New Year and New Gaming Resolutions!

image credit: daykarobinsondesignsblog.com

Well folks, with January already half over (!!) 2013 is well on its way.  The past couple of weeks I have thought back over my gaming habits from the past year and ended up coming to a few conclusions about where I would like to see myself and L'Épée Magique this year.  They are as follows:

I will place ME2 and Meriel's Story on hold.

I have enjoyed Meriel, but at the moment she has gone on too long. I enjoyed Mass Effect tremendously, and I even enjoy Mass Effect 2 when I can convince myself to play it.  The operative key words here though are "convince myself to play it".  For me, gaming is meant to be an enjoyable adventure of both the mind and imagination.  Why then, should I have to feel like it is work just to place the CD in the drive and launch a title?  I'm not sure where along the line playing ME2 began to feel like drudgery, but it's likely tied to the obligatory install of Origin alongside ME3 that will prevent me from ever completing the series and experiencing the final chapter of this trilogy first hand.  That alone is enough to dispirit anyone.  I'm not done with the title, and I would really like to see Meriel finish her current mission, but I think we both need space before that can happen.  It's okay. The galaxy will wait.

I will make a dent in my GOG shelf.

I have a weakness for 90s/early '00 style adventure games, and GOG is more than willing to feed this fascination of mine.  As the result of weekend and holiday sales across the past couple of years, shelf upon shelf of these titles now fill my GOG gamecase (as opposed to bookcase).  I really want to sit down and spend some quality time with Gabriel Knight, Sanitarium, or my beloved Microïd titles.  I have, after all, recently acquired the rest of the Still Life trilogy.  It's been hard the past year or so to play this kind of game without feeling guilty about Meriel.  With her on hold, I finally have a chance to both play and blog musings about these titles.

I will start another lengthy title.

I have so many epic length cRPGs on my shelf  of both the virtual and physical varieties.  It is time to make a series dent in that list.  While I have not decided which of these titles I will plug in next, a decision will be made within the next week. I still want to story-tell whichever title I choose, but am not sure how exactly it will be approached. Look for posts regarding all of this around the beginning of  February.

Hello, New Year

Posting will resume come the beginning of 2013, due to a number of unforeseen events and activities (most of them good!) that have cropped up in the past month or so and that will continue through the end of this year.  I look forward to seeing you then.

Coming Soon

I'm sorry about things being all quiet on the western front.  Life suddenly took me by surprise in the end of March/beginning of April, and has kept me hopping ever since.  Much to my chagrin, this means that I have not had a chance to pick up any game (much less Mass Effect 2) for the past couple of months.  Fear not though, for Meriel will be returning at the end of this week.  I hope to have the next entry in her journal up by the end of Saturday, and a second up by the end of the following Tues.  I am also working on pulling together a post on the Let's Player veriax.  In addition to that, you will see that the "Currently Reading" sidebar section has been replaced, as of today, by a Goodreads widget. I have finally taken the plunge and signed up for the website.  Should it strike your fancy, you will be able to track what I am currently reading, and see past books that I have read, through this website. 

See you soon!

Update 5/28/12 - Yes I am well aware I actually did not post as promised.  When writing this earlier I some how managed to forget two important things.  1) I was scheduled to commence spring cleaning  that week and 2) even in a place as small as mine, spring cleaning takes a really long time since you are essentially turning the whole house inside out, sorting through it all, and then putting/giving/throwing it all away.  3) Surprise dogsitting/housesitting this week means I won't have access to my computer/diles/game.  Since the great Spring Clean 2012 still continues, and likely will through the end of the week,  the amended dates for Meriel's journal are Tuesday the 5th and Friday the 8th.  Sorry about the delay but my brain completely ceased to function it seems.

Known Photo Album Issues

Update 3/27/12 - Whoops!  I forgot about this.  The last five posts are now complete which means that all images should finally be re-linked.

Update 2/7/12 - Only five more entries to go!

Update 2/6/12 - Only January and February 2011 remain picture-less.  I will have those fixed by late tomorrow night.  As you can see, the latest ME2 post "Reflection" has already been posted.  Be looking for another ME2 post come 2/11/12, and at least one or two non-ME2 posts in between.  See you then!

Update 2/1/12 - It turns out that all the images except maybe five of them needed re-linking.  What on Earth, Picasa?  I have a little over half of the blog restored, and hope to have the rest of the images restored come the middle of next week.  Sorry things are dead this week.  I've had unexpected car trouble, and a number of other things have been keeping me busy.  The next post is taking place aboard the Normandy, and I will have it up before Wednesday.  After that, it is back to Omega in search of this doctor that Aria is so keen on.

