Thursday, April 21, 2016
Ten Years Is A Long Time
I've been wondering for a while now how I was going to mark ten years on this blog. Round, even numbers like 10 don't come around very often, and they please us so very much that it seems like a shame not to celebrate them when they happen.
But honestly, I'm not feeling very retrospective. It's just a blog. It seems kind of silly to celebrate what amounts to a landfill for all of the thoughts about video games that I need to get out of my head for a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy about quite a lot of the things I've written. Every now and then I thumb through it with narcissistic contentment, like "DAMN those are some good opinions". I know I'm the only person who reads this thing. I'll probably peek in on this a few years down the line and be like, "Yup, ha ha." Fistbump, Future Me.
If this blog is anything, it's a record of how my relationship toward video games have changed over the years. I go back to my earliest posts and smile about what a narrow-minded little fanboy I was. You can see me trying to emulate the tone and style of the professional game review sites, never going any deeper than giving a colorful list of a game's features. You can also see, here and there, symptoms of burnout -- it was a point in my life when I'd spent a decade acquiring video games with my own money, and I was starting to feel like it was making me unhappy and I needed a different way to relate to them.
Eegra changed me. Discovering a website filled with people who were both smart and held a passion for video games made me want to try harder. It took me outside of my bubble and awakened me to the budding indie scene that was developing in the PC realm.
I don't write as much these days. I've abandoned the idea that I'm writing these articles for any reason beyond my own pleasure, so I tend not to bother unless I feel like I have something to say and I don't see anyone else saying it. And while I've never stopped buying and playing video games, I have at least slowed down considerably. I linger more on the experiences that matter to me.
And, in a way, this blog has helped me come to this place. Instead of constantly watching game news and tracking when the next big thing is about to release, I take a flip through my archives and remember how excited Go Vacation made me, or how cool it is that Fantasy Life has a pacifist path.
So let's mark the tenth year of Electric Dilintia by saying that I'm feeling pretty good. Video games are as awesome and as horrible as they've ever been. As long as I keep thinking about them, I'm going to keep writing about them.
And with any luck at all, I'll have something a bit more substantial to mark the Wii's ten year anniversary.
But honestly, I'm not feeling very retrospective. It's just a blog. It seems kind of silly to celebrate what amounts to a landfill for all of the thoughts about video games that I need to get out of my head for a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty happy about quite a lot of the things I've written. Every now and then I thumb through it with narcissistic contentment, like "DAMN those are some good opinions". I know I'm the only person who reads this thing. I'll probably peek in on this a few years down the line and be like, "Yup, ha ha." Fistbump, Future Me.
If this blog is anything, it's a record of how my relationship toward video games have changed over the years. I go back to my earliest posts and smile about what a narrow-minded little fanboy I was. You can see me trying to emulate the tone and style of the professional game review sites, never going any deeper than giving a colorful list of a game's features. You can also see, here and there, symptoms of burnout -- it was a point in my life when I'd spent a decade acquiring video games with my own money, and I was starting to feel like it was making me unhappy and I needed a different way to relate to them.
Eegra changed me. Discovering a website filled with people who were both smart and held a passion for video games made me want to try harder. It took me outside of my bubble and awakened me to the budding indie scene that was developing in the PC realm.
I don't write as much these days. I've abandoned the idea that I'm writing these articles for any reason beyond my own pleasure, so I tend not to bother unless I feel like I have something to say and I don't see anyone else saying it. And while I've never stopped buying and playing video games, I have at least slowed down considerably. I linger more on the experiences that matter to me.
And, in a way, this blog has helped me come to this place. Instead of constantly watching game news and tracking when the next big thing is about to release, I take a flip through my archives and remember how excited Go Vacation made me, or how cool it is that Fantasy Life has a pacifist path.
So let's mark the tenth year of Electric Dilintia by saying that I'm feeling pretty good. Video games are as awesome and as horrible as they've ever been. As long as I keep thinking about them, I'm going to keep writing about them.
And with any luck at all, I'll have something a bit more substantial to mark the Wii's ten year anniversary.
Labels: dilintia
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Year the Ninth
It's been a pretty shit year for games, hasn't it?
I mean, Super Smash Brothers, right? But even that didn't exactly knock my socks off. It seems like the most exciting thing Nintendo's done all year is fail to keep the store shelves stocked with little plastic toys.
Not that this is a very rigorously-maintained blog or anything, but I feel like I've been talking even less about the new video games lately. I loved Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, but what's the point of writing about it? It's exactly the game you would expect it to be. Professor Layton style puzzles, Phoenix Wright style court battles, awesome story. Eleven word review. I feel like there's this ennui among video game fans because, while the games themselves are only becoming bigger and cooler, they still have very much the same soul that they've had for the last ten years or longer. There hasn't really been a breakout game-changer since... well, Wii Sports.
