I am, always have been, and shall continue to be a pop culture junkie. I love to absorb different types artistic mediums, such as film, theatre, novels, animation - even comic books and video games. There are, however, some examples of these mediums that have impacted me more than others. That being said, I am always seeing lists being published of what is supposed to be the best of the different mediums.

Written below is my list Top Five Video Games, in chronological order. I am not saying that these are the best of all time; just my favorite and the ones I feel represent who I am, and what inspires me.

Balance is important for me in video games. Although graphics and story can add allot to the gaming experience what it all boils down to is that the game play has to be fun.

Tetris (1985) (GB)

The fact that is still one of the most popular games every created after 22 years stands as a testament to the awesomeness of this title. For me this isn't so much of a game for me as it is an obsession. I dream of falling blocks... enough said.

Vectorman (1995) (GEN)

Not many people remember Vectorman. It is one of those games that is just fun. It's a shame this game has been virtually forgotten. It could easily be updated and turned into a successful franchisee. It just needs some love.

Riven: The Sequel to Myst (1997) (PC)

This is the title that got me addicted to video games. It's the first time I realized the depth of art and storytelling that a video game actually has to ability to accomplish. Plus I love difficult problem solving; I can't get enough of it.

Okami (2006) (PS2)

It is sad so many people missed out on this title. Truly visionary and original, the style of cell shading they used for their graphics adds a layer of depth to their storytelling process, as well as helping with some of the most original game play I have seen in years. I wish they would find a way to port this game to the DS or Wii.

Final Fantasy XII (2006) (PS2)

This game took me by surprise. It went from a game that I was mildly interested in, to my favorite game of all time. It even bumped Final Fantasy VII off my list. The artistic style is gorgeous and visionary, the game play is fun and engrossing, the story is engaging, and the characters are the most realistic out of the series.

My new website. Check it out and tell me what you think; I am looking for contructive critism, so if you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns, please comment. It's been a work in progress for the past few months now, before then it was stuck in an indefinite 'Coming Soon' phase. I have been updating one or two things at a time and added whole new look and feel. I have allot of other ideas for my site so check back every few weeks or so for updates.

http://www.travisavery.com/

I preordered Final Fantasy XII about a month ago, so I wanted to be guaranteed a copy without having to worry about waiting in line for eight hours. Now, I have always liked the Final Fantasy series, however I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a fan. Each one has its pluses and minuses. I got this pre-recorded call informing me that it was being released, and that my local EB games was going to re-open at 11:00 pm to have a pre-release “party” for FF12 which they would begin selling at midnight. Originally I was going to wait until after work later in the day to pick up my copy, however it sounded like a good fun nerdy time. My friend was mad because he is a big square-enix fan, but spent all his money on his Halloween costume. I felt kind of bad buying it, because he had been waiting for longer than myself. I was the first one there. They were trying to set up the bonus features DVD without a remote control, so I tried to give them a hand. The red bull girls came and handed out a few drinks and then left. One of them kept staring at me funny. My guess would be because I don’t look like a stereotypical gamer, and it helped that I wasn’t drooling over them. I like to think that she had the hotts for me because it boosts my ego, but I realize that probably isn’t the case. So people started showing up slowly and eventually the place filled up. I talked to a few of the other people, who were all excited to talk to people who knew what they were talking about. I am consider myself more of a casual gamer, so allot of what they were talking about went right over my head. Nobody showed up in costume, which kinda’ disappointed me because ad midnight it would be Halloween. Eventually people began to form a bastardized hybrid of a mob and a line. I merged my way within it, and there was a big scary fat guy giving me the evil eye the entire time. He reminded me of the comic book guy from The Simpsons. He got his game and then walked out. There were a few people in front of me, then when it was my turn I got the collectors version of the game as well as the guide. I traded in a few games that I wasn’t a big fan of as well as some crappy movies so I could get a discount. Then I was all happy about my purchase, and left the store. I went out to my car, and the comic book guy was parked near me. “So, do you feel guilty?” he snarled at me. “What?” “Do you feel guilty?” “For what?” “You cut in line.” “There wasn’t really a line for me to cut in.” I stated, slightly confused. “You cut in front of a bunch of people.” “Are you kidding me? Is this the third grade? You got your game before me, whey are you complaining?” “Listen Dick, just because you think you’re cooler than us doesn’t give you the right to treat us like **** This statement truly bothered me, because he didn’t know me and he had no right no make accusations to anyone at this point. “Okay,” I started angrily “let’s ignore the fact that I was the very first one to get there, and had no problem when people started pushing their way in front of me. You seem to be the only one who had a problem with the whole keeping people in line thing. We were all guaranteed a copy of the game, so it’s not like someone wasn’t getting one.” “Whatever, I know your type!” He countered, his face turning red with anger. “What? Can you hear yourself talk? Who is the one bulling complete strangers in the parking lot. I don’t know what issues you may have, but I am just fortunate I don’t have to sink down to such rudimentary levels to improve my testosterone level because I am secure with the size of my… self worth.” At which point I sat in my car, revved the engine loudly, and drove home. People who know me, know I was picked on and beat up on regular basis in school. I don’t know what his issue was, perhaps I reminded him of someone who he didn’t like, but I didn’t wrong anyone. The thing I like about being nerdy is that the people are WAY nice and actually fun to hang out with. He reminded me of this kid in high school named Billy Hall. I tried to befriend him because he didn’t have anyone else to hang out with, but I quickly learned that the reason nobody hung out with him wasn’t because he was nerdy but because he wasn’t a nice person. If comic book guy had said something to me while in the store, I would have moved back further in the mob/line, because I didn’t mind taking a back seat. That’s why I was there: to have fun and talk to other people. If I didn’t want to social interaction I would order everything online.

