Lighting a video game fire

With Songkran happening on Wednesday, Nanny Beer asked for the day off.  We did better than that and swapped her days this week to Monday and Tuesday, so Kiddo and I won’t be doing our usual Tuesday afternoon lunch while cleaning lady is in, but we did go out last night for a Dada and Kiddo dinner since J was out with a friend for dinner and to check out a speakeasy.  

We had a great time on the evening and just had some Dada and Kiddo fun.  We found a Songkran display in the mall and of course we needed to run that and dance it up.  Plus, Kiddo needed to work on her camera skills, so I got to pose (along with Ratchet and Clank - check the pant pocket) for her to get the shots she needed.   Then, walking home, someone showed off their 5 year old skills by carrying the flashlight so we could be safe getting home.  

Besides that, this is going to be a bit like the week here.  Kinda scattered and strange, but still interesting and awesome, if not a bit strange.  

Firstly, the fire.  The vid got lost in the shuffle.  This was from Friday when we were on the way to Scarlett.  Wow!  Scary stuff and thoughts and best wishes to anyone involved or who had a home or items near or involved in this.

Also, in things totally Bangkok…. The roof of the cab I took last week on Thursday when I went to get the Kiddo Bday gifts.  I love this place sometimes.

This next is going to be a little roundabout.  A bit scattered.  A bit unusual.  Bear with me, it’ll make sense.

Kiddo has always been my little gamer girl and little baseball love.  After the Brewers dropped the first two games of the season to the Cubbies (F#*@%&g Cubs), Kiddo decided that at night before she goes to bed, that we should yell GO BREWERS when we say goodnight to Bangkok so the Brewers can know we are cheering and play good for winning.  Well, it worked.  “Now we gotta do it every night, Dada!”  You got it!!!!!

However, we’ve always played video games together as well.  She cheers me just as hard as she does the Brewers.  It all started with Ratchet and Clank.  Something about that Lombax and his little robot companion just grabbed her.  The first time I played (mid-2003) it grabbed me as well.  There are games I love because they just tell a story in the way that I would, so I can zone in and buy in.  The Ratchet and Clank series is like that for me.  I love them.

Before this, however, I loved a little Blue Bomber named Mega Man.  Had 1-6 on my Nintendo and could play and beat them all, pretty much at will.  The Original was always the hardest for me, but that game is brutal punishing.  I played that around Kiddo and it didn’t take.  She wasn’t much for the 2D side scroller.

Hades then came into the mix.  It’s your typical Dungeon Crawler.  In that, I mean you get a castle or dungeon or world and that you go and fight.  If you win, you win.  If you lose, back to the beginning and you can (usually) keep your rewards or portion of rewards to power and level up.  Hades is a pretty deep story for a Crawler and again, Kiddo just loved it.  She’s involved.  She knows more about Greek lore and gods than J does, just based on the game alone.

Based on that, I thought maybe God of War.  Again, something I played way back in 2005 and absolutely loved based on its story and gameplay.  However, maybe a little too violent and lustful for a 4 year old.  And if you are a gamer and haven’t played the PS4 God of War, do yourself a favor and play it.  The story.  Oh… the story!  Fun gameplay too, imho.

But then, I listened to a podcast called Remember the Game? that I thought sounded fun.  If you want, listen.  It’s a solid B.  Sometimes he gets ranty or his open segments are longer than the game review.  Those are a solid C-.  So, hit or miss.  He did, however, do an episode on a game I found randomly way back in the PS2 days, in 2005.  See, I played this little game back when I was still in WI and before my CA adventure, called Ico and its style and art and play was fun.  Good.  I saw potential, since the controls and camera can sometimes make you want to hurl a controller thru the TV.  Heck, I remember beating this game while I was recovering from having a cyst removed from my left foot and middle toe.  

But, in 2005, I found another in the series by the same studio.  Shadow of the Colossus was a revelation to me.  You are The Wanderer (sometimes called The Stranger) and you and your horse Argo, travel to a temple in a forgotten land with your wife unconscious on the back of the horse.  You lay her at a temple and a nether voice that speaks in a made up language (so you get all info via subtitles) tells you that if you can defeat all 16 Colossi, you will have your wish or seeing your love restored.  You never encounter another living person.  Birds, lizards, some other small creatures, and you and the horse.  The Colossi are these huge beasts that you need to defeat.  Some are fast, some are big, some fly, some are under water.  You need to figure out two things.  First, how to find the Colossi.  Then, how to defeat.  

You aren’t given a path, your sword will shine a light pointing at the direction of the Colossi.  You and Argo set out to find and defeat.  Once done, you are teleported back and given the next task.  Once all 16 are defeated, you win.  That’s it.  16 fights.  No levels.  No weapon upgrades.  No power ups.  Nothing.  You.  A horse.  An empty world.  Figure it out.

There is a remaster on PS4 and I got that so I could run this game with updated graphics.  WOW!  Firstly, if you haven’t and you can and it seems interesting to you, watch the gameplay vid and give it a wack.  Yes, I cried.  Yes, I might cry again beating it.  It makes Greek Tragedy seem mild.  I won’t spoil unless asked, but it is amazing.  And I’ve started it again, but the Kiddo is LOVING it.  So, she is playing with me and helping me figure it all out again.  So, it’s fun, watching her try to problem solve with me, but also her understanding of, maybe this won’t end well.  The idea that I’m killing or defeating some type of guardian and maybe that isn’t for the long term best.

After that, who knows.  Once we can find and get a PS5, there is a new Ratchet and Clank game for that platform.

But what’s the point, A?

Good question.

It’s because I’m getting a right arm Tattoo Sleeve one of these days.  One that is very very personal to me.  But, I can’t draw, so I need to find an artist whose style I like and then go thru designs until good, and then go from there.  I wish I could go in with a sketch and build from there.

However, J and I have been talking.  I really have always wanted to give a nod to games and gaming and tat that.  So, in listening to the new Podcast, I told J that I was thinking of getting a Megaman tattoo on my ankle or maybe my left forearm.  Then I started thinking, about Ico, Shadow, God of War, Ratchet, MLB The Show, the Final Fantasy games, how I went from Nintendo to Playstation, with very little in between, maybe doing a half leg with the games, characters, and the Sony PlayStation buttons - square, circle, triangle, and X in the traditional Purple/Pink, Red, Green, and Blue.  Plus, an old skool Nintendo controller.  

So, all my artists or folks out there who know an artist who might want to assist in this and work with me via email on some sketches and rough outlines so I can point a Thai tattoo artist in the right direction without the gigantic language barrier standing between us, that would be great.  Because, I don’t want it perfect.  I want it so I can give it to a tattoo artist who can flesh it out and put their style on it and then ink it onto me.  I could do it myself, but that would be stick figures and really rough and I’ve had problems with that in the past as the artist wants to lean back on what I provided.  My tat for Kiddo on my upper left arm took me several attempts with the artist, but he also wanted to know how old my kid was and it was cute that I wanted to use her drawing for a tattoo.  It was my sketch.  So, that’s what I’m working with.  If you or someone you know would like to assist with any or either, message me privately.  Thanks!

So, that’s it.  I’m gonna go into Dad mode, life mode, J got a week off mode, and Songkran and it’s time to celebrate mode.  I might not be back until the weekend with a huge post to update on Songkran and all that.  Until then, be well and I’ll catch y’all on the flip.

Let’s go, Kiddo…. Those squirt guns ain’t gonna fill themselves and it’s water fighting Songkran fest time!