I'm sad. It isn't even really my loss. My friends lost a beloved kitty today. He was sweet and beautiful and easy-going, and it was easy to love him even through the camera and from descriptions. He was so loved. And to die by getting out and getting hit by a car... He was injured enough to need to be put to sleep.
I need to virtually kill things. This sucks.
Showing posts with label Gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gaming. Show all posts
18 August 2013
19 July 2012
Diablo III Annoyances
I've been playing Diablo III a lot since it was released in mid-May. Loving the game-play; just what I need when I want to just slay a bunch of stuff. But...
First thing I hate has to do with the followers. You get a choice. Either the templar, scoundrel, or enchantress. The templar is so self-righteous, you wish that he existed so you could smack him. The scoundrel is actually pretty funny. But the enchantress! Ug, I didn't think I could hate a video game character like this. She's like... You know when you're a teen or young adult, and one of your best friends has a younger sibling who hero-worships you, and probably has a little crush on you too. At first you might think it's kind of cute. And then one day you spend an extended period of time around the kid, and you start to really hate them. Add to this acting dumb because they think it's cute, and you have the enchantress. I mean, somebody has to like this, otherwise there wouldn't be so many girls and women who manage to attract the opposite sex by acting dumb and feigning worship. (Note: the enchantress does act this way towards both male and female characters.)
An example is the hero you play says something like, "I think we're close to the crown." Enchantress: "You have the right of it. As always." The voice actor makes it clear that she's fawning over you. She goes on at other times about how you're now her entire life, or acts all innocent about things that are said fairly clearly.
She even bothers me more than the attire they've put on the female heroes. A couple of them start off wearing thigh-high stockings, and at least one continues to for the entire game. The demon hunter, who is a kick-ass fighter and has attitude, wears spiky high heels. Even though her adventures running after monsters have her travelling across marshes, desert sands, and snow. These are fighters, not pretty side-kicks that sort of hang around to cheer someone on. Does a warrior of any type want to make sure her stay-ups aren't slipping, or sink into the soft ground in a crucial moment? And! There's one female angel shown. Like the other angels, she's faceless, and wears a big white robe (although hers shows a little leg). She flies at all times you see her. But she's also wearing high heels.
We're not all hormonal young men. I don't look to video games to find an attractive person in my life, and even if I did, they don't have to pull out the stereotypical shortcuts to showing that a woman is sexy.
And the thing is, it's not just what the gaming company thinks people want. Yes, the official forums aren't the majority of players, but it really makes me sick to see posts (with a fair amount of support) complaining that the female wizard's cleavage isn't big enough, or that the female barbarian should be taken down a few dress sizes. (I've stopped reading the official general forums, because I want to throw up whenever I read most of the stuff posted there.)
I guess the point is that it disgusts me that there still exist boys and men of all age groups who think this kind of stuff is okay. And probably women, too.
First thing I hate has to do with the followers. You get a choice. Either the templar, scoundrel, or enchantress. The templar is so self-righteous, you wish that he existed so you could smack him. The scoundrel is actually pretty funny. But the enchantress! Ug, I didn't think I could hate a video game character like this. She's like... You know when you're a teen or young adult, and one of your best friends has a younger sibling who hero-worships you, and probably has a little crush on you too. At first you might think it's kind of cute. And then one day you spend an extended period of time around the kid, and you start to really hate them. Add to this acting dumb because they think it's cute, and you have the enchantress. I mean, somebody has to like this, otherwise there wouldn't be so many girls and women who manage to attract the opposite sex by acting dumb and feigning worship. (Note: the enchantress does act this way towards both male and female characters.)
An example is the hero you play says something like, "I think we're close to the crown." Enchantress: "You have the right of it. As always." The voice actor makes it clear that she's fawning over you. She goes on at other times about how you're now her entire life, or acts all innocent about things that are said fairly clearly.
She even bothers me more than the attire they've put on the female heroes. A couple of them start off wearing thigh-high stockings, and at least one continues to for the entire game. The demon hunter, who is a kick-ass fighter and has attitude, wears spiky high heels. Even though her adventures running after monsters have her travelling across marshes, desert sands, and snow. These are fighters, not pretty side-kicks that sort of hang around to cheer someone on. Does a warrior of any type want to make sure her stay-ups aren't slipping, or sink into the soft ground in a crucial moment? And! There's one female angel shown. Like the other angels, she's faceless, and wears a big white robe (although hers shows a little leg). She flies at all times you see her. But she's also wearing high heels.
