Differences that Bind Us

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Differences that Bind Us

• The Alien in Media
• and
• Next Door

2nd Annual University of Florida Game Studies
Conference April 7, 2006
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Eel

• Hello Everyone! Its great to be here!

GRATS GATORS!!!
Sorry
Okay
Courtesy of Slides by Eel, Tarpon Springs, Florida
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(No Transcript)
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Alien Definitions

• adj. Owning allegiance to another country or
  government FOREIGN
• adj. Of, from, or typical of another person,
  place or thing UNFAMILIAR
• adj. Inconsistent or opposed in nature or
  character
• n. An unnaturalized foreign resident of a country
• n. A member of another family, people, region or
  country FOREIGNER
• n. An outsider
• n. A creature from outer space
• n. plant native to one region but naturalized in
  another

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Point of View Is Important
The Twilight Zone The Invaders
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(No Transcript)
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Fish Out of Water
No fish were harmed during the making of these
slides.
Professional dead and baked fish. Do not
attempt.
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More Fish Out of Water
WOOT!!!
Sorry
Courtesy of Slides by Eel, Tarpon Springs, Florida
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Tom Cruise Shirtless
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The Alien

• Outsider
• Not at home in the environment or the community
• Loner
• Aloof
• Emotional, but impersonal
• Followers, but few friends
• Perfect for solo-game play
• Chaotic
• Per DD Good or Evil, rarely Neutral
• Moral absolutes enforced by flexible ethics
• Not a team player
• Contemptuous of rules
• Questions authority
• Challenges the status quo
• Not found often in squad-based games
• Iconoclast
• Can be destructive
• Red Harvest and its progeny
• Driven from within

The Outer Limits Demon with a Glass Hand
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Comedy Teams
One of Us
Alien
One of Us
Alien
One of Us
Alien
Alien Invasion
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Sidekicks Comedy Teams in Video Games
Alien
One of Us
Alien (Suit AI)
One of Us
One of Us
Alien
One of Us
Alien
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Sidekicks at the University of Florida Game
Studies Conference
Eel
One of Us
Alien
Cry
LOL!!!
Alien
One of Us
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The Alien as Villain
The Bad Seed
Same actor
Sorry
Nixon
The Silence of the Lambs
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The Alien as Villain in Video Games
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The Alien as Hero in Media
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The Alien as Hero in Real Life
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The Irony of the Hero
Heroes are easy to admire from a safe
distance Heroes are fun to identify with in
fiction But
The same traits that create heroes make them
aliens in real life.
Eel walks alone
I know. I know. Im going.
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They Upset Our Status Quo

• Anarchists
• Bad influences
• Cynics
• Dissenters
• Elitists
• Fanatics
• Glory hogs
• Hot heads
• Individualists
• Jonahs
• Kooks
• Liars
• Menaces to society

• Nuisances
• Opinionated
• Prima donnas
• Quixotic
• Rabble-rousers
• Showoffs
• Traitors
• Unhealthy influences
• Vagrants
• Whistleblowers
• Xenos
• Yo-yos
• Zealots

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Media Softens the Image
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The Progeny of Red Harvest

• The Cleaning of Poisonville (1928)
• Red Harvest (1929)
• Yojimbo (1961)
• A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
• The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)
• Millers Crossing (1990)
• Last Man Standing (1996)

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The Alien as Hero in Video Games
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Point of View Is Still Important
The Twilight Zone Eye of the Beholder
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Ico
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The Alien in Virtual Worlds

• Too much like the real world with the irony of
  the hero added
• Mom! Tell Bobby to play right!
• Villains yes
• Cannon fodder for Xenophobes
• Heroes no
• Character graphics, gear, and purpose are all
  cloned
• Everybody cant be a loner
• Or loners become the status quo
• Non-team players need not apply
• Designs force team play
• If aliens fail to educate, they are ostracized
• Roleplayers on RP servers

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Ragnaros (Villain)
LEE !!!
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Ragnaros Slayers (Heroes)
LEE
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What Holds Games Back?

• Characters
• Stereotypes (All dwarves are from Scotland.)
• Stories
• Clichés (An ancient evil is threatening to
  return on Tuesday!)
• Genres
• Limited (We need new bad guys! How about
  Haitians or Sikhs?)
• Themes
• Simplistic (Evil is bad. Revenge is
  bittersweet.)
• Employees
• Unqualified (Charlie the tester took an English
  course once!)
• Management
• Clueless (Why do we need a theme anyway?)
• Market
• Comfortable (Does it have cool weapons and
  finishing moves?)

You game developers must disperse now!
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The Alien in Game Development People Who Care

• Schools often teach mechanics, but not context
• Ignorance of other forms of media
• Gamers and game developers inbreeding
• Tradition
• Time and money not budgeted
• Aliens must educate to survive

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One Last Alien

• came from far away
• doesnt speak the language well
• sits alone in the dark
• listens to voices others cant hear
• questions authority
• breaks rules
• challenges the status quo

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The video game industry knows its name, even if
they dont know its meaning
Its name is
Writer
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Point of View Will Always Be Important
The Twilight Zone The Monsters Are Due on Maple
Street
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• Watch your television!
• Visit your local theatre!
• Observe your neighbors!
• Scrutinize passersby in the street!
• Look in the mirror!
• Stop watching the skies!!!

Why???
Timely questions courtesy of Eel, Tarpon Springs,
Florida
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Aliens Walk Among Us
Dont be afraid.
Dont kill them.

• If we give them a chance, they might teach us
  something

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Good Night

• And Good Luck

Youre welcome, Lee! Bye everybody!
Courtesy of Slides by Eel, Tarpon Springs, Florida