Tonight I played Mario Tennis on Nintendo 64 with Adrian and Charlie. While not the most complex game I was still slightly uneasy about having never played until they both said we would learn to play together. We started out playing a 4-player exhibition Yoshi & Waluigi vs. Peach & Daisy... the princesses won both matches. Then we switched to rings which was an exhibition game but the score was based on balls hit through various sized rings... the caveat was that the total number of rings was given to the winner of the set with each team aiming to get to 50 rings first. Yoshi & Waluigi won both matches. Along the way we figured out the controls: A- top spin, B- slice, & Z- cancel shot. Lastly, we played (Waluigi & Peach vs. Yoshi & Birdo) Bowser stage, which instead of rings there were items that were earned when item boxes are hit during the rally. My hands were still sweaty while I played but it was fun; they were both very supportive and wouldn't let me be tough on myself and after a few matches I started to get the hang of it. I think I am going to have to take advantage of having people to play multiplayer games with.
What happened: I asked to play a game with Adrian & Charlie and they suggested Mario Tennis. I took initiative to interrupt their game night to participate in their retro Nintendo game session.
How did I respond: I confidently and curiously played another Mario game that I had never heard of previously. It was fun learning together and not feeling pressured or being blamed when I dove the wrong direction (which I did quite a bit or I used the d-pad instead of the control stick). There was lots of laughter with and at each other.
Why did I respond this way?
I didn't feel threatened or vulnerable like I usually do. They were both very supportive and patient. I enjoyed playing and my hands were not as sore as they have been after playing most games for any amount of time longer than 30 minutes. I know I hold the controller tighter than necessary which likely also attributes to the hand fatigue.
Showing posts with label PVG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PVG. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Mission PVG log #6
So somehow Adrian convinced me to try playing Smash Bros. Brawl: Project M with him and his friends and it was likely because I knew I at least needed to experience a multiplayer game. I watched them play a few sets before I was ready to try. There were four of us playing and it felt like an all out free for all... survival of the fittest, no strategy or skill. I could describe the first match in another key term but I'll keep it clean. Of course, my description is entirely based on my opinion. I'm quite certain at least two of the other players knew what they were doing but that didn't stop me from enlisting "chaos" mode which proved rather beneficial in practice mood but was less effective with this many players. I was able to get in a few "lucky shots" somehow and was quite surprised every time. They suggested playing in teams but I wasn't prepared for that, in part, because I didn't want to be a liability to Adrian and likely would've sabotaged any of the others for a few reasons that don't need to be mentioned here. I'm not sure how long we played but my hands were thoroughly cramped by the end of it. I've got quite a bit of practice ahead of me before I can make sense of this game. There are so many buttons to remember that I do better in chaos mode sans thought than I do when I try and think about what move I'm trying to execute. I don't know that I will want to try this game again soon aside from playing with Adrian since it is one of many games he enjoys.
I could use some suggestions on how to work-out my hands and be more game ready.
I could use some suggestions on how to work-out my hands and be more game ready.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Mission PVG log #5
The aim of this post is to express how and why I feel I have developed an "irrational" fear of video games. In this post, I will be truthful while exposed, as I attempt to be brave enough to share about myself in a way (this blog) that I am unaccustomed and to a potentially much larger audience. Nonetheless, I feel it is important for me to admit these feelings openly in order to further grow and overcome this particular fear. However, I may be more implicit on certain details than others but I am not one to "spill the beans" easily (if ever at times). This admission is a personal feat in and of itself.
At cadre camp, we discussed the importance of reflection and the role this type of activity would play on our journey through the program, as well as, a specific "method" to follow: What Happened? How did I respond? Why? I will do my best to adhere to this method. Before I will begin I must first say that I have not played Pikmin 3 since Thursday when I floundered in my attempt to defeat the first boss, the Armored Mawdad hidden deep within a cave on the Garden of Hope. (How ironic, since I feel all but hopeless at defeating him but more on that soon enough).
The person I am today is not someone I ever expected to be and I say this because there were times when I did not think I would get this far. My childhood and adolescent years were fraught with strife; most of which developed without justification and sadly became routine. During that time there were certain "lessons" that I learned: fear just about every male, silence is the safest and only option, speaking up is unaccepted, eye contact only makes it worse, absorbing criticism/insults/threats becomes second nature, & failure is expected by others... I think I've made my point.
