The Games We Play: Broken Sword, Broken Age, Gone Home

Over the past few months, Hunter and I have played a few more adventure-y type games, mostly with him manning the keyboard and me sitting next to him helping with puzzles. So I thought I'd share my feelings on them in some sort of "mini-reviews," for fun.

Broken Sword

Image Source

This is an old-school adventure game I got from a Humble Bundle. It's a mystery game involving the Knights Templar taking place mostly in Paris, although you also travel to Spain, Ireland, and Syria. Hunter read Foucault's Pendulum shortly after we finished the game, so many of the people and places referenced were familiar to him. You alternate between play as Nico, a French reporter, and George, an American tourist. It's pretty standard adventure game stuff, although one advantage it has over a series like King's Quest is that you can't die or mess things up irrevocably, which is nice. A disadvantage, at least for people who don't play and love adventure games, is that the puzzles can be hard. For Hunter, who wasn't raised in this genre quite as much as I was, some of the solutions just didn't make sense. I, on the other hand, usually thought, "of course you would do that how does it not make sense?"

The story was mostly pretty fun, although the ending left something to be desired. There are more games in the series, and I own two of them, so perhaps I'll talk about them sometime in the future. If you LOVE adventure games, this is a great one to play. If that isn't your genre, then Broken Sword might bore or annoy you.

Broken Age

Image Source

This is a Kickstarted game in two "acts." I actually did the controls during the first act, since Hunter had already played it. As you can see from the above picture, there are two main storylines: a girl in  a pretty low-tech world who is scheduled to be sacrificed to a monster, and a boy on a pretty weird spaceship.

I'm not going to give anything away about how these two stories are in the same game, but I will say this: I was so immersed in the story that I wasn't even trying to figure out how the two were related. Which, I read a lot and I am always trying to figure out the ending, and I'm typically pretty good at it. But here, I didn't want to or need to because I knew the story would guide me there. To me, that says a lot about the quality of the game because I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was playing a game, I was just going along with it.

There are some trickier puzzles (particularly in the second act) and again, if adventure games aren't just a part of the way you see the world you might have trouble with them. At one point, I suggested that Hunter do something which he thought made no sense, but it was correct and to me it totally did make sense. However even if you aren't an "adventure gamer," the learning curve is pretty low, the art is gorgeous, and you can't die or mess things up. Of the three games in this post, this is definitely the best.

Gone Home

Image Source

So, it's debatable whether Gone Home is even really a game. Let's just say it's an interactive story. You play from the perspective of Kaitlin, a girl arriving home after spending time in Europe. No one is in her family's house, and as you explore the rooms you figure out why. It's set in 1995 with a great Riot Grrl soundtrack featuring Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy and the retro details are great. The story unfolds as you find objects throughout the house: notes, documents, and audio diaries that help to explain why no one is home.

There is no skill level involved in this, no reflexes or problem solving or anything. You literally just walk around the house and look at and find things that tell a story. We finished it in probably under 2 hours, in one session. I will say, this one was slightly harder for me to sit there and knit, because there is so much to read. Chunks of the story are revealed through audio, but a lot of it is papers you pick up and read. If this sounds even remotely like something you would like, I would check it out because it is really good.

And those are just the single player games... maybe one of these days I can post about Diablo III, or Hearthstone, or the card games we play...

Born on the Bayeux, Part 4: The Last Few Pictures

So, 2 months later, I finally post the last pictures from our trip to France. I'm hoping to be able to post more in the coming weeks, since Sadie is now going to a playgroup three days per week, which gives me a little more time to myself. I miss her so much, but it is nice to be able to use the computer without her pulling me away.

We started out in Amiens, where we had spent the night. Of course, they have a cathedral there as well:

And this cute little alleyway canal, which we both thought looked like something from a medieval fantasy videogame type setting.

There is also this tower that's pretty clearly designed by the same person as the modern church from the last post:

Our last stop for the day was in Laon. There is a big church up on a hill. 

So, it took a long time, but that's our trip to France!

Born on the Bayeux, Part 3

So now we arrive at the main part of the trip. We really wanted to see the Bayeux Tapestry, and then decided that since Omaha Beach is really close, that we would go there. It's kinda funny, that morning I was noticed that we were in the middle of this two-week period where there were events commemorating D-Day. Then we realized it was June 6, so... that worked out well.

We started at Bayeux in the morning. There was something going on in the cathedral, I think war-related because there were a bunch of soldiers about, so we couldn't go in, but I did get a picture.

We also saw this memorial which I believe was for residents who had died in concentration camps:

And of course, we saw the Bayeux Tapestry, which you aren't allowed to take pictures of. I have to say, during my time in Europe, I've seen many things. There are some, like the Mona Lisa, which I think you get basically the same experience seeing a picture (well except that if you look at a picture you won't be craning your head over all the tall people taking selfies in front of you). The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the few things that I think is an experience worth seeing in person. For one thing, it's huge. It's 70 meters long. And for someone like me, who does needlework, it was really cool to look at the stitches up close. I even bought an embroidery kit in the shop so I can learn to do it for myself!

