Category Archives: Digital Playground

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Digital Playground

The Death of Hearthstone?

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Introduction

Nothing lasts forever. Father Time is undefeated. Your preferred cliche here to explain the passing of time and impermanence of everything. I mean, I’m even going through another one of my “do I really want to spend all of this money on cards (real or virtual) anymore?” phases. This one feels different, though. Nevertheless, I come to praise and not bury on this the possible Even of the death of Hearthstone.

At times in the past, I’d bury Hearthstone and happily so. Either I grew up, or it became less annoying, or both, because I actually feel melancholy about the possible demise of the old lady. Between rewards tracks and actual enjoyment of Battlegrounds, if the game dies, that puts quite the hole in my daily rotation of games. Whatever will I do? Perhaps update the YouTube page more consistently?

Why the Funeral?

I originally planned this article as an update to the game. The last time I visited Hearthstone, I wrote a quick article comparing the new expansion to the new MTG expansion. Not even a full set of articles for the game and that expansion. And, to be honest, not much has changed. They released a mini set, but there are no other expansions planned right now and their “Year of” update normally gaining steam right now is nowhere to be found.

The company just experienced massive layoffs at the hands of their new owners, Microsoft. Wizards, too, but for some reason Magic the Gathering still looks strong right now. Hearthstone, not so much. Hell, I even typed “Is Hearthstone Dead” into Google to try to confirm my suspicions. No confirmation, but the drums are beating louder if Reddit is any indication.

Esports, on the other hand…

In this case, I will take a victory lap. Call it dancing on the corpses of the content creators and influencers, if you must. If so, please make sure that you call it the sour grapes that it definitely is. Chris and I never believed in the whole esports scene and we are repeatedly being proved right on that front. It’s different to watch Lebron James or Patrick Mahomes do great things and know that you never could. It’s entirely different to watch some rando sling cards and know that, with a little bit of practice, you could pretty much do the same. Apparently, Blizzard stuck a knife in the side of their Hearthstone esports scene and nearly everyone agrees that’s over.

The Verdict

I may be premature in naming the death of Hearthstone. I mean, people still play Doom on a semi regular basis 30 years ago. Even if the game does stop getting support completely from Blizzard, people will still play and they might even pick up the mantle to keep the game going. That’s what seems to happen to the games that I play. They get sold to another company who keeps it afloat for a few years. I guess we’ll truly see in a couple of months when it’s time for the new “year” in Hearthstone.

Digital Playground

Marvel SNAP February 2024: Black Order

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Introduction

Let me get this out of the way and diminish my nerd cred further. I have no idea who or what the Black Order is. Even after a quick look at the Wikipedia page, I have no idea. Oh well, it won’t stop me from bringing you my thoughts on the latest update in the game Chris once called “War with additional features.”

New Locations

Neither of these locations wow me as much as some others in the past. I do like the idea of getting a random 6-cost card from my “Ones” deck, so that will be nice when I play that one. Independently, the Infinity Stones can either be game changing or a complete whiff. Like the actual stones, their real power comes from playing all of them and getting the buff on Thanos as a result. So, I will most likely curse that location when it shows.

New Characters

Proxima Midnight

Image 1 of 5

When this is discarded, jumps to your lowest-Power location. (that isn’t full)

Nope. Not even seeing the cards brings any recognition. I have no idea who any of these people are. Luckily, I don’t need to know who they are in order to play the cards. And, I will play Black Swan and Cull Obsidian without a doubt in my “Ones” deck. I don’t play discard very much, as I mentioned in the previous article about Marvel SNAP. So, I doubt that I will prioritize Corvus Glaive or Proxima Midnight unless I get a quest for discards. I like the idea of Supergiant in an reveal deck and it also sets up a pretty cool Hela in the right discard deck.

The Verdict

I’m not as excited about the Black Order update as I was Planet Hulk. Granted, not knowing the characters or story diminishes my enjoyment some. But, also, the cards and locations aren’t as much fun, either. Plus, next month is X-Men vs. Avengers and I’ll be looking forward to that. I still plan on playing enough to get all of the goodies. See you in game, SNAPers.

Note: Images taken from Marvel SNAP Zone.

Digital Playground

Deck of Many Things Python Code

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Introduction

I think I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to try to write a Deck of Many Things Python program. You’ll just have to click the link and give me another page view if you want to know for sure. Muahahahahah! In any case, I finally got a chance to sit down and start to put together some code for the project.

