Sunday, August 21, 2011
Just a quick bit...
To those who may have crossed paths with my 3DS in New York this past weekend, yes this blog is still active...just dealing with the dad part which includes an ever increasing aggressive work schedule. Now I shall pass out after my 12 hrs of traveling.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Not sure if...
So a moderately recent Reddit meme has hit a little too close to home:
Not sure if buying games because I want to play them or if I just like collecting them.
About a year ago someone asked this of me and I totally blew it off saying something about how I was totally playing everything I had and was just on temporary hiatus for some games. Well now it has been about a year since I played Fallout 3, and even though I still get flashbacks of fighting giant zombies every time I brush Gab's teeth, I still can't bring myself to settle into a session after I put the kids to bed. I have this thing against playing large games like that without having a solid 2 hrs or more to devote to it...I know it's just a excuse...I guess part of me feels guilty that I haven't played those games in so long, or maybe it's fear of forgetting where I was and needing to start over.
Anyway, back to the collecting thing. So before I only had a few games that I was in the middle of playing, but I was always active in some instance. Today I find myself with more games than I care to list on hold (including Fallout 3, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Other M, Valkyria Chronicles, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Videogame, Halflife 2, Zelda 3DS, Zelda Minish Cap, Zelda Spirit Tracks, and I'm sure a few more) but also a handful of games I haven't even played (some with the wrapper still on them). And these are good games too: Valkyria Chronicles 2, Braid, and Infamous.
This is not to say I haven't played any new games. I sit here with Mario Kart Wii on the screen, waiting to be played when I finish this post. I have recently beat Portal 2, and before that Final Fantasy 13. Gab always loves watching me play Space Channel Number 5. The things these games seem to have in common is either the ability for more than one person in the family to enjoy these games, or the ability to play these games in short 5 minute bursts. Such is the life of the gamer dad, but I have one ally whom my brother discovered when he was the same age I am now: the bargain bin. With it's help, I will be able to collect the epic games of our time for the future mystical day when I can play games in my man cave to my hearts content. I am guessing somewhere around where Adrien enters high school or when I retire.
Not sure if buying games because I want to play them or if I just like collecting them.
About a year ago someone asked this of me and I totally blew it off saying something about how I was totally playing everything I had and was just on temporary hiatus for some games. Well now it has been about a year since I played Fallout 3, and even though I still get flashbacks of fighting giant zombies every time I brush Gab's teeth, I still can't bring myself to settle into a session after I put the kids to bed. I have this thing against playing large games like that without having a solid 2 hrs or more to devote to it...I know it's just a excuse...I guess part of me feels guilty that I haven't played those games in so long, or maybe it's fear of forgetting where I was and needing to start over.
Anyway, back to the collecting thing. So before I only had a few games that I was in the middle of playing, but I was always active in some instance. Today I find myself with more games than I care to list on hold (including Fallout 3, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Mario Galaxy 2, Metroid Other M, Valkyria Chronicles, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Videogame, Halflife 2, Zelda 3DS, Zelda Minish Cap, Zelda Spirit Tracks, and I'm sure a few more) but also a handful of games I haven't even played (some with the wrapper still on them). And these are good games too: Valkyria Chronicles 2, Braid, and Infamous.
This is not to say I haven't played any new games. I sit here with Mario Kart Wii on the screen, waiting to be played when I finish this post. I have recently beat Portal 2, and before that Final Fantasy 13. Gab always loves watching me play Space Channel Number 5. The things these games seem to have in common is either the ability for more than one person in the family to enjoy these games, or the ability to play these games in short 5 minute bursts. Such is the life of the gamer dad, but I have one ally whom my brother discovered when he was the same age I am now: the bargain bin. With it's help, I will be able to collect the epic games of our time for the future mystical day when I can play games in my man cave to my hearts content. I am guessing somewhere around where Adrien enters high school or when I retire.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Fathers Day!
First let me apologize for the lack of update...new job and what not. I am partially celebrating Fathers Day by getting back into the swing of updating.
As the other part of my celebration, today my amazing wife is taking me and the kids to a Lego KidsFest event at the convention center downtown. As a gamer I can't think of anything better (that will also keep the attention of a 2.75 year old and an 8 month old who is learning to interact with objects around him). While I am not quite sure what to expect, I am pretty sure I will come home with photos of crazy things we built, crazy other things people built, and a new Lego kit or two.
