tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71619852043225486762024-03-13T14:19:01.774-04:00Laser BeeA blog about one man's passion for video games, writing, and other geeky things.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-21245587105499948212012-04-26T14:33:00.001-04:002012-04-26T14:33:12.800-04:00Taking a Portal to the next Bastion.In case the title of this post wasn't obvious, and puntastic enough, I recently finished Portal 2 and Bastion.<br />
<br />
Here are my thoughts on both:<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Portal 2:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> Portal was superior to Portal 2. The primary reasons for this being ones that can't be replicated</span>. The twist in Portal where you escape from the final test chamber, and the newness of the experience really made the first Portal game stand out, both made it a step above Portal 2. Even so Portal 2 has great writing, introduces new mechanics to go together with the original portal mechanic, and is all-around top notch in it's delivery of all those things.<br />
<br />
<u><span style="font-size: large;">Bastion:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> This game is probably in third place, behind Saints Row: The Third and Skyrim, for my top game of 2011. For an independent game (Despite being eventually published by Warner Brothers) that's a pretty big accomplishment. The art, music, and emotion invested in each of the moments really makes the game shine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">(Editors Note: I wrote this up briefly a few months back before being buried in college work, I figured I would put out my initial thoughts on both games after having completed them.)</span>Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-43018787917693037482012-02-21T10:53:00.000-05:002012-02-21T10:53:54.002-05:00Oh boy, Comedy!So, I've started submitting features, and maybe articles soon for my college's satirical paper.<br />
Now, I'm actually in the club that I'm making fun of, and the piece does require a bit of understanding of events that have recently happened on campus, but it plays off of the stereotypes of being a Gamer, some of which might be funny.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>E-Sports Meeting Minutes</b></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As reported by Mr. Schink</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><ol><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Call to Order: 7:00</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Play Halo Reach: 7:01 – 8:00</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">John yells at everyone else claiming “they cheated” 8:01 – 8:04 </div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Actual Call to Order 8:05</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Snack Reserves</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">Dangerously Low (and dangerously cheesy, but seriously guys, stop eating all of our snack reserves). </blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">Note for the Future: 10 pounds of Hot-pockets and 4 gallons of Mountain Dew: Gamerz Fuel is never enough </blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">Possible Option </blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">Dress-up like pirates and harvest vending machines. </blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">Force all freshmen and jans to work in the hot-pocket mines.</blockquote></blockquote></li>
</ol><ol start="6"><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Recruitment</div></li>
</ol><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The girl to guy ratio is 1:Alot, we might want to change that.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Posters</div><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Last time we had an event we had about 400 posters, We need 10 times that next time.</div></li>
</ul></li>
</ul><ol start="7"><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Funding</div></li>
</ol><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">John said he got money from student council, but all we have is an I.O.U. Note that smells vaguely of latex.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Denny has about $5.50 in pocket change, that's about five times our budget from last semester.</div></li>
</ul><ol start="8"><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Looks like a fight is about to break out</div></li>
</ol><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Someone just made fun of John's face, saying it looked like “If some one made a pepperoni pizza and used hot pockets instead.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Oh, a nice right-hook from John, his fist has maybe, 10-pounds of force, that's a lot.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Here comes Matthew into the battle, it looks like he's carrying a controller of some kind.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">...I never knew you could do something like that wit ha Gamecube-controller.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Ian seems to be tossing, Dorito chip powder at people while yelling something about “casting fireball”.</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I really hope they don't notice me under this cardboard box in the corner</div></li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Oh god, I think they noti</div></li>
