Remembering Roller Coaster Tycoon

 

These Sims type games hold an appeal to me, especially the ones from the early 2000's that contained a pixelated isometric view, is almost as watching a diorama that came to life. I remember knowing about Roller Coaster Tycoon by mere accident while perusing at a GameStop that was located in a shopping mall I can't remember in Miami-Dade.

I got mesmerized by the concept as I have a love for Sim and strategy games as Sim City and anything in between; I love to discover the different ways or patterns that can create a successful enviroment within the game parameters.

I love roller coasters and this game came during a point in my life where I started to enjoy roller coasters and travelled often to Florida. Roller coasters became some form of a hype fixation that spawned several years of my life; even as an adult I used to enjoy going to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to ride as much as I could the different roller coasters. Albeit, during that point in my life when I was younger and my time with the coasters was limited Roller Coaster Tycoon became some form of an escape to fill the desire of riding roller coaster which in Colombia was not possible.

Scorpion - Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

The first coaster with an inversion I ever rode was the defunct Scorpion at Busch Gardens Florida and I felt free, it was the closest thing I ever experienced to flying and I wanted to do more and find aspects of my new fixation that could be turn in a hobby and that's on 2001 when I found Roller Coaster Tycoon I saw another side of gaming that I never thought it was possible "to be able to explore the dynamics of theme parks and their attractions". 

We have to think that the level of design of the game isn't too complex as is a product of the era but Chris Sawyer did a wonderful job by capturing the essence of a theme park in such a minimalist way.  The game is composed within different scenarios that share a similar set of objectives that can vary between achieving a certain rating status within the park, to achieve a number of estimated guests inside the park or even raise the park value. Each scenario itself differs vastly from each other, some of the locations are inside a small contained park and others are just as big as real theme parks.

To raise the value of each world the player needs to decorate each scenario with greenery, decorations such as fountains, entertainers who are part of the staff and also security, technicians and custodians that can keep the park clean and safe. I found the game has stand the test of time and still as entertaining as it was 20 years ago when it first got released to the market, the replay value is really good and memorable.

Jonathan Young

The first time that I heard about Jonathan Young was 3 years ago when he and Caleb Hyles made a dual collaboration on each other channels, within Caleb's channel it was Wolf in Sheep's Clothes by Set It Off and with Jonathan's channel a metal version of Bell's of Notre Dame which it hooked me up on his channel also on the spot after listening to it; my first reaction was "it was incredible, catchy, fast, chilly towards the instrumental arrangements and his vocals were mind-blowing"

For over a year, I probably watched his videos on a weekly basis when he released them, still do but I am not going far in the future, on 2017 I had the chance to see him and Caleb Hyles for the first time live on Metro-Con albeit not on the concert they played but on the Disney Sing-A-Long and I was extremely impress because they were two of the musicians I admire albeit nerves didn't let me say hello and take a proper photo, or even buy the merchandise.

Over the curse of 2017 and 2018 as one of my goals was to follow the evolution of my favorite producers and content creators, and Jonathan been one of them; I took a methodical approach to find as more information as possible as well the interests, some of his older videos where filmed at his high school where he was a member of the chorus, he had an interest in metal since the early beginning and also he seemed to enjoy old Disney and Fox movies.

Over the curse of four years, he crafted his image towards his rich baritone which it encompass his tassitura but also his public persona, as he crafted his voice towards the villainous side in which he developed content related to Anastasia such as In the Dark of the Night or Scar's Be Prepared from the Lion King, which the viewers could see and hear his tone on full range.

Apart from his Disney covers, he also made covers towards anime such as my Hero Academia - The Day -  which is one of the most incredible arrangement's because he transformed it into a new song keeping a faithful adaption to the original source, which people who have understanding on music adaptation, production and theory we can see that Jonathan Young has great array of knowledge towards content creation and music production.

On 2018 I had the privilege to see Jonathan Young, Caleb Hyles and RichaadEB on concert at MetroCon 2018 and it was one of the most amazing experience, the sound production was amazing and they sound exactly as if we were in one of their videos.

But, the experience of the concert made me ask me a new question towards branding positioning, especially when you as a content creator you are your own brand, how you as a cover artist could make the transition to show your originals to your audience? We have Boyce Avenue as a prime example but yet Boyce Avenue seems to have issues dissociating from the image they crafted which itself could apply towards artist as Jonathan himself, even if he create his own music.

