Life Imitates Video Games: Polygoing Off

I’m hitting pause on the podcast for a few weeks due to a convergence of life, work and personal stuff. Here’s a quick update for April of 2017.

Readied Actions, Free Time and You

Readied actions are an old Dungeons & Dragons tactic. They’re also a great tool for springing to action when free time opens up. In this episode of the podcast I’m exploring similarities between capitalizing on available moments and this classic game mechanic.

Episode Details

… time stamps incoming …

References

* Readied Actions and how they work

* Info on cognitive load and decision paralysis

Chess Chip Cookies Recipe (Yup, seriously)

These measurements are all in Imperial units because I’m in the United States. As long as the proportions match, you can scale the batch as necessary. You’ll need:

* A half stick of butter (8 tbsp, aka 1/2 cup of butter)

* 1/2 cup of (white) sugar

* 1/2 cup of brown sugar

* 1 cup of general purpose flour

* 1.5 cups of whole/old fashioned/steel cut/whatever oatmeal

* 1 egg

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 2 tbsp of good vanilla or 1.5 tbsp of OK’ish vanilla

* 2 cups of total “stuff” – chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, almonds

Let the butter sit out overnight so it’s soft. I haven’t had a slew of success melting the butter so I always leave it out for a bit.

Combine the butter, white sugar and brown sugar. Stir it up so it’s about the consistency of frosting. Crack and add the egg, and add the vanilla. Stir again. It should be a bit gooey and less frosting’esque now.

Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir well. I define “well” as, “Damn, I’m tired of stirring.” If I’m wondering if I should keep stirring, I keep stirring. Then I add the oatmeal and … guess what … stir.

That’s your base. Now add the “stuff.” I usually add about 2 cups total of whatever I want to put in them. I recommend chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk), white chocolate chips and almonds. I’ll usually do equal proportions of each, so 0.66 cups apiece. Another glorious combination is semi-sweet chocolate chips, dried cherries or cranberries and walnuts.

Mix it all up. It’s probably pretty hard to stir at this point. When the stuff seems evenly distributed, stash the dough in the fridge for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease up a pan. I usually use butter to grease the pan.

Make little balls from the chilled dough and just plop ’em on the pan, then cook for about 14 minutes. That’ll leave the cookies pretty chewy and soft with slightly crispy edges. If you like crispy cookies, go 16 minutes.

Eat that shit up.

 

Buying New Clothes? Upgrade Your Armor

I was out clothes shopping the other day. I don’t enjoy clothes shopping; it’s one of life’s great burdens. However, I realized something. Buying new clothes is just like upgrading your armor in video games. We discuss the similarities in this week’s out-of-cycle release of the podcast.

Show Details

… incoming …

References

* Hoodies from American Giant

* Reaper.fm, an awesome and affordable audio-editing software suite

Sacrificing “Right Now” for Quality

Curses! The regularly scheduled episode for March 08, 2017 is late. I recorded an episode covering the similarities between buying new clothes and upgrading your armor. However, I hated it. It felt rushed. Instead of releasing a show I’m lukewarm on I’m sacrificing “right now” for a better episode.

Here’s a quick update on the week’s show.

Live Every Moment Like Your Last?

We’re six episodes deep in 2017! Time for a mailbag episode covering feedback, random topics and a rant on the phrase, “Live every moment like your last.”

Episode Details

* Greetings! Here’s the gist of the show (00:55)

* This episode is about nothing … except feedback and random topics (01:11)

* What do you think about the format change? (02:24)

* “Live every moment like your last” is a load of crap (03:56)

* Feedback! (11:31)

* Clarifying the idea of “warming up” in a game, via xTheVisionary (12:01)

* The Powder Mage Trilogy is the greatest book recommendation of all time, from UpperMGMT (18:30)

* Some heavier podcast topics touching on current events, via N/A (22:03)

* The improvements of the SWS segment, via the feedback line (24:49)

* The “abilitease” (26:22)

* Revisiting thoughts on customizing your “build” … aka, you (27:43)

* Feedback and thanks! (32:03)

References

* Catch up on previous episodes

* Sins of Empire, coming soon from Brian McClellan in the Powder Mage Universe

We All Level Up

In this episode we explore the similarities between how game characters level up and how we acquire skills in real life. Especially, we focus on school. In the early years of school students follow a fixed development path. Students adhere to a fairly standardized curriculum. Furthermore, there’s not much variety in course selection.

That all changes in college, however.

Episode Details

* Greetings and the introduction (00:54)

* Systems to level up in games (02:16)

* Regardless of the system, leveling up in a game tries to convey a single intent (05:10)

* Fixed character development paths; conversely, open-ended skill trees (08:44)

* Moving to the next grade in school is a direct parallel to gaining a level on a fixed path (11:21)

* Conversely, higher education is an open-ended development path (16:04)

* The pace of leveling up in games and life (22:26)

* In light of the parallel, can students be over-leveled? (28:09)

* Addressing feedback: No, I don’t have a 1200w power supply (33:16)

* SWS: Beer! Arrogant Bastard from Stone Brewing (37:01)

* Finally, opening it up for feedback (44:06)

References

* The Critique of Pure Reason, by Immanuel Kant

* Arrogant Bastard on Beer Advocate

* Arrogant Bastard on RateBeer

Life is a Metroidvania

As a kid, the world is full of items you can’t reach and places you can’t access. Like Samus. Life is a Metroidvania, especially in the early years.

