Rundown (3/17-3/23) Gaming Distribution Cataclysm

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If this past week is any indication, I think one of the biggest issues that will permeate throughout gaming this upcoming generation is the matter of games distribution.  This was originally a fairly simple concept, but with digital distribution growing in popularity, many game companies have been looking for ways to have the means of distribution better serve them by creating their own platforms or signing exclusivity deals in order to lessen the risk associated with launching any kind of product.  While this sort of thing typically results in the establishment of a diverse and competitive marketplace that ultimately benefits the consumer in the long run, in the short run it creates a very hectic environment where the consumer is put in a place of uncertainty and inconvenience as they need to choose what platform they’re going to invest their time and money into.
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Rundown (3/10-3/16) Crack the Mind into the Bowl!

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This past week I’ve been wrapping up my review of Student Transfer V4.1, and in doing so I noticed just how much of this update deals with mental alterations and the chaotic events such changes can lead to.  This in turn caused me to realize that, despite never really seeking this sort of thing out, I am actually somewhat fascinated by the concept of information being added, removed, or replaced in one’s mind, and seeing the ensuing results.  While I have seen a fair share of media depicting identity death or mind breaks, a lot of ST’s more mental focused content has a tinge of uniqueness to it that honestly gets my creative juices flowing, and is something that I hope to eventually work into some of my future novels… which I really ought to get back to working on.  Oh life, why do you insist on keeping me so gosh danged busy?
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Rundown (3/03-3/09) Natalie Should Read More Books!

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Seeing as how my status as a writer should not be up for much contention given how much rubbish I’ve written over the years for this site, between novels, hundreds of reviews, and the weekly musings about game industry news, one would most likely expect that I am something of a reader as well.  However, that really is not the case, as while I do read a good number of articles, short stories, and many visual novels, it has been quite a while since I last read a full book. I used to read novels frequently back in high school, but as I started putting more and more attention into my site, and began writing my own stories, I began developing an urge to work on my own writing pursuits whenever I tried to start reading a book.  It just reminds me of how I have not told the stories I’ve wanted to tell yet, and I begin to feel like I’m procrastinating. Though, this does not really apply to watching videos, probably because it is a more passive activity and a different medium entirely.
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Rundown (2/24-3/02) Petty Platinums, Predictable Pokemon, and Prosperous Positions

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About two weeks ago I started playing through Bayonetta, a title that I have tried multiple times in the past, yet struggled to get into due to my ineptitude when it comes to ‘real’ action games and obsessive personality traits that are triggered based on hyper specific criteria.  Or in other words, I positively suck at the game, but also wanted to go through the game while doing two very specific things. Get high rankings from every encounter and get all of the collectibles. While I believe that the former is very possible if I were to play through the game on easy, difficulties below normal automatically give the player all the health and magic upgrades from the get-go, and that approach deeply bothers me.  These are two incredibly petty things to hold against a game, but it left me unable to truly enjoy myself with the game, so for the fourth time in my life, I’ve given up on Bayonetta.  Though if someone were to make an ‘auto-platinum’ mod, I would probably give it a proper playthrough.
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