Entitlement, Reflection & Coming Together Re:Sagal/Pinsof

Entitlement is a feeling that a lot of us get & sometimes it's valid, sometimes it's not.

Friends assume that they are entitled to know who you're dating, companies assume they have the right to know about your personal life & people with connections or associations with a particular group, feel entitled to consume the pain suffered by strangers. Whether these entitlements or self decreed rights, are just or not is a matter of opinion but what is clear is that acting on your own judgement of such, can lead to a slippery slope.



A lot of people complain that Alistair Pinsof had no right to reveal the 'truth' bout Cathy Sagal. Another handful of humanoids believe differently. This isn't about what the correct answer is, because universally it seems there is none, also because we still don't know the complete story & may never because it will always be hearsay.

What is dangerous in a situation like this is when outside parties get involved, especially those unrelated. People who are no more aware of the truth see red & make connections that activate a defence mechanism within them, sometimes with good reason. But if we all jump to conclusions & are blinded by our own viewpoints on incidents that do not involve us - do we have a right to be so adamant, do we have a right to call for the blood of either sides?



I'm not saying that certain individuals should be hushed, that is never right, just or fair. But why should any voice be heard more than another?

We have this need to be appeased, this feeling of entitlement due to our mutual sensitivities & can let that overtake reason and open mindeness. Our hearts take over our minds & we explode. The thing is, while I find people stating that they don't care about Sagal's lies as it doesn't overtake the outing of the individual, to be very self centred or simply wrong, I do commend that they speak out & do so without fear or trying to keep all sides content. They have no need to hide who they are & feel no shame for their beliefs and why should they?

But there are some that in a public plateau virtually or otherwise will commit to a point of view that claims neutrality or wisdom & yet outside of the platform the consensus can see, they conduct themselves in a hypocritical manner.



Sagal lied about something serious & that should not be swept under the rug. Outing someone should never be done without the persons consent, but lets not pretend that in this specific context that Pinsof did an abhorrent thing with the intention of causing harm. If you believe his statements, he was conflicted & did what he felt was right after a quite intense ride with Sagal. 
But nevertheless, his actions could have been prevented by his own choosing. Sagal also chose her own path, by lying about something dire. They are both paying the price for their own mistakes but Sagal is clearly suffering more so in a physical, emotional & mental level & yes deserves help not hate. No one is saying otherwise, reading invisible sentences between the lines only aggravates a situation.

Pinsof's actions may be deemed as those of an untrustworthy individual but try & put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Put yourself in Sagals shows too. Now remember something important.
Putting yourself in someone's shoes is a temporary action for the purpose of reflection not an excuse to then assume literally & actually, their circumstances. Because while we're all entitled to our opinions & right to express it,we're not entitled to privileges absorbed from incidents that belong to only those directly involved. 



Unless you have no roof over your head, are starving without a helping hand or loving ear in this world then yes whether you like it or not you are privileged.  There's giving support to a stranger & there's martyring yourself for no good reason. We all need to take a step back, try to not let an event overcome us, there's more productivity from self reflection & from understanding each other.
People suffer regardless of their sexuality, ethnicity or whatever & adding entitlement of severity to one pain over another is simply making this a sadder less tolerant world.

I don't like the look of your face

I didn't want to tell you this baby, but everyone's has been saying it behind your back and it's true. Every time I slide you into my console slot, you pop up on my screen and I want to to smack the ugly out of you.

- "Bjork - 1845" 

With everyone raving (rightfully so) about Injustice: Gods Among Us, there's one key issue that I've noticed...Wonder Woman's face is dog-rough. 



This isn't an issue confined to just this game and certainly not just to Wonder Woman, as Superman and Batman have oddly proportioned pathetic skinned skulls as well. But for some reason the entire design of Wondy's face is oddly ill-shaped and just not befitting the capabilities of modern day gaming design and animations. 

Some developers obviously have a better time at evolving the look of one standalone characters appearance, but when it comes to facial aesthetics, it can be the difference between a comfortable viewing and an awkwardly "I can't look in your eyes, for they remind me of the bottomless pits of beige death" 
Tomb Raider's Lara Croft has undergone a steady pace of transformations over the years, though he actually head-to-toe look hasn't wavered that dramatically. Where the improvements are extremely noticeable and well executed are her face. 

  
In fact her vest palette hasn't changed much at all 

For as lush as the world of Skyrim is, the mugs on the characters weren't very appealing to the eyes, no matter man, woman or beast. Actually the dragons looked quite dashing in comparison. As for Oblivion, every looked like they inflated and then got sat on for a long time.  At least that was equality for all in those games, but in Injustice, it's as if they made a conscious effort to make Wonder Woman look like an amazonion tree. 


Wondy Tree and her boyfriend hanging out 

Can you think of any characters who look out of place and that seem oddly mannish or warped compared to the world and population around them?

