Staying Vegetarian in a Video Game Can Be Harder Than You Think

We live in a glorious time where video games are bigger and more mainstream than ever, allowing us to live out elaborate fantasies and experience worlds never thought possible. But for all that games have done to allow us some sort of morality choice during play, very few actually celebrate, or even encourage, living a vegetarian lifestyle.

Have you sat down and thought about your favorite game characters for a bit and seen if they line up with your own beliefs? Sure, we all want to be the hero (and maybe the villain every now and again), but do we have any characters that are really cyphers for our own personalities and beliefs? Let's take Mario as a simple example. He's as harmless as they come in terms of family appeal, and while he does spend a lot of times eating mushrooms, leaves, flowers, and other mostly organic foods, he's known to love a good spaghetti and meatballs when he's not saving the princess. 

Link from The Legend of Zelda seems like a pretty gown to earth kind of character, but when you think about it has runs around slaughtering the native creatures around the area and stealing their hearts to regain health. It looks all cartoony and innocent, but bottom line, he feeds on the hearts of his enemies.

Things only get worse the further you look back, as the standard healing item in games tended to be meat. In Castlevania, Simon Belmot would regularly find whole roasted chickens inside of walls and somehow get healed from devouring them (vegetarian or not, eating random meat found in an old wall is not a wise decision).

How did we let things get so far out of our control? Games regularly send us off on adventures that require us to kill animals to proceed. How many Final Fantasy titles have you played where all forms of wildlife approach you, only to be blasted with Firaga? The game tasks you with tromping through obscure forests, their natural habitats, then rewards you with chump change for hacking them apart.

Oddly enough, some of the best examples of "vegetarian friendly" games tend to be ones where there either isn't a story at all, like Tetris, or ones that you wouldn't even think of as video games, such as Farmville. Somehow we've hit a point where Farmville is standing as a positive example of an animal-friendly world whereas Call of Duty regularly has you snapping dogs' necks. Things get even more complicated if you're vegan, leaving you with pretty much Pong or maybe Nintendogs. And Tetris. Thankfully we always have Tetris (that L block is totally vegan, as if it wasn't obvious).

Surprisingly, probably the most positive example of a game character living a vegetarian lifestyle is Super Meat Boy, a platformer considered "Nintendo Hard" by the best gamers where you run around as a chunk of meat trying to get his girlfriend back. Yes, you're playing as meat, but everything is out to destroy you, leaving meat the pitiable victim of this harsh world.

Is that the best we can do? A technicality? Are there no vegetarian game designers out there wanting to give us a high-quality game with a character that embodies our lifestyle? For now, it seems we are alone in this video game world.

Download Mobile Applications and Get Entertained!

Amazon Kindle 

Amazon's slogan for Kindle stands 'Buy once, read anywhere' and it stays true to the lines. Even without a Kindle, one can download multiple books from Amazon read them anywhere. These apps sync well with the Kindle and you can read them on the go.

BBC iPlayer 

The iPlayer has for long been a famous player which has incredible mobile experience but which needs a web browser. But these apps change it all! The iPlayer provides a superb and stable experience with great UI and navigation features. The iPlayer allows watching live TV and is Wi-fi only.

Spotify 

The best mobile music app which gives you unlimited access to an incredibly huge library of music! The music belongs to different genres too. You can save playlists in offline mode and play them when you have a bad internet reception via 3G or Wi-fi.

Sky+ 

This is a superb app which can help you record TV programs so that you can watch the programs later when you want to! Futuristic app for TV lovers!

Remote 

This app gives you a demo of what apps can do by accessing remotely your computer's iTunes library. Sit where you are and play or create new playlists through this app!

Jamie's Recipes 

Jamie's recipes is a free app which is chargeable only if you need more recipes. This is a dream app for a gourmet and a kitchen whizz. This mobile venture teaches the recipes to the users easily and succinctly with text, pictures and voice. Each individual recipe pack after the first one costs £1.79 each.

