Best (and Worst) Games of 2014, Parte Un

With every year, there comes more games. No shit. However, at the end of these years, there comes a perfect opportunity to act like we know more than we actually do by deciding the best and worst of the year.

The Legend of Funny Pizza Land

Over the years, video games (just like any other form of media) has had its series of myths and legends. From the obviously false Tails Doll, and the recently confirmed ET dump, or perhaps the ever mysterious Polybius -- people tend to continue to tell their own stories about these oddities, real or imaginary. Funny Pizza Land may be just like these, but is unique in its own way.

What's going to be at the Playstation Experience?

Next week, Playstation will be unveiling apparently a "boatload of new games" at the Playstation Experience at Las Vegas, Nevada. Using some rumors and some of our own hypotheses, we've decided to set our shitty predictions to see if we at least get one right. Hopefully we do.

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The Last Guardian

Though we're likely STILL far from a release date (let alone anything playable) it can be assumed through recent visible frustration by both members of the Sony 1st party publishing and Team Ico that we'll have at least some closure on where The Last Guardian currently is. This could be anything from a small mention to an official new announcement, as well as potentially them coming out and saying it's not happening.

Guerrilla Games' New IP

The first among many rumors is the idea that the studio famous for the Killzone series will be coming out with a new title. Though that may be true, I'm stumped as to what it is (mostly because new IP can pretty much mean anything). My best guess is that it may utilize one of the studio's biggest strengths -- its art, graphics, and world design.

New Square, Capcom, and Jaffe game

Among this apparent mound of new titles comes from the publishers Square Enix and Capcom, as well as God of War creator David Jaffe. Since these are likely not new IPs, they are a bit easier to guess.

It's hard to see Square Enix making any big announcements at this time besides more info on the upcoming Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3. It's also possible that something from its western counterpart, Eidos, maybe coming, but this could also just be more on the new Tomb Raider. I'm crossing my fingers for more information on Deus Ex Universe, but the chances are slim.

As for Capcom, I'm going to pull my bold prediction and say a new Street Fighter. As we've entered a new generation, its clear that the hype and buzz around IV will slowly but surely subside. It would make sense to take this time to continue it's popularity, as well as compete with the other new-gen fighting games such as Mortal Kombat X and Smash Bros. Oh, also Dragon's Dogma 2. Because fuck you I want Dragon's Dogma 2.

As for David Jaffe, well, fuck if I know. It's David Jaffe -- it could really be anything.

Blizzard Announcement

This was a rumor that surprised me, especially since Blizzcon just happened not that long ago. It would likely be something that they've already announced that is simply coming to Playstation. Maybe Overwatch? As of now, it's hard to think of anything.

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So, how much of this will be true? Probably none of it, mostly because we're horrible at guessing anything. But we can pretend.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

The 10k Extravaganza -- Hell, its about time.

This blog had its start as a simple experiment. A test of how large a blog could grow without any ads or discussion backing it. Just a simple blog, nothing fancy. How far could it reach?

Sure, we're still no Perez Hilton, but it was never meant to be that way. To this day the blog beats out The Codex of Aegis in daily views, and although it may have about a year's head start, its still impressive for a blog that for the most part has been put in the shadows behind its younger, prophetic brother.

Originally the play was to drop the blog after Codex of Aegis was released, but by that time it had already accumulated 6 thousand views and I figured it would be a horrible waste to throw it all away. So, though I stopped posting on it daily, I continued to update it once and a while. Sometimes its a little frustrating that the blog is so much more highly regarded in internet terms than the main site, but by now I've come to accept its place in the world wide web. But enough of the introduction -- the hour of festivities is at hand.

A battle of two towers

Before we get into Astuka's Blog specific achievements, let's talk about the two heavyweights: Codex of Aegis and Astuka's Blog.

I have plenty of other places on the internet: AstukaGaming is where we have biweekly podcasts, and it has its own steam group. My tumblr is filled with non-gaming stuff, mostly in the music world, and I have other shadow projects and experiments that shall remain unknown. However, not even the highest of these can compete with these two giants. 

Total Views

Codex of Aegis - 1,886 views

Astuka's Blog - 10,000 views

Average Monthly Views

Codex of Aegis - 188.1 views

Astuka's Blog - 666.7 views

A more detailed view

Its clear that Astuka's Blog has quite the lead on CoA, and although the two may still be increasing at a steady rate, let's continue with a more closer overview on Astuka's Blog in particular.

Top 5 most viewed posts

1."Meeting God" by Anonymous - 1,860

From what I've seen, the original copy of this story has since been taken down, and if you do search "Meeting God" or any sort of combination of that into Google, this blog is the first thing that's come up. I've thought about deleting it a lot, mostly because its really overshadowing everything that I've actually done, but I've figured the viewcount hit would be way too much to recover from. Still, there is hope for an original article to one day overtake this pile of copied garbage.

2. Meet the GTA V characters... in real life - 330

Back when GTA V was still in its craze stages, and I was still into it, I made a lot of articles around the same time about the game. Now that hype has gone down, but one article in particular stands atop all of the others -- the GTA V real life counterparts, all of which are actually all coincidences and have no proof to back them up. Sorry kids, Christmas isn't coming this year.

3. The Quinnspiracy, also known as generic internet drama - 210

The first original piece of legitimate content comes at (no surprise) 3 on this list. The first part in the trifecta that is the GamerGate Trilogy, it details some of the very first events of the happening, despite stating it's near the end. 

4. GUYS I THINK I JUST FIGURED OUT P.T - 162

I'm happy this is in the top 5, mostly because in a midnight haze this theory made perfect since to me. Months later it still holds promise, but I suppose we'll have to keep waiting until when it drops to find out the truth.

5. Splatoon HYPE! - 133

Oh, thank god. More non-content. You know, I was started to feel worried for a second. In case your wondering what it is, it's a bunch of unformatted fan art of Splatoon. Why.

The demographics

Top 5 pageviews by Country

1. United States - 8,008

2. France - 151

3. United Kingdom - 149

4. Canada - 124

5. Germany - 119

No surprise here -- all of the content is in English exclusively (because besides kindergarten levels of Spanish, that's all I know) so it makes sense for 3 of the top 5 countries to be English speaking countries while the other 2 have a large amount of people who tend to speak English as well.

