THE END OF DAYS

So since we are so close to the ending of days (aka the last day of class) I thought I would contribute with one final blog summing up everything we have accomplished in this class. Let's start out with the content of the class. Not only is this the first class we (as in Shippensburg) have about the art of graphic novel and video games it is the first successful class about graphic novels and video games. Why was it successful? The first reason is because these mediums are very current with our generation (especially video games). It was really the fist time I was in a room with people who agreed with me that these things are art/literature. The class was organized extremely well and was open to individual research in multiple subjects. I love working as an individual and coming to my own conclusions about things like this. The novels that we had to read were of the highest caliber. I never heard of Blankets before and reading it was just a delight for me. I've heard of Maus, but never really took the time to read it, until now that is. We also got to pick the games we wanted to play, other than WoW but that is amazing in its own right. Overall the class was structured to support individualism and teamwork (group discussions on required reading/the final boss). Secondly is the people. The actual make-up of the class was fantastic also. Without the class I feel as though I would have never met all of these amazing people that I have actually become friends with. Usually I have "class" friends where we talk in class, but outside of it it is like we don't even know each other save for a greeting. In this class I actually can have conversations with people about other things than the class. We kind of hang out too (the library totally counts). I give a good deal of credit to WoW where we were all basically stripped of our identities and sent into this world to interact with one another. That helped me break out of my shell so much. The class helped me branch out and actually talk to (dramatic music) English Majors....So I suppose my question to everyone is what did you think of the class and how has it changed/reinforced your standings on video games.

Example of a Reaper

So I thought I would change it up from the constant talk about WoW, Blizzard, online spaces, etc. And give you my opinion on the game I chose for my indie game: Mass Effect 3. The Mass Effect story follows the exploits of Commander Shepard, the first Human Spectre and savior of the galaxy. In the first installment of Mass Effect Shepard realized an ancient race of non-organic life (The Reapers) is coming to wipe out all life from the galaxy. It is then in the hands  of Shepard to stop a Reaper named Sovereign, but that is only the beginning. In Mass Effect 2 Shepard has to stop a race of aliens (known as the Collectors) from snatching Humans. It is later found out that the Collectors are working for the Reapers and constructing a Human Reaper (lamest ending ever btw). So now in Mass Effect 3 the Reapers are coming in full force and it is your job stop them and save the galaxy.....easy.

The main storyline consists of trying to convince the other races (mainly the council races of Turian, Asari, and Salarian) to join your war effort. The actual missions are very well put together and full of action and epic set pieces. Overall the storyline is on point, until the end which is currently being bombarded on the Interwebs (but I won't spoil it for you). The main differences from the first two games come in gameplay. You can finally roll! Thank you!! The cover system is updated and controls much better. The only complaint is that they overload the Action Button (X on ps3, A on Xbox, and Space on PC). For those who haven't played the Action Button is in charge of cover, rolling, running, picking up, hacking, talking, etc. It is way too much. Luckily you kind of get used to it and it no longer becomes a problem after a few hours. Weapon custimization is in the game also, but I could take it or leave it (too call of duty for me).

Next up is the Multiplayer. Yep like all games now it NEEDS a multiplayer (Sarcasim). What we get is a Horde mode that only goes through 11 waves and you level up extremely fast, then before you realize it you are the highest level you could be. I played for about 2 hours and already am level 15 fo 20. BUT EVAN YOU CAN BE OTHER CLASSES!! Oh man I forgot.....it still doesn't matter since it takes no time at all to level. Pretty much what I am trying to say is that the Multiplayer is worthless and feels tacked on. Sure it's fun to fling powers around like a SOB, but it loses its appeal in about an hour. They should have spent more time on the end then the multiplayer.

Another feeling I got was after I completed the game. With the other two installments I was instantly compelled to play another time through. After Mass Effect 3 I did not get that feeling (although I did start a Mass Effect 1 game). The choices were also a little black and white too. There was rarely a third option of dialog just the two (Paragon or Renagade). It was nice, however, to see my choices from the other two games make an impact in 3 though. I feel like I did something in the universe and all in all MASS EFFECT 3 was a satisfying experience that ends the tale of Commander Shepard. It has been a five year journey and I am glad to see it end in such a terrific game.



