Category: Uncategorized

(Late) Thursday Media Review: Eco

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: I was referred to this game by a friend of mine. He is a streamer and no way was part of the development of the game. My review may contain spoilers to the game.






When people look at survival or building games, everyone thinks of Minecraft or games like Ark: Survival Evolved that show up on people’s radar. Though you kinda wonder how the environment would react to those changes? Ever wondered what happened to Minecraft’s world if you leveled all those trees or wiped out the wolves and cats? Well, you have one game that can show you that outcome. I was recommended this game by an RL friend of mine and Twitch Streamer AznablZ. Created by the indie company Strange Loop Games and released early on February 6th, 2018, Eco is a game that shows the ecological damage players might do to a virtual world.

Brief Story and Gameplay

Eco doesn’t have much of a story, but the objective is explained through the in-game tutorial. A meteor is threatening the world. You and several other people must cooperate by using the resources the world provides; however you must be careful not to pollute or exploit too much of the resources to avoid any ecological damage. Will you save the world from the meteor without damaging it, or will man do more harm than the meteor?

You start out with the character creation screen, and you set out in this world with no intro cinematic or anything. However, you’re given a tutorial that teaches you the basics of the game. Gameplay-wise, Eco’s resource harvesting doesn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Axes are used to harvest trees, pickaxes are used to mine rocks, the hoe is used to till the soil, and a bow to hunt and kill animals for food. However, it takes energy to dig and make things, and wooden tools don’t last long, and you need a balanced diet to gain experience. The game adds a way around this through a job system that adds some flair or perks.

An example is that the Cooking profession allows you to cook better quality food, vital to maintaining a balanced diet and using fewer reagents. Building jobs like masonry or carpentry enables you to make furniture or items from specific materials. Some like Farming and Gathering lets you create larger yields of crops, and Butchery can help you harvest more animals. Though you don’t have to master EVERY skill, form trade deals through money, trade, or anything socio-political to offset that problem. Heck, you can simply be an eco-villain from Captain Planet and just pollute the world if you want to.

Ecological Beauty: What makes the game great

One aspect I do like about how the game works are the fundamental aspect of the world. It’s a virtual world similar to Earth with some various aspects than the blocky part of Minecraft. Another thing I do like is the game’s environmental message and the consequences of what you do. If you cut down too many trees, it can cause some issues like CO2 buildup. Dump tilings in water, and you can contaminate the waterline and thus kill all the plant life. Hunt too many animals, and you might lead a species to go extinct. The Political and Governmental aspect also plays a vital role in cooperation as you are encouraged to work together than killing each other for loot or PVP prestige. Lastly, some of the servers do have some exciting communities that focus on city-building roleplaying. It gives it a good vibe and gives a bit more flavor to digging and building things. The one thing I really love is the professions you gain while you play the game. Each specialty gives a special perk, and with combinations, you can become self-sufficient or a supplier for other people.

Meteor Crashes: What the Game Lacks

Though fun as it is, the game has some significant issues that may make the game unfun. One such example is that the game relies on cooperation, so you’re putting your faith into people who might refuse to cooperate or simply let the world burn. Another problem is that there aren’t many dedicated US servers that host the games here. This is due to most official servers being hosted in Europe. This causes massive latency issues, and that running the servers does require some heavy hardware to prevent latency issues. Another problem with the game is that it can be overwhelming for new players, with things like experience, professions, nutrient balance, and even farming could be a pain in the butt. Lastly, the game sadly does have some bug issues due to it being in Early Releases, like vanishing dead animals or cars falling through ceilings.

Fun Fact

The game was not intended to grace Steam. In fact,  was initially made to grace the computers of middle schools to teach the importance of environmentalism. Strange Loop got assistance from both the University of Illinois and The US Department of Education for the game’s development and funding. Also, the game borrowed inspiration from games like Minecraft, Rust, and even Eve Online for things like building, construction, and player social dynamics.

Conclusion

If you want to have some fun building stuff and learning what effect it has or just an RPer who wants to have some fun doing things, I recommend Eco to you and your friends. It’s a nice change of pace if you’re into building stuff like Rust or Minecraft without the player v player annoyance.

