Something that's been floating around in my head recently is that I've been thinking a lot about video games. And not just necessarily about the games I'm currently playing, although that's definitely part of it(:
I think in our family at least, I've gotten the moniker of the most frequent and/or most knowledgable source for current events in the video game industry. I think it stems from a mix of just interest in how creative industries run their particular business model (since it is SO unique from any other business model out there), my interest in actually becoming an EMPLOYEE of one of these companies and hoping all that random knowledge can one day pay off in that huge way, and just generally liking the medium. Like many millenials (and probably more so than many others), I'm the traditional child of the media (cue my zombie like face at restaurants if I'm facing any kind of TV), but I think video games kind of transcend traditional media in a few ways:
- Interactivity - Unlike just watching a TV Show or movie, you get a more immersive experience if you ARE the hero of the story. And even though game developers have to add rules to certain powers or special abilities in the game design, being able to use powers you don't normally have in real life can be really freeing and inspiring.
- Co-op Gameplay - I still remember Mommy and Daddy in our early childhood days telling us that if friends were over, we couldn't watch TV or play video games cause they wanted us to INTERACT with our friends. There was a stint there for a while where Guitar Hero and Rock Band kind of broke that lack of connection while playing, but I think that adage still holds up rather well - if you don't know someone well, playing video games probably isn't the best use of time together.
HOWEVER, if you know someone REALLY well (say, family members???), then game modes where you work together towards a common goal is, in my opinion, a GREAT way to spend time together. Free-for-all Slayer modes, or competitions to get the most kills not so much, cause in those efforts, the more skilled players generally have a significant edge, and it isn't very fun for everybody. But co-op games... I always say this, but whenever we're all home, playing the Farm Zombie map in COD Black Ops 2, even if that game came out almost a DECADE ago, is SO much fun. And even if it just devolves into everybody just crowding the Mystery Box between rounds, trying to get the two best guns in the game so we have a fighting chance to get into the teens and/or 20-somethings of rounds, those were and still are some of the GREAT times being home(:
I think that last one especially is something that we're losing in modern video game culture. Nowadays, the graphics and game mechanics have to be of such a high caliber that supporting multiple players on a single screen turns into a mess of compressed visuals. And that's even if a game has a mode that allows for multiple players on a screen. A little while ago, a game came out called Fall Guys came out that was basically the show Wipeout, but even crazier obstacle courses, and your character is like a 2-year old toddler - it looked hilarious to play, and I figured it would be perfect to play together as a family. I mean, look at it and it's cute little characters! AND it's a platformer, which in today's day and age is incredible, but oh so fun for people who like platformers.
The one problem was it didn't support co-op playing on a single PS4, so everyone playing together had to have their own console... And even with our crazy assortment of video game systems, that STILL wans't going to cover everybody in the family. The solution that game companies offer is that you can just play online, right? The problem I have with that though is that, for that to work, you ALL need 1. a killer internet connection, 2. each player has to have their own console and/or PC, AND a headset so they can talk while playing, and 3. you STILL miss out on those little pleasures of gaming like eating chips and salsa together while you play (looking at you Globeeglo). I think in my dream house one day, I'll just have a wall of TVs so even if we're playing four player split screen Zombies (Black Ops 3, because OBNVIOUSLY that's the best Zombie experience devised yet), everyone can basically have their own TV view, and we can REALLY destroy. But until that happens, I'll continue to bemoan the lack and growing absence of local multiplayer.
So it felt SO good to finally reach the end with mama, and pelt my pellet gun bullets (cause you KNOW i had already died enough times to where I didn't have Missile or Fireball or Spread) straight into the face of that final monstrosity of a boss. Not to get scriptural, but if there is a better example of using "small and simple things to bring about great things", I don't know what it would be(: And like that, it was done. I kinda couldn't believe it at first, that I had finally etched my victory in the halls of those brave and determined enough to beat that bone crushing experience. But with the Contra master at my side, it had finally happened(: (S/o to Mama for being such a good teacher/fellow combatant(: )
I like to think that although I've moved past playing 2D games, and can do reasonably well in 3D game environment, that it was the video gaming by Mama and Papa before I was born into the family that gives me the skills and the joy from playing video games that I have nowadays. Like an inherited trait that got passed along through whatever genetic code controls fine motor function and endorphin generation for having good enough fine motor function. So while it might not be the MOST integral function of my life, a big thanks and lot of love go out to Birthday Mama for giving me the love of video gaming, cause it has made times in my life a LOT of fun.
