Category Archives: switch

Early Present To Myself

Advanced Wars, Advanced Wars 1+2 Re-boot Camp, gameboy, nintendo, switch, video games

This weekend saw the much anticipated release of Advanced Wars 1&2 Re-boot Camp on the Nintendo Switch.

I love Advanced Wars.

I’ve played it since it first came out in 2002 on my GBA.

21 years since I first played it!

Wow.

I love the classic PC RTS Dune 2, and Command and Conquer. So when I heard about Advanced Wars and though not a RTS but turn based I still needed to get it.

2002 saw me commuting between Farnborough and Surbiton on the train. So portable gaming with my GBA (that was later replaced by a GBA SP) was a way to pass the commute. And probably at that point in my life the main opportunity I had to game.

I loved Advanced Wars. I was an instant fan.

The turn based mechanic worked perfectly on the hand held GBA. The graphics were cartoony and worked really well on the small screen. The cut scenes and pop up characters were drawn in a cartoon anime art style. A style that matched the bright tone of the game perfectly.

I can’t remember the music. However that would be due to me playing the game without the sound on. Something I did all the time back then.

There was a story. But I don’t remember any of it. That’s not a reflection of the game at all. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since I played the game.

I don’t remember finishing the game. But I did get a fair way into the game. I think I was pretty close to completing it.

It should come as no surprise that I got the follow up to Advanced Wars, Advanced Wars Black Hole Rising when it was released in 2003. Which was more of the same.

Obviously by the time Advanced Wars Dual Strike came out on the DS in 2006 I too had moved on to the latest Nintendo handheld. Although continuing the story of the previous two instalments that were on the GBA. Dual Strike introduced new features that made use of the dual screens of the DS.

I enjoyed playing the latest instalment of Advanced Wars. But looking back it doesn’t seem to have had as big an impact on me as the original GBA game.

The final Advanced Wars I played was its fourth and final portable outing Advanced Wars Dark Conflict in 2008.

Despite owning the final portable instalment of the series I don’t remember ever playing it. I think considering the events of 2008 and what a major upheaval to my personal circumstances they were. The fact I didn’t get to play Dark Conflict doesn’t surprise me.

I never did play the 2005 RTS spin off Battalion Wars on the GameCube. (I should try and pick a copy up.) Or the 2007 Wii Battalion Wars 2. I remember reading good things about Battalion Wars at the time. As I’ve already established I’m an RTS fan, so I think these versions would tick a lot of boxes for me, and that I’d enjoy them.

So here we are 21 years later with Advanced Wars finally hitting the latest Nintendo console. I feel with it’s release on the Switch the game has returned to its mobile roots!

If the title Advanced Wars 1&2 Re-boot Camp doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the game, especially having played it before. Then I don’t know how more obvious they could have made it.

This release is an update of the original two GBA releases with the usual graphical improvements (I’m assuming) that goes along with it.

I love the tag line in the title of Re-boot Camp. It’s funny. Well I chuckled.

I’m going to take a little break from my Doom series of posts to play Advanced Wars, and give myself a chance to get the boardgame to the table some more.

Which means you’ll get at least one more Advanced Wars post.

Until then…

“Hey, not too rough” #8

Doom, fps, nintendo, retro gaming, switch, video games

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

I really do find it shocking that I’ve written so much about this game. Or I haven’t really the game has acted as catalyst to talk about other stuff related to the game.

I’m hoping those that read these posts are enjoying them.

“Chop, chop, chop, a perfect killing machine” Alice Cooper, Chop, chop,chop

E2M7 Spawning Vats

There is a kind of xylophone flurry (I’m not a musician so don’t know the correct way to describe this) with the music as I start this level that catches me by surprise. At first I thought it was coming from the tv and the program I’m watching. It’s almost light, and whimsical. An interesting contrast to the slaughter taking place. I really like this change in tone. A quick google tells me this bit of music is called Waltz of the Demons.

I’ve not really talked about the music. Let’s face it you aren’t playing the game for its soundtrack. However only a fool would dismiss the importance of it.

The music can help set the tone, adds atmosphere, and can build tension.

A lot of the music in Doom is influenced by metal. It reflects the music tastes of the two Johns and the fast paced, peddle to the metal (pun intended) action of Doom itself. It’s as if the two were made for each other.

Which makes these more atmospheric pieces more impactful within the game for me.

I have to admit I’d love to have soundtrack on CD. But my Google skills are letting me down on this one.

E2M8 Tower of Babel

When a level starts by giving you a room full of boxes of rockets. You know nothing good is about to happen. And whatever it is you just might need lots of rockets to take it down.

I’m also not slow in picking up an earlier hint of something bad was on this level. Mutilated barons of hell hanging on doors is a pretty big clue something bigger and badder is ahead.

