There are many Games that I really like to play and there are a handful which are my all-time favourites. This game falls into the latter category. The Game is called Casper and was released on a few platforms, PSX, 3DO, and Saturn. The Game is quite respectably linked to the 1995 Feature film: Casper which was also one of my all-time favourite movies. The version I played with most was the PSX version, however I have played the other two, there are a few improvements in the Saturn version which I would say make it better, but the Game world at large remains identical.
The game takes place in Whipstaff Manor, Maine. Casper the friendly ghost explores the Manor solving puzzles. The main game mechanic involves Casper finding the missing pieces of portraits throughout the mansion. There are various power ups that can be collected, items that will help you on your way and logic puzzles for you to solve. The first puzzle is simple and forms in essence a tutorial or training section, from the main foyer of the Game you can only explore a limited area of the Mansion at first. During this exploration you find a weight and a bucket, among other things. All four pieces of the first portrait can be found here. The Game gets progressively harder and becomes less and less linear.
The Game is split into 4 main acts. Act 1: Find tokens of friendship, mirrors the opening of the Movie in which Casper, a friendly Ghost who lives - or rather haunts, a Mansion with his 3 uncles: Fatso, Stinky, and Stretch, must find attempt to befriend Dr. Harvey and his daughter Kat. Dr Harvey is a "Therapist to the Dead". Whipstaff Manor which was at one point the home of Casper and his family when he was alive, has been passed on to Carrigan Crittenden, after the death of her father. A spoilt money hungry vile woman when she finds the Mansion haunted she tries everything to get rid of the Ghosts including attempting to knock it down, eventually her last hope is Dr. Harvey. The Game begins after Dr. Harvey and his daughter's arrival. Other than Casper himself there are no characters present in the game except his 3 Uncles.
This Game can be incredibly challenging, some of the logic puzzles are fiendish, one or two of the hidden paths and switches in the Game are hidden quite Sadistically. If you have ever played this game, the path leading North out of the Hedge maze into the East Wing of the Mansion is one prime example of Bastardry. I will not say where the solution to that particular path is hidden but suffice is to say when I first found it I felt so pissed off with the Game Programmers, it was a slight jaw drop "You're fucking kidding me" moment. Before solving that puzzle the wicked and wild solutions my mind had dreamt up as possibilities were unreal. The major difficulty factor in this Game is that once you progress beyond a certain point the Game is almost entirely open, you can go anywhere through any of the routes in the Mansion solving many puzzles criss crossing back and forth. The Mansion has many doors and paths which are locked, require certain coloured keys, require certain switches and secrets to be found, power-ups to be collected etc before they can be followed. This game will test your memory a much as it will your logic ability.
I would rate this Game 8 out of 10. I would be impressed if you managed to finish it, of the few rare people I know who have actually played it none have managed to finish it.
Dr Winnifred Strausse and the Time Vehicle
We begin our story in the year 3142, we join Dr. Winnifred Strausse, an esteemed fellow at Ruby University, Mars. Dr. Strausse has been working for several long and arduous years on a project that one day might change the world. That project seeks to enable Time Travel so that Man can better understand its past and foresee the faults it has created in its future in an attempt to prevent them rather than cure them.
Dr. Strausse's research is not without controversy, many an activist group has expressed opposition to Time travel and called for it to be made illegal before it has even been made possible, arguing that Man should not have such power. The most influential activist group in opposition of this research are the Collective Chronological Conversationalist Consortium, aptly named C4, whose methods are rather more drastic than that of their less extreme friends.
Dr. Strausse's research is complex, and as part of the ongoing development she heads a team of PHD students, 7 in all. Unbeknownst to her however within that 7 lies Alistair Cauldon, known to her as a Physics Major but known to C4 as their most valuable asset, a mole. Alistair has used his position well to deliver endless volumes of research material to C4 as well as schedules and agendas for all of Dr. Strausse's movements.
Our story begins late in the progress of Dr. Strausse's research. After years of study and design a prototype Time Vehicle has been created. The Vehicle resembles a Helicopter, however it is egg-shaped with the absence of rear blades. The overhead blades spin at great velocity, beneath them a generator is used to create a field around the vehicle, the blades then lift the vehicle into the air. At the centre of the vehicle lies the heart of Dr. Strausse's research, the Flux Capacitor. The first manned test flight is planned for launch the following day. Present in the flight test will be Dr. Strausse and two of her research team. As of yet all tests of the time vehicle have been forward through time, it is argued that any backwards test would have to be far enough not to coincide with the existence of the vehicle, or any of its occupants as the consequence of the two meeting could not be known without more research.
The first manned flight would follow the convention of forward motion, with a small target of only one week planned. However, the night before the testing Alistair and his comrades of C4 chose to enter Dr. Strausse's lab and sabotage the Time Vehicle. They chose to set the coordinates to a place on Earth where Dr. Strausse and her team would not likely be able to return easily, the time they set would be over one thousand years into the past, 1,130 to be exact. It took great effort and many hours of work for Alistair to reprogram the console of the Time Vehicle to display the intended target coordinates and mask the true destination, but with focus and determination he succeeded.
The next day all went according to plan, Dr. Strausse set the coordinates, checked and double checked them along with all remaining pre-flight checks. Everything appeared in order. Dr. Strausse was accompanied by two PHD students, Sarah James and Matthew Connor. The flight began, and proceeded as expected, the blades accelerated and the Vehicle was engulfed in a ball of white light and in a moment there was nothing. One week passed and the Vehicle did not arrive on schedule. Another week passed and then another until finally one month had passed and the experiment was declared a failure. The University called the event a tragic accident and after much political pressure shut down its research project. The activists goal had been achieved. Another week later as the lab had been packed up and all the research papers and backups had been placed in archive boxes, C4 once again struck the University. In one night a fire unlike any the University had ever encountered raged throughout the entire Northern Campus consuming all in its path, including Dr. Strausse's lab. All information pertaining to the project was lost with no hope of return. The remaining members of Dr. Strausse's research team dropped out of University shortly after and chose to retreat into lives of reclusion, hounded by the press and berated by the families of Dr. Strausse and the two PHD students that had accompanied her the found it hard to find peace.
What happened to Dr. Strausse then? Exactly what C4 had planned, she and her team were sent back to the year 2012 and found themselves on Earth, in the heart of Tioman Island in the South China Sea. Fortunately the Vehicle had landed in the heart of the forestry where Dr. Strausse and her team could conceal it well. After much deliberation there was little they could do. They knew that the Vehicle had been tampered with and they could not risk using it again. Upon inspection Dr. Strausse's only logical conclusion was that the console had been tampered with, it would require reprogramming, unfortunately not a single computer in existence would be able to interface with the console, the physical connections did not exist and it would take some time to create them from scratch that is, if they even knew how. Of the three Matthew was the most experienced when it came to Computers and engineering but even he did not understand the technology enough to recreate it. They were stuck. The Vehicle itself was not even capable of true flight over great distances. It would have to remain on the island. As for the team itself, after much deliberation again it was concluded that they should remain on the island, as it would not be prudent to leave the vehicle there to be found.
