Tag Archives: video games

November 17, 2013 · 5:51 pm

Goldilocks & the Three Games

What does Goldilocks have to do with video games? Well, she knew things had to be “just right.” She could probably help us find the right video game difficulty.

Some games are too hard. You know the signs. You ripped out clumps of your golden locks and smashed your controller against a wall. I’m talking about unfair cheap shots, like a never-ending torrent of grenades in a shooter. The enemy pelts you with potato mashers before you can take two steps forward. That’s unfair because you can’t win at all.

Too hard is different from challenging: a challenging game tests your skills in a fair way. That means you die because you made a mistake, and to improve, you need a better strategy. So instead of walking into the wave of grenades, walk around them. There’s nothing wrong with a fair challenge that requires some skill to solve.

However, an unfair and difficult game is like a red hot bowl of porridge. It seems like fun at first, but it leaves you burning with anger as you consume more of it. There might also be some steam involved. Though, in the case of the game, it will probably come out of your ears.

So we don’t want to be angry. Let’s see what else is on the table.

Ah, yes, this game looks nice and easy. But your average seasoned gamer might fall asleep behind the controller when they play an easy game. They’re hard-boiled and have been around the block. They find themselves reaching level five hundred in the first hour only to snore as loud as a leaf blower. The same game might be so easy that it even offends newbies who want some challenge.

The easy game is like the frosty bowl of porridge: it’s dull and lacks any flavour. We need to look again.

Ah, we’ve found the right game. This game achieves the golden mean: it’s a balance between too hard and too easy. It’s just right. It teaches you how to play, without being too easy, and it’s challenging but fair.

I’m also happy when a game has several difficulty modes. An easy mode can help new gamers. Then more people discover the art and joy of video games for the first time. For example, adults who want to learn video games might want to jump into the shallow end with wings. In addition, hard modes allow everyone to boast about their impossible victory. And the “normal” setting strikes that just right balance.

Looks like the bears caught me playing their video games. Time to run!

Video Games Let You Fly

You can’t fly. Ok, maybe you can board a plane, or sail away in a hot air balloon, or blast off with a jet pack. But you need technology; you can’t fly by yourself.

Well, there is one way you can fly by yourself: become a video game character. Come on, you know deep down the kid in you wants to do it, so don’t dismiss this post.

I would be the burgundy robe wearing figure from Journey. The figure has a mysterious visage, piercing white eyes and a glittering scarf. I’m not sure how I would ever get anything done in that world though. I mean, the beauty of the game world would always overwhelm me.

A Day in the Life of a Journey Character

I got up early while the sun was shining. Though, as far as I can tell, the sun is always shining in this world. Then I left my house, a set of ancient ruins scattered among the dunes, and floated off in search of a journey.

I soaked up tons of resplendent sunshine that day and got a little hot. After all, I live in sweltering desert heat and wear a thick robe everyday. But I like to think the robe protects me from UV rays. Also, the robe’s perfect for trekking through snowy mountain peaks. It’s a one of a kind must-own fashion item.

The sun and the heavy, flowing robe always make my mouth feel as dry as the Sahara. So, my first goal every day is to get some water. Without the water, I would dry up like a raisin and disintegrate into a dust indistinguishable from the desert sand.

When my thirst became unbearable, I stopped to meditate on the precariousness of my life in the world of Journey. It was relaxing. The sun melted away all my stress like it was an ice-cube. I sat down by myself and hours flew by.

But I wasn’t alone all the time. I met tons of cool strangers who dropped in and out at random. These random meetings made it hard to make good friend, but it worked for speed dating.

Overall, I had a ton of fun meeting all these strangers. We sometimes raced each other down desert dunes, like we were on a sand toboggan. We also floated past each other and spoke a strange language that brought us closer together.

We journeyed for a long time until we reached a massive mountain. Our hearts and our relationship nearly froze up there. We were joyful after we reached the top of the mountain, got a second chance at life, and passed through a mysterious crevasse flooded with light.

Gee, I forgot all about that water.

Thanks for Reading This

I have an urge to be creative. I get up in the morning, as the alarm buzzes in my ears, and want to do something great.

But I don’t sculpt statues and don’t lift heavy objects. Toolboxes, bricks, and easels aren’t necessary for me.

Instead, I use pens, keyboards and a mouse. Ok, for those keeping count, this is my metaphorical toolbox. This toolbox doesn’t matter too much; any pen will do. Perhaps I would care about these items if I was a keyboard designer or engineer, but I’m not. In truth, these tools are only important because they help me put words on my blog.

