This is it! The last day of January, and I've made it, with a post every day. It's a great feeling to know that I could set a goal and achieve it, because successes like that are hard to come by these days, given family and work commitments. If you're reading this, thank you for doing so, I certainly appreciate it.
There's nothing more fun than getting something for less than its perceived value. Now that I'm on a fairly strict budget, one that I'm struggling to stick with, my ability to go out and buy the latest electronics and video games has decreased dramatically. I'll be honest, if there weren't a tangible benefit to the household, in the reduction of the overall monthly cell phone bill, I would not have the iPhone right now. As was discussed when I originally took the plunge, there was a long wait in between when I originally wanted the iPhone and when I was finally able to justify the acquisition.
The same goes with video games. When it was only my wife and I here in the house, I didn't put much thought into going out and picking up the new releases as they came out, as well as investing in the newest consoles. Now, since my first priority is and should be my children, I've done my best to restrict my gaming purchases to those that will provide me with good value for my money. I bought Fallout 3 the day it was released, spent $50 for it, and proceeded to milk that game for all it was worth. Over 85 hours of play for that $50 is a far more efficient use of my hard-earned money than any movie I could see.
1 movie (at the theaters): 2 hours, ~$12 = $6/hour of entertainment
1 video game: 85 hours, $50 = ~$0.60/hour of entertainment
With results like that, it's hard to argue that I got my money's worth.
Which brings me to my latest 'compulsive' buys. During this weekend, Steam had the Freedom Force: Freedom Pack on sale for $2. Since I have heard great things about these games, I figured that $2 is an extremely small price to pay, so I bought them. Also on Steam, the X-Com: Complete Pack (five X-Com games) were also on sale for $2. Five games for $2? That was also a no-brainer and went into the virtual shopping cart as well. So, for a grand total of $4 I bought seven games. Granted, these are games that are some years old, but most are still well reviewed and discussed, and these are also games and concepts that don't rely on cutting edge graphics to communicate their quality. I feel pretty comfortable with this expenditure.
Just before coming to this site to write this post, I happened to visit Cheap Ass Gamer, the first time in quite a while, actually. It was an innocent visit, just to see what 'all the cool kids' were spending their money on. There on the front page was an announcement that Direct2Drive had a sale on Red Faction: Guerrilla for only $5. This is a game that I downloaded and tried the demo on the 360, and really enjoyed. It's on my list to get through Goozex, but it currently trades at (in virtual currency) around $30, so to see the game (granted, it's the PC version) this cheap is pretty exciting. As I'm writing this, the game is downloading to my hard drive.
Why am I telling you all of this? Mostly because I'm so excited to find so much gaming goodness for such little monetary outlay, but also to broach the subject of digital distribution. This is a topic for its own post, as there are so many facets to discuss, but one thing is certain: it can be of great benefit to both the distributor, the developer and the consumer when utilized properly. I can point to an earlier post where I bought games that I wouldn't have considered otherwise, simply because they were on sale. For the foreseeable future, these sales will be the primary source of the games that I play, because they provide the best value for the money that I probably shouldn't be spending on my entertainment.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Gaming Magazines: Pleasant Surprise
Today's mail brought two pleasant surprises, in the form of the latest Gamepro and PC Gamer magazines. My thoughts on these are found within the post. Along with that, I'm getting excited that January is almost over and I will have achieved my goal of posting every day. Woohoo!
Going out to get the mail this afternoon, I was fairly certain that I would find two things contained among the rest of the junk mail and bills: the copy of Hellgate: London I requested from Goozex and a package of assorted iPhone accessories that I'd ordered from a cheap online outlet. My assumption was correct, as both items were safely nestled in the mailbox. However, two other pieces of mail caught my eye as I scanned through the pile on the way back to the house. My first issue of Gamepro had finally arrived, as well as the latest issue of PC Gamer. Still being a sucker for media I can hold in my hand and flip through, it's always a treat to get magazines in the mail. Getting a free moment after the little monsters were all safely tucked into bed, I perused both and was very pleasantly surprised.
Having no prior experience with Gamepro, I signed up for a subscription after reading and hearing about the new direction the magazine and website was taking under their new Executive VP of Content, John Davison. I first read and heard Davison while he was at Ziff Davis Media, working with the former incarnation of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Games for Windows/Computer Gaming World, and 1UP.com. Honestly, I loved his British accent, but more so it was refreshing to hear his opinions on games and the industry. He had insights and ideas that clearly showed he understood the industry, its highs and lows, and if given the right opportunity would be able to use this knowledge and experience to do great things. It seems that opportunity has come at Gamepro. The magazine has a crisp feel, and a focus not just on the games, but on the people behind the games. This is a facet that is often under-represented in the gaming press, and the treatment by the staff indicates high quality content will not be in short supply. I can't rave enough about this, and look forward to watching John and his talented team recreate the magazine's image over the next year..
PC Gamer has been a staple of my reading diet for some time now, and have seen it change editors-in-chief three times since I started subscribing (from Greg Vederman to Kristen Salvatore to Gary Steinman), with the reins now in Logan Decker's hands. This issue marks the second of his official run, and it feels as if he's moving in the right direction. There's something about the new layout, content and page design that appeals to me, as if it's cleaner in some way. The writing continues to be top-notch, and I look forward to it every month. Between this and Gamepro, my evening reading just got better.
In other news, today felt like a success. Between my wife and I, we completed our taxes, and were pleasantly surprised to determine that we are, in fact, going to be receiving more in our return than last year. This is due in no small part to my wife figuring out that we could deduct the sales tax paid when we purchased the minivan. Overall, this will allow us to dig out of some of the self-imposed debt of the past year, and also to perform some much needed home improvements. Our twins are getting older, and some changes are required to keep them from killing themselves on the electronics in the living room.
That's all for tonight. Tomorrow is Sunday, and hopefully I'll have some earth-shattering topic to discuss. I wouldn't hold your breath, though.
Going out to get the mail this afternoon, I was fairly certain that I would find two things contained among the rest of the junk mail and bills: the copy of Hellgate: London I requested from Goozex and a package of assorted iPhone accessories that I'd ordered from a cheap online outlet. My assumption was correct, as both items were safely nestled in the mailbox. However, two other pieces of mail caught my eye as I scanned through the pile on the way back to the house. My first issue of Gamepro had finally arrived, as well as the latest issue of PC Gamer. Still being a sucker for media I can hold in my hand and flip through, it's always a treat to get magazines in the mail. Getting a free moment after the little monsters were all safely tucked into bed, I perused both and was very pleasantly surprised.
Having no prior experience with Gamepro, I signed up for a subscription after reading and hearing about the new direction the magazine and website was taking under their new Executive VP of Content, John Davison. I first read and heard Davison while he was at Ziff Davis Media, working with the former incarnation of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly), Games for Windows/Computer Gaming World, and 1UP.com. Honestly, I loved his British accent, but more so it was refreshing to hear his opinions on games and the industry. He had insights and ideas that clearly showed he understood the industry, its highs and lows, and if given the right opportunity would be able to use this knowledge and experience to do great things. It seems that opportunity has come at Gamepro. The magazine has a crisp feel, and a focus not just on the games, but on the people behind the games. This is a facet that is often under-represented in the gaming press, and the treatment by the staff indicates high quality content will not be in short supply. I can't rave enough about this, and look forward to watching John and his talented team recreate the magazine's image over the next year..
PC Gamer has been a staple of my reading diet for some time now, and have seen it change editors-in-chief three times since I started subscribing (from Greg Vederman to Kristen Salvatore to Gary Steinman), with the reins now in Logan Decker's hands. This issue marks the second of his official run, and it feels as if he's moving in the right direction. There's something about the new layout, content and page design that appeals to me, as if it's cleaner in some way. The writing continues to be top-notch, and I look forward to it every month. Between this and Gamepro, my evening reading just got better.
In other news, today felt like a success. Between my wife and I, we completed our taxes, and were pleasantly surprised to determine that we are, in fact, going to be receiving more in our return than last year. This is due in no small part to my wife figuring out that we could deduct the sales tax paid when we purchased the minivan. Overall, this will allow us to dig out of some of the self-imposed debt of the past year, and also to perform some much needed home improvements. Our twins are getting older, and some changes are required to keep them from killing themselves on the electronics in the living room.
That's all for tonight. Tomorrow is Sunday, and hopefully I'll have some earth-shattering topic to discuss. I wouldn't hold your breath, though.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Option Paralysis and My Gaming Habits
Three more days and NaBloPoMo will be complete! I've successfully managed to post once per day throughout January, if you allow me the fact that I had to post one update at 4am due to traveling. There were no guarantees that I would make it this far, and it's safe to say that I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. Here's to the hope that I've formed a habit that will continue.
Yesterday I mentioned that I would discuss how 'option paralysis' affects my game playing habits. While thinking about the issue and its affect on me, I came to a conclusion that this is something that plagues me throughout my life, and not just part of my gaming hobby.
The best way I can describe it is to use an example from work. One of the projects I'm working on involves receiving lots of feedback on the work product from a lot of different sources. There are currently three different documents, from three different companies, that have provided feedback and comments on my work. In attempting to go through and resolve all of these issues, it feels as if my head is going to explode. There are so many small things that need attention, but I can't seem to zero in on each one individually and address them in that manner. My mind continually attempts to absorb them in one big mass and it's not equipped to handle that volume of work. So I get bogged down, discouraged and inevitably distracted by something else. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on how long I have to address the comments and move on. It's not like I want to fail, but I can't get my brain to lock on to small, manageable chunks of work, it's always looking at the task in a macro scale, which is neither productive nor conducive to creating the feeling of accomplishment, which I can harness to get more work completed, and so on.
There's a work example, but the title of this post indicates I would be equating this issue to my gaming. Well, in the microcosm of my gaming habit, it's very similar. I really enjoy playing games, and I'd like to think I have the time to at least sample some of the most current games, to keep me 'up' on the current trends in the industry, as well as keeping my perspective relevant to all of the video gaming media I consume. Since I am forced to game on a budget, most of the games I pick up are either on sale or demos of the latest games. The problem with me trying to stay current is that there are a lot of games coming out in any particular month, and I don't always have time to play every day. If I happen to 'get behind' in my game playing (the only measure of getting behind is in my own head, so this whole thing is a self-defeating prophecy), it's a struggle for me to stop and play just one game, when I know there's a list of games that I also want to sample waiting in the wings. The feeling of devoting time to one game, and deriving pleasure and enjoyment from the experience, also feels like neglecting all of the other options available to me. More often than not, I look at all of the games I want to play, get discouraged and surf the Internet for an hour instead of playing any of the games.
In both cases, my 'option paralysis' is clearly detrimental to the goals that I want to achieve. Is there something I can do to alleviate or eliminate this issue? Is there some medication I can take, some mind exercises to work on? At this point, I'm willing to try just about anything, if it would improve my productivity and enjoyment of the free time I allow myself. In the long run, it would probably improve my general mood and outlook on my career and personal life. Clearly this is an issue that won't solve itself overnight and I need to do some research and determine a course of action. If anyone reading this has any advice or places to look, I'm all ears.
Considering the overall negative vibe around this post, I don't want anyone to mistake the fact that I'm not happy, because I am. This is just taking one frustrating and annoying trait that I seem to exhibit and putting it under a microscope. I've lived with the issue this long, clearly it's not something that I can't cope with, but I just think there's a better way to go about things, and I want to find it.
This introspective post is now over. You can go back to enjoying your day. :)
Yesterday I mentioned that I would discuss how 'option paralysis' affects my game playing habits. While thinking about the issue and its affect on me, I came to a conclusion that this is something that plagues me throughout my life, and not just part of my gaming hobby.
The best way I can describe it is to use an example from work. One of the projects I'm working on involves receiving lots of feedback on the work product from a lot of different sources. There are currently three different documents, from three different companies, that have provided feedback and comments on my work. In attempting to go through and resolve all of these issues, it feels as if my head is going to explode. There are so many small things that need attention, but I can't seem to zero in on each one individually and address them in that manner. My mind continually attempts to absorb them in one big mass and it's not equipped to handle that volume of work. So I get bogged down, discouraged and inevitably distracted by something else. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on how long I have to address the comments and move on. It's not like I want to fail, but I can't get my brain to lock on to small, manageable chunks of work, it's always looking at the task in a macro scale, which is neither productive nor conducive to creating the feeling of accomplishment, which I can harness to get more work completed, and so on.
There's a work example, but the title of this post indicates I would be equating this issue to my gaming. Well, in the microcosm of my gaming habit, it's very similar. I really enjoy playing games, and I'd like to think I have the time to at least sample some of the most current games, to keep me 'up' on the current trends in the industry, as well as keeping my perspective relevant to all of the video gaming media I consume. Since I am forced to game on a budget, most of the games I pick up are either on sale or demos of the latest games. The problem with me trying to stay current is that there are a lot of games coming out in any particular month, and I don't always have time to play every day. If I happen to 'get behind' in my game playing (the only measure of getting behind is in my own head, so this whole thing is a self-defeating prophecy), it's a struggle for me to stop and play just one game, when I know there's a list of games that I also want to sample waiting in the wings. The feeling of devoting time to one game, and deriving pleasure and enjoyment from the experience, also feels like neglecting all of the other options available to me. More often than not, I look at all of the games I want to play, get discouraged and surf the Internet for an hour instead of playing any of the games.
In both cases, my 'option paralysis' is clearly detrimental to the goals that I want to achieve. Is there something I can do to alleviate or eliminate this issue? Is there some medication I can take, some mind exercises to work on? At this point, I'm willing to try just about anything, if it would improve my productivity and enjoyment of the free time I allow myself. In the long run, it would probably improve my general mood and outlook on my career and personal life. Clearly this is an issue that won't solve itself overnight and I need to do some research and determine a course of action. If anyone reading this has any advice or places to look, I'm all ears.
Considering the overall negative vibe around this post, I don't want anyone to mistake the fact that I'm not happy, because I am. This is just taking one frustrating and annoying trait that I seem to exhibit and putting it under a microscope. I've lived with the issue this long, clearly it's not something that I can't cope with, but I just think there's a better way to go about things, and I want to find it.
This introspective post is now over. You can go back to enjoying your day. :)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Lost for Thoughts
Once again, today's blog update is a whole lotta nuthin'...but I'm not sure anyone is even reading. If you are, I applaud you, as you're truly a warrior, struggling through my drivel.
Not much is really happening in my world these days. Work has settled back into the usual routine after the holidays, while I'm struggling with a project that just won't seem to go away. Today was particularly troublesome, because for some reason I was experiencing difficulty getting my head around exactly all of the little outstanding details that need to be nailed down before Feburary 12th. I think I have my head around what needs to occur, and tomorrow should go more smoothly. Also, the number of projects that I am assigned to work on has certainly increased, which bodes for a productive spring.
After a couple of weeks away, I dug back into Trine for about an hour or so tonight. There's a lot to enjoy about the game, and the more I play it, the better it gets. The physics engine is quite good, and the ability to bounce back and forth between the three distinct characters creates so many options for solving the myriad of environmental puzzles thrown at you that there's probably no way to play it the same as anyone else. For the level I completed tonight, I started to utilize the Magician and his ability to create planks and crates, and teaming that with the Thief's ability to jump and grapple. The Knight is always handy for cleaning out the skeletons.
Lately, I've also been trying to take more pictures and video with the iPhone and publish them to my Twitter feed with Twitpic and Twitvid, respectively. Understanding that I'm an engineer, which severely cripples my creative ability from the start, it should be obvious that these forays into visual media are quite stiff, crude and rudimentary. It still feels like such a novelty to be able to take a picture, and within a couple of minutes have it posted to Twitter and Facebook. Given the right opportunities and vision, these could be great tools to build or expand your online presence. While I know the stuff I'm producing now isn't great, I'd like to think that with some time and practice I'll learn a few more things and find some interesting subjects for the pictures and video. Once again I'm amazed at our ability today to broadcast ourselves to the world, and in the right hands amazing results can be had.
Tomorrow I think I'll discuss something that's bothered me for some time, option paralysis. It affects me most in my game playing habits, but it manifests itself in such a way that really is aggravating. Most likely it won't be incredibly interesting, but it may be cathartic for me to explore and discuss it in the open. Until then, take care and have a great night!
Not much is really happening in my world these days. Work has settled back into the usual routine after the holidays, while I'm struggling with a project that just won't seem to go away. Today was particularly troublesome, because for some reason I was experiencing difficulty getting my head around exactly all of the little outstanding details that need to be nailed down before Feburary 12th. I think I have my head around what needs to occur, and tomorrow should go more smoothly. Also, the number of projects that I am assigned to work on has certainly increased, which bodes for a productive spring.
After a couple of weeks away, I dug back into Trine for about an hour or so tonight. There's a lot to enjoy about the game, and the more I play it, the better it gets. The physics engine is quite good, and the ability to bounce back and forth between the three distinct characters creates so many options for solving the myriad of environmental puzzles thrown at you that there's probably no way to play it the same as anyone else. For the level I completed tonight, I started to utilize the Magician and his ability to create planks and crates, and teaming that with the Thief's ability to jump and grapple. The Knight is always handy for cleaning out the skeletons.
