Over the tree are the largest examples of the stone arches seen in Avatar, arcing over the site and surrounding pathways. The tree’s unique ecology and the size of the stone arches is due to the Unobtanium below the surface in combination with Pandora’s magnetic field. The Hallelujah Mountains and stone arches work together to create a unique topography on Pandora, adding a level to its ecological complexity. Pandora’s geological content and celestial context may not have entirely real components, but the scientific reasoning backing everything fits seamlessly into the components with real scientific foundations, providing depth into the theoretical plausibility of its existence. Pandora’s biosphere is like a puzzle with interconnecting parts, and immense work went into developing the concepts behind Avatar’s environment, including the real science surrounding it all.

Throughout the storyline we constantly see unique parts of Pandora’s ecosystem, most of which have had years’ worth of development behind it that included contributions from scientific professionals. The more significant parts of Pandora’s ecology are shown in its plants and animals, many inspired by Earth’s own wildlife. Avatar took several years to develop, some focused on simply developing the concepts and environment of Pandora. To produce these unique concepts for Pandora’s biosphere, director James Cameron and his team contacted the experts. One of whom was Jodie Holt, a PhD botanist and chairwoman of the department of botany and plant sciences at UC Riverside. In a 2010 interview from the Los Angeles times, Jodie explains that she was contacted in 2007 to advise an “A-list actor” on how to be a credible botanist (Kozlowski). Alongside this, she provided Avatar’s team with other information regarding plants and botany. Jodie tells the Los Angeles Times, “After being briefed on the plot and being shown early images of the plants on Pandora by Jon Landau, I met with Sigourney Weaver [who plays botanist Grace Augustine] and set designers to talk about how a field botanist would study and sample plants to learn about their physiology and biochemistry. We also talked about the idea of communication among plants, and between plants and the Na’vi, and how that might be explained. Subsequently, I worked with a set designer to ensure that his designs for the field and lab equipment were credible” (Kozlowski). Based on Dr. Holt’s retelling of her experience, she was the main source who reviewed what Avatar’s team had already created, and she provided valuable insight into making the details accurate and realistic. She continues in the interview to give more details of her work with Avatar’s plant concepts.

She says that she was tasked with helping to explain how the plants of Pandora communicate with one another, a large part of Avatar’s story. She explains her suggestion of “signal transduction”, saying “Since life on Pandora was intended to adhere to our known laws of physics and biology, it was not credible to me to suggest that the plants had any kind of nervous system. Instead, I suggested that communication among the plants could credibly be explained by signal transduction, an area of research that deals with how plants perceive a signal and respond to it. Since this process is still not well understood but is under active investigation, it made sense to use it as an explanation for Grace’s more futuristic understanding of plants. Subsequently, the set designer and I exchanged many e-mails about how Grace might sample plants and study this process” (Kozlowski). Signal transduction is referenced towards the beginning of the movie, during a field trip that includes Jake, lead scientist Dr. Grace Augustine, and friend of Jake and assistant scientist Norm Spellman. In the scene, Norm and Dr. Augustine are inspecting exposed roots of a plant while Jake serves as security detail. Dr. Augustine is seen inserting a syringe into the root, and information about the root is displayed on a small screen held by Norm. Dr. Augustine explains that an electrical signal is communicated between the roots like a network, which is reflected in the screen’s flashing display. On Earth, signal transduction is certainly a real thing. Since the creation of Avatar, we know more about signal transduction, but it’s nonetheless still a valid explanation for Pandora’s plant network. Signal transduction is a series of molecular signals passed between cells, and in plants it’s usually to communicate reactions like leaving wilting when water is absent, and other reactions relating to things like light levels or temperature. Although signal transduction was not well researched in 2007, Dr. Holt certainly saw the advantage of that, and was able to use it when advising the team of Avatar. The significance of utilizing this new science in such a prominent way not only adds to the complexity of Avatar’s scientific background, but it again asserts itself as more than just another science fiction movie. Viewers are seeing real science visualized in creative and new ways without even realizing it. But Holt’s work didn’t end there.

Another part of Jodie Holt’s work on Avatar is through her additions to a book called “Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide”. The book was published shortly following the movie’s release with the intention of providing fans with more knowledge about the Avatar universe, including information about specific plants, animals, and Na’vi culture. Holt’s input was in the plant section of the book. Holt tells the Los Angeles Times, “The plant descriptions I wrote are in Chapter 4. These include taxonomy (Latin names I made up using the correct rules of nomenclature), a description of each plant, and information about ecology and ethnobotany” (Kozlowski). She continues to explain the taxonomy further, saying “Since some of the plants looked like Earth plants, while others were quite fantastic, and others resembled each other, I started by grouping them by similar appearance to develop a crude taxonomy. For plants that resembled Earth plants, I gave them similar names, such as Pseudocycas altissima for a plant that looks like a tall Earth cycad. Others I named for their appearance, such as Obesus rotundus for the puffball tree” (Kozlowski). With Dr. Holt’s work classifying the plants, it’s much clearer to see some of the real science being applied to Pandora’s plant life. If we were to ever come across alien plants, it’s not unreasonable to assume that we would classify them in the same Latin nomenclature as on Earth.

