I finished playing this first game in the series the other day and just wanted to share some thoughts on it.
First of all, the remaster was beautifully done and I loved the fact you could hit a button and play the original version of you wanted.
Replying the story was great, most of it I remembered and some of it I recalled once I’d got stuck in. Other elements came as somewhat of a surprise as I had genuinely forgotten them. Things like how hadn’t hard the Flood are to kill. What a pain in the arse the Warthogs can be to drive at times.
I didn’t even bother keeping count of how many times I died! I was playing on normal and damn, that was challenging at times.
I’m so glad I finally got into this again and I’m looking forward to diving into the second game next week!
Good morning folks. Just a quick little post to get the day off and running.
Monday I wrote a little over 1400 words and yesterday I wrote just over 800 words. All of which were on War Child.
I also completed Halo:Combat Evolved yesterday as well. Damn that was a lot harder than I remembered. I’ve not played Halo since it first come out and it was so much fun! The way they remastered it all is beautiful. I’ll post some pictures comparing the two versions soon, because you could play the remastered one with the original graphics.
Right, I’m about to start my day job. Have an awesome day, folks!
I wrote 980 words today on War Child. I’ve come to realise I’m essentially working on a second draft. Not quite writing it from scratch but I have rewritten the first couple of scenes. It’s a case of it being easier to do this than it is to add in the details I need to. Starting War Child during last years NaNoWriMo was a good idea as it got the story off the ground, but it has also hampered it. Where I was writing a bit here and a bit there a lot of the time I wasn’t able to be as deep with it as it needs to be. At the moment it feels like NaNo served as an in-depth outline for the story. It helped me get an idea of the story I want to tell, and how broad it is turning out to be. I think I’ve said in previous posts that I was loosely planning three books, a trilogy that would tell this story. Well, where book one was originally meant to end is a long, long ways off. At the moment I think this is going to be a good five book series, which I think I got overwhelmed by. Even now I feel like the scale of this is too big for me to get my head around. I think this has led to me not working on it too much since the start of the year, but that time has given me time to process what I need to do to get this first book done.
Dizzy doing what cats do 🙄
Watching the science fiction I have recently has given me a lot of ideas, as has diving back into the Halo video game series. I spent a fair chunk of yesterday afternoon replaying the first game, and boy had I forgotten how good it was. I’m playing the Master Chief collection which is remastered and damn it looks good. Plays fantastic too (I’d forgotten how hard those damn Warthogs are to drive though!). I’d not really played any game aside from GTA for quite some time, so I was worried the different game mechanics would have a negative effect. But thankfully they didn’t and I really got stuck in. It was a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to playing it again in the next few days.
To make sure I don’t get distracted by it, I won’t be gaming until I’m done with any bits and pieces at home I need to do, and I’ve written. I’m going to be starting kind of small with it, a scene a day for example. But I’m hoping that I’ll get into a flow with the story and this will increase each time I sit down to write.
This was my third EGX, but my first at ExCel in London. The other two were at the NEC in Birmingham. So a much shorter drive this time.
The first thing you notice when you walk in is the vibe. Even while standing in the queue to get through security and get our lanyards there’s an electricity in the air. The three of us are adding to it, especially when Stefan sees some of the PlayStation Access team.
We got our lanyards, much better than having just a wristband. They’ve an advert for House Flipper 2, which Steph got rather excited about, and we went into the event room itself.
There’s a lot to take in when you first walk in. There are a few folks handing out leaflets. Cosplayers moving around, not as many as I was expecting, but it’s Thursday and I’d imagine the weekend will ramp it up a bit. There’s a lot of folks in some amazing outfits. While not cosplay there is a lot that are themed as well as those that are just awesome. There’s all the gaming setups right there and they go throughout the space. Off to the left and towards the rear quarter of the floor is the vender stores. This is where we go first.
Now, my cash flow like many of us is shite at the moment so I only had a small budget but I couple of little bits went for a Mystery bag that was £25. Now, what I got in it I wouldn’t necessarily have bought, but I’m really happy with what was in there and it was definitely worth the money I paid for it.
Mystery bag contents
I find I really enjoy looking around the vendors. As it’s a gaming convention most of them are gaming related in one way or another. There was a lot of anime as well, and strangely enough I noticed a lot of vendors selling pop culture themed swords at this con.
There’s a lot of people selling artwork based on video games and pop culture in general. Some of it I found mind blowing. The skill that goes into producing these pieces is amazing and I could have spent quite a chunk of money on those alone. There was a couple of DOOM ones that really caught my eye.
