I should have made an update yesterday, but some things occurred that threw my plans into disarray, so I'll have to ask your forgiveness.
Today I've been on a little visit to my sister's, and her two sons.
Alfred, age six months, is a fountain of happiness and excitement, intent on not only observing everything there is to observe, but also to gnaw on it.
Also, I went for a walk with two of my sister's four goats, something of an odd experience, I must admit. Everything that has been said of the stubbornness of goats is very much true, and I couldn't shake the feeling they were testing me to determine whether or not they could push me around.
His elder brother Vincent, age four, is also a very happy and very cuddly boy, who is incredibly fond of Alfred. It would seem he picked his grandfather to be his big favourite today, not that he didn't spend alot of time playing with me.
Right now, I'm dead tired from all the traveling, but tomorrow I should be back with a more important post.
lördag 9 oktober 2010
torsdag 7 oktober 2010
The Story in Gaming Strikes Back!
I felt rather foolish a few hours after I made the first post regarding the interaction between storyline and gameplay. See, though I feel rather ashamed at this, I neglected to mention the two most amazingly fantastic examples of it in the history of modern games.
These two games are the duo of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. The reason why I put the two together is that they are in essence very similar; made by the same company, with the same engine and interaction between characters works in the same way.
What might have caused my forgetting them earlier is that they are such brilliantly magnificent beacons of light in this whole issue, that they just drop right off my radar.
In those two games, you aren't controlling a character; you don't just choose how the character acts, you are that character! You don't feel like you're controlling someone running around a big open world where you can do whatever the hell you want, you are living in that world directly. You go on adventures, explore, kill stuff, make friends, complete quests and have a bloody good time all around! What you do is live, breathe and experience it on your own!
That's all I can do to explain the greatness of those two games. If you only buy two games in your life, get them!
These two games are the duo of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. The reason why I put the two together is that they are in essence very similar; made by the same company, with the same engine and interaction between characters works in the same way.
What might have caused my forgetting them earlier is that they are such brilliantly magnificent beacons of light in this whole issue, that they just drop right off my radar.
In those two games, you aren't controlling a character; you don't just choose how the character acts, you are that character! You don't feel like you're controlling someone running around a big open world where you can do whatever the hell you want, you are living in that world directly. You go on adventures, explore, kill stuff, make friends, complete quests and have a bloody good time all around! What you do is live, breathe and experience it on your own!
That's all I can do to explain the greatness of those two games. If you only buy two games in your life, get them!
onsdag 6 oktober 2010
Story in gaming!
The subject of today's address; storylines, and the way in which they interact with the gameplay.
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat; I think story in games is very important. I think it's one of those things that can really spoil a game when done poorly, and can really rescue a game from the dung heap when done well.
However, the situation is not as simple as that. Story needs to play nice with the gameplay and the mechanics of the game, or it'll be much less enjoyable. While there are a great many different games that have a very interesting and engaging story, it is often the case that there is an incongruity between it and the way the game plays.
Case in point; Command & Conquer. It is rather heavy in the storyline department, but once a mission starts you're separated from it. The story is something that pops up inbetween building 20 medium tanks and steamrolling the enemy base. While it is incredibly well presented, always in full-motion video with quite a few bigshot stars, it is always confined to the cutscenes.
Fortunately, the further we progress in gaming history, the more games tend to incorporate the story into the gameplay.
What I would hold up as the shining example of this is a small collection of splendid titles:
#1. The Call of Duty-series, and most importantly; Call of Duty 2. The series prides itself in giving an unrelenting and gritty view of warfare, with a considerable emphasis on the characters involved. They are not only set pieces that say a few words inbetween missions, they are your brothers in arms; men you rely on to get through the mission, and people who share the horrors of war with you. When they die, it stings your heart, and when you pull through an unforgiving siege against impossible odds, only three of you surviving, you feel a mixture of pride and sorrow at the result.
#2. Bioshock 1&2. Bioshock does away with the cutscenes entirely in favour of having all the dialogue to your character take place in realtime, most of it in the form of communication directly to the protagonist. The rest of the story comes from log entries found scattered all over the underwater city of Rapture, relaying eerie details about the people in it. However, the story can be seen as somewhat dislocated from the action and shooting, because you never actually come face to face with the ones who are helping you. I find it very immersive, but I can understand people who don't.
#3. Mass Effect 1&2. These two games have more or less set the standard for cinematic gameplay. The dialogue is well written, the animations are superb and you really feel like you have control over what the main character does and says. In addition to that, you form relationships with the various crewmembers and you can even get so far as a romantic subplot with some of them, and I assure you it's much more than the "Gratuitous sex!" that media has trumpeted out about the game.