Malcolm Tucker - the Missing iPhone 

This app is a cool one which teaches multimedia lessons creatively and shows how books can be used with mobile handsets.

RBS Six Nations 

This is an ideal official sports app which will help you keep yourself updated with the latest scores (real-time). It also brings in live text commentary and video highlights of the game. There are some interesting statistics related to the game too.

Arsenal 

Fan of the Arsenal club? All premiership clubs have their own apps and nowadays they connect with their fans through the apps. Updated team news, stats, and commentary can be seen via the app in real time. There is everything including post-match interviews which a die-hard fan could need.

TuneIn Radio 

There are tens and thousands of radio stations for access through this incredible TuneIn Radio app anywhere in the world. This app makes for a seamless browsing experience and listening through it is superb!

Gaming Communities as a Simulation Tool to Fight Piracy on the High Seas

With all the 10s of millions of Americans playing online war games in gaming communities, it seems there is a tremendous amount of brain power being expended each and every day. These humans are learning to adapt, fight, strategize, and make decisions on the fly - with one goal in mind; to win, and, winning means scoring the most points, eliminating the most enemies, and surviving to fight another day, which does indeed sound a lot like the real thing - that is to say; war in the real world.

Training the military strike teams using simulation works and is a wise use of such technology. From logistical work to the tip of the sword simulation and online community gaming should be tapped to do this training. That makes sense right? Sure it does it makes sense on so many levels, and thus, I am pleased to say that it's now being done.

In fact, there was a very interesting article published not too long ago in Homeland Security News titled "New Anti-Piracy Tool: 1,000-Participant Internet Wargame" published on May 10, 2011" which stated; "The U.S. Navy is recruiting a community of more than 1,000 players from across the U.S. government to collaborate on solving real-world problems facing the U.S. Navy: high-seas piracy; the participants will be asked to suggest ways to combating piracy off the coast of Somalia."

In discussing this concept with a fellow think tanker, Troy Laclaire, we had considered who the participants are scheduled to be, and perhaps which groups were excluded, why, and even why they should have been included in this Massive Multiplayer Online War Game Leveraging the Internet or MMOWGLI. As you may well know, Troy is an expert on online gaming communities. Troy said he believed the idea was interesting yet also noted;

They will be pulling players from "academia, defense, and government and nongovernment organizations". Perhaps they need to setup such a system and allow for the average person to try it out. [This was they might] increase the talent pool, and perhaps get more solutions, [Also,] since they do say "nongovernment organizations" however, they should specify the type.

Troy has also suggested that perhaps these gaming simulations should be played by both gamers and non-gamers. And those expert gaming folks may indeed be able to add value to this strategy and come up with an array of realistic solutions as well. All great suggestions indeed and so, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

World of Warcraft Movie for WoW Followers

I have been playing games ever since I was a kid and I struggled for many years with people who thought online games were brainless and action games made you chaotic. I considered this an opportunity to present some knowledge into what gaming really can involve - passion, camaraderie and experiences you can't get in real life. ~ Ben Dressler

Let's face the facts, the gamer lifestyle is one thing that not a lot of people have an understanding of /AFK The Movie looks at the life of a video gamer asked to give up the one thing he's ever enjoyed: World of Warcraft.

To the people who don't play video games, that is called quitting. For hard-core gamers and MMORPG players around the world, that's referred to as "Euthanasia."

The film examines what life is like stepping away from the computer keyboard, to cut off the sole thing you adore doing, simply because you realize that it controls all that you do. But, what is the little difference between loving video games and being addicted with them? Does it make a difference and should we even care?

The subject matter of /AFK The Movie covers World of Warcraft and also online gaming. But you do not need to know the difference between Horde and Alliance to connect with the movie. We're all addicted to something, be it cell phones, websites, video games, or sweets (or even a dangerous combination of all 4). Step "away from your cellular phone" for 1 day and find out how you respond. Is a cellphone that much different than a video game? Exactly why is one an addiction and the other one is simply a habit?

