Stupid AI!!!!!!

The other day I was playing one of my personal favorite games called Medieval 2 Total war. I was playing the campaign mode which is basically a game mode in the game, that you choose a faction, which is basically your country or principality and you start off on the "campaign map". Well what game basically has two aspects during the campaign. One is the campaign map, and the other is the battle map. The battle map is where you get to command your toops and you get to see the epic battles go down. On the campaign map you get to manage your cities, taxes, religion, ect. You also get to choose to send armies to places to either defend your cities or siege the enemy cities to expand your empire. Well I was at turn 300 and something, which is a long way into the campaign, considering each turn is a season. Well anyways one of my enemies decided to siege my fortress which was my last line of defense before my capital. There were two AI enemy armies attacking, and then my army, which I controlled. And then helping me out was another AI army. During the battle the enemy armies managed to get through the first set of walls to my fortress. What happened next made me rage quit. The AI army helping me defend just froze up and allowed the enemy armies to walk right past towards my second, and final wall defenses. Long story short, I lost the fortress and because of the stupid AI my capital was vulnerable.    

A game that got me friends.

Around three years ago I started playing a game called Arma 2. I was playing on a server I created and I was looking for people to join the server to help with a video series I was going to do. I waited a little while and over time a few people joined. I asked the people who had joined if they had Skype so I could explain what I wanted help with. Most of them didn't have Skype. But there were two of them that did. I had no idea that these two people would become some of my closest internet friends. I call them "internet" friends because they live far away and really can't be considered friends that I can hang out with in real life, but they are treated no different none the less. Three years later we are still friends and it is amazing to think our friendships have grown stronger just by playing video games together. Unlike my friends that I can hang out in real life with, which I can play video games with them also, but most of the interaction is done outside of the game. My friends that are strictly friends online are what I feel the same kind of friends that I have where I live but sometimes, my online friends will be more a part of my social life rather than some of my IRL friends. I really don't understand the term IRL (in real life.) because wouldn't it be also considered real life if I were talking to someone on Skype? I don't know but that is the term people use to distinguish their friends that they see and hang out with rather than the ones they talk to online. But before I get too side tracked I would like to talk about I am glad to have to technology we have in today's world. I don't think I would have half of the friends I have today if it weren't for Skype and video games. I mean most of my friends I had met in school and talked to on a daily basis when in school, have since moved on and most hardly keep in touch with me anymore, but like I was warned at a younger age, all of that is just a necessary part of life. What I wasn't told is that I would meet some of the most entertaining fun people to talk to, and people that kept sane on the hard days, or weeks of my life, while playing video games, and talking to on Skype. The memories we shared while playing games were awesome and held much laughter. Some of these memories I can play back because they were recorded on gaming videos on my YouTube channel. I think there is just one puzzle piece left to put together at this point. You see the two friends I met that one day on the server I plan to meet up with in real life. One of them lives in Texas. His name is Kevin. Now I am not sure if meeting him would ever be possible but if I am ever on his side of the state on a trip there I will definitely meet up with him. The other one lives closer than I even thought he would have. My friend Travis, turns out to live in a small town only about two hours away from where I live! Now all I would have to do to go meet him is save up some road trip gas money and get directions! The only thing that keeps me wondering is: will these friends stick around?

       

Video Game soundtracks

One of the things I have always enjoyed with games were their soundtracks and music. I will sometimes find myself humming a song from a game from time to time, and not even realize it. The power of music can determine the feel of the game and all that the game is. If you are in an epic boss battle you expect to hear the intense suspenseful music, and the more intense the music is, the more you get into that battle. The same goes for possibly a cut scene that is really sad or portrays emotion, you would hear dramatic or sad music to make the emotion of the scene even more powerful. Music can define the feeling of what kind of game you are playing. For example in The Legend of Zelda games, while you explore or are traveling you have music that is upbeat and exploration orientated to make what you are doing even more atmospheric and fun to do. In games where fighting and action packed battles are the main focus, you can expect music to fit that, although I can't think of any certain game at the moment to name off, or to use as an example, but there is a huge category to define an action game. Different styles of games call for different kinds of music also. For instance if the game has a realistic graphics style it may be the game developers choice to put either realistic music in, or non realistic music. If the game has cartoonist graphics it may be his or her choice to put silly music in it, or music that would fit that style. I feel like, if video games did not have music, then they would definitely be way less enjoyable, and parts of the game that are supposed to have you feel a certain way, whether it be a death scene, or a happy ending, I really doubt people would be that into it, and the emotion in the game would not portray itself properly. So in my opinion I believe the music in games are essential for the enjoyment we get from playing them. We may not notice but I bet we would if there was no music at all, because we would think "wow this game would be so much better with a soundtrack". Having music in games is an essential part even when we might not realize it. It just becomes second nature hearing music in games that we hardly even think about it. There is one think that will make you realize though. If the soundtrack is really catchy or cool sounding. I guarantee you will be scrambling all over Google to find the name of the song you heard in the game because you just have to hear it again. The next time you play a video game, go ahead and take a listen, you might hear a song or soundtrack you like. Once you notice the power of music in video games you can appreciate the work the developers put into their game to ensure that you will get the best experience when you play.

