Blog: Games of August 2021

Time feels like it's absolutely blowing by right now. Looking back at August I can't even remember what all happened, but I did play some good games.

My top five games (by play time) for August were:

1. Trials of Mana (Remake) - I picked up Trials of Mana at a point where I really wasn't sure what I wanted to play while sitting down on the couch. As it turns out I'm really glad I did. The game is fun. The combat doesn't have a ton of depth, but has enough that every fight is interesting enough. The story isn't great, but the story wasn't great in the original either. The game looks pretty good overall. I don't like some of the models they've chosen, but even those are fairly faithful to the '95 original. I don't know that I can totally recommend it, but I've had a lot of fun.
   
   
   
   


2. Battle Brothers - This game has just the right amount of challenge and decision making to give it some really nice flow. Sometimes it flows in a bad direction, but usually when I finish playing, however long I play I'm pretty happy. I don't quite know how to describe or encapsulate how that flow works, but I think it revolves around keeping the stakes of any decision low enough that a bad choice doesn't cripple you.
   
   
   
   


3. Mario Golf: Super Rush - If Nintendo had a bullet proof network infrastructure, their new online play mode would have me pretty hooked. Since they don't it leaves me kinda interested. The online mode also illustrates how much their focus was on the running-around-the-golf-course mode compared to the traditional golf mode. Competitive matches tend to resolve into two or more people just waiting for everyone else to go. Unfortunately, the running-around-the-golf-course-mode stutters and chugs when played online.
   
   
   
   


4. Civilization VI - As always, I want to love this game the way I love Battle Brothers. I read Sid Meier's Memoir, and it left me wanting to play Civ, but perpetually the image of Civ I have in my head is more fun than the one I actually play.
   
   
   
   


5. Celeste - I started rewatching Carrie play Celeste on PlayFrame, as an exercise in seeing how someone who doesn't play much can take on a really hard game. I don't usually play those hard games, but I felt inspired. I'm having fun with it, although my hands do hurt.
   
   
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for August:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Games of December 2020

I'm not sure I was in a great mind-space in December. Looking at how I felt about most of what I played none of it really seemed to be great. I've been thinking about how to manage happiness and fun and so hopefully for the stuff I play next I'll be able to enjoy it more.

My top five games (by play time) for December were:

1. Civilization VI - Coming out of November I had a few fun games and a few games that weren't so fun. I want to love this game, but sometimes it just feels so draggy.
   
   
   
   
   


2. Hades - I'm a little frustrated that I'm not better at Hades than I am. On the other hand even as someone who isn't very good at it the game is still fun and interesting and doesn't make me feel like I'm really missing out. I wonder if playing mouse and keyboard has held me back some (I don't think much), but mostly I think I'm just a little too impatient with the game. I'll talk more about it in my 2020 wrap-up post, but the fact that this became a top 10 game in less than 2 months of play time really speaks to just how good it is.
   
   
   
   
   


3. Illusion of Gaia - I don't pick up Illusion of Gaia every year at the holidays but it's definitely the time when I want to play it again. It was nice to have a couple of days to play and I was able to get all the way though quite quickly this year (9 and a half hours) at least partly because I learned the speed running tactic (fact?) that the game gives you all of the XP even if you don't defeat the enemies. So it was nice to be able to tour through the parts I liked and keep going. It felt interestingly dark in the year 2020, with a lot of people not really responding to the crisis the world is facing in the game. 
   
   
   
   
   


4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - I dunno. It's cute but I'm finding less and less urge to actually play. I've given myself a goal of getting my island to 5 stars in January and then we'll see what's next but without a significant update, I may just drift away from my island.
   
   
   
   
   


5. Luigi's Mansion 3 - If you are an animator you should play this game. Other than that I'm not sure. I think there are a ton of fun ideas in here and it's certainly charming, but I just didn't every feel that invested.
   
   
   
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for December:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Games of November 2020

Sure, you could read this or you could go play Hades. Have you gone to play Hades yet? Seriously. Go. Play. Hades.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:

1. Hades - Wow. Just wow. This is by far, the best game I've played so far this year and I think it's one of the best games I've ever played. The game play is fluid, easy to understand and feels really good. The story telling is beautiful, brilliantly paced and dynamic enough that you feel like you're in charge. The game is also a masterclass in tutorialization and so I think anyone who's trying to teach anybody anything would be so well served to play this game. (At a minimum watch Dan Floyd picking it up for the first time).
   
   


2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - The slow drip of Animal Crossing continues. They say they're going to keep supporting the game for a long time to come, but really it feels so far behind where I'd like it to be.
   