</ul><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">[This report was found covered in soda stains, grease, and pizza bits, the writer has yet to be found.]</div>Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-61799635394699112412012-01-12T17:19:00.002-05:002012-01-12T17:39:49.869-05:00Skyrim: An Open Heart Surgery and ExplanationI really like Skyrim.<br />
<br />
No, you don't seem to understand, I REALLY like Skyrim.<br />
<br />
Giving Skyrim my award of Game of the Year isn't really enough to describe how much I love it.<br />
<br />
I understand it has flaws, I mean it's still as broken as political campaign promises (what a bad zinger) on the PS3.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, I decided to construct a gaming PC over the past summer and have had the best experience.<br />
<br />
I guess I should better get to why I actually love Skyrim so much. So I'll go ahead and just take apart piece why I enjoy it so much.<br />
<br />
<u><b>1. It's an Open and Immersive Fantasy game</b></u><br />
<br />
Ever since I was but a wee little lad in New England I've always loved Fantasy. I would get every Harry Potter book the day it came out and read it to completion on the same day. Even to this day I'm still a huge fan of fantasy books, as well as science fiction.<br />
<br />
I was also bullied a lot when I was younger, in elementary and middle school, I had always dreamed of being the valiant Paladin, the powerful Wizard, and the mysterious Thief, both taking revenge and doing the same heroic deeds I often read in books.<br />
<br />
Now, a lot of people often live out these fantasies through table-top games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, but even to this day I have yet to meet a dungeon master and other people that I could possibly play a game of it with. Skyrim manages to fulfill that same desire, without needing to go through the effort of wrangling together a group of people.<br />
<br />
In Skyrim I can be an dark elf, oppressed by the nordic people of in Skyrim, who uses his stealth, and skills in destructive magic to rise through the ranks of the Dark Brotherhood and exact his revenge upon the nord populace. Or I can be a schizophrenic lizard-man that hordes cheese.<br />
<br />
That's what's great about Skyrim, its designed to be open enough to allow the player to do almost anything. And as a PC player, there will be mods for every possible addition to Skyrim imaginable.<br />
<br />
"But Will..." you begin to tell me, with pitchforks raised at my mention of liking Skyrim better than Morrowind, "The other Elder Scrolls games have those aspects as well, and some do it better, why do you like Skyrim so much?" Well, that leads me to number two.<br />
<br />
<u><b>2. It's the highpoint of the series thus far.</b></u><br />
<br />
I think it is, at least.<br />
<br />
Now before we continue, I think it bears mentioning I have only played, about 30 minutes of Morrowind. It might seem unfair for me to compare Morrowind to the rest of the series, having played it a year ago, and in the context of modern games. However, I was about 8 years old when Morrowind came out, and at that time the extent of my gaming interest was only within the realms of Nintendo games and products.<br />
<br />
I gave Morrowind an honest go. I tried playing it without mods, and just couldn't get past the bad 3d graphics. Then I spent at least 4 hours trying to mod Morrowind with help from an online overhaul guide. However after following the entire guide, was unable to run it. So that was Morrowind.<br />
<br />
Then came Oblivion.<br />
<br />
Oblivion was a great game, it just seemed kind of, bland. It had all of the basic pieces that Skyrim would come to use and need. It was open, accessible, allowed the player to do as much as was possible within the confines of the engine, and to be almost anything. It was also very moddable, and because of the timing of it's release, before there were many big franchises on the 360, it acquired a much larger audience than the previous games.<br />
<br />
But as I mentioned earlier, it was bland. Albeit some of the side quests were interesting, but it was set in an extremely generic fantasy setting. The main quest was your run of the mill "Demons are attacking the city/nation/continent/world/dimension/reality so we'd better look for the chosen one". A lot of storylines can be abstracted to the point of following that plotline, but Oblivion didn't have anything that differentiated its plotline.<br />
<br />
Skyrim took the raw ore, that was Oblivion, and refined it into a pure and strong metal ingot.<br />
<br />
Many of the mechanics from the previous games such as leveling up, companions, combat, and magic were refined. New systems and mechanics were added that enhanced game play and immersion, such as the Radiant Storytelling system that helps introduce the player to undiscovered quests and dungeons organically.<br />
Now by just playing, you'll often run into the quests you want ,without ever having to really search them out.<br />
<br />
The parts of Skyrim that needed to be simplified were. First is the removal of Acrobatics and Athletics. Running and jumping more in order to improve how fast you move and high you can jump seems ridiculous. As well, how much you used a skill, over the course of a level, determined how much you could boost the ability scores related to that skill, if you decided to choose to boost the related ability scores.<br />
