Category Archives: Gaming

Musings on my everlasting quest to slog through my backlog.

Giant Boulder Of Death!

Once again, the deep, philosophical essay I was planning to write just isn’t coming as easily as I’d like. So rather than diligently buckling down and churning something out, I’m going to take the easy way out and write something that doesn’t overly tax that thinkie-thing in the middle of my head.

Let’s talk about Giant Boulder of Death.

Giant Boulder of Death is the most recent time-waster that’s taken up more of my free time than I’d like to admit. The concept is pretty simple: you’re a giant boulder. Roll down the mountain and crush everything in your wake. Get points. Unlock stuff. Become INVINCIBOULDER. ??? Profit.

For me, it scratches the same itch that launching games like Burrito Bison or Hedgehog Launch do: if you play just a bit more, maybe you can see what’s beyond the last screen. It also has shades of Katamari Damacy, but rather than picking stuff up you’re knocking it down.

The controls are also pretty neat. It’s a smartphone game, so you can use the built-in accelerometer and steer the boulder by tilting the device. I find myself leaning into turns, much like I did as a kid with the console controller. Periodic challenges keep thing interesting, like knocking over a certain number of animals or making it a certain distance down the mountain.

Of course, being free, there’s tons of ways to pay real-world money to unlock various upgrades and alternate settings. I’ve managed to avoid spending any money, but I can see the little design tweaks they’ve made to encourage users to do so. Like giving you the option to use gems (the games rarer, premium currency) to bypass challenges or to continue rolling after hitting spikes or homing mines (this is where I’ve spent most of mine). While you can earn them in-game, they are slow to appear. Although you can always watch an ad or two to make a quick gem.

I can’t really explain why games like this intrigue me so much. But for whatever reason I spent most of my day off yesterday sitting at my computer, staring at my phone as I crushed my yodeling enemies under my spherical boot.

Go play Giant Boulder of Death. It’s fun. You didn’t have anything productive you needed to be doing, right?

Crafting A Thought Experiment

It’s my day off, and I don’t feel like thinking about work any more than I have to. So I’m going to write about something I haven’t talked about in a while: Minecraft!

Unsurprisingly, I go through periods where I don’t play Minecraft much, only to stumble across something that makes me want to play it again. This can be problematic, since I have a number of other games/books/projects/chores I’d like to play/read/work on/complete. But whatever. It’s my day off, and my only task today is to not feel guilty about slacking off.

This time, it was this week’s episode of Extra Credits that piqued my interest. In it, they talked about how every once in a while a game will come around, often out of nowhere, and completely alter the course of gaming culture and history. This is often observable through the number of clones that crop up after a game’s success (Mario, Doom, GTA, etc.). But interestingly enough that doesn’t seem to be happening as much with Minecraft. But what it is doing is sowing the seeds of gaming in the younger generation, and those seeds may be very different than what has blossomed so far.

I touched on a similar issue last year. Gamers of my generation are ones that grew up on reflex-based games. Mario games, for all their colorful graphics and cute sound effects, often required pixel-perfect accuracy. It’s the reason so many people can probably play World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. with their eyes closed, why “Nintendo Hard” is a thing. And as we’ve aged and moved into the industry, this background influences what kind of games we continue to play and make. Extra Credits mentioned that this may inform some of the popularity of the first-person shooter genre, and I have to agree with them.

Minecraft, by contrast, is a much more methodical experience. It takes time to accomplish things, and instant gratification most definitely isn’t the name of the game. What will happen as people who were exposed to gaming in this format begin to express themselves creatively? Will it make gaming more open for those who didn’t develop their fast-twitch hand-eye coordination as children? It made me think of my girlfriend and people like her, who didn’t start gaming until later in life. I have to wonder if a less reflex-based entry to gaming might look less intimidating.

It’s really is an interesting question: what will gaming look like when targeted (and created by) at a generation that grew up with a less reflex-based background? I know I’m definitely of the “reflex” generation, but even I occasionally feel like playing something more relaxing. I for one would not decry the wider variety of gaming experiences this would afford.

Now, if I can just avoid getting sucked into TV Tropes long enough to scratch that Minecraft itch…

Gaming And Me

Video games and I have an interesting relationship.

When I was a kid, my parents limited the amount of time I could play video games to two 30-minute sessions a day. Later I was given the option of playing for one 45 minute period instead of two half hours, but for many years I experienced the worlds of Mario, Link, and others in short spurts. I don’t begrudge my parents this restriction; it made sure I kept up with my other hobbies (like LEGO) and got outside every once in a while (even if it was merely to go read under a tree).

