Thoughts on Pokemon

Little bit of back story before I get into it: So if you follow me on twitter (twitter.com/Zephean), Tumblr (zephean.tumblr.com), Facebook, or any other social network I could plug here so you will follow me, you’ll know that I’ve recently bought a Nintendo 3DS along with Ocarina of Time and Pokemon White. I played a bit of OoT, and then put it down and picked up Pokemon. I haven’t played any pokemon game in a while (completely skipped generation 4 and barely remember 3) so it really was a pleasant experience to see the graphics revamped, the touchscreen, and much more polished mechanics and a better tuned metagame.

Due to my recent obsession with Pokemon combined with being in school for game design, it’s only natural to think about the game from a designer perspective and I’ve thought about many concepts and I’ve come to some conclusions. I’ve discussed some of these on twitter, talking about random encounters and a few other game designy things and mechanics.

Anyways, getting to what this post is about:
This may be unsaid common sense to some, but I think it’s worth mentioning and thinking about out-loud because of how powerful this mechanic can be, and how great of an example Pokemon is for this. There’s a main mechanic that I’ve observed going on behind the scenes in Pokemon, which is besides the obvious battling/leveling/badges/puzzles/etc.

To the set up my observations, let me start by saying this: All pokemon are either “cute” or “cool” or “badass“. Very few, if any, do not fit into these categories, and that’s important because who wants to play with a dumb looking creature? In addition, most evolutionary chains move from “cute” to “cool“/”badass” as it progresses. I was actually having a discussion with a friend of mine about why a pokemon can’t stay cute forever, and I think I may have an idea now.

My choice for my starter was Oshawott (see picture at the top). My reason behind picking it was because it was freaking cute (again, see picture at the top). When you pick your starter, all you are given is a picture of the pokemon and what type of pokemon it is (every generation gives you a choice between Grass, Water, or Fire. — Fire > Grass > Water > Fire, etc. Essentially choosing rock, paper, or scissors), so from the get go, the game designers are trying to get you to decide which pokemon you connect with most, which one you think is cuter, which element you like the best, or whatever. So, you now have your first pokemon. Now fast forward a few introductory battles with your new buddy, and now they’ve gone up a level! Your pal is already starting to grow up! And then you begin your quest.

So you start catching a few pokemon, start training with your new friends, and suddenly, your adorable friend is evolving into a new pokemon! It looks similar, but less “cute“, and more “cool“. Because of how powerful you’ve made them, they’ve grown up. However, they’re not your “adorable little baby” anymore: they’ve matured, they’re stronger.

Sound similar to being a parent?

Something that should be noted is that the player is never forced to keep their starter pokemon in their party for any amount of time. As long as you have at least one pokemon other than your starter, you’re able to deposit your starter pokemon in your PC (your “pokemon bank”). But why is it that the vast majority of players keep their starter in their party from the beginning of the game until the very end?

The idea of a growing attachment between you and your pokemon is an everpresent idea in the game. Because pokemon never “die” (and this is more important than you may think), they are -constantly- with you. And that’s why your starter pokemon is such a big choice: It’s your first. That pokemon stays with you for your entire journey. If you think about your pokedex and overall game experience as a tree, every pokemon you encounter or catch, every badge you get, every trainer you meet and battle, has it’s roots with your first pokemon. Obviously, it would have been impossible to start the game without it.

So what I’m getting at is that the game creates a Father/Mother to Son/Daughter connection. I believe that people treat their starter pokemon as their kid, and there’s a less strong, but still present connection with other pokemon. The longer a pokemon stays in your party, the more emotionally connected you feel to them. That’s why some of your first six pokemon stay in your party for a little while. Personally, it’s really easy to not worry about a pokemon that went straight to my PC because my party was full. And having a pokemon evolve has a lot to do with forming this connection.

Speaking about a specific personal experience, during the time my pokemon party was in the level-30 range, I didn’t feel like I was accomplishing much if all I did was level someone two levels. However, when they evolved, I felt I had accomplished a huge task, and I felt very close to that pokemon. In addition, I would try to not put pokemon that didn’t evolve or pokemon that were already at their fully evolved state in my party. Tell me to deposit an Emolga in my bank, who doesn’t evolve at all, and that’s fine by me. But tell me to deposit my Samurott that I’ve seen evolve twice and I’ve grown from a level 5 Oshawott or my Chandelure that has been there for me since it was an adorable Litwick and I’ll honestly cringe.