 

Ending Song to Mass Effect (personally one of my favorite songs ever)

Late Night WOW

So last Thursday (I think) when I was playing WoW I was asked to head over to the Eastern Kingdoms and party up with Heather and Travis. What ensued was a gaming session that lasted until around 4am. The majority of the time it was Heather and myself watching Travis run off and get killed by some enemy. He started doing better once we all got on skype for a voice chat. (typing takes longer then talking) We got lost in Silvermoon City, did a bunch of quests, and (I think) Travis and Heather learned how to play a little better. It was the first time in a while where I played a game for more then 3 hours straight. It was absolutely ridiculous, but I enjoyed every second of it (especially seeing Travis run off and get murdered by skeletons). The only problem was that it was too late in the day to play more....the only reason I got off was due to being extremely tired. WoW has the ability to suck you in for hours upon hours. You don't even have to do quests. I was level 39 at the time in a level 15 zone. I didn't have to do quests or kill mobs of enemies. We were all hanging out in a virtual world (I don't know if the others share my view about it, but that's how I look at it) Now I'm looking forward to playing with them again and hopefully having as much fun as I did last time.

Blizzard

Seeing that we are all playing WoW now, I would like to take this time to reflect on my experiences with its developer Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard has been in my life ever since Diablo in 1996. I was around four years old when this game burst onto the scenes and of course my Dad (a hardcore WoW player these days) picked it right up for himself. Now at the time I had no idea what it was, but a few yeas later (when I was around 6) I got my first chance to play it, and all I can say was from that day my life changed forever. Not only was this game rated M (for Mature) it was my first M game. As a six year old I felt like a total bad ass (although in reality I wasn't allowed to play it, but I found ways to sneak it). Diablo is the game that introduced me to RPGs, before that it was all Mario and Megaman (which are also amazing franchises). It doesn't stop there though, in 1998 (the year I started playing Diablo) another little game came out.....Starcraft.
I had no concept of what a RTS (Real Time Strategy) game was all about, but Blizzard introduced me to that genre with arguably the GREATEST RTS EVER MADE (just ask the Koreans). This game was rated T (for Teen) so I had no problems asking my Dad if I could play it (the only problem was I had to share the computer with my older brother,twin brother, and father). Nevertheless, I got to play and develop a love affair with Starcraft. My favorite race was the Terran and their totally awesome siege tanks then in 2000 the sequel to Diablo debuted: Diablo II.
Not only was Diablo II bigger and better; it gave me the chance to interact with other players around the world via Battle.net. I did use Battle.net on the first Diablo, but I didn't really understand it. Luckily I was old enough to realize how awesome it was to play with other people online and Blizzard put another change on my concept of games, online games. I actually rarely got the chance to play this game due to my brothers interest in it. It was a dark time where I moved from being part of the PC master race, to a lowly console gamer (tragic I know).
I was first introduced to the Warcraft mythology in Warcraft III (for those who don't know Warcraft was a RTS before a MMORPG). Here (and the expansion that came out a year later) I learned the story behind the MMO through this game (I don't want to bore you with the details, if you aren't already bored). Then in 2004 the whole gaming medium was changed forever by (cue dramatic music) World of Warcraft.
This is were my life stops for a good four years, everything else just became a joke compared to the all powerful WoW (now you may have different opinions on this, but it's my blog so shut up). There were a couple of false starts with characters, an undead warlock, a dwarf warrior, and a night elf hunter, but finally my dwarf priest was created (my first level 60, they grow up so fast). Healing I found was my strong suit and I really enjoyed playing it. I was a member of my Dad's guild "The Snow Goons." My life was consumed by Thursday night raids until 2am and all nighters on the weekends. But tragically all good things had to come to an end, and in 2008 that's where I stopped playing and really got into Halo. Blizzard was on the back burner until 2010 when Starcraft II came out, but by this time I was too big into competitive online and Starcraft II was just way too hard for my taste.
Now you know my life story with Blizzard Entertainment (sorry if it ran a little long). This leads me into a point I wanted to reach: Is there any games/developer that completely changed how you game and/or the way you look at games. You obviously know mine, but I'm curious to learn what you think.