Gamecube
Although I've never really been a Nintendo person but I couldn't resist buying a Gamecube when it was only £20. I guess the idea was that it would be a communal console for my flat considering all the good multiplayer 'Mario derived' games out there. (kart racing, golf, etc) After visiting some games shops & speaking to the staff I concluded that they were effectively trying to get rid of their stocks of pre-owned Gamecubes; many staff also deemed the Gamecube to be heavily under-rated. I would tend to agree, despite not really knowing anything about the machine (yet). I imagine that this is largely because the Gamecube is regarded as less powerful than the Xbox and PS2; the game discs are also smaller meaning they store less data, although some of the more complex games are released over 2 discs to avoid storage capacity problems. It is obvious the target audience for the Gamecube is younger than for other machines, purely by the style of the games released. However, these are apparently some of the most fun games to play and with 4 controllers, they should make for some good banter, maybe...
Having said this, I did also notice that there are a fair few adult orientated titles as well - the remake of the Resident Evil series being the one to note for me.
Considering the slightly over-priced next gen machines, I imagine the Gamecube will be a good investment...
Rowing
Yesterday I got back from a (very) preliminary Rowing trial in Newcastle regarding the 2012 Olympic Games.
Ok, so this sounds impressive, but it was really just aimed at discovering basic raw talent among young people regarding several sports - Handball, Volleyball and Rowing, (You need to be over 2 metres tall for Volleyball before even being considered) with the latter being my section.
The event involved a strength test, an endurance test and finally a short coaching session on Rowing machines. I generally
fared well, with the strength test being my best as I had imagined. However, it was the endurance test which was probably the most interesting. This was done on an arms & leg exercise bike where you had to increase your speed over time, with the bike also increasing resistance over time, very tough for everyone but I found I did well.
I had always suspected that the dreaded
leger test - used through school to test stamina - was more suited to small people and this was confirmed by the coordinator yesterday. Since I'm 6'4" and 108kg I'll always find the
leger test doesn't reflect my true endurance with relation to my size. After all, you couldn't expect a 300lbs American footballer to run a Marathon, but you also wouldn't tell him he's not an athlete!
Metal Gear Solid 2
The Metal Gear Solid series is probably one of the most successful series in history. It really made it's break in the modern gaming world with the release of
Metal Gear Solid on the original
Playstation. This was actually the third game in the series, following on from
Metal Gear and
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake released in the late 80s and early 90s. I have to admit it was a masterpiece and I certainly enjoyed every minute, but because of its success, the hype for the sequel was very strong. Of course, having a small fortune pumped into the production resulted in a generally pristine game - excellent graphics and the usual, but enhanced Metal Gear Solid
gameplay. It was loved at first by everyone and naturally received rave reviews; it was only after several months that a lot people finally realised that they were just that bit disappointed.
I can't deny that it's a great game by comparison to many, but considering the older games, along with the subsequent installment;
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, MGS 2 is, in my opinion, the weakest title in the series. I think this is largely to do with the fact that it 'forgot' to include a game with all the special effects - it seemed at times to be one large
cutscene with a bit of
gameplay. I believe it tried to be too clever for it's own good, especially with that attempt at a plot! However, the real flaw is with the 'essence of the storytelling' within the game. Far too much telling and not half enough showing. (and I do know about this being the son of a professional writer)
Censorship in Videogames
Violence in video games is always going to be a major issue. I could talk about it for days, and everyone will have their own ideas, but I'll try and stick to what I think is most important.
Firstly, for anybody who has played the game
Fahrenheit, you may have noticed a small article on a computer within the game, talking about violence in video games and the effect on our culture. It effectively turns it into a joke - detailing a murder committed by a teenager, mimicking a video game scene. It then goes on to slate video games for their violent material and effect on today's youth; while of course, totally dismissing the fact that this had anything to do with the availability of firearms in the US!
My second point is definitely something that got me thinking. Several years ago, I remember talking to somebody with a military background, who hated violent films and video games. He claimed that they were for twisted imaginations, and suggested that the person who enjoys them should possibly take a trip to Sierra Leone to see piles of dead bodies for real... It then struck me, that just maybe, it is better to release that testosterone by playing a game rather than killing in real life. After all, in this day and age, and in the UK at least, nobody is forced to join the military although I'm aware that that is not the case worldwide...
Finally, I just this minute skimmed over
an old article about the murder of a schoolboy relating to the game
Manhunt. The first thing that stood out to me was the age of the perpetrator -17. You can't justifiably complain, when he shouldn't have been playing the game in the first place! And he was probably a very troubled individual anyway - so anything, even a film or a book could have triggered his behaviour.
Careers in the Video Game Industry
If you browse through the
internet for video game industry jobs (I happen to be thinking of
Wikipedia at the moment!), you're bound to find various descriptions of each position.
The well known jobs include programmers, testers, designers, etc. But designing is always the 'desirable' one, partly because most people misunderstand it to some extent. A lot of young people think the designing is 'coming up with a few cool ideas and getting paid a fortune for it'. However, at
designing's highest level, this is not too far from the truth, but many forget that there is a lot of tough paperwork and other jobs to be done at the same time. Like with many careers, that 'dream position' is never one you can just 'swagger into'.
I was also thinking about jobs in testing. These are again thought of as being very 'desirable' by many people.
ie. g
etting paid to play games, but the job in reality is hard work - testing involves extremely long hours, not to mention complicated problem solving.
Ok, so this post is beginning to sound like a textbook topic, but my own opinion is that testing is, I daresay, effectively at the 'bottom of the pile' in gaming careers - I do know it is seen as a 'stepping stone' to higher positions and believe it or not, playing games every waking minute is bad for your physical (and mental) health.
