musings

Paws to Play

2007-10-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

Homecoming was invented at the University of Missouri. Seriously. We have all kinds of ridiculous traditions that go along with our Homecoming celebration, including something called campus decorations, or "pomping." Pomping is kind of hard to describe, but basically you wrap tissue paper around a marker and then stick it on a board to make a huge, elaborate scene. Yes, it's as silly as it sounds. This year the theme was "Paws to Play," and all of the scenes were of videogames! It was super exciting.

My house had Mario:
Pretty cool, right? I'll post pictures of the ones from the other sororities as soon as I get them.

2007-07-17T19:01:00.000-07:00

Always wanted to make your own ocarina, but weren't sure how? You could make one with the standard clay, or use card, make one with your hands, and then make it pretty.

(I'm a little too excited about Phantom Hourglass.)

I love fetch quests, and I'm not afraid to admit it.

2007-07-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm a little afraid to admit it. I read a lot of game reviews that complain about games being tedious and boring. Well, what most people would define as boring in a game, I define as bitchin'.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm playing something is just walk around. This has a tendency to bore anyone that's in the room with me when I play, but I would say that at least six hours of my total time playing Twilight Princess was devoted to wandering aimlessly, and far more than that much time is spent doing essentially nothing in most RPGs I play (I shudder to think how many countless hours I spent making sure I had seen every speck of land in Dragon Warrior III for my GBC).

Fetch quests essentially give me an excuse to backtrack and look around. I read a review on Gamespot.com of the latest Harry Potter game (which, fyi, I was totally already planning on buying because I am a GIGANTIC tool and words cannot express the sheer joy I feel when I think about using my Wii controller as a wand), and as soon as I saw "the game is little more than a chore simulator," I knew I had found a game I would love. Once "endless backtracking" and "nearly everything about the game is tedious" were thrown in, I practically ran to Slacker's.

And you know what? I was right. I think it's great. I am proof that the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure" applies to video games. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go do some pointless backtracking through Hogwarts. Bitchin'.

Sometimes having a conscience is a real bitch

2007-07-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I suck at Grand Theft Auto. The first GTA that I played was GTA: Vice City. I was sold on it at first. I was right in the middle of a big '80s obsession, and I really, really loved the music choices and the fashions in the game, and because I grew up with a car-obsessed father, I totally dug my vehicle options. After a startlingly short amount of time, though, the game made me antsy. I didn't like the idea of pulling a little old lady out of her car and throwing her on the street so that I could use her car to escape law enforcement. I wished there were an "apologize" command or something. I just felt terrible stealing cars from the defenseless little NPCs.

As for running over pedestrians... well, I just couldn't do it. I had to keep my car on the road. I finally managed to get out of my habit of stopping at red lights, but I pretty much sucked at the game as a whole because I couldn't get over feeling like the stuff I was doing was just inherently wrong. I think if I didn't get as into games as I do (despite my vacant facial expressions, I really am sucked in), I wouldn't have as much of an issue. I really do feel like I am my character when I play a videogame, especially if it's as immersive as GTA. I don't like being mean in real life, so why on earth would I like it in my fake life?

Sometimes, I make wonderful decisions

2007-07-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Cooking Mama: Cook Off: On a scale of 1 to 10, it sucked.

I've never been a big believer in renting games. I love renting movies. I can easily watch a two-ish hour movie in five days, but playing a game that could take anywhere from ten to fifty hours to complete? That's a little bit of a stretch. Finally, though, I have accepted that rentals don't have to be all about playing ten plus hours per day to complete a game... it can be used as a way to save money by not buying crappy games!

I love Cooking Mama on my DS. It's one of my favorite games to pick up and play when I have some spare time, and even though I have had it since it came out, I haven't gotten sick of it (okay, I've gotten a little sick of putting breading on things, but that's because it's a total bitch). I saw no reason that I wouldn't love Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii, and I figured I'd buy it as soon as I had a job for this summer. I then saw the price tag, and realized that although $20 was a fine price to pay for portable fun, $50 seemed a little stiff for the home version. I thought to myself, why not give renting a try? I think $7 for a five-day rental is a little ridiculous, Blockbuster, but I figured if it ended up saving me $43, it was worth it.

I question whether I have ever made a better decision in my life than when I chose not to buy Cooking Mama: Cook Off. I'm not sure I have. I played it for around an hour and a half and was so, at the risk of sounding dramatic, disgusted with how hard it was for a single one of my actions to be recognized by the game that I turned it off. What a horrible, horrible disappointment. At first I thought maybe it was my sensor bar or something, but all my other games still play fine (I had to play something else afterwards to get the taste out of my mouth). I had been playing the two-person version with my sister, and when I went back and played the single player I discovered that it was marginally better because I didn't lose track of where I was pointing as much, it still wasn't what I would call fun. My sister quit after about thirty minutes, and declared that it was the "worst game ever." I don't know about that, but it's definitely a big disappointment. I expected mindless fun. I only got the mindless part.

