Writing the Realms: The Games Magazines

Down another rabbit hole as I write this on Wednesday night. My favorite gaming decade was the 90s, this is when I started to play, and when I became a huge fan of the magazines that carried articles about games.

I thought there were more titles, but the ones I read every month were Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, and Computer Games Strategy Plus. They were full of ads for games, gorgeous full page ads, reviews of upcoming or recently released games, and interviews with developers and game play strategies.

Internet Archive: Computer Gaming World

My favorite of the magazines was Computer Gaming World. It’s on the Internet Archive! How do you spell squee?

https://archive.org/details/computergamingworld

This particular issue has articles by two of my favorite writers, Johnny L Wilson and Scorpia!

Note issue 120 below, and the article “Secrets of the Game Developers” Ha! I told you, it was all right in these magazines. Also, feast your eyes on issue 145 “100+ new games”. Many new games were released October through November. I’d always have something like five games on my Christmas list. So hard to choose!

PC Gamer survives, but as a shadow of what it was. For this one I haven’t any favorite writers. I read it religiously nonetheless.

With less coverage of the types of game I played, but excellent writing by Cindy Yan and editor Steve Bauman, as my favorites, Computer Games Strategy Plus was a great magazine. If they did review or feature my type of game, the article was really in depth.

There we go, back in the day when games were supposed to offer 60+ hours of play, the witty, knowledgeable game journalists at these magazines helped you decide what to purchase, gave strategies for play, and wildly entertained, every month, for a low low price.

The Game Makers

Once in a blog long ago, I wrote a post titled something like Game Companies: Who Can You Trust. I am pretty sure it was in response to Star Wars Galaxies, the NGE. In it I listed companies I felt you could depend on to deliver a game that was bug free and well designed. The companies would have been honest with their customers, additionally. I wish I’d saved it so I could see how the same companies have fared over time.

Back in the innocent days, I would never have considered any of those things at all. We were thrilled with each new game that came our way, and watched the opening intro scenes as if they were the latest new film.

Writing this, I am just so pleased so many of these companies are still in business, and that you can still delve into their game libraries. I planned to name a few more recent companies, but got lost in happy nostalgia, and the discovery some of these folks are still out there creating worlds.

Apogee Software

We had “demo day” at our house and there were tons of free bits of games to try. We ended up buying the full versions of pretty much all of Apogee’s games, I think. I see I have written about them before:

Throwback Thursday: Apogee, the Height of Gaming Excitement!

I’m excited to see they’re still out there. AND there are remastered versions of Secret Agent and Monster Bash!!!! On Steam. I’ll be snapping those up.

3D Realms

3d Realms is also back, Rise of the Triad being their signature game for us, I think. It’s also on Steam 🙂 This game seemed so hard, until we played Quake.

https://3drealms.com/

Interplay

https://www.interplay.com/

Our favorite game from this company is Realms of the Haunting. Unfortunately my Steam version of that game is a pure black screen. They’ve tons of other games, still available it seems, I’d love to play.

Looking Glass Studios

The standouts for us were System Shock 2 and Thief The Dark Project (wherein I learned I have no sneaking ability in games that count on it).

Not by Looking Glass, but by Nightdive Studios, is a remaster of System Shock, the original game in the series we never got a chance to play. It appears to be creeping closer to release!

Home

Sierra Entertainment

The fairest of them all, right? Ken and Roberta Williams brought together the most astonishing tales. So many game series.

Gabriel Knight

Kings Quest

Quest for Glory

The Doctor Brain Games

Lighthouse: The Dark Being

Shivers

There were dozens more, those are just favorites.

There’s an archived site:

HOME

Ken and Roberta Williams are working on a new game:

Home

Last, but certainly not least, LucasArts

My favorite series:

Indiana Jones

The Dig

Sam and Max

Full Throttle

Grim Fandango

Ditch The Clownsuit: Guides To Fashionable In Game Armor

Nobody likes the armor you find yourself wearing, particularly in the early levels of a game. The mis-matched Clownsuits available just make you feel bad.

