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Tag: GOTY

2017 Year in Review
So once again we’ve completed another orbit around the Sun, and due to this special time of year it’s time to look back and see what I’ve accomplished in those last 365 days. I must admit, I’m in two minds as to how much I’ve done – on the one hand I’ve travelled more than ever before, and produced more content and brilliant photo’s than ever before, BUT some of my achievements were not on my to-do list from the beginning of the year, so I’m unsure how good this will look. Off the top of my head though this is what I’ve been doing:

Visited 6 Countries

Yep! This year it appears as though I was a jet-setter, with myself going to the following six countries:
- Japan
- Norway
- Denmark
- The Netherlands
- Bulgaria
- Austria
I spent a combined total of 30 days outside of the UK, which is fantastic in my opinion, as the further I get away from this place the better!

Completed and Reviewed 52 Games

Another year another weekly gaming! Whilst there were a few weeks where I forgot to schedule things, I did indeed complete 52 games this year and managed to review every single one of them. My list of completions can be seen below:

Ratchet and Clank
The Order 1886
Gears of War 4
Superhot
Mirrors Edge: Catalyst
Lego Jurassic World
Star Wars Battlefront
Knee Deep
Leaving Lyndow
The Videokid
Sniper Elite 4
Halo Wars 2
Call of Duty Infinite Warfare
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Snake Pass
Shovel Knight
The Witness
Late Shift
Yooka-Laylee
PuyoPuyo Tetris
Little Nightmares
Kamiko
Killer is Dead
Tokyo 42
Virginia
Jotun
Tekken 7
Monument Valley 2
Get Even
Tales from the Borderlands
Valiant Hearts
Pokemon Moon
Refunct
Super Mario Run
Submerged
Sonic Mania
Subsurface Circular
Mario + Rabbids
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Songbringer
Unchartered 4
Cuphead
Jettomero
Forza 7
Lego Star Wars The Force Awakens
Super Mario Odyssey
Costume quest 2
Sonic forces
Bound
Grow up
Super Lucky’s Tale
Doki Doki Literature Club

Watch out for my GOTY article in the next couple of days!

Read 24 Books

Due to other time commitments, this is increasingly getting harder, but I managed to achieve this once again thanks to Audible. So without further ado, here’s a list of the literature I managed to get through in the last 12 months:

Wait but Why: Elon Musk
1984
Human Universe
Steve Jobs
Deep Work
Linux Exam Book
Aliens (Jim-alkhalili)
The Brain: The Story of you
User Interface Design for Programmers
Elon Musk Biography
The Long Earth
Spelunky (Boss Fight Books)
Dangerous – Milo
The Anti-Procrastination Book
Reality is Broken – Why games make us better
Video Game Story-telling
Surviving AI
The Long War
The Long Mars
The great gatesby
The long utopia
Metal gear solid
The watchmaker of filigree street
SPQR

To add to this (but not included in the list) I also read the following Manga:

One Punch Man 1
One Punch Man 2
One Punch Man 3
One Punch Man 4
One Punch Man 5
One Punch Man 6
One Punch Man 7
One Punch Man 8
One Punch Man 9
One Punch Man 10
One Punch Man 11

(shit… that’s a lot of One Punch Man).

Watched 28 Movies

Yep, another year, another 24 (or more!) movies. This year I watched quite a few classics, but easily my biggest disappointment was the latest Star Wars – so much so that even when watching the film me and Lucy couldn’t help but turn to each other in awe at how shit some of the scenes were. Regardless, here’s all the films I managed to watch in 2017:

The Killing Joke
FFXV Kingslave
Burn After Reading
O Brother Where Art Thou
Steve Jobs
Fargo
Doctor Strange
Bad Grandpa
Allegiant
A Serious Man
A Garden From Words
Hurricane Bianca
Grown Ups 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
Wonder Woman
Batman Lego Movie
Logan
Spiderman: Homecoming
Dunkirk
Fantastic Beasts and where to find them
Blade Runner
Paprika
Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle
Thor: Ragnorok
Now you See me 2
The Dark Tower
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Baby Driver

Produced 16 Videos on Youtube

This one’s come as a surprise to me actually, with me only realising I had done this just now as I went back to my channel and counted all the videos I had made.