But one or two games have come along that gave me something to write about. Fantasy Life impressed me with its pacifist RPG action. Tomodachi Life made me question what makes something a game. And I find myself interested in big picture stuff, like Amazon's move toward a streaming box or what the New Super Mario Brothers games mean for Nintendo. And frankly, ThinkFun's lineup for this year has gotten me seriously interested in tabletop games again. I've probably done more Unplugged Dilintia this year than in the eight previous years combined, with Robot Turtles being one of my favorites.
It's weird to think that this blog is moving into its tenth year. I can't think of anything I've kept up for that long. Right now, it seems like this hobby is only going to get weirder. I've still got stuff on my mind, though. Let's see how it all shakes out.
I mean, Super Smash Brothers, right? But even that didn't exactly knock my socks off. It seems like the most exciting thing Nintendo's done all year is fail to keep the store shelves stocked with little plastic toys.
Not that this is a very rigorously-maintained blog or anything, but I feel like I've been talking even less about the new video games lately. I loved Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright, but what's the point of writing about it? It's exactly the game you would expect it to be. Professor Layton style puzzles, Phoenix Wright style court battles, awesome story. Eleven word review. I feel like there's this ennui among video game fans because, while the games themselves are only becoming bigger and cooler, they still have very much the same soul that they've had for the last ten years or longer. There hasn't really been a breakout game-changer since... well, Wii Sports.
But one or two games have come along that gave me something to write about. Fantasy Life impressed me with its pacifist RPG action. Tomodachi Life made me question what makes something a game. And I find myself interested in big picture stuff, like Amazon's move toward a streaming box or what the New Super Mario Brothers games mean for Nintendo. And frankly, ThinkFun's lineup for this year has gotten me seriously interested in tabletop games again. I've probably done more Unplugged Dilintia this year than in the eight previous years combined, with Robot Turtles being one of my favorites.
It's weird to think that this blog is moving into its tenth year. I can't think of anything I've kept up for that long. Right now, it seems like this hobby is only going to get weirder. I've still got stuff on my mind, though. Let's see how it all shakes out.
Labels: dilintia
Saturday, April 21, 2012
The Year I Defected
Well well, six years of Electric Dilintia.
Two years ago, I declared that I was done buying video games. This turned out to be untrue, but it did mark a change in my perspective that has stayed with me. It would be more accurate to say that I'm done buying Nintendo games.
This past year has seen me strike out from my fanboy bubble and look into some alternatives to Nintendo games. I bought a Kindle and then an iPad, both of which are interesting game platforms. I've dabbled in Flash games. I did get a 3DS when Nintendo baited me with free games, but not even Mario 3D Land could really get me interested in it.
Which is not to say that I've dropped Nintendo entirely. I've been picking up my DS a lot lately, and I've remembered just how wonderful it is. There's so much it can do, and the games for it are so wonderful. I wish the world wasn't so ready to leave it behind.
I'll admit, the old blog is starting to feel a bit past its prime. But we'll see how things go.
Two years ago, I declared that I was done buying video games. This turned out to be untrue, but it did mark a change in my perspective that has stayed with me. It would be more accurate to say that I'm done buying Nintendo games.
This past year has seen me strike out from my fanboy bubble and look into some alternatives to Nintendo games. I bought a Kindle and then an iPad, both of which are interesting game platforms. I've dabbled in Flash games. I did get a 3DS when Nintendo baited me with free games, but not even Mario 3D Land could really get me interested in it.
Which is not to say that I've dropped Nintendo entirely. I've been picking up my DS a lot lately, and I've remembered just how wonderful it is. There's so much it can do, and the games for it are so wonderful. I wish the world wasn't so ready to leave it behind.
I'll admit, the old blog is starting to feel a bit past its prime. But we'll see how things go.
Labels: dilintia
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Five Years of Talking to Myself
Five years ago, I bought an Atari Flashback 2 and I loved it so much that I wanted to write something about it. But since I had no idea who would care about such a thing, I figured I'd need to create my own platform for it. Nearly 200 posts later, here I am, still writing things nobody is going to read about things that nobody cares about but me. It's not the most rigorously-maintained blog, but I think that's for the best -- it speaks to how far I've come toward freeing myself from this money-eating, time-killing hobby. I've gone from being a total addict to finding some balance. I've made some progress reining in the pretentious bullshit and toning down the blatant fanboyishness. I've dabbled in making some games of my own. And I've written a few things that I'm pretty happy about.
So here's some of my personal favorite posts from the last five years. If this continues to be fun, maybe I'll make some more.
2006
Babysitting My Video Games
Thoughts From the Press Conference
Thoughts From the Other Press Conference
Top 10 Gamecube Underdogs
The Gay Kid In Earthbound
What Dragon's Lair Did Right
Taking On The World
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
The Golden Age of Black and White
Mario Party Advance
2007
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Game & Watch Diaries
Graphics Versus Gameplay Steel Cage DEATHMATCH
He For One
Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends
2008
Why Do I Play?
