Holidays, Kickstarter - Deadzone & Berserk

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I could say that I've been busy with holiday celebrations, and such, but that would only be partly true.  Yes, I did go to hang out with the family, but mostly, holidays and days off work just make me feel more lazy than normal, and that leads to a lack of motivation to do anything productive.  But I'm back in the swing of things now, and I have a couple things to share.

KickStarter

I love Kickstarter.  The thought of creating a project and letting regular people give funding or not to decide the fate of your concept is a great idea.  It allows you the opportunity to see if people will buy your product before you invest all the time and money into creating it.  Kickstarter allows that start-up "inventor" to make something that most companies would have never let off of the hypothetical "drawing board".

I have put money towards a number of things on Kickstarter that I thought were cool ideas.  I have mostly funded tabletop war games, but also some card games, a couple books and a video game.  Most of them have not come in yet, and won't probably be completed until next year at the very earliest, but this holiday season has seen a couple of them start to come back to me.  I have received the initial shipment for a game called Deadzone, made by Mantic, and a card game called Berserk: War of the Realms.  Both look fun and I have a bunch of pictures to show about both sets.

Berserk: War of the Realms

First off, in this post, I'd like to show Berserk: War of the Realms.  My understanding of this game is that it is already a game in Russia, and the Kickstarter was created to fund an English version.  It is a card game that incorporates dice into the card combat.  As with the last game I received, I haven't had a chance to read through all the rules, but I'll get to them eventually.

(I apologize in advance...some of the pictures are more blurry than originally thought)

Below is the box.  Nice colorful cover.

Inside there is the rule booklet, 2 game boards, 2 sets of counters, a number of dice, a few decks of cards, and then an expansion box was also included.  Supposedly because this is a Kickstarter exclusive, it comes with additional cards that would not come in the retail version of the game.

 Here is everything laid out.

Here is one of the deck of cards spread out.  Hard to see I know...

So here's a close up of some of the cards.  This is a dwarf deck, I guess.

I'll get some pictures playing the game when I round up some people to play it.  

Once I dig in to my Deadzone box, I'll make sure to post it as well.

Anyway, that's if for this post.  Thanks for checking it out.  I hope to have lots more stuff to share soon.

- Zach

Logic Puzzles: "Paint-Doku"

I like logic puzzles.  They are a nice change of pace from the fast paced games I usually play on my computer and consoles.  I usually enjoy them as a wind down mental exercise before I go to bed while I'm watching Netflix. 

One of the reasons I chose these types of puzzles is because I like them...and I've seen research that says working on logic puzzles increases your mental capacity, awareness, etc. etc.  These are good things in my mind (HA, get it?). 

Anyway...during college I used to keep a Sudoku book in my backpack next to my sketchbook.  That way if I got bored duri....in between classes...I could either sketch or work on a Sudoku puzzle. 

Most people have at least heard of Sudoku.  It is the number puzzle were there are 9 large squares, with 9 smaller squares in them.  Each puzzle then has a certain amount of given numbers randomly input in the smaller squares.  The idea is to use the numbers 1-9 to fill out the remaining smaller squares.  The catch is that each number can only be used once in each big square, row and column.  It is a great mental exercise as I said before.  The problem I have with Sudoku is it gets boring.  You are just staring at the same 9 numbers over and over again. 

Recently I came across a new type of puzzle in the same sort of style of Sudoku, but different enough that each puzzle feels like a new challenge...not the same thing over and over again.  The new puzzles I have been working on are called, "Paint-doku".  I have seen them called a couple of different names, but I like that one the best.  Below are the books I have been using.

There are two different kinds of these puzzles that I have been messing around with.  The first is the standard kind.  It's black and white, and is pretty straight forward.  The second kind is dual colored and requires a little bit more thinking (in my opinion).

The object of these types of puzzles is to use the numbers on the top and side to fill in squares.  Each number corresponds to the number of filled in squares in a row.  Each set of filled in squares must have at least one blank space in between it and the next number of squares (except when you add the second color).  Example: If the numbers are - 5 1 4 - that means that there are 5 in a row, then at least one blank.  Then there is a 1 and at least one blank before the last set of 4.  Once all of the numbers have been used, the completed puzzle has some sort of picture in it. 