It’s time to meet the Cyberdemon. A monstrosity of hell that fires rockets. Whose metallic thuds as he stomps around the level are your clue of his whereabouts when you can’t see him.

Fire, run, hide. Repeat. Are the tactics of the hour.

I’m not counting the number of rockets I’ve fired in the general direction of the Cyberdemon. But it’s a lot. I’m having to resupply.

Eventually my final salvo of rockets brings the Cyberdemon to its knees.

Onwards to Hell itself…

Inferno

The third and final scenario of the series. I’m coming to the end of my original journey.

Although there are similarities to the last time I completed Doom up in County Durham. There is very little in common with the very first time I played the game.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. A tired cliche for sure. But apt. A lot of life has happened over the thirty years since.

I’ve grown a lot. Something my ex-wife would probably disagree with. I am almost a different person.

Looking back I hardly recognise the person I was back in the early nineties.

I’m still trying to handle Dad’s death five years earlier. I don’t know it, or more likely not really acknowledging the signs that I’m depressed.

My only friends are work colleagues who I never socialised with, except on the odd pub crawl that the engineers had once in a while.

Being brutally honest I was a bit (understatement) of a dick back then too. Yeah a much bigger one than I am now. How much was fallout from Dad dying? It had to be some of it. But to be fair I was a dick before that (I owe a lot of people in my past apologies).

A lot of the stuff we did at work is now unacceptable and would have got all of us fired. It can’t just be dismissed as things were different then.

Thankfully the world was changing for the better around us.

Yes I’m ashamed of the person I was back then. I’m glad they no longer exist.

E3M1 Hell Keep

“I went down, down, down and the flames went higher” Johnny Cash, Ring of Fire

Thrown into the deep end against a couple of imps, and a cacodemon! All I have is my fists and a pistol. The fight hardly seems fair.

E3M2 Slough of Despair

I remember this level. Not the details. But the labyrinth of columns with marines, imps, cacodemons, and lost souls round every corner. Or it feels that way. Running around desperate for ammo of any kind.

The level makes very little sense until you look at the level map. It’s a hand!

Somehow I get through the level with the minimum of ammo. It’s a modern day miracle.

E3M3 Pandemonium

Wow some of the imagery on this level falls into dark shit.

There is no doubt where we are.

E3M4 House of Pain

I have a BFG!

Maybe I’d of gotten this weapon earlier if my secret room finding skills were better. I’ll never know unless I get better at finding those hidden rooms.

It one shots the baron of hell I release when I open the door to a room next to where I found the bfg.

Now I just need to make sure I keep it fuelled up ready for moments like this.

Onto the next level…

“Hey, not too rough” #7

Doom, fps, nintendo, retro gaming, switch, video games

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason. I’ve written a lot of words now about the game so would totally understand you wanting to skip them.

Ok with that bit of housekeeping out the way it’s time to continue this meandering journey through playing Doom on the Nintendo Switch, it’s boardgame appearances, and some brief reflection.

E2M4 Deimos Lab

These later levels are certainly harder. I’m dying more often. Having to utilise the ol’ save game regularly tactic.

“Day and night, baby, night and day
All hell’s breakin’ loose” All hell’s breakin’ loose, KISS

Cacodemons are more frequent, as are Lost Souls. It’s not just the odd one, but groups of three or more. Last seen at the end of Knee Deep, Barons of Hell are now making a more regular appearance on a level.

Demons are being thrown at me in even bigger quantities. Portals are more frequent as a means to move around the map.

E2M5 Command Centre

The decor of the base is starting to get more corrupt and horrific. Evidence as if we needed it that hell was escaping into our world.

I love how a large carving of the Baron of Hell’s head in the walls foreshadows (or should that be warn?) of the immediate appearance of said being.

E2M6 Halls of the Damned

Getting my hands on a 2016 edition of Doom the board game was more eventful than it should have been.

The online retailer Boardgameguru had a copy which I ordered over a weekend. I knew they would not be sending the game straight away. They were at the end of a warehouse move.

Communication from the company said they would be business as normal that Monday.

I thought allow them a day or two to catch up with any orders. I should with a fair wind have the game by the following weekend.

However it did not arrive.

Another week passes and nothing.

So the following week I sent an email asking for an update. I was greeted by a wall of silence. Well no reply. A couple of days later I sent a follow up email. Still nothing. Not even tumble weed.

But that Friday afternoon I got a marketing email from them.

That infuriated me. It got my hackles up.

I replied to the marketing email with a blunt angry response.

Third time a charm. There was a reply this time.

Allegedly they are were unable to find any trace of my emails.

Apparently in the warehouse move they missed my order, and lost the only copy of the game!

I was given the option to wait for another copy to arrive (not likely for a seven year old game that is basically out of print) or have a refund.

I went the refund route.

But even that took a while to acknowledge. However eventually they did and a refund was issued.

While I was waiting for the refund to be done I posted on a boardgaming Facebook group looking for a second hand copy.