And while we're talking about video gaming achievements, figured I would highlight a few other of my greatest and/or most proud moments of my amateur gaming career. Not only is this a way for me to make this post a little more fun and informative, but it's ALSO a way for me to subtly talk through all the fun games I've played and HOPEFULLY convince some of my siblings to get in to them sometime(:
2) Beating Sigrun, the Queen of Valkyries - while not a necessary plot point of the story, the Valkyrie battles in God of War 4 are ESSENTIAL fights for any game completionist, or someone who wants to really test themselves. The game itself is a masterpiece, and considering it's the third sequel in a series that in the previous 3 installments was frankly a mess and super weak in terms of story, it looks like the developers have finally figured out how to make this game amazing. Before Sigrun, you have to find and fight a series of 7 other Valkyries that all have a diversity of powers and abilities, ALL of which also have the ability to kill you in two or less hits. By the time you get to Sigrun, even the game developers say you shouldn't fight her unless you put the game on Easy mode. Best I did was the Hard mode, but even that was like a 20 minute fight, and I couldn't make a single mistake. But when an enemy looks as cool as those Valkyries do, and the game is so well polished, it's truly a pleasure to work at it until you've mastered the boss patterns to beat her.
3) Reaching Level 20+ in the farm Zombie Level, COD Black Ops 2 - Apparently in Call of Duty circles, the Black Ops 2 maps got some of the worst backlash of any COD Zombies experiences. And while I didn't particularly love the Tranzit level, the Farm specific level which we played OFTEN as a family I felt like best exemplified the quintessential Zombie level - a few rounds of running around, shooting and knifing zombies with sub-par weapons until you open up the farmhouse, and then you all hunker down in the houses second floor, with one person on each entry point - one on the balcony, one covering the stairs downstairs, and another covering the interior of the room and the window leading in. The remaining person (if we had 4) would go between the different points providing cover during reloads, or shoot out the gaping hole in the wall to thin out the herd. And not only did we all have our assignments (Daddy on balcony, me on the stairs, and either Glo or Ethan on the window and/or helping out Daddy cause the Balcony was bumping), but there were specific guns for each position. This arrangement would usually work for a while, but the beauty of the Zombie mode is, when one thing goes wrong, a LOT can go wrong VERY quickly. Someone goes down, and we have to do a reshuffle of positions in the middle of the round, with resurrected corpses coming to destroy us. Either that person gets revived, we try to piece back together our previous positions and HOPE the flow of zombies lines upu with when we need to reload, or someone decides to ABANDON SHIP, jump out the aforementiond gaping hole and take a lap around the barn while the remaining survivors either revive those who are down, or everyone is down in which case the sole survivor hopes they can take out all the remaining zombies before everyone ACTUALLY dies. It's a wild time, and would in our case usually involve some British accents and screaming WHAT ARE GALVAKNUCKLES??? at random times. Even though I am very fond of later versions of Zombies, playing that level together will always stand out as one of the great video game experiences and achievements of my life(:
4) Playing Last of Us w/ Globeeglo - Before this game, I just thought video games were fun for the challenge. That being said, I was COMPLETELY unprepared for the level of emotional depth in this game, and couldn't have come up with a better person to play through it with than Globeeglo. Those late nights downstairs playing that game until 2 or 3AM are still sweet memories to remember, as we went from one minute screaming in terror as Clickers chased us, and then 5 minutes later being hit by a ton of bricks with the feels. It's a true gaming experience.
5) Any Victory Royale in Fortnite (or Forkknife, however you call it) - I feel like the game model of Fortnite makes this less of an achievement necessarily than others (since who you play against is completely random, and you can usually make it to the Top 10 of any game usually just by hiding out), because whether you win a round or not is HIGHLY dependent on the skill of other people in the lobby, but honestly no other game gives me the heart-pounding endorphin rush that the end of Fortnite games gives me. Just sitting here, I can vividly remember around 5 of my solo wins, where I was when they happened, and what guns I was shooting at the time cause those endgames are so hype. A pretty fun game.
6) Getting a win in family Mario Kart - with a stacked lineup that our family presents, any win in Mario Kart is a legitimately impressive feat.
7) Beating the Guardian Ape in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - This is a little more obscure game, but basically you're a samurai who also uses stealth to sneak around and kill enemies. It's a visually beautiful game, but it's also made by FromSoftware, who have built a reputation as a game developer with their HUGELY popular Dark Souls series of incredibly difficult games, where a single mistake in combat with a regular enemy can set you back 15 minutes in progression. It's incredibly infuriating, and I still haven't beaten the game cause I've rage quit it twice. However, the first time I beat the Guardian Ape boss (shown in this image, and actually cut off it's head more like), I breathed a huge sigh of relief. And then as this sigh of relief escapes my lips, the Ape gets back up, headless, grabs a huge sword and a huge stick, and slashes me to death with one hit as I scream bloody murder in fear(: Honestly, getting anywhere with that game is a feat in itself, and the Guardian Ape is the crux of that experience.
Anyways, Happy Birthday Mama, and hopefully you know how I much I appreciate you and Daddy fostering in us kids a love of video games(:
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