The Impact of Technology

 

Technological Evolution

Technology is an important part of my writing, not only because I’ve written mostly about video games but also because it’s something that I think about quite regularly. Although I’d much rather leave the technical side of things to experts, I’m very fascinated with technology. I know very little about how games are developed or how electronics are made, but even as a layperson I still, nevertheless, find it all to be quite interesting.

The computer shown on the left is not mine, but it is similar to the computer my family owned as a child. I would, however, love to own the computer on the right.

I grew up in the Age of the Internet. My family had dial-up for years and I remember playing a browser game called Adventure Quest almost every day. I don’t know how I was able to sit in front of that computer screen for nearly an hour at times while waiting for a single fight to play out. I guess it was because of sheer determination.  Nearly 15 years later I’m playing HD games at over 60 FPS and I’m considering building my own gaming PC. Technology is a beautiful thing and that’s why I write about technology so frequently. It’s an integral part of who I am. Writing and technology are two passions of mine, so it’s reasonable that they would intersect from time to time.

I’m astounded whenever I think about technology and I feel that the use of technology in this class has helped improve my writing. If I didn’t have access to Microsoft Word, I probably would not write as (in)frequently as I do. I find it easier to write stories and papers in Word documents than it is to write them on a piece of paper. Maybe that’s because I discovered my love for writing during an age of technology. I didn’t need a pencil and piece of paper – all I needed was a computer and fingers to type with. I’m sure some people still write 100-page manuscripts on paper, but I’d much rather type out a story in a Word document because it’s just more convenient.

I feel that this writing class has helped me grow as a writer. I’m no stranger to blogs. I tried to write reviews for a Tumblr blog several years ago, but I only wrote one review and posted a few poems I had written years prior. I’ve considered writing Steam reviews, because most of the English reviews on Steam are written by people who barely passed high school English; the non-English reviews are probably well-written, but I can’t read them. I also wanted to write video essays in the style of Lindsay Ellis, Ryan Hollinger, and Raycevick. I’m glad that this class has given me a slight taste in what it’s like to do podcasts and write blogs (consistently).

However, our reliance on technology is somewhat worrying. Most people spend an unhealthy amount of time on social media. I often find myself looking up random things on Google or looking scrolling through Twitter posts for no reason (and then subsequently slinging profanity-filled insults at people I’ve never met because they posted something stupid). Technology is a fantastic tool that allows us to do things that we wouldn’t have been able to do generations ago, but the rapid progress in technology is something that we should at least be slightly concerned about.

Now, with in admitting that I rely heavily on technology, that brings me to two intriguing technology-related topics: technological singularity and transhumanism

Singularity and Transhumanism

For those who are not familiar with the concept allow me to explain. According to Eden, Steinhart, Pearce, and Moor, the singularity involves the “emergence of artificial superintelligent agents” as a result of a progress in computing technology (2012, p. 1). They further state that the singularity “results from an ‘intelligence explosion,’ which they refer to as a process where “software-based intelligent minds enter a ‘runaway reaction’ of self-improvement cycles, with each new and more intelligent generation appearing faster than its predecessor” (p. 2).

(Reference: Eden, A., Steinhart, E., Soraker, J., & Moor, J. (2012). Singularity hypotheses: A scientific and philosophical assessment. New York, Springer.

Transhumanism is another technological concern for scientists and philosophers. Transhumanism is the idea that technology will improve the the point that humans will be capable of transcending their limitations through the use of technology (e.g., bionic limbs, various augmentations, and merging our consciousness with computers). What do you do when you have poor vision? You go to the eye doctor and you either receive contacts, glasses, or corrective eye surgery, but what if you could simply have your eyes augmented to see beyond what you could normally see? I’m not going to lie, glasses are neat, but I would love to have cool robotic eyes.

The singularity (and transhumanism by extension), according to those that believe it to be a potential problem, will be caused by constant technological progress to the point that an artificial intelligence is created; this artificial intelligence is believed to outclass human intelligence if this problem is ignored. In the case of transhumanism, people will be capable of overcoming human limitations through the use of technology. This is a concern for philosophers and psychologists because it makes us question what makes a human, well, human, and if we sacrifice what makes us human (our minds and bodies), are we still human?

It sounds conspiratorial, but the singularity is something that even the late Stephen Hawkings believed posed a threat to the human race.

It is a topic that has been discussed in scientific circles and psychologists have even spoken about it, which is how I came to know about the concept. Although I knew about the topic long before becoming a student at SAU, I remember Dr. Kardas briefly mentioning it in Cognitive Science a little over two years ago. I wish I would have asked him about it in class because it’s quite obvious he’s interested in the topic and he might have had something interesting to say about it.

However, singularity has been met with some criticisms. Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker stated that:

“There is not the slightest reason to believe in a coming singularity. The fact that you can visualize a future in your imagination is not evidence that it is likely or even possible. Look at domed cities, jet-pack commuting, underwater cities, mile-high buildings, and nuclear-powered automobiles–all staples of futuristic fantasies when I was a child that have never arrived. Sheer processing power is not a pixie dust that magically solves all your problems.”