Top 5 pageviews by Browser

1. Chrome - 6,529

2. Firefox - 1,132

3. Internet Explorer - 927

4. Safari - 845

5. Opera - 274

Disregarding the 6,529 views that are mine, this seems to be just like a "Top 5 most used browsers" list. Though shoutouts to the last place browser, CriOS, for its badass name (though looks like its just short for Chrome for iOS. Lame.)

Top 5 pageviews by Operating Systems

1. Linux - 4,478

2. Windows - 3,505

3. Macintosh - 738

4. iPhone - 591

5. Android - 418

This statistic was always interesting -- I always figured the mass amount of Linux users was due to the blog formerly being a self proclaimed programming blog, but now that those days are over and the stat is still high up, its interesting.

The Future

It's safe to say that this blog will continue for quite some time, as well as its safe to say that another one of these updates won't be for awhile (at 25,000? 100,000?) so fortunately you won't have to worry about me spouting out boring site statistics for another few years. Well, better get back to making stuff.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

GamerGate -- A Trilogy Ends

Part 1
Part 2

This post is special for a multitude of reasons.

Number one: we're getting closer and closer to 10k! I'll probably do another roundup like I did for 1k, except this time not make all the images puush so they don't get deleted after like a week.

Number two: this is our 100th post! Pretty interesting, speaking that when we hit 1k we were at 50. I'm just going to assume this means exponential growth for eternity and it never actually plateaus.

And lastly, number three: as you can tell by the title of this post, this is my last address to GamerGate as a whole. If something else happens in GamerGate, I'll talk about the event in specific -- but as for generally, this is the last one.

This movement has slowly degraded into a cat-fight, mostly due to the help of trolls (yes, I used the word trolls) who think sending death threats to people are absolutely hilarious. This has turned both sides spinning out of control: anti-GamerGaters have used it as an excuse that "Look, they really are trying to attack us! See!" whereas GamerGaters have gone ahead and shut their ears, automatically assuming that they are actually just alts made by the anti party in an effort to make the pro party look bad and not thinking anything else of it again. Of course, both of these are wrong, but both sides seem eager in staying with their side of the story.

I take from the wise words of TotalBiscuit when I say that it makes no sense to stereotype a group of people as one person, and that also applies to both parties. There are people in pro party who believe in journalistic ethics, however there may also be a few who are just radical anti-feminists. There are people anti-GamerGate who believe all games that come even close to their definition of sexism should be panned, but there are also some who just want to have a few of their own games that promote diversity on the side that aren't panned. However, people like to stereotype and therefore both sides are often mislead about the other side, Most people on the side of the pro-party who just came probably think all anti-GamerGaters are crazy feminist bitches. Most people on the side of the anti-party who just came probably think GamerGate is a purely misogynistic movement created by that hacker 4chan. You see how this doesn't work?

So, with my last address to this is a notion of truce, by accepting both the sins and the saints that have happened on both sides. The reason I gave the introduction above is, to make things more simple, I may make it seem like the entire group has done it, but as all you smart folks now know the truth, and I can make things less complicated while still telling things clearly. So, here we go.

• GamerGate started over a blogpost made by an ex-boyfriend of Zoe Quinn (the creator of Depression Quest). He stated that Zoe had relations with five other men besides him at the time, all people in the gaming journalism. This created the movements first name (the Quinnspiracy), however it was not that great of an idea from the get go to trust some guy on the internet. As far as I know to this day there has never been any proof that the man even knew Zoe Quinn. 
• In response to the mass amounts of talk of the Quinnspiracy, various websites decided to censor any content about it as well as complete radio silence over it. Didn't really help them much at all, did it?
• Time had past, and the movement had changed from Quinnspiracy to GamerGate. In an effort to prove their worth, the pro-party funded a game done by a group of women who were also pro-GamerGate
• ...and in response, the group was harrassed and their fundraiser not given any media attention. Brilliant move, once again.
• The website to Polytron Corporation, Phil Fish's game studio, was apparently hacked shortly after this. The pro-party dismissed this as the first of many "false flags", or fakes done by the opposite party, and was probably not the best decision.
• However, the anti-party used this as traction, as well as the first time GamerGate news actually showed up on the media. This made it seem the connection to the anti-party and the media was closer than it seemed, and multiple independent journalists took at this moment to side with the pro-party.
• And with the increasing size of the pro-party, the games media took this as a clear disruption and the end of morality and humanity in the gaming community, creating the infamous "Gamers are dead" articles that alienated the viewers of these websites. This caused a mass boycott, taking down viewcounts by the thousands, most notably gamasutra whose total viewcount went down by almost 80%
• Independent journalist Milo Yiannopoulos (spelling my memory, give me a break) revealed during his snooping that there was a secret emailing group among both game journalists and game developers called "GamingJournoPros", a name I try will refrain from making any more jokes about. The group seemed reminiscent of a big conspiracy in the political journalism community which resulted in the firing of multiple members of the group. But this is game journalism, so that didn't happen.
• To add even more salt on the wound, a member of Kotaku made a comment on his twitter insulting members of the GamerGate movement. GamerGaters used this to their advantage, messaging multiple advertisers on Gawker media about this attack. Multiple advertisers, including Mercedes-Benz and Adobe, dropped their advertising due to these claims. Despite even THIS, the CEO of Gawker Media refused to fire the person who did it.
• After a long standstill in the conflict, a group of trolls sent death threats to multiple members of the anti-GamerGate party, including Anita Sarkeesian, who by this point had actually surprisingly been on the sidelines. For the first time ever GamerGate would hit national news, and it was not on the side of the pro-party.

By this point both groups have done bad, and I'm eager to just avoid this discussion now entirely and wait to see if anything actually comes of it besides some trifle between the journalists and the people who view their content. But as of now, this blog will no longer showcase it. 

So, what can YOU do in the meantime? Well, wonderful question! First, you can check out my twitter, which is essentially a feed that provides updates for both this and Codex of Aegis, my fiction-writing blog you should probably check out next. Right now, I should probably get back to writing my b- I mean, more stories for the Codex of Aegis!