I’m happy that I’ve come up with a style for my thumbnails, and will continue to improve the quality of my uploads – with lots of animations and actual formulaic structure that I can consistently rely on in the future – making it faster and easier to create more videos.

Overall I’m quite happy with this goal, as my expectation was that I had done a lot less. Regardless of this, I’ll definitely continue to push out content, and hopefully pick up a few new subscribers along the way!

If you want to view some of these videos, you can by all means visit my channel below:

https://www.youtube.com/caesoose

Attended 2 Game Jams and Created 2 Prototype Games

Yep! This year was the year that I finally thought fuck it, and met some people at games jams. First up there was the JanJam in Oxford at the beginning of the year where I helped contribute towards “Beleaf”, which you can read about below on Rosa’s website:

http://rosacarbo.co.uk/janjam17

It was a delight to meet my fellow jamers, so much so that it made me realise how little I knew and how much I had to improve in games development

Secondly, I attended Splashjam 2017 in Norway – a fantastic experience that took place above the arctic circle. To say it was a trip of a lifetime is an understatement – I look forward to going back to Norway once again in the future, and will take what I learned from the experience and use it in spades over the coming years.

You can view more details about the game I created (Earth 2167) at the link below:

https://itch.io/jam/splash-2017

Started work on my second game

Whilst not complete, and with constant set-backs, I have indeed started working on my second game. This one is based on Nintendo’s Streetpass game, whereby players would earn an amount of coins based on how many steps they have walked on a given day. Using iOS, and an extension available on the app store to access apple’s Healthkit data, I’ve managed to come up with a prototype of a player calculating how many steps they’ve done, and then getting an amount of coins based on those steps. Players can then spend this money on puzzle pieces, of which the completed puzzles will be my own landscape photography.

The players stats and whether they’ve collected a puzzle before or not is all stored within a local db (all of this is new technology to me, so it’s taken some time to get used to it all). I’m hoping to have the finished product available on iOS sometime in 2018.

In 2018, I’ll make sure to write a weekly blog of my progress on the game. I’ll update this article accordingly to link to that blog.

Prepared for Linux Exam

Whilst I haven’t taken the Linux Exam just yet (I’m terrible at actually arranging things), I have read through my Linux exam book and have been working towards doing the actual exam by using Linux on a regular basis.

Come the new year I seriously need to sit down, book an exam date asap, and get on it, revising daily to pass the test.

Started Taking Photography More Seriously

Throughout the course of this year I’ve realised how much I do truly love photography, and how much joy it brings me to go out of my way to capture an image and share it with the world. So as of April, I proceeded to purchase a nice expensive DSLR camera: the Sony Alpha A6300. For quite a while I was leaning towards Canon camera’s, but after weighing up what I wanted to do with the camera (Video record + photography) I settled on the a6300 due to it’s 4K 100mbps recording (using the full 6k sensor and downsampling), and great 24mp shots.

To give a hint of the types of shots I’ve taken, you can see some of my images below. Suffice to say, I’m happy with my purchase, and have even gone on to purchase more lenses for the camera throughout the year:

Taken on Nara Island

Taken in Norway

Taken in Tokyo

Tooks 365 photos on instagram for #DailyDan

Yep! I decided to take part in the daily instagram challenge, and successfully took 365 photos this year! You can see my results and a daily snapshot of my life at my instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/caesoose

Oh! And whilst you’re looking at my instagram stuff, maybe take a look at my photography account:

https://www.instagram.com/caesoosephotography

So whilst I’m sure there’s so much more, for now, this is all the things I feel I’ve achieved in 2017.

