Respect IS Worth Fighting For
Let me say that my comments this week aren’t necessarily going to be ones that I haven’t already shared before. In fact, they are definitely ones that I’ve had before, but I find them important enough that I’d like to go over them again just because of a recent “occurrence” that’s kind of driven them home to me.
Sarcasm and teasing are part of any game. You taunt a little, you get into the other players’ heads, and you make them react to you differently than they would react to any other players. You make yourself a threat on the field, and suddenly you’ve got some control of the other team’s focus. Sometimes that’s by making yourself look more important on the field than anyone else, or sometimes it’s by just being in the way as often as possible. Mind games are a part of any competition.
I can take jibes and jabs, and I dish them out just as easily. But there is definitely a point where things get a little out of hand. Competition creates frustration that can easily spill into heated problems if you let them. And there is definitely a time when a loud-mouthed punk starts to grind on you.
Disrespect. It always comes down to disrespect. When you start to disrespect your opponent, that carries it too far for me. I’ll admit that I’ve often fallen on the wrong side of that coin. Winning tends to make you feel that you’re more superior, and even better than the people that you’re playing against.
But once you lose that sense of respect… Things all start going downhill.
I don’t tolerate disrespect. Not to me, not to my family, and not to my friends. It’s a moral standard that I’ve tried to hold up for as long as I can, and it’s one that even some of my closest friends have a hard time keeping track of. I never say anything to my friends in an effort to disrespect them. When it comes to those closest to me, I am fiercely loyal, some may even say “blindly” so.
But perfect strangers… I always try to remain respectful at the first. On a blank slate, I try to look for the positive outcome. I expect to respect, and to be respected. But that’s not always the case. Some people just have no respect for others, and it shines through only far too easily.
When a person disrespects me, that’s when the gloves come off. That’s when I get angry, and boy, people don’t like me much when I’m angry.
But I have to wonder to myself… Is that such a bad thing? To fight for respect, either for yourself or those you care about? Is that wrong?
Entire wars have been fought over respect. The war for America’s independence was fought, not just for freedom, but fought so that the world would respect our right to freedom. America was ridiculed, put down, until finally we got tired of it and fought back in a war that we had no right to win.
Sometimes, I think that getting angry about disrespect is the absolute correct response. Of course, violence doesn’t always solve everything, but I personally believe that there are some times when it is completely justified. Sometimes, a person just needs that one person to stand up to them and say “No.”
In a permissive world that we live in today, it’s rare to see people stand up to bullies outside of fiction. Why do we simply fall prey to the whims of those whose voices are the loudest, and whose whining is the most annoying?
I refuse. I refuse to be intimidated by stupidity, and I refuse to let jerks tell me what to do just because they think they deserve it.
If it comes down to a fight, so be it. That will work for me just fine. Because respect… That’s something that I think is worth fighting for.
a beautiful oblivion
Even as I sit here, typing on my keyboard, I realize that I should be getting to bed, not click-clacking away in front of the computer screen. But there’s just something compelling me right now. For some reason, I have this urge to write something out. It’s this need to be typing, to be creating. It’s as if the blank page here is an invitation that I just can’t ignore, and I must somehow fill it with something. I just can’t leave space white any longer.
This need is only compounded by the fact that I haven’t put anything up in a few weeks, even though I’ve checked the page several times, and often said out-loud to myself, “I should really put up a post.” It’s like my dust-gathering journal that I will often write in out of guilt, simply because I’d committed to myself to do it, wrote in it for a grand total of a couple days, and then placed it on the shelf with a number of other unfulfilled good intentions.
Another reason for this obtuse barrage of prose comes from the fact that I just finished a 12-hour day on a set that didn’t really need me. I mean, yeah, I did move a couple of things from here to there, but there was no challenge, there was no hustle, and there was no brainpower to my entire day. The most stimulation that I got out of today was the four cans of Dr. Pepper that I downed from craft services.
Honestly, standing around for 12-hours in the snow while having to move a shiny board a couple feet every half hour or so is anything but fulfilling, and I guess I just need some kind of outlet. While I’ve definitely worked some mind-numbing jobs in the past, I’ve never been on such a dull set before. It was just kind of absurd. And the problem is that I’m supposed to go to set again tomorrow, and I need to find some way to keep things interesting. Maybe I’ll bring a book or something, which is unbelievably taboo on most sets.
But geez, if they’re just having me do a free job for twelve hours that you could get any half-trained monkey to do, then I need something a little more interesting to dwell on.
And since I’m talking about life, why is it that my life seemed ready to pounce on me as soon as I got back from winter break? It was like everything was waiting for the moment that I returned to attack me all at once. I’ve got three shoots in the wings, my pilot jumping into production, my family needing help down south, on top of schoolwork that’s just starting up along with a broken heater that needs repairing and a mess of classes to go to that I would really rather just ignore.
Oh well. If I wasn’t able to juggle that kind of list on a daily basis, I just wouldn’t be me. My life is one that just demands constant organization, and I’ve just had to get used to that. So good to meet you, 2010. Welcome to my world. I’m going to kick your ass. Ha!
- K
learning to join the dance
There was a time in my life when I loved to dance. I actually enjoyed moving to the rhythm, going crazy, and not caring what anyone else thought. For me, it was one of the strangest phenomenon – The ability to act like a complete and utter nutcase, jumping, jiving, leaping and writhing to the music, regardless of skill or finesse. And to top it off, it was perfectly acceptable. It was all about having a good time, and I went to dances often, and often I would show myself to be quite the “dancing fool.”
That seemed to change a few years ago.
I like to think that I’ve started to “grow up”, but if I’m truly honest with myself, I know that that’s not the case. Instead, I believe that it has something to do with self-imposed shyness and fear in the wake of troubling times. I feel like, in the time that it’s taken me to get over certain relationship troubles in my past, I’ve shunned such activities, putting them to the side for fear of conjuring up old memories.
But even as I type that out, I can see the illogical stupidity of it. Why should I allow some old thoughts stop me from doing something that I used to enjoy? Why should someone else have the control over who I am, and what I do?
It’s a mental battle, one that I have with myself every time I see the opportunity to dance. It happened to me just the other night. Friends and others were up dancing around to some crazy music video, and there I was, just standing to the side. I couldn’t compel myself to get out on the dance floor, even though just about every other person in the room was out there.
I’ve got to make the effort, but I think I still need to gain the motivation. It’s not about doing it right, I guess, it’s just about doing it at all. I can’t just wait for the music to come to me, but instead, I need to forget the fact that I don’t know all the steps.
I just need to join the dance.