The fact of the matter is that video games are not the cause of an epidemic of violence in youth. In reality, crime rates have gone down drastically. Specifically, youth crime is at the lowest it has ever been. In 1993 studies showed in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs that violent crime peaked at over four million offenses; in 2003 it was less than half. Not to mention that only 8 percent of games are actually rated as M (Mature); 63 percent receive an E (Everyone) rating. The media portrays people who play video games as dangerous shut-ins on the verge of violent behavior. Why now? Video games have been around for generations. Gaming has become quite popular in the past five years. It is actually becoming a large part of American culture, at the rivalry of mainstream media. People are spending less time watching television when they can interact with games; it is easy to see why they feel threatened. Politicians have begun taken interest in the debate, the two big names being Hilary Clinton and Jack Thompson trying to pass laws limiting sales. Most of them have been overturned because they infringe upon the First Amendment. Why would politicians try and pass laws that would hurt one of the few industries that is actually making a profit during times of economic recession? The answer is simple; right now it is popular to be against video game violence, and it will give them a few more votes to speak out against it. Parents have been speaking out against violent video games and so to keep their votes they react to it. There isn't anything wrong with that, it is part of political nature. The Surgeon General of the United States of America did an analysis of the risk factors of youth violence; violent media was categorized as risk factor number 27 with very small effect. It was put underneath factors like academic failure, weak social ties, and poor parent-child relations. In the past few decades parents have taken a backseat to raising children. They depend on television and the media to bring up their children for them. If parents don't want their kids playing overly violent video games, then they need to pay more attention to their children, what games they are playing, and what games they are buying for them. Take an inactive in the child's life, and actually parent the child.

So I spent three days at Comic-Con last week. My car broke down and now I had to take the bus to work today. I had fun, but comic-con isn't what it used to be. When I first started going it was much less crowded; I actually had the opportunity to talk to people and make contacts. I remember when it wasn't cool to be a nerd. That was back before I could get in for free with a professional badge through work. It has gotten more crowded every year, and this year was insane. I have a very little patience when it comes to people, and when you are shoulder to shoulder with complete strangers fearing you don't trip and get trampled to death it doesn't make for a fun experience. It was impossible to get cell phone signal so I had to play phone tag with people in order to meet up with them. It only made it worse that there has been a really big heat wave in California this year. Something that has always bothered me about Comic-con is the price of food at the Convention Center; Starbucks is cheaper than a bottle of water. I missed the Kevin Smith panel because he ran late and they had to postpone, I usually try and make it to that each year. I got play some neat video games, but nothing totally special. The Square Enix booth was allot of fun to hang out at. I got to meet and talk to the creators of the cartoon Venture Brothers. I caught them while they were outside smoking and shook their hands and they gave a little Monarch pin. While swimming through the mass of people I almost got ran over by the guy who plays Hurley in the show Lost. All in all I had fun, however next year I may only go for one day.