I got lucky. Within minutes some-one I had bought from before had a copy they were happy to sell to me.

That copy arrived whilst I was visiting Nathan.

Now I just need to get this edition to the table.

Another rarity I finished this level with 100% across the board.

This was a hard level. At times I just wanted to get to the exit.

But in doing so somehow I ended up finding and killing everything.

“Hey, not too rough” #6

Doom, fps, nintendo, switch, video games

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

“I won’t take no prisoners, won’t spare no lives
…
I got my bell, I’m gonna take you to hell” Hells Bells, AC/DC

I have no bell but I do have a gatling gun, shotgun, and rocket launcher. They will have to do.

The Shores of Hell

Finally I start the middle setting of the three that make up the original Doom.

After the way Knee-Deep in the Dead finished I’m frankly shocked to be standing.

E2M1 Deimos Anomaly

There’s no exposition as to how I got out of that sticky wicket. All I know is I’m back taking on the forces of hell with just my fists and a pistol.

It feels right from the go that the stakes are higher.

I’m teleporting around the level. Cacodemons are being thrown at me. There’s something satisfying when they melt to the ground after taking that final shotgun blast.

This level is a rarity for me. It’s 100% across the board when I complete it. Yep kills, items, and secret rooms!

“And I’m goin’ down
All the way
I’m on the highway to hell” Highway to Hell, AC/DC

E2M2 Containment Area

I love this level. It’s mainly because I’m running round at one point what is obviously a warehouse, slash storage area of some kind picking off imps hidden amongst the crates.

For me there is something satisfying clearing the area of threats, getting on top of crates, finding hidden areas.

The level design is superb. I picked out the above couple of examples. But all of the levels so far are text book examples in good level design.

One last surprise on this level is the appearance of the Lost Souls. These flaming skulls like the Cacodemon are classic. I just love the look of these two enemies.

E2M3 Refinery

Caged Cacodemons in front of me, imps, demons, and marines to the left and pouring in from the front. Fire, dodge, fire, dodge, is the order of the day until it goes all silent.

There have been two board games based on Doom. Both from FFG. The first came out in 2004 and had an expansion released for it in 2005. An updated second edition came out in 2016.

To be fair and I’m laying the blame for this series of posts squarely at the feet of Marcin. These posts and the replay of Doom would not have happened if Marcin had not been selling his 2004 edition of the Doom board game.

A couple of months back now I saw some-one local was selling a copy of Doom on the Facebook marketplace. So I messaged them that I was interested. It turned out to be Marcin selling it.

After Marcin checked that I knew it was the 2004 edition he was selling and not the 2016 one. Which was perfect as that was the edition that I wanted. We exchanged money for cardboard and plastic the next time we saw each other.

I wasn’t worried about the 2016 edition as that seemed easily available.

Harder to find was the 2005 expansion.

There is a copy of the base game and expansion, both in shrink, on eBay where the seller is looking for £1000! Yes you read that right.

So I offered them what I thought was a reasonable offer of £60 for the expansion only. Not surprisingly that offer was turned down.

In the meantime my search turned up a second hand copy of the game with the expansion on bgg for a much more reasonable price of 99 of the Kings coin.

So I went back to the eBay seller and made my case for an improved offer of 80 quid. More than fair I thought.

However the reply was very aggressive threatening to report me to eBay if I contacted them again. Honestly I was taken aback by the reply that seemed a tad of an overreaction.

The following couple of weeks since, I got more than one email from eBay encouraging me to make another offer!

I am now the proud owner of a second copy of the 2004 Doom with the expansion, because yes I did buy the bgg one.

Which means I have two copies of the core game. I’m keeping both. No wait hear me out. It means I can play just the core game or with the expansion without having to unsort or add the expansion. I just have to grab the right box.

Doom (2004) Knee-deep in the Dead scenario being played

So I got Doom (2004) the board game to the table for a full four player game.

I enjoy one vs many style games, add in that I like dungeon crawls and Doom was ticking a lot of boxes for me.

Usually I’m the one playing on the side of the forces of evil. So it was refreshing that this time Dave kindly took on that role.

We were playing the first scenario of the five that the game has called Knee Deep In The Dead. Each of the scenarios is named after one of the ones in the video game.

We had a blast despite the eventual demise of our marines.

Diego and Gavin left me with the chainsaw as my weapon as they grabbed the shotgun and machine gun. I felt cheated.

But as they ran out of the scarce ammo I was cutting away all before me. I even lobbed the odd grenade that I picked up to great effect once or twice.

After a very deceiving start to the level things started to get tougher. More, bigger, tougher opponents started entering the battlefield.

However it went totally wrong when the blue key we found was broken. Unable to open the door we had to double back through a horde of monsters.

That was the start of the end. Ammo was almost out, we were clearing a slow path through the bodies but at a great cost.

