Going Sleeveless!
tandem tower climb
fighting birds atop stone walls
waterfalls are loud
fighting birds atop stone walls
waterfalls are loud
Play nice, everyone!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
The Sands of Time–Episode 4
Friendly Fire!
In this episode I begin by trying to recap the story so far. Because I’ve been trying to focus on playing the game while also having interesting things to say (the success of which I will leave open to your interpretation), many of the story beats have eluded me. As I discuss in the video I also think this is potentially due to the era in which the game was released. This was a generation where gameplay instruction and story were not conveyed solely via printed manual or in game methods such as cut scenes and on-screen text, but rather a combination of the two. In today’s gaming landscape we’ve grown accustomed to just jumping in the game and being properly informed of those things throughout the experience.
We also find a new weapon that grants passage through a new type of barrier, encounter more enemies to combat, puzzles to solve, and Farah actually shoots me in the back! She acts like it was an accident, but we did destroy her home, steal all the valuables, and planned to make her a servant of some kind before it all went pear-shaped. Can’t really blame here, I guess. Enjoy the episode!
In this episode I begin by trying to recap the story so far. Because I’ve been trying to focus on playing the game while also having interesting things to say (the success of which I will leave open to your interpretation), many of the story beats have eluded me. As I discuss in the video I also think this is potentially due to the era in which the game was released. This was a generation where gameplay instruction and story were not conveyed solely via printed manual or in game methods such as cut scenes and on-screen text, but rather a combination of the two. In today’s gaming landscape we’ve grown accustomed to just jumping in the game and being properly informed of those things throughout the experience.
We also find a new weapon that grants passage through a new type of barrier, encounter more enemies to combat, puzzles to solve, and Farah actually shoots me in the back! She acts like it was an accident, but we did destroy her home, steal all the valuables, and planned to make her a servant of some kind before it all went pear-shaped. Can’t really blame here, I guess. Enjoy the episode!
Play nice, everyone!
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
The Sands of Time–Episode 3
Back For More!
I’m getting a lot more comfortable with the process of editing, audio balancing, and posting these videos. And I’m having a lot of fun too! I’m also learning some valuable lessons, like beginning the recording well before I start playing as well as stopping well after I’m done. That gives me more footage to come in and out with, without cutting off important things… like cut scenes. I discovered the end of the previous episode cuts off rather abruptly, and the cut scene that plays after that save point I also managed to skip off camera. Even I didn’t see it, I must have inadvertently pressed the wrong button. This resulted in Episode 3 beginning with some remarks from the characters that had no context, and me having no idea why. The funny thing is that even though it occurs after a save point, simply reloading the file from that save point doesn’t trigger the cut scene again. It just starts gameplay at the next section where you have control of the character.
Since I already needed to replay some earlier sections to find segments that would be good to use for the episode intro graphic, I was also able to capture the missing cut scene to insert at the beginning of the video. Now, instead of just hearing me confused about missing something, you get to see the cut scene… then hear me confused about missing something!
In replaying the earlier portion of the game I was also able to get a better handle on the story. While it’s probably mostly due to me being overly conscious of being on mic (something I’m still getting used to), the game could have presented the story better. Maybe it’s because of the period of time the game released in. Earlier generations typically included a manual booklet that would contain an introduction to the game world and characters, while current video games almost never include any printed material. The Sands of Time may be a result of that middle ground where the game story had a foot in both methods.
Speaking of being on mic, boy is that a lot more than I was ready for! It turns out that it’s not easy to carry on an interesting conversation about the onscreen action… with yourself. I’m looking forward to the day I can look back on these early attempts and be surprised about my progress. It would also be fun to try an episode or two with a friend to help keep the commentary going, especially when the action heats up and my brain can’t decide which way to go. Volunteers? Enjoy the episode!
Play nice, everyone!
