mastery of small domains
Sep. 22nd, 2005 02:30 pmThis morning, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ultraken linked to a page full of videos of near-perfect game replays. The only one I looked at was Ikaruga.
I've never finished it; now that I sold my collection, I probably never will. The furthest I ever made was level 4, of 5. I had a tendency to not hit "continue" very often; somehow, the game seemed to demand that I complete it on one credit, that I win it by building skill and mastering it, rather than just continuing. I'd refrained from watching videos like that - I wanted to discover each boss for myself. Now that I've gotten rid of all my games, I could look.
I started watching the replays of Ikaruga's precursor, Radiant Silvergun. Aside from the animated intro, the videos were missing sound. Was that why I found it completely uninteresting? Or was it the fact that I've never played the thing? Is watching a perfect playthrough of a video game only interesting when you've played it yourself - when you can appreciate the reflex/strategy/tactics that goes into it, when you know just how hard it is to make something happen?
The only game I have left from my once-impressive collection is Sin & Punishment. I've never won it. It, too, seems to demand that I win it without continuing. It, too, is one I've never finished - stage 5 of 9 is as far as I can get. It rests somewhere in my stuff, in transit. Perhaps someday I'll get a used N64 again to have another go at it, and finally find out what happens in the end. Perhaps I won't.
I've been playing Tumblepop via MAME now and then, this past week. I don't know why. I used to be a master of this game, back in college; I could never quite finish it on one quarter but I could reliably get to the endgame. Mostly, I think I'm waiting for my things to catch up with me, and for my life to resume. I should boot up Illustrator. I should shower and go get some sunlight.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Rita is sitting in the Gulf, growing and shrinking. Even the edge of it passing over New Orleans could bludgeon my hometown further into oblivion. I don't know how I feel about that, not at all.
ultraken linked to a page full of videos of near-perfect game replays. The only one I looked at was Ikaruga.I've never finished it; now that I sold my collection, I probably never will. The furthest I ever made was level 4, of 5. I had a tendency to not hit "continue" very often; somehow, the game seemed to demand that I complete it on one credit, that I win it by building skill and mastering it, rather than just continuing. I'd refrained from watching videos like that - I wanted to discover each boss for myself. Now that I've gotten rid of all my games, I could look.
I started watching the replays of Ikaruga's precursor, Radiant Silvergun. Aside from the animated intro, the videos were missing sound. Was that why I found it completely uninteresting? Or was it the fact that I've never played the thing? Is watching a perfect playthrough of a video game only interesting when you've played it yourself - when you can appreciate the reflex/strategy/tactics that goes into it, when you know just how hard it is to make something happen?
The only game I have left from my once-impressive collection is Sin & Punishment. I've never won it. It, too, seems to demand that I win it without continuing. It, too, is one I've never finished - stage 5 of 9 is as far as I can get. It rests somewhere in my stuff, in transit. Perhaps someday I'll get a used N64 again to have another go at it, and finally find out what happens in the end. Perhaps I won't.
I've been playing Tumblepop via MAME now and then, this past week. I don't know why. I used to be a master of this game, back in college; I could never quite finish it on one quarter but I could reliably get to the endgame. Mostly, I think I'm waiting for my things to catch up with me, and for my life to resume. I should boot up Illustrator. I should shower and go get some sunlight.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Rita is sitting in the Gulf, growing and shrinking. Even the edge of it passing over New Orleans could bludgeon my hometown further into oblivion. I don't know how I feel about that, not at all.