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Myr

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Blog Entries posted by Myr

  3. Myr

    Lego Jurassic World

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    Lego Jurassic World, which was available on every system under the sun when it came out in 2015, is one of the best Lego Games to date.  It's fun. It's interesting.  It covers Jurassic Park 1-3 and Jurassic World.  It's not overly stuffed with busy work that takes forever to complete, either.  There are not difficult flight missions involved either. 
    As with all Lego games, there is an funny take on the events of the movies. They also took advantage of the dinosaurs giving them different abilities that are then used in solving puzzles.
    This is a very enjoyable game if you like Jurassic Park and Lego games.

    Affiliate Note: If you purchase Lego Jurassic World via the links above, Gay Authors receives a small affiliate referral reward.
  4. Myr

    Lego The Incredibles

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    So, I thought I'd bring up another Lego game, as they are great for mindless entertainment.  There is an absolute ton of these things too.  Today's Lego game is Lego The Incredibles, based off Pixar's The Incredibles.  (Probably the best theme music for an animated flick too). 
    This game is narrowing in scope of something like Lego Marvel Superheros 2, despite having super heroes being a common thread.  The story follows both The Incedibles and The Incredibles 2 and is an enjoyable romp through the highlights of those movies.  The city, New Urbem, has lot of different superhero activities to stop crime.  The races in the game are mostly manageable and the flight races are a LOT better done than Lego Marvel Super Heroes or Lego Batman anything.  I'm almost done wrapping up the achievements, which has been considerably less tedious than some of the other Lego Games.  Though the 75 hit combo is tough since the AI often gets in your way or kills the guy you need to complete the combo.
    Fun game and a great distraction from stress. (mostly)

    (If you buy from the links above, Gay Authors gets a small affiliate fee)
  5. Myr

    Planet Coaster - Console

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    I have always been a sucker for roller coasters since I was tall enough to ride them. I've driven all of the eastern United States to ride real coasters and even made Six Flags Over Texas an essential part of the 2008 Dallas GA get together. From a gaming perspective, I've owned all the Roller Coaster Tycoons and a few of them more than once.

    So that brings us around to Planet Coaster Console edition, which is a Launch Title on Xbox Series X and being part of Xbox Game Pass (i.e., you can play it free if you have Game Pass). So, of course, I loaded it up on the new system. The gamepad control of what is considered a PC game took some getting used to. However, outside of some quirkiness in Roller Coaster design mode, it works really, really well. On the Series X (and presumably Xbox One), you can also plug in a keyboard and mouse and play that way as well.

    I've been playing the game to relax from all the stuff going on and avoid the stress of work. It's fun. The game looks great, and it sounds great too. I will say there are a few weird freeze bugs that I hope they correct soon. However, it could always be related to being in Alpha Pre-Flight (buggiest software) for the console with bugs. Which is to say, I see more bugs than most console people see since my Xbox is running experimental operating system software.

    Has anyone else played yet (on Xbox, PC, etc.)?  What do you think?
  6. Myr

    Starfied - From Bethesda - 2021?

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    So, with Microsoft announcing that they are buying Zenimax Studios and its subsidiaries, including Bethesda Studios, the next big title has seen a bit more news. Starfield, presumed to be coming in holiday 2021 timeframe, has a single announcement trailer.  This thing is looking to be more hard science fiction.  The trailer's visual and music gives off a 2001: A Space Odyssey/2010 vibe to it. (I like 2010 much better than 2001, from a movie standpoint while acknowleding that 2001 broke a lot of new ground and did some really cool stuff for it's release date. It's just too SLOW from today's short attention span perspective). 
    Anyway, Starfield.  This looks like a day one pick up.  Though, it will be under the Microsoft umbrella by then, so this would be a free release to Xbox Game Pass subscribers.  (really hard to beat that price)
    Anyone else looking forward to it?
     
  7. Myr

    Immortals Fenyx Rising - coming in Dec

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    Ubisoft ended up shifting a lot of games to this holiday dropping 3 major IP's in a 4 week window.  Immortals Feynx Rising (originally Gods and Monsters) is a new game world.
     
    This is high on my list, as I like the look, the gameplay as described and a general interest in Greek Mythology. I will most likely get this near launch.  The character seems very highly customizable, which is cool. 
    Anyone else interested in this game?
     
