I'm not sure what it is with my wife, but she has honed her Puyo Puyo playing to prove to be more and more of a match for me. Whatever "junk" I drop on her side she just pitches back to me or deposits in her fever meter for later devastatioin. When we play our match  wins usually tie, if they don't tilt to her favor.

We both started playing the game about the same time. It is a refreshing experience.

I make no boasts about riding the crest of early adoption, or knowing the next big thing. That said, I found a new East Coast/Best Coast rivalry brewing. Everybody knows the nation is split between four seasons and a never-ending Summer (with a little bit of spring mixed in). Some sing about the sun of California, others about the wonders of New York. Sometimes adoration escalates to violence. Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. were casualties of a rap war in the 90s. It seems the East Coast and West Coast are once more defrosting hostilities in a rap war made in Color Me Mine. Hopefully no celebrities will be lost from the adoration of Narnia and beach combing. Check out the videos from both sides and follow the Narnia battle by clicking the link below: http://narniarapbattle.com/ Red Vines not included.

My friend sent this video to me. He let his wife watch it and she has been giving him dirty looks ever since:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1329362959167995041&q=tripod

The sad thing is I know those moments. Those save points are much too far away. If you don't understand it, don't worry. If you do get it, you probably don't.

Proof yet again that games influence all aspects of our lives and society.

Pixar and 90s Disney movies were excellent examples of entertainment of scale. Adults found value which passed over the children's heads. By Carrie's definition it has some intellectually adult value but still retains the appeal for younger--many still innocent--viewers.

The "adult" bits of content relegated to consumption only by adults are, by their natures the items the mature wisely see as being not fit for immature minds. So, then does Jaffe's comparison of games to the prurient medium apply? Is pr0n the print media equivalent of video games' visual positioning? Really, why do we play and what is it we are looking to gather from our gaming? If you are after titilation, other media are really geared to satisfy that itch (if you are into that sort of thing), but the violence has no generally accepted substitute in society.

I love engaging movies. I was raised on classic action movies, which I found somewhat disturbing to my tender mind. I have one documentary for every four "popular" movies in my film collection. Both have place within my consumption habits. I have Metal Gears mixed in with my Halos and my Puyo Puyos and my Final Fantasies. Each is a media complement, though they are economic substitutes for one another.

Reading Conor's dissertation on the profundity of an interactive media experience was an existential exploration of my inner voice and the tilting, sometimes divisive, wants swirling within my consciousness.

Truly a tit for Carrie's tat, both without the trite "but on the other hand" segue.

What some might consider odd behavior, hindsight sees as methodical and tactical plodding.

Which of the world's machinations are revealed in a sudden burst. So many plans require preparation and incremental investment or instances of effort.

One does not rise to level 60 in WoW by watching Lost. A person does not become a master violinist by spending his day talking with muses. Thus, why would someone transition from one career to another without exploring the many options available. Only when you see the end from the beginning can you accomplish the goals you set. The ground separating you from your destination is only covered by incremental, methodical and planned steps.

"Mere intellectual assent to a truth deprives us of the relevant, personal experiences that come from applying what we profess to believe."
-Neal A. Maxwell
(1926-2004)

Resident Evil is hyped not only for the wicked gameplay, but also for the innovative over-the shoulder perspective. Now that the revolutionary view has become the new light bloom, I think it may be time to look back to the game that pioneered this perspective: Contra.

I'm not talking about the side-scrolling run-and-gun shooting, I am talking about the 3rd-person, behind-the-back perspective that put you right into the forced, 3-D perspective to shoot your way through enemy-infested halls.

Sure, that is different from how Resident Evil 4 implemented it, but you wouldn't have RE4 without Contra. Contra took the top-down or side-scrolling competition and turned it on its head by seamlessly integrating a strong side-scrolling experience with afresh look. With the advent of true 3-D graphics and the popularization of first-person shooters and 3rd-person platformers, the natural evolution of the game experience was to marry the two. Thus, you have Resident Evil 4.

