About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)
In this game you manage a horse-breeding farm set in a fantasy surrounding. The game enables you to breed legendary horses such as Pegasus, Unicorn, Fire-steed, Ice-steed and Demon-steed. You can buy over 700 objects during the game. Make all kinds of horseshoes as well as lots of magical potions for your horses. If they are exhausted or ill, you are able to cure and look after them. Your horses and colts need lots of care and that’s the way they recover their strengths. You can train your horses on four different fields in five levels of difficulty. You can even breed them in order to have more talented horses. Different horse races help you to gather 25 kinds of cups and you can send your horses to complete 30 exciting missions.
Previous Play Time
0 hours
Prior Experience
None, this game was bought for me by a friend (thanks Jared), when he heard I was offering to play any game. The description from the Steam Store page is the extent of my knowledge. I decided, after my underwhelming reaction to Ride to Hell (belated "thanks," Travis) that I was going to try going into these challenge games unspoiled, so as to get a more natural reaction to the material. Naturally, one can't avoid a certain amount of pop-culture osmosis, but Secret of the Magic Crystals appears to be low profile enough that I don't have to worry.
Expectations
Honestly, I'm optimistic. I suspect that this game was chosen due to the apparent absurdity of a grown man playing a game about ponies. Plus, the (presumably) main horse-breeding mechanic sounds less than action packed. Yet it would be a mistake to underestimate my appetite for whimsy or my tolerance for tedium. As long as the underlying mechanics are solid and any necessary repetition is rewarded with measurable, if incremental progress, I could see myself falling in love with this game.
Then again, Jared my be a more savvy sadist than I'd imagined, and this could all blow up in my face. My optimism is not unalloyed with suspicion.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Skyrim Wrap Up
I'm done. I finished the main quest, defeated Alduin, and saved Tamriel from certain doom. There's more to do, obviously. I could become Skyrim's greatest bard, or assassinate the emperor, or decide the civil war in favor of the Stormcloaks. I could ignore all that and explore caves, slay dragons, and deliver packages. I could build houses and collect books. I can sink so deep into the world, I'll never want to come out.
But I won't. Sixty-one hours are enough. If I had to choose one game for the rest of my life, Skyrim would be a great candidate, but fortunately (?) I am not in that position. I don't have just one game. I have 77, the majority of which I've never played. As much as I enjoyed Skyrim, I have to leave it behind. Otherwise, I'd never get anything done.
It's funny, when I was young, and playing games like Final Fantasy II (nee IV), and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, it would not have occurred to me to even wish for a game like the Elder Scrolls series. I didn't have a lot of games, and the ones I loved I never wanted to end, but if you could have conveyed the sheer scope of these games, I think I'd have dismissed your specifications as pure pie-in-the-sky-whimsy. In my deepest heart, I'd have wanted these games, but I wouldn't have believed they were possible (or maybe I would have, I could be a credulous kid at times).
It never occurred to me to ponder the burden of abundance. I played Skyrim for 61 hours, a respectable total for any game, and yet the thought of leaving now fills me with a vague kind of guilt. There's so much left undone. To turn my back on it feels like a waste. Yet contemplating the enormity of the task of seeing all of Skyrim is enough to make me despair.
How is it possible, in a world where the Elder Scrolls games exist, to be "a video game hobbyist?" Does not every conceivable accomplishment now come with an asterisk? *But he's only played about 40% of Skyrim. Maybe it would be better to be completely ignorant of the existence of such a thing, so as to enjoy more humble endeavors in innocence?
Nah, that's stupid. I've experienced deprivation and I've experienced prosperity, and I'll take too much over not enough any day. Yet it is important, I think, to remember that I am, indeed, privileged. Even though, thanks to sales and discounts, I've probably spent about 300$ total on all my Steam games, that's still 300$ more than a lot of people have, and the games themselves use technology that wouldn't have been available 20 years ago at any price.
I can't promise that I won't continue to wax melancholy about the ennui of modern life as filtered through the lens of popular video games, however, I will at least try and do so with humility and good humor. I think I owe it to everyone who ever dumped 200+ hours into an unworthy 8-bit game because it was the only one they had.
