Having played this game for tens of hours I’ve now grown pretty tired of it, at least for now, especially after learning what happens when you reach the center. Had a hunch it wouldn’t be great.

There are phases to playing this game. At first it’s really fun, exploring and solving the problems required to leave the planet you start on, and likewise exploring the first star system, visiting those first few new planets and doing the next few jumps to different star systems.    

Then at a certain point comes a feeling of tedium and chaos. Find and gather resources, making sense of resources and the various possible recipes and upgrades, struggle with the limited inventory, ending up on too many dead stony planets, seeing the same buildings and nearly same space stations, many nearly interchangable interactions with aliens, and so on.

But interspersed with all that are some beautiful vistas and sense of exploration and discovery, sense of wonder even. Planets can occasionally look and behave quite different from one another, and star systems as well. Just drifting in space looking around can be a harmonic and meditative experience, especially with that great soundtrack. At one point, really tired and unable to take any decisive action, it became almost hypnotic and dreamlike. I totally get why some people might play this game while high. 

Eventually you get a bigger inventory while also learning a lot about the various resources, what you need and how to get it, as well as getting useful recipes for upgrading your gear and ship (e.g. mining faster, warping longer), and with that increased efficiency and control the tedium and sense of chaos diminishes somewhat, less grind and uncertainty, more enjoyment.  

For a little while. 

But after finishing the Atlas path (alongside some random exploration) and getting a good idea of what you can expect from the game — e.g. what kind of variation you can expect from planet to planet and star system to star system — a new kind of tedium sets in. This one is related not so much to any particular phase of the game but to the game itself, no matter how you play it (it seems). Everything repeats itself as you fly alone and aimlessly through the universe. 

I still got those tens of hours out of the game and I’ve not done yet, so I can’t say it was wasted money, and in fact I suspect I will keep playing this game now and then for some time, in small doses, especially if they release an interesting update. But I have to admit I’m still disappointed. The moment to moment enjoyment is no where near that of playing a solidly good game, let alone a great one. And yet… at its best, a few short moments early on, it creates a magnificent sense of wonder and feels unlike any other game I’ve played. Clearly they’re on to something with this concept, and I’m looking forward to what the future might bring in terms of updates, sequels and other games in this genre, whatever it will be.

This game was barely on my radar until a few days before release, so you could say it caught me off guard. I’ve since played for a good while, but my final judgement will have to wait. Let’s just say there’s both good and bad, and that it’s an interesting experiment.

I’ll assume basic familiarity of the game. 

I started out on a boring planet that wasn’t exactly a feast for the eyes, but I didn’t mind. Everything seemed mysterious, didn’t know what to do or how to do it or how to interpret anything I saw. That’s a pretty great starting point if you ask me, being dropped off in the middle of nowhere (actually, at the edge of the universe) and told to survive, and even thrive. There was a ship and it seemed broken, smoke coming from it, clearly my ticket out of there, if I could only repair it…

The game doesn’t provide all that much by way of elucidation, it’s something you have to figure out and pick up gradually, learning the world and its laws, the instruments and the resources needed and where to find them. It basically starts out as a survival game. Took several hours to leave the planet, partly because of one needed resource that was damn hard to find (or so I though, not knowing where to look.) 

That whole part of the game, just getting the ship to work and leaving the planet, was like its own little game unlike the rest. 

It was exciting, I even enjoyed the ugliness of the planet knowing it’ll make the escape so much sweeter. And indeed, finally being able to take off and venture into space was an amazing moment.  

Leaving that initial planet is basically just the prolog. Stay tuned for more on this game. 

So I’ve been playing Fallout 4 lately. I actually got it at launch in November, and I did play it for a while back then, but life happened and I didn’t continue until recently. Now I’ve finished the main quest and many of the side quests. A few spoilers ahead, probably.

I finished as Brotherhood of Steel, terminating the Institute and the Railroad. Would have preferred to save the Railroad but that’s not how the Brotherhood rolls, so what can you do (but I hear it’s possible to save both the Brotherhood and the Railroad if you side with the Minutemen and play your cards right.)

