Figured World: A figured world is a realm ofmychoosing that can be anything that I find interesting. It is a world thatIwill observe and take notes on.
My figured world will be about a game series called "Fallout. Fallout is a post-apocalyptic world where the nation was destroyed in a war with China. Eventually the war went nuclear and now the world is a giant wasteland filled with mutated creatures, raiders, and small pockets of civilization that are trying to survive. The player, known as a courier, will traverse the vast and desolate wasteland that is the remnants of the pre-war era. By traveling through the wasteland, the courier can run into anything. The main rule of this world is to survive. Survive by using any means necessary. That could mean anything from trying to join a town and survive together by sharing food and shelter. Alternatively, you could attack the town and take everything for yourself. Another convention for this game is information. Information means everything. By gaining information, the player can make better decisions along his quests, and he can upgrade most of his equipment in the game. One major rule for this figured world is shoot first and talks second. The person who can kill his opponent first will survive and live on. If any person is traveling between towns or locations, anything can happen. Most things that do happen need to be dealt with by force and shooting. Only on very rare occasions such as finding a new city or discovering a friend will the player not have to use his weapon while traveling. This world is full of danger and every encounter can mean you last.
Actors: Are the people in the community, they are the ones that do the talking and they keep the community together. Every person is an actor. The Courier: Is the main character of the game. He was given a package to deliver to Mr. House who is the Mysterious leader of New Vegas Caesar: Is the dictator of Caesars Legion. He wants to conquer all the land possible and enslave everyone. Judy: Is the owner of the saloon in Goodsprings. In addition, she acts like mayor of the town. Everyone in the town look towards her as governor. General Lee Oliver: He is the commanding officer of all NCR forces in the Mojave Desert area. Legate Lanius: Is the second in command of Caesars Legion, directly under Caesar himself. He controls all military personal in the Legion.
Artifacts:are things or objects that are found in the community, forexamplea gamer community would have lots of gamer gear or emblems around them.Ora town would have a statue of their first Mayor in the center of town. An artifact is an object that can identify that community. The Platinum Chip: Is a casino chip that has stored in it, information that can unlock a hidden power in the Mojave Desert. The Colorado River: The river that splits the territory of the NCR and Caesars Legion. Commented [BO1]: You did a good job not only explaining the story of the game but also how the game is played. You make it very clear that it is a open world game and that the player is actively involved in the plot line of the game. You also describe what the post apocalyptic world is like with good details.-Jackson Stone Commented [BO2]: Great job explaining the figured world. I like how you broke it down to survival and information because it really hits home that this is the only way to survive. I also like the idea of shot first and ask questions later because if it was truly a post apocalyptic world then that would happen every time because everyone is afraid of everyone.-Zachary Esposito Commented [BO3]: You might want to specify that the package is the platinum chip. This lets the reader know that the package is of high importance. It would also explain why the Courier is going through all of this trouble to deliver the package.-Jackson Stone Commented [BO4]: This name is mentioned several times throughout the writing. He seems to play an important part in the plot of the game. If this is the case then he should probably be added to the list of actors.- Jackson Stone Commented [BO5]: Putting in examples was a good idea. It really helps the reader get a sense of what the word really means. You picked good examples that many people could identify with which made it easier to grasp the definition of the word.-Jackson Stone Commented [BO6]: Is this power important? I didn't notice it mentioned anywhere else in the writing. If it is I would expand on what the power is or what the people of the world think that the power is.-Jackson Stone Communities: Communities are a group of people who share similar interests or ideas. They communicate with each other and all have a common thread that links every person in the community together. Northern California Republic (NCR): They are the protectors of the land. They have expanded from California and are trying to restore peace to any territory they can take over. Caesars Legion: A large military group that only wants to control everything in the west. They want to enslave everyone in the Mojave Desert and kill all NCR personnel. Fiends: Are a large group of drug addicts who attack anyone who enters there territory. Goodsprings: Is the starting town for my figured world. It is mainly a peaceful town and not too many quests go through the town.
Domain: Domain is the background of the figured world; it is the scenery or the setting of the figured world.
Practices of the Community:Are things that the community does. For example, a certain community might have a pumpkin eating contest every year, and it is a huge event. The practices of the community are also the way that people handle themselves around each other. Some communities are very plain and friendly, while others are very serious and secretive. Shooting: If a person cant use a gun, then they are probably going to die. The very first quest of the game teaches the player how to shoot anything in the game Survival: Is the underlying theme of the game. Everyone is struggling to survive in a very limited environment.