The first few nights were rough, the team slept in the vehicle as best they could and lived off what little rations they had taken with them. It was not yet clear if it would be safe to approach the locals. On the second day the team had agreed to decosntruct the time vehicle. The started with the flux capacitor which would in the end turn out to be their salvation. The capacitor's core was coated in diamond, the only substance hard enough to withstand the pressure that was generated. It was the lavish expense that would later be bartered and exchanged for a considerable amount of money, enough to set the three team members comfortably to remain on the island. Dr. Strausse opened a small library and taught the local school children how to read English. Sarah and Matthew eventually married and had several children, the oldest three of which where told the truth about the Time Vehicle and where it could be found. As those three children grew and had children of their own the secret of the Time Vehicle was passed down from generation to generation. There were only ever three people at any given time who knew of its existence and its location. It was not until several hundred years later in a tragic plane crash that the three keepers of the secret perished and existence of the Vehicle was lost. There in the heart of Tioman Island the Time Vehicle slept for centuries, undisturbed.
Dr. Strausse's research is not without controversy, many an activist group has expressed opposition to Time travel and called for it to be made illegal before it has even been made possible, arguing that Man should not have such power. The most influential activist group in opposition of this research are the Collective Chronological Conversationalist Consortium, aptly named C4, whose methods are rather more drastic than that of their less extreme friends.
Dr. Strausse's research is complex, and as part of the ongoing development she heads a team of PHD students, 7 in all. Unbeknownst to her however within that 7 lies Alistair Cauldon, known to her as a Physics Major but known to C4 as their most valuable asset, a mole. Alistair has used his position well to deliver endless volumes of research material to C4 as well as schedules and agendas for all of Dr. Strausse's movements.
Our story begins late in the progress of Dr. Strausse's research. After years of study and design a prototype Time Vehicle has been created. The Vehicle resembles a Helicopter, however it is egg-shaped with the absence of rear blades. The overhead blades spin at great velocity, beneath them a generator is used to create a field around the vehicle, the blades then lift the vehicle into the air. At the centre of the vehicle lies the heart of Dr. Strausse's research, the Flux Capacitor. The first manned test flight is planned for launch the following day. Present in the flight test will be Dr. Strausse and two of her research team. As of yet all tests of the time vehicle have been forward through time, it is argued that any backwards test would have to be far enough not to coincide with the existence of the vehicle, or any of its occupants as the consequence of the two meeting could not be known without more research.
The first manned flight would follow the convention of forward motion, with a small target of only one week planned. However, the night before the testing Alistair and his comrades of C4 chose to enter Dr. Strausse's lab and sabotage the Time Vehicle. They chose to set the coordinates to a place on Earth where Dr. Strausse and her team would not likely be able to return easily, the time they set would be over one thousand years into the past, 1,130 to be exact. It took great effort and many hours of work for Alistair to reprogram the console of the Time Vehicle to display the intended target coordinates and mask the true destination, but with focus and determination he succeeded.
The next day all went according to plan, Dr. Strausse set the coordinates, checked and double checked them along with all remaining pre-flight checks. Everything appeared in order. Dr. Strausse was accompanied by two PHD students, Sarah James and Matthew Connor. The flight began, and proceeded as expected, the blades accelerated and the Vehicle was engulfed in a ball of white light and in a moment there was nothing. One week passed and the Vehicle did not arrive on schedule. Another week passed and then another until finally one month had passed and the experiment was declared a failure. The University called the event a tragic accident and after much political pressure shut down its research project. The activists goal had been achieved. Another week later as the lab had been packed up and all the research papers and backups had been placed in archive boxes, C4 once again struck the University. In one night a fire unlike any the University had ever encountered raged throughout the entire Northern Campus consuming all in its path, including Dr. Strausse's lab. All information pertaining to the project was lost with no hope of return. The remaining members of Dr. Strausse's research team dropped out of University shortly after and chose to retreat into lives of reclusion, hounded by the press and berated by the families of Dr. Strausse and the two PHD students that had accompanied her the found it hard to find peace.
What happened to Dr. Strausse then? Exactly what C4 had planned, she and her team were sent back to the year 2012 and found themselves on Earth, in the heart of Tioman Island in the South China Sea. Fortunately the Vehicle had landed in the heart of the forestry where Dr. Strausse and her team could conceal it well. After much deliberation there was little they could do. They knew that the Vehicle had been tampered with and they could not risk using it again. Upon inspection Dr. Strausse's only logical conclusion was that the console had been tampered with, it would require reprogramming, unfortunately not a single computer in existence would be able to interface with the console, the physical connections did not exist and it would take some time to create them from scratch that is, if they even knew how. Of the three Matthew was the most experienced when it came to Computers and engineering but even he did not understand the technology enough to recreate it. They were stuck. The Vehicle itself was not even capable of true flight over great distances. It would have to remain on the island. As for the team itself, after much deliberation again it was concluded that they should remain on the island, as it would not be prudent to leave the vehicle there to be found.
The first few nights were rough, the team slept in the vehicle as best they could and lived off what little rations they had taken with them. It was not yet clear if it would be safe to approach the locals. On the second day the team had agreed to decosntruct the time vehicle. The started with the flux capacitor which would in the end turn out to be their salvation. The capacitor's core was coated in diamond, the only substance hard enough to withstand the pressure that was generated. It was the lavish expense that would later be bartered and exchanged for a considerable amount of money, enough to set the three team members comfortably to remain on the island. Dr. Strausse opened a small library and taught the local school children how to read English. Sarah and Matthew eventually married and had several children, the oldest three of which where told the truth about the Time Vehicle and where it could be found. As those three children grew and had children of their own the secret of the Time Vehicle was passed down from generation to generation. There were only ever three people at any given time who knew of its existence and its location. It was not until several hundred years later in a tragic plane crash that the three keepers of the secret perished and existence of the Vehicle was lost. There in the heart of Tioman Island the Time Vehicle slept for centuries, undisturbed.
I am done
I have shared a lot of things on this blog. There has been a lot about me, or more importantly the image of me, the person I think I am - whether or not that is the reality I guess neither you nor I will ever know without actually meeting, to see me through a third person's point of view or in your case from the first person.
I wish I could tell you something insightful or something that would blow your mind but truth be told these past few weeks I have in many ways been in a state of shock where my mental faculties have slowly degraded and the range of things which I would contemplate have stagnated. To the point where I have thought of less and less, all this is due to one thing in particular which you would be expecting to occupy my mind in their place. The reality is that it hasn't It has only been that which I contemplate when I stop to think and ultimately that has been when I write these posts. I am sure you probably noticed a recurring trend in the past few weeks.
That has now broken. I was not thinking about it, I was denying it and repressing it or just outright ignoring my feelings for the desire to do other things. The reality is not that simple, the shock like state was brought on by this action. My mind slowly cleared and until there was nothing left to occupy it but these thoughts, and when you are repressing them that ultimately means you fall silent - if there is nothing left to think about bar one thing, and you choose not to think about that one thing, you think of nothing.
Thinking of nothing is not easy for me, and I can't stand it anymore so I am doing the only thing left that I can do - I am releasing my burden. That which was the last bastion of thought I release. It is not mine to think of anymore. It is out of my control. I made efforts to confront it, small as they may be they were contemplated heavily and they were not carried out easily. Today I found myself contemplating repeating this process, but if it didn't work before, why should I keep trying, I will only be repeating failure which will encourage a downward cycle of unenviable self loathing and self pity.
