Confessions of a gamer

I have to admit that I first thought that 2013 would be a bad year for me, I mean just the 13 alone scared the shit out of me! But I guess this year wasn´t so bad so far, it´s not over yet! Unfortunately a lot of bad things happened in the world, as much as you want a year full of happiness and peace somehow you´ll never get it. But that doesn´t mean that we have to give up for 2014, life goes on and so must you. Just because you don´t have a white X-mas it doesn´t mean that you should stop believing in X-mas miracles, I think it´s the same with hoping for a better world. It might never come and yet you can always hope for the best. I might be a pessimist, but I don´t want to give up on hope. Was 2013 a good year for games? I think it was, especially when I compare it to the first half of 2012 because that was absolutely terrible in my opinion. I think I bought so many bad games in the first half of 2012 that I was actually thinking that 2013 would be the same for me. But 20...

I really like playing games and picking a favourite isn´t always easy, but then again there are also years that there were just a lot of bad games and then it becomes easier. I think 2013 was a good year for games, at least I played a lot of them and enjoyed a lot of those games. I must admit that there were some that disappointed or they´re just not what I expected. Still I don´t think that there was one game that I played that I considered as a total waste of time. Of course that´s a bit harsh to say anyway, but sometimes there are games that are just not that much fun and I can´t help but see that as a waste of money. But without further delay let´s see what 2013 brought us! Only popular games are good? I guess when you have a giant as GTA V in the year then you might think that other games don´t stand a chance, but actually I think that this really depends on what you like. Besides when I look in a random lobby in GTA Online then I can´t say that I´m really impressed with the typ...

I guess after sidekicks you move on to the main characters from a game, the heroes (or villains) you control. This is perhaps one of the most important parts of a game, because personally if I don´t like the main character then there is a good chance that I won´t play the game. I like to have a connection with the main character, he or she should have something in common with me and of course with male characters it´s nice if he also looks a bit like me. But of course that´s not something that I need, it´s something that I like. Maybe I´m just a weird guy, I don´t know if that counts for everyone but I like to recognize something of myself in a character. Even if it´s just a small thing, for example a part of his personality. The main character makes or brakes a game? In my opinion that´s a big fat yes! Just as it is with the lead actor in a movie, if he or she sucks then the movie isn´t something I want to watch. Because that means I constantly have to watch someone I don´t...

In some games you have someone that tags along with you, in most of these games this character is usually not the smartest and half of the time even annoying. Do I have to bring up Sheva from Resident Evil 5? I don´t hate the character Sheva, but I hate how she would always stand in the way of when I was shooting at enemies. The worst thing that could happen that just when I shot a rocket at an enemy that she would just walk past my line of fire and got me killed. That´s what I call a bad sidekick! But this isn´t about a bad sidekick, this is about the best sidekick from 2013! What makes a good sidekick? I´d say not being a bother to the player is a big plus for any sidekick, you don´t want a sidekick to walk in the way or blocking your path, of course you also don´t want the sidekick to kill all enemies when you need that to level up or get items. A sidekick has a place in the fights, it´s nice when a sidekick can tank but you don´t want to feel useless in a fight. That´s why I pref...

I don´t think anyone knows you as well as you. Maybe a psychologist might say that he or she knows you better, but I think you only get to know someone as well as he or she lets you. Still it´s not like you know always everything about yourself, maybe sometimes you´re even amazed of what you can or can´t do. Whenever I play games I discover some of these hidden traits of mine, for example being an asshole against other sims in the Sims games. But in other games I enjoy being the social hero, something I probably picked up during my roleplaying games when I played a paladin. In some of those games you had to have a high charisma to be a paladin, which would often greatly reduce my other skills. But when I look at my Mass Effect and Dragon Age characters then I still like to be the social guy that can bend people to my will. I know that about 15 years ago I would´ve always picked strength and endurance to be my main skills I wanted to boost, because as a warrior that comes in handy. I gu...

