Blog: Games of 2017

This year, I've played 7 games that were released in 2017 and it's time in the internet's honoured tradition to talk about which ones were good.

This year I played: A Hat in Time, Fire Emblem Heroes, Halcyon 6: Light-Speed Edition, Kingdom and Castles, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Rakuen and Seedship.

I don't feel like there's anything missing from my list this year. That being said I've avoided getting a switch until I get my PhD finished so there are a lot of very good looking games that I will hopefully get a chance to play pretty soon.

Unlike last year, I enjoyed all of the games I played so I'm only going to break this set down into: The Okay, The Good and The Great. It's also worth pointing out that I've played widely divergent amounts of these games (I mean Breath of the Wild is in there, so really really widely) and for some, I probably haven't played enough to comment really intelligently. Still, I wanted to capture a snapshot of how I've seen the games of 2017 while it's still 2017.

The Okay

Fire Emblem Heroes

I feel a bit conflicted about almost all of the Fire Emblem games (and honestly all grid-tactics games in general). I really enjoy the gameplay, the world, the characters, and the feel, but I'm really, really bad at them for the most part. Fire Emblem Heroes is great because it takes the basic Fire Emblem concept and breaks it down into bite sized chunks. All the great weapon triangle strategy, none of the ongoing stress and worry.

Beyond that, though, there's not really much more here. It's okay. It's not bad, it's fun and playable but it kinda lacks any depth, so while it's okay to play I'm not going to choose to play it over most other games in most situations.

Halcyon 6: Light-Speed Edition

Halcyon 6: Starbase Command is an interesting game. It's old school RPG combat (parties of three slug it out in a menu), but with spaceships rather than wizards and warriors. It's also a XCOM style base builder and a fleet assignment strategy game. It's also a 2016 game, except that they did a such an extensive "overhaul" that they released the Light-Speed Edition as a totally separate game to "classic". That being said, I feel a little baffled about the changes they made, why and what the new game is compared to the old game.

Last year I wished I'd played more and I guess I'm in the same boat. The gameplay is good and apparently they've increased the tactical depth of the game which was one of my primary complaints. I can't say I've felt compelled to play too much despite enjoying all the game elements, maybe Black Hole Edition will suck me in in 2018 (I'm sorry, this is a bad joke and probably mean to the devs.)

Kingdoms and Castles

In Kingdoms and Castles you can build Kingdoms and Castles. Well medium sized towns and castles anyway. I've actually looked three times to see if this game is in early access, but I don't think it is. The upside of Kingdoms and Castles is that it's pretty fun to build cities and make your little meeples happy, the downside is that there's really not much to the game. Fortunately the devs are continuing work and are adding new stuff to the game. I just hope they're able to expand the game without upsetting the existing fun.

The Good

A Hat in Time

I backed A Hat in Time on KickStarter a very long time ago, and I was pretty sure it was never going to actually come out. Fortunately it did, and it's actually good. As has been pretty widely discussed it's interesting that A Hat in Time finally made it out in a year with so many other 3D platformers, but I think the devs have done a very good job of focusing making a unique game that involves a lot of different elements.

I've played a lot of the first world and some of the second world. I have to confess to feeling a bit frustrated, but 3D platformers have never really been my genre. I think I need to sit down at some point soon and try to take the game as it comes so I can really see the whole thing together.

Seedship

Seedship was a very late in the year pickup for me, but a friend started playing it, and it caught my attention. You play the AI of a a ship containing the last remnants of humanity and you must find them the best place to live. It’s a Twine game and you play by making the best of whatever choice the game gives you. Games usually last for 5 to 30 minutes and end when you find the best option before your ship totally falls apart (or your ship totally falls apart). Then the game tells you how your humans faired after you landed them and then you play again.

What I particularly enjoy is that while the game is really “hard” to win, each game is interesting with new situations and new outcomes. Additionally unlike a lot of rogue-likes the decisions often tilt towards the player, so when you make a choice you have a good chance of getting a good outcome, but in the aggregate your ship always tends towards ruin.

The Great

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

I don’t think it should be too much of a surprise that I like Breath of the Wild. I’ve play ed211 hours of it by this point and it has all been really enjoyable. I think most of the things I wrote about when I summed up the game almost fifty hours ago stand and I think since then I’ve really gained an appreciation for the finesse and detail in their design. I’ve also gotten significantly better at the combat which has furthered my appreciation of the game.

I still miss larger dungeons and some of the story elements of older entries in the series, but Breath of the Wild is beautiful and stands on its own as an outstanding game. I think the level of trust it shows in its players is outstanding, and I think it demonstrates how passionate and skilled its creators are.

Rakuen

As I said in my write up on it, I’m biased, but I loved Rakuen. It feels like a SNES journey I took as a child, but dealing with grown up issues. The art is beautiful, the music is wonderful and the story is engaging. The game play is maybe a little thin on the ground but this game is focused elsewhere and that’s ok.

