The nerd skewering effect

H

heroin

Guest
It's interesting to note, that I was once a nerd skewerer. The total freedom and lack of responsibilities that reinforced my will to command my computer like the ultimate geek. Non-stop late nighters playing Fallout, or modem to modem playing Doom 2 one-on-one with the other geek down the street.

Times change. Ultimately, this is an apparent factor in Half-life 2. The dystopian society, the resistance, the propaghanda, the ambiance - it feels mind-boggingly relevant for its release.

I have nothing to complain about, except the fact that I can no longer be the complaining, free-to-play-until-I-can-no-longer-keep-my-eyes-open type of geek. No, the only thing I can complain about is that I can't - and also that I spent $60 and didn't even get a nice manual.Or maybe that I had to spend an appalling hour and a half installation period; I came into the room every ten minutes completely impatient. But I found even that chaotic excitement was extremely refreshing. Reminiscent of the old days when video games in their futuristic implications were completely new, and now extremely rewarding. It reminded me of getting Duke Nukem 3D when that came out, or Monkey Island way back when, that almost nauseous, adrenaline packed excitement. I believe this is another testament to old schoolers. This is one of the crowning achievements of the fans who became developers, and the developers that delivered. For the people that sat by and continued to upgrade from their 66mhz machines or whatever just to keep up with this industry. It's been getting better and better, faster and faster the last fifteen years or so... but this Half-Life 2 is a dream of perfection considering all of the leaps, innovations, and classic FPS games of the past.

No, I don't think there is anything to complain about, except that I can't take that manual with me on the train to work to indulge myself in an obession that I can't fully be aware.

But times change - like in City 17, and I find that conserving my time and rewarding myself with small chunks of gameplay is much more satisfying than when I used to binge and then burn-out. Maybe I say that because I do not have the time, but I defintely do believe that it is more rewarding, and the game much more apparent in it's fantastic bliss.

I'm glad that I can't skewer this one with my ultimate nerdness like the olden days.

Kudos to Valve! I know that Steam came under attack during the first day, but I believe if you are passionate about games, and creative developers that we should embrace Steam and its more practical uses for small developers in the future.

:) :smoking:
 
Your still a big freakn geek in my book. It is just a GAME. You should go outside and communicate with REAL people.
 
exactly

That's exactly my point. So many youngins' on here, flaming and complaining because they have all the time in the world to rip through the game without care. It's easy to rag on a game when you haven't been involved in the early creations, or your dad bought it for you, haha. I gotta work man... in the punk rock industry, no-less. Work is way more important to me than this game. But this game strikes a chord with the old-schoolness and the cool factor comparing it to games I played in the late eighties like Magic Candle, Ultima 6 or Heroes Quest or stuff like that even though it cannot be compared, the projection during that time of what the medium could be is what Half-life 2 exemplifies to me.

Yeah I am a nerd, but I don't focus all of my energy into a video game either, I gotta work foo :)
 
VodkA-HLC- said:
Your still a big freakn geek in my book. It is just a GAME. You should go outside and communicate with REAL people.
Click to expand...

What's the point when as soon as you walk outsideyou get lynched?

Me, being 15, can't drive. and I live in a remote, tiny, desolate town, filled with people who used ot be my "friends", but who now bully me and attack me if I step outside.

the world is an ignorant place. The little poeple aren't listened to, and the clever ones end up in therapy for being bullied when they were younger and end up killing someone. It's a horrible world to live in.
 
Yep, very nice indeed. Don't mind the flamers :). I'm also an old-school gamer, from the C64 days to the early 286 machines, from the early pentiums to the modern hogs, I enoyed playing on them all. Since my favorite genre's always been point&click adventures (a genre that's pretty much dead), I can't help but feel a bit out of place in today's fast-paced gaming universe, but I'm still there, plugging away at shooters and all. I'm pretty anxious to give HL2 a try too, but I guess I'll wait a little till the price drops. Nice post.
 
it seems the world is jus full of hurt...
 
Amen. Raging children always troll around fan-forums post release for a few days. Then they move off to be angry somewhere else.
 
VodkA-HLC- said:
Your still a big freakn geek in my book. It is just a GAME. You should go outside and communicate with REAL people.
Click to expand...

you have almost 400 posts in 2 months on a forum dedicated to a game, thats over 5 posts a day on average, go take your own advice.
 
VodkA-HLC- said:
Your still a big freakn geek in my book. It is just a GAME. You should go outside and communicate with REAL people.
Click to expand...
Says the guy whos been on this site for months to the one that just got here... :rolleyes:

cheers, heroine :cheers:
 
Damn well said Mr.Heroin, if only there were more people like you around here and fewer idiots...

