Favorite Video Games #3: "Grim Fandango"

My history began with this game the day it was released. My actual playing of it, however, did not.

Grim Fandango was a very highly anticipated adventure game from the core team of adventure game creators at Lucasarts, the video game devision of Lucasfilm Ltd. It was released the day before Halloween in 1998, and told a surreal but epic noir-styled storyline (in the vein of the Maltese Falcon), set in the world of the dead, heavily inspired by artwork created in association with the Dia de los muertos celebrations in Mexico. At the time that I purchased it, the game required 32MB of RAM to play. I only had 8. The game would frequently lock up, and be unplayable because my computer did not meet the minimum requirements to play it. A year or so later, after I had the opportunity to upgrade my computer, I was finally able to play the game that had tempted me for so very long

The main character of the game, Manuel Calavera (or 'Manny' for short) begins the game as a reaper, shepherding a poor dead soul to the land of the dead. As it turns out, he's little more than a travel agent, attempting to pay off debts he accrued in life by working for the Department of Death in the afterlife. From this downtrodden platform, he stumbles across an elaborate conspiracy that has been robbing the honest souls entering the afterlife of their just dues, as well as thieving Manny of the lucrative clients he deserves to help him pay off his community service debts.

The game stretches across 4 years, and introduces the protagonist Manny to a vast array of intriguing and amusing characters, including the loud and brash Glottis, a “travel spirit” whose existence relies on driving very, very fast. There’s also an old sea captain, a cranky TSA agent, a very unlucky French butler, a determined man attempting to cross the ocean floor on foot, and a Che Guevara-inspired revolutionary. Meeting and interacting with the intriguing characters is most of the fun of this epic game, as Manny Calavery attempts to solve the mystery of who is behind the nefarious scheme to steal honest souls’ tickets on the “Number 9”, a train that can ferry the souls of the dead to the land of eternal rest in 4 minutes instead of the 4 years the journey might take otherwise.

Most of the characters in the game are modeled after calacas skeletons which are common in Dia De Los Muertos celebrations. Other characters in the game are closer to typical 'Tim Schaefer' fare: bizzare anthropomorphic bee-men, orange monsters, and vampiric fire-beavers. There are many puzzles to solve, and sinister forces to stop. The charm and inventiveness of the world is what made the experience so endearing to me. The locations and story were just so unique and creative, that it made me want to learn more about Dia De Los Muertos, and about South American history and culture. The game was funny too. The dialog was sharp and witty, and a joy to experience.

My Favorite Games: #4 "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim"

One of my favorite games of all time is “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”, commonly referred to simply as “Skyrim”. It is the fifth game in the long running Elder Scrolls series of games that deal with a huge fantasy world, full of elves, orcs, humans, lizardmen, cat-people, and more. Each game in the franchise has focused on a different region of the world, but Skyrim is one of the most exciting provinces to date; spanning the frigid northern part of the continent, and including environments ranging from frozen tundras, to snowy mountain peaks, to damp bogs, to forest paths.

The game’s story begins with an unnamed character being carted off to his or her execution for being “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and being associated with a wanted criminal who killed Skyrim’s last king. As you are about to be executed, a dragon suddenly attacks. No one in the world has seen a dragon for thousands of years. In the confusion you escape, and from that point on, you are free to explore this gigantic world.

The world is populated with numerous villages, cities, caves, fortresses, and ancient ruins. As you explore, you begin to uncover a prophecy that tells of the return of the dragons and the end of humanity. In the past when the dragons were subjugating or destroying the people of the world, a defender would be born known as the Dovahkiin, or “Dragonborn”; a warrior with the soul of a dragon, who is able to destroy the monsters permanently. The Dragonborn is sent on a quest to discover a way to defeat Alduin, the dragon-lord, and save the people of Skyrim from total destruction.

There are also many other things to do in the world besides following the main questline and saving the people. There are guilds you can do quests for and rise to leadership positions of. These include the Thieves Guild in the “mafia-run” city of Riften, The battle-hardened Companions of Whiterun, The Mage College of Winterhold, and the illusive Dark Brotherhood assassins guild. Along with all that, there are hundreds and hundreds of side quests you can complete in order to help people in various cities, or to acquire ancient and powerful weapons to help you in your mission to destroy the dragons.

