Random Question (Game Culture Related)

Why is it that gamers feel like every game that's made should be made especially for them, and deride games that they're not interested in, calling them 'baby games' or worse? For example, I have no real interest in the 'Imagine' series of games from Ubisoft, but they're not being marketed toward me, now are they? That doesn't make them bad games necessarily, just a type of game that I don't feel the need to play. Clearly they're doing something right, as they've sold millions, and created countless spinoffs, copycats, etc. I'm not going to insult them or even worry about them, and that's ok. I can go and enjoy RPGs, adventure games, and the occasional shooter as well, without stooping to the level of belittling a genre for which I have no interest.

Is it because, as a medium, gaming is young? People in general tend to accept the fact that there are types of books that they have no desire to read, or movies that they don't want to see, but it's acceptable that they're made. I'm not a particular fan of horror movies, but that doesn't mean I wish that they were never made. The same goes for romance novels; I find them pretty much useless and would rather read the instructions on how to put together a 493-piece article of furniture from IKEA (useful, yes, but particularly interesting or thought-provoking, no) than spend time with the latest bodice-ripper, but I respect the fact that 50% or more of the fiction sold in the US are romance novels. It's just not my bag, baby.

I don't have the answer for this question, and if I did, you can be sure I'd be getting paid to answer it, instead of writing a (probably) grammatically poor blog post during my lunch hour. It would just be nice if gamers could realize that all games aren't made for them personally, and that it's ok for games to cater to a wide variety of ages and interests. If anyone is reading this, and has an opinion, please leave a comment.

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled lives. I'm going to spend the rest of my lunch hour playing Final Fantasy, thank you.

Gaming Pet Peeve (Fixed Save Points vs. Save Anywhere)

While starting Lost Odyssey this evening, I was confronted by one of the most irritating gaming conventions that I can think of: a save point. As a responsible adult and one that often has to abandon my gaming at odd times, having to make a set amount of progress before I can save my game is aggravation. With today's modern systems and forgiving game styles, why does this exist anymore?

As an example of the opposite of this, I recently started up a game of the Final Fantasy remake on the PSP. While the original game allowed you to save only at inns, and only if you had the money to stay at the inn, the remake allows you to save anywhere. Admittedly, this could create a slightly easier experience, as anyone so inclined could save every few steps and reload whenever a battle doesn't go their way. But for me, who often has just a few minutes to game before being called to do some random chore or another, the ability to save anywhere encourages me to play more. I don't have to worry about losing any progress because I have to leave in a hurry. I can just save and come back later.

Just a random observation...Do any of you feel the same way?

Monkey Island

Judging from the discussions being held on podcasts and messageboards these days, I must be the only person to miss playing the Lucasarts games when they first came out. I did play Maniac Mansion, but only because it was on the NES. That was a game I really got into, from its strange story to quirky sense of humor, it was something that taxed my brain and tickled my funnybone at the same time. Hearing about how much everyone loves the recently released Secret of Monkey Island: SE, I decided that I'd jump in and test my adventure game abilities...

...Only to find out that I'm an idiot. It must be all the years of being spoonfed game content, or maybe it's because I have two young kids, a job, a wife, a house, etc. to worry about, but the puzzles that I think I could have figured out pretty quickly when I was 14 now involve me beating my head against a figurative brick wall until I give up and hit the hint button. I'd like to think that I'm starting to get back into the state of mind and thinking required to solve the later puzzles, but if my performance so far is any indication, I'm in for some trouble.

Don't get me wrong, the game is fantastic so far. I'm currently about 20% through the game, according to the handy dandy progress display on my latest save game. The writing is sharp, witty, and laugh-out-out funny, something that today's games (for the most part) lack, while the voice acting is spot on for the tone of the lines being conveyed. I just wish I could better grasp the puzzles without feeling like such a moron.

I'll continue to struggle with this game (which is a testament to its quality), and if I sense any improvement in my brain function, maybe I'll dive into the Telltale epsiodic experience, or possibly hunt down the older sequels to the original. I should ask my 18-month old twins to help me with it, as they probably would have more insight into these puzzles than me. :)

Fallout 3: Losing its Luster?

I think I may finally be finished with Fallout 3.

