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.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
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.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The release date blues
I still get excited for the release of games or consoles that I want. Normal for sure, but when parental duties interrupt the flow of every activity in your life, you would think that I would learn that something like the release of the 3DS or the delivery of Portal 2 would not obtain the same non-stop gaming extravaganza that it used to. Sadly, it does not, and sadly I do not learn. My brother figured this out long before me and plays games from 5 years ago as if they are new (last I heard he is enjoying Bioshock...no not Bioshock 2). He spends $5 on new to him games, I spend $40+ and get to play them 5 years later.
Today I find myself with a 3DS that I can barely play since the doctors say my children can't look at the 3D screen or their eyes will roll back into their head. On the bright side though, Portal 2 is full of robots, and Gab loves robots! So today during lunch I snuck in my first 30 minutes of Portal 2. To my amazement, the moment I told Gab that there were robots, she was entranced. As soon as the robot left the screen, she started asking "Where robot go?" Good thing I played another 30 minutes tonight after she fell asleep since said robot got crushed. I wonder how she will react to the sentries.
Today I find myself with a 3DS that I can barely play since the doctors say my children can't look at the 3D screen or their eyes will roll back into their head. On the bright side though, Portal 2 is full of robots, and Gab loves robots! So today during lunch I snuck in my first 30 minutes of Portal 2. To my amazement, the moment I told Gab that there were robots, she was entranced. As soon as the robot left the screen, she started asking "Where robot go?" Good thing I played another 30 minutes tonight after she fell asleep since said robot got crushed. I wonder how she will react to the sentries.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The evolution of final
Final Fantasy is a franchise that I have grown up with in more ways than one. To the casual observer this is just an endless stream of JRPGs full of grinding, collecting crystals, and swirly graphics, but for those of us who grew up with the series from it's infancy it is so much more. One friend of mine actually learned how to read by playing the first Final Fantasy (so I wasn't kidding about the infancy thing).
Born out of a shared nerddom, Final Fantasy gave us all the things that we wanted and loved growing up. Magic, technology, ninjas, cute pets, funny songs, suggestive 8 bit dancers, Star Wars references, and most importantly both a feeling of being needed and a feeling of being loved. As a child, that came in the form of being an adult, banding with your friends to destroy a legendary evil (FF 1-5). As a teenager, that became the form of a teenager rebelling against an oppressive and evil father figure and a strong importance in love (FF 6-8). This time period got mixed in with Japan's own teenage years where the youth were rebelling against the government which caused their economic crisis of the nineties. In our twenties we craved nostalgia, care free fun, and the acceptance of those that we rebelled against before (FF 9-X2). Here is where I became lost in the world of Final Fantasy, because in FF 12 I was no longer the snot nosed kid seeking attention and adventure. Sure the game was fun, but I just never got into it because I couldn't relate to any of the characters (also I just couldn't figure out why that annoying brat was on the adventure in the first place...he didn't know anyone from the get go, he had no special power, he was just really annoying and no one had the guts to say "get lost kid").
Then came FF 13. Obviously the draw of insane graphics was the catalyst, but that can only keep me playing so long. The gameplay, while at first overly simplistic, became frenetic and fun in later levels. But the thing that really kept me going was the serious and matured relationships in the game. I could talk at length about all the levels of the different relationships, but that's not what this post is about, it's about how I myself relate, and the relationship that really struck me was that of the father who lost his son.
Father son relationships are not new territory for games, but the seriousness and focus that this game placed on that relationship was unexpected. More importantly, the effect that this section of the storyline had on me was shocking. I cried...many times...like a little girl... And I wondered why? Surely it can't be the story telling was better than other games, because the star crossed lovers barely plucked at my heart strings. It was then that I got the idea for this post and realized that not only had my priorities changed to protecting my children, but that Square Enix was growing up too and realized this. Even more impressively, they took advantage of the multiple characters and actually made all four time periods of Final Fantasy I mentioned above, plus one. With the cast of FF 13 we have the adult whose goal it is to destroy the legendary evil (Lightning), the youth rebelling and seeking his love (Snow), the happy go lucky seeking the approval after the wrongs of the past (Vanille and Fang), and now the father protecting his son (Sazh).
