Friday, March 6, 2009

Stream of Consciousness

Okay, I've found myself to be incredibly bored and feel that posting here might be some sort of remedy to fix the problem. Unfortunately, I don't really know what I want to write about - just so long as it burns some time. Hence, what I want to try is to just start writing something and see where it takes me; some may call this a writing excercise of some sort but it's really just a flimsy excuse for incoherency and poor grammar.

One thing that I thought I might be able to do is listen to some music of some sort and write down my opinions as it plays, but I haven't really got anything that new apart from Times of Grace by Neurosis (which is probably too long to make such a post about). Right now I'm listening to Start/Whispers by Trent Reznor, a song off the original Quake soundtrack. I don't actually have (or intend to own) Quake, but am a decent fan of T Rez's work. This particular track, like the whole soundtrack really, is, I guess, a sort of drone/industrial/minimal sounding piece. Obviously the music can't take centre stage in an FPS so it needs to be subtle, but I think it still manages to keep a foreboding and tense atmosphere. At the very least, if you're interested in listening to some industrial and don't want to bother with the 'wah-wah' of NIN, it's not a bad CD really. Well, that's all I really wanted to say about it but it's still got 1-2 minutes left (it's 8 minutes long) so I'm left with a new topic to find in the meantime.

I guess something I can do, while we're on the subject of Quake, is talk about the FPS genre and, more precisely, my lack of satisfaction with it. We live in a society where the vast majority of the top selling games are shooters and I can't help but wonder why. The story's are nearly always pathetic, with every game saying the same thing but with a slightly different looking muscular, grizzled, brown haired American guy. The same can be said for the gameplay, with shooter after shooter just trying to stick to the 'Halo format' or, as I like to call it, the 'meh format' with 5 or so different guns total, regenerative health and stupid AI. I'm not expecting a revolution for every game that gets released, but I'd really wish that developers would at least try to differentiate themselves with the hundreds of other titles sitting next to it. But no, that won't happen as any game that tries something new will mean poor sales, with so much as a use of the phrase "why am I killing these enemies" enough to cause most players to enter a state of psychotic remission (I'm not sure if that actually makes sense, but it sounds cool).

For the record, Charlotte by Slint was being played whilst the above paragraph was being written - good song.

But, I am being harsh here, after all I have gotten enjoyment out of playing shooters. More than once have I engaged in a LAN game of Counter Strike and had a good time doing so. But that's Valve, a company whom I have nothing but the upmost respect for despite my general opinion of shooting games. Shine on you crazy diamond.

Hmm, it seems that I've failed to come so some sort of point with the above two or so paragraphs of waffle. All I guess I want to say is that it would be nice to see something other than FPS on the shelves of EB, especially in the next gen section. Just because you have a new console doesn't mean you have to make the game look as realistic as possible (which is why, I think, a lot of developers are making shooters for the PS3 and 360), perhaps use the new technology to create a new gameplay mechanic of some sort or perhaps a new gaming experience altogether. But, if you are to make a shooter, how about at least having a sense of humour? Remember Duke Nukem? Good shooters can also be funny and it will allow you to be a little different without having to scare off your target market.

Music listened to while writing the above: Away by Neurosis, currently listening to The Eraser by Thom Yorke - also good songs.

Well that chewed up a few paragraphs, more than I was expecting to write, though probably not very understandable. Oh well, it's not as if people read this blog anyway...Anyway, is it worth starting a new topic or just finishing the entry here? I got a haircut today. I don't know why I wrote that but it suddenly popped into my head; either way it's staying there now. I guess it's a big event as I only get it cut every 8 or so months (I'm a pretty tight sometimes). I'm fairly pleased with the result, though I think it looked better last I got it cut. Maybe I'll post a picture if people are interested.

By the way, Lost Woods from the Zelda OoT OST just played, which, coincidentally, is my ringtone.

Once again I've found myself without a topic to write about. Currently listening to Human After All by Daft Punk, a confusingly good song. I call it confusingly good as it is, really, an extremely simple song, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Though I suppose if people (not me, mind you) can get joy out of Achy Breaky Heart, a song with only 2 (maybe 3) chords in it, maybe simplicity can be a good thing.

Aha, topic. Achy Breaky Heart was written by Billy Ray Cyrus, father of Miley Cyrus. Today I read that Miley Cyrus has said something along the lines of that she intends to 'bring Radiohead down' after they snubbed her at the Grammys. I find this quite hilarious both due to Miley being snubbed and that she thinks she has the power to bring down Radiohead, one of my favourite bands. Disney may be big, honey, but the Jonas Brothers and the like are still being outsold by a hell of a lot of bands, of which Radiohead would be one. Long story short, shutup and dream on.

Well, I think that's definitely enough now. No attempts will be made to proofread this or correct it as I think that's missing the point and, to be honest, I don't really want to read the probably train wreck that is the above chain of thought. If you've made it this far, well done and have a cookie.

Listening to: Shevanel Cut a Flip by Between the Buried and Me

3 comments:

  1. Hmm, upon reflection I definitely should have proof read it.

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  2. By the way, Lost Woods from the Zelda OoT OST just played, which, coincidentally, is my ringtone.
    I was seriously considering changing my ringtone to that yesterday. How odd.

    [Miley Cyrus] intends to 'bring Radiohead down'
    lulz

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  3. A lot of shooters these days like Gears of War and Killzone do seem to be Duke Nukem minus the humour. Innovation is possible, but not feasible with current gen development costs, it sucks. We'll see another 20 Clancy shooters with terrorism plots before we see another Portal.

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