The Rocket League Phenomena

The game sounds kinda stupid. I mean, car soccer. Honestly, it looks a little stupid, too. It’s big, empty arenas with a ball. Most of the promo artwork sports the generic cars.

I never gave the game a second glance, until one day I walked into GameStop. I fiddled with the demos on the PS4, and tried the game (I had heard people talk about it, but the concept just didn’t appeal to me).

The demo was such a blast to play. Rocket League’s controls are tight, perfected. The game is FUN. When you punch a goal, just right, it feels like you’re a star athlete in this imaginary sport.

I’m sorta frugal when it comes to entertainment. I don’t buy every game. The games I do buy, I usually put hundreds of hours into, obtain all the trophies, and do almost everything there is to do. I like knowing that I’m going to get a lot of bang out of my buck.

The Rocket League demo, however, was so much fun that I bought it as soon as I got home, also, I got PS+ to do online.

The game is awesome. Online has been almost flawless. I hardly ever get lag. I’ve played with my friends. I’ve made new online friends. Etc. Etc. I LOVE the game. Totally worth 20 bucks.

 I wish that there was more of everything.

While I wish this was a fully-featured AAA ($60) game, with more modes and ETC, I doubt I would have made the leap if it wasn’t at the $20 price point. Now that I have it and love it, I wish that there were more modes, features, and trophies to collect. Isn’t that weird?

My favorite modes are Chaos (which is 4v4) and Snow Day (which is an icy arena with a hockey puck and heavier physics). They’re adding Hoops (basketball) soon, and I’m really excited.

I think that the one thing that needs to be fixed about this game is the scoring. Defense moves can be just as important as scoring goals, and yet making an epic save doesn’t net you the same points. I love playing goalie, defensive, however I always rank at the bottom of my team because I stay behind, playing opportunist. Most of my goals are assists from knocking the ball back to the other side. I wish I made more points for saves.

I would also love an Ultra-Chaos mode. Like, a double-sized arena with a faster ball, quicker-charging boost, and 7v7. Another good idea is a Rocket Labs arena build like a monster truck rally with ramps all over and dirt.

Anyway, I love this game. Go buy it!

OXYBORB.COM Official Review Score for Rocket League: 9.0/10 

Jurassic World Watchfest Commentary

I just watched JW for the first time today. As I did so, I began liveblogging my reactions to the plotholes. Let me just say, I’m an English/literature major that wants to write novels for a living. So, I have studied clichés and plotholes in narratives. I thought it would be fun to clean up and repost my reactions here:

UPDATE #1

I think I solved the whole stupid movie before it’s even begun:

Why doesn't every single dinosaur have a collar on that, when remotely controlled, administers either an injection of tranquilizer or a lethal shock of some sort?

Oh, raptors escaped. Push a button and they're all asleep. Done.

Or maybe make a leg-brace that can lock up and prevent them from moving, remotely. Either way.

UPDATE #2

So, giant mutant T-rex monster gets out of the cage and escapes....

THE RESPONSE IS TO SEND GROUND UNITS??!?

Seriously, one of the men carried a SHOCK BATON. They put a man with a STICK to fight a T-rex.

SEND A HELICOPTER WITH SNIPERS.

UPDATE #3

They just showed a scene where people were kayaking down a river with a stegosaurus next to it. That would never happen.

That’d be like letting zoo guests boat in the same ponds as elephants. No way. There would be too much legal recourse.

UPDATE #4

The kids are alone in hamster ball cars and a warning came over to return to base. In a world more advanced than the one we're in now, with self-driving cars, how does this park not have an auto-return to base feature for these such emergencies?

UPDATE #5

So, the parents sent the nephews to the business woman who runs the entire park, during her work week. A week where she's unveiling a major new attraction to investors, and the parents expect her to spend the entire day with the two kids that she barely even knows??

This is her WORK. I don't feel like this woman is unlikable in the slightest. It's not like she's on vacation. She's doing the best she can.