Demographic Denial of Transgender Gamers

Introduction: More than a game 

There's certain pastimes and hobbies out there that people take very little notice of or make sweeping assumptions about. In general, unless a hobby is extremely bizarre, only in the "I collect dead squirrels, stuff them & make reenactments of Star Wars battles with them" sense, then it should simply be seen as a recreational activity that gives people joy. 
But some means of self entertainment have evolved over time. Gaming is certainly one of those - no longer do we simply collect coins to drop in arcade machines or sit on the floor playing platformers in our living rooms with friends (mores the pity). Gaming has evolved & much more than being a form of play for kids, it has given many people jobs, friends, businesses & also alas, a lot of nuisances & grief. 

When you play football you rarely imagine yourself as the ball or want to be kicked around, unless you're kinky like that. Video games offer people characters that can be molded into their image or with a good writing team can offer stories that cause emotions or a connection. Over the years despite the issues that still exist within gaming, (sexism, lack of decent representation of different sexual orientations, the standard "square jawed white muscular male american lead") ect, there's one section that has seemingly been left untouched, uncared for and unfathomably unnoticed, except by those who in reality are that 'genre', for lack of a better phrase. 

We're a smorgasbord collective 
I'll get this off to a quick start. Why is it, when you have the ability to create anything within a game, so hard to create good transgender characters? 



For as long as humans have existed there has been one common trend no matter where you were born or what you look like. That is variety. More than anyone, only we ourselves can know who we really are, despite what others see or think. Homosexuality is by no means a new 'fad', & transgender certainly isn't either. Developers can design intricate worlds from imagination or replicate reality in marvelous detail, yet neglect the simple consistent elements of our history and lives so easily and it's quite confusing to me. 

Gaming companies have this fear that if they don't cater to straight, white males, then they will never make any money & that their worlds will implode. It's simply not true. Gamers consist of such an eclectic mix of people, people who aren't as bound to old fashioned notions, as marketing directors would assume. Gamers have been labelled as loners, nerds and weirdos - so they know as much as anyone what it's like to be ostracized because of something you enjoy or something you are. This fear of not catering to a demographic that is wilting away in it's streamlined labeling, is not healthy for companies themselves or for the population they should be catering for across the board. 

Gamers consist of women, men, young, old, middle of the road, every creed, colour, height, gender or non gender, hairy, hairless, abled and disabled and in 2013 we still can't seem to transcribe some coding to create characters and stories that represent what is essentially the human race. It just seems to lazy & uncaring. 

"I'm not a tomboy, I'm a boy" 
But as diplomatic as I am trying to be, right now it's hard not to point out that transgendered people are having a rough time in gaming representations. I say rough time, but what I mean is, no time. 


Ostro thinks he's a girl. No, Ostro is a girl and that's evident alone by Ostro stating she'd would rather you just deal with it and call her what her Birdetta. Mkay? 

Researching transgender characters in games has come up with a very short list. Bridget fromGuilty Gear & Poison from Final Fight are the most common results. There's nothing wrong with those characters, depending on your personal opinion of the intent of their representation. But with regards to Poison, the character was labelled as transgender in order to appease outcries against games that featured men hitting women.

Yasuda responded to the objections by claiming that Poison and Roxy were cross-dressing men, with the manual referring to them as "new-halves

That really isn't a basis that gives the audience a mascot for transgender diversity. The problem is a lot of the time, people assume to include diversity you must accompany it with a bang, when in real life if you're straight, gay or transgender, you simply are. When you came out of your mothers womb, you didn't rocket out in an explosion of glitter & penguins. You simply were, are & continued to be. 

Putting aside the ability to properly represent transgender characters, developers have to be careful not to highlight that there's is a segregation involved, but there isn't or there should be. Sadly in the world outside of gaming, there is bigotry & unnecessary ostracization of transgendered characters, but in gaming you can easily create a world where people can just get a damn break. 



I hark about Mass Effect a lot, but to be honest, their inclusion of gay characters is quite streamlined & never this big hoo-hah that makes individuals within a game or holding the controller uncomfortable. That's how it should be, when you break it down very basically. 

I'd rather spend the next few years playing on the same console I have now, games that include more diversity & thought with regards to their consumer base. 
We can argue or praise next gen consoles, innovative game play mechanics & the future of technology all we want, but none of that has any substance or is as revolutionary as simply including variety in the characters within games. Times have changed & technology may advance but it's worrying that human perceptions are remaining quite stagnant. 

