Shakespeare Enters the World of Video Games, Stage Left

Renowned works of literature - especially those many centuries old - are not often to be found in video game form. Off the top of my head, only Dante's Inferno comes to mind, a game that came in for a good deal of criticism for its stale gameplay (ripped straight from God of War) and some mystifying departures from the source material. It seems strange, to me at least, that some of the most thrilling and thought-provoking stories ever written down so rarely find a place to stay in Video-Game-Land. Imagine my pleasant surprise, then, when I saw a set of games on Humble Bundle's latest sale that included two entitled The Chronicles of Shakespeare, adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Works from arguably the greatest literary artist of all time, expressed through a medium advancing and evolving in unprecedented ways. What could go wrong?

Cookie Clicker - A Retrospective

Earlier this year, a number of BFVG members were afflicted by a serious addiction.

Drugs, drink and gambling were not the vices that took hold of our collective attention. We were able to resist the allure of delicious Mephedrone, and the prospect of having a flutter on the 3:30 at Epsom left us feeling cold. It took a digital narcotic to bring a group of us down into the depths of compulsive behaviour, late-night binge gaming and accelerated RSI of the index finger.

That drug's name was Cookie Clicker.

BFVG Dream League Of Dreams Week 4

We are proud of what we have achieved so far in the Dream league Of Dreams. FAFF (Federal Association For Football) has founded one of the greatest sports in the world. Literally millions of people from all 4 corners of the globe have watched some of the finest athletes in the world compete at the highest level.
For those who do not know what the DLOD is all about; we are basically a group of friends who have drafted a team on PES14. Each week we then sim the games on which we attempt to commentate although most times we simply resort to insulting each other.

This weeks recap is a special (if not short) one for it will be the last weekly post that we do concerning the DLOD. If you wish to catch up on any of the previous weeks you can do so here; Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. Hopefully once a month we will give a short recap of the previous few weeks action. You can of course keep up to date with the DLOD by watching it live on our Twitch channel. See below for last weeks results.

BFVG Dream League Of Dreams Week 3: The Darkest Hour

As we entered the 3rd week of the DLOD the excitement was palpable. Last week we saw some cracking results some of which came as a huge surprise. So we all sat down ready and in anticipation for what was going to be an amazing week of football. However all was not well within FAFF. There were murmurings from some of the players that they were being forced to work far to hard for little to no money and some of them were threatening to strike.
This all started a week ago when FAFF (Federal Association For Football) announced major changes to the format of the games. Instead of the regular 5 minutes each half, the matches would now consist of two, 10 minute halfs. For some reason there was an assumption amongst the players that their pay would also double in size. When they received their paychecks they were in for a shock as not only were they now being forced to play games for twice as long, they were having to do so for half the salary. The players did not notice that in the smallest print that could be printed (measuring exactly 2 micrometers tall), FAFF had written a clause in all the players contracts stating that, 'If in the unforeseen circumstance that FAFF decides to increase the length of the games, the salary of the players will match the change in a negative direction'.
Week three would continue as any other and on Wednesday 30th October 3 games were played as planned. However the fans could tell that something was not right as this day would go down as one of the most underwhelming days of football in DLOD history.

Podcast #6 - Tanjenshull Lerning

We discuss what we have learned and the wonderful potential of what can be learned through playing video games. Then we talk about bowel movements. Classy.

BFVG Dream League Of Dreams Week 2

Week 1 of the Dream League Of Dreams was filled with plenty of end to end, none stop, edge of your seat action. But here at BFVG we are always looking for ways to make things even more exciting. So we decided on a couple of rule changes that came in to immediate effect.

In their infinite wisdom the FAFF (Federal Association For Football) came to the unprecedented decision that the length of all future games will be doubled. Instead of the regular 5 minutes per half, games will now last 20 minutes consisting of 2 ten minute halves.
The second change that FAFF announced this week was that the games will now take place over two days instead of the previous one. 3 games will now be played Wednesday evenings with the remaining 3 played the following Saturday. In an official FAFF statement released on the 22nd of October they declared that; 'These changes were agreed by a 10-2 majority in favour. The aim of these changes is to ensure that the sports popularity continues to grow and that the DLOD continues to appeal to the younger generation.'

The Dream League Of Dreams will continue to be broadcast on the BFVG official Twitch channel, now taking place twice a week. For more information on future DLOD broadcasts and any other gaming related tom foolery please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and right here on Blogger. And for anyone who didn't catch this weeks action have a quick read below for this weeks football round up.