I chose to blog about video games for two reasons. First, I love playing them. And when I am close to them, roses fills my nostrils, all I see are hearts, and the music from Romeo and Juliet plays in the background. Sharing this love of games is the logical next step for me.

Well my goal with this blog was humble. I wanted at least one person to like and read it. I’m happy to say that my blog has long since achieved and surpassed that feat. A couple of days ago, I earned a total of 100 followers and 200 likes for good measure.

But I want more than these numbers: I want my words to captivate the eyes of non gamers. Maybe they’d learn something new about games, or maybe they’d realize gamers are like them. I’m proud to say some great writers from non game blogs have already liked my posts. Here’s to having more of them pop by!

I love words, video games, and I need to share my thoughts with you. I want to let the words flow like a river from my head, down my arms and on to the screen. From there, they trickle into the vast ocean we call the internet.

Thanks for reading.

8 Comments

Filed under Video Game Blog

Tagged as blogging, blogs, video games, WordPress.com, writing

October 27, 2013 · 5:28 pm

Reason Before Passion in the Console Wars

Sometimes the console wars go over the top. Now, people argue about things that don’t matter to blow off steam. I get it. That’s fine. But game arguments can spiral out of control and become console wars.

In these conflicts, crazed fans toss insults at each other like grenades thrown at enemies in a battle. However, the casualties in this video game war are brain cells, not scores of soldiers. The wars become a deadly Molotov cocktail-like mix of game preferences, ignorance and anger.

One can tell when an argument about consoles has spiraled out of control. There is no more reason. No love for others. Total war destroys all of these. Gamers in these wars have an unhealthy love of machines and spew venom on others. That is what defines a console war.

This unhealthy love is nothing new. Console wars have raged for many years, and they have intensified as we await the release of the new machines. Microsoft’s policy reversals and rumours about boxes have given hawkish gamers the chance to start a battle. These hawks have a simple rallying cry: “My next-gen console is better than yours.”

However, gamers cannot say yet that one next-gen console is better than the other. The reason is simple: the consoles are not available yet. Some might counter that we know much about these consoles already, but we still have much to learn. And the console makers could make drastic changes to their machines after we buy them.

How could anyone argue about “the best console” until they have played all the machines? After they’ve tried all the consoles, and maybe after they’ve waited until the end of that generation, gamers can then ask some questions. Gamers could ask themselves if Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo, did what they set out to do. Did they keep their promises?

Of course, a good part of this assessment involves games, not just boxes. We can talk about boxes all we want. But at the end of the day, gamers are – surprise! – enamored with games. At the very least, wait until the games come out before you judge the consoles.

Even after the games come out, it may take many years of hindsight before you can say one console was “better” than another. And then you still have to figure out standards to judge these machines.

The console wars are pointless. The opponents in these conflicts can agree they both love video games. Instead of arguing, these people could discuss their love for games. Better yet, they could spend time playing together and lay down their arms. I’m sure most people prefer fun over war.

2 Comments

Filed under Video Game Technology

Tagged as passion, reason, technology, video games

October 20, 2013 · 4:39 pm

Hate to Play with Strangers Online? Take a Journey

Pretend your head is a block of cheese. Let’s make it American cheese because I know most of my audience hails from there.

Don’t ask scientific questions about how this occurred; just imagine. I’m sure you can pretend because you’re not empty-headed.

Now imagine you go online to play games with strangers. What’s the experience like? Well, sometimes it feels like strangers grate on your cheddar nerves. And they scream while they grate to terrorize your ears. But you didn’t ask for that treatment.

When you go online, you may want to blow up zombies’ empty heads and set fire to their corpses. But your fellow zombie terminator might have more fun setting you on fire. You don’t need this kind of behaviour. You also don’t want to listen to people who screech like fingernails on a chalkboard.

So I think you should look up Journey. But be careful if you search for it online because you could get some unintended results. Ignore all the search results about life fulfilling exercises, maximizing your potential and so on. This is a game.

In Journey, you slide down desert dunes and fly to reach a mountain. Along the way, you sometimes run into a stranger who wants to soar and sail with you in the wind.

Journey also has tons of strangers who don’t want to help you. The good news is they aren’t essential. They pop into existence and disappear without so much as a wave goodbye. You can avoid all conversation with them.

Just like life, relationships wither and people disappear in Journey. They reach a higher plane. Or maybe they go to an eternal void.

But when you find someone who sticks around to play, the game’s co-op will light up your eyes with delight. You’ll find yourself marveling at the game’s beauty with someone else. Then, when it looks like you’re both done for, you’ll pass through the unknown without saying a word.

