Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
I am a Brony
There.
I said it.
I'll admit it took a little while to get into it, what with the fact that I'm 23, male, and to be perfectly honest the concept of a redone series based on My Little Pony did not appeal to me in the least. Of course that didn't stop most of the population from giving it a shot and loving every second of it. My friend Joe was one of the worst offenders. Every time we'd get together for D&D he'd be all about the freaking ponies and what ridiculous adventures they got themselves into over the course of their 20 some-odd minute run; all of them involving sunshine and rainbows and unicorn farts.
One day though, I figured I'd actually take a moment to give it a shot rather than chastise it and pass judgement without actually having taken at least a tiny bit of a dip into the pool.
At the end of that episode I was hooked.
I really enjoy that they actually took time to develop the characters behind each of the mane ponies, still keeping them vaguely two-dimensional as any children's program but actually giving them a history and room to change and grow. The animation style actually really appealed to me for some reason, despite being fairly simplistic in it's colorization and shading (or lack thereof).
One thing that actually really got me though was the story telling. At points: yes- the stories were incredibly trite and I could honestly see where the plot was going from miles away (again though, it's a children's show). But at other points, the actual approach to the story at hand was kind of phenomenal. They approached the ideas of westward expansion in one episode as a...herd?...of ponies moved into a prairie town and started to plant their apple trees on the sacred stampeding ground of a tribe of native buffalo, leading to all sorts of hostile confrontation but coming to a peaceful resolution at the end.
It took a lot of guts to approach my friend Joe after making fun of his pony obsession and apologizing for how wrong I had been. Since then, a group of my friends have all pretty much become Bronies and Pegasisters in our own rights. Hell even this past Wednesday booze-and-movie night, we spent a large part of Captain America and Hellboy II coloring in pages from a MLP coloring book that my friend Allie purchased on a whim at Costco.
Ah...the fruits of our mildly intoxicated labors...
I am kind of proud on how the shading came out though I have to admit...especially since it means that I may or may not have put in more effor than the show's creators.
Check out General Zoi's Deviantart page for the full version Pony creator. All the credit goes to her for her marvelous creation that allowed me to turn myself into a unicorn up at the top here.
I said it.
 |
| I can already feel your scorn... |
 |
| This concept of "Friendship is Magic" confuses and ENRAGES LRRR! |
One day though, I figured I'd actually take a moment to give it a shot rather than chastise it and pass judgement without actually having taken at least a tiny bit of a dip into the pool.
At the end of that episode I was hooked.
I really enjoy that they actually took time to develop the characters behind each of the mane ponies, still keeping them vaguely two-dimensional as any children's program but actually giving them a history and room to change and grow. The animation style actually really appealed to me for some reason, despite being fairly simplistic in it's colorization and shading (or lack thereof).
One thing that actually really got me though was the story telling. At points: yes- the stories were incredibly trite and I could honestly see where the plot was going from miles away (again though, it's a children's show). But at other points, the actual approach to the story at hand was kind of phenomenal. They approached the ideas of westward expansion in one episode as a...herd?...of ponies moved into a prairie town and started to plant their apple trees on the sacred stampeding ground of a tribe of native buffalo, leading to all sorts of hostile confrontation but coming to a peaceful resolution at the end.
 |
| And only 1 obnoxious musical number from Pinkie Pie! |
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| Nothing says "Art Major" more than shading with crayons. |
 |
Ah...the fruits of our mildly intoxicated labors...
I am kind of proud on how the shading came out though I have to admit...especially since it means that I may or may not have put in more effor than the show's creators.
Check out General Zoi's Deviantart page for the full version Pony creator. All the credit goes to her for her marvelous creation that allowed me to turn myself into a unicorn up at the top here.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Don't Censor the Net
I know this is kind of old hat at this point, but I'm sort of guilty of ignoring it until very recently.