Favorite franchise?

Many people have their favorite video game series or franchise. Mine is the Elder Scrolls franchise. I was introduced into this franchise when I was in middle school. I remember the first time I witnessed the greatness of immersible video games. The game that I was introduced to was the fourth game in the series called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. What drew me in was the fact that you are thrown into a whole new world and have no idea where to go or who to talk to. It is a franchise that has an entire Galaxy and planets named. The planet the series takes place on it called Nurn. I have a map of the planet on my bedroom wall with all the continents and provinces labeled. I would call myself a pretty big geek when it comes to The Elder Scrolls and its history and lore. I have personally only played three out of the five Elder Scrolls games and have spent much of my childhood and still today, playing and learning more about the franchise. The Elder Scrolls games only come out every five to seven years and it is a long wait to have to go through especially for a hardcore fan like myself. I do feel like the wait is worth it though because the end product we are given is at a quality level beyond a finished game. The last Elder Scrolls game came out in 2011 and is still a top game that people play today. The content that you get from Elder Scrolls games are re-playable and with the gaming community on the PC, The Elder Scrolls is an even more time lasting game because of the hard working modding community and add ons. The company which owns The Elder Scrolls series is called Bethesda Softworks and they are a triple A game company. With the addition of DLC also known as down loadable content, The Elder Scrolls games give players even more time to spend and get immersed into the epic world I still love today and will most likely always love throughout my entire life. If there is one game I do not like, which I am not sure if I should even count as an Elder Scrolls game, is The Elder Scrolls Online. That game is one I have never played but was developed by EA games. It was the first multi player glimpse into the Elder Scrolls world and is also a MMO which is a massively multi player game. Many fans of the Elder Scrolls games do not approve The Elder Scrolls Online as being a true Elder Scrolls game. I can partly agree. I feel like The Elder Scrolls games created by Bethesda Softworks perfected the vision of a perfect single player game. My opinion is a very one sided one because many gamers may not even like the fantasy genre of role playing games, but for me the Elder Scrolls games will always have a place on my shelf. Heck they can take up the entire book case for all I care. My one dream to have concerning The Elder Scrolls franchise is before I die, could I please play an Elder Scrolls game that covers the entire planet and history, lore, and characters throughout the entire time line of Nurn. If you could Bethesda, I may die a happy fan of your games. If not I will haunt your game studio for the rest of eternity.

A game that I kept playing.

Many gamers will have their favorite game, and will play it non-stop for months. I played a game called Time-splitters: Future Perfect for over a year. Now I didn't play it constantly but I was truly addicted to it. I still enjoy playing it even today. First of all the game looked really good on the Play Station 2. The graphics were amazing at the time, and the sound effects blew me away also. I think what kept me playing was the fact that everything cool in the game had to be unlocked, and there were no shortcuts or cheat codes to get you to 100% unlocked quicker. The storyline was really good and I had a blast replaying it multiple times. There was one thing that I loved more than the storyline though. There was a special tool in the game that would allow you to create custom maps and missions using tile sets in the game. I loved this feature and made countless maps to play and designed many of them to show my friends and have them play them. Another reason that kept me playing this mode is to use all the stuff including characters and guns, you needed to unlock them. That alone drove me to trying to complete the game to its 100% completion. I wanted the maps that I created to be the best ones ever so I had to get the best stuff in the game! To get the best stuff in the game took a lot of time. The cool thing about that game at the time was that everyone was playing it. All of my buddies at school were talking about it. It was clear who made the best maps though! The game itself was not realistic to any extent. The characters and story were really strange, and goofy. The best way I can compare this game to anything would maybe be to mix your average first person shooter with a Si-Fi world that uses time traveling mechanics to portray the story. Time-splitters: Future Perfect was the third and final game in the Time-splitters game series. For years there have been rumors of a Time-splitters 4 or new game. I have done research and have found out that sadly, there most likely will not be a new Time-splitters game that will come out anytime soon. The reasons are that the game company claims that there is not a demand for this type of game at the moment. I disagree. I think now, more than ever, we are in need of a game like this. Time-splitters defined what good games really were back in the day and I would rather play a game that is different, and unusual like Time-splitters, rather than all of the clone action shooters that keep coming out. It seems like games are running out of ideas to keep franchises popular. I have the perfect idea! Bring back Time-splitters! If a new Time-splitters game ever comes out I know I will enjoy it. Games as neat as the Time-splitters series are rare to find. They are games that are like a gem in a pile of rocks. So enjoy them while they are here and popular. Soon they will just be a thing of the past.

