Category: Games

Recently, Jimmy Kimmel made a remark that he didn’t understand why people are watching people play video games on Youtube and Twitch.

http://nerdist.com/nerdist-play-was-jimmy-kimmel-too-rough-on-vide-game-streaming/

Of course, some people took to Twitter to insult and otherwise verbally attack Kimmel. Already the outcry against the “gamer community” has begun.

Look, I’m a gamer and I don’t get why you’d watch someone else play a video game. (Unless it’s a tutorial or for tips.) From what I can tell, the Twitch/Youtube phenomena of watching people play video games a generational thing, not a gamer/non-gamer thing. I’m a gamer, have been since the 80s. Watching someone play a game is BORING. I remember when it was a bad thing to invite someone over to your house to play video games, only to hog the controller the whole time they were there. Watching someone on Youtube play a game feels the same as that to me. So, let’s stop painting gamers with the same wide brush.

Unlike many other hobbies that are a niche, gaming is wide and vast. At this point in time, video gaming is as big/bigger than the movie industry. It’s a norm. Really, when you say “gamer” you mean “everyone under 45”. (To different degrees based on age.)  So, when people talk about “the gaming community” I get defensive, especially when the discussion is about how terrible “the community” is. (See Gamergate) What community? What they really mean when they say “Gamers” is PEOPLE on the internet. Gaming used to be a niche, so you could identify a gamer “type”. Not anymore. Now, gamers are everyone. So, when a bunch of terrible people start attacking a female internet celebrity, or a gaming journalist, or a late night comedian, they’re just terrible people. Not gamers. There is no more a  “gamer community” as there is a “movie goer” community, or a “TV viewer” community. When a niche becomes the mainstream it’s not a “community” anymore. It’s just the majority of PEOPLE.

Y-Wings bombing walkers? Yes please.

OK. My kids can’t play Luigi’s Mansion anymore. 😉

Penny-Arcade

via Comic: Paraphilia.

My son has started playing Minecraft, and I figured I’ll probably need to know how to play so that I can help him. This is a great little starter video that lets you know how to survive your first night.

Which one should I pick? Too many to choose from! The nerd part of my brain is over loaded! Gamestop, and Atari’s are the most tempting.

GameStop — GameStop customers receive the ability to command the exclusive and always classic USS Enterprise from Star Trek The Original Series.

Atari (Collector’s Edition) — Red Matter Capacitor : A unique item that charges up and delivers extra energy to all of your ship’s equipment for a short time. Next Generation Uniform, Deep Space Nine uniform.

Atari (Deluxe Edition) — 3 Uniforms from the Original series (blue, red, yellow) , Joined Trill Character, Exclusive “KHAAAN!” Emote, Exclusive Klingon Blood Wine Toast Emote, Unique “NX” Registry Prefix, Automated Defense Battery

Best Buy — Best Buy is offering their customers a fun in-game pet. As a Federation Captain, players own a famed Tribble of Star Trek lore that will accompany them on their travels into the final frontier. As a Klingon commander, players control the boar-like Targ, a beast found on the Klingon home world of Qo’noS.

Amazon — Amazon is offering an exclusive ‘Liberated Borg’ Bridge Officer. This bridge officer, who comes with unique nanotechnology augmentations, assists in missions and gains experience as the player does.

Wal-Mart — With the Wal-Mart Bonus Skill Points package, receive addition skill points that enable players to improve their characters quickly.

Target — Target customers who preorder Star Trek Online receive a unique ground weapon ? a TR-116. This rare projectile weapon is used in dampening fields and other challenging environments; it is also modified with a micro-transporter which beams the fired projectiles to targets at close range so that a user can fire without a direct line of site.

Direct2Drive — Direct2Drive customers receive an exclusive Multi-Spatial Personal Shield. This advanced personal shield system is based on Borg technology, which constantly regenerates itself and the health of its wearer.

STEAM — STEAM is offering customers Chromodynamic Armor. This armor is based on technology brought back from the Delta Quadrant by U.S.S. Voyager improves the damage and critical hits of energy weapons.

First off, let me state that I am a total Star Trek nerd. I’ve seen all the movies, all the shows, and own novels and tech manuals. So, I am acutely aware that I am most likely too harsh in my criticisms of the game, from a Star Trek perspective anyway.

Prior to trying the Star Trek Online beta, I read a review that stated how immersive the game is; how it makes you feel as if you’re IN Star Trek. To be honest, I really don’t feel it. Besides the subset of ships that were actually taken from Star Trek, the game doesn’t really look like Star Trek to me. The interior design of the Space Dock, the bridge design, and even the “updated” uniforms look gaudy and “un-Trekish.” There are some good sound effects however, and the before mentioned starships are pretty cool to customize. (I currently own a Miranda Class vessel ala the Reliant from Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan.) That being said, from what I’ve seen the ships appear to just be skins. If I may, let me get really nerdy here… the Miranda-class starship from Star Trek II has 2 phaser cannons on it. Not the one in the game, however. Since its “Miranda-ness” is just a skin, the actual Star Trek lore specs of the ship aren’t there. The ship’s specifications are based on a basic configuration defined by what type of ship it is. (Cruisers, Escorts, and Science.) You then customize the ship by buying new weapons, sheilds, engines, etc. My second complaint about the ships is the size of the rooms. They’re HUGE. I understand why this is done. As a MMORPG, the rooms need to be large enough to accomidate all the player characters. Nevertheless, it hurts the “Trekiness” of the game.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate this game. It does have some good points. It’s a casual MMO, which I like. The space battles are fun. Shooting objects and enemies with your hand phaser is pretty neat. Oh, and I also have to mention the uber-detailed character creation options that always weem to accompany a game by Cryptic.

As a side note, one of the most common questions I saw on the STO Forums was “Will STO run on my MacBook Pro? If you have the 13” MacBook Pro, and Windows 7, the answer is “yes.” You can’t max out the graphics, but at “medium” it’ll run just fine. (Mine’s the 13″ 2.5Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB of RAM.)

So far I haven’t decided if I like or dislike STO. I’m still feeling it out, and still learning all it’s aspects. It’s definitely worth a try so I recommend that you try out the beta, and decide for yourself.