jdodson1

Joined 01/23/2012

I'm an Engineer and built the video game community Cheerful Ghost and text based mini-MMO Tale of the White Wyvern.

2746 Posts

A little more than a year ago Blizzard released Hearthstone on smartphones and that hooked me. Up till that point Hearthstone didn't really interest me but something about playing it on my phone made the experience magical. Naxxramas, Blackrock Mountain and Goblins VS Gnomes were the only released adventures and expansions then and I spent most of my time collecting gold and learning how to play. I had no idea what to do with the gold I had but I figured i'd save it until I knew what best to spend it on. I didn't even create any decks when I started because I had no idea what was good. So I just played causal matches with no deck and I lost a lot. During that time I simply realized what was good and what wasn't by trying things and losing a lot of matches.

At that time I only knew a couple people that played and JaBo being one let me know you could unlock Adventure wings with gold. After that I decided that my first steps were to unlock all the adventures cards and then focus on opening packs(something I recommend people do to start). Naxxramas was the first Adventure I unlocked and over time I was able to unlock the rest and open a ton of packs along the way.

It really doesn't seem like i've been playing Hearthstone nearly each day for a year. Since matches only last only a handful of minutes on average(some take much longer) it doesn't ever feel like I am spending much time playing it. For me it's one of those perfect games you can play a few minutes here and there and if you need to concede a match because something comes up it's not a big deal. In a world of very shallow and short lived mobile games Hearthstone is fairly deep and extremely repayable.

In the last couple months I went to my first local bracketed ladder tournament and had a reasonable showing for my first attempt. I am very happy with how well i've done considering I am free to play. I'm not sure one needs to spend a ton of money in Hearthstone to be good or even be competitive but if you spend a lot of money in the game and have all the cards you do have an advantage. Having everything doesn't make someone great but it helps. Over time I imagine i'll unlock most everything that will keep me competitive and the game will still be fun and still not spend any money. With that, if you don't mind spending a few bucks here and there it can really help you to spend it on unlocking the adventures. The adventures are fun and if you complete them you unlock some really incredible cards that will help you do well.

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2926/spent-sunday-praising-yogg-at-the-taco-house-my-first-local-hearthstone-tournament

The New Player Experience Is Much Better Now

One of my friends is starting Hearthstone for the first time and so far he really enjoys it. It's cool to help him make his way through the game as a new player and so far he is doing well. I think the new player experience is better than it's been for quite some time. Right now all players new or old get C'Thun and two Beckoner of Evils for free plus if you complete the quests you can get 13 or so free Whispers of the Old Gods packs. This is also on top of the other free classic packs they give you to start the game. It's nice Blizzard gave everyone C'Thun because it's a solid card and comes with an accessible strategy to win the game which is to out well stat'ed minions that buff C'Thun and when he finally comes out on turn 10, you win. It maybe doesn't always work like that but it can and it's something that makes the new player experience much better. Blizzard also has a new deck builder tool to help new players build decks that are pretty good if they have the cards and help them chose replacements if they don't. I've been playing with these Blizzard approved decks and many are quite good so I recommend new players build around them to start learning how things work.

Watching Great Players Can Make You Better

One thing I did to improve at Hearthstone was to spend some time watching other fantastic players play and then I copy their decks and learn from them. I know everyone wants to be an incredibly original deck builder as well as an amazing player but when you start out you really should stand on the shoulders of giants. One streamer I recommend you watch is Kripparian. Kripparian is not only a fantastic player he is also a fun guy to watch and explains his strategy well enough to understand it.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Kripparrian

Kripp posts two videos each day that are clips shows from his daily streams. They involve some sort of theme and he starts out by talking about some timely topic and then shows you relevant matches he's played. Kripp's show is one of my most anticipated shows I watch right now. Most of the decks he showcases I create, play with and modify and i've learned some awesome game tricks by watching him play.

Well That's All Great, But What Happens Now?

I like Hearthstone because it's fun and if it ever felt like it was becoming a chore or a stupid grind i'd stop playing. To date it's been a fun ride and i've hit some really great momentum lately. Not sure if i'll be playing Hearthstone each day for another year but if this last one is an indicator, I should be.


"An excellent action/RPG hybrid with very unique gameplay. Your name is Jack Mower, a 20th century dude who just happened to be sucked into the world of Nox via his TV set. The world is in danger and you have to save it! But before you embark on your epic journey you must choose your path: warrior, wizard, or conjurer.

