The Silent Protagonist
I've been playing through Dead Space over the last few days and so far I'm very impressed. It's one of the most atmospheric games I've played, and was obviously heavily influenced by the film Event Horizon, which happens to be my all time favourite film! There seems to be a reference around every corner, along with the general design of the game's setting - the
Ishimura (a deep space mining vessel)
As an action/survival horror game, it follows the formula to great effect. Lots of gore, disturbing human abominations for enemies which creep up on you from behind in the dark, and of course practical action based challenges & problem solving.
As the player you assume the role of Isaac Clarke, a lowly engineer investigating the stricken ship
Ishimura. However, Dead Space adheres to the 'silent protagonist' method of storytelling, which naturally only works with video games (with a few exceptions).
It may seem strange to those who don't play games, but it is as the name suggests, the main character never says a word for the duration of the game, the supporting cast provide all dialogue and you as the player
robotically carry out tasks. Although on paper, this sounds dreadful, it actually works very well and you will forget the fact that your character is silent before long as the game sucks you in...
There are very good reasons for this approach, the main being that it allows the player to create their own interpretation of the character. It's likely that you will never see the character's face during the game either.
Dead Space achieves this with the use of a visor combined with a full body suit. The end result is that the only tie to Isaac Clarke that we have, is the name 'Isaac Clarke'. The suit could be worn by anyone!
The potential for a sequel is also very much increased, as we do not have to 'become' another character, or indeed become Isaac again in a different setting. I have found myself disliking certain games and films as a result of not relating to any of the characters. This problem is negated here. There will apparently be a Dead Space sequel which I'm looking forward to. It's a new
IP and will hopefully become a great franchise. I recommend it to anyone who likes sci-
fi and of course, a scare!
More about Karate
That previous marathon post started me thinking and I feel compelled to reiterate that last paragraph. It really became a rant. I've turned into yet another angry blogger...!
I would like to say to any young person thinking about starting karate, beware of egotistical old men at your chosen club. They are not as good as they believe they are.
There is a rare breed however; grand masters who have devoted their entire lives to karate, and descend
directly from the Funakoshi or Harada lineage. These are
not the people who I am referring to in this blog and I have the utmost respect for them. Although they do happen to be the people who the egotistical old men model themselves on.
After changing karate clubs, my training took a far more gritty, streetwise, and athletic theme, steering away from intense technical & philosophical workouts, although this was still present. With this change came new ideas and indeed different types of individuals to train with.
It is commonly known that the strength of Shotokai is in it's diversity, and this new club prompted me to start practicing 'my' Shotokai rather than the sensei's. I am after all, far taller and heavier than average, and can use this to my advantage.
Having said this, I, along with almost every other karateka in my style, must remember 'soft' karate. Only after years of training, I realised that my size and power can be combined with relaxation rather than brute force to achieve great results.
All of the above is fair enough, but it does not hide the fact that in it's element, karate is, believe it or not, an
athletic activity. You actually need to be fit. Why do people not understand this!?
The brainwashed old men of above feel that they can start karate in their sixties, train for 5-10 years and then think of themselves as 70 year old grand masters. You would not take up football in your sixties and then expect to be able to keep up with the University under 19s squad! Why do you think karate is different!?
As you have probably deduced by now, the point is that this is very different from being a genuine 'soft karate' grand master, so to speak. They can perform amazing feats in their seventies, but not without 50+ years of blood, sweat and tears. Exactly how I train presently.
It sickens me to see these ridiculous men cruising up the grades, getting praised, etc when they can't even complete the warm up. Some believe they could defend themselves against a thug 50 years younger & faster. I would honestly hate to think what would happen...
I'm aware this post has not promoted the idea of older generations taking up new hobbies, or even sports and events for disabled individuals. For this I apologise, but there are separate competitions for disabled people within most sports. This is superb. Once again though, people seem to see karate differently...
