The day finally came when I hated Farmville.

Is it Wednesday? I think I'm still away from computers and internet. Are you worried about me yet? Are you enjoying my mean-time posts? Have I lost all my readers? I promise some really exciting stuff when I get back, really! Will this post about me disliking Farmville make up for it?


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August 10th, 2010

The infatuation has ended and now it's just stupid.

8:46 AM  MIRANDA EUBANKS  3 COMMENTS

I think I may be finished with facebook games. I still accept and "return the favor" with regards to Farmville gifts, but I haven't tended to my farm in well over a month. I was enthusiastically playing Frontierville for about two months and now I just feel irritated every time I check on my land. Is it really necessary for five new trees to sprout in a two hour period? Is that really fair? Oh right, they don't want their players to have an semblance of a life.

Every time I check on my frontier lately I heave a deep sigh and think "what's the point? I'm not actually making any sort of progress". Unless I am on that game every hour (which I can't do, nor do I want to do it) then I am literally chopping down the same tree every single day. It's like the Greek king that has to roll the boulder up the hill for eternity. Just depressing.

I read an interesting article on cracked.com the other day about how and why Farmville (and other facebook games like it) is so successful. Reading the secrets unraveled the whole experience for me, which is a good thing. It gave me that extra push to realize I don't even enjoy playing those "games".

They were certainly addictive and fun at first, especially Farmville. You leveled up so easily, it was exciting. Saving money to expand your farm and finally getting that last nail to complete your barn. Now your horses have a place to life! Great. Well, I have reached the cap. My farm is just bursting with livestock and tilled land. It became mundane internet labor to harvest crops and animals. I'd log in after tending to my real life for a few days and I'd see all those freaking pink icons and feel stressed about how long it would take me to click on each horse, chicken, pig, etc. No thank you.

In a way I'm very proud of myself. I have a tendency to create some very serious emotional attachments to inanimate objects, virtual ones included. Those sheep can stay there, ready to be shaved, I don't even care anymore.

So now what do I do with my free internet time? I could be enriching myself, researching and learning. I was doing that a bit the other day, cruising through wikipedia and learning some new things on a basic level. My issue seems to be I don't know what to search for! A wealth of knowledge at my fingertips and I can't even type a word into the search box. Somebody help me! Any topics that are particularly good to read about when you're feeling bored? Or just looking for some mental enrichment?

I have also taken to listening to music on youtube. Had never even thought of this as a viable option before, but turns out it's a good one. I like to read though. Suggestions are welcome.

-MJ

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It's always exciting to play Dungeons and Dragons.

There's a chance that I still don't have computer or internet access. If that's the case then I'm really sorry, but more importantly I really miss all of you! How's it going? Has anything exciting been happening in my absence? We should be talking again soon. To pass the time, here's a favorite entry of mine about playing Dungeons and Dragons!


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June 26th, 2010

It finally happened!

12:19 PM  MIRANDA EUBANKS  1 COMMENT

The stars have finally aligned because Dungeons and Dragons is back in my life! I have wanted to play for over four years, ever since my original campaign was dissolved. My friends have never been interested in playing and even if they were I don't know how to DM. My friend Andrew is in town from California and he plays DnD, he knows that I'd like to get a campaign going. Too bad he lives in LA or else the two of us would be able to get something going. He suggested that while he's here we play as many times as we can, and I am all for that.

On Thursday night we started up a game with his brother and some of his brother's friends. It was fantastic fun! I played my human barbarian, a character that I rolled four years ago after my original character, an elf rouge, was murdered by a giant. I don't play a rouge well at all but I think I'm doing alright with my barbarian so far. We played for a good four and a half hours and I am anxious to play again!

Last night Andrew and I, with our powers combined, convinced Jake to join us for DnD adventures! We didn't play but we did make characters. I rolled one for our friend James just in case he can pop in and play with us. We spent a good two hours just making some characters and I had a pretty good time. Jake has never made it past the character making phase so I'm really excited to actually get to the campaign.

