The 2016 theme park

As the year draws to a close and I sit looking back on the mental rapids that the whole world seemed to endured during 2016. Of course there was the political events on both sides of the pond, that appears to be a massive blow to the freedom of citizens and a boost to corporate greed.

There was the rollercoaster ride of celebrity passings that took away many people’s heroes and champions of causes close to many people’s hearts. Everyone had differing relationships with those who passed away and each had to watch a little piece of their memories darken. For me I will miss those that made me laugh not that I was necessarily a fan of them directly but their work was something that brightened my life over the years Victoria Wood, Caroline Aherne, Andrew Sachs, Gene Wilder & Ronnie Corbett

Me, Myself and I

Personally 2016 has seen a number of changes to my work with a number of different faces and processes being introduced, also at Home we have had a few difficult times that parenthood books don’t really prepare you for. Sadly I haven’t really blogged too much despite waiting to find the time to keep up regular entries, I want to at least hit a low target of 1 post each fortnight maybe shifting to 1 a week if that is doable. Sadly my clan lost a member this year to illness, we approached this with a clan event held in their honour and a weekend of members sharing stories and everyone celebrating the times we enjoyed in our fallen comrade and each others company.

This year Munki and I have also taken to streaming, not on any regular schedule for the most part, but it’s allowed us to play around with settings and discover things, this has also lead to getting more involved with different streaming communities. We’ve found interacting with various groups of people from many different walks of life very interesting, similar to how our clan as always worked only a little more fluid and reserved.

Along with a number of MissPsyche’s community I have had my passion for pen and paper Role Playing Games rekindled which has been a refreshing break but has also allowed be to look at ways to play these games with my Son. This has now expanded into me looking into running a game for my clan mates that are interested in picking up pen and paper RPG games, hopefully with the Roll20 app.

Have a great New Year everyone.

Venerable Dad and Hero Kid

Some members in one of the online communities that I am part of have been running a 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons role playing game via the online Roll20App. I’ve really enjoyed the mechanics and there is certainly alot less number crunching involved, although I think this mostly in part to the way Roll20 speeds up nearly all checks and actions so that the players can focus more on role playing and enjoying themselves.

I last played D&D since 1998 and that was AD&D 2nd Edition so it’s taken me a little time to get back into the swing of things but I’m happy to be back playing a game on a semi-regular basis. I’m exploring options to GM a game with some friends online in the new year.

Hero Kids

herokidsThis morning Littlest Troll undertook his first steps into the world of role playing with a title I picked up from DriveThruRPG called Hero Kids.

I was very pleased with how the game makes activities simple, making them easy to explain to a child yet the game still remained enjoyable for those playing. The small one doesn’t have a great attention span and can get bored easily, the first adventure felt just about right time wise, with a huge number of giant rats laying unconscious in some caves.

Since there is a Cyber Monday Sale on this weekend at DriveThruRPG I think I shall be picking up the complete bundle for this game Hero Kids – Complete Fantasy PDF Bundle [BUNDLE] which includes:

  • Hero Kids – Fantasy RPG (Core Rules book)[discounted as I already own this].
  • Fantasy Expansion – Pet Cards
  • Fantasy Expansion – Monster Compendium
  • Fantasy Expansion – Equipment Cards
  • Fantasy Expansion – Hero Cards II
  • Fantasy Expansion – Hero Cards III
  • Fantasy Expansion – Hero Cards IV
  • Fantasy Adventure – Curse of the Shadow Walkers
  • Fantasy Adventure – Escape from the Ghost Pirates
  • Fantasy Adventure – Fire in Rivenshore
  • Fantasy Adventure – Glade of the Unicorn
  • Fantasy Adventure – Mines of Martek
  • Fantasy Adventure – The Lost Village
  • Fantasy Adventure – Tomb of the Lost King
  • Fantasy Adventure – Wizard’s Tower
  • Fantasy Adventure – Yuletide Journey
  • Fantasy Premium Adventure – Maze of the Minotaur

Hopefully we can get some role playing done over the Christmas period if the little troll hold still  and If we discover that he enjoys the game and wants to play more I’m tempted to get the Flat Plastic miniatures https://arcknight.squarespace.com/shop/fpm-hero-kids.

Shadow of Orwell

The year is 2017 and you have been successfully selected to become an investigator surveying the online presence of the denizens of The Nation, monitoring their electronic communications, files and interactions. Using the latest tool in the government’s arsenal ORWELL, you are thrown into the thick of things after an explosion occurs in the Nation’s Capitol.

orwelllogo

Over the past four weeks I have had the pleasure of consuming the episodic game Orwell by Surprise Attack Games, I have found myself eagerly awaiting the weekly email summoning me into action. Slowly watching the story unfold has made me both excited and anxious, in equal measure, I think having the episodes ready for a weekly release was very nicely timed, it built the suspense but didn’t keep you waiting too long like some other episode driven games.