I am moving on. I will always be an ear to listen, open arms to hug and a heart to love, but these legs cannot run any longer. I am tired. Oh so tired and beyond my mentality of tiredness my physicality has mirrored this state and I have been left drained of energy and powerless. I end this now.
Upon releasing this burden my mind is slowly filling with other things and many of them will form the coming blog posts. Expect many to come and less of the recent theme.
I wish I could tell you something insightful or something that would blow your mind but truth be told these past few weeks I have in many ways been in a state of shock where my mental faculties have slowly degraded and the range of things which I would contemplate have stagnated. To the point where I have thought of less and less, all this is due to one thing in particular which you would be expecting to occupy my mind in their place. The reality is that it hasn't It has only been that which I contemplate when I stop to think and ultimately that has been when I write these posts. I am sure you probably noticed a recurring trend in the past few weeks.
That has now broken. I was not thinking about it, I was denying it and repressing it or just outright ignoring my feelings for the desire to do other things. The reality is not that simple, the shock like state was brought on by this action. My mind slowly cleared and until there was nothing left to occupy it but these thoughts, and when you are repressing them that ultimately means you fall silent - if there is nothing left to think about bar one thing, and you choose not to think about that one thing, you think of nothing.
Thinking of nothing is not easy for me, and I can't stand it anymore so I am doing the only thing left that I can do - I am releasing my burden. That which was the last bastion of thought I release. It is not mine to think of anymore. It is out of my control. I made efforts to confront it, small as they may be they were contemplated heavily and they were not carried out easily. Today I found myself contemplating repeating this process, but if it didn't work before, why should I keep trying, I will only be repeating failure which will encourage a downward cycle of unenviable self loathing and self pity.
I am moving on. I will always be an ear to listen, open arms to hug and a heart to love, but these legs cannot run any longer. I am tired. Oh so tired and beyond my mentality of tiredness my physicality has mirrored this state and I have been left drained of energy and powerless. I end this now.
Upon releasing this burden my mind is slowly filling with other things and many of them will form the coming blog posts. Expect many to come and less of the recent theme.
This is about you, Yes, you!
Hello dear reader and welcome to my blog, I am confident you will like it here. I believe this because I believe that I know you well. Allow me to sum you up with eloquence:
What I want you to take away from this post, more than any self help book etc can give you, is the realisation that despite the fact that there are some 7 billion of us on this planet we are not as unique as we like to think. We all share the same problems, the same setbacks, the same anxieties and to an extent the same fears, above all else we all succumb to procrastination at some point in our lives where we put off doing what we really want to do, for whatever reason that may be.
Don't be so hard on yourself, or on others. If you really want to know how someone feels just put yourself in that situation and think whatever you would think. We all share the same thoughts, it is how we act on them that defines who we are, and ultimately where we end up.
If you found this post interesting and would like to know more then I would encourage you to read Derren Brown's Tricks Of The Mind.
You are a person prone to bouts of self-examination. You like to show a calm, self-assured fluid kind of stability (but because this is self-consciously created, it will create bouts of frustrated silliness and a delight in extremes, or at least a delight in being seen to be extreme). You most easily recognise this control in how you are with people around you. You have learned to protect yourself by keeping people at bay. Because in the past you have learned to be disappointed by people, you instinctively keep people at arms’ length, until you decide they are allowed over that magic line into your group of close friends. However, once across that line, the problem is that an emotional dependency kicks in which leaves you feeling very hurt or rejected if it appears that they have betrayed that status.Well dear reader that certainly was fun and most of you will now be possibly creeped out by how accurately I have described you.The reality however is that I was not describing you, I was describing every person that ever lived and is likely to live, everything written above is generic and applies to everyone. What you have read is an excerpt redacted from a cold reading text originally brought to my attention by the fabulous Mr Derren Brown.
Because you are prone to self-examination, you will be aware of these traits. However, you are unusually able to examine even that self-examination, which means that you have become concerned about what the real you is. You have become all too aware of façades, of sides of yourself which you present to the world, and you wonder if you have lost touch with the real and spontaneous you.
You set high standards for yourself, though, and in many ways are a bit of a perfectionist. The problem is, though, that it means you often don’t get stuff done, because you are frustrated by the idea of mediocrity and are wearied by the idea of starting something afresh. However, once your brain is engaged you’ll find yourself sailing. Very much this will likely lead to you having considered writing a novel or some such, but a fear that you won’t be able to achieve quite what you want stops you from getting on with it. But you have a real vision for things, which others fall short of. Particularly in your academic/college situation, you are currently fighting against restraints upon your desire to express yourself freely.
What I want you to take away from this post, more than any self help book etc can give you, is the realisation that despite the fact that there are some 7 billion of us on this planet we are not as unique as we like to think. We all share the same problems, the same setbacks, the same anxieties and to an extent the same fears, above all else we all succumb to procrastination at some point in our lives where we put off doing what we really want to do, for whatever reason that may be.
Don't be so hard on yourself, or on others. If you really want to know how someone feels just put yourself in that situation and think whatever you would think. We all share the same thoughts, it is how we act on them that defines who we are, and ultimately where we end up.
If you found this post interesting and would like to know more then I would encourage you to read Derren Brown's Tricks Of The Mind.
My Take on Personality Types
There are 4 personality types I have come across in my life. Everyone I meet falls into either one of these 4 personality types or one of the 2 Hybrid types. There are 4 key people in mind who form the template everyone I meet is compared to, probably because those 4 people are the most prominent of that type. In that respect in reality these four types are actually named after them, but to save embarrassment and for their own anonymity I have simply chosen four Greek letter names instead.
EDIT: A point I must make for clarity: 'never combined with' means that the two named types are never fused together to make a hybrid. No comment is made whatsoever about compatibility with other types in terms of a social context, that is not the purpose of this post.
Alpha - Archetype: The Loner
Without making myself seem egotistical, this is my personality type. I put it first as your own personality should be the one you know best. This type is shy at first but once that barrier is overcome they never shut up. They tell you everything, maybe even things you probably don't want to hear. This type wears their heart on their sleeve and as a consequence it is full of scars. This type never pays much attention to long term decisions focusing instead on living day to day, but those short term decisions are often thought out with effort that exceeds their warrant.
Common Hybrid: Alpha-Gamma [Lonely Idealist]
Never combined with: Beta, Delta
Beta - Archetype: The Rock
This type does not open - period. They are reserved, there may be many reasons for this. This type is wary of everyone. This type is always focused on the long-term. If they can not see a path leading forward to a future they want then they do not move at all. This type can be seen as stubborn, sometimes ignorant and in at other times they can be seen as selfish. They will often completely sever all connections with anything they see as detrimental or hindering their forward movement in a manner that can seem callous. They do think of others but they put themselves before everyone and will leave it to others to make the first move.
