An Update from Beyond!

And so, I acknowledge it's been awhile, but many things have happened since last we met. It'd be rather boring if not, no?

• My birthday! woOt another reminder I'm getting older!
• I created a #Unity3D scene for Shroud of the Avatar #LBSotA! It was to be a re-envisioning of Buc's Den from the #Ultima series. 
• I found out that Dubstep is actually good for something... working out! #Mindblown!
• Grand Theft Auto 5 came out! I must talk about it!
• I'm working on a variety of projects that I can't talk about yet. Oooh mysterious! 
• I'm still not sure if using a #hashtag outside of Twitter does anything, but I've just grown accustomed to using them. I'm so old I remember when a #hashtag was the #POUND sign. 1800-Collect what?!

The first official #LBSotA Scene Jam will be this weekend, which will consume my being for that weekend. I'll post up eventually what is made here. 

Bowser's kids (Koopalings) and Bowser Jr...

This was an interesting happening...

If you are not an "old school" gamer, you might not know that Bowser, King Koopa himself, has seven kids as of Super Mario Brothers 3. Yes... the NES. If you didn't know, now you know. I just had to explain this to my 8 year old son... and why there is a Bowser Jr. to add to the situation.

Bowser Jr. But wait, he has more than one mother? Maybe... maybe not, we're not sure. This is a topic that then escalated into who step-parents truly were. I have nothing against them, nor ex-wives/husbands, but it was actually easier to explain with relatable video game characters than if explained in another way. 

If I had a Facebook account it would say "In a complicated relationship" so this is one for the ages. *chuckles*

Gaming - A Sort of Self Retrospect

I look at the Urban Dictionary definitions of hardcore and casual gamers and can't feel more out of place. They both end up on such extremes that I'm not sure where I fall into. 

Years ago, when I was not a father and single, I probably fell into the hardcore gamer category because of the amount of time and research I put into playing games. I would aim to demolish the high score, I would learn the special moves and combos and yes... I even called the 1-900 number for GamePro and Nintendo Power when they existed. Really funny side story on that but that's for another post... *chuckles to himself* Yes, I was that kid in the arcade that would destroy players as they lined their quarters on the machine, waiting for their turn.

 

Nowadays we have the internet and its wealth of (FREE) information and distractions. Even my 8 year old son knows how to go to use Google to find a tutorial for a game he's stuck on. My old self would say that's totally ok but now as an 'experienced' gamer, I feel that it's just cheating you out fun for the game. Although, there are those times when you REALLY need to check how to pass some level or else someone is going to end up on tomorrow's news...

I find most of my gaming now is late night when the family is asleep and its nice and quiet. I've got plenty to do throughout the day and this is the perfect time to unwind. I don't play violent/graphic games when the kids are awake mainly because they don't need to see me performing chain takedowns in Far Cry 3 or killing cops in GTA. I'm aware some parents could care less, but I'm not one of them.

So what can I play while they're awake? Minecraft comes to mind but PvP must be turned off or my son will get NOTHING done as he attempts to kill me over and over. Almost anything on the Wii though I loath Rock Band style games. 

When all else fails, the smart phone is the go to... the bathroom, on the go, out and about, or even on the couch. Those 'simple' games have a way of keeping you coming back for more but lack the depth of the games I must play in Ninja Mode.

Who else remembers gaming before the internet? And if there are any parents out there, how do you get your game on with and without the kids?