Our government wants to pass certain bills that will (paraphrased) "make a good run at trying to stop online trafficking of copyrighted material and end internet piracy". All well and dandy, but...at what cost?
For reference:
Let's say I write an entry here on Adventures of a Self Proclaimed Nerd and I include a picture that I obtained from a third party.
These acts could view these images as pirated material and block my website. However, it would only really block out my page, but not my URL which seems kind of counter-productive in the grand scheme of things as it's only censoring my material rather than eliminating it from the web.
As a member of the internet generation (granted I didn't get the internet in my house until senior year of high school), I feel like it's my duty to stand against these acts. Don't you?
Join the cause, fight against PIPA and SOPA!
Wikipedia is blacking out their pages for 24 hours in protest, and giving you a means to contact your legislators to let them know you are opposed to it. Google is also generating an online petition. It literally takes 5 minutes to call your legislators and sign the petition. Hell, even StumbleUpon is getting in on this!
Don't let the net go dark.
Here's a list of other websites going dark in protest of these acts.
Our government wants to pass certain bills that will (paraphrased) "make a good run at trying to stop online trafficking of copyrighted material and end internet piracy". All well and dandy, but...at what cost?
SOPA
SOPA, or the Stop Online Piracy Act, was introduced late in October 2011. "The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods."1PIPA
"The Act protects individual privacy by requiring, in most cases, private-sector organizations to obtain consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information and providing individuals with a right of access to their own personal information."1What it actually means
Here’s what the government can do to foreign websites under even the most narrow reading of SOPA section 102 and PIPA section 3:- Order internet service providers to alter their DNS servers from resolving the domain names of websites in foreign countries that host illegal copies of videos, songs, and photos.
- Order search engines like Google to modify search results to exclude foreign websites that host illegally copied material (ie hand pick what internet you see)
- Order payment providers like PayPal to shut down the payment accounts of foreign websites that host illegally copied material (just like they did for pirate bay & ATDHE.net).
- Order ad services like Google’s AdSense to refuse any ads or payment from foreign sites that host illegally copied content.
For reference:
Let's say I write an entry here on Adventures of a Self Proclaimed Nerd and I include a picture that I obtained from a third party.
 | ||
| Oh gee...not like I've ever done that before... | 2 |
As a member of the internet generation (granted I didn't get the internet in my house until senior year of high school), I feel like it's my duty to stand against these acts. Don't you?
Join the cause, fight against PIPA and SOPA!
Wikipedia is blacking out their pages for 24 hours in protest, and giving you a means to contact your legislators to let them know you are opposed to it. Google is also generating an online petition. It literally takes 5 minutes to call your legislators and sign the petition. Hell, even StumbleUpon is getting in on this!
Don't let the net go dark.
Here's a list of other websites going dark in protest of these acts.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Games in Review: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was quite possibly one of my favorite games to play. Admittedly, I'm a bit of a late comer to the Zelda franchise with my first game played to completion being Windwaker and about 3/4 of Majora's Mask under my belt I jumped into Twilight Princess last summer. The visuals of Twilight Princess were some of the best that I've played in a while, although I found the colors just a touch flat and brownish, because if VG Cats has taught me anything it's that "brown is real".
But anyway, Skyward Sword is in effect, a prequel to most of the other Zelda games by establishing various points of the franchise such as:
In that respect, I have to give it a lot of credit. The motionplus technology works phenomenally with the overall game play aspect, really causing the player to think about how to actually go about attacking rather than swinging wildly.
The visuals are like something out of a watercolor painting: the further things are from the player, the more splotchy and impressionistic they become and gradually come into focus as they get nearer. The character designs are incredibly tight too, keeping with the "realism" they established in Twilight Princess and borrowing every so slightly from the cartooniness of Windwaker to establish a new style of it's own.
