NikMacPattyWak

Thursday, February 19, 2015

A Look at the Skull Kid (Majora's Mask Part 1)

nikmacpattywak February 19, 2015 0 Comments

You know something momentous has occurred when I actually write a blog post. Yes, my friends, it's happened. Nintendo listened. Comrades, we have Majora's Mask for the 3DS. And I intend to bask in its glory, if you care to join me.

It's been said once, twice, three four five six SO MANY TIMES, the Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask is a beautiful game inside and out, being both one of the best in the LoZ franchise and the gaming industry as a whole. It has extraordinary gameplay, a phenomenal story, a subtly crafted and grabbing visual appeal, and a relevant haunting soundtrack. (Aspects that really made me dig deep for the right big words to explain.) And I can dissect all these elements separately to Kingdom come, but there's already enough of that out there. I want to look at this game for great big beast that it is. I don't want to look at this painting for the quality of the paint used to create it, or the brush techniques employed. I want to see it for what it is. So let's talk shop.

The Legend of Zelda franchise is known mainly for it's well established formula when it comes to gameplay and story. It can be said that most Zelda games are a variation of the same song. Another thing to note is that, more often then note the gameplay will change more drastically then the plot structure. Whether this is a positive or negative mark against Nintendo is subjective (and while I can understand that the repetitive nature of this system can annoy some, I honestly find no problem with it but that's another post for another time), but this point makes that much more a statement on Majora's Mask. For this installment was a drastic change for what LoZ was at the time, and even today could be considered pretty out there.

This direct sequel to what is still herald a master piece of gaming, Ocarina of Time, the only memento that the player has of their escapades in Hyrule was the protagonist himself, Link. Having embarked on what was described in the opening cutscene as a "secret and personal journey" (long speculated to be a journey to find his companion from Ocarina of Time, Navi, who had abruptly left at the end of the game), he is robbed while in the Lost Woods by a pair of Fairies named Tatl and Tale and an Imp named Skull Kid. The Skull Kid proceeds to steal the Ocarina of Time (that was gifted to Link in Ocarina of Time by Princess Zelda and has the power to reverse time) and Link's horse as a somewhat bad-natured prank. Link chases the Skull Kid down the proverbial rabbit hole and emerges in the land of Termina, where he confronts the Skull Kid. In this confrontation the Skull Kid uses the power of a mask that he stole from another unfortunate traveler known as the Happy Mask Salesman to transform Link into a powerless creature known as a Deku Scrub. After Link is able to retrieve his ocarina after a second encounter with the Skull Kid (with the help of Tatl, one of the Skull Kid's fairy friends whom was left behind after the first confrontation with the Skull Kid), the Happy Mask Salesman comes to restore Link to his true form (his own intentions being somewhat shady) and warns Link that the Skull Kid intends to destroy the land of Termina using the mask's power by causing the moon to crash into the earth three days from now. From here, we have our mission. We must use the Ocarina of Time to relive the same three days until we have amass enough power to stop the Skull Kid and retrieve Majora's Mask.

Here we encounter the first drastic change that effects both the gameplay and the story, the main antagonist.

Previous experience has conditioned players to always expect to go head to head with some incarnation of the beast prince Ganon (whether he be Ganondorf, Demise, or other), and through this, we find a set structure that spanned throughout the games. Whatever form of Ganon you faced, while the challenge changed, the goals, motivations, and tasks of you and Ganon were always clear. Ganon wants to take over Hyrule. In order to do so, he needs the Triforce. You (the player) and Princess Zelda (the game's namesake), are the key to obtaining the Triforce. In order for him to take over Hyrule, he must use you and Zelda. In order to subdue and defeat him, you must gather together seven sages and use their power to bring him down. Doing so will save Hyrule. As I said, through the antagonist we find the structure of the game. But it doesn't stop there. Through the antagonist we also find the tone of the game. Gannon is a towering force of power. He's cunning, he's intimidating, he is irredeemable. And in being all these things, he is simple. He doesn't challenge your perceptions of right and wrong, he enforces them. He's a motivator, he's daring you to be the Hero. And defeating him has no negative consequences. Not only does he define himself but he defines you, for the only thing that can take down a force of absolute unrelenting evil is a force of absolute unrelenting good.