Back when Youtube was starting and when I was as freelance journalist around Tampa, roaming around shows and listening to the first musicians I did cover I wondered the same questions and from a perspective that involves switching styles or positioning your own products, maybe the best route is to find a sound that is pleasant to the ears, that people can identify as mainstream but at the same time that relies on your signature, same as lyrical content that is extremely meaningful to the public.

That could be the start to dissociate yourself from the cover label and keep striving as an indie artist, as one of the precepts that people enjoy finding in indie artist is the soul and essence of the artist, which it can really sell. I honestly want to see more about Jonathan Young, more original songs and what trajectory he will take beyond the nerdom.

Life is Strange 2 - First Episode Review

This is a game that even with the fantasy related elements it really hits you in the heart with elements that embark the realness of the situation the Diaz brothers are involved.

Life is Strange 2 is on a certain extent a departure of the first installment, the gameplay is a little bit different since now you control two characters, leaving the deuteragonist as an extension of the main character is his own younger brother who has telekinetic abilities that are triggered by a stressful event.

The style of the game is similar to the first entry, there is a soft pallette that reflects a naturalistic approach mixed with a symbology that is related to the characters roles in the game. The game narrative is far more complex than the surface that is presented as it presents alienation and racism in a very direct way.

It is indeed a sensitive topic but racial violence has to be addressed  more openly, that within certain segments of the population such as LGBT, people of color, based on language, family history and origins that are going to be subjected to discrimination based on political climate or geographic location in which ideals of the Civil War stay present in every day life, even towards religious ideals just to say some of several examples.

Probably the most heartbreaking one is with Hank and Doris Stamper in which Hank attacks Sean out of no reason, handcuff him in his office and assault him just for the fact that Sean is Hispanic and even mentioned on sending him to ICE to see if he is a citizen. That realness was difficult to play through but it was the beginning of the game what is a tearjerker and if you had been subjected to discrimination from the police you can understand how difficult is to trust them as a corp but also as the way they protect and retaliate against anyone that doesn't look or sound white.

Homelessness is another core element within the game, after their father's death the Diaz siblings found themselves running away and traveling around Oregon with an extremely budget and living on the road, even sleeping on an abandoned state park just because Sean the eldest of the two didn't wanted to end in the juvenile system and his brother taken to the United States foster care which it can be problematic to any youth at risk.

The soundtrack is just gorgeous, the entire game is accompanied of a soft indie rock that creates harmony with the storytelling, but also it reflects on the life of the Diaz brothers. The background music takes the lead as it gives a haunting enviroment to the settings of the games and the match with flow of the story.

The scenarios are just plain beautiful, especially the nature's trail; the trees and the river with the mountains in the background gives an overwhelming feeling as if you as the spectator are there with the siblings, is as much being around Oregon being around the nature paths and the imagery that is being surrounded around the Northwest of the United States.

Gameplay wise, is similar to the first installment mixed with the options of Before the Storm decision tree from Chloe, but it rather goes on a simplistic level where the options are shown before the moment that the game auto save the progress but overall it retains the classic controllers of the PS4 and PC that the other game had.

I totally recommend buying the first episode as it offers an interesting dynamics towards gaming, it gives a commentary about our current society problem and how we perceive isolationism versus globalism, but on how human capital affects individual and societal efforts of economical and political growth.

Elder Scrolls Arena, First Hour of Gameplay

Promotional Image

The first game of the Elder Scrolls that I ever played was Skyrim, it blew me as I never saw something as open as that game in my life, even with Grand Theft Auto I feel that the mobility was limited and the interaction with the NPC's was also extremely restricted.

With the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim it was the first time I played freely in an scenario that let me interact with everything around, and it was a big world map also; as a player I was impressed and it gave me the idea to play the other games without any order just because I wanted to enjoy the experience.

It wasn't until this week, where I finally decided to play the first game ever, I bought it along with Daggerfall as I never had the chance to play them when I was younger and I am extremely impressed because there wasn't something as Arena back in 1994, and is easy to see based on the technical capabilities of the time why it influenced players through different decades and the development of other games.

I couldn't imagine my 10 years old self facing the first dungeon and getting killed without even saving and having to restart over, my 34 years old self was screaming when I got killed within the first ten minutes and I didn't even save it, learning from the experience I save every single step that I took because I noticed this game is unforgiven with new players and it can surprise old ones also, the controllers aren't intuitive albeit with some hours of gameplay they tend to get easy.

