Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1584https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5114Last week I played a game of Starcraft 2 with a few friends, many of which were fairly new to Starcraft. Since we didn’t want to create an unfair advantage, we made up our own rules. We declared that nobody could attack each other until the 25 minute marker. We assumed that this would make the endgame an exciting and engaging battle between all sides. This changed the entire game, for better or for worse. Instead of playing the game under the constraints of the races’ strengths, the entire first half of the game was played without any attacking units. Players could spend the entire time teching up to tier 3 units and creating a rock solid economy. By the end of the game one only had to spit out a few of their best units and attack someone. Our small rule change had created something very interesting. Instead of there being an epic battle at the end, the game seemed to just last a lot longer. I played my first game of Starcraft 2 that lasted two hours. What happened was, people would sit in their bases and wait for others to take the fall first. Elsewhere, other people would create oceans of turrets, creating an impossible situation for players to beat the game. I came out to be the one on top. A couple people eliminated themselves and I seemed to have more control over the map. However, there were two people left. Both of which were hiding in their base. I spent the whole of my minerals trying to eliminate one player. Whose ranged attackers dominated their high ground ridge. I finally exhausted enough resources to eliminate him, but at a cost. All the resources on the map had been exhausted, and I was left to fight an ocean of spine crawlers, and Ultralisks. I ended up losing to a player who sat in his base all game. Our original plan to create an epic endgame had backfired and created an endgame in which everyone sat and did nothing. People would guard their well defended bases and wait out the storm. And while it did create an interesting conflict, we will not be trying this again any time soon.Mon, 19 Nov 2012 22:04:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5114&iddiary=9648https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5318This week I played the Silent Hill HD collection. It contains both Silent Hill 2 and 3 with updated graphics and voices. I played Silent Hill 2 with new voices and high definition. The updated version is much clearer than the original, but it does not affect the gameplay. I was also confused as to why the voices were updated, but not the in game sounds. Having been conditioned by modern games with bone chilling sound effects like amnesia, I was turned off by the clunky fake sounds of the original. My experience playing the game was difficult. The controls were not as smooth as I would have liked. This lack of control caused me to take more hits than necessary. This, combined with the amount of creatures made it difficult to traverse the location. Not having a consistent amount of health, the creatures were unpredictable. I would hit them multiple times and they would still get up, and when they went down, they would skitter about on the ground, running away from me. It was bothersome trying to chase them down and get the right angle to be able to hit them. The puzzle elements were difficult, almost nonsensical. At one point I needed to throw canned juice down a trash chute to clear the blockage inside, in order to retrieve a coin that is part of a set of three that open a chest with a key inside. The game had me searching every room and hallway in the building multiple times, it made the game very boring, very fast. I had to cheat and employ the use of the Internet to figure it out. However, once I got past the puzzle solving, I was rewarded with intense boss encounters. I played a classic game with updated graphics and no previous experience playing the game. For many, Silent Hill HD Collection would be a nostalgic hit. It made me realize how much games have changed.Mon, 05 Nov 2012 10:06:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5318&iddiary=9605https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5287Today I played Marvel versus Capcom 3 Fate of Two Worlds, a fighting game that mixes marvel’s comic book characters with Capcom’s game characters. I enjoyed the tag team battles that the Marvel Vs Capcom franchise does so well. I enjoyed Marvel versus Capcom 2 because of how many characters there were to choose from. There were 56 characrters to play in Marvel Versus Capcom 2 and only 36 characters to play in Marvel Versus Capcom 3. However, because there are fewer characters, they were able to go in depth and balance each character’s moves, making the game a bit more viable in the competitive gaming scene. There is also Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3 with polished updated characters and 12 new playable characters. When playing, I noticed that many of the fast characters like Zero had many opportunities to get up close, using a lot of hits and long combos to take down the opponent while slow heroes like Hulk had less opportunities to get close up, but could dish out damage quickly. I played the Arcade mode, facing a number of randomly chosen tag teams and a final boss to wrap the game up. When faced with an opponent stronger than myself, I would return to training mode and practice my combos. However, the difference of doing combos in training mode and executing them within the actual game was difficult. No matter how much training I did, I still managed to end up button mashing and hoping to execute some cool moves. I was intrigued by the mission mode in which combo moves are set out for your character, which you have to accomplish. As someone fairly new to MCV3, It helped me string my moves together, learning how to execute fluid combos. As I executed the combination, the moves on the list would be checked off, telling me what moves I was and wasn’t hitting. If I performed the maneuver correctly, it would move on to the next mission. .Mon, 22 Oct 2012 