BFVG Dream League of Dreams Week 1

The players left the dressing room after a rousing pre-match team talk from their gaffer. Making their way down the tunnel the butterflies in their stomach began to flutter. They were only to aware of the responsibilities that now weigh heavily on their shoulders.This was it, this was the moment that they had all been training so hard for. Because today was not just any day, today they would embark on a journey that would either take them down the road to success and glory, or down the path to failure and obscurity. Today was match day!

As explained in a recent post we had recently set up a PES 14 league in which we would each manage a team and all of the games would be streamed live on Twitch. The evening of the 19th of October 2013 was the official launch of BFVG DLOD (Best Friends Video Games Dream League of Dreams) and it would not disappoint.

Felix's Skyrim Playthrough: 05 Schmetty Joins the Dark Brotherhood Part 1

"Urgh... My head! Where the tits am I?" For the second time since his adventure began, Schmetterling the Orc was blearily regaining consciousness in an unknown location. Last thing he remembered was falling asleep in a pile of hay in Solitude, and this place didn't remotely resemble that! He seemed to be in a dark, dingy, craphole of a shack.

"Blegh..."

Schemtty touched his head. He felt a mace-shaped impression where his cerebral Orc-tex used to be. 'Owy', he thought to himself, 'I feel like I've just gone eighteen rounds with Muhammad Orc-li!' But before he could get a hold of the situation, a softly-spoken voice from across the room called out to him.

"Ah, you're awake. Don't be afraid, my good Orc."

Schmetty looked up to see some sort of ninja human female, straddling an offensively filthy bookshelf. "Let me introduce myself. I am Astrid of the Dark Brotherhood," she purred. Schmetty didn't exactly know what that was, but he could take an educated guess at them being the people who'd clonked him on the noggin.

05 Losing my Dragon-ginity

"Guuu-uuuys, wait uuup!"

With some trepidation, I walk down to the main gates of Whiterun, where Irileth is delivering a rousing speech to the assembled town guard.  And while it does a little to steady my nerves, I am very much aware that the largest enemy I’ve faced so far is an overfed arachnid.  I'm glad I bumped up my healing prowess.  The Whiterun guards march out boldly and I tag along behind on Allie, “protecting the rear of the column”.  

PES 14 BFVG Style; The Dream League of Dreams

Who will triumph in the Dream League of Dreams?

Do you love the Beautiful game? Do you enjoy playing said beautiful game on a gaming device? Have you ever wanted to endlessly sim a league with friends and see what happens?
If like me the answer to those questions was yes, yes, no then a few weeks ago I would have agreed with you. That was before myself and a few other members of BFVG found ourselves watching fellow BFVGer, Arjybarjy playing PES 14 while streaming it on Twitch. During our late night ramblings we stumble upon this great idea and from this the BFVGDLOD (Best Friends Video Games Dream League of Dreams) was born.



Its a simple idea, we each create a team including team names and kits (which I will come to later) then draft players to fill our respective rosters. Each week we would sim these games live on Twitch for our, and hopefully everyone else's enjoyment. Unfortunately there are not enough of us to have the league saved on PES (smallest league requires 14 teams) however I will be keeping all the results and updating the table. Then after each team has played each other twice a champion will be crowned. The winner* will be given the greatest trophy of all, the right to rub it in everyone else's face that he/she are the greatest and all others suck.

Chell and GLaDOS and Fat Jokes

Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since my last post - unfortunately real life has taken over with a bit of a vengeance, but I've found myself a couple of hours free, so thought I'd get in on the next article.  Chell, from the Portal series.

Portal is a physics-based puzzle-platform game in which you play as Chell, a test subject for Aperture Sciences.  It is never 100% clear what exactly they are testing, as you are equipped both with "long fall boots", which basically explain away all those other times in games when you jump of a building and basically survive, and a portal gun.  The portal gun opens a portal, but in order to be able to walk through it you need to open a second.  Basically, you walk through one portal and out of the other.  The gameplay gradually introduces other nifty "test" products - such as repulsion gel which you can bounce off, Propulsion gel, which causes you to run very quickly over it, and others, adding complexity to the puzzles throughout the game.

I have only played the second of the two games, but being a logic fiend, thoroughly enjoyed it.  However, whilst still trying to figure out exactly what to do (I was given no explanation at all, either by the game or by my maniacally grinning boyfriend), I got a bit freaked out when, through one of the portals I saw some strange woman with odd shoes on in it.  At this point, aforementioned boyfriend finally piped up and informed me that I was in fact seeing myself (obviously, not literally myself, but rather the myself of the first person perspective - I wouldn't be caught dead wearing those shoes....not least because they basically eliminate the chance of it happening in the first place).  So I was a bit shocked but pleased that I was playing a female character.  Realistically though, if I hadn't noticed "myself" through the portal, there is never any real indication that you are in fact a woman.