 One thing that happened with old games loading times within the world map it was that everything would pop out and enemies could just spawn in front of you and kill you really quickly without you even noticing, it happened to me twice with rats because they were following me and I didn't got a clue they were so close.

What is fantastic about the game is that is mostly automatic generated making the experience different for every gamer which for 94' that was a big feauture, adding that it has a day and night cycle, and if you are stuck outside at night beware because enemies will approach from everywhere.

The enviroment is tense, you feel you can die in every corner, but also it gives magnificent scenarios that are quite large to explorer and a wide variety of NPC's and enemies that are lurking everywhere.

The soundtrack is cool, and the addition of cinematic sequences makes the game quite charming, as if it's a little jewel from almost 3 decades ago that is still as relevant as it was when it came out on the market.

One interesting aspect is that this game is relic of is time, it's on the same era as Doom, Wolfstein 3D, Quake Grand Theft, the first two Monkey Island, cult game Normality and the classic Ultima IV. Games that influenced storytellers but also the industry towards PC gaming towards the development of 3D games in PC gaming.

Thimbleweed Park and Twink Peaks Similarities

Is been a few months since I played Thimbleweed Park and the more I think about this game, the more I believe the game could be an extension of Twin Peaks, and maybe Thimbleweed Park could catch an audience if is placed as as a mini series.

The idea of the game turned into an audiovisual format is not that strange as it can offer some really solid arcs that can developed into a bizarre world similar as the ones created by David Lynch with his magnum-opus.

The more I played the game, the more I realized that the inspirations of Thimbleweed Park and Twink Peaks are almost on a parallel level, i.e. both are settled on locations that seem common, such as Twin Peaks that is situated in Washington, Thimbleweed Park seems to be located somewhere in Oregon but honestly the ultimate end of the location is far surreal than anything else.

The two audiovisual products contain supernatural elements, narratives that let the players and viewers to explore different time frames but also on how the two start with a murder, Laura Palmer on Twink Peaks and some random Russian guy on Thimbleweed that honestly speaking has nothing to do with the development of the storyline but serves as an excuse to bring two of the five protagonists to Thimbleweed Park.

Much as Twin Peaks, TP has different perspectives that offer several angles about the story line; in theory the story can sound complex on the first run of the game, as it offers different pieces of information mixed with some red-herrings that make everything almost difficult to place in order; same with Twin Peaks, watching the show once is not going to be enough to process everything as several stories interlock with each other.

The two agents mimic the behavior of Agent Dale Cooper, as they embark into a surrealist trip that takes them to a world that doesn't seem to be, a world where everyone has fled the town the leave and there is not many people behind who live there; there is an air of mystery in which everything seems to be surreal; opposite to Agent Cooper, Agent Ray and Reyes play the classical good cop and bad cop in a dynamic that try to uncover the mysteries of the town by their own.

Albeit the divergence point of the characters development is that a lot of their motifs are left unexplained such as who really they are, and what they expect to find in Thimbleweed. A problem with the game lays on the narrative, it's extremely vague and can turn anticlimactic in certain moments, where the ending comes and how the characters develop.

Other similarities is that the game takes places on the 80's mimicking the era where Twin Peaks take place. The 80's seem to generate an influence on how the game developed, such as references to Amiga computers, hexadecimal codes, pay telephones, meta references about the graphic adventures but also on how the clothing influenced the characters and music. Both products in certain way showcase the era they are settled.

Talking about the era, even on both products technology influenced how it was shown, the 80's was a moment in time where technology developed and personal communications took place and revolutionaized the way we see the world; cellphones could be the key before anything else, and in Twin Peaks as well Thimbleweed cellphones play a role towards into finding a solution to the mysteries but on how the characters interacted with each other until the end.

This list will be expanded later...

My Brother's Husband Volume One Review

My Brother's Husband Vol.1 Cover

(11/28/2017) --- This piece of manga is quite heartbreaking, and only in America was released in 2017 (Anime News Network), one aspect that is fascinated about this manga is that it was created by the most prolific bondage and sado-masochism mangaka Gengoroh Tagame (Wikipedia).

What it can be a catalyst of the story is the rejection of one character identity and orientation and how it turned to transform a family dynamic. The story centers around Yaichi, a divorced, stay-at-home father who runs a business of leasing apartments that he inherited from his parents while taking care of his daughter Kana.

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Spoilers

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What we learn through the reading is that Yaichi is far away from being the perfect father or even the best brother; as he shunned his late estranged brother Ryoji, but his life turned upside down when Ryoji's widower a tall Canadian "bear" named Mike Flannigan; Yaichi's interaction with Mike are quite strained due Yaichi's internalized homophobia which he tries to channel to his daughter, but his daughter seem to be more open to idea of having an uncle in her life than having none.

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End of Spoilers
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The story itself is quite heartwarming and even on volume one shows some of the dynamics that LGBT+ families face on a daily, the story's setting can be set in Japan but they can be seen almost anywhere in the world. Much of the art within the character designs aims towards Gengoroh preference of drawing beefcakes (Wikipedia) and bears (Wikipedia) which can be seen towards the archetypes of Mike and Yaichi; there is some connotations about homo-eroticism and repression that are aimed to Yaichi.

There are more elements towards the Bara genre but they are quite subtle, almost imperceptible as they are shown as implications but not rather as profuse as how Gengoroh showed them on his seminal work The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame, in which there was bloody violence mixed with some hardcore gay sexy; mostly the style of the design is influenced by Gengoroh's unique approach towards the creation of his cartoon that has an influence taken from Bill Ward.

The family dynamics in certain way are complicated but are extremely lighthearted, as not all the time there is acceptance between the partners and families; especially when there is a deceased family member who never met acceptance from his family (Renna, Cathy), even the outcomes for young LGBT to find some stability become grim without any proper support network, whenever there is incidence for depression, risk of HIV and the use of illegal drugs as well suicide.

There is some symbolism as well some really open scenes in which Yaichi can't hold his curiosity for Mike, as well hesitating about his own sexuality; such as moments where Mike and him go to the gym and found each other attracted to each other but Yaichi doesn't know how to cope with the feelings about that he can be possible a closeted gay man,

Some moments in the story of the first volume, there are hints that Yaichi could be closeted as he had a tumultuous marriage, but also within the epigenetics there could be an incidence and Yaichi was repressing himself up to the point that he expressed homophobia towards his own brother due social factors (Balter, Michael).

Ryoji is probably the central figure on the manga, could it be set as the unseen narrator in which he sets the events that happened after his death but also how homophobia influenced the last 10 years of his life, such as family in Japan and Canada and how died. His story itself is quite tragic as it seemed to be aimed to reconcile with his brother and go back to Japan to meet his young niece but the idea of traveling never happened.

How the tragic story between her uncles probably influenced Kana to look personal relationships in another way, as she seemed to be excited but homophobia also took a toll on her when her friends didn't wanted to meet her uncle due their parents interaction after she mentioned him being a gay man (Chamberlin, Shelby).

Another emotional aspect seen within the content is how Mike copes with the lost of his husband, trying to know the places he and Yaichi used to hang out when they were younger. The context of homophobia could be placed almost anywhere outside Japan, mostly being set in a conservator society in which it can lead any person to leave their country and their family in the sake of finding something better for themselves.

References:

1. Web retrieved: Anime News Network ; Pantheon to Publish Gengoroh Tagame My Brother's Husband Manga: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-09-19/pantheon-to-publish-gengoroh-tagame-my-brother-husband-manga/.106639
2. Web retrieved: Wikipedia - Gengoroh Tagame Biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gengoroh_Tagame
3. Web retrieved: Wikipedia - Beefcake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beefcake
4. Web retrieved: Wikipedia - Bears: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_(gay_culture)
5. Web retrieved: Renna, Cathy - Family Rejection... Family Acceptance Project: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/news-announce/family-rejection-lesbian-gay-and-bisexual-adolescents-negative-health-outcomes
6. Web retrieved: Balter, Michael; Homosexuality May Be Caused by Chemical Modifications to the DNA - Science Magazine: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/10/homosexuality-may-be-caused-chemical-modifications-dna
7. Web retrieved: Chamberlin, Shelby - The Effects of Lesbian and Gay Parenting on Children's Development:  https://cola.unh.edu/sites/cola.unh.edu/files/student-journals/ShelbyChamberlin.pdf

Brett Gleason Manifest Album Review

(08/08/2017) --- Brett Gleason is just one unique musician, not only for being an indie artist but also being multi-instrumental, and with the ability to reach to the deep of your soul but the complexity of the songs that contain a twist. His second album Manifest released on  April 14th of 2017, which the ten songs album directs the attention to topics about life such as sex, death and times where sorrow seems to be striking on almost every corner; it is an amazing album to listen to, not only from the music perspective but from the humanism side too.