Links/Sources

Tuesday Mumbles: Remakes

Note: The following information being written will be based on my opinion. Do not take any offense to them if you hold them to heart

Happy Tuesday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

There’s always the sweetness of a nostalgic reminiscent of something of my childhood, though that’s been years ago. Now there’s a new trend by the late 2010s and up to 2020s where older shows have been given a remake or reboot. Now some remakes are pretty good such as the Homeward Bound movies, the 2017 remake of Beauty and The Beast and even the 2019 Aladdin and Lady and The Tramp movies. Those are good and I enjoy those the best, but what gets me annoyed is that when people want to remake certain shows or things that don’t need to be remade.

“What do you mean we don’t need things that need to be remade?” is something you may ask. Some shows like the Powerpuff Girls remake or the not so good Disney remakes like Mulan or The Lion King which tries to go for pure memory but fails to attract that with high budget that backfires or straying too far off from the message or just plain was written by people who didn’t know the source material and heavily deviated from it. When you try to remake it, either try to be faithful to the source or try to ensure it’s close to it. Tiny deviations and some changes can be done though too much can be alienated such as a villain’s origin that didn’t have one in the original.
Though some movie remakes end up butchering everything except the title of the movie. One such example is the 2012 remake of Total Recall, which felt like it wasn’t the 1990s version I used to watch. No reference to Mars, no questioning of what is real and definitely no mutants or Arnold. It’s frustrating when they remake stuff I grew up and not even giving any possible aspects of it. It felt like it was Total Recall in name only.

As I mentioned, not every remake is bad but not everything needs a remake. In fact..i’m reminded of a quote from Pet Sematary (Ironically a movie that was remade as well). If you can’t remake a movie or series properly, don’t bother rebooting it or remaking it or whatever. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!

Friday Fan Work: Touring the Cosmic Bar & Media Review Poll

Happy Friday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin.
The bad news is again..no media Review. However the good news is that I have made a voting poll here of four choices. Just a tough choice but I’d like to hear what you’d like to see me review.

Anyway, here’s an oldie I found for you all to read. It’s a poem I made that is a bit based from my sci-fi universe. So sit back, relax and enjoy this villanelle with your favorite snack or drink

Villanelle: Touring the Cosmic Bars

People have their various means of having their kicks
From traveling to alien beaches or viewing books
Though for me, I have my own tricks

I like to travel through the stars
but not for interplanetary sights or alien cooks
I prefer to hop every intergalactic pub or bar

One bar I visited was in the sticks
Relia was the planet’s name
It wasn’t popular with its style or looks
Though I do got to say they know how to brew their drinks

Another bar was in Tragga, which looked like a lot like the pics
Their Bar had the an upper class look
However, when it came to their drinks, it wasn’t fit for a bar

The last bar I visited, Acheron was its name
an interesting place that wowed me on looks
however, I found myself falling for their tricks
and woke up outside in an alleyway in the bar

villanelleDownload

Tuesday Mumbles: Autism in Media/Hollywood Autism

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my own opinion. If you feel offended or triggered by my articles, do not take them personal.

Happy Tuesday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

When I posted my poem from college “Ode to Asperger’s“, I got some comments from people who managed to say they empathized with the poem. I have to say to those people thank you on that. This time, we’ll talk about something that I’ve been hearing about from time to time: The portrayal of Autism in media.
Folks are a bit curious in what ya boy’s talking about? Well I’ll tell you I’m not ragging on autistic people in media, but more how media portray autistic people better known as “Hollywood Autism”. Whether they’re good or bad, they can become annoying when folks use those as the typical examples. This is something personal for me because ya boy here, is a high-functioning autistic (also known as Asperger’s Syndrome) and I’ve seen media portray autism as those types of stereotypes.

First, I’m sure you’re wondering “What’s wrong with portraying autistic people in a positive light?” Nobody has a problem with that, unless it’s a positive stereotype is favorable beliefs held about a specific group (eg. Asians being skilled in math). For Autism, that’s the “savant stereotype” that portrays autistic folks as some super genius. Such examples of that trope can be found in movies like Rain Man, where Dustin Hoffman’s character Raymond is autistic and able to be a master mathematician. Another example that really is stretching it is portrayed in the movie The Predator in which the character Rory McKenna not only is able to decipher the Predator’s tech and alphabet, but its hinted that it’s an evolutionary benefit. Seriously?! What kind of crap is that?! They think that because people are autistic that they are all super geniuses? Not every autistic person’s a savant and I can bet not every autistic person can master a language that fast. Though there is another trope and stereotype that exists and boy does it it get ya boy angry.