Irrespective of my past, I am here today a much stronger but not unscathed woman. While my life has vastly improved as an adult and I now have control of who I am around but more importantly who I allow close to me. As much progress as I know I've made I still struggle with a subconscious dialogue that I cannot completely shake and one that I think influenced my recent meltdown.
It was Thursday, August 7, 2014 and I was prepared to explore the Garden of Hope more and happened to stumble across a cave with an enormous centipede with pincers and mind you, Alph is 0.64 inches tall. Within what felt like seconds everything fell apart, I couldn't remember any of the buttons, my heart rate changed, my breathing slowed, my muscles tightened, and I froze. I retried the day with the same result, not once but twice; each time the symptoms seemed to magnify exponentially (so it seemed). I can't obviously say what I was thinking but I know I feeling very disappointed and hopeless. Adrain was watching me play so perhaps I also have performance anxiety.
In Gee's book, he mentions three identities:
virtual- "one's identity as a virtual character in the virtual world"
real-world- my identity as me; "a non-virtual person playing a [computer] game"
projective- "to project one's values and desired onto the virtual character"
I have been unable to identify with the projective part of these identities but perhaps that is because the character is uncustomizable. I also cannot say that I feel as if I associate with the virtual aspect of this tripartite model either but I do not have much gaming experience and seem to lacking in the "compelled to play" department. I realize that I am not competitive and I don't purposely try to disappoint anyone I care about but despite this admission I cannot muster the courage or interest to attempt to play any game other than Wii Fit and watching Adrian play Metroid: Other M.
While I could continue to write and prefer to be honest about my past because I have overcome everything and refuse to be a victim and stay silent.
Thank you for reading. I try to be an open book... "right place, right time".
P.S. I am still learning that it is okay to fail in video games. I'm tougher on myself than anyone has or ever can be (it's easier that way). Most people have levels of perfection, for me, there's everyone else's level of perfection which is "acceptable" and then my level which is what I expect of myself. For the first time even in my adult life I am surrounded by support and love (Adrian) but clearly I don't exactly know how to compute that in this domain...just yet. Crying is a mechanism I use to protect others and I turn to it in sadness, frustration, and anger (there are certain things in which I skip crying and am just pissed... watch out; it's not easy to anger me except for those certain things). I never want to yell and blame someone like I have experienced.
At cadre camp, we discussed the importance of reflection and the role this type of activity would play on our journey through the program, as well as, a specific "method" to follow: What Happened? How did I respond? Why? I will do my best to adhere to this method. Before I will begin I must first say that I have not played Pikmin 3 since Thursday when I floundered in my attempt to defeat the first boss, the Armored Mawdad hidden deep within a cave on the Garden of Hope. (How ironic, since I feel all but hopeless at defeating him but more on that soon enough).
The person I am today is not someone I ever expected to be and I say this because there were times when I did not think I would get this far. My childhood and adolescent years were fraught with strife; most of which developed without justification and sadly became routine. During that time there were certain "lessons" that I learned: fear just about every male, silence is the safest and only option, speaking up is unaccepted, eye contact only makes it worse, absorbing criticism/insults/threats becomes second nature, & failure is expected by others... I think I've made my point.
Irrespective of my past, I am here today a much stronger but not unscathed woman. While my life has vastly improved as an adult and I now have control of who I am around but more importantly who I allow close to me. As much progress as I know I've made I still struggle with a subconscious dialogue that I cannot completely shake and one that I think influenced my recent meltdown.
It was Thursday, August 7, 2014 and I was prepared to explore the Garden of Hope more and happened to stumble across a cave with an enormous centipede with pincers and mind you, Alph is 0.64 inches tall. Within what felt like seconds everything fell apart, I couldn't remember any of the buttons, my heart rate changed, my breathing slowed, my muscles tightened, and I froze. I retried the day with the same result, not once but twice; each time the symptoms seemed to magnify exponentially (so it seemed). I can't obviously say what I was thinking but I know I feeling very disappointed and hopeless. Adrain was watching me play so perhaps I also have performance anxiety.