I’m not one for resolutions. However, I looked through my Google calendar and talked with ChatGPT about a way to schedule my hobbies so that I have time each day to work on them. Lego and Puzzles on Tuesday, miniatures on Wednesday. That sort of thing. Thursdays were supposed to be coding, but I only actually finally got around to sitting down and playing with it this morning.

The Code

Python
import random

deck = ["Construct", "Balance", "Comet", "DonJon", "Euryale", "Fates", "Flames", "Fool", "Gem", "Jester", "Key", "Knight", "Moon", "Puzzle", "Rogue", "Ruin", "Sage", "Skull", "Star", "Sun", "Talons", "Throne", "Void", "Tavern", "Mine", "Expert", "Maze", "Map", "Mage", "Lance", "Humanoid", "Giant", "Fiend", "Fey", "Elemental", "Dragon", "Door", "Crossroads", "Corpse", "Celestial", "Cavern", "Campfire", "Bridge", "Book", "Beast", "Aberration", "Monstrosity", "Ooze", "Path", "Pit", "Plant", "Priest", "Prisoner", "Ring", "Shield", "Ship", "Staff", "Stairway", "Statue", "Temple", "Tomb", "Tower", "Tree", "Undead", "Warrior", "Well"]
orientation = ["Upright", "Reversed"]

random.shuffle(deck)
print(deck[random.randint(0,len(deck))])
print(random.choice(orientation))
print("Find the card in The Deck of Many Things")
print("Card Reference Guide for an interpretation.")

The Output

The Verdict

I admit that the Deck of Many Things Python code isn’t much right now. But, this is my first time planning and implementing code that wasn’t already written. So, for a first attempt, I think that I did a pretty good job and it does what I wanted the early version to do. Going forward, I want to add the interpretation for each card to remove the need for the book. I also want to add an option for other card spreads further down the line. Eventually, I want to make it visual and maybe turn it into an app. Keep an eye on the page for updates.

One Last Note

I just got the idea to include the page number with the card to make referencing the guide easier. I’m very excited for everything that’s coming with this project.

Digital Playground

Trucking Around California

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Introduction

Okay, you got me. This isn’t technically a new game for the new decade. Hell, you can even argue that it isn’t new to us. After all, I wrote a few months about my then obsession with Euro Truck Simulator 2. And, honestly, much that I said there can be said about this game. Still, in the interest of keeping the site as active in spite of everything else, I went trucking through California.

As you can see from those screenshots, the game obviously differs in style and theme from the European one. You know from one to the other that you’re in a different country. However, the fundamentals more or less remain the same. You drive a truck. In the American western states. Admittedly, I’ve only played it a couple of times to confirm that, but the driving bug hasn’t hit me again just yet. Stay tuned.

Starting Over

I can’t be 100% sure about this, but part of the reason might be because I already completed so much of the European version of the game. I bought my own truck, worked back from debt to buy another, took out a loan to buy a third and fourth, and hired three drivers.

That makes going through the process again a little tedious. Especially when there’s no hook to keep me coming back. California is great and all, but out of all of the United States, it’s honestly at the bottom of my list of ones I want to visit. I think I might have purchased some DLC (at actual cost because my key got stolen from my Humble account before I changed all my password) for the game, but the only state I saw that you started was California.

I tried picking Bakersfield as my starting city to get that hook. I also picked it because I am still perpetually an angry teenager that pines for the old days of “Nu Metal” or whatever they called it in the beginning. Oh, speaking of music, they give you a different choice of radio stations in the game, too.

The Verdict

I enjoy Euro Truck Simulator 2. After trucking through California, I no doubt will like this game, too. I just need to take some time to dig deeper into what it has to offer. Oh, I just saw they have an Oregon and Washington DLC available. Next pay check, I’ll pick those up and

Digital Playground

Marvel SNAP January 2024: Planet Hulk

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Introduction

I saw last month that they planned to bring Planet Hulk to Marvel SNAP January 2024. This made me incredibly excited. Planet Hulk is my favorite story in comics, maybe ever. I loved the entire Greg Pak run of Hulk and Planet Hulk especially.

Yes, Immortal Hulk brought the Green Goliath back to his former heights after some lean years. But, I still think I prefer Pak’s take on Hulk and it bore the “Incredible” modifier instead of the new “Immortal” tagline. I mean, honestly, I’m just splitting hairs at this point. So, let’s take a look at the update.