I spoke with Ben Dressler, the moviemaker who made /AFK come to life.

What was the process like creating the movie, and from his point of view, what message was it wanting to relay to gamers and those telling so-called "addicts" they must stop:

JHS: What inspired you to make the script? Did you feel like you liked to write something which could speak "for all WOW players?"

2 things. First of all, the feeling that no person had ever done this in the past. I believe it is truly unusual that you have a concept that's kind of unique and not actually out there. When I first saw Memento I was so blown away that after a long time of filmmaking, someone could still come up with something so inventive. And even though we were not the first to combine real live action and video game video clips, I don't know of any movie who achieved it to the extent that we did.

Second, I wanted to have a stand for video gaming. I have been playing games since I was a child and I struggled for many years with individuals who thought online games were brainless and action games made you violent. I considered this an opportunity to show some insight into what gaming can really cover - passion, companionship and experiences you cannot get in real life.

JHS: In your own point of view, why do people desire to put down the "gamer" lifestyle?

I actually believe that they just don't know much better. The main character in /AFK says at some point: It is not just me sitting in front of a coloured window." But that is precisely what individuals see every time they see someone "game." They don't see what you think, feel or even experience while you play. I have had a lot of individuals that observed me play WoW and believed it was really boring. But when I let them play for an hour or more, they would buy the game themselves. Thankfully, people who have gaming experience will grow into important positions such as journalism or politics. So eventually that inclination to look down on gamers will diminish from society, I'm very optimistic on that.

JHS: You mentioned you basically had no budget because you could not make some money from the film, What kind of restrictions did that put on you as a moviemaker?

Since I knew there would not be a budget from the beginning, I could focus on writing a script that would deal with not many characters as well as locations. We had five days of shooting for a 25 minute film with a very small crew. And since I didn't want to rush the actors very much, there was short amount of time left for the camera and lighting unit. We also couldn't afford to buy plenty of props so we needed to work with everything we got in our homes. The room of the main character is actually made of geek stuff from ten people combined.

It basically came down to pulling lots of favors and utilizing to the very best what was already there. I do think if you choose to work with that restriction, it will easily lead to new, creative ways of telling your story. Although I recently read that German filmmakers particularly get into Hollywood mainly because they can make low-cost movies that look like expensive movies. Well, that is flattering, isn't it?

JHS: What would you tell individuals who deal with people asking them to "quit video games."

It's really hard to give a general answer to that one because it depends on the situations. Normally I would recommend to try and make those people know very well what gaming means to you. Determine why they believe games are stupid and show that you understand them also and take their concerns seriously. Do not just plunge to retaliation mode. When I was in college, I used to talk to my parents about the games I was looking forward to play and what I found enjoyable about them. Usually I could get them to relate to that in some way.

JHS: According to the insufficient success of a few major motion pictures, it seams very challenging to take the concept of a video game and turn it into a movie - with few films making an effort to "get into" the life of BEING a gamer. What was your experience in this regard?

I think there are two kinds of game movies... Adaptations and Sci-Fi movies. Adaptations are nearly always awful OR just solid action movies with the game's name in the title... And so yeah, there's hardly any films about real gamers - to be honest I cannot name a single one. And I am somewhat in wonder about that!

But it's hard, and I do think that the people who make it need to know video games as completely as films....My point is that to truly learn from Video Games as a medium, filmmakers have to understand how a game tells its story, what can be translated and what things can not.

JHS: What does WOW provide that hardly any other game on the face of the earth offers?

In all honesty - there are a couple of games on earth I have not played yet! However, I think that WoW did and does an incredible job at making hardcore gaming available to lots of individuals. Way back in EverQuest days, MMORPGs were a very exclusive genre that even most gamers did not know or care about. These days you will raid with people who wouldn't even look at themselves a genuine gamer. And yeah, maybe that is a bit of pioneer work that no other game can repeat again.