- K
ion drum rocker and the art of plywood
I know that everyone and their mom has now played Rock Band, and if they haven’t, they’ve been living in a cave for the past five years. This little karaoke substitute has created an amazing new way to enjoy your music, to become a virtual rock star, and to pile numerous plastic guitars and drum sets throughout living rooms everywhere. And it’s a total blast.
I picked up my Rock Band 2 set about a year ago, and quickly learned that while many people are familiar with the guitar controllers, the drums were a completely different animal. Considering that no one ever seemed to want to touch the drums, I took it upon myself to learn them, and so I became my friends’ default drummer in any and all Rock Band sessions. I usually can make it through any song on hard, and many on expert, but I wouldn’t consider myself extremely good.
But I do love to play. A lot.
So, it wasn’t really a surprise a few months into ownership that I broke the kick pedal’s plastic hinge. Or that I snapped the bolt on one of the symbols. Or that the pipes won’t properly stay all the way up anymore. That little plastic set had a good, long, life, but I realized that it was time to upgrade.
After some research, and realizing that I really only wanted to use this for Rock Band instead of a career as a drummer, I decided forgo the expensive, high-end electronic drum set ups and went with the Ion Drum Rocker. At first, this worked for me, but I quickly noticed that the thing liked to drop out of the game sporadically. A quick search later, and I discovered that there was some kind of static electricity buildup that caused a charge to run through the system and drop out, which was extremely frustrating during a particularly difficult section or while the entire band was on a good rhythm.
I went through a number of ideas, hoping that I wouldn’t have to send the set in to get it repaired or something, and annoyed that many people complained that the Ion/Alesis customer service was really bad. My ideas ranged from touching the pads to discharge them between songs, putting a vinyl mat underneath the set, to using some dryer sheets, to a number of different alternatives, but nothing seemed to stop it from disconnecting or just having the drums simply stop responding for apparently no reason.
After talking it over with a friend, we thought up that perhaps if we could deaden the charge, not only under the set, but under myself and the entire set-up, we could get it to work. After some rummaging through the garage, and a little hammer and sawing, I slipped some plywood under the drum set, my seat, the kick pedal, and the cords that run to the PS3.
So far, I haven’t had a single problem.
The Ion Rocker is a good set that I’ve had a lot of fun with. The main reason that I put this out there is that I’ve read about some really expensive ideas, including opening up the system and adjusting wiring, or scraping things off the pads, or a number of other ideas, and I thought that they all sounded rather… well, expensive, as well as time-consuming. As far as I can determine, the wood underneath my system at the moment, (on top of the carpet), is just regular old plywood. The cables don’t touch the carpet, which I also think is important.
Anyway, hope that helps someone who was as frustrated as I was. Or even those who aren’t.
- K
UPDATE: Since this posting, I’ve done some extra testing. The kit will sometimes still drop out, and the response that I got from ION was anything but helpful. In any case, I tried a number of other things in addition to the plywood on the carpet underneath the kit, and the most helpful has been a seven-dollar grounding wrist strap that I modified to fit around my ankle, plugged into the ground of a wall outlet. Over New Years, we held a four+ hour Rock Band marathon at my house, and after putting on the “ankle strap”, there were only two or three drop outs total for the whole night. It was cheap, and worked wonders. I would recommend putting the strap around the ankle of the foot that you’re going to use for the kick pedal, because that seemed important, and make sure that the metal piece of the strap is touching skin, not clothing.
In an effort to remove the problem completely, next I’m going to try adding an anti-static mat onto the plywood to see if that helps even more. But I thought that I should jot down this little tidbit for those who are still having problems. Good luck! – K
Techno-Tourette's
I play video games. A lot. Quite possibly too much. I think my favorite ones are those that really challenge some thought and make you look at things in a different perspective. A game with a really powerful and engaging story, or with unbelievable gameplay, or the ability to really lose yourself into another “world” for a while really tend to catch my attention. For me, gaming is all about the experience. When friends are over, we play Rock Band, or Buzz, or even (surprisingly awesome) Little Big Planet. Those are games that I don’t often play by myself, simply because it’s about the experience with the friends that are over that make the games enjoyable. I truly wish there were more games like that, instead of just leaving multiplayer to online-exclusives.
For my own solo experiences, though, it’s a different kind of experience. I gauge the quality of a game based on how hard it is for me to put it down. But also by how easily it is for me to go crazy over something that looks to be beyond my control, in which I can perceive a gaming flaw. In NCAA Football, it’s when I’ve got a defensve line of rock-solids and the halfback is able to run right through them because of the animations that force my guys just slightly to the wrong areas. In NBA Live, it’s when I get forced out-of-bounds by an animation, or get locked onto the offensive player against my will. Blitz: The League, when the computer has my guys slipping all over the field while the opposing team is playing like the Niners in the Joe Montana era. In Grand Theft Auto, when I have to wait an hour to kill the guy I’ve been chasing, even though I’ve been able to make the shot the entire time. In fighting games, its when the computer can do a million moves flawlessly while any normal person would make at least a couple mistakes, especially when some of those moves are physically impossible to duplicate (the Guile Sonic-Boom to Flash Kick comes to mind from my nostalgic days of SNES gaming.) It’s in Call of Duty when a grenade lands next to me, but the indicator fails to tell me until the nano-second before it blows up, killing me. (But that one could be that I’m no the greatest FPS player in the world. <grin>) In racing games, it’s when you manage to get ahead by a lap and the rubber-band AI always brings the competitor into supersonic speeds to keep the race “competitive.” These kinds of things seem to happen all the time.
Each time something like that happens, I tend to suffer from a strange malady that I’ve termed “Techno-Tourette’s Syndrome”, or TTS. Now, while this follows more the pop-culture definition of Tourette’s, namely, that it follows more closely to Coprolalia, all I know is that these particular situations make me want to spout such a string of profanities that even a muleskinner would hang his head in shame. I get angry, frustrated, and don’t want to play anymore. The reason? Because it feels like there’s nothing that I can do about it.
I used to train in boxing, once upon a time. When I went sparring, our intention wasn’t to hurt each other, but when something came up, we took care of it in the ring. We played by the rules, and then left it there. You spent yourself in that ring. The only one that you had to worry about failing was you, because as long as the other guy played by the rules, you knew that it was an even match.
I used to swim for my high school team. All that mattered was who got to the finish line first. Everything was on you to push yourself, because the guy next to you was going to do the same thing.
In any competitive sport that I’ve played, you play by the rules, and if you then lose, well you knew that you put everything in there that you could, so that was it. There was no wondering if the other team cheated, because there was a ref, or at least the players would notice. Cheating was not allowed.
But while playing video games, there is no ref. All there is is the gamer’s perception, and more often than not gamers notice a lot more than developers seem to want to give them credit for. We notice when there is an invisible “line” that we have to cross in order for all the bad guys to appear. We notice when the monsters just appear out of nowhere in an endless supply. We notice when you change the rules on us, or only apply rules to us, and no one else in the game. And things like that don’t make us happy. Instead, it gives us TTS.