"Of course you are," you're saying. "We all are. Clearly you downloaded and ran through the last DLC, Mothership Zeta, just like the rest of us Fallout addicts, and now you're whining because there won't be any more new content until the New Vegas game next year."

Actually, no, Mr. Smartypants, that's not what I mean at all. In fact, I've only just finished the Point Lookout expansion last night. The main storyline, incredibly involving a brain in a jar and a pissed off ghoul, wasn't bad. It's definitely not something I expected. The reason why I bring this up is that, after nearly 80 hours played (according to my save file) I think I'm ready to leave this world behind. The thought of trudging through the swamp, fighting off mutated hillbillies to see all of the unique locations and sidequests that Point Lookout has to offer holds no real interest to me. This is coming from someone who discovered and explored every single point of interest on the main area map, before any of the expansions came out.

Trying to come up with a rationalization as to why I feel this way now, one point continues to jump out at me. If someone can tell me exactly how a mutated hillbilly, who runs as if he's got a stick caught in his behind and carries nothing but an axe, can take 6+ headshots from a Plasma rifle and still be standing, I'd be really appreciative. Or, how does same stick-in-bum hillbilly hit me with an axe, while I'm wearing fully repaired Enclave Hellfire Armor, and knock my health down by a third or more? Seriously? Call it a small quibble, and I can even see why this would happen from a game balance perspective (this is the 4th expansion of a game catered to a fanbase that's probably well past the intended level cap, so Bethesda had to amp up both the health bar and damage potential to create any form of challenge), but still, c'mon people...

Obviously, this outcome was inevitable. There's only so long a game can hold your interest, right? (Sit down, all you WoW players and your years played on one character; I'm not talking about MMOs here) I guess I'm just sad that the game that has provided me so much enjoyment, surprises and genuine fun since last October no longer shines like it once did in my mind. Maybe I will play through Mothership Zeta, just to see all the content that Bethesda has produced. I'm really wavering, though, and that may be the most telling sign of all.

So, what's the next shiny penny I should pick up and play with for, oh, 50-60 hours? I hear that The Witcher is now on sale on Steam, complete with free nudity. Hmm, maybe I should check that out. It has to be better than staring at deformed chicks with mohawks and shotguns, right?

What DO I Do?

Today I had the opportunity to talk with a college sophomore who was spending time in our office, learning about what each of the different areas of our company really does. He was brought to my cube, we were introduced, and he sat down, waiting expectantly for me to impart my wisdom.

And then it hit me: What the hell do I do anyway? I like what I do, I think I do it pretty well, but for the life of me I couldn't explain to this young man what I do for a living. As I tried to explain to him what I do, I felt like Lawrence from Office Space explaining his job to the consultants. It sounded hollow and useless, and at that moment I wanted to curl up and cry.

Well, it wasn't quite that bad, but unlike Lawrence I don't have my very own "Jump to Conclusions Mat" to fall back on. :)

Blast from the Past

Today's theme at work is: let's have you do something you haven't thought about since college. For me, this consisted of calculating the heat loss of sodium hydroxide out of a storage vessel, and then attempting to design an insulation and heat trace system to compensate for these losses. Just for the record, I graduated from college 11 years ago. Digging up and dusting off that knowledge from the inner workings of my twisted brain was painful to say the least.

None of the answers to the equations I worked through turned out to be 42. What a bummer...

Talk about headache inducing, but the masochistic thing is that I've enjoyed the exercise. I know...weird, huh?

Back to your regularly scheduled lives.

What I Did This Weekend (in checklist form)

Let's see...

- Play Bookworm Adventures, Volume 2 demo. Check. (Seriously considering buying this)

- Patch PC version of Fallout 3, so it doesn't crash every time I close out the game. Check.

- Inspired by release of Mothership Zeta on Monday, finish Fallout 3: Broken Steel DLC. Check.

- Download and start Fallout 3: Point Lookout DLC. Check.

- Spend time with wife and kids. Check. By far the highlight of the weekend.

- Foist kids off on their aunt and uncle (to go see farm animals) and spend a nice quiet lunch with wife. Check.

- Assemble used plastic jungle gym for kids, and discover strong animal urine smell. Check. (Note to self: clean jungle gym after work on Monday)

- End the weekend by getting puked on by overtired, overexcited 18-month old. Check.

All in all, a good weekend!