UPDATE #6

Now, it's business woman and Chris Pratt ON FOOT searching for the kids. WHERE ARE THE HELICOPTERS WITH SNIPERS?

I kinda get that they don't want to kill mega t-rex because of the money investment, but how much more money will they lose when news of its escape and killing of many people hits the public?

UPDATE #7

Now, their ideas to kill mega t-rex is the set loose raptors...

UPDATE #8

This park has HUNDREDS of the same pterodactyl monster. What zoo has hundreds of the same exact bird? Also, WHY ARE ALL THE CAGES MADE OF GLASS???

UPDATE #9

My final update: So, setting loose the raptors to kill the mega t-rex worked so well... that they decided the only way to stop the mega t-rex and the now-evil raptors... IS TO SET LOOSE ANOTHER T REX??

Why was it content to just walk away? Why wasn’t it bloodthirsty and crazy?

Not to mention, that giant water dino is allowed to go throughout all the waters in the park, is a known jumper/biter, and they don't have it fully enclosed??? What prevented it from jumping out and eating park guests before this end-scene moment where it kills the evil-t-rex? How is this safe?

The Seven Ones

When I was in college, I was having a discussion with a girl about “the one.” Was there only one person in this world that you’re meant to be with? We were building a theatrical set for a class, discussing that, among things.

She told me something that stuck: That if there was only one person you’re meant to be with, then you’re very unlikely to find that person.

She said she liked the idea that the universe meant for you to be with somebody, but one person in the entire world was not enough. So, she said, she believed that there were seven ones.

Seven people you’re meant to be with. There’s no scientific reason to believe this. There’s no proof. But, I still like the idea.

It makes the concept of the one a little less scary. Seven times less scary, to be precise. Seven chances to get a relationship right.

Like the evil exes from Scott Pilgrim, I guess. I’m friends with most of my exes (so I wouldn’t call them evil).

Batman: Arkham Knight Review

Gush, gush, gush.

I loved it.

OXYBORB.COM Official Review Score for Batman – Arkham Knight: 9.6/10 

OK, that out of the way, what I want to talk about is the downloadable content plan for this series of Batman games:

Challenge Naps

 OK, listen up, devs. Sorry to tell you, but challenge maps are lame. We don’t want them. We don’t want to download them. I know there has been a lot of criticism against the downloadable content for this game, but people play these amazing Batman games for the STORY content. The developer needs to use DLC to expand the OPEN WORLD that Batman is in, not add minigames that are a pain to get through.

Skins aren’t wins

…new costumes pointless. Also, whenever I tried on a skin my characters glitched out (their head froze and the speaking animations stopped during cutscenes). Skins make me laugh for a second, but then I switch back to normal Batman. I won’t purchase these for a dumb laugh.

 

ONLY STORY

 The only DLC that I will actually purchase is story DLC. Batman AK is a marvel of a game because the story and the gameplay work together so well. Skins and challenge maps are a waste of development time. Make more story. 

SPOILERS GOING FORWARD – WARNING!

Shimmer Vertigollo, a poem by Harrison Aye

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Shimmer vertigollo,

wavestaking vibrato,

pulsing tan texture paint

like a drop, dripping pool

refract, loosen.

A man who sees the rattlebreaks and expandifuls

reach into the wall and

shimmer

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I remember the police officers parked in the cornfield nearby. The lights flashed on and I thought I never thought out the way in which this would end. I just wanted to stop and look out—connect the speckles above the country road. The city never turned off to allow shows like these, and the moon could never be full during the threeseason rain. I was told to go but I kept you anyway and the night only got dimmer.

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g.g.glisten now,

hear the sombr.ro dusting

kicked around, circuline dancers

str.tch the allmatter,

a curling fingervine.

Makes me tremble, boggle

collapse or t.mble.

