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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

'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.

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.)

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.