Choose the path of a warrior, and you will be able to equip and use all manner of swords, battle-axes, war hammers, and chakrams - though you’ll leave the magical mumbo-jumbo up to the Conjurer and Wizard classes. An enchanted weapon is the closest a Warrior gets to magic but that’s OK, because magic is for sissies.
"

Origin has given away some really great classic titles and continues that tradition with Nox, a Westwood developed RPG. When I think Westwood I think Command & Conquer and the Dune games. That said, Westwood did develop many different kinds of games and Nox was one of it's later releases.

https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/free-games/on-the-house


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As Summer is now in full swing I am wondering what everyone is playing right now?

I play Hearthstone daily and am currently saving gold for the next 4 wings of the upcoming adventure. I'm also playing FTL, the new Doom and a iOS game called Gem Hunters.

Let me know in the comments what you are playing as well and if it's worth looking into!


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FTL is one of those special Indie games I might play off and on for the rest of my life. It's rogue-like space fairing gameplay is so unique and fresh every time I come back I am hooked by it. Recently i've been playing a couple games and slowly building back my ability with it. Like any skilled game that you step away from, i've had to remember a few things forgotten over time. During my last play session I made it to the Federation Starship boss to beat it once and then lost the second time. I forget how punishing that battle can be and how nimble and at times lucky you need to be to complete it.

During these last few games i've played as the Federation Cruiser, a ship I usually don't play. I've found the Kestrel to be a great ship and to date, haven't had the desire to try anything else. The Federation Cruiser is a good ship and it's special Artillery Beam weapon is surprisingly good. I upgraded it a few times but plan on upgrading it fully when I play with it again.

I have finally unlocked the Stealth Cruiser which I am going to try in my next game. If anyone has any tips for using it let me know. It seems smaller than most ships but it starts with a cloaking device, which I try and get during each of game I play. One downside is it has no shields, which I am not sure how that will work out so any advice here would be appreciated.


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If you missed Shovel Knight now might be a good time to realize this Capcom-era retro love letter to platformers. One way to do that is by reading out this Yacht Club Games infographic highlighting how well Shovel Knight has been received. One part I find interesting is the number of people that have played the extra content has been fairly low. The reason the content is being made is because they sailed so far over their Kickstarter goals meeting their stretch goals. The 3DS & Wii U sales numbers were also much higher than I would have initially guessed but it makes sense considering this game is for Nintendo fans and begs to be played on those systems.

Shovel Knight will keep digging through it's upcoming free content in two new upcoming campaigns and game modes. So much value in so few pixels!

If you are looking for a more in depth analysis of the numbers above, head over to Yacht Club's blog and read up. It's a fascinating look at one of the more successful Indie studios financials for their first game.

http://yachtclubgames.com/2016/04/feat-unlocked-one-million-copies-of-shovel-knight-sold/


Back this on Kickstarter!
Guardians of the Rose is a game that interests me from a couple angles. Featuring an incredible pixel art style and premise, Guardians of the Rose could be an fun intersection of Zelda, Elder Scrolls and Gauntlet.

"The world is laid out specifically so that you can choose to explore in any direction you want. You can choose to progress the storyline at your own pace while immersing yourself inside the lore and sidequests of the kingdom. These sidequests are not your typical "find my chicken" type quests but instead are designed to make the player feel like he is making a significant difference in the lands around him.

Depending on how you play the game, which path you take in your exploration of the lands, and who you decide to party with, the game's story and ending can change fairly drastically.
"

If this game looks like something you want to see released head over to Kickstarter and check it out. Guardians of the Rose will launch on PC, Mac and Linux and if they push over the 80k stretch goal they will also release it on Wii U, 3DS, & OUYA.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/broc/guardians-of-the-rose-story-driven-2d-action-rpg

**EDIT**

If you want to see this on Steam Greenlight you can also give it an upvote below!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=691099409



Even the Ocean is the upcoming indie adventure game from the Analgesic Productions duo that brought us Anodyne. I was a huge fan of Anodyne when it dropped and have been eagerly anticipating Even the Ocean since I played it at PAX in 2014. Analgesic recently released an animated trailer showing off the game and you should check that out above. A few things that set Analgesic games from the rest is their unique art and musical style. Even The Ocean has progressed much since I first played it at PAX and I can't wait to try it out when it releases on PC and Mac this summer!

http://www.eventheocean.com/


It seems that if you are a certain age gamer you grew up playing Doom. I remember downloading the shareware version off a BBS, playing it at night and have the sound and ambiance freak me out. The carnage and gameplay was incredible and I was hooked. I loved the shotgun and it was so satisfying reloading it and blowing demons away. I never did sit down and complete the entirety of the shareware version but I played the hell out of the game for many years. Later on as Doom became more popular I played it multiplayer with friends over our modems and on multi-node BBS's.

