Shopping for Clothes

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Hope they’re not Autons

I am a 52 year old man, who has unofficially retired and therefore no longer has to commute, work in an office or interact with clients. I am also in a long term, stable relationship. I don’t have to worry about having to dress to impress, cutting a dash or maintaining a professional appearance. Nor do I put any particular stock in fashion. I view clothes as mainly functional, tempered with a degree of style. Comfort is by far the biggest deciding factor, along with durability. I don’t overly worry about my age, so I don't feel the need to dress especially “young”. My day to day clothes consist of t-shirts, jeans and trainers/sneakers. If it’s cold I put on a fleece. If I need to “look smart” I wear a shirt. If it’s jacket weather I wear a hooded top or something casual. Hence it will come as no surprise that my wardrobe is not at the cutting edge of fashion. However, I don’t look like a hobo either, to quote my granddaughters. It’s all a far cry from my parents' generation when clothes were far more formal and each age group seemed to have an unofficial uniform.

I don’t buy clothes regularly, tending to buy in bulk every couple of years when things start wearing out. I was recently told by Mrs P that I need to “buy some new clothes” which was a subtle way of saying that some items of clothing were approaching the end of their lifespan and I was in danger of looking shabby. So the first step was to decide where to go. I’ve never liked clothes shopping. I despise the entire culture associated with it. I loathe going into poorly laid out shops where everything is organised by brand and not item, having to interact with indifferent sales staff, all while being subject to music and advertising via a PA system and TV screens. Hence I wanted a one stop solution and ended up going to Sainsbury’s at Crayford. It’s their biggest store in the UK and has an entire second floor dedicated to clothing and footwear. They also own their own clothing brand which is very reasonable both in quality and price. I am no longer a slave to brands (with a few exceptions).

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Very stylish

I bought 4 pairs of jeans, some marvel themed socks, a plain t-shirt and a jumper. I spent £105. When I got home I then went online and ordered two further t-shirts. These were more expensive as they had puerile logos and graphic adorning them but they amused me and that is sufficient justification for their purchase. I shall probably buy a couple of “going out shirts” so I don’t disgrace Mrs P when we’re next at a function or restaurant. I also need a new winter jacket. I estimate that by the time I’ve bought all this, I’ll have spent about £300 or so. I bought some Sketcher’s footwear this summer and although comfortable, I don’t think they’re suitable for walking major distances. However I only recently replaced my Reebok Hi Top Trainers (one pair white, one pair balck), so I don’t need anything further in that department. I still have a decent cashmere coat and a couple of suits, along with some proper shoes left over from my “city days”. But I have no call to wear them except at weddings and funerals.

In some respects a fifty year old man’s wardrobe is a perfunctory affair. That’s not to say I am indifferent about my appearance. But as long as my hair is cut regularly, my beard is trimmed and my weight is managed, then I don’t worry too much about what I’m wearing. As I mentioned at the start of this post, comfort and convenience are now major factors that determine what I buy. In recent years the UK has started enjoying longer and warmer summers. So I now find that I wear shorts around the home a lot longer throughout the year. However, I have not made the mistake of buying larger sizes. That is a very slippery slope. If what I’ve bought today is a little snug, then that’s additional motivation to lose weight. Overall, if I had to summarise my personal sartorial elegance it would be casual, functional and neat. If I feel the need to add some additional distinction and character I suppose I could always wear a cravat and sport a monocle.

LOTRO: Update 28 “Mini Expansion”

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Content updates are usually free for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online. In recent years developer Standing Stone Games have maintained a fairly consistent release schedule. This has usually meant 2 to 3 free updates per year that add new zones, PVE content and instances. There have then been a full expansion every two years that has to be bought. These are usually available in 3 different versions ranging from the base game to an ultimate edition. There is a major expansion currently in development for release in 2021. This will focus on the war between Dwarves and the Orcs of Mount Gundabad. However, it was announced on Friday during a Developer Livestream that Update 28: The War of the Three Peaks, which is due in November, has been rebranded as a mini expansion and is not going to be free but instead chargeable.

Perhaps the most obvious question that immediately comes to mind is whether SSG are charging for this “mini expansion” due to a loss of revenue caused by the recent server outages and performance issues? The year started well for them with the lockdown bringing a wealth of new players back to the game. Hence they saw fit to give a great deal of content away, free of charge. However, July and August saw the game servers closed for nearly two weeks with ongoing performance issues and logon problems that still persist. I’m sure I was not alone in postponing renewing my subscription during this period. And if there is no one ingame then you can kiss goodbye to all those impulse purchases that are so often made by players. Another thought that has occurred to me is whether Update 28 is an attempt to raise additional funding to address the ongoing infrastructure problems. Is there a service contract that they need to cancel early? Is there an alternative service provider offering an optimal deal for a short period of time?

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I have enjoyed playing LOTRO for 12 years now. I, like many others, will often indulge this MMO and its developers, Standing Stone Games. I am not expecting any radical new systems to be added to the game, nor do I hold any hope that some of the existing mechanics will be overhauled. Updates for LOTRO are mainly narrative driven PVE content, set in new areas of Middle-earth. Occasionally new instances and raids are added but the game effectively just offers more of the same as each year goes by. Broadly, this works and keeps the player base engaged. If there are any content related gaps, the community fills them itself with events and roleplay. SSG’s greatest asset is the virtual Middle-earth that they’ve created and maintained. It is a foundation upon which their player base builds upon. But like a restaurant that has a fixed menu and a nice view, it’s lack of diversity becomes less of a comfort and more of a hindrance over time.

As soon as Update 28 hits the preview server, I will be checking it out. So far, I am not overly impressed by what I’ve seen in the teaser video that SSG released. It seems to rely on too many reused assets and recycled environments. Considering that they’re charging for this content, you’d expect something a little more creative and ambitious than what appears to be on offer. I most certainly don’t want to see LOTRO wane and fall into decline but I feel that the tide is turning against them. I don’t think I’m the only one who seems somewhat underwhelmed by this announcement and what is on offer. I have no objection to novelty mounts and will certainly enjoy riding around on a Wild Boar but I’m not sure if this is going to be sufficient justification to buy what is essentially just an average new region with recycled environments. Hopefully, there’s more to Update 28 than meets the eye. Otherwise, SSG could have another PR disaster on their hands.

Quickscoping

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Developers do like to gate access to the best gear and equipment in video games. Often there will be an achievement or deed required to unlock the object that you desire. Now I have no objection to this concept in principle. It’s just that every now and then, the criteria required to access an item is beyond my abilities. Take Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone. Infinity Ward recently added the Rytec AMR to the game. It is a semi-automatic sniper rifle that can use thermite and explosive rounds. It has a significantly higher rate-of-fire than the HDR and AX-5, and performs better at range than the Dragunov. I’ve been itching to get my hands on this weapon for a while. However, to unlock it, you have to complete the following achievement. "Get 2 quickscope kills using sniper or marksman rifles in 15 different matches". For me this is effectively one of the labours of Hercules.

Quickscoping is a technique used by a player to promptly eliminate an enemy. When confronted with an opponent, you must quickly aim down the sight of your weapon (by pressing the right hand mouse button), instantly fires a shot (by pressing the left mouse button) and then returns to the default view (by releasing the right mouse button). To have a kill counted as a quickscope kill, you'll need to “one-shot” a target within 1- 2 seconds of aiming down sights. You'll require a weapon with a “one shot” capability that can also aim down sight (ADS) as quickly as possible. It also helps to be proficient with sniper and marksman rifles and to have fast reactions. Let it suffice to say, I am not fast enough to easily undertake this task. I played seven matches last night and only managed to achieve 2 quickscope kills in one game. I have to do this another 14 times to unlock the Rytec AMR.

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Like many other video games, Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone has an ingame store. One of the things it sells are weapon blueprints. These are plans of bespoke builds, that if purchased instantly provide you with a reciprocal weapon, irrespective of whether you have the base version of the same weapon unlocked. However, this system comes with a minor but significant caveat. I bought the blueprints for a particular version of the Rytec AMR. If I equip this version and use it while playing, I will level the weapon and unlock all the various barrels, sights and other customisations. However, I will not be able to equip any of these items until I unlock the gun itself, which inevitably brings me back to that achievement that I’m currently struggling with. I still have to “get 2 quickscope kills using sniper or marksman rifles in 15 different matches".

I guess if I play enough, I can unlock this achievement by pure attrition. However, it does take the pleasure out of playing to a degree. I am currently using the Kar98k marksman rifle to try and improve my proficiency at quickscoping but it’s a slow process. In the meantime my kill to death ratio has taken a turn for the worse while I use this weapon. I don’t mind a challenge but there’s a fine line between an engaging learning curve and a tedious grind. It would be preferable if developer’s Infinity Ward offered a choice of achievements to unlock weapons, so the player could at least find one that they enjoyed as well as met their skills set. If my attempts to unlock the Rytec AMR fail, I shall have to wait and see if a better set of blueprints for the weapon go on sale, as I would like to experience firsthand the benefits of explosive ammunition.

