My addiction of choice: Xbox and Playstation. "Proper" writers probably get sore fingers from typing - I get it from monster-thumping in Gears of War, Lost Planet, Halo, Silent Hill and the like. Or puzzle-solving in Syberia II, or trying to be strategic (and thumping monsters) in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
To paraphrase: there's a completed game in all of us. Never mind that silly novel business.
When not writing - gaming
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John DoddsJo
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John's blog: http://bonemachines.wordpress.com
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KB
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Personally, I would never dream of spending a hungover Saturday sitting on the sofa playing Gears of War with a friend. And I certainly wouldn't want to rig up my Xbox 360 (which I wouldn't own) to a projector and beam it at a six-foot screen on the wall of the middle room downstairs. And I would never get exasperated with my son for turning off "automatic grab" on Tomb Raider Anniversary (never heard of it) so that I spent a whole week wondering what to do next because I couldn't jump and grab anything. BioShock? The Darkness? Never heard of them. And there's no way I'd go out and buy the Orange Box soon. Nor am I waiting impatiently for any game called Mass Effect, because I've never heard of that, either.
I have no thoughts at all on how Deus Ex was probably the best game I ever played. At no point did I buy the A5/A6 GameStudio game engine and tinker with writing my own game.
No, no, no. I'm too busy "writing". Oops, why did I put that in speechmarks?
Best,
Keith
I have no thoughts at all on how Deus Ex was probably the best game I ever played. At no point did I buy the A5/A6 GameStudio game engine and tinker with writing my own game.
No, no, no. I'm too busy "writing". Oops, why did I put that in speechmarks?
Best,
Keith
My writing was really wrecked by the advent of Halo 3. Just check out my service record on bungie.net (my gamer tag is the same as my username here).
I've spent quite a bit of time playing that new fishing came COD 4.
It doesn't quite bring the smile to my face that Halo 3 does. Though I certainly found the single player story (so far) to be far more satisfying than the single player in H3 (Though the Cobra Pilot is nowhere near as attractive as Cortana is).
There is one cinematic sequence on the USMC story line that was mind-blowingly powerful. I've never seen anything like it in any game before. I'm sure if you've been there you know what I'm talking about, I'm sure if you've not been there, you'll recognize it when you do get there.
I desperately want Assassin's Creed, but can't afford it AND Mass Effect.
I play with a bunch of older gamers which is cool because we've become reasonably good friends. If you're interested, we have a website.
My oldest son is buying his own 360 and I'm looking forward to doing Co-op Rainbow Six, Gears of War and Halo 3 with him all on the most difficult settings.
Timothy.
I've spent quite a bit of time playing that new fishing came COD 4.
It doesn't quite bring the smile to my face that Halo 3 does. Though I certainly found the single player story (so far) to be far more satisfying than the single player in H3 (Though the Cobra Pilot is nowhere near as attractive as Cortana is).
There is one cinematic sequence on the USMC story line that was mind-blowingly powerful. I've never seen anything like it in any game before. I'm sure if you've been there you know what I'm talking about, I'm sure if you've not been there, you'll recognize it when you do get there.
I desperately want Assassin's Creed, but can't afford it AND Mass Effect.
I play with a bunch of older gamers which is cool because we've become reasonably good friends. If you're interested, we have a website.
My oldest son is buying his own 360 and I'm looking forward to doing Co-op Rainbow Six, Gears of War and Halo 3 with him all on the most difficult settings.
Timothy.
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John DoddsJo
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KB
I've never heard of any of those games, either, now you mention it. And I am not completely distraught that my Xbox360 keeps freezing in the middle of games (any tips on fixing that, by the way, would be appreciated - it's not the red lights ring of death, luckily, but just game image freezing or screen going green).
I definitely didn't buy Bioshock, nor am I interested in anyone buying me Mass Effect or Assassin's Creed for Christmas. Yes, I really would prefer more socks, or perhaps a nice box of choccies.
And Tim...by older gamers, what could you mean? I'm 53, which certainly makes me an older gamer. But older than what, I wonder.
I've never heard of any of those games, either, now you mention it. And I am not completely distraught that my Xbox360 keeps freezing in the middle of games (any tips on fixing that, by the way, would be appreciated - it's not the red lights ring of death, luckily, but just game image freezing or screen going green).
I definitely didn't buy Bioshock, nor am I interested in anyone buying me Mass Effect or Assassin's Creed for Christmas. Yes, I really would prefer more socks, or perhaps a nice box of choccies.