We're not all hormonal young men. I don't look to video games to find an attractive person in my life, and even if I did, they don't have to pull out the stereotypical shortcuts to showing that a woman is sexy.
And the thing is, it's not just what the gaming company thinks people want. Yes, the official forums aren't the majority of players, but it really makes me sick to see posts (with a fair amount of support) complaining that the female wizard's cleavage isn't big enough, or that the female barbarian should be taken down a few dress sizes. (I've stopped reading the official general forums, because I want to throw up whenever I read most of the stuff posted there.)
I guess the point is that it disgusts me that there still exist boys and men of all age groups who think this kind of stuff is okay. And probably women, too.
17 February 2012
Do Germans even stand a chance?
Poking around on Steam, today's deal is on Wolfenstein. I was playing Castle Wolfenstein by the time I was 10 years old, on the Commodore 64.
Nazis were scary (and to many, by association Germans were too) before we even learned the history of WWII in school. (Although I did know a bit about it from a Dutch teacher who grew up in the Netherlands during WWII. And he never called them Nazis, just Germans.)
And Nazi games in general have lived on over the years. So that kids who don't even know about the Berlin Wall vilify the Nazis, think of the German accent as scary and evil.
From vacations outside of North America, I've learned that Germans are the bad tourists, stereotyped as the European version of American tourists. They're known as rude, abrupt, and with no sense of humour. By people whose parents don't remember WWII (born during or after). It horrifies me that too much of the world at least unofficially allows an entire nation to be defined by feelings associated with a leader born in the 1800s and his people. Even then, I can see it more for Europeans, whose countries were ravaged by the war (which wasn't just Germany, by the way, even if a major player). Well, the older ones, who were actually affected by it in some way.
I don't know if it speaks well of my parents (who were born during the war in Allied European countries), or if they didn't notice, but I delighted in learning German in high school, especially with never really connecting with French or the Romantic languages, even with 10 years of study. I adored my teacher, we just called her Frau. She was hilarious and loving. I then applied for an exchange to Germany, where a German girl would live with me for several months and go to school here, and then later in the year, I'd go there and live with her family, go to school, live life. I could have used a bit more growing up before going, but it was fantastic. The people were like people anywhere. A joy for life, sometimes the best sense of humour, intelligent, fun. Not everyone was someone I could get along with, but a hell of a lot of them were. Until I die, I will treasure that time.
And sometimes I'm left entirely speechless when I'm told that every single German lacks a sense of humour. Relatives who live in Europe even tell me that. One of my cousins came really freaking close to calling me a liar when I said that many Germans have a sense of humour, a lot of them are friendly, will help you however they can. That they can smile and be happy. That some will go out of their way to help you. Hell, the class I was in there in West Berlin, they'd giggle talking about the prank the previous graduating class pulled, where they disassembled a teacher's car and reassembled it on the roof of the school.
I remember smiles, I remember love, I remember happiness.
And then think back to everything kids, teens, adults get about the evilness of the Nazis (which I'm not disputing - at least of the leaders and those who really believed in the cause and knew what was going on), and how Germans aren't much better (which I am disputing). I don't see signs of it slowing down much. I don't care for the pope (for other reasons), but understand that he didn't have much of a choice about being in the Hitler-Jugend. Yet he has to defend against that. Needs it backed up how unenthusiastic a member he was, and how it was law to join.
I (think and hope) that a lot of people now realise that Russia isn't Stalin. Do people realise that Germany isn't Hitler? And really believe that in their heart of hearts? I wish I were confident of that.
(And for the record, to me German sounds much sexier than French or Italian or any of the Romantic languages ever will. It is not a universal fact that it sounds harsh or ugly.)
Nazis were scary (and to many, by association Germans were too) before we even learned the history of WWII in school. (Although I did know a bit about it from a Dutch teacher who grew up in the Netherlands during WWII. And he never called them Nazis, just Germans.)
And Nazi games in general have lived on over the years. So that kids who don't even know about the Berlin Wall vilify the Nazis, think of the German accent as scary and evil.