Another article by NBC News also includes extended portions of Jodie Holt’s interview with the Los Angeles Times. NBC News quotes her saying "When describing a plant's appearance and characteristics, the overriding theme is plant evolution, so I asked for everything they had on the moon's environment that might select for certain traits," (Schirber). James Cameron gave her as much information as he could, and Holt says in her Los Angeles Times interview that “the atmosphere is thicker than on Earth, with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, as well as xenon and hydrogen sulfide. Gravity is weaker. And there is a strong magnetic field. Given the role of the environment in plant evolution, one would therefore expect to see gigantism, a feature that has been seen in science fiction before but never explained, less of a gravity response (which makes stems grow up and roots grow down) and possibly a response to magnetic fields, which I named ‘magnetotropism’” (Kozlowski). This “magnetotropism” that Holt coined is the reasoning for the massive size of the “Hometrees” that are in Avatar, one of which includes the home of the Omatikaya clan.

The Omatikaya Hometree is mentioned to be sitting directly on top of a large deposit of Unobtanium, the highly magnetic mineral. This deposit that the Omatikaya Hometree sits on is the main incentive for the RDA’s encroaching on that part of Pandora’s forest and leads to the series of events that results in Jake Sully siding with the Na’vi and fighting the RDA. Although the Omaticaya Hometree serves as a driving point for the plot in Avatar, it offers a look into the real complexity of the plant life of Pandora. These massive trees are seen occurring relatively frequently throughout the forest, although distanced from each other. This frequency could also indicate their role in Pandora’s ecosystem. On Earth, large trees serve many ecological roles, particularly as food and habitat sources for wildlife. In certain ecosystems, many plants serve such a significant role as these producers that they’re referred to as “foundation species”, or a species that is a dominant primary producer in its abundance and influence on other organisms in its ecosystem. Given the size of at least the Omatikaya Hometree, which is “more than 325 meters in height… two to three times the height of Earth’s redwoods” (Wilhelm), it’s not unreasonable to assume that these massive trees serve similarly significant ecological roles as Earth’s large trees. One of the most unique components of these massive trees is their structural formation. The Omaticaya clan make one of the trees a perfectly habitable home by taking advantage of the trees’ distinctly hollow structure. The inside trunk of the tree isn’t fully solid, and instead boasts a corkscrew-like central structure that winds its way through the whole trunk. It’s on this structure that the Omaticaya traverses the massive tree so quickly and allows for such a large population to inhabit it. This spiral structure may have a purpose, too. In a piece of scientific literature that describes distinct characteristics of tropical trees, it says “The major stresses in tree trunks are produced through bending and occur in the outermost portions of the stem cross section. The central portion mainly supports the weight of material above. Removing the central portion, i.e. making a hollow tree, alters the mechanical properties of the trunk relatively little as long as the ratio of the thickness of the outer solid wall (t) to the diameter of the hollow (D) remains fairly large,” (Turner). Turner continues this thought, saying “Large, old trees often have hollow trunks. They appear to be mechanically eﬀective until t / D approaches a critical value of 0.3”. The connection here to the Hometrees is in their size. Growing to be that massive is no quick process, and so it makes sense for them to be immensely old trees, likely ancient. That age has required the trees to develop the hollow trunks to improve mechanical stability, but the additional formation of the spiral center adds to that structural support, ensuring that the Hometrees are equipped to live lengthy lifespans without risk of trunk damage. This reliability provides an excellent home for the Omaticaya, and other Hometrees are equally fantastic habitats for the different forest fauna that Pandora hosts. Even though the Hometrees are a singular species, the science behind how they function, and their role ecologically contributes massively to the overall compilation of Pandora’s scientific background.

Pandora’s plant life continues to exemplify using real science in another significant adaptation: bioluminescence. Bioluminescence is seen across all species of Pandora’s plant life and is seen equally frequently in animal life. Bioluminescence on Earth is typically seen in microscopic or aquatic organisms. So why is Pandora’s ecosystem full of it in its larger terrestrial species? Well, because of necessity. Bioluminescence on Earth’s species is usually correlated to the habitat those species live in. Aquatic life that omits bioluminescence lives in deep ocean waters, deep enough that no light from the surface reaches. By manufacturing their own light sources, those species can use the light in diverse ways like luring prey, defending against predators, and communicating amongst other members of the species. In a 2003 study that followed the patterns of a bioluminescent ostracod, a class of crustaceans, scientists determined that bioluminescence was crucial to the species’ ability to survive. The species was observed at different light levels, and it was found that at the darker levels the use of bioluminescence significantly influenced the ostracod’s ability to feed and reproduce. The scientists came to this conclusion: “This dependence on darkness for successful growth and reproduction allows us to classify darkness as a resource, in the same way that others have classified time, space and temperature as resources,” (Gerrish).