"I love sleeping, because in my dreams there is no dysphoria. In my dreams I can be the man I am without anyone questioning it"

Touched by a Comstock: Christianity in Bioshock Infinite

It's hard to play a game like Bioshock Infinite and not noticed or worse yet, ignore the potent level of symbolism, allegory and references to religion. This isn't meant to be a stirring article, it's not meant to be a conversion one either. 
So a disclaimer prologue is going to happen just in case you get confused. This article is mainly about what is all very obvious anyway in the game and my points of view regarding it, some opinions will be expressed coming from a gamer perspective, a no doubt failed comical perspective and being a Christian myself. 

Now lets get a move on... 

Welcome to Columbia 

Those who have played Bioshock Infinite already know the plot, either in it's basic sense or entirety. Up high in the sky there dwells a city, floating thanks to the technology of a brilliant scientist named Rosalind Lutece. The city is ruled by a supposed prophet of God, Zachary Hale Comstock. Comstock is revered by the people of Columbia, aided by visions sent by the Angel Columbia, which might have actually just been him cheating via using the skills of Rosalind. 



Treading on blasphemy 

From a Christian point of view it's quite easy to find the whole game to be quite blasphemous in its symbolism. For many believers or theologians, the lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ and to adorn that title upon Elizabeth, who will ultimately lead to the destruction of the 'sodom' below can be a bit jaunting to people. But as a Christian I'm not too put out by these references because we're playing characters who have been deemed labels and fates not always by their own actions but by the doctrine of others. 

One issue I find intriguing and somewhat blasphemous if I were a citizen of Columbia, is the worshiping of the cities founder. I mentioned above, Comstock is revered by the citizens of Columbia in a manner that makes me wonder if they're confused and assume he is God, not just an apparent prophet. When you see giant statues of the man, posters scattered throughout the city and golden effigies of him in airships and museums it also makes me wonder if they ever heard about a little party that went down that made God and a cool dude called Moses pretty ticked off. 



Whether Comstock is truly a man of faith, is something that I'm still not entirely convinced off even on my second play through. I find that yes he has a belief and it's quite strong, but his methods are clearly questionable. Outside of his moral actions throughout the game there is one scene in particular that makes me wonder how anyone could truly believe him infallible and worthy of adoration. When Booker is on board an airship, as he changes the trajectory, Comstock appears before him on a smaller vessel and says "The Lord forgives everything, but I'm just a prophet so I don't have to. Amen.". 

Now Zachary, that's a bit of a cop out isn't it. If you are a prophet of the lord then you should at least try your best to be like the Lord, striving to always do the right, just and forgiving thing. But no you abuse the power of the word prophet and use it as a means by which you can do what you want and it's ok, because you're not suppose to be a 'forgiving' as God. 

Burn them all...with Vigors 

So you're a God fearing citizen of Columbia. You live in a time where you'd mistreat people that had different coloured skin and a different accent to you. A woman working is considered "not the done thing" and moral standards are deemed by society, a holy society. 
And yet....you don't seem to fussed by these magical witchy death-dealing elixirs that give you powers, that in reality back in the good ol' days would deem you a witch or warlock!?! 

Even though the accompanying tutorial videos that feature these Vigors are repellents against devils, some are quite macabre and gory. You have one that sends a flock of crowds to peck humans apart and rip to shreds and then of course there's the Devils Kiss, you drink the energy drink of the devil and get to throw flame balls everywhere. How about the vigor called Possession? Yes that's not something that would put fear into holy people. Oh lemme drink this lemonade thingy and do something that is usually featured in films where Tubular Bells is the main theme score. Columbia would make for an interesting episode setting in Touched by an Angel. 



The origin of all Infinite's 

The events of the game seem to come from your decision at the brink of possible baptism. If you interpret the ending in a certain way, it seems that after the battle of Wounder Knee Booker had a choice to be baptised, hopefully ridding himself of the sins of his actions on the battlefield or to declined the baptism. Cleansing meant he would become Comstock and refusing would mean he would remain as Booker, tainted and set on a dark path that would eventually and with him losing his daughter Anna. Whether Irrational meant to infer the notion that salvation only come from baptism is something I can't comment on but I can give my own viewpoint. 

Baptism would have given Booker a chance to start anew and to be forgiven in the eyes of God for his sins. Whether people believe or not isn't the point within this story, for this is a story about belief and how integral it is on an individual basis, as much as it is a story about a mad city in the sky. 
But then again, the way the story pans out seems to confuse us about the utter good that comes from baptism. Even cleansed Booker's path goes horribly wrong and he becomes a man who misuses his power and hurts his own child. 

It seems like Booker can't win no matter what he chooses. For me I think that no matter whether he took baptism or not, that it was his actions afterwards that led him to wherever his verging selves went. We're baptised not to get exemption from all follies of life but as a step towards salvation. We can still fuck things up every day and that's why we need confession. The game is all about possibilities and infnites, the Baptism is no different. It's easy to look at the baptism scene as merging only in two directions depending on choice, yet to me it offer many branches, because choice, ultimately the use of our free will is integral in the world of Bioshock. 

