Blog: Video Games of March 2016

I seem to have split my time a little more between a few games in March than I did in February. Partly at least because I finished XCOM and really didn't feel like picking it up again and partly because most of the other games I was playing really limited the amount you can play at a time.

My top five games of the month (by play time) were:

1. Stardew Valley - I resisted playing this game because I usually end up feeling a little empty after playing any of the open farming kind of games, and also because I tend to play games like this a little too intensely (cough, 17 hours in 7 days, cough). But a few friends were interested in it and I watched how excited ProJared and Pushing up Roses were about the game and I somehow found myself buying it.
   
   
   

   

   Down on the farm, where the cat watches all.

   
   
   So far I've really enjoyed it. I think it has a little more to it than the Harvest Moon games I've played over the years and I think it also smooths out some of the hichoughs that most of the Harvest Moon games have too. You can see the amount of care and polish that went into the game and continues to go into the game.
   
   I've also tried to play the game in a very gentle way. I try (although I don't always suceeed) to keep the play sessions short and I've also worked to avoid min-maxing any aspect of the game. I'm working on roleplaying just a guy who needed a break from life and got a farm and I have to say I think it's really helped me relax while playing. My only real complaint with the game is that there's no save option except over night, which occasionally makes me keep playing after I'd really rather stop.
2. Super Mario Maker - I really hadn't expected to play this much Super Mario Maker. I spent quite a bit of time (for the first 3/4 of the month) playing a little bit each day. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make better levels and I think I'm getting better. The problem is that it's so difficult to get your levels played by anyone that you end up shouting into the void.
   
   
   

   

   The levels from Nintendo are also usually really great to play, here you played the same level 3 ways to get the three starter pokemon.

   I finished my "First World" with 1-3 and 1-4 (completing 1-1 and 1-2) and I think they're okay, if not great. The did inspire me to start trying to do things in a more creative, less linear way and so I came up with I Ain't Afraid.
   
   I've also been playing a bit more and I think that's helped improve my platforming and it's been fun (for the most part) too. I think the new components Nintendo has been introducing are pushing people to create levels that are more playable and less kaizo or automatic. Also, I think it stands to reason that at this point people who really like making levels are the ones still playing.
3. Final Fantasy VI (or 3) - I finished it. Finally. I'm working on a thoughts on post on the game. I enjoyed it over all. I thought the story was interesting and it has a lot of interesting types of game play.
   
   
   

   

   I'm not sure what it is, but we're fighting it. Also Setzer? Really? - From GameFAQ's user KeyBlade999

   
   
   Sadly it also has combat, and that's the thing that makes this game a real slog. I think my play-time was totalled at about 60 hours and much of that was trying to wade through the combat to get the right spells on the right person at the right time. It's still worth it, but I'm glad there are newer games that are a little easier to play.
4. Marvel Puzzle Quest - So, usually the casual games don't make it this high on the list, but between trying to keep up for the Alliance and the fact that the revitalized the progression system, I've managed to play quite a bit of Puzzle Quest over the last little bit.
   

   

   Match 3. Punch Robots. (or Ninja or Purple Guys or Melty Guys, or Soldier Guys or ....)

   
   I'd hit a point where I didn't want to play that much since I wasn't playing enough to get the high level characters, but they changed the way you level characters up and now it's been worth while and more fun. So one bus ride at a time I've manage to rack up the time on this one (it's also my game with the most play sessions for the month by a wide margin).
5. Europa Universalis 4 - So ... I started playing this again. Um, I guess my ill feelings faded and both Extra History and Hardcore History have been talking about the Middle East and it left me feeling like it was time to try to lead the Ottomans to glory again. At least I seem to have my play times down to a more manageable length of time.
   
   

   

   It's not that we're the centre of the world. It's just that we're the centre of the world.

   
   

I also started to play Mass Effect again this month. I was a little influenced by all the talk about Andromeda, and it's also just been a really long time since I played. I only played a few hours (since the game is much much slower than I remember). I'm still finding some of the charm that I remember from the first time(s) I played the game, but it definitely hasn't aged as well as I'd have hoped. My last play through I played he-shep Calrin, so this time I thought I'd play fem-shep Maria (who looks really unfortunately exactly like Ashley). I also had forgotten how bad the character models were for the first game in the series. Still it does feel a bit like home after all's said and done.

