Showing posts with label PixelJunk Eden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PixelJunk Eden. Show all posts

Friday, August 1, 2008

What PixelJunk Eden Has Taught Me About Life

First off, I want to sincerely thank everyone who stopped by and participated in this marathon in one way or another. Special thanks to ResDog, Dylan Cuthbert, and Gamemarathons.com for their support on this project. I’m truly flattered and grateful for all the support I’ve received.

Second, I did not play Eden for a full 24 hours and I apologize to everyone who did not get a chance to check out the marathon because of this. Instead I played Eden for 19 hours. I hope no one was upset by me playing for 5 hours shorter than I was supposed to. If you were upset, I sincerely apologize.

Let me explain why I only played for 19 hours, AKA a bunch of excuses, blah blah blah:

Excuse #1: Staying awake for 30+ hours can put all kinds of strain on your body. Besides the obvious, “I was bloody tired,” I was feeling nauseas at around hour 16 and I was beginning to have trouble forming coherent sentences. This is also why I was unable to type a proper wrap-up last night.

Excuse #2: Once the game was released on the US PSN store, my viewers dropped to 5. I don’t blame you guys, who would want to watch someone play a game, when you could instead play it yourself. Would you be excited for E3 if all the games had already been released? No. When I announced the marathon at the beginning of July, the Japanese release date was the only announcement made. And given Sony’s history, I knew for a fact that Eden was not going to be released on the same day as the Japanese release, there was no way! *cough*

Excuse #3: I aced my final exam in journalism Friday morning. Five extra hours of sleep went a long way! I was also offered a job writing movie reviews for the newspaper at the end of the test. Yes, a job offer writing movie reviews. Of course I said yes! Had I went to bed 5 hours later, would I still be in the same situation? No way to know for sure, but I promise you, those extra hours helped – more than you know.

What I’ve learned from this experience:

  • Q-Games did not playtest Eden at all. The final stretch of the game has a huge difficulty curve. Cuthbert is either inhuman or a god at gaming, perhaps both. I say this in the most friendly and jokingly way possible. Props to Q-Games for making a bloody hard game and taking gamers back to their roots – when gaming was truly difficult.
  • I’ve learned beans, cheese, and Vitamin Energy are a terrible combination for an all-day marathon. Taco Bell may sell cheap food, but I wouldn’t recommend it otherwise.
  • Going to class halfway through a marathon is interesting. You’re physically there, but mentally – no!

What I took away from this experience:

  • Nothing but respect for Q-Games.
  • If I do another gaming marathon, I'll be sure to buy a good video capture card. Believe it or not, I did buy a card for this marathon, but the lag was just too great.
  • A new understanding, meaning, and respect to everyone out there who can actually manage to pull off a successful gaming marathon. You guys are hardcore!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

24-Hour PixelJunk Eden Marathon!

I’m obsessed with video games. How obsessed? On Wednesday July 30th at roughly 10 p.m. GMT-7:00, I’ll be live blogging an entire 24-hour PixelJunk Eden marathon! SEEDING, YAY!
What to know:
  • Where? 24-Hour PixelJunk Eden Marathon!
  • “Are you serious?” Yes, I really will be playing PixelJunk Eden for 24-hours straight; with the exception of bathroom breaks, food, sugar induced hospitalization, and whatever else is crucial to my well being.
  • I’ll be broadcasting using a Ustream account. I believe you’ll need one in order to chat.
  • Feel free to ask gameplay questions, make requests, etc. That’s the whole point of live blogging this… Otherwise, I’d just play the game for 24-hours by myself.
  • The game will be released on July 31st in Japan, which depending on the time of day, means the 30th for those of us in the United States. J-PSN updates are often sporadic, so I don’t know the exact time the game will be uploaded.
  • Of course, this is all tentative to my school schedule. Expect the broadcast to happen -- it just might not be for a full 24-hours. Like I said, it all depends on my schooling. *shakes fist at responsibility*
  • If I manage to get 100% on single player, including every trophy, I’ll stop before the 24-hour period ends.
  • For those interested, check back here on July 27th for all of the details.
Have a good one,
-Tim