I hope you’ve all had a lovely year, and I look forward to 2018 being a bigger and better year!

See you in 2018!

-Dan
31/12/2017
GOTY 2016: My Favourite Games Played in 2016

It’s that time of the year again!

Like previous years I’m going to list of my favourite games of 2016, which will also include games released in previous years. I do this so that I can get across what I’ve personally liked playing this year, as not everyone has the chance to play every 2016 release.

Without further ado!

10. Black Ops 3

Surprisingly, despite most critics claiming the first black-ops was the best, I found that the third was my favourite. Don’t get me wrong, it was odd breaking away from the continuity of the previous two, but it was still an enjoyable game in it’s own right, and easily just as good (if not better) than advanced warfare.

Should you be able to get the game on sale, do it. You don’t need to have played the previous black-ops games to play this one, so give it a go! Great fun and thoroughly enjoyable.

9. 6180 The Moon

A brilliant little indie game that can be completed in a few hours, but one that has a lovely little story and has a brilliant puzzle mechanic. You should seriously give this game a go.

8. Captain Toads Treasure Hunter

Easily one of my favourite puzzle games of all time now, Captain Toads Treasure Hunter is a charming and enjoyable puzzle/platformer that as simple as it is gorgeous. Find diamonds and treasure across a tiny, hugely detailed island, and proceed to solve puzzles. It’s so fantastic in fact that I want to make a game based on the same formula!

One can only hope it comes out for the Switch when that’s released.

7. Manual Samuel

From start to finish I could not stop laughing at Manual Samuel. Whilst it sucks that I didn’t get the achievements on my own Xbox profile (screw you craig!) I still enjoyed the game so much that I ended up playing through it multiple times.

A genuinely funny game that should be played by anyone that wants a laugh.

6. Enter the Gungeon

Holy crap the amount of hours I put into Enter the Gungeon was insane! I’m not gonna do another review on it, as you can read my thoughts on the game by clicking the link above, but holy crap, Enter the Gungeon took what made the binding of isaac so good and ran with it.

If you like roguelike’s, and have been itching for a new game that’ll take over your life for dozens of hours, Enter the Gungeon is where it’s at.

5. Battlefield 1

In all my years of playing Battlefield games, I’ve never thought they were actually *that* good. I mean, I can see why people enjoy their multiplayer, but as a whole they were always a bit too “free” for me to consider that great. I mean, it’s good that maps are that big, but unless you’re competent with the game or play with friends that know what you’re doing, you can feel a little overwhelmed.

Suffice to say, with Battlefield 1 appearing on my GOTY list, most nuisances I had with the previous incarnations have been rectified, so much so that I keep coming back to Battlefield 1’s multiplayer, even though I’m playing alone.

The theme, the slowed down combat, and general feel have all made sure that this is one of the best FPS’s that I’ve played in 2016. If you can get it on sale, do: you won’t regret it.

4. Abzu

Abzu Abzu Abzu. For quite a while after completing Abzu all I could think about was it’s flaws and lack of originality. Everytime I mentioned the game to friends or family I would use the sentence: Like journey only underwater. Looking back, that’s underselling Abzu’s fantastic design, and genuinely gorgeous story.

If you have a few hours to dedicate to a game, and want it concluded in those few hours, you cannot go wrong with Abzu. One thing’s for certain, I cannot get over how beautiful it is at times.

3. Titanfall 2

I fucking loved Titanfall 1. Having played the game for a grand total of 112hours, believe me when I say it was one of my favourite online multiplayer games of the last decade. Whilst Titanfall 2’s tech test concerned and worried me, I’m glad Respawn went back to the drawing board, because the results speak for themselves.

The campaign, whilst short, is actually really enjoyable, and results in many memorable moments with your titan companion. The multiplayer too is fantastic, and manages to take the strengths of Titanfall 1 with *almost* none of it’s shortcomings.

It’s a shame the game hasn’t sold too well on PC, as matches are getting a little hard to find, but man oh man is this a fantastic game.

