Well, I've finished Silent Hill: Origins for the PSP. I did enjoy it, despite its various glaring flaws, and planned immediately to restart the game and start working on some of the unlockables. It hit me about five minutes after I started. What hit me, you ask?
The Post-Game Blues (PGB).
PGB. This is the name I give that very special form of almost-depression that strikes me after I finish a game that I really enjoyed. It doesn't happen much these days (which speaks either on my gaming habits, my taste in games, or the quality games today), but when it hits, PGB is quite a bit more intense than when I was younger. When deep in the effects of PGB I can be expected to loaf around, going about my daily activities normally, but basically in a state of confusion as far as gaming is concerned. I want to play something, but I am unable to focus enough to actually play something.
In the past I beat this by organization as well as getting help from my computer. I own a copy of Game Collector (basically a database for your game collection), and when I used to get PGB, I would boot it up and select "Random Game". This solved my problem instantly. Now... things are different. I'm a parent of two children under 5 and a full time student. What time I get is usually on my PSP, or on my junky laptop. I do have CFW installed, so my choices are not as limited as they could be, though.
Is this a common thing among us gamers? Maybe older gamers, or is it just me?
This year I was fortunate enough to receive a Nintendo Switch console before Father's Day from my wife and kids. It was a wonderful moment, especially considering I hadn't planned on purchasing one for another year (at least). Despite this, I still had a nice list of games to buy, with one in particular standing out as an early purchase due the nostalgia that bubbled up whenever I read an article about it.
On Father's Day, imagine my surprise when the gift bag I assumed would hold a t-shirt and some homemade cards (which it did) also contained that very game I was wanting, that being SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (SNK 40th) for my new Switch!
The one question that I think all collectors eventually ask themselves is: "Why do am I collect?", which will sometimes precede the most dangerous of all questions: "Why do I have all this crap?" The last time I asked myself this I ended up dropping a good chunk of my most prized pieces on eBay before I managed to stop. Since that dark day over two years ago, I have lived in fear of the eventual day the question floats back into my conscious mind. I hoped to never think it again, or if I did, it would be far enough into the future where I could pass my collection to my son or daughter. The other day as I brushed my teeth I thought idly: "Why do I collect?" I stopped brushing and thought about it, bringing the origins of this errant question from light grazing to mental mastication. I guess there are several reasons I collect. Part of it is the thrill of the hunt, a feeling many of you share, I think. Another is the enjoyment I get from watching my collection grow on a shelf (something like retail therapy maybe), because after all, nothing looks better next to a game than another game. But often there is another reason that keeps me collecting: a reason that can either jump start a collecting frenzy or drive me away from the thrift stores. The thought process behind these things generally take time with me, like the incubation period on the ebola virus; and the longer it takes, the more negative the effects are. This savior/killer of collections is nostalgia, and this time it started with a read through of one of my favorite articles, and a listen to one of my favorite podcasts. Three weeks ago I read NES_Rules' Treasure Hunt Chronicles #15 and noted the Tiger Electronic game. It was a brief note, and I promptly forgot it after spying the CIB NES haul further down the article. The other night as I washed the dinner dishes I listened to the lastest Retronauts (which was covering the history of handhelds). About halfway through I had a brief thought, "Hm. Didn't mention tabletop games." Of course they did closer to the end and I once again forgot. No doubt at this point my subconscious was brewing something especially rose-tinted, and later that night (about 11pm) these two thoughts emerged, dripping with nostalgia from my childhood. One involved a small and very cheap Tiger LCD game, and the other was a heavy and somewhat cumbersome to play tabletop arcade game. The name of the game I could not recall. All I could remember is playing a side-scrolling shooter while I kept warm at the heating vent in my room. I would play it obsessively, and at one point finished it no less than three times in a row before being called down for dinner. Thunder Blade, maybe. Hmm. The second, however, is a much clearer memory. I remember a sort-of friend (more like a bully whom declared a temporary truce) tell me of a kid who traded video games. I accompanied the sort-of friend to this kids house, and was quick to note there was not one