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$LAYYYTER
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@ikrex-blog
Emojis - Boo
Created Anna Salazar
Face it, Emojis are an integral part of text communication nowadays. You could use good ol’ fashioned text smileys, but why do that when there’s an emoji for every goddamn emotion you can think of and more.
On a totally related note, LOOK HOW CUTE THESE EMOJIS ARE. JESUS.
Sobriquet
-noun
Old definition: a nickname
-verb
New definition: to absorb one’s drunkenness with food
Example:
There was a horde of them. All unbalanced, wobbling children dizzy from their first merry-go-round in a city of hopeless dreams. Their necks stretched upward towards the bright, white glow of the menu as their eyes dash from one item to the next looking for the most delicious selection to sobriquet themselves with. Waterfalls of saliva dripping onto their Instagram post in progress covered iPhone screens. A few deviate from the horde to huddle off the side of the counter. They clench their receipts like numbers at an auction house; raised slightly above their chest anxiously waiting to claim whatever is brought to them. They’re animals, I think. No, they’re human.
I’ve been playing a lot of Alphabear lately, which revolves around the player having a wide vocabulary in order to use letters in creative ways to make huge bears. So finding weird words like this, I’m all about it.
Give me more knowledge (and comedy)
Advice I wish I had gotten when I learned League of Legends
League of Legends is fucking hard to get into. I knew about this game years ago and even my best friend in high school played it fairly religiously. I was way too scared to get into it. The wall that kept me from immersing myself was the sheer amount of knowledge that I had to have before I even began playing. There were dozens of champions of which I knew nothing about, I knew very little about how to go about playing roles or how to play in general.
However, if you’ve decided to make the jump into learning, here’s what I wish I knew when I started learning to play.
1) Keep the all chat feature disabled.
This right here is where a large amount of toxicity within the community comes from. When someone kills you in lane and then proceeds to type, “I just shit on you so hard your ancestors felt it.” all you want to do is quit. Do yourself a favor, keep that shit off, you don’t need this in your life.
2) Don’t give a fuck
I learned this around level 20 (max level being 30 for an account). I finally figured, I’m gonna find a champion I truly wanna learn, and I don’t care how many times it takes me to fail before I get good at them. I’m gonna fucking get good at them. That champion for me was Riven. Do what you have to to enjoy the game, find the champions that truly make you enjoy your time.
3) Mute
I didn’t learn about this feature for a long time. Within the tab menu of the game, you can see the list of players on yours and the enemy team. You’re also given the ability to mute players on your own team so you never have to see their toxic behavior in your game at all. Take full advantage of this, you’ve got 5 enemies you have to worry about, no need to add allies to that list as well.
4) Everything is better with friends
Playing with friends allows you to take your focus off the game a little, and allows you to talk and communicate on a more casual level. You’re not constantly worried about what your team thinks, you’re more worried about what your friend thinks. And more often than not, your friend doesn’t give a fuck. You shouldn’t either.
We’re not role playing (in games)
“A choice between good and evil is no choice at all.” While movies and screenwriters have followed this for the better part of the last 100 years, it seems like video games and designers still have some catching up to do.
When players are confronted with moral choices in games the choices tend to be black and white. You could save the village from the fearsome dragon, or let the dragon wreak havoc and move on to the next town. You could either give the little girl a piece of candy or you could rip her heart out. Hell, you can even get your book autographed by Gary Coleman or say fuck it and pee all over him (I’m looking at you Postal 2).
The theory behind all this is that when we immerse ourselves in these virtual worlds, the designers assume we leave our morality at the door in order to explore the consequences and logic in things we would never commit to in real life. This more often than not tends to be the exact opposite.
In reality, even though games like RPG’s (role playing games) are called such, where we play a role that isn’t our own, more often than not we take our morality and life experiences into account. It’s hard not to.
Peter Molyneux, back when he worked for Lionhead Studios proved this point. He stated of the playtesters for Fable, about 95% of the people who played were good all the way through, 3% tried to be bad at the beginning but switched to good, and only about 1% were bad all the way through.
Same thing with Bioshock’s moral choices. You could either save the Little Sisters, gain less Adam (currency to buy powers) in return, but they’re normal children again. Or harvest the Little Sisters, gain more Adam, and the little girl dies in the process. Seems like a difficult morality option, yet the difference of Adam with both paths is negligible, which throws away any gravity behind the decision.