My friend came over the night before Half Life 2 and we got up early and sat in front of Steam waiting for the unlock chatting about it and looking at the reviews that had come out overnight and stuff.
I mean, things like this are what you make of them and we had a great time - people complain about hype but to me, it's a way of getting your money's worth. In those moments while you watch the Halflife 2 bar unlocking each of your files, it forms the ultimate countdown to the culmination of something you've been looking forward to.
Few other things you can look forward to in life have such a form of presented buildup so you might as well make the most of it! :D

I also found it extra cool when I was playing on that first day that I knew that thousands of people around the world would be doing exactly the same thing as me, throwing suitcases at a Combine guard and then legging it or laughing as Barney took off his helmet that first time.
It's actually a remarkably social experience when you also factor in the conversations you can have about it with people.
 
Calling someone a geek on a forum dedicated to one of the nerdiest games ever is retarded. I mean ffs even Gordon himself is a huge nerd (theoretical physicist/MIT anyone?), and all of his friends are nerds.
 
Slowly, the whole world are turning into nerds/geeks.. it will be mainstream soon. everywhere there is net access the housewives, the "fashionable" teens are all getting online and getting nerdier by the second. They are doing stuff the geeks and Computer nuts were doing 5 years ago, but they are there none the less. Soon, you will be a "geek" or outsider if you do NOT interact with computers in some way.

:)
 
I used to love the feeling of going into a major shopping centre far away from home, buying a game I could have easily got from a shop 20 minutes away. Opening up the case on the way home on the train, and reading the manual right up until I opened the front door. I haven't done that for years, I now buy my games online and wait like a dog at the door for the postman in the morning. I was reminded of the journey home when I opened up my HL2 case to find no manual. I was most disappointed to say the least.

I'm a geek, always have been. But I try and keep it to myself, and not let my associates know of my exciting yet nerdy private life. I always wonder if they too are nerds at heart, and feel the same way I do about their private life.

It's also nice to see some maturity in games these days, everytime I drop by a forum for a particular game I'm bombarded with "STFU YUO NOOB, I COMPLETED TIHS GAEM IN 2.5464 HOURS".

The above wasn't a stab at those who completed in an extraordinary amount of time (fair play to you) and actually take in everything the game has to offer. I've still not completed HL2, I spend an hour or so every day (or few) and just enjoy myself as much as possible. I can remember starting the game up for the first time and saying "what the hell?! SWEET!" at those scanner things that take a picture of you. I'm easily impressed :p
 
spencerjrus said:
I mean ffs even Gordon himself is a huge nerd (theoretical physicist/MIT anyone?), and all of his friends are nerds.
Click to expand...

Since when does intelligence make you a nerd? :p

I too have had a computer starting with the old C64, and it took this post to remind me of the excitement of walking into a run down gamestore with £2.50 in my pocket and looking at the racks of cassettes on wall - choosing one to buy. Once getting home you could stick it in and wait 20 mins for it to load each time you wanted to play. Games not working were oh-so-common, and a computer upgrade wasn't the solution. Heh heh heh. memories - and wasted pocket money <grr>
 
Nice posts, Heroin,Wotsit,Keel ect. I know exactly where your coming from.

It's very rare these days that i get any pre-release enjoyment from a game but HL2 gave me that.

It's even rarer for me to actually finish a game, what with work, r/l commitments and family but finish it i did, in nice, rationed, chunks.

My HL2 experience started badly, what with the audio stutters etc. I was one of the lucky ones, one of the command line switches sorted me out, though i feel for the poor sods who've still got them post patch and have to listen to the update your drivers/computer/life drivel that posting their problems invairiably gets them. I made that mistake on release day when i posted my probs, along with a reasoned, mature, (well i thought so!) aside that maybe valve/steam ought to have handled things a wee bit better. The Touret syndrom kiddes all leapt from the woodwork and proceeded to take out their teenage angst on me. Still...:upstare:

Now HL2's over the only issue i have is that a good game, a real mold-breaker, spoils the hour or so computer time that i allow myself these days. Owt else i play now's a bit of an anti-climax. Roll on 2010 and HL3! ;)
 
In reponse to post #1:

That's really good advice. I find it much better too. There's nothing like coming home after a long day of work and classes and homework and spending an hour or so playing a video game. :)
 
Wow you have to work for punk rock shit? I truly am sorry for you.
 
I do like a good manual. I remember getting Diablo II the day it was released, then having to go out to my brother's school camp for a barbeque thing. I managed to read the entire manual on the drive up :D And I'm talking every single word.

Anyway, I'll get my copy of Raising The Bar and shutthehellup :)
 
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