We can only hope the arrival of RE4 marks the farewell of fussy cameras. But, in retrospect Contra had that freedom of perspective, and that clarity of vision to see your avatar and to see your enemy. Even though the true 3-D graphics were years away, you could see down the hall to where your shots would go.

Today I confirmed my pre-order for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence the Collector's Edition. Guess whta camera functionality is now included in one of the greatest games? Yup. So Konami has come full circle. They invented the behind-the-back shooter and they have returned Capcom's success to their own product. Let's just hope Konami can take some of Capcom's karma and release another decent Contra game.

Monday night is family night, just like Friday night is date night.

What is good for the goose is good for the husband.

After my wife gave a great lesson, we did the dishes, popped in Super Mario Strikers and fought the footie forces of the Mushroom kingdom on the field and the crying baby who didn't want to go to sleep.

My wife and I enjoyed the opportunity to team-up and play the cup mode in Strikers. With her background in Soccer and my background in games, it was a concentrated effort. My wife even took the MVP award in one match scoring all of our goals in the 6-1 win over Mario.

Unfortunately, neither of us could prevail in teaching our child to sleep on her own. So far, she is rebuffing all parental attempts to sleep on a decent schedule.

I make no boasts about riding the crest of early adoption, or knowing the next big thing. That said, I found a new East Coast/Best Coast rivalry brewing.

Everybody knows the nation is split between four seasons and a never-ending Summer (with a little bit of spring mixed in). Some sing about the sun of California, others about the wonders of New York. Sometimes adoration escalates to violence. 

Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. were casualties of a rap war in the 90s. It seems the East Coast and West Coast are once more defrosting hostilities in a rap war made in Color Me Mine. Hopefully no celebrities will be lost from the adoration of Narnia and beach combing.

Check out the videos from both sides and follow the Narnia battle by clicking the link below:

http://narniarapbattle.com/

Red Vines not included.

In Economics last night we learned about monopolies and oligopolies.

In case you didn't know, a Monopoly is the only supplier of a unique product with no close substitutes. An Oligopoly is a firm that produces a product for which only a few rival firms produce close substitutes.

Both tend to set the price for the market. They have enormous fixed costs which diminish as the quantity produced increases. Despite lower costs for producing more, they tend to produce less than the market demands. Monopolies (or Oligopolies) also charge more than it really costs for the products or sevices delivered.

Monopolies and Oligopolies tend to underdeliver and over charge unless they have any enticements to do otherwise. An effective impetus to produce more is the practice of charging different buyers different prices for essentially the same good (or service).

Thus, if a game console were released, unlike any other, a Monopoly would be formed by the provider of said console; especially if demand were higher than the amount of product delivered. If the provider could sell for different prices, it might be enticed to make more, possibly nearing (but probably not meeting) market demand.

Fred Gallagher, of Megatokyo fame, shared an insightful article about the life of hikikomori.

I remember when my relationship with my first fiancee fell apart. I didn't really want to go anywhere, do anything. I had just graduated from college, and I spent my days playing Perfect Dark on my buddy's N64, and spent my evenings planning and conducting AD&D adventures.

Never would I think of spending years of my life shut in, but their plight is not far from the reaches of my empathy.

The thought of having all the hopes, dreams and successes of a generation on your shoulders. . . I can understand that. I am an only child and the only hope for the success of my family. No pressure there. But to shut yourself in and never come out. . .

I am grateful for such a wonderful life. My wife and I were reflecting upon that this morning. The opportunity to live together, have a beautiful child, and a modest existence. We get by. What we lack in money, we more than make up for in love and companionship.

One of the examples in the NYTimes article referred to a graduate school drop-out. Getting an MBA is rigorous. It is demanding; I'd imagine any master's program is. But to drop out after a bad grade. . . that is not an option. I have invested too much to do that.

My wife admonishes me to go to school full time, but the necessities of being a provider are too demanding. I know my wife loves me and supports me. . . because she does. Not financially, but spiritually and emotionally. She's the best!

In case none of this makes sense. . . the point is, never give up, never surrender, because the best things in life require work, devotion, and recognition.