In the end it was too much. We were overwhelmed by the hordes of hell.

The big question did it feel like we were playing a physical game of Doom?

Yes it did to some extent. Especially the scarce amount of ammo. The running out of ammo, having to resort to using fists. Then there is the respawning after dying. Although it’s not quiet like the video game as you keep all your stuff!

As for the wave after wave of monsters to kill as we worked our way through the level map. Not knowing what was waiting round the corner or on the other side of the door. Yeah that was captured very well.

I can’t wait to play more scenarios from the game, and to throw in the expansion as well.

I’ve waded through pools, no rivers of acid. Fought off the horrors hidden in the maze by the strobing lights. Somehow I’ve made it to the exit.

I push the button and the screen melts away.

“Hey, not too rough” #5

Doom, fps, nintendo, switch, video games

Wow five posts already and we haven’t finished the first scenario yet!

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

E1M4 Command Control

I’m back into the sequential stream of levels.

There is a term in D&D for a party of adventurers that just goes around killing everything in sight, and looting the corpses. Murder Hobos.

It’s hard not to feel like a murder hobo whilst playing Doom.

There is none of this sitting round a camp fire and negotiating with the imps or marines. This is strictly shoot first, loot the corpse, and ask questions like “how the feck do I get to that power up?” later.

In Doom I am the ultimate murder hobo. Or I would be if I found all or even some of the secret rooms on these later levels.

Me with the Doom Guy (built from Lego) at the Computer Museum Cambridge 2/3/2023

The one thing I do seem to be doing is getting a 100% kill rate.

There will be no witnesses to this murder hobos antics.

E1M5 Phobos Lab

The slaughter continues as the maps get more complicated. But also more rewarding.

I love how these later levels play with lighting. Particularly when you get a maze like section and the light flickers so you only get to see partially where things are and any potential threat. Suddenly out of the darkness a fireball is coming at you or a spectre is in your face. You can hear the grunts or heavy breathing. The only clues death is awaiting around the corner.

I fire indiscriminately in all directions wasting scarce ammunition trying to lure out the threats.

E1M6 Central Processing

I blast through the level continuing my low discovery rate of secret rooms.

But the body count keeps on running up.

E1M7 Computer Station

I spend much of this level frustrated I can’t get to the outside or even to the pools of acid with their tantalising bonus items. Upon completion my secret room percentage is zero.

I make myself a promise to revisit this level and get to those bonus items.

It’s a hollow promise as I know that I’ll make the same decisions, and feel the same frustration next time I play through Doom.

You’d think I’d learn my lesson. But time will fade my memory between plays, and I’ll forget. Doomed to keep making the same mistake.

E1M8 Phobos Anomaly

This is it the final level of Knee-Deep.

The clues are here that something bad is awaiting you on this level. After clearing the demons it’s time to stock up on the carelessly left around ammunition, first aid kits, shield and health bonuses.

This sort of subtle is even obvious to some-one like me.

The doors open from what could easily be holding pens for not one but two Barons of Hell.

As they stomp out of their boxes I move to the side using the boxes as cover. I load up the rocket launcher, and dive from cover unleashing a storm of rockets on them before hiding again behind my cover and any response.

I do this a couple of times before they are just mounds of flesh on the floor.

These were way easier than I remember. Maybe I’m confusing them with their more dangerous end of level bosses.

I step on the portal with it’s demon head image and pentagram. The screen goes black. Then in the darkness I’m surrounded by the noises of marines, and imps. There are flashes of light illumination the enemies I’m surrounded by. I open fire in a futile attempt to take out as many as I can before departing this mortal world. The screen fades to black. And is filled by red text explaining how I’ve ended up on the shores of hell, and the only way out is forward and playing the next scenario.

We know I’m going forward this murder hobo is no quitter.

“Hey, not too rough” #4

Doom, fps, nintendo, switch

Welcome back to my exploration of Doom the video game on the Nintendo Switch through interpretive dance.

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

E1M9 Military Base

I’ve taken the path less trodden!

Well for me it’s not I always take this diversion from the sequential flow through the levels.

Imps imprisoned in the middle of a court yard start firing in my direction as soon as I step out into the open.

They are easy targets, like shooting fish in a barrel.

Once they have been silenced it’s time to take one of the exits and start clearing a safe passage round the level.

Believe it or not there have actually been two movies based on Doom.

Doom the movie (2005)

When you consider the source material, and how this is not a narrative driven game. Doom and it’s backstory is no Last of Us. However it does have a paper thin backstory setting up the game. Which is more than the “classic” boardgame Battleships has, and they managed to make a movie out of that!

For the Rock aka Dwayne Johnson, Doom the movie is one of his early Hollywood efforts in the journey from WWE megastar to box office stardom.