Literacy Practices: Are the basictalking, reading, and writing of the community. They contribute to the overall literacy of the community. How does the community communicate to each other and to the other communities around them?
The Observation: Start-5:00mins: The game starts with a slowly moving scene of a picture on a wall that slowly expands to perceive an empty old casino in New Vegas. As the scene continues, the slowly backing image reveals a crowded city street full of citizens that are having fun on the strip. They are drinking, playing cards, and enjoying the comforts of the old Las Vegas Strip. Ass the scene continues backward and ever expanding we see a couple of securitrons in pursuit of drunkard. The scene continues backward and shows a bigger picture of New Vegas, not as a place of enjoyment, but as a place surrounded and intertwined by evil and mystery. Then a member of the Brotherhood of Steel comes into focus, he is holding a rifle that is pointed towards a raider who is trying to get into the strip. The brother shoots and a new scene appears, one of battle between the inhabitants of the area surrounding The Strip. The bullet pierces the raiders skull, and the scene once again continues outward away from the lights of the strip to a location that is on a mountain peak behind the strip. There we see a group of Caesars Legionaries preparing for the inevitable war with the NCR. Now the scene changes to a picture of a Vault-Tec Vault, which was a shelter for the people of the old world against the atomic bombs. A Narrator begins to talk saying, War. War never changes. When atomic fire consumed the earth, those who survived did so in great, underground vaults. When they opened, their inhabitants set out across ruins of the old world to build new societies, establish new villages, and form new tribes. As decades passed, what had been the American southwest united beneath the flag of the New California Republic, dedicated to old-world values of democracy and the rule of law. As the Republic grew, so did its needs. Scouts spread east, Commented [BO7]: Are there no literacy practices? In a game like this there has to be some type of literacy practice. Please include some information here so people won't be lost. Even if there isn't you should have something here stating whether there is or isn't.- Xzavier Smith Commented [BO8]: Pick one format for all the observations. The first observation is aligned to the left with the time under it, while the second and third in centered in the middle of the page. Also, for the second and third observations, after each time observed its indented and spaced out unlike the first observation.- Zachary Esposito seeking territory and wealth, in the dry and merciless expanse of the Mojave Desert. They returned with tales of a city untouched by the warheads that had scorched the rest of the world, and a great wall spanning the Colorado River. The NCR mobilized its army and set it east to occupy the Hoover Dam, and restore it to working condition. However, across the Colorado, another society had arisen under a different flag. A vast army of slaves, forged in the conquest of 86 tribes: Caesar's Legion. Four years have passed since the Republic held the Dam - just barely - against the Legion's onslaught. The Legion did not retreat. Across the river, they gathered strength. Campfires burned, training drums beat. Through it all, the New Vegas Strip has stayed open for business under the control of its mysterious overseer, Mr. House, and his army of rehabilitated Tribals and police robots. You are a courier, hired by the Mojave Express, to deliver a package to the New Vegas Strip. What seemed like a simple delivery job has taken a turnfor the worse. 5:00-15:00mins Here is where the game actually starts. I wake up and see a ceiling fan gently blowing down on me. As I try to get up a doctor talks to me telling me that, I have been out cold for a couple of days. He tells me to take it east, and that he is a friend. He asks me for my name in a very polite manner. I tell him my name is Rich. The doctor tells me that he had to operate on my brain and that these questions are just to make sure that I am "all there". He hands me a Robco Reflectron, which I use to alter my appearance in the game to my liking. I continue talking with the doctor. He asks me more questions about anything I remember before the accident. I tell him no, and we continue talking, this will give me my starting perks and abilities for the game. After a couple more questions, Doc Mitchell releases me to the world. As I open the door to the outside for the first time, the sun begins to pierce the sky, and I am momentarily blinded by it. After a few seconds, I can fully see again, and I notice that I am in a small town called "Goodsprings," which is the starting point for the game. Shortly after leaving Doc Michelle's house, I am greeted by a friendly robot named Victor. He tells me that it was he who saved me after I was shot in the head by a group of thugs. He tells me that if I want any more information that I should head over to the saloon. As I approach the saloon, the town begins to change a little from my initial observation of it being a quiet, peaceful, easygoing town that did not have any problems, to a town with one growing problem, the Powder Gangers. The Powder Gangers are a group of escaped convicts from a nearby prison that have organized and started to attack the nearby towns. Upon entering the Saloon I over hear a harsh conversation between a Powder Gang leader and the owner of saloon. The Powder Gang leader demands that Judy, the owner of the saloon, "hand over Ringo or else we will sack this town. The leader said this along with very harsh language and actions, such that Judy immediately kicked him not only out of the saloon but he also ordered him to never return to Goodsprings. 