MMO Diaries: Guild Wars 2 Trial

It's fair to say that Guild Wars 2 became my obsession for the week that I was able to play it. According to the MMORPG's server message I have played the game for 30 hours in the week I had access to it.

At the start of the game I realised my choice of races was quite stupid. I've played a fair bit of Skyrim talking to hearty Scandinavian type folk in mostly snowy and mountainous lands. You'd think that after that I would not go and choose the hearty Scandinavian class of the Norn, with their stomping grounds being snowy and mountainous. My experience may have been filled with more varied and interesting locales if I had chosen another race but the games still managed to capture my attention (and copious amounts of time).

04 Whitewun and Weligious Wondewings

The weather is against me the next morning, as I leave the Sleeping Giant Inn after a much-needed rest and find that a blizzard has descended.  But the Jarl must (finally, after much distraction and dilly-dallying) be warned of the dragon menace!  Through the dense snowstorm, I spot four figures plodding on ahead of me: three Imperial soldiers escorting a captive Stormcloak rebel.  The loyalist asks that I help him overpower his guards.  Erm, no.  Instead, I zap a mangy wolf who snuck up behind me and sprint off down the road.

"WOOF WOOF" *ZZZZZAP* "WHINE WHINE"

Felix's Skyrim Playthrough: 04 Solitude

With the assistance of his new-found giant buddies, Schmetterling the Orc was now happily soaring through the air at a rate of 88 Orc-miles per Orc-second (roughly 15 Orc-knots).*

*Not known for their seafaring abilities, Orcs are on shaky ground when it comes to the unit of Orc-knots.

It might have been the altitude clouding his better judgement, but there was something about viewing Skyrim from such a great height, something about the fact that from this perspective, all humans looked like puny ants ripe for the crushing, that made Schmetty, for the first time in his life, feel at peace with the world.

In a state of euphoric serenity, Schmetty whispered to himself.

"Literally nothing could spoil this for me..."

THWACK!

CRUNCH!

Podcast #5 - Death Friends Video Games

Our 5th podcast-iversary we talk about the pretty inconvenient trait we humans have - mortality - and how video games reflect this. We'll be discussing perma-death as well as regular bucket o' lives games and how meeting our grizzly ends (in video game form) can improve or diminish the games we play. Expect technical difficulties as internet connections reflect the fragility of life itself...

Browzings: Speed Warp and Elements

Idle games have proven to be pretty divisive here at BFVG, what with the recent controversy surrounding a certain game which may or may not involve clicking on or near baked goods. Nonetheless, today's first entry will boldly go where I've gone twice before (with candybox and A Dark Room): it's Speed Warp!

Eagle-eyed Twitpeeps will have noticed this game being retweeted by aniwey, the creator of candybox, a few days ago. Speed Warp is, as dev Tom Medley notes, heavily inspired by candybox, with parts of the game borrowing chunks from the former.

Podcast #4 - Stimulating Simulators

In our 4th inaugural podcast we try to pinpoint what the difference between a simulation and a game exactly is. Should they have similar features to games? Should they accurately reflect the drudgery of carrying out these activities? Expect really unprofessional behaviour as we leave our mobile phones on and send Skype IMs to other people throughout this topic!

.:The BFVG Podcast Player of Dreams:.

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Felix's Skyrim playthrough: 03 Schmetty's mystical and majestic journey to Solitude

With the flaming ruins of Riverwood at his back, Schmetterling, on the advice of Hadvar the human, left for the city of Solitude. He hadn't the foggiest idea where this place was, mind, but Schmetterling knew his instincts would get him there in no time.

*TEN DAYS LATER*   

My my, what a journey! Seriously, these ten days could not have been more action-packed, even if he'd tried. He'd gallantly slain the Three-headed Cat of Fart-ma-goo, not-so-gallantly slain the one-headed cat of errr... this other place, bravely delved into the Mash Potato Mines of Zip-a-zee-do-da and snuck past its dedicated team of gnome custodians (rumoured to turn all those who gaze upon them into key lime pie), surreptitiously stolen their legendary Golden Anorak of Ever-So-Light Drizzle Resistance, AND, most impressive of all, courageously recovered from the sniffles he'd caught when it had rained too hard...

