2018 Resolutions

I haven’t made a post like this before, because I usually feel like how I’m going to live my life is really my own business. This year, I feel like I’d like to be a bit more public since, as I’ll talk about later, I feel like the way we’re making use of social media needs some improvement. I also think as a university instructor and a grad student we often keep quiet about how we’re doing, and I think being a little more open we can all make our lives a little better.

via GIPHY

So here are three general resolutions I’d like to work on for next year:

1. Monotask More - I don’t multitask well and inevitably when I set out to do several things at the same time, I don’t get any of them done the way I’d like. My goal for next year is to do that less, I want to pick one thing, do it as well as I can and then go on to something else. In particular I’m going to try to set aside specific time for twitter and email so I don’t interrupt myself. 
2. Hold Fewer Opinions - At some point this year John and Hank Green decided that we all hold too many useless opinions and I think I agree with them. I think I’m already alright at this, there are often times when I feel like it’s not worth getting excited on a particular topic. At the same time, there are points where I get upset over things that don’t really matter and I’d be happier if I could just move on. My goal for next year is to see when I don’t need to hold a strong opinion and if I don’t need one, I’ll try not to have one. 
3. Act More - I think this ties in with both of the previous resolutions, but I often avoid getting stuff done, even when there’s nothing really holding me back from doing it. I’m going to try to cut down on the size of my todo list to make it easier to see what needs doing and to push myself to get more stuff done. 

And I have a few specific things too:

1. Finish my Thesis - this is the year.
2. Be more Engaged on Twitter - I like Twitter, or at least I like how Twitter was in the early days. I don’t know how to fix all of the problems that Twitter has now, but I think trying to talk more with cool people about cool things is a decent way to go. I’m going to try to reply more and retweet less. 
3. Read More - I don’t read enough, so next year I want to buff that up. (And I’ll be making a project to that end soon). 
4. Make More Stuff - I want to write more, draw more, sculpt more, program more. I think I feel best about myself when I’m getting something made, so I want to do that. 
5. See More Things - I have an amazing flexibility in where I work right now and I should make better use of that to go and see cool places even while I’m working. 

I hope 2018 rises to meet us all as we rise to meet it.

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: