Chopsticks in hair 90s

It’s been a few days now since I’ve been able to play Torchlight 2 during their beta stress test event. It was also the first time I ever got to play the game (even though I’ve pre-purchased it in the meantime). And now I’ll share with you my impressions about the game! I haven’t actually read much about the game before trying it out (and before pre-purchasing… *cough*). So, I’m definitely not even half as informed about this game than I am about Guild Wars 2. Before entering the game When I created my first character, I liked having a few options to choose from (face, hair style, hair colour, gender). Those choices aren’t ground-breaking. But it’s better than nothing and for a non-MMO, it’s enough for me to have such simple choices. In general, I just prefer playing a female character, so I really loved being able to do that. And then – the pets! My absolute favourite part. I really wanted to play with the ferret but … [Read more...] about First Impressions: Torchlight 2

Process Automation One of the things I have figured out over the years is that things work really well only if you aren’t thinking about them.  For example if I have a repetitive data entry task, I can seem to do it awesome and at full speed…  only until I actually stop to think about what I am doing.  Hell even typing itself works amazingly well and I can compose perfectly at the keyboard with zero typos… until I stop to think about what my hands are doing.  At that point I screw everything up and get the sequence completely out of whack.  As a result I try and commit as many things as I can in life to a sort of ritual.  This frees me up to daydream about whatever the hell I want to, while still performing the task at hand on autopilot.  My morning routine is much like this, a sequence of events that happen essentially on their own, and works awesomely until I am forced to think about it.  When I do have to think about whatever … [Read more...] about Raiding Tombs

In the distant past, I’m sure that I’ve written an essay or two defending and explaining why most all of my RPG and MMO characters tend to be female. But out of all of the reasons that I’ve listed in those articles, I don’t think I touched on one of the most important ones: I generally hate how male characters are portrayed in games. I’ve made an effort. From time to time, I try to push myself to roll up a male character for variety’s sake if nothing else. I convince myself that there’s nothing wrong with it and that it’ll be good for me to experience the game from the same gender that I am. But a couple of exceptions aside, it rarely sticks. I don’t end up bonding with the male toons the same way that I do with the females, and I grow increasingly cautious about doing that again because I don’t want to waste time or money investing into a character that I will either abandon or pay to change. What is it? Why are male … [Read more...] about Why I don’t roll male characters in video games

First Winter One of the things about weight loss that no one really told me is the fact that I would go from being very hot natured, to freezing all of the time.  This is the first winter after losing roughly seventy pounds so far, and I have to say it is a pretty miserable thing.  I am absolutely living in this Carhart black zip up hoodie.  I pretty much wear it over everything, because it keeps me at least somewhat warm.   I keep hoping that eventually my internal body temperature will regulate and I will get used to having less insulation.  It is essentially the same feeling as you have when you have just gotten a long overdue hair cut… but instead of my head being cold it is my entire body. I am not complaining, the weight loss has had many other tangible benefits.  However as “snowmageddon” barrels down on my area I find myself shivering quite a bit.  We are supposed to get all manner of icy nastiness dumped on us around … [Read more...] about Trove Crafting

It’s time for another amazing Fashion Week here at One Shots! It’s like Shark Week, only with sleeker looks and less chum. Last time, I put out a call for the latest character outfits, and we certainly saw some terrific ensembles. We’ll start off with Hikari, who soared right into my heart with this pic: “DCUO has a lot of ‘must haves’ when it comes to costume choices. For me, it was the Diana Troy cosmic material and the Starfire hair. Throw in a little orange, and you have the perfect Samhain attire.” Sadly, two minutes later she was struck by sixteen drones piloted by unauthorized teenagers doing some sort of nighttime coordinated display. RIP. Bel had fun with the fashion challenge. Perhaps too much fun. There were cops involved and all sorts of legal disputes and at least one paternity suit. But in the end, we got an array of neat-looking Warframe outfits that were inspired by, of all things, Toy Story. This one is “Rhino … [Read more...] about One Shots: A star is born