03 The Douche and the Dungeon

As I leave Alvor’s forge, with pockets full of nothing but cold, hard coin from selling the contents of Rigel's treasure-room, I bump into a handsome chap called Sven strolling the main (only) street in Riverwood.  Now Pyppi’s no tramp, but she definitely likes what she sees, so we strike up a conversation.  Alas, he has feelings for another: Camilla, the sister of Lucan the trader.  And any lingering flames of attraction towards Sven are swiftly doused in icy water when he makes some rather snide comments regarding the elf Faendal – his rival for Camilla’s attention.  Exsqueeze me?  Never one to let a fellow Mer be subjected to racism, casual or otherwise, I promptly rat out snakey Sven to Camilla, who thanks me, and asks that I inform Faendal also.  He is overjoyed, rewards me with a little gold, and even offers to accompany me on my travels.  Why not?  Even a mighty mage such as Pyppi Långstøchin needs company on the long, lonesome road.  I accept his proposition, on a trial-basis for now.  If he proves his worth, and remembers who’s in charge, we’ll draw up a permanent contract. 

The Love Triangle

The Final Frontier: Fake Space, Part 3: A Lunar Date

Cue orchestral music.

The alarms blared incessantly, terminal lights flashed over and over, and behind Bill Kerman's head he swore he heard a panel of the command pod's outer hull make a deep, sonorous creak. Either the ship was pulling apart at the seams or he was hearing things.  The latter would be excusable, seeing as the pod was spinning like a top - although tops normally just spin in place around one central point, whereas Bill's ship was twirling in three dimensions, like a ballerina break-dancing for dear life.  As the surface of the Mün approached faster and faster, Bill Kerman  remembered his astro-lessons, not so very long ago...

XCOM Enemy Unknown Review

Hey! Wanna play a turn based tactical role-playing game? If your first reaction to that question is confusion along with a quick no as a reply, then a few months ago I would have been right there next to you, looking down on the person like some kind of weird overgrown kumquat. That is until I played XCOM Enemy Unknown.

Browzings: The Republia Times

If you enjoyed the growing sense of unease and tough moral choices offered by Papers, Please, try The Republia Times, a browser game set in a similarly oppressive dictatorship by the same designer, Lucas Pope.

The game sees you taking the role of an editor at the state-controlled newspaper, The Republia Times. At the start of the game, you're informed that your family has been taken to live "under the protection of the government", which, at the start of the game, does not have the support of the people. It's your job to ensure that the newspaper captures the loyalty of the nation.

Podcast #3 - It's All About the Money (Money, Money)

In our third inaugural podcast we whinge about the frankly DISGUSTING business practices involving DLC, microtransactions, auction houses and other ghastly payment models. It ain't what like what it used to be oh no... back then we used t...

Crusader Kings II: When Connall met Gaita

"Aedh, we've been through this list a hundred times - no, TWO hundred times already, I don't like any of these wenches"

"Sire, can we please refrain from referring to Princesses, Countesses and Duchesses as 'wenches'...."  The chancellor said with the tired patience of someone who has been sitting with his stupid liege for most of the evening trying to convince him that most portraits of eligible spouses ARE accurate and CAN be trusted.  "How about Her Grace, Adela Von Sternfeld of Germany?"

"Too fat."

Aedh sighed audibly, and scrabbled around on the table, piled with rolled portraits of eligible young women.

"....and what of Princess Nest of Wales?"

The Earl looked over at the unrolled portrait in the chancellor's hands (who, although he would never say as much to his lord did in fact believe that they all looked exactly the same), a vague flicker of interest passing his features.

"hmmm....."

Aedh's hope surfaced once more

Felix's Skyrim Playthrough: 02 Schmetterling conquers Riverwood

Last time we saw Schmetterling, he was uncontrollably gnashing his way through a brigand encampment like a frenzied T-Rex at Butlins. Now, with the nourishing goodness of human flesh coursing through his Orcine veins, our hero set off to Riverwood with a spring in step and a song in his heart - that song being 'Smash the Humans and Eat Their Bones' in F sharp major (working title). His plan: meet the simpleton Hadvar, see what he has to say (as per their arrangement), then bugger the feck off back to the putrid hole-in-the-ground he calls home.

Bewbs and Short Shorts and Lara Croft

Ah, Lara Croft.  Perhaps one of the most iconic female protagonists in the video gaming world, although there were two big reasons for that, and not much else.

I feel almost harsh saying that, but the sad truth of the matter is that Lara Croft, despite being, on paper, a strong headed, intelligent and educated woman who was unafraid to get what she wants (and kicked a lot of ass whilst she was doing it) is only really remembered for her impressive rack, and the fact that she likes short shorts.  Once again, a fairly obvious example of game designers "appealing to their target demographic" which apparently makes it totally acceptable, as one gentleman has recently argued to me.

