I have watched Men at Arms before - fascinating!
I'm a big Geralt of Rivia fan. I've read the books, played some of The Witcher and at some point, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a must - massive world with the latest graphics.
RP
Monday, 31 August 2015
Thursday, 27 August 2015
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| Forest of Sleep - Twisted Tree Games |
Beautiful-looking characters from Ed Key and Nicolai Troshinsky's "...experimental storytelling/adventure game inspired by Russian fairytales" - Forest of Sleep.
Late 2016 release date.
RP
Monday, 24 August 2015
Saturday, 22 August 2015
Used G2A the other day after being recommended by a colleague at work. Pleased with the way it all worked. The company seems quite OK for a global concern.
Just thought I'd share...
RP
This EVE Online Shipsizevideo Scale Edit video has nice, clean view of loads of ships from the EVE Online universe. Abstracting them from the city, people etc. with their flat matt renders really shows the spaceships off to their best advantage. I also like the accompanying soundtrack.
There's an hour long version; EVE Online Shipsizevideo should you wish to partake
RP
Friday, 21 August 2015
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| EVE Templar One from CCP ISBN: 978 575 09021 7 (Trade Paperback) |
Triple-A, Indie, shareware, freeware, abandonware, shovelware, exploitationware, play anywhere. A plethora of games are released daily; the choice is immense, the variety bewildering and with only 24 hours in a day, how do you choose what to play?
Reading Reviews is usually a first answer. There are many sites that review every game and while this can point you in the direction of what's biggest, what's best, what's selling the most, you can and most probably will at some time or other, miss what you want to play.
Peer Pressure. My mates are playing it so I should too. The social aspect of games is undeniably important and has grown more so as time marches inexorably on. Playing multiplayer games without the 'multi' bit doesn't work ;-)
I've Started, So I'll Finish. Way back in the mysts of time, when memory was measured in bytes rather than gigabytes and voxels were just a twinkling in a pixel's eye you came a across 'Game'. You played it, it was great. The sequel; 'Game II' was published and you bought and played that too. Part three; Game: The Return' (Game III) was rushed out. Before you know it, version sixteen is knocking on the door. It's a part of life now.
It's So Big, It's Made It To The Mainstream Press. It must be good, the big newspaper that people in pinstripe suits with rolled up umbrellas read says so. What this means is that it's an investor's dream, not necessarily a gamer's.
Nostalgia. Think back to the days before Griefing, before lane pushing, before 3D ultra high definition. If you can remember what you played back then, you can find it now. There is a whole back catalogue of the mind waiting to be explored.
They Made A Film Out Of It, So I'll Play The Game. OK, the game, may be fine, just don't expect the film to be. The track record for successful films made from games is, there isn't one.
My personal favourite
OXFAM Book Find. The random nature of walking into an OXFAM, finding their Science Fiction & Fantasy book shelf, finding a book from a game, reading the jacket cover, dipping into the first page, being unable to put it down on the train home, continue reading it at home even though you have another great book on the go, going to Wikipedia, going to the game website and finding that you have been missing out on one of the greatest games of all time, that you can now no longer live without is one of life's great wonders. You are also, in some small way helping to eradicate poverty and injustice around the world, which is a great thing.
The above method of choice can lead to all sorts of games. It led me to EVE Online from CCP via the excellent EVE Templar One by Tony Gonzales. I still haven't plucked up the courage to sign up yet. It has a reputation for not suffering fools gladly (for fools, read hopeless gamers). I'm currently fueling my thirst for knowledge of all things EVE and trying to find a few strategies that may help me exist for more than a 'Wow, look at all the stars... What? Game Over!'
RP
Meme is one of those words that we all have heard of but when it comes right down to it, I find it difficult to explain what one is - 'It's a thing, that everyone knows about, where people have seen something or heard something, that's then used by everybody and everybody knows what it is and what it means but it's used in a different context and it's funny, you know?' (definition not pulled from the Oxford English Dictionary).
OED Definition (definition pulled from the Oxford English Dictionary ;-) ).
Memes are everywhere, popular culture is fueled by them. Some old favourites
"These are not the droids you are looking for" [Know Your Meme]
“I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.” [Know Your Meme]
"You shall not pass!!!" [Know Your Meme]
"I find your lack of faith disturbing" [Know Your Meme]
"One does not simply walk into Mordor [Know Your Meme]
"Dammit Jim, I’m a Doctor, Not a X" [Know Your Meme]
PC Gaming memes from Memecenter
The above video is a sweet one!