Beating Harvest Moon GB
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
Wii Fit
Super Smash Brothers Brawl Characters
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
2009
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Wii Music
Video Game Review Scores
2010
Third Party Failure Completely the Fault of Nintendo Wii
Wii Sports Resort
Dragon Quest Wars
Wolf Quest
2011
The Multiverse Celebrates Mario's 25th
Setting the Record Straight
The Animal Crossing Trap
There we go. If I don't spend the next year playing nothing but Desktop Dungeons (a very real danger), then I'll see you in 2012!
So here's some of my personal favorite posts from the last five years. If this continues to be fun, maybe I'll make some more.
2006
Babysitting My Video Games
Thoughts From the Press Conference
Thoughts From the Other Press Conference
Top 10 Gamecube Underdogs
The Gay Kid In Earthbound
What Dragon's Lair Did Right
Taking On The World
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
The Golden Age of Black and White
Mario Party Advance
2007
Pokemon Trading Card Game
Game & Watch Diaries
Graphics Versus Gameplay Steel Cage DEATHMATCH
He For One
Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends
2008
Why Do I Play?
Beating Harvest Moon GB
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
Wii Fit
Super Smash Brothers Brawl Characters
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
2009
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Wii Music
Video Game Review Scores
2010
Third Party Failure Completely the Fault of Nintendo Wii
Wii Sports Resort
Dragon Quest Wars
Wolf Quest
2011
The Multiverse Celebrates Mario's 25th
Setting the Record Straight
The Animal Crossing Trap
There we go. If I don't spend the next year playing nothing but Desktop Dungeons (a very real danger), then I'll see you in 2012!
Labels: dilintia
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Four Years!
Well, it's been another year of doing this! And honestly, I don't have the interest to do a year-end wrapup thingy!
Thanks as always to everyone who hasn't read and hasn't responded to this blog. Your indifference has helped to maintain an environment where I feel comfortable writing and posting the things that I don't particularly want anyone to read. As we move forward into our fifth year, expect fewer updates and an even more apathetic attitude toward video gaming.
See ya in 2011!
Thanks as always to everyone who hasn't read and hasn't responded to this blog. Your indifference has helped to maintain an environment where I feel comfortable writing and posting the things that I don't particularly want anyone to read. As we move forward into our fifth year, expect fewer updates and an even more apathetic attitude toward video gaming.
See ya in 2011!
Labels: dilintia
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Three Years!
Well, the blog's another year older, and not a day wiser. It's been a pretty good year for video games, eh? I mean, my home console of choice is the Wii, and I still ended the year with more games than I know what to do with.
We got the one-two punch of Wii Fit and Wii Music, that zany, ground-breaking software that only Nintendo would have the balls to put forward as their major productions for the year. Yeah, I know, none of the cool kids got into them, but I am not, nor have I ever been, a cool kid. Despite lapses in my commitment to Wii Fit, it continues to see frequent use in my home, and yes, I do attribute my slimmer waistline to the time that I've spent jogging my character around Wii Fit Island. Wii Music, on the other hand, sits neglected. I'll pick it up now and then, fiddle around with the instrument practice for a bit, and get charmed all over again by the magic of playing this wide assortment of imaginary musical instruments. But when I actually try to start up a song, I just get overwhelmed by all of the creative possibility. It's been a long time since I've finished an entire arrangement. I still hold that it's a fine piece of software, but goodness gosh is it ever hard to get into.
In happier music game news, the Wii's enormous install base finally convinced EA to bring Rock Band to our favorite wagglemote system of joy, and stiff competition from Guitar Hero: World Tour inspired them to also bring us the good version just a couple months later. Rock Band 2 is about the coolest music video game I've ever played, combining the fun of playing three different kinds of rhythm games simultaneously with an actual simulation of rock band management. Hours of fun.
I got the new Animal Crossing for Christmas, and I'm glad I did, because I doubt I would have picked it up for myself. And yeah, while it's very similar to previous entries in the series, there are a lot of little things that add up to make it a unique experience in its own right. It helped me to realize why I didn't like the DS version very much -- Animal Crossing, at its core, is an experience that's meant to be shared with other real people. The DS is my personal system -- I don't pass it around the house, so nobody played Wild World with me. City Folk, on the other hand, has demonstrated how much fun you can get out of a simple premise if you have everyone in your house seeing the same world, placing their own influences on it, and interpreting the events differently. And now there's the option to send mail to another city over the internet, even when your friend isn't on? Really, that's perfection right there -- exactly the way the system should be used.
The Wii got a port of Sam & Max Season One, and now I can see what all the fuss is about. I saw the potential of episodic adventure games the first time I played Phoenix Wright -- little bite-sized adventure scraps that add up to a long, arcing storyline -- but Sam & Max realizes that potential. Each episode is short enough that it can be played through in a single afternoon. Each one feels like a complete, self-contained experience, but contributes to the overall arc of the game. The puzzles and obstacles are very creative and fun to pick apart, but the solutions never degenerate into "rub everything against everything else". Everything can be thought through, and Max can offer a helpful hint here and there. I only got completely stuck twice, and only because I had missed an item I was supposed to pick up. It's a great game, and I look forward to Season Two.