  8. Myr

    Lego Marvel Superheros 2 Thoughts

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    This game was released in 2017.  I finally wrapped up 100% the game over the weekend.
    If you have played the Lego games, then you know the formula here.  From a story and humor standpoint, this is another entertaining game from Lego.  But it also has the the Lego Game downsides here that are amplified.  Flight controls and vehicle controls particularly in the races you are forced to do to 100% the game lose the game 2 stars right off the top.  They are horrible.  You fight the controls or the camera or both in the flying races.  On the ground races, you have to race through an uncleared course, so random cars, pedestrians, or your own partner appear randomly and block your path, throwing you out of the race.  The only improvement  here is that it has an option to restart the race anytime you don't get gold. 
    The other horrible downside is the character Gwenpool.  Think the worse, obnoxious, air-headed Jersey Girl type that is constantly butchering English with horrible trite phrases. Until you beat all her missions, which involves beating all the story levels first, she's a constant nagging voice that loses the game another 2 stars. 
    Although I have all the Lego Games to date, future ones are now on the "Wait List". 
    Is the game worth it?  Well, the story levels were fun and the story interesting (for a Lego game).  The frustration doesn't really strike hard until you attempt to complete the 100% achievements. If you don't do that, it probably won't bug you.
  9. Myr

    Summer Break 2018

    By Myr,


    Life
    Wow, with summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are definitely seeing a drop in people online.   Even I'm getting more sun.
    I'm going to cut back on the number of blogs I'm doing for now and pick up again in the fall.  It'll give me more time to do these silly summer homeowner things I'm suddenly stuck with. lol.
     
     
     
  10. Myr

    Jurassic Park World

    By Myr,


    Movies
    I enjoyed this movie.  I was a big fan of the first Jurassic Park.  It was a definite classic.  Of course, that was before Steven Speilberg nuked the fridge...
    Jurassic Park 2 kind of sucked as the only character they kept was Jeff "The Annoyance" Goldblum.  Jurassic Park III, well... it was better than 2.  The kid was less annoying too.  So yeah... this is better than 2 or 3.
    Have you seen it?  Where does it rate for you?
  11. Myr
    I have mentioned before that I enjoy Tom Clancy's epic length novels.  He had three intertwining series all set in the same world.  This is another thing I like.  Having a created world where you can do different series of books and the characters bump into each other.  Without Remorse is where we meet the major recurring character of John Clark.   This is a good solid book that is a pageturner.  It's been entirely too long since I've last read it, so it is back into the queue for the next time I'm devouring books.  If you like political and military stuff, or Tom Clancy's stuff in general, this is a good book to read.
  12. Myr

    2 Guns

    By Myr,


    Movies
    This was a nice little action movie.  And I generally enjoy any movie Denzel Washington shows up in.  If you haven't you seen it, and you like action movies, this is worth checking out.
  13. Myr

    Percy Jackson the Olympians

    By Myr,


    Books
    Rick Riordan has become a juggernaut through Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Norse Mythologies with his interlocking series of books.  They all started with Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief being the first book)
    I've read this 5 book series and I have the other 15 or so books in the interlocking series, but I haven't read them yet.  The man is just cranking these things out.
    They are aimed at teens, so they make a great light read for those that like modern fantasy, a la Harry Potter.
     
  14. Myr

    Watch Dogs Legion - Initial Impressions

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    I have played a few hours of this game and it is holding my interest.  The game is an open world sandbox where you can enjoy a number of tasks.  The biggest one is that you can recruit any person you see.  Anyone.  Once you have recruited them, you can play as them.  The game does a very good job of making people sound different.  Thus far, it seems occasionally repetitive on occupation. For example, the recruitment mission for various types of doctors seems to be nearly identical.  So, if you recruit only one or two people per job type (and there are a lot... there is an achievement for having 15 different types, if I recall correctly).
    Normally, I'd describe the game as a dystopian future and leave it at that. But looking at all the crap going on in 2020, I'll call the game "2021 but with working Holographic and more human-like A.I.'s."  It is certainly loaded with extreme big brother tech companies, etc.
    Story wise, it's interesting, but not outstanding in any way. (so far).  This is definitely more of an open world game, make your own story, type of thing.  There are plenty of opportunities for "I wonder if I can do that" sort of things.  Let's say, you can get a James Bond-Style car complete with guided missiles.   That was fun.  Hacking a construction zone and flying around the city is fun too.
    I'll post more some time in the future... but if you are interesting in checking it out, it comes in a lot of flavors.
    Below are affiliate links to various version of the game.  Purchasing from below gives Gay Authors a small affiliate reward that helps support the site.