It is almost like the developers were worried that gamers just couldn't identify with a woman who was strong AND intelligent, so they kept them interested with BEWBS.  I remember a rumour that did the rounds that this animation was only added to the game because there was a cheat that made her naked, and it was the only way you saw the front of her.  This was in fact not true, as many frustrated 12 year old boys discovered to their chagrin.  I mean, OBVIOUSLY, being a lady, Lara would use the time during her tomb-raiding escapades, being shot at by booby trap arrows to just casually test out her acrobatic skills.  What woman doesn't?

However, all the jokes must stop now (one would assume), thanks to the Tomb Raider reboot that came out earlier this year.  There was a lot of hoo-ha about many aspects of the game in the run up to its release - not least her design.  Sit back folks, this is going to be a long one!

Oh My Godus: Beta Edition

As a big fan of Peter Molyneux's previous work (the Fable and Black and White series in particular), I was excited to see that Godus (the recent Kickstarter project by new studio 22cans) had made an appearance on Steam. So excited, in fact, that I fell over myself in my haste to download the beta version of the game and spend a few hours getting to grips with the fledgling god-sim in order to report back to those of you who (wisely?) choose to wait for the finished product.

Podcast #2 - Ethical Boob Talk

In our second inaugural podcast we discuss Metal Gear Solid 5's newly announced character Quiet, her risqué outfit that has caused much controversy and the (fairly gross) design of female characters in video games.

Between Good and Evil : Skyrim

Ever since James and Felix first played games together, one thing has been abundantly clear:  They play them very, very differently.  No more evident is this than in their RPG playthroughs.  Felix will go out of his way to maim, murder, and, in once instance, eviscerate an old lady because her violin music was "bumming him out".

02 We need to talk about Rigel

After a good night's sleep, I visit the Riverwood Trader to offload the assorted goodies I have collected so far on my eventful journey from Helgen.  The proprietor, Lucan, and his sister are having an argument, so I stand awkwardly in the corner, clearing my throat to let them know they have a customer.  It backfires, as Lucan asks if I would be able to lend a hand in retrieving his stolen Golden Claw.  I promise I will, but I’ve got tastier fish to fry at present.  And I’m not talking about the unrefrigerated salmon meat that I picked up from some fisherman’s rack and crammed into my pockets.

01 A Magical Beginning

Home Sweet Home

The game begins on what is basically Tamriel’s worst road trip, with a nervy horsethief, Rolaf aka Captain Exposition, and Ulfric Stormcloak – the leader of a nationalist rebel cause bent on kicking the meddling Empire out of Skyrim - bound and gagged.  We reach the Imperial outpost of Helgen, where the executioner’s block lies waiting for these criminal scum.  And myself, who was obviously just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The wagon (finally) rumbles to a stop in the courtyard and our names are called one-by-one.  Apparently I’m not on the guest-list.

Felix's Skyrim playthrough: 01 Schmetty gets Orc-napped

"By the Seven/Nine [or however many ridiculous Human Gods there are], where in Oblivion am I!?" These were the first thoughts to run through the head of SCHMETTERLING the Orc as he blearily regained consciousness on a wagon somewhere in the frozen outback.

Dresses, Crotch shots and “FemShep”

I previously mentioned Femshep in one of my earlier blog posts, and today I’d like to visit her a little more thoroughly.

Firstly, the moniker, “FemShep” is a portmanteau (I do like that word) of “Female” and “Shepard” – which, right before we’ve gone into any character description, brings me to my first point.  If she existed in real life, there would be no need to identify her by her gender.  She is a woman, her name is Shepard.  I wouldn’t expect people to come up to me and say “hey, FemJess, how’s it going?” Just as much as I wouldn’t go up to somebody else and say “hi ManBob, how you doing today?”.  You see my point, yes?  And yet, the gaming community at large still sees the need to identify her by her gender.

Having said all of this, the entire reason the term “FemShep” has arisen is because nearly all of BioWare’s (the game developer) advertising drives for all three of the games have featured ManShep.

Crusader Kings II: Conall, Earl of Dublin

Our story starts on 15th September 1066, in Dublin.  Whilst William the Conquer has conquered, and the Godwins have been scattered to the winds, Ireland's independent kingdoms and counties are self-sufficient, content, and at peace.

Earl Conall of Dublin is a mere 19 years old.  With blond hair and fine features, he is a truly attractive young man - and with a title, quite the eligible bachelor.  However, there are those in his court, those who perhaps have known him longer, and better, who are well aware of his numerous shortcomings.  It is no secret that the young Earl leads a hedonistic lifestyle, drinking and whoring with little to no regards for his court, himself, or The Church.  He had little training in diplomacy, but always seemed to use it with the naive women he preyed upon, rather than with the foreign dignitaries who sometimes attended the Court.