So we´re on the second day of X-mas, instead of talking about violent games or some other disturbing stuff I thought to stay close to the spirit of X-mas. I might be wrong but I think I remember something about being happy with what you have and don´t pretend you´re more than you really are. This kind of points towards modesty, right? Guess what I hardly ever see when I read the profiles of other gamers, hear the loud noises of other players in lobbies or when you pick your average youtube gaming video? A lot of people seem to be full of themselves, of course not everyone is that serious about it but when a stranger talks big then you assume that he or she is probably serious about it. At least there is no way of being certain about it, but sometimes it´s easier to assume that someone is as he or she says he or she is. If you question everything it´s probably better to dig a hole and jump in...argh I did make it disturbing! You´re good at playing games, why are you boasting about it?...

Do you know that song, all I want for X-mas is you? Well I can´t imagine that you don´t, because they play it on the radio and tv every day! It´s really the time to have some of your own music ready to play instead of listening to some random music on the radio or tv, because the X-mas bug has infected half the population of the world! But it´s not a bad thing really, because X-mas can mean a lot of things. You can spend it with your boyfriend/girlfriend, family, friends or in some cases also alone. I don´t know if you´re into the whole giving presents with X-mas thing but I wonder how many people asked for games? You might think it´s an expensive gift but there are plenty of games for sale, especially in this time of the year. But that shouldn´t stop you to ask for an expensive one, who knows maybe Santa will be kind enough to give you something special this year! Spending X-mas with family or play games? This isn´t just the trouble for kids you know, a lot of adults have this probl...

When I´m in a lobby with other gamers waiting for the next round I sometimes check their profiles, just to get an idea with whom I´m playing. I doubt I´m the only one that does that but do you also check what type of games the other players have played? I´ve noticed that a lot of people play only a certain number of games, usually all within the same genre as the game we´re playing at that moment. Maybe this is the fault of where I´m checking, because often in a CoD Ghosts lobby I check other profiles. Does this say something about CoD players or is there more going on here? I think it´s a cheap answer to just say that CoD players are simple minded idiots, of course this is partly confirmed when I see their behaviour in the game. Always running into you when you´re on the same team, not moving an inch out of the way when you need to pass someone and often they´re unable to learn from their mistakes. Ok now that the prejudice is out of the way I think we can get back to business! ...

I think most pc gamers have played this game, not just because it´s a lot of fun but also because it´s easy to learn and can keep you busy for quite some time. A lot of games suffer under the short single player modes combined with the lack of a multiplayer or a repetative multiplayer. This doesn´t keep you busy for a long time, sometimes you even wonder why you spend so much money on a game that you beat in just a few days. Age of Empires can keep you busy for a lot longer, you can play different scenarios where you´ll have to beat another army. Army you say? Yes for anyone that doesn´t know what Age of Empires is then you´re in for a treat, because Age of Empires is a strategy game. Isn´t strategy boring? I guess some people might think that, but I do think that Age of Empires keeps it interesting. It´s not a strategy game that you have to take very serious, actually you can fool around and create an army of priests to convert the enemy army. But if you prefer peaceful gameplay then ...

I think there have been several games that have touched this subject, but I don´t think that there are any games that have nailed it in my opinion. I guess it´s not easy and it also depends what type of game you´re making, because with a puzzle game (point and click) you don´t expect any battles and it´s probably going to be more of an investigation. But with an action/adventure game you expect a lot of battles and then you really have to wonder if time travel is just a way of getting from a to b in the game. I find time travel a very interesting subject and I really hope that there will be a developer that will make an interesting game based on time travel and where it plays a big role. Over the years there have been several games that had some time travel moments. I think one that actually made a lot of use of the power of time is Singularity, this is where you can move through time and your surroundings and enemies change with it. It´s quite interesting but somehow the game never ...

I´m actually suprised that survival horror games are that popular, because I think a lot of people don´t like to be scared. Of course that doesn´t make every survival horror game scary, still there are games that will mess with your mind and keep you up at night. I´d say the biggest problem with that is probably your own imagination, because you can make things as scary as you want. So a branch that scratches your window could easily be mistaken for a monster scratching his claws on your window. In the dark nothing is what it seems... So why would anyone want to expose himself or herself to anything scary? I think there are multiple reasons for that but I like to believe that we somehow want to expand our limits, as a kid you probably can´t take that much but the older you get the more you can handle. Well most of the time, I guess some people just have a very low tolerance to anything that they consider as disturbing. Maybe some people just like to test their limits or some people j...