On Thursday night I found myself in a party of adventurers setting toward the forest. A blight had settled onto the forest via the magical water source, causing all flora to wither and all fauna to become deranged and violent.

We trekked toward the center of the forest, aiming for the main tree of life and the magical water's source. As we moved along we encountered an Owlbear, a black bear, a Tree Ent, and an unnamed evil vine being. Our evening wrapped up as we finally approached the main tree and we laid eyes upon the source: goblins!

Dun dun dunnnnn.

Most likely this campaign will not be continued, which is sad, but I'm hopeful that a new one will begin this very evening!

I have more that I want to say but my mind is incredibly scattered right now.

-MJ

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I've talked about this 'geek' thing before, apparently.

So long as I haven't been bitten by a snake, stabbed by a scorpion, or run into the cold desert night and gotten lost after encountering a tarantula during a late night pee session, then I'm still camping in Joshua Tree! Please pray for my safe return, and in the meantime enjoy this entry that I wrote a few years ago about the whole 'fake geek' thing. You can read my most current thoughts on the subject over here.


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June 5th, 2010

What's in a name? (That was lame)

2:14 PM  MIRANDA EUBANKS  11 COMMENTS

I realize that this blog is called "a bit of geek" and therefore what I'm about to write may seem hypocritical or counter-intuitive. This is a rant, a pet peeve irritation of mine. I do have a few specific people in mind but my "thoughts" have been applied to many situations so I'm being extremely general here. I think it's also worth noting that sometimes I myself do what irritates me in other places/people/things. Hopefully this is a sufficient enough disclaimer.

I cannot stand it when someone decidedly non-geeky declares themselves to be a geek, nerd, dork or what have you, especially when what they're "doing" that apparently calls for just such a label isn't even that fitting. I like what I do, this was covered in a previous post. If someone wants to call me a geek/nerd/dork because of my hobbies and lifestyle then whatever, fine. To my knowledge though, I don't run around declaring that everything I do is "so geeky" or, "I am just such a dork" or, "this is a nerdy thing to do". In general terms I try to just say what it is that I like or what I'm doing.

Right now I'm listening to the Ocarina of Time soundtrack.

I still haven't gotten dressed for the day because I want to keep reading the Penny Arcade archives.

Even though I'm finished with classes and I'll be graduating in just about a week, I still have final evaluations to write. I'd really rather play WoW and I've been wrestling all morning over whether or not I should do the right thing or the fun thing.

Yesterday I talked with a friend and classmate about how exciting it was to learn website coding.

This is my second or third post today on my dedicated "geeky" stuff blog. This is one of those situations where I can be called a hypocrite because I used the word geek in reference to myself. I accept that geek, along with dork/nerd, are viable words in many situations. In this case it acts as a very adequate catch-all for my delicious hobbies.

I don't want to qualify any of these statements by prefacing them with a phrase such as, "I know this is really dorky but..." and I don't want to end them with, "I'm such a nerd I know".

I will happily call my friends dorks and nerds and geeks when the situation warrants it. I have a great friend who is the president (and creator) of the Star Trek club at her University. What a dork, but man I love her and I think she's awesome. She does not go around screaming to the damn rooftops that she's a dork or whatever. She is who she is and she's awesome. It should also be noted that her boyfriend is president and creator of the Pokemon club at the same University. :D

My best friend does many nerdy things on a regular basis and I love when she tells me about it. She's in bed with her boyfriend and they're both playing Pokemon? She went to a convention dressed as Chun Li? They have more comic books than I can even count and she frequently goes "huurrr hurrrr"? I LOVE HER. I love telling her how much of a dork she is when these things occur.

These two great friends of mine are fine with who they are and they love their hobbies. Neither of them run around proclaiming their nerdiness.

It makes me happy to be able to crown these words on my beloved friends. I personally take pride when someone christens me as such. Again, I love my hobbies; it just feels wrong to self title.