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

A Cup of Pseudo-Philosophy -- 3 Theories of Death

Hey, remember 3 or so weeks ago when I said I would be making this and it would be released that Sunday? No? Good, because it never happened! Not at all!

Anyway, in this new attempt at being overly pretentious, I'm going to step into the shoes of Aristotle or whoever that old kook was and pretend I know more about a completely unknown topic more than anyone else: Death!

Most of the popular death theories either revolve around highly convoluted god stories that requires all of the prerequisites to be true before the death theory itself to be true, or just an extremely lazy explanation because fuck it, we don't know. For this, I am setting myself in a position where I apply no religions (at least of which I am aware of) but also try to explain it while using as many known facts as possible. That being, probably none once so ever. As you've read the title by now you probably know that there's not one, not two, but THREE original theories on death I have created, and although I am almost certain you may have heard something like these before due to the unoriginality constant, take in mind that I am using very little outside information and can ascertain that these are original, and probably because of that going to be pretty damn nonsensical. So with our first one, let us start with the most nonsensical of all!

Number one: The Multiverse Theory

What is the multiverse theory? Good question: the term "multiverse" is a borrowed term that I stole from somebody somewhere, but I don't remember what it was actually used for. So this could be either probably the exact same thing or a little different, but just remember my introduction.

This theory revolves around the idea that there are a near infinitely many universes, all in which every available situation to every action or event has its own universe. Let me give an example: right now, I'm going to assume you're reading this on a desktop (if not, just bare with me -- I'm not here because I can read minds...) Now, you'll probably read this normally, but what if you stopped reading to go get something to eat from the fridge? What if you closed this out to watch epic meme videos on youtube? What if you just all of a sudden started throwing up all over the damn place?

All four of these actions -- normal, fridge, meme, and vomit -- are just a few of the many things that could happen to you, even if they are highly unlikely. However, even the most unlikely ones have its own universe, where that specific point did indeed happen.

So, what decides that you are in the universe you are now? Well, quite obviously its the one where you are conscious of what's happening, but what happens when you die in this universe?

Simple, you don't. Right now, you are inside the universe in which, due to all luck, you just happen to live for an infinity amount of years. Yes, you can still feel pain, you can still get diseases, etc. etc., but you cannot actually die from any of these. The reasons other people have died is because this is not the universe in which they are conscious, and they are instead really in another universe. So basically, you're talking to someone who has no conscious. Sound familiar?

"B-b-but, I am conscious, but I am reading your blogpost right now! How does that work?" you might ask. Well, let us remember that there are near infinite universes with different possibilities, and so that makes a lot in which this blogpost is still made. Basically: if this theory is true, we're communicating through DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS! Pretty crazy, right?

Now, I'm not going to lie: This theory does take a few liberties, so let's get a little more down to earth, but perhaps not entirely scientifically accurate.

Number two: It's all a dream, Michael!

Alright, let's say you do die. Well, it's likely you probably won't be looking at a black screen for eternity, because that requires you to be conscious, while the whole idea of death is that you're probably not. So, what point are you not conscious in your everyday life? That's right -- when you're asleep!

The dream theory states that, when you die, a part of your brain stays awake, and brings you into a dream state. This dream state lasts for the rest of eternity, however once you realize you are dreaming, you will be able to take full control of your dreams to the point where you can make your dreams whatever you want. For most of us, that may seem kind of hard -- but don't worry, you have plenty of time to do it! And if you already know, then I guess you could say you're ahead of the curb!

This is the oldest theory I've made (sometime at age 12 or so) and with it there are some major inconsistencies, one of which is the definition of death itself, which states that death is when the brain shuts down entirely. Could it be that we've overlooked something, even in the realm of modern science? Not impossible, but unlikely. There's also the idea that the brain is an organ, and it decomposes over time with the rest of the body -- so even if there was a part still active, it would eventually die out.

Fortunately, this all leads to our 3rd and final conclusion.

Number three: The Spirits Within

After realizing these two had flaws when I gathered them for this post originally, I decided to lay down a try and find one last one that had the least amount of flaws as possible. And so, we lead into part 3.

I came under the impression that trying to discover death is impossible without assuming that there is something greater that we don't know -- not necessarily a god, but a vehicle of both creation and destruction that exists and governs the universe. And so I came under the impression that the most reasonable way to explain with there still being this vehicle, is ghosts.

Your conscious is what makes you. It decides personality, actions, everything -- and its safe to say that, like matter, there's no way it can actually die. So let's assume this conscious, when released after the body has passed, becomes an undetectable force. You are still conscious, but you are no longer limited to a body and can move around the world, galaxy, and universe freely. You can also inhabit beings that, there bodies are living, but they do not have a conscious (assuming those exist). So, in the end, yes I said it: spirits are actually the most reasonable way to explain death.

Then again, there is a lot we don't know, that leads to infinite interpretations. The only way we can figure out what death is, is when we go into death itself -- but in the case death fucks us over, let's enjoy life first. 

Have a theory you'd like to share? Why make your own blog post when you can simply write in the comments below? Also, don't forget to check out Codex of Aegis for my stories, and follow @JohnMcGroover for updates on both sites.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Extra-Life 2014 Round-up

Our second annual Extra-Life stream is now over, and although our numbers are small I'm honestly proud of them enough speaking that the stream itself was pretty close just to not happening, unadvertised, and kind of just thrown together at the last minute. Before I start my real review, let's give ourselves some stats on the Astuka Extra-life 2014:

• We donated exactly $1, tying ourselves for last year. Hey, we aren't big time!
• We gained 1 follower and 34 views, with a highest concurrent viewer count of 7.
• We streamed for 10 hours, with only 1 stream hiccup in between.
• We played 3 games: Roblox, DotA 2, and Lego Minifigures Online (kek)
• We had 9 people come on in total, excluding myself.