More PC Peripherals

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Back in May I bought a new keyboard, mouse and headset and subsequently wrote about the alarming rate at which I seem to get through PC peripherals compared to other gamers. So far these new items are proving to be durable. More recently I tried to repair an Xbox controller which had a problematic thumbstick but that sadly did not yield satisfactory results. So I ended up replacing it with a new one. However, one thing that has served me well has been my computer chair. I purchased this in August 2016 and it has proven comfortable and hard wearing. I replaced the gas lift piston in early 2018 and that has kept it going up until a week or so ago. Finally after four years, the upholstery is worn and the foam padding has started crumbling. Repairing these parts of the chair are not really cost effective, so I decided to buy a new one.

The Xbox controller that I needed to replace was originally bought back in 2011. I don’t recollect it costing £50 plus at the time, as they do now. So rather than buying a Microsoft branded version, I decided to go with a generic model as long as there was no serious compromise in quality and performance. Naturally, you can find comparative reviews for virtually anything these days, so it didn’t take long to find a suitable recommendation. I eventually bought the PowerA Spectra Enhanced Xbox One Wired Controller for £35. It is robustly made and offers identical functionality to that of an official controller. Plus it has programmable buttons for those who feel so inclined and like all PC gaming related peripherals, it has LEDs for pointless illumination. At present this new gamepad is to facilitate my playing of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout which it does admirably.

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Buying a new chair is a more complex problem. I spend a substantial amount of my day in my office, at my desk, so it’s important to have a supportive and comfortable chair. Ideally, I would usually go to a showroom and try out what is on offer but the current situation in the UK makes that difficult. So again I read reviews and tried to determine whether the chair in question was “comfy”. The first thing I noticed is that office chairs seem to fall into three categories. Computer chairs, executive chairs and gaming chairs. All broadly offer the same thing; somewhere to park your bum. The only major difference is the style. Gaming chairs seem to focus more on back support and are frequently come in lurid colours. They also seem to have over inflated prices as they’re pitched at gamers. However, I found one store (Argos) that had its own brand of chair that was positively rated and £25 cheaper than others, so I bought the Raptor Ergonomic Gaming Chair for £95.

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I feel that I have finally got my PC and desk setup as I like it. I upgraded my PC last September and it has performed well over the last 12 months. So far I have not encountered a game that I cannot run at the settings I choose. I have also taken time to manage my desktop peripherals. I have a USB cable conveniently placed so I can quickly attach my phone when required. My headset connects to an audio extension cable, that is similarly placed to make things easy. I have also given some thought as to whether I need a second monitor. As I no longer have any intention of live streaming and I shall not be returning to the IT industry as a source of employment, I do not see the need to buy another display. I prefer to focus on the one screen and concentrate on the task in hand. I sometimes use my Tablet if I need to consult a game wiki while playing an RPG or MMO and that works well. A second monitor would require a new stand and a reorganisation of my desktop. So I think for the present I will leave things as they are, as the current setup seems optimal.

Star Trek Day

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Today is Star Trek Day. An officially sanctioned celebration of all things Star Trek. The date reflects the launch of the original television show, back in the sixties. Naturally, there are a multitude of events going on over at the official Star Trek website. And as ever, the MMORPG Star Trek Online is taking part in the celebrations. “On September 8th, 1966, the world first met a group of people, and a ship, that would change our lives forever. Pitched as “wagon train to the stars,” and brought to TV by the force of Lucille Ball’s will, Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek hit tiny television screens around the world and immediately captured hearts and minds. Through three seasons, and decades in syndication, The Original Series started a movement that still lasts today, more than half a century later. We live in a time where there’s more new Star Trek than ever before, and we’re joining with the rest of our Star Trek Family to celebrate the franchise’s birthday”.

As of today in Star Trek Online, there is a special Starfleet Museum in orbit above Deep Space Nine and Earth Space Dock. The museum contains ten iconic ships from Star Trek movies, television, and the MMORPG. After receiving a message from Federation President Okeg, you undertake a mission to hail each ship. The ship responds with a quote from their respective Captains, along with some lore facts and behind the scenes information about the TV show, movie or game that featured them. Hailing all ten of the ships will complete an accolade and grant you a special title: Historical Documents Expert. It’s a simple but enjoyable mission that doesn’t take too long. It also serves as a reminder that the reach of Star Trek is truly global and spans over five decades. There have been times when Star Trek has been off the air and had a doubtful future. However, we find ourselves enjoying the opposite at present with multiple shows on offer.

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Star Trek TOS was one of the first shows I remember sitting down and watching as a family. If memory serves it used to be shown mid-evening on the BBC when it was repeated in the early seventies. As a child the show left a major impression upon me. Obviously the action and special effects were a big selling point but I also recall how the friendship between Kirk, McCoy and Spock was a source of intrigue. They argued and often disagreed and yet they maintained a strong bond and obviously had a great deal of respect for each other. Although I didn’t express it in such terms at the time, there was an important social dynamic going on. Upon reflection I feel that their friendship is one of the most honest and credible you’ll find in popular culture. The fact that the show also depicted equality “at work” was not lost upon me. I greatly enjoyed Star Trek TAS as well in my youth and I’m pleased to see it is now considered canonical.

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Sadly over the years we have not seen Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future come to pass. Yes, a lot of the technology depicted in the show has begun to emerge and Star Trek has influenced multiple generations of viewers to follow their dreams and pursue a career in science, medicine and other professions. The film and TV industry is rife with creative talents who cite the show as a major influence. But the sad reality is that the dream of a united world that looks to the star for fulfilment is nowhere in sight. Our leaders tend to be the opposite of Jean Luc Picard or Kathryn Janeway. Measured diplomacy, tempered with wisdom and optimism is in short supply these days. Hence Star Trek remains a franchise about what some of us would like to see society become. Others however, prefer to look to the Romulan Star Empire for inspiration. However, despite my ever growing cynicism, I’m not done with Star Trek yet. I still see it as a force for good and positive change. May it continue to live long and prosper.

Caring for the Elderly: Part 11

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I last wrote a post about “caring for the elderly” in February. There have been significant changes in my family's fortunes since then and like anyone in a caring situation, the lockdown has had a major impact and sadly not for the good. As ever, I choose to recount my own experiences in the hope that they may be of some use to others who are in a similar situation. So to begin with, my Mother went into Respite Care just as the pandemic was hitting the UK and the lockdown was being implemented. Hence her stay in a nursing home was not the best experience. All the additional social activities usually on offer were suspended so all she effectively did was swap one sick room for another. She came back home just as my sister moved from working in London to working from home. Hence from March onwards both her and I have been caring for both my disabled parents on a daily basis. However, my sister has had to hold down a job at the same time.

Both of our parents have noticeably declined both physically and mentally during the lockdown. The mobile library service has been suspended and family and friends naturally have not been able to visit. My Mum and Dad have a long list of low level medical problems that are usually treated at home. The Podiatrist and the ear clinician have both been absent for the last five to six months. However, there have been a few minor victories. I finally managed to get both parents dealt with by the same care company which has made scheduling visits a lot easier. This particular company has been quick to move to a phone based app, so I always know who is coming and at what approximate time. My Mother now also sees the district nurse team due to several foot injuries not healing properly. But even these two improvements to the situation do not greatly change the overall outcome. Both parents have a poor quality of life. My Mother spends the day in a chair and is simply fed and medicated. My Father is washed, dressed and placed in front of a TV for most of his day. They cannot do anything else without the assistance of several able bodied people.

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However in the last calendar month there have been several radical changes to both my parents conditions. My mother has been getting community physiotherapy at home, where they have been attempting to improve her mobility. It is somewhat belated, considering she fell and broke her arm in late November last year. But that can’t be helped. Over a series of visits and physical tests it has been determined by the senior physiotherapist that although she can lift herself up out of a chair and stand, her knees cannot sustain her walking for more than a step or two. As of today she has been officially classified as immobile and will never walk again. Due to her hearing issues she was aware of some of what was discussed with her. But once the therapist left, I had to tell her in simpler terms that she could no longer walk and in doing so took away the last vestige of hope she’s been clinging to for the last ten months.

My father contracted another UTI in early August and went into hospital for five days. After treatment with antibiotics he met their criteria to be sent home. I was surprised and concerned by this decision. Just under two weeks later he developed sepsis and was rushed back to hospital, where we were told to expect the worse. However, contrary to medical expectations he has pulled through this life threatening situation. Sadly this has been achieved at a significant cost. His already diminished health has taken a further turn for the worst. He is now diabetic and can barely walk using a frame. He may also have long term renal problems. While he’s been in hospital my Sister has gotten ill. She suffers from Ulcerative colitis and is enduring the worst bout she ever had at present. She cannot do any caring task and now needs to convalesce herself. I have an ongoing injury with my left elbow and have now been told that the tendon may rupture if I do not rest. Effectively there are now three people in need of 24/7 care and I can no longer cope with such a situation.

