thoughts on Earth 2025, and Wizardy 8, among other things

I was bored so I started playing earth 2025 about a month ago, since I haven’t been able to play any games lately due to circumstances personal, professional, geographical, etc.

It was fun at first, building up my country, getting technology, etc., but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to constantly prey on the weaker countries to get more land, which is the only thing that is constantly in demand, since all production and wealth is based on how much land you have.  I know it’s only a game, but how you play the game is what matters, really, and the only way to get ahead is to prey on the weak (that is, if you’re a solo player).  There’s only so much you can do playing the market, and technology won’t matter much if you don’t have land.  Perhaps it would be different if buying land was an option, but they seem not to have opted to provide that option.

Eventually the game seemed pointless, as all I could do is bully weaker, less-developed countries and protect myself from the ones higher up on the ladder.  Tedious and pointless.  There’s no point fighting the more powerful countries, as you won’t be able to get any land from them, and there’s really nothing worth fighting for, as the countries you represent have no soul.  They’re just numbers on a screen.

I considered becoming a agricultural society, with a powerful spy network to steal technology from stronger countries, perhaps bombing their food stores to drive food prices up, but spies are just extremely expensive and annoying to use, as so often you’ll fail even though your spy network is strong and you’ll lose a bunch of spies in the process which take time to replace.  Maybe if I spent a month doing nothing but amassing spies and rebuilding my land to support the industry to do so it might work, but probably not.  There doesn’t seem to be an interesting way to play this game.  Since it all comes down to the land, which you have to take from someone else.

Pure Darwinism.  Survival of the fittest, prey on the weak, because they deserve it, being born that way.  Don’t be a leader if you have the ability, don’t protect the weak, don’t feed the hungry, just take what’s yours for the taking, because you CAN.  Is this not the whole idea this game is based on?

Maybe I’m being a pessimist, but there doesn’t seem to be a creative way to play the game.  Maybe if you joined a guild something interesting could be done, but as a solo player it’s just big fish eating small fish.  And the guild idea seems pointless too, in the end, since there isn’t much room for individuality.  And what could you do anyway, and if you did it, who would know about it?  All there is is a scores list in the end.  And if you take down a larger country, there will just be another to replace it.

So I just stopped playing.  Getting to the top just doesn’t interest me, considering how you get there.

But this gives me an interesting idea for a mmog…

In other news, I just started playing Wizardy 8 for the first time.  I’m playing it in Iron Man mode, which is like Hardcore in Diablo.  You can’t save your game yourself; it automatically saves it at intervals.  And if your whole party dies, it’s over.

The first time I tried, I fought some spider named Gregor before I was ready and nearly my whole party was killed.  It took hours to get the gold to resurrect my dead members, only by that time they were too weak to survive.  Eventually that whole party bought the farm, because I just didn’t care anymore.

My next try was more successful, but I didn’t quite know how the character building system worked, so I let them die off.  Also I got caught by another boss character (some extremely vicious horned beast), and couldn’t get away from him.

Third try wass the charm.  I suppose they will eventually die off too, but the game is still fun to play because I can experiment with party makeups, and the character development system is quite nifty.

I have Jimmy the Lord (named inspired by the MIA song) as main tank, Helen the Lord as off tank and DPS, Billy the Bard for his knowledge and inspiration, Jack the Ranger for DPS and scouting ability, Shanna Banana the Valkyrie (named after the character in “Death Proof”; you can tell what I’ve been into recently) for pure DPS, and Grandpa the Bishop for pure spellcasting.

I picked Lords for tanks because of the convenience of regenerating health, and I’ve been boosting my Bard’s senses and intelligence to increase his knowledge of artifacts and mythology, as well as keeping up his traps and locks skill.  Shanna does very well as a DPS, sitting in the middle of the formation using a spear and bow for ranged.  Grandpa Bishop is mainly a healer, and I plan to use him for AOE DPS, with support by Billy the Bard.  It looks to be a strong combination.

The game itself is quite fun for some reason, perhaps because the the deep character customization system and the fun of a hack n’ slash RPG, as opposed to the whole story development nonsense.  RPG characters “develop,” do they not?  And the character or “story” can take different turns based on your actions, which is probably why I’ve been able to play through the beginning part over and over again without getting bored.  Pure gameplay as opposed to “interactive movie”.

The story has to do with your characters trying to reach “Ascension,” or becoming gods (!).  Sounds weirdly occultish.  Fun game though so far.