When I was in junior high I was talking to a friend of mine, I forget the context of the conversation, and I said that I was a nice person. He looked at me for a second and then told me I couldn't really make that assertion, that it had to come from someone else. I could think I was nice, but until other people believed or agreed that I was a nice person, it didn't really mean anything. I remember thinking that this was extremely strange because I really did believe that I was a nice person. I still think I'm a nice person, even though I certainly have my not-so-nice moments. I'm pretty sure I see his angle though: Do self-proclaimed people have the same genuinity (that's not a word) as people that have been dubbed something by other people? This all is dependent on how that specific person feels about these labels though. I'm perfectly OK with someone saying that I have a lot of geeky hobbies or that I'm a total nerd about some things. That's fine, I would agree with that statement, in fact it makes me happy to think about someone saying it.

I am aware, though, that there are many many people who far surpass me in the geeky realm.

Did you ever know that random guy in junior high or high school who always talked about how "crazy" he was? No one ever told him he was crazy or wacky, but he sure liked to tell others that he was. He would do stupid shit and be like, "I'm so crazy I know". Everytime I see those shirts that have a computer wearing glasses with the words "Talk nerdy to me" I just want to scream.

Am I being elitist here? I'm not trying to be and now I find of feel bad. These thoughts are infecting me though, they need to be purged.

Mainly I get all riled up when I meet one person who has no hobbies related to this except for maybe they play Pokemon. Then they proceed to talk about how they're such a dork because they play Pokemon. Not that dorky, really. Or perhaps they really enjoy watching Youtube videos so suddenly they're a total computer nerd. No, no you really aren't.

Am I worried about posers? Geek posers? Yikes.

Maybe I can liken it to music enthusiasts. They're very particular about their bands and their scenes. They don't take very well to over rambunctious newcomers who claim their "title" right off the bat.

I think that's how I feel here. I think I feel a little better too. I could really use some feedback, if anyone would like to provide.

EDIT***

If someone just is a huge fucking dork, it doesn't bother me if they call themselves a dork. It's legitimate and it's true. It's not like people need my permission anyway, this is a rant afterall.

EDIT2**

I keep thinking of more things. I WANT to be a huge nerd, I just want to earn it. Does that make sense?

-MJ

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Throwback to World of Warcraft.

This week I'm out camping in Joshua Tree. It occurred to me belatedly that there's probably not going to be internet there, but even if there were, I don't know if I'd want to take my computer with me while camping. The point of camping is to be in the wilderness. To enjoy nature! To stay up all night terrified of scorpions, tarantulas and other horrible desert beasts. You know what? Maybe I won't go camping. But just in case I do, here's a backlog entry that I quite enjoy, so I'm sharing it again!


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June 4th, 2010.

Things did not end well for Yvanik.

12:06 AM  MIRANDA EUBANKS  4 COMMENTS

I'm a little irritated right now.

Currently, copious amounts of effort are being spent on getting my character to level 20. It would be really great to finally have a mount, what with all the walking that's required in WoW.

A lot of my adventuring tonight had me exploring new territories and attempting to find more flight paths to cut down traveling time. My mage is level 19, so so close to 20, and I've been feeling pretty good about her. I ventured down the coast west of The Crossroads to tackle a low level quest. I found myself at a fortress with all level 14 guards. I picked them off one by one with no issue. I guess what happened next was my fault, I was getting cocky.

Seeing as it was getting late, and time was drawing near for me to upload my 365 image, I thought it wise to find an Inn nearby and rest for the night; I could finish the quest tomorrow night.

What happened next? Well I will tell you.

Imagine young Yvanik the mage, wandering about the craggy ocean coast, exhausted from slaying so many guards, her core hound pup scurrying along behind her. She spots a lot of stranglekelp in the water, but it is heavily guarded by vicious giant blue beings, including one loch ness monster look-alike. "I must find an Inn", all other thoughts, including those of precious herbs, are pushed to the side.