   


3. Luigi's Mansion 3 - Kinda mixed. I picked this up and wanted to get through it before Hyrule Warriors came out. I wanted to finish something I hadn't finished yet. Some of this game is fun and charming and some of it is very moon-logic frustration.
   


4. Civilization VI - I don't know what brought this to my mind, but I picked it up again and I'm feeling surprisingly bad at it. Still Civ VI really fires all of my nostalgia flares (it *feels* like the original Civ) and so off I went again.
   
   


5. Ogre Battle 64 - I played on my birthday. It was great.
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for November:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Games of February 2019

February was a bit rough in terms of mindful gaming. It was also the last month I'll spend fully immersed in my thesis, so I guess I'll take what I can. I stress gamed more than I wanted to and didn't give myself a lot of time to play stuff I really enjoyed in a relaxed way. As such my February post feels a bit more critical than usual.

My top five games (by play time) for February were:

1. Into The Breach - I like this game. As I've said before the puzzle structure of the tactics gameplay makes me feel much smarter than some games where I don't have the time to sit and think stuff through. The more I play the better I get with the different mechanics and that's been a nice feeling.
   
   

   

   Grid.



2. Civilization VI - I dunno. The game is fun, but I always struggle with the one-more-turn problem. I should probably have left this one closed on steam, but it also feels like an easy game to play when I have a few minutes. Something I want to think about going forward is finding some good bite-sized games.
   
   

   

   Coastal.



3. Breath of Fire II - This game is confusing. It's certainly a strong response to the first game in the series, but it's still weaker than most JRPGs of the era. The translation also kinda rips the heart out of the game.
   
   

   

   Would you believe the W stands for Whale?



4. Fire Emblem: Awakening - As I've said here a lot, I'm bad at tactics games. I'm bad at this game. I think I managed in my one play through a awhile ago to grind myself into a state where I couldn't win. I restarted and seemed to be a bit more balanced, but never got myself to a point where I felt happy with how my play through was going. I should probably seek out someone who is actually good at the game on YouTube.
   
   

   

   from GameFAQs user Master_Bass



5. Invisible Inc. - I've really come around on this game and really enjoyed it in February. I like the stealth based tactics, and now that I've embraced them better, I've gotten a lot better. I'm now curious to see, if I lean into the rogue-light elements and let my team get better, how the game will evolve.
   
   

   

   Spy.

Here's my total play time chart for February:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Games of November 2018

I'm not super happy with how I spent my play time this month, especially because I found myself playing more out of frustration / burnout than relaxation or fun.

My top five games (by play time) for November were:

1. Civilization VI - Well, this is the game I play when I'm avoiding getting the stuff that needs to get done, done. I'm feeling behind on practically everything, and, embarrassingly, it's been much easier to pick this up "for a minute" rather than work. The problem is, that minute often expands out to be a lot more than a minute.  So my goal for December is to, a) relax, b) focus, c) get stuff done, and d) feel good when I do play.
   
   

   

   It has been created. Next Turn!

   
   On the not of the actual game, side I actually feel like I'm finally figuring the game out a little. I even caved and picked up the Rise and Fall Expansion. I'm not sure I'm actually getting good, but I have learned. Further I've accepted that not every game is going to be a game I enjoy playing until the end and it's okay to go back to the early game part where I was having fun. I also really the aesthetic of the game, the same thing I thought the first time I played is that it still calls back the things I loved from Civ I and II.
   


2. Ogre Battle 64 - While I'm accepting things, I'm accepting that I can love this game for the feeling it gives me even when a huge portion of it makes no sense.
   
   

   

   Happy Place.

   
   


3. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I still haven't beaten the Master Sword challenge. I have been trying to pick up some better techniques and skills and I feel like, except for the part I can't do, I'm getting good.
   
   

   

   Little Silver Jerks. 

   
   


4. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - As part of a routine of relaxing this game just keeps giving. It also has an incredibly slow reward system - costumes for the amiibo characters - which might just keep us playing for another year. Animal Crossing for life!
   
   

   

   Animal Crossing is mostly Animal Capitalism.

   
   


5. Pokémon Go - Between being behind and it being colder out, I've been playing a little bit less the last month.
   
   

   

   We're slow and that's ok.

   
   

Here's my total play time chart for November:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Games of May 2018

I played some stuff I really enjoyed in May, but also felt really unsettled about where I wanted to put my play time. I also found that when I did have time to play, I often didn't have anything I wanted to sit down and play. Also, I often found myself playing things when I really should have been focused elsewhere. So I'm trying to be more mindful again, and to take time to enjoy games after taking time to - you know - get excited and get stuff done.