What is fantastic about Gleason is that he brings different approaches to his brand of indie-rock through the use of piano as a central element in the compositions; such as "Rough Love" there is the sound of menacing verses in contrast of sweet phrases that talk about an emotional turmoil and manipulation that can be the product of a abusive relationship.

The sounds that Brett produce is radio radio, it can be set to a more mainstream audience as it goes between a transgression of beats that start on a simple set of harmonies such as "Humane" which evolve into a more complex ballad as it develops into a heart-wrenching performing. The sounds of Brett with his melancholic tone of voice, gives a very unique sound and quality of music that is not common, that is unique and which makes easy to identify Brett's music.

The lyrics are quite beautiful and full of sorrow, they offer introspection as well an analysis to what is about to be alive being comfortable in your own skin; the songs can be quite uplifting and they can have hope, they have perseverance to never give up to anything that is in front of you.

I totally recommend buying Manifest (1) as is a very unique experience of indie-rock but also it reach to your soul and is amazing to listen for a second, third and fourth time with more detail and notice that the lyrics paint the basic human experience of being alive. Also, the album is on the iTunes Store (2)

Reference:

1. Web retrieved: Brett Gleason Store http://store.brettgleason.com/album/manifest
2. Web retrieved: iTunes Store - Brett Gleason Manifest - https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/manifest/id1212194149

Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young Youtubers Reviews

(8/7/2017) --- Hello everyone, I went for the first time to MetroCon Tampa last weekend and I had a blast. I'd never been to a comic book convention and I plan to go back again next year but if I can I already set my goals to go to one of the last ones of the year in Tampa that is coming at the end of next month which is going to be MegaCon Tampa.

Senpai did noticed Me!

I thought about doing cosplay but I want to plan it carefully next year with a friend, in which I hope we can do a gender swap version or go together as high school college girls and scream senpai notice me to every single person we see.

Going back to the topic, one of the reasons I decided to give it a go and see the convention after postponing it for many years was because two of my favorite Youtubers Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young were going to be there and I was curious to see them, I missed them on their first day with the singing and autograph signing but I had the chance to go on the second day and saw them on their Disney Sing-A-Long and it was quite fantastic.

Jonathan and Caleb

I always try to see how the performers interact with the fans and how the fans receive them; I am a marketing major and lately the term influencers as a form of marketing has been in my head as a thesis that is inherent in the marketing field, much as a integration on how there is a relation between the seller and the purchaser to obtain a desire result in a product acquisition.

I regret that I didn't took a photo with them and ask for an autograph, but there is always the time to fanboy next year or even just purchase it through their respective e-stores. The most important part of my experience was that what (if you are a fan already) you see on their videos and social media accounts is what you get, two really nice guys who love what they do and they know that their fan base gives them their support to be in the place they are right now.

It was fun to see the rise of two new celebrities in the music scene, how they promote their products and how people adore them because they are honest and the consumers or in this case their viewers can see that. 

Caleb Hyles

One aspect I found amazing to watch, inside the convention is that is a space free of hate, is essentially a safe space where people can enjoy a good time without any objections or harassment. It's a space where you can see fully everyone enjoying the moment and themselves. One of those moments I thought it was the best one I ever seen in my life it was on the sing-a-long where two guys dressed as Esmeralda from the Hunchback sang and stole the show, it was amazing.

A moment before the sing-a-long ended Caleb went down the podium and the crowd went wild, everyone was happy to see someone they admire and support his channel and music through Patreon  which it can make a difference in the life of an artiste.

That moment where Caleb and Jonathan were walking in between the crowd was just amazing, spectacular, I felt humble to be there and watch a new generation of entertainers connect on a one on one with their fans and the fans replying positive. I hope next year they are invited to any of the conventions in Central Florida, I really hope they can come back to MetroCon because surely I will ask for an autograph this time.

References:

• Caleb's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/calebhyles
• Jonathan's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jonathanyoung
• Caleb's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CalebsCovers
• Jonathan's Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC40gs0opj389ohjLnJIAJzA

This Last Lonely Place Movie Review

Every now and then, there is a beautiful piece of cinematic art that catches the attention of the people, there is always a niche on the independent cinema that will attract viewers to new proposals on the audiovisual entertainment.