I wanted to like the Institute. There’s where my son is and it’s pro science and I do like the whole secretive illuminati vide, and they also did a good job of creating expectations starting long before actually entering the Institute, but unfortunately the game doesn’t really do a good job of describing what they’re about, explaining and justifying their actions, their ideology and strategy and plan for their own and everyone else’s future and so on. I had basic and obvious questions I couldn’t ask and objections I couldn’t make. What is it you stand for, again? There was a quest specifically to learn about them, except that you only really got to know a few details about their science projects, which is not what I had in mind. Compare this to New Vegas where each of the factions where explained and showed expertly, both abstractly and on a gut-level.

(As an aside, and perhaps a topic for another post, they also failed to make me really care for my adult son, there should have been a deeper connection of some sort (or maybe a noticeable and painful lack of connection– just something rather than business as usual) so when I at a seminal moment finally put an end to the Institute it wasn’t the heart-rending experience that it ought to have been.)

They made a big deal out of their synths but explanations were lacking in that department as well. One doctor were talking to a synth about its feelings, so they clearly recognize that they have sentience and feelings, so why aren’t they allowed the status of personhood? I’m not saying they should or shouldn’t; I’m saying the Institute should have addressed the question more. If the synths don’t have free will, why do they keep escaping, contrary to their programming? Perfect opportunity to infuse some philosophy of sentience, personhood and free will and so on into the game, a very relevant topic these days with AI on the rise, but no, they settled for surface-level assertions, if at all.

I just wanted to know more. To be fair I got a better feel for the other factions though, especially the Brotherhood, but still not at the level of New Vegas. Not sure if the Railroad should have been considered a major faction at all, it’s a minor group with a specific narrow goal, not a faction like the others. Heck, it’s basically smaller than several of the non-main factions in New Vegas, such as the Brotherhood or the Boomers. The player can view them as a minor faction in his own mind, but they’re clearly written into the story as a major faction, which if chosen precludes the others.

I feel the Brotherhood was the faction they )id the best (even making them somewhat more true to their roots than they did in Fallout 3) but I’m guessing that’s because they didn’t actually create that faction themselves, they inherited it and so they needn’t be concerned with creation, only portrayal and adjustment into current circumstances.

The choice for me was between the BoS and the Minutemen, glad neither had to be eliminated.

You wouldn’t guess it from this post, but it is in many ways still an enjoyable and even great game, but that’s another topic for another day.

After years of wanting to and after finally getting a gaming PC, I started up my first game of Europa Universalis 4 recently. And what an awesome game it is.

In my first try I played as Castile, apparently one of the easier countries to play. Easier but still rather overwhelming for a complete beginner, and I guess it didn’t help that I didn’t feel like using any kind of tutorial — I just threw myself into the thick of it, pedal to the metal style. All that data, all those resources and possible actions, all those ways to display the map, all that diplomacy and those other countries and their relations to you and each other, and so on. It’s a lot even in a single frozen moment of the game, but even more as time is flowing and events unfold simultaneously around the map, most of which you aren’t even aware of because it’s way too much to keep track of. But it’s there and it’s happening and you may or may not notice the developments later (as, say, a nation that earlier was a minor power turns out to now be a serious threat and at your doorstep — someone’s been growing while you didn’t look), unlike games like Skyrim where there actually are no events going on in the background though it’s trying to give you an illusion of otherwise. 

So I was exploring the game trying to make sense of it all. After some time I performed the reconquista and later my ally Portugal got into a war with the much weaker Morocco, so I got to play around a bit more with war against a relatively safe and easy enemy. 

I kept getting reports about the risk of getting into a civil war but I didn’t care too much as I didn’t really know what it would mean or how I could prevent it, I suppose I was thinking I should take it as it comes and deal with it if or when it actually happens. Well, it did happen and it was lot tougher than I thought it would be. The enemy army was far bigger than mine even after training several new armies using multiple loans. I kept reloading to try out new things but kept losing. 