And Tim...by older gamers, what could you mean? I'm 53, which certainly makes me an older gamer. But older than what, I wonder.
John's blog: http://bonemachines.wordpress.com
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KB
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Yeah, I didn't spend half an hour last night going through reviews of Assassin's Creed and marvelling at screenshots (I've never heard of GameSpot), so I have no idea that it's out this week and most certainly won't be going on Amazon later to order it...
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John DoddsJo
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Yes, KB, Assassin's Creed looks amazing. As does Mass Effect. Once I get my 360 fixed, of course. I'm back on my original Xbox at the moment, completing Halo (1), having finished Halo 2 when it first came out. Also got stuck on a good game called Black - tough, tough shooter.
And have you played God of War and Resident Evil 4 on PS2 - fantastic games, those.
KB - if you ever play multiplayer on 360, I plan to go online sometime and we can beat the crap out of each other, if you're interested.
And have you played God of War and Resident Evil 4 on PS2 - fantastic games, those.
KB - if you ever play multiplayer on 360, I plan to go online sometime and we can beat the crap out of each other, if you're interested.
John's blog: http://bonemachines.wordpress.com
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John DoddsJo
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Yes, KB, Assassin's Creed looks amazing. As does Mass Effect. Once I get my 360 fixed, of course. I'm back on my original Xbox at the moment, completing Halo (1), having finished Halo 2 when it first came out. Also got stuck on a good game called Black - tough, tough shooter.
And have you played God of War and Resident Evil 4 on PS2 - fantastic games, those.
KB - if you ever play multiplayer on 360, I plan to go online sometime and we can beat the crap out of each other, if you're interested.
And have you played God of War and Resident Evil 4 on PS2 - fantastic games, those.
KB - if you ever play multiplayer on 360, I plan to go online sometime and we can beat the crap out of each other, if you're interested.
John's blog: http://bonemachines.wordpress.com
On a side note - I'm currently doing a game design in Scrivener (adaption of a novel). Of course I've never spent any time actually playing those ... things. 
Grrr! I hate Havok! Hatehatehate!
Why? Because they're preventing me from wasting even more time playing games! Because their engine is so darned expensive to lease that no Mac game companies can afford it.
No Halo 2 for Mac.
No Half-Life 2.
No Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory or Double Agent.
And worst of all, no Hellgate: London! Waaaaah!
Oh, sure, just use BootCamp, you say. Right. I can't even afford the games, much less buying Windows just to play them.
All right, rant over. Back to wasting time playing Diablo II, Quake 4, Halo, Myth II...etc.
Why? Because they're preventing me from wasting even more time playing games! Because their engine is so darned expensive to lease that no Mac game companies can afford it.
No Halo 2 for Mac.
No Half-Life 2.
No Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory or Double Agent.
And worst of all, no Hellgate: London! Waaaaah!
Oh, sure, just use BootCamp, you say. Right. I can't even afford the games, much less buying Windows just to play them.
All right, rant over. Back to wasting time playing Diablo II, Quake 4, Halo, Myth II...etc.
And that, my Liege, is how we know the earth to be banana-shaped.
John Dodds wrote:KB
I've never heard of any of those games, either, now you mention it. And I am not completely distraught that my Xbox360 keeps freezing in the middle of games (any tips on fixing that, by the way, would be appreciated - it's not the red lights ring of death, luckily, but just game image freezing or screen going green).
I definitely didn't buy Bioshock, nor am I interested in anyone buying me Mass Effect or Assassin's Creed for Christmas. Yes, I really would prefer more socks, or perhaps a nice box of choccies.
And Tim...by older gamers, what could you mean? I'm 53, which certainly makes me an older gamer. But older than what, I wonder.
You definitely qualify as older. We've banded together because for the most part we can't stand whiny pre-pubescent voices on our teams. All of us are 30+ (I'm 44) I do think there are a couple of fellas not quite 30, but we all understand the vagaries of kids, and having real lives. Just a really good group of guys to play games with and have on your friends list.
Assassin's Creed reviews are ALL over the map. It's quite interesting to watch.
The Halo matchmaking changes they made to Lone Wolves are kicking my butt. I could hold my own in five player matches, six player matches seem to be getting the best of me. Anyway if you're interested shoot me a friend request on LIVE.
I am very out of date now.
Last year I treated myself to a playstation 2, which I bought off ebay and loving wrapped and slipped under the tree. My playstation 1 has collected so much dust it finally stopped working (although I only noticed that when I tried to run an old game for my 6 year old). I bought Final Fantasy X to go with the PS2, and I spent a glorious week or two in the holiday playing it.
