tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32281413453714455172024-02-20T21:50:00.014-07:00Thoughts in BaritoneShort stories/scenes or talk about games/thoughts on life. All in a smooth baritone.Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-59075745168529567942013-08-07T04:48:00.000-06:002013-08-07T04:55:30.539-06:00A Look into the Fowl - part 1 Hey everyone! So I was thinking that I haven't written in ages and I wanted to try something new and see how I like it. I'm taking a page from an entertaining blogger, Mark Reads (<a href="http://markreads.net/">http://markreads.net</a>) who is pretty hilarious as well as insightful. Basically, he reads through a book and then posts a blog on that chapter. He has book predictions and insights with a mix of freaking out that seems common on the internet. Now, I was thinking of reading The Way of Kings again and doing that but then I remembered that I'm not suicidal nor overly insane. The Way of Kings is freaking <i>long</i>! Instead I'm going to reread The Artemis Fowl books and do those! They are easy to read and I love them. I can't really do the same thing as Mark since I've read these before so I suppose it'll be more like the rereads that take place on TOR.com? I honestly haven't read them but the idea should be similar. These may be boring, they may be pointless but I <i>will</i> try to finish at least the first book. If it goes well I may continue and keep writing on reading. Then read more well written writings and write further on said readings. Pip pip and all that.<br />
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First: a small bit of background on Artemis Fowl as well as our history. Not me and Artemis himself, of course, but my enjoyment of the series. Artemis Fowl is a book series by Eoin Colfer published in 2001 through 2012 in which the eighth and final book was published. I own and have read the first 6 but not the last two. Should I get that far, you'll be getting my first impressions! In any case, I read the first few as they came out and I slowly stopped reading them as soon as they released. It wasn't that they aren't good but my attention span was even shorter then than it is now and every time a new book came out I wanted to reread the older ones. It was just too much effort and I fell out of reading the series. That was around book 4. So I've read these books a number of times before and as we go further into the series I'll know them less well. Even so, it has been a long time and I've never before gleaned as much as I could from them but rather read it as a light story. That isn't bad but now I'm going to try and look deeper, sharing anything I find with you! Now, on to the actual meat of this blog!<br />
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<b>Prologue</b></div>
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The prologue here is short and sweet. Barely a full page of writing, if even. As such there isn't much to get from it but it does set up a few key points. Artemis Fowl is a genius of unknown capacity and he dedicates said brilliance to criminal endeavors. The story is "written" by someone who has studied these events as an outside observer via firsthand accounts. However, it is mostly written as a normal story with only the prologue and epilogue reading as a case study. The other things to note here are that it takes place in early 2000s, Artemis's family fortune is lost somehow and he is currently 12 years old. </div>
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<b>Chapter 1</b></div>
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<u>Here's what happens:</u> Artemis Fowl and Butler are introduced in Ho Chi Minh City looking for something. They meet up with an informant, Nguyen (which I still can never pronounce for the life of me. Seriously. Nguyen.), and after thoroughly scaring the man, they are led to an old healer with mottled green skin. After they find her Artemis pays the man and strikes a deal with the healer who is, in fact a sprite of some kind. A fairy, if you will. She is addicted to alcohol and with this; Atremis ruthlessly poisons her, giving her some made from holy water. In exchange for a cure as well as something to restore her to her previous magical, non-addicted self, he wants a her book. Make that her Book; it is capitalized with all the importance of a proper noun. He only wants it for 30 minutes. After she agrees he has Butler take pictures of it and sends those pictures back to the Fowl computer servers via email. There is some history on the Butler family and then we learn a bit more about how Artemis operates.</div>
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<u>Characterization:</u> Alright, so that's what generally happens but what do we learn? What can we take away from this about the characters? Well, the only two that really matter here are Artemis and Butler so let's start with Butler, a side character. Butler is a bad-ass. That's really the best descriptor for the man. He is Eurasian which is a mix of (gasp!) European and Asian. He is giant. We don't actually get much description in this chapter, instead we let our imaginations run wild with the beast of a man. We learn that all the Butlers get training in many skills to guard members of the Fowl family. Starting at ten they learn "Cordon Bleu cooking, marksmanship, a customized martial arts form, emergency medicine, and information technology". Butler has been serving Artemis for the entirety of the young Fowl's life and in fact, is the closest he has to a father figure. We also learn that he trusts Artemis implicitly though isn't above asking about his plans for clarification. He has full faith in him and is unwavering in his loyalty. He is ruthless as is seen when he breaks a pickpocket's fingers without even looking his way.</div>
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Next up is Artemis. Artemis Fowl II to be precise. Physically, he is a very pale and thin boy. IN fact, he is described as vampiric. It's actually pretty difficult to separate my own knowledge from what we learn only in this chapter. He seems to remain very calm and is highly observant. He is persistent in his goals as they looked at 6 places that all turned up as nothing before they got this find. His observational skills are shown early in his interaction with Nguyen and it's actually very similar to the film or television adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. He seems very ruthless and also enjoys tormenting the informant. However, while he may enjoy it, I believe he did it for the more practical reason of making him more pliable and less likely to try anything to offset his plans somehow. One thing is made clear in this chapter: Artemis doesn't leave things to chance if he can help it. He does as much research as he can on the subject before even beginning his venture (which, considering he is dealing with fairies is actually very impressive as he has to sort out facts from the bull). He poisons the fairy healer in order to assure her cooperation, he makes sure to send the picture files of the Book back to his home so they wouldn't be accidentally wiped by airport security, and at the end of the chapter we learned that he let the fairy live so that The People (who are just mentioned barely) wouldn't suspect anything. He assumes that the fairy wouldn't talk about her showing the Book to a human but to make sure of it, he slipped a mild amnesiac into her second injection so that the entire last week will be nothing but a blur. He operates like a chess grand-master and is always two steps ahead. Something else I'd like to point out is that Butler is surprised that Artemis didn't have her killed. This implies to me that he has done so before as a way to avoid arousing suspicion. Oh yes, and Artemis is Irish. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really like Artemis Fowl stuff done in an anime style...</td></tr>
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I didn't get much else out of these first chapters though we did learn that fairies can fly and also are magical in both nature and abilities. They can heal and normally are (supposedly) able to use it offensively as well. One thing I have to include is the list of weaponry Butler has just on his person during this outing: "... has a Sig Sauer in his shoulder holster, two shrike-throwing knives in his boots, a derringer two-shot up his sleeve, garrotte wire in his watch, and three stun grenades concealed in various pockets. ... Oh, yes. a good old ball-bearing cosh stuffed down his shirt." Also, "No, Butler could kill you a hundred different ways without the use of his weapons. Though I'm sure one would be quite sufficient." I'd like to reiterate that Butler is a <i>bad-ass.</i><br />
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My general impressions of this first chapter are positive (naturally) it makes the characters intriguing and pulls you into the story by making you wonder just what is going on; what are the fairies really, who are these two people, and most importantly: what do they have planned? I unfortunately already know the answers to these but it'll be interesting to see how things go as I look into each chunk of the book more in depth. I'll probably do more than one chapter at a time but it's really late and this took longer than I suspected as it is. Hope you enjoyed! If so, you should let me know and I'll feel that I'm doing this for more than just myself. Not that I mind of course, it's a good exercise even if I didn't want to read these books again! The hardest part will be putting it down and writing these out!</div>
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Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-21604631850108165592013-01-09T18:28:00.000-07:002013-01-09T19:11:57.025-07:00Vaelina's Resolve The answer was death. It had taken a long time for Vaelina to come to that conclusion but it really was her best course of action. The light of the moon cast an eerie glow over the cliff edge and the silent figure standing at its edge. It was high enough she figured; if it wasn't and she missed all the rocks, the water would certainly finish the job. She looked to her feet, a flash of doubt coming into her eyes. With a few thoughts she banished it, however. This wasn't a decision she had come to lightly...<br />
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Tears were flowing freely down Vaelina's cheeks and she watched the second coffin descend into the sodden earth. She felt as though it should be raining but the world didn't follow her emotions. At least the sun wasn't shining and instead there were clouds covering the sky, thick with a downpour to come. It was as if the sky was trying to hold back its tears at the death of her children. The murder of her children. This coffin was small, and it held her youngest, a daughter named Marie. She had only been nearly a year old and her son had just had his fourth birthday. Geoffrey and Marie were her reason to live. They comprised her entire purpose in life and making sure they grew up well and happy was everything she wanted. Watching them was the only thing that made her happy. <br />
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Her husband, Lord Terrence Practon, wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a show of comfort for the other nobles who had attended out of respect for the distinguished – and quite rich – Lord Practon. She flinched away instinctively but he held her firm. Her tears started to slow though her sadness hadn't ebbed in the least. She was growing angry; she was angry at The Powers, the world's cruelty, but most of all she was angry at her husband. She loathed him. Hated him. Despite this, there was nothing she could do to that would help. </div>
