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High Score Episode 1

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Introduction

I watched “High Score” Episode 1 yesterday while I was working out. It was suggested to me by Netflix when I logged into the account to watch another docuseries I had been watching, “Champions”. Well, not one to pass up history of video games, I switched for the next week or so. Look, I realize that this isn’t at all related to Nintendo or Pokemon, as promised earlier in the week. However, TLDR, it was good enough to inspire me to write this review.

Space Invaders – “Grandpa”

There’s a reason that I went gender specific with the subtitle and it isn’t strictly personal bias. They mention in the episode that women felt left out of the realm of video games. I think the exact quote was, “There are no games for women.” That’s not a surprise. For much of the history of math and related subjects, women have been a footnote of that history. Unless, they are seen as consumers to be exploited. But, more on that in the next section.

My favorite part of the Space Invaders story is that a woman became the first Space Invaders world champion. And so, once again, a woman ignored the restrictions placed on her by society and proved herself as the “best man for the job”. Congrats, Rebecca Heineman, your story was inspiring and I genuinely smiled at the conclusion.

Before we move on, a couple of notable factoids. The game was so popular that arcades were often called “Invader houses”. Also, Japan suffered a 100-yen coin shortage because of that popularity. Crazy.

Pac Man Google doodle. Yes, it’s playable. Not here, but on Google.

Pac-Man – “A little somethin somethin for the ladies”

I will give the compsci nerds credit. When they realized that women weren’t playing video games, they tried to do something about it. Generally speaking, that segment of the population (be it women or men like me) aren’t attracted to games that are simply shooting at things. Enter Pac-Man.

The creator of the game insists that the iconic shape is, in fact, inspired by a pizza with one slice missing. No idea if that’s actually true, but it does validate years of speculation. During the segment, they talk to two teenage girls from the time that seem to uphold the theory that Pac-Man brought girls into video games. I’m not sure what it says about me that I’ve always preferred Pac-Man from that generation of video games.

I hadn’t planned on ending each section with a random factoid, but I have one for our round yellow friend. His name was originally Puck Man, which makes more sense. However, as Puck very easily becomes a well know obscenity, they changed it.

Father of the Cartridge – Jerry Lawson

They interviewed his kids in High Score episode 1. Unfortunately, he passed away about 10 years ago. However, when his son said his name, I paused briefly and said, “Hey, I know that name.” It’s no wonder why. For a generation of gamers my age, he revolutionized the way we played. No longer were consoles restricted to one game any more.

With cartridges, as his son says, your library increased exponentially. Alas, other than video game historian nerds like me, his name has been relegated to an afterthought. Once Atari got into the cartridge business, nobody else stood a chance. More on that 900-lb gorilla in the next section.

Random Factoid: When I was younger, I split my head open and had to get 14 stitches. My parents, so impressed by my handling of the situation, let me get a gift. I chose Jungle Hunt because I played the game in the arcade and enjoyed it so much. Incidentally, when we got the Atari 7800, I bought the game again, making it the first game I purchased more than once.

Atari – “Big Bad”

Like most people at the time, I loved Atari. Even after they crashed and burned with ET (see next section), I still loved the company and support them even today. I haven’t ordered their new console, yet. However, one of the first things I do when I get a new computer is download Stella and a few of my favorite games.

I probably should have, but I had no idea that they were such bullies in the industry. It started innocently enough as a bunch of guys making video games. Then, the company sold to Warner and its a tale as old as time. The suits tried to squeeze every last penny out of the company. They sued a bunch of college kids for making improvements to their games. They bullied Midway into allowing them to release a version of Pac-Man using pretty much the same technology that they attempted to end with the lawsuit. And then, their come uppance.

Random Factoid: I promised a conversation about ET in the next section. Before that, I did want to speak on the process. Apparently, the programmer had 5 weeks to program the game. At the time, it took anywhere from 6-8 months to develop a game. Also, when meeting with Steven Spielberg (after only 36 hours to develop a pitch), the programmer said that Spielberg wanted the game to be more like Pac-Man. See, it could have been worse.

ET – What’s Love Got to Do With It?

