So No Man's Sky got quite a divisive reaction at its release, which I suppose isn't terribly surprising given all the excitement and anticipation around it in the years since it was announced. There are lots of reasons why people feel disappointed by the game, but I wanted to bring up one specific thing that I thought of regarding the game's fundamental design. I feel like there's a bit of a conflict between two of the main gameplay features that has ended up detracting from the experience of the game.
I would say that in general, the main draw of the game is the promise of exploration and discovery. While there are some goals and milestones there to urge the player forward, I don't think it's too farfetched to say that the urge to discover the unknown is meant to be the main motivation for the player to play the game. However, there is another main gameplay feature: crafting; and this is where I feel that the design works against itself.
It's a fairly standard crafting system - collect certain resources to build stuff and keep your starship and space suit running, etc. Your technology depletes fast enough that you basically need to be constantly collecting resources as you go along. Where this conflicts with the exploration and discovery aspect of the game in my mind is that it removes a lot of the mystery of the unknown. When you find a new planet, you kind of already know what's going to be there, because it has to be there for the gameplay loop to continue.
There are of course other things that contribute to all the planets feeling a bit same-y, but this was just one issue with the fundamental design of the game that I thought was kind of interesting. It seems like something that could have come up even in the early design stage, to have the two main gameplay pillars of your game conflict with each other like that. No Man's Sky still a pretty cool game and an impressive achievement, I'd just been thinking about this for the last few days and wanted to throw it out there.
Thursday, 18 August 2016
Monday, 12 August 2013
Weekend Summary
So if you read my last post, you might remember that I said I was going to visit my cottage this past weekend. Well I did, and it was pretty great. The weather was really nice, so I had a pretty good time just sitting and relaxing with all the nature surrounding me. My Mom has some hummingbird feeders up, and there were hummingbirds around them for a fair bit of the time, which was cool. They were really cute. There was one that was really surly and chased the other birds away from the feeders, even if he didn't want to actually go on them himself. Pretty funny.
I also saw a WILD TURKEY. This is the first time I had ever seen one, actually in the wild. Unfortunately I was in the car at the time, so I couldn't follow my manly instincts to go hunt it with nothing but a sharp stick and mud camouflage. And, as science tells us, the urge gets stronger the closer we are to Thanksgiving, so it was pretty hard to resist. Count yourself lucky this time, TURKEY!
Other than that, I went on a couple of rides in my Dad's boat and visited some family that I haven't seen for a while, so that was good. And I think I might have gotten at least a small creativity boost from the change of scenery, which was mainly what I was looking for. I got an idea for a new story, and after thinking about it for a while, I actually had an idea for like, kind of a different form of storytelling. I'll have to think it out a bit more, but hopefully I'll be able to nail it down and start posting it on this blog. If so, I think it would be kind of like a multi-part shortish story. Can't promise anything, of course, since everything I've promised so far hasn't really happened yet.
Anywho, I also saw Elysium while I was up there, and it was pretty good. The sci-fi stuff was cool, and I really enjoyed Sharlto Copley, and especially Jodie Foster. I thought she did just an amazing job. I also laughed at the shape of the space station...nice Halo ring there, guy. Not that that was bad though, it was actually pretty cool looking. That's not to say that there was nothing wrong with the movie, of course.
I guess some spoilers might follow, but nothing really too specific.
So, my big issue with Elysium was how many stupid movie cliches were in it. You know, that kind of thing that makes you go 'aw, come on, really?' when something works out juuuust right. Also how the main character seemingly has like super-hero level endurance, even after being stabbed. How everyone is at the right place at the right time, and how the guy's computer is just magically able to interface with all of Elysium's stuff.
It's the same problem I had with Pacific Rim, which could have been just a cool story about giant robots and monsters, but for some reason they stuffed in a terrible love story too. I mean it was just awful. There was nothing that bad in Elysium, but it's still disappointing to see these lazy storytelling methods being used so heavily in mainstream movies. Like, I feel like we could do without the magically-best-in-the-world-at-what-he-does protagonist who always knows what to do. Maybe that's just what people want to see though, I dunno.
Anywho, as I said, I still enjoyed Elysium, but yeah, I felt it could have been better. So I guess that's it for today, sorry it's not really much again. Hopefully I'll be able to get things straight and get to work on something again soon.
I also saw a WILD TURKEY. This is the first time I had ever seen one, actually in the wild. Unfortunately I was in the car at the time, so I couldn't follow my manly instincts to go hunt it with nothing but a sharp stick and mud camouflage. And, as science tells us, the urge gets stronger the closer we are to Thanksgiving, so it was pretty hard to resist. Count yourself lucky this time, TURKEY!