videogame in the place. I asked him about trades, and he seemed to remember a game, which turned out to be the Tomy game, Tron. At this point I'd never seen a tabletop arcade game, and I was instantly floored. I had to have it. The problem was, while the douche-bag was finding the game, he also found a dull kitchen knife, and proceeded to try to throw it into his bedroom wall. I think we can effectively blame the American Ninja movies and Michael Dudikoff for this kind of behavior. The sort-of friend who had accompanied me quickly joined in, and things started to look glum. There was a definite air of pre-pubescent testosterone in the air, which youthful experience had taught me an ass-whuppin' was close at hand. All the money I had left was a five-spot, which represented about two days of bottle hunting (in Michigan 1 bottle equals 10 cents). This money was destined for the token machine at Little Caesar's Pizzeria, I reasoned with myself, but that Tron game looked damn awesome, and my decision was made in the space of a few seconds. I made a quick transaction, and hauled my geeky ass out of there. What followed was about an indefinite, but long period of total bliss, and nothing would even come close until a friend down the road got an NES. What happened to this lovely piece of hardware, I may never know. I have my suspicions, which may or may not involve my father and a garbage bag. However, I would not mourn for long, as in Christmas of 1988 I received a NES. My mystery Tiger LCD game, along with my beautiful memory of the Tomy Tron tabletop vanished and lay dormant for over twenty years. When the memory came back fully in my mind (the other night), I sat down in front of my laptop and researched for an hour or so. Before long I had correctly identified the Tiger game as ThunderBlade from scanned instructions on Hasbro's website, and watched video on YouTube that some blessed soul put up for the Tron game. Needless to say I desperately want to re-experience those games, so I checked around a bit. A no-go on the ThunderBlade game, but that was nothing more than I expected. The Tron game was also a bust, but in a different way. The only copies I found were on eBay, and the owners aren't willing to part with their machines for less than $120 (UPDATE: There is one for actual auction now, so we'll see how that turns out). I normally don't like using eBay (or walk-in stores for that matter), as the hunt is pretty much what motivates me to collect. I mean, I could walk into Destiny Games (a local gaming shop) and get an original Xbox or a N64 pretty cheap, but pulling one out of a cardboard box full of odd junk as if it were a baby being birthed by cesarean is much more fulfilling. So here I am, in something of a strange situation. My nostalgia for handheld games is unfulfilled, and since I'm a hunter at heart, I'm unlikely to get my fix anytime soon. The oddity is that because of this, my focus is now on handheld and tabletop gaming exclusively. I've since made a few finds in that department, which I'll write about later (first: honey-do list). I even passed up a NES with Tetris and MAX controller so I could look in couple more stores first. But if this reads as if I'm complaining let me assure you: I'm loving every minute, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
My name is bombatomba. Every two weeks I make a run down the gauntlet of thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales in my area, dragging my 4-year old along for the ride as well as a crash course in proper hunting techniques . This is the Thrift Store Score.
This is the blog entry of Thrift Store Score. I also have a forum entryhere. The link is the same entry, though without the pictures. Sorry about the quality of the pics, but this is my first time using html to do this. If you like one entry over the other please post a comment.
This week I would make my West-East Gauntlet Run, with a stop at approximately 30 garage sales for sake of the hunt. The only passable flea market around here is open on the weekends only, so I decided to start with the garage sales and drive east, then hit the thrift stores on the way home. My son and I left at 11 am with full stomachs and empty floorboards.
When I hit garage sales, I tend to pick a main road and stick exclusively to it. While I may miss many sales, this technique saves gas consumption and allows me to focus on the hunt. In the past I went with my father-in-law, either him or I riding shotgun while calling out/writing down street addresses. On these trips we would drive down several main roads long distances (sometimes as much as 20 miles). These days even hardcore garage salers generally don't bother with sales, which is no doubt due to the huge drop in item quality, as well as the almost non-existence of good finds.
For a change, I drove down Ann Arbor Trail, which is a bit more rural and twisty than I normally like, but then I never have any faith that my garage saleing will yield results. Again, there was nothing. I stopped off for lunch and began trekking east along the Gauntlet.
