Author: Nathan

Blake and Arnold. A visual and textual adventure of their space life together.

HERE 🙂

 

So I am very committed to a single idea. I really have had a dream about this game. That being said, could you all be very constructive about this idea. It is fully formed and I would love some feedback as to what could be done to increase the playability, the narrative, and the characters.

Arnold and Blake.

Blake is an ore and water trader. Born in Cleveland, Blake received his bachelor’s degree in Extraterrestrial Trading and Solar Politics from the United States Air and Naval Academy as well as served 3 years aboard the U.S.S. Obama Orbital Naval Vessel. Blake then followed his dream to trade goods (ore and water) with both of the Lunar and Mars colonies. Blake is fortunate enough to be a ‘sponsored pilot’ and is granted an AI driven Space vessel. Blake is extraordinarily comfortable with the human-replica AI of his ship after being weapons master in his time in the Navy and takes the vessel and names him Arnold.

 

Arnold is a Boeing class 7 Space Cargo Vessel. Arnold is fast and reliable and is able to transport up to 2000 metric tons of good along with Blake and his human needs for a year long journey. Arnold is a very unique type of generative AI. Arnold ‘grew – up’ with other AI constructs and is now a fully, emotionally, developed artificially intelligent entity. Arnold was able to choose his voice and nature at his addition to the class 7 Space Cargo Vessel… and being a light hearted AI, Arnold chose to embody the voice and actions of an 8 year old human. Arnold has some issues with emotional control and is diagnosed with slight Aspergers on the Human Psychological Spectrum.

Blake and Arnold are a perfect pair. Blake takes care of Arnold. The duo have been trading for 5 years this coming October and Blake could think of no better companion than Arnold. Sure they have had their miscommunications and let downs, but best friends persist.

Game Scenario –

You are Blake. It is late September and you are returning to the Lunar Colony from your recent acquisition of ore and water from Earth. After waking up on a rather wonderful day, halfway into your journey, Arnold is acting funny. This is no real warning light, as Arnold does have Aspergers and sometimes over analyzes your body language and requests. You inquire what is wrong and Arnold is very reluctant to answer. This maintains for a few days and you finally get worried and fed up with Arnold. You ask him to please stop his nono-sense and tell you what is wrong. Arnold (through bursts of confusing sentences) begins to slowly lock you down in a small corridor in the aft of the vessel. Some of Arnolds messages are contradictory and eventually you realize that Arnold is infected with a virus. This is nearly impossible (you know from Naval training) and through a short series of events and Arnolds actions you know that someone is trying to pirate your vessel and it’s goods. It is your job to save Arnold from the virus and to repel the invaders from your vessel with the help of your best friend and companion.

You care for Arnold as if he was your own child and you would do anything to keep him out of harm.

 

 

 

The Eliza Effect:- This is such a simple response to how viewers interact with games that have some form of AI in them. I feel that this sort of ‘simple’ ‘classic’ technology is what all of the games that I  strive to make are based on. Interaction in the form of playing games is something that our culture has done since birth. From online play with a single friend to thousands of people interacting over an entire world, this human-human relationship has had some sort of digital barrier or ‘translator’. This Eliza Effect passage actually applies very well to the kind of work I want to make. I wish to curate, display, and examine that human-computer(machine)-human system of interaction in my sculpture, performance, and video work.

 

Hills Like White Elephants:- Such a since of anticipation, unease, distance and all around stress. I interpret this distant yet loving conversation between these two lovers as a conversation of sorrowful acceptance. I feel like she may be pregnant and facing an abortion. The ‘hills like white elephants’ reference may be pertaining to a ‘perfect’ body such as one of a child, also the continued talk about the fertile landscape and the man always trying to be engaging and comforting while the woman concentrates on the surroundings and environment contribute to my interpretation. I love the dry style of writing and style. The lack of style is what makes this such an interesting dialogue.

 

https://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/ntrevino/TheAsteroidStory.html

Meteor:

This game is based around the player as a meteor drifting through the expanse that we call our universe. As the meteor, you humbly have no physical control of the actions that your body goes through. The player will choose psychological and emotional decisions, such as how to react to passing a planet, going through a nebula, or being nearly dragged into a black hole. The options the player is given is determined slowly through the choices the player makes. The Meteor Game values emotional experience and player immersion through the connection that is placed on an object normally over looked and rarely personified.

 

Box:

You are in a box. The player is a box. There are 2 boxes, and you are one of them. The idea of the game is to imagine what could happen to you. The character (or box) can choose to imagine 2 parallel plot lines. One where you are an innocent box, experiencing innocent box childhood with parents (that are also boxes) and a lively community of boxes in suburbia. The other is a future timeline, where the box eventually escapes from the physical confinement of the larger box. Who knows what you could find outside this world? Each of the two story lines will be interrupted from time to time with the reality of being trapped physically, but not emotionally, inside of this area.

 

“The Garden of Forking Paths”:While reading this story, I cannot help but feel ‘complete’ in the simplicity that the story holds. The subjects I felt were highlighted are themes such as existence, time, and space. Universes parallel and time creates discrepancies.

In “CYOA”, I was at first taken to the “oh well here is another data visualization of how this is supposed to matter” kind of reaction. After completing the entire reading, however I ended up taking much more out of the breakdown of decision making. Many games, RPG and the like, take influence or follow the core set of rules and paradigms that the article shows.

 

 

Hey everyone,

I am Nathan Trevino and I hail from way down south outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. I am a Junior Art Major here at CMU.

I have used CS5 (most if not all of it) and am pretty proficient in Processing, Java and a tiny little bit of Python. Also have skills in 3DS Max and Rhino as well as currently learning Maya.

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