I want to make a quick apology for the number of missing images this blog currently has ... especially in the older posts.  Picasa (the program that blogger uses to hold this blog's pictures) has been freaking out on me by showing some images, but removing others.  Some images are alternately available and unavailable depending on when I load the page, while others are simply missing altogether.  The funny thing is that it has only happened to this blog and not the art ones I have.  Maybe Blogger doesn't like video games?  Who knows.

Google searches have informed me that the only real way to fix this is to re-link the offending (read: not showing up) images to the blog. A little testing on my part shows that this does indeed fix the problem.  The main issue, of course, is that re-linking images in a screen cap-heavy blog like this is no small feat.  Even so, I will be engaging in this process this afternoon in an effort to return to normal.  In the meantime, I beg your patience as the process will be tedious and time consuming.

I will try to have Meriel's new log entry up today, but given this unexpected turn of events, it will most likely be pushed off until Tuesday.  See you then!

Image: Source

... and what a busy week it was.

9/3/11: I know that I still haven't posted for a very long time.  No, I haven't disappeared, dropped the blog, or been swallowed up by the Earth.  Ever since this post though, things have just been unexpectedly insanely, insanely busy.  I've been studying for my comprehensive exams - a massive 8 hour writing test that I must pass in order to get my degree.  This studying (combined with work et. al.) has left little time for anything else, much less gaming.  I WILL return to form come the week after next, when this blasted test is over, and my graduation is (hopefully) secured.  Talk to you then!

Original Post :
Talk about crazy.  Last week or so (as you may have noticed) not much was posted because my internet kept dying.  I have quite possibly the worst internet carrier around and as a result I and the entire local area found ourselves without internet service for large spans of time.  At one point I was out for over 24 hours.  During the times that my internet was up I did managed to type almost all of the next entry in Meriel's story, and that will be posted this Monday(7/25).  I had hoped to get it out earlier this week, but ultimately I underestimated the inherent difficulty of typing on a laptop when one has three hyperactive dachshunds vying for attention, burying under the computer, lying on the keyboard, and incessantly licking my hands everytime they move.  Alright! Waiting until my stint as a dog-sitter is over it is!  On the upside, the family I am sitting for has both a PS3 and Dragon AgeII which means that I have been logging some serious time in Kirkwall this week with Hawke and her companions.

Next week be looking for the newest update on Meriel, a discussion on Dragon Age II, and a Mass Effect edition of "Amusing Oddities."  See you on Monday!

Image: Source

Blog to Return Next Week

My hands are still not 100% but they are feeling significantly better.  As a result regular posting shall recommence on June 28st with the "pending" portions of Meriel's story.  From there I will be returning to her world, picking up the pace, and will hopefully finish out ME1 by the end of July.  Soon I also hope to post an Amusing Oddities post (ME Edition) and some reactions about the newest Skyrim information.

I hope that you all have a lovely week and I'll see you in seven days.

Image: Source

ME1 - Meriel's Story *Temporarily* On Hold/ Two Journal Entries Pending

Hey guys!  I hate to do this, but Meriel's story is going to be put temporarily on hold.  I'm hoping that it will be for no more then a couple weeks, because I really want to keep playing Mass Effect.  As you may have noticed, I was quite busy during April/May.  All that time was spent flipping through books and typing at the computer.  As a result, my hands are a bit overworked and are in need of a rest so that I don't develop carpal tunnel. You may have noticed that Meriel hasn't done a great deal of the ME1 main quest yet, and that is a big part of it.  Plus, I've found playing a real-time shooting game while wearing a stability brace on one wrist  to be a bit difficult. :)

L'Épée Magique will continue on like normal, but I apologize for the hiccup in plans.  I just wanted you to know why posts in the next week or so will be bit shorter, a little less frequent, and why you won't be seeing Meriel for a bit.       As you can see on Mereil's Story page, there are a couple of posts that are "pending."  These are in the process of being typed up and will make it up as soon as possible.   I'm hoping that this break will not be for long with the proper rest and that Mass Effect will be back in no time.

Important News - Voting for Smithsonian Exhibition Open Until April 17

Have you voted on games for The Art of Video Games exhibition that will take place at the Smithsonian Museum year?  No?  Why not?  Voting has been extended to April 17th due to high demand.  Drop everything you are doing and go vote right now.  I mean it.

For someone like the Smithsonian to host an exhibition on video game art through the ages is an incredibly massive deal.  As gamers we are always claiming that games are art, but the popular mind tends to think otherwise.  Consider this exhibition to be validation of a sort.  It is also a chance to have your favorite games featured as a way of saying "thank you" to all the wonderful artists that have helped entertain us through the years.

Read the Smithsonian's press release here

Submit your votes here before April 17, 2011.