And speaking of Telltale Games making awesome stuff for the Wii, how about that Wii Ware, eh? Tiny, lovely video games that you can buy from your couch. There have been some pretty impressive and ambitious projects in the past year. Lost Winds and Defend Your Castle have really stuck with me, and I continue to play them pretty regularly. The Strong Bad games were, of course, a total surprise. I've been a big Homestar Runner fan for years now, and to see them break into console gaming -- and to see the games turn out so good! -- was fantastic. We've seen staples like Tetris and Dr. Mario. We've seen artsy fartsy projects that video game nerds go nuts over, like World of Goo and bit.trip BEAT (or however you capitalize that). And we've seen plenty of the stupid little tiny games that were specifically designed for my enjoyment because nobody else likes them, like My Pokemon Ranch and Bonsai Barber.
And yes, let us all thank goodness for Nintendo's automated SD transfer thingy. Managing system memory wasn't a huge deal for me, but gosh, isn't it just nicer to just see your whole collection there and say, "I'd like to play that one now" and then it happens?
I've really come to like the Nintendo Channel. Yeah, I know, it's just a marketing tool for Nintendo, but you know what? So was Nintendo Power magazine. At least this you don't have to pay for. And although the primary function of the channel seems to be to get people to buy games, it can also help you to stay excited about games you already own. A lot of the videos are just to watch. And hey, if not for the Nintendo Channel, I totally would have missed out on Order Up!, which is almost the cooking/restaurant management sim that I've always dreamed of.
My DS, on the other hand, has been losing a lot of attention over the last year; I didn't even do my annual "Ten/thirteen games I carry everywhere" thing. Part of it is a lack of exciting new releases, part of it is a desire to dig out my older portables and replay the classics. But thank goodness that we finally got Retro Game Challenge, a collection of unbelievably awesome, unbelievably complete, brand-new retro-style video games, tied together with a premise and a presentation that's just too good to ignore. When I finally got it, I spent a whole month playing nothing but Retro Game Challenge, just playing the whole thing from start to finish a good four or five times. I'm sure I haven't seen the last of it.
And finally, Personal Trainer: Cooking. Wow. Everything about this package screams "class". You can search for recipes by keywords, prep time, calories, country of origin, difficulty. You can put together a shopping list for recipes you want to make. Each recipe has a fully-voiced walkthrough, and you can navigate with voice commands so that you don't have to put down what you're doing. Some steps feature a demonstration video so you can make sure you're getting it right. I've made homemade chocolate mousse, pizza Margherita, caprese salad, and mac and cheese. It's all the fun of Cooking Mama, and you get something nice to eat in the end.
As for the old blog? Well, it hasn't been the most exciting year for talking about video games, has it? My hard-hitting Super Smash Brothers Brawl Characters review was nice to get off my chest. I did a postmortem for that one text adventure I did that one time. I did a cute little spoof of what I had believed, at the time, was unreasonable rumors surrounding an upgrade to the DS Lite. I had a brief moment of insight into why video game nerds are never happy and why Nintendo's gotta be like this. I wrote some very informative reviews of Mario Vs. Sonic: Super Olympic Games Challenge and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.
All in all, not as excited as I used to be. Missed a couple months of content altogether. But hey, it's probably a good thing if I've got things I'd rather do than sit and write about video games.
I've still got some video game nerd in me.
We got the one-two punch of Wii Fit and Wii Music, that zany, ground-breaking software that only Nintendo would have the balls to put forward as their major productions for the year. Yeah, I know, none of the cool kids got into them, but I am not, nor have I ever been, a cool kid. Despite lapses in my commitment to Wii Fit, it continues to see frequent use in my home, and yes, I do attribute my slimmer waistline to the time that I've spent jogging my character around Wii Fit Island. Wii Music, on the other hand, sits neglected. I'll pick it up now and then, fiddle around with the instrument practice for a bit, and get charmed all over again by the magic of playing this wide assortment of imaginary musical instruments. But when I actually try to start up a song, I just get overwhelmed by all of the creative possibility. It's been a long time since I've finished an entire arrangement. I still hold that it's a fine piece of software, but goodness gosh is it ever hard to get into.
In happier music game news, the Wii's enormous install base finally convinced EA to bring Rock Band to our favorite wagglemote system of joy, and stiff competition from Guitar Hero: World Tour inspired them to also bring us the good version just a couple months later. Rock Band 2 is about the coolest music video game I've ever played, combining the fun of playing three different kinds of rhythm games simultaneously with an actual simulation of rock band management. Hours of fun.