I want to see more games that present the player with dramatic, impactful decisions/situations that will test players moral compasses. More games should make you feel like you truly have an impact on the world around you. After all, the hardest thing to do is the right thing to do...typically.
3 influential video game artists (at least for me)
Art most definitely makes or breaks tons of games in a lot of gamers eyes. You could have rock solid mechanics implemented into your game, but there’s always something in us that craves for some eye candy. Here’s a list of some artists that have influenced how I look at games and how I tackle projects of my own.
Sparth
Sparth is an art director & concept designer who works for Microsoft. Total badass. Fantastic sense of design, and you can clearly see the graphic design influence in his work.
Kekai Kotaki
Kekai Kotaki is a badass of a concept artist. He largely works for ArenaNet, the dudes who created Guild Wars 2. However he’s also had a hand in loads of other projects like Destiny from Bungie, made comic appearances, and is an absolute beast with a brush pen.
Matt Nava
Matt Nava is the dude responsible for the art direction for Journey. The work behind Journey is absolutely stunning, and I let the work speak for itself. The art book holds a special place in my shelf easily. The line art as well as the color palettes are wicked.
A large part of immersion in video games is music.
Games like Journey, MadWorld, Nier, Assassin’s Creed, Infamous: Second Son, Bastion and hundreds of thousands more wouldn’t nearly be as great as they are without the stellar music that carried you throughout the experience.
During a session of League of Legends with a couple of friends, this fact was proven...Very unintentionally.
Strap in, or strap on. Both are equally important, as you can see.
We’ve all seen far too many videos of wild Wii controllers going ham on some expensive equipment.
I know Wii would like to play, but Wii also doesn’t wanna wreck your expensive TV.
5 steps to get better
Sean Gordon Murphy aka the Condor of the Industry if you haven’t heard of him is a badass when it comes to the comics industry. All the projects he’s been a part of have been pretty great, and I as well as many others would consider him to be quite a titan in his industry.
Fairly recently on Twitter he posted a series of tweets listing how to get better. Just how to get better. It’s general advice, take it for what it is, but it’s good advice. It fits into all industries, and all forms of art.
STEP 1 of getting better: feeling like a hack when you discover something new that's beyond you (an artist/technique/movement/etc).
How this relates to me: When I work on a project, I get motivated by looking through countless art books & websites. Looking at good art makes me want to do better myself, and at the same time makes me depressed because it’ll take years before I become a master of my craft.
STEP 2 of getting better: tackling too many new skills/ideas in hopes of improving. Everything is a mess.
How this relates to me: This happens to me when I try to emulate artist I look up to or emulate a new style that I’m not familiar with. My eyes can see and break down how something was done in a digital painting usually, yet executing is another beast. It takes many iterations before I don’t feel like I suck.
STEP 3 of getting better: improving at some new skills while wisely discarding the ones that aren't serving your art.
How this relates to me: As I said before, I can usually analyze something and break down how to do it myself. At the same time I’ve got to think of what new techniques do to improve my own style rather than become a carbon copy.
STEP 4 of getting better: mastering your new abilities until you're at peace.
How this relates to me: For example, I can paint a grass texture 1000 times. The 1000th one will always look better & be the most efficient than the 1st time I did it.
STEP 5 of getting better: becoming complacent until the next new thing reminds you that you're skill a hack.
How this relates to me: There’s always the brief period where you gotta soak in feeling like a badass before finding some new talent that’s a rockstar at what they do. Then you feel bad, and proceed to try and reach their level. Cycle, rinse, repeat.
You aren’t the hero in this RPG: http://dlvr.it/Bk9X7N
It would be awesome to see more games that take on concepts like this. The player isn’t necessarily the protagonist, yet you still play a key central role in success.
Very cute, very intriguing, and I can’t wait to try this gem myself sometime soon!
Metroidvania’s are the worst
Metroidvania’s are horrible and lazy.
(Metroid)
+
(Castlevania)
=
Metroidvania’s are a subgenre of action-adventure video games that borrow elements and mechanics from old school games like Metroid and Castlevania, hence the word metroidvania.