Pinker has a point. When I was younger, I believed that I would be capable of driving a hover car in the future and use teleporters to travel long distances. Well, that most certainly never happened. However, I, like many, have witnessed a tremendous amount of advancement in technology over the past two decades, so I think it’s important to at least consider the possibility of something like this occurring in the distant future. Just because it’s something that isn’t possible in our lifetime doesn’t mean that it’s something that will never be achieved in the distant future.

The Future

I don’t want to say that we should worry about the singularity or that humans should venture down the path towards transhumanism; what I am trying to say, however, is that technology has an undeniable impact on humans. These are topics that are often explored in movies, video games, and books (e.g., the Terminator series, the video game Soma, Blade Runner, the anime Ghost in the Shell, and other cyberpunk-themed stories). I’ve even considered writing cyberpunk stories, though I’d probably have to consult someone with a better understanding of technology. Considering how much I tend to procrastinate, a cyberpunk story might even be considered as nonfiction by the time I decide to sit down to write a story like that.

Although we’ve yet to see jet packs, and hoverboards (you lied to us, Back to the Future), it’s an undeniable fact that technology has progressed incredibly over the past few decades. Ten years ago people were carrying around Razor flip-phones and now people carry around small computers.

I think the question that should be asked is: Where are we going to take technology and where do we stop? Say, for instance, an artificial intelligence is created, is that where we stop? Well, probably not. Humans are always seeking to improve the things they create, and while our curiosity has led to important discoveries, it is also one of our biggest faults.

Will we one day merge our conscience with computers and transcend our fleshly bodies, or will robots overcome Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and eliminate the human race? All I know is that Microsoft Word is a godsend and I don’t know if I would have become a writer if it had not been for technology. I am grateful to the men and women that are constantly improving our way of life, but I just hope they’re careful. I would rather become a robot’s friend than become its enemy.

Perseverance & Determination: What Batman, Kamina, & Megaman X Taught Me About the Human Condition

 

“You are all free now!” From the movie Riki-Oh: the Story of Ricky

Why do humans fight seemingly unwinnable battles? What makes us think that slamming our infantile fists repeatedly against a brick wall will cause the wall to budge? It’s because we believe that eventually, through sheer determination and perseverance, we will defy all obstacles that lie before us. That wall can only stand in our way for so long before it breaks.

 

Mega Man

Win, even if it’s impossible to do so.

I remember playing Mega Man X a little over a decade ago. I had always heard of how great the Mega Man games were, so I wanted to try them out for myself. I owned a SNES, but I didn’t own Mega Man X, so I went to a friend’s house and asked if he would let me play the Mega Man X Collection to which he agreed. We went to his room and I sat down on his bed while he turned on his PS2. He turned on his television, handed me the controller, and sat down beside me as we waited for the intro scene to pass. I was then dropped into the Highway Stage – the introductory stage – and he showed me the controls. Before long, I was jumpin’ and shootin’. I progressed through the level and I thought of myself as a pro at Jump ‘n Shoot Man. That was until I fought Vile.

This doesn’t hurt too bad.

You cannot win this fight because this is what is known as a “scripted fight.” You’re supposed to let Vile beat you up so that Zero can come and rescue you. Having not played Mega Man X before, I was unaware of this. I grew frustrated as he continued to damage me. I was finally defeated and Zero came and did his thing. It was that moment that I stood up, walked over to the PS2, turned it off and back on, and sat back down on my friend’s bed. He asked me why I did that, and I simply told him that I didn’t like to lose. He said that it wasn’t possible to win this fight, but I shook my head and progressed through the first stage again. Vile showed up and I was determined to beat him this time.

I lost, again. I sat there blinking my eyes several times in disbelief. “How could I lose?” I asked myself. What had I done wrong? Did I miss some sort of power-up? I turned the PS2 off and on once more and went through the stage for a third time. During my stubborn attempts, my friend just sat there beside me giggling.

Although this is just a video game and I’m sure most people aren’t as stubborn as me, I think this experience taught me something very important about humans: We don’t like to lose and we will always strive to persevere. But what happens when we fall?

Batman
“Why do we fall, sir?”

Twirl, twirl, twirl. From Batman of Shanghai

Batman is my favorite superhero and he was the first superhero I can remember falling in love with. Sure, there was the Christopher Reeves Superman movies from the 70s and 80s and the X-Men and Spider-Man animated series in the 90s, but I’ve always found Batman to be more than just a character and that’s what I like the most about him. Much like Superman, Batman represents various important aspects of humanity.

Batman/Bruce is primarily present in Gotham where he takes down foes like Scarecrow (my personal favorite), Bane, Mr. Freeze, and, his most notable foe, the Joker. However, through his cooperation with the superhero teams such as the Justice League, he has visited countless places throughout the world and universe. While in Gotham, he mostly deals with human enemies, but the Justice League tackles non-human threats quite regularly. The Justice League is comprised of characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Green Lantern. All of these characters possess inhuman powers (e.g., super strength, super speed, the power to harness one’s own willpower, and all the numerous powers Martian Manhunter possesses). Where does Batman fit? Although he has no superpowers. he is at “peak human condition,” which is just another way of saying that he is the best our species has to offer. Well, even though Batman is one of the most intelligent characters in the DC universe, there’s another crucial reason as to why he’s on a team of individuals with superpowers: his ability to persevere and continue to rise no matter how many times he’s fallen.