I got the new Animal Crossing for Christmas, and I'm glad I did, because I doubt I would have picked it up for myself. And yeah, while it's very similar to previous entries in the series, there are a lot of little things that add up to make it a unique experience in its own right. It helped me to realize why I didn't like the DS version very much -- Animal Crossing, at its core, is an experience that's meant to be shared with other real people. The DS is my personal system -- I don't pass it around the house, so nobody played Wild World with me. City Folk, on the other hand, has demonstrated how much fun you can get out of a simple premise if you have everyone in your house seeing the same world, placing their own influences on it, and interpreting the events differently. And now there's the option to send mail to another city over the internet, even when your friend isn't on? Really, that's perfection right there -- exactly the way the system should be used.
The Wii got a port of Sam & Max Season One, and now I can see what all the fuss is about. I saw the potential of episodic adventure games the first time I played Phoenix Wright -- little bite-sized adventure scraps that add up to a long, arcing storyline -- but Sam & Max realizes that potential. Each episode is short enough that it can be played through in a single afternoon. Each one feels like a complete, self-contained experience, but contributes to the overall arc of the game. The puzzles and obstacles are very creative and fun to pick apart, but the solutions never degenerate into "rub everything against everything else". Everything can be thought through, and Max can offer a helpful hint here and there. I only got completely stuck twice, and only because I had missed an item I was supposed to pick up. It's a great game, and I look forward to Season Two.
And speaking of Telltale Games making awesome stuff for the Wii, how about that Wii Ware, eh? Tiny, lovely video games that you can buy from your couch. There have been some pretty impressive and ambitious projects in the past year. Lost Winds and Defend Your Castle have really stuck with me, and I continue to play them pretty regularly. The Strong Bad games were, of course, a total surprise. I've been a big Homestar Runner fan for years now, and to see them break into console gaming -- and to see the games turn out so good! -- was fantastic. We've seen staples like Tetris and Dr. Mario. We've seen artsy fartsy projects that video game nerds go nuts over, like World of Goo and bit.trip BEAT (or however you capitalize that). And we've seen plenty of the stupid little tiny games that were specifically designed for my enjoyment because nobody else likes them, like My Pokemon Ranch and Bonsai Barber.
And yes, let us all thank goodness for Nintendo's automated SD transfer thingy. Managing system memory wasn't a huge deal for me, but gosh, isn't it just nicer to just see your whole collection there and say, "I'd like to play that one now" and then it happens?
I've really come to like the Nintendo Channel. Yeah, I know, it's just a marketing tool for Nintendo, but you know what? So was Nintendo Power magazine. At least this you don't have to pay for. And although the primary function of the channel seems to be to get people to buy games, it can also help you to stay excited about games you already own. A lot of the videos are just to watch. And hey, if not for the Nintendo Channel, I totally would have missed out on Order Up!, which is almost the cooking/restaurant management sim that I've always dreamed of.
My DS, on the other hand, has been losing a lot of attention over the last year; I didn't even do my annual "Ten/thirteen games I carry everywhere" thing. Part of it is a lack of exciting new releases, part of it is a desire to dig out my older portables and replay the classics. But thank goodness that we finally got Retro Game Challenge, a collection of unbelievably awesome, unbelievably complete, brand-new retro-style video games, tied together with a premise and a presentation that's just too good to ignore. When I finally got it, I spent a whole month playing nothing but Retro Game Challenge, just playing the whole thing from start to finish a good four or five times. I'm sure I haven't seen the last of it.
And finally, Personal Trainer: Cooking. Wow. Everything about this package screams "class". You can search for recipes by keywords, prep time, calories, country of origin, difficulty. You can put together a shopping list for recipes you want to make. Each recipe has a fully-voiced walkthrough, and you can navigate with voice commands so that you don't have to put down what you're doing. Some steps feature a demonstration video so you can make sure you're getting it right. I've made homemade chocolate mousse, pizza Margherita, caprese salad, and mac and cheese. It's all the fun of Cooking Mama, and you get something nice to eat in the end.
As for the old blog? Well, it hasn't been the most exciting year for talking about video games, has it? My hard-hitting Super Smash Brothers Brawl Characters review was nice to get off my chest. I did a postmortem for that one text adventure I did that one time. I did a cute little spoof of what I had believed, at the time, was unreasonable rumors surrounding an upgrade to the DS Lite. I had a brief moment of insight into why video game nerds are never happy and why Nintendo's gotta be like this. I wrote some very informative reviews of Mario Vs. Sonic: Super Olympic Games Challenge and Wario Ware: Smooth Moves.
All in all, not as excited as I used to be. Missed a couple months of content altogether. But hey, it's probably a good thing if I've got things I'd rather do than sit and write about video games.
I've still got some video game nerd in me.
Labels: dilintia
Monday, April 21, 2008
I'm Still Doing This?
Well, it's been another year. It wasn't a great one for the old blog, I'm afraid -- between my workload and my financial situation, I find that I just don't have the time and money to spend on my hobby that I once did, which makes it difficult to work up the enthusiasm that I need to get my blog on. Two of the past twelve months have no entries at all. This is unacceptable.
