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The Drunken Odyssey

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The Drunken Odyssey

Tag Archives: cormac mccarthy

McMillan’s Codex #5: The Last of Us

23 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in McMillan's Codex

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Tags

cormac mccarthy, The Last of Us, The Road, The Walking Dead

McMillan’s Codex #5 By C.T. McMillan

The Last of Us

Conveying emotion in videogames is difficult. Taken at face value they are toys, superficial things that do not require deep thought or examination outside of times in which players want to escape reality. The fun factor alone makes most games worth the purchase, but some developers make a conscious effort to do more. Naught Dog, a company known for platform adventurers, went outside their usual haunt to make a game unlike any other: The Last of Us.

The Last of Us 1Employing classic survival horror elements, Last of Us puts players in an environment where choice and resources are vital to success. It is possible to complete most sections without being detected or loud with all the enemies aware of your presence and both affect the number of health items and ammo. The louder one plays, the more they spend clearing a section to move on. The stealth option is best to conserve resources, but is more challenging as players must evade, distract, and takedown foes without arousing suspicion.

Enemy intelligence plays a big role in the difficulty. Whenever a body is discovered or disturbance detected, enemies go on alert to seek you out. They move slow and can surprise you if not careful. Players can also throw objects to coax enemies into an opening for a quiet kill. When engaged in a firefight, some enemies draw fire while others move in from the flanks to finish you off. Both outcomes are dependent on player skill.

Like most post apocalyptic worlds, the resources available are precious and must be exploited for what little worth they have left. The game utilizes a crafting system where health items, knives, and bombs takes a number of components that are worth only a small part of each item, encouraging players to explore levels for every available piece. Upgrade points can also be found to increase the stats of items and player abilities.

The Last of Us 2Last of Us is a tad overrated. At face value, its story and what it does with emotion is no different from an episode of Walking Dead or Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Both works are very dark in their subject matter and present a side of the apocalypse genre not often seen. They emphasize the survival element in a dystopic environment and the human cost of what must be done. I believe Last of Us is so revered because it was the first videogame to do what those titles did in their respective mediums.

The emotion comes from the relationship between characters Joel and Ellie. The story is similar to Children of Men where Joel must escort Ellie to a location while trying to stay alive. Outside of cut scenes a lot is learned about who they are through casual interactions. The player will stumble upon a derelict arcade cabinet or the wreckage of an ice cream truck and Ellie will ask Joel what it is. He represents the past, a survivor who has been changed by decades of living in this dystopia, while she is the future, born behind walls, and must learn the ways of the world.

The player controls Joel as Ellie tags along, creating a mentor/student dynamic enhanced by their interactions. The player knows what is going on and what to do, but she remains mostly in the dark. It gets to a point where being separated becomes unnerving, especially with encroaching bandits or infected enemies. It is the implication that is truly dire as when the player dies, Ellie is left alone with those who want to kill her or worse. Eventually she learns to take care of herself, but the devotion remains. For about 12 hours you get to know her and Joel and you do not want the experience to end.

A key element that makes the relationship feel real is the performances. Veteran voice actor Troy Baker assumes a gruff Texas accent for Joel, sounding old and clearly affected by the years of doing what he has to. He has great chemistry with newcomer Ashley Johnson as Ellie, whose performance reminds me of Ellen Page from Juno if the character did not make me want to sterilize the human race. Ellie’s naivete has a major cute factor, but her resilience as a survivor with some semblance of hope and innocence makes her more sympathetic.

The Last of Us 3The Last of Us does what games like Silent Hill 2 used to do. With deep characterization through gameplay and storytelling, we witness the struggle of survival from the perspective of two very different people who come to depend on each other. We feel their anguish, understand their plight, and want to see them overcome the hardships of the apocalypse. If there is any testament that videogames can convey emotion, it is certainly The Last of Us.

_______

Charles McMillan

C.T. McMillan (Episode 169) is a film critic and devout gamer.  He has a Bachelors for Creative Writing in Entertainment from Full Sail University.