Some games urge you to talk to your partner, but Journey leaves you mute. Sure, you can blurt out foreign characters and sounds above your head. These character may not mean much, yet they still can bind you close to other player.

Like in life, sometimes you hardly speak a word to friends and family, and they can still understand you. They might share the same hopes and dream as they embark on the journey of life.

2 Comments

Filed under Video Games I Play

Tagged as Journey, multiplayer, strangers, video games

October 13, 2013 · 6:13 pm

A Digital Life, Death and Afterlife in 90 Minutes

A figure with eyes as white as snow stares forward. It is clad in a flowing burgundy robe and gold flecked scarf. What’s on its mind?

A second figure, jumping with joy, pops into view. This second figure, an identical companion, stares at the clone with an empty gaze. A strange character – from an unknown language – emanates from both of their faces and appears above their heads.

The chit-chat is short: the second figures disappears as if some being had reached down from the heavens and removed it. The strange characters now fade into the ether. There’s nothing left to say. One robed figured stands tall and alone as wind whirls through the desert sands.

Suddenly, the sole robe jumps up and sails through the air without any cares. Its long, luxurious scarf seems to have a mind of its own as it ripples in the wind. The robed figure lands gently without disturbing a single grain of desert sand. A moonlit glade would envy the serene setting.

Then, a giant shark-like creature swims through the air and charges, like a bull after seeing a red flag, toward the robed figure. The robed figure tip toes to a small structure to hide. It’s too late. The bell tolls for thee.

The shark creature flips the robe into the air like a flimsy Kleenex. The robed figure flies backward and crashes in the desert with a bang. It doesn’t have a scratch. Instead, the scarf became shorter and glimmers with less gold.

The robed figure gets back up and walks forward with resolute boldness. If the figure had arms, it might also dust the sand off its shoulder.

Meanwhile, another friend pops into view. The two companions trudge through snow and sleet toward a mysterious mountain peak. The fun seems to stop when you and your friend freeze along the way.

This is Journey.

If you play games, at least most shooters, you know death is non-existent. You just restart a checkpoint. In these games, your heart pounds and you have little time to think about what happened. How can you reflect on death and afterlife when you mow down bad guys with buckets full of ammo?

Journey, though, offers you a chance to reflect on life and death. Then it will take you, if you’re open to it, on a trip to explore some big questions.

So the game resurrects both characters. One robed figure peers up and sees a series of towering creatures in snow white robes.

A door opens to a new world. All of a sudden, a blue sky splashes across the screen and the music is beautiful.

I saw this blue sky as a spiritual moment. The two figures are back from the dead. Now, their bodies still rotted on the mountain side, but their souls soared through the air to finish the journey.

The figures wear the same robes, yet something has changed. They can now soar to new heights in the limitless blue sky.

The figures touch down on the mountain and the light from a crevice beckons them closer. They inch forward like worms until the light swallows them. The brightness is all that remains.

This game suggests the afterlife is a place where souls are separate from physical bodies. After dying on the mountain, the robed figures’ souls are free to try to reach the light. They do. Then they get a chance to reflect on their life as they revisit everywhere they’ve been. After that, the cycle continues.

But you still have to wonder what lies in that crevice full of light. Does something lie in wait to embrace the robed figures?

Some might say the game is only about death. The only thing the light offers, they might say, is an eternal void. I, however, like to think there’s something beyond that crevice.

For me, Journey deals with the profound, with body and spirit, and the afterlife. The game does it all without uttering a single word. The game does it all without bloodshed.

A breath of fresh desert air.

Meanwhile, in the Middle of Nowhere…

You board your boat and set sail for a lush tropical oasis. The tiny red schooner bobs back and forth in the choppy seas, and waves splash against the deck. You know things aren’t going well when you can taste the warm salt water in your mouth.

Bang! You should have seen it coming.

You hit a huge rock near an insular coast, and you’re forced to abandon ship. Looks like you’ll have to swim and slosh your way through to the island.

Once you get there, soaking wet and coughing up enough sand to fill a beach, you stumble upon a hut. It seems like a sturdy hut, but it could use some work. For example, when you walk on the wood floor, it groans as if it wants to give up and collapse beneath you.

You sit at a desk and realize something: you are all alone and no one knows where you are. You calculate it will take a week before loved ones catch on to your whereabouts and send help.

In the meantime, you have to do to something to keep sane. The island has plenty of food, and an inexhaustible supply of necessities. But you won’t find people, an internet connection and – it seems – there’s no entertainment.

