TPA 75

I'm burnt out. That Outlast game must have taken more out of me than I thought. I'm finishing another game called Promise Mascot Agency which has a lot more personality than Outlast. Now that I think about it, I know what I hated about Outlast. It was so monotonous and didn't give me a chance to recover from the horror. The jumpscares become expected instead of dreaded. And the enviroment doesn't tell a story. But what can you do with such a concept? The dilapidated rooms only go so far in an asylum. The same issue happened when I played The Suffering. Same idea but in a prison instead of medical ward. If they had added some more personality rather than adding shocking content like a crazed man trying to clean a dead body or having my fingers cut off, they could have made a more memorable game. Maybe I'm jaded because the game is old and I've played it before. I've been in the world of Lovecraft for so long that I expect deep horror, not jumpscares. It doesn't matter, I've got other games to play and I need to reset my brain. 

I've been watching this game trailer for Tetris Effect. It's amazing and makes me want to buy it. I'd need to rehook up my VR headset but it would be worth it. The name comes from an effect in the brain where hyper focus actions can cause a person to have memories of the event. Even if the person had brain damage, which was what the study was on, they could still remember blocks falling from the sky without remember playing the game. I remember I sent this trailer to my mom and she responded with "Games will save the world." I love that my folks know how much I love video games. There's a great song that goes along with the trailer too which always gives me chills in my spine, in a good way. The song is called "Connected." It's astounding how such a simple game can bring people together. You have to remember, this game released when Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft were in fierce competition. Sony was kicking butt, Microsoft was way behind, and Nintendo was doing it's own thing with the Switch. The game industry was hot with fans asking for blood from the other sides. You had to pick a side, either you were on a team or left behind. This trailer came out during the high point of the competition when we, as gamers, became aware that graphics had pushed themselves to the limit. You had realistic characters placed in fantasy situations which begged the question "where does gaming go next?" VR seemed like a new direction after motion controls had died out a bit. You should know, that for decades since the NES released, actually, even before that system, what people argued about was how their console's graphics were better than the others. Better data storage and better processors meant bigger games with characters that looked more life like. That came with it's own issues. We went from cartoon characters and mascots to realistic characters and games weren't the same anymore. They were so focused on realism that they forgot about fun. Today the indie games have taken over where AAA games have failed along side AA games who have lesser graphics but more managable budgets. I'm rambling, but this trailer came at this pivotal moment for me when you knew which side was which. Today the gaming world seems to be merging into a conglomerate online at the Steam Store. I miss those days of competition, it pushed some of the best games to come out.

Speaking of games, I remember reading an article about a guy who lived in the middle east who owned a type of arcade. This was the days of the PS3 dying and the PS4 coming out but he had a few PS2s that he maintained. The game of the year? Anything with soccer in it. Kids would come over and pay to play for a few hours to blow off steam after school or a hard day. The owner kept a baggie with him at all times that had his tools and few parts to a controller incase he neede to repair them. I remember thinking that he was making memories for those kids. They would look back on their golden days as kids and think that this arcade was the best thing in the world for them. I think the same of the arcades I visited in the past. There was a friend of mine who would host his parties at this arcade which was boss for the day. The arcade gave out a crappy cake and pizza made with cheap cheese that litteraly slipped off like in the cartoons. We were each given gift cards with fifty bucks loaded on them that we swipped at the machines. I played with one of my friend's brothers and we kicked butt as we shot up zombies with our shotguns. Arcades have this stop and stare effect that can draw in crounds. Like watching someone play the Dance Dance Revolution games. You'd watch some kid move their legs like they were broken and rack up a high score. 

I remember there was an arcade we passed that had a rare game called "Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa." It was based off a TV show I loved as a kid. I stopped my mom and my sister and begged them to let me try it out. My mom reluctantly handed me a dollar in quarters and I learned why those machines eat quarters. I died before I finished the first level. I was happy though, I had discovered a game of one of my favorite shows. It made me wonder what else was out there that I had yet to discover. You can still find the game on Myabandoneware which is sad. The games of my past are being lost due to companies wanting players to buy the new stuff. 

One last thing I heard: this new game that came out that no one bought. Amazon released a game called "King of Meat," and promoted it with Mr. Beast giving out money prizes. The game is similar to party games like Fall Guys where a bunch of players compete to get to the finish line. It's like a game show with elimination rounds. Too bad they tried to sell it for thirty bucks. It's not worth that, especially when there's less than a hundred people playing the game. The game sold so poorly that the developer is already firing some people. Of course, games like Fall Guys are usually free which draws in the crowds. They make their money off of selling game passes and extra stuff you can't earn in game. That was their fatal flaw, this demand for insant money. Not even the popular Mr. Beast can save you from greed. Now, I'm sure the developers aren't at fault but I can see Amazon's greedy hands behind this development. They wanted instant money instead of building up a fan base and good will. Even if they had done that I doubt the game would have sold well. Oh well, lessons learned I hope.