Being relatively new to Destructoid I have yet to write in a Monthly Musings, let alone write much at all. Since it is nearing midnight on the final day of September, that means that I have nearly missed another deadline for writing something. As I stared intently at the screen, finally throwing my procrastination to one side, it is then that I realized what I truly hate: deadlines.

Living as a teenager, myself and my peers are constantly bombarded with one deadline or
another. Whether it be a deadline for some sort of homework assignment, a term paper, an experiment or project, I have had my fair share of deadlines. Now when you add the trials and tribulations of teenage, high school life to the problems faced in true adulthood, you get a worse concoction of stress and deadlines. Showing up to interviews on time, making it to work, sending in college applications and scholarship papers; it can all become overwhelming if you're not careful.

But I digress, my reason for writing this blog is simple; there's a love-hate relationship with deadlines in the video game making progress that simply drive me nuts when it comes to hating them. On one hand, deadlines allow for the games to reach our much-awaited hands much sooner, but at what cost? At the same time these deadlines usually make game developers take massive amounts of game content out of a otherwise near-perfect game, or they force us to wait for said content after a set amount of time.

A perfect present day example of rush was Grand Theft Auto IV. With the rush for the final date of April 29th, Rockstar decided to leave otherwise great things out of the game. This partly is to blame because of the sharp turn at the corner of gritty and real, but if one thinks about all the things left out of the game; a true multiplayer lobby, a more fulfilling story and all the weapons from previous games, as well as some mini-games and other minor features, you begin to realize that they had all that planned, but they had a deadline to meet! So, we have to pay more money AND wait a longer time for some sort of DLC to come out and satiate our desire for all things left out, which is yet again limited by a deadline!

Of course, with the trend of "Release it, then patch it when people complain" the deadlines are seemingly less of a nuisance. However, do you really want to buy a game on day one only to be met with completely unplayable content you just cannot take? Granted, a patch will inevitably come out, but why should there be one in the first place? The initial wave of disgust will turn people off, as well as make some of the fanboy types absolutely abhor your company.

But listen buddy, the point is: I fucking hate deadlines.

/irony

So I've been meaning to post pictures of my rather boring set up, just to get it out of the way. Unfortunately, I have so many problems with procrastination that I first took forever to take the pictures, then took forever to put them on the computer, then took forever to get around to making this blog. So as you can see, it sort of adds up. It's definitely not worth the wait but, hey, at least I wasn't hyping it, eh?



Overview. I play out of my main living room, simply because I have yet to get a nicer T.V.


Then we have my computer desk. It's actually clear of clutter, isn't that impressive?


A closer look at my gaming/music corner.




My glorious SD T.V. which I now realize was hella dirty when I snapped this picture



Close up of my Xbox 360 and such. Nothing spectacular.



My guitar setup. It's a custom Schecter Black Arrow, they were pretty limited. The other (not pictured, but in the bag) is an Ibanez SA8900. The amp is a Marshall Valvestate 2000 120W combo amp.


Random shit on my other desk.



My "collectable" stuff. That Ernie Ball box of strings is hella tight.



My GTA IV SE stuff. Also, Angus Young. Also also, Cyrodiil. Also also also, cocks.



Sandslash and a Russian can of Coca-Cola. Ja ljubav Rusija! Isto , luđački kapa.



So there ya have it. Here's hoping Jim doesn't do a review of it!

So a few nights ago myself and a friend of mine were discussing the possible future of the Metal Gear series as a whole. As we went along arguing about the possibility of there even being a future, we decided it'd be logical if Kojima decided to backtrack... And not talking something like Twin Snakes(which I'm aware was made by Silicon Knights) but even a further backtrack... Into the origins itself.


Wait, what did he say?

Yes, my friends a trip back in time to the very origins of Solid Snake's epic saga, the two games that started it all; Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

Granted, Portable Ops did sort of backtrack with Big Boss being the main character and the entire split of The Patriots and all that jazz, but what about an entire current-gen remake of the first two games? I could see it being done simply because the game is so popular and, by many standards, amazing.


Like this, only less pixels.

It would be exceptionally hard and sort of risky, though. We discussed the possibility of it not being up to par (in terms of graphics) because it would have to be a remake from very archaic pixels. But, if it were to be completely revamped into modern day, it would look gorgeous, and allow people to see the origins of the series like they could have if it was created recently.

In terms of gameplay, it would be made simple. Think back to the days of old before Metal Gear Solid and imagine a camo index a bit more like Snake Eater and weapons technology of the time period. I think it'd be a pretty good experience with a remake, and it would make a lot of people happy.

Just think about the possibility, and then try not to smile!

Sorry for the double post tonight, but I thought I'd spread the word about this band I've been listening to, and why one song would actually make you laugh and or cry.