Common Hybrid: Beta-Gamma [Silent Dreamer]
Never combined with: Alpha, Delta
Gamma - Archetype: The Idealist
This type is reserved, but they open up over time, but that time period is long spread, much longer than any of the other types. A person of this type may accelerate their opening process if they meet an Alpha due to their similarity but ultimately they will crash when their conscience reminds them of who they are, often causing the opening process to take a complete U-Turn at some speed. This type values friendship but keeps friends at arm's length. This type more than any other will seek to take-back and undo anything post-U-turn that they see in hindsight as a mistake, they seek to do this at whatever cost.
Common Hybrids: Alpha-Gamma, Beta-Gamma
Never combined with: Delta
Delta - Archetype: The Gossip
This type is careless. This type doesn't think things through at all, regardless of whether the decision is short term or long term, they simply pick an option and go with it. They often say things that others would take offence to, but this offence was not even contemplated before they spoke. Delta types often find themselves in all manner of trouble. Their patience is virtually non-existent.
Common Hybrid: None
Never combined with: Alpha, Beta, Gamma.
EDIT: A point I must make for clarity: 'never combined with' means that the two named types are never fused together to make a hybrid. No comment is made whatsoever about compatibility with other types in terms of a social context, that is not the purpose of this post.
Alpha - Archetype: The Loner
Without making myself seem egotistical, this is my personality type. I put it first as your own personality should be the one you know best. This type is shy at first but once that barrier is overcome they never shut up. They tell you everything, maybe even things you probably don't want to hear. This type wears their heart on their sleeve and as a consequence it is full of scars. This type never pays much attention to long term decisions focusing instead on living day to day, but those short term decisions are often thought out with effort that exceeds their warrant.
Common Hybrid: Alpha-Gamma [Lonely Idealist]
Never combined with: Beta, Delta
Beta - Archetype: The Rock
This type does not open - period. They are reserved, there may be many reasons for this. This type is wary of everyone. This type is always focused on the long-term. If they can not see a path leading forward to a future they want then they do not move at all. This type can be seen as stubborn, sometimes ignorant and in at other times they can be seen as selfish. They will often completely sever all connections with anything they see as detrimental or hindering their forward movement in a manner that can seem callous. They do think of others but they put themselves before everyone and will leave it to others to make the first move.
Common Hybrid: Beta-Gamma [Silent Dreamer]
Never combined with: Alpha, Delta
Gamma - Archetype: The Idealist
This type is reserved, but they open up over time, but that time period is long spread, much longer than any of the other types. A person of this type may accelerate their opening process if they meet an Alpha due to their similarity but ultimately they will crash when their conscience reminds them of who they are, often causing the opening process to take a complete U-Turn at some speed. This type values friendship but keeps friends at arm's length. This type more than any other will seek to take-back and undo anything post-U-turn that they see in hindsight as a mistake, they seek to do this at whatever cost.
Common Hybrids: Alpha-Gamma, Beta-Gamma
Never combined with: Delta
Delta - Archetype: The Gossip
This type is careless. This type doesn't think things through at all, regardless of whether the decision is short term or long term, they simply pick an option and go with it. They often say things that others would take offence to, but this offence was not even contemplated before they spoke. Delta types often find themselves in all manner of trouble. Their patience is virtually non-existent.
Common Hybrid: None
Never combined with: Alpha, Beta, Gamma.
About Me
Inspired by a recent post a friend made over on his blog I thought I would make one too. I've had an 'About Me' post on this blog before but it was quite generic and it wasn't very revealing as to who I really am, so this post I hope will be a lot more intimate.
This will probably be the most heartfelt blog post I have wrote to date.
I am an emotional person, and that emotion spans the entire rainbow from joy and elation to sadness and despair. For the most part I like to think I can control this emotion but I would be lying if I said that was true. I like to think a lot of things and sadly the things I think are not always true.
I've said before on this blog my writing style here is a lot more formal to the way I speak, the way I speak I try to be clear but I often descend into head spins unable to express myself because when any emotion takes over the thought process stops and the words escape me.
I am not perfect. As a child I was an outsider for many reasons and in that time knowledge was my aspiration I sought to outsmart the people who excluded me. I wanted to know everything but as I have grown this aspiration has lessened and my desire to know everything isn't as strong but I am still incredibly curious. I know a lot about random things, academics and many things one would consider geeky, but my knowledge of life is limited. There is so so much I don't know.
My thirst for knowledge is still one of my greatest strengths and at the same time my greatest weakness. I know so much about my friends, - I try to know everything I can so that I can understand them. I do not mean understand in terms of speaking or in terms of actions I mean understanding on a deeper level, to understand the person they are, how they became that person and who or what they want to become.
I am friendly, I am affectionate and I don't judge. I have been stupid, oh so stupid in my life. I have seen, said and done things that years later I still look back on and think to myself "what the fuck were you thinking!" - and yes I occasionally swear. I over analyse things, I think too much, I scrutinise every detail in my mind but still of all I can say and do things without thinking that often prove to be the stupidest things I have ever done - but that's not going to change any time soon, because although that mentality has lead me to many stupid places it has also lead me to some of the greatest, happiest and most triumphant places in my life.
Another fact about me, I sometimes over react. I wrote this post a few hours ago and since then I have slept and woke up and I now feel overwhelmingly positive again and reading back at this post I can not grasp the mentality I had when I wrote it, I thought about deleting it but I decided not to. I think it will only serve to reiterate the fact that my emotions sometimes get the better of me? And that I use writing, dancing, drawing and Music as forms of expression. On that note I can't get this out of my head:
Added for your enjoyment as I think these posts need something more than just writing.
This will probably be the most heartfelt blog post I have wrote to date.
I am an emotional person, and that emotion spans the entire rainbow from joy and elation to sadness and despair. For the most part I like to think I can control this emotion but I would be lying if I said that was true. I like to think a lot of things and sadly the things I think are not always true.
I've said before on this blog my writing style here is a lot more formal to the way I speak, the way I speak I try to be clear but I often descend into head spins unable to express myself because when any emotion takes over the thought process stops and the words escape me.
I am not perfect. As a child I was an outsider for many reasons and in that time knowledge was my aspiration I sought to outsmart the people who excluded me. I wanted to know everything but as I have grown this aspiration has lessened and my desire to know everything isn't as strong but I am still incredibly curious. I know a lot about random things, academics and many things one would consider geeky, but my knowledge of life is limited. There is so so much I don't know.
My thirst for knowledge is still one of my greatest strengths and at the same time my greatest weakness. I know so much about my friends, - I try to know everything I can so that I can understand them. I do not mean understand in terms of speaking or in terms of actions I mean understanding on a deeper level, to understand the person they are, how they became that person and who or what they want to become.
I am friendly, I am affectionate and I don't judge. I have been stupid, oh so stupid in my life. I have seen, said and done things that years later I still look back on and think to myself "what the fuck were you thinking!" - and yes I occasionally swear. I over analyse things, I think too much, I scrutinise every detail in my mind but still of all I can say and do things without thinking that often prove to be the stupidest things I have ever done - but that's not going to change any time soon, because although that mentality has lead me to many stupid places it has also lead me to some of the greatest, happiest and most triumphant places in my life.
