Every tie some video game has been optioned off for a movie, there is a flurry of activity among the video game community- one of either hope or pessimism (currently, the latter is being used more often than not) for the project. Unfortunately, the film projects have one of two results- either the film languishes in development hell for one reason or another (see the film projects for Bioshock or Metal Gear Solid for two films stuck in movie development hell.) while others come out to somewhat mediocre results-see every video game movie ever made. Seriously. There was a Tekken film. No one remembers it because it went direct to DVD. I saw it and I slightly hate myself for doing so, even if it was just to see how weird it was to have people in those silly outfits. Seriously though, a woman wouldn't even dare try to fight in assless cha-okay, you get the idea.

Mass Effect has just been optioned for a film with Legendary Pictures. This is a unique new opportunity for video game movies- giving the original creators some input into the creation of the film. I doubt Shinji Mikami or anyone at Capcom were given key roles or consulting opportunities when it came for Resident Evil films, for example. I do believe that to make a video game movie work properly, there needs to be a balance set- one between that of the original game designers and that of the creative team of the film- screenwriter, director, et. al. It's a tricky tightrope to follow, but even with some creative input from those who originally created the story, balanced with the creative team behind the movie, magic could be made.

But besides that- what fascinates me most is the possibilities for the Mass Effect movie- what could come of it if it came to fruition. The game was open ended, and gamers came together with different tales of their Mass Effect experience. I would like to submit my own idea to where the Mass Effect movie should go- something in my own part of the Mass Effect experience.

Shepard (the main character), should be a woman.

Okay, so it's not entirely unheard of- I understand that. And the majority of the advertising for both games feature the standard male Shepard (or maleshep, as a couple of ME fan friends of mine have informed me to the lingo of the fans), and the adversity the character presents in having to save the world. So why this femshep?



The world of science fiction films is crowded with the idea of the one male hero fighting adversity for the good of their respective "universe" so to say- everyone from Captain Malcolm Reynolds(Serenity, Firefly) to older classics like George Taylor (from Planet of the Apes). The male hero fighting for good in the face of so much adversity is a world to which comes natural to the science fiction genre in films. Let's mix it up a bit and place a female Shepard into the role. After all, when you think of a female hero in science fiction, most minds turn immediately to Ellen Ripley of the Alien films. And that character is almost thirty years old at this point- have there been no other real sci-fi super heroines. Okay, maybe Buffy, but she was more fantasy character than sci-fi. Some of the Firefly characters were quite strong, but they weren't the main character- only playing second fiddle to Nathan Fillion's Malcolm Reynolds.



Why not allow the female Shepard not only face adversity as being the only human ever to become Spectre (an event that occurs early in the first game)- facing adversity not only to her race- but her sex- thus facing adversity within her own people. Make that battle to gain acceptance and understanding from those in the Citadel- and in that universe- that much harder to accomplish.



It would be a difficult sell, yes, perhaps, then going safe and filling the tropes of science fiction films to a strong male lead, but to challenge the audience to respect this Shepard would indeed shake things up.



The Mass Effect experience was the ability to shake things up- to allow players to choose their own path and make their own moral experience. Why not shake it up and allow the central character- the protagonist to which Ashley, Liara, and Garrus and the other secondary characters- rally behind to save the universe with- be that of the fairer sex?

To have a female character that not only has the distinct problems to attempting to save the galaxy already discriminated as a human (a already looked down upon group within the Mass Effect mythos, as humans are relative newcomers to the galactic political-sphere), but to receive further discrimination from those within her race as a woman- if done correctly, could create a rallying character to which is sorely missing from the realm of science fiction. The story was written in such a way that playing as either sex would feel natural to the player. The same could be said of the movie- having a female lead may be difficult- especially for those who were used to playing through the Mass Effect with the male Shepard.