Here’s why I largely dislike metroidvania’s:
1. Backtracking
If you took a game that wasn’t labeled as a metroidvania like Bioshock, but there just happens to be some backtracking in it, reviewers go ham on the game saying something to the tune of, “Fuck backtracking, we shouldn’t have to, that was really lazy.” If there’s just a little backtracking in non-metroidvania’s, people notice, and people get pissed. Yet at the same time, if you’ve got games like Metroid or Castlevania the games are praised and suddenly you don’t just want a little, you want to be smothered with the fucking backtracking.
2. Lacking sense of progression
I’ve personally never felt satisfied by my progress being impeded in a game, gaining the ability, item, or whatever to get through this roadblock, backtracking to actually get through it and proceed on my merry way.
This happens all the time in metroidvanias. I never feel like I’m progressing because there’s so many unopened paths that keep eating away at me wondering if I’m missing something important preventing me from focusing on furthering my progress in a logical manner.
3. You’re forced to become a cartographer
Sure, games like these have minimaps to help you navigate. But these maps are huge. I shouldn’t have to squint just to figure out whether this is a path I can go through, if this line on the map means it’s a door or it’s a dead end. The player is forced to remember every single area that they encountered that they couldn’t go through until they have a certain something that gives them passage.
What are your thoughts on games of this genre? Am I spewing bullshit? Do you agree? Leave me a little something.
You could never play games this fast (probably)
Watch the event live HERE!
SGDQ, or Summer Games Done Quick 2015 is happening once again, and I’m pretty damn stoked. This is a bi-annual charity event centered around speed running video games.
Whether you’re actively into video games or not, it’s legitimately interesting to see how broken some games can be to finish a full playthrough in absurd amounts of time. You’ll most definitely learn something while watching ANY game being played as the speed runners are usually explaining what they’re doing WHILE they play. Very cool.
If you’re at all interested in what games are on the lineup, check the schedule for when and what’s being played HERE.
Throughout the event, viewers are encouraged to donate any amount of money. The proceeds then go to Doctors Without Borders which is an international medical humanitarian organization providing aid in 70 countries. They’re best known for their projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases.
If you so feel inclined to donate at any time, rest easy knowing the money is going to a good cause, and you’re very likely to get a shout out during the live event for your kindhearted donation.
NOT ONLY THAT, you’re also entered into raffles for prizes with your donation money as an extra perk for paying it forward. The prizes change constantly so definitely stay tuned if you want in on that.
Will you be watching SGDQ? If so, leave me a note telling me what games you’re excited about!
According to the internet, “dank memes are timeless”.
I played League of Legends with some friends over the weekend, and this statement couldn’t be more true as one of the many internet/Vine sensations casually slipped its way through to the conversation.
For frame of reference for those unfamiliar:
(Original source: Darius Benson)
In your dreams Paper Mario
I may have just called out Paper Mario specifically, but I won’t stay reserved when it comes to shots fired. Any paper related video game wishes it could be this cool.
Esports
There is no denying competitive gaming is and has steadily been on the rise in popularity. Games like DotA 2 have been broadcasted live on ESPN.
Yes, ESPN. (Click on the “ESPN” for more info.)
(Season 4, Seoul World Cup Stadium above)
I’m excited to see what the season 5 world championship for League of Legends is going to bring. The previous world championship was held in the World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Korea and housed well over 10,000+ passionate fans. Season 5 is hoping to elevate the experience by hosting the next world championship in Berlin’s own Mercedes-Benz Arena.
I can’t wait to see what production value comes through for this big event. The intro video for season 4′s world championship alone is pretty hype.
Nothing gets to you Rico Suave
Rico Suave may be crowned the reigning champion of Killer Instinct as of Evolution 2015, sure. He may indeed HAVE the killer instinct. But before all this, he had some seriously excellent moments in other fighting games. My personal favorite moment being when he played Super Street Fighter IV against Sanford Kelly on Team Spooky’s Battle Circuit. Fucking priceless.
Congratulations once again, Mr. Fresh
We got ourselves a match
EVO or Evolution 2015 just happened, and for those who aren’t familiar it is probably the most hype event in video games. The best of the best come to compete in their respective fighting game of choice whether it be Ultimate Street Fighter 4, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Killer Instinct, etc. It’s a weekend filled with promise of glory, and equal chance of failure.
