December 2022: Virtual Reality

I'm back from a nice vacation where I got to try out a couple of VR tech things - firstly the Oculus, which is a headset and a controller for each hand that has a variety of buttons and joystick thingies, was really interesting. Pressing button combinations let you pick up, throw, point, push, holster (or back holster) many digital things and you can "cast" what the player is seeing on a TV monitor if you want an audience.

For a simple game like Beatsaber, where you just hold two light sabers and have to hit incoming boxes in the correct direction, it was fine. That game is really more like repetitive exercise since your memory is what will win you the stages.

For more complicated ones like Walking Dead all those hand things are far more important as you'll not only be picking up, crafting or healing yourself (by getting bandages and virtually wrapping them around your arm) - you'll also need to be stabbing walkers. Velocity is a thing so light hits won't kill the zombies  and the system is smart enough to know if you are doing a two handed strike, or holding the walkers head before you strike etc.

My main problem with the Oculus might just be a "me" thing: for the Walking Dead I got super dizzy because while your arms are functional, you move using the thumb controlled joysticks... it just felt super unnatural.

Then we also tried Far Cry VR at a Zero Latency arcade - its basically a large room you book for 30 minutes or so and pay per head. Again you get a headset but this time your controller is a rifle - and that's it! Six of us went in this cooperative game to play against Vaas and his goons (though it can go up to eight) and it splits you into two teams for most of the match. Expect to be moving a fair bit to take cover and don't worry about what you look like in real! :P

For safety if you move towards a wall or another player in the real world bit red caution shields appear to warn you of the fact. That wasn't a problem for us though, and no one ran into any walls or each other. Super fun experience that I highly recommend and want to do again. Oculus? Not so much.

Any who, that's all for now - hope you've all had a good Christmas and are having a Happy New Year! :) 

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MMOs: Why We Hunt

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]
 
Why do you do quests and venture into deep dungeons in MMOs? Because some NPC told you to?

Quest lines usually have story behind them so that's some pretty good motivation but outside those - what of the "Kill Ten Rats", "Harvest Cyclops Eyes" and "Fetch my hamster from yonder shore" tasks? I asked this of myself and the two usual responses were "experience" and "loot". Experience, even with the removal of levels, is ok - maybe it will increase my skill in doing something like, stomping, or scooping, or swimming for the examples above.

Loot is alright too when used in moderation, but often times it is the PRIME motivator for people to go do something, especially during end-game segments of MMOs. Need a better gear score right? Worse still is that the most desired loot is often a randomized drop, so technically you are gambling that by doing the same activity you have already been doing - you will get a different and more favourable result. Kinda sounds like the definition of insanity but that's ok, some people like that sort of thing.

Shut up, Vaas.

What most MMO's are missing though is perhaps the best reason to hunt: Need. And I'm not talking about in a loot/treasure/greed sense. I'd love to see a game where if you leave bandits unchecked the shops in the nearby towns begin to sell less and less gear with dropping quality and higher prices. Or if an unrewarding troll encounter if left alone blocks a particular fast travel route. Or if a particular plant grows too wild it continually saps the life of anyone wandering through the forest. Or if a cultist den is not raided that magic in the zone becomes a dangerous risk, as casting spells can cause mages to self destruct instantly. Or that rampaging enemy brigade to actually over run the town and occupy it.

Too often it's the carrot used as the lure for adventure. I want to see more of the stick. I want to see a world with fewer treasure hunters. I want to see a world with more heroes.

Farcry 3: Trippin Balls

[Part of the Diary of a Marked One]

Getting "healed" by Citra involved drinking a strong poison that sent me into a dreamlike state where I fought a black giant and some shadow men, followed immediately after by what looked to be the cowgirl position with a topless Citra riding me in front of her tribe. Drugs really do whacked out things to you, huh? When I eventually regained my senses I was staring down at Vaas' island fortress. Bastard would never see me coming.

Or so I thought, for once I snuck into the side building all the TV's within put his face on, laughing as he said he expected me. Did I mention the building was on fire? There was no option left but for a full out attack against his remaining men - I did have some assistance from a trapped tiger though. Once I got into the final building Vaas got the drop on me again, stabbing me with a knife - or hallucinogens, or ... a hallucinogenic knife?

That's a leopard, not a tiger!

Suddenly Vaas was everywhere, I was shooting him - knifing him, running at me from every angle. Somewhere in the mayhem the blade finally found it's mark as I shoved the knife into his gut and twisted it - finally ending the madman's life. I was kind of sad at that because I was beginning to like the guy. His sister Citra on the other hand was pleased, but she wanted his employer Hoyt to be next. Since we were in agreement there I made one last visit to my rescued buddies - telling them to depart on the boat without me as I still had unfinished business on the island. They weren't that happy with the decision but could do nothing to stop me.

Farcry 3: Peekaboo! Guess who?

[Part of the Diary of a Marked One]

The convoy we were ambushing was not one of pirates, but of well armed mercenaries. For a change I was glad to have fodder... ahem... I mean allies to assist in the battle. The APC we were trying to halt eventually got past the roadblock though, so it was up to me to chase it down - kill its guards and like a real hero open the door to free the captives. Only, there were no captives. Just one psycho who promptly knocked me out.

Did you miss me?

When I awoke it was to the sound of his smug voice as he told me the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over. In this case, killing me. With that he kicked the cement block my feet were tied to down into a deep well where he hoped I would share the same fate as his other victims rotting in the water down there. It was not to be though, for I freed myself and stabbed my way out using a stolen knife to his nearby camp - hijacked his helicopter and ... got shot down by an RPG.

