Where Gamers Rule

I live in a household for gamers.  In fact, it seems as if I have always lived in a household for gamers, but this isn't quite true.  My brother and I received a Nintendo gaming system when we were kids, but after getting stuck on Simon's Quest, I left the gaming world for books for a long time.  After graduating high school and jumping into college, I got the GREATEST JOB EVER (for a college student) -- I worked in a video store.  Now this wasn't the sad thing video stores are now.  No, kids, this was before Netflix and On-Demand movies.  When you wanted to watch a movie, you went to a video store and rented a movie or video game.  During this time, I saw the rise of the PlayStation and the advent of the DVD.

To make a long story short, my coworkers re-introduced me to the world of video games and the glory that is RPG (role playing games).  I fell in love with Final Fantasy and Parasite Eve.  When I lived with my ex-boyfriend, we had a PlayStation 2 and a Gamecube in the house as well as several of the older systems so that we could game on any of the 2-3 TVs in  the house.  When I moved out on my own after we parted ways, one of my first purchases was a refurbished PlayStation 2. 

Gaming is for when I need a little down time; a little time to disconnect from reality and let my mind wander in strange directions.  Gaming recharges my batteries.

As a result, E3 is always one of the biggest events of the year (outside of my own book releases).  On Monday, I watched the press conference for Ubisoft, who makes my current favorite game series Assassin's Creed, and Sony's press conference.  Let me just say that there are some epic games coming out this year, showing not only a leap forward in battle systems and visual effects, but also in storytelling. 

If you're not interested in video games, then you can stop reading here but check out the first video below.  It really strikes at the heart of why I love gaming.

If you like video games, keep going.

First, Sony gave a big thanks to all the games going strong out there, bringing up one of their most successful commercial campaigns of all time.  I have to agree.  I watch this video, seeing so many of the characters I love, and I get chills.




For me, there are two truly epic game designers out there right now.  Ubisoft and Naughty Dog.  Both companies are constantly redefining great gaming and exceeding expectations.  With Ubisoft, they appear to be continuing their winning streak with Assassin's Creed 3.  Now I was initially hesitant about this game because I love Ezio Auditore from the last 3 Assassin's Creed games.  During their press conference, they showed off amazing game play while the Sony press conference showed off never-seen-before footage of the main character engaged in a battle at sea.  In a word: EPIC.  What's more, there are also releasing a second Assassin's Creed game this fall for the PS Vita, which will feature the first female assassin in the lead.  To see the newest trailers, click here.

Meanwhile, Naughty Dog is no slouch.  The company has a number of strong franchises under its belt, but it really came into its own with the release of the Uncharted series.  Nate Drake is a treasure hunter with a witty comment on the tip of his tongue and a knack for getting into trouble -- gee, reminds me of my own brother.  This year, Naughty Dog has gone in a new direction with its newest game The Last of Us.  A post-apocalyptic survival game that follows a man and a teenage girl through a city filled with dangers.  The game is dark, gritty, gripping, and simply astounding.  The Sony press conference showed off actual game play for the first time and it was heart-stoppping and intense.  This is not a game you want to miss. 



I'm sure there's more news that will be trickling out of E3 for the next couple of days, but I'm quite happy right now.  Other games that look amazing and I'll probably be picking?  Beyond: Two Souls, God of War: Ascension, Assassin's Creed: Liberation, and Book of Spells (for Sony's new Wonderbook).

Book Signing & New Love

Before I get into the rambling section of my blog post today, let me announce that I will be doing a book signing on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7 pm at the Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Crestview, Kentucky.  Here's the contact information if you are interested:

Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2785 Dixie Hwy.
Crestview Hills, KY 41017

At signings I typically answer any questions you might have regarding the books or my writing process.  Also, I am planning to bring along some new work that hasn't been released yet.  If no one has questions, I might do some reading of the new work.  I'll try to bring some other goodies as well.  I hope you can make it.

Now to the ramble...