I don’t know the answer, but I suspect that it relates to the fact that I don’t like it to feel like I’m being cheated, and there’s no one to take the slack when I feel that way in a video game. If I’m playing a board game, and I realize that the person next to me is cheating, then I call them out, and they get to live with those consequences. In sports, the ref metes them out. But in video games, I hand over 50+ dollars to play a game, only to have it cheat, and I have nothing I can do at it but swear at the screen for ten minutes straight, frustrated out of my mind.
Such is why I installed a pull-up bar just around the corner. When I get frustrated, I walk away a little, do some pull-ups to force the anger out of my system, and cool off.
But it makes me angry with just the fact that I have to do that at all when playing a @!$@*# #&%!*@& game.
- Kyle
Interviewing Myself
I don’t know if this is just unique to me, or if it’s something that a lot of people experience, but I’ll throw out the line and see what kind of catch comes in. I have a tendency, especially when I’m by myself, to hold “mock interviews”, either just in my head, or if I’m at home, out loud. I’ll imagine a question about something that I’m working on, be it a movie project, a story that I’m writing, or even just a graphic idea. While I’m not as delusional to believe that everything I do carries this type of significance, I find myself doing it almost naturally.
I’ve found that this helps in a number of ways. Just by example, say I was in the middle of a writing project, be it a script or prose, and I was having a hard time trying to understand a part of the story, or the motivation of a certain character, or why a certain character even existed. So, I’d start having a dialogue with myself about it, pretending that I was being interviewed by someone about that specific situation, as if it were some special feature on the DVD or maybe a news special.
Going back to the way that I visualize situations, I would see the little movie poster behind me, the red wallpaper as a contrast against my shirt, even sometimes the interviewer, and the cut scenes that were used for overlay with my audio track. What this process brings out for me are the details of the story that I sometimes miss, and often helps me to look at characters or story situations from a different point of view.
I don’t think, though, that this process works exclusively for story-based projects. I use it in my life for a lot of things, be it a difficult decision, or a problem with school, or evaluating a relationship. I think about a lot of things, so it’s kind of hard to identify a) the actual problem or concern, and b) the answer or solution, even when I’ve already seen it.
I guess I just wanted to throw this out and see what you think. Try this out. Give yourself an interview. (By yourself, in private, so that if you think you feel silly, at least no one else is going to be watching.)
- Kyle
The Soundtrack of Life
You know, I got myself a Sony MP3 player a couple of months ago, and since then I’ve really appreciated the vast amount of music that I’ve kind of collected over the years. It’s amazing the variety of music that you accumulate. I have everything from Smashmouth to Phantom of the Opera; YoungBloodz to Weezer to Vanilla Ice to Queen and Eve 6.
The thing is, I listen to a variety of music, all depending on either the mood that I’m in, or the mood that I want to be in. I’ve set up my playlists under certain themes or activities. I’ve got “Driving”, and “Dance” as well as “Slow” and “Fast”. In each of these is a bunch of songs with kind of the same rhythms, similar beats and tempos. It’s kind of like a hand-picked selection of Pandora™ related songs.
There are times when I want to be “pumped”, and so I start up the Workout mix. There are times when I want to calm myself down, and so I listen to my Smooth mix. I don’t know if I’m the only one who does this, but it works for me.
Music, to me, has a power to it. It’s got an ability to help you to see things in a different light. Imagine, if you will, a movie with no music whatsoever. No background music, no rise and fall of emotions. Just plain dialog and sound effects. You’d be missing out on some of the most powerful experiences ever.
There are some times when the music that I’m listening to almost becomes the soundtrack of my life. I can see in my mind’s eye the way that the camera would be viewing me driving down the road with a song like “Life is a Highway” playing. I can imagine myself some tough guy as I’m “pumping iron” while “I Am a Rock” is blaring through my headphones.
Maybe I’m just a little bit crazy, or perhaps I have an all-too overactive imagination. But music helps to define who I am at any certain moment. Music fills that silence in my mind, and can change a bad situation into something good. It can help me forget my troubles.
It could be that I’ve just seen way too many movies, but music is the soundtrack of life, and I can’t help but comment on the effects that it brings about.
- Kyle
Our Facination with the Stars
I don’t usually watch a lot of television. To be honest, I could care less about the latest shows, or about this or that “must-see” sitcom or series. For me, I wait till it comes out on DVD and then decide whether I’m going to buy the whole series and watch it. (Or, perhaps, just borrow it from a buddy who happens to have it.)
In any case, I’ve noticed more and more attention being diverted to the stars. Now, I’m not talking about the wonderous sparkles that adorn our clear night skies, I’m talking about the well-paid self-promoting trendsetters that we daily go to great lengths to keep track of.
I was watching the news this morning as I was getting ready to work out, and I noticed a short commercial for TMZ that ran with same tagline about one of the Hollywood elite being pregnant, and the possibility of her getting back with her ex-boyfriend. I paused for a second and watched, not because I was interesting, but more stuck in the moment over the sheer shock of witnessing such a benign and inane announcement.
I stood there for a second, in awe of how simply ridiculous our culture has become. Immediately as the commercial ended, I said aloud, “So what? Do people actually care about this garbage?” Apparently so. We as a middle-class culture, afraid of actually putting ourselves out there to be judged and measured, feel secure in our living rooms, watching others live out the fantasies that we might not even admit to ourselves.
We worship American Idol, whet our appetite with Hell’s Kitchen, and become absolutely Lost within the far reaches of some unknown island. It’s like we’ve come to fear the real world. We look for “reality” to be delivered to us through our televisions, instead of going out and learning and doing and living our own lives!
In ancient times, our ancestors looked to the stars, I’m sure, as we do, fascinated with the wonders that wait for us beyond the far reaches of our understanding. But they tried, they did, and they continued to learn and grow. But we, instead, are far more interested with what is or isn’t happening to Paris, or Brittney, or Jessica. We worry about Tom, Brad, or Angelina, as if it really had any bearing on our lives! The target may have changed, but our culture seems to worship the stars just the same.
And it’s a shame, really, that behind the masks and whatever, they’re really just normal people like everyone else. Me, I plan on going up, and shooting for the sky.
- Kyle
Burning the Midnight Oil All Day
I remember, seven-plus years ago, when Red Bull and Mountain Dew: Amp were the only two energy drinks, at least to my knowledge. I remember downing them, and realizing that they didn’t really taste all that good, but that I could stay out for hours into the early morning after downing one. I’ve never really enjoyed the taste of coffee, or even the smell, so these seemed like a better alternative that didn’t have that java flavor to them.
