Tag: video games

2014 Worlds

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Photo by Cole Zellner
Photo by Cole Zellner

2014 League of Legends World Championships is currently near the end of competitive season 4. This year, Worlds will be hosted in a stadium located in Korea. It has turned into the most watched Esport in the last 4 years.

The first season was disappointing compared to now. It used to just be a small event with fold out chairs and a $50,000 prize. Now, they fill soccer stadiums and have famous bands make songs for them. This years prize pool is over $2,000,000.

But the gamer’s don’t play for the money. They play because they love gaming. One pro said he gave up everything for the game, because life gave him a chance to be the best in the world at something, and he wanted to take it.

There are so many teams. TSM will be representing America in this years season. There are a few others but they don’t stand a chance.

As you can see, gaming is turning into something much more than just something you do for fun. It is becoming a career.

Faster Than Light, run or die

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Space-time is fun time as I always say. That is why I have learned to love                           the game Faster Than Light also know as FTL. FTL is a real-time strategy game where one must successfully navigate to the end of a danger filled galaxy. In FTL you control a ship and its crew whom are attempting to flee from the evil rebel fleet. While you can get away for sometime at the end of the game you will eventually be forced to fight a final rebel ship. Not that I would know anything about that.

J

The game received much attention because of its mind-boggling difficulty. There is only two difficulty modes easy and normal; they might as well be renamed hard and extremely hard. I have played easy and normal and on easy I have yet to even make it to the third stage of the game. Now while trying to play FTL is hard enough it also incorporates permadeath. Permadeath, in this instance, is when your ship is destroyed game is over and you have to start all. Countless times have I seen my ship and crew destroyed while I furiously tap my keyboard in anger.

For anyone looking for something new and a challenge I highly recommend the space faring game FTL.

The Honorable Gamers’ ten commandments

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Ever since the creation of multiplayer video games, innocent gamers have had to cope with the typical, senseless, annoying, horrid players otherwise known as “scrubs” who will do even the impossible to ruin the experience. However boosters, glitchers, hackers and trollers have a counterpart; the honorable gamers. These commandments are the covenant between the chosen gamers and the developers of the game.

1- Thou shalt not tea bag, unless thine enemy is a scrub

2- Respect your noob brethren and attempt to help

3- Thou shalt not glitch nor exploit the game to your advantage

4- The use of overpowered equipment is forbidden for the honorable

5- Thou shalt not whine in chat

6- To brag about being honorable is not honorable

7- If you are inviting someone to your house to play video games, thou shalt have 2 controllers

8- Those who hack are to be sent to the fiery depths of perma-ban

9- EA sucks

10- Playing Candy Crush is not gaming

Do video games make people violent?

infamousdolphinLeave a comment

Due to the new release of Grand Theft Auto V, the fifth part of a huge franchise well known for its irrational amount of violence, anti-gamers from all around the world have risen to social media to protest.

GTA 5

Their purpose is to stop violent video games from entering the hands of the so anticipating gamers. Their argument? Video games turn people into violent murder machines. However, considering that the most violent thought I get while playing this game or any other is how brutally I wish to devour a pack of Doritos, it is safe to assume that a large portion of gamers are not influenced in real life by actions performed in-game.

But how about those who are? For example, Andres Breivik, a Norwegian mass killer guilty of murdering 69 people and setting bombs in government facilities was linked to the extended use of violent video games. However, Breivik was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia and was also abusing illegal substances. Also, his motive for the attack was Islamophobia, which is not preached in any video game. Anyhow, Breivik did refer to games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 as training tools that helped him sharpen his aim.

After the massacre, some video game retailers in Norway banned violent video games temporarily. Blaming video games for the actions of a criminally insane man is as ridiculous as blaming the car for the actions of a drunk driver, or even blaming alcohol.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders_Behring_Breivik

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/09/12/training-simulation-mass-killers-often-share-obsession-with-violent-video-games/

AVGN-Craziest dude on the Internet

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I’m all about nostalgia. I love it when I hear about those old TV shows and books that I used to have in my life. Some that come to mind are the Angry Beavers, Doug, and of course the Captain Underpants books. Those things were the best.

While on youtube one night a long time ago, I came across a new channel that I had never seen before. The title was “JamesNintendoNerd.” Anyone who knows me knows I love video games. I love the new games but there is always place in my heart for the games I played during my youth. There are few people that will tell you that they own a Nintendo 64, but I got one. That thing is great. It introduced me to so many characters like Mario, Link, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and one of my personal favorites, Pokemon. Yes, I’m aware Pokemon isn’t one character. But the franchise has cemented itself into my life. I’m not ashamed to say that I still play Pokemon from time to time. There are certain things you never grow out of.

Anyway, I’m rambling. The channel features a character called the Angry Video Game Nerd. He too prefers the games and consoles from his youth. The Nintendo 64 is rare these days, but an original Atari 2600 or a Nintendo Entertainment System are borderline impossible to find. Most current TVs don’t even provide the proper basic technology to accommodate these prehistoric game systems.

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Minecraft: CTF

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rtr

Like most of you I like Minecraft and find myself getting lost in the thrill of imagining and creating. This can get tedious at times, occasionally I wish for a more linear gaming experience. The people of Minecraft PVP have solved this issue Minecraft style.