My top five games (by play time) for May were:

1. Paper Mario: Color Splash - I was hoping to find something new to play when I needed an evening off. I've never actually played a Paper Mario game (I thought it was dumb to have a "2-D" game on the N64, but I had a lot of dumb thoughts back then). I've found Color Splash to be interesting, the world and the characterization are great (as is the dialog), the game play mechanics are pretty good, but the boss fights are really bad and the game is bad about respecting the time you put into it. I will say it's extremely charming and I'll enjoy finishing it.
   
   

   

   The Princess and her fixer.

2. Stardew Valley - As I often do, I've been starting days in May playing a day or two of Stardew Valley. As always, it's a relaxing and gently consuming game.
   
   

   

   A good day on the farm.



3. Cities: Skylines - I drifted back into to Skylines a bit with the Park DLC coming out (although I haven't actually picked it up yet). I enjoy the city building, but I keep kinda feeling unsatisfied a bit when I play. Still very good and very worth poking from time to time.
   
   

   

   The University District.



4. Civilization VI - As I said, May may just have been not the right month for me to really get into and enjoy anything. I played some Civ VI, but I'm finding that my mindset isn't right either to stick it out for the long term, and also to play well the way the game expects (and granted I haven't picked up the DLC for this either).
   
   

   

   So what we built the Hagia Sophia in the tundra.



5. Europa Universalis IV - While I haven't been playing it a ton, I have been enjoying EU4 quite a bit. I like the new mission system they've added in, and this particular play through I feel like I've managed to do a much better job understanding how the game wants me to play to really get the most out of it.
   
   

   

   The center of everything (but the outsides are mighty big).

Here's my total play time chart for May:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Games of February 2018

February was another month of gaming where I played mostly for the quiet and the stress relief. I haven't really had a game I've wanted to sink my teeth/time into, but that's ok.


My top five games (by play time) for February were:

1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - I have to say trying to do my 100% run and my master mode run at the same time might not have been the most ... efficient way to play. Though as I keep saying, the amount of depth and detail is amazing. Everywhere I look I can see that someone has taken the time to make it special.
   
   

   

   How did they not manage to include a photo mode in this game?



2. Stardew Valley - Speaking of special, Stardew Valley has been the place I go to when I need to get away. You're character in game escapes the work-a-day world for the freedom of the farm and the game fills a bit of that in real life too.
   
   

   

   Spring in Stardew



3. Earthbound - Earthbound is a bit hard to play. I follow several people on line who love this game, and they have been inspired to create amazing things by this game (and the communities that built up around this game). I see what they loved, but at the same time, it's not the most playable game in 2018. Still, a little bit at a time, I'm filling in this chunk of my missed game history.
   
   

   

   Nothing unusual here!



4. Civilization VI - I picked this up again because I was thinking about it, thanks to the new DLC. I enjoyed Civ VI when it first dropped, but (as I seem to get to keep repeating here) I'm not *good* at it. I keep hoping to find my stride and go back to my Civ II days, but I haven't quite found it yet.
   
   

   

   Tundra Egypt



5. Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - This isn't a game about competing. This is a game about relaxing on Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and a loved one. Don't forget to buy your turnips for the week.
   
   

   

   The cutest damn thing in Animal Crossing: Amiibo Fest is the bit where the hosts run around the station to wave good-bye!

Here's my total play time for February:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Video Games of September 2017

Well, it finally happened. I played something more than Breath of the Wild. Generally nothing grabbed me too much again in September so I tended to default to some basic choices. I did try to keep my streaks up in Pokemon Go, but other than that I didn't feel too attached to anything.


My top five games (by play time) for September were:

1. Civilization 6 - I figured at some point I'd sit down and spend more time with this game. As I think I've commented before, much as I like strategy games I'm never that good at them. I feel like Civ 6 is a bit more open to how you play, although it remains a little bit bland if I set the difficulty low enough to play well. And of course much as I did enjoy it, it managed to get to the top of the list through a couple of "just one more turn" nights.
   
   

   

   I am the mightiest (and only) navel power in the world and yet I can't keep the barbarians off my shores. 

   
   
2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Still awesome. I'm still discovering new things. I'm still having fun. I'd like a little bit more story at this point, but I guess we'll be getting that before too long now.
   
   

   

   I was just standing here and then suddenly realized how beautiful this looked.

   
   


3. Kingdom Rush HD - My love of strategy games has a strong component of loving tower defense. Kingdom Rush is one of the best although (as noted above) I suck at it more than I probably should for how much I play it.
   