What will you do until help arrives?

Lo and behold! You look straight ahead and magic seems to solve your problems. A huge top of the line gaming PC stares you in the face.

Then you reach into your pocket and find another surprise: you have three great games! You brought them along in case the boat ride became boring.

If that was me on the island…

Let me tell you the three games I would choose. Each one will make time fly faster than a supersonic jet.

1. XCOM

This game is perfect for those rainy days on the island. XCOM is a great turn based game that can keep you busy. You can plan both your base and your troops on the field to kill time. Even better, gun blasts and explosions will keep you awake when you start to doze off and drool on the desk.

2. Civilization series

It makes sense that you’d yearn for some civilization. After all, you are alone on an island somewhere in the middle of the ocean.

This is another immersive turn based strategy game that will have you saying “One more turn!” You’ll find plenty of reasons to kill time with this one: beating the highest difficulties, beating the game with every civilization, and getting every kind of victory. You might turn away your rescuers after you start to play this game. They might have to pry your cold, obsessed fingers off the keyboard just to take you to safety.

3. Tetris

I mean the old school version of Tetris with the bleeps and bloops soundtrack. With Tetris, come to the think of it, I might not even need the other games. The reason is very simple: this game never gets old for me.

Now where’s my island drink?

***

What three games would you bring to a desert island?

2 Comments

Filed under Video Game Misc.

Tagged as desert island, story, strategy games, video games

September 29, 2013 · 9:00 pm

A Post for My Beloved

Dearly beloved,

We gather here today to celebrate my new award. I’ve been nominated for the Liebster award and I accept! Liebster is a German word and can translate to “beloved.”

This great news comes after the natural high I got from a previous award. That award recognized me as part of the WordPress family. Now, with Liebster, I know I’m a beloved member of that family. It’s a family I’ve never seen before, but I still feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I have to share the love and reciprocate. My digital beloved is the WordPress.com community. There are so many wonderful people on here with diverse voices. You can find great writers who cover video games and beyond. Thank you so much for all the excellent posts. Would there were time to read all these tomes of entertainment!

I feel great joy when I read your comments and know that you liked my work. It’s nice that you take the time out of your busy lives to appreciate someone else’s work. You can make a so-so day into a super week. That says a lot about you. I think that’s a form of selflessness, and it attracts me ever more to WordPress.com. Anyway, such is my beloved.

The Rules of the Liebster Award:

Thank you Drakulus for this award. I’ve quoted the rules from his post:

1. “Post eleven facts about yourself.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create eleven questions for people you’ve nominated.

3. Choose eleven people to give this award to and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. Remember, no tag backs.”

11 Facts About Myself:

1. My middle name’s Joseph.

2. I have a large and diverse library of books.

3. I love Scrabble.

4. My favourite comedian is Rodney Dangerfield.

5. I love classic British TV comedies like Fawlty Towers and Blackadder.

6. I can’t live without WordPress.

7. I have terrible vision without my glasses, so I never leave home without them.

8. I love to write and am working on some short stories.

9. I can’t survive without Italian, Lebanese and Greek food.

10. I like ultimate frisbee.

11. As a kid, I played many hours of Goldeneye and Perfect Dark with friends.

My answers to Drakulus’s 11 questions:

1. What’s your favorite game to have come out in the last 3 years?

Mass Effect 2

2. On a stressful day how do you relax?

Watch a funny movie, go for a run and cook.

3. What’s your favorite book?

That’s tough and almost impossible to answer. For fiction, maybe the complete series of Sherlock Holmes.

4. What would you do if you were infected by a zombie?

Find a way to peacefully co-exist with humans.

5. Werewolves vs Vampires who would win? {I’m not talking about twilight}

Vampires because they still have their brains and could devise a strategy to outwit the wild werewolves.

6. What’s your favorite strategy game?

My favourite strategy video game is Civilization II. I’m not as familiar with strategy board games as I should be.

7. What’s your all time favorite movie?

The Big Lebowski

8. Who’s your favourite actor?

Jeff Bridges

9. What video game character affected you the most?

The main character from Journey has a moving story that I won’t forget.

10. Do you think games should be allowed to win best picture?

No, I’d rather see more people watch a serious award show dedicated to games.

11. If you could fly {like Superman} where what would you do? Where would you go?

I would fly to the North Pole and set up a huge ice fort there. Then I’d have snowball fights with my friends. Note: Donald Duck’s classic snowball fight with his nephews inspired this answer.