Fast-forward to now, and I find myself downing a Rockstar infrequently, about every time that I need an extra boost after a late-night movie session or just messing around with friends. The real kicker, though, is driving on pure caffeine. There are some days when I just feel like this stuff is going to kill me. My preferred drink, the Rockstar Juiced: Guava, has less carbonation than the other drinks, and has the best taste of any of the ones I’ve tasted. But even so, I find myself getting a headache sometimes from drinking too many, or even a small withdrawal headache when I haven’t had one in a couple of weeks.
I need to read up on these things. I mean, I know some people who are literally addicted to these. Just like other people and their morning coffee, they can’t get through the day without caffeine. To me, that’s just plain sad. I guess I kind of flirt with that line, knowing that I only drink these when I actually need to, like, say, when I spent until 4 AM last night watching The Green Mile and I have five classes today. <grin>
I mean, even right now, I feel pretty tired, and I think that it’s compounded by the “crash” after I drink one of these “Nitrous in a can” containers. I’m not really sure what I’m saying here, but I guess I’m just asking you to be careful. I don’t think that these things once in a while are really going to do any damage, except getting your heart rate up, but you’ve got to exercise some control. Don’t live on energy drinks – get some sleep instead. Your body will love you for it, and you’ll feel better, too.
- Kyle
The Strange World of Blogging
When I first started blogging, I kind of did it just for the fun of it. I’ve always been a journal writer, and I like to write in general, and I sort of needed somewhere where I could start putting my thoughts up. (I’m on my computer usually six-plus hours a day, so this seemed like the best solution to my “need-to-get-my-thoughts-out” cravings.)
Anyways, over the past couple of months, I’ve learned all kinds of things about this weird wild world. And, for those of you who are starting up, or are thinking about starting a blog, here’s a couple of tips to keep in mind:
1) Don’t Expect Heavy Traffic
Most blogs don’t get a lot of traffic. But I will tell you that the more that you post, the more people will come. Write about something interesting, write about varying topics, and you’ll see more and more people coming to your blog to check it out. It just takes time.
2) Write What’s Interesting To You
Don’t just write to get traffic. Write what you want, not what’s “popular.”
3) Write Well
The maxim that I’ve always tried to live by is “quality before quanity.” A single great post is worth ten mediocre ones.
4) Pictures
Use pictures to spice up your site, but make sure that you don’t go overboard. A couple pictures here and there really helps to add variety to the blog, but too many and it just becomes distracting. And on a related note, make sure that your pictures “fit” together. Ask an art-minded friend what she thinks, and if she doesn’t like it, then figure out how to fix it.
5) No Music!!
Don’t put music on your blog. Whenever I come to a site that automatically blasts music through my stereo without asking me first, I leave. You’ll never see a professional site with automatic music. Well, at least not one that gets frequented often.
6) A Note About Animated GIFs
Avoid the overuse of Animated GIFs. Animation is like a spice. A little adds flavor, but too much causes avoidance behavior.
7) Careful About Personal Information
Even if you’re doing a personal blog that only you and your friends are going to be looking at, be very careful about what you post online. Your name should be fine, but don’t put up a personal address, or any real specifics. That way, if you put up something that makes someone angry, they won’t hunt you down. Just a friendly precaution.
8) Above All, Have Fun With It
Just have a good time, and do your best. The rest doesn’t really matter all that much. Happy blogging.
- Kyle
The Everlasting Ribbons of Highway
I’ve already said before that I love to drive. There’s just some kind of euphoria that comes to me while behind the wheel of a vehicle travelling at 85 mph, and I don’t think that kind of a drug is ever going to lose its high.
In any case, a little while ago, a couple friends and I went on a road trip to Hollywood to go see Wicked. (I know what you’re thinking – “AGAIN? What’s wrong with this guy?”) To be honest, though, the other two hadn’t seen it yet, and so I volunteered to drive, because I really wanted to see it again, too. If you haven’t read my praising review of the show yet, then I invite you to do so. (You can find it here.)
But despite my self-proclaimed love affair with the open road, I have to admit that this trip could have done with a bit more planning, and that we certainly paid for it tenfold over the course of our rather adventurous journey.
The first oversight was that we drove my car. Now, I have a well-maintained Honda that can easily take the mileage, and I have full trust in my car. However, it’s a standard, and despite my assumptions to the contrary, neither of my other passengers drive a stick. As such, I found myself driving nearly the entire trip, totalling out around 30+ hours behind the wheel. As much as I wish that it didn’t, the drive really did a number on me.
Just to illustrate, we drove straight to Hollywood, about a 12-hour trip, and right to the Pantages Theatre, all with maybe a one-hour rest in between at a family-member’s house along the way. That’s quite a drive, let me tell you. Even in the daytime, with two good friends to keep me company and to keep my mind occupied, I was pretty wiped out.
We did find a neat little tidbit through a contact at Pantages, though. Every night, the actors are alloted a certain number of tickets for family or friends that might be attending that night. However, these tickets usually go unused, and so they are raffled off to whoever is there at 6:00 that night. Front-row seats for $25 a pop. But if you’re not one of the lucky few, there’s no need to worry. Right afterwards, they put the remaining seats on sale for $45 a piece, and so we ended up sitting about 20 rows back, which are still pretty amazing seats.
Now, back to the trip.
We sort of slept through the next day until around noon, until we had a (at the time) brilliant idea. Considering that two of us are California natives, and both thrill-seeking enthusiasts, we figured that we’d spend our afternoon at Six Flags Magic Mountain. I have an awesome contact in LA who gets really good discounts on Cali’s theme parks, and so he helped guide us downtown, where he met us to give us the tickets. But then, due to a mix-up with directions, we missed to 405 turn-off, and realized we’d made a mistake when we saw the Thousand Oaks exit. Basically, we wasted about three hours just trying to get there, and so we pulled up around 5:00. We then decided it’d be a better idea to go the next day, considering that they close at six. (We did stop at In-N-Out, though, so I did feel a lot better about that.)
That’s kind of how the trip went for us. We’d get directions from someone, and they’d end up being unclear, or missing a crucial part, and we’d go off-track. And I mean really off track.
On the way home, we headed to Palmdale, trying to find the I-15 east, and weren’t sure which way to go. I mean, I had a vague idea, but since we took a different route coming in, I thought I’d check. But, after getting bad directions from a gas station trying to find the I-15 and ending up deep in Lancaster, I pulled off to fuel up and bought the one thing that we should have had the entire trip – a $5 road map. From there, we figured out where we were, plotted out our course, and we were on our way.