Also I will be bringing my 3DS, since if knitting and gaming don't cross over, maybe gaming and Legos will. So far the only Street Pass I have gotten is one from a band while I was at Hand Made Arcade (not the video game kind).
BONUS SECTION!!! Why: because it has been too long since my last post.
Let me tell you a story of gaming culture meets child development. As you may know or have guessed, my daughter is already an expert at the iPad. While my wife and I struggle for those last 5 minutes of sleep as the kids use us like a playground, my daughter will regularly ask if she can watch a "Gab show" on the iPad. When we say yes, she unlocks it, finds Netflix, and starts one of the many quality educational shows that we allow her. Only once or twice has she started something we don't approve of (and it was still a kids show, just something we don't like such as Arthur). So about the time that she was first learning the iPad, Gab made a leap of logic that I found brilliant.
On the back of the Mr/Mrs books (you know, like Mr. Perfect and Mr. Greedy) you will find little pictures of all the Misters and Little Misses. Upon finishing reading the book one day, Gab turns to the back, touches another Mr, and opens the book with a puzzled look on her face. She repeats this 2 or 3 times before I realize she is wondering why the pictures inside the book haven't changed in response to her selection.
As the other part of my celebration, today my amazing wife is taking me and the kids to a Lego KidsFest event at the convention center downtown. As a gamer I can't think of anything better (that will also keep the attention of a 2.75 year old and an 8 month old who is learning to interact with objects around him). While I am not quite sure what to expect, I am pretty sure I will come home with photos of crazy things we built, crazy other things people built, and a new Lego kit or two.
Also I will be bringing my 3DS, since if knitting and gaming don't cross over, maybe gaming and Legos will. So far the only Street Pass I have gotten is one from a band while I was at Hand Made Arcade (not the video game kind).
BONUS SECTION!!! Why: because it has been too long since my last post.
Let me tell you a story of gaming culture meets child development. As you may know or have guessed, my daughter is already an expert at the iPad. While my wife and I struggle for those last 5 minutes of sleep as the kids use us like a playground, my daughter will regularly ask if she can watch a "Gab show" on the iPad. When we say yes, she unlocks it, finds Netflix, and starts one of the many quality educational shows that we allow her. Only once or twice has she started something we don't approve of (and it was still a kids show, just something we don't like such as Arthur). So about the time that she was first learning the iPad, Gab made a leap of logic that I found brilliant.
On the back of the Mr/Mrs books (you know, like Mr. Perfect and Mr. Greedy) you will find little pictures of all the Misters and Little Misses. Upon finishing reading the book one day, Gab turns to the back, touches another Mr, and opens the book with a puzzled look on her face. She repeats this 2 or 3 times before I realize she is wondering why the pictures inside the book haven't changed in response to her selection.
Dreaming of electric yarn
If you StreetPassed someone with this URL at MD Sheep and Wool you are at the right place! Look around, stay a while, and post a comment! I am a knitter, a gamer, a redditor, and most importantly a dad. Nice to meet you.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The price of nostalgia...
This week I discovered that not only does Android have multiple emulators from consoles of all ages, but one of the SNES emulators works fantastically, even allowing me to use a Wiimote as a controller to play my games. As I dug into my file archive and found my stash of SNES ROMs collected oh so long ago, I started to wonder about the legality/morality of playing the ROM on my phone.
Parallel to the console wars was the adolescence of piracy. Before the age of the internet, piracy by average people was pretty much ignored. Back then piracy required shocking things like two disk drives, or enough hard drive space to hold a whole CD, so the act of piracy was infrequent and difficult to perform or track. Software companies only worried about people actively selling pirated copies, and rightfully so considering that most piracy exchanges with my friends went like this:
Friend: Hey have you tried out this game? It's awesome!
Me: Never heard of it, let's play.
Later Me: Oh this is amazing! Can I get a copy!
Friend: Sure.
Older Me: Oh wow! Awesome Game is coming out with Awesome Game 2! Now I have money and can buy it cause really making a copy was a pain in the ass and I spent a ton of money on new media to copy the game anyway.
