Roxanne Reynaga

Unsung heroes: Reconceptualizing a video game as a work of art. Jessica Hoffmann Davis, EdD () The doorbell rang just as the doctor at St. Denis (a fictive town in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2) was telling Arthur, (my playable character in the 80+ hour game) that he had incurable tuberculosis. Devastated, I raced to the door, explained quickly to the technician that I couldn’t sign anything for the moment, and rushed back to finish watching that cinematic cut into the regular action of the game. As I returned to the door, I could hear the technician stifling a laugh. Clearly, he found it amusing that a woman of my advanced age was immersed in a video game. “Which one? ” he asked pleasantly. “ Red Dead Redemption 2, ” I replied, and his mouth fell open. “You know it? ” I asked. “Who doesn’t? ” he exclaimed. And of course, he did. Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) was one of the hottest games of 2018. The New York Times reported it making $725 million in the first three days it opened, making it the “highest grossing opening weekend of any entertainment product?ever” (Suderman, NYT, 11/25/18, p. 8). “I tried it, ” he said, “but I don’t really have time to stay with the story with two young children climbing all over me. ” Yes, that would be hard. For me, at this stage in my life, my only regular interruption was my little dog who thought the horses, dogs, and other animals so realistically portrayed in Red Dead Redemption 2 were in the room with us. Lucky was also frightened by the sound of shooting guns that admittedly happened frequently throughout the game. “How’d you get into it? ” the technician asked. “My son is Dutch van der Linde. ” Dutch is the sophisticated enchanting evil manipulative philosophic idealistic intellectual outlaw whose charisma and treachery are at the center of the game. “You mean the character in the game is like your son? ” “No”, I replied, “the character in the game is my son. ” He was baffled. “The actor who plays Dutch van der Linde is my son. ” “Oh. you mean, he gave the voice to the animated figure? ” Apparently, this guy had never heard of performance capture and how the game’s animation is framed by digital recordings of the actual actions and expressions of the actors. “Performance capture. ” I explained, “you know they wear the leotards with electric ping pong balls all over them? ” “Oh yeah, ” the technician nodded, clearly impressed, unsure by what. “Well, good luck with it, ” the young man said, “Hope you win. ” Win? Proof positive that he had never played Red Dead Redemption 2, a game that has no winners or losers and a course of action determined by individual players. For most of the time, as the only playable character Arthur Morgan, (a misguided big-hearted gunslinger), you’re an actor in the theater of the game, riding your horse, tackling missions as directed, trying to do your best. For the rest of the time, you’re the director, deciding what comes next in the narrative, making choices that range from virtuous vs. damnable courses of action to what outfit your character will wear. Fully within the shape and direction of the narrative, you are co-constructor of a story…or is it a movie? Now and then, with filmed action cut-scenes, it definitely is. Either way, the New York Times calls the game a “work of art” (ibid, p. 8); an online fan calls it an “experience”; I call it an “adventure. ” No, a “story. ” No, a movie in which I am the protagonist and the director. A reader of lines; a writer of outcomes. I agree. “A work of Art. ” Origins My son, actor Benjamin Byron Davis, worked on the Red Dead Redemption 2 project for five years. Five years of flying back and forth between Los Angeles and New York, memorizing countless lines (the script was 2000 pages long), rehearsing in locations on either coast, performing in black spandex “mo-cap” (motion capture) suits, gun belts at his side, riding a saw horse that would appear as a Tennessee Walker or an Arabian, imagining in a warehouse studio space, the vast landscape of the wild west. Reportedly, the hardest part of it all was the non-disclosure agreement that the ensemble signed, assuring Rockstar Games that the actors would not reveal a minute of what they were doing prior to release, let alone that they had any knowledge that there would ever be a prequel to the earlier game, Red Dead Redemption. When the game finally emerged, it was met with thunderous enthusiasm and commentary suggesting it had broken the boundaries between technology and art, exploring territory traditionally reserved for the arenas of dramatic or cinematic arts. Beautifully written, gorgeously acted, and outrageously picturesque, the game welcomes players into an imaginary world in which they can ride their horses all night, explore new directions as the sun rises, pause to camp under a shading tree or alongside a slippery river, feel a gentle rain, marvel at a star studded sky, and inter-relate with characters as close as fellow outlaws in the Van der Linde gang and as mysterious as strangers alongside an unknown road. The terrain would become familiar, the dead tree marking the road to camp, the tree lined path to the Braithwaite Manor. the train tracks, water ways, and jagged narrow mountain paths. But I knew nothing of this when the Red Dead Redemption 2 ensemble of performance capture artists came to FanExpo Boston at the Boston Convention Center in August, 2019. The Fans I had never attended a fan expo or comic-con before. These conventions famously provide a venue where literally thousands of comic book/video game fans can gather. Walking about as if it was another day at the mall, are life sized superheroes, video game characters, and other creative inventions of comic book types. The costumes are pristine and professional looking and even the youngest children look as if they’ve just emerged from their movie trailers down the street. Walking through galleries of booths selling such collectible objects as original artwork and vintage comic books or giving away trinkets that promote an upcoming game, I was struck by the creativity with which the atmosphere was infused. And when I reached the designated area in which fans could actually meet their favorite video game actors and get an autograph or a selfie, I was astonished by the length of the lines. I knew this happened around the world; Benjamin had already taken part in conventions in Hawaii, Philadelphia, Texas, and Kuwait. But what impressed me greatly, moved some chord within that is devoted to the arts in education, was that practically all of the fans waiting on line to meet the real Dutch van der Linde, had a gift in hand. The gifts were drawings of Dutch from various scenes in the game, or “wanted” posters of the artist’s design-an artistic response to the work of art that was the game; and the artwork itself was first rate. Surely some were more crudely drawn than others, but all the work presented had clearly been crafted with care and affection. Reflection Later, Dutch van der Linde (Benjamin) and Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark) sat on a panel and talked about the experience of working on Red Dead Redemption 2, the challenge of learning masses of lines in short periods of time, developing a role over time, working in those spandex suits, and especially the non-disclosure agreement that kept them from telling anyone what they were up to until release. It made the ensemble closer, only being allowed to talk about it all with each other. And then the questions came from the audience. I was sitting between Captain Marvel and I think the Joker, in a room filled with costumed articulate adults framing the most sophisticated questions, reflecting their knowledge of the narrative of the game, the process of production, and its place in the greater context of video game play, culture, and history. “What other artistic arena was it most like? ” “Literature. ” The actors replied. “When did Arthur discover Dutch wasn’t all he had thought he was? ” and among this interesting back and forth, an occasional fan would ask Arthur to call his horse or Dutch to say out loud the resonant phrase, “I have a plan. ” The fans waxed rhapsodic about the performances and I realized two things: 1) the attachment these players felt with the actors from the game was more intimate and profound than the connection audiences have with actors in plays and movies: and 2) the only way I would get to experience my son’s celebrated performance was to learn to play Red Dead Redemption 2. The Challenge It was then that I bought a copy of the game (RDR2) and a Play Station 4 (PS4), the video console that enables game play. Installing the PS4 was not complicated but it took me a few days to find the courage to think that I was capable. The console came with a controller with which the player enters and navigates the game and learning how to use that smooth hand-held device took me the better part of two weeks. That was not just because of lack of confidence, not just because I believed that such a device belonged to another generation, but also because the controller is a pretty complicated device. There are so many options for control that I quickly ordered the Red Dead Redemption 2 guidebook which fearsomely is 385 pages long. The print is small. Enter my hand-held large red magnifying glass. I practiced and practiced but mastery came slowly. My ineptitude with the controller prevented me from keeping my horse on a steady keel and caused me to make awful mistakes. I would unintentionally punch my horse or jump off it when I meant to jump on. I speak in the first person, but “I” in the game is the character of Arthur Morgan, a lovable gun slinger who has made some poor life choices but basically seeks to do good (when he is not shooting and looting bad guys). Arthur and I are connected by that controller; we decide where he will move, what he wil
The ride of the rohirrim. Takkantoi hahaha. Well done, gentlemen! Timeless as always.