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Vaelina had been married to Lord Practon in the typical manner. Her father had seen his growing popularity and wealth so he forged a link between their houses using her to do so. At first she had been against the idea. She had always imagined finding the right man herself and her father would either approve or they would run away together, maybe head for Alandrast where you could live in peace so long as you weren't powerful. That wasn't how it happened though and she couldn't help being disappointed. However, it was short lived and she decided she'd make the most of her situation and be happy in spite of her father. She began to ask around about her betrothed and learned quite a bit from other nobles that visited her father. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to leave the manor and ask more reliable sources so that her purity would be the same as it was when her dowry was agreed upon. She was fairly pleased with her father's choice though. Lord Terrence Practon was said to be gentle and kind with everyone, even his servants. He was loved by many in court and she was a point of admiration by the other noble women for landing such a fine husband. He was originally thought weak due to his gentle disposition but he proved a shrewd and ruthless businessman and smooth-talker. He won favor of many prominent houses which quickly made him many lucrative deals increasing his prominence further. Some still looked down on him since his money wasn't old but few cared enough about that when he was such an important figure.</div>
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They were married soon after the original arrangements and her life seemed to be looking up. He stood in front of her with the priest at their side and his eyes seemed to pierce her soul forcing her to suppress a shudder. They had never seen the other before and his eyes seemed... hungry. She tore her eyes away from his to look at him and he was even more handsome than the rumors had led her to believe. He was not too heavily muscled as he is noble but quite well sculpted. His face was handsome and she had never dreamed she'd even see a man so beautiful. His jaw was firm and he smiled lightly. When she looked back at his eyes they were soft and kind. She completely forgot her initial impression.</div>
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Disillusioned was the best term she could think of for herself. The other was often stupid but that's hardly best. Her husband wasn't the angel he was known as socially but a demon in disguise. Her side ached from the most recent night he was home. Most of the other bruises had faded but not this one. It was still large and discolored her skin along most of her lower ribs. He had kicked her hard in the ribs. He never hurt her face though. If one of his <i>noble</i> friends wanted to spend time talking or drinking at Practon's manor she couldn't have her face affected. If she misbehaved even slightly during these visits the beatings were worse that night. She fought back each time but she was small and he could easily overpower her even when drunk. She wasn't the only one he mistreated either; the servants were terrified and for good reason. He was good about not killing them but he could make their existence miserable. No one would care either should he decide to outright torture them. They were only servants. Apparently the rumor of his kindness was from social events and that none of his slaves had died from beatings since he arrived. None of them would dare raise a hand to help her. To them, she was just a bad as him for being born noble and she deserved how he treated her. </div>
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It had been a couple weeks since he was back and things had started to seem peaceful. She was trying to devise a way to escape or fix things but it wasn't going well. As his wife she was his property and had very few rights. If she tried to leave the country they would check for her noble markings (and see her wife's brand) and be refused exit without her husband. She couldn't just run away and stay either and he would organize a search and the beating that would follow being found... It was unimaginable. She knew that staying here alone was pointless and would only bring her more misery and pain but she was scared. She couldn't help it. She wanted to fight back and disobey or leave and escape but anything she did was met with such pain... Her best recourse seemed to be trying to sneak past the border patrol and so, decided, she was going through her preparations to leave so she could the next time her husband did. That way it would be longer before anyone noticed her absence. However, as she was going over things in her head she realized something. She was late. It wasn't just a day either as that wasn't too unusual for her. She was nearly a week late. She was pregnant. It wasn't all that surprising considering every beating had been followed with her husband satisfying himself but it was still shocking. Nothing could have prepared her for the feeling inside her as she knew she was mother to her child. <i>Her </i>child.</div>
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She knew she couldn't leave while she was pregnant as she would barely be able to provide for herself even if she <i>managed</i> to get out. She had to protect her child at all costs, including her own well being. For the duration of the pregnancy her husband nearly killed dozens of servants since he was unable to do so to her. Afterwards he naturally took many of them the same way he would have with her. They were all his property and he could do as he pleased. Only <i>she</i> held his heir. Once the child was born her old situation came back to her but in spite of her anger and desire to leave she needed to do what was best for her children. She had some reprieve around a year later during her second pregnancy. Unfortunately her second son was silent as he was brought into the world already having passed from it. It wasn't long after that her bones were being set by a doctor for her "fall" down the stairs. She was only mostly healed when her life returned to its hellish ways. Her son was growing up though and about two years old. He was handsome and bright for a child. A few months later Vaelina was pregnant once more. After bringing Marie into the world, she was happy to keep her <i>husband</i>'s attention on her instead of the children.</div>
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A year passed in the typical manner but one night was different. Geoffery had just turned four a few days ago and felt like a real man. Lord Practon was already drunk when he got home and he drank even more. The way he was looking at Vaelina made her wish she had some way to dull the pain. That evening he was more brutal than normal and she was aching all over, multiple bruises forming. He had just broken her arm eliciting her first scream of the night and he grinned wickedly. She looked up at him and saw him grinning down like a feral demon excited by the blood and pain. He told her to get up for him. She knew if she didn't he may break more of her bones so favoring one arm she pushed herself up and to her feet. Anger and pain flashed through her eyes as he grabbed her broken arm. Seeing resistance in her he instinctively backhanded her across the face, splitting her lip and knocking her back to the ground. Head ringing, she looked looked up through blurry eyes in time to see her son come in and run at her husband. He spun around, grabbed him and threw him back toward the door where his head impacted with the edge hard and he fell to the floor, utterly still. The ringing in her ears started to clear and she heard Marie's screaming and crying from the crib nearby. Head aching and still rattled she was torn between which child to run to. She needed to go to both but couldn't get up. As she was struggling to clear her head and help her children, Lord Practon stalked over to the crib and kicked it hard. It flew across the room and landed sideways, ejecting the contents even further. The room was silent except for the ringing in her ears.</div>
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Vaelina lay in her bed after the funeral hating the man next to her. He ruined her life, beat her regularly, killed her children, and had the gall to try to keep up appearances by comforting her in public. She couldn't do anything about it though. The story was of a break in by a servant angry at the nobles. Practon had killed one of them to make the story more believable His body had been tossed into the desert to the east for the animals: the most shameful treatment of a body there is. Vaelina wished that it was her husband treated that way but no one would believe her even if she did anything. If she confronted her husband directly he would lock her away where she couldn't do anything. Anyone else would think she had lost her mind along with her children and she would be locked up elsewhere. She wasn't allowed to get a divorce unless he wanted one and that wasn't going to happen. Escape was even more unlikely with him staying home for a while to "keep her safe". There was only one thing left.</div>
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Vaelina looked at the water below the cliff. It was beautiful; the rushing water reflected the moonlight. She had always been thoughtful and resourceful. Now, after her five years of marriage, she was also more experienced than any other 20 years old in the country. Her marriage had been miserable and there was nothing left for her here. There was only one thing left to do... She steeled her nerve and pushed the unconscious drugged body of her husband off the ledge. She watched as her old life fell limply toward its end. It was high enough she couldn't hear a thing as the bastard's body crashed violently against the rocks and water below. The answer was death.<br />
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Wiping her hands she walked off south in the moonlight toward Alandrast to find her future. She was hopeful it would be happy but she knew better than to be too hopeful so she walked on. The warmth of freedom from her bonds tinged with the cold of losing her children settled across her shoulders. Her thoughts were running in circles so she focused on her plans to cross the border without getting caught and contingencies for if she walked, alone. However, she wasn't actually alone. Death must have though her a fine traveling companion and he walked with her, unseen, smiling at the thought of taking her husband where he belonged and the future of Vaelina who he really was rather fond of.</div>
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Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-35742570780327797872012-11-17T10:44:00.000-07:002012-11-17T10:44:27.156-07:00Exploits and Bugs Assignment<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was my assignment for the first week of my class and I felt like it made a good blog post so I hope you enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br />Pick a game you've played and discuss two bugs or exploits you encountered while playing. You will need to play close attention in order to find some of these bugs, but they are there. Write 250 words with your analysis. In order get full credit the analysis must include:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Title, genre, and platform of the game</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How much time you played in order to discover 2 exploits</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Full description of the bugs - what happened, when, where, what were you doing</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Discuss if the bugs are software or design related</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suggest a possible solution for the bugs </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> As I began thinking about this assignment I was going over
various exploits that I had found and used or decided against using more than
particular bugs I had found. Since the
main two things I’m going to describe are exploits I will also include a third
encounter with an easily explained bug I stumbled into.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The
first exploit I’ll get into is the simpler of the two and one I discovered completely
on my own. Skyrim is an enormous open
world role-playing game which allows you to play in a ton of different
ways. It has more rich content than any
other game I’ve played; it follows that it’s also one of the buggier games due
to that though. I play it on the
PlayStation 3 and discovered this with my second character, so probably between
twenty-five and thirty hours of gameplay.
The exploit is quite simple: when you pay a trainer to teach you,
upgrading your skill, the money goes into their inventory and when those
trainers are your followers you can access that inventory retrieving that
money. So one of the early followers,
Faendal, can train you in archery up to I believe 50 skill level. You can only be trained five times per level
but near the start it doesn’t take much more than that to level up. Faendal can be you follower and then after
you train, ask to trade some things with him and take your money right
back. Not only does this allow you to level up very
quickly, you also get a useful, if not main, combat skill upgraded. Personally, I decided not to use this since
it cheapened the game for me. I tend to
feel this way about exploits but for the most part I don’t mind them being in a
game. This one would be a pretty easy to
fix one though as it’s a design feature.
You could simply remove the gold from the world entirely when you pay
for a trainer though this would slightly lessen immersion since it would just
vanish. A better solution would be to
put that money into the same type of inventory that keeps their clothes and
extra weapons. For example, Faendal will
always have a set of clothes, a dagger, and a bow no matter how much you take
from his inventory. Then, you could have
that gold drop should you choose to kill him.
The inventory you can access could be more of what he’s holding for
you. He wouldn’t likely just give you
back all the money he earned from teaching you after all. The gold could also be reset every so many in
game days as well, just like most containers in the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4W8ClYag6xa2V6Y5QEE3j4poLgSk-QNHwmyQqok1iF5mlbN9U8t41bVdXkHmGD9fmARiOOkLS-8jgKGSIKien_KeV9bPUfKySKMrUnRdVPExRZuUB4Jesfby3s32h5eyAP6_AmwleQ/s1600/faendal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4W8ClYag6xa2V6Y5QEE3j4poLgSk-QNHwmyQqok1iF5mlbN9U8t41bVdXkHmGD9fmARiOOkLS-8jgKGSIKien_KeV9bPUfKySKMrUnRdVPExRZuUB4Jesfby3s32h5eyAP6_AmwleQ/s320/faendal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can never decide if he bothers me or not...<br />Ah well, better than Sven! Bloody Bards -.-</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This
next exploit is quite a bit more complicated so I’ll try to keep it
simple. Fire Emblem on the Gameboy
Advance is a tactical/strategic role-playing game. I discovered the feature (as it is intended,
just not exploiting it) on my own after about maybe 4 hours in or so the first
time I lost a character. When I
restarted the game, it loaded right before the fight and I just lost the
character again. In essence I had
discovered the slightly less than random Random Number Generator (RNG from now
on). I didn’t really understand though
and only got a better inkling later when I leveled up after a fight and had
almost nothing upgrade for my character. I wanted to make sure I hadn’t done
something wrong so I looked it up. I only
properly understood with a fair amount of research about it on my part. Fire Emblem uses a series of numbers
previously generated that range from 0 to 99.
Every time there is a random event in the game such as hit chance,
critical chance, chance of a special one-hit-KO activating, stats improving at
level up, etc. it uses one to two numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ln6AbeWPfdZTTnb6RWxwlkCq04946qwXDZKPGuQ9i81VcRQQ0XqFj63RmjxHiXTdemoeUvw3hMMZSsemrhOkxMSWz0KyqrCf0QbZ07zmvTVh4SRgcc35Ik8ewxCzXn3bu9zk7ROwLw/s1600/Fire_Emblem_7_Wallpaper_by_DoomDragon103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ln6AbeWPfdZTTnb6RWxwlkCq04946qwXDZKPGuQ9i81VcRQQ0XqFj63RmjxHiXTdemoeUvw3hMMZSsemrhOkxMSWz0KyqrCf0QbZ07zmvTVh4SRgcc35Ik8ewxCzXn3bu9zk7ROwLw/s320/Fire_Emblem_7_Wallpaper_by_DoomDragon103.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The method for exploitation comes
from the numbers all having been set up before you start and using the movement
paths to figure out if they are generally “high” or “low”. Say one character can move five spaces. You set the movement path as one right, one
down, two left, and one up. You have
used the max amount of movement to go one space left. If you move the path one more space up, what
path will be drawn? Will it be up then
left or left then up? The creators
decided to use the RNG to determine this.
If the next number is “high” (50-99) it will be left or right first and
if it is “low” (0-49) it will be a vertical path first. So you save the game (it autoaves after every
confirmed action) and check movements from which you can get a list of high or
low values. Then you reset the game and
you have a general list of all the random rolls you’ll get. It’s impossible to be perfectly precise but
this is still a huge advantage. In fire
emblem, lower is better. If the chance
of getting a crit is 25 percent then a value below 25 will succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To use this knowledge you can
either figure out the projected battle outcomes or use it to dramatically
improve your stat gains. The latter is
more interesting and the only thing I considered using it for. First, get a character close to level up and next
to an enemy they can kill. Then make a
list of high and low values from the paths and find a string of mostly low
values (7 is the best since that is how many stats might be improved). Then you work backwards; you attack first,
the hit chance is calculated with <i>two</i>
numbers in every game released outside Japan, and if you hit, then there is a
number for the critical chance. If the
enemy survives then they get the same thing (if they miss, there isn’t a number
used for the critical roll) before a second attack that once again uses 3
numbers. So if you are killing the enemy
with one move it will only take the 3 numbers before. If, however, you are killing them after their
retaliation then it will be seven to nine numbers before (depending on if you
miss the first attack and if they hit). Once you figure that out, you load up
the save before you calculated the numbers and use the same trick of the path
to use up the numbers before where the attacks should start. After all your work, the character will level
up and get a large number of their stats increased making them much more powerful
than they would probably be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrqXJ9ti1ajcBQ7SUqfzKxh8tuUiYh1S_G3yQSo_XyHGVw-q_bbhm-vNb7MFxh2Pg6CdZ1ubgPvD95VrU9t0us7b1-B-nPUrL6FoNgnIIP-1Cm8rJefcuAZczjSZZDtft5X6K7iu4hg/s1600/fire+emblem+upgrades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrqXJ9ti1ajcBQ7SUqfzKxh8tuUiYh1S_G3yQSo_XyHGVw-q_bbhm-vNb7MFxh2Pg6CdZ1ubgPvD95VrU9t0us7b1-B-nPUrL6FoNgnIIP-1Cm8rJefcuAZczjSZZDtft5X6K7iu4hg/s320/fire+emblem+upgrades.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This would make me smile.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personally, I find this exploit to
be not only a ton of work but not important.
I find it more interesting to have the random aspects of the leveling up
prevalent. It increases both excitement
and replayability for me. If the makers
wanted to take this capability out of the game there are a few methods I
thought up. You could have the numbers
recalculated every time you load up the game but then people could do something
similar where they just keep reloading to get a good outcome. A much better and simpler method would be to
have the paths prioritize going either horizontal or vertical (I’m partial to
vertical). Then there would be no way to
determine what the RNG numbers are even generally and it would be as if the
game was generating a number every time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, as I mentioned, I did want to
do a third one quickly on the bug I found a while back. My sister and I were playing Lego Harry
Potter, an action adventure game, on PlayStation 3 when we encountered a
game-breaking glitch. We were playing
very thoroughly and it was around 75 percent of the way through so we had
probably played somewhere around 15 hours.
This was a software glitch, unlike the last two exploits. We jumped into a trapdoor, down into a secret
area. It autosaved as we entered that
place but after solving the puzzle, the thing that was supposed to bounce us up
and out didn’t actually get us out, just up.