Gets me out, makes me

sav.ry makes me

shimmer

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I remember morning moaning and meandering calltalks. I got put off for everything I didn’t want anymore anyway in any stretch of this slippery string of thought. I just wanted to be normal; I wanted the glass teardrop eyeliner streaks down the sides of your faces. I wanted to see your cheeks wet with glass sadness. I wanted you to shatter.

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I see now

wheedle carrymores.

High stakes.and frost on flakes,

barrels fall.ng d.wn the hill

tr.pw.re casanova

Shatters against the iron walls of indifference.

breaks .gainst th. heritic lyric

toenail cracks on the

shimmer

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I remember the parsed way you told me about love. How four letters shrunk to three: L. U. V. Like popsicle sticks in the craftiverse, towering planets and plants, and the folding arms that made me shiver. All the lip I can bite but nothing does. The whispering man hears me alone and his smile makes me flutter, makes me quiver.

.

.tav. off t.. bow,

.u.cl.ng .o.al.n..

.k.pt.cal, tact.cal

l.k. a block, blown to b.t.

fo..at.on. .ad.al, t.u.t

.. now

t.u.t.ng .ow

T.t....d to you. f..t and

b.auty boundca.t .ak.. ..

......

.

I remember the feeling of not knowing not caring. I couldn’t move for width or word whichever way I went I did. I lost my balance, and with it my perspective. I touched the wall at nights and felt the high gloss tan apartment paint and pushed through it so hard so very hard. I felt the marble benches and told her what I had read. I walked through the springtime rain and walked through the sounding paths against the scaly rails. I watched the water watched the speckled night and hoped someday they’d shimmer.

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Jan&Feb(so far)

I want to live a weird life. Dye my hair blue and own a bowie knife.
Jan
1 project
2 boxes
3 scenes
4 weirdos
5 jacket
6 tent
7 Kart
8 complete
9 Powerball
10 cry
11 memory
12 stressful
13 Worm
14 debate
15 Spinal
I want to write novels and drink fancy coffee. Dye my hair blue and whisper secrets softly.
16 Knight
17 singing
18 POV
19 tried
20 SNOW
21 ambulance
22 harness
23 dustyflaps
24 Express
25 sent
26 fantastic
27 SURPRISE
28 note
29 over
30 replaying
31 lazy
I want to hop on a train and live inside. Dye my hair blue and collect railroad spikes.
Feb (so far)
1 Obviously
2 ERROR
3 reopened
4 Thorn
5"joking"
6 Server
7 lacking
8 math
9 permanently
10 dull
11 chocolates
12 rival
13 obsessing
14 taxes
15 hairclip
I want to get lost in a city subway. Dye my hair blue and crash where I lay.
16 coffee
17 period
18 PAID
19 reason
20 myth
21 waste
22 unscripted
23 stimulated
24 read
25 complex
26 Weird
27 Luna
28 plans
I want to toss you in a river. Dye my hair blue and watch the greenlights shimmer on the surface.

KING: my concept for a TV series

SPOILERS FOR STEPHEN KING BOOKS AHEAD!

With shows like American Horror Story, The Walking Dead, and Gotham bringing such creepy characters and worlds into the average TV-watcher’s home, I feel like there could be a good market for a show idea I’ve had:

KING

The concept of this show would be that all of the horrors that Stephen King created are unleashed onto the town of Bangor, Maine at once, and a hero must stop them.

Stephen King’s novels have always had semi-shared universes and themes. Weird parallels and sort-of-dimensional doors connect the books. Wouldn’t it be fun if the evil people/monsters from the books met on an ensemble TV show?

a Batman-like detective/crime fighter

Now, the title of the show, KING, could refer to both Stephen himself and the main antagonist of the show, The Crimson King, who brought the other villains into this shared universe. Of course, the show wouldn’t be canon to the novels, but a fun what-if scenario.

Other villains could include:
Pennywise
Cujo
Randall Flagg
Gage

Collie Entragian
AnnieJack Torrance

There are a million others that would be great to have.