Eventually I stopped playing the game for a few weeks, but as I got back into it with a few new ideas to try I could no longer (without risk) open the save game because I had updated to a later version of EU4. Whoops. Probably a solvable problem, but I wasn’t too invested in that particular game anyway so I opted to start a new game as instead, this time as Portugal.

That didn’t go too well at first, I was allied with England who got into (or was already into) a war with France and Austria, who both sent big armies to my homeland and kept attacking until I couldn’t resist any longer, and then France gave me a peace offer it would have been most unwise to refuse. That whole ordeal really set me back, I probably should have surrendered early (if that was possible), instead I kept taking loans to build new armies (did someone say deja vu) that was just getting slaughtered anyway. And that damn England didn’t send a single unit to my aid. I’m willing to forgive England and even Austria (the lesser aggressor), but I will exact revenge on France later on, just he wait.

Eventually I got back on my feet and became powerful in areas such as colonization and trade (much like Portugal in real life at the time, and in fact the game provides certain bonuses if you play in accordance with history, which is an interesting design idea), but that’s a story for another day.

So I got Europa Universalis IV recently, at last, and shortly thereafter I got Crusader Kings II. And then I discovered that it wasn’t an accident they were so cheap; it was the end-of-year sale at Steam, with sales all around. So why stop there, I got three other grand strategy games from Paradox Interactive: Victorica 2 (complete), Darkest Hour (an critically acclaimed huge mod based on Hearts of Iron 2) and Hearts of Iron 3 (complete?) Also got a nearly complete dlc bundle for CK2, but so far I haven’t started gettings dlcs for EU4 with a couple of small exceptions.

I’ve started playing EU4 and I love it. Getting back to that. 

This is shaping up to become a year a gaming for me. I recently got a Playstation 4 in order to play Fallout 4, but I also got my first gaming PC in a long time, and in particular in order to play PC-exclusive strategy games such as Europa Universalis 4 and Crusader Kings 2. In fact, I’ve already bought and downloaded those two! But I also finally able to play those kickstarter games I’ve backed in the past. 

But it’s not just about the situation in my life, there are interesting things in the world of gaming going on too. 2016 is the year when serious virtual reality devices enter the market. It may or may not be a huge success right from the start (I think they’ll sell reasonably well), but it certainly will over time. It’s a game changer, the biggest in a long time. 

It’s insane how long video gaming has come in the last few decades, both in terms of technology and cultural penetration, and we’re still just getting started. Gaming and reality is blending and will continue to do so, and virtual reality is an important part of that process.

It’ll be a great year! 

Replayed this game recently and enjoyed it this time as well, and indeed more than Dishonored, as I thought I would. Especially the setting is more compelling to me, as I really like cyberpunk and futurism and the themes and questions and aestheics that naturally emerge from those. The sneaking is also better, esp the fluid system to cover behind things and move seamlessly between covers or around corners. I like Dishonored too, but while I’m sure I’ll play the upcoming sequel to Deus Ex I’ll see about playing the upcoming Dishonored 2.

Unlike last time I went all in on sneaking, and man that really improved the game. It’s a lot more fun sneaking and getting the related augmentations, and not killing anyone. It’s also more challenging. Nothing is easier than killing the guards one by one from a distance and with a character (partly) optimized for that. Sneaking past them is harder, and if you make them unconcious (rather than killing them) they will be awoken again if found by other guards, so you often can’t just pick them off from a distance or leave them laying around. I went for a “no kill” run and was disappointed when I didn’t get the “pacifist” trophy. Must have killed someone by accident without noticing.

Got to say though that I still enjoy open world games such as the Fallouts and Elder Scrolls a lot more than Deus Ex: HR. The sense of freedom, discovery, non-linearity and massive amount of interesting content and options on all levels in those games are just spectacular, as well as the rich and deep game worlds, whether the main story holds up or not.

By comparison Deus Ex feels more like a classical game while they feel like stepping into a different world. But Deus Ex shouldn’t feel bad about that; it’s better than most games and its tight and tactical sneaking is something you can’t get in New Vegas, however much I love that game. I want to play a variety of games and that includes games that are great but aren’t my absolue favorites, as long as they offer something those favorites don’t.

