TED tv & Star Wars meets Xbox360

Here's the thing. I fought playing video games for many, many years. Like my parents and many of yours, everyone thought our time would be better spent saving the world, or at least cleaning our rooms. Even at my 41 years of age, I find myself feeling slightly guilty if I spend a whole afternoon playing the latest release. Obviously, I'm more or less over it if I even have a blog about xbox. I mean, you can only take so much guilt before you figure out that the very thing you feel guilty about can relieve the guilt... Anyway! I found a really great TED tv talk about gaming and how it could save the world. Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world | Video on TED.com#.Tk1Tr0lPorE.facebook">
Jane McGonigal argues that games like WoW gives players the means to save worlds, and incentives to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real world problems?
I like this idea. She shows an image of a young man on the verge of solving a very big (gamer) problem and the look of surprise and joy on his face is contagious. He went through a series of steps, failed, tried again in a different way and it's about to pay off. I'm familiar with this feeling. It's easy enough to take this idea into your real life as well. You may have a goal you are trying to reach. If you actually give yourself levels to reach and rewards for when you get there, you are using gaming to reach real goals. Debt, jobs, excercise, all can be 'gamified' if you will. Check out the link. It'll make you think.

So, my love and I are all excited about the new Star Wars console bundle pictured above. It's pricey, but we are in need of a new one as our Elite is experiencing technical difficulties. I have another xbox Arcade in the bedroom, but we are both such avid gamers that one will just not do it. Besides, I can justify the price based on this video alone! We'll be the coolest kids on the block! I can hardly contain myself...

So, hopefully, as time goes by, I'll get better at relaying my thoughts on...things, and... stuff. Y'know... Hope you enjoyed!

Passing into legend

Good afternoon all! Last time I posted, I talked a little about the single player side of Red Dead Redemption (RDR). Today, let's talk a little about the multiplayer side. As you may remember, I think this may be one of the greatest games out to date! It's beautiful and meticulously thought out. One of my favorite parts of the game is the multiplayer sessions. When you get onto multiplayer for the first time, you are not the main character from the single player side (John Marston or his son Jack Marston), you start as a randomly chosen character. You can go to the outfitter and change your character, or better yet, start right up raising holy hell! There are lots of gang hideouts to clear out and you can shoot other players who are in your world with you. Don't want to play alone? Just posse up with your friends online too. As you move through the session, you gain experience points (XP) for everything you do and you level up. Every time you level up you get stuff, like another, better, weapon, and/or a better mount, new characters and more multiplayer game options. There are co-op games where you work together to make it to the end as well as free-for-all, where it's just everyone for themselves.
This game has won all kinds of awards and is just amazing. If you don't have it, at least rent it for a week and see how you feel about it then.
Oh! Right! When you get to level 50 for the first time, you get to ride a bull. That's pretty darn cool. He's fast and runs great over terrain that your mount has trouble with. At whatever time you choose, you can go to your multiplayer screen under the pause button and choose to pass into legend. This starts you over from level one and you have to get to 50 again to start accumulating legendary mounts and characters. Seriously, get this game! Then invite me to join a posse. MoriartysParty.