12 more hours of driving, and four or more Rockstars later, we finally made it back home. It was just one of those experiences that, while you’re in it, you don’t know if you’re really having fun or not. I mean, you are, but you realize the amount of work and hassle that it took to get there, and it crosses your mind whether it was worth it all. But then, you realize that these are the kinds of experiences that you only get to have at a certain time of your life. While you’re young and single, with no strings attached. I figure you’ve got to live life to the fullest, in every single stage of it, and so I’ll always look back on this cooky road trip and smile.
And that is most definitely worth 30 hours behind the wheel.
- Kyle
My Distaste for Madden 08
A little while back, I wrote up a praising review for NCAA 08, which is still one of my favorite games. (A buddy and me have been playing it about every week, and are into our third season in the Dynasty mode. He got into the PAC-10 while I’m still in the WAC, but I did beat him severely in the BCS championship game, effectively shutting down his undefeated season. Badaboom.)
In any case, I said that when I got a hold of Madden 08, I’d give you guys my review, so here we are. I’ve played through for the past month or so, and I’ll tell you that it was a much different experience than the NCAA gridiron.
The first thing that I noticed was the theming. Whereas NCAA was all about the engrossing experience, pulling you into the game from the beginning with fight songs and chanting, Madden is all about the edgy, raw look of the NFL, with hard-hitting music and more “grafitti-inspired” art schemes. I used to play NFL Street a lot, and so I can see where some of the blending is coming from there.
The menus work well enough, with all the standard modes available, but I really wanted to dive right into the Franchise Mode, specifically because I figured it would compare nicely with the Dynasty Mode that I was familiar with in NCAA.
Right off the bat you can either jump into the draft, or just go into the teams. The draft is interesting enough, of course, the NFL equivalent of “picking teams.” The problem that I saw, however, is that instead of dealing with just stats and availability, you have a “salary cap”, which is true to life, but there’s all kinds of penalties when you want to get rid of one player in favor of another. Because the manual has a very limited explanation of the process, you’ve got to do it by trial and error, which was a huge pain in the rear. My first foray had me with a negative salary cap, and I couldn’t even tell if I had all the players that I needed. The interface just wasn’t really user friendly.
I thought that making your own team would be kind of fun, mostly because you would be able to customize all kinds of things. Well, it was possible to customize just about all aspects of the stadium, but the uniform designing was more difficult then it had to be. Compared to the streamlined and clean process in NCAA, the menu design just felt unnatural and annoying. However, there were a few more options as far as customization was concerned that were relatively absent in NCAA, so take your pick.
In older Madden games, you get a radio broadcast that talks a lot about the different teams and players. I thought that this was a good thing, yet another example of how to “pull the player in.” This is a fictional franchise, after all, and the goal should be to bring the player into this universe as if it really mattered. That’s what gets them coming back.
Instead, all you get is two little newspapers, which cover stupid little things that the teams do. The local paper covered trivial things like the naming of a new team Captain, and even when I accidentally pressed the button to alter the uniforms, and then cancelled out. How dumb is that?
Then you have the national news, especially in the pre-season, which doesn’t really matter. You hear about specific players and what-not, but it’s just blah text, and you don’t get the full-page screenshots that NCAA’s ESPN Magazine puts up.
And that’s probably a good thing, especially considering the way that the game looks.
The first thing that I noticed was that the players looked squatty and indistinguishable. You can adjust some of the pads and things that your players are wearing, but most of the time it’s just kind of a guessing game, and you have to just be able to tell by the numbers. The the players just plain look weird. Where the NCAA game really shows you the physical difference between a lithe wide reciever and a strong-shouldered halfback, Madden just makes them all look the same, and it’s kind of disappointing.
Right off you get the back and forth between John Madden and Al Michaels, which was a sorely disappointing second to the lively and interesting banter between Brad Nessler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Lee Corso. To be honest, I prefer just not listening to Madden himself at all. I think they ought to hire Frank Caliendo to immitate Madden and put some life into the play-by-play. At least Lee Corso is good for a laugh now and then, and has some character in his speech. Madden talks like he’s not even really watching the game.
You’d think that professional players would play better than the kids in college, but apparently not. Each game that I played felt sluggish, as if the players were on a molasses field. My running back, though he was supposed to be really good, couldn’t even break through the defensive line, like, ever. I never lost so many yards.
The computer’s defense got a killer boost, though. They shut things down repeatedly, pushing me farther and farther back, until I had to get some miracle throws to push ahead. I’ve never been one to sit there wondering if “maybe this time he’ll catch it.”
The stats don’t even matter – As a test, I made my guy a top stat on everything, and tried him out at DT – He broke through the offensive line three times in the whole season. Because of that, I made up different teams with different star players just to see what would happen.
The game becomes more of a battle against frustration instead of against the opponent. Yes, its the NFL, and its supposed to be difficult, but how many times does a star reciever with perfect stats drop the ball? How many times does a near-perfect offensive line let everybody through? How often should a quarterback get sacked? And why is it that every other team in the league has cornerbacks that can run faster and catch up to my perfect receivers, where my perfect corners can’t ever catch up?
Part of the problem, as I see it, is that the computer cheats its way into the win or, at least, into a really close game. This is something that I’ve noticed as a trend in a lot of games, but it just feels wrong to me. If you’re good at a game, the computer shouldn’t have to cheat to catch up. There shouldn’t be a sudden surge in stats just because you’re beating it. That’s just plain AI bull.
Ever game felt more like a chore than an enjoyable experience, and I found myself actually wondering why I was bothering to play the game at all. It just didn’t feel fun anymore.
So, for those of you out there with PS2s, who still want a good football experience, I’d recommend NCAA 08. I’d pass on Madden for the older console, because apparently Madden already passed on us.
-Kyle
Meeting the Eye
For some reason, we human beings have a strange aversion to looking each other in the eye. It makes us uncomfortable, annoyed, and a little scared when someone is actually looking right at us when they’re talking. It doesn’t matter that they’re the friendliest person on Earth, we’re still bothered. How come?
We would be perfectly happy if the person were to look just to the right or left as they’re talking, so that they’re looking towards us, but not at us. It doesn’t matter who they are. You ever notice that when you meet eyes with someone in the hallway, especially someone that you don’t know at all, you both have a tight-lipped grin and quickly look away? It’s like, “Oh, sorry we made eye contact, fellow drone.”
But you can’t be rude, so you grin lightly at them, but then pass by, breathing a sigh of relief that you didn’t actually have to talk to them. No matter that that person might be your next best friend, or your soul mate, or your long-lost brother, or perhaps your eventual spouse – you both met eyes in the hallway, and so the barrier was created.
I think, personally, that the reason that we avoid eye contact has to do something with the old adage, “The eyes are the window to the soul.” A lot can be determined from the eyes. I know some people who can look into my eyes and see straight through me. There are other people who I can read like a book simply because their eyes tell the whole story.