In Gee's book, he mentions three identities:
virtual- "one's identity as a virtual character in the virtual world"
real-world- my identity as me; "a non-virtual person playing a [computer] game"
projective- "to project one's values and desired onto the virtual character"
I have been unable to identify with the projective part of these identities but perhaps that is because the character is uncustomizable. I also cannot say that I feel as if I associate with the virtual aspect of this tripartite model either but I do not have much gaming experience and seem to lacking in the "compelled to play" department. I realize that I am not competitive and I don't purposely try to disappoint anyone I care about but despite this admission I cannot muster the courage or interest to attempt to play any game other than Wii Fit and watching Adrian play Metroid: Other M.
While I could continue to write and prefer to be honest about my past because I have overcome everything and refuse to be a victim and stay silent.
Thank you for reading. I try to be an open book... "right place, right time".
P.S. I am still learning that it is okay to fail in video games. I'm tougher on myself than anyone has or ever can be (it's easier that way). Most people have levels of perfection, for me, there's everyone else's level of perfection which is "acceptable" and then my level which is what I expect of myself. For the first time even in my adult life I am surrounded by support and love (Adrian) but clearly I don't exactly know how to compute that in this domain...just yet. Crying is a mechanism I use to protect others and I turn to it in sadness, frustration, and anger (there are certain things in which I skip crying and am just pissed... watch out; it's not easy to anger me except for those certain things). I never want to yell and blame someone like I have experienced.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Mission PVG log #4
I must confess that I was quite excited that the Pikmin line of games are mentioned in James Paul Gee's book, What Video Games Have To Teach Us About Learning and Literacy which is the latest book that I have started reading this week, especially because I began playing the game before I read the first section where it was mentioned. Participating in a game that is being referenced as an example is really helping me better understand the concepts that Gee is describing. While there are new additions to the version I am playing in comparison to the original game the overall premise is the same (to my knowledge thus far) since the three games are part of a larger and connected story. I am beginning to better understand the meaning of internal and external design grammar and I didn't realize it until I read the associated book sections. While I do not currently have yellow Pikmin that throw bombs I do have rock Pikmin that turn into a sort of bomb that works just as successfully at destroying walls but I have discovered that they can not be used for electric walls and thus I am actively searching to add yellow Pikmin to "my" squad. I have encountered at least six electric walls already in the first week of exploring!! I will have to see if using the rock type as a bomb kills them or not, I did pay attention to this but I don't think so since I only remembering losing Pikmin in battle.
Another example of this is that I have learned that red Pikmin are immune to fire, have higher attack power, breakdown dirt walls faster than the rock type, carrying corpses or pellets, and are the best choice in defeating the Fiery Blowhog and currently bulborbs but the rock types also can help with certain varieties of these. It was quite interesting defeating the fiery blowhog near the water since it is capable of blowing the red type into the water. The red type cannot swim!
Rock Pikmin are "solid as rocks", as noted in one of Alph's nightly logs; they are immune to blunt force, able to smash through glass and crystal (currently), cannot swim but do not sink, and carry objects faster (but I've found they sometimes need to be told twice) because they are stronger. However, they cannot latch on to targets like other types and instead bounce off and roll back but they can be thrown normally.
I first acquired this type in a cave after defeating the Medusal Slurker and then they freed their onion from the crystal and were very handy in breaking the glass wall to free Brittany.
In an effort to further reflect on my experience, I am realizing that I am utilizing problem solving skills as I searched for fruit, fought enemies, destroyed walls, and most of all that I was not upset or disappointed when I made a mistake. Although, I did have a brief moment of silence at the end of the "day" if I lost any Pikmin along the way. I realize they are meant to be expendable but I still do my best not to lose them. I take pride in the fact that I've lost only seven the first week. I am comforted in the fact that I can start the day over if necessary once I've reflected on the successes or struggles encountered in order to improve my skills and understanding. For every battle, enemy, or wall that I face is a level of risk and involves exploring the surroundings, making mistakes, and strategizing the most effective way of accomplishing the task at hand. I am intrigued to see how playing video games more will influence my everyday thinking particularly when facing unforeseen challenges. I am looking forward to exploring the remaining areas beyond those I already have access to, Tropical Wilds and Garden of Hope.
 |
| Fiery Blowhog |
 |
| Medusal Slurker |
I first acquired this type in a cave after defeating the Medusal Slurker and then they freed their onion from the crystal and were very handy in breaking the glass wall to free Brittany.