Before too long she breaks new ground, discovers a new area. Rain begins to fall. The map shows that a new region has been entered. "There must be a town nearby". And then, I am being viciously murdered by a spider so huge that I didn't immediately register that it was a spider. Would you like to respawn? FINE.

Usually when I get my ass kicked the graveyard isn't very far away from my pathetic corpse. I was not so lucky this evening. For the first time since starting WoW about two weeks ago I chose to resurrect and take health and equipment damage. "It won't be that bad".

She finds herself in a swamp, the swampiest of swamps. She is far away from where she started, it is completely new territory. "There must be a town nearby".

Yvanik sets off down the path and not five steps in, a startlingly large crocodile... thing crawls out of the water to the left. "I'm on the path," the confident thought arose, "I'm safe over here".

This was yet another learning experience for me. That.. thing, which was so strong I couldn't even see its level, tore me to pieces in barely two attacks. I resurrected again and then used my stone to go back to The Crossroads.

My adventures in Azeroth were not particularly productive this evening. But boy did I learn a lot.

P.S. yesterday I made a new friend.

-MJ

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A Bit of Geek Episode 5!!

This is a preview for your preview. Enjoy!

It's here and it's time to watch!!

-MJ

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Destination: nerdy locales. What's yours?

Original image via UKresistance.

How many of you out there have been introduced to a new part of the world via video game, movie, book, comic book, etc., and then realized that you just had to visit it for yourself? I may have some eccentric thoughts, but I can't possibly be the only one who has felt this. Now, it would be easy to answer this with a simple, "But Pallet Town isn't real!" and yes, you would be correct, but I'm talking about real places in the real world, not amazing not-yet-real places in the potential world that are incredibly awesome that we all want to visit and if anyone tells you differently then they are liars for sure. Animal Crossing, anyone? Talking animals and breaking new ground in the archeological world every day? Please.

But back to my original thought.

Places that do exist that we are capable of visiting. What's yours? Mine is Scotland, and this is based entirely off of the incredible book series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Currently there are seven novels in the series, with an eighth in the works and a prequel planned. Gabaldon's scope, attention to detail, and narrative style are staggering. If you are a fan of time traveling historical fiction action adventure romance intensely detailed lots of pages tiny print, then this is the book series for you. Full disclaimer: the books contain sex. Apparently I didn't explain this adequately enough on previous occasions where I recommended the series.

I think at this point I have covered all the bases. Original image found here.

Moving right along! The majority of the series is set in 18th century Scotland, primarily the Highlands. Gabaldon describes locations with such detail and accuracy that citizens of Scotland would write to her asking when she had been in the area. At the time of her first book she had never actually been to Scotland, she was just excellent at researching. That may have something to do with her Science Ph.D. I hear that sort of thing requires a great amount of research and research skills. Now she travels to Scotland all the time.

The point is, she has made me desperate to visit Scotland. I was going to go after being in Ireland summer of 2010, but then some things happened and I didn't. It is very difficult to not dwell on this, so when I start to feel upset I just drink more whisky and pretend I'm in the Highlands with some kilted men.

(sadly) Not pictured: bearded men in kilts. Image via Whisky-Pages.com

I created a route that had me visiting Inverness, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. Inverness and Edinburgh play huge roles in the Outlander universe, but off the top of my head I can't recall if Glasgow is in there. Either way, I have big plans to visit a whisky factory, go to the castle in Edinburgh, find that wily Loch Ness monster, go on night time dungeon tours, see the site of the battle at Culloden, wander the cobblestone streets and pretend that I'm a lady of high class, and drink so much whisky that the locals think I belong with them.

Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Image via Beautifulplacestovisit.com

I want to frolic in the heather of the Highlands! I want to see those craggy, jutting rocks. I want to crest the peaks of rolling hills and reach the bottom of valleys. Within me there is an insane passion to see a new part of the world that wouldn't have existed with such heat and intensity if it weren't for Gabaldon's amazing literature.