The book is coming a bit slowly this week.  The first six chapters seemed to fly from my fingertips and I have a feeling that the other 20+ chapters will do the same as soon as I get the rest of the story outlined.  My main concern at the moment is that there is a lot of talking in the first few chapters.  It's all really important information but I'm afraid that there isn't enough tension, fighting, and general violence.  The next chapter I have planned should help fix that as well as give Gage some "private" time with Trixie.

Sitting on the floor, starting up at my wall calendar while listening to music yesterday (this is how I outline books), I had two new characters sit with me.  One I just refer to as the "laughing madman" and the other is a woman with an odd habit when it comes to names.  I don't know if they're going to appear in the new book, but I hope so.  They're ... different.  I'm beginning to learn that in this new world, there's this enormous gulf of gray area between what is considered sane and insane.  Let's just say you could fit whole cities in the gray area and still have room for some suburbs and ample parking.

A separate ramble...

I'm a gamer.  Not one of those hardcore gamers who has played every hot video game to come out for a system, but I do like a good video game.  In truth, I got started in gaming kind of late; not getting interested until the release of the PlayStation 1.  Somewhere along the way, I picked up Final Fantasy 8 and fell in love.  I've played Final Fantasy 7-13, except I didn't play the online one and I haven't finished 13.  I've played Guitar Hero and Rock Band, as well as a scattering of other games.  Years ago, we used to get a large group of friends together to play a first-person shooter called Time Splitters.

I'm not a great gamer.  I don't have fantastic hand-eye coordination so AA (action-adventure) games are hard for me, but I still love them.  I watched my brother and O.H. play both the Batman games as well as all the Uncharted games.  I've spent hours watching Devil May Cry, Prince of Persia (who later became an inspiration for our own beloved Danaus), and lots of Resident Evil.


After recently getting sucked into some online play, I've attempted my first AA game solo, and I've found a new love.  His name is Ezio Auditore di Firenza.  For me, a great game is more than killer graphics and a strong combat engine.  A great game has to have a great story at its core along with heart-gripping characters.  I believe that Square Enix (the makers of Final Fantasy) have some of the best storytellers in the business, but recently, I've come to realize that Naughty Dog (Uncharted makers) and Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia makers) are excellent storytellers as well.  More importantly, Naughty Dog and Ubisoft make amazing, memorable characters that you love.  I like Tidus, Cloud, and Yuna from Final Fantasy, but I love Ezio and Nate Drake (from Uncharted).

I finished Assassin's Creed 2 last night, and I have to admit that I was a little heartsore when the credits rolled.  Through the passage of 20 years, you followed this character through heartbreak and triumph only to be left with more questions.  I understood why he did the things he did, but at the end, I wanted to walk up to him, place a hand against his cheek, and ask him, "Was it worth it?"  I think he would give me his patented little smirk, and say that it was, but I still feel sad for him.

Naturally, I've started the next game, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, but I'm debating whether to stop there and not go on to Revelations.  There's something in me that doesn't want to see the character at the end of his life.  Sort of like he won't get older and can't die if I don't play that part of the game.

But then, I still get a little heartsore when I think about how infrequently Mira and Danaus visit with me now.

Out Sick

I have crawled out of bed today to tell you that I'm crawling back into bed.  I'm sick.  It came on fast last night. I was laying in bed watching South Park when I realized that I was feeling hot and stuffy.  Less than an hour later, I was full blown sick.  Sort of flu-like.  I think I caught it from my niece, but seeing as she's only one, I won't punch her in the nose for it.  Besides, I think she still feels worse than me.

So, today I am taking the day off.  I've got some juice, a turkey sandwich, a stack of DVD's, four books, and a comfy bed waiting for me.  I don't want to leave my faithful readers high and dry today so I have a couple videos.

For the gamers, I saw this while watching South Park last night and thought it was AWESOME.  Tell me, how many video games can you name in this video?



And here's a video for anyone who has yet to discover Freddie Wong.  His videos are highly awesome and terribly addictive. 



Have a great day and stay away from sick people.