No matter what we did, we couldn’t leave that small room and since it
had saved, there was no way to continue.
We had to quit and eventually play back up to that point. They did fix this but at the time it was
completely awful. To fix it, I assume
they fixed either the launcher or the room exit location so that it would
actually get you out when it was supposed to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgee0U2SOBx2yVmF9U8WM7Exyi7dGLYSSZDX0VGzi8KTT6qEjTfsYXOIc60wF7fX9-tIYuBGOyMdl80eqPK8NTblNFbsXs2Kh5EqCsT0G3URleo1jX-OLKYcNh6vRol2d4svXG0XzP2-w/s1600/Lego-Harry-Potter-Years-1-4-Wii-Screenshot-15large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgee0U2SOBx2yVmF9U8WM7Exyi7dGLYSSZDX0VGzi8KTT6qEjTfsYXOIc60wF7fX9-tIYuBGOyMdl80eqPK8NTblNFbsXs2Kh5EqCsT0G3URleo1jX-OLKYcNh6vRol2d4svXG0XzP2-w/s320/Lego-Harry-Potter-Years-1-4-Wii-Screenshot-15large.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sirius only kind of dies. Cause... He's a Lego.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All RNG details were obtained from:<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> “Random
Number Generator FAQ” by Misael Villegas <br />
http://faqs.ign.com/articles/520/520430p1.html</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-11892640756131636102012-11-07T20:59:00.000-07:002012-11-07T20:59:53.225-07:00On Magic I was having trouble thinking up something to talk about for this blog but I still felt like writing. I wanted to type and I wanted to create. There really wasn't anything coming to my head though so I decided to go back to some old topics I've considered writing on. Now, I'm no expert by any stretch of the word on writing. Despite that, I'd like to talk about magic systems in writing. Most specifically "soft" and "hard" magic systems. A lot of this information and these opinions are from a small work Brandon Sanderson did called "Sanderson's First Law" and I may touch on some topics he wrote in his second law as well. Here's a link if you'd rather read about the laws: <a href="http://brandonsanderson.com/article/40/Sandersons-First-Law">http://brandonsanderson.com/article/40/Sandersons-First-Law</a>. <br />
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So magic is incredibly interesting. In many novels it is the driving force behind all the politics, adventure, mysteries, etc. Magic often helps if not outright carries the plot. This isn't a bad thing necessarily! In the Harry Potter Books, magic is so central to everything in the wizarding world and all the story can be linked to magical events or magic itself. Harry Potter is also fantastic so this clearly isn't bad. Magic is a wondrous force of some kind that helps define the fantasy genre though isn't required for it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtaToHv3I3OBUHk2uHKwK3Nl_7NSCTSWJH7svpU8C5V4FBPGV1dqa-aZdyzk4X42jOjURAcmBKWAps7PmvtY4jByodN0yzdlBl9ov3r5_ojTCjmzQaWros5MSQlGMomyOtLlTcJjElA/s1600/magical-ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtaToHv3I3OBUHk2uHKwK3Nl_7NSCTSWJH7svpU8C5V4FBPGV1dqa-aZdyzk4X42jOjURAcmBKWAps7PmvtY4jByodN0yzdlBl9ov3r5_ojTCjmzQaWros5MSQlGMomyOtLlTcJjElA/s320/magical-ball.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Let's look at what I mentioned briefly: soft and hard magic. Nothing about magic is defined in reality and fantasy can throw out the rules it wants to anyway so long as there's a good enough explanation. However, some magic has very little explanation and this is called soft magic. A lot of Sanderson's first law deals with how much characters can rely on the magic for your plot to be successful. The less well explained the magic is the less it can be relied on or it will feel too much like deus ex machina. That doesn't mean soft magic systems have no place in books mind you! Just that the heroes can't solve all their problems with it. For example, in Lord of the Rings there isn't much explanation of what Wizards are or how they do their magic nor the elvish magic. Despite this there is well used magic throughout that doesn't hurt the story.<br />
<br />
An example of hard magic that comes to mind is in one of Sanderson's books, Mistborn. Other than that I'm having trouble thinking of any good examples... In Mistborn, the magic system is called Allomancy and the rules are defined very sharply. They are also pretty simple for the most part and it's in tandem with everything else that makes it exciting. There are also a few unexplained (to start) exceptions to the rules that keep a good amount of mystery. <br />
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Most magic systems are much more in between than these examples and lean one way or another. Harry Potter has a pretty soft magic system. Some things are explained but for the most part you can do whatever you'd like with magic. However, the characters cannot due to skill or experience so they still have to rely on using other things to solve their problems quite often. An example of a mostly hard magic system is the alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist. You could actually make an argument that this system of magic is entirely a hard system but it's tough to draw any lines with these. In Fullmetal Alchemist you are able to transmute a set of materials to their equivalent in a different form. If you want to make wood you need the proper elements to do so: to my knowledge that's entirely hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. So if you take something with carbon such as coal (which also has hydrogen and oxygen by the way) with the right amount of water you could create a tree. Which means you could also create paper or a clock's body (you'd probably need metal for the gears). However, it takes a lot of study as well to not only know how things are composed and work but how to concentrate just right with the magic symbol thing (transmutation circle). They don't ever really explain why those are necessary (I don't think) nor why the main character doesn't need one. So there are soft elements to the system, it isn't utterly explained. Also, as a side note, what energy does it use to fuel the change? Is it something inside the alchemist? And what makes the glow?!<br />
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I have to say, I enjoy hard magic more than soft magic as the constraints make for the most interesting methods and situations. For example, should you not have as much mass as the person you are "pushing' in Mistborn you will go flying backward, not them, but if there is something with more mass like a building or the ground on the opposite side then the other person will go flying. This allows for not only interesting battles but also clever tricks like using coins on the ground to "jump" around the city. The possibilities for situations are incredible as well as difficulties for the characters in other ways. In essence, I like what the constraints add to the story and the feel of the magic over the wonder and potential power given by most softer systems. Hard magic makes me think and it makes my mind fly through possibilities then the author surprises me with their use anyway. It's clever and exciting!<br />
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One last thing I want to mention is the main aspect of Sanderson's Second Law: "Limitations > Powers". In essence, it is the limitations of magic that often make them interesting. Using Mistborn as an example again, the allomancer needs to have the metal (we'll go with steel for this one) ingested. Steel allows you to use your weight to push on metal with your own mass (as well as mass that affects you like a wall). However, you cannot push on metal inside someone else. You only have your own mass to work with and you have to face the consequences of pushing something greater than you. You only have a certain amount and the harder you "burn" it the faster it runs out. In addition, extended use can have serious consequences on the body (shown with other metals more often). You cannot surpass the limitations here and that adds so much that you can barely even think of to the action and the story. This also means, the stronger something is the more its limitations have to be. For example, Atium is the strongest metal to burn but burns out the fastest making it more of a trump card than a way to win every fight. <br />
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I'd say read the laws for yourself as they are interesting and think about the magic of books you like. Do you tend to prefer soft magic systems or hard magic systems?Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-74159890640840595352012-11-04T01:56:00.001-07:002012-11-04T01:56:36.864-07:00Vaelina Watched Vaelina sat at in her chair by the window watching. Crying. Her voice caught in her throat, now hoarse from yelling in vain.<div>
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She had been looking out her window for a while now. It was a hobby of hers to look out after dinner and watch the sunset. Before then she would watch whatever caught her fancy and if she felt like it maybe she would draw some smaller things. She had always been fairly privileged. Some might even call her spoiled though no one had dared say so to her face. She watched as an insect skittered across the sheet of glass that helped keep her from getting chilled. Vaelina's father was the owner of a large portion of land and could afford rare luxuries such as glass for the main house. The insect stopped moving as it reached the edge blocked by a small ledge. It was nothing to someone the of her height. She doubted she could trip on it if she tried. Of course, she's also have to be able to walk on the window. As she watched, the insect tried to climb up the comparably imposing ledge but as it struggled to gain traction it lost what it had on the glass and fell.</div>
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Eyes following the small bug, Vaelina caught sight of one of their slaves, Shem, standing up in front of Torim, the manor's current slave keeper. Shem was a kind man who was often the first to laugh and had told her many stories and fables over the years. She often recalled his tales of life before working for them and how his eyes sparkled with something she could never place. Now his eyes were filled with something else. It was something darker. Something Vaelina had never seen before. </div>
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Shem spit directly into Torim's face with malice. Torim reeled back in disgust wiping the saliva from his cheek with the sleeve of his jacket before launching himself forward. As his fist crashed into Shem's jaw, dropping the large man, Vaelina stepped back from the window. However, as terrified as she was, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene below.</div>
