HW#11: The Slender Games



Image: Parody from YouTube animated series "How It Should Have Ended" - Hunger Games parody (2012)

Now, it's a known fact the Slender myth was strenghten by the release of the Slender: 8 page game in 2012. When I first played that came at school, despite the game being lagging due to the PC capacity, I was imidiately struck by the understanding of why this game was so nerve-racking. The atmosphere, the creature...for such a simply made game the impact was amazing. It was a well credited game in my opinion. Months past since my first game play of the 8 Page game and friends of mine suggested I look into the other Slender Maps that were created based on the original game. So I did, and to my astonishment, there were so many Slender series that were made after the initial game was realeased. They were in the same schematics and the same style of design. Which had me questioning myself, What are major Slender games to date that highly contribute to the origins of Slender myth?

So this got me searching around, and from what I found an article came up intitled 5 Free Slender Games (Sandeep Veernala, 2012). The article states the 5 Slender games that were release months after the original Slender game. It also specifies the schematics of the game play and the short background. The Slender game was created in 2011 (Mark J. Hadley, Parsec Production ™) and was released to the public in 2012.  It is free for download and requires minimal download time.

In this Slender game you are left all alone in a dark forest. The only company you have is Slenderman; who is there to kill you. The only goal you have in this game is to collect eight pages that are related to Slenderman. But Slenderman is always behind you to avoid you from getting those notes. So, just get those notes without getting caught and see what happens next.

~(Sandeep Veernala, 2012)

Also indicated by the article are the other games which were also developed by Parsec Production ™ after the original game which are all collected into one download called The Slender Man Shadows (GameUnity Engine), in it, the list of games are as such: 

• Slender: 8 Pages (descp: Lost in the woods, find 8 pages) released - 6/26/2012 "Original game"
• Slender: Sanitarum (descp: Abandoned mental hospital) released - 8/30/2012
• Slender: Elementary (descp: Abandoned school) released - 9/4/2012
• Slenderman (descp: Find the origins of Slender then kill him. Base set on Marble Hornets) released - 2012
• Slenderman Android (descp: Find the origins of Slender then kill him) released - 1/31/2013

But as we look into the list, particularly sub linking towards the Slenderman Shadows collection, we find more  Slender games ranging from the following:

• Slender: 7th Street (descp: Lost in an empty city scape, find 8 notes) released - 9/29/2012
• Slender: Claustrophobia (descp: Lost in a Maze, find keys to get out) released - 2012
• Slender: Prison (descp: Lost in abandoned prison, find notes and escape) released - 2012
• Slender: Hospice (descp: Find 16 notes in an abandoned building) released - 2012
• Slender: Mansion (descp: You are in a coma, your left inthe mind set of Slenders house, a large mansion, find the mementoes to survive) released - 2012

And most recent of the maps which was released this years:

• Slender: Carnival (descp: Find 8 evidence in an empty carnival) released - 1/12/2013
• Slender: Christmas  (descp: Santa plays the new Slender , you must find all 8 presents to survive.) released - 2013

Other Slender maps include:

• Slender: 9 Pages (descp: Find 9 pages & a key in abandoned building) released - 2013
• Slender: Space (descp: Mix of Dead Space & Slender, find 8 lazer discs to survive) released - 2013
• Slendertubies (descp: Slender based game of Telletubies) released - 2013
• Slender: Woods  (descp: Survival game, locate keys and notes from one point to another) released - 2012
• Slender: Mod (descp: Lost in a new forest, locate 8 pages) released - 2012
• SCP: Slender Mod (descp: Contaminated Slender facility) released - 2012
• Slender 2D (descp: 2D version of the original 8 page game) released - 2012 
• PokeSlender (descp: Pokemon version of the 8 page game) released - 2013
• Slender: Remake (released - 2012)
• Slender RPG (released - 2012)

Now returning to the question at hand, amongst all these new Slender games which can be said is the most creditable and major Slender game to the influence of the myth; In which most important which actually tackles the origins of Slender, Ofcourse Mark J Hadley's 8 page game is reputably number one on the list. The Following are the most influencial games tot he myth:

• Slender: The Haunt (released - Nov/16/ 2012)
• Slender: The Arrival (released - March/26/2013)

Slender: The Haunt (2012) Primarily provides new insights to the origns of Slender man or as he was once called Mark Slender.

Slender: The Arrival (2013) Based primarily on "Marble Hornets"

...are considered the most creditable Slender games to date. Slender: The Haunt (2012) (Which they call "The Real Slender Game") tackles the same concept of all other maps based on Slender; find notes, evidents and keys which lead you from one point to another and in the process tells a tall tail of the creature that stalks you.

As for Slender: the Arrival (2013), this was purely based on the Marble Hornets in every sense of the way to provide a first account experience of the notorious video entier. The schematics of the game also follow the Slender: Haunt concept.

Now why intruduce these many veriety of games which all are related to one mythical creature? Mainly because these maps and games are fuel to the Slender mythology and origins. It's a known fact that games commonly get their origins from mythology, and 80% of newly developed indie horror games such as The Rake (2012) & The Theater (2013) came from the very origins of Slender. It is also important to know this list as a reference to the extent of the mythology on Slender and how large it has grown in our society.