But for heroes, I would suggest an all-new character, so that readers would know that this is not a retread of the old stories, but an all-new story. Sort of like how Batman is a detective who is powerful enough to fight his crazed all-star enemies, this new hero would have to be inquisitive and yet strong, a match to these semi-supernatural villains.

Another idea is that the leading hero could be Ben Hanscom from It. He would be the one with the resources and knowledge to fight.

The other idea might be to have a villain as a protagonist. What if the series followed Randall Flagg in his attempt to overthrow the Crimson King?

Just an idea. What do you think?

2015 Game of the Year

So, this list isn’t a list of my favorite games that released in 2015… this is a list of my favorite games I played this year. Some are old games that I just finally got around to, some are new games.

Want to know who won in other years? Here’s the 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, and 2013 list.

2015 is THE YEAR OF TOOLS AND TOYS!

This past year in gaming has been about giving players fun tools and toys, both in the physical sense and as in in-game items. Batman got a Batmobile. Mario got a level creator. Fallout got buildable settlements. Nintendo made a million amiibos.

So, without further ado, my 2015 list of favorite plays (in no particular order):

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Witcher 3 was my first Witcher game (although I attempted to play 2, but it wouldn’t run on my Mac). I got it for PS4 because I had a gut feeling it would be amazing (and it was). I completed EVERY mission in the game (that I could find, I suppose I might have missed one). It was the perfect time suck I needed during some months of hard work I’ve had over this past year at my job. The storytelling was phenomenal and the first DLC expansion was fantastic. MORE THOUGHTS BY ME ON THIS GAME HERE!

Super Mario Maker

SMM was great. I made so many custom level, it’s not even funny (check some out here!). I even made a Hogwarts recreation. I loved playing my friends levels and getting feedback on Miiverse. Truly, this is a Mario fan’s dream come true. I hope that there is more DLC soon! Check out a showcase of level I've made here!

Batman: Arkham Knight

I have a half-finished Batman review, I plan to release in 2016! I LOVED this game. The Joker has never been better than he is inside Batman’s head. I loved the new tools, the tank, and the story. The moment where you enter the Clocktower to find Oracle is one of the best moments I’ve ever seen in all of gaming. The programmers did something that blew my mind. MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS GAME HERE!

Splatoon

Here’s another game I have a half-finished review of. I loved this quirky little game, although I wish it weren’t so withholding of levels. It drives me a little nuts to only be able to play 2 levels at a time. But the game is fresh, as Nintendo claimed, and it’s a welcome new IP. 

Amiibo

This isn’t a game, per say. Honestly, I’ve barely used the figures I’ve collected in the games. I just love Smash Brothers so much, that these small statues are wonderful to own and set on my desk. Hunting down these things began in November of 2014, but the real hunt began the next year, as these figures became so scarce that people were lining up in front of stores at early times in the morning just to get them. The “game” of hunting amiibos became a hobby of mine, and I’ll admit that going after these was almost as fun as owning them. Check out my Ice Climbers amiibo here!

Honorable mentions: (still just games I played in 2015, not necessarily released)

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature – On my final stretch before Fallout 4’s release, I needed a semi-RPG with building-elements to tide me over, and this game did wonders for me.

Donkey Kong 64 – The people who made Banjo-Kazooie began a crazy kickstarter to fund a spiritual successer. It made me want to play a Rare game, and being that I don’t own an Xbox, I settled for this. I didn’t beat it, but it was fun for what it was worth.

Telltale’s Game of Thrones – I beat the first season, because I love A Song of Ice and Fire so much. It was fun, but the choices I made didn’t seem to matter and I don’t think I’ll be playing season 2.

Mewtwo DLC in Smash Bros. – Revisiting Smash was fun mostly because Mewtwo returned. As a displaced Ice Climbers player, I just couldn’t find a new main until Mewtwo. Now, whenever I play online 1v1 for glory, I tend to play Mewtwo, ROB, and Ludwig Koopa.
Batman: Arkham Asylum – After beating Arkham Knight, I went back and played this one for the first time. It actually held up really well! Great game!