Here’s where you can use a few in game fashion guides, though most of the really nice things require you to level up, so smile through your helmet, lowbie.

World of Warcraft blogger Kamalia et alia has a feature called Sunday on the Promenade where she shares the loveliest and latest in Warcraft finery.

Sunday on the Promenade 164

Lord of the Rings Online

There are quite a few gorgeous Lord of the Rings Online Fashion blogs. You might want to go back to playing simply to collect the outfits after seeing these.

Material Middle Earth http://materialmiddleearth.blogspot.com/

Nath of Material Middle Earth stopped writing her blog last year, but she wrote for nine years, so there are tons of beautiful and inspiring outfits here.

Cosmetic Lotro https://cosmeticlotro.com/ is an up to date guide to your best looks as a denizen of Middle Earth.

Wandering Around Arda: Outfits For Lord of The Rings Online not only has beautiful outfits, the backgrounds are perfect for each outfit, and there is a wonderful bit of story for each, told as a tale of Middle Earth. https://wanderingarda.wordpress.com/

Elder Scrolls Online

I’m a bit disappointed not to find a dedicated site for Elder Scrolls Online fashion. There is a TESO Fashion Reddit with lots of folks sharing their character’s outfits though.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TESOfashion/

There you go, plenty of inspiration from artful, creative in game costumers.

Blaugust Week 3: Creative Appreciation Week

An old GW2 cartoon I thought was clever at the time.

A Chance Card. Too bad the site isn’t up anymore, I could do a whole deck!

Apparently there was a problem with a quest. I think I remember this. I really couldn’t get off the island.

Zzzzzzz……I know I have more.

Now stepping aside for the rest of the week for those who really are creative 🙂

Blaugust Week Two In Review

See what I did there? It’s week two and I’ve got another day roped in as an assigned topic. Monday, Theme of the Week, Friday, (usually) Movies or TV, Saturday, Screenshot Saturday, Sunday, the Week In Review. I only have to come up with fresh ideas Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Voila!

That has been easier than I thought since I’m trying to stay with the Theme of the Week. I’ve got my ideas plotted out for next week, Creatives Week. Can I create readable posts on my topics, will be the trick. The tough theme will be Staying Motivated week. I am not so good at rah rah rah, you CAN DO IT. I might have used all that up in my first post of the first week of Blaugust.

I’m feeling like I can blather on at length today, because of what Bhagpuss at Inventory Full wrote last Sunday:

Here’s my Blaugust Mentor Tip of the Day to anyone who hasn’t been at this game for long, although I suspect most of our many new Blaugustians have been at it quite long enough already to be familiar with the secret I’m about to reveal: no-one reads blogs on the weekend.

http://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2022/08/closed-for-weekend.html

I already tell myself when I write posts “nobody reads this s&# so don’t worry, just write it and post it”. What a cheerleader!

That said, this has been a great week in the Blaugustsphere. So many wonderful stories introducing the writers.

I’ve tried to read as many posts as I can, some days even hitting all the blogs. Which reminds me there are still new Blaugusters I haven’t added to my roll.

I’ve done some commenting, and even some Likes on the Word Press based blogs. This is a step forward for me!

I’m looking forward to Creatives Week, there’s clearly tons of talent in the group.

Screen Shot Saturday: What I’ve Been Playing Edition

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands

My Paladin is up as the leveler, and is on the last level to 60. She certainly is fun to play, particularly in comparison to the TBC version.

I’m aware that Soulshapes are supposed to be a big desirable feature of Ardenweald as a Covenant choice. It seems to be a cosmetic collectible. It doesn’t feel like something I’d want to spend any time on.

There are also far too many insect like creatures in the forest. Note the appropriately named “Buzzkill”.

In World of Warcraft’s TBC, I focused on my Holy Priest, trying to level her beyond any involvement in Scarlet Monastery dungeons. Here she finds herself in the Hinterlands.

I made a huge amount of progress in Bendy and the Ink Machine. Problematically it’s hard to get the game to save correctly, so I’m temporarily stuck back a bit from where I left the game.

Things were a little creepy up in the art studio, but down below where the ink really flows, it’s time to fight.