RP
Thursday, 20 August 2015
I got to finally start The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
I started out in the back of a cart and I got to look around and it brightened as I approached a town. It was only then that I realised I was a prisoner and I was about to be executed. I got to create my character, I was pretty conservative, I realise that now. Someone got beheaded, woah! It was pretty realistic. So, It's going to be that kind of game. OK. Then something, sound and the sky flickered, just for a second. Then, a dragon. A great dragon sat atop the tower it transpires I was to take shelter in. What a dragon. I'm hooked.
I climbed the tower steps, the people in ther mostly ignoring me. The dragon flew past an opening up the stairs. I jumped but it was too far. I incurred damage. I looked around a burning building (incurring more damage from burning. Must watch that in future). I couldn't pick anything up so I went back in the tower, climbed the stairs, jumped out of the breach in the wall again but this time I was careful. I think I got hit by the dragon's wing or something. It wasn't going away. My health was dropping further. I walked around a little more, the dragon was still doing the rounds...
I stopped here. I probably will not survive but I saved my character anyway. I will create a new and less conservative one next time. It was 18 minutes but what an 18 minutes. The stuff that dreams are made of.
RP
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
Cyberpunk is so intertwined in the rise of computer gaming that, as a computer game theme it will always be in favour. It will wax and wane like a sickly moon against the smog of a futuristic city, choking on its own waste products but it will always find someone willing to connect their deck to a terminal and hack in. Many games take cyberpunk as inspiration for their story such as the Deus Ex series. Below are some of the more esoteric ones.
Shadowrun Hong Kong is to be released on 20 August 2015, on Steam.
Being the third standalone game in the series, it follows on from the success of the Shadowrun Dragonfall - Director's Cut and Shadowrun Returns, all published by Harebrained Schemes. Shadowrun Returns sits on my hard drive awaiting me to jack in give my cyberware an airing. It currently sits at the top of my play stack.
Cypher is a Cyberpunk Text Adventure from the Cabrera Brothers and has a gorgeous website and is something that should be supported; an Indie text adventure with downloadable extra content you print yourself!
Westwood's 1997 Adventure; Blade Runner is the holy grail of Cyberpunk masterpieces; moody, atmospheric, difficult to get hold of a boxed copy... GOG has a wishlist for its re-make, PC Gamer has a returning to article about it but you can download the original from Abandonware.
Syndicate was a 1993 PC DOS-based game from Bullfrog Productions. A follow up, Syndicate Wars was published in 1996 with an expansion being released for Syndicate.
Bringing Syndicate right up to date, Satellite Reign is a spiritual successor (Satellite Reign FAQ) to the Syndicate series that was; Kickstarted, is currently on Early Release and will be released in less than two weeks.
So, all this means that there is enough to keep everybody going until Cyberpunk 2077 from CD Project S.A. arrives. Cyberpunk 2077 is a roleplaying game (RPG) and is based upon the pen and paper roleplaying game, created by Mike Pondsmith.
It currently has a gorgeous video teaser trailer but little else. Its ending states > coming: when it's ready. However, with a trailer looking this good, I'm prepared to wait...
Shadowrun Hong Kong is to be released on 20 August 2015, on Steam.
Being the third standalone game in the series, it follows on from the success of the Shadowrun Dragonfall - Director's Cut and Shadowrun Returns, all published by Harebrained Schemes. Shadowrun Returns sits on my hard drive awaiting me to jack in give my cyberware an airing. It currently sits at the top of my play stack.
Cypher is a Cyberpunk Text Adventure from the Cabrera Brothers and has a gorgeous website and is something that should be supported; an Indie text adventure with downloadable extra content you print yourself!
_cover_art.jpg)
Bringing Syndicate right up to date, Satellite Reign is a spiritual successor (Satellite Reign FAQ) to the Syndicate series that was; Kickstarted, is currently on Early Release and will be released in less than two weeks.
So, all this means that there is enough to keep everybody going until Cyberpunk 2077 from CD Project S.A. arrives. Cyberpunk 2077 is a roleplaying game (RPG) and is based upon the pen and paper roleplaying game, created by Mike Pondsmith.
