Attempt 7

 I'm going to stop calling these posts "attempts" once I get back into the Lovecraftian groove. Right now I'm trying to fill up my quota of a half an hour of writing to warm up. It seems the warm up is all I do but I'm hoping to make the habit. A rabbit habit. What am I talking about?

Anyway, went to the dentist today and the tooth has got to go. Unfortunately they could only meet with me on the same day as my psychiatrist so that's a no go. We decided to go without the anesthesia and just numb my mouth. I'm not looking forward to this. Not only do I have to wait another month for them to schedule me in, but I have to deal with a busted tooth for that time. What a way to learn to not chew ice. I've also got to do my exercises after this so that's no fun. I'm finding myself more and more bored lately. I can't imagine what retirement is like. You waste your time at work and then you waste your time on TV. I've been playing fewer games lately, and I've been buying less as well. I suppose that's a good thing since I'm not making any money right now. It's amazing what I can get by on with so little money in my pocket. I suppose this is a good lesson to not spend too much on gaming, especially if I'll never play the games. 

I've been going through my old library like going through a photo book of old memories. Only I remember buying these games, not playing them. I buy and buy but never play. Or finish for that matter. The number of games I can say that were truely great out of my collection is barely double digits. I put them in my "KA" or Kick Ass game list. Don't tell my parents. But isn't that just the right word for saying something is awesome? 

I'm playing a game called "Still Wakes the Deep." A horror game by this team called The Chinese Room. They make these walking simulator games. My favorite game by them, so far, is "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture." The title alone got my interest. But the gameplay is bogged down by the inability to run. You might not think that's a problem, but when you go the wrong route through an English countryside and have to turn around the path back seems to be too long. In other words, the option to run would have been a great addition to the game. Their current game has the player on an oiling platform acidentally digging up some kind of Eldritch monster that absorbs most of the crew. Normally I would put this game in one of my reviews but I'm pressed for time and words for my blog, so I'll post it here. Also, the game isn't that scary. I don't know if I'm immune to horror but I wasn't scared of the large tentacles whipping around or the monstrosity chasing me with my boss' head on it. Maybe it's because I haven't finished it yet. You follow Caz, an electrical engineer who is hiding away on the rig to get away from the police. Caz's life has been flushed down the toilet after a drunken fight he got into that caused the police to go out searching for him. The seperation has put a lot of strain on Caz's girlfriend who I think is either pregnant or already given birth. They need the money but they also need Caz to stick close by. So Caz reluctantly goes off to the rig hoping that things will cool down by the time he gets back. The rig digs into something new and pull up these tendrils that eat the crew and turn them into monsters. I think the whole game is a metaphor for how you can't run away from your problems which seems pretty on the nose. Maybe I'm expecting too much because everyone was raving about this game. This is no Amnesia: The Dark Descent. And this isn't as scary as Outlast. There are areas that have lockers and small cubbies you can hide in. As soon as I saw that I knew that there would be a monster sooner or later. And I was right. It's never fun in horror games when you can predict when to run and when to hide. There should always be a surprise or a new puzzle for the player to find. Lets take my favorite horror game for example: Amnesia: The Dark Descent. At one point you find yourself in a mine with rocks blocking your exit. The monsters in the dark are hunting and you havde to find a few chemicals the blow the rocks away. Not only do you have to hide from the monsters but you need to activate the chemicals which will definately bring the monsters running. So you sit in the dark and hope that your sanity will stay high enough for you to craw out of the mine with your limbs intact. What a scenario. Now we go to Still Wakes where the game had me climb on a broken helecopter before heading into the stealth zone I mentioned earlier. It's like the game wants to be two differentt genres. I listed the game on my page front as "Lovecraftian" but I doubt this game is part of the "Horror" genre. It's more of a thriller than a spook film. I think that's all for the day. I've got to go exercise.