<br />
Instead, once you level up, you choose to either boost Health, Magicka, or Stamina, and then are given a perk to put into a tree. It's much simpler, but with the wide amount of trees available, and the medley of perks within each tree, it makes creating a character with a unique feel much easier, and still as robust as previous games.<br />
<br />
The dungeons themselves were refined. Each dungeon even if slightly similar, has its own backstory and relation to the Elder Scrolls universe.<br />
<br />
Sure, you might end up going through a few nordic barrows, but maybe one has been taken over by a necromancer, whose minions you must fight through, or another hosts the corpse (And probable magic zombie version) of the legendary hero, Ragnar the Red. Every dungeon is unique and has it's own quirks and pieces of design that differentiate it from one another.<br />
<br />
Aside from the mechanics, worth mentioning as well is:<br />
The improved art style. The Uncanny Valley is less present, thanks to more stylized characters.<br />
Improved quest design and writing. Every one of the Guild Quests is about at least as lengthy and interesting as the main quest.<br />
<br />
But really, these two aspects lead me to my last point.<br />
<br />
<u><b>3. Norse Mythology is my favorite flavor of Mythology.</b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
I love Loki, and Odin, and Thor, and Frejya, and the Ice Giants.<br />
<br />
Just as importantly. I love Heavy Metal, specifically Folk Metal.<br />
<br />
If you don't know what Folk Metal is, or haven't heard much, and want to at least somewhat understand what I'm about to talk about. I would suggest listening to these 3 songs:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/e7kJRGPgvRQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/s0cRQHRy1Rg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iijKLHCQw5o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Are you back safely? Good.<br />
Were you rocked to the very core by the sheer power of Metal? I hope so.<br />
<br />
I love Folk Metal, because of how the songs seem to, within me, evoke heroic triumphant feelings. It makes me want to go sailing with a sword and a shield and slat the mighty Kraken! (Of course I should probably start with the squid that lives in my closet.)<br />
<br />
It's hard to describe this feeling, but I 'll do my best. Metal often taps into the primal warrior-like part of me that wants to go out and do things that bards such as Homer would sing of in short poems or epics.<br />
<br />
As well, I love Norse mythology, and Dark Age/Middle Age northern European history and culture.<br />
<br />
Skyrim draws off of those things and more.<br />
<br />
It's the land of the Nords, more or less, vikings. You slay dragons, have arduous battles in an icy land. Also, unrelated to the Viking and Norse point, I love Dragons. If my favorite animal could include a mythological creature, it would be a Dragon.<br />
<br />
For me, Skyrim's themes, settings, characters were all intertwined with things that I already loved, and Skyrim felt like a celebration of them.<br />
<br />
It felt like a celebration of Western rpgs, Dungeons and Dragons, Norse mythology and architecture, the beauty of winter, making your own story, and of truly heroic experiences.<br />
<br />
Well, I think it's time to go start my fourth character. It's either a cat-man that punches dragons to death, or a cowardly bard, tough choice, but I'm glad to be able to make and have that choice.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/2-_g8NZr1tA/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2-_g8NZr1tA&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2-_g8NZr1tA&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-19212817001951508362011-05-20T21:38:00.000-04:002011-05-20T21:38:20.647-04:00The Best Kind of Dragons, Infinite Dragons.You know what's cool?<br />
<br />
A Dragon.<br />
<br />
And might you so happen to know what is even cooler than a Dragon?<br />
<br />
Two Dragons.<br />
<br />
And of course the best kind of dragon is an "Infinite Supply of Dragons".<br />
<br />
If you don't know what I'm talking about, <a href="http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/05/18/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-to-have-an-unlimited-number-of-dragons/">PC Gamer recently reported </a>that Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, will have "an unlimited amount of dragons", or, as I like to call it, "Infinite Dragons."<br />
<br />
That's right, Infinite Dragons! If you were to calculate that amount of dragons on a multi-sided die, it would be an "Infinite Sided Die"<br />
<br />
A, "d-Infinite", if you will, as opposed to say, a "d20". Except the "d" doesn't stand for "dice" it stands for "Dragons", and instead of six dragons, or twenty dragons, we have infinite dragons.<br />
<br />
Now, I have talked to a few people and read a few arguments against having an unlimited number of dragons to slay with magic, swords, or your bare hands. Some argue that the amount of dragons will make fighting a dragon less special, and that the mystique of fighting a dragon is often that they are so few in number.<br />
<br />