15:00-30:00mins After this encounter, I talk with Judy and she says that Ringo is a trader who has some bad people chasing him, the town promised to hide him there until the Powder Gangers stopped looking for him. But it seems that somehow the Gangers know that Goodsprings is hiding Ringo. I continue talking to Judy and discover some more menial facts about the town and the surrounding areas. I leave the saloon and begin searching the town for supplies that I can use to survive. As I am searching, the Powder Gang leader runs to me and tells me that if the town doesn't hand over Ringo within the next hour, the Powder Gangers will attack and burn down all of Goodsprings. Afterwards, I stop searching and tell Judy everything that just happened. She comes up with a plan to counter-attack the gangers by ambushing them while they are preparing for the battle. She tells me that she will need some supplies from the general store if this plan is to work. I go to the store and pick up some ammo and weapons for the ambush. I also go talk to some of the towns folk and request that they help with the battle. While talking to the towns people, I stumble upon an old gas station and walk inside. I find Ringo and ask him if he wants to join in on the upcoming fight. He says that he is tired of running and will fight with the town to protect the town. It is time for the assault to begin, so I go around and get everyone to meet in the middle of town. Judy tells me to hand out supplies so that we can be as effective as possible; a person name crazy pet brought his dynamite collection. As we head towards the Powder Gangers outpost, we encounter the scout group Commented [BO9]: Amazing work with the first observation. This clearly outlines what has happened and gives me enough background information that if I started the game today I would know clearly what is going on. Furthermore, with this observation, I can read on with this knowledge in my head as a great foundation about how the game functions.-Zachary Esposito Commented [BO10]: What are your starting perks and abilities? Do you have an option on which ones to choose? Finally, does picking certain ones have a different outcome to the game then others?-Zachary Esposito for the gangers. We quickly kill them but a few escape and run to the outpost. We slowly walk down the road and see a group of Powder Gangers staring right back at us whit guns and frag grenades in the ready position. Crazy pet starts the battle by throwing his dynamite into one of the gangers bunkers. Now everyone on both sides are firing and people start to fall or run away. It was a close battle with many casualties on each side, but Goodsprings is the victor. The Powder Ganger threat has been taken care of and Goodsprings goes back to its normal peaceful ways.
Observation 2 This observation will take place halfway through the main story on the game. During this time, the player (The Courier) has been exploring new lands and area throughout the figured world. His influence and reputation have been growing and some people are begging to fear or admire him.
0:00-10:00mins I started this in Novac, which is a small town far east of Goodsprings. The town offers a small house that I use as a base of operations for my figured world. It has the essentials of a bed and a few storage cabinets for my gear that I have collected through my journey. Today I will be headed to the NCR Mojave Outpost, which is in the far bottom left corner of the world. It is not a long journey but is does have a few hostile locations along the way. I start my journey by walking south down highway 188, after a couple minutes of walking I get ambushed by a group of Viper Gunslingers, they are a smaller less organized group of raiders. Their main weaponry contains grenades and grenade launchers or various size and shape. I quickly take shelter behind a nearby-exploded car that is positioned on the other side of the Vipers. They step down from their position on top of a nearby hill so that they can surround me. With my quick thinking, I decide I have to fight and cannot run away, due to there not being any other place for me to take cover nearby. I pull out my service rifle and begin to pick them off one by one, starting from the closets as to decrease the proximity of them and there grenades. After a couple kills there, gang begins to retreat. I follow them and discover there hidden base in the cellar of a ruined house. I sneak along the backside of the house I carefully place down frag mines as I sneakily approach the cellar door. I place a mass of my frag mines right outside the door as to surprise them later. I begin my counter attack by calling in my companions who help me throughout the game, Boone and Rex. Boone is an ex-NCR sniper who quit his post due to the legion taking his wife hostage during a battle long ago. Rex is Boones military dog who helps Boone adjust to normal life in the Mojave. With the help of Boone and Rex, I begin the counter-attack. I start by sending Rex in to act like a defenseless dog in need of help. The remaining Vipers come out of the cellar to see what is going on above ground; they see Rex and begin to walk towards him with swords and grenades in hand. The Vipers most likely want to eat Rex for food instead of helping him recover. Boone yells at Rex to run towards him a few seconds before the frag mines go off. After the initial explosion there, hideout has been caved in and no Vipers remain alive. Boone, Rex and I start again on our journey to the NCR Mojave Outpost.
