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Hi all!  First off, I apologize for the long hiatus I took this month.  But you know, after suffering a fracture due to a driver almost ending my life this month, the doctor ordered some rest.  I’m recovering well, thank goodness, and ready to give this blog of mine some hardcore loving!

Talking about loving, while Flipboarding, I stumbled upon an article titled “If Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine had a dating profile.”  I chuckled and thought, “Why not?”  They say laughter is the best medicine and thanks to VentureBeat – an online site devoted to present innovative technology and how it’s relevant to our lives – I had a few laughs that made me forget about the pain.  So, I decided to share it with the world.

VentureBeat decided to create its own online dating site, Extra Hearts, for featured videogame characters.  Not only they covered the cheesy bio, likes, and dislikes, but also they included witty comments at the end involving relevant characters to the one who “wrote” the online dating profile – it’s a fun read.  I believe it gives a nice spin to how we see these characters and adds to their dimensions. Plus, the fact that the characters go IN on each other at the comment section is fucking hilarious – probably how we believe these characters act when the “cameras are off.”  Below are my favorites, but I encourage you to read through all of them:

Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine – comment section

StarCraft’s Kerrigan – profile section

Luigi – comment section

God of War’s Kratos – comment section

Which characters do you think may need some loving in their lives?  Let me know below!  See you around!

 

Blowing a cartridge in 2013?!

WHOAH!  Apparently Summer 2013 will be FULL of awesome new tech for us Gamers to indulge in.  While researching for new material for my blog, I came across various articles with the words “Super Retro Console.”

And here it is!

Say hello to Super Retro Trio!

This little baby right here had me spasm!  Named “Super Retro Trio,” will hit vendors during the summer and will give Players the ability to play NES, SNES, Genesis, and GBA (with an adapter that’s sold separately) on just one console.  How awesome is that shit?!

One of the best parts?  The price.  According to various articles I read, the console will be a measly $69.99!  The adapter (needed to play GBA games) is only $39.99.  To add to the excitement, a few articles mentioned there will be a bundle pack including the console and adapter for $89.99!  If that didn’t catch your attention, apart from the fact that you’ll be able to play motherfucking CLASSICS, I don’t know what will.

Surprisingly enough, I discovered there are other consoles out there in the market that have more or less the same functionality as the SRT.  I was surprised I have never heard of these consoles before and that none of my Gamer friends ever told me about these wondrous inventions…  Assholes.  Anyhow, moving on…

Bottom line, I support these consoles on their entirety mainly because of the efficiency and cost.  Purchasing the SRT is a HUGE money saver –  especially for us who want to rebuild/enhance our gaming library.  For example, some of us always had that “friend” who we lend them a game and never got it back.  OR your console gets busted open while you were moving your few pieces of furniture into your new apartment.  So having to spend less that $100.00 to basically own 4 different consoles sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.  That spare moolah from not having to buy 4 different consoles can be use to buy Mario Bros., Super Mario RPG, and Pokémon LeafGreen.  Oh, the wonderful memories…  Although I have to say that if it was up to me, Genesis would’ve not made the cut – I would’ve replaced Genesis with N64.  Personally I believe N64 is one of the best consoles ever created and the game roster was just phenomenally epic.  No disrespect to Genesis, but: N64 > Genesis.  Especially after looking through this Pretty Awesome Timeline.

Lastly, the soon-to-happen launch of the SRT made me think about new upcoming consoles – especially the OUYA.  If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll remember I discussed the new Android powered console OUYA, which is schedule to also hit the stores during the summer.  I wonder how the OUYA will navigate the waters not only competing against the Titan Console Trio (Wii, PS4, and Xbox One), but also with this magical instrument that conglomerates a vast number of finest games ever made.  I guess we will have to wait and see.

What are your thoughts on the Super Retro Trio?  Do you think it’s worth it?

See you around!

 

The Power of Diversity.

While Flipboarding, I came across this article by Microsoft Studios regarding the impact of diversity in the world of gaming.  As a psychologist in the making, I could not resist the urge to devour the paragraphs addressing such sensitive, yet powerful aspect.

As a mental health professional, I’ve studied to great depths the role of diversity in human relations.  At the core, it affects the way we think about other people’s way of life (i.e., culture) in comparison to ours.  It’s a  constant “evaluation” we put others under our personal standards.  Standards that include what you were taught to be right, wrong, and what’s expected of you and other individuals in society.  Nevertheless, even people of the same group do not hold values at a same prestigious level.  Therefore, a myriad of the personalities are created every day – shaping and undergoing change everyday.  What makes the world such a wondrous place is the ability to find beauty in diversity. Encompassing such pulchritude, why wouldn’t videogames utilize diversity as a tool to enhance and the video gaming experience?

As I mentioned in previous entries, a videogame character’s aesthetics play a part in why we identify with whatever character.  But there are other factors that make characters appealing to each and everyone of us.  Gender, sexual orientation, gender identities, personal problems, a traumatic past…  It’s those personality traits and experiences that form each character’s unique stories that play a role in player-character “attunement” – and it’s a great advantage for game developers to understand and utilize diversity.  The more diverse the gaming world becomes, the more people games will be able to reach out too.  As a consequence, not only expanding the gamer population, but also obliterating the walls of racism, sexual biases, and discrimination.

As the article well stated, the world is changing and I could not agree more.  One example that’s becoming an active issue is the legalization of same-sex marriage (side note: to me it needs to be called marriage and nothing else) – and videogames are a great way to help tackle this issue.  How many new generation gamers were able to play out a homosexual relationship just because they felt like it thanks to Mass Effect 3?  I’m guessing a nice six figures.  Might be a small ripple in society,but still counts as something.  It is time for diversity of the world shows its face in the virtual universe more often.

What’s your opinion on diversity in gaming?  Do you think it’s something worthwhile for developers to look into?  Let me know!

See you around!