The first store yielded nothing. There were large bags of action figures, but surprisingly my kid wanted nothing to do with them. We left drove to the next one, which was had a nice haul. It the state of the shelves made it look picked over, but I immediately spotted two Atari VCS boxes,each marked $.99. I snapped them up and was surprised to see they were unopened! The boxes were a tiny bit crushed but other than that they were is fairly good condition. Almost as quickly I found Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for PC (CIB) marked $1.91, which I have learned is the alternative box, featuring a shot of Connery and Ford. A few moments later I found Civilization II Gold Multiplayer for $1.91, which was also CIB with the Tech Tree map and a massive booklet. I grabbed a few thinks for my kid (Charlie Brown Halloween VHS and a micro radio controller boat), paid and left. [img width=640 height=512]http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/1922/atarigames1.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=512]http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5617/indya.jpg[/img] [img width=640 height=512]http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8848/civ2w.jpg[/img] The third stop was mildly good, with a loose copy of Rush 2049 for N64 for $3.03 and a strange little handheld/table game called Foto-Electronic Bowling for $3.93. I didn't bother with the Rush game, but I did pick up the bowling game. There was no copyright on it, although I guessed the date to be from 1976 to 1982 (turned out to be 1978). I also found a CIB copy of King's Quest V for PC for for $3.93 hidden behind some other games. Snap. Before I left I spotted a Virtual Boy behind the counter, which was marked $15.81. It was missing the tripod, but had six games. The problem was that I really want a Nintendo 64 system, so I passed on the Virtual Boy, paid for the other items (along with a Thomas the Train whistle for my kid), and drove to the last stop. [img width=640 height=512]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/3590/tbwl1.jpg[/img] [img width=700 height=560]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5420/kq5v.jpg[/img] For those of you not familiar, St. Vincent de Paul is a massive chain of thrift stores that will sometimes contain new items, as well as collector items. The only problem I ever had is that the prices are severley skewed. You can find loose PSX games for $3.03, but there are also PSX systems marked $59.99 that are clearly broken. There are also seventy year old typewriters ($100), junk televisions from the early eighties ($40), and very old Lionel Train sets ($250). Most gamers would do well to avoid these places, as they are really more than a waste of time. However, I remember seeing N64 systems at a local location, so I went there with a vaguely optimistic attitude. I let my son pick out a toy first (a 15-pack of Ultimate Muscle for .99), and went looking for the N64, which I managed to find. It was dirty, and both the jumper pack panel and the bottom panel were missing, but the fragments of a price tag suggested it might be about $5 (I could see 4.9). I hunted up a controller and a power pack, and hunted around for an employee. The manager told me it was $30 (!) and would not budge; regardless of the price tag, the horribly dirty shape of the system, and the possibility that the item might not work. I told her to shove it, paid for my kids toy and left. I hate that place.
So I could end this episode on a high note, I went back to the last store and bought the Virtual Boy. It works fine and the games turned out to be Virtual Boy Wario Land, Red Alarm (2 copies), Mario's Tennis, Golf, and Teleroboxer. It also gave me a headache. Oh well, still a good days hunting! [img width=640 height=512]http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/614/img0032gqa.jpg[/img]
I head to the register and pay, satisfied that another good score can go into the books. Till next time!
I wrote this in response to a posting on a message board where the user wrote: "Being a 'hardcore gamer' these days involves playing hour upon hour of WoW or FPS on your computer."
That got me thinking. What does it mean to be hardcore player? I certainly consider myself a hardcore player, and over the past few weeks I've played at the most three or four hours of videogames. In fact, I've spent more time scanning magazines and planning new displays for my videogames then actually playing them. Never in a million years would I describe my gaming habits as casual.
I firmly believe that the style of gamer you are completely relies on what games you like to play. Do you play only party games on Wii, or nothing but Rockband? Once you have mastered these games will you stop gaming altogether? These represent the gaming habits of a casual gamer, who will only generally only play games that are simple (I'm using the word 'simple' very loosely, so don't flame please) to pick up and play, and also to put back down again. Once the challenge is gone, or once there is nothing left but an arbitrary thing such as score, a casual player will put the game down and not play it again until it is required in a social situation. However many casual gamers will play these games for hundreds of hours on end. I had an old work friend describe how he played Space Invaders on the Atari VCS for weeks at a time, but he never played anything else, and abandoned the game after the Crash of '83.