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy is not my favorite series of Batman films – my personal favorite is Tim Burton’s Batman (1989). However, in my opinion, Michael Caine is the definitive Alfred. Early in Batman: Begins, Bruce is seen searching for his friend Rachel. When he finds her, she shows him an arrowhead she found in “his” garden, and he responds by snatching it out of her hands. He flees and hides from her but falls into a well that had been boarded up.

At the bottom of the well, Bruce discovers a cave, and as he stares into the cave opening, bats fly out and startle him. While cowering in fear, he suddenly looks up to find his father descending down into the well to rescue him, assuring Bruce that everything is alright. His father takes him back to the manor and asks him, “Why do we fall, Bruce? So that we can pick ourselves up.” This line is later repeated by Caine’s character near the end of the movie. I have nothing against Linus Roache, but Caine’s delivery is far more powerful and memorable.

This line is not only significant to Bruce/Batman but to humans as a whole. In a world filled with godly superheroes capable of doing incomprehensible feats, Batman represents mankind’s determination. Sure, he’s incredibly rich and should probably get better hobbies, but he had train to reach “peak human condition” while other superheroes were either born with superpowers or gained them in an accident. If Superman gets knocked across the world by Doomsday, he usually gets back up with little to no problem. Batman, however, is fragile. He can’t take a beating like Superman. He can be broken. We humans don’t have the power to bend steel beams and we certainly can’t run faster than a bullet, but we keep going in spite of that. When we fall, we dust ourselves off, stand up, and keep going. Why? Some of us do give up, but we can’t allow ourselves to give in. We must keep going no matter how much bullshit life throws at us and no matter how many times we fall.

“You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” – Rocky Balboa (2006)

But what happens when Superman isn’t around to take down godlike foes? Well…

 

Kamina
“Go beyond impossible and kick reason to the curb!”

“Just who the hell do you think I am?!”

Like Batman, anime has always been an important part of my life. I don’t recall what the first anime I watched was (it was probably Pokemon or Dragon Ball Z), but I do have my personal favorites – Trigun and Cowboy Bebop. There’s a lot that I can say about those two anime series, but there is one series in particular that has always been special to me: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. It’s somewhat difficult to explain what occurs in this anime, so for sake of brevity and because it’s been several years since I’ve watched the anime, I’ll just point out the important bits.

The anime begins with Simon (the main protagonist) and Kamina in an underground community of humans. Simon discovers a drill that activates a robot known as a “Gunmen”. Once the Simon and Kamina ascend to the surface, Yoko (another main character) informs them that surface-dwelling humans are constantly attacked by “beastmen” who pilot Gunmen. A lot of things happen that eventually lead to Simon and co. fighting Lordgenome. They finally defeat him, and humanity prospers as a result.

More stuff happens, and a new enemy is revealed, an alien race known as the Anti-Spirals. Drills are important in this anime; gotta pierce the heavens, ya know. I won’t say what happens afterwards, but it involves a fight between very, very huge robots, and, yes, I cried like a big baby when a certain thing happens at the end. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say that Nia is, hands down, the greatest female character in the anime.

What’s my point? Well, the entire anime is focused on humans constantly reaching higher and higher and achieving what they had originally thought to be impossible. I think this anime says something very important about the human condition: Never give up. It doesn’t matter if you’re fighting some random jerk or a galaxy-sized robot – nothing is impossible. Humans are capable of so much. We can do anything we’re determined to do, and we can persevere through anything that is thrown at us.

I’ll end this post by sharing my favorite Kamina quote:

“Don’t forget. Believe in yourself. Not in the you who believes in me. Not the me who believes in you. Believe in the you who believes in yourself.” – Kamina (“Later, Buddy” Ep. 8)

“Libera Me From Hell”
Tarantula of Spontania (Rap)
Kasahara Yuri (Operetta)

 

Sea of Thieves: A Puddle’s Worth of Content

 

What topics should I explore this week? Should I examine the lore of Bloodborne? Nah. I talk too much about that game.
Should I analyze illiterate Steam reviews? Nah. The “PC Master Race” might get upset.

No. I’m going to write about a game that I have yet to play. A game that I find to be inexplicably enjoyable to watch, though not enjoyable enough to warrant purchasing.

A game that has an ocean’s worth of potential, but right now lacks content to justify the $60 price tag.

That game is Sea of Thieves.

Sea of Thieves is a pirate-‘em-up video game developed by Rare – the developer behind well-known games, such as the Banjo-Kazooie games, the original Donkey Kong Country games, Battletoads, Viva Piñata, and lots of Kinnect games.

You (and friends, if you have them) assume the role of a pirate that sails the ocean looking for booty to plunder and other pirates to blow up. You search for treasure, steal other pirates’ treasure, and use the money (or gold, I suppose) gained from said treasure to purchase cosmetic items, such as clothing and skins for weapons.

You gain levels by completing quests for three trading companies: the Gold Hoarders, the Merchants Alliance, and the Order of Souls. Quests vary for each company. The Gold Hoarders, as their name implies, requires the player to track down and dig up buried treasure located on different islands. Quests for the The Order of Souls involves hunting down skeletons and slaying a skeleton captain, which rewards the player with a skull that they must then bring back to the guild. The Merchants Alliance gives quests that task the player with successfully transporting captured animals (i.e., snakes and pigs).

