Gaming Chronicles - Lightning Returns: I Got to Play Again!

Warning: This article is spoiler-heavy for the game. You have been warned.

Like the title says, I finally got to play a bit more of Final Fantasy: Lightning Returns. Fortunately, I remembered key things - like Lightning having to save everyone and seeing a mysterious figure in the shadows. Like the previous installment there was a handy recap. (Which I didn't need, but it is a nice touch.)

Upon starting the game again for the first time in weeks, I was almost immediately put on a stealth-follow mission. Fortunately, there was no major penalty for being spotted a few times, which I was. This lead into a lengthy (for me at least) session of hunting down four secret numbers to access the hideout of the villainous followers of Etro. Just who is this mysterious Shadow Hunter? Why does he want Lightning dead? More importantly, where is Caius? Welp, by the end of the gaming session, I had a clear answer to at least one of those questions.

It was fun to explore Luxerion for a bit. I even dallied around the North Station because of the great track that plays there. However, as some events (like entering certain places) are time-dependent, I couldn't do too much. Or could I? I found myself with a bit of time, waiting to enter the hideout of the villains. Well, I say villains, but I should probably just say antagonists for now. Who knows what crazy twist might happen down the road...

Anyway! Finding the first two numbers was easy. I simply found one, and got one from a kid in a side-quest. I must admit, I had to consult a walk through to find the last two... After entering the lair, and running past some really scary looking monsters, Lightning was finally able to prevent an innocent pink-haired girl from being murdered. And who is the Shadow Hunter, you may ask? None other than Noel, deuteragonist of the previous game.

Some confusion sets in, now. No, Noel hasn't gone so bad as to kill innocent people, and the fanatics took things too far. But why is he giving in to the prophecies that he previously flouted? Five-hundred years is a long time, but Noel managed to stay positive in the face of being the last person on Earth. Why give in now? He departs, reminding Lightning that they would face again in a mortal battle. Also, where is Caius?

I've also remembered the fact that side-quests are what actually make you "level up." We'll see how that mechanic works out for me.

Stay tuned, but don't hold your breath. It might be a few weeks.

Gaming Chronicles - Lightning Returns: Final Hallway XIII, Part 3?

Let me preface this by saying that I enjoyed the games Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 (the latter, more so than the former). I realize that a lot of "true" Final Fantasy fans don't like them. But hey! It's just my preference.

Anyway, I was really excited to hear about the exciting conclusion to the XIII series. I pre-ordered the game, and set about waiting for it to be released. Well, the time has finally arrived. I now own the game and have begun into main story. It is quite interesting, to say the least.

Therefore, I have decided to write on/about my experiences with the game, as I play it. Be warned, however, as I already want to like the game, so I probably won't be as critical as I could be.

As a warning, there might be/will be spoilers, so don't read this if you don't care for plot points to be spoiled for you. Also, for my first play-through will be for story, so I opted for easy mode. (Which, some people might argue that the previous to games were entirely, but I digress...)

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Starting into everything, we see the opening cinematic. As I am playing on our HD TV (We finally got one, a few months ago!) the visual presentation is amazing. I'm getting pumped to play. Lightning perches atop a tower, and dramatically pulls off some sunglasses. However, the opening scenes, and beginning stages of gameplay, are almost too heavy with pure exposition. At one point, Lightning flashes back to a previous conversation, and I say to myself "Exposition!" because it's a little too obvious at that point.

The visuals are what I would expect from a system like the PS3, and more importantly, from a Final Fantasy game. (It makes me long for the opening of FF VII to be made in stunning HD. A wild dream, but one can always dream.)

After some exposition, and finding out what the heck happened while Lightning was away, the game allows us a chance to explore and begin learning how to battle with the new system. As we chase the apparently now evil Snow, some basic monsters confront us. The battle system, in my opinion, is an answer to an unrealized wish.

What unrealized wish, you ask? In the previous two games, every action was queued up and then performed at a set pace. (And, actually, in older FF games, you still just commanded the action, rather than doing it yourself.) Pressing X over and over, while it made me feel like I was doing more, actually did nothing. Here, the actions are mapped to particular buttons. Pressing X over and over finally does something! While this is a departure from the traditional RPG style of control, it seems to be the logical development from the battle systems of the previous XIII games (And, to some extent, from XII). So far, I find it engaging and enjoyable. We'll see how it fares over time.