Game face

2007-06-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

I could never be in one of the Nintendo Wii commercials. Every time I see one, I am struck by how ridiculously exuberant everyone looks as they play. I, on the other hand, have a look on my face that is the absolute polar opposite of vivacious. I am slackjawed, I hardly blink, and the only real sign that I am still a functioning human being is that sometimes I squint my eyes when I'm thinking. When I watch other people play, I get completely engaged and I gasp, laugh, and smile while they're playing. Somehow, though, when the controller is in my hands, I get so completely in the zone that I look like the kids in Psychonauts whose brains are sucked out. Anyone else lose all control over facial features when they've been taken in by a videogame?

2007-05-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long, but sometimes I just don't have much to talk about. I haven't been playing a lot of games lately (with the notable exception of Puzzle Quest, my greatest love in life), but I have been knitting a lot and reading a lot of books.

I somehow didn't feel telling tales of my knitting adventures would really interest very many people (although I did make a sweet personalized DS case with pockets for games... it's super cute). As I said, I've also been reading a lot, which always makes me think. I like things that make me think. I love discussing books I've read with other people that have also read them, and seeing how we interpret things differently, etc. I've never been in a real, true, honest-to-goodness book club, but my friends and I trade books around and it's kind of an unofficial type of thing. I love it.

That being said, I also love Brian Crecente's idea for a Kotaku Game Club. I like to think that I'm not the only one who loves trying to find deeper meaning in games, even if it's probably all just my imagination, and I would really enjoy having people to share my ramblings with and hear their ramblings in return. Could be a good time, right?

2007-04-15T23:48:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about the pros and cons of being a nerdy girl. On one hand, it's awesome. Gamer girls are very easy to bond with, generally. Whenever I'm playing anything multiplayer, even if we don't really have teams, I am immediately cheering on the other girl that's playing, if there is one. It's like an unspoken bond. Being a girl gives an advantage in networking, because it's a little easier to remember one of the five girls met in one day as opposed to one of the seventy dudes. There are, however, some downsides to the life.

I'm not a huge fan of being the center of attention. It makes me uncomfortable. I once did an experiment with my friend Alex involving a local EB Games. First Alex walked in. There were four people working and not one of them asked him if he needed help. After he had been there about ten minutes, I walked in. Two of the salespeople immediately approached me to see if I needed anything, and the other two came up to me one after the other not long after that. Once I had been there for ten minutes, two of them had offered suggestions on games to buy, and still no one had talked to Alex. I have one game store that I always go to by my hometown because they know me and don't treat me funny, and other than that I don't like going into the stores because things like that have a tendency to happen.

I hate it when people think I'm one of the attention whore gamer girls. I blame them for most of the negative stereotypes. Everyone has met one of these. She wants everyone to worship the ground she walks on because, damn it, she's a girl, and she knows what an analog stick is. These girls that like it when boys salivate over them because they play games, and even encourage it. Nerds are like Pokemon to them. They've gotta catch 'em all, and then they have to have 'em all following them around reaffirming their supreme hottness. I remember reading a study that found that girls that play games are more sexually active than girls that don't, and the study specifically says that it applies to girls who "actively like to play games." A comment in a forum read, "That's because girls that actively like to play games also actively like to suck everyone's cock." That's sad. I blame the evil vixen gamer girls for these stereotypes. They give a bad name to the whole crew.

Another problem with being a gamer girl recently came to my attention. I just broke up with my boyfriend of a pretty long time a few weeks ago, and some of my friends have been trying to find me a new man. Whether or not I actually want their help is a whole other issue, but the common quote from all of the pitches for guys is: "You guys would be so perfect together. He plays video games!!" Somehow, the fact that I like to play video games is the only thing that matters when trying to find me a boyfriend. I don't get it. I have many other fine qualities, you know.

I would never give up being a girl or a gamer, no matter the little obstacles. It's just kind of annoying sometimes... but then again isn't everything?

I hope I've really learned something from Trauma Center.

2007-04-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

I wish I could use my stylus and/or Wiimote to stitch up real wounds. I split my face open about a month and a half ago (okay, it was just my chin, not my whole face, but still), and had to go to the emergency room. The worst part was when I would have to explain to nurses and doctors that I had split my chin on the floor in my house because I was wearing ridiculous shoes and running all over the place when I lost my balance and hit the ground so hard that my skin was pinched between the floor and my jawbone and... well, it split. That was embarassing. It was more embarassing that every single person thought I was drunk when I was, in fact, just a very sober klutz.

It wasn't as bad, though, as getting the bill for my little adventure. Over $600 for a few stitches. Ridiculous? Yes. Next time I'm sewing it up myself. I know how to sew buttons onto shirts and do needlepoint, and I'm excellent at sutures in Trauma Center, so I'm saving myself a few bucks and going for it.

$656.50 for a little thread, gauze, and tape. That better be some magical damn tape. I even went to the shadiest hospital in town in hopes that it would be kind of cheap. Roaches probably laid eggs in my wound, and it's going to cost another $650 to get my chin stitched up after it explodes with little baby cockroaches like in some urban legend.