More diversity in games is good for games and for the people who play them. The more of the world we see and the more eyes we see the world through the richer we are. I’m thankful Laura Shigihara created Rakuen, spending four years on it and I feel richer for having played it.

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks: Update 14

The Legends of the Guard books are interesting in that they're basically other artists playing in the Mouse Guard Sandbox. Lots of quick fun different stories.

Blog: Video Games of November

I wasn't terribly settled to any specific game in November, but I'm feeling relaxed and enjoyed a lot of different things.

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

1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - As  (pretty much) always Breath of the Wild topped my list for the month. I'm trying on this play through (still my 2nd) to do an all shrines play through and I think I'm getting close. I'm curious if the Champions DLC will arrive before I finish.
   

   

   Thank you, Mr. Iwata.

   
   Breath of the Wild has held up to more than 200 hours playing and I'm still enjoying it. Sometimes I miss the tighter story of other games (I went to the Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses last night and was reminded of just how much fun those other games can be), but Breath of the Wild is always fun to play.
2. Europa Universalis 4 - A few times a year I just get the urge to take over the world as the Ottomans, then I give up. EU4 is interesting in how it always has things to do, so you get a version of the Civilization "one more turn" and when I first stop playing I always think of what the next thing I should be doing in the game. I find that this fades for me some the longer I play a particular game as I don't have quite the skill / focus / DLC for a more in-depth play through.
   

   

   I always enjoy it when the game really wanders of historical maps.



3. Super Mario 3D World - Other than Breath of the Wild this has been what I've turned my Wii U on for in the last little while. I've been enjoying dropping in for short play sessions trying to 100% complete the game. I will admit I was a little influenced by everyone enjoying Mario Ojddesy, but I'll get to that once the PhD is finished.
   

   

   Just a giant Bowser head, how bad can it be.

   
   


4. Ogre Battle 64 - I didn't start a new play through this year! That means that I'm surprisingly close to making it to the end, although whether or not I've been careful enough to actually get the "real ending" I guess we'll see. It remains one of those games which I mostly love, but which has some problems in execution. I keep hunting for a "perfect" version, but I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
   

   

   Zarus and I share a birthday!?



5. Sunless Sea - Sunless Sea is a lot of fun and I should play it more. There's a related game, Fallen London, which is free to play and worth checking out. Both games revolve around story telling in a dark, dystopian(?) steam punk, world where London was stolen by bats and delivered into the Unterzee.
   

   

   It's hard to capture a screenshot that really captures the game, but this is a lot of it all at once.

   
   In Sunless Sea you travel the zee trying to make a fortune, or a name for yourself, or just sense of the world. It is a rogue like sailing game and a story card game. It plays at a wonderful pace, and, if you give yourself to it, a story that will really grab you (maybe by the foot, in the dark, with an icy tentacle).
   
   
   
   

Here's my total play time chart for November:

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

Project 17: #NaFYoFuThMo - Wrap Up

Has anyone seen November? I distinctly recall there was going to be a November.

Ok. I did kinda notice November an I got a lot written for my thesis. Not as much as I'd hoped, but quite a lot, and I'm almost finished the next major chapter.

via GIPHY

I have to say I really enjoyed doing #NaFYoFuThMo. It was a good motivator to get me to sit down and write even when I didn't want to. It also made me feel like there was an end to the project and it was a small enough chunk that I was able to accomplish it. Finally it was fun to report back to Twitter on how I was doing and post Cowboy Bebop gifs (Also #NaFYoFuThMo is fun to say and type).

I managed to write on 13 out of 30 days in November, and in total I wrote 6356 words. That's not great, but its better than I often am, so I think #NaFYo has been good for me. I also keep a "day score" which is basically a weighted average of the last 7 days and I've managed to keep that above zero for the entire month of November, so I feel like that's a win and a step in the right direction when it comes to getting things done.

via GIPHY

So I dunno where to go next. #NaFYoFuThMo is really tied to the idea of #NaNoWriMo so I don't feel like I can carry it on beyond November. I also think if I do it'll loose the special feeling of a month long project. On the other hand I really did enjoy reporting back to twitter on how I'd done for the day. I'll think about it for a while and see where I get to.

via GIPHY

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks

Provenance doesn't stand up to Ancillary Justice, but it is still a very fun space opera through an interesting universe.

Blog: Video Games of October

I was pretty unsettled in October and jumped between games a bunch. I don't love the feeling of not having something serious to play, but for now I'm focused elsewhere and I'm pretty happy just to get a chance to play when I get a chance.

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

1. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - One beautiful thing about Breath of the Wild is just how much there is to do. It makes it simple each time I turn it on to wander off into Hyrule and find something new and fun and engaging.
   