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I began playing the game on our living room TV, and it was a little awkward/uncomfortable at first. At one point, Evil Snow is presiding over a party in which there are what seem to be a few (clothed) pole-dancers. Yes, it wasn't overly indecent, but it's still a little awkward to show up, when your mother is sitting next to you on the couch.

The other point is Lightning's new role as "the savior." Now, before the god Bhunivelze wakes up and replaces the current world with a new one, Lightning must save the souls of as many of the remaining people as possible, before time runs out in 13 days.

Previously, XIII and XIII-2 had similar issues: XIII with the Fal'Cies' control of Cocoon, and XIII-2 with Caius' plot against a goddess. However, Lightning Returns' language is a lot closer to home. At many points, Bhunivelze is simply referred to as "God."

Now, I can enjoy a fictitious world with its own fictive theology. Greek myths are great. Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia are, to some degree, both imaginative fictions and creative allegories. I've even read and watched "modern" literature and movies. However, I couldn't help but be a little off-put when Lightning criticized the plan and workings of Bhunivelze, referring to him as God. My primary motivation in playing the game (besides wanting to have all the "main" FF games) was to see the resolution of the conflict started in XIII and XIII-2. I wanted to see Cocoon's final fate. I wanted to see how/if Serah would be saved. Most importantly, I want to see a final confrontation between Lightning and Caius.

Besides the major sticking point, I'm actually liking the game so far. A new character (who some might argue is another unnecessary complication) arrives and torments Lightning. Who is she? What role will she play? Why does she look like Serah?

Well, hopefully I will find out soon. Before spoilers are posted everywhere. Uggh.

Anyway! Here's hoping the rest of the game lives up to my high expectations!

Life - SCSTA

This past month, I had the opportunity to travel with my school's theatre kids and compete at SCSTA. SCSTA, or South Carolina Speech and Theatre Association, has a festival competition each year. This year, it was held at Newberry College, so we all piled into Mrs. DeVault and TJ Ellis's vehicles and "boogied on down the road" to get there.

It's pretty simple what SCSTA actually is. The real question is "What is SCSTA to me?" So I think back on that Saturday:

I didn't know what I was getting myself into: part of me was afraid that I wouldn't be allowed to go. With such actors as Rebecca Pearson and TJ Fisher in one's group, one tends to be overwhelmed. Fortunately, I was not the only one going for the first time. We had at least 4 people with us that hadn't gone before.

My pieces were two monologues performed for the "audition monologue" category. I was initially expecting to perform on some stage, in front of at least a moderate crowd. However, most of the activities were held in small classrooms, some the same size as ones here at Erskine! That was actually a point I really liked. Being close up to the actors made the experience more personal. For instance, when I watched duet acting during the first round, one group used a table and chairs, and addressed both sides of the tables surrounding them. There was even a splash zone for that scene! (Well, a thrown glass, but still...) One group even asked for feedback on their performance. (Although, maybe that was a bit much like aiding the enemy? Anyway, it felt nice to be helpful.)

During the second round, I went to audition monologues for my performance. Our group had about 4-5 people, and ended rather early. I wasn't as intimidated as I thought I was going to be.

Without going into extensive, dull details, the rest of the day was pretty nice, too. They had karaoke while the judges made their decisions, and Erskine walked away with 5 trophies.

SCSTA was a learning experience for me. One thing I could say is that determined minors and amateurs can beat professor-compelled majors any day. However, that goes without saying. More importantly, though, SCSTA was a real opportunity to enjoy theatre with many other people, even people who aren't going into it as a profession. Being at theatre at Erskine is nice (Getting lead roles is actually a possibility for me here!) but there's only so many of us here. Seeing so many other people at SCSTA was great. It's all about the shared experience in theatre.

That is what SCSTA is to me: a common experience; sharing the joy of theatre and speech.

Numbers - My Own Personal Math "System"

One of my pet peeves is when a professor gives handouts, but they are sloppily arranged or difficult to make out. I understand that they have busy lives; at the very least the syllabus should be clear. Anyway, one of my hobbies is formatting documents and organizing information. It may not even matter what the information it is that I'm organizing. For example, I have a catalog of the video game systems I have and many of the games. Perhaps it is destiny that I should be a librarian one day.

