In an RPG, your character(s) have a set of stats, which define who they are, at least in part. Over the next several days, I plan on discussing some of these stats in depth and how I personally relate them to real life.
First off: Intelligence, wisdom and MP.
In an RPG, intelligence usually refers to the strength of your magic. Basically, the smarter you are, the more exactly you can cast your spell. In life, intelligence is an important asset. We live in a world that's rich in information. If you have that information under your belt, or at least if you can understand it and know where to look for it, you can go far. Often, a mage or wizard with a lot of intelligence is the one that can cause the most damage to the bad guys in one hit, with a spell. If you're smart and have a lot of information, you can overcome several obstacles fairly easily, because you'll know how to resolve them.
Ah, but what is intelligence without wisdom? In games, wisdom often affects how much MP you have. The more MP, the more spells you can cast without resting. In life, wisdom refers to knowing how to apply your knowledge (intelligence). It lets you use your intelligence more efficiently. In games, wisdom is also often closely tied to the more spiritual classes, like clerics (priests). You can heal better with more wisdom. If we apply that aspect to life, it can come to mean your spiritual knowledge. How well do you put things in an eternal perspective?
MP is how much you can apply your intelligence and wisdom. As mentioned earlier, the wiser you are, the more you can use that wisdom. If linked to the secular side of life, MP could be considered your brain power. How long can you work on a problem before you just have to take a break? If linked to the spiritual side, it could be considered your "spiritual reserve," to put it one way. How strong are you, spiritually? How well can you take what life throws at you, still trusting in God? How well can you face trials and temptations?
In my life, I try to focus on intelligence and wisdom. When I'm done talking about stats, I'll probably start talking about different classes, and try to define my own class. Whatever it is, it will be one that relies heavily on these two attributes. Being an Eagle Scout, as well as an active Christian, mental, moral and spiritual strength are important to me. As a Scout, I promise that "On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God..., to keep myself... mentally awake and morally straight." As a Christian, I pledge to keep to the straight and narrow path, righting my way if I find myself going astray.
These goals have me increasing my secular and spiritual intelligence and wisdom so that I can face life head-on, so that I can be who I want to be, regardless of the bumps in the roads that I take.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Probability
I'm currently taking a statistics class at school right now, and we're studying probability.
Probability is, of course, essentially how likely something is to happen. It's used a lot in games, as well as real life.
The other day, I went to McD's to get some food and try my hand at their Monopoly game. I got a 10-piece nugget meal, large sized, but with a medium drink. That maximizes the number of game pieces in one meal: 2 on the nuggets, 2 on the medium drink (I checked with an employee, and they said that the large didn't have game pieces, which is why I adjusted my drink's size), and 4 on the large fries. That's 8 game pieces. The advertised odds are that about 1 in 4 are winners. That means that I should win... twice, right?
No. Not one was a winner. Now, I know that since there's a limited number of game pieces, that if I got all of them, the odds would hold out.
That's not necessarily so with infinite. If you flip a coin, there's a 50/50 chance that you'll get a tails. Mathematically, if you flip that coin infinite times, half of those will be tails. However, you could theoretically flip that coin infinite times and get all heads. Or all tails.
Skills, spells, etc. in games all use probability. Whether it hits, whether it hits critically, if the secondary effect happens. You could have a spell that hits 99% of the time, mathematically, but not have it hit at all.
There. I related it. Honestly, though, I just had a bit ofwriter's blogger's block. But I've been posting every day since I started, and I didn't want to skip a day. So there.
Probability is, of course, essentially how likely something is to happen. It's used a lot in games, as well as real life.
The other day, I went to McD's to get some food and try my hand at their Monopoly game. I got a 10-piece nugget meal, large sized, but with a medium drink. That maximizes the number of game pieces in one meal: 2 on the nuggets, 2 on the medium drink (I checked with an employee, and they said that the large didn't have game pieces, which is why I adjusted my drink's size), and 4 on the large fries. That's 8 game pieces. The advertised odds are that about 1 in 4 are winners. That means that I should win... twice, right?
No. Not one was a winner. Now, I know that since there's a limited number of game pieces, that if I got all of them, the odds would hold out.
That's not necessarily so with infinite. If you flip a coin, there's a 50/50 chance that you'll get a tails. Mathematically, if you flip that coin infinite times, half of those will be tails. However, you could theoretically flip that coin infinite times and get all heads. Or all tails.
Skills, spells, etc. in games all use probability. Whether it hits, whether it hits critically, if the secondary effect happens. You could have a spell that hits 99% of the time, mathematically, but not have it hit at all.