Another fact about me, I sometimes over react. I wrote this post a few hours ago and since then I have slept and woke up and I now feel overwhelmingly positive again and reading back at this post I can not grasp the mentality I had when I wrote it, I thought about deleting it but I decided not to. I think it will only serve to reiterate the fact that my emotions sometimes get the better of me? And that I use writing, dancing, drawing and Music as forms of expression. On that note I can't get this out of my head:
Come And Fly With Me
Take my hand and run with me,
I'll show you a world where we can be free,
Full of magic and wonder and awe,
Filled with food drink and all the bones you can gnaw!
Twist through the mirrors with rhythm and rhyme,
Let yourself fall through the chasm of time,
Never avast and we shall chase the stars,
These endless realms can forever be ours.
Open your eyes, your heart and your mind,
And in this endless abyss you are sure to find,
All that you could ever want and more,
Take my hand and together we shall explore.
Let yourself lift up into the air,
Abandon all of your woe and despair,
Come and Dance with me upon the clouds,
Let the world gaze upon these glorious shrouds.
Twist and turn and feel the beat,
Never again shall the ground you meet,
You know what I'm feeling and you know that it's true,
So come with me for all that I want is you.
I'll show you a world where we can be free,
Full of magic and wonder and awe,
Filled with food drink and all the bones you can gnaw!
Twist through the mirrors with rhythm and rhyme,
Let yourself fall through the chasm of time,
Never avast and we shall chase the stars,
These endless realms can forever be ours.
Open your eyes, your heart and your mind,
And in this endless abyss you are sure to find,
All that you could ever want and more,
Take my hand and together we shall explore.
Let yourself lift up into the air,
Abandon all of your woe and despair,
Come and Dance with me upon the clouds,
Let the world gaze upon these glorious shrouds.
Twist and turn and feel the beat,
Never again shall the ground you meet,
You know what I'm feeling and you know that it's true,
So come with me for all that I want is you.
Brian
Consider if you will a young man named Brian. Brian is 20 years of age and approaching his 21st Birthday. Other than one unique ability there is nothing special about this young man. You would never know of the power he possesses if you were to set eyes upon him, indeed if he never told you you would likely never know. Brian's power is that of foresight. With little effort he can close his eyes and see the future that will be if an action is performed. That future is a what-if scenario, as if the action is not performed, then the prophecy is never fulfilled.
Brian was 16 years old when he first discovered his ability. He thought his power was nothing more than fair judgement, until he set about contemplating scenarios he had no prior experience of such as entering random houses upon his street, within his mind he could explore every room and see the contents as clear as if he stood before them. Brian soon used his ability to amass a great personal wealth. Following many Gambling routes through Lottery draws and through stocks and shares Brian amounted many millions and by the time he was 21 he was the richest man in the World and regarded as the luckiest.
His riches did not bring him happiness. He was rich and powerful but ultimately he was alone. Save for his family who were often jetting about the world from country to country, since he had amassed wealth he had seen his family grow more and more distant spending less time together. What little friends he had from before he discovered his powers had abandoned and betrayed him to his wealth, some seeking to exploit him and others simply feeling as though they no longer held any commonality with him. Brian became lonely and found it exceptionally hard to meet anyone. Whomever he met he could not be sure if they were interested in him or his money, fortunately or unfortunately whichever your outlook, Brian's gift could answer that question rather quickly.
Brian had come to consider his gift a curse. Having all the material possessions he had ever wanted and all the luxuries any man could wish for he was left still alone and wanting of the simplest of pleasures, those that no amount of money could truly buy.
You are Brian. In your mind. That inner child that strives and wants for all that you ever want, this is Brian. What you have read is what happens when you get everything you ever wanted. Granted this is only one scenario and you may find that your world may be completely different if you were to have everything you ever wanted, but in terms of Psychology alone it is quite clear that material possessions alone do not make us happy. The initial purchase or gifting is a momentary high and soon after you have wore away the novelty the possession does not contribute to your life.
Time and again through extensive study the one thing which crops up and has been proven to be the path to happiness is quite simply social interaction. Your friends are the greatest thing you will ever know: A man who has nothing and is surrounded by friends will be happier than a man who has everything and is completely alone.
Brian was 16 years old when he first discovered his ability. He thought his power was nothing more than fair judgement, until he set about contemplating scenarios he had no prior experience of such as entering random houses upon his street, within his mind he could explore every room and see the contents as clear as if he stood before them. Brian soon used his ability to amass a great personal wealth. Following many Gambling routes through Lottery draws and through stocks and shares Brian amounted many millions and by the time he was 21 he was the richest man in the World and regarded as the luckiest.
His riches did not bring him happiness. He was rich and powerful but ultimately he was alone. Save for his family who were often jetting about the world from country to country, since he had amassed wealth he had seen his family grow more and more distant spending less time together. What little friends he had from before he discovered his powers had abandoned and betrayed him to his wealth, some seeking to exploit him and others simply feeling as though they no longer held any commonality with him. Brian became lonely and found it exceptionally hard to meet anyone. Whomever he met he could not be sure if they were interested in him or his money, fortunately or unfortunately whichever your outlook, Brian's gift could answer that question rather quickly.
Brian had come to consider his gift a curse. Having all the material possessions he had ever wanted and all the luxuries any man could wish for he was left still alone and wanting of the simplest of pleasures, those that no amount of money could truly buy.
You are Brian. In your mind. That inner child that strives and wants for all that you ever want, this is Brian. What you have read is what happens when you get everything you ever wanted. Granted this is only one scenario and you may find that your world may be completely different if you were to have everything you ever wanted, but in terms of Psychology alone it is quite clear that material possessions alone do not make us happy. The initial purchase or gifting is a momentary high and soon after you have wore away the novelty the possession does not contribute to your life.
Time and again through extensive study the one thing which crops up and has been proven to be the path to happiness is quite simply social interaction. Your friends are the greatest thing you will ever know: A man who has nothing and is surrounded by friends will be happier than a man who has everything and is completely alone.
Reality Bites
There often comes a time in our lives when the rose coloured glasses fall, when reality hits us and we see the world for what it really is. November has not been an easy month for me this far. Despite my own feelings and my own inner turmoil I have seen the world of others change and fall apart. Today was the 14th of November. Two weeks since this month started and I have see 3 people's relationships collapse.
To be honest this Month has really killed my faith and hope that relationships can work. In seeing so many people fall apart and seeing the reality of heartache from the third person point of view - I myself was feeling this but seeing it in my closest friends now too is quite unsettling like an out of body experience of sorts. Emails, Texts, Phone-calls and Tweets to these 3 friends is incredibly bizarre, it's like communicating with a past version of myself.
I say 'past' version because of this post. Reality bites. As well as seeing these 3 relationships fall apart in the last 2 weeks, I have also had 3 massive doses of reality, - 2 of which have happened in the last 24 hours for me. It doesn't really matter now what they are but suffice is to say the last one was the closure I needed and I have accepted it. When I first realised I won't lie I had a blank face and did not know what to think, but I wasn't angry, I wasn't upset either - this last part is the most important bit. I wasn't upset, not because I had lost all emotion or because I was incapable of feeling anything, nor was it because the feelings weren't real. I am capable of feeling many things right now, and I am certain my feelings were real. I have to move forward though and I don't feel upset about that.