Well, my argument to them is this, yes, I concede, that the more something happens, the less unique it becomes. However, what makes dragons so amazing and awe-inspiring is, for the most part, not how rarely you encounter them, but the fact that they are giant, flying, fire breathing, tanks, made of scales and death.<br />
<br />
Dragons are like a force of nature; One does not simply fight a Dragon, one <i>survives</i> a Dragon. When you see something like that, which has through video games, table top games, fantasy novels, and myths been so feared, you have two responses, fight, or flight.<br />
<br />
Then there is what fighting and killing a dragon means in Skyrim. In Skyrim when you kill a dragon, you absorb it's essence and become more powerful. You're become some form of Dragon Kirby that kills it's enemies, eats them ,and then absorbs its powers.<br />
<br />
The only thing that I really hope is that many of the dragon encounters vary enough in terms of difficulty, strategy, and that the encounter itself is designed to make you feel like you are the heroe in some kind of Norse epic poem.<br />
<br />
No one will really be able to determine that until the game comes out. I can't wait until release when I can begin slaying dragons, an unlimited amount, and constructing some form of dragon-bone castle from them, now there is a lair for a true hero.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-79045599492352679652011-05-07T21:49:00.001-04:002011-05-07T22:07:51.492-04:00Achievment Unlocked: Games are federally recognized as art.So before you continue on, <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109835-Games-Now-Legally-Considered-an-Art-Form-in-the-USA">read this</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Seriously, I know you're still there, take a quick look.<br />
...<br />
...<br />
I'm talking to myself now, aren't I?<br />
<br />
<br />
Welcome back! So as it seems the NEA can now give grants for video games as public works. I won't go into further detail on the specifics, as you just read them, but this could have some really interesting possibilities.<br />
<br />
Games that wouldn't normally be granted a budget, on account of graphic content or niche appeal, now have a chance of being made and distributed publicly.<br />
<br />
I would like the greatest public project the world has ever known... H.P. Lovecraft: The Game, you basically play as Lovecraft who has to fight monsters from his own story.<br />
<br />
It's a 3rd person actions rpg, and you, as Lovecraft, wield an evolving Victorian Pen-Sword. Or something like that. It would be very awesome.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-65087432449724504582011-05-06T08:51:00.000-04:002011-05-06T08:51:01.952-04:00I Just Realized: Sony's Videogame Division has had it rough.It's like Sony just keeps getting abused over and over by this thing we call fate.<br />
<br />
To begin with Sony had a pretty terrible PS3 launch, thanks to a 600$ price point, and some pretty egotistical statements by Sony representatives at the time.<br />
<br />
Then we had the PSP, which has done poorly compared to the DS, and even worse if you compare it to smartphones, if you're of the opinion that smartphones are a mobile gaming platform. In addition, the PSP Go was as successful as a Roman orator with a speech impediment and missing a tongue, a.k.a. not very successful.<br />
<br />
This generation many of what were previously Playstation exclusive titles, such as Final Fantasy, and Grand Theft Auto, have appeared on Xbox 360.<br />
<br />
And the cherry on the top of this abysmal ice cream sundae of economic woe is the recent PSN debacle.<br />
<br />
<br />
I fully realize there are other sections of Sony involved with things <a href="http://www.sony.com/index.php">other than video games</a>.<br />
<br />
But at the same time, I can't help but feel a bit bad for how they have done this generation, I wish them the best of luck in the coming years.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-39790434322799574992011-05-05T22:59:00.000-04:002011-05-05T22:59:37.138-04:00RealizationSo, I've come to the realization that I won't always be able to have long, introspective rants and soapboxes on video games, and meanings, and trends in the industry, so I may once in awhile just delve into discussion about current events, or things I have noticed lately.<br />
<br />
I may have posts called "I Just Realized:" with something that I just realized about a game or subject after the colon.<br />
-----<br />
<br />
<br />
Well, for now I'll round up some of the more interesting bits of news I have seen this week and comment on them, give my take.<br />
<br />
Well, looks like the <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/news/roughly-900-credit-card-numbers-exposed-via-sony-online-entertainment-breach/3123/">PSN</a> <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/news/bad-news-all-sony-online-games-taken-offline-due-to-that-whole-external-intrusion-thing-updated/3110/">fiasco</a> might finally be <a href="http://www.giantbomb.com/news/playstation-network-in-final-stages-of-internal-testing-says-sony-updated/3142/">ending soon</a>. Took them long enough. They delayed telling people that their info might be stolen. This even went down right around the release of Portal 2, probably hampering its sales on PS3.<br />
<br />
