TS4: Say hi to the Sabrukas (Part 1)

If you want to skip the review bit, just jump until you see the big TS4 title.

This weekend I decided to splurge and spend my video game budget for last month (I'm a little behind) on The Sims 4, a game which has not gotten the best reviews. Still, I'm a sucker for what I guess you can call "life simulation games" (Animal Crossing, the aforementioned The Sims, recently Tomodachi Life, etc.) and I have to say that the bad points were actually what sold me to the game. Yes, The Sims 4 (I'll just call it TS4 if you don't mind) seems to have less features than its previous instalment The Sims 3, but I don't think that's a bad thing. For starters, I missed the simplicity of the original game, and TS3 never really did it for me. I felt like it was too much detail and I felt myself forced to obey the sleep-pee-shower-eat-work-sleep routine (which I also call the SPSEWS, or "spews" routine... you'll see that coming up) if I wanted to see anything interesting.

TS4, on the other hand, seems to have simplified some things to the point where I actually feel like moving out of my all-important house and visit some things. I don't want this "review" to go too much in detail, so in short I feel like TS4 is a solid return to the franchise's roots while providing still some new improvements, the best of which I gotta say is the "emotions" system they put in. Seeing my sim get embarrassed because they admitted to being attracted to their maid, then proceed to miss work because they hid under their bed covers for 3 hours was hilarious.

With that being said, on to the journal.

The Sims 4: Say hi to the Sabrukas

After getting the game, I thought to myself: "You know, Jonathan the Almighty and Gorgeous, maybe I could do a Let's Play of TS4." And, as you can see, I sorta did. The plan is to continue this until either a) I get extremely bored of this (which I'll tell you, I won't just leave you hanging) or b) my lineage, i.e. the children and grandchildren of my original sims, dies out.

So I started creating sims for myself and my spouse. I decided to make my simile, which I called Nosco Sabruka, a complete geek; he loves video games, computers, etc. The only problem is that when creating my body type, I forgot to remove the goatee that came with the "default randomized" model, making me look like a douche. A small paunch and spazzy haircut later, I was done.

I am a little crazy looking.

I spent a little more time making my girlfriend because, well, she deserves better. After about thirty minutes of fine-tuning eyes, nose, and mouth - she deserves the extra time spent - Myllenium Sabruka was born. For her traits and personality, I decided to give her a sporty mind; athletic, healthy, and active. I'm sure this will go well with my own, less-physically-inclined clone.

Myllenium was sleeping when I took this one.

Once they moved in to their cheap. barely-standing new home, I looked for a job. Nosco easily found a job being a tech guru, but Myllenium had a bit more trouble as none of the jobs seemed to fit for a, um, fit person. I thought of giving her the secret agent, painter or astronaut careers, but I think I'll leave that for later if she gets bored of being a cook. I thought that would fit well because Myllenium's real-life counterpart is an amazing cook, but I digress. Now, and similarly to real-life, Nosco and Myllenium's work schedules are completely incompatible, with the former being a standard Monday-to-Friday 9-to-5 gig and the latter being, well, the night shift.

This is what we typically look like.

About a month goes by with my sims spewing (for those who didn't read the review, this comes from "SPSEWS", or sleep-pee-shower-eat-work-sleep) and working up in their respective companies. Nosco is an ace engineer now and Myllenium is head cook or something, but that's not interesting. Let me just tell a few stories that happened during that month:

• Nosco and Myllenium had "woo-hoo" almost every night they could;
• On his free time, Nosco hacked some sort of trust fund and got a whopping 0$ out of it;
• Myllenium dragged Nosco to the gym, where she had a successful workout and he only succeeded in wetting himself and passing out;
• With a steady stream of money coming in, I decided to improve my sims' life by expanding their house, and discovered that I can't build a nice-looking roof for the life of me;
• The toilet broke about 10 times, the sink about 7 and the shower about 9 times;
• Nosco set the house on fire while cooking some mac-and-cheese and didn't do anything to help while Myllenium put it out;
• Myllenium went jogging an average of 2 times a day, and boxed with a punching bag about once a day;
• Nosco is boring as hell, as all he does in his free time is play video games and hack trust funds;

That's pretty much it for the first part. I'll keep this updated whenever wacky or weird things happen, which will probably begin as soon as we have a bit more MONEY (as our house is butt-ugly and almost empty right now).

Cheers,

Snowman

UPDATE:
I got a few screenshots, so I'm posting them here:

Our house, in the middle of our street.

The small gym I built for Myllenium.

My office, quite sad looking. I need to renovate that ASAP.

The first floor of our humble abode.

I think Nosco was playing a game or something. Notice the crazy eyes again.

On Sandcastles

Topics: Video Games, Storytelling

Sandcastle: noun a model of a castle built out of sand, typically by children.

Today, let's talk about one of my favourite topics ever; storytelling and video games (which, if you've been paying attention, are also the two topics for today). With all those talks about video games (y'know what? I'll just call them games) being a new art form, I feel it important to address the question of how games can be used to convey a story, or an idea.