Gaming Community Software Systems and Strategies for Garmin Avionics Communication

Okay so, we living in a world that is constantly evolving on the technology front, and with all the internet communication going on, it's seems to be moving at a nice robust pace. Software and Systems engineers borrow ideas across industries and sectors, and why not. Speaking of which all these systems seem to be blending quite nicely, for instance take online gaming communities and consider how they've influenced the world of simulation, virtual reality, and augmented reality in the real world for training.

The other day, I was speaking to a computer hardware and expert gaming community think tanker, Troy Laclaire, about moving from using gaming community software for training simulators and applying this same software to the task of aircraft navigation, communication, and data information exploits. We noted that Garmin has sure come a long way with their recent GTN 650 and GTN 750 systems for private and corporate aviation. And, in considering ways to improve the uptime, constant flow of pertinent information, and increasing the rate of data transmission, well it seems appropriate to once again tap into the methodology of large gaming communities.

When using the GTN 650 or 750 it appears that the system is pulling in information all of the time, which would mean there really shouldn't be any delay in pulling it up, "however if its only pulling information for each "screen" as that screen is pulled up, then that could account for the delay," Troy noted. Okay, but only the information which is relevant, localized traffic, in that case, and weather radar information. Now then, Troy asks;

I do wonder, as the system gets into more use and the satellites have to transmit to more planes, if this might not eventually result in bottlenecks from the satellite system having to push more information, unless the satellites are just blanketing areas with information, which probably results in a lot of waste/3rd parties being able to receive information and tracking planes.

Now then, isn't this the exact same challenge that gaming communities have? Sure it is, data needs to get to each user, and the game cannot be delayed, or the action is stopped or slowed down, creating a nuisance, or challenges with continuity. In a game safety is not an issue, but in the real world it is, and the online gaming communities have figured out a way to make it all work even with the excessive bandwidth loads, and huge numbers of users.

Therefore, I ask the question; is the world of online gaming communities becoming one with the real world? If so which will survive or will they just blur into one. Indeed, I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Mobile Games Development: Its Latest Trends and Future Prospects

Mobile games and its development is now not a restricted territory. With the help of open source platforms, game developers are bringing in fantastic and interesting ones. Though the iPhone games rule the roost in terms of sheer classiness and operability, the Android and Symbian counterparts are not too far behind. 

One of the earliest games was the "Snake" which was launched in 1997. With the advent of sleeker platforms and consistent enhancements, the processing capabilities of today's average mobile phone are much better than the processing capabilities of the costliest phone launched a decade back.

Nowadays, smart phones include a wide range of games which can be played easily by any age group. Android is one of the most popular operating systems and platforms today. It has a Java based environment and most of the apps are developed using Java. Even amateur tech lovers can tweak their applications easily by referring to relevant gaming sites. 

Each and every mobile application platform has a software development kit which does have all the necessary ingredients needed to make a fantastic interactive app or a game. One can start on with Android app development using the Android SDK (software development kit).

Development of 3D apps and mobile games is very much in demand today, much like the demand for Xbox games and PlayStation games. Most analysts agree that in the near future, an average user would be able to have much more interactivity and fun within the mobile itself. Though the 3D gaming experience is at a nascent stage, do not be surprised if 3D games get found in most smart phones in the near future.

Some of the trends related to gaming include:

Java is the most popular gaming platform which is ruling the roost today. But with subsequent competition with other platforms, the trends might change rather drastically.

Multiplayer apps like chess and poker are preferred by the online audience, especially those who frequent on social media. The common gaming platform allows people of a group to compete with absolute strangers too.

Mobile games are also used in many promotional and advertising campaigns wherein the user can play games and even shop from their favorite merchandise.

The emergence of portals which are selling games is on the rise too. The games are quite affordable to the average user and the demand makes it a win-win situation for the buyer and the developer. Different mobile games based on different genres like action, adventure, racing, puzzles etc. are available online.

The Sweet Spot: Being a Gamer Parent

As a parent of young children, it is often tough to find time to game. Or energy. Gone are the carefree days of playing game after game after game. There's always something coming up... late bedtimes, going to the store for medicine, washing diapers (for cloth-diapering hippies like us!), cooking, cleaning random messes the kids leave... yeah, free time is at a premium. 