Unfortunately, that can't be the case anymore. At Comic Con, Bioware had a panel for the film, in which they confirmed that the movie will be about the origin story of a male Shepard. Now to go and say that this plan is a bad one is a foolhardy move on my part- who knows, the film may be an amazing success. I would have just liked it if there was a challenge on the behalf of those involved to create a new science fiction heroine in their already vivid, expansive universe, basing it on a story already known by the fan base created so far.

But that's just my thought as a writer, just a compilation and musings of someone who would like to see the Mass Effect story make the jump to the silver screen effectively, by challenging itself to become the next great sci-fi universe in film.

Little bird on branch
why do you poop on my car
White streaks on my heart

I went back to my old job a week or so ago. I was once a proud librarian/librarymans, working basically weekends at this job that offered me my first real experience at a position I sought myself (I was promoted from page to library clerk during my stay there). It was the first time I dealt with the public, dealing with problem patrons and the library fines they incurred over time. It's been about 18 months since I had the job. I had stayed away for being bitter for being laid off. There were a lot of things I didn't agree with, especially in upper management. I had plans to lash out at them, but with some time quietly gave me the chance to ponder the choice and decide against it.

So on my day off, running errands had me passing by my previous job. I went in and visited the library and my former coworkers. There were previous visits, sure, but this day, I spent a considerable time talking to people and observing my former workplace in a different light- from a workplace to a patron.


And its as if nothing has changed. Well sure, it's only been about 18 months, but I had expected to see something... more to be changed since I was laid off. It's as if it lived in a snapshot of time, and I was simply revisiting the snapshot, looking into it as if I were Alice peering into the looking mirror.. It felt like I had been laid off only a few days beforehand. It felt eerie, in a sense, to see the regulars still visiting the library, the same people picking up books, reading magazines, or using the computers there. As if nothing happened recently.

Children I remember seeing had grown older- but the same patrons still were there, greeting me as if nothing had happened. I went back to visit a chapter of my life that never changed, or if it had, I couldn't see it my brief time visiting there.

And I still don't know how i feel about it, to be honest. It's frustrating to see what was a huge part of my life stagnating, but at the same time, almost welcoming to see it never change. I went through the stacks I used to organize as a page, getting a sudden urge to organize a western book that had been placed in the fiction section. I ultimately did, out of courtesy, but it was ultimately my own mind reverting to a much quieter time in my life.

In the end, visiting the library so far out gave me closure.

I came into work the next day eager to tackle the day's challenges, knowing that in some way, the previous chapter of my life will always be there in one form or another. Because, in the end, it's rare for changes to occur in such a sleepy little place.

With the latest generation of video games, the ability to create virtual avatars have become commonplace. The Xbox 360 has its avatars. The Wii has its Miis. And the PS3... well, it has its Home Avatars (that's almost a second thought behind the first two). All of these avatar creation systems have the same damn problem.

Curly hair.

They can't do curly hair.

Not one goddamn bit.

I have natural curly hair- a byproduct of my Mexican heritage. It's always something I've been proud of. I would drive my straight haired mother crazy as i would show off the locks as they naturally occur (I've only straightened my hair only once, and that was for my sisters amusement. I love my curls, and never want to do it again, but knowing my sister, I'll probably have it straightened again for her joy.) My mother would curse me as I'd put heavy amounts of gel in my hair in the morning to shape said curls perfectly. This hairstyle is one thing I'm rather proud of, but unfortunately, It isn't very well quite reflected in these virtual avatar creation systems.

In fact, trying to find any curly hair style (outside of an afro) is virtually nonexistent. And god only knows how I've tried. Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, The Sims, The Sims 2 (although that might have been the exemption, I remember being quite happy with the results there), Saints Row 2... the list seems to roll on and on, finding myself frustrated with the lack of curly hair and ending up creating something completely crazy instead.

Go to your favorite game with a create a character system. Go on, do it.

The choices are utterly normal or crazy, with nary a curl in sight, to the dismay of myself and my curly haired compatriots.

