Psycho Star Wars?

A moment of movie dissonance I highly value is the ever so successful Star Wars movies. My favorite movie of these is Empire Strikes Back. Some of the best writing and acting in those movies is displayed there, as well as some really heart wrenching moments that provide more viewer experience than any of the visual treats in all the other movies. Experience is Key.


Cognitive dissonance is basically when we realize something is not how we initially thought and is independent of our emotional ties to the subject. Dissonance can cause mental anguish, and that does depend on how strongly we were attached emotionally to our original thought pattern. One example is a religious sect that believes the world will end tonight at 12am. Well, if it so happens that the world doesn't end it will cause a cognitive dissonance among the members of that religion. If a person sold all their possessions and spent all the resultant money on fun activities right before the night he would likely suffer extreme anguish, whereas a person who stayed calm and continued with normal life before the 'end' would still have that dissonance but not suffer nearly as much as the other one I mentioned.


A shadow persona is, in my opinion, the dark side of yourself you don't like to admit exists. In a world where pizza was considered an indulgence and not something an elite person would eat someone could easily have a pizza loving shadow. He'll sneak off and order pizza in the middle of the night wearing a dark cloak and perhaps even a mask to conceal his identity. Meet up with the pizza delivery scum who he has learned to hate as much as he loves and pays in cash so there's no paper trail... devouring in the shadowy night.


In this great story of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, Luke is raised by his mother's cousins. He doesn't actually know much about his father other than the fact that he was destroyed by Darth Vader. Luke, having access to the force, starts training in order to confront his father's killer and therein he was drawn into a cave strong in the dark side. It is interesting looking back at the story, because it is so obvious to me now that he confronts his shadow which was brought out by the dark side instead of an actual evil entity. Well, in the cave he meets what he thinks is Darth Vader, who he instigates combat with and overpowers enough to slice his head off. In this moment, Luke experiences a strong cognitive dissonance when he realizes that the person wearing that black suit was actually his own twin image. That experience warned him about the possible future he could face if he chose poorly. Meeting himself guised as his worst fear is the strongest example of both confronting a shadow and experiencing cognitive dissonance I can think of. In this instance, Luke experiences some discomfort at the unsettling experience.



Further into the movie, Luke confronts the real Darth Vader in a battle that results in him losing his hand and lightsaber as well as stuck in jeopardy between succumbing to Darth Vader or committing suicide by falling down to his death. Luke remains defiant to Darth Vader, and in this moment, Darth Vader reveals that he is the father of Luke. (and again in the 3rd movie that Leia is his sister: 3rd time's the charm as it doesn't phase him that time) Luke screams in mental anguish at this revelation which resulted in a massive cognitive dissonance moment. His archenemy, the supposed destroyer of any hope he had at a relationship with his father was his father himself. The person he had inwardly longed for and wanted to be loved by was the very person who was rumored to have destroyed him. Luke eventually chose to fall and ended up being saved by Darth Vader (this part is in the book, but only told visually as happenstance in the movie)who also retrieved Luke's original lightsaber, the one that had belonged to Anakin long ago. He is rescued by his friends and he communicates later on to Darth Vader and slowly heals from the experience. He receives a robotic hand which serves as a reminder to him that his shadow, that Darth Vader, can become just as alive in himself as it did his father.


This is why Star Wars IV, V, and VI were successful movies and I, II, and III were total flops. Where did Lucas put all that awesome creativity? Their focus seemed to be on visual effects which were not even worth comparing to the original trilogy's storytelling. Ugh, off topic again... I am a symphonic person primarily, so it becomes very difficult sometimes to arrange a linear presentation of concepts such as this paper when I am thinking about everything at once!

So I am a game designer

I've been working on a single player title for some time, and recently TwinTornadoes from prefabgames.com posted on Twitter about how enemy structures generally flow. I liked his comments and they brought out a poignant point...