Maybe we avoid making eye contact because we’re afraid that the other person might be able to judge all of our faults and mistakes just by looking into our eyes, and they won’t like what they see. Maybe we’re just so self-conscious about ourselves and what others think about us that we’re afraid that we might not get a fair say with our mouths as our eyes share all of our innermost secrets.
For me, I’m going to start looking into the eyes. Uncomfortable or not, faulty or not, I’m going to look. And I’ll let others find in me what they may.
Online Petitions and Boycotts
Every so often I get little invites on Facebook or in my email inbox to join this or that petition. “Boycott buying gas on this day!” or “Stop this Presidential Nominee” or “Join the fight against Rabies!”
To me, this kind of stuff is just plain nonsense. What possible use could some random online petition have? There’s so many ways to manipulate online information that it would be extremely and unreasonably difficult, if not impossible to verify every name on an online petition. And in all honesty, what would then be done?
It’s my personal belief that these types of groups are nothing but a waste of time, and are only sent on by those who want to do something but aren’t strong enough to stand up and do it in real life, so they waste time and brainpower on these useless pursuits.
If you really want to go save the whales, join a registered and legitimate organization to do so. There are plenty to choose from. If you think that a candidate shouldn’t get the office, then vote against them, and encourage others to do so. If you think that gas prices are too high, then get up, and write to the offices, not to your buddies in an online chat room.
The things that I say online are a direct reflection of my personal feelings on an issue, and I’ve stated them as such. You’re free to hold me to them, because that’s what they’re there for. Here, I try not to have a personal crusade against anything except for boredom and possibly silliness, but otherwise I try to just post up my opinions.
But I’ll never join any online political or agenda-based groups, simply because I know they don’t work.
But then again, maybe I’ll sign a “Down with Online Petitions” petition. At least that’s something that I believe in.
- Kyle
Graphic Design Theory
You know, it’s so interesting to me how many people don’t have aesthetic sense. Now, I don’t like to be immodest, but I’m a pretty good graphic designer. (If you want to take a look at my work, I’ve put up some examples on a page on the right.)
In any case, it’s really surprising to me how many people don’t understand the basic theory of design. As a film student, they introduce a system of balance based on dividing the screen into nine parts, via the use of two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. (Kind of like a tic-tac-toe board.)
Just like a teeter-totter, a screen has to be balanced. If you have something on one side, then you have to have a balanced something on the other side. Otherwise, it creates a vacuum that makes the viewer uncomfortable. (Which actually can be used to great advantage sometimes, especially in thriller or horror films.)
In this same way, any picture, graphic, or illustration follows that same sense of balance. Or, at least they should. There is balance in the subject, in the colors. There has to be a way to make the entire piece “fit” together. If not, then you’ve done it wrong, and need to fix it.
The most interesting thing is, though, that many people don’t have that sense. Sure, they understand that there are things that need to be done, but they don’t seem to get how to make it so. They can look at something that say, “Yeah, that looks good,” but they don’t know how it got that way. And then, when they go to duplicate it themselves, they fail.
Just by example – When I’m driving down the road, I’ll often see the compact cars with custom graphics and stickers, colors and accessories. My own car is white, but I’ve put some simple black stickers on the side, (mostly surf and snowboarding companies), but the entire motif works, because it’s simple and the colors blend very well.
However, I’ve seen a number of cars with large, outlandish graphics that don’t fit at all, yet the driver is immensely proud of his work. Why is that? Do they just glory in mediocrity? Can they not see that that white flame job does not go at all with the ocher color of their little Dodge Neon™?
Oh well. At least I can still keep going. I know what I like, and I know what others like. And that, my friends, puts me ahead of the pack. I understand that graphic artistry is a commercial art form. And because of that, you have to develop projects with the audience in mind. And the way to figure out how to do it is practice, practice, practice…
- Kyle
Checking Out Her Shoes
I have an odd habit when I see an attractive woman just walking down the street. Most guys check out the body, the hair, the eyes, the teeth, the face… For me, the second glance is always a look at her shoes.
Now, I know that’s weird, but let me explain. Shoes, to me, tell a lot about the person who’s wearing them. Guys aren’t usually as picky about clothes, mostly because it’s not often a big deal in most situations. Obviously, power suits for the office, and a jumper for the mechanic shop, but in the “casual” category, clothes aren’t that big of a deal. I mean, most everyone wears jeans and a t-shirt, right?
But its the shoe choice that really makes me think, especially for girls, who more often than not have at least ten pairs of shoes. (At least from the girls’ closets that I’ve seen. Shoes are a big deal.) Each sends a different signal, including the color choices and patterns. Here’s my little mental guide:
Sandals - Relaxed, easy-going. These girls tend to not be as concerned with appearance, focusing more on comfort. They may worry that they “look cute”, but they don’t go too overboard. They’re generally pretty easy to talk to, and easy to laugh. They also don’t tend to “over-analyze” things too often. However, they can be a little flaky.
High Heels – This one really just depends on the size of the heel. A purposely high heel is all about getting noticed, and you’ll see “pretty girls” wearing them. This holds true especially for those really tall leather boot heels, which are worn specifically to get attention to those legs. High-heeled girls seem to usually be pretty high-maintenence. They’re worried about how they look, whether their make-up is out of place, and often have to fix their lip gloss or lipstick. You’ll find a good amount of make-up in their purse.
Low Heels – Girls in low heels usually are only wearing them because they are wearing a skirt. It’s either a dress occasion or a business meeting, and so low heels are a practical, but still buisiness-oriented choice. These girls often are secretaries, or other such personnel. They’re usually pretty down-to-earth, and are easy to talk to. They don’t often wear clothes to draw attention to themselves, but think a little more practically.
Tennis Shoes – This one’s pretty simple. Girls in tennis shoes are generally pretty cool. They’re not looking to really impress anyone, they’re just living their lives the way they want to. They generally know what they want, and aren’t afraid to go after it. These kinds of girls are generally pretty tomboyish, and don’t care much about whether their nails are painted, chipped, or broken. I mean, usually these ones will just cut them off. These ones are usually the “one of the boys” kind of girls.
Boots – Boots without heels are definitely a statement. They’re usually only worn by girls who are kind of “outside the norm.” Punk-rockers, fans of the gothic movement, or possibly snowboarders, but usually that’s about it. Obviously, cold weather negates that, because a lot of people start wearing boots then, but for the most part, boots are the exact opposite of heels. They want everyone to know that they’re not “girly-girls.”
Now, with these in mind, there’s also the two color choices: girly, or conservative. Girly colors such as neon pinks, teals, or oranges generally are meant to show off a girlish side. This goes for the sparkles of any kind. These are generally “High Heeled” tendencies.