I must admit that at first I didn´t even realize that there are special controllers or other gadgets that improve your succes in a game. Of course you still need to do things yourself but the controller can help you out, something I don´t really consider as fair. But it´s allowed, I don´t hear an open discussion about this and so I guess people either use it a lot or people just don´t really care. A special controller to improve your succes in games, that´s cheating right? I wish I could say yes, because it certainly feels that way to me. But I have to be honest and say that if it´s allowed then I can´t call it cheating, still I do feel cheated when people seem to have a higher accuracy or just perform better thanks to that. It makes it for people who don´t use anything special, like me, more difficult to win. I´m not saying that I can´t win, it´s just more annoying to see someone win in a lot of 1 vs 1 situations when he clearly got fucked up by me. But I guess that´s another side e...

I think a lot of gamers that play online competitive games sometimes think about improving their skills, because it sucks if you´re beaten that many times. Even when you don´t care who wins or what your k/d is, I don´t think someone wants to be the guy or girl that has zero kills and twenty deaths! Because no matter how much fun a game is, when you lose all the time your fun might be severely limited. How do I improve my skills? The easiest answer is practice, in a fighting game you can practice and also in first person shooters you often have the option to fight against bots. Improve your reflexes and learn the button combinations from memory, everything should feel like a reaction. When you have to think what you´re doing then you´re doing it wrong. A lot of games are based on how fast you are, your response time will be very important in a lot of competitive games. So I´d say you have a benefit if you started gaming at a young age, but I don´t think that you´re facing an ...

I don´t think I´ve ever had the problem of wanting to play a game but it was forbidden in my country, I guess that´s the benefit of living in a country that doesn´t really give a shit. Oh sure sometimes people will bring up the subject of taking action against games but it´s just something politicians say to get more votes. To be honest I don´t think anyone really gives a shit what kids play, as long a they don´t cause trouble most people are fine with it. Or are there games that are so terrible that they should be forbidden? I think one of the games that caused a lot of trouble is Manhunt, the game was supposedly so brutal that a lot of countries banned it. I don´t know if that means that people in those countries could never play it or if they found other ways to play it. It kind of makes me wonder why they do it, because violence is everywhere and a game doesn´t make someone more violent then he or she already is. If someone thinks that a kid won´t turn violent just because you ke...

It´s become more and more popular these last couple of years to be a dick online, anything that can be done to make the lives of other people online miserable. I don´t say the majority of everyone online is a dick but the dick population is growing and that´s not a good thing. But why would anyone act this way? Why would anyone want to be a dick? It´s so funny to be annoying!!! At least that´s what you often hear from people that like to be a dick online, some people just get their rocks off on making others mad. Even if it means that someone rage quits, that´s really something some people see as the highlight of their day. Which actually says a lot about people that like being a dick. I´d say that in most cases the person is a loser that has no friends or anyone that likes him or her, so instead of trying to make friends this person just wants to be the most annoying prick you can think of. But sometimes you also just meet immature people, often with the intelligence of a peanut and...

Last time I talked about Bully, I think a lot of gamers have heard of that game. But I wonder how many people know about Jericho, have you heard of this game? The official name is Clive Barker´s Jericho, that´s right he´s the one that came with the Hellraiser movies. So this should already give you a bit of an idea what kind of game this is. It´s a bloody adventure with a lot of weird things happening in it. But when you first play it then you might not think that, because it seems just like any other first person shooter. In a way that´s true, but the special trick in this game is that you don´t just pick a character and stick with that character through the level. No you can switch between characters and use their special abilities. Maybe even now you think that this is nothing special, but what if I told you that you still play as one character but he´s dead and he then possesses the other team mates so you can play as them? You probably didn´t see that coming did you? The main ch...

