On The Internet: Nanowrimo, Mike Falzone, & Nerdfighters

From Left to Right: Nanowrimo Crest, Mike Falzone, Hank and John of Vlogbrothers/Nerfighters

So every now and again, we talk about different things other than video games, mostly pertaining to things on the internets and this is one of those times. A few things I've been loving on the internet to be more exact. Since the internet is this vast land of all sorts of hoopla, it's nice to sit back and look upon the finer things that the wonderful land of computer communication has presented us with. Most of these I've been affiliated with and loved for quite some time, but lately, these three have held my attention like no other.

1. Nanowrimo- Nanowrimo is brilliant. That pretty much sums it up for you. This website is one of the most exhilarating things you could possibly take part in if you're the type who loves to write and wrack your head against a keyboard when the inevitable shield of writers block completely takes over. Basically you have one month, November, to produce your best work of literature. Once again, I have failed coming up short at a measly 15,000 words, 35,000 words away from the ultimate goal, and I can't say I'm not proud. What I came up with is brilliant and who knows, maybe I'll work on it after Nanowrimo is over. But with November coming to a definite close, you have no time to participate this year. A little too late I'm afraid. But don't let this throw you off! Nanowrimo comes around every year so take this time to develop a story! No one says you can't begin with some material that you already have! If it sounds like your cup of tea, I highly recommend it. Theres something so rewarding when you work on your own little creation and I can definitely say that next year when I'm finally free of the ties of school, I will be completely dedicated to whatever I plan on writing about. 

2. Mike Falzone- Okay, if you haven't heard of Mike Falzone on YouTube, you're missing out. He does it all. From comedy sketches (my personal favorite is the Batman makes Craigslist calls) from his walk and talk videos, and not to mention the fact that he's a phenomenal musician. He's just one of those incredibly interesting and lovable people not to mention that he's beautiful but I digress. Mike also just wrote his book that he promoted on KickStarter called "Never Stop Shutting Up" and I'm so happy for him. He deserves all the recognition and success out there. I'll put some of my favorite Mike Falzone videos right below this so really, check him out, you won't regret it. 

3. Nerdfighters- Okay, so Nerfighteria is a large part of my life. Thanks to the two beautiful human beings that are Hank and John Green, my life has been enriched by happiness and excitement  I have met so many amazing people who are also Nerdfighters and it's probably one of the most amazing things I've ever discovered on the internet. Hank is this adorably sweet, and not to mention insanely brilliant, nerd who co founded the NerdFighters and VlogBrothers, their channel on YouTube, with his brother John, one of my favorite people on Earth. John is this fantastic author who has produced books like Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns, and his newest book The Fault in Our Stars. They are just such genuine people who make me smile with every video they put up and the thing is they completely and totally love what they do. Making people learn about current topics, science, history, literature, they do it all and not to mention, they make it incredibly interesting and fun. They are just two people I will never get tired of seeing. One of my life goals is actually to get every single on of John Green's books, preferably first editions, and have them all signed by the one and only John. With two down I still have a lot of work but that just gives me an excuse to buy tickets for Leaky Con and see them next year. If you're not apart of the NerdFighter family, please become one. It is one of the most fun things you will probably ever discover.

First Impressions: Dishonored

 

Before I go on about the game, I just want to make a quick little statement; I thought a lot about the future of the website and I really want to see it go far. We always complain and talk about how we never post and we promise we will but after a while it doesn't really pan out. It just comes back to this cycle we have gotten in. But this time, I really promise, that this website will be getting my 100% from now on. We've made so much progress on here and I would hate to just see it go to waste because I got lazy. This website was my little project and it's grown into a lot more so here's to the close and successful future.

Now back to the real reason why you're here; Dishonored. Released in October, this game became one of the most highly anticipated releases of the year along with Black Ops (bleh) and Halo 4 and it's easy to see why; this game is highly addictive. Bethesda proved once again that they belong on top considering that they're the franchise that produced not only Dishonored but Skyrim and Fallout 3 and New Vegas. It creates the story of Corvo Attano, the body guard to the Empress of Dunwall who is murdered shortly upon his return. When discovering the Empress' bloody body and the missing daughter, Emily, with only Corvo left at the crime scene, he is immediately thumbed as the murder. Once he is thrown in jail awaiting his execution, he is aided by "A Friend" who leaves him the keys to break free and escape the city to assume his role as an Assassin. He goes on his journey to seek out the lost Emily and bring revenge upon those who dishonored him. I'm going to start off with the bad here just because there is a slim amount: 

The Bad: Contrary to the commercials and bits of game play, the graphics were a very large let down.You'd think coming from Bethesda who just released the beautiful Skyrim: Elder Scrolls, you would see some of that graphic ingenuity but you get a lot more of a Fallout/Bioshock feel. Not to dig on my favorite game, but Bioshock's graphics are no Skyrim. Anyway, I talked to a fellow Dishonored fan and they agreed, the graphics were a huge let down. I feel like they were so pressed for time to let this game out of the gates that they didn't exactly pay too much attention to it but the good thing is the graphics aren't a huge turn off from the game, more like a pet peeve. Another displeasing aspect is probably the lack of interactivity. You get a lot of repetitive interactive commands in the game like throwing bottles, opening chests, but I would have liked to have seen a little more with it because over time it just seems like the same old  things, nothing really presents itself as new and it can get kind of repetitive. The only downside to this is that it can make the game seem very predictable. You sneak behind some guards, slit their throats and you keep doing the same things only to achieve different goals.

The Good: Alright, the goods of this game highly overcome the bads. I kind of had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for the bads but all in all, it's a fantastic game. I can honestly say the plot line is so different from a lot of the other games I've played in a while. It's almost like this fantastic combination of Bioshock and Assassin's Creed but it still stays true to it's own game. It strays away from your typical first person action type of game and creates all new levels within itself. You're not just an assassin, you have these fantastic gifts as you've been imprinted with this mark on your hand. You can teleport, see through walls, hold a freaking mechanical heart and find these artifacts to level up you're different skills. I love the whole sneaking around and breaking into buildings and doing optional quests. One thing I absolutely love about the game and this stays true with several games, is the whole "you choose your destiny" factor. I think that one of my favorite things about any game. It just adds a whole new element to any game making it so possible to do so many other things. It really just satisfies all the things I love in a video game. 

 

So overall, I would say this game is definitely worth checking out. If you're like me and you love Bioshock and the whole theme of Assassin's Creed, this will really suit you. Plus it has a whole new feel, something I've never seen before in a video game. Well done Bethesda. Well done.