2. DOOM

HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

Unlike most reviewers, I actually liked Doom 3. Maybe it was because of my age when the game was released, or maybe it was because I was just into graphics and nothing else. Whatever the reason, I didn’t necessarily need DOOM to be fast like it’s predecessors.

Saying that, I’m so glad it did. The gameplay in DOOM is astounding, constantly pushing you to move forwards using it’s glory kill mechanic, and ensuring you never take cover. DOOM has shown FPS’s in 2016 that it’s ok to break the mould and invent new mechanics, and holy shit am I glad it exists.

Regardless of whether you owned the originals or not: You owe it to yourself to play DOOM.

1. Forza Horizon 3

Close friends and family know how much I love open world driving games. With my purchase of the Xbox 360 at University, all I ever played was Test Drive unlimited; a game I so fondly remember that I wish to one day drive on Hawaiian islands with an Enzo Ferarri.

Forza Horizon 3 manages to take that formula I love so much, and expand on it in every department (graphically, gameplay wise, car range), that I ended up spending days exploring all of it’s roads, and every race it had to offer. I loved it so much that I ended up buying the season pass, which wasn’t cheap at all. One things for certain about Forza Horizon 3; I cannot wait for the next piece of DLC to drop.

So that’s it for 2016! I hope you all have a wonderful new year, and I look forward to seeing you in 2017!

31/12/2016
GOTY 2015: My Favourite Games Played 2015

Hi all,

It’s that special time of year again, the time where we summarise what we liked (and what we didn’t) before our inevitable death. It that’s a bit too dark for you, sorry, but lets get on with my top 10 games!

(For those of you who don’t know, this list encompasses both new and old games, and is only a reflection on what I have personally played this year).

10. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Whilst I’ve played my fair share of action games in the past, Metal Gear Rising: Revengence really well and truly was a fantastic game that helped to reinvigorate my love of action games. It’s story was a little non-sensical, but at the end of the day, I’ve heard that of every Metal Gear game of the last few years.

9. Metrico

This stylish platformer changed my perspective on what a platformer game truly can be. Some of it’s brilliant puzzle ideas may actually find it’s way into my next game, due to their simplicity and brilliant attention to detail. To say it’s a must-play is an understatement, and I hope many more people get to play this fantastic platformer in the future with the games imminent release on PS4 sometime in 2016.

8. The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

What started out as walking simulator soon turned into one of the most exciting games I’ve played all year. The Vanishing of Nathan Carter genuinely tricks you into thinking it’s another Everybody’s Gone to The Rapture, but soon, through mini tales, tells a great story about a little boy named Nathan and his fantastic imagination. If you haven’t played Nathan Carter, do so: you will not be disappointed.

7. DMC: Devil May Cry

I’ve loved Devil May Cry ever since I was a little git skiving from school because of a cold. Playing as this awesome man named Dante taking on a bunch of demons from the underworld truly appealed to my teenage sensibilities, and has stuck with me even now when I’m 28. Playing through DMC: Devil May Cry by Ninja Theory, I was annoyed at first by the hair and stylistic changes they had made, but truly admired what they done to the gameplay, and looking back now at the end of the year, I can honestly say it was one of the best games I’ve played in a long time. Ninja Theory should be proud of what they done to this franchise, I know that I am proud of them for allowing DMC a few more years of relevance in this industries darkest, sequel driven, times.

6. Shadow Puppeteer

After seeing the game and speaking with it’s Norwegian creators at EGX 2015, I had to have my hands on a game that truly conjured up images of Tim Burton the second I laid eyes on it. Shadow Puppeteer wasn’t without it’s faults; the platforming felt a bit too glitchy at times, but it was truly stunning to watch, and brilliant to think about it’s puzzle mechanics.