So, with the idea that low light levels can function as a key resource for species, Pandora’s significant bioluminescence is explained. Jodie Holt, the PhD botanist, has said that “The glowing — or bioluminescence — of some plants might have been an adaptation to long periods of darkness on Pandora. This light signal could attract pollinators,” (Schirber). The abundance of bioluminescence in Pandora species is a product of necessity. As a moon, Pandora is subject to an orbital pattern vastly different from Earth. In fact, it’s different enough that eclipses are a common, almost daily, occurrence due to orbiting behind Polyphemus and consequently being separated from sunlight. Pandora’s surface sees a much more significant amount of time in the dark than Earth, both from eclipses and the general rotation on its axis, creating shorter days than what Earth experiences. With so much time in the dark, species’ development of complex bioluminescent patterns is the perfect adaptation to thrive in such a unique environment. Avatar features several night scenes, and each time the forest is lit up in every way. The leaves, mosses, grasses, vines, all of it glows with soft greens, blues, purples, and pinks to create an environment that is just as vibrant as in the daytime. This adaptation lets the ecosystem thrive despite the challenges of nighttime, and its presence has strong scientific foundation. It adds another layer to Pandora’s ecological complexity and gives insight into what it takes to survive on this moon.

But Pandora’s scientific basis does not always come directly from Earth equivalents, and in fact, there is creativity in pioneering a new kind of science. The Helicoradian is an orange, spiraled plant that folds up and disappears when touched. This plant first appears in Avatar during the same field trip where Dr. Augustine and Norm Spellman were discussing signal transduction. In the scene, Jake wanders off while the two scientists are working, and finds a large colony of the Helicoradian. As he gets close to touch it, the plant suddenly retracts down to the ground, seeming to disappear almost entirely. Jake has some fun and continues trying to touch the plants, triggering the same reaction across the colony. In creating this unique plant concept, Jodie Holt again advised the Avatar team. Jodie tells NBC News “We usually only call something a plant if we poke it and it doesn't move away,” (Schirber). She explains that all plants have a general sensitivity to touch, but the Helicoradian takes it to a whole different level. The sudden reaction to touch is a defense against herbivores. By retracting the single large leaf, it’s protected against herbivores that may try and eat it. The reaction also commonly triggers the other Helicoradian in the colony, protecting those individuals too (Wilhelm). If anything, the reaction to touch is closer to an animal’s. Holt says it’s already difficult to classify plants because “no single characteristic distinguishes plants from other life kingdoms. We think of photosynthesis as the epitome of ‘plant-hood,’ but there are parasitic plants that don't photosynthesize their food and some non-plant bacteria that do.” (Schirber). So how do you classify an alien organism that isn’t quite a plant, but isn’t quite an animal? The answer is to create a whole new classification. James Cameron, the director of Avatar, coined the term “plananimal”, or Zooplantae, to describe life on Pandora that blurred the lines between plant and animal. Jodie Holt, although admitting herself to be a novice in the realm of “exobotany”, says that there is some flexibility when defining plants on alien planets. The Helicoradian is a unique organism that calls for an impressive amount of creativity to design it, and although it does not have as much scientific foundation as the rest of Pandora, there is still a level of science to classify it and place it amongst the more scientifically reasonable flora and fauna of Pandora.

Pandora’s unique ecology continues beyond just plant life, extending to its wildlife. Avatar’s unique animal concepts are one of the most fascinating parts of the movie, creating species with incredible adaptations. With so many species shown in the movie, it’s difficult to cover them all. So, it may be better to look at Pandora’s wildlife from a larger ecological perspective. In every ecosystem on Earth, there is a system of producers and consumers, creating food webs. When further analyzed, ecologists can gain a better understanding of that ecosystem and the roles each component plays. Pandora’s ecosystem is complex enough that food webs are applicable, and therefore components like producers, consumers, and roles species in those categories play can also be applied to Pandora’s wildlife.

By applying this real science, we can look closer at the more prominent species we see in Avatar. Trophic levels are a key part of organizing any food web, and Pandora’s species can easily be organized into these levels. Species like the Hexapede, a blue deer-like herbivore, would fit into the second tropic level, or the primary consumers. This level includes all herbivores, and on Earth a wide range of species like elk, rabbits, and even elephants all fall onto this level. Most herbivores on this level are then food sources for the third trophic level, secondary consumers. This level is where many carnivores will sit, especially those smaller in size or with larger populations than other carnivores. On Earth, carnivores like foxes, raccoons, and some birds fall onto this level. They help control prey populations but may be preyed on themselves. On Pandora, one of the best examples is the Viperwolf. This carnivore is medium-sized, like that of Earth’s wolves, hence the name. First seen during Jake’s first night in the Pandoran wilderness, a pack of viperwolves attacks him. Through this scene we get an idea as to how this species functions. Black in color, the viperwolves use darkness to their advantage, hopping from ground to low-laying trees quickly while circling Jake. They’re also heard howling and yipping like Earth’s hyenas, who also become very vocal during and after hunts. The comparison to Earth’s hyenas and wolves also clarifies the viperwolf’s role ecologically. The inspiration for the species is evident, but simultaneously makes it scientifically plausible. It’s also evident by how Neytiri can fend off the viperwolf pack that the species isn’t an overwhelmingly powerful carnivore, and therefore likely not an apex predator. Apex predators typically fall into the fourth trophic level, or any levels above beyond.