There. I related it. Honestly, though, I just had a bit of
Friday, October 29, 2010
Pokémon
This is my first post that mentions a franchise! Huzzah!
Actually, the only reason I'm mentioning this game is that for Halloween, I'm going as a Pokémon trainer. It's great. I just need normal clothes, a DS with a Pokémon game for a Pokédex, and the nifty crocheted Pokéballs that my wife made for me.
Yeah, I know, this post doesn't really compare games to life. Or does it? Halloween is a great time to blur fantasy and reality, isn't it?
Actually, the only reason I'm mentioning this game is that for Halloween, I'm going as a Pokémon trainer. It's great. I just need normal clothes, a DS with a Pokémon game for a Pokédex, and the nifty crocheted Pokéballs that my wife made for me.
Yeah, I know, this post doesn't really compare games to life. Or does it? Halloween is a great time to blur fantasy and reality, isn't it?
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Parties
When the mobs get tough, and you just can't get past them, there are people that you can turn to in an MMORPG. Those people are your party. When it comes to a party, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. Through cooperation, parties will provide buffs, healing spells, and other forms of support to help you succeed, and you'll do the same for them.
Five years ago, my family suffered a great loss. We were able to band together, and others came to offer their support as well. Because of that, as well as our beliefs, we were able to become closer as a family.
So I offer my sincere thanks to anyone who has ever been part of my party. It's thanks to you that I am where I am today, and that's a good thing.
Five years ago, my family suffered a great loss. We were able to band together, and others came to offer their support as well. Because of that, as well as our beliefs, we were able to become closer as a family.
So I offer my sincere thanks to anyone who has ever been part of my party. It's thanks to you that I am where I am today, and that's a good thing.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Terminology explained
I just realized something. Some time in the near future, I'm going to probably share this blog's URL with my mom, and she may not understand some of the terminology I use (Love you Mom!). So here is a list. It's likely not complete, and I may add to it here or in another post in the future.
Most of the things I discuss in my blog will likely relate to RPGs, since that is the genre of games I usually play, as well as one of the genres that closely mimics real life (albeit in a fantasy setting). So here is my (likely incomplete) RPG termbase.
RPG: I should probably define this first, since it's the term I used first in this post. "RPG" stands for "role-playing game." It is sometimes shortened even further to "RP." When I use it, it usually means a video game, but it can also mean anything from a couple of friends telling a story together to D&D-esque dice-rolling games. Really, taking a loose definition, any "game" where you "play" a "role" could be considered an RPG. Hey, even your job could be considered one. Wow, that's deep.
MMORPG: Massively multiplayer online RPG. These are RPGs (of the video game variety) that people play online with other people (thus the "multiplayer). Usually a lot of people (thus the "massively). Video game and real life blur in this realm, as the characters you are playing with are real people. If you're not careful, you can spend many an hour hunched over your keyboard playing these games.
PC: Player character. In single player games, they are characters that you play, can play, and/or can choose to play. In multiplayer games, especially MMORPGs, they're characters that are played by real people.
NPC: Non-player character. Logically, the opposite of PCs. They are the quest-givers and shop keepers of games. Sometimes they exist to give information. Sometimes they're just there for comic relief. Sometimes they're there so a town won't look abandoned. I've referred to NPCs in at least one of the few blog posts before this one. In fact in yesterday's post, I mentioned that we bought our ice cream from an NPC. In this case, it simply means that it was store-bought. (Not that the employees aren't real people).
Quest: Speaking of quests, what are they? A mission with a purpose. In games, sometimes it's "Kill x monsters in n time." Sometimes it's "Bring n such-and-such items to x place." Sometimes they're timed. My current quest: Finish this blog entry.
HP/MP/SP: Hit/Health points, Magic/Mana points, Stamina points. These are all health/energy indicators. HP tells you how hurt you are (the lower the HP, the more hurt), MP lets you know how much magic you have left in you, and SP lets you know how many physical skills you can use. In some RPGs, there is no SP, and physical skills use up MP instead.
Mount: In RPGs, mounts refer to an animal you ride, or in some, a vehicle you ride on/in. These usually come with a speed increase, and in some cases, a special ability, like the ability to fly if it's a bird, for example.
N00b(ie)/Noob(ie)/Newb(ie): A new player to the game. It can be used in a derogatory way, but has come to be the general term for new players.
Mob: A group of monsters/bad guys.
Party: A group of players/characters that band together for training, a quest, etc.
