Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 21, 2010, edition 1 / Page 17
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the pendulum STYLE WEDNESDAY. APRIL 21, 2010 // PAGE 17 Pan Area Carnival serves up food and fun VIDEO GAME REVIEW ii it it H i JUUA SAYERS I Pholographv Students and resident advisors, as well as members of the communify, made crafts and bounced on inflatables at the Pan Area Carnival. Last week West Area held a similar community gathering with a carnival. Julia Sayers Reporter Students had fun jumping in a bounce house, painting cups and enjoying free food at the Pan Area Carnival outside Moseley April 18. Other activities included splatter painting, a gladiator joust and a dunk booth. There were free sodas and water bottles, and Wing Zone provided a variety of chicken wings. The first students to arrive were able to get free PAC T-shirts and sunglasses. “RSA is all about ‘loving where you live’ and encouraging Elon students to get the full Elon experience through community building," said Anston Kovalcik, governor of East Area Council and Resident Student Association member. At the cup painting station, students could choose from four different colored cups and were provided with paint pens and stencils to decorate them. For those who wanted something a little more challenging, darts were available to throw at paint-filled balloons to make some abstract paintings. Students battled each other on the gladiator joust, where opponents were given toy lances to try to knock each other off their pedestals. The bounce house was a combo unit with slides and obstacles inside it. Various resident assistant’s signed up to be the “dunkees" at the dunk booth, a good way for students to get some frustration out. The event was the third annual carnival and RSA’s biggest event. RSA representatives said they hoped the carnival would encourage fun and friendship. RSA has been planning the carnival since February with all of the Area Councils, East, West, North, Colonnades, Danieley and the Oaks. “All the councils have put so much time and effort into this because we really want everyone to enjoy it,” Kovalcik said. During the planning process, RSA had to find a place to have the carnival and then make sure it wasn’t going to be breaking any codes. Kovalcik made all the calls for the inflatables and the dunk tank and made sure everything was ordered on time. She also had to call Physical Plant for tables and chairs. PAC was advertised on E-net and fliers all around campus. Some of the councils chalked on the campus pathways to advertise it. RSA even made a Pac-Man suit and ghost costumes that RSA members wore around campus to promote PAC. The event went from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and drew a large group of students and even some adults and children from the greater Elon and Burlington area. Senior dance thesis concert series showcases contemporary, inspirational performances Kristen Wrenn Reporter The choreography of “Abandon All Hope" — a senior dance thesis performance — was strong and animalistic. Conceived by senior Elizabeth McBride during a semester in Paris, the dance was inspired by the movement captured in Rodin's bronze sculptures. Emerging in a ravaged red dress, sophomore Jessica Duffy danced as the devil. “1 chose (Rodin’s) ‘The Gates of Hell' because of the abundance of figures on the statue," McBride said. “This gave me a wide range of poses to begin creating the movement." McBridesaidthatasachoreographer, having a story line was essential. “It helped me to see where I'm going so that all I have to do is create the movement to depict the story,” she said. “Creating narrative dance lets me have fun with the movement without getting too worried about what's being communicated." McBride’s performance was one of nine showcased during this semester’s senior thesis dance concert, held April 11-13. Made up of mostly contemporary pieces, they were choreographed by seniors but danced by students from all classes. This past fall, McBride held auditions for her thesis piece. In addition to Duffy, she cast sophomore Kassi Mattera and freshmen Alison Merrill, Leah Palmer and Lauren Renck. Dancing alongside Duffy, Merrill, Palmer and Renck represented the devil's minions. Together they welcomed the newly-dead Mattera to the depths of hell. McBride deconstructed movements from the poses of the sculpture to create the choreography and establish characters. The ever-evolving concept took on a defined shape over the past year. “When 1 began this year, 1 wanted my dance to follow a Dante's ‘Inferno'-type storyline where my ‘Virgil' character would lead Kassi (as Dante) through hell,” she said. After losing a performer, McBride's story transformed into a broader idea of hell. The sweeping, clutching movements throughout the dance stemmed from McBride's need to give a reason for Mattera to be in hell. These actions represented the character’s greediness. “Though it may not have been blatantly obvious to the audience, having this movement and the thoughts behind it was crucial for both me and the dancers to understand her