The Return of the Mystery Blogger Award
“The Mystery Blogger Award is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion”. Okoto Enigma
The Rules:
Ensure the award logo is used in your post.
List the rules.
Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
Mention the original creator of the award and provide a link to their site.
Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice.
Share a link to your best post(s).
I have been tagged again for yet another internet questionnaire. But as I enjoy these sorts of things, this is not an issue and I’m happy to participate a second time. But before I start, I shall be making my usual minor “adjustment” to the rules. I find that nominating other potential participants can be a little problematic. I don’t want to pressurise anyone into feeling obliged to respond to a nomination. Nor do I want anyone to feel excluded because they didn’t receive one. Therefore my standard compromise is to suggest that if you like internet questionnaires and wish to be involved, then do so.
So to begin with, I’d like to thank Dan (AKA Magi) from Indiecator for the nomination. This is the second time he’s asked me to participate, so I assume he finds something of note in my writing. Do go and visit his website or stop by when he’s streaming. You’ll find reviews and social commentary there and it’s always useful to read someone else's perspective on popular subjects.
Three Things About Me:
I have a penchant for organising objects because I like things neat and tidy. I keep my pocket change on the window ledge in my office and stack the coins in size order.
Over the years, I have been gradually losing my sense of smell. This has been further exacerbated since I caught COVID-19 in April. I can still detect odors but not as well as I could a decade ago but luckily there has been no reciprocal deterioration in my sense of taste. In some circumstances having restricted olfaction is an advantage.
I really miss producing a weekly podcast. Contains Moderate Peril podcast ran for 180 episodes and Burton and Scrooge got as far as 32 shows. Over time myself and co-host Brian found a style, tone and show format which worked and built a modest but loyal audience. However, scheduling recordings, finding guests and the complexities of post production were tough. Plus it’s hard to maintain your enthusiasm for specific games and sometimes you feel the need to take a break. Eventually real world commitments put both shows on hiatus and eventually we just stopped doing them altogether. However, I still feel that I have plenty to say on gaming, movies, TV and other aspects of popular culture so I may try one of two things. I might try to record a new show to see how I cope with the work involved and determine if past listeners are still interested. The second option is to try and “gatecrash” someone else’s show. The latter is a lot easier. You just turn up, talk, leave and let someone else do the complicated stuff like editing. Either way, I need to address this podcast itch as it just doesn’t want to go away.
Magi’s Questions:
Q: You have to ban one game for eternity. This game shall never be played or watched again and nobody is allowed to talk about it. Which game do you pick?
A: I’m broadly not an advocate of “banning” things, although I believe there is a case for measured regulation in certain circumstances. For example, I see no reason why someone in western society needs to own a fully automatic assault rifle and have no problem with the current UK regulations for firearms. However, unless a video game is in breach of existing libel and defamation laws, I don’t see why a video game should be banned. I don’t see it as a role of government and the wider establishment to police things that may well be morally reprehensible and in poor taste. We should have the freedom to find out the suitability of a game for ourselves and then make an informed choice as to whether to purchase it ourselves. We also have the right to protest against it and upbraid those who created it. But I don’t hold with “cancel culture” and “no platforming”. You win arguments and hold the ethical high ground by engagement. Not by pretending something doesn’t exist.
Q: How was your day? What have you been up to? Hope you’re well.
A: At the time of writing this blog post, I have just taken my late Father’s best suit, regimental tie and shoes along to the funeral directors, in preparation for his cremation next Monday. Have a wild guess how my day’s been. Usually I am a content, self sufficient person but the last two months have been difficult to say the least. However, once my Father’s funeral is over and I get the chance to grieve, privately and on my own terms, I’m sure I will be okay. Because life goes on and I’m too old now with too few days ahead of me to waste on sadness and problems.
Q: If you could take any vehicle/plane/etc. from any game/show/book/whatever to use in our world, what would you pick and where would you go?
A: Sam Loover’s car from Joe 90. I don’t drive. I never have done so. So my response is based purely upon the impression this vehicle left on me when I first saw it as a child. And the fact that it still looks cool. And because it has self sealing and re-inflating tyres. Plus I had a toy version of it during the seventies.
Q: This one’s weird! It’s not a question… it’s an answer! “No, but the raisings certainly belong to this office.” – Find the question that this answer answers!
A: I don’t understand what the answer means. Perhaps the question comes from someone recovering from a major head injury or someone who is not a native speaker of English. Can the verb raise be used in such a fashion? This question would also have been a lot more fun if the answer has been “No but the raisins certainly belong to the office”, because then I could weave a tale of dried fruit based theft and intrigue.
Q: What’s your favourite Indie title that you personally love that nobody seems to know?
A: I stepped completely out of my comfort zone when I bought Hand of Fate in 2015. This deck based game which blends RPG style action combat really grabbed my attention upon its release. It’s quirky, intriguing and has brilliant voice acting by Anthony Skordi as the sinister “Dealer”. The sequel, Hand of Fate 2, improved the game and did something very clever with the existing narrative. It effectively turned the protagonist from the first installment IE the character you previously played, into the antagonist that you were playing against, the second time round. Both games had a great score by composer Jeff van Dyck. In many ways these games are exemplars of the indie gaming ethos. Sadly Defiant Development closed down shortly after the release of Hand of Fate 2, which is a damn shame. They’re next project, A World in my Attic, looked very interesting.
My Questions:
Does it concern you that so many video games are predicated upon or at least involve acts of violence towards other people?
What is your relationship with academia and intellectual rigour? Do you enjoy weighty documentaries and non-fiction books? Do you like understanding complicated issues? Do you revere knowledge? Or does all of the above perplex or disinterest you?
What is the biggest and most profound change in your life that you've personally experienced in the last decade?
Do you enjoy silence or does a lack of noise or conversation bother you?
What fills you with a sense of joy?
Finally, here’s a link to my best posts :)
