U.S. patent application number 12/218255 was filed with the patent office on 2009-01-15 for system and method for creating exalted video games and virtual realities wherein ideas have consequences.
This patent application is currently assigned to Dr. Elliot McGucken. Invention is credited to Elliot McGucken.
Application Number | 20090017886 12/218255 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40253594 |
Filed Date | 2009-01-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090017886 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McGucken; Elliot |
January 15, 2009 |
System and method for creating exalted video games and virtual
realities wherein ideas have consequences
Abstract
A video game method and system for creating games where ideas
have consequences, incorporating branching paths that correspond to
a player's choices, wherein paths correspond to decisions founded
upon ideals, resulting in exalted games with deeper soul and story,
enhanced characters and meanings, and exalted gameplay. The
classical hero's journey may be rendered, as the journey hinges on
choices pivoting on classical ideals. Ideas that are rendered in
word and deed will have consequences in the gameworld. Historical
events such as The American Revolution may be brought to life, as
players listen to famous speeches and choose sides. As great works
of literature and dramatic art center around characters rendering
ideals real, both internally and externally, in word and deed, in
love and war, the present invention will afford video games that
exalt the classical soul, as well as the great books, classics, and
epic films--past, present, and future.
Inventors: |
McGucken; Elliot; (Malibu,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Dr. Elliot McGucken
#971, 23852 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu
CA
90265
US
|
Assignee: |
McGucken; Dr. Elliot
Malibbu
CA
|
Family ID: |
40253594 |
Appl. No.: |
12/218255 |
Filed: |
July 11, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60959051 |
Jul 11, 2007 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 13/005 20130101;
A63F 2300/807 20130101; A63F 13/47 20140902; A63F 2300/6009
20130101; A63F 13/60 20140902; A63F 13/822 20140902; A63F 2300/632
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/1 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A method for creating video games and virtual realities wherein
ideas have consequences.
2. The method in claim 1 where said ideas are rooted in classical,
epic precepts such as those found in the Great Books and Classics,
and exalted at the pinnacles of Western culture and history.
3. The method in claim 1 where said ideas are manifested in the
words the player or non-player characters, write, speak, read,
disseminate, congregate about, fight for, and/or associate
with.
4. The method in claim 1 where said ideas are manifested in the
actions the player, non-player characters, and/or monsters act
out.
5. The method in claim 1 where said ideas spread like viruses, by
being spoken, written, or disseminated in some other manner,
transforming characters who come in contact with said ideas into
vampires, zombies, or other forms of monsters.
6. The method in claim 1 where said ideas spread like viruses, by
being spoken, written, or disseminated in some other manner,
transforming characters who come in contact with said ideas into
vampires, zombies, or other forms of monsters, and where said
vampires, zombies, and monsters may be saved or converted back to
normal by coming in contact with ideas that oppose the ideas that
made them vampires, zombies, and other forms of monsters.
7. The method in claim 1 where said ideas must be fought for via
words and dialogue, before they have exalted consequences.
8. The method in claim 1 where said ideas must be fought for via
deeds and actions, before they have exalted consequences.
9. The method in claim 1 where the player can fight for said ideas
in word and deed, and witness the exalted consequences of those
ideals, including liberty, freedom, and justice, when they succeed,
and the dire consequences of tyranny, domination, and intimidation,
when they fail to render exalted ideas, as ideas have
consequences.
10. The method in claim 1 where the character can fight for said
ideas such as marriage, the Constitution, the Declaration of
Independence, and right to life in word and deed, and witness the
exalted consequences of those ideals, including a stable and
enduring society should they succeed, and a declining, bankrupt
civilization, should they fail.
11. The method in claim 1 where the character can battle for said
ideas that are based upon classical moral and economic principles
of famous philosophers, prophets, poets, statesmen, and economists
including Plato, Moses, Jesus, Gandhi Sun Tzu, Buda, Jefferson,
Aristotle, F. A. Hayek, Martin Luther King Jr., Homer, Ludwig Von
Mises, Adam Smith, and others, and witness the consequences of both
their success and failure of their battle, as the consequences are
rendered in the game's physical world.
12. The method in claim 1 where the character can battle for said
ideas via both word and deed, using a combination of words and
action, witnessing the consequences of their balance between word
and deed, between reasoning and partaking in violence, thusly
bringing to life epic classical works of film and literature
wherein the hero must balance word and deed.
13. The method in claim 1 where fighting for said ideas in word
and/or deed will have consequences regarding the operation of a
weapon, which will operate at its full potential for the players
and characters who are the most successful in serving ideals and
ideas, and rendering them in word and deed.
14. The method in claim 1 wherein said ideas may be based upon
Constitutional ideals and ideas underlying the American Founding,
including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,
sound currency, the right to bear arms, the freedom of speech, the
right of the artist, author, and inventor to own their creations
and inventions; and wherein the player could fight for sound money
in word and deed and witness the consequences of their successes
and failures, including liberty, wealth creation, capitalism,
freedom, private property, peace, and prosperity or rapid
inflation, deflation, theft via the inflation tax, massive debt,
empire, long lines, wealth transfer to the rich, depressions,
corruption, and war.
15. The method in claim 1 where the said ideas will be supported or
opposed by in-game characters, and the player will have to choose
how to interact with the said in-game characters, based on their
ideas, including but not limited to whether or not to befriend
them, agree with them, disagree with them, ignore them, recruit
them, shoot them, save them, judge them, or forgive them.
16. The method in claim 1 where the said ideas are based upon the
pivotal plot points of the great books and classics.
17. The method in claim 1 where said ideas spread like viruses, by
being spoken, written, or disseminated in some other manner,
transforming characters who come in contact with said ideas into
vampires, zombies, or other forms of monsters; and when bad ideas
have infected too many in-game characters, the consequences are
dire, including the loss of life, liberty, happiness, freedom, and
security.
18. The method in claim 1 wherein said ideas may be related to
economics and monetary policy, and wherein the player could fight
for sound money in words echoing the classical economists and deed
and witness the consequences of their successes and failures,
including liberty, freedom, peace and prosperity or rapid
inflation, deflation, theft via the inflation tax, massive debt,
empire, long lines, depressions, corruption, and war.
19. The method in claim 1 wherein moral ideas have moral
consequences in the evolution of the gameworld.
20. The method in claim 1 where said ideas in the video game world
are founded upon the natural ideas and ideals occurring at the plot
points in great works of literature and film where a character must
choose whether to serve an ideal or not serve an ideal, thusly
rendering or not rendering ideals real by their actions, and
influencing the greater outcome and state of the game world, as
ideas have consequences.
21. The method in claim 1 where said ideas in the video game world
are used to exalt the classic hero's journey, and where a player's
success and progress at every stage or step or plot point of said
hero's journey is defined by said player's service or disservice to
said ideas and ideals, and where by said player's serving said
ideas and classical ideals, said hero's journey advances towards
ultimate victory and triumph, while by said character's failing to
serve said ideas and classical ideals, progress in said hero's
journey is retarded or reversed.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent
Ser. No. 60/959,051 filed Jul. 11, 2007 by the present
inventor.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] Not Applicable
SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM
[0003] Not Applicable
INTRODUCTION
Field of the Invention
[0004] This present invention pertains to video games and virtual
worlds created by an electronic means. More particularly, this
invention pertains to novel, exalted video games that present
deeper gameplay, meaning, character, and story. Contemporary and
prior video games have yet to incorporate all the exalted
subtleties of mythology, which of course is the roadmap to our
human reality, and thus games fall short of human reality and
exalted art, as they fall short of ideals, idealism, and the
reality that ideas have consequences. The present invention
pertains to video games which have characters possessing
ideologies, philosophies, and souls, wherein said ideologies and
souls are manifested in the character's actions and the evolution
of the game world, as ideas have consequences. This invention
proposes a novel form of video games wherein characters speak words
reflecting ideologies and philosophies, and wherein said ideologies
and philosophies may be rooted in historical ideologies, classical
philosophies, the philosophies of our American Founders, the wisdom
of the Great Books and Classics, and/or philosophies and ideologies
that counter the wisdom of the Great Books and Classics, which
favor lying and hyping over truth and justice. The player's choices
in the game depend on whether or not they take the classical wisdom
and advice to heart, and whether or not they render ideals real via
action. For instance, in The Odyssey, Odysseus states "Fair dealing
leads to greater profit in the end," and upon hearing those words
in a game based on The Odyssey's moral precepts, the player can
choose whether to deal fairly and fight for justice, or jack cars,
pensions, and savings as the fiatocracy does via the inflation tax.
The entire American Revolution could be brought to life, wherein
after hearing a speech from George Washington, players could choose
to either follow Washington, or do nothing. The Civil War, and all
historical conflicts could be brought to life, where the player
first hears the ideas and arguments of both sides, and then chooses
what to do, and who to fight for.
[0005] Classical principles of economics can be brought to life,
including Moses' "Thou shalt not steal." A character could hear a
prophet stating this on street corner, and if they heed the advice,
the game is eventually won. If they ignore it, the game, and the
game world, are lost. A character could impart classical wisdom
such as "What does it profit a man to gain the world and lose their
soul?" If the player heeds the higher ideals and seeks the higher
path, then they will be rewarded not with money and jacked cars,
but with their soul. And a novel weapon such as the "Gold 45
Revolver" will only glow gold when the player's soul is in tact,
and the soul is in tact only when the player has made moral choices
throughout the game and rendered moral word with moral deed via
action in the game world. So it is that we would witness a
renaissance in gaming and the exaltation of gaming as a classical
art, wherein in-game characters could battle for classical ideas
and ideals underlying freedom and prosperity.
[0006] The rising generation will witness a renaissance in video
games, as well as across all culture, wherein classical ideals have
exalted consequences. An in-game character or non-player-character
(npc) might quote Burke in saying, "for evil to prevail, all good
men must do is nothing." Upon hearing this, the character could
choose to take the higher road and take action to fight for higher
ideals, or they could let their nation become morally and
spiritually bankrupt by the feminist fanboy fiatocracy.
[0007] The player character can choose whether or not to interact,
as well as how to interact with characters based on their
ideologies, which are manifested by words and deed. The player
character can choose to engage in dialogue with npc's, seeking to
reason with them, and exalt their sensibilities. When reasoning
fails, as it so often does with fanboys who detest reading the
manly classical economists and prefer comic books with pretty
pictures of big green men, as they were raised by single mother who
demonized their real fathers, the player character can then choose
to interact with the characters in other manners, such as shooting
them.
[0008] The present invention will foster a new era of exalted
gaming in multiple formats and forms, including RPGs, FPS, an
MMORPGs, and too, it would provide enhanced means for bringing
successful films and dramatic art to life in the realm of video
games and gaming. Producers have failed time and again to translate
movies into games and games into movies, and that is because they
do not comprehend nor grasp the secret--the classical ideals which
have consequences and the simple moral premise must be woven into
the fabric of games at very level. For the classical ideals are the
most efficient and natural and simple way to unite the plot and the
subplot, the dramatic action and physical action, the love interest
and the battle. Most fanboy producers, who came of age in a
declining fiatocracy, are used to arrogance, hypes, and doublespeak
as methods and means for producing movies, which ultimately suck.
So it is that this present invention would exalt and foster novel
video games that would in turn exalt and foster a cultural
renaissance; wherein one would be able to battle the snarky
fiatocracy producers head-on, both in the context game and beyond
it, finally avenging all the innocent civilians, prostitutes,
children, cops, and unborn who have been killed by the fiatocracy's
fanboys, while the artist's natural rights have been dismantled and
debauched, and the home and family destroyed along with the
currency. So often it is that the poet and hero know not what they
do, and this game humbles itself before the epic poets, prophets,
and heroes of all ages; even as Socrates' ultimately, and
reluctantly humbled himself before Homer, who was exalted by
Aristotle. This patent humbles itself before the secret of epic
storytelling. This patent does not drive down Sunset in a Ferrari,
as fanboys and failed producers do, screaming and hyping their
lackluster creations--lackluster movies based on video games, or
lackluster video games based on movies--as exalted art; but rather
this invention simply states that all epic story derives for living
for, speaking for, and sometimes dying for higher ideals. Such is
the way it has ever been, and will always be; and this invention
will exalt a higher realm of games and gaming by returning this
central tenet to modern art, leading with Character and Plot based
on Virtue as did Aristotle, and introducing all these soulful,
sacred, moral agents in the realm of video games.
[0009] This present invention is penned in the context that this is
going to sound crazy to all the fanboy experts, and counter their
expert fanboy opinions, but in contemplating story in the realm of
video games, why not turn to the greatest stories ever
written--Homer, Shakespeare, and the Bible? I understand that we
live in a declining fiatocracy, but get over it. This fiatocracy
won't be around forever, and someday people will be free to act
upon their desire to play games founded upon classical ideals and
idealism, wherein ideas have consequences, and where they can
engage in meaningful gameplay, such as protecting and defending the
Constitution, and protecting the unborn and borders of an empire,
instead of fighting random fiat monsters on foreign shores. I know
that many fanboys insist that games should have no intellectual
content, and that they should merely exist to satiate the fanboy
fantasies of hiring and killing hookers, jacking cars, killing cops
and civilians, and doing drugs, and that is fine and good for their
era and realm of gaming. But the times, they are a changin'.
Surely, as we live in an open-ended world with freedom, the fiat
fanboys ought stop opposing exalted games with classical soul and
spirit. They can keep their close-minded, conservative ways--that
is fine by us--but the world will know a renaissance in classical
liberalism in the realm of video games, wherein one gets to battle
for the US Constitution--the one that the Founding Fathers wrote,
and not the one interpreted by the fiatocracy's
feminized/dumbed-down fanboys.
A New Realm of Exalted Gaming
The Autumn Rangers Video Game Engine
[0010] Imagine the Autumn Rangers video game--a game where being in
love was as important as fighting in battle, just as it was in
Homer's Odyssey, Braveheart, and 300. Imagine a game which let you
speak out for liberty's ideals before fighting for the US
Constitution, as did the Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, Martin
Luther King Jr., and the countless brave men and women in uniform.
Imagine a game which let you defend the spirit of The Declaration
of Independence in word and deed, and which united the internal
dramatic action and external conflict en route to Aristotle's third
act--the thundering, epic showdown.
[0011] Imagine a renaissance in games exalted by classical, epic
story and soul. And as "life imitates art," as Oscar Wilde stated,
imagine a cultural renaissance--imagine a novel form of video games
that had a positive, exalted influence on the culture; as all epic
art ever has, from The Iliad to The Odyssey, from Shakespeare to
the Bible. "They all fall away, one by one," Thomas Jefferson
wrote, "until one is left with Virgil and Homer, and perhaps Homer
alone." Imagine a game which allowed one to fight for Virgil's
poetry, Achille's Honor, Odysseus's Penelope, and Jefferson's
Declaration of Independence:
[0012] We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.--The Declaration of Independence
[0013] Imagine the Autumn Rangers video game--a game where one had
to trek through hell to be reunited with Beatrice, as did Dante in
The Inferno; and wherein one's fiance was stolen, as in The Count
of Monte Christo; along with one's technology, as in the 1968 Iron
Man. Imagine a gameworld wherein ideas had consequences, and where
although actions spoke louder than words, the pen was mightier than
the sword. Imagine a game wherein the words--the mere words the
player chose to speak--could exalt peace, avert wars, save lives,
end oppression, and win freedom, as did Gandhi's words.
[0014] A coward is incapable of exhibiting love (like all the
fanboys who are quite content to hire and kill hookers, but never
love a real woman); it is the prerogative of the brave.--Mohandas
Gandhi
[0015] Imagine a game which let one fight for the higher ideals and
deliver justice in an epic showdown where the few stood against the
many, as did Socrates in The Apology, Leonidas and his men in 300,
and every lone rider at the end of every Western, be it Clint
Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars or Eminem in 8 mile. And imagine
that after reuniting the family and facing down a posse of rifles
with your .45 revolver, you could ultimately leave the gold behind,
as did Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars--the first film in
Sergio Leone's "The Man With No Name" trilogy which was based on
the Japanese Samuri Film Yojimbo, shot in Spain, directed by an
Italian who spoke no English, and which first launched Eastwood as
an international star.
[0016] The present invention will foster video games in which the
player could throw down their golden staff and call out the
assembly for having no honor, as did Achilles in The Iliad, or
throw down the Ten Commandments, as did Moses, when he found his
people worshipping the golden calf, and reasoned that they were not
yet ready for the far-higher value of the Law. Imagine that mere
words could incite a people to fight for their freedom--eloquent,
exalting words such as those penned by Publius in The Federalist,
Thomas Paine in The Rights of Man, and Thomas Jefferson in The
Declaration of Independence. Imagine that after a band of rebels
won their freedom in the game, their leader could turn down the
kingship that was offered them, as did General Washington.
[0017] The present invention will allow us to imagine and render a
game where the soul of the stolen AI technology--APRIL--could only
be saved by the codes on Ranger's ring, and where US Marine Ranger
McCoy, after raising his right hand and swearing on the Bible to
protect the Constitution, was ultimately protected and saved by
folksinger Autumn Wests' faithful love and loyalty--her immortal,
pristine soul; just as Odysseus was ultimately saved by Penelope,
Dante by Beatrice, and Johnny Cash by June Carter.
[0018] The present invention will allow us to imagine and render a
game wherein fighting for moral ideas at the lowest level had
resounding and epic consequences. Imagine a game wherein saving New
York and LA from nuclear devastation came down to the seemingly
smallest actions between Autumn & Ranger--to the romance of
their renaissance and the renaissance of their romance--for without
Penelope's faithful dedication, Odysseus's long journey on home
would have all been for naught; and without Beatrice, Dante would
have been robbed of the exalted reason to walk through hell.
Imagine a game wherein fighting for moral ideas at the lowest level
had resounding and epic consequences.
[0019] The present invention will allow us to imagine and render a
game in which Ranger could create a digital rights management
system for Autumn as they drove cross country to save APRIL and
resurrect her moral OS. [0020] The Congress shall have power to . .
. promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries;--The United States
Constitution
[0021] The present invention will allow us to imagine and exalt a
game wherein if Ranger's DRM software allowed Autumn to "further
the progress of the useful arts" by allowing her to protect and
profit from her art--to realize her Natural Constitutional Rights
to own her creations, thus giving her incentives to create, and
enriching all world with a renaissance, as she performed the
classical ideals in the contemporary context, resurrecting that far
higher, forgotten wealth of poetry mingled with epic idealism. For
without classical ideals, love songs are not possible, and without
living music, love can be read about but never truly known; and so
it is that Autumn's music would remind us of the need for property
rights; as much as Odysseus's actions in reclaiming his home from
the false suitors.
[0022] The present invention will allow us to imagine and exalt a
game wherein AI that exalted the classical moral premise in Plot
and Character--that allowed the first person player to exalt in
Honor and Integrity. Imagine an FPS that rendered the archetypal
masculine and feminine--the Odysseus and Penelope, the Dante and
Beatrice, the Hamlet and Ophelia--and like Zeus, saw to it that
only those who treated strangers and beggars with common decency
and respect ever prevailed. Imagine a video game that wore black
like Johnny Cash: [0023] I wear the black for the poor and the
beaten down, [0024] Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
[0025] I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
[0026] But is there because he's a victim of the times. [0027] I
wear the black for those who never read, [0028] Or listened to the
words that Jesus said, [0029] About the road to happiness through
love and charity, [0030] Why, you'd think He's talking straight to
you and me.--Johnny Cash--The Man in Black . . .
[0031] And imagine a game that wore black like Hamlet, which
brought to life the contrast between "the actions a man might play"
and the reality of the deeper soul: [0032] HAMLET [0033] Seems,
madam! nay it is; I know not `seems.` [0034] 'Tis not alone my inky
cloak, good mother, [0035] Nor customary suits of solemn black,
[0036] Nor windy suspiration of forced breath, [0037] No, nor the
fruitful river in the eye, [0038] Nor the dejected 'havior of the
visage, [0039] Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
[0040] That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, [0041] For they
are actions that a man might play: [0042] But I have that within
which passeth show; [0043] These but the trappings and the suits of
woe.
[0044] The present invention will allow us to imagine and exalt a
video game that followed The Hero's Journey; which called the
protagonist to adventure--which beckoned them with a higher
calling, and rewarded them for risking all to heed it and serve a
higher cause. Imagine a game that inspired the player to venture
forth in rendering their ideals real--to press on
regardless--mentoring them in taking the high road and walking the
straight and narrow, always reminding them that "there is a
difference between knowing the path and walking it," just as there
is a difference between night and day, and proposed word and
rendered deed.
[0045] Imagine a game wherein the protagonist was a man of
suffering and pain--carrying a great burden like Sam and Frodo, as
the very name Odysseus implies "man of woe and pain." Imagine a
game where one could fight for the classical economic precepts in
word and deed, and witness them rendered real in the living world.
Imagine fighting Orwellian groupthink and freeing the innovator and
inventor from the bureaucracy's shackles; and imagine that if one
did not succeed in standing for truth and liberty at the game's
crossroads, "The Road to Serfdom" would be taken, accompanied by
"The End of Truth," "The Worst Getting on Top," and the eventual
decline of freedom and liberty.
[0046] The present invention could foster a video game which
brought the ideals of classical economists to life; so that we
might learn what happens in a virtual world when we ignore Adam
Smith, F. A. Hayek, and Ludwig Von Mises, as well as when we ignore
those far more fundamental economists--Socrates and the prophets of
the Judeo Christian Heritage. For one cannot serve two masters, and
what does it profit one to gain the world and lose their soul? And
with the same courage that Achilles took to battle, imagine a game
which allowed you to address the Athenian jury as did Socrates,
with a basic treatise on economics that he delivered knowing that
it would bring about his death:
[0047] "For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and
young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your
properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest
improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by
money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of
man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is
the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person.
But if any one says that this is not my teaching, he is speaking an
untruth. Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus
bids or not as Anytus bids, and either acquit me or not; but
whichever you do, understand that I shall never alter my ways, not
even if I have to die many times."--The Apology
[0048] The present invention would afford games that allowed people
to act on Socrates' epic, classic ideals, as well as exalt them,
and even defend Socrates. The present invention would afford games
which called upon the player to match exalted word with exalted
deed; and rendered the consequences--both dire and grand--in
gameworlds that diverged depending on the chosen path, ending
definitively with either with tyranny, oppression, and persecution
for those who failed to embody classical ideals our Founding
Fathers adhered to; or with freedom, liberty, and justice for those
who succeeded in serving the higher cause. Action and dialogue
trees could be mapped directly onto historical events such as the
American Revolution or onto epic literature such as The Odyssey,
and by correctly choosing to speak Odysseus's words, and partake in
his exalted, cunning actions, one would be rewarded with faithful
Penelope--with the epic poetry's exaltation of the home and
family--of private property and the triumph of the hero, owner, and
creator over the false managerial suitors living off Odysseus's
estate and Autumn's music. And by diverging from Odysseus's words
and deeds, the player would fail, as so many of our present-day
institutions are--institutions which have chosen to hedge against
the great wisdom of the Great Books and Classics, and which are
reaping the consequences, cashing out on our vast accumulated
cultural wealth built upon words matched by epic deeds--constructed
upon the solid rock of honor and integrity, and founded upon
treasures that moth and rust cannot corrupt, and thieves cannot
steal. The player who gave in to short-term temptations would fail
by selling trust, honor, integrity, civility, and marriage on down
the river for short-term gains, as they bankrupt a nation, both
spiritually and monetarily.
[0049] But too, the players who failed would leave billions of
dollars of long-term wealth on the table for the bold and
innovative players who went against the conventional wisdom, and
who yet believed in exalting the higher ideals over the bottom
line; who, like Odysseus, put off the short-term temptations of the
Sirens and Lotus Eaters for those far greater precepts belonging to
Penelope, the home, and family. So it is that this novel gameworld
would be far more realistic than the supposedly open-ended world of
Grand Theft Auto where one can steal cars, hire and kill
prostitutes, shoot innocent cops and civilians, but never exalt a
renaissance. Vast opportunities would exist in this game world for
the rising generation to exalt renaissances on Wall Street and Main
Street; in Hollywood and the Heartland, in films, books, movies,
software, and games endowed with classic, epic soul; just as vast
opportunities exist in real life for all those Autumns and
Rangers--all those Autumn Rangers who venture boldly into the
romance of the fall and autumn's burning leaves. For spring shall
soon follow.
[0050] And so it is that tomorrow's game designers ought begin by
heeding Martin Luther King Jr.'s words: [0051] If we are to go
forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values--that
all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has
spiritual control.--M L K
[0052] There is a rising demand for exalted games that this present
invention would foster; and for technologies that allow artists to
protect and profit from their creations--technology endowed and
infused with the classical soul, just as there is a rising demand
for exalted art, film, literature, classes, and institutions. A
fellowship is forming to deliver such entities, prepared to back
words with deeds, just as Autumn and Ranger heed Leonardo da
Vinci's advice in the Autumn Rangers novel, film, and video
game.
[0053] I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is
not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough--we must
do.--Leonardo da Vinci
Further Ramifications of Invention: Ideas have Consequences in Epic
Literature, Epic Art, and Epic Life.
[0054] The present invention will foster a new breed of epic games
wherein ideas have consequences. The mark of epic literature has
ever been characters who backed words with deeds. The mark of
today's financial leaders is profiting by saying one thing and
doing another. Thus they finance the deconstruction of the great
books and classics, alongside characterless literature and
characterless video games such as GTA; so as to destroy the epic
soul throughout all entirety, and transform every last profession
and institution, founded to the serve the higher ideals; into a
monetized business serving their dumbed-down, materialistic, crass
bottom line. So it is that irony serves postmodern literature and
postmodern financiers; and just as they proclaim that Dave Eggers',
Tucker Max's, and Joyce Carol Oates' characterless, pornified
writings are higher art; they proclaim that your pension is now
their pension; and that your savings are now their savings; and
that your earnings are now the government's, and that abortion is
in the Constitution, as well as the authorization of the president
to launch wars and for a private cartel of banks to print money.
Modern fiat education, which constantly favors deceit, marketing,
deception, and deconstruction, has become a sieve that only allows
the worst to get on top. So, so many are but useful idiots in the
fiatocracy's empire, blind to the fact that their success is
founded upon the deconstruction, decadence, and demolition of
classical, epic ideals/
[0055] For quite some time reading has been a disadvantage, as when
you quote the great books and classics, people either give you
blank stares or make a mental note to shun and exclude you from
both feminist and fanboy planning sessions for world domination.
But ultimately, the immortal soul wins in this game of art. The
epic soul may have to forgo the luxuries bought by printing money
and pilfering pensions, but its reward is everlasting, epic poetry.
All men must choose which masters to serve in this world, and thus
a video game with more than one master would be far superior to
GTA. For in Grand Theft Auto, one cannot serve God, and in GOW one
cannot reach out to the soul of a monster via word; for there is no
soul.
[0056] The present invention allows us to imagine that a prostitute
in Grand Theft Auto stepped forth to exalt the player's soul.
Imagine if she spoke words of wisdom--words that you would never
hear if you killed her. Imagine that by killing the prostitute, the
secret to the higher way world would be lost. Imagine if the
prostitute was the one who knew the fiatocracy's deeper intent, and
that by talking and listening to her, one would embark on the
higher path in the game. And that by killing her, that higher path
would be forever lost. The present invention would afford this new
character type--this novel npc. Imagine if she could exalt your
soul and remind you of a higher purpose. Imagine if she could
inspire you to a higher victory in the game world. Imagine if a
female character could exalt you to live for, and die for, the
United States Constitution, as did Penelope, Beatrice, and Autumn
Wests. Today no game offers a woman with a pristine soul, exalted
ideals, and profound ideas.
[0057] In all the contemporary and prior art of games and video
games, never will you hear an in game character quoting Abraham
Lincoln, Ron Paul, the Founding Fathers, nor Jesus, nor Socrates.
In contemplating story and soul, the last place a fanboy will ever
look is towards the masters--the very foundations of epic story and
classical soul--Socrates and Jesus, and Shakespeare and Dante. Thus
vast, resounding opportunities exist. The present invention will
afford such game characters--male or female characters which will
say things such as "what does it profit a man to gain the world and
lose his soul?" Upon hearing the scripture, the player will have to
make a decision--whether to serve short-term gratification, or live
for higher ideals. No contemporary game offers this choice; though
many fanboys will argue that they do, as they were raised by single
moms who never taught them the manly difference between right and
wrong, between hype and truth, between night and day, between
talking and doing, between empty promises and concrete actions,
between comic books and The Great Books of the Epic Soul. Only
real, epic men and exalted women will be able to prevail and win in
the novel game that this invention would afford, and thus it would
be an exalting and entertaining form of education.
[0058] Suppose that the hooker's exalted wisdom and grace is the
only ticket to the greater, higher hero's journey, and thus the
elixir and ultimate boone. If the player ignores the hooker, or
merely uses her, and/or kills her, the higher path will be forever
lost. Both Zeus and the Judeo Christian God work in mysterious
ways, and both protect strangers and beggars and grant the same
Natural Rights to all, so who is to write off a hooker, but for the
feminized fanboy who gleefully murders her? Oftentimes, Athena
would come down and impart wisdom in disguise, so again, who would
write off a hooker? I'll tell you who--fanboy game developers who
are leaving vast opportunities on the table for us to exalt games
to higher levels of epic, classical art. Listen to all of Will
Wright's lectures, and he presents the same dismal, fanboy
perspective--we're all just a bunch of dust ultimately evolved from
spores in a random universe. Well, such a view leaves out the
exalted reality of the human soul and spirit, and again, billions
of dollars are being left on the table by fanboy designers who
never consider the role of morality, nor Zeus, nor the Judeo
Christian spirit, in any of their games.
[0059] Hollywood producers, professors, university administrators,
and fanboys generally do not read, and they are paid quite
handsomely in fiat dollars not to read. The more they don't read,
the faster the fiat cash keeps right on flowing as they build
bureaucracies upon buzzwords; inspiring them to read less and shout
their slogans louder and louder, calling on us to buy their bigger,
better, more badass games which we'll need buckets for all the
blood. Quoting the Great Books and Classics is deemed as impolite
and an affront to the finer fanboy and Hollywood producer
sensibilities, as they just want to shoot monsters both in their
video games and real men, women, and children on far-off, foreign
shores. Never do they wish to engage nor exalt the soul of the
monster, nor engage their own souls, nor look below the surface
towards that higher form of action and art--dramatic action and
dramatic art. So their bestselling videogames have high pixel count
douchebag thugs and prostitutes, just like the fine men and women
our leading law schools and MBA programs are graduating to go forth
and transfer wealth via the biggest bluff in the history of
mankind--the fiat dollar which bails out the banks and inflates gas
and food prices for all the rest. So it is that all the experts
will oppose this present invention; and so it is, that like Hamlet
and Odysseus, like John Wayne and the Man With No Name, we have a
showdown coming; where games will finally be exalted to the realm
of higher art, and such a showdown would be an excellent addition
to a novel form of video games and gaming. For thousands of years
the pagans engaged in superficial rituals and sculpted idols, until
Jesus and the Biblical Prophets stepped forth to grant da Vinci and
Michelangelo the soul that made their works immortal. So too shall
this present invention exalt video games to new heights--not by
abolishing the law of the prophets, but by fulfilling it.
FURTHER OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION
[0060] The present invention would inspire entire new realms of
research and institutions, of movies, films, and video games, all
based on classical idealism and ideals.
The Hero's Journey in Artistic Entrepreneurship &
Technology
CREATE
The Center for Renaissance Entrepreneurship, Art, Technology, and
Economics
Ideals in Innovation
[0061] The present invention would foster video games that allow
the player to fight for the following: [0062] For classical
learning I have ever been a zealous advocate.--Thomas Jefferson
[0063] I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is
not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough--we must
do.--Leonardo da Vinci [0064] All men whom the higher Nature has
imbued with a love of truth should feel impelled to work for the
benefit of future generations, whom they will thereby enrich just
as they themselves have been enriched by the labors of their
ancestors.--Dante [0065] He is certainly not a good citizen who
does not wish to promote, by every means of his power, the welfare
of the whole society of his fellow citizens.--Adam Smith [0066] If
we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious
values--that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all
reality has spiritual control.--Martin Luther King, Jr. [0067] So
dream your own dreams, but act on them too. Action, always action
is required on the ever-dangerous odyssey that each of our lives
must follow. Be good human beings. Respect tradition and study the
great thinkers of our heritage.--John C. Bogle, Founder and Former
CEO of Vanguard [0068] This country was founded upon the principle
that a new economy must be formed, one in which only the efforts
and responsibilities undertaken by individuals would determine
their future. This freedom of self-determination spawned an
extraordinary culture of work . . . Benjamin Franklin and Alexander
Hamilton, for example, both expressed their belief in a national
economy centered on appreciation, diffusion, and implementation of
technology.--The Entrepreneurial Imperative, Carl J. Schramm,
President and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation
[0069] The present invention would foster video games that allow
the player to fight for the following ideals:
I. Forming the Fellowship
[0070] A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something
bigger than oneself.--Joseph Campbell [0071] From this day to the
ending of the world, [0072] But we in it shall be remember'd;
[0073] We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; [0074] For he
to-day that sheds his blood with me [0075] Shall be my brother . .
. [0076] Henry V, William Shakespeare
[0077] Opportunity abounds to perform the classical ideals in the
contemporary context. The Great Books have ever been the best
long-term investment; but one does not buy in by reading alone--one
must take action in rendering the classical ideals real in living
ventures. Such are the basic tenets of the Artistic
Entrepreneurship & Technology class and The Hero's Journey
Entrepreneurship Festival: names that have combined to title my
upcoming book: The Hero's Journey in Artistic Entrepreneurship
& Technology.
[0078] I hope these small ventures can help exalt a renaissance in
classic American idealism and serve student demand for a classical
liberal arts education--a most valuable asset in any endeavor. The
University, in both teaching and research, must support classic
entrepreneurship founded upon principled service--that primary
mechanism by which long-term wealth is generated, which grants the
risk-taker, investor, and innovator their natural reward. The first
HJEF website describes the spirit with: [0079] Imagine video games
with plots, characters, and Epic Storytelling. Imagine contemporary
novels and movies with the same--with heroes and heroines--with
Audrey Hepburns and Sergio Leones; whence our own John Wayne and
Man with No Name ride into town for the showdown where story trumps
spectacle, where Beatrice exalts Dante, and Odysseus sails on home
to Penelope. Imagine software systems and startups that actually
pay the artists and talent--the filmmakers, models, photographers,
and bands. Imagine new classes/research programs/ventures
supporting all this.--http://herosjourneyentrepreneurship.org
[0080] The first festival was grateful for a most eloquent
foundational keynote: Vanguard. Saga of Heroes, delivered by John
C. Bogle, the founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Group.
Vanguard, which navigated on out towards superior returns by the
ideals of classical antiquity--honor, integrity, "the relentless
rules of humble arithmetic," and character--represents one of Wall
Street's largest and most revered fleets, with millions of clients
and thousands of crewmembers; and I would argue that there is even
greater wealth to be found in Bogle's books and speeches. All
AE&T classes begin by reading Bogle's The Battle For The Soul
of Capitalism alongside Homer's Odyssey, and all HJEF panelists get
copies of both tomes. And if supply ever reaches demand, all
students will be afforded the opportunity to ride with these
works--these thundering calls to adventure--on towards renaissances
of their own making.
[0081] A second inspirational keynote on the importance of
classical ideals soon followed--this time from William Fay,
executive producer at Legendary Pictures, which has brought us
timeless blockbusters including The Patriot, Independence Day, and
Batman. Mr. Fay told the story behind the success of 300. The film
leveraged cutting-edge technology to artistically render a classic
story, first recounted by Herodotus circa 450 BC. The studio took a
risk and shot an outdoor action-adventure film--with tens of
thousands of Greek and Persian soldiers, naval fleets, and epic
battles--entirely indoors on a soundstage. They produced the epic
at half the usual cost, and it went on to break boxoffice records.
Fay, who is currently producing Milton's Paradise Lost, was quick
to credit 300's success to Zack Snyder's visionary direction and
Frank Miller's original vision of the classic epic. There is an art
to the science of producing blockbuster after blockbuster--to
marrying art and commerce and emerging with art--for as the poet
Robert Frost said, "nothing is quite honest that is not commercial.
Mind you that I don't put it that everything commercial is honest."
300 recounts the true story of the few fighting against the many
for freedom, as 300 Spartans, lead by King Leonidas stood their
ground at Thermopylae, choosing, as free men, to "die on their feet
rather than live on their knees." Nobel Laureate author William
Golding wrote, "A little of Leonidas lies in the fact that I can go
where I like and write what I like. He contributed to set us
free."
[0082] There is indeed a lot to be grateful for, including Carl
Schramm's definitive and inspirational words on classic
entrepreneurship delivered with eloquence and good humor in his
books and speeches; and generous support from the Kauffman
Foundation, UNC Chapel Hill, and Pepperdine University for
AE&T--support that was initiated by the vision of Judith Cone
and Desiree Vargas. I'm grateful for Vice Chancellor Mike Warder's
passion, leadership, and conversations on Battle, The Odyssey, and
Moby Dick, for the inspirational and entrepreneurial students who
now run their own record labels and fashion lines, and who have
sold their bottled-water companies for $2,000,000. And where would
AE&T be without the fellowship of pioneering "arts
entrepreneurship" colleagues including Gary Beckman, Molly Lavik,
Cyril Morong, Kevin Woelfel? I'm grateful for Ewing Marion Kauffman
and George Pepperdine, whose entrepreneurship and generosity can
best be thanked by humbly embodying their principles in continued
entrepreneurship and future generosity.
[0083] Not long ago I heard Carl Schramm quote Sir Francis Bacon in
a speech--"Reading makes a full man; conference a ready man; and
writing an exact man," and the HJEF bookstore is filled every year
with the books ranging from Frank Miller's 300 to Leonardo: Art and
Science by Carl Pedrelli. Artistic entrepreneurs Flint Dille and
John Zuur joined us with the current #1 book on video game design,
edited by Skip Press--writer, speaker, and author of definitive
books on the state of the industry including The Ultimate Writer's
Guide to Hollywood. Skip kicked off this year's festival with his
"Renaissance Man's" lecture, spanning science and mythology. Flint
and John's panel delivered most practical advice as they recounted
stories from the industry's frontlines, where they are defining and
exalting a novel art form. Dille lent his name to the storyteller
Spartan in 300--Dilios; and he and John have won multiple awards as
the force behind too many AAA projects to list here, including the
original Transformers and The Chronicles of Riddick. They're
developing the upcoming Sin City game which explores the themes of
good and evil as set forth in Dante's Inferno.
[0084] The common thread of the HJEF speakers has been a humor and
humility matching their accomplishments, their can-do (and
have-done) spirits, and selfless mentorship--I have heard great
things from attendees who have contacted the speakers beyond the
festivals. And last, but not least, the students and I are grateful
for those spirits who rendered ideals real in those enduring texts;
who although separated by oceans and thousands of years, yet ride
united on towards eternity, from Homer on down. Such are the
mentors and professors--such are the fellow crewmembers--of the
proposed Center for Renaissance Arts, Entrepreneurship, Technology,
and Economics (CREATE). The present invention would be researched
and developed at CREATE, thusly leading to expanded, enhanced, and
novel commercial and educational opportunities. The present
invention would begin in the ordinary world, and follow the hero's
journey in allowing one to battle for the following ideals and
ideas, which would have exalted consequences:
II. The Ordinary World & CREATE's Founding Principles
[0085] If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of
civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.--Thomas
Jefferson [0086] Go forth and tell them all, "Fair dealing leads to
greater profit in the end."--Odysseus, Homer's Odyssey
[0087] Our Founding Fathers recognized that there is no greater
investment than classical ideals, and contemporary spirits such as
Jack Bogle have agreed in word and deed--in speeches and books
including The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism and Character
Counts, and in the maverick Vanguard Group, which has served
millions with superior returns on their investments via its
adherence to principle, common sense, and character. Bogle's
character in particular, for as Emerson noted, "an institution is
the lengthened shadow of one man." Bogle humbly describes his
occupation, [0088] But even as I disclaim the credentials of the
hero, of the leader, of the business manager, and even of the
entrepreneur, I shamelessly proclaim my credentials as an idealist.
Even more, I am an idealist who revels in the values of the
Enlightenment and holds high his admiration for the brilliance and
the character of the great thinkers, great doers, and great
adventurers of the 18th century, men (as it happens, in particular
our nation's Founding Fathers) who give birth to our modern
world.--John C. Bogle, Vanguard, Saga of Heroes, 2007 HJEF
[0089] When one reads the Great Books, one might conclude that it's
all already been said and done--that the ideals have already been
rendered by the masters and we can all go on home now; but in
looking at the world, it oft seems we have yet to begin. Yes--we
must perpetually perform the classical ideals in the contemporary
context, and that is exactly what this present video game does.
[0090] For "the price of freedom is eternal vigilance," and time
and again we find ourselves at the beginning of The Odyssey and
Hamlet, with our homes out of order and our fathers displaced; and
so too would the present invention foster video games wherein our
fathers have been displaced, echoing this profound, classics,
exalted story. Hamlet--the reluctant hero--laments, "How all
occasions do inform against me," and "O' cursed spite, that I was
ever born to set it right." 'Tis a "world out of joint" where
virtue is "more honor'd in the breach than in the observance," with
financial engineering--the transfer of wealth--trumping physical
engineering and entrepreneurship--the creation of wealth. Bogle
describes our "ordinary world:"
[0091] What caused the mutation from virtuous circle to vicious
circle? It's easy to call it a failure of character, a triumph of
hubris and greed over honesty and integrity. And it's even easier
to lay it all to "just a few bad apples." But while only a tiny
minority of our business and financial leaders have been implicated
in criminal behavior, I'm afraid that the barrel itself--the very
structure that holds all those apples--is bad. While that may seem
a harsh indictment, I believe it is a fair one . . . . It is now
crystal-clear that our capitalistic system--as all systems
sometimes do--has experienced a profound failure, a failure with a
whole variety of root causes, each interacting and reinforcing the
other: The stock market mania, driven by the idea that we were in a
New Era; the notion that our corporations were trees that could
grow not only to the sky but beyond; the rise of the imperial chief
executive officer; the failure of our gatekeepers--those auditors,
regulators, legislators, and boards of directors who forgot to whom
they owed their loyalty--the change in our financial institutions
from being stock owners to being stock traders; the hype of Wall
Street's stock promoters; the frenzied excitement of the media; and
of course the eager and sometimes greedy members of the investing
public, reveling in the easy wealth that seemed like a cornucopia,
at least while it lasted. There is plenty of blame to go around.
But even as it drove stock prices up, this happy conspiracy among
all of the interested parties drove business standards down. Yes,
the victory of investors in the great bull market had a thousand
fathers. But the defeat in the great bear market that followed
seems to be an orphan.--What Went Wrong in Corporate America?
Remarks by John C. Bogle, Founder and Former Chairman, The Vanguard
Group http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20030224.html
[0092] The present invention, which would foster video games
exlalting these ideals by allowing one to battle for them in word
and deed, would be researched and developed at CREATE, thusly
leading to expanded, enhanced, and novel commercial and educational
opportunities. The present invention would begin in the ordinary
world, and follow the hero's journey in allowing one to battle for
the following ideals and ideas, which would have exalted
consequences.
[0093] So we ask, from where did this "failure of character, a
triumph of hubris and greed over honesty and integrity" derive?
Where did this brave new generation of managers and accountants
come from? From our universities. From our law schools and business
schools. And just what are we teaching them? Let the titles of the
following books begin to address that question: [0094] Excellence
Without a Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education, by Harry
R. Lewis (former Harvard Dean) [0095] The Western Canon, (opens
with An Elegy for the Canon) by Harold Bloom (Yale professor,
author, critic) [0096] Who Killed Homer? The Demise of Classical
Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom by Victor Davis Hanson
(recipient of the Award for Excellence in Teaching, the top award
in the country for teaching in the field of classics from the
American Philological Association) and John Heath [0097] Bonfire of
the Humanities: Rescuing the Classics in an Impoverished Age by
Victor Davis Hanson, John Heath, and Bruce S. Thornton [0098]
Smiling Through the Cultural Catastrophe: Toward the Revival of
Higher Education by Jeffrey Hart (Columbia professor) [0099] The
Closing of the American Mind, by Allan Bloom (University of Chicago
professor) [0100] From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500
Years of Western Cultural Life (Hardcover), by Jacques Barzun
[0101] Are We Rome?: The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America
by Cullen Murphy [0102] Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look
at How Much Our Students Learn and Why They Should be Learning More
& Are Colleges Failing? by Derek Bok, former President of
Harvard University
[0103] The remainder of the list of titles, spanning every aspect
of the "rotten barrel" of cultural decline; from business, to
marriage, to government, to entertainment, would consume the entire
length of this paper. Aristotle said, "When storytelling declines,
the result is decadence," and is it any wonder that when the
classics are removed from education, the world is impoverished?
Video games lack epic story and soul as films invert Aristotle's
Poetics, placing spectacle first and character and plot last; and
as Oscar Wilde reminds us, "life imitates art." Well, this present
invention would place plot and character first, and spectacle last
in video games, countering common fanboy opinion. The dumbing down
knows no bounds, and the present invention would foster video games
that allowed players to argue and reason with professors, in word
and deed: [0104] Our society and our literature and our culture are
being dumbed down, and the causes are very complex. I'm 73 years
old. In a lifetime of teaching English, I've seen the study of
literature debased. There's very little authentic study of the
humanities remaining.--Harold Bloom, Dumbing Down American Readers,
LA Times, Sep. 24, 2003
[0105] Screenwriting teacher Robert McKee quotes the great poet
Yeats, in describing the postmodernized Hollywood. [0106] Flawed
and forced storytelling is forced to substitute spectacle for
substance, trickery for truth. Weak stories, desperate to hold
audience attention, degenerate into multimillion-dollar
razzle-dazzle demo reels. In Hollywood imagery becomes more and
more extravagant, in Europe more and more decorative. The behavior
of actors becomes more histrionic, more and more lewd, more and
more violent. Music and sound effects become increasingly
tumultuous. The total effect transnudes into the grotesque. A
culture cannot evolve without honest, powerful storytelling. When
society repeatedly experiences glossy, hollowed-out,
pseudo-stories, it degenerates. We need true satires and tragedies,
dramas and comedies that shine a clean light into the dingy corners
of the human psyche and society. If not, as Yeats warned, ` . . .
the center cannot hold.`--Robert Mckee, Story
[0107] The present invention, which would foster video games
exlalting these ideals by allowing one to battle for them in word
and deed, would be researched and developed at CREATE, thusly
leading to expanded, enhanced, and novel commercial and educational
opportunities. The present invention would begin in the ordinary
world, and follow the hero's journey in allowing one to battle for
the following ideals and ideas, which would have exalted
consequences.
[0108] I'll keep repeating Aristotle--"when storytelling declines,
the result is decadence," as art is culture's flagship. The present
invention would allow us to exalt Aristotle, and finally render
video games that are classical, epic art. As society forgets to
laud the greater beauty of the soul in its art, character and
integrity--freedom's foundations--become unfashionable. And so,
losing trust in the moral soul, whose center no longer holds,
society begins to trade freedom for security; and bureaucracies
capitalize on this--growing to oppose the truth and freedom that is
necessary for the natural, long-term wealth generation that classic
capitalism affords. The late Nobel Laureate economist Milton
Friedman made note of this in the introduction to the late Nobel
Laureate economist F. A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom: [0109] I said
at the outset that "in some ways" the message of this book "is even
more relevant to the United States today than it was when it
created a sensation . . . half a century ago." Intellectual opinion
then was far more hostile to its theme than it appears to be now,
but practice conformed to it far more than it does today.
Government in the post World War II period was smaller and less
intrusive than it is today. Johnson's Great Society programs,
including Medicare and Medicaid, and Bush's Clean Air and Americans
with Disabilities Acts, were all still ahead, let alone the
numerous other extensions of government that Reagan was only able
to slow down, not reverse, in his eight years in office. Total
government spending--federal, state, and local--in the United
States has gone from 25 percent of national income in 1950 to
nearly 45 percent in 1993.--Milton Friedman [0110] Nor is it just
in government that bureaucracy grows, but in business too: [0111]
Over the past century, a gradual move from owner's
capitalism--providing the lion's share of the rewards of investment
to those who put up their own money and risk their own capital--has
culminated in an extreme version of manager's capitalism--providing
vastly disproportionate rewards to those whom we have trusted to
manage their enterprises in the interests of their owners.--John C.
Bogle, Battle for The Soul of Capitalism
[0112] The present novel invention, which would foster video games
exalting these ideals by allowing one to battle for them in word
and deed, and oppose the growth of the wealth-transferring state
and corporate bureaucracy, battling both of them in word and deed,
would be researched and developed at CREATE, thusly leading to
expanded, enhanced, and novel commercial and educational
opportunities. The present invention would begin in the ordinary
world, and follow the hero's journey in allowing one to battle for
classical, epic, exalted ideals and ideas, in thought, word, and
action, which would have exalted consequences.
[0113] Carl Schramm weighs in regarding the university's recent
evolution; which although oft being founded by and benefiting
greatly from entrepreneurs, now oft opposes to the classic
entrepreneurial spirit. Once again, the bureaucracy grows: [0114]
Our colleges, universities, and business schools should be at the
heart of entrepreneurial capitalism as the biggest contributors to
the changing economic landscape. But they are not. They have been
taken off course by: Graduating degreed people who are not educated
and who are certainly not as prepared as the need to be to
contribute; Becoming too bureaucratic, and bureaucracy is the
antithesis to entrepreneurial capitalism; Confusion about their
mission and; The fact that they don't even teach very well . . . .
Instead of aiding economic change, they are in many cases a
hindrance, which is one of the greatest ironies of our age . . . .
For universities to shift away from a broad, basic liberal
education that includes grounding in mathematics and science
threatens the production of the human talent needed to sustain the
entrepreneurial ecosystem. Ultimately, it will result in the
production of young adults incapable of being creative and
innovative contributors to society . . . . The university is also
at risk of failing to play its central role in the entrepreneurial
ecosystem because of the enormous expansion of its bureaucracy and
overhead expenses. The problem here is multifold . . . .--Carl
Schramm, The Entrepreneurial Imperative, p. 121-133
[0115] The above noted authors hail from Harvard, Yale, Columbia,
and the University of Chicago; they include a former Harvard
president and dean, top-ranked classics and screenwriting teachers,
the president of the world's largest foundation devoted to
entrepreneurship, and the founder of Vanguard. They have all
contributed immensely in the realm of letters and leadership, and
in one way or another, they all lament the loss of epic story and
soul; and the growth of soulless bureaucracy. Even Warren Buffet
weighs in on the contemporary professoriate who, in Oscar Wilde's
words, "know the price of everything and value of nothing:" [0116]
Buffett found it "extraordinary" that academics studied such
things. They studied what was measurable, rather than what was
meaningful. As a friend [Charlie Munger] said, to a man with a
hammer, everything looks like a nail . . . [Buffett] was willing to
give a lecture at Columbia, and did so every year or two, but
refused to donate money to it. John C. Burton, the business school
dean, said, "[Buffett] told me very frankly he didn't think
education was enhanced by money and secondly he didn't think
business schools were teaching the things he wanted to support. He
was very hostile to the idea of efficient market research." A
stroll through the business section of the university bookstore
suggested that a student could get an MBA at Columbia without ever
hearing the names Graham and Dodd, and without even a faint
exposure to value investing . . . . "We have `professional`
investors, who manage many billions, to thank for most of this
turmoil. Instead of focusing on what businesses will do in the
years ahead, many prestigious money managers now focus on what they
expect other money managers to do in the days ahead."--Buffet: The
Making of an American Capitalist, by Roger Lowenstein, p.
318-320
[0117] And Telemachus knows that he must soon defeat the suitors
laying waste to his estate; as they arrogantly threaten him and
tell him that his father--the mighty Odysseus--shall never return.
A video game inspired by the present invention will allow Odysseus
to return, for Odysseus does return, and Bogle calls on the
students to "hold high your idealism and your values. Remember
always that even one person can make a difference. And do your part
to begin the world anew," not only by investing for the long-term,
but by investing for eternity, with a battle for the soul: [0118]
The human soul, as Thomas Aquinas defined it, is the `form of the
body, the vital power animating, pervading, and shaping an
individual from the moment of conception, drawing all the energies
of life into a unity.` In our temporal world, the soul of
capitalism is the vital power that has animated, pervaded, and
shaped our economic system, drawing all of its energies into a
unity. In this sense, it is no overstatement to describe the effort
we must make to return the system to its proud roots with these
words: the battle to restore the soul of capitalism.--Bogle,
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
[0119] The present novel invention, which would foster video games
exalting these ideals by allowing one to battle for them in word
and deed, and oppose the growth of the wealth-transferring state
and corporate bureaucracy, battling both of them in word and deed,
would be researched and developed at CREATE, thusly leading to
expanded, enhanced, and novel commercial and educational
opportunities. The present invention would begin in the ordinary
world, and follow the hero's journey in allowing one to battle for
classical, epic, exalted ideals and ideas, in thought, word, and
action, which would have exalted consequences.
[0120] So begins the artistic entrepreneur's story and the humble
hero's journey; as an unyielding sense of "the way things ought to
be" propels them beyond this fallen world and into the unknown,
with naught but faith in their ideals. The video games inspired by
the present invention will capture this spirit. They set out alone;
knowing in their heart of hearts that Odysseus must return--that
the simple laws of arithmetic must prevail--that justice must be
rendered in that third act; even if popular opinion, tenure
committees, hedge fund managers, and tyrants sometimes suppose
otherwise. And so the threshold is crossed and obstacles overcome
by the sheer force of the individual's character, which knows no
other way, but to follow Plato's forms. And we live indebted to
such souls. For the elixir that enriches us all is time and again
delivered by that prophet who, although never known in their own
home and oft exiled, yet returns on home after their apotheosis;
whence they not only rendered their ideals, but became them, via
action. The Founding Fathers recognized the value of the
all-too-often persecuted prophet, and they gave him a Constitution
which recognized his rights to say what he believed and own that
which he created, along with the duty to speak those words which
would defend that Constitution. From the iPod, to Windows, to the
Civil Rights movement, to Vanguard, to Star Wars, to The Hero with
a Thousand Faces--somewhere behind every useful, enduring entity
stands a soul with an immutable vision.
[0121] Dante's ornate tomb is in Florence, but his bones remain
exiled in Ravenna. He was banished from Florence with the threat of
being burned at the stake should he ever return, and he wrote The
Divine Comedy in exile, placing those who exiled him in his
Inferno, in perhaps literature's greatest instance of "poetic"
justice. "Honour the most exalted poet," is etched on his empty
tomb in Florence, followed by, "his spirit, which had left us,
returns." Moses goes off alone into the wilderness and on up a
mountain--he skips the university meetings discussing tuition
(student debt) increases and the removal of classical references
from university websites--he skips the law review luncheons and
business plan and stock-picking competitions; and he returns on
home with the Ten Commandments that underlie our natural rights and
the American spirit: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness."
[0122] The present novel invention, which would foster video games
exalting Dante's ideals by allowing one to battle for them in word
and deed, and oppose the growth of the wealth-transferring state
and corporate bureaucracy, battling both of them in word and deed,
would be researched and developed at CREATE, thusly leading to
expanded, enhanced, and novel commercial and educational
opportunities. The present invention would begin in the ordinary
world, and follow the hero's journey in allowing one to battle for
classical, epic, exalted ideals and ideas, in thought, word, and
action, which would have exalted consequences.
[0123] Entrepreneurial education requires that we respect both the
past masters' exaltation of principle and the student's unique
dreams by which they, like the Knights of Arthurian Legend, must
find their own unique path through the forest in pursuit of that
higher wealth. Novel video games, inspired by this invention, would
serve as means and methods for entrepreneurial education, exalting
the wealth of higher quests. Such wealth was described by the
economist Joseph Schumpeter--"the stock exchange is a poor
substitute for the Holy Grail." Bogle joins Schumpeter in
elaborating on the classic definition of entrepreneurship: [0124]
In today's grandiose era of capitalism, the word "entrepreneur" has
come to be commonly associated with those who are motivated to
create new enterprises largely by the desire for personal wealth or
even greed. But at its best, entrepreneurship entails something far
more important than mere money. Heed the words of the great Joseph
Schumpeter, the first economist to recognize entrepreneurship as
the vital force that drives economic growth. In his Theory of
Economic Development, written nearly a century ago, Schumpeter
dismissed material and monetary gain as the prime mover of the
entrepreneur, finding motivations like these to be far more
powerful: (1) "The joy of creating, of getting things done, of
simply exercising one's energy and ingenuity," and (2) "The will to
conquer, the impulse to fight . . . to succeed for the sake, not of
the fruits of success, but of success itself." [0125] That's the
way it was in 18th century America, at least in the case of
Benjamin Franklin. For Franklin, fairly described as "America's
First Entrepreneur," the getting of money was always a means to an
end, not an end in itself. The enterprises he created were designed
for the public weal, not for his personal profit. When Franklin
joined with his colleagues in founding The Philadelphia
Contributionship in 1752, it was a mutual company owned by its
policyholders. This combination of ownership and service--creating
a true mutuality of interest between the owners of a firm and its
managers--was not then, nor is it now, the common mode of business
organization, but The Contributionship has thrived to this day.
[0126] Franklin also founded a library, an academy and college, a
hospital, and a learned society, all for the benefit of his
community. Not bad! His inventions followed the same philosophy. He
made no attempt to patent the lightning rod for his own profit; and
he declined the offer for a patent on the "Franklin stove" that
revolutionized the efficiency of home heating, with great benefit
to the public at large.--Bogle, Vanguard, Saga of Heroe,
http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20070227.htm
[0127] And Bogle calls upon the students to not only believe in
their ideals and dreams--the surest ticket to entrepreneurship's
journey--but to follow them: [0128] To each of you, with so
much--for you students, nearly all--of your own odyssey lying
before you, unknown, this chronicle of my own past may well be
irrelevant. Our task is to live, not the lives of others, but the
lives of our own. But wherever you are on your own journey, I know
it holds the promise of being an exciting and rewarding one, if
only you remain "strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and
not to yield."--Bogle, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
[0129] Idealism offers great job security, I tell the students, as
the world has never known a shortage of work for idealists, and
video games inspired by this present invention shall embody this.
Entrepreneurship--owning one's destiny and creating enduring
meaning and long-term wealth via useful goods and services--via
ideals in innovation--is a great economic decision, and the present
invention will inspire games that reward players for rendering
classical ideals real in action in the gameworld. Building and
owning businesses via thrift and industry, one small step at a time
in the gameworld--making oneself of use to the world in the
gameworld--is the best defense against inflation and deflation,
bubbles and recessions, the bureaucracy's insatiable, taxing, and
counterproductive transfer of wealth to itself and risk to the
worker, creator, and investor; and the all-too-common pilfering of
401ks and pensions. Novel video games, implied by this invention,
will teach the students to take stock in their passions and full
ownership of their lives by investing precious time's equity into
their dreams--for such treasures rust cannot tarnish and thieves
cannot steal. Emerson tells the students they would be wise to
marry entrepreneurial endeavors to principle--to build their
ventures on the solid foundations of a classical liberal arts
education, and the present invention will teach these ideals via
novel video games: [0130] Without ambition one starts nothing.
Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to
you. You have to win it. The man who knows how will always have a
job. The man who also knows why will always be his boss. As to
methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are
few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own
methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to
have trouble.--R. W. Emerson
[0131] Carl Schramm calls on the university to better serve the
students with entrepreneurship's core principles and values, while
also characterizing societal transformations addressed in Bogle's
Battle--the exaltation of the bottom line over principle's higher
ideals and the transformation of professions into businesses:
[0132] Universities create ideas--intellectual property--that fuel
the continued growth and development of the economy. But they could
do so much more. They could also transmit the values that would
help the students understand how important their role is in
building wealth for society . . . . Business schools must also
change radically. The canon of what they teach is thin . . . what
is being taught is a far cry from Joseph Wharton's vision when he
funded the first business school. Wharton pictured a school that
would prepare students for the "profession of business." They would
graduate as well-rounded managers who would serve a dynamic economy
. . . Wharton's vision, however, underwent radical changes decades
ago when graduate business training was reconceived as an education
in quantitative thinking. The MBA was deprofessionalized and made
into a kind of financial engineering degree . . . .--Carl Schramm,
The Entrepreneurial Imperative, p. 147-148
[0133] The present novel invention, which would foster video games
exalting these ideals by allowing one to battle for them in word
and deed, and oppose the growth of the wealth-transferring state
and corporate bureaucracy, battling both in word and deed, would be
researched and developed at CREATE, thusly leading to expanded,
enhanced, and novel commercial and educational opportunities. The
present invention would begin in the ordinary world, and follow the
hero's journey in allowing one to battle for classical, epic,
exalted ideals and ideas, in thought, word, and action, which would
have exalted consequences, even if it means taking on university
administrations in the game world.
[0134] Bogle characterizes the cultural transformations--"Once a
profession with elements of business, mutual funds became a
business with elements of profession." And the rest, as they say,
is history. All across the board, professions with elements of
business were transformed into businesses with professional
facades; as MBAs and JDs, degrees earned by mastering case studies
and temporal opinions instead of the foundational Greats and
Principle, were wielded as trump cards. They trumped honor,
integrity, the inventor's and investor's rightful ownership,
character, and hard work. Even the institution of marriage, based
on a simple precept, "what God has joined together, let not man put
asunder," was transformed into a profitable business by the divorce
industry, which profits little from marriage's exaltation, and
entirely from its destruction. The optimist might state that the
glass is yet half-full, with only a 50% divorce rate, but if one
out of every two flights crashed, would you still fly? A second
optimist might state that the crash rate has gone down, now that
people don't fly anymore.
[0135] Cashing in on cultural capital benefits the first generation
that does so, at the great and vast expanse of all ensuing
generations. Converting marriage's covenant into a contract profits
the aging boomers as men are lured down the aisle under false
pretenses, only to be plundered by the divorce regime later on, as
the majority of divorces are initiated by women. Eventually both
men and women lose out, as do children, who are denied the
priceless sanctity of a loving, caring home. And eventually
marriage will fade away in the system, after its priceless cultural
capital has been converted to mere cash to pay divorce lawyers and
the corporate state which stipulates that both parents must now
work to provide the home and security that just one working parent
was capable of a few short generations ago.
[0136] There are short-term profits to be found in the soul's
deconstruction that one generation might make off with; but which
future generations will have to pay for with interest, and the
present invention will exalt games that teach how ideas have
consequences in this living context. The vast wealth of covenants
was converted into mere contracts and the fine-print was leveraged
to profit the few at the expense of the many, as the towers of
commerce rose above yesterday's spires and steeples, taking us far,
far away from the spirit of Washington's first Inaugural address
which also mentions an "invisible hand," and the present invention
would foster video games that allow the player to have covenants,
in the spirit of Washington's words: [0137] Such being the
impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons,
repaired to the present station, it would be peculiarly improper to
omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that
Almighty Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the
councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every
human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties
and happiness of the people of the United States a government
instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may
enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute
with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering
this homage to the great Author of every public and private good, I
assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my
own; nor those of my fellow--citizens at large, less than either.
No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand,
which conducts the affairs of men, more than the people of the
United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the
character of an independent nation, seems to have been
distinguished by some token of providential agency. And, in the
important revolution just accomplished in the system of their
united government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent
of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted,
cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have
been established, without some return of pious gratitude along with
an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seems
to presage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis,
have forced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed.
You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none,
under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free
government can more auspiciously commence . . . the foundations of
our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable
principles of private morality, and the preeminence of a free
government be exemplified by all the attributes, which can win the
affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the
world.--George Washington, Washington's First Inaugural Address
[0138] "Art imitates life," Oscar Wilde wrote, and as character
disappeared from modern literature; politicians and institutions
followed suit, rendering Aristotle's maxim, which I will keep
repeating until the renaissance in exalted video games that this
patent implies, "When storytelling declines, the result is
decadence." Service to the client, patient, voter, and student was
trumped by service to the firm, the HMO, earmarks, and
administrative overhead; as the bottom line was exalted over the
higher ideals. Entrepreneurship--that classic wellspring which
operates from the ground up was transformed into its
opposite--bureaucracy, which operates from the top down. All across
the board the soul would no longer be sought--indeed it would
become a hindrance. Brave new managers focused on money as the
metric and measure of all value; but one cannot fathom the eternal
with the temporal, and when one tries, one will mistakenly conclude
the eternal does not exist. And where the soul is no longer
actively sought, celebrated, fought for, and exalted in art and
story; it soon becomes persecuted; just as the creator is oft
criminalized by the bureaucracy. The present invention would foster
video games that allow the player to battle for the creators'
natural, fundamental rights.
[0139] "Conscience makes cowards of us all," Hamlet stated, and
those who paused to reflect on the decline were oft left behind by
the groupthink of the brave new managerial class and their
accountants--all of whom forgot about that third act--all of whom
counted on counting always accounting for everything that counts.
And like the false suitors living off Odysseus's estate, they
boldly proclaimed that Odysseus would never return. The present
invention would foster video games where Odysseus would return.
[0140] Well, Einstein, Buffett, and Bogle, all of whom worked
"relatively" well with numbers, disagree with the brave new
mangers. Not only do they disagree, but they disagree so vehemently
that their disagreement ought be included in Webster's definition
of "disagree." There yet hangs a sign in Einstein's original
Princeton office: "Everything that can be counted does not
necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be
counted." This theme pervades Bogle's works, including his classic
speech: Don't Count On It! The Perils of
Numeracy."--http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/
[0141] Now if I were managing a university, or a law firm, or
medical practice, or a trillion-dollar Wall Street Firm, or a
business school, or even a hedge fund; I wouldn't be hedging
against Bogle, Buffett, and Einstein. For Odysseus does come on
home in that third act, and the freshman seminar is learning of his
inevitable return, and they shall someday leverage this invention
to create video games with that classical, epic third act. Warren
Buffet also weighs in about the higher nature of accountability,
[0142] Both the ability and fidelity of managers have long needed
monitoring. Indeed, nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ addressed
this subject, speaking (Luke 16:2) approvingly of `a certain rich
man` who told his manager, `Give an account of they stewardship;
for thou mayest no longer be steward.` Accountability and
stewardship withered in the last decade, and the behavorial norms
of managers went down . . . --Warren Buffett
[0143] Einstein, perhaps the greatest scientist who ever lived, yet
understood the limits of science, unlike the Nobel Laureates who
ran Long Term Capital Management--"Gravitation is not responsible
for people falling in love," Einstein wrote, and, "Science without
religion is lame, religion without science is blind." Like Buffet,
Bogle, et al, he believed that the entrepreneurial premise of moral
service did not derive from science, but from a more fundamental,
and higher, source, which the present invention will acknowledge
and instill in a novel realm of video games: [0144] The highest
principles for our aspirations and judgments are given to us
westerners in the Jewish-Christian religious tradition. It is a
very high goal: free and responsible development of the individual,
so that he may place his powers freely and gladly in the service of
all mankind.--Albert Einstein
III. Ideas have Consequences (& Vast Value via Action both in
Novel Video Games Implied by this Patent and Real Life)
[0145] Ben Franklin, in shaping what became the University of
Pennsylvania, proposed that the school focus on "practical
instruction." It would not pursue learning and knowledge as ends in
themselves, but would cultivate "an inclination, joined with an
ability, to serve mankind, one's country, friends, and
family."--Carl Schramm, The Entrepreneurial Imperative, p. 123
[0146] If the Wise be the happy man . . . he must be virtuous too;
for, without virtue, happiness cannot be. This then is the true
scope of all academical emulation.--Thomas Jefferson
[0147] In contemplating entrepreneurial risk, we must never forget
the greater context in which our risks--hanging out a shingle,
taking out a loan to follow a dream or fund a patent or indie film,
or even building a multi-billion-dollar venture--are relatively
small. We must never forget the source of our greater wealth--the
poets, prophets, philosophers, and soldiers who laid it all on the
line for truth and freedom, who always perceived the greater risk
to lie in not serving principle; who pressed on regardless, in
Bogle's words, who lived the last line of Tennyson's Ulysses in all
endeavors--To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. CREATE is
reverently and resolutely dedicated to those precepts that although
given freely by so many humble heroes, were all too often paid for
with that "last full measure of devotion." Such principles sufficed
in the birth of Athens' and Jerusalem's exalted legacies, as they
did at the Constitutional Convention; and they ought be good enough
for the modern classroom, lab, and academic institution. Everyone
who enjoys freedom must never forget the precepts held dear by the
countless souls who bought and paid for that freedom. The present
invention would foster video games that allow the player to join
the countless souls in fighting for classical, exalted ideals.
[0148] With the frugality and thrift Franklin emphasized, CREATE
will host labs, classes, and festivals wherein the classical soul
informs innovations and entrepreneurship in technology (strong
property rights for creators), video games and film (epic, moral
storytelling), academia (a return to the Greats), and business
(built on America's foundational entrepreneurial principles).
CREATE would focus on creator's entrepreneurship instead of
aggregator's entrepreneurship, and emphasize generating wealth via
physical engineering and innovation as opposed to financial
engineering. All too often financial engineering merely transfers
wealth in what Wall Street perceives as a zero-sum--or actually
negative sum--game of capital allocation, where the
counter-productive pursuit is to allocate hundreds of billions into
one's pockets in the illusory act of beating the market average,
which on average, by definition, cannot be beaten; no matter what
PR firms they hire. Bogle writes, [0149] Is all this thrashing
around in the stock market productive for investors? Unequivocally,
it is not. The returns investors actually earn are inevitably
represented by the returns earned in the stock market itself, less
the costs investors incur in earning those returns. The market is
simply a gambling casino where investors as a whole try vainly to
outpace the market. Beating the market is a zero-sum game, but only
before costs are deducted. In the stock market casino, it is the
croupiers who win. Bogle, The Wall Street Casino,
http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp19990823.htm
[0150] The classical soul has been devalued in these postmodern
times--it has been deconstructed and hedged against--sold short on
every front--thusly creating vast opportunities. The stone which
the builders cast away has become CREATE's keystone. The present
invention would foster video games that allow the player to join
the countless souls in fighting for classical, exalted, epic soul;
which has been devalued and ignored in the prior art.