The band is MyChildren MyBride (I wouldn't be surprised if at least a handful of you knew who I was talking about), and they have a bitchin' hardcore song called "HEADSHOT" which, well, is about Halo and all its awesomeness. Read the lyrics and listen to the song at their MySpace and tell me what you think.

[I actually looked up a random image of "mom" on Google, and I really don't recommend doing so without SafeSearch on... Dear God, I hate you Google.]

*This article might contain spoilers for GTA IV, MGS 4, COD 4 and a few other games. Don't complain*


Love 'em or hate 'em, your mom is your mom. She and/or your dad are probably the reason you owned your first console, the reason you owned you first game, or what have you. They could also be the very people who turned you on to gaming and all its splendor. My mom has never really been into video games, but she's basically the reason I got into it; buying my consoles in every generation on Christmas since SNES. She never really complained, she never really bothered to tell me "Okay, Daniel, this is a violent game, DON'T FUCKING PLAY IT!". She's always been accepting of my video gamer mentality, and I think that's pretty cool.

Anyway, the reason I started randomly typing out this blog is because I was reading Manta's blog about MGS4 possibly being for casual gamers. The whole situation with a "casual" gamer being his girlfriend kinda struck me as the same situation as my mom(If you think any differently than a video game stand point, you're just as sick as Google), she's into that old, simple shit and never really interested in my newer, complex shit. That is, until recently.

You see, my gamer set up is rather... small. I don't have a personal area in which I play my games. Being 17 and in high school I have to basically keep my stuff in the living room in order to get my game on. I play on the biggest screen in the house with the general computer adjacent the T.V. and console. I would much rather have this stuff in my room, but I need to buy that. Regardless, this stuff being in such close proximity is why my mom has begun to become more interested in my games. She's normally sitting on the computer (playing her stupid flash games or reading that "OMG WTF IS SPAM, DANIEL?!" e-mail) and I sit on the couch playing my games.

Recently my mom has been staring intently at the screen while I play, I'll catch her trying to follow along or simply watching the amazing graphics or stupid actions I get myself into. This is especially true for three titles; Grand Theft Auto IV (Ironic?), Metal Gear Solid 4 and Call of Duty 4. When I first started playing Call of Duty 4 I would notice my mom watching as I shot through the levels, killing the terrorist themed OpFor and the rouge Spetsnaz. She was intrigued with the game because she said it "felt like watching the news, really. A game that could semi-get what is going on in the world." She never complained about the brutal actions, the blood and the gore, or the vulgarity of it. She simply enjoyed the game.

With GTA IV she became even more intrigued. A little family background; my mother was born and raised in Serbia, which is a small country in the Balkans surrounded by Croatia, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. I am the first generation of my family to be born in the United States, but I still have a strong love for Serbia and am proud of my heritage. Anyway, the obvious reason my mom was interested in GTA IV (and even let me take the day off from school the day it came out, w00t!) was because Niko Bellic is a Serbian, they speak the Serbian language, and they talk about the Bosnian War of the early 90s. She was interested in it because yet again, it appealed to her. She said it "was really interesting that game developers would pick such a small, almost useless country for the origin of its main character. Especially shocking because it's a very popular game," and so she would watch me play it, almost every day for a week. When I came to the points where I had to choose between PlayBoy X or Dwayne, Derrick McReary or Francis McReary, or whether or not to kill Darko, she was able to follow the story enough that she actively gave me advice on who to kill! It was really interesting, I think, simply because my mom (God Bless her) is a damned idiot sometimes.

And finally, when I was playing MGS4, she was on the edge of her seat during the corridor scene, yelling at my to push the buttons as fast as possible. She thought it was a rather simple game in terms of gameplay, but said "the storyline is so damn complicated, I don't think I'll ever get it,". She was watching it all the way from the beginning to Act 3 (went upstairs for a phone call and came back for Act 5) and was genuinely interested in the final cutscenes and all that. She said what made the game interesting was the character development, and how it felt very cinematic and actually grasped your attention. The day following the night I beat it, she asked me to explain everything to her (to no avail, of course) but we actually bonded (and argued a little) about the Metal Gear storyline and all its controversy and plot twists and characters.

Basically what I'm getting at is that video games, even the most complex ones, can be a bonding experience if your parent's are open minded enough. They don't necessarily have to play them, they can sit back and actively watch you play, and sometimes be generally interested in the material.

At the end of the day, I can say "My mom doesn't think GTA will turn me into a serial killer- rapist like Eddie Low", which is better than what a lot of people my age can say about their moms.

Finally, what kind of experiences with non-gamer friends or family have you guys had? Have you ever bonded simply because of a video game?