Do you have music on when you play games? I´m not talking about being this loser that needs to play music in the mic to annoy other players, no I´m talking about playing music just for yourself to help you focus or relax for whatever it is you´re playing. Wether it´s in a single player game or multiplayer game, I think music can motivate you to bring out the best in you. Maybe you don´t even need to listen to the music, because it´s already playing in your head and helps you perform better in games. Music is a rythmn that can elevate you to great heights, just don´t forget to bring a parachute in case you lose yourself up there! The right music for the right game or just play whatever you like? I think this really depends on who you are, because what one person likes the other might hate. Some people have a whole library of music to have the right song for the right moment, I can´t help but find this a little bit extreme. It´s nice that you enjoy music and that it helps you with play...

Have you ever played a game based on historical events or a game based on a movie? Even when you look at games based on comics or books can be different than what was written in the comics and books. Sometimes developers like to go their own way with the story, but this makes certain fans angry because they think the game is ruined because of these decisions. But does it really matter? I like history and games that take place in an interesting part of history are games I´m interested in. It really sucks when they made an awful game based on a part of history that could be so much fun to play. I´m not saying that it ruins everything for me, but I do think that it´s a complete waste of time. Why play a game that is just wrong? Well sometimes I have to admit that nonsense can be fun, it doesn´t always have to be exactly as it was written in history or on anything else. Sometimes you can be creative and make something original based on something that already existed. I think the Assassin...

It´s Friday the 13th, that usually means the worst day you can think of for anyone who believes that it brings bad luck. Did you know that this idea comes from when the Templars got rounded up hundreds of years ago and that their leader was burned to death on that specific date? So you can imagine that it´s not exactly a day without something tied to it, but then again it could be just another day like any other day. Or is there something weird going on with Friday the 13th? As a gamer you might not always think of luck, I think most gamers believe in skill and that makes sense in a way. But to be honest I do believe in luck, I think that luck can actually determine succes in a game. Sure skill will definately help but sometimes all you need is a little bit of luck to make it through something difficult, it can be the difference between succeeding and failing. I´ve had so many times that I made it past a difficult moment in the game and I had no idea how I did it, it was just pur...

It´s more and more a popular addition in games to make people decide between a couple of tough choices. Usually these choices would come at the end of the game, which would often decide the ending, but lately this decisions seem to appear more randomly through the game. They seem simple but sometimes the impact of the decision can make you have doubts about your choice. It might seem like a good idea to just do something or go with your first choice, but does that really lead to an ending you´re happy about? Do the choices you make say anything about you? I´m not an expert on psychology but I guess you could say that the choices you make in life say something about you, but in games that´s a little bit different. Games offer you the safety of not being real, no matter how real it feels or looks you know it´s not real. Which then often allows people to do things they probably wouldn´t do in real life, also the choices seem to be a bit different then what they would´ve chosen if it was...

It seems silly really, to be afraid of a girl that plays games but I´ve noticed that some guys actually have difficulties with admitting defeat. But why? Why would someone be afraid to lose of a girl? Is this some remnant of being a boy? I know that as a boy girls were lame, well some still are but that will be our secret, and it was much more fun to hang around with your friends than with girls. Maybe sometimes this feeling of boys only clubs seem to dominate in some peoples heads. Which brings you to something else, is gaming just for guys or are girls also welcome? Of course most guys would say that they wouln´t mind playing against girls, some might even welcome it. But when you´re being humilated by another player that happens to be a girl, does that wound your pride? Would you quickly rage quit the game just to avoid being defeated by a girl? It seems childish to behave like that and yet it´s not unthinkable. Actually I´ve seen it happen a couple of times myself, where guys wou...

Somehow I´m always supsecious when someone has a lot of skill with aiming, I´m not saying that someone can´t have skill but it´s weird when they never miss. I really do mean never miss, as in every shot was a direct hit. Of course a camper might have better luck with that but when you run around and you bump into someone then perfect aim isn´t really what comes into my mind. If you´re not trying to knife someone then you´ll probably end up shooting a bit like a madman. So it kind of sucks when someone kills you with just one or two bullets just like that. Is that skill or is someone being a cheater? What is an aimbot? I guess it makes sense that I first explain this, for those who have no idea what I´m talking about. An aimbot is something that helps people with aiming quickly at others, it reduces the time it takes for a player to aim at another player. Of course you can mess with sensitivity in options but really with some people it´s obvious that they´re cheating. Because that...