10:00-15:00mins During this time Boone, Rex and I are walking towards the Mojave Outpost and for the most part nothing of great significance occurs. A couple of times Rex goes dashing off into the distance only to bring back a few pieces of ammo or a weapon. Most of this time is spent by us Commented [BO11]: Could you elaborate on some of these hostile areas. This will give the readers some insight on whats to come. It will make it easier to follow along to the observation when we understand the areas that Courier is going through.-Xzavier Smith walking further toward the Outpost while being on guard for any kind of attack from anything the wasteland has to give us. 15:00-25:00mins The only place left between the Mojave Outpost and us is the town of Nipton. For a couple days, no one has heard anything from Nipton, and there has been a constant stream of black smoke coming from towns center. We approach Nipton very cautiously. Boone and I circle the outskirts of the town while Rex uses his doggy ways to scout some of the insides of the buildings. We find nothing and decide to proceed further into town. In the middle of the town square was a pile of burning tires with skeletons on them, from our educated guess they were the bones of the towns citizens and the attackers had long been gone. The only clue to who the attackers were was a small medallion that had the image of Caesar on it. This meant that the attackers were from the Caesars Legion and had raided the whole town and took all valuable supplies. Boone and I put out most of the fires and bury the bones that we could find in one grave. 25:00-30:00mins We now approach the Mojave Outpost that has been our destination since we started this journey. We tell the leaders at the Outpost what has become of the Vipers and the town of Nipton, and they send out patrols to confirm our findings. They decide to increase the number of patrols and personnel in the area so that the Legion will not be able to do this again. This is where I begin to side with the NCR more than any other group in the NCR. The NCR want to protect and govern the people of the Mojave, while the Legion want to dominate and enslave all that oppose them.
Observation 3 For this observation, I will being playing the final quest in my figured world of Fallout New Vegas. My traveling through the Mojave Wasteland and visiting countless towns and people I have decided to fight alongside the NCR in the second battle of the Hoover dam.
0:00-10:00 I start the quest with a quest box appearing before me stating, You are committing to fight with the NCR at the battle for Hoover Dam which will determine the fate of New Vegas for decades to come. If theres anything you want to do before you enter the battle, do it now before you cross the point of no return. I click accept, and the mission begins. The mission begins by me having a conversion with General Lee Oliver, the commanding officer of all NCR forces in the region. We begin to plan a surprise attack on the Legion encampment. Nothing is being held back even myself. The NCR plans to attack the Legion head on using my special abilities and the aid of other groups to help the assault. Mid-way into the planning and NCR personnel rushes in to tell us that the Legion have launched a surprise attack on the Hoover Dam in efforts to thwart our plan. Both sides of the fight are trying to undermine the strength of each other. The Legion is trying to push off the NCR attack by damaging the power generators in the Dam. While the NCR are trying to attack as soon as possible. The solider also tells of a new Legion camp on the eastern bank of the Colorado River, the commander of the camp is Caesars highest-ranking officer, the Legate. General Oliver instructs me to attack this encampment. First, I have to start the generators to get a flow of water running through the Dam. Next, I have to turn on the manual override for the pressure release valves so that the Legion can no longer enter the dam using the old pipes. I storm down into the dam, fighting back the waves of Legion that have already made their way into the Hoover Dam. Alongside me are NCR allies and the Brotherhood of Steele who I have convinced to help the NCR in attacking the Legion. We make our way towards the generator control panel, to find that the old switches no longer work. The only other way to activate the pressure control valve is to manually turn them on for each generator. Our group continues through the dam turning on the pressure release valves and eradicating the Legions immediate threat on the Dam.
10:00-15:00mins Now that the Hoover Dam is cleared of most Legionaries, we can make our way towards Legate Lanius encampment on the other side of the river. We move on top of the Dam to find that the NCR units there are endanger of being overrun by the endless onslaught of the Legion units. We rush to assist the soldiers in their fight against the Legion units. We begin to slowly progress towards their lines. In the distance, an old world bomber can be seen flying low over the legion side of the Dam. It begins to drop bombs on the Legion troops, and nearly wipes all of them out. Only a few remaining soldiers are left fighting for the legion on the dam. The Legion units left do not retreat but continue fighting to the very last man, not one of them gives up or surrenders. The battle is only half way over, and the casualties are mounting on both sides.
15:00-20:00mins The NCR commander supplies my units with a fresh elite squad who are ordered to follow my orders no matter how drastic they seem. I order them to help us advance on the Legates positon on the eastern bank of the river. They tell me that it is a suicide mission but they will be honored to fight alongside a NCR hero. Now newly reinforced and supplies, we easily make our way across the Dam intact. We reach the camp and begin our assault. Once inside the walls of the camp. We are met with heavy resistance and we almost do not succeed. At the last moment possible, a group of Brotherhood of Steel members valiantly gives up their lives, in an effort to delay the counter-attack of the Legion. Because of them, our group manages to push further in to the Legions territory, and we meet face-to-face with Legate Lanius.