But I won't. Sixty-one hours are enough. If I had to choose one game for the rest of my life, Skyrim would be a great candidate, but fortunately (?) I am not in that position. I don't have just one game. I have 77, the majority of which I've never played. As much as I enjoyed Skyrim, I have to leave it behind. Otherwise, I'd never get anything done.
It's funny, when I was young, and playing games like Final Fantasy II (nee IV), and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, it would not have occurred to me to even wish for a game like the Elder Scrolls series. I didn't have a lot of games, and the ones I loved I never wanted to end, but if you could have conveyed the sheer scope of these games, I think I'd have dismissed your specifications as pure pie-in-the-sky-whimsy. In my deepest heart, I'd have wanted these games, but I wouldn't have believed they were possible (or maybe I would have, I could be a credulous kid at times).
It never occurred to me to ponder the burden of abundance. I played Skyrim for 61 hours, a respectable total for any game, and yet the thought of leaving now fills me with a vague kind of guilt. There's so much left undone. To turn my back on it feels like a waste. Yet contemplating the enormity of the task of seeing all of Skyrim is enough to make me despair.
How is it possible, in a world where the Elder Scrolls games exist, to be "a video game hobbyist?" Does not every conceivable accomplishment now come with an asterisk? *But he's only played about 40% of Skyrim. Maybe it would be better to be completely ignorant of the existence of such a thing, so as to enjoy more humble endeavors in innocence?
Nah, that's stupid. I've experienced deprivation and I've experienced prosperity, and I'll take too much over not enough any day. Yet it is important, I think, to remember that I am, indeed, privileged. Even though, thanks to sales and discounts, I've probably spent about 300$ total on all my Steam games, that's still 300$ more than a lot of people have, and the games themselves use technology that wouldn't have been available 20 years ago at any price.
I can't promise that I won't continue to wax melancholy about the ennui of modern life as filtered through the lens of popular video games, however, I will at least try and do so with humility and good humor. I think I owe it to everyone who ever dumped 200+ hours into an unworthy 8-bit game because it was the only one they had.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 50 hours
I CAN'T STOP PLAYING THIS GAME!
This is actually getting kind of ridiculous. Everywhere I go, there is something to see or do. The scenery in Skyrim is so spectacular that I might be inclined to delve through caves and climb mountains even if there were no treasure to be found or monsters to be fought. And it's shocking how invested I'm getting in the various plots and character dramas, considering that most quests in this game are totally on rails (or have, at most, a single branching decision).
When will it end? How deep does this rabbit hole go? I feel like I could spend 100 hours with this game and walk away satisfied. Yet, I kind of miss this blog, and though I do not have a great deal of anticipation for Secret of the Magic Crystal, I do enjoy the challenge of stretching my gaming comfort zone.
I have to at least finish the main quest, though. I can't leave it undone. According to the wiki, I'm just at the end of Act one (of three), which is kind of a sobering thought, but I don't anticipate this taking another 100 hours. A lot of my time, thus far, has been spent chasing various side-quests (I'm almost the arch-mage of the College of Winterhold), so I think, if I buckle down and do it, I should be back to working my way through my Steam Library in no time at all (although, the town of Morthal is the scene of a mysterious fire that could be arson . . .)
This is actually getting kind of ridiculous. Everywhere I go, there is something to see or do. The scenery in Skyrim is so spectacular that I might be inclined to delve through caves and climb mountains even if there were no treasure to be found or monsters to be fought. And it's shocking how invested I'm getting in the various plots and character dramas, considering that most quests in this game are totally on rails (or have, at most, a single branching decision).
When will it end? How deep does this rabbit hole go? I feel like I could spend 100 hours with this game and walk away satisfied. Yet, I kind of miss this blog, and though I do not have a great deal of anticipation for Secret of the Magic Crystal, I do enjoy the challenge of stretching my gaming comfort zone.
I have to at least finish the main quest, though. I can't leave it undone. According to the wiki, I'm just at the end of Act one (of three), which is kind of a sobering thought, but I don't anticipate this taking another 100 hours. A lot of my time, thus far, has been spent chasing various side-quests (I'm almost the arch-mage of the College of Winterhold), so I think, if I buckle down and do it, I should be back to working my way through my Steam Library in no time at all (although, the town of Morthal is the scene of a mysterious fire that could be arson . . .)