From vacations outside of North America, I've learned that Germans are the bad tourists, stereotyped as the European version of American tourists. They're known as rude, abrupt, and with no sense of humour. By people whose parents don't remember WWII (born during or after). It horrifies me that too much of the world at least unofficially allows an entire nation to be defined by feelings associated with a leader born in the 1800s and his people. Even then, I can see it more for Europeans, whose countries were ravaged by the war (which wasn't just Germany, by the way, even if a major player). Well, the older ones, who were actually affected by it in some way.
I don't know if it speaks well of my parents (who were born during the war in Allied European countries), or if they didn't notice, but I delighted in learning German in high school, especially with never really connecting with French or the Romantic languages, even with 10 years of study. I adored my teacher, we just called her Frau. She was hilarious and loving. I then applied for an exchange to Germany, where a German girl would live with me for several months and go to school here, and then later in the year, I'd go there and live with her family, go to school, live life. I could have used a bit more growing up before going, but it was fantastic. The people were like people anywhere. A joy for life, sometimes the best sense of humour, intelligent, fun. Not everyone was someone I could get along with, but a hell of a lot of them were. Until I die, I will treasure that time.
And sometimes I'm left entirely speechless when I'm told that every single German lacks a sense of humour. Relatives who live in Europe even tell me that. One of my cousins came really freaking close to calling me a liar when I said that many Germans have a sense of humour, a lot of them are friendly, will help you however they can. That they can smile and be happy. That some will go out of their way to help you. Hell, the class I was in there in West Berlin, they'd giggle talking about the prank the previous graduating class pulled, where they disassembled a teacher's car and reassembled it on the roof of the school.
I remember smiles, I remember love, I remember happiness.
And then think back to everything kids, teens, adults get about the evilness of the Nazis (which I'm not disputing - at least of the leaders and those who really believed in the cause and knew what was going on), and how Germans aren't much better (which I am disputing). I don't see signs of it slowing down much. I don't care for the pope (for other reasons), but understand that he didn't have much of a choice about being in the Hitler-Jugend. Yet he has to defend against that. Needs it backed up how unenthusiastic a member he was, and how it was law to join.
I (think and hope) that a lot of people now realise that Russia isn't Stalin. Do people realise that Germany isn't Hitler? And really believe that in their heart of hearts? I wish I were confident of that.
(And for the record, to me German sounds much sexier than French or Italian or any of the Romantic languages ever will. It is not a universal fact that it sounds harsh or ugly.)
10 January 2012
ST:TOR
I have friends playing TOR, and I heard some really good build-up for it.
But... this article in Forbes, and similar ones on other pages and publications. It leaves me feeling really icky that there's an option of a slave with a shock collar around her neck, that she can be tortured and belittled, that rape is an available act for the bad guys, et cetera. I know that the bad side is actually evil. But, it's one thing to watch it in a movie or read about it and root against it. It's another to role-play it in an immersive atmosphere. Knowing that the kind of people who want night elves in WoW to take off their clothes and dance for them are able to actually really get into some nasty stuff.
In WoW, I know that people get really into the RP. They get genuinely upset if someone they just know online isn't able to spend time with them. They get pissed off royally if someone from the opposite faction kills their character. They take it personally if another character emotes a /spit or something worse at them. Some people really have problems separating the game from reality at times.
And these people can now brag in their equivalent of Trade chat about how they torture and rape. Did we need another venue for woman-hate in new games coming out? There's enough misogyny elsewhere.
I was thinking of giving TOR a shot, but on second thought, I don't want to financially support this bullshit. It's sexist enough in WoW and other games. I don't need to pay to take that even further.
But... this article in Forbes, and similar ones on other pages and publications. It leaves me feeling really icky that there's an option of a slave with a shock collar around her neck, that she can be tortured and belittled, that rape is an available act for the bad guys, et cetera. I know that the bad side is actually evil. But, it's one thing to watch it in a movie or read about it and root against it. It's another to role-play it in an immersive atmosphere. Knowing that the kind of people who want night elves in WoW to take off their clothes and dance for them are able to actually really get into some nasty stuff.
In WoW, I know that people get really into the RP. They get genuinely upset if someone they just know online isn't able to spend time with them. They get pissed off royally if someone from the opposite faction kills their character. They take it personally if another character emotes a /spit or something worse at them. Some people really have problems separating the game from reality at times.
And these people can now brag in their equivalent of Trade chat about how they torture and rape. Did we need another venue for woman-hate in new games coming out? There's enough misogyny elsewhere.