I was thinking about calling it quits, but then Shiren the Wanderer came along and reminded me why I have this blog -- because I need an outlet for my opinions when I do happen to have one.
I have a lot left unwritten. I want to review Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and Super Smash Brothers Brawl. I want to do an article about what I want the Wii to do. I want to react more as things happen in the gaming news.
So we'll see where I stand on 4/21/2009.
I was thinking about calling it quits, but then Shiren the Wanderer came along and reminded me why I have this blog -- because I need an outlet for my opinions when I do happen to have one.
I have a lot left unwritten. I want to review Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and Super Smash Brothers Brawl. I want to do an article about what I want the Wii to do. I want to react more as things happen in the gaming news.
So we'll see where I stand on 4/21/2009.
Labels: dilintia
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Lose Weight Now! Ask Me How!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Not Bored Yet
If you make a web page when no one is reading it, then you really mean it.
I've started a lot of web pages in the past, some related to video games, some not. If I ever got to the one year mark with them, it was usually with some degree of resentfulness or apathy. I've never been happy with the slim following that my websites have found. I tend to end up crumpling them up and throwing them away in disgust, enraged by the lack of ego-stroking that I get for putting them up.
But maybe -- maybe -- I've found my calling with Electric Dilintia. This blog has reached the ripe old age of one year old, with fully 64 articles. It's a grab bag of thorough reviews, thoughtful commentary, gut reactions, pointless lists, and self-indulgent crap. It's an online vomit bag, a receptacle to catch my every thought about video games, no matter how clever or stupid, the better to save them for my future inspection. It's a website by me and for me.
There's something liberating about writing for nobody. I can shout my opinions into the void without all of that messy "disagreement" nonsense you get at video game message boards. I can write reviews that are as long and rambling and tangential as I want, then shift gears and shoot out quick one or two line reactions to contemporary video game news. I can whine about anything I want, and it's not going to interfere with anyone who's looking for something entertaining and/or informative. There's no structure, no deadlines, and no pressure -- just the joy of writing about whatever I want, whenever I want to.
And so, I feel neither bored nor resentful as Electric Dilintia cruises through its one-year anniversary. To the contrary, I feel like there's still plenty of juice in me. I still haven't tackled the subject of how save files have inadvertantly led to a decline in the quality of video games or where I stand on the eternal "graphics versus gameplay" debate. My masters thesis regarding Pac-Man as the quintessential video game remains unwritten. And I feel, deep in my heart, that I will succumb to a new video game system before the year is out, which will open a whole goldmine of new reactions and commentary.
So I want to thank you, the hollow, silent void of the internet, for being there and ignoring my deranged ramblings as I slowly and pitifully fanboy myself to death. We'll see if I've got another year in me.
I've started a lot of web pages in the past, some related to video games, some not. If I ever got to the one year mark with them, it was usually with some degree of resentfulness or apathy. I've never been happy with the slim following that my websites have found. I tend to end up crumpling them up and throwing them away in disgust, enraged by the lack of ego-stroking that I get for putting them up.
But maybe -- maybe -- I've found my calling with Electric Dilintia. This blog has reached the ripe old age of one year old, with fully 64 articles. It's a grab bag of thorough reviews, thoughtful commentary, gut reactions, pointless lists, and self-indulgent crap. It's an online vomit bag, a receptacle to catch my every thought about video games, no matter how clever or stupid, the better to save them for my future inspection. It's a website by me and for me.
There's something liberating about writing for nobody. I can shout my opinions into the void without all of that messy "disagreement" nonsense you get at video game message boards. I can write reviews that are as long and rambling and tangential as I want, then shift gears and shoot out quick one or two line reactions to contemporary video game news. I can whine about anything I want, and it's not going to interfere with anyone who's looking for something entertaining and/or informative. There's no structure, no deadlines, and no pressure -- just the joy of writing about whatever I want, whenever I want to.
And so, I feel neither bored nor resentful as Electric Dilintia cruises through its one-year anniversary. To the contrary, I feel like there's still plenty of juice in me. I still haven't tackled the subject of how save files have inadvertantly led to a decline in the quality of video games or where I stand on the eternal "graphics versus gameplay" debate. My masters thesis regarding Pac-Man as the quintessential video game remains unwritten. And I feel, deep in my heart, that I will succumb to a new video game system before the year is out, which will open a whole goldmine of new reactions and commentary.
So I want to thank you, the hollow, silent void of the internet, for being there and ignoring my deranged ramblings as I slowly and pitifully fanboy myself to death. We'll see if I've got another year in me.
Labels: dilintia
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Oops.
Funny story. See, I started Electric Dilintia with the intention that basically nobody would ever read it but me. I wanted to keep it open for feedback, but I didn't think it was especially weird that I never got any comments because I never really expected any.