Expanding on this concept a little: I’ve noticed that other people, as well as myself, tend to like triple evolutions better than double evolutions in their party.

So does that mean you are more emotionally attached to having a Machop, that turned into a Machoke, then a Machamp or a Litwick, Lampert, Chandelure; than a Farfetch’d or Audino, who don’t evolve at all?

I believe so, because with the first two examples, you are able to visually witness your child grow up into something amazing. And with that, I believe this concept is one of, if not the main mechanic that makes this series so successful with it’s fans, in addition to the huge community of fellow players.

In summary: An emotional connection, if used properly, is one of the most powerful game design mechanics we can utilize.

Titanic

‎You know what’s interesting about the way [Titanic] plays: you’re two hours into the movie before you hit the iceberg. Most movies, the credits have run and you’re back at the car at the two hour mark. So, it’s been a whole other movie not about a ship sinking, up until that point. And it’s all sustained by the knowledge that you have in the back of your mind that the ship is going to sink and that world is going to end. And that’s how we live our lives. We live our lives enjoying the moment and not thinking about the future. But way in the back of our minds, we know it’s gonna end.

– James Cameron

I heard this quote in a Philip DeFranco vlog when MeTonyV was interviewing James Cameron, and it really kinda hit home for me. I don’t know. But enjoy.

Why….? People make me facepalm.

So it’s in the news today that SunChips (owned by Frito-Lay) is pulling their eco-friendly biodegradable bags due to consumers complaining that the bags are “too loud”. (article found here: [url=http://business.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978579161]link[/url])
Really, America? You go from complaining about how no one cares about the Earth and wanting to go GREEN GREEN GREEEEEN, and then you turn around and say that you don’t like these new innovative bags because they’re loud? Forget the fact that they’re saving the planet a little bit and reduce the amount of pollution in the world. No, no, no, you have to eat your chips IN PEACE AND QUIET. God forbid you use a bowl instead of eating the chips straight from the bag. Geez, people.

New “Dumbass” Law, please?

I propose the idea that we make a new law. This law would say that every day, each individual would have the ability to declare on specific person the “dumbass of the day”. After declaring someone DotD, you can then make fun of them, and slap them across the face.

I mean, it would kind of be like facepalming… except you’re “palming” at a higher speed, and it’s another person’s face. Still the same concept though, right?

Yes, this post is about you, woman who left her brand new cello in the car for 20 hours during a very hot Georgia day. And then you act surprised that the bridge collapsed, soundpost fell, and the neck broke? I mean, really? Seriously? Come on now.

Fails, kindness, assholes, and rambling. Enjoy!

Okay, so I wanted to make a blog post, but I didn’t know what to write about. My friend recommended I try a word or sentence generator to get an idea to write about. Let’s try that out:

“The indeterminate helmet drags an identical constitutional.”
…
……
……… Uhm… Okay……
Lets just call this a fail idea, and try to move on.

Today at work (I work at a music store), I had to drop off some repaired band instruments to a local middle school. I first had to go to their front desk so that they could check me in, see if I had an appointment, made sure I wasn’t a mass murderer, etc. etc. Just the usual. (Sidenote: at this point in the blog, I googled to see if it was possible to use that hipsterish abbreviation for “usual” in text form. In case you were wondering, you can’t. Closest you can get is like, “yooj”, or “yooshe”. Both of which make you look like a tool. Let’s move on.) Anywhoozle (I think I just made up for my lack of douche), I went to check in, and told them who I was and all that jazz. As I was signing in, a conversation started. Here’s how it went.

Woman next to me: “Oh, I know you!”
Me: “…Oh?”
Woman: “Yeah, my daughter talks about you all the time!”
Me: “………oh….?” -eyebrow raised-
Woman: “You restrung her guitar and treated her like royalty! You were so nice!”
Me: “OH! Yeah! Okay. Hi.”