That's my Normandy. Also how effing hard is it to take a screen shot Mass Effect?

I think that tracking my play time has been good. I think I've been more mindful about what I play and how I play it. I think I've also felt a little more comfortable playing less, which is good since the next little while is going to be pretty busy.

Here's my total play time for games in March:

And here's my total number of play sessions:

Finally, here's the graph of my play time / day:

So it turns out that google is really weird about exporting charts. I'm not just bad at it.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 126)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we throw stones, get in fights and then get serious about consent and how we talk about sex.

• First, in a topic near and dear to my heart, Destin from Smarter Every Day takes a look at the highly non-intuitive physics of curling. This was before the new directional sweeping craze that seems to have taken over high level curling this year, so I don't know what's changed in the research landscape since then. Still Destin does a great job explaining the more technical matters of curling.
• Next, Caitlin and Vaughan are ready for Morrrrrrrtttttaaaallll Kooooommmmmbbbbaaaaatttt!
• Finally and most importantly, Charlie talks about sex and consent. 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 125)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we take a look at the fancy computing of yore, learn to draw bunnies and then figure out how to produce a very successful six season television show.

• First, we start out with some of the history of the Apple Macintosh from Computerphile. The original Mac was definitely a departure from how computers would have been seen up to that point (see the smiley face when it boots), although I would love to take the chance to compare it to the Lisa which Apple was also producing at the time. If you're interested in more Macintosh history, checkout folklore.org which is a collection of stories written by the folks who created the Mac.
• Next, we stop in to learn how to draw a bunny with Simon Tofield of Simon's Cat.
• Finally, Adam Savage takes an hour to talk with Vince Gilligan, just at the end of Breaking Bad. I've never watched Breaking Bad, but I'm always kinda interested in stories of TV production. There are probably spoilers, but it has been more than two weeks since then.

Project 14 - Sketch Fiction: 46616-C

This is the third of six sketch stories. It's unrelated to the first two.

You can expect the next sketch story on March 29, 2016.

---

46616-C

Transcript - 46616-C

House: "Are we recording?"

Communications: "Yes, Sir."

House: "Very Good. Sit Rep 46616-C, is called to order."

"Package A is inbound from Incident 46616. Estimated time of arrival, T minus 35. Package A includes, Agents Blue, Red, Green, Black and Violet. Primary mission objectives were achieved with minor complications. Medical, can you give us an update on the members of Package A?"

Medical: "Yes, Sir. Agents Red, Green and Violet are all nominal and teams are standing by to provide standard medical debriefing for each. Agent Black has received minor injuries from physical projectile weaponry and received field treatment. Agent Black will require minor surgery to repair damage to the right shoulder.

"Agent Blue was struck by a non-standard energy weapon. This weapon has caused negligible physical injury, but does seem to have caused Agent Blue to speak in an unknown language. Agent Blue will require a full medical examination, as well, we suspect, as significant further investigation from both medical and science branches.

House: "Very Good. I believe Communications has secured assistance from our partners at Organization F to assist in matters with Agent Blue."

Communications: "Yes, Sir. A linguistics team from Organization F will arrive by 0800."

House: "Very Good. Security?"

Security: "Yes, Sir. The external security indicator is low. Given that Agent Blue is demonstrating unusual behaviour, internal security is being stepped up to manage a rogue agent situation."

House: "Very Good. Housekeeping?"

Housekeeping: "Yes, Sir. Catering and laundry services are standing by. Rooms are made up for all non-resident agents arriving. Resident agents' domiciles have been prepared. Staff are standing by to assist all agents. "

House: "Very Good. Science?"

Science: "Yes, Sir. A lab has been cleared and prepared to investigate Agent Blue. Funding has been established under the project code S-46616-B, and the project has been codenamed "Surprise Translation". We are ready to proceed as soon as the Agent and the linguistics team have arrived on site."

House: "Very Good. Then finally we can receive Transportations report."

Transportation: "Yes, Sir. Envelope A received minor damage during the incident, although none of it affected flight-worthiness. We have teams standing by, and believe Package A should be fully operational again in thirty-six hours. In the mean time Envelopes B and C are ready and on standby."

House: "Very Good. We seem to be operating by the book and, in good order. Please ensure that all staff are prepared for the returning agents and in particular not to react unduly to Agent Blue's condition. Emergency Sit Rep 46616-C is now closed."