Acid for Blood

Cerise: April 2008

The April issue of Cerise Magazine is out. For this issue, I interviewed one of the co-founders of LesbianGamers.com.

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Virtual Worlds Sub Forum on NaNoWriMo Site

The official National Novel Writing Month forums (NaNoWriMo) and website have just relaunched. They have created a sub forum devoted to virtual worlds. I don't know if this sub forum existed last year, as I didn't visit the site then, but if I remember correctly they didn't have such a forum in 2005. I thought it was kind of neat that a mainstream writing site has this sub forum. Apparently enough forum members play MMOGs that they need a place of their own.

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Variety.com Reviews Metroid Prime 3, Fails

Video Game Media Watch criticises Variety.com's review of Nintendo's latest Metroid game:

I’m not familiar with the reviewer, Tom Chick, and I probably won’t become familiar with him, either. While he’s done his homework and he possesses some knowledge of the franchise, the reader can’t really tell if this is through true experience or more of a Wikipedia job. While I’ve warned against ingrained game industry journalists taking a haughty stance with the mass media, there’s a difference between fearing their intrusion and rightly noting the deficiencies in their ability, at times, to opine on actual game design.

Here's a quote from the Variety.com review:

In addition to being borderline nonsensical, "Metroid Prime 3" is also difficult. It has the audacity to say, "Welcome to this strange place. Now go figure it out." Much of the game consists of groping around strange places, puzzling out devices, and traveling back and forth to find new powers, which serve also as "keys" to get to previously unreachable areas.

Exploration of new and unfamiliar territory, retracing one's steps, and finding new powers to reach new areas are key elements of the Metroid series. Yes, these things are difficult, but they are also defining aspects of Metroid. Audacious to non-gamers, perhaps. Not so much to gamers.

Another quote from Variety.com:

Too much of the time, though, "Metroid Prime 3" is more tedious than epic. This is particularly true of the boss battles, which are exhaustive affairs requiring dedication, patience, and most importantly, a familiarity with the vocabulary of videogames: double jumping, circle strafing, shooting weak points for massive damage, etc. Those who previously used the Wii only for party games will need a 13 year-old boy to explain it all.

Again, this guy doesn't appear to have played videogames before, because he seems surprised about how boss battles work. That "13 year-old boy" comment is even more ignorant.

EDIT - 1 October 2007: Video Game Media Watch responds to criticisms of its criticism of Variety.com's Metroid Prime 3 review.

TGC Re-roll

The Game Chair has announced a change in direction, due to the busy schedule and shift in priorities of the site owner and editor, Seth. I started writing on The Game Chair two years ago, when Seth stumbled across my games blog. He contacted me and invited me to become a contributor to the site. At the time, I was also blogging at another game site, which is now defunct (I honestly don't know how I had time to write on three game blogs!). I agreed because The Game Chair's writing guidelines held me to more structured standard than the other place, which I loved for giving me a lot of freedom to blog whatever random game-related fluff and fun that I came across. I wrote a few "progressive reviews" for The Game Chair and some other pieces. I wasn't as active a contributor as the other writers, but it was a great experience, regardless. I look forward to see how Seth evolves the site and I'm grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to write there.

Seth writes:

One of the big changes is that the site no longer has the review feature we once did and that I removed those elements that tried to categorize the site by content types. This is the significant re-roll move. The idea is from a content perspective I wanted to start fresh. My hope is to use this space more openly and more flexibly to share some thoughts about games when the mood hits me. I don’t think this precludes The Game Chair from having other writers contribute, but I think removing the guise of being a game review site and attempting to find ways to generate viewers and traffic to grow is a great relief to me right now.

Since I no longer have a gig writing on another blog, I'm going to explore what sort of spare time game writing I can put my keyboard to. Should I look for a blogging gig that pays (even just a little)? Should I instead be more serious and structured about writing on this blog? I was offered an unpaid writing (game reviews) position at a small and growing gaming site over the weekend, but I turned it down for various reasons. What are your opinions, readers?

On the Metroid Prime 3 Release and Future Console Purchases

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is scheduled for release on 20th August. I do not own a Wii and a new console is not in my budget this year. I'd like to buy a console to play more than one game, and quite honestly there aren't any other games on the Wii that appeal to me at the moment. I don't want to buy a Wii to play old games. I want to play Wii games.

The Xbox 360 has more games out right now (or coming soon) that I would like to play than the Wii.

The PlayStation 3 also has more games that I would like to play than the Wii.

Final Fantasy XIII looks like a game I'd like to play, which may come as a surprise, considering my lack of patience with Final Fantasy VII. The more I see of Final Fantasy XIII, the more intrigued I become. I wasn't remotely interested in this game until I saw a picture of the main character, Lightning. She looks really, really cool. Like, so cool that 'cool' doesn't even describe how cool I thinks she looks. I love her costume. I think I have a little crush on her, and I don't even know her story. I want to find out more about Lightning!