However, there were points where it sort of got frustrating: particularly when the standard enemies in the dungeon became more difficult than the boss. When I first encountered the Skultula I died possibly 3 times before figuring out how to actually kill it. But to it's credit, the items you collect actually carry relevance throughout the game instead of for a dungeon and a half. I also really enjoyed that it brought in a few aspects of slightly more expansive RPG's in that you can actually collect items from dead monsters as well as bugs and use them to upgrade your equipment and potions. The sidequests alone can keep people occupied for hours.
Overall I really enjoyed this game. The one major downside I can find with being done with it is that I accidentally erased my original save data when prompted to start "Hero Mode". I'd recommend this game to anyone with a Wii, beginner or veteran because it really is just pure fun.
But anyway, Skyward Sword is in effect, a prequel to most of the other Zelda games by establishing various points of the franchise such as:
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| The birth of the eternal princess |
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| The origin of the Master Sword (aka: GLaDOS' cousin) |
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| The reuniting of The Triforce |
The visuals are like something out of a watercolor painting: the further things are from the player, the more splotchy and impressionistic they become and gradually come into focus as they get nearer. The character designs are incredibly tight too, keeping with the "realism" they established in Twilight Princess and borrowing every so slightly from the cartooniness of Windwaker to establish a new style of it's own.
However, there were points where it sort of got frustrating: particularly when the standard enemies in the dungeon became more difficult than the boss. When I first encountered the Skultula I died possibly 3 times before figuring out how to actually kill it. But to it's credit, the items you collect actually carry relevance throughout the game instead of for a dungeon and a half. I also really enjoyed that it brought in a few aspects of slightly more expansive RPG's in that you can actually collect items from dead monsters as well as bugs and use them to upgrade your equipment and potions. The sidequests alone can keep people occupied for hours.
Overall I really enjoyed this game. The one major downside I can find with being done with it is that I accidentally erased my original save data when prompted to start "Hero Mode". I'd recommend this game to anyone with a Wii, beginner or veteran because it really is just pure fun.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
A bit of late night epiphany
So this evening I was unlucky enough to get the closing shift, punching out at 11:45pm. Equally as unlucky was the fact that the only available spot was in the next parking lot down by the Home Depot (which for those of you unfamiliar with the Palisades Center is kind of a long hike involving much traffice and what seems like an endless forest that in reality is more like 30 square feet).
Did I mention it's also 19 degrees and very windy?
So after hiking down to my car from the now empty lot, I was understandably in a less than cheery mood. Getting into my car and cranking up the heat, it was then I noticed that I was critically low on gas, meaning that there was no way in the now apparently frozen over pits of hell that I was going to make it home without getting gas first. It now being midnight and realizing that for whatever reason gas stations around here close around 10, I got just a touch less cheery.
Luckily though, I did manage to find a 24 hour, $3.89/gallon station right near the mall, and my spirits began to lift a little. Until I realized that for whatever reason (current speculation is that my car has a bend in the gas line) takes forever-and-a-fucking-half to fill up. All that wonderful warmth that I had just begun to feel was slowly seeping out from my fingertips apparently, because they were numb before I even got out of the car.
With gas in the car, heat cranked up and feeling slowly returning to my extremities, I headed home. The ride home was fairly uneventful, save for some of the more colorful language I used towards the other drivers who apparently decided that up their collective asses was the best place to put their heads while they drove instead of watching the road. But I digress.
It was when I was nearly home that I happened to look out of the passenger side window and caught a glimpse of one of the forest lakes that pepper the area around here, and noticed the beautiful way that the moon was reflecting across the surface of the water through the trees. The lake became a glowing beacon in the night, caged off from the rest of the world by the skeletal arms of the trees that surround it almost as if trying to protect it from the frigid darkness that pressed in from every direction.
It was then that I realized that no matter how shitty a day goes or how cold and dark the night becomes, there is always something out there that can help alleviate the weight of the day even if only for just a brief moment: and sometimes you only need look out your window to happen upon it by chance.
