Sunday, July 28, 2013

Gaming Principles and Tips

Let's spare the introduction and get on with it. Gaming principles and tips.


+ Explore the area as much as possible. 

"You don't want to miss anything, do you? You're playing the game, might as well see everything."




+ Look around for breakable/lootable stuff like vases, chests, etc.

"It's better to have an inventory full with crap you won't need than an inventory barely filled with anything needed. Who knows, you might get a key item that would save you from coming back there later in the game."





+ Don't leave loot lying around. 

"That old guy won't mind if you stole his $300 that was lying on the table, broke his expensive vases, threaten his wife with a flamethrower, and leave just like that. He's totally cool with it."





+ If you encounter a cut scene, you're going the right way.

"Blah, blah, blah, we've got company, blah, blah, blah, get to the roof...man, this is cut scene is taking forever. What is this, a short film? There we go. Now, fin--AW NO, A LOADING SCREEN! *waits* Is...it...finally--aaand it's another cut scene."


Sunday, June 16, 2013

Skateboarding: I think that I shall never flip, a trick lovely as a kickflip

Whoever was those dudes who had the crazy idea of attaching roller skate wheels to wooden boards, you have my respect.

I am a skateboarder. I have been riding on a skateboard almost 11 years now. I have been ollie-ing down and up stuff, sliding on ledges, impressing people by doing some tricks, and trying to get my kickflips to look as clean as possible for 11 years.


How did I even choose this sport?


Tracing it back, the curiosity of the sport sprouted from another hobby of mine, which is common for kids: Video games. I was (and still am) an avid fan of the Tony Hawk skateboarding game series. I grew up on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 & 4 and spent most of my play time on doing all the goals in every level, unlocking skaters and skating gears, and just working on combos. Even though it is a game that has so many impossibilities, like landing perfectly from jumping off the tip of a clock tower to flat ground, or grinding electrical lines, or landing kickflips perfectly every time, I saw the real, possible potential of the sport. Maybe doing darkslides all the way along a 20-meter power line isn't possible, but I do realized that sliding your board along a rail IS possible. Maybe doing a manual after jumping off that clock tower isn't possible, but I did know then that going into a manual after some tricks ARE possible. These ideas went through my head and that made my curiosity grow and grow. 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Post-apocalyptic

Well, this was a fun semester. Andaming nangyari, andaming nakasama. It's been a fun college experience as a whole. A whole 4 years ever since graduating high school and entering the "college life" chapter.


This semester was very exhausting. Not that I can blame anyone for it. I've been an avid practitioner of procrastination although I'm not really proud of it, I am quite adept at it. Academics and Deadlines decided it was time I realized this. At the start, it was still as before. I can still afford to take it easy. But then, before I knew it, there was just this wall of deadlines were just set so fast and so dangerously close to each other.


It's because of this semester that I realize now where I'm lacking. At first, I'd say it would be down to prioritization and efficient time management, but there's more to them. To me, they seem more like mere branches from a tree. Follow them to their roots and there lies what's more important: my self-discipline is lacking.