I’m getting a lot more comfortable with the process of editing, audio balancing, and posting these videos. And I’m having a lot of fun too! I’m also learning some valuable lessons, like beginning the recording well before I start playing as well as stopping well after I’m done. That gives me more footage to come in and out with, without cutting off important things… like cut scenes. I discovered the end of the previous episode cuts off rather abruptly, and the cut scene that plays after that save point I also managed to skip off camera. Even I didn’t see it, I must have inadvertently pressed the wrong button. This resulted in Episode 3 beginning with some remarks from the characters that had no context, and me having no idea why. The funny thing is that even though it occurs after a save point, simply reloading the file from that save point doesn’t trigger the cut scene again. It just starts gameplay at the next section where you have control of the character.
Since I already needed to replay some earlier sections to find segments that would be good to use for the episode intro graphic, I was also able to capture the missing cut scene to insert at the beginning of the video. Now, instead of just hearing me confused about missing something, you get to see the cut scene… then hear me confused about missing something!
In replaying the earlier portion of the game I was also able to get a better handle on the story. While it’s probably mostly due to me being overly conscious of being on mic (something I’m still getting used to), the game could have presented the story better. Maybe it’s because of the period of time the game released in. Earlier generations typically included a manual booklet that would contain an introduction to the game world and characters, while current video games almost never include any printed material. The Sands of Time may be a result of that middle ground where the game story had a foot in both methods.
Speaking of being on mic, boy is that a lot more than I was ready for! It turns out that it’s not easy to carry on an interesting conversation about the onscreen action… with yourself. I’m looking forward to the day I can look back on these early attempts and be surprised about my progress. It would also be fun to try an episode or two with a friend to help keep the commentary going, especially when the action heats up and my brain can’t decide which way to go. Volunteers? Enjoy the episode!
Play nice, everyone!
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
The Sands of Time–Episode 2
The Adventure Continues!
The action heats up with new combat moves and more elaborate traps. Join me as I lose against new enemy types, get stumped by simple puzzles, and struggle with indecision. I even make a bad Fruit Ninja joke! This episode has everything!
Play nice, everyone!
The action heats up with new combat moves and more elaborate traps. Join me as I lose against new enemy types, get stumped by simple puzzles, and struggle with indecision. I even make a bad Fruit Ninja joke! This episode has everything!
Play nice, everyone!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
The King’s Backlog Begins!
Let’s Play!
This project has been a long time in the making… or at least in the conception. I’ve wanted to do something like this for some time now, and it’s finally happening! Ever since becoming a fan of Game Informer’s Replay feature several years ago, I’ve often thought I’d like to give it a go. At first it seemed somewhat unattainable, then simply too time consuming. Regardless, here we are!
So what am I talking about? First a little backstory. Years ago when I was just getting the hang of Facebook and merely dipping my toes in the wild world of Twitter, I saw a post from Game Informer basically announcing something like, “Do you like Mystery Science Theater 3000? You’ll love this! It’s just like MST3K only for video games instead of movies!” That’s pretty heavy paraphrasing, but you get the idea. I do love me some MST3K (see my meeting Kevin Murphy at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX) and video games. It sounded like they were about to scratch an itch I didn’t yet know I had!
Regrettably, it was some time before I actually got around to checking out Replay. Well, I say “regrettably”, but the upside was by that time there was a wealth of great content that I could binge watch, getting to know the voices, personalities and sense of humor of many of the great GI staff members whose writing I had enjoyed for years. Watching that entertaining bunch play through older video games quickly became one of the highlights of each week. And it sure seemed fun! And with that, I give you “The King’s Backlog”!
I believe I’ve mentioned before how my video game collection has easily outgrown the available time I have to play, so I’m doing something about it. I have the hardware and software to record my own game videos, along with commentary. It’s going to be a little rough at first. It turns out it can be a bit tricky carrying on a conversation with yourself while also trying to play, though I’m confident it will get easier with practice. And boy is editing video and audio a time sink! I’m hoping that process also gets easier with practice.
Since doing this by myself will be a different dynamic from the shows I’ve enjoyed that usually consist of three to four people at a time, I thought I’d do some searching to find some people who also record solo and have a similar tone to what I’m going for. Along those lines, I’d like to recommend ChristopherOdd, I’ve found his videos to be well made, entertaining, and grounded. Like myself he enjoys the stories that games can tell. And while I’m recommending YouTube channels, check out chinfat. His video tutorials are incredible for anyone interesting in learning to edit videos. This post would have been delayed greatly without his expertly made content.