Fallout Shelter – I played this until it crashed my phone. Haha, my phone just couldn’t handle my Vault when it got too big. I loved what I played though, so maybe I’ll play more if I get a new device.
Gwent – This side-game in Witcher 3 deserves its own recognition. I oftentimes only got on to play Witcher 3 just so I could find people to play Gwent with. This card game is fantastic, and I wish they’d made an online-enabled version of it with new cards.

The Oxyborb Blog Game Of The Year for 2015

Fallout 4 Bethesda Games Studios is the best developer in the world, in my humble opinion. Yes, their games crash, but no other developer even attempts to do what Bethesda does. The Witcher was a close second, but I prefer Fallout's gameplay. Fallout 4 is my favorite game of all-time, just as Skyrim was before it. I can’t explain what great feeling Bethesda RPGs give me. I cannot wait for the newly announced DLC.

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So, I guess that’s it for 2014. Thanks for a great year on my blog! Let me know what you think in the comments, in fact, tell me what your personal GOTY was!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!
UNRAVELSPACE UNRAVELTIME

Star Wars – The Force Awakens, a review and literary discussion

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SPOILERS FOLLOW HERE! Don’t read if you have not seen the new movie!

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LAST CHANCE TO AVOID SPOILERS!

Lit discussion first, review second.

The general reception for the new Star Wars is strangely mixed, from what I have personally encountered. It’s strange because The Force Awakens (hereafter TFA) is an obviously great movie. Not perfect (there’s no such thing), but a much better than average movie. The writing is great, the acting is top-notch, the sets are beautiful, the costume and makeup design is fresh yet iconic, the story is compelling, the use of practical effects is Muppet-level marvelous, etc… It’s fantastic.

So why are there so many people so hateful of this movie?

I think, mostly (based on my personal discussions with people), because of the destruction of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Disney, knowing that they’d be making a Star Wars movie each year for the rest of eternity, declared that all of the previous novels, comic books, video games, and anything-else-not-the-episodic-movies was no longer canon (meaning, no longer the “truth” in the story of the series).

My sketch of BB-8!

To many fans of the novels, Disney basically blew up their home planets, as if millions of life experiences suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

When we consume media, such as novels or video games, these things become real experiences and stories lived. For readers, novels are escapes that become more real than actual life. Sometimes, characters we meet in novels feel like friends. I don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday, but I remember what happened on the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts the night the Dark Mark was seen.

Now, imagine Harry Potter was bought out and then the new owner told me that nothing in that novel was the true canon. Now, all of that was just the “Legend” as Disney dubbed the Expanded Universe. How would I feel? Probably bad. You can’t tell me that so many characters I’ve spent time with no longer exist, that what I’ve experienced for myself through reading isn’t what happened. I read it; I was there!

And, from the people I’ve talked to that hated TFA, that’s the big problem. They aren’t following the books. They aren’t acknowledging the engagement of the novels and other media that fans have been clinging onto for the 30+ years since the original trilogy. That hurts. It’s like finding out that you’ve lost 30 years to amnesia. I can understand being upset.

But—

 There’s always a but, I know. But Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill are like 60-70 years old and wouldn’t be able to accurately portray what the books have written anyway. You could recast them (and they are casting a young Han Solo for a spinoff movie) so that you could play out the novels, but doesn’t that feel like a missed opportunity to bring back the old cast to hand down the movies to a new generation?

Also, great directors, like J.J. Abrams, are artists. They deserve to create their own stories, and not be hampered down to what others have written. Besides that, movies need surprise to build intrigue. Right now, there are hot debates on who Rey’s parents are, if Snoke is Plagueis, what Luke’s role will be in the next movie, if Han Solo pushed the button on Ren’s saber, if Finn has the Force, and even if Kylo Ren is a secret plant by the Light Side.

a weird photoshop I made of Kylo Ren with a penguin head

These debates fuel excitement and fun for the fanbase, new and old, because we don’t know. If this movie had been based on the novels, then we would already know and there would be no fun in speculation. Remember the prequels? Nobody debated on if Anakin would become Darth Vader, because we already knew. Would Obi Wan live through his duel on that lava planet? Yeah, we knew. Life or death moments in movies don’t feel exciting if we already know who lives through them. The Prequels suffered for this, majorly.