There’s quite a lot of diversity in quests, but, as a viewer who has spent an ungodly amount of hours watching Twitch streamers play this game, it seems like questing becomes tiresome and monotonous after a while.

Aside from quests, the biggest part of the game revolves around the PvP elements in which players of different ships engage in combat. Cannonballs impact ships and players must rush to board up holes caused by the cannonballs. This seems very hectic and exciting, but it eventually devolves into the same, repetitious encounters. Players line up their ships, fire cannonballs at the enemy’s ship. Imaginative players might slide into a cannon and fire themselves onto the enemy’s ship and wreak havoc upon their enemies. These encounters should have more to them. I think it would be great if players could swing around on ropes. That could be…dope, I hope.

Here are a few more suggestions I’ve thought of:

Marine Life

“Release the Kraken!”

From what I have seen, there are three types of aquatic life: schools of fish, sharks, and the Kraken (also known as “Karen” in KingGothalion’s channel). I haven’t been to the ocean in a few years, but I’m quite certain that there are more than three types of aquatic creatures. I don’t understand how a game that consists of mostly water can be severely lacking in aquatic life.

These are a few creatures I’ve thought of:

Sea serpents/leviathans: Subnautica taught me that the ocean isn’t as peaceful as The Little Mermaid wants you to believe. I would love to see more hostile creatures in Sea of Thieves’ water. Sharks are a given, but it would be amazing (and terrifying) if you fell into the water and see a huge tail rise above the surface a short distance away from you.

Dolphins, sea turtles, whales and other sea creatures you’d expect in game like this:  I’m a simple guy. I just wanna see cute dolphins jumping out of the water alongside ships. I also would love to see turtles swimming around all over the place. Fishing isn’t in this game, but that could be a great addition. It could help players just relax and take in the impressive visuals.

The water in this game is the most beautiful water I’ve ever seen in a video game. I’m such a sucker for well-done vidya game water.

Enemy Variety

As of right now, different types of skeletons are the only enemies (not including the Kraken and other players) within Sea of Thieves. That’s it. Beating up skeleton dudes gets kinda old after awhile. I don’t know what Rare has planned, but here are some suggestions I thought of:

Ghosts/Banshees: There are already skeletons that can only be damaged once a player flashes a lamp at them, so why not just make ghosts that function in a similar way? They don’t have to be spooky-scary, but it would be nice to see something else besides Mr. Bones and his skeleton buddies.

Humanoid fish people: Sharks are awesome, but a ship captained by a shark-man is way more interesting. I think AI-controlled pirate ships could break some of the monotony that exists within player-to-player combat. They could use different tactics that players aren’t able to, such as shooting themselves like torpedoes with underwater cannons. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure Rare could think of something. I just think that there needs to be something between searching for treasure and fighting against other players.

Customization

Right now, customization consists of clothing and other cosmetic items, such as peg legs and hook-hands. You can’t really customize your character’s look, which I think sucks. I’m the type of person who spends hours adjusting sliders to make my characters look perfect (only to have them be covered up by armor). I think Rare missed an opportunity to allow for player freedom. Sure, the models are certainly diverse and interesting, but it would be far better if Rare allowed players to make their own personalized pirate.

I’ve thought of a lot of other things, like factions, but I won’t go into detail about those. I think this game has a ton of potential, but it feels more like an Early Access game; a $60 Early Access game from an incredibly talented developer. As it stands, this game seems more like a $20-30 Early Access title. You can do better, Rare.

I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on this one because it has a ton of potential and I think Rare is capable of making it a wonderful gem.

Loving Abnormality

 

1967

“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And, but for the interference with his arrangement, there would be no cause for such marriage. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.” – Judge Leon M. Bazile

Many have probably seen the movie Loving, but the story the film is based on is incredibly important to me. Loving is based on the Supreme Court case (Loving v. Virginia) involving the relationship between Richard and Mildred Loving.

They had violated the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 and were both sentenced to a year in prison. However, their sentence would be suspended if they left Virginia and did not return to the state for at least 25 years. The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 was put in place to prevent and criminalize interracial relationships, specifically between white and non-white individuals.

“To Preserve Racial Integrity” is something that white supremacist groups continue to chant. 

On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously decided to reverse the convictions and ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws violated the 14^th Amendment.

“There is patently no legitimate overriding purpose independent of invidious racial discrimination which justifies this classification. The fact that Virginia prohibits only interracial marriages involving white persons demonstrates that the racial classifications must stand on their own justification, as measures designed to maintain White Supremacy.

Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.” – Chief Justice Earl Warren

Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 395 (1967)

For me, Loving isn’t just a critically-acclaimed movie. It’s a movie that celebrates a groundbreaking court case. My marriage would have been prohibited sixty years ago, but thanks to Loving v. United States I do not have to worry about being imprisoned because of the love I have for my wife.

It’s not the first time that Christianity has been used to discriminate against those that don’t fall into what society deems to be “normal” (i.e., white heterosexual Christians). Nowadays, Christianity is commonly used against individuals within the LGBT community.

“I been watchin’ The Voice but I had to turn it ‘cuz they have all that trans stuff now. It just ain’t right. It ain’t normal.”