The second, and more common that irks me is what I would call the “Mongoloid” trope. In some media, it portrays them as someone with the mental capacity of a child but with the body of an adult (even as strong or stronger) which usually ends up making them more pitied and makes the belief that autistic people cannot live a functional life regardless of the situation. One such example of this is the character Lennie from Of Mice and Men. The portrayal of the character ends up having his own unknown strength that harms animals and people. The next example I found was from a movie called The Black Balloon, a film made in 2018. Charlie Mollison is portrayed as very autistic as he does things commonly portrayed such as inappropriate behavior in situations and meltdowns. Though not really trying to portray this bad, it ends up making the character pitied than treated as anyone. Though this trope can be a bit disturbing and can end up viewing those on the spectrum as helpless and unable to be productive in society.

By now, you’re asking me “so is there any good portrayals or should we just give up?”
I would say that maybe it’s not as easy to portray autism. I mean, you do have some portrayals in media that show autistic people that’s not the Hollywood variant. It’s varies from person to person and isnt’ something that is typical between people. After All, that’s why it’s called the autism “spectrum” for a reason. However, there are some good examples that show autistic characters that are not the Hollywood variant. Such examples varies between media, but Julia from Sesame Street to Billy from the 2017 Power Rangers movie I and many others out there found to be good examples. It may take some time (and a fine comb) to find that good medium that portrays autism neither as some next step in human evolution or some curse that makes us unproductive in society. Also, as a person on the spectrum as well, I would love to see media portray autistic people as no different than anyone else out there. I can guarantee ya boy’s not some next step in human evolution or a drain on society. Ya boy’s still gonna be ya boy.

Tuesday Mumble: Insurrection

Written by TheChoujinVirus

Note: The following is based on my opinion, so do not get touchy about it. Also, this is a VERY touchy subject for ya boy here, so again..don’t take things personal

Why Happy Thursday, everyone, today, it’s ya boy Choujin here.

Everyone’s been hearing about the situation that happened on the 6th of January. I know this happened as it all went down on my birthday. To explain to you what’s been going on, some people who were pissed off from the results of the election decided the best option was to stage a coup on the US capitol building. The development of it has led to the mess we’re seeing and all the other stuff that makes me sick to my stomach (and I’m not joking.) It’s really sickening to watch this shit in real-time and having the audacity to call themselves patriots. It’s really sickening…

The first thing you see is that there was little to no security (in fact, there was some talk that law enforcement allowed them to walk in, and some were sympathetic to the causes). This is the kind of crap that shouldn’t have been allowed (that and it should have been screened and the place more prepared.) Another thing was that certain people within OUR government began to fan and prod their attack dogs into some kind of frenzy. All for the belief that their president will get a second term. However, the same dogs also were planning to hang you for “Selling out.” So not really a smart move right there and a really dumb move when you want to defend someone who will sell you down the river for his own personal beliefs.

The next thing is the double standards seen by the “patriots.”. In one moment, you see the protestors call for “hanging Mike Pence,” then after the whole thing, they begin to scream peace and unity after this entire thing. I’m sorry but what the what?! I’m supposed to give mercy to you because your stupidity got battered? To quote Optimus Prime:

” You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!”

Not only that, but they commonly resort to lying in hopes of defending themselves from this blunder. These things like “It was ANTIFA/BLM That stormed the basis,” “it was a heat of the moment,” or my personal favorite excuse “I was only doing with Trump told me.” All of that being pure cowardice that they do because they came off as a childish temper tantrum. Though I have to admit, I’ve seen more excuses during the Nuremberg Trials.

So what do ya boy want to bring up? Well, let’s say ya boy here isn’t someone who supports open treason against the government through this. Sure he may hate the orange lard-butt, but I wouldn’t encourage violent overthrowing of the government for that stuff. As for those who openly say this..let me just say this as my final word…

Thanks for listening, and keep yourself safe out there.

Friday Fan-Work: Overprotective Papa

Happy Friday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin!

Today’s a good day as I managed to find an old thumbdrive that held some of my older work, work I never expected would be found. Best of all, that means more older work I can share with you all.

To start off the new year, I’ve got plans to share a poem I wrote in my college years. Something silly but something you will enjoy. So sit back, grab a treat and a drink and enjoy.

