So, last Wednesday I finally got off my butt and got myself Guitar Hero 3. So far it's great, completed it on Medium and then went up to Hard, but I'm still unused to using the fifth fret, but it shouldn't be too long before I get the hang of it. I hope. There really is something special about standing in the middle of your livingroom, holding an undersized plastic guitar while singing along to old classics. Apart from doing that I'm finally having a midterm break. A whole week away from the pains and horrors that is school. I'll probably sit around doing practically nothing to recharge my batteries, which I'm really going to need, since as soon as this week is over I'm faced with two tests (again), this time in physics and Spanish. El Blergh.
Rightio, like the title so cleverly implies I'll be talking (or writing) about the other type of games today. There's a lot of people out there who think that videogames = violence, and while that is true in several ways the largest part of the videogame industry lies elsewhere, namely in casual games. For those with no idea of what it is, a casual game is a very simple game usually consisting of some form of puzzle solving. It's really odd how something as simple as Bejeweled can be so hopelessly addicting, and it makes me pose myself the question, how? Most gamers loves it when a game has a great storyline and interesting characters with some kind of depth combined with some kind of action. Casual games has none of that, unless with action you also count three diamonds of the same colour being combined and then dissapearing. The reason why they still love these, in comparison, boring games might be in the fact that they're used more as a form of recreation. Take a game as Guitar Hero for example (oh, do you see how cleverly I connect my two topics?). Essentially, it's a very simple game. There's the five frets and the pick thingy, that's six buttons total needed to play the game. Pretty much anyone can handle that, from the ultimate hardcore player to the retired grandfather. There's several difficulties ranging from easy to next to impossible, yet they all give you the illusion that you are, in fact, Keith Richards.
Though perhaps the most important point with casual games is that the time investment needed is very low. There's a lot of people who say that they don't play games because they don't have the time for it with jobs, families, and such getting in the way. But with casual games they can simply play a song or two on Guitar Hero before having to return to the horrible reality consisting of duties.
In conclusion then. The popularity of casual games comes from their simplicity, a nice break from the stressful reality or the more challenging shooter games, that you can play for just as long as you have time for.
Thus you have the shooter games and you have the puzzle games, perhaps the future holds a combination of the two (something we've already had a taste of in Valve's Portal).
fredag 22 februari 2008
fredag 15 februari 2008
Tests, Valentine and Xbox or The Internet Language Massacre.
So here I am again, it's 2 in the morning and I'm quite tired, but I felt inspired to write something, this is where I ended up. I must admit, when I first created this blog I wasn't very serious about it, but now I'm actually beginning to like this. I've decided to make each entry in this blog into two parts. One where I write about myself and what's happening in my life, and the other one will be a debate of some sort (most likely gamesrelated, since that's my thing).
So, where to start?
Well, I've been really busy the last week. School is being a pain and keeps tossing tests in my face. Next Monday there's history and on Wednesday there's math. I've never really been a fan of math, too much logic for my taste. History, on the other hand, is more enjoyable. Though I really don't think that it's the subject that's boring, it's mainly about the teacher in my opinion. A great teacher can make the most boring subject fun and interesting, whereas a crappy teacher can completely butcher the opposite.
Valentine's Day has payed it's annual visit as well. I didn't really expect anyone to give me anything, and surprisingly enough I was correct. Not that anyone else I knew got anything either and nor did I ever really care much for Valentine.
I've also made a mental note to myself promising that when my keyboard finally snaps and dies a horrible death I will open it up to see what kind of creatues live there. If you peer down between the keys there's so much food there I think I could open up a restaurant for insects. Okay, maybe not that much food, but I believe that I have created some kind of sentient life down there. Maybe I could breed it and bring it to biology class for top grade. Apart from school I've mainly been playing Xbox 360 on my freetime. A certain person (you know who you are) made me think of getting Guitar Hero III for it, but I just haven't managed to get my lazy butt to buy it. I'll do it soon. Really. Honest.
Anyways, this week I was thinking of writing about the way the internet changes peoples written language. It has many names, ranging all the way from internetspeech to retardspeech. People with the most dreadful English using "u" instead of "you" becomes a regular sight. Being quite the linguistic person it really makes my skin crawl seeing people write like that. However, the oddest part in all this is that some abbreviations are accepted whereas some are not. For example, the phrase "lol" (laugh out loud, for the uneducated) is used frequently by the same people who curse out the ones saying "u". But how bad is it, really? Is it just the youth being lazy, or are we in the transition to a new way of writing. Language has always changed, if you look in older books you can almost instantly see differences in speech. They have more and seemingly "unnecessary" letters (at least they do in old Swedish). Perhaps 50 years in the future people will look back and ask why people took the time to write "you" when "u" does the job just fine. What are the reasons for the changes though? Personally I think that it's a combination of several reasons. One may be, of course, that the person writing doesn't really have any good knowledge of English, and as such uses abbreviations instead of the full words. It's a lot easier to simply write "2" instead of wasting time thinking if it's supposed to be "to" or "too". I wouldn't say that it goes faster writing that way, though. It really doesn't take that much time to press the two extra keys turning "u" into "you". Another reason that seems more likely to me is that people think that's the way you are supposed to write on the internet. I remember when I first began playing Star Wars Galaxies at the age of 12 (I think it was), I wrote in internetspeech because it seemed cool, but as I became friends with several adults who wrote properly I soon began to take influence of them and voíla.
