oxyborb: sony

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Who won E3 2016?

tl;dr: Sony > Bethesda > Ubisoft > EA > Microsoft > Nintendo

Before I begin, I want to give a big shout out to IGN for always having an awesome stream each year, packed with content. It really makes my day to watch with you all and listen to the before and after show commentaries. Thanks! Keep it up!

Nintendo had amiibo to look at. Zelda looks like if The Witcher 3 got stripped of gameplay and had cartoon graphics. E3 Rating: 1/10

The only Microsoft exclusive I’m interested in is Cuphead. That game looks amazing. Although, I must give MS credit for bring Gwent on stage (I will be buying it for PS4). Lots of stuff that many people will enjoy, not a lot of stuff for me (I don’t like shooters). E3 Rating: 7/10

EA has Mass Effect Andromeda. I cannot wait to get back into that universe. E3 Rating: 7.5/10

The Fractured, But Whole is a South Park game from Ubisoft, and the presentation made me legit laugh out loud. The whole thing where Cartman asks you to sit and then says, “Not there.” Too funny! Watch Dogs 2 looks fun as well. The host, Aisha Tyler is great and weird. E3 Rating: 8/10

Bethesda doesn’t need to do much to make me happy. Skyrim Remastered and Nuka World + Build-your-own Vault DLC is all I needed to wow me. The other games weren’t for me, but were impressive nonetheless. I really want to watch someone else play Prey. Also, I want to play Fallout 4 in VR (I hope it comes to PSVR!). E3 Rating: 9/10

Sony is where E3 was at. Unveiling a Spiderman game that actually looks like they’re putting effort into it is awesome. Horizon: Zero Dawn look inventive and crazy fun. I’m also very excited about Playstation’s VR. Batman in VR, Star Wars in VR. Amazing. E3 Rating: 9/10

So, in my opinion (which is my own, and it’s fine that yours is different)….

Sony wins E3

At this show….

Horizon: Zero Dawn wins as game of the show

H: ZD is my pick this year because it just looks so creative. I want to battle robot dinos in a post-apocalyptic open world with futuristic cave man weapons! Yes! I can’t wait to play this one.

Past Years:

2015

2014 thoughts and the GOTS

Who won E3 2015?

I always judge who wins E3 by the number of games I actually would be willing to play at each company’s conference.

I would play, from Microsoft’s conference:
Cuphead

Rare’s Game Collection

Fallout 4

I would play, from Nintendo’s conference:
Super Mario Maker

I would play, from EA’s conference:
Star Wars Battlefront

Mass Effect: Andromeda

I would play, from Square Enix’s conference:

N/A

I would play, from Ubisoft’s conference:
South Park RPG

I would play, from Bethesda’s conference:
Fallout 4

Fallout Shelter

I would play, from Sony’s conference:
No Man’s Sky

Star Wars Battlefront

Batman: Arkham Knight

Uncharted 4

Horizon

Now, I know that Playstation will have Fallout 4 and Microsoft will have Star Wars Battlefront, however my list is based on what games were shown at each conference.

I also should state that I’m not a fan of shooters, generally. Definitely not ultra-violent action shooters like Doom or Gears of War. They’re just not for me. Also, I totally missed the PC conference. Oops.

So, in my opinion (which is my own, and it’s fine that yours is different)….

Sony wins E3

At this show….

Fallout 4 wins as best game

Random thoughts:

I am most excited about building my own base in Fallout 4. I know I will sink 100 hours into making my fortress perfect. I am sad that PC mods will only come to Xbox, but I understand. Besides, I usually move on to my next game by the end of the DLC patches.

All I wanted from the Nintendo conference was more Mario Kart 8 DLC, more Smash DLC, and more Splatoon DLC. I didn’t get any of that during the conference. Mario Maker looks wicked awesome, but nothing else looked fun. The Animal Crossing board game and the fake-Metroid soccer game looked awful.

I was disappointed to see that Rare is making a pirate game. I want Banjo back. Nothing on Xbox appealed to me. Why don’t they make more than shooters for that system?

Media Molecule’s new game looks weird. I love MM and LittleBIGPlanet, but I don’t think I’d want to play the dreaming game. I’m glad they’re experimenting and doing the games they want to do, though. They’re a hugely imaginative company.

That’s it. Not my favorite E3, but Fallout 4 is going to be amazing.

Can't Buy Happiness

So, I bought a Playstation 4.
Unboxed it. Set it up.
Played on the menus for about 5 minutes.
Then it died.

No joke. It crapped out on me and became unusable. When I push the power, a blue light flickers and it beeps once, then it dies. I called Sony, and ran their tests. They tried to boot to safe-mode, but it wouldn’t go past the first beep. The only solution was to send me a box coffin to ship it back to them with. They’re going to fix it for free and all, but it still sucks.