One of Avatar’s most iconic species, the Thanator, is Pandora’s apex predator. A massive animal, the thantor resembles that of Earth’s panthers: black in color, with a cat-like body and preference for nocturnal hunting. The thanator is featured only twice in Avatar, but its scenes are some of the most poignant in the movie. The first time it’s seen follows just after Jake’s encounter with the helicoradian during the field trip with Dr. Augustine and Norm. Jake is having a standoff with a young Hammerhead Titanothere, one of Pandora’s large, armored herbivores, when suddenly a thanator appears, stalking up behind Jake before leaping over his head to land in front of him. It roars at the herd of titanothere before turning its attention to Jake, who, after hearing Dr. Augustine’s panicked “Run! Definitely run!”, leads into a dramatic chase through the jungle. Avatar immediately cements the thanator as a creature to be feared on Pandora, but that isn’t the only reason the thanator is remarkable. The resemblance to Earth’s panthers is uncanny, allowing for a deeper comparison to panthers and leopards to understand the design of the thanator. People often think panthers are a separate species from leopards, but they’re simply a melanistic morph of the big cat. Because of this, we can focus on leopards for comparison. A study conducted by Theodore Bailey provides some details about African leopards, covering a range of ecological topics on different leopards in Kruger National Park and other study locations. One of the subjects Bailey covers is diet, which included mostly ungulates and smaller mammals. Of all recorded leopard kills, Bailey found that an astounding 93% were large ungulates such as impala and gazelle, “Food habits of leopards throughout KNP and other similar habitats in South Africa indicate that ungulates form the bulk of the leopard’s diet… The high frequency of impala taken by leopards is related to impala abundance”, (Bailey 221). Pandora’s equivalent ungulate would be the hexapede, and so it’s reasonable to assume that the thanator’s diet includes a large portion of it. Avatar created not only a realistic set of wildlife that coexist and interact with each other, but they also balance each other to fulfill their ecological roles. Bailey’s book also describes the relationship between leopards and other species, including hyenas. Viperwolves share resemblance to hyenas, especially in behavior. Using this information, the relationship between the viperwolf and thanator is inferable based on leopard-hyena relationships. “Despite their large size, abundance, and ability to find kills, hyenas were unable to take kills leopards had cached in trees… I seldom observed aggressive behavior between leopards and hyenas at kills. Usually, the hyenas stood patiently nearby or under a tree waiting for the remains to fall to the ground. Whenever leopards arrive and departed, hyenas avoided the leopard”, (Bailey 302). This kind of relationship is reflected often across the third and fourth trophic levels, and in the viperwolf and thanator’s case, we can safely assume that the viperwolves scavenge larger thanator kills and would not directly confront over food or territory. The thanator is such a dominant predator on Pandora, there are not many species who would attempt to attack or confront one.

Another good comparison between the thanator and leopard is their physiology. Bailey describes where leopards bite their prey, highlighting the bites often being on the neck or throat. He clarifies, saying “When felids kill prey, their bite frequently damages the spinal cord. Their jaws and the shape of their canine teeth enable felids to penetrate the intervertebral space in the spinal column, and by forcing the two vertebrae apart, they partially or completely sever the spinal cord without damaging the vertebrae themselves” (Bailey 208). We can assume by the teeth on the thanator that it follows the same strategy. This is further implied and supported by the fact that the massive front teeth of the thanator and retractable lips allow for both more damage, and more teeth to be effective while biting. Overall, the thanator’s role as an apex predator cements the applicability of ecological roles and niches in Pandora’s ecosystem, creating an impressive depth to its wildlife.