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Shem tried to stand but as his lifted himself Torim's boot crashed into his chin from the side, causing his teeth to slam through some of his cheek. He coughed, spitting up blood and tried to stand once more. Torim knelt down next to him and grabbed the back of his hair, lifting his head by it. He whispered something into his ear and scowled before slamming him back into the ground face first. Cartilage cracked as his nose broke and his vision swam. He collapsed to the floor for a moment but pride wouldn't let him stay down any longer. He put his hand down to push himself up but halfway a boot smashed into the same spot. Shem let out a howl and his back arched in pain as Torim's heel ground the bones if his fingers into the ground. His lost all strength and collapsed back down but the horror wasn't over. The heel lifted but quickly returned, just as hard as the last time, crushing his fingers against the hard ground beneath. </div>
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Stunned, Shem lay there as Torim circled to his feet. Nothing happened for a moment but the reprieve was short, broken by a flash of pain even more intense than the feeling in his hand. Torim pulled back sharply and the claws of his whip, embedded into the top of Shem's back, tore free pulling strips of skin and muscle with it. Blood arced through the air, following as if reluctant to sever the connection with the now missing flesh. The skin on his back screamed along and his voice channeled the feeling. His back felt... looser. The skin no longer tight across his muscles. The ends of the whip snapped back into Shem's back hitting his side this time, digging into the area under his ribs. He had hoped the pain would be less this time but was disappointed. He would continually be disappointed as the taskmaster's whip continued to tear his back to shreds eliciting screams of pain that reached far into the twilight. </div>
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After what seemed like hours of pain to Shem, Torim walked around to his front and gestured to two other nearby slaves who cringed instinctually but dutifully, fearfully, came over and picked him up but his arms. Shem's hung there limply, groaning as blood flowed down his legs. His shirt was falling off and any skin that remained on his back hung off of him limply. Torim came up in front of Shem and punched him in the gut causing more blood to leave his mouth. He didn't even notice as some of it landed on the boot of his assailant. Whether that would have satisfied anything in him or just filled him with terror no one could say. Casually, Torim reached up with his hands to the sides of Shem's head, and swiftly twisted. Shem's pain faded from his eyes and his body somehow slumped even more in the other slaves' arms becoming literal dead weight. </div>
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In a quick gesture, Torim tilted his head back and to the right toward's the lake. The slaves carrying Shem quickly complied almost running to go dump yet another mutilated body in the waters. Torim walked back toward the house where Vaelina's father was sitting in the porch's shade with his wife. He sighed and lightly shook his head at Torim's actions. Now he needed to buy a replacement.</div>
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Vaelina sat at in her chair by the window watching. Crying. Her voice caught in her throat, now hoarse from yelling in vain.</div>
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Eyes red from her tears shed for the slave, Shem, she managed to shuffle over to her bed before collapsing onto it. She tried to remember the twinkle of Shem's eyes and the sound of his laughter but it was lost. All that could come to her mind was his flattened hand, the thunder of the whip's crack, his body's limpness after his neck was broken, and the piercing screams of pain. She still heard them in her head and they wouldn't stop. Delirious, uncontrolled screams that drowned out all other thoughts. Choking on her sobs she cried herself into a fitful sleep.</div>
Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-38312369937382488052012-10-24T02:56:00.001-06:002012-10-24T02:56:54.795-06:00This is for... McSleuthburger! What is it about stealth that's so exciting to me? This is what I'm gonna talk about and explore via blogging about it. At this point I can't say for sure why and hopefully we'll find out this way!<br />
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So stealth... let's see... there's always the tension involved? When you are sneaking about and following someone there's that feeling of nervous excitement. In addition to them having no idea you aren't there, you never know exactly what people are going to do. In video games enemies generally patrol along pretty specific routes if at all. It's interesting and makes for good gameplay because actual sneaking is incredibly difficult. I do quite enjoy stealth and I tend to be fairly good at it.<br />
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Hmm... Let's look at it on a game by game basis and avoid real life stealth for now. Let's look at thief first as I've played that pretty recently. Thief has one of the more robust stealth systems and for good reason. Unlike many games you are somewhat weak; you are able to knock people out and kill them should you desire but if you get into a fight, chances are high you may not make it. So in that game you have to worry about the sound of your footsteps which is based on speed of movement and floor surface. Then there is the darkness of the area you're in and of course, where the guard (or whoever you're avoiding notice of). Combining these you come up with a game system that makes you play more intelligently. Maybe that's what I enjoy about it? I like the way you have to watch and plan what you do, you don't run straight in and kill everything.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIBIimZHXoAdHgFmlMligozCYljGaQLFKcHOwWU0_85mVz4uz5zkoSV-RX7rdMbY8VGlIxTlf9Yw0Sq5vzyu4-0lNogPLZS5hSBW_B1ihEXm9dA_L-klWoAkHWWs8smXG7RkZxMcLqg/s1600/thief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIBIimZHXoAdHgFmlMligozCYljGaQLFKcHOwWU0_85mVz4uz5zkoSV-RX7rdMbY8VGlIxTlf9Yw0Sq5vzyu4-0lNogPLZS5hSBW_B1ihEXm9dA_L-klWoAkHWWs8smXG7RkZxMcLqg/s1600/thief.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thief has one of the more tactical stealth engines.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On the other hand, I've been playing Bioshock pretty recently as well. In that I decided to take a lot of plasmids (upgrades) in the direction of stealth, speed and melee. With my character this way i run around fast (though magically silent) and hit things with a wrench. It's pretty fun and there are some stealth aspects involved. In this case however, it is completely different style of stealth since the people are much less observant, it moves very quickly, and isn't all that risky; I can take on a group of opponents without much worry.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMmOWDStCXFkbfyCVvGW8T-6tSP1llkSoMeGOw4BNSw2uteBK87r9zqPkMQHLmYdfe_7xOo9_353JG2u5i28ed7Mep4P4EqvZPzWIjiD6Tdge0xzM1r0bLxoC4IG8ek9MBS4WCEhyew/s1600/wrench-bioshock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihMmOWDStCXFkbfyCVvGW8T-6tSP1llkSoMeGOw4BNSw2uteBK87r9zqPkMQHLmYdfe_7xOo9_353JG2u5i28ed7Mep4P4EqvZPzWIjiD6Tdge0xzM1r0bLxoC4IG8ek9MBS4WCEhyew/s320/wrench-bioshock.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy won't know what hit him...<br />It'll be a wrench, by the way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I have one more game I want to look at though this obviously isn't covering everything about stealth nor the attraction in crime games/shows. In any case, the last game for this log which is taking me way too long to write is Sly Cooper. In this game, maybe because I've played them all a couple times, I can combine the feeling of speed and agility with intelligent style of stealth. In the Sly Cooper games you make incredible heists of skill and daring. I'm stoked to play the new game. There isn't much tension in these even when I wasn't as... practiced.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0BnBs5dPq5GjuC9iT08Q8EaLD-_PbX3wcEziAAETiMHCr3HQ8Bj1b55yWCi00yr2L1hrvmCY9nHj31Qv1cg_LFy5pSLT6v0Lp4lQuLba15fEv97Z4PXtA2mNZyej-XJGqEChyRJ1eQ/s1600/sly_cooper_raccoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0BnBs5dPq5GjuC9iT08Q8EaLD-_PbX3wcEziAAETiMHCr3HQ8Bj1b55yWCi00yr2L1hrvmCY9nHj31Qv1cg_LFy5pSLT6v0Lp4lQuLba15fEv97Z4PXtA2mNZyej-XJGqEChyRJ1eQ/s320/sly_cooper_raccoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sly leaves a signature behind during his heists;<br />it's one of my favorite things about him.</td></tr>
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<br />
However, you can't really combine all of these aspects. Maybe that's part of it. Even when you know what you're doing and you're still just sneaking around or behind enemies it's always new and exciting. There's something they all have in common though: fooling your opponent. When you can sneak through a level and steal a priceless treasure leaving no witnesses or disturbances other than the one missing piece you feel so awesome. When you dispatch your foe without them knowing you were there despite his paranoia and attentiveness you feel like a bad ass. When you pull the wool over someone's eyes and they never say it coming it's such an exhilarating ride. Also, going along with stealth is often roguish charm and the appeal of a fast, smooth talking charmer should never be overlooked. Now, I'm going to go keep watching my crime show, Leverage, and wish I had the money to get Dishonored. At least I have Assassin's Creed 3 pre-ordered! This time next week I'll be playing that and you can bet that for the most part, I'll play stealthily.Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-23504787737741218542012-10-20T04:07:00.000-06:002012-10-24T03:02:27.397-06:00Random Ramblings. Quite So. So I don't have a definite topic on my mind today. I feel a mixture of boredom and depression though so I'm going to ramble for a bit on a few things plus whatever comes to mind. Okay? Okay.<br />