Long story short, I just figured out that I had a setting wrong on Blogger. Non-members weren't allowed to comment. D'oh.
So yeah, if you're reading, thanks. If you've wanted to comment but couldn't, it should let you do it now.
On a more video game related note, I finished off Phoenix Wright 2 yesterday in an orgy of pointing and tapping. If you loved the first one, I don't need to tell you that you need this one.
Now to wait for Godot...
Long story short, I just figured out that I had a setting wrong on Blogger. Non-members weren't allowed to comment. D'oh.
So yeah, if you're reading, thanks. If you've wanted to comment but couldn't, it should let you do it now.
On a more video game related note, I finished off Phoenix Wright 2 yesterday in an orgy of pointing and tapping. If you loved the first one, I don't need to tell you that you need this one.
Now to wait for Godot...
Labels: dilintia
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Hiatus Over, Surprise Twist!
I finished my NaNoWriMo novel early. And I have some bad news.
I'm going back on my earlier promise. I'm not getting a Wii. Not within the launch window anyway.
Why? Partly it's a matter of money. Yes, $250 is a damned steal for a new video game console these days. But add on games, accessories, and sales tax, and get up to $500 for a decent setup, and it just becomes a cost that I'm not ready to absorb right now.
Mostly it's a matter of I just plain don't want one.
I've been waffling for the past few months now over exactly how excited I am about the Wii. I sort of thought that, if I presented it to myself as a personal reward for a grand personal undertaking, I might take to it a bit better. But no. If it was something I really wanted, I'd be able to justify the cost to myself like any good addict would.
So why don't I want one? The novelty joystick appeal is right up my alley. On the other hand, the launch lineup (virtual and otherwise) doesn't exactly light my fire if you know what I mean. The big launch game to get is The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. And... I'm getting more than a little tired of compulsively buying Zelda games just because it's a big name and then never getting around to finishing the games because they just plain bore me. The only Zelda games I've ever finished were Zelda 1 and Link's Awakening. The rest of them just get too long and boring to see them through.
I'm interested in Wii Sports and Rayman, but neither of them are really system-sellers to me.
I guess I'm getting tired of buying Nintendo consoles that don't launch with anything that I'd consider a killer app, and then waiting months to get something worthwhile to play on it. I put up with a lot of annoying shovelware on the Game Boy Advance and DS before their real classics started coming out. It took forever for the Gamecube to get a good, compelling adventure game to play.
Everything about the Wii's immediate future turns me off. I don't even really play console games that much anymore; I can never find the time anymore, and it's just so much more convenient to pick up my DS and start fooling around with it. Plus the games are cheaper and the library is a lot more robust.
So instead, I rewarded myself with the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events box set, because I've always wanted it and I'm starting to get back into reading as a leisure activity. And I'm going to wait on the Wii until it gets something of Seaman proportions to inspire me to buy it.
Oh, and I fully expect my next gushing review to be about Elite Beat Agents. It's the single best music game ever created by mortal or divinity.
I'm going back on my earlier promise. I'm not getting a Wii. Not within the launch window anyway.
Why? Partly it's a matter of money. Yes, $250 is a damned steal for a new video game console these days. But add on games, accessories, and sales tax, and get up to $500 for a decent setup, and it just becomes a cost that I'm not ready to absorb right now.
Mostly it's a matter of I just plain don't want one.
I've been waffling for the past few months now over exactly how excited I am about the Wii. I sort of thought that, if I presented it to myself as a personal reward for a grand personal undertaking, I might take to it a bit better. But no. If it was something I really wanted, I'd be able to justify the cost to myself like any good addict would.
So why don't I want one? The novelty joystick appeal is right up my alley. On the other hand, the launch lineup (virtual and otherwise) doesn't exactly light my fire if you know what I mean. The big launch game to get is The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. And... I'm getting more than a little tired of compulsively buying Zelda games just because it's a big name and then never getting around to finishing the games because they just plain bore me. The only Zelda games I've ever finished were Zelda 1 and Link's Awakening. The rest of them just get too long and boring to see them through.
I'm interested in Wii Sports and Rayman, but neither of them are really system-sellers to me.
I guess I'm getting tired of buying Nintendo consoles that don't launch with anything that I'd consider a killer app, and then waiting months to get something worthwhile to play on it. I put up with a lot of annoying shovelware on the Game Boy Advance and DS before their real classics started coming out. It took forever for the Gamecube to get a good, compelling adventure game to play.
Everything about the Wii's immediate future turns me off. I don't even really play console games that much anymore; I can never find the time anymore, and it's just so much more convenient to pick up my DS and start fooling around with it. Plus the games are cheaper and the library is a lot more robust.
So instead, I rewarded myself with the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events box set, because I've always wanted it and I'm starting to get back into reading as a leisure activity. And I'm going to wait on the Wii until it gets something of Seaman proportions to inspire me to buy it.
Oh, and I fully expect my next gushing review to be about Elite Beat Agents. It's the single best music game ever created by mortal or divinity.