It was interesting in the way that the stream went practically the complete opposite of what it was supposed to be. Like I said before, the stream wasn't going to be the whole 24 hours, but I wanted to go from morning to night. The only problem with this was that the day before the stream I was informed that I had to go to a party in the literal middle of the schedule, and so that brought down my enthusiasm by a lot. Another plan was to make up for the lost time by also streaming on Sunday, but by the end we decided just to wing it and do it all on one day.

Funnily enough, the 3 people who were said to have been confirmed for the show weren't even on it in the first place, due to one reason or another. Instead, the stream consisted of a ton of people who at the beginning only had the faintest clue what was happening but stayed through the very end regardless. There was some people who wanted to get in but never did, and I apologize to them. 

For next year: we'll probably do it about the same way. I feel like at this point in my life I don't have enough free time needed to go out and organize something crazy like last year. I'll probably try to prepare some viewers, mostly as an attempt to remind myself, but beyond that I think winging it is the perfect strategy for something like this. I still like streaming, and I like doing the themed events such as Extra-Life or Week of Streams or Halloween of Spooks. But as for making it a big deal, it's probably impossible by this point. I'm also behind on a lot of posts because of this, so I should probably get to work on that.

They'll be no podcast this week, but expect a lot of extra-life highlights coming soon to the channel. I'll try to get a story up on Codex of Aegis on time, Also, expect another blogpost later in the day, this time about pseudo-philosophy. Probably.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Patch Notes 10/11/14 + New Info on Extra Life 2014!

Hello, my friends!  It's been almost a year in which Astuka's Blog has been in existence (actually probably longer) and we're just about to hit 10k views! Internet stardom, here we come!

If you're a long-time regular, you probably remember something about an Extra Life 2013. Well we plan on doing it again, only this time, with a bit of a twist!

And that twist consists of me being too lazy to ask people individually if they want to join, so we might as well use this time to excersive (excersive? exercise? fuck its early) the social media muscle!

First, on this week's AstukaGaming podcast, I'll be spurting on about the details of what I mean, as well as some more general info. Then, after that, I'll be posting on all of my virtual internet soapboxes (including this one!) the details of what it takes to both watch and join! And I really hope you do come, because... uh... we only have 3 people right now. But also because you'll be helping childrens hospitals! If you donate. Jesus, I need to not write like right after I woke up.

In other important news however, I have this week's Patch Notes!

• A new, more understandable logo for Codex of Aegis is near finishing construction, and should be on the site soon.
• Newsletter? What?
• I'll be setting up, not posting, but setting up my new youtube channel come eventually. Take in mind that AstukaGaming Podcast will always be posted on AstukaGaming. 
• Stencyl and Unity games are being worked on, but at a snail's pace. Like I've said before, I'd rather take these as practice than to just release them because I can't guarantee their quality yet unlike my writing.
• I'm pretty sure I've never mentioned almost all of the above things. This is also a horrible example of my writing.
• General CoA updates (formatting, tagging, etc.)

Well, that's all for now. I hope y

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

A new look for 9k!

Those of you who frequent the site may notice we look a bit different than normal -- that's mostly because we can't actually integrate Facebook inside of blogspot with Dynamic Views. Whoops! But who cares; Dynamic Views was old school anyway.

There's plenty of news to talk about right now, so let me get started:

First of all, we've hit 9k! Woohoo, we're now only 1k away from 10k, the greater achievement.

Second of all, there's a new episode of the AstukaGaming Podcast! We've decided that after this one we're likely going to stop focusing on having guests and just work off the vague dynamic we have. We're also likely going to bring true the original idea for redux by starting to focus on things other than exclusively video games.

Lastly, there's a Codex of Aegis subreddit! This has already been in existence for awhile, but I've thrown off advertising it until fairly recently. I always add the new story to it, so in case your a redditor, you can now have Codex of Aegis on your feed! Hooplah!

That's not all though, as there's even more news coming soon. Extra-Life 2014? Wider social media integration? Skit channel? Game reviews? BOOK?

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Some of that isn't going to come for a while, but still!

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

GamerGate Part II: The Quest for the Uncensored News Site

A few weeks ago I made a blog post here discussing the Quinnspiracy. In it I apologized for being late to the party.

Boy, could I have been more wrong.

A lot has happened in these few weeks, and since then it has gone to expand beyond Zoe Quinn herself and even gaming in general. However, for the sake of being careful I'll use this next paragraph to summarize what has developed since then, assuming that the last Quinnspiracy/GamerGate article was the one I made.

It turns out that the alleged internet censorship is real, and it is worse than we thought. This brilliant article by Milo Yiannopoulos shows exposes an emailing list used by many top ranking game journalists, website founders, and indie developers called “GameJournoPros”; a name which leads me to believe that my backseat journalism may be more professional than I give it credit for.

Here is a list of these emails, with important information in highlight, courtesy of Breitbart.com. (images need to be opened in separate tab to be read)

Ah, yes, Journalism ethics sure are bullshit. Besides, I've been meaning to review her game... *wink wink*

People are using your platform to harass a developer. Though more of these people are concerned with censorship, we should really just make that our excuse.

No. This is simply not true. I don't believe it. Shut up.

If we censor their thread about internet censorship, it plays DIRECTLY into their narrative! God, why does making responsible decisions on community content have to be such a pain in the ass!

It's not just popular tech and gaming websites, however. The following image is a screenshot from a reddit AMA with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. In it he's asked his opinion on GamerGate.

And on this, the Darwin Award committee struck gold.

Think it's fake? Here's the permalink. In other news, Reddit's moderation team braving through worst intelligence drought in decades.

And I'm not even done. The bastion of anonymity on the internet, 4chan, has been revealed as to be censoring it's threads as well. 

Now this may be not as bad like the last time, however also like last time that's only in proportion to the other current events. We know have feasible proof that censorship is going on in most major discussion areas of the web.

The main defense game journalism has given up to this point is that the GamerGate movement is a thinly veiled misogynistic scheme that insists it's about censorship, but is really just trying to remove women from the industry. What we have proof is that that allegation is the farthest thing from true.

Sworn opponents of censorship and active members of GamerGate, this is your fuel. Use it to create a wildfire so wide that not even major websites can control it. The two greatest inventions in humankind were writing and the internet, because they allowed the common man to speak his mind. Use these gifts. There have been entire country-wide revolts by use of social media alone. Utilize it, and there will be change.