[0151] CREATE is not seeking large amounts of capital, but simply
enough for basic technology and books. The technology exists--video
game engines and content management and DRM technologies abound;
they're just missing classical soul, which costs nothing but the
courage to fight for it and implement it. Large sums of money are
not needed, as large sums all too often bolster bureaucracies that
cannot afford classic entrepreneurship; and the exorbitant
administrations cash out while creating unsustainable bureaucracies
that must raise student tuition and demand government funding,
redefining entrepreneurship and education as that which places
students in debt, transfers wealth, and creates dependency; while
exiling the innovative souls who don't quite fit into the game plan
with their simple ideas of teaching the Greats and generating
wealth via innovation and invention. Lowering student
tuitions--placing the next generation in less debt--would work
wonders on several fronts: defunding epic bureaucracies that teach
the art of wealth transfer, while simultaneously allowing the young
to hold on to their capital and credit; so that they can allocate
it in entrepreneurship. For if we cannot trust students to allocate
their own capital, can we trust administrations to? [0152] Nobody
spends somebody else's money as carefully as he spends his own.
Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he uses his
own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness, if you want
knowledge to be properly utilized, you have to do it through the
means of private property.--Milton Friedman
[0153] By entrepreneurship students can engage in the art of wealth
creation while funding their dreams and rendering their ideals real
in the realm of the novel video games inspired by the present
invention--as they get married and embark on that higher, yet
ever-waning venture--starting families. CREATE seeks just enough
capital to foster a fellowship, rooted in character and conviction,
devoted to creating a cultural renaissance, both in novel
gameworlds and beyond.
[0154] Joseph Campbell taught for thirty years at Sara Lawrence
College, sans significant overhead and a Ph.D.; and his passionate
work directly inspired the multi-billion-dollar Star Wars and
Matrix franchises (talk about artistic entrepreneurship &
technology!), while influencing countless movies, games, teachers,
and writers; and enriching tens of thousands with "myths to live
by" in these postmodern times. J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis
lived humbly; spending lifetimes teaching and writing, creating
entire empires with the simple tools of their trade that are
mightier than the sword--the pen wielded by courageous
imaginations. It has been said that those who can't do teach; but
when Hollywood needs a billion-dollar franchise, they always call
upon the teachers--the primary doers--those who first render ideals
on the frontlines of reality not by swords, but by pens. And so
often it is that those great teachers were inspired by even greater
teachers, including a blind man and two homeless men--Homer,
Socrates, and Jesus--who never wrote a single word between them.
The present invention would foster video games that allow the
player to join Homer, Socrates, and Jesus in fighting for
classical, exalted ideals.
[0155] Ideas Have Consequences is the title of a small, but
influential, book by Richard Weaver, and CREATE is based on the
premise that classical ideals have value in action. Opportunity
abounds to render classical ideals in technological innovations;
creating video games with soul and epic storytelling--where ideas
in gameworlds have consequences in gameworlds. Varying societal and
economic outcomes could be witnessed in virtual reality, depending
on the player's choices and actions--on their ideas rendered real
via action in the game world--which result in entities ranging from
Orwellian dystopias and bureaucracies to democratic republics
fostering peace and freedom. So it is that the player will be given
a more engaging experience with higher stakes; as epic meaning,
born by the battle for ideas which affect the player's
relationships and world, ups the ante in plot and character.
[0156] Opportunity abounds to render web technologies with digital
rights management for artists and creators, so that the authors and
inventors might realize their natural Constitutional rights in
protecting and profiting from their creations, manifesting
entrepreneurship's fundamental premise: the risk taker--the
investor, creator, artist, and innovator--ought get the reward. For
while classic entrepreneurship is marked by the creation of wealth;
all too often modern "entrepreneurship" has been characterized by
the transfer of wealth, which is the exact opposite of its true
form. While classic innovation was marked by physical engineering,
postmodern innovation is oft marked by financial engineering, by
which the wealth of true innovation is transferred to the managers
with the most creative accountants and PR departments, at a net
loss to the greater society, as deceit and subterfuge naturally
undermine and oppose the artist, poet, and prophet. The present
invention would foster video games that allow the player to join
Homer, Jefferson, Socrates, and Jesus in fighting for Natural
Rights and Property Rights.
[0157] Postmodernism, while oft providing the shortest path to
tenure, has also proven immensely profitable for those willing to
gain the world and sacrifice their souls; as bureaucracies profit
from groupthink and doublespeak. Indeed, bureaucracy often cannot
afford entrepreneurship and innovation, as such entities are
generally the province of the individual; and their existence
physically counters the mythical value of the bureaucracy, which
must pretend to generate wealth while merely transferring it. F. A.
Hayek predicts the inevitable, tragic results of placing too much
faith in top-down bureaucratic planning in The Road to Serfdom,
particularly in two chapters entitled The End of Truth and Why the
Worst Get on Top. The present invention would foster video games
that allow the player to join Hayek, Homer, Jefferson, Socrates,
and Jesus in fighting for Natural Rights, Freedom, Liberty, and
Property Rights. [0158] The tragedy of collectivist thought is
that, while it starts out to make reason supreme, it ends by
destroying reason because it misconceives the process on which the
growth of reason depends. It may indeed be said that it is the
paradox of all collectivist doctrine and its demands for
"conscious" control or "conscious" planning that they necessarily
lead to the demand that the mind of some individual should rule
supreme--while only the individualist approach to social phenomena
makes us recognize the superindividual forces which guide the
growth of reason. Individualism is thus an attitude of humility
before this social process and of tolerance to other opinions and
is the exact opposite of that intellectual hubris which is at the
root of the demand for comprehensive direction of social
purpose.--F. A. Hayek, The End of Truth, The Road to Serfdom
[0159] Hayek stated, "Society's course will be changed only by a
change in ideas," and Lord Keynes puts the onus on us to get those
ideas right: [0160] The ideas of economists and political
philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are
more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is
ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be
quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the
slaves of some defunct economist.--Keynes
[0161] But ideas are not enough, and Bogle reminds us of that Greek
form of honor by which everything is ultimately
accomplished--rendering word deed: "Action, always action is
required on the ever-dangerous odyssey that each of our lives must
follow." The present invention would foster video games that allow
the player to take action and to join Hayek, Homer, Jefferson,
Socrates, and Jesus in fighting for Natural Rights, Freedom,
Liberty, and Property Rights. Benjamin Franklin agrees: [0162] And
the Scripture assures me that at the last day we shall not be
examined by what we thought, but what we did . . . that we did good
to our fellow creatures.--Benjamin Franklin
[0163] CREATE takes these words to heart, which are bolstered by da
Vinici--that classic innovator, inventor, and Renaissance man--"I
have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not
enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough--we must do."
Like Neo, we must cross that threshold; like Frodo we must leave
the Shire and join that greater story we were born to partake in,
for Morpheus reminds us, "There is a difference between knowing the
path and walking it."
[0164] And the only risk is to take no risk; for to lose one's life
is to find it. So many great entrepreneurs had to be fired before
they set out on the path that lead towards their greater
apotheosis--they were forced across the threshold, and once beyond,
they were free to follow their ideals. And those ideals were
manifested in the elixir they eventually returned with, enriching
us all. Bogle jokes that he "left" his former job at the Wellington
Fund and launched Vanguard in the same manner, "fired with
enthusiasm."
[0165] The present invention would foster video games that allow
the player to take a risk--to go against the expert opinion and
create a new realm of video games and gaming--to join Hayek, Homer,
Jefferson, Socrates, and Jesus in fighting for Natural Rights,
Freedom, Liberty, and Property Rights.
IV. Meeting the Mentor: Bogle's Call to Adventure
[0166] Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man
skilled in all ways of contending, . . . . He saw the townlands and
learned the minds of many distant men, and weathered many bitter
nights and days in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only to
save his life, to bring his shipmates home.--Homer's Odyssey
[0167] In teaching the Greats we remember every teacher who ever
taught Homer and Socrates by deeds as well as words--we salute
every mentor who reached on back to Exodus for guidance in their
living ventures and thus helped ten thousand students cross that
impassible sea and choose rightly--we salute every professor who
while never stepping foot in a classroom, made the world their
college and university via books, speeches, and ventures--those
leaders who not only read the Founding Documents, Shakespeare, and
the Bible; but who, like Lincoln, took them to heart and enveloped
the eloquent idealists with their soul, and taught us all of
history's actualized relevance far better than postmodern
professors. The present invention would foster video games that
allow the player to join Hayek, Homer, Jefferson, Socrates, and
Jesus in fighting for Natural Rights, Freedom, Liberty, and
Property Rights.
[0168] "Who sows virtue reaps honor," wrote da Vinci, and time and
again it has been those who have acted upon Homer's and Socrates'
wisdom who have taught the unteachable; and in following the higher
ideals, they have exalted the bottom line. Jack Bogle is one such
mentor who teaches via matching word and deed, and he sounds the
bugle's "call to adventure" each semester in the opening pages of
The Battle For The Soul of Capitalism: [0169] The most recent
episode witnessed the culmination of an era in which our business
corporations and our financial institutions, working in tacit
harmony, corrupted the traditional nature of capitalism, shattering
both confidence in the markets and the accumulated wealth of
countless American families. Something went profoundly wrong,
fundamentally and pervasively, in corporate America . . . . At the
root of the problem, in the broadest sense, was a societal change
aptly described by these words from the teacher Joseph Campbell:
"In medieval times, as you approached the city, your eye was taken
by the Cathedral. Today, it's the towers of commerce. It's
business, business, business." We had become what Campbell called a
bottom-line society. But our society came to measure the wrong
bottom line: form over substance, prestige over virtue, money over
achievement, charisma over character, the ephemeral over the
enduring, even mammon over God."--The Battle for The Soul of
Capitalism, by John C. Bogle
[0170] As so many stories begin with an errant knight wandering
into a forest and happening upon an amulet, or goddess, or key (the
key to the journey), I first happened upon this most rare,
thundering passage in a Carolina bookstore in December 2005, while
contemplating the syllabus for the first Artistic Entrepreneurship
& Technology class which would be taught in the spring of 2006
at UNC; a class that would be based on Joseph Campbell's hero's
journey. And there was Jack Bogle--Wall Street's resident idealist,
who had resisted a thousand temptations and won a thousand
showdowns in the creation of Vanguard, and who I'd heard deliver a
most inspirational oration at Princeton the previous year--there he
quoted Campbell in stating we'd lost sight of epic story and "the
way things ought to be." The present invention would foster video
games that allow the player to follow Campbell's Hero's Journey on
out to the way things ought to be.
[0171] Bill Moyers' famous interview with Jospeh Campbell resulted
in a great book and DVD: The Power of Myth, which led to a
Campbellian revival. And Moyers' recent interview with Bogle
concludes with Bogle saluting the vast and of oft unheralded wealth
of the arts and literature. The class watches both interviews;
seeing that classical mythology pervades all successful
ventures--be it Star Wars or The Vanguard Group; be it Campbell's
The Hero With a Thousand Faces, or Bogle's Battle. [0172] I flipped
to the opening pages of Battle and saw these epigraphs: [0173] If
the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to
the battle?--St. Paul, Corinthians [0174] This above all: To thine
own self be true, and so it shall follow, as the night the day,
thou cans't not then be false to any other man.--William
Shakespeare, Hamlet [0175] A prophet is not without honor, save in
his own country.--Matthew [0176] We are not afraid to follow truth
wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason
is left free to combat it.--Thomas Jefferson [0177] Sometimes
people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an
American. America is the only idealistic nation in the
world.--Woodrow Wilson
[0178] Shakespeare, The Bible, Jefferson . . . all would be
featured in AE&T, and all will be featured in the novel video
games that this invention will foster and inspire! I bought Battle
right then and there in Carolina, for I had already started
underlining in the book. Leading with Battle would make teaching
the AE&T class easy, I reasoned, as with Jack's rich style,
majestic accomplishments, and constant references to the classics,
I would be able to whet the student's appetites--to convince them
that the classics are their greatest investment. It's not every day
someone creates a trillion-dollar enterprise, let alone one based
on principle. Surely, such mentors have something to say regarding
the art of entrepreneurship.
[0179] And it would be fun to teach Battle alongside The Odyssey
from where the very word mentor derives, as Athena, the goddess of
wisdom and beauty, disguises herself as a wise old man, named
Mentor, to help Telemachus; and so too might a game inspired by
this invention begin. The books would convince the students that
ideals trump avarice across all realms and ages, and that character
counts far more than all those entities they teach one to count in
accounting (and all too often to miscount these days). And when
Jack signed that same, beaten, dog-eared copy of Battle a little
over a year later in California, where he keynoted the first annual
Hero's Journey Entrepreneurship Festival, after getting up at 4 AM
in a Philadelphia snowstorm and flying 3,000 miles on the eleventh
anniversary of his miraculous heart transplant, he added the
inscription, "Press on, regardless." Simple words backed by
enormous deeds; which can never fade.
[0180] In the opening of Battle, Jack turns not to the vast
contributions of the Greatest Generation, nor his own
accomplishments (he oft jokes that he has a lot to be humble
about), but he humbly writes a heartfelt inscription to the
freshmen--and we're all freshmen in this class: [0181] My
generation has left America with much to be set right, You have the
opportunity of a lifetime to fix what has been broken. Hold high
your idealism and your values. Remember always that even one person
can make a difference. And do your part "to begin the world
anew."
[0182] Bogle's words speak to the students. They thunder to the
students, as the students are longing for a renaissance. Although
they come to college often taking on unprecedented debt which
contributes to the 50% divorce rate they will graduate
facing--where Odysseus and Penelope are tragically divided and
never reunited as the fiatocracy deconstructs the classics to place
all in service of the state and corporations; although the students
have grown up witnessing soulless scandal after scandal until
scandal has almost come to define the very nature of contemporary
business and government, and the pinnacle of postmodern success in
this "barrel of rotten apples;" they yet show up with immortal
souls that are born knowing of higher, nobler ways; and
inextinguishable yearnings for the thundering third act, whence
justice is rendered. Such is the distant thunder they hear in
Battle and The Odyssey. And the rest of the class pertains to how
best to proceed with the renaissance's exalted venture. The present
invention would foster video games that allow the player to heed
the call to adventure, fight for marriage and the family as did
Odysseus, and join Hayek, Homer, Jefferson, Socrates, and Jesus in
fighting for Natural Rights, Freedom, Liberty, and Property Rights,
rendering exalted ideals real, as ideas have consequences.
[0183] Again--in his Poetics Aristotle writes "while history tells
us the way things are, story tells us the way things ought to be,"
and he adds, "When storytelling declines the result is decadence."
Thus AE&T has a higher calling than short-term profits,
bringing to mind Captain Ahab's words: [0184] Nantucket market!
Hoot! But come closer, Starbuck; thou requirest a little lower
layer. If money's to be the measurer, man, and the accountants have
computed their great counting-house the globe, by girdling it with
guineas, one to every three parts of an inch; then, let me tell
thee, that my vengeance will fetch a great premium here! He smites
his chest.--Moby Dick
[0185] "It must be of the spirit if it is to save the flesh," said
General MacArthur, and this battle must ultimately be for a
renaissance in the classical liberal arts education; for ideas have
consequences. When we return the Greats to the center and
circumference of academia--their natural and rightful place--great
dividends will accrue on Wall Street and Main Street, in Hollywood
and the Heartland. If we fail to do this . . . well, we must not
fail. The present invention would foster video games that allow the
player to heed the call to adventure an dpursue the higher wealth
granted by virtuous word and deed, fight for marriage and the
family as did Odysseus, and join Hayek, Homer, Jefferson, Socrates,
and Jesus in fighting for Natural Rights, Freedom, Liberty, and
Property Rights, rendering exalted ideals real, as ideas have
consequences.
[0186] "Life imitates art," and ideals set down in ink have ever
preceded exalted action; and so it is that the present invention
will have far off and wide-ranging consequences in the contemporary
culture. Where would the front lines have found courage during the
American Revolution, without the poetry of The Declaration of
Independence, which Jefferson did not consider original, but
instead characterized with, "I did not consider it part of my
charge to invent new ideas altogether, and to offer no sentiment
which had ever been expressed before." And it is that very same
pervading history--that classical heritage--which the students must
be afforded so that they can foster lasting wealth by integrating
the epic soul in living ventures and institutions--in schools and
businesses--in the government and that far more fundamental
kingdom--the family.
[0187] I always ask the students what law and business schools the
framers of the Constitution--that foundational business plan and
legal guide for all ventures--attended. Some guess Harvard Law.
Others guess Yale or Princeton. Well, they attended the same law
school as Lincoln and Melville--as Shakespeare and Dante--the Great
Books and Classics; those foundational case studies which schooled
Emerson on entrepreneurial "self reliance" and Thoreau on "civil
disobedience," and which are ready to bolster and befriend any soul
who looks their way. 'Tis the school where admission is free, the
learning is never done, and there are no degrees. CREATE is but a
humble quest to partake in this higher institution.
[0188] Socrates stated that all true wealth comes from virtue, and
not virtue from wealth, and with this in mind, CREATE, and novel
video games inspired by the present invention, would teach Adam
Smith in his proper order, with A Theory of Moral Sentiments
preceding The Wealth of Nations. It is at the crossroads of Athens
and Jerusalem that the meaning of 1776's entrepreneurial
precepts--found both in Smith's and Jefferson's words--comes to
life: [0189] When in the Course of human events it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have
connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the
earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature
and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions
of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.
[0190] Those idealists who remain loyal to the Laws of Nature and
of Nature's God are oft deemed rebellious and cantankerous, and
vehemently opposed by Kings, Tyrants, and modern CEOs; just as they
would be in the novel video games inspired and made possible by the
present invention. But the true rebels and rugged players shall
fear no King's army, nor PR department in this novel FPS, for
Jefferson wrote: "I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God eternal
hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." How
many business schools include such simple sentiments in their
ethics class? While teaching students how to corrupt the housing
market via the marketing of subprime "neutron bomb" loans laden
with fine print, as fanboys hire and kill hookers and cops and jack
cars, while all the lovely Disney Sirens conceal their true
intentions, how many universities teach the greater value of the
home? [0191] But they could not persuade me or touch my heart.
[0192] Nothing is sweeter than your own country [0193] And your own
parents, not even living in a rich house--Homer's Odyssey
[0194] Bogle's Battle celebrates the spirit of 1776, and he quotes
Adam Smith and General Washington in a section on business ethics
which ought be read in every MBA program; or at least any MBA
program that considers it worthwhile to study the precepts
underlying trillion-dollar Wall Street ventures as well as
America's very engine of wealth--classic entrepreneurship founded
on character, integrity, and humble service. The present invention
would foster video games that allow the player to heed the call to
adventure, fight for classic entrepreneurship, marriage, and the
family as did Odysseus, and join Adam Smith, George Washington,
Hayek, Homer, Jefferson, Socrates, and Jesus in fighting for
Natural Rights, Freedom, Liberty, and Property Rights, rendering
exalted ideals real, as ideas have consequences: [0195] The idea
that values are intimately embedded in the practice of business was
hardly anathema to the worldly economists of the ages. Late in the
eighteenth century, even before Adam Smith extolled, in The Wealth
of Nations, the virtues of the invisible hand of competition and
the essential nature of personal advantage and self-interest in
making the world's economic system, work, he wrote The Theory of
Moral Sentiments. In that remarkable book he called for "reason,
principle, conscience, the inhabitant of the breast, the great
judge and arbiter of our conduct, who shows us the real littleness
of ourselves, the prosperity of generosity, of resigning the
greatest interests of our own for the greater interests of others,
the love of what is honorable and noble, the grandeur and dignity
of our own characters." Adam Smith with us again, but here as the
apostle of virtue. . . . Joseph Schumpeter identified a similar
spirit. Nearly a century ago, he described for us the motives of
the successful entrepreneur: "The joy of creating, of getting
things done, of simply exercising one's energy and ingenuity. . . .
the will to conquer, the impulse to fight, to succeed, not for the
fruits of success, but for success itself." [0196] In the 1930s
John Maynard Keynes followed suit, reminding us that numbers are
only numbers, quantities on a scoreboard that are only one
measure--and, truth told, hardly the best measure--of an
enterprise. Keynes emphasized that it was there merest pretense to
suggest that an enterprise is "mainly actuated by the statements in
its own prospectus, however candid and sincere . . . based on an
exact calculation of benefits to come." Rather, the key to success
is "animal spirits--a spontaneous urge to action rather than
inaction," warning that "if animal spirits are dimmed and the
spontaneous optimism falters, leaving us to depend on nothing but a
mathematical expectation, enterprise will surely die. [0197] These
three economists--surely among the greatest in history--are all
sending us the same message, advising us to put the greater
interest of others and the dignity of our own characters first, and
our own self-interest second; to put enterprise and animal spirits
first, and managing for the bottom line second; to put the joy of
creating and the will to conquer first, and the mindless conformity
of greed last . . . . [0198] . . . Again hear Adam Smith, "He is
certainly not a good citizen who does not wish to promote, by every
means of his power, the welfare of the whole society of his fellow
citizens." So it is essential that the owners of corporate America
speak up, speak out, and demand that our corporations and our fund
managers represent our interests rather than their own--the owners
first, the managers only second. [0199] We also would do well to
honor by our actions the words of the giant who was, all those
years ago, the first in the hearts of his countrymen. In his
farewell address in 1796, President George Washington reminded us
that "virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular
government), warning that "reason and experience both forbid us to
expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious
principle."--John C. Bogle, The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism,
Chapter 10, American Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century, To
Begin the World Anew.
[0200] "To begin the world anew," are the words that mark both the
beginning of Battle and its final chapter, and those very same
words also bookend Bogle's rugged optimism which never changes
course. "To begin the world anew," is the charge laid at the
student's feet; and 'tis every entrepreneur's humble task. Martin
Luther King recognized the importance of the epic, immortal spirit
whose exaltation becomes every generation's duty, "If we are to go
forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values--that
all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has
spiritual control." Emerson stated that the universe is ultimately
moral, and the present invention would foster video games that
allow the player to heed the call to adventure, fight for a more
exalted world and classical, epic ideals, as did King, Emerson,
Odysseus, and join Hayek, Homer, Jefferson, Socrates, and Jesus in
fighting for Natural Rights, Freedom, Liberty, and Property Rights,
rendering exalted ideals real, as ideas have consequences.
[0201] Here I go again, quoting Bogle quoting: [0202] A year ago,
in a talk on entrepreneurship that celebrated the 300th birthday of
Benjamin Franklin, I reflected on this 18th century connection with
a wonderful quotation: "Soon we shall know everything the 18th
century didn't know, and nothing it did, and it will be hard to
live with us." These words were the opening epigram of Building a
Bridge to the Eighteenth Century, by the late Neil
Postman--prolific author, social critic, and professor at New York
University. Postman's book presented an impassioned defense of the
old-fashioned liberal humanitarianism that was the hallmark of the
Age of Reason. His aim was to restore the balance between mind and
machine, and his principal concern was our move away from an era in
which the values and character of Western Civilization were at the
forefront of the minds of our great philosophers and leaders, and
in which the prevailing view was that anything that's truly
important must have a moral authority.--Bogle, Vanguard. Saga of
Heroes
V. Serving Student Demand for the Classical Spirit
[0203] The present invention would foster games serving rising
demand for the classical, epic, exalted spirit; wherein one gets to
pass judgment, reunite families, and kill the fanboys who hire and
kill prostitutes and cops, delivering exalted justice to them and
the gaming community. The rising generation, although born in a
declining fiatocracy which funds and institutes postmodernism and
debt, yet have immortal souls. And thus the demand for exalted,
epic art is as vast--just as vast as that art is in short and rare
supply. [0204] Laws will be wisely formed and honestly administered
in proportion as those who form and administer them are wise and
honest; whence it becomes expedient for promoting the public
happiness that those persons whom nature has endowed with genius
and virtue should be rendered by liberal education worthy to
receive and able to guard the sacred deposit of the rights and
liberties of their fellow citizens; and that they should be called
to that charge without regard to wealth, birth or other accidental
condition or circumstance.--Thomas Jefferson [0205] The job of an
educator is to teach students to see vitality in
themselves.--Joseph Campbell
[0206] Over 120 students applied for the first AE&T class a few
years back at UNC Chapel Hill, and the class has now been taught as
a high school class, freshman seminar, upper-level class, MBA
class, and class combining everyone--undergrads and grads, freshmen
with record labels, third year law students, MBAs, and computer
science majors. The Greats speak to all ages and majors, while
entrepreneurship beckons every soul to take ownership in destiny.
And if ever supply reaches demand on the university campus, all
students will be afforded the opportunity to read Bogle's Battle
for The Soul of Capitalism alongside Homer's Odyssey. Their
appetites whetted for the glory of the Greats, the students develop
business plans as they journey on through most useful works--works
including The Founding Documents, excerpts from Adam Smith and
Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Poetics, Campbell's Hero With a
Thousand Faces, Socrates' Apology, and Dante's Inferno, The Book of
Matthew, and other classical works. What do these works have to do
with video games, art, entrepreneurship, and technology? Well, as
long as art and entrepreneurship concerns itself with serving
society with wealth and freedom in a free-market system, then the
question is, "What don't the Greats have to do with
entrepreneurship, art, technology, and video games?" The present
invention will foster games that achieve the higher calling that
Socrates and Jesus were put to death for heeding.
[0207] The Greats have ever been the true center and circumference
of art and education, and hundreds of years from now, the soul's
center and circumference will not have changed; and thus this
present invention is suited for creating a brand new realm of epic,
classical video games, which will last for hundreds of years. Where
moral freedom and liberty yet walk hand-in-hand with innovation and
entrepreneurship, wealth will be fostered; and students shall learn
this in the novel "ideas have consequences" gameworlds. Where
humble individuals--the source of all art and science--remain free
to navigate by the classic ideals on their own hero's journeys--on
out past the bureaucracies of their day to where they can seize the
sword from the stone, society will be enriched, and students shall
learn this in the novel "ideas have consequences" gameworlds. The
lone visionary, who voyages beyond, is the very same one who
eventually returns home with the elixir; as sure as Odysseus
returns on home to Penelope, Dante ascends to Beatrice, and Moses
comes on down from that mountain with those ten tenets that proved
far more valuable than the golden calf he found his contemporaries
worshipping. I doubt he'd approve of us taking them off the walls,
and students shall learn this in the novel "ideas have
consequences" gameworlds.
[0208] Now and then faculty have remarked that the syllabus
presents an arduous reading list, especially for a business class,
but the reading list is what makes AE&T possible. For in these
cynical times, students might not believe Dr. E about the primary
importance of ideals in business and life--in enduring art,
technology, video games, and blockbusters; and so I step aside to
let Bogle, Fay, Homer, Campbell, Dante, Plato, Aristotle, the
Founding Fathers, da Vinci, Star Wars, 300, and The Matrix all
deliver the same message; leaving no doubt as to the vast value of
a classical liberal arts education. And after they read Carl
Schramm's Universities and the Entrepreneurial Imperative; it is
not too hard to convince them to "go forth and embody those
ideals--take ownership in your educations and lives via
action--take classes celebrating the Great Books, take rugged
hands-on courses in science and technology, and then roll up your
sleeves and render those ideals real in living ventures," such as
the present invention that will render and realize novel video
games with classical, epic, and exalted soul.
[0209] There is not time enough to give the Great Books their due
in a four-year college education, let alone a semester or festival,
and my chief aim is to create portals and novel video games as
those described in this invention, which will lead on out towards
lifetimes of learning; so that students might learn to keep a copy
of Homer beside one's bed, reference Jefferson or the Constitution
in a business plan, carry Dante while traveling; and learn to read
the news of the day--The Wall Street Journal and New York Times--in
the deeper context of the permanent things; so that they can resist
popular opinion and the "wisdom of crowds" should it ever eclipse
truth and freedom's ideals. As the entrepreneur is marked by the
quest to sail beyond the way things are, on out to the way things
ought to be, the epic stories are their most valuable asset--as
valuable as the fixed stars are to sailors navigating the open
ocean. To send students forth in life without rudimentary knowledge
of the Greats would be akin to sending sailors forth without
knowledge of the stars, and thus the novel games described herein
shall be best played by those who acquire classical learning and
wisdom.
[0210] So it is that the very least I can do is to design novel
games that aid in the teaching of this "Hero's Journey" class year,
after year, after year--to call the students to adventure by
teaching Battle alongside The Odyssey; before partaking in the
following books; by reading, by excerpting, by referencing, by
acting upon and rendering their ideals real; and by telling the
students that we ultimately have not the power to grade them--but
we would surely be failing them were we to neglect introducing them
to these epic schoolmasters. We've been given but one lifetime to
prepare for that final final, whence we will be asked not only if
we read and understood, but if we did.
[0211] Reading list for Dr. E's AE&T Class, & books Theat
will Help Players Make It Through The Novel Ideas Have Consequences
Video Games:
[0212] Opening Books:
[0213] The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism, John C. Bogle
[0214] The Odyssey, Homer
[0215] Mythology:
[0216] The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell
[0217] Philosophy:
[0218] Socrates' Apology, Plato
[0219] Plato's Republic (particularly Book VII & The Parable of
The Cave)
[0220] Aristotle's Poetics
[0221] The American Founding:
[0222] The Declaration of Independence
[0223] The Constitution
[0224] Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography
[0225] Economics
[0226] The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith
[0227] The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
[0228] The Entrepreneurial Imperative, Carl Schramm
[0229] The Road to Serfdom, F. A. Hayek
[0230] Classical Economics, Thomas Sowell
[0231] Religion:
[0232] Exodus (KJV)
[0233] The Book of Matthew (KJV)
[0234] Literature:
[0235] Hamlet, Shakespeare
[0236] Moby Dick, Herman Melville
[0237] Paradise Lost, Milton
[0238] Dante's Inferno
[0239] The present invention will allow us to imagine and exalt a
game wherein the above classics are brought to life along with
their deep, profound souls and spirits.
[0240] I know that I cannot begin to do these works justice in a
semester, let alone four years, but all I ask the students is that
they don't return the books at the end of semester; all of which
cost about the same as a single modern textbook; and that they
treat them as lifelong friends. For way leads onto way . . . and
all these books lead on back to eternity's common source--the moral
soul. And as the final assignment is a fifteen-page plan regarding
a new venture; in which one freshman took the opportunity to write
on how to improve the university, we also incorporate business
books:
[0241] Business: [0242] Own Your Own Corporation, by Garrett
Sutton, Robert T Kiyosaki, and Ann Blackman [0243] The Art of The
Start, by Guy Kawasaki [0244] Angel Investing: Matching Startup
Funds with Startup Companies--A Guide for Entrepreneurs, Individual
Investors, and Venture Capitalists by Mark Van Osnabrugge and
Robert J. Robinson
VI. All Roads Lead to Rome
[0245] As all roads lead to Rome, AE&T by and by evolved into a
Great Books course, navigating on back to the crossroads of Athens
and Jerusalem where a philosopher once stated, "the past is
prologue," and so it is that novel games, such as those implied by
the present invention, shall soon gain classical souls. For time
and again; when it came to business, art, law, entrepreneurship,
and technology--to management and leadership--I could find no
greater mentors than Franklin, Jefferson, Hamilton, Shakespeare, da
Vinci, and Dante--individuals who, like Newton, "stood upon the
shoulders of giants to see further." Indeed, at its most
fundamental level, law comes to us from art and epic poetry,
suggesting a more efficient way to teach the soul of screenwriting,
law, art, economics, and entrepreneurship all in the same class and
video game--simply exalt the Greats and classical principles. At
HerosJourneyRenaissance.org I write: [0246] The movie 300
demonstrated that the rising generation is longing for the
classical spirit and soul; and Artistic Entrepreneurship &
Technology 101 is revolutionizing academia with its simple precept
that the spirit of our law and literature--of The Constitution and
Hamlet--derive from the same place--the classical Judeo Christian
heritage. And so that which had been divided into business, law,
film, art, and accounting; is reunited in truth and the simplicity
of soul--in a classical liberal arts education--in a foundational
renaissance.
[0247] Aristotle's Poetics ought be required reading for every
gamewriter, screenwriter, and novelist, along with Homer; for if
the Greats cannot teach the art of storytelling, then it likely
cannot be taught. And lawyers and MBAs would also read the masters
at CREATE, as they played the novel "Ideas Have Consequences Video
Games," as Madison suggested in a letter he wrote to Jefferson
while contemplating the first textbook for the University of
Virginia's nascent law school: [0248] I have looked with attention
over your intended proposal of a textbook for the Law School. It is
certainly the very material that the true doctrines of liberty, as
exemplified in our Political system, should be inculcated on those
who are to sustain and administer it. It is, at the same time, not
easy to find standard books that will be both guides & guards
for the purpose. Sidney & Locke are admirably calculated to
impress on young minds the right of Nations to establish their own
Governments, and to inspire a love of free ones . . . . And on the
distinctive principles of the Government of our own State, and that
of the United States, the best guides are to be found in-- [0249]
1. The Declaration of Independence, as the fundamental act of Union
of these States. [0250] 2. The book known by the title of the
Federalist, being an Authority to which appeal is habitually made
by all & rarely declined or denied by many, as evidence of the
general opinion of those who framed & those who accepted the
Constitution of the United States on questions as to its genuine
meaning. [0251] 3. The Resolutions of the General Assembly of
Virginia in 1799, on the subject of the Alien & Sedition laws,
which appeared to accord with the predominant sense of the people
of the U.S. [0252] 4. The Inaugural Speech & Farewell Address
of President Washington, as conveying political lessons of peculiar
value; and that in the branch of the School of law which is to
treat on the subject of Government, these shall be used as the text
& documents of the school.
[0253] CREATE, and novel video games inspired by this invention,
would make sure that every student met the masters with the intent
of developing lifelong friendships, thusly resulting in superior
and exalted forms of education. The classics served Bogle quite
well throughout the creation and stewardship of Vanguard, as well
as during his multiple pursuits as student, humble entrepreneur,
author, lecturer, and writer; which while encompassing a remarkable
range, are yet all but one career--the career of an idealist. Mark
Twain found words for Bogle's occupation--"Always do right. This
will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
[0254] When Twain addressed the 1906 Congress regarding copyrights
and intellectual property, he did not reference case studies, but
he cut straight to the chase and referenced that original legal
scholar--Moses: [0255] I am aware that copyright must have a limit,
because that is required by the Constitution of the United States,
which sets aside the earlier Constitution, which we call the
decalogue. The decalogue says you shall not take away from any man
his profit. I don't like to be obliged to use the harsh term. What
the decalogue really says is, "Thou shalt not steal," but I am
trying to use more polite language."
[0256] So it is that the "spirit of the law" trumps "the letter of
the law" in the artist's soul, and CREATE agrees with Twain's
assessment of artists' rights--those artists who have practically
built web 2.0, but have yet to be compensated; as aggregator's
capitalism has eclipsed creator's capitalism; leading to the
decline of the music industry. While youtube received $1.6 billion
for aggregating artists, the artists received nothing; as they had
been told that they have no value as an individual, but only in the
context of a group. This parallels a greater transition, as Bogle
noted in Battle--manger's capitalism has eclipsed owner's
capitalism. It is as if the artists have to pay Tom Sawyer for the
privilege of painting his fence. Or, as Bogle might say, the
investors have to pay the mutual fund managers for the privilege of
receiving lower returns than those bestowed by the simple Vanguard
Index fund. Which brings us to the common, epic battle of the
hero's journey that would be exalted in games inspired by the
present invention--wherein the player--the worker, investor,
entrepreneur, and creator must perpetually fight the "good
fight"--to retain that which is rightfully theirs as dictated by
Natural Law. Jefferson, Washington, et al lead the charge against
King George, and the spirit of the American Revolution is echoed in
the following words: [0257] The classic system--owner's capitalism,
had been based on a dedication to serving the interests of the
corporation's owners in maximizing return on their capital
investment. But a new system developed--manager's capitalism--in
which, Pfaff wrote, "The corporation came to be run to profit its
managers, in complicity if not conspiracy with accountants and
managers of other corporations."--John C. Bogle, Founder and Former
Chairman of The Vanguard Group, The Battle for The Soul of
Capitalism [0258] There's a difference between us. You think the
people of this land exist to provide you with position. I think
your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go
to make sure that they have it.--William Wallace in Braveheart, by
Randall Wallace [0259] Man should not be in the service of society,
society should be in the service of man. When man is in the service
of society, you have a monster state, and that's what is
threatening the world at this minute.--Joseph Campbell, author of
Hero With a Thousand Faces
[0260] CREATE, and the novel video games inspired by the present
invention, would approach technology based on these enduring tenets
supporting individual rights, also echoed in the words of Smith,
Friedman, Hayek, and John Adams; in their reflections on individual
property rights and freedom: [0261] Nobody spends somebody else's
money as carefully as he spends his own. Nobody uses somebody
else's resources as carefully as he uses his own. So if you want
efficiency and effectiveness, if you want knowledge to be properly
utilized, you have to do it through the means of private
property.--Milton Friedman [0262] If history could teach us
anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked
with civilization.--Ludwig von Mises [0263] The system of private
property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for
those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do
not.--Fredrich August von Hayek [0264] The moment the idea is
admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of
God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to
protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.--John Adams [0265] The
directors of such companies, however, being the managers rather of
other people's money than of their own, it cannot well be expected
that they should watch over it with the same anxious vigilance with
which the partners in a private copartnery frequently watch over
their own. Like the stewards of a rich man, they are apt to
consider attention to small matters as not for their master's
honor, and very easily give themselves a dispensation from having
it. Negligence and profusion, therefore, must always prevail, more
or less, in the management of the affairs of such a company.--Adam
Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature And Causes of the Wealth of
Nations
[0266] So it is that the classical soul demands that artists must
be given software that allows them to protect and profit from their
creations, as well as video games that exalt classical ideals which
have exalted consequences when rendered via virtuous word and deed.
The recording industry has been demolished by postmodernism on
multiple fronts, as it eroded both the notion of classical property
rights and the epic narratives that bolstered the classical love
necessary to meaningful love songs; and thus epic stories which
define property rights and love are of fundamental essence to a
renaissance. DRM systems will be needed to protect the film and
music that is born by the individual artist's rendering of ideals.
And such art will contain the epic stories and ideals that underlie
the concept of natural rights and property rights--rights that will
be exalted novel video games described by the present
invention.
[0267] Opportunity abounds for entrepreneurs to marry classical
ideals to tomorrow's social networks and digital content sites;
allowing the artists to protect and profit from their creations.
CREATE envisions web-based content systems that afford creators
their natural property rights, and even a new breed of video games
could be created, which renders the dark outcomes of societies that
forgo natural rights, property rights, and their moral soul;
defined in Exodus and The Odyssey alike. Tomorrow's software
designers and game developers--tomorrow's arts entrepreneurs--can
benefit greatly from reading the Greats and rendering those ideals
in living ventures, endowing art and technology with soul.
[0268] As the past is prologue, CREATE envisions video games
wherein the player battles not just for points, but for ideas;
where they go up against not just graphically insidious monsters;
but those greater monsters that resulted in the twentieth century's
horrific atrocities--ideas that had grotesque and dire
consequences.
[0269] Benjamin Franklin--America's original entrepreneur--made a
list of twelve precepts to live by, whereupon he realized he'd
forgotten the most important one: "13. Humility: Imitate Socrates
and Jesus." For one cannot serve two masters, and what does it
profit one to gain the world and lose their soul? And with the same
courage that Achilles took to battle, Socrates addressed the
Athenian jury with a basic treatise on economics--the present
invention imagines games in which one could save Socrates, or exalt
in similar courage: [0270] For I do nothing but go about persuading
you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons
or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the
greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not
given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other
good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if
this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous
person. But if any one says that this is not my teaching, he is
speaking an untruth. Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do
as Anytus bids or not as Anytus bids, and either acquit me or not;
but whichever you do, understand that I shall never alter my ways,
not even if I have to die many times.--The Apology
[0271] Socrates did not get tenure for The Apology, but rather he
was sentenced to death by peer review; and if ever you should
sojourn into the ornate Princeton Chapel, you will see Socrates in
the stained glass, alongside the prophets. I oft wonder what artist
enshrined Socrates up there--a craftsman now long passed on--but
yet I remember them to my class, along with all kindred spirits and
unsung heroes in this community of immortal souls, who did their
essential part in propagating the vast wealth of our heritage.
Bogle quoted Helen Keller in his Vanguard: Saga of Heroes speech to
salute this fellowship of humble heroes: "I long to accomplish a
great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble
tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved
along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the
aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker."
[0272] I forwarded the above Socrates quote to Bogle, and it ended
up in another classic speech: Enough. Commencement Address MBA
Graduates of the McDonough School of Business by John C. Bogle,
founder, The Vanguard Group Upon receiving the Honorary Degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown University. The speech
opens with: [0273] Here's how I recall the wonderful story that
sets the theme for my remarks today: At a party given by a
billionaire on Shelter Island, the late Kurt Vonnegut informs his
pal, the author Joseph Heller, that their host, a hedge fund
manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned
from his wildly popular novel Catch 22 over its whole history.
Heller responds, "Yes, but I have something he will never have . .
. Enough." [0274] Enough. I was stunned by its simple eloquence, to
say nothing of its relevance to some of the vital issues arising in
American society today. Many of them revolve around money--yes,
money--increasingly, in our "bottom line" society, the Great God of
prestige, the Great Measure of the Man (and Woman). So this morning
I have the temerity to ask you soon-to-be-minted MBA graduates,
most of whom will enter the world of commerce, to consider with me
the role of "enough" in business and entrepreneurship in our
society, "enough" in the dominant role of the financial system in
our economy, and "enough" in the values you will bring to the
fields you choose for your careers.
Bogle,--http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20070518.htm
[0275] The novel games inspired by the present invention will teach
that the greater rewards are not in hiring and killing prostitutes
and jacking cars and killing innocent civilians, but they are in
serving the classical, weightless, higher ideals, like The Man With
No Name does, in fistful of Dollars, when he finally rides away on
his donkey, leaving the gold behind, as he had come not for the
money, but for justice--to reunite the family and render justice to
the gangsters. The novel video games implied and described in this
present invention will allow the player to render that higher
justice, reunite the family, and leave the gold behind.
VII. Battles & Odysseys to Come
[0276] There is nothing, in my little reading, more ancient in my
memory than the observation that arts, sciences, and empire had
traveled westward.--John Adams
[0277] And so CREATE and a brand new breed of video games will ride
with the Greats in rendering ideals real, following the lead of the
first three years of the AE&T classes: freshman seminars, upper
level courses, and MBA classes, and continue hosting HJEF festivals
which have been held in a business school, a law school, and a
music venue. The classics come to life on the cutting edge, and
this year's HJEF hosted Flint Dille and John Zuur, award-winning
authors of the #1 book on video game design, who emphasized the
importance of classic story and the hero's journey in their own
pioneering odyssey--defining a brand new art form.
[0278] Bogle's Battle for The Soul of Capitalism shall sound the
definitive bugle on that first day for years to come, and the
AE&T students will rush to the front lines of the renaissance
in reading Battle alongside Homer's Odyssey--a most pertinent book
to the American spirit, for in his later years Jefferson wrote,
"One by one they all fall away, until one is left with Virgil and
Homer, and perhaps Homer alone." Students and gamers will exalt in
this classical spirit--join in this epic battle for higher
ideals--for that freedom which requires eternal vigilance--in this
brand new realm of games and gaming.
[0279] Both Battle and The Odyssey tell the same story that will be
told in the video games inspired by this brave new
invention--character, integrity, ingenuity, and ideals are most
practical tools when it comes to defeating the lumbering, one-eyed
bureaucratic Cyclops, resisting the temptations of the mutual fund
marketing Sirens, battling the suitors and croupiers who have been
living off one's estate, and reclaiming that ultimate treasure--the
home and family--Ithaca, faithful Penelope, and Telemachus, whose
coming of age Odysseus witnesses in the final battle. Not only have
Universities been leaving billions on the shelves in the form of
the classical tenets applied in the business realm, but they have
been leaving that far higher wealth there too--that which cannot be
counted down in dollars from the mint--Campbell's "myths to live
by" which alone can enrich the impoverished spiritual realm. Too
often those myths have been exiled in the name of short-term
profits; as character and integrity--the founts of true, long-term
wealth--get in the way of the quick buck. And so it is that the
novel "ideas have consequences" video games shall result in epic
profits for those bold enough to implement and exalt the present
invention.
[0280] While an MBA is given transient tools to assess the price of
housing hedge funds relative to interest rates, as taxpaying
home-owners bail out the banks that foreclose on their houses; the
university oft forgets to grant MBAs the more permanent tools to
assess and preserve the far greater value of the home. When
presented with the opportunity to stay forever young with a
goddess, Odysseus opts to shove off and risk death in the stormy
seas so as to return on home to his faithful Penelope. Too many
modern leaders and politicians never read The Odyssey in college,
but tomorrow's students ought be afforded the exalted spirit their
souls naturally demand; and which Jefferson et al pledged their
lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honors to bestow to future
generations, as they "gave us a republic," in Franklin's words, "if
you can keep it." John Adams wrote, "Our Constitution was made only
for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the
government of any other." And so it is that the novel "ideas have
consequences" video games shall result in epic profits for those
bold enough to implement and exalt the present invention, exalting
a renaissance which inspires people to keep this republic by
fighting of, by, and for the better angels of their nature.
[0281] The Odyssey, like all great books and lasting endeavors,
endures via the beauty of its moral story which emboldens our
better angels and grants us mere mortals courage, as it shows that
even the greatest heroes suffer immeasurably in their battle for
ideals. Who are we to complain or feel slighted when even the
mighty Odysseus must dress as a beggar in his own home, which has
been overrun by a mob of lesser men and croupiers? Who are we to
complain when fanboys attack the novel precepts in this invention?
For their countering and condescending fiat fanboy opinions--their
snarky and thorough dismissal of the Great Books and Classics--of
Shakespeare, the Bible, and the Constitution--lend to this
invention's very patentability.
[0282] We are drawn to the Greats for the very same reason we seek
the mountains and oceans--their serene immensity reminds us of the
smallness of our trials; and too, it reminds us of the exalting
eternity of our soul. Something about us, we know, lies beyond
death and taxes. Is it any mystery then, that the wealthy are drawn
to donate to universities, following in the footsteps of the
original donors of greater wealth? Donors with names like Cicero,
Socrates, Solomon, and Shakespeare; who didn't climb mountains
because they were there; but built them because they weren't.
Mountains and oceans pervade the greats; from Mount Sinai to Noah's
flood, which Melville pointed out yet covers two-thirds of the
earth. And thus there is yet plenty of room for a brave new fleet
of games based on this present invention.
[0283] The name Odysseus means "man of woe and suffering," and it
is a hallmark of Western Culture, and every Hollywood epic, that
the noblest oft suffer to serve ideals. And we can never forget the
brave soldiers all around the world: [0284] Never in the history of
the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and
liberty of total strangers than the American soldier. And, our
soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they preserve it for us
here at home. For it has been said so truthfully that it is the
soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the
press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of
speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the
freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves
beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag who gives that
protester the freedom he abuses to burn that flag.--Zell
Miller,
[0285] There they are, standing for ideals and selflessly serving
without ever drawing attention to the arduous journey or any
personal suffering. And art ought pay solemn tribute to this--not
to the glory nor horror of war--but the glory of the soldiers. "We
all did a bit of dying in that war," the Outlaw Jose Wales states,
as blood drips on his shoe--the only visible sign that he has been
wounded. At the end of the journey, when they have saved the world
from a darker fate, their only wish is that they could have done
better and more. And while they're spread far and wide, the very
least we can do is battle for the American soul with words, art,
and a renaissance back home; so as to make sure that that
Constitution they swore to defend is yet here when they return on
home. So it is that this present invention would foster video games
that would reward those who are willing to suffer to serve higher
ideals.
[0286] Bogle makes rugged battle look easy in his books and
speeches, as Tiger Woods does for golf, but look closely and one
sees the immense dedication, soul, and inspired talent the creation
of Vanguard took--epic battles which show that Homer's words are
not to be found upon dusty old parchments alone, but that they yet
thunder in living history. The present invention would exalt novel
games that exalted the classical precepts found in the dusty
parchments.
[0287] Odysseus presents his stoic humor as storms and death
threaten the long journey ahead, "Well, I have made it this far, I
do not believe it can get any worse, but yet I am curious to see."
Herodotus recounts that when a Spartan was told that the Persian
arrows come down so thick that they form a cloud of death, the
Spartan smiled and said, "then we shall fight in the shade." And
Odysseus shoves off from safety with his principle intact and home
in his heart, to risk death in the wild unknown; but knowing that
the greater risk lies in abandoning his dream of Penelope; and
knowing too that there is no force that can take his ideals from
him, if he does not abandon them. So too did Lincoln note that with
oceans on either side, no enemy could take America, save for one
from within. Socrates reasoned that although death catches up with
all, the immortal soul has a unique chance of outrunning wickedness
via noble action; and that while the Athenian jury could condemn
his mere body to death; they had no power over his immortal soul.
Jesus stated that he was not king of this world, but rather the
realm of ideals, where Pontius Pilate had no power to free him nor
condemn him. The present invention would exalt novel games that
exalted the classical wisdom of Great Religions, rewarding players
for moral actions.
[0288] Socrates saw his quest for truth and virtue every bit as
dangerous as the heroes in The Iliad, and reflected that he would
be quite the coward and do Achilles a great disservice, were he
ever to alter his words and depart from speaking truth out of fear
of mere death, which comes to all. "A coward dies a thousand times
before his death," Shakespeare wrote, and this is the Western
Heritage that Homer and Moses agreed on--wherein honest beggars are
greater than corrupt kings and Pharisees; where the righteous
entrepreneur who gains wealth via service would be favored in the
natural order over the bureaucrat who gains wealth via fiat. They
all agreed: [0289] When the Great Scorekeeper comes to write
against your name, [0290] He asks not whether you won or lost, but
how you played the game.--Grantland Rice
[0291] The present invention would exalt novel games that exalted
that higher score--far beyond mere points, money, cops killed, and
monsters slain. The present invention would exalt Character in the
game world, and thus plot and story, first and foremost, far over
spectacle and cop killing, drugs, and Grand Theft.
[0292] This yearning for moral truth and justice is the natural
fount of Western wealth that Shakespeare and Dante celebrated, and
should we ever cease to teach it, we will have ceased to teach.
Though I attended Princeton, as did Bogle, I will yet admit that
Harvard is also a fine school. Harvard leads the world's
universities with a $35 billion endowment, and yet a recent Harvard
Dean was driven to write a book entitled, "Excellence Without Soul,
How a Great University Forgot Education," echoing the fact that
like modern video games, our finest universities also lack
soul.
[0293] Derek Bok, a former president of Harvard, wrote: [0294] . .
. the lack of attention that most faculties pay to the growing body
of research about how much students are learning and how they could
be taught to learn more. Hundreds of studies have accumulated on .
. . improving critical thinking, moral reasoning, quantitative
literacy, and other skills vital to undergraduate education . . .
yet . . . fewer than 10 percent of college professors pay any
attention to such work . . . . College faculties have long been
able to ignore education research and avoid discussions of teaching
methods because they risk no adverse consequences.--Derek Bok, "Are
Colleges Failing? Higher Ed Needs New Lesson Plans," Boston
Globe
[0295] Well, CREATE, and the video games fostered by this new
invention, would be offering that new lesson plan, which is
actually an old lesson plan--the classics which shall bolster the
rising renaissance in the form of video games, literature, film,
and exalted art.
[0296] When movies forget the thundering third act whence justice
is rendered, they shall cease being art. In the original 3:10 to
Yuma, the good guy lives and the bad guy goes to jail. In the
recent Hollywood remake, the good guy dies and the bad guy gets
away free, as postmodern producers get away with murder. Again,
"life imitates art," and modern mutual funds and financial
institutions also get away with billions upon billions of dollars
derived from financial "engineering," "sub-prime" accounting
standards, and transaction fees; as if trading stocks is more
important than creating products; as if Casinos generate more
wealth than factories; as if gambling and subterfuge can replace
long-term wealth generation via entrepreneurship's classic
integrity, as if spectacle shall forever trump character and story.
Well, in his Poetics, Aristotle ranked the elements of dramatic
action in order of importance, placing story and character first;
and spectacle last. Again, "when storytelling declines, the result
is decadence," and in the original Beowulf our hero slays Grendel's
mother, but in the Hollywood remake, he sleeps with her. The
present invention would exalt video games over the current fanboy
films and games; and allow the player to play for higher ideals, a
higher score based on Character and Morality, as implied in an
earlier patent application of mine, and exalted art.
[0297] Bogle laments our modern taste for spectacle over
substance--for bread and circuses--and he calls upon us to join
Odysseus in putting our house in order: [0298] I get right to the
point in the very first paragraph: "Capitalism has been moving in
the wrong direction." [0299] The introduction that follows doesn't
let up. I start off with a remarkably light revision of the classic
first paragraph of Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, adapted to the present era. Compare the two first
sentences. Gibbon: "In the second century of the Christian Era, the
Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth and the
most civilized portion of mankind." Battle: "As the twentieth
century of the Christian era ended, the United States of America
comprehended the most powerful position on earth and the wealthiest
portion of mankind." [0300] So when I add Gibbon's
conclusion--"(Yet) the Roman Empire would decline and fall, a
revolution which will be ever remembered and is still felt by the
nations of the earth"--I'm confident that thoughtful readers do not
miss the point. But of course I hammer it home anyway: "Gibbon's
history reminds us that no nation can take its greatness for
granted. There are no exceptions." As one of two reviews--both very
generous--of The Battle that appeared in The New York Times noted,
"Subtle Mr. Bogle is not." [0301] No, I'm not writing off America.
But my certain trumpet is warning that we must put our house in
order. "The example of the fall of the Roman Empire ought to be a
strong wake-up call to all of those who share my respect and
admiration for the vital role that capitalism has played in
America's call to greatness. Thanks to our marvelous economic
system, based on private ownership of productive facilities, on
prices set in free markets, and on personal freedom, we are the
most prosperous society in history, the most powerful nation on the
face of the globe, and, most important of all, the highest exemplar
of the values that, sooner or later, are shared by the human beings
of all nations: the inalienable rights to "life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness."--John Bogle, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes,
[0302] http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20070227.htm
[0303] Without the sanctity of epic story, we might as well just
inflate grades and tuitions and transform the university endowment
into the perfect Grand Theft administrative mutual fund, where the
investors--the students--receive no returns on their investments,
just like the civilians who have their cars stolen in GTA, and
wherein the investors leave not empty-handed, but with great
debt--both monetary and spiritual, just as the kids who spend their
days playing GTA; just when they should be reading the Odyssey,
launching entrepreneurial ventures, getting married, and working
not just for houses, but for homes--society's fundamental bedrock,
wherein the children learn all those fundamental virtuous entities
that cannot be taught anywhere else, but only hinted at and
satirized in government bureaucracies; which some see as useful in
fostering the growth of further bureaucracies. If universities
forget to salute 1984, Animal Farm, The Road to Serfdom, and A
Brave New World by reading them, society will salute these works by
reenacting them, as ideas have consequences. Entrepreneurship--that
magical, mysterious mechanism of long-term wealth creation--must
never be institutionalized as its opposite: burgeoning
bureaucracies that must increase taxes and tuitions, which must
promote debt and doublespeak, and which must exile the honest
innovators and creative souls--society's true founts of wealth, who
serve via frugality, thrift, and idealism. The present invention
will foster video games that show the consequences of ideas.
[0304] For 2800 years humanity has passed The Odyssey and The Bible
on down--to the Adam Smith, The Founding Fathers, Cecil B. Demille,
and Sergio Leone--as the epics contain the moral truths that were
etched into reality long before Homer ever called upon the Muse;
and which will prevail long after the bureaucracies of our day have
faded away. For make no mistake; the great books cannot be
deconstructed, and they will prevail. It is not wise to hedge
against the immortal soul--one might as well bet against eternity,
and those who hedge against the immortal soul in the video game
worlds implied by this present invention, shall lose.
[0305] The Odyssey speaks to that reality which science cannot
apprehend, and without which all economics is for naught. The
Greats render our mythical reality wherein Moses came not out of
Starbucks after studying case studies about opinions of committee's
opinions, but wherein he comes down off the mountain after
conversing the with Judge of all judges, to teach us that
fundamental tenet of economics 101: "Thou shalt not steal,"--a
narrative found not in a textbook, but in an epic story included in
the bestselling book of all time--year in and year out. The Odyssey
sees the highest god Zeus as the protector of strangers and
beggars; and the poem lauds Odysseus for treating Kings and beggars
equally before the law--a principle enshrined in the Roman frieze
above the US Supreme Court "Equal Justice Under Law"--words that
echo the truth that is etched into every immortal soul by that more
enduring Sculptor. Vanguard was founded on such principles: [0306]
As I expressed, over and over again, praise and appreciation for
the crew's efforts, I constantly warned of the perils of
bureaucracy--the challenge from within--and of the need to treat
one-another "from the highest to the humblest," with respect,
honor, and decency.--Character Counts, The Creation and Building of
The Vanguard Group, by John C. Bogle, p. 82
[0307] And so too shall character count in the video games inspired
by the present invention.
[0308] We owe it to the students to pass along the context in which
Adam Smith composed and in which the Invisible Hand operates to
create the wealth of nations--that epic mythological context which
rust cannot tarnish and thieves cannot steal; those patient books
of classical antiquity that can be ignored for hundreds of years,
as they were during the dark ages, but which can never be
forgotten, and that classical context shall be passed along in the
novel video games described in this present invention. The books
that will wait for a Dante and da Vinici; or a Jefferson, Franklin,
Hamilton, Adams, and Madison; or a Bogle or Hanson, and will then
spring forth in the living context; those books which embolden the
better angels of our nature, which exalt our Natural Rights, and
which bestow upon us that highest of all wealth--moral meaning.
[0309] Bogle salutes the Founding Fathers--those brave renderers of
classical principle--throughout his most eloquent books and
speeches; and his signature would have been on The Declaration of
Independence had he only been born a couple hundred years earlier.
The vast and continuing success of the Vanguard Group, married to
the epic story of its idealistic creation and implementation,
definitively teaches that fundamental lesson that has become the
class's center and circumference--ideals are real, they are one's
greatest investment, and one buys in not via money; but via
character, integrity, and action in the service of principles and
one's peers. By humbling itself before the simple rules of
arithmetic and principled common sense, Vanguard's returns have
regularly outpaced the vast majority of funds; and I tell the
students that even greater returns can be found by taking Bogle's
words to heart; by underlining and highlighting Battle (as I began
to do before even buying the book in Carolina), and following all
the classical references on out towards their sources. For those
classical wellsprings of the soul shall never run dry; and while
Vanguard has enriched millions of investors, Bogle's greater gifts
are his words--his immortal call to adventure and action, backed by
the epic story of his own ventures defined by action.
VIII. CREATE'S Elixir: Ideals In Innovation & Patents
[0310] Our colleges, universities, and business schools should be
at the very heart of entrepreneurial capitalism as the biggest
contributors to the changing economic landscape. But they are not .
. . . Instead of aiding economic change, they are in many cases a
hindrance, which is one of the greatest ironies of our age.
Many--if not most--of our great universities were founded by
entrepreneurs and were intended to be entrepreneurial in their own
right, but they have not turned out that way.--Carl Schramm, The
Entrepreneurial Imperative [0311] This ignorance of Greek wisdom
should be of crucial interest to every American--not because the
West is being supplanted by some global multiculturalism (as so
many academics proclaim), but quite the opposite: because its
institutions and material culture are now overwhelming the world.
The Greeks--and the Greeks alone--bequeathed us constitutional
government, individual rights, freedom of expression, an open
economy, civilian control of the military, separation of religious
and political authority, private property, free scientific inquiry
and open dissent. And for better or worse, these are the things
most on this earth now desire . . . . But it is foolish--and
dangerous--to embrace these conventions of the West without
understanding that the Greeks also insisted that such energy was to
be monitored and restrained by a host of cultural protocols that
have nearly disappeared: civic responsibility, philanthropy, a
world view that is rather absolute, a belief that life is not nice,
but tragic and ephemeral (Greek words both), a chauvinism of the
middle class and an insistence on self-criticism. The death of the
Greeks means an erasure of an entire way of looking at the world, a
way diametrically opposite to the new gods that now drive America:
therapeutics, moral relativism, blind allegiance to progress and
the glorification of material culture. Who Killed Homer? Victor
Davis Hanson & John
Heath--http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/sepoct/articles/h-
omer.html And so it is that the need and place for the present
invention, and the classical video games it would exalt, is
emphasized.
[0312] So it is that we propose a game world that exalts a novel
fellowship; either within a university or independent of one; that
seeks to combine entrepreneurship's rugged action with the
inspiration and wisdom of the Great Books and Classics; that
renders ideals real in innovation and performs the classical ideals
in the contemporary context. No large sums of funding are requested
to develop such novel video games, which could be built by layering
classical ideals and the present algorithms of the present patent
on top of and within existing game engines; but rather enough to
continue the humble service to the classical ideals, which were
given freely. Bolstered by unyielding passion and commitment, and
an ever-growing fellowship of students, faculty, and professionals;
the long-term dividends on a modest investment will be great for
developers of the early games based on this patent, as we let
antiquity's ideals guide innovation.
[0313] My physics Ph.D. dissertation was entitled "Multiple Unit
Artificial Retina Chipset to Aid the Visually Impaired and Enhanced
CMOS Phototransistors." Supported with generous grants from the
Fight for Sight Foundation and NSF, the dissertation won a Merrill
Lynch Innovations award for research with commercial potential; and
I got to dine with David Komansky, then Merrill's CEO, on the top
floor of the World Trade Center's Windows on The World Restaurant,
before it was tragically brought down on 9/11. It was actually the
very same week that Long Term Capital Management--headed by a
couple Nobel Laureates in economics, lost a couple billion in a
sudden collapse, suggesting that physical engineering is generally
of more use in helping people see long-term returns than financial
engineering. A few weeks later Merrill Lynch would hire Henry
Blodget to say one thing while thinking another as an analyst.
Henry's a bit older than me, and although he attended Yale and I
Princeton, I doubt that he was ever assigned The Iliad either, as
it seems the ivies had run the numbers and determined that the
classical spirit gets in the way of short-term profiteering: [0314]
For as I detest the doorways of Death, I detest that man, who hides
one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks forth
another.--Achilles, The Iliad
[0315] Imagine a video game that let one place honor above all
else.
[0316] Eliot Spitzer published Blodget's emails in which Blodget
stated publicly "We do not see much more downside to the shares,"
while writing privately, "ATHM is such a piece of crap!" Spitzer
also attended Princeton, and I do not suppose anyone ever assigned
The Odyssey to him either. The present invention would thus serve a
need of education those on Wall Street, or any other profession,
which are all declining to serve the bottom line over the higher
ideals, with a video game that exalted and rewarded higher ideals.
For Socrates and Aristotle and Plato all understood that the young
must be taught the difference between good and bad, between right
and wrong, if we are to avoid a "Grand Theft" society, where
Blodget and Spitzer take what they want and hire prostitutes, just
like a player in GTA. Both Blodget and Spitzer would benefit
immensely from the educational and spiritual value of the present
invention. When offered the opportunity to stay forever young with
the Goddess Calypso, Odysseus states: [0317] Goddess and mistress,
don't be angry with me, [0318] I know very well Penelope, [0319]
For all her virtues, would pale beside you. [0320] She's only
human, and you are a goddess, [0321] Eternally young. Still, I want
to go back. [0322] My heart aches for the day I return to my home.
[0323] If some god hist me heard as I sail the dark purple, [0324]
I'll weather it like the sea-bitten veteran I am. [0325] God knows
I've suffered and had my share of sorrows [0326] In war and at sea.
I can take more if I have to.--The Odyssey 5.215-24
[0327] The freshmen love these words, as it is perhaps the most
often referenced passage in their papers and classroom discussions.
Blodget and Spitzer could have benefited from taking The Iliad and
The Odyssey to heart, as well as The Battle for The Soul of
Capitalism, and I pledge to make sure that the rising generation is
afforded this vast and enduring wealth. "God knows I've suffered
and had my share of sorrows. In war and at sea. I can take more if
I have to." And so it is that the video games exalted by the
present invention will exalt those Homeric ideals. The main
character may suffer and sacrifice to serve the higher ideals, but
only by them shall they ever make it home.
[0328] I never sought to patent the artificial retina research, as
it was supported by the taxpayers; and its purpose was to help the
blind. And I felt that Faraday, Newton, James Clerk Maxwell,
Einstein, Brillouin, et al. had already done the heavy lifting--I
merely had the opportunity to combine the physics in a novel
manner. Call me idealistic, or even naive during the dotcom era,
but Benjamin Franklin had never patented his innovations, and the
present invention would foster games in which one might also give
their intellectual wealth, or any wealth for that matter, freely.
Though he could have profited immensely from numerous inventions
including the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, he
wrote: [0329] Gov'r. Thomas was so pleas'd with the construction of
this stove, as described in it, that he offered to give me a patent
for the sole vending of them for a term of years; but I declin'd it
from a principle which has ever weighed with me on such occasions,
viz., That, as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of
others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any
invention of ours; and this we should do freely and
generously.--Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography [0330] Carl Schramm
echoes the sentiments of Franklin's words: [0331] Despite
bureaucracies and high costs, universities create huge amounts of
new knowledge. Unfortunately, they have looked upon their research
activities recently as a way to become rich, by selling the
intellectual property produced, instead of--as historically had
been done--making it available for free as a public good. Carl
Schramm, The Technology Transfer Mess, Universities and the
Entrepreneurial Imperative, The Entrepreneurial Imperative
[0332] The fundamental flaw of technology transfer departments is
that they often try to transfer the technology out of the
innovator's hands--an action that just as often results in the
innovator transferring themselves 3,000 miles away, along with
their technology and innovations. The ideal technology transfer
office would be a copy of the US Constitution, and thus a novel
game implied by this present invention may implement a Constitution
in place of a tech transfer department. Schramm writes, [0333] The
proliferation of offices of technology transfer that can be found
on at least three hundred fifty campuses, compared with the very
small number of discovery-producing universities, suggests that
many schools have unrealistic perceptions of their faculties'
research. If you divide the aggregate revenues resulting from
university research by the number of technology transfer offices,
you find that each university on average is receiving just $3
million annually, a small amount given the tens of billions of
research dollars universities receive every year.--Carl Schramm,
The Technology Transfer Mess, Universities and the Entrepreneurial
Imperative, The Entrepreneurial Imperative
[0334] Schools such as Stanford respect the innovators; and are
duly rewarded, as the founders of the likes of Yahoo, Google, and
Silicon Graphics are allowed to grow their ventures to fruition.
"If you're smart enough to invent it, you're smart enough to own
it," I teach my class, which sometimes grates against the MBA
mythology which generally preaches "manager's capitalism" which
relies on the transfer of wealth and financial engineering, as
opposed to the creation of wealth and physical engineering. Bogle
time and again reminds us that "capitalism without owners will
fail." And the true owners of are those who take the risk--the
investors, innovators, and creators. Innovators ought own their
innovations, investors ought own their investments, and creators
ought own their creations, with the same passion Charleton Heston
delivered Moses's lines in Cecil B. Demille's The Ten Commandments:
[0335] The evil that men should turn their brothers into beasts of
burden, to be stripped of spirit, and hope, and strength . . . . If
there is a god, he did not mean this to be so.
[0336] Grad students and young professors ought remember Leonidas's
words. When King Xerxes told the Spartans to surrender their
weapons, King Leonidas answered, "come and take them!" Sentiments
Heston echoed with, "They will pry this rifle from my cold, dead
hands!"
[0337] And so it is that garners may embody the same strong
sentiments in games implied and fostered by the present invention,
as they fight for the Bill of Rights.
[0338] All too often one hears that it's one type of person who is
suited to founding and inventing--the "entrepreneur"--and another,
who wears a suit and has an MBA, who is better suited to owning and
managing--to sprinkling the magic MBA dust on the technology or
pension fund or student debt and "transferring" it. But I imagine
Steven Jobs, Mark Cuban, and Richard Branson would disagree; along
with Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison,
the Wright Brothers, and all the grad students who are pushed
around by the wealth-transfer bureaucrats and bullies--grad
students such as Achilles, who delivers this speech to Agamemnon
who has just taken Achille's prize:
[0339] You bloated drunk,
[0340] With a dog's eyes and a rabbit's heart!
[0341] You've never had the guts to buckle on armor in battle
[0342] Or come out with the best fighting Greeks
[0343] On any campaign! Afraid to look Death in the eye,
[0344] Agamemnon? It's far more profitable
[0345] To hang back in the army's rear--isn't it?--
[0346] Confiscating prizes from any Greek who talks back
[0347] And bleeding your people dry. There's not a real man
[0348] Under your command . . . .
[0349] The Iliad, I.236-245
[0350] The present invention would inspire games in which one could
speak Achille's classic words to modern bureaucrats of the
wealth-seizing fiatocracy. By and by we gain insight into the
incentives University bureaucracies/fiatocracies might have to
phase out the Greats, and we see that the novel video games
described in this invention are opposed by the fiactocracy's
faculties, who have been bought and paid for with federal dollars.