Podcast #1 - Cookie Clicker

We discuss whether Cookie Clicker is a wonderful game full of intrigue and strategy or a demonstration of how we waste our pointless existence on meaningless activities.

Here are some relevant links:
Play Cookie Clicker
Cookie Clicker wiki
Yoglaiiiii's blog post

The Big Cookie debate

BFVG is in disarray. A huge divide has been created. And what’s at the centre of this disagreement? The simple act of clicking a computerised image of a cookie.

Might and Magic and Involuntary Bodybuilding

I figured I'd visit a game series I particularly love (but still moan about quite a lot): "Fable". "Fable", when it was first released, was one of the first games to really explore the depths of in-game AI and the troubling matter of cause and effect in the gaming universe.  Additionally, to my recollection (and incorrect it may well be - I am open to corrections on this), it was also one of the first that allowed quite a high degree of detailed customisation, in terms of costume, hair, weapons, etc.

The first game in the "Fable" series, although highly customisable, didn't actually allow the player to choose a female character.  Hero, the character's default name was always a young boy, and as he grew into a man, you could define his character as finely as you liked.  Clothes, hair styles, even tattoos were readily available to buy in game and apply.  In addition to the conscious aesthetic choices provided throughout the game, your actions also affected ultimately how your character looked.  You start off with a "normal" looking guy - sort of thin, short, mousy hair.  Dependent on whether your actions were regarded as good or evil also contributed to the way your character looked.  It worked on a sort of sliding scale, i.e. +100 was totally Good, and -100 was totally Evil.  +100 meant you got gradually blonder, blue marks appeared all over your body and you got a literal halo.  -100 meant you got gradually darker, more frowny, reddish marks appeared all over your body and you ended up having two horns coming out of your head.  So, in theory, the more evil you are the more likely you are to develop hideous malformed growths on your face.

eSports, Can they truly compete?

These past few months I have really got into watching various eSports events on Twitch. No matter what it is, no matter whether I play the game myself I just love watching competitive gaming and it turns out that I am not alone. At any one time there will be hundreds of thousands of people viewing thousands of different channels on Twitch and various other streaming sites.

Single events consistently hit the six figure mark and it was reported by Valve that the recent Dota 2 International hit over 1 million views. This figure may have been even higher when taking into account viewers watching via TV. Competitive eSports are clearly becoming more popular as a spectator event. However, can eSports continue to grow, and will their popularity ever begin to rival that of the more conventional sports?

'Don't Starve' Cheat Sheet

For those who don't know, Don't Starve is a basically a top-down Minecraft-esque survival game, set in a Tim Burton-inspired world.  Its charming appearance hides a surprisingly deep gameplay experience, with all sorts of items to craft, monsters to fight and a huge (randomly-generated) world to explore.  If you've heard about this game and are still on the fence, I strongly recommend you pick it up.  For those who are already on board, I decided to write a basic guide and provide some tips and suggestions for any new players.  Some of the stuff mentioned here could be considered spoilers, especially if you're the type of person who really values emergent gameplay.  However, I found myself increasingly indulging in this excellent wiki, and thought it would useful to have some of the more crucial information kept in one place.  I should emphasise that my strategies are not the only way of playing Don't Starve, and I don't doubt others have found equally useful alternatives.  I'd certainly recommend experimenting freely to find the best way of surviving, but these pointers should give you a hand.

The Final Frontier: Fake Space, Part 2: Orbital Boogaloo

[If you haven't read the first part of "The Final Frontier: Fake Space", this probably won't make much sense.]

Jebediah Kerman just couldn't stay awake.  He tried to keep his head up, but his eyelids felt like they were made of lead.  He couldn't help it; he allowed himself a yawn, hoping it would go unnoticed.

"Mr Kerman!" Jebediah's focus snapped to the angry Professor as he thwacked his cane against the desk.  "Finding my lecture about space a tad boring, are we?  You could do with paying attention more than most.  Your last three Ballistic High Jumps have been pathetic, barely touching 20 kilometres.  Shape up soon or you're off the Program!"  He paused, exasperated.  "That's enough for today.  Class dismissed."

Meet the Best Friends from Best Friends Video Games!

Arjybarjy (Arjun) plays games. Well... he collects games and plays them when the urge strikes (sometimes). He grew up playing a ludicrous amount of Tiger Woods PGA Tour '05. He enjoys silly games and has a spreadsheet of games that he needs to complete and challenges himself to complete more games than the year previous (ten more games!).
 

