Answers: MrValdez
Introduction and captions: Ilmari
It's been a while, since we've had a chance to get to know our community members, so it's time to do that right now. You might have noticed that MrValdez was kind enough to donate a prize for our Star Trek playthrough - and you might soon find out a perfect reason for that. Yet, he has been of assistance to the blog even earlier and you probably see his handiwork every time you start to read a new post. What are the first words you'll see? "Written by..." Yes, it was MrValdez who suggested adding the author to the beginning of the post, when the blog was transferred from Trickster to community!
My home country is Philippines.
My age is in the early 30s.
The first adventure game I played was…
I can't remember which of these was my first adventure game: Last Half of Darkness, Hugo II, or Space Quest 4.
Monkey Island 2. 'nuff said.
When I’m not playing games I like to…
Do programming. I have been programming since I was young and its very natural to me.
Fun fact: the avatar that I am using is a sketch by my artist friend while I was programming in the Global Game Jam (an event where participants make a game in under 48 hours). I was wearing a tiger hat then.
I like my games in (a box, digital format)…
If you ask me before Steam, I'll chose box for that amazing feeling of opening a box for the first time and imagining what kind of game it is just by the manual and freebies.
Nowadays, I'll choose digital format for the convenience and cost.
The thing I miss about old games is…
The length of time between starting a game and finishing it.
Maybe I'm older and my gaming skills is better than when I was a kid. But back then, we played Return to Zork for 6 months before we finally finished it. It was both an exciting and frustrating experience.
Nowadays, games are engineered so people can finish it in less than a week. ...or maybe I'm just an experienced gamer now.
The best thing about modern games is…
Two answers: Steam; and modern game design.
The one TV show I never miss is…
Star Trek.
I grew up watching The Next Generation and it has a profound effect on me. Picard is my role model for leadership.
Because of the invention of the replicator, people no longer starve and human wants are almost entirely eradicated. Living in a post-scarcity world, humans are now motivated to the betterment of themselves and their fellow race.
Trek has also a profound effect on human civilization. Because of Trek, someone invented the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
Trek doesn't just inspire creativity. The series uses sci-fi to ask philosophical questions. An example is in the original series episode, "A Taste of Armageddon" where Kirk and his crew encounters two planets at war. But to preserve the culture of both planets, their leaders agreed to wage the fight on a computer simulation. This prevented the destruction of their properties. In exchange, anyone who were killed in the simulation have to report to "disintegration chambers".
This allows Trek to ask us the question: If war is done by the press of a button, would we be desensitized to the idea of war?
...I better stop. I can spend the whole day just talking about Trek.
If I could see any band live it would be…
Hard for me to answer since my favorite musics come from video games. I suppose if I have to choose it'll either be Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions or The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.
My favourite movie is…
My answer is the best Star Trek movie there is: Galaxy Quest.
Its a movie about actors from a cancelled sci-fi TV series. The series was very popular, so the crew have been typecast. This caused them to resent their roles.
The movie then reveals that a race of aliens have mistaken their TV show as a "historical document". They then became the ultimate fanbois as they copy everything from the TV shows; from the philosophy to the technology. And they did.
Imagine in the real world, if our first contact with aliens who quotes Spock and presents to the human race their version of the Starship Enterprise.
The twist is that these aliens don't have the concept of fiction in their culture. They could not imagine the actors as anything less than their TV roles.
The "crew" then decided to go to outer space to solve a conflict which the aliens.
What I love about this movie is:
a) It is a love letter to Star Trek fans (IIRC, Sigourney Weaver was so happy that people understood what they were doing, since the movie is played straight)
b) As a hardcore Trekkie, I would love the idea that Star Trek is real. I swear that if someone were to tell me that Star Trek is real, I would probably react exactly like this person (warning spoilers)
c) The reactions of the Star Trek actors.
d) The set ups early in the films results in amazing payloads later on.
e) All the crew start as being "fish out of the water" where they have no idea what they are doing. When they finally accepted their role, everyone cranked their awesomeness to 11. It is the most satisfying character development from nobodies to badass I've ever witnessed in a movie.
One interesting thing about me is…
tlhIngan Hol vIghojtaH. qeq ngeDbe'choHmo' Hol jatlhwI' Hutlh. yInIDtaH!
I am learning to speak Klingon. Practicing is not easy because of the lack of language speakers. I am trying!
Introduction and captions: Ilmari
It's been a while, since we've had a chance to get to know our community members, so it's time to do that right now. You might have noticed that MrValdez was kind enough to donate a prize for our Star Trek playthrough - and you might soon find out a perfect reason for that. Yet, he has been of assistance to the blog even earlier and you probably see his handiwork every time you start to read a new post. What are the first words you'll see? "Written by..." Yes, it was MrValdez who suggested adding the author to the beginning of the post, when the blog was transferred from Trickster to community!
 |
| Now that's a cool hat! |
My home country is Philippines.