Now I should really get to bed. I have to open the store tomorrow after all.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
With a Little Help From My Friends
Yeah, bit of a cliche title but, as I've been described before, I'm apparently a master of the cliche.
These past few months or so have been a bit hard to tolerate at points. Both from my own perspective and from the perspective of others. Yet the one thing that I'm truly grateful for when these harsh times come up is my wonderful group of friends.
For example:
Last month my cat Drake went missing, and the next day we found him outside our house with his neck broken and frozen through. He was my little man, a huge part of my world and I was absolutely devastated when we found him (made all the more soul crushing by the fact that he was only 2 years old).
So what happened after the fact?
Despite being in an absolute weepy mess for days and weeks afterwards, my friends all rose up to try and comfort me. My phone was literally exploding with text messages of "we should go hang out" or "let's go watch a movie or something" for the weeks afterwards in an attempt to bring my mind off of the tragedy that had rocked my family. I think one of the particular events that helped the most was when a few of my friends went out, grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan (ironically the name of Drake's sister) and we put on shitty movies from Netflix as we laughed and berated the movie the entire time.
In time the hurt of it diminished enough and the overwhelming warmth of the friendship that I was getting was enough to really help me get through it.
Another example:
A friend of mine recently ended a relationship with her boyfriend of a few years. Much to her misfortune she also had her driving test the next day. Luckily she managed to pass the driving test but you could tell she was still kind of down-in-the-dumps-y when we met up with her later that same day. So, being the friends we are we went out for sushi (which despite being a vegetarian I will always make an exception for), grabbed a bottle of rum and put on more movies.
I'm beginning to notice a trend here...
Point being though, without my friends there to lean on when I need to I don't know where I'd be right now.
These past few months or so have been a bit hard to tolerate at points. Both from my own perspective and from the perspective of others. Yet the one thing that I'm truly grateful for when these harsh times come up is my wonderful group of friends.
For example:
Last month my cat Drake went missing, and the next day we found him outside our house with his neck broken and frozen through. He was my little man, a huge part of my world and I was absolutely devastated when we found him (made all the more soul crushing by the fact that he was only 2 years old).
 |
| My Little Man: Sir Admiral Drake Cake |
Despite being in an absolute weepy mess for days and weeks afterwards, my friends all rose up to try and comfort me. My phone was literally exploding with text messages of "we should go hang out" or "let's go watch a movie or something" for the weeks afterwards in an attempt to bring my mind off of the tragedy that had rocked my family. I think one of the particular events that helped the most was when a few of my friends went out, grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan (ironically the name of Drake's sister) and we put on shitty movies from Netflix as we laughed and berated the movie the entire time.
 |
| Drake's litter sister: Lady Captain Morgan |
Another example:
A friend of mine recently ended a relationship with her boyfriend of a few years. Much to her misfortune she also had her driving test the next day. Luckily she managed to pass the driving test but you could tell she was still kind of down-in-the-dumps-y when we met up with her later that same day. So, being the friends we are we went out for sushi (which despite being a vegetarian I will always make an exception for), grabbed a bottle of rum and put on more movies.
I'm beginning to notice a trend here...
Point being though, without my friends there to lean on when I need to I don't know where I'd be right now.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Things I am a fan of: Horror Movies
Nothing quite gets me wide awake and creative like a good old fashion bought of terror. Haunted houses, scary stories, whatever inexplicable horror this is; just that good old adrenaline pumping fear that gets your heart racing and mind going down dark alleyways with strangers with the promise of candy.
Unfortunately, a lot of horror movies coming out as of late aren't really all that scary.
The Unborn for instance, starts off with a fairly solid premise:
Even the movie poster has solid intentions! It very clearly shows you exactly what you're in for: some sort of evil force dragging an attractive young woman into the depths of Hell! However, the build up to that point in the movie is nigh insufferable, relying mostly on more jump scares and loud sound effects to frighten you rather than solid plot and development. The whole thing just leaves the viewer to question what they just spent the past hour and so minutes wasting their life on.