Born and Raised in Southern California, I am 22 years old, male, and I am merely a casual gamer. I enjoy film, theatre, animation, art and music. A little self-indulgence never hurt anyone. I am a walking contradiction, but I love every minute of it. I am twenty two years old, and still watch cartoons and play video games. I am a total Nerd, yet very relaxed and chill. I have a tendency of being very blunt sometimes, and people take it the wrong way. I think I am chubby, but people tell me I am not. I have a twisted sense of humor. I am probably as normal as you can get, and yet I am an evil alien. Which confuses me because I am also a pirate. I work as a graphic artist for a company in Carlsbad named Buzztime that makes mini-games. Very few people have heard of the company, and fewer still are people who have seen something I have worked on. I assure you, whatever yo have seen that is Buzztime is something that I think is total crap. -- http://www.travisavery.com http://www.myspace.com/travisavery

Haha! I am getting way to in to this site. I still refuse to pay, however lucky number thirteen has struck again. I just went up to level 13, and my current rank is Toobin'. Well, the other day I discovered this old box of hand-me-downs from a family member who didn't want his old games. Well I added a bunch of them to my games list went through my old games and added some of them to my games list and when I finished I noticed that I had exactly 100 games. Wow - I thought to myself - that is good place to stop. Then when I refreshed my page I notice I got the "Old-School" emblem. Crazy! A while ago I subscribed to a few of the unions which had represented games that I had become part of the community. Two of them were virtually dead, the Myst Union and The Fable Union. Well I unsubscibed to The Fable Union because there is a new, better Fable union now, which I have now joined. Yay!

I make no secrete out of the fact that I am not your standard gamer. I didn't even get interested in games until I started working for a company that makes them (well kinda' but not really). That being said my philosophy on games is that a video game is essentially one of two things; they are either advanced board games or interactive story telling. That being said, here is my opinion of each system. Nintendo Revolution (Wii) - I don't like the name, however other than that this is the system that gets me most excited. I am excited for the extensive downloadable game library, because as a kid I missed out on some of the older games for NES and SNES because my family couldn't afford it. When I saw the GBA attachment for the bottom of the gamecube it got me excited because I figured that could have had similar attachments for the older cartridge systems, but alas it was not to be. As for the motion sensing controller, I am getting more and more used to the idea of this. After seeing how some of the developers are implementing the controller with these games I am feeling more and more comfortable with it. XBOX360 - The a more powerful version of it's predecessor. I have finally seen a few games that I am excited for. I was thinking of buying it a few months ago, however the lack of appealing games for me help me back. The original was neat because it felt so separated from Microsoft and was designed to be a game machine for hardcore gamers. The ones seems to be a little more universally appealing, which could be considered both good and bad. PlayStation 3 (PS3) - I am becoming more and more cynical every time I hear more about this console. It is (without question) the most powerful of the big three. The way you will be able to connect the PC with the PS3 and the PSP is also very appealing to me. They made a good movie with their online service, but I feel the motion sensing controller is a little tact on at the last second. I want to like this one because I loved all the games for the PS2, but between Sony's bad attitude and the high sticker price I am having a hard time with this one. It would be smart for Microsoft to lower the 360's price right before the launch of the PS3 because they would undoubtedly steal away some of their customers. Handhelds (DS, PSP, GBA, Mobile, etc) - The Nintendo DS in definitely winning the handheld market in my opinion. Originally I wanted the PSP, but the lack of good games adding with the annoying UMD movie format killed the appeal quickly. Mobile games are a joke to me; the controls are weird and it takes away from the functionality of the phone. I wish they would create a DS with a SIM card adapter for cell phone service; using the touch screen for the number pad could be really intuitive, and scrolling through your contact list would be really easy with the touch screen. If they are truly getting rid of the GBA I wish that they would add backwards compatibility with the older gameboy games to the DS, or add the old gameboy games to the list of downloadable games for the Wii.

Okay, I was kinda' jaded about posting a blog here, because nobody would read it, but then I felt I could split my blog into two different categories. I post my nerd blog here, and my life blog on my-space. So, for the longest time I had this account and never signed on. I was a lurker who only used the site for it's news section. The only reason I even signed up in the first place was to download a game trailer. At work I had to design a site with a forum incorporated, and I had never really used a forum very often so I signed up with a few different sites. Well after a while I remember I had an account here. The problem was that the email I used to run this account didn't exists anymore, and I didn't remember my password anymore. So, instead of just simply creating a new account, no that would be to easy, I went back and tried every single password that I could remember that I had ever used back to kindergarten. None of them worked, then I tried some nonsensical words and one of them worked so I updated my password and account info. Well, because I had apparently been a member for a while I had a pretty high level for someone who had never once posted in a thread and I had a message telling me that because of my "active participation record in the GameSpot forums, you are now able to use HTML and BBCode in your forum posts!" Which I got a good laugh off of.