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Today, I visited my Father in hospital for the first time in nearly three weeks. I had to explain to him the significance of his change in health and the simple fact that he cannot be safely cared for at home. My Sister and I can no longer carry out our current caring duties and that after four and a half years there needs to be major changes. Effectively I told my Dad he needs to move into a nursing home to get the care he requires. I am fully aware that this is not an option he wants but he has decided to do it for his own good and that of the family. However, as you can imagine this was not an easy conversation to have and it was very traumatic for both of us. He is no longer engaged with his life and wants the current situation to end. I suspect that the stress and anxiety of a move to a new environment such as a residential nursing home is not going to be without consequences.

The events that I have recounted are far from unique to my family. Here in the UK we have an ongoing crisis with regard to adult social care. Improvements in medicine have extended life expectancy but there has not been a reciprocal change to social attitudes or government policy regarding dealing with the realities of an extended lifespan. The default position seems to be “life regardless of quality”. Both my parents are ill, tired and have little or no quality of life. Yet they are forced to endure a patentantly untenable situation because there is no mechanism to deal with it in any other fashion. Setting aside the loaded issue of “euthanasia”, all carers potentially face a situation where the demands placed upon them become impossible and they need to stop. Yet, we do not live in a world where there are universal, commonly accepted policies and social attitudes as to how to address such problems. Hence an already complex matter is further compounded by guilt and organisations with their own agendas and motivations. Social Services doesn’t always want the same as what the carer or patient wants.

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Drawing upon my own first hand experiences, I would say the following to anyone who has chosen to care for an immediate family member. Once you have decided to embark on such a path, it is perfectly fair and justifiable to set parameters to your care and to consider the future. Caring is an act of love, compassion and often practical necessity. But it is not a wheel to break yourself upon. To be an effective carer means you have a duty to look after yourself as well. Help is available but you often have to actively seek it out and utilise it. If you qualify for assistance from the state or local authorities then take what is on offer. You deserve it and have paid for such services through taxation. Come to terms with the realities of old age and chronic illness. Things will inevitably get more complex and there will ultimately come a time when you can no longer provide effective care. You will have to defer to more specialised bodies. When this happens you will need a suitable exit strategy. 

Of course all of these things are far more difficult to deal with in reality because you will be living in the middle of these events and emotionally caught up in them. But if you consider the bigger picture and make some preparations in advance, then may be when you reach the day like the one I’ve had today, then it may not be quite so traumatic. Sometimes you have to recognise that there isn’t always an optimal outcome. It may come down to choosing the least bad option from a very poor selection. Reflecting back upon many of the talking points that have arisen out of previous “caring for the elderly” posts, I do think we need to change as a society and not be so fearful of talking about old age and end of life care. We should encourage a healthy discussion of these issues among the young, so that they are more aware of what lies ahead and able to make suitable provisions. Perhaps it will then make the problems that arise in our autumn years less surprising and overwhelming.

Is There a Gaming Hierarchy?

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Syp wrote a post recently on his blog Bio Break, about the air of disdain with which some video games journalists report on the MMO genre. He cited a post over on VG247 in which the author was surprised that he was currently enjoying SWTOR, despite the fact it was an MMO. It was very much a case of “wow, this game is quite good considering most in this genre are rubbish”. As Syp pointed out, this is often the way the MMORPG is labelled and pigeonholed. However, I think there is more to this than just a dislike of a particular type of game by some writers and gaming commentators. I believe that many of those who have been playing video games since their youth and who are now aged 40 to 50, have very entrenched views and are weighed down by a lot of cultural baggage. I think that some believe that there is a sort of unofficial but very real gaming hierarchy and it is their sacred duty to act as self appointed arbiters and gatekeepers.

We all have our own personal likes and dislikes when it comes to video games. I certainly do. Occasionally I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and tried something new and it has proven a pleasant surprise. Other times my experiments have not gone so well. There are some titles and genres that will never appeal to me and I am content to leave them be permanently. However, I see no reason to hold those games that I do not like in contempt, nor do I deem it necessary to publicly disparage them along with those that do enjoy them. I haven’t the time to waste on such posturing and I’d much rather be playing those titles I do like. Sadly, video games just like music and film fandom, has a strong streak of snobbery running through its associated culture. Furthermore personal taste is often confused with artistic merit and one’s own preferences are erroneously perceived to be an endorsement of quality.

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So what is the spurious gaming hierarchy that some cleave to? I suspect that competitive games are at the top, along with all the elitist “git gud” culture. Then there are the single player games with their litany of achievements and unlocks. MMOs are then the poor relation of the single player RPG. Walking simulators, fun games and clickers are deemed as a waste of time or not even being games. And the final circle of gamer hell are mobile games which are viewed with utter contempt. Which is odd when you think about it as this genre of games make the most money out of the entire video games industry. When you consider why such hierarchical notions exist, they appear to be an extension of the pecking order that some gamers apply to themselves. If there is a hierarchy of games, then it logically follows that there must be a similar ranking among gamers themselves.

Humans love an opportunity to segregate themselves. We categorise people according to wealth, class, education, gender and race. Sometimes such labelling and subdividing is benign but in other instances it is divisive and a tool of oppression. Yet it seems to happen regardless of its rectitude. You put a group of people in a room who are broadly similar and they’ll eventually divide themselves between who are left or right handed. So it is sad but inevitable that different types of games will be treated in a similar fashion. However, being aware of this societal trait then allows us to challenge it when encountered. So next time you read a post by a professional game critic that pooh-poohs a specific genre without a valid reason, call them out. Just as you would if they’d made a similar comment that metal is better than country music or that the MCU is superior to the works of Kurosawa.

Gaming News Roundup

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I like to keep abreast of what’s happening in the video game industry, along with new releases and community news. So I subscribe to websites like Kotaku, GameIndustry and Massively Overpowered via Feedly. I also watch YouTube channels such as Gameranx and shows such as the Jimquisition. Often these platforms will highlight stories and issues that pique my interest. Sometimes I will feel the need to express an opinion or write a rebuttal but these talking points do not always warrant or require an entire blog article. So once again, I’ve decided to start another recurring blog post where I can highlight several of these news items and then briefly explore them. The Video Games Roundup is not meant to be a comprehensive summary of all current news. Merely items that I’ve found interesting, unusual or controversial. Sadly the latter is all too common these days.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. 

This game first appeared on my radar in March 2019 when a press release caused quite a stir among Tolkien fans. Until recently not much has been known about the gameplay apart from the fact that this is an action-adventure game, with a stealth element. Last week developers, Daedalic Entertainment, released a trailer showcasing their visualisation of the iconic character, along with a press release providing further details of the mechanics featured in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. It would appear there is a focus on a branching narrative and major story choices, The player chooses whether Sméagol or as Gollum is the dominant persona. With regard to gameplay, lead game designer Martin Wilkes stated there are similarities with Prince of Persia. All of which is very intriguing. I’m certainly curious to learn more prior to the 2021 release.

Fall Guy “Grabbers”. 

Although you may think that Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is just a fun diversion in these dark days, I regret to inform you that it is the centre of a major moral, social and game development controversy. During gameplay, you can run, jump, dive and grab. The grab is designed to allow players to pull themselves up to ledges and over obstacles. It is also used in specific team games, such as the one where you have to grab a foxes tail from other players. However, humans being what they are, the grab function is also used in other more nefarious ways. Some players actively attempt to grab other players as means to prevent them from making progress and qualifying in a game. You’ll often find such players hanging around at the finishing line or loitering around obstacles in courses that are known to be difficult. Now grabbing in this fashion is part of the game and so is officially sanctioned. But it bitterly divides the playerbase. If you require further evidence of this, read the comments on this article about grabbing on Kotaku.

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Text to speech “adverts” in live streams. 

Many live streamers use text-to speech services to allow viewers to send them a message. Usually the message system is dependent on a donation. I’ve used such facilities before to send a humorous quip to a friend who is streaming. However, recently an advertising agency started using this text-to speech service to spam offers currently available at Burger King. As you can imagine this hasn’t gone down especially well with some streamers who do not like the idea of this messaging system being usurped for corporate advertising. From my own perspective, I don’t care for advertising per se nor the culture associated with it. I find adverts invasive and often intellectually insulting to begin with. The prospect of there being more in live streaming, which is a medium I’m already struggling to come to grips with, is essentially just another reason for me to give up and go elsewhere.

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Register “for an opportunity to be one of the first to pre-order your PS5”. 

There’s a lot to unpack in this statement. Essentially, Sony is anticipating a great deal of interest in their forthcoming new console but may not be able to satisfy the demand. Questions have been raised as to whether the global pandemic will impact upon manufacture and delivery of the PS5. However, a potential shortage can also provide a cunning marketing ploy if handled correctly. Which has led to Sony inviting US customers to register for the chance to pre-order. Just to clarify, that’s the “chance” to pre-order and not a guarantee of doing so. Yes, this is a campaign couched in hype, elitism and FOMO. All things that bring out the best in a gaming community, courtesy of a big, multimillion dollar corporation. The dynamic that exists between the vendor and the customer is a curious symbiotic relationship. Despite the customer having the upper hand, the opposite is often portrayed. Companies have things that you need, that they sell to you out of the goodness of their heart. Only now you have to apply to buy them. It is truly risible. What makes it sadder is that Sony will probably get away with it.

