One of the most interesting writing prompts for Blaugust has been Aywren’s “The Game That Changed My Life.” I’m right on board with her about Final Fantasy IV (SNES II) being one of those games, but she’s done such a beautiful job with her posts already that I’m going to pick a different game. 🙂 I considered Riven, since it’s my favorite in the Myst series, but Myst was the one that started it all. Continue Reading
Ok, to be fair this post is a bit of a cheat – I haven’t been actively playing Minecraft for quite some time. Reading posts from folks like The Ancient Gaming Noob has just reminded me how addicted to the game I used to be. I even have a page on the Minecraft Awesome wiki! This game has a permanent spot on my favorites list no matter how long it’s been since I played.
While I’ve previously mentioned that the Video Games Awesome Minecraft server helped get me into actually interacting with people in online games, I didn’t talk much about the game itself or what I built on the server.
Minecraft is so well known by now that I doubt I need to explain what the game is. If you’ve somehow missed it entirely (how?) it’s the one about exploring and mining and creating and checking the wiki because you can’t remember how to make a redstone repeater. It’s also ridiculously entertaining for many people, including me.
Many screenshots ahead! Continue Reading
I love my job. That’s not sarcastic, either – whether I’m playing with kittens or cleaning out kennels, I love every moment. Still, 9 hours at a job that gets very physical is not a lot of fun while trying to beat an infected tooth. My body wanted a whole lot of rest today and is less than pleased I couldn’t oblige. Tired body, tired mind.
This is a good day to take advantage of one of the writing prompts that Belghast has so kindly offered us. I’m grabbing the same one Dallian used:
What is your preferred gaming platform? Are you a multi-platform gamer or do you stick to one platform all the time? What is it about that gaming platform that you like?
Obsidian is a game I’ve been meaning to post about for some time. I’m always baffled that more people haven’t played it, even though Rocket Science Games went out of business shortly after it came out. The commercials were eerie and memorable; I would have expected more people to be intrigued. It’s definitely one of my all-time favorite games!
With the launch of Issue 11 for the The Secret World imminent (or at least coming SOON™), I’ve been thinking about choices and consequences in games. Issue 11 promises to wrap up the story of the game thus far (don’t worry, we’ve been assured it’s only a wrap up for Part One) including some pretty major choices the players have been making at key points in the story. TSW has crafted the story in such a way that despite much speculation, none of us is completely certain what effects these choices will have; the game is famously more about shades of gray than a strict right/wrong dichotomy. Still, the idea that we’ve decided the course of major events ingame has always been exciting. Continue Reading
[I know, awful pun!]
I’ve been pretty busy with offline stuff this week, so this post is going to go out a little late. But one of the things I was busy with today was getting my entry together for the #IAMTSW cosplay contest, and I thought I’d take a moment to talk about why I went with the outfit and picture I did. Continue Reading
When I was a kid, my brother and I walked everywhere. I mean, we had bikes that I’m sure we used sometimes; but my most lasting memories are always of the two of us walking. And the memories of walking lead to memories of gaming.
My brother and I had an active imaginary life, you see. Where some kids will pretend to be Batman or a Power Ranger, we pretended to be ourselves, but cooler and in a much cooler world than the one we were slogging through to get to school or the video rental store. We were rulers and generals, mages and warriors, in a never ending battle with…Mario. My seconds-in-command were Bowser, Yoshi, and later Setzer. Our slushies were potions. You get the idea. Continue Reading
Somewhere in the middle of chatting about The Secret World on a stream for another game, ’cause I’m like that, I was reminded of something I used to love in my games that doesn’t seem to happen as often anymore – the need for a pen and a pad of paper. [I suppose, light spoiler warnings for the pics I’m using later in the post. Myst and Obsidian are awfully old for spoiler warnings though, and the TSW mission is from one of the earlier missions in the Savage Coast area.]
I remember making maps for The Legend of Zelda and jotting down melodies in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. The old text games of course; I needed my own maps and notes there. The Myst games, before they added a screenshot option and less so after, were responsible for plenty of time spent writing and drawing things out. I think I took notes for most of my early PC games, there were always a few puzzles that made more sense if I wrote it out or a maze that became much easier if you drew a map.
Am I the only one who feels like participating in the game in that way drew me into the story and world of the game more? Perhaps I should rephrase since I know plenty of folks who agree with me, it just feels like games are more often made to streamline that part of gaming right out the door. Continue Reading
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