But before we change others, we must change ourselves. Recently I have watched the InternetArtistocrat's GamerGate stream in which he discusses current events and inspires people to raise their flags for better, unbiased journalism. I have decided that if there is interest, I'll use this site – small though it is – to give the unbiased gaming news people have asked for. And that means not just in GamerGate discussion, but all of gaming in general, whether it be reviews or announcements. If I stir up even the slightest interest in this, I will heavily consider trying to do this.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Patch Notes -- 9/16/14

okay well its more like updates but anyway

• We actually achieved all the goals made from the last notes, with more good news incoming!
• In case you haven't already noticed, content on Codex of Aegis is now following a biweekly schedule, each new story coming out the same Saturday as every AstukaGaming Podcast!
• This gives me more time for not only format edits, but general edits such as typos and sentence flow
• As Dungeoneer 3 was mostly a practice exercise to increase my skill in C++, it has since been discontinued. I have learned a lot from the project though, and will be utilizing this knowledge (hopefully) in the future.
• Meanwhile, the Stencyl project that was put on hiatus is now in development! And you guys thought I was bad with projects.
• Facebook integration will be coming to this blog in the same way that it is on the Codex of Aegis. Look for it soon! (assuming I didn't do it already and just forget)

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

It's time for MADDEN! (gifs)

Madden has a new viral marketing technique this year. Did they need one? Probably not, but needless to say it makes some pretty sweet-ass gifs.

First episode of AstukaGaming Podcast Redux now up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92wHSPrGMhI

The first episode of the Podcast Redux is now up, featuring our special guest Ash-Bit Gaming! Check it out.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

GUYS I THINK I JUST FIGURED OUT P.T (Silent Hills)

Okay this is going to be short and tumblr-tier writing but I seriously think I've figured this out. Also I'm not going to bother explaining the different stuff, I'm just going to assume you've played through the game.

1. The radio states that the neighbors have heard the father chanting numbers before hand, like he was trying to "cast some strange spell". It also says similar events have happened before (this is important for later).

2. A little later the radio says the same message but there's a cut in it in which the numbers are said. This is in a different voice then the radio and the fetus (who talks during the end of both the normal ending and Silent Hills ending).

3. Swedish radio states  they're "opening a portal to another dimension" (very important for later).

4. There is a reoccuring theme in the game in which the idea of poor welfare and job loss is referenced. If we remember what the baby says near the normal ending, it states the father lost his job and the wife had to get some shitty job as a grocery clerk.

Alright, so how are these four all connected? Let me blow your fucking mind.

Father is in distress. Lost his job and his wife is cheating on him with a manager. Gets a tip somehow (we don't know this) about someone who can help, but only gets a string of numbers as a hint. Guy nearly goes crazy trying to figure this out. After a while, he realizes it: it's not the numbers that are important, its what the numbers make. Its Jareth (or gareth fuck if i know)

Guy prepares to finally do the ritual. Thinks he's ready. Waits until midnight. Ten paces forward. The cries, the whispers -- they hit him. He knows what to do.

"Jareth."

Silence. Dead silence.

He doesn't understand. Did he do something wrong? Was there another step to it? Poor guy has a panic attack, before he hears the phone next to him ring.

"H-hello?" He asks, still shivering from the ritual itself.

"You've been chosen."

Man on the other line hangs up. Door near him unlocks. He's scared, trembling even, but he knows what to do.

He needs to open the door. To go to another dimension. To find Jareth.



That was 10 months ago. At least, it felt like it.



Daily radio plays. Apparently, a father killed his whole family before hanging himself with a garden hose. What happened? What would drive a man mad?

Not only that, but what would drive many other men -- fathers -- mad?

There's only one way to find out. Recreate the steps. Go open the door. Go to another dimension -- Hell, aka Silent Hill.


Go find Jareth.



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Yes I know its not exactly together (there's probably more pieces to the puzzle) but I feel like the story of the new Silent Hill goes like this. I've been way off on my predictions before though, so we can only know once we've found out.


P.S. To the people who don't see how Luci, the drugs, the fetus, the bag, etc. etc. fit into it?

This game is a teaser.

It has no direct relation to the main title.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Patch Notes -- 8/26/14

It is me and we are back again and welcome to patch notes!!!!!

• As of right this moment, I have removed some of the unused content cluttering Codex of Aegis. This includes the Google Translate, "Follow by Email", and Viewcount widgets
• These fixes should help load speed if you're viewing from a slower computer.
• Later today (or tomorrow) there will be an update to Dungeoneer to make it a bit more playable. Like I said, I will be actively updating it until it is fun enough to be considered a real game.
• This will mean it will probably be the main thing updated on Codex of Aegis right now, so check back often!
• The Astukagaming Podcast has the tentative date of Sunday 31st and will be hosted by me and featuring Vaughan Jones and our guest Ash-Bit Gaming. 
• At around the second week of September, there will be a MASSIVE dump of content on Codex of Aegis, which will then unfortunately be followed by another drought. I mentioned in the last post I was working out a reliable schedule for work-school, and I'm still trying to get it together. I apologize to anyone looking forward to new story content.
• So, uh, I kind of forgot last Patch Notes that I said I was going to fix the formatting on the Codex of Aegis stories. I'll try to get at that later today.

First Game up on Codex of Aegis!

http://landofeternallife.blogspot.com/p/games.html

It's not much, but its the first in many that I hope to be put on the site. I'm going to keep working on it until it can at least be slightly considered fun before moving up to my next project. Next update: Magic!

The Quinnspiracy, also known as generic internet drama

I was really hoping I'd not have to make something about this, but seeing that it's the only thing I've been able to see on the internet recently I figured I might as well chime in.

For those of you who are uninformed on what exactly armchair internet sleuths are dubbing "The Quinnspiracy", the story goes as follows:

Recently, a game by the name of Depression Quest was greenlit on Steam, made by a Zoe Quinn. This game was, as it turns out, not a game at all -- rather a shitty visual novel. This is a fact.