Lately, I've also been trying to take more pictures and video with the iPhone and publish them to my Twitter feed with Twitpic and Twitvid, respectively. Understanding that I'm an engineer, which severely cripples my creative ability from the start, it should be obvious that these forays into visual media are quite stiff, crude and rudimentary. It still feels like such a novelty to be able to take a picture, and within a couple of minutes have it posted to Twitter and Facebook. Given the right opportunities and vision, these could be great tools to build or expand your online presence. While I know the stuff I'm producing now isn't great, I'd like to think that with some time and practice I'll learn a few more things and find some interesting subjects for the pictures and video. Once again I'm amazed at our ability today to broadcast ourselves to the world, and in the right hands amazing results can be had.
Tomorrow I think I'll discuss something that's bothered me for some time, option paralysis. It affects me most in my game playing habits, but it manifests itself in such a way that really is aggravating. Most likely it won't be incredibly interesting, but it may be cathartic for me to explore and discuss it in the open. Until then, take care and have a great night!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Politics
The topic of the day is politics, and why they always leave me cold.
Having spent the past hour or so watching the State of the Union speech from the president, it only reinforced to me why I don't bother becoming more informed or active in the first place. It's disappointing to me to watch grown men and women act like petulant children or overeager ass-kissers (whichever your party affiliation may be) in the face of difficult times for those people who elected them to the cushy jobs they now have.
The previous statement could have been tempered, to be sure, but it's just the way I feel right now. On a night where the President spoke to the nation, our elected officials on both sides of the chamber acted like fools. It's no wonder that the American public has so little faith in the governmental process. I know that, as an American, I am lucky to live in a country that has an elected government and not a military dictator, but after watching some of the shameful displays of disrespect and outright cheerleading this evening, I'm still pretty discouraged.
I tend to lean toward Republican fiscal views and Democratic social views, so I can say without affiliation to either party (I'm officially undeclared in my state of residence) that Nancy Pelosi should give up the snarky smirking and ridiculous standing ovations for every word the President says, and at the same time the old white men that make up the Republican party should stop behaving in a manner that I wouldn't put up with from my two-year-olds.
Several of the points made in the State of the Union speech were easy to agree with, but difficult to fathom how they would be carried out. While I agree that health care needs reform, I don't know if this is the way it should be reformed. In my complete and utter naivete, I'd love to believe that the people in Washington could set aside party politics long enough to get us out of this mess, but that's as likely as me becoming the next president (read: won't happen). All in all, I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth and a bigger case of political apathy.
There, I'm down off my soapbox now. Enjoy the rest of your evening...
Having spent the past hour or so watching the State of the Union speech from the president, it only reinforced to me why I don't bother becoming more informed or active in the first place. It's disappointing to me to watch grown men and women act like petulant children or overeager ass-kissers (whichever your party affiliation may be) in the face of difficult times for those people who elected them to the cushy jobs they now have.
The previous statement could have been tempered, to be sure, but it's just the way I feel right now. On a night where the President spoke to the nation, our elected officials on both sides of the chamber acted like fools. It's no wonder that the American public has so little faith in the governmental process. I know that, as an American, I am lucky to live in a country that has an elected government and not a military dictator, but after watching some of the shameful displays of disrespect and outright cheerleading this evening, I'm still pretty discouraged.
I tend to lean toward Republican fiscal views and Democratic social views, so I can say without affiliation to either party (I'm officially undeclared in my state of residence) that Nancy Pelosi should give up the snarky smirking and ridiculous standing ovations for every word the President says, and at the same time the old white men that make up the Republican party should stop behaving in a manner that I wouldn't put up with from my two-year-olds.
Several of the points made in the State of the Union speech were easy to agree with, but difficult to fathom how they would be carried out. While I agree that health care needs reform, I don't know if this is the way it should be reformed. In my complete and utter naivete, I'd love to believe that the people in Washington could set aside party politics long enough to get us out of this mess, but that's as likely as me becoming the next president (read: won't happen). All in all, I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth and a bigger case of political apathy.
There, I'm down off my soapbox now. Enjoy the rest of your evening...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Google Voice (Warning: Nerdy!)
The amazing, and somewhat confusing, instance of technological convergence that is Google voice is the topic for today's post, the 26th for NaBloPoMo.
Some time ago, I wrangled an invite for the new Google service called Google Voice. It's an intriguing idea: One phone number that can be configured to ring multiple lines at the same time, or based on who's calling, or send directly to voicemail, or any of what feels like endless features. There's also voicemail transcription, where a speech-to-text analysis of a voicemail left in your mailbox would be sent to you via e-mail. I'm probably doing a terrible job of trying to explain all the features, so I'll just let the official description handle it from here.
For me, there are a lot of ideas on how to use this service floating around in my head. If I wanted to, I could now start giving out my Voice number to everyone, because it would be the same regardless if I change cell phone numbers, home phone numbers, I change jobs, etc. There is a convenience and elegance to that. My big fear would be that Google pulls the plug on the project, causing me to have to yet again alert people of a change in number.
Another downside right now is when making an outgoing call, your actual number (whether it be cell phone, work phone, etc.) is the one that comes up on caller ID, unless you go through the cumbersome process of calling a Google Voice number, and then calling the number you really want to call. So, now you have people calling you on one number and receiving calls from you from another number, unless you are diligent and always go through the extra step of calling Google first. I'm especially sensitive to this issue as a professional, because I don't want clients or coworkers being confused with what I described above. As a general rule, simpler is better.
With that being said, there are some interesting possibilities as part of the service. Just last week, there were some issues with me not being reachable via cell phone at my parents' house because AT&T has no service in their area. However, they do have high-speed Internet service there, and a WiFi network. Here's a possible workaround of being out of touch in that scenario, at least in theory:
1. Through Skype, get a number and a subscription, at a monthly cost.
2. Link my Google Voice number with the Skype number.
3. On my iPhone, download the Skype app.
4. Provide the Google Voice number I currently have to friends, family, clients and coworkers.
If I understand everything correctly, someone would try to call my Google Voice number. While I was out of cell phone coverage, I would configure Voice to go to voicemail automatically. I would receive an e-mail almost immediately that a message was left in my inbox. I could then use Skype on the iPhone to call the person back. Unfortunately, there is no way to have the Skype app alert me that a call is coming in, even if I did have Voice call it. This is due to the fact that Apple does not allow VoIP when not on WiFi, so 'push' notification is disabled in the service right now. Admittedly, it's not particularly elegant, but it would be better than nothing.
Another option I've considered is having my office phone forwarded to my Voice number if I'm busy or don't pick up after a certain number of rings. The person calling my office would then be able to leave a message in my Voice mailbox, which would generate an e-mail to my account that (a) a message was left and (b) a transcription of that message. In theory once again, I would be able to react to and return messages directed to my office phone at any time, since my e-mail is updated on my phone as long as I'm in 3G or Edge coverage, not just WiFi. Living in the greater Boston area, that coverage is not a big issue.
To be honest, I'm not sure why this whole idea fascinates me so much, but it does. The thought of having one number associated to me for the foreseeable future, and being able to give that number out to everyone is quite intriguing. Being able to selectively screen calls based on the number before they even ring a phone is also interesting. There's also the ability to choose what phone or service that a call into Voice is forwarded to, based on the time of day. If you so wanted, you could configure it such that all business calls are sent to voicemail immediately after 6pm, while all family calls are forwarded to your home phone at that time, since you're most likely to be there.
At the present time, I haven't implemented any of the ideas discussed here, because most of the thoughts I have revolve around business calls, and if something doesn't work and calls get dropped or missed, there are consequences to that. I have plans to temporarily forward my desk phone at work to Voice, and test out how well the voicemail service works. That would be a great way to stay in touch with clients and coworkers when away from the office.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the time being. If anyone reading this has experience with Voice and is willing to share their thoughts, I'd love to hear them. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Some time ago, I wrangled an invite for the new Google service called Google Voice. It's an intriguing idea: One phone number that can be configured to ring multiple lines at the same time, or based on who's calling, or send directly to voicemail, or any of what feels like endless features. There's also voicemail transcription, where a speech-to-text analysis of a voicemail left in your mailbox would be sent to you via e-mail. I'm probably doing a terrible job of trying to explain all the features, so I'll just let the official description handle it from here.
For me, there are a lot of ideas on how to use this service floating around in my head. If I wanted to, I could now start giving out my Voice number to everyone, because it would be the same regardless if I change cell phone numbers, home phone numbers, I change jobs, etc. There is a convenience and elegance to that. My big fear would be that Google pulls the plug on the project, causing me to have to yet again alert people of a change in number.
Another downside right now is when making an outgoing call, your actual number (whether it be cell phone, work phone, etc.) is the one that comes up on caller ID, unless you go through the cumbersome process of calling a Google Voice number, and then calling the number you really want to call. So, now you have people calling you on one number and receiving calls from you from another number, unless you are diligent and always go through the extra step of calling Google first. I'm especially sensitive to this issue as a professional, because I don't want clients or coworkers being confused with what I described above. As a general rule, simpler is better.
With that being said, there are some interesting possibilities as part of the service. Just last week, there were some issues with me not being reachable via cell phone at my parents' house because AT&T has no service in their area. However, they do have high-speed Internet service there, and a WiFi network. Here's a possible workaround of being out of touch in that scenario, at least in theory:
1. Through Skype, get a number and a subscription, at a monthly cost.
2. Link my Google Voice number with the Skype number.
3. On my iPhone, download the Skype app.
4. Provide the Google Voice number I currently have to friends, family, clients and coworkers.
If I understand everything correctly, someone would try to call my Google Voice number. While I was out of cell phone coverage, I would configure Voice to go to voicemail automatically. I would receive an e-mail almost immediately that a message was left in my inbox. I could then use Skype on the iPhone to call the person back. Unfortunately, there is no way to have the Skype app alert me that a call is coming in, even if I did have Voice call it. This is due to the fact that Apple does not allow VoIP when not on WiFi, so 'push' notification is disabled in the service right now. Admittedly, it's not particularly elegant, but it would be better than nothing.
Another option I've considered is having my office phone forwarded to my Voice number if I'm busy or don't pick up after a certain number of rings. The person calling my office would then be able to leave a message in my Voice mailbox, which would generate an e-mail to my account that (a) a message was left and (b) a transcription of that message. In theory once again, I would be able to react to and return messages directed to my office phone at any time, since my e-mail is updated on my phone as long as I'm in 3G or Edge coverage, not just WiFi. Living in the greater Boston area, that coverage is not a big issue.
To be honest, I'm not sure why this whole idea fascinates me so much, but it does. The thought of having one number associated to me for the foreseeable future, and being able to give that number out to everyone is quite intriguing. Being able to selectively screen calls based on the number before they even ring a phone is also interesting. There's also the ability to choose what phone or service that a call into Voice is forwarded to, based on the time of day. If you so wanted, you could configure it such that all business calls are sent to voicemail immediately after 6pm, while all family calls are forwarded to your home phone at that time, since you're most likely to be there.
At the present time, I haven't implemented any of the ideas discussed here, because most of the thoughts I have revolve around business calls, and if something doesn't work and calls get dropped or missed, there are consequences to that. I have plans to temporarily forward my desk phone at work to Voice, and test out how well the voicemail service works. That would be a great way to stay in touch with clients and coworkers when away from the office.
Anyway, those are my thoughts for the time being. If anyone reading this has experience with Voice and is willing to share their thoughts, I'd love to hear them. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Just a Monday, But Better Than Most
The month of January marches on, and as there has been for the preceding 24 days, the 25th day finds me posting about...nothing, as usual.
For a Monday, today wasn't too bad. Arriving at work, I managed to take care of all the niggling little tasks that had been haunting me over the weekend. This involved making 6-8 phone calls, sending multiple e-mails, checking in with some coworkers, and generally getting back into the flow of the office, after working at a remote office for the preceding week. Just the simple act of knocking so many individual entries off the work to-do list gave me a feeling of accomplishment that carried through the rest of the day.
Upon returning home this evening, I was able to make dinner for the kids and myself, entertain them, get them ready and put them to bed, clean up the first floor of the house (including the kitchen and living room), clean out the first floor closet, and start our taxes. My poor wife, who had been under siege all day from the three little ones, took our infant upstairs where the two of them got some much-needed rest in the relative peace and quiet of our room. While it wasn't the first choice on my list, I had a great time doing all of these things, again feeding off that feeling of accomplishment which started earlier in the day.
Starting the taxes brought the only disappointment. Considering that my wife was unable to work this year and we added our newest daughter to the fold, we were hoping to get more back this year than last. Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case. The best I can figure is that, with the amount of overtime I worked during the middle part of the year, my salary must have crossed some threshold to move into a higher tax bracket. As it stands, we will receive somewhere near $300-500 less than in 2009. Considering we are getting a refund at all, there's not much to complain about, but since every little bit helps, it's somewhat disappointing.
All of this activity left little time for gaming, which I sadly miss. Tomorrow is the release of Mass Effect 2, and I won't be partaking in the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time. There's not enough time and not enough money to justify the outlay of $50 or more, but so be it. I still haven't been able to get to any of the games I was really looking forward to over the past year, which leaves me with a healthy backlog to work through before I could even think about a new game. Of course, three great kids and a wife deserve my attention anyway, so I can't complain. On the upside, I've been able to find time to write every evening, and that is something of an accomplishment for me. Until tomorrow, and another serving of my mind in text, take care and enjoy!
For a Monday, today wasn't too bad. Arriving at work, I managed to take care of all the niggling little tasks that had been haunting me over the weekend. This involved making 6-8 phone calls, sending multiple e-mails, checking in with some coworkers, and generally getting back into the flow of the office, after working at a remote office for the preceding week. Just the simple act of knocking so many individual entries off the work to-do list gave me a feeling of accomplishment that carried through the rest of the day.
Upon returning home this evening, I was able to make dinner for the kids and myself, entertain them, get them ready and put them to bed, clean up the first floor of the house (including the kitchen and living room), clean out the first floor closet, and start our taxes. My poor wife, who had been under siege all day from the three little ones, took our infant upstairs where the two of them got some much-needed rest in the relative peace and quiet of our room. While it wasn't the first choice on my list, I had a great time doing all of these things, again feeding off that feeling of accomplishment which started earlier in the day.
Starting the taxes brought the only disappointment. Considering that my wife was unable to work this year and we added our newest daughter to the fold, we were hoping to get more back this year than last. Unfortunately that doesn't appear to be the case. The best I can figure is that, with the amount of overtime I worked during the middle part of the year, my salary must have crossed some threshold to move into a higher tax bracket. As it stands, we will receive somewhere near $300-500 less than in 2009. Considering we are getting a refund at all, there's not much to complain about, but since every little bit helps, it's somewhat disappointing.
All of this activity left little time for gaming, which I sadly miss. Tomorrow is the release of Mass Effect 2, and I won't be partaking in the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time. There's not enough time and not enough money to justify the outlay of $50 or more, but so be it. I still haven't been able to get to any of the games I was really looking forward to over the past year, which leaves me with a healthy backlog to work through before I could even think about a new game. Of course, three great kids and a wife deserve my attention anyway, so I can't complain. On the upside, I've been able to find time to write every evening, and that is something of an accomplishment for me. Until tomorrow, and another serving of my mind in text, take care and enjoy!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Birthday and Reflection
NaBloPoMo enters the homestretch, here on the 24th day of consecutive entries. This entry deals with the birthday party we had today and some of the thoughts brought up because of it.
Today was the celebration of our twins' second birthday. They were born on January 25th, 2008, the day that changed my life forever. Watching them this afternoon, tearing around the house with their older cousins, gave me pause to think just how much my life has gotten better since they came along. I've felt deeper emotions than I could have imagined possible, from intense love and pride to fear and sadness. There's a very good chance that all parents will say the same thing, and for those without children it's a phenomenon that can't be explained with words alone. Of course, since this is a blog, I'm going to try.
Both of the stories involve my son, as one is very traumatic and happened to him, while the other (happier) story occurred just yesterday between the two of us. His twin sister, with her energy, intellect and personality, could be and will be the focus of another post in the future, and my youngest daughter is in the formative stages of showing us her personality. For now, the spotlight is on Nick. When Nick was less than a year old, he and his mom took a fall off some very steep steps in the front of his uncle's house. I wasn't there at the time, and received a hysterical call from my wife, asking me through sobs what to do. Her sister-in-law got everyone to the emergency room, as I raced from work down the highway to get to them. Fortunately, everyone came through fine, with poor Nick suffering only from some bruises, and my wife suffering more emotionally than physically. The part that sticks out from my perspective is the hour or so between when I took the call and when I joined them in the emergency room. No shortage of awful imagery and horrible thoughts raced through my head, and didn't stop until I had everyone in my arms and knew they were ok. I wasn't prepared for the fear and feeling of utter helplessness I experienced that day, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help him or protect him at that time.