My age is in the early 30s.
The first adventure game I played was…
I can't remember which of these was my first adventure game: Last Half of Darkness, Hugo II, or Space Quest 4.
 |
| I remember playing this game, although it didn't make it into the blog. Maybe it will a future Missed Classic? |
My favourite adventure game is…
I got two answers:
Return to Zork. Because me and my siblings finished that game and I had no idea that people hated it. Once we get to Return to Zork, I would see if its still my favorite, or if I only like it because of nostalgia.
I got two answers:
Return to Zork. Because me and my siblings finished that game and I had no idea that people hated it. Once we get to Return to Zork, I would see if its still my favorite, or if I only like it because of nostalgia.
The trailer at least makes the game look... interesting
Monkey Island 2. 'nuff said.
When I’m not playing games I like to…
Do programming. I have been programming since I was young and its very natural to me.
Fun fact: the avatar that I am using is a sketch by my artist friend while I was programming in the Global Game Jam (an event where participants make a game in under 48 hours). I was wearing a tiger hat then.
I like my games in (a box, digital format)…
If you ask me before Steam, I'll chose box for that amazing feeling of opening a box for the first time and imagining what kind of game it is just by the manual and freebies.
Nowadays, I'll choose digital format for the convenience and cost.
The thing I miss about old games is…
The length of time between starting a game and finishing it.
Maybe I'm older and my gaming skills is better than when I was a kid. But back then, we played Return to Zork for 6 months before we finally finished it. It was both an exciting and frustrating experience.
Does anyone want to wager if it will take six months with us?
Nowadays, games are engineered so people can finish it in less than a week. ...or maybe I'm just an experienced gamer now.
The best thing about modern games is…
Two answers: Steam; and modern game design.
The one TV show I never miss is…
Star Trek.
I grew up watching The Next Generation and it has a profound effect on me. Picard is my role model for leadership.
Because of the invention of the replicator, people no longer starve and human wants are almost entirely eradicated. Living in a post-scarcity world, humans are now motivated to the betterment of themselves and their fellow race.
Trek has also a profound effect on human civilization. Because of Trek, someone invented the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
Trek doesn't just inspire creativity. The series uses sci-fi to ask philosophical questions. An example is in the original series episode, "A Taste of Armageddon" where Kirk and his crew encounters two planets at war. But to preserve the culture of both planets, their leaders agreed to wage the fight on a computer simulation. This prevented the destruction of their properties. In exchange, anyone who were killed in the simulation have to report to "disintegration chambers".
This allows Trek to ask us the question: If war is done by the press of a button, would we be desensitized to the idea of war?
...I better stop. I can spend the whole day just talking about Trek.
Yes, Star Trek at its best can be truly philosophical...
...although at times it manages to be both campy and preachy at the same time...
...and at times it's just... well, let's say I don't fully understand one named Kirk
If I could see any band live it would be…
Hard for me to answer since my favorite musics come from video games. I suppose if I have to choose it'll either be Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions or The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.
My favourite movie is…
My answer is the best Star Trek movie there is: Galaxy Quest.
Its a movie about actors from a cancelled sci-fi TV series. The series was very popular, so the crew have been typecast. This caused them to resent their roles.
The movie then reveals that a race of aliens have mistaken their TV show as a "historical document". They then became the ultimate fanbois as they copy everything from the TV shows; from the philosophy to the technology. And they did.
Imagine in the real world, if our first contact with aliens who quotes Spock and presents to the human race their version of the Starship Enterprise.
The twist is that these aliens don't have the concept of fiction in their culture. They could not imagine the actors as anything less than their TV roles.
The "crew" then decided to go to outer space to solve a conflict which the aliens.
What I love about this movie is:
a) It is a love letter to Star Trek fans (IIRC, Sigourney Weaver was so happy that people understood what they were doing, since the movie is played straight)
b) As a hardcore Trekkie, I would love the idea that Star Trek is real. I swear that if someone were to tell me that Star Trek is real, I would probably react exactly like this person (warning spoilers)
c) The reactions of the Star Trek actors.
d) The set ups early in the films results in amazing payloads later on.
e) All the crew start as being "fish out of the water" where they have no idea what they are doing. When they finally accepted their role, everyone cranked their awesomeness to 11. It is the most satisfying character development from nobodies to badass I've ever witnessed in a movie.
 |
| By Grabthar's Hammer, go and see the movie already! |
One interesting thing about me is…
tlhIngan Hol vIghojtaH. qeq ngeDbe'choHmo' Hol jatlhwI' Hutlh. yInIDtaH!
I am learning to speak Klingon. Practicing is not easy because of the lack of language speakers. I am trying!