I recently started getting rid of some of my older 360 games. Most of these games I haven't played in a very long time. Some are more recent, like Halo 4, which I just didn't like. I made two trips to Gamestop and (GASP!) traded them in. This is something I generally speak out against. I don't really like Gamestop for selling used games. Then again, that's life. I really just wanted to clear space on my shelf more than anything else. I suppose I could have just donated the games, but I figured I could make a few bucks and maybe put that towards something new.
I don't remember the exact count of games I traded in, but over the course of two trips I got about $200 of in-store credit. It is sad considering how much money I probably spent on those games, but it's better to get some money back instead of them just sitting around collecting dust.
It was a pretty simple process of selecting which games to rid myself of. Have I played the game in the last year? Can I get the game on steam for cheap if I ever have the urge? Did it suck? All of these come into play when I consider this kind of thing. A good example is Red Dead Redemption. Have I played it recently? No. Can I get it on steam? No. Did it suck? No. Okay, so I keep it.
This may seems like a bullshit post, but believe me-- my apartment is that much cleaner and clutter free thanks to the fine gentlemen at gamestop.
.... He still asked me to pre-order a game though....
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
PAX East and beyond!
It's completely crazy that we haven't posted to the site recently. We've been very busy with a great many things. We had an event with Vlambeer nfor which I still need to post the video. I am sorry for lagging behind on that! We actually met the Vlambeer man himself at PAX. I bought a shirt from him. It has a flaming bear on it and everything!
We were also planning our Indies Need Booze party for PAX East. So, that kept us busy. It went pretty well. It actually went really well considering we are pretty much an unknown... except we're not! We were really surprised to learn that some people at PAX had actually heard of Gaming in Public!
I am actually trying to create a new site dedicated JUST to Indies Need Booze. We are going to try to do it every year at PAX East. I am messing with an HTML5 editor because it seems much more flexible than blogger, but we shall see. Whereever and however it ends up I will be sure to let you know the details!
We were also planning our Indies Need Booze party for PAX East. So, that kept us busy. It went pretty well. It actually went really well considering we are pretty much an unknown... except we're not! We were really surprised to learn that some people at PAX had actually heard of Gaming in Public!
I am actually trying to create a new site dedicated JUST to Indies Need Booze. We are going to try to do it every year at PAX East. I am messing with an HTML5 editor because it seems much more flexible than blogger, but we shall see. Whereever and however it ends up I will be sure to let you know the details!
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
MAGFest Retrospective Final Day
So sad that its over! :(
But at least this day has a fun charity auction!
So I awoke Sunday morning to this outside our hotel. A lot of parties were happening that night. I may or may not have witnessed people doing things meant for the bedroom in the hallway the night before. I can't confirm or deny it.
Anyway, it seemed like the party was over early in the morning. Not a lot of people at the start of the charity auction. We were like the only ones in line. James Rolfe and Mike Matei were in front of us in line. James was talking about signing a lot of stuff to give away to charity. Which was pretty cool of him. I know most of it was broken but it beats just throwing it away. Good causes all around!
There wasn't much i wanted to bid on. I did try to bid on a signed Japanese copy of Shenmue but I got outbid. $70 was just too rich for me. I almost got it for $40 too until the auctioneer started bidding it up and someone else swooped in :(. The guy I lost to spent a TON of money the time we were there. Plenty of air fresheners and WoW trading cards were being snapped up by everybody!
A box of signed Twinkies went for well over $200 (maybe $300 I don't quite remember). The one guy who beat me won a ton of auctions. Someone also won tickets to the opening Capitals game after the NHL strike ended. Those went for $700 and were awesome tickets with a tour and you could sit in the penalty box! Anyway, the last item we stayed for was about halfway through the auction. It was a Protomen signed complete pack. All the merch they had all signed and a hug from the band. That went for about $1,200. Won by the guy who was winning a lot of auctions. Which is cool. All for charity. The crowd went absolutely wild and the band couldn't even believe how much their stuff was going for.
Anyway after that me and Jac realized that the auction was getting too rich for our blood and decided to head home as MAGFest was pretty much over with :(
Here is us on the way out the door. We look crappy too since we were exhausted from an out of control weekend! :D
Then it took us about 45 minutes to get out of the parking structure because we had to wait for the Washington Redskins team bus or something to leave first. Then we headed home from one of the most amazing weekends ever.
So where can you catch us next. Well, events on our meetup page are likely to have us there. But make sure if you are coming to PAX East we'll be at the Asgard in Boston Friday night for Indies Need Booze!
http://indiesneedbooze.eventbrite.com/
It is sold out now but spots may open up if people turn in their tickets so keep checking! I hope to see you all at PAX East or at least in spirit there!
Until then:
But at least this day has a fun charity auction!
So I awoke Sunday morning to this outside our hotel. A lot of parties were happening that night. I may or may not have witnessed people doing things meant for the bedroom in the hallway the night before. I can't confirm or deny it.
Anyway, it seemed like the party was over early in the morning. Not a lot of people at the start of the charity auction. We were like the only ones in line. James Rolfe and Mike Matei were in front of us in line. James was talking about signing a lot of stuff to give away to charity. Which was pretty cool of him. I know most of it was broken but it beats just throwing it away. Good causes all around!
