Where My Creativity Stems From

I would describe myself as a confined creative artist. What I mean by that is that I have all these ideas built up in my mind with no real way of expressing these ideas. I can write them down and convey them to other people but I can not create a full length movie, design my own video game or some of my other creative endeavors. That is why I choose to continue on with my education so I can learn about programs  and ways to design these ideas that I have stored up so I can create them and share them with the world. I base many of my creativity on life examples and what I see and learn from others' examples. One person who inspires me greatly would be Cliff Bleszinski, the lead game designer behind the popular franchise Gears of War, Unreal Tournament Franchise, and the newly anticipated game set to release in February 2011 Bulletstorm.

Gears of War

(Earth's last hope lies with an elite force of COG soldiers who face off against hordes of Locusts bent on the annihilation of the human race)

Unreal Tournament

(A head-to-head FPS shooter, based around combat in a tournament scenario where you face-off against evil bots)

Bulletstorm

(Two former members of Dead Echo try to survive through the mutant onslaught in a unknown paradise located in very depths of space after being exiled there)

I get most of my creativity from Cliff Bleszinski because he does a great job of using many of the methods to make the player draw attention to the game and cause a certain reaction from the player. Cliff uses more importantly three different binary terms:

1. Contrast and Affinity: This is utilized in many of his games. Most notably in the Gears of War franchise, which uses minimal color in the story mode to give a dark depressing outlook on the world since it, has been taken over from the Locust horde. The contrast is shown between the darkness of the darkness of the enemy and COG army compared to the level, which the color varies from level to level but keeps a constant dark color. The contrast is very noticeable in levels where you try to survive against the krill, bat-like creatures that attack on in the shadows and are harmed by the light. The level starts out with the sun setting and the krill being released which means the characters must stay in the light at all times. The contrast is noticeable between the darkness of the surroundings and a flickering light set to protect you from the onslaught of krill. Affinity is somewhat used but not as much as contrast. Affinity is used with again the krill that are black but a little brighter compared to the darkness of the night or a darker black.
2. Tension and Release:  All of the games designed by Cliff embrace Tension and Release much like other video games.  The Tension stems from the actual game play where characters take control and fight the enemy hordes. There are parts in his games that seem to go on longer than others which the tension comes from taking the player from their comfort space, or in this case doing nothing and putting them into a situation where they have to fight back by killing all of the enemies to survive. The Release comes in when the character completes the mission and a cut-scene happens furthering the plot and the story-mode. It releases the player back into the state of them being neutral and just enjoying the scene.  This happens in all of his games but is really put to the test in the horde mode of Gears of War 2. In this mode the player is confronted with many enemies all at once and must kill them all to proceed to the next wave. After the player kills all the enemies the round is over and there is a release from the tension from the previous wave of enemies and then there is more tension, as the next wave starts right after.
3. Objective and Subjective: The use of objective and subjective in the franchises designed by Cliff Bleszinski are similar in that they use objectives as a way to move the character through the story mode to complete the mission. This is like a helping hand or a guide through the game. Guiding the player through the story mode so they can successfully complete the mission without dying. The subjective side comes from the character analysis. Introducing the character’s emotions about certain things, character’s background or life story does this. One subjective part of one of Cliff’s game would be Gears of War 2 where Dom, one of the main members of Delta Force, is searching for his wife who he got separated from after the Locust emerged up from underground. This shows another side of Dom rather than the kill to survive person that he is perceived to be. It is with these two terms that he creates an emotional response to the characters while keeping the flow of the game continuing.