This was stated by my stepfather recently, in all his infinite wisdom, and it inspired me to write about the inanity of demonizing what we consider “abnormal.”

 

 

Worst example of cultural appropriation ever: LGBTs stole the rainbow from God. It's his. He invented it. Gen. 9:11-17. Give it back.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) April 2, 2017

Although they’ll never admit it, I’m quite certain the Bryan Fischers and Pat Robertsons of the world would be giddy as hell if homosexuality were banned in the United States.

Normalcy

How do we define what is “normal” or “natural”? Well…

Through science we observe what occurs in nature and through observation of the natural world we determine what is “natural.” It’s more complicated than that, but that’s roughly how it works.

Now, since the term “natural” is determined by nature, we must logically assume that homosexuality is natural. Wait, what?! Homosexual behavior has been discovered in over 450 animal species. Penguins, giraffes, lions, and even…humans.

“If humans came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys? Ha! Checkmate, atheist heathen!”

By definition homosexuality is natural. But even then, why does it matter if it’s natural?

Abnormality

Abnormality means something entirely different to a psychologist than it does to a layperson. In psychology, abnormal is associated with determining maladaptive or unusual behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. Abnormal behavior can be indicative of a possible mental disorder.

(I’m by no means saying that homosexuality or interracial relationships are anything like mental disorders. I just wanted to compare two different perspectives on the term “abnormal.”)

A layperson, however, typically uses the standard Merriam-Webster definition of abnormal, which is “deviating from the normal or average.” In other words, to most people, abnormality is comprised of things that deviate from the norm. By that definition, homosexuality and interracial relationships would constitute as “abnormal.”

Many groups have conducted research on the prevalence of homosexuality and results have varied between 4.1%, 3.8%, 1.6% and even 10% as stated by Guardian writer David Spiegelhalter. Nevertheless, homosexuality is not as prevalent as heterosexuality and thus, to an average person, homosexuality is “abnormal.”

According to Pew Research, 17% of newlyweds in 2015 were married to a person of a different race or ethnicity.

Huh. I wonder what could have happened in 1967 to cause a rise in interracial marriage… 

Society is dominated by old, out-of-touch white men. They’re scared of anything that does not represent themselves. This is why you see so many insecure white men freak out when minority groups receive representation in the media.

“I don’t like ‘em putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin’ frogs gay.” – Alex Jones

Homosexuality and interracial relationships are abnormal. Alright. So, what? I say we embrace abnormality and turn it against those that use it as a weapon. Abnormality does not have the stigma in psychology that it does in common thought. I think that if people begin to embrace the term, it would force some (not all) bigoted individuals to move to different strategies. Much like how black communities and LGBT communities adopted terms that were used against them, we should scoff when someone tells us we’re not normal. In our society, “normal” is a white Christian heterosexual couple. So, no, I’m not normal and I love it.

 

“Too weird for the normal

Too normal for the weird”

“Too Weird, Too Normal” by 42 Eternal

Copyright © 2013 80/20 Records. All rights reserved. 

Borderlands, Diablo, and Progression in RPGs

 

Over the weekend, I noticed that I have Borderlands 2 in my Steam library and remembered that I bought it a few months ago, so I decided to play it. I had already beaten the game on the PS4, but I always seem to come back to Borderlands 2. It has crude and sometimes outright offensive humor. I’d like to think that I prefer more sophisticated humor; however, I can look past all the petulant humor and lose myself in the game. I often glance at the clock and realize that even though I started playing at around 10 a.m., the clock notifies me that it’s 10 p.m. Why? How can I lose myself so easily in such a silly video game?

I’m no stranger to Diablo-style games. It’s one of my favorite genres. My first experience with Diablo was when I went to a friend’s house as a child and he was playing Diablo 2 on his PC. I had dial-up at the time and the only thing I could play was AdventureQuest (at about 1-2 FPS). He offered to let me play and I wish I had taken him up on his offer, because it wasn’t until two years ago that I finally experienced the genre for myself, and the game that truly introduced me was Torchlight II.

Look at that legendary gear!

People tend to  remember their first time with something, whether it’s their first kiss, their first Pokemon card, or the first anime they watched as a child, and those memories stick with people. Torchlight II remains my favorite Diablo-style game. It’s a game that I had to stop playing for fear that I would burn myself out on it and it would lose its luster. I still intend to go back to it, though. I just need to stop buying so many games.

I tried other Diablo-style games, like Victor Vran and Grim Dawn, but they never managed to replicate the beauty of Torchlight II, which is a shame because they’re probably great games.

And then I played Borderlands 2. I played through the first game several years ago and I thought I’d give the second game a shot. I suppose Borderlands was technically my first Diablo-style game, but I never played it again after a friend and I beat it, so I still consider Torchlight II to be my first real introduction to the genre.

 

I played the PS4 version of Diablo 3 shortly after I beat Borderlands 2. The game was condemned when it released a few years ago, but it appears that Blizzard has remedied the complaints leveled against it. I fell in love with Diablo 3 because it scratched the itch that Torchlight II left.

I still need to beat Diablo 3, though. I don’t remember why I stopped playing, but I do know that the Torment difficulty levels can be extremely brutal.

