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egypturnashI seem to have lost the ability to dance between the raindrops. I just can't maintain the concentration to do it.
"Dance between the raindrops?"
This is a metaphor I use for the skills needed to play modern bullet-storm shoot-em-up videogames. Over time, the firepower of both the player and the enemies has escalated; no longer are the evil alien minions content to just drop a bullet now and then. Instead, they often shoot out waves, arcs, and streams of little bullets, which the player must weave between. Like someone staying dry in a rainstorm by never being where a raindrop falls.
Of course, perhaps I only have myself to blame, if I'm playing Ikaruga and avoiding a huge swath of black bullets being spewed by a boss because my shots do more damage to it when I'm set to white, when I could just flip over to black and absorb those spews of death, only dodging the few white shots being launched by its outriders... pride before the fall and all that.
"Dance between the raindrops?"
This is a metaphor I use for the skills needed to play modern bullet-storm shoot-em-up videogames. Over time, the firepower of both the player and the enemies has escalated; no longer are the evil alien minions content to just drop a bullet now and then. Instead, they often shoot out waves, arcs, and streams of little bullets, which the player must weave between. Like someone staying dry in a rainstorm by never being where a raindrop falls.
Of course, perhaps I only have myself to blame, if I'm playing Ikaruga and avoiding a huge swath of black bullets being spewed by a boss because my shots do more damage to it when I'm set to white, when I could just flip over to black and absorb those spews of death, only dodging the few white shots being launched by its outriders... pride before the fall and all that.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-28 08:23 pm (UTC)Now I want a game version of this (http://ferryhalim.com/orisinal/others/rain.htm). Agh.
oh -that- game..
Date: 2003-10-29 12:12 am (UTC)Ikaruga isn't really meant to be successfully played. It's designed to take your allowance, two quarters at a time.
Try playing Rez...
Re: oh -that- game..
Date: 2003-10-29 01:02 am (UTC)Also, sometimes I am just a shoot-em-up masochist. With a little practice to get back in shape I can probably make it through the first level of Ikaruga on one life; I just haven't played it much lately. Haven't felt the need to sit down and really stare at it.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 01:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 01:24 am (UTC)Or maybe I'm just whiny because I'm trying to be a show-off and not quite managing...
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 11:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 11:26 am (UTC)Friends who were raised on Megaman and Tetris have been known to watch in awe as I casually make it through the first level of a new game on my second go; I recall one incident where I played a Robotronesque game ('Cannon Spike' on the Dreamcast, I think) on the highest difficulty level (berating everyone else who'd been checking it out on the lowest setting) and got to the final boss without continuing. The very first time I played. Okay, maybe that was just a too-easy game, designed to lure beat-em-up players into the joys of little pink bullets everywhere... but I know the secret Tao of Shooters, which is to simply concentrate on being where the bullets are not.
I just can't seem to summon the concentration to apply that hidden knowledge.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 11:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 01:01 pm (UTC)Dodge the bullets, press the fire button a lot, let the damage fall where it may. Focus on the raindrops, not the storm.
And then see little pink bullets when you close your eyes afterwards.
no subject
Date: 2003-10-29 11:49 pm (UTC)