Turning away from movies I wasn't fond of: Paranormal Activity made me afraid to sleep with any of my limbs hanging out of the covers for weeks after viewing it. Hell even now I make sure that my comforter is wrapped around me as tight as it will go to make sure that some invisible phantasm doesn't grab me by the leg and drag me down the hallway. The thing that I think makes this movie most scary is the fact that you don't see what is going to destroy you're sanity: it preys upon the fear of the unknown and turns your own imagination against you.
Another one that geninuely creeped me out was Quarantine. It takes the idea of the zombie and translates it away from the idea of a reanimated corpse by turning it into an actual living creature brought on by a horrible disease, much like the 28 Days Later franchise did. I think that's what makes this movie so scary: that these creatures are still living people who you knew and lived with that want to violently tear you limb from limb to satiate their ravenous hunger and disease induced rage.
Which kind of brings me to one of the things in most recent times is Marble Hornets. It's a youtube series that is done as a series of entries based on video tapes previously recorded and now being watched in a retrospective manner while the main character tries to piece together a complicated web of lies revolving around his one friend.
Yeah. Something about Slender Man scares the ever-loving bejesus out of me. I know he's not an actual enitity, but...something about a shapeshifting abomination that steals the sanity of its victims before possibly disemboweling and/or eating them in his own pocket dimension strikes JUST the right nerve to keep me awake at night. Marble Hornets actually does a really solid job of keeping him just in the background of many of the shots, drawing attention to him only when you absolutely need a good pants wetting. Their erstwhile nemesis totheark is nothing to snuff at either.
So, as I wrap this up at 12:30 at night in a hundred year old house set out in the woods under the light of a nearly full moon, I plan on wrapping myself up in as many blankets as possible and set myself down for a good, long night of not sleeping out of all the fear I just stirred up in my own mind.
Thanks me.
Unfortunately, a lot of horror movies coming out as of late aren't really all that scary.
 | |
| Oh no, attractive girl in her underwear! THE PURE ABJECT TERROR! |
- Girl starts having weird dreams as her brown eyes turn blue
- Weird shit starts happening around her
- Demon child brought into this world as a Nazi experimentation on children tries to free itself through her by tearing through her uterus
- ???
- Profit!
 | |
| This is scary, right? |
Otherwise, a lot of the actual scare factor was brought on by shameless "jump scares" and even a mirror take or two. All considering not all that scary, just...shocking more than anything.
Another movie in slightly more recent times was Drag Me to Hell. Similarly, it had good promise to it:
- Girl is working at bank but is reprimanded by her superiors to stop being so nice
- Old Granny Gypsy comes in begging for an extension on her loan payments
- Girl grows a pair and says "no"
- Old Granny Gypsy hides out in girl's car and ambushes her on the way home (physically)
- Old Granny Gypsy places curse on girl
- Girl is haunted by evil demon that will ~lo-and-behold~ drag her to Hell in a few days!
- ???
- Profit?
 |
| Pictured: The best scene in the whole movie. |
Even the movie poster has solid intentions! It very clearly shows you exactly what you're in for: some sort of evil force dragging an attractive young woman into the depths of Hell! However, the build up to that point in the movie is nigh insufferable, relying mostly on more jump scares and loud sound effects to frighten you rather than solid plot and development. The whole thing just leaves the viewer to question what they just spent the past hour and so minutes wasting their life on.
Turning away from movies I wasn't fond of: Paranormal Activity made me afraid to sleep with any of my limbs hanging out of the covers for weeks after viewing it. Hell even now I make sure that my comforter is wrapped around me as tight as it will go to make sure that some invisible phantasm doesn't grab me by the leg and drag me down the hallway. The thing that I think makes this movie most scary is the fact that you don't see what is going to destroy you're sanity: it preys upon the fear of the unknown and turns your own imagination against you.
 |
| Pictured: Your worst nightmare come to life. |
Which kind of brings me to one of the things in most recent times is Marble Hornets. It's a youtube series that is done as a series of entries based on video tapes previously recorded and now being watched in a retrospective manner while the main character tries to piece together a complicated web of lies revolving around his one friend.