A box of signed Twinkies went for well over $200 (maybe $300 I don't quite remember). The one guy who beat me won a ton of auctions. Someone also won tickets to the opening Capitals game after the NHL strike ended. Those went for $700 and were awesome tickets with a tour and you could sit in the penalty box! Anyway, the last item we stayed for was about halfway through the auction. It was a Protomen signed complete pack. All the merch they had all signed and a hug from the band. That went for about $1,200. Won by the guy who was winning a lot of auctions. Which is cool. All for charity. The crowd went absolutely wild and the band couldn't even believe how much their stuff was going for.
Anyway after that me and Jac realized that the auction was getting too rich for our blood and decided to head home as MAGFest was pretty much over with :(
Here is us on the way out the door. We look crappy too since we were exhausted from an out of control weekend! :D
Then it took us about 45 minutes to get out of the parking structure because we had to wait for the Washington Redskins team bus or something to leave first. Then we headed home from one of the most amazing weekends ever.
So where can you catch us next. Well, events on our meetup page are likely to have us there. But make sure if you are coming to PAX East we'll be at the Asgard in Boston Friday night for Indies Need Booze!
http://indiesneedbooze.eventbrite.com/
It is sold out now but spots may open up if people turn in their tickets so keep checking! I hope to see you all at PAX East or at least in spirit there!
Until then:
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Sensory Deprivation: Music in Games
Have you ever been in a sensory deprivation chamber? You float in water that is body temperature. You wear noise cancelling headphones. It's pitch black. No light at all, not even a little. All your senses are blocked off.... and then you start to go insane. But what if just one of those senses were allowed, but no others? Think of Daredevil. He is blind, but is bestowed with enhanced hearing. He "sees" the world by hearing it. That a very interesting concept. Depriving or minimizing certain features or aspects can enhance others. In contrast, emphasizing them can minimize others. Now, this is a blog about games... so I'll get to the point.
There have been a number of indie games that came out to great praise for their music and sound design. The games that receive this praise are usually pretty simplistic when it comes to graphics (and sometimes gameplay). That's not to say that they are ugly or bad in any sense. A perfect example is Journey (or FEZ). These games really don't offer much of anything in storytelling or gameplay. What I mean by this is that the majority of emotions and story that are felt via these games is what the player brings to the table. What does a game like this need, that is almost completely based on emotional response?--MUSIC!
Because you are not focused on killing anything or performing complex maneuvers or even an engaging story you are free to sit through some visuals and lets the music wash over you. In a setting like this you are free to even make up the finer details of whats going on, which is another reason why these games can have a deeper emotional impact.
I have purchased both the FEZ OST (Disasterpeace) and the Journey OST (Austin Wintory). They sound nothing alike at all, yet I can listen to both and just chill. Wintory's album is melodic, sweeping, and orchestral. Disasterpeace's album is electronic, rhythmic, and distorted. They fit their respective games well, but both offer up their own twist on Zen. It isn't a question of how memorable these games are or aren't, but I don't think that either would be anything without this music to back them up. And as it stands, I feel like the game is backing up the music. You are playing through a concept album.
On the other hand, games like Uncharted, or Metal Gear Solid, or even Dead Space could have amazing music, but I would probably never know because I don't notice it. Even if I do notice it doesn't leave a lasting impression. I am so concentrated on what is going on on screen in those games that I wouldn't care.
How many times in one of those games have you stopped playing and just listened to the ambient noises or music of the world you were in? How many big games or just games in general have you thought about listening to the soundtrack outside of playing the game? Sure, there are some games like Skyrim with pretty amazing music, but the majority of music in games amounts to little more than background static while you mercilessly kill hundreds of computerized miscreants. So, is the music in these games actually better than the rest or does lack of graphic detail or "things to do" in a game shine more emphasis on what might otherwise be ignored?
Has the music in the Final Fantasy games gotten steadily less interesting or are the graphics stealing the spotlight?
Here is my favorite song from FEZ. It's called Glitch.
Here's my favorite song from Journey. It's called Apotheosis.
There have been a number of indie games that came out to great praise for their music and sound design. The games that receive this praise are usually pretty simplistic when it comes to graphics (and sometimes gameplay). That's not to say that they are ugly or bad in any sense. A perfect example is Journey (or FEZ). These games really don't offer much of anything in storytelling or gameplay. What I mean by this is that the majority of emotions and story that are felt via these games is what the player brings to the table. What does a game like this need, that is almost completely based on emotional response?--MUSIC!
Because you are not focused on killing anything or performing complex maneuvers or even an engaging story you are free to sit through some visuals and lets the music wash over you. In a setting like this you are free to even make up the finer details of whats going on, which is another reason why these games can have a deeper emotional impact.
I have purchased both the FEZ OST (Disasterpeace) and the Journey OST (Austin Wintory). They sound nothing alike at all, yet I can listen to both and just chill. Wintory's album is melodic, sweeping, and orchestral. Disasterpeace's album is electronic, rhythmic, and distorted. They fit their respective games well, but both offer up their own twist on Zen. It isn't a question of how memorable these games are or aren't, but I don't think that either would be anything without this music to back them up. And as it stands, I feel like the game is backing up the music. You are playing through a concept album.