Are video games just games, or something more?

I have been thinking lately about how I have used video games in the past to do more than just play them. When I was a junior in high school I had to do a physics project on newtons three laws. I have no idea why but I thought it would be a great idea to use the video game Grand Theft Auto IV as my demonstration. What I did was use the PC version of the game and play out some scenes that would demonstrate the physics well. I then used a built in video editor of sorts that was put into the game to make cinematic videos and such, and then edit it and put a voice over explaining the facts about newtons three laws. It actually turned out really well and the class really enjoyed it. I think the project turned out as good as it did because I could not really simulate a car crash, or a guy flying out of a windshield in real life, so I went into the world of video game physics. Now this story raised a question. Was I just showing the class a video from a video game? Or was there something deeper and more artistic at work? I believe that video games are a great learning tool for those who are interested into them, and even for non gamers I think the class could watch a video game video explaining the lesson far longer than a lecture. On a side note there is apparently news that video games will soon be implemented into education because many children growing up are exposed to video games and from recent studies children seem to learn and retain more from watching or playing video games rather than if they were to read this information in a book.

Many games today have very compelling and story driven characters and worlds for you to explore and meet. Many games have cut scenes that are longer than the actual play time you will spend in the game as the character. It is clear that in the world of gaming today the impact a game leaves on you is mostly based on how you felt the game ended, or what you walked away from the game thinking. That means that the developers have to make a good story and an ending with a bang. I can say that playing through a game fully can best be described as watching a movie or show. When I played the game Red Dead Redemption and beat the game I was truly sad the journey was over, the game and its story was THAT GOOD. I can say that I would never had finished that game had it not been for the amazing story that kept me hooked and binge playing it for weeks. When I spoke about virtual reality in gaming I can also agree that interactive story driven media is going to be a very big part of entertainment in the future. You see that is what the beauty of treating these video games as something bigger and better than just a game. People want to experience what you see what these characters you watch and read about for what they do. Video games are the answer to giving you that feeling, well at least to an extent.      

Early access games.

A couple of posts ago I talked about some of the differences between the gaming industry now vs the industry way back when. I mentioned a platform called Steam. The topic for this post is something that has risen the attention of many gamers lately. Many gamers love early access games, but I am one of the many who are a bit untrustworthy when it comes to these indie developers. Early access games are games which you can buy on Steam or many other programs where you can buy video games to download on to your computer. Early access games are games which are not complete, or not fully playable to the developers goals for the full release of the game. So the term "early access" refers to the consumer that you can buy a game which is incomplete but playable to an extent with many features, and many other features not yet implemented or put into the game by the developers yet. So it can be a positive thing for the developers and the consumers because the game will get recognition and play tested by the consumer, and the developers will be supported and get a grasp on how their game may do in the competitive market. Now the problem, which I will get to in a moment is not how all early access games are bad, many early access games so great potential and I would happily put money down to support, but there are many other games and small game developer teams who may take your money and run.  

Many games in the past have went up on early access and hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid by the consumer to the developers to continue the game only to have the developer go MIA on a vacation to Aruba. Games like The Stomping Land, which was a highly popular game being on the top 3 list of steam for a good while and out of no where the developer takes the game off of early access and the money everyone paid to play it went with it. I often wonder how many people called up Steam in an outrage for their money back when Steam cannot do anything about it. It is the consumers choice and risk to buy the game. Another great example of an early access game that is one of the most downloaded games of all time is Dayz. The developers of this game promised to have all of these amazing features at the full release of their game and in the past two years the game has been out hardly any of these features have been added. I will also note that the game is still in ALPHA! I have never heard that a game would stay in an early alpha state for more than two years. It is absolutely crazy. My fear of the problem of early access games isn't the part about untrustworthy developers or game companies. It is the consumers gullibility to be sucked into buying a product that may have a grim to no future at all. I will relate this to games of the past because when you used to buy a game it was a full game. When you walked into the store to buy the new game disc or the new game cartridge you were buying something that was full, something that was created to be played by every pixel. The game you were buying was being played like it is meant to. Now you buy a game which is most likely early access because the trend is starting to show that there are more early access games every day then there are complete games. My fear is that early access will be come the new norm in gaming. I don't want every developer or every company handing out a half complete product. If it is a readably accepted way of releasing games it may every well become the normal way of producing games. 

