Hi everyone.
I've really been slipping in the lucid dreaming department lately. I think one of my biggest problems right now is motivation. I haven't felt all that motivated to make an effort to have lucid dreams as of late. It's not that I've completely lost interest, I just don't feel all that motivated to actually try to recall my dreams or altering my sleeping schedule to boost chances of lucidity.
I guess it's got a lot to do with my situation in life as it is right now. I have a lot of things to look forward to, and some things I have to take care of once certain procedures are settled. Once I receive word from the university in Kyoto, I have to apply for a student visa, I'm going to visit my grandmother today, first time in way too long. And in just five days my girlfriend is coming to my country. It's been several months since we've seen each other, so naturally I'm pretty excited.
All these things tend to pop into my head at night when I'm about to sleep, and I just can't concentrate on the dreaming itself. So, I think I'm going to take a short break. Once some of these things settle down and I can focus better on the dreams, I think I'll give it another shot. The memory exercise I mentioned about a week ago was quite successful, though. So that's nice.
Well, I hope I can settle down and focus a bit better after a few weeks break. Who knows, maybe I'll have a spontaneous lucid dream just like that? You never know! Until next time, have a good day!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Game Music - Rogue Galaxy
Hi everyone! Today's music comes from the PS2 action RPG Rogue Galaxy, a fun and addictive game from Level 5, the developers of the Dark Cloud and Professor Layton series. It tells the story of a young man who lives on a desert planet (just like a certain other young man), who meets up with a crew of space pirates and joins them on their wild and wacky journeys across the galaxy. It's a fun game, but some might find it a little tedious, with a lot of time being spent running through seemingly endless corridors or vast fields on your way to the next location. In any case, I like it a lot, and the music is nice.
"Shadow of the Sun"
I totally like the game, and I hope Level 5 will make, if not a sequel then at least some sort of spiritual successor to it on the PS3. Fingers crossed...
Well, until next time, have a good day!
"Shadow of the Sun"
I totally like the game, and I hope Level 5 will make, if not a sequel then at least some sort of spiritual successor to it on the PS3. Fingers crossed...
Well, until next time, have a good day!
Friday, July 29, 2011
What makes a game worth playing?
Hi everyone! This is something I've been thinking about lately, and thought I'd write about here.
While playing Rule of Rose this week, there were many times where I was outright offended by how sluggish and annoying the gameplay can get at its worst. You play as a young girl who runs slowly, attacks slowly and with little power, turns around slow as a freaking battleship, and who starts limping like a cripple when she gets low on health. Now, there isn't that much combat in this game compared to many other survival horror titles, like Silent Hill or Resident Evil (Which is less survival horror and more third-person shooter anyway), but the combat you have to do is quite bad. Sure, it feels exciting to beat down a mischievous imp and see him squirm and die in a puddle of his own blood, but the excitement swiftly gives way to annoyance when you realise that every enemy you encounter will be a struggle to defeat, and the game usually throws groups of any number between 5 to 10 enemies at you at a time.
So you run, you run as fast as your scrawny little girly legs can carry you, and hope that the enemies won't catch up. Fortunately, most enemies are fairly slow, so you should be fine in most cases. But then there are times when you must fight, such as boss battles or otherwise inescapable encounters. And that's when things get really annoying. So annoying in fact, that I more than once have considered quitting the game and just watching a playthrough on Youtube or something.
And yet I don't want to. No matter how annoying the gameplay gets, I feel compelled to keep playing. I want to see what happens to the poor, unlucky girl, trapped in a vicious cycle of bullying and loneliness. I want to hear the hauntingly beautiful and sad music accompanying the poor girl's fate. I want to see the end of her story, and know that I made it there myself. That's why I don't quit. If the game didn't have this engaging story, beautiful music or tangible atmosphere, I probably would have quit long ago and returned to beating raiders to death in Hokuto Musou (Which is also quite a delectable pastime, make no mistake), but because the game manages to captivate so strongly with its story and atmosphere, I can forgive the bad gameplay. Almost.
Well, I think I'm nearing the end of the game now, so maybe soon I can be free of it. I like it, but I don't think I'd want to play it again any time soon. As good as the story is, once is enough for a game with such poor gameplay.
What about you guys? Is there a certain game that you hate to play but love to experience? One where the story, or maybe the music, makes up for lacking gameplay?
Until next time, have a good day!