I have been given closure. I think this is the first time I have ever had it if I am entirely honest. Almost 4 years have passed since the last time I felt for someone in that way. Almost 7 years have passed since I first felt this way about someone and in both those instances my feelings are still strong. They never faded because they were real. I still have feelings for what has just passed, but I have made peace with the fact that it probably will never amount to anything. I can take all the time in the world and he can take all the space in the Universe, I will still feel the same way about him and I know that is true because of those that came before.
I am grateful for all that happened. I don't think any of these guys will ever know what it was they gave me. I don't think anyone can ever know what it is I feel, not until I fall in love with someone who loves me back, more importantly someone who can keep up with me, I don't like to walk, I don't like to run, I like to fly! And on that note I will share with you my track of the moment. I have been listening to it all day on repeat and I feel enlightened, uplifted and awake. My mind is clear and I am ready to fly again, I think I'll be flying solo for some time though.
To be honest this Month has really killed my faith and hope that relationships can work. In seeing so many people fall apart and seeing the reality of heartache from the third person point of view - I myself was feeling this but seeing it in my closest friends now too is quite unsettling like an out of body experience of sorts. Emails, Texts, Phone-calls and Tweets to these 3 friends is incredibly bizarre, it's like communicating with a past version of myself.
I say 'past' version because of this post. Reality bites. As well as seeing these 3 relationships fall apart in the last 2 weeks, I have also had 3 massive doses of reality, - 2 of which have happened in the last 24 hours for me. It doesn't really matter now what they are but suffice is to say the last one was the closure I needed and I have accepted it. When I first realised I won't lie I had a blank face and did not know what to think, but I wasn't angry, I wasn't upset either - this last part is the most important bit. I wasn't upset, not because I had lost all emotion or because I was incapable of feeling anything, nor was it because the feelings weren't real. I am capable of feeling many things right now, and I am certain my feelings were real. I have to move forward though and I don't feel upset about that.
I have been given closure. I think this is the first time I have ever had it if I am entirely honest. Almost 4 years have passed since the last time I felt for someone in that way. Almost 7 years have passed since I first felt this way about someone and in both those instances my feelings are still strong. They never faded because they were real. I still have feelings for what has just passed, but I have made peace with the fact that it probably will never amount to anything. I can take all the time in the world and he can take all the space in the Universe, I will still feel the same way about him and I know that is true because of those that came before.
I am grateful for all that happened. I don't think any of these guys will ever know what it was they gave me. I don't think anyone can ever know what it is I feel, not until I fall in love with someone who loves me back, more importantly someone who can keep up with me, I don't like to walk, I don't like to run, I like to fly! And on that note I will share with you my track of the moment. I have been listening to it all day on repeat and I feel enlightened, uplifted and awake. My mind is clear and I am ready to fly again, I think I'll be flying solo for some time though.
Gambling and Psychology
When you think of Gambling and Psychology your first thought is probably of addiction. I would argue that there is more to Gambling than addiction if anything I would argue that Gambling is a learned behaviour and the "addiction" which is perceived by others in reality is actually a form of conditioning.
For these reasons I would not say that Gambling is an addiction, for anyone. I would say that Gambling is a behaviour which is manifested by those who have simply started and continued with it long enough for the conditioning process to be completed.
To understand this reasoning and my theory we need to cover a few things. So to begin we need to cover Operant Conditioning. An Operant is a subject, usually a person or an animal which you want to condition to perform a certain behaviour.
Operant Conditioning involves:
The environment is the embodiment of all objects and other subjects the Operant can interact with. In our scenario of the Gambler, the Gamble is the Operant, and the Environment is the Casino or the shop or the gambling website etc that the Gambler uses.
The desired action is either winning or playing - depending on whose side you are taking, as a gambler you want to win, as "The House" you simply want the Gambler to keep playing, cause that means you making money.
The reward for the Gambler is money, or whichever prize is given for winning the particular game they are playing.
The Reward Schedule will vary depending on a number of factors that you want to control, they are the response rate and the extinction rate.
Obviously as a Gambling body you would desire the response rate to be very fast and the extinction rate to be very slow. Resulting in Gamblers becoming hooked very quickly and playing for longer even through a very long 'losing streak'.
There are a few types of Reward Schedules, most play with the amount of times the Operant has to perform the behaviour to get the reward, some deal with the amount of time between behaviours and so on. The relevant Reward Schedule for our Gambling scenario however is the Variable Ratio Reinforcement schedule. This schedule establishes a ratio of x : y. Where x is the number of times the behaviour is needed and y is the number of rewards, resulting in a ratio of plays to wins. The variable aspect here is that the value of x can change and will not be the same all the time likewise y may change over time too.
Now for Gambling, y does indeed exist, as does this ratio of x : y. At first you might think it doesn't because Gambling involves chance, but the reality is the exact opposite. Gambling is built upon mathematical principles, there is not a single gambling game that you will play where the mathematics of the game have not been thought out before hand. The common value of y here is simply the odds of winning. The odds of the gambler winning will always be stacked in favour of the house. Simple slot machines are programmed to ensure that they take more money than they pay out. Therefore in this scenario the value of y is the number of times the machine will pay out and the value of x is the number of plays it has been programmed to pay out after.
With the Lottery and with scratch cards too y is the number of winning scratch cards that have been printed and have not yet been claimed or x and y collectively form your odds of winning the jackpot. All of these values are variable and change over time. With Variable Rate Reinforcement there are a number of key benefits for The House the primary benefits are that the response rate is reasonably low. Your customers will at first simply be people whoa re curious or want something to dispose of their money through - first time gamblers are often people who have the mentality "I am prepared to lose this money it's just a bit of fun, what else would I spend it on?". Therein lies the problem for the Gambler, that they openly embrace the act of Gambling for what it is - something they are going to lose money on.
The extinction rate is also very slow with this reward schedule because the rewards do not come at regular intervals there is always the chance that "I could win next time" - because the interval between winnings is not known explicitly the Gambler will be conditioned to continue playing.
So is Gambling Addictive? Well that depends on your outlook and ultimately depends on whether or not you believe the Gambler thinks about what they are doing. I have to stress here that Operant Conditioning does not involve thinking at all. This type of conditioning is carried out on a subject that is not thinking about what they are doing. A pigeon trained to play ping pong with Operant Conditioning does not think about what it is doing, it is simply performing a behaviour that it has associated a reward with. The same goes for our Gambler. If they are not thinking about what they are doing they are simply reacting in the manner that is expected of them and of any human - you could condition a rat to become a gambler. If they do think about what they are doing however, and continue doing it then we cross the line into the area of addiction, because addiction is knowing your action and its rewards and its negative side affects and choosing to continue with it regardless.
Now for the benefit of backing up the above claims and for your amusement here is a video of two pigeons playing ping pong:
For these reasons I would not say that Gambling is an addiction, for anyone. I would say that Gambling is a behaviour which is manifested by those who have simply started and continued with it long enough for the conditioning process to be completed.
To understand this reasoning and my theory we need to cover a few things. So to begin we need to cover Operant Conditioning. An Operant is a subject, usually a person or an animal which you want to condition to perform a certain behaviour.
Operant Conditioning involves:
- an environment
- a desired action
- a reward
- a reward schedule
The environment is the embodiment of all objects and other subjects the Operant can interact with. In our scenario of the Gambler, the Gamble is the Operant, and the Environment is the Casino or the shop or the gambling website etc that the Gambler uses.