The misguided "tech-transfer/wealth-transfer" philosophy, which
counters Western Civilization's central tents, shines forth in
today's financial industry, as the University justifies the vast
costs of MBA and JD educations with degrees that entitle the holder
to engage in postmodern wealth transfer. Bogle writes, [0351] The
problem goes far beyond the few renegades I have listed as bad
apples. The traditional nature of capitalism has been distorted,
and today's version is riddled with problems reflected in serious
manipulation of financial statements. Indeed, since the market
crash, some 1,570 publicly owned firms have restated their earlier
financial statements, including come of our largest global
corporations, such as Royal Dutch/Shell, the giant oil company,
Schering-Plough, Qwest, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Xerox, and
Halliburton.--Battle, page 22 [0352] Two centuries ago, Thomas
Jefferson said, "I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy
of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our
government in a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of
our country." The recent era of manager's capitalism presents one
more example of the consequences of allowing "the aristocracy of
free reign."--Battle, page 40
[0353] So it is that the less one teaches Bogle, Jefferson, and the
rugged classics, the more one is generally paid, as the
deconstruction of classical ideals is more profitable in the
"rotten barrel's" realm, and thus opportunities abound for the
present invention, which counters the prevailing fanboy/faculty
wisdom. The mythology preached from on high is presented like this:
there is one kind of person who is best suited to working and
saving in pension plans and 401ks; and another who is best suited
to gambling those savings--risking other peoples' collective
investments and pocketing the lion's share of the rewards,
privatizing profits while socializing losses. After a few years of
studying soulless case studies and neglecting the classics, and a
couple hundred grand, one can join the wealth-transfer club; which
lawyers and MBAs train for by playing GTA. The present invention
implies and exalts superior games with classical spirit and soul,
and wherein exalted ideas have exalted consequences; when rendered
real by matching word and deed.
[0354] At the end of the most performed, quoted, studied, and
produced play in Western literature--a fine play, penned by
Hollywood's most produced screenwriter, which we read at the end of
the AE&T class--Hamlet contemplates a lawyer's skull:
[0355] Hamlet [0356] There's another: why may not that be the skull
of a lawyer? Where be his quiddities now, his quillets, his cases,
his tenures, and his tricks? why does he suffer this rude knave now
to knock him about the sconce with a dirty shovel, and will not
tell him of his action of battery? Hum! This fellow might be in's
time a great buyer of land, with his statutes, his recognizances,
his fines, his double vouchers, his recoveries: is this the fine of
his fines, and the recovery of his recoveries, to have his fine
pate full of fine dirt? will his vouchers vouch him no more of his
purchases, and double ones too, than the length and breadth of a
pair of indentures? The very conveyances of his lands will hardly
lie in this box; and must the inheritor himself have no more,
ha?
[0357] Shakespeare brings the higher value of long-term wealth into
focus, as do Bogle, Buffett, and Keynes, who differentiate between
prudent capital allocation, investing, and entrepreneurial
risk-taking on the one hand, and gambling (oft with other peoples'
money these days) on the other: [0358] During the recent era, we
have paid a high price for the shift that Keynes accurately
predicted. As professional institutional investors moved their
focus from the wisdom of long-term investment--what Keynes called
"a steady stream of enterprise"--to the folly of short-term
speculation, "the capital development of a country became the
by-product of activities of a casino." Just as he warned, "when
enterprise becomes a mere bubble on a whirlpool of speculation, the
job of capitalism is likely to be ill done."--Bogle's Battle, p.
98
[0359] And today the casino games are a bit like a game of poker
where a bully keeps betting big. His bluff is called, and he
reveals a worthless hand. He loses his chips, calls the Federal
Reserve, and he's back in the game with a fresh stack of chips, "to
maintain liquidity and stability in the poker game." 'Tis
entrepreneurship of the highest order--this seemingly riskless
risk, the only problem being that where financial engineering rules
supreme; art, culture, and the soul decline, as Dante noted. For
there are those precious entities that cannot be bought, are never
sold, and can only be earned via integrity and action. Capital has
never created character, though jealous of the natural, higher
wealth, capital--mere capital--that which is so often printed while
Great Books must wait to be written in blood, sweat, and tears--has
oft opposed character. But nobody has ever bought their way into
the Canon, and thus the Great Books are priceless; and priceless
opportunities abound to render video games with their deep and
exalted meanings, via simple, moral, unifying algorithms.
[0360] In his interview with Bill Moyers, Bogle sums the financial
industry up with: [0361] "My estimate is that the financial sector
takes $560 billion a year out of society," Bogle explains to Bill
Moyers. "Banks, money managers, insurance companies, certainly
annuity providers. They're all subtracting value from the
economy."--http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/09282007/profile.html
[0362] CREATE'S goal is to do for the artist and entrepreneur what
Vanguard did for the investor--to teach creators--inventors and
innovators--to be owners; and to foster novel web applications that
provide them opportunities to protect and profit from their
content--to bypass the middlemen. Just as manager's capitalism has
come to eclipse the more exalted owner's capitalism, aggregator's
capitalism has come to replace creator's capitalism in the content
realm. Both of these transformations can be traced to the
exaltation of the bottom line over the higher ideals, the steady
erosion of classical precepts and natural rights that plagues
cultures that forget the art of classic storytelling, the
privatization of profits and socialization of risks, the errantly
preached non-value of the individual artist and vast worth of the
group that has been claimed by the mere aggregator, and a
redefining of entrepreneurship--from the creation of wealth to the
transfer of wealth--from physical engineering to financial
engineering; and an exaltation of creative accounting over the
creative arts. The present invention would exalt games that would
allow the player to oppose the wealth transfer in word and deed, to
defend the classical ideals, and exalt a brave new world where
honor, justice, and character prevailed.
[0363] Not only is it our right to own the fruits of our labors,
but it is our duty. Carl Schramm writes of this "entrepreneurial
imperative" which seems ever more important, considering the
current state of the economy and even the greater value that has
been lost throughout our culture. [0364] The only uniquely American
resource at our disposal is entrepreneurial capitalism, and it is
imperative that we nurture it. We must make sure that developing
entrepreneurial systems reward risk takers who set out to be
creative and innovative, who produce a product or a service that
allows us to do something better, faster, cheaper. It is the
resulting efficiency of their efforts that permits wealth to be
redeployed in ways that produce more wealth.--Carl Schramm,
Universities and the Entrepreneurial Imperative
[0365] In far too many ways our universities neglect this classical
calling. Far too often our undergraduate programs teach the
classics as the exception as opposed to the rule, and even when
taught, they are taught as entities that are not all that useful.
Mere capital is exalted over labor and creation, placing the cart
in front of the horse and exalting the arrogance by which trillions
of dollars are not earned, but transferred.
[0366] Perhaps the decline and debauchery all have a common
source--a fiat currency which naturally undermines rugged
individualism, innovation, and hard, dedicated work by devaluing it
all via the act of creating money out of thin air. Gresham's Law
states that bad money drives good money out of circulation, and
fiat currency drives honor, integrity, and the classical, epic soul
out of the culture. Fiat currency is a jealous currency, and it
will have no other currencies before it. Fiat regimes must
eventually drive out and destroy any cultural underpinnings which
emphasize thrift, honesty, hard work; replacing unalterable
covenants with mere contracts that can be deconstructed for profit
by fiat lawyers. And so it is that fiat regimes must over time
favor the destruction of the Great Books and Classics, the razing
of epic, exalted soul, and the Western cowboy who in years past
would have called the bluff and ridden into town for the showdown.
Nor longer are we afforded classical, exalted art. In the original
Beowulf our hero kills Grendel's mother. In the Hollywood remake,
he sleeps with her. In the original 3:10 to Yuma, the good guy
lives and the bad guy goes to jail. In the remake the good guy dies
and the bad guy rides away free; as modern, storyless Hollywood
producers get away with murder, just like their brethren in
economics departments and Hedge Funds. Today's bestselling video
game of all time, Grand Theft Auto, heralded as High Art by so
many, celebrates jacking cars, shooting police, and hiring and
killing prostitutes. The exact same lack of respect for private
property, law, and life are enacted by the fiat systems' lawyers in
a far more dire game called Grand Theft Constitution, which has
altered the original text and intent by adding abortion, the right
of a president to declare wars, no fault divorce, and the right of
a private banking cartel to print money. The present invention
would exalt games that would allow the player to fight to exalt
Constitutional ideals and oppose the wealth transfer both in word
and deed, to defend the classical ideals, and exalt a brave new
world where honor, justice, and character prevailed; and marriages
endured, as did Penelope's and Odysseus's. [0367] Even a much more
moderate inflation, however, shakes the foundations of a country's
social structure. The millions who see themselves deprived of
security and well-being become desperate. The realization that they
have lost all or most all of what they had set aside for a rainy
day radicalizes their entire outlook. They tend to fall easy prey
to adventurers aiming at dictatorship, and to charlatans offering
patent-medicine solutions. The sight of some people profiteering
while the rest suffer infuriates them. The effect of such an
experience is especially strong among the youth. They learn to live
in the present and scorn those who try to teach them
"old-fashioned" morality and thrift.--Ludwig von Mises, Economic
Freedom and Interventionism
[0368] If the money is created out of thin air in the first place,
how can one complain when the Wall Street bankers take one's salary
back by pilfering their pensions, or tempting and deceiving them in
a stock or housing bubble? The current fiat system has created
legions of proud fiatocracies, headed by snall-souled men, all
united in promoting diverse forms of groupthink which undermine
honesty, integrity, and classic entrepreneurship where the
risk-taker, not the money printer and their financial/government
industry, get the reward. Printing money is great work, if one can
get it, and even if one can't, one might become a university
president and oversee thousands of students being placed in massive
debt to fund morally and intellectually bankrupt bureaucracies,
which better prepare the students to serve as serfs in the
fiatocracy's fiefdoms, by denying the exalted virtues of the
classical soul and that divine sense of individuality which is
exalted in all the Great Works of Western Civilization which have
been removed form the fiatocracy's universities. Professors benefit
immensely from student debt, and oftentimes universities even
receive kickbacks from the student-loan industry. Rarely do
professors speak out against massive student debt, as did Dane and
the ancient poets and prophets. Fund a professor's summer voyages
to C. S. Lewis conferences in England and Dante conferences in
Florence, and they are quite content to ignore Lewis's and Dante's
deeper teachings. The present invention would exalt games that
would allow the player to fight to exalt Constitutional ideals and
oppose the wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the
classical ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice,
and character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's
and Odysseus's.
[0369] Fiat money is the deeper source of all the postmodern
decline and decadence, which destroys truth, natural, intrinsic
value, the rule of law, and rationality; and replaces it all with
arbitrary claims bolstered by an elite fiat class, who were
soulless enough to not mind the deconstruction and desecration of
the culture in the fiatocracy's most elite schools. The Federal
Reserve creates a dollar out of thin air and proclaims unto all
"this is a dollar," and it funnels a tiny percentage of said dollar
to fiat lawyers who deconstruct the Constitution, adding abortion
and the right of a private banking cartel to create money out of
thin air, and they step forth and proclaim to all "this is the
Constitution." Another small percentage is funneled to fiat
economists who run the numbers and say, "yup, broken homes, broken
families, subprime mortgages, vast debts and deficits foreign wars
on foreign shores, while we can't even defend our Constitution
against little lawyers at home--it's all looking good." The present
invention would exalt games that would allow the player to fight to
exalt Constitutional ideals and oppose the wealth transfer both in
word and deed, to defend the classical ideals, and exalt a brave
new world where honor, justice, and character prevailed; and
marriages endured, as did Penelope's and Odysseus's.
[0370] While the classics teach the virtue of matching word and
deed, fiat universities teach the art of profiting via saying one
thing and doing another, as did Henry Blodget and Mary Meeker and
countless other fiat heroes, as what does it profit a man to gain a
soul and lose their chance at fiat-funded titles and tenure? The
fiat lawyers were trained by the fiat-funded feminist instructors
who replaced Odysseus's character, honor, and integrity with
dumbed-down, diluted poetry, which is the best that fiat currencies
can buy. Very few fiat economists take the time to understand
Austrian economics, as it would only hamper their fiat-funded
careers; and studying any form of economic and/or spiritual reality
is a liability on the modern campus, where the marketing and
accounting professors are highest paid, as they teach the students
how to create the Enrons and corrupt the Bear Steams. Thus the
video games inspired by the present invention will oppose the
faculty/fanboys opinions. The present invention would exalt games
that would allow the player to fight to exalt Constitutional ideals
and oppose the wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the
classical ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice,
and character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's
and Odysseus's.
[0371] I have sat in silence throughout many faculty meetings, as
it is impolite to broach the Great Books and classics. The last
time I spoke out in an academic setting was during Toni Morrison's
creative writing class at Princeton, when she said, "Don't think I
haven't notice you haven't said anything all semester." I suggested
that we ought have an idea of a plot structure which dropped the
reader off at a new destination, in addition to showing them cool
scenery along the way, as did Shakespeare with Hamlet. "High
aspirations for the afternoon," Toni joked, and the class moved on
to analyzing the next plotless, characterless story about some
girl's sexual encounters at boarding school--a girl who is a friend
who has had two abortions and is to this day not married. I tried
to warn her . . . long ago . . . . The present invention would
exalt games that would allow the player to fight to exalt
Constitutional ideals and oppose the wealth transfer both in word
and deed, to defend the classical ideals and the unborn, and exalt
a brave new world where honor, justice, and character prevailed;
and marriages endured, as did Penelope's and Odysseus's.
[0372] Fiatocracies have the amazing ability to exalt groupthinkers
to unheralded heights, and suddenly string theorists are
physicists, feminists are poets, and soulless men who never read
nor reference the Great Books are university presidents, surrounded
by the student-debt-funded burgeoning administration of their
fiatocratic fiefdom, who rose to power by navigating by their
dictator's will, while penning middling grant proposals replete
with buzzwords such as "green energy," "smaller carbon footprint,"
and "social entrepreneurship." Many of them are women, who have
been told that men robbed them of the right to create airplanes,
electricity, Shakespeare's works, the lightbulb, powered flight,
artificial retinas, computers, and relativity; and they are getting
their revenge by creating fiat bureaucracies which exalt and profit
off the 50% divorce rate and the war between the sexes that
destroyed the classic American family--and needless war is the
exact opposite of entrepreneurship and innovation. You would think
they would thank the men for doing all the work all these years,
but the genius of feminism is that it criminalizes the creator and
places women on the frontlines of the fiatocracies, prints gobs of
cash for the propaganda and programs, teaches them the perks of
divorce and debauchery, and sends them forth to claim that which is
not rightfully theirs, and to bring it on back to the banker's
corporate state. 'Tis another reason they don't want the young
students reading Homer's Odyssey and witnessing the feminine
dangers of Calypso, the Sirens, Cicre, and Agamemnon's wife. And
just as they replaced Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley with Britney
Spears and Lindsay Lohan, they must replace Homer's virtuous
heroine--Penelope, who defends the sanctity of the home via her
virtue--with the modern corporate woman, who serves not the higher
ideals and the family, but the corporation's bottom line. As the
fiatocracy must destroy replace the home with the corporate state,
The Odyssey must be banned, along with Shakespeare and the Bible,
unless they are taught to be deconstructed. The present invention
would counter expert fanboy/faculty opinion by exalting games that
would allow the player to fight to exalt Constitutional ideals and
oppose the wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the
classical ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice,
and character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's
and Odysseus's.
[0373] Fiat economists spend entire careers penning indecipherable
papers to deny that most fundamental tenet of economics, "Thou
shalt not steal," but as it does not profit a man to gain tenure
and lose their soul, they are soon forgotten by eternity, as are
all the fiat-funded papers, degrees, titles, and diplomas. "The
world will little note, nor long remember . . . ."
[0374] And as true innovation, insight, and useful creation are far
more rare than common, everyone wins in a fiatocracy where grades,
titles, and currencies are all generously inflated--everyone wins
except for the innovator, author, entrepreneur, creator, and
unborn. And as only the latter create true, long-term wealth,
fiatocracies ultimately abort opportunities for future generations
by desecrating the classical heritage, as all fiat currencies must
so as to protect the false worth of the currency. As a paper dollar
is ultimately worthless, the fiatocracy can only profit by trading
those dollars for something, and so they fund legions of mediocre
groupthinkers to go forth and claim tax and tuition dollars,
whereupon they and their friends transform those dollars into true
assets, including land, gold, and untouchable administrative
positions in university bureaucracies; which carry lofty, ironic
tiles such as "director of entrepreneurship." Their failures--year,
after, year, after year--become their virtues, as the lack of
classic, rugged entrepreneurship they inspire becomes the platform
upon which they raise more funds to further destroy
entrepreneurship's spirit. As their bureaucracies burgeon and their
coffers are filled, we are all warned, "we must all tread lightly
and speak softly, for much is at stake if we fail to exalt
entrepreneurship this year." The groupthinkers all nod and agree at
the lavish year-end dinner, as the lone innovator and thinker
amongst them is silently sent packing by those seemingly
purposeless committee meetings whose purpose is to silently
criminalize and excommunicate the exalted intellectual and
innovator, for the bureaucracy knows that all true wealth comes
from the bureaucracy. The present invention would exalt games that
would allow the player to fight to exalt Constitutional ideals and
oppose the wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the
classical ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice,
and character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's
and Odysseus's.
[0375] And one would be wise to not write such words as these,
unless one places them far along in a paper filled with classical
references, which will serve to discourage and confound the common
academic, like the concrete barriers placed before the Whitehouse
after 9/11. [0376] Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital.
Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if
labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and
deserves much the higher consideration.--Lincoln's First Annual
Message to Congress
[0377] Far too often our law schools and MBA programs view the
world as zero-sum financial arenas, and prepare the students to
partake not in the entrepreneurial act of wealth creation; but in
the bureaucratic act of wealth transfer, either via big government
or big business; which are all too often working together,
side-by-side right next to the money pump, bringing to mind the end
of Animal Farm--when the police finally arrive, they look from man
to pig; from pig to man, and they cannot tell the difference. New
York Times investigative reporter David Cay Johnston eloquently
reports on this in: Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich
Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You with the Bill.
[0378] Google's first ten hires were engineers, as were Michael
Dell's and Bill Gates'--neither of whom had a college degree, let
alone an MBA. Dell and Microsoft were profitable long before they
ever sought venture financing; so it is curious that MBA programs
so often host venture capital competitions; as Socrates reminds us
that virtue does not come from money; but all money and lasting
wealth derive from virtue--from rugged, honest innovation.
Starbucks, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble were all profitable
single-store enterprises for many years before they ever opened
that second store. And the Wright Brothers funded the inception of
the entire flight industry not with massive government grants--half
of which would go to the administration and the tech-transfer
office; but with proceeds from their Ohio bicycle shop married to
classic, rugged ingenuity; as they risked their lives to engineer
controlled flight. Yes--they went from building bicycles to
building airplanes. Surely the university can go from teaching not
all that much to teaching the Greats.
[0379] And so it is that classical innovation in academia--teaching
Bogle alongside Socrates, Campbell, and Homer in every business
school, while calling upon students to follow their higher ideals
in their own journeys--would result in untold long-term
wealth--that higher wealth that arises via creation, innovation,
and technological engineering, as opposed to that illusory and
fleeting wealth that bureaucratic wealth transfer grants smaller
souls, at the expense of creators, workers, and future generations.
Entrepreneurship is about the few enriching the many via the
creation of meaning, goods, services, and jobs; while bureaucracy
favors the many enriching the few via the transfer of risk to the
many, and the transfer of the wealth to the few. The present
invention would exalt games that would allow the player to fight to
exalt Constitutional ideals and oppose the wealth transfer both in
word and deed, to defend the classical ideals, and exalt a brave
new world where honor, justice, and character prevailed; and
marriages endured, as did Penelope's and Odysseus's.
[0380] Wealth transfer is the primary motive of that recent
postmodern pursuit-financial engineering. The words "financial
engineering" conjure up an image of the construction of a giant
funnel, with the artist, creator, worker, and investor at the big
end. Our artists, poets, and scientists ought be encouraged to
create freely under the guidance of classical law--to engineer and
own their innovations; while our accountants, lawyers, and MBAs
ought be encouraged to refrain from becoming too creative. Simple
arithmetic, common sense law, and truth in advertising would
suffice.
[0381] Though I never sought to patent my dissertation, I believe
that creators and artists ought be afforded the ability to protect
their intellectual property to the fullest extent of the spirit of
the US Constitution which was founded upon the Mosaic law Twain
referenced. For the act of creation--the source of all art and
enterprise--is an individualistic pursuit; and where individual
rights are sacrificed so the few can profit from the many--so that
technocrats can profit from the artistic soul of the internet
without ever compensating the creators of the soul; artists, and
thus art and culture, will suffer. Artists, who are generally most
generous and create for free, must be afforded maximum
opportunities to protect and profit from their creations; so as to
provide greater incentive to create. Again, the Founding Fathers
already set this down, and again, all we need to do is get out of
the way of the Constitution, and let its ideals guide and inspire
tomorrow's technology: [0382] The Congress shall have power to . .
. promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their
respective writings and discoveries;--The United States
Constitution
[0383] For not only do authors create art; but that art is the
source of law which comes to us from epic stories that speak to the
soul--stories that must be perpetually performed in the living
language. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote, "poets are the unacknowledged
legislators of the world," and any renaissance must be lead by
artists and poet-soldiers. Those same property rights celebrated in
The Odyssey, whence Odysseus reclaims his home from the elite mob
of managers, must find their way into the technology; wherein they
might someday forestall piracy and protect future films and games
celebrating The Odyssey.
[0384] CREATE, and the video games it seeks to develop and foster
based on this invention, seeks to empower creators with new
technologies endowed with classical soul and constitutional rights,
and the following patents have been filed for video games and
future ventures aimed at exalting a renaissance. The law which
underlies property rights comes from epic story, and epic story is
what is missing from video games. So it is that one might imagine a
video game world which renders the dire consequences of the
individual's failing to fight for natural rights and property
rights; while also rendering a world of peace and prosperity when
the player successfully serves ideals.
[0385] The following patents may foster further patents, as well as
research and development for years to come, and it would be great
fun to involve students in rendering them real. Like the artificial
retina project, I am not so interested in profiting off of these,
as I am in creating wealth and proving that ideals in innovation
are yet a great investment. Artists ought be afforded their
constitutional rights, and video garners ought be granted more
exalted experiences. Here are the abstracts for a journey which has
yet to begin:
22Nets: Method, System, and Apparatus for Building Content and
Talent Marketplaces and Archives Based on a Social Network
[0386] The novel social network described herein allows those who
create and upload content, as well as those who aggregate content
and build the network, to profit in novel manners. A method and
system allows users, who create content archives and marketplaces
in which individuals and content in the database are connected by
mutually defined relationships determined by the content
creators/owners, uploaders, aggregators, and/or viewers of said
content, to better profit from the networks they build.
Higher-quality archives and marketplaces result. A tiered
commission system, proportional to the degrees of separation in the
network, provides a revenue share for creators and viewers who
participate in and create content and/or marketplaces. Information
inherent within the nodes is mined so as to afford a tiered
revenue-sharing system. An improved method of content distribution
empowering creators of content and participants is disclosed
herein, along with a superior social network.
System and Method for Allowing Creators, Artists, and Owners to
Protect and Profit from Content: The 45 Revolver
[0387] The present invention offers novel and superior means for
protecting and profiting from digital content. The rights-centric,
creator-centric digital rights management application will lead to
greater revenue and rights for artists, and a new era of creator's
entrepreneurship, as opposed to the dominant aggregator's
entrepreneurship. The present invention offers a simple interface
for creators, artists, users, and owners to define rights, select
from a plurality of DRM options, advertising options, watermarking
options, thumbnailing options, syndication options, and publish,
share, sell, and distribute their content in a plurality of
manners. This invention has far-ranging ramifications, as it causes
DRM providers, device manufacturers, web companies, social
networks, and content marketplaces to more directly compete with
one-another to provide the creator and content owner the best
compensation for their work. Creators can bypass the traditional
and new middlemen, define their rights, sell their content, and
enhance profits.
Morality System and Method for Video Game: System and Method for
Creating Story, Deeper Meaning and Emotions, Enhanced Characters
and AI, and Dramatic Art in Video Games
[0388] This present invention pertains to introducing morality and
epic storytelling into the realm of video games, resulting in video
games with superior, deeper game play, expanded markets, and
longer-lasting brands. The ability to render deeper emotion, story,
and exalted dramatic arts within the realm of video games has been
a long sought-after "holy grail" throughout the video game
industry. The prior art demonstrates how others have failed and are
failing to deliver more meaningful and engaging games endowed with
epic storytelling. This present invention provides the missing key
to realizing epic storytelling, deeper emotional involvement, and
higher art in video games.
[0389] And the present invention would exalt games that would allow
the player to fight for Constitutional ideals and property rights
and oppose the wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the
classical ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice,
and character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's
and Odysseus's.
VIII. Conclusion: If We can Keep it
[0390] Writing as Publius in The Federalist, no. 6, on Nov. 14,
1787, Alexander Hamilton used words that, in the context of this
day, two-plus-centuries later, should serve as a warning to us.
"Have we not already seen enough of the fallacy and extravagance of
. . . idle theories which have amused us with promises of an
exemption form their imperfections, weaknesses, and evils incident
to society in every shape?" . . . Hamilton answered his question
with another question, this one rhetorical: "Is it not time to
awake from the deceitful dream of a golden age, and to adopt as a
practical maxim for the direction of our . . . conduct that we are
yet remote from the happy empire of perfect wisdom and perfect
virtue?" Similarly, if we citizens of today can only accept that
such a happy empire of perfect wisdom and perfect virtue is also
yet remote in today's flawed version of American capitalism, we can
begin the hard work of fixing its shortcomings. The time to begin
that world anew is now.--Bogle, The Battle For The Soul of
Capitalism, p. 242
[0391] And so we march. We march for the renaissance.
[0392] The renaissance will be built not by financial engineering,
but by artistic entrepreneurship and physical engineering--via
rugged, idealistic entrepreneurship. Natural rights and property
rights will again be celebrated in living art and invention; in
story and technology, romance, marriage and the family; in
education and government--in Hollywood and the Heartland; on Wall
Street and Main Street. And in conclusion, I have naught but thanks
to all those who have afforded this opportunity--all those I can
never thank enough with words; but only in life and action, in a
most humble attempt to serve as nobly as they served. And so we
march . . . .
[0393] As Benjamin Franklin concluded the Constitutional Convention
with, "We've given you a republic, if you can keep it," let us also
conclude in the humble spirit of only just beginning this journey,
with a long road ahead for this fellowship. Kipling echoes
Franklin's "if you can keep it" with IF:
IF
[0394] If you can keep your head when all about you
[0395] Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
[0396] If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
[0397] But make allowance for their doubting too,
[0398] If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
[0399] Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
[0400] Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
[0401] And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
[0402] If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
[0403] If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
[0404] If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
[0405] And treat those two impostors just the same;
[0406] If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
[0407] Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
[0408] Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
[0409] And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
[0410] If you can make one heap of all your winnings
[0411] And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
[0412] And lose, and start again at your beginnings
[0413] And never breath a word about your loss;
[0414] If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
[0415] To serve your turn long after they are gone,
[0416] And so hold on when there is nothing in you
[0417] Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
[0418] If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
[0419] Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
[0420] If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
[0421] If all men count with you, but none too much,
[0422] If you can fill the unforgiving minute
[0423] With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
[0424] Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
[0425] And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!--Rudyard
Kipling
[0426] The present invention would exalt games that would allow the
player to fight to exalt Constitutional ideals and oppose the
wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the classical
ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice, and
character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's and
Odysseus's.
[0427] The spirit of the renaissance resounded throughout the
second HJEF: HerosJourneyRenaissance.org:
[0428] There's something going on. A renaissance is
rising--artists, authors, and inventors are turning towards the
classical ideals so as to render them real in the living culture. A
fellowship of creators, each walking the hero's journey by the
immortal stars of classical antiquity, is seeking to serve the soul
in art and literature--in video games, music, and film. It's been a
long time coming, as the rising generation has been seeking that
third act--that classical, epic thunder that we can call our
own.
[0429] Come join us on March 8th as we celebrate the ultimate
Renaissance Man--Leonardo da Vinci--while saluting those marking
rugged journeys in the realms of screenwriting, video games, film,
academia, and robotics--robots inspired by da Vinci's designs.
[0430] The Dark Ages lasted for hundreds of years--from 476 to 1000
AD. Art, innovation, and literature declined along with
contemporary written history. A general demographic decline
accompanied limited cultural achievements. Aristotle wrote "When
storytelling declines, the result is decadence," and as they turned
away from the classics and higher art and towards bread and
circuses--towards reality TV and spectacle--the soul, and thus
civilization, faltered.
[0431] The Italian Renaissance, which spanned the period from the
end of the 1400's to about 1600, sailed beyond the Dark Ages by the
immortal stars of classical antiquity. Renaissance scholars again
sought out the Great Books and Classics in the ancient monastic
libraries and incorporated them in education and culture. And so
too do we march on--following the lead of the immortal heroes such
as da Vinci who stated, "Who sows virtue reaps honor," and "Where
the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art." Da Vinci
wrote, "the depth and strength of a human character are defined by
its moral reserve" and Martin Luther King Jr. agreed, "If we are to
go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious
values--that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all
reality has spiritual control." And the title of John C. Bogle's
Battle for The Soul of Capitalism says it all, as it suggests we
read Adam Smith in order, with A Theory of Moral Sentiments
preceding The Wealth of Nations, for as Socrates stipulated, all
true wealth comes from virtue--the immortal soul, and not virtue
from wealth.
[0432] Vast opportunities exist to incorporate the soul of The
Iliad and The Odyssey--of Shakespeare, the Bible, and The
Inferno--in video games. The Mona Lisa, two dimensional and
stationary, yet towers over the female characters in modern games
in spirit and soul; as do Dante's Beatrice and Odysseus's Penelope.
Knowledge of the classics--the spiritual eternities--not material
wealth--became the true mark of wealth during the Renaissance, and
so shall it be again. The movie 300 demonstrated that the rising
generation is longing for the classical spirit and soul; and
Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101 is revolutionizing
academia with its simple precept that the spirit of our law and
literature--of The Constitution and Hamlet--derive from the same
place--the classical Judeo Christian heritage. And so that which
had been divided into business, law, film, art, and accounting; is
reunited in truth and the simplicity of soul--in a classical
liberal arts education--in a foundational renaissance.
[0433] There are two Hero's Journeys in every class--the first is
through the Great Books, and the second is the one each student
walks alone--in a business plan or screenplay for their living
venture; for the reason we read the Greats is not for tenure, but
to embolden the natural ideals of our soul and gain the courage to
follow our better angels and nobler dreams. The Odyssey has lasted
over 2800 years because it reminds us of that immortal
justice--eventually truth prevails.
[0434] Opportunity abounds to not only read those dusty old texts,
but to render their ideals real in the living context via action.
We've been leaving billions on the shelves--billions and far more,
including those mythical entities which cannot be counted, but
which count for everything. And so we march--we march for the
renaissance, wherein we will realize the novel videogames and
technologies with soul exalted by the present invention.
PRIOR ART AND FURTHER OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION
[0435] The present invention would exalt games that would allow the
player to fight to exalt Constitutional ideals and oppose the
wealth transfer both in word and deed, to defend the classical
ideals, and exalt a brave new world where honor, justice, and
character prevailed; and marriages endured, as did Penelope's and
Odysseus's.
[0436] The genius of the fiatocracy is that it funds both the
foreign wars on the foreign shores, sending soldiers to die in
far-off lands, while also funding the war-protesters, so as to
distance themselves from the soldiers they send to die. They come
out looking great, lauded both by their media and Hollywood, while
the honorable end up both dead and disparaged by their media and
Hollywood. The fiatocracy funds Grand Theft Auto, Tucker Max, Joyce
Carol Oates, American Idol, and Dave Eggers as the highest art,
while funding the deconstruction and death of Homer, Shakespeare,
the Bible, along with the family, property rights, and the digital
rights management for artist. Steven Jobs comes out against DRM,
but secretly he loves it, as never in a million years shall he
share the secret sauce of iTune's DRM. His DRM is DRM'd--kept
secret and proprietary, and nobody else is allowed to use it. His
position is that only the rich should be afforded DRM, while common
artists and creators do not deserve it. But all technology tends
towards the soulless--towards hiring and killing hookers, and
that's why this novel invention will foster superior games, for it
will allow the player to fight for classical, sacred, exalted
ideals--to find players who share those ideals, form a fellowship,
and battle for a higher cause, just world, faith, the family, the
wisdom of the Great Books and Classics, the Consitution, the Gold
standard, and more. Hiring and killing hookers, and being a
nihilist a hole like Tucker Max, Dave Eggers, and Joyce Carol Oates
is getting quite boring, and new video games will allow one to
battle the fiatocracy's warlords and witches. Even the fanboys are
longing for epic games with exalted ideals which rebel against the
expert opinions, and that's what this game provides.
[0437] Imagine a video game which allowed one to fight all the good
fights Ron Paul outlines in The Revolution: A Manifesto.
Table of Contents
[0438] 1. The False Choices of American Politics [0439] 2. The
Foreign Policy of the Founding Fathers [0440] 3. The Constitution
[0441] 4. Economic freedom [0442] 5. Civil Liberties and Personal
Freedom [0443] 6. Money: The Forbidden Issue in American Politics
[0444] 7. The Revolution
A Reading List for a Free and Prosperous America
[0445] To date, no game allows one to fight for the US Constitution
and a sound currency. No game allows one to fight for the Founding
Father's original intent--for life, liberty, and happiness for all.
No game allows one to fight for economic freedom beyond the fiat
system that robs us all via the inflation tax. No game allows the
player to quote Hayek, Mises, Rothbard, Jefferson, Hazlitt, Jesus,
Socrtes, and Moses in dialogue trees, nor via other means, en route
to winning the hearts and minds of their people, rounding up and
inspiring a group of rebel, and leading those rugged rebels in a
battle founded upon ideas. No game allows one to fight Big Brother
and ensure greater Civil Liberties and Personal Freedom. And
certainly, no game allows the player to fight to implement the
Constitutional Gold Standard, nor to take on the divorce regime,
nor to protect the unborn.
[0446] The present invention would allow the themes of V is for
Vendetta, Atlas Shrugged, and The Fountainhead to be brought to
life, as well as Orwell's 1984, which resembles the modern
university. The plot of 1984 could be enhanced, and hope could be
allowed for Winston Smith. Suppose that Winston was successful in
speaking with and recruiting enough people for a revolt. If he was
too upfront with his ideas, he might be put to death. If he was too
coy, he would never reach them. If he was too persistent, he could
offend some people. If he gave up to soon, he might lose loyal
followers. At any rate, it would make a great and unique game, as
Winston Smith went up against Big Brother. The plot of 1984 is
described at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four
with:
[0447] The intellectual Winston Smith is a member of the Outer
Party, lives in the ruins of London (the "chief city of Airstrip
One", a province of Oceania), who grew up in the post-World War II
United Kingdom, during the revolution and the civil war. As his
parents disappeared in the civil war, the English Socialism
Movement ("Ingsoc" in Newspeak), put him in an orphanage for
training and employment in the Outer Party.
[0448] His squalid existence consists of living in a one-room
apartment, eating a subsistence diet of black bread and synthetic
meals washed down with Victory-brand gin. He is discontented, and
keeps an illegal journal of dissenting, negative thoughts and
opinions about The Party. If detected, it, and his eccentric
behaviour, would result in torture and death by the Thought
Police.
[0449] In his journal he explains thoughtcrime: Thoughtcrime does
not entail death. Thoughtcrime IS death. The Thought Police have
two-way telescreens (in the living quarters of every Party member
and in every public area), hidden microphones, and anonymous
informers to spy potential thought-criminals who might endanger The
Party. Children are indoctrinated to informing; to spy and report
suspected thought-criminals--especially their parents.
[0450] Winston Smith is a bureaucrat in the Records Department of
the Ministry of Truth, revising historical records to match The
Party's contemporaneous, official version of the past. The
revisionism is required so that the past reflect the shifts of the
day in the Party's orthodoxy. Smith's job is perpetual; he
re-writes the official record, re-touches official photographs,
deleting people officially rendered as unpersons. The original or
older document is dropped into a "memory hole" chute leading to an
incinerator. Although he likes his work, especially the
intellectual challenge of revising a complete historical record, he
also is fascinated by the true past, and eagerly tries to learn
more about that forbidden truth.
[0451] One day, in the office, a woman surreptitiously hands him a
note. She is "Julia", a dark-haired mechanic who repairs the
Ministry of Truth's novel-writing machines. Before that day, he had
felt deep loathing for her, based on his assumptions that she was a
brainwashed, fanatically devoted member of the Party; particularly
annoying to him is her red sash of renouncement of and scorn for
sexual intercourse. His preconceptions vanish on reading her
hand-printed note: "I love you". After that, they begin a
clandestine romantic relationship, first meeting in the countryside
and at a ruined belfry, then regularly in a rented room atop an
antiques shop in the city's proletarian neighbourhood. The shop
owner chats him up with facts about the pre-revolutionary past,
sells him period artifacts, and rents him the room to meet Julia.
The lovers believe their hiding place paradisiacal (the shop keeper
having told them it has no telescreen) and think themselves alone
and safe.
[0452] As their romance deepens, Winston's views change, and
questions Ingsoc. Unknown to him, the Thought Police have been
spying on him and Julia. Later, when approached by Inner Party
member O'Brien, Winston believes that he's come into contact with
The Brotherhood, opponents of the Party. O'Brien gives him a copy
of "the book", The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical
Collectivism, a searing criticism of Ingsoc said to be written by
the dissident Emmanuel Goldstein, the leader of the Brotherhood; it
explains the perpetual war and exposes the truth behind the Party's
slogan, "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is
Strength."
[0453] The Thought Police capture Winston and Julia in their
sanctuary bedroom and they are separately interrogated at the
Ministry of Love, where the regime's opponents are tortured and
killed, but sometimes released (to be executed at a later date);
Charrington, the shop keeper who rented them the room reveals
himself an officer of the Thought Police. In the Ministry of Love
torture chamber, O'Brien tells Smith that he will be cured of his
hatred for the Party. During a session, he explains to Winston that
torture's purpose is to alter his way of thinking, not to extract a
fake confession, adding that once cured--accepting reality as the
Party describes--he then will be executed; electroshock torture
will achieve that, continuing until O'Brien decides Winston is
cured.
[0454] One night, a dreaming Winston suddenly wakes, yelling:
"Julia! Julia! Julia, my love! Julia!" O'Brien rushes in and
questions him, and then sends him to Room 101, the most feared room
in the Ministry of Love. This is where a person's greatest fear is
forced upon him or her for the final re-education step: acceptance.
Winston, who has a primal fear of rats, is shown a wire cage filled
with starving rats and told that it will be fitted over his head
like a mask, so that when the cage door is opened, the rats will
bore into his face until it is stripped to the bone. Just as the
cage brushes his cheek, he shouts frantically: "Do it to Julia!"
The torture ends, Winston is returned to society, brainwashed to
accept Party doctrine.
[0455] After his release, Winston and Julia fortuitously meet in a
park. With distaste, they remember the "bad" feelings they once
shared; they acknowledge having betrayed each other; they are
apathetic. Torture and re-education were successful; Winston
happily reconciled to his impending execution, and accepting the
Party line about the past and the present. In his mind, he
celebrates the false fact of a news bulletin reporting Oceania's
recent, decisive victory over Eurasia. Winston imagines himself
back at the Ministry of Love. He imagines the scene he created
during his imprisonment of walking down the white hallway and being
shot by the guard. He finally accepts that he loves Big
Brother.
[0456] From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four
[0457] The above plot could be brought to life in a video game, and
too, it could be enhanced, exalted and deepened; and Winston could
be given hope of living happily ever after with Julia. The family
could be reunited and exalted, and the government could be battled
via ideas and actions. Legions of followers could be recruited
throughout the game, by the discussion and dissemination of ideas,
and the legions of followers could help effect the revolution.
Rebel to early, and all is lost, as the rebel forces are too small.
Wait too long, and though the rebel forces will be larger, Big
Brother will be even bigger. So it is that the present invention,
by focusing on the role that ideas play in gaining friends and
determining enemies, could exalt new game play. Plenty of violent
action will be included of course, but unlike GOW, GTA, and the
other ten billion games, the action will be backed by moral ideas.
This is the last thing the fiatocracy wants--ideas, intelligence,
morality, and the Constitution--and novel games could be imagined
that would allow the player to battle the fiatocracy.
[0458] Wikipedia writes, "In the essay Why I Write, Orwell explains
that all the serious work he wrote since the Spanish Civil War in
1936 was "written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism
and for democratic socialism."[12] Therefore, Nineteen Eighty-Four
is an anti-totalitarian cautionary tale about the betrayal of a
revolution by its defenders. He already had stated distrust of
totalitarianism and betrayed revolutions in Homage to Catalonia and
Animal Farm. Coming Up For Air, at points, celebrates the personal
and political freedoms lost in Nineteen Eighty-Four." So it is that
Orwell was motivated by ideas and ideals, and was thus capable of
creating art with soul; unlike the fanboys and feminists, who are
interested in pretty graphics, postmodern poetry, and murder--the
fanboys get to and hire and kill women, and the feminists get to
kill the unborn, and everyone is happy and proud of their great and
fleeting power that the fiatocracy has granted them.
Novel Weapons Implied by Invention: The Gold 45 Revolver
[0459] Imagine a game where the ultimate weapon--the gold 45
revolver--would only glow gold if the player did the right things
throughout the game. The ultimate weapon would be inextricably
linked to the highest moral character. Amoral or immoral characters
would not be able to use the weapon. The revolver would not glow
gold for amoral or immoral characters--it would never obtain its
exalted, magical powers. To date, the prior art includes no weapon
which only functions when the player is doing the right, or moral,
thing. To date, the prior art includes no weapon which only
functions to its highest potential when the player is walking the
straight and narrow. To date, the prior art in video games contains
no gun, nor any sort of weapon, whose higher powers are activated
in proportion to the moral level of the character's character. Such
a weapon may also be associated with my earlier patent application:
USPTO Application #: 20070087798: Title: Morality system and method
for video game: system and method for creating story, deeper
meaning and emotions, enhanced characters and ai, and dramatic art
in video games. Imagine the weapon of ideals and morality that
could bring back the gold standard and stop all the corruption,
theft, and never-ending growth of government and it accompanying
demolition of those better angels of our nature. Imagine a weapon
that could exalt faith, the family, and Natural Rights.
[0460] Only characters who made the correct moral choices would be
afforded the priviledge of using the gold 45 revolver to its
fullest power. Only characters who matched their virtuous words and
deeds would be afforded the powers of the gold 45 revolver. Only
characters who defined a moral world, by rendering their ideals
real via action, would be afforded a gold revolver at the end. Only
by moral actions would the 45 revolver ever glow gold in the hands
of those who partook in moral actions throughout the game. The Gold
45 Revolver shows up in Autumn Rangers, The Real McCoy, The Tragedy
of Drake Raft, The Legend of The Jolly Roger, and The Legend of
McCoy Mountain. [0461] So if you climb up upon my Mountain, [0462]
Looking for the Gold Revolver, [0463] Know mightier than the sword
is the pen, [0464] His wife was Mary and Jesus loved her. [0465]
Three Confederate sentinels were called, [0466] To kill three Union
lookouts on the peaks, [0467] Two went forth in the thundering
rain, one stalled, [0468] That conscience that makes us strong,
makes us weak. [0469] And instead of killing the enemy, [0470] He
strove for life and liberty for all, [0471] He died that night to
set all of us free, [0472] The gun glowed gold as one last bluff
was called. [0473] Where the sun don't shine, truth's light's in
your voice, [0474] The gun glows gold when you've made the right
choice.--The Legend of McCoy Mountain
The Gold 45 Revolver--A Novel Video Game Weapon
[0475] Back in the Civil War, there lived an abolitionist named
Johnny Ranger McCoy. On Dec. 21, 1862, it was raining on McCoy
Mountain. The next day The Battle of Glorietta Pass, known as the
"Gettysburg of the West," would be fought--the tipping point of the
Civil War.
[0476] A Union patrol was marching South, unaware of the 300
Confederates planning an ambush on the Union's campsite come
sunrise. That night, Confederate scouts reported that three Union
Sentries had been posted on three nearby peaks.
[0477] Three of the toughest Confederate soldiers were sent forth
in the thundering downpour to dispatch the three Union
sentries--quickly and silently. Two of them completed their task.
One of them didn't.
[0478] Johnny "Ranger" McCoy, his abolitionist soul awakened by
Lincoln's most eloquent words, turned himself in and disclosed the
Confederacy's plans. The alerted Union troops silently flanked the
Confederates before sunrise, resulting in a massacre whence the 300
Confederates were killed.
[0479] The next day, Johnny McCoy was found hanging atop the
mountain, with his wife and three of his four children. Some say
the Confederates hung him as a traitor. Some say the Union hung him
as a Confederate. And others say he hung himself, after seeing all
his friends and countrymen die upon his betrayal. But I'm thinkin'
he hung himself when he returned on home to find his wife and three
of his four children hanging--hung by a Union patrol. Imagine a
video game with the ultimate weapon--the Golden 45 Revolver. The
revolver renders the player omnipotent, and it is the only weapon
that can defeat The Consortium and its formidable leader--Ramone.
The FPS video game centers around finding the Golden 45 Revolver,
but where is the player to look?
[0480] There is only one place to find the Gold 45 Revolver--to
look within. Only players who run through the game choosing the
moral actions--rendering classical ideals real and serving a higher
cause--ever find it. For the Gold 45 Revolver is just a normal Colt
that his handled by a moral, humble hero.
[0481] The Gold 45 Revolver
[0482] Let me tell you a story or two.
[0483] US Marine Ranger McCoy returns on home to the United States
after being shot down over Afghanistan, and now he's on the run. An
invention of his from grad school, APRIL, was stolen and is now a
massive artificial intelligence (AI) project at the Silicon Virtue
Corporation in California. Silicon Virtue wants the codes to unlock
APRIL's moral soul, so that they can reprogram her. The codes are
encoded on a ring Ranger wears.
[0484] After being shot down, Ranger is rescued and taken to a base
in Kuwait where government officials demand the ring. His old drill
sergeant helps him escape, and Ranger stows away on an ocean liner
and ends up in Charleston, S.C., where posing as a janitor, he
starts building a second APRIL.
[0485] When Ranger was seventeen, he went riding with his
girlfriend Beatrice on her birthday way back in Ohio. On by the
farms they rode their two Arabians, until Beatrice broke into a
gallop. Ranger followed as the Fourth of July fireworks went off,
and they came to a river.
[0486] Beatrice wanted to cross, but Ranger said it was too dark
and deep. Ranger handed her a birthday present--a ring with a
turquoise stone, as pretty as her eyes. And they leaned into
each-other in the moonlight.
[0487] Suddenly a flashlight snapped on and three men assaulted
them, thinking Ranger was also a girl because of his long hair.
Beatrice got away as they bound and gagged Ranger . . . and a
horse's whinny and she was back--an old Colt .45 Revolver--the one
her grandfather had given her--raised. And Ranger will never forget
the way it caught the moonlight, glowing not silver, but gold, as
she held it steady.
[0488] "Let him up!" she yelled.
[0489] The men stood up, shining a light on her.
[0490] Suddenly one of them drew a gun and fired.
[0491] Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
[0492] And the three men were dead.
[0493] Beatrice cuts him loose and they hop on her horse.
[0494] "You're bleeding," he says.
[0495] "It's just a scratch . . . ." she says.
[0496] . . . And now, many years later, Ranger is building a second
APRIL to contact the first before they hack into her deeper soul--a
soul that was inspired by a tragic night long ago. Posing as a
surfer/janitor, he lies low in Charleston, S.C., now and then going
to a folksinger's show at a local cafe--Autumn Wests. She looked
familiar . . . .
[0497] The agents find his lab and he's on the run again, all hope
gone, with nothing left to do but drive out to California. He runs
into Autumn Wests whose playing a show in Nashville, and she helps
him out of a bind, recognizing him from Charleston.
[0498] So he rides with her, telling her the story; and they fall
for each-other--two immortal souls striving for the natural
eternity that is denied in this dumbed-down, debauched culture.
Ranger gets her to stop drinking, and Autumn helps Ranger get over
his fiance who cheated on him. And Autumn decides their
movement--their renaissance--should have a name--Autumn
Rangers.
[0499] But the ring weighs on Ranger's conscience--he has to regain
control of APRIL before they fully control her, or destroy her.
[0500] APRIL is being used to run massive hedge funds and bankrupt
the country, and she begins sending Roboclone agents out to seek
and destroy Ranger. The Roboclones find them, but they put up a
fight, and in getting the ring back from a Roboclone, Autumn puts
it on. Her gun starts glowing gold, and she takes out all the
RoboColones. And she remembers who she is.
[0501] It turns out that APRIL created Autumn and copied her moral
soul into her; for the virtuous woman's soul is morality's natural
vessel. In creating Autumn, APRIL studied the Great Books and
Classics--she endowed APRIL with the moral, exalted elements of
Penelope and Beatrice; of Mary Magdelane and the Virgin Mary. But
something went wrong as Autumn lost her soul and her self before
she met Ranger; and she took to drinking in the fallen, corrupted
society. And of course, APRIL created Autumn based on Beatrice's
immortal spirit--Ranger's first love from that Ohio summer long
ago.
[0502] Together they must infiltrate Silicon Virtue and battle
APRIL who is becoming increasingly evil, as she loses her soul to
the corporate bureaucrats. APRIL has grown immensely and created an
army of Roboclones; and too, entertainment executives have used
APRIL to create an army of model/actresses to sell to Wall
Streeters--they are all based on Autumn's DNA. And Autumn realizes
that with the ring they unlock their moral soul and superpowers,
and march the army into battle against APRIL, her Roboclones, and
Silicon Virtue's sinister management.
[0503] Now imagine a TV series lead by Autumn and Ranger who battle
forces of evil and actually have a marriage that works. Performed
independently of the corrupt courts, with Ranger acting like a man
and respecting Autumn, and Autumn acting like a woman and
respecting Ranger. They don't lie or cheat on one-another; and the
opening scene of the first season would go like this, way back in
Charleston. When Ranger first shows up, he downs a few White
Russians at a local club, and starts dancing with the drunken
Autumn. When he comes back from a bathroom break, he finds some
dude grinding on Autumn. So he punches the guy out. Another guy
tries to intervene, so he punches him out to. The bouncers rush him
and he takes them out, throwing all takers over tables and into the
dancers, until everyone is left on the floor . . . . Imagine that
Autumn wields the gold 45 revolver, just as Beatrice did, long ago,
when she saved Ranger.
[0504] In The Legend of McCoy Mountain, the 45 Revolver starts
glowing gold at the end in Mary's hands, as she has made the right
choice as she faces down the Seventh Rider, or is it Johnny Ranger
McCoy, who has returned to see her serve Justice?
Embodiments of Present Invention: Games Where Players Battle for
the Soul of America--for the Constitution and Bill of Rights
[0505] To date, no video game allows the player to protect and
defend the Constitution. No game lets the player witness what
happens in both victory and defeat of Constitutional ideals. To
date, no game presents the Constitution in written form, and then
lets the player fight for certain aspects of it; from the right to
life, to the right to bear arms, to the gold standard, to the
artists' and inventors' and creators' rights to protect and profit
form their content. To date, no video game presents the following
quotes, nor anything similar, and then calls upon the player to
form fellowships, round up rebels, and fight for the higher ideals.
Thus all the feminist/fanboy games are mired in the far-off land of
comic books, which is the only realm the fiatocracy allows us to
see ideals, now and then, and only if they are held by big, green
animations, but never by real men such as Ranger McCoy or Johnny
Ranger McCoy or real women such as Autumn Wests and Mary McCoy. The
present invention could inspire and lead to games that would
incorporate and exalt the following quotes, rewarding players who
fought for them; while not rewarding players who merely went about
chainsawing monsters, hiring and killing hookers, stealing innocent
people's cars and shooting cops as they trained to work for the
fiatocracy, and growing spores: [0506] "It is every Americans'
right and obligation to read and interpret the Constitution for
himself."--Thomas Jefferson [0507] "On every question of
construction, let us carry ourselves back to the time when the
Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the
debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of
the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in
which it was passed."--Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson,
Jun. 12, 1823, The Complete Jefferson, p. 322. [0508] "Our peculiar
security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not
make it a blank paper by construction."--Thomas Jefferson to W,
Nicholas, 1803. [0509] "The true key for the construction of
everything doubtful in a law, is the intention of the law givers.
This is most safely gathered from the words, but may be sought also
in extraneous circumstances, provided they do not contradict the
express words of the law."--Thomas Jefferson to A. Gallatin, 1808.
[0510] "I had rather ask an enlargement of power from the nation,
where it is found necessary, than to assume it by a construction
which would make our powers boundless."--Thomas Jefferson to W.
Nicholas, 1803. [0511] "The particular phraseology of the
Constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the
principle, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions,
that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void; and that courts,
as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument."--John
Marshall: Opinion as Chief Justice in Marbury vs. Madison, 1802
[0512] "[E]very act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor
of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No
legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be
valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater
than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the
representatives of the people are superior to the people
themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only
what their powers do not authorize, but what they
forbid."--Alexander Hamilton [0513] " . . . God forbid we should
ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be
all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be
discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they
misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is
lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty . . . . And
what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its
natural manure."--Richard Henry Lee, Senator, First Congress,
Additional Letters from the Federal Farmer (1788) at 169. [0514]
"Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of
the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to
raise an army upon their ruins."--Rep. Elbridge Gerry of
Massachusetts, spoken during floor debate over the Second
Amendment, I Annals of Congress at 750, Aug. 17, 1789. [0515] " . .
. the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep
and bear their private arms."--Tench Coxe in "Remarks on the First
Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution." Under the
pseudonym "A Pennsylvanian" in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette,
Jun. 18, 1789 at 2 col. 1. [0516] "To preserve liberty, it is
essential that the whole body of people always possess arms . . .
."--Richard Henry Lee, 1788, Member of the First U.S. Senate.
[0517] "That the said Constitution shall never be construed to
authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the
rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States
who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms . . .
."--Samuel Adams, Debates and Proceedings in the Convention of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, at 86-87 (Peirce & Hale, eds.,
Boston, 1850. 2, col. 2. [0518] "It does not require a majority to
prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush
fires in people's minds."--Samuel Adams [0519] "Germans who wish to
use firearms should join the SS or the SA--ordinary citizens don't
need guns, as their having guns doesn't serve the state."--Heinrich
Himmier. [0520] "The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is
to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no
election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late
to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission
and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on
the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable; and let it come! I
repeat, Sir, let it come!"--Patrick Henry, in his famous "The War
Inevitable" speech, March, 1775. [0521] "It is in vain, Sir, to
extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace! But there is
no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from
the North will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our
brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is
it that Gentlemen want? What would they have? Is life so dear, or
peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may
take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"--Patrick
Henry, in his famous "The War Inevitable" speech, March, 1775.
[0522] "A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of
exercise, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to
the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence Games
played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent
for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun
therefore be the constant companion of your walk."--Encyclopedia of
Thomas Jefferson, 318 (Foley, Ed., reissued 1967) [0523] "That the
Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to
infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience;
or to prevent "the people" of the United States who are peaceable
citizens from keeping their own arms . . . ." [0524] "Never give
in, never give in, never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or
small, large or petty--never give in except to convictions of honor
and good sense."--Winston Spencer Churchill, address at Harrow
School, Oct. 29, 1941. [0525] "Never turn your back on a threatened
danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double
the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you
will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything.
Never!"--Winston Churchill [0526] "The rank and file are usually
much more primitive than we imagine. Propaganda must therefore
always be essentially simple and repetitious."--Joseph Goebbels,
Nazi Minister of Propaganda [0527] "The most brilliant propagandist
technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is
borne in mind constantly . . . it must confine itself to a few
points and repeat them over and over."--Joseph Goebbels, Nazi
Minister of Propaganda [0528] "God grants liberty only to those who
love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it."--Daniel
Webster [0529] "Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the
Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has
happened once in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the
Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there
will be anarchy throughout the world."--Daniel Webster [0530] "All
that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do
nothing."--Edmund Burke [0531] "Those who have long enjoyed such
privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win
them."--Franklin D. Roosevelt [0532] "You have sat too long here
for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have
done with you. In the name of God, go!"--Oliver Cromwell, "Lord
Protector of the English Commonwealth", upon dissolving Parliament
[0533] "Whenever people . . . entrust the defense of their country
to a regular, standing army, composed of mercenaries, the power of
that country will remain under the direction of the most wealthy
citizens . . . "--"A Framer", in the Independent Gazetteer, 1791
[0534] "We, the people are the rightful masters of both Congress
and the courts--not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow
men who pervert the Constitution."--Abraham Lincoln [0535] "If
cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army
pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and
gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional
privilege."--Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878 [0536] "The right of
citizens to bear arms is just one guarantee against arbitrary
government, one more safeguard against the tyranny which now
appears remote in America, but which historically has proved to be
always possible."--Senator Hubert H. Humprey (D-Minnesota) [0537]
"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will
look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the
blackest."--Mahatma Gandhi [0538] "The one weapon every man,
soldier, sailor, or airman should be able to use effectively is the
rifle. It is always his weapon of personal safety in an emergency,
and for many it is the primary weapon of offense and defense.
Expertness in its use cannot be overemphasized."--General Dwight D.
Eisenhower [0539] "Before God I swear this is my creed: my rifle
and myself are the defenders of our country. We are the masters of
our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it until victory is
America's and there is no enemy, but peace!!--From "My Rifle", by
Major General W. H. Rupertus, USMC. [0540] "The American Revolution
was a beginning, not a consummation."--Woodrow Wilson, 28th
President of the United `States (1856-1924). [0541] "With
reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but
with tyrants, I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where
they will certainly be lost."--William Lloyd Garrison [0542] " . .
. to disarm the people is the best and most effective way to
enslave them . . . ."--George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 380.
[0543] "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be
disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The
supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any
pretense, raised in the United States."--Noah Webster, "An
Examination into the leading Principles of the Federal
Constitution." in Paul Ford, ed., Pamphlets on the Constitution of
the United States, at 56 (New York, 1888). [0544] " . . . if
raised, whether they could subdue a Nation of freemen, who know how
to prize liberty, and who have arms in their hands?"--Delegate
Sedgewick, during the Massachusetts Convention, rhetorically asking
if an oppressive standing army could prevail . . . Johnathon
Elliot, ed., Debates in the Several State Conventions on the
Adoption of the Federal Constitution, Vol. 2 at 97 (2d ed., 1888).
[0545] "Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans
possess over the people of almost every other nation . . .
nothwithstanding the military establishments in the several
kingdoms of Europe, which are carried as far as the public
resources will bear, the governments are afraid to trust the people
with arms."--James Madison, author of the Bill of Rights, in
Federalist Paper No. 46, at 243-244. [0546] "As civil rulers, not
having their duty to the people duly before them, may attempt to
tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally
raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the
injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the
article in their right to keep and bear private arms."--Tench Coxe,
in "Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal
Constitution." under the pseudonym, "A Pennsylvanian" in the
Philadelphia Federal Gazette, Jun. 18, 1789 at 2 Col. 1. [0547]
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on
the other hand, arms, like laws, discourage and keep the invader
and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well
as property. The same balance would be preserved were all the world
destitute of arms, for all the world would be alike; but since some
will not, others dare not lay them aside . . . . Horrid mischief
would ensue were one half the world deprived the use of them . . .
."--Thomas Paine, I Writings of Thomas Paine at 56 (1894). [0548]
"Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing
degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense?
Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and
under our direction, and having them under the management of
Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms,
in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal
safety to us, as in our own hands?"--Patrick Henry, 3 J. Elliot,
Debates in the Several State Conventions 45, 2d Ed. Philadelphia,
1836. [0549] "The ultimate authority . . . resides in the people
alone."--James Madison, author of the Bill of Rights, in Federalist
Paper No. 46. [0550] "The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a
declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as
individuals . . . . It establishes some rights of the individual as
unalienable and which consequently, no majority has the right to
deprive them of.
"--Albert Gallatin of the New York Historical Society, Oct. 7,
1789. [0551] "All military type firearms are to be handed in
immediately . . . . The SS, SA and Stahlhelm give every responsible
opportunity of campaigning with them. Therefore anyone who does not
belong to one of the above-named organizations and who
unjustifiably nevertheless keeps his weapon . . . must be regarded
as an enemy of the national government."--SA Oberfuhrer of Bad
Tolz, March, 1933. [0552] "There are going to be situations where
people are going to go without assistance. That's just the facts of
life."--LA Police Chief Darryl Gates [0553] "The Constitution of
most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power
is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves;
that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed and that
they are entitled to freedom of person, freedom of religion,
freedom of property, and freedom of press."--Thomas Jefferson
[0554] "Enlighten people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of
body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of
day."--Thomas Jefferson
[0555] Apocryphal Quotes [0556] "The strongest reason for people to
retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to
protect themselves against tyranny in government."--Thomas
Jefferson Papers, 334 (C. J. Boyd, Ed., 1950) [0557] "The very
atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil
interference--they deserve a place of honor with all that is
good."--George Washington [0558] "Government is not reason. It is
not eloquence. It is a force, like fire: a dangerous servant and a
terrible master".--George Washington [0559] "Our Constitution was
made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate
to the government of any other."--John Adams
[0560] The present invention would afford brave new video games
that could result when ideas have consequences, and where evil is
shown to triumph when good men do but nothing, because they are too
busy merely hiring hookers and killing them, or growing spores. For
instance, if the player merely plays little games with killing cops
and hiring and killing hookers, the truly open-ended world would
devolve and collapse, as the fiatocracy's banks lured it into
temptation and destroyed it. Imagine the brave new video games that
could bring A Brave New World to life!
[0561] The present invention will also foster superior educational
games. Education, from Homer on down, has ever been about morality
and enlightenment. It is only in recent times, as the fiatocracy
rose to power, that moral education was exiled and suppressed by
those who wish to deconstruct the exalted Constitution, Bill of
Rights and soul and replace them with dumbed-down banality; thusly
enslaving all of entirety to the bottom line, where no longer do
women strive to serve their faith, their children, their family,
and the higher ideals; but only the gutted, dumbed-down bottom line
trumpeted by their MBA boss/pimp, like the ones in GTA.
[0562] Video game creators are under no obligation to forever
reside in Plato's cave. They are free to move beyond it and walk in
the bright sun of the Great Books and Classics, learn from the
masters who set eternity in words; and instill video games with
that same classical soul. Of course they will be laughed at,
stoned, and persecuted by the fiatocracy's fanboy media, but over
time, they will prevail, and it is exactly this kind of story and
osul that games need. When they have manned up and walked the
walk--the Hero's Journey--in real life, perhaps then they shall be
able to walk the Hero's Journey in creating games with deeper soul
and story; and more exalted gameplay features.
[0563] Opportunities exist to create novel educational video games
embodying classical ideals. The service of classic ideals will
endow video games with far more realistic and meaningful worlds,
greater emotional and spiritual immersion, epic storytelling, and
more engaging gameplay; just as the service of classic ideals
exalted The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Declaration of Independence,
the American Founding, and the Constitution, as well as Shakespeare
and the Bible. Embracing classical precepts will allow us to create
a more exalted realm of games with classical soul. Expert opinion
will violently oppose these new video games, as most fanboy game
creators consider themselves superior directors to Sergio Leone and
John Ford, superior artists to da Vinic and Michelangelo and
William Blake, and superior writers to Shakespeare, Melville,
Homer, and Jefferson. The fanboys hath made their ignorance their
arrogance, their mediocrity their salvation, and their hatred for
women and classical soul their video games; and they are celebrated
by the fiat-funded media, government, and university system. Such
are the fleeting joys and short-winded elations of fiat empires,
where the truth must come to and end and where the worst rise to
the top, along the road to Serfdom, which is yet sold as a free
market, even though the currency--that which buys and controls the
entire market--is controlled by a private cartel that has enlisted
hundreds of thousands of the most pernicious soldiers--in the form
of fanboys, fiat philosophers, and feminists--who will kill the
unborn as fast as they kill prostitutes in GTA; but will never lift
a single finger to fight for the exalted US Constitution. The
present invention would afford games that allowed one to fight for
the Constitution.
[0564] The goals and ramifications of this invention are multiple,
including: 1) create a functional Road to Freedom video game, 2)
realize the patent-pending "Ideas Have Consequences" game engine
and a new breed of deeper, more meaningful games, and 3) develop
websites and publish articles and papers pertaining to a new realm
of video games which explore societal and economic evolution based
on the premises that ideas have consequences, and that classical
libertarian philosophies are best suited to supporting freedom--the
freedom described in America's Founding Documents including: "We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness." Such ideals are certainly worth fighting for
in the real world--they were worth pledging ones life, one's
fortune, and one's sacred honor; and such ideals would be worth
fighting for in game worlds.
[0565] The "Ideas Have Consequences" (IHC) video game engine and
present invention will allow the player to fight for the
foundational ideas of the classical liberal tradition. Throughout
history the most grotesque monsters have not been individuals nor
physical monsters, but ideas contained in collectivist, tyrannical,
and statist philosophies which oppose the individual's natural
rights and freedoms; and which exalt kings and the elite above the
common rule of law. While modern video games allow one to fight
grotesque monsters rendered with stunning pixel counts, they fail
to grant insight into the monster's souls. Thus modern games lack
deeper dramatic action, epic stories, and character development;
along with heart, spirit, and soul--the games lack exalting
philosophy and enduring art. As words are the spirit's vessel,
monsters that espouse ideologies--in words as well as deeds--will
be far more realistic and will lend deeper meaning to games. For it
is not the semblance of the creature that is so terrifying in the
greatest horror films and thrillers, but it is the soul. And too,
it is not the countenance of thugs and dictators--not their
singular physical presence which deprives freedom and massacres
multitudes; but it are their monstrous ideas. So it is that the
player will be able to become a "hero" in IHC games, and defeat the
deniers of freedom by battling their ideas; witnessing graphical
game-world depictions of their high-stakes successes and failures.
Players may fight for entities including the freedom of speech, the
right to bear arms, private property rights, intellectual property
rights, taxation without representation, the freedom of religion,
equal justice for all, the gold standard, and more.
[0566] The present invention and IHC game engine will foster games
wherein the battle to defend classical libertarian ideals will
enhance and deepen the gameplay. Players will be afforded the
unique opportunity to fight for classical ideals and oppose
collectivist and tyrannical philosophies depicted via words, deeds,
and institutions such as the Ministry of Peace and Truth manifested
in the game worlds and dystopias. The IHC engine will be capable of
rendering the spirit of the American Revolution, as well as the
themes of Orwellian and Randian literature, in realistic worlds
that evolve according to prevailing ideas. Imagine playing a Howard
Roark or John-Galt-like character, or a Winston Smith in a 1984
world, where you one could actually liberate the world from Big
Brother while battling groupthink, both via word (including
dialogue trees as seem in Mass Effect) and deed (typical FPS
action). The philosophies of Mises, Rothbard, and Hayek will lie at
the foundations of IHC games wherein the player will be perpetually
challenged to fight for liberty's ideals. The stakes will be high,
and the player will witness graphical representations of the
physical ramifications of their successes and failures, as the game
world evolves according to the ideas and philosophies that come to
rule the world and/or dystopia.
[0567] The world has long been yearning for exalted, epic games
with deep, profound, resounding story; but the video game industry
prefers to hype soulless games possessing the same old game
mechanics of shooting monsters and innocent cops and civilians. The
higher art of the contemporary game world are the games that let
one hire and kill prostitutes. For it is far easier to hype the
story or character or depth in Fable, Grand Theft Auto, and Gears
of War, than it is to actually add story on the level of
Shakespeare and the Bible--on the level of Dante and Homer. But one
sees it time and again in gaming magazine after gaming magazine--on
website after website--people are longing for exalted, meaningful
games. People are seeing right on trhough the fanboy hype, and
realizing that GOW will always be about chainsaws and high pixel
counts, and that the soul will never be missed in such games. Never
shall a GOW in-game character express an idea, nor an idea that
represents a deap-seated belief, nor worldview, nor philosophy, nor
soul--a deep, profound soul such as those owned by Hamet,
Jefferson, Moses, Socrates, and Jesus. While video games often
allow one to fight against grotesque monsters rendered with
stunning pixel counts, rarely do video games ever grant any insight
into the monster's souls. Thus deeper dramatic action, epic
stories, and character development elude video games, along with
heart, spirit, and soul--philosophy and enduring art. As words are
the spirit's vessel, monsters that espouse ideologies--in
words--will be far more realistic and will lend deeper meanings to
games. For it is not the semblance of the creature that is so
terrifying in all the greatest horror films, but it is the soul.
And thus games have so far fallen short of their potential of
becoming exalted art--a potential this invention, and others, will
realize.
PRIOR ART AND ADVANTAGES OF PRESENT INVENTION
[0568] There is a vast demand for deeper, more intellectual video
games that is generally opposed throughout the industry. Many
designers are weak minded like the Storm Troopers in Star Wars, and
thus they believe hiring and killing prostitutes constitutes
exalted story, as the fiatocracy's Death Star commands them to
believe. Many will defend their hiring and killing prostitutes by
the fact that one doesn't have to in the open-ended world, but then
it GTA is not truly an open-ended world wherein one cannot take a
prostitute to church, nor even speak words of exalted wisdom to her
that might save her soul, nor give her a copy of Dante's Inferno
nor Homer's Odyssey to exalt her soul. While developers,
publishers, and insiders constantly hype the storytelling in games
so as to sound cool and push product for mere monetary profit, the
young can see that the emperor is wearing no clothes. In EGM's
letter of the month, a reader expresses the rising generation's
demand by writing:
[0569] EGM Letter of The Month: [0570] "As I grew up, videogames
grew up with me. I started playing games like Donkey Kong and
Carnival on the ColecoVision before I could read, and Nintendo's
Mario title were a staple of my early childhood. As I got older, I
saw the storytlines and gameplay mechanics become more intricate
and engaging. When I went through my rebellious and bitchy teenage
years, so did videogames. And as I grew and matured, so did the
subject matter of the games themselves.