But his isn’t the only “big” name on the credits. Starring along side Dwayne are Karl Urban (who at the time had LoTR recognition with audiences) and Rosamund Pike (who had been in a Bond movie a couple years previous). Plus a solid supporting cast with the likes of Richard Brake and Dexter Fletcher.

I’d sum the cast up at the time as semi-household names, not big box office stars like a Cruise or the Rock (now).

Naturally at some point in the movie you have to give the audience that fps camera. And the director does not disappoint.

To be fair to the movie the special effects don’t look that dated watching the movie now. Sometimes the special effects of movies don’t age well. These surprisingly hold up!

Back in 2005 I was still the family man. I didn’t see this at the cinema for sure, and most likely watched this on dvd with the kids. For sure this is the sort of movie I would never have got my ex-wife to go and see on the big screen. I think it would have been a struggle to get her to watch it on the small screen.

My ex-wife was, and still, is not a video game player. When it came to an fps she had no spatial awareness, and wasn’t able to process where she was on a map. It was painful watching her attempt to play the most simple of level designs.

So I think it is most definitely not doing her a disservice to claim she was not a fan of the Doom video games. I’m not even sure she would even have been familiar with the name.

I suspect my copy was region 1. At the time the majority of my dvd purchases were from the US. The region 1 version of a movie was often cheaper (even taking into account postage) and available months before the UK was due to get it. Once or twice the region 1 dvd was out before the movie had even hit the cinemas in the UK. Yes sometimes I got hit with import duties. But that was like a mini game I was playing with the taxman. The majority of the time I never got hit.

Let’s face it this movie was never going to get an Oscar nomination, or any other prestigious award. At best it might have been in the running for a raspberry.

The version I’m watching on Amazon is the extended edition that runs at 113 minutes. Back when I saw it originally that run time was 104 minutes for the theatrical release.

At best the movie can be described as average. Which is more than can be said for an awful lot of video game based movies.

After watching the movie I am no closer to understanding the psyche of the human soul. However I had an enjoyable time. Which is the best you can hope for with this type of movie.

As a final aside I think this movie has to be considered a box office flop. Going by the cost to make the movie (excluding the marketing budget) it barely made that at the box office. For a movie to be considered to have broken even it normally has to take at the box office the production budget and marketing budget combined. Doom the movie did not get close to that figure.

Doom Annihilation (2019)

I don’t remember Doom Annihilation having a cinematic release. Which doesn’t mean it didn’t. It just means it wasn’t a massive hit if it did. I suspect this was a straight to dvd/streaming service effort.

So watching this now will be a first for me.

I’m setting my expectations to low.

The Military Base introduces another new monster to slaughter with one of my arsenal in the form of the Spectre. Spectres are partially invisible demons. You get to see their “shimmer” often too late.

But a couple of shotgun blasts makes quick work of them. Although that’s often at the last moment as they appear out of nowhere in the dim light.

I’m pretty sure the last time I played this on the 360 I had the lighting turned up so it was not as dark, and I had less surprises. In fact I’ve done that more than once. Is it cheating? The game lets me do it. But that’s more to take into account the variability in monitors/televisions.

There’s a sweet spot on the brightness. I seem to remember on one game (probably one of the Resident Evil franchise) they recommend adjusting it until you are just able to see a certain object.

But alls fair in the extermination of these demon spawn. Sadly I’ve not played around with these settings on this play through. They are the default, so I have to contend with spectres being harder to detect at times.

It’s a good job my expectations were low. I can’t help watching the opening few minutes without comparing it to Aliens.

The scenes are similar, marines waking up from stasis as they near their destination. But it’s the set design, costumes, and acting. You believe that they are marines in Aliens. They look, feel, talk like a unit of marines.

Sadly these marines in Doom Annihilation look and sound more like children in fancy dress.

There is a reason this has gone straight to streaming. With an obvious low budget, poor script, at best run of the mill direction and editing, no name cast.

There are obvious nods to the video game source with use of the chain saw and blowing up of barrels.

But I go back to my Aliens comparison, or with zombie movies. Even when it’s meant to feel like the monsters are over running the marines it doesn’t. You wish that the director had watched other zombie movies or Aliens so he could be influenced in a positive way.

I think it wants to be Aliens, so many scenes seem similar. Making me think I could be watching Aliens.

This movie is just a stinker.

Time to return to the flow of things and E1M4 Command Control in the next post.

“Hey, not too rough” #3

Doom, fps, nintendo, retro gaming, switch, video games

Welcome back to my dramatic play through of Doom the video game on the Nintendo Switch.

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

Knee-Deep in the Dead

I don’t think over the numerous times I’ve played Doom I’ve ever played it on anything but “Hurt me plenty”.

There might have been one occasion when I tried “Ultra-Violence” out of curiosity. But I quickly returned to the comfort of “Hurt me plenty”!

For me “Hurt me plenty” offers the perfect mix of difficulty and challenge.

But I’m older now.