#4. Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill 2 isn't just gripping and terrifying, it is also completely based on the story; you'll be trapped within the story from start to finish. Seeing as how the gameplay mechanics are bollocks, the story has to be top notch in order to pull the game out of the dirt, and does it ever! Even though you don't pick what the main character says, everything you do will be directly tied into the story.
#5. Strife. Strife is abit of a wild card, all the way from back in 1996. To call it a Doom-clone would be highly unfair, it might be based on the same engine, but it's bigger and better in every way. It defies the technological limitations of its time and incorporates quite a few roleplaying elements. You have conversations with allies and enemies alike, and the game puts your own struggle into a broader perspective; you are part of a movement with droves of other individuals, and your choices affect the outcome of the struggle.
For those interested in a good story to go with their gameplay, you really should try these games out!
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat; I think story in games is very important. I think it's one of those things that can really spoil a game when done poorly, and can really rescue a game from the dung heap when done well.
However, the situation is not as simple as that. Story needs to play nice with the gameplay and the mechanics of the game, or it'll be much less enjoyable. While there are a great many different games that have a very interesting and engaging story, it is often the case that there is an incongruity between it and the way the game plays.
Case in point; Command & Conquer. It is rather heavy in the storyline department, but once a mission starts you're separated from it. The story is something that pops up inbetween building 20 medium tanks and steamrolling the enemy base. While it is incredibly well presented, always in full-motion video with quite a few bigshot stars, it is always confined to the cutscenes.
Fortunately, the further we progress in gaming history, the more games tend to incorporate the story into the gameplay.
What I would hold up as the shining example of this is a small collection of splendid titles:
#1. The Call of Duty-series, and most importantly; Call of Duty 2. The series prides itself in giving an unrelenting and gritty view of warfare, with a considerable emphasis on the characters involved. They are not only set pieces that say a few words inbetween missions, they are your brothers in arms; men you rely on to get through the mission, and people who share the horrors of war with you. When they die, it stings your heart, and when you pull through an unforgiving siege against impossible odds, only three of you surviving, you feel a mixture of pride and sorrow at the result.
#2. Bioshock 1&2. Bioshock does away with the cutscenes entirely in favour of having all the dialogue to your character take place in realtime, most of it in the form of communication directly to the protagonist. The rest of the story comes from log entries found scattered all over the underwater city of Rapture, relaying eerie details about the people in it. However, the story can be seen as somewhat dislocated from the action and shooting, because you never actually come face to face with the ones who are helping you. I find it very immersive, but I can understand people who don't.
#3. Mass Effect 1&2. These two games have more or less set the standard for cinematic gameplay. The dialogue is well written, the animations are superb and you really feel like you have control over what the main character does and says. In addition to that, you form relationships with the various crewmembers and you can even get so far as a romantic subplot with some of them, and I assure you it's much more than the "Gratuitous sex!" that media has trumpeted out about the game.
#4. Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill 2 isn't just gripping and terrifying, it is also completely based on the story; you'll be trapped within the story from start to finish. Seeing as how the gameplay mechanics are bollocks, the story has to be top notch in order to pull the game out of the dirt, and does it ever! Even though you don't pick what the main character says, everything you do will be directly tied into the story.
#5. Strife. Strife is abit of a wild card, all the way from back in 1996. To call it a Doom-clone would be highly unfair, it might be based on the same engine, but it's bigger and better in every way. It defies the technological limitations of its time and incorporates quite a few roleplaying elements. You have conversations with allies and enemies alike, and the game puts your own struggle into a broader perspective; you are part of a movement with droves of other individuals, and your choices affect the outcome of the struggle.
For those interested in a good story to go with their gameplay, you really should try these games out!
tisdag 5 oktober 2010
Mind your own bloody business!
Sitting on the bus a couple of days ago, I had a very disturbing experience with a fellow traveler. Minding my own fucking business, mind you, I was asked if the Nintendo DS, a pink one, that I was playing wasn't made for girls.
Who in the flying fuck gave her the right to pass judgment on that? I did not engage in conversation, I did not indicate in any way whatsoever that I wanted her input, and I sure as hell didn't do anything that could possibly imply that she had any say in the matter!
I'm not the type of person who is overly subtle about my intentions. If I were to be interested in hearing that bitch's opinion, the question I would ask would be something along the lines of "Excuse me, do you think this here Nintendo DS looks abit girly?". Now, I did not pose that question, so I would really appreciate it if nobody took the liberty to answer it!
Just because I sit next to someone on the bus doesn't mean we are friends, it doesn't even mean we are equals. I have nothing but loathing and contempt for such bottom dwelling filth. It's like people saying "If you want my opinion...", STOP! No, I do not bloody want your misinformed and ignorant opinion, because I did not fucking ask for it!