New Locations

The Great Portal plays right into the Skaar deck. By giving you another 10 cost card to play, you reduce his cost even more. But, we’ll discuss that in the next section. Crown City, too, favors a powerful deck, as +4 to adjacent locations is pretty damn good in a game that sometimes comes down to every point of power. That thing is gonna set off some intense battles in the middle.

New Cards

Caiera

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Ongoing: Your 1 and 6-Cost cards can’t be destroyed.

Wow. I say. Wow. I already played Skaar to finish up the weekend quest and that card is powerful in the right shell. Who doesn’t want a zero cost 11 power card? Throw in Shuri and Taskmaster and the numbers get big quick in that deck. If I ever pull Caiera, I’m putting her in my “Ones” deck because screw your Killmonger, Bud. Herc is fun, but expensive, so unless you put him with Zabu, you only get a couple of moves to take advantage of. As previously mentioned, I don’t play much disco except to finish quests, so Miek isn’t a priority. Beta Ray Bill, as in the comics, is just another version of Thor. But, the Grandmaster opens up a whole new realm of possibilities that I hope I get a chance to discover. Overall, a strong batch of cards that I’ll have a ton of fun with, I think.

The Verdict

I think that I’m going to enjoy Marvel SNAP January 2024 more than I did last month. And, honestly, that’s saying something. I branched out to play some Conquest last month and got the Thor Hellfire Gala variant. I pushed at the end of the month up to Gold in the main play mode. That’s probably my ceiling, but I already played a ton this weekend to finish the Skaar quest and I’m planning my Conquest, uh, conquest to get that Ghost Rider variant.

Digital Playground

Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite First Impressions

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Introduction

Would you believe it took this long for me to come up with Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite first impressions? Of course you do. You’ve been here long enough to know that we take a while to get around to things sometimes. Honestly, I fully intended to cover this game when it first released. If I look back at my notes, I’m sure I’ll find at least one mention of the game in there over the last five years.

Then, I fell victim to the online troll factory that slammed the game as “not as good as the others” and it fell off of my radar. I genuinely forgot it existed until I went searching for a way to play MvC 2 and found out that I can buy the deluxe edition on Steam for like 11 bucks. Or I could. Looks like I missed the sale by a day. Hmm, that puts a new wrinkle into things.

Well, Isn’t That A Pickle?

I’m not paying 40 bucks for something that will be 8 or 11 again most likely by the end of the month. Instead, I’m gonig to set up an alert for the next time it goes on sale and we’ll all have to wait for my Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite first impressions. Until then, I’ll keep playing X-Men Arcade.

Digital Playground

X-Men Arcade (1992): Noob’s Way Back

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Introduction

After I planned X-Men for this week to make up for my lack of planning when I missed the monthly order on DCBS for this month, I wondered how to fit a single title into a week’s worth of articles? Then, I came up with a brilliant idea. What better way to promote “New Decade, New Games” than with a discussion of decades old games? And, so, to start this week of X-Men, I bring you the 1992 classic X-Men arcade game.

Luckily, what’s old is new again and my generation gets to call the shots on retro. Therefore, arcades are back (mostly in the form of barcades, but kids are welcome at the one around here) and I don’t have to explain to kids these days what it means to wait your turn in a crowded and sweaty mass of people for your turn to get your ass kicked by the local Mortal Kombat II expert.

Even Grandpa Joe says, “Finish Them” to the kids these days.

About the Game

This game came out the same time as other games like it. You take a popular IP like X-Men, The Simpsons, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, slap a few of the characters on to a cabinet with 4 controllers, make it look like the cartoon of that same IP, and people played it for hours. My personal shame is I spent my future kid’s inheritance one quarter at a time and this game swallowed many of those quarters.

I have no idea even what genre they called it. Simply based on the mechanics, I’d call it a side scrolling beat ’em up because that’s what happens on the screen. You walk sideways, beat ’em up, then walk sideways some more, then beat ’em up, etc. Eventually, you arrive at a boss that takes more coordination (and often more quarters), and guess what. Yep, you beat ’em up, too. Take a look at my expert game play in the video below.

*insert video*

Sorry for the poor quality. Was testing out the streaming set up. Future videos will be better, I promise.

So What’s Fun About That?

Honestly, not much. Playing the game by yourself takes away most of the joy of these games. You want to play with at least one other person. Preferably, you find 3 other friends to play, but the magic of the arcade is that you can meet people and make friends very easily around these arcade cabinets. Because you are there face to face, it makes it much more difficult to throw random insults about the guy’s mother without getting your ass kicked.