I read an article not too long ago about how this has evolved in the U.S. It stated that some kid in some state had applied for a summer job writing something along the lines of "i want 2 b a counselor because i love 2 work with kids.". Actually that is the exact quote, seeing how I managed to dig up the article (http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-03-31-chat_x.htm). I agree with many of the people in that article saying it's up to the parents to teach their children where what kinds of speech are appropriate (althought I do think that a normal person should be able to tell the difference, but apparantly not).
In conclusion then. The internet isn't destroying our languages, it simply evolves it in a way a lot of us do not like (I being in the latter category). Whether it's here to stay or if it'll go away still remains to be seen.
Now it's time for bed, tomorrow there's studying to be done.
So, where to start?
Well, I've been really busy the last week. School is being a pain and keeps tossing tests in my face. Next Monday there's history and on Wednesday there's math. I've never really been a fan of math, too much logic for my taste. History, on the other hand, is more enjoyable. Though I really don't think that it's the subject that's boring, it's mainly about the teacher in my opinion. A great teacher can make the most boring subject fun and interesting, whereas a crappy teacher can completely butcher the opposite.
Valentine's Day has payed it's annual visit as well. I didn't really expect anyone to give me anything, and surprisingly enough I was correct. Not that anyone else I knew got anything either and nor did I ever really care much for Valentine.
I've also made a mental note to myself promising that when my keyboard finally snaps and dies a horrible death I will open it up to see what kind of creatues live there. If you peer down between the keys there's so much food there I think I could open up a restaurant for insects. Okay, maybe not that much food, but I believe that I have created some kind of sentient life down there. Maybe I could breed it and bring it to biology class for top grade. Apart from school I've mainly been playing Xbox 360 on my freetime. A certain person (you know who you are) made me think of getting Guitar Hero III for it, but I just haven't managed to get my lazy butt to buy it. I'll do it soon. Really. Honest.
Anyways, this week I was thinking of writing about the way the internet changes peoples written language. It has many names, ranging all the way from internetspeech to retardspeech. People with the most dreadful English using "u" instead of "you" becomes a regular sight. Being quite the linguistic person it really makes my skin crawl seeing people write like that. However, the oddest part in all this is that some abbreviations are accepted whereas some are not. For example, the phrase "lol" (laugh out loud, for the uneducated) is used frequently by the same people who curse out the ones saying "u". But how bad is it, really? Is it just the youth being lazy, or are we in the transition to a new way of writing. Language has always changed, if you look in older books you can almost instantly see differences in speech. They have more and seemingly "unnecessary" letters (at least they do in old Swedish). Perhaps 50 years in the future people will look back and ask why people took the time to write "you" when "u" does the job just fine. What are the reasons for the changes though? Personally I think that it's a combination of several reasons. One may be, of course, that the person writing doesn't really have any good knowledge of English, and as such uses abbreviations instead of the full words. It's a lot easier to simply write "2" instead of wasting time thinking if it's supposed to be "to" or "too". I wouldn't say that it goes faster writing that way, though. It really doesn't take that much time to press the two extra keys turning "u" into "you". Another reason that seems more likely to me is that people think that's the way you are supposed to write on the internet. I remember when I first began playing Star Wars Galaxies at the age of 12 (I think it was), I wrote in internetspeech because it seemed cool, but as I became friends with several adults who wrote properly I soon began to take influence of them and voíla.
I read an article not too long ago about how this has evolved in the U.S. It stated that some kid in some state had applied for a summer job writing something along the lines of "i want 2 b a counselor because i love 2 work with kids.". Actually that is the exact quote, seeing how I managed to dig up the article (http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-03-31-chat_x.htm). I agree with many of the people in that article saying it's up to the parents to teach their children where what kinds of speech are appropriate (althought I do think that a normal person should be able to tell the difference, but apparantly not).
In conclusion then. The internet isn't destroying our languages, it simply evolves it in a way a lot of us do not like (I being in the latter category). Whether it's here to stay or if it'll go away still remains to be seen.
Now it's time for bed, tomorrow there's studying to be done.
fredag 8 februari 2008
Who Is This Guy or What Is An Internet Friend?
Yeah, I know that I abandoned this blog for some time now, but I just couldn't find the time or the patience to sit down and write. But here I am again, I hope you enjoy it.
So, who am I?
