(no subject)

[framlingem]

Have cornered Ashton into going to see BiS with me on Friday by offering to pay her cover if there is one. (There wasn't last time). I don't mind. She's still going on her 'quitting cigarettes cold turkey' thing, and I want to treat her to something, because she's so proud of herself and I'm proud of her too. Go Ashton. (If there's no cover, I'll buy her a drink)

I watched "Bowling for Columbine" today. All politics aside, Michael Moore is an excellent film editorialist. He does get his facts straight, and chooses the shots and soundbites and music very carefully and accurately to push the buttons of his audience. (I had to watch it in three parts. Kept crying.)

*eyes Myst III:Exile box on her top shelf, which she vowed she would not install just yet*

I don't know why I bought Exile. Well, aside from the obvious that it was only ten dollars. It promises hours and hours of frustration and headaches... but then, hours and hours of feeling really smug when I've solved all the puzzles. And there are FOUR DISCS. FOUR.

*wonders if it comes with a book I can read*

I think the thing with the Myst games (I've played the first two. URU is still too expensive for me) is that the premise is something I grew up knowing intimately; that worlds exist within books. How can any person who grew up travelling the world and the far reaches of space resist a game which was obviously designed by someone who did the same thing? Add to that the imagination (Such beautiful, beautiful, unearthly places) and attention to detail (that frog in Riven! And the bug that flew away every time you pointed at it!), and it's just... amazing. It takes something implicitly true, and makes it explicit. Makes it real.

*resists opening the box*

I will open the box on Saturday, when I have finished half of my exams. My last two exams are not ones which I need to study (quite so much) for.

*nods to self*

Sounds good.

Comments

[coreyfoster-esq.livejournal.com]

You will succumb to the call of the Uru! It beckons with shiny polygons and hefty backstory! Muahahaha

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure I will eventually, because I seem to like pain and suffering of the 'banging my head against my desk and losing all faith in my intellect' kind.

I have heard rumours about evil fireflies.

(BTW - I am presuming you got here via zleetle, as she appears to be the only thing we have in common besides intellectual masochism. Am I right?)

[coreyfoster-esq.livejournal.com]

Yep, you'd be right.

Uru wasn't too hard, which is where it fell a bit for me. Even the firefly part. If you're patient, then they're no problem whatsoever. A bigger pain in the ass in that certain age would be the whole "chair-kicking" bit. You'll see what I mean.

Actually, I think that the hardest part of the game would be reading that big, fat pile of study journals. My eyes hurt like a bitch after that, like somebody poured salt into them. Again, just you wait. Fireflies nothing.

[ex-lev195.livejournal.com]

There are indeed evil fireflies in Uru. But once you get used to the gameplay, Uru is an awesome game as well, although I'm sort of sad the whole online-play didn't work out. But. Yes. When you have money, get it. *nodnod*

(...I'm a big fan of the Myst series, can you tell?)

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Hm. Yes, yes I can, just a little.

Perhaps I shall invest in Uru this summer, when I'm at home. My Dad, sister and I played through Myst and Riven together, and it's fun with more than one person. (I was the one who figured out how to get numbers higher than ten in the D'ni system. *smugness*).

Have you played "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Seventh Guest" yet? Same sort of thing, but a lot... darker. In terms of lighting.

[coreyfoster-esq.livejournal.com]

Holy shit, are you kidding me? That's a name I didn't ever think I'd hear again. I was lucky enough to snag those two in a Collector's Pack before they were phased out completely. The first game was great (if a bit goofy, but hey, it was the nineties and MPG tech was a geek's playground). The second had harder puzzles, a niftier mansion design... but an entirely goddamn ridiculous story.

Whups, almost spoiled it for everyone.

If you say that you used to play the old Sierra adventure games, you get big, fat style points. And I'll never call you any nasty names on the playground in front of the popular kids.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

Nope. A friend of Dad's gave them to us when I was... ten? Twelve? Long time ago. He didn't say too much - he was gibbering at the time. I hear he got locked up ;) (Okay, so no, but it's funny anyway). The puzzles in the second one... man, that chess puzzle took FOREVER. And the one where you have to rearrange a ridiculous number of letters into ONE word? Yeesh. Lovely. (I like the little dig they had with the computer game on the table... labelled 'Missed'). I agree about the story, though. That bit at the end with the three doors? eeeee.

Sierra adventure games... King's Quest V, VI, and VII. Do those count? I never could finish VII, though. Stupid Moon. Stupid fountain.

I did finish two Zork games, though. Does that get me style points?

[coreyfoster-esq.livejournal.com]

The three doors thing was silly. The origin of the woman in the wheelchair was sillier. And it didn't stop there.

Yep, Sierra did the Leisure Suit Larry, Space Quest and those types of games. King's Quest was their lynchpin, so yeah, those count. And Zork gets you extra style points, becuase I've never played them. You've nerded me out.

Something I forgot to mention earlier was that if you're into the Myst type, you might want to look into Sherlock Holmes and the Secret of the Silver Earring. Not just because I'm a Sherlock whore, but it has that kind of "observe and conclude" sort of flow with a taste of the criminal Victorian. Yeah, obviously. But still, it rocks if you can get past the terrible vocal work.

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

My Dad played Leisure Suit Larry, and refused to let me watch/play. (Granted, I was maybe nine or ten at the time, so it was responsibility rather than cruelty on his part. Three cheers for responsible parents!) Space Quest I simply couldn't get past the beginning of (it's been a long time, but I seem to remember seeing insect-mode at some point, and that's what stung me. Couldn't adapt.)

I highly recommend Zork: Grand Inquisitor. Fun story, and features Dirk Benedict as a talking lamp. Loads of fun. It's not text-based.

The Sherlock Holmes game sounds good. *takes a reference* It's now on the list after finishing Diablo II (which is not a Myst-type game at all, but is lots of fun and I need a break between cerebral things to just kill stuff with a big ax) and Uru.