The far happier story I can relay is that yesterday I took Nick with me to get our hair cut. This wouldn't be the first time he's had his hair cut, but the trips had been fraught with yelling, crying and other dramatic histrionics. To say he didn't enjoy the process would be an understatement. Since I was far overdue to get my own mop trimmed, he and I set out together to the local shop where I've been going to try a different approach. I set Nick up on the bench behind the barber chair I was assigned, complete with his little cars, and settled in for my cut. Every couple of minutes, I would look back to him and ask how things were going and make sure he was watching daddy get his hair cut. Once I was finished, I talked with the very nice girl who did my hair, Cassie, to see if she would be willing to try to cut Nick's hair and if she had any suggestions on how to proceed. We settled on having him sit in my lap while she knelt down and trimmed his hair. At first, he was a bit nervous and wanted to hop out of my lap, but after a bit of soft talking and convincing him everything would be alright, he stopped fidgeting and let Cassie cut his hair. After all of the antics that had accompanied the previous attempts, I can't begin to describe how proud I was of 'my little man' as he sat patiently while the hair floated down around him. In the end, we both ended up with great haircuts, a chocolate doughnut and (I hope) a routine we can continue together in the future, as a chance for some special 'father-son time.'
Today, as my kids tore around the house, I couldn't help but think of the journey to get where we are today, and realized that I wouldn't trade those memories for all the money in the world. The love and pride I have for all my children knows no bounds, and it's something I never would have experienced if I hadn't been blessed with them in my life.
Today was the celebration of our twins' second birthday. They were born on January 25th, 2008, the day that changed my life forever. Watching them this afternoon, tearing around the house with their older cousins, gave me pause to think just how much my life has gotten better since they came along. I've felt deeper emotions than I could have imagined possible, from intense love and pride to fear and sadness. There's a very good chance that all parents will say the same thing, and for those without children it's a phenomenon that can't be explained with words alone. Of course, since this is a blog, I'm going to try.
Both of the stories involve my son, as one is very traumatic and happened to him, while the other (happier) story occurred just yesterday between the two of us. His twin sister, with her energy, intellect and personality, could be and will be the focus of another post in the future, and my youngest daughter is in the formative stages of showing us her personality. For now, the spotlight is on Nick. When Nick was less than a year old, he and his mom took a fall off some very steep steps in the front of his uncle's house. I wasn't there at the time, and received a hysterical call from my wife, asking me through sobs what to do. Her sister-in-law got everyone to the emergency room, as I raced from work down the highway to get to them. Fortunately, everyone came through fine, with poor Nick suffering only from some bruises, and my wife suffering more emotionally than physically. The part that sticks out from my perspective is the hour or so between when I took the call and when I joined them in the emergency room. No shortage of awful imagery and horrible thoughts raced through my head, and didn't stop until I had everyone in my arms and knew they were ok. I wasn't prepared for the fear and feeling of utter helplessness I experienced that day, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help him or protect him at that time.
The far happier story I can relay is that yesterday I took Nick with me to get our hair cut. This wouldn't be the first time he's had his hair cut, but the trips had been fraught with yelling, crying and other dramatic histrionics. To say he didn't enjoy the process would be an understatement. Since I was far overdue to get my own mop trimmed, he and I set out together to the local shop where I've been going to try a different approach. I set Nick up on the bench behind the barber chair I was assigned, complete with his little cars, and settled in for my cut. Every couple of minutes, I would look back to him and ask how things were going and make sure he was watching daddy get his hair cut. Once I was finished, I talked with the very nice girl who did my hair, Cassie, to see if she would be willing to try to cut Nick's hair and if she had any suggestions on how to proceed. We settled on having him sit in my lap while she knelt down and trimmed his hair. At first, he was a bit nervous and wanted to hop out of my lap, but after a bit of soft talking and convincing him everything would be alright, he stopped fidgeting and let Cassie cut his hair. After all of the antics that had accompanied the previous attempts, I can't begin to describe how proud I was of 'my little man' as he sat patiently while the hair floated down around him. In the end, we both ended up with great haircuts, a chocolate doughnut and (I hope) a routine we can continue together in the future, as a chance for some special 'father-son time.'
Today, as my kids tore around the house, I couldn't help but think of the journey to get where we are today, and realized that I wouldn't trade those memories for all the money in the world. The love and pride I have for all my children knows no bounds, and it's something I never would have experienced if I hadn't been blessed with them in my life.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Home Sweet Home
The 23rd installment of NaBloPoMo (not that far to go!) concerns being home after a week away, the horrors of long road trips with toddlers, and the simple joy of sifting through a week's worth of mail.
We pulled out of the garage at 4:15pm. By the time we arrived at our destination, it was 10:50pm. Six and a half hours, three stops and a pounding migraine was the tally for the latest sojourn of our fast-growing family. The trip was my idea in the first place, and also my folly. The week spent with my parents was very pleasant, but the excruciating ordeals masquerading as road trips on either end tempered my enthusiasm to repeat the process. For the trip last night, my amazing wife spent the vast majority of the trip in the back with the toddlers, trying to get them to (a) stop whining and crying, and (b) go to sleep. Eventually, they did both, about three quarters of the way through. Our infant, aside from the need to nurse about 45 minutes after setting out, slept the entire trip. I'll take the small victories where they occur.
There's just something about coming home after being away for an extended period, regardless of how good or bad the trip was. The sense of familiarity, comfort in known surroundings, and the chance to fall back into the old routines makes it a pleasure coming home. Finally, back in our own bed, with our own pillows, in our own room! Even though we're outnumbered by our kids again, three to two, there's no place like home. One of the things I look forward to most is the chance to dig through a large pile of mail. Some people may find it tedious or ridiculous, having to sort through the junk mail, political fliers, supermarket ads, charity donation requests, health club membership specials, and so on, but for me it's still fun. You just never know when something good is going to arrive.
One of the spoils waiting for me upon arriving home was a copy of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, from a Goozex trade. This particular copy had not been opened, so it was particularly fresh, and a great trade for me. During the toddlers' naptime, I loaded the disc into the XBox 360 and took it for a test run, to make sure it actually was the right game and that it did work as advertised. I caught myself snickering slightly at the humor in the opening cutscenes, especially considering the self-deprecating references to the older entries into this game franchise. I only had about 20 minutes to play, though, before one of the tots decided to wake up and need my attention. Considering how many other games I've started and never gotten back to, it's my wish to go back and give this more attention.
The impetus for my initiating the trade for this game comes mostly from this article at Kotaku, where the author discusses the bravery of the developers to take the game in such a radically different direction from the previous installments. This, combined with the review and subsequent discussions about the game by Anthony Gallegos, which I listened to during a time when I had given my 360 to my brother and had no access to a system to play the game on, made the decision simple. It was an experience best had myself, as opposed to vicariously through others.
Tomorrow should be an adventure in and of itself, as my wife's family are all coming by for a birthday party for the twins, their second. I know for a fact that the gift from my mother-in-law is a small trampoline, complete with handle for a toddler to hang onto while jumping. My daughter is incredibly fond of these, having used them at various classes and groups she attends weekly. When she's not at class, she substitutes the arms of our couches for the bar and the cushions for the trampoline. Another favorite substitute is her crib, as the sides and mattress fill in admirably for the trampoline, although it is much louder (probably a benefit in this case). All in all, it should be a great time, and who knows? Maybe I'll get some blog fodder out of it.
We pulled out of the garage at 4:15pm. By the time we arrived at our destination, it was 10:50pm. Six and a half hours, three stops and a pounding migraine was the tally for the latest sojourn of our fast-growing family. The trip was my idea in the first place, and also my folly. The week spent with my parents was very pleasant, but the excruciating ordeals masquerading as road trips on either end tempered my enthusiasm to repeat the process. For the trip last night, my amazing wife spent the vast majority of the trip in the back with the toddlers, trying to get them to (a) stop whining and crying, and (b) go to sleep. Eventually, they did both, about three quarters of the way through. Our infant, aside from the need to nurse about 45 minutes after setting out, slept the entire trip. I'll take the small victories where they occur.
There's just something about coming home after being away for an extended period, regardless of how good or bad the trip was. The sense of familiarity, comfort in known surroundings, and the chance to fall back into the old routines makes it a pleasure coming home. Finally, back in our own bed, with our own pillows, in our own room! Even though we're outnumbered by our kids again, three to two, there's no place like home. One of the things I look forward to most is the chance to dig through a large pile of mail. Some people may find it tedious or ridiculous, having to sort through the junk mail, political fliers, supermarket ads, charity donation requests, health club membership specials, and so on, but for me it's still fun. You just never know when something good is going to arrive.
One of the spoils waiting for me upon arriving home was a copy of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, from a Goozex trade. This particular copy had not been opened, so it was particularly fresh, and a great trade for me. During the toddlers' naptime, I loaded the disc into the XBox 360 and took it for a test run, to make sure it actually was the right game and that it did work as advertised. I caught myself snickering slightly at the humor in the opening cutscenes, especially considering the self-deprecating references to the older entries into this game franchise. I only had about 20 minutes to play, though, before one of the tots decided to wake up and need my attention. Considering how many other games I've started and never gotten back to, it's my wish to go back and give this more attention.
The impetus for my initiating the trade for this game comes mostly from this article at Kotaku, where the author discusses the bravery of the developers to take the game in such a radically different direction from the previous installments. This, combined with the review and subsequent discussions about the game by Anthony Gallegos, which I listened to during a time when I had given my 360 to my brother and had no access to a system to play the game on, made the decision simple. It was an experience best had myself, as opposed to vicariously through others.
Tomorrow should be an adventure in and of itself, as my wife's family are all coming by for a birthday party for the twins, their second. I know for a fact that the gift from my mother-in-law is a small trampoline, complete with handle for a toddler to hang onto while jumping. My daughter is incredibly fond of these, having used them at various classes and groups she attends weekly. When she's not at class, she substitutes the arms of our couches for the bar and the cushions for the trampoline. Another favorite substitute is her crib, as the sides and mattress fill in admirably for the trampoline, although it is much louder (probably a benefit in this case). All in all, it should be a great time, and who knows? Maybe I'll get some blog fodder out of it.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Travel Day
Today's post is basically uninspired, because of all the packing and yelling going on around me.
This post is going to be short, because we are traveling back from my parents' house to ye olde domicile this afternoon. I wasn't sure if there would be time upon arrival to post before the stroke of midnight, so to be safe I'm getting a post online now. I wanted to pass along a link to a touching story about a father trying to relate to his son, and I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought a tear to my eye reading it. There will come a time in my son's life that I'll have the opportunity to comfort or condemn, and I wish that I react as Elysium did. The article itself is refreshingly honest, a trademark of the author. I can only hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Fathers and Sons [from Gamers with Jobs]
This post is going to be short, because we are traveling back from my parents' house to ye olde domicile this afternoon. I wasn't sure if there would be time upon arrival to post before the stroke of midnight, so to be safe I'm getting a post online now. I wanted to pass along a link to a touching story about a father trying to relate to his son, and I'm not ashamed to admit that it brought a tear to my eye reading it. There will come a time in my son's life that I'll have the opportunity to comfort or condemn, and I wish that I react as Elysium did. The article itself is refreshingly honest, a trademark of the author. I can only hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Fathers and Sons [from Gamers with Jobs]
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A Moment of Peace
For the 21st consecutive day of posting an entry to my blog, in honor of NaBloPoMo, I take just a moment to breathe.
One morning, I looked out the window of the home where I'm staying this week, and this was the sight that greeted me:
A beautiful winter landscape stretched out before me. The sky was overcast, the air was thick with falling snow, and a silence hung over everything. In all of my frantic running around, taking care of children, working to put food on the table, and enjoying the wonders technology has to offer, I had forgotten what quiet really is. Looking out over the newly-fallen snow, I took a deep breath and soaked in the scene.
This picture now serves as the wallpaper on my work laptop, in the hopes that when things are at their most frantic, when I feel like my head is going to explode, I can look at the picture and try to recapture in my head the feeling of peace that engulfed me on that day. It may only be a pipe dream, but if it can help me just once through a day or period of chaos, then it will have all been worth it.
I'll end tonight with a quote that struck me today, found on the Answers.Com Twitter account...
One morning, I looked out the window of the home where I'm staying this week, and this was the sight that greeted me:
A beautiful winter landscape stretched out before me. The sky was overcast, the air was thick with falling snow, and a silence hung over everything. In all of my frantic running around, taking care of children, working to put food on the table, and enjoying the wonders technology has to offer, I had forgotten what quiet really is. Looking out over the newly-fallen snow, I took a deep breath and soaked in the scene.
This picture now serves as the wallpaper on my work laptop, in the hopes that when things are at their most frantic, when I feel like my head is going to explode, I can look at the picture and try to recapture in my head the feeling of peace that engulfed me on that day. It may only be a pipe dream, but if it can help me just once through a day or period of chaos, then it will have all been worth it.
I'll end tonight with a quote that struck me today, found on the Answers.Com Twitter account...
"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." - Maya Angelou
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Social Media Integration into Games
Wow, 20 consecutive days posting to the blog. I'd be lying if I said there were no doubt in my mind that this would occur.
Today's topic is more of a question than an exposition. While tooling around the various games and other apps now living in my precious iPhone, i couldn't help but be struck by the amount of them which asked me if I'd like to integrate with Twitter, Facebook or both. Most of the time it was for posting updates or scores, but others were asking for access to my friends lists, to 'find others using XYZ service'. While I'm all for the advancement of connectivity and social media, most of what I ignored or opted out of today seemed extraneous. To have Doodle Jump send my scores to Facebook and Twitter, aside from the fact that they are embarrassingly low, just feels like a great way to annoy anyone who's following me on either or both of those platforms. That feels like the incredible amount of posts visible on my profile from friends playing the latest casual Facebook games. While I don't begrudge them their enjoyment, sometimes the sheer volume of useless spam becomes overwhelming.
Don't take this as an attack on social media. I follow Twitter almost obsessively, and I enjoy my Facebook account. I use some basic forms of social media broadcasting to inform people that I've posted to this very blog, so in some ways this post feels a bit hypocritical. This commentary is not aimed at the existence of social media integration, but at the overwhelming use of it at this time.
Is this the future? Will everything we do be broadcast on some platform to keep others up to date? When will our cable boxes post to Twitter what I'm currently watching? Will my cellphone soon send updates to Facebook as to who I'm on the phone with? Will it get to the point that my toaster will tell the world whether I'm defrosting an Eggo or warming up a bagel?
Strange topic, I know, but it's becoming more and more relevant by the day. Console games, PC games, mobile phone games, they're all increasingly being sold with some sort of hook into the social media scene. Is there such a thing as being too connected? Am I just a technological dinosaur who's already been passed by? I'd like to think not. To me, this feels like the industry, and the public as a whole, trying to find some equilibrium with all of this incredible connection ability available to us these days.
Long story short, I want to hear what you think. Since this is going to be posted on my Facebook account, if any of you were linked to this from that portal, what do you think? Are the notifications that I've posted to my blog annoying to see on my profile? Are you as tired as I am about casual game spam? Let's start a conversation about this in the comments. i want to hear from you.
Today's topic is more of a question than an exposition. While tooling around the various games and other apps now living in my precious iPhone, i couldn't help but be struck by the amount of them which asked me if I'd like to integrate with Twitter, Facebook or both. Most of the time it was for posting updates or scores, but others were asking for access to my friends lists, to 'find others using XYZ service'. While I'm all for the advancement of connectivity and social media, most of what I ignored or opted out of today seemed extraneous. To have Doodle Jump send my scores to Facebook and Twitter, aside from the fact that they are embarrassingly low, just feels like a great way to annoy anyone who's following me on either or both of those platforms. That feels like the incredible amount of posts visible on my profile from friends playing the latest casual Facebook games. While I don't begrudge them their enjoyment, sometimes the sheer volume of useless spam becomes overwhelming.
Don't take this as an attack on social media. I follow Twitter almost obsessively, and I enjoy my Facebook account. I use some basic forms of social media broadcasting to inform people that I've posted to this very blog, so in some ways this post feels a bit hypocritical. This commentary is not aimed at the existence of social media integration, but at the overwhelming use of it at this time.
Is this the future? Will everything we do be broadcast on some platform to keep others up to date? When will our cable boxes post to Twitter what I'm currently watching? Will my cellphone soon send updates to Facebook as to who I'm on the phone with? Will it get to the point that my toaster will tell the world whether I'm defrosting an Eggo or warming up a bagel?
Strange topic, I know, but it's becoming more and more relevant by the day. Console games, PC games, mobile phone games, they're all increasingly being sold with some sort of hook into the social media scene. Is there such a thing as being too connected? Am I just a technological dinosaur who's already been passed by? I'd like to think not. To me, this feels like the industry, and the public as a whole, trying to find some equilibrium with all of this incredible connection ability available to us these days.