This Last Lonely Place, has that  aspect on the audiovisual narrative as well as in the story, that can captivate audiences, much as the Golden Era of Hollywood movies. Such as The Maltese Falcon or Casablanca, movies that set a trend and gave a romantic glamour starting Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Ingrid Bergman just to name a few;  or even the old Dick Tracey short and 1945 movie; where a dark environment and shady characters played a pivotal role in the movie narrative.

Even the title of the movie pays an homage to the old noir movies, specially In a Lonely Place where Humphrey Bogart was the main star along Gloria Grahame. The movie was financed by a successful Kickstarter campaign and the Humphrey Bogart Estate , Jeff Marchelletta and Josh Mandel of Industry Standard Films produced the film along with writer/director/producer Steve Anderson of Santana Films.

The movie follows three individuals Sam Taylor, a taxi driver (played by Rhys Coiro); Frank Devore, a shady investment banker (Xander Berkeley) and Faye Gardner, Frank's lover (Carly Pope); whose story begun by a mere casualty after Frank called for a taxi and Sam was the closest one to be on his proximity.

The movie plays homage to  Humphrey Bogart cinematic legacy towards the noir genre, as well as breaking certain conceptions of the genre itself by presenting Carly Pope's character in a mix of the femme fatal but with more altruistic characteristics that makes her character unique towards the women of the noir films, as Faye tends to act according to her own motives; but not only Carly's character (Faye Gardner) is well developed, as there is a complexity shown towards the characters motifs  along the movie that gives them a dose of realness,

The complexity of the characters is quite unique, because it makes me wonder, how far would you go to achieve your goals.? And how much would you sell your ideals? In order to conquest what you want without even thinking on the damage and the people you would use. Nobody knows but it is part of the human nature, such as Faye trying to gain money for herself or Sam who was trying to gain money for his family in Hawaii.

How do you know how far someone will go.? It's difficult to know, almost as a Kafkaesque Metamorphosis just to explain human nature. The movie as it was mentioned on a previous paragraph brings noir elements from Humphrey Bogart cinematographic legacy, as there is as mystery element in the movie that gives the viewer a feeling of old Hollywood movies.

The movie itself is reminiscent German Expressionist films, much as the work of Fritz Lang movie named M; where the city plays a part on the story, but also there is a beauty on how the scenes are carried, as if it was a movie from the Golden Age of cinema.

If any of my readers have the chance to see This Last Lonely Place, I would totally recommend it because it's a fine piece of cinematic product; with really fine acting and shows a quality of cinema that is almost absent on today pieces of audiovisual storytelling, an amazing story that was produced in an indie fashion, that will place the viewer in their seats from the beginning to the end.

If you want to see the movie you can click here where for USD$8 as well support independent filmmakers.

Retro Game Reviews: Roller Coaster Tycoon 3

There is something nice and wonderful about the Roller Coaster Tycoon games; the third installment is not bad, it had some difficulties towards the graphic rendering due the low processors on many computers, but there is something nice about the third installment, even if the creator Chris Sawyer only acted as a consultant.

There is something magical about roller coasters, as well quite of a nightmare for many people as the simple idea of being in the top and the thrown into an out of control but controlled ride, through a series of steel mazes and loops can terrorize or delight someone.

The beauty about Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 lays that it let the user to be submerged into the theme park environment, as well to ride the rides; two elements that were completely absent in the first two installments, as well there is no more isometrically view.

The idea of the game look so ambitious but yet so enjoyable, as it can appeal perfectly to theme park enthusiast and is a game that everyone in the family can play without any inconvenience.

Watching the Rhinos 

RCT3 has two expansion Soaked and Wild, where the player can add water park elements as well a zoo into his theme parks. The game itself, could be a nice idea to incorporate into the Oculus system as it can let the players to traverse and explore unique environments and theme parks.

The idea of RCT3 as a virtual reality game seems to be coherent, as is one of those games that the player can interact perfectly and there are no doses of ultra-violence with the exception of the occasional accidents, if you want to have an understanding of VR systems, this entry by Cloudwards is really easy to digest and can give you a better understanding how these systems work.

The game interface is really easy to understand, and is quite intuitive, as the main screen menus are divided into a series of balloons, where the balloons can be clicked in order to access a description of the scenario as well a few images.

Each scenarios is divided into three sections: Apprentice, Entrepreneur and Tycoon; where the level of difficulty improves but is not impossible to win.

