Pots and kettles Re: Blackness

So I was thinking of starting with a musing over how seeing my friends be productive really motivates me to be productive, but that rolls into reasons for motivation, who and what I consider friends and that could get me in trouble because I’m at that point of being tired where I think and say things that get me in trouble.  So instead, here’s a character introductary monolouge that I’ve had in my head for the past few days.

My name is Dominic VonWurstmer. I am an esteemed werewolf hunter, as was my father, his father before him, and so on. For 12 generations my bloodline has protected this land from the scourge of the werewolf. Vile monsters, the spawn of  demon dogs from  many eons ago. Twisting men into their own dark form and hordes, these creatures must be stoped. Removed from this plane. Destroied. This is the duty that falls upon my own hands. However, unlike my forefathers, I have also established myself as a renowned vampire hunter. No specific reasons, I just fucking hate vampires.

Eh, it’s something. And then the step after this is to take clips from the Twilight movie and lay the Symphony of the Night dialogue over it. I would be filled with the utmost joy to see Bella scream at Edward “DIE MONSTER. YOU DON’T BELONG IN THIS WORLD!”

—

So I got home today (what with the fall semester of college over) and instead of setting up here and anticipating some grove to get into while I’m here on break, I broke out the old snes and just started playing games. It’s odd. I never really forget that these are the games from which I come. You go through them, and I think you begin to see where parts of me come from. Megaman X, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster Busts Loose, Nigel Mansen’s World Championship, Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, Donkey Kong Country.

I fucking hate Donkey Kong Country. I don’t even know why. Something about the sounds, and the colors, and the way everything is rendered, and the animals chosen for the powerups, and the weird way that everything is slightly echo-y, and…I really can’t explain it. It’s not like it’s a bad game…it’s fun, but I just hate it. And the way in which I hate it is kinda the way in which I love Space Ghost. The color and sounds and bizzare “good for the time but seemingly hacked together now” kind of…meh. Or maybe like the Moxie Show. I don’t know, a lot of stuff from the 1995ish era has this kind of effect on me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain it. But if you put DKC next to SGC2C …you can draw no freaking conclusions. Look, I’ll do it now:

See!?! One I like, one I hate. And I bet it’s opposite of what the populace says. That’s why I’ve always considered myself the exception to the rules.

Phew.

Point was, is that these old games are haaaarrrrdddd. People who know me know what I’m like with games. I can beat them. I’m good at them. But I come back to these classics of mine, and I find myself getting stuck at the same points I would get stuck o those many years ago.I know it’s the same spots because I can remember them. Vividly. Now, this seems to say a few things. One, like I said, games back then were harder. Two, all my skills were developed at an early age. Three, which I think I can extend this into a whole point, but older games were givining you more for your money’s worth. I was Playing Ninja Gaiden II the other night (the 360 one) and I was smashing my head against the wall in a few places. But honestly, the amount of head smashing is a lot higher for these older games I’ve come home too. Just time and challenge wise, they demand more out of you, and so I think over all they’re going to increase your skills more when you finally get them beat. Simpler mechanics, but bigger challenges maybe? It’s like learning to juggle 6 balls or just 3 chainsaws. That’s kinda the choice. Or I’m just saying random words now. I think it has more to say about why I look for what I do in games. I’m a person who will look for challenges in games…as opposed to people who look for content, or social interation. There’s numerous reason to play games, and many things you could be looking for in games. But I come from a world of Mega Men and X’s, so I think it’s a good game if there’s a series of platforms with you on one side and the goal on the other. And if you hand me a large sprawling world with things to explore, I lose interest after a couple of hours. It’s just a matter of what I’ve come to expect from games.

*Yawn* ah well. I put my head back to the whetstone in the morning. For now, sleep is good. Always good.

F*R*A*G: Why am I like a large peice of furniture made out of a crocodile? Because I’m a snappy dresser.