But the antagonist we face in this game is not this strong, powerful entity that clearly knows who he is and what he's doing. Instead, we have an Imp. A small Imp who, on his own, does not amount to much. Through uncovering his back story we even find that he was abandoned as a child and overall outcasted from the citizens of Termina, his only friends being his two fairy companions. It was really only through luck that he happened to stumble onto Majora's Mask (the mask which he stole from the Happy Mask Salesman) and gained all that tremendous power. This little boy does not know evil, he only knows hurt. He is bad, but has the potential to be good. And because of that suddenly we do not find ourselves on the steady ground we were granted in the previous games. Are we the Hero, really? For having to take down what was otherwise a poor defenseless creature, a boy who truly doesn't know better? This is were part of the conflict merges. And the world itself does all it can to reinforce this. All throughout Termina we find the aftermath of the havoc Skull Kid has wrought, from separated loved ones to each other to kidnapping, stealing, and overall destruction. We talk to citizens who believe that Skull Kid must be stopped at all costs, and have good reasons for it. But then, our companion, our partner, Tatl, is a constant reminder that the Skull Kid is not an absolute unrelenting force of evil, that there might be something in him worth saving. This time, the struggle is not only of strength and power of will, it's one of principle as well. You're journey is not only centered around doing what's right, it's finding out what the right thing to do is to begin with.

This game is very linear and straightforward, it doesn't give you the choice to judge right and wrong on your own standards like a title from Tell Tale Games or Galactic Cafe. But it got you thinking about it, which is the important. It gave you the possibility to disagree or question what you were doing as you were doing it. Maybe it made you think twice about slaying enemies or saving some while ignoring others, which is something that games just didn't have at the time this first came out (2000 for the Nintendo 64, for the three people who read this and don't already know everything there is to know about Majora's Mask). Have gameplay mechanics evolved to become better suited to really dive into this particular flavor of philosophical dilemma? Heck. Yes. But I believe Majora's Mask was where it started (or at least one of the places). And from Nintendo, no less! And one of Nintendo's most secure franchises! The last thing anyone expected Nintendo to do was to not only change a proven working formula but to do so with one of their biggest IPs. Good on you, Nintendo. Good on you.

So, wow. This ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. I mean, I still want to talk about a lot more. Guess this'll just have to end up being a series. (See, this is what happens when I talk about Majora's Mask. I love this game FAR too much.) Look forward to part two next week, when I talk more about the land of Termina. Until then, check the links below for FREE (legal) downloads of some AWESOME Majora's Mask soundtrack remixes.

Dawn of a New Day (Clocktown Theme)

Healing Majora (Majora Theme/Song of Healing)\

Thursday, December 25, 2014

The Task of Proving Chris Kringle

nikmacpattywak December 25, 2014 0 Comments

Merry Christmas everyone! Wrote this bit of flash fic for all y'all. Fair warning, this was written on a plane and barely double checked. Enjoy!

The Task of Proving Chris Kringle

The NikMacPattyWak

‘Twas the night before Christmas in the Meinminger house, and nothing was stirring, not even Matty-Mouse.

Demitra was leaned against the banister of the hollow doorway that connected the den to the kitchen. In the den, underneath the tree, bright presents of red and green and white lay in quaint little clumsy piles. The tree, while maybe not the most grand thing any eye ever beheld, looked inviting with its stringed lights casting a soft glow throughout the room. The smell of gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate hovered over the hardwood floors. It was a by-the-books Christmas, exactly the kind the Meinmingers enjoyed.