Other than that, I went on a couple of rides in my Dad's boat and visited some family that I haven't seen for a while, so that was good. And I think I might have gotten at least a small creativity boost from the change of scenery, which was mainly what I was looking for. I got an idea for a new story, and after thinking about it for a while, I actually had an idea for like, kind of a different form of storytelling. I'll have to think it out a bit more, but hopefully I'll be able to nail it down and start posting it on this blog. If so, I think it would be kind of like a multi-part shortish story. Can't promise anything, of course, since everything I've promised so far hasn't really happened yet.
Anywho, I also saw Elysium while I was up there, and it was pretty good. The sci-fi stuff was cool, and I really enjoyed Sharlto Copley, and especially Jodie Foster. I thought she did just an amazing job. I also laughed at the shape of the space station...nice Halo ring there, guy. Not that that was bad though, it was actually pretty cool looking. That's not to say that there was nothing wrong with the movie, of course.
I guess some spoilers might follow, but nothing really too specific.
So, my big issue with Elysium was how many stupid movie cliches were in it. You know, that kind of thing that makes you go 'aw, come on, really?' when something works out juuuust right. Also how the main character seemingly has like super-hero level endurance, even after being stabbed. How everyone is at the right place at the right time, and how the guy's computer is just magically able to interface with all of Elysium's stuff.
It's the same problem I had with Pacific Rim, which could have been just a cool story about giant robots and monsters, but for some reason they stuffed in a terrible love story too. I mean it was just awful. There was nothing that bad in Elysium, but it's still disappointing to see these lazy storytelling methods being used so heavily in mainstream movies. Like, I feel like we could do without the magically-best-in-the-world-at-what-he-does protagonist who always knows what to do. Maybe that's just what people want to see though, I dunno.
Anywho, as I said, I still enjoyed Elysium, but yeah, I felt it could have been better. So I guess that's it for today, sorry it's not really much again. Hopefully I'll be able to get things straight and get to work on something again soon.
Friday, 9 August 2013
On Magic the Gathering
Is there supposed to be a colon in there? I don't know. Anyway, no post yesterday unfortunately, as I really haven't had any ideas on anything to write about lately. I guess I'm still going through a bit of an uninspired period. So, for a change of scenery, I'm probably going to go up to our cottage this weekend. Dunno if it will help any, but can't hurt. Hopefully.
Anyway. Yesterday later on in the day I decided to start playing Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, which is a Magic the Gathering game on Steam. I'd bought it a while ago in a Steam sale, for a couple of dollars. The reason I got it is that I'd been introduced to some of my friends to Magic a little bit, and always thought it looked pretty cool, but it seemed like it would be a bit hard to get into. So I thought that getting the game might be a good way to learn the game better, since I don't really have anyone locally that I could play regularly with. So yesterday I FINALLY decided to give it a try, and so I thought I'd talk a bit about how that went.
First off, I should just point out that I know playing Duels of the Planeswalkers is a bit different from playing the game with actual cards. Not super different, but the game does things like gives you pre-made decks, highlights cards when you can play them, and stuff like that. So it's clear to me that you'd need a LOT more knowledge and experience to play the card game as well, like knowing when you can play what cards, and more importantly, when you SHOULD. But still, I feel like this is a good way to learn and get used to the more basic mechanics and dynamics.
So in playing the campaign, I chose the black zombies deck. I feel like I tend to be drawn to the black, white, and to a lesser extent, red colours. Just because I like dark stuff, and angels, and red has some vampires in it too. But yeah, the zombies are just really fun to play with, because if you get the right cards, you just get an overwhelming force. I feel like I should be trying some other decks to learn about some of the other colours' mechanics, but I just have too much fun with the zombies. I suppose there's plenty of time to learn the other colours, though, and I can do so by fighting against them. So let the zombie hordes reign for now.
Then there are the little challenges that you can do in between battles in the campaign. Basically they put you in a very specific situation, usually with you being on the ropes, and you have to figure out a way to fend off your opponent's attack, and beat them in the next turn. The beginning challenges were easy enough, but once it got into the medium challenges, I got stuck as hell. There are just sooo many little rules and subtexts and crazy strategies, that it's easy to see how one would be able to get engrossed in the game for years. I actually ended up having to look up the solutions to the medium challenges, online, which I am not proud of...but I still felt like I learned from each one. I definitely felt stupid after a couple of them, which seemed to have really obvious solutions that I just missed, but at least I know some more things to look for now.
So yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I think when Duels 2014 goes on sale I'll probably pick it up. I actually have some real cards too, but I don't know how invested I'll get in the real game, just on account of how expensive the cards are. It might be cool to just become a casual player, though. We'll see what happens!
Anyway. Yesterday later on in the day I decided to start playing Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, which is a Magic the Gathering game on Steam. I'd bought it a while ago in a Steam sale, for a couple of dollars. The reason I got it is that I'd been introduced to some of my friends to Magic a little bit, and always thought it looked pretty cool, but it seemed like it would be a bit hard to get into. So I thought that getting the game might be a good way to learn the game better, since I don't really have anyone locally that I could play regularly with. So yesterday I FINALLY decided to give it a try, and so I thought I'd talk a bit about how that went.
First off, I should just point out that I know playing Duels of the Planeswalkers is a bit different from playing the game with actual cards. Not super different, but the game does things like gives you pre-made decks, highlights cards when you can play them, and stuff like that. So it's clear to me that you'd need a LOT more knowledge and experience to play the card game as well, like knowing when you can play what cards, and more importantly, when you SHOULD. But still, I feel like this is a good way to learn and get used to the more basic mechanics and dynamics.
So in playing the campaign, I chose the black zombies deck. I feel like I tend to be drawn to the black, white, and to a lesser extent, red colours. Just because I like dark stuff, and angels, and red has some vampires in it too. But yeah, the zombies are just really fun to play with, because if you get the right cards, you just get an overwhelming force. I feel like I should be trying some other decks to learn about some of the other colours' mechanics, but I just have too much fun with the zombies. I suppose there's plenty of time to learn the other colours, though, and I can do so by fighting against them. So let the zombie hordes reign for now.
Then there are the little challenges that you can do in between battles in the campaign. Basically they put you in a very specific situation, usually with you being on the ropes, and you have to figure out a way to fend off your opponent's attack, and beat them in the next turn. The beginning challenges were easy enough, but once it got into the medium challenges, I got stuck as hell. There are just sooo many little rules and subtexts and crazy strategies, that it's easy to see how one would be able to get engrossed in the game for years. I actually ended up having to look up the solutions to the medium challenges, online, which I am not proud of...but I still felt like I learned from each one. I definitely felt stupid after a couple of them, which seemed to have really obvious solutions that I just missed, but at least I know some more things to look for now.
So yeah, I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. I think when Duels 2014 goes on sale I'll probably pick it up. I actually have some real cards too, but I don't know how invested I'll get in the real game, just on account of how expensive the cards are. It might be cool to just become a casual player, though. We'll see what happens!
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
Some Music I Like
So I haven't done any posts about music in a while. I've always been kind of hesitant to get involved in conversations about music, because I find that my taste in music is a little weird. For one thing, with a few exceptions I generally don't attach myself to any specific type of music, I just like things if I like how they sound. So, for example, I generally don't like rap and hip-hop, but there are some hip-hop songs that I really like. So when people ask me what kind of music I like, I don't really know what to say, since there are songs from pretty much every kind of music that I like. I also don't really attach myself to bands for the most part, so when people get into talking deeply about certain groups and albums, I don't really have anything to say. It kinda sucks sometimes, haha.
But, as I said, there are SOME exceptions. One of my favourite types of music right now, and has been for at least a little while, is liquid/melodic Drum and Bass. Liquid is a term that can be applied to electronic music that means it's more like, chill and smooth. At least that's my interpretation. I also like some liquid/melodic Dubstep, but MOSTLY because some of those songs tend to have really nice Drum and Bass in between the wub wub parts. Then if I find the wub wub parts at least tolerable, I like the song. Anyway, you can find a collection of these types of songs on my Youtube playlist here, if you like.
Next, I want to talk a little about a group that I just learned about recently, Walk off the Earth. They are an indie band from Burlington Ontario, which I thought was pretty cool. I actually found out about them from hearing one of their songs in an HMV, and liking what I heard. I used Shazam on my phone to find out what the song was called, which turned out to be this.
So the thing that I really liked about it at the start was the deep harmony that was in the chorus. I realllllly like harmony like that. But the drums and bass were really cool too, and so I decided to do a little more digging into some of their other videos to see what else I might find. There were a few that were just alright, but I also found some really good ones. The one below is just soo nice and chill, and features a ukelele prominently, so, like, it's automatically good.
Another thing that I really like about this band is the girl's voice. It's one of those voices that somehow sounds so effortless, like singing for her is as easy as talking. The guys in the band have nice voices too, but hers is the one that stands out to me the most. Then I found the video below, which is a capella (for the most part), which is another thing I really like, probably mostly due to the harmony of the voices. It's of a Taylor Swift song, but don't let that push you away.