character," McBride said. “As with acting, the dancer has to know who she is in the piece in order to embody it well." McBride didn’t dance in any of the evening’s performances, but senior Rachel Perlman pulled double duty, both choreographing and dancing. Perlman choreographed the piece titled “the sounds from the thoughts and the thoughts from the light." When explaining her influences for the performance, Perlman said that she found inspiration in Elon’s historic motto “Numen Lumen” — Latin for “intellectual light" — and the concept of knowledge as light. Perlman added a level of multimedia to her piece, which is a new element that hasn’t been seen in previous Black Box performances. As the performance developed, a video projected onto the backdrop played against the tone of the music and lyrics of Regina Spektor’s song, “Consequence of Sound.” Perlman incorporated the use of small electric candles, adding yet another sensory experience to her peice. To the audience, they appeared as small balls of light. “1 always wanted to do something with fire,” Perlman said. The obvious fire hazard kept her from working with real flames, but she found a way to work with the push button candles. Throughout the performance, the dancers tossed and passed the small balls of light, an effect achieved with a second set of hand choreography. It added a level of difficulty to the piece, but the outcome was illuminating. “AS WITH ACTING, THE DANCER HAS TO KNOW WHO SHE IS IN THE PIECE IN ORDER TO EMBODY IT WELL." -ELIZABETH MCBRIDE SENIOR Splinter Cell: Conviction Jon Moore Video Game Columnist The gaming universe is filling with sequels that toss aside the conventions of their progenitors to deliver a fresh experience that rejuvenates its audiences. With only a few months since their last blockbuster sequel “Assassin’s Creed 11", Ubisoft Montreal has released “Splinter Cell: Conviction”, the latest entry into Tom Clancy's military fiction franchise. The title stands to sell well, as it falls in a slow month for game releases and already has a solid fan base. But, it has risked its popularity by deviating from the design that made the name “Splinter Cell" famous in the first place. Luckily for the gaming community, the developer’s energy has gone in the right direction, becoming more user- friendly, introducing design innovation and improving the pacing. “Splinter Cell" made its name as one of the best stealth-focused series of the previous console generations. Players assume the role of Sam Fisher, an agent with the fictitious government intelligence group Third Echelon. The main directive of the games is to accomplish tasks while avoiding detection and most enemy contact. Recent iterations of the series had taken a complicated turn, employing all manners of scales and bars, which had to be monitored at all times in order to maintain a stealthy approach, but “Conviction" has wisely gone back to the basics, reducing the clutter while keeping the challenge alive. In keeping with the philosophy of an uncluttered screen, most information is communicated within the environment itself. While there’s a heads-up on how much ammo is left and a clear alert if an enemy discovers you, that’s the only thing that requires a glance away from gameplay. With how great this game looks, the developers should be thanked. Instead of light level bars, the environment will drain of color when the character is safely hidden in the shadows, invisible to enemies unless they turn a flashlight on you. Also, monitoring the sound level visually is no longer a concern because targets will audibly confirm whether or not the character is moving quietly enough with a “What was that?" or a "Who’s there?" and then come searching. If Fisher is discovered, a white silhouette will appear at the last known position, which is where enemies will think he is until they’ve done a thorough search. Even game objectives are in the environment, projected like a slideshow on buildings and set-pieces as the mission progresses, ensuring that no one wanders around confused. Keeping focused is essential to the pacing, as the days of slow methodical movement through memorized A1 paths are over. Fisher no longer avoids the enemy so much as he stalks them, always moving through the ranks in order to set up the perfect shot or vanishing in the middle of a firefight. “Conviction" has struck the perfect balance between action and stealth, finally achieving the former without sacrificing any of the latter. The only drawback to the game is the short single-player campaign. Players will be so focused on the great artistic design and blockbuster story that the short six hours seem to pass quickly. Luckily, “Conviction" comes complete with a co-op mode with its own story at about the same length. With 12 hours of story, re-playable with any number of strategies, in addition to the multi-player modes, both co-op and competitive, there should be enough content to keep most players actively interested enough to justify the cost.
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 21, 2010, edition 1
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