Meme day 11 TAKES NO SIDES.

[xyzzysqrl]

Meme 1, Day 11: A Game That Changed My Opinion About Something -

I suppose this is a major criteria for the "Games As Art" hullabaloo. Can video gaming CHANGE THE NATURE OF A MAN?

Well, unfortunately you won't find a lot of that from me, as I am not real deep. I will however throw out this one:

A Mind Forever Voyaging.

The premise of A Mind Forever Voyaging is that you're a computer system named PRISM, or... as you're used to thinking of yourself, "Perry Simm". You've been 'raised' from birth as an artifical intelligence, the world's first sentient computer. Who doesn't know he is one, only to be told upon your twentieth birthday. Your "purpose" in life is to simulate a nebulous thing called "The Plan" that the higher-ups in Washington are shopping around. A kind of unified-purpose political package. You simply live your life in a virtual world, and they'll jump The Plan forward by ten, twenty, thirty years around you. Your goal is to take documentary footage.

I'm not going to talk about the political aspects of the game, the science-fiction aspects of the game... What Mind Forever Voyaging did was convince me that games could tell a proper story. This came out in 1985. 85! Geez. I didn't discover the game until a few years past that point, but it was the first text adventure I'd played that made me feel like a real novel was HAPPENING, right there on my screen. I mean... If you don't mind massive spoilers, go to the Wikipedia article and read this game's plot. This was pretty awesome for that time period. All done in text.

I've seen very few games that attempted to take on issues like this, that tried to be a genuinely intelligent story. I still think games could be leveraged to really tell an elaborate tale. Unfortunately the adventure game genre became known for mindless puzzles and died, and a lot of others aren't even trying. Que sera.


Meme 2, Day 11 - Gaming system of choice -

All of 'em.

Okay, if I were cut down to just one, it'd be a coin-flip between my DS or my PSP. But all in all, I love -every- gaming system. The Dreamcast. The Xbox. The Xbox 360. The SNES. The Genesis. The TurboGraphix 16. The Atari 2600. The C64. The PC.

Why do I love portable systems so much? You can take them anywhere, and the games are often shorter, lighter.
Why do I love older systems? Every system offers unique and interesting games. I grew up on those old machines, I'm intimately familiar with them. (Not literally.)
Why do I love new, HD systems? Complexity of games, sharp visuals, downloadable content, downloadable -games-.
Why do I love the PC? Years and years of history, my favorite control scheme, free games made every day scattered all over the web...

I admit I say the DS or PSP for the sake of keeping something at hand to play any time, but you'd have a fight getting ANY system away from me.

Seriously. I would beat you to death. Do not try.


Day 1: Your current favorite game
Day 2: The most Underrated game you’ve ever played
Day 3: A game that makes you really happy
Day 4: A game that makes you sad
Day 5: A game that reminds you of someone
Day 6: Favorite puzzle game
Day 7: The game with most surprising game plot twist or ending (don’t share the actual twists, and if you do, mark them spoilers for the love of all that is nerdy)
Day 8: A game you’ve played countless times
Day 9:A game with the best or most original soundtrack
Day 10: Favorite Retro game
Day 11: A game that changed your opinion about something
Day 12: A game that you dislike
Day 13: A game that is a guilty pleasure
Day 14: A game that no one would expect you to love
Day 15: A videogame character who you can relate to the most
Day 16: A game that you used to love but now hate
Day 17: A game that disappointed you the most
Day 18: A game that you wish more people would’ve played
Day 19: Favorite game based on a movie/book/comic/etc
Day 20: Favorite stress relieving game
Day 21: Favorite Fighting Game
Day 22: Favorite table-top RPG
Day 23: Favorite racing game
Day 24: The one awesome game idea that still hasn’t been done
Day 25: The most hilarious game you’ve ever played
Day 26: A game you’ve left sitting at the final boss fight and still haven’t returned to
Day 27: A game that you wish you could play, but suck at
Day 28: A game that makes you feel guilty
Day 29: A game from your childhood
Day 30: You favorite game (or series) of all time

Day 1 - Very first video game.
Day 2 - Your favorite character.
Day 3 - A game that is underrated.
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game.
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were).
Day 6 - Most annoying character.
Day 7 - Favorite game couple.
Day 8 - Best soundtrack.
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.