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
My Post-Skyrim Agenda
I'm taking a brief (1-3 week) break from this blog to finish playing Skyrim. Well, not finish finish, but at least do the main quest and a couple of guild quests, and a few of the more prominent and interesting side quests. If you want to follow along, here is a link to my rpg.net thread on the subject.
When I return, I will play Secret of the Magic Crystal, and hopefully, after that, I will avoid long series for awhile so I can get through more games (Fallout, when it comes, is going to be a hoot, though).
When I return, I will play Secret of the Magic Crystal, and hopefully, after that, I will avoid long series for awhile so I can get through more games (Fallout, when it comes, is going to be a hoot, though).
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 20/20 hours
I've now spent 20 hours with Skyrim and 20 hours with Oblivion and 20 hours with Morrowind, and I have to say - 60 hours with the Elder Scrolls series passes really, really fast. I don't know how to describe the sensation of playing it except to say that, after you've been playing awhile, there comes a point when the world just seems to matter. You have a list of places to go and people to talk to, and each of them has a problem and a reward, and you start to feel like you can solve those problems, and that the rewards will genuinely help you. Or, maybe, you just want to see what would happen.
So you go to one more cave, or talk to one more NPC, or grind up one more skill, and suddenly, an hour has passed, and you can't really account for it, but it doesn't matter, because there is still more to see and do and learn.
For example, the Elder Scrolls games have, in addition to the normal gamey-type stuff (monsters, dungeons, magic spells, etc) a whole internal literature. Dozens (or perhaps hundreds) of books you can pick up and read, which range from "non-fiction" that tells about the setting's history or its religions' theology, to less serious fare, like riddles or jokes. There is even, in Bleak Falls Barrow (near the beginning of the game), a fantasy novel. As in, some person in the Elder Scrolls universe decided that they wanted to write a piece of fiction about a beggar who had a series of adventures and became a king, and nothing in the book has anything to do with the game's real history, but it was included purely as an example of what people in the setting consumed as entertainment.
It's like there's no bottom. It's like, no matter how much you play, there's always more. Every time I play Skyrim, I tell myself that this is going to be the time that I finally finish my book collection. I promise myself that I will grab one copy of each of the game's insane number of books, and I will read them all. Yet, if I've actually read even a tenth of the available literature, I will eat my controller. There's just so much of it, and there's never really a lull in your character's schedule, where sitting down and reading a book seems like a better use of their time than fighting monsters of discovering treasure.
So, you know, I like this game a lot.
It's actually quite amazing, in 3 out of 3 Elder Scrolls games, I've managed to reach 20 hours without getting to the end of a Guild quest-chain and without completing more than the barest minimum of the main quest (indeed, in modded Oblivion and Skyrim I completed exactly zero main quest missions; in Morrowind, I finished one.) It's quite exhilarating, but in a way, it's also frustrating, because I feel like in both this blog and my rpg.net thread, I haven't really finished any of the games. And granted, it was never my goal, per se, but it kind of makes me feel flighty, like, instead of documenting a whole game, I just chose an arbitrary point to quit; like I'm giving up on them half (or more accurately 10-20%) of the way through.
I suppose I am, but then again, they'll always be there. I think the Elder Scrolls games, more than any other single factor, are why I started this blog. I bought a whole bunch of new games during this year's Steam Summer Sale, and while I was deciding which one to play first, it struck me that I hadn't even finished the games I already owned.
And then I thought of the Elder Scrolls games and despaired.
And that is how my 20-hour deadline came to be.
So you go to one more cave, or talk to one more NPC, or grind up one more skill, and suddenly, an hour has passed, and you can't really account for it, but it doesn't matter, because there is still more to see and do and learn.
For example, the Elder Scrolls games have, in addition to the normal gamey-type stuff (monsters, dungeons, magic spells, etc) a whole internal literature. Dozens (or perhaps hundreds) of books you can pick up and read, which range from "non-fiction" that tells about the setting's history or its religions' theology, to less serious fare, like riddles or jokes. There is even, in Bleak Falls Barrow (near the beginning of the game), a fantasy novel. As in, some person in the Elder Scrolls universe decided that they wanted to write a piece of fiction about a beggar who had a series of adventures and became a king, and nothing in the book has anything to do with the game's real history, but it was included purely as an example of what people in the setting consumed as entertainment.