This episode draws parallels between young kids hitting milestones and gamers progressing through these quest-laden classics. Learning to crawl is like acquiring the Morph Ball. Also, figuring out how to open a childproof latch is a metaphorical key item.

In addition to connecting dots, I do a quick breakdown of the term “Metroidvania” and wax nostalgic about some favorites from the NES era.

Episode Summary

* Intro and greeting (01:03)

* Don’t worry; this is not an episode about parenting (01:32)

* “Metroidvania” is a portmanteau. What’s a portmanteau? (06:08)

* A pseudo-history of the Metroidvania (06:58)

* Oddly, the original Castlevania was not a Metroidvania. Conversely, were Zelda and Metal Gear? (13:07)

* So … life is a Metroidvania for a little kid, how? (18:14)

* SWS: Amazon Echo, my voice-controlled best friend music player (29:16)

* And finally, a call for feedback and the closing (40:37)

References

* Some general info on Metroid (1987, NES)

* Some general info on Castlevania (1987, NES)

* Also, general info on Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1988, NES)

* Amazon Echo ($179) and the Echo Dot ($49)

In PvP and in Sports: the Perils of Underestimating Your Opponent

The New England Patriots just staged one of the greatest comebacks in sports. Did the Falcons write them off? Were they overconfident going into the 4th quarter? In this episode, I explore the perils of underestimating your opponent in gaming PvP while drawing parallels to Super Bowl LI.

This episode also brings back recommendations! In a new segment titled, “Shit Worth Sharing,” I give a shout out to Black Sails.

Episode Highlights

* Greeting and intro; are you talking about sports? (01:08)

* “The Pats/Packers won the Super Bowl! It’s the greatest day of my life!” On the other hand, how sad. (02:28)

* Context: The Super Bowl is kind of a big deal (03:49)

* Making snap judgments about the Patriots and Falcons (06:26)

* Making snap judgments about PvP opponents (11:44)

* A heartbreaking tale of Mario Kart Double Dash (12:23)

* Falling into the trap of underestimating your opponent (18:12)

* Furthermore, the perils of writing off an opponent (20:00)

* SWS: Black Sails on Starz (33:14)

* Housekeeping and items of note with the show (40:30)

References

* Highlights and analysis from Super Bowl LI (via NYT)

* Black Sails, from Starz

* Black Sails opening sequence

* Gameplay from Mario Kart Double Dash

Gaming Poisons as a Parallel to Deadlines

Working under a looming deadline often leads to panic and rushed decisions. When infected by any number of gaming poisons, the same perils apply. However, both instances can increase your focus and help prioritize actions.

In this episode I’m exploring the similarities between meeting real-life deadlines and playing a game with a poisoned character.

Episode Details

* Greeting and context (01:03)

* This show is about toxicity, not the Final Fight character (01:51)

* Poison as a damage-over-time mechanic is old a jumping in games (02:28)

* Real-time poisons and turn-based poisons (05:24)

* Panic and desperation when poisoned or under a deadline (11:53)

* Desperation is bad, but there’s also an up-side to deadlines/poison (21:49)

* Opening it up for feedback (28:28)

Feedback & Discussion

* Follow @Polygoing on Twitter

* Find the show at facebook.com/Polygoing

* Leave a voicemail or text the feedback line (415) 697-0679

* Email [email protected]

Subscribe to the Podcast

* Via iTunes

* In Google Play

* On Stitcher

Focus and Concentration

Gaming in short bursts sucks. Pursuing creativity in short bursts does, too. Studies show it takes the brain between five and twenty-five minutes to fully engage in an activity. To this point, trying to tackle a problem in small slices of time is inefficient because you always have to ease into the task. In this episode I’m exploring the importance of focus and concentration in accomplishing goals.

This episode represents a change in the podcast format. I’m trying to weave commonality into the otherwise random topics we’re discussing – namely, gaming and gaming culture. Let me know your thoughts on the update!

Topic References

* Welcome! A quick update on the new show format (00:57)

* Focus and concentration and the context of our discussion (02:23)

* The importance of uninterrupted time in modern, immersive games (07:18)

* Limitations of the brain in achieving total concentration; easing-in (09:04)

* Solving problem capabilities when you’re in “the zone” (14:25)

* Parallels between extended gaming sessions and the creative pursuits (15:34)

* Inspiration is weird; there’s no need to ramp up when a great idea comes from nowhere (23:16)

* Being productive in short bursts of time by picking appropriate tasks (27:50)

* Opening up for feedback and closing (29:52)

References

* The Science Behind Concentration, a high-level blog post from Sandglaz

* Interesting article from the New York Times on distraction, concentration and the book Rapt, by Winifred Gallagher

* “Where do Your Ideas Come From?” Neil Gaiman talking about inspiration, video on YouTube