Episode 77: The Monorail Line Pub Crawl!

21 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Disney, Drinking, Episode

≈ 51 Comments

Tags

15 Views of Orlando, Bright Lights Big City, Celebration, cormac mccarthy, Diane Turgeon Richardson, Donald Duck, Florida, Jay McIrney, Maleficent, Mark Twain, Mary Blair, Mickey's Good Deed, Mickey's Nightmare, Microchips, Monorail, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Nathan Holic, Neal Gabler, P. L. Travers, Ryan Rivas, Saving Mr. Banks, Skumps, Sleeping Beauty, Ted Hughes, Teege Braune, The Contemporary Resort, The Grand Floridian, The Great Dark, The Magic of Walt Disney World, The Mickey Mouse Review, The Polynesian Resort, The Three Caballeros, Walt Disney, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, Wholly Smokes

Episode 77 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

On this week’s show, my friends Teege Braune of In Boozo Veritas fame, Ryan Rivas of Burrow Press fame, Nathan Holic of American Fraternity Man fame, and MFA candidate Dianne Turgeon Richardson join me along the monorail line for an epic-length pub crawl across the Magic King resorts at Walt Disney World.

monorail

Ryan Rivas, Diane Turgeon Richardson, moi, Nathan Holic, and Teege Braune on the Polynesian’s monorail station.

A stanchion at the Polynesian Resort, this tiki appears to be licking its torch.

BOOKS DISCUSSED

Walt Disney

15 Views of Orlando 1

The Uses of Enchantment

The Devil’s Race-Track: Mark Twain’s “Great Dark” Writings”>The Devils Race Track

Celebration USA

Bright Lights Big City

MOVIES DISCUSSED

NOTES

The Heaven of Animals, the forthcoming collection from friend-of-the-show David James Poissant, is available for pre-order. Please support the launch of his book, which is wonderful reading.

The Heaven of Animals

 Episode 77 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Episode 74: Nikki Giovanni!

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Episode, Poetry

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Carlton Melton, Chasing Utopia, cormac mccarthy, Miami Book Fair International, Nikki Giovanni, Peter Biello, Poetry, The Road

Episode 74 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

On this week’s show, I interview the legend Nikki Giovanni,

Nikki Giovanni

plus Peter Biello writes about reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.

Peter Bielo by Oliver Parini

TEXTS DISCUSSED

The Road

 Carlton Melton Country Ways

NOTES

Peter Biello’s essay on The Road featured “Found Children” from Carlton Melton’s Pass it On.

Repeal Day Poster.jpg

The Heaven of Animals, the forthcoming collection from friend-of-the-show David James Poissant, is available for pre-order. Please support the launch of his book, which is wonderful reading.

The Heaven of Animals

Episode 74 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Episode 37: Steve Davenport!

18 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by thedrunkenodyssey in Craft of Fiction Writing, Episode, Literature of Florida, Poetry, Recommendation, Shakespeare

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cormac mccarthy, Craft of Writing, Creative Writing, Fiction, Literary Magazines, Literature, Poetry, Shakespeare, stephen king

Episode 37 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing, literature, and drinking, is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

On this week’s show, I talk to the poet Steve Davenport,

Steve Davenport

Joe Conley plums Cormac McCarthy’s Child of God,

Joe Conley

Plus I answer some mail…

Texts Discussed:

Overpass

Uncontainable NoiseDavenport Nine Poems and Three Fictions

Child of God

Laurence Sterne and the Visual Imagination

Print

Notes:

Othello

Orlando Shakespeare Theatre presents Othello, now through March 16th.

Winter with the Writers

Throughout February, Rollins College will be hosting its annual author series, Winter with the Writers.

Episode 37 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing, literature, and drinking, is available on iTunes, or right click here to download.

Scribophile, the online writing group for serious writers

Online, shop here:

If you must, shop Amazon and help the show.

Audible.com

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