Now, I wouldn't be surprising anyone by saying that there are many, many video games out there with amazing stories to tell avid players; Bioshock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, and Pokémon are just three examples that popped into my mind when I thought of extensive and immersive stories. Originally, games did not have too much story put into them; Doom (1993) had an extremely simple plot of "demons here shoot them ok thanks", while Pac-Man (1980) had an even simpler plot of a dot-gobbling (what a beautiful word) yellow circle being chased by ghosts (reminds me of high school).

It wasn't long however before developers realized the storytelling potential in video games. Many people remember playing Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES) with its simple "kill the turtle-dragon, rescue the princess, save the kingdom" story, but when talking about stories in games I personally like to mention Final Fantasy (1987, NES). Now, THAT was a game ahead of its time. With a complex plot (well, not that complex), sprawling world and fleshed-out characters (mostly villains, and again not that fleshed-out), Final Fantasy started out with a bang and would grow to become one of the most well-known RPG series in the world.

Nowadays, you would be hard-pressed to find a game without even the simplest of plots.

But what happens when the plots aren't complete? What happens when the game leaves too much holes for the player to fill in? What goes through the minds of players as they conquer a city whilst playing Civilization V? Do they simply consider this a colourless victory, or do they imagine themselves as a conqueror gaining territory? Or a liberator of the oppressed, for that matter?

In my experience (read: no sources for what I'm about to say), I find that nowadays players tend to "fill the blanks", so to speak, in a game's plot as they play. Most Let's Play series focus on stories and plots, and even those without tend to make do with what they can. For example, many Minecraft Let's Players find a simple goal to accomplish and build a plot around it. They personify some of the personality-handicapped enemies or creatures and interact with them in humorous ways to entertain their audience.

Here's another example with the game Animal Crossing: Wild World. Now, I've always been a fan of the Animal Crossing series, and of life simulation games in general. Animal Crossing features a simple plot of a young boy or girl moving in to a town populated mostly by animal-people hybrids. There isn't much to do other than fish, relax, get money, expand your house, get more money, etc. It's quite hard to explain, but I hope those comics will have given you an idea of what the game can be like.

Now, let me present you with The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing, most likely the most popular Animal Crossing Let's Play out there. Go ahead, read a chapter, I'll wait...

...ok, that's enough. As you can see, players tend to fill in blanks in a story however which way they can, sometimes in a, um, disturbing manner.

I think video games, both as an art form and as a way to convey stories, are here to stay whether we like it or not. The fact that players create their own stories, in a way, while playing is reminiscent of another popular form of consumer-driven media; fan-fictions. In fact, video game fan-fictions also exist and are quite popular. It seems as though video games in general seem to involve their audiences in a much more active role than, say, television or movies. What does that mean about games' long-term viability as an entertainment media? Are video games, in fact, a "better" art form than non-active media, such as television? and what about books? Where do they fit on the active/inactive scale of media?

Those, my friends, are questions for next another time.

Stay frosty,

Snowman


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Out With The Old...

Topics: Programming, Life

Lesson: noun something to be learned or studied: the lessons of the past.

Today I have learned that the very basic things you learn in school never cease to be relevant. For example, I had a missing import statement. I remember telling some of my students to always check for those things. Yet I spent 15 minutes trying to figure out exactly that; a missing import.

Never be too quick to discard lessons you learned years ago.

That's all for now.

Stay frosty,
Snowman

A New Kind Of Game...

Topics: Programming, Video Games

Adventure: noun An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.

Those who know me very well know that I have a great passion for video games, programming and storytelling. Therefore, it is no great secret that I've been trying to reconcile these three activities. While it would be pretty obvious to simply make a video game in order to convey a story, anyone who has dabbled in that medium knows it is no easy task; video games are still not quite accepted as a veritable and serious art form, and trying to tell a story while keeping the player interested is no easy task, though it has been done in the past.

The text-based adventure has been of interest to me lately. Most budding programmers with an interest in video games and a pinch of creativity dabbles into this guilty pleasure of generally bad design and simplified game mechanics. Many historically-important games were text-based adventures which are still played today. Other games take advantage of the graphical simplicity to create complicated gameplay.

I remember the first game I created. It was based on a fantasy setting I've been working on since June 2003 (and I just realized that the setting in question along with the multiverse I built around it will be 10 years old in a little over a month holy shit) and consisted mostly of some limited exploration and combat, with a small engine to procedurally generate weapons and armour.

The idea of creating a text-based video game where I could tell my stories was abandoned for a time. However, it has been coming back recently. I wondered how I could make not only a deep game story, but how I could make it accessible to the general public. I would like this engine to be available to many other players, who would be able to create their own stories without too much hassle.

I am still designing this system, which will be an interpreter for various "story" files. The goal is to create an easy-to-use system for people who are not programmers to create their own narrative-based video games. What do you think?

Stay frosty,
Snowman

Asserted Review: Bioshock Infinite

Topic: Video Game Review

Play: noun a dramatic composition or piece; drama.