"The end-boss in GAME STRUCTURE is NOT always the same as the end-boss of your GAME STORY. SinglePlayerDevs: First think story, then game.^R"

He's right. It is extremely important for campaign and single player games to focus on story as much as or more so than mechanics. During my work on my game, I have noticed that I have really needed to flush out my story way before I actually started laying out the mechanics. Not that I don't already know primarily how my game should play and feel, but the actual structure of the experience is highly dependant upon how the story is revealed.

My thoughts after watching the History of Volition

I just watched the documentary on Volition's origins by GameInformer.

I am absolutely reinforced by the story of these guys. Seeing the company grow from their desire to succeed and make cool games makes me happy. It is very intimidating to me to think about becoming a game designer. I absolutely love the experiences and entertainment that playing games gives me, and I have always been awestruck at the abilities the developers demonstrate.

It has always seemed so distant; almost unobtainable to get to that point where I can state with complete conviction that I am a Game Designer. After watching this video I feel as though I can almost break through that wall of doubt, that seeming insurmountable wall if only I could grab some c-4 to destruct it with XD.

I believe that my efforts at Full Sail will be fruitful,  and I will remember this day when I launch my first title. Passion has always been my fuel. I can't do anything without a strong desire to do it, and I have never been so motivated, so drawn to anything as I have to Game Design. Creating a symphony of experiences that wait on the beckon call of the listener to decide his own song is what I live for!

I'm taking Usability this month

So I am taking Usability. This class focuses on items we make for other people and the process of determining if it was made well. My class at Full Sail University is taken online, so we use bulletin board style posts to discuss topics. In this particular class we were asked to pick out a loved electronic device and talk about it's functionality in an objective light.

Here's my original post:

My Microsoft USB Trackball Mouse.

I absolutely love this mouse, but unfortunately microsoft doesn't make them anymore. In fact they are practically impossible to find. The are so loved, that a person on ebay sells service work on them to keep them running, and to buy a new one can cost from $300 - $415! I bought mine for gaming, and I will be VERY sad when it dies. My mother has Degenerative Arthritis, but is able to use the mouse I bought her without as much pain. (she has a logitech trackball which is slightly different and lacks the mouse buttons 4 and 5)

First of all, the design is ergonomic as if perfectly fits into the palm of my hand. As you lay your hand on it the thumb ball, your fingers naturally fall on the left and right mouse buttons.

Operating the thumb ball that is used to move the cursor onscreen is very different than a normal mouse, but after becoming accustomed to it I pernonally feel that it is more accurate and reliable. I have extensively used this mouse type and more standard desk top ones and Really, the trackball wins in a few areas.

1: You never run out of desk trying to aim at that guy behind you.

2: You can use it anywhere. Regardless of the surface, the Mouse is not reliant upon external factors for it's use.

3: Less painful. My arm gets tired after 5 hours of MMO Warefare with a standard mouse, The Thumb Trackball is much easier to use.

On a downside, the trackball does stay in one place unless you intentionally move it. This can cause your arm to tire from staying like that for an extended time. Simple solution is to move it every 30 minutes or so to give your muscles another angle to work with.

Anyways, lets break down the functionality of the mouse.

It has 5 buttons, a scroll wheel and a trackball.

The Mouse buttons are recognised by most games and can be used in tandem with shift, alt, and ctrl commands. I used to play WoW, and as a hunter you have many different abilities. I used 90% of them with a simple mouse click. Hunting and pecking on a keyboard during a fight is not enjoyed by anyone, but having just those extra 2 buttons increases accessibility.

The scroll wheel is for scrolling up or down in certain situations. In most games it can also be used for various functions and abilities. like most mice, pressing down on the scroll wheel activates MB3.

The only downfall I have with the mouse from a usability perspective is the fact that it can only be used by right handed people. I am unsure if they made a left handed model.

If you have an old one of these mice you can't stand please contact me so I can have it. (even if it's broken for spare parts!)

Aaron Crawford