AI: The Future of Gaming

May 03, 2023 by Alexander Swan in Video Games, AI

Chat GPT is making AI the hottest subject right now. I wanted to dive into how AI could help improve or add to a video game without making a whole game into an AI procedurally generated mess. People have tried this idea out with mixed results, and I fully expect some to keep trying repeatedly. No. Dear reader, I want to expand this idea, keep the AI in a contained area of the game design process and use it as a tool to flesh out a part or aspect of the game, turning the AI portion into a USP (Unique selling point), rather than the predecided mess or “AI everything”.

A Short Hike Review - Whimsical fun

March 16, 2023 by Alexander Swan in Video Games

The fantastic Adam “Adamgryu” Robinson-Yu in their first solo game, A Short Hike, puts you in the role of Claire, a young bird who’s gone to Hawk Peak Provincial Park, where her Aunt May is a ranger. After a few short conversations with your auntie, who had thought Claire had already gone to explore the Park, she suggests the only place Claire will get phone service will be at the top of Hawk Peak. From here, the Park is open to the player.

Norco Review - When home that isn't home anymore

January 24, 2023 by Alexander Swan in Video Games

Norco asked, what is it like leaving behind everyone, to leave the place you called home, but when you return, it’s no longer what you remember it being. As someone who’s peering into their 30s with dreed and recently lost the family house, I grew up in due to my parent’s divorce. Returning home isn’t an option outside the town to see friends and family if their still around.

Road 96 Review - An Almost Perfect Experience

October 01, 2021 by Alexander Swan in Video Games, Review

Road 96 was a surprise for me at E3, with the idea that I’ll be playing a teenager looking to escape this country, Petria and that each teen will have a different experience and way to escape than the others.

When starting the game you are given a few multiple-choice questions, before being shown a TV where the overly obnoxious host, Sonya Sanchez, is reporting on the upcoming anniversary of a “terrorist attack”. We then get a montage showing us the main characters of the game, whilst we play several non-talking protagonists. The only recurring characters from teen to teen are: Big John, Alex, Zoe, Stan and Mitch, Fanny, the previously mentioned Sonya Sanchez and Jarod.

Detective Pikachu Is The Best Film Adaptation Of A Video Game

May 24, 2019 by Alexander Swan in Video Games

Let me be frank with you dear reader, outside of a few film series that came to mind mainly Resident Evil, Lara Croft with Angelina Jolie and whatever trash that Uwe Boll makes. The title, while clickbait, is also very true. I assumed, I was going to be wrong and that a google search was going to correct me and show me a good film that I liked, but had forgotten about. However, I was correct, while some lists did make a case for a few of the Final Fantasy films for me, they ended up being just a compilation of cut scenes.

I Tried To Speedrun

May 10, 2019 by Alexander Swan in Video Games

Speed running and adding a stipulation to a video game was something I was introduced to in an unorthodox way. Growing up several of my friends and myself all loved playing video games like most teenagers, we enjoyed playing them together or watching one another play. Due to this we would try and play them for as long as we could. At school, we would set up weekends where we would try and play loads of games, get junk food, drink and just play for hours and hours.