I was thinking of giving TOR a shot, but on second thought, I don't want to financially support this bullshit. It's sexist enough in WoW and other games. I don't need to pay to take that even further.
8 January 2012
Home schooling
I'm sure there are good reasons for home-schooling in some situations.
But a big part of what going to school does is socialise the child. Parents of home-schooled children must have to put a lot of extra effort into helping a kid meet and spend time with their peers. Ideally.
Someone started chatting with me in WoW tonight. For once, I was friendly and chatted back. He started off with "Will you be my friend?" like kids do in grade school. Turns out he recently turned 16, and wanted a girlfriend. Asked my age (more than twice his age), and then asked if we could date. I let him down nicely, and asked about what he liked in a girl, and what the ones in his class are like, or where he hangs out with friends. If he told me the truth, he's home-schooled, and has no access to any girls at all. Doesn't know what he likes in a girl. Not sure where they hang out. So he wanted the next best thing and wants me to help him find a girlfriend in-game.
I enjoy MMORPGs. Would go so far as to say that you can learn a lot through them, and gain some valuable lessons. But separating a young teen from other kids his age, and then leaving him to play as he wants, late into the night, seems irresponsible. I'm baffled as to why any parents would let a child learn peer interactions from a game like this. On the internet, the anonymity tends to make a lot of people nastier, and different from their usual selves. Maybe that's why he's spending time in an area many levels too low for him, looking for people who he can help?
Yes, I'm making some assumptions. But from what little I saw, I found it tragic. He wants me to be his friend in-game. I hope I'm not the only friend he makes who isn't a jerk to strangers for the heck of it.
But a big part of what going to school does is socialise the child. Parents of home-schooled children must have to put a lot of extra effort into helping a kid meet and spend time with their peers. Ideally.
Someone started chatting with me in WoW tonight. For once, I was friendly and chatted back. He started off with "Will you be my friend?" like kids do in grade school. Turns out he recently turned 16, and wanted a girlfriend. Asked my age (more than twice his age), and then asked if we could date. I let him down nicely, and asked about what he liked in a girl, and what the ones in his class are like, or where he hangs out with friends. If he told me the truth, he's home-schooled, and has no access to any girls at all. Doesn't know what he likes in a girl. Not sure where they hang out. So he wanted the next best thing and wants me to help him find a girlfriend in-game.
I enjoy MMORPGs. Would go so far as to say that you can learn a lot through them, and gain some valuable lessons. But separating a young teen from other kids his age, and then leaving him to play as he wants, late into the night, seems irresponsible. I'm baffled as to why any parents would let a child learn peer interactions from a game like this. On the internet, the anonymity tends to make a lot of people nastier, and different from their usual selves. Maybe that's why he's spending time in an area many levels too low for him, looking for people who he can help?
Yes, I'm making some assumptions. But from what little I saw, I found it tragic. He wants me to be his friend in-game. I hope I'm not the only friend he makes who isn't a jerk to strangers for the heck of it.
23 November 2011
Games!
Wow, so Steam is having a huge sale right now. Have a lot of poking around to do. One that I spend a fair amount of time on is SquareLogic. Even managed to get members of the family addicted. The thing is, it looks like a math game, but it's really a logic game. Most of these sorts are - people just get scared off by the numbers before realising that you could substitute shapes or letters (if the hint pop-up showed what combos you could use in shapes instead of numbers). But looks like busy times this week, determining if anything cheap enough is something to stock up on for the next few months!
In other strange news, most of my page views are coming from Russia. It's an incredibly small sample size, but still weird to me.
In other strange news, most of my page views are coming from Russia. It's an incredibly small sample size, but still weird to me.
19 November 2011
And in more shallow news...
I'm finally getting around to trying to set up Power Auras to replace some of my other add-ons in World of Warcraft. If it's done right, Power Auras should replace all timers, indicators, announce missing buffs, alert me to bad stuff, tell me when procs come up, and I know I haven't even gotten into any of the advanced functionality. Until now, only very basic auras were set up.
I have been wondering whether WeakAuras might be worth checking out, but can't get enough of an idea of the differences from the page I looked at. Anybody know?
I have been wondering whether WeakAuras might be worth checking out, but can't get enough of an idea of the differences from the page I looked at. Anybody know?
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