I don't even really know what to say at this point about it. Governments are investigating Sony, the PS3 is jailbroken wide open. These things along with the dismal sales performance of each PSP. If there has been one company which, at least video games-wise, has been in a rough spot the past few years. It's Sony.<br />
<br />
I'm not one to start up "Which console is best" arguments, but if I were to argue what company was the "Loser" financially this generation, it would by far be Sony.<br />
<br />
Till next time, one reader who possibly stumbles into this forsaken blog by accident...till next time.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-52051906390890946052011-05-01T10:39:00.000-04:002011-05-01T10:39:08.955-04:00Lack of Updates.Sorry about the lack of updates, whomever might be reading, with AP exams coming up, I haven't had time to play many games, and I won;t be playing Portal 2 for awhile.<br />
<br />
I'm sure by now many of you have heard of or experienced the whole PSN ordeal going on, it seems like between that, Duke Nukem Forever, and more, that anything is possible right now.<br />
<br />
Also, Wii HD, no one knows what it's going to be, so I'm ignoring all rumors until E3 when we hear more info.<br />
<br />
Been playing a bit of Fallout New Vegas here and there, seems like the next piece of downloadable content, which will hopefully be good, as opposed to the much hated "Dead Money".<br />
<br />
I'll probably have another update towards the end of the week, when I've taken my final AP Exam, till then, folks, stay frosty.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-58050617504856819932011-04-02T22:34:00.002-04:002011-04-02T22:34:39.586-04:00Tim Schafer must hate french fries.....Because I just got to the french fry quest (In Costume Quest), a main quest, which is bugged so that it cannot be completed, there is no planned patch to fix it, and no way to get around it.<br />
<br />
The only solution is to delete the save and start a new game. At that point I had played over halfway through the game.<br />
<br />
Maybe I can buy some kind of simian creature to play the game for me, but that requires, money, and the technology to train a monkey to play video games, neither of which I have.<br />
<br />
I will never finish Costume Quest, as much as I love Tim Schafer, and Double Fine's work, I will never finish that game because there isn't any real replay value. It's a good game, but nothing changes enough on replay to still be entertaining.<br />
<br />
It's irritating how more and more games ship with bugs, big ones at that, at release. (Earth Defense Force sized bugs, so, the size of skyscrapers)<br />
<br />
I realize how complicated games are nowadays, such as Fallout New Vegas with it's many variables, quests, content, and etcetera. And I can deal with the occasional "reload from a point 3 minutes from where you were", or , "Oh, all of the character's heads are spinning nonstop, 'Exorcist'-style".<br />
<br />
But there is very little reason that a game should ship, or become available to download, with a bug that prevents you from beating the game.<br />
<br />
If I ever meet Tim Schafer at a convention, I'll ask him why he hates french fries so much, and why he's such a foodist.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-55326780895070301742011-03-05T18:14:00.000-05:002011-03-05T18:14:53.879-05:00Finally!The endless onslaught of work has been ended.<br />
<br />
I can't believe it, it couldn't be happening, pinch me girls, it couldn't be happening...<br />
<br />
Oops, too much acting, sometimes I still slip into talking about lines from my recent musical.<br />
<br />
Things have been very busy with college acceptance and all, and I hope to post up some more video game/nerd related post within the week as it is now Spring Break, and I should soon have Dragon Age 2.<br />
<br />
So I may post stuff about that as I go through.<br />
<br />
That reminds me, I made it 3/4'ths of the way through Tales of Vesperia, finally, and am considering whether or not I really want to finish the last bit of it for reasons I will explain in another upcoming post.<br />
<br />
So till then...<br />
<br />
Also, watch out for bionic squid-men, I was nearly attacked by one on the way home today.<br />
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I had to fight it off with a Kukri.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-5352231243032852102011-01-06T21:37:00.000-05:002011-01-06T21:37:31.219-05:00Less is More (Collectibles in Video Games)So I've been playing a lot of Assassin's Creed 2 recently, I bought it and played it recently (As part of a winter sale at a store), and I'm enjoying it a lot more than the first Assassin's Creed, which I quit half-way through because I was tired of hiding amongst wandering crows of priests and an extremely bland environment. It became very boring, very quickly.<br />
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Out of the things Assassin's Creed 2 does a lot better than the first, I think one prominent spot is in it's collectibles.<br />
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Now I'm not someone who desires to collect every achievement in every game, as most of the games I've played range from 250-750 in number of points I have collected, so achievements have never really provided me the drive to collect thousands of out of the way items. This is where Assassin's Creed 2 really shines.<br />