Minecraft PVP is a site, which creates IP Addresses that host nine different PVP modes. Today we will be looking at Capture the Flag or CTF for short.

In Minecraft CTF the players are divided into two teams, the Red team and the Blue team. The objective of CTF is to capture the other teams flag while defending yours. Lets take a look at the free Kits Minecraft PVP provides for you.

Each player who enters a Minecraft CTF server is given four free and basic kits. These kits are: Archer, Heavy, Medic, and Soldier.

The Archer Kit allows the player to attack the enemy from a distance. The Archer Kit equips the player with a: Chain Helmet, Chain Chestplate, Chain Leggings, and Chain Boots. The Archer Kit gives the player an Iron Sword, an Enchanted Bow, 128 arrows, four Steaks and a Compass.

The Heavy Kit lets the player effectively defend the flag and tank for other players. The Heavy Kit equips the player with a: Diamond Helmet, Diamond Chestplate, Diamond Leggings, and Diamond Boots. The Heavy Kit gives the player a Diamond Sword, three steaks and a Compass.

The Medic Kit lets the player support their team through healing and delaying. The Medic Kit gives the player two unique abilities that aids in these task.

The 1st ability is the Medic’s healing; if the Medic hits an ally with its sword that ally is healed. The 2nd ability is extremely annoying and effective, the Medic has Cobwebs when placed down and touched by an enemy that enemy is slowed down.

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Gaming.

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Wii

Video games, what is the draw? Xbox, PS3, Wii, these are all devises that are used for entertainment, what ever happened to the good old stuff? Making dens and mud pies, play fighting, going to the beach and building sand castles, all free, exciting activity’s but many of these past times seem to have been lost.

Fun, exciting, activities now only seem to happen on the screens of ones TV, rather than in the outdoors. Virtual dueling, fighting and building homes, people now indent their sofas with wear, tear and maturity rather than themselves and their clothes. Although many mums see this as a plus, children just don’t gain the experience of learning things hands on.

Many people don’t even know what getting dirty is, the virtual life has kept many clean, vulnerable and in many cases helpless. People may be good at fighting with avatars but in a day-to-day confrontation it is not their Xbox controllers that can help them.

Video games have taken over the human experience. People don’t learn from their mistakes instead they learn from Halo or Call of Duty becoming addicted to the gaming lifestyle.

Although video games can be fun it seems that some people take them far to seriously allowing them to consume their lives, which in my perspective just is not right.

There goes reality

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Last friday, a brand new video game game out, The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim was released.  It is the fifth game in the huge RPG series based on the fantasy province of Tamriel.

One of the best things about this game is the vast amount of things one can do.  For instance killing a chicken becomes a moral dilemma that will usually follow by a mob of angry townsmen.  One could also become a dragon slaying enemy infested spelunker

I have now logged about 22 hours of play time and I have only completed about 14% percent of the game.  You could literally spend hours just wondering around the game going from the wind-swept peaks to the deep marshes.

Basically this is the one game to rule them all. Period.

Lana Del Rey.

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Lana Del Ray

Lana Del Rey is an American singer-songwriter from New York. Born Elizabeth Grant, her music is reminiscent of old cinematic songs mixed with indie pop and blues. It is believed that she adapted the stage name Lana Del Rey from the 40’s to 80’s late actress Lana Turner and the 80’s Ford Del Rey car. The name suits her persona as her style is very old society, old America and Hollywood glamor.

Lana released her first songs Blue Jeans and Videogames in October 2011. Since their release, the New York singer has hit success around the globe. In England she has gained a lot of recognition for her music. Her popularity among the people led to London Show tickets being sold out in 3o minutes on release.

With a rusty, unique voice, simple lyrics, and beautiful backing sounds Lana Del Rey is really someone worth listening to. Her alternative sounds and fabulous old style music videos really show her for a true star.

Gaming, in all its glory

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As many people are already aware, I am quite the dabbler when it comes to video games.  Really any kind of game “floats my boat.”  Whether that be shooting terrorists, saving the universe from some alien race or just driving a Bugati Veyron at top spead into oncoming traffic.

The thing is, video games allow one to really do well just about anything.  A lot of people often associate gaming with nerdy or geeky people, and the really only exceptions is frat boys getting together to bust out some Call of Duty multiplayer.

But the truth is, video games are an art form in themselves. The countless months, and sometimes years it takes to create a game is remarkable.  In essence video games create an entire article virtual world with its own laws and physics, when said that way, they seem pretty awesome.

It really is a true business.  As much as designers wished gaming studios ran similar to Grandmas Boy, they don’t. Many designers really put their heart and souls into designing their games.

When I played Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, russians invade the eastern seaboard, and you play through a war-torn Washington DC, fighting towards the capital building.  In it their is a scene of the half-destroyed Washington monument, and it is really a piece of art.  The entire world is rendered on a computer with the intention of millions of people playing through it in their own ways. Imagine creating a world that can filter and allow millions of different choices and decisions, it like creating another world.

In essence that is what Video games really are. And I dabbler in them whenever I can.