The ride access center. Ride it, ride it, touch my soul. The ride bus. The ride band. The ride dale earnhardt tribute song. Rap needs to die. Only part worth listening to was the singing. That actually takes talent. 0:13 can't be the only one who thought she saw Rihanna Nobody? Really? The girl in the bantu knot.

My crush asked me out lmao i dont know what SHE sees in me ????. The ride lyrics. 1 1 Posted by 4 months ago comment 100% Upvoted Log in or sign up to leave a comment log in sign up Sort by View discussions in 4 other communities no comments yet Be the first to share what you think! u/Neztapam Karma 2 Cake day November 5, 2019 help Reddit App Reddit coins Reddit premium Reddit gifts about careers press advertise blog Terms Content policy Privacy policy Mod policy Reddit Inc © 2020. All rights reserved. I still remember watching this for the first time after I got the notification and I started crying because the hiatus was finally over.
Lana has been my sadness cure for the past 8 months. I keep on listening to her songs as my meds. Rip chris keep rocking in heaven. The ride parov stelar remix. 1:25 waooo he nailed it!??. The ride ann arbor transportation. I'd love to see some more track content, especially to understand the various track disciplines in an Olympic year. Nice first taster on basic track skills. Nice work Manon & Ollie.
In the New York area the cars are on the wrong side of the road. The ride uber. Who else is watching on their phone. The rider csfd. The ride chris ledoux. Skinny trains! Great video.

14:33 : Is that Kitra laughing in the background as the First Order officer is reminding Peter to study up on his history. The ride back. The rider tarot deck. The ride house dallas.

• remarumama.theblog.me/posts/7966013
• https://www.bizcommunity.com/Profile/MovieRideHDSt...
• https://seesaawiki.jp/warenda/d/Watch%20Here%20Rid...
• https://chinobokuhi.shopinfo.jp/posts/7966177
• odiamosalablanca.blogia.com/2020/032501-android-help-me-find-movie-itunes-fhd-the-ride-3840x2160.php
• https://www.openlearning.com/u/ryulinehsu/blog/OWa...
• https://kazenten.wordpress.com/2020/03/25/%e2%9d%9...
• https://seesaawiki.jp/bogakudo/d/%A1%FAWithout%20S...
• https://www.bizcommunity.com/Showcase.aspx?shi=342...
• https://www.bizcommunity.com/Profile/RideMovieOnli...