So yeah. Great game: nice aestehtics, interesting and thought-provoking themes, exciting and fun sneaking, fun augmentations to play around with. Looking forward to the sequel coming early next year.

(Quick note: currently playing and midway through the first Mass Effect, and I really enjoy it! Otoh I stopped playing Icewind Dale, though not by conscious choice and I might continue.)

I’ve started playing Icewind Dale (enhanced version) some time ago and I can’t wait to start writing about that one, but first a post on Red Faction: Guerrilla.

I’ve had this game on my backlog for literally years. Finally got around to play and finish it and it turned out to be pretty enjoyable and entertaining but not very meaningful.

The best part is the destruction. Everything is destructable and it’s apparently calculated in real time. Things go broke in different ways and to different degrees depending on how you destroy it. Destroying buildings is great fun and there are many ways to do it, various weapons to use or you could simply drive a vehicle through it. Aside from being cool and satisfying I’d also say that the destruction added to the immersion, the sense that it’s a real world with real buildings, not just indestructable facades like most games, or even buildings that are destroyable but in a limited scripted way, though it’s practically the only immersive aspect of the game, or maybe the real-time missions would qualify too, optional missions that start without warning or choice, as if it’s really happening in the world.

The world Itself is kind of boring, ugly and not very interesting or evocative, and the characters are forgettable and the story is mediocre at best even though I do appreciate that it has a simple unifying theme (free mars from earth control), which means you don’t really need to keep track of every detail in the story itself, the missions are mostly still going to make sense just by knowing the theme. The story does serve the purpose of giving some kind of sense of progression among all that destruction, although that mostly probably comes from the “RPG” aspects of the game, getting better gear, plus you get access to new areas as time goes on and you finish various missions.

Not much to say about the FPS aspects or the weapons, not an expert but to me nothing really stands out except maybe the gun that melts molecular structures which is kind of cool.

The game does have a jet-pack which is fun and not that common.

If I were to compare this game to any others I’d say… Just Cause 2 for the destruction (which is better in RF though I enjoyed JC2 overall more) and hmm maybe Borderlands for the world, a open and somewhat empty settler-ish world with off-road driving that’s kind of similar.

All in all I enjoyed playing this game, some moments a great deal even, but it still far from a game that truly hits home. It’s not evocative or thoughtful or beautiful or atmospheric or compelling, and doesn’t inspire or immerse; in short it doesn’t do any of things that I really enjoy in a game. At the end of the day Red Faction is just a mediocre FPS that happens to have really cool destruction (and a jet-pack) though that alone makes it worth trying out.

I used to focus on one game at the time, but now I’m thinking it’s better to play several in parallel in order to make comparisons between them easier. You get a better idea of how they relate (in terms of enjoyment or otherwise) than if played serially, which should also make it easier to differentiate between a bad game and just not being in the mood, which is not always obvious when you only play one game at the time.

So, that’s what I’m doing, and right now I’m playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Red Faction: Guerilla and Driver: San Fransisco. And currently I enjoy them in this order:

1. Red Faction

2. Driver

3. AC

I feel like playing Red Faction a lot more than Driver which I in turn like more than AC, which I don’t feel like playing at all actually. That could change though, AC could simply be harder to get into (I’ve not come far into it), but right now I doubt it. I know I will finish Red Faction but I’m not sure about the others.

(Actually, I did finish Red Faction before posting this.)

First time I played Minecraft was with an early version of the pocket edition, very primitive. The world was very small and many items, actions and mobs weren’t yet implemented. I’m still playing the pocket edition, it’s the only edition I’ve played, but it’s come a very long way since then. Even back then it was enjoyable, but even more so now.

It’s a game of creation (everything from simple tools or decorative items to the contruction of enormous buildings or even entire cities), of reshaping the environment by building (or erasing) mountains or lakes or what not, of exploration, of collecting raw materials, of mining, of managing resources, of escaping from or killing monsters, of farming, and much more. There’s a sense of adventure and imagination, and it’s a simulation of sorts. You can draw more paralleles between this game and real life than between most other games and real life. It’s a lot more open world than most games described that way. Not only will you decide your own goals (and they’re more truly your own than, say, if you have a bunch of designed quests or missions to choose from), but also how to achieve them, and you can reconsider at any moment. No two people are going to play the same game.