In an effort to further reflect on my experience, I am realizing that I am utilizing problem solving skills as I searched for fruit, fought enemies, destroyed walls, and most of all that I was not upset or disappointed when I made a mistake. Although, I did have a brief moment of silence at the end of the "day" if I lost any Pikmin along the way. I realize they are meant to be expendable but I still do my best not to lose them. I take pride in the fact that I've lost only seven the first week. I am comforted in the fact that I can start the day over if necessary once I've reflected on the successes or struggles encountered in order to improve my skills and understanding. For every battle, enemy, or wall that I face is a level of risk and involves exploring the surroundings, making mistakes, and strategizing the most effective way of accomplishing the task at hand. I am intrigued to see how playing video games more will influence my everyday thinking particularly when facing unforeseen challenges. I am looking forward to exploring the remaining areas beyond those I already have access to, Tropical Wilds and Garden of Hope.
Mission PVG log #3
Today I decided to challenge myself to try out another video game so I chose to try Pikmin 3 on Wii U.
The story begins explaining that the planet of Koppai has been depleted and three brave Koppaite explorers: Charlie (Captain), Alph (Alphie), and Brittany (Botanist) are sent to another planet, PNF-404 (279,000 light years away) in search of food (fruit to cultivate on their home planet). As the explorers are approaching the planet their ship, the SS Drake malfunctions and crash lands separating the 3 members on board on various parts of the planet. I spent the majority of my time playing as Alph today.
Goals for the game thus far: locating missing crew members, retrieving the "cosmic drive key" in order to return home, growing Pikmin, defeating enemies, and (of course) FINDING FRUIT. The fruit is important both because I must provide enough food for any crew members and to collect seeds to bring home.
Each "day" I select which part of the island I want to explore and I only have so much time to find fruit, grow Pikmin, and locate missing crew members. Before "sunset" I have to return the Pikmin to/near the "onion" for safe keeping from nocturnal predators. I, too remain in the Drake at night. Each night the Drake and onion fly into the sky and every morning I decide where to "land" for the day.
Lessons learned today:
*I really hope I remembered the controls in the right order... no promises)
Successes today:
.jpeg "Photo collage")
I like the notes that Alph or sometimes Brittany log at the end of each day; there's a certain level of levity in each one... perhaps since that is what I am attempting to do right now.
After-all, I'm playing a game with an "onion" and I'm ridiculously allergic outside of PNF-404. ;-)
Plus, let's be real, it looks more like a flower anyways. It just happens to have leg poles attached and can fly.
I currently have the red or fire Pikmin and am searching for the blue and yellow ones. According to cover photo, there must be at least a few new Pikmin to discover on PNF-404.
I am most excited because while I have watched Adrian play the Pikmin games preceding it; he has NOT played this game yet and thus limits my ability to ask for help. It was also pretty sweet to discover one of the new Pikmin types: the rock Pickmin. While they are bulky and can be useful they do seem to be "dumb as rocks" and need additional reminders of the correct action or response in comparison to the Red Pikmin... just being honest.
I was not expecting to play for multiple hours. I'm not even sure how many exactly but I'm at the beginning of "Day 8" now. I hope to play more tomorrow.
I am so happy that I tried this game today and I am even more happy to be excited about playing a game.
Here's to many more "lost" hours of exploring on PNF-404. I hope you enjoy the ride almost as much I know I will.
The story begins explaining that the planet of Koppai has been depleted and three brave Koppaite explorers: Charlie (Captain), Alph (Alphie), and Brittany (Botanist) are sent to another planet, PNF-404 (279,000 light years away) in search of food (fruit to cultivate on their home planet). As the explorers are approaching the planet their ship, the SS Drake malfunctions and crash lands separating the 3 members on board on various parts of the planet. I spent the majority of my time playing as Alph today.
Goals for the game thus far: locating missing crew members, retrieving the "cosmic drive key" in order to return home, growing Pikmin, defeating enemies, and (of course) FINDING FRUIT. The fruit is important both because I must provide enough food for any crew members and to collect seeds to bring home.
