Sunday, December 23, 2007

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

Before reading the post I should warn you… this contain LOTS of spoilers. If you plan on playing the game don’t read this post.

Ah! I just finished the game and I was really disappointed! For a long journey that was pretty short! I mean there were some… I mean A LOT of questions left unanswered. It’s like watching a movie and is cut short. Like what happened to the other characters? What happened to April? Is she really dead? Will Kian be executed? Is the White Drake killed by Brian? Why is Reza not Reza? Why was the big ugly rich monster killed by his own minions? And why on earth would a mother allow her daughter to be in a comma? Is Zoe a real organic person or a clone or a sort of test tube baby?

The game’s plot is very interesting and it literally sucks you in to the story. It’s a great role-playing game and you are able to think and solve difficult puzzles (yeah, I cheated in some chapters of the game…). There is a sort of anti-church connotation here as represented by the “holy people” who wanted to convert “sinners” and bring them into the light and worship their “goddess” even if they have to use force. It does ring a bell doesn’t it? Not that I’m an anti-church person. The story line is so good! I feel like I’m watching a movie even if it’s a game. But the combat system does suck but who’s complaining? I’m not into the beat them up genre kind of gamer anyway.

I am so disappointed. Like Dreamfall is a masterpiece no doubt about it but what a bummer. I did enjoy the game, I just hate the ending.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Friday, December 7, 2007

Artists in the Making

I was never enthusiastic about the idea of studying art and all but once I had started thinking and creating what we call art I finally realized that art is not that bad.

But I don't work alone, I have a group called "Naning" short for "Naningkamot" or meaning trying our best. None in the group is a professional artist or excel in drawing or paintng but we each played a part in conceptualizing to create a masterpiece.

Here are some of our latest work:

"SELDA"

Selda is a paintng about a man who was wrongfully accused and thrown into jail to serve his life-sentence. If you would notice the man's eyes, it is the eyes of an innocent man who is saddened and who is suffering in his current situation. He wants to break free but can't.

This painting could also symbolize our potentials that we don't want to be tapped or prevent from being tapped. For example, we can sing well but we constantly put ourselves down and think negatively so the outcome would naturally be a failure.


"FACADE"
Facade is about a girl who is naturally kind and good-hearted but because of a society (as symbolized by the sun) that is chaotic and complex she must wear a mask to serve as a defense mechanism. In this modern society, if you show your self as someone weak and defenseless people will naturally take advantage of you and manipulate you. That is why the girl is trying to convey a strong image so that she won't be taken advantage of.

Man is intrinsically good but in a society where evil is more dominant, the people in that society are more likely to adapt to survive. They adapt by being more defensive and selfish... self-preservation.

"CRIMINAL MIND"
This painting symbolizes a corrupt society where the government officials are working together with drug lords and prostitutes and other evil elements (as symbolized by the 4 heads on the wall). The time setting is during the night time because this is the time of the day where most evil elements (drug pushers, stealers, etc) work. The man who is about to step into the darkness symbolizes the innocent people who are about to die or about to be used by the politicians or drug lords to do their dirty work. The wall symbolizes the current situation of society, destroyed and stained by blood due to many people dying. The triangular eyes represent the media and society who are either apathetic, too coward to unveil the truth, or the media who exaggerate things making the current situation worse.

The starry night sky is a glimmer of hope because the stars symbolize people who are willing to do everything that they can to change the current situation of society.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

God created everything... including evil

A University professor at a well known
institution of higher learning
challenged his students with this
question. "Did God create everything
that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he
did!"

"God created everything?" The
professor asked.

"Yes sir, he certainly did," the
student replied.

The professor answered, "If God
created everything; then God created
evil. And, since evil exists, and
according to the principle that our
works define who we are, then we can
assume God is evil."

The student became quiet and did not
answer the professor's hypothetical
definition. The professor, quite
pleased with himself, boasted to the
students that he had proven once more
that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and
said, "May I ask you a question,
professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and
asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of
course it exists. Have you never been
cold?"

The other students snickered at the
young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir,
cold does not exist. According to the
laws of physics, what we consider cold
is in reality the absence of heat.
Every body or object is susceptible to
study when it has or transmits energy,
and heat is what makes a body or
matter have or transmit energy.
Absolute zero (-460 F) is the total
absence of heat; and all matter
becomes inert and incapable of
reaction at that temperature. Cold
does not exist. We have created this
word to describe how we feel if we
have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor,
does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it
does."

The student replied, "Once again you
are wrong sir, darkness does not exist
either. Darkness is in reality the
absence of light. Light we can study,
but not darkness. In fact, we can use
Newton's prism to break white light
into many colors and study the various
wavelengths of each color.

You cannot measure darkness. A simple
ray of light can break into a world of
darkness and illuminate it. How can
you know how dark a certain space is?
You measure the amount of light
present. Isn't this correct? Darkness
is a term used by man to describe what
happens when there is no light
present."

Finally the young man asked the
professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor
responded, "Of course, as I have
already said. We see it everyday. It
is in the daily examples of man's
Inhumanity to man. It is in the
multitude of crime and violence
everywhere in the world. These
manifestations are nothing else but
evil.

To this the student replied, "Evil
does not exist, sir, or at least it
does not exist unto itself. Evil is
simply the absence of God. It is just
like darkness and cold, a word that
man has created to describe the
absence of God. God did not create
evil. Evil is the result of what
happens when man does not have God's
love present in his heart. It's like
the cold that comes when there is no
heat, or the darkness that comes when
there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name - Albert Einstein