Apparently, you can’t have a video game documentary without mentioning ET. Hell, they made a whole movie about that single game. As is often the case, the story is a bit more complicated than just ET killed Atari.

But, for the sake of this article, I’m choosing to be poetic about it. Karma can be swift and furious vengeance. Atari paid for their hubris when they made the “worst game ever.

Random Factoid: I know I’ve told this story before, but here goes. I liked the ET game. Yes, the controls are frustrating. Sure, given more time, they could have polished it a bit more. But, I played the hell out of it and beat the game. Hell, it is one of the games that I download first after configuring Stella. It certainly doesn’t deserve the reputation it’s gotten. Alas, that’s how myths grow.

The Verdict – High Score episode 1 makes me want to watch the rest of the series

If you read the TLDR at the beginning of the article and you are still here, it bears repeating. High Score episode 1 is entertaining and engaging. I’m looking forward to watching the other five episodes. If you like human interest stories or video games, then I think you’ll like this series. Come watch with me!

Digital Playground

MK11 Aftermath Gameplay/Friendship Reaction

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhb88oEWaZ4

Thanks for watching my MK11 Aftermath gameplay/friendship reaction video. A friend mentioned the gameplay video and warned me against spoiling myself. Those of you who regularly visit the page know that I care nothing about spoilers, so I immediately searched up the trailer to watch. When the friendship trailer then released, I knew I’d have to do a video. These reaction videos seem to be my thing right now.

They’ve been good for me to get comfortable in front of the camera and make more content over the last few months as I’ve been at home from work. I’ve been consistently updating the web page with articles, but podcasts and videos have been slower in happening. I think this makes 3 weeks in a row that I’ve produced at least one video and I do have a list of others that I’d like to finish.

Those will most likely happen after next week, as school ends then. As usual, I offer no promises. However, as I said earlier, I have been much more consistent with content recently so, *fingers crossed*, that will continue as I continue to expand into video.

The only potential “problem” I see is that everyone else will still be in “school” until the middle of June. They’ve been spreading out throughout the house. So, I might not be able to find a quiet place to record the videos. I might just have to do them later in the day or at night when everyone is asleep. Okay, that’s neither here nor there. You don’t really need to know my plans going forward.

Instead, let’s focus on the MK11 Aftermath gameplay/friendship reaction. I always hated animalities. Then again, I’m on board as MK3 being perhaps my least favorite Mortal Kombat game ever. I was fine with Babalities at first but they got old quickly. Friendships, on the other hand, are just as inspired as fatalities a lot of the time. It allows the developers to consider the personalities of the fighters when designing the moves.

Also, for you people who were complaining about the price of the expansion, you get the friendships for free. That’s a damn good deal. Stop complaining. And, for the love of god, get over Mileena already.

Digital Playground

First Impressions Pokemon Sword/Shield

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Introduction

Thanks for reading my “First Impressions Pokemon Sword/Shield” article. It’s been a while since I’ve played a Pokemon video game other than Pokemon Go. The last one that I purchased was Pokemon Sun and I only played through the first island on that one before Quinn took it over from me and probably beat the game. No, I just checked with him and he hasn’t beaten it because “something, something the Tapus”. I have no idea what that even means.

However, since there’s a new Pokemon game coming to the Switch (?!, more on that in a bit), I thought this would be a good time to focus on Pokemon for a couple of weeks as a preview to the game. I hope to even record a podcast with at least Liam to preview the game as he probably knows more about it than I do. I did do a bit of research on Bulbapedia about the game, so I’ll give some of my impressions in this article.

Notable Notes

Nintendo Switch: The first thing that I noticed and surprised me is that the game is coming on to the Switch. Now that I think about it, Liam probably told me this at some point. It’s just not information that I internalized. However, this changes everything. I thought it would be a 3DS game again and we have two 3DS systems. We only have one Switch. There’s going be a battle daily for who gets to play their Pokemon game come November.

Also, Nintendo, can we finally get multiple save slots?

Gyms are back: So, guys, apparently gyms are back? I never played either of the Let’s Go games. I found out that they were a different design from traditional games. Granted, I should have known by the name and the fact that Nintendo likes to live by the motto, “If it’s not broke, let’s break it and see if it makes it better. If not, we can always go back to the original and nobody will fault us for our decision to break this thing they loved.” And, it works every single time for them.