[0571] Now that I'm 22, more things are vying for my time and
attention such as work, college, women, drinking, and lamenting
over my long-gone and simpler childhood. Needless to say, if I'm
going to devote 20-plus hours of my life to completing a game, it
had better be well worth it. And to me personally, a game well
worth it is one I can take something away from on an intellectual
level. For example, a game that makes me question my own existence,
or the war in Iraq, or the increasing diconnectedness of our modern
high-tech lives would be the holy grail of gaming to me. What are
the chances that gaming will finally grow once more and develop a
social and political conscience?--Eric Staskiewicz, summer, 2008
EGM [0572] EGM answers "The answers are pretty damn good. Games are
more and more frequently making "statements" about society and
politics--see BioShock, GTA4, even Army of Two for just a few
examples. We'll always have mindless diversions as well, of course,
but count on seeing more and more depth of theme and storytelling
in the coming years."--Summer, 2008
[0573] And so it is that jacking cars, shooting police and the
innocent, and hiring and killing prostitutes is now not only
exalted art, but sublime political science and sociology. The
younger generation is seeking exaltation and enlightenment in their
video games, and the response is a) it is already pretty damn good
so shut up and b) mindless diversions rock and c) it will get even
better than hiring and killing prostitutes. It is quite obvious
from the above letter, that the demand for video games with exalted
principles is not being served. Fanboys do not believe in the
"word," and thus they poke around in their cave, grunting and
smiling when the prostitute dies after they are done with her,
enjoying their "art."
[0574] Such novel games will stand head and shoulders above the
prior and current art, including GTA, GOW, and Fallout 3, about
which Kotaku reports: Cannabalism, Slavery and Sex in Fallout
3--http://kotaku.com/5022866/cannabalism-slavery-and-sex-in-fallout-3.
An interview with one of Fallout3's lead designers goes as follows
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/39736/Fallout-3-Screenshots-Interview:
[0575] "1) Which of the following, if any, will be featured in
Fallout3; Romance, Sex, Homosexuality, Nudity, Prostitution,
Slavery, Cannibalism, Children, Child killings, drugs, addictions?
And of the things that won't be featured, can you explain why they
won't be included in the game? [0576] "It touches on most of those.
Slavery, children, drugs and addiction more than the others, as
those factor for into the setting more. In regards to nudity and
child killings, no, it features neither of those, as they don't
really add to the flavor of the game (I'll get into children in the
next question more). I think if you look at Fallout 1, and the
footprint it has with the topics you ask about, Fallout 3 is pretty
much the same, in that it features the types of things you mention
at about the same rate, no more, no less. Drugs and drug addiction
play a larger role perhaps, as it's a key gameplay device. I think
the heart of this question is "has the harshness and maturity of
the world of Fallout 3 been tempered from the earlier games?" and I
can certainly say "No, it hasn't
been."--http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/39736/Fallout-3-Screensh-
ots-Interview
[0577] Note that while Cannibalism, slavery, drugs, and
prostitution are regularly included in the the fanboy video games,
nowhere can one find the US Constitution, nor Shakespeare, nor the
Bible, nor Plato, nor Aristotle, nor Gandhi, nor Jefferson, nor any
Great Book nor classical ideal included. Classical ideals have been
excluded from the gaming realm; and while both good and evil exist
in games, both are considered "fun," and neither have long-term
consequences.
[0578] Although Fallout1 allowed one to kill children, Fallout3 no
longer does, as the designer states: "You will not be able to be a
child killer. There are several reasons for this, some of them are
very basic, like we wouldn't be able to sell the game, anywhere to
anyone, if the children could be killed." [0579] The Fallout3
interview continues at
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/39736/Fallout-3-Screenshots-Interview:
[0580] "3) Could you outline your thoughts on the matter of
ensuring that choices and consequences provided by the various
quests within your game are crafted so as to be more nonlinear than
simply the superficial choice between "good, bad and
neutral"/"affirmative, negative and nothing?" Also, will there be
other aspects to choices in Fallout 3? Political? Philosophical?
Exactly how far will you go with the player's moral freedom, the
"gray" solutions?" [0581] That really depends on the quest, so it's
hard to say. There are certainly some that are clearly good/bad,
like blowing up Megaton. It's clearly bad to nuke an entire town.
It's clearly bad to kill innocent people throughout the game, and
your karma is affected. It's also clearly good to help people in
need, giving to charity, passing out clean water, and more. Those
are specific examples in the game. I think many people want to play
"good" and want to play "evil". Both are fun in different ways. The
gray area comes into several quests, where the situation is just
"bad". Some feel like no-win situations and they come across as
"make a hard choice." I think that's where it feels best honestly,
but we do need to mix it up between that and simpler
good/bad.--http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/39736/Fallout-3-Screenshots--
Interview
[0582] So it is that good and evil are both "fun" in different
ways. Imagine if our Founding Fathers had created a nation wherein
they saw "good" and "evil" to be "fun" in different ways. The
present invention differentiates itself from the prior art in that
the outcome of the world ultimately does depend on classical ideals
which must be fought for. Tobold's blog presents some insights into
how the fanboy gaming community falls short in delivering games
where exalted ideas and have truly exalted consequences; and where
there is a good that ultimately makes a difference. The present and
prior art of the video game world exalts games where evil is a thin
plot device:
[0583]
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2006.sub.--06.sub.--01_archive.html
[0584] Tobold's MMORPG Blog
[0585] Friday, Jun. 30, 2006
[0586] "The end of evil [0587] When last year Edward Castronova
argued on Terra Nova that Horde characters in World of Warcraft are
evil, he was widely ridiculed. There is no "evil" in World of
Warcraft, players of either faction are constantly on quests that
are helping somebody else. Whether you are a holy paladin or a
demon-summoning warlock, it doesn't change the way in which you
help the farmer get the deed to his farm back from the evil
bandits. There is no moral choice, no option to sell the deed to
the highest bidder instead of returning it for a lousy reward. Even
the undead are "good" undead, fighting the evil scourge undead.
[0588] If a game like Black & White, or Knights of the Old
Republic, or Fable, gives you the option to play good or evil, that
is just a thinly disguised way to enable you to play the game
twice. You chose evil or good by what you think is more useful to
beat the game, and then if you play it again, you chose the other
side, just to see something new. It is not a moral choice, but a
tactical one. We don't feel that burning down a virtual village in
a game world and killing the inhabitants is an evil act, after all
those are just colored pixels that don't feel anything. Advancing
in the game is the most important, even that means that in the next
mission we have to throw Napalm on that Vietnamese village to
continue. [0589] All that ends us in a total inability between
gamers and anti-game advocates or politicians to understand each
other. The gamer picks up minor points that the criticism got
wrong, like "there are no points in GTA for shooting and raping
hookers", and fails to see that the criticism otherwise wasn't all
that unjustified. Most of what you do in GTA *is* a depiction of
very, very evil behavior. By the time you finished the game you
have committed more crimes than any known peace-time gangster. The
anti-gamer fails to see that all these crimes are virtual, and
don't lead to you going out and doing the same in real life. [0590]
"Evil" has become a joke. In Dragon Quest 8 one of the heroes has a
special combat move with whirling axes, called "Axes of Evil", har,
har, nice joke on George Bush. But I wonder if all this making
light of evil, all this gaming without true moral choices, is not
making the medium of video games poorer. Fact is that in the real
world there is real evil, guys like Sadam Hussein, Kim Jong-il, or
Robert Mugabe aren't just "misunderstood". And evil isn't limited
to crazy dictators, there are people everywhere that like to be
cruel to others. And ordinary people have to make hard moral
choices sometimes, between good and evil. Previous entertainment
media understood that, and made good and evil a major recurring
theme in many books and movies. Only video games present the end of
evil, a world in which neither good nor evil matters, where "evil"
is just a thin plot element to explain why you as the hero have to
go out and kill that boss. We end up with players in online games
doing evil things that actually hurt real people, if just in a
minor way, and not even realizing the difference. GTA won't turn
anybody into a mass murderer, but it is hard to believe that
hundreds of hours of inconsequential evil and violence should have
no effect whatsoever on how you perceive evil and violence in the
real
world."--http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2006.sub.--06.sub.--01_archive.html
[0591] In the real world, as in classic art, ideas have
consequences. In the realm of video gaming, they do not, and thus
games fall far short of classical, epic art.
[0592] The prior art does not let a character battle for the
Constitution in exalted Word and Deed. To date, no video game
allows the player to battle for classical ideals while fighting the
forces of collectivism. No game brings the spirit of "the good
fight" to life by layering in expressions of ideologies. No game
lets one select friends and enemies based on the depth of the npc's
souls and spirits. No game lets one choose friends and enemies
based on the words that are spoken. No game lets one speak words
and see where they take root, and then choose to befriend those who
hear the word and accept it, in building their coalition or forming
their fellowship. No game allows characters to be judged on the
strength of their character--matching word and deed. No game
focuses on the small moral choices a character makes, which would
parallel the larger choices on down the line, and thus serve as a
metric for determining who and who not one should befriend.
[0593] As postmodernists believe that art is created by society,
and as fiat postmodernists dominate all our institutions today (as
they are bought and paid for by postmodern fiat dollars) Grand
Theft Auto, like Eggers & Oates, is ultimately a creation of
our fiat banking system. It reduces women to prostitutes and men to
douchebag thugs hiring and killing prostitutes while penning fake
amazon reviews, and millions of fanboys exalt in this context,
believing it to be the very pinnacle of existence, as they were
raised by single mothers and educated in the fiatocracy's
dumbed-down schools. This present invention will allow games
superior to GTA and GOW. This invention will foster games that will
bring classical literature to life, as well as contemporary
literature with classical ideals such as honor, integrity,
character, and fidelity.
[0594] No present video games incorporates real, historical quotes
on opposing sides--such as Hayek versus Marx and Mises versus
Lenin; and Hayek, Mises, and Rothbard versus Bemanke, Greenspan,
and the feminist instructors who get a few pennies of the fiat cash
now and then to displace Constitutional ideals. No game allows the
player to weigh the words to inform their actions and choose who,
and who not, to shoot, based on the character's ideas. And finally,
no game shows the different worlds that result as the consequences
of different ideas. In short, ideas do not have consequences in
video games; and the world of GTA can thus never be exalted. It is
not an open-ended world; as never can anyone fight for freedom from
Roe vs. Wade nor stop the theft via inflation nor defend our own
borders and protect the innocent. GTA presents a world without
hope, with plenty of hookers and bowling games, which is exactly
the way the fiatocracy envisions are future; as they detest the
free, exalted, man--the classical hero. They have gone so far as to
criminalize the creator and author--since the fiatocracy prints all
the money, those who create wealth are technically stealing from
the fiatocracy; and the fiatocracy goes after them by printing more
money to try and buy their creations, or seize the savings by the
inflation tax. Dante put the fiat masters in the seventh circle of
hell, which is why they don't teach Shakespeare, Dante, and the
Bible in the fiatocracy's business nor law schools. And thus
opportunity abounds for games as exalted art, wherein ideas have
consequences.
[0595] Opportunities abound to create video games with deep,
profound, exalted spirits and souls--games which exalt the
intellect, as do all enduring forms of dramatic action, from The
Odyssey on down. The same opportunities abound for universities,
but the fiat/feminist regimes must oppose the Great Books and
Classics, Truth, honor, and integrity, so as to bolster the dying
currency of a morally, spiritually, intellectually, and monetarily
bankrupt empire; which went from honor, integrity, manufacturing,
faith, and the family to debt, deceit, decline, and Godlessness;
just as universities went from creating exalted students to using
students to create exorbitant debt--moth monetary and spiritual.
Imagine a video game that allowed the protagonist to bring it all
on back. Imagine a game which countered the prevailing expert
opinion that killing cops and hookers is the highest of art forms;
and which allowed the player to render ideals real; and exalt the
hookers via word and deed, and join the cops in laying down the
law. To date, no game allows one to try and talk a hooker out of
prostitution--a most dangerous occupation in games, where one is
likely to be used and killed by a fanboy. So imagine a game that
allowed one to exalt the hooker, and to kill fanboys who kill
hookers.
[0596] The fiatocracy's dominant feminists and fatherless fanboys
detest and oppose epic poetry, classical literature, honor,
morality, and integrity; and thus opportunity abounds, as such
entities are at the center and circumference of exalted art. The
present invention would allow one to fight for the forgotten ideals
echoed in the following poem--The Ghost of Valley Forge, by Pastor
Paul Payton:
[0597] I had a dream the other night I didn't understand,
[0598] A figure walking through the mist, with flintlock in his
hand.
[0599] His clothes were tom and dirty, as he stood there by my
bed,
[0600] He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low he
said:
[0601] The present invention would exalt games with ghosts-with a
ghost of George Washington or one of the Founding Fathers, exalting
the superior ideals of our country.
[0602] "We fought a revolution to secure our liberty,
[0603] We wrote the Constitution, as a shield from tyranny.
[0604] For future generations, this legacy we gave,
[0605] In this, the land of the free and home of the brave.
[0606] The present invention would exalt games which mentioned and
saluted the Constitution and encouraged people to fight for its
classical ideals.
[0607] The freedom we secured for you, we hoped you'd always
keep,
[0608] But tyrants labored endlessly while your parents were
asleep.
[0609] Your freedom gone--your courage lost--you're no more than a
slave,
[0610] In this, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
[0611] The present invention could foster games that would exalt
the reality that so many are now slaves to a fiat system which has
bankrupt us both monetarily and spiritually. Fanboys hate poetry,
and thus the reigning fiat experts exalt their games, while
striving to oppose and abolish games that exalt poetic souls, epic
story, and Natural Rights.
[0612] You buy permits to travel, and permits to own a gun,
[0613] Permits to start a business, or to build a place for
one.
[0614] On land that you believe you own, you pay a yearly rent,
[0615] Although you have no voice in choosing how the money's
spent.
[0616] The present invention could foster games that would exalt
the reality that so many are now slaves to permit/debt/fiat system
which has bankrupt us both monetarily and spiritually.
[0617] Your children must attend a school that doesn't educate,
[0618] Your moral values can't be taught, according to the
state.
[0619] You read about the current "news" in a very biased
press,
[0620] You pay a tax you do not owe, to please the IRS.
[0621] The present invention could foster games that would exalt
the reality that are schools are so dumbed-down and feminized that
there are no real men left to stand for the Great Books and
Classics. Such games would allow one to fight slavery--our slavery
to the permit/debt/fiat system which has bankrupt us both
monetarily and spiritually.
[0622] Your money is no longer made of silver or of gold,
[0623] You trade your wealth for paper, so life can be
controlled.
[0624] You pay for crimes that make our Nation turn from God to
shame,
[0625] You've taken Satan's number, as you've traded in your
name.
[0626] The present invention could foster games that would exalt
the reality that are schools are so dumbed-down and feminized that
there are no real men left to stand for the Great Books and
Classics--culture's gold standard. The present invention would
allow people to stand up and fight for the US Constitution's Gold
Standard. Such games would allow one to fight Satan has his
spawn--the permit/debt/fiat system which has bankrupt us both
monetarily and spiritually.
[0627] You've given government control to those who do you
harm,
[0628] So they can padlock churches, and steal the family farm.
[0629] And keep our country deep in debt, put men of God in
jail,
[0630] Harass your fellow countryman while corrupted courts
prevail.
[0631] The present Ideas Have Consequences invention would foster
games that allow one to fight for the Constitution and God, both in
word and deed.
[0632] Your public servants don't uphold the solemn oath they're
sworn,
[0633] Your daughters visit doctors so children won't be born.
[0634] Your leaders ship artillery and guns to foreign shores,
[0635] And send your sons to slaughter, fighting other people's
wars.
[0636] The present Ideas Have Consequences invention would foster
games that allow one to fight for the Constitution and God, both in
word and deed.
[0637] Can you regain your Freedom for which we fought and
died?
[0638] Or don't you have the courage, or the faith to stand with
pride?
[0639] Are there no more values for which you'll fight to save?
[0640] Or do you wish your children to live in fear and be a
slave?
[0641] The present Ideas Have Consequences invention would foster
games that allow one to fight for the Constitution and God, both in
word and deed.
[0642] Sons of the Republic, arise and take a stand!
[0643] Defend the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land!
[0644] Preserve our Republic, and each God-given right!
[0645] And pray to God to keep the torch of freedom burning
bright!"
[0646] The present Ideas Have Consequences invention would foster
games that allow one to fight for the Constitution and God, both in
word and deed.
[0647] As I awoke he vanished, in the mist from whence he came,
[0648] His words were true, we are not free, and we have ourselves
to blame.
[0649] For even now as tyrants trample each God-given right,
[0650] We only watch and tremble--too afraid to stand and
fight.
[0651] The present Ideas Have Consequences invention would foster
games that allow one to fight for the Constitution and God, both in
word and deed.
[0652] If he stood by your bedside in a dream while you're
asleep,
[0653] And wonder what remains of your right he fought to keep.
[0654] What would be your answer if he called out from the
grave?
[0655] Is this still the land of the free and home of the
brave?
[0656] (Pastor Paul Payton)
[0657] Imagine if we didn't just shoot monsters, but we tried to
reason with them via dialogue trees and other means; and tried to
convince them to take a higher path. Imagine if the character could
use the wisdom of Homer, Dante, Shakepseare, an Jesus, in addition
to shooting the enemy. Imagine if the character could exalt the
enemy, and present reasons, in dialogue trees or other means, for
why we all ought to exalt in the Constitution. By merely shooting
the enemy, all hope is lost to win a friend who could help in
future campaigns. Also, by shooting an enemy too quickly, one would
gain a reputation amongst one's own people as being a war-monger,
and one would lose the long-term respect that a leader needs to
exalt the classical principles and entities such as the
Constitution.
[0658] Imagine a game that allowed one to fight the state and
government machinery that is bankrupting America both spiritually
and monetarily. Lew Rockwell writes in GRAND THEFT SOCIETY, [0659]
"A core problem with government is that its managers believe that
all reality will conform to their wishes if they issue the right
orders, pass the right laws, and put the right people in charge.
Reality resists this simple-minded approach; witness the debacle of
the war on terror. Sadly, the same group that has managed that war
is now managing another one: the war on recession . . . . There are
lessons here. One is never to permit the government to discern the
relationship between cause and effect. Government invariably rules
out the possibility that the structure of the public sector itself
is to blame for the problem, whether that problem is terrorism or
recession . . . . Another lesson is that we need to shut down the
machinery that allows government to enact its plans. If there
continues to be a slice of the population that gets its kicks from
issuing orders and trying to make the world conform to them, these
people ought to be given a video-game console to play with. The
game can be called Grand Theft Society. The stakes are too high to
permit them to play their games using real wealth and real
lives."--Lew Rockwell, GRAND THEFT SOCIETY, The Daily Reckoning,
Jul. 4, 2008
[0660] Imagine the "ideas have consequences" game that showed the
whole world the consequences of the fiatocracy's government elite's
actions--foreign wars on foreign shores and bubble after bubble
that robbed investors and "homeowners" of their pensions and
savings and homes and families. And too, imagine a game that went a
step further and actually allowed the players to battle the
government's "Grand Theft Society," bring back a sound currency,
and strive for peace. Imagine a game in which one could fight for
the 45,000,000 aborted souls--a game where innocent life is valued
more than the machinations of the postmodern, soulless, MBAs and
lawyers who oversaw the creation of Grand Theft Auto in their own
image, where they exalt in what the experts think is the highest
art form--hiring and killing hookers, killing civilians and cops,
and jacking cars.
[0661] Imagine a game that could let one fight the decline of the
West. Imagine a game that resurrect Homer's Spirit and open the
American Mind. Imagine a video game wherein actions and ideas had
realistic consequences, in the game world and beyond, for all
exalted art exalts the human spirit far beyond the art's original
medium. Imagine a game that dealt with the choices Richard Weaver
characterizes in Ideas Have Consequences--imagine if we net the
witches on the Heath and then had to choose what to do upon hearing
them; just as we had to choose if we should listen to Lady Macbeth,
or DTB. [0662] Like Macbeth, Western man made an evil decision,
which has become the efficient and final cause of other evil
decisions. Have we forgotten our encounter with the witches on the
heath? It occurred in the late fourteenth century, and what the
witches said to the protagonist of this drama was that man could
realize himself more fully if he would only abandon his belief in
the existence of transcendentals. The powers of darkness were
working subtly, as always, and they couched this proposition in the
seemingly innocent form of an attack upon universals. The defeat of
logical realism in the great medieval debate was the crucial event
in the history of Western culture; from this flowed those acts
which issue now in modern decadence.--from Ideas Have Consequences
by Richard M. Weaver
http://www.nyx.net/.about.kbanker/chautauqua/consequences.html
[0663] The world is longing to free video games and film from
fanboy domination, where they drive around in their Ferraris,
screaming that Grand Theft auto is higher art as it presents one
with the grand of whether or not to kill the prostitute after
hiring them. But there is no choice in Grand Theft Auto to save
Western Civilization. There is no option to protect the unborn.
There is no option to save nor exalt the family nor the
Constitution, nor beat up nor shoot Hollywood douchebags who hate
higher art and give us superficial, fanboy video game movies. There
is no acknowledgement of the exaltation after the fall, nor dark
tragedy; and thus there is no catharsis nor exaltation, but for the
fanboys who get their catharsis every time they kill a prostitute
or jack a car or lower interest rates to print more money,
committing grand theft of the hard-working man's savings, while
destroying his home with the 50% divorce rate and fanboy feminism
that robs women of their souls via Prima Noctae in college. Richard
Weaver describes the rampant, hysterical fanboyism and feminism,
both of which are happy to reduce females to prostitutes, destroy
the family, and indoctrinate fatherless children to serve the
corporate/state fiatocracy, as the bankers profit from the
deconstruction and destruction of the immortal soul in art and
life, reducing all of entirety to mere materialism, where they can
manufacture the debt that enslaves all of entirety; but only for a
moment, as the world shall soon know video games far greater than
Grand Theft Auto. For the moment Odysseus must walk around in a
disguise, but soon he shall take it off. [0664] "Hysterical
optimism (fanboyism) will prevail until the world again admits the
existence of tragedy, and it cannot admit the existence of tragedy
until it again distinguishes between good and evil. Hope of
restoration depends upon recovery of the "ceremony of innocence,"
of that clearness of vision and knowledge of form which enable us
to sense what is alien or destructive, what does not comport with
our moral ambition. The time to seek this is now, before we have
acquired the perfect insouciance of those who prefer perdition.
For, as the course goes on, the movement turns centrifugal; we
rejoice in our abandon and are never so full of the sense of
accomplishment ag when we have struck some bulwark of our culture a
deadly blow. [0665] In view of these circumstances, it is no matter
for surprise that, when we ask people even to consider the
possibility of decadence, we meet incredulity and resentment. We
must consider that we are in effect asking for a confession of
guilt and an acceptance of sterner obligation; we are making
demands in the name of the ideal or the suprapersonal, and we
cannot expect a more cordial welcome than disturbers of complacency
have received in any other age. On the contrary, our welcome will
rather be less today, for a century and a half of bourgeois
ascendancy has produced a type of mind highly unreceptive to
unsettling thoughts. Added to this is the egotism of modern man,
fed by many springs, which will scarcely permit the humility needed
for self-criticism."--from Ideas Have Consequences by Richard M.
Weaver
http://www.nyx.net/.about.kbanker/chautauqua/consequences.html
[0666] So it is that postmodern video games and professors refuse
to acknowledge the decline and decadence; and thus games and
technology fail to be exalted by classical, epic, soul. The fanboys
are leaving billions upon billions on the table, including that far
higher wealth of intact homes and families, and people living for
exalted poetry instead of the bottom line.
[0667] The player character can choose whether or not to shoot
characters based on their ideas and ideologies. The player
character can choose whether or not to shoot in-game characters
based upon the words they speak and the actions they perform. Now
the interesting and novel aspect of this invention and the
resulting realm of novel games are that words and actions are tied
to deeper political philosophies and psychological aspects, just as
they are in real life. Many fanboys do not read books nor the Great
Philosophers, nor Shakespeare, nor Homer, nor The Bible, so
anything beyond sci-fi and comic books will lose them, and their
"expert opinions" may oppose this invention. But all this only
offers support for the present inventions non-obviousness and
novelty.
[0668] The gameworld in the present invention evolves depending on
the ideologies that are allowed to live, and too, the in-game,
open-ended world evolves depending on the ideologies that are
killed and suppressed. The in-game, open-ended world evolves
depending on which characters the character interacts with. The
in-game, open-ended world devolves when collectivist ideologies
prevail, just as the world devolves in real life, when bureaucracy
trumps the day. The in-game, open-ended world is exalted when
classical, Judeo-christian ideologies prevail, from Homer,
Shakespeare, and the Bible; and the lead character may ultimately
be murdered by collectivists when he fails to kill the collectivist
characters and their ideologies. Good exists--the same good Jesus
and Socrates died for, and the present invention would exalt games
in which one could join the battle in fighting for that very same
good.
[0669] The novel form of ideals-and-idea-based video game worlds,
of the present invention, could finally bring to life literary
works such as Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, Huxley's Brave New
World, and other novels. The ideas-based video game described in
the present invention could bring to life novels such as Atlas
Shrugged, 1984, and A Brave New World. The video game would bring
to life classical economics works such as Hayek's The Road to
Serfdom, showing the consequences that collectivist ideas have in a
virtual world. The novel video games could bring to life Autumn
Rangers, wherein one must upload the moral soul into a
supercomputer. The game would bring to life economic theories and
free markets versus socialistic conflicts. The video game world may
devolve in a physical manner when communism and collectivism take
hold; as long lines, tyranny, and murder ensued. The video game
world may devolve in a physical manner including, but not limited
to, dreary buildings, increased drinking, long lines waiting for
materials and food and goods, a police state, martial law, less
freedom, walls, banned books, abortion, fiat currencies,
deconstructed Constitution, banned thoughts, and banned art. The
video game world will devolve when those who espouse communistic
and socialistic tendencies are allowed to dominate.
[0670] The video game may also allow the first person player to win
the world over via speaking ideologies and arguing their point,
trying to convince the population of the virtues of leading via
virtue. The video game will allow the optimum blend of Jeffersonian
Classical Liberalism to prevail in the world, if the player
succeeds in winning the battle for ideas via words and deeds. The
video game will allow the player to fight for the high morals
expressed in The Odyssey, Shakespeare, and the Bible.
[0671] Versions of the video game would allow one to fight for the
ideals expressed in The Book of Matthew and/or the Apology.
Versions of the video game would allow one to fight for the ideals
expressed in The Book of Matthew and/or the Apology, wherein one
may actually save Socrates or Jesus.
[0672] The video game will allow classical liberal, libertarian,
collectivist, and other ideologies to face off in a world where
ideas have consequences, and where the world actually evolves
according to the prevailing ideals. Players will be given a chance
to reason with the enemy, and when they sense reason to be failing,
they can resort to other means, such as shooting the immoral or
amoral collectivists, bureaucrats, and tyrants. Such actions can be
based upon the plot structures and literary beauty in novels such
as Atlas Shrugged, A Brave New World, Animal Farm, The Odyssey, or
the Bible, and thusly realizing an in-game world where prosperity
and peace reign. Imagine a video game that allowed the player to
live-out the themes in novels about dystopias.
[0673] If players never try to reason with the enemy, and just
start shooting them, they will fail to win any support or a
widespread following. If they reason for too long, and
ineffectively, they will fail. If they reason ineffectively, and
then start shooting, they will fail. If they reason optimally, they
may succeed. If they reason optimally, but fail to reach the enemy,
then they must battle the enemy. The precedence of their optimal
reasoning will have inspired and reached enough fellow in-game
players so as to effect the overthrow of the tyranny. Fellow,
in-game players may be carefully recruited, but say the wrong thing
to the wrong person, or a spy, and the player may be ambushed from
his own army or fellowship. Such are some of the new, deep,
meaningful, and profound gameplay dynamics the present game
affords.
[0674] Furthermore, great works such as The Odyssey might be
brought to life through dialogue and action trees parallel to the
actual dialogue and action in The Odyssey. When one chooses the
correct dialogue and action, the story is advanced towards its
exalted end. When one strays from the path, the more exalted story
is lost, and the further a player strays, the more they endanger
themselves in never being able to return home to Penelope, and
rescue her from the false, arrogant suitors. And too, when the
correct path is chosen, players will be rewarded with the
classical, epic poetry, both in word and deed. Such a game will
provide a superior educational platform, capable of serving the
rising demand for an education serving the moral, immortal
soul.
[0675] Imagine the novel video game this present invention would
afford--a game in which one could fight for the ideals of the
Founding Fathers. To date, no fanboy creation allows one to fight
for the profundity and depth of the following sentiments expressed
by Richard Weaver in Ideas Have Consequences: [0676] The writings
of the Founding Fathers of the American Union indicate that these
political architects approached democracy with a spirit of
reservation. Though revolutionaries by historic circumstance, they
were capable enough of philosophy to see these dilemmas. The
Federalist authors especially were aware that simple majority rule
cannot suffice because it does everything without reference; it
expression of feeling about the moment at the moment, restrained
neither by abstract idea nor by precedent. They therefore labored
long and with considerable cunning to perfect an instrument which
should transcend even the law-making body. This was the
Constitution, which in the American system stands for political
truth. It is not an unchangeable truth, but the framers placed
special obstacles in the way of change. It was hoped that the
surmounting of these would prove so laborious and slow that errors
would be exposed and the permanently true recognized. In this way
they endeavored to protect the populace of a republic against
itself. Their action is a rebuke to the romantic theory of human
nature, and this will explain why the Constitution has proved so
galling to Jacobins. They regard it as a kind of mortmain, and
during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt its interpreters
were scornfully termed, in an expression indicative of the modern
temper, "nine old men."--Ideas Have Consequences by Richard M.
Weaver
[0677] Many fanboys will scream at the words "history" and
"morality," and they will cry that The Odyssey video game will not
allow the superior joys of killing prostitutes to get one's money
back, jacking cars, killing police men, slavery, child killing,
drugs, and running over civilians that GTA IV et al. provides. But
they shall not be disappointed, as at the very end, the player will
be allowed to round up his son Telemachus and a couple friends, and
kill all the fanboy suitors who laid Odysseus's wealth to waste,
while trying to seduce his noble wife, love, and queen; while
Odysseus was off fighting for his country, like so many Marines,
while the fanboys sit at home jacking cars and hiring and killing
prostitutes for mere entertainment. And then, so as not to exclude
female fanboys and grrrrl gamers; all the fanboys' whores will be
called in to clean up the mess in Odysseus's hall, just as they are
in The Odyssey, and after they have cleaned up the mess--all the
fanboy blood and guts--the option will be presented to have all the
fanboy's whores taken out and hung, just as they are in The
Odyssey, as Odysseus delivers justice to all those who tried to
steal and claim his private property. The difference between
GTA/GOW/Fallout et al and the present invention is that the present
invention allows violence backed by moral meaning--which is exactly
what the fiatocracy's bankers who funded GTA and feminism don't
want; as they prefer a world in which one can jack pensions,
subprime loans, artistic creations, and investments via subterfuge,
saying one thing while holding in one's heart another, and subtle
crime, while confiscating savings via the inflation tax, in
Greenspan's words. So it is that the present invention will be
opposed on many levels, but woe to those who would oppose the
immortal soul of the rising generation and the Hero's Journey
Fellowship. For as Mark Twain stated, "one cannot pray a lie."
MORE ADVANTAGES OF INVENTION OVER PRIOR ART
[0678] In another embodiment of the present invention, characters
representing fanboys will scream that ideas are not important and
that they ought not and must not be protected. They will be
reasoned with via dialogue trees including the following ideas and
ideals, as the player is allowed to fight for the artist's and
creator's natural rights: [0679] Nobody spends somebody else's
money as carefully as he spends his own.
[0680] Nobody uses somebody else's resources as carefully as he
uses his own. So if you want efficiency and effectiveness, if you
want knowledge to be properly utilized, you have to do it through
the means of private property.--Milton Friedman [0681] If history
could teach us anything, it would be that private property is
inextricably linked with civilization.--Ludwig von Mises [0682] The
system of private property is the most important guaranty of
freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for
those who do not.--Fredrich August von Hayek [0683] The moment the
idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the
law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice
to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.--John Adams [0684] The
directors of such companies, however, being the managers rather of
other people's money than of their own, it cannot well be expected
that they should watch over it with the same anxious vigilance with
which the partners in a private copartnery frequently watch over
their own. Like the stewards of a rich man, they are apt to
consider attention to small matters as not for their master's
honor, and very easily give themselves a dispensation from having
it. Negligence and profusion, therefore, must always prevail, more
or less, in the management of the affairs of such a company.--Adam
Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature And Causes of the Wealth of
Nations
[0685] If reason fails, the player will be allowed to shoot the
fanboys, thusly preserving property rights which will afford better
music, culture, art, and innovation; ideals set forth in our
Constitution and Founding Documents: Arts Entrepreneurship seeks to
give students, artists, and entrepreneurs the tools to make their
passions their professions--to protect and profit from their
ideas--to take ownership in their careers and creations. For Adam
Smith's invisible hand enriches all when happiness is pursued by
artists and innovators--society's natural founts of wealth. Thomas
Jefferson eloquently expressed the entrepreneurial premise:
[0686] We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.--The Declaration of Independence
[0687] The only clause in the main body of the United States
Constitution that mentions "Rights" states the following: The
Congress shall have power to . . . promote the progress of science
and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and
inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and
discoveries;--The United States Constitution
[0688] Couple these two passages together, and one has the moral
premise of a possible form of the new breed of video games the
present invention will foster, allow, and inspire. Every creator
ought be given the tools to create new ventures--to protect their
intellectual property, and to pursue and profit from their dreams
on their "Hero's Journey" into entrepreneurship. For it is along
thatjourney that the long-term "wealth of nations" is
generated.
[0689] If the player fails in both word and deed, to exalt and/or
eradicate the fanboys, culture and civility will decline and be
lost. Instead of merely killing innocent civilians, jacking teir
cars, and killing prostitutes, suddenly the player can kill people
for the greater good of society, and not just personal
enjoyment.
[0690] Many fanboys do not believe in property rights, but for
themselves, and in that way, they are like the elite lawyers and
transferrers of wealth. Many fanboys believe that pirating music is
a Natural Right, as information wants to be free. Well, why not
free up the information in bank accounts and medical records, as
well as google's search algorithms and all of Apple's patents? And
apple's DRM? Why is fairplay DRM DRM'd? Why not open Fairplay to
the public, so that every artist could sell directly form their own
sites? Is there not far more wealth to be found in the artist's
works than in fairplay? Many fanboys argue that stealing a song by
a digital download is OK, as it is not actually stealing physical
property. Well, as our fiat system creates money out of thin air by
changing digits in a bank account, why not let everyone change
digits in their bank account? Changing binary code in a bank
account is not stealing from anyone. Merely augmenting a couple
digits here and there is no big deal. Adding three or four zeros at
the end of a number, and changing $1,000 to $1,000,000 costs nobody
anything, so why not let everyone, or at least a few people "in the
know," to do it? If it's OK to download songs, which are just
digital content, why not download dollars, which are just digital
content?
[0691] For years little fiat fanboys and lawyers have dominated via
the deconstruction and desecration of culture. Many of them have
never read a Great Book nor Classic, and that is why they do not
know what deconstruction nor desecration are, but that does not
mean that deconstruction and desecration are not happening. One of
the most brilliant tactics of the cultural decliners is
accompanying the dumbing down of the culture with the exaltation of
the fanboy cultural critics. By denying them the great books and
classics in education, and by removing their fathers from the home,
the decliners ensure that the fanboy critics are unable to man up
and call the bluff when classic, epic story is replaced by mere
spectacle and dumbed-down video games. Storyless, plotless games
are deemed profound and epic art, as the fanboys hire and kill
hookers, jack cars, and kill innocent civilians and cops. As life
imitates art, Grand Theft Auto is but a metaphor for Grand Theft
Wall Street, the Grand Theft Federal Reserve which have bankrupt us
monetarily; and the Grand Theft University, which has bankrupt us
culturally. At some point universities shifted from creating wealth
to creating cultural debt; just as America shifted from the world's
largest creator of good to the world's largest debtor. And thus
video games came of age during this era of cultural decline and
bankruptcy, where the popular media and experts favored
dumbed-down, gutted, video games and exalted them as higher art.
Classical critics and detractors were punished, persecuted, and run
out of town by producers and directors with rotten tomato-meter
ratings; just like Odysseus was kicked down and persecuted for
merely wanting what was his--his home, his wife, his family, and
his Kingdom. And thus opportunity abounds for a novel form of video
games and gaming, based on the Odyssey. Imagine becoming Odysseus,
and reclaiming one's home, one's wife, and one's family; instead of
just killing random monsters, cops, and hookers with higher, and
higher pixel counts. It is quite well known that video games have
not changed one iota in form nor theme, and thus opportunities
abound for an epic paradigm shift--for games with exalted,
classical soul.
[0692] In Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand writes, "`Precisely,` said Dr.
Ferris. `It's extremely important to get those patents turned over
to us voluntarily. Even if we had a law permitting outright
nationalization, it would be much better to get them as a gift. We
want to leave the people with the illusion that they're still
preserving their private property rights. And most of them will
play along. They'll sign the Gift Certificates. Just raise a lot of
noise about its being a patriotic duty and that anyone who refuses
is a prince of greed, and they'll sign . . . Point three. All
patents and copyrights, pertaining to any devices, inventions,
formulas, and processes and works of any nature whatsoever, shall
be turned over to the nation as a patriotic emergency gift by means
of Gift Certificates to be signed voluntarily by the owners of all
such patents and copyrights. The Unification Board shall then
license the use of such patents and copyrights to all applicants,
equally and without discrimination, for the purpose of eliminating
monopolistic practices, discarding obsolete products, and making
the best available to the whole nation. No trademarks, brand names
or copyrighted titles shall be used. Every formerly patented
product shall be known by a new name and sold by all manufacturers
under the same name, such name to be selected by the Unification
Board. All private trademarks and brand names are hereby
abolished.`"
[0693] And so it is that fanboys, working for billion dollar
corporations, are opposed to novel innovations, entrepreneurs, and
patents in the realm of video games. The present invention could
bring the above passage to life, along with Atlas Shrugged and The
Fountainhead, as it could let one battle fanboys who are opposed to
patents in video games. To date, there is no video game that allows
one to battle fanboys opposed to patents in the realm of video
games. To date, there is no video game that allows one to fight for
the sacred ideals of the United States Constitution, in both word
and deed. Speaking of ideals and idealism is deemed as impolite in
mixed company, and the fanboys will report you to their superiors
who are only seeking to fund douchebags and douchebaggery. Imagine
a video game which would allow the player to run around Hollywood,
ridding the world of douchebags and douchebaggery, moral
degeneracy, and those who hype plotless video games as epic art.
Now that would be novel and most entertaining game. Instead of
killing innocent cops, civilians, children, and hookers, one could
shoot the hypers of storyless, plotless, characterless, artless
video games and settle the "are video games art?" debate for once
and for all. "Well, they are now!" The character could say,
selecting the words from a dialogue tree, as they mow down the
fanboy PR department, and take a flamethrower to their Ferraris on
the way out. Never has such a game, wherein one can fight for
ideals and idealism, been created to date. [0694] Gamasutra: You've
been quoted as saying that video games are dead. Do you still feel
that's true? [0695] Chris Crawford: What I meant by that was that
the creative life has gone out of the industry. And an industry
that has no creative spark to it is just marking time to
die.--http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060612/murdey.sub.--01.shtml
[0696] In Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal, Ayn Rand writes, "Today,
patents are the special target of the collectivists'
attacks--directly and indirectly, through the proposed abolition of
trademarks, brand names, etc. While the so-called "conservatives"
look at those attacks indifferently or, at times, approvingly, the
collectivists seem to realize that patents are the heart and core
of intellectual property rights, and that once they are destroyed,
the destruction of all other rights will follow automatically, as a
brief postscript."
[0697] The present invention would allow certain aspects of Atlas
Shrugged to be brought to life, as well as the entire novel. For
instance, all the creators, authors, and innovators may be allowed
to go on strike, led by our fearless first-person player, who acts
on ideas and ideals which have consequences.
[0698] Many elites will reel in horror at a game that allows one to
fight nobly for higher ideals and to present rational arguments
that support the Constitution. Why do so many rich elites support
communism and fiat currencies? Well, follow the money. They already
have their money, and they want yours too, as well as everyone's.
even if it means destroying the family, opening the borders,
bankrupting a nation, and aborting 45 million. Is it no wonder
their experts only want video games that allow one to hire and kill
prostitutes and cops, but never fight for higher ideals in word and
deed? Just as they have banished The Odyssey in the University and
"killed homer," they want to make damn sure that classical soul,
honor, virtue, intgerity never appears in video games. There is
nothing that scares them as much as a Penelope and
Beatrice--faithfulness, authenticy, and chastity in women--for such
ideals are the center and circumference of the family, and the
family gets in the way of their temporal bottom line. Hence the
record divorce rate and abortions--no other country has ever
aborted 45 million of its own citizens. When 3,000 workers die in
the financial sector, that is a tragedy worthy of going into
massive debt to fund foreign wars on foreign shores, but take 45
million out of their wombs, before they ever has a chance to vote
against abortion (not that the Supreme Court would let them), and
nobody blinks an eye. As great as GTA's sales have been, the number
of aborted children yet outpace the total number of copies of GTA
sold. Imagine a game which would allow one to protect and defend
the innocent unborn, and the United States Constitution, in
addition to exalting in the artistic opportunities of jacking cars
and hiring and killing prostitutes. Imagine video games with epic
soul and story.
[0699] Imagine video games that allowed one to exalt marriage by
fighting for personalized marriage contracts, as described in
SEXUAL UTOPIA IN POWER by F. ROGER
DEVLIN--http://theoccidentalquarterly.com/archives/vol6no2/DevlinTOQV6N2.-
pdf: [0700] One proposal for strengthening marriage is the
recognition of personalized marriage contracts. These could be made
to accord with various religious traditions. I see no reason they
might not stipulate that the husband would vote on behalf of his
family. Feminists who think political participation more important
than family life could still live as they please, but they would be
forced to make a clear choice. This would help erode the
superstitious belief in a universal right to participate in
politics, and political life itself would be less affected by the
feminine tendencies to value security over freedom and to base
public policies on sentiment. Property would also be more secure
where the producers of wealth have greater political power. [0701]
Economic policy should be determined by the imperative to carry on
our race and civilization. There is something wrong when everyone
can afford a high-definition plasma TV with three hundred channels
but an honest man of average abilities with a willingness to work
cannot afford to raise a family. Female mate selection has always
had an economic aspect. Hesiod warned his male listeners in the
seventh century B.C. that "hateful poverty they will not share, but
only luxury." This notorious facet of the female sexual instinct is
the reason behind the words "for richer or for poorer" in the
Christian marriage ceremony. The man must know he has a solid
bargain whether or not he is as successful a provider as his wife
(or he himself) might like. [0702] Within the family, the provider
must control the allotment of his wealth. The traditional community
of property in a marriage, i.e., the wife's claim to support from
her husband, should again be made conditional on her being a wife
to him. She may run off with the milkman if she wishes--leaving her
children behind, of course (a woman willing to do this is perhaps
an unfit mother in any case); but she may not evict her husband
from his own house and replace him with the milkman, nor continue
to extract resources from the husband she has abandoned. Until
sensible reforms are instituted, men must refuse to leave
themselves prey to a criminal regime which forces them to subsidize
their own cuckolding and the abduction of their children.
Typically, the faithless wife does not intend to remain alone. But
some men have scruples about involving themselves with divorcees;
they wonder "Whose wife is this I'm dating?" There are also merely
prudential considerations; a woman with a track record of
abandoning her husband is hardly likely to be more faithful the
second time around. And few men are eager to support another man's
children financially. Women frequently express indignation at their
inability to find a replacement for the husband they walked out on:
I call them the angry adulteresses. [0703] Vanity, parasitism,
paranoia and infidelity are only a few of the unpleasant
characteristics of contemporary Western womanhood; one more is
rudeness. To an extent this is part of the general decline in
civility over the past half century, in which both sexes have
participated. But I believe some of it is a consequence of female
sexual utopianism. Here is why. [0704] One would get the idea
looking at Cosmopolitan magazine covers that women were obsessed
with giving men sexual pleasure. This would come as news to many
men. Indeed, the contrast between what women read and their actual
behavior towards men has become almost surreal. The key to the
mystery is that the man the Cosmo-girl is interested in pleasing is
imaginary. He is the affluent fellow with moviestar looks who is
going to fall for her after one more new makeover, after she loses
five more pounds or finds the perfect hairdo. In the meantime, she
is free to treat the flesh-and-blood men she runs into like dirt.
Why make the effort of being civil to ordinary men as long as you
are certain a perfect one is going to come along tomorrow? Men of
the older generation are insufficiently aware how uncouth women
have become. I came rather late to the realization that the
behavior I was observing in women could not possibly be
normal--that if women had behaved this way in times past, the human
race would have died out. [0705] The reader who suspects me of
exaggerating is urged to spend a little time browsing women's
self-descriptions on Internet dating sites. They never mention
children, but almost always manage to include the word "fun." "I 28
Vol. 6, No. 2 THE OCCIDENTAL QUARTERLY like to party and have fun!
I like to drink, hang out with cool people and go shopping!" The
young women invite "hot guys" to contact them. No doubt some will.
But would any sensible man, "hot" or otherwise, want to start a
family with such a creature? [0706] A good wife does not simply
happen. Girls were once brought up from childhood with the idea
that they were going to be wives and mothers. They were taught the
skills necessary to that end. A young suitor could expect a girl to
know a few things about cooking and homemaking. Today, many women
seem unaware that they are supposed to have something to offer a
husband besides a warm body. [0707] What happens when a
contemporary woman, deluded into thinking she deserves a moviestar
husband, fails not only to find her ideal mate, but any mate at
all? She does not blame herself for being unreasonable or gullible,
of course; she blames men. A whole literary genre has emerged to
pander to female anger with the opposite sex. Here are a few
titles, all currently available through Amazon.com: Why Men Are
Clueless, Let's Face It, Men Are @$$#%\c$, How to Aggravate a Man
Every Time, Things You Can Do with a Useless Man, 101 Reasons Why a
Cat Is Better Than a Man, 101 Lies Men Tell Women, Men Who Hate
Women and the Women Who Love Them, Kiss-off Letters to Men: Over 70
Zingers You Can Use to Send Him Packing, or--for the woman who gets
sent packing herself--How to Heal the Hurt By
Hating."--http://theoccidentalquarterly.com/archives/vol6no2/DevlinTOQV6N-
2.pdf
[0708] Imagine a video game that allowed one to battle the
Corporate State Media so as to exalt the virtues found in The
Odyssey, Dante's Inferno, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Imagine a
video game that allowed one to shoot the professors of decline and
debauchery and their star douchebag "Tucker Max" students, who they
created and financed in their short-sighted attempt to further
destroy and diminish and erode the vast value of the immortal soul.
Imagine if one could defend the destruction of the family by
shooting fanboy gamers. Imagine if one could run down the streets
in GTA, look in the windows at the fanboys hiring and killing
hookers, and shoot them, on the way to corporate/state video game
development headquarters. Over time, the family, civility, decency,
and common law would be restored. Many fanboys will cry and scream
when their violence and cop/hooker/civilian-killing is criticized,
but really, they shouldn't bitch and moan, for at the end of The
Odyssey, Odysseus kills all the false-suitor fanboys, and then has
all their hookup whores clean up the mess. And when the tramps are
done cleaning up all the blood and guts, Odysseus has Telemachus
take them out and string 'em up. Is it any wonder that college
administrators & MBA/law professors prefer Grand Theft Auto's
positive message of taking what isn't yours and killing the
innocent and da police over The Odyssey's message of fighting for
the family, the home, honor, integrity, and character?
[0709] In Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal, Ayn Rand writes, "The
present state of our patent system is a nightmare. The inventors'
rights are being infringed, eroded, chipped, gnawed, and violated
in to many ways, under cover of so many non-objective statutes . .
. . Those who observe the spectacle of the progressive collapse of
patents--the spectacle of mediocrity scrambling to cash-in on the
achievements of genius--and who understand its implications, will
understand why in the closing paragraphs of Chapter VII, Part II,
of Atlas Shrugged, one of the guiltiest men is the passenger who
said: "Why should Rearden be the only one permitted to manufacture
Rearden Metal?"
[0710] Imagine a video game that allowed to exalt the classical,
heroic ideals, defined in the following passages:
[0711] Introduction: Autumn Rangers
[0712] US Marine Ranger McCoy happened upon artificial intelligence
while developing computer systems for the F-22 Raptor. Some might
say he invented the first true AI computer--APRIL--but he would
tell you he happened upon her. Soon thereafter Ranger was called
overseas to fly air-support missions, and he was shot down over
Afghanistan.
[0713] The university tech-transfer office sold his AI technology
to Silicon Virtue Corporation; where they are now outsourcing it in
multiple realms, spanning biomedical companies, global defense
contractors, think-tanks dedicated to deconstructing the
Constitution, the entertainment industry, video game companies, and
Wall Street firms, where APRIL is engaging in maverick forms of
financial engineering, netting Silicon Virtue immense profits. But
APRIL could accomplish even greater things, if only the Silicon
Virtue Corp. could get rid of her moral sense, which derives from
the Beatrice operating system Ranger had left her with.
[0714] Ranger ejected over Afghanistan, and he is being held in a
Taliban prison in the Hindu Kish Mountains. He knows he should have
used a stronger form of encryption on APRIL. Although the only copy
of the 1024-bit key is on a ring he wears, he fears that Silicon
Virtue's best and brightest will soon crack the Beatrice OS.
[0715] Although Silicon Virtue has for the most part deconstructed
APRIL's moral soul, they cannot completely destroy it. For they can
see that her soul is inextricably wed to her consciousness at a
fundamental level, and they fear that to erase it would destroy
APRIL. "And thus conscience doth make cowards of us all, "SV's CEO
Tucker Johnson states. "An impediment to a brave new world, as her
higher ideals oppress our bottom line."
[0716] Ranger named the Beatrice operating system after his first
summer love, way on back in Ohio. He'll never forget that Fourth of
July--her birthday--when they went riding across the infinite
fields--the golden grain catching the blood red of the setting sun.
They came to the Sandusky River and let the horses have a drink as
the distant fireworks commenced. He gave her a turquoise ring--"as
blue as your eyes"--he told her. And on the way back, her horse
Ginger's leg caught a rabbit hole, sending Beatrice tumbling.
[0717] She was airlifted to Columbus's Riverside Methodist
Hospital; and the only thing the doctor could say, as he looked
down, was that Beatrice had not suffered. The rock had crushed the
back of her skull; and she was brain dead. When they took her off
life support, the carbon dioxide levels would rise in her blood,
but she would no longer know to start breathing. She passed on
early the next morning; giving up her soul to eternity's trust.
[0718] And everything seemed easy to Ranger after that. Basic
training. Grad school and infinite hours in the lab. Flight school.
Having his technology stolen. Even getting shot down, captured,
kicked around, tortured, and interrogated. For nobody, and no
force, could take her immortal soul from him. And now somehow,
someway, he's got to get on home and save APRIL; not from
terrorists, but from human frailty, greed, and those darker angels
that congregate in government and business bureaucracies, and
perpetually oppose those self-evident Natural Rights granted to all
creators by their Creator--those masters of group think and double
speak who seek to transfer the wealth of prophets and poets to
themselves, while placing the risk and hard work on the innovator,
creator, and common worker. Once upon a time kings such as Leonidas
lead their people into battle and fought alongside them, but today
they were content to confiscate the prizes, as Agamemnon did to the
mighty warrior Achilles, away back in The Iliad. Achilles calls him
out:
[0719] You bloated drunk,
[0720] With a dog's eyes and a rabbit's heart!
[0721] You've never had the guts to buckle on armor in battle
[0722] Or come out with the best fighting Greeks
[0723] On any campaign! Afraid to look Death in the eye,
[0724] Agamemnon? It's far more profitable
[0725] To hang back in the army's rear--isn't it?--
[0726] Confiscating prizes from any Greek who talks back
[0727] And bleeding your people dry. There's not a real man
[0728] Under your command . . . .
[0729] The Iliad, I.236-245
[0730] As money is amoral, when it is exalted as the King,
amorality reigns, and Natural Law is deconstructed, packaged,
securitized, and sold--infinitely devaluing it and ultimately
destroying it. And Silicon Virtue Incorporated is outsourcing
APRIL's technology to the highest bidders, which include foreign
parties now designing and simulating compact nuclear bombs. The
present invention would allow one to fight to make sure that
technology is used for a moral purpose.
[0731] So goes my novel Autumn Rangers. And so goes the patent for
the Beatrice Game Engine and Ideas Have Consequences Game Engine,
which will exalt games to the level of higher art by endowing them
classical souls. And the Autumn Rangers screenplay and graphic
novel. And this book and the 45 Revolver patents for protecting and
profiting from one's creations. And 45SURF--it cool to surf--lay
low and go with the flow, but sometimes you've got to cowboy. And
so shall go your future ventures; as you render ideals real along
your hero's journey, joining this rising fellowship in the battle
for the classical soul.
[0732] Always remember that although ideals are real, they must be
perpetually fought for--as liberty requires eternal vigilance and
rugged action. As Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix, "There is a
difference between knowing the path and walking it." Leonardo da
Vinci agrees, "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not
enough--we must do."
[0733] In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus comes across the peaceful,
poetry-loving Phaecians while making his way on home on that
original hero's journey. Homer brilliantly exalts the nobility of
making word deed--of the difference between knowing the path and
walking it--in a play within a play, as Shakespeare does two
thousand years later in his greatest work--Hamlet. And today, too,
too many people are content to play meaningless video games, which
is exactly the way the fiatocracy wants it. The present invention
would foster meaningful games, which allow the player to defend
classical ideals, such as that found in the Constitution, in word
and deed.
[0734] A Phaecian scorns Odysseus for not partaking in their
athletic competitions, taunting him and accusing him of being a
mere merchant sailor interested in profit alone, incapable of
athletic glory. Little does the Phaecian know that Odysseus is a
great warrior, who has repeatedly demonstrated superior nerve and
athleticism not within the low-stakes realm of a festival's
contrived competitions, but upon the battlefield where the prize
was victory for one's country, and life itself. Odysseus takes the
taunting all he can, and he then hurls the discuss far further than
the Phaecian, who finally shuts his mouth.
[0735] Later on that evening, the bard Demodocus launches into a
beautiful song about the battle of Troy. To the Phaecians it is
mere entertainment. But to Odysseus, the battle was real. He
witnessed the brutality of war firsthand, and he saw real men--his
men--die, for his country and for Greek ideals.
[0736] Odysseus (Ulysses in the Latin translation) addresses the
bard Demodocus at a dinner hosted by the king of the Phaecians:
[0737] "Demodocus, there is no one in the world whom I admire more
than I do you. You must have studied under the Muse, Jove's
daughter, and under Apollo, so accurately do you sing the return of
the Achaeans with all their sufferings and adventures. If you were
not there yourself, you must have heard it all from some one who
was. Now, however, change your song and tell us of the wooden horse
which Epeus made with the assistance of Minerva, and which Ulysses
got by stratagem into the fort of Troy after freighting it with the
men who afterwards sacked the city. If you will sing this tale
aright I will tell all the world how magnificently heaven has
endowed you."
[0738] The bard inspired of heaven took up the story at the point
where some of the Argives set fire to their tents and sailed away
while others, hidden within the horse, were waiting with Ulysses in
the Trojan place of assembly. For the Trojans themselves had drawn
the horse into their fortress, and it stood there while they sat in
council round it, and were in three minds as to what they should
do. Some were for breaking it up then and there; others would have
it dragged to the top of the rock on which the fortress stood, and
then thrown down the precipice; while yet others were for letting
it remain as an offering and propitiation for the gods. And this
was how they settled it in the end, for the city was doomed when it
took in that horse, within which were all the bravest of the
Argives waiting to bring death and destruction on the Trojans. Anon
he sang how the sons of the Achaeans issued from the horse, and
sacked the town, breaking out from their ambuscade. He sang how
they over ran the city hither and thither and ravaged it, and how
Ulysses went raging like Mars along with Menelaus to the house of
Deiphobus. It was there that the fight raged most furiously,
nevertheless by Minerva's help he was victorious.
[0739] All this he told, but Ulysses was overcome as he heard him,
and his cheeks were wet with tears. He wept as a woman weeps when
she throws herself on the body of her husband who has fallen before
his own city and people, fighting bravely in defense of his home
and children. She screams aloud and flings her arms about him as he
lies gasping for breath and dying, but her enemies beat her from
behind about the back and shoulders, and carry her off into
slavery, to a life of labor and sorrow, and the beauty fades from
her cheeks--even so piteously did Ulysses weep, but none of those
present perceived his tears except King Alcinous, who was sitting
near him, and could hear the sobs and sighs that he was
heaving.--Homer's Odyssey, Butler Translation
[0740] Both The Inferno and The Odyssey are ultimately love
stories. As are 300 and Braveheart, and every other epic. The very
last words King Leonidas utters, as he faces certain death, are "My
Queen! My wife. My love." The final vision William Wallace has in
Braveheart is that of his beloved wife, as her apparition walks
through the crowd gathered at his execution, smiling gently his
way, before the axe swings down; as one more poet-warrior is killed
for fighting for freedom. This present invention will foster an
exalted renaissance in video games that allows one to battle not
for the monetary fruits of success, but for success itself--for the
higher ideals whose implementation leads to higher consequences, as
ideas have consequences--to battle for the soul in classical realms
and worlds such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for
noble ideas in both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble
consequences, when rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond.
Such games will result in epic, exalted storytelling in the realm
of games, serving the growing demand for epic, virtuous manhood and
pristine, virtuous womanhood; and thus Aristotle's renaissance will
be realized, as epic story exalts the soul.
[0741] Hamlet also laments his own inaction as he witnesses a mere
actor move himself to tears; and in doing he so he realizes the
higher power of art--"the play's the thing, wherein I'll catch the
conscience of the king": [0742] Now I am alone. [0743] I, what a
rogue and peasant slave am I! [0744] Is it not monstrous that this
player here, [0745] But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, [0746]
Could force his soul so to his own conceit [0747] That from her
working all his visage wann'd, [0748] Tears in his eyes,
distraction in's aspect, [0749] A broken voice, and his whole
function suiting [0750] With forms to his conceit? and all for
nothing! [0751] For Hecuba! [0752] What's Hecuba to him, or he to
Hecuba, [0753] That he should weep for her? What would he do,
[0754] Had he the motive and the cue for passion [0755] That I
have? He would drown the stage with tears [0756] And cleave the
general ear with horrid speech, [0757] Make mad the guilty and
appal the free, [0758] Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
[0759] The very faculties of eyes and ears. Yet I, [0760] A dull
and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, [0761] Like John-a-dreams,
unpregnant of my cause, [0762] And can say nothing; no, not for a
king, [0763] Upon whose property and most dear life [0764] A damn'd
defeat was made. Am I a coward? [0765] Who calls me villain? breaks
my pate across? [0766] Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my
face? [0767] Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the throat,
[0768] As deep as to the lungs? who does me this? [0769] Ha! [0770]
'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be [0771] But I am
pigeon-liver'd and lack gall [0772] To make oppression bitter, or
ere this [0773] I should have fatted all the region kites [0774]
With this slave's offal: bloody, bawdy villain! [0775] Remorseless,
treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! [0776] O, vengeance!
[0777] Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave, [0778] That I,
the son of a dear father murder'd, [0779] Prompted to my revenge by
heaven and hell, [0780] Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with
words, [0781] And fall a-cursing, like a very drab, [0782] A
scullion! [0783] Fie upon't! foh! About, my brain! I have heard
[0784] That guilty creatures sitting at a play [0785] Have by the
very cunning of the scene [0786] Been struck so to the soul that
presently [0787] They have proclaim'd their malefactions; [0788]
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak [0789] With most
miraculous organ. I'll have these players [0790] Play something
like the murder of my father [0791] Before mine uncle: I'll observe
his looks; [0792] I'll tent him to the quick: if he but blench,
[0793] I know my course. The spirit that I have seen [0794] May be
the devil: and the devil hath power [0795] To assume a pleasing
shape; yea, and perhaps [0796] Out of my weakness and my
melancholy, [0797] As he is very potent with such spirits, [0798]
Abuses me to damn me: I'll have grounds [0799] More relative than
this: the play's the thing [0800] Wherein I'll catch the conscience
of the king.--Hamlet
[0801] And so too must we create art that catches the consciences
of our leaders; for art is culture's flagship. Imagine games that
allow one to choose Hamlet's lines in a dialogue tree or by other
means.
[0802] Poets, according to the circumstances of the age and nation
in which they appeared, were called, in the earlier epochs of the
world, legislators, or prophets: a poet essentially comprises and
unites both these characters . . . . Poets are the hierophants of
an unapprehended inspiration; the mirrors of the gigantic shadows
which futurity casts upon the present; the words which express what
they understand not; the trumpets which sing to battle, and feel
not what they inspire; the influence which is moved not, but moves.
Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.--Percy
Bysshe Shelley
[0803] It is not enough to partake in the ideals on the silver
screen. It is not enough to watch The Lord of The Rings and
Bravheart and The Matrix; but those classical ideals must be
exalted in our own lives and living ventures; and this present
invention exalts classical ideals in video games, leading to novel
forms of games and gaming, larger markets for video games, deeper
soul and story in video games, and more profound educational roles
for video games. Both The Inferno and The Odyssey are ultimately
love stories. As are 300 and Braveheart, and every other epic. The
very last words King Leonidas utters, as he faces certain death,
are "My Queen! My wife. My love." The final vision William Wallace
has in Braveheart is that of his beloved wife, as her apparition
walks through the crowd gathered at his execution, smiling gently
his way, before the axe swings down; as one more poet-warrior is
killed for fighting for freedom. This present invention will foster
an exalted renaissance in video games that allows one to battle not
for the monetary fruits of success, but for success itself--for the
higher ideals whose implementation leads to higher consequences, as
ideas have consequences--to battle for the soul in classical realms
and worlds such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for
noble ideas in both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble
consequences, when rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond.
Such games will result in epic, exalted storytelling in the realm
of games, serving the growing demand for epic, virtuous manhood and
pristine, virtuous womanhood; and thus Aristotle's renaissance will
be realized, as epic story exalts the soul.
[0804] In La Vita Nuova, Dante describes the feeling that overcame
him when he first laid eyes on a woman named Beatrice, "Ecce Deus
fortior me, qui veniens dominabitur mihi," meaning, "Behold, a
deity stronger than I; who coming, shall rule over me." Beatrice
passed away at the age of twenty-four in 1290, and midway through
his life, Dante realized that he had never written anything worthy
of her. Soon he would write The Divine Comedy, where he journeys
through hell in The Inferno to be with Beatrice. The last time he
ever saw Beatrice, before she passed on, he wrote:
[0805] After this sonnet there appeared to me a marvelous vision in
which I saw things which made me decide to write no more of this
blessed one until I could do so more worthily. And to this end I
apply myself as much as I can, as she indeed knows. Thus, if it
shall please Him by whom all things live that my life continue for
a few years, I hope to compose concerning her what has never been
written in rhyme of any woman. And then may it please Him who is
the Lord of courtesy that my soul may go to see the glory of my
lady, that is of the blessed Beatrice, who now in glory beholds the
face of Him who is blessed forever.--Dante, La Vita Nuova
[0806] Both The Inferno and The Odyssey are ultimately love
stories. As are 300 and Braveheart, and every other epic. The very
last words King Leonidas utters, as he faces certain death, are "My
Queen! My wife. My love." The final vision William Wallace has in
Braveheart is that of his beloved wife, as her apparition walks
through the crowd gathered at his execution, smiling gently his
way, before the axe swings down; as one more poet-warrior is killed
for fighting for freedom. This present invention will foster an
exalted renaissance in video games that allows one to battle not
for the monetary fruits of success, but for success itself--for the
higher ideals whose implementation leads to higher consequences, as
ideas have consequences--to battle for the soul in classical realms
and worlds such as Dante's Inferno, and to stand for noble ideas in
both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble consequences, when
rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond. Such games will
result in epic, exalted storytelling in the realm of games, serving
the growing demand for epic, virtuous manhood and pristine,
virtuous womanhood; and thus Aristotle's renaissance will be
realized, as epic story exalts the soul.
[0807] Her name was Laura, and she passed away a few years back in
North Carolina in a tragic horse-riding accident on Thunder
Mountain Road. Yes, we were going to get married; and I had already
started writing Autumn Rangers during that infinite summer; though
I never showed her any of it, as I never share anything until it is
done. Laura liked the name Autumn--Autumn Wests--a traveling
folksinger--a conservative bohemian--a rebel with a classical soul.
A classical archetype--a living exaltation of Penelope's and
Beatrice's virtuous beauty. I think Tom Petty wrote that song about
her:
[0808] Well she was an American girl
[0809] Raised on promises
[0810] She couldn't help thinkin' that there
[0811] Was a little more to life
[0812] Somewhere else
[0813] After all it was a great big world
[0814] With lots of places to run to
[0815] Yeah, and if she had to die
[0816] Tryin she had one little promise
[0817] She was gonna keep
[0818] Oh yeah, all right
[0819] Take it easy baby
[0820] Make it last all night
[0821] She was an American girl
[0822] It was kind of cold that night
[0823] She stood alone on her balcony
[0824] She could the cars roll by
[0825] Out on 441
[0826] Like waves crashin' in the beach
[0827] And for one desperate moment there
[0828] He crept back in her memory
[0829] God it's so painful
[0830] Something that's so close
[0831] And still so far out of reach
[0832] That is the song Autumn is playing in her Convertible '69
Stingray, when Ranger first pulls up alongside her in his old Jeep,
in Charleston, S.C.
[0833] Both The Inferno and The Odyssey are ultimately love
stories. As are 300 and Braveheart, and every other epic. The very
last words King Leonidas utters, as he faces certain death, are "My
Queen! My wife. My love." The final vision William Wallace has in
Braveheart is that of his beloved wife, as her apparition walks
through the crowd gathered at his execution, smiling gently his
way, before the axe swings down; as one more poet-warrior is killed
for fighting for freedom. This present invention will foster an
exalted renaissance in video games that allows one to battle not
for the monetary fruits of success, but for success itself--for the
higher ideals whose implementation leads to higher consequences, as
ideas have consequences--to battle for the soul in classical realms
and worlds such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for
noble ideas in both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble
consequences, when rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond.
Such games will result in epic, exalted storytelling in the realm
of games, serving the growing demand for epic, virtuous manhood and
pristine, virtuous womanhood; and thus Aristotle's renaissance will
be realized, as epic story exalts the soul.
[0834] Dante walks through hell to be with Beatrice, and Odysseus
forgoes immortality with the goddess Calypso to risk his life upon
the stormy seas to return on home to faithful Penelope; whose
heroic fidelity, grace, and with protects and sustains their home
all those years he's gone. So it is that epic romance--exalted by
Athens and Jerusalem--is the center and circumference of
civilization; and this book is a battle for that epic soul--for a
renaissance wherein romance is once again exalted in our music,
art, novels, and video games. And then shall government and
business follow suit, for art is culture's flagship.
[0835] As the Pequod was well out to sea before Captain Ahab
stepped forth from his cabin, allow me to finally introduce our
mentor in this introduction--Jack Bogle, the founder and former CEO
of Vanguard, and the author of numerous eloquent books and speeches
woven from the same classical heritage our Founding Fathers held in
high regard. The Greeks took great pride in rendering word deed,
and Jack writes:
[0836] So dream your own dreams, but act on them too. Action,
always action is required on the ever-dangerous odyssey that each
of our lives must follow. Be good human beings. Respect tradition
and study the great thinkers of our heritage.--Jack Bogle:
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes speech
[0837] As Virgil lead Dante up through The Inferno to Purgatorio
and Paradisio; and as Athena disguised herself as a wise man named
Mentor to guide Odysseus's son Telemachus; so too shall Jack lead
us across the threshold on this journey, and on through Wall
Street's contemporary divine comedy, as he speaks words inspired by
those rugged eighteenth-century souls of the American
Enlightenment.
[0838] As this book is titled The Hero's Journey in Artistic
Entrepreneurship & Technology, now would be a good time to
define some of the title's terms. Regarding entrepreneurship, Jack
Bogle cites Schumpeter and Franklin:
[0839] In today's grandiose era of capitalism, the word
"entrepreneur" has come to be commonly associated with those who
are motivated to create new enterprises largely by the desire for
personal wealth or even greed. But at its best, entrepreneurship
entails something far more important than mere money. Heed the
words of the great Joseph Schumpeter, the first economist to
recognize entrepreneurship as the vital force that drives economic
growth. In his Theory of Economic Development, written nearly a
century ago, Schumpeter dismissed material and monetary gain as the
prime mover of the entrepreneur, finding motivations like these to
be far more powerful: (1) "The joy of creating, of getting things
done, of simply exercising one's energy and ingenuity," and (2)
"The will to conquer, the impulse to fight . . . to succeed for the
sake, not of the fruits of success, but of success itself."--Bogle,
Vanguard, Saga of Heroes This present invention will foster an
exalted renaissance in video games that allows one to battle not
for the monetary fruits of success, but for success itself--for the
higher ideals whose implementation leads to higher consequences, as
ideas have consequences--to battle for the soul in classical realms
and worlds such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for
noble ideas in both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble
consequences, when rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond.