Today the scene has greatly changed. Software (from games to operating systems) are advertised on TV next to beer and erection pills so we can't even pretend that people are getting free advertising from piracy; they dont need it. Media and space are so cheap so there is no deterrent there. And copying a game has now gotten so simple as to Google something like "Awesome Game 15 Cracked Version" and you will find at least 6 sources. Even cartridge games, that were impossible to pirate without special hardware, are now easily copied and shared in the same way (I know people who never purchased another DS game after getting an R4 cartridge).
Nintendo places the cost of a SNES game re-released today at $8, but that only allows playing on one Wii console, and, unless you have a rig like this, you are stuck doing so at home. On the other hand, if I have the original game, and the original system still works, there is nothing stopping me from playing it without buying it again. Also if I have enough time and ingenuity, I could create a portable SNES system to play the game on the go like this. So, then, is it not OK for me to take a shortcut and put a SNES emulator on my phone and a copy of my ROM?
Frankly no-one will care that I play a couple of SNES ROMs on my phone, at least in a legal sense. Any apprehension that I have on that idea is blown away by the awesomeness of me playing Chrono Trigger whilst out and about instead of flinging a few birds at green pigs. Then again, what sort of example does this provide for my children?
...
But Chrono Trigger!
Parallel to the console wars was the adolescence of piracy. Before the age of the internet, piracy by average people was pretty much ignored. Back then piracy required shocking things like two disk drives, or enough hard drive space to hold a whole CD, so the act of piracy was infrequent and difficult to perform or track. Software companies only worried about people actively selling pirated copies, and rightfully so considering that most piracy exchanges with my friends went like this:
Friend: Hey have you tried out this game? It's awesome!
Me: Never heard of it, let's play.
Later Me: Oh this is amazing! Can I get a copy!
Friend: Sure.
Older Me: Oh wow! Awesome Game is coming out with Awesome Game 2! Now I have money and can buy it cause really making a copy was a pain in the ass and I spent a ton of money on new media to copy the game anyway.
Today the scene has greatly changed. Software (from games to operating systems) are advertised on TV next to beer and erection pills so we can't even pretend that people are getting free advertising from piracy; they dont need it. Media and space are so cheap so there is no deterrent there. And copying a game has now gotten so simple as to Google something like "Awesome Game 15 Cracked Version" and you will find at least 6 sources. Even cartridge games, that were impossible to pirate without special hardware, are now easily copied and shared in the same way (I know people who never purchased another DS game after getting an R4 cartridge).
Nintendo places the cost of a SNES game re-released today at $8, but that only allows playing on one Wii console, and, unless you have a rig like this, you are stuck doing so at home. On the other hand, if I have the original game, and the original system still works, there is nothing stopping me from playing it without buying it again. Also if I have enough time and ingenuity, I could create a portable SNES system to play the game on the go like this. So, then, is it not OK for me to take a shortcut and put a SNES emulator on my phone and a copy of my ROM?
Frankly no-one will care that I play a couple of SNES ROMs on my phone, at least in a legal sense. Any apprehension that I have on that idea is blown away by the awesomeness of me playing Chrono Trigger whilst out and about instead of flinging a few birds at green pigs. Then again, what sort of example does this provide for my children?
...
But Chrono Trigger!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
On age ratings...
Ratings are confusing to say the least. When I was growing up, movie and game ratings were simple.
- Full frontal nudity or lots of blood: R
- A bit of blood, violence, and some backside nudity, maybe a drug reference or 15,000: PG-13
- Language and slight violence, maybe some teenage angst or alcohol references: PG
- Everything else: G
Today however, Lilo and Stitch can get a PG rating and Wall-E gets a G. To me, these movies are nearly identical in age appropriateness with the exception that Lilo and Stitch has aliens (none of whom have any ill intentions to humans) and Wall-E has robots (one is trying to control the entire human race). For some reasons aliens are reason alone to make something rated PG. It is situations like this that make these ratings mean nothing.