There’s been ink pouring from the ceiling since our character Henry walked in the door. Down below, the ink forms into attacking figures.

It’s just my way that I’m now paranoid about every pool I go by.

You definitely aren’t alone.

I came to love my trusty axe pretty quickly. I saw this game classified somewhere as “Survival Horror”, not one of my usual genres.

In Elder Scrolls Online, I played through some of the quest The Ghost Writer of Giovesse. It’s a side quest to help a Romance Writer with a story she’s working on that involves ghosts.

I easily enough found the armor, then used a spirit lamp to bring forth a ghost, of course. She lacks a romantic soul.

There’s always one more thing, isn’t there? Head into the tombs to find the Sword of Giovesse.

Class Choice: Give Me All Of Them, But These Three First

The Way of the Warrior

If I’m playing an MMO, I create a character for each class in the game if there are character slots available to do so.

There are unfortunately games that allow you to have only one or two characters. I may try these, but I’m more likely to avoid them all together, or to only play for a short time.

In these limited character games, I’ll do what I do in single player games: choose some version of a Warrior.

A sword wielder can take on most enemies, even ranged types, by running up and whacking away. Give me my Claymore and stand back. The sword wielder almost always has the best, most protective armor. When there are multiple races available, you can almost always be a Warrior, or the games version of one.

Having this reliable character type allows you to jump into the world, learn the game play, and see if it’s a game you want to spend time in.

If you like the game but not how the class plays, you can wipe her out and try another class.

Rangers and Other Archers

If I have another choice it will be an Archer type character.

Usually you have a pet to assist you, and wear at least medium armor to help you in encounters. Hunter pets, unlike many other minions or companions, tend to be more useful, in my opinion. They will hold the enemy away from you, hopefully long enough to do most of your damage. They don’t tend to stand on top of your character. You can often give them a name.

It is a frustration when you shoot something at range and they’re instantly on top of you. I really like the WOW Classic version of Hunter, who can dual wield melee weapons once the enemy is in range. I also appreciate Lord of the Rings Online’s Hunter whose bow skills do not go away when the foe is at melee range.

Heal Thyself, and Don’t Let Anyone Else Die If You Can Help It

Here’s the class I always want to excel at. In single player games, it feels like you might have better survivability if you can heal yourself during fights with more than just potions. Unfortunately you’re almost always running out of mana or magicka. By design.

In MMO’s, I want to heal even more. I want to save the day! Keep everyone safe. Save the world one dungeon at a time. Let me help anyone anytime, is always my desire, but of course that’s not allowed.

As Cloth wearers for the most part, your healer is wearing paper with the protective qualities sacrificed for your ability to heal more effectively. It also seems, in World of Warcraft at least, that if you heal someone, all the monsters want to kill you all of a sudden. This hardly seems fair. The other drawback is, again in WOW (where most of my experience is), your character is not designed to be able to fight their way through the world. They are designed for group play. I certainly run them through the world anyway. I like my TBC Holy Priest quite a bit because she can fight really well in the open world. I dread whatever expansion takes that away from her.

All The Rest

We’re back to create all the character class types. I believe the more ways you can view the game the better. Each class plays through the content of the game differently. Using a variety of skills to make your way in the world gives you new challenges. Same content, different game, in effect.

Also, playing all the classes helps in group play, because you actually understand what everyone can and should do.

Locke and Key Season Three

I love this show with it’s old house, full of faded elegance and hidden keys that ask to be found. The keys have a wide range of uses:

In this third and final season, the Locke family faces a new foe. Gideon, a twisted incarnation of a British Captain from Revolutionary War times is infused with a god like being from beyond The Black Door. He’s an implacable enemy who wants all of the Key House keys. They originated in his realm, and can be used, he feels, to tear open the walls between the two worlds.

He summons two “Echoes” to assist him in getting the keys. They’re so happy to be somewhat alive that they follow his every command.

The strength of the show for me besides the fabulous house and imaginative keys are the Locke family themselves. The mom, Nina, is still something of a weak character, but she has some good moments. Tyler, the oldest son, is trying to forget the events of previous seasons. Kinsey is taking the lead and is doing great at it. Bodie, always my favorite, gets some really good storylines. Together, and with help from some old friends, they are a formidable group.