Honestly, pop music these days is kind of weird for me. There are some songs from people like Taylor Swift, KeSha, and Katy Perry that have really beautiful melodies in some parts, but then just have generic sounding noise in the rest, and ridiculous, vapid lyrics. It just confounds me how these minds can be capable of creating really nice music, but don't do it for the whole song. Ahh well, to each their own, eh? I suppose if I'm able to find at least a small thing that I like in those songs, it's better than nothing.
Anywho, yeah. I haven't done a huge amount of looking into Walk off the Earth's discography, because I'm lazy, but it seems to me like they're worth looking into. Check them out if you like what you hear up there.
But, as I said, there are SOME exceptions. One of my favourite types of music right now, and has been for at least a little while, is liquid/melodic Drum and Bass. Liquid is a term that can be applied to electronic music that means it's more like, chill and smooth. At least that's my interpretation. I also like some liquid/melodic Dubstep, but MOSTLY because some of those songs tend to have really nice Drum and Bass in between the wub wub parts. Then if I find the wub wub parts at least tolerable, I like the song. Anyway, you can find a collection of these types of songs on my Youtube playlist here, if you like.
Next, I want to talk a little about a group that I just learned about recently, Walk off the Earth. They are an indie band from Burlington Ontario, which I thought was pretty cool. I actually found out about them from hearing one of their songs in an HMV, and liking what I heard. I used Shazam on my phone to find out what the song was called, which turned out to be this.
So the thing that I really liked about it at the start was the deep harmony that was in the chorus. I realllllly like harmony like that. But the drums and bass were really cool too, and so I decided to do a little more digging into some of their other videos to see what else I might find. There were a few that were just alright, but I also found some really good ones. The one below is just soo nice and chill, and features a ukelele prominently, so, like, it's automatically good.
Another thing that I really like about this band is the girl's voice. It's one of those voices that somehow sounds so effortless, like singing for her is as easy as talking. The guys in the band have nice voices too, but hers is the one that stands out to me the most. Then I found the video below, which is a capella (for the most part), which is another thing I really like, probably mostly due to the harmony of the voices. It's of a Taylor Swift song, but don't let that push you away.
Honestly, pop music these days is kind of weird for me. There are some songs from people like Taylor Swift, KeSha, and Katy Perry that have really beautiful melodies in some parts, but then just have generic sounding noise in the rest, and ridiculous, vapid lyrics. It just confounds me how these minds can be capable of creating really nice music, but don't do it for the whole song. Ahh well, to each their own, eh? I suppose if I'm able to find at least a small thing that I like in those songs, it's better than nothing.
Anywho, yeah. I haven't done a huge amount of looking into Walk off the Earth's discography, because I'm lazy, but it seems to me like they're worth looking into. Check them out if you like what you hear up there.
Sunday, 4 August 2013
A Final Word on Dragon's Crown
So I don't really have anything to write about today, but there is one small thing I want to mention. Dragon's Crown is coming out this coming week, which means that reviews are starting to pop up. If you're not aware, this game has been very controversial for its art style, which you can easily read about with a quick Google search. Now, if you think that the art style is just silly, or you don't really like it, that's fine. You're wrong, but you're entitled to your wrong opinion (lolol). But I have also seen comments where people are talking about how it's actually a 'problem'. And that's where my understanding ends.
To those people, I say: if you are offended by a piece of art or media, that's your fault. Like, sorry if that's a tough truth to swallow, but it doesn't make it any less true. You can control the way you react to something. Do you really think that if something doesn't make you feel good about yourself, it shouldn't exist? Are you really that self entitled?
*drops the mic*
To those people, I say: if you are offended by a piece of art or media, that's your fault. Like, sorry if that's a tough truth to swallow, but it doesn't make it any less true. You can control the way you react to something. Do you really think that if something doesn't make you feel good about yourself, it shouldn't exist? Are you really that self entitled?
*drops the mic*
Friday, 2 August 2013
Boring Friday Post
Well another boring day with nothing really to write about. I guess it's kind of just that summer drought of everything. Meh. Well, I had a cool dream last night. I was Spider-Man, actually swinging around on webs and jumping on rooftops, and fighting crime. And I was part of some secret council or something, though it was never clear what it was for. Or I just don't remember. But yeahh...
Anyway, I worked on another drawing to keep practicing on my tablet, this time it's Omega Red. He's another one of my favourite Marvel villains, which kind of sucks because he's not really in anything recently. And I realized one reason why my drawings aren't that good is cause it's just line art, I don't know how to do any shading or lighting or anything. So that's too bad.