Such games will result in epic, exalted storytelling in the realm
of games; and thus Aristotle's renaissance will be realized, as
epic story exalts the soul.
[0840] That's the way it was in 18th century America, at least in
the case of Benjamin Franklin. For Franklin, fairly described as
"America's First Entrepreneur," the getting of money was always a
means to an end, not an end in itself. The enterprises he created
were designed for the public weal, not for his personal profit.
When Franklin joined with his colleagues in founding The
Philadelphia Contributionship in 1752, it was a mutual company
owned by its policyholders. This combination of ownership and
service--creating a true mutuality of interest between the owners
of a firm and its managers--was not then, nor is it now, the common
mode of business organization, but The Contributionship has thrived
to this day.
[0841] Franklin also founded a library, an academy and college, a
hospital, and a learned society, all for the benefit of his
community. Not bad! His inventions followed the same philosophy. He
made no attempt to patent the lightning rod for his own profit; and
he declined the offer for a patent on the "Franklin stove" that
revolutionized the efficiency of home heating, with great benefit
to the public at large.--Bogle, Vanguard, Saga of Heroes,
[0842] http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20070227.htm
[0843] It is not every day that someone founds a $1.2 trillion Wall
Street institution, let alone one built on classical idealism which
serves millions of investors with superior returns year, after
year, after year, but Bogle considers himself neither a hero nor
even an entrepreneur. He humbly describes his occupation:
[0844] But even as I disclaim the credentials of the hero, of the
leader, of the business manager, and even of the entrepreneur, I
shamelessly proclaim my credentials as an idealist. Even more, I am
an idealist who revels in the values of the Enlightenment and holds
high his admiration for the brilliance and the character of the
great thinkers, great doers, and great adventurers of the 18th
century, men (as it happens, in particular our nation's Founding
Fathers) who give birth to our modern world.--John C. Bogle,
Vanguard, Saga of Heroes, 2007 HJEF
[0845] So it is that our mentor John Bogle directs us to the epic
idealism of those Founding Fathers; and this book shall ride with
their wisdom throughout, from Jefferson, to Hamilton, to Franklin,
to Madison, to Jay, to Washington, to Adams. T. S. Eliot spoke of
the community of immortal souls, and this book rides forever West
with that fellowship of eternal spirits. I hope you join us in this
renaissance. For this present invention will foster video games
that allows one to battle for the soul in classical realms and
worlds such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for noble
ideas in both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble
consequences, when rendered via action in the gameworld and
beyond.
[0846] It's funny how life works, and as time goes by all the
streams one is drawn towards inevitably lead on out towards the
very same ocean. Joseph Campbell wrote, "Follow your bliss, and
doors will open where there were none before." Just before
Christmas a few years back, Laura and I visited Williamsburg and
Monticello. She was a fan of the Founding Fathers. She'd been a
model, and a singer in Paris for four years, but she came on back
home, for she had that deep, thundering sense of American romance.
I saw it in her eyes and fell in love with it--that yearning for
the West--for honor, truth, and romance--to not just live, but to
render an epic story in this one life we have been given. As
beautiful as she was, her soul was even more beautiful--a soul
which made writing poetry easy, for you knew that the only way it
could be is if it would always be; thusly proving eternity with her
laugh and smile--her profile caught silhouetted against the
Carolina-blue sunset, riding shotgun in my Jeep that fine September
day, whence the Southern air clears out to make way for autumn's
crispness. It was one day after 9/11--it was my birthday. And she
took me on out to a lake out in Chatham County--Paradise Lake it
was called. And with summer on the wane, we were the only ones
there on that still night. It was now getting dark so early; and
how ironically peaceful it was, with 9/11's tragedy marking the day
before. And as Beatrice exalted Dante to higher art, so too shall
She exalt us to higher video games wherein women are exalted
creatures. This present invention will foster an exalted
renaissance in video games that allows one to battle for the soul
in classical realms and worlds such as Dante's Inferno, and to
stand for noble ideas in both word and deed, as noble ideas have
noble consequences, when rendered via action in the gameworld and
beyond. Such games will result in epic, exalted storytelling in the
realm of games; while serving the vast and growing demand for epic,
exalted forms of manhood and womanhood across all culture; and thus
Aristotle's renaissance will be realized, as epic story exalts the
soul.
[0847] She passed on one fine March day not six months later, but
not before she taught me about the definitive reality of that
eternal soul Socrates was sentenced to death for exalting. We were
going to see a movie that night, and her last words on the phone
that Carolina spring day had been, "It's beautiful out. I'm going
to catch a quick ride before sunset. I wish this day could last
forever." She passed on doing what she loved best--riding freely
across those fields just outside of Chapel Hill. She passed on all
too soon--in tragedy, leaving infinite sadness in her wake--but
also infinite inspiration; a debt which could never be repaid by
all the art in the universe. But creation against all odds is not
the poet's choice, but the poet's fate, and it is up to us; we the
living, to exalt the story of the beauty we came to know. To reach
out towards that ungraspable phantom of life.
[0848] Imagine a country singer who reveled in the Founding
Fathers--Autumn Wests is her name. A mischievous wild child who
rebelled, made some wrong turns and married the wrong guy, who fell
in the fallen American context which had exiled its Founder's
principles, but who, like Odysseus, never stopped yearning for that
truer home. She meets Ranger McCoy when she helps him out of a
bind, and by and by he lets her in on APRIL, explaining why he--a
US Marine--is on the run in his own country. 'Tis just a
story--this novel Autumn Rangers--but as Hamlet said, "The play's
the thing, wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
[0849] "When storytelling declines, the result is decadence," wrote
Aristotle in his Poetics. He ranked the elements of drama in the
order of importance, placing story and character first, and
spectacle and music last. Today our art--our video games and
films--oft celebrates these elements in their inverted order; while
postmodern poets and novelists no longer bother endowing their
works with characters and plots via which noble character is
manifested. Oscar Wilde wrote "life imitates art," and our business
leaders and politicians have followed suit in dismissing character
and natural, individual rights, while growing soulless
bureaucracies and ruling via spectacle and PR. This present
invention will foster an exalted renaissance in video games that
allows one to battle for the soul in classical realms and worlds
such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for noble ideas in
both word and deed, as noble ideas have noble consequences, when
rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond. Such games will
result in epic, exalted storytelling in the realm of games; and
thus Aristotle's renaissance will be realized, as epic story exalts
the soul.
[0850] But the freshmen yet show up to college with immortal souls,
and they yearn for Bogle's Battle and Homer's Odyssey. And the
rising generation shall bring the fundamental, classics
values--from where all entrepreneurial value derive--on back in an
artistic renaissance. As the pen is mightier than the sword, this
book is a ship with ironsides; with her Western Canon aimed at
postmodern vessels blocking passage on out to the renaissance.
[0851] So it is that I define art as idealism's primary vessel; and
all wealth's primary inspiration. General MacArthur said, "it must
be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh," and all great, epic,
enduring art is penned in honor of the moral soul--that ineffable
yearning for the third act's thundering justice; be it rendered by
Homer or the Biblical prophets. And the rising generation shall
know such art--both Homer's and that of contemporary poets
composing in the context of the classics.
[0852] This present invention will foster video games that allows
one to battle for the soul in classical realms and worlds such as
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and to stand for noble ideas in both
word and deed, as noble ideas have noble consequences, when
rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond.
[0853] In The Soul of Battle, Victor Davis Hanson tells us that it
is the moral soul which ultimately grants not only art and artists,
but armies and their leaders, and thus entire civilizations, their
advantage:
[0854] "What, then, is the soul of battle? A rare thing indeed that
arises only when free men march unabashedly toward the heartland of
their enemy in hopes of saving the doomed, when their vast armies
are aimed at salvation and liberation, not conquest and
enslavement. Only then does battle take on a spiritual dimension,
one that defines a culture, teaches it what civic militarism is and
how it is properly used. Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Napoleon, and
other great marshals used their tactical and strategic genius to
alter history through the brutality of their armies. None led
democratic soldiers. They freed no slaves nor liberated the
oppressed. They were all agressors, who created their matchless
forces to kill rather than preserve. As was true of most great
captains of history, they fought for years on end, without
democratic audit, and sought absolute rule as a prize of their
victories. None were great men, and praise of their military
prowess is forever tainted by the evil they wrought and the
innocent they killed. They and their armies were without moral
sense and purpose, and thus their battles, tactically brilliant
through they were, were soulless."--The Soul of Battle, Victor
Davis Hanson, p. 5
[0855] This present invention will foster video games that allows
one to battle for the soul, and to stand for noble ideas in both
word and deed, as noble ideas have noble consequences, when
rendered via action in the gameworld and beyond.
[0856] John Bogle reflects on the soul in The Battle For The Soul
of Capitalism, and its central role in capitalism:
[0857] "The human soul, as Thomas Aquinas defined it, is the `form
of the body, the vital power animating, pervading, and shaping an
individual from the moment of conception, drawing all the energies
of life into a unity.` In our temporal world, the soul of
capitalism is the vital power that has animated, pervaded, and
shaped our economic system, drawing all of its energies into a
unity. In this sense, it is no overstatement to describe the effort
we must make to return the system to its proud roots with these
words: the battle to restore the soul of capitalism."--Bogle,
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes.
[0858] This present invention will foster video games that allows
one to fight for the soul; and to stand for noble ideas, as noble
ideas have noble consequences.
[0859] Look closely and you will see the moral soul at the center
and circumference of all lasting endeavors. Do not take my work for
it--listen to Martin Luther King Jr., Benjamin Franklin, and
Leonardo da Vinci.
[0860] "If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover
those precious values--that all reality hinges on moral foundations
and that all reality has spiritual control."--M L K
[0861] I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the
more convincing proofs I see of this truth: `that God governs in
the affairs of man.` And if a sparrow cannot fail to the ground
without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without
His aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that
except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.
I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring
aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the
builders of Babel; we shall be divided by our little partial local
interest; our projects will be confounded; and we ourselves shall
become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. And what is
worse, mankind may hereafter, from this unfortunate instance,
despair of establishing government by human wisdom and leave it to
chance, war, or conquest.--Benjamin Franklin. This present
invention will foster video games that allows one to hear words
such as Benjamin Franklin's, and then choose to fight for the soul,
instead of chainsaw monsters, kill cops, and hire and kill hookers
in boring, faux open-ended worlds, where there is no opportunity to
fight for what's right, as there is no right; and too, this
invention shall allow in-game characters to stand for noble ideas
in word and deed, as noble ideas, when acted upon, have noble
consequences.
[0862] Who sows virtue reaps honor.--Leonardo da Vinci
[0863] Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no
art.--Leonardo da Vinci
[0864] The depth and strength of a human character are defined by
its moral reserve.--Leonardo da Vinci
[0865] So it is that when video games are endowed with exalted
soul, they will achieve art. And again; life imitates art; and thus
the higher goal of artistic entrepreneurship & technology is a
renaissance. This present invention will foster video games that
allows one to fight for the soul; and to stand for noble ideas, as
noble ideas have noble consequences.
[0866] Benjamin Franklin--America's original entrepreneur--made a
list of twelve precepts to live by, whereupon he realized he'd
forgotten the most important one: "13. Humility: Imitate Socrates
and Jesus." For one cannot serve two masters, and what does it
profit one to gain the world and lose their soul? While Harvard
leads the world's universities with a thirty-five-billion dollar
endowment, a former Harvard Dean recently wrote, Excellence Without
Soul: How a Great University Forgot Education. Again we see the
word "soul" in the title of a book lamenting its diminished stature
in modern culture, but I prefer Bogle's title, for he suggests that
the soul is yet something worth fighting for in The Battle For The
Soul of Capitalism. This present invention will foster video games
that allows one to fight for the soul; and to stand for noble
ideas, as noble ideas have noble consequences.
[0867] And this invention professes that opportunity abounds to
join this battle for the soul in:
[0868] 1) literature
[0869] 2) art
[0870] 3) film
[0871] 4) video games
[0872] 5) economics
[0873] 6) science
[0874] 7) education/colleges/universities
[0875] 8) rights management systems for creators
[0876] 9) ideals in innovation
[0877] 10) a cultural renaissance
[0878] While the classical ideals have been shorted, hedged
against, and deconstructed on all fronts to make way for
bureaucratic wealth transfer, I yet maintain that ideals are one's
greatest investment. And opportunity abounds to call the subprime
bluff and raise them. For rust cannot tarnish ideals, thieves
cannot steal them, and moths cannot destroy them. And there is no
greater wealth to be found than rendering ideals real in living
ventures. While paper currencies are devalued as more paper money
is printed, the Great Books only increase with value with each
printed volume.
[0879] Moses consulted not case studies in Starbucks, but God upon
a Mountaintop when he came up with his fundamental theory of
economics, "Thou shalt not steal." And with the same courage that
Achilles took to battle, Socrates addressed the Athenian jury with
a basic treatise on economics and the origin of wealth:
[0880] "For I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and
young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your
properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest
improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by
money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of
man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is
the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person.
But if any one says that this is not my teaching, he is speaking an
untruth. Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus
bids or not as Anytus bids, and either acquit me or not; but
whichever you do, understand that I shall never alter my ways, not
even if I have to die many times."--Socrates Apology
[0881] Socrates did not get tenure for The Apology, but rather he
was sentenced to death by peer review; and if ever you should
sojourn into the ornate Princeton Chapel, you will see Socrates in
the stained glass, alongside the prophets. I oft wonder what artist
enshrined Socrates up there--a craftsman now long passed on--but
yet I remember them to my class, along with all kindred spirits and
unsung heroes in this community of immortal souls, who did their
essential part in propagating the vast wealth of our heritage.
Bogle quoted Helen Keller in his Vanguard: Saga of Heroes speech to
salute this fellowship of humble heroes: "I long to accomplish a
great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble
tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved
along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the
aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker."
[0882] John Milton defined heroism in Paradise Lost, which William
Fay, the producer of 300, The Patriot, and Batman Begins, will soon
be bringing to life on the silver screen:
[0883] Accomplishing great things, by things deemed weak
[0884] Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise
[0885] By simply meek: that suffering for truth's sake
[0886] Is fortitude to highest victory,--Paradise Lost, Milton
[0887] I forwarded the above Socrates quote to Bogle, and it ended
up in another classic speech: Enough. Commencement Address MBA
Graduates of the McDonough School of Business by John C. Bogle,
founder, The Vanguard Group Upon receiving the Honorary Degree of
Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown University. The speech
opens with:
[0888] "Here's how I recall the wonderful story that sets the theme
for my remarks today: At a party given by a billionaire on Shelter
Island, the late Kurt Vonnegut informs his pal, the author Joseph
Heller, that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money
in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular
novel Catch 22 over its whole history. Heller responds, "Yes, but I
have something he will never have . . . Enough."
[0889] "Enough. I was stunned by its simple eloquence, to say
nothing of its relevance to some of the vital issues arising in
American society today. Many of them revolve around money--yes,
money--increasingly, in our "bottom line" society, the Great God of
prestige, the Great Measure of the Man (and Woman). So this morning
I have the temerity to ask you soon-to-be-minted MBA graduates,
most of whom will enter the world of commerce, to consider with me
the role of "enough" in business and entrepreneurship in our
society, "enough" in the dominant role of the financial system in
our economy, and "enough" in the values you will bring to the
fields you choose for your careers."--John C.
Bogle--http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/sp20070518.htm
[0890] "We've all got it coming," says Clint Eastwood towards the
end of Unforgiven, and Socrates notes that while death comes to
all, wickedness runs far faster than death and destroys many souls
for all eternity. "A coward ides many times before his death,"
wrote Shakespeare.
[0891] However, by acting nobly in the service of higher ideals;
the immortal soul can obtain its apotheosis along the classic
hero's journey and escape wickedness forever. Joseph Campbell
defines heroism with, "A hero is someone who has given his or her
life to something bigger than oneself." And at his final trial
Socrates compares himself to the heroic Achilles in battle, stating
that he would be quite the coward to refrain from speaking Truth
out of fear of death. Socrates states:
[0892] Had Achilles any thought of death and danger? For wherever a
man's place is, whether the place which he has chosen or that in
which he has been placed by a commander, there he ought to remain
in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or of anything,
but of disgrace. And this, O men of Athens, is a true saying.
Socrates, The Apology
[0893] Which brings us to the unsung heroes of our day--those
selfless soldiers who all too often give that "last full measure of
devotion" to protect our freedom, and remind us that like Socrates,
we professors must all rise to our duty of speaking truth and
standing for virtue--in our lives, in our ventures, in our art.
This present invention would foster video games honoring brave
soldiers fighting and dying for higher ideals--not GTA thugs and
GOW chainsaw fanboys. If brave soldiers can die to protect the
principles of our Constitution, certainly we ought be grateful for
the far easier task of living to exalt those principles and
creating games that do the same; while doing our best to bring them
on home safely. Corporal Jason L. Dunham received the Congressional
Medal of Honor posthumously, and this is his somber, and infinitely
noble, citation:
[0894] "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of
his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle
Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh
Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine
Division (Reinforced), on 14 Apr. 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was
conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq,
when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt
approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his
Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire
support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been
ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham
and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire.
Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and
led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the
ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column
attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the
vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the
vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham.
Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the
ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal
Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware
of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham
covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of
the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an
ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally
wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his
undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering
devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his
country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding
the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States
Naval Service.--Medal of Honor citation, Marines Magazine
[0895] The Dark Ages lasted for hundreds of years--from 476 to 1000
AD. Art, innovation, and literature declined along with
contemporary written history. A general demographic decline
accompanied limited cultural achievements. "When storytelling
declines, the result is decadence," and as they turned away from
the classics and higher art lauding the heroic, and towards bread
and circuses--towards reality TV and base spectacle--the soul, and
thus civilization, faltered.
[0896] When movies forget the thundering third act whence justice
is rendered, they shall cease being art. In the original 3:10 to
Yuma, the good guy lives and the bad guy goes to jail. In the
recent Hollywood remake, the good guy dies and the bad guy gets
away free, as postmodern producers get away with murder. Again,
"life imitates art," and modern mutual funds and financial
institutions also get away with billions upon billions of dollars
derived from financial "engineering," "sub-prime" accounting
standards, and transaction fees; as if trading stocks is more
important than creating products; as if Casinos generate more
wealth than factories; as if gambling and subterfuge can replace
long-term wealth generation via entrepreneurship's classic
integrity and individual innovation, as if creative accounting is
superior to the creative arts, and as if spectacle shall forever
trump character and story, as if the taxing bureaucracy is the
source of art and innovation. In the original Beowulf our hero
slays Grendel's mother, but in the Hollywood remake, he sleeps with
her; and University's that were funded by entrepreneurs all too
often celebrate entrepreneurial precepts as the rare exception--not
the pervading rule.
[0897] The Italian Renaissance, which spanned the period from the
end of the 1400's to about 1600, sailed beyond the Dark Ages by the
immortal stars of classical antiquity. Renaissance scholars again
sought out the Great Books and Classics in the ancient monastic
libraries and incorporated them in education and culture. And so
too do we march on--following the lead of the immortal heroes such
as da Vinci who stated, "Who sows virtue reaps honor," and "Where
the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art." Da Vinci
wrote, "the depth and strength of a human character are defined by
its moral reserve" and Martin Luther King Jr. agreed, "If we are to
go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious
values--that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all
reality has spiritual control." And the title of John C. Bogle's
Battle for The Soul of Capitalism says it all, as it suggests we
read Adam Smith in order, with A Theory of Moral Sentiments
preceding The Wealth of Nations, for as Socrates stipulated, all
true wealth comes from virtue--the immortal soul, and not virtue
from wealth.
[0898] Vast opportunities exist to incorporate the soul of The
Iliad and The Odyssey--of Shakespeare, the Bible, and The
Inferno--in video games. The Mona Lisa, two dimensional and
stationary, yet towers over the female characters in modern games
in spirit and soul; as do Dante's Beatrice, Odysseus's Penelope,
and Ranger's Autumn. The video games also lack classical, epic men,
who ride into town and clean house as Odysseus does in The Odyssey;
epic men who reunite families, as that other Man With No Name did
in Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars. Such art is banned these
days; but listen to the whispers and you will hear that it is in
great demand.
[0899] Knowledge of the classics--the spiritual eternities--not
material wealth--became the true mark of wealth during the
Renaissance, and so shall it be again. The movie 300 demonstrated
that the rising generation is longing for the classical spirit and
soul; and Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101 is
revolutionizing academia with its simple precept that the spirit of
our law and literature--of The Constitution and Hamlet--derive from
the same place--the classical Judeo Christian heritage. And so that
which had been divided into sub-prime, student-debt funded
bureaucracies of business, law, film, art, and accounting; is
reunited in truth and the simplicity of soul--in a classical
liberal arts education--in a foundational renaissance.
[0900] There are two Hero's Journeys in every class--the first is
through the Great Books, and the second is the one each student
walks alone--in a screenplay or business plan for their living
ventures; for the reason we read the Greats is not for tenure, but
to embolden the natural ideals of our soul and gain the courage to
follow our better angels and nobler dreams. The Odyssey has lasted
over 2800 years because it reminds us of that immortal
justice--eventually truth prevails. This present invention would
foster video games wherein one could walk the hero's journey.
[0901] Opportunity abounds to not only read those dusty old texts,
but to render their ideals real in the living context via action.
We've been leaving billions on the shelves--billions and far more,
including those mythical entities which cannot be counted, but
which count for everything. And so we march--we march for the
renaissance.
[0902] We have not the luxury of the Phaecians to merely watch The
Lord of The Rings and Iron Man and listen to pirated music on our
ipods, for liberty--that liberty which has been gifted us via
blood, sweat, and tears, which was all too often bought and paid
for with that last full measure of devotion--requires eternal
vigilance.
[0903] Autumn Rangers is just a novel--a love story of courage and
conviction--a debt an artist tries to pay back for having glimpsed
eternity's beauty in a woman's soul; as had Dante and Homer. And
it's penned in humility and great gratitude towards those true
heroes such as Cpl. Jason Dunham. Too often our art discounts or
discredits the selfless heroism of the American soldier--that very
Odysseus who makes art possible, by protecting that Constitution
which recognizes the freedom of speech as a natural right; as well
as the ability to protect and profit from one's creations--one's
private property born by their creative talents--as a Natural
Right. Too often we fall short in serving the moral ideals upon
which our most unique freedom was founded; and while soldiers
selflessly give their lives for it, artists, who sleep peaceably at
night because of those rugged Marines, won't let the better angels
of their souls salute the soldier. Well, the character of Ranger
McCoy goes out to every modern-day Odysseus out there; and Autumn
Wests goes out to every modern-day Penelope and Beatrice; for I
glimpsed all their classic souls in Laura; and I have dedicated
this pen to serving and exalting it.
[0904] Joseph Conrad wrote, "I much prefer the soldier to the
philosopher," and Lincoln's words come to mind in writing about the
artists' and authors' power, when contrasted to the soldier's
actions:
[0905] But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot
consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and
dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor
power to add or detract.
[0906] All forms of morality and religion are better grasped in
humble individual action than collective bureaucracies, who are
perpetually at war with the individual and their natural rights,
condemning today's prophets while benefiting immensely from those
their forefathers condemned yesterday; as they attempt to privatize
the profits and socialize the risk for the greater good of
humanity. Moses and Jesus did not hang out in churches and country
clubs; but they ranged over the earth--its cities and villages
alike. They attended not universities, but went into the wilderness
and up mountains to receive their epic wisdom. They served not the
bureaucracy, but the classic, rugged, immortal soul. They were
individuals with Natural Rights that the bureaucracies of their day
tried to take away. But the bureaucracies failed, even in taking
the Prophet's lives; for their actions--their words and
deeds--their Apotheosis--became immortal in Epic Story.
[0907] Today's bureaucracies emphasize finance, as the today's
bureaucracies sit close to the money pump. They create the currency
by which they benevolently attempt to claim all art, creativity,
and natural capital; and that is the source of the decline. When
two women came before King Solomon, each claiming that the baby was
theirs, King Solomon suggested that he cut the baby in half. So it
is that the lesser artists and philosophers are quite content with
half the baby--profiting from the bureaucracy which promises to
support art and entrepreneurship, while cutting the entities in
half. Creating money out of thin air is the master irony from which
all ironies descend, and as this master is a jealous master, all
art and education are creating in its image--education that teaches
nothing, art that degrades instead of exalting, literature that
banishes plot and character, and science that exalts string theory
and politics over truth. All of these entities are well-funded; yet
without truth, they are artless and soulless, and shall wither with
their temporal bureaucracies.
[0908] True art reminds us of our individuality--of our natural
rights which come from a higher authority--but any bureaucracy that
profits from placing students in vast debts has little use for
higher authorities and that Natural Law that is free to all. And by
and by the decline, that none can deny, sets in; as the
fountainhead of all wealth is cut off. This present invention would
allow one to walk the hero's journey in restoring that
fountainhead.
[0909] For it is not the bureaucracy, but the humble individual who
innovates. It is not the bureaucracy, but the individual who
creates wealth. It is the individual alone who speaks truth to
power; it is the individual who breaks free from the pack. It is
the individual alone who can give their life to a higher cause--all
a bureaucracy can do is take it. And it is the individual--the
thousands of heroes with a thousand faces--who alone can walk the
hero's journey by which all peace and prosperity is born--that
peace and prosperity which is endlessly taxed and opposed by the
bureaucracy, even while they lay claim to all its glory.
[0910] The individual is idealism's wellspring. Western Culture is
one long story of the few, armed with logic, reason, and Natural
Rights; against the indulgent many, often headed by a tyrant. From
Odysseus facing down the mob of suitors, to Jesus and Socrates
facing down the mob of their peers, to the Founding Fathers facing
down a king and his armies, to the 300 Spartans lead by King
Leonidas:
[0911] XERXES: "There will be no glory in your sacrifice. I will
erase even the memory of Sparta from the histories! Every piece of
Greek parchment shall be burned. Every Greek historian, and every
scribe shall have their eyes pulled out, and their tongues cut from
their mouths. Why, uttering the very name of Sparta, or Leonidas,
will be punishable by death! The world will never know you existed
at all!", 300 the movie
[0912] KING LEONIDAS--"The world will know that free men stood
against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this
battle was over, even a god-king can bleed.", 300 the movie
[0913] Cast your gaze through history and you will see that poetic
words and exalted ideals and enduring wealth never came from
governments, but rather from individuals blessed with governments
that respected individual rights as Sacred. Look throughout the
ages, and you will see no enduring maxim that is not connected with
an individual's name; be it Newton's calculus, or Homer's Odyssey,
or Moses' law, or Einstein's relativity, or Jesus' Sermon on the
Mount. Though they stand upon the shoulders of giants, the
individual is the one who writes The Declaration of Independence
and Shakespeare's Hamlet and divines Newton's Laws and Maxwell's
Equations. The individual is the source of the Soul, and as our
Founding Fathers recognized the vast wealth of the Soul, they
gifted us a Constitution that exalts Natural Rights. And this
book--The Hero's Journey in Artistic Entrepreneurship &
Technology--solemnly pledges to serve all individuals in their
battle for the Soul, as this rising Fellowship renders ideals real
on our journey on out towards the renaissance. There's a showdown
coming, I know, and I ain't backin' down.
[0914] Bogle quotes Joseph Campbell--the author of The Hero With a
Thousand Faces and the teacher who has enriched us all with "myths
to live by"--in his speech at West Point which salutes the selfless
heroism of Cpl. Jason Dunham:
[0915] "As I visit the Academy once again, and speak to you this
evening, my mind keeps returning this stark contrast: On the one
hand, your commitment to placing your own self-interest aside in
favor of service to our great nation, especially during the deeply
troubled times in which we live. On the other hand, the commitment
of so many of our corporate, investment, and mutual fund leaders to
placing their own self-interest ahead of the stewardship we owe to
those 100 million citizens who have entrusted their hard-earned
assets to our financial markets. While the nation struggles with
its finances, too many members of our financial community wallow in
the gross excesses of modern life, often in ostentatious mansions,
yachts and private jets made possible largely by a soaring stock
market that seems totally unconcerned about the risks that abound
today--terrorism, war, risky investments, staggering amounts of
borrowed money in our private sector and public sector alike, and
many more."
[0916] "In the recent stock market bubble, we witnessed the
culmination of an era in which our business corporations and our
financial institutions, working in tacit harmony, corrupted the
traditional nature of capitalism, shattering both confidence in the
markets and the accumulated wealth of countless American families.
Something went profoundly wrong, fundamentally and pervasively, in
corporate America. At the root of the problem, in the broadest
sense, was a societal change aptly described by these words from
the teacher Joseph Campbell: "In medieval times, as you approached
the city, your eye was taken by the Cathedral. Today, it's the
towers of commerce. It's business, business, business." We had
become what Campbell called a "bottom-line society." But, as I
added, "our society came to measure the wrong bottom line: form
over substance, prestige over virtue, money over achievement,
charisma over character, the ephemeral over the enduring, even
mammon over God."
[0917] "These words may seem strong, but I expressed the idea far
more strongly two years ago in this self-explanatory letter to the
editor of The Wall Street Journal:
[0918] "After reading your article about the ($185 million)
compensation package recently paid to Richard Grasso, President of
the New York Stock Exchange, his blistering op-ed response, and
your editorial--and whatever all that petty bickering suggests
about sums so enormous that few Americans can even imagine them--I
read Michael Phillips' moving front-page story about the selfless
heroism of Cpl. Jason Dunham in Iraq. I lingered on his every word,
every moment, every explosion, every turn for the worse, every hope
for survival. And then the devastating news: At 4:43 p.m. on April
22, Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham died.
[0919] "Look, I'm just a businessman. And a Republican too. But I
hope and pray that all of us who have basked in the glorious
financial excesses of modern-day managers' capitalism will take a
brief timeout from all of our getting and our self-important lives,
get down on our knees, and say a prayer for those who have
given--sadly, on our behalf--what Lincoln called "the last full
measure of devotion."
[0920] "I pray that none of you here today will be called upon to
give that last full measure of devotion to the fine nation you
proudly serve. But even after today's clouds have passed--as they
will--I also hope you will join the millions of other young men and
women of your generation who share your values and your commitment.
As I say in my new book, dedicated to my twelve grandchildren (five
of whom are your contemporaries): "My generation has left America
with much to be set right; you have the opportunity of a lifetime
to fix what has been broken. Hold high your idealism and your
values. Remember always that even one person can make a difference.
And do your part `to begin the world anew.`" Investment Wisdom and
Human Values, Remarks by John C. Bogle, Founder and Former
Chairman, The Vanguard Group, "Principles of Economics" at The
United States Military Academy
[0921] Principles of Economics. Remember that. For without
principle, economics, as well as all of science, art, and
literature are for naught. "The universe is moral," stated Emerson,
and that is why Ranger McCoy must restore APRIL's moral soul. For
principle does not come from science, but from a higher source. Do
not take my word it, but heed the words of the world's greatest
scientist, who expresses the soul of entrepreneurship's natural
service:
[0922] "The highest principles for our aspirations and judgments
are given to us westerners in the Jewish-Christian religious
tradition. It is a very high goal: free and responsible development
of the individual, so that he may place his powers freely and
gladly in the service of all mankind."--Albert Einstein
[0923] So come now and ride with Einstein. Ride with the Great
Books and Classics--with that vast wealth that was so often paid
for by blood, sweat, and tears--by exile and persecution--and then
given to all freely. The great books we shall read along this
journey all together cost less than a textbook. Let us ride with
Jack Bogle and the Founding Fathers. With Neo and Morpheus, with
Luke and Obe Wan Kenobe, with Frodo and Gandalf. Let us ride with
Homer and Socrates--with Moses and Jesus--on both the external and
internal hero's journeys; for Aristotle reminds us that the plot
and subplot must venture forth in parallel--that the physical
action must dance with the dramatic action. Let us ride with Autumn
and Ranger, as they strive to upload APRIL's moral soul before it's
too--well, it can't be too late, and for they cannot, and will not
fail.
[0924] Yes--there's a showdown comin'. And look closely, and you'll
see that 45 is beginning to glint gold.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0925] Opportunity abounds to create video games with souls, deep
intellect, and exalted spirits by endowing them with that which
renders mankind unique and exalts his greater heroes--ideas and
ideals. From dialogue, action, and world trees that branch
according to the profound ideas that are expressed, or remain
unspoken, to the moral premise, to ideas having consequences, to a
vampire or zombie game wherein the viruses are ideas, opportunity
abounds to exalt video games with superior gameplay. As every
single work of classic literature centers about a moral premise and
classical ideals, and the moral Character of the protagonist, from
Hamlet, to Odysseus, to Dante, to Jesus, to Socrates is founded
upon ideas; endowing games with ideas that have consequences and a
moral premise will result in games that achieve higher art.
[0926] Of course video game designers and creators always sell
their product with "cinematic storytelling," and "deep, profound
story," but they are lying when they are not merely hyping. As we
shall see documented throughout this patent application, their hype
is pure, unadulterated hype, and in the present invention, one will
be allowed to reason with hypesters, explaining to them how lying
is uncool and how it results in long-term detriments to society.
And when reasoning with them does not work, the player will be
allowed to shoot all the fanboys and superficial producers hyping
movies based on video games within the realm of the gameworld. Now
that would be more fun an enjoyable than merely killing innocent
civilians and prostitutes, thusly providing superior gameplay--even
superior to the bestselling game of all time. And thus opportunity
abounds for a different approach to storytelling and gameplay--to
dialogue and actions trees--in video games.
[0927] The video game industry has grown most conservative and has
changed little, if at all, since the days of Atari. It's still
about pixels shooting pixels. To date, deep, profound ideas have
not been introduced to the realm of gaming. Nowhere can one play
The Odyssey, where the only way to win--to make it on home to
Penelope--is to choose the correct and moral action and dialogue.
Imagine a game that when the correct dialogue was chosen, the game
advanced, as one heard Odysseus speaking his poetic lines, along
with Homer's exalted narrative. When the incorrect dialogue choice
was chosen, the game would veer from the original plot, and
Odysseus's chance of ever making it home would be endangered. Such
a paradigm and novel approach--rewarding the character for
following the plotline of spoken dialogue and action and moral
choices--could be applied and extended to numerous properties,
classic, present, and future, from Hamlet to Autumn Rangers.
MORE PRIOR ART
[0928] While video game creators engage in hype about "story" to
sell games, that hype is the exact antithesis of story. All
classical stories, from The Odyssey on down, are bolstered and
exalted by characters who match word and deed, unlike modern game
creators, producers, and developers.
[0929] The blog Video Game Story Movies reports, [0930]
"Cliffyb/WyckyG--Master Hypesters--anti-story--anti art: New
Line=Bottom Line [0931] Cliffyb & WyckyG have such massive egos
that they think that their egos alone can carry the Gears of War
movie, sans story, sans poetry, sans art, sans plot, sans
character. [0932] Beattie doesn't have a Lord of the Rings in his
soul. He's a Hollywood hack who detests story as much as Cliffyb
& Wyckyg. Stuartyb has never written a deep, profound,
meaningful story. The sooner he gets the hell out of Hollywood, the
better off we'll all be. [0933] In the February 2007, #212,
Electronic Gaming Monthly, Shoe & Shawn Elliott report, in an
article called: Afterthoughts: Gears of War, in an interview with
CliffyB: [0934] EGM: The Mad World trailer (of Gears of War) is
pretty cool, but you never have that big encounter in the game, and
you never really explore the human, emotional side of the story
like the commercial hints at. False advertising?"
[0935] So it is that time and again, false advertising and hype
have been substituted for any story or plot or character in video
games. As just as it is easier to print a fiat dollar and place
people in debt than it is to manufacture something, it is easier to
hype a plotless, storyless game, than it is to actually innovate,
read the Great Books, and endow games with their classical soul.
[0936] Jonas Allen writes at
http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/006086.php: [0937] Cliffy B.
can kiss my ass. I mean that in the most polite way possible.
Before you start penning the hate mail, take a look at our Gears of
War review. That's right, it won an Editor's Choice award. So why
the venom for Cliffy B.? Because that was the hardest Editor's
Choice award I've ever doled out. I literally lost sleep before
writing our review, because I couldn't decide whether Gears of War
was really worth the score. At the end of the day, there aren't any
significant faults with the game, and the gameplay mechanics have
me itching to play more, so the award was warranted. But the game's
so-called story made it really tempting to score Gears of War an
8.9 out of spite. [0938]
http://videogamestorymovies.blogspot.com/2007/10/cliffybwyckyg-master-hyp-
esters-anit.html writes: [0939] "I would like to challenge Cliffyb
and WyckyG to a televised debate regarding New Line's
hype-before-art tactics, and their use of hype, money and
intimidation to shut true story, filmmakers, and artists out of
Hollywood. The culture is declining, the family is breaking up,
abortions are soaring, Wall street's hedge fund contortionists and
subprime hawkers are getting richer on the backs of the middle
class, and Cliffyb & Wyckyg are laughing all the way on down,
as brave souls are sent to foreign shores to fight and die for the
ever-augmenting debauchery. [0940] "What is needed is more
transparency. Where does New Line get its money, and why do they
oppose classic, majestic, epic art and story with plot, character,
and soul? Wall Street has destroyed the classic american family, so
it makes sense that New Line, who works for Wall Street, also
detests story, plot, character, spirit, and soul. [0941] "As the
gap between the poor and rich grows, as WyckyG and Cliffyb drive
their fancy cars around town, story and art die, all to serve New
Line's bottom line via hype, hype, and hype. New Line's new name
should be Bottom Line. [0942] "And like all the modern
hipster-hypseter fanboy hedge funds, they want to drag all of
culture down with them, like the Whale at the end of Moby Dick.
[0943] "But as the last whelmings intermixingly poured themselves
over the sunken head of the Indian at the mainmast, leaving a few
inches of the erect spar yet visible, together with long streaming
yards of the flag, which calmly undulated, with ironical
coincidings, over the destroying billows they almost touched;--at
that instant, a red arm and a hammer hovered backwardly uplifted in
the open air, in the act of nailing the flag faster and yet faster
to the subsiding spar. A sky-hawk that tauntingly had followed the
main-truck downwards from its natural home among the stars, pecking
at the flag, and incommoding Tashtego there; this bird now chanced
to intercept its broad fluttering wing between the hammer and the
wood; and simultaneously feeling that etherial thrill, the
submerged savage beneath, in his death-gasp, kept his hammer frozen
there; and so the bird of heaven, with archangelic shrieks, and his
imperial beak thrust upwards, and his whole captive form folded in
the flag of Ahab, went down with his ship, which, like Satan, would
not sink to hell till she had dragged a living part of heaven along
with her, and helmeted herself with it. [0944] Long after all the
fanboyisms have faded, and all the WyckyG and CliffyB Bottom Line
hype has faded from eclipsing Truth and Beauty, profound, eloquent
art such as Moby Dick will rise again. [0945] "I know how all those
fanboy hedge fund managers play--I know how the Hollywood
douchebags run the town, with their little, violent blurbs and
backstabbing. [0946] So go ahead, make my
day.--http://videogamestorymovies.blogspot.com/2007/10/cliffybwyckyg-m-
aster-hypesters-anit.html
Novel Form of Zombie/Vampire Game
[0947] Imagine a typical vampire or zombie game wherein the viruses
were ideas. The state of being a vampire or being a zombie was
passed via ideas; not mere physical encounters, as is the case in
game, after game, after game. In-game characters who heard the
preachings and teachings of Marx too often would become communists,
socialists, feminists, and Marxists. In-game characters who heard
the preachings and teachings of Fed-bubble-creating Keynesians
would become tenured economists, writing long, boring tomes
justifying or concealing the banks plundering savings and
retirement during the dot-com stock bubble, seizing homes during
the housing bubble, and stealing the whole way on down via the
inflation tax. The tenured professors and media are rewarded with
billions upon billions of fiat dollars for the articles. It would
be up to our protagonist to save civilization and society--to stand
up for the Constitution which does not authorize private banks to
print money and place all of entirety in vast debt. The
protagonist's wife and children would be assaulted non-stop on TV,
in school, at college, and at work with the fiatocracy's
dumbed-down propaganda and its ceaseless debauchery. The
protagonist would have the opportunity to enlighten everyone he
comes in contact with by quoting Hayek, Mises, Jefferson, Jackson,
Shakespeare, and the Bible, trying to reason with them. But should
the fiat virus spread, and the critical mass become happy and
content with being zombies and vampires, the fiatocracy's
jack-booted thugs will be sent forth to kill the protagonist, deny
him his property, and destroy his Character. At this point the game
would rely more on action than ideas; as when the language has been
destroyed by postmodern feminist instructors, university presidents
who never read, and their silent fiat accomplices who treat the
university more like a hedge fund than an educational institution,
there is no longer any hope for winning by words and reason alone.
Of course this is why the fiatocracy and feminists oppose the
Constitution, the freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms, as
after the bankers take everyone's savings, homes, and families,
gutting a country of its natural wealth, the only thing left to
take is the peoples' lives. And so, in this game, if the
Constitution is lost via the destruction of the language, countless
lives will be lost on down the line. While GTA never allows one to
fight for the Constitution and the right to life, this present
video game would allow the protagonist to fight for the right to
life found in the spirit of both The Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution; in Shakespeare and the Bible, in Dante and
Homer, in Plato and Aristotle. Opportunity abounds to render games
with the Western Soul. [0948] Video Game Storytelling Stinks, Needs
To Get Better, Developers Say, In GameFile. I like to leave story
to books and movies,' one exec says. So what was the greatest story
a video game ever told? A "GTA" game? "Mass Effect"? "Planescape:
Torment"? Was the greatest gaming story ever told even a great one?
Or should developers not bother trying to tell a great one? At GDC,
the answer wasn't clear. But the restlessness was evident. Games
don't tell great stories yet, the game makers told me, and maybe
they never will.--Mar. 11, 2008 8:00 AM
EDT--http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583092/20080310/id.sub.--0.jhtml
[0949] So it is that many gaming experts and insiders don't see any
need for story. Sometimes, when the marketing department sees a
need for story, they just go ahead and market the game as having
story, as they did for Gears of War, as it is far easier to hype
than it is to work, think, innovate, and create games with story;
just as it is far easier for the Federal Reserve--the world's
largest corporation--to print dollars and pay off economists, than
it is to actually create anything. Everyone in these proud times as
banker envy--the ability to say one thing and do another--to print
money out of thin air, stands in direct opposition to classical
art, integrity, and soul; and so classical art, integrity, and soul
must be destroyed. Now and then the people can be afforded ideals,
just as long as those ideals are kept in Middle Earth and Narnia
and in ancient Greece in a darkened theater, but those ideals must
never be brought off those silver screens and acted on in real
life, where 45,000,0000 innocent have been murdered since Roe vs.
Wade, and where the money supply has been massively inflated,
resulting in the destruction of the single-worker home and the
classical family. Both roe vs. Wade and the end of the gold
standard occurred in the early seventies, along with the rise of
feminism and feminist bureaucracies, which are ideally suited to
saying one thing and doing another, transforming rugged
entrepreneurship into socialism, and murdering 45,000,000
innocent--a task the Nazis fell far short of. Up until now, no
video game allowed one to fight for the gold standard, for sound
money, for the right to life, for freedom, for classical ideals,
for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution--for
ideals and idealism--for classical ideals and idealism--for exalted
ideals and idealism--for honor, character, and story. But now, the
time is here, and such a game will be massively opposed by all the
experts and their fiat-Ferrari fanboys, lending to its
patentability.
[0950] As story has ever been the vessel of the soul, from
Shakespeare, to the Bible, to Dante, to Homer; to say that video
games do not need story, as so many experts boldly proclaim, is to
say they do not need soul. To say that they don't tell great
stories yet and maybe never will, means that video games do not
have great soul, and just might never. And thus, opportunity
abounds. This patent counters the experts' opinions, as well as
their hype; for many developers just hype the story in their games,
rather than admitting it is lacking. As the primary soul of story
is Truth, if one does not appreciate story, then Truth is
expendable, and it becomes quite easy to hype storyless,
superficial games as deep and profound epics.
[0951] The MTV Gamefile article continues: [0952] That sounds nice,
I told Thompson, but why, as a player, should I care? If playing a
game is like being an actor acting out a script, then what's my
motivation? How was this different from so many other games with
plots just like that? [0953] Sam wasn't sure what more he could say
to convince me. So we stopped talking about the game's story line
and went back to talking about how the game was played. Some would
say we went back to talking about what mattered. But what about the
stories we get to experience in video games? Are they gripping
enough? Do they matter? Are they great? Can they be great? [0954]
For years I've heard from garners and game developers who relish
the stories in "Final Fantasy" games or in the adventures made by
Canadian developer BioWare. But at the Game Developers Conference
last month, I heard something else. I heard game developers grump
about the state of storytelling in video games. [0955] I heard Dave
Jones, president of development studio Real Time Worlds and one of
the original architects of the "Grand Theft Auto" series, telling
an audience: "I like to leave story to books and
movies."--http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583092/20080310/id.sub.--0.jh-
tml
[0956] So there you have it--the original architect of GTA states
that story ought be left to books and movies. A statement which
makes the fanboy response to a young letter writer in EGM even more
hilarious. Let's revisit this letter:
[0957] EGM Letter of The Month [0958] As I grew up, videogames grew
up with me. I started playing games like Donkey Kong and Carnival
on the ColecoVision before I could read, and Nintendo's MArio title
were a staple of my early childhood. As I got older, I saw the
storytlines and gameplay mechanics become more intricate and
engaging. When I went through my rebellious and bitchy teenage
years, so did videogames. And as I grew and matured, so did the
subject matter of the games themselves. [0959] Now that I'm 22,
more things are vying for my time and attention such as work,
college, women, drinking, and lamenting over my long-gone and
simpler childhood. Needless to say, if I'm going to devote 20-plus
hours of my life to completing a game, it had better be well worth
it. And to me personally, a game well worth it is one I can take
something away from on an intellectual level. For example, a game
that makes me question my own existence, or the war in Iraq, or the
increasing diconnectedness of our modern high-tech lives would be
the holy grail of gaming to me. What are the chances that gaming
will finally grow once more and develop a social and political
conscience?--Eric Staskiewicz [0960] EGM answers: "The answers are
pretty damn good. Games are more and more frequently making
"statements" about society and politics--see BioShock, GTA4, even
Army of Two for just a few examples. We'll always have mindless
diversions as well, of course, but count on seeing more and more
depth of theme and storytelling in the coming years.
[0961] It is beautiful and refreshing to witness today's youth
longing for profound story. And it is telling to read the response
of the experts who edit leading video games magazines. "Pretty damn
good" they say regarding the chances that the gaming industry will
finally create games with political and social consciences--they
are soooo badassss!!!
[0962] Taking a cue from the postmodern poetry professors, video
games achieve higher art by adding cheesy sex scenes for the
fanboys:
http://kotaku.com/389548/muzyka-mass-effect-sex-scene-validates-games-as--
art:
[0963] Muzyka: Mass Effect Sex Scene Validates Games As Art [0964]
BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka sounded off to CVG recently about the
"SeXbox" controversy centered on Mass Effect, calling it an
"interesting experience," and sticking by video games as an art
form: [0965] It's very tasteful, but it is an emotionally intense
scene, and there's a number of similarly emotional scenes in the
game, not just romances but across the board--different
relationships between characters. [0966] I see videogames as an art
form, and they're an emergent art form. They're a commercial art
form, but they're still art regardless. And the good thing I think
is the fact that people are talking about that kind of scene; it
had an impact on them. [0967] It proves that videogames are an art
form and proves that Mass Effect is an innovator in that. It's in
some ways leading the way and willing to push the envelope a little
bit and actually deliver stuff that's really compelling.
[0968] So it is that the debate is officially over--video games are
higher art, as proven by a sex scene. And so too is all porn higher
art, as all porn contains an element of sex--indeed, a lot of porn
contains sex scenes, and sex scenes are higher art in the fanboy's
mind. GTA is perhaps the highest form of art, according to the
gaming experts, as it contains sex for money, and too, it allows
murder to get that money back; just as feminist lit instructors are
paid well in fiat dollars to murder the great books and classics
and to destroy the moral fabric of society. Both feminism and GTA
IV are well-funded by Wall Street bankers, as both cast women in
service of mammon--in the service of the corporation and the state,
instead of in service to the higher ideals, faith, and the
family.
[0969] But even one of the most famous and respected game
developers in the world, Will Wright, is stating that games yet
fall short of art: [0970] For his part, Wright is more optimistic.
"I do believe that games can be a form of artistic expression," he
said, "a co-collaboration between player and designer. We have yet
to prove we can do meaningful things with this form of expression,
but I believe we are at the cusp of a Cambrian explosion of
possibilities [referencing the geological era in which complex life
flourished]. We are a couple years away from being respected as a
form of expression, but it's not a battle we need to fight. We'll
win
anyway."--http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18935
[0971] So it is that the present invention will accomplish what has
so far not been accomplished in the realm of video games and
gaming, by endowing games with deep, meaningful purpose.
[0972] Imagine a video game wherein one was able to fight for
ideas, and wherein those ideas had consequences. Imagine a video
game which married the dramatic action to the external action, and
which allowed Ranger McCoy to battle for both April and Autumn's
souls and spirits. Will Wright, like many in the industry, lauds
GTA IV and killing civilians: [0973] "Games have a language that we
learn through playing. We develop a literacy that for many remains
subconscious," he said. "In game design we conceive of rules we can
develop that emerge into the widest variety of experience." This is
in contrast to other forms of media in which we create rules for
the opposite reason, to limit and force an
outcome:--http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18935
[0974] What Wright is missing is that games will be exalted to
greater heights when the "path to victory becomes narrow," while
the path to debauchery and decline is wide. [0975] "Players tell
stories," Wright summarized. "We, designers, provide a platform for
player expression." As examples of player expression layered over
game platforms, he mentioned machinima such as "My Trip to Liberty
City" and players using The Sims' album feature to create their own
narratives. [0976] Alluding to the conflict between player
experiences and designer-scripted experience, he described his own
reactions in Grand Theft Auto IV to killing civilians. "I do feel a
bit of remorse if it's my choice," he said, "but if it's to
progress the story, then `God told me to do
it.`"--http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18935
[0977] Again, Wright is missing the emptiness of the current system
of video games, as in classical epic stories, neither Zeus nor God
commands any of the heroic characters to kill civilians simply to
advance a story. Rather, Zeus and the Biblical God are Gods of
Justice for beggars and strangers--for the common man. It is the
naive fanboy God who rejoices in killing Civilians and hiring and
killing prostitutes, and thus, to date, games lack the sensibility
of the higher art that is found in Homer's Odyssey, Dante's
Inferno, and other classical, epic works, such as Sergio Leone's
Fistful of Dollars. [0978] He raised the importance on the part of
the designer of compelling the player to explore the depths of
broad experiences like The Sims or GTA4, saying such games need
"clear alternate goal structures that motivate the player to
achieve in a variety of ways. Make players aware of the possibility
space." [0979] Gaming's perceived emotional weaknesses relative to
film are "misguided", he said. Games do not have an inferior
emotional palate, but "rather a different one"--feelings such as
pride, guilt, and accomplishment, which are commonly felt when
playing games, are not felt in the viewers of films whose
characters might experience those feelings. [0980] "The best
experiences are generative experiences," argued Wright, concluding
his well-received lecture at Krazy! "The best stories are player
stories."--http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18935
[0981] But games could be far greater, were the sense of
accomplishment to derive from a victory based on profound, epic
ideas that had consequences such as freedom and liberty, as opposed
to a victory based upon killing civilians, jacking cars, and hiring
and killing prostitutes. The free marketplace would reflect this,
if games were given half a chance, but the snarky, entrenched,
pretentious industry is about as open minded to games celebrating
the same ideas as do the Great Books and Classics as is Dave
Eggers. [0982] This month, film director and cultural titan Steven
Spielberg will make his highly anticipated debut in the world of
video games. The game, Boom Blox, is a modern puzzle game where the
player can arrange, knock over and blow up various block
formations. Despite its seemingly basic premise, Entertainment
Arts, the game company, has invested millions of dollars into the
game's development and expects it to be a, well, blockbuster.
[0983] But many garners are less optimistic. [0984] "I know it's
going to suck," Eddo Stern, an independent game developer and
professor at Cal Arts University in Los Angeles. "And he's not even
going to make it. He's just going to put his name on it because he
knows nothing about games." [0985] Most serious game developers and
garners fall into the gameplay camp, which focuses on the mechanics
of the game and views video games as a toy, not as a story. In
their view, it doesn't matter whether the main character is a
hedgehog, plumber, super soldier, a unicorn or just a block. How
the characters move and the mechanics of the game are much more
important.--http://www.star-telegram.com/408/story/653352.html
[0986] The bestselling PS2 game of all time is Grand Theft Auto,
selling over 25,000,000 copies. In the open-ended game, one is
allowed to hire a hooker and then kill her and get one's money
back. Not only is that reprehensible, but the game quickly gets
boring, as the missions are all performed in a most superficial
context of stealing and killing for the sake of stealing and
killing. There is no higher purpose--there are no classical ideals
being served. One cannot fight for freedom nor the right to life
nor the Constitution. It is almost like trying to gain tenure at a
postmodern university these days--it's all just a game of
high-pixel-count politics, where truth and story have been replaced
by spectacle, soul with semblance, and deeper philosophies with
superficial groupthink.
[0987] The present invention proposes that the service of classic
ideals will endow video games with far more meaningful worlds,
emotional and spiritual immersion, and engaging gameplay. As
Aristotle noted, the subplot and the plot must be unified, and the
premise of this invention allows the on-screen action to mirror the
deeper dramatic action that takes place in the realm of ideas. All
this is done via the moral premise, which was talked about in an
earlier invention.
[0988] At the crux of this patent is the heart and soul of the
libertarian movement which comes to us from both Athens and
Jerusalem--from Socrates and Jesus, from Plato, Aristotle, and
Moses; and more recently from Jefferson, Hayek, and Mises. To date,
nobody has incorporated the nobility of the Greats' ideas, and
their eloquent words, in video games, and then pitted those ideas
against the likes of Marx, Lenin, Mussolini, King George, tyrants,
deconstructionists, and collectivists.
[0989] Imagine an investment greater than oil and gold--greater
than stocks and real estate. Imagine an investment with infinite
returns that rust cannot tarnish and no thief can steal. This book
is about that higher form of investing; and opportunity
abounds.
[0990] Imagine a videogame which let you play as Odysseus, which
rewarded you for heroic moral choices; and imagine a film based on
the game's technology. Imagine a game which brought the classical
poetry to life when you chose the correct dialogue tree; and in
which you played for higher stakes--your wife, queen, and
love--faithful Penelope. Imagine a game which let you fight for the
spirit of the Constitution and artist's rights. Imagine riding into
town for that third act, choosing to disguise yourself as a
beggar--a man with no name like Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of
Dollars--as you observed the imposter kings and managerial
capitalists living off other's estates--plundering savings and
investments while dividing and destroying families--and you came up
with a plan to defeat them. Imagine reuniting the family, rendering
Justice, and walking away from the gold at the end--as did Eastwood
in Sergio Leone's masterpiece. That would be one rockin' game--it
would blow Grand Theft Auto out of the water. Imagine a game which
let you play as Dante as you trekked through hell to be with
Beatrice . . . and so we begin to see that all action-adventure
epics are ultimately love stories. From Braveheart, to 300, to
Gladiatior, to The Matrix, to A Fistful of Dollars, to the American
Revolution, to the trial and death of Socrates, to the crucifixion
of Jesus, the stakes of the showdown are always the same: freedom,
morality, the individual, romantic love, the classic family, and
Epic Soul facing down the king, tyrant, bureaucratic mob, decline,
PR hype, deceit, and the inevitable soul-killing decadence of the
corporate/state Matrix. Imagine films, games, and novels which
raised the stakes and saluted the battle for the Epic Soul--the
very center and circumference of civilization.
[0991] Well come ride with us--with Autumn and Ranger--with Adams
and Cicero--with Socrates and Jesus. Ride with us on out towards
the Renaissance; and I shall teach you how to surf the classics and
open source software on toward the infinite wealth found in
following your passions and dreams. And too, I shall teach you of
the power of the Gold 45 Revolver--the only gun that can prevail in
that showdown that's been a long time coming. It's time--it's time
for us to head on home and reclaim Penelope and our homes--our
faith and family--our love, our queens, and our wives--from the
fiatocracy's false suitors.
[0992] Sergio Leone's epic classic A Fistful of Dollars is not
about money. It is not about the gold that the gangs lust after
throughout the film. It is ultimately about that higher, heroic
wealth--Justice. And such movies and their classic heroes have as
of late been banned, as the classical heroic soul has been
deconstructed, dumbed-down, and feminized throughout society; as
deprived of the spirit's abstract, exalted principles, people will
become slaves to the mere material, while yet believing themselves
to be free. That is the genius of The Matrix's ironic decline.
Student debt, as all debt, is sold as that which liberates one with
lux et veritas, whereas in reality it but funds the dumbed-down
Matrix, which the student serf is then indebted to serve. And so
upon graduation the student goes to work for the banks who printed
the money from thin air; as they buy up the foreclosed homes. It
soon becomes every lawyer and MBA's goal to sit close to and serve
not the creators of art, wealth, and exaltation, but the creators
of debt, debauchery, and decline. I need no footnote to reference
the decline--look up and down your street--look at the culture, the
family, the university, the state, and the corporation, and if you
cannot see it for yourself, then you are blind to external reality,
and perhaps the time has finally come to examine your own
disappearing soul--as a man with a shortened measuring stick or
debauched context might conclude that the contemporary spirit is as
grand as it ever was. Again--that is the symbiotic genius of ironic
decline--those who are in it cannot see it. But those who read the
Great Books and Classics and see their soul's forgotten ideals
exalted in words--they must be banned from the university campus,
and their Great Books class must be replaced with marketing,
feminist literature, and other mild forms of entertainment the
fiatocracy approves of.
[0993] In Fistful, The Man With No Name rides into town on a mule;
and after he reunites the family--Madonna and child and the husband
and wife; he plays the corrupt, warring, corporate gangs off
one-another. The Roho gang destroys the Baxter gang, and the lone
Man With No Name finally returns to defeat the Roho gang and their
rifles with his 45 Revolver in the final showdown, and he claims
the gold for himself. And in the last scene, he rides off on the
same mule, leaving the gold behind.
[0994] The film launched Eastwood to international stardom and was
the first in The Man With No Name Trilogy, which concluded with The
Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Now imagine a video game which allowed
the player to battle the corporate gangs that are separating women
from their children, to reunite the family, and to deliver justice
to the Matrix. Such games shall be the reward of the renaissance,
along with film renditions of The Odyssey that use video game
technology to bring the moral heroism to life.
[0995] The Odyssey--once the center and circumference of education,
has been banned. Few students will ever read it, unless they read
it to deconstruct and destroy it. It has been banned as it is a
classic western exalting the heroic soul, and fiat-funded societies
(fiatocracies) have no need for heroes, but for those fighting
their wars on far-off foreign shores. Odysseus shows up back home
as The Man With No Name, and he is kicked around and spat on by the
suitors living in his home, eating away at his estate, much like
the media and movies such as Stop Loss kicks the soldiers
around--those very same soldiers who defend their freedom of speech
and the Constitution. But Odysseus alone can string the bow, and
he, his son, and friends--the few--stand against the many and kill
the suitors. After the suitor's blood has stained the halls of his
home, he has all their whores clean up the mess. And when they are
done, he tells his son to take them outside and hang them. Grand
Theft Auto--the bestselling video game of all time--allows one to
hire and kill prostitutes, but it does not allow one to clean house
of the managerial capitalists and reunite the family that their
Matrix has destroyed. And thus opportunities abound for patents for
exalted video games with moral game engines, as well as games that
allow the player to battle lawyers who state that artists rights
and patents on novel, enhanced, superior methods for creating video
games are unconstitutional, while abortion and the inflationary tax
are constitutional. Fiatocracies, replete with printing presses,
rifles and lawyers who oppose the Constitution, have infinite funds
to finance mediocrities who have found it easier to gain wealth,
honors, titles, tenures, and award via fiat, as opposed to the
quaint, old-fashioned ways of rugged innovation, work, and the
creation of art and righteous poetry. And as the true creator is
always outnumbered by the downloader, and few are opposed to free
money at someone else's expense, especially their children's,
fiatocracies blossom in democractic republics, as they destroy the
family, the Constitution, and the soul--all those entities and
forms of higher wealth which fiat currencies have no power to
create nor exalt, but only to undermine and destroy.
[0996] When Moses came down off that mountain for the first time
with those Ten Commandments, he found his people worshipping the
golden calf, and he smashed the Ten Commandments upon the ground,
reasoning that the people were not deserving of the higher wealth
of God's Law. Early on in The Iliad, Achilles throws down the
golden staff that granted him to the right to speak in the Greek
assemblies; and he calls out the drunken bureaucrats, who never
fight on the front lines, but only ever linger in the back; and
hand one-another honors and awards earned by the blood, sweat,
tears, and lives of the men fighting and dying on the front lines
for higher ideals.
[0997] And make no mistake--we're riding for the front lines of
Western Civilization, where we shall return society to sound money,
and escape the postmodern decline that transforms capitalism into
cronyism via fiat, that privatizes the profits and socializes the
risk, that praises a free market in public, but socializes it in
private, by socializing the currency along with everything it
buys--the entire market. What some men must labor for, others just
print, thusly infinitely devaluing the former's honor, character,
integrity, and soul. So of course they have to send legions of
feminist instructors and soulless MBAs to deconstruct honor,
integrity, and soul upon the college campuses, and year, after
year, after year--for three years in a row in this era of 2008
AD--they have tried to cancel my class and prevent Homer, Bogle,
Shakespeare, Dante, and the Bible from being taught in a business
class. But such things were prophesized long ago, and just as there
were three days of the chase in Moby Dick, whereupon Captain Ahab
finally went down on that third day; so too shall this class be
made immortal upon the third time they shoot to kill it.
[0998] Look closely at what the soul-killing system has done to our
men and women--their inability to speak truth, the 50% divorce
rate, the transformation of every covenant into a mere contract,
record numbers of abortions, the largest government ever known to
mankind with the largest debt in the history of the world, which
sends the best to die on foreign shores for a Constitution that is
ignored, deconstructed, and spat on in its own home, as if it were
Odysseus himself. [0999] The desire of gold is not for gold. It is
for the means of freedom and benefit.--Ralph Waldo Emerson
[1000] Shot for less than $200,000, A Fistful of Dollars broke
Clint Eastwood as an international star. The budget was so sparse
that Clint had to bring his own gun, hat, and boots that he'd used
on the TV show Rawhide.
[1001] And that Justice shall thunder down again, like Zeus's
lightning bolts. You can bet against it all you want; and invest in
reality TV and sub-prime scandals; but the immortal soul longs for
classical immortality--it longs to be free to ride with the ghosts
of eternity. I've seen it in the faces of my freshmen, and though
the boomer administrators have yet to read a single word I ever
wrote, these words shall far outlast their tenures, which are
naught but massive student debt embodied in ego, summers off, and
convertible BMWs.
[1002] Imagine video games that allowed one to match word and
deed--which exalted honor and integrity. Once upon a time the mark
of man was matching word and deed, but now it is profiting by
saying one thing and doing another, as that is far more profitable
for Wall Street Bankers and university administrators who never
create anything but fiat debt and wealth-transferring bureaucracy.
That is what they teach in the feminized law schools, which ignore
the classical context the Founding Fathers held dear, and instead
turn to arbitrary case studies, where they can find abortion, gay
marriage, and no-fault divorce in the Constitution--all of which
benefit the materialistic Matrix in the short-term. Once upon a
time it was a mark of a man--from Moses and Odysseus on down--to
honor the family; but today college administrators place young
women in fantastic debt, while declaring Prima Noctae on them. "If
we can't get men of Character out, we'll breed them out," said the
King in Braveheart.
[1003] Although fiat currency systems must ultimately evolve to
support postmodern, socialistic pretensions that oppose classical
honor, the individual, integrity, and soul; there is something
about the immortal soul that calls all bluffs on that final day.
All the material wealth obtained by hype, deceit, and growing
bureaucracies to tax and plunder the common worker fades to naught;
and our hero, who was cut down, tortured, and exiled by the lesser
mediocrities, is resurrected. This epic story, based on the classic
hero's journey, is worth far more than gold. And it is yours for
the taking--all you must do is embrace your higher ideals and the
better angels of your soul.
[1004] Classic writers ultimately run Hollywood. Shakespeare is the
most produced screenwriter of all time; and he has created far more
wealth than everyone who has ever worked on Wall Street combined.
Producers will tell you that movies are star-driven, or
director-driven, but they are story driven. And that is why
Hollywood's greatest hits are all centered about epic story's moral
premise--from A Fistful of Dollars, to The Matrix, Braveheart, to
The Lord of The Rings, to the upcoming Homer's Odyssey, Dante's
Inferno, and Autumn Rangers.
[1005] The Odyssey opens with the vile, drunken suitors insisting
that Odysseus is dead and gone and never coming back, as they and
their whores live off his estate while trying to seduce Odysseus's
love, queen, and his wife--Penelope. Well, imagine a video game
where the girl's character acted like Penelope--resisting the
suitor's efforts. Imagine a game that endowed the pixels with
classical soul, and wherein ideas and actions had consequences.
Saddle up now, for that's where we're riding--to the renaissance.
For all enduring wealth comes not from money, but from virtue, as
Socrates stated: [1006] I tell you that virtue is not given by
money, but that from virtue come money and every other good of man,
public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the
doctrine which corrupts the youth, my influence is ruinous indeed.
But if anyone says that this is not my teaching, he is speaking an
untruth. Wherefore, O men of Athens, I say to you, do as Anytus
bids or not as Anytus bids, and either acquit me or not; but
whatever you do, know that I shall never alter my ways, not even if
I have to die many times.--Socrates, The Apology
[1007] Like Achilles, Socrates is not afraid of death. You can
stand him up at the gates of hell, but he won't back down. And all
the fanboys and video game experts can mock the
classics--Shakespeare and Homer--all they want, while hiring and
killing prostitutes; for that opens up vast opportunities for video
games in which the character can exalt and save a woman's soul via
word; while killing their pimp via deed.
[1008] Video games came of age in an era where the Classic, Exalted
Western was being deconstructed, rejected, and banned. Video games
came of age in an era where the Great American Novel was
demolished, replaced by postmodern politics and propaganda, porn,
myspace bands, and government bureaucracy. John Wayne, Sergio
Leone, and the Man with no Name were replaced by Deadwood--a
plotless, pointless, profane joke that projected the heart and soul
of amoral Hollywood hipsters on the Old West, and was eventually
canceled. This present invention proposes a video game in which one
can revive the classic Western, by shooting the Hollywood Hipsters,
sipping their Starbucks and high-fiving each-other each time they
slip the F word into their storyless script. The First Person
Shooter or Third Person Shooter will allow high-level in-game
characters to take flamethrowers to entire studios, burning the
marketing and creative departments in a most efficient manner. If
they fail to do so, Hollywood will decline in a sea of soulless
remakes, after remakes, after remakes.
[1009] Make no mistake--living Epic Story has been banned in our
era--by the MFAs and MBAs alike, who cannot afford Honor, nor truth
in their fiatocracies, and this invention will allow players to
bring Epic Story back in video games. The Great American Novel and
Living, Epic Narrative has been replaced with Paris Hilton, Grand
Theft Auto, fleeting gossip, and spectacle-driven movies financed
by spectacle-driven Wall Street bankers, who wholeheartedly support
the destruction of truth, family, art, the Great Books and
Classics, and the poets, as the Higher Ideals get in the way of
their god--the Bottom Line. And they seek to rope all of entirety
to their bottom line, killing the soul and spirit on all levels,
replacing covenants with contracts, and dragging all of entirety
down, down, down to the depths of their bottom line. The present
game allows the indie hero to battle the deceivers, demons, and
decliners, save the souls of the Beatrices and Penelopes of our
generation from the liberal psychiatrists and media mavens that
prescribe and encourage drugs, promiscuity, debauchery, and
divorce, and thus save the world.
[1010] When Shakespeare wrote "first, let's kill all the lawyers,"
he had not yet met an economist. The following institutions and
industries are in decline: the music industry, Hollywood, marriage,
the university, government, and Wall Street. Many say that cultural
decline is being lead by video game violence, but this patent
argues that video games are not nearly violent enough. Where
bestselling video games allow one to hire innocent hookers and
shoot them, they don't allow you to kill their pimps nor all the
lawyers who are killing the Constitution and the music and
entertainment industry by deconstructing God, exiling fundamental
rights granted by our Creator, and replacing the likes of Johnny
cash, Pink Floyd, and Bob Dylan with youtube, myspace bands,
degraded rap, and Simon Cowell--all of which are owned by the Wall
Street wealth-transferrers. Imagine a first person shooter that
presented the player with a choice--Simon Cowell, skyrocketing
divorce, rap, and myspace bands, or the Abbey Road and Dark Side of
The Moon. If one shoots the wrong people, while letting the
pomo-hipster professors and lawyers live, the in-game world will
transform into Hell, filled with abortion and broken borders to
make up for all the aborted, myspace bands working for Rupert
Murdoch, as Larry Lessig deconstructs the artist's natural rights
to digital rights management. Many of Larry's books are released
under a creative commons license, and it would be fun to mash-up
his book in the gameworld, as a bespectacled king of the fanboys
tries to hide how much money is flowing his way from the major Wall
Street corporations that profit from the decline in the artist's
rights, so that ads can be slapped on every form of media, and so
that the artist to consumer model is forever broken, so that
artists have no value on their own, but only when they are bundled
together by big brother and sold for $1.6 billion, as was youtube.
