Blog Archives
The Hero’s Journey of Journey
The Hero’s Journey is a narrative structure first described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces, and later refined for modern age by Christopher Vogler in The Writer’s Journey. Campbell noticed and described patterns in our myths and stories, of the hero/heroine leaving their ordinary world to go onto adventure, and after going through trials and crises, coming back home a transformed person.
It’s a very archetypal structure that one can notice in many stories: The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and thousands upon thousands of other works, including games. And I think why we as people are intrinsically drawn to this sort of narrative structure, is essentially because it’s about striding to a goal, facing challenges and getting to the lowest point upon the way, but eventually overcoming them and becoming a better person as a result. It’s what we encounter and go through in our daily lives, even though we might not realize it at first.
On Warcraft movie, critical reception, and cultural heritage
The Warcraft movie. Panned by most critics and reviewers, well-received by most audiences, and adored by most Warcraft fans. This is a flick that was expected to be the ‘messiah’ of video game movies, one that would turn the tides and show that video game adaptations can be absolutely fantastic for critics and viewers alike. The general consensus, due to the huge discrepancy of opinions, is that it did not succeed. I think that it did. It’s just something that will get to us in about a decade or two just how well the movie has succeeded as a video game adaptation and a start to a beloved movie branch of the franchise. After all, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings also received mostly negative to mixed critical reception when first printed, and look where it is now almost a century later.
Shadow of Mordor: Focus in games and downsides of the Nemesis system
I’ve beaten recently Shadow of Mordor. It’s pretty damn good. Tolkien-wise, dig deep enough and you’ll find contradictions to the lore (though, considering that it’s in the universe of the movie, one might argue that doesn’t necessarily count), but it’s a fun and visceral open-world game. And I think it’s a perfect example for a topic I wanted to talk about: focus in games.
What if The Hobbit in 48 fps is the first movie you see?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The first theatrical movie release ever with a framerate of 48 frames per second (only with 3D screenings, though). There have been a lot of diametrically opposite opinions about whether this 48 fps thing is any good. Certainly tons of negative reactions.
And, honestly, I was weirded out at first too. It took about 15 minutes before I got used to the high framerate. But, ultimately I got into the movie and enjoyed it immensely. Although it certainly was a different movie-watching experience, I kinda liked it. It felt a bit like theatre, with awesome sets on stage and multiple viewing angles. And, interestingly enough, I hadn’t had any problems with 3D making my head explode (which is my usual reaction to watching movies in 3D). That’s definitely a plus. But, would I watch the movie in high framerate again? And my answer to that is… Maybe. I don’t know. Certainly not before I see it in traditional 24 fps. But.
Stanislav Costiuc 