Hairwire (Jess), also plays videogames (you will notice this is an emerging theme), generally centred around fantasy RPGs and God simulators (because who doesn't love elves and dwarfs and megalomania?), but she also plays/sings/teaches music and is a closet feminist, masquerading as a gender egalitarian.  In honesty she's kind of confused about how she pigeonholes herself  - WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

Gnatasha (Tash) tends to play games to unwind. Due to her deep-seated hatred of conflict, she mainly plays RPGs, strategy and puzzle games, as well as anything with a co-op element (because friendship). She is frequently consumed by pug-lust.

Fingers333 (Dean) is an average to below average gamer. He has little to no computing skills, is easily confused and lacks any understanding of subtlety. His opinions mean nothing and yet he continues to express them. He is however passionate about gaming, particularly when it comes to games that he feels he has missed out on. 

Theris108 (James) is a recovering achievement addict.  His lowest moment was when he bought Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for some easy Gamerscore.  However he has turned his life around and only collects 'cheevs recreationally.  He usually favours RPGs (in which he gets far too emotionally invested), and has fond memories of growing up with point-and-click adventures.

Kingofallcosmos (Gurdeep) was born with a Master System pad in one hand, a Sega Menacer in the other, while riding atop an Amiga 500. Dismissing both the disgusting imagery of an Amiga 500-aided birth, and the fact that the Sega Menacer was released several years after he was born, he has fond memories of Amiga classics such as Paradroid 90. Those memories fade to darkness when he remembers the game Nightbreed; a game so terrifying and disturbing he would leave the room as soon as the title screen loaded. He continues to enjoy games on all formats, counting the Bioshocks, the Mass Effects, the Half-Lifes, the Sonics, the Deus Exs and the Mirror's Edge among his favourites. He still hasn't got past the loading screen on Nightbreed.

SeaKing61 (Laurie) is our least gamey gamer. A fan of simulators and making open world games as boring and monotonous as possible, he suffers from a severe phobia of any game involving magic, fantasy or trading cards. SeaKing can be identified during podcasts and multiplayer games by his long, slow, boring drawl and will be blogging about various simulators and his undying love for Orangina.

Heliosrain (Richard) is proud to admit that he loves the incongruous combination of moba games like League of Legends, simulators (Eurotruck 2), fpSsssss (BF3), RPGs (Assassin's Creed, Skyrim etc.) with a particular penchant for 2D platformer style games, of which Terraria is a favourite. His general level of noobiness when playing most games is sometimes punctuatued by a blinding ray of mediocrity which occasionally leads people to think (wrongly) that he's good at them.

This_is_jazz (Felix) really, really likes Romans.

Yoglaiiiii (Yogs) is a paranoid & confused gamer who regularly has contradictory opinions but is not afraid to say them, especially in front of Arjybarjy. His main experience and upbringing in the world of gaming have been FPS’s & racing sims, but has now in the last few years branched out into other gaming genres such as RPG’s, MOBA's and Indy games. He plans to continue his adventure into the gaming world and hopes to experience the best it has to offer. His favourite games include Carmageddon, Quake 1 & 2, The Half-Life Series, BioShock and Guitar Hero 2.    

Alex Cole (brave enough to use his real name) loves playing video games, period.  He'll give pretty much any genre a chance but certainly has a predilection for challenging platformers (think Super Meat Boy or Rayman Origins), super deep RPG's (Elder Scrolls or old-school Final Fantasy) and driving games (whether full sim like Gran Turismo or more arcade-y like Motorstorm: Pacific Rift or Trackmania). A console gamer since childhood, he wants to broaden his gaming horizons and gaming knowledge further and further, doesn't matter if the game's old or new, universally loved or controversially divisive.  And it always helps if they have a cool world to explore. He can't get enough of that shit.

Girls and Boys and Samus Aran

Today, I will be talking about Samus Aran.  Samus Aran was one of the first female protagonists in a videogame (Metroid).  Moreso, she was one who wasn't overtly sexualised, and more than that, she was a strong, independent character.  Throughout the game, Samus, a bounty hunter with very little background and this weird, oversized cyborg suit-thingy is jumping around shooting the ass off things, and turning into this awesome ball, because the suit is awesome.  Then, right at the end, she is finally revealed to be a woman (you can watch it here).  Aside from the fact that she is suddenly wearing pink and giving a cute little wave at the camera, it's still fairly cool that such a powerful, independent, ass-kicking character is actually female.