Where things tend to get a bit shady is where the conspiracy part of this quinnspiracy lies. Apparently, the creator of the aforementioned game, aforementioned herself, allegedly was having "special relationships" with five men, some of which were married, and even more shockingly some of which worked for the games journalism industry.

Now, AS FAR AS I KNOW, there is no SOLID proof that Zoe Quinn was sleeping with any of the alleged five guys, besides a large blog post made by her ex-boyfriend. If anyone has any information on this part that is TRUE and SOLID, please send it to me at the email or twitter that I'll provide at the end of this post. As for now, I'm not going to bother getting into this part, but rather a section with a considerable amount of proof which seems to trouble me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Equc1QnQ9rw

What I've linked above is a video made by a man with the charming internet mask "Mundane Matt". The content of this video however, is not important. What is important is the story behind it.

Figure A -- MM video claim

A few days ago, when this conspiracy first began (also forgive me for bringing this up on this event's wind down; as you know with me I tend to think late and write later) Mundane Matt released this video, only to have it removed via copyright claim by "Zoe Quinn". I put that in quotes because, as we all know, anyone can take down content with practically any reason. This "no reason" is the fact that the Quinnmystery claimed that the video contained screenshots from the game that were not available "for public use" -- a thing that turned out to be absolute bullshit, as it was later shown that the screenshots were directly from the game's store page on Steam. However, there is one more thing we shouldn't overlook, and its the "anyone". Just because this person is Zoe Quinn, doesn't mean she's actually Zoe Quinn right? Right?

Figure B -- Censorship on Steam Discussion Boards

Figure C -- Extremely probable censorship by /r/gaming moderator (may need to open in separate window to see)

Figure D -- Deletion of correct content on Wikipedia

Figure E -- Censorship by 4chan moderator (though some may say it is irrelevant)

Figure F -- Censorship on the website GamesNosh, likely by Zoe Quinn herself.

Figure G -- Censorship on 4chan -- content posted features information related to video game journalism, a subsidiary of video game discussion.

What I have posted above are 6 images that I believe are the closest to resembling actual censorship by Zoe Quinn and her compatriots. I got all these images from a compilation made by an anonymous /v/ user, and it is available here. Feel free to check all the content in it at your own pace.

Now as a writer I have a soft spot for censorship of any kind, because I believe it is more destructive than it can ever be creative. The censorship revolving Zoe Quinn is an excellent example of that; in the end, it doesn't even MATTER if the rumors surrounding her are true. At the end of the day, what we do have is exemplary evidence of wide censorship.  Surely, you'd say, you shouldn't send death threats to her, and you're right -- but deleting ALL of the negative content associated with a person is without a doubt censorship, and there's no way to retort against that fact besides sugarcoating it yourself. The internet gives us, all of us, one basic right -- to start discussion about whatever topics we want as long as they follow a set of country laws. You can't say video game journalism discussion isn't relevant to 4chan's /v/ board. You can't say discussion of a video game personality's view of an active video game related event isn't relevant to reddit's /r/gaming. And you certainly can't say that an entire website deserves to be taken down for it's non-threatening opinions on another person, no matter if its negative or positive.

If you wish to discuss this article with me directly, or have any content that can help bolster the quality of this article, please contact me at my email  or at my twitter, @JohnMcGroover. And no, I'm not taking it down. Ever.

- Jacob Robinson, writer of the Codex of Aegis

Edit 8/20/14 8:31 PM
An anonymous emailer sent me a link to this Kotaku article. In short, the editor in chief of Kotaku Stephen Totilo states that "he [Nathan Grayson] was in a romantic relationship" with Zoe Quinn, but that during his time at Kotaku had not written anything about Zoe Quinn during there relationship with the exception about an article concerning the Game Jam situation. While this is true, it also explains the fact that Zoe Quinn did indeed cheat with at least one of the five men rumors have explained, and it does leave the additionals up for some more serious consideration. I continue to encourage all of you to send me any solid information you may have on this, as well as critique on any factual errors I may have made in the article.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Patch Notes -- 8/10/14

Welcome to Patch Notes, a new mini-segment in which I discuss updates that are going around on various projects. I figured it would be good for this blog to have at least one segment, so here it is!

• As school is coming up very soon (like, two days soon) there will be no updates on any projects until about a week in when I can properly reassess my time and budget it correctly.
• Although the AstukaGaming dream is dead, I am interested in the returning the podcast to a biweekly schedule. Nothing is confirmed however, as I do need to check for some people who would be interested as well as maybe a few potential guests.
• Unlike the previous podcast which focused completely on AstukaGaming and videogames, this new podcast would be separated into multiple segments, most likely consisting of Games, Movies, and Music discussion. It would likely be sponsored by Codex of Aegis itself, as well as perhaps a few other brands.
• The first game a la shitty command line RPG will likely come to Codex of Aegis after a few balance changes. It will be a free download, as well as be free of viruses and botnets. Mostly.
• Testing for Hitbox.tv will happen sometime soon, though we are delaying it slightly due to known issues with Xsplit.
• Expect formatting fixes similar to the ones found on the new Kerland House story coming soon to all previously posted stories, as well as possibly a few typo fixes.

That's all for now. I'm not going to be limiting this to a schedule but rather just posting one whenever there's new updates coming. For now, just get hyped.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

My reaction to Twitch's new Content ID system and the Google merge

(Posting on the Codex of Aegis meta-blog and the AstukaGaming Steam Community)

I know streaming has become a side-thing for me, but I'd figure I'd take the time to address this anyway.

Today, in preparation for the Google purchase, Twitch added two new “features” – a content ID system and the end of permanent archiving (at least for the foreseeable future). Both of these have obviously caused quite a stir, and although I doubt very many of you are wondering how this is going to effect my stream, I'll tell it anyway.

So far none of my previous highlights or broadcasts have been effected by this update, but its likely that once they do I might make a switch to somewhere else. This is simply because I don't condone either of this updates, and I don't like using services with major features I don't like. It's exactly the same for when I stopped buying EA games and stopped using Youtube as a viewer.