At this point we may prove to the fact that Slender is now even stronger in society with the strenghtening of these Slender games. And it is with futher fact that Slender continues t inspire and fear in the hearts of believers and gamers alike.

What ever come next for the Slender game, we will be there to fear and enjoy it.

HW#10: Quantum Theory





As we continue to look into the deeper meaning of the creature that is known as the Slender man, we find interesting connections that we wouldn't in our rightest of minds believe possible to be associated with Slender. From research done on Slender from 2009 until 2012, many people have associated Slender with many possibilities ranging from adressing the Slender man as an extraterrestrial and right down to the commonly accepted Tulpa Effect (thought form).



But from my further research I found other scientifical explainations into the Slender myth. From the start of this project, I assumed that science would evidently topple myth, and possibly this might be true. After wondering around further Slender researches I came to his connection to the Tulpa Effect. Further deeper into the rabbits hole, Tulpa was then connected to another scientific study that is known as the Quantum Theory. This got me wondering, What is the Quantum Theory all about?



Tulpa Effect + Quantum Theory + Mythology = Legend in History



Upon further research, I stumbled accross an article intitled Quantum Theory (Margaret Rouse, 2006) According to the author, The Quantum Theory states that it is the theoretical basis of modern physics that explains the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level. (Dr. Max Planck, 1900 – Quantum Theory) This theory suggests that electrons and other fundamental particles have what is called a wave function, or ψ or what is called The Copenhagen model, posits that this wave function is a probability distribution of the particle in question, and is collapsed by an external measurement into certainty. Thus, the particle could be anywhere in space-time, but has a greater probability of being located at one position than another. When the wave function is collapsed by an observer or measurement, it is forced to randomly choose a position with respect to the probability of the equation. Thus meaning energy waves (which according to research is all around us) creates a some-what illusionist effect. 



Quantum Theory Model



Although scientists throughout the past century have balked at the implications of quantum theory - Planck and Einstein among them - the theory's principles have repeatedly been supported by experimentation, even when the scientists were trying to disprove them. Quantum theory and Einstein's theory of relativity form the basis for modern physics. The principles of quantum physics are being applied in an increasing number of areas, including quantum optics, quantum chemistry, quantum computing, and quantum cryptography.

~(Margaret Rouse, 2006)

In general sum, this theory correlates to the Slender man myth suggesting that the Quantum Theory is the scientific explaination to Slender man's supernatural powers. In mythology under Slender, he is said to have special supernatural powers of teleportation, and static manipulation of radio waves and anything electronic. So, the theory suggests that Slender's powers originate from the energy the comes from around the environment (which is what the Quantum Theory states). Electorns from the the atmosphere are gathered and harnest to provide the feeling of distortion and what most would call illusionist feeling.

So again, science provides logic into myth. Whether or not Slender's powers are true or whether he does exists is entirely on our pespective of reality as I mentioned countless times. But the Quantum Theory does provide significant elements to relate witht the mythology not only od Slender man but other mythical creatures. Co aside with the Tulpa Effect which being a thought form, it strenghtens the mythology even greater.

I am positive from last the research done on Slender man that Tulpa and Quantum are key elements to the myth. Regardless of such, science will always take its place to reveal the truth of the unexplainable.

HW#9: Magic Realism

When I first heard about the Tim Burton's (2012) film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter what imidiately cross my mind was the original novel by Seth Grahame - Smith. Smith cleverly mixed History and Mythology together to create an epic story. The story & film basically focuses on Abraham Lincoln's journey to the presidency but with a twist, suggesting that Lincoln entered the presidency and begining the Civil war because of the slave trade and slaughter by Vampires. He evidently win the battle against the vampires, end the war and frees the slaves but as history goes get assasinated.
Now this got me very fascinated with the entier thought, Why do they mix reality with mythology in not only books but commonly in films?

From my research, I found that an article called Magic Realism (Allen B. Ruch &
Tamara Kaye Sellman, Editor of Margin - 2003)
The article states that Magic Realism was first applied in the turn of the century.
The term magic realism, originally applied in the 1920's to a school of painters, is used to describe the prose fiction of Jorge Luis Borges in Argentina, as well as the work of writers such as Gabriel García Márquez in Colombia, Gunter Grass in Germany, and John Fowles in England.  These writers interweave, in an ever-shifting pattern, a sharply etched realism in representing ordinary events and descriptive details together with fantastic and dreamlike elements, as well as with materials derived from myth and fairy tales.  Robert Scholes has popularized metafiction as an overall term for the large and growing class of novels which depart drastically from the traditional categories either of realism or romance, and also the term fabulation for the current mode of free-wheeling narrative invention.  These novels violate, in various ways, standard novelistic expectations by drastic -- and sometimes highly effective -- experiments with subject matter, form, style, temporal sequence, and fusions of the everyday, the fantastic, the mythical, and the nightmarish, in renderings that blur traditional distinctions between what is serious or trivial, horrible or ludicrous, tragic or comic.

