Music; Immersion

I don't often spend a lot of time looking up music randomly. In general, I end up listening to what my friends link me or decent songs I find in frag vids. Music in games, however, is different. If I play a game and liked it, I probably liked the music too. Often times I'll end up looking it up online at some point. Music can make or break a scene in an RPG, can be very memorable, particularly in an RPG.

The music can be a huge aspect of the immersion; sometimes not really evident until listening to the music outside of the game. I really appreciate it when a game has music that fits so well with a situation that it can really stand out and feel right when you hear it... I'm not sure how to describe what I mean by that, but the feeling is enough for me to say that the music is one of the most important parts of a game to me.

It's nice to go back and listen to music from a game I've beaten a while back. A lot of moments stand out to me because of the music more than anything else... Here's what I think of today...

Flying out of Ironforge into the snowy mountain regions... this was particularly strong for me when I first got the game and was amazed at the size of the world. It's impressive when you don't really know how to play well and you're just exploring; making a new character, perhaps. I'll always remember it for the feeling it gave me when I heard this song flying over the isolated mountains. (Dun Morogh - World of Warcraft)

Relaxing for a moment in camp, getting to know your party in between battles with the darkspawn.  The music is really peaceful, perfect for the private conversations; hearing Sten admit his respect for you, Morrigan's tales of being an apostate shapeshifter, Zevran's past, etc.  It's a short theme, but it works. (Camp Theme - Dragon Age: Origins)

Hearing this theme always made me proud of the Alliance; going through a lot of turmoil at the time, the Alliance was starting to show it's bad side more prominently. With humans acting on their greed more and more in the campaigns, the Horde was quickly looking to be the just side; to me, though, this song exemplifies the spirit and honour of the Alliance, despite the actions of some humans. (Human Theme - Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne)

Down to the final run, the suicide mission; realizing that you actually can have your team die after you've grown attached to them if you screw up your command. Then this music starts playing and it's about as serious as you can get in a video game full of aliens. Makes you feel pretty epic as you try to save everyone. (Suicide Mission - Mass Effect 2)

Everyone should know who Gordon Freeman is. And he has unlimited badass music following him around. This was one of my favourites from the Half-Life series. Shooting down gunships and all that. Science. (Kaon - Half-Life 2)

Inon Zur is amazing. When I first played this game, it was back when I lived in my basement. This was a game I would frequently stay up past 3 AM playing, obviously way before my current schedule started. (Because 3 AM is normal for any game with me now, it seems.) I would let the game sit on the main menu to hear this song play through. So honestly when I hear this song, I feel myself back in my basement with the lights off, mildly cold, but not uncomfortably so; I spent a lot of time down there, but this song makes me remember it the most. Maybe because basements and vaults are both underground? Seems legit. Regardless, the song is comforting to me for some reason. Really, all the music in this game is comforting to me, but the main theme moreso, I suppose. (Main Theme - Fallout 3)

That's all for today.
Edited 1/4/12 to fix broken link and add song titles to avoid confusion.

Science

science (sī'əns) n.
1. The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.
2. Such activities restricted to explaining a limited class of natural phenomena.
3. Such activities applied to an object of inquiry or study.
4. Knowledge, especially that gained through experience.

Favourite Games

Some time ago, my brother made a post about his favourite games of all time. I've wanted to make a similar post since.

I've been playing a variety of games since I was very young, and they've had an incredible impact on my personality and outlook on things.  I'm a very story oriented individual when it comes to most games.  I really like to see things from the player character's perspective, have situations with believable reactions, and see other characters that evoke actual feeling, understanding or general empathy in some way. If I get attached to a character, the game is doing at least one thing right.

Mass Effect 1&2 (RANK 5)
I've always been a fan of space settings, watching old Star Trek and Stargate SG1 shows when I was younger might have encouraged that. Mass Effect creates a unique space setting, with a lot of detailed backstory and lore for the different races, planets, and future tech. I originally played Mass Effect 2 first, which was also a great game, but going back and playing the original really filled in the story for me. The facial expressions and general movement of the characters is also impressive, especially for how well the games run on poor computers. It's a nice change to see really nice graphics/animations after playing an extending session of Fallout: New Vegas.