   

   

   Quite the outcome of a side trip.

   
   
2. Pikmin 3 - I love this game. I could play it forever. There's just so much brightness and charm. The game play presents a lovely challenge of first finding a solution and then optimizing that solution. Every Nintendo Direct, I'm always hoping to see more Pikmin 3.
   
   

   

   Work to do, work to do.



3. Kingdoms and Castles - I haven't bought too much in the way of new games lately, but listening to 3 Moves Ahead discuss Kingdoms and Castles it seems like enough fun for $10 to make it worth while. I've enjoyed it so far, although it doesn't have a huge range of things to do. There's something nice about building a simple city and using it to kill dragons.
   
   

   

   A dragon in the rain.



4. FTL: Faster than Light - I suck at FTL. I've been bad at FTL since it came out. Then I watched Eurogamer play it and thanks to Jonneh, I suddenly understood a lot about how *not* to suck at FTL. Either way, even if you're bad it's still a good time.
   
   

   

   Finally.



5. Pokémon Go - Daily bonuses keep me going, other than that I haven't played too much.
   
   

   

   This ... was a bad idea.

Here's my total play time chart for October:

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

Project 17: #NafYoFuthMo

It's November, so the Social Internet has turned to its habit of either doing or whining about #NaNoWriMo, in which people write a novel in a month. I don't have time to write a novel in a month and I do have a thesis to finish (related points).

via GIPHY

Therefore, I am going to do #NafYoFuthMo, National Finish Your F*ing Thesis Month. I'm not going to be able to finish everything this month, but I have enough stuff that I could do right now that it's a good time to give myself a big push and get closer to the line.

I have 3 big chapters I can finish, I'll consider it a win if I can have significant progress on each of the three. In the smaller scale I'm going to shoot for a new word target of 750 average each day.

I'll update on twitter regularly and occasionally here.

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks: Update 12

The second volume of Mouse Guard was as good as the first, and possibly even better. I don't read a lot of comics, so while I feel like the pace of the story is a little slow, that might just be par for the course. The art is absolutely phenomenal.

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks: Update 11

I finished the 10th Anniversary Audio Book version of American Gods last night (staying up way too late again). It was a fantastic read and I feel a little in awe of (and inspired by) just how wonderfully Gaiman writes a story. I enjoyed every single moment of it, I loved the characters, and the world, and most of all I loved how the characters, and the world harmonized with the story.

I also find it really weird (but interesting and cool) how similar Gaiman and Stephen King's stories feel.

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks: Update 10

I've probably started reading Mouse Guard a half dozen times. This time, I finally actually finished the first volume. I enjoyed it and I'm curious now what goes into the following volumes.

Project 15: 12 Books in 21 Weeks: Update 9

At Christmas last year, I kinda forced my loved ones to all exchange books. Which I think mostly worked out for the good. I especially enjoyed getting A View From the Cheap Seats (the hardcover is beautiful). Neil's writing is engaging and warm and funny and the only problem with the book its it contains a lot of introductions to other books, so now my reading list is longer than when I started.

I also made it to 12 books in 12 Weeks. Mostly Audiobooks, but I'm quite happy. I'm going to keep going and see how many books I can read in the remainder of the year.

Project 16: Covert Action in Space: Update 2

I've been working on my Covert Action in Space project and reached the point where I wanted to be able to see a graph of the spaces I'm generating. Particularly, when I was working on my first system, it was difficult to get a feeling for how the spaces work (or if they worked). At first I had been thinking that I’d look and find a simple algorithm to draw a graph and then implement that in something simple like Processing. Fortunately, poor google-fu prevented me from finding a good algorithm and instead I found GraphViz.

I'm not sure I want to work here, but I'd look for their industrial secrets.

Despite that tweet, I managed to keep my wits about me and realize that I don’t need to create my own graphing system, I just want to see a graph of the space layout. So instead of spending time learning a graphing algorithm and dealing with all of the problems that’s likely to create, now I just need to output a simple text file and let the magic happen.

GraphViz is great. It’s capable of doing a lot of stuff of which I only need it to do a little bit. To output, I need to make a list of all room connections and put it in GraphViz’s dot format. Internally I’m keeping this information in a map so that each entry has all of the rooms that a room connects to. This produces duplicates in the list, but using the strict keyword GraphViz automatically ignores those.

The code to generate the dot file works out to be quite simple.

And the dot file for the graph up top. Again I'm not particularly stressing GraphViz.

As I said, this makes it really easy to look at how spaces are connected and how those spaces work. I’m really glad I was able to get this working without needing to spend too much time on it.

The next job from here is to start laying out an actual floor plan based on the given space. I have a rough plan, basically starting with a default shape for each room and then expanding them to fit together. I can probably come up with something more complex, but as with the space generation, I’d like to start simple.