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So today was a pretty good day mostly though I have some things I'm going to complain about. I really hate feeling unimportant. I'm not sure if that's a selfish feeling or not but as much as I like when people want to be around me and want to be talking to me it feels better when someone needs you for something emotionally. I wish I could be there for my friends more than I am but no one really needs any help. If they do then they have someone more suitable to turn to. It may just be that I've been feeling lonely while surrounded by people these last few days but I feel redundant even when I'm the only one there. That doesn't make much sense does it? Ah well, all of that was mostly written to get some thoughts out of my head and on to something else. It's a better way to deal with things than other ways I often do.<br />
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That is actually something I was considering typing about. I deal with stress and depressing moments in a few ways, some pretty good and some pretty awful. Of course, it all depends on who you ask as I sometimes feel, even after wards, that the awful methods of dealing with things work just as well as anything else. Anyway, one way I started using again is obviously writing about things I have kept journals in the past but they often felt like more of a responsibility than something that I was doing to help myself and sort through my thoughts. There're more times when I write due to an inspiration of some sort though and thus it isn't the huge help it might be able to be. Another way I deal with things is by losing myself in something. I often play video games or watch movies or shows for fun but also when I am feeling less than fantastic. The same thing goes for books of course but I'm hesitant to read things I haven't before when in a bad mood as I often find myself associating something with the emotions that I had at the time and I'd rather not color books with such a bias. This goes for games/movies/shows too of course but to a lesser extent as those can pull me in more quickly though often not as much. It's a bit hard to explain the distinction I have between them. I've mentioned before that Twilight and Kingdom Hearts are two of my escape paths. Either they have really strong feelings attached to them or they may be tied to happier memories but either way, I often find myself with one of those when things are spiraling out of control. Things aren't always that easy though. I often feel the need to do something more extreme and nothing seems to scratch the urge. It usually involves hurting myself in some way. I try not to do it as those who manage to notice are rarely pleased with me which doesn't really help anything. Nevertheless, I've felt it also helps. I'm sure many people would argue that it really doesn't though and it may very well not. It's not really something I worry about as much as a lot of people probably would think that I should. What is most scary is when I don't actually feel bad at all but I have the desire to do it anyway. In any case those are the most common ways I deal with things.<br />
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Anyway, another topic I wanted to address was about Guild Wars 2 which I've been playing a lot more lately. I still haven't gotten very far with any characters at all since I keep making new ones to try the different styles out. In any case, I finally chose a definite favorite race. The Asura are technical geniuses who not only build amazing mechanical wonders, they also understand and can manipulate powers of an arcane nature with incredible ease. These guys are my favorites by far! I do enjoy the Charr, a large feline/canine race who make really bad-ass warriors and such as well as engineers (they do a lot of war machine stuff in their society) and rangers. Now, they can just as easily be other professions but I always tend to play classes with races the feel right to me. I also do the same thing with genders. I feel that a berserk warrior is more naturally fit to a male (this is only for me as simple preference, I would never object to others playing nor being a bloodthirsty female of any race). I also don't mind the Sylvari though they can be a bit strange in ways. Despite that they are a fascinating race that I haven't seen the likes of previously. Humans are a bit dull and the Norn sometimes are more annoying than awesome but at times they can be cool. The Asura are a bit silly but not in a way that detracts from their awesomeness to me. Their buildings are based strongly around cubes and is a mix of magic and technology which is way cooler to me than the Charr's city of hard metal. Though there is more, I'm going to top it off with the fact the the Asura has the best dance by a long shot. The others pretty much look silly when they dance while the Asura do incredible pop and lock dancing; that is my favorite style, by the way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Zojja and Mr. Sparkles!</td></tr>
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So this has been fun and taken a long time to write, which was half the point. Some of it may not be the best stuff to have on my blog but I doubt most people will read it anyways. Hope you enjoyed!Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-40129215209505862662012-10-19T06:23:00.000-06:002012-10-24T03:00:17.735-06:00What Would You Want to Be?<br />
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What would you want to be?</div>
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And what would you really be?</div>
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In a world of wonder,</div>
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in a world of magic,</div>
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in a world of fantasy?</div>
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What about a Warrior?</div>
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A mighty fighter of brute strength</div>
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or a skilled artist of the blade?</div>
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A berserker fighting through pain</div>
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or an armored tank, utterly unafraid?</div>
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A knight at war for honor</div>
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or a mercenary who kills to be paid?</div>
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Mayhap a Mage?</div>
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Blasting foes with fire</div>
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or freezing them in ice?</div>
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Creating light in your palm</div>
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or is darkness more your vice?</div>
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A spell to read people's thoughts</div>
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or one to tip the dice?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Could you be a Cleric?</div>
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Mending comrade's wounds</div>
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or restoring life to the dead?</div>
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Experienced in the field</div>
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or incredibly well read?</div>
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Healing others for profit</div>
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or to help your team get ahead?</div>
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Though maybe a Thief?</div>
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Picking pockets on the street </div>
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or using blades to cause harm?</div>
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Silent as a shadow</div>
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or filled with roguish charm?</div>
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Nimbly fleeing from guards</div>
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or never even raising an alarm?</div>
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What would you most want to be?</div>
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And what would you actually be?</div>
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In a world of wonder,</div>
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in a world of magic,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
in a world of fantasy?</div>
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<br /></div>
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So I wasn't really coming up with anything to blog about but I eventually decided to talk about fantasy and what I would want to be compared to what I'd probably actually be. I started that as an introduction but it became a longer poem than I originally intended. It's pretty basic but I think I like it anyway. <br />
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As a quick note, I want to let everyone know about my inspiration for the idea as well as the poem. It's a young adult novel entitled School for Adventurers which is being co-authored by Kara Loo and Jennifer Young. <a href="http://www.schoolforadventurers.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://www.schoolforadventurers.com</span></a> Here you can read about the story and characters as well as see a sneak preview of the first five chapters! That's a fair bit too. It's a young adult novel so fairly easy reading but even so, it was over 130 pages for that sample and I liked it fairly well. You can also find their kickstarter page and support the authors' work. I'm poor and can't do that but maybe one of you might be able to!<br />
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So personally, I would definitely want to be a thief most. I love stealth and hiding in the shadows. I'm a huge fan of both wielding a single and double daggers as well as bows if you want to include those in a thief's repertoire I believe it should be included though that may be the influence of the the Thief games. In that archery can be used with special arrows that augment your regular stealth options such as water arrows that put out torches or moss arrows that coat surfaces in a mos which you can sneak across much more quietly than other surfaces like metal. <br />
