Tower Jam: Two Hearts

Posted: October 23, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Game Jams, Video Games | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The trope of “the couple” is a hard 2_hearts_1one to use effectively. The concept has been used to death in movies and RPGs as a contrite trope in which the [typical heterosexual] woman cannot do a thing without the male lead or the male lead “saves her” from something.  And it’s been to death lately in home movies (see every movie made by the Hallmark Channel).  By this train of thought, Two Hearts is no different.

Two Hearts is a simple and challenging puzzle game. You control the young lady who now happens to be a ghost after the couple gets sucked up into a mysterious portal. Her role is simple: possess the objects so her significant other can progress to the next screen. And it can get a little tricky figuring out the proper order and timing.2

Two Hearts maintains this cliche with a twist: it’s up to the woman to guide the guy because, just like in 3every other sitcom, the man is an idiot. He’ll blindly jump off ledges into pits and beds of spikes. One would think that a moving box or platform would cause one to pause; this is not the case. This makes it a race against time to set things up so he doesn’t die. It makes it just as interesting as it does frustrating.

4Thus, this odd experience is cliched. It’s a basic variation of “the girl helping the guy to save the girl” trope. I’m sure it isn’t the creator’s intent as it is meant to create a unique spin on the damsel trope. I just can’t fight the feeling that it has been done, though not as well as it is here.5 Nonetheless, I question how effective it is about usurping the trope. The heroine still supports the old trope through the role of support, as I continuously kept referring to throughout the article. I can’t put my figure on it exactly what bothers me about this game, especially the role she plays.  Some of the games effectively turned gender roles on its head.

I think what bothers me the most is that it isn’t about HER story, it’s about THEIR story. As such, I want the game to reflect this. Sure, she can be the main protagonist and things can elaborated between them more (like her being able to shriek out to stop him for a few moments).

You can decide for yourself by downloading the game here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5wyi4t7xy40pfqn/Two%20Hearts.zip

Defense of feminism and stereotypes hurt men videos

Posted: October 2, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Reflection, Video Games | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

 

 

This afternoon, I caught two videos analyzing video games. The first one is about a gentleman defending Sarkeesian’s arguments about how women are portrayed in gaming. (If you haven’t checked out her work-in-progress videos on women in gaming, check it out.) The main problem that the gentleman addresses is how the criticizer fails to recognize that the trope of the damsel in distress is frequently used and that it doesn’t apply to every single video game. For every strong woman in gaming who could be considered human, there are five more that fall into the trap known as “the damsel.”

 

Then there’s the second video that supplements this. Yeah, I like the male power fantasy as much as the next guy. And I’ll be the first one to admit that the concept of “male chivalry” does influence my thoughts. Yet games like God of War drive me nuts because there is no growth in it. By the end, men like Kratos learned nothing and continue on their power hungry ways as if nothing has happened to them. They don’t soften and become more human. The example PBS Game/Show uses is Ico. And as much as Ico is an archetypal story, young Ico displays more emotion than most characters half and twice his age. He shows fear and courage in the face of his obstacles. Yes, saving Yorda is his “job.” It doesn’t mean he can’t be as afraid as her.

Thus, we have this awesome media that can explore different narratives. Hence the purpose of the previous postings about Tower Jam.