I notated all the best bits of kit, and printed out my powers chart to plot which characters would learn which talents. I even dreamed about equipping armour in a very weird way that just doesn't bear repeating.
School went back, I started working again, and now - nearly back to christmas again - I've never actually finished the game. I am at the part where you can embark on the final section, but you're likely to get totally anhialated if you don't power up first. I can't even remember what I was doing at the time.
I realise this is a shameful admission.
Last year I treated myself to a playstation 2, which I bought off ebay and loving wrapped and slipped under the tree. My playstation 1 has collected so much dust it finally stopped working (although I only noticed that when I tried to run an old game for my 6 year old). I bought Final Fantasy X to go with the PS2, and I spent a glorious week or two in the holiday playing it.
I notated all the best bits of kit, and printed out my powers chart to plot which characters would learn which talents. I even dreamed about equipping armour in a very weird way that just doesn't bear repeating.
School went back, I started working again, and now - nearly back to christmas again - I've never actually finished the game. I am at the part where you can embark on the final section, but you're likely to get totally anhialated if you don't power up first. I can't even remember what I was doing at the time.
I realise this is a shameful admission.
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John DoddsJo
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Not shameful at all, Pink. I still own, and play my trusty Playstation 2. It's a great console, but fantastic games. And, unlike the Xbox 360, it runs quietly and never, ever, breaks down.
Final Fantasy X - got about a third of the way through. Still try to get further from time to time. But recently bought Final Fantasy XII, which is amazing. You must get yourself a copy. I think it's gone Platinum and is now cheaper.
I can also highly recommend God of War (not a turn-based strategy like FF, but does involve some puzzle solving in addition to hacking and slashing your way through the wonderfully-realised world). I plan to get GOW II once my budget has improved.
Final Fantasy X - got about a third of the way through. Still try to get further from time to time. But recently bought Final Fantasy XII, which is amazing. You must get yourself a copy. I think it's gone Platinum and is now cheaper.
I can also highly recommend God of War (not a turn-based strategy like FF, but does involve some puzzle solving in addition to hacking and slashing your way through the wonderfully-realised world). I plan to get GOW II once my budget has improved.
John's blog: http://bonemachines.wordpress.com
That's for playstation 2 as well, isn't it. I will certain be getting it (eventually!) The games I've played are slightly definitive of me... FF7, FF8, FF9, FF10...
If I had a working pc, no job or family, and the desire to be a hermit, I'd probably try FF11.
If I had a working pc, no job or family, and the desire to be a hermit, I'd probably try FF11.
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John DoddsJo
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Yes, it is on PS2. You seem to like Final Fantasy quite a bit. I have a couple of those early PSX games, to VII and IX, I think, but only tried one of them so far. In spite of the primitive graphics, they seem like fun.
I'm somewhat more of a fan of survival horror games - Silent Hill 2 and 3, Resident Evil (Code Veronica X and 4, which is brilliant), and the like. Also partially to first-person shooters. But a game involving a decent storyline, battle, puzzles and strategy, is best of all, which I feel the Silent Hills and Resident Evils do well.
I'm somewhat more of a fan of survival horror games - Silent Hill 2 and 3, Resident Evil (Code Veronica X and 4, which is brilliant), and the like. Also partially to first-person shooters. But a game involving a decent storyline, battle, puzzles and strategy, is best of all, which I feel the Silent Hills and Resident Evils do well.
John's blog: http://bonemachines.wordpress.com
oh, am I that transparent?? The additional games that I played are all the same style. Xenogears, Vandal Hears, Star Ocean... Long RPGs. I like games that are like books.
I did start Resident Evil, and it freaked me out so much I had to stop playing it! My heart would absolutely race when those dog things were chasing me down a dark street and I had only 4 bullets left!!
I have Silent Hill too, another unfinished game, but I liked that one and would go back to it if the PS1 wasn't now a large paperweight on top of the VCR.
I definitely like games to have an element of puzzle in them, but not to the point of being too esoteric to work out. I played Riven and lost patience with it.
I did start Resident Evil, and it freaked me out so much I had to stop playing it! My heart would absolutely race when those dog things were chasing me down a dark street and I had only 4 bullets left!!
I have Silent Hill too, another unfinished game, but I liked that one and would go back to it if the PS1 wasn't now a large paperweight on top of the VCR.
I definitely like games to have an element of puzzle in them, but not to the point of being too esoteric to work out. I played Riven and lost patience with it.