Although I’ve basically come to terms with the fact that I’ll most likely never have the time to play through all of the games on my shelf, I sure would like to try! My goal is to have a new episode approximately one hour in length uploaded weekly, at least to start with and then we’ll just see how it goes from there. I was originally thinking of targeting a Friday or Saturday release schedule, but with work I never really know when I’ll be traveling or what hours I’ll be working. I’ve resigned myself to just try to make sure a new episode goes up each week without focusing on a particular day.
Episode One!
First up is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I have fond memories of the first game in this franchise and I greatly enjoyed playing through the most recent entry. However, I have never played any games from The Sands of Time series. Join me as I rectify that and attempt to be informative and/or entertaining at the same time.
Please feel free to comment on the post or the video, especially if you have a suggestion for the next game you would like to see me play through. Chances are pretty good that not only is it on my shelf, but also that I haven’t actually played it yet.
Play nice, everyone!
This project has been a long time in the making… or at least in the conception. I’ve wanted to do something like this for some time now, and it’s finally happening! Ever since becoming a fan of Game Informer’s Replay feature several years ago, I’ve often thought I’d like to give it a go. At first it seemed somewhat unattainable, then simply too time consuming. Regardless, here we are!
So what am I talking about? First a little backstory. Years ago when I was just getting the hang of Facebook and merely dipping my toes in the wild world of Twitter, I saw a post from Game Informer basically announcing something like, “Do you like Mystery Science Theater 3000? You’ll love this! It’s just like MST3K only for video games instead of movies!” That’s pretty heavy paraphrasing, but you get the idea. I do love me some MST3K (see my meeting Kevin Murphy at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX) and video games. It sounded like they were about to scratch an itch I didn’t yet know I had!
Regrettably, it was some time before I actually got around to checking out Replay. Well, I say “regrettably”, but the upside was by that time there was a wealth of great content that I could binge watch, getting to know the voices, personalities and sense of humor of many of the great GI staff members whose writing I had enjoyed for years. Watching that entertaining bunch play through older video games quickly became one of the highlights of each week. And it sure seemed fun! And with that, I give you “The King’s Backlog”!
I believe I’ve mentioned before how my video game collection has easily outgrown the available time I have to play, so I’m doing something about it. I have the hardware and software to record my own game videos, along with commentary. It’s going to be a little rough at first. It turns out it can be a bit tricky carrying on a conversation with yourself while also trying to play, though I’m confident it will get easier with practice. And boy is editing video and audio a time sink! I’m hoping that process also gets easier with practice.
Since doing this by myself will be a different dynamic from the shows I’ve enjoyed that usually consist of three to four people at a time, I thought I’d do some searching to find some people who also record solo and have a similar tone to what I’m going for. Along those lines, I’d like to recommend ChristopherOdd, I’ve found his videos to be well made, entertaining, and grounded. Like myself he enjoys the stories that games can tell. And while I’m recommending YouTube channels, check out chinfat. His video tutorials are incredible for anyone interesting in learning to edit videos. This post would have been delayed greatly without his expertly made content.
Although I’ve basically come to terms with the fact that I’ll most likely never have the time to play through all of the games on my shelf, I sure would like to try! My goal is to have a new episode approximately one hour in length uploaded weekly, at least to start with and then we’ll just see how it goes from there. I was originally thinking of targeting a Friday or Saturday release schedule, but with work I never really know when I’ll be traveling or what hours I’ll be working. I’ve resigned myself to just try to make sure a new episode goes up each week without focusing on a particular day.
Episode One!
First up is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. I have fond memories of the first game in this franchise and I greatly enjoyed playing through the most recent entry. However, I have never played any games from The Sands of Time series. Join me as I rectify that and attempt to be informative and/or entertaining at the same time.
Please feel free to comment on the post or the video, especially if you have a suggestion for the next game you would like to see me play through. Chances are pretty good that not only is it on my shelf, but also that I haven’t actually played it yet.
Play nice, everyone!
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