Overprotective Papa

Remember that time when I scared
that boyfriend of yours
as I pulled out
my pistol
in front of him?
I did that to remind him
on whose daughter
he was dating
and what would happen
If something bad happened to you

You might get mad at me
whenever I scare your boyfriends
or remind them on who I am.
I do this because I love you,
though you might like what
I am doing for you.
It might suck seeing your dad
scaring your suitors shitless,
but you’ll thank me later
when you’re not knocked up.

overprotective-papaDownload

Tuesday Mumbles: Hyper-Competitive

Written By TheChoujinVirus

Note: the following are based on my own opinions, so don’t take offense to these views if you feel they conflict with yours.

Happy Thursday everyone, it’s ya boy Choujin here.
Welcome to 2021. New years and new mumbles to argue about. With Covid-19 still around, ya boy’s been playing games and such. One day, a friend of mine on World of Warcraft brought up a discussion that gets ya boy: Hyper-competitiveness.
Now, what is hyper-competitive? To summarize it and not get into something of a dictionary definition, hyper-competitiveness is more or less when people obsess over getting the top score or anything, all while taking the fun out of things due to that obession.
Before we continue with this, I want to remind people that I’m not chastising anything related to competitions or those striving for it. I’m against the hypercompetitive nature that can kill the fun in general, whether competitive or casual. For those who strive for the best, do not take this article as ya boy attacking you. This is the unfortunate side effect that it may bring out in some people

The first thing that I’ve seen in this problem is hypercompetitiveness is the overuse of “cookie cutters,” and meta builds. Basically, folks who copy either a top winning deck, team loadout, or composition just to get wins, which is annoying as sin. The thing is, these people don’t do this to get to the top but rather use this as a way to get easy wins in a lower tier. Now, ya boy has used cookie cutters to better understand how things work (Pokemon, etc.) So you can know how the deck works and maybe get a feel of it. However, when some folks go out of their way just so they can win in casual based things, it becomes a buzzkill. Nobody wants to deal with that in a non-competitive format and just want to play for fun. Just because you saw some guy at a Yugioh tournament use a top meta deck. You want to use it, that’s fine by you, but that’s going to cost you a ton of respect, and don’t be surprised when you don’t have others to play with you. Some folks like to play with a gimmicked deck that may be fun with people. Not everyone using a cookie-cutter may be doing this for an easy win: some may be trying to get a feel of the deck, and maybe they could like how it feels. It’s a bit confusing, but some folks want to have fun and not copycat the winning decks.

Another example that sometimes happens is when this becomes the “Only way to play a game,” which can agitate those who feel that a casual bout becomes vital. To return back to my old mumbling about Gatekeeping, this can become annoying. Especially when there are multiple ways to beat the game. Now, I’m not saying that an optimal choice is the only choice, but more when THIS way is the ONLY way to play a game. For example, when I was playing World of Warcraft, which began this conversation, I recalled how some people who play Mythic+ Dungeons (which are dungeons with a timer to beat). Those things have been known to make you have a group that requires specific professions, classes, or both. That is if you’re one of those groups trying to break world records.  The thing is that most of it is used for lower levels (e.g., Mythic+5) when it’s more useful for those gunning in the 20s. It creates an annoying gatekeep that makes joining harder and forces people to roll that or be forced not to be that way. Shadowlands does have that with covenant choices, but that’s another story for another time.

       Though I’ve seen other ways to this, it becomes a bit toxic when people will berate others who don’t play this way. Again, we return to Warcraft and how it’s tough to join groups (or even form groups) if you’re not at a specific parameter or just doing a chill run. Things get really..really dicey and pretty annoying. Especially with random groups. Though this isn’t limited to this as well, as sometimes it extends beyond WoW and in things like Pokemon where some folks will get really competitive when it comes to specific rulesets and metas that they’ll follow with a passion. Not knocking on that, but some folks wouldn’t mind having some plain fun but don’t throw a fit if people don’t play Smogon rulesets or VCGs and just want to have some fun.

                So what do ya boy suggest in this situation? All I can do is simply don’t become hyper-competitive when it comes to some casual aspects. It’s okay to chase that challenge if you want and how you do it but don’t berate people if they don’t want to do it that way. Remember that folks are different and have their own ways. Lastly, one big thing folks need to know whether it’s a card game, video game, or just any sports in general…

IT’S JUST A GAME!

If you don’t think about this..then…as I always say…

So with that, that’s ya boy’s issue with this hyper-competitive nature. Folks should be free to play the game they want to (within the rules, of course) but not berating those who seek casual fun or pure competition. Let people have their fun and enjoy things how it is.