A Month in Gaming

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I’m still somewhat shocked that August has been and gone. Even by 2020 standards it’s been an odd month. Due to illness in the family, my schedule has been turned on its head and subsequently there has not been as much time for gaming as I’ve previously enjoyed. However, I tried to put what time I had to good use. I attempted to return to the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online once again, to see if I could continue through the epic story. Sadly, the game has run into further server related issues, just as it did last month. Standing Stone Games community manager Jerry Snook was a little “snippy” in responding to players' concerns and at present there are no details regarding what the problem is and when it will be resolved. If this issue persists I suspect that it is going to do some genuine harm to both the player base and community relations. I hope matters improve for SSG and LOTRO over September.

However, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom. I decided to buy Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, partially due to the wealth of positive reviews and feedback surrounding the game. It is great fun and often very amusing but I do seem to have developed a love hate relationship with the gameplay. I’ve failed to qualify for more than four games in a row and hence have not experienced much variety in races and challenges so far. I’m also not a fan of the team games, as I hate losing due to others, rather than my own actions. Hence progressing through the season pass is a grind. However, I occasionally have some good fortune and no matter how poorly you play, there’s always someone worse than yourself. The large number of “Tryhards” in the game are also a drag at times, as are players using the “grab” function in a negative fashion. But then it’s hard to stay pissed off with a game that lets you dress as a Triceratops.

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I have made good progress through the Season Five Battle Pass in Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone. As I suspected, players were initially quite happy to swamp the train that’s been added to the game. But a month on, no one seems interested anymore and it is substantially less dangerous to investigate now. The new FiNN Light Machine Gun has proven useful to players like me. I use the XRK LongShot Adverse barrel which provides not only an increase in range but an insane rate of fire. If you’re not especially accurate with your aiming, then these factors are a real boon. There is a degree of recoil to deal with but this can be compensated by firing in rapid bursts, rather than just holding down the trigger and hosing the gun around. Plunder continues to provide the best of both worlds with regard to play styles, so once again CoDMW/WZ has managed to hold my interest for yet another calendar month.

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Over the next month, I shall be making a concerted effort to complete The Sinking City. I find that if I get sidetracked with too many other games, it is always the RPG that I’m playing that suffers. This is probably due to the fact that they need a more substantial time investment, so you can absorb the narrative. I have enjoyed this Lovecraft inspired game, despite its foibles and flaws. It certainly nailed the main themes of the Cthulhu Mythos. I think that I shall replace it with yet another RPG, as I like games with open worlds and dense lore that I can lose myself in. So I may purchase GreedFall next. It bears quite a few similarities to Amazon Game Studios forthcoming MMORPG, New World. However, after several beta tests, I have decided that the latter is not to my liking and think that the former will be a more suitable alternative. I hope that September doesn’t prove to be as tumultuous as August and that I can find the time to accommodate a new game.

Can Behavioural Science Create a Better Gaming Experience?

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“Nudge theory” has received a lot of attention in recent months due to the global pandemic. The Behavioural Insights Team has played a key part in shaping the UK Government's policy to deal with COVID-19, although its overall success is questionable. Now I’m not going to debate in this post the ethical merits of “nudge theory” as a tool, especially within a political context. Let it suffice to say that such science can be used for both good or ill. However, due to some negative experiences I’ve had recently while gaming, I have been considering whether it is something that should be used more in video games. It’s obviously there already as I often see small, minor examples. In Star Trek Online, if you join a random Task Force Operation you receive greater rewards because you are helping players who under normal circumstances, cannot form a group. So the question is, should there be more “nudging” in video games?

The most obvious and easiest means of “nudging” that can be implemented in video games is to incentivise an activity or process. If for example, you wish to encourage grouping in an MMO, then offer rewards that are superior to that which you would earn if you did the same content solo. Another option is to penalise players who leave a group before the activity is complete or those who go AFK and do not participate in the collective undertaking. Incentives could also be used to encourage top tier players at level cap to revisit lower level content and assist others. Why not offer rewards or accolades to those who “mentor” new players. If there are shortages of low level crafted items in a game, why not offer some sort of subsidy or bonus to encourage players to make more? Canny developers could use the power of nudge to foster a more communal attitude among players. As long as it is always just used to encourage and not coerce, then it should yield results. 

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Looking to other genres, nudge theory could be beneficial in turning the survival genre into more than just a race to the bottom. At present I find that such games often lapse into being murders simulators and it’s impossible to progress beyond a certain point. Collaboration is the key, as it is in real life. However, there are rules to prevent aberrant behaviour in society but video games seldom have any tangible consequences. In a survival, PVP or roleplay game, if a player becomes increasingly rogue there needs to be mechanics that reflect and offset that. Someone who murders and loots everyone they encounter should be free to do so but face such retribution as having a bounty being placed on them. Or if they need to trade for crafting materials, then the prices need to go up as the vendor becomes more fearful or distrustful of them. Red Dead Redemption 2 has elements of this in its gameplay. It would be interesting to see the benefits of rewarding those who work collaboratively to build a community in-game rather than just adopt the role of predatory lone wolf. 

However, behavioural science may not always be applicable to a game. For example, “nudging” in the FPS and competitive genres is more difficult because it may impede valid ways of playing. Some folk don’t care for “camping” and it is still a hotly debated subject. But unless it specifically breaks a games TOS, then it’s a valid play style. Trying to move people away from such an approach is questionable. It comes down to arguments couched in subjective notions of sportsmanship, which are different to clearly more destructive behaviour such as “ganking” that we seem in unbalanced PVP. Another consideration is whether the presence of “nudging” in a game is seen as a coercive or a political tool? Will players balk at what some may describe as “social engineering”. The player base may not want to see policies of this nature implemented and this could potentially have an adverse effect on revenue.

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Behavioural science is a means to an end and is in itself neither benign or malevolent. However, it has an “image” problem. People tend to not like “being tricked” or feel they’re being manipulated despite the fact it happens in advertising and marketing continuously (as well as politics). Nudge theory may not necessarily do these things but that’s how some perceive it. Especially once people know that it has been used on them in some way. But I think if we wish to arrest the process of gamer behaviour being driven by the lowest common denominator, then we may well have to make more use of behavioural science. For example, if the grab functionality in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout could also be used to offer other players a helping hand, this would offer an alternative mode of behaviour. One that is less predatory and more socially positive and inclusive. It would be interesting to see what player conduct prevailed.

Thoughts on the New World Preview

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I, like many of my fellow bloggers, have been afforded an opportunity to try Amazon Game Studios forthcoming MMO New World, three times over the last 18 months. I did so twice, playing the two previous private tests. As a result of these experiences I have opted not to explore the latest public preview. I haven’t said anything prior to today regarding the game due to the NDA but as that has now been lifted I can express my opinions. Simply put, New World is not for me. It is certainly not a bad MMO and the developers have made some radical changes in the game’s design as they’ve responded to player feedback. The initial alpha test showcased an open world PVPcentric game. The second release tempered that with more PVE content. However for me, New World just doesn’t offer the things that I specifically enjoy about the MMORPG genre. I think with continued polish and fine tuning, it will be a solid game upon release and I’m sure it will find its particular niche.

As I mentioned in a somewhat cryptic fashion in a prior post, New World sets out its stall quite clearly in the initial cutscenes, offering a standard story about the colonisation of a new island called Aternum. Set in the mid 17th century, the aesthetic of the game is of British America from that era, with a heavy dose of the supernatural and arcane thrown into the mix. During the test that I participated in my character woke up on the shore after a shipwreck; a very traditional MMO trope. The initial levels as I battled across the beach were designed to introduce the new player to the combat system, inventory and skills trees. All of which are very standard and intuitive. The action combat felt very fluid and it was not difficult to understand and implement blocking with a shield, flanking an enemy and then striking with a sword with light or strong attacks. There are then special skills with substantial cooldowns that can then be used tactically. I felt that this was one of the best aspects of the game and is one of the better implementations of action combat that I’ve experienced.

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Sadly, I was less enamoured with the meat and potatoes of the rest of the game. The game engine, character realisations and environments are well designed. But there are no classes or specific roles as such. You choose armour and weapons types to suit your own preferences. This flexibility plays into the game’s original sandbox remit, which has now been augmented. The quests are somewhat arbitrary and clearly show how that they’ve been added at a later date to facilitate a change in the game’s direction. These mainly act as a means to send you to different parts of the island and gather resources. There is no complex, overarching narrative that I am aware of. The player gleans information about the island’s lore through exploration and what they find. The NPCs offer only text interactions and there is no voice acting. The game’s economy is driven by players via Trading Posts so you won’t be getting rich by selling trash loot to NPCs. You can salvage loot and repurpose the resources they yield for crafting.