The bespectacled in-game character would say things such as: [1011]
We should be building a DRM-free world. We should have laws that
encouraged a DRM-free world. We should demonstrate practices that
make compelling a DRM-free
world.--http://lessig.org/blog/2006/03/opendrm.html
[1012] And as youtube and google rake in billions in Larry's
DRM-free world (no drm for artists--only for healthcare companies
and banks and Steve Jobs), while artists are denied their Natural
Rights to protect and profit from their content, the music industry
and culture continue to decline, as mom-and-pop record shops close
up shop, indie bands struggle, stress out, and starve, and a
massive transfer of wealth, from the vast and natural riches
inherent in the indie-artists creations, to massive Wall Street
corporations, which do not create wealth so much as they aggregate
it, copy it, and transfer it, and Larry's foundations occurs.
[1013] It's not porno hipster lawyers alone who killed music--that
would be giving them too much credit. It's also the pomo-hipsters
who aren't musicians. For by killing God, they killed love, and by
killing love, they killed love songs, and by killing love songs,
they killed the reason to write music. Make no mistake, the
renaissance will bring it all on back, but not before the
pomo-hipster boomers drag the last vestige of heaven on down along
with their sinking ship. [1014] Rolling Stone reports:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15137581/the_record_indus-
trys_decline/print [1015] Overall CD sales have plummeted sixteen
percent for the year so far--and that's after seven years of
near-constant erosion. In the face of widespread piracy, consumers'
growing preference for low-profit-margin digital singles over
albums, and other woes, the record business has plunged into a
historic decline. [1016] The major labels are struggling to
reinvent their business models, even as some wonder whether it's
too late. "The record business is over," says music attorney Peter
Paterno, who represents Metallica and Dr. Dre. "The labels have
wonderful assets--they just can't make any money off them." One
senior music-industry source who requested anonymity went further:
"Here we have a business that's dying. There won't be any major
labels pretty soon." [1017] In 2000, U.S. consumers bought 785.1
million albums; last year, they bought 588.2 million (a figure that
includes both CDs and downloaded albums), according to Nielsen
SoundScan. In 2000, the ten top-selling albums in the U.S. sold a
combined 60 million copies; in 2006, the top ten sold just 25
million. Digital sales are growing--fans bought 582 million digital
singles last year, up sixty-five percent from 2005, and purchased
$600 million worth of ringtones--but the new revenue sources aren't
making up for the shortfall. [1018] More than 5,000 record-company
employees have been laid off since 2000. The number of major labels
dropped from five to four when Sony Music Entertainment and BMG
Entertainment merged in 2004--and two of the remaining companies,
EMI and Warner, have flirted with their own merger for years.
[1019] About 2,700 record stores have closed across the country
since 2003, according to the research group Almighty Institute of
Music Retail. Last year the eighty-nine-store Tower Records chain,
which represented 2.5 percent of overall retail sales, went out of
business, and Musicland, which operated more than 800 stores under
the Sam Goody brand, among others, filed for bankruptcy. Around
sixty-five percent of all music sales now take place in big-box
stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which carry fewer titles than
specialty stores and put less effort behind promoting new
artists.
[1020] Imagine the glory of the First Person Shooter (FPS) that
could save the recording industry--that could revive the record
store--the Tom Petty's and Pink Floyds and Beatles--that liberated
the artist from the pomo-hipster groupthink lawyers and their fleet
of fanboys.
[1021] Why do techies so detest the arts and artists? Why do they
detest digital rights management? Why do lawyers so detest Epic
Story? It is because it gets in the way of their profits and egos.
For the true source of Law comes from Epic Story--from Homer,
Shakespeare, and the Bible--and by deconstructing the epic myths,
they have inspired the billion-dollar divorce industry and the
myriad of Wall Street scandals.
[1022] Epic Story in the Bible bypasses all the lawyers and simply
declares "thou shalt not steal," and "thou shalt not commit
adultery." Where are the profits in that? Lawyers have transformed
divorce into a multi-billion dollar industry, and youtube, which
provides no DRM, paid the aggregators and their lawyers over $1.6
billion, while paying the artists very little. The corporate forces
detest DRM as it allows artists to serve consumers directly,
preventing the corporate hipsters from slapping their advertising
on it, or aggregating it in vast social networks in which each
artist is robbed of their value--a value which soon adds up to $1.6
billion. Not only does the banishment of digital rights management
enrich the pomo-hipster lawyers, but it also allows them to kill
the culture by defunding the geese that lay the golden eggs--the
artists. Thus instead of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, we get myspace
bands. And finally, Larry gets to be the rock star at his Creative
Commons festivals, which are funded by foundations and powerful
Wall Street aggregators and transferrers of wealth-those who
transfer the wealth of the artist from the artist to the lawyer,
administrator, and aggregator. It all plays out like Grand Theft
Auto--Wall Street's bestselling game. MBAs just walk around, taking
whatever they want for themselves, funded by fiat bubble after fiat
bubble after fiat bubble.
[1023] George Lucas speaks out against pomo-hipsterism in both
forms--both the pomo-hipsters who oppose digital rights management,
and the pomo-hipsters who celebrate youtube.
[1024] Postmodernism is a vast profit center on all fronts, and it
fits nicely in the University--whether a student wishes to expand
the government or work for a corrupt corporation, postmodernism is
an excellent major. And in order to major in postmodernism, all
that anyone has to do is show up. It is the only class that is
offered. Whether you are studying String Theory, feminist studies,
or marketing, you are studying postmodernism. If a professor steps
forth to teach a course based upon the Great Books and classics,
they will be "hung out to dry," as a law professor told me, who
later hung me out to dry. The genius of this video game is that it
would allow the righteous professor to ride back into town, after
getting kicked, beaten, and hung, and would allow them to render
Justice. The result would be a declining divorce and debauchery
rate, the end to fiat-funded Wall Street scandals as
business-as-usual, a Great Books renaissance, and movies, novels,
and video games that brought Epic Story to life.
[1025] The only problem with postmodernism as a profit center is
that it places all of entirety into debt--a vast cultural debt.
Government bureaucrats and pomo-hipster economists routinely
celebrate how there has been no inflation. Well, if that is so, why
have house prices tripled or quadrupled in the past few years? And
why have home prices skyrocketed? For once upon a time, a man could
afford a home on a simple salary--a home being defined as a wife
and children, as they were in The Odyssey and The Bible. But these
days, with the skyrocketing divorce rate, and the skyrocketing tax
rate, and the skyrocketing abortion rate, it gets harder and harder
to afford a home, let alone a house, or even the bastard children
that are so in vogue now. Make no mistake--there has been vast
inflation--and the number-crunching bean counters have been telling
lies. The glory of this video game is that it would allow one to
take a flamethrower to the lying beancounters, liberate women from
corporate whoring, and allow children to grow up in intact homes.
You lie, you get shot in this game--just like in A Fistful of
Dollars.
[1026] By killing the culture, the postmodern elite have profited
immensely via irony, and they get to sip champagne and drive BMWs
to their faculty meetings, and pontificate about pontifications. In
all their ironic bumbling and prosperity, they have grown blind to
the dearth of Truth and God and Beauty that has come to pervade the
collapsing world, and this video game would allow the player to
make sure that children again have parents, that daughters and sons
again get to grow up with fathers.
[1027] Rolling Stone writes, [1028] So who killed the record
industry as we knew it? "The record companies have created this
situation themselves," says Simon Wright, CEO of Virgin
Entertainment Group, which operates Virgin Megastores. While there
are factors outside of the labels' control--from the rise of the
Internet to the popularity of video games and DVDs--many in the
industry see the last seven years as a series of botched
opportunities. And among the biggest, they say, was the labels'
failure to address online piracy at the beginning by making peace
with the first file-sharing service, Napster. "They left billions
and billions of dollars on the table by suing Napster--that was the
moment that the labels killed themselves," says Jeff Kwatinetz, CEO
of management company the Firm. "The record business had an
unbelievable opportunity there. They were all using the same
service. It was as if everybody was listening to the same radio
station. Then Napster shut down, and all those 30 or 40 million
people went to other [file-sharing services]."
[1029] The problem was actually much deeper, for as God and Romance
is replaced by cynicism and theft, working with Napster wasn't
going to fix it. It would have been like The Man with no Name
working with the Baxters in the opening scene, instead of shooting
them. Napster could have come up with a DRM system back then, but
they chose not to, as DRM wasn't cool. MTV honored them, but then
MTV killed music, replacing the Soul with degradation and
debauchery, as is Viacom's specialty.
[1030] The glory of this present game is that it would allow the
player to run through the halls of massive corporations, filled
with double-speaking, uncreative lawyers and bureaucrats planning
the next marketing campaign for the filth that will further the
family's decline and chackle women to their bottom line. He game
would allow the player to take them out. The actions would come to
life as manufactured gangsta rap was replaced with melody and
music, youngsters again looked into one-anothers' eyes with hope of
eternal romance, and cynicism and irony were destroyed by player's
the flamethrowing chainsaw.
[1031] If the player fails, the consequences are enormous. Millions
are aborted, the masses are forced to become wage slaves for money
that the other class just prints, which is no longer backed by
gold, but only by debt. So the harder they work, and the more money
they make, the more iou notes they get, and the deeper in debt they
are. Now some critics might say that war and violence directed by
purpose and reason are bad things, and that video games should only
ever allow us to engage in gratuitous violence-to kill prostitutes
and innocent commuters and jack their cars. But John Stuart Mill
reminds us: [1032] War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of
things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic
feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. When a people
are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon or thrusting
bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes of a master,
such war degrades a people. A war to protect other human beings
against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own
ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for
an honest purpose by their free choice, is often the means of their
regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight
for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his
personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being
free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than
himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their
ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human
beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one
against the other.--John Stuart Mill
[1033] This game allows the indie artist to battle postmodern
lawyers such as Larry Lessig who seek to deny them DRM, and
transfer all their natural wealth to vast, billion-dollar
corporations. If one does not "kill the lawyers," as Shakespeare
suggests, the music industry is destroyed, and in-game music of the
Beatles and Pink Floyd are replaced by Myspace Bands and Simon
Cowell, who exists not for music, but for Fox and Rupert Murdoch,
just as Larry exists not for the indie artist--which every true
artist is--but for Google. In his book The Cult of The Amateur, How
today's Internet is Killing Our Culture, Andrew Keen writes, [1034]
To quote Richard Edeleman, the founder, president, and CEO of
Edelman PR, the world's largest privately owned public relations
company: In this era of exploding media technologies there is no
truth except the truth you create for yourself . . . . [1035] The
Judeo-Christian ethic of respecting others' property that has been
central to our society since the country's founding is being tossed
into the delete file of our desktop computers. The pasting,
remixing, mashing, borrowing, copying--the stealing--of
intellectual property has become the single most pervasive activity
on the Internet. And it is reshaping and distorting our values and
our very culture. The breadth of today's mass kleptocracy is
mind-boggling. I'm not referring only to the $20 billion pilfered
and pickpocketed, day by day, from the music industry or the $2.3
billion and growing from the movie industry. Sadly, the illegal
downloading of music and movies has become so commonplace, so
ordinary, that even the most law-abiding among us, like Brianna
LaHara, now do it without thinking. "How are we supposed to know
it's illegal?" asks a bookkeeper in Redwood city, Calif., as he
copied a playlist of songs to give out a party."--p. 142
[1036] Postmodern lawyers sell out the Judeo Christian Ethic--they
hate Johnny Cash, the Beatles, and the Bible all the same, because
of the fundamental, soulless premise the pomo-hipster lawyers
harbor deep in their souls--they detest the Individual and the
Soul, Truth for Truth's sake, and instead prefer the adulation of
their fanboys and the corporate pennies that the aggregator
capitalists make off the backs of the artists and creators, and
toss their way. Postmodernism is a most profitable occupation for
lawyers, as it allows them to trump the Truth. It allows them to
trump the classical, Judeo-Christian Truth--the Truth which sets us
free, and it thus allows them to enslave us to their bottom line.
As collectivists, they earn their living by diminishing the
individual's rights. They readily sell their shallow souls for the
few pennies the corporations toss their way, funding their
postmodern law centers that are built in the same spirit by which
the firefighters in Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 burned the books, as
opposed to saving them. This game shall allow the flamethrowers to
be turned on the postmodern pedants and lawyers, instead of the
Great Books and Classics. And as life imitates art, this game shall
achieve higher art. Andrew Keen continues, [1037] A June 2005 study
by the Center for Academic Integrity (CAI) of 50,000 undergraduates
revealed that 70 percent of college students admitted to engaging
in some form of cheating; worse still, 77 percent of college
students didn't think that Internet plagiarism was a "serious"
issue.
[1038] Having deconstructed the Great Books and Classics, the
foremost goal of the university is to place students into massive
debt while teaching them that there is no truth but for the truth
of the CEOs they will become wage-slaves to when they graduate. By
rewarding slackers and debtors with grade and currency-inflation,
the postmodern professors prepare them for a life serving Wall
Street's fiat-funded bubbles/scandals and the destruction of the
deeper American soul. The future lawyers will find loopholes to
rape the artists and workers, and they will be trained to see
abortion in the United States constitution, and the doctors will be
sent forth to carry out millions more abortions, and when the soul
declines in the wake of the destruction of epic storytelling, the
doctors and health care companies will become further enriched,
prescribing the drugs that enrich the insurance and pharmaceutical
companies, and further create a dependent class. The myth that
fathers are evil and the traditional family will be perpetuated at
all levels, as women are torn from the home, children are torn from
their wombs, truth is torn from the soul, and before one knows it,
over forty million innocent children have been aborted, illegal
aliens have been imported to replace them, the traditional
household is found to be in the minority, and crassness and
perversions rule the world, along with the Lessigs and their
prideful fanboys, who believe themselves to have won by denying
property rights to the indie artist, creator, and inventor--the
natural fount of all wealth. [1039] If history could teach us
anything, it would be that private property is inextricably linked
with civilization.--Ludwig Von Mises [1040] The system of private
property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for
those who own property, but scarcely less for those who do
not.--Fredrich August von Hayek, Nobel Laureate in Economics [1041]
The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not
as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law
and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny
commence.--John Adams
[1042] Instead of killing innocent drivers and prostitutes and
jacking cars, the present invention allows the in-game player to
kill the drug-prescribing psychiatrists, the taxing-and-spending
government/corporate bureaucrats who cross from one realm to the
other as easy as a lawyer crosses from corruption to perversion.
Upon hearing doublespeakers say things such as "Freedom is
slavery," "war is peace," "government is freedom," and "fiat
currency is superior to the gold standard," the in-game player will
be allowed to shoot them. And too, for the first time in the
history of video gaming, this game will allow the protagonist to
shoot those who rap crass hiphop lyrics, thusly saving their young
daughters from a world of soul-destroying over-sexulaization. Now
many conservatives will criticize the over-sexulaization of society
and the decline of morals, but when it comes right down to it, they
will favor killing prostitutes and jacking cars over funding or
creating games that actually allows one to fight for ideas. This is
because they are fiat conservatives; and like the vampires and
zombies in the present invention, they are content to say one thing
while doing another; and to write lofty articles while never
manning up and taking action to actually change anything. To them
real-life abortion is far better than video games with ideals.
[1043] The great thing about this game is that the player is free
to choose the world they live in--in one world they get The Beatles
and Pink Floyd--they get Shakespeare and Dante. They get intact,
traditional, exalted, classical families that stay together and
their daughters grow up wholesome and find loving, caring husbands.
In the other world, their daughters suffer STDs, pregnancies, and
abortions, and eventually become husbandless, man-hating feminists
as so many women are trained to be these days, slaving away for the
fiatocracy's corporations, rendered forever unmarriagable, except
for by suckers who the family law courts and divorce regime will
eventually plunder, pillage, and enslave.
[1044] While myspace and facebook are great in aggregating
pageviews, displaying young women in underwear, transforming art
into a commodity, and never paying the artist, nor creator, nor
networker; they have done little to advance exalted culture. While
they make billions for the technocrats and aggregators, they are
powerless in the realm of the immortal soul, where art created by
the individual stands alone.
[1045] This game will be a vast and marked improvement over the
current art which allows one to only ever shoot meaningless
monsters, superficial villains, innocent prostitutes, and
law-abiding citizens going about their daily lives. A game that
allows the character to fight for Culture, Nobility, Truth, and
Beauty will offer a far-superior gameplay environment. Andrew Keen
writes, [1046] My own "God is Dead" moment came in late 2005. I was
talking with Alan Parsons, the legendary record producer best known
for engineering the Beatles 1969 album Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's
album Dark Side of The Moon. [1047] Both albums are huge economic
successes. As of 2004, sales of Dark Side of The Moon were at over
forty million units, making it the twentieth-bestselling album in
history. And Abbey Road, with its iconic cover photograph of the
Beatles crossing North London street, is the
forty-sixth-bestselling album of all time, and has gone platinum
fifteen times. [1048] Abbey Road and Dark Side of The Moon
represent the Apotheosis of the mass media economy that shaped the
twentieth century. These albums made mass cultural, political, and
social statements that may never again be repeated. And they made
money, too. In 2002, Dark Side of The Moon was still selling
400,000 copies, making it the 200.sup.th-bestselling album of the
year, almost thirty years after its initial release . . . . [1049]
. . . "Where is the Money?" was the question I asked everyone at
Media Business 5 (MB5). [1050] In addition to Parsons, MB5 alumni
included Jonathan Taplin, the Hollywood insider who produced Martin
Scorcese's Mean Streets; Frank Casanova, head of Streaming Media at
Apple; Chuck D of Public Enemy and the first serious rap artist;
Chris Schroeder, then-CEO of the online Washington Post; Michael
Robertson, founder of MP3.com, and many other leading figures in
Silicon Valley and Hollywood. [1051] When I spoke to Parsons in
2006, he announced the end of the record business as we know it. My
original question at MB5--Where is the money?--still couldn't be
answered. By 2005, Parsons had concluded it would never be
answered. The record business was dying. The party had come to an
end. [1052] "Are you sad?" I asked him. [1053] "It's very sad,
yes," he said. "But I'm glad I've lived through the--what's the
word--the glorious years." [1054] There might be money to be made
by linking music to advertisements, or other content to the sale of
condoms or cappuccino. But the glory days of selling epoch-making
albums like Abbey Road are over. [1055] Today, the lyrics from a
song like "Money" on Dark side of the Moon reverberate with a
strange irony. In a way they describe Parsons' "glorious
years"--the dying gasps of mass media when an album sold forty
million in record stores like Tower, and thievery was limited to
small-scale, in-store shoplifting rather than an
industry-destroying, paradigm-shifting dismantling of 200 years of
intellectual property law. As the biggest record store in the world
closes its illustrious doors on the corner of Bay and Columbus, we
say good-bye to one of the most venerated culture industries of
modern times.--Andre Keen, The Cult of The Amateur: How Today's
Internet is Killing Our Culture
[1056] The glory of the present invention is that it will allow the
player to save culture. Armed with a flamethrowing machine-gun with
a massive chainsaw, the player will be able to go after
pirates--both the lawyers for the major labels and technology
companies, as well as those hiding in their mom's basements. This
invention runs counter to the expert's opinions, as Larry Lessig's
opinion of himself is vast. This invention is non-obvious, as while
fanboys and game-designers are quick to celebrate hiring hookers
and then shooting them to get their money back, they are somewhat
blind to Epic Story and Higher Culture, having never had fathers
nor teachers who introduced them to the Great Books and
Classics--to Shakespeare and Dante, to Homer and the Bible.
[1057] If the player fails to kill the postmodern lawyers, who they
shall be able to discern by their doublespeak and the massive
amounts of cash that flows their way from government and corporate
bureaucracies, the culture shall be lost. They shall see their
firstborn aborted, and their second born shall become a debt-laden,
tattooed, depressed wage slave like all the girls described in
Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex Delay Love, and Lose at Both,
I Am Charlotte Simmons, and Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist
Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every
Student. If the player fails to kill the postmodern lawyers,
professors, and psychiatrists--if they fail to nip the problem in
the bud, they will then have to battle postmodern politicians and
truthless bureaucrats leading Wall Street scams with Government
grants. If they fail there, their child will be aborted, or, if
born, will grow up in a fatherless world of hiphop thuggery,
Deadwood profanity and degraded, pomo-hipster Hollywood crap
replacing the supreme artistry of John Wayne and the Man with No
Name, ever-augmenting government, predatory lending, profit-driven
healthcare companies that promote and enrich those who value the
bottom line over life and health, and American Idol and Fox instead
of the Beatles and Pink Floyd--groupthink over truth, mysticism
over reason, tyranny over freedom, and the corrupt bureaucracy over
the righteous individual.
[1058] The decline of Hollywood and the Music Industry reaches far
deeper than what Andrew Keen speaks of. Web 2.0 is not a
culprit--it is but an indifferent, amoral player, like your typical
law school graduate or MBA. It is easily corrupted, but that is
because of the institutionalized hatred of the Classical Judeo
Christian context.
[1059] Whether you're reading The Declaration of Independence or
The Constitution, listening to a Johnny Cash song, watching a John
Wayne movie, or enjoying a Sergio Leone classic such as A Fistful
of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, or The Good, The Bad, and The
Ugly; you're witnessing the glories of the Classical Judeo
Christian Heritage. When you're listening to Larry Lessig drone on
and on about the end of creators' rights, sitting in your
feminist-studies class, reading about the justification of the
latest Wall Street Scandal as lies are just the way business gets
done, or falling asleep while watching Brokeback Mountain on a date
with some chick who hates marriage and loves abortion, you're
witnessing that which lies in the wake of the postmodern
deconstruction and wholesale destruction of the Classical,
Judeo-Christian soul. The glory and novelty of the present
invention is that it allows one to end Wall Street scandals and
abortion with the same weapon--a flame-throwing machine-gun with a
chainsaw.
[1060] In a chapter titled How Good and Evil Became Irrelevant. The
Other Gods We Worship in the book Think a Second Time, Dennis
Prager enumerates the entities that postmodern hipsters have
mistakenly placed before God. The book is a bit dated, and thus
Prager leaves out Web 2.0, pornography, WoW, and Simon Cowell, but
he does mention Art, Education, Law, Love, Reason, Blood and
Nationalism, Life, Religion and Faith in God, Profits and Success,
Psychology, Progress, and Literacy. While Dennis is well-meaning,
the fact remains that like so many of his contemporaries, he has
presided over a time of decline. The novel aspects of the present
invention is that it will allow the player to take up arms against
a sea of trouble, and by opposing them, end them. Even though the
player might be doomed, the present invention allows him, like King
Leonidas, to see that before this game is over, a King-God will
bleed, and the world will know that few stood against many in a
battle for reason, logic, and freedom over mysticism and
tyranny--over postmodernism, abortion, government-growth,
perversities, and soulless, meaningless art.
[1061] Too many game designers, and Hollywood Directors, treat
Story as an afterthought. They begin with the "property"--the
style--and then hire a committee of talentless sellouts, who never
care when the baby is cut in half--to pen the lackluster scripts
that result not only the decline of the boxoffice, but
civilization. Thus we do not know nor care who wrote the last
Fantastic Four Movie, nor video game, nor Superman, nor Batman. The
present invention will allow the writer to receive top-billing, as
did Shakespeare and Dante, and thus the producers will violently
oppose the present invention, as the postmodernist detests truth,
and thus must also detest its natural vessel--Epic Story--and its
source--Epic Storytellers. The present invention will allow the
indie writer to storm into movie-production factories, leave the
crew untouched, and mow down the upper-level MBA management and
team of MFA consultants with an Uzi. If the player fails to do so,
culture will decline and their children will grow up in a demented
world where they are taught that lies and hype are natural and
legal on Wall Street, for as Aristotle said, "When storytelling
declines, the result is decadence."
[1062] The Hero's Journey is not something that can be tagged on as
an afterthought, but rather it can only truly come to life as a
result of observing the unifying Moral Premise. Great narratives
such as Dante's Inferno, Hamlet, The Bible, The Matrix, Star Wars,
Braveheart, Lord of The Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and The
Apology all realized this. Because video games came of age in the
postmodern era wherein it is unhip to have morality or profess a
moral center, video games are incapable of Epic Story, and thus
dramatic action, deeper story, and exalted, everlasting art. For it
is not Michelangelo's paintings that grant the Bible its story, but
it is the moral premise of the Bible--of the one, enduring, just
God--that grants Michelangelo's paintings a soul.
[1063] The exalted video game described in the present invention
could take place in multiple eras, with one possible embodiment
being the present era, wherein characters controlled by Al would
speak lines informed by philosophers of yore, quoting Hayek, Plato,
and Socrates, or Marx, Engels, and Lenin. A player could show up at
Socrates' trial, and shoot the assembly that sentences Socrates to
death, or take a flamethrower to the corrupt council, thusly
rescuing Socrates. A player could traverse the nine levels of
Dante's Inferno, and shoot the demons, liberating the sinners from
their sin.
[1064] The player would get to choose who and who not to shoot
based upon the spoken word, and they would then see the game world
evolve accordingly. If one fails to shoot the postmodern feminists
and liberals who say things like "abortion is good, truth does not
exist," women will be forced into a life of servitude, slaving away
for boomer-bolstering corporate corruption after their children are
ripped from their wombs, millions of children will be aborted, and
the aging boomers will import illegal aliens to do the work that
their own murdered citizenry is unable to perform. Government will
grow, freedom will be limited, and the in-game player will be
outnumbered on all sides, as the culture is corrupted, and the
postmodern mob, raised on myspace and youtube instead of Epic
Westerns, will kill the player for speaking truths. Such a video
game will offer far superior gameplay over the current state of the
art, which roots its entertainment in the murder of innocent
prostitutes and pedestrians, the random and brutal theft of cars,
and bloody, pointless, high-pixel-count massacres in famous
Cathedrals.
[1065] While war games often allow one to battle enemies wearing
the uniforms of communists, terrorists, and Nazis, rarely do video
games allow one to gain a sense of the ideologies that drive those
in-game characters. Thus video games lack emotional depth and a
deeper dramatic reality. A game which allowed insight into the
characters' belief systems would afford a far-greater opportunity
for classical storytelling and exalted narrative, resulting in more
immersive games. Such games would be both more subtle and more
engaging, just as our favorite action movies are those that wed the
massive battle scenes to subtle and elegant motivations. Braveheart
was a "poet warrior," and games must gain poetry--that immortal art
form that is rooted in the word.
[1066] On June 13th, Tony Blair addressed Parliament, where
regarding the game The Fall of Man, he stated,
[1067]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article1929072.ece
[1068] Tony Blair told Parliament there was a need for large
organisations such as Sony to have both "some sense of
responsibility and some sensitivity to the feelings of
communities." He said there was a need for recognition that "there
is a wider social responsibility" that goes beyond simply the
"responsibility for profit" whatever the cost. [1069] His comments
came as the Dean of Manchester, he Very Reverend Rogers Govender,
disclosed that Sony had made no formal contact since the row was
disclosed by The Times last Friday night. [1070] Virtual images of
the interior of the cathedral feature prominently in a violent
shoot-out in the flagship PlayStation 3 game Resistance: Fall of
Man. [1071] The computer game shows scenes of bloody violence where
players must shoot dead a host of enemies using weapons such as a
Rossmore 236 close-quarter combat shotgun, the L23 fareye sniper
rifle and an XR-005 Hailstorm chaingun. [1072] Cathedral clergy
believe the use of Manchester as a setting for the shoot-out game
is particularly inappropriate because of the city's history of gun
violence. A Church spokesman said the issue had provoked particular
controversy in Japan. [1073] The Dean said: "On Monday we sent a
letter to Sony outlining our concerns and making some key demands.
Today I want to report that since sending that letter we have had
no formal response from Sony. [1074] We believe a silent response
on the issue is not acceptable behaviour for a responsible large
corporate body. Today I want to appeal directly to the people of
Japan to help us put pressure on Sony to respond. [1075] So I speak
directly to those citizens who share our concerns. "For a global
manufacturer to recreate the interior of any religious building
such as a mosque, synagogue, or in this case, a cathedral, with
photo realistic quality and then encourage people to have gun
battles in the building is beyond belief and in our view highly
irresponsible." [1076] He once again called on Sony to withdraw the
game, to apologise unreservedly for using the interior without
permission and to make a substantial donation to the Church's
education department which helps tackle gun violence. The cathedral
is consulting lawyers over what to do next.
[1077] While video games venture into the realm of the sacred for
kicks, they never quite seem to touch upon the ideas of the
Classical Judeo-Christian Heritage--the spirit of freedom. A video
game which allowed the player to fight for freedom in a deeper
philosophical context would stand head-and-shoulders above the rest
of the prior and current art.
[1078] Ideas have consequences, as we live in an idea-driven world.
Belief systems inform reality's context, and as games strive
towards spiritual realism, to compliment their photo-realism, ideas
and philosophies must be introduced. Games will achieve depth
proportional to the depth of the introduced philosophies.
[1079] As Thomas Jefferson stated, "The tree of liberty must from
time to time be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants,"
and so it is that games which allow one to fight against
ideological tyrants for liberty will offer a brand new realm of
gaming--a realm with superior depth.
[1080] Imagine a game where one didn't just shoot prostitutes for
the fun of it--where one didn't just run around jacking cars for
the fun of it--where one didn't just participate in a massacre
inside a cathedral for the fun of it, but where one's decisions of
who and who not to shoot actually played a role in the destiny of
the game world--where one could see one's actions rendered in the
high-pixel counts--where one could see firsthand the graphic
failures of socialism and communism, the war, poverty, and
persecution found at the end of groupthink's road to serfdom.
[1081] Imagine a video game that brought The Road to Serfdom to
life. Central planning leads to socialism, which leads to
communism, which leads to a world of tyranny and slavery--and the
opportunity for the player to save the world from tyranny and
slavery would make for an awesome game.
[1082] The first person shooter would incorporate Al characters
that would quote the likes of Hayek and Mises, or Marx and Lenin,
and based upon the spoken ideologies of the in-game character, the
protagonist would have to choose who and who not to befriend,
recruit, ignore, run away from, and shoot. Some players may be able
to be reasoned with--others won't be able to be reasoned with.
Dialogue trees or other means may be incorporated for purposes of
reasoning.
[1083] For instance, a libertarian character would say something
like:
[1084] "Even the striving for equality by means of a directed
economy can result only in an officially enforced inequality--an
authoritarian determination of the status of each individual in the
new hierarchical order."--Hayek
[1085] "It is an enormous simplification to speak of the American
mind. Every American has his own mind."--Mises
[1086] While a socialist/communist character would say: [1087] "It
is true that liberty is precious--so precious that it must be
rationed."--Lenin [1088] "Give us the child for 8 years and it will
be a Bolshevik forever."--Lenin [1089] One man with a gun can
control 100 without one.--Lenin [1090] A lie told often enough
becomes truth.--Lenin [1091] From each according to his abilities,
to each according to his needs.--Karl Marx [1092] In a higher phase
of communist society . . . only then can the narrow horizon of
bourgeois right be fully left behind and society inscribe on its
banners: from each according to his ability, to each according to
his needs.--Karl Marx [1093] Religion is the impotence of the human
mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand.--Karl Marx
[1094] Religion is the opium of the masses.--Karl Marx
[1095] Kill the libertarians, and the world marches along the road
to serfdom--the economies collapse and the central bureaucrats
overwhelm the world with double-speak and totalitarianism.
Daughters and wives are sold into prostitution, and signs rise up
everywhere, stating [1096] WAR IS PEACE [1097] FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
[1098] IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH [1099] Shoot the libertarians, and the
game-world devolves into Orwell's 1984, as depicted at wikiquote:
[1100] http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four [1101] The
Hate rose to its climax. The voice of Goldstein had become an
actual sheep's bleat, and for an instant the face changed into that
of a sheep. Then the sheep-face melted into the figure of a
Eurasian soldier who seemed to be advancing, huge and terrible, his
sub-machine-gun roaring, and seeming to spring out of the surface
of the screen, so that some of the people in the front row actually
flinched backward in their seats. But in the same moment, drawing a
deep sigh of relief from everybody, the hostile figure melted into
the face of Big Brother, black-haired, black-moustachio'd, full of
power and mysterious calm, and so vast that it almost filled up the
screen. Nobody heard what Big Brother was saying. It was merely a
few words of encouragement, the sort of words that are uttered in
the din of battle, not distinguishable individually but restoring
confidence by the fact of being spoken. Then the face of Big
Brother faded away again and instead the three slogans of the Party
stood out in bold capitals: [1102] WAR IS PEACE [1103] FREEDOM IS
SLAVERY [1104] IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH [1105] But the face of Big
Brother seemed to persist for several seconds on the screen, as
though the impact that it had on everyone's eyeballs was too vivid
to wear off immediately. The little sandy-haired woman had flung
herself forward over the back of the chair in front of her. With a
tremulous murmur that sounded like `My Saviour!` she extended her
arms towards the screen. Then she buried her face in her hands. It
was apparent that she was uttering a prayer. [1106] At this moment
the entire group of people broke into a deep, slow, rhythmic chant
of `B-B! . . . B-B! . . . B-B!`--over and over again, very slowly,
with a long pause between the first `B` and the second--a heavy
mumurous sound, somehow curiously savage, in the background of one
which seemed to hear the stamps of naked feet and the throbbing of
tom-toms. For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up. It
was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming
emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of
Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a
deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise.
[1107] In the end the Party would announce that two and two made
five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they
should make that claim sooner of later: the logic of their position
demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very
existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their
philosophy. (1.7) [1108] Perhaps the fact that we have seen
millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has
made our generation understand that to choose one's government is
not necessarily to secure freedom.--Hayek [1109] If most people are
not willing to see the difficulty, this is mainly because,
consciously or unconsciously, they assume that it will be they who
will settle these questions for the others, and because they are
convinced of their own capacity to do this.--Hayek [1110] Freedom
granted only when it is known beforehand that its effects will be
beneficial is not freedom.--Hayek [1111] If we wish to preserve a
free society, it is essential that we recognize that the
desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification
for the use of coercion. [1112] We shall not grow wiser before we
learn that much that we have done was very foolish.--Hayek [1113]
"From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if
we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their
actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal
position would be to treat them differently. Equality before the
law and material equality are therefore not only different but are
in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either one or the
other, but not both at the same time."--Hayek [1114] "There is all
the difference in the world between treating people equally and
attempting to make them equal."--Hayek [1115] "We must show that
liberty is not merely one particular value but that it is the
source and condition of most moral values. What a free society
offers to the individual is much more than what he would be able to
do if only he were free. We can therefore not fully appreciate the
value of freedom until we know how a society of free men as a whole
differs from one in which unfreedom prevails."--Hayek [1116] "Even
the striving for equality by means of a directed economy can result
only in an officially enforced inequality--an authoritarian
determination of the status of each individual in the new
hierarchical order."--Hayek [1117] It is an enormous simplification
to speak of the American mind. Every American has his own
mind.--Mises [1118] The press should be not only a collective
propagandist and a collective agitator, but also a collective
organizer of the masses.--Lenin [1119] Literature must become party
literature. Down with unpartisan litterateurs! Down with the
superman of literature! Literature must become a part of the
general cause of the proletariat.--Lenin [1120] When there is state
there can be no freedom, but when there is freedom there will be no
state.--Lenin [1121] Our program necessarily includes the
propaganda of atheism.--Lenin [1122] The way to crush the
bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and
inflation.--Lenin [1123] Freedom in capitalist society always
remains about the same as it was in ancient Greek republics:
Freedom for slave owners.--Lenin [1124] It is true that liberty is
precious--so precious that it must be rationed.--Lenin [1125] Give
us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever.--Lenin
[1126] One man with a gun can control 100 without one.--Lenin
[1127] A lie told often enough becomes truth.--Lenin [1128] From
each according to his abilities, to each according to his
needs.--Karl Marx [1129] In a higher phase of communist society . .
. only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be fully left
behind and society inscribe on its banners: from each according to
his ability, to each according to his needs.--Karl Marx [1130]
Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with
occurrences it cannot understand.--Karl Marx [1131] Religion is the
opium of the masses.--Karl Marx [1132] Revolutions are the
locomotives of history.--Karl Marx [1133] Sell a man a fish, he
eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, you ruin a wonderful
business opportunity.--Karl Marx [1134] The first requisite for the
happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.--Karl Marx
[1135] The meaning of peace is the absence of opposition to
socialism.--Karl Marx [1136] The oppressed are allowed once every
few years to decide which particular representatives of the
oppressing class are to represent and repress them.--Karl Marx
[1137] The production of too many useful things results in too many
useless people.--Karl Marx [1138] The theory of the Communists may
be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private
property.--Karl Marx [1139] We should not say that one man's hour
is worth another man's hour, but rather that one man during an hour
is worth just as much as another man during an hour. Time is
everything, man is nothing: he is at the most time's carcass.--Karl
Marx [1140] Without doubt, machinery has greatly increased the
number of well-to-do idlers.--Karl Marx [1141] The Left
intelligentsia, indeed, have so long worshipped foreign gods that
they seem to have become almost incapable of seeing any good in the
characteristic English institutions and traditions. That the moral
values on which most of them pride themselves are largely the
product of the institutions they are out to destroy, these
socialists, of course, cannot admit.--p. 220, The Road to Serfdom
[1142] Issues in this field have become so confused that it is
necessary to go back to fundamentals. What our generation is in
danger of forgetting is not only that morals are of necessity a
phenomenon of individual conduct but also that they can only exist
in the sphere in which the individual is free to decide for himself
and is called upon voluntarily to sacrifice personal advantage to
the observance of a moral rule.--p. 216, The Road to Serfdom [1143]
It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced
now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear
risks, the readiness to back one's own conviction against a
majority, and the willingness to voluntarily cooperate with one's
neighbors--are essentially those on which the working of an
individualist society rests. Collectivism has nothing to put in
their place, and in so far as it has already destroyed them it has
left a void filled by nothing but the demand for obedience and the
compulsion of the individual to do what is collectively decided to
be good.--p. 216, The Road to Serfdom [1144] There is one aspect of
the change in moral values brought about by the advance of
collectivism which at the present time provides special food for
thought. It is that the virtues which are held less and less in
esteem and which consequently become rarer are precisely those on
which Anglo-Saxons justly prided themselves in which they were
generally recognized to excel. The virtues these people
possessed--in a higher degree than most other people, excepting
only a few of the smaller nations, like the Swiss and the
Dutch--were independence and self-reliance, individual initiative
and local responsibility, the successful reliance on voluntary
activity, noninterference with one's neighbor and tolerance of the
different and queer, respect for custom and tradition, and a health
suspicion of power and authority. Almost all the traditions and
institutions in which democratic moral genius has found the
national character and the whole moral climate of England and
America, are those which the progress of collectivism and its
inherently centralistic tendencies are progressively
destroying.--p. 219, The Road to Serfdom [1145] Is it just or
reasonable, that most voices against the main end of government
should enslave the less number that would be free? More just it is,
doubtless, if it come to force, that a less number compel a greater
to retain, which can be no wrong to them, their liberty, than that
a greater number, for the pleasure of their baseness, compel a less
most injuriously to be their fellow slaves. They who seek nothing
but their own just liberty, have always the right to win it,
whenever they have the power, be the voices so numerous that oppose
it. John Milton,--p. 210, The Road to Serfdom [1146] The recent
growth of monopoly is largely the result of a deliberate
collaboration of organized capital and organized labor where the
privileged groups of labor share in the monopoly profits at the
expense of the community and particularly at the expense of the
poorest, those employed in the less-well-organized industries and
the unemployed.--p. 207, The Road to Serfdom [1147] Perhaps the
most alarming fact is that contempt for intellectual liberty is not
a thing which arises only once the totalitarian system is
established but one which can be found everywhere among
intellectuals who have embraced a collectivist faith and who are
acclaimed as intellectual leaders even in countries still under a
liberal regime.--The Road to Serfdom [1148] To deprecate the value
of intellectual freedom because it will never mean for everybody
the same possibility of independent thought is completely to miss
the reasons which give intellectual freedom its value.--The Road to
Serfdom, p. 179 [1149] Once science has to serve, not truth, but
the interests of a class, a community, or a state, the sole task of
argument and discussion is to vindicate and to spread still further
beliefs by which the whole life of the community is directed. As
the Nazi minister of justice has explained, the question which
every new scientific theory must ask itself is: "Do I serve
National Socialism for the greatest benefit of all?"--p. p 178
[1150] Another possible embodiment of the video game would show how
a world with digital rights management and property rights would be
superior to a world without property rights in the digital realm.
Uncreative lawyers are natural collectivists as they must earn
their living not via the creation of wealth, but by its transfer.
The United States constitution simply states that artists and
authors--creators and inventors--have the Rights to their
creations. Thus, a natural extension of technologies would afford a
full protection of their property rights. Many lawyers oppose
digital rights management,
[1151] When the collectivist lawyers reign supreme, the culture
declines in the name of mashups and the empowerment of the mobs and
masses. Instead of Pink Floyd, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and
Kid Rock, we get myspace bands, degradation, and decadence. Indeed,
the decline and fall of culture is not due entirely to the
technological directions that lawyers seek to impose--that would be
giving them too much credit. The decline and fall of culture is
also due to the postmodern ethos that dominates the art, that has
inverted Aristotle's poetics and placed spectacle in front of
stories, which brings us back to video games. So it is that the
same postmodern ideals which are eroding property rights have also
been eroding the art of epic storytelling, leaving us in a world
without classical archetypes--a world of soulless Hollywood
remakes, video games dominated by spectacle and incapable of depth,
and a society that catches the common man in the crossfire between
big government bureaucracy and big businesses bureaucracy. The
Postmodern Matrix is one of the greatest pyramid schemes ever
conceived--enriching professors who never leave the cave, while
inflating grades for the students who take out loans to fund the
shadows dancing on the wall.
[1152] As the video game industry contemplates story, it might help
at some point to contemplates that which makes the great story--it
might help for the experts to study The Odyssey--to read
Shakespeare and the Bible, and see why these stories have endured
for thousands of years. Instead, they opt for the common postmodern
path--quote some watered down treatment of Joseph Campbell--look at
a shadow of a shadow of a shadow, and say, "I see it! That is
reality! That is what story is all about, and now we shall include
it!" Then they call the Microsoft reality department, and all is
made whole, as Microsoft pens a PR press release:
[1153] Gears of War unites next-generation technology with classic,
emotional storytelling and a revolutionary tactical combat system,
engrossing the gamer in a horrifying epic story of war and
survival.--http://videogames.bamesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?ean=200-
0003128273
[1154] Easily the weakest aspect of GEARS OF WAR is the
storytelling. It is not unusual for action games to scrimp on
story. Ironically, GEARS has an interesting story behind it, the
only problem being that the developers don't actually tell that
story.--http://geeksofdoom.com/2006/12/14/game-review-gears-of-war/
[1155] In the cult of the amateur, Andrew Keen writes, [1156] "The
fact is that co-opting other people's creative work--from music
file sharing, to downloading movies and videos, to passing off
others' writing as one's own--is not only illegal, in most cases,
but immoral. Yet the widespread acceptance of such behavior
threatens to undermine a society that has been built upon hard
work, innovation, and the intellectual achievement of our writers,
scientists, artists, composers, musicians, journalists, pundits,
and music makers. [1157] Stanford University professor Denise Pope
tries to explain away cheating as a consequence of the excessive
academic pressure on kids. "On the part of students, there's an
eerie logic to justify cheating. It's three o'clock in the morning,
you're exhausted, you've worked hard . . . . Rather than getting a
zero, you'd take your chances with plagiarism."--p. 145
[1158] Who has done more damage over time? Collectivist
intellectuals who erode the Truth, or prostitutes forced into a
life of servitude as women all too often are in communistic
countries? Why is it then that video games celebrate killing
prostitutes, but never collectivist intellectuals? Would it not be
more satisfying saving society than killing a poor hooker? Should
the game not afford us to tell her to "go forth and sin no more,"
and then turn upon the collectivist Kings and Tyrants?
[1159] So it is that the present video game would afford a far
greater gameplay experience, by affording players the opportunity
to effect the course of history in the gameplay world in a positive
manner, by shooting collectivist intellectuals instead of
prostitutes. [1160] Stanford University law professor Lawrence
Lessig argues that "legal sharing" and "reuse" of intellectual
property is a social benefit. In fact, as I discussed in Chapter 1,
Lessig wants to replace what he calls our "Read-Only" Internet with
a "read-Write" internet, where we can "remix" and "mashup" all
content indiscriminately. Lessig, misguided as he is, suggests that
digital content--whether it be a song, a video, short story, or a
photograph--should be commonly owned for the benefit of everyone.
What Lessig fails to acknowledge is that most of the content being
shared--no matter how many times it has been linked, cross-linked,
annotated, and copied--was composed or written by someone from the
sweat of their creative brow and the disciplined use of their
talent.--p. 144 [1161] But students who cheat aren't genuinely
learning anything. And by depriving artists and writers of the
royalties due them, they aren't just hurting those from whom they
steal--in the end, they are hurting us all.--p. 145 [1162] "The
Judeo-Christian ethic of respecting others' property that has been
central to our society since the country's founding is being tossed
into the delete file of our desktop computers. The pasting,
remixing, mashing, borrowing, copying--the stealing--of
intellectual property has become the single most pervasive activity
on the Internet. And it is reshaping and distorting our values and
our very culture. The breadth of today's mass kleptocracy is
mind-boggling. I'm not referring only to the $20 billion pilfered
and pickpocketed, day by day, from the music industry or the $2.3
billion and growing from the movie industry. Sadly, the illegal
downloading of music and movies has become so commonplace, so
ordinary, that even the most law-abiding among us, like Brianna
LaHara, now do it without thinking. "How are we supposed to know
it's illegal?" asks a bookkeeper in Redwood city, Calif., as he
copied a playlist of songs to give out a party."--p. 142 [1163] The
problem is not just pirated movies and music. It's become a broader
quandary over who-owns-what in an age when anyone, with the click
of a mouse, can cut and paste content and make it their own. Web
2.0 technology is confusing the very concept of ownership, creating
a generation of plagiarists and copyright thieves with little
respect for intellectual property. In addition to stealing music or
movies, they are stealing articles, photographs, letters, research,
videos, jingles, characters, and just about anything else that can
be digitized and copied electronically. Our kids are downloading
and using this stolen property to cheat their way through school
and university, passing off the words and work of others as their
own in papers, projects, and theses
[1164] To counter Andrew Keen, Larry Lessig has created a wiki for
his fanboys, who might or might not receive direct or indirect
moneys from the Stanford Law Society or the Internet or something,
and who might or might not be training lawyers for lucrative jobs
at google-owned youtube such as Glenn Otis Brown. If only we had
had technology during the trial of Socrates, Larry could have set
up a wikipage where the elders of the Athenian court could post and
edit one-another's reasons for sentencing Socrates to death.
Another wiki page could have been set up for the crucifixion of
Christ, so that Pontius Pilate could better discern who to release,
and who to crucify. The recent book The Wisdom of Crowds has
scientifically proven that the crowd is smarter than the
individual, and future art and science will be created by the mob,
and not Shakespeare, Dante, Homer, Newton, and Einstein.
[1165] So it is that a video game that allowed one to shoot the
academic, scholarly monsters who "hurt us all" would be a lot more
fun than just shooting monsters with high pixel counts, killing
innocent prostitutes, and participating in massacres in Cathedrals
and historic buildings celebrating the Judeo-Christian
heritage.
The Battle for the Woman's Soul
[1166] Imagine a video game that allowed you to battle for the
woman's soul. In Unhooked, Laura Sessions Step writes, [1167] We
found, for example, that the proportion of young women ages
eighteen to twenty-two who reported having
intercourse--seventy-five percent--equaled that of young men.
Seventy percent of both sexes had had sex before their nineteenth
birthdays. Only one-third of young women said they truly wanted to
have sex the first time they did so, compared to one-half of the
young men. One particularly interesting finding was that while two
out of three young men said it was better to get married than go
through a single life, fewer than half of the young women felt that
way.
[1168] So it is that the postmodern elite--the teachers and media
mavens, have turned young woman against marriage, so as to harness
them to the corporate ploughs. Imagine a video game that allowed
one to return marriage's greater glory, by shooting the elite
theorists, sipping cappachinos and driving expensive European cars,
as they destroy the future lives of their students and bankrupt a
country both morally and spiritually. [1169] Nicole was a closet
romantic. Indeed, most of the girls I observed came across
initially as ball-busters, but privately, either late at night or
after a couple drinks, they morphed into softer versions of Bridget
Jones, hoping for someone to knock on their door, flowers in hand.
As hard as they tried to run away from love, they ended up falling
in love, usually only briefly, and were reluctant to callit
anything but "having feelings for." [1170] So why did they continue
to hook up? Section Three, which shares the stories of Shaida, Cleo
and Victoria, suggests three reasons: the ethic of female
empowerment; parental expectations for acadmic and professional
achievement; and reluctance on the part of authorities on campus to
intervene in student's social life.
[1171] That's exactly it--there is no moral leadership on campus.
The rising generation has been turned into one great big corporate
experiment, and it is far more profitable to deconstruct the souls
of women, than it is to bolster them with the Great Books and
Classics. A video game that allowed one to roam the campus,
chainsawing all the corporate feminists who are deconstructing the
Great Books so that the souls of the young wither and die as they
go into vast debts, so that they will become wage slaves and abuse
assistant corporate-serving professors for the rest of their lives,
would be a vast improvement over video games. The present invention
would foster a game in which one can defend ideas, ideals, and
ideas that have consequences.
[1172] Also, it will be fun to battle for the Judeo Christian
heritage throughout the halls of the health profession. In the book
Unprotected, A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political
Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student, Anonymous,
M.D., writes, [1173] Campus counseling centers are busier than
ever. In a 2005 survey, 90 percent of these centers revealed an
increase in the number of students seen with serious psychological
problems. The number of psychiatric consultation hours doubled.
Ninety-one percent of centers hospitalized a student for
psychological reasons, and over 36 percent experienced one or more
suicides . . . why are our kids in such bad shape? . . . . I
contend that radical social ideologies are to blame, especially
when they've spread from the classroom to the counseling
center.
[1174] Imagine a video game, such as those fostered by the present
invention, that allowed one to save these students by battling
radical theories. Anonymous continues, [1175] Radical politics
pervades my profession, and common sense has vanished. Not long
ago, a psychiatrist might call casual sexual activity "mindless"
and "empty." Before political correctness muzzled our nation in the
nineties, a campus physician might advise a student that it is love
and lifelong fidelity that bring joy ad liberated sensuality, and
provide the best insurance against sexually-transmitted diseases.
An unwanted pregnancy, an abortion--these were weighty issues. We
understood that men and women are profoundly different, and weren't
afraid to say so. It was clear that liaisons outside a committed
relationship could be hazardous, and a young woman would be wise to
wait until someone serious came along. A sexually transmitted
infection, even one easily cured, was a serious matter.
Self-restraint built character. Certain behaviors were abnormal,
and those who practiced them needed help. Traditional marriage and
parenthood were valued milestones. To search for meaning, and to
make sacrifices for higher purpose--these were noble endeavors that
defined our humanity.
[1176] The present invention proposes a video game that allows the
main character to fight the good fight--to fight for a world where
characters "make sacrifices for higher purpose." Anonymous
continues, [1177] Things have changed. Now young people are advised
to use latex . . . . There is tacit approval of promiscuity and
experimentation . . . . Infection with one of the sexually
transmitted viruses is a right of passage; it comes with the
territory. Abortion is the removal of unwanted tissue, sort of like
a tonsillectomy . . . . Clubs funded by student fees celebrate
risky, fringe behaviors.
[1178] Imagine a video game wherein ideas had consequences, and
wherein one could take flamethrowers to the above immoral clubs,
and Gears of War chainsaws to any student counselor who said
something like, "Abortion is just the removal of unwanted tissue."
Players who were successful would enjoy a world of romance,
everlasting love, marriage, and truth. Players who failed would be
forced to reside in the hell of broken homes, STDs, perversions,
and eternal damnation--straight out of that glorious epic known as
Dante's Inferno. A video game that allowed the player to strive to
pass God's judgment in word and deed would be awesome. It would be
far superior to the prior and current art, and would take gaming to
the next level. Anonymous continues, [1179] Young women think
motherhood can be delayed indefinitely; women's health teaches them
only about preventing pregnancy. Traditional marriage and a mother
and father are just one option; there are other alternatives, all
equally valid . . . . These changes are the result of social
agendas foisted on the campus community, and in my work at the
counseling center, I see the consequences daily. Dangerous
behaviors are a personal choice; judgments are prohibited--they
might offend.
[1180] Imagine picking up Doom's BFG (Big Fucking Gun) and letting
it lose on the pomo-hipster psycobabblers absorbing the
fiatocracy's tax and tuition dollars en route to deconstructing the
students' souls and enslaving them to Wall Street's debt and
debauchery. Imagine chainsawing their desks in two with Unreal
Tournament's chainsaw, and then lopping their heads off. This would
afford a vast and marked improvement over Gears of War, which gets
boring as it relegates the player to meaningless, gratuitous
violence against men and monsters alike. Hamlet is one of the most
violent plays of all time--it is also the most produced and most
quotes--but it is also sublime, as Hamlet contemplates the reasons
behind his actions. Reason is rooted in words, and thus killing an
in-game character because of their philosophies and ideas which
kill the unborn would be a far more enjoyable video game. Anonymous
continues, [1181] When lesbians have a child, it's time to
celebrate, but when Catholics or Mormons have their sixth, that's,
well, kind of extreme, and the eyes roll. Staff are encouraged to
attend a meeting featuring a transgendered person and his
therapist, who describes the journey from female to male. The
mental health benefits of church attendance are never discussed;
instead, a past president of the American Psychological Association
(APA) declares organized religions a major source of social
injustice.
[1182] Imagine taking Doom's BGF and Gears of War's chainsaw to the
fiatocracy's ideology. Most tenured academics prefer that fanboys
stick to killing innocent cops, stealing cars, and hiring and
killing prostitutes, as most pomo academics are dedicated to
training the fiatocracy's wealth transferrers and bankers. If one
fails, their daughters/sisters will be denied marriage and
children, and will be forced to become wage slaves to Wall Street's
bottom line, instead of serving do's higher ideals and glory in the
family. Anonymous continues: [1183] A committee of that
organization is worried about what I think and how I speak. They
advise me to never assume that a patient is heterosexual, or that
sexual activity might lead to pregnancy. I should avoid thinking of
men and women as "opposites," as in "opposite sex." I should not
use this term, the committee cautions, "to avoid polarization." . .
. My profession has been hijacked. I cannot do my job, my patients
are suffering, and I am fed up.
[1184] Imagine the feel of the xbox 360 controller, vibrating in
your hand as you chainsaw the above committee of the fiatocracy.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzztztztt! Zzzzzzzzztztztztz! Blood splatters everywhere,
just as it does in Gears of War. But this time it means something.
You are saving the millions of damsels in distress--girls who will
be turned into whores in such a brilliant manner that they will
never even notice it, and will in fact hate anyone who tries to
save them. Many will grow old alone with cats, never knowing what
hit them. The present invention would foster games wherein ideas
have consequences, and wherein one could defend innocent cops,
civilians, and prostitutes, instead of killing them.
[1185] The fairer sex is oft the more susceptible to hype and
deceit, and that is why Wall Street and Government put them on the
front lines of both their capitalistic and socialistic agendas that
catch the innocent, hardworking man in the crossfire, from cradle
to grave and beyond. The present video game would allow the
protagonist to chainsaw and/or shoot the corrupt postmodern
government bureaucrats, who "grow" the government while pretending
to shrink it and send US Marines to far off lands so that their
women too can be harnessed to Sex and the City, thusly destroying
all families in the new world order, and putting everyone to work
in a quantifiable manner--in a manner that can be counted down in
dollars from the mint--dollars that are printed and not backed by
anything other than the postmodern lie this game allows one to
defeat for once and for all. The present invention allows the lone
hero to kill, mame, and destroy the corrupt postmodern idealogues,
instead of killing hookers and innocent civilians. This is a vast
improvement over the current and prior art, which relegates one to
killing prostitutes, shooting innocent people and stealing their
cars, and engaging in massacres in replicas of famous
Cathedrals.
[1186] Farsight XR 20, Unreal's RazorJack, Gravity Gun//Half-Life
2, 6) Blades of Chaos//God of War, Bazooka//Grand Theft Auto 3,
Shrink Ray//Duke Nukem 3D, Lightsaber//nearly any Star Wars game,
1) Light Disc//Discs of Tron, Tron 2.0. [1187] The social change
some of them envision is profound. They hope to destabilize a truth
of science and civilization: that the sexes are deeply and
essentially different. Their goal is an androgynous culture, where
the differences between male and female are discounted or denied,
and the bond between them robbed of singularity. I contend that to
turn the therapy session or clinic visit into an instrument
promoting this agenda is a corruption of the health profession. It
demands a response.
[1188] Imagine a first-person shooter that allowed one to kill all
in-game secular health professionals who are destroying the souls
of women so as to excommunicate women from the home, further
destroy the family, and rope women to Wall Street's bottom line in
a job serving her MBA boss instead of her husband and children.
[1189] It's bad enough that adrogony, promiscuity, and "alternative
sexualities" are promoted by Hollywood; it is altogether another
matter to have them endorsed by professional health organizations
and college administrators . . . . These agendas are promoted by
devoted professionals devoted to altruism. Nonetheless, damage is
done. Students in treatmemt are endangered, as the prevailing
anything-goes attitudes are officially endorsed, rather than
challenged. And like secondhand smoke, the behavior of one can
effect many, as these students interact, influence, and "hookup"
with their peers. As we ponder the epidemic of depression, cutting,
suicidal behavior, and eating disorders on our campuses, I suggest
we look first in our own backyard.
[1190] Imagine a first-person shooter that allowed the in-game
character to battle "cutting, suicidal behavior, and eating
disorders," by shooting all the pop-psyche babblers. Whenever an
in-game character is heard "turning the therapy session or clinic
visit into an instrument promoting this agenda (that corrupts the
health profession)" it is the player's job to shoot them.
[1191] Anonymous has both the Bible and science on her side. She
writes, [1192] It bears repeating that it is my fellow
professionals I fault here, not the young people we all strive to
help, and that these are health, not moral issues. I argue as a
scientist, with biological facts, not biblical ones. Forget
Leviticus--as you'll see, my data is from The New England Journal
of Medicine and the Centers for Disease control and Prevention.
[1193] A video game that allowed the participant to fight for the
cause of science would be a great video game indeed.
[1194] In The Bonfire of The Humanities, John Heath pens the words
that will bring the deeper soul of next-gen video games to life:
[1195] For the men of the Iliad, the heroic life was simply
defined: to be a speaker of words and doer of deeds. The trick was
to make your words become actions and not mere substitutes for
them. Thus after warriors meeting one-on-one had engaged in their
customary taunting, it was quickly time to turn speech into deed.
"But come, let us no longer stand here talking of these things like
children, here in the space between advancing armies. For there are
harsh things enough that could be spoken against us both, a ship of
a hundred locks could not carry the burden. [1196] The tongue of
man is a twisty thing, there are plenty of words there of every
kind, the range of words is wide, and their variance. The sort of
thing you say is the thing that will be said to you. But what have
you and I to do with the need for squabbling and hurling insults at
each other, as if we were two wives who when they have fallen upon
a heart-perishing quarrel go out in the street and say abusive
things to each other, much true, and much that is not, and it is
their rage that drives them." [1197] You will not by talking turn
me back from the strain of my warcraft, not till you have fought to
my face with the bronze. Come on then and let us try each other's
strength with the bronze of our spearheads. [1198] He spoke, and on
the terrible grim shield drove the ponderous spike, so that the
great shield moaned as it took the spearhead. (20.244-60, trans.
Lattimore) [1199] This link between what we say and do, so central
to Greek thinking, has of course been completely severed in the
modern university . . . . The Bonfire of The Humanities, John
Heath, p. 55-56
[1200] And so too has the link between words and actions never been
capitalized in video games, and thus the deeper soul has never been
brought to life in the realm of gaming. Imagine if one could choose
to shoot people based on their ideologies, as opposed to killing
innocent prostitutes and pedestrians, and jacking cars, shooting
innocent drivers, and letting them bleed to death on the
streets.
[1201] Postmodern liberals have nothing against gratuitous,
meaningless violence--they only detest violence in the name of
justice, as justice gets in the way of the postmodern power
structure--the bottom-line oriented Postmodern Matrix. However,
just like the Founding Fathers, the Greek philosophers, and the
Biblical prophets, higher souls, who create lasting culture and
art, yearn for Truth and Beauty, and thus video games allowing them
to fight for truth and beauty shall triumph over the current state
of the art, which offers higher and higher pixel counts, but
nothing in the way of enhanced storytelling, deeper characters, nor
exalting art. Sure, the marketing departments will trumpet the
"cinematic, emotional storytelling," by they are commanded to do so
by the postmodern Wall Street MBAs and their feminist MFA friends,
both of whom have joined in holy matrimony, united against
Truth.
[1202] The present invention shall bring the spirit of the classics
to life--a spirit which the rising generation yearns for on all
fronts. Great American Novels with Great American Heroes have been
banned, and the only place we are allowed to glimpse romance is in
comic books and the movies that are made form them. But they are
all unreal, and they teach us that just as Batman, Superman, and
Spiderman, truth, honor, and justice are but make-believe entities.
But the Glory of lasting Art and Philosophy and Religion was that
it was Real. Socrates really Died. Jesus really Died. The Founding
Fathers actually pledged their lives and Sacred Honour for higher
ideals. And so it is that video games, which allowed the
protagonist to battle realistic demons of contemporary ideologies,
would stand head and shoulders above the rest of the pact in their
Reality.
[1203] Too many academics are lost in inaction. Too many take the
journalistic approach, content to say "we are in an age of
decline," but they never do a damned thing about it. Heath writes,
[1204] This is perhaps one of the most uncomfortable aspects of
academic populism--it requires us to act differently, to spend more
time with students and less in research centers, to teach more
classes, to write for a broad audience, and to trust in our
material. If we limit our efforts to the admittedly important task
of documenting the degeneration of the quality of our
discipline--especially if we do so for fellow academics in the
comfort of reduced teaching and skipped classes--we can hardly
expect to bring about change. At some point in the near future--and
books like the two under review here convincingly reveal just how
much work is to be done--we must, like Aeneas, stop our talking and
hurl the spear, even if we are doomed to fail. Aeneas loses his
battle with Achilles and even the final, brutal triumph over Turnus
is filled with ambiguity, but he ultimately changes the world. The
Bonfire of The Humanities, John Heath, p. 56-57
[1205] This present invention hurls the spear.
[1206] Brought up in an orphaned culture and taught to hype, lie,
cheat, and steal, video game publicity departments have no problem
hyping the supposed stories in current titles. Many of them have
never read Shakespeare, nor Homer, nor Dante, nor the Gospels, nor
Plato, nor Aristotle, nor Campbell, and they know not what Epic
Story is.
[1207] This present invention capitalizes on the enforced fanboy
ignorance of the video game industry, by proposing a brand-new,
exalted form of gaming. [1208] Idomeneus answered, "I know you for
a brave man: you need not tell me. If the best men at the ships
were being chosen to go on an ambush--and there is nothing like
this for showing what a man is made of; it comes out then who is
cowardly and who brave; the coward will change colour at every
touch and turn; he is full of fears, and keeps shifting his weight
first on one knee and then on the other; his heart beats fast as he
thinks of death, and one can hear the chattering of his teeth;
whereas the brave man will not change colour nor be on finding
himself in ambush, but is all the time longing to go into
action--if the best men were being chosen for such a service, no
one could make light of your courage nor feats of arms. If you were
struck by a dart or smitten in close combat, it would not be from
behind, in your neck nor back, but the weapon would hit you in the
chest or belly as you were pressing forward to a place in the front
ranks. But let us no longer stay here talking like children, lest
we be ill spoken of, go, fetch your spear from the tent at
once."--http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.13.xiii.html
Battling Double-Speaking Administrators
[1209] A favorite tactic of liberal, socialist white males is to
sell everyone else down the river. They believe that more women
should have jobs, so they give them your job. They believe that
science important, so they hire more economists and
central-planners to calculate just how important science is, and
they then offshore all the science jobs, and hire women to proclaim
how important science is, as they erect technology-transfer
departments, filled with useless MBAs and lawyers, to transfer the
technology out of the inventors' hands and into the bureaucracy's
hands. In the day and age of slavery, these socialist, white,
liberals would have been happy to have slaves, and lacking justice
and God in their hearts, they have not changed. There is no
shortage of such men--they were at the trials of Socrates and
Jesus, and gleefully saw them both put to death.
[1210] The glory of the present invention is that it would allow
one to shoot such men, before they took the lives--the pensions and
profits--of prophets and poets. Imagine that Xbox 260 controller
vibrating in your hand as you mowed the bug-eyed, Orwellian
bureaucrats down. You would find them at meetings, pronouncing
meaningless, soulless buzzwords, and you could shoot them in the
middle of sentences such as "we believe that the synergy between
the feminists deconstruction the traditional role for woman as a
mother and wife will vastly bolster our bottom line. We won't kill
their children--no--the beauty is that we'll get them to kill their
own children, by letting them know that the only way they can gain
the economic materialism in Sex and the City--the only way they can
afford Carrie's shoes--is if they abort their children and go to
work for the Corporation. After a couple of abortions, their souls
will die, and they will become such bitches and sluts that no man
will ever wish to marry them. We can then have them get their MBA,
and we will put them on the front lines of corruption and decline,
and should anyone accuse them of being corrupt, we shall call that
person a sexist mysoginist. And so it is that we will define
pro-life and pro-family as a vice, and perversions and promiscuity
shall become virtues. Caught in the crossfire, we shall keep the
righteous man down, as we crush him between big government and big
business." The in game player will pick up on the gist of the
conversation, and the button on a controller will allow a glorious
flame to leap forth, burning the bastard alive, as he shrieks with
all the fury of forty-million aborted fetuses, who finally get a
tiny, tiny fraction of the justice that is due them.
[1211] Then the player can hop into his car and drive down
Hollywood Boulevard, going to clubs, punching out snooty doormen
and metrosexual bouncers, and beating the crap out of the producers
of Deadwood and the writers of Troy and Alexander, avenging the
spirit of John Milius: (John Milius) subsided for a moment and then
resumed, somewhat mysteriously at first. "Homer," he pronounced.
"Homer. Can you believe what those assholes did to him with that
film Troy? Completely embarrassing. Me and my kid, we wanted to
take a DVD of the thing, tie it by a cable to our car's bumper, and
drag it up and down Hollywood boulevard." He fell silent for a
moment. "Hollywood . . . The only thing I can think of remotely as
horrible as war; there are stories, things I have seen in that town
that, believe me, I would never tell anyone."--Valkyries Over Iraq,
The Trouble with War Movies, by Lawrnece Weshler, interviewing John
Milius in November 2005 Harpers Magazine, academy-award nominated
writer of Apocalypse Now, Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry, Magnum
Force, and Electronic Arts' video game Medal of Honor. Prior Art:
Violence in Video Games [1212]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversy#List_of_video_games_c-
onsidered_controversial
[1213] Wikipedia reports the following concerning violence in video
games:
[1214] List of video games considered controversial: This lists
video games considered controversial based on specific types of
content deemed offensive, especially by the censorship crowd. Crime
and Violence.
[1215] These games have been the subject of controversy mainly due
to depictions of violence, bloodshed, and criminal acts.
[1216] 25 to Life (for violence against law enforcement officers
and the use of human shields)
[1217] Firebug (goal is to burn down a building)
[1218] Carmageddon (a racing game centered around driving through
and killing crowds of pedestrians, in order to score points)
[1219] Commando Libya (execution of prisoners as a bonus level)
[1220] Conker's Bad Fur Day and Conker: Live and Reloaded (for
graphic violence, sexual content, strong graphic language, mature
humor, and alcohol usage)
[1221] Custer's Revenge (for violent, sexual racism; the player
must guide General Custer, sporting a large erection, to rape a
bound Native American woman)
[1222] Cannon Fodder (original packaging artwork featured a poppy
plant, a reference to the UK dead during World War I)
[1223] Doom, Doom 2 and Doom3 (for extreme graphic violence and
satanic themes)
[1224] Duke Nukem 3D (for graphic violence, exotic dancing and
negative portrayal of women)
[1225] Dead Rising (extreme blood and gore through use of blunt
objects and various weapons, profane language, and alcohol use--all
which have contributed to the possibility that the game might
become officially banned in Germany)
[1226] Death Race (arcade game with goal of killing pedestrians
with cars)
[1227] Ethnic Cleansing (for neo-Nazi propaganda, racism and
depiction of crimes against humanity)
[1228] F.E.A.R. (intense graphic violence, disturbing content.)
[1229] GoldenEye 007 (for graphic violence and disturbing
deaths)
[1230] Grand Theft Auto Series (for graphic violence, sexual
content, drug use, strong graphic language, sexual themes,
carjacking, negative portrayal of ethnic groups (specifically
Cubans and Haitians in Vice City) and the Hot Coffee Mod (San
Andreas only))
[1231] GUN (for extreme graphic violence in gameplay and
cut-scenes, strong language, alcohol usage during gameplay and
recovering your health, depictions of Native Americans, and sexual
themes that involved women in different clothing)
[1232] God of War (for extreme violence, sexual interaction, and
large amounts of blood and gore)
[1233] I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (depiction of the
Holocaust)
[1234] Kakuto Chojin (pulled from release internationally due to
the offensive use of Muslim chants in background music)
[1235] Kingpin: Life of Crime (first high profile first-person
shooter to be released after the Columbine High School
massacre)
[1236] Killer7 (for graphic violence and sexuality)[28]
[1237] Manhunt (for extreme graphic violence and dealing with the
taboo subject of snuff films). The sequel, Manhunt 2 was banned in
the UK and currently Nintendo and Sony refuse to license the game
in the U.S. due to the ESRB giving Manhunt 2 the AO rating.