I also enjoyed Doom 2 and much later Doom 3. Whereas it's not very brave to say you like Doom 2, Doom 3 has a mixed reputation now yet I still stand by it. Doom 3 is a horror shooter that focuses on dark brooding gameplay and I find it very well done. I liked the more recent Doom 3 BFG Edition too but lamented that they made it easier and allowed you to turn on the flashlight while holding any gun. I felt the original Doom 3 making you choose between the flashlight or gun was a bold gameplay choice. You can either see in a dark room or shoot stuff. It created a ton of "oh shit" moments and again, was bummed Doom 3 BFG changed that.

When I heard iD was going to drop a new Doom game I was very excited. It looked like a proper return to form and some kind of retelling of the original Doom story. It looked like a departure from Doom 3, but I don't mind doing something different as we already have Doom 3.

Even though I didn't play it launch day, I have since remedied that and I can say that Doom is back and it's great. If you don't like violent shooters this game is a non-starter. Doom is so entirely comfortable being "that crazy insanely violent game" it takes that comfort to a new place. When I originally played Diablo 3 I was a bit shocked by some of the gore as certain areas can get very graphic and it was a bit surprising even to my 90's desensitized mind. Doom takes that gore and violence and kicks it into orbit. Don't get me wrong, the game isn't great because it's a bloody mess but it's unique in that it doesn't apologize for what it is and charges straight ahead chainsaws blazing.

Doom has been covered extensively as it has been very well received. If you are interested in a return to a simpler kind of shooter that focuses entirely on gameplay and intense combat, Doom is the game. I can't give a game much more praise than that I plan to complete it and that I look for more when iD gets around to it. And at this point I am curious what more plans iD has for more Doom content. The Season Pass seems 100% multiplayer focused something I am not interested in. Hopefully they take a page from the new Wolfenstein game and release a short game that is more of what people love. Hell they could go straight into new Doom 2 and I bet people would love it. I know I would.


Nintendo's Wii might be a system that no longer has any new games coming out on it but it has a robust back catalog of a few titles that are fantastic. If you haven't played Super Mario Galaxy you need to, it's one of the best modern 3D platformers i've played in quite some time. The Wii has a ton of other great first and third party games and recently I picked up Donkey Kong Country Returns. I've decided to head back and purchase Wii games I missed to help fill in my collection. As a huge fan of Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo, this seemed like a no-brainer and the fact it's on everyones best of Wii lists helped.

It bears repeating that the original Donkey Kong Country on Super Nintendo was hard. I did a recent replay & review of the game and I noted that...

"The biggest problem the game suffers from is that it gets it's difficulty simply by making certain levels so hard you need to memorize them to complete them. For instance, there is a minecart level that is so hard, i'd argue the majority of it is impossible to complete without completely memorizing where everything is located. This reliance on memorization was pretty common for old games but doesn't make it any less cheap. I would say a good platformer can be challenging but not so brutal you simply just need to burn it into your muscle memory to complete it."

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/2470/criticisms-for-a-classic-game-donkey-kong-country

Donkey Kong Country Returns understands it's roots and is both challenging yet fair. I'd say, at least to the part i've played, it never seems crazy difficult but it is a platformer that will challenge you. Like all good games it slowly works in more and more difficulty and doesn't seem overwhelming. During one level Donkey Kong gets in a rocket and needs to ride it while avoiding cannon balls from a pirate ship. The level is nuts and keeps layering things requiring your to memorize how the level plays out. Luckily Donkey Kong Country understands this and places extra lives and bananas throughout the level so if you collect them don't run out of lives and have to start over.

Donkey Kong Country Returns is available on the Wii, Wii U and 3DS and if you have any of those systems and are looking for a challenging platformer banana revenge story, this game is worth looking into.