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Eventually after earning new gear and familiarising yourself with the games systems, a new player will eventually progress on to one of the major settlements in a region. These are held by varying factions and at this point you get to choose who you wish to ally with. Naturally it is here that the games PVP systems come into play. And it was at this point that I decided that I didn’t wish to play any further as the game had nothing further to offer me. I like complex narratives and storylines that twist and turn. I like voice acting and NPC with personalities, especially when they become recurring characters. I also enjoy the communities that spring up around MMOs. I suspect because New World still heavily leans towards PVP, rather than roleplay and story telling, its community will again not be for me. Beyond this, I can’t really say much more about this MMO. I haven’t played it to any great degree. Just enough to know that it’s not too my liking. But that does not make it a bad game and I look forward to observing how the game progresses and is received at launch.

Essential Technology

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Today’s Blaugust Promptapalooza writing prompt is “what technology would you have the hardest time living without?”, which is a great question. Fellow blogger Telwyn has already tackled this conundrum over at Gaming Sans Frontières and I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the sentiment they expressed (more on that shortly). Over the course of my life, technology has become more and more ubiquitous and is now an integral part of our society. We take its presence for granted and only fully realise the benefits it provides when it ceases working or there’s some sort of outage. Technology has also dramatically fallen in price over the last five decades. What used to be marketed as expensive, labour saving luxuries or recreational indulgences, are now just disposable consumer items. The pace at which technology advances has also accelerated. It’s a struggle sometimes to keep abreast of what is new.

Telwyn wrote “the PC is one of my main sources of entertainment” and that is the same for me as well. When I wake up in the morning, I meander into “the office” and fire up my PC before ambling off to the bathroom to get washed and dressed. I then go to the kitchen and make breakfast for myself and Mrs P and return to my desk where I busy myself catching up with Twitter, Feedly and the Blaugust Discord server. I do all my research and writing at my PC. Administrative tasks such as banking and prescription renewals are all done online and via my PC. If Mrs P wants to watch something different to me, I use my PC as a second TV. And naturally I am a member of the PC “master race” when it comes to gaming. As I said in a previous post, I find sitting at my desk, in front of my PC to be one of the most comfortable and relaxed  environments that I know. On the few occasions that my PC has been offline due to technical issues, I wander the bungalow like a lost soul.

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Another piece of modern technology that has become essential in my life is the smartphone. I know that this is not a particularly imaginative or original example but the fact remains that this device has had a seismic impact upon our lives and culture in just 13 years. Mobile phones per se have existed for considerably longer but it was the smartphone, with its wider range of functionality, which brought the internet to our pockets. And I use my smartphone in a similar fashion to my desktop PC. I won’t bore you with the multitude of tasks I use it for but I love how I can be out and about somewhere new with Mrs P and within minutes determine where’s there’s parking, a nice restaurant and what the local property prices are like (co’s we’re seriously considering moving soon). The modern smartphone offers communication, information and a wealth of services at your fingertips. I’ve also never been an especially accomplished photographer. But now I can produce at least one decent photo per day trip, thanks to my phone. I just hate it when people call me on it.

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Finally, I need to mention dishwashers. I’m not sure if they’re considered standard “white goods” in the UK yet. A quick Google search shows that as of 2018, only 48% of homes have them, so may be not. I’ve been using a dishwasher for about a decade now and I consider them invaluable. For me one of the seven circles of hell is a hot kitchen with a small sink, filled with tepid, greasy water, trying to scrub a roasting pan with a worn plastic brush with splayed bristles. I hate washing up. It ruins your hands and I detest having to do manual labour after a heavy meal, when I should be relaxing in a fireside chair enjoying a large glass of port. My parents have an “old person’s” house, by which I mean that everything in it actively conspires to hinder you. They do not have a dishwasher and it’s like going back to using dial-up internet, except that it involves the use of Brillo pads.

For reasons of brevity, I’ve kept this post to just three examples of what I consider to be indispensable technology. However, here are a few other “honourable mentions” that I think deserve to be referenced, due to the impact they’ve had upon the quality of life in general.

• Sat Navs

• Wireless Blood Sugar Monitors

• Tamagotchi

• View-Master

• George Foreman Grill

• The Lament Configuration

• Video 2000

• Teletext

• PalmPilot

• Computer Battleships

Repairing an Xbox Controller

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Avid readers of Contains Moderate Peril (as if there are such individuals) may already be aware that I get through a lot of computer peripherals. This week I thought that I’d damaged the left analogue stick on my Xbox controller. Upon closer inspection I found that it was just the plastic thumbstick cover that was worn out. I don’t use the controller for every game I play, as I prefer a keyboard and mouse. However, I’ve had the controller since July 2011 and mainly use it for driving in games, hence the excessive wear of the left analogue stick. I briefly toyed with buying a completely new controller but the exorbitant prices surprised me. Rather than buy a generic replacement that may be poorer quality than the official Microsoft version, I decided to see if it was easy to repair the existing controller. YouTube provided a quick and affirmative answer and Amazon Prime offered a way to procure replacement parts.

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This afternoon a pair of black aluminium alloy thumbstick covers arrived so I set about replacing the two existing ones (as I didn’t want to just swap the worn one and have odd coloured sticks on my controller). The underside of the controller has seven philips screws. Six are in plain sight but the sevenths hides under a label. Pro tip, when taking the case of the Xbox controller apart, ensure that its facing buttonside down, so they don’t all fall out. The controller case splits in two relatively easily and it is not especially difficult to pull the thumbstick covers off the spindles. The replacements were easily enough fitted and the longest part of the process was putting the controller shell back together. Plastic can be very temperamental at times and you never know if it’s going to bend or break. I took the opportunity to clean the Xbox controller both inside and out with a microfibre cloth and some isopropyl alcohol.

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I subsequently booted up my PC and tested the Xbox controller, via Device Manager in Windows Control Panel. The analogue sticks work but the new covers are not 100% identical to the originals. They seem a little larger and so occasionally stick. When this happens they do not immediately return to the centre position when released. The digital button functionality of the two analogue sticks is also a little hit and miss. However, despite these issues I can still play Fall Guys without any problems. Perhaps these matters may improve after further use. If not, I may consider replacing the alloy thumbstick covers with plastic ones. Another option is to see if I can acquire an old or broken Xbox controller and use it for parts. In the meantime, this was another interesting experiment in carrying out repairs. I don’t consider myself “cheap” but it is rewarding to occasionally fly in the face of a culture that by default expects you to buy a replacement.

LOTRO: More Community Management Problems

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Not so long ago, MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online was plagued by server instability and chronic lag. Many of the game worlds had to be closed and there was over a week of downtime. As ever, communication from developer’s Standing Stone Games regarding the nature of the problem and an ETA on a fix were minimal. The issue(s) were eventually mollified but not completely eradicated. However, a recent patch this week led to extended downtime, beyond that which was initially scheduled. Since then the servers have been “unstable”. So it would appear that “the problem” is back. The only difference this time round is that SSG have made a statement sooner, rather than later. Community Manager Cordovan (AKA Jerry Snook) posted the following on the game’s official forums. “The game worlds are experiencing periods of server instability due to external issues outside of our control. We are taking steps to mitigate these environmental and infrastructure challenges, and apologize for any issues you encounter”.

The vagueness inherent in this statement is stark and obviously very deliberate. When pressed for further details by LOTRO players on the forum, Cordovan’s reply was less vague and actually quite specific. It’s a clear example of corporate “wagon circling”. “I'm sorry, but even if it were theoretically possible to make that kind of statement, I would advise against it. If that gets me some heat here, so be it; you know where I stand. Besides opening yourself up to all sorts of issues as a business entity, you are then committing to that level of detail every time you have an extended outage. Let's say a technical answer along those lines would throw an employee specifically under the bus, or a valued contractor you intend to do business with long-term. Even if technically accurate, it would be bad precedent to set. Not to mention how it'd be picked apart over the long term. It would not work for us. When I begin to think about what the above would have meant for almost ten years of messaging with this company, my head explodes”.

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This is a visual metaphor

I fully appreciate this stance. Naturally it’s not what I and other players want to hear. We’d much prefer something along the lines of “we’re going to recalibrate the flux capacitor and the game will be as good as new. Here’s some free shit”. But SSG is a business and one that is not totally independent. The nature of their relationship with Daybreak Game Company is still shrouded in mystery but most suspect they’re more than just “the publisher”. SSG relies on third party suppliers for many other services. Simply put they are not in a position to reveal anything, even if they wished to. But simply saying “we can’t talk about this for legal reasons, so you’ll have to suck it up and wait things out” doesn’t magically draw a line under the problem. Paying customers at the very least expect someone to do some “ass kissing” in these situations, regardless of whether it’s sincere or not. It’s in the unofficial but very real social contract that exists between the vendor and customer.

And it is in this area that SSG are sadly lacking. Their community relations skills are not exactly nuanced and their tone is seldom conciliatory. Many years ago, when I was running a small IT department, I learned quite quickly that bellowing at staff during a crisis, doesn’t help matters. So instead of me shouting “I can fix this problem a lot quicker if you assholes shut the fuck up”, I hired a member staff who had “good communication skills” and was adept at exuding confidence, placating stakeholders and making them feel that their concerns were important and being addressed. It would greatly improve matters if SSG took a similar approach and those currently involved in community relations were more soothing and understanding in their tone. I’d suggest the following. Make regular statements, even if they have little or no technical substance. Answer a few tweets or comments personally. Praise players patience. Do something like a giveaway or a trivia contest so that people are engaged but in a positive way.