Still in a haze I crawled out of the burning wreckage to find the maniac grinning down at me again. "Have I told you the definition of insanity?" he asked once more, just before pointing his pistol at me and pulling the trigger. The world went black. And then smelly. Once again I had escaped death in a manner of speaking, but I still ended up in a mass grave. After crawling my way out of there and retrieving my gear (don't know why since it was easily replaceable), Dennis told me to go back to the temple for healing.

Farcry 3: Deals and Devils

[Part of the Diary of a Marked One]

In an appropriately named village called "Bad Town" I met Agent Willis who gave me the scoop about Vaas' employer, a Mr. Hoyt Volker - slave trader, and drug manufacturer. In exchange for getting info about the rest of my allies Willis first sends me to torch one of Hoyt's main drug fields with a flamethrower. After that trippy experience in which for once the pirates had an excuse for not being able to shoot straight, Willis then sent me to defend a different village from a pirate attack.

Yippee ki yay?

Well, not the entire village - just his informant Rongo who not only I had to protect from execution, but all the way uphill through the village to his house to find the coded documents he stole. In the end only Rongo and I were left standing, and I left him there in his burning house and burning town to try rescue another of my allies nearby, the pot smoking party animal who was being transferred via convoy. After intercepting it with explosions and making a quick get away by boat (during which I had to shoot down a chopper among many other pursuers) I finally got him to the cave where I kept my other rescue victims.

Three out of five meant two to go. After checking back in with Willis he said he had a lead on my next buddy who was sold to some boy lover named Buck (Australian from the accent). Conveniently I found Buck at the nearby tavern and he suggested a trade - my friend for some really ancient Chinese dagger which he claimed is on a boat somewhere. Since I had no option to... I dunno, torture him, or follow him, or do anything remotely intelligent I accepted the deal and headed down to the beach where I saw the medium sized cruiser just off shore. Good thing there was a jet ski nearby because I'd be damned if I had to swim through the sharks to get there.

Farcry 3: I've got the Stones

[Part of the Diary of a Marked One]

One of the things Dennis told me was to mold the jungle to the things I needed. By that he actually meant harvesting various flora for a variety of syringes and carving up every type of animal on the island to fashion into bags, pouches, wallets and pants. While I was at it I figured I'd do the same to all the pirates I came across, liberating the entire Western part of the island from both their outposts and radio tower jammers.

For extra cash I was also taking odd jobs of hunting critters (usually with bows) or knifing bad men for justice. Most of the money I spent right away on maps to the numerous "whispering" relics (yes satan?) scattered in each region, making it easier to track them down and absorb their power. Truly, finding these small carvings did more for my combat intuition than actually going into combat. It's magic.

Eventually I found myself standing before a large stone temple in the jungle, inside which I met Citra - the "spiritual" leader of the Rakyat tribe, who also happens to be Vaas' sister. She doesn't really think much of my combat skills, despite being able to single handedly do what her tribe can't seem to handle. Seriously, these pirates with automatic rifles are losing to komodo dragons and wild dogs. It's not like defeating them is difficult, so what does that say about the Rakyat?

Your tribe sucks.

Anyway, she made me drink something that made me totally trip balls as a sort of test, concluding with telling me to find what has been lost. Not sure I'll be able to find her mind, but in the meantime I decide to cleanse the rest of the island of the pirate infestation, clearing out relics, old correspondence from japanese skeletons, and odd jobs while I was at it - like sniping some sharks. Another particular highlight was to eliminate a pack of rabid dogs... with an RPG. That was awesome.

Farcry 3: Independent Princess

[Part of the Diary of a Marked One]

Turns out the "princess" I was trying to rescue managed to get out all by herself and found refuge with a creepy, constantly stoned old doctor by the name of Earnhardt who thought she was his wife... or daughter. Either way, she was fine. She even located an old boat beneath the doc's mansion which she began to repair for our island escape. Now there's an independent girl if ever I saw one.

Perhaps she later becomes known as Samus?

Dennis soon radioed about another of my friends who wasn't as independent, and I soon found myself hoofing it over to a prison camp to try pull off a valiant rescue. I murderized all the guards on the way in but was caught off guard by Vaas himself! When I awoke, my friend Liza and I were left tied to our chairs as Vaas torched the old wooden house we were being held in - leaving us to burn alive.

Somehow I still managed to break free, rescue the girl and perform an incredibly dangerous escape via jeep. Not dangerous because of the pirates chasing and shooting at us - I had a gun for that. Dangerous because Liza was driving. We escaped from their clutches and soon I put Liza in the boat cave with the other, hotter girl named Daisy who had the boat repairs well underway. Our reunion was interrupted when Dennis radioed in again, telling me to speak to their leader who lives in a temple somewhere in the jungle.

Farcry 3: Memories of the Fall

[Part of the Diary of a Marked One]

The arena bouts were quite challenging and for the most part nothing I couldn't handle, so much so that my hostess "Mad" Moxxi began taking a liking to her new champion. After a particularly gruelling round I found her waiting for me at the infirmary where she began asking about my past, and how I got that tattoo on my arm. The surprising thing was... I could remember! Maybe I've just had my head cracked over so many times that it fixed my amnesia from before? Regardless, I've decided to write it down in my diary in case I forget once more where I came from.

In my youth, before the arrival of the Zone, I was just another everyday teen that wanted to see the world - and have crazy fun while doing so. To that end my comrades and I decided to go skydiving out to some remote island away from the busy hubs of tourists. It was all going well until we got captured by the local pirates led by this crazy man named Vaas. He even has clips on youtube.

They separated us and planned to sell us back to whoever would pay. Fortunately my brother in arms who was with me managed to break our bonds and initiate a speedy escape from the prison camp. I got away by jumping down a waterfall while evading a barrage of bullets, he on the other hand was not so lucky.

Looks like you didn't make it, hermano.