In the meantime, I've found a worthwhile substitute for Playstation Home and Xbox Live.


Óle!

I failed to mention an appearance I had in a webomic recently! An old friend of mine, Robin Meyer put me in her web comic, Real Life Fiction. This used to be a regular thing for me- I appeared in a variety of friend's webcomics in all sorts and forms. I suppose when I get my own personal site completely up and running, one of the pages will have to be appearances I made in comics. (Do check out Real Life Fiction- Robin is insane, but in an amusing, mostly non offensive way).

I'm working on a couple of long form blog posts, including one about my thoughts on the Mass Effect movie. I've had just a random assortment of things thrown my way as of late, but with some great news (I became full-time at my job! hooray!) I might finally be able to structure my time a bit more effectively to get things like my own site and writing (both screenwriting and blogging) done effectively.


Last but not least, I'd like to share a picture I have- my grandmother playing with my new ipad. She's had two chances to use it so far- the first, she was beside herself laughing at Bebot, and the second, Garage Band. Getting used to the touch interface has been the biggest difficulty for her, but she's been enjoying it so far.


Just seeing her smile like that made it worth it.

One day at work, where i was being my usual crazy self, a customer observed to a fellow coworker (who later told me) that I was a "character out of a movie" and "I couldn't be real".

I stopped in my tracks after my coworker told me this after the fact- I couldn't think of anything to say to that. It's probably the best compliment I've ever received.

I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing still, but I'll take it at face value and honor it nonetheless.

I've been busy writing.

My interest for a while now is to go into the filmmaking industry, in one form or the other. I've been writing scripts, in particular, since the sixth grade, so if anything, my hope is to become a screenwriter. It's been something almost ingrained into my being- I can't go a day without writing, without trying to come up with a character or how to try and compose a scenario or an objective for the next scene I write. Even as I work at my job, I think of what horrible thing could befall a character in one script (I've been quietly working on a zombie comedy series for a while now), or how to end another as the characters sacrifice themselves.

I've read so many books on how to write said screenplays. Hell, even in my freshman year of high school, I even had a teacher who was a screenwriter- he kept piles and piles of film scripts in the back of the classroom. I would sit in the back of the class and voraciously study all of them, quite happily, in fact (most of the time not paying attention to the class). I read the screenplay for Total Recall, front to back, before I even saw the movie there. I studied the styles of the writing, how characters were defined (or not). And thankfully, he pushed me to continue this passion.

Instead of playing games, or getting other work done, all I can think sometimes is to write a story, to get an idea out of my head and onto paper so it could just stop bothering me. I'll write during lunch, during breaks, hell, I'll write before going to bed, just so I have something new to think about before I nod off to sleep.

At the moment, I have two weapons of choice:


Celtx for shorter scripts and works I've been slaving on. I've all but given up on Final Draft, and to have a full featured, free app is nothing short of a lifesaver. Plus, it's multiplatform, so I'm able to run it on my Ubuntu-based netbook.

Scrivner hands down, this is one of the best applications for writing anything, really. Novels, screenplays, you name it. Being able to create one file where all my research, all my notes, hell, even all my scraps of unused dialogue or ideas are kept nice and tidy in one file. My only wish for this program would be for the developers to come out with a version for the iPad, so I have no excuse to ditch the netbook and switch to an ipad for my writing needs.

I write multiple projects at once, often of different genres and styles. I've even written close to five or six full length films during high school, but my paranoia gets the best of me. I'm always worried about what other people would do to the script, how someone could judge me on it, how I will be seen for the actions and the ideas i put forth on paper. Sometimes i can go bizarre, sometimes I can go a bit dark, and there's always that nagging voice in the back of my head as i write them:

What will people think of me for this?

I don't know how to get over it- for now, I try to write more scripts, and in time, let more and more friends read them for feedback.