Feel free to ask questions in a social setting, but while traveling on the bus is not a bloody social setting! I'm there because I want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, and I do not wish to engage in moronic conversation with people while doing that, especially when I just sit there playing The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and I'd like to keep doing that rather than talking to such a bonehead!
Who in the flying fuck gave her the right to pass judgment on that? I did not engage in conversation, I did not indicate in any way whatsoever that I wanted her input, and I sure as hell didn't do anything that could possibly imply that she had any say in the matter!
I'm not the type of person who is overly subtle about my intentions. If I were to be interested in hearing that bitch's opinion, the question I would ask would be something along the lines of "Excuse me, do you think this here Nintendo DS looks abit girly?". Now, I did not pose that question, so I would really appreciate it if nobody took the liberty to answer it!
Just because I sit next to someone on the bus doesn't mean we are friends, it doesn't even mean we are equals. I have nothing but loathing and contempt for such bottom dwelling filth. It's like people saying "If you want my opinion...", STOP! No, I do not bloody want your misinformed and ignorant opinion, because I did not fucking ask for it!
Feel free to ask questions in a social setting, but while traveling on the bus is not a bloody social setting! I'm there because I want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, and I do not wish to engage in moronic conversation with people while doing that, especially when I just sit there playing The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and I'd like to keep doing that rather than talking to such a bonehead!
måndag 4 oktober 2010
Kinda late, but whatever...
Seeing as how I am really late posting this, I shall have to cheat abit, by merely mentioning a couple of things to myself.
1. I shall not buy anymore sweets. It doesn't taste anywhere near as good as it used to, and it's not particularly healthy.
2. I will need to start working on my paper on the causes of the second world war!
3...okay, I'm going to sleep!
1. I shall not buy anymore sweets. It doesn't taste anywhere near as good as it used to, and it's not particularly healthy.
2. I will need to start working on my paper on the causes of the second world war!
3...okay, I'm going to sleep!
söndag 3 oktober 2010
More bus-y-ness!
Had to spend another six hours on a bus today. My god, it's not just the boredom, having borrowed a DS staves off that, it's the damn pain in my knee from sitting still so long!
Add to that, there was a bloody beeping noise for four damn hours! I was ready to kill someone by the time I got off the bus!
Have a big fat exam tomorrow, and have to get up at six, so I'll just say good night right away!
Add to that, there was a bloody beeping noise for four damn hours! I was ready to kill someone by the time I got off the bus!
Have a big fat exam tomorrow, and have to get up at six, so I'll just say good night right away!
lördag 2 oktober 2010
Spirited Away!
I must say, it is without a doubt one of the strangest movies I have ever seen. It's not overly confusing; what's happening is usually discernible, but the twists and turns are bewilderingly odd and unexpected, it's absolutely impossible to determine ahead of time how things will unfold.
However, it's still a very good one. Just like the other movies from Studio Ghibli it tugs all the heartstrings at the right places, and confuzzled joy regularly follows.
All in all, this has been a fairly active day; we've gone shopping in the city, about 20 minutes walk from here, bought something to convert into a dinner and scouted out some restaurants for our rapidly approaching anniversery in three weeks.
Our attempts at finding a couple of training shoes for me were entirely unsuccesful; I merely had to say the words "Size 49" and they instantly told me "You're screwed!". We had much better luck at finding some jeans, as far as getting one whole pair that actually fit me properly. Though, the point of getting the shoes in the first place is to enable me to exercise properly so that I may lose some weight and a few inches off the waist, with any luck allowing me to squeeze into some other jeans I own.
Embarassingly enough, I had to resort to a walkthrough to get past a particularly tricky puzzle in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, because I was quite simply stuck; nothing I tried seemed to work! But now I'm past that little bump in the road, and I'll be dedicating most of my journey home tomorrow to the venture of finding another place to get stuck!
However, it's still a very good one. Just like the other movies from Studio Ghibli it tugs all the heartstrings at the right places, and confuzzled joy regularly follows.
All in all, this has been a fairly active day; we've gone shopping in the city, about 20 minutes walk from here, bought something to convert into a dinner and scouted out some restaurants for our rapidly approaching anniversery in three weeks.
Our attempts at finding a couple of training shoes for me were entirely unsuccesful; I merely had to say the words "Size 49" and they instantly told me "You're screwed!". We had much better luck at finding some jeans, as far as getting one whole pair that actually fit me properly. Though, the point of getting the shoes in the first place is to enable me to exercise properly so that I may lose some weight and a few inches off the waist, with any luck allowing me to squeeze into some other jeans I own.
Embarassingly enough, I had to resort to a walkthrough to get past a particularly tricky puzzle in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, because I was quite simply stuck; nothing I tried seemed to work! But now I'm past that little bump in the road, and I'll be dedicating most of my journey home tomorrow to the venture of finding another place to get stuck!
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