Interpretive Flexibility

MUSIC | MACHINIMA | EDUCATION | MODS

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“You can get to do activities you don’t normally do in gym class,” fourth-grader Melanie Vesey said after a brief session of hula hoop, boxing and kung fu.

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Minecraft being used in schools to teach communication, collaberation, and creative thinking.

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World of Warcraft Finds Its Way Into Class

World of Warcraft Students' passions can be a powerful driver for deeper and more creative learning. With this knowledge, some educators are using popula

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​A School That's Using The Walking Dead Game To Teach Ethics

Telltale's The Walking Dead series is famous for putting the player in life-or-death ethical quandaries and forcing them to make difficult decisions. A creative teacher could probably use the game to identify moral dilemmas and explore those dilemmas with a class. As it so happens, one ethics teacher is doing just that.

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Xbox Live has one of the standards set forth by Microsoft in how multiplayer and matchmaking games are played. One of the reasons why this was so revelatory is due to it’s Voice Over IP integration allowing friends and teammates to talk and coordinate with one another across the internet. Netflix took this feature even farther by allowing users to talk to each other watching the same movie across the nation or the world. Sadly, this feature was discontinued in recent versions of this app.

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PORTER ROBINSON

Porter Robinson is an electronic musician. He has cited video games and Japanese culture as major inspirations to his work.

Robinson has said in numerous interviews that the popular dance music game "Dance Dance Revolution" inspired him to begin creating music and has mentioned that it was where he first heard electronic music. Video games like DDR and others have proven to be a huge influence on him.

The impact of video games on his work is noticeable in more than his music alone. Porter Robinson strongly implements game-related imagery in his live shows, music videos, and more.

Porter Robinson's music video "Lionhearted" utilizes video game inspired visuals. (beginning around 1:05)

Porter Robinson's live shows use video game aesthetics as a major component of the visual production.

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SHOVEL KNIGHT

Shovel Knight is a video game by Yacht Club Games released in June 2014. The game makes use of callbacks to earlier 16-bit games, made apparent in its mechanics, visual, and audio stylings. Shovel Knight resembles an older title, a quality which is consistent throughout the game's production.

<a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-original-soundtrack" data-mce-href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/shovel-knight-original-soundtrack">Shovel Knight Original Soundtrack by Jake Kaufman</a>

Specifically noteworthy is the soundtrack by composer Jake Kaufman. The use of the soundtrack's vintage sounds is something that I assume very few during the 16-bit era could have anticipated returning in a time with more advanced technological capabilities.

While most older titles from that era utilized these MIDI and stripped down sounds due to technical limitations, Shovel Knight chooses to use them. It does so not because of technical limitations- but as a conscious choice; both as a love-letter to an earlier time and a decision in the game's aesthetic.

While the title is being informed by retro games in every facet of its design, Shovel Knight is a prime example of a new title in a 16-bit revival.

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OMODAKA is a musician who merges Japanese folk with 8-bit music.

"When I play live, I perform with a Game Boy Color, a PSP, a DS Lite, a Kaossilator handheld synth, a MacBook running Ableton Live and an LCD display", he stated in an interview with NGamer.

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MINECRAFTEDU

MinecraftEdu is an officially endorsed mod of Mojang's hit game "Minecraft". The mod adapts the game for educational use. It includes tools for students to connect privately together for a three-dimensional, digital classroom environment.

Unlike most educational video games, MinecraftEdu's sandbox environment and mechanics allow for an easily adaptable curriculum. Additionally, the game is accessible for students of most ages.

Joel Levin speaks with his colleague about their experiences using Minecraft as a teaching tool.

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8-bit covers and remixes of popular songs like this are very common on websites like YouTube. 

(Go ahead, type in "8-bit cover" to YouTube and see for yourself...)

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Japanese technopop group Perfume's song Chocolate Disco features a video game and chiptune influenced melody.

The song is featured on their album GAME and is a successful example of video game music's influence to a mainstream market. The album went on to reach #1 on Japan's Oricon music charts.

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roosterteeth P.A.N.I.C.S.

The third and short series of roosterteeth to coincide with the game F.E.A.R, this series only lasted four episodes.

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Anamanaguchi/Scott Pilgrim

This collaboration for the video game adaptation of Scott Pilgrim shows the crossover of 8-bit game music with chip-tune artists. Further, the video game adaptation from the original comic book draws from the early gaming style, which supports the musical direction chosen.

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Modding GTA to go Yakety: Interpretive Flexibility at it's finest! 

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A Game within a Game within Game within a game….

GMOD has spawned numerous fan-made game modes, such as Prop Hunt, GMOD Murder, and Trouble in Terrorist Town (TTT). Both Prop Hunt and TTT are winners of the developer’s contest to create a new game mode. These games use a programming framework that allows developers to make new game modes for Garry's Mod with the commonly required functionality already implemented, so that the developers can instead focus on the unique aspects of their game modes. These games are often then interpreted even further by YouTube let’s-players, which use the game as a tool for creating channel content, stories, and more.