Some of Pandora’s species also can fulfill larger roles than other species. Species like the thanator, hammerhead titanothere, and ikran all serve large enough ecological roles that they can be considered “keystone species” in Pandora’s ecosystem. A keystone species is identified by how “Their contribution to ecosystem function is disproportionate to their numerical abundance or biomass,” (Wildlife Health). Typically, carnivores on high trophic levels, these species can be one of the key factors holding an ecosystem together, like how the thanator helps control prey populations. But not every keystone species is a large carnivore. In a scientific article analyzing the differences between keystone species, it was concluded that most keystone species can fit into one of five “archetypes”: High Trophic Vertebrate Consumers, Low Trophic Invertebrate Consumers, Low Tropic Vertebrate Consumers, Low Trophic Invertebrate Modifiers, Low Trophic Vertebrate Modifiers (Shukla). The thanator would be a high trophic vertebrate consumer, but the hammerhead titanothere would fall into low trophic vertebrate consumer because it is an herbivore. Pandora’s ecosystem contains ecological niches and roles just like Earth’s. The science behind each of Avatar’s species is significant enough to develop interspecies relationships and interactions, creating a level of complexity beyond just prey and predators, something not seen before in other science fiction movies.

Overall, Avatar’s significant use of scientific background and foundation in the ecological complexity of Pandora cements it as ahead of its time and unlike other science fiction movies. The geological and astrological context of Pandora creates an environment that drives the plot and integrates a new density to the ecosystem for the flora and fauna. The use of real experts in the years of development prior to Avatar’s release perfected the information utilized and allowed for further development of the plants and animals shown. The plant life on Pandora displays fantastic traits of magnetotropism and abundant bioluminescence, creating a beautiful backdrop, along with a new layer of intricacy. The wildlife on Pandora is the most captivating part of the ecosystem, drawing inspiration from Earth’s animals while maintaining unique designs and displaying connections to the environment and ecosystem. Avatar is a record-holding movie for a reason. The beauty of Pandora is undeniable, and audiences have fallen in love with it just as much as the characters in their fight against the RDA. But more than that beauty, Pandora invites audiences to appreciate how complex its biosphere is by using real science that’s been developed and perfected by real professionals. It’s hard to find many scientific flaws or things that don’t make sense in Avatar, establishing it beyond just another science fiction movie. Science fiction film makers should look to Avatar and the care taken into developing its world and bring that diligence into their own work. Much of the science behind Pandora makes every component plausible. Enough so, that it invites audiences to reflect on what we understand about the known universe. It makes you wonder, could life be out there? What would it look like? Avatar not only inspires, but also asks: What if?

Works Cited

Alpha Centauri: A Triple Star System about 4 Light Years from Earth - NASA. NASA, 6 June 2018, www.nasa.gov/image-article/alpha-centauri-triple-star-system-about-4-light-years-from-earth/.

Avatar. Directed by James Cameron, performances by Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, Twentieth Century Fox, 2009.

Bailey, Theodore N. The African Leopard: Ecology and Behavior of a Solitary Felid. Columbia University Press, 1993.

Gerrish, Getchen A., et al. “Darkness as an Ecological Resource: The Role of Light in Partitioning the Nocturnal Niche.” Oecologia, vol. 160, no. 3, 2009, pp. 525–36, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1327-8.

Kozlowski, Lori. “Inventing the Plants of ‘Avatar.’” Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2010, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-02-la-sci-avatar-q-and-a2-2010jan02-story.html. Accessed Feb. 2024.

Schirber, Michael. “Alien Plants Get a New Twist in World of ‘Avatar.’” NBC News, 4 Mar. 2010, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35709491. Accessed Feb. 2024.

Shukla, Ishana, et al. “The Diversity of Animals Identified as Keystone Species.” Ecology and Evolution, vol. 13, no. 10, 2023, pp. e10561–e10561, https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10561.

Turner, I. M. (Ian Mark). The Ecology of Trees in the Tropical Rain Forest. Cambridge University Press, 2001.

“Wildlife Health.” National Marine Sanctuaries, NOAA. https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/sentinel-site-program/wildlife-health.html. Accessed 14 February 2024.

Wilhelm, Maria, and Dirk Mathison. James Cameron’s Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora. It Books, 2009.

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101 Guide to Making an Effective Horror Game

BLOG 6: 80.LV BLOG

With its promise of thrilling gameplay, the horror game genre has developed into an art form that explores our darkest fears. Successful horror game design demands a deep comprehension of psychology, an acute sense of atmosphere, and the capacity to take advantage of player weaknesses through cleverly designed mechanics. The goal of this guide is to demystify the components and mechanisms necessary for a terrifying gaming experience. Designed with game developers in mind, especially those with no experience in horror or game production, our goal is to offer a theoretical and factual basis for creating horror games, along with useful blueprints for mechanics. This exploration, which has its roots in the author's interest in the occult, demonology, folklore, ritualistic arts, and mysticism, shares insights from playing a lot of horror games. Since there is a lot of horror game mechanics to learn about, this guide aims to provide a thorough overview while also acting as a scholarly resource for those interested in learning more about the fascinating field of horror game creation. Here, in the 101 Guide to Making an Effective Horror Game, stories are created and nightmares are born.