   

   

   The standard state of any Kingdom Rush game for me.

   
   


4. Pokemon Go - A few minutes a day keeps a game up on the list. Sadly I didn't really get time to deep dive too much on PoGo, but keeping my streaks alive was enough to get me logged in most days.
   
   

   

   His name is Tiny.

   
   


5. Cities:Skylines - I do like city building. But, I also like pretty pictures of video games. I keep a rotating selection as my desktop, and, more than anything else looking at those pictures makes me play Cities:Skylines so I can go get more pictures.
   
   
   

   

   The roads are quiet this late at night.

Here's my total play time chart for September:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Blog: Video Games of July 2016

I spent a lot of July recovering from May and June and I definitely got a bit more time to play. I was also still quite busy for the early parts of the month. Generally I tried to play games to give me a bit more focused fun, aaaand I also played a lot of Pokemon Go.

My top five games (by play time) for July were:

1. XCOM 2 - I dunno. It just eats time without me even noticing really. I also started to accept that even when I'm not actually having a lot of success playing, getting a team out to fight a level or two is pretty fun. That also lead me to tryout some Invisible Inc (which I also quite liked).
   

   

   My first ever total party wipe.

2. Pokémon Go - So Pokémon Go has changed a lot since it first came out and I started playing it before it even officially launched in Canada. While a lot of people have said a lot about the game, it's a huge amount of fun and in the early days seeing people crowding together in groups to play. I think it really delivered on the promise of creating a Pokémon adventure in the real world.
   

   

   A Pokécrowd. 



3. Chrono Trigger - I'm pretty sure that Chrono Trigger is my favourite game of all time (top 3 for sure) and so once I was finished with my first course it was nice to be able to sit down and play it for a while (even if it wasn't all that much). I got most of the way through the main game (it's shorter than I remember) and then stopped waiting for the "perfect time" to finish the game.
   
   
   


4. Cities: Skylines - Hey have I mentioned that I really like building cities? I really like building cities. And Cities: Skylines is a great way to build cities. I didn't play all that much, but I really enjoy all of the phases of city building (although I do tend to get a little board in the later ones and keep starting over). This game is great, really well designed and well executed. It's a huge amount of fun if you want to play a city builder (and they keep adding really cool things too).
   

   

   Golden Hour



5. Civilization V - I was not ready to wait until October for Civilization VI, so I played Civ V instead. It's a lot of fun, but ... it's time to move on.
   
   
   
   

   

   I can't remember why I have a city in the middle of the bay, but I do!

Here's my total play time chart for July:

And here's my total number of times played:

And here's a chart of how much I've played over the month:

Favorite YouTube Videos (Volume 18)

In this volume of my favorite YouTube videos, we have a wide ranging grab bag. From video game music, to teddy bear tossing, to the dawn of a new YouTube star (who keeps drawing on stuff), to some four legged film makers and finally to a nerdy song about the matter of the Universe.

• Baba Yetu is the opening theme to one of my favorite all time video games, Civilization 4. Here's it's covered by ModestOne, who had done a good job making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Another vote for why music is the most important element of video game production (well, at least I say it is). In formation about the original composer and a link to an mp3 version are in the video description (which is a nice touch).
• The next video is a bit of a departure from the norm for my favorite YouTube videos, but it's included here because it's a very important part of my life. Each year the Calgary Hitmen (my local junior hockey team) hold a teddy bear toss in which fans all bring teddy bears to the arena and when the Hitmen get their first goal of the game throw them on to the ice. The bears are then gathered up and distributed to several organizations throughout the city to make sure that kids who need a teddy bear have one for the holidays. 
• The next video is an early video from the mathamagician Vihart, who seems to get board and find herself doodling in math class from time to time and discovering the fundamentals of mathematics  You might have heard of her (or not who know how far the internet reaches). She's gone on to be an amazingly insightful and educational YouTube creator and educator. The firehose pace at which she unloads information is exciting and all of her videos will make you think about at least one thing you haven't thought about before.
• The next video is Cat Diaries: the first ever movie filmed by cats, and it is (as the title rather suggets) filmed by cats. Now say what you will about cats, they are for example lousy camera operators (their whiskers keep getting in shot), but this video is adorable and heart warming. 
• Finally we have another Hank Green song, this time about Quarks (no not the Deep Space 9 bar) the fundamental constituant of matter. Up, down, strange, charm, top, bottom. As a bonus this video also announces the unveiling of dft.ba the url shortening service that reminds you not to forget to be awesome.