It currently has a gorgeous video teaser trailer but little else. Its ending states > coming: when it's ready. However, with a trailer looking this good, I'm prepared to wait...
RP
Sunday, 16 August 2015
I still remember reading my first piece of Cyberpunk. It was Neuromancer by William Gibson and the thing that stays with me to this very day is the opening line
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Cyberpunk has evolved from its genesis in Blade Runner (the film by Ridley Scott, 1982 which was loosely based upon Philip K. Dick's book; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968) and the Sprawl trilogy by Gibson and continues its evolution today, and beyond. It is alive and well in many guises but particularly in the form of Shadowrun.
Shadowrun began life in 1989 as a tabletop roleplaying game, developed and published by FASA Corporation and continue today in its 5th edition (published by Catalyst Game Labs), remaining a popular choice in roleplaying circles.
It made the jump into cyberspace in 1993...
In 1993, Beam Software developed Shadowrun as an action RPG video game for the SNES.
In 1994, BlueSky Software developed Shadowrun for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
In 1996, Compile developed the game for the Sega Mega-CD.
In 1997, a Collectable Card Game was also developed that gained acclaim through the awards it won.
In 2007, FASA Interactive developed a FPS version for XBOX 360/PC (via Microsoft) as a multiplayer online game - it is outside of the official Shadowrun timeline.
Shadowrun Returned in 2013, it did exactly that! It let Shadowrun return; on Windows & OSX and then on IOS & Android. Harebrained Schemes, a company headed by Jordan Weisman, the creator of the Shadowrun tabletop roleplaying game, Kickstarter'd it into existence.
In its new incarnation it got an 8/10 from GamesTM and a 'feel like Shadowrun Returns is only going to grow in value as time goes on' to propel it into the future.
I have it on my hard drive, waiting - there's a future in the future - go play it...
----------
Great opening lines from SF - Neuromancer, William Gibson
Wikipedia - Shadowrun, a wealth of information for the tabletop game
Catalyst Game Labs - Shadowrun tabletop
Shadowrun Tabletop - blog
A Very Short History of Cyberpunk - by Marcus Janni Pivato
Shadowrun - Universe
Harebrained Schemes - Shadowrun Returns
Wikipedia - Shadowrun (disambiguation)
Moby Games - Shadowrun SNES
Moby Games - Shadowrun Sega Genesis
GamesTM - Shadowrun Returns review
Shadowrun - The Trading Card Game
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
Cyberpunk has evolved from its genesis in Blade Runner (the film by Ridley Scott, 1982 which was loosely based upon Philip K. Dick's book; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 1968) and the Sprawl trilogy by Gibson and continues its evolution today, and beyond. It is alive and well in many guises but particularly in the form of Shadowrun.
 |
| Shadowrun - Cataylst Game Labs |
Shadowrun began life in 1989 as a tabletop roleplaying game, developed and published by FASA Corporation and continue today in its 5th edition (published by Catalyst Game Labs), remaining a popular choice in roleplaying circles.
It made the jump into cyberspace in 1993...
 |
| Shadowrun SNES box |
 |
| Shadowrun SNES start screen |
In 1993, Beam Software developed Shadowrun as an action RPG video game for the SNES.
In 1994, BlueSky Software developed Shadowrun for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
In 1996, Compile developed the game for the Sega Mega-CD.
In 1997, a Collectable Card Game was also developed that gained acclaim through the awards it won.
In 2007, FASA Interactive developed a FPS version for XBOX 360/PC (via Microsoft) as a multiplayer online game - it is outside of the official Shadowrun timeline.
 |
| Shadowrun Returns logo |
Shadowrun Returned in 2013, it did exactly that! It let Shadowrun return; on Windows & OSX and then on IOS & Android. Harebrained Schemes, a company headed by Jordan Weisman, the creator of the Shadowrun tabletop roleplaying game, Kickstarter'd it into existence.
 |
| Shadowrun Returns desktop |
In its new incarnation it got an 8/10 from GamesTM and a 'feel like Shadowrun Returns is only going to grow in value as time goes on' to propel it into the future.
 |
| crime scene screenshot |
----------
Great opening lines from SF - Neuromancer, William Gibson
Wikipedia - Shadowrun, a wealth of information for the tabletop game
Catalyst Game Labs - Shadowrun tabletop
Shadowrun Tabletop - blog
A Very Short History of Cyberpunk - by Marcus Janni Pivato
Shadowrun - Universe
Harebrained Schemes - Shadowrun Returns
Wikipedia - Shadowrun (disambiguation)
Moby Games - Shadowrun SNES
Moby Games - Shadowrun Sega Genesis
GamesTM - Shadowrun Returns review
Shadowrun - The Trading Card Game
So, What's Play?
