Sent there by the powers be;
The land is scarred and red.
A cancerous technology,
Has met with evil dread.
Horrors from another realm,
Invade to sate their hunger.
Tearing flesh and bone from limb,
Leaving no survivors.
You are there to take it back;
By force and nothing more.
With guns both light or large impact;
Knives and saws to gore.
Take a seat up at the helm.
It’s time to go exploring.
A strange, mysterious new realm.
We really must be going.
A journey long and fraught with peril,
Monstrous walkways wide and narrow.
Beasts with claws and sharp, long fangs,
Stalk us in the night.
In packs they seek to feed their gang,
There is no room for fright.
It’s dangerous to go alone,
You must bring something with you.
A deadly weapon should be worn,
With a comrade beside you.
Risen from a frozen tomb,
Into the wastes and Boston.
Steadily, I journey home,
To find it all in ruin.
The land is scarred and broken.
The Atom Bomb had fallen.
Two-hundred years have passed since then,
But none have since forgotten.
Monstrosities of radiation,
Strange and deadly adaptations,
Raiders, seeking gear and caps,
Are likely confrontations.
Decisions here are life or death;
The wasteland, unforgiving.
As long as I keep drawing breath,
My goal must be surviving.
Still on that Dark Souls 3 kick I mentioned. The lore of these titles is always so rich and complex. Here’s a poem I was inspired to write while reading up on some background lore to learn how magic worked in that universe.
—
The twisted powers of the void,
Sick and deathly minds employ.
Souls must pay a hefty burden,
Writhing in that smoldering cauldron.
Seeking tombs of ancient wonder,
Twisting words to tear asunder,
Anything they wish to plunder.
Lives are lost and souls are captured.
The price of these abominations:
Countless scores of helpless millions.
Lines of code are plentiful,
In games that prove quite difficult.
Errors derive from the steps that we stride,
Rushing along to make the deadline.
We try our best to break and stress,
The software we are paid to test.
The issues we find are reported in kind,
Yet what gets fixed is for the developers to decide.
Developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K Games, XCOM 2 delivers an updated and even more challenging turn-based strategy game. For those new to the XCOM series, it revolves around you, the commander, leading an army one squad at a time. You strive to defend Earth from the alien invaders, make careful decisions in managing your base, and lead tactical missions into the field. Each soldier can be customized to your aesthetic preferences , allowing you to tweak and shape your dream soldier, and then proceed to watch them die horribly at the hands of the enemy.
While the initial release was sub-par in terms of performance, the core mechanics still shined through; taking turn-based gameplay and making it engaging and intense. As you progress through the campaign, you will only be met with more powerful and dangerous enemy types and scenarios. With procedurally generated maps, the missions are kept fresh and interesting. While the time restriction on most of the missions is my least favorite design choice, it does add a sense of urgency to each mission.
Failing to complete the objective in the turns allowed can result in numerous mission fail states, the worst of which can be losing your entire squad. Fail too many times, and the aliens will prove victorious, spelling the end of mankind as we know it.
If you enjoy a challenge and the ever present risk of death and defeat, I highly recommend Ironman mode, which makes all of your decisions permanent as well as the deaths of your troops.
While I traverse a digital representation of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I can’t help but contemplate what could be our distant future. Putting aside what tragic events led to the fall of our civilizations, I could only focus on the aftermath. The land is scarred and barren; ruins of the previous dwellers serving as the only reminders of our once great cities. Miraculously, though, one other precious piece of history was preserved. Music.
The scratchy, imperfect recordings of then-famous musicians bring a stark contrast to the somber decay of the wasteland. Hearing them sing of their woes and delights of a time long passed, I journey through this forlorn wilderness of debris and death.
Summer vacation meant a respite from the drudgery and tedium the education system wrought upon us each year. Those precious few months away from overbearing homework and lectures were cherished by all. We would count down the last few days of the school year; teachers and students alike happily anticipating the beginning of summer break. While the teachers would no doubt conceive more evil study plans and dubious essays, the students would spend their time improving themselves through the art of play, games and good old fashioned relaxation.
Of course, Summer Camp was plan A for most parents; being far too busy with work and adult responsibilities to dedicate their whole day to entertaining their children over the summer. Summer Camp offered parents and guardians a convenient solution to this problem. Their work schedules would be kept intact and their children would be off learning and socializing with other kids during the week. It was basically school with all the boring bits cut out and replaced with recess and lunch time.