I finally sunk myself into the world of Path of Exile late last year around December. I haven’t played as much as I want to because college (sometimes) takes precedence over video games.

I seem to really like archer/ranged lady characters.

And that brings me back to Borderlands 2.

I’ve been playing through the PC version of Borderlands 2 and I have come to realize something.  Some people, I won’t say who, have stated that Diablo-style games are “boring” and “tedious,” which can be true depending on your taste in video games. However, I believe that the core element of Diablo-style games, collecting a tremendous amount of loot, works well for a roleplaying game. The roleplaying genre tends to be my go-to genre, but I’ve found that a lot of modern roleplaying games, both Western and Japanese, fail to include certain things that I would like to see implemented in roleplaying games.

In my eyes, a roleplaying game is defined by player choice and progression, and I just don’t see those concepts too often in modern roleplaying games. In my opinion, the perfect RPG is one that allows me to craft the backstory of my character and the game will analyze and incorporate what I’ve written about my character’s backstory into the game. Say, for instance, I want my character to be a street-urchin who was raised by his older sister, how would that impact how other characters interact and engage with him and how would he interact with his surrounding environment? A roleplaying game with that level of player choice will probably never be made, so I’m better off just writing my own stories.

Borderlands 2 and most Diablo-style games don’t grant the player many options that allow them to craft their character (aside from builds) or impact the story based on choices they make, so why do I believe that the core element of these games makes for a great RPG element? Well, it’s a great psychological tool because it makes the player feel as if they’re progressing and progressing is important in a roleplaying game. Leveling isn’t the only thing you need for a roleplaying game, because most games have leveling systems nowadays. No, players need something else to show the them that they’re getting better, and Diablo-style games are effective at doing that.

You’re always improving in a Diablo-style game. You’re always getting better gear, better weapons, and better stats. It’s a great way of showing the player that they’re not wasting their time grinding for better loot, especially when they’re able to melt enemies with the new gear they’ve acquired. If you’ve ever played one of these games, you’ve had one of those moments where you’ve fallen for the weapon you’ve been using for the past ten minutes, but then you find a weapon with much better stats and you toss your other weapon for your new shiny toy.

I’m always excited for new video games, but the game I’m excited about the most right now is Warhammer: Vermintide 2, and I’ve noticed that the game has a loot system reminiscent of Diablo games. After each mission, a bar fills up and you’re given a chest based on your results; the chest, once opened, grants you white, green, blue, purple, and orange items. Diablo loot 101. There are also other non-Diablo games that have the weapon and item color rarity of Diablo games, such as Nioh and Divinity: Original Sin.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 releases on March 8^th. I’m sure I’ll drop Borderlands 2 momentarily so that I can play that game with a close friend – the guy that I played the original Borderlands with.

Damn, I just realized that I also need to play Titan Quest. I can never escape this genre.

The Problems within the Gaming Industry

Gaming, as some may have noticed from my previous post, is important to me. I read quite frequently, but my hands tend to be more magnetized to controllers than they are to books. I was born in 1992 and I’ve been playing games since I was at least 4 years-old, so I’ve seen the industry evolve drastically throughout the years and I don’t like the route it has taken in recent years.

Many have predicted that the industry will experience a crash quite soon and, if certain companies continue as they have, I agree with them. There has already been a crash; it occurred in 1983 and was mainly because of oversaturation. The industry was rather young in 1983, so it hadn’t yet developed a multitude of problems. Not yet.

There are a few very successful developers and these companies are known as AAA developers. A few examples include: EA, Activision/Blizzard, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Rockstar and Capcom is still technically a AAA developer despite its financial woes. AAA developers are, to put it simply, supposedly the best of the best; they’re the companies that rake in the most money from the games they produce. Money, when it comes to entertainment, correlates with success. There are many examples, but the best non-gaming example that I can equate this to are the Transformers movies. Objectively speaking, the Transformers movies odious abominations. They’ve been almost unanimously panned by critics and yet they’re financial successes. Hollywood pumps out sewage sludge on an annual basis and so does the gaming industry, but the garbage that exists within the gaming industry is far more nefarious.

Although microtransactions began in mobile games, they’ve infected the “hardcore” gaming industry like an insidious virus. When I was younger, I had to complete challenges to unlock all the characters in a fighting game, but now you must pay $19.99 for the Season Pass on top of paying $59.99 for the game itself to acquire all the characters. I loved Street Fighter X Tekken. If Injustice 2 wasn’t so good, Street Fighter X Tekken would still be my favorite fighting game (mechanically speaking). But Street Fighter X Tekken failed because of Capcom’s avarice. Although I played the game almost religiously years ago, I, out of principle, boycotted the overly priced DLC. It seems that others chose to do the same because the game was an abject failure.

It appears that Capcom has not learned their lesson.

Gaming has always been an expensive hobby, but it’s never been this bad. That isn’t to say that AAA developers are all to blame. While EA overprices the “expansion packs” for The Sims 4, Paradox Interactive pumps out overpriced DLC for the games they publish.

Everyone is focused on Star Wars lootboxes, but I’ve yet to see people complain about the absurd prices for The Sims 4’s “Extra Content”.

Paradox, I want to play your games, but I don’t have $251.58 to spend on a single game.

