30 Video Game Answers, Part 1
This post is (6/31) of the Blaugust 2019 event! You can find out more about Blaugust over at Belghast’s blog. I (Chestnut) created a Twitter list of all participants. UltrViolet created an OPML file of all the bloggers to import into your feed reader.
Brain Weasels
This is a post that has been sitting in my backlog since 2017. It’s one of those evergreen pieces I mentioned it is a good practice to have around for bad days. And today was a bad head day. It wasn’t as difficult to get out of bed this morning as it has been the past few weeks, which is a plus, but it has been a very difficult day for concentration, focus, and parsing of feelings and thoughts (not exceptionally brain weasely, per se, but they’re there in the background). I even took a nap when I got home from work because I didn’t feel like I could reasonably function for the remainder of the day if I didn’t.
I really didn’t want to miss a day of Blaugust, but figuring out what to write about, despite plenty of half-written posts and ideas was difficult. I went through seven or eight different posts now in various states of done-ness, and nothing felt exactly… right. There was lots of over-thinking and self-doubt. So I figured something a little more light-hearted and fun was a good idea. Plus, I figured I’d split it into 3 parts, and people could also use it for prompts since it is Topic Brainstorming Week this week for Blaugust!
The Questions
I pulled this idea from Wolfy back in 2017. At the time there was one of those, “here’s a picture with questions, I’ll answer a question for every like!” things going around the gaming/blogging Twitter. I’m terrible at keeping up with those, the majority of the time, but had really wanted to participate in it. I saw that Wolfy had co-opted in a blog post format and thought it would be much more fun to do it that way as well… since you were still limited to 140 characters at the time!
Your First Video Game
I honestly can’t remember. I think it was something like Megaman or the Mario Bros. game where you jump around dodging stuff Kong throws at you to try and rescue Peach. I know it was something handheld that was on the original Gameboy. The first real one I remember is playing Paperboy after our grandmother gave my brother and me a Nintendo 64. That game was terrible but also so much fun.
Your Favorite Character
For those that know me well, this comes as no surprise. (I always end up loving the [SPOILER] murder-husbandos in dating sims, somehow…)
A Game That is Underrated
There’s a lot of games that could fit this, and choosing one out of all of them is a difficult task. But honestly, I think it’s going to have to be The Park. A lot of people don’t think they’d be interested in it because it’s, “just a walking sim”, but the depth of the story was pretty incredible for a few hours of gameplay. I do think it seems to resonate more with folks that live with mental illness compared with those that don’t, as well. Regardless, it’s a game I wish more folks would try (if horror is your thing). It’s also made by Funcom, and considered canon to Secret World, so that also works a little bit in its favor for me.
Your Guilty Pleasure Game
I could swear I’ve written about how much I love this game previously (but can’t find the post), but it is Monster Rancher Advance (1 and 2), hands down.
Game Character You Feel You Are Most Like
I don’t ever particuarly identify with video game characters. I suppose the closest would be any MC in an otome. While they’re their own characters, I always end up picking what I would want or do rather than what I think the character would want or do.
Most Annoying Character
Favorite Game Couple
This is a difficult one for me. The only games I’ve truly played that had a focus on a love story of some sort have been dating sims, and while I have favorite pairings there, I don’t feel they fully apply, because it’s the fact that I like the character I pick as the MC, rather than the MC as a couple with the chosen character.
Best Soundtrack
Bless Jeff Kurtenacker. He’s also looking for questions any of you fellow WildStar fans may have about the music for the game to bolster his YouTube channel, so be sure to reply to him on Twitter!!
Saddest Game Scene
I’m honestly not sure. I have cried at a handful of video games, but I couldn’t, off the top of my head, tell you which one has been the saddest for me. Or even remember which ones I specifically cried over. So I’m going to tweak this prompt: Most Memorable Time a Game Made You Sad/Cry. And that, honestly, would have to be when WildStar shut down.
Best Gameplay
Heck, I honestly don’t know. I don’t really pay attention to gameplay within a game unless it annoys me or truly makes the game unplayable for me. I do have to admit that I enjoy telegraphs and slightly more active combat, especially in MMOs. So as far as MMOs go, I’d list WildStar, and ESO. Secret World could almost make it on the list if certain aspects of movement weren’t so dang clunky.