The desired action is either winning or playing - depending on whose side you are taking, as a gambler you want to win, as "The House" you simply want the Gambler to keep playing, cause that means you making money.
The reward for the Gambler is money, or whichever prize is given for winning the particular game they are playing.
The Reward Schedule will vary depending on a number of factors that you want to control, they are the response rate and the extinction rate.
- The response rate is the amount of time it takes for the Operant to associate the desired action with the reward and begin to repeat the action in the hope of receiving the reward. Form a Gambling perspective here this is effectively the amount of time it takes our Gambler to become hooked.
- The extinction rate is the amount of time it takes for the conditional behaviour to dissipate once the reward is not given. In terms of gambling this would be the number of failed or lost games the Gambler will play before giving up and therefore no longer be hooked.
Obviously as a Gambling body you would desire the response rate to be very fast and the extinction rate to be very slow. Resulting in Gamblers becoming hooked very quickly and playing for longer even through a very long 'losing streak'.
There are a few types of Reward Schedules, most play with the amount of times the Operant has to perform the behaviour to get the reward, some deal with the amount of time between behaviours and so on. The relevant Reward Schedule for our Gambling scenario however is the Variable Ratio Reinforcement schedule. This schedule establishes a ratio of x : y. Where x is the number of times the behaviour is needed and y is the number of rewards, resulting in a ratio of plays to wins. The variable aspect here is that the value of x can change and will not be the same all the time likewise y may change over time too.
Now for Gambling, y does indeed exist, as does this ratio of x : y. At first you might think it doesn't because Gambling involves chance, but the reality is the exact opposite. Gambling is built upon mathematical principles, there is not a single gambling game that you will play where the mathematics of the game have not been thought out before hand. The common value of y here is simply the odds of winning. The odds of the gambler winning will always be stacked in favour of the house. Simple slot machines are programmed to ensure that they take more money than they pay out. Therefore in this scenario the value of y is the number of times the machine will pay out and the value of x is the number of plays it has been programmed to pay out after.
With the Lottery and with scratch cards too y is the number of winning scratch cards that have been printed and have not yet been claimed or x and y collectively form your odds of winning the jackpot. All of these values are variable and change over time. With Variable Rate Reinforcement there are a number of key benefits for The House the primary benefits are that the response rate is reasonably low. Your customers will at first simply be people whoa re curious or want something to dispose of their money through - first time gamblers are often people who have the mentality "I am prepared to lose this money it's just a bit of fun, what else would I spend it on?". Therein lies the problem for the Gambler, that they openly embrace the act of Gambling for what it is - something they are going to lose money on.
The extinction rate is also very slow with this reward schedule because the rewards do not come at regular intervals there is always the chance that "I could win next time" - because the interval between winnings is not known explicitly the Gambler will be conditioned to continue playing.
So is Gambling Addictive? Well that depends on your outlook and ultimately depends on whether or not you believe the Gambler thinks about what they are doing. I have to stress here that Operant Conditioning does not involve thinking at all. This type of conditioning is carried out on a subject that is not thinking about what they are doing. A pigeon trained to play ping pong with Operant Conditioning does not think about what it is doing, it is simply performing a behaviour that it has associated a reward with. The same goes for our Gambler. If they are not thinking about what they are doing they are simply reacting in the manner that is expected of them and of any human - you could condition a rat to become a gambler. If they do think about what they are doing however, and continue doing it then we cross the line into the area of addiction, because addiction is knowing your action and its rewards and its negative side affects and choosing to continue with it regardless.
Now for the benefit of backing up the above claims and for your amusement here is a video of two pigeons playing ping pong:
Unending
Everything that begins must have an end
It comes when there is no time left to spend
When all is said and done by a heart so true
The head will not know what is left to do
The words we fear to utter in life
The words that come only through strife
These words are better left unspoken
Lest what little remains shall be all but broken
Close your eyes and drowned out the world
Give in to chaos and let it be unfurled
Think of yourself before all that draw round
Peace in your heart is what needs to be found
Give over yourself and release all control
Let heavens cradle your immortal soul
Rest now as a child in the arms of the Divine
When the time is right you will see the sign
Some things in life are destined to be
Yet they cannot be crafted by you or me
Let yourself fall and let the wind flow free
You will be caught if it was meant to be
It comes when there is no time left to spend
When all is said and done by a heart so true
The head will not know what is left to do
The words we fear to utter in life
The words that come only through strife
These words are better left unspoken
Lest what little remains shall be all but broken
Close your eyes and drowned out the world
Give in to chaos and let it be unfurled
Think of yourself before all that draw round
Peace in your heart is what needs to be found
Give over yourself and release all control
Let heavens cradle your immortal soul
Rest now as a child in the arms of the Divine
When the time is right you will see the sign
Some things in life are destined to be
Yet they cannot be crafted by you or me
Let yourself fall and let the wind flow free
You will be caught if it was meant to be
Boy Culture [Gay Movie Review]
This Movie is not everyone's cup of tea I say that from the outset. Many will call it pretentious but I wouldn't because for the most part I relate to the main character and while the character may seem contrived at times, I can honestly say that guys like him do exist as I have met a few.
Boy Culture is essentially a love story but in an unconventional sense. The main character remains anonymous throughout the Movie, you only know him as X. He's played by Derek Magyar who I happen to think is rather cute but that doesn't affect my judgement of the Movie. The plot of the Movie indeed the back story in its entirety is positioned as one long confession telling you of the inner monologue of the main character. I think this aspect is what appeals to me most, that rather than just watch the main character you get to seat yourself inside his head and see his mind.
X is for all intents and purposes a male escort, he has clients who want his services for company and nothing more and he has clients who want his services for sex. Most Gay men, myself included have or will be offered at some point either money or some other incentive for having sex or even just providing company to another, usually older gay guy but often too they will be in their 20s or 30s and just be lonely. The story of Boy Culture shows the path X takes by taking this as a line of work. He doesn't need the money it's a disposable income so for him it is very much a choice.
Ultimately X falls in love, not with a client but with they guy he has felt for, the guy he has always felt for but it takes a client to make him realise this, a client who shows X the emotional price that is paid by the hustler in this line of work.
There are a lot of things in this Movie that I relate to not least because I have experienced a lot of things that are portrayed in this Movie but also because a lot of things that happen to the main character draw parallels with my own life and make me question it and pose the same questions X puts to himself to myself.
To paraphrase X, if you're smart you'll have guessed, what I relate to in this Movie. Although I think you have to watch it to fully understand what I have written.
I'd give this Movie 9 out of 10. It may not be believable to all but for someone who has been there it's quite accurate.
A New Project: Dark knight 2
When I was a kid there was a TV show I used to watch on BBC which was a game show with various mini games. One of them was my ultimate favourite and it was called the Dark knight. After ages searching around Google and Youtube and endless useless forums posts on Batman etc I finally found the right video and the right show.
The Game was called the Dark Knight, the show was called Incredible Games and took the format of a group of contestants in an Elevator in a massive building. The elevator would stop at a floor where there would be a game or a challenge for one or more of the team to complete. The more challenges completed the more points the team won and the higher they got to go up the building. The ultimate goal was to reach the top and win the grand prize.