  15. Myr

    The Initiative's Perfect Dark

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    They announced the big game that Microsoft's big new studio, The Initiative was working on.  They are rebooting "Perfect Dark"
     
    On the surface, this looks interesting.  I'm definitely down with "spy genre" games.  They are absolutely right that it is undeserved and there is a huge upside potential. 
    Unfortunately, they also posted an interview with the developers and it almost completely turned me off from the game, not from the game itself, but from the pedantic virtue signaling all the developers were doing in the interview.  I can only hope that the Game is all Show and no Tell on the social commentary stuff. 
     
     
     
  16. Myr

    Immortals Fenyx Rising - Impressions

    By Myr,


    Gaming
    I finally sat down and played Immortals - Fenyx Rising today. It's on sale digitally and on various sites. I put links to Amazon USA below (they are affiliate links, Gay Authors gets a small cut if you order the game from the link)
    This game has a nice gameplay loop.  The narrators are entertaining and the world is very colorful and beautiful. I am playing on Xbox Series X and the game plays great and I have not encountered any bugs so far.  (Unlike all the other games out at the moment...)
    This game is was clearly inspired by Zelda Breath of the Wild.  If you play it, let me know what you think.  I'll post more on it later.

  17. Myr
    I have been doing some retro gaming the last few days.  I've been playing my copy of Assassin's Creed: The Enzio Collection, which is Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.  They are, collectively, the best Assassin's Creed games in the series.  They are open world, but they were trying new things and the story was much tighter than the latest games.
    If you like AC and haven't played these, they are a super bargain normally, but are on sale in many places for under $15 at the time of this posting.
    In playing the game, it brings back fond memories.  They really did a good job making you engage with the characters and the story.  This was before they want all cookie cutter.  Though these 3 games came out one after another, they were more like a really big game, then 3 separate ones, plot wise. In fact, ACII ended on a cliffhanger and Brotherhood picked up right where it left off from a story point of view.  I really miss the Ubisoft.
    That's not to say it's perfect.  It still has the god-awful randomness of jumping into midair, usually to your death.  The parkour climbing and jumping has been refined over the years, but it is STILL an issue in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, what 10 games later?
    They also have some sweat-inducing climbing and timed events that still drive me batty.  Those, thankfully, disappeared in later games.  but the games in later years grew to be so bloated.  It takes something like 80 hours to get through the story in Valhalla.  Yikes.  ACII is something you can jump in, enjoy and then move on.
    I hope Ubisoft remembers sometime that you can make a game that is fun without requiring you to dedicate your existence to it.
  18. Myr

    Writing Books - Dazzling Dialog

    By Myr,


    Writing
    I picked up this book recently in my never ending quest to improve my writing skill set.  It's a short book that is a very quick read.  I'd recommend it as it targets a weakness that a lot of stories have and it gives practical tips on how to spot the problems and how to fix them
    Definitely worth the read.  It's available on Kindle as well if you like to keep your library digital.
  19. Myr
    Would anybody be really surprised to learn that I am an avid reader?  I have a tendency to overindulge on different topics to not only learn, but to see other people's points of view on the same topic.  I'll skip the obvious tie to society's ills over not listening to each other's points of view.
    I just completed reading a book dealing with Gamification and how it relates to marketing.  The book is "Press Start - Using Gamification to Power-Up Your Marketing" by Daniel Griffin & Albert van der Meer.