Gamer Philosophy pt. 4: The Gamer as Rebel

Every once in a while a gamer has to step back and look at his life: take account of what he has, what’s important to him, where he should go from here, etc.  It is at this point that the gamer realizes that there really isn’t much to do that is GOOD, and that spending hours upon hours playing video games is quite possibly a better course of action than spending his time making a lot of money, or getting interested in politics and talking about it on a blog or with other human beings.  Knowing what goes into making large quantities of money, as a constant hoodwinking of those who don’t know any better, or outright thievery, or even more a waste of time, getting interested in politics: the right-wing left wing delusion, watching all the speeches, propaganda, mudslinging, and trying to get some semblances of truth from either of the candidates which is next to impossible, being that these people LIE for a LIVING, and in the end seeing the same agenda go forward no matter who is elected.  Complete and utter waste of time, and if you’re not having any fun, there’s not much point in doing any of it.  And even if you do have fun, the only way you will have fun is if you keep yourself in a constant state of denial, believing you’re actually making a difference by volunteering for the next political savior, or believing that you’re well informed and in the know while others’ sad souls lie in a state of darkness.

It is a sad state of affairs, and it is no wonder that many a gamer will do what he does.  Now how different this is from a heroin junkie or smoker of the holy weed (marijuana) is up for debate, but that’s not the issue here.  Some would say that they are trying to “escape from reality,” but the people who say this are in far worse state of denial themselves while they wait for their pensions or social security.  After living a life of voluntary slavery, they give away all their freedom, everything that is spontaneous in life, only to die 5 years after they achieve it, or to give everything back to the thieves and liars who gave it to them.  Fifty weeks of work for two weeks of vacation.  Five good years, then fifty years of school and work for five years of retirement.  And we’re the ones who need to wake up?  Good Lord.  Good Lord.

There’s no doubt that games can have the same addictive quality that drugs have.  And there’s no doubt that some games are created in an attempt in completely debase the captive audience, not much different from the gladiator games in Rome (one game that gives you the freedom to do any disgusting act you wish comes to mind).  The corruption runs deep.  But luckily the gamer has a mind of his own, and takes what nutritious from the games while getting rid of what he doesn’t need.  It’s this mechanism that keeps the gamer’s soul alive in a dark world.

Even good game companies aren’t immune to the corruption of greed.  A game that started great and got a horde of subscribers at ten dollars a month suddenly gets a stale update while the price goes up and up.  The problem with a system of profit, or businessmen leading the way.  Take and take more, and give less and less, and laugh all the way to the bank.  It doesn’t really matter though because we’re all addicted anyway.  It’s hard for a gamer to survive, just like anyone.  But to survive we have to fight the corruption.  It is almost impossible, but there is a way, there always is.

In this world it is almost impossible to survive with your soul intact.  There are so many factions at war for your mind and body, because your mind and body are the most valuable commodity in existence.  All the “great” nations were built on slavery.  Every skyscraper and pyramid is built on the backs of the poor.  Even the gamer has his body and mind in bondage to a slave master.  The only thing the gamer has intact is his soul, his spirit.  Now there are factions warring for even this part of his being.  If you lose it, you are dead.  You are the walking dead.  Your body and mind function, but you are dead.  For a gamer to survive, this part of his being has to survive.  And he has to fight against the increasing subscription costs, the rising focus on profits rather than artistic freedom, the greed and lust for power.  For the gamer to survive, the gamer must find a new path.

And the true gamer will survive, because at heart, the true gamer is a rebel.

organic grass

This is America. There’s a sickness that’s going around, but it’s not quite a virus or disease. It more has to do with malnutrition, and the various literal and metaphorical poisons we consume on a daily basis. It has invaded our senses: what we hear and see, taste and touch, and breathe. We have a steady diet of junk, drugs, poison, and lies.

But does it really matter? Is there anything anyone can do about it? What can we Consume other than the poison that is given to us?

Well, if you knew you were being fed poison, wouldn’t you try and start to grow your own food, or get it from someone you know and trust? If the movies and music you gorge yourself with slowly dehumanize you, wouldn’t you and your friends want to go out and make your own? If all the six-o-clock news showed was the latest serial killer or pedophile, while all the people around do not in the slightest resemble anything like a psychopath or child molester, wouldn’t you question the almighty television’s depiction of “reality”?