Each "day" I select which part of the island I want to explore and I only have so much time to find fruit, grow Pikmin, and locate missing crew members. Before "sunset" I have to return the Pikmin to/near the "onion" for safe keeping from nocturnal predators. I, too remain in the Drake at night. Each night the Drake and onion fly into the sky and every morning I decide where to "land" for the day.
Lessons learned today:
- moving, navigating a character (left control stick)
- changing camera angle (right control stick)
- how to control Pikmin*
- X- throws Pikmin
- ZR- blows whistle (calls them back)
- ZL- locks on to a target/enemy
- Y- switch leaders
- A- pluck new Pikmin from ground/retrieve or return Pikmin to "onion" (more on that later)
- B- dismissed Pikmin (self-sort into groups)
- L- selecting Pikmin type
- R- moves camera behind leader
- throwing another leader (Brittany) when something is out of reach and switching control between the two leaders
- choosing Pikmin based on their strengths/abilities
- protecting the Pikmin from danger (I've lost 7 so far, pretty good for my first try I think)
*I really hope I remembered the controls in the right order... no promises)Successes today:
- locating/rescuing Brittany
- locating 5 different types of fruit
- Sunseed Berry
- Face Wrinkler
- Zest Bomb
- Pocked Airhead
- Delectable Bouquet
I like the notes that Alph or sometimes Brittany log at the end of each day; there's a certain level of levity in each one... perhaps since that is what I am attempting to do right now.
After-all, I'm playing a game with an "onion" and I'm ridiculously allergic outside of PNF-404. ;-)
Plus, let's be real, it looks more like a flower anyways. It just happens to have leg poles attached and can fly.
I currently have the red or fire Pikmin and am searching for the blue and yellow ones. According to cover photo, there must be at least a few new Pikmin to discover on PNF-404.
I was not expecting to play for multiple hours. I'm not even sure how many exactly but I'm at the beginning of "Day 8" now. I hope to play more tomorrow.
I am so happy that I tried this game today and I am even more happy to be excited about playing a game.
Here's to many more "lost" hours of exploring on PNF-404. I hope you enjoy the ride almost as much I know I will.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Mission PVG log #2
Earlier tonight I had mentioned that I should try and play but when we got back it wasn't easy to actually try it. Adrian is very supportive and I know how important it is to him that we are able to "game together". I don't know if I feel like I learned much since I was trying various combinations without any real retention of what buttons I was pressing and what those buttons did. However, it was fun to watch my character flip through the air and somehow complete a combo that garnered a compliment or surprised exclamation from Adrian.
Now after playing, my thumbs are sore (I hear more laughter), my eyes are still wide, and my heartbeat seems slightly faster than normal. Hopefully I'll get to the point that I can play against Adrian and not lose immediately or as badly. I'd like to think that I did pretty well against the CPU. There are so many freaking buttons on the Classic Wii controller. I don't know how I'll keep them all straight aside from the jump buttons (x, y) which I seemed to press when I meant to press attack (b) or special moves (a) which apparently occur in combination with directional control stick.
I am pretty proud that I didn't talk myself out of it or choose to continue reading instead of trying it out. I know I didn't play too long and that I need to change the dialogue in my head if I really want to enjoy playing. Maybe I should try playing with a mirror around too... I'm sure I'm making all kinds of faces in my attempts to battle my opponent (tonight it was Link) and I played first as Kirby and then as Mario in the training mode.
In all honesty I can't say that my goal is to win but "... let me be brave in my attempt" still seems like a fitting half motto/quote and currently the more important focus for me. For now I will continue to try, try, try, and try some more.
I consider gaming a privilege more than a pastime and I am very new to almost everything related. I did not grow up with technology and only saw Nintendo games when my cousins played on their NES 2 Player Pak or game mat and considering how shy I was as a child; my cousins were hilarious to watch on the game mat.... ahhh the good ol' days.
For now I can add a few more minutes to my gameplay tally and begin thinking of what I might like to try next until I find one that grabs my attention. Thankfully Adrian has plenty for me to choose from and if not he's completely open to me buying something new.