Types of Horror Games

Theoretically, horror games should be slow-paced and emphasize mystery, survival, and environmental storytelling in addition to exploration. Often the protagonist is shown as a frail survivor. The player is disempowered by the limited controls (Lewitzki, 2017). Horror, with its multitude of sub-genres, varies not only in themes but also in mechanics. The mechanics themselves vary depending on the kind of horror game, so it's critical to understand the type of horror and the intended audience. This clarity makes the task of creating the game framework easier to handle. Below are a few common and most-liked horror subgenres that we will examine to highlight their unique qualities.

Jump-Scare Horror:

Horror games have the best experience when there is a lot of built up tension and the abrupt jump scares. The entire purpose of the game is to create suspense and let it out when you are least expecting it. One of the best examples in this category is the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise, which is well known for using jump scares to effectively evoke fear.

Psychological Horror Games:

In psychological horror games, the narrative-driven style is known to stand out. It forces the player to exercise their critical thinking to solve the mysteries along the story. The genre purposefully throws off the player's sense of security by exposing unsettling details that engender susceptibility amid apparent hostilities. Psychological horror is embodied in games like Soma, Little Nightmare, and Layers of Fear, which are thought-provoking and immersive.

Survival Horror Games:

Survival horror games are difficult to define as they are often blended into other subgenres. The simple goal of these games is to survive till the end. It's important to note, though, that survival horror frequently coexists with other subgenres to produce complex and unique gaming experiences. The versatility and complexity of the genre are demonstrated by well-known examples like Emily Wants to Play and Silent Hill.

Action Horror Games:

While action horror games are associated with survival horror, they strongly focus on the fighting mechanism. This genre is defined by the inevitable nature of conflict and physical confrontation. In short, you are playing an action horror game if using weapons against enemies is a part of the action. The Resident Evil game series is a prime example of how action and horror elements can coexist harmoniously in this genre.

Understanding Horror Game Psychology

The sometimes-disregarded subject of horror game psychology turns out to be a potent instrument in the world of horror gaming, a medium that is specially adapted for arousing fear. Games, as opposed to other media platforms, force viewers to stay attentive and involved, creating an unrivalled immersion. The application of horror game psychology becomes critical to strengthening the core of games and gives developers a way to differentiate their work from that of other horror creators. These psychological theories act as cornerstones, elevating the various mechanics and aesthetics of horror games while streamlining development and increasing efficacy.

Horror Music Psychology:

The listener's emotion can be stimulated by incorporating nonlinear sounds into musical compositions. Nonlinear sounds can trigger our brains to believe that they are in danger, such as a crying child, discordant chords, or an animal scream. Youtuber and music producer Rick Beato claim that a variety of sounds with varying tones and textures can be used as part of composition techniques to create eerie sounds (Laiho, 2022).

Visual Horror Psychology:

Visual guidelines are crucial. They contribute style, unity, and visual structure to a production. Any visual element that has been used to communicate horror is acceptable as long as the audience has been made aware of its meaning at some point. The exposition of a film or video game will typically define the personalities of the situations, characters, and locations in a story. Similarly, an exposition can be used in a production to clarify the meaning of a visual element (Lewitzki, 2017). For example, one such visual element could be an uncanny valley.

The uncanny can be traced back to psychological writings from the early 1900s, when Ernst Jentsch, a psychologist, defined the uncanny as a mental state in which one is unable to discriminate between what is real or imagined, alive or dead. Jentsch's essay "On the Psychology of the Uncanny" (1906) included automata and lifelike wax dolls as examples of items that could cause a spooky feeling. He reasoned that because the viewer is unable to determine whether the object is real or unreal, alive or inanimate, it causes uncanniness, or the experience of the uncanny. (Tinwell,2004)

Elements of Horror Genre

Primarily, knowing each of the horror components separately can give the guide as a whole more context. Furthermore, it's critical to recognise that fear is a highly ambiguous emotion and that each person experiences fear differently. As a result, the elements that have been discussed are broad strokes, and there is always room for more.

Storyline & Theme

The relationship between plot and theme defines the seriousness of the player's situation in the complex world of horror games. A careful balance between the two determines how to settle the age-old question of whether games should focus more on mechanics or have a deep plot. A gripping plot gives the player's actions more depth and significance and gives the gameplay experience a purpose. The sweet spot, though, is in keeping the atmosphere dark and enticing players to interact with their environment to reveal story pieces.

In-game subjects and elements are justified by themes, which are similar to the essence of horror games. They softly impact the whole experience, acting as mechanics' compasses. Similar to the uncanny valley's slope, the chosen theme is closely related to the level of horror. When ghosts are depicted with disfigured features, for example, they frequently arouse more fear than aliens with less human-like appearances. However, notable exceptions show that external aesthetics are important in enhancing the horror experience, like in Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF).

The idea that FNAF takes from a real-life incident at Chuck E. Cheese—a shootout that left four people dead—and the game's suggestion that their ghosts have possessed the animatronics heighten the unsettling aspects of the game. The plot acts as a fundamental basis in this instance, and the external aesthetics heighten the terror to produce a synthesis that both enthrals and unnerves viewers. Sometimes reality is scarier than fiction and it can escalate the very reason of fear in the fictional world.