Will Twitch lose its fame once it becomes a more widened livestreaming service? It's highly doubtful. Just like Youtube, when something stays at the top for so long with such a gap between all other competitors, it's likely it will stay that way no matter what the criticism is. So, you may ask, why would I go away from Twitch if Youtube does the same and I still upload things there?

Three things.

One, there are no good substitutes for Youtube. Dailymotion is the Yahoo of streaming services. Vimeo, although it does have good video support and content, has a lack of competent browsing and search features. All the others, well, its safe to say they're far below.

Two, publicity. With Youtube, even if you don't advertise your video in anyway, you're guaranteed to get at least 20-30 views eventually. Even more if it's interesting material. You simply don't get that with Twitch – you HAVE to advertise with Twitch or else you won't get any newcomers. If that's the case, why bother hosting it on the popular website if it's the same for everything?

Three, the streaming brand isn't as important. Simple as that. I don't really have to get into how AstukaGaming is all fun and no gain because I already talked about it in my previous post. It's important for things that do have gain involved to be on the popular site, because people are more happy in clicking. This is a fact, because just recently (names voided) someone I know actually declined to see a video not because of its length or subject matter, but because of the website it was hosted on. That's right, if you're out there reading this, fuck you. I still haven't forgotten.

With these things in mind, you can hopefully see that it wouldn't be near as big of a blow in switching from Twitch to another website than it would be in switching from Youtube to somewhere else. That's the reason for change.

The next thing that comes up is the alternate streaming website in question. It's quite obvious, really. Some might have even thought I mentioned it previously, even though I have not – Hitbox.tv. It's a indie streaming service with the most modest of upbringings, and unlike other streaming services that have ended up being complete disasters (coughown3dcough) it doesn't try to strike a contract and its admin community seems friendly. Though, like twitch, I'm sure that will be eventually subject to change.

I'll be honest, I actually have zero experience with Hitbox.tv. All that I am aware is that many believe it is actually a better streaming website than Twitch, which is entirely possible. So here's the plan: Over the course of time I'll go and try out Hitbox.tv. If it really is more both streamer AND viewer friendly than Twitch, I'll make the switch (heh) otherwise I'll likely just stay on Twitch and endure.

Anyway, that's all for now. Remember to follow my Twitter @JohnMcGroover (the only thing that will be staying the same despite any moving) and check out the main website, Codex of Aegis (The “main website” link up top if you're viewing on the blog; http://landofeternallife.blogspot.com if anywhere else.)

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Happy 1k views!

Congratulations to our main publication, Codex of Aegis, for finally hitting one thousand hits. Though its a long way from our 6k (closing in on 7!) We hope that eventually it will reach much farther.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Mega Update: The future of my projects

(Originally posted on Codex of Aegis, AstukaGaming, and Astuka's Tumblr)

Hello everybody, checking in for my monthly here. No, but really this time – I have something meaningful to say. Really.

So it has (finally) come to my attention that I have way too many side projects, and instead need to focus only on a small few in order to make quality content. Mindblowing, right? Anyway, I decided to gather together all my current side projects and decide which ones would be cut and which ones would be totally okay. This is the result.

Codex of Aegis

Status: Totally okay

Yes, yes. I know. Most of the time when I say things are on hiatus, they end up dying. I get that. But right now Codex of Aegis is literally the only actual important thing I'm making, so of course it will end up staying.

The reason I haven't updated, as I've said so long before, is two things: A, the Guardians of Enthia playthrough, and B, a revamped site.

Both have not happened mostly because I don't have any time to do either thing. As I begin to loosen up my schedule though I'll try getting them done, and finally once again we'll be able to have our shitty one off stories.

Speaking of Codex of Aegis, I actually plan on self-publishing a “Volume I” compilation soon (aka likely Winter 2014). It will feature all of the stories written until that time, as well as colorful commentary by yours truly and a few cut/extra stories specifically for the book. At first I thought it might be a dumb idea since CreateSpace only allows 50 pages and greater, but the current reference sheet filled with the writing is about 78 pages long, and added with commentary and other meta stuff and it could be around 130+ pages.

As well as this, I might as well explain the full revamp since I haven't actually already.

I'm planning on making Codex of Aegis my overall project homepage until I have enough time and money to make a website of my own. I'm going to try and feature direct pages to all my shit, including the twitter, twitch, and *possible* facebook page. I'll also see if I can add two blogs, so we can keep all of my meta bullshit on the same site instead of a completely different one like it is right now, and I won't feel bad for abandoning AstukaGaming (the blog) because it will live on in spirit (also we get to not have any confusion between the group and the blog).

Honestly I'm really excited for the revamp, but I won't do it until I finish Guardians of Enthia. I'll try doing it first thing tomorrow but I've done that multiple times before and as you can all tell it hasn't exactly worked out.

AstukaGaming

Status: ded

I thought the idea of a group playthrough channel always was pretty fun, but its come to my attention that I really don't get anything out of having one. The AstukaGaming “brand” is completely isolated from my personal “brand”, so its not like I would be getting more viewers for Codex of Aegis while making videos for AstukaGaming. Furthermore, having a lets play channel doesn't really say anything about me professionally. Not in that “hue hue muh formal” type of way (to be honest I'll probably never be able to pull that off), but the fact that works of video games and movies and books have a lot more impact than lets plays and livestreams. I'll still be using my personal twitch channel (astukari) though, and occasionally on there I will play with the AstukaGaming guys, but the channel itself will likely be gone (unless anyone wants to buy it hehehhe).

Stencyl Game

Status: hiatus

Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention that. I'm making a stencyl game.

I've always been pretty interested in the whole flash game shebang (shabang? Huh?) and so I finally decided for my first work in vidya would be a simple flash game. And boy, did I not prepare for how much work even a simple game would be.

It came through my mind as I went along that there are many other, even more easy games I could make, and so I decided I might as well delve into those other projects even if there's no chance of income or revenue from it (I'd be learning something though, so I guess that counts). Eventually once I'm back from my journey I'll release the projects I tried for free (on the website nudge nudge) and start working on games for profit. Ad profit, that is. Glorious ad profit.

Half-Life Playthrough

Status: What do you think?