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The Codex Pages give you health bar upgrades for every 4th page you decode. The Glyphs each have interesting puzzles for you to solve and are located on or near famous landmarks which your quests often take you on or near. Between the two of them, each rewards you with additional story bits, The Glyphs combine to create a hidden scene that has story implications, and the same goes for when all of the codex pages are gathered together to create a secret picture of some sort for more story implications.<br />
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I'm a <strike>drug fiend</strike> big fan of story telling and additional pieces of fiction that fit into the overall story of a game, Mass Effect 2's own Codex Entries are an example, so for me, this seems like a much larger reward than intangible points. As well, between Glyphs and Codex Pages, there aren't too many of either, making it much easier to collect both of them than the typical 100+ collectibles in other games. Now I'm not saying that the system is perfect, There are 100 feathers in the game you can collect, which as far as I know don't provide much of a reward, but the game does a much better job of implementing collectibles than some other games.<br />
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So all I'm saying, is it doesn't take many collectibles to make the system good, in fact it doesn't take many, size doesn't matter and bigger isn't necessarily better in this case. A decent sized amount of collectibles for each world/level which are generally easy to find and have some reward beyond just achievement points. now of course this can be changed, say in a game like Fallout or Dragon Age, you could have a smaller amount of harder to find or collect objects which could unlock a power piece of weaponry or armor.<br />
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What seems to be the optimal method of collectible items or such in games is that the amount of collectibles is equal to or less than the value of the rewards it provides, as well as being placed in interesting areas that you are likely to visit either on account of the gameplay or the world/level's beauty.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-62546276007049514772011-01-01T21:37:00.001-05:002011-01-06T12:28:41.790-05:00Why "Laser Bee"Well, Laser Bee, why the name? Let me explain.<br />
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To begin with, it sounds catchy, and i liked the ring to it, it seemed fairly original to it. I got my inspiration from such sites as Giant Bomb and Games Radar, a simple two word name.<br />
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As for the next reason, it's pretty basic, a bee made of concentrated light would be pretty awesome. You already have Honey Bees, followed by Killer Bees, and then you have the boss-type Laser Bees. They would probably be in the futuristic level, or the time-travel level.<br />
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Also, getting a symbol of some kind of high-tech bee, or a bee mounted with laser cannons would be pretty intriguing in terms of it's design.<br />
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Really, I just like the originality of it, and as I'm somewhat anxious in writing publicly for the first few times, and I have a fear of bees, you could draw some form of psychological conclusion.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7161985204322548676.post-82119303072232312012010-12-31T15:49:00.000-05:002010-12-31T15:49:32.018-05:00A Heartfelt Greeting to those Viewing my Blog."Greetings and Salutations!", or whatever other term floats your boat. This is the first post on my new log about writing, video games, and general geekdom, if you couldn't tell from the description up-top.<br />
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I'm Will, your guide, your Charon through this River of Styx that we will call my blog. Enough of the melodrama, so basically I'm going to be posting something about a game I might be playing, a show I might be watching, a book I might be reading, or my take on general events in the video game industry.<br />
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As this is my first blog, if any of you visitors out there feel like commenting, please tell me if there is any particularly bothersome thing about the format of the blog or otherwise, and I'll try to make a change to it post-haste, I can't please everybody, but I'll do what I can.<br />
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As well as posts specific to this blog, if in the near future I happen to get some chances at free-lance journalism, for the enthusiast gaming press, or get a shot at free-lance games journalism, or whatever you prefer to call the people who report gaming news, I'll post a link to the resulting article here.<br />
But seeing as I have yet to graduate high-school as of this post, and am going to college within the coming fall, I doubt that you'll see high-profile articles from me for awhile. But it's never too late to build up a portfolio of work, and to have experience writing to other people (hopefully).<br />
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You might get another post from me soon, probably one explaining the name of the blog, and the lack of yellow and black colorization, but for now, I'll leave this post be.Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00756907658585696616noreply@blogger.com0