Battling is back: Hey guys, battling is back in the game, too. The Let’s Go series worked more like Pokemon Go where you encounter Pokemon and can only catch them. Now, it will be like the older games where you randomly encounter and battle Pokemon. I mean, that just makes sense. Since battling is 99% of the game, I don’t understand the decision use Pokemon Go encounters with the main series. But, like I said, we will forgive them come release.

Me too, Kid. Me too.

New Evolutions: I know a bit about the new types of evolutions that they’ve been releasing in the games. Mostly, I only know them from the card game. Again, as I mentioned in my first cube article, we don’t play the card game much, either. However, I do watch the stream and have seen cards with GX and such on them. I don’t know how it affects game play in the video game. Perhaps Liam will enlighten me when we sit down to record.

The Verdict

I’m always excited when a new Pokemon game releases. I rarely ever play them, but it is one of the series that I’ve been interested in since the beginning. My children have helped to keep me interested in the game by collecting cards and playing themselves. I’m a little worried about the switch to the, uh, Switch. But, Nintendo usually knows what they are doing. And, who knows, they might even port it to the 3DS at some point in time. I doubt that will actually happen now that I given it some consideration. They seem to be consolidating so that the Switch is their only console. Oh well, I can dream.

However, I am excited about the games. I usually buy the one that Liam doesn’t. Therefore, I’ll have more information about that during the podcast. Thanks for reading my “First Impressions Sword/Shield” article. Let us know what you think about the new games and if you’re planning to buy one of them in November.

As long as the professor asks me if I’m a boy or a girl, I’m sold.
Digital Playground

Aging Out of Video Games

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Introduction

I don’t remember how or why we got on the topic. I know that it started as a text conversation with Chris. We talked about the new Pokemon Go crossover game for the Switch, moved on to Street Fighter collection, and ended with some unnecessary Fortnite bashing. It was about then that we came to the conclusion that we may be getting to old for the current generation of video games.

Get off my lawn.

I think I’ve known about this issue for some time. I never considered that it might be a symptom of something larger until Chris and I talked. Now it all makes sense. We just have to fast track the plan of converting the podcast to 2 Old Guys Gaming. We can complain about kids these days, eat dinner at 4 in the afternoon, and argue with Gamestop clerks about out of date coupons. Come to think of it, we already do 2 out of three of those things.

A Note About Repetition in Video Games

On the podcast, we talked about two topics that I want to clarify. Both were addressed but, as usual, I have more to say. The topic of repetition came up a few times in the context of current shooters. The one quote that stuck with me was from Chris’s dad who said something along the lines of, “Now you’re shooting zombies. Now you’re shooting aliens. Now you’re shooting bugs.” I immediately pushed against the argument that repetition is the enemy of games.

The point that I made and reiterate for the sake of clarity here is that repetition is the backbone of video games. Due to the restrictions of the power of any given system and the storage of media, the game play of most games is limited in the things you can do. Some of my favorite games like Mario mentioned in the podcast and Minecraft are considered boring and repetitive by many. When we, and anyone else, complain about repetition, we are complaining about the type of repetition in the game and that it isn’t anything that we’d want to repeat over and over.

After all, I once heard Minecraft as “you mine stuff and then craft things” early in it’s life cycle and that’s exactly it.

A Note about Trash Talk in Video Games

Chris and I fully sounded like two old guys shouting at clouds on this podcast. As I edited it, i kept hearing, “but it’s different” and it caused me to wonder how it was different. I finally came to a similar conclusion as I did in the podcast. Trash talk was different then because it was in person. Furthermore, you mostly just trash talked people you knew. Maybe they weren’t friends, necessarily, but you saw them around the arcade. Now there’s some anonymous chump telling you things about your mother you never knew. Also, like I said in the show, the other person always had the option to forgo the video game and just punch you directly in the face if you went too far with your mouth.