22:41:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5287&iddiary=9569https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5258This week I played League of legends, a multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA) in which players enter a battlefield with two warring teams. Each team spawns minions that automatically advance into three lanes of battle. The goal of the game is to push these lanes, destroying the opponent’s towers and base structures. The team that destroys the opponent’s nexus is the winner. The players in the game spawn as champions, each with the ability to level up and learn spells. It is crucial to the game to level and upgrade these heroes, battle the opposing team. With five players on each team, League of Legends is a game with multiple player interaction. Communication with the other team members is paramount to the success of the game. There are 69 champions in the game, each has a unique set of abilities and requires a certain skill set to play. The Champion I played is called Teemo. He is a ranged, stealth, support. He plants poisonous mushrooms around the map, giving vision in the areas of the map. He can also set up ambushes and temporarily blind opponents, making them unable to fight back. Playing League of legends, or any MOBA Is an interesting experience in team communication. The team has to work together to initiate successful attack maneuvers. If a team member falls behind, the entire team suffers. Players must agree on a strategy, most of which is team composition. With each champion’s spells countering each other, having the right champions can be the difference between a win and a loss. I enjoyed playing League of legends, it was interesting learning about lane control and ganking. but it has a high barrier to entry. There are many champions and items to learn before players can enter more advanced games. There is a lot to learn, but the payoff is worth it.Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:02:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5258&iddiary=9537https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5242Every Tuesday I sit down with my friends and play Magic the Gathering, the trading card game. It is a game in which players draw cards from a deck of spells, they use these to cast sorceries and summon creatures to deal damage to their opponents. The opponent starts with twenty life and loses the game when their life reaches zero, the last player standing wins. Each creature has power and toughness; power assigns attack damage while toughness is a measure of how many hits a creature can take. Creatures also have abilities that change the game. Creatures with flying can only be blocked by other creatures with flying, or creatures with reach. A deck with flying creatures might have an advantage over decks that do not. Mana is the power source that allows the player to put cards into play. Mana comes from the land, there are five different types of lands that correspond to each respective color. Each color has its own unique style of play; white mana, the color of order and protection comes from plains. Blue mana, the color intellect and deceit, comes from islands. Black mana, the color of death and decay, comes from swamps. Red mana, the color of chaos and fury, comes from mountins. Green mana, the color of life and nature, comes from forests. It is the combination of the colors that creates One of the most interesting parts of magic the gathering is building decks. There are so many options to choose from. There can only be four of a single card in a standard deck of sixty cards. This adds a strategic element and an element of chance to the game. Because of the sixty-card limit, players must place more emphasis on certain cards and less on others. Knowing what cards are necessary and extraneous is part of the game. A good deck is concentrated on a certain purpose. Every game of magic I play is an interesting battle of strategy. The alternations in gameplay and the way players react to them is an interesting experience that will change the perspective of gamers.Mon, 08 Oct 2012 23:23:47 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5242&iddiary=9517https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5213Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a horror puzzle game in which you take on the guise of Daniel who has lost his memory. I was surprised that it was an indie game because it was one of the most terrifying games I have ever played. The majority of the game is normal exploration of the surroundings, mostly walking around and fiddling with things. However it makes the scary parts that much scarier when they happen. The majority of the scary parts are the encounters with the gatherers, the monsters that roam the mansion. I really enjoyed how there were no weapons to fight the monsters. I found that it made the monsters much more terrifying and increased the suspense of the action you took to escape, whether running or hiding. The puzzle elements fairly normal as far as puzzle games go, but the catch is that you have to do them under the fear of monsters and the dark. The darkness is also a mechanic in the game, too much darkness and Daniel starts to lose sanity, making the screen blurry and adding horrific sound effects. The player starts to use and conserve oil and tinder carefully, as they are the tools to help combat the darkness. Overall, I believe Amnesia to be an amazing horror puzzle game that, despite its indie persuasion, succeeded where other recent horror games have drawn short.Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:17:24 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5213&iddiary=9487https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5114Last week, I played Starcraft 2 ladder with a buddy of mine. I played multiple 2v2s against multiple opponents. When I played by myself, I played defensively, taking multiple bases and only making units when necessary. When I played with a teammate, I had to make units quickly and be ready to defend my teammate if necessary. A strategy in a 1v1 game might not work for a 2v2. A great strategy when playing 2v2s is to make units quickly and combine them with your teammate to create a large army. I employed the use of a 7 Roach rush, a strong unit with weak attacks, able to absorb the p for my teammates units. We understood that when there was no terran on the opponent’s team, it was safe to rush. I enjoyed formulating strategies with a friend and learning what worked and what did not. It was interesting how the entire mindset and strategy of a game would change according to the amount of players.Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:26:48 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5114&iddiary=9455https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5151Minecraft is a wonderful sandbox world made up of nothing but cubes. It is a world of dirt cubes, rock cubes, even trees made of cubes. The player has only one objective… Mine. Whatever the player decides to do, build, destroy, or explore, the player must mine and collect the cubes to craft their world and get ready for nightfall. Because during the night, the monsters come out, the wonderful world of Minecraft becomes not so wonderful. Zombies, Skeletons, and the dreaded Creeper wait to ruin the fun you have had. The mechanics of crafting are truly innovative. Crafting an object requires prior knowledge of what you can craft. There are nine slots in the crafting table in which you can place items in a certain order. For example, in order to create an iron sword, you need 1 stick and 2 iron bars in a vertical pattern. However, reverse the order and put in 2 sticks and 1 iron bar, and it will produce an iron shovel. The crafting items are created in a manner one would think to create them. It requires some thought to create something, and when you figure it out, it is gratifying. Today I played minecraft for 3 hours. I spent an hour digging a mineshaft for which to mine diamonds, a most precious resource. I had gotten very good at mining diamonds, you just have to know where to look. Most diamonds lie in levels 11 through 16. Using a certain digging pattern, I was able to find around 15 diamonds within an hour. However I had forgotten to follow the two rules of a diamond mine, bring a bucket of water, and do not dig on level 10. Misplacing what level was what, I dug over level 10 and plunged into a fiery abyss. By the time I got out of the lava pool, it was too late, for I was on fire. And with no bucket of water to put out the flames, I burned to death. Let this be a cautionary tale, today I wasted three hours playing Minecraft. And that was exactly what it was, a waste. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:15:25.)Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:14:08 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5151&iddiary=9418https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5114Played Starcraft 2 today, It is a real time strategy centered around resource collecting and base and unit building. The goal is to create and manage a base and units to destroy the opponent’s base. There are three races to play and each has their strengths and weaknesses. The Terran, human prisoners launched into space, use ranged infantry and mechanic units like tanks. The Protoss, an advanced alien race, use slow but powerful units. The Zerg, a mutating insectoid race, use swarms of weak and fast units. My favorite race is the Zerg as I enjoy the multiple bases and the speed the creep gives my units. The key to Zerg is to balance the unit count and the drone count. Too many units and I don’t get enough drones to keep a stable economy. But nine times out of ten I make too many drones, not enough overlords and too many units. Today I played 3 matchmaking games. I lost to a simple marine marauder push with stim and a void ray carrier rush. My victory was against a bad Protoss who threw gateway units and immortals at my 3 base roach ling muta. I’m not sure why I went mutalisk since their attacks were like toothpicks against the immortals. I haven’t played in a while. I know Starcraft 2 to be an unforgiving game, but I want to get better at it. In order for me to get better I have to play every day, and as much as I would like to do that I have too much work. I hope this log can help me analyze and understand both my play and my opponents.Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:03:51 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5114&iddiary=9378https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5075This Week, I am almost finished with Deus Ex: Human Revolution Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a continuation of the Deus Ex series, taking the original and expanding on it. Deus Ex is a first person shooter with RPG elements. The game is set in a futuristic Detroit where humans are frequently augmented with robotic enhancements. It follows the recently augmented Adam Jensen as he roams the streets of detroit discovering more about the company he works for. Story is a main part of the gameplay as the player is allowed to choose from dialogue options, these options have different consequences. As one who has never played the original games, this world was an extremely new and beautiful experience. The world of Deus Ex feels lived in and is grounded by the problems that Jensen encounters. There is controversy and turmoil between the gap of people who can and cannot afford augmentations. Ethical questions are brought up and I had to decide how far I would augment Jensen. The other main part of the gameplay is combat. Found to be difficult even on normal mode, it was a challenge to play. The gameplay was made easier by the different augments I acquired. These augments, which can be purchased or gained from experience, range from Strength to Stealth to Hacking. This changed the way the game was played, opening certain paths that correspond to each augment. For instance, a turret obstructing your path can be torn out by using an arm augmentation or controlled to work your will using a hacking augmentation. These customizable gameplay options made Deus Ex: Human Revolution a dynamic and enjoyable play. Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:36:03 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=5075&iddiary=9346