Matty, her endearing younger brother (or so she repeatedly told herself) was lying belly done on the floor of the den. He had constructed something of a barricade out of a menagerie of blankets and pillows and stared intently at the fireplace, waiting for the man that would never show.

“You saw me wrapping one of your gifts.” Demitra said, exasperated.

“He’s real I tell you!” Matty exclaimed.

“Enough of that.” Demitra dragged herself to towards Matty, slipping her hands around his waist. “Time for bed, buddy.”

Matty squirmed against his older sister’s touch, wriggling away from her. Once he was out of her grasp he went straight for the foam nerf sword (awarded to him by Sir Uncle Hank late last October for surviving this perilous world for six years) and held it up to his adversary in a most bold and threatening way. Demitra narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, tapping her foot to a beat that resembled a war drum far too closely for Matty’s comfort.

Matty flinched, but held his ground, true to his cause.

“He’s real.” He said, his voice shaking ever-so-slightly. “I can prove it! I promise.”

Demitra did not release Matty of her vile gaze, not at first, but at the sight of his resolve crumbled to his whims.

She let her arms drop and dismissively waved a hand in Matty’s direction.

“Knock yourself out then.” She said, slinking to her room. She had to work in four hours and didn’t have the energy to wrangle the kid back to his room. Rather than playing Mom tonight she decided she’d let Uncle Hank play Dad tomorrow.

Once the door shut behind her, Matty (basking in the glow of his victory) resumed his post. He studied the fireplace with a mighty intensity, he dared not even blink in fear that the Jolly Saint would sneak past him with his tricksy magic.

It was true, he had witnessed his sister wrapping presents and sticking them under the tree. But she should be grateful he was the only one. Were someone else to encroach on Santa’s most sacred territory, they would be branded an imposter (and quite possibly, in Demitra’s case, a witch). But Matty had grace and understanding that went beyond others. He knew that Demitra had lost her magic sometime ago, sapped away by the dreaded depths of “the Walmart Warehouse”. That’s why she had taken Santa’s place, because she could no longer see the truth. She thought she must do the job of who she believed to be a ghost in his place, to appease Matty. And so, since he loved his sister so, he forgave her her transgressions. More than that, he took upon himself a task most formidable. Reminding her who she really was. He was sure that Santa could help. If she could just meet him, that would be a start.

So he waited. And waited. And waited. Minutes turned to hours turned to what seemed like days (Matty could no longer tell). And Matty found himself face to face with the true challenge of his Quest, fighting his own eyelids. They drooped over his eyes, weighted down by some evil, unknown sorcery. He tried to overcome this fatal flaw of his. Slapping himself on the cheeks, taping his eyelids open, shaking his head as fast as he could.

Alas, it was all for not. This was a battle Matty could not win. Sleep overcame him slowly, in a torturous fashion. And as he slid into that cursed land of slumber that dared steal him from his task, he swore that next year, he would finish his Quest. He would meet Santa, and save Demitra.

As soon as Matty was fast asleep, there was a soft knocking on the roof above his head. Something like the sound of hooves.

Then there was a thud at the bottom of the chimney.

And the munching of some gingerbread cookies.

And the organizing of some presents.

But, of course, all this was lost on poor Matty.

A jolly old man in a big round red suit stood above the boy for a moment, looking at his face in contemplation. Wiping crumbs from his beard, he quickly scribbled something on a piece of stationary left on the table next to a now vacant plate, stuffed it under the boy’s hand, and went on his way.

Better luck next year, Sir Matty.

-Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

nikmacpattywak December 25, 2014 0 Comments

Friday, October 31, 2014

MORE WRIMO! (You thought I was done with it but I WASN'T! Plot twist!)

nikmacpattywak October 31, 2014 0 Comments

Believe it or not, NaNoWriMo is still on my mind...