Self <3s video games

2007-04-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

I read a lot of magazines. Some of them relate to video games, and some of them don't. One that usually doesn't is Self. It has cover stories like, "Your All-Over Makeover" and "Have Vacation Sex Without Leaving Home." It's not EGM by any stretch of the imagination. I was, therefore, fairly surprised (but good surprised) when I found two references to casual games in the March 2007 issue.

Self has a column called "15 minutes to your best self" every month, and in March's issue it suggests spending 8 minutes solving a problem with a computer game. Bejeweled 2 is a stress soother, Tradewinds Legends helps you break through a mental block, and Aloha Solitaire's soothing beach vibe helps out when you can't fall asleep. They quote a psychologist from New York that advises his patients to play games, and says that it helps to give a sense of control.

One of Self's biggest focuses falls on fitness. Every month they have little tear-out cards with exercises on them, and most of their cover girls talk about how they manage to stay so fit. An article in March's issue deals with conquering cravings, and one of the suggested ways to fight an undesirable craving is to "engage your brain" by playing a game. That's right. Video games, usually blamed for obesity (like the Subway Snakka ad), are being named by a women's health and fitness magazine as a weapon in the fight against unseemly body fat.

My worlds are colliding. This is awesome.

2007-03-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

I am not a Nintendo fangirl. I never owned a Gamecube, because it just didn’t ever manage to really hook me. There were a few games I thought looked like a good time, but not enough to warrant me bringing that little purple box into my life. I was a Sony and Microsoft kind of a girl, and nothing would change that.

Well, nothing until the Revolution controller was unveiled. I was never part of the skeptical crowd about the motion-sensing little remote. I was fascinated as soon as I saw it. I like innovation, minigames, and also reasonable prices, so I knew I was going to have to buy a Wii. I couldn’t really see myself getting into it as much as the people in the commercials did (I’m more of a wrist-flicker than an arm-flailer), but I thought it was worth a purchase. I camped out at Best Buy with my friend Matt on launch day, and we went home with a pair of adorable little Wiis.

I wondered, when I bought my Wii, if it would be as appealing to non-gamers as Nintendo wanted it to be. I had my answer fairly quickly. I live in a sorority house with ninety-eight other girls. There are a couple girls with SNES or N64 consoles, but my room is definitely the only one with any kind of significant interest in video games. The occasional Guitar Hero battle between sorority sisters happens in my room, but overall it’s mostly just me playing (except when my roommates went on a Donkey Kong Country kick with my Super Nintendo for a week… that was crazy). The Wii changed all that.

I was unloading my car, and while carrying my Wii (name: DJ Wiizy) up to my room on the third floor I was stopped around four times by girls squealing, “Oh my GOD, you got a WII?! Can I play it?!” This was a new reaction, and I was bewildered. I set up the Wii that night on our informal living room television. Everyone wanted to play Wii Sports. Everyone. Girls that had declared their hatred for videogames publicly in the past were bowling like pros, and one girl that hadn’t played anything since Super Mario Bros. absolutely schooled me in boxing. The interest hasn’t faded, either. Everyone still loves Wii Sports and Rayman, and I’ve even used those two as a kind of gateway drug for other games. One of the girls that lives on the floor above me has started playing The Cost of Life at my suggestion, and one of my pledge babies has her very own save file on Twilight Princess and is continually asking me when I’m buying Gears of War. It’s true that most people aren’t going on to play anything else, but the few that are make me feel like Nintendo really is accomplishing a great thing with the Wii.

Sometimes having a Mac gets old.

2007-03-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

When I was deciding what my computer would be when I went off to school, I decided to get an iBook. It's cute and easy to use, and I thought it would be a great choice. For the most part, I was right. I love how adorably simple it is, and it suits me very well... generally. Sometimes I get annoyed, though. I get sick of finding games that I would love to play if only I didn't have a Mac. I got a free copy of Company of Heroes at GDC, and I ended up giving it to my friend John because I had no way to play it. For more casual games that are only available on PC, I can use my house's study lounge, but the computers up there are nowhere near able to handle something more advanced. Being unable to play PC games probably saves me a lot of money in the long run, but sometimes I really just kick myself for picking my little iBook buddy.

On the other hand, having a Mac does make it particularly exciting when I find a game that I can actually play, and want to play. I love The Witch's Yarn from Keith Nemitz, and I've found a few others that are a great time. If you have any other suggestions of sweet Mac games I might not know of, let me know. (For the record, I know that I could play WoW if I so chose, but I am trying to retain some semblance of a life outside of my computer and I think WoW would interfere with that goal.)

Why yes, I am a huge tool. Thank you for asking.

2007-03-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

Caitstar is the name of my band on Guitar Hero. I know it's lame, but I thought I'd offer an explanation for it.

If you found this somehow and are wondering why there's only one (well, now two) posts in it, I usually blog over at 1up.com, but I've decided to branch out a little.

Have a wonderful day.