Miraculously, we do have a small amount of freedom amid innumerable oppressors. I suggest you use it, before even that is taken away.

I do see people using this freedom on the internet, and these people have given me SO much hope. Because I now see truth instead of lies; hope instead of fear; love instead of hate.

This is because of the spirit of punk rock: do-it-yourself, organic, grass-roots, it has many names. Here the money worshiping pied piper, carelessly shoving garbage down the throats of children is not the only option. You can choose the delectable, nutritious, home-grown morsel your neighbor grew instead. And here the fear-mongers lose their power to lone voices of truth. Kingdoms will fall at the feet of a lone prophet.

As vast armies grow in our cities to protect us from ourselves, as staggeringly evil corporate entities steal the labor and lives of the public, as our beloved big brother sprouts more and more eyes in the cities to protect and preserve, as this evil grows and spreads like a cancer through the streets and cities and capitals and nations, there is still hope of life, and this hope lies in our greatest gift.

This spirit of punk rock relies on this gift, and that is humanity’s ability to CREATE. To go organic, do it yourself, grass-roots. Don’t rely on a supposedly well-meaning devil to do it for you. Don’t fill yourself with junk, then buy the drugs to fix it when the problems come. Don’t buy soulless manufactured music when there are Real people who have stories and songs to share. Don’t watch the news, when you can tell the world what goes on in your own backyard. Don’t pay some entity all your money to make babies for you–CREATE as many as you want yourself! It takes hard work, but it will be worth it, because it will save the world, and your soul. Because this is what humans are meant to do: create. Any real human being is a punk rocker, because creating is what punk rockers do.

Humans, punk rockers, create, while monsters, all they can do is destroy.

The Dead

Long ago I wrote a piece on the venerable fishymancer.  I spoke these words long ago, but little do I know how much I actually said. I was praising the gamer, who I find to contain the soul of a true poet, but little did I know I how much I was saying on the nature of the necromancer as well.

‘Necromancy is a form of divination in which the practitioner seeks to summon “operative spirits” or “spirits of divination”, for multiple reasons, from spiritual protection to wisdom.’ (wiki)

So, it seems the Diablo II version of the necromancer is pretty accurate. They are obsessed with the dead, because the dead give them their power, or so it seems. Their minions are dead, or undead, rather. They raise and control the dead. As they kill the dead make them stronger as their armies grow. They don’t do the fighting themselves because they don’t need to. All they need to do is get the dead to fight for them and curse the living. This is what “necromancers” believe.

“Medieval practitioners believed they could accomplish three things with necromancy: will manipulation, illusions, and knowledge.” (wiki)

I wrote on the curses of the necromancer:

“Now, aside from summoning creatures or raising the dead, the main skill for a necromancer to succeed is his “curses.” These curses are cast on the enemies and have a variety of wonderful effects, from amplifying the physical damage dealt to them to making them run in fear, slowing them down, or even having them fight each other while your minions hack away. The most powerful and useful curses are the ones that affect the enemy AI, such as Terror, which make the enemies run in simulated terror, and Dim Vision, which curses enemies into blindness and leaves them helpless. These AI curses are very necessary, since you have no direct control over your own minions, whose own intelligence leaves much to be desired (sorry guys, sad but true). Since your undead army refuses to focus fire, take out strategic targets and cooperate in deadly guerilla warfare on their own, the player is left to disable key targets and groups with his curses.”

Seriously, the most dangerous curses are the ones that mess with the AI, because they’re the ones that turn the tide of a battle. Increasing damage usually only helps you win faster when you were going to win anyway. But making my enemies run in terror can change the tide of a battle. Confusing my enemies and making them fight each other can change the tide of a battle (divide and conquer). Blinding (Dim Vision) my enemies and making them unable to even move, sitting in a stupor, can change the tide of a battle (censorship and lies).

Now, the living dead are a favorite subject of mine. No, not having intelligent conversations with mental zombies, or having other sorts of “relations” with the actual dead, or having séances, or channeling, or brainwashing people into doing what I say by lies and manipulation, magically removing their free will. No, rather, I like to see people killing zombies, or to kill them myself.

Dawn of the Dead? Beautiful. Resident Evil (the games)? Gorgeous. House of the Dead (game)? Pretty fun.

How do you kill the dead though, if they walk among us? Snipe them, while they walk through shopping malls in a stupor? Well, no, because they aren’t really fully dead. They might just have Terror or Dim Vision or Confusion cast on them. What you do, is uncurse them. What you do, is WAKE THEM UP.