I really enjoyed playing this game and found that there was a good amount of flavour information that gave you a more detailed understanding of the world in which you inhabit. The characters had good feeling of depth and I found that I could empathise with their feelings and actions. I won’t hide the fact that the game has a linear direction, which isn’t unexpected due to type of game, however the choices that you make along in all episodes the way have ramifications on short and long term events.

Summary

This futuristic game hints that the passing of a government “Safety Bill” has resulted in the lowest levels of violent crime, but it also poses the questions “How much is too much?” and of course “At what cost”. Sadly the themes in the game are now a reality of the real world we inhabit, with the Investigatory Powers Act a looming reality that includes mass surveillance in the UK, of course in the name of safety. Orwell does a very good job at illustrating how such a system can be implemented and utilised to be the point of being intrusive, disruptive or in some cases deadly.

The game also highlights how opinions/messages posted in the public domain (social media) can be misconstrued and used against a person.

Give it a go

If you are interested in I would encourage you to try out the first episode http://orwellgame.com/ for free, be advised that the first episode acts like a tutorial inpart so can feel like you are being handheld.

Maybe the recruitment video will help you decide.

No Man’s Cup of Tea

With No Man’s Sky releasing this last week we enter the marmite period of game launch (some hate it, some love it). Once again many people stumble with the “It’s not the game I ( was looking for/ expected it to be/ was lead to believe i would get)” then appear the demands on game makers to amend/change/fix those elements that someone doesn’t like.

nomansskyIt’s strange as asking for change can vary depending on the complexicities involved. For example returning a meal as it was served cold is within the realms of acceptable demands since you expect a certain level of quality. However shouting that you didn’t like the ending/cast/ art direction of a film isn’t going to achieve anything since it’s pretty much set in stone, maybe the director’s cut maybe extended or have alternative ends, but generally you achieve nothing.

It’s peculiar how games tend to face a very different treatment. That’s not saying devs shouldn’t fix faults or address issues, but demanding more of developers, post release seems unfair, especially when the production time on games can be equal or greater than many large film productions.

Clearing up confusion

It’s clear to see that many people who thought the game was going to be something different, were they misinformed or not paying attention?
This couldn’t have been clearer in the following tweet that was posted during launch week:

There are many questions:

  • Did players make an assumption?
  • Is the single player game a dying breed these days?
  • Was there an element of lost in translation?

I have not been following the games development, as in I knew NOTHING about the game until this week. My perception is that the game launch maybe buggy a little, just like any other title. The gameplay I had watched as been fun and those playing it haven’t complained about much besides those common issues.

I haven’t bought the game myself, but I’m sorely tempted to use my Humble discount to pick up the game for the 10% off and 10% to a charity of my choice but I have so many titles in my Steam backlog it’s becoming harder to justify new titles.

Blaugust cometh

Blaugust the time for blogging, for a fresh start and in y experience for discovering wonderful bloggers you haven’t encountered before.
If you have not heard of the event before you should visit Belghast who created the event and read up on this years shenanigans.

Blaugust2016_500px

The challenge this year isn’t against the looming 31 day deadline, it’s about agreeing and keeping to a schedule. Of course some folks are hoping to blog each day, while others, like myself, are aiming a little lower. This is in an effort to get myself back into the rhythm of emptying my mind online, I’ve opted to post 3 times a week. I hope this will give me a guide on if it’s a schedule I could continue going forward or if it’s too much.

Remembrance

Sadly in the last month one of my clan members passed away after a drawn out fight with illness. It’s at times like these that our friendships, discovered in the virtual realms of the internet, prove to be stronger than those in meatspace.

This could not be more evident for me as a work colleague passed away earlier this year and despite having conversed and interacted with them on many occasions, I wasn’t remotely impacted as much as I was by the loss of a clan mate.

I touched on virtual friendships this in a post I made 2 years ago the last time I took part in Blaugust : Are friends electric?. Much of that post still hold true.

Healthy Troll

Since I learnt to drive last year I’ve not been doing a massive ammount of walking that could be considered anywhere close to a healthy amount, so recently I started doing more activities in an attempt to balance things out a little. I’ve been trying to find a routine that is both practical but that also caters for my health requirements.

During the waking hours one of my calves is permanently housed in a compression stocking due to collapsed veins, a gift from a post op DVT that just keeps on giving. As a starting point this limits the type of exercise I am able to endure as it needs to be low impact and not hindered by my leg. Currently I exercise in the evenings as by 6pm my leg is already as swollen as it’s likely to become that day, so removing the stocking to get a shower isn’t as difficult as it would be in the morning for example.

This didn’t begin life as a massive health push, but I’m hoping that I can build up the usefulness/stamina of my injured leg so it’s less of a burden and allowing me to undertake more varied activities.