5. Grow Home

I haven’t sat down with a game and been so enthralled by it that I complete it 100% in a long time. Grow Home broke this streak for me when it became available on PS4 recently, to which I was so hooked I genuinely sunk around 8 hours into it before coming away satisfied that I had uncovered everything the game had to give. Whilst Grow Home is no longer free on PS+, I’d still recommend giving the game a go. Every friend I’ve spoken to who’s played the game loves it.

4. Not a Hero

Hilarious and patriotic are not words you hear often in the games industry, but both are perfect descriptors for Roll 7’s crazy and manic shooter Not a Hero. Every press of the trigger had me chuckling to myself as enemies would swear english profanities in my direction. Along with the hilarity, there was also good gameplay, a seemingly repetitive shooter but one that has depth due to how small and complex the levels are. The objectives played out on said levels are also the cream on the cake.

3. Rocket League

I spent over 100 hours playing Rocket League; a feat I thought I no longer had in me due to other responsibilities in my life. But Rocket League properly grabbed me, so much so it was hard to look away. I knew I had it bad when I got home drunk from town one day, barely able to walk, yet still sober enough to think “I need to play Rocket League!”, and so I plonked it on the TV. I done terribly of course, but it still stands as a testament to how fun Rocket League is, and how it easily earns a top spot in my GOTY awards 2015.

2. Life is Strange

It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes Life is Strange so damn special. Maybe it’s the new perspective on a life I never knew, maybe its the lovely hand painted textures and graphics, or maybe, just maybe, it’s because the story had me talking with friends and family in ways a game hasn’t for many years. Life is Strange is a landmark moment in the games industry: it’s still AAA enough to reach a mass audience the indie scene could only dream of, but is also tackling subjects the AAA industry frequently don’t speak about. Topics from Suicide, murder, proper characterisation and many more are truly excellent in (almost) every aspect. Dontnod should be proud of what they’ve produced: it’s stellar.

1. Halo 5

This may come as no surprise to those who know me (I mean, I love the halo franchise so much I’m considering getting a tattoo), but Halo 5 has reinvigorated my love and passion for the franchise. Halo 4 burned me out; it was truly a mediocre game that was capable, but boring. Halo 5 on the other hand is so addictive that I’ve invested countless nights and hundreds of hours into the multiplayer, and that doesn’t even include the campaign that I tirelessly finished on legendary alone. For fans of shooters on consoles, you can do no better at the moment than Halo 5; a truly landmark game that has kept me hooked since its release in October.

So there you go, my top 10 games of 2015. As with the previous 3 years, I’m going to be continuing to complete a game a week, with a weekly article going up as standard. I’ve done 156 articles so far, and I’m not going to stop anytime soon.

So tune in next year (and next week) for my coverage on games I’m completing, along with new opinion pieces, and video articles I’ll soon be producing.

Thank you for your support, and have a fantastic Holiday.

-Dan

23/12/2015
My Top 10 Games of the Year.

It’s been a long and fantastic year. I went to my first and second gaming conventions, I spent 3 months of the year in America, and started working on 2 games, both of which work, but aren’t polished. I quit a retail job, and went solo to try and make it in the gaming world (which hasn’t happened yet, but will one day!). It’s been a hectic year, but in that time, I’ve made sure to stick to my new years resolution, and have completed at least 1 game a week (it started as 1 piece of media a week, but being as I have a huge steam library and far too many consoles, it eventually changed it to games alone).

So to round the year up, here’s my top 10 list of my favourite games I’ve completed this year.

Honourable Mention. State of Decay.

State of Decay could easily have been my game of the year, having played over 18 hours and being totally invested in the world, I was ready to say that’s it, it’s amazing and everyone should play it. BUT this was until I came across bugs that stopped me from completing the main campaign. I’ll write a review in more detail soon, but lets just say, it’s a fantastic game that definitely needs to be polished up.

