~RAR
the New Year has rung in, and also a New Decade. i wish that this year we would concentrate on the "new decade" part more; it feels more revolutionary, and more like we're turning over a new leaf. a "new year" just feels like another year in the long strain of years we've been living before, but a "new decade". . . it's a brand new decade!

eh, i dunno.

of course, like everyone else, i've made "new years resolutions"; which - to me, at least - just seems like more standards i can have a chance at missing, but maybe this year i'll be more motivated. one of my new years resolutions is to get better at gaming. i know it's an odd resolution, but i feel like my lack of control with the two-joystick design of 360 and PS3 controllers really gets in the way of my gaming experience. and since 1) i work at a game store, and thus should be educated and 2) since i play games as an artistic experience i feel like is should 1) a. be able to relate better to my clientele by playing more games, better, and 2) a. be able to better "communicate" with the game designers. all of these goals i can meet by being a better gamer.

it will be really easy, though, since there are a TON of new, incredible games for me to play. i still need to finish Assassin's Creed II, and Bayonetta, Mass Effect II, Bioshock II, and Dante's Inferno are all coming out within the next few months. (the only thing that troubles me about this list is how many games are sequels. . .) not to mention the fact that Final Fantasy XIII comes out in just a few short months, as well.

i played the demo for Dante's Inferno and i was blown away. i highly doubt that many fans here in the Forest would be interested in it, considering it's dark, and highly twisted nature. but if anyone else has played it, let me know what you think! i love discussions the only problem about playing the demo is that now i want to play the full game, and that doesn't come out for another month. oh well, it will hopefully be worth the wait, and i can warm up on Beyonetta.

speaking of games i've played. . . i just finished the Wolf Quest II game, and while i enjoyed it immensely, it was really buggy and that hampered my enjoyment immensely. i know they wanted to get the game out before December was out, but i really wish they would have waited to smooth a few things out. the AI for my mate was dumb as a rock, and he kept taking my pups away from the den and losing them. i think what would have made the game so much more enjoyable would to be able to enter the "social arena" with your mate, kind of like you do with Dispersal and Stranger wolves, and give him commands like "find food to feed the pups", "stay here with the pups", or "go mark our territory". it wouldn't have been hard at all, i don't think, since they have the basis of all the programming, and then they would have just had "modes" to set the AI in, so it would have "goals" to reach. it would have been especially helpful when moving the pups to the new den site, because then you could tell him to stay and protect some pups while you move the others, or to carry some pups while you protect others, or something like that.

i'm considering getting on their forum to make those suggestions for the next patch

i'm also confused as to whether they'll be making another one. i hope they make a whole cycle so that eventually i can play my pups and grand-pups and so on. it really wouldn't be that hard to do now, really - just make a new save-game for the pups that survive to the end, so you can start a new game with them. roll random stats from the averages of the parents' to get their size, strengths, and weaknesses, and you already have their color and pattern rendered.

it would be nice to be able to have them for a second year, though, to raise more pups. especially if you can start communicating with them like i think you should be able to communicate with your mate. again, same game mechanics, so theoretically it shouldn't be that hard to do.

hmmm. those are really my only complaints with it, really. it was fun, otherwise, and just the right amount of challenging. the controls are a little glitchy, but i think it's just because i'm playing on a laptop and i'm not using a mouse. i need to get a mouse for my laptop. . .

~Pan
I'm a raven! I was sleeping in a faerie circle with other Deer, and a Raven, and Squirrels, and after a long time I was turned into a Raven, as well!

I wish flying came as naturally to me in this form as in the form of a Bat or a Dove, but it is still fun to hop around and croak at unsuspecting Deer.

I was elated when I awoke to see the giant mushrooms and flowers springing up! I love the mushrooms! They are so much fun to dance around, and they look so beautiful!

~RAR~Pan