World of Warcraft (RANK 4)
Though I no longer play the game, and no longer have any interest to do so, World of Warcraft was incredibly successful as a game and had a lot of potential at the start. With my gaming experience expanded since the time I played this game, I can say it probably wouldn't impress me the same way if I started playing now. Regardless, the game was the first MMORPG I encountered and I remember being amazed at the size of the world; on my first character the game really seemed incredible. Starting as Night Elves, my friend and I ran around exploring instead of questing. The game certainly isn't difficult, and is even less so now, but I have fond memories of charging straight into Lake Al'Ameth and running away from the mobs 5 levels higher than us.
Near the end of my WoW run, I primarily spent my time seeking out world PvP.  I found it more exciting and unpredictable than the instanced battlegrounds that had been introduced. I never really got into raiding, however, which is the primary aspect of the endgame. My sister still plays this game, so I frequently hear about the direction it's taking. A lot of the changes seem more disappointing than anything else, but I haven't played recently enough to judge accurately.
Even now, though, this music still gets to me.

Planescape: Torment (RANK 3)
Planescape: Torment was released in 1999, and thus the graphics are quite outdated, but I was recommended this game by a friend with pretty good taste and decided to look into it anyway. Probably the best decision I've made this year, no understatement. I was completely blown away by the story of this game; I stopped playing all other games until I had completed this one. This game places priority on dialogue rather than combat, which is an aspect I greatly approve of.  The theme was a bit dark, and I was surprised at how creepy a few key points in the story managed to seem with their limited graphics. The writing and music were both amazing. Some of the dialogue was so well done that I remember long, exact quotes easily; the final segment of the game in particular had one of the most intense and perfectly timed lines I have seen in any form of media ever.

Fallout: New Vegas (RANK 2)
If there's an RPG I will never get bored of, it's Fallout: New Vegas. Pretty much the same graphically as Fallout 3, I greatly enjoyed both games but New Vegas has a bit of a higher appeal to me.  That's not to say that Fallout 3 has it's moments of superiority, but in general, the New Vegas atmosphere is a bit more fun. The companion characters are more in depth, particularly Boone and Arcade. The DLCs, particularly Lonesome Road, really add to the depth of the player character and his or her actions on the world in general.  I will admit that the primary questline feels less personal in New Vegas, but it still gives the feeling of importance. Honestly, I'm quite enthralled by the post-apocalyptic setting. Fallout does an excellent job of seeming just realistic enough to let the player feel the desolation of the world mixed with the New Vegas strip's vice-filled philosophy. I've played the game through six times now, and I'm quite a bit into the game on a seventh character, and I still discover new things each time. With the modding community adding even more content and customization, this game really just won't get old to me. [Excepting the possibility of a new Fallout game, perhaps.] This game places higher on my list than Planescape only because of it's replay value.

Team Fortress 2 (RANK 1)
Predictably my favourite game, I've just passed the 3000 hour mark for time spent in this game. TF2 is the first online fps game I really got involved with. Character development and story is usually such a big importance for me to spend a lot of time in a game, but when someone showed me the Meet the Class videos I absolutely had to play the game. It was a good introduction to the fps genre to me; the character personality and silliness of the game was very appealing, and the experience allows me to pick up other fps games at significantly less disadvantage. There's no other fps game where you can run at another player with a saw and yell, "I REQUIRE ASSISTANCE" with voice commands.
The amount of friends I've made through this game is a strong reason I keep playing. I've had the game for more than a year and a half, and I've known some of my online friends for over a year because of this game, several of which I talk to very frequently still. Valve does a pretty good job keeping the game updated and interesting, and it's even free-to-play, now.
This is the only game I've gotten into a competitive scene for, which has been another great experience. Though playing in pubs can be fun, it's exciting to play for a team where everyone is actively working together and communicating efficiently.
Also, hats.

So those are pretty much my favourite games.  Honourable mentions include: Fable, The Civilization series, Master of Orion II, Warcraft III, and Dragon Age: Origins.

"Throughout history, men have worn hats as a way of showing how much better they are than other men. "I buy hats," a behatted man seems to say. "I am better than you!"" -Classless Update; TF2

Musings on Religion

It seems to be a general consensus among the online communities I observe or take part in that religions are very unpopular and you are more likely to avoid conflict if you're an atheist. When I first started playing games online, I was around 11 years old and had never encountered anyone really being aggressive about their beliefs.  I wasn't forced to go to church, but I considered myself Christian at the time. No one had ever tried to tell me that Christianity was the only good religion, or in reverse that it was terrible.