The Final Frontier: Fake Space

Jedgan Kerman was just one of a series of astronauts sent up beyond the atmosphere of his planet with one simple goal: get really far away from it.  It was essentially an explosive high jump contest: each rocket flew upwards and hopped above the planet Kerbin, before running out of fuel and falling all the way down again.  Things changed with Jedgan, though.  Focussed unswervingly on the Mün (that's right), he leapt... and didn't fall back down. He broke free of the Earth Kerbin's gravity and set off in search of his own story. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite heading directly at the Mün which meant that his particular story was drifting forever in space with no fuel left in the tank and quite far from any planet or moon of interest.

Browzings: A Dark Room and candybox - or: Text-based games are basically work, right?

If, like me, you find yourself at work with a few minutes to spare (or hours of downtime, in some cases), you might have considered playing games in-browser. There are sometimes significant chunks of my day where I'm waiting for stuff to happen, and while some people might consider this freeing, other, less optimistic people would (rightly) surmise that it soon gets really bloody boring. After reading every news, magazine and blog article on the entire internet, I started playing Facebook Apps and games on Kongregate, but quickly realised that no-one catching me unawares could fail to notice that I wasn't compiling a report and that I was, in fact, piloting a miniature spacetank or madly blasting rainbow-coloured bubbles out of a cannon.

Some people might have stopped attempting to play games at work after this somewhat troubling revelation. "I'm getting paid to be here; maybe I should stop dicking around and make myself useful?" I imagine them asking themselves, their little hearts plagued with doubt. You know what I call these chumps? Quitters. Anything is possible with a little imagination. With a bit of digging around, I came across some neat, text-based adventure games that seemed to fit the bill: I could play them without it being obvious that I was doing so, and I could leave them running while doing other stuff if necessary. (Disclaimer: I don't advocate booting these up if you're a firefighter or heart surgeon, obvs. If, however, the alternative is staring at the clock and contemplating the futility of life, I say: go nuts! Because a watched clock never ticks.)

FLASH (games) A-AAH: Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing

Typing is extremely important. If it wasn't for typing, I wouldn't be able to communicate to you, dear reader, in this format. If you are new to this whole punching-buttons-in-order-to-get-letters-to-show-up-on-that-shiny-picture-box then Icarus Proudbottom Teaches Typing will get you on the right track.

Girl Gamers and Porno Mods

I am a lady geek.  It is also a fairly widely accepted fact that women in games are portrayed, by and large, pretty poorly - here, Wikipedia lists all of FIVE female video game protagonists, two of which I have never heard of (possibly my bad, I'm not a RABID gamer), out of a list of hundreds, if not thousands, of mainstream video games.  In addition it links to some pretty horrendous games that actually exist.  I'm not going to go into all the things I've found here because it would make this entire post very, very long.  Longer than it's already going to be.  Some time ago, I got Skyrim for the PC in order to activate some of the mods available.  If you don't know what modding is, then basically, it's usually user-created changes to game-play.  This can range from anything to simply changing the colour of an in-game outfit, to actually fiddling about with some of the games codes in order to insert new characters/animations/locations etc.  I really enjoy Skyrim, and one of the improvements on its predecessors (Morrowind, Oblivion etc.) that I particularly liked was the fact that female armours actually look like they are made for a female, as opposed to being so intrinsically similar, if not the same as, male armour, that when fully covered, you might as well have not been given to the option to choose a gender in the first place.

Lost Childhood: Baldurs Gate

When I look back at my childhood there are certain games that stand out. Certain bosses or puzzles that would infuriate and entertain. Some of these games you would tackle on your own. Other games would be even more fun when played with friends.

In this series of blogs I plan to take a look back at those games that I never got chance to play when they were released. I will play through the first hour or so then share my experience giving an honest account of what happens and my opinion on the game itself.

One game that I have fond memories of playing is Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance on the PlayStation 2. I would go round my brother in laws house at weekends and together we would slowly make our way through the campaign in co-op mode. It played like most RPG’s do now. You are in control of a single character as you slash, shoot and cast deadly spells against anything and everything that comes your way. However the original Baldurs Gate for PC was a very different game so I thought that would be a good place to start.

As soon as the game launches you are thrust into a stunning opening cinematic. One that demonstrates exactly what late 90s PCs were capable of.  

Welcome to BFVG!

Hello and welcome to the first ever post on the Best Friends Video Games website!

As the video poorly describes we are a bunch of friends who play video games and then sometimes post them up on the YouTube and now we are writing our thoughts and talking our feels on this website!


So let's get going with some tip-top, grade A, fit-for-human-consumption, video game internet content!