Every minute counts. So I have to shoot for getting the most out of my time when gaming. So what does that mean? How do I get the most out of my time gaming? Honestly, I'm still working it out. I have 5 years of practice, though, and I'll share what I've figured out. Here are some guidelines I use for finding the "sweet spot" in gaming.

1. Avoid games with complex or fiddly rules.

Some games are just elegant. Play progresses in an orderly fashion, there's an FAQ in the rulebook covering anything you need, and people just "get it" after a quick explanation. Play these games. And avoid games (especially teaching games!) that require a trip to boardgamegeek.com to arbitrate a rules question, use arcane iconography or just make things complex. 

A game that I really like that fits into this category is Race for the Galaxy. I love the game. I really do. The iconography makes it hard to teach, though, so it's not going to hit the table when new players are around. Especially with expansions. Complexity doesn't need to be there for depth, necessarily. So when a game delivers a comparable experience without the fiddliness, go for that one.

2. If the kids are around, figure in additional time... or get a babysitter.

I don't know how many games I've lost due to having to parent. In the scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. A game is a game. But gaming is a hobby, and meant to be relaxing. Socializing. Interacting with friends, or maybe just unwinding with the wife. And it really gets frustrating when I feel that I can't remember what I'm doing from one minute to the next due to constant interruptions. 

I'm not the best multitasker (just ask my wife!), and the kids usually get the priority in any situation where they're involved. A good thing to do is to make sure you "load 'em up" with attention beforehand. If they're going to be supervised less during play, set their expectations and try to meet all their needs (immediate and anticipated) before you sit down. Gaming with other parents helps. Often, kids will play together. Another option is a babysitter. Even having a babysitter over at the same time is a great thing, and well worth the investment.

3. Maximize the "Fun vs. Time Spent" ratio.

Some games are just long. I'm not averse to playing a long game; I enjoy the opportunity every now and then. But some games... are just long. As an example, I don't really feel that I get more out of Axis & Allies than I do out of Memoir '44. I'll definitely be playing it for five more hours, but I don't necessarily think that Axis is going to deliver six times the fun just because it takes six times the time to play. 

That means that it has a poor fun:time spent ratio. Look for games that deliver the essential experience. Some games are going to take longer to do that, so make sure that when you're selecting a game to pull off the shelf, that there isn't a game that delivers the same experience in a shorter time.

4. Read reviews of games before you get them.

This has become so important for my wife and me when buying games. In the past, we would drop loads and loads of money on games we had never heard of. Sometimes this would have positive results. For instance, we purchased Attika after a recommendation from a game store employee. Hadn't heard of it, or looked it up. Just bought it. And loved it. But sometimes... you end up with a game that doesn't fit your style, isn't what you expected or is just plain bad. I'm not going to point fingers at any games in particular, primarily because I try to stay positive. But there are definitely games out there with few redeeming qualities. Which is why game reviews are so important. Just as the reviews themselves are important, so are the reviewers. It's easy to look at a review uncritically and walk away thinking of the reviewer's opinion as the final word. 

My advice is to find a couple reviewers' blogs or podcasts and get familiar. My wife, for example, loves The Dice Tower, a podcast about games. She doesn't necessarily agree with all of Tom Vasel's opinions on games, but she knows where she stands in relation to him on things and can use that as a yardstick and gauge whether or not she thinks she might like something based on that. We've made some very informed decisions on games based on his reviews, and on the reviews of others. FYI, I know a blog that reviews games (hint, hint!)... ;)

So what is "the sweet spot"? The sweet spot is primarily about being cognizant of factors like time and parenting when purchasing games, choosing which games to play and playing games. How this is defined for each individual is definitely going to vary. Just think of this as a game itself! It's a very complex resource management game, and the resources are time, money and attention. Stay aware of this, and you'll find your sweet spot!