When you add a second color, the blanks are only between the same color.  The opposite color can be touching the first color.  Example: If you had - 5 black, 1 red, 4 black, 2 black - there would be 5 black in a row, then possibly followed by a blank space, or the 1 red, which could then be followed by blank spaces or the 4 black.  After the 4 black, though, you would need at least 1 blank before the last 2 black.

Below is a close-up of each type of puzzle.  The left is the standard black and white, and the right is the dual colored puzzle.  Each dual colored puzzle has a recommended second color shown by the opposite numbers.  This puzzle's recommended second color is red.

Below are some examples of puzzles I have completed. 

I use dots for the blank spots in both sets.  In the two color version I use diagonal lines through a square rather than a different color.  I like to be able to correct my mistakes by erasing, and I make a lot of mistakes... so using a different colored pen or colored pencil that can't be erased would make it tough to complete a puzzle for me at least.

Long story short, these are fun little puzzles that work your brain.  They give me (and hopefully you too) a greater sense of accomplishment when they are complete than I get from the standard Sudoku puzzles.  I would recommend these if you are looking for something to work your brain, and get a neat little picture at the end.

If you have any thoughts or would like me to go more in depth in a step by step walk-through of a puzzle, let me know via the comments below.

- Zach



Loka: The Unboxing

So I picked up a new game this last week...well the game finally came to me in the mail...

Anyway, the game is called Loka and it is portrayed as "a Game of Elemental Strategy". I've heard it is like elemental Chess.  I haven't gotten to play it, or read through the rules, but I thought I would show everyone what comes in the box.

First off, here is the complete boxed set.

                                      

Well...cat not included...

Below is what it looks like when you open said box.

                     

The board is a nice 2-sided board.  One side looks like a standard chess board, and the other side looks like a 4-sided elemental board.
                                   

 

Here is what the rest of the set looks like inside the box.

 This is everything taken out of the box.

The rule book is approximately 20 pages.  Again, haven't read it yet...but I'll get to it eventually.

These are some sort of square counters.  Not sure what they are for yet.

Each of the elements/factions/armies, whatever you want to call them, comes in their own separate bag.

 

Below are all of the factions pulled out of their bags.  I can see the resemblance to chess pieces already. Each set contains what looks like a King, Queen, Horse, Mage, Elemental Creature and 4 soldier minion types (assuming pawns).

And last, but not least, an assortment of dice: d4, d6, d8, d12 and d20.  Not sure how these will play into a chess game, but it should be interesting.  

Well that's everything in the box.  Hopefully soon I will be able to get some people together and learn how to play it.

- Zach

Online Games - P2P vs. F2P

I have played all sorts online games throughout my gaming "career".  I started with Free to Play (F2P) games as a young kid then changed to Pay to Play (P2P) and now have returned to F2P as my time, moods and tastes have changed.

The first one that my friends and I really got in to was the original Runescape.  It was a browser based, 2D game and had all sorts of stuff to do like exploring, questing, fighting and crafting.  Most MMOs nowadays include all of these things plus some...but this was the first that we played because we were young and it was F2P and didn't require any special computer requirements.  My friends and I would go down to the public library on weekends and all of us would play together on the library's computers.  It was a great time that started a lot of friendships.

Once we grew up a little and all of us had our own computers, we took those "public" LAN parties, and made them private.  We would get together fairly regularly and spend hours playing games together in someone's basement.  During this time the games switched to games you had to buy, but you could play for free online, like Age of Empires, Warcraft III, Counter Strike and Call of Duty (the original WWII versions).  A lot of our time ended up being spent on one custom map in Warcraft III called Defense of the Ancients, or DOTA (more on this later).

During/After that stage, I started playing World of Warcraft (WoW).  It was my first monthly P2P game.  Some of my friends played Dark Age of Camelot or Everquest, but WoW was the one I spent my time on.  I wasn't able to play much at that time because I had school and sports, but it was fun.  I quit after a couple months due to lack of time, but during college I got back in to it with my roommates and played pretty hard for awhile. 

Then college came.  I tried a number of other MMOs that came out during that time: Warhammer Online, Rift, Aion, Tera, Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars (TOR), Guild Wars 2, Dungeons & Dragons, and one of the like 15 superhero MMOs that came out during this time.  All of which introduced cool new concepts, but none of which could keep me interested long enough to get through to the end game content.  Also with homework and debts piling up, it is really difficult to pay $15 per month on a game that you maybe play a couple hours a week.  So I stopped playing most MMOs and switched to free games I could jump in and out of without feeling like I was being left behind.