Now, I am not a necromancer. I’m not an actor (channeler). I don’t go to séances. I don’t read my horoscope or get my fortune read (divination). I’m not a master of illusion (Hollywood). Maybe it’s not related, but it seems that a small portion of my free will has been preserved because of this, my refusal, or maybe just lack of interest to take part in it. So I’m not brainwashed into racism, or bulimia or anorexia (illusion, no one’s really that skinny), or fear of terrorist attacks. All smoke and mirrors.

I’m just a simple boy. Sometimes all I want is a really damn good peach, or a decent tomato slice to put in my sandwich, though it’s almost impossible with the sprayed, machine grown crap in the supermarkets these days (you can thank the government and its friends). Or to eat a meal that doesn’t utterly destroy my body. Or just to go take part in or listen to a conversation where people actually listen to each other, instead of thinking “I’m right you’re wrong.” Or to see a place where people who speak the same language aren’t all of the same color.

And really, one thing I’d like to see in my lifetime is when the sort of people we need to stay alive don’t get killed or die of dubious or vague diseases.

The Internet is really interesting, because for once people can see beyond the smoke and mirrors. We can see the world as it really is, instead of what the nightly news tells us it is. We can see real people, who are funny, intelligent, good, and honest, instead of the prostitutes, thugs, and liars that we used to see. We can see news about weird, fun, and unusual things, instead of news of the latest child rapist or murderer. I somehow find this to be a refreshing change, so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Of course, now the powers that be want to take it away, this thing we call net neutrality. Of course they will lie without end to achieve this goal, to put the people with the money (gotten by murder, lies, and prostitution) back in power.

If they do this, which they probably will, since everyone cares more about what moronic staged act Britney did than they do about what’s actually going on in the world, then the dead will continue to walk the earth, fooled by the necromancers. And the freedom fighters will be killed and imprisoned, and no one will ask why.

Because the people are cursed.

http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/958/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necromancer

http://www.youtube.com/user/AtheneWins

http://www.youtube.com/user/SupaDupaFlyGirl

Gamers and the Future of War

I love America. Only in this country will we catalogue and brand people like so much cattle. It will certainly make moving, shipping, and buying and selling of people much more efficient as it’s fairly similar to the bar code system. Our fear of terrorism, ritualistic murderers, and child molesters will make us ready to receive this protection from our benign government.

“The company has gone on record to say that the implantable GPS-tracked chip could be worth a whopping $100 billion comprising 26 potential vertical markets. That sort of revenue by any company’s standards is stupendous and would require a great part of the world’s population to be ‘chipped’ .”

It seems like the world is ready for this, maybe not just America. Post 9/11 security measures you see.

If someone told me this was happening, I’m not sure I would believe him. But maybe there will be a great unveiling soon.

Once we have all our soldiers chipped, people who are pro RTS players will be recruited by the governments for use in war because of their uber micro. Hackers will be hired to hack into the networks of other governments for intelligence data on troops movements, which will work kinda like a scanner sweep in Starcraft.

Once mind control technology is improved, it will be implemented into the chips, and pro FPS players will be recruited to control soldiers directly. It doesn’t matter if the soldier is retarded, because they won’t be doing the controlling. Training won’t be necessary. Once the player dies he’ll restart at the respawn point with control of fresh reinforcements, or will have to wait until the game restarts.

Farms will be made to breed the population for this purpose. They will be given free food, shelter, and medical care and drugs in exchange for living in these communes. Marriage and having children is required, however, interbreeding is discouraged for fear of recessive genes. Once they’re needed the young males will be taken away to the “happy place,” and they’re never seen again.

To be continued, maybe…

Fun Stuff

The world is becoming an increasingly scary place, and now even us Americans aren’t insulated from the possible horrors that those in control can inflict on us, the enslaved masses. It may be time to leave the country if things get too bad, before our complete economic collapse and the rise of a new superpower. We may have been able to avoid any wars fought on our soil since the American Revolution and Civil War, but what lies ahead may eclipse everything that came before it.