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I also am a fan of the way they are often more interesting as characters. They can't just brute force their way through a problem with strength or magic, they use finesse in their methods and have to circumnavigate challenges using their intelligence and instinct. Rogues, assassins, scoundrels, duelists, thieves, etc are all incredibly interesting and my favorite personally.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtzh1qBoR5G1EvkHUPadXh-rxJjaZIyJTQ16ez3ugWrR6eBtYlKr3weeD05Bo-SlrhqyuxvmLLNQuLh9Bqz0Scf4wiGbjGBeMzAsM3lkMbmhOWWGYse7Hnkx-oTkzg4ltSBr3_QO1kA/s1600/GW2_ThiefWallpaper01-1920x1080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtzh1qBoR5G1EvkHUPadXh-rxJjaZIyJTQ16ez3ugWrR6eBtYlKr3weeD05Bo-SlrhqyuxvmLLNQuLh9Bqz0Scf4wiGbjGBeMzAsM3lkMbmhOWWGYse7Hnkx-oTkzg4ltSBr3_QO1kA/s320/GW2_ThiefWallpaper01-1920x1080.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guild Wars 2 has some of my favorite art.</td></tr>
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On the other hand, I may very well not be a good thief. While I can be quiet, occasionally graceful, able to sit still for a long time and able to think around problems with the right mindset, I am rather large. I can't climb worth anything and I may feel bad about many items I steal as my moral compass can be frustratingly rigid at times. More on that in some later blog probably! I am very intelligent though I don't care to study so I may make a decent mage and a decent cleric. I also might have it in me to be a warrior simply due to my large build (tall, broad shouldered, etc) though I think that fits least well due to my fairly low pain tolerance I'm not a fan of pain at all. It hurts! ... In any case, I don't think it'd fit as well. If you know me I'm curious as to what you think. What do you feel about for yourself? Hope you enjoyed!<br />
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-Brilliant BaritoneBrilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-45157093294649575202012-10-17T21:55:00.002-06:002012-10-24T02:58:14.387-06:00Tangents Sprung from Fluffy Hair So I haven't made a post in forever but that's a mix of business, laziness, and just not having any thoughts I really felt like sharing. Tonight however, I'm feeling much more bored with my usual activities and no one is available to hang out. This is in spite of my hair being awesome and fluffy today. All I really wanted for the day was to share my the fluffiness of my hair and my good mood. Sadly things don't always turn out how we'd like them to.<br />
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I'm going to run off on my first tangent of this post. I really like fall! It's my favorite season of all of them and I doubt it will ever change. I hate the heat of summer and fall brings the brisk and chilly air that is perfect for wearing hoodies and jeans. It's perfect for cuddling up with that someone special and just enjoying being close to someone. To me, fall is the mot beautiful season both literally and figuratively. Don't worry, I'll explain. Fall is the season of death. Things are coming to and end in both the year and the cycle of nature. Winter is the period of rest and being dead while fall, to me, is the transition. Despite this, everything makes an effort to be vibrant and as beautiful as it can. It's a final farewell. It seems like nature is shouting that if it's going to die (albeit only for a while) it's going to live as hard as it can before it's over. I think I'd like that in my life. I know it's not a new idea of course. Knowing the phases, realizing their meaning and actually living that way while maintaining responsibility though? That isn't the easiest of things to do. Still. Fall is beautiful and it makes me feel alive.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_ewIcZr7BhW36QDXI6X7Gec8FgTfpqtb27KH8bD3gzIfrl3okmOCh0JuoCakhZhGoXltdZZcd3ActtibdBHJh_wfvfm-LsIvQVeYAq0nwL_rjK3U5UpDQUkId7WxMUiXmNRQXzUdyQ/s1600/fall20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_ewIcZr7BhW36QDXI6X7Gec8FgTfpqtb27KH8bD3gzIfrl3okmOCh0JuoCakhZhGoXltdZZcd3ActtibdBHJh_wfvfm-LsIvQVeYAq0nwL_rjK3U5UpDQUkId7WxMUiXmNRQXzUdyQ/s320/fall20.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simply Gorgeous</td></tr>
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I may also feel alive due to this next tangent though! I have been dieting these last few weeks. Five is more accurate. It's been exactly 36 days according to the thing I've been using. I just recorded my weight today and I'm making pretty good progress! I've lost 13.6 pounds so far. It may not always seem like a ton to me. I don't look that different to me nor is it incredibly large compared to how much I want to be. Still, it's working remarkably well. All I've been doing is counting calories basically. My parents both did this before I started and so I want to as well. My limit for a day is technically 1690 calories. I feel disappointed if I get past 1600 though. Ironically, some days I eat really light and I have to eat extra so that I get to at least 1200. Apparently it's not healthy to have less and your body thinks it needs to store more fat? I don't know. What's remarkable about this is that I don't actually Do much. I have my college online, I play video games and watch shows/movies, and I read. I don't do a whole lot of exercise but I'm still losing over two pounds a week on average. It can be tough though. It isn't at home very much but when I go out to eat it's so difficult! I usually only eat half of my meal and it's over alf the calories I'll eat for the day. Also, salads can be bloody deceptive! Many restaurants have salads as meals. These often sound pretty good. Yeah... I had a crispy chicken salad on an earlier week. It was around 1500 calories alone >_<! whatever they put in those (chicken, sigh...) is calorie-filled. It isn't always bad though. I had a salad somewhere else and used only half the dressing they gave me on the side. That was a pretty low calorie option and incredibly tasty!<br />
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Tangent number three is about books. In fact, it is about four books that have become an infamous sensation. That's right, this tangent is all about the Twilight series. Now, as you may know, I am a male. You may also know, I like to play video games. I read fantasy books that are deemed quite well written. I really love the Twilight books. I typed that sentence quite hard, just so you know. I don't care if you think it's pathetic of me, I'll always hold them pretty close in my heart. Now, that doesn't mean I read them all the time though I have read them all at least twice. They're something comfortable, something safe. When something happens or I feel incredibly down about something, it's not uncommon for me to pick up and try and lose myself in it. Kingdom Hearts is a similar thing for me actually but that's not for this tangent. Now, I know it isn't the best writing in the world. I also know that Bella isn't the best of protagonists. I also know how horrible and blasphemous it is to have vampires sparkle. Though you know what? The other aspects of the vampires I have no problem with. Had it just been a species of predator that had evolved to look human and found human flesh the most satisfying no one would mind Meyer's vampires. My point of all this is that I'm so sick of everyone hating it. Clearly not everyone hates Twilight as it sold incredibly well! Something about it is enticing right? It may not be to you, but I enjoy it and I really hate all the crap it gets. I can respect your opinions, yeah. It's fine if you've read it and didn't like it. How could I blame you for that? A lot of people who vocally bash it haven't though! These are people who comment on how it's badly written too! It makes me really annoyed when I shouldn't let it but it gets to me every time. I'm fine if you know it's not your style of book and you know that it wouldn't interest you so you don't read it. I also know it won't stop being ridiculed any time soon either; people like easy sport after all. <br />
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Tangent four is related to tangent three actually. It's about Brandon Sanderson, one of my favorite authors. Sanderson writes more than I can fathom. His first work, Elantris, was published in 2005. Okay, not too long yeah? He has six short stories/novellas, four young adult books in a series, Mistborn, a full size trilogy with a fourth book recently published, two standalone novels, And his most recent novel, the start of a longer series, The Stormlight Archive (hardback 1001 pages, paperback 1250ish... yeah.). In addition to all that he also finished Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series which is known for its intense amount of plot lines and characters. Sounds like a ton, yeah? That's not it though! He also teaches some writing classes. He does a lot of writing for his blog as well. Even more than that however, he does some behind the scenes writings chapter by chapter for many of his books that can be found on his website! He writes a lot. It's discouraging in some ways. On the plus side, He'll often have new stuff for me to read! That's much better than slower authors. My other favorite author, Patrick Rothfuss, writes much slower. The Name of the wind came out in 2007 and the second book in 2011... I really want the third one out so I can read the rest of them because they are incredibly fantastic!!! Sigh... fantastic enough it completely discouraged my novel I was working on. That's okay though, with hindsight, I didn't have enough meat for my plot. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHbdob-txblkY6taK2GKhbVW2ncSmv1jJ5ej7-7p85qpZaK-kFA1ihiPf9Q_Nv9lBbg9YsJT8C9XonsVR1PZe1LtV5HKUl-aznRMTHdimDIPbqyzyYvezgOP3BAPCH-uJXR7cvh7j3w/s1600/SandersonPrizePack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHbdob-txblkY6taK2GKhbVW2ncSmv1jJ5ej7-7p85qpZaK-kFA1ihiPf9Q_Nv9lBbg9YsJT8C9XonsVR1PZe1LtV5HKUl-aznRMTHdimDIPbqyzyYvezgOP3BAPCH-uJXR7cvh7j3w/s320/SandersonPrizePack.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Couple Books of Sanderson's</td></tr>
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Yup. I think that's a large enough blog for today! I'll try and keep up an occasional blog from now on, I really will. What will the next one be? More random thoughts and tangents? Another thing about a video game or series? Maybe on books? It'll be whatever I feel like! That or maybe what you think I should write on. If you Do have desire to read about something, let me know and I'd be happy to write on it!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh yeah. Rothfuss is a Wizard. Just FYI.</td></tr>