We explored the retro gaming section. This got the nostalgia going big time. The one that really got me was one called Dizzy Egg. Now I can’t remember if this was the exact game me and my brother had on the Sinclair Spectrum ZX as the one I saw today was on a different system. But I had a quick go, and died like four times! But it brought a big smile to my face.
We even had that joystick!
I saw StarFox, Micro Machines, Halo 2, various Super Mario Brothers and Sonic The Hedgehog games. There was a few Batman ones, one of which Stefan dived into (he’s a big Batman fan) and so many more. Aside from Dizzy Egg I didn’t really play any as others were playing them while I was circulating, and honestly my anxiety was rising.
Arcade Cabinet
Steph did wait to play House Flipper 2 and she spoke to one of the developers of the game. I’d imagine seeing people queueing up to play and talk of how much they love the game you’ve worked your arse off must be good.
Now, my anxieties did get to me a little but not like they would have done before. I didn’t have to take a moment and regulate my nerves at any point, although a couple of times I did feel a little overwhelmed.
I’m told I look happy here ☺️
It was such a good day though. I was with two of my dearest friends, and seeing how much they loved it as well made the day even better.
I have tea, Raven is climbing over my printers while Dizzy is sitting staring at my from besides my chair. A scrap is imminent….but I’m awake. I’ve got a late shift today so I wanted to get up and get cracking early and for once it feels like I have done. There was no ‘snoozing’ of alarms. No rolling over for ‘another five minutes’ which always turned into at least another half an hour. I have an Amaranthe playlist via YouTube playing and I’m ready to get some words cracked out. I’m even dressed!
So, what’s the day got planned for me. I’d like to knock out another thousand words of zombie. I think that is very achievable. Just plug away until about midday I think and then that gives me a little time for lunch, half an hour on GTAV and a few other bits and bobs before heading off to work.
That all sounds really straight forward. It’s not. I’ll be editing as I type of the hand written draft of zombie. So I’ll be having to think on the go and I’m going to try and read the scene before I type it up so I know what point the scene is taking the story to. I am feeling quite a bit of pressure with zombie. This will be my first release and it’s got to be right. I don’t want to be that person who puts something out into the world and it’s poorly put together. Typos, spelling mistakes, bad layout, and so on. I trust my editor, she is incredibly good at what she does and I know she won’t let me embarrass myself.
They’re behaving…….for the moment……
But, I’m pushing through. I’m not letting my self-doubt stop me. I’ve had far too many months where that doubt has had me dragging my heels on writing. I know the why of this, and I’ll talk about it one day but it deserves more than a few sentences in a daily post. I know I can do this. I know it’s time to step up. And I know I keep repeating this, but that is more for myself. It’s me keeping that positivity at the forefront of my consciousness.
Self doubt, imposter syndrome, what ever you want to tag it with, is a prick. It’s a horrible feeling and one that when it takes hold it can shut me down in a heartbeat. But it will not win. It may gain ground by winning small battles but I will win the war.
After a late night of gaming I decided to have a lay in this morning, and I think it was needed.
Yesterday I wrote 567 words, I think. It was about that number anyway.
It was a decent session. I hand wrote for the first time in a good couple of years and found it to be quite therapeutic. Last year I was struggling with writing, particularly towards the end of the year so it was a relief to be able to get some words down. It’s a story that’s in a universe I’ve already got set up but I’m not sure just how much I’m going to cross over with the main storyline that I’ll be working on.
I’m quite happy with the scheme I gave this one ☺️
Today will be a little more of a low key day with writing. I’ve got some other bits to work on before I’m going to start writing.
I didn’t get much done yesterday. When I work on Sunday’s it’s normally a long shift which leaves little time before work to write and not a lot of time after as it’s quite a busy day working in a supermarket on a Sunday. Plus last night I was playing GTAV with my dear friend Stefan from Stefan’s Daily Gaming till 1am (we had far too much fun!).
Today I have a work shift which doesn’t leave much time either side to write but I have the next few days off. So I’m going to try and make the most of those days. Mainly because I want to work through the edits on Zombie before NaNo begins in SEVEN DAYS!!! and I want to have a clear plate before starting on NaNo.
I also want to do a little more prep for NaNo both as a writer and as an ML. My regions ML’s have had a natter and have a few ideas we’re playing with to build engagement for another year of not being able to meet in-person.
Right, I need to get off and get ready for my day.
I edited 3691 words on the Zombie book. There is a lot of work to go into it to get it right and it’s a little intimidating. I know what I need to do and I’m pretty sure how to do it. It’s just the thought of working through it line by line to get it there.
I’m only on the first if the three parts and I know the last one needs the most work, but strangely enough I think that will be easier than this first part of the book.
