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Interesting coincidence
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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by LAzerMANiac on Thu May 26th at 8:50pm 2005

I just finished reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a very interesting book, and I noticed that the narrator refers to the oppressive world outside the mental asylum as the Combine. That made the reading much funnier to read, because I kept picturing Nova Prospekt... In either case, Do you think the storyline people at VALVe were at all influenced by that book? It seems they have, as the Combine is big and oppressive in both the book and in Half-Life 2. Any thoughts?


The Plane, my ongoing HL2 comic.



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by Crono on Thu May 26th at 9:48pm 2005

No, that's just what the word means:

"To bring into a state of unity; merge."
"To join forces for a common purpose"
"An association of people or groups united for the furtherance of political or commercial interests"

They both picked the word for obvious reasons.


Blame it on Microsoft, God does.



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by Leperous on Thu May 26th at 9:53pm 2005

It's quite a famous book, so I wouldn't be surprised.



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by satchmo on Thu May 26th at 11:59pm 2005

And notice in many parts of the game, you can find psychiatric unit looking interrogation rooms with TV monitors.

It really reminds me of a psych ward I used to work at.




"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by Gwil on Fri May 27th at 3:19am 2005

It's not such a bad film either. Jack Nicholson does the ol' clucky nutter role quite well.



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by LAzerMANiac on Fri May 27th at 2:19pm 2005

man, i'm intrigued.... I oughta ask Valve directly <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif">




The Plane, my ongoing HL2 comic.



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by Agent Smith on Fri May 27th at 3:22pm 2005

I've just finished writing a 3000 word essay on social and cultural intertextuality in Half-Life 2 for my design theory class. You'd be amazed how many references there are just in the first chapter.

References to books 1984 and Brave New World, fears of technological advancement and genetics, real world locations and governments past and present, etc etc. It's a surprisingly rich cultural and social text.

I then tied it into the idea of games as valid texts for educational purposes, replacing books that many kids just don't read anymore.



Ham and Jam Contributor
http://www.hamandjam.org

'Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!'



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by satchmo on Fri May 27th at 3:44pm 2005

Once you've submitted your essay, I am interested in reading it.

Isn't it nice to incorporate gaming into scholastic work? I wish I could've done that when I was in college. I did do a report on the design of Excel interface (yes, the spreadsheet) for a design class I took.




"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge



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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by Addicted to Morphine on Fri May 27th at 6:54pm 2005

? quote:
I've just finished writing a 3000 word essay on social and cultural intertextuality in Half-Life 2 for my design theory class. You'd be amazed how many references there are just in the first chapter.

References to books 1984 and Brave New World, fears of technological advancement and genetics, real world locations and governments past and present, etc etc. It's a surprisingly rich cultural and social text.

I then tied it into the idea of games as valid texts for educational purposes, replacing books that many kids just don't read anymore.


I agree, and I think that's because Half-Life isn't just a game like "pong." Its the equivalent of a fully realized/interactive novel. Marc Laidlaw is a serious writer, and as such the richness of the intertextuality is not surprising.

I forget which Lit Theorist described it as such, but the Deconstructionists call this intertextuality "freeplay," or "the rustle of language." It's certainly interesting that videogames are moving closer to becoming an acceptable and sophisticated type of text, joining in with novels and movies as a communicative medium.




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 Re: Interesting coincidence
Posted by Orpheus on Fri May 27th at 9:26pm 2005

this thread belonged in "Recently Read" <img src=" SRC="images/smiles/sad.gif">

You want a thought provoking book, read "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"

You will be thinking by the end I promise.





The best things in life, aren't things.




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