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Mar 8th, 2010 at 16:30:27 - Bowling (Other) |
Just got finished playing my second session of bowling at Bulldog lanes in Starkville, MS. I played three games this time and I did a little better than my last session. I played by myself this time and my scores were: 77, 81, and 73. I used a different technique this time. My dad told me to hold and release in a certain way, and to look at the arrows on the bowling lane instead of the bowling pens. I tried doing this and it did help, my scores improved by about 25 points on average.
The game does not exhibit emergent complexity because, the game is essentially the same in the beginning as it is in the end. While playing the game I experienced both extreme satisfaction and extreme frustration. It is very satisfying when you release the bowling ball speeding in a straight line, and then seeing and hearing that ball take out a large number of pens. This extreme satisfaction is countered by the extreme frustration of throwing a gutter ball. I can't tell you how irritating it is when you throw a gutter ball. One strange thing I experienced was the fact that I knew whether or not I was going to throw a gutter ball before I released the ball. I think I am aware when I have bad form, but by then it is usually too late. Maybe I can work with that awareness and use it to improve my game. When you think about what you are doing too much you mess up. Its best just to keep cool and not think more about the task at hand than is necessary.
The game is a great social experience, however I played this session by myself. The last session I played with other people though, and it was great fun. Even though I did make a fool out of myself. It is fun to comment on others strikes and gutters. Can the game be made into a video game? Its funny, if you had asked me that question a few years ago I would have said no way, but wouldn't you know it. Nintendo came out with a bowling game for the Wii. It is essentially the same as the real life bowling game, other than the fact that you don't actually release a bowling ball, you just use a controller to mimic the motion. When you mimic the motion a virtual bowling ball is released on screen according to your motion and strikes virtual bowling pens. That is all folks.
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Mar 8th, 2010 at 14:46:18 - Bowling (Other) |
So I went bowling the other day, and I have to say I did quite poorly. Now I'm not sure whether bowling is considered a sport or a game. I think I would classify it as somewhere between a sport and a game. I went bowling with one other guy and two other girls. We played two rounds and I had the lowest score at the end of both rounds. This I must admit was quite embarrassing and damaging to my ego, having lost to not just one but two girls. I am not sure exactly what my scores were but i remember they ranged from the high 50s to the low 60s. Perhaps it was my lack of hand eye coordination or perhaps it was my crippling performance anxiety, but any way you cut it I stunk.
Anyway the game itself was quite fun. The challenge is to keep the bowling ball from rolling off into the gutter and to knock down as many pens as possible. I'm sure you know how bowling works so I won't say anything more about the rules of the game than that. The feeling of striking the bowling pens with a bowling ball is quite satisfying. Making a mess out of ten perfectly stacking pens is almost reward enough in itself. However by keeping score the reward structure is ehanced and it can keep a player interested for hours. It even keeps some people interested enough to dedicate their lives too it. Just look at ESPN 2.
The most frustrating thing about the game is when you knock down 9 pins and then have to knock down 1 for a spare. It seems like it would just be easier to have knocked down 5 the first shot and then 5 the second shot. It is like you get punished, not rewarded for knocking down 9 pins instead of 5 pins. Anyway i think you should get extra points or something if you knock down the last remaining pin on the second shots. I also think you should get even more points for knocking down two remaining pins that are far apart from each other, because that is even harder to pull off.
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Jan 26th, 2010 at 18:38:11 - Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC) |
Just finished playing a second 20 minute session. It took me the entire twenty minutes to complete the invasion of New York City, this second mission was clearly more lengthy and involved than the first. So there is definitely an emergent complexity, i predict that the third mission will require even more time and demand an even more dynamic participation on the part of the gamer. One thing i did not like about the game was how the units you were in charge of did EXACTLY what you told them to, rather than having a semi-autonomous role in the game. For instance if you told a unit to move to another part of the map he would do exactly that irregardless of the fact that he may be under attack by an enemy unit. This results in the unit senselessly forgoing his life, thus wasting the resources and time you spent on him. I have played other RTS games where the units will always return fire when they are under attack, as one would think they would do. The game flowed fairly well, I enjoyed playing it although there was one point where i sort of felt like quitting and moving on to something else. At the end of the game you had to capture an enemy building right next to the World Trade Center(this is an old game) and establish a "psychic beacon" and then protect it for a few minutes. The beacon was supposed to be used to control the minds of the citizens and soldiers in NYC. When the mission ended you heard a struggling American soldier say "...voices in my head.. can't... stop......" and then pause, then with a sudden sense of clarity proclaim "Victory to the Soviets!" I thought that was cool.
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Jan 26th, 2010 at 17:32:02 - Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (PC) |
I just finished playing a thirty minutes session of the RTS(Real Time Strategy) game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2. You have two storyline options, you can either play as the Americans or the Soviets. I chose the Soviets ::evil laugh:: I like the idea of leading a horde of Russian Conscripts on an invasion of the United States. So far I have plame true to life, others fictitious but still somehow true to the Sovietsyed two missions. The first one was rather easy and took me fifteen minutes to complete, it was Normandy type invasion of some beachhead in Virginia. The second mission is proving to be a little more difficult, I think they are trying to ease you into game-play. The second mission is a sea based attack on New York City. Just like any RTS game you have to manage resources, build a base, build and army, defend your base, and destroy the enemy base. You command various different types of Soviet style units to accomplish your mission, so. Like the psychic unit who controls enemy units with his mind or the Telsa soldier who shocks enemies with electricity. One thing unique to this game that I find really great about this game is the amount of effort they put into making the storyline fun and engaging. Before each mission they are debriefing videos where the story unfolds. You are a commander and you have real life actors and sets. They talk to you as if you were an actual commander. They directly and indirectly hand you storyline information and mission details. Some of these actors are fairly well known, and the videos get you really fired up about playing the game. You feel like you are really part of the story's unfolding. The gameplay is mediocre but it is almost worth playing just to see the story unfold. Also I really like the main theme song Hell March 2. I would put that on my IPod.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Jan 26th, 2010 at 17:55:17.
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korbendallas has been with GameLog for 14 years, 2 months, and 21 days |
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