Hey kiddies, just a quick note before I get into the bulk of the review. I'm still new at writing reviews, and I might be doing more in the future based on your feedback, so please comment to give me any ideas/hints/advice! Also, I know I said I would write a review of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, but I wanted to write this one first. Thanks, and enjoy!
- Snowman

So, Bioshock Infinite. Where do I begin? I bought this game when it came out last week, thinking to give another chance at the Bioshock series. I was mildly entertained by the first game, but quickly got fet up; I found that it got repetitive and bland fairly quickly. When the second game came out, I again purchased it to see how they managed to keep the franchise fresh (despite it taking place in a sunken, rotten city at the bottom of the ocean). While the story was a notch above the first game, it wasn't different enough to merit more than a glance on my part. So why, then, would I risk my money and time again for the new entry in the series?

Well, I'm a sucker for second chances, and the game got good reviews, so why not? I decided to once more plunge into the world of Bioshock.

I'm so glad I did.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

The story begins at a lighthouse, where you travel to the sunken city of Rapture — –

Well, not quite. As you may know, Bioshock Infinite takes place in Columbia, a gigantic (and I mean mother loving gigantic) floating city ripe with crazy fanaticism, fantastic racism and American dreams all over the place. The game is set in 1912 in the midst of the American exceptionalism period; very early on you are immersed in this great world which you know will be going to hell soon enough.

"Come one, come all, and see the amazing Handiman! Get it? 'Cause he has big hands?"

You play the role of Booker DeWitt, protagonist/asshole sent to Columbia to bring back a woman in order to settle an undisclosed debt (the arc words "give us the girl and wipe away the debt" are all but shoved down your throat throughout the game). Surprisingly enough, the task is more complicated than it first appeared (</sarcasm>). You are soon treated as a villain in this world and attacked on every side.

Vague enough for you? Well there's more where that came from!

A Novel In A Movie In A Game

Seriously, it's hard to write this review, and I will tell you why. This game has an amazing story. Not "really really good", but amazing. You will be amazed. The characters are believable, the setting is perfect for the story it is trying to convey, and the game keeps you stringing along the plot. At no point during the game do you forget your goals or motivations. But most importantly, the game does an extremely good job at making the player want to finish the story. You get attached to the protagonists and you begin hating the antagonists. Every single character is well crafted, with a very extensive, if only hinted at, backstory. Nothing in this world feels flat or shallow.

The reason it is hard to write this review is because the story is just so damn good, and anything I say about the story would be a spoiler. If you play on getting this game, do not look up any information online. The whole reason to get this game is to experience its story, and ruining it would also ruin your experience.

Story-Driven Gameplay

So, other than the story, what else is good? Well, for starters the gameplay is very solid. It follows the same Bioshock formula of using magic powers (now called vigors) along with weapons in various combinations in order to solve problems (read: shoot them in the face). The game somehow manages to do this better than its predecessors; the combat does not feel as repetitive as the previous games. It is fast-paced, and the rhythm at which combat is present in the game is just perfect. Longer combat segments are usually in larger areas, providing a variety of different strategies to employ, while shorter segments are fast and brutal.

Our lovely deuteragonist, Elizabeth. You accompany her throughout most parts of the game. Don't get confused; you don't have to protect her. She can take care of herself.

The environment is gorgeous, and while you never leave Columbia, it somehow never gets old. The world changes along with the story, and every little detail helps convey the sense of panic and urgency which permeates the later parts of the game. The soundtrack also features a wide range of music, from fast-paced sounds for combat to pleasurable church choirs for the more religious bits.

Overall, it's hard to break away from the story as everything in this game contributes to it. You are constantly reminded of what needs to be done, and the game does this amazingly. You will be walking on a pier, enjoying the sights, for a moment forgetting that your life is in danger, when suddenly Elizabeth will comment on the beautiful skies. Suddenly, you are reminded of her presence, of your mission, and of the grave peril you are in. It sounds like nothing, but it is small, subtle reminders like that which drive you forward. It doesn't give you a pop-up saying "SAVE TEH GURL NAO" every second. It doesn't blatantly say "let's not wait here too long" like many games. It simply strings you along peacefully.

Conclusion

STORY:	11	The best story in a video game I have seen in a very long time, and the main reason to buy this game.
VISUALS:	10	Amazing environment, beautiful landscapes.
SOUNDTRACK:	10	Great context-appropriate music, awesome musical score.
ATMOSPHERE:	10	If there was one thing Bioshock always did well, it's atmosphere.
CONTROLS:	10	Controls are very intuitive and easy to learn.
MULTIPLAYER:	N/A	The game does not offer multiplayer.
LENGTH:	9	Short game to play through, but justified; adding to the time would probably have added useless, dry segments to an otherwise active game.
OVERALL:	10/10

There are some games which you play and then forget about once you put down the controller. Then there are games which stick with you for a few weeks as you play them again and again until you have explored every facet the game has to offer. Then there are games like these, which let you experience a story that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Stay frosty,
Snowman