What makes a good game?

                    

   What makes a good game? There isn't really an answer to that question because the answer is different no matter who you ask. How many times have you heard people blast a movie and point out all the flaws, but then you end up loving it? Honestly this happens to me a lot. I think it's funny that you can watch a movie twice and hate it the first time, but love it the second time. I think influence is one of the key factors in deciding what you like. No matter how many times your psycho girlfriend tries to convince you, you won't like anything unless you yourself ACTUALLY does. In a world where so much is done because of peer pressure, be yourself and have your own voice. Games are fun for different reasons, but you can't really narrow it down to one thing. Do you like paying for in game sex and then running over said hooker to get your money back? Then GTA is the game for you! I think gamers often look in for what they want in the wrong areas. Do some homework before you blow 60 bucks on game, and you'll have a much better idea of what your getting into, and remember than games are meant to be fun.

Take a Break

           Want a hot tip on how to be a better gamer? Don't play games ALL the time. every once in a while you need to put down the controller and go outside. I have been recovering from surgery for the past couple of weeks and at first I though I would have time to catch up on games but it ended up not being like that. I had plenty of time to game, but I simply didn't want to. Conveniently Borderlands TPS came out right as I had surgery so I ended up playing it WAYYY to much and burning myself out. I found myself spending more time watching movies, writing, and just altogether resting like i should have been. I didn't really realize until I was attempting a raid boss and my wife came and sat by me and said "You know, you might be stressing yourself out doing this." After that I took a break, and really gave myself time to rest. Funny thing was, the next time i attempted the fight i aced it due to taking a break but that's beside the point. Like anything in life, it has to be taken in doses. Sometimes we do this release streams or all night game-a-thons and go to the store and buy all this junk food. Within a hour I don't feel good, 30% of the food we got is devoured, and my controller smells like cheetos. Its like just because there's extra goodies, you always want to take advantage, but if you paced yourself you'd be able to enjoy it longer. Games can be like that too. I think we rush too much out of excitement. Take your time and enjoy things. WOD just released and I was one of the few on my server to get ahead, and I could of got ahead and maybe been one of the first lvl 100s on the server, but what then? would I feel special? would I get a cookie? The answer is NO! All I would have done is had a horrible day at work the next day due to not sleeping, and would have rushed something that game developers meant to be enjoyed slowly.
    
            Believe me, I love games, but there has to be time spent elsewhere. Take your downtime and enjoy it.

Progress

             What makes a good gamer? What separates a good gamer from a great gamer? Does it even really matter? In my opinion, the answer to the question is "Why do you Game?" If you are trying to progress to MLG, then yes it matter if you know what you are doing. I believe in pushing for goals, even if they seem impossible. For a long time, I've been known as a great gamer. I have played in tournaments, ranked high on certain ladders, and been a force to reckon with in many games. But something changed one day. One day I found myself playing more defensive than aggressive which at the time was not normal for me. I found myself being more of a objective based player rather than someone going for the most head shots. I honestly cannot tell you what it was, but it took me a while to realize. In today's competitive gaming, you cant really exist without a ego. There are a few people who aren't over the top, but the norm with skilled gamers is to be in some form or fashion, an elitest. One of my dreams is to game for a living but I honestly struggle with the ego part of it, and that is why I think things changed.

             I guess you can say that in a way I grew up. I focused more on protecting people in games and making sure people had time to actually enjoy it instead of being spawn camped. I wasn't ever really a trash talker, but I was confident. I found myself wondering why I couldn't perform the same and it ended up turning me off to certain types of games. I think this was a good thing because it ended up making me focus less on being good at games, and made me focus more on the actual game itself. In the end, games are made to be entertaining. If at any point you aren't being entertained then you have to evaluate what you are doing. Sometimes being patient enough to think about things helps you more than you think. Patience, in my opinion, is one of the things that not only helps you in life, but also helps you be a better gamer. I read a interview somewhere that said that no one will ever be at the top of their game unless they are arrogant, because knowing you cant get beat actually makes you unbeatable. Now I've always been one to play against the odds but this comment really irritated me. When you pick up a fresh game and start playing, there are going to be people that understand game play faster and slower than you, but that doesn't give you rights to entitle yourself to anything.

          I think a lot of gamers are simply scared out of gaming too soon because they feel too steep of a curve to learn. There is a lot of willing people to help but you sometimes really have to dig to find them. Last Thanksgiving, I was talking to my aunt and realized that she was a gamer. She told me about how she helped out new gamers into zombies. Zombies takes a game that felt like beating your head against the same wall repeatedly, and putting a new fun spin on it. It was so refreshing to hear what my aunt did, and it really served to revitalize some passion to play that type of shooting game. She inspired me to keep playing and keep trying to progress, no matter how many people tried to shove me back down.

        In the picture up top there is a conversation with my friend Brett that I had last night. He really inspired me to write this post today because  I think what he said in the picture is a key note in being a good gamer. I think it is way better to be a great gamer than the best gamer. If there is room to learn, then you will always get better and still be intrigued. Set goals for yourself, that aren't too ridiculous. and make sure you always try to hit them. Most importantly, don't be too hard on yourself. If the game ever stops being fun, then take a break and step away. This will make you play longer and not get so burnt out on everything. Just remember that progress is the key, and be patient to see change. Just like in real life, doing the same thing over and over everyday will quickly get boring.