Anyway, I just did kind of like a new version of his costume based on what I remember and what I thought might look neat. And also put a belt cloth. I guess that's kind of like my signature. I don't know why I like them so much, haha. I don't even know what the proper name for them is. I just think they look cool! The next idea I have is for Green Goblin, but the picture in my head might be beyond my abilities to actually make. So maybe I'll post it if it's good enough. Though I suppose my standards can't be too high as it is, lol.
Anyway, I worked on another drawing to keep practicing on my tablet, this time it's Omega Red. He's another one of my favourite Marvel villains, which kind of sucks because he's not really in anything recently. And I realized one reason why my drawings aren't that good is cause it's just line art, I don't know how to do any shading or lighting or anything. So that's too bad.
Anyway, I just did kind of like a new version of his costume based on what I remember and what I thought might look neat. And also put a belt cloth. I guess that's kind of like my signature. I don't know why I like them so much, haha. I don't even know what the proper name for them is. I just think they look cool! The next idea I have is for Green Goblin, but the picture in my head might be beyond my abilities to actually make. So maybe I'll post it if it's good enough. Though I suppose my standards can't be too high as it is, lol.
 |
| Gotta grow the BRAND. |
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
On BioShock DLC and Some Other Stuff
So yesterday the first story DLC was announced for BioShock Infinite was announced, in which you play part of it as Elizabeth, and it takes place in Rapture. That just made me really excited, because it sounds SO COOL. Also, the first non-story DLC actually came out yesterday, which introduces a Horde-like mode. I'm not hugely pumped about that, but since I bought the Season Pass, I got it anyway. There are some pieces of unlockable art and stuff, so I'll probably give it a try, but I've not loved combat-based DLC in the past. But maybe this one will be fun, who knows.
Otherwise, I spent some time in the last two days working on drawing on my tablet. Instead of doing a comic, I decided to just do a regular drawing, since I figured that would be just as good for practice. And I think it was, too, as I could feel myself getting a bit more comfortable with it even as I progressed through the single drawing. So hopefully I'll keep at it and getting better, to the point where I can actually start on my webcomic idea. Seems like I'm gonna have to build up my hand muscles though, cause my hand was pretty sore after finishing it today, lol.
Anyway, I decided to draw Lady Deathstrike. She was always one of my favourite X-Men villains, because she looks really cool and has a cool name. Then, even though she wasn't actually in The Wolverine, I kinda got inspired to do it from all the Japan-y stuff in there. Originally I was kind of planning to do my own take on her costume, but it ended up pretty much being the same as her original one. Oh well. The only semi-difference is her arms. My idea was to have them be basically just her adamantium-laced bones, with some machiney stuff in the middle. The machiney stuff just turned out to be some lines, though...because I am lazy, and not good at drawing little intricate stuff like that. Oh well again.
So I guess all in all, it turned out okay. Obviously I'm not very good at drawing, but it came out about as good as I can draw with a pencil on paper, so that's encouraging for me. It's a lot easier to edit digital drawings, so that's why I wanted to learn to use the tablet in the first place. Only problem is that it took a lot longer to do this, since I kind had to go over it multiple times to clean up the lines, but I think that will improve in time. Anyway, here it is.
Otherwise, I spent some time in the last two days working on drawing on my tablet. Instead of doing a comic, I decided to just do a regular drawing, since I figured that would be just as good for practice. And I think it was, too, as I could feel myself getting a bit more comfortable with it even as I progressed through the single drawing. So hopefully I'll keep at it and getting better, to the point where I can actually start on my webcomic idea. Seems like I'm gonna have to build up my hand muscles though, cause my hand was pretty sore after finishing it today, lol.
Anyway, I decided to draw Lady Deathstrike. She was always one of my favourite X-Men villains, because she looks really cool and has a cool name. Then, even though she wasn't actually in The Wolverine, I kinda got inspired to do it from all the Japan-y stuff in there. Originally I was kind of planning to do my own take on her costume, but it ended up pretty much being the same as her original one. Oh well. The only semi-difference is her arms. My idea was to have them be basically just her adamantium-laced bones, with some machiney stuff in the middle. The machiney stuff just turned out to be some lines, though...because I am lazy, and not good at drawing little intricate stuff like that. Oh well again.
So I guess all in all, it turned out okay. Obviously I'm not very good at drawing, but it came out about as good as I can draw with a pencil on paper, so that's encouraging for me. It's a lot easier to edit digital drawings, so that's why I wanted to learn to use the tablet in the first place. Only problem is that it took a lot longer to do this, since I kind had to go over it multiple times to clean up the lines, but I think that will improve in time. Anyway, here it is.
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