Because I Require Stimulation

Hey, did you know I have a gallery full of cosplay and costuming images? Did you even know I had a gallery at all?

And this is what happens.

The organization of information and how it’s used in context is something dear to the heart of any librarian. It’s especially interesting to me because of my interest in computers and digital information. While it sounds like a dry and boring subject, it doesn’t have to be. It’s all in how you approach it. Sure, we could discuss the best ways to digitally archive and distribute access to documents. Or we could talk about how this one room should have a hidden door off to one side and inside the hidden room should be a magical crossbow which deals an extra three points of damage to undead creatures.

Both are informative, but one is far more fun than the other.

When I was a kid I had a book. Well, actually I had several books, but this one was very special to me. It was The Official Nintendo Player’s Guide and, as the subtitle suggests, it was "A complete review of over 90 games for your N.E.S." Ah, isn’t that quaint? They put periods in NES!

Anyway one of the 90+ games they covered was Metroid, a game that still remains close to my heart. Besides the incredibly biased reviews (This was a game made by Nintendo for the Nintendo and then reviewed in a Nintendo book written and published by Nintendo.) they also did the small service of providing a map to the game.

All of the game.

I no longer have that book or that map, but here’s another very good map in the same style. Click to embiggen it:

Look at that! That place is huge! And keep in mind we’re talking about the 8 bit days here. Do you know how much time and trouble this map saved me and how enjoyable it made the game? See, I play games for fun and to relax. A game that’s pissing me off because I can’t find something hidden in Sub-Basement 6 of the Fire Level isn’t going to relax me and it’s not going to be fun. Even though I knew there were parts of that map I couldn’t yet access, at least I knew where things were and that was comforting.

This map also fostered an interest in video game level design. As time passed, levels became worlds and worlds became planets. I’m no expert at this stuff, but the idea of creating worlds from nothing, and then populating that world with enemies, flora, fauna, atmosphere, and more? It’s truly a godlike experience.

So I want to share with you the current state of that experience. There’s a newer game on the market called Red Dead Redemption. It’s awesome. I just snagged a copy of it a few days ago and it’s everything I hoped it would be. It’s a game that harkens back to something done by millions of kids all over America: You get to play an adult version of Cowboys and Indians.

It’s a spaghetti western with just a touch of The Sacketts thrown in for good measure. The style of the art work and cinematics is completely inspired by Sergio Leone and the music is pure Ennio Morricone. Also, as you can see in the image above right compared to the one below left, it’s also channeling a bit of The Searchers.

But what has this to do with information?

See, when you create a world like this, a virtual place that lives only in the computer, you have to lay out everything. In the case of Redemption, this means the placement of weeds, trees, riders on horseback, and, as is so wonderfully demonstrated here, you have to control the weather and the passage of day and night. Weather, sunset, and sunrise are three of the most basic forms of information that have been important to humankind since prehistory. We’ve marveled at, cowered from, and patiently observed these bits of information for hundreds of thousands of years.

Now we can emulate them… for fun.

Zooey Deschanel.

Dressed up as Chell from Portal.

With the Portal gun.

If you don’t understand the title of the post, you really need to see this.

Yeah, the first one wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad. There was marked room for improvement. So really, I want to see if they did improve it. The first game was a disappointment not in what it was, but what it could’ve been. Maybe this is what could’ve been. Either way, it looks pretty damn spiffy.

Oh look! Something fun and original! You don’t see that everyday on today’s Interwebs!

Look, I’m a video game nerd. I adore my PlayStation 3 and I watch the video game industry like some people pay attention to sports. Hell, video games are far more interesting to me than sports because, unlike most American sports, something is happening all the time in the average video game.

But what is the deal here? First there’s this guy, sitting around in a costume and strumming his plastic guitar. He’s totally oblivious to the three way lesbian action occurring behind him. Now you’ve got this guy…

Look, I may be a gamer, but I’m a gamer second only to being a pervert. I would like to think that, even if I’m really into a game, I’d stop for a few minutes to appreciate the show happening right fucking next to me.

There’s an upcoming game based off the Transformers called Transformers: War For Cybertron. From what I gather, it’s set in the same universe as the Michael Bay movies, but takes place before contact with Earth ever happened. The upside of this is you get to play as Transformers on Cybertron and you’ll be using their Cybertronian alternate modes rather than the familiar ones you see on Earth.

It actually looks pretty cool. I defintely want to try it out if for no other reason than it’s Transformers.

But this morning I got a surprise! They’ll be releasing a toy line based on the game! So we’ll be getting toys based on a game which was based off a movie that was based off a cartoon which was based off of toys.

Yes, it’s mind blowing, but one thing is for sure: I must have this cool looking Cybertronian Optimus Prime!

I’ve mentioned recently that I still love Legos and still play with Legos under the auspices that I’m merely playing with my son. Let’s be clear, I love Legos regardless and I’d probably fiddle with them anyway. So when I heard about a Lego based online massively multiplayer game, I was a little apprehensive.

I wasn’t appalled as the Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman games have been huge amounts of fun. But still, online Lego game? Can that work.

Well, watch this and, if you’re anything like me, you’ll think it might be possible after all.

I really wanna play the new Bayonetta game that’s out for the PS3. The biggest reason has to do with the character who looks like a sword swinging, gun toting, latex clad, dominatrix librarian. And see, I’m into things like that… especially the librarian part. The game is in my GameFly queue, but until I get it, I’m content to stare at this woman who does costuming absolutely right.

So while I wasn’t one hundred percent in love with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, I didn’t think it was a horrible game. It definitely had potential and I think its infuriating that it didn’t live up to that potential.

Looks like they’re going to give it another go and I hope they do with this game what they should’ve done with the last one. Also, I like this idea… the two lightsabers. I like where this is going and they need to keep that up.