Conservative colors, such as white, black, or brown, fall between the “Low Heels” and “Tennis Shoes” categories. These are girls that are more conservative.
Obviously, this isn’t a complete chart, and there are some girls who will absolutely disagree with me. Guys too, I’m sure. But these are just my personal observations. Even though I try to judge by personality as opposed to looks or clothes, first impressions are hard to ignore. I just read it as I see it.
Growing Up With The Magic Kingdom
Growing up, my family and I traditionally went to an amusement park every year. It was just something that we did, and that we still do, actually, whenever we get the chance. For that, though, we would head down to Southern California. I’ve been to Universal Studios™, Knott’s Berry Farm™, Six Flags: Magic Mountain™, and Sea World™, a number of times apiece. But the one place that we seemed to go the most was Disneyland™, in Anahiem.
Now, the Magic Kingdom has evolved and changed a lot from year to year. I’m of the audience that I remember staying late to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade; I remember the People Movers, The Hall of Presidents, and even Captain EO when Michael Jackson was still cool. And who coudl forget the Skyway that passed right through the Matterhorn? I can also remember when Toon Town first opened, and was actually brand new, and I was there when the Indiana Jones ride was first passing out the cool little cipher cards.
I also saw the changes. I remember when they moved the Tomorrowland rockets from the roof in the center down to the front of Tomorrowland. I remember when the Swiss Family Treehouse was updated into the Tarzan Treehouse. I remember the brief stint of the Rocket Rods, and then the introduction of Astro Blasters.
The thing is, though, is that there have been a lot of internal changes at Disneyland as well. When I was younger, it truly was a place of magic. From the monorail, to the Pirates of the Carribean, to the Haunted Mansion, to the interesting animatronics that engulfed everything, it all just held a sense of wonder. But it wasn’t just that. The people who were working there, from the ride operators to the monorail drivers, to the garbage collectors, and even the guys driving the shuttles to parking at the end of the night, all of them were smiling, happy people who realized that this was a place of personal magic, where everything would and should contribute to the experience of each and every person who walked through the gates.
On my last visit there, however, after a three-year sabattical, I had a slightly different experience. The place was crowded, but I sort of expected that. Disneyland’s fame has sort of out-grown it’s landscape. But what seemed to bother me was the role shift that many of the workers had experienced. Because there was just such a large volume of people, many of the workers had changed in their roles from “Cast Members” to “Crowd Control.” As night approached, they would be there, with their little light-sticks, waving us to go this way or that, and telling us to keep moving, without regard to the fact that some of us were actually there to enjoy the experience.
Just by example, we had a group of fourteen people that we were trying to keep together. I was walking along, when we were sort of “swept up” into the rope-tethered river of people that was being directed to go a certain direction. It was no use fighting the current, and since we were going that way anyways, we didn’t really worry about it.
But as we were going, our group became seperated, and I only had three others of our party with me. So, we found a wide path in front of the Frontierland gate and stopped to wait. Immediately we were surrounded by three workers with their little sticks, telling us that we couldn’t stop there. Now, there wasn’t anyone else around us. I specifically picked that spot because the path was wide and there wasn’t a lot of traffic.
We explained that we were waiting for the rest of our group, and that we would stand out of the way. He protested at first, saying that we were blocking traffic flow, but I just looked at him strangely, and indicated that we would stay to the side. I could see the frustration on this little worker’s face as he realized that his little glowstick wasn’t going to get me to move. So, what did he do? He turned around, and started manuvering the few stragglers in his line around us, as if we were some traffic hazard. Within two minutes, the rest of our group arrived, and we walked away.
It was a very different story at some of the food counters, who hadn’t forgotten that customer service is what counts. They had a smile on their face, so why not the others? I can understand that doing the same job every day can be a little boring, but working at an amusement park is a job in the entertainment industry. It’s a show.
Every time you work anywhere, you’re putting your skills on display. Sure, you might not be the best in your field, but you can certainly be the most cordial, and the most polite. You can smile, joke and laugh with the guests, and provide help to those who ask. Were I in the same situation as my young frustrated friend, I would have found a place where the group could stand where we wouldn’t have caused a problem. If that didn’t work, I would have kindly told them why I was treating them as a road hazard, or would have found a better solution altogether.
But to simply wave a little stick at me and tell me to move is not a good idea. All it does is make the guests feel like cattle, and treating people like cows is never a less-than-demeaning solution.
- Kyle
Pandora Radio
For those of you who haven’t heard of this yet, it’s pretty awesome. An extension of the Music Genome Project©, Pandora Radio lives by the idea that every piece of music has a identifiable “type”, or a unique “style”. It would be best to describe it as a “Musical DNA.” Pandora radio takes songs and artists, and identifies their unique DNA, and then matches them with other music of a similar “strain.”
So what do you get? Say you want to listen to music like Mandy Moore’s, but you don’t know where to go. Hit Pandora, and create a Mandy Moore station, and bada-bing, you’ve got other songs lined up. Don’t think it matches? Vote it down, and the radio will skip it to the next one, and won’t play it again.
A friend of mine introduced me to it recently, and though I know it’s been around for some time, now, (almost 8 years), I just knew I had to pass it on. So get listening, and hit some of the best online radio on the web.
- Kyle
In-N-Out Burger
I grew up in Southern California. Because of that, I’ve been eating at In-N-Out pretty much since I was born. I’ll tell you right now, that it’s about the best stuff in the whole world. For those of you who have never eaten there, I don’t think you’ll ever understand, until you finally try it.
There’s just something about the spongedough bun, never-frozen, freshly grilled beef patties, fresh-cut veggies, cheese, and sautéed onions that really makes your mouth water. (Shoot, now I’m craving another one right now.)
I think the best part is that In-N-Out knows exactly what works. They don’t have a huge, complicated menu with fifty-seven different sandwiches. There’s no chicken, no fish. This is just good old burgers that taste absolutely amazing. And because the menus are about the simplest in the world, you usually don’t have to worry about long waits, or even complicated decisions at the counter.
For me, it’s always just “Two Double-Doubles, animal style, with a lemonade.” Ah, I miss that. I miss it right now…
The most interesting thing, though, is the people who have no idea what you’re talking about when you say “In-N-Out.” They just kind of look at you strange, and when you try to explain it, they just can’t understand what’s so amazing about some burger joint. But then you say, “It’s not just a burger joint, this is In-N-Out!” And then you just get stared at.
Oh well. I’m starving now, so I’m going to go get something to munch on. Bring on the vending machine!
- Kyle
Online Writing Forums
I’ve written at Hatrack.com since about November 2001, which makes it just barely six years. In that time, I’ve learned more about characterization, about storytelling, about descriptions, and about writing in general than in any other writing, English, or screenwriting class I’ve ever taken, combined. I would recommend to any aspiring writer, that they find a place like this that’s active and moving, and dive into it. Some may say it’s a waste of time, but I promise you that you’ll learn quickly the difference between good writing, and what it takes, and the mediocre garbage that floats all over the bookshelves.