I am kind of mad about trashing this since I've always wanted to do at least one complete lets play, but I've already addressed in the AstukaGaming block everything you need to hear about this.

OT RPG

Status: ...Really?

Okay, I just added this because it was an old popular project that I never officially said anything about. There is literally nothing to profit from this. I don't even forum anymore.

Personal/Skit channel

Status: Probably still happening

If any of you can remember, I did mention that I would be making a personal channel for skits and other bullshit separate from AstukaGaming. Although I might end up putting the videos on AstukaGaming and just wiping everything that isn't cool and nostalgic due to one of youtube's many problems, the idea is likely still in the mix. I do admit though I was planning on making a skit for the Summer Sale, but nothing ever came of it. Just a warning.

Dota 2 Championship

Status: Dead and Gone

Yep, it just couldn't generate the interest. Not much to it.

Well, that's all for now. Next time we see eachother the site will likely be changed and I would've posted Guardians of Enthia 6-12. Although I'm pretty sure I said that last time, though it might've been a Deja Vu. Huh. Well, I'll do it for sure this time. I promise.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Post pls?!??! Why Codex of Aegis is on hiatus.

(Posted on tumblr, astukagaming, and codexofaegis)

Hello, my non-existent fanbase.

Just in case there really is anyone out there, I've decided to make this post to explain some things. You might've noticed the last post on Codex of Aegis was the Guardians of Enthia second draft, and it's last update was already about a week ago. I am working on finishing it, and its actually the main reason I haven't posted anything.

You see, The ALB for the Second Draft was supposed to be special in two ways – one because it was supposed to be the first series up on my new personal youtube (which it wasn't due to a youtube glitch) and second because the THIRD draft of the series is coming – which is totally still happening. Technically I could be posting the stories while I wait for an opportune time to make the episodes for ALB, but eventually I just decided to wait. Which means I also haven't been writing anything. Haha, whoops.

But on the other hand, I am working on a few new projects which include a TRUE first video on the personal channel, as well as a few games I'm getting involved in as well as perhaps a game of my own. Maybe. If I have time.

Believe me though, Codex of Aegis is – as always – my number one priority. I'm just currently swamped with stuff and am waiting for one of them to finish so I can start working on it again. I dream of the day that I can just put stuff on my schedule and get done with it like that, but I suffer from human ineptitude and procrastination.

- JR

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Splatoon HYPE!

I’m glad to see that my favorite game of E3, Splatoon, is getting a lot of love across all the internet. I’ve taken this time to post some of the hypest fanart I’ve seen so far. 

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis 

Tumblr Revival and E3 Reactions

I'd like to start off by saying that, as to promote my stuff on multiple platforms, I'll probably repost these on the old blog (astukagaming.blogspot.com) as well as some other community blogs for websites I frequent. Besides that, my main blog will always be at landofeternallife.blogspot.com.

I probably shouldn't be writing this, as I'm down enough that I haven't written a lot of fiction recently. Writing this will probably just make things worse, but fuck it. 

Anyway, as a start to this new series of tumblr posts (or blogspot posts, or...) I guess I should start on something topical. That topic is E3.

This years E3 was pretty bland, but that's how things normally are. If you just started with last years behemoth of an E3, you're going to be mighty disappointed -- every year it's about this interesting. Still, there's a wonder that draws us all to E3. A lot of people say its the same feeling you get when Christmas arrives, and I suppose it is. Except it's likely you probably won't actually buy most of the games that interest you in E3 and instead just forget about them.

Enough about that though, onto the conferences. Microsoft had a much more solid performance than their blunder of a conference last year. Phil Spencer seems to be doing a pretty good job saving the Xbox One's reputation, but it's still a long road coming. Honestly, most of the games in the Microsoft conference we either already knew about, expected, or was just a CG trailer. That gives it an average C rating from me.

Next was the Ubisoft and EA conferences. Since these are the smaller ones, I won't go into as much detail into these. Ubisoft really didn't have much at theirs besides what we were all expecting: the series of yearly releases followed by a bullshotted trailer of their new game. EA as well seemed to be trying to save their skins, using “Conceptual Prototypes” as a way of guilting us into thinking “We don't rush teams guys, we promise!”. In the end the conference was simply just a plethora of sports, hotheads, and people walking in hallways. Both publishers get a F+.

At the end of day zero we had Sony. Honestly, as a Playstation fan I felt pretty disappointed by it. They could've used the conference to further expand their lead against Xbox, but instead decided to rest on their laurels and spend 2/3rds of the conference talking about TV and metrics. Again. Except for more information on Uncharted 4, there wasn't really much in the game department either. Overall, I'd give it a D.

Now I really wasn't expecting much from the Nintendo Direct. I was expecting to go home (figuratively, still waiting on that press invite heh) disappointed at there being no real new games. Oh boy, was I wrong.

Now, Nintendo won it for me at the Reggie Iwata battle, but they didn't just stop there. Three unique looking platformers (Captain Toad, Wooly World, Rainbow Curse) were announced, as well as the first look at Zelda Skyrim (it looks AMAZING), Bayonetta+Bayonetta 2, and, drumroll please, several new IPs. Nintendo really stepped up their game with this one, and best of all, they focused on the Wii-U! Nintendo gets a A- from me.

My game of E3 was probably Splatoon. I'm pretty sure no one expected Nintendo ever to go into the online shooter industry, but they did and their spicing it up. In case you didn't know, Splatoon is a shooter where you use ink to cover up the map. It's basically paintball with supersoakers, and since you don't get much points for killing people, the game is primarily about winning via map painting. That means its more of a game of strategy than anything. Definitely a buy for me.

People have also brought up No Man's Sky as well, but honestly I think it looks bullshotted to all hell. I HIGHLY doubt the game will be as polished as the trailer, EXPECIALLY since the people making it are a small indie team. Though if, by some miracle, they do pull it off; I'll be buying it.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll be posting pretty infrequently, only when there's something to talk about on my mind. I'll be working a lot more on writing fiction (I'm a lot better at that, haha) and maybe starting some projects that might actually get somewhere.

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Twitter: @CodexofAegis
Facebook: facebook.com/CodexofAegis