Visual Components of Horror

Colour and Tonality: In contrast to film, games primarily depend on colour planning to convey the visual narrative. Since each colour in a game must be made from scratch, colour schemes and scripts are crucial (Lewitzki, 2017). Not every game has to have a hip tone. It may vary from the plots and themes of video games. The distinction between Dead Space and Emily Wants to Play could serve as a prime example. Dead Space is different, with things being murkier and warmer, while Emily Wants to Play has a blue undertone. The demands of the theme and plot will have a direct impact on the colours chosen.

Light and Contrast

Low-key lighting is a highly popular technique in the horror genre. In games, one can experiment with various levels of perception by utilising various light sources, such as allowing the player character to interact with lighters, UV lights, and flashlights. Using coloured lights to elicit feelings is another way to combine colour and lighting. (Lewitzki, 2017)

It is possible to comprehend, control, and simulate light by using its most fundamental properties, which are as follows.

Brightness or luminance, which can be expressed in terms of footcandles, lux, lumens, etc. in real space.

Colour (as represented by its spectrum, quantified in Kelvin degrees, or altered through filtering).

Direction of a hard or soft shadow quality.

Fluctuation over time.

The way lights interact with surfaces and other lights in a scene creates effects like shadowing, brightness colour contrast, and more. (El-Nasr et al., 2007)

Lines and Shapes

Diagonal lines are the most intense kind. Horizontal lines are the least dynamic, and vertical lines are less intense than diagonal ones. When working in the horror genre, it may be preferable to use straight lines since they are typically associated with adjectives like "aggressive" and "unnatural." Similar to this, shape attributes reveal that squared shapes are thought to be "unnatural," while triangular shapes are linked to adjectives like "aggressive," "menacing," "scary," "chaotic," and "disorienting." In general, softer and more rounded shapes are perceived as cuddlier and friendlier. This can be used to deceive players into believing an element is friendlier and less threatening than it initially appears, or it can be avoided when designing a horror game. (Lewitzki, 2017)

Camera

Extreme wide-angle lens effects, like fisheye or curvilinear barrel distortion, can also be very helpful in horror games by adding the effect of subjective conditions like fear, panic, illness, intoxication, or nausea. Conventional game HUD components undermine the immersion and believability of the game, which works against horror. One method to achieve this is to incorporate the HUD into the game's environment but avoid going overboard as this could make it difficult for players to understand. (Lewitzki, 2017)

Audio Representation

A study delves into the intersection of psychological triggers, specifically the primal fight or flight response, and the techniques employed in the horror medium. The research suggests a correlation between certain sounds and their ability to evoke survivalist triggers in the brain. The study explores the impact of introducing non-threatening and neutral imagery alongside nonlinear music on arousal, revealing inconclusive findings regarding the mitigation of arousal compared to scenarios where only music is present. However, it underscores the undeniable heightened arousal associated with nonlinear sounds or noise. The thesis posits that incorporating scary imagery alongside nonlinear sounds will likely intensify arousal rather than diminish it. The use of composting techniques inspired by primal instincts in fight or flight situations emerges as an effective approach to crafting tension and horror music. Strategies such as sudden sounds, stops, rising tempo, nonlinear sounds, and noise contribute not only to the music's intrigue but also enhance its eerie quality. By aligning composition with clear behavioural response objectives, composers gain valuable tools to create music that resonates with visual information or the listeners' imaginative experiences.

Basic Horror Game Mechanics

Movement Mechanics for navigation.

Light Based Mechanics for increasing visual anticipation.

AI Hostile Characters to act as an instigator for fear.

Jump Scares as a direct fear instigator.

Revolutionary Horror Game Mechanics Through History

Five Nights at Freddy’s Surveillance System

The surveillance system is an integral part of the gameplay in the "Five Nights at Freddy's" (FNaF) video game series. The player assumes the role of a security guard in this haunted pizzeria where animatronic characters come to life at night and threaten them. The main equipment used to keep an eye on the animatronics and make sure the player survives is the surveillance system.

The pizzeria is equipped with a network of security cameras as part of the surveillance system, which lets the player keep an eye on various sections. The main stage, dining area, kitchen, and hallways are among the important areas that the cameras are positioned to cover strategically. Gamers can navigate between different camera angles to follow the movements of the animatronics.

In Five Nights at Freddy's, the surveillance system plays a crucial part in building suspense throughout the game. Small changes in the movement that the cameras record work incredibly well as jump scares, building tension and adding to the overall horror of the game. Furthermore, the system gives the player a sense of vulnerability. There's a noticeable lack of visibility into the player's character's immediate surroundings when switching between the different camera views to keep an eye on animatronic activity. The immersive and eerie quality of the gameplay is enhanced by this restriction, which heightens the tension as players struggle with the unsettling uncertainty of what might be happening right outside their surveillance lens.