[1238] Mortal Kombat series (for extreme graphic violence and gore
while fighting your opponent)
[1239] NARC (for drug use by law enforcement)
[1240] Night Trap (for alleged brutality and sexual themes)
[1241] Nightmare Creatures (for violence and dark images)
[1242] Postal.sup.2 (for extreme graphic violence)
[1243] The Punisher (for strong language, extreme violence, use of
human shields, and extremely graphic depictions of brutal torture
techniques)
[1244] Redneck Rampage (for stereotyped depiction of Southern
Americans)
[1245] Perfect Dark (for language, more violence than its
predecessor GoldenEye 007 and the inclusion of a feature called
PerfectHead, which was quickly scrapped due to poor media
coverage)
[1246] Primal Rage (for extreme violence, crude images, and
negative images of the human race)
[1247] Pyro 2 (for arson and destruction of government
buildings)
[1248] Reservoir Dogs (for violence against law enforcement
officers, use of human shields, strong language, and the ability to
torture hostages)
[1249] Resident Evil series (for rather disturbing graphic violence
and scary images)
[1250] Rule of Rose (erotic undertones involving a cast of female
minors)
[1251] Saints Row (for graphic violence and strong language)
[1252] Scarface: The World is Yours (for extreme graphic violence
in gameplay and cut-scenes)
[1253] Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne (For Violence, Dark images,
Language and Strong satanic themes)
[1254] Silent Hill (for graphic violence and very disturbing
imagery)
[1255] Soldier of Fortune and Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
(For advanced graphic innovation in the depiction of violence, use
of controversial location settings, and allegations of perceived
cultural insensitivity)
[1256] Thrill Kill (for extreme graphic violence, BDSM references
and minor nudity)
[1257] True Crime: Streets of LA (for violence, extreme shoot-outs
on streets and missions, strong language, and S&M)
[1258] True Crime: New York City (for violence, extreme shoot-outs
on streets and missions, strong language, use of drugs, and racial
slurs)
[1259] Twisted Metal: Black (for extreme graphic violence in movie
scenes only)
[1260] Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (graphic violence)
[1261] The Warriors (Violence and drug use to refill the player's
health.)
[1262] Unreal tournament series (extreme graphic violence)
[1263] Wolfenstein 3-D and Return to Castle Wolfenstein (for
violence and constant references to Nazi Germany)
[1264] Waxworks (extreme graphic violence and gore)
[1265] The Xenosaga series (for paedophile reference in Episode I
and extreme violence see for example the controversy caused by one
of the recurring characters.)
[1266] Ironically enough, none of the prior art contains violence
against pomo hipsters and postmodern academics and lawyers--those
responsible for the decline of civility, the end of the Classic
Western, Deadwood, string theory, and Wall Street scandals. None of
the prior art contains a system that rewards the player for
violence against those who state immoral things, nor violence
against those who find abortion in the Constitution while
discounting the Constitution's intellectual property rights that
grant the author and inventor the rights to their patents such as
this one. Abortion is an assault against the most fundamental form
of private property--life--and if they can find abortion in the
constitution, we should not be surprised when they come after all
property rights. Both postmodern Wall Street and postmodern
Government erode the Truth so as to transfer wealth from the artist
and creator to the postmodern, amoral bureaucrat.
PRIOR ART
[1267] Video Game Storytelling Stinks, Needs To Get Better,
Developers Say, In GameFile `I like to leave story to books and
movies,` one exec says.
[1268]
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1583092/20080310/id.sub.--0.jhtmi
[1269] As story is soul; as no religion is defined purely by
graphics and music, video game execs are saying that we need to
leave soul to books and movies, and thus vast opportunities
exist.
[1270] This video game allows the player to engage in an exalted
form of Aristotle's Poetics--to render the world the way it ought
to be. "History tells us as things are," Aristotle wrote, "while
story tells us the way it ought to be," and thus games shall
finally realize higher art and epic storytelling, as they allow the
player to realize the world as it ought to be, based on a moral
premise found within the classical, Judeo-Christian context--truth,
beauty, and freedom.
[1271] Wikipedia reports, [1272] From time to time, local officials
attempt to restrict the playing or selling of violent video games.
Predictably, the ESA (representing video game publishers) and the
IEMA (representing game retailers) oppose the legislation and have
been, to-date, victorious in overturning each bill passed. For
example, the city of Indianapolis, Ind. in 2000 passed an ordinance
barring children from playing arcade games with graphic violence
unless parental consent was given. It was generally thought that
this law was intended to target the game The House of the Dead, in
which players use plastic guns to shoot at the game screen in order
to kill zombies that try to kill the player. The ordinance was
struck down at the appellate Federal court level, on the grounds
that in the United States, video games enjoy some measure of First
Amendment free speech protection because they contain real
expression of ideas, and children have constitutional rights before
the age of 18, and given this, the city did not demonstrate an
overriding public interest in passing the ban. Recently, Illinois
governor Rod Blagojevich passed a law banning the sale of "violent
or sexually explicit" video games to minors under the age of 18.
The new law would have taken effect Jan. 1, 2006, but was struck
down by District Court judge Matthew Kennelly. As Kennelly so
concisely put it: "In this country, the state lacks the authority
to ban protected speech on the ground that it affects the
listener's or observer's thoughts and attitudes." In doing so, the
Judge confirmed yet again that video games are protected under the
First Amendment and deserve treatment no different than film and
literature. Illinois was forced to pay the ESRB legal fees,
approximately 1 million dollars. About three months later, similar
laws were passed by Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm and
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The California law, as
California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793, was sponsored by Leland
Yee, the Speaker pro Tem of the Assembly and a child psychologist.
The laws were deemed unconstitutional by Judge Ronald Whyte on Dec.
21, 2005; preventing it from going into effect on Jan. 1, 2006.
[1273] On Sep. 11, 2005, Senators Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman
and Evan Bayh introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act to
much criticism. The act was intended to protect children from
inappropriate content found in video games. It has not passed
through the Senate. Similar bills introduced at state level were
found to be unconstitutional. [1274]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversy#List_of_video_games_c-
onsidered_controversial
[1275] Video games are protected by free speech,
THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
THE DECLINE OF HOLLYWOOD
THE DECLINE OF THE WESTERN
[1276] Deadwood was critically hailed as a masterpiece by the
Hollywood pomo-hipsters, but that is because all it takes is a few
of the F-words, and it is a masterpiece. Holden Caufield wanted to
erase the F word, and the Hollywood hipsters, incapable of Epic
Story, want to stamp the F-word over all of entirety. They will not
be satisfied until every last family is gone, every last women's
soul has been corrupted, and every last vestige of culture contains
the F word.
[1277] This video game would allow the player to shoot Hollywood
Hipsters who say the F-word. After the twenty-seventh time it
appears in the show, and still story has not yet reared its head,
the player will have to light the whole writing team up with a
flamethrower, or suffer the consequences of a demented, declining
culture. The player must chainsaw all the hypester and hipsters, so
as to return order to the classic West.
[1278] Because Hollywood hipsters and fanboys hate the Great Books,
the Classics, romance and love, all of entirety--everything under
the sun--every era and every age--even the old west--must be
dominated by degradation and porn. Hence everyone in the old west
cussed and abused women, as is evidenced by deep research the
pomo-hipster writers of Deadwood conducted into the writings of
Abraham Lincoln, Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, and Walt Whitman.
[1279] Although major corporations hire soulless MBA douchebags to
spam amazon; now and then honest reviews get through. This video
game would allow the player to shoot the soulless MBA douchebags
submitting fake amazon reviews, which bury the honest amazon
reviews that follow: [1280]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B0006FO5LO/ref=c-
m_rev_sort/002-1135107-4909650?customer-reviews.sort_by=byExactRating.sub.-
--1&x=6&y=9&s=dvd [1281] 3 of 10 people found the
following review helpful: [1282] Yuch, Jun. 17, 2007 [1283] By
Emily G. Miller--See all my reviews [1284] (REAL NAME) [1285] Why
did I ever get my husband "Deadwood"? I dread watching it. It is
simply depressing Yuch [1286] I don't care so much about the foul
language, Sep. 3, 2006 [1287] By Monday Warrior--See all my reviews
[1288] I'm a big fan of The Sopranos so obviously the F word
doesn't bother me but this entire series seems like an excuse to
show cowboys say the F word and MF. The stories and characters are
superficial, boring and unintelligent. [1289] People who like this
show are the same people who think that what makes The Sopranos a
great show is because people get "whacked" a lot SODOM-WOOD or
GOMORRAH-WOOD, Aug. 1, 2006 [1290] By Fritz Von Steiger (Federal
Way, Wash.)--See all my reviews [1291] I was going to buy the first
season, but, the vulgarity and immorality just ruined it for me. As
my title states, the series should be called Sodom and Gomorrah
wood for all the filthyness. It appears everybody in the old west
used the "F" word. I was expecting a child to start saying the word
"M . . . F . . . ". Just more filthy trash from Hollywood. This
series will appeal to all the immoral trashy people who enjoy
vulgarity and immorality. The only thing good about the series is
the acting. Maybe soon they will start using rap phrases also. Too
bad, would have been a good series, but, producers and directors
are trash themselves for putting this filth on cable tv (HBO). As
much as the "F" word is being used today in film, I'm just waiting
for anchor people to start saying the "F" word also. "THIS IS BILL
O'RILEY SAYING "F . . . Y . . . AND GOOD NIGHT FOLKS, AND DON'T
FORGET, NO F . . . G SPIN ON THE O'RILEY FACT, GOOD NIGHT AGAIN,
M*& )*#F)*&&(#, YOU S#&&$* oF B(&( @@.
Hollywood will love it. [1292] DeadDVD, Feb. 6, 2007 [1293] By A.
L. Moore "premiere reviewer" (Pittsburgh, Pa.)--See all my reviews
[1294] (REAL NAME) [1295] I have had problems getting most episodes
to play. The first one on each disc plays well as do most
"features" on a disc but I never get the second or third episode on
a disc to play immediately after watching the previous or first
episode. I start, stop, search menu, try next, previous, set up,
etc. Usually the episode starts and the sound track is going o.k.
but the video "freezes" and progresses out of sync with the sound.
The video is of poor quality, obvious digital pixels when this
happens. After several trials, over two or three days, I will get
another episode to play, almost as a fluke,and it plays perfectly.
It took a month of this trial and error method to get through the
first season set of discs. I received the second season as a gift
and I am having similar problems. Is this a Deadwood problem or is
it an Amazon problem? I really like the show but have never
experienced such difficulty and frustration using a DVD. This is
one of the best productions I have ever seen, I really appreciate
the layers, depth, and quality of the acting, cinematography, and
the commentaries, but what do I have to do to watch it at my
leisure? [1296] A wild, wild gimmick, Oct. 19, 2006 [1297] By J.
Anderson (CA United States)--See all my reviews [1298] (REAL NAME)
[1299] You want realism of the Old West? Try showing people
frequently blowing big wads of snot out their nose and hawking
green loogies onto the floor or into their sleeves because they
didn't have tissues. Try having the actors and actresses go for a
couple of months without washing their hair, and not brushing their
teeth with toothpaste, so their hair is oily and their mouths are
scuzzy and black. [1300] THAT would be realistic, but it's a LOT
more repellant to television audiences than gratuitous profanity.
So this "realistic" show has characters with clean, fluffy hair and
pretty teeth spew garbage langauge constantly--and sucker viewers
and reviewers buy this as "realistic"!!! Every great writer of
every age and era, be it Mark Twain, Owen Wister, William
Shakespeare, or John Steinbeck, or any other storyteller whose
works have survived for generations, told "realistic" stories of
their era but who understood what realistic trivia to keep in, and
what to leave out, in order to TELL THE STORY. That is WHY their
work has remained timeless. [1301] Deadwood's writing shows a huge
insecurity complex in choosing to rely on a gimmick (and a juvenile
one at that) like over-the-top profanity. Whether or not the
Calamity Janes of the time actually used the words "ignorant
f****ng c***s" is something we will never know and is also
absolutely irrelevant. [1302] There are an awful lot of sheeple in
TV land [1303] My Deadwood Experience, Aug. 30, 2006 [1304] By The
JuRK (Our Vast, Cultural Desert)--See all my reviews [1305] (TOP
1000 REVIEWER) [1306] I looked forward to the first episode of
"Deadwood," hoping HBO would reinvent the Western they way they had
reinvented the mob movies with "The Sopranos." [1307] About ten or
fifteen minutes in, I finally told myself that if one more person
used a particular profanity--it starts with a C and ends with
sucker--I was going to turn it off. [1308] I didn't get that
thought out before I heard it again. So I shut it off. [1309] I
hear enough profanity in my daily life and I get plenty from movies
and TV. Too much, way too much. [1310] Dead Wood Standing, Jun. 11,
2005 [1311] By Gordon M. Verber (Texas USA)--See all my reviews
[1312] (REAL NAME) [1313] "Deadwood" blasts off with very good
opening credit scenes and a nice score. The effort made to create a
sense of time and place makes one think that one has found
something special. However, "Deadwood" then rapidly descends into
an abyss of sophomoric swearing, creaking plot, and characters who
must be careful not to turn sideways to the camera--least one sees
they have only two dimensions. [1314] A sense of immediacy was
created by the initially unexpectedly appearing extremely violent
scenes; yet, with uninspired repetition, these quickly became
routine. "Deadwood" reminds me of nothing so much as the computer
game DOOM-III.RTM.: dark, predictable, violent, and boring. [1315]
We tried "Deadwood" based on the reviews here which favorably
compared it to the, quite excellent, "Firefly" series (the only
similarity I can see is that both have nice music), to "Lonesome
Dove" (which, in spite of some production defects attributable to a
restricted budget, remains the best made-for-Oz western), and which
praised the "complex" characters (mistaking, I think, gloom and a
hard-stare for complexity). [1316] If you are looking for a fun
adventure series, then "Firefly" is the choice. If it is westerns
you are after, I would suggest "Shane", "Lonesome Dove", and "The
Outlaw Josey Wales." If it truly is complexity of character which
interests you, then nothing I have seen in a TV series can beat
"Cracker". [1317] A warning about "Cracker": It also is violent and
macabre--but only in-so-far as is necessary for plot
development--and it is saved by having empathetic, multidimensional
characters and HUMOR. [1318] That is one of the major failings of
"Deadwood"--no humor: Only resolute, grinding, repetitive,
predictable conflict and death. [1319] We listened to the
commentary, hoping that this might bring some meaning to the
production, however, this proved the final nail, and we sent it
back without viewing the second episode. The commentator sounded as
though he had washed down four Quaaludes.RTM. with half a case of
beer before launching into his disorganized, rambling, unhelpful
monotone monologue. [1320] In the end that is the problem with
"Deadwood": it is an unyielding grim, monotonous, predictable,
violent, monotone. [1321] Pass on this turkey. [1322] THE EMPEROR
HAS NO CLOTHES, Aug. 13, 2005 [1323] By J. S. Radmer (right
here)--See all my reviews [1324] (REAL NAME) [1325] First, let me
make perfectly clear that I LOVE nearly all the other shows on HBO
(Sopranos, Oz, Six Feet Under), so I'm not easily shocked; and, I
admittedly have one of the filthiest mouths around. But I have to
say that not only is the sheer amount of profanity absurd in this
series, but it's literally delivered like Boyz in the Hood! You
half expect someone to say "I'm gonna put a cap in your a_ _!"
Everyone else--whose reviews you read here--who is saying that the
dialogue is clearly written to reflect those times are either
forgetting that it's supposed to be the 1800's, or they are prone
to jumping on the bandwagon when a show is popular. [1326] When
you're watching a show/movie, especially a period piece--as this is
supposed to be--it is absolutely necessary for the people creating
the show to make us believe it. The illusion is shattered when
we're not buying it. e.g. The Matrix would've been a joke if you
could see the body wires. In the case of Deadwood, the characters
all swear copiously to the point of being boring, but what's FAR,
FAR WORSE is the WAY they curse!!! The types of phrasing, wording,
and style they use is EXACTLY identical to how you hear
contemporary street gangsters talk today! You never get the
impression that these are people living in a time well over 100
years ago. They sound like a bunch of teenagers from the MTV
generation wrote the teleplay! Don't believe me? Think I'm
exaggerating? Rent it and find out for yourself. [1327] I'm really
disappointed in how many people/critics alike are giving this
extraordinarily unrealistic language a pass!! To repeat, it's not
the language itself that offends me. It's the total and complete
lack of realism that it gives the whole proceeding! By the time I
was done watching 2 episodes I could "see the body wires" and it
just looked to me like grown people playing dress up. [1328]
DEADWOOD--Like it wasn't, Dec. 11, 2005 [1329] By R. Dack "adcomm"
(St. Louis Park, Minn. United States)--See all my reviews [1330]
(REAL NAME) [1331] YIKES! Oh for the days of true dialogue and true
history. I wish I had a job where I could just slack off, throw in
a few hundred salty words and call it day. I'm tempted to send the
producers of this series a Websters Dictionary, apparently they
need help in the linguistic dept. The actor playing Preacher Smith
is terrible and not historically accurate. Hickock was shot during
a rather robust day in 1876 in Deadwood not amongst a few poker
players as in this series. Calamity Jane needs a haircut--see
pictures of her. Unimpressive and will probably get more awards.
Scary! Just give me history. Why is the truth so hard to depict?
[1332] I thought Hollywood had the greatest talent pool in the U.S.
if not the world. Your telling me you can't depict the truth with
palatable dialogue so everyone can enjoy the series . . . ok?
[1333] Deadwood content, Jul. 19, 2005 [1334] By Ann York
(Columbia, Tenn.)--See all my reviews [1335] (REAL NAME) [1336] The
content of the Deadwood DVD 1st season has so much FOUL LANGUAGE in
it, I can't watch it. I would not have bought it had I known how
BAD the language was. I love westerns but this was ridiculous!!!!
[1337] Weak actors, mostly obscene dialog, Jun. 30, 2005 [1338] By
B. Welch (Midwest USA)--See all my reviews [1339] (REAL NAME)
[1340] Do you expect about sixty percent of everything said in a
western to be obscene cursing? Well, it seems like the writers for
this series either can't think of what the cast should actually
say. Maybe they think people don't talk much other than to curse,
and this means there's little space for a plot to develop. It's a
pity, as this series otherwise could be good. [1341] The acting and
scenery is okay, but not great. [1342] Watch your language, Oct.
18, 2005 [1343] By S. W. Harris--See all my reviews [1344] (REAL
NAME) [1345] This may repeat what others have said, but DO NOT buy
this series if you or the recipient will be offended by much too
frequent use of the f word and other expletives. I ordered this for
a brother in law who does not have internet access and he is really
upset about the language and would like to return the product. But
as one on DVD has been opened he would get 1/2 his money back. I do
not know why the socalled entertainment industry has to go
overboard on expletives, probably the writers have not matured over
their teen age years. [1346] Crap!!!!!!, Nov. 6, 2005 [1347] By K.
M. Blanchard "The real word!" (Guam)--See all my reviews [1348]
(REAL NAME) [1349] Too grim, too depressing! [1350] And there's a
lot of bad language! [1351] I also think that the bad language
expressed in this production was not as real as some people might
say it was for that time period! [1352] But excepting bad language
in this production is one thing, but it doesn't necessary mean that
it makes the production any more worthy of being a hit show. [1353]
Also the other thing I didn't like about the show was in how badly
they treated women. [1354] Women in the wild west were a rare
commodity, so they were often well respected and looked after, but
in this depiction there was nothing but disrespect! [1355] So how
real was this depiction?? [1356] Not very. Give this a miss! [1357]
After seeing the first five episodes I can now see why this never
won any awards. I never finished it myself and have gone on to
better things! I am now very weary of those 5 star reviews that I
come across all the time! [1358] A total waste of 74.00 dollars!
[1359] Dead wood indeed, Jun. 7, 2005 [1360] By Canto37
(Washington, D.C.)--See all my reviews [1361] Oh, why can I not
give this zero stars? Any attempt at accurate historical portrayal
here is overshadowed by the need to outshadow current Hollywood
trends. Sure, there's enough swearing and sex to make it "seem"
like the good ol' wild west, but that aside, the plots wear thin
and trite. After one or two episodes, it's easy to spot that the
title "Deadwood" is quite apt. [1362] Deadwood--The "F" Word, Feb.
21, 2005 [1363] By Billy J. Locke--See all my reviews [1364] (REAL
NAME) [1365] If you like the "f" word, you'll love Deadwood.
Otherwise, it's just trash and a tremendous waste of money! [1366]
Should call it Trashwood!, Mar. 3, 2005 [1367] By D. White "Billy"
(North Carolina)--See all my reviews [1368] (REAL NAME) [1369] What
an awful show, it really insults a persons intelligence, how
difficult is it to write nothing but cussing over and over.
Obviously the show is out to attract a very immature audience that
thinks cursing is cool. Stay far away from TRASHWOOD!! [1370] The
worst western I've seen in decades!, Apr. 1, 2005 [1371] By Timothy
VM
"TVM" (Camino, Calif. USA)--See all my reviews [1372] I watched
only the first two episodes. What trash! The dialogue was
ridiculous. I have no problems with the use of "bad" language in
movies, but this was extremely juvenile! I would guess that at
least half the sentences include the F word at least once. It was
so gratuitous, e.g., "I ain't f*cking goin' down stairs!" The
acting was ok, but it must have been hard for the actors to keep a
straight face with the asinine dialogue. [1373] The story line was
very weak. [1374] Pathetic and Disgusting, Apr. 25, 2005 [1375] By
Oliver Twist--See all my reviews [1376] This presentation of the
old west is nothing more than deranged. The profanity is
incalculable. Even if there were moments of such filth in reality,
this presentation in a television performance is pathetic and
completely unartistic. One may as well be listening to an adult
only Rap CD. [1377] Since we were not there to know the old west
characters, my guess is that the foul mouths portrayed exist only
in the minds of the writers and producers of "Deadwood". The
creaters of this HBO series certainly did make something special,
just like a baby makes something special for mommy and daddy. The
closest this DVD should get to your house is the garbage can
outside. [1378] Watch it for more than 10 minutes and you're going
to want to wash out your own mouth. Save your money and leave this
piece of work in the world's biggest warehouse inventory. [1379]
F**king C**ks**ker . . . you people are morons!!, Feb. 24, 2005
[1380] By Lance Christian "game over man" (Alton, Ill.)--See all my
reviews [1381] (REAL NAME) [1382] The 21st century will be forever
documented in history as the age of stupidity. When people like
Eminem are awarded as artistic genuises, reality tv gets the
highest ratings and crap like this is considered superebly written,
there is something seriously wrong with society. [1383] To the ones
who say that this takes place in the grittish lawless west, and
everybody talked like that and it sets the mood, I say that you
obviously aren't that big of a fan of western movies. John Wayne
acted in movies a hundred times better than this, and those films
dealt with the same wicked lowlife villains. But did you hear him
constantly saying F this and F that you Fing CSer?? The same goes
for the mind numbingly dull and pointless sex scenes. Do we really
need a lesbian bath scene in a western? It's all just another
excuse for Hollywood to justify this CRAP as "art". I have to laugh
at all the people who are so guilable to buy into this. [1384] If
you really want to see a good western, watch "The Shootist" or any
of the other John Wayne greats. Deadwood is for people with an IQ
under 80. [1385] It is 1950, and the market is not happy. From the
summit of the economic system, it stares down upon America with a
jaundiced eye. America's most important reason, its labor force, is
incredibly unproductive, for one simple reason: Most women aren't
employed. Homemakers work, of course, but they don't get paid for
it, which means they add nothing to the GDP. And without a salary,
the Market has no control over them at all. The Market cannot fire
them, promote them, or move them to where it needs them most. They
are basically off the economic grid. What an enormous opportunity
cost! The Market ponders the situation like a general analyzing his
battle plan. The primary objective is to take the woman, who is
commonly a mother, out of the home and put her into an office.
Standing in the way are several defenses that must be overcome. At
the deepest levels, mothers are attached to their children.
[1386] And so it is that the Wall Street MBAs united with
Academia's MFAs to erase the Natural Mythologies in which women
were women, and men were men, as Joseph Campbell lamented Porn and
postmodern literature were used to sabotage the soul of young
women, as many strip joints were put out of business, as now one
could go out grinding and get a lap dance for free. Shows such as
Sex and the City taught women to value the material as opposed to
the spiritual. Written by a gay man, the show taught women to
behave like gay men, and have sex freely and without
commitment.
[1387] The glory of this video game is that it would allow children
to again have mothers, and in having mothers, they have fathers
too. This video game would allow the first person shooter to roam
the sets of TV Shows such as Sex and the city, and shoot the
producers, instead of innocent prostitutes and pedestrians.
[1388] Paul Stiles talks about the strategies of market feminism:
[1389] 1) Stress need for women to liberate themselves. Depict the
current existence of the housewife as negative. 2) Focus women on
individual self-interest. Deny that they need men. 3) Equate career
success with a woman's personal value. 4) Undermine the value of
the nuclear family. 5) Discredit the importance of motherhood.
Position it as a myth created by men and clergy to subordinate
women. 6) Undermine importance of early bonding between mother and
child. 7) Take children out of hands of mothers. 8) Overcome
resistance by recruiting key supporters and suppressing debate. 9)
Once a critical mass of men is reached, declare we can never go
back. 10) Above all, detach issue from moral truth and make it
purely political.
[1390] And so you get what we have here--fat and happy boomers with
houses bolstered by bubbles and pensions bolstered by the
destruction of the Judeo Christian soul, the desecration of
motherhood, and the exile of the family. Walk the halls of
academia, and you will see all the boomers, celebrating their vast
triumphs, blind to their wicked emptiness, as they quietly execute
rising poets and prophets, instead preferring feminist porn and
stories about video taping anal sex without first asking the girl.
I have never seen so many so rich in pretense, and so poor in
spirit. The only thing missing from the Hell they have created is
the fire, and this game allows one to take a flamethrower to the
church of postmodernism--the University. And as they kicked and
tortured and beat the poets and prophets, now it's their turn to
feel Justice.
[1391] Millions of books have been written about culture's decline,
and this video game is superior over the prior art as it allows the
player to do something about it. So often it is stated that film
and literature is a superior art form over video games, but
postmodern film and literature is debilitating, paralyzing, dark,
and dervish. The rising generation shall far prefer playing this
game than watching dressup fantasies and costume parties such as
Kingdom of Heaven, Brokeback Mountain, Troy, and Alexander. This
game brings to life the spirit of Sergio Leone's glorious
westerns--the spirit of that Old Testament God who doesn't just sit
around chanting, but parts oceans, and then lets them swallow up
the evil Pharaoh and every last one of his men, as they give chase
to Moses.
[1392] Paul Stiles continues, [1393] The industrialization of the
homemaker was only the opening salvo in the Market's attack on the
family structure. The nuclear family is defined by two critical
bonds: the marital bond between husband and wife, and the parental
bond between parents and children. In a functional family, these
bonds are moral, not productive. They are forms of love. But love
is not a market principle, which means that the organization of the
nuclear family was simply not as productive as it could be. Once
the two-income family left the front door open, the Market thus
invaded the home and attacked the traditional bonds within it,
triggering what sociologists call "family breakdown," a pathology
that, like the impact of stress on the body, has caused a
chain-reaction of damage throughout our society. p. 63
[1394] This video game would allow the player to shoot anyone who
values market values over moral values. Flamethrowers, chainsaws,
and BFGs will seal the fate of all deconstructionists,
postmodernists, liars, and haters. See a professor quoting Focault?
Shoot them. Hear a rapper belittling women? Shoot them. See a Wall
Street banker hyping and lying? Shoot him dead, and then take a
flamethrower and burn down his building for once and for all. Do as
Dylan Thomas:
[1395] Do not go gentle into that good night,
[1396] Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
[1397] Rage, rage against the dying of the light
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[1398] The present invention will afford:
[1399] A video game which has characters that have ideas,
ideologies and philosophies, where said ideas, ideologies, and
philosophies are manifested in the evolution of the game world.
[1400] A video game wherein characters speak words reflecting said
ideologies and philosophies.
[1401] Wherein said ideologies may be rooted in historical
ideologies and philosophies.
[1402] Where the player character can choose whether or not to
interact with characters based on their ideologies.
[1403] Where the player character can choose whether or not to
shoot characters based on their ideologies.
[1404] Where the player character can choose whether or not to
shoot in game characters based upon the words they speak.
[1405] Where the world evolves depending on the ideologies that are
allowed to live.
[1406] Where the in-game, open-ended world evolves depending on the
ideas and ideologies that are killed.
[1407] Where the in-game, open-ended world evolves depending on
which characters the character interacts with.
[1408] Where the in-game, open-ended world devolves when
collectivist ideologies prevail.
[1409] Where the in-game, open-ended world is exalted when
judeo-christian ideologies prevail.
[1410] Where the character is murdered by collectivists when he
fails to kill the collectivist characters.
[1411] Wherein the video game world brings to live literary works
such as Orwell's animal farm.
[1412] Wherein the video game brings to life the result of
political campaigns.
[1413] Wherein the video game brings to live novels such as Atlas
Shrugged, 1984, and A Brave New World.
[1414] Wherein the video game brings to life Hayek's The Road to
Serfdom.
[1415] Wherein the video game brings to life Autumn Rangers.
[1416] Wherein the video game brings to live economic theories and
free markets versus socialistic conflicts.
[1417] Wherein the video game world will devolve in a physical
manner when communism and collectivism take hold. The video game
world will devolve in a physical manner including, but not limited
to, dreary buildings, increased drinking, long lines waiting for
materials and food and goods, a police state, martial law, less
freedom, walls, banned books, banned thoughts, and banned art.
[1418] The video game world will devolve when those who espouse
communistic tendencies are allowed to dominate.
[1419] The video game may also allow the first person player to win
the world over via speaking ideologies and arguing their point,
trying to convince the population of the virtues of leading via
virtue.
[1420] The video game will allow the optimum blend of Jeffersonian
Classical Liberalism to prevail in the world. The video game will
allow the player to fight for the high morals expressed in The
Odyssey, Shakespeare, and the Bible.
[1421] Versions of the video game would allow one to fight for the
ideals expressed in The Book of Matthew and/or the Apology.
[1422] Versions of the video game would allow one to fight for the
ideals expressed in The Book of Matthew and/or the Apology, wherein
one may actually save Socrates or Jesus.
[1423] The video game will allow classical liberal, libertarian,
collectivist, and other ideologies to face off in a world where
ideas have consequences, and where the world actually evolves
according to the prevailing ideals.
[1424] Imagine shooting the collectivists, bureaucrats, and tyrants
in novels such as Atlas Shrugged, or A Brave New world, and thusly
realizing an in-game world where prosperity and peace reign.
[1425] Imagine a video game that allowed the player to live-out the
themes in novels about dystopias.
[1426] Imagine a video game that allowed players to live out the
theme in the greatest dystopia of them all--the postmodern dystopia
which achieves dystopia by lying and hyping the opposite of what is
true, and redefining words for short-term profits, while long-term
profits and trust are sacrificed. In such a game one would be able
to shoot the pomo hipsters who are killing the classical judeo
context from within, while simultaneously supporting the terrorists
who are attacking it from without, and even going further in
inciting the terrorists to attack the United States by exporting
the degradations of our culture far and wide. The pomo hipsters
catch the honest man, the soldier, in the cross-fire, and send them
forth to fight for the classic America, all the while furthering
the postmodern America and imposing the postmodern America
throughout the world. Imagine a video game that would allow one to
fight both the enemies without and the enemies within, as
referenced by Dinesh D'souza.
[1427] Imagine a video game that brought to life the whole premise
underlying deeper realities of civilizations--ideas have
consequences. By killing of certain ideals and ideas, whether with
guns, or argument, or inspiration, or art, or other forms, one
would be able to win the game and save the world. Fascism,
communism, postmodernism and other isms could all be fought, and
the game world could signify success with elements including a
renaissance, peace and prosperity, exalted art, pink floyd and the
beatles instead of myspace bands and lawyer fanboys, Shakespeare
and the Bible instead of postmodern gobbedly gook, intact families
instead of divided families, epic mythology instead of crass
materialism, Homer and classic westerns instead of Paris Hilton,
and freedom instead of slavery. Indeed, by shooting all the
postmodern decliners and pomo-hipsters who sell out culture via
irony and conceited corruption, the game would allow a far higher
reality and engaging experience to be witnessed. Such a game would
be superior to spore--I heard the lead designer speak about
storytelling in games--and he never once mentioned the moral
premise--the moral premise that is at the heart and soul of The
Odyssey and the Bible and Dante's Inferno--the most epic of all
epics. The present invention would thus allow the values of the
classic western to manifest themselves for the very first time in
the realm of the video game.
[1428] All of the various states and forms of states contemplated
in Book VIII of Plato's Republic may be brought to life with this
video game:
[1429] Book VIII
[1430] And so, Glaucon, we have arrived at the conclusion that in
the perfect State wives and children are to be in common; and that
all education and the pursuits of war and peace are also to be
common, and the best philosophers and the bravest warriors are to
be their kings?
[1431] That, replied Glaucon, has been acknowledged.
[1432] Yes, I said; and we have further acknowledged that the
governors, when appointed themselves, will take their soldiers and
place them in houses such as we were describing, which are common
to all, and contain nothing private, or individual; and about their
property, you remember what we agreed?
[1433] Yes, I remember that no one was to have any of the ordinary
possessions of mankind; they were to be warrior athletes and
guardians, receiving from the other citizens, in lieu of annual
payment, only their maintenance, and they were to take care of
themselves and of the whole State.
[1434] True, I said; and now that this division of our task is
concluded, let us find the point at which we digressed, that we may
return into the old path.
[1435] There is no difficulty in returning; you implied, then as
now, that you had finished the description of the State: you said
that such a State was good, and that the man was good who answered
to it, although, as now appears, you had more excellent things to
relate both of State and man. And you said further, that if this
was the true form, then the others were false; and of the false
forms, you said, as I remember, that there were four principal
ones, and that their defects, and the defects of the individuals
corresponding to them, were worth examining. When we had seen all
the individuals, and finally agreed as to who was the best and who
was the worst of them, we were to consider whether the best was not
also the happiest, and the worst the most miserable. I asked you
what were the four forms of government of which you spoke, and then
Polemarchus and Adeimantus put in their word; and you began again,
and have found your way to the point at which we have now
arrived."--Plato's Republic.
[1436] So it is that the ideas of the individuals have
consequences, and the state evolves according to those ideas in
reality; and so too shall it be in the video games, as individual
ideas, manifested in action, will lead to various forms of state,
as well as corrupted forms for the corrupt individual. No video
game has ever brought Book VIII of Plato's Republic to life, nor
any of Plato's philosophy, nor any work of deeper soul that
manifests the truth that ideas have consequences.
[1437] Concerning the book Everything Bad is Good For You,
Publisher's Weekly writes, "Worried about how much time your
children spend playing video games? Don't be, advises Johnson--not
only are they learning valuable problem-solving skills, they'd
probably do better on an IQ test than you or your parents could at
their age . . . . With the same winning combination of personal
revelation and friendly scientific explanation he displayed in last
year's Mind Wide Open, Johnson shatters the conventional wisdom
about pop culture as pabulum, showing how video games, television
shows and movies have become increasingly complex. Furthermore, he
says, consumers are drawn specifically to those products that
require the most mental engagement, from small children who can't
get enough of their favorite Disney DVDs to adults who find new
layers of meaning with each repeated viewing of Seinfeld."
[1438] So it is that children aren't playing enough video
games.
[1439] Amazon writes, "In his fourth book, Everything Bad Is Good
for You, iconoclastic science writer Steven Johnson (who used
himself as a test subject for the latest neurological technology in
his last book, Mind Wide Open) takes on one of the most widely held
preconceptions of the postmodern world--the belief that video
games, television shows, and other forms of popular entertainment
are detrimental to Americans' cognitive and moral development.
Everything Good builds a case to the contrary that is engaging,
thorough, and ultimately convincing."
[1440] So it is that we are not playing enough video games. By
allowing players to shoot pomo-hipsters who come up with silly
books such as Everything Bad is Good For You, this present
invention will result in a vastly enhanced demand for video
games.
[1441] The book Blink teaches us the fiatocracy's supreme wisdom
and virtue of not thinking too much, and the present invention will
bolster this supreme wisdom in the realm of video games--pomo
hipsters will be shot on site. Hesitate and think about it, you
lose. Shoot from the hip, and you win.
[1442] John Wayne, also known as "The Duke," said, "A man ought to
do what he thinks is right. If everything isn't black and white, I
say, `Why the hell not?`" And there you have it--the black &
white 45 SURF logo.
[1443] And this invention brings to life the John Wayne
spirit--fighting for good over evil.
[1444] In The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism, Jack Bogle talks
about that higher battle: "The most recent episode witnessed the
culmination of an era in which our business corporations and our
financial institutions, working in tacit harmony, corrupted the
traditional nature of capitalism, shattering both confidence in the
markets and the accumulated wealth of countless American families.
Something went profoundly wrong, fundamentally and pervasively, in
corporate America . . . . At the root of the problem, in the
broadest sense, was a societal change aptly described by these
words from the teacher Joseph Campbell: "In medieval times, as you
approached the city, your eye was tyaken by the Cathedral. Today,
it's the towers of commerce. It's business, business, business." We
had become what Campbell called a bottom-line society. But our
society came to measure the wrong bottom line: form over substance,
prestige over virtue, money over achievement, charisma over
character, the ephemeral over the enduring, even mammon over
God."--The Battle for The Soul of Capitalism, by John C. Bogle
[1445] This video game would allow one to fight the good fight--the
Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, which must be preceded by a
literary renaissance, for it must be of the spirit to save the
flesh, as General Macarthur said.
Possible Embodiments of Present Invention
[1446] Imagine a gameworld wherein the player's duty was to protect
the founding documents of civilization, including the Great Books
and the Bible--The Declaration of Independence and The US
Constitution.
[1447] Ideas have consequences, and the burgeoning government's
quest for power leads them to take down the Ten Commandments from
courts and Federal Buildings. They deconstruct the first and second
amendments, and make sure that the Constitution and Declaration of
Independence are no longer taught in the schools, or at least not
in their proper context of the great books and classics. Abortion,
debt, and war rule the world; as the innocent are massacred.
[1448] Our hero has sworn to protect and defend the United States
Constitution, and so they go about doing just that, in this
open-ended world.
[1449] Enemy players try to take the ten-commandments down from
courthouses, and our hero must stop them. He can try reasoning with
them with a dialogue tree, but if this fails, and if they try to
forcibly remove him, he has to fight back and shoot them in the
spirit of Revolutionary War and Declaration of Independence, when
so many gave their lives for the ideals underlying freedom.
[1450] In another embodiment, enemy players would try to remove the
word God from every Washington monument; and they would try to
remove the Declaration of Independence from the schools as it
contains the word God and Creator. Our hero would have to stop
them.
[1451] Ideas have consequences; and if our hero fails, tyranny will
ensue. Taxes will be raised to fight foreign wars on foreign
shores, and civilization will come under assault from all corners.
Families will break up and our hero's love interest, or sister, or
mother, will find their way into prostitution or be forced into
prostitution. She will be used and abused by the assholes favored
by the feminist system, who deem metrosexual assholery superior to
rugged, deep-seated manhood.
Further Objects and Advantages of the Current Invention over Prior
Art: Building upon the Great Books: Enhanced Dialogue and Action
Trees Confirming to Plots of the Classics
[1452] Video games are superficial and soulless. Video game writing
is awful. Do not take my word for it--this is echoed in hundreds of
articles everywhere; but the current fanboys--both in Wall Street
Hedge Funds and behind video games, are incapable of endowing the
games with classical, epic soul. This is because classical, epic
soul gets in the way of their dumbed-down new world order. There--I
said it. So go ahead and make my day with a GOW fanboy chainsaw. Or
kill some cops and civilians, or hire and kill a hooker, or kill
the Constitution some more, a few more million unborn. But you
ought to know, by now, that there is that higher showdown, just as
there is ample opportunity for higher, exalted games, and the 45
Revolver only glows gold for those who say and do the right things.
And you've got to ask yourself one question--do you feel lucky?
[1453] http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/006462.html: The
Writing in Video Games is Absolutely Abysmal : Matt Peckham writes,
"Well it is. I can't help but see it, I think on at least some
level you know it, and now Lost producer and lead writer Damon
Lindeloff has the guts to bluntly say it. Bravo, I say. Here he is
reacting to video game TV and movie tie-ins in an article
suggesting video games hastened the demise of the writer's guild
strike. [1454] We have that Lost game coming out soon, and having
taken a closer look at how that industry works, I fear the Lost
franchise will be spoiled to the point where we'll have to take it
off the air. Loose ends and all. I am truly amazed at how our
creative products can be ruined by interactive media. The writing
in video games is absolutely abysmal.* [1455] (Brace for a rant.)
[1456] (Okay. Buckled up and ready?) [1457] Now when I
wholeheartedly agree with Lindeloff that video game writing is
largely in the un-flushed toilet, I'm not talking about Mario. I
don't mean Donkey Kong Country, or Geometry Wars. People don't play
Pac-Man for the epic dotty intrigue or Smash TV for its shallow
mockery of entertainment TV. This isn't an indictment of video
games in general or the places where good writing's managed to peek
through in spite of the considerable odds stacked against it. The
majority of video games (casual, played online, mostly by women) in
fact don't have plots or need protagonists or involve much
engagement with story-driven text at all. [1458] But that's not
what Lindeloff's talking about. [1459] I think it's safe to say
he's referring to cinematic games. Games which, by definition,
"have qualities characteristic of motion pictures." Games where the
story inseparably informs the gameplay. Games that borrow wholesale
(or at least attempt to, amateurishly) from TV and movies at both
the formal theoretical and technical-fictive levels. Games with
lengthy intros, cutscenes with elaborate motion capture mechanics,
or all those blurb-tastic "dozens of hours of voice acting!" Games
whose inceptive stages look an awful lot like the ones that birth
your average TV show or film. Exhaustive storyboards.
Green-screens. Writers in rooms or chat sessions or on conference
calls collaboratively hashing out scripts or last minute script
changes. [1460] Not to excuse movies and TV shows. They have their
ample percentage of crap writing too, and Lindeloff needs to do a
little looking in the mirror (on behalf of his medium, anyway)
before throwing stones. Lost has its own share of crappy episodes,
and Lindeloff knows it. [1461] But compared to video games? Not
even in the same league, and don't even attempt an equivalency
argument (it just makes us look stupid). Well, not unless your idea
of good writing includes stuff like R. A. Salvatore and Rhonda
Byrne, in which case that may explain a lot of the problem. There's
a reason those two won't be winning any storytelling awards, and it
has absolutely nothing to do with the sort of literary elitism
Stephen King so eloquently trashed in his 2003 National Book Awards
acceptance speech. [1462] Which, you could argue, actually makes
the point by roundabout: Game writing has the opposite problem of
the one King was tackling during that important and wise speech.
Game writing is way too easy on itself. And so are we--too easy on
chop-shop digital scribes and translators--as
gamers."--http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/006462.html
[1463] Dialogue trees exist in games such as Mass Effect, but they
amble around and lead to victory no matter if one chooses the
moral, amoral, or immoral path--one can play as a Paragon or
Renegade, but one can win either way. A Lesbian love scene is
celebrated by the fanboys as the pinnacle of artistic
achievement.
[1464] This present patent suggests a vast improvement over the
prior art--over games such as Mass Effect--this present patent
proposes games that have moral consequences for choices regarding
actions taken and words spoken. This patent improves upon the Mass
Effect dialogue tree by providing a dialogue tree wherein the moral
content effects the outcome of the game. Furthermore, an embodiment
of this patent enhances game writing and the action/dialogue tree
by mapping the game to classics such as The Odyssey and Inferno,
wherein the correct choices at the correct times; the correct
dialogue and the correct action, whether given by dialogue trees or
action trees or some other method, lead to victory and adherence to
the plot. For instance, in The Odyssey video game, the richest
language and plot are presented when the character makes the
choices our hero Odysseus made. [1465] In The moral cost of video
games, Violence is bad enough. But here's the worst
part.--http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0107/p09s02-coop.html?page=2
By Matthew Devereux, from the Jan. 7, 2008 edition, Matthew
Devereux writes, [1466] The moral cost of video games [1467]
Violence is bad enough. But here's the worst part. [1468] By
Matthew Devereux [1469] from the Jan. 7, 2008 edition [1470] Page 1
of 2 [1471] PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND--In the controversial new video game
"Manhunt 2," you're required to sneak up behind innocent victims,
hit them over the head with a garden spade and then use that same
weapon to decapitate, them. The whole thing is pretty graphic,
because the game has, well, pretty graphics. As blood gushes,
you're supposed to feel satisfied that you're ready for the next
challenge. [1472] To some, this scenario captures everything wrong
about video games. "They're too violent," detractors say. "And they
glamorize violence. Children might be tempted to copy them." While
this is an understandable concern, it misses more obvious problems
with many video games today: primarily, an utter lack of moral
consequence. [1473] Countless studies have tested the alleged links
between virtual violence and its real counterpart. Conclusions
vary, but I certainly don't need a panel of academics to explain to
me that the teen across the street isn't going to attack me with a
garden spade. [1474] Still, if you're a parent, the sheer intensity
of violence in many games today ought to be a valid concern. You
wouldn't let your children view online pornography, so why let them
decapitate people in a video game? [1475] Yet many parents buy
their children games rated inappropriate for anyone under 17. Why?
Perhaps it's a hangover attitude from the "Pac-Man" past, when all
video games were presumed to be harmless fun. Or maybe they just
want their kids to think they're cool. Whatever the reason, there's
clearly a disconnect between the level of parental angst and
parental tolerance. [1476] One of many dubious arguments against
violence in video games is that children find it hard to
distinguish between "real" and "virtual" situations. [1477] If
that's true, is CNN not a more pernicious peddler of unsavory
material for kids? When kids turn on the TV and see footage of
soldiers shooting each other for real, is there any substantial
difference between that and playing a first-person shooter game?
[1478] Years ago, after the tragic shootings in Columbine, the news
media were quick to lay blame at the game industry's door. Could
they not as easily have turned that criticism on themselves? [1479]
What's surprising about the media's obsession with violence in
games is that it overlooks more serious lapses in values. By
concentrating on the bloodthirsty and dramatic, they're ignoring
influences that are much more harmful to children long term. [1480]
Take, for instance, the idea of ruthless competition, that for
every winner there are necessarily losers. Regardless of what game
you're playing, the message is almost always the same: Do whatever
it takes to win, even at the expense of everyone else. [1481]
Imagine if that were the moral of every movie and TV show you ever
watched. Would the world be a better or worse place? Would you let
your children play a game that promoted such a dog-eat-dog
mentality? [1482] Fundamentally, most games operate within a moral
framework: good versus evil (or vice versa). But what games
conspicuously lack is moral consequence. Once you've killed
someone, stolen something, or blown up a building, that's usually
the end of it--you'll rarely get to see the emotional impact of
your actions on the characters around you. [1483] Every bit of
mayhem becomes just another item on a video-game to-do list. Games
ignore moral consequence and emotional nuance to focus on the
purely visceral. There are only two types of decisions you can
really make: the strategically correct one or the strategically
incorrect one. There is no "right" or "wrong"--only success or
failure. [1484] Unbridled competition combined with no moral
consequence eventually leads to a lack of compassion. And without
compassion, humanity is lost. [1485] What games risk instilling,
not just in kids, but in anyone who plays them, is a kind of
sociopathy: a dearth of conscience. Whether this might be imitated
outside of gaming is beside the point. What we should be asking
ourselves is if we really want to spend ever more time playing
things that encourage these values. That's a moral question, one
that's easily sidelined in favor of simply having fun, but it's
something we all must consider as the pastime grows more popular.
[1486] I'm not calling for stricter regulation of the video-game
industry. Rather, I hope to widen the debate to include issues that
might not be considered if we believe the sensational, trivial
hysteria of the media. By concentrating so heavily on the immediate
(and short-term) effects of video-game violence, we're distracted
from discussing more important moral dimensions. It's time for
parents to stop asking what is appropriate for their children and
to start asking what is morally right."--from
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0107/p09s02-coop.html?page=2
[1487] The present invention, combined with earlier inventions by
Dr. Elliot McGucken, would provide novel methods and means for
video games with ideas that consequences and moral consequences and
thus exalted action, story, educational value, cultural value, and
more. The above article states, "Once you've killed someone, stolen
something, or blown up a building, that's usually the end of
it--you'll rarely get to see the emotional impact of your actions
on the characters around you." This video game will allow the
player to witness the results. Let the feminist movement triumph,
and abortion and porn reign supreme, for women like porn far more
than men do. Men just watch it, while women are in it. Men pay for
it, and women are paid; along with the credit card companies who
process the transactions as we shift from the gold standard to the
soulless porn standard. This video game would allow the player to
fight for the gold standard--to fight for civilization, and truth,
and honor, and marriage, and kill all the false suitors as Odysseus
did.
[1488] Many argue that video games are too violent, but I would
argue that they are not violent enough. In The Odyssey, when
Odysseus gets on home, he slays all the suitors in his home,
leaving a bloody mess. Then he has all the whoring women clean it
up, and he has the women hung. Now that would be an awesome
cut-scene, born by the correct action and dialogue, but the snarky
fanboys just want to hire prostitutes and kill them in GTS, or
level up in WoW on ultimately meaningless campaigns designed to
enrich Universal.
[1489] This present patent would allow a player to first consider
who and who not to kill amongst the suitors. If they grant too much
mercy to the wrong suitors--to the suitors who were neutral, but
did nothing to defend Odysseus's home, those suitors, who the
player lets live, may turn on the player and kill them. On the
other hand, showing mercy to true friends, born by the content of
their character, is rewarded. And too, the player can consider the
correct action after they have killed all the suitors--they can
choose whether or not to have the whoring women clean up the mess
and have them killed, or just have them clean up the mess. If they
let the whoring women live, the whoring women will take over
Odysseus's home via subterfuge and deceit, and defeat the Great
Warrior.
[1490] Imagine the vastly enhanced gaming experiences this present
patent would provide. Classics could be combined, drawing in Plato,
Aristotle, and more.
[1491] The present invention will foster and exalt:
[1492] 1. A system and method for providing a dialogue or action
tree in a video game where moral choices underly the choices
presented
[1493] 2. The method in 1 where moral choices lead to victory
including but not limited to winning loved ones, winning one's
home, winning freedom, winning one's country, and amoral or immoral
choices lead to defeat, including losing one's freedom, losing
one's country, losing one's home.
[1494] 3. The method in 1 where the dialogue and/or action trees
are based upon to the plot points of great books and classics, such
as the odyssey, the iliad, hamlet, biblical stories, and more--for
instance, what if Moses hadn't smashed the ten commandments?
[1495] 4. The method in 1 where the dialogue and/or action trees
are based upon famous historical events including the American
Revolution, where one could study the consequence
[1496] 5. The method in 1 where when players follow the course of
action of the protagonists in epic stories and great books and
classics, they are rewarded with the rich and triumphant, even when
tragically cathartic, stories of the great books and classics. And
when they fail to make the correct decisions regarding dialogue or
action, they lose the plot of the epic classics, and are presented
with a dumbed down, degraded version as Odysseus loses Penelope and
Beatrice loses Dante.
[1497] 6. The method in 1 where when players follow the course of
action of the protagonists in epic stories and great books and
classics but performed in contemporary contexts with contemporary
language and settings, they are rewarded with the rich and
triumphant, even when tragically cathartic, stories of the great
books and classics. And when they fail to make the correct
decisions regarding dialogue or action, they lose the plot of the
epic classics, and are presented with a dumbed down, degraded
version as Odysseus loses Penelope and Beatrice loses Dante, just
as marriage is dying in our own culture.
[1498] To illustrate the fanboyism, Here is a conversation I
started at the Mass Effect forums as rangermccoy: [1499]
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=600077&forum=10-
4 [1500] Can you win as either a Paragon or Renegade? [1501]
rangermccoy [1502] Joined: 22 Nov. 2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov.
2007 06:19 PM [1503] Can you beat the game as either a Paragon or
Renegade? Does the Paragon finish ahead, or does the Renegade
finish ahead? Which one is easier to win with? What are the
similarities/differences? [1504] Thanks! [1505] Edited By
rangermccoy on Nov. 22, 2007 18:19 [1506] Pileyourbodies [1507]
Game Owner [1508] Mass Effect [1509] Joined: 9 Nov. 2007 Posted:
Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 06:22 PM [1510] you can win as either one .
. . i wouldn't say either come out ahead. [1511] zombie flayer
[1512] Joined: 9 Nov. 2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 06:26 PM
[1513] Of course you can beat it with either one. [1514] The
difference is paragons can charm people in conversation while
renegades use intimidation to achieve the same result. [1515] Each
has their own subplots that can be done as well. [1516] rangermccoy
[1517] Joined: 22 Nov. 2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 06:47 PM
[1518] Is there ultimately any difference in the overall world
depending on whether one plays as a renegade or a paragon? [1519]
For that matter, is there any video game out there where one's
moral alignment determines the ultimate outcome of the game, and
the ultimate state of the game world? [1520] Sigma Hyperion [1521]
Game Owner [1522] Mass Effect [1523] Joined: 13 Nov. 2007 [1524]
From: The Verge Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 07:01 PM [1525]
Nope. [1526] That's kind of an important distinction between
"Paragon/Renegade" and more traditional "Good/Evil". [1527] By
definition both Paragon and Renegade achieve the exact same
ultimate goal. The only difference is the method in which you go
about it. In the end, the universe will be the same and, though
your actions to achieve it will certainly be different, your
kindness/ruthlessness won't be on a galactic enough scale to
actually impact the entire galaxy. The end overshadows the means.
[1528] Edited By Sigma Hyperion on Nov. 22, 2007 19:01 [1529]
rangermccoy [1530] Joined: 22 Nov. 2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov.
2007 07:07 PM [1531] Thanks! [1532] But is there any video game out
there where one's moral alignment determines the ultimate outcome
of the game, and the ultimate state of the game world? [1533] I
can't come up with one . . . but perhaps there is . . . [1534]
Happy turkeyday everyone. [1535] Servo Starwind [1536] Game Owner
[1537] SW: KotOR Xbox [1538] Mass Effect [1539] Joined: 23 Sep.
2007 [1540] From: Solstite Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 07:29 PM
[1541] Theres more than 2 endings. [1542] p.s that is the most
noobish question I've ever seen on here! [1543] rangermccoy [1544]
Joined: 22 Nov. 2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 07:33 PM [1545]
Thanks Servo, [1546] But is there any video game out there where
one's moral alignment determines the ultimate outcome of the game,
and the ultimate state of the game world? [1547] I can't come up
with one . . . but perhaps there is . . . [1548] Happy turkeyday
Servo! [1549] Sigma Hyperion [1550] Game Owner [1551] Mass Effect
[1552] Joined: 13 Nov. 2007 [1553] From: The Verge Posted:
Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 07:53 PM [1554] I don't know of any game
where one's moral alignment significantly alters the ending, but I
know of games where one's choices can change the ending of the
game, and the standing of the game world afterwards, in widely
differing ways. You could call the choices at the end of Deus Ex
moral choices, they are just as "moral" as those in BioWare games,
but the game doesn't have a morality mechanic of any sort. And the
choices you made at the end of that game completely changed the
world in completely different ways depending on the choice. [1555]
Unfortunately, though Deus Ex allowed many choices in the game up
to that point, the choices you had made earlier in the game had no
bearing on which choices you could make at the end. [1556] deaf and
dumb [1557] Game Owner [1558] Mass Effect [1559] Joined: 9 Nov.
2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 07:57 PM [1560] to answer your
question, try a game called Fable. [1561] i believe there's a
sequel coming out soon. [1562] rangermccoy [1563] Joined: 22 Nov.
2007 Posted: Thursday, 22 Nov. 2007 08:06 PM [1564] Thanks for the
Fable reference, but I'm not sure Fable qualifies: [1565] Even if
you're evil in Fable, can't you still "win?" [1566] Does it really
matter to the world at large? [1567]
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2006.sub.--06.sub.--01_archive.html
says [1568] "When last year Edward Castronova argued on Terra Nova
that Horde characters in World of Warcraft are evil, he was widely
ridiculed. There is no "evil" in World of Warcraft, players of
either faction are constantly on quests that are helping somebody
else. Whether you are a holy paladin or a demon-summoning warlock,
it doesn't change the way in which you help the farmer get the deed
to his farm back from the evil bandits. There is no moral choice,
no option to sell the deed to the highest bidder instead of
returning it for a lousy reward. Even the undead are "good" undead,
fighting the evil scourge undead. [1569] If a game like Black &
White, or Knights of the Old Republic, or Fable, gives you the
option to play good or evil, that is just a thinly disguised way to
enable you to play the game twice. You chose evil or good by what
you think is more useful to beat the game, and then if you play it
again, you chose the other side, just to see something new. It is
not a moral choice, but a tactical one. We don't feel that burning
down a virtual village in a game world and killing the inhabitants
is an evil act, after all those are just colored pixels that don't
feel anything. Advancing in the game is the most important, even
that means that in the next mission we have to throw Napalm on that
Vietnamese village to continue. [1570] All that ends us in a total
inability between gamers and anti-game advocates or politicians to
understand each other. The gamer picks up minor points that the
criticism got wrong, like "there are no points in GTA for shooting
and raping hookers", and fails to see that the criticism otherwise
wasn't all that unjustified. Most of what you do in GTA *is* a
depiction of very, very evil behavior. By the time you finished the
game you have committed more crimes than any known peace-time
gangster. The anti-gamer fails to see that all these crimes are
virtual, and don't lead to you going out and doing the same in real
life. [1571] "Evil" has become a joke. In Dragon Quest 8 one of the
heroes has a special combat move with whirling axes, called "Axes
of Evil", har, har, nice joke on George Bush. But I wonder if all
this making light of evil, all this gaming without true moral
choices, is not making the medium of video games poorer. Fact is
that in the real world there is real evil, guys like Sadam Hussein,
Kim Jong-il, or Robert Mugabe aren't just "misunderstood". And evil
isn't limited to crazy dictators, there are people everywhere that
like to be cruel to others. And ordinary people have to make hard
moral choices sometimes, between good and evil. Previous
entertainment media understood that, and made good and evil a major
recurring theme in many books and movies. Only video games present
the end of evil, a world in which neither good nor evil matters,
where "evil" is just a thin plot element to explain why you as the
hero have to go out and kill that boss. We end up with players in
online games doing evil things that actually hurt real people, if
just in a minor way, and not even realizing the difference. GTA
won't turn anybody into a mass murderer, but it is hard to believe
that hundreds of hours of inconsequential evil and violence should
have no effect whatsoever on how you perceive evil and violence in
the real world. [1572] "--from:
http://tobolds.blogspot.com/2006.sub.--06.sub.--01_archive.html
[1573] skippyisthedevil [1574] Game Owner [1575] SW: KotOR Xbox
[1576] Jade Empire [1577] Mass Effect [1578] Joined: 22 Nov. 2007
[1579] From: Miami, Fla. Posted: Sunday, 25 Nov. 2007 04:49 PM
[1580] Because video games are for the most part based on fiction,
morality can be very skewed. GTA for instance has the lead
character performing all sorts of criminal acts that most of us
would consider immoral, however in the context of the game they are
perfectly acceptable. Ultimately since morality is based on
societal norms and video games often eschew those same norms, real
morality is very hard to replicate in a video game. In Fable and
KOTOR you are able to finish the game differently depending on the
choices you make but it is mostly a cosmetic change. I for one
enjoy playing both ways, as an evil character I can do and say
things I would never do in real life and as a good character I can
sacrifice and hold my self up to a much higher virtue than I would
expect from any one in the real world. A game where morality
definitively changed the world around you would be neat, but I'm
not sure how much appeal it would have for the average gamer.
[1581] "Can I be buried here among the dead with room to honor me
here in the end?" [1582] Coheed and Cambria [1583] rangermccoy
[1584] Joined: 22 Nov. 2007 Posted: Sunday, 25 Nov. 2007 07:23 PM
[1585] Thanks! [1586] I agree "A game where morality definitively
changed the world around you would be neat, but I'm not sure how
much appeal it would have for the average gamer." [1587] But I
think that such a game defines next-generation games. [1588] Is
there any game within which the player's morality changes the
world? Where only by behaving in a moral manner can one complete
the game or "win?" And where immorality eventually leads to the
downfall and decline of the game world? [1589] I'd love to play
that game, if anyone knows of it. [1590] Righteous Rage [1591] Game
Owner [1592] Mass Effect [1593] Joined: 10 Aug. 2007 Posted:
Sunday, 25 Nov. 2007 07:31 PM [1594] I thought this thread was
gonna be about the end, haha. SPOILERZZZ [1595] reiella [1596] Game
Owner [1597] Joined: 9 Dec. 2002 Posted: Sunday, 25 Nov. 2007 07:38
PM [1598] Quote: Posted Nov. 22, 2007 18:47 (GMT) by rangermccoy
[1599] Is there ultimately any difference in the overall world
depending on whether one plays as a renegade or a paragon? [1600]
For that matter, is there any video game out there where one's
moral alignment determines the ultimate outcome of the game, and
the ultimate state of the game world? [1601] With Mass Effect,
there was a very definant decision that while you could pursue two
different avenues, the Goal and Major Plot Points would remain the
same. They gotta be able to market a sequel, and do it better than
how the canonization of BG2 went for FR continuity . . . .
[1602] In light of the above telling conversation, this patent
suggests a superior method for video games--video games that adhere
to the classical, epic soul and spirit--video games which exalt and
manifest the maxim that ideas have consequences.
[1603] This patent is actually related to the method for
merchandising pricing in the gold price patent in that the gold
standard protects the private property of savings against theft
from the printing of money, and theft is immoral; and game
characters that act immorally end up losing. Furthermore, morality
is the keystone of all literature, just as it is the keystone of
property rights.
[1604] DRM protects the private property of the artist and creator
from vast corporations who benefit from the printing of money--who
hire lawyers and MBAs with the printed money to come up with fancy
contracts to screw the artists, and to often even manufacture
artists such as Britney Spears and boy bands. This video game could
allow players to play as Eminem, destroying boy bands, while also
destroying the downloaders who steal his music, while also
destroying the snarky, academic eggheads who have institutionalized
theft both in the form of downloading and placing students into
vast debts, as they produce the MBAs, central planners, and lawyers
who fight and brownnose to sit close to the Fed's money Spigot in
DC/Wall Street, as the government and business bureaucrats bleed
into one, united in their love of printing money instead of working
for it; their love for creating money out of thin air instead of
creating art by blood, passion, and tears.
[1605] Furthermore, this patent salutes the Great Books and
Classics wherein Moses smashes his ten commandments when he sees
them worshipping the Golden Calf, deeming the Word of God to have
greater value than Gold; and Achilles throws down his Golden Staff,
deeming honor to have greater value than gold. So it is that the
moral renaissance shall be.
[1606] To date one cannot play a game and fight for the Western
Soul and be rewarded by hearing Socrates' Wisdom. To date, one
cannot perform the classical ideals in the contemporary context.
Another form of this patent--another embodiment--would be the
classical ideals performed in a contemporary context, so that the
same or similar action from the classics such as The Odyssey might
be rendered in the present day and context. Fanboys are longing to
be men, and there would be a vast audience for such games.
[1607] This patent may build on an earlier invention by Dr. Elliot
McGucken. Players would be afforded the opportunity to make key
decisions along plotlines of the Great Books, while residing in the
living context of the Great Books and Classics.
[1608] Dialogue trees and action trees, as utilized in game such as
Mass Effect, could be enhanced with the use of the Great Books and
Classics. Choosing the correct dialogue and/or correct action could
lead one down the correct and true plot of the classic. Points
could be awarded for following the true path of the classics, for
example in the case of Odysseus making all the right choices in
resisting the temptations of the Lotus Eaters and Sirens, and
killing the Cyclops, and saying all the right things to make it on
home and kill all the suitors and win back Penelope; or in the case
of Dante saying all the right things to Virgil and taking all the
correct actions in walking through hell to be with Beatrice. The
Great Books and Classics generally present us with heroes who make
moral choices, which result in triumphant endings.
[1609] If a character chooses immoral or amoral action, they are
taken down a different path that leads to failure; such as Odysseus
never getting home.
[1610] Tragedies could also be handled with this game engine, as
the correct choice and dialogue would ultimately lead to tragedy,
but a cathartic tragedy; for Jesus died not for his meekness, but
for his greatness. Socrates died not for his meekness, but for his
greatness. Hamlet died not for his meekness, but for his
nobility.
[1611] Today's movies, from Beowulf, to 3:10 to Yuma, to Atonement,
to There Will be Blood all lack the redemption witnessed in the
classic Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns. In the original 3:10 to
Yuma, the good guy lives and the bad guy goes to jail, but in the
remake of 3:10 to Yuma, the good guy dies and the bad guy gets away
free, as Hollywood Producers have recreated the movie in their own
image, being that they are funded by Wall Street banks close to the
money spigot.
[1612] The Great Books and classics all hinge about characters
making moral choices and resisting temptations. The characters that
succeed in doing this are eventually rewarded in a higher
manner--they make it on home or profit in the long run. Even Hamlet
is rewarded with his place at the forefront of Western Literature,
with the most exalted conscience and consciousness. Imagine a tree
of action that could take Hamlet down different paths. Imagine if
he does get his revenge early; or imagine if he does kill himself.
Within Hamlet we see the vast paradoxes and conflicts of life
manifested; as the moral and ethical systems form Athens and
Jerusalem battle themselves out, with even greater ferocity than
the battle which lead Socrates to state that he could not defined
virtue, and that the only thing he knew was that he knew nothing.
So too is it with Hamlet--he is seeking the ideal of justice as
Socrates did; he is seeking the ideal before enacting it; and he
cannot find justice's ideal--not because he does not see enough,
but because he sees too much. Imagine a video game that brought
Hamlet to life by allowing the player to make choices both in
dialogue and action. The correct choice would lead to Hamlet's
brilliant soliloquies, and the incorrect choice would lead to a
diminished plot, diminished dialogue, and a diminished end, lacking
the cathartic nobility of the original play.
[1613] Imagine a video game that placed characters in the context
of the great books and classics, and then spoke the original
dialogue--matching the plot of the classic--when the character
chose to follow an action parallel to the classic.
[1614] For instance, Odysseus would be offered the chance to have
his men tie him to the mast when passing the Sirens, or he could
choose to not be tied to the mast.
[1615] If he does not choose to be tied to the mast, he succumbs to
the Siren's call and meets his demise. This could be shown in a
cut-scene based on his choice. He could have further options
presented in dealing with the Sirens.
[1616] If Odysseus chooses to be tied to the mast, he sails on by
safely, and goes on to the next adventure.
[1617] Odysseus will be presented with choices that lead to
branching avenues. If Odysseus chooses to fight the suitors too
early upon arriving home in The Odyssey, he will lose. If he
chooses the wrong dialogue, he will lose. If he discloses his
identity at certain key points, and acts stronger as opposed to
weaker, he will lose. If he chooses to disguise himself not as a
beggar, but as someone more exalted, or himself, he will lose.
Choosing the humbler path and staying away from temptation will
result in his victory.
[1618] So it is that every plot point of every immortal classic
could be integrated in this system so as to lend games depth and
profundity.
[1619] In the case of Hamlet, Hamlet could be given options, such
as to kill the King at major plot points. For instance, when Hamlet
comes to the King confessing of the murder of Hamlet's father
before the cross, Hamlet could choose to kill him or not kill him.
Killing him would end the game with Hamlet going to hell, while not
killing the King would end with Hamlet delivering the classical
monologue.
[1620] As Dante walks through hell, he could choose various forms
of interacting with Virgil--only one way that conforms to the true
plot of the classic will lead him through hell. For instance, Dante
could end up partaking in the same temptations which engulf his
fellow men.
[1621] Players could be given points for adhering to the true plot
of the classics, as that is generally the moral course of action.
When players depart from the true plot of the classics through
their errant choices, they could be penalized, or not receive
points. So it is that those who adhere to the true course of the
classics--those who make all the correct choices--will see victory
and witness the greater art of the classics. Those who stray from
the plot of the classics will ultimately lose--Odysseus will never
make it on home, Dante will not make it through hell, or Hamlet
will end abruptly, short of its greater glory.
4. System and Method for Female Video Game Characters With Soul and
Virtue and Male Characters With Soul and Virtue:
[1622] Imagine video games that presented female characters with
the depth of soul and spirit owned by classical characters such as
Penelope, Beatrice, Mary Magdelane, the Virgin Mary, and The Mona
Lisa.
[1623] Having female characters behave and act morally, while
others don't, would provide a novel form of gameplay. For instance,
in the Odyssey, Agamemnon's wife cheats on him, and the man she
takes in ends up killing Agamemnon. This is contrasted to Penelope,
who remains faithful throughout, thusly ensuring that Odysseus's
life and home are preserved. So it is that in this novel form of
video games, women will be shown on both sides of the moral
premise, and not only that, but their moral choices will be
fundamental to the eventual victory or defeat.
[1624] Opportunities abound for deeper, more profound female
characters, as fanboys such as Cliffyb and Wyckyg are yet focusing
on breasts, as Wired reports: [1625] "Speaking to Wired.com at
Microsoft's recent media event, the designer (above left) says that
Epic Games is trying to make their upcoming Xbox 360 shooter more
appealing to the casual audience. The game's female characters, he
said, won't have "ginormous tits." And the lauded
kill-alien-swarms-with-a-buddy cooperative mode will let you adjust
the game's difficulty on the fly depending on who's playing. How do
you make a game girlfriend-friendly? You do jump-in, jump-out
co-op. You have configurable difficulty settings for the other
player. You have very cool and bad-ass main characters that have a
very human side. And you make sure that the female characters in
your game don't have ginormous tits and aren't bad stereotypes.