Throughout the game, you’ll fight a variety of enemies that inhabit the wilds of the province of Skyrim. One of the most exciting enemies you’ll encounter are dragons: ancient beings resurrected by the evil dragon-lord, Alduin. Fighting these enemies is dynamic and incredibly exhilarating as they fly around, land on buildings and rocks, and breath fire or ice while trying to destroy you. When you finally bring one of the dragons down, it feels very rewarding. One of the most interesting aspects of the game for me, is simply exploring the fully-realized and enormous world of Skyrim. There are so many interesting places to discover, that sometimes my favorite thing to do is to just wander the landscape, and explore any forts, dungeons, or caves that I come across. Most of the time, they will be filled with bandits, trolls, or evil wizards. You can spend a ton of time just exploring these interesting and beautiful locations, without even contributing to the overarching quest to stop Alduin. You can also buy a house in any of the major cities, become Thane under the Jarl’s in each of their holds, and even find a wife and get married! To top it off, there’s also a major questline involving picking a side in the civil war going on in Skyrim, and leading that respective army to victory; thus unifying the province. There really is a massive number of things to do in this world.

In conclusion, this is a game I would recommend to anyone. It’s fun to play, and very rewarding to explore. The combat is satisfying and varied (You can use swords, shields, bow-and-arrows, magic spells, axes, or hammers). As Dragonborn, you also have the ability to “Thu’um” or Shout at your enemies, using the ancient dragon language to forcibly push enemies away, breathe fire or frost, and even slow down time! Very fun, indeed.

A Winner Is Me!

That's right, I finished National Novel Writing Month. My story The Balance Keepers passed the 50,000 word mark at 10:25 AM on November 30th, 2011.

NaNoWriMo Continues...

Hi everyone(and by 'everyone' I mean the 7 or 8 of you who read this),

I just wanted to take a moment to tell you that this year I've managed to stay on task with the National Novel Writing Month competition, a feat I've usually become overwhelmed with and given up in years' past. This year, thus far, I've proudly reached the milestone of 25,000 words, and am still continuing to write each and every day. The important thing to note is that I'm still on task towards the great goal of 50,000 words written in a 30-day period. This year really does look like the year that I'm actually going to finish.

Continue to wish me luck!

Onward to NaNoWriMo! Onward to Victory!

So, this year will be my 4th attempt at National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it is frequently shortened to. It is an annual self-regulated event that happens every year on November 1st, and ends on November 30th. The goal of the event is to compose a 50,000 word novel over the period of a single month. It's a lofty and difficult goal to attain. I have yet to ever complete it, as November tends to be one of the busiest months of my year, every year.

Still, this year I am determined to put forth my best effort ever, and finish this thing. I've got an outline for the novel worked out, plot, and characters, so I'm all set. I just need to do my best to keep pace. Any of you out there who'd like to cheer me on, feel free to do so. If you do decide to join in, be sure to 'friend' me at NaNoWriMo. http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/shivy

"Character is half the dynamic of plot, a given situation is the other half." ~Anne Bernays~

My Favorite Video Games #2: 'Final Fantasy VIII'

Videogames are like films to me. I mean this in the sense that my opinion of a game is often strongly influenced by what how I was feeling emotionally at the time. Final Fantasy VIII is one of the most impacting games that I recall playing, and one that holds a special place in my memories.



A powerful story set in a huge world on the brink of war; what attracted me to this Final Fantasy above all others was its focus on the love story developing between Squall and Rinoa, rather than the conflict of the world. Squall himself, was a character that I felt held a lot of qualities and conflict that were very personal to me. As a character, Squall embodies traits that a large cross section of gamers can relate to.


I did not own a Playstation at the time, but managed to borrow one in order to play this game. Wanting to return the system to him as quickly as possible, I played the game almost non-stop for a week. Eventually I hit what I consider to be one of the most powerfully sad scenes in any game. Towards the end of the third disc, I found myself crying through the entire “Eyes on Me” scene, as well as what happens immediately afterward. It was enough to depress me, and I decided to take a break at this point.