Then she started bragging about me to her coworkers.

Creepiness and awkwardness now aside, the situation really made me extremely happy and hopeful. This woman, who I honestly didn’t really remember until she mentioned the whole guitar thing, remembered me for being nice to her daughter, who was an adorable little girl, probably around 10 or 11 years old. I wasn’t doing anything that I would consider “extra” or “out of character” for me… I guess I was just being me, who’s normally just nice and really good with kids, haha. This is the way I would love to be remembered. I love to make other people happy, to help them out, to make their day just a little bit brighter. I thrive on it. When I die, whenever that may be, I want to be remembered for being nice, kind, helpful… all of which unfortunately seem to be a rarity nowadays.

I just don’t understand why people choose to be assholes over nice people. Why can’t we give peace a chance?

A year in retrospect.

This year has been a crazy one. This time last year, I had just graduated from high school, my worries lifted off my shoulders, and I was actually on a cruise ship, thanks to my parent’s graduation/birthday present. On the day of my birthday, we were in Haiti, floating on a raft while sunbathing, in the ocean, which was clear as tap water and it was simply gorgeous.

But I digress.

The point I wanted to make with this blog post was to essentially chronicle what I have learned from my first year of college. I have made friends, I have lost friends. I have loved, and I have lost. I have grown as a person, but very carefully, and I will explain what I mean by that in a second.

It’s a rather odd experience to grow up. It’s even more odd when you realize that you’ve grown and changed for the better, without anyone telling you so. Before I began college, I made a promise to myself. I promised that I would become a person who was more outgoing, but I would still keep my wits, intuition, inner child, and just overall likable personality. I also wanted to discover who I was, something that I was apparently supposed to do in high school, but never really felt like I got the chance.

And this is exactly what I did. I got my license, I got a job, I bought a car, and then I began school. I am not a vain person and don’t like to talk about myself too much, but I’m going to brag for a minute. This quarter, I’m getting straight A’s, while maintaining my friendships/relationships with friends and family, and being a great employee at my job. I feel more mature than I ever have, and it feels good; it also feels nice to be partially independent. I don’t feel good because I’m handling responsibilities well, but rather because I am doing so while still being a fun, happy, nice PERSON. The reason I capitalized “person”? Because part of the promise I made to myself before college was that I would never allow myself to become a drone of the work force. I would grow up, but only to the respect that I would be able to handle responsibilities well and take care of myself. My emotions, my likes and dislikes, my human characteristics, and my desire to consider my friends and family before other things, is what makes me different from some people. I’m a PERSON, not a robot, not a drone. And I am proud of that.

I have stopped talking to some people I considered “great friends” back in high school. I will instigate a conversation with some people here or there, but if they don’t care to put forth the effort to maintain a friendship, then it’s their loss. Why make someone your priority if you aren’t theirs? I have asked myself that last question and learned to live by it.

There is one person in particular that has made me grow the most among all other people involved in my life. I will not name them, but I’m pretty sure they know who they are if they decide to read this. They have taught me many painful life lessons… some good, some bad, but all necessary. I hope to stay best friends with them, but only time will tell, and I guess we will see.

I have made many friends here at SCAD, as well, and it’s a different kind of friendship. I don’t think I can put it into words, but it just seems more… “real”. If you guys are reading this, and you all know who you are as well, you truly mean the world to me and have made my first year of college not only bearable, but also enjoyable. Through the pains of deadlines, bitchy teachers, asshole people, crazy projects, and everything… I simply feel blessed to have you guys in my life.

If I could give advice to rising college freshmen, it would be this:

1) Accept change, don’t deny it. This time in your life only happens once, so enjoy it.

2) Don’t be reckless with people’s hearts, and don’t let other people be reckless with your heart. (And yes, I totally stole that from the Wear Sunscreen speech… for that matter, Google or Youtube “Wear Sunscreen speech” and read it. It’s worth it.)

3) People aren’t going to give you things anymore. This is a Eat or Be Eaten world, and if you want something, go out there and take it. You can get anything you want if you put your mind to obtaining it. If you want a job or internship, work your ass off and get it. If you want that girl or guy you’ve had your eyes on, stop being a coward and ask them if they want to go grab dinner sometime. Grab life.