A final thought; is testing maybe one of those 'addictive' jobs? I could imagine that quite a few testers start as recently graduated students, at about 21 or 22, hoping to earn a bit of 'quick' money for 6-8 weeks before moving on, and then find themselves at 30 still doing the same thing! I can't really judge, but this did cross my mind...
Gamesecosse Website
I'm currently in the process of creating a 'full blown'
Gamesecosse website to live in tandem with this blog.
It'll not be an over complicated site by any stretch of the imagination; but I hope to discuss some of the more interesting aspects of games and the games industry. I will, of course, link it to this blog when it is up and running in the near future...
Double standards regarding video games
I've been meaning to blog about this for a while. I feel very strongly about it - this post goes out to all those unwilling to 'open their mind to the horizons'.
Sorry, I don't mean to sound like a typical student, imagining that I'm cleverer than I really am, etc. And I'll hopefully try to keep the anger down, here goes...
I have always tried to promote modern video games to older generations, to show them that these days, they encompass more than "a wee man running around the screen shooting anything that moves". I also try to tell them that the target audience for games is now 16-30 year
olds, rather than children. But nevertheless, the feedback I get is always the same - a flurry of judgemental comments. So then I decide to ask this stereotypical person which games they play themselves; and the answer: None. What a surprise!
Why is it, that people are allowed to judge video games without knowing anything about them? If I was to say, for example, that
piano playing is
pointless and
crap, then I would be regarded as a moron! But hey, how can I judge when the only musical instruments I can play are
CDs and the air guitar!
I also imagine, that these particular people probably watch 5 hours of TV a night and then tell me how they think video games are a waste of time. Who are they kidding?
University life
It's a fact, time always goes by really quickly when you're enjoying yourself. I've had a great time at university and I'll be going into my final year in September; feels like no time since I was just starting in first year!
I've been thinking how much things change over the four years that you're there - when you start in first year your course is everything (well, for some, at least) and you think you're important, probably because it's the first time you've had proper independance. (that is only if you do the right thing any move away from home!)
By the time you get to fourth year things change, you realise the's a lot more out there to see and do, and I guess you start looking to what's ahead...
I especially hate people saying things along the lines of; "when you finish uni you'll have to get stuck down to a 9-5 job", as if it's the end of the adventure! Life's only just beginning!
Ninja Gaiden - just too hard
Although the original version of this game has been out for a while, (I always keep up to speed with the industry yet always have to buy games late - student budget!) a few updated titles were released, namely Ninja Gaiden Black and recently, Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3.
All are awesome games, but the original was supposedly one of the hardest games ever released - this is maybe a bit extreme, but it certainly is very challenging. There is no easy difficulty setting, only normal and hard, and I hate to think what hard is like! In the updated games the developers tried to address this, but they apparently only really took pity on us gamers with the Sigma installment. Ninja Gaiden Black does include a feature where the game pokes fun at you by making the gameplay VERY easy if you fail early on, and you also have to wear a pink belt!
This aside, the game is outstanding - there is a ridiculous amount of depth to the fighting system and storyline, which does not pan out quite as you'd expect. One of the game's more mysterious characters, the Dark Disciple (a tall person whose identity is disguised with a mask and electronic voice distorter) plays an important role and does turn out to be somebody you know...
Although these remakes have been very successful, the same story can only appeal for so long and the game really now needs a full blown sequel, which is apparently on it's way to next-gen consoles, but won't see the light of day for quite a while yet...
Silent Hill
I've always loved the Silent Hill series of games (It's a survival horror, adventure series) and I only recently went back to playing the second game in the series.
It's very atmospheric - Silent Hill is a small resort town surrounding a lake somewhere in the US although we are never told exactly where. The main problem is that the town's very haunted, with lots of nightmarish creatures roaming the streets. On top of that you are required to explore different areas of the town, following the plot of the game and also solving puzzles and riddles along the way. These are interesting, and they further build on the whole occult theme. If you toggle with the difficulty settings, they rapidly become the hardest gameplay element, in my opinion. They all vary - for example, one involves reading a cryptic poem and then deciphering from that, the order in which different coins should fit into slots. I sometimes find these infuriating, although they're all do-able if you think 'outside the box'.
Puzzles of this fashion are very good for you and your problem solving ability and certainly prove that computer games are not solely for children and more importantly, comprise more than just shooting anything that moves...
Glasgow
I sometimes think it's nice to write down what you're thinking at the time - I guess that's kinda what I'm doing here!
Was thinking about the difference between country and city life the other day. Half (or rather more than half) of the time I live in the beautiful city of Glasgow, but I stay in a small village in the country the rest of the time, for my summer holidays. There's always a real contrast - I'm an only child so I've always needed some peace and quiet, but when I was younger I'd never realised how 'efficient' the city is, not to mention buzzing!
Gamefaqs
Was browsing through
gamefaqs last night. In case you haven't used or heard of it, it's effectively a computer game guide database - just type in the name of the game you're looking for in the search box and you'll get a list of strategy guides and help files for that game. (They're all .txt files so they'll load up very quickly)
There should be all sorts of different types of guide depending on the game - possibly walkthroughs or more in depth pages about individual characters, etc. There's also some really good ASCII art on some of these FAQS.
You'll definitely find this site a lot more interesting if you play a lot of computer games...!
Facebook
I've only recently set up a facebook account - hadn't realised how good it was for keeping in touch with people without having to write small novels for emails!
Anyway I've posted a link to this blog on my wall; it's all part of trying to establish more of an online presence. I guess it's always nice to have some results show up when you google your own name, especially with my unusual surname...