I watched all eight episodes in an evening. Highly recommended.

Preferred Game Types

Favorite Game Types

MMOs These tend to dominate my time as there’s just so much to do. It’s also the case you don’t have to save your game, worry about losing progress if you don’t make it to a save point. If you die, most are generous enough in the penalties paid. I enjoy being able to play with others, whether it’s my family or random sorts you meet for dungeons, or can help out in the world. I like how dynamic and alive the worlds are. I dislike that many can’t resist bringing the real world with them into games. What’s that quote? In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Action Adventure I remember the days when these were two very separate categories, and the Adventure advocates really disliked the idea that you might have to fight things, and that you could die. I still enjoy pure Adventure games where it’s more about story and puzzle solving, but I like even more the added danger that comes with foes for you to overcome.

Mystery There has been a sort of renaissance of Mystery games in recent years. It’s the first category I search when it’s Steam Sale time. Unfortunately for me, I lack logic almost entirely. This gives this game type extra challenge, doesn’t it?

Fantasy I read Mystery, Fantasy and Science Fiction, so these settings are endlessly appealing to me. Fantasy games have that opportunity to be heroic and wield swords, slaying beasts and saving villages far and wide.

Science Fiction These games let you step into the future, travel in time, adventure in outer space, explore amazing new worlds, meet incredible beings.

RPG Taking on the role of Warrior (usually) or Ranger in an intricate world where you level your character stats and play through a deep story line are endlessly appealing.

Puzzles Because I lack logic and apparently sometimes the ability to closely observe, these are a real challenge but I can’t resist them.

Platformers I’m thinking here of favorites like Donkey Kong and Yoshi’s Island, also the original Duke Nukem, that adorable little blond whirlwind.

Don’t Generally Care To Play:

Top Down (With loads of exceptions) Here I’m thinking of Top Down strategy games mostly. Or anything where everyone’s running around like ants on the screen. It’s not immersive and I keep wishing I could just tip the point of view a bit to get it where it “should” be.

Simulators This includes the Sims, and anything like it. I did see a post from Welshtroll this week on a simulator called Hardspace Shipbreaker that sounded great, like actually being in space and trying to keep everything going. https://welshtroll.co.uk/2022/08/08/hardspace-shipbreaker/

Building Games From Civilization (which I’ve always wanted to like) to Landmark to Roller Coaster Tycoon, these start slow and peter out fast for me. It might be my lack of artistic ability at play.

Card Deck Games Zzzzzzzz Give me an imaginary dwarf over an imaginary playing card any day.

Pure Horror (Silent Hill type) I’m too scared to play them. I scream constantly, disturbing my spouse.

Resource Management These seem like some awful little mathematical torture game in disguise.

Sports I’ve never been a sport player or fan. I don’t mind watching others play.

Racing Hand eye coordination is not a thing for me. Thank God I can drive down a real road just fine. In these, I can’t control the car and I’m either bumping along the wall and can’t get off, or I speed off the road. Can’t make turns or jumps.

That Olde Chestnut…The Bartle Test

Every good gamer soul baring exercise must include The Bartle Test. How can you truly know your inner gamer if you haven’t been properly quizzed?
My spouse informed me that my result numbers added up to 200%. In order to be more accurate, I should slice each number in half. Sacrilege, right?

Below are the questions and my answers. I honestly was pleased as I was going along thinking I’m way more social these days, only to receive an extremely puny Socializer score. I am goal oriented, and I’m also, in games, something of a completionist, so I like my Achiever score. I’m really looking forward to Achievements in Classic Wrath. As with most of my time in Classic, I feel that I have the chance to do everything right this time. Getting all or most of the Achievements as they become available is an exciting prospect.

https://matthewbarr.co.uk/bartle/

I’m aware of course of the Gamer Motiviation Profile, but I think too many real life personal questions are asked. I understand it’s meant to be real analysis, as much as anything to do with having imaginary lives can be, but, nope.

https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/