My name is Nils Blombäck, I was born on the 4th of July 1992, nothing all too interesting there. I'm currently doing my last year in elementary school, and after that it's off to more important things. My parents divorced about a year ago, something I think I've been able to handle quite well. I'm your general teenager geek, complete with glasses and no girlfriend. When not working my arse off with schoolwork I mainly play videogames. Yeah, that's pretty much what I do. Some might call it sad, some might call me a 'no-lifer' (a term I very much dislike ), personally I'd like to call myself happy, but then again that's just me. I've always thought that you should do whatever you feel makes you happy. Some people like to party, thus they should do it. Some people like to play football0, thus they should do just that. Some people like to play videogames, but then they're marked as no-lifers. But we do have a life, it's just different.
What does these lives consist of, then? Isn't it just an escape from reality that makes you dump your 'real life' for a virtual one? I agree partly to this, some people might use gaming as an escape from reality, which, apparantly, is a very bad thing to do. That probably means you're insane and have lost control of your life. But all people find an escape from reality somewhere. We all need a place where we can be ourselves, not having to wear the mask we must put on outside to make it look like you have the perfect life. It's just the fact that escaping to a game is very taboo. The time I spend in World of Warcraft is mainly spent chatting with my friends. Yes, chatting. And I do it with people from all over Europe, giving me the chance to learn of other cultures as well.
"But those aren't real friends! You've never even met them!", exclaims the doubtful.
Since when was a penpal not considered a friend? Is friendship defined by how many times you've met eachother face-to-face? No, it is defined by trust. And believe me when I say that I have friends in World of Warcraft that have entrusted me with secrets they didn't even want to tell their own 'real friends', and vice versa. For example, when my parents told me they were going to get a divorce the first people whom I told was my guild in WoW. Now, would I have said that to somebody I didn't know? Didn't trust? Of course I wouldn't, but I trust these people, they've earned that. We've seen pictures of each other, talked with each other via programs and microphones. What's the difference in doing that and meeting each other for real? If the first contact you get with a person is via writing then you have no possibilites to create a prejudice about the person in question. You have no idea whether he is black or white, Jewish or a Christian. You only see his thoughts.
What have I been trying to say here, then? Well, basically that I don't see there being a huge line between the internet world and the real one. They're both the same. There is no such thing as a no-lifer. We all have lives, they just differ in what you like to do. If you're still doubting I urge you to try this out. Who knows, you might even end up with a friend for the rest of your life.
So, who am I?
My name is Nils Blombäck, I was born on the 4th of July 1992, nothing all too interesting there. I'm currently doing my last year in elementary school, and after that it's off to more important things. My parents divorced about a year ago, something I think I've been able to handle quite well. I'm your general teenager geek, complete with glasses and no girlfriend. When not working my arse off with schoolwork I mainly play videogames. Yeah, that's pretty much what I do. Some might call it sad, some might call me a 'no-lifer' (a term I very much dislike ), personally I'd like to call myself happy, but then again that's just me. I've always thought that you should do whatever you feel makes you happy. Some people like to party, thus they should do it. Some people like to play football0, thus they should do just that. Some people like to play videogames, but then they're marked as no-lifers. But we do have a life, it's just different.
What does these lives consist of, then? Isn't it just an escape from reality that makes you dump your 'real life' for a virtual one? I agree partly to this, some people might use gaming as an escape from reality, which, apparantly, is a very bad thing to do. That probably means you're insane and have lost control of your life. But all people find an escape from reality somewhere. We all need a place where we can be ourselves, not having to wear the mask we must put on outside to make it look like you have the perfect life. It's just the fact that escaping to a game is very taboo. The time I spend in World of Warcraft is mainly spent chatting with my friends. Yes, chatting. And I do it with people from all over Europe, giving me the chance to learn of other cultures as well.
"But those aren't real friends! You've never even met them!", exclaims the doubtful.
Since when was a penpal not considered a friend? Is friendship defined by how many times you've met eachother face-to-face? No, it is defined by trust. And believe me when I say that I have friends in World of Warcraft that have entrusted me with secrets they didn't even want to tell their own 'real friends', and vice versa. For example, when my parents told me they were going to get a divorce the first people whom I told was my guild in WoW. Now, would I have said that to somebody I didn't know? Didn't trust? Of course I wouldn't, but I trust these people, they've earned that. We've seen pictures of each other, talked with each other via programs and microphones. What's the difference in doing that and meeting each other for real? If the first contact you get with a person is via writing then you have no possibilites to create a prejudice about the person in question. You have no idea whether he is black or white, Jewish or a Christian. You only see his thoughts.
What have I been trying to say here, then? Well, basically that I don't see there being a huge line between the internet world and the real one. They're both the same. There is no such thing as a no-lifer. We all have lives, they just differ in what you like to do. If you're still doubting I urge you to try this out. Who knows, you might even end up with a friend for the rest of your life.
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