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Another visual metaphor

The upside of difficult situations, such as the one which SSG currently faces, is that they present an opportunity to learn. Sadly, SSG and Turbine before them seem to have a blindspot when it comes to reflecting upon their prior community relations disasters and adjusting their corporate behaviour accordingly. And then there’s Jerry Snook’s somewhat defensive statement. “This is not my first rodeo. If people don’t like me, fine”. That is a tacit admission of failure. Yes Jerry, we understand that you will always be damned regardless of what you do, by a percentage of the playerbase. Community relations can at times be like an endless Kobayashi Maru test. But PR is a war and not a battle. You keep trying until you change the needle on the dial. If one approach doesn’t work, you try another. And once again I have to reference the immense goodwill that LOTRO players harbour towards the game. They want a reason to be on SSG’s side. So why not give them one? You lose nothing by trying. But the consequences of not doing so are far more serious.

Dymchurch, Old Romney and Hamstreet

As previously mentioned, the global pandemic and subsequent lockdown has put pay to our usual day trips and excursions. Mrs P and I had to wait six month before we could resume our travels. The last such journey was on June 9th when we visited Otford and Eynsford. However, at that point virtually nothing was open so we couldn’t visit any National Trust or English Heritage sites and there was nowhere where we could “stop for a spot of lunch”. However, two months later and many of the existing social restrictions have changed or been removed. As the weather was favourable today, we decided to take a journey out into Kent and visit some towns along the coast and nearby. The planned itinerary was to go to Dymchurch and Romney but as ever with travel arrangements, things can change. We ended up travelling to Old Romney and Hamstreet after Dymchurch.

It took about an hour to drive from the leafy suburb of Bexley to Dymchurch, a coastal town steeped in a history of smuggling and intrigue (Dr Syn is set in this area), known for its salt marshes and robust sea wall. The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway is another major tourist attraction. I have memories of visiting this “quaint” coastal town as a child in the seventies. How times have changed. Let it suffice to say that the town centre is now devoid of any character and only offers the most basic tourist facilities; arcades, fairground rides, fast food etc. In recent years the sea wall has been reinforced and the sea facing side has extensive concrete ramparts. There are two beaches but they are heavily used and so the sea wall takes most of the overflow of tourists and daytrippers. If you wish to maintain any semblance of social distancing then Dymchurch is not the ideal environment. Parking is also problematic. The main car park in the town centre is extremely busy and poorly run. Payment is via RingGo (app or telephone) which doesn’t recognise its own site code.

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So after a brief reconnoitre, we moved on from Dymchurch and followed the main road (A259) through New Romney which is similarly, overly commercial and lacking in personality. However, the route took us through Old Romney which afforded us an opportunity to stop and visit St Clements Church. The original place of worship was built approximately in the 8th century. An artificial mound was constructed to protect the site from flooding, which is common in the marsh area. Circa the 12th century the Saxon structure was replaced by an early Norman church, which was without a main aisle and featured a square-ended chancel. It was further enlarged in the 13th century. The present building, which is mostly of 13th century construction, has a nave and chancel, as well as north and south chapels. There is a small tower, with south-east and south-west buttresses, in the south-west corner. The porch is in the northern part of the church. The graveyard is still actively used. The filmmaker Derek Jarman is buried there.

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Our next stop was the village of Hamstreet. Parish records show that there was a small Saxon settlement in the area as far back as the 11th century. The hamlet known as Ham remained undeveloped until the coming of the railway in 1853. It subsequently expanded and saw a growth in houses and cottages in the traditional Kentish weatherboard style. Today many of the traditional buildings still remain although some have been repurposed. The old village school is now an Indian restaurant. Hamstreet as it is now known, has two public woodlands surrounding the area which are the last remaining remnants of the ancient forest that once entirely covered the Weald of Kent. It is picturesque and offers plenty of local history as well as being part of the The Saxon Shore Way walk. It is ideal for rural rambles and sedate historical tourism. Both Mrs P hope to return again soon as we have taken a liking to the place.

I Walked With a Zombie (1943)

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Until today, I have never seen the iconic horror movie, I walked With a Zombie. Some classic titles just seem to fall through your “movie net”, as it were. However, BBC iPlayer has a selection of RKO films available to watch for free (sadly, only for UK viewers), so as I had a convenient gap in my schedule, I finally caught up with this seminal title today. As expected it was visually an utter delight. Other aspects of the movie are more subtle and require some reflection to determine their virtue. The lurid title, doesn’t in any way do the film justice and was forced upon the production by studio executives. Essentially this is a romantic drama fused with the supernatural and set in an exotic location. The Caribbean setting and culture along with the voodoo element add an undercurrent of sexual tension to the central love, cleverly augmenting what is essentially a gothic tale by placing it in an alien setting.

Betsy Connell (Frances Dee), a young Canadian nurse travels to an island in the West Indies to care for Jessica Holland (Christine Gordon), the wife of plantation manager Paul Holland (Tom Conway). Jessica has been diagnosed by Dr Maxwell (James Bell) as suffering from a form of mental paralysis as a result of tropical fever. Betsy finds Paul Holland aloof and dour, yet strangely compelling. Wesley Rand (James Ellison), the plantation overseer and Paul’s half brother implies that Jessica’s condition is due to something Paul has done. Mrs Rand (Edith Barrett), mother to both sons, befriends Jessica. She runs the local pharmacy and has a deep understanding of local customs. Betsy suspects she may well know more than she says regarding the enmity between Wesley and Paul and the reason for Jessica’s condition. Eventually Betsy realises that modern medicine cannot provide a solution to Jessica’s malady and begins to suspect that the island’s voodoo heritage may provide an answer.

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I walked With a Zombie was the second collaboration between producer Val Lewton and director Jaques Tourneur. The high concept of transposing the plot of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre to the West Indies and juxtaposing the traditional love triangle (or in this case more of a love square) with the more sensational and salacious aspects of voodoo works very well. The traditional gothic beats played out against prophetic calypso songs and pagan customs add to the atmosphere and create a subtly different supernatural experience compared to traditional Hollywood fare of the time. Director of cinematography J. Roy Hunt uses light and shade to great effect. Traditional european architecture and graveyards are replaced by heavily backlit sugar cane fields and colonial plantation houses steeped in shadows. It is a remarkably eerie environment. The highlight of the film being Betsy and Jessica’s night time journey through the canefields, as they pass voodoo talismans and animal offerings, eventually ending in their iconic meeting with the towering somnambulist Carre-Four.

Jacques Tourneur's direction creates a palpable sense of fear and the film uses its 69 minute running time most efficiently. The film does not feel the need to explain all aspects of the island’s culture and its voodoo rituals. It provides just enough details to allow a degree of ambiguity to remain. Nor does the script shy away from the iniquities of slavery and it’s lasting effect on the population. There is also an element of religious symbolism with a ship's figurehead that is fashioned to represent Saint Sabastian. Performances are acceptable, although the gender roles and period attitudes may seem “dated” to modern viewers. The film reaches a suitably melodramatic climax which concludes the story in the only credible fashion possible. However, the film uses narration from the perspective of Betsy Connell to frame the story and the closing codicil suddenly introduces a degree of previously absent moral judgment. I found this a little incongruous.

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After watching I walked With a Zombie, it is clear where many of the tropes and mainstays of the horror genre come from. The movie doesn’t really offer a zombie in the modern sense, preferring to let the viewer decide if Jessica Holland is the victim of a bona fide medical condition, whether she’s been drugged and left virtually catatonic by esoteric native drugs, or if she has been truly cursed through the use of voodoo. The imperfections and character flaws of the two half brothers and their respective love for Jessica, is presented surprisingly even handedly. The moral sentiments that are espoused at the story’s climax strike me as an afterthought, forced upon the studio by the moral lobbyists of the time. Oddly, this is just another aspect of the film that makes it fascinating. If watched superficially, I walked With a Zombie offers a ghoulish love story with a supernatural subtext. But if one pays attention to detail there is a great deal of social commentary and existential angst to be found. Things seldom touched upon by contemporary horror movies.

"Tryhards"

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I discovered the term “tryhard” recently after reading a game related blog post. Like many contemporary terms the definition seems somewhat fluid. So the one that I think fits best is “a person who is perceived as putting too much effort into something recreational, such as a game”. Although I think this succinctly distils the essence of the phrase, I do feel a little further qualification and contextualisation is required. I don’t think this term is applicable to legitimate competitive gaming, so it’s not a label I’d apply to someone playing any sort of esport. Nor do I think it is meant for those players that just seek to become well versed in an MMO or similar genre of game. I feel this epithet is the province of those who seek to excel in games where the focus is having fun and not just winning. The post in which I read this term was discussing Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and I think that is a perfect example. I have encountered other players that fit this category while playing this game and you’ll find plenty more on twitch.