It's like there's no bottom. It's like, no matter how much you play, there's always more. Every time I play Skyrim, I tell myself that this is going to be the time that I finally finish my book collection. I promise myself that I will grab one copy of each of the game's insane number of books, and I will read them all. Yet, if I've actually read even a tenth of the available literature, I will eat my controller. There's just so much of it, and there's never really a lull in your character's schedule, where sitting down and reading a book seems like a better use of their time than fighting monsters of discovering treasure.
So, you know, I like this game a lot.
It's actually quite amazing, in 3 out of 3 Elder Scrolls games, I've managed to reach 20 hours without getting to the end of a Guild quest-chain and without completing more than the barest minimum of the main quest (indeed, in modded Oblivion and Skyrim I completed exactly zero main quest missions; in Morrowind, I finished one.) It's quite exhilarating, but in a way, it's also frustrating, because I feel like in both this blog and my rpg.net thread, I haven't really finished any of the games. And granted, it was never my goal, per se, but it kind of makes me feel flighty, like, instead of documenting a whole game, I just chose an arbitrary point to quit; like I'm giving up on them half (or more accurately 10-20%) of the way through.
I suppose I am, but then again, they'll always be there. I think the Elder Scrolls games, more than any other single factor, are why I started this blog. I bought a whole bunch of new games during this year's Steam Summer Sale, and while I was deciding which one to play first, it struck me that I hadn't even finished the games I already owned.
And then I thought of the Elder Scrolls games and despaired.
And that is how my 20-hour deadline came to be.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 12/20 hours
The pacing of the Elder Scrolls games is pretty odd. I've played my new, unglitched save file for about six hours now, and those six hours seemed, at the time, full of incident, but short of giving a minute-by-minute breakdown of minor events (which you can find here if you're interested), there's not a lot to report. Exploring caves. Doing minor favors for people. Gawping at scenery. Dying of exposure.
I love this game.
I love this game.
Friday, August 1, 2014
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 6/20 hours
By and large, I've enjoyed the mods I added to the Elder Scrolls games, but I think, after having to replay the first few hours of the game due to mod incompatibility, I'm starting to see the downside - a period of adjustment where you work out the kinks is pretty much inevitable. The same thing happened in Oblivion, so I'm not really surprised that I faced the problem again.
I'll confess, I'm kind of lazy. I like games where I can just slot it in and play, which is probably why I came to PC gaming relatively late in life. Consoles pretty much fulfilled my all my needs. I only really started with PC games when I got a night job that gave me 4-6 hours of downtime per night that had to filled somehow (and I, apparently, decided that rather than improve my mind by reading the great works of the western literary canon, I would prefer to blast simulated monsters with simulated lightning bolts).
Yet I'm glad I chose this path, because the experience of playing modded Skyrim has so far been incredibly rewarding (even when counting all that time I wasted on a ruined save-slot). I feel connected to the world in a way that I never did with the console version. To be transported to another land, one of wizards and dragons and ancient prophecy - it's something I often dreamed about as a child, and it's kind of wonderful to see that dream brought to life.
Maybe my next blog will be about the western literary canon. I'll get to it just as soon as I run out of incredible games to play.
I'll confess, I'm kind of lazy. I like games where I can just slot it in and play, which is probably why I came to PC gaming relatively late in life. Consoles pretty much fulfilled my all my needs. I only really started with PC games when I got a night job that gave me 4-6 hours of downtime per night that had to filled somehow (and I, apparently, decided that rather than improve my mind by reading the great works of the western literary canon, I would prefer to blast simulated monsters with simulated lightning bolts).
Yet I'm glad I chose this path, because the experience of playing modded Skyrim has so far been incredibly rewarding (even when counting all that time I wasted on a ruined save-slot). I feel connected to the world in a way that I never did with the console version. To be transported to another land, one of wizards and dragons and ancient prophecy - it's something I often dreamed about as a child, and it's kind of wonderful to see that dream brought to life.
Maybe my next blog will be about the western literary canon. I'll get to it just as soon as I run out of incredible games to play.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)