What's So Great About Online Multiplayer in Video Games?

This is a somewhat prickly topic for me to discuss, because I feel like I'm on the opposite side of the issue from everyone else. But, this is something that's bugged me for a long time, and now that I have a blog, I figure, "Hey, why not?" Also, it's relevant to the blog's topics, so...Anyway, this is a look at my biggest pet peeve in the the gaming industry, the growing trend towards online multiplayer.

Yes, this is also a game blog. AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT.

Blogging Bonanza! The End - Blog Spotlight

     Well, it's been a lot of fun doing this. I plan on resuming my normal blogging schedule (when I get more post ideas - this definitely took a chunk out of my reserves) in the coming days/weeks, but I may do this again sometime. It was certainly an...interesting way of dealing with Writer's Block (as you may remember, this project was originally started because I had trouble writing the NWN review). I hoped you enjoyed the Blogging Bonanza (title aside) as much as I did. To wrap this project up, I thought it would be appropriate to point my readers in the direction of some other awesome blogs. The purpose of this "Blog Spotlight" is to go over in detail some of my favorite blogs but more importantly why I like them. These blogs may or may not be in my blogroll, but that shouldn't really matter. This isn't trying to promote great blogs for you to read, but rather to go over some of my personal favorite blogs (or ones that I just really enjoy reading) and talk a little bit about why I like them. Let's jump right in, shall we?

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 7 - Fallout Review

Fallout is a CRPG developed by Black Isle of Interplay and released in 1997. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic nuclear winter sometime in the 22nd century of an alternate timeline. (This is a long review, so buckle up.)

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 6 - Style vs. Substance: Which is more important?

So, I recently watched the first episode of Mononoke, a rather esoteric anime. The show has a number of people who love it, a large amount of people who've never watched, and people still on the fence like me (and I guess people who dislike it, too). But, in watching it, I started thinking about what it was that made those people love it so much. I didn't really think it was the story, because, honestly, it was pretty uninteresting (not bad, mind you, just...uninteresting). Instead, I believe it has to do with the show's style. No one can deny that Mononoke has a unique art style, but the style I'm talking about goes beyond art. It's the element lurking behind all others, sort of similar to atmosphere.

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 5 - (Music Post #1): KOKIA: Balance

Originally, this blog was meant to serve as my platform to talk about three things: Anime, Games, and Music (in that order). Since then, it's direction has changed somewhat, and I've added the topic of Blogging to my repertoire and made a number of editorials, but I have yet to make any posts about music. Since this project was meant in part to have a little bit of everything (remember, it was originally going to be called a medley), and because I started this blog over four months ago, I've decided it's high time that I make a music post. And as it happens, I just recently ordered an album by one of my (if not my all-time) favorite artist, KOKIA (yes the name is supposed to be in caps). I won't give you much background, because I think her work speaks for itself, but the basic details are:

1) She's a singer.
2) She's a solo artist - that is, she isn't part of a band (and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have any one set group on instruments, though I may be wrong). No, not "solo" in the sense that it's only her voice and no instruments.
3) She has written all of her songs herself since her second album, and occasionally composes the music as well.
4) She's a quad-lingual singer - she has sung in Japanese, English, Italian, and Irish.

Anyways, I won't bore you by trying to analyze her music or anything like that. My plan is to just share a few of my favorite tracks of the albums I bought, as well as a few of my favorites that aren't on them. I don't expect you to keep your eyes glued to this page while you listen to the songs, so instead here's what I ask you do: keep this post open in a tab, play the songs in it, and do whatever else you want while you do. Read some other Blogging Bonanza posts on this blog, read some other blogs, read a manga, read something has nothing to do with Japan, play a game, surf the web, whatever. Just keep these songs playing in the background (in whatever order you like), and if you like them check out some more of KOKIA's works. Even if you don't, though, please just enjoy the songs here. With that out of the way, onto the post!

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 4 - Blogging: A Not So Anonymous Endeavor

Anonymity in the blogosphere is one of the most interesting subjects I've ever encountered, mostly for its contradictions. While there are a few people who freely reveal details about themselves online, the vast majority of bloggers prefer to keep their names, age, gender, and especially their faces secret. Indeed, there are even some bloggers (like myself) who make an active attempt to keep their personal info out of others' hands. The way we do this is through our online avatars; supposedly anonymous, unrelated images in place of ourselves. But is this initiative to remain anonymous flawed in and of itself?

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 3 - The Journey and the Destination: a matter of balance

Since finishing Brave 10, there's been a question on my mind: "Which is more important, the journey or the destination?" I think at least 90% of the blogosphere that watched the show will agree that the ending of Brave 10 was...less than spectacular. But I still enjoyed the show quite a bit, enough to forgive the terrible end and give it an overall positive rating. I firmly believe that the main body of the show (the journey), with its great action and "classic" approach, is more important than the lousy end (the destination). But is that the right view to take?

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 2 - Chihayafuru Impression

It's been a long time since my last impression, but you're finally getting another one, this time for the (somewhat) recently finished Chihayafuru anime. I call it an impression because I'm basing this off of only one viewing, and don't want to go into as much depth as I have with other reviews. Here's the "technical" information: Chihayafuru is a 25 episode anime made by Madhouse that ran from October 2011 to March 2012.

Premise: Chihaya Ayase is a frank and ebullient girl who becomes fascinated by the obscure world of competitive karuta, a card game based on Japanese poetry. Introduced to the aggressive style of the game by a quiet and thoughtful elementary school classmate named Arata Wataya, the two quickly become close friends. They start playing as a group with Taichi Mashima, Chihaya's smart and athletic childhood friend, until they have to part ways during their middle school years due to several circumstances. As their high school life begins, they meet once again.
 -- ANN

Blogging Bonanza! Pt. 1 - Neverwinter Nights Review

Neverwinter Nights is a CRPG developed by Bioware, first released in 2002. The version I'm reviewing is the Diamond Edition, which includes the three official expansions: Shadows of Undrentide, Hordes of the Underdark, and Kingmaker (though Kingmaker could hardly be called a true expansion).
Note: Due to the game being played at a somewhat high resolution, the details in images are quite hard to see. Just click on them to enlarge.

Blogging Bonanza! - Prelude: I'm Back!

What? This blog is still active?!

Hi everyone, I'm back! Once again, I apologize for the wait on my posts. I was quite swamped with a particularly heavy school work load in all my classes, which came without warning while I was in the middle of having trouble writing the NWN review. Thus, my poor blog was neglected for the month of April, and most of May. Well, no longer! I'm back, with something a little special to make up for my long absence. So, without further ado, welcome to my Blogging Bonanza! This was a bit of a motivational project for me, and also an apology to my readers. The original idea was that I wouldn't publish any other posts until my NWN review was done, but when the number of other posts increased to 6, I decided to make a full blogging project out of it. The idea was to publish a full post each day for a week, and I finally have all 7 posts finished! I'll be starting tomorrow, so check back each day starting tomorrow (if you feel so inclined). I hope you like the project, and that you can forgive me for not posting in such a long time. Enjoy!