So I guess the first question that arises from the label “tryhard”, is what is so bad in trying to be good at something? To which I’d answer, nothing in principle. The point I think people are trying to make when they label someone in such a fashion, is that these players whose sole focus is the pursuit of excellence end up leaching all the pleasure out of the game for others. Furthermore, if a significant percentage of the playerbase falls into the “tryhard” category, it creates a sort of philosophical fun divide and an environment where new and casual players are either squeezed out or at the very least deprived of the fun that the game is predicated upon. If you want an analogy, I’d say it’s like the over competitive parent who has been in training all year long for the Mum or Dad’s race at their child’s school sports day. Something that is supposed to be lighthearted and about the spirit of participation, is usurped by those who are determined to win and make some kind of statement.

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However, I’m a contrary bastard at times. Although I’m not especially enamoured with the “tryhard” mindset and will loudly refute the bogus argument that “it’s never just a game”, I don’t like the idea of a self appointed “fun police”. This is why I think it’s important for game developers who make competitive titles, to ensure they have some viable matchmaking system in place, so that players are grouped according to their skill. Surely implementing such mechanics would please all parties? Unless being a “tryhard” isn’t just about the gratification of excelling but just another way of trolling others. The idea being that it’s another facet of the self aggrandising, braggart culture that pervades gaming. An excuse to sneer at those who don’t succeed and a means of controlling a game at the expense of others enjoyment. I wouldn’t say that all “tryhards” are elitists pricks but I’d certainly put money on elitist pricks being “tryhards”.

It seems that a week cannot go by without the video games industry or gaming culture highlighting or manifesting some unpleasant facet of human nature. Friends and colleagues assure me that there isn’t any major cultural shift occurring and that gaming (and life) has always had a degree of “douchebaggery” associated with it. But I’m not so sure. Anecdotally speaking, I’ve consistently found myself coming last in Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, while other players leave me in their wake. It does surprise me that some people have become quite so adept, so quickly. I’ve also seen a lot of players loitering at key locations in the game and deliberately impeding and hampering other players. Again, if it doesn’t breach the games TOS, then technically it’s okay to do so but isn’t this supposed to be lighthearted fun? There’s an ongoing debate at present as to whether games are becoming less fun, I’m not so sure. It’s difficult to tell. But we as a community don’t seem to be doing ourselves any favours.

Fandom Memories

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Syp over at Bio Break leads the charge with today’s Blaugust Promptapalooza writing prompt, with this interesting question. “What is your earliest memory related to one of your core fandoms?” Please do read his thoughts on going to see Return of the Jedi upon its original release back in 1983. It is something I can certainly relate to. I’m a decade older than Syp and so I can recollect actually seeing Star Wars for the first time at my local cinema. However as that was a starting point for a specific fandom rather than an “ongoing” example, I won’t cite it here. I have even earlier recollections of going to Longleat Safari and Adventure Park and having the extra bonus of seeing the Doctor Who Exhibition which ran there from 1973 to 2003. This would have been in August 1974 and I was six at the time. I have dim recollections of all the exhibits being mainly from the Jon Pertwee era and the Daleks being the high point of my day.

But as the question is about “core fandoms” I think I’ll reference a more contemporary example. One that I can recollect more clearly and so provide a more specific anecdote about. So I’d like to talk about my love of the horror genre and how as I got older, became a consummate fan. I’ve recently written about how during the 80s and 90s the UK home video market endured some rather restrictive regulations that lead to a lot of horror films being unavailable or heavily edited. Due to magazines such as Fangoria and Starburst, fans would be aware of both mainstream US and independent productions long before they were released in the UK. Hence we’d often become aware of those occasional titles that had already caused a stir “stateside” or in Europe and would therefore naturally run into distribution and censorship issues when it came to a British release. How could such films be shown in the UK? The answer was the “film festival”, which provided a limited or one off showcase, where the audience could be strictly regulated. Such events weren’t providing mainstream national distribution.

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Now film festivals per se are always a great occasion for fans. I find that watching a cult classic with a like minded audience in a traditional movie theatre setting, rather than watching at home on your own, is a superior way to enjoy a film. I believe there is some truth to the “shared experience”. For example I feel the slapstick shenanigans of Charlie Chaplin work a lot better when viewed with a group. Bearing this in mind, on Saturday 24th February 1990, not only did I get the chance to indulge this theory by going to my first film festival but I was afforded the oppurtunity to see a controversial film that was heading into trouble. That film being Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer. The Splatterfest 90 film festival was held at the Scala Cinema, in Kings Cross, London. The venue was a known private cinema that excelled at hosting such events, as well as regularly showing bizarre and baroque movies.

I remember quite clearly, the atmosphere in the cinema. The Scala was a sumptuous but somewhat dilapidated 1920s building, which lent itself well to its niche market purpose. Between films it was quite noisy with fans talking and constantly going to and fro to the lobby. But when Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer started the audience settled and fell silent. The film was a gruelling 83 minutes experience which left the audience shocked, uncomfortable yet utterly engaged with the proceedings. I subsequently learned that several examiners from the BBFC had attended the screening as an opportunity to “research” a movie they knew would be “problematic” when it eventually sought a formal UK theatrical release. There was a very interesting Q&A with director John McNaughton which shed a lot of insight into the film and its production.

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There were several other movies shown that night making Splatterfest 90 a very enjoyable film festival. Brian Yuzna’s Bride of Re-Animator which is a great sequel to the original Re-Animator, was very well received. As was the excellent documentary Document of the Dead, which was made during the filming of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. However, one film did not go down particularly well. The Comic, a “psychological drama” about a stand up comedian who murders his way to success in a dystopian future, was met with derision, objects hurled at the screen and cries of “for fuck’s sake, turn this shit off”. Director Richard Driscoll was due to be interviewed after the screening but bid a hasty retreat after his film’s suboptimal reception. Overall Splatterfest 90 was a very good introduction to film festivals and was certainly a “grassroots” experience of fandom. I’ve been to many similar events since then but none have had quite the same impact or left such memories as this one.

An Ode to the VCR

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The Sony C6 Betamax VCR. A “Titan” in the format wars

Sometimes it really helps to have “been there” to fully appreciate an event or cultural phenomenon. We now live in an age where there is easy access to a multitude of television channels and movies, 24 hours a day. TVs are no longer bulky, luxury items that sit in a corner of your lounge. They are now elegant flat screened devices that occupy nearly an entire wall, offering crystal clear, high definition picture quality. Movies are now available for home viewing a lot sooner after their theatrical release and the current pandemic has brought the era of simultaneous release on all platforms just a little bit closer. And even the most obscure and niche market films are accessible in a remastered, HD or UHD format. It’s all a far cry from my youth when cinema and television were far more compartmentalised and consumers had far less choice along with access. All of which you can explain to those born into this modern world of plenty but they’ll never fully comprehend the realities of living such a life and in such times.

I shall try to keep my reminiscing to a minimum for reasons of brevity. Anyone who is familiar with my writing will know that film played an integral part of my youth. My parents loved cinema as it was the primary form of entertainment when they grew up. Hence by the age of ten or so, I was well versed in classic Hollywood, mainly through watching films on TV with my family at weekends. However, we had little say over what they watched. Firstly it took several years for major films that had been successful at the box office to be broadcast on TV. Major titles tended to be shown at either the Christmas or Easter when audiences were potentially the biggest. Also, when a “big” movie finally got shown on TV there were often broadcast in a sanitised, re-edited version. Furthermore, if a film was originally shot in an aspect ratio such as 2:35:1 then it would be panned and scanned to accommodate the 4:3 academy ratio of TV screens. And let us not forget that commercial networks would have advertising breaks throughout. So the optimal way to view a film would be at the cinema. Watching at home on TV was an inferior experience but it was what we knew, so we accommodate it.

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Bond movies came to UK TV approximately 4-5 years after their theatrical release during the 70s and 80s

Another aspect to consider was that TV companies would license the showing of movies and naturally wanted as much bang for their buck as possible. Certainly the BBC offered a broad choice. But you would often find that a lot of content just didn’t make it onto TV. Or if it did, it would be shown at obscure hours. If you failed to watch something then you missed your opportunity to do so. There was a culture of financially successful films getting re-released at the cinemas. Disney has always been an exponent of this, understanding quickly the benefits of controlling supply and demand. But broadly speaking, what you could watch was decided and controlled by private companies and driven by vested interests. So the advent of the home video cassette recorder (VCR) was a major cultural and consumer revolution. Video tape recorders (VTR) had existed since the 1950s but were mainly industry products. But the moment the technology was made available for domestic use in the 1970s via bespoke cassette formats, it quickly gained traction.

The ability to record TV programs from one station while watching another was exceedingly novel at the time. Often big TV networks prided themselves upon making viewers make a tough choice over what shows they watched at prime time. As a child I remember having to decide whether to watch either Doctor Who or Space 1999 (season 2). It’s one of the reasons why UK viewing figures for popular shows were so high at this time. This and the fact that until 1982, there were only 3 terrestrial analogue TV stations broadcasting. So naturally the VCR was met with a lot of pushback from network TV. There was a lot of talk over the legality of recording shows etc. but it was too late and the genie was out of the proverbial bottle. And then there was the second aspect that the VCR offered consumers; pre-recorded tapes containing movies or other content. Initially the big studios simply didn’t grasp that people would want to watch a movie of their own choice, at home, at a time that suited them. When they began to see how independent distributors were getting on the bandwagon they sought to “fight fire” with lawyers. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) were especially aggrieved. But common sense and business acumen prevailed, leading to the growth of the video rental market, the rise of Blockbuster and the social etiquette of rewinding a tape and returning it on time.