Now if you don’t know what the Verichip is, it’s basically a way to capitalize on the fears of the masses, giving them the illusion of freedom while actually imprisoning them to their own fears and desires, while some corporation laughs all the way to the bank gaining scarcely measurable wealth and power hurtling well on it’s way to world domination. If you don’t know what I mean by “illusion,” I’ll explain. This illusion of freedom is kind of like the automobile. Everyone wants to escape the drudgery of modern living, and supposedly the automobile was supposed to us that freedom. Go anywhere you want! Do anything! But the marketing departments don’t tell that this freedom comes at a cost, not only financially (gas, whose price will only go up) but also environmentally (global warming, pollution). Yes, even the smallest action has a consequence. Like it or not, people can’t do anything they want without a consequence. This law is written into the fabric of our existence. Really, a seemingly harmless act such as driving my massive SUV to the drive-thru at McDonald’s can contribute to the world actually literally ending. Fun stuff.

But the laws of existence aside…

Back to cars and freedom. If everyone has this so-called “freedom,” there won’t be any freedom at all, as there will be so many cars on the street that no one will be able to get anywhere (traffic jams). Which is why it seems so many people driving on the road seem to be so annoyed, as their so-called freedom is a lie. And now there seems to be a universal road rage going on that I didn’t notice before, perhaps because it wasn’t there before. People are feeling the pressure, and that’s making them drive faster and more recklessly than before, which is only making the problem worse. People are disillusioned that they actually have no control over their lives at all, and that their so-called freedom is tied to the price of a scarce commodity which will only continue to rise in price and contribute more and more to record profits to those who wish to enslave us.

Hence, the Verichip:

I love how the woman talks about her “freedom.”

Concerning fear and desires, the Verichip is a product that definitely plays into our fears. Fear of our children being kidnapped. Fear of terrorism. Fear, like the woman, of being accepted into a hospital without them having access to the proper medical records.

I don’t know the motives of the people developing this. Perhaps it’s, like any other business, to make a profit. Perhaps there’s a more sinister motive:

And who controls access to the information granted access by the chip? Would I even have access to the information if I wanted it? I’m not afraid of the information being available to some random hacker. I’m more afraid of my life being controlled by a company driven by motives for pure profit, or something even worse. I’m already required by law to have INSURANCE for a lot of things, either by law, or financially by necessity. Why? To protect me, for my best interest?

Well, if I’m a high risk for the insurance companies, they can deny me coverage. For instance, medical insurance companies seem to be able to deny people coverage if they’re at high risk for a certain disease. But, isn’t the whole point of insurance supposed to be to PROTECT ME? So if you probably won’t need it, then sure, we’ll give you a good price. We’ll gladly take your money. But if you actually need what we’re selling, we don’t need you. That would cut into our profits. Um…isn’t this phenomenon a little like, well, MURDER?

The world is CRAZY. There’s talk of a chip that will serve like a credit card. Banks already have so much control over our lives. They already have control over some things that we can buy and sell: houses, cars, anything that costs more that the average wage-slave can afford without years of saving. Moving into a cashless society, they’ll be able to control everything. I’ll go to 7-11 to buy a Slurpee, and suddenly I’m DENIED, leaving my well being in the hands of some corporate MONSTER.

This is the problem of money too. The very fact of its existence throws things out of balance, because it’s something everyone wants, but has no value in and of itself. It can be everything, the answer all my hopes and dreams, or, it can be toilet paper: only worth wiping after getting rid of the waste products that I don’t need. Money’s value is only symbolic. Like oil. It’s something everyone wants, the whole world wants. But really its value is only symbolic. And if I’m starving or dying of thirst, a cup of oil is not what I need. But people seem to want it, and only certain people have it, giving massive power to those people. And the masses are enslaved by their DESIRE.

A universal currency will make things worse. Not only will the people in a single country want it, but the whole world will want it. And corporations will not be monsters, but BEHEMOTHS, abominations, with unimaginable power. This is not even the big picture, because I don’t know anything. And nobody will tell me the truth. But it seems to be coming. I can see it on the horizon.

“See them try to rule the world
We don’t know why
Why they want to rule the world”

The world enslaved, by fear and desire.

FUN STUFF.

