Saturday, December 11, 2010

Reconnecting With an Old Love


Oh my! Has it really been a whole week since I last posted? I knew I was getting a bit slack here, but that’s a tad ridiculous.  The reason for my absence is equally pitiful too, so much so I even thought about inventing a more acceptable excuse to peddle. I couldn’t bring myself to lie to you lovely people though, so here’s a wee brief history to put my shameful story in context:
 
 Once upon a time, in the days before I discovered the wonderful realms of blogging, Flickring and Tumblring, I had another technological romance. My first true love in the computerized world- gaming. Yes folks, I was a bit of a gaming geek. In years gone by I would spend hours on end conquering ancient civilisations, exploring medieval castles, governing mega-cities, or building rollercoasters that would make your eyes pop out. It was everything a master procrastinator could wish for.

Over time this passion waned somewhat and I managed to wean myself off what I eventually came to regard as one of the most unconstructive pastimes imaginable. “They’re rotting your brain!” I’d chastise myself, “Go read a book instead!” And so it was that I was able to reclaim enough free time to pursue other endeavours such as this blog.  At least until this week, when, in a moment of weakness, I succumbed to my addiction once more and rekindled an old affair with possibly the greatest game this world has ever known- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. 
 
It was himself who’s to blame; he was wandering around the house one day humming the main motif from the game’s breathtaking soundtrack and the next thing I knew I was rummaging through my desk looking for the disc. Since then I’ve spent my evenings traversing the wild and varied landscape of Cyrodiil; visiting it’s walled cities, joining it’s guilds, foraging it’s woodland for rare fungi and elusive medicinal plants. I’m now as handy with a blade as I am masterful at all schools of magic; as good an armourer as an alchemist; and as devout an occultist as I am a pious pilgrim. Oh, just talking about it makes me want to cut this post short and get back to it!

No. I have to control myself! I wouldn’t mind only this will be my third  time playing it through. You’d think I’d have bored of it by now but nope, it really is that great. I can’t even use the auld ‘better off reading a book’ mindset to dissuade myself either, for Oblivion really is the closet you could ever come to actually living inside one. Honestly, the whole thing is like a well written and fully interactive fantasy novel. The story lines can change depending on the decisions you make too, and the virtual world is so vast and detailed it would take an eternity to tire of it.

Anyway, there you have it- the reason why I’ve been so anti-social online this past wee while. Pretty pathetic excuse really, isn’t it? Well at least I’ve recognised the problem now and can nip it in the bud. Wouldn’t want this particular obsession taking root again, especially not when I haven’t even started on the Christmas presents I’d planned on making. I’m extra poor this year and  really have to take the DIY route as far as I can; I’d bloody better get round to it! I’ve managed to gather up a list of other things-to-do a mile long over the past week too and catching up with all your blogs is high up there on it. So from Monday on there’ll be no more questing for me for a while.

For now, though, I need one last night with my cute but feisty little dark elf avatar. She’s sitting in there, all bored and lonely in my pc’s frozen memory banks, waiting for me to come and take her adventuring. How could I deny her one last outing when I’m going to be abandoning her for who knows how long? Poor wee thing… ;)

Well folks, hope you’re all having a lovely weekend and that it’s more productive then my own is promising to be. I leave you now with a short clip from the game’s intro, in case any of you wanted to get a little taster of what the hell I’ve been babbling about.  Or maybe you’re thinking about a gift for that gamer in your life? If you are then just make sure it’s someone you don’t want to see too often because if you buy them this they’ll likely disappear until July!

13 comments:

Such a Wondrous Place this Faery Space said...

That art is astounding! Take care friend. Blessings.

Kate said...

Oooh Oblivion! That's a blast from the past - if I didn't have a ridiculously slow laptop with utterly useless graphics, I'd be hunting around for my copy of it right now off the back of reading your blog. Ah well, thank you so much for the trip down memory lane...........I wonder if I can persuade someone to buy me a better laptop for Christmas!

JJ said...

Isn't this just an example of indulging in a dream over which you have some control? It brings up that hoary old question 'What is reality anyway?' If it's what turns you on, Roisin, I don't see any need to apologise for it - even to yourself.

Anthropomorphica said...

After watching the video I can see how easy it must be to lose yourself for days!! It's good to escape, enjoy it.

Laura {Gypsea Tree} said...