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<br />Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-27407453121813856832012-01-02T01:45:00.000-07:002012-01-02T01:45:07.188-07:00A "Sequence" of Unfortu-Aughhgghh!In case you were wondering, non-existent readers, what I know well is video games. I study them (literally - I'm majoring in video game design) and I play them a lot. I think they make for great entertainment, training, and emotional substance. Also you get to kill things. Am I upset at something? No problem, I can just bang a pillow on something and set up a game. It could be a violent and bloody or it could just be an engaging story. Am I upset or depressed? Chances are you'll see me playing an old favorite like Sly Cooper and (much more likely) Kingdom Hearts. Video games make my favorite party activities as well - hot seat Soul Calibur is incredibly fun. ... Now I'm thinking about how fun it could be drunk... Anyway! I love and know video games. So in this blog I'll be talking about them! Hurrah.<br />
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So I wanted to share my thoughts on a game I got recently titled Sequence created by indie developer Iridium Studios. Now I'll briefly summarize: Sequence is a cross between RPG, DDR, and sarcasm. Attention should now be mine. Alright. Sequence is a game for PC via steam and (for a while now) XBLA. However, I would recommend playing with a controller no matter which console you're on. You can play on the PC with a wireless 360 controller if you have the adapter or with a wired controller if you download this: <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/d/xbox-360-controller-for-windows">http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/d/xbox-360-controller-for-windows</a>. It's free and should work fine.<br />
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-random interesting interlude!-<br />
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If you DO have a controller hooked up to your computer you can do a TON with it! I have a set up using a program called XPadder that allows me to control the mouse(and all three main buttons), zoom functions, fullscreen(f11), control netflix with enter and escape, the arrow keys, volume, switch tabs and windows, back and forward (browser functions), and page refresh all on one controller with easy use. I love it and I use it to watch netflix, browse websites, and read things on my computer. Such as Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker - a full book you can download off of his website for free.<br />
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-end interlude!-<br />
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So Sequence is easier with a controller because it is rather hectic and just feels more smooth on a controller. <br />
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Here's how gameplay works. You have a circle in the bottom center of the screen. This is your Spell selection. You start with only two and quickly move up to 3 then 4. eventually you get up to 6(I think). You can choose what these spells are from direct damage, healing, altering spells (such as one that makes the next spell more powerful or sacrifices HP for mana etc.), and siphoning spells. I can't say what they all are as I don't have them. You select a spell with the left or right thumbstick and cast with the right bumper (this is default. Sadly, you Cannot switch as freely as I'd like. Not yet anyway). These spells all take different times to refresh and have varying powers and mana costs. On either side of the spell ring are two health pools, the left is yours and the right your opponent's. <br />
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The action takes place on three screens above the previously mentions circular shapes. These three screens rotate by pressing the triggers on the controller. One screen is red; this is where opponent's attacks come. Another is blue and you regain mana here. The last is green and it is where you cast spells. Just like in DDR, arrows come down in the screens. When they come down the red screen you have to switch to it and hit the arrows or you take damage. Sometimes, it's worth taking some damage to finish casting a spell. Speaking of which, casting is done by hitting the arrows that come down the green field. These don't come down on their own; they are triggered by casting the spell. If you miss an arrow when casting the spell, you lose all the mana put into it and nothing happens. The last area, blue, is a fairly constant steam of arrows that replenish mana when hit. You lose nothing from letting the arrows pass. So combine that with occasional effects from the bosses and things get hectic quickly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hecticy-ness</td></tr>
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In addition to the battles there is an inventory and crafting system. One of my favorite things about the game is the humor throughout. In the inventory, each item has a ridiculous description! a few examples are "Goblet: A small younger goblin. His name is Billy.", "Copper Wire: a listening device, worn by cops.", and "Bottomless Pit: A topless pit would have been much sexier.". Seriously, if the humor in this game doesn't get to you, I may not be able to be friends with you. The voice acting can sometime fall a bit flat in my opinion, like the delivery is just a bit off, but the dialogue is great overall and I find myself laughing more often than not.<br />
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Overall it's really a great game and on Steam a measly 5 dollars! It's completely worth that price and with any luck, there will be more content released in the future. personally, I'm hoping for a type of versus! I mean, it could work close to the same but when you cast spells, the damage is then spread out over arrows in the defense field based on the spell. Anywho, I highly recommend it! <br />
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-Brilliant BaritoneBrilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3228141345371445517.post-79967066179891669292011-12-31T05:17:00.000-07:002011-12-31T05:17:47.001-07:00An Introductory RambleWell, for my first blog I want to do something fairly interesting. Perspective is what I'm thinking is a good place. This will be one of my more ramble-type posts since I'm not a expert in abstract things, it'll just be how I feel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8pJv7mLUi1zbxnUGzc-BIvWSI1RURb0caoqU_dVeAuyzcAsy5ExX-46h0lZaaqFstdliUAyTViS4wiFVCd0QcJRd5UaG7TIGwTeLQ-fmM3ORfkVfF03SkuaHXC08xyXbxPs7ks0p1j0/s1600/perspective-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8pJv7mLUi1zbxnUGzc-BIvWSI1RURb0caoqU_dVeAuyzcAsy5ExX-46h0lZaaqFstdliUAyTViS4wiFVCd0QcJRd5UaG7TIGwTeLQ-fmM3ORfkVfF03SkuaHXC08xyXbxPs7ks0p1j0/s320/perspective-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trippy...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One thing that began my interest in perspective are people who are color blind. My father is color blind and thus my sister's male children most likely will also be. <div><br />
</div><div>Here's how it works: women have the genes X and X. Males have an X and Y. Basic, aye? Aye. Now, the color blind attribute is on the X gene and it is recessive as well. For a woman to be color blind she has to have color blind genes on Both of her X genes. Since my father gave me his Y (making me male, hurrah!) I can't get his color blind gene from him. However, my sister has one of her Xs with a color blind gene. Thus, her son will have a 50% chance to be color blind. Keep in mind, genetics is complicated, I'm no expert, and it probably doesn't work EXACTLY like this. Nevertheless, that's generally how it's passed on.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Color blindness! It has a few forms. Without going into details filled with long words and crazy descriptions, there are 3 main forms of color blindness. First and most rare, is total color blindness. Shades of grey basically. Most common then is the Red-Green color blindness. This is what my father has. The next is Blue-Yellow color blindness. This is a rather minor disability usually. In fact in some cases it can be advantageous, such as seeing camouflage. 8% of males show signs of color-blindness and only .5% of females.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Oh geez, way off topic. What this made me think was what if all these colors we see aren't what others see? Here's what I mean. Think of the color red. Now think of blue. The color you see as blue is how I see my red. And my red is your blue. Odd? Yes. Yes it is. So the sky you see is blue. However, the color I'm seeing of that is what your red looks like. This is the basic principle of my wonderment. However, it cannot be completely random. Why? Because of art. Cool colors all belong to the same area and warm do as well. Even without training you can see these colors fitting well together, right? A cool light blue and a warm dark red don't fit that well together. Which means that colors can really only be as you see them and reverse of how you see them. By that I mean the spectrum is reversed and my cool colors are what your warm colors are. Then it would still work. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Other than color, I'd like to talk about happiness! What is happiness? Now that question could and has filled books. Tons of philosophers from Aristotle to John Stuart Mill have looked into happiness extensively but none can really come to an agreement. Though, thinking about it it is almost as if they agreed it is not properly definable in more modern philosophy and moved onto ethical issues. One of my favorite ethical standpoints (from an ethics class I barely remember - I'm going to read the books I had on my own now) is Utilitarianism. The main contributors are considered to be Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. The principle behind utilitarianism is "the greatest happiness principle". Basically, what is right is what will cause the greatest happiness. However, this requires a strong definition of what happiness is. For example, Jeremy Bentham was much more about the chemical reaction in your brain that causes happiness. However, J.S. Mill suggested that poetry was greater than any physical sensation. I'm actually amazed I remember as much as I do from a class over a semester ago where I never read anything because it was so easy I didn't have to. Now I want to read the books to understand better. Hopefully I can have someone else read them and talk about it with me. Anywho, perspective, it's key here. I think that's enough for now. My next blog will probably be a review of a game. I'm thinking Sequence..</div><div><br />
</div><div>Until next time,</div><div>Brilliant Baritone</div>Brilliant Baritonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08530786841888961228noreply@blogger.com0