Gamer Philosophy pt. 3

I have a new article concerning Diablo II, entitled:

“Necromancer: Thoughts on Diablo II’s Necromancer Class, of and Related to his Characteristics and Playing Style, or Philosophy of Control Style, Required to Play him, in Which the Skeleton Summoner Style, Which is Sometimes Called, I Believe, ‘Fishymancer,’ is the Primary Focus”

Recently I started playing a Summoner in Diablo II, and decided to make a skeleton necromancer, since it seems that that is the very heart and soul of what a necromancer is supposed to be. While the poison and bone spell trees are all well and good, I’ve always thought the appeal of a necromancer is to summon a massive horde of undead servants to do your bidding. Too bad Blizzard made it near impossible to kill anything in the later difficulties to even make a corpse from which your skeletal children can spring, causing a fair annoyance whenever I start a new game, since all your summoned minions die once you exit the game, but damn it all, I just had to make one, for my soul, my life to breathe once more. Little did I know it would lead to such an insight, to the revelation, the epiphany on the nature of the gamer, that even my own sturdily built mind is nearly blown away as easily as a house of straw by the huffings and puffings of an angry canine.

Now, aside from summoning creatures or raising the dead, the main skill for a necromancer to succeed is his “curses.” These curses are cast on the enemies and have a variety of wonderful effects, from amplifying the physical damage dealt to them to making them run in fear, slowing them down, or even having them fight each other while your minions hack away. The most powerful and useful curses are the ones that affect the enemy AI, such as Terror, which make the enemies run in simulated terror, and Dim Vision, which curses enemies into blindness and leaves them helpless. These AI curses are very necessary, since you have no direct control over your own minions, whose own intelligence leaves much to be desired (sorry guys, sad but true). Since your undead army refuses to focus fire, take out strategic targets and cooperate in deadly guerilla warfare on their own, the player is left to disable key targets and groups with his curses.

As the necromancer plays, a good player gets into a rhythm: curse, curse, summon, curse (depending on the situation). As one skeleton falls, another is raised. As one group of enemies comes, a certain curse is used. As a group of Flesh Beasts or Doom Knights comes, Iron Maiden is cast, reflecting their physical damage back to them. As a group of Pit Lords comes, DimVision is cast so their powerful flame breath is disabled. As one skeleton dies, Raise Skeleton is cast to replace is. Curse, curse, summon, curse, summon, summon, curse…as I played, I found that what the curses do is create order from the chaos. It’s the player’s job to use the right curses at the right time, and this gives your minions a chance to shine.

As I continued in the rhythm of battle, I realized that the necromancer is a conductor and his minions an orchestra. Just as the conductor directs an orchestra according to his artistic will, so the necromancer’s minions play out his creative vision; just as a conductor conducts the movements of a symphony, so too does the gamer conduct the movements of a battle. It is then that I realized that the true gamer is an artist, a creative being of the highest order, to which I had to give my due praise to.

An act of creation, as opposed to destruction, is perhaps the most noble thing a human being can aspire to do. It is far nobler to create a Mona Lisa, or a Citizen Kane, or a Resident Evil 4, or even give birth to a child, than it is to murder, mutilate, rape and pillage. It is far greater to give birth to beauty and order than to chaos and destruction. Rather than resembling a Hitler, a Stalin, a Ted Bundy, I find true gamers to be akin to a Dante, a Homer, a Michelangelo, a Shigeru Miyamoto–a supremely creative soul, a poet, an artist in the truest sense of the word.

Gamer Philosophy pt. 2

“I Game, Therefore I Am”

As I’ve lately immersed myself in the world of gamers, playing a few games, and studying the writings of some fellow gamers, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would be important to come up with a definition of what a “gamer” is–or maybe not quite an all-inclusive definition, but certain characteristics that are common to most gamers.

Now some would argue whether this, or anything I talk about, could technically be called a philosophy or not. There is no single accepted definition of philosophy, but “it is generally agreed that philosophy is a method, rather than a set of claims, propositions, or theories.” Now, what this writing is going to be, I don’t know yet, but it very well may not fit the aforementioned definition. Not that it really matters, because who “generally agrees” to this definition is put into question: is it only the so-called “philosophers” that agree to it? Also, to some people, “generally agreed” is not good enough to be considered truth. And there are limits to human reason and logic, as maybe it’s possible for the impossible to exist, and perhaps all logic is circular, yadda yadda yadda. Not that it really matters though: I’ll continue to use the word “philosophy” for a number of reasons, the main being that I like how “gamer-philosopher” sounds.

So I’ve met some gamers over the past I-don’t-know-how-long (haven’t kept track of time though I know it goes by fast) and I’ve come to the conclusion that they are great people. Maybe even superior, intellectually and morally and sense-of-humor-wise. Now that doesn’t make them inherently better than anyone else in an Aryan-ideal sort of way, but I certainly makes me want to hang out with them more often than someone who is not a gamer. Now, not all gamers are like this, but I don’t consider them to be true gamers.