Now, to the topic at hand: since I care so much about formatting, my college lecture notes are also formatted. Class title, date and type of notes are usually what I indicate in the header. One thing that I like to do, if I can, is make a simple equation out of the numbers of that date. Today is a good example: 1-13-14 becomes 1+13=14. It is a small thing, with no relation to the topic at hand (which is usually literature of some kind or psychology) but it got me thinking: How many ways can I create these equations? For that matter, how many can I make? Finally, an excuse to be able to write a math-related article!

Before I begin, I must establish some parameters. One is that I am using a simple format: MM-DD-YY, as I would write in a date for notes. It is good to limit the year to two digits, as YYY and YYYY would seem to complicate matters (They don't add as many numbers as it would seem: one is still limited to a maximum of 12 * 31 as the highest multiplicative operation. However, I have no need to write out 2013 or 2014 as I am fairly confident that I have no written notes from 1914.) Results too must be limited: for the sake of simplicity I won't use operations that result in negative numbers or fractions.

Oh yes, I cannot forget: I am also staying within the years AD. BC/BCE goes back too far, and to a over-contested beginning date. 2014 years is still a lot of years.

Even with these four limits in place, there is still a great deal that one can do. First, one can look at the four basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Then, one can consider exponents.

I began by making a table to determine the lowest and highest possible combinations for each of the five operations. Multiplication and exponentiation were a little bit more complicated: the former had a separate category for highest possible month and highest possible year, while there were several highest possible exponents for the latter. It too featured a month-year dichotomy.

At this point, I must pause from writing for the compiling of tables and research. After all, could not there be an equation to figure out the number of "operative dates" within the last 2014 years? Alas, I do not have the ability to formulate such a thing.

To conclude, I found that there were approximately 28 operative dates for 2014. Most months only had two. (Reading back, I must make a confession: I had to allow for negative results, as in 3-15-12.)

What does this mean for you, the reader? I'm not sure, actually. I just wanted to work some of these out myself. And, I haven't posted an article in so long. So! Be inspired! If I can find a fun little math problem to work out, then so can you!

Life - Much Distractions. Very Wow.

Again, a gap of months since the last I've written. I must apologize, internet, for my slacking off of writing. First, there was play practice and the play itself, then exams and more exams. Occasionally when I had chance to write, I either couldn't think of a topic or I couldn't figure out how to start with a particular topic. Excuses, I know, but they are still valid reasons.

Where to begin? Memes leaked into my life for a few days/weeks. I am amused by the meme called "shibe doge." Unfortunately, it got to a point where my thoughts were being organized in the same pattern. When I commented on something to myself, it came out "Wow. So Hawthorne. Much uncanny" or something similar. Fortunately, worry over exams, social matters, and packing stopped that in its tracks! I think. One does not simple get a meme out of one's head...

Back on topic! The play (We Have Always Lived in the Castle) was a learning experience for me. Never had I acted in so large of a role before. The actual acting part was easy enough. All I had to do was either talk loudly or be creepy, and I had Uncle Julian down, no problem. My issue was lines. Before, even in Arsenic and Old Lace, I was limited to mainly short, dialogue in reaction to others. There wasn't as much awkward standing around as in The Tempest, but they were still small roles. Uncle Julian, on the other hand, was a fairly large role. It was, also, one of my favorite roles. When else could I be super annoying, super loud and super creepy, all at varying times in the same play?

As with most of the plays I had been in, we pulled it all together just in time for opening night. (Maybe I shouldn't be saying such things, but I have to be honest here. Well, I don't have to, but I want to, at least right here.) Fortunately, our glorious director, the Grand Poobah of the Theatre Department, put us in place and kicked us into action at our last two dress rehearsals.

Once the play was going, everything went smoothly. Yes, certain audiences were annoying, and yes, we sometimes forgot lines. (Oh right. That's the bit I shouldn't have said. Oops.) I still liked it. I'm definitely coloring my memories with nostalgia and rose-glasses when I say this, but it was one of my favorite productions in which to play a part.

After that, there was a whole bunch of school, and stuff. I will enact ellipsis and skip from the play to today. I haven't done much, besides visiting peeps at Greenville ARP and reading miscellaneous books. Still looking into graduate schools, though.