'Play is older than culture'
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture by Johan H. Huizinga (1 Feb 1992)
The Dutch Philosopher Johan Huizinga, in his Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture argues that play is a fundamental fact of human life. His works in general discussed the play element in culture.
'Play is older than culture'
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture by Johan H. Huizinga (1 Feb 1992)
The Dutch Philosopher Johan Huizinga, in his Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture argues that play is a fundamental fact of human life. His works in general discussed the play element in culture.
This dude made playing games legal! It's part of culture, why hasn't he got a national holiday? Playday!
Homo Ludens - man the player > I play therefore I am...
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http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1381
http://www.dictionaryofarthistorians.org/huizingaj.htm
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Johan_Huizinga.html
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture, Beacon Press (1 Feb 1992)
ISBN-10: 0807046817
ISBN-13: 978-0807046814
Homo Ludens - man the player > I play therefore I am...
----------
http://www.beacon.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=1381
http://www.dictionaryofarthistorians.org/huizingaj.htm
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Johan_Huizinga.html
Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture, Beacon Press (1 Feb 1992)
ISBN-10: 0807046817
ISBN-13: 978-0807046814
PC Advisor - Will my games run under Windows 10?
I have a link to a free upgrade from Microsoft...
RPGamer
I have a link to a free upgrade from Microsoft...
RPGamer
I once started to study archeology. I was swayed by Time Team and the thoughts of time travel to the past but I broke my ankle, missed some sessions and working nights & shifts took its toll. I drifted out of it. I still have an excellent book; Archaeology An Introduction by Kevin Greene (Third Edition - Routledge).
When I came across Actual Archaeologist is Digging Through World of Warcraft, Skyrim at Kotaku, my interest was piqued.
Archeogaming actually exists, it's got its own website sensibly entitled Archeogaming and there's a conference! Kotaku's article links to Archeogaming's The Numismatics of the Elder Scrolls (yes, I had to look it up too). It details the use of coins in the land of Tamriel and with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Soundtrack playing in the background I felt positively professorial.
When I came across Actual Archaeologist is Digging Through World of Warcraft, Skyrim at Kotaku, my interest was piqued.
Archeogaming actually exists, it's got its own website sensibly entitled Archeogaming and there's a conference! Kotaku's article links to Archeogaming's The Numismatics of the Elder Scrolls (yes, I had to look it up too). It details the use of coins in the land of Tamriel and with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Soundtrack playing in the background I felt positively professorial.
RPGamer
Saturday, 15 August 2015
When we're talking procedurally generated, lots. In the case of No Man's Land from Hello Games, it's 18 Quintillion!
18,446,744,073,709,551,616 to be precise and we may as well be precise if we are going to this level of detail. The number, is 2 to the power 64, which is 64 bits. It has been estimated that it would take nigh on 585 billion years to visit each one. Now that's what I call a game with replay value.
I have been following the game's genesis from its first mentions in the press and things have lately been given a boost; The Guardian, Edge, PC Gamer, Venture Capital Post?! What really peaked my interest though was this - No Man's Land released in August 2015!
The PC version it seems is still destined for 2016 and if the PS4 version does land early, it's going to be expensive. Still, with 585 Billion years worth of planets to visit, the sooner you start, the sooner you finish :-)
-----
Oh, did I mention, it's got dinosaurs in it too!
RPGamer
The Key
I've now finally gotten around to installing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition.
What a palava (a cross between a pavlova and a pullover?). I purchased said game back in October last year, did nothing with it for eons. So, the moon is full, Mercury is in ascendence (whatever that means, the bones have been thrown and all bodes well. I open the case; a gorgeous full colour map, information about the 3, yes 3 expansions! and the temptation leaflet to spend the rest of my life 'online' in Tamriel with The Elder Scrolls Online and... No Steam Key. What? No Steam Key?