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BBFC rating title card

Now the next anecdote is specific to the UK. As soon as cinema became a popular form of entertainment in the early twentieth century, then a regulatory body was set up. A film had to be rated by the British Board of Film Censors before it could be shown in cinemas. Hence the establishment guarded public morals and suppressed sentiments and subjects it didn’t like. Mercifully this doesn’t happen now. The BBFC has changed radically in the last 20 years. It is now formally the British Board of Film Classification and it’s focus is rating. Censorship is now mainly self imposed by distributors who seek the most commercially lucrative rating. But that is a separate subject. Back in the late seventies, all cinema releases required a BBFC rating or else they didn’t get shown. VCRs, like most technological changes, caught the establishment off guard. All of a sudden there was a medium for distributing content outside of the auspices of the BBFC, free from any form of censorship. Overnight small independent video companies sprung up, disseminating any material they could get their hands on. A wealth of european exploitation cinema suddenly found its way into UK households. For someone like me it was hog heaven but it didn’t go down well with lobbyists concerned with declining morals.

In 1982 our household became a proud owner of a Sony C6 Betamax VCR. We already had an older C5 but that was a top loader. The C6 stylishly loaded tapes from the front. By now our family was fully immersed in video rental culture. There seemed to be a video rental store on every street corner. Even newsagent and corner shops would have a rack of tapes to rent for £1 or so. At this point VHS had not fully won the format wars in the UK and most stores had material equally available on both formats. I remember one that even rented V2000 tapes. At one point my Dad had rental cards for about six different establishments. We’d rent films to watch as a family and then my parents would indulge myself and my sister, so we’d often come back home with horror films. I remember one store in Burnt Ash Hill Road in Lee Green, which used to put the most lurid VHS cases in the shop window. I and my school friends would gawp at the likes of Driller Killer, Cannibal Holocaust and Zombie Flesh Eaters. But this brief halcyon period of unfettered access to uncut eurosleaze quickly came to an end.

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UK poster for Lucio Fulci’s Zombi (1979)

The eighties were a decade with a strong streak of moral and social conservatism running through it. This was embodied by the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVLA) led by christian lobbyist Mary Whitehouse (known to her enemies as Mary Shitehouse; a shitehouse being UK slang for a toilet). The organisation lead campaigns against the publication and broadcast of media content that it viewed as harmful and offensive, such as sex, violence, profanity and blasphemy. To cut a long story short the unregulated video market became an easy target and the NVLA and the “popular press” went for it like a dog with a bone. They coined the hyperbolic phrase, “video nasty” to describe exploitation films such as I Spit on Your Grave. As usual, the least informed and poorest thinkers among our parliamentary representatives saw an easy bandwagon to jump on. And then tragically in 1993 a two year old boy, Jamie Bulger, was murdered by two ten year old children, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. It was an horrendous case made even worse by the tabloid feeding frenzy. It was alleged in some newspapers that the attack on Bulger was inspired by the film Child's Play 3. There was no evidence for this but the campaign against unregulated videos gained support and ultimately led to the Video Recording Act of 1984. This granted the BBFC powers to rate existing and all future video releases and ushered in a decade of censorship. Many titles simply became unavailable for nearly twenty years, such was the sense of social hysteria.

But time and tide wait for no man. The VRA had some very interesting side effects. A cottage industry of fanzines sprung up, reviewing and analysing many of the horror movies that were “temporarily available”. I met many people through this medium, participated in film festivals and partook of the black market trade in second generation VHS copies that sprung up. As the eighties gave way to the nineties and the BBFC still enforced arbitrary cuts to most mainstream films, I discovered the Laser Disc format and imported uncut movies from the US and Japan and so moved away from video tapes. Laser Disc and VHS were subsequently replaced by DVDs and by the time the year 2000 arrived, the BBFC in the UK had a major change in policy once the longstanding incumbent Director, James Ferman, retired. Censorship as I mentioned previously, is not really an issue anymore although a BBFC rating is still required to show a film theatrically or to distribute on home media. Most streaming TV platforms and VOD services rate their content in accordance with BBFC guidance. Despite my dislike of censorship, I believe in rating movies for consumer advice and believe the BBFC do a very good job of it nowadays. Leopards can sometimes change their spots.

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The Pioneer DVL-909 combination Laser Disc and DVD player was a thing of beauty

I like the advances that have been made in home cinema. I prefer to watch films in the correct aspect ratio and in the best picture quality available. Hence I do not miss the technical limitations of the VHS or Betamax tapes (especially the NTSC VHS EP tapes which had awful washed out colours). But having been in the past, a consummate film collector, I still fully understand the allure of physical media. Whenever I see an old VHS rental tape at a collectors fare, it briefly rekindles that sense of excitement I got as a child. Because our access to entertainment was not as ubiquitous as today and we were also not aware of every aspect of a film production due to the internet, a VHS tape of a movie you hadn’t seen before held so much promise. When you combine this allure with an impressionable child who considers watching exploitation cinema as a test of endurance, it becomes clear why such a strong association was created and remains. VCRs, video rental stores and “video nasties” were my generations Rock and Roll, which is why just a small part of me nostalgically misses those days.

Social Gaming Alone

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This post started out as something completely different. I was simply going to write about a popular new game, how it came to my attention and my impressions and thoughts once I had purchased it. But while reflecting on one aspect of the game; the social element that stems from playing with friends, I realised I had more to say about this rather than just writing a review. But such is the nature of writing. In my experience my train of thought is seldom linear. So this post has now morphed into some musings about social gaming and how it is an integral aspect of modern game design. Because playing games with friends is often regarded as a superior experience to playing alone. At least by game developers. I think that the reality is more nuanced and dependent on the game in question. However, I do think that some games are better played with people you know and that playing on your own or in a PUG is less fun. Because that has been my experience of late.

Now the “buzz” surrounding Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout reached my social media timeline a few days after the games release on August 4th. As I already play a Battle Royale game (Call of Duty Warzone) I didn’t feel the need to investigate the new game any further. However, after several YouTube channels that I subscribe to reviewed the game positively, I decided to delve a little deeper. So I watched some live streamers play the game and quickly decided to give Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout a go. Mainly because everyone I saw playing it was having fun. The game has a cartoon-like aesthetic and the collision physics are endlessly amusing. But what stands out the most from all the video footage of gameplay I’ve seen, is that it engenders a sense of communal fun. That kind of “in the moment”, organic enjoyment that stems from friends being together and sharing an experience.

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And that is exactly the opposite experience to what I’ve had. Although Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is most definitely fun, playing like a cross between “Takeshi’s Castle” and “It’s a Knockout/Jeux sans frontières”, it does feel like something is missing when you play solo. There’s no one to share the moment with when you fail spectacularly, or run “interference” against other players if you’re having difficulty. Choosing an exotic costume becomes somewhat arbitrary as a single player, compared to the mirth it creates when riffing off friends. Outside of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, there are benefits to be had from playing socially in other games. I enjoy Call of Duty Warzone but when I watch live streams and YouTube videos, you cannot deny that the game can be played far more effectively in co-ordinated groups. You just don’t get that with PUGS, which usually range from adequate to “herding cats” to mental torture.

The summit of my social interaction in video games is when I play MMORPGs. I’ve been in the same kinship in The Lord of the Rings Online since 2009 and still regularly enjoy organised gameplay via Discord. Although this is fun, it is limited to just one game and the nature of MMOs doesn’t really lend itself to a great deal of diverse experiences. I haven’t played any games from other genres with friends and people I know since 2016. The last time was when there was an organised game night via The Newbie Blogger Initiative and a few people got together and played Overwatch. Since then I’ve just used the auto grouping option in the games that I play. It’s not so much an issue of a lack of friends but the fact that no one seems to be playing the same games as me (and vice versa). The fact that not all games support crossplay is another factor.

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I also suspect that age may well have a bearing on this. Younger people tend to have larger, active social circles. These decline over time, something I have written about in the past. Now naturally my online friends play and enjoy video games. It’s usually one of the reasons why I follow someone on Twitter. But many of the people I know locally, despite being of a comparable age to me, don’t play video games. They tend to be interested in more traditional leisure activities like football, reading tabloids and casual bigotry. So upon mature reflection, despite there being a focus on social gaming as a source of fun by the industry itself, my reality is not the same. Returning to Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout for example, my experience is not like those who play in a group. It’s like being at a party where you drink and move around the periphery of events, laughing at jokes you overhear but not actively participating in any meaningful interaction. It’s an odd sort of fun by osmosis, just by dint of being present. Social gaming alone, as it were. And I’m beginning to tire of it.