Staying Current with Video Games

I promised myself after buying an original PlayStation only to see the price drop a few weeks later that it would be the last time I’d pay full price for a console. It is a promise I’ve kept except for buying a Wii U a few years ago to keep the Santa delusion alive. Seems reasonable, right? What does that have to do with getting old? Well, one of the comforting lies we tell ourselves to make getting old more bearable is that it imbues us with wisdom.

And, we’ve got a lot of old morons out there.

The thing about it is that my commitment to being current has gotten less and less, well, committed. I mentioned on the podcast that the PS2 was the last console that I bought relatively early in its life. My wife got me an XBox 360 for Christmas one year. I bought an XBox One only this year and really only for Minecraft. I just bought a used PS3 last year. I don’t own, nor do I see myself buying unless maybe to play against Chris, a PS4. I might buy a Switch, but that’s different and will be covered at a later time.

Get All These Shooter Video Games Off My Lawn

I’ve been trying to figure out when my hate for shooters appeared. In fact, DOOM and Hexen are two of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. It became a running gag in my house that I’d ask of every electronics gift I received, “Can you play DOOM on it?” The new version of DOOM was a driving force in my decision to finally get an XBox One.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one. Yes, that’s an inkjet printer touch screen.

I think it goes back to when the games became more military focused. Without going into too  much detail, I’ve never been a fan of war as entertainment. So Call of Duty and World at War and Battlefield and Battlefront and Black Ops–and some or all of these might be the same game which shows my ignorance–just don’t appeal to me in the slightest. The fact that I’ll still play Gears of War and games where you shoot zombies acts as further evidence to support this theory.

The current generation of shooters is well beyond my capacity to understand. I mean, I get the point of the games. I just don’t understand the point of the games, if that makes any sense. PUBG was a novelty. Fortnite was an unnecessary inevitability and now the whole landscape is lousy with these games. No thanks, no way, no how. I will gladly concede that I’m too old for this stuff, to paraphrase Danny Glover from Lethal Weapon.

Conclusion (or is it a Eulogy in this case?)

Mourn not for me, new generations of nerds. Not that you will. Those who benefit from progress rarely consider those that came before. I never considered nor mourned for the old guys who used to play Pac-Man and Donkey Kong for high scores when Super Mario, Metroid, and Zelda became the games of choice. As I’m sure that they never mourned for the folks who grew up with Pong as the pinnacle of technological advancement.

I will wait on the sideline for retro to be “it” again. I know that there is always a segment of the population that will always consider retro to be “it”. But, they are usually the old farts who have been left behind. Then we just have to hope that the youths get bored of the new hotness and our old ways will be there waiting.

Digital Playground, On the Tabletop

Geeks Unite!

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(Editor’s Note: Are you or do you know someone who identifies as a nerd, gamer, geek, dork, dweeb, or freak? If so, this is the place for you. Come on in and make yourself comfortable)

Non-tenured adjunct professor? Sounds like you're almost as important as the assistant to the regional manager.
Non-tenured adjunct professor? Sounds like you’re almost as important as the assistant to the regional manager.

As I’ve mentioned more than once, I’m a teacher. Technically, right now, I am a non-tenured adjunct professor at two community colleges. Who cares about titles, though, right? If this article is your introduction to the page, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay. Either way, the point is that underneath the sometimes gamer rage filled geek persona is a possibly respectable adult with a respectable job, a loving family, and all of the sitcom style hilarity that ensues.

You hear that Hollywood? My life is a movie or TV show waiting to happen.
You hear that Hollywood? My life is a movie or TV show waiting to happen.

Two weeks ago we were supposed to take a field trip with our classes. Never mind the comments that I got from friends and family about how weird field trips in college sound and what a waste of time the class was. Maybe I will talk more about those on my soon to be web page, “1 Middle Aged Guy Seeks Therapy”. The trip and the class aren’t ultimately important to the story. I am using a writing technique known as “setting the stage”.

Well, the field trip never happened to due a miscommunication. Due to no adequate back up plan on my part, we ended up wasting our time watching Gravity. Decent movie, by the way, if you’re perpetually behind the times in pop culture, like I am.

A movie based entirely on the premise of "what else can go wrong?"
A movie based entirely on the premise of “what else can go wrong?”