While playing Rule of Rose this week, there were many times where I was outright offended by how sluggish and annoying the gameplay can get at its worst. You play as a young girl who runs slowly, attacks slowly and with little power, turns around slow as a freaking battleship, and who starts limping like a cripple when she gets low on health. Now, there isn't that much combat in this game compared to many other survival horror titles, like Silent Hill or Resident Evil (Which is less survival horror and more third-person shooter anyway), but the combat you have to do is quite bad. Sure, it feels exciting to beat down a mischievous imp and see him squirm and die in a puddle of his own blood, but the excitement swiftly gives way to annoyance when you realise that every enemy you encounter will be a struggle to defeat, and the game usually throws groups of any number between 5 to 10 enemies at you at a time.
 |
| On second thought, let's NOT go this way. |
So you run, you run as fast as your scrawny little girly legs can carry you, and hope that the enemies won't catch up. Fortunately, most enemies are fairly slow, so you should be fine in most cases. But then there are times when you must fight, such as boss battles or otherwise inescapable encounters. And that's when things get really annoying. So annoying in fact, that I more than once have considered quitting the game and just watching a playthrough on Youtube or something.
And yet I don't want to. No matter how annoying the gameplay gets, I feel compelled to keep playing. I want to see what happens to the poor, unlucky girl, trapped in a vicious cycle of bullying and loneliness. I want to hear the hauntingly beautiful and sad music accompanying the poor girl's fate. I want to see the end of her story, and know that I made it there myself. That's why I don't quit. If the game didn't have this engaging story, beautiful music or tangible atmosphere, I probably would have quit long ago and returned to beating raiders to death in Hokuto Musou (Which is also quite a delectable pastime, make no mistake), but because the game manages to captivate so strongly with its story and atmosphere, I can forgive the bad gameplay. Almost.
Well, I think I'm nearing the end of the game now, so maybe soon I can be free of it. I like it, but I don't think I'd want to play it again any time soon. As good as the story is, once is enough for a game with such poor gameplay.
What about you guys? Is there a certain game that you hate to play but love to experience? One where the story, or maybe the music, makes up for lacking gameplay?
Until next time, have a good day!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Game Music - Lucifer's Call
Hi everyone! Today's music comes from the PS2 game Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call, or as it was called outside of ye olde Europe: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. The game tells the story of a teenage guy who visits his teacher at the hospital, witnesses the end of the world, and its subsequent rebirth, and is transformed into a demon known as the Demi-Fiend. Now, he must choose a reason to build the new world upon. The catch is, he has no choice in the matter, but can only support the ideas of others.
Wandering a devastated world infested by demons and spirits, he searches for an ideal which can support a new world. Like the other games in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, the music is composed by the one and only Shouji Meguro, in my opinion a living legend. So, let's give a track from this excellent game a listen!
"Normal Battle (In Dungeons)
The cool thing about this theme is that it has many different variations, which play randomly during battles, so it always feels fresh and new when you hear it. I can't think of any other games that does this. If you know of any, let me know!
Well, that's all for now. Until next time, have a good day!
Wandering a devastated world infested by demons and spirits, he searches for an ideal which can support a new world. Like the other games in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, the music is composed by the one and only Shouji Meguro, in my opinion a living legend. So, let's give a track from this excellent game a listen!
"Normal Battle (In Dungeons)
The cool thing about this theme is that it has many different variations, which play randomly during battles, so it always feels fresh and new when you hear it. I can't think of any other games that does this. If you know of any, let me know!
Well, that's all for now. Until next time, have a good day!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Game Music - Silent Hill 2
Hi everyone! Today's music comes from one of my favourite games, Silent Hill 2. It's a survival horror game that tells the story of James Sunderland, a man who receives a letter from his dead wife, inviting him to the titular town, a town where nothing is as it seems, and whatever is as it seems, is very, very wrong. During his visit to this once famous resort town, now an abandoned ghost town shrouded in fog, he is faced with truths about his wife, and himself, that he would rather have forgotten...
It's a pretty scary game, and the soundtrack really helps set the atmosphere. Let's give it a listen:
"Theme of Laura"
The Silent Hill series is really good, both story-wise and music-wise. The gameplay is a little clumsy, like most survival horror games, but I definitely recommend these games to anyone who likes an intriguing story and who likes getting scared.
Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, have a good day!
It's a pretty scary game, and the soundtrack really helps set the atmosphere. Let's give it a listen:
"Theme of Laura"
The Silent Hill series is really good, both story-wise and music-wise. The gameplay is a little clumsy, like most survival horror games, but I definitely recommend these games to anyone who likes an intriguing story and who likes getting scared.
Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time, have a good day!
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