Pacman Lamp Review

My birthday went by and one of the little gifts I got (by choice) was a Pacman Lamp from Forbidden Planet.

The Pacman Lamp in it's non luminated form comes as a white ghost. You get a nifty little remote control (which has a battery inside it). The remote is lightly, brightly coloured and allows you to pick a variety of single colours for the lamp to shine or goes through a selection of montage phases, from smooth to epileptic style transitions.

The lamp itself is extremely light and easy to maneuver, the remote is responsive without delay and the overall glow that comes from the lamp isn't irritating to the eyes. Overall it gives your room a nice array of colours that can range from a warm glow, a bright spray or a cool setting. I have mainly been keeping the setting on "smooth" and find the interchanging colours to not be annoying and the transition is quite good and indeed, smooth.

Check out a little video I did showing the changes:

Scary Granules Episode 11 - Birdman's Vagina Special!

Well folks, you’re in for a treat this week. Because not only are we talking about games, but we’re also talking about STUFF!

Oh and Tarvu joins us as a guest :p



Yes that young hatchling Tarvu joins us this week giving us his opinions, whether we like them or not and making a whole range of noises that border from erotic to downright spine tingling. He’s with us for our usual routine of discussing what games we’ve been playing, including a mutual groan of all wanting to play Bioshock Infinite.Tarvu mainly just wants the game to be in him, in him so good.


Siiighhhh....want it now

Then in the second part we delve lightly into the recent addendum in the sexism wars that plague gaming by giving our opinions on the Remember Me female protagonist controversy. Because kissing guys is icky right? Oh my goodness preaching to the choir. Panza also discusses a couple of cool horror games on and Glowbear also finally realises that getting a PS2 would be a good investment.

Then we just have a quick mull over upcoming horror games for 2013 and learn that Tarvu, surprisingly has absolutely nothing to offer in terms of that genre.
We also give a shout out as usual and mention some brief details regarding our plans for upcoming cons this year, such as Rezzed and Eurogamer.


Scary Granules Episode 11 - Birdman's Vagina Special!

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Late to the cooler

I'm one of those people that aren’t always up to date with other people when it comes to fashion or watching certain viral videos. It's not exactly a conscious choice, it's not even really a choice, and it’s just not something I care about. I'm usually aware of what is going on for the most part, I just have no current interest in involving my own sense to it, until a random change occurs. I didn't watch Gangnam Style until everyone else had already become sick of it, even those who originally loved it and I didn't wear chinos until recently, even then my main dress code consists of geeky pyjamas.

The same can be said now and again of games. I've just completed Episode I of the Walking Dead and I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the series. Everyone else has already played, raved and reviewed all the episodes and it's won many accolades, yet here I am late to the party. It's also worse because there's no guarantee that me playing this game would not have happened later rather than sooner or if at all. I got the game in iOs because I had been randomly gifted an iTouch for Christmas. My first apple product and despite it actually being quite nifty, I hope my last.

I’ve also picked up Witcher 2 on Xbox 360 and begun slowly playing it. I had originally gotten the first game in the series but it simply refused to play on my computer, then I traded in at CEX for the standard trade-in price of -£4.05p. Again another game that has already done its rounds being talked about and I’m just picking it up.


Let the poor man go

Walking Dead Episode I is free on iOs and I thought well may as well make use of this device and take advantage of this freebie that people have raved about. I started playing the game and then thought "you know what I'll at least finish it and see how I feel" but then I started to go through what I'm assuming most of you who have played this did - caring about the characters and enjoying the plot immensely, wondering what will come next. I'm glad I haven't spoiled myself so far. FYI making sure the 'p' in spoiled is there, makes that phrase less dangerous.

But to be fair one of the reasons I usually try well received games after a while is because I’ve gone through my own personal want list and I am bored. It’s the same for some television shows or films. When you’ve exhausted your current stock of entertainment and diluted the internet, you need something to do with your free time (other than getting fresh air, being productive and socialising of course).


Oh gawd I’ve run out doing things that involve my bed

Sometimes boredom is what leads us to try new things and some of the time if not most of the time we end up being pleasantly surprised and glad we had some sort of inner arrow pointing in that direction.

As I said the reason for being behind the game so to speak, can be just by choice, not really caring or free time. But there are other reasons of course, primarily dah monies. How you gonna play the games if you don’t have the monies? Oh but wait, if you can’t afford to play games and get every game upon release, you should maybe pursue a less financially burdening hobby like underwater knitting. Seriously…that’s one of the most redundant, ridiculous sentences I’ve heard in any context. Check yo’self before you wreck y’oself.

Have you ever finally gotten stuck into a game or given one a go, long after the fact? Do you feel the ache of loneliness when you want to talk about something you finally came across, but everyone else has set sail on that ship long ago?