Yes? Yes. Yes yes yes. Beautiful image found here.

Where do you want to go?

-MJ

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Hate mail influx for inclusion of gay relationships in Mass Effect and SWTOR.

Things as productive as hate mail: watching paint dry, counting the number of rice grains 

in a bag, pulling every single leaf off of a tree. Image via Slapupsidethehead.

Gamers want choices, reality, and open-ended worlds. The majority of all games (until very recently) were helmed by male protagonists, so any female gamers could just shut up and play as a dude. The first game I ever played where a female lead was an option was Harvest Moon: Magical Melody and I was so ecstatic. Nowadays all MMOs offer both male and female characters, and newer open-ended single player experiences are offering that as well, such as Mass Effect. There are still only a handful of games with just a lady at the forefront; a smattering of Resident Evil titles, Mirror's Edge, and Bayonetta are the first ones to come to mind.

So. Choices. Non-linear gameplay, reality, and options parallel to those in real life. Women have finally been given the option to play in familiar terrain, and games such as Fable, The Sims, Skyrim, and Mass Effect have taken it a step further and provided players the option of a love interest. Now, given that whole "do whatever you want in-game" thing that everyone is so wild about, doesn't it make sense to include homosexual options? YES. That is a resounding "yes".

Amazing image found via Lorehound.

EA has done just that, to the anger and dismay of homophobes everywhere, with their series Mass Effect. Since the most recent offering in the series released late last year there has been a constant growl of disapproval circulating the title, especially since this most recent iteration includes *gasp* gameplay footage of same-sex individuals together. Please note that this "footage" is men talking to one another while in their underwear. The horror! More sexy and exciting things happen in football locker rooms.

Who hasn't seen this at a beach? Image via Gossip Gamers.

Even though EA was voted the worst company of last year, they are being shone in a favorable light this last week as they responded to an influx of hate mail over their inclusion of same-sex romance options and plot lines in-game for Mass Effect 3 as well as their MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The haters and protestors continue to insist that the company is corrupting the youth, encouraging homosexuality, and is marketed at young children: BS line after BS line. While the ESRB may not be perfect, it is still fairly adequate at providing an at-a-glance answer as to whether or not a game is appropriate for a child. FOR INSTANCE! Mass Effect 3 is rated M for Mature. Mature, as in seventeen or over. Over seventeen as in nearly an adult. The ESRB provides more than just a letter rating though, they also give a description of the content that constitutes the letter rating. Mass Effect 3 is rated M for Mature for the following reasons: Blood, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence.

Are you actually telling me that those things are perfectly acceptable for your child, and the only thing that will cause that content to be inappropriate is a man loving a man, or a woman loving a woman?

Excuse me a moment.

Sir Ian McKellen makes everything better. Image via Sir Mitchell.

I hope it's no surprise that what this boils down to is the parent-child relationship, interaction, and how responsible the parent is in moderating and monitoring the child's recreational intake. When I worked at GameStop I sold a truly, disgustingly, unbelievable number of copies of GTA to parents who were openly purchasing it for their ten-years-of-age-or-younger children.

As a person with at least a smattering of moral responsibility (I have a very strong moral compass, just FYI), I felt angry and sickened each time this happened. I warned each and every parent that the content was extremely unsuitable for someone of such a young age, and 95% of the time I was greeted with a flippant hand flap and a casual remark that their, presumably unique, child was smart enough to understand that "it's just a game."

Right. Thanks. I was unaware that I worked in a game store.

Image via Alltheragefaces.com

This has become increasingly rant-y, and I'm apologizing for that. Not because I dislike rants, but because I didn't set out to create a rant.