One of the things that online forums force you to do is to actually write. Usually these kinds of forums get you into a cetain genre or universe, ranging from fantasy or sci-fi, to even cyberpunk and just plain modern worlds. Some are extremely well evolved, the details of the universe really nailed down. Others are more open, which will allow you a little more breathing room so you can stretch your imagination a little bit. In any case, each will offer unique challenges and opportunities.
A chief problem among aspiring writers is trying to decide what to write about. Who to write about. What is the story that you want to tell? Well, these kinds of forums are a great place to practice, because you can focus exclusively on characterization and description without wondering where the story is really going. You just have to jump into a conversation by portraying a role-play.
The first thing that you need to remember, however, is that your goal is not to act out a part. You should be writing with the goal of writing a story in mind. Unless the forum is already set, I’d recommend using a third-person limited viewpoint, which is the easiest. You can describe the things around your character, you can explain her thoughts, and you can also be fairly ambiguous when it comes to describing the other characters, because they aren’t your responsibility.
In any case, that’s my recommendation. In my pages section, you can also look through the article, “Spare Me the Chatter,” which I wrote a couple years ago for the online forum, Avidgamers.com. It talks a lot about the best way to write in a writing forum, as I see it. But for other tips and tricks, I’d recommend Hatrack.com, which I see as the best place to learn from talented writers who are still willing to help out the new guy.
In any case, good luck with the writing!
- Kyle
California's New Gender Law
EDITED – 8 November 2007
Because of overwhelming response and insufficient research, I’ve decided to take this post off the web-log. I didn’t start this blog to make people angry, and I’m sorry if I might have.. I’ll seek to avoid such hot topics in the future, or at least making uninformed opinions on them. (I think I’ll probably stick to just movie reviews. I don’t seem to get as much of a negative response even when others disagree. <grin>)
- Kyle
News sources:
The Actual Bill – Now a dead link. The Senate site is so complicated, that after several attempts, I’ve given up on finding it.
The Small World is Too Small For Fat Folks
Here’s a fun little tidbit for you. Did you know that It’s a Small World, the infamous Disneyland™ attraction that has remained virtually unchanged since its opening in 1964, is to be closed for renovation? Now, this isn’t because it’s going to be revamped. It’s not going to be visually enhanced, and no, it’s not going to be replaced by a different version. The reason for the 10 month closure is pretty straightforward: The guests are too fat.
When the ride was originally conceived by Walt Disney and company, it was planned with the average 40+ American weight in mind. But what has happened since then is that Americans have become steadily, ahem, larger. The boats and the flume that passes them along simply can no longer handle such a load, (puns totally intended here), and so we’re looking at some monumental changes.
For 43 years, there’s been relatively few problems, but now America’s weight gain has finally caught up. The boats are starting to bottom out, causing them to get stuck halfway through the ride, freezing everything for up to three hours as the Disney Cast Members struggle to extract the helpless guests. (Apparently, the Pirates of the Carribean ride has similar problems on the initial flume drop, but so far it hasn’t been to “large” of a problem. I say, give it a few years.)
Can America just not exercise? Can we just not stop ourselves from at least working out to earn the right to eat fried chicken and doughnuts every night? Apparently not.
And so, the ride is closing for the better part of the year. And I think it’s being redesigned with an elephant’s average weight in mind.
- Kyle
EA's NCAA 08
Alright. I’ve always wanted to play football. I didn’t really “make the cut” in high school, and I’ve admitted to myself that I’m never going to play college or pro ball, but I love the game, and I’ve always liked to play. But I’m not the kind of guy who memorizes the stats of certain players, or can tell you who played in the 1998 All-Star game, or even who the big rivals are. I just love the game of football itself.
I’ve played Madden™ before, as well as NFL Blitz™ and NFL Street™, but I was never really impressed. I mean, sure, you can play the big teams against themselves, and you can even track your scores, but it just never felt as immersive to me as I hoped it would be, so I kind of put the genre to the side.
Imagine my surprise when I, on a whim, rented NCAA 08 from Blockbuster™. Thankfully, Blockbuster lets you keep the game for a week, and I happened to have a few free weeknights. I found my college team, and started into the Dynasty Mode.
The first thing that hits you about this game is the depth that you get into as you play it. Not only are you playing a mild game of football, but you’re tracking the progress of your coach, the stats of your players, and the status of high school senior college hopefuls. You’re literally tracking just about every aspect of your college, down to the trouble that some of your college players get themselves into. Bowl bids, Pac-10 championships, rivalries… It’s all in here.
A good friend and I both have started another Dynasty Mode together, and it always comes up between us. We ask how the other is doing, even though we both can just check it on the machine. We know each other’s players, and when we play against each other, it feels like it actually means something.
Now, this may sound strange to be talking about a video game like this, but I think it has really helped me to understand what “sports guys” really go through. I know that if one of my key players was injured on a play, I’d be pretty upset. When one of my guys cheats on a test and I have to pull him out of the game, I feel not only the stress of the NCAA breathing down my neck to do something, but the fear that we’re going to be underhanded for next week’s game against USC.
It feels that real.
I believe that any sports game, or even any game for that matter, should be using this as a model. Gamers truly want this much of an experience. We want what we do in the game to actually mean something. Ever wondered why EverQuest™ or World of Warcraft™ are so popular? It’s because the actions in the game actually affect things. In NCAA 08, there’s no extra lives. There’s no continues. If you lose, you lose, and that’s all there is to it. If you win, then you progress. If your player gets himself into trouble, you really have to discipline him, or you’ll get into trouble with the league. You want to win the Division championship? Then you better put the work in and win, but not against just anybody. You have to challenge the big schools.
I’ve always been disappointed with games that show a definite lack of depth. Gamers want to be able to customize their experience. They want to not only have a character that is interesting, but one that you can make your own. You need to be able to change the look, accessories, the weapons, the abilities, and the actions. You need to be able to make the game yours.
Everything about NCAA 08 is about pulling you into this fictional universe. And it’s about the details. From the game’s tracking of unnumerable stats and rankings, to the fictional ESPN Magazine stories, to even the little blurb spots about which teams have won or are winning during the same game that you’re playing. It’s immersive, it’s addicting, and it’s fun.
I guess I’ve gone on long enough. In essense, if you want to play a game that really rocks your world, and you like the game of football, I would pick up NCAA 08. When I finish with it, (at least for a while), and I want to track my alumni players in the pro leagues, I’ll pick up Madden 08 as well. More on that to come, I promise.
- Kyle