The game offers a wide variety of roller coasters and rides that you can find in actual theme parks; as well it lets the players to create their coasters.

The game can be found in Steam, or if you are lucky enough in Amazon, to find an original copy of this game. You will have hours of fun; but there are some negative aspects as they were with the first games, the game can turn repetitive as well monotone after a few scenarios but yet is still a nice sandbox game, that it can be enjoyed little by little.

Why Video Games Should Be Considered A Form of Artistic Expression

http://izismile.com/

It is not so odd to think about video games as a form of art. Through the different genres, the consumers as well the avid players, can see the different process where gaming is more than a repetitive process as there are a combination between beautiful graphics and a compelling story line.

The evolution of the gaming industry has been quite slow; not many people realize that video games (at least when it first got sketched and patented was on 1947) appeared with the idea as a missile game created by Thomas Toliver Goldsmith Jr. a physicist professor of Furman University; albeit the idea was never placed on a commercial environment. To think that the idea has been for more that half of a century is quite remarkable; but in terms of contemporary history, the first modern game came in the hands of Bill Pitts and Hugh Tucks who developed the first coin operated game at the Stanford University laboratories in 1971, the game was known as Galaxy Game and that is how the revolution of the Arcade came into the market.

Pong

Pong, became eventually the catalyst that placed the first generation of home consoles into the popular mainstream, and the list eventually grew placing other titles such as Pac-Man, Missile Command, Galaxian, Frogger among others.

As years passed, then it came to the point of finding validation, but why to seek approval from a higher source of information,? specially from a community that had created their own niches over the decades of production.

The answer could be in a bittersweet position, due political and social issues. As many forms of art, it does require the approval of communities to gain some validity; it is shallow to express it but it is one truth, as to gain consensus, the work needs the opinion of the masses.

The problem relies as any form of art, between vulgarity and what art could be itself. There is a debacle of video games, indeed as a form of art, because the problematics goes on a social scale as well towards medical issues. It can be a long debate itself, but appreciating the beauty of some games such as Braid and FEZ as other indie games, gives a different perspective to the players as well general consumers; that games can show beauty on a aesthetic level, and even keep entertain without resourcing to extreme violence or just plain commercialism.

Braid is one good example on how the impressionism works perfectly in the environment, it gives to the game itself a colorful palette that is almost distinctiveness to the game. But, the beauty, the art of the game itself, is not necessarily applied to the graphics as so is with Braid or any other game.

The art lays on the storytelling, much as it was a movie, and as the seventh art, games do deserve a level of recognition for the compelling story telling, as well they show the form of expression of the developers.

Yet, the community seems to try to find a central mainstream figure in order to get approval; there is really no need to find approval from anyone that doesn't come from the community itself, but yet it's relevant to try to find support from the mainstream in order to get the approval from the masses to find that form of artistic expression that at the end is just an affirmation.

Then we have another perspective, and goes from the fandom of the video games, where in an artistic perspective they took also video games into a new level, as it never done before, towards the use of pop culture. It is silly to think, how can pop culture with an emphasis on video games can be turned into something beautiful as well beyond the mundane. Reaffirming that video games are art. The answer is indeed simple, is just a simple form of expression where the fans express what they enjoy the most as well giving a different perspective to the products of the video games.

Flappy Bird: An Infatuation With an Aviary Digital Trend

Flappy Bird, The Descend of Madness

There is one point where you can realize, society as we know, if we don't get a momentary reward in the moment then we will lose our focus on any thing that we are doing; or, as one obscure communicational theory says - If the blog entry has more than 500 words the user will lost completely interest in less than 3 minutes -, is almost the same at the moment of writing an article on a newspaper.

Instant gratification has become part of who we are as a modern society that we have all the answers within around our thumbs, and games have to focus on that level. With the creation of Angry Birds on 2099, the world suddenly experience an infatuation with puzzle like/ side scrolling games, that have easy to characters to remember; but a certain amount of difficulty that players don't expect because of the tablets and phones capacities.

The game itself has a easy dynamic, where the player can catch really easy how to play it; as the player has only to tap the bird to fly up or down in order to go through a series of pipes in order to get the maximum score. Sounds easier to describe than to play but yet is almost impossible to go beyond certain score. It's almost as trying to break the record on Pac-Man only to find out that after level 256 there is nothing but only a bug.