10. Gravity Rush.

If you spoke to 15 year old Daniel, you’d find a boy obsessed with everything Japanese. I’ve come a long way since then, and haven’t been as into Japanese culture and games for a long while, but Gravity rush changed all that. Its town is lovingly built, with characters that gleam with enthusiasm and depth, and the mechanics, whilst repetitive, are extremely enjoyable. I am genuinely excited about the prospect of another Gravity Rush, and would easily recommend this game as a must have for any new Vita owner.

9. Borderlands 2.

Borderlands 2 makes this list due to the sheer amount of hours me and my gaming buddy have invested into it (110+ so far). Its gameplay is fantastic, and the loot system just makes it as addictive as any casino game. The story isn’t great, but that’s not what you’re there for, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LOOT!

8. Batman: Arkham City.

Having loved the original so much, I knew this would be a hit from the moment I started playing. Everything about the original has been upgraded, from the fighting style, to the level design and graphics, everything is better than the first. My only regret? That I didn’t play this sooner.

7. Bioshock Infinite.

I didn’t write a review for Bioshock: Infinite when I completed it back in March, mainly because I was that blown away by it that I felt any comments I had on it wouldn’t do it justice. I played it again some months later when I returned from the US, and found that maybe I went a tad overboard in my praise for the game. It’s still a fantastic journey from start to finish, and will easily entertain any player for hours on end, but in hindsight, it wasn’t the best game ever, just a great accumulation of what story telling in action games, along with a fantastic setting, have transpired to become.

6. FTL: Faster Than Light.

Such a short and simple game in terms of mechanics, yet so hard/impossible to master. These great traits stand the test of time, and I can foresee myself getting addicted to this again very soon with its expansion and port to iOS. The iOS port is going to ruin my productivity, as then I’ll be able to play it at work and wherever I like.

5. Gone Home.

I was blown away by the way that Gone Home told its story through its gameplay mechanics. Even more surprising was Fullbright studios ability to know that most players aren’t dumb, so you were able to find out about a character both directly (through manuscripts you pick up) and indirectly (by the type of room they had or items they owned). If was fantastic, and has greatly influenced my thought process in making a story for a game.

4. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

The Production value of Brothers was absolutely astounding. Like Journey a year ago, Brothers put me on an emotional roller coaster, with its game mechanics and control system feeding into the overall narrative perfectly. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game so perfectly realised as Josef Fares imagination goes wild.

3. Thomas Was Alone.

Thomas Was Alone changed my perspective on what it means and takes to build a character within a game. For all my life, I’ve been a die-hard graphics enthusiast, someone who upgrades his PC to try and play the latest and greatest on max settings. I’ve always been a stark defender of graphics building more immersive worlds and believable characters, but Thomas Was Alone has changed all of that. Here were a bunch of different shaped rectangles, that each had their own personalities and quirks, with more personality that any AAA game such as Crysis or Halo. I was emotionally attached to these little blocks, something I can’t say for all of the polished grizzly action men of this generation. I managed to give my thanks personally to Mike Bithell for this masterpiece at PlayExpo, and for all it’s worth, I hope he knows that this game will stick with me until the day I die, regardless of how much Mike thinks it’s over-rated.

2. The Last of Us.

It’s hard to talk about 2013 without mentioning The Last of Us. It’s a breakthrough in the games industry in marrying a serious plot with some serious game mechanics. It may not have been my game of the year, mainly because I did still have some gripes with the game (barely changing the uncharted gameplay model and making the story justify it doesn’t seem revolutionary in my book), but the game is still a landmark for me in how far our industry has come. I feel I can safely say, that’s something we should all be proud of.

1. The Binding of Isaac.

I’m hooked by the Binding of Isaac. Never have I found a game more enticing, more addictive, than when I’m exploring randomly generated dungeons with perils and rewards around every corner. The game mechanics are simple to learn, but hard to master, and work perfectly with the variety of enemies that want nothing more then to see Isaac die. To me, The Binding of Isaac is a perfect combination of game mechanics married with game design, and with a different experience waiting for you every time you jump in, it’s certainly addicting to keep on coming back for more.

30/12/2013