Long story short, I want to hear what you think. Since this is going to be posted on my Facebook account, if any of you were linked to this from that portal, what do you think? Are the notifications that I've posted to my blog annoying to see on my profile? Are you as tired as I am about casual game spam? Let's start a conversation about this in the comments. i want to hear from you.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Not Sure What to Call This One
On this, the 19th day of NaBloPoMo, I may have finally run out of things to talk about. A bit of exhausted exposition later, and the streak is still alive.
Today was not a banner day. Work went well, as I tried to implement some of the resolutions discussed in this post. The drive home did not go so well. The office where I'm working this week is about 85 miles from my folks' house, so it's a bit of a drive anyway, but this evening brought snow that made the roads downright treacherous. I fishtailed twice on the ride home, which took almost double the usual time. After crossing the center line (twice) and ending up in a school bus turnout on the side of a rural road, I began to think that someone must be watching over me. If anyone had been approaching from the opposite direction or following me when it occurred, my NaBloPoMo streak would have been over That's something I don't want to think about.
As awful as the ride home was, everything suddenly became much more bearable upon arriving at my destination, because my son was at the door waiting for me. Both he and his sister were still up, hoping to see Daddy before going to bed. It never ceases to warm my heart and bring a smile to my face to have them light up and run over to greet me when coming home from work. Just this simple act of unconditional love and excitement can bring clarity and truly underline exactly what matters in this life. It certainly isn't electronics, or work, or money, or any of a million other trivial, material things. The fact that my family loves me, and have such a wonderful way of expressing it, keeps me going. For anyone without children, there's no way to accurately convey that feeling of love, happiness, joy and peace when your children are happy and safe, but I surely wish I could.
Today's entry was not earth-shattering or particularly exciting, but I hope someone can relate to it. Leave me a comment if this strikes a chord with you. Until tomorrow, be safe out there!
Today was not a banner day. Work went well, as I tried to implement some of the resolutions discussed in this post. The drive home did not go so well. The office where I'm working this week is about 85 miles from my folks' house, so it's a bit of a drive anyway, but this evening brought snow that made the roads downright treacherous. I fishtailed twice on the ride home, which took almost double the usual time. After crossing the center line (twice) and ending up in a school bus turnout on the side of a rural road, I began to think that someone must be watching over me. If anyone had been approaching from the opposite direction or following me when it occurred, my NaBloPoMo streak would have been over That's something I don't want to think about.
As awful as the ride home was, everything suddenly became much more bearable upon arriving at my destination, because my son was at the door waiting for me. Both he and his sister were still up, hoping to see Daddy before going to bed. It never ceases to warm my heart and bring a smile to my face to have them light up and run over to greet me when coming home from work. Just this simple act of unconditional love and excitement can bring clarity and truly underline exactly what matters in this life. It certainly isn't electronics, or work, or money, or any of a million other trivial, material things. The fact that my family loves me, and have such a wonderful way of expressing it, keeps me going. For anyone without children, there's no way to accurately convey that feeling of love, happiness, joy and peace when your children are happy and safe, but I surely wish I could.
Today's entry was not earth-shattering or particularly exciting, but I hope someone can relate to it. Leave me a comment if this strikes a chord with you. Until tomorrow, be safe out there!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Swords & Poker
Another day, another entry for NaBloPoMo. Today's entry focuses on the iPhone game Swords & Poker, my current go-to gaming fix.
One of the distinct advantages to having an iPhone is the ability to experience 'snack-sized' gaming sessions regardless of where I happen to be at the moment. Obviously, the type of game that can be played on the system differs greatly from that which can be found on the PC or XBox 360, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy them. Since I bought it on a whim a couple of days ago, the game sucking the most of my battery life is Swords & Poker.
The blurb I wrote about the game in this blog entry does not do the game justice. The game is a very simple one; you travel through floors of a dungeon, fighting battles with monsters to progress on your journey. The battles take place on a 5x5 grid which holds cards. The center of the grid (a 3x3 grid) is filled with cards at the beginning of the round, and each combatant (the AI-controlled monster and you) is dealt 4 random cards. The object is to create poker hands with the cards in your hand and the cards on the grid, consisting of 5 card hands going horizontally, vertically and diagonally on the board. When you create a hand, you do 'damage' to your opponent, represented by coins in a coin purse, based upon the weapon you carry. For example, the starting weapon you have allows you to do one point of damage for a single pair, two points for two pair, and so on. This damage scales as you upgrade your weapon, so I am now doing 6 points of damage for a pair, 12 points for two pairs, etc., with the Stylet weapon. By defeating your opponents, you earn bounty money, and by clearing a floor, you also earn money. Items you find along the way in chests also reward you with coins or abilities.
To make a long story short, this game makes use of a very simple mechanic to represent battles. I'm currently on the 16th floor of the dungeon, and have played on the order of 75-80 battles, and the mechanic still hasn't gotten old. It takes time to really see the gameboard and all of the possibilities, and to become truly good you need to learn how to look a few moves ahead and anticipate your opponent's plays. There is a fair amount of strategy involved in this simple game. In the immortal words of Kenny Rogers, "You gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."
Not surprisingly, this type of game lends itself very well to the portable gaming platform. Another game I likened this to, Puzzle Quest, was best experienced on the go (my personal preference being the DS), even though it is available on the XBox 360 and PC. Both games can be picked up, complete a battle or two, and then put it away, without losing the thread of the game, and that is a quality suited to a mobile platform such as the iPhone.
For those of your still reading, hopefully I haven't lost you too much in all of this topic jumping. Going from yesterday's deep introspective topic to this rather light-hearted subject must seem strange. It's just a window into the bizarre, jumbled and often incoherent workings of my brain. I go back to work tomorrow and have a long commute from my parents' home to my company's closest office, so there's no predicting what I'll come up with to talk about tomorrow. Hopefully you'll be back to find out!
One of the distinct advantages to having an iPhone is the ability to experience 'snack-sized' gaming sessions regardless of where I happen to be at the moment. Obviously, the type of game that can be played on the system differs greatly from that which can be found on the PC or XBox 360, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy them. Since I bought it on a whim a couple of days ago, the game sucking the most of my battery life is Swords & Poker.
The blurb I wrote about the game in this blog entry does not do the game justice. The game is a very simple one; you travel through floors of a dungeon, fighting battles with monsters to progress on your journey. The battles take place on a 5x5 grid which holds cards. The center of the grid (a 3x3 grid) is filled with cards at the beginning of the round, and each combatant (the AI-controlled monster and you) is dealt 4 random cards. The object is to create poker hands with the cards in your hand and the cards on the grid, consisting of 5 card hands going horizontally, vertically and diagonally on the board. When you create a hand, you do 'damage' to your opponent, represented by coins in a coin purse, based upon the weapon you carry. For example, the starting weapon you have allows you to do one point of damage for a single pair, two points for two pair, and so on. This damage scales as you upgrade your weapon, so I am now doing 6 points of damage for a pair, 12 points for two pairs, etc., with the Stylet weapon. By defeating your opponents, you earn bounty money, and by clearing a floor, you also earn money. Items you find along the way in chests also reward you with coins or abilities.
To make a long story short, this game makes use of a very simple mechanic to represent battles. I'm currently on the 16th floor of the dungeon, and have played on the order of 75-80 battles, and the mechanic still hasn't gotten old. It takes time to really see the gameboard and all of the possibilities, and to become truly good you need to learn how to look a few moves ahead and anticipate your opponent's plays. There is a fair amount of strategy involved in this simple game. In the immortal words of Kenny Rogers, "You gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."
Not surprisingly, this type of game lends itself very well to the portable gaming platform. Another game I likened this to, Puzzle Quest, was best experienced on the go (my personal preference being the DS), even though it is available on the XBox 360 and PC. Both games can be picked up, complete a battle or two, and then put it away, without losing the thread of the game, and that is a quality suited to a mobile platform such as the iPhone.
For those of your still reading, hopefully I haven't lost you too much in all of this topic jumping. Going from yesterday's deep introspective topic to this rather light-hearted subject must seem strange. It's just a window into the bizarre, jumbled and often incoherent workings of my brain. I go back to work tomorrow and have a long commute from my parents' home to my company's closest office, so there's no predicting what I'll come up with to talk about tomorrow. Hopefully you'll be back to find out!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Increased Professional Dedication
Yet another day in the life of NaBloPoMo, the 17th in fact, finds me discussing work and my level of dedication to that endeavor. One of the things I've learned about trying to post every day is that, unless there is a plan for the content and schedule of the posts, topics jump all over the place. My strategy of posting about something that's occurred or I've thought over the course of the preceding twenty-four hours has topics either clustering for a bit, or veering wildly all over the map. Another kernel of wisdom to carry forward.
I work for a living. That revelation is probably a huge shock, I know, but it has to be said. The occupation that keeps a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our backs (I ran out of cliched terms to put in this sentence) happens to be instrumentation and control engineering, mostly in the municipal wastewater arena. Arriving at this job after almost seven years working in the semiconductor industry, I started almost from the bottom and have had to do an awful lot of learning the craft on the fly. There have been many good days, when I feel , if only for a moment that I really 'get it'. These days are often immediately followed by a violent coming back to earth, when an inadvertent error or missed facet of a project comes back to haunt me. In between all of this are the days spent struggling to keep my head above water. Now this might sound familiar to many of you, and I could happily continue in this pattern and be a valuable and happy employee.
But I choose not to continue this cycle. During a bit of sleeplessness last night, I came to the conclusion that this wasn't what I wanted to do or the person I wanted to be. As this point in my career and my family life, I owe it to myself, my employer and my family to improve my work performance and achieve the success in business that I feel I've achieved in my personal life. This is not going to be a quick fix, and it will most certainly not be easy.
This line of thinking came about partially because of an impromptu meeting between my 'boss' and I late last week. He and I discussed my career path and where I saw myself going within the company and the group, and as I stated my desire to transition from the primarily engineering ranks into the world of project management, it dawned on me that changes need to be made for this to happen and be successful. While lying awake thinking last night, mulling over how to accomplish this task, I created a bit of a checklist of things to work on or do to make the process go more smoothly and to increase my professional success and standing, regardless of what lies in store.
Putting the above details into print is the easy part. The difficult part is yet to come. Over the next week, my intent is to develop a plan or schedule on how to achieve each of these items, and create tangible goals and schedules to make the entire exercise more 'real.' I will share these as I make progress, and hopefully the use of this blog to record milestones will encourage me to keep true to the task. This doesn't mean that I won't be writing about games or my family any more, but it will mean that you'll see weekly updates on the tasks I've undertaken.
Well, now that I've completed the brain dump, it's time to get some rest. A long day lies ahead, along with some serious brainstorming before sleep. Of course, I may sneak in some iPhone gaming time in there somewhere, but not too much...:)
I work for a living. That revelation is probably a huge shock, I know, but it has to be said. The occupation that keeps a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our backs (I ran out of cliched terms to put in this sentence) happens to be instrumentation and control engineering, mostly in the municipal wastewater arena. Arriving at this job after almost seven years working in the semiconductor industry, I started almost from the bottom and have had to do an awful lot of learning the craft on the fly. There have been many good days, when I feel , if only for a moment that I really 'get it'. These days are often immediately followed by a violent coming back to earth, when an inadvertent error or missed facet of a project comes back to haunt me. In between all of this are the days spent struggling to keep my head above water. Now this might sound familiar to many of you, and I could happily continue in this pattern and be a valuable and happy employee.
But I choose not to continue this cycle. During a bit of sleeplessness last night, I came to the conclusion that this wasn't what I wanted to do or the person I wanted to be. As this point in my career and my family life, I owe it to myself, my employer and my family to improve my work performance and achieve the success in business that I feel I've achieved in my personal life. This is not going to be a quick fix, and it will most certainly not be easy.
This line of thinking came about partially because of an impromptu meeting between my 'boss' and I late last week. He and I discussed my career path and where I saw myself going within the company and the group, and as I stated my desire to transition from the primarily engineering ranks into the world of project management, it dawned on me that changes need to be made for this to happen and be successful. While lying awake thinking last night, mulling over how to accomplish this task, I created a bit of a checklist of things to work on or do to make the process go more smoothly and to increase my professional success and standing, regardless of what lies in store.
- Lose some weight. This will be a difficult bullet to cross off this list, but it will serve many purposes. I will gain more self-confidence, look better in both personal and professional settings, improve my health, and be around longer for my family.
- Get more regular haircuts. My hair often is longer than it should be, as I loathe to spend the money to get it trimmed at an interval where it would still look good (for me, probably every three weeks). There's also the factor that it's become far more difficult to budget the time to take care of this annoying task.
- Shave more promptly. I'll be the first to admit that I don't budget my time in the mornings efficiently, and I often choose a few more minutes of sleep or time with the kids over shaving. As I currently sport a beard, the effect is not as striking as if I were without facial hair, but it is unprofessional nonetheless. I will improve my efforts to shave regularly and improve my professional appearance.
- Dress more professionally. As I am overweight, I don't look good in many types of clothes, and khakis are one of those types of clothes. These are my best option for the business casual attire required for my line of work, and yet I wear jeans to work every day. This needs to change and, combined with my proposed weight loss, would greatly improve my appearance in the workplace.
- Become more focused while at work. Like many in the workplace today, I find it difficult to resist the call of the Internet and the information and entertainment it offers. While it is a required tool in my job, I need to reduce the amount of time I find myself lured away from productive work and better focus on the task at hand. This should improve my productivity and whittle down the 'to-do list' that's been accumulating in my brain.
- Develop a delivery system for my portion of the projects, that allows for a consistently accurate and repeatable product more efficiently. The foundation of this idea, at this point, is a design manual, containing useful sheets, formulas, articles and information, arranged in such a way that it can be easily accessed and followed throughout the course of each project. I've been gathering this information since I started work, including jotting down notes on particularly tricky items, and keeping little pearls of wisdom gained only by previous failures. By collecting, cataloging and arranging all of these things, I hope to put together a road map to follow in the future that will help not only myself, but my entire department.
Putting the above details into print is the easy part. The difficult part is yet to come. Over the next week, my intent is to develop a plan or schedule on how to achieve each of these items, and create tangible goals and schedules to make the entire exercise more 'real.' I will share these as I make progress, and hopefully the use of this blog to record milestones will encourage me to keep true to the task. This doesn't mean that I won't be writing about games or my family any more, but it will mean that you'll see weekly updates on the tasks I've undertaken.
Well, now that I've completed the brain dump, it's time to get some rest. A long day lies ahead, along with some serious brainstorming before sleep. Of course, I may sneak in some iPhone gaming time in there somewhere, but not too much...:)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
iPhone Gaming and Apps
NaBloPoMo, day 16. Enjoying the relative peace of the folks' house while they spend time with my kids, it seemed like a good time to talk about the iPhone games I've tested out so far.
Having gotten a bit of sleep after what felt like a day on the road (actually only 6 hours, but long enough), I took the opportunity to try out some of the many games which have found their way onto the iPhone over the past few days, today included. This is just a simple list of the games I've tried so far, and my initial impressions of each one. Included after the title of the game, in parentheses, is the price I paid for it, if any.
Flight Control ($0.99) - A 'line drawing' game where you trace the path for planes to take to land at an airport. Planes can't run into each other or the game will end. There are red planes, yellow planes and helicopters, and each type has a specific place to land. It's a test of your ability to monitor and control multiple moving objects at the same time, while trying to plan out the most efficient routes for each. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's definitely something I play at least once a day. Well worth the $0.99 price tag.
Mass Effect Galaxy ($1.99) - An interesting use of characters and setting, basically a tie-in game for the franchise. You control a soldier fighting enemies using the tilt controls of the iPhone, tapping the screen to use special abilities at times. The game itself, including the random control mechanic is ok, but I enjoy it for the story, since Bioware did such a fantastic job creating the Mass Effect universe. There also appears to be unlockable bonus content for Mass Effect 2 if I complete this game and log into my EA.com account. Overall, I'm not sure if it was really worth $1.99, but I'll keep playing, if only to feel that I got my money's worth out of it.
Kapowie (free) - Tap the screen to 'shoot' a certain amount of targets in a certain time. Longer streaks of hitting targets without missing increases your score. I picked it up because it was free, so it's worth at least that much, though I'm quite sure I wouldn't pay for something like this.
Mr. Aah Lite (free) - A stick figure swinging from platform to platform, trying to hit a target on each platform. Your control is limited to tapping when you want the stick figure to let go of the rope he's swinging on. There are added wind and gravity effects to change the rate and distance of the figure's drop, which creates the challenge. It's fun, and I keep going back to it, but I don't think I see myself upgrading to the full version.
Poker Quest Lite (free) - A dice rolling game where you use dice to create poker hands and try to beat an AI opponent. It reminds me of Yahtzee in a way, set in Egyptian pyramids. It's fun as a short diversion, as the match structure allows for play in short bursts. Right now, I wouldn't pay to unlock the full game, but I do play it a fair amount, so we'll see.