Virtual reality games

Who would have thought that games would take a turn into the virtual world. Virtual reality in gaming has become a reality recently. There is a device called the Occulus Rift that you put on your face and it is designed to simulate a virtual world. The Occulus Rift does this by tricking your eyes into thinking you are actually there. The Occulus Rift also has motion tracking sensor inside of it which tells the game camera view to move around. So if you move your head to the right or left your character's view in the game does as well. It is a pretty cool thing to experience in real life. I personally have not used the Occulus Rift before, as it is really expensive. I have however seen many videos on the internet covering it, and I watch many YouTube gamers play Occulus Rift games. They have said that if you have never used the Occulus Rift it is truly like you are there. There is a simple game where you are on the edge of a cliff and you are looking down below at your feet at the edge of the cliff and just that has freaked out many playing it, your brain processes what your eyes are seeing and it literally makes you scared or in fear because naturally your brain is programmed that standing on the edge of a cliff isn't necessarily the safest place to be. The Occulus Rift is a very popular piece of hardware to incorporate into many game developers in the horror genre. You can probably guess why. Occulus Rift was recently bought by Facebook why have taken the Occulus off the market until they release a new model. The new model that will be available next is called the development kit 2, and will not be the full version. The price to pre-order the development kit 2 will be $350.00.

The image above is what the development kit 2 will look like. Some of the problems with these early virtual reality devices are that they are not for everyone, and for sure not entirely consumer friendly. Many people report of being nauseous after using the Occulus Rift. Some of the youtubers that I have watched play with the Occulus have also complained that they cannot play on the Occulus more than a given time without feeling sick or dizzy. This may be the first step in virtual reality in gaming, but it definitely needs improving. Of course this is a long stretch from being true virtual reality, but I have no doubt that someday people will be able to transport both their mind and their body into a virtual universe. Imagine you in control and truly being in the game. I do admit I am sort of jealous to those who can use their Occulus Rift's but I am sure I will be able to experience virtual reality in gaming someday. I hope things don't go too far like in The Matrix though. I really don't think I want to stick a big plug into the back of my head to play virtual reality games. I will probably just stick with the Occulus Rift.     

The gaming industry now vs then

The market for the gaming industry is at an all time high. I know it and see it every day. Console gaming has been a rapidly growing start for many new gamers around the world. Consoles were most likely the reason the gaming industry is doing so well today and why video games have gotten a very high rate of exposure. I found out about video games through consoles. In Today's market, video games are on many platforms, and even multi platforms. For me there is one platform that I think highly surpasses the rest. PC gaming. It is no surprise that a machine as versatile as the modern computer would make a heaven for any gamer looking to see games in a whole new light. PC gaming has allowed for a whole new world in gaming because of its modding ability and many companies accept that mods do increase sales of their game on PC, so many accept it with open arms. And then we have Steam. If you aren't familiar with it, Steam is an application for PC that allows you to buy and download games directly to your hard drive. Now many people would say that this is worse than having a hard copy of a game, but Steam does one thing that your local GameStop or Wal-Mart cannot do. Steam is able to sell games that are listed at $60 and halve them or even more. Steam has games on sale all the time. Now that money isn't a factor people don't care about having a hard copy, and many enjoy the ease of just hitting purchase and then wait an hour for the game to download and play right from home. I will tell you I personally will choose PC gaming over consoles any day. Consoles are good for sitting on the couch and casual gaming. But for a hardcore gamer like myself, PC is the way to go.  

When we look back at how gaming was a while ago, every game was hard copy. And many games were just put on one console. Back then there really wasn't that much competition in who was the top dog. Now we refer to this as the "console wars" where gamers will pick and choose their favorite system to play the new up and coming games. Brands like Sony and Microsoft are the two main competitors now, will poor Nintendo struggling to stay afloat against the tidal waves of the bigger companies. Something we see far too often in the gaming world is "console exclusives". Games like HALO are only available on Microsoft's console called the X Box. Other games to be only playable on Sony's Play Station. And of course what would Nintendo be without Mario, or Smash Brothers. And speaking of Nintendo another thing to point out about gaming now is that everything is going hand-held and portable. The market for gaming devices you can take on the road, or camping, or wherever you can go that isn't at home, has dramatically increased. But gaming at home is still running strong. I have no doubt in my mind that gaming will keep us spinning our heads and making us watch intently at what the world of video games has in store for us in the future. I think I know what my topic for next week is going to be now. I will be talking about virtual reality in gaming. That is going to be fun...