Will this difficulty level still be that perfect mix. How will age have affected my reactions?

The other choice is whether to go to the dark side and use any of the available cheats.

Cheats that are made easily accessible from the pause menu.

Thinking back I’m pretty sure back in those early days of playing Doom for the first time I was aware of the cheat codes you had to enter to get one or two of those power ups. Memory fails me as to how I knew about them. It was either from a gaming magazine or a player guide at the time. Not knowing for sure which it was will haunt me. It will eat away until my mind convinces me that I had the player guide. I think it was a player guide, a small pocket one that was once on the cover of one of the magazines at the time. Just not that fancy official one.

I’m not going to succumb to the dark side. I don’t need cheats to be with my old friend.

I press start, and select almost without thinking “Hurt me plenty” and “Knee-deep in the dead”. It’s almost second nature. Muscle memory.

E1M1 Hangar

The screen fades away…

“Hello darkness, my old friend” Sound of Silence, Paul Simon

Within moments an alien corpse, and a barrel lie in front of me. A view that has greeted me countless times.

“And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains” Sound of Silence, Paul Simon

It seems strange that I can remember this first level along with the next two perfectly. The remaining levels I remember but not in as much detail.

I pick up the stat bonuses lying around the room and it’s connecting chamber. I take the chance to look out the window onto the Martian landscape and the beckoning “courtyard” promising a reward if I can get there.

After opening the first door I need to take out the marines in the next room with the pistol I’m armed with. I pick them off at a distance. Dodging any bullets they manage to fire off in reply before dying.

I need to take a raised path through acid pools that has an imp firing fireballs at me from a ledge at the far end of the room, and a marine charging towards me.

I dodge the fireballs and take out the marine, and then the imp.

It’s now safe to cross the room and take the secret exit outside to collect that promised reward.

Back indoors I open the door and take out the awaiting imps before they can land a fireball on me. I press the button to lower the platform the imp was on in the previous room.

Back tracking to the previous room I can now get the spoils revealed by the lowered platform. I have the shotgun.

Returning to the other room I press the button to open the exit and trigger the end of the level.

Still after all these years I only get a 66% complete on the secrets. There is one secret room I always miss. You’d think after all this time I’d be getting 100% and remember where that remaining secret room is.

E1M2 Nuclear Plant

The door opens and I have a room full of marines to clear.

I shoot the barrels. It’s a cliche decades later. But I still shoot the conveniently placed barrels in the room to help reduce the number of marines I need to shoot.

After I clear the room of threats I find the secret room before taking the stairs.

I like the way you can look out side and see tantalising power ups or cool weapons like the chainsaw sitting seemingly unreachable on top of pillars. Usually guarded by numerous enemies that you will have to fight through to get them. The hard part? Finding the secret door to allow you outside.

On reflection I think this is my favourite level of Doom. I get a lot of satisfaction playing it. Whether it’s the level design itself, or just the way it makes me feel. Maybe it’s the familiarity. I just find the level so comforting and enjoyable.

With the chainsaw in my weapons inventory it’s time to move onto another great bit of level design.

E1M3 Toxin Refinery

After blasting the marines that were waiting for me after I opened the door I head to the left and the only door I can open.

This first part of the level introduces the pinkish coloured demon. But before I get to meet this new hellish adversary I have to fight through a classic bit of game design that sees me grabbing a blue key card, the room going dark, and imps appearing en masse from secret rooms.

Doom isn’t one of those games you can play in silence.

The audio design is just as important as any of the visual clues.

For example on this level as you enter the passage way leading to one area you trigger a secret door opening. But your only clue this is happening is the audio of the door opening and closing in the distance.

Unless you run, you can’t get to the open door in time to get the revealed secret room.

But other audio clues you get are the almost grunting like noise the imps make. Often that’s the first clue you get that somewhere in front (or behind) of you awaits a fire ball.

“Set the demons free and watch ’em fly” KISS, War Machine

I love the level design in Doom. From the moment you start the game in E1M1 Hangar, where you are introduced to some elements of the game such as the use of height, lighting, lifts/platforms that go up and down. Which historically tell you this ain’t no Wolfenstein 3D.

Each level introduces some new hellish enemy, some new mechanic. It’s almost a gentle introduction that culminates in the later more complicated and deadly levels.

During the week it strikes me I played Doom on one platform I’d forgotten about.

I think describing it as played is a bit misleading. I had a play around with the Doom piano.

Me as the Fist of Awesome bear playing the Doom piano.

The Doom piano was this incredible project where a real piano had been converted to play Doom. Pressing the keys on the piano controlled what happened you did in game.

I think it was the Eurogamer expo or something like that down in London circa 2013/14 when I helped promote a video game called Fist of Awesome by being dressed up in a bear outfit.

Throughout the weekend folks could have a photo taken fake punching me the bear. Which was then shared on social media promoting the game.