DoodleJump ($0.99) - This game gets the most play for me right now. A simple game where you control what looks like a hand drawn sketch (a doodle, get it?) jumping up platforms on a piece of graph paper, avoiding obstacles and trying not to fall. Tilt the iPhone left or right to steer and tap the screen to shoot. It's the most addictive game I've found on the system so far, and one I would highly recommend to anyone.
Star Hogs Lite (free) - Feels like a more advanced version of the old Scorched Earth game and its many clones. You have a ship that has a certain amount of action points to spend each round, which can be used to shoot or move. You use up your points, then your opponent does the same. The objective is to destroy your opponent before they destroy you. Not having played a lot of it, I think you earn points or money you can spend to upgrade your ship, for different weapons and abilities. There's also online multiplayer. The verdict is out on this one, as I've played it a couple of times and it just hasn't grabbed me yet.
Dark Nebula (free) - A fun little game I picked up on sale, the object is to guide a ball through an obstacle course and pick up canister like objects, while avoiding traps and ledges. The control is achieved through the tilt of the iPhone, with right and left movement, plus tilting forward to accelerate and back to decelerate. I've only played two or three levels, but it's a game I will spend more time with. The premise is simple, the graphics are clean and fit the game, the challenges are fun, and the control is intuitive.
Swords & Poker ($0.99) - Picked up on sale after reading a glowing review and noticing that all reviews submitted to iTunes were 5-stars, I've yet to really get into it. It's a Puzzle Quest meets Texas Hold 'em game, where instead of gems to match, you use cards to generate hands to damage your enemy. I tried 3-4 battles and will play more, as I didn't get the hang of the system yet. It appears to have an RPG skin over what could be a simple but addictive game mechanic, and anyone who reads this blog knows I love that type of thing.
Paper Toss (free) - It's really a silly physics demonstration as you try to throw wads of paper into a trash can, where the trajectory of the paper is affected by a fan. Useless time waster and nothing more.
Having gotten a bit of sleep after what felt like a day on the road (actually only 6 hours, but long enough), I took the opportunity to try out some of the many games which have found their way onto the iPhone over the past few days, today included. This is just a simple list of the games I've tried so far, and my initial impressions of each one. Included after the title of the game, in parentheses, is the price I paid for it, if any.
Flight Control ($0.99) - A 'line drawing' game where you trace the path for planes to take to land at an airport. Planes can't run into each other or the game will end. There are red planes, yellow planes and helicopters, and each type has a specific place to land. It's a test of your ability to monitor and control multiple moving objects at the same time, while trying to plan out the most efficient routes for each. I'm not very good at it yet, but it's definitely something I play at least once a day. Well worth the $0.99 price tag.
Mass Effect Galaxy ($1.99) - An interesting use of characters and setting, basically a tie-in game for the franchise. You control a soldier fighting enemies using the tilt controls of the iPhone, tapping the screen to use special abilities at times. The game itself, including the random control mechanic is ok, but I enjoy it for the story, since Bioware did such a fantastic job creating the Mass Effect universe. There also appears to be unlockable bonus content for Mass Effect 2 if I complete this game and log into my EA.com account. Overall, I'm not sure if it was really worth $1.99, but I'll keep playing, if only to feel that I got my money's worth out of it.
Kapowie (free) - Tap the screen to 'shoot' a certain amount of targets in a certain time. Longer streaks of hitting targets without missing increases your score. I picked it up because it was free, so it's worth at least that much, though I'm quite sure I wouldn't pay for something like this.
Mr. Aah Lite (free) - A stick figure swinging from platform to platform, trying to hit a target on each platform. Your control is limited to tapping when you want the stick figure to let go of the rope he's swinging on. There are added wind and gravity effects to change the rate and distance of the figure's drop, which creates the challenge. It's fun, and I keep going back to it, but I don't think I see myself upgrading to the full version.
Poker Quest Lite (free) - A dice rolling game where you use dice to create poker hands and try to beat an AI opponent. It reminds me of Yahtzee in a way, set in Egyptian pyramids. It's fun as a short diversion, as the match structure allows for play in short bursts. Right now, I wouldn't pay to unlock the full game, but I do play it a fair amount, so we'll see.
DoodleJump ($0.99) - This game gets the most play for me right now. A simple game where you control what looks like a hand drawn sketch (a doodle, get it?) jumping up platforms on a piece of graph paper, avoiding obstacles and trying not to fall. Tilt the iPhone left or right to steer and tap the screen to shoot. It's the most addictive game I've found on the system so far, and one I would highly recommend to anyone.
Star Hogs Lite (free) - Feels like a more advanced version of the old Scorched Earth game and its many clones. You have a ship that has a certain amount of action points to spend each round, which can be used to shoot or move. You use up your points, then your opponent does the same. The objective is to destroy your opponent before they destroy you. Not having played a lot of it, I think you earn points or money you can spend to upgrade your ship, for different weapons and abilities. There's also online multiplayer. The verdict is out on this one, as I've played it a couple of times and it just hasn't grabbed me yet.
Dark Nebula (free) - A fun little game I picked up on sale, the object is to guide a ball through an obstacle course and pick up canister like objects, while avoiding traps and ledges. The control is achieved through the tilt of the iPhone, with right and left movement, plus tilting forward to accelerate and back to decelerate. I've only played two or three levels, but it's a game I will spend more time with. The premise is simple, the graphics are clean and fit the game, the challenges are fun, and the control is intuitive.
Swords & Poker ($0.99) - Picked up on sale after reading a glowing review and noticing that all reviews submitted to iTunes were 5-stars, I've yet to really get into it. It's a Puzzle Quest meets Texas Hold 'em game, where instead of gems to match, you use cards to generate hands to damage your enemy. I tried 3-4 battles and will play more, as I didn't get the hang of the system yet. It appears to have an RPG skin over what could be a simple but addictive game mechanic, and anyone who reads this blog knows I love that type of thing.
Paper Toss (free) - It's really a silly physics demonstration as you try to throw wads of paper into a trash can, where the trajectory of the paper is affected by a fan. Useless time waster and nothing more.
Better Late than Never
Day 15ish in my quest to win NaBloPoMo has me filing a late entry, due to traveling concerns.
It's way too late, or way too early, depending on how you decide to classify the time. Because the family and I packed up the minivan and traveled the 6 hours to my hometown, this entry technically is not filed the day it should be, but I hope for leniency in the judgement to keep my streak of a post a day alive. Technically I haven't gone to sleep yet, so it could count as a post for the 15th, even though the clock says otherwise. Anyway, I won't bore you with my internal arguments. Instead, I'll bore you with something else.
Having spent some time with the iPhone over the past few days, I really feel that it could be a tool used for good or for ill, when it comes to my productivity. For example, from a media sharing standpoint, I've already posted a couple of short videos via Twitvid, though they aren't anything to write home about. There's an app I downloaded, called Dragon Dictation, which I could see myself using to get some of the thoughts in my head onto the computer screen. I've also considered the use of the voice recording function to capture the ideas that float around in my head at times when they can't be written down, and conveniently are forgotten when I try to recall them later. It's small things like this that, if I integrate them correctly into my daily routine, really could provide tangible benefits down the road.
However, there's another edge to this sword. The games available on the platform can suck away my time and will to be productive faster than a jackrabbit on a date. Doodle Jump currently has its hooks in me, as well as Mass Effect Galaxy. Two distinctly different tastes, mechanics and experiences, but both provide amusement in bite-size chunks. Also loaded up and waiting for a test run are the lite versions of Poker Quest, Star Hogs, Words with Friends, and Mr. Aaaaaah! The next few days, spent in the relative peace of my parents' home, could prove to be a great place to give all of these a test drive.
My excitement over having the iPhone hasn't waned since acquiring it, instead it's gotten stronger. The possibilities for use seem endless right now, and I can only hope to figure out ways to integrate the potential benefits into my routine to augment or improve what I do now, not just for the sake of doing so. That's the big challenge facing me right now, and here's to hoping I get it right.
That's all for now, since my eyes aren't really focusing on the text anymore. Take care and see you later today!
It's way too late, or way too early, depending on how you decide to classify the time. Because the family and I packed up the minivan and traveled the 6 hours to my hometown, this entry technically is not filed the day it should be, but I hope for leniency in the judgement to keep my streak of a post a day alive. Technically I haven't gone to sleep yet, so it could count as a post for the 15th, even though the clock says otherwise. Anyway, I won't bore you with my internal arguments. Instead, I'll bore you with something else.
Having spent some time with the iPhone over the past few days, I really feel that it could be a tool used for good or for ill, when it comes to my productivity. For example, from a media sharing standpoint, I've already posted a couple of short videos via Twitvid, though they aren't anything to write home about. There's an app I downloaded, called Dragon Dictation, which I could see myself using to get some of the thoughts in my head onto the computer screen. I've also considered the use of the voice recording function to capture the ideas that float around in my head at times when they can't be written down, and conveniently are forgotten when I try to recall them later. It's small things like this that, if I integrate them correctly into my daily routine, really could provide tangible benefits down the road.
However, there's another edge to this sword. The games available on the platform can suck away my time and will to be productive faster than a jackrabbit on a date. Doodle Jump currently has its hooks in me, as well as Mass Effect Galaxy. Two distinctly different tastes, mechanics and experiences, but both provide amusement in bite-size chunks. Also loaded up and waiting for a test run are the lite versions of Poker Quest, Star Hogs, Words with Friends, and Mr. Aaaaaah! The next few days, spent in the relative peace of my parents' home, could prove to be a great place to give all of these a test drive.
My excitement over having the iPhone hasn't waned since acquiring it, instead it's gotten stronger. The possibilities for use seem endless right now, and I can only hope to figure out ways to integrate the potential benefits into my routine to augment or improve what I do now, not just for the sake of doing so. That's the big challenge facing me right now, and here's to hoping I get it right.
That's all for now, since my eyes aren't really focusing on the text anymore. Take care and see you later today!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The One Where I Talk Too Much About Myself
NaBloPoMo, Day 14. Fighting off exhaustion and lack of a good topic, a cluttered mess falls out of my head into the blog. I truly apologize to anyone reading this, as the recent posts have veered off from the original mission, to discuss all things video games. Bear with me as I try to get back on track.
For the past few weeks, a lot of my head space (that not wholly consumed with the acquisition and enjoyment of the iPhone) has been preoccupied with rather heavy topics. Even though the product may not bear up to it, I've really enjoyed putting time into writing and posting to the blog, so much so that there's a tickle in the back of my mind which would have me explore the possibilities of using writing to somehow earn some extra money on the side. That would be great: doing something I like to do and get paid for it! Sadly, the big problem lies in the fact that many, many people aspire to the same thing, and most of those people have the education (let's just say that possessing an engineering degree and trying to break into a writing or journalism field isn't the best angle of attack), experience and talent which I lack. Understanding all of that, my little daydream of using an outlet like this to generate an income will have to wait.
A bit of my head space has also been directed to ways to improve my current craft, as an instrumentation and controls engineer for an environmental engineering firm. I've been mulling around a lot of ways to improve the design process and delivery standards, and there are a lot of half-formed ideas bouncing around. To create a list of these would benefit only me, and would drive the rest of you to click away from this page in boredom. Rest assured that it's a great list and, if implemented properly, would revolutionize the I&C design team. There might be some hyperbole in that last statement, but probably only a dab.
The problem I have, and one that's plagued me for as long as I can remember, is that I can't seem to keep my brain focused on one task long enough to complete it, before it careens off in another direction. You would figure that this would be frustrating and annoying, to go through life like this, and you would be right. This blog, for instance, probably does a great job at illustrating my point. If you were to go back and look at all of the things I've set out to do, and how many of them I actually do, you'd be appalled at the completion percentage. In a single, concise statement, I can sum up most of my adult life: I Lack Followthrough. Hopefully this isn't going to come out sounding too pretentious, but if I could train my brain to focus on one task or project at a time, see it through to completion with attention to detail and proper review each one deserves, I would be a far more successful person than I am today.
What do I do about this? There's the rub...I just don't know. If anyone reading this has any ideas, I'm all ears. Clearly, this behavior demonstrates a shocking lack of discipline on my part, and maybe that's where I need to start. It will require further research to understand my options, which isn't going to happen tonight. My eyes are starting to blur, and I'm going to be driving back to my hometown tomorrow night, starting around 9pm. We should reach our destination around 3am or so, which tells me I need to get some sleep. This post, though, will serve as my reminder to actually take the time to figure out what I can do about the issues that haunt me.
To those of you who've made it this far, through all of this navel-gazing and introspection, thanks for continuing to read. My hope is to get back to other topics, starting tomorrow. Until then, stay safe and be well!
For the past few weeks, a lot of my head space (that not wholly consumed with the acquisition and enjoyment of the iPhone) has been preoccupied with rather heavy topics. Even though the product may not bear up to it, I've really enjoyed putting time into writing and posting to the blog, so much so that there's a tickle in the back of my mind which would have me explore the possibilities of using writing to somehow earn some extra money on the side. That would be great: doing something I like to do and get paid for it! Sadly, the big problem lies in the fact that many, many people aspire to the same thing, and most of those people have the education (let's just say that possessing an engineering degree and trying to break into a writing or journalism field isn't the best angle of attack), experience and talent which I lack. Understanding all of that, my little daydream of using an outlet like this to generate an income will have to wait.
A bit of my head space has also been directed to ways to improve my current craft, as an instrumentation and controls engineer for an environmental engineering firm. I've been mulling around a lot of ways to improve the design process and delivery standards, and there are a lot of half-formed ideas bouncing around. To create a list of these would benefit only me, and would drive the rest of you to click away from this page in boredom. Rest assured that it's a great list and, if implemented properly, would revolutionize the I&C design team. There might be some hyperbole in that last statement, but probably only a dab.
The problem I have, and one that's plagued me for as long as I can remember, is that I can't seem to keep my brain focused on one task long enough to complete it, before it careens off in another direction. You would figure that this would be frustrating and annoying, to go through life like this, and you would be right. This blog, for instance, probably does a great job at illustrating my point. If you were to go back and look at all of the things I've set out to do, and how many of them I actually do, you'd be appalled at the completion percentage. In a single, concise statement, I can sum up most of my adult life: I Lack Followthrough. Hopefully this isn't going to come out sounding too pretentious, but if I could train my brain to focus on one task or project at a time, see it through to completion with attention to detail and proper review each one deserves, I would be a far more successful person than I am today.
What do I do about this? There's the rub...I just don't know. If anyone reading this has any ideas, I'm all ears. Clearly, this behavior demonstrates a shocking lack of discipline on my part, and maybe that's where I need to start. It will require further research to understand my options, which isn't going to happen tonight. My eyes are starting to blur, and I'm going to be driving back to my hometown tomorrow night, starting around 9pm. We should reach our destination around 3am or so, which tells me I need to get some sleep. This post, though, will serve as my reminder to actually take the time to figure out what I can do about the issues that haunt me.
To those of you who've made it this far, through all of this navel-gazing and introspection, thanks for continuing to read. My hope is to get back to other topics, starting tomorrow. Until then, stay safe and be well!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Random Observation about the Digital Era
This, the 13th day of my NaBloPoMo experiment, finds me musing about the ability for individuals to proliferate media in this day and age.
If you're reading this blog, then you're quite aware that I am the proud new owner of an iPhone. Downright giddy, actually, but that's not the point. While happily perusing the Apps Store, and wondering what should be loaded onto my new slice of electronic heaven, a realization dawned on me. To be truthful, an ember of this realization has been smoldering in my brain for a while, but it erupted into a brilliant clarity today. This incredible, amazing, and completely written and talked about by many others realization is this: there is an enormous magnitude of avenues for a person to project themselves out into the public consciousness.
Take my new iPhone, for example. Some of the applications I've downloaded over the past 24-48 hours include Audioboo, a way to record bite-sized chunks of audio and then upload them to the Internet, where they can be then consumed by others or broadcast to other Internet portals; Twitpic, an app to post photos to my Twitter feed; Twitvid, similar to Twitpic, but for video files; Twitterific, so I can read the 'tweets' of all the people I follow in Twitter; and a Facebook app, which should be self-explanatory. All of these applications have a very distinct commonality, which is they allow the user (in this case, me) to broadcast their media to the Internet. The irony is not lost on me, by the way, that the very blogging website I'm using to discuss these applications performs an identical function.
What it all adds up to is an almost mind boggling ability for people to be heard nowadays. Before the rampant spread of viable, inexpensive Internet access, the ways and means for people to be published, heard, seen or read really were much more limited. This new ability to 'broadcast' yourself is absolutely incredible, and as with nearly everything in real life, there are upsides and downsides to this new paradigm. Tool around on the Internet for five minutes and you can, and most likely will, be exposed to some brilliant examples of video, pictures or prose, but you will also be bombarded by the most heinous dreck and drivel. There are some people that shouldn't be allowed such free access to express themselves (maybe I'm one of them!). Before, when it was difficult to get something published on a large scale, and nearly impossible to have your voice heard by a global audience, much of what we see now would not come to light. Now, even a monkey can post something to Youtube with only a little help, society is bombarded with cute cat videos, horrible karaoke renditions, and people doing unimaginable things to themselves, all in the name of a short window of Internet fame.