But as I grew older, these restrictions lifted. I think it was some time in high school, although there was never a formal discussion about it. I just gradually began to control my own timing, playing as much (or as little) as I wanted. But my previous restrictions did at least instill in me the importance of limitation, of not binging to the point of excess. I still had responsibilities, after all: homework to do, chores to complete, a part time job to keep up with.

And I think the way I approach video games even to this day is still informed by the habits I learned then. Obviously, I’m now the sole master of my schedule. I’m free of the tyranny of homework that always seemed to threaten my “free” time as a student, and I often spend my days off either on the couch or in front of my computer, chipping away at the fairly enormous backlog I’ve managed to accrue over the years. And while those days are fun, I still feel slightly guilty indulging in them.

Why, I wonder? After all, shouldn’t I be able to freely choose what to do with my free time as long as the necessities are taken care of and accounted for? Isn’t that one of the privileges of being an adult?

Growing up, video games were a treat, a novelty. Something that was purely leisure time, but not some worthy cultural pursuit like reading or going to a museum. But is this view still valid? One need only do a quick Google search to see that the “Are video games art?” discussion is alive and well. Is the time invested consuming one type of creative work (e.g., a novel) inherently better than another type (e.g., video games)? I think that I’ve internalized a sense that video games are “worth less,” somehow or other. And I’m not sure if I still agree with those implications.

I look at my backlog, and realize there’s no way I’m going to work my way through it if I continue to view video games as a way of postponing “real” work (whatever that means), or if I continue to feel guilty about my enjoyment. After all, most of the games in my collection are ones that I was interested in playing for some reason or other. Why shouldn’t I enjoy my time with them?

And that’s the crux of the matter, I think: I’ve been viewing gaming as a way of avoiding doing something else, of procrastinating. When I game it’s often because I don’t want to do the dishes or look for a job (to use completely random examples), not because I want to enjoy the artfully crafted experience of the game itself.

So maybe that’s the solution. Maybe a way I can feel less guilty about playing video games is if I’m more conscious about it. Playing video games because I want to play, not because I don’t want to [something]. It’s an interesting thought, and one I’ll have to investigate further. And what better way to do that than trying to do so on my day off tomorrow!

Gaming Therapy?

When I was writing yesterday’s post, I got to thinking about why I enjoy games like BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (man, that’s a long name). And the more I thought about it, the more I decided it’s because old-school hard games like that demand perfection.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that perfection is usually a touchy subject for me. I’ve long struggled with the fear of doing thing wrong, with not doing the best I could. I’ve beaten myself up over it time and again, whether it’s a less-than-perfect grade, or merely the fact that I wasted the entire day playing an idle launcher game online (true story!). I know that perfection is an impossible ideal in real life, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling bad when I don’t achieve it.

The key phrase in that last sentence, however, is “real life.” Games provide a safe haven, where risk is largely trivialized and rewards are substantial and obvious. It is usually obvious what you need to do, and even if it isn’t, the consequences for failing are minimal. In fact, you can quite easily go back and try again. And again! And again, until you finally get it right.

I feel good when I play video games. When I set out to complete a level, or beat a boss, or seduce a willing NPC, I have a clear goal, as well as an easy way of measuring success. And when I do succeed, I feel like I’ve accomplished something. I feel like I’ve followed through with something to the end. And that fulfillment is something I don’t feel nearly often enough in my day-to-day life.

I think that’s one of the reasons I stuck with grad school: less because I felt architecture was my “purpose,” and more because I felt it was important to follow through with something I set out to do, like stick with a major all the way through to the end. Was that the best idea? I don’t know; so far, all it’s left me with is a stupid retail job and a pile of student debt. But I stuck with it, got the magic piece of paper that says I’m qualified. That has to count for something, right?

…Sorry, went off on a bit of a tangent, there. What was I saying? Oh yeah: perfection and video games.

Video games that demand perfection, for me, are a way to sublimate my own need to be perfect, in a way that doesn’t (too) adversely affect my life, either in the short or long term. By creating a safe microcosm of easily-achievable goals, I can get rewarded for my perfection that doesn’t take such a toll on my psyche. I get to make decisions, but can change my mind later if I want.

After all, if you’re worried about being perfect in real life, you can’t just reload and try again.

Run Run Run, As Competently As You Can

One thing I like about old-school video games is how demanding they are. Now, to me that doesn’t mean the same thing as “hard,” although many of them are also that. Old-school games, especially platformers, can be unforgiving, requiring pixel-perfect timing and execution. But there’s something about that level of intensity that appeals to me. The fact that these games demand so much of my attention means that I can actually focus in on the task at hand, instead of my mind flitting every which way as it usually does. These games demand much, but the return is worth it.