Writing this I am struggling to think if these concepts were presented in any of the previous games together, and while I think some elements were (Berret could be considered a father figure to some degree, and Zidane is a rebel), I don't think that all of these are presented as eloquently all to once. Now I can't say that FF 13 is my favorite of the series mainly because of the early weakness of the battle system and the painfully linear gameplay for the first half of the game, but I will say that it is one of the most cohesive, well paced, and interesting story lines of any Final Fantasy so far.
But where was my point? I think that FF 13 actually represents a rather interesting growth in the world of video games in that they not only recognize, but also embrase the fact that their gamer base from days of olde are now parents who still want to game (and have the disposable income to do so). Most other companies take the path of abusing nostalgia or collapsing game experiences into neat little downtime chunks so you can get back to taking care of your family quickly. Square Enix took a different path, and for that I love them even more.
BTW: the distinction of my favorite goes to a tie between FF 6 and FF 7.
Born out of a shared nerddom, Final Fantasy gave us all the things that we wanted and loved growing up. Magic, technology, ninjas, cute pets, funny songs, suggestive 8 bit dancers, Star Wars references, and most importantly both a feeling of being needed and a feeling of being loved. As a child, that came in the form of being an adult, banding with your friends to destroy a legendary evil (FF 1-5). As a teenager, that became the form of a teenager rebelling against an oppressive and evil father figure and a strong importance in love (FF 6-8). This time period got mixed in with Japan's own teenage years where the youth were rebelling against the government which caused their economic crisis of the nineties. In our twenties we craved nostalgia, care free fun, and the acceptance of those that we rebelled against before (FF 9-X2). Here is where I became lost in the world of Final Fantasy, because in FF 12 I was no longer the snot nosed kid seeking attention and adventure. Sure the game was fun, but I just never got into it because I couldn't relate to any of the characters (also I just couldn't figure out why that annoying brat was on the adventure in the first place...he didn't know anyone from the get go, he had no special power, he was just really annoying and no one had the guts to say "get lost kid").
Then came FF 13. Obviously the draw of insane graphics was the catalyst, but that can only keep me playing so long. The gameplay, while at first overly simplistic, became frenetic and fun in later levels. But the thing that really kept me going was the serious and matured relationships in the game. I could talk at length about all the levels of the different relationships, but that's not what this post is about, it's about how I myself relate, and the relationship that really struck me was that of the father who lost his son.
Father son relationships are not new territory for games, but the seriousness and focus that this game placed on that relationship was unexpected. More importantly, the effect that this section of the storyline had on me was shocking. I cried...many times...like a little girl... And I wondered why? Surely it can't be the story telling was better than other games, because the star crossed lovers barely plucked at my heart strings. It was then that I got the idea for this post and realized that not only had my priorities changed to protecting my children, but that Square Enix was growing up too and realized this. Even more impressively, they took advantage of the multiple characters and actually made all four time periods of Final Fantasy I mentioned above, plus one. With the cast of FF 13 we have the adult whose goal it is to destroy the legendary evil (Lightning), the youth rebelling and seeking his love (Snow), the happy go lucky seeking the approval after the wrongs of the past (Vanille and Fang), and now the father protecting his son (Sazh).
Writing this I am struggling to think if these concepts were presented in any of the previous games together, and while I think some elements were (Berret could be considered a father figure to some degree, and Zidane is a rebel), I don't think that all of these are presented as eloquently all to once. Now I can't say that FF 13 is my favorite of the series mainly because of the early weakness of the battle system and the painfully linear gameplay for the first half of the game, but I will say that it is one of the most cohesive, well paced, and interesting story lines of any Final Fantasy so far.
But where was my point? I think that FF 13 actually represents a rather interesting growth in the world of video games in that they not only recognize, but also embrase the fact that their gamer base from days of olde are now parents who still want to game (and have the disposable income to do so). Most other companies take the path of abusing nostalgia or collapsing game experiences into neat little downtime chunks so you can get back to taking care of your family quickly. Square Enix took a different path, and for that I love them even more.
BTW: the distinction of my favorite goes to a tie between FF 6 and FF 7.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)