Who knows, living in Lost Angeles, I might get that break- that one person I run into who (with connections) could get my script read by the right people, and people could (maybe) think of me and my work (and not have me worry about how it would reflect on me). And maybe, just maybe make my dreams come true. In the meantime, I'll keep writing, keep perfecting my stories, revision after revision.

After revision.

After revision.

So I got attached to my car.



Who wouldn't, after all the weird adventures I've had with it?



LaFonda was a 1992 Chrystler LeBaron- or as I liked to call it, "The Pimpmobile past it's prime". With it's roomy red velvet interior, it looked like it tried to capture the same style of those giant boats of yesteryear. Either that, or I was driving a Russian tank with the turret removed. (I can't take credit for that joke- I got it with some inspiration to a Simpsons episode where Homer's pink sedan was described as being built out of old Russian tanks. With the way my car handled, it may have been true in my case.).



And I had so many memories with said car. I recall driving down the 101 freeway with five other friends, bobbing our heads up and down in unison to Haddaway's "What is love"- so much so that the suspension jumped up and down roughly, making me swerve slightly to compensate for the abuse I put on the live axel suspension. It was a ridiculous thing to do, but as it was the first time i had people in the car, and as such, it became my first big memory with the car.



And of course, who could forget my incident with the Joystiq crew. It was my choice story to tell others what had happened with the car. Every E3 since then, I've told the events time and time again to members of the industry- most of which still don't believe me (this past year, I've told the story about five separate times, each person still looking incredulous as I describe the events. Best thing is- only a select few still know who it was who had thrown up in the car).



LaFonda was always a choice car to be pulled over- with the peeling paint and well- overall shadiness- I have been pulled over more than once in the car in some more, quiet, suburban neighborhoods. In one occasion, I made it a point to ask the police officer if, well- my car looked shady. All he could do was to smirk nervously before wishing me a good rest of my evening.



But the good times had come to an end. The car had blown its gasket (literally). With a failing transmission, I was quoted at roughly $2.5k to fix everything. And even then, it was an old car. Parts were hard to come by. I couldn't even look my mechanic directly when I asked him if it was worth it. And when I could, all he could do was to shrug his shoulders. It was a clear enough message.



I donated the car to charity- it was my only choice at that time, donating it to to the Convalescent Aid Society, a nonprofit that had supported my grandma by lending her a wheelchair when she first broke her hip (it's a fantastic organization and honestly, it's the least I can do for helping her). By the way, if you think of getting rid of an old car, donate it to charity- I found a nonprofit by the name of Cars4Causes that made the process as simple as it can really be.



When the tow truck slowly pulled away from the mechanic's shop, all I could do was to record video of the last time I would see her.



Call me nostalgic. Call me a fool. But being attached to a car that treated me right- gave me so many memories- who wouldn't be that... despondent?

Every year, I have looked forward to E3- not to the show itself, but to meet with friends who come in to the city for the show and hang out with them- it's been the tradition for close to four years now. But this year- I got the chance to go to the show itself, to check out the games inside. While I've been to plenty of other conventions (Comic-Con, for example), E3 is an entirely different beast. The sensory assault on every last one of your senses can be overwhelming, even maddening- from the blaring sounds of the music from each booth, to the giant panel screens to the overall electricity that filled the west and south halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Even some of the... smells can be rather... rancid, but that's due to the fact that some nerds have never heard of deodorant. (As for taste- I made a mistake to eat some of the overpriced food at one of the stands there. Never. Ever. Again. I was desperate! And hungry).




I figure this would be a good place, if any, to talk about some of the games I saw, including some of my favorites.


Want to read more? Go to my main blawg, dawg.

A picture of my car before I had it taken away by the tow truck from the charity. Used the AutoStitch app on my iPhone. I miss the car already- I'll be writing a small retrospective of my time with my car.


Before that, I'll be doing a writeup of my experiences at E3, 2011! I got in this year! Expect that next week.