Oh the game was a retro style side scrolling beat ‘em up in the style of Streets of Rage, where as a lumberjack you fought against the ruling bears!

It was a great weekend. I met some awesome developers. Plus I got to play around on the Doom piano.

For the first time in the game I have a decision to make that effects the path I take through the game. Press the button in front of me or track back and press the other one. If my memory isn’t letting me down I haven’t back tracked to the other button in a long long time.

I know the buttons take me to different levels. But which ones I can’t remember. Like so many times before I press the button in front of me instead of back tracking to the other one.

Onto the next level…

“Hey, not too rough” #2

Doom, fps, nintendo, switch, video games

In the previous post I kinda introduced this series of posts and covered the hardware that I first experienced Doom on.

So let’s look at how I’m playing Doom this time around.

The hardware I’m playing on this time around is so different.

I’m playing Doom on a Nintendo Switch Lite.

It’s not the first time I’ve played Doom on a portable game console or device. Over the years I’ve played it on platforms such as the GameBoy Advance, and Windows PDA’s (do you remember them?).

Depending on where I’m playing Doom I’ll either be using the built in speakers of the Switch Lite itself or my VANKYO C750 Bluetooth active noise cancelling headphones. Which are over ear, Hi-Fi Stereo, and apparently deep bass.

The whole setup is light years ahead of the old Amstrad 16Mhz 386sx laptop I first played the game on. This old laptop was 7kg in weight! My backpack with 2 days food for the TGO Challenge was around 10 kilos.

Sitting on the memory card for my Switch are the digital copies of Doom, Doom 2, Doom 3, and Doom 64. Priced at £3.99 each, they are incredible bargains.

Obviously I’ve played Doom on numerous occasions and platforms over the years. Doom 2 has also been played before on at least two platforms, but not nearly as many times as Doom. Doom 3 I have played. But it was only the 360 version if my memory doesn’t fail me. Plus I got nowhere near to completely it. As for Doom 64, I’ve never played that. I’m looking forward to doing so.

Back in the day when I first played Doom I was single. No love interest in sight. I had my first home, a two bedroom flat in the middle of Guildford.

I was working in Byfleet. The software department I was in had an average age less than twenty five. We were a young immature team.

But when Doom came out we were addicted and drove each other on to get further into the game, and complete it.

In the intervening years so much life has happened.

Most definitely one or two of the plays of Doom during those years would have been whilst married, as a step parent, and on the daily commute to Surbiton.

I think the last time I played Doom to completion was probably on the Xbox360 when I was living up in County Durham, in a small town called Crook.

I had not long moved up there.

My failed marriage still very raw.

I was most definitely in a very different place in my life emotionally than any previous times that I had played Doom.

Doom is a familiar distraction. It doesn’t solve or heal what’s going on in my life at the time. But like the other activity I enjoy, hiking. It gives a brief respite. It helps me get through what’s going on.

Today once more I’m single. I’m renting instead of owning. I’ve just returned to teaching after a break of three or more years. Emotionally I’m still in a raw place but for different reasons.

So this time around of playing Doom nearly thirty years later from that magical first time some of the surrounding factors/influences are similar. But there is no way of recapturing or replicating that first time. I’m not trying to.

How do I replicate that competitive spirit for instance? I don’t think any of my colleagues at work or my friends are into video games. Maybe Nathan? But I’m not sure he’d be that interested in this project.

I’m very much a different person to the one that first played Doom in the early nineties. All those experiences will effect my play through and how I view things now.

Obviously I’m really into boardgames now too. And as previously mentioned I now have a copy of the 2004 edition of the FFG Doom board game. So during this play through of the video game I’m going to be hopefully getting that to the table and not only discussing how it stands as a board game. But also on how well it captures the video game.

As I work my way through the game I’m listening to the Audible version of Masters of Doom by David Kushner, and read by Wil Wheaton (yes that Wil Wheaton), on my daily commute into work. I do own the printed version, and I originally read the physical version.

At various points I’ll be diving into DOOM:SCARYDARKFAST also.

I know there are Doom novels, and I’m pretty sure I owned and read the first one. However I’m not going to be reading these as part of my overall Doom experience. But I am going to be watching the two Doom movies.

To be honest I’m not sure how this project will develop, what directions it will take. I’m not sure I’m even capable of doing this whole thing. But I’ll give it a shot and see how it goes.

The cakes a lie #4

nintendo, switch

IMPORTANT FACT! This post was started some months ago and has been sitting in my draft folder ever since waiting to be finished. That is until now…

A fourth post about such a short game!

It has shocked me that I’m writing so much about it.

These posts are certainly interesting for me to write. They are getting me to think more about what I’m playing. Especially in a more critical sense, and applying my limited knowledge of game design.

I hope you are enjoying this deviation from the regular boardgame content.