If I know my fellow NaNo nerds (and I'm sure I do), then I know what you're all doing right now. You're going to Sam's Club to stock up on snacks for the month, you're saying goodbye to your loved ones, you're constructing contraptions that'll take care of your day-to-day for you (including eating bathing and sleeping). You're just now realizing that you don't want to write about zombies, you want to bunnies, so you're throwing out all of the prep work you've done up to this point and crunch-time outlining your bunny novel. All-in-all, you're putting the finishing touches on your NaNo preparations, and by the end of this sentence you've already scrapped your bunny idea and are now drafting the outline for your awesome new werewolf 5SOS fanfic.

If you'll allow me, I'd like to give you some advice. If we're both lucky, you'll come out of this experience with your novel front work in hand, your pets adequately fed, and no bloody corpses littering the ground you tread. (No promises on that last one.)

1) Outlining

Have I mentioned them before? No? Well, shame on me. To put it simply, OUTLINES ARE MY LIFE. I have extensively outlined every big project I've taken on and never ever regretted doing so. Have I strayed from my outlines? Heck. Yes. But they've always kept me focused. You'd be surprised how easy writing is when you know what your next step is. "But NikMac," I hear you say, "I write better when I'm spontaneous." I respect that, I really do. (No I don't.) But we're not taking just any old writing day. We're talking freaking NaNoWriMo. Let me be the first to tell you that if you don't know what it is you're writing, if you don't know how it ends, NANOWRIMO WILL EAT YOU. ALL FEAR THE GREAT AND POWERFUL NANOWRIMO.
Get that outline straightened out friend, lest you become a Scooby Snack.

2) Music

This one's not as necessary but it'll help in the long run. Plus, it's a much better way to pass the time waiting for midnight to hit then throwing things at you siblings/spouse/elderly parents. And it's fun. Start a soundtrack for that masterpiece of yours, try to find the vein of every scene you make. Who knows, you might know more about your piece because of it.

My personal preference, when it comes to writing, is lyricless playlists. And for that I recommend Lindsey Stirling, Sam Cushion, High Five Spaceship, and anything on ocremix.org (ocremix offers all their music for free, by the way.)

3) Take One Word At A Time
Get this in your head before you start, or else you might find yourself paralyzed at the keyboard. You are not writing a novel in a month. You are writing a novel like you anything else you would write, word by word. You're just trying to do so a little faster. It's okay if you don't hit your word count everyday, it's okay if at the end of it all you're short by a hundred words (give or take). It's even okay if you give up in the middle and don't end up finishing. What counts is what you take away from the try, not whether or not you succeed. So don't worry about things. Just sit down and write. Remember to have fun. ;)

What are some tips to share with your fellow NaNo-er's? Any sure-fire ways to come out of the Dreaded November alive?
'Til next time nerds.

Friday, October 24, 2014

NANOWRIMO! (How a masochist can improve his/her writing.)

nikmacpattywak October 24, 2014 0 Comments

If you have not already guessed it, I am participating in what is known as NaNoWriMo! (National Novel Writing Month). If you don't know what it is, I'm sick of explaining it so go to their freaking website. www.nanowrimo.org Freaking go there now or else you're going to be really lost during this post.

Everyone all good? On the same page? Great, let's move on.

So, for some reason this year there's a lot of writing people saying they don't see the point in NaNoWriMo. They say that they like spending more time with their characters, don't see the point in writing something that'll clearly be a disaster of a first draft, so on and so forth. And while I can see the point they're trying to make, I think they're overlooking all the ways that writers can benefit from taking this challenge, regardless of whether they win or lose.

Benefits of NaNoWriMo

Connecting to a Community of Writers

NaNoWriMo brings together writers far and wide, both hobbyists and professionals, so it's a great way to meet your fellow wordsmiths. During High School when I was just starting to get passionate about writing this was the first exposure to other writers. And, in the experience I've had, this is a very friendly environment to get started in writing. You can ask questions, get feedback, or simply reach out to other writers without judgment or condensation. Granted every corner of the internet has it's trolls but for the most part people will sincerely want to help. And that is because everyone, newbie to veteran is in the same boat when it comes to NaNoWriMo. And that boat is....MAJOR CRUNCH TIME. Which leads into my second benefit.