It has its set of animate and inanimate objects and it has its causal laws you need to obey, but within that framework you can do whatever you want. There are no pre-decided missions or points, and although what you do will fall inside of a few broad categories like creating, crafting and exploring there is a lot you can do within these. There’s so much you can create, so many possibilites. Youtube has tons of videos with impressive creations, but even doing small things like creating a little cottage and securing the area from monsters using fences can be strangely satisfying.

So some introspection is required; you need to discover how you want to play in order to make it fun. I’ve hit a few crises the required me to start playing it differently in order to make it fun again. Luckily I didn’t just give up during any of these crises, and that’s because it always seemed like a game I should be able to enjoy, and I was right, but managing my motivation still became an issue.

One thing I need to keep my motivation going is one or several long term purposes so that my actions, though haphazard, add up to something, a sense of steady, if slow, progress, but I also need to balance that out with some flexibility and follow my emotions in the moment, or the long term goals start feeling like chores in which case boredom sets it before long. Too much of either ruins the fun, not unlike real life, and I’ve also written about that in regard to Just Cause 2.

And then there’s esthetics. There is no way around being practical in the game if you want to get anything done at all, or even just to survive, but being esthetic is a choice, and a pretty good one, to make the game more meaningful and fun. My first structures may not have been very pretty, just throwing blocks of different kinds together to get some protection from monsters at night, but eventually as I had more resources and basic protection I rebuilt much of it into something more pleasing to the eye, and in the process making it more practical too.

And then there’s the problem-solving aspect of the game, and the problems will depend on what you choose to do and hence will be different depending on who’s playing and what they set out to achieve. Recently I wanted to explore by going further from my home, but I was afraid I wouldn’t find my way home again since it’s a huge world. My first solution was to build a huge tower at the highest point near my home. However, that isn’t enough because the tower disappears into the misty horizon pretty soon as I walk in any direction. I’ve considered building more towers within sight of each other, but I think I’m going to just leave a trail of torches. But in any case there are always different ways to achieve some goal, in addition to being able to choose many different goals — open world indeed.

There are always problems to be solved. The need to figure out what to do and the best way to do it. If the game had more realistic physics there would have been engineering problems as well. Right now you can remove the support from any building and the parts will still be there hoovering in the air without support.

Looking back at what I’ve done so far it doesn’t seem like much given all the hours I’ve put into it, I mustn’t be a very efficient player. I suppose much time has went into “drudgery” — grinding –like gathering resources which isn’t necessarily something you’d remember but it’s still something that feels meaningful in the context of the game. I’ve explored a few very big caves and done some serious mining in each, and I wouldn’t be surprised if several hours went into those endeavors alone. Mostly though I’ve been manipulating and improving the area where I have my main headquarters. I built my main house in a forest in a valley surrounded by big mountains. It’s a simple but nice house and I’ve done various improvements in the surrounding area like putting torches everywhere to prevent monsters from spawning (plus it’s pretty in the night) and I’ve put up some fences and I also built a waterfall nearby because it’s pretty, and for a little while (or more like a couple of hours) I tried to raze a nearby mountain to the ground. It was really time-consuming and boring and I decided i wanted to keep the HQ surrounded by mountains anyway. It’s a smaller mountain now but that’s okay, maybe I’ll rebuild it later.

I have a lot of farm animals in the area, because they can enter the area but not as easily leave, the way it’s naturally set up. But I was getting annoyed with running into them all the time so I built a “trap”, a fenced area they can enter but not leave. So eventually over time, hours, more and more animals got trapped and now most are in that area. Another problem solved, high-five.

And then there’s the tower I mentioned, it’s pretty ugly at the moment, except for the torches glowing in the night, and I want to make it bigger and prettier, and I tamed a bunch of dogs and grew some food (wheat) and many others little things.

And… yeah, I guess that’s it for now.