In the previous post I inelegantly looked at the length of the game. A major critism about it. In this post I’m just as clumsily going to look at the story and audio side of Portal.

Portal has you playing Chell. You wake up from your relaxation chamber at the Aperture Labs, ready to participate in a series of tests. We even get a little warning that there may be a risk of injury. Followed by a bit of equipment breaking. A foreshadowing that all may not be right. We seem to alone. No one else present, except for the metallic voice of GLaDOS.

We have no other option but to go forward taking part in the tests…

As we progress through the tests the facade starts to crumble. The tests start to get more deadly, we stumble across graffiti containing warnings, GLaDOS finds it harder to appear helpful, and comes across more insincere, less interested in your safety.

One stand out moment that shows GLaDOS has a dark side is when you are forced to euthanise a companion cube to complete a test.

I don’t think there can be any debate that the story in Portal follows the Three act structure. The debate if any is over where one act finishes and the next begins.

For me the second act starts around test chamber 9. Until now we are still being introduced to new game mechanics. From now on we start to get less subtle hints that things ain’t right.

The third act, the resolution of the story, is obviously our confrontation with GLaDOS and our escape, which starts at test chamber 19. Which sees GLaDOS try to incinerate us before we escape into the maintenance areas, and ultimately take on GLaDOS.

In the previous posts I’ve harped on about the use of the environment to help tell the story. It’s a standard part of the first person developers toolkit.

Between using the environment and bits of audio via GLaDOS we start to build up a picture all is not as it seems.

Through the use of Easter eggs in the environment Portal is linked to the world setup in the Half-Life series of games.

The majority of the time when I’m mobile gaming (which is basically what I call playing on my handheld consoles) I have the sound turned off. Mainly because in the past that gaming was on public transport such as my daily commute to work, or lunch breaks. Yes I could have used headphones but I was usually also listening to a podcast on my iPod (remember them?)

That habit of playing with no sound has continued now onto the Switch. Or it’s evolved as I have the sound on low sometimes as to not distract from the show on in the background.

However I do use headphones with the Switch when I particularly want to get fully immersed in the game. For this I use VANKYO C750 Bluetooth active noise cancelling headphones. Which are over ear, Hi-Fi Stereo, and apparently deep bass.

It’s this evolved usage and use of headphones is how I’ve experienced the sound whilst playing Portal.

Throughout the game radios play an instrumental version, even faster tempo version of Still Alive.

Otherwise the sound we get are the sound effects of the test lab, and whatever equipment/devices are in the room, and the voice of GLaDOS.

For me apart from the Jonathan Coulton Still Alive none of the other music in the game seems memorable or stands out. In fact when it came to remembering the other tunes I couldn’t. Maybe that says more about me than the music, and what I’m focused on as I play the game.

I think this is the last post I’ll write looking at the video game. It’s been a blast revisiting an old favourite. The final post in this series will be about the board game. Then once the Doom project is complete I’ll look at coming back to Portal 2.

See you in the next one.

“Hey, not too rough” #1

Doom, fps, nintendo, switch, video games

Welcome to the start of a long series of posts about the classic video game Doom.

Back in the early nineties I was living in Guildford and working in Byfleet for a credit card manufacturer as a programmer writing software to control desktop embossing machines.

I used to use my personal computer at the time for developing on as it was better than anything the company had. Bare in mind this was a 16Mhz 386sx (so not even a full blown 386) Amstrad clamshell laptop with a 20MB hard drive, and 4MB of RAM.

It was on this “beast” that I first played the shareware version of Wolfenstein, followed by its successor Doom.

Both games captured the imaginations of myself and my colleagues. We spent every free moment of our breaks playing the games in the office. There was definitely a competitive element between us that saw us competing to make more progress in the game than the others.

I did complete both games.

Doom did really stand out at the time as something special. The lighting, level design, hidden rooms, levels that were at different heights, jump out of your skin moments, and iconic monsters.

Since then over the decades I have played Doom on nearly every capable platform I’ve owned. Whether that was a windows powered pda, member of the GameBoy family, or full blown games console like the 360.

Now some thirty years later I’m once more returning to Mars to take on the forces of hell in a dramatic play through of Doom on the Nintendo Switch.

For the record this will not be the first time that I’ve played the Switch version of Doom. When I first purchased the Switch version I naturally played through a few of the levels. Memory fails me about whether I finished the game or not.

So what’s different about my playing the game this time around?

I think this time around it will be the total immersion of all things Doom between sessions. Such as rereading Masters of Doom, and DOOM:SCARYDARKFAST, plus a first time reading of “I’m too young to die“ by Bitmap Books.

And like my Portal posts (once I put the remaining two up) there will be a look at the table top versions of the game.

So it’s possible you won’t see another post in this series for a week or two as I finish the Portal posts, keep my #dungeon23 stuff going, and prep my lessons. Until then see you in the next post.