Some play a game because all their friends play or for good business (World of Warcraft, golf, etc.), or to show off their epic mount or tier 6 gear to the rest of the rabble (like the ones who buy uber accounts for 10k US dollars, or use damage meters), or to immerse themselves in a fantasy world (ERPers)–the true gamer transcends all vain ambition and desire. The true gamer seeks something noble and perhaps undefined. The true gamer isn’t seeking “the meaning of life”–the true gamer’s life is meaningful in itself.

True gamers are patient; gamers are kind. Gamers are not rude or self-seeking, or easily angered. Gamers keep no record of wrongs. Gamers don’t delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. I believe it was one of the old Greeks, Socrates or Plato, who talked of an ideal society led by “philosopher-kings.” I believe the modern translation of that would be a society led by “philosopher-gamers.” I’m sure that whoever saves the world from its current mess will be a gamer, because true gamers are just like that–that is the importance of gamers in the modern world.

Many people (age, sex, generation gap) don’t understand gamers, and therefore consider their time spent playing as “wasted,” or better spent doing something “constructive.” Well a gamer-philosopher has to ask them, what do you consider worth doing?

I can spend my whole life pursuing a career, only to have it become obsolete. I can learn ten languages, only to have new technology make my effort wasted. I can seek great wealth, only to die before spending it, and great power, only to be usurped. The true gamer understands this, and therefore rebels against the vain things of this world. This is what makes the gamer great, what makes the gamer transcend the ordinary person.

This is a defense of gaming, and an incomplete one at that. And perhaps I am wrong and I am wasting my life every minute I spend in play or online. But tell me then, what should I be doing? How can I “better myself”? At least I can say I’ve considered what’s “worth doing,” which is more than the average non-gamer can say. And it’s only a testament that my eyes are open, and my will is free, to game, or not to game, to be or not to be, that is the question.

I choose to be.

Gamer Philosophy pt. 1

Been playing Diablo II Classic again lately, since World of Warcraft has been somewhat depressing to play lately. With a friend’s account getting hacked, other friends hiding from other overbearing friends on the alliance side, other people going MIA or moving to other servers, others having loyalties to other friends, it sometimes just gets to be too much and I decided to take a break from it every once in a while by decimating hordes of demons in Chaos Sanctuary with a sword barbarian. I started a few days ago and now I’m level 54 (thanks to an awesome dual leech sword that found me at just the right time) and made it to the insanely difficult “hell” mode. After a few minutes there I remembered how ridiculously hard they made it, and have been running “nightmare” mode Chaos Sanctuary in hopes the required uber sword and armor I need to survive in hell. I would play expansion due to the awesome gear and more universal form in currency in the form of runes, but I don’t really feel like making the run through levels and artwork that look like they were designed by a five year old kid seriously lacking in talent.

After going back to Diablo II, I kind of realized what possibly makes Blizzard so appealing, and it’s the fact that the games they make are so similar to real life. Not that I’m literally slaying dragons and demons, but there are some parallels that I can’t help but notice.

Anything seen through my gamer eyes can been seen as metaphor, but where Diablo II is most similar to life is in dying.

Now, in Diablo II, starting in nightmare mode it gets very annoying to die. Not only do you lose a bunch of gold, but you lose experience too. If you can get back to the spot where you died and click on your corpse, you can get back most of the experience you lost, but if it’s in a particularly difficult spot, you’ll end up dying again and again, losing more and more experience and gold impeding your progress, and will have you saying “I HATE YOU BLIZZARD WHY DO YOU MAKING THIS GAME SO DAMN ANNOYING WHERE AM I GONNA GET AN UBER EXECUTIONER SWORD WHY DO YOU MAKE IT SO HARD TO PLAY WOW WITH MY FRIENDS???” I try to get back to my body when I can so I can at least minimize the damage to my in-game life, but my corpse is usually surround by a LEGION ready to kill me again in my naked weakness. Other classes can fight their way back, but a sword-barb is useless without a sword. So, I usually just give up and accept it as a loss, since I have no one to help me out when I die. All the gold I quickly collected from my rapid success is just as suddenly gone, and I end up a bit poorer, with less XP, and back to square one with me once again hitting the “create game” button. Ending up frustrated by the rules of the game and the lack of anyone to help me, I end up bowing out in defeat and start over. And it only starts with a small mistake. A tiny, miniscule, infinitesemal, Lilliputian mistake. Oh how is this different from my life, it is my life.