        This may not appeal to every single gamer, but I feel like it might hit home with some struggling gamers. When my wife logs on Borderlands, she wants to kill midgets and get loot. She doesn't care about how good she is and who knows it. She simply plays because its fun. I think, whether hardcore or casual, you need to always enjoy what your doing. Keep a positive attitude and make sure you keep striving for progress if that's what you desire, but don't forget to have fun. Always be your own kind of gamer, and play for whatever it is YOU want to play for.

Special thanks to Lisa and Brett for the inspiration.

Grinding

         
                   Grinding is something that happens in a lot of different games, but also in life. Grinding is repeatedly doing something in hopes of gaining a small advantage. In some games it is similar to gambling or playing the lottery. Whether it is grinding Handsome Jack for the Conference Call in Borderlands or Decoding rare engrams in Destiny in hopes of getting a exotic, grinding can get boring. I have spent a lot of time grinding on games due to the fact that I'm usually the one with the most gaming time so i get stuck doing the dirty work. I don't mind doing it because it gets results and its nice to see the reward. Another reason i don't like grinding is because sometimes it helps out the community. When a new Borderlands game comes out and people don't know where certain things drop its nice to contribute to the community in hopes of helping other gamers out.

                 After playing destiny for weeks, i ended up at a cave where you could rubber band your controller and still farm as efficient as anyone else. I like playing the game, not letting a rubber band do my work for me. I think it lowers your opinion of a game when it becomes so easy to get results, and also builds a standard of getting what you want without working for it. I personally don't mind being the one that does the grinding because it helps people around me enjoy the game more.  As soon as I cap in Borderlands I am expected to farm my wife a Hellfire. My wife isn't the biggest gamer in the world, but she does try. At first, that was due to the fact that I did it and she wanted to share things with me but over time she developed a genuine interest in games. I have woken up to her thumbing through Gearbox information in hopes of finding a kernel of news about a new game release.

                No matter what type of game you play, there will always be some form of grinding. One of the first games I played was Super Mario Brothers and I remember being surprised by the fact that my dad always had 99 lives. I remember thinking that he would never died, but at one point I watched him sink all 99 into one level. Grinding sometimes makes games fun, and sometimes makes you pull your hair out, but it usually has some form of reward. One of the things i love about games is that grinding isn't necessary unless your really trying to min/max. Once you start looking at a mob that the designers put hours into designing and instead look at it as a .03% chance to drop a weapon you want, you will start losing interest.

              Grinding often leads to another thing that I think plagues the gaming scene: Cheating. A lot of people would rather cheat than put in the hard work for most things in games. I have used a cheat code or two in my days because it is fun to walk around in GTA with unlimited ammo and trying to see how much carnage you can cause. I usually ask people when I see them cheating, and their response usually is that they don't have enough time. My brother is a great example of this. He is a really good gamer, but with how big his family is, he doesn't really have enough time to sit down and play as much anymore. My main problem with cheating, is when there is a ego to go along with it. People bragging about a weapon that they had someone dupe still baffles me to this day. Respect the people that put the time into getting results.

            All in all, grinding in games, has taught me to not give up so easily on certain things in life. It taught me that you don't always immediately see the results you want and sometimes can lead to nothing, but there's still that glimmer of hope. Getting things with ease sometimes doesn't feel as rewarding because it doesn't feel like you earned it. One could say i grinded through a lot of girlfriends before I found my wife, and I can tell you with honesty, it was worth it.

New Releases

               Games are entertaining enough on their own, but once you develop such a deep interest in a series the anticipation of any new title comes with great excitement. There are a lot of different types of gamers who each like their own flavor of koolaid, but we can all agree that waiting on a new release is fun. At the moment I am playing World of Warcraft and leveling up some alts in anticipation of the new expansion release this Thursday. I always end up trying to get "everything" done before a new game or expansion. I make mental and physical checklists in hopes that I "complete" the prior installments and am truly ready for the new game. I usually end up boring myself out and realizing that there inst anything wrong with coming back to a game to re-explore it or finish off any leftover tasks. If your hoping to start streaming, I would suggest doing it on a release day of a game you enjoy. People are much more entertaining to watch when they enjoy what they are doing. I really enjoy having the day off when a new title releases because it gives you time to really appreciate all the time and work they put into it.

              The night before release has quickly become the night before Christmas for me. You can only read so many reviews and watch so many videos before you actually have to get out there and get your hands on it. I think one of the coolest things about gaming is the fact that they could re skin and release a old game like Final Fantasy 7 and people would still be waiting in line to get it. Something about games just hit home with a lot of people and create elements we can relate to. I hold games equivalent to books and movies because the amount of time and effort into the story as well as character and world design. Games have come a long way, but they still entertain me today as much as they did when I was 5. I love that stores do midnight releases because it not only brings awareness to the community but also gives people an opportunity to meet people with the same interests.

            All in all, video games are great, but the hype that gaming companies build has really made the experience even better. Since writing this, I have realized that there is a Borderlands TPS dlc being released tonight and it brings up a important point. There simply isn't enough time to stay completely updated with every game and every genre, which is why i think some gamers get put off and feel behind. Some players go for world first kills and some go for the best K/D ratio in the game, but you cant forget that there are people who just play the game to take it slow and enjoy things on their own. Regardless of what attracts you to games, be your own kind of gamer and play on your own terms. Just because a game is FOTM doesn't mean you are going to love it.

Current hype list:
1. Warlords of Draenor
2. Borderlands TPS DLC
3. Little Big Planet 3
4. GTA V for PS4