The same thing happens in game ratings, but worse. Neglecting video game ratings (I know more about the games than the ratings would tell me anyway so I always ignore them), I am placed on an emotional roller coaster by the age appropriate ratings on board games and workbooks. A matching game I got for Gab called "Spot it!" has an age rating of 7 to adult. I liked the artwork so I got it anyway and when Gab was able to play it within 5 minutes of explaining the rules I was the proudest father ever! My child is 4.5 years advanced! Today we gave Gab a BrainQuest for shapes and colors with the rating of 2+ and she can't do anything past the first page. I am ashamed. Gab is just over 2.5 years old! Did I do something wrong? Is she going to fail out of High School? Then I remember the Spot it! game. Then there is Candy Land, with a rating of 3+ that Gab has been able to play since 2 (with some hand holding). And a matching game she has mastered that also has a rating of 3+.
I think it's only natural to want my child to progress and develop at the same pace, if not faster than, other children, making sure that my genes will become a valued part of the future world. Sure that makes me a bit narcissistic, but what parent isn't?
I sometimes get a feeling that these ratings are actually designed to play with your emotions. If it's a game that your child seems advanced with, you play it more, showing your child off and giving free advertising. For educational materials, if your child seems behind, you will buy more to make sure your child will "catch up." Ok, so maybe I sound crazy...crazy correct maybe!
- Full frontal nudity or lots of blood: R
- A bit of blood, violence, and some backside nudity, maybe a drug reference or 15,000: PG-13
- Language and slight violence, maybe some teenage angst or alcohol references: PG
- Everything else: G
Today however, Lilo and Stitch can get a PG rating and Wall-E gets a G. To me, these movies are nearly identical in age appropriateness with the exception that Lilo and Stitch has aliens (none of whom have any ill intentions to humans) and Wall-E has robots (one is trying to control the entire human race). For some reasons aliens are reason alone to make something rated PG. It is situations like this that make these ratings mean nothing.
The same thing happens in game ratings, but worse. Neglecting video game ratings (I know more about the games than the ratings would tell me anyway so I always ignore them), I am placed on an emotional roller coaster by the age appropriate ratings on board games and workbooks. A matching game I got for Gab called "Spot it!" has an age rating of 7 to adult. I liked the artwork so I got it anyway and when Gab was able to play it within 5 minutes of explaining the rules I was the proudest father ever! My child is 4.5 years advanced! Today we gave Gab a BrainQuest for shapes and colors with the rating of 2+ and she can't do anything past the first page. I am ashamed. Gab is just over 2.5 years old! Did I do something wrong? Is she going to fail out of High School? Then I remember the Spot it! game. Then there is Candy Land, with a rating of 3+ that Gab has been able to play since 2 (with some hand holding). And a matching game she has mastered that also has a rating of 3+.
I think it's only natural to want my child to progress and develop at the same pace, if not faster than, other children, making sure that my genes will become a valued part of the future world. Sure that makes me a bit narcissistic, but what parent isn't?
I sometimes get a feeling that these ratings are actually designed to play with your emotions. If it's a game that your child seems advanced with, you play it more, showing your child off and giving free advertising. For educational materials, if your child seems behind, you will buy more to make sure your child will "catch up." Ok, so maybe I sound crazy...crazy correct maybe!
Regardless of any conspiracy theory, this problem goes beyond commercial product ratings. I have read research papers that say children are physically unable to share until they are 3 or 4, while Gab has been sharing since before she turned 1. There are ads for programs to teach babies to read before they can speak, but there are reports that say teaching a child to read before 3 can be damaging to their development. The bottom line is no one knows, you are all alone in parenting, and it's an endless trial and error experiment with horrible documentation.
So I'm going to go dance with my daughter, help her with some stickers, have her help me with cooking, and hope she can eventually draw a square that doesn't look like a circle.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Locked In!
It finally happened! Last night I got Adrien and Gab locked into watching me play Portal 2. Yes it was only 30 minutes, and yes Gab told me to stop playing the game after said 30 minutes, but it's the beginning of the end! Now I just have to balance this out with my fatherly instincts that tell me that Gab should be watching something educational and Adrien shouldn't be watching anything at all...
Oh well, after Gab went to sleep I got to a part of the game with no robots, so I don't think she will be quite as interested anymore.
Oh well, after Gab went to sleep I got to a part of the game with no robots, so I don't think she will be quite as interested anymore.
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