Happy gaming everyone!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Mission PVG Log #1
So last night I decided to take a small game towards Mission "PVG" (Play Video Games) set before me and play a "potty game" called Marble Drop where the goal is to drop colored marbles to solve the puzzles or mazes with each level adding a new element of difficulty or a new color. I've made it to level 7 thus far which involves color matching two marbles to make a third color. Oh yea, and it's timed; each level has a goal time which seems to be revealed after your first attempt so I've been repeating levels until I get all 3 stars awarded per level. So far it is quite enjoyable.
I also came across a game called, Pachinko Forever and was initially lured by the multi-colored infinity symbol logo. I had never heard of Pachinko until I was talking to Adrian about the games and I learned that it was similar to Plinko... and who doesn't love PLINKO!?!?! This game definitely requires less strategy or at least that is the approach I'm taking. I like firing the balls rapidly more than shooting them one at a time.
The board is very colorful. I love the colorful interface and that there are several different bonus games rather than only one which I'll explain shortly.
It is fairly easy to earn a new points "accolade"...
While also trying to encourage you continue playing to reach the next one that is X more points away. Aren't the colored stars particularly festive?? I think so.
or points...
In this example you get a certain number of balls and you roll them into rings to determine how many extra points you earn, the inner circle (10x), followed by 4x, 2x and finally the largest ring is 1x bonus. In this case my rolls equaled 8x for a total of 240 points.
or another award to earn bonus balls.
The golden ball spinner awards "golden balls" that are worth 10x the usual amount (i.e 50 points becomes 500 and so on) and whichever number you land on is the number of balls you are awarded and the greater your chance to increase your overall game points.
Lastly, this is the matching game to earn bonus points but the caveat is that for every mismatched pair a tile turns red is no longer available.
I am intrigued to see where both of these games lead and how they will try to keep my engaged and interested. I think this was a good start toward my bigger goal of playing videos games more regularly. These games were a nice break from reading. Next phase is trying at least one of the two games in my newly created Steam account.
What happened: My mentor suggested I try Marble Drop and I stumbled across Pachinko Forever
How did I respond: I played longer than I initially intended but in a short amount of time. It helped clear my mind and absorb the material I had read prior.
Why did I respond this way: I wasn't expecting to be as drawn in by the games as much as I was but it did help keep my migraine/headache at bay which enabled me to read more after a short break which is a definite plus considering there are so many pages "to be consumed" and absorbed.
P.S. I'm excited I was able to add pictures.
Quirky and colorful... over and out
I also came across a game called, Pachinko Forever and was initially lured by the multi-colored infinity symbol logo. I had never heard of Pachinko until I was talking to Adrian about the games and I learned that it was similar to Plinko... and who doesn't love PLINKO!?!?! This game definitely requires less strategy or at least that is the approach I'm taking. I like firing the balls rapidly more than shooting them one at a time.
The board is very colorful. I love the colorful interface and that there are several different bonus games rather than only one which I'll explain shortly.
It is fairly easy to earn a new points "accolade"...
While also trying to encourage you continue playing to reach the next one that is X more points away. Aren't the colored stars particularly festive?? I think so.
or points...
In this example you get a certain number of balls and you roll them into rings to determine how many extra points you earn, the inner circle (10x), followed by 4x, 2x and finally the largest ring is 1x bonus. In this case my rolls equaled 8x for a total of 240 points.
or another award to earn bonus balls.
The golden ball spinner awards "golden balls" that are worth 10x the usual amount (i.e 50 points becomes 500 and so on) and whichever number you land on is the number of balls you are awarded and the greater your chance to increase your overall game points.
Lastly, this is the matching game to earn bonus points but the caveat is that for every mismatched pair a tile turns red is no longer available.
I am intrigued to see where both of these games lead and how they will try to keep my engaged and interested. I think this was a good start toward my bigger goal of playing videos games more regularly. These games were a nice break from reading. Next phase is trying at least one of the two games in my newly created Steam account.
What happened: My mentor suggested I try Marble Drop and I stumbled across Pachinko Forever
How did I respond: I played longer than I initially intended but in a short amount of time. It helped clear my mind and absorb the material I had read prior.
Why did I respond this way: I wasn't expecting to be as drawn in by the games as much as I was but it did help keep my migraine/headache at bay which enabled me to read more after a short break which is a definite plus considering there are so many pages "to be consumed" and absorbed.
P.S. I'm excited I was able to add pictures.
Quirky and colorful... over and out
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)