Outlast (Camera)

The unique and essential component of the game's realistic horror experience is Outlast's camera system. Players use a handheld camera with night vision as investigative journalist Miles Upshur explores the terrifying Mount Massive Asylum. The camera is a tool for survival as well as a way to record the horrors that are occurring inside the asylum. In dimly lit environments, the night vision feature is especially important because it enables players to explore hidden spaces and dark corridors. But the camcorder's battery dependence adds another layer of resource management, making the task more difficult. The game's eerie atmosphere is enhanced by the distorted, grainy visuals from the night vision, which frequently reveal unsettling details and terrifying encounters. The camera system in Outlast emphasises the protagonist's vulnerability in the face of the unidentified horrors hiding within the asylum, adding to the psychological horror in addition to serving practical gameplay purposes.

The camera is an essential component of Outlast, providing both functionality and an extra degree of suspense to the gameplay. Its exhaustible nature adds to its value, as does its capacity to record the eerie incidents that occurred at Mount Massive Asylum. Because the camera runs on batteries, there's a sense of scarcity introduced, which adds to the tension as players have to manage this resource wisely throughout the game. Players have to balance the need to record important moments against the fear of being abandoned in the dark as the possibility of the camera running out of power creates a tense atmosphere. Players have to balance the need to record important moments against the fear of being abandoned in the dark as the possibility of the camera running out of power creates a tense atmosphere. The camera's dual role as an indispensable tool and a finite resource greatly enhances Outlast's overall scary atmosphere and strategic gameplay.

Visage (Sanity meter)

Visage, a psychological horror game, incorporates a sanity mechanic that plays a pivotal role in shaping the player's experience. The sanity system in Visage is designed to reflect the psychological deterioration of the protagonists as they confront the haunted and surreal environments within the game. Exposure to disturbing events, supernatural entities, or prolonged periods in the dark can adversely affect the character's mental state. As sanity declines, players may witness unsettling hallucinations, distorted perceptions, and encounter more aggressive paranormal phenomena. The mechanic adds an extra layer of tension and psychological horror, as players must balance exploration with the need to maintain their character's sanity. Visage utilizes this mechanic effectively to immerse players in an atmospheric and psychologically chilling gameplay experience, making every decision and encounter contribute to the overall sense of dread and unease.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the horror game genre has evolved into an intricate art form that taps into our deepest fears, demanding a profound understanding of psychology, a keen sense of atmosphere, and the ability to exploit player vulnerabilities through cleverly designed mechanics. The purpose of this comprehensive guide is to demystify the intricate components and mechanisms necessary for a truly terrifying gaming experience. Tailored for game developers, especially those new to horror or game production, the guide aims to provide both theoretical and factual foundations for creating horror games, along with practical blueprints for mechanics. Rooted in the author's fascination with the occult, demonology, folklore, ritualistic arts, and mysticism, this exploration draws insights from extensive experience playing horror games.

The guide extensively covers various horror subgenres, emphasizing the importance of understanding the type of horror and its intended audience for effective game development. It explores psychological triggers, particularly the fight or flight response, and their application in horror game music. The significance of visual elements, such as the uncanny valley, in creating an eerie atmosphere is also thoroughly examined. Moreover, the guide delves into horror game psychology, emphasizing the immersive nature of games and the need for developers to leverage psychological theories to enhance game mechanics and aesthetics.

Detailed discussions on basic horror game mechanics, revolutionary game mechanics throughout history, and specific examples like the Five Nights at Freddy's surveillance system, Outlast's camera system, and Visage's sanity meter offer valuable insights into creating compelling horror experiences. The guide concludes by underlining the critical role of elements like storyline and theme, visual components, and audio representation in crafting an effective horror game. In essence, the "101 Guide to Making an Effective Horror Game" serves as a comprehensive resource for both novice and experienced developers, providing a roadmap for creating chilling stories and birthing nightmares in the gaming world.

References

1. Tinwell, A. (2014). The Uncanny Valley in Games and Animation. United States: CRC Press.

2. Lewitzki, A. (2017). Taking control of the horror: Working with visuals in the psychological horror game genre (Publication No. 1109350) [Bachelor Thesis, Luleå University of Technology: Department of Arts, Communication and Education]. Diva-Portal.org. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1109350/FULLTEXT01.pdf

3. Laiho, E. (2022). Why Horror Music Scares Us? (Publication No. 787346) [Bachelor Thesis, Tampere University of Applied Sciences]. Theseus. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/787346/Laiho_Elias.pdf?sequence=2

4. El-Nasr, M. S., Niedenthal, S., Knez, I., Almeida, P., & Zupko, J. (2007, August). Dynamic Lighting for Tension in Games. Www.Gamestudies.org. https://www.gamestudies.org/0701/articles/elnasr_niedenthal_knez_almeida_zupko

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