The game itself taking all those frustrating aspects, offers a nice view on how an indie product generated world wide attention because of the difficulty, as well the frustration. It's almost a juxtaposition of feelings on a game can be a popular because it doesn't even offer a smooth game play, it's just a simple idea that can pull the worse out of anyone.

It's not difficult to agree with Jennifer Whiteshade of Amongtech.com that the game could surpass Candy Crush Saga because of the addictiveness level that Flappy Bird offers.

The creator Dong Nguyen of DotGear Studios has been experience some popularity as well some financial comfort, as it has reported by venturebeat.com would receive around US$600 mill from Zynga in order to acquire the rights of the game; but yet fame hasn't gone to Nguyen as when he speak to the gamers the only thing he can reply is "the game was to make you laugh," albeit that could be just a sadistic remark.

Beyond the Epic Adventure, Mickey's Probable Different Games

Tampa, Fl -- It's been almost 3 years since Mickey made his debut on the franchise of Epic Mickey by the hands Warren Spector; even if the games ha received mixed to positive reviews since it appeared on the market, the game itself would be something different, as a Smash Brother's esque or as a spy. The games could still be made and exploit the franchise with a good script and a compelling story-line that lacked a little bit on the two games of Epic Mickey.

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The idea of of making a melee game with iconic Disney characters sounds as a good idea, it probably would create a new franchise that could compete with Smash Brothers as much of the characters by Disney are known by different generations and could create an unifying factor with families who have children and teens; and the parents are looking to share a moment with their children.

The idea of King Louie or Captain Hook fighting against each other in scenarios inspired of the movies or imagining Alice fighting against the Queen of Red Hearts and going through a story mode inspired in Alice in Wonderland or fight in Neverland the idea would be extremely amazing and there would be people who would buy the game because they are fans of Disney as a brand and as the place where many individuals had fond memories.

Going back to the Spy Mickey topic and finding random draft about the possibilities of the game, the idea seemed to be more appealing commercially than Epic Mickey, even to the point that there is a automaton version of Donald Duck but there is a sensitive aspect almost as a form of art because Epic Mickey is visually appealing as is compelling with the story line without going into the archetypal cliches but the game-play tends to be so slow that bores from time to time. 

Home - A Unique Horror Adventure Game Review

The Unnamed Protagonist of Home

Tampa -- Fl, Home -  A Unique Horror Adventure Game is a side-scroll by the mind of Benjamin Rivers is an adventure game with a mystery side that can keep the player hook up to the seat for the entire duration of the game. The best way to describe Home is with a retro vein styled 1980's graphic text adventure with a 2D perspective that gives and scary atmosphere to the game mythos where he unnamed protagonist tries to uncover the clues about his whereabouts and why he ended amnesiac in a mansion h has no clue who belongs to.

Waking up in the Middle of Nowhere

The Gameplay is quite easy to handle, as there are only two basic commands, the directional arrows and the space-bar (to take some yes/no decisions the player must use the Y and N keys.) to navigate through the scenario. The scenario offer a retro old school value as everything is pixelated even the sequences from first point view where the character explores his surroundings (see adjacent cap) the world is completely pixelated giving a Maniac Mansion or Super Mario air of kind of game.

There are skeletons and not in the closet

The story of the game is quite ambiguous and not necessarily goes into the unidirectional spectrum of story telling. The basic outline goes when our unnamed protagonist wakes up disoriented in the middle of a storm in the house that is not his only to find himself in what it seems to be the possible scene of a mass murder. The story has possible endings and the player has to explore different parts of the vast pixelated world in order to unveil all the clues regarded on the situation the protagonist finds himself into.

There are different theories about what really happening around online since the game don't offer any clues itself and the player is obligated to repeat the game in order to find different parts of the mystery from the very beginning but the game revolves around a man that seems to have a criminal history and in a fit of rage  mixed with alcohol and depression  after finding his wife Rachel possibly cheating with his best and only friend a man named Norman decide deliberately to kill them, albeit the game take possible outcomes depending on what clues the player finds regarding the blank spots on the man's past.

Graphics bring an amazing value to the game itself, is one of those kind of games aimed to an older generation but at the same time is aimed to anyone who enjoy retro-games or retro styled games due the nostalgia value as well to the focus on the story itself. Maybe with today gaming industry, the industry as focused on graphics and not essence, maybe the indie developers have taken what the mainstream had left.? The point where even there is an appeal on the graphics there is also an appeal on the beauty of gaming with mimics the same as writing and painting, or any form of art, telling a story.