Still, the bottom line is: no console purchases this year.

In other hardware news, my PC is out of commission for the moment. I won't go into boring details, because it's a bit complicated. I'm waiting for a part to come through so that I can start working on it. For now, I am computing from my notebook computer. This means no extended Guild Wars sessions because I quickly get fed up of the small (14-inch widescreen) screen, but this was the reason behind getting the small screen in the first place. Yes, I am odd.

In gaming news, I'm reviewing the indie game, Mr. Robot, for the PC. I managed to get a couple of hours in before my computer broke, and the first Play Rating is up at The Game Chair.

Me + WOW @ TGC and Stuff

I'm writing about World of Warcraft over on The Game Chair.

I haven't yet decided on how to conceal other players' identities. Initials? Nicknames? Handles if I know them. I won't use character names.

I don't know what to do about the complications of cross-sex character selection. 84% of World of Warcraft players are male, but I would say that at least half (if not more) of the characters I see on the server are female. So I don't know whether to refer to them as male or female if I don't know what sex they are in real life. I'll figure something out.

It's interesting that so many men will easily adopt the appearance of women in a computer game, but any insinuation of "feminine" characteristics in real life is met with defensiveness and assertations that they aren't "gay." So it's okay to pretend to be a woman in a game, but exhibiting just the characteristics that are seen as feminine is bad or shameful? Gee, thanks a lot. That makes me feel so awesome, because I really am a woman in real life.

I have only one male friend who has told me, without any shame or awkwardness, that he has a few personality characteristics that are generally seen as feminine. I don't think teasing by his male peers would bother him all that much because he seems fairly secure in his gender identity. He is the only man (that I can recall) who has never given me the, "I play female characters because I would rather stare at a woman's ass for hours on end, than a man's ass" reason when I ask them why they choose a different gender for their characters.

Uh, I have totally digressed. WOW and stuff. Yeah.

[The Game Chair - PC Game Index (scroll to the bottom for all the posts about WOW)]

Blogging From Wayreth

After my Nintendo DS purchase last week, I've been playing Animal Crossing: Wild World. Alot. It's kind of like my addiction to The Sims, only this time it's portable. The only reason my Sims addiction ended when it did was because I moved out of my friend's house, and it was her copy of the game. I also refused to buy it. Having said that, my Animal Crossing town requires far less micro-management than my Sim family. So the "need" to play is not quite on the same level.

Read about what's going on in Wayreth (my Animal Crossing town) over at The Game Chair.

And Then I Woke Up

My final Play Rating of Ico is up at The Game Chair.

I fully admit that it shouldn't have taken as long as it has. I blame my inability to resist Guild Wars and the fun Wintersday in-game events at the start of the year. My hands tremble with excitement at the thought of another PvP snowball fight, alas not until next Wintersday. Real life stuff also encroached a bit, so my apologies.

With all the critical acclaim that Wanda and Shadow of the Colossus has been receiving, I am glad that more people are now playing the overlooked Ico. I did not have a PS2 until one year ago, but I have known about, and have wanted to play, Ico for a while.

I have a long-standing opinion that the North American box art of Ico is an unconscionable sin. When I returned to the States several years ago, looked for the game on eBay, and finally found it, I was irritated that Sony could make such a bad marketing decision for a game that deserved far better treatment. Up to that point, I had only seen the box art for Europe and Japan. The North American box art is generic and uninteresting, unlike the artwork in the game, and unlike the box art for Japan and Europe (they sport the same artwork). I believe that the North American box art, coupled with weak or non-existent marketing efforts, contributed to the poor sales performace of Ico, despite its positive critical reception back then.

Anyway, I enjoyed writing this final progressive review, though challenging as it was to try and capture the magic of that game. The title of this post is a reference to the main theme of my final Play Rating.

Visit to Dave & Buster’s

Here's something I wrote earlier: What does this American dining and entertainment chain have to offer the gamer? For the casual gamer, it probably exceeds expecations. For an avid gamer, well, not so much.

EDIT: Check it out: /.

I have replied to those who commented directly to my post, however I have refrained from reading the discussion on Slashdot. It would be pointless, as most of the people there seem to be, unfortunately, bitchy trolls. One of my friends was reading Slashdot comments, however, and he told me that everyone there assumes that I am a guy, as did a commenter on The Game Chair. Nice fact checking, people.

Bounty Writers

I am helping to judge this competition. The quality of the entries is very high. I am having a difficult time narrowing down my top picks. It's great. I'm enjoying myself.