[click included photos for full size images, fully linked and annotated]
A while back in a living room not that far away but still a considerable drive*, before there was summer and birds (and wicked wrath of god type rainstorms) outside, Wilkanomics Sr. picked up at 360. We played a whole schwack of nifty games until Jr. says, 'hey, wanna check out 360 Live Arcade?' - ya, sure...
Next thing I know we're sucked into 6 hours of Geometry Wars, yeah.... you know, it's Asteroids made by people who've had one to many hits from the hi-def bong if you'll take my meaning, but hey, any game called "Retro Evolved" sounds like its targeted at my demographic. I probably spent the next three or four weeks trying to figure out how to get it running on my PC (where could a version be found?). I saw some brutal clones, but no dice.
:[ nuge ]:
So, last night, I'm playing a little Counter Strike: Source (Valve: SteamPowered), when, upon exit, I'm launching into a nifty little promo for GEOMETRY WARS: RETRO EVOLVED for my Windows XP PC!
(you think you're excited! feel these nipples!)
** of mayhem and explosive destruction set to groovy techno music. Booyaah!
You too can nab this gem for $2.50 from Steam if you act before June 22nd - but I hear you say it: 'that ain\'t nothin\'!' (script escape characters just for effect)... well.. yes. GW:RE sure lights the fire and gets the johnson to attention, but does it provide that sense of peace and tranquility that I'm always after? Not so much.
For that I turn to an equally good find, but this time on the PS3 (or, "that Scottish console" as I prefer to call it, as I would never utter the letters P, S, and the numeral three when actually around other electronic equipment, but I digress... ***).
The game I refer to is obviously, flOw (brilliantly made all hi-deffy for that Scottish console by SCEA). . So, after having my inner Nameste touched by this game on said console, I came home to find that flOw was originally designed to run in in Flash by Jenova Chen)!
Into the depths with you! err.. me! Try and follow along:
Hey, what am I doing back at the beginning? I just beat this frickin' thing and now.. now... well, now I'm all spherical and serene, and ohh.... I like it... I like it, it's good.... yeah, pass the hydrator please... "tsshhoooooooo.... 'eeer'! "
And, at the end, after fighting the equally large and impressive bad-guy Jellyfish Beasty (who must have come from an equally unimpressive small swirling mote just as I), the game presented me with the most puzzling challenge: to determine if it has crashed, or I had just finished it victorious, or it was never finished, or WHA@!%?.
You see, I nailed the final foe and ate all his good stuff that comes out when a baddy expires, but then there was no more depths to conquer.
After all this nice nice, I was pretty spent of course, so I went a browsing through some of the demo games at Steam (have I mentioned Steam yet? huh...) and found a killer demo for, yes, modelling defence condition levels and all out nuclear war (it was really only a matter of time wasn't it).
Ever seen that goon Mathew Broderick in War Games? :[brutal!]: Ya, you have.
Now it's on my desktop and waiting for multi-player action. What's it called? DEFCON: EVERYBODY DIES.
My point in all of this? Pure Games. These were pure games, with no deep story, no first person reality simulating perspective. I press start, I play the game, I marvel at the perfection of the game design, I'm eventually defeated by the game (GW:RE) or I defeat the game (flOw), but either way, I had a great time, and I seem to be playing these games lots still. I figure it's because these games aren't work - they are PLAY.
Rainswept had a good point the other night: "maybe that's why it's called 'grinding' in the game", yeah, who needs another grind? I'm gonna stick to things I play.
You see, I nailed the final foe and ate all his good stuff that comes out when a baddy expires, but then there was no more depths to conquer.
I wept.
After all this nice nice, I was pretty spent of course, so I went a browsing through some of the demo games at Steam (have I mentioned Steam yet? huh...) and found a killer demo for, yes, modelling defence condition levels and all out nuclear war (it was really only a matter of time wasn't it).
Ever seen that goon Mathew Broderick in War Games? :[brutal!]: Ya, you have.
Now it's on my desktop and waiting for multi-player action. What's it called? DEFCON: EVERYBODY DIES.
That's a nice one brutha!
My point in all of this? Pure Games. These were pure games, with no deep story, no first person reality simulating perspective. I press start, I play the game, I marvel at the perfection of the game design, I'm eventually defeated by the game (GW:RE) or I defeat the game (flOw), but either way, I had a great time, and I seem to be playing these games lots still. I figure it's because these games aren't work - they are PLAY.
Rainswept had a good point the other night: "maybe that's why it's called 'grinding' in the game", yeah, who needs another grind? I'm gonna stick to things I play.
11 comments:
The Scottish Console = excellent verbiage :)
Awesome post! I think you can be proud of this foray into the "personal." I prefer this kind of discourse. It illuminates a piece of your life -- something you did, as opposed to something you simply found.
The casual game space is really on the rise. The success of games like Geometry Wars are allowing Independants to make good games accessible to the masses. I'd also recommend Eets, for a quirky puzzle game, and Alien Hominid. Both have the non-existent storyline, and just get you into the action fast, and are enjoyable. Eets on the Xbox also has a typing tutor style multiplayer mode, which sounds odd and boring, but is surprisingly fun.
I just love digital distribution for allowing these small developers to get these fun games out there, for little cost, and good exposure.
I need to fire up my steam account again soon. I haven't used it in awhile, and I need to get Team Fortress 2 when it's out.
CStrike:Source man.
Get yourself a copy and I'd be happy to shoot you in the head with an M4A carbine (with supression of course!).
And the plan Mr. Orange is to diatribe like this more often. Hopefully it will inspire other to do the same? Maybe it will be too alienating? Certainly, I hope others feel free to go long winded with whatever it is that they are up to.
(that or we are all going to be gobbled up by FACEBOOK, I can't decide which is more likely)
nice wander through the game worlds
I dunno if people clicked on any of the screen captures, but most of them have been littered with my little comments. (just in case you didn't notice).
We get it already. Are your pics carrying adsense or something?
I noticed your comments pics. Loved the lifecycle of flow.
I caved and installed steam for the first time last night to grab geometry wars. Damn you Kyro ~shakes fist~
Yeah, I'm going to add a section where you can add a screenshot of your high score for GW:RE I think.
Right now, I'm just about 200,000 and man it gets stonking tough right then.
I should get some of your steam names, so I can add you all to my steam friends list. Not that I'm on it often, but that will change.
I won't be playing Geometry wars on Steam, as I have a copy from the Xbox live arcade. No point in buying it twice. Although has anyone looked into Geometry Wars: Galaxies that's in development for the Wii? Looks pretty cool, and local multiplayer!
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