But, I realized that if I had someone to help me, it wouldn’t be AS bad. So as romantic (think Byron or Keats, not St. Valentine) as the life of a solo gamer can be, the way the gameworld works, it helps to have someone to help you get back on your feet. But moving on…

As much as I like to say I hate Blizzard for some of the ANNOYING things they do, I can honestly say that without these frustrations my (gaming) life would be pretty boring.

For instance, in Chaos Sanctuary, the only real danger I face is Iron Maiden. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a curse put on you that hurts you when you deal any damage. So if you hit hard, it hits you back harder. If you’re a whirlwind barb, it means if you attack anyone, you’re DEAD. Because if you’re in the middle of a whirlwind, you can’t stop. You’ll just keep attacking and spinning until it’s done and you’re dead.

Basically right now in nightmare mode I’m godlike, spinning and cutting through a huge mass of demons leaving a trail of pixelated beauty (those glorious death animations from Diablo II Classic of bone, blood and fire). Nothing can stop can stop me when I’m strong, well geared and spec’ed right–the only thing that can hurt me, that can cause me to fail is MYSELF.

So, after failing constantly, I got into a curious state of mind. Instead of losing it in frustration I knew I had to get back on my feet. In my mind is “it’s only a damn AI I can’t let it beat me AI’s are NOT human I don’t care how sophisticated they get…or are they? n/m just get up get up I’m not done yet it’s not over my enemy can be defeated it’s possible it’s in the rules of the game.”

Then………………………………………………I got up.

The End.

the world

Note: I don’t usually curse, but I just had use the word ****, because nothing else is strong enough.

Ahem. Now, after experiencing a 40-hour-per-week immersion in the world for the last few months, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want any part of it. Now, before my non-existent audience misinterprets this as an e-suicide note, listen to what I have to say.

Now, many of us know that the world is pretty ****ed up, but that’s not even the tip of the tip of the iceberg. Most of us would say that the most ****ed up stuff happens somewhere else in the world, but little do we know that even worse things go on right in our backyard. I only have to say a few words to make my point, such as health insurance, serial killers, oil companies, George W., Dick Cheney or even Barry Bonds (j/k, I just like making fun of him). Now, if one were investigate any of these issues or people, you would immediately come to the conclusion that America is a pretty ****ed up place, and that scraping the bottom of the barrel, or even scum-bag wouldn’t even come close to describing the quality of certain individuals, I can unabashedly say. And there’s a lot I don’t know, and I probably don’t want to know for fear of completely losing faith in humanity.

People who sometimes tell other people they shouldn’t do certain things (videogames, t.v., etc.) because it’s only “an escape” don’t really know much about the world, because if they REALLY knew, they’d lose themselves in their own addictions if only to escape for a few more seconds from the aforementioned ****ed up quality of the world. No joke. And calling the escapists naive only highlights their own lack of understanding, which is perhaps the most dangerous thing about these people. It creates a rift between them and the escapists (many of which are the coolest people around), among many other possibly worse effects, and it keeps them living their lives in their own naive little way, with no possibility for change (dangerous).

We are all afraid of change sometimes, but sometimes it’s a good thing, especially when things have gotten ****ed up to the point that they have. Maybe things will get worse behind the veil to the point where the destruction of mankind is the only viable option, but I’m hoping it won’t get to that point. Because, in my opinion, there are at least a few cool people, untouched by the world, apart from the world.

The problem with these people who do whatever they want is that they didn’t have their daddies smack them around enough when they were doing something bad. Which may lead me to one of the purposes of my blog. No, it’s not to give George W. a spanking, though maybe that’s close. No, it’s just to give the world a slap in the face. A nice, hard, slap in the face, followed maybe by a pile driver and German suplex followed by a submission hold ’til it cries uncle (if anyone says that anymore). Because, really, it’s ****ed up. Figuratively violated by these liars and thieves and false ideologies and false beliefs.

But is it wise for me to pick a fight with something way bigger than I am, that can crush me like a bug, assassinate me, take all my friends and family and everything I own, or sell me into slavery? Maybe. But the world knows, one-on-one between me and it, I’ll win. David and Goliath, I’ll win. North vs. South, I’ll win.

Me vs. the World. I’ll win.