My eyes darting around in panic as I frantically scan for a a climbable ledge or a solid, safe surface – anything at all would do – the palms of my hands react in the worst possible way by turning cold and numb with moisture; perhaps the very combination of inappropriate bodily responses that would make this awful fear of heights – and in particular, falling – a grim reality. I could understand if, say, my sympathetic nervous system had reacted in a fight or flight response by making me tense up and redirecting blood flow to my limbs should I need to use either my fists to attack or my legs to run, but this? This! What could possibly possess my brain to decide to ironically make my hands slippery when I need them, most of all, to hold on tight?!

It’s at this point that I use my damp thumb to press on the Start button of my controller to pause these thankfully fictional near-death experiences, and sit back to take into account the bodily response that had just occurred. The game I’m playing is Just Cause 2, and the situation is controlling the larger-than-life alliterative secret agent character Rico Rodriguez, hanging onto the sides of the large blimp in the game with his trusty grappling hook and looking for the remaining hidden package on the craft which has proven tricky to locate. I’m somewhat sad to report that my real life is utterly devoid of such risks and I obviously do not possess the death-defying capabilities nor tools that Rico may call upon, and yet in this virtual world where base-jumping and parachuting and grappling onto planes and helicopters in mid-air is commonplace I had not experienced any such fear or adrenaline-stimulating response until I was in that one particular moment, clinging onto that blimp, my own tormenting phobia creeping up slowly behind me to shout “Boo!”

Fear stimulus up there, past those trees…

[Gamasutra feature & comments]

This is the third part of an interview series, “Unmasking the Gamers,” humanising the people who play video games: the real character controlling that fictional character; the person behind that First Person Genre. Previous interviewee(s): Brendan Stapley, Andrew Doherty

This edition of Unmasking the Gamers features an interview with Cody, an old 1up friend, artist and up-and-coming gaming journalist. A vocal and influential member of the 1up network for several years and I had the good fortune of being able to sit down with him for a Q&A (or rather, sitting down in front of a computer, half the planet apart from each other and exchanging emails over time) =).

As a child growing up, I learnt many things

To take care of oneself…

as well as the blessing of pets

To be inquisitive and questioning

and to make many friends

To stay fit and healthy

and to open my mind

To have passions and hobbies

and to not be fussed with popularity

To be as good as I could be

without trying to be more than I am

And now that I am older

despite completing my studies

there’s still plenty more to learn

with just as many perils at hand

And that honesty and truth is the key

to a life full of enjoyment,

reward,

and special loved ones to hold dear

~

Image Sources: Fallout Wiki/Fallout 2

Related: The Life of a Gamer

~

* An analysis of the ending of Red Dead Redemption, strong spoiler warning *

Finally, Rockstar have come up with a game that wants us to be good. Playing as a reformed outlaw in a graphically gorgeous title combining almost every aspect of the Wild West we’ve come to recognise through films, TV shows and folklore, the most surprising quality of Red Dead Redemption – even more impressive than the amazing attention to detail –  is the enforced morality and, in line with the game’s title and its central theme, redeeming qualities of the main character. John Marston, contrary to those previous incarnations of Grand Theft Auto and other Rockstar Games’ antiheroes, is not seeking success and wealth through crime; he is aspiring to be good for the betterment of himself and his family.

As in previous open-world games the players themselves are free to do as they wish, inevitably leading to a sandbox environment of carnage and chaos as the he/she sees fit. In Red Dead, the option to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ is presented – do you capture criminals alive to collect bounty rewards and shoot the weapons out of people’s hands instead of killing them, or decide to go renegade by robbing the innocent and, as an homage to the classic Western cliche of moustached villainy, tie a woman up and place her on railroad tracks? Despite your decisions in these situations and regardless of your own personal play-style, the most striking thing about the main story missions is how Marston always, from the start of the game to the finish, chooses the honourable route.