In regards to further articles, I have been contemplating looking at the use of theme and variations in a certain video game... Stay tuned!

Well, that's all for now! Bye-bye internet.

Music - Testament of Freedom! AMERICA!

Sometimes you stumble upon cool things. No, I don't mean that internet site, just real life stuff. Other times... not so much. I was chilling in the music building when I found a couple of scores that looked interesting. One was a two-part mass. The other caught my attention for the reason of its text: select writings of Thomas Jefferson.

Now, I said, that sounds cool. It'll probably be VERY patriotic and say something about America and freedom. Looking back, I can confidently say I was correct about that guess. In regards to my opener: is this a cool thing or not? In many ways it was.

Starting off the work, is the first movement, entitled "The God who gave us life." The whole of the text is "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy but cannot disjoin them." As far as a text, it's not too bad: it's not too long or too wordy. The music lends a contemplative air to it. The song states a fact that the text-writer assumes as a basic truth.

However, getting into the other movements, the text and tone change. The texts for the second and third movements are over two paragraphs long, and the fourth consists of a paragraph and a recapitulation of the first text.

For me, it's not the text length that makes an ill-fit. It's the word choice of Thomas Jefferson. He is an intelligent and erudite man, but his lofty language and multi-syllabic words are not always a good fit for the music. I almost giggled at the line "Our internal resources are great." It just doesn't work for a dramatic text. It sounds like office lingo. I know that it is not, and that the whole of the text is patriotic, but it still feels too wordy.

Another issue I have is the nature of the text. Thomas Jefferson writes lofty words about the nation, but their usage in a dramatic piece like this pushes the patriotism almost into jingo territory. Part of my annoyance is colored by a knowledge of history: I remember the condition of non-WASPs at that time when presented with the words "Our cause is just" or "We cannot endure the infamy and guilt ... which inevitably waits them if we basely entail hereditary bondage upon them." Whatever his intent was in those lines, I can't help what comes to mind. But that's just an issue I'd have to take up with Thomas Jefferson and not the composer, Randall Thompson.

Overall, it's fun to listen to for kicks. However, the text utilized is not quite right for musical setting. Because of the wordiness of the author, the music comes off as stilted at points. However, it would make good listening on the Fourth of July.

AMERICA!

Psychology - (No) Pun Intended

How many times have you been reading a book, when you come across this apologetic sentence, "No pun intended," usually following some small unintentional play on words? At least a few times. Sales of fireworks have skyrocketed. The price of yeast has risen. The frog croaked. In most serious publications, it is completely unintentional and not intended to be humorous. Or is it?

One important concept in psychology is the idea that the human brain constantly seeks out patterns in the world around it. The cognitive map is a method of organizing the information to which one is exposed. This is used to keep physical surroundings in mind. A similar concept is the schema: this is the organization of new information into the old "database." However, there is another concept which fits best: the preconscious. Unlike the subconscious, preconscious consists of non-repressed memories and information. For instance, if you are writing or talking about different varieties of cheese, you might bring different memories of cheese and cheese-based foods to your preconscious memory. You're not actively thinking about them, but if somebody asks your favorite variety, you'll probably draw the answer from your preconscious store. Or, you might warn somebody about eating a 15 cheese pizza any time soon. The memories and ideas are ready to be accessed, just waiting for you to think about them.

This extends even into word choice for writing. If I were to write an action scene, words like "Bam!" and "Pow!" would enter my preconscious and later conscious mind. Someone with a large vocabulary might recall shorter, sharper words. The question then, is this: are written puns ever unintentional? In most textbooks, the answer is probably yes. However, if your friend "accidentally" uses one, chances are it was completely intentional. Because we seek patterns, we choose words that fit the concepts best (at least, in our own minds). I'm not going to say "Butter salesmen have disseminated themselves across the nation," but "Butter salesman have spread themselves across the nation." The humorous aspect may not be purposeful, but the supposed pun is completely intentional.

I suppose you thought "Oh, he's only going to write in puns" after seeing the title. I'm a-Freud I'm going to have to disappoint you. Writing puns for any field requires more than a working knowledge of id. I'm not plotting a schema to amuse you.

Puns, therefore, derive from our need to connect things mentally. Every pun is intended.