During my break, my friend returned, claiming that he needed his Playstation back for a week, and that I could borrow it again when he returned. I reluctantly returned it to him, and spent the week miserable, pondering the fate of Rinoa and Squall, unable to know how it would be resolved.


I didn’t realize something like a video game could affect my mood so drastically. I guess this was an early sign that I was destined to find passion and beauty in video games, and experience them as I would any film or book. These were powerful stories with truth and emotion to be discovered, not only in the characters, but also in the hearts and minds of the players themselves.



The game play of Final Fantasy VIII revolved around encountering enemies in battle. This is typical of the Final Fantasy games, but in this iteration the designers created a 'Junction' system to change things up a little. Throughout the game your party acquires these mythical beasts known as 'Guardian Forces' that can 'bond' with your characters and augment their abilities and skills. These junctions are powered my magical energies that you can harvest from the monsters you encounter throughout the game. Many people were critical of this system, since it was so different from the previous Final Fantasy games, and required, initially, some time spent drawing magical energies from the foes you face. Later in the game, this behavior becomes less necessary as you can break down items and loot into magic bits.



The Guardian Forces make up some of the most incredible monster designs of any Final Fantasy leading up to this installment, including the return of some favorite 'summoned' creatures, like Shiva and Ifrit.


All of this is framed around (at the time) professional quality CG Cinemas, including a sweeping opening sequence that features a bombastic orchestral piece called Liberi Fatali (Fated Children). This features prominently into the overarching theme of the story: being forced to take on adult roles in an organization called SeeD that trains war orphans to become profitable mercenary teems to be dispatched around the world. Most of the characters in the story are under the age of 18, and are forced to confront some harsh truths about the adult world that they would have been shielded from had their childhood experiences been different. There are some extremely poignant scenarios throughout the 4-disc epic storyline.


Now that the world has had 13 seperate Final Fantasy games in the franchise, not including sub-sequels or spinoffs, there exists a large pool of games to compare Final Fantasy VIII to. While I enjoyed the gameplay changes made to this particular game, I have to say that it was the emotional impact of the story that pushed the game to being my clear favorite of the franchise, and a game that I will cherish as I play through it again and again.

Bacon, King of the Breakfast Table

A popular topic amongst various peoples of the internet and multimedia worlds these days is that of bacon. Bacon is salt-cured strips of pork, usually from the back or side of the pig. because of their salty flavor and fatty crispy crunch, people tend to hold this food item in very high regard. I count myself amongst this number.

Those that know me, know that bacon is one of my favorite foods. I hold bacon as king amongst the breakfast foods, and have even been known to indulge in the aged Italian 'bacons' such as prosciutto and pancetta. Bacon makes it's own cooking grease that slowly melts off of the meat as you fry it in the pan. Because of this, it is difficult to question bacon's convenience factor. It is as though the salty little tendrils themselves are trying to help you cook them.

Bacon does it's best work when mixed with other foodstuffs. For example, when placed on pizza, it manages to create a delicious treat that is superior, in my opinion, to even salami and pepperoni: other cured meats. On a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich (or BLT) it steals the show! Even on a club sandwich where it is relegated to a more minor role, the bacon tends to have a way with it's keen flavor for greeting your tongue most thoroughly in every bite. Bacon is delicious when sprinkled into macaroni and cheese, chili, and I even like it when it is finely chopped into pancake batter and fried on a skillet.

Bacon itself has some surprising qualities. Part of the popularity of the food likely stems from the fact that it contains no fewer than 6 different ingredient types that contribute to addictive aspects of 'umami', or the savory response of food to taste buds. This allows bacon to be a stand out flavor that is both striking and delicious enough that even certain vegetarians might find an excuse to turn to the 'dark side' and enjoy a piece or two.

All in all, bacon is simply one of the best foods that exists in the world today, and stands out as a reminder of how wonderful it is that we get hungry again every handful of hours.