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| Oh...and he's in it too... |
 | |
| You know what you did. |
Thanks me.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Adventures at Target Part I
Now don't get me wrong, I do actually enjoy my job. It's just that some times things get very..."trying" we'll say. If it's not the huge piles of "push" (items to stock out) or ridiculous "procedures" (daily maintenance protocols) being pushed by managers that no one bothered to train me on, it's mostly the guests: because we're Target and we treat our customers so well that they aren't customers because they are welcomed guests in our place of business dammit.
Today was especially something to behold. Despite being a Tuesday afternoon, the guests we had today were a breed all their own. For instance, here's a conversation between myself and one guest:
Today was especially something to behold. Despite being a Tuesday afternoon, the guests we had today were a breed all their own. For instance, here's a conversation between myself and one guest:
Myself: Hi there, can I help you find something?Or perhaps another that happened to the cellphone girl:
Guest: Yes, I'm looking for car radios.
Myself: I haven't seen anything like that here, but we can take a look.
Guest: I've seen them here before.
Myself: Hmm...well ~thinking to myself 'NOPE!'~ we can take a look over here, but if anything I feel like they'd be down in Automotive.
Guest: Oh I know.
Myself:
Guest: Which way is it?
Myself: Oh it's...that...way...~points her off in the right direction~
Guest: Thank you!
Cell Girl: Hi there, can I help you find something?
Guest: Do all the phones just sit there like that?
Cell Girl: Like how sir?
Guest: Don't they have a cover?
Cell Girl: Well...no...they do sell cases for them separate from the phone.
Guest: No! I don't want a case for it! I want a cover!
Cell Girl: Sir, I'm not sure I follow what you're asking for?
Conversation continues as such for several more minutes
Guest: A cover! Just like this one! ~picks up a flip phone~Yeah. Just part one of an ongoing series that I'm hoping to continue as I continue working here. Just one adventure out of many.
Cell Girl: Uhm...
Monday, January 9, 2012
Currently Playing: Dark Souls (PS3)
I just recently made full use of my employee discount at Target in tandem with one of the post-Christmas sales to purchase myself a Playstation 3 with my Christmas money. Admittedly, probably not the most responsible use of my money considering I have payments to make and other monetary things to worry about; but nuts to all of that it was my Christmas money and I was going to spend it how I damn well pleased. And besides, when you have the opportunity to get the 320GB PS3 with the Playstation Move WITH a free $75 giftcard for roughly $286, you don't really pass that up.
So right, Dark Souls. This game so far has proved to be nothing but frustrating in the best kind of way. The general premise of the game entails something to the effect of the world dying out and the undead being on the rise. At least that's what I've gathered from the opening movie thus far. As such, you play as one of said undead in an attempt to reclaim your humanity by vanquishing other undead monstrosities and demons, thus consuming their souls.
I'm still fairly early on into the game, despite having ground my way up to level 30 and still yet to face the third boss; but so far this game is all sorts of fun. In the early portion of the game, you select your character's base class (ranging from warrior to sorcerer and even the "I'm broke as balls so I literally get no armor or weapons PERIOD" classes), starting item and then customize the ever-loving crap out of their appearance...only to start off the game in some sort of undead asylum all shriveled up and looking like a walking humanoid pile of beef jerky. You then proceed to break out of the asylum, killing undead along the way and ultimately coming face to face with the draconic jailer before a giant raven wisks you away to the forgotten realm of kings and lords so you can...do...stuff...
Yeah...they were kind of vague on the "why" of it. Something about a chosen undead or something?