Why do I bring this up? Well, at the risk of sounding like a crotchety old gamer, they don’t make many games like they used to any more. Save points, quick reloads, and generally less challenging level design have seemed to take over most of the medium. Don’t get me wrong, I can see why: I definitely don’t have the free time to dedicate to mastering a game like I did when I was younger. But part of me still yearns for that challenge.

Luckily, I’ve been playing BIT.TRIP Presents… Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien.

Yes, I know that’s a mouthful of a title, but bear with me. Runner 2 is a platformer, but with a strong rhythm component. Your character automatically moves from left to right, and it’s your job to jump, duck, kick, and otherwise dodge obstacles while collecting as many piles of gold as you can. It requires precision timing, as one wrong move will send you plummeting back to the start of the level.

This may not sound very complicated, but it does a good job of scratching that “old-school demanding” itch of mine. When you fail (and you will fail), the game lets you quickly try again, and the obstacles are in the same location every time. So as time goes on you will inevitably improve, if through nothing else than rote memorization and muscle memory. I’ve been playing it on my laptop with an Xbox 360 controller, and while the d-pad still sucks, it feels true to the experience in a way that using a keyboard probably wouldn’t.

Runner 2 isn’t completely without issues for me, however. It doesn’t seem to like my computer much, and after a level or two I’ll start to experience horrendous lag spikes. On a platformer that relies on such precision timing, this is more than a minor inconvenience. Luckily the problem is fixed by restarting the game (or just alt-tabbing back and forth), but it’s annoying to be reminded that my computer is getting up in years.

The other issue I have is more personal: because it takes so much concentration, I can only play Runner 2 for so long before my reflexes start betraying me. When I start mis-timing jumps repeatedly, or ducking when I’m supposed to kick, I know that it’s time to take a break. After this next level, of course…

So if you’re looking for an old-school fix and aren’t too rhythmically inept, I can heartily recommend Runner 2. It’s available on most platforms, although I may have an extra PC copy floating around if you’d like to try it out.

The Gems Haunt My Dreams

You’ve played Tetris, right? I sure hope so, because while it’s not the game I want to talk about today, it is integral to the point I want to make. If you haven’t played it, you are dead to me here’s a link. Go ahead, I’ll wait. This blog post will still be here in a day or two.

…

So, you know that feeling you get when you play Tetris too much, and you start seeing falling tetronimoes even when you close you’re eyes? Well, I’ve found another game that has a very similar effect, and it’s kinda taking over every spare waking moment: Puzzle Quest 2.

What is Puzzle Quest, you may ask? Well, it’s a fantasy RPG, kinda. It’s also a match-3 puzzle game, kinda. It’s a turn-based strategy, kinda. In other words, it’s a weird, unique gamethat has somehow convinced me to take out my Nintendo DS for the first time in a while, and made it really hard to put it down/sleep/be productive.

Here’s how it works: You have a character, one of a selection of fantasy gaming archetypes. You have a board of gems, in a variety of different colors. Matching three of the same color and removes them from the board, à la Bejeweled (no link this time; I’d like someone to be able to finish this post some time this week). This gets you a certain number of points, which are added to a mana pool based on the colors matched. Once you get a certain amount of mana points, you can spend them to perform special attacks and do damage. Because oh yeah: you’re playing against the computer. Did I forget to mention that?

Anyway, these simple additions to the basic “Match Three” formula add a surprising amount of depth. The biggest differences I’ve noticed is that it adds a deeper layer of strategy to the game; sometimes the biggest combo isn’t always the best move if it’s not the color you need. Also, playing against an opponent makes it really hard to set up chains of moves and plan out moves ahead in any sort of manner. Just set up a nice five-piece combo? Too bad, it’s the end of your turn! Now the enemy is going to steal that mana! And it just started a chain reaction that got them five more turns in a row! MWAHAHA!!!1!

Oh yeah, that’s one thing that annoys me: seemingly infinite “extra turns” for the enemy. I have no problem when they happen for me, of course. But to see the goblin rake in mana it can’t even use and take away what seems like half my health bar in the process is aggravating. But I love it when I do it to them…

Anyway, I’m a hypocrite. Let’s move on.

I haven’t gotten very far in the game yet, but it is nothing if not intriguing. If you like Match 3’s, like Hexic or Bejeweled, but want something with a little more variety, I can heartily recommend it. And what’s great about playing it on the DS, is you can pick it up for a few minutes of play time and not feel bad when your time is up. Because you know you’ll be back.