Ahhh I have such fond memories of Oblivion! I didn't play it myself, but a few years ago my boyfriend (who is a big gamer) was really into playing this on the Xbox. We had recently gotten an HDTV and during our free time on a holiday break from school he would play for hours while I sat next to him knitting and generally trying to tell him what to do next. LOL!
We had a lot of fun. He still breaks it out occasionly. I like to refer to it as the "accidental vampire" game, because he was never quite sure how he had managed to turn his character into a vampire...

Null, and Void said...

I am tempted to reinstall! Agree wholeheartedly; it's a wonderful game. Did you get the Shivering Isles expansion as well?

I normally shy away from games that start tacking on a bunch of xpacs, which means more and more money out of pocket.. but I really enjoyed the extra adventures over there on the isle.

Good times. So tempted, but probably wont reinstall myself.

Games tend to lose the romance for me after the first time through, no matter how open-ended the world in it is. It just isn't the same as going through the first time. It loses that honeymoon glow I guess..

I do go back now and again, to various old games, but each time the return is shorter and shorter. Sigh.

Enjoy your adventures.

TheBlakkDuchess said...

I'm a Runescape fan myself... I've been known to game for 12 hrs straight. Longest time was 18 hrs, but that was only once. ^-^

Have fun adventuring this weekend & we shall see you Monday! ^-^

xoxo

Anonymous said...

I have never been into the games, but I understand how they could draw you in!!! The artwork alone is incredible.

I'm currently in a Jane Austen phase - reading everything she's written! :)

Wishing you a happy one,
~ Zuzu

Gerushia's New World said...

I've had the "gaming bug" in my home for years...not myself so much, but my sons and my husband. It all started way back in the day with Myst!!

I don't know that it's really any less "constructive" than reading or any other outlet that allows you to visit other places or worlds. My sons have learned alot from games, actually!!

Kim
Gerushia's New World

Róisín said...

You know when I wrote this post I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction it would get; I’m not sure if I’m surprised or not about how many of you share my passion! I know gaming’s a big thing all over the place, but you lot seem like such a productive bunch I thought you’d have no time for such frivolous things. I get what a lot of you are saying about it being a perfectly acceptable means of escape too, my only problem is the amount of time I end up escaping for! Though I see I’m not alone in that either, Annalee ;) Anyway, it’s turned off now and I’ve vowed not to return till at least the New Year (to be honest the fact it’s my third time playing it is starting to have a bit of an effect now, happy to leave it for a while). Well, hope you’re all having a marvellous day and I hope to call on you all soon!

Roisin x

p.s Null and Void- Never did try the expansion for the same reason you said; don’t usually bother with that carry on either (my only exception’s the Civ games, those add-ons were great!). My fiance does have it though so maybe I’ll give it a go, though that’s all I need right now!

p.p.s Laura- that vampire thing happened me the first time too! It turns out that it happens if you catch a disease when fighting a vampire and don’t get a cure at a chapel before your next sleep. It was fun hunting down the cure though and the second time round I became a vampire deliberately!

Della said...

Fun clip, Roisin, I can imagine getting lost in something like this. My son (who's 12) plays Wii and Nintendo (mostly Pokemon) with his friends and I'm always mystified by their serious conversations about it. I thought I was from the wrong generation or gender, but I think I'd like your game better because it smacks of a Lord of the Rings-type thing. Is it all fighting though or do people cook and eat and maybe, dance? Seriously. :)

Such a Wondrous Place this Faery Space said...

I know how you feel, they don't do well moving all over the lovely earth. You will know when your bunny is right. Until then, I will post her once in awhile for you to smile at. She is such a delight. Sending you joy and laughter today. Blessings.

TheBlakkDuchess said...

Hmmmm... kinda a tough question. My cookies don't usually outlast a day or two... -_-;

My mom bakes cookies every year to send to me. She lives about 1500 miles away, so she generally bakes in advance. She generally wraps them in wax paper & puts them in plastic containers with lids. I have yet to eat a stale cookie from her. ^-^

I've never seen a moldy cookie (I know it's possible though...), so the only thing you'd have to be worried about is them going stale.

If you package them tightly in something along the lines of plastic containers with lids, I think you'd probably be ok.

To be on the safe side, though, I'd wait until maybe Friday or the weekend to bake & then make sure you package them as well as possible. ^-^

Sorry I can't be more precise, but I hope this helps a bit! Have fun with baking, and those cookies sounds awesome! =D

XOXO

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