You then proceed to explore this ancient land by first making your way through an undead city, which apparently was all nice and peaceful until you showed up to murder every unliving thing in sight.
The game itself gets fairly repetitive in that you can rest at a bonfire and all the enemies (save for bosses or other dumb-hard foes) will reset, allowing you to go back and kill them all again, gaining more and more souls. While that particular level of grinding can be fun for a while it super blows when you're fighting a boss after having cleared out a whole dungeon area and die, forcing you to go back and re-clear the dungeon. Oh. And when you die your body becomes a bloodstain that contains all the souls you had prior so you have to go and reclaim them lest you lose out on all of them.
The game does let you go off and adventure around, explore the lands as you go which gives you a bit more a freehand playing experience. Well pretty much after clearing out the first boss that is. The enemies in these areas are pretty stacked against you though, so it does kind of attempt to reign you into following a pattern of play. However, if you're willing to take the risk and plunge into these areas before you're ready the souls the enemies bestow upon you can prove to be incredibly helpful.
Overall I really enjoy this game. The graphics are awesome, the gameplay itself is challenging and I like that it's a fantasy RPG that isn't at all puzzle heavy and focuses almost entirely on combat. I also really enjoy that you're not married to whatever class you chose at the beginning; by spending enough souls you can basically build your character into whatever you want it to be. I started off as a Sorcerer so I could start the game with magic at my disposal, but have since branched out into dexterity and weapon capabilities to be a kick-ass archer/backstabber to supplement my magical prowess. I'd highly recommend this game to all you seasoned gamers out there: definitely not a game for beginners.
So right, Dark Souls. This game so far has proved to be nothing but frustrating in the best kind of way. The general premise of the game entails something to the effect of the world dying out and the undead being on the rise. At least that's what I've gathered from the opening movie thus far. As such, you play as one of said undead in an attempt to reclaim your humanity by vanquishing other undead monstrosities and demons, thus consuming their souls.
I'm still fairly early on into the game, despite having ground my way up to level 30 and still yet to face the third boss; but so far this game is all sorts of fun. In the early portion of the game, you select your character's base class (ranging from warrior to sorcerer and even the "I'm broke as balls so I literally get no armor or weapons PERIOD" classes), starting item and then customize the ever-loving crap out of their appearance...only to start off the game in some sort of undead asylum all shriveled up and looking like a walking humanoid pile of beef jerky. You then proceed to break out of the asylum, killing undead along the way and ultimately coming face to face with the draconic jailer before a giant raven wisks you away to the forgotten realm of kings and lords so you can...do...stuff...
Yeah...they were kind of vague on the "why" of it. Something about a chosen undead or something?
You then proceed to explore this ancient land by first making your way through an undead city, which apparently was all nice and peaceful until you showed up to murder every unliving thing in sight.
The game itself gets fairly repetitive in that you can rest at a bonfire and all the enemies (save for bosses or other dumb-hard foes) will reset, allowing you to go back and kill them all again, gaining more and more souls. While that particular level of grinding can be fun for a while it super blows when you're fighting a boss after having cleared out a whole dungeon area and die, forcing you to go back and re-clear the dungeon. Oh. And when you die your body becomes a bloodstain that contains all the souls you had prior so you have to go and reclaim them lest you lose out on all of them.
 | ||
| "Please great lords...give me the patience to re-murder everything I layeth mine eyes upon." |
Overall I really enjoy this game. The graphics are awesome, the gameplay itself is challenging and I like that it's a fantasy RPG that isn't at all puzzle heavy and focuses almost entirely on combat. I also really enjoy that you're not married to whatever class you chose at the beginning; by spending enough souls you can basically build your character into whatever you want it to be. I started off as a Sorcerer so I could start the game with magic at my disposal, but have since branched out into dexterity and weapon capabilities to be a kick-ass archer/backstabber to supplement my magical prowess. I'd highly recommend this game to all you seasoned gamers out there: definitely not a game for beginners.