Oh, yes.

You’ll be back.

Nostalgia Ho!

I was doing some maintenance on my laptop today when I decided I needed something to fill the time. But what to do? I could read, but I had been doing that all morning. I could play a video game, but the one I’m playing right now is on my laptop, and I didn’t really feel like starting a new one. I could put something on Netflix, but I didn’t want to get too engrossed into anything. So I sat there for a few minutes, on the floor in the basement (that’s where the easiest network cable was), waiting for my computer to finish adjusting partitions and installing Linux Mint. Then it hit me.

For some random reason, I had been thinking about Super Mario 64 earlier this week. As I sat in front of my computer, my eyes traveled over my game collection. “Hey,” I thought, “I still have my Nintendo 64. I could totally play something on there while I wait! I’ve already played the game, so it’s not like I’m going to get too attached or engrossed.”

So I reached over, pulled out the requisite cables, and inserted the Super Mario 64 cartridge (no blowing required!). Nostalgia ho!

The first thing that struck me was how odd using a wired controller felt. Most of my console gaming recently has been done on my Xbox 360, for which I have wireless controllers. But with the N64, I had to pay attention to whether or not things would reach to the chair. Plus, the cable exerts an ever-so-slight pull to the back of the controller. The funny thing is, I remember missing that tug of the cable when I first switched to wireless controllers, but now going back seems weird.

And that wasn’t the only thing that felt odd. Super Mario 64, while still a 3D game, is a very early 3D platformer. A lot of the things are the same, but much like the differences between Shakespearean English and modern English, some things are just off. And no, I don’t think that’s solely because of the weird three-lobed N64 controller.

I found myself missing the second analog stick that has become so standard on modern games. It felt almost like my right thumb had nothing to do. Sure, it had to operate the face buttons, but when it came time to change the camera angle it got confused. The relatively low usage of the shoulder buttons was also a little odd, but since I don’t play many shooters on consoles, it’s not as bad as it could have been.

But it wasn’t all weirdness and differences. I was quite surprised how much I remembered of the game, and it’s one I never even really played that much! Ocarina of Time, for instance, is a game I’ve basically memorized. But I found myself slipping just as easily into old, comfortable habits with Super Mario 64. I knew exactly where to go in the first level. I even found myself trying to get to hidden places that I hadn’t unlocked yet. It was definitely fun.

In the end, I didn’t play for very long. My computer finished doing its thing, and I moved back upstairs to surf the Internet and play some System Shock 2. But the N64 is still hooked up downstairs, and I imagine I will be returning to it soon.

Even if my nice HTDV isn’t kind to the poor thing.

Gaming Night

For the past few years, my friends and I have been getting together on Friday nights to hang out. What we’ve done those nights has changed over time, but it seems to always be referred to as “gaming.”

When I started hanging out on Fridays, it actually was a gaming group. We played a variety of tabletop RPGs, like Dungeons & Dragons, Rifts, and Deadlands. I even ran a game or two myself (I wasn’t great at it). We usually had two games running at a time, on alternate weeks, so that everyone could play at least a little bit (and no one got stuck running things all the time).

But over time, things inevitably changed. I started grad school, so ended the game I was running due to time concerns. Other games ended, but we continued hanging out. Eventually, there wasn’t any gaming going on at “gaming nights” at all. Funny YouTube videos, in what had started out as a way to pass the time until everyone showed up and/or dinner was ready, eventually took over the entire evening. This was occasionally punctuated with “bad movies from Netflix,” which were suitably mocked.

The end result of this, however, was less group cohesion: it wasn’t uncommon for some members to bury their nose in a book or laptop, and while a lot of the things we watched were amusing, nights tended to drag.

But lately, we’ve actually started gaming at “gaming night” again! While a part of me still misses the RPG days of old, our group (with ever-shifting membership, of course) has re-discovered the joys of board and card games. Cards Against Humanity has made an appearance to remind us just how horrible and diseased in the head we all are. Games like Munchkin scratch some of the fantasy RPG itch, while Fluxx always provides a unique experience. We’ve even started getting into some of the complicated, “roleplaying-lite” board games like Eldritch Horror. These games do a good job of feeling long and involved, but are still relatively self-contained.

So while “gaming” has changed over time, it’s always been a fun way to pass the time with friends. I am glad that we’ve started actually gaming again, though. It was getting a bit awkward calling “strange YouTube and bad Netflix night” “gaming,” but it did roll off the tongue better.