Having said all of that, I don't want to remove the ability for people to be read, seen or heard. To me, it feels like a necessary evil to suffer through the deluge of garbage to possibly find the hidden gem, a true talent struggling to be discovered. Even I have aspirations of turning this outlet into something more than what amounts to a digital diary, but they are held firmly in check due to family and professional commitments. Taking away my 'chance' to be discovered would be disheartening. Who knows? Maybe someday, after learning on the fly, and honing a style that appeals to people, maybe I could produce something that gets me discovered. The chances are admittedly slim, but for me, and for many out there, that slight chance is all it takes to continue to write, take photos, generate video, perform music, make art...The list goes on and on.
There, I feel like I've rambled long enough for today. As always, if you have any comments or thoughts on this topic, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
If you're reading this blog, then you're quite aware that I am the proud new owner of an iPhone. Downright giddy, actually, but that's not the point. While happily perusing the Apps Store, and wondering what should be loaded onto my new slice of electronic heaven, a realization dawned on me. To be truthful, an ember of this realization has been smoldering in my brain for a while, but it erupted into a brilliant clarity today. This incredible, amazing, and completely written and talked about by many others realization is this: there is an enormous magnitude of avenues for a person to project themselves out into the public consciousness.
Take my new iPhone, for example. Some of the applications I've downloaded over the past 24-48 hours include Audioboo, a way to record bite-sized chunks of audio and then upload them to the Internet, where they can be then consumed by others or broadcast to other Internet portals; Twitpic, an app to post photos to my Twitter feed; Twitvid, similar to Twitpic, but for video files; Twitterific, so I can read the 'tweets' of all the people I follow in Twitter; and a Facebook app, which should be self-explanatory. All of these applications have a very distinct commonality, which is they allow the user (in this case, me) to broadcast their media to the Internet. The irony is not lost on me, by the way, that the very blogging website I'm using to discuss these applications performs an identical function.
What it all adds up to is an almost mind boggling ability for people to be heard nowadays. Before the rampant spread of viable, inexpensive Internet access, the ways and means for people to be published, heard, seen or read really were much more limited. This new ability to 'broadcast' yourself is absolutely incredible, and as with nearly everything in real life, there are upsides and downsides to this new paradigm. Tool around on the Internet for five minutes and you can, and most likely will, be exposed to some brilliant examples of video, pictures or prose, but you will also be bombarded by the most heinous dreck and drivel. There are some people that shouldn't be allowed such free access to express themselves (maybe I'm one of them!). Before, when it was difficult to get something published on a large scale, and nearly impossible to have your voice heard by a global audience, much of what we see now would not come to light. Now, even a monkey can post something to Youtube with only a little help, society is bombarded with cute cat videos, horrible karaoke renditions, and people doing unimaginable things to themselves, all in the name of a short window of Internet fame.
Having said all of that, I don't want to remove the ability for people to be read, seen or heard. To me, it feels like a necessary evil to suffer through the deluge of garbage to possibly find the hidden gem, a true talent struggling to be discovered. Even I have aspirations of turning this outlet into something more than what amounts to a digital diary, but they are held firmly in check due to family and professional commitments. Taking away my 'chance' to be discovered would be disheartening. Who knows? Maybe someday, after learning on the fly, and honing a style that appeals to people, maybe I could produce something that gets me discovered. The chances are admittedly slim, but for me, and for many out there, that slight chance is all it takes to continue to write, take photos, generate video, perform music, make art...The list goes on and on.
There, I feel like I've rambled long enough for today. As always, if you have any comments or thoughts on this topic, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Not My Finest Entry
The 12th installment of my quest to complete NaBloPoMo finds me with...well, not much to say.
Today wasn't a great day. The recipe of being up before 5am, on the road before 6, nearly 2 hours of driving to a 5 hour meeting that I didn't want to attend, followed by 2 more hours driving home comprised my work experience. Coming home, I wrassled with the little ones from 3 until around 7 and then spent some quality time with my beautiful (and sadly uncomfortable) infant while my wife got some needed time out of the house. It all adds up to a day with basically nothing interesting to talk about.
On the iPhone front, I spent time hand entering the contacts from the SIM card on my old phone that weren't saved in Outlook. There was also some time digging through the app store, and adding a few new free apps, and the $0.99 purchase of the game Flight Control. A simple yet fun 'line-drawing' game, should be exactly what I need to kill time at the doctor's office or when I have a free moment to spare. Ok, ok, I'm dancing around the fact that a fair amount of my free time involves me being in the restroom. Don't judge me, I'm a father of three. It's the only place I can achieve true peace. :)
Another big move was to sync my podcasts and music onto the iPhone, which allows me to reduce the number of electronic gadgets I need to carry and not lose (from the old iPod and cell phone, to just the iPhone now). It may seem silly to others, but there was a level of aggravation in having to stuff my pockets full of these electronics, knowing that there was a single piece of gadget goodness that would do everything that I wanted to do in one neat and shiny little package.
With all of this optimism, and I haven't even yet scratched the surface of all the stuff I can do with this thing, there is the nagging concern about battery life with the iPhone. I hear not-so-great things about needing to charge all the time, and this is from folks who don't even use it as an iPod, which I will be doing on a daily basis. Hopefully my experiences are better than theirs, but something tells me I'm going to need a lot of charge cables to make sure I have one wherever I go.
That's all for tonight, but I hope to be back here tomorrow with something not iPhone related. There's been no time lately to play any games on the PC, where they all wait sadly for me to return. That's the plan anyway, unless the my little heathens...err, angels have other plans tomorrow. :)
Today wasn't a great day. The recipe of being up before 5am, on the road before 6, nearly 2 hours of driving to a 5 hour meeting that I didn't want to attend, followed by 2 more hours driving home comprised my work experience. Coming home, I wrassled with the little ones from 3 until around 7 and then spent some quality time with my beautiful (and sadly uncomfortable) infant while my wife got some needed time out of the house. It all adds up to a day with basically nothing interesting to talk about.
On the iPhone front, I spent time hand entering the contacts from the SIM card on my old phone that weren't saved in Outlook. There was also some time digging through the app store, and adding a few new free apps, and the $0.99 purchase of the game Flight Control. A simple yet fun 'line-drawing' game, should be exactly what I need to kill time at the doctor's office or when I have a free moment to spare. Ok, ok, I'm dancing around the fact that a fair amount of my free time involves me being in the restroom. Don't judge me, I'm a father of three. It's the only place I can achieve true peace. :)
Another big move was to sync my podcasts and music onto the iPhone, which allows me to reduce the number of electronic gadgets I need to carry and not lose (from the old iPod and cell phone, to just the iPhone now). It may seem silly to others, but there was a level of aggravation in having to stuff my pockets full of these electronics, knowing that there was a single piece of gadget goodness that would do everything that I wanted to do in one neat and shiny little package.
With all of this optimism, and I haven't even yet scratched the surface of all the stuff I can do with this thing, there is the nagging concern about battery life with the iPhone. I hear not-so-great things about needing to charge all the time, and this is from folks who don't even use it as an iPod, which I will be doing on a daily basis. Hopefully my experiences are better than theirs, but something tells me I'm going to need a lot of charge cables to make sure I have one wherever I go.
That's all for tonight, but I hope to be back here tomorrow with something not iPhone related. There's been no time lately to play any games on the PC, where they all wait sadly for me to return. That's the plan anyway, unless the my little heathens...err, angels have other plans tomorrow. :)
Monday, January 11, 2010
It. Has. Arrived.
NaBloPoMo day 11finds me almost forgetting to post. It's not exciting, but it's honest.
The title of this particularly pathetic and sad post says it all, really. Upon arriving home from work today, what did I find as I opened up the door to the entryway but a small package. To the naked, uninformed eye, this package would not elicit much awe, or even a second glance. For me, however, it is the culmination of at least two years of envious waiting, yearning, wishing...Yes, that's right, my new iPhone arrived!
For this reason, and for the fact that I have to be up incredibly early for a remote business meeting, today's post will be relatively short and uninformative. My hope is to find some time tomorrow evening to talk about my initial impressions and experiences with this latest embodiment of technological joy. Tonight was not a good night to explore the functionality, as the kids needed a lot of extra attention and I did my best to give my wife a break from the baby. Tomorrow is another day, hopefully one marked with childlike wonder and unbridled electronic glee. Until that point, it's off to sleep and travel to visit an ornery client that's never happy with the product we produce. See you all tomorrow!
The title of this particularly pathetic and sad post says it all, really. Upon arriving home from work today, what did I find as I opened up the door to the entryway but a small package. To the naked, uninformed eye, this package would not elicit much awe, or even a second glance. For me, however, it is the culmination of at least two years of envious waiting, yearning, wishing...Yes, that's right, my new iPhone arrived!
For this reason, and for the fact that I have to be up incredibly early for a remote business meeting, today's post will be relatively short and uninformative. My hope is to find some time tomorrow evening to talk about my initial impressions and experiences with this latest embodiment of technological joy. Tonight was not a good night to explore the functionality, as the kids needed a lot of extra attention and I did my best to give my wife a break from the baby. Tomorrow is another day, hopefully one marked with childlike wonder and unbridled electronic glee. Until that point, it's off to sleep and travel to visit an ornery client that's never happy with the product we produce. See you all tomorrow!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sunday Thoughts
Day 10 of NaBloPoMo! Unbelievably, especially to me, the streak is still alive and kicking, although today's post was difficult to come up with. Sundays, as they are usually wont to be, do not provide many blogworthy topics, so I dug a bit deeper for this one. The thought, as many of those I have, started down one path and went in a direction I couldn't have foreseen. Hope you enjoy it.
I'm not quite sure when it first happened, or how many times afterward it occurred. At some point in my childhood, probably when denied the opportunity to do something that I wanted to, or didn't have the money to buy something I just couldn't live without, my young self thought, "Boy, I can't wait until I'm able to buy whatever I want and do whatever I want, without having to ask anyone!" Now, this wasn't a thought unique to me. It's quite possible that every young person thinks this thought, or some variation thereon, during their formative years. It refers to that mythical time in their lives when the stars align and they can do whatever they want, whenever they want.
At some point in my own life, this might have been a reality. My soon-to-be wife and I did live together in relatively modest accommodations for a time, both earning professional salaries, prior to being saddled with the debts we now struggle to pay. There were no sleepless nights making sure our children got to sleep, no mortgages (or second mortgages) to pay, no fears that we aren't doing the right thing to raise our kids. Not to sound cliche, but life really was simpler then. The big problem with that situation is this: we didn't know it! If I could go back 10 years and tell the younger version of me anything, it would be to appreciate those times and not to take them for granted, because they would soon change, and never be the same again.
Let me be clear on this one point: I wouldn't trade my life for anything, because I'm proud of what we've accomplished as a family. It's just that I would want to impress upon my earlier self to not waste a second of freedom, and to enjoy those freedoms of youth and careless abandon, to the fullest. There are so many things I now realize that I thought about doing, but never did simply because I always thought there would be time later. The earlier me could never have come to grips with the amount of responsibility, worry, joy, concern, fear, doubt, and love that having children would bring. Even as I struggle to be an individual, and maintain my own hobbies and interests, it's clear that those come second to the needs of my children and family. The moment those beautiful little creatures sleeping above me in their cribs and bassinet took their first breaths, my purpose in life became one of protecting, nurturing, teaching and guiding those little souls, simply to have the opportunity to be the best people they can be. That awesome responsibility is something I wasn't prepared for, and couldn't honestly fathom until it was thrust upon me.
Going back to my very young self and the wish for unlimited money and freedom, I'm sorry to say that it really didn't happen, and if it did, I guess I blinked and missed it. What I can say is that I have something far better. I have the unconditional love and adoration of small children. Even now, I'm stunned by the fact that my kids think I walk on water, and it will hopefully be some time before they realize I can't. By my estimation, that's worth trading unlimited freedom for any day.
I'm not quite sure when it first happened, or how many times afterward it occurred. At some point in my childhood, probably when denied the opportunity to do something that I wanted to, or didn't have the money to buy something I just couldn't live without, my young self thought, "Boy, I can't wait until I'm able to buy whatever I want and do whatever I want, without having to ask anyone!" Now, this wasn't a thought unique to me. It's quite possible that every young person thinks this thought, or some variation thereon, during their formative years. It refers to that mythical time in their lives when the stars align and they can do whatever they want, whenever they want.
At some point in my own life, this might have been a reality. My soon-to-be wife and I did live together in relatively modest accommodations for a time, both earning professional salaries, prior to being saddled with the debts we now struggle to pay. There were no sleepless nights making sure our children got to sleep, no mortgages (or second mortgages) to pay, no fears that we aren't doing the right thing to raise our kids. Not to sound cliche, but life really was simpler then. The big problem with that situation is this: we didn't know it! If I could go back 10 years and tell the younger version of me anything, it would be to appreciate those times and not to take them for granted, because they would soon change, and never be the same again.
Let me be clear on this one point: I wouldn't trade my life for anything, because I'm proud of what we've accomplished as a family. It's just that I would want to impress upon my earlier self to not waste a second of freedom, and to enjoy those freedoms of youth and careless abandon, to the fullest. There are so many things I now realize that I thought about doing, but never did simply because I always thought there would be time later. The earlier me could never have come to grips with the amount of responsibility, worry, joy, concern, fear, doubt, and love that having children would bring. Even as I struggle to be an individual, and maintain my own hobbies and interests, it's clear that those come second to the needs of my children and family. The moment those beautiful little creatures sleeping above me in their cribs and bassinet took their first breaths, my purpose in life became one of protecting, nurturing, teaching and guiding those little souls, simply to have the opportunity to be the best people they can be. That awesome responsibility is something I wasn't prepared for, and couldn't honestly fathom until it was thrust upon me.
Going back to my very young self and the wish for unlimited money and freedom, I'm sorry to say that it really didn't happen, and if it did, I guess I blinked and missed it. What I can say is that I have something far better. I have the unconditional love and adoration of small children. Even now, I'm stunned by the fact that my kids think I walk on water, and it will hopefully be some time before they realize I can't. By my estimation, that's worth trading unlimited freedom for any day.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
LTTP - Harry Potter 6 Movie Review
Day 9 of NaBloPoMo finds me at home with the kids, so not much chance for a tech topic today. Instead, I focused on our Saturday evening entertainment, a movie we finally saw, only about 6-7 months late.
Today was a Saturday and, as most Saturdays are, it was a blur of diaper changes, mini-tantrums (the kids had a few too) and endless circuits around the first floor, picking up a menagerie of stuffed animals, a shopping cart full of fake plastic food and tripping over wooden train sets. One of the highlights of my day? Escaping the house for a peaceful hour of grocery shopping. Yes folks, banging carts and fighting over deals with the old ladies at Shaws ranks up there on my list these days.THE highlight of the day, however, was the viewing of the movie version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince my wife and I shared after the twins went to bed.
Now I've long since given up being disappointed with what nuggets of story or scenes from the books that I felt should have made the translation to the big screen. It was a losing battle that ultimately made me think less of some pretty well done adaptations of source material that would have been impossible to cram into a movie. This movie clearly carried the ominous and 'this isn't kiddie stuff anymore' atmosphere directly from the book, which made for a rather sad experience overall. There were some brief moments of levity, mostly focused around the inevitable teens discovering the opposite sex and the joys of snogging all the time, but not enough to lighten the mood at all. In my opinion, they handled the entire climactic scene very tastefully, capturing the essence of the mood and characters well. I will give a specific nod to the actors cast to play young Tom Riddle. Even though I knew it was just a movie, the intense looks they gave the camera in their scenes gave me the creeps, and that's the mark of good casting and framing the scene.
The only part of the book which didn't make the screen version, and I wished had, were the scene where Harry and Ginny kissed for the first time. In the book, it was after a Quidditch match, and it felt probable, as harry was on such a rush from the victory that he just 'went for it'. It felt believable, and most of all (at least for me), it shined a ray of good feelings and hope through the dark cloud of impending doom hanging over the rest of the book. This movie could have used that hope and good feeling, although to be fair it's dealing with very dark events.
Long story short, I enjoyed this movie. It will be interesting to see how the material in the final book is handled, because let's face it, there's not a lot to be happy about there. It could be tough to ask audiences to sit through two multiple hour installments of dreariness and death without some levity. We'll find out later this year.
So, with that off my chest, I'm off to bed to dream about iPhones and dirty diapers. Leave a comment on what you thought of HP6, if you'd like. I'd love to hear what others have to say.
Today was a Saturday and, as most Saturdays are, it was a blur of diaper changes, mini-tantrums (the kids had a few too) and endless circuits around the first floor, picking up a menagerie of stuffed animals, a shopping cart full of fake plastic food and tripping over wooden train sets. One of the highlights of my day? Escaping the house for a peaceful hour of grocery shopping. Yes folks, banging carts and fighting over deals with the old ladies at Shaws ranks up there on my list these days.THE highlight of the day, however, was the viewing of the movie version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince my wife and I shared after the twins went to bed.