Yes, I’m Gran Torinoing it again.

The Verdict

Playing the game again verified what I remember. While fun solo, playing X-Men Arcade with friends is the way to go. I wonder if anyone has figured out a way to play over network on MAME. If so, reach out and we can beat up some baddies as the X-Men!

Digital Playground

2023 PC Game of the Year

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Introduction

Unlike last week, I skipped the contenders article this week. Because, honestly, I only played two PC games with any regularity this year and I wrote about them on Monday. So, anyone paying attention this year knows what game we chose as our 2023 PC Game of the Year.

So, with no suspense to the pick, I need to come up with another format for this article. I recently started using ChatGPT for help with my web page and other tasks. I just asked it for dinner ideas for today and tomorrow. It came up with stir fry and teriyaki salmon. My family isn’t fond of salmon, so it suggested chicken instead. Then, too much teriyaki. So, it came up with lemon herb. Pretty sweet.

The Criteria in Picking the Winner

Unlike mobile, I only played the aforementioned two PC Titles; Train Sim World 3 and Euro Truck Simulator 2. Therefore, the only criteria in this competition is “I played the game”. In that spirit, I played Euro Truck simulator way more than Train Sim World. There was a time that I drove at least 2 or 3 jobs every Saturday and Sunday.

Also, as mentioned in my mobile game of the year article, I said that the only other criteria for a game is the difficult to define, and therefore impossible to argue, fun factor. Both games are fun. But, the freedom of driving the truck makes that game more fun. Touring Europe and discovering new sights makes me feel like I’m back over there.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

Yes, in the least suspenseful announcement, perhaps ever, on this page is that Euro Truck Simulator 2 by SCS Software is our 2023 PC Game of the Year. Even though it wins by default, I can envision a world in which it wins over competition, too. Let’s explore why.

  1. Radio Stations: The game features a variety of radio stations that you can play while driving your truck. I always choose Austrian Rock Radio. It plays hard rock and heavy metal. The ambiance makes me feel like I’m actually out there on the road.
  2. Customization: The game lets you customize nearly everything. The obvious is that once you buy your truck, you can change up the look and feel of it. You can also choose how you progress in your career by picking various specialties that determine bonuses that you receive on deliveries.
  3. Overall Variety: Along those same lines, they offer different employers and jobs that you can take. While not necessary to the overall enjoyment of the game, I like that they added that little bit of realism. Oh, what am I delivering today? Olives? Construction Equipment? Boxes for recycling? I just recently discovered another way that they allow you to create your own game experience. When you hire drivers, they come with different skills. I have two employees and I agonized over the decision both times. I think, ultimately, I made the right decision.
  4. Realistic Scenery: While they obviously have to scale down the countries in size (who wants to actually spend an entire day driving a pretend truck?), they do a good job of capturing the countryside of the countries. I only have experience in Germany, Austria, and Czechia. However, those countries look exactly as I remember them.
  5. Become an entrepreneur: I bought my second truck and hired my first worker by taking every job near or over 20,000. I saved for several weeks until I had enough for both. This plan included a night of reckless driving that saw me total my truck and rack up 50,000 in debt that the bank threatened me with foreclosure over. When I hired my second worker and bought my third truck, I took out a loan just to see what that process involved. Like everything else, how you run your company is up to you.

Game Play Videos

Since I got so busy over the last few months, I have no game play videos to share. I have only a screenshot of Allianz that I used in my previous article to illustrate the realistic scenery.

I mean, I know there are other game play videos out there. But, in the interest of featuring our own content, I will take some time over the next few days to record a couple of my own that I will upload and link on the page. Look for those in the coming week.

The Verdict

While not a busy PC gaming year and the 2023 PC game of the year being a foregone conclusion, I think I made the argument that due to the quality of the game and also some recent nostalgia, that Euro Truck Simulator 2 deserves the title. Hopefully next year, and a renewed commitment to video content will make next year more contested.

Digital Playground

PC Gaming is a Gift 2023

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Introduction

You may notice the word “console” missing from the title PC Gaming is a Gift 2023. This year saw several things happen that explain that omission. First, Aiden tried to fix the XBox by soldering the HDMI port back in and ended up soldering through the motherboard. Second, I never got around to buying a PS5 as I planned. We really want to play both Spider-Man games. I also wanted to play MK1. Neither of those happened because I came to my senses and decided to wait until a price drop for the purchase. Finally, we played almost no Mario Kart this year. Liam, Quinn, my brother Tim, and I played some of the new Mario game.