During the Street Fighter grand finals, two players fought their way to the top, Gamerbee and Momochi. To say the least, it was a crowd pleasing match that some even say rivaled the hype of WWE fights.
Unfortunately, massive crisis struck as Momochi’s fight stick had connection issues, leading to a pause in what is heavily a momentum based game. Gamerbee was in absolute shock as the disconnect occurred during the 2nd match of the game with Momochi leading 1-0.
With the rules set in place, Gamerbee accepted the forfeit of this round, taking it to a tie of 1-1. Huge sportsmanship points to him, as he was well within his right to take the round. The match continued all the way until the last match, taking it all the way to game 5.
However the crowd favorite Gamerbee unfortunately didn’t come out on top as Momochi finished the with a 3-2 record to be crowned the Evo 2015 Super Street Fighter 4 champion.
Funny enough, Razer had tweeted out the match was happening live. Momochi just so happen to be using a Razer branded fight stick. And it just so happened this was the stick that had connection issues. Shoutouts to Madcatz who came through with a replacement for Momochi to take the final round in style.
If you enjoyed this post, let me know if you want to see more esports content! Reach out to me through the blog, or my Twitter @krexasaurus!
5 unorthodox ways to play video games
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Chaos Mod
(Source: Adam_AK)
Grand Theft Auto naturally has potential to be played in unorthodox ways, you could do loads of things before even really touching the story. However this PC mod of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City truly brings a unique and hectic experience. It’s also hard as shit. Chaos mod acts as a sort of randomizer to the game. There’s a random effect that’s always effecting the player in some way. To put the mod in perspective, here’s a few things that make the mod a unique playthrough. You start the game with 2 health. You die after every mission. Every driver in the game becomes an aggressive driver, making it hell to drive through the game. You gain health for killing people, but lose health during the daytime. Other effects include drunk camera, continuous pop and restore tires, the game messes with draw distance effecting what you see, none of your weapons do damage, and loads of other effects.
Mass Effect No Guns Run
(Source: Many A True Nerd)
Loads of people complained about Mass Effect 1’s shooting mechanics, I’ll admit as much as I like the game the shooting did indeed cause me some problems throughout multiple playthroughs. First off, the game sort of expects you to use your guns. However, with this guy Many A True Nerd, it looks like he set out to prove the game as well as many other people wrong by just not using guns. What I found really cool was the games difficulty actually gets inverted with a playthrough of this style:
"I'd always assumed this would be a huge challenge, as the game looks like it's set up primarily as a shooter (95% of the upgrades you get are for guns, characters constantly get out guns during cutscenes, 90% of the inventory in shops is guns), but instead, I had the easiest time by the end of the game.
"Instead, it was the early missions that were a nightmare, as then my cooldown times were huge, so the thugs of Chora's Den, and the two assassins outside it, were a big challenge.
Diablo 3 Pacifism Run
(Source: Icemaz)
Diablo 3 can be played any number of ways given the natural skill trees of the different classes of charactrers. This playthrough however is one to witness. This guy, Icemaz, played through Diablo 3 from start to finish without attacking a single monster. It was done on inferno difficulty, with monster power 0, which was the highest possible difficulty setting he could complete the game at. Surprisingly he stated the game only took him roughly 8 hours in total.
Twitch Plays Pokemon
This is a pretty infamous event that still goes on to this day (Currently, as of 7/19/2015, Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire is being played). It definitely sparked a huge trend and grew streaming popularity like crazy for a good while. Twitch Plays Pokemon is exactly as it sounds, an anonymous programmer from Australia allowed viewers of Twitch TV to actively control a Pokemon game by inputting commands like up, down, left, right, a, b, etc in order to work together to complete the game. This easily made for great entertainment as tens of thousands of viewers all participated at once.
Minecraft Skyblock
(Source: The Bajan Canadian)
Minecraft in itself is a game full of possibilities. Unorthodox can be sort of hard to come by. Skyblock however, makes for a really unique way to play Minecraft. As the title implies, you play the game in the sky. As you begin, you’re given a small plot of land in the sky and you play from there. You begin with limited resources, harvesting saplings, and from there are expected to create things like a pasture in order to allow animals to spawn so you have sources for food. No one ever said living in the sky would be easy.