When I started playing online, though, I noticed a difference.  It wasn't too often that I told people over the internet about my religion, of course, but making friends online occasionally leads to curious questioning, and I saw no reason to lie about it. I was surprised to see how hated Christianity was amongst most people I talked to at the time. Nearly every person I met while playing Warcraft III claimed to be atheist, and several of them found the need to insult me after asking if I believed in a god. 

I maintained my religious stance, however, and many of the people who I talked to online seemed surprised that I didn't care if someone had a different belief.  I remember one kid specifically saying he thought I was the only Christian he'd ever get along with. I really didn't understand why it was such a big deal since I had never met the people who go around trying to force their religion on you. Even now, I can only say I've encountered a small handful of people who act like that, whereas I've encountered many times more who blindly attack religion. [The popular argument that you have to be stupid to believe in some invisible deity watching over everything remains.]

Religion has been a big conflict starter throughout history, certainly, but it baffles me to see how so many people freak out over the issue still, whether in support of a certain belief or against one. Since I've pretty much been living socially online for a long time now, I've heard a lot of different viewpoints from a lot of different people.  My views have changed somewhat over the years. With something like religion, it's really impossible to prove your point to anyone else.  The primary basis of most religions is FAITH, and that's something that's impossible to give to someone.  [Because of this, I think organized religion is a bit silly.  It limits a person's exposure and often encourages false faith.] Still, I believe there's a god but I'm not going to claim to know anything about him, nor am I going to ask others to believe as I do.

It still bothers me a bit to see people attacking religion so harshly online, if only because they either think that they're better for not believing in anything or they think they've been wronged and deserve to be hostile to others because of it.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide, either way, one's a fool."  -Flemeth, Dragon Age: Origins

PC Gaming; Digital Retail

My best friend works at a Gamestop.

Gamestop is a place that appeals to the console gaming crowd, and I used to argue with my friend about PC being superior and such. [I've gotten her to agree that the FPS genre will always be better with a keyboard+mouse than any console controller, at least. I don't necessarily hate other styles on console, I just don't like the controllers.] Occasionally we end up hanging around the Gamestop while she picks up/returns a game or talks to one of the managers for some reason or another.  I've been there enough times to make an impression on a few of her co-workers.

It's a mostly positive impression, actually. Possibly due to entering the store while wearing a DBZ shirt and transformers icon necklace. I was pretty clear about my stance on PC games, however, and they seemed to think I was just misinformed. One of the managers told me that PC gaming was dying and that Steam was probably going to bust sooner rather than later.  I thought he was completely wrong, of course, but without having done any research I couldn't commit to a debate.

Most of the games I own are owned on Steam.  PC games aren't really sold in retail stores much anymore, it's almost entirely digital. Looking into any game store you'll see that the PC sections are almost non-existent; the Gamestop my friend works at has a single rack for PC games, and it's almost all World of Warcraft copies. After looking into the situation a bit, I can see why the Gamestop manager seems to think PC gaming is dying.  The strong digital retailers (Steam, Origin, etc.) apparently do not release their sale information, meaning all PC sale information is based on normal retail sales. It would make it look like PC games aren't selling, but it's only because they're being sold digitally instead.

Selling games digitally has some pretty huge advantages. Steam, for example, has huge sales around holidays and is generally cheaper than buying a console game at Gamestop normally.  A minor example it may be, but when my friend went to buy one of the Fallout: New Vegas DLCs it was $5 more expensive than the price on Steam when I got it (without any special sale going on).  Considering that Fallout: New Vegas has at least 4 majour DLCs out, the extra cost starts adding up.

Despite the sometimes lower price, digital sales earn more money for the people actually making the games. Steam takes the same retail cut that companies like Gamestop do, but the digital transaction prevents money being used on shipping games and making CDs. It is also worthy to note that used game sales are a large portion of Gamestop's business, and these sales provide absolutely no profit to the game developers. 

My point with this is not to say that console games are completely terrible and that I wish they didn't exist, but I do believe that console gaming will eventually switch to primarily digital retailing for their sales and that PC gaming is definitely not dying.  Also Steam is pretty amazing, even when randomly disconnecting me from chat several times in the same day. :|

"The illusion that PC games have shrunk in size is just that because there's a lot more digital and online gaming now…a lot more online sales, a lot of opportunity in the social space, the browser space, and the light massively multiplayer online space. I think there are different flavors of games in all the territories, but in all of them, the PC market is pretty vibrant, and I see it as a really exciting opportunity."
- Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare cofounder; this quote and other information found here.