To sum that all up, the article merely states that Magic Realism takes the real world elements and adds fictional and in this case myth in the story. It is a genre where magic elements are a natural part in an otherwise mundane, realistic environment. Although it is most commonly used as a literary genre, magic realism also applies to film and the visual arts. Realism as we know is the elements of the real world, or commonly known as "as it is", Magic Realism basically mixes myth or supernatural elements in place to the realistic story.



Coraline (2009) is an example of Magic Realism in film, a little girl enters a mythical world.



Like many writers, Gabriel García Márquez has been inextricably linked to a style of literature known as "magical realism." Literature of this type is usually characterized by elements of the fantastic woven into the story with a deadpan sense of presentation. The term is not without a lot of controversy, however, and has come under attack for numerous reasons. Some claim that it is a postcolonial hangover, a category used by "whites" to marginalize the fiction of the "other." Others claim that it is a passé literary trend, or just a way to cash in on the Latin American "boom." Still others feel the term is simply too limiting, and acts to remove the fiction in question from the world of serious literature.

~ Allen B. Ruch &
Tamara Kaye Sellman, Editor of Margin - 2003

So, returning to the the question at hand, why do this, mix reality ans myth together? Well, in my opinion, I believe it brings us a step forward of our daily thinking, our daily imagination. It not only entertains us but broadens our minds and imaginations.

Concepts like these are always an interesting topic, an now a days Magic Realism is highly adapted by the community and in most cases cultures.

Literatures and films that express Magic Realism not only shape the creative aspects of imagination but also give us a grasp on the mythological cultures that are commonly over looked by society. In some ways, it's an educational topic to persue. Which brings up another question, how's this realte to Slender? The fact is, Marble Hornets simply followed the path of Magic Realism, a young film student stalked by a mythical creature; and as stated Magic Realism enturprets fantasy with reality.

I strongly believe that despite uncredits by past scholars reputing Magic Realism as no form of art, I believe that it is an exsistance and does grow strongly in our modern culture and society.

many of the books and film we see are influenced by Magic Realism. I believe that future writers and directors must continue holding on this but keeping a good detail and lenght between over doing and under doing.

Other then that, check their facts, what you wish to believe is entierly up to you in myth or reality.

HW#8: AtmosFEAR

Now a days, video games and movies are extremely high qualitied that we often mistake it for being real. How ever there are some game and film that are just simply made for the public that at most doesn't even cost alot for the designers of directors to do.
Let's look at the perspective of horror games or indie horror in media entertainment in general; Games such as Slender (Mark J. Hadley, 2011), ImScared (Greg "Craola" Simkins, 2011), Grudge Forest (KaKoussNight, 2013) & Stalked (Hendrik Schiffer, 2012) are good examples of low quality made games but result in high rated fear impact on the player.
Which got me thinking, what makes these simply made & constructed games and films so scary to the viewer?

So we've already established that under cinematography, Cinema Veriti and its use of Realism is a great factor and form for indie films. How ever, upon my recent research I found an article titled Elements of a Horror Game - Atmosphere (Shane, 2009) wherein the the auther states the main factor for a good horror effect towards games.

Number one on his list is Atmosphere. According to the article, one of the important factors to a well credited indie game or any game in general is the proper use of atmoshpere. It's one thing to have a story and good graphics but the atmosphere of the game basically crunches everything all together to create a proper feel of the game.
What makes the atmosphere so affective is due to is relatable factor. The player or viewer is able to relate to the game mainly because they have this connection that can be seen in day to day lives, for example, entering an abandoned mansion, seeing the fog a the broken old furniture; it gives it enlightens the senses and opens the mind of the viewer. If the player is able to feel as if he/she is in the game, and if he or she can make that connection to simple elements in the game (such as trees and cars) then the atmosphere is then a sucess. As long as there are elements that are familiar with to the player, they will be able to adjust their minds to the game.




Silent hill wouldn't have been the same without the fog, however initially it was in there to speed up processing power, now its there purely for atmosphere

Atmosphere can be seen as the guts of the game, the envelope that encases everything else, with atmosphere wrapped around the experience you can get away with other lackluster elements (graphics, story etc.) because as long as the player is feeling the game then they will want to continue.

~ Shane, 2009

In addition to atmosphere, the author specifies that Story, abit of violence and Visual and Audio are the other main factors for a sucessful game. So with all 5 elements applied, credit will come.

At this point, I highly believe that these factors don't only apply for games but also to films. as long as the audience are able to relate and make the direct world connection, they film and game will be successful. Despite whether it maybe a low budget film or designed game, the relativity of the audience will work with the proper atmosphere.

And that is why games such as Slender, with it's simply made, textured ground and modeled trees are so impacting to the player. Plus, with it's background origins and story, it makes the experience at most more horrifying.

So to future film directors and game designers, the best way to make a successful piece of work is by having a good background story, make the atmosphere connectable to the audience and glam the whole thing up with visual sounds and effects.

And to those who find deep trauma in fearful films and games, just remember, dark can be lighten up; they are games and films, they are just.