Posted on May 2, 2015
Life 2.0
I wrote a kind of “simulated” Life: The Text Adventure the last time I was laid off. So now that I’ve been laid off again and have some free time, I upgraded it to an actual text adventure. (Mostly as an experiment to see if creating a real game is something I’d want to do.)
Have fun! Read More
Posted on April 23, 2015
The New Old LucasArts
I know I’m mired neck-deep inside the cozy bog of nostalgia right now with my ongoing Life Bytes series, but it’s not just because I retreat to the past whenever the present gets too real. I’m also just really, really tired of modern games. Sure, they have great production values and being able to see the ear sweat dribbling down a polygonal Kevin Spacey’s perky lobes is impressive, but it’s not very fun. Or imaginative. Or magical.
Magic. That’s what old games had, and I’m not sure why. But I think it was because of the legitimate pixel art created at the time (versus the rash of indiecool hipster “pixel art” games of today), the simple MIDI music, along with all the other various limitations older PCs had when compared to the damn near supercomputers gamers use today. Read More
Posted on April 8, 2015
Pillars of Eternity Review
I did not like Baldur’s Gate. In fact, I hated Baldur’s Gate. Like, a lot. I tried playing it when it was released, and I couldn’t get into it. I tried playing it again after The Entire World said is was amazing, and I still didn’t like it. I tried playing its sequel, but nope. Same thing.
Then, very recently, I went back and played them again, determined to complete each game and see if they finally clicked with me. The results were kind of hilarious. (Check out what happened for yourself: Baldur’s Gate 1 and Baldur’s Gate 2.) I still despise the first game. It’s a disjointed, broken mess and I don’t care what anybody says. The sequel makes significant improvements, and I actually enjoyed playing bits of it, but ultimately came down on the side of still hating it. It’s like it can’t decide whether it’s an open game or a fixed narrative on a linear path because it’s constantly bouncing back and forth between the two. And both games are way too in love with their own writing, especially when you consider the fact that story is really nothing more than Defeat Evil Bad Guy. Repeatedly.
And so it was with great trepidation that I gave in to peer pressure and decided to try Pillars of Eternity. I didn’t expect much from it, seeing as how it’s the spiritual successor to the Baldur’s Gate series and all of the Infinity Engine games in general. But a funny thing happened when I loaded it up. I freaking LOVED it. Read More
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