On the other hand, games like Uncharted, or Metal Gear Solid, or even Dead Space could have amazing music, but I would probably never know because I don't notice it. Even if I do notice it doesn't leave a lasting impression. I am so concentrated on what is going on on screen in those games that I wouldn't care.
How many times in one of those games have you stopped playing and just listened to the ambient noises or music of the world you were in? How many big games or just games in general have you thought about listening to the soundtrack outside of playing the game? Sure, there are some games like Skyrim with pretty amazing music, but the majority of music in games amounts to little more than background static while you mercilessly kill hundreds of computerized miscreants. So, is the music in these games actually better than the rest or does lack of graphic detail or "things to do" in a game shine more emphasis on what might otherwise be ignored?
Has the music in the Final Fantasy games gotten steadily less interesting or are the graphics stealing the spotlight?
Here is my favorite song from FEZ. It's called Glitch.
Here's my favorite song from Journey. It's called Apotheosis.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
MAGFest Retrospective Day 3
Autographs and games galore!
Saturday was a day that was all about meeting cool people, playing cool games, and getting awesome autographs.
I'm gonna be honest here. Saturday morning I was EXHAUSTED. But, I got up and dragged myself to the Kinuyo Yamashita. She was the composer for the original Castlevania on NES. One of my favorite games. She is actually credited in the game as James Banana though :S . She also did the music for Megaman X3, another one of my favorite games. So really, this composer is really awesome and I get to the panel early and have a front row seat. That is how I got the cool pic of her above playing piano for a completely full room. She also answered a lot of cool questions and was just friendly all around.
Honestly, I don't quite remember what happened after that on Saturday. I did end up at the To The Moon panel with Kan Gao briefly. However, I haqd to rush to the autograph session where Kinuyo Yamashita was going to be able to autogrpah my copy of Castlevania for the NES. I waited in line for a while and got to see Egoraptor keep his line entertained (great in-line entertainment for me by the way). I also chatted up with a pretty cool dude in line. He was a getting a Nintendo Power signed. I had no ideas scalpers had all scooped up the last issues of Nintendo Power as well. I was lucky to get mine when I did!
Anyway, she signed it. It was awesome. Check out the autograph below.
Then I went to The Megas panel after seeing their awesome concert on Thursday. We got to listen to Scent Blasters. Which is a song they made about Megaman air fresheners. They were just awesome all around. I even got Eric's signature (the one I was missing from Friday :D ) Check out that autograph below.
I meant to stay for the last concert but other things were happening and I'll be honest. I don't remember much. What I do remember though is missing the Protomen's encore show :( (at least the next morning I remembered it).
Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post where I wrap it up and talk about PAX East plans! Keep having fun everybody! :D
I'm gonna be honest here. Saturday morning I was EXHAUSTED. But, I got up and dragged myself to the Kinuyo Yamashita. She was the composer for the original Castlevania on NES. One of my favorite games. She is actually credited in the game as James Banana though :S . She also did the music for Megaman X3, another one of my favorite games. So really, this composer is really awesome and I get to the panel early and have a front row seat. That is how I got the cool pic of her above playing piano for a completely full room. She also answered a lot of cool questions and was just friendly all around.
Honestly, I don't quite remember what happened after that on Saturday. I did end up at the To The Moon panel with Kan Gao briefly. However, I haqd to rush to the autograph session where Kinuyo Yamashita was going to be able to autogrpah my copy of Castlevania for the NES. I waited in line for a while and got to see Egoraptor keep his line entertained (great in-line entertainment for me by the way). I also chatted up with a pretty cool dude in line. He was a getting a Nintendo Power signed. I had no ideas scalpers had all scooped up the last issues of Nintendo Power as well. I was lucky to get mine when I did!
Anyway, she signed it. It was awesome. Check out the autograph below.
After that I went back to the room really quick. I was going to get some more ice in the cooler. When I ran into Billy of The Game Chasers in the hallway! The Game Chasers are an amazing YouTube show in the style of American Pickers check it out (youtube.com/captain8bit). He asked me where the stairs were. I kind of pointed him near stairs but the only stairs I knew of were the fire escape stairs. I did find some stairs when he was 50 yards away though. So I shouted at him that I found them in my excitement...and it was super awkward. :p
I still hadn't had any time to eat. Thankfully Jac had ordered some pizza for the room. I scarfed a couple of quick slices then ran back to the concerts.
I was able to catch Those Who Fight. They should be called Those Who Are Awesome! Seriously awesome show. Then it was time for Armcannon! I love that band. Then came the ultimate band. One of the best reasons to go to MAGFest. THE PROTOMEN played. I'll be honest. The show blew me the fuck away. Just check out this intense pic from the concert of lead singer Raul Panther rocking hardcore. They put on an amazing show. If you ever have a chance to see them. GO DO IT!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post where I wrap it up and talk about PAX East plans! Keep having fun everybody! :D
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