I’ve been really, really missing Seattle lately.

I had been doing so well—making herds of friends and all while I was out there, but then I had to leave it all and return to the cornfield that is Southern Illinois. Most of the old friends I had here moved elsewhere, and I suppose I will move away again someday, but…

My Playstation 4 was supposed to take me back. I bought a game called Infamous: Second Son, which is set in Seattle. You can explore the city freely—it’s an open world without the linear restrictions of normal games. But, my PS4 died 5 minutes after the unboxing. Figures.

On the car ride over to the video game store, I even said, “I’m just trying to buy myself happiness.” I guess I’ve been super lonely recently. In some ways, I guess that’s by design. I’ve been really reclusive lately. I’ve felt like doing things but I’m so annoyed about how there’s nothing to do without driving a million miles away that I’m frustrated. I went to the STL Zoo recently, attempting to go out and do something by myself for myself. A self-date, I guess. I wanted to see if I could have fun alone, so I went to the STL Fair and then walked to the Zoo. It was boring. I bought myself a root beer float and sat alone eating it. It sucked. At least I know that I hate being alone, now.

The other reason I’ve been a recluse is because of my writing. I really, really want to be a writer, and I know that I have to work at it full-time, even though I already have a full-time job, if I even have a hope of ever being published. I’ve been working extremely hard at it, and writing is a lonesome activity. All of people you hang out with while writing are characters that you’ve made up in your head. Those characters are all bits and pieces of you. So, writers really are a weird sort of introvert. Self-examining, social creating, but only with fictitious copies of the self. Err.

Well, that’s my life recently. Also, more weird dreams.

I posted the other day, but I had another last night. Here it is:

I was in a giant observatory, and I walked through a painting. On the other side, the painting had become solid and so I could no longer go back. I was on the top floor of a tower, inside a room that looked like Dumbledore’s office. A tall pale man in a pinstripe suit was there, and he spoke to me about how to become immortal. Suddenly, the floor collapsed and I fell into a room surrounded by spider webs. Spiders trickled out from all the walls and gripped me. I wasn’t afraid, though. Suddenly, my dream cut to a giant open field of hilly grass and flowers. Tall women, with thin purple legs were striding over the hills singing. I was walking under them but they kept going. I woke up and Enya was playing on my computer—I guess that’s where the singing came from.

Follow me @Oxyborb and check out my website at http://www.harrisonaye.com Thanks for reading!

I bought a camera and I'm geeking out

Title says it all, really.

I blew my money on something I've always wanted: a nice camera. This is it:

I feel like a nice camera is a tool that every author (and author wannabe!) should have. Learning to speak publicly is something that contradicts the mentality of many writers. I mean, when we write, we get to edit. Backspace. Delete. Reword. Writers can be thoughtful and take their time putting their words together.

But public speaking is different; you can't take back the things you say in the immediate. You can't take back tone of voice and other nonverbal cues. Writers love to sit in their little offices and nooks and place one word after another in the comfort of their home computers. Public speakers have to be on target at all times. They must be clear, not jumble their words. They need the right tone and look good--that's another thing.

I've been working on making myself look better. There are so many things that owning a camera will teach me. An author must be able to go out into the public and speak to people professionally, with warmth, caring, vibrant virtues. I want to learn how to speak better so I can better promote myself and enjoy the community of book lovers that exist out there.

So that brings me to my new HD camcorder. I want to make videos that will teach me, not how to write, but how to be a good friend to anyone that may someday read my work. If you look at authors like Maggie Stiefvater, Lisa McMann, or Heather Brewer you can see how much their personal warmth and direct interaction with their readership drives them as writers. It's cool. I want to be more like them, I guess.

I've always loved being behind the scenes, but I want my novel to be in the spotlight (which means I'll have to thrust myself there, too).

My first video with my new camera:

Nintendo has an Imagination Problem

My favorite video game company hasn’t sold me on its new system, and that is a serious problem.

Why? Because I am the biggest Nintendo fan in the world. However, I never spend money without major justification, and so far, the Wii U isn’t a worthwhile purchase. You’re looking at someone who bought a Gamecube over the PS2. The Wii instead of the HD systems. The DS over the PSP. The Gameboy over the Gamegear. N64 over PS1. The SNES over Genesis. The NES over Atari.

I have them all… except the Wii U.

This next generation, I am craving only to play the Playstation 4.

Nintendo, this is a serious problem. Take this seriously! I am THE BIGGEST Nintendo fan I know. I am one of the only people in my group of friends to own either a Wii or a 3DS. My friends all own PS3s and 360s. I am your diehard supporter. Your most loyal customer. I am become death for you, Nintendo!

It all started a year or so after buying my Wii. I enjoyed it, don’t get my wrong, but I really wanted to play a little game called Oblivion. All my friends had played it, and I felt left out. So, I got a PS3.