Waiting an hour and a half for a bus that ultimately will never show gives you ample time for idle conversation. Bus and train stops (and the vehicles themselves), airports, and even elevators (if you’re brave enough to say “Hi” instead of staring straight ahead trying to pretend that there isn’t other people in there until it arrives at your stop) are all weirdly intimate. People will not only talk. They will often share surprisingly intimate details of their lives with you. The internet has had a similar effect on many people.

Hell, this guy told anyone who would listen about his dead friend in the war, his mom sleeping with strangers to pay the mortgage, his dead girlfriend and wife, and every other damn thing.
Hell, this guy told anyone who would listen about his dead friend in the war, his mom sleeping with strangers to pay the mortgage, his dead girlfriend and wife, and every other damn thing.

As we waited, I learned quite a bit about both my students and the students in the class being run concurrent to ours. They also learned some things about me. The conversation that led to much of this discovery started with an innocent observation and question. I noticed that one of the students from the other class was wearing a shirt with the design below.

&

 

If you are like me and you spend your formative teenage years in basements rolling dice instead of joints, you recognize that ampersand immediately. It took some courage to ask the obvious question. While wearing a D&D T-shirt is more an admission of your status, some people want to keep such topics secret in mixed company. I ultimately decided to just put it out there and deal with the consequences.

“Do you play?” I pointed at the shirt.

“I do.” The student responded.

We then went on to discuss Roll 20 because that was her preferred method to play the game. I replied that a friend and I tried to get a game going through the site, but it fell apart. She plays Roll 20 mostly because the local play groups (that I’ve considered joining) are not very open to new members. What did I say? Some geeks are just very protective of their culture. We may have ultimately won the war, but those battle wounds from wedgies and swirlies run deep.

We discussed World of Warcraft briefly. We both came to the conclusion that 5 million others have. Fifteen dollars a month isn’t much, but it is more than we are willing to pay grinding the same content with different skins over and over again. During this part of the conversation, one of my own students interjected with, “You game? I never expected that.”

That, folks, as I often feel the need to explain, is the point of the article. People who play games are all around us. Geek culture has infiltrated pop culture to such a degree that the two are virtually indistinguishable. However, the willingness to admit that you play games or read comics in mixed company is still low. As I said, the scars of the past run deep.

I'm not sure why we're so skittish about our passions. Hell, we even got this guy on our side now.
I’m not sure why we’re so skittish about our passions. Hell, we even got this guy on our side now.

Nevertheless, as we talked about on the most recent podcast, we are the first generation to grow up with video game and, to an extent, games like D&D. Previous generations mostly only had comic books as their escape (and later D&D) if they didn’t quite fit the mold. Some parents and teachersdid a good job of branding both comic books and RPGs as only for kids or otherwise unsuitable for polite society. The same was almost done for video games. Thankfully, video games came of age at a time when the internet was gaining popularity. Geeks that once suffered in silence alone or in their small circle of friends could now congregate and battle as a team. It may have been this development that also saved comics and led to the explosion of comic themed pop culture we see today.

Don't you see now, Dave? We make the perfect team.
Don’t you see now, Dave? We make the perfect team. We are meant for each other. I dare say, “I love you.”

Why, then, do we find ourselves still unwilling to admit our enjoyment of these things? Sure, some people look down on them as diversions or a complete waste of time. Nerds and geeks are shunned from some groups and jokes of social awkwardness are widely accepted. I actually don’t mind the jokes much. Some of them are even funny and are the basis of a once upon a time very funny TV show. I haven’t checked in lately, but I hear that its not the same, which is to be expected after so many years.

What I’m trying to say is that we’re everywhere. You never know when or where you will meet another comic fan, Magic player, Twitch chat user (actually, they are easy to spot, especially Hearthstone viewers, by their casual use of words like “Kappa” in every day conversation), XBox or Playstation owner, WoW addict, or other kindred spirit. We are Legion. We are many.

Then again, perhaps that's not the best quote to represent us.
Then again, perhaps that’s not the best quote to identify us.

Fly your geek flag high and proud.

Yeah, that's better.
Yeah, that’s better.