Hardcore gamers, however, are different. While game companies and distributors will describe a gamer exclusively by the game they play and how frequently they purchase said games, I believe a hardcore gamer can be defined by not only the type of game they play, but also their habits in playing them. Did you play GTA to see for the story, or for the challenge of getting into impossible places the designers hadn't thought of? Did you play a FF game so much that you could finish the game with only one character? Did you write the FAQ on how to do this? Did you read the same FAQ so you could do the learn how that player did it? These are all habits of a hardcore gamer. However these aren't the limits. A hardcore gamer can be a person who plays anything, anytime, for any reason. The real difference between casual and hardcore is that a hardcore gamer will continue to game, regardless of social constraints placed upon them by those of the gaming industry and the media. A casual gamer will often stop gaming if it is considered uncool (which is what I believe really caused the Videogame Crash, that is, perception of games through the media and societal figures), or if they have "played the game out".
So by utilizing what I have stated above, a casual gamer can be someone who plays WoW or an FPS for hundreds of hours, and a hardcore gamer can be someone who only plays games on their current Nintendo system. Confused? That's alright, if there was no confusion then there would be no discussion.
In summary, please remember that we are all gamers, and even though casual gamers may or may not have caused the Crash of '83 (ahem), there is no reason we cannot have a civil discussion without poo-slinging and name-calling.
Following a successful Kickstarter Campaign in 2014, Lizard is the latest NES focused homebrew from developer Brad Smith, who previously released chiptunes cartridges Moon8 and 2A03 Puritans. Lizard forgoes powerups, lives, and timers and instead opts for an open world platforming adventure. It's an adventure four years in the making so let's put on our Lizard suit and take a look.
[img width=582 height=800]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/cisco678/space-fantasy-zone-box-art-japanese_zps4tkxuxck.jpg[/img] Image from www.gf-park.com
It seems Sega intended Fantasy Zone and Space Harrier to be interconnected, as both titles take place in the same universe ("the Fantasy Zone") and have crazy character designs. In 1991, NEC Avenue took the next step and combined both games into one Super CD game for the PC Engine CD/Turbo CD called, Space Fantasy Zone.
As video games become an aging hobby, it becomes more difficult to grasp the beginning of its tale, or the history and growth of it in general. This does not just mean its actual history, but also its dominant theories of design. For example, when many gamers talk of role playing games, only two dominant styles are generally brought up: The consolized Japanese designed role playing games, and the historically more mechanically complex and open, Western designed role playing games. Despite the fact that these two schools of design are considered different enough to be easily categorized, they share a common ancestor in tabletop games, specifically Dungeons and Dragons. While Dungeons and Dragons has been around since the 1970's, it has evolved and is almost unrecognizable in comparison to its earliest version, as the company that originally created the game went bankrupt, was bought out, and its creator has passed away.
[img width=700 height=24]https://i.imgur.com/N418D7u.png[/img] This snapshot was taken on 24/05/2018
For years I have found myself moving away from the mainstream gaming press, and even reaching the point of outright ignoring it. I could not mention the last time I went to any of the mainstream gaming press sites just to browse and see what news is coming out. The only time I end up there is seemingly by accident, browsing a forum, board, or group dedicated to an individual game or series that then links to a news release pertaining to the topic. Upon reflection of my own browsing habits and years of history I found that this relative ignorance of what the mainstream gaming press is actually saying pre-dates plenty of the recent major controversies. I was already years deep into this willful ignorance when Gamer Gate started to blow up. The exact reasons I started these habits are long forgotten, but with some time passing and new developments of the day, as well as the effect it had on everybody's browsing habits, then there might be more reasons than ever to justify the abandonment of the mainstream critic.
So I'm an odd ball. So I am usually the last to post on a blog/forum. So I only post about weird games on weird platforms. So I have a strange relationship with commas and parenthesis. So what? Hey, at least you don't have to car pool with me to work, right? So have a heart, eat a blueberry, and don't forget to drop the empties in the box on the way out. I get deposit on those.