“But trust me on the sunscreen.”

The Spill Canvas ~ “Realities” EP

I’m gonna keep this blog short and sweet. This is easily one of my favorite bands. They released a new EP today, and I like it. It’s definitely a different sound than their older stuff, but it’s still completely worth checking them out. Different, but still amazing.

http://www.purevolume.com/thespillcanvas

Bioshock 2 Gameplay Review

So over Spring break (which was about two weeks ago), I played and beat Bioshock 2 (PC). I figured I might as well review it whenever I had the chance.

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SPOILER ALERT!! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME ->MINOR<- SPOILERS. Nothing major from the main plot line will be ruined.
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Anyways, on to the review.

The breakdown:

Background:
This game picks up eight to ten years after the events of the first Bioshock. You are thrown into the game as a Big Daddy, named Subject Delta, and throughout the game, you’re essentially looking for your little sister/daughter. While on this quest, you come to realize that Sofia Lamb, Rapture’s new ruler, is completely bonkers, and will ruin the city unless you take care of her. (Side question: How do you ruin a city that’s already overrun by drug addicts, mass murdering killing machines, and little girls that love to stick massive syringes into people’s corpses?) It then becomes your job to try to salvage Rapture and save the little sisters.

Music:
The music in this game is really phenomenal. Since it’s set in the 1950s/1960s, there’s a lot of older music that a lot of people will recognize or at least find familiar. Frank Sinatra, Patti Page, Billie Holliday, and many more, along with other original pieces completely composed by Garry Schyman. The music really immerses you into the game, allowing you to get the full experience out of the gameplay. I would’ve liked to hear the original music a little more, though. It just seems the licensed tracks were a lot more present in the game than the original compositions by Mr. Schyman. 9/10

Art:
The graphics in this game are really outstanding. Even for me, who was playing this game on a DirectX 9 video card, really enjoyed the graphics this game had to offer, especially the underwater parts. The coral reef areas were beautifully rendered, and the buildings and cityscape underwater were so cool. The Little Sisters and Big Daddies didn’t undergo any graphical overalls since the first game (aside from the “new” Big Daddies), but I noticed a few new splicer models, and the Big Sisters, Lamb, and Eleanor were all gorgeously rendered into the game.  10/10

Battle System:
The battle system in this game is not exactly the standard, run of the mill FPS shooter system. Compared to the first Bioshock, there’s completely new guns (including the Big Daddy’s drill!), however most of the plasmids will look very familiar. Every gun has different types of ammo you can use for it (normal ammo, trap ammo, anti-personnel [more damage against humans], anti-armor [more damage against armored enemies], etc.) In addition, plasmids also add an interesting twist to everything. Whether your taste is to shock your enemies and paralyze them while you gun them down, or light them on fire while a couple rounds go into their head, or even just freezing them and attacking ’till they shatter into thousands of little pieces, or something else that’s completely random from traps to letting security cameras gun them down for you, the plasmid system of this game really adds a lot to the overall enjoyment I had with this. 10/10

Storyline:
The storyline to this game is rather intense, and it had me at the edge of my seat for pretty much the game’s entirety. The introduction of the new Big Sisters, along with the unfolding of the whole Lamb vs. Ryan ordeals, really introduces a new extension to the stories. One of my favorite parts of this game (and also the first game) was the Audio Diaries. This allows so many possibilities with the storyline, and the definitely used it to their advantage, especially when it came to connecting the events from the first game with the second. The only thing I missed, compared to the first game, was that there wasn’t the massive thought-provoking plot twist at the end. Now, I understand that a game company can only come up with only so many unique and original plot twists, but it still was missed. 9.5/10

