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Sims 2 — hits all the right spots
Having a game dork for an SO means that I’m always analyzing what I like and don’t like about games, and if I can’t figure it out in a repeatable enough manner, I ask him. Sims 2 might be my favorite game. Like, ever. It’s nearly impossible to lose, it consists of endless construction (of the people-sort, not the stuff-sort), and the replayability is redunkulous. So I bought myself Sims 2 and pre-ordered Sims 3 this weekend. And promptly lost my weekend in a bright purple world. I love purple. I’m hoping that Sims 3 fixes the time issues that Sims 2 has. You know, the issues where you can’t…
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The dissolution of a game
The Friday Shadowrun game WO ran was riddled with problems from the beginning. One of our players was very argumentative outside of game and a bit of a rules lawyer in game. He was always on time, though, and his mannerisms eventually grew on me. The other two players were never on time after the first week and couldn’t be bothered to notify anyone, much less WO-the-GM (game-master), when they were going to be late or not show up. Each of them had problems with money, to the point where one often didn’t have bus fare. $1.65. He could have called for a ride. WO, the regular player, an myself…
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Yahtzee strikes again
I don’t even bother keeping up with commercial video games much, as I’m unlikely to buy them, and very few are made for people like me. That said, I faithfully watch Yahtzee‘s video reviews at The Escapist. Ah, The Escapist… I remember back when I read that magazine and let myself get annoyed by the attempts at providing analyses of female gamers… Anyway, I’ve titled this “Yahtzee strikes again” because the review I’ve embedded below had me howling in laughter, especially at his description of adventure games. That’s how they felt to me, no matter how many WO dragged me through, kicking and screaming. Watch and enjoy. Crank the speakers…
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Wearing the GM hat
I finally put on my robe and wizard hat — I mean, my robe and GM hat. I’ve been table-top roleplaying for about a year and half now, and I’m just now starting my first campaign. WO — who’s run a few games since arriving in Charlotte — found himself desperate to play in a good game. Those are damned hard to find here in Charlotte. They were — to my surprise, in reflection — a dime a dozen at Rose. Imagine my surprise when I found myself longing for my old Palladium and D & D companions. (My visit to an old GM’s blog prompted this post, in fact.)…
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The algorithm is dead?
About a month ago, WO posted a podcast in which he espoused an interesting new idea: that in games, the “algorithm” is dead, much as in literary analysis, where the author is (to some of us) dead. This requires a bit of explanation of the structure of games that Gregory is using. Books typically have three components: the author (or creator), the narrative itself, and the reader. Gregory (and I’m not sure of his source here, maybe this is a common distinction in his field) notes four components in interactive works (or “games”, for simplicity): the author, the potential narrative, the realized narrative, and the player. The potential narrative, as…