P.S.: You should totally check out Tabletop.

Remember Me

I recently played a video game in a foreign language.

Now, I realize that may make me sound like an incorrigible hipster, but I promise I’ll explain.

I just finished playing Remember Me, a game by a French developer that takes place in a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk Neo-Paris. In a world where all human memory has become completely digital, you play as Nillin, a memory hunter who possesses the ability to “remix” the memories of individuals to effectively change their past. Doesn’t that sound like an awesome setup?

The gameplay itself was only fair-to-middling, consisting of combo-based combat (a la the recent Batman Arkham series) and climbing around beautifully designed levels (a la Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, another underrated gem of a game). The exploration was a bit too linear for my tastes, and I often felt like I was fighting the combat system as much as my antagonists. But for me the real draw was the setting.

Like I said with the mouthful above, the setting can be best described as a “post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk Neo-Paris.” Old Haussmannian apartment buildings cower under soaring chrome-and-glass arcologies that reach into the clouds. Believe it or not, this is a post-apocalypse filled with color: green and stone in the older parts, white and neon for the new. Some of the outdoor bits even take place during the daytime, which seems unheard of for cyberpunk.

I wish I could have explored this vision of Paris more. But while I enjoyed seeing famous landmarks and familiar designs, it felt odd to be experiencing them in English. When I was in college, I spent a year studying abroad in the city, and a lot of my memories from the time are tied up with the French language. Luckily, the game had an option to change the dialog language used during play.

But I hesitated. After all, it’s been nearly eight years since I used my French regularly. And while I’d like to think I managed to become fluent, how would my skills have fared with years of neglect? It’s true that if you don’t “use it” you “lose it;” how much had I lost?

Well, I can now say that I was able to enjoy the game plenty while in French. I did keep English subtitles on just in case, but ended up hardly using them at all. I think I even enjoyed the French voice acting better than the English (what I heard of it, that is).

So yeah. If you’re looking for a good (if not quite great) gaming experience in a unique setting, I can heartily recommend Remember Me. I had fun with it, and it scratched an interesting nostalgia itch for me at the same time.

Escher, Eat Your Heart Out

I picked up more games than I meant to during the recent Steam Sale. That is to say, any. But the combination of deep discounts with recently-acquired (or soon-to-be-acquired) holiday cash proved too powerful. If it’s any consolation, most of the games I picked up were ones I was thinking about buying for a while; that is to say, there were very few pure impulse buys. I’ve talked about some of the other games I picked up recently, and I’d like to continue to do so today. Today, I’d like to talk about Antichamber.

Antichamber, in what is apt for the newly “Mile High” state (topical reference!), is quite trippy. It’s difficult to describe, but I guess I would start by saying it’s a first-person puzzler similar to the Portal games. You are thrown into a sparse environment with practically no preamble, having to find your way through the world while at the same time coming to grips with its rules.

Rules? Yes; the world of Antichamber doesn’t work like you would think. For you see, it is non-Euclidean.

Walls shift. Doors lead different ways depending on which side you enter. Things are bigger on the inside, or exist only when observed (or not observed). Basically, the world is a maze where the normal rules apply only when they feel like it.

This mindbender is shepherded by a very distinctive, stark art style. Almost everything is rendered in pure white, with crisp black edges. There are occasional splashes of color, sometimes used to differentiate paths, other times to make them blend together. But everything is bright and simple. Deceptively simple.

The single purpose of the game is to make it through to the end, conquering obstacles by breaking your brain ever so slightly. Eventually you acquire a device that lets you manipulate colored cubes you come across. These cubes can be used to open doors, access unreachable areas, and solver a myriad of puzzles. As you progress the manipulator gains more functions (and colors), making more complicated puzzles solvable.

I just finished the game after 8 hours, and really enjoyed it. A lot of the puzzles had me stumped for quite a while, and there were a few places where the solutions seemed unnecessarily obtuse or random. But I managed to get through the game without consulting a guide or wiki even once, and for that I am proud of myself. The rules of the world even began to make sense, and I was able to use them to my advantage more often than they hindered me.

One notable feature is the ability to warp from your starting room to any previously-visited location. This is useful, since it is usually infeasible to retrace your footsteps to get to where you just were. It makes solving puzzles a thing you can do as you want to, rather than banging your head repeatedly against the same stretch of sterile white wall. The feeling of elation when you return to a room and solve the puzzle with ease is unparalleled.

So if you want to kill several hours (and brain cells), and cerebral puzzles are your kind of thing, I can heartily recommend giving Antichamber a whirl. You have been warned.