It's true that parents should know their children, and if they truly believe that their seven year old is responsible, mature, and smart enough to understand that just because the gun-toting man in GTA is stealing cars and shooting cops, that doesn't mean that that's actually OK, then fine. But then don't have the audacity to turn around and blame gaming companies for "corrupting" your child because they continue to expand to all-inclusive reality by allowing gamers to pick a same-sex partner. The box says "sexual content". It's not the company's fault that you assumed that meant "straight people only".

-MJ

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Is technology making me lonely? I think not.

She looks unwillingly alone, but really she's reading embarrassing fanfic.

Image via College Candy

Lately I've read a few articles covering online socialization and how it affects offline interactions. One write up over at Lifehacker had the author asking the readers how often they use the internet to stage in-person gatherings. This piece over at i09 sites a TED talk about smart phones and constant connectivity making us lonelier.

I disagree on a personal level with a lot of the points in the TED talk, such as the claim that smart phones are "replacing the intimacy of face-to-face conversation with online connectedness." - i09 From a purely technical standpoint online connections do replace intimate face-to-face conversations, but out of pure necessity. I don't live face-to-face distance from everyone I know. I'm in a different state than the rest of my family. If I want to connect with them at all, it has to be online/over the phone. But that in no way has replaced my need for intimate, face-to-face connections.

Since moving to California I have experienced a strange kind of loneliness. I'm here to chase my dreams, cliche as that may sound, and it has taken me away from almost everyone and everything that I know. My computer and my phone keep me close to everyone that I moved away from, and when the internet goes down I feel something akin to panic. I'm suddenly isolated, completely alone and cut off from everyone in the entire world. This isn't a new loneliness though, it's one that has existed for all people that moved away from home prior to cellphones and internet.

I absolutely rely on my smart phone. It goes wherever I go and it does lend me comfort. This comfort resides in knowing that my friends and family are only a phone call or a text away. I regularly use Google chat to carry on conversations, but even that doesn't satisfy the need for in-person communication and connection. Am I alone in this? Does anyone out there actually feel satisfied with an instant message exchange?

Simultaneously a fantastic and horrible invention.

Original image via Arvind

However, there's another point in this TED talk that really irks me: Sherry Turkle claims that now people have "feelings in order to share them" as opposed to having feelings simply for the sake of feeling...? According to her, the increased connectivity and myriad of communication outlets online has changed our basic human reaction of experiencing feelings into a need to experience feelings just so we can share them. Perhaps there's a nugget of scientific truth buried somewhere in there, but here's the thing: for me, I have feelings just as much as I always have, and now I have more ways to reach out and share those experiences with other people.

Everyone wants to know that they're not alone. We all want to find someone and ask "have you felt this before?" I think it's great that we have more ways to do that.

We need one another; we need to share and talk and socialize. The author of the i09 article eloquently states that humans are a social being. "Our technology is making us poignantly aware of a loneliness that has been with us all along" is a quote from her that I just love. There's no new loneliness happening, we're only becoming more aware of it.

Technology has changed my life in so many ways, and I believe it's all for the better. It was a less frightening decision to move away from home knowing that I can A. call B. text C. email D. video chat E. instant message anyone that I miss. But I'm still lonely. My smart phone isn't making me lonely, I made myself lonely. Perhaps the real "issue" here is that when we're on our phones and we're connected everywhere we feel that much closer to people, so when we don't have that access we inversely feel that much lonelier. Isn't it similar with highs and lows? The higher the high, the lower the following low will be?

Turkle touches on many larger and important topics such as youths preferring texting over talking, teenagers being uncertain as to how they can have a real-time conversation, and the advent of robots being invented in order to listen to humans talk. Those are valid concerns for sure, but I maintain that my phone isn't the cause of my loneliness. She also says that because we're so used to getting so much from technology that we come to expect less from people. The opposite has happened for me: because of the constant connectivity I expect that my friends and family will be more available and more talkative.