Here's a video showing the Elevator - voiced by David Walliams and the game I loved, the Dark Knight:
There exists a 7 by 7 Game board. On that board there are 3 entrances and 3 exits. 3 players have to make it from one end of the board to the other. The obstacle takes the form of the Dark Knight. A sinister opponent whose goal it is to capture as many of the team as he can. The team gets to move 2 times before the Dark Knight begins to move. Everyone can only move one square at a time. The Dark Knight supposedly cannot see where the players are but can see the last square they occupied, which is lit up white - in most situations that means given the white light square, there are 4 possible location the player could be standing.
If I recall correctly you also cannot move back onto a space you already held and the three exit squares are 'disposable' i.e. once used they cannot be used as an exit again, they become normal squares.
Pretty clear set of game dynamics, straight forward constraints, possibly tricky to implement but not impossible. I made a version of this game in Visual Basic while in college but I had made it from memory and a few of the above constraints were not included - for a start the version I made had one player and one knight.
I have decided that I am going to make another version of this though, which will be made in Java, and for compatibility I will use 1.6 which most people should have and hopefully once complete I'll add the web-start page to this blog for anyone to play who may be interested. This is purely just for fun though.
The Game was called the Dark Knight, the show was called Incredible Games and took the format of a group of contestants in an Elevator in a massive building. The elevator would stop at a floor where there would be a game or a challenge for one or more of the team to complete. The more challenges completed the more points the team won and the higher they got to go up the building. The ultimate goal was to reach the top and win the grand prize.
Here's a video showing the Elevator - voiced by David Walliams and the game I loved, the Dark Knight:
There exists a 7 by 7 Game board. On that board there are 3 entrances and 3 exits. 3 players have to make it from one end of the board to the other. The obstacle takes the form of the Dark Knight. A sinister opponent whose goal it is to capture as many of the team as he can. The team gets to move 2 times before the Dark Knight begins to move. Everyone can only move one square at a time. The Dark Knight supposedly cannot see where the players are but can see the last square they occupied, which is lit up white - in most situations that means given the white light square, there are 4 possible location the player could be standing.
If I recall correctly you also cannot move back onto a space you already held and the three exit squares are 'disposable' i.e. once used they cannot be used as an exit again, they become normal squares.
Pretty clear set of game dynamics, straight forward constraints, possibly tricky to implement but not impossible. I made a version of this game in Visual Basic while in college but I had made it from memory and a few of the above constraints were not included - for a start the version I made had one player and one knight.
I have decided that I am going to make another version of this though, which will be made in Java, and for compatibility I will use 1.6 which most people should have and hopefully once complete I'll add the web-start page to this blog for anyone to play who may be interested. This is purely just for fun though.
Rest
There is a body that gives us strength
A body that is infinite in its length
Equally infinite in terms of height
It is filled with love, devoid of spite
Some call this body by an Earthly name
Others but by heaven do the same
Wherever the source of this great power
It can be found in your darkest hour
Reach out your hand and don't question why
Someone will reach back if you only try
We are all selfish and we are all green
But there are few who are truly mean
Help will be given to those that ask
Forget the impossibility of this task
In your darkest hour you can still smile
So release your burden and rest for a while
A body that is infinite in its length
Equally infinite in terms of height
It is filled with love, devoid of spite
Some call this body by an Earthly name
Others but by heaven do the same
Wherever the source of this great power
It can be found in your darkest hour
Reach out your hand and don't question why
Someone will reach back if you only try
We are all selfish and we are all green
But there are few who are truly mean
Help will be given to those that ask
Forget the impossibility of this task
In your darkest hour you can still smile
So release your burden and rest for a while
The Mrs Doubtfire Experience
The first Movie I ever went to see at the cinema was Mrs Doubtfire. I use the word 'see' liberally here. We did buy tickets, we did make it to the Cinema albeit over an hour late and it wasn't worth watching in the end.
The year was 1993, I was 5 years old at the time and I lived in a border town in Northern Ireland. We were still living through what is best described as ongoing Guerilla Warfare and my town being a border town and of strategic importance was always a target of both sides. Throughout my childhood the town was surrounded by Army Checkpoints. You could not get in, or get out without passing through them, in effect if they wanted to or deemed it necessary, you could not leave.
For a while we basically lived under martial law. We had soldiers in the streets armed with guns who would be positioned in the town centre as well as the suburbs. For the most part as mentioned in another post, I was and still am quite desensitised to guns. For that reason the soldiers in the streets never really bothered me. The checkpoints did though as a child not fully understanding them I felt trapped by them.
On the day we were meant to go and see Mrs Doubtfire we were leaving the town to go and watch it elsewhere [the cinema in town wasn't showing it]. We had to leave through the checkpoints and on this occasion they decided to perform a spot check on our car. I would just like to say for the record they never found anything and we weren't the type of people to be involved with that sort of thing. They searched the car, quite thoroughly. I remember being in the 'base' if that's what you would call it, and there were large concrete recesses near where the cars set that me and my brother were playing in, jumping around while my Mum and my Aunt stood and watched the soldiers and two of soldiers stood and watched us playing.
About and hour or so later after the car had literally been dismantled and rebuilt we were let on our way, needless to say we did not make it to the Cinema in time to see the whole Movie and the next showing was something ridiculous like 5 hours. In all the day was a disappointment but never really played on my mind until years later when I was talking to friends in London about the experience who found the whole thing bizarre.
I guess the point of this post is really just to say "isn't it amazing what you'll think is 'normal' when you have the naivety of a child?"
The year was 1993, I was 5 years old at the time and I lived in a border town in Northern Ireland. We were still living through what is best described as ongoing Guerilla Warfare and my town being a border town and of strategic importance was always a target of both sides. Throughout my childhood the town was surrounded by Army Checkpoints. You could not get in, or get out without passing through them, in effect if they wanted to or deemed it necessary, you could not leave.
For a while we basically lived under martial law. We had soldiers in the streets armed with guns who would be positioned in the town centre as well as the suburbs. For the most part as mentioned in another post, I was and still am quite desensitised to guns. For that reason the soldiers in the streets never really bothered me. The checkpoints did though as a child not fully understanding them I felt trapped by them.
On the day we were meant to go and see Mrs Doubtfire we were leaving the town to go and watch it elsewhere [the cinema in town wasn't showing it]. We had to leave through the checkpoints and on this occasion they decided to perform a spot check on our car. I would just like to say for the record they never found anything and we weren't the type of people to be involved with that sort of thing. They searched the car, quite thoroughly. I remember being in the 'base' if that's what you would call it, and there were large concrete recesses near where the cars set that me and my brother were playing in, jumping around while my Mum and my Aunt stood and watched the soldiers and two of soldiers stood and watched us playing.
About and hour or so later after the car had literally been dismantled and rebuilt we were let on our way, needless to say we did not make it to the Cinema in time to see the whole Movie and the next showing was something ridiculous like 5 hours. In all the day was a disappointment but never really played on my mind until years later when I was talking to friends in London about the experience who found the whole thing bizarre.
I guess the point of this post is really just to say "isn't it amazing what you'll think is 'normal' when you have the naivety of a child?"
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