My first gaming console

The first video gaming console that I owned was a Nintendo 64. I have one that looks like this:

 There wasn't much to go wrong with the Nintendo 64. I will still play it today because of its replay value and fantastic line of games that came out for it. Just typing this out right now brings a smile to my face because of the memories and great times that came from this console. I remember looking under that Christmas tree that year and seeing that used console. I still have it today. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , Super Mario 64, Turok Dinosaur Hunter, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Quake 2, San Fransisco Rush, Starfox 64, Paper Mario, Duke Nukem 64, and Rampage 1 & 2 are just a few games I can list off of the top of my head that made my childhood a freaking blast! I can remember playing a Turok game called Turok: Rage Wars and I was really little at the time. I remember playing a game against the AI and I could hear noises but I was too scared to go and look so I sat at my spawn point in a little hallway the whole game. I find this hilarious because I must have been doing a team death match or something and the AI were roaming around the rest of the map killing each other and looking for me, and I was sat spawn camping, or rather spawn hiding. I think I tried taking a look into the big room outside of my spawn once or twice but I do remember being extremely scared of that game. Later in my years I remember owning my friends in that game. I was a pro at that game. A part of me wishes I could go back and relive all those magical moments. It makes me sad that those days are gone where me and a few friends would sit down and play some of those awesome games, or if I were to play them by myself. I also have some bad memories with the Nintendo 64. I remember playing 007: Goldeneye against my cousin Collin. It was just me and him in a death match. I was a lot younger than him and the console and game were were playing on at the time was his so he had obliviously played the game before, and he faced me who never played the game in my life. Well if trolling was a word in the modern language at the time thats what he was doing... What I remember him doing to me was setting up trip wires and bombs and telling me to come to where he was at. I tried meeting up with him and as soon as I got near he would lead me right into his tripwires killing me. I remember after he did it a few times I had a fit and started crying. That shows how good of a babysitter he was. But whether the memories are good or bad my first console called the Nintendo 64 will always have a very special place in my heart.    

Why I like video games.

The reason I chose this topic is because video games are a big part of my life. Video games have gotten through some tough times in life. Video games are also a great way to pass the time. If I am ever bored I just play a video game. If I am ever sitting and have nothing better to do then I play video games. The coolest thing to do with video games is play them with your friends! Don't get me wrong, single player games are fun as hell, but nothing beats sitting down in the living room with three friends playing classics like Duke Nukem 64, or Turok. I miss those days honestly. Back then gaming was something magical, now gaming has become such a huge industry that everyone has their genre. Video gaming is so competitive today, I am not saying that is a bad thing, but gaming has changed. As gaming changes so does the market too. I am up for change though, I love when a new game comes out and its like nothing anyone has ever seen. Many people like the new video games because of their graphics, but I could care less. In my opinion graphics mean little on how you enjoy the game. Video games are a way to get sucked into another universe. The immersion and way you can live another life as someone else is just awesome! Many people use video games to escape from their lives they have. Personally I will from time to time, but I will not let it distract me from my work, or things I have to do in life. I enjoy many kinds of games, may it be a first person shooter or an RPG, which is short for role playing game. Video games have inspired millions of people around the world, including me. When I was younger I always would go outside and pretend I was the character that I saw in the video game. So many memories in my life were from video games. For some reason I can remember one of the first memories I have of video games was from the game Super Mario 64. I must have been in either kindergarten or first grade. But my friend Cody must have been playing it when I was over at his house and then in class we had to make hand puppets, and for some reason I made my puppet Bowser. Bowser was the villain of all the Mario games. That game made my imagination run wild apparently, because the bowser I created was no ordinary Bowser. I made my own version of Bowser called Egyptian Bowser!!! I remember that I had Cody try and defeat it at my house after I made it. I don't remember how the battle went down or what toys we were using but I do remember the puppet. That memory makes me laugh and smile every time I think about it. Now that I think about it video games could have made me the creative person I am today. There were so many instances in my childhood where I would pretend to play as bosses like in a video game, and I would have my friend try and defeat me. I guess at the time my parents couldn't afford many games for me to play so I must have just played them out in real life after I watched my friends play them for hours on end. But the earliest games I do remember playing were games on my mom's first computer called the Mackintosh, this was before Apple was even a big competitor to Microsoft. I remember the game being about like going around in a submarine finding things or something like that. But I remember vividly one of the features of the game being able to feed these fish in a fish tank. It bugs me because I wish I knew the name of the game. It would be so cool just go go back and play it again. Oh man it would bring back so much nostalgia. Video games are so powerful and such a big part of my life. That is why I like them, and why I always will.