"Are you coming over for Game of Thrones night or not?! I need 

to know how much bean dip to buy!" Image via Brainfroze

How many of you out there feel frustrated and exasperated when someone won't reply to a text message or answer their phone? We know that people are never without their phones, so how can they be unavailable? I feel that Turkle has forgotten that part.

Does your technology make you feel lonely? Do you regularly prefer to be alone, or would you pick an evening with your friends over a night of text exchanges? Perhaps I'm just a crotchety old timer who can remember the days before internet and smart phones. Get off my lawn.

-MJ

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The value and challenge of side quests in-game.

I recently came across this great article on side quests over at Gameranx. In it the author makes the claim that side quests nowadays are boring, uninventive, and do little to add to the overall experience of a game. He points out the potentially large value that side quests can lend, and he sites Majora's Mask as the perfect example.  It is true that Majora's Mask presented a very unique and engaging array of side quests, especially considering the constant time restraints.

There's a challenge for me in commenting on side quests, because when I was much younger I didn't care for them. I didn't understand their presence in a game and always did my best to ignore them. It wasn't until I was much older that I grew to appreciate their existence, and also to understand why they were in the game in the first place.

The first game where I acknowledged side quests was in Ocarina of Time. It was a universe that I cared about, so the quests lent understandable sense to the main story. There weren't many, but, for instance, the long arc to achieving Biggoron's Sword was incredibly fun. Minish Cap was the first game where I was excited by the side quests. Many fans complained that Minish Cap was too short, and compared to traditional Zelda titles it was, but it offered so much in the way of exploration that I feel it was more than acceptable. Who else absolutely loved the kinestones? I found it to be a great mechanic to encourage exploration of the world.

The author of the Gameranx article points out that the reason side quests are so great in Majora's Mask is that the game doesn't hold your hand through the process. Your success or failure depends entirely on your sleuthing skills. There are no indicators on the map, no sign posts telling you where to go for the next step. This is a reason that I actually disliked them; they were incredibly difficult. I wanted to be able to accomplish them, which was not a simple task. Add in the constant three day restart cycle and you had an equation for a game that made me want to flip over tables.

Items consumed in addition to everything: my sanity.

Image via Kyandi.tumblr

I never finished Majora's Mask.

But, he has a point! Even though that aspect frustrated me to no end it was still fantastic. Everyone remembers what it's like to discover something new, right? Find a secret, crack a code, get past a particularly difficult hurdle. Most game side quests take away the triumph and accomplishment and add little to the overall experience.

There needs to be a balance though. Video games appeal to a wide range of ages, experience levels, and interests. I believe that developers such as Nintendo have the right idea in adding "helpers" in case the player is having a particularly difficult time. In NSMB for the Wii, if you fail to complete a level a certain number of times in a row then you have the option of calling on Luigi to show you how to survive to the flagpole. There's a similar mechanic in Super Mario 3D Land, where, again, if the player repeatedly fails a level then they're given a helpful power-up to get them through the difficult aspects and to the flagpole at the end.

An ever comical and poignant take on the situation by Penny Arcade.

These helpers are entirely optional and, in my eyes, are added simply to cover the wide range of player types and ultimately to help everyone have as much fun as they can at a game. Isn't that the point? Games frequently incorporate some form of helping/hinting system for the main story line, but I can't think of it happening that often for side quests. I sometimes think of returning to my Majora's Mask file and tackling some of the side quests, because I know that they are well done and worth playing. I also know that they're going to be incredibly difficult and I'll spend a lot of time attempting the same thing over and over again because there won't be any indicators for what I need to do next.

Really it comes down to playing styles. I'm the kind of person that appreciates a little help and nudge in the right direction. Others would rather figure out everything for themselves and damn any help that is offered up. Of course, even though I prefer help, I can agree without hesitation that no one should be led by hand. That takes out the fun and satisfaction. Let people think for themselves and experience the game on their own.

What about you? Do you partake in side quests? Do you wish they were more like Majora's Mask, or do you prefer hints and help?

-MJ

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