Class/Occupation: What your character does. Sometimes you can have both (for example: an archer class with the occupation of tailor), but a lot of times, these terms are used interchangeably.
FAQ: Frequently asked question (list). In gaming, it's seen as a type of guide to the game, though there are also walkthroughs, which are step-by-step instructions.
Cheat Code: Some way to let you cheat in a game. Invincibility, level selection, unlimited money, etc. are attainable through cheat codes. Cheat codes are often used by game testers in testing certain aspects of the game, and are sometimes left in the final product. Some are there just for fun, like making the characters appear more cartoony or whatever. Some are even made publicly available by the company. Using these is considered by most to be cheating, obviously, though some see it as perfectly fine, as they are part of the game and intentionally left. Cheat codes may also refer to using some sort of hacking device to bypass the intended programming, which achieves some of the same result as "normal" cheat codes. Using these is obviously cheating, though many gamers do it. I even have my old Game Shark for the original Gameboy system. Other cheats include exploiting glitches in the game's programming. These last two (hacking the game and exploiting glitches) may also cause damage to save files.
Most of the things I discuss in my blog will likely relate to RPGs, since that is the genre of games I usually play, as well as one of the genres that closely mimics real life (albeit in a fantasy setting). So here is my (likely incomplete) RPG termbase.
RPG: I should probably define this first, since it's the term I used first in this post. "RPG" stands for "role-playing game." It is sometimes shortened even further to "RP." When I use it, it usually means a video game, but it can also mean anything from a couple of friends telling a story together to D&D-esque dice-rolling games. Really, taking a loose definition, any "game" where you "play" a "role" could be considered an RPG. Hey, even your job could be considered one. Wow, that's deep.
MMORPG: Massively multiplayer online RPG. These are RPGs (of the video game variety) that people play online with other people (thus the "multiplayer). Usually a lot of people (thus the "massively). Video game and real life blur in this realm, as the characters you are playing with are real people. If you're not careful, you can spend many an hour hunched over your keyboard playing these games.
PC: Player character. In single player games, they are characters that you play, can play, and/or can choose to play. In multiplayer games, especially MMORPGs, they're characters that are played by real people.
NPC: Non-player character. Logically, the opposite of PCs. They are the quest-givers and shop keepers of games. Sometimes they exist to give information. Sometimes they're just there for comic relief. Sometimes they're there so a town won't look abandoned. I've referred to NPCs in at least one of the few blog posts before this one. In fact in yesterday's post, I mentioned that we bought our ice cream from an NPC. In this case, it simply means that it was store-bought. (Not that the employees aren't real people).
Quest: Speaking of quests, what are they? A mission with a purpose. In games, sometimes it's "Kill x monsters in n time." Sometimes it's "Bring n such-and-such items to x place." Sometimes they're timed. My current quest: Finish this blog entry.
HP/MP/SP: Hit/Health points, Magic/Mana points, Stamina points. These are all health/energy indicators. HP tells you how hurt you are (the lower the HP, the more hurt), MP lets you know how much magic you have left in you, and SP lets you know how many physical skills you can use. In some RPGs, there is no SP, and physical skills use up MP instead.
Mount: In RPGs, mounts refer to an animal you ride, or in some, a vehicle you ride on/in. These usually come with a speed increase, and in some cases, a special ability, like the ability to fly if it's a bird, for example.
N00b(ie)/Noob(ie)/Newb(ie): A new player to the game. It can be used in a derogatory way, but has come to be the general term for new players.
Mob: A group of monsters/bad guys.
Party: A group of players/characters that band together for training, a quest, etc.
Class/Occupation: What your character does. Sometimes you can have both (for example: an archer class with the occupation of tailor), but a lot of times, these terms are used interchangeably.
FAQ: Frequently asked question (list). In gaming, it's seen as a type of guide to the game, though there are also walkthroughs, which are step-by-step instructions.
Cheat Code: Some way to let you cheat in a game. Invincibility, level selection, unlimited money, etc. are attainable through cheat codes. Cheat codes are often used by game testers in testing certain aspects of the game, and are sometimes left in the final product. Some are there just for fun, like making the characters appear more cartoony or whatever. Some are even made publicly available by the company. Using these is considered by most to be cheating, obviously, though some see it as perfectly fine, as they are part of the game and intentionally left. Cheat codes may also refer to using some sort of hacking device to bypass the intended programming, which achieves some of the same result as "normal" cheat codes. Using these is obviously cheating, though many gamers do it. I even have my old Game Shark for the original Gameboy system. Other cheats include exploiting glitches in the game's programming. These last two (hacking the game and exploiting glitches) may also cause damage to save files.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Alchemy
My wife is a great alchemist. Just the other day, she took ground beef, sausage, oatmeal, flour, and some other ingredients and turned them into delicious Swedish meatballs! She also made some grilled zucchini.