Writing on Deadline

Now see, this doesn't feel like a benefit but bare with me. No matter what profession you shall go into someday, be it jamming on a Saskatoon or CEO of I'm Freaking Awesome Corp., chances are you're going to come up against a deadline or two along the way. And that's good, it's natural, it's a part of the circle of life. But deadlines are never met with much cheer or joy. In fact, many people don't know what to do with deadlines. Sometimes just the thought of something dangling above you like that is enough to paralyze. Well, here's an environment where you can practice you're deadline meeting with no consequences. Because who doesn't love perpetual crunch time in the middle of holiday season?

Extended Free Write

If we can all be honest with ourselves for a moment here, NaNoWriMo will produce one of the crappiest first drafts you've ever written. Again, this is okay because you write every word as if the whole dang thing was due tomorrow morning six am sharp. And sometimes the crappiest of first drafts produce the best final products, just because they give you so much to work with. There are many great, really terrific books that came out of NaNoWriMo. (Ex: My second most favorite book of all time The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and the brilliantly crafted Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.) But this I think for most people, this is just a great way to build up your writing stamina. It's a 30-day extreme free write! You're going to come out of this with writing abs of steel.

Feels Good

It's going to feel pretty freaking great when you finish your word count. No matter the quality of the dribble you've slaved over for the past thirty days you're going to feel dang great that you hung on as long as you did, that you finished it. Because I don't care if you're a rookie or if your name's on a best seller list, writing a novel in a month is freaking hard for anyone. While you're trying to do it, it feels impossible. But you did it, hang your head high man! Fifty-k in a month, J. K. Rowling can't touch this!

50% Off of Scrivener

So this perk seems minor in the face of all the other benefits I've listed, but guys, I bought Scrivener for my NaNo this year and it's delicious. (*Side Note: Scrivener is a word processor made for creatives developed by software company Literature and Latte. It has templates for movie scripts, comic scripts, novels, etc. Its normal price is about forty dollars.) It's awesome when it comes to keeping all your notes in one place so you don't have to pop back and forth between windows and shift through endless documents just to find that one detail you needed for that one thing. And Scrivener loves NaNoWriMo. They offer an extended free trial during NaNoWriMo that begins in October and ends in December, you get twenty percent off for just signing up for NaNo and if you win you get fifty percent off!

Guys, do it for Scrivener.

That's all I've got for you for now. As you can tell, I'm gearing up for NaNo so that means that'll either I'll post the most I ever had in this month then I ever had in an attempt to escape from my monstrous NaNo, or I'll fall off the face of the earth for a month. Until then, what do you think? Is NaNo a challenge worthy of the best and the worst of us or is it a colossal waste of a month?
'Til next time nerds.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Looky Here!: Video Games

nikmacpattywak October 05, 2014 0 Comments

Hello Lovlies and welcome to the Looky Here!, the first in a series of posts where I explain why I think a medium that's perhaps underrated should recognized as a legitimized form of art or academia, and help to identify and correct the perceived stigma that hangs around it. In this post, I'll be discussing Video Games.

I know I'm at risk for sounding pretentious or hipster-ish when I talk about this, and maybe I'm fighting a war that's already been won, but from what I still experience with everyday interactions with people who don't play video games, and even some who do (or at least did), I think this is still something that needs to be said. And that's actually a good place to start.

