Goomba Roomba

This makes cleaning seem so cool. Wish I'd thought of it first.

http://vimeo.com/29073999

People Scare Me

Or rather, maybe it's me scaring other people. All I know is that there are people in the world - and the worlds of make-believe - who like some seriously messed up things. Take for instance the way you practice "speechcraft" in Oblivion.

The idea is that there are four categories: admire, joke, coerce, and jaunt. You find out for each person which they like best, and which they like least, and talk to them in the correct manner in order to raise how highly they think of you. Easy enough, right?

Well it is, until you get to thinking about it. The truth is, there are a heck of a lot of people in the Cyrodil world who think that coerce is the best thing since sliced bread. I have to say, from this vanilla zombie girl's standpoint, there is something creepy about a conversation that strikes a huge grin when you make them say "I submit, I have no choice."

Creepier still is the fact that I know there are people in the real world who want to be talked to in the same way. And it makes them smile.

Let's just put it plainly. I'm not that girl. A good joke, maybe a gentle admiration, even a good fake story... and of those are going to be preferable in my mind to a threat.

But then again, people never cease to amaze me. And Oblivion was good enough to not leave this wonderful slice of life out of the game. Makes me shudder.

Braaaiiiinnnnnn food: I play RPGs by talking my way out of problems as much as possible. What skills do you focus on?

Gaming for Money

Does she make you think of me?

Well, sort of.

Yesterday I went into the city to complete the first part of my paid Guild Wars study. I didn't sign a nondisclosure agreement or anything, so I'm pretty sure I'm free to talk about what I like. (In fact, I know they are looking for more participants so if you want to make $110 for traveling to Arlington for about a 30 minute session and then playing Guild Wars or Aion for one hour, let me know.) Anyhoo, the study, from what I can make of it seems pretty cool. They want to see if it's possible to discern information about players (gender, age, social status, etc.) based on how we make and use our Avatars.

So the trip into Arlington was the toughest part of the whole ordeal yesterday. Otherwise, I just watched a 10 minute intro video, learned how to install the recording program on my laptop and how to save the file to send results back in, and filled out two paper personality tests (wish I had the results).

I'll be doing my hour-long play session tomorrow night with some old GW friends I'm super psyched to reacquaint with. If you play GW and you want to say hi, look for me.

Anyway, all that yesterday earned me some money. And soon, I'll have $110 plus contribute to science. Woo yeah, life is pretty cool.

Obliviononononon

source

With great anticipation about the Skyrim game coming out on 11-11-11, I decided it was time I actually get around to playing its predecessor, Oblivion. I am addicted to this game, it's true. I find myself always just trying to finish this quest before it's time to go and, inevitably, each time I near what I think is an end, there is another piece of the quest waiting for me.

Regardless, it has come to my attention that any hopes of completing this game before Nov. 11 are futile. Why? Because this game is endless. I have so many hours in already and I think I maybe have done three of the "main plot" quests. And unlike those of so many other RPGs I play, the side quests in this game feel like anything but. They are engaging, they earn me pretty decent rewards, and everything levels me up.

I emphasize the word everything because truly this is the case in Oblivion. If I jump enough, I increase my acrobatics. Just walking around town in a "sneaky" manner increases my stealth skill. And perhaps my favorite of all, getting pummeled to death by a bad guy actually increases my light armor skill. Oh man, I have a fabulous image for a web comic in my head for that one, if only I could draw.

Overall, I am enjoying the heck out of this game. I just worry because when will I play my other games if I can never complete this one? I guess I'll come to that answer later.

In the meantime, I have some more skills to improve.

Braaaaiiiiinnnnn food: What are some of your favorite games to just play and play and play some more?

Testing, Testing...

So today I sent out an email making myself a possible candidate for a study. They want "experienced" Guild Wars and Aion players... finally, all those hours are possibly of some use.

This could be a great way to live life. If only.