My summer camp experience was incredible. It’s where I first learned how to play Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon. As soon as we were let into the building, we would rush to our favorite spots, get settled, and bust out our card collections while we waited for the first planned activity of the morning. The large room we occupied was a classroom with several raised floors. We determined it to be a music classroom considering all the instruments stored away by the walls.
Once the cards were out, the energetic squabbles of card trades and duels filled the room. I was overwhelmed when I first experienced the hustle and bustle of kids haggling for rare cards, only able to observe and learn what I could about these strange card games. I had never played a trading card game of any sort before that point. The summers that preceded were filled with cartoons and soccer; one summer even had me out of commission as I had my tonsils removed. I remember being so fascinated by the quickness of gameplay. The rules seemed complex and daunting but I was determined to learn how to play. No way was I going to be left out of awesome gaming scenes like this!
It was the perfect time to learn how to play and make some new friends over the summer. Our field trips usually took us to the local mall, where we would all make a b-line for Wizards of the Coast. I’m sure the employees working there knew we were coming and welcomed the sudden flow of lunch money as we scoured the place for booster packs and starter decks.
This was how I got into Magic and Pokémon, and my obsession only grew after I got my Game Boy Color. That’s a post for another day, though.
If there is anything I’ve learned from the gaming culture during the last decade, it’s that nostalgia has a considerable influence on our opinions. It’s no secret, and the psychology behind it is sound; we, as humans, tend to think back on memories passed with rose-tinted glasses. We’ve all heard about how green the grass is on the other side, and you can look back on your past failures with perfect clarity, believing you could make it right if only you could go back in time.
We mostly live our lives in the past, reminiscing about the moments that filled you with joy and warmth. We seek shelter in the cozy blanket of our cherished memories when we’re subjected to the chaotic natures of existence. We find comfort in the familiar and unease in the unknown. The very mention of a deviation from the norm instantly causes hesitation and uncertainty. Well, at least that’s the effect it usually has on me.
What drives this point home, in my opinion, is the fact that Intellectual Properties (IPs) from as far back as the mid-seventies still have a substantial foothold in the gaming industry of today. An IP refers to the creation and ownership of a concept. To name one example, Mario is an IP of Nintendo and has been a major influence on the gaming industry since his initial appearance in Donkey Kong (1981). Countless developers and designers endeavored to capture the same design structures and elements that made Mario so successful.
Today, one of the most popular games on Nintendo’s Wii U is Super Mario Maker; a game that lets players design their own levels and test their skills against the challenging trials put forth by their countless peers. The foundations of the games design are still more or less intact since it was introduced. The classic platformer with enemies and the occasional boss fight along with interesting and colorful level design. I’m sure you can find loads of articles out there that will tell you what makes Mario games so great.
My question is: Would the IP of Mario be met with the same reception it got in the early eighties today? It’s impossible to know for sure, but my gut tells me that nostalgia plays a bigger role in our opinion of games than we realize.
Ori and the Blind Forest is a visually stunning adventure game that focuses on exploration, platforming and puzzle solving. Released in 2015 by developer Moon Studios, “Ori” introduced new ideas and concepts to the genres of Adventure and Platforming. Delivering simple yet compelling character designs along with a brilliant and immersive world, Ori soon became a personal favorite of mine the moment I set eyes upon it. The side-scrolling aspect of this game was the perfect canvas, allowing for intricate levels of detail to make every object and character shine.
With the visual appeal of this game already pulling me in, I was entranced by the fluid smoothness of the animations. Tall grass swayed and rustled as I made my way through sunny meadows. Ancient trees creaked and moaned as a powerful gust of wind swept through the forest. The atmosphere and ambiance was mesmerizing as I navigated through lush fields and eerie forests. Formidable predatory creatures and treacherous terrain filled the gaps between the serene and sublime vistas; rewarding your endeavors with new vibrant and mysterious locations for you to explore.
Being a seasoned veteran of the video game world, I was surprised when I found myself remarking on how interesting and engaging the puzzles and obstacles were. This game encouraged me to think differently; having to abandoning my pre-conceived notions of what was expected from a side-scrolling platformer.
In my personal opinion, Ori and the Blind Forest proves that any genre can be made interesting and fresh again when talented developers strive to push the boundaries of game design. It’s apparent that tremendous amounts of love and passion went into this title, and I look forward to seeing what developers like them will come up with next.
Bedsforth 