The slow death of “Setec Astronomy”

Kudos to you if you know the origins of “Setec Astronomy”.

For those of you not in the know, it’s an anagram for “Too many secrets” and bears explanation as to why I chose to include it in the title of the post…

In the days before high speed data connections, search engines, and the free and unfettered exchange of ideas on the Internet, the process of discovery within games was a much more painful, yet rewarding, ordeal. Foes were defeated by trial and error, paths were discovered by intense explorations, and beating a game felt like a true adventure.

But now? Well, with each new game there’s a guide that can be purchased almost before the launch that will hold your hand and wipe your nose for you. Games are out a mere 24 hours before online walkthroughs are available to be viewed by any who wish to do so. Why figure out how to beat that boss on level four when a young man from Boise has already done it and posted it to the Internet?

One of my fondest gaming memories is of a old title. You “yungins” wouldn’t even know about Ultima IV. Cruthcboy and I figured that game out from scratch, making our way through the world, feverishly writing our discoveries in spirals so we could compare notes the next day in school. While we were technically sharing information, it was nothing like the scale on which it is being shared in today’s gaming world. We shared in one another’s triumphs and learned from one another’s mistakes and when we beat that game, it was one of the geekiest moments of my life. A geekgasm if you will.

To this day, I revel in the discovery and exploration of games. It’s part of the reason I came up with the Busy Gamer concept. But as the guides, walkthroughs, and cheats become more prevalent, the game companies focus more on the “twitch” levels to keep us entertained rather than the discovery portion. People post spoilers in forums, brag about beating games like Mass Effect in 10 hours, or simply don’t purchase games that require more than a few moments thought.

Not getting the gist of what I’m saying? Type “Too many secrets” or “Setec Astronomy” in your favorite search engine and see how long it takes you to figure out where I get that particular anagram from… Ah, how glorious the information age. Now give me back my Ultima IV geekgasm.

Put down your controller for a few…

In lieu of the possible imminent devastation of Ikey Fo Fikey, we took today off. Oh yeah most of our staff and some of the models live about 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, so keep them and their families in your thoughts.

-Scotty aka Crutchboy & the BusyGamer.com Crew
www.busygamer.com

Punisher War Zone

Seen the Punisher War Zone Trailers yet? Wowsa. Early reports have it running along the lines of the MAX series, and I got to say, the new Punisher looks a lot like Bradstreet’s artwork. Count the face explosions!

Guitar Zero Vs. Guitar Hero

So we’re back from Penny Arcade Seattle, back to the grind and hot Texas
weather. I saw some great things at PAX and you too will see them
coming up in the next week or two here on the site…meanwhile…

I made some interesting observations at the con over the weekend, and it
may ruffle some feathers here and there but honestly it shouldn’t – it is as I
said, an observation, (plus I have been known to be a jerk sometimes).
I am quite aware that I write and work for Busy Gamer, and this is a gaming website and all,
but I feel quite feebleminded at the “gaming rock banders” out there. Not that it isn’t a great
game, Guitar Hero and Rock Band are fantastic. Marketing and popularity are amazing, I’m
guessing they will only get better. What I don’t understand is the fascination to take the reality
of it being a “game”, to trying to make it “more than a game”.

I watched the Rock Band stage at PAX, the players lined up, prepping for that GnR tune,
tightening their headbands and wiping their brows waiting for the ready set go, they pound
out the song, crowd is singing along, applause is strong, the guys are high fiving at their
score as they step of the stage, like a performance from Woodlands Pavilion.

Ok, yeah they feel great. I see it. It is real. Why am I so bugged? It’s because I am an
entertainer myself for about 22 years (yeah I’m old who cares). It is an overwhelming feeling
for those kids to get a response like that. So why not pick up a real guitar and do the same
thing and really move some people?

Is it the skill set? Nope. I’ve played Guitar Hero, they are similar. And very learnable. The
amount of time it takes to excel at it, can at the very least sit on a miniature comparable level. I
like the feeling in front of fans. And I think that these kids and adults on stage with a virtual
complete band would love it. My bands have shared shows with great acts like The Misfits
and Bayside, and to perform for a crowd and see kids and adults sing back at you YOUR
songs, not Velvet Revolvers, is going to lay waste to any red red green blue combo move that
you’ll ever turn out.

Yeah I know, it’s a game. It’s altered the standards for gaming, and will continue to do so for
years to come. Kids and adults, I’m not saying to stop playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band, I’m
saying play them, AND after you score 98% on Nights in White Satin on expert level, go
borrow your old and crusty neighbors Les Paul knock off and give it a try if you haven’t already.
Find an old drum kit from the garage sale down the block, and get the crazy kid Louie with the
lazy eye to try screaming some words he scribbled on his math book while he sat stargazed
at sweet sally from homeroom class.

You get it. I know you do. Or you should, I hope. There is a lot more than screen shotting your
1,034 note streak. Try “thinking out of your xbox” sometime, it’s quite a face melter.

-Crutchboy Out aka Scott Free / Worm Suicide / Madagain Saints

Seattle Day 4

With all of our interviews and appointments out of the way for PAX, the BG crew decided that Sunday was the day to play tourist.

 

After a quick breakfast and blog update at CAFÉ SIENA, we loaded up the camera and laptop and left for Downtown Seattle. The first stop for us was obviously the most famous Seattle attraction, the Space Needle. After that we walked around the area for a while, before we went to the best stop of  tourist day, which was the SCIENCE FICTION Museum.

 

If you are ever in Seattle, and a fellow sci fi nut, we urge you to check this place out. The only downside was that you couldn’t take any pictures there, but everything in there is top notch. Some items on display, are ORIGINAL Star Trek costumes and set pieces, ORIGINAL Buck Rogers models and costumes, THE ORIGINAL B-9 robot signed by the cast,  an armory which has weapons from sci fi movies and TV shows… and too many other things to mention. The 15 dollar price tag also got us into the EMP (Experience Music Project) which was a music museum. They had a neat guitar exhibit with guitars spanning hundreds of years. Also had a decent Seattle music history thing, which was very cool, however was largely shadowed by the awesomeness of the Sci Fi exhibit.

After that, we went down to the Famous Pike Street Market which is home of flying fish.

TOURIST NOTE: don’t waste time buying souvenirs from the official shops, those are largely expensive and a ripoff. Across the street from the Space needle is a gift shop with cheap stuff at a fraction of the cost, and one street up from Pike Street Market is a Tshirt shop that prints tshirts for you. (You pick the shirt and the Seattle design) That’ll save you a lot of money when you have to pick up stuff for people back in the office.

 

Now, we are on a plae. It is approx 6am Seattle time (8am Texas) we have a 4 hour layover in Cali hopefully we can find some fre WiFi so that I can upload pics and post this blog.

 

It is sort of depressing leaving Seattle. The weather is cold and gloomy. (And it’s August!) and I know we are flying back to Texas and probably right into Hurricane Gustav. Oh well… that’s another adventure for another day. We hope you enjoyed reading our exploits and the pics from Seattle. We’ll see ya when we get home…

End Transmission

 

St. Tim and the BG crew.