And Disney couldn’t afford another prequel. I recently rewatched all of the Star Wars movies in preparations for the new one, and yeah, the prequels have some bad, bad moments that make you cringe. There are good things in those movies, but there are major issues that keep the prequels from being good. I personally believe one thing that made the writing in the scripts so bad was the forced (pun?) limitations based on it being a story that has already played out. We had already had a movie that told how Anakin’s story begins (Episodes 5 and 6), so the prequels were unable to write plots that could surprise us.

TFA could not fall into that trap. It needed to start fresh, as it begun a new era of Star Wars as owned by Disney. It played on the past bringing parallels with A New Hope, but it did not rely on them to create compelling characters.

My experiences with the Expanded Universe are as follows: I’ve read the The Thrawn Trilogy (very good books, actually) and played a few Star Wars video games that I barely remember. I’m not as attached to the EU as someone who has read the hundreds of novels, so maybe I just don’t get it, but (there’s always a but) Star Wars movies (not games or novels) are mainstream, and there’s no reason that TFA shouldn’t be considered a great movie by the average moviegoer.

My review:

I loved the movie very much. I think it's the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. The new characters were excellent, with a wonderful cast. BB-8 was the perfect new droid cast member. I thought the final scene was ingenious. Han Solo got what he deserved (a good death) (seriously, who wanted Han Solo to sit around and die of old age???). The Starkiller base was the weakest part, being that it was just another, bigger Death Star, but it wasn’t all that bad. Kylo Ren was my favorite character, and I think he’s what Anakin should have been in the prequels.

My Official Review Score for The Force Awakens: 9.6/10 

Predictions for the next movies:

Kylo Ren will be the hero in the end. He will lose his struggle against the light. In that way, he will ultimately mirror Darth Vader.

Rey will fall to the dark side, as she is the new “Anakin.” I predict this because she would have likely slaughtered the defeated Kylo in her rage had the planet not broke apart and separated them.

Rey is a Kenobi, mostly because of her accent. However, I believe there will be a character who has the last name “Skywalker” by the end of this trilogy. I don’t think Star Wars would end the Skywalker lineage with Luke.

Supreme Leader Snoke is Darth Plagueis, yeah! I believe this theory. I believe he created Anakin Skywalker by his Sith powers (remember, he had no father), and I believe he may have also created Rey. Darth Plagueis is the Sith Lord who trained Sidious, AKA Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine believed he killed his master, but Plagueis had control over death, and so lived (notice his broken face). For those who are confused, there’s a scene where Palpatine and Anakin talk about the story of Darth Plagueis in the prequels:

My last prediction is this: Jedi Academy. I think that this trilogy will end with Luke Skywalker having fulfilled his mission from Yoda, to pass on what he has learned and restore the Jedi Order. I don’t know if Luke will live until the end of the movies, but his influence will at the school for Jedi.

Fallout 4 DLC Desires

Fallout 4 is probably my new favorite game. I love the Minecraft + Bethesda RPG feel of it. I love collecting literally EVERYTHING. I love the settlements and power armor. Everything. As a rabid fan, of course I want more. I wanted to give my opinion on what I want to see come from the downloadable content for this game. 

Here are my ideas: 

New Structure Types: Concrete, Glass, and Plastic

Concrete – Gives us the ability to build walls, floors, and ceilings in the design of bricks or gray concrete.

Glass – Allows us to build our own custom shaped greenhouses, window walls, planetariums, or even aquariums. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could make a glass structure filled with water?

Plastic – I want to be able to build a 1950-futuristic building using the plastic resource.

