First CRPG

Its pretty old, and looks pretty bad as you can see from thE screenshots. This is definitely NO Elder Scrolls Morrowind, or FEAR. But, it is still the first CRPG(computer roleplaying game) I ever played.

A heady mix of realtime and turn based, its set in the far future when everyone has bombed each other into non -existence, save for some farsighted ppl who sought refuge in underground Vaults. I get to play someone from these holes in the ground, a so-called Vault Dweller who is part of a village who has survived the holocaust and is now living in a post-nuclear wasteland. I get the dubious honor of going to find a cure for a disease thats infecting my village, a cure weirdly named the GECK(Garden of Eden Creation Kit). So off I go, making new friends along the way and killing others.

This game really stuck with me through the years somehow(I can even remember the rather crappy story). Mayb its the wide range of ppl that I get to meet, the array of weapons I get to upgrade myself with, the points I can use to increase my talking skills, my repair skills etc, the situations I find myself in(betting on a mutated pig contest, assassinating a mafia boss by stealing his oxygen mask, investigating weird noises in a deserted canyon etc). You even get your own car to drive, as you can see here...

Or mayb its just the fact that I do get to choose. And that I find myself in an alternate universe where I get to let loose and explore and kill at will. Sounds evil? Well, in my years of gaming, I think it's these alternate lifestyles that drive people to game addiction, and for me, it was a new experience I'd not felt till the first time I heard the lonely desolate soundtrack of this game coming out of the speakers of my dad's Pentium 2.

It took me a long while to run through every city and meet everyone in the game. This was during my Form 6 days, and my parents started to wonder if their son was ever going to make it into university at the rate he was going. So it was with some determination that I settled down one night at the computer after coming back from tuition that day. I was close to the end...I sensed it. It took me all night, but at last, in the early hours of the morning, I FINALLY found the GECK! Triumphant, I bore it back to the village.....only to find no one there. I ran around the whole village, frantic, until I discovered the old shaman who lay dying. He told me the villagers were abducted and that I had to go rescue them.

Weary, I lay back in the chair and rubbed my eyes(the real me), and heard the cock crowing. I'd been playing for around 12 hours straight, and it was already the next morning...and I still had about half of the game to go!!! I'd never done anything else for 12 hours straight before, up till a few weeks ago.

Just a moment there that I've not had with any other game since. Also, Fallout 2 has its quirks and easter eggs....there's numerous references to present world pop culture(mike tyson vs evanderholyfeld, knights of the round table, modern birth control(see below), plus the NPCs(non player characters) spew lines from star wars, indiana jones and countless other movies.

Its really great for a laugh. And really bad for the way it got me hooked onto computer games. Am still waiting for Fallout 3, which doesnt look like it's coming out anytime soon. Actually thats pretty good news. Mayb then I'll have a chance of finishing med school without dropping out!

First One

The first is always the wierdest for me, somehow I feel like there's this image of something I want to present and that it's very important for me to get that image across. So this time, I'm not going to think so much about it, and just talk about:

The first Christian album I've ever heard(and still one of my favourites).







Let Your Glory Fall - Don Moen












I'd been going to church for some time before this...playing in the music team and hearing odd bits of music here and there(mainly Vineyard and Hosanna). This was just before Youth Alive came out with the album that changed contemporary Christian rock(in my opinion and in Sitiawan Wesley at least) - Jump To The Jam. Hillsongs also let loose with All Things Are Possible a bit later(never heard the earlier ones yet).

But amidst all these new and wildly radical sounds(to me at least), Let Your Glory Fall stood out. Firstly, cos I loved the instrumentation - the first fast track - We've Come To Bless Your Name, is a perfect example of how a big band worship still can move people around as much as an all out rock ensemble! And for some weird reason, some time after that, we really used songs from this album in MYF(the youth fellowship back in sitiawan)...for dances and sketch presentations. At least 2 songs were MYF Camp theme songs, sung and resung to punctuate the high point of worship in various music sessions (mention Hallelujah to The Lamb and Deeper In Love to any ex-MYFer and they'll know what you're talking about).

Music that was good to listen to while studying on my dad's old cassette player, music that would cause me to stop and ponder on the lyrics while the song played, that's what makes a good album, IMHO. Planetshakers, Hillsongs, Michael W Smith were still to come, but for that period of my life, and as something that pushed me to play more music and listen to more cassettes, Let Your Glory Fall filled the spot in my cassette drawer as the 'Most Played' one.

First post

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be even considering starting another blog. How things change. This one, as opposed to NewCreation, is where I'll bore you with details of what I find interesting and appealing. Basically where my hobbies will be dissected, what books/movies have caught my attention, the music that drives me nuts, and mayb, a little note about the place I'm in at the time. It's also noticeable that the same old brown scribe template is being used...well, that's hopefully gonna change. Soon.

And if I ever feel disposed to write about what I study and feel passionate about(not necessarily the same thing), I just might pop a post up too.

Change is good. Especially if it's for the better. Thanks for stopping by.

Jon