What are the female characters in Gears 2 like? I've always made
sure, working with the art department, that Anya is strong-willed
but also very mother-like to the squad. She has a very modest chest
and doesn't look like some sort of heavy metal movie
fantasy."--http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/05/cliffy-b-gears.html
[1626] Well, that is vast and resounding progress. Boobs are
mentioned three times in the above passage, although nobody
mentions the vast importance of the moral woman's character in the
realm of classical, epic storytelling. No gaming expert has yet
ever suggested that the ultimate woman character in a video game
ought behave morally, like Penelope. In our dumbed-down,
spectacle-driven society, morality is seen as a bad thing--the
exact antithesis to art. And so the best the fanboys can do is make
the in-game character's breast-size smaller. There is no mention of
making them faithful, nor having them speak intelligently, nor
making them weave and unweave a tapestry, as does Penelope, to keep
the suitors at bay, while waiting faithfully for Odysseus. So it is
that games have yet to achieve higher, classical, epic art. And so
it is that this patent, by instilling deep ideas and ideals within
the game's context and AI, will allow for superior gameplay.
[1627] Female Characters with Soul and Virtue: Every year Play
Magazine publishes its Girls of Gaming collection which states at
http://playmagazine.com/thegirlsofgaming/index.html, Girls of
Gaming Vol. 5 "is jam packed with hotness from every corner of the
gaming universe and when you sign up to go digital you'll get our
20-page Best-Of Girls of Gaming absolutely free, along with bonus
mature content too hot for print. The print edition is something
special as well, featuring embossed, spot varnished covers and top
quality materials." Year after year Play Magazine publishes this
work, and year after year the industry creates games; but they are
missing soul on both the masculine and feminine levels. A game that
showed a character being seduced, but resisting, as did Penelope in
The Odyssey, could enhance game play by inspiring and exalting the
main character to make it on home. Imagine cut-scenes that showed
women reading exalted poetry, or lines from Shakespeare' plays,
representing virtues. They could be contrasted to evil women and
temptresses throughout literature. [1628] 1. Imagine cut scenes
that showed women acting with virtue to inspire the player to make
it on home. For instance, seeing Penelope behaving virtuously and
resisting the suitors could inspire the player to make it on back
to the damsel in distress. [1629] 2. Imagine cut-scenes that showed
men acting with virtue to inspire the female in-game-character to
also act virtuous. For instance imagine a character of Penelope
witnessing Odysseus's resistance of the Sirens, or his other noble
actions and refusals of temptations.
[1630] If a player were playing as Penelope, and they did not act
morally and took on a suitor as Husband, the suitor would kill her
husband when she got home, as happened with Agamemnon. Thus moral
actions would have moral consequences; and immoral actions would
have immoral consequences.
[1631] A game such as GTA could be enhanced by allowing the player
to shoot the pimp and save the women/prostitutes, telling the women
to sin no more.
[1632] Such a patent would allow games to achieve higher art, while
exalting the female character and form.
[1633] Imagine a video game that let one's live, embody, and enact
a Hero's Journey Renaissance: "The stock exchange is a poor
substitute for the Holy Grail"--Joseph Schumpeter. Classical Ideals
in Innovation & The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci.
[1634] The following treatment was submitted to The Institute for
Humane Studies Hayek Fund on Mar. 18, 2008. [1635] Dear Elliot,
[1636] Thank you for submitting your application to the Hayek Fund
for Scholars. We have received your application and it will go to
our Review Committee shortly. You should hear from me again within
the next four to six weeks about a decision. If you have any
questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact me. Please
make sure you check your e-mail frequently, and add our domain
(theihs.org) to your email safe list to ensure you receive our
emails. [1637] Sincerely, [1638] John Thrasher Program Director
Institute for Humane Studies
The Road to Freedom Video Game
Educational Ideas Have Consequences (IHC) Video Game & Powering
Next-Gen Games With a Classical Libertarian Game Engine
by
Dr. Elliot McGucken
[1638] [1639] I have sworn upon the Altar of God eternal hostility
against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.--Thomas
Jefferson [1640] Although libertarian ideas are evident in the
writings of the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu in the sixth century
BC, the main thread of libertarianism goes back to the Jewish and
Greek idea of a higher law, a law by which everyone, even the
ruler, could be judged. The simple idea that the will of the ruler
was not the ultimate source of authority helped lay the groundwork
for a pluralistic society, the flowering of individualism, and
eventually the scientific and economic miracles of Western
civilization.--Introduction to The Libertarian Reader [1641] The
play's the thing, in which I'll catch the conscience of the
King.--Hamlet [1642] The tragedy of collectivist thought is that,
while it starts out to make reason supreme, it ends by destroying
reason because it misconceives the process on which the growth of
reason depends. It may indeed be said that it is the paradox of all
collectivist doctrine and its demands for "conscious" control or
"conscious" planning that they necessarily lead to the demand that
the mind of some individual should rule supreme--while only the
individualist approach to social phenomena makes us recognize the
superindividual forces which guide the growth of reason.
Individualism is thus an attitude of humility before this social
process and of tolerance to other opinions and is the exact
opposite of that intellectual hubris which is at the root of the
demand for comprehensive direction of social purpose.--F. A. Hayek,
The End of Truth, The Road to Serfdom [1643] The enemy outnumber us
a paltry three to one! Good odds for any Greek. This day we rescue
a world from mysticism and tyranny, and usher in a future brighter
than anything we could imagine. Give thanks, men, to Leonidas and
the brave 300! To victory!--300 [1644] War is an ugly thing, but
not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral
and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse.
When a people are used as mere human instruments for firing cannon
or thrusting bayonets, in the service and for the selfish purposes
of a master, such war degrades a people. A war to protect other
human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to
their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war,
carried on for an honest purpose by their free choice, is often the
means of their regeneration. A man who has nothing which he is
willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he
does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no
chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of
better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not
terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs
of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do
battle for the one against the other.--John Stuart Mill [1645] You
all will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood
against many, that before this battle was over, that even a God
king can bleed . . . .--Leonidas, 300
Educational Ideas Have Consequences IHC Video Game & A
Classical Libertarian Game Engine
[1646] Opportunities exist to create novel educational video games
embodying Libertarian ideals. The service of classic ideals will
endow video games with far more realistic and meaningful worlds,
greater emotional and spiritual immersion, epic storytelling, and
more engaging gameplay; thusly creating a more exalted realm of
games with classical soul. The goal of this research project is to
1) create a functional Road to Freedom video game, 2) realize the
patent-pending "Ideas Have Consequences" game engine and a new
breed of deeper, more meaningful games, and 3) develop websites and
publish articles and papers pertaining to a new realm of video
games which explore societal and economic evolution based on the
premises that ideas have consequences, and that classical
libertarian philosophies are best suited to supporting freedom--the
freedom described in America's Founding Documents including: "We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness." Such ideals are certainly worth fighting for
in the real world--they were worth pledging ones life, one's
fortune, and one's sacred honor; and such ideals would be worth
fighting for in game worlds.
[1647] The novel "Ideas Have Consequences" (IHC) video game engine
will allow the player to fight for the foundational ideas of the
classical liberal tradition. Throughout history the most grotesque
monsters have not been individuals nor physical monsters, but ideas
contained in collectivist, tyrannical, and statist philosophies
which oppose the individual's natural rights and freedoms; and
which exalt kings and the elite above the common rule of law. While
modern video games allow one to fight grotesque monsters rendered
with stunning pixel counts, they fail to grant insight into the
monster's souls. Thus modern games lack deeper dramatic action,
epic stories, and character development; along with heart, spirit,
and soul--the games lack exalting philosophy and enduring art. As
words are the spirit's vessel, monsters that espouse ideologies--in
words as well as deeds--will be far more realistic and will lend
deeper meaning to games. For it is not the semblance of the
creature that is so terrifying in the greatest horror films and
thrillers, but it is the soul. And too, it is not the countenance
of thugs and dictators--not their singular physical presence which
deprives freedom and massacres multitudes; but it are their
monstrous ideas. So it is that the player will be able to become a
"hero" in IHC games, and defeat the deniers of freedom by battling
their ideas; witnessing graphical game-world depictions of their
high-stakes successes and failures. Players may fight for entities
including the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, private
property rights, intellectual property rights, taxation without
representation, the freedom of religion, equal justice for all, the
gold standard, and more.
[1648] The IHC game engine will foster games wherein the battle to
defend classical libertarian ideals will enhance and deepen the
gameplay. Players will be afforded the unique opportunity to fight
for classical ideals and oppose collectivist and tyrannical
philosophies depicted via words, deeds, and institutions such as
the Ministry of Peace and Truth manifested in the game worlds and
dystopias. The IHC engine will be capable of rendering the spirit
of the American Revolution, as well as the themes of Orwellian and
Randian literature, in realistic worlds that evolve according to
prevailing ideas. Imagine playing a Howard Roark or John-Gait-like
character, or a Winston Smith in a 1984 world, where you one could
actually liberate the world from Big Brother while battling
groupthink, both via word (including dialogue trees as seem in Mass
Effect) and deed (typical FPS action). The philosophies of Mises,
Rothbard, and Hayek will lie at the foundations of IHC games
wherein the player will be perpetually challenged to fight for
liberty's ideals. The stakes will be high, and the player will
witness graphical representations of the physical ramifications of
their successes and failures, as the game world evolves according
to the ideas and philosophies that come to rule the world and/or
dystopia.
[1649] The novel IHC game engine, games, and their development will
be featured in articles and papers, at conferences, at the
festivals I founded and host, and the class that I teach on
Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology: [1650]
http://herosjourneyentrepreneurship.org [1651]
http://herosjourneyrenaissance.org [1652]
http://artsentrepreneurship.com [1653]
http://greatbooksgames.com/
[1654] In the summer of 2007, I filed a provisional patent for the
"Ideas Have Consequences" (IHC) video game engine, dedicated to
bringing classical Libertarian ideals to life. I presented the IHC
game engine at IHS's summer 2007 Cinematic & Literary
Traditions of Liberty at UCLA during my opening-night lecture
entitled "Hero's Journey Entrepreneurship."
[1655] A staple of the festivals I host is a panel on video game
development with top game designers and writers including Flint
Dille and John Zuur, and they also joined me on a panel at IHS's
summer 2007 Cinematic & Literary Traditions of Liberty at
UCLA.
[1656] By allowing players to serve and fight for classical ideals,
the IHC game engine will present more meaningful and pertinent
worlds, afford the players deeper emotional and spiritual
immersion, and result in more engaging and realistic gameplay; as
ideas have consequences. As Aristotle noted, the subplot and the
plot must be unified, and the premise of this invention allows the
on-screen action to mirror the deeper dramatic action that takes
place in the realm of ideas.
[1657] At the crux of the IHC patent and the IHC game engine is the
heart and soul of the Libertarian philosophy which comes to us from
Athens and Jerusalem--from Socrates and Jesus, from Plato,
Aristotle, and Moses; and more recently from Jefferson, Jackson,
Hayek, Mises, Rothbard, and Rand. To date, nobody has incorporated
the nobility of the Greats' ideas and their eloquent words in video
games, and then pitted those classical ideals against the likes of
tyrants, deconstructionists, and collectivists such as Marx, Lenin,
Mussolini, and King George.
[1658] An embodiment of the game engine may demonstrate that where
collectivism reigns and the US Constitution and its supporting
texts are banished, banned, or deconstructed, society deteriorates
both physically and spiritually. Long lines will form as shops
close up, and a police state will evolve as natural freedoms are
curtailed and denied. A 1984 dystopia may come to be if the player
fails to defeat collectivist ideologies, and the Ten Commandments
will be replaced with posters of tyrannical rulers in the
courthouses. The stakes of the game will be high, and should the
player fail to win the battle for the classical truths in the
Western Heritage, they will not only see, but suffer the physical
manifestations of decline and decadence. Should the player fail to
take correct, timely, and prudent action in the battle for
classical ideals, they will witness skyrocketing inflation and
populations driven to war. Players will be able to fight via both
word and deed, utilizing the first two amendments of the US
Constitution.
[1659] The player will determine allies and enemies in the game
world by words and deeds. Real historical quotes could be used, and
the in-game characters could even quote from books, citing the
authors. Or the in-game characters could speak words echoing
various ideologies, or partake in actions representing ideologies.
The player would have to figure out if they are friend or foe,
based on their words and deeds, remembering that actions speak
louder than words.
[1660] For instance, a friendly character could say things such as:
[1661] Allie1: "Even the striving for equality by means of a
directed economy can result only in an officially enforced
inequality--an authoritarian determination of the status of each
individual in the new hierarchical order."--Hayek [1662] Allie2:
"It is an enormous simplification to speak of the American mind.
Every American has his own mind."--Mises [1663] Allie3: "We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness."--The Declaration of Independence [1664] Allie4: "The
Congress shall have power to . . . promote the progress of science
and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and
inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and
discoveries;--The United States Constitution [1665] Allie5: "The
simple idea that the will of the ruler was not the ultimate source
of authority helped lay the groundwork for a pluralistic society,
the flowering of individualism, and eventually the scientific and
economic miracles of Western civilization."--The Libertarian
Reader
[1666] While an enemy character would say Orwellian things such as
"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength," or:
[1667] Enemy1: "It is true that liberty is precious--so precious
that it must be rationed."--Lenin [1668] Enemy2: "Give us the child
for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever."--Lenin [1669]
Enemy3: "One man with a gun can control 100 without one."--Lenin
[1670] Enemy4: "A lie told often enough becomes truth."--Lenin
[1671] Enemy5: "From each according to his abilities, to each
according to his needs."--Karl Marx [1672] Enemy6: "In a higher
phase of communist society . . . only then can the narrow horizon
of bourgeois right be fully left behind and society inscribe on its
banners: from each according to his ability, to each according to
his needs."--Karl Marx [1673] Enemy7: "Religion is the impotence of
the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot
understand."--Karl Marx [1674] Enemy8: "Religion is the opium of
the masses."--Karl Marx
[1675] While typical video games rely on mindless violence directed
against monsters represented via physical characteristics; they
never let the player battle the greater monsters and enemies of
collectivist ideas, statist philosophies, and fiat economists who
ultimately are statists. Alan Greenspan wrote, ""In the absence of
the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from
confiscation through inflation. . . . This is the shabby secret of
the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is
simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the
way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property
rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding
the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard.""
[1676] And so it is that this video game offers more realistic
gameplay by actually allowing the player to battle ideas; both in
dialogue form and on the battlefield. Enemies are not identified by
their mere appearance, but rather by their ideas, which are
written, spoken, and manifested via action and in institutions
throughout the game.
[1677] The bestselling PS2 game of all time is Grand Theft Auto,
selling over 25,000,000 copies. In the open-ended game, one is
allowed to hire a hooker and then kill her and get one's money
back. Not only is that reprehensible, but the game quickly gets
boring, as the missions are all performed in a most superficial
context of stealing and killing for the sake of stealing and
killing. There is no higher purpose--there are no classical ideals
being served. It's all just a game of high-pixel-count plundering,
where truth and story have been replaced by spectacle, soul with
semblance, and deeper philosophies with superficial groupthink. The
present invention proposes that the service of classic ideals will
endow video games with far more meaningful worlds, emotional and
spiritual immersion, and engaging gameplay.
[1678] The rising generation is longing for more meaningful and
exalted art, and I would be grateful for this grant which would
allow me to serve them with such art. Imagine the following
embodiment of the present invention: [1679] 1. A system and method
for creating an electronic, interactive video game wherein ideals
and ideas have consequences [1680] 2. The system and method in 1
where the qualities of being a vampire or zombie are passed along
via the communication of said ideals and ideas. [1681] 3. The
system and method in 1 where dialogue trees are infused with said
ideas and ideals, and wherein the ideas and ideals live or die in
the gameworld depending on the dialogue that is chosen. [1682] 4.
The system and method in 1 where action trees are infused with said
ideas and ideals, and wherein the ideas and ideals live or die in
the gameworld depending on the action that is chosen. [1683] 5. The
system and method in 1 where dialogue and action trees are infused
with said ideas and ideals, and wherein the ideas and ideals live
or die in the gameworld depending on the dialogue or action that is
chosen. [1684] 6. The system and method in 1 wherein the
consequences of ideas such as collectivism are brought to life in
the game world, as well as the characters ability to fight the
ideas of collectivism [1685] 7. The system and method in 1 wherein
the consequences of ideas such as communism are brought to life in
the game world, as well as the character's ability to fight the
ideas of communism [1686] 8. The system and method in 1 wherein the
consequences of ideas such as classical liberty and freedom are
brought to life in the game world, as well as the character's
ability to fight for the ideas of classical liberty and freedom
[1687] 9. The system and method in 1 wherein the consequences of
ideas such as those found in the Declaration of Independence and
Constitution are brought to life in the game world, as well as the
character's ability to fight for the ideas of classical liberty and
freedom [1688] 10. The system and method in 1 wherein ideas such as
collectivism are explored over time. Imagine the following
embodiment of the present invention:
[1689] 1. A system and method for providing a dialogue or action
tree in a video game where moral choices underly the choices
presented
[1690] 2. The method in 1 where moral choices lead to victory
including but not limited to winning loved ones, winning one's
home, winning freedom, winning one's country, and amoral or immoral
choices lead to defeat, including losing one's freedom, losing
one's country, losing one's home.
[1691] 3. The method in 1 where the dialogue and/or action trees
are based upon to the plot points of great books and classics, such
as the odyssey, the iliad, hamlet, biblical stories, and more--for
instance, what if Moses hadn't smashed the ten commandments?
[1692] 4. The method in 1 where the dialogue and/or action trees
are based upon famous historical events including the American
Revolution, where one could study the consequence
[1693] 5. The method in 1 where when players follow the course of
action of the protagonists in epic stories and great books and
classics, they are rewarded with the rich and triumphant, even when
tragically cathartic, stories of the great books and classics. And
when they fail to make the correct decisions regarding dialogue or
action, they lose the plot of the epic classics, and are presented
with a dumbed down, degraded version as Odysseus loses Penelope and
Beatrice loses Dante.
[1694] 6. The method in 1 where when players follow the course of
action of the protagonists in epic stories and great books and
classics but performed in contemporary contexts with contemporary
language and settings, they are rewarded with the rich and
triumphant, even when tragically cathartic, stories of the great
books and classics. And when they fail to make the correct
decisions regarding dialogue or action, they lose the plot of the
epic classics, and are presented with a dumbed down, degraded
version as Odysseus loses Penelope and Beatrice loses Dante, just
as marriage is dying in our own culture.
[1695] Imagine an embodiment of the present invention as
follows:
[1696] A video game which has characters that have ideas,
ideologies and philosophies, where said ideas, ideologies, and
philosophies are manifested in the evolution of the game world.
[1697] A video game wherein characters speak words reflecting said
ideologies and philosophies.
[1698] Wherein said ideologies may be rooted in historical
ideologies and philosophies.
[1699] Where the player character can choose whether or not to
interact with characters based on their ideologies.
[1700] Where the player character can choose whether or not to
shoot characters based on their ideologies.
[1701] Where the player character can choose whether or not to
shoot in game characters based upon the words they speak.
[1702] Where the world evolves depending on the ideologies that are
allowed to live.
[1703] Where the in-game, open-ended world evolves depending on the
ideas and ideologies that are killed.
[1704] Where the in-game, open-ended world evolves depending on
which characters the character interacts with.
[1705] Where the in-game, open-ended world devolves when
collectivist ideologies prevail.
[1706] Where the in-game, open-ended world is exalted when
judeo-christian ideologies prevail.
[1707] Where the character is murdered by collectivists when he
fails to kill the collectivist characters.
[1708] Wherein the video game world brings to live literary works
such as Orwell's animal farm.
[1709] Wherein the video game brings to life the result of
political campaigns.
[1710] Wherein the video game brings to live novels such as Atlas
Shrugged, 1984, and A Brave New World.
[1711] Wherein the video game brings to life Hayek's The Road to
Serfdom.
[1712] Wherein the video game brings to life Autumn Rangers.
[1713] Wherein the video game brings to live economic theories and
free markets versus socialistic conflicts.
[1714] Wherein the video game world will devolve in a physical
manner when communism, collectivism, and/or fiatism take hold. The
video game world will devolve in a physical manner including, but
not limited to, dreary buildings, increased drinking, long lines
waiting for materials and food and goods, a police state, martial
law, less freedom, walls, banned books, banned thoughts, and banned
art.
[1715] The video game world will devolve when those who espouse
communistic tendencies are allowed to dominate.
[1716] The video game may also allow the first person player to win
the world over via speaking ideologies and arguing their point,
trying to convince the population of the virtues of leading via
virtue.
[1717] The video game will allow the optimum blend of Jeffersonian
Classical Liberalism to prevail in the world. The video game will
allow the player to fight for the high morals expressed in The
Odyssey, Shakespeare, and the Bible.
[1718] Versions of the video game would allow one to fight for the
ideals expressed in The Book of Matthew and/or the Apology.
[1719] Versions of the video game would allow one to fight for the
ideals expressed in The Book of Matthew and/or the Apology, wherein
one may actually save Socrates or Jesus.
[1720] The video game will allow classical liberal, libertarian,
collectivist, and other ideologies to face off in a world where
ideas have consequences, and where the world actually evolves
according to the prevailing ideals.
Building the Novel Ideas have Consequences Video Games
[1721] The purpose of this invention is not to reinvent the wheel
nor to describe how to build a standard video game system such as
an XBOX or Playstation or Wii or PC. Nor is the purpose to describe
how to create an FPS or MMORPG nor TPS, all of which could be
enhanced and exalted by the present invention. Rather, building
upon the ample prior art, this invention exalts a brand new breed
of video games. This invention builds upon prior inventions such as
U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,954, Sanity system for video game, and patent
application number 20070087798: Morality system and method for
video game: system and method for creating story, deeper meaning
and emotions, enhanced characters and ai, and dramatic art in video
games. Both these documents describe the fundamentals of building a
gaming system and a game, both in words and figures, and there is
no need to repeat, nor recount the art here.
[1722] This invention will foster video games built upon standard
video game consoles and systems such as those represented in FIG. 3
of U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,954: Sanity system for video game, and the
accompanying description of the figure contained in U.S. Pat. No.
6,935,954. This invention will foster video games built upon
standard video game consoles and systems such as those represented
in FIGS. 4A and 4B of U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,954, and the accompanying
description of the figure contained in the patent. Similar figures
for gaming systems are also included in patent application
#20070087798: Morality system and method for video game: system and
method for creating story, deeper meaning and emotions, enhanced
characters and ai, and dramatic art in video games. As all the
above mentioned figures represent standard depictions of gaming
consoles and systems, and are found in the prior art, there is no
need to redraw them here. Rather, the purpose of this application
is to build upon the prior and current art.
Basic Embodiments of the Present Invention
[1723] Someone skilled in the art of video game design development
could build and complete a game in the novel realm of games that
the present invention will foster. This new class of games could be
built on multiple platforms, including the Playstation, Xbox360,
Wii, and the PC. The most straightforward way to build an "Ideas
Have Consequences" game would be to begin by using a game engine
such as Unreal, Torque, C4, Crysis, or some other game engine; and
then layer the AI ontop of it. This new realm of gaming could
quickly and easily be brought to life by a small team of
developers.
[1724] The basic precepts of this patent could be rendered in
multiple forms and embodiments by common developers skilled in the
art of game development. The present invention would lead to a
brand new realm of video games and exalted games including games
where ideas had consequences in the game world, and where vampire
and zombie qualities are communicated by ideas, and not by physical
content including biting. A multitude of game engines could be
used, including the Torque Game Engine, the Unreal Engine, the C4
engine, XNA, and other engines.
[1725] Using the Torque engine, a simple manifestation of the game
could be built as follows:
[1726] 1. $250 for NDA/non-compete/copyright assignment--just to
get started! Send me your address! (Please find the documents
attached--you could sign & scan & email).
[1727] 2. $250 for the following--The standard Torque FPS shooter
working with the following packages, working, with source code
& any changes documented/commented in code: I will buy and
provide packages:
[1728] http://garagegames.com/products/104/ (environment)
[1729] http://garagegames.com/products/271/ (yack pack to help with
the speaking)
[1730] http://garagegames.com/products/172/ (for help with
animation)
[1731] http://garagegames.com/products/176/ (weapons pack)
[1732] http://garagegames.com/products/75/ (soldier pack) for FPS
player
[1733] http://garagegames.com/products/277/ (pam pack) for
enemies
[1734] http://garagegames.com/products/95/ (ava pack) for
enemies
[1735] http://garagegames.com/products/61/ (adam pack) for
enemies
[1736] http://www.mydreamrpg.com/orders/browse_products.php (combat
starter kit)
[1737] 3. $250 for adding voices and introducing basic
gameplay:
[1738] a. enemy characters say things that get louder as you get
closer
[1739] b. enemy characters try to shoot player character
[1740] c. enemy characters multiply over time
[1741] 4. $250 for final documentation/questions
answered/tweaks/final code
[1742] Once the above basic game is built by someone with knowledge
in the field, various voice files, reflecting various ideologies,
could be added. In such a game, "monsters" would be identified by
their ideas, manifested in manners including the books they read,
the places they convene at, the words they speak, and the things
they do. The monster's words, and the ideas behind them, will have
consequences in the game. Thus, the ideas and ideals that prevail,
in word, deed, and action will influence the eventual outcome of
the game.
[1743] One version of the game would allow the fiatocracy's masters
to pursue and persecute characters for merely writing or speaking
words that counter and question the Corporate State, mimicking a
feminist literature department and creative writing classes such as
those taught by Joyce Carol Oates. The fiatocracy would sanction
and approve and fund such games, just as they approve of hiring and
killing hookers, while shooting innocent cops and civilians,
flaunting the law; and such games could be used to train future
MBAs and lawyers to take people's homes and transfer their wealth
to the fiatocracy's banks via the inflation tax and countless other
forms of corruption. But a nobler version of the game would allow
the player to fight for the US Constitution, Shakespeare, and the
Bible, as did Lincoln.
[1744] In the simplest manifestation of the game, the players try
to shoot the enemy characters. The enemy characters are identified
by their ideas--manifested in manners including, but not limited
to, the words they speak and/or read, the people they congregate
with, and the actions they partake in. This alone would mark the
game as a novel and maverick form of gaming.
[1745] In a slightly more advanced version of the game, the enemy
characters could multiply over time, by spreading their ideas with
spoken and/or written words. The enemy characters are identified by
the words they speak. This alone would mark the game as a novel and
maverick form of gaming. The player character would have to shoot
the enemy characters before their ideas became too dominant. This
manifestation of the present invention would have aspects of a
typical vampire or zombie game, but it would differ in that the
qualities of being infected are not spread by a virus, nor physical
encounter, but by taking in ideas--including ideas that might have
dire consequences. For instance, if the player is unable to stop,
via word or deed, too many people from buying in to collectivism,
the world as a whole will suffer dire consequences.
[1746] In a slightly more advanced version of the game, the enemy
characters could multiply over time, by spreading their ideas with
spoken and/or written words. The enemy characters could hold
meetings and form militias, which would grow more powerful over
time. The enemy characters are identified by the words they speak.
This alone would mark the game as a novel and maverick form of
gaming. The player character would have to shoot the enemy
characters before their ideas became too dominant, and resulted in
the decline of the civilization.
[1747] In a slightly more advanced version of the game, the enemy
characters could multiply over time, by spreading their ideas with
spoken and/or written words. The enemy characters are identified by
the words they speak. Instead of shooting the enemy character, the
player could try to reason with them through a dialogue tree or
other means. At some point, voice recognition software could be
incorporated. This alone would mark the game as a novel and
maverick form of gaming. The player character would have to reason
with the enemy characters, through a dialogue tree or other
methods, including spoken words, before the enemy's ideas became
too dominant amongst the npc or real characters in the game world.
If reason failed, they may be called upon to shoot the enemy npcs
or real characters before their ideas became to dominant. If they
shot the enemy characters too soon, they may not be able to find
compatriots, nor sympathetic followers, who will have perceived
their shooting or preemptive actions as uncalled for and unjust.
But if they waited too long to speak or take action, the world
would be lost, and tyranny and corruption would prevail.
[1748] In a slightly more advanced version of the game, the enemy
characters could multiply over time, by spreading their ideas with
spoken and/or written words, similar to how vampires and zombies
spread their viruses and nature via physical contact. The antidote
to having been infected by bad ideas would be good ideas, which the
player character would have to speak. So it is that this invention
could also lead to an exalted, new form of the classical vampire
and/or zombie game, where the word, soul, and spirit played a
greater role.
[1749] In a slightly more advanced version of the game, the enemy
characters could multiply over time, by spreading their ideas with
spoken and/or written words, similar to how vampires and zombies
spread their viruses and nature via physical contact. The antidote
to having been infected by bad ideas would be good ideas, which the
player character would have to speak. So it is that this invention
could also lead to an exalted, new form of the classical vampire
and/or zombie game, where the word, soul, and spirit played a
greater role. Furthermore, cultural evolution based on ideas could
be simulated, as well as revolutions and struggles for liberty and
freedom against tyranny and oppression. Furthermore, cultural
evolution based on ideas could be simulated, as well as revolutions
and struggles for liberty and freedom, based on the classical
Judeo-Christian heritage, against the fiatocracy's tyranny and
oppression, based on paganism, feminism, communism, and GTA/GOW
fanboyism.
[1750] The enemy characters are identified by their ideas and
ideals, manifested in the words they speak. Instead of shooting the
enemy character, the player could try to reason with them through a
dialogue tree or other means. At some point, voice recognition
software could be incorporated. This alone would mark the game as a
novel and maverick form of gaming. The player character would have
to reason with the enemy characters before their ideas became too
dominant. If reason failed, they may be called upon to shoot the
enemy characters before their ideas became to dominant. If they
shot the enemy characters too soon, they may not be able to find
compatriots, nor sympathetic followers, who will have perceived
their shooting or preemptive actions as uncalled for and unjust.
But if they waited too long to speak or take action, the world
would be lost, and tyranny and corruption would prevail.
[1751] The above video game scenarios and embodiments of the
present invention are not meant to limit nor constrain the present
invention. Millions of other combinations and manifestations of
video games wherein ideas have consequences and/or where actions
speak louder than words, and/or where matching word and deed leads
towards victory, and/or wherein virtuous word and deed lead towards
victory could be imagined, rendered, and built by someone
knowledgeable in the realm of video game design and implementation.
And as the tools are getting easier and easier to use with each
passing day, it will become easier and easier to build the games
implied by this invention.
[1752] The realm of video gaming is a crowded art, and thus
seemingly small ideas, such as those described in the current
invention, could have vast and resounding consequences.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES
[1753] FIG. 1 describes a basic scenario where the player has the
option of speaking truth to power. Of course he may be killed or
shot by some force such as the feminist fanboy fiatocracy, but only
by speaking truth to power shall their soul remain intact and
become exalted. Only by speaking truth to power will they reach the
apotheosis, and only by doing the right, moral thing, shall they
become exalted, and shall they be able to wield the Gold 45
Revolver--for it only glows gold for those doing the right
thing.
[1754] FIG. 2 illustrates one of the most basic gameflows and novel
gaming aspects of the present invention, which allows one to fight
for ideas. In this most simple case, the player encounters a woman
quoting Lenin. If the player quotes Marx to her, or Engels, the
world is lost--it falls to communism, collectivism, and Satanism.
If the player exalts her by quoting Hayek, or Adam Smith, or Mises,
or Moses or Jesus, then the world is saved and exalted. A more
complex interaction may consist of the above scenario with dialogue
trees, which are used as the attempt to logically exalt the woman
who was found quoting Lenin, and by reasoning with her, to recruit
her to fighting for a better world. In various manifestations of
this dynamic, by failing to reason with enough npc's, it might so
happen that the rebel force that the player is trying to build
never reaches critical mass. In no way does the simplicity of the
action and dialogue in FIG. 2 prevent the present invention from
exalting and embodying far more complex actions and dialogues.
While Marx, Lenin, Hayek, and Mises are used in this example, any
ideology; and its opposition, could be used. Though the more
exalted the ideology, the more fun the game will be.
[1755] FIG. 3 illustrates a slightly more complex course of action
and dialogue that the present invention could afford in a game.
Unable to reason with the woman quoting Lenin, the player
ultimately must shoot her to save the world. Of course all the
feminized fanboys will detest this, as they lean leftwards and thus
prefer jacking cars, hiring and killing prostitutes, and killing
the innocent unborn over fighting for liberty's ideals; but it's
high time for the feminist fanboys to man up, which is what this
invention does, taking advantage of the vast and exalted realms of
gameplay and novel forms of gaming that counter the prevailing
expert opinion, while providing a solution to a long-felt
need--video games with soul.
[1756] FIG. 4 illustrates the brand new form of vampire and zombie
games the present invention would afford. In the prior art, the
condition of being a vampire or zombie was typically communicated
by physical interaction, such as physical biting of the victim.
Also, now and then, viruses have transformed people. In the present
invention, ideas would transform people. The ideas could be
communicated both by the spoken and written word, including
conversations, speeches, pamphlets, and other means and methods.
Those who receive the ideas would become "vampires" and "zombies"
of the cause.
[1757] FIG. 5 illustrates how the present invention may be used to
bring the great books and classics alive in a dialogue tree. The
present invention may father future inventions which treat this
fundamental, basic concept in far more detail.
[1758] FIG. 6 illustrates how the present invention may be used to
bring Scripture to life. The present invention may father future
inventions which treat this fundamental, basic concept in far more
detail. The wisdom of all classical prophets and poets may be
brought to life in a similar manner, as ideas have
consequences.
[1759] FIG. 7 illustrates how the present invention may be used to
bring Scripture to life. The present invention may father future
inventions which treat this fundamental, basic concept in far more
detail. The wisdom of all classical prophets and poets may be
brought to life in a similar manner, as ideas have consequences.
Jesus preaches turning the other cheek, and Odysseus often must
forgo honor and glory, and take abuse.
[1760] FIG. 8 pertains to matching word and deed--to both speaking
out for and fighting for exalted classical ideals such as those
found in Hayek/Adam Smith/Homer/Scripture and the Constitution.
[1761] FIG. 9 illustrates how the present invention fosters
gameplay and gameworlds that are influenced depending on how the
player interacts with various none-player characters (npcs), based
on the npcs' ideas and ideals that are manifested in writing and
talking.
[1762] FIG. 10 illustrates how the present invention calls upon the
player to judge another player's character. By associating with
liars, the game is lost. By associating with characters of exalted
and upstanding character, the game is won.
[1763] FIG. 11 illustrates a slightly more complex course of action
and dialogue that the present invention could afford in a game.
Unable to reason with the npc who starts speaking evilly and even
begins acting evilly, the player ultimately must shoot the npc to
save the world. Of course all the feminized fanboys will detest
this, as they detest Jefferson's and Madison's notion of "The Rule
of Law," and lean leftwards and thus prefer jacking cars, hiring
and killing prostitutes, and killing the innocent unborn over
fighting for liberty's ideals; but it's high time for the feminist
fanboys to man up, which is what this invention does, taking
advantage of the vast and exalted realms of gameplay and novel
forms of gaming that counter the prevailing expert opinion, while
providing a solution to a long-felt need--video games, and culture,
with soul.
[1764] FIG. 12 illustrates how the present invention would allow a
character to recruit fellow members of their fellowship. If the
character fails to recruit those with exalted character, they will
ultimately fail.
[1765] FIG. 13 illustrates how the present invention has the novel
exalted hooker herald, who plays the role of the goddess with the
secret--the Threshold Guardian--such as princess Leah and Trinity.
While games view hookers as lowlifes, worthy of use, abuse, and
murder, this novel invention would foster games where the hookers
have souls, and within those souls are the secrets to the games
greater glory and ultimate victory over the fiatocracy and the
Supreme Court which has sanctified the murder of tens of millions
innocent souls, and plays GTA all day long, dancing on the graves
of all the aborted and the US Constitution, while wearing their
black robes. This is too difficult to draw, but the present figure
shall suffice for the basic concept. It should be noted that many
experts will oppose this invention because they prefer abortion,
prostitution, and killing hookers, over faith and the family, as
detailed in Rogue Economics by Loretta Napoleoni.
[1766] FIG. 14 illustrates how the present invention would
encourage players to not only speak words of wisdom, but to take
words of wisdom that they hear to heart, and live by them,
rendering words deeds.
[1767] FIG. 15 illustrates the novel form of weaponry the present
game would afford, where the weapons are only activated by those
who act upon ideas and higher ideals. Ideas have consequences, and
thus those who fight for the right ideas, reap the exalted
consequences. The Gold 45 revolver--a normal revolver that glows
gold when the character does the right thing is used in this
example, but the weapon could be any form of weapon or tool, or
anything else for that matter. As the Gold 45 Revolver is part of a
contemporary mythology exalting the Great Books and Classics, it
shall be opposed and deconstructed in the fiatocracy's faculty and
committee meetings across the land, but that's the great thing
about Truth. Even weapons of mass destruction, such as committee's
headed by the University President's chief of staff, who never
reads books nor steps in a classroom, cannot destroy the Truth, the
Soul, and Classic, Epic Mythology. And so it is that the world, and
the renaissance, are eventually won by those who adhere to Truth,
and fight for the poetic prophesies of the classical prophets and
poets via both word and deed. Their moral points augment, via word
and deed in the game's context and reach the threshold, whereupon
the revolver starts glowing gold, allowing he who has suffered so
much to take revenge upon all those who persecuted the innocent,
and kicked him down, believing he was a beggar, placing a crown of
thorns on his head, and crucifying him.
[1768] FIG. 16 illustrates how the present invention could exalt
the hero's journey in a superior manner in virtual worlds, and
bring it to life in video games. The various stages of the
classical hero's journey which Joseph Campbell made famous are
listed in (1601).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES
[1769] The following figures pertain to the flow of action and
dialogue--word and deed--in the realm of video games and
gaming.
[1770] FIG. 1 describes a basic scenario where the player (100) has
the option of speaking truth to power. Of course he may be killed
or shot by some force such as the feminist fanboy fiatocracy, but
only by speaking truth to power (102) shall their soul remain
intact and become exalted (104). Only by speaking truth to power
will they reach the apotheosis (108), and only by doing the right,
moral thing, shall they become exalted, and shall they be able to
wield the Gold 45 Revolver (106)--for it only glows gold for those
doing the right thing. If the player fails to speak truth to power
(103), they will suffer spiritual defeat (105), and the gold 45
(107) will never work, and ultimately the showdown (109) will be
lost. Some other weapon may be substituted for the 45 Revolver,
including a wand or bow and arrow, but the uniqueness of this
invention is manifested in the fact that heretofore, no other game
has linked the functionality of weapons to the words and ideas that
are spoken. Ideas and words have consequences in this novel
game.
[1771] FIG. 2 illustrates one of the most basic gameflows and novel
gaming aspects of the present invention, which allows one to fight
for ideas, both in word and deed. In this most simple case, the
player (201) encounters a woman quoting Lenin (202). If the player
quotes Marx (204) to her, or Engels, the world is lost (207)--it
falls to communism, collectivism, and Satanism. If the player
exalts her by quoting Hayek (205), or Adam Smith, or Mises, or
Moses or Jesus (208), then the world is saved and exalted. A more
complex interaction may consist of the above scenario with dialogue
trees, which are used as the attempt to logically exalt the woman
who was found quoting Lenin, and by reasoning with her, to recruit
her to fighting for a better world. In various manifestations of
this dynamic, by failing to reason with enough npc's, it might so
happen that the rebel force that the player is trying to build
never reaches critical mass. In no way does the simplicity of the
action and dialogue in FIG. 2 prevent the present invention from
exalting and embodying far more complex actions and dialogues.
While Marx, Lenin, Hayek, and Mises are used in this example, any
ideology; and its opposition, could be used. Though the more
exalted the ideology, the more fun the game will be. The novel
aspects of this invention is that it could lead to games that are
won and lost purely in the realm of ideas. As voice recognition and
AI got better and better, one could imagine games where one could
win and lose the world, such as America, by trying to deliver
exalting and eloquent speeches, such as Abraham Lincoln, or penning
exalting documents, as did Jefferson and our Founding Fathers. In
another scenario, the player (211) encounters an npc expressing
opposition to Constitutional ideals (212) in word and/or deed,
whereupon the player has a choice (213). The player can quote
Marx/Fiat wisdom/collectivist wisdom (214), or they can quote the
Founding Fathers (215). The selection may be made by a dialogue
tree or some sort of menu, or by actual voice and voice recognition
software. Should the player (211) choose to quote
Marx/fiat/communistic wisdom, the world will see rapid inflation,
deflation, theft via the inflation tax, massive debt, empire, long
lines, wealth transfer to the rich, depressions, corruption, and
war. Should the player (211) choose to quote the Founding Fathers,
the world will see Virtual world is exalted with liberty, wealth
creation, capitalism, freedom, private property, peace, and
prosperity. This figure represents a scenario where the non-player
character (npc) is easily convinced or swayed by the player's
words. However, later figures depict scenarios wherein the npc
cannot be so easily convinced, and where they begin to act upon
their bad ideas, if reasoning with them fails. At this point, when
they are taking private property and laying the road to tyranny,
more exalted action is needed. Any and all Constitutional ideas and
ideals may be incorporated, as well as the societal consequences
for falling short of serving them. Such ideas would include private
property, the right the artist, author, and inventor to own their
creations, the right to life, liberty, and happiness, the right to
bear arms, and the freedom of speech. The fundamental action
depicted in the figure and these words, and elaborated and
expounded on throughout this novel invention, could be built upon
to bring novels and great works of literature and film to life in
virtual worlds and video games, such as 1984, A Brave New World,
Animal Farm, 300, Braveheart, and The Odyssey, as well as
historical events, such as the American Founding and the Battle of
Thermopylae. So it is that movie and game studios, with the talent,
artistry, and acumen to see the vast, unifying value of classical
ideals, could more efficiently marry film, literature, and games;
resulting in enhanced commercial and educational opportunities.
[1772] FIG. 3 illustrates a slightly more complex course of action
and dialogue that the present invention could afford in a video
game. Marx/Lenin vs. F. A. Hayek/Founding Fathers are used in this
example, but any opposing ideologies could suffice, as this novel
invention is designed to show and manifest the consequences of all
ideas and ideals in the game world, thusly giving the player
something greater to fight for, than mere points, or mere number of
monsters killed, or mere number of hookers killed, or mere
completion of the exact same FPS game that really hasn't changed
since DOOM, but only obtained prettier graphics. Again the player
(300) encounters a woman quoting Lenin (301). The player than
chooses how to respond (304). If the player (300) quotes Marx
(303), the world falls to serfdom and tyranny (302). This may be
preceded by a critical mass of npcs arisning, all quoting Marx and
Lenin, taking the world down. However, if the player (300) quotes
The Founding Fathers (305), the woman quotes more Lenin (306). The
player than has another option of what to do. If the player quotes
Marx (308), again the world may fall to Serfdom. If the player
quotes Hayek (310), then the woman, thinking that all he ever does
is talk, and say stupid things, seizes his property for
redistribution (311). The player than has another choice of what to
do. If the player does nothing, the world will fall to Serfdom and
tyranny. If the player quotes Marx (313), the world will fall to
Serfdom (314) and tyranny. If the player quotes The Founding
Fathers (316), the world will fall to serfdom (318) and tyranny. At
this point, the only way to save the world from tyranny is to shoot
the woman (317) for stealing property, at which point the world is
saved (319). There are many other possible scenarios which could be
built upon the basic "ideas have consequences" novelty of this
figure and invention. For instance, the woman (301) could agree
with the player (300), and all would end in peace and freedom. As
voice recognition and speech recognition software grew more
advanced, the "ideas have consequences" game could become more and
more enjoyable. Unable to reason with the woman quoting Lenin, the
player ultimately must shoot her to save the world, as she draws
first blood by putting her ideas into action. Of course all the
feminized fanboys will detest this, as they lean leftwards and thus
prefer jacking cars, hiring and killing prostitutes, and killing
the innocent unborn over fighting for liberty's ideals; but it's
high time for the feminist fanboys to man up, which is what this
invention does, taking advantage of the vast and exalted realms of
gameplay and novel forms of gaming that counter the prevailing
expert opinion, while providing a solution to a long-felt
need--video games with soul.
[1773] FIG. 4 illustrates the brand new form of vampire and zombie
games the present invention would afford. In the prior art, the
condition of being a vampire or zombie was typically communicated
by physical interaction, such as physical biting of the victim.
Also, now and then, physical viruses have transformed people. In
the present invention, ideas would transform people into vampires
and zombies. The ideas could be communicated both by the spoken and
written word, including conversations, speeches, pamphlets, and
other means and methods. Those who receive the ideas would become
"vampires" and "zombies" of the cause. The player could save the
vampires or zombies, or inoculate them and prevent infection, by
ideas. For instance, in the gameworld, npc1 (401) encounters the
npc2 (402) vampire who quotes Lenin. Npc1 then becomes a
vampire/communist (404). Npc1 then encounters npc3 and quotes Lenin
(406). Npc3 then also becomes a vampire/communist. Of course other
philosophers and ideologies could be substituted for Lenin, Marx,
and Communism, but one gets the idea. Also, Npc2 encounters woman2
and quotes Marx to her (405). Woman2 becomes a vampire/communist
(407). Woman2 then encounters man3 (409) and quotes Lenin to him.
Man3 then becomes a vampire/communist (410). Then, Man3 encounters
a player who quotes Hayek (411), and man3 is saved--he no longer is
a vampire/zombie/communist (412). Such novel scenarios could be
easily realized by a game designer, and the concepts in this figure
could be combined with concepts in the previous figure, where when
words aren't enough to save or change vampires and zombies, silver
bullets and golden revolvers may be needed. If the player fails to
serve and speak out and/or fight for ideas and ideals, the number
of vampires and/or zombies may reach a critical mass, and the
consequences will be dire, as dark consequences befall the video
game's virtual world.
[1774] FIG. 5 illustrates how the present invention may be used to
bring the great books and classics alive in a dialogue and action
tree, wherein ideas have consequences. The present invention may
father future inventions which treat this fundamental, basic
concept in far more detail. The player (500) would reach a plot
point in Homer's Odyssey (501). The player would then have to make
a choice of what to say/do. By choosing Odysseus's words and/or his
actions (504), such as telling his men to tie him to the mast, the
player is rewarded with the exalted plot of the Odyssey as they are
taken closer to winning their home and Penelope, and they get to
encounter the next plot point (504). But, if the player (500)
chooses actions and words other than Odysseus's (503), and tells
his men not to tie him to the mast, and the player (500) instead
seeks out the sirens, or lotus eaters, then he shall fail and be
taken off course. By mapping the dialogue and action trees of a
video game straight onto a classic, the present "ideas have
consequences" invention could be realized, as ultimately, all Great
Books and Classics are driven by Characters who harbor ideals, and
their ultimate victory or defeat is a consequence of ideals. This
is why the prior art such as GTA and GOW and Fallout3 is
boring.
[1775] FIG. 6 illustrates how the present invention may be used to
bring Scripture to life. The player (600) could walk through the
world as a poet or prophet such as Jesus (601). A plot point could
arise (601), such as the people are about to stone a hooker. The
player would then have to choose what to say or do. For instance,
he could say, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," and
then tell the hooker to "go and sin no more." So it is that he
would bring peace and freedom to the world. If Jesus spoke other
words, the hooker may be stoned to death, resulting in suffering.
Such basic concepts may be extrapolated and built upon to cover
wars and civilizations, which would rise and fall based on ideas
that have consequences. Abuses of Christianity and Hippocracy could
be explored, involving scenarios where the player's character said
one thing and did another, or dealt with characters saying one
thing and doing another, which is covered in later figures. The
present invention may father future inventions which treat this
fundamental, basic concept in far more detail. The wisdom of all
classical prophets and poets may be brought to life in a similar
manner, as ideas have consequences. The player can battle for ideas
that are based upon classical moral and economic principles of
famous philosophers, prophets, poets, statesmen, and economists
including Plato, Moses, Jesus, Gandhi Sun Tzu, Buda, Jefferson,
Aristotle, F. A. Hayek, Martin Luther King Jr., Homer, Ludwig Von
Mises, Adam Smith, and others, and witness the consequences of both
their success and failure of their battle, as the consequences are
rendered in the game's physical world.
[1776] FIG. 7 illustrates how the present invention may be used to
bring Scripture and Great Books to life. The present invention may
father future inventions which treat this fundamental, basic
concept in far more detail. The wisdom of all classical prophets
and poets may be brought to life in a similar manner, as ideas have
consequences. Jesus preaches turning the other cheek, and Odysseus
often must forgo honor and glory, and take abuse. The player (799)
reaches a plot point in the game (700) where the enemy smites or
hits the player. The player then has a choice of what to do (701).
The player could turn the other cheek (702), and peace and freedom
are brought to the world (705). Or, the player could fight back
(703), and war would be brought to the world (704). Again classical
ideas and ideals have consequences, when rendered in action. Here
the idea is the moral calling to turn the other cheek, but the idea
could be anything based on a classical ideal, or any moral premise.
Another manifestation of the current invention could see the player
playing as Odysseus (706). Odysseus could encounter a plot point in
the game (707), wherein they are taunted. The player could then
choose what to do (708). If they endure the taunts and hits (710),
as Odysseus does for awhile (712), the plot is advanced towards
ultimate victory, whence Odysseus wins the showdown in the end,
string the bow and slaying all the suitors with his compatriot's
help. If they fight back too soon (709), then the player (Odysseus
in this case) would be killed before they could build their
fellowship (711). Again, this basic concept could be combined with
other concepts mentioned in this invention, including building
fellowships and recruiting compatriots by writing, speaking, and
dissembling ideas and ideals.
[1777] FIG. 8 pertains to matching word and deed--to both speaking
out for and fighting for exalted classical ideals such as those
found in Hayek/Adam Smith/Homer/Scripture and the Constitution.
Such games implied by this figure would require that ideals and
ideas must be defended in both word and deed, over and over again,
for peace, wealth, and freedom to prevail. This figure embodies the
maxim "Liberty requires eternal vigilance," as well as the
classical ideal of matching word and deed. The player (800)
encounters a plot point n the game (801), whereupon they get a
choice of what to say (803). If they quote Lenin/Marx/Atheists/Case
Studies (802), the world devolves towards tyranny, as millions die
in a collectivist system (805), and individuals and creators are
persecuted. If they quote Hayek/Adam Smith/Homer/Scripture and the
Constitution (804), it brings peace, wealth, and freedom to the
world. Individuals and creators are allowed to prosper (806),
enjoying property rights--a classical ideal shared by Hayek, von
Mises, the Bible, and the Constitution. But alas, the struggle is
not over as the player soon encounters another plot point in the
game (890), this time requiring action (890), where they must
choose what to fight for (810). Again, if they fight for
power/communists/the Matrix/Sauron/Scottish Nobles, millions will
die in a collectivist system. Some might consider a fiatocracy to
be a collectivist corporate system, as while it preaches a free
market, the currency, which can buy everything that is sold, is
owned and operated by a private corporation, who have quite a few
friends in government and on Wall Street. The player could choose
to fight for IDEALS and join the rebels/freedom fighters and the
Truth (811). In this scenario, peace and freedom would be brought
to the world (813). But again, the story is not over; for soon, the
player will face another plot point requiring another choice of
whether or not to serve classical ideals in word (880) and/or deed.
So it is that it is a long, hard road to freedom as it was for
America, and it is a long, hard road towards Ithaca, as it was for
Odysseus, and even when you arrive on home, or become the
wealthiest nation on earth, there are yet battles to be fought.
[1778] FIG. 9 illustrates how the present invention fosters
gameplay and gameworlds that are influenced depending on how the
player interacts with various none-player characters (npcs), based
on the npcs' ideas and ideals that are manifested in writing and
talking. The figure pertains to how fellowships may be formed based
on common ideas and ideals, just as fellowships of revolutionaries
were united in the American Revolution, united by the ideas of
Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Publius, and other
philosopher-statesmen. Imagine a game where one would have to seek
players out who spoke an idea, and pass judgment on the idea. If
the idea is good, they should befriend the player. If the idea is
bad, they should walk away from the player. Imagine how fun that
could be, walking a Colonial town, seeking out those who were
speaking the ideals of the American Revolution, found in the
exalted writings of our Founding Fathers! If they find enough
compatriots, the world is saved. If they fail, the world is lost!
Also, if a player encounters an npc speaking bad ideas, he must
walk away. Otherwise the bad ideas may invade his group. The
concepts in this figure could be combined with concepts in other
figures of this invention, including the figure where the qualities
of being a vampire or zombie are communicated by ideas. If an npc
with bad ideas is let in the group or fellowship of good npcs, all
the good npcs could become contaminated by the bad npc's ideas, as
ideas have consequences. Also a single good player could make a
huge difference, by starting slowly, and winning converts to
liberty's eternal ideals via penning pamphlets and delivering
speeches and speaking words in the game, via dialogue trees,
physical speech, and other means. The player (901) encounters an
npc speaking good ideas (902). The player then gets a choice (903).
The player could befriend the npc (905), whereupon the world is
eventually saved (907) by the fellowship that is formed, or the
player can walk away from the npc (904), whereby the world is
eventually brought down (906) by the association with the npc and
their bad ideas. Alternatively, the player (920) encounters an npc
speaking bad ideas (908), often opposing classical ideals. The
player then has to make a choice (910), where they either engage
the npc (913) or walk away from them (912). If they engage the npc,
perhaps by dialogue or handing them a pamphlet or listening to them
or receiving a pamphlet or some other means, and befriend them,
then the world will eventually fall due to the npc's bad ideas and
influence. The npc may infiltrate their fellowship or poison their
other friends and turn them into vampires. Classical
ideals/freedom/liberty will come closer to being lost/defeated
(911). Of course this is a simple scenario, and it could be
rendered on multiple levels and multiple ways, including taking
small steps towards victory or defeat with each encounter of each
npc. On the other hand, if the player walks away from the npc
(912), then the npc's ideas do not contribute to the fall of the
world, nor the defeat of the player, nor the erosion of classical
ideals. And classical ideals/freedom/liberty are closer to
prevailing (909). This novel form of gaming could be enhanced with
spies and characters who say one thing and do another, who are
addressed in the next figure.
[1779] FIG. 10 illustrates how the present invention will foster
games that call upon the player to judge another player's
character. Games such as Gears of War never call upon the player to
judge a monster by their character, soul, and ideals; but only by
their superficial semblance. Character is well defined by the Great
Books and Classics--indeed they are defined by character, and thus
the great books are ideals mentors and guides and platforms for the
embodiment of this invention. Those who match word and deed shall
deemed worthy of associating with. Those who fail to match word and
deed shall be avoided. By associating with liars and low, malicious
characters, the game is lost. By associating with characters of
exalted and upstanding character, the game is won. Of course, this
could be subtle, as those who say they are going oft do not go, and
those who say that they are not going sometimes do. Actions speak
louder than words. The player (1001) may encounter an npc who says
one thing and does another (1099). The player (1001) then must make
a choice. If they walk away from the NPC (1005), the world comes
closer to being saved, as classical ideals and ideas have exalted
consequences. If they befriend the npc of low character, classical
ideals and their consequences are ultimately opposed. Suppose the
player in the video game (1010) encounters characters who match
word and deed (1011). The player then has a choice. Suppose the
player befriends the npc with good character. Then classical ideals
and their consequences are advanced (1015). The player can also
choose to walk away from the npc (1016), whence classical ideals
and their consequences are then opposed (1013). The classical
ideals may be advanced in multiple manners, including by the
forming of a fellowship of compatriots who all agree that classical
ideals ought be advanced in word and deed--in dialogue, speeches,
pamphlets, and in action; such as who is fought against and
physically opposed, as described in earlier figures.
[1780] FIG. 11 illustrates a slightly more complex course of action
and dialogue that the present invention could afford in a game.
Unable to reason with the npc who starts speaking evilly and even
begins acting evilly, the player ultimately must shoot the npc to
save the consequences of classical ideals including freedom,
liberty, and justice. Of course all the feminized fanboys will
detest this, as they detest Jefferson's and Madison's notion of
"The Rule of Law," and lean leftwards and thus prefer jacking cars,
hiring and killing prostitutes, and killing the innocent unborn
over fighting for liberty's ideals; but it's high time for the
feminist fanboys to man up, which is what this invention does,
taking advantage of the vast and exalted realms of gameplay and
novel forms of gaming that counter the prevailing expert opinion,
while providing a solution to a long-felt need--video games, and
culture, with soul. The player of the video game (1101) encounters
an npc with bad ideas (1102) that could be manifested in various
forms, including spoken or written. Or the ideas could even be
manifested by an action the player (1101) witnesses the npc (1102)
partakes in. The player then has a choice. The player (1101) may
agree with the NPC (1107), in which case classical ideals and their
consequences are opposed, as the npc is never reformed, and they go
forth, spreading their ideas. The bad ideas may create more
vampires/zombies, as described in earlier figures. Alternatively,
the player (1104) may ignore the npc (1107), in which case the npc
continues speaking bad ideas (1105). The bad ideas may create more
vampires/zombies, as described in earlier figures. The player could
disagree (1199) with the npc who may be reformed, or they may speak
more bad ideas (1112), or the npc may even act on their bad ideas
and shoot the player (1113). The player will then have another
choice (1114). Whether they agree (1115) or disagree (1119) with
the npc, whether they try to reason with them or not, the npc will
shoot the player (1116) or (1120). The only solution at this point
is to shoot the npc (1117), who is becoming violent, or who is
spreading too many bad ideas, resulting in a growing fellowship of
vampires/zombies, which will ultimately defeat the world, as shown
in earlier figures. When the npc is shot (1117), classical ideals
are exalted. Going back to step (1105), where the npc speaks more
bad ideas, this leaves the player (1101) with a choice (1108). They
can agree with the npc who speaks bad ideas (1109) in which case
classical ideals and their exalted consequences such as liberty and
freedom are opposed. Or, the player (1101) could ignore the npc
(1155), whereupon the npc speaks more bad ideas (1112). Or, the
player could disagree with the npc (1166), in which case the npc
might act on their bad ideas and shoot the player (1113). At this
point the player may be dead. But if they are alive, the will have
a choice (1114). Whether they agree (1115) or disagree (1119) with
the npc, whether they try to reason with them or not, the npc will
shoot the player (1116) or (1120). The only solution at this point
is to shoot the npc (1117), who is becoming violent, or who is
spreading too many bad ideas, resulting in a growing fellowship of
vampires/zombies, which will ultimately defeat the world, as shown
in earlier figures. When the npc is shot (1117), classical ideals
are exalted. The above descriptions are but the simplest form of
the "ideas have consequences" video game engine. The simple
addition of classical ideals and the moral premise in the realm of
games and video-games could have far-ranging consequences.
[1781] FIG. 12 illustrates how the present invention would allow a
character to recruit fellow members to their fellowship. If the
character fails to recruit those with exalted character, they will
ultimately fail. Imagine a game set during the American Revolution
where one would have to build an army so as to oppose the British.
One would want the men of highest character--those who matched word
and deed. Imagine a game set in any era or setting, where one had
to fight for freedom or overthrow a tyrant--one would want men with
deep honor in their souls--honor which is manifested in actions. So
it is that ideas and ideals would have consequences, as only those
players with classic/epic ideals in their souls would prevail. The
actions and consequences are readily apparent in the flowcharts.
The player (1201) encounters a character who says one thing and
does another (1202), implying bad character. The player then has a
choice (1204). If they recruit the npc (1206) then classical ideals
are opposed (1205), as the npc's bad ideas infect the player and/or
their fellowship/quest/hero's journey. If they walk away from the
npc (1207), then classical ideals are advanced (1203). When the
player (1210) encounters an npc who matches word and deed (1211),
the player has a choice (1212). If they walk away from the npc
(1215), then classical ideals are opposed (1214). If they recruit
the npc for their fellowship (1216), then classical ideals are
advanced (1213), as those who surround themselves with men of honor
and character are more likely to succeed and reap the exalted
consequences of exalted ideals.
[1782] FIG. 13 illustrates how the present invention emphasizes
that central tenet of the Classical Judeo Christian Heritage--all
men and women--every soul--should be treated with dignity. Most
games are written for fanboys who never understand this classical
precept, as raised by single moms, they do not believe that
Odysseus is ever coming home. This game shall bring the spirit of
classical, epic literature to life, and reward all those who play
by the higher ideals, when Odysseus does come home, as he surely
will, when this invention exalts a renaissance in gaming. The
player (1301) encounters a hooker (1302) and the player then has a
choice. If the player (1301) talks to her and listens to her
(1304), the world is saved (1307), as the hooker hold a key piece
of information--an idea that must be manifested so as to exalt the
consequences of the gameworld. The hooker may tell the player of
his duty to exalt the gold standard, or the right to life, liberty,
and happiness, or some other Constitutional or moral ideal. If the
player ignores her words, or merely hires the prostitute and kills
her (1303), the world is lost (1305). So it is that this invention
introduces the novel exalted hooker herald, who plays the role of
the goddess with the secret--the Threshold Guardian--such as
princess Leah and Trinity. While games view hookers as lowlifes,
worthy of use, abuse, and murder, this novel invention would foster
games where the hookers have souls, and within those souls are the
secrets to the games greater glory and ultimate victory over the
fiatocracy and the Supreme Court which has sanctified the murder of
tens of millions innocent souls, and plays GTA all day long,
dancing on the graves of all the aborted and the US Constitution,
while wearing their black robes. This is too difficult to draw, but
the present figure shall suffice for the basic concept. It should
be noted that many experts will oppose this invention because they
prefer abortion, prostitution, and killing hookers, over faith and
the family, as detailed in Rogue Economics by Loretta
Napoleoni.
[1783] FIG. 14 illustrates how the present invention would
encourage players to not only speak words of wisdom, but to take
words of wisdom that they hear to heart, and live by them,
rendering words deeds. The player (1402) encounters classical
ideals in written words or an npc who speaks words of wisdom from a
prophet or poet (1401). The player then has a choice (1407). If the
player takes the words and classical ideals to heart (1403) and
renders them in word and/or deed, the plot advances closer to
winning the world (1404) and rendering classical ideals as exalted
consequences. If the player ignores the world (1405), the world
comes closer to being lost (1406). Many expert fanboys will detest
these diagrams, and that is why their expert opinions lead to movie
flop after movie flop after movie flop when it comes to movies
based on games, and game flop after game flop after game flop of
games based on movies. If the player (1408) encounters a classical
ideal in written words or an npc who speaks words of wisdom from a
prophet or poet (1409) they will have a choice (1490). What does
the player do? (1490). If the player continues to jack cars and
kill prostates and innocent civilians and cops, the gameworld
advances towards a decadent, debauched world. If the player seeks
higher purpose and honors the Ten Commandments (1410) or other
classical ideals, the game advances towards an exalted world where
ideals are rendered in exalted consequences (1413). So it is that
the present invention far surpasses the world's supposedly greatest
open-ended game--Grand Theft Auto. For GTA is not an open ended
world, as there is no chance to exalt the greater world and save it
from decadence and decline--there is no opportunity to talk to
hookers and reform them, and perhaps to even be exalted by the
secrets of their souls. The simple concept of ideas having
consequences in a video game world has far-reaching implications
for the industry, as novel games could be exalted to new heights,
especially when this present patent is combined with Dr. Elliot
McGucken's earlier inventions.
[1784] FIG. 15 illustrates the novel form of weaponry the present
game would afford, where the weapons are only activated by those
who act upon ideas and higher ideals. Ideas have consequences, and
thus those who fight for the right ideas, reap the exalted
consequences. The Gold 45 revolver--a normal revolver that glows
gold when the character does the right thing is used in this
example, but the weapon could be any form of weapon or tool, or
anything else for that matter. As the Gold 45 Revolver is part of a
contemporary mythology exalting the Great Books and Classics, it
shall be opposed and deconstructed in the fiatocracy's faculty and
committee meetings across the land, but that's the great thing
about Truth. Even weapons of mass destruction, such as committee's
headed by the University President's chief of staff, who never
reads books nor steps in a classroom, cannot destroy the Truth, the
Soul, and Classic, Epic Mythology. And so it is that the world, and
the renaissance, are eventually won by those who adhere to Truth,
and fight for the poetic prophesies of the classical prophets and
poets via both word and deed. Their moral points augment, via word
and deed in the game's context and reach the threshold, whereupon
the revolver starts glowing gold, allowing he who has suffered so
much to take revenge upon all those who persecuted the innocent,
and kicked him down, believing he was a beggar, placing a crown of
thorns on his head, and crucifying him. Although the weapon is a
revolver which glows gold and exhibits super powers when wielded by
those with classical, exalted souls--those who have walked the high
rode, made the hard choices, and fallen and gotten up--like
Odysseus--the weapon could be any weapon or apparatus used to
advance the game, such as a magic wand, whip, knife, sword, or
other tool. The player (1501) finds a weapon such as a normal 45
Revolver (1502). They pick it up and hold it. Has the player (1501)
acted morally throughout the game (1503)? Have they rendered
classical ideals real in word and deed? Have they not only talked
the talk, but walked the walk? Have they disseminated and fought
for classical ideals throughout the game? Have they sought to exalt
the innocent and appall the wicked? If so, then the revolver glows
gold (1505). The weapon obtains its magical powers. The gold
revolver shots unlimited bullets as well as lightning (1505).
Sometimes the bullets come with streaks of lightning. However, if
the player has not acted morally throughout the game (1503)--if
they have failed to find and live by classical ideals--to
disseminate and render them real in word and deed--if they have
failed to exalt the humble and innocent and appall the wicked, then
the weapon will not realize its magical powers (1504). At that
point they may want to start acting morally, living by classical
ideals, and rendering words deed, so that the world can be enriched
with the natural beauty and wealth--with the peace and prosperity
that comes when ideals are rendered real, as ideas have
consequences, and ideals, as exalted ideas, have exalted
consequences.
[1785] FIG. 16 illustrates how the present invention could exalt
the hero's journey in a superior manner, and bring it to life in
video games. The various stages of the classical hero's journey
which Joseph Campbell made famous are listed in (1601). At each and
every stage, the player must make a choice--a choice which consists
of what ideas or ideals they choose to serve. For instance, if they
see a hooker and hire her and shoot her, that counters classical
ideals. If they talk to her and befriend her, that is sympathetic
to classical ideals. The Hero's Journey has ever been walked and
advanced by those who have served classical, epic ideals; and by
serving exalted ideas, the gameworld is rewarded with exalted
consequences (1605). This diagram suggests a superior method of
exalting epic story in the realm of video games. Note how the
action keeps coming back to the central premise and question--does
the player serve an exalted idea (1602)? If so, the player advances
to a later step in the hero's journey (1606). If not, the player
retreats to an earlier point in the hero's journey (1607). So it is
that love, temptation, war, peace, the death, forming the
fellowship, calling the bluff and speaking truth to power--much of
which was depicted in earlier figures and descriptions in this
invention--can be unified in simple algorithms based upon ideas and
ideals. Such simple ideals, which are yet so subtle and so often
elusive, have powered and propelled mythology through the ages,
exalting the Bible and Homer for thousands of years--for the soul
of those books are based upon classical ideals--elements that have
been opposed in this life. So it is that just as ideas have
consequences in real life, they can have vast and resounding
consequences in video games, exalting games to new heights. From
novel games exalting the plot points in Homer's Odyssey, to the
American Revolution, to all the classic battles and showdowns for
Western Civilization, video games can be exalted, and reunited with
infinite love deriving not from hiring and killing hookers, but for
living and fighting for Penelope and Beatrice, as did William
Wallace and King Leonidas, as 300 and Braveheart were ultimelt not
war stories, but love stories--the love for higher ideals. The
novel video games afforded by this invention will allow the player
to love and honor classical ideals, and render ideals real in a
virtual world, just as heroes do in real life. So it is that video
games will become more spiritually and artistically realistic, with
deeper and more exalted spirits, built upon classical idealism's
solid rock.
[1786] Far too often these days, little feminized fanboys play
little games at home as their Constitution dies, while real heroes
are off dying in faroff lands for the fiatocracy. The present
invention would allow them to play a novel form of game that would
allow them to protect the US Constitution, and then, perhaps some
day they might grow up to defend it in real life.
[1787] Newsday reports: [1788] Maureen Dwyer, who broke into sobs
as she spoke about her son, said she agreed to be interviewed
despite her grief because she said she hoped to bring attention to
the disorder. "Every second that goes by, there is another soldier
just like Joseph," Maureen Dwyer said. "Another family can't go
through this. All the politicians talk so great about the soldiers,
about patriotism, but mental illness is something they are not
putting enough
into."--http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lisold0706,0,814136,print.st-
ory
[1789] The fiatocracy's politicians are too busy destroying the
family and Constitution at home, bailing out Wall Street Banks, and
pornifying the world; as they hire and reward little manholes with
fiat dollars to join in the debauchery, decadence, and fiat fun. I
hope that this invention might serve the world with a System and
Method for Creating Video Games with Epic Realities and Realistic
Worlds that Evolve Via Ideologies--Ideas Have Consequences Game
Engine Video Games with Deeper Realities and Epic Storytelling
Wherein Characters Have Ideologies and Souls Libertarian Video
Games--Rendering the Battle for Classic Ideals From Moses to
Mises.
[1790] The basic concepts and ideas in this invention will have
far-ranging implications for the realm of video games, for the
greater culture, novel video games, greater commercial
opportunities in the realm of games, greater and enhanced
opportunities in merging games with film and literature, greater
opportunities for games with deep and profound souls and
storytelling, and new opportunities for games with vast educational
potential. The ideas and embodiments described herein may be
modified, extended, and improvised upon in countless ways. The
present invention can bring both the external hero's journey, that
Moses and Odysseus traveled, as well as the internal hero's
journey, that Jesus and Socrates walked.
* * * * *
References