I can´t help but talk about games I played in the past and I do feel that I don´t always give them the attention they deserve, so that´s why I´m starting with this looking back writing. Even if some of these games are ´old´ I still think it might be interesting to write about it. Not just to say what I like about it but also talk about memories or things I hope to see in future games. The first time I bought Bully it was on the Playstation 2, I loved the idea of that game from the first moment I heard about it. I wasn´t that familiar with Rockstar at the moment, Sure I had played some GTA games but it didn´t really made me excited about the game just because Rockstar made it. It was just the idea to be on a school and do some crazy things that you wish you did when you went to school or maybe when you still go to school. It was like a freedom to do things in a place where you can´t do everything you´d like to do. But even things that would be allowed but you´re just too nervous or sc...

When you play with others online then it´s not weird to talk with others, not that everything that´s being said is always that nice but usually there is some sort of communication going on. But not just in online games, do you remember the time that you were playing with your family and friends on the couch in a splitscreen game? Maybe some of the games you played even allowed you to share the same screen, which would usually mean that one would be ruining the screen for the other. That would often lead to some interesting conversations, usually with the same amount of insults as you get from random strangers in an online match. But what if I tell you that you could also just talk with someone on Skype, or whatever it is you use to talk with your friends, and play a game at the same time. This means you could have this serious conversation and suddenly someone wins the game and goes woohoo!!! Of course this will completely disrupt the conversation but at the same time make it a little ...

I think most of you know what camping is, but do you know what patrolling is? Patrolling means that you stay in the same area of the map and move around in a pattern to check all entries to that area. In a way you patrol that area without ever really leaving it. Some might call this camping but in my opinion camping is staying in one spot without ever really moving at all. That doesn´t mean that people that use the patrol strategy won´t get any hate. But that´s nothing new, if you have succes in a game for whatever reason then other players might not always be that kind to you. As a new player in fps games, what do you recommend? I think camping is the easy way to play games, it takes very little skill and it´s often a good way to rank up some kills. But remember that this isn´t accepted by other players and some will go out of their way to bring you down. Of course an experienced camper will take full benefit from that. Sometimes you move a little bit to constantly suprise your atta...

If I have to be honest then I have to admit that I don´t know any legendary gamers, not even any pro gamers. Sure a lot of gamers will consider themselves as a pro but does that really make you one? I think it´s a path that´s only reserved for a few of us, but in my opinion it usually starts with being a talented gamer. You´re good at what you do, others have problems with defeating you and it doesn´t take much effort from you to get good at a game. Of course this doesn´t mean you´re good at every game, sometimes it´s just one genre. But you do seem to stick out of the pack with your skills, which might make your way to a bigger league. Wether it´s by your own doing or that you´re invited, I think sooner or later really talented gamers will find themselves in the pro circuit. Where you compete with others like you in a championship, often for money and fame. But how good is that fame really? Do you remember any names from people who won a certain championship? I must admit that this ...

I think we all know about X-mass, but do you know about Sinterklaas? If you´re from outside the Netherlands and Belgium then it might be unlikely that you´re familiar with that. But it´s an old Dutch celebration that comes close to what most other countries have with Santa Clause. It means that you get presents on the 5th of December (at least if you´ve been a good person, if you´ve been bad then you go in the bag with Zwarte Piet to Spain) and that you get treats to eat. For Dutch families that both celebrate Sinterklaas and X-mass you can ask twice as many presents, but what do you really ask for? I want a new console! Of course a lot of kids would like to get a new console and Sinterklaas (or Santa Claus later this month) might just buy it for them. But for those who have less expensive thoughts then a cheap game might be cool as well. Because we can´t all get the expensive gifts, oh I guess we could ask but do we always get what we want? It´s probably one of the most important le...