Developers discovered that they could abuse microtransactions and DLC. Usually, companies are controlled by consumers. The adage “vote with your wallet” comes to mind when I think of an avaricious company, but that doesn’t work with the video game industry. I chose to boycott Ubisoft and Activision long ago because I felt that annual releases were harmful to the industry, but that doesn’t matter when gullible people eat up whatever garbage AAA developers serve to them. Your average consumer doesn’t care that the Call of Duty formula has been recycled for years and Activision has done little in terms of innovation; they’re going to buy the next entry because that’s just what they do. Consumers are gullible and AAA developers take advantage of ignorance and gullibility. Unless an individual is heavily invested in news that pertains to the gaming industry, they won’t know that several state governments have been discussing whether loot boxes are akin to gambling. This is the most popular topic in gaming right now and it’s because developers want more and more money from players. If we want to stop these practices, we must avoid games that implement them. Money is sustenance for all companies, so starve them until they’re forced to change.

I can get 2 loot boxes for just $1.99? That’s not too bad, right? 
Damn, I didn’t get what I wanted. Oh well, I’ll just spend another $1.99. 
I don’t have a problem. You have a problem.

I’m guilty. I’ll admit it. I’ve purchased Overwatch lootboxes I wanted neat skins and I didn’t think that $9.99 wasn’t an exceptionally high price-point. I didn’t really get anything good except for an awesome Reaper skin. I also spent $60 on Path of Exile – primarily to expand my storage. However, unlike Overwatch, which you must buy ($39.99-$59.99), Path of Exile is free-to-play, and, while I absolutely adore Overwatch, Path of Exile just oozes far more quality and content than Blizzard’s precious FPS. By the way, Blizzard, do you take shame in knowing that a free-to-play game has made Diablo 3 virtually obsolete? StarCraft II went free-to-play a few months ago.  Maybe you should make Diablo 3 free-to-play, too, so that it can compete with Path of Exile. Oh, who am I kidding? Path of Exile will obliterate Diablo 3 no matter what Blizzard does to it.

I would love to see studies conducted by psychologists and scientists where they evaluate the effects of purchasing loot boxes in video games and compare/contrast the data they gather with studies that examine the effects of “real-life” gambling. I was thinking of conducting a study on if competitive video games (fighting games, MOBAs, and RTS games) can improve an individual’s reaction time and situational adaptability, but I think it’s more important to evaluate the similarities between real-life gambling and purchasing loot boxes. I think that’s a more imperative issue right now in the gaming sphere.

Unless developers change their ways, greed, Season Passes, microtransactions, overpriced DLC and loot boxes will cause the next gaming crash. I’ll just roast marshmallows over the scorched remains of AAA developers while joyously playing my free-to-play and Indie games.

“It’s the calm before the storm
You can feel it getting closer
The signs are tattered and torn
Darkness fills the sky
Can you feel the rain?
The water’s getting deeper
Lightning strikes the ground
There’s no one left to save you now”

“Calm Before the Storm” by Hollow Point Heroes

The Brilliance of Bloodborne

What is a masterpiece?

How does one define the term masterpiece and what makes something a masterpiece? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a masterpiece is a “work done with extraordinary skill; a supreme intellectual or artistic achievement.” Well, that’s great. It’s something really, really good. Alright, so what, then? Why does that matter? A masterpiece is something that has the capability of changing people; it has the power to move and inspire others. It is something that represents the best of what humans can create, and that brings us to the genius of FromSoftware and its director, Hidetaka Miyazaki.

FromSoftware

FromSoftware is a Japanese video game developer established in 1986. Although From Software has existed for quite some time, their older games (aside from maybe the Armored Core series) never garnered an enormous amounts of popularity and some (myself included) have never played their oldest series, King’s Field. They were a relatively obscure developer, but that all changed in 2009 when they released the widely acclaimed Demon’s Souls, a brutal, third-person action game with a dark, medieval fantasy setting.

With the acclaim and reception they received from Demon’s Souls, the developer went on to create Dark Souls and its two sequels (Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III). For many, myself included, Dark Souls was the game that introduced them to the genius FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki. I fell in love with Dark Souls and it cemented FromSoftware as one of my most beloved video game developers. However, while I would love to discuss the sheer magnificence of Dark Souls, my focus is elsewhere.

Despite my love for Dark Souls, it wasn’t until the release of Bloodborne that I began to fully appreciate FromSoftware and Miyazaki’s brilliance.  I hated Bloodborne when I first played it. I couldn’t get past the first boss, which ultimately sullied my perspective of the game. It wasn’t until Fall of 2016 that I played the game to completion, and I’m glad I did because Bloodborne is, in my opinion, the greatest video game ever developed, and I can easily call it a genuine masterpiece. It is a near-perfect work of art that exudes artistic excellence and brilliance.

Inspirations

Bloodborne is, for sake of brevity and to avoid spoilers, a brutally aggressive action game set the fictional Victorian city of Yharnam. The game meticulously blends elements of gothic horror with elements of cosmic horror to create a wholly unique experience. You get Bloodborne by fusing Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” with various stories by H.P. Lovecraft (e.g., “The Call of Cthulhu” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”). There are also several Caryll Runes that were unmistakably inspired by Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos:

     (H.P.L.)                                                         (The Elder Sign)

Caryll Runes are Bloodborne’s version of the sigils and symbols found in the Cthulhu Mythos. I won’t explore and analyze every Lovecraftian aspect of Bloodborne in this post, but if you’re familiar with Lovecraft’s work, you’ll be able to appreciate all the wonderful eldritch similarities in the game.