My 11 Questions for Nominees:

1. What is your favourite meal?

2. Where do you want to go on your next vacation?

3. Who is your favourite comedian?

4. What is your favourite album?

5. What is your favorite video game development studio?

6. Why should people play video games?

7. Are you excited for the next generation of consoles or bored with all the hype?

8. What’s your favourite TV show?

9. At what age did you play your first video game?

10. How do you prepare to write a good blog post?

11. Who inspires you?

My 11 nominees (in no particular order):

I suggest you check out all the blogs below

Musings of Mischief and Mayhem

My Brain on Games

2 Comments

Filed under Video Game Blog

Tagged as blogging, Liebster award, video games

September 15, 2013 · 9:07 pm

The Undead Speak

Welcome to a new series of posts. Inspired by Wreck-It-Ralph, I travel into video game worlds to interview their denizens.

For today’s interview, I travelled deep underground until I smelled a foul stench. It was zombies. A huge horde of them with their putrefied flesh stood before me. Pretending to be half dead – which isn’t all that difficult for me to do on a weekday morning – I slunk through the hoard. I searched for some intelligent companionship in the crowd.

A tame half zombie, apparently not yet turned, approached me. He explained he could speak, reason, laugh and love because he still had a large part of his brain. He was only bitten last week. And now he was my test subject – er – I mean interviewee.

***

Q: Do you like to live as a zombie?

I was human until last week when one of the undead bit me. I have to say that it has been a dramatic change. In fact, it stinks. It stinks worse than my rotten flesh.

You get up in the morning, take the subway to work and, unless there is a system crash, you charge the protagonist. Then you die and do it over again until you want to rip off your own arms. Oh, wait…

My life is not all bad though. Sometimes the protagonist makes stupid mistakes, and my friends and I gorge on his brains. The protagonist’s AI partner is particularly stupid, and we enjoy munching on his brains too. Sometimes you’ll see the partner charge right into us or run around in circles because of a glitch. What a rube!

(His green face lights up a little. He smiles and some black pearls fall out of his mouth)

But this terrible hunger never abates. Speaking of which, didn’t you say you had some lovely brains for me?

Q: Uh, no… anyway, let’s change subjects. Do you ever get lonely?

Yes, it can be tough out here for a zombie. We have to hustle everyday for the brains to survive. But most of my friends are boring.

The zombie horde is only made up of 4 or 5 identical zombies. That’s because the game I live in only has that many zombie skins. The game studio was too lazy to add more. So we all think alike and look alike. It gets old down here fast.

Q: You sound a bit depressed. Why do you bother to rise from your grave in the morning?

To be honest, I like to indulge in the arts, culture and gourmet foods. I like to stay fit and healthy to keep up my natural green glow.

If it wasn’t for these finer things, I would have no reason to stay undead. I would delete my code from the game.

Also, I really like brains!

Q: I see. Do you do anything else besides eating brains and playing in video games?

Well, my agent and I have big plans after this video game season. We’re making moves into movies. That’s where the money is. And that’s where you get respect and fame.

Take a look at zombies in movies and what do you see? They only work a couple of hours a day, they have palatial estates and fast cars. Yes, my next stop is Hollywood. Nothing can stop me.

But before I do that… I want brains, brains, brains!

***

Interviewers note:

At this point, the zombie started to rub his belly and point to a large bubbling cauldron. He approached me and tapped my head with his index finger. After these actions, I ran as fast I could and the interview concluded.

1 Comment

Filed under Video Game Misc.

Tagged as humor, silly, video games, zombies

Tag Archives: video games

Goldilocks & the Three Games

Video Games Let You Fly

A Day in the Life of a Journey Character

Thanks for Reading This

Reason Before Passion in the Console Wars

Hate to Play with Strangers Online? Take a Journey

A Digital Life, Death and Afterlife in 90 Minutes

This is Journey.

Meanwhile, in the Middle of Nowhere…

If that was me on the island…

A Post for My Beloved

The Rules of the Liebster Award:

11 Facts About Myself:

My answers to Drakulus’s 11 questions:

My 11 Questions for Nominees:

My 11 nominees (in no particular order):

The Undead Speak

Reader Favourites

Follow via Email

Tag Archives: video games

Share this:

A Day in the Life of a Journey Character

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

This is Journey.

Share this:

If that was me on the island…

Share this:

The Rules of the Liebster Award:

11 Facts About Myself:

My answers to Drakulus’s 11 questions:

My 11 Questions for Nominees:

My 11 nominees (in no particular order):

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Reader Favourites

Follow via Email