+Just for Fun

Fixed item placement on consoles: When I place a Giddeyup Buttercup, it sinks through the tables, floors, or shelves. I want this fixed so I can decorate more! I want to be able to display my “Gilded Grasshopper” without it sinking into the ground.

Settlement Protectron: I want to be able to build one protectron in each of my settlements. I want to be able to choose the model and also wire it to “auto-start” when my siren sounds. I want to be able to improve him with upgrades, all of which give my settlement bonuses to defense.

Settlement Distress Beacon: It would be fun to have a device that allows me to have my settlement get attacked. Maybe this distress beacon calls raiders, synths, or super mutants to try and steal your treasures. Basically, it taunts enemies to coming and attacking. I know it could be exploited for easy money, but perhaps enemies called by this simply do not drop weapons or armor.

Settlement High-Pitched Beacon: This would be similar to the Distress Beacon, but only it draws in animals. So, basically it would give you a button to call deathclaws, mirelurks, yao gai, and molerats to come and try to kill you.

Pets

I know you can purchase Junkyard Dogs for your settlements, but it would be cool if you could get other pets, such as cats. These pets would give a bonus to your happiness score as well as secondary features.

Cats – Owning a cat gives you the “Cat Reflexes” perk, allowing you to take 5% less damage from falling.

Goldfish – Owning a goldfish gives you the “Aqua Man” perk, allowing you to swim 5% faster.

Pet Molerat – Owning a pet molerat gives you the “Digger” perk, allowing you reap one extra unit of concrete from producing resources. Also, if you pet it regularly, you’ll be healed of your molerat disease if you caught it.

Bighorner – Bring one back and acknowledge New Vegas. Owning a pet bighorner gives you the “Big Fella” perk, buffing your resistance to staggering by 5%.

New Settlement Objects

Mannequins: You can place clothes/armor/weapons on them for display.

Weapons Racks: Display your weapons.

Model Display: Display the robot models that you can find.

Other models: There are small models of several things that are already in the game. The small ship inside the canned food place. The tiny house. I want to be able to make them.

More Mounted Heads: We need mounted deathclaw, yao guai, and mutant hound heads (also, mirelurk queen and radscorpion claws!).

Buses, cars, trains, etc.: I want to be able to place a bus hanging off my roof with a bed inside.

A New Radio Station with Three Dog

Character-wise, this doesn’t make sense. Three Dog wouldn’t abandon the Capital Wasteland. No! ….But I don’t care. DC isn’t that far from Boston, and Three Dog was the BEST radio host. The ones since have been good in their own ways, but Three Dog is the king and I want him back. That voice actor absolutely rocked that role. So, maybe he wasn’t careful with his info, but he’s still fantastic! MORE THREE DOG, PLEASE!

World Building Mechanics

Open-World > Linear – I want the DLC to be set in an open area to explore. This is why Point Lookout was better than Operation Anchorage. Bethesda RPGs are meant to be open.

Quality over Quantity - Getting 1-2 larger, meatier DLC experiences would be preferable to getting 5 smaller content packs.

Legendary Mode – I want a difficulty that is harder than survival. I want enemies that are actually challenging.

Moral choices matter less than choices in playstyle. I don’t care if I have to make “good” or “evil” decisions, rather than be given the choice in how I complete missions. I want stealth players, speech players, and tank players to all have options. I want to be able to win by poisoning wine or simply going behind the NPC’s back.

A story that doesn’t revolve around robots, synths, aliens, or ghouls. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of those stories. I just want to see DLC that adds a new type of enemy. How about giving the player power armor that makes you function as if you were on land, only underwater? What about creating the opposite of the Brotherhood of Steel, like a Brotherhood of Nature. They use rads to bond themselves with natural things to make animal or plant-human-hybrids.

New random encounters/events. Some of the best ways in which Bethesda games shine is due to random encounters that you meet while aimlessly exploring. Like, once, I was just flying in my Jetpack around Boston, and I met two copies of the same person on a building, arguing about who was or was not a synth. It left me with the choice of who lives (which I figured out with a speech check). But that random encounter had nothing to do with any quest. It was just a cool thing I discovered randomly. I want more of that.