Labels: dilintia
Monday, October 30, 2006
November Hiatus
One thing I've learned this month is that I'm very good at creating words in copious quantities. Some of my posts this month took multiple days to brew, but many of them were pounded out in a single day. And I'm hoping to put some of that momentum to good use by entering National Novel Writing Month in November. I intend to channel all of my free time toward writing a work of fiction totaling over 50,000 words before December 1st.
I'm still catching up with the implications. Updating Electric Dilintia will be put on the back burner, as will a great many of my normal online pursuits. I hope to keep myself out of the loop for video game news for as long as I can stand it. What's more, I hope to not actually play video games during any period of time that I could otherwise spend writing.
And, of course, I plan to miss out on the launch of the Wii.
That's the big question mark in my mind right now. Of course, I've been telling myself for months now that I really don't need to have one of these things on launch day, that it'll still be there if I wait a couple months or even a year. It's just another toy -- and it's not like I have a lack of toys right now. But as I've also said, I'm an addict. I've anticipated this thing for so long that any question of its actual quality is irrelevant. I need it on my game shelf, I need to swing that magic wand around, I need to stuff my brain silly with stupid, arcadey action games. Am I actually going to hold out that long?
Yes. And you know why?
Because I, CPFace, do solemnly swear that if I can finish the NaNoWriMo challenge within the allotted time limit, I will treat myself to a Wii and any games that look even vaguely interesting on December 1st, the total value of which may not exceed $450 before tax. If I fail this challenge, then I will wait until such a time as I am able to complete a comparably heroic task worthy of splurging on a new piece of home entertainment. And if system/software shortages are so bad as to prevent me from getting such a decadent gift for myself, this promise will be fulfilled at the next earliest opportunity.
There. That might just motivate me.
As for Electric Dilintia, I'll be back for it soon enough. There is not yet a shortage of video game thoughts bouncing around in my head. I'm interested in putting up reviews for Mario Party Advance and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Games in the near future, plus I've been promising myself that I'd get around to explaining why I think save slots have hurt video games, and maybe do a quick expose on terrible video games that I enjoy nonetheless.
If all goes well, I'll see you in December. Happy NaNoWriMo!
I'm still catching up with the implications. Updating Electric Dilintia will be put on the back burner, as will a great many of my normal online pursuits. I hope to keep myself out of the loop for video game news for as long as I can stand it. What's more, I hope to not actually play video games during any period of time that I could otherwise spend writing.
And, of course, I plan to miss out on the launch of the Wii.
That's the big question mark in my mind right now. Of course, I've been telling myself for months now that I really don't need to have one of these things on launch day, that it'll still be there if I wait a couple months or even a year. It's just another toy -- and it's not like I have a lack of toys right now. But as I've also said, I'm an addict. I've anticipated this thing for so long that any question of its actual quality is irrelevant. I need it on my game shelf, I need to swing that magic wand around, I need to stuff my brain silly with stupid, arcadey action games. Am I actually going to hold out that long?
Yes. And you know why?
Because I, CPFace, do solemnly swear that if I can finish the NaNoWriMo challenge within the allotted time limit, I will treat myself to a Wii and any games that look even vaguely interesting on December 1st, the total value of which may not exceed $450 before tax. If I fail this challenge, then I will wait until such a time as I am able to complete a comparably heroic task worthy of splurging on a new piece of home entertainment. And if system/software shortages are so bad as to prevent me from getting such a decadent gift for myself, this promise will be fulfilled at the next earliest opportunity.
There. That might just motivate me.
As for Electric Dilintia, I'll be back for it soon enough. There is not yet a shortage of video game thoughts bouncing around in my head. I'm interested in putting up reviews for Mario Party Advance and Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Games in the near future, plus I've been promising myself that I'd get around to explaining why I think save slots have hurt video games, and maybe do a quick expose on terrible video games that I enjoy nonetheless.
If all goes well, I'll see you in December. Happy NaNoWriMo!
Labels: dilintia
Friday, April 21, 2006
Welcome to Electric Dilintia
dilintia (dil in shu): Noun. The trivial, useless, and often fiercely opinionated ramblings of nerds.
I am establishing this blog because I need an outlet for all of my thoughts and ideas concerning popular electronic entertainment that I wouldn't dare to foist upon my close friends. It will be largely concerned with video games, but I reserve the right to wander off into any other geeky topics that strike my fancy, including but not limited to television, movies, and music. I will welcome discussion exclusively on the grounds that you realize I'm right about everything.
I am establishing this blog because I need an outlet for all of my thoughts and ideas concerning popular electronic entertainment that I wouldn't dare to foist upon my close friends. It will be largely concerned with video games, but I reserve the right to wander off into any other geeky topics that strike my fancy, including but not limited to television, movies, and music. I will welcome discussion exclusively on the grounds that you realize I'm right about everything.
Labels: dilintia