My Experience

Already this is tilting more toward editorial then persuasion but I find it important to first define myself and where I stand in this topic before I move to why. I am, at best, a video game enthusiast. I play and I play often, I form complex opinions and inquires about the narrative and mechanics when I play, I use the experience I had playing to inspire and fuel my own creative output. I actively seek out opinions other then my own to better understand all the angles to approach a video game from, however lightly I participate in the discussion. And while I try to venture outside of my own preferences in terms of genre, there are still places I refuse to go simply because it counteracts my purpose of seeking entertainment (chief among them, FPS's and Sports Games). And when I finish a game that has a lot of depth and plenty to dissect, such as The Stanley Parable developed by Galactic Cafe and released late last 2013, I put down my controller and venture out into the world, eager to find someone to discuss this experience with. These people are few and far in between. When I go to my contemporaries, I find they judge the game against whatever standard template they perceive games should be rather then giving it the freedom to be what it tries to be. When I try to find books to read on the subject that truly explore the implications of video games and what can be done with them, I find it difficult. There not found on shelves at bookstores or libraries. I find there's a fundamental difference in when I ask my parents or friends (for any given holiday) for a video game rather then a book. To them, one is toy and one is a tool.

What Video Games Are-Introduction
Video games are a relatively new medium, not even a century old yet. They are something to appreciate and interact with. At the beginning they present a goal to fulfill and end when that goal is reached, in the simplest terms. In this medium, the emphasis is put on the journey rather then the reward. And, more often then not, they are made for entertainment. These are things everyone can agree on.

The Stigma
By and by the wall I usually find myself up against when it comes to video games is that they are childish and don't require much thought. They are seen as what they were originally intended for at their inception, a way to pass the time for people with the time to spend. Not inherently anything to be looked down upon (depending on who your talking too) but not anything to necessarily be respected either. You score the touch down, dance the dance, save the princess, not much more to it. At large the definition of video games is simple. And that's where the problem lies.

Expand
Yes, there are more video games then not that are intended for the use of children; and yes, at face value video games do not demand much thought outside of a given goal. But to ignore the potential of what the game offers is like to read the bible and only see it as a story. There is so much more to it then that! Just looking at what I specifically look for in a game, a seamless and unique combination of game play mechanics and narrative, you get the chance to explore into the mind of the developer, much like you would in a book or movie. Only the developer, in taking you into this world, surrenders a great amount of control over it in letting you explore on your own, make your own choices; giving you a chance to fail, succeed, or even deviate from your given task, gifting you with a certain amount of ownership over the game yourself. And recently great things have come from this relationship between developer and gamer. Now there are titles on the rise that are more aware that you, the gamer, are seeking to know more through the game and as such try to weave a message into the game play for you to decode. Off of the top of my head, I can think of two titles that do this and do this well. One, which I mentioned earlier The Stanley Parable (available on Steam), and two, Journey (available on PSN). Both of these games are meant to tease you with exactly what the developers are trying to get at and leave you to figure out the rest. Taking it at face value is not experiencing it as a whole. Other games that are much less "artsy-fartsy", such as The Last of Us (available for PS3) or Bioshock Infinite (available for PS3, PC, and Xbox 360) have engrossing narratives that invoke emotions and empathy just as a movie or TV show would, only to a much greater extent because in the game, you aren't just watching the character go through it, you are the character going through it.

What Video Games Are-The Conclusion

Video games are a platform of entertainment, but much like any other platform (art, literature, film) they do not stop there. Video games dare to make you think, let you explore, encourage you to make your own decisions. They pull you into someone else's shoes and let you act according to their situation rather then just speculate on how you would act. In video games we find a relationship between artist and viewer that can't be found in any other medium. And through this relationship there is endless potential. Yes, there are still games that are easily fit the definition that the populace shares, but there are also games that do so much more. There are games that can help your growth, whether it be academically, morally, or otherwise. And even with all I've discussed in this post I know I've only touched the surface of what games can do.

Stats of the Week

Song: Sunken Secrets (Dire, Dire Docks) by Fishy

Book: How To Do Things With Video Games by Ian Bogost

Word: Perspicacity

Quote: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it will live it's whole life thinking it is stupid."

~Albert Einstien