Now, the smart amongst you will have cognitively registered that a Steam Key is obviously important to get the thing up and running. You would be correct in that assumption, it was a boxed purchase with a digital key. I spend several days looking for the manual, there must be a manual right? Do I have a vague recollection of removing it from the case and pouring over the tome, late one night in bed, by the light of a wan moon? Or is this just false memory... I don't find it. I got in touch with the company I bought it from and they now kindly inform me it would have been in an email.
Email? don't tell me email! I keep them all, of course I do. I have folders stretching to infinity, all neatly labelled and chronologically archived, except that I had to cull my Inbox/Outbox/Dumpbox/Mustn'tdeletebox a couple of months ago! Aha! Luckily, fortuitously, sensibly, I took an export, so I trawled through this but alas, no Steam Key. The company I bought it from said it had to be addressed within two weeks but if it had been within six months, they would have had a copy of the email but they cleared their emails after six months. I thought I smelt something, it wasn't pleasant...
Aaaaarrrggghhhhhh!
Thankfully, those wonderful people at G2A came to the rescue with a not too expensive solution to get hold of a Key. Installation was a doodle (like a doddle but I scribbled on random bits of paper whilst the game downloaded) and the whole saga came to a close.
The saga of Skyrim is just about to begin.
-----
The moral of the above is; get the damn thing installed!
RPGamer
 |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition |
I've now finally gotten around to installing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition.
What a palava (a cross between a pavlova and a pullover?). I purchased said game back in October last year, did nothing with it for eons. So, the moon is full, Mercury is in ascendence (whatever that means, the bones have been thrown and all bodes well. I open the case; a gorgeous full colour map, information about the 3, yes 3 expansions! and the temptation leaflet to spend the rest of my life 'online' in Tamriel with The Elder Scrolls Online and... No Steam Key. What? No Steam Key?
Now, the smart amongst you will have cognitively registered that a Steam Key is obviously important to get the thing up and running. You would be correct in that assumption, it was a boxed purchase with a digital key. I spend several days looking for the manual, there must be a manual right? Do I have a vague recollection of removing it from the case and pouring over the tome, late one night in bed, by the light of a wan moon? Or is this just false memory... I don't find it. I got in touch with the company I bought it from and they now kindly inform me it would have been in an email.
Email? don't tell me email! I keep them all, of course I do. I have folders stretching to infinity, all neatly labelled and chronologically archived, except that I had to cull my Inbox/Outbox/Dumpbox/Mustn'tdeletebox a couple of months ago! Aha! Luckily, fortuitously, sensibly, I took an export, so I trawled through this but alas, no Steam Key. The company I bought it from said it had to be addressed within two weeks but if it had been within six months, they would have had a copy of the email but they cleared their emails after six months. I thought I smelt something, it wasn't pleasant...
Aaaaarrrggghhhhhh!
Thankfully, those wonderful people at G2A came to the rescue with a not too expensive solution to get hold of a Key. Installation was a doodle (like a doddle but I scribbled on random bits of paper whilst the game downloaded) and the whole saga came to a close.
The saga of Skyrim is just about to begin.
-----
The moral of the above is; get the damn thing installed!
RPGamer
So, how to start?
I have no time to play games, I am too old to play games and I'm rubbish at them!
But I am not going to let that stop me...
A little while back I built my own PC to play stuff in 1920x1080. It's my KAR120C; 'I know every nut and bolt and cog, I built it with my own hands!' [quote]
I played around with a few games but progressed little further than the first few footsteps.
My install list is as follows
I have no time to play games, I am too old to play games and I'm rubbish at them!
But I am not going to let that stop me...
A little while back I built my own PC to play stuff in 1920x1080. It's my KAR120C; 'I know every nut and bolt and cog, I built it with my own hands!' [quote]
I played around with a few games but progressed little further than the first few footsteps.
 |
| Internals |
- Final Fantasy XIII
- Divinity - Original Sin
- Warhammer - Dawn of War
- Shadowrun Returns
- Ultima VII - Serpent Isle [on Abandonia]
- Ultima VII - The Black Gate + The Forge of Virtue [on Abandonia]
- Jade Empire
- The Witcher - Enhanced Edition
and I have the following waiting in the wings list (well, on a shelf actually)
I calculate that if I live to 127, I have a chance...
RPGamer
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Diablo III
- Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth
- Sins of a Solar Empire
- some more...
and my most eagerly anticipated 'next ones' list
I calculate that if I live to 127, I have a chance...
RPGamer
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