Now I've long since given up being disappointed with what nuggets of story or scenes from the books that I felt should have made the translation to the big screen. It was a losing battle that ultimately made me think less of some pretty well done adaptations of source material that would have been impossible to cram into a movie. This movie clearly carried the ominous and 'this isn't kiddie stuff anymore' atmosphere directly from the book, which made for a rather sad experience overall. There were some brief moments of levity, mostly focused around the inevitable teens discovering the opposite sex and the joys of snogging all the time, but not enough to lighten the mood at all. In my opinion, they handled the entire climactic scene very tastefully, capturing the essence of the mood and characters well. I will give a specific nod to the actors cast to play young Tom Riddle. Even though I knew it was just a movie, the intense looks they gave the camera in their scenes gave me the creeps, and that's the mark of good casting and framing the scene.
The only part of the book which didn't make the screen version, and I wished had, were the scene where Harry and Ginny kissed for the first time. In the book, it was after a Quidditch match, and it felt probable, as harry was on such a rush from the victory that he just 'went for it'. It felt believable, and most of all (at least for me), it shined a ray of good feelings and hope through the dark cloud of impending doom hanging over the rest of the book. This movie could have used that hope and good feeling, although to be fair it's dealing with very dark events.
Long story short, I enjoyed this movie. It will be interesting to see how the material in the final book is handled, because let's face it, there's not a lot to be happy about there. It could be tough to ask audiences to sit through two multiple hour installments of dreariness and death without some levity. We'll find out later this year.
So, with that off my chest, I'm off to bed to dream about iPhones and dirty diapers. Leave a comment on what you thought of HP6, if you'd like. I'd love to hear what others have to say.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Could Be a Rough Weekend
Day 8 of NaBloPoMo...Wow, have I really made it this far? I'm quite certain that there's never been a time in my existence that I've blogged for 8 consecutive days. Too bad it feels like I'm running out of things to say. This turns out to be a hodge-podge of unrelated topics that just jumped out of my head onto the screen.
After a rather uneventful but tiring day at work, which included multiple morning meetings followed by a trip to a job site that was over an hour each way, I arrived home to find my poor wife in the early throes of a cold. Normally this would be a simple inconvenience, but in a household with two adults and three young children, it becomes an emergency. The primary caregiver (let's face it, I'm borderline useless without her) could be out of commission soon, leaving me to hold down the fort. This is analogous to the Hans Brinker story, where the little Dutch boy plugged up the dyke with his finger, averting a catastrophe? Now imagine, in the Grant family, the little boy represents me, while the dyke is the relative balance and operation of our family unit, and hole to be plugged, representing the chaos that will ensue if Mom goes down with a cold, instead of being finger-sized is something large enough for a semi to pass through. Yea, it could get ugly...
On the upside, there's the chance that we'll bundle up this family of ours, throw them into the minivan, and troop them to my office sometime this weekend. It may seem strange to say that, or even be something to get excited about, but the twins have been there a few time and have an absolute ball there. There are so many new things to explore and look at, and what must seem to them to be endless hallways to run up and down. One area of our office hasn't been built out yet, and might as well be considered an arena for their antics. Here's to hoping we don't disturb any people there trying to do some real work.
The first of the final three episodes of Dollhouse just ended, and the only question I have is this: Why did they save writing and drama like this for the series as it ends? If only the writers had been able to pull together some story lines with the impact of the type we're seeing now, maybe the series wouldn't be ending. Hopefully my frustration comes through when talking about this, because the series had such potential, with a cast and characters that I cared about, and a premise that offered such promise. It's just too bad to see it end, but at least it's going out with a bang.
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but it was difficult for me to sleep last night thinking about the fact that I would soon own an iPhone. It's been easy to downplay how much not having this shiny little technological bauble bothered me, when there was no real possibility of having one (due to financial reasons). Now that the dream is about to become a reality, I'm like the little boy waiting for Christmas day to finally arrive. The e-mail confirming my order and the shipment of the unit came this afternoon, indicating that the iPhone shipped from Texas today. With any luck, it should be here by Monday. You know what? Having been primarily around toddlers for the past couple of years, and seeing the unbridled and guilt-free joy they experience, I've vowed to try to grab onto feelings like that as much as I possibly can, because (as we all know) once you become an adult with real responsibilities, those feelings and moments can be hard to come by.
One last item of note, as least for me anyway. While packing up to leave the office and come home, my mind was humming away about how to approach the creation of standardized design documents, a task I've been wrestling with for a while. Just as I was walking out of the office, an epiphany hit me, one that I hope to follow up on. It has the potential to be just what we've needed for some time, and I'm ashamed that it hadn't come to me before this. The reason why I'm writing about it here is that it felt so good to come up with it, after agonizing over the same issues for so long, I just had to share it with someone else.
Well, there you have it, a veritable brain dump of the scary mess that floats around in my oversized dome. Feel free to leave a comment about anything you've read here, and hope to see you here again soon.
After a rather uneventful but tiring day at work, which included multiple morning meetings followed by a trip to a job site that was over an hour each way, I arrived home to find my poor wife in the early throes of a cold. Normally this would be a simple inconvenience, but in a household with two adults and three young children, it becomes an emergency. The primary caregiver (let's face it, I'm borderline useless without her) could be out of commission soon, leaving me to hold down the fort. This is analogous to the Hans Brinker story, where the little Dutch boy plugged up the dyke with his finger, averting a catastrophe? Now imagine, in the Grant family, the little boy represents me, while the dyke is the relative balance and operation of our family unit, and hole to be plugged, representing the chaos that will ensue if Mom goes down with a cold, instead of being finger-sized is something large enough for a semi to pass through. Yea, it could get ugly...
On the upside, there's the chance that we'll bundle up this family of ours, throw them into the minivan, and troop them to my office sometime this weekend. It may seem strange to say that, or even be something to get excited about, but the twins have been there a few time and have an absolute ball there. There are so many new things to explore and look at, and what must seem to them to be endless hallways to run up and down. One area of our office hasn't been built out yet, and might as well be considered an arena for their antics. Here's to hoping we don't disturb any people there trying to do some real work.
The first of the final three episodes of Dollhouse just ended, and the only question I have is this: Why did they save writing and drama like this for the series as it ends? If only the writers had been able to pull together some story lines with the impact of the type we're seeing now, maybe the series wouldn't be ending. Hopefully my frustration comes through when talking about this, because the series had such potential, with a cast and characters that I cared about, and a premise that offered such promise. It's just too bad to see it end, but at least it's going out with a bang.
I'm somewhat ashamed to admit this, but it was difficult for me to sleep last night thinking about the fact that I would soon own an iPhone. It's been easy to downplay how much not having this shiny little technological bauble bothered me, when there was no real possibility of having one (due to financial reasons). Now that the dream is about to become a reality, I'm like the little boy waiting for Christmas day to finally arrive. The e-mail confirming my order and the shipment of the unit came this afternoon, indicating that the iPhone shipped from Texas today. With any luck, it should be here by Monday. You know what? Having been primarily around toddlers for the past couple of years, and seeing the unbridled and guilt-free joy they experience, I've vowed to try to grab onto feelings like that as much as I possibly can, because (as we all know) once you become an adult with real responsibilities, those feelings and moments can be hard to come by.
One last item of note, as least for me anyway. While packing up to leave the office and come home, my mind was humming away about how to approach the creation of standardized design documents, a task I've been wrestling with for a while. Just as I was walking out of the office, an epiphany hit me, one that I hope to follow up on. It has the potential to be just what we've needed for some time, and I'm ashamed that it hadn't come to me before this. The reason why I'm writing about it here is that it felt so good to come up with it, after agonizing over the same issues for so long, I just had to share it with someone else.
Well, there you have it, a veritable brain dump of the scary mess that floats around in my oversized dome. Feel free to leave a comment about anything you've read here, and hope to see you here again soon.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Joining the iPhone Masses
Day 7 of NaBloPoMo finds me excited about my soon-to-be received technological upgrade.
After what feels like waiting forever, I can finally say that I am the proud owner of an iPhone. Well, at least I can when it arrives in 3-5 days. After examining my options in the company cell phone policy, I felt it was time to opt out of the company's plan and try to have a personal phone reimbursed. This move will allow me more freedom in choosing my phone hardware, and protect my privacy better, since the company no longer will have records of my phone calls. Mind you, I have nothing to hide in that respect, but you can never be too careful these days with who has access to your personal information or records. I had also been told that by accepting a reimbursement to pay for personal cell phone use for work purposes (a flat amount every month, with no regard to how much you pay for minutes or data), the company financial burden is reduced. If this choice allows me the freedom to choose the tech I carry around, and it saves the company money in the process, both sides win.
There is the potential for me to incur overages if I happen to have a particularly busy month of business calls, but as my wife is adding me as a line to her existing plan, I should have access to her stash of almost 3700 unused rollover minutes (at least, I think that's what will happen). All in all, it feels like a good move.
And I get to have an iPhone! It's definitely an impulse buy, and it wasn't necessary, but I've had gadget envy for so long, the urge just couldn't be resisted any more. Before long, I'll be able to play in the world of iPhone apps that I could only read about or listen to people talk about. Here's to hoping it's all I think it will be, because there will be one disappointed tech nerd if it's not. If anyone out there has any recommendations of cool apps and/or games that they want to pass along, I'm all ears. It's a big ocean, and I haven't even dipped my toes in yet.
With that, I'm going to sign off for the evening, to go and let visions of iPhone games and apps dance in my head. Maybe it will get delivered early, maybe it will come over the weekend, so I'll have something to play with, maybe...I'll just have to wait until some time next week to play with my new toy. Sigh...
After what feels like waiting forever, I can finally say that I am the proud owner of an iPhone. Well, at least I can when it arrives in 3-5 days. After examining my options in the company cell phone policy, I felt it was time to opt out of the company's plan and try to have a personal phone reimbursed. This move will allow me more freedom in choosing my phone hardware, and protect my privacy better, since the company no longer will have records of my phone calls. Mind you, I have nothing to hide in that respect, but you can never be too careful these days with who has access to your personal information or records. I had also been told that by accepting a reimbursement to pay for personal cell phone use for work purposes (a flat amount every month, with no regard to how much you pay for minutes or data), the company financial burden is reduced. If this choice allows me the freedom to choose the tech I carry around, and it saves the company money in the process, both sides win.
There is the potential for me to incur overages if I happen to have a particularly busy month of business calls, but as my wife is adding me as a line to her existing plan, I should have access to her stash of almost 3700 unused rollover minutes (at least, I think that's what will happen). All in all, it feels like a good move.
And I get to have an iPhone! It's definitely an impulse buy, and it wasn't necessary, but I've had gadget envy for so long, the urge just couldn't be resisted any more. Before long, I'll be able to play in the world of iPhone apps that I could only read about or listen to people talk about. Here's to hoping it's all I think it will be, because there will be one disappointed tech nerd if it's not. If anyone out there has any recommendations of cool apps and/or games that they want to pass along, I'm all ears. It's a big ocean, and I haven't even dipped my toes in yet.
With that, I'm going to sign off for the evening, to go and let visions of iPhone games and apps dance in my head. Maybe it will get delivered early, maybe it will come over the weekend, so I'll have something to play with, maybe...I'll just have to wait until some time next week to play with my new toy. Sigh...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Defense Grid: The Awakening
The sixth installment in my quest to 'win' NaBloPoMo has me talking about a particular game, and wondering more about its genre.
Tonight provided the opportunity, after putting all three kids to bed, to load and try Defense Grid: The Awakening, yet another one of my budget buys during the massive Steam sale that ended this past weekend. Considering that my only other tower defense gaming experience to this point is Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ), I was interested to see if a more traditional tower defense game would interest me.
I'm happy to say that the initial returns are positive. Only having time to squeeze in the first 3-4 missions, before being summoned for baby cuddling duty, it was an interesting experience, especially in comparison of the two. In PvZ, the resource is sunlight, generated by units built by the player, with a small amount randomly appearing in daylight stages, thus giving the player a direct influence over the factor limiting the amount of units you can create. The resource in Defense grid, cleverly called "Resources," is generated by destroying enemies, so there is a bit less control by the player over the amount of resource available in a single mission. The friendly and enemy units are both occupying the same path in PvZ, whereas the towers and aliens in Defense Grid do not actually come in contact. In PvZ, the enemy can destroy friendly units, while the towers in Defense Grid are invincible. In PvZ, the enemies march in a straight line, from the right side of the screen to the left, while the paths the aliens take are more winding. These differences allow for two distinctly different strategies and mindsets the player must have to succeed.
The enjoyment I've had playing these two games makes me wonder what other games I've been missing in the tower defense genre. If you're reading this and you have any suggestions as to games I should try, please let me know, as I'm interested in seeing what else is out there. One game that comes to mind is Pixeljunk Monsters, which is the big tower defense game on PSN. Another one I've heard decent things about is the South Park downloadable game on XBLA. Please, if you know of others, I'm all ears.
On another note, I did use some Christmas fun money to buy an XBox 360 wired controller for my PC. This should allow me to play Braid in a less clumsy manner, and I've also been saving a copy of Assassin's Creed until I had a game pad to play. There are just some games that play better with an analog stick.
That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have a meatier post for you tomorrow.
Tonight provided the opportunity, after putting all three kids to bed, to load and try Defense Grid: The Awakening, yet another one of my budget buys during the massive Steam sale that ended this past weekend. Considering that my only other tower defense gaming experience to this point is Plants vs. Zombies (PvZ), I was interested to see if a more traditional tower defense game would interest me.
I'm happy to say that the initial returns are positive. Only having time to squeeze in the first 3-4 missions, before being summoned for baby cuddling duty, it was an interesting experience, especially in comparison of the two. In PvZ, the resource is sunlight, generated by units built by the player, with a small amount randomly appearing in daylight stages, thus giving the player a direct influence over the factor limiting the amount of units you can create. The resource in Defense grid, cleverly called "Resources," is generated by destroying enemies, so there is a bit less control by the player over the amount of resource available in a single mission. The friendly and enemy units are both occupying the same path in PvZ, whereas the towers and aliens in Defense Grid do not actually come in contact. In PvZ, the enemy can destroy friendly units, while the towers in Defense Grid are invincible. In PvZ, the enemies march in a straight line, from the right side of the screen to the left, while the paths the aliens take are more winding. These differences allow for two distinctly different strategies and mindsets the player must have to succeed.
The enjoyment I've had playing these two games makes me wonder what other games I've been missing in the tower defense genre. If you're reading this and you have any suggestions as to games I should try, please let me know, as I'm interested in seeing what else is out there. One game that comes to mind is Pixeljunk Monsters, which is the big tower defense game on PSN. Another one I've heard decent things about is the South Park downloadable game on XBLA. Please, if you know of others, I'm all ears.
On another note, I did use some Christmas fun money to buy an XBox 360 wired controller for my PC. This should allow me to play Braid in a less clumsy manner, and I've also been saving a copy of Assassin's Creed until I had a game pad to play. There are just some games that play better with an analog stick.
That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have a meatier post for you tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Top 10 Games of the Past Decade: The Top 5
Day 5 of NaBloPoMo brings the conclusion of my decade top 10 list.
As I bring my 'top 10 games of the decade' list to a close, it was hard not to notice the common thread that wove its way through the games in the top five. All of them, in their own ways, created an atmosphere that stuck with me long after finishing the game. Each one created a world that I wanted to keep returning to, directly in conflict with my gaming ADD personality. It's this atmosphere and personality which caused them to transcend any mechanical flaws or shortcomings, propelling them to the top of my list. And with that, the conclusion...
5. Half Life 2 (PC) - Not being a first person shooter fan, I tried playing this game at some point in 2005, and didn't get very far before moving on to other games. Upon revisiting it in 2008, and vowing to pay more attention to the experience than the game mechanics, it's not a stretch to say I was blown away. This is a well-crafted, tight, evenly paced game that continually pulled me along for the ride, introducing memorable NPCs (Alyx Vance being at the top of that list), weapons that allowed for some creativity (the gravity gun), level design which keeps the player moving forward even if they don't realize it, and a story that means something. Even playing the game 4 years after its initial release, the graphics were crisp and conveyed the atmosphere of the settings. My particular favorite segment in the game, even though it caused me no end of jitters and jumpy moments, was the time spent in Ravenholm with the headcrab zombies. That area oozed atmosphere, and the inclusion of the 'reverend' tending to his 'flock' made it all the more entertaining.
4. Portal (PC) - This game should not be called a game at all; it should be referred to as an experience. Expertly crafted, cleverly written, simple mechanics used in creative ways, and not artificially drawn out, more games should take their cues from this one. You're a human lab rat in a series of experiments overseen by a maniacal, sarcastic computer, given only a portal gun to solve the challenges in each room. Clocking in at just over 3 hours, it's long enough to be able to experiment with enjoy, but not so long you're wishing it was over. The game also contains one of the most overused game quotes in history (The cake is a lie!) and an incredibly appropriate final song (Still Alive) which I still catch myself humming from time to time. I can't recommend this game enough to fans of any gaming genre. It's worth experiencing for yourself.