I know a little alchemy myself. That same night, I took rice and water and turned them into cooked rice! Amazing, huh?
For desert, we had another taste of my wife's skills as an alchemist: apple pie. It was delicious with the vanilla ice cream that we got from the NPCs.
We formed a party with a friend and her fiancé to enjoy the results of some great alchemy together.
Yesterday we took the Swedish meatballs that were left in our inventory and had them for lunch. That was some good HP replenishing!
I know a little alchemy myself. That same night, I took rice and water and turned them into cooked rice! Amazing, huh?
For desert, we had another taste of my wife's skills as an alchemist: apple pie. It was delicious with the vanilla ice cream that we got from the NPCs.
We formed a party with a friend and her fiancé to enjoy the results of some great alchemy together.
Yesterday we took the Swedish meatballs that were left in our inventory and had them for lunch. That was some good HP replenishing!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Mount Maintenance
It's a fact of life. Sometimes, your mount's durability goes down, and you have to go to the stable and get the NPC to fix it.
My mount is very reliable, but its scheduled maintenance check came up a bit ago, and I had to sacrifice the gold needed to have those NPCs look at it. Unfortunately, it still needs some work. The tires are wearing thin, and we need to go buy some more... If only those mounts didn't eat up so much gold!
But they do. That's why, in games, I usually don't bother. I just walk everywhere, or use teleport (Huh. "Teleport" isn't in my browser's spell check. Interesting.) scrolls that I get from random drops.
Unfortunately, with the distance I have to cover most days, walking is impractical, and there are no scrolls that will 'port me there. I have a somewhat slower, 2-wheel mount, but it's got a flat right now, and besides, sometimes I need the extra storage that my regular mount offers. I have yet to find a bag with enough "hammerspace" to not need my mount.
My mount is very reliable, but its scheduled maintenance check came up a bit ago, and I had to sacrifice the gold needed to have those NPCs look at it. Unfortunately, it still needs some work. The tires are wearing thin, and we need to go buy some more... If only those mounts didn't eat up so much gold!
But they do. That's why, in games, I usually don't bother. I just walk everywhere, or use teleport (Huh. "Teleport" isn't in my browser's spell check. Interesting.) scrolls that I get from random drops.
Unfortunately, with the distance I have to cover most days, walking is impractical, and there are no scrolls that will 'port me there. I have a somewhat slower, 2-wheel mount, but it's got a flat right now, and besides, sometimes I need the extra storage that my regular mount offers. I have yet to find a bag with enough "hammerspace" to not need my mount.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Press Start to Continue
Pick a video game, any video game. Now, think back to when you first took that game out of its packaging (or downloaded it, or went to its internet site, or whatever).
Now, think about when you turned on the system, or double-clicked that icon on your computer, and the game started. Sometimes you have to wait past a lot of credits or loading time. Anticipation builds up...
And then there it is. The game you've been waiting for. You've heard that it's good, but now you get to find out for yourself.
And then you press start.
It's like that every time you start something new, isn't it? Every choice you make is like pressing start on a new adventure. A little over a year ago, for me, it was the decision to start graduate school. (I'm winning. Just under a year's worth of play time to go). 5 1/2 years ago, it was the beginning of my life as a married man. (I must have a lot of cheat codes enabled for that one, because it's the BEST GAME EVER).
Today, it's posting this. I'm not sure how it will go, but if I get stuck, I can always look up a FAQ or something.
Now, think about when you turned on the system, or double-clicked that icon on your computer, and the game started. Sometimes you have to wait past a lot of credits or loading time. Anticipation builds up...
And then there it is. The game you've been waiting for. You've heard that it's good, but now you get to find out for yourself.
And then you press start.
It's like that every time you start something new, isn't it? Every choice you make is like pressing start on a new adventure. A little over a year ago, for me, it was the decision to start graduate school. (I'm winning. Just under a year's worth of play time to go). 5 1/2 years ago, it was the beginning of my life as a married man. (I must have a lot of cheat codes enabled for that one, because it's the BEST GAME EVER).
Today, it's posting this. I'm not sure how it will go, but if I get stuck, I can always look up a FAQ or something.
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