I Like To Watch

I’ve started watching people play games either via Youtube, or live streaming through Steam. With the advent of the youtube video app on Xbox360, it’s never been easier to watch youtube on your console (although inexplicably, navigating youtube has never been harder #firstworldproblems).

I totally found this skull without any help because I am 1337.  image credit: www.coolbh.com

It used to be that i’d only venture into gameplay videos on Youtube if I was stuck on some difficult and obscure task like finding that one elusive skull in Halo, or to laboriously track down all those goddamned pigeons you had to cap in GTA4.

Thanks Youtube! image credit: www.fhm.com

But lately, i’ve been finding myself watching Youtube videos of games that I don’t intend to play, or can’t be bothered playing, or maybe started playing years ago but then had to abandon as work commitments, study, or life in general intervened and sapped my precious gaming time.

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DayZ

image credit: www.planetminecraft.com

DayZ is a mod for the PC game ArmA 2. Designed by Dean Hall, it’s been around for a few months and has become something of a cult hit among PC gamers. Essentially, DayZ is a zombie survival game with a twist – there’s no storyline, no cut-scenes, no missions or quests, no achievements – no set structure at all. In that sense, its the closest you can get to a true Zombie Apocalypse (and frankly, as close as I want to get).

Working hard for the money (or lack thereof)

Fantastic infographic created by Jessica Hiche – see the full image at http://shouldiworkforfree.com

Working can be fun, frivolous, frustrating… all sorts of F-words come to mind when contemplating “work” and what it means to me; but “free” is not usually one of them.

As an aspiring blogger, i’ve worked both low-paid and no-paid jobs… hell, mainly no-paid jobs. So, here’s my thoughts on working for free: frankly, I don’t recommend it. Unless you are doing it entirely for yourself, it only ends in tears – well, in my experience anyway.

If you’re studying, starting a new business, have little or no experience, changing careers, young, old, or just aren’t an assertive person, odds are you’re in danger of falling into this unpaid work trap at some point. And since I fall into most of the aforementioned categories, I found myself facing the unpaid work dilemma recently.

Not a Gaming Blog

So, despite all appearances, this isn’t actually a gaming blog.

It’s just that every now and then I get a little obsessed with certain activities and tend to write more about those things rather than other things. And right now gaming seems to be where it’s at in the list of “Things I Can Be Bothered Writing Coherent Sentences About”.

xLJx

Slender part 2 (a.k.a Why I Fucking Hate Bathrooms)

I featured a post on the Indie game Slender yesterday. And my first death in the game occured in a bathroom. Which brings me to the topic of today’s post, Why I Fucking Hate Bathrooms.

         Showers have that effect on me too.

Ever since Janet Leigh’s infamous shower scene in Psycho, the portrayal of bathrooms in popular culture can be split into two distinct categories: either the sparkling clean, white-tiled pristine world shown in all those Domestos ads, or as a blood-splattered portal of terror.

I’m guessing it stems from the fact that bathrooms are associated with being naked, and thus at our most vulnerable – having your pants around your ankles, stuck there defenseless as you void your bowels and generally fiddle with your nether regions. But I began to ponder why it is that the bathroom of all places has become such a potent image in poopular culture (typo and it stays!) when it comes to fear-inducing scenarios.

Slender

Image credit: relyonhorror.com

Slender is a creepy indie freeware game currently doing the rounds. It seems like every gamer I follow is talking about it at the moment. I was already somewhat familiar with the story of “Slender Man” from a foray into the 4Chan paranormal boards a few years back, and was interested to see how someone had managed to work the concept into a game. So last night I dimmed the lights and fired up the old laptop to see what it’s all about.