3. Bioshock (360) - There are many memorable scenes from this game. One that most people having experienced it would cite is the major plot twist about 70% through the game, but I would actually choose another one. The initial bathysphere ride from the surface down to Rapture, complete with Andrew Ryan's movie narrating through the descent, does more to set the scene than any other game that comes to mind. Even though I'm not a fan of first person shooters, I worked my way through this game purely to experience the story. Ken Levine and his team created such a haunting location for this bizarre take on Ayn Rand's work that it was hard not to get sucked in. The use of audio tapes and directions from an unseen 'helper' on the radio only emphasized the surreal setting. The game mechanics backed up the fantastic narrative, with competent shooter mechanics fused with light RPG elements of character customization. The morality of the game, conveyed by the audio tapes, conversations with survivors, and the major moral choice forced upon the player, serve to enrich the narrative and deepen the despair conveyed by the city under the sea. Yet again, it's something worth experiencing for yourself.
2. Mass Effect (360, PC) - Taking inspiration from great science fiction of the past 3 decades, Mass Effect combines it all into an epic story spanning the galaxy. The conversations between your character and the NPCs throughout the worlds, the situations you and your companions are placed in, the overarching politics behind the story, they all factor into a moment in my gaming history that I truly treasure. I can't forget the sense of urgency and anticipation as I pushed through the last area on my way to what proved to be the final encounter of the game, and all of the other moments, large and small, that contributed to that sequence of events. I enjoyed this game so much that I've played through it twice now (that's definitely saying something for me, considering the relative constraints on my time) and enjoyed the second time as much as the first. This game has been described as a 'space opera,' and I couldn't agree more. Bioware, the developer, has indicated that this would be the first entry in a larger story arc, following the traditional '3-act structure' made popular in our cultural lexicon by the original Star Wars trilogy. The second 'act' comes out late this month and you can be sure I'll be snapping that up as soon as possible.
1. Fallout 3 and DLC (PC) - Finally, to the game I feel deserves the top spot in my list. During the weeks leading up to this game's release, I was very excited. Having dabbled in the first game when it was released in 1997, I couldn't wait for a version utilizing 10+ years of game design innovation and graphical fidelity upgrades. I'm happy to report I wasn't disappointed. Set in the post-apocalyptic DC area, it didn't have the most cheerful of settings. In fact, it can be best described as "desolate and depressing." That didn't stop me from diving headfirst into the story, and ultimately creating my own. The story missions provided progress and milestones; I provided all of the story in between. Having spent over 100 hours wandering through the wasteland, I feel that the stories that I made, by exploring all of the structures, caves, landmarks, etc., piecing together stories of people long since gone, being ambushed by raiders and radioactive monsters alike, far outshone the narrative laid out by Bethesda. In every sense of the phrase, this game embodied the journey and not the destination. Fortunately for me, Bethesda released 5 chunks of downloadable content to extend my journeys in the wasteland and surrounding areas, and I enjoyed them immensely. If you can deal with the depressing atmosphere, there is a great game in there, and worthy of "The Best Game of the Decade" moniker, at least in my estimation.
Well, that wraps it up for me. I'd love to hear your comments, arguments, discussion or otherwise about my choices. Even more so, I'd love to hear about the games I've left off this list that you feel should be there. Thanks for reading!
As I bring my 'top 10 games of the decade' list to a close, it was hard not to notice the common thread that wove its way through the games in the top five. All of them, in their own ways, created an atmosphere that stuck with me long after finishing the game. Each one created a world that I wanted to keep returning to, directly in conflict with my gaming ADD personality. It's this atmosphere and personality which caused them to transcend any mechanical flaws or shortcomings, propelling them to the top of my list. And with that, the conclusion...
5. Half Life 2 (PC) - Not being a first person shooter fan, I tried playing this game at some point in 2005, and didn't get very far before moving on to other games. Upon revisiting it in 2008, and vowing to pay more attention to the experience than the game mechanics, it's not a stretch to say I was blown away. This is a well-crafted, tight, evenly paced game that continually pulled me along for the ride, introducing memorable NPCs (Alyx Vance being at the top of that list), weapons that allowed for some creativity (the gravity gun), level design which keeps the player moving forward even if they don't realize it, and a story that means something. Even playing the game 4 years after its initial release, the graphics were crisp and conveyed the atmosphere of the settings. My particular favorite segment in the game, even though it caused me no end of jitters and jumpy moments, was the time spent in Ravenholm with the headcrab zombies. That area oozed atmosphere, and the inclusion of the 'reverend' tending to his 'flock' made it all the more entertaining.
4. Portal (PC) - This game should not be called a game at all; it should be referred to as an experience. Expertly crafted, cleverly written, simple mechanics used in creative ways, and not artificially drawn out, more games should take their cues from this one. You're a human lab rat in a series of experiments overseen by a maniacal, sarcastic computer, given only a portal gun to solve the challenges in each room. Clocking in at just over 3 hours, it's long enough to be able to experiment with enjoy, but not so long you're wishing it was over. The game also contains one of the most overused game quotes in history (The cake is a lie!) and an incredibly appropriate final song (Still Alive) which I still catch myself humming from time to time. I can't recommend this game enough to fans of any gaming genre. It's worth experiencing for yourself.
3. Bioshock (360) - There are many memorable scenes from this game. One that most people having experienced it would cite is the major plot twist about 70% through the game, but I would actually choose another one. The initial bathysphere ride from the surface down to Rapture, complete with Andrew Ryan's movie narrating through the descent, does more to set the scene than any other game that comes to mind. Even though I'm not a fan of first person shooters, I worked my way through this game purely to experience the story. Ken Levine and his team created such a haunting location for this bizarre take on Ayn Rand's work that it was hard not to get sucked in. The use of audio tapes and directions from an unseen 'helper' on the radio only emphasized the surreal setting. The game mechanics backed up the fantastic narrative, with competent shooter mechanics fused with light RPG elements of character customization. The morality of the game, conveyed by the audio tapes, conversations with survivors, and the major moral choice forced upon the player, serve to enrich the narrative and deepen the despair conveyed by the city under the sea. Yet again, it's something worth experiencing for yourself.
2. Mass Effect (360, PC) - Taking inspiration from great science fiction of the past 3 decades, Mass Effect combines it all into an epic story spanning the galaxy. The conversations between your character and the NPCs throughout the worlds, the situations you and your companions are placed in, the overarching politics behind the story, they all factor into a moment in my gaming history that I truly treasure. I can't forget the sense of urgency and anticipation as I pushed through the last area on my way to what proved to be the final encounter of the game, and all of the other moments, large and small, that contributed to that sequence of events. I enjoyed this game so much that I've played through it twice now (that's definitely saying something for me, considering the relative constraints on my time) and enjoyed the second time as much as the first. This game has been described as a 'space opera,' and I couldn't agree more. Bioware, the developer, has indicated that this would be the first entry in a larger story arc, following the traditional '3-act structure' made popular in our cultural lexicon by the original Star Wars trilogy. The second 'act' comes out late this month and you can be sure I'll be snapping that up as soon as possible.
1. Fallout 3 and DLC (PC) - Finally, to the game I feel deserves the top spot in my list. During the weeks leading up to this game's release, I was very excited. Having dabbled in the first game when it was released in 1997, I couldn't wait for a version utilizing 10+ years of game design innovation and graphical fidelity upgrades. I'm happy to report I wasn't disappointed. Set in the post-apocalyptic DC area, it didn't have the most cheerful of settings. In fact, it can be best described as "desolate and depressing." That didn't stop me from diving headfirst into the story, and ultimately creating my own. The story missions provided progress and milestones; I provided all of the story in between. Having spent over 100 hours wandering through the wasteland, I feel that the stories that I made, by exploring all of the structures, caves, landmarks, etc., piecing together stories of people long since gone, being ambushed by raiders and radioactive monsters alike, far outshone the narrative laid out by Bethesda. In every sense of the phrase, this game embodied the journey and not the destination. Fortunately for me, Bethesda released 5 chunks of downloadable content to extend my journeys in the wasteland and surrounding areas, and I enjoyed them immensely. If you can deal with the depressing atmosphere, there is a great game in there, and worthy of "The Best Game of the Decade" moniker, at least in my estimation.
Well, that wraps it up for me. I'd love to hear your comments, arguments, discussion or otherwise about my choices. Even more so, I'd love to hear about the games I've left off this list that you feel should be there. Thanks for reading!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Top 10 Games of the Past Decade: Bottom 5 Edition
Day 4 of NaBloPoMo finds me aping the Player One Podcast's latest episode, focusing on the hosts' top 10 games for the years 2000-2009. I enjoyed listening to it so much, I thought I would take the time to compile my list and share it here.
Well here it is, another useless list for your reading pleasure. This is my stab at naming the top 10 games of the decade, filtered through my experiences, games played, systems owned and interests. I'm fairly positive that this will be one of the more offbeat lists you'll read on this topic, as I lost most of 2000-2004 playing MMO's and not actually owning a console. This definitely colors my choices, as you'll see. On to the list...
10. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS) - For me, this game came out of nowhere, because at the time of its release, I had never played Bejeweled or any of its numerous clones and knockoffs. The personal draw for me came from the RPG trappings and the promise of simple yet addictive game mechanics attached to all aspects of the game. On these two promises, Puzzle Quest delivered in spades. From my best guess, I probably sank 20-30 hours into the adventure, from working through the story quests, to capturing towns, creating new items, training mounts, learning new spells, and everything else the game offered. The DS touchscreen provided the perfect input method, as using the stylus to choose and swap gems couldn't have been more intuitive. I keep hoping for another experience of this type to capture the same magic (Galactrix, Gyromancer), but so far none have lived up to the original.
9. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (PS2) - Now wait, stop rolling your eyes. While thinking about this list, I was shocked as to how many fond memories I had of this particular game, just one of many iterations in an admittedly fantastic sports franchise. There have been many games since that improved on the mechanics, the graphics, and the overall feel, but none of those will hold the same place in my heart as this one. This fact is due to the method in which I experienced it, and that was with friends. At the time of this game's release, I was living with a couple of buddies from work, and one of them owned the PS2 and this game. Before long, we had all created golfers, and would spend our evenings passing the controller around, watching each other play rounds against computer opponents, or engaging in links warfare between ourselves. Simply sharing the trash talk, the disbelief at an incredible shot or bounce, and enjoying the game for what it was, will have this game holding a special place from here on out. I tried to recapture the magic with later versions of the game but, after moving out of that apartment and not having anyone to share the experience with on a regular basis, they couldn't hold a candle to the '04 version.
8. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (360) - The first game I bought when I picked up my 360, this game gave me everything I could have wanted and more. When the dust settled, I had sunk more than 140 hours into the game, and didn't even complete the main storyline! There were just too many sidequests, too many DLC addon packs to explore, too many distractions for me to focus on the what amounted to completing the game. The graphics were admittedly a bit muddy and the character models left a lot to be desired (there wasn't an attractive person to be found in that world), but these shortcomings took a backseat to all of the things that you could do. By the time I finally had my fill and drifted away from it, my character had completed the quests for all five of the guilds in the land and had explored nearly every structure, cave, building, etc. to be found. If only I had taken the time to complete the main story...
7. Everquest (PC) - This game, and others like it, is one of the reasons that my list doesn't contain many games from the earlier half of the decade. While I was not consuming individual games at the pace I attempt to now, my gaming time was more than occupied by this MMORPG, the first king of the hill before being dethroned by World of Warcraft. While I never saw any of the endgame content, I thoroughly enjoyed making character after character and working my way through their early development, only to start yet another race and class to see what they had to offer. My gaming ADD, and the fact that I did my absolute best not to let MMO gaming rule my life (you can ask my wife how well I did with that) never afforded me the opportunity to see the large raids or be a part of a large guild. Nevertheless, the memories created in that time still cause me to smile.
6. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) - During the holiday season of 2003 my brother-in-law, who was living with my wife and I at the time, asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I had been hearing about a new Star Wars game that was getting great reviews, so I asked him for that. The game turned out to be KOTOR, and it really opened my eyes to what a single-player RPG could be, with the backing of an incredible license and the right developer putting everything together. The visuals, the combat, the moral choices (albeit very binary and not affecting the outcome of the story at all), the companions, and the story wove a tapestry that I just couldn't pull myself away from. All told, my playthrough took me somewhere around 40 hours, and when it was over I wished I could play it again without knowing all of the plot points and twists. The genius of the approach Bioware took with this game lies in the fact that they set the story so far removed from the events of the movies that they had the ability to create a fantastic narrative free of the shackles of the movies' history. I absolutely loved the tactical combat, and the fact that I had a lightsaber. It was my 6 year old self being able to live out his dream (well, almost).
Tomorrow: my top 5 games of the decade.
Well here it is, another useless list for your reading pleasure. This is my stab at naming the top 10 games of the decade, filtered through my experiences, games played, systems owned and interests. I'm fairly positive that this will be one of the more offbeat lists you'll read on this topic, as I lost most of 2000-2004 playing MMO's and not actually owning a console. This definitely colors my choices, as you'll see. On to the list...
10. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS) - For me, this game came out of nowhere, because at the time of its release, I had never played Bejeweled or any of its numerous clones and knockoffs. The personal draw for me came from the RPG trappings and the promise of simple yet addictive game mechanics attached to all aspects of the game. On these two promises, Puzzle Quest delivered in spades. From my best guess, I probably sank 20-30 hours into the adventure, from working through the story quests, to capturing towns, creating new items, training mounts, learning new spells, and everything else the game offered. The DS touchscreen provided the perfect input method, as using the stylus to choose and swap gems couldn't have been more intuitive. I keep hoping for another experience of this type to capture the same magic (Galactrix, Gyromancer), but so far none have lived up to the original.
9. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 (PS2) - Now wait, stop rolling your eyes. While thinking about this list, I was shocked as to how many fond memories I had of this particular game, just one of many iterations in an admittedly fantastic sports franchise. There have been many games since that improved on the mechanics, the graphics, and the overall feel, but none of those will hold the same place in my heart as this one. This fact is due to the method in which I experienced it, and that was with friends. At the time of this game's release, I was living with a couple of buddies from work, and one of them owned the PS2 and this game. Before long, we had all created golfers, and would spend our evenings passing the controller around, watching each other play rounds against computer opponents, or engaging in links warfare between ourselves. Simply sharing the trash talk, the disbelief at an incredible shot or bounce, and enjoying the game for what it was, will have this game holding a special place from here on out. I tried to recapture the magic with later versions of the game but, after moving out of that apartment and not having anyone to share the experience with on a regular basis, they couldn't hold a candle to the '04 version.
8. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (360) - The first game I bought when I picked up my 360, this game gave me everything I could have wanted and more. When the dust settled, I had sunk more than 140 hours into the game, and didn't even complete the main storyline! There were just too many sidequests, too many DLC addon packs to explore, too many distractions for me to focus on the what amounted to completing the game. The graphics were admittedly a bit muddy and the character models left a lot to be desired (there wasn't an attractive person to be found in that world), but these shortcomings took a backseat to all of the things that you could do. By the time I finally had my fill and drifted away from it, my character had completed the quests for all five of the guilds in the land and had explored nearly every structure, cave, building, etc. to be found. If only I had taken the time to complete the main story...
7. Everquest (PC) - This game, and others like it, is one of the reasons that my list doesn't contain many games from the earlier half of the decade. While I was not consuming individual games at the pace I attempt to now, my gaming time was more than occupied by this MMORPG, the first king of the hill before being dethroned by World of Warcraft. While I never saw any of the endgame content, I thoroughly enjoyed making character after character and working my way through their early development, only to start yet another race and class to see what they had to offer. My gaming ADD, and the fact that I did my absolute best not to let MMO gaming rule my life (you can ask my wife how well I did with that) never afforded me the opportunity to see the large raids or be a part of a large guild. Nevertheless, the memories created in that time still cause me to smile.
6. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) - During the holiday season of 2003 my brother-in-law, who was living with my wife and I at the time, asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I had been hearing about a new Star Wars game that was getting great reviews, so I asked him for that. The game turned out to be KOTOR, and it really opened my eyes to what a single-player RPG could be, with the backing of an incredible license and the right developer putting everything together. The visuals, the combat, the moral choices (albeit very binary and not affecting the outcome of the story at all), the companions, and the story wove a tapestry that I just couldn't pull myself away from. All told, my playthrough took me somewhere around 40 hours, and when it was over I wished I could play it again without knowing all of the plot points and twists. The genius of the approach Bioware took with this game lies in the fact that they set the story so far removed from the events of the movies that they had the ability to create a fantastic narrative free of the shackles of the movies' history. I absolutely loved the tactical combat, and the fact that I had a lightsaber. It was my 6 year old self being able to live out his dream (well, almost).
Tomorrow: my top 5 games of the decade.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