    I have a couple of books on this subject and this one flows much easier than the other and it has a more accessible approach to implementation of its concepts.  Why am I reading about gamification and marketing?  Well, one reason is to be aware of the manipulation that is always going on around us.  Professional marketing runs the western world.  Though I suspect a long overdue crash is coming on that after so many people experienced the cognitive dissonance associated that occurs when they put lipstick on a pig and tell you it is the centerfold out of Play Girl.
    On a topic like Gamification, it is extraordinarily easy to dive deep down into a rabbit hole, as this is a topic that stands on a foundation of human behavior, psychology, game theory, marketing, and motivation.  It's all wrapped up together. 
    Humans, after meeting their basic needs of food, shelter and safety, are motivated by rewards.  Games we make are designed to make use of our motivations and provide rewards.  Marketing uses these to get you to buy what they want you to buy.  Marketing is like a magic trick... they do big flashy campaigns showing you a product to make you aware of it.  But that's not really the main driver.  "Product Placement" is.  Seeing others performing the desired behavior.  Making it a game, adds another layer on top by rewarding specific behavior (and depending on game, punishing bad behavior). 
    Gamification Elements are things like Badges, Trophies, Achievements, Leaderboards...  Plenty of people are motivated by getting recognition. Others by competition.  Others are on a journey to better themselves.  Some people are into it all.
    This book focuses on harnessing this and channeling it where you want to go and not abusing it.  Because it is REALLY easy to abuse.  Those loot boxes in mobile games?  Those little gateways where you have to pay $1.99 to continue or wait... the fear of missing out.  The fear of missing out is a HUGE HUGE HUGE way to manipulate people.  The sale will only last another 3 hours, buy now or miss the discount!  There are only 4 left, Order now!  (Does that look familiar?)  That's the fear of missing out.
    I've been using this book and others from a white hat side of things.  How can we motivate more people to do what we want?  What does Gay Authors want?
    We're still refining this, but this is what we're looking for:
    We want to encourage authors to post new content (stories/chapters) We want to encourage readers to post feedback (reviews, story comments, chapter comments) We want to encourage readers to react to content (reactions (like's,etc) We want to grow the community and retain members. (Keep people coming back every day or at least every week to see what's new) We want to grow Premium Content Membership to keep the site Viable.  (The more people that subscribe, the more stable we are as when people come and go, it doesn't cause wild swings. ) Thankfully, what we desire feeds into each other and is not in conflict.  Adding some game elements on top of what we have, just adds a new layer of motivation for some people that helps the cycle keep going. 
    Anyway, this turned into a bit diversion, but know that I'm always doing research to improve the site.  Not all aspects will appeal to all people, but it doesn't need to. Different strokes for different folks and all that.
  20. Myr

    Plot Gardening by Chris Fox

    By Myr,


    Writing
    I am on a bit of a roll this past weekend. I managed to get through a couple of things in my backlog stack of many things.  I picked this up and it was a quick, easy read.  I'm old fashioned, surprisingly, as I still love the feel of paper and a bookshelf I can go do when the power's out, so I have this in paperback.  I also put a lot of Post-it Flags on various pages of interest. 
    This book talks about a topic and then shows how it is done in a handful of movies that you have probably seen.  There are also handy little exercises at the end of each chapter that I think would genuinely help.  I've held the book off to the side so that I can give this a whirl on two of my writing projects. 
    If you are a "seat of your pantser" writer, this approach might help with outlining.  I'm going to give it a try.  It's worth a read.
  21. Myr
    I'll have to admit I picked this movie up on a whim. Mel Gibson action movies are usually entertaining.  And Emile Hirsch has had an interesting career.
    It was a bad movie, if you like brain-off B flicks.  I'll have to admit this groaner though... saw Mel Gibson and my immediate comment was "He's getting too old for this shit".
    If you see it somewhere on a streaming service and want to kill some time, there are worse ways to do it.  I wouldn't buy it.
  22. Myr

    Router Table

    By Myr,


    Gadgets
    One of the things I'm getting more into outside of the computer is woodworking.  I'm lightly researching routers and router tables now for a purchase later in the year.  This will allow me to do some more work on making some furniture items as well as simple things like frames from plexiglass that I'll need for other things.  (Like an enclosure for the 3d printer I'm looking at).
    Is there anyone out there that enjoys woodworking?  what tools do you prefer?
  23. Myr

    Midway - (2019)

    By Myr,


    Movies
    This is a good movie that suffers from the comparison problem.  It's a pretty high bar for those interested in world war II movies to leap over the original 1976 Midway.  The original had Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Michum, Robert Wagner amount others.  The ensemble cast was a who's who of Hollywood legends.  So, set that aside if you, like me, grew up with your dad watching the movie.
    The 2019 movie was well paced.  The cast clicked pretty good.  And Dennis Quaid and Woody Harrelson have really grown in their craft over the years.  They both have a history of goofy comedic roles.  It was nice to see them both in serious roles here. And I thought they both pulled it off.
    The movie did a good job of stressing just how important this battle was in WW II. The special effects were good too.
    I enjoyed it and will keep it in my movie library.
  24. Myr
    In my ongoing pursuit to bury myself in an avalanche of books, I picked up this gem.  This is like a jack-of-all-trades toolbox.  It has Character Traits, Character Names, plot ideas, action words, descriptive words, plot twist ideas, and a lot more.  It is exactly the sort of thing you'd reach for when you're stuck and you want an idea.  Or if you are horrible with names, picking a name from a list.  Or maybe you want to spice something up. Or you want a prompt.    I flagged a bunch of parts of the book and this will be on my reference shelf for when I need it.  I definitely recommend it.
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