League of Legends (LoL) was the next game I got in to, and I have been playing it off and on since it came out.  It is based on the same game type of the Warcraft III map, DOTA, where there are 2 opposing teams, each with 5 players, trying to destroy the other's base.  There have been a number of games created off of the style of DOTA - Demigods, Heroes of Newerth, DOTA 2, etc, but I couldn't get in to them.  LoL has a style that I love and characters that are fun.  I miss some aspects and characters from DOTA, but overall I wouldn't go back.

A lot of the online games that I play now have changed to F2P with micro transactions, meaning you pay for additional content such as more character slots, increased inventory space or cosmetic items, and I love this idea.  I get in moods where I feel like playing something, but I know that after about 2 hours, I will have satiated that hunger for that game, and it will be months before I want to play it again.  Here is where the dilemma is...while I may have a craving for some WoW, I don't want to pay $15 for a month of game time, when I will use 2-4 hours.  This is why I love the new F2P "genre".  I can jump in to a game for a couple of hours and be done without spending any money if I don't want to.

I actually had this dilemma recently.  You know what I did?  Instead of buying a month of WoW, I went and downloaded Rift.  It is F2P now, and guess what...I have been playing for 3 weeks fairly regularly, and I don't have to worry about when I get bored and quit because I'm not paying monthly for it.  I spent money on getting more character slots, getting some cool pets, but these were things I spent money on because I enjoyed the game and wanted to tell the game developers how much I enjoyed their game, not because they were making me pay money to play the game. 

I understand companies need to make money and that is why P2P has been around for so long, but I welcome the new ways.   I would much rather spend money on a free game than spend money on a game before I know if I will like it or not.  LoL is one of those free games.  I have spent more money buying cosmetic skins for champions (that do absolutely nothing in game except change the way they look!) then I would have spent paying for a monthly subscription. 

Sorry, this was somewhat long winded, but I guess my point is, when I like something I will spend money on it, and I would suggest if you are able, you should, too.  It doesn't have to be a lot, but spend money buying some "Super" potions or a new Cat Suit for your character because if everyone decides that they don't want to spend any money on that free game...then that free game might not be around for much longer.

- Zach

Welcome!

Hello!  I thought I would start off with a little bit about myself because I'm guessing most of you don't know who I am.

My name is Zach and I'm a proud resident of the state of Iowa!  And yes, I said proud resident.  Iowa is a great little state and I have lived here all my life.  Granted, I have traveled a bit around the country, so don't worry, my opinion isn't completely biased.

I am a self professed geek/nerd/whatever you call a gamer who plays video games, board games, and likes the fantasy and sci-fi genres.  I started playing games when I was young.  The original Nintendo was the first system I owned.  I used to travel to my cousins house almost every weekend just so I could play duck hunt.  I have since advanced to higher quality games on my PC, Xbox and PlayStation.  My current favorites are League of Legends and Rift on my computer, and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag on my new PS4.

I have played all types of games over the years.  I stick mostly to video games, but I also play board games, card games, and table top games.  These aren't your standard, old school board games and card games like Candy Land, Life or Go Fish.  They are games like Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, and Settlers of Catan.  Card games like Sentinels of the Multiverse, Smash Up, and table top games like Warhammer and Warmachine/Hordes.  I like to think of them as "Adult Board Games" for the most part.  They usually require more thinking/strategy, but that isn't always the case.

Anyway, ever since I first started playing video games, I have aspired to create them.  I think that is a common goal with people like me.  I went to Iowa State University in order to pursue my goals.  I started as a computer science major hoping to learn the programming required in order to jump into the field.  Lets just say, at the time, programming was not for me.  I then switched to a design program where I could focus on the art portion for video games.  I had a great time, and learned a lot, but didn't end up with a whole lot to show for my time in college except for a few choice images, such as the below Armored Whale:

When I graduated with my degree, I didn't really have anywhere to go, so I took a temporary job back at the family insurance agency...and that is where I have been for, wow, almost 3 years now.  I like my job and it pays the bills so I can do other things on the side, if I choose to.

I haven't given up my aspirations of making games they have just been on the back burner for awhile, but I am in the process of motivating myself to start some of my projects.  I have been collecting ideas for years now, and soon I will start the process of bringing some of them to fruition.

I'm not really sure where all of this blog will go, but I hope to share my experiences, ideas, progress, and anything else that comes up along the way to my goals.

- Zach