Is that you, Hastur?

Gameplay

When I first started playing Bloodborne, I struggled. I struggled a lot. I searched for posts online to see what I was doing wrong, and after playing more and more, for some reason, everything just clicked. You see, the gameplay of Dark Souls, as wonderful as it may be, breeds passivity. You fight monsters and bosses behind the protection of a shield (unless you know the game well enough to take down bosses without one), but shields don’t really exist in Bloodborne, and, in fact, the game openly mocks shields. In the item description of the Wooden Shield, it states:

“A crude wooden shield used by the masses who have arisen to join the hunt. Hunters do not normally employ shields, ineffectual against the strength of the beasts as they tend to be.  Shields are nice, but not if they engender passivity.”

This is FromSoftware’s way of showing the player that the game is meant to be played aggressively. You’re not allowed to sit behind a shield. You’re given a weapon and a firearm. Learn how to dodge, attack, and parry or succumb to death.

Storytelling

In an interview with IGN, Miyazaki explained why he creates his stories the way he does. He stated that as a child he would read books that were “well above [his] range”, which meant that he sometimes could not comprehend all the words and his imagination would take over. His imagination would “help fill the other half, and that imagination element would just blow up.” He used this as inspiration when he crafted the stories of his video games. The stories in the SoulsBorne (a fan-created portmanteau for Bloodborne and the Souls games) series has never been told by dumping tremendous amounts of dialogue or exposition on the player.

Sure, there’s minor exposition at the beginning of each game to set the mood and atmosphere, but the player must unravel the full story on their own. I find this style of storytelling to be fantastic as it allows the player to connect dots without being explicitly shown how things connect. The player is often left saying “Well, what does it all mean?” because very little is told to them, and that’s one of the many things that makes Bloodborne and by extension Dark Souls such a pleasant experience. These games are, on the surface, simple games. Go here, do that, kill that, and the game ends. The mystery begins to unravel once you start reading the descriptions of items and weapons, but some aspects are purposefully hidden. Miyazaki doesn’t want to tell you everything; he wants you to make interpretations on your own and decide what makes sense to you. I also encourage people to read the extremely well-written 107-page analysis of Bloodborne’s story and lore by Reddit user dmcredgrave.

Music

There are no words that can describe the haunting and breathtakingly beautiful orchestral music of Bloodborne, so I’ll end this post by linking to my favorite score in the game.

 

“Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.”

Writing Blogs

While I prefer to write short stories, mediocre poetry and video game reviews, the thought of writing blogs has occasionally crossed my mind. I don’t often read blogs, but I have read quite a few over the years. I used to frequent the blogs on the website Patheos.com years ago, or more specifically, I used to frequent the atheist and nonreligious sections. I read a lot of blogs written by Hemant Mehta, known in the skeptic community as the “Friendly Atheist”. He has written a substantial amount of content for the website and, while I mostly watched debates and other religious videos on YouTube when I discovered that I’m an awful, godless heathen, I did read several of his blogs. I don’t consume a lot of religious content nowadays because the arguments are all the same and no one has really brought anything new to the conversation.

Most of the content I read online nowadays consists of video game reviews, science articles, and I’ll read a news article when I want to be reminded of how awful things are. I do watch (or listen to) an exorbitant amount video essays about video games and movies, and I have considered converting an essay I wrote about the video game Bloodborne into a video essay. I might put that essay online one day after considerable revision because I have a lot to say about that masterpiece and I don’t think a simple four-page essay does it enough justice. The lore, storytelling and world building in that game is topnotch.

Writing a blog seems like an easy task for an individual like me considering I have a lot of opinions about many things, and I think I have something interesting to say. I tend to drone on and on about things I’m interested in, whether it be video games, psychology, religion, or the inevitable political discourse I have with strangers over the Internet where I try to provide evidence that demonstrates our current president’s utter buffoonery. Due to my admittedly long-winded rambles, my wife and other members of my family have learned to ignore me past a certain point. I don’t think my nonsensical rambles would be enjoyable for readers to trudge through, so I’ll try to have a point when I write something.

Effective writing requires a moderate amount of originality and for the author to be unique and engaging. Those qualities are necessary for all forms of writing, but it’s hard to be an engaging writer. What makes a writer engaging? I’ve read numerous articles that list tips on how to write effectively and how to be engaging, but I think the best way to become an engaging writer is to write. Write a lot. Write whatever comes to mind, even if it’s incoherent gibberish. You also need to find your niche. The blogs I’ve read don’t follow a specific formula; the authors simply discovered something they had an interest in and decided to contribute their thoughts about the subject. They found their niche.

I encourage all aspiring writers to just write, even if no one reads the stuff you write. We all want to write that top-selling novel or an article that garners millions of views, but all that matters is that we enjoy the content we write. If we’re having fun, our fun might just be infectious enough to draw people in.

“…and we wanna have a good time. That’s what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna have a good time.” Wild Angels (1966)