20:00-30:00mins The legate approaches me and demands that no one interferes with our battle. He wishes to have a battle between legends, me vs him. I agree and we move into an area that was previously cleared out by my groups attacks. During this fight we are allowed to use anything as a weapon, the fight for New Vegas begins. I start the fight by trying to talk him into surrendering so that no more bloodshed were to happen. He does not listen and the fighting really beings. He rushes me with his almighty Blade of the East which is a special sword made specifically for himself. I dodge the first series of swings and nearly am cut in two, but I deflect the blow with the grip of my assault rifle. I once again try to talk him out of fighting me, as it will only lead to his demise. Again, he does not listen and we fight. This time I take the offensive and our weapons clash and ting. Multiple times we strike each other thinking that we have won only to see that the opponent has used another object to deflect the would be killing blow. For the last time I try to get Legate Lanius to realize that he has lost and he needs to surrender if he wants his men to live. He replys Save your speeches, we will take Hoover Dam Commented [BO12]: Where did this "old world bomber" come from? Did you come across it during your travels around the wasteland? Just expand on the information on the "old world bomber" and the observation will make more sense.-Zachary Esposito and move forward until our feet crush the setting sun beneath them. With these words, he orders his men to reengage the fighting between the NCR and the Legion. My group of comrades quickly disposes of his remaining forces and I kill Legate Lanius on top of the hill at his encampment on the east side of the Colorado River. Caesar recognizes his defeat once his second in command has fallen, and he surrenders the remaining Legion forces to the NCR.
Interview with General Lee Oliver Q. Explain how the NCR (Northern California Resistance) and Caesars Legion became enemies fighting over the Mojave? A. The NCR is a group that was originally from California that wants to maintain the old worlds values. However the Legion want to eradicate any trace of the old world, they believe that it is because of them that we our suffering now. Eventually the two groups kept growing in size and territory until they met at the banks of the Colorado River, and ever since they have been at war with each other.
Q. Tell me about the goals of the NCR, long term and short-term goals? A. Some of the long-term goals of the NCR are to control New Vegas, and the Hoover Dam. To do this we need to accomplish some of our smaller goals first. We need to straighten up our economy. Right now, we are stretched too thin, if any group attacked us at any moment, we would be hard pressed to respond to if with the adequate forces. In addition, right now we are going through a change in president so our political side is also failing a little. So some of our smaller goals are to become more stable in both economy and politics.
Q. How does the NCR plan to win the war with the Legion? A. Right now we are closely watching a certain person who has caught our interests. For now, he has gone against the Legion and added us in a few raids. He is the key to winning this war. Whoever controls that one man will win the war no matter what. We want to persuade that courier to join us when we deiced we have the strength to take out the Legion once and for all.
Q. Tell me about the other groups that are in conflict with the NCR? A. Right now there are the Boomers in the north and the Fiends. The Boomers are a group of explosive experts who have found a large battery of bombers and large-scale weapons. Although instead of using them to attack us. They only worry about keeping outsiders away from their small pocket of territory. Lately they have only allowed one outsider to enter and leave there territory and is the Courier as mentioned before. The Fiends are the real problem on our hands. They are a group of drug addicted human sacks. They all have lost their minds and only want to cause trouble. Every now and again, a group of them will attack an outpost and be defeated, but for now, they are just an annoying group that does not know what they are doing.
Q. In the event that the NCR defeats Caesars Legion, how will life in the Mojave change? A. When we win the war with Caesars Legion, life in the Mojave will change greatly. At first, everything will be the same, but once we start using the land and supplies we will gain from the Legion, we will begin restoring New Vegas back to its original glory. We will also lend a hand to the smaller towns that need some starting help. After that, we will take care of the Fiends and clean them up. Then life should be easy for the Mojave. Commented [BO13]: I would revise this a little. The end of this sentence makes no sense. It's very hard to follow and needs to be re-worded.-Xzavier Smith Commented [BO14]: Who is this "one man"? You should clearly state who he is. The way this is now is too vague and readers who don't know of this game won't be able to follow along.-Xzavier Smith Commented [BO15]: I would include The Boomers in the actors. They seem like they appear quite a bit in the game. That makes them relevant enough to be put on the actors list.-Xzavier Smith