New Introductions
I'm not exactly a stranger when it comes to the idea of a blog. In fact, I've probably started more blogs than I'd care to acknowledge and simply lost interest in them because slowly but surely they all became a front for me to sit there and whine about one thing or another.
But just like the abusive ex who keeps trying to win you back "this time I'll be different, I swear!" Primarily I'm thinking that I want to use this blog as a sort of springboard for ideas while I just explore my own world from day to day, both in the metaphysical sense and in the literal sense.
I suppose I should maybe introduce myself first though now shouldn't I?
My name is Tom (in case you hadn't already seen the "about me" section), I'm a recent college graduate from The College of Saint Rose with a Bachelors of Science in Photography, and on a near weekly basis I play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. I enjoy reading (primarily fantasy) and going out on adventures with said friends, however since moving home as my student debt continues to accrue higher and higher interest my adventures have since kind of become stagnant adventures to the mecca of consumeristic glee: The Palisades Center. Similarly, I'm putting myself back to school at Rockland Community to earn a certificate in web development through my earnings at my winter job (electronics at Target, which so far has brought me nothing but entertainment).
I, like most artists probably say, use my artwork and gaming as a way to put into existence the jumbled thoughts that go through my head. Things that appear so vividly to me in my mind just begin begging to be released into the real world. Unfortunately whenever I do get them out into the real world the effects are incredibly lack luster, much like Ira Glass says about most beginners starting out in their creative fields. The glory of being a beginner though, is that eventually you stop being one and become a pro at it. I really anticipate that day when I stop being a beginner and someone finally tells me "yes, this is it: you are indeed a pro at what you do".
...oddly enough I thought that day would be the day I got my diploma buuuuuuut....apparently not the case.
So follow me if you'd like. I'll actually try to make a concerted effort to actually post on a regular basis instead of posting with the fury for a few weeks then losing interest in it and never looking back.
Alternatively you can follow my long time friend Adam Lopez on his blog, "Things I Am Not". Or you know...you can follow us both...it's cool. Just saying is all.
But just like the abusive ex who keeps trying to win you back "this time I'll be different, I swear!" Primarily I'm thinking that I want to use this blog as a sort of springboard for ideas while I just explore my own world from day to day, both in the metaphysical sense and in the literal sense.
I suppose I should maybe introduce myself first though now shouldn't I?
My name is Tom (in case you hadn't already seen the "about me" section), I'm a recent college graduate from The College of Saint Rose with a Bachelors of Science in Photography, and on a near weekly basis I play Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. I enjoy reading (primarily fantasy) and going out on adventures with said friends, however since moving home as my student debt continues to accrue higher and higher interest my adventures have since kind of become stagnant adventures to the mecca of consumeristic glee: The Palisades Center. Similarly, I'm putting myself back to school at Rockland Community to earn a certificate in web development through my earnings at my winter job (electronics at Target, which so far has brought me nothing but entertainment).
I, like most artists probably say, use my artwork and gaming as a way to put into existence the jumbled thoughts that go through my head. Things that appear so vividly to me in my mind just begin begging to be released into the real world. Unfortunately whenever I do get them out into the real world the effects are incredibly lack luster, much like Ira Glass says about most beginners starting out in their creative fields. The glory of being a beginner though, is that eventually you stop being one and become a pro at it. I really anticipate that day when I stop being a beginner and someone finally tells me "yes, this is it: you are indeed a pro at what you do".
...oddly enough I thought that day would be the day I got my diploma buuuuuuut....apparently not the case.
So follow me if you'd like. I'll actually try to make a concerted effort to actually post on a regular basis instead of posting with the fury for a few weeks then losing interest in it and never looking back.
Alternatively you can follow my long time friend Adam Lopez on his blog, "Things I Am Not". Or you know...you can follow us both...it's cool. Just saying is all.
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