As I slept badly I took a small nap and then chilled out with some GTAV.
Met this non-playable character today, it took a lot of mini-gun fire and I decided to leave him where he was! 🤣
This evening I’m gonna watch a movie and then get an early night.
I’ve been playing a lot of GTAV online recently as part of working on my self-care. Gaming for me is an escape for me. It’s one the few things that turns my brain off from everything going on around me.
With GTAV I used to play it a lot but my anxieties would get to me. Mostly I’d just drive around robbing convenience stores, stealing and selling cars, and occasionally working for another player as bodyguard or associate. I had a Motorcycle Gang clubhouse but rarely did anything with it. When I would do the missions I’d get very frustrated when another player would thwart my efforts. And after a while it felt like it was becoming toxic to me. I was literally driving around doing nothing in the game. So I deleted it.
A few weeks ago Stefan from Stefan’s Daily Gaming mentioned playing it so I loaded it up again. Unfortunately we’ve not been able to make playing together happen, yet. But I’ve got a few plans for when it does happen.
The first few sessions I didn’t really do a lot, but then I had my day out at Broadstairs and that realisation that fear is ruining my life and I started doing more. I’ve bought a ID counterfeiting business via my motorcycle gang and have done a couple of the Survival challenges. I used to never do anything like that. The one time I did I got a little shit talking from the other players, and that put me off. Now I don’t think I’d be as delicate to it, but I also think I’m not going to be doing many of these missions with strangers. I think I just need to find my people on there. With Stefan I think it’ll be good. We’ve done a fair bit of gaming together and I think we’ll work well together.
I do love how beautiful this game is ☺️
I would like to have peeps I play with on there. You see others doing it and I think it would enhance the experience. It’ll make earning cash easier as well as some of the contacts for example need at least two people and even the ones that don’t an extra gun would be handy. You can recruit players in game to work for you, with a Motorcycle Gang they start as Prospects. I’ve had next to no luck with this, but I will persist as I want to expand that experience of the game.
At the moment I am building funds so I can expand my empire. I have something that’s beginning to look like a plan building. I’ve done a little reading online for tips etc. and I’m beginning to get an idea of where I want to put my money. I’ve just got to earn it first, and I’m not buying funds from Rockstar. I’m not necessarily against that, but its not for me. A) I don’t really have the budget to spend on games outside of my Xbox Game Pass each month and B) I want to earn my money. I don’t want shortcuts. I want to hustle and earn my wealth.
I did what’s called a ‘gang attack’ which is where you face off against twenty or so NPCs, and used my armoured car as a shield! 🤣
Now, other players do bother me. Some, I think they’r recalled Griefers, although I prefer trolls, are just out to ruin others enjoyment. I can understand trying to screw up someone as they’re trying to transport goods. You earn cash and RP (Respect Points) in doing that. It’s the ones who’ll do that, and then spend the next ten minutes just trying to kill you. These people normally have vehicles which are hard to destroy, like military grade fighters, when all I wanna do is get back onto another money earner. I even had one troll message me on Xbox (not even the in game messaging system) bragging about a gaming chair and calling me a noob. Firstly, I’m not sure what the chair has to do with it, secondly, I’m nearly level 100 on the game, so although I’m not a gifted gamer calling me a noob wasn’t accurate, and thirdly I’m not rising to that bait. I’m past that. I haven’t got time to get in a dick waving contest over a video game. If you’re someone that gets pleasure from ruining someone else’s enjoyment then you really need help. I’ll also not back down. I’m not quitting a session due to someone trolling me. Stuff that, I’ve given into too many bullies in my life, and I’m not going to do it anymore. Especially not on a video game.
I’ve made a few missteps cash wise but I’m on a decent road to recovery with it and am getting close to instigating my next major purchase.
I know I’m not the most gifted gamer, but some things in the game I do well. I’ve found I’m pretty damn good on a motorbike (which is shocking cause in real life I’ve never been on one), but I do feel exposed and would rather be driving my armoured sports car. Especially in a session where there’s a lot of hostility going around. I will admit that when I’m in those sessions I tend to be a little more passive and not as pro-active when running my MC (motorcycle gang), but I think I’ll change that. Loosing a payday or dying in game isn’t the end of the world. I’ve not found anything on this game that can be lost and not recovered one way or another.
I feel like I’ve made a commitment to build something in this game. To be successful in it. It’s not going to be easy and I’ve got to keep a strong nerve and not quit when it gets hard.
Since writing this post yesterday morning I have added a nightclub to my growing empire and I think this is gonna help me step up a level.
Peter Germany's World 