(ae © theother press ¢ Culture November 12, 2003 Larainie project By Moinen Kandman and the Taatnniic Theater Project avons 22 4 trae story... drama of Sevils and Angels aerioggs at P30 p00. iy chew wt pees (2 or ¥) Saturday cmatines st 2pm, Navarnvor 22 (2 tor 1) {No peelorcraance Sunday) Gowers Admission $19 Students aud Seners $3 Box OfGcr: 604-527-5488 De visit our Verb Site ar wan. downs, bo. calety Group and schoct bookings: 604-527-5281 Preview: The Laramie Project vB Pustorming Arte Theaire Fourth. Frou Metts 70D Symi Avera Naw Ors: sine fron Riou Weunturarscter litres Station Hy Amanda Aikman Culture Editor The Douglas College Stagecraft and Theatre Departments will present The Laramie Project, based on the true story of the Matthew Shepard murder, and opening on Nov. 14. The play deals with the brutal tragedy itself and the way in which the shaken town of Laramie, Wyoming copes in its aftermath, ulti- mately taking on the issue of anti-gay violence on a broader scale. In October 1998, Matthew Shepard was picked up by two locals who pretended to be gay, viciously beat him, and then left him tied to a fence while they went to his house to rob him. Shepard was found 18 hours later, suffering from a fractured skull and exposure, and eventually died in hospital after being comatose for five days. Playwright Moisés Kaufman and a group of actors from New York's Tectonic Theatre Project visited Laramie six times and interviewed over 200 locals in preparation of the project. “The play is about the way the town responded to what hap- pened,” says Director Johnna Wright. “In the play, they say, ‘I can't believe something like this would happen here. We're not that kind of town,’ and by the end, they are saying, “Well, I guess we are.” According to Wright the moral of the play is that it can “happen here,” because “It happens everywhere. It hap- pens in Vancouver, it happens in New Westminster. The ques- tion is: if you don’t think it should, what are you going to do about it?” The Laramie Project, features 78 parts and only eight actors— so the players have the opportunity to take on such diverse characters as a 71-year-old grandmother to a 19-year-old stu- dent, to a CNN reporter. The abundance of characters serves to reinforce the scope that this one act of violence had in the com- munity of Laramie. “It’s great to hear all of these different perspectives on what happened,” says Wright. “It made the whole town go, “Wait a minute, who are we? We didn’t do this killing, but we know those two kids that did it. We've known them since they were babies. We raised them. They grew up here in our town and this is what they learned.” The Laramie Project runs from Nov. 14-22 in Douglas College’s Performing Arts Theatre, New West Campus. Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for students and seniors. To order tickets, contact the box office at 604.527.5488. ) Malaspina’ University-College meee. Page 16 ¢ hittp://www-otherpress.ca www.mala.ca Minesweeper: The Little Masterpiece Justin Ray Culture Critic Since Tetris, few games have successfully been reduced to their most abstract elements. While video and computer games increase in design complexity and graphic detail, the tendency to be predictable has remained essentially the same. The magic mushrooms are always hidden in the same blocks, and the aliens are always hiding behind the same steel doors. With increasingly narrative (and linear) game design, replay value seems to diminish. In fact, replaying a finished game becomes a mere test of memory. However, by reducing games to their most abstract ele- ments, random mathematical properties could mean endless replay value. Doesn't this sound revolutionary? No, this is nothing new. Actually, the older the game, the more abstract it tends to be. One of the first arcade games, Pong, was an abstract ten- nis game (Nolan Bushnell is given credit for the 70s game, but the concept had been around for several years prior). An even more abstract game came along with Tetris (1985), Alexey Pajitnov’s magnum opus. Nevertheless, few people give much thought to Microsoft's little Windows pack-in, Minesweeper. Forget Halo. 1 contest that Minesweeper is the greatest game ever invented! It comes down to this: you have a grid containing a num- ber of mines. Your goal is to uncover all the squares with- out mines. If you uncover a square containing a mine, it is “game over” for you. First off, this is much more realistic than most first-person shoot- ers, in which you can survive hand-grenades, machine guns, and rocket launchers. But the real joy is the pure, abstract strategy that Minesweeper demands. By determining probabilities and finding pat- terns, as in Tetris, you can race the clock to find all the mines. You are not inhib- ited by a contrived walking speed of some mili- tary avatar, because you have no on-screen pres- ence. Mind versus math, and perhaps a little dex- terity. How much more abstract can you get? If you've never played, you might be confused by all the little numbers and symbols. The num- bers refer to how many mines are in the sur- rounding squares. Since there are no uncovered squares to begin with, you will have to take a few wild guesses. Once you have a small area, you will begin to notice patterns. Many patterns are obvious giveaways. For example, if a square says “3” and there are only three adjacent squares, those must contain mines. Mark the squares with a flag (by right clicking on them) and continue. I could provide a comprehensive strategy guide for Minesweeper, but wouldn't that spoil your fun? Try it for yourself; this little masterpiece may surprise you! ” Minesweeper ih Vy) EE EME ASPINA University-College 900 Fifth Street « Nanaimo, BC ® VOR 555 Friendly atmosphere, scenic campus | and Vancouver Island lifestyle make Malaspina University-College the Right Choice to complete your Bachelor's degree Apply now for Fall 2004 semester For information contact Advising ¢ 250-740-6410