Story: A Salem Witch Trial I felt like the Witch Museum was a missed opportunity. Also, the interior looks nothing like how it does in real life. Where are the crappy animatronics? Where are the witch statues? I want a DLC story focused on witches. I want there to be a new, uncovered, “basement” in the museum, where the crappy animatronics have been placed. I want a new trial.

Powered Up

New Power Armor customizations – We’ve collected a million units of power armor. Give us some nifty upgrades, even useless visual ones. Such as, let us plate our power armor in gold (so we can display all of our extras in ridiculous ways). How about Winged Jetpacks, so we can glide? How about arm upgrades with “Magnetized grips” so that I can climb the sides of buildings? Arms that let us shoot shock wave? How about Super Mario Bros. Movie-style rocket-jump boots?

A power-armor obstacle course/racetrack. This was almost teased with the Atom Cats.

Finally, my last idea for Fallout 4 DLC is this: Vertibird Power Armor Delivery You should be able to store a set of power armor in a vertibird and have it delivered to you no matter where you are in the Commonwealth. I LOVE how power armor works in Fallout 4, but the one downside is having to fast travel back and forth when the going gets tough. Wouldn’t it be great if I could just call in my power armor to come to me when I need it? The Batman Arkham games have this idea, sort of. Bruce Wayne calls in for parts or his Batsuit and it rockets to him. That would be cool in FO4.

Well, thank you, dear readers. Leave feedback in the comments or add your own ideas. In the small chance that Bethesda Games Studios sees this, THANK YOU for making my new favorite game of all time. I love every aspect of it and I’m hungry for MORE MORE MORE!

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Some of the big things I did in 2015

Saw “Impractical Jokers” at the Peabody Opera House

Sculpted a Nintendo statue that went viral

I participated in a friendly Smash Bros. Tournament

I taught Social Science at my school

I bought Oxyborb.com back

I went to Wizard World Comic Con

I hunted Amiibo during the craze

I beat the Witcher 3

I began a reread project of A Song of Ice and Fire

I went to a music festival called SOHO

I went on a solo tour of Springfield and took pictures with Abe Lincoln

I worked on my book and edited several books for other people

I saved a kid from choking

I had a college buddy pass away. The first person to read my book, actually.

I went on a float trip that was a bit of a disaster

I saw the new Polar Bears at the Zoo

I went on a crazy road trip to Chicago and stayed at a different house each night

I wrote in a journal consistently every single day

I had my first jury duty

I bought my first Halloween animatronic

I had one total sick day at work

I played in a pumpkin patch and carved a jack-o’-lantern

I was a monster in a haunted trail

I bought a nativity set (a Christmas gift)

I saw a Jesus Circus

I took two friends Christmas shopping

I saw a new Star Wars movie

I went out to Silvercreek with awesome people from work

I saw a friend I haven’t seen since SIUE

I met a bunch of cousins’ children

I bought a boomerang

I played Fallout 4 and love it

I went to a Farmer’s Tan Market show

2015, overall, was a great year. It's also was very transitional for me. I had some job promotions, responsibility changes. I tried a lot of new things and went outside of my comfort zone. I kept up with my blogging and writing, although my editing of my novel had a pause during which I had to write a million lesson plans. I went on a few adventures, the best of which was my road trip to Chicago. 2014 I was a little reclusive, but 2015 I learned how to balance myself. I made new friends. I took chances on people. I dove into social situations where I didn't know anyone.

Looking forward to 2016, there are a world of changes at hand, and I don't mean "New Year's Resolutions that I say I'll do but never end up doing." I have major goals that I have to complete, not out of desire but out of necessity. I don't think these changes will be too hard, but they will be interesting. Most of my challenges waited on me paying off my car loans, and I'm almost there. I should hit it by January. Party!

Anyway, happy new year to you.