Replay value:
Like I said in my review of Chrono Cross, I’m really not one to typically replay games. However, I really think this game has some replay value. On my first run-through of the game, I collected probably 90% of the little sisters (skipped the ones in the last level because I wanted to finish the game, haha) and beat the game in 13 hours on Normal difficulty. You can replay the game on a higher difficulty, collect all the little sisters, have good (save the little sisters) and bad (harvest them) files, choose to purchase and upgrade different plasmids, choose to upgrade different weapons (or choose different upgrades), etc. There’s really a decent number of outcomes you can choose from. However, there aren’t really any decisions that will change the overall outcome of the game. What I mean by that is, there’s not multiple games in one. For instance, Fallout 3, while I didn’t really care for it, had a lot of extra things you can do, and each decision you made effected the game in some way. There’s a lot more games that’re coming out that also use this method, and it would’ve been nice to see some attempt at this in Bioshock. Now, the other thing that Bioshock 2 has to offer is it’s multiplayer. I haven’t really given it a fair shot since I haven’t had time, but from the little I’ve played, I honestly don’t think it’s anything to really write home about. Plasmids with guns in a multiplayer environment really seems clunky, but maybe I just wasn’t used to it when I gave it a shot. I’ll definitely play it when I have a chance and give it another go, but yeah. 7.5/10

The overall score of this game came out to average 9.2/10. I don’t believe the replay value should affect the score that negatively, because it still is a great game in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t have any regrets spending my Spring Break playing it over other games I could have played. Definitely recommend buying it, or at least renting it if you prefer playing on a console.

You’re special.

Water-35L
Carbon-20kg
Ammonia-4L
Lime-1.5kg
Phosphorus-800g
Salt-250g
Saltpeter-100g
Sulfur-80g
Florine-7.5g
Iron-5g
Silicon-3g
…and trace amounts of 15 other elements.

These are the ingredients of an average adult human male, about 5’11″ in stature and 167lbs.

And yet we’re all unique.
We’re all different.
We all have unique flaws.
We all have unique strengths.
That’s the beauty of humanity, or simply life itself. The next time someone tells you you’re not special, look them in the eyes and tell them to prove it or fuck off. They won’t be able to prove it. You’re special, and don’t you dare think otherwise.

♫ Why can’t we be friends? ♫

Alright, so this is going to be a little bit of a rant, and not a review or something like that, but I felt I needed to ramble about it.

The backstory to what I’m about to say is this: There’s a lot of construction work going on around my living area, on a very major road that often collects traffic rather quickly, especially during the rush hours (in ATL that’s like, 6-9AM, 3-7PM). For this construction, they have to close one of the lanes on the major two lane road. Now, of course this is going to create even more traffic, and assuming people have half a brain, they will understand that it will take longer for cars to get through only one lane, and they would plan accordingly. However, I’ve come to realize over the years that what I deem as “common sense”, others deem as “intellectual thinking” which is apparently too hard for them to comprehend. What I mean by that is, there have been many people who get the worst road rage because of this situation, saying they’ll be late for X class or Y meeting or Z job. They’re constantly blaring their horns, being inconsiderate to other drivers, whatever. What I saw yesterday, however, took the cake for “biggest douche ever”. The person behind me started SWEARING AT THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS. What the hell? It’s not the construction workers fault for making you late. There’s no need to be that big of an ass. Screaming obscenities, flicking them off, yelling phrases like “you can suck my…”, etc., is not going to do anything but make the situation worse. You’re going to be just as late for where you’re going, you’re going to be in a worse mood because you’re letting your emotions control you, and everyone around you thinks you’re the biggest tool on this side of the Earth.

The point I’m trying to make here is that everyone should love everybody. Hippie mentality? Maybe. But it works, and it’s great. I make it a goal to smile at everyone I see, and most of the time, they smile back. What does that mean? Smiles are contagious, and so is happiness. It’s damn near impossible to be unhappy in a room full of people in a good mood. So why wake up and choose to be in a crabby mood? You’re not making any situation better by any means by acting like it’s your time of the month.

Carpe diem. Seize the day, for what it’s worth. To me, that really means to make the day as best as you can. By being a bitch, you’re definitely not carpe diem’ing (making up words and phrases ftw). Stop being selfish, and make someone else’s day.

Okay, enough of a rant. I’ll probably write up a Bioshock 2 review this weekend, since I played and beat it over this past week while I was off for Spring Break. Until then, keep what I ranted about in mind!