However, I fixed my old gaming laptop. The charging port broke a couple of years ago. I did some research to see how tough it might be to fix it. Turns out, not difficult at all. The hardest part was that because it’s a laptop, everything it jammed in there. So, it took some finesse to fit it in properly. Other than that, though, no problem.

Train Sim World 3

One of the reasons I wanted to fix the laptop was I remembered a Humble Bundle that I purchased several years ago. It contained a train simulator game. I don’t remember the original reason I wanted to play the train sim game. However, going to Germany and seeing first hand the famous European rail system sparked something inside of me. I came home with a new appreciation for the game.

That appreciation lasted for a few months. Then, I discovered another simulation game that caught my attention. When asked the other day by one of my classes what my favorite genre of game was, I had to admit that right now I’m obsessed with simulation games. They made the usual comment that people made (in jest), “Oh, you want to play a game of something you can do in real life?” Well, not quite. I’ve never driven a train.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

I also never drove a tractor trailer through the countryside of Europe. I drove a mid size SUV through Germany. So, when I saw this game, it took me back to that trip and time. I saw things that reminded me of being in Germany. And, so, the game became like a cozy blankie for me.

I played the hell out of the game. Started in Munich and branched out slowly to the neighboring countries. Eventually, I drove across the continent, took a ferry to the UK and drove into England and Scotland. After going back to school, I got busy and neglected the game for some time. I just said to my family the other day, “I haven’t driven my truck in a while. My employees probably think I’m dead.”

The Verdict

Truly, PC gaming is a gift 2023. I also flirted again with World of Warcraft, especially after the announcement of the next series of expansions. I saw the advancement of a plan that I came up with decades ago. The USFL of the 1980s is back through my USFL Distant Replay page. We are 12 weeks into the 1984 season and looking to bring some big things for 1985 in a couple of months. Join us over there for more.

Digital Playground

2023 Mobile Game of the Year

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Introduction

We wrote some words a few days ago about the contenders for the title this year. While familiar, none of them are any less deserving of the title of 2023 Mobile Game of the Year.Actually, let me tell you a possibly funny story about why all of the games are familiar.

In my Financial Algebra class, while they worked (and some didn’t work), I reflected on the mobile games I played. I offhandedly asked the class, “Does anyone know of any good mobile games?” One student answered quickly, “No. All of them are garbage.” I replied, “I just play the games that aren’t really mobile, but have been ported like Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone.” Another made a face and we talked for the last 15 minutes of class about games. Okay, maybe not hilarious, but I laughed when he, without hesitation, declared every mobile game as trash.

My Criteria in Picking the Winner

Before I reveal the worst kept secret until next week when I write another set of these articles for PC Games, let me write a little to pump up the legitimacy of this page a little bit. You need to know the criteria that I used to pick the game.

Genuinely, the only criteria that I use is the personal and hard to define “fun”. Obviously what’s fun to one person is not fun to another. But, honestly, I can’t use things like graphics because all card games use the same basic graphics template. I could use sound because they take different tact in their use of sound. But, most of the time I play without sound, so I have little to no data for that criteria.

Variety of game modes just came to me as I wrote. In that area, the winner wins without question. Both Magic the Gathering Arena and Marvel SNAP offer differing game modes. But, ultimately, they both boil down to different versions of the same game. Slightly different rules or standards, but just playing cards. Hearthstone gives you Battlegrounds at the top of the list and a variety of other dead or nearly dead modes that they tried.

Silly and Stupid Hearthstone

I started to post with more regularity to the YouTube channel for the page. With that new commitment, I uploaded a couple of Hearthstone videos that I thought were fun.

Speaking of dead game modes, the first video comes in the recently deceased Mercenaries mode. I started playing the mode earlier in the year and enjoyed it. Then, of course, came the announcement that Blizzard killed the mode. Oh well. Enjoy the video. Note: This came before I shortened the introduction, so the video starts about 20 seconds in. You live, you learn.

My favorite game mode, by far, is the Battlegrounds. I’ve been playing it since it first released. I can’t remember if I got early access or not. I also can’t 100% explain the appeal. It’s just fun.

The Verdict

Yes, my 2023 mobile game of the year is Hearthstone. It’s not always fun. In fact, I hate the game more than I love it. But, when it’s fun, it’s really fun. And, they know just how to keep me coming back for more with rewards tracks, special events, and Twitch giveaways. Congratulations, Blizzard, the award is well deserved.