After Bayeux, we headed to Omaha Beach. I had actually been there before, but Hunter hadn't and really, I'm glad I went back. If you know me, you know I'm not really into patriotic stuff or like, military history. But just being there, kinda made me proud to be an American. I guess it's another thing where being right there is a different experience. We didn't take pictures there, either, because we felt a bit weird about it.

Our intention at that point was to go back through Caen, where we had stayed the night, and look around and eat lunch. But Sadie fell asleep in the car and we didn't want to wake her up, so we drove through a McDonald's. I tell ya, ordering through one of those speakers in a foreign language is not easy. But at least I did get a Royal with Cheese!

So, we skipped Caen and headed next to Rouen.

I think the Rouen Cathedral was my favorite; I loved how lacy it is. We saw quite a few cathedrals on this trip, and really, they all look different. I'm hoping in the future to make a post with pictures of all the facades, so you can see next to each other how distinctive they are.

Anyway, there is only one day left of the trip, so stay tuned!

Born on the Bayeux, Part 2

Ok, so we spent the morning in Boulogne. We ate breakfast outside, where I noticed a fun difference between French and German people. It was breezy and shady out, but probably going to be a warm day. I guarantee you a German parent would have had their kid in a hat and jacket, while our French hostess was fanning herself with how hot she thought it was. It was basically perfect temperature.

As I mentioned, we stayed at a small bed and breakfast and I noticed it would be the perfect place to stay if you were on the run. The reservations were made completely by email, not through a booking system, we paid in cash, and were never required to provide any kind of identification. Just an interesting thing I hadn't experienced before.

Ok, so in Boulogne, there is sort of a walled old town. There is also a huge crypt that had just been opened a few days before we got there. It was pretty cool, both literally and metaphorically.

There was also a museum that had kind of a mish-mash of different things: Egyptian, Greek, and, surprisingly, a huge collection of Sugpiaq masks. They also had some contemporary Inuit art, which I thought was really cool because it sets indigenous peoples in the context of still being alive and creating today. It was doubly cool to see that in a different country. Europeans seem to know even less about Native Americans than... Americans. Next to one of the contemporary masks, it said it would be used ceremonially after being displayed. That was probably the most unexpected thing we encountered on our trip.

We also walked around a bit in the old town (I did SO MUCH WALKING on this trip) before heading to Le Havre, our next destination.

Le Havre had another unexpected sight: a very modern and interesting cathedral.

And here's a view looking up from inside.

We also saw an older church with this creepy gargoyle:

And a memorial that I believe was for both World Wars:

So that's day two of our trip! I know these posts are really slow in coming, but I'm hoping that during the next few days I'll be able to get caught up!

Born on the Bayeux-Part 1

Last weekend, Hunter had yet ANOTHER holiday (Corpus Christi, I believe), so we took a little trip to France. We rented a car in Brussels and drove to some cities along the north coast, including Boulogne-sur-mer, Calais, Dunkirk, Le Havre, Caen, Bayeux, Rouen, Laon, and Amiens. The main thing we wanted to see was the Bayeux tapestry, and then we saw that Omaha Beach was really close to that so we figured we'd go there, too. Then we realized we were there on June 6, so I guess that worked out.

So anyway, our first stop was Dunkirk, which was an important site in World War II. Because of the war history and it's proximity just across the channel, most of the towns we went to seemed to be pretty big destinations for English tourists. However, I used mostly French and people didn't usually just switch to English.

Pirate-looking ship parked in the harbor

War Memorial

I really liked the way this window was darker on the inside

Church from the outside

We next went to Calais, which is where you can get ferries to Dover.

The Hotel de Ville

Rodin Statue

Sadie and I

We walked around Calais for a while, including down to the beach. I even ended up getting a little sunburnt!

Our last stop for the day was in Boulogne-sur-Mer. We stayed at a great bed and breakfast. Since we were the only people there that night, the owner gave us the biggest room, where Sadie had her own bedroom. This was pretty close to her normal sleep situation, so she went to bed close to her regular time and Hunter and I could hang out for a bit.

An old church

And some shots of Sadie goofing around:

So that was the first day! I'm going to continue this later. It's really hard for me to find time to write posts, but I think if I break it up maybe it will be a little easier.

Another Sweater for Sadie

I just finished another knitting project. I got some yarn from the redditgifts yarn swap, and the giver suggested I use it to make something for Sadie. There were four skeins in four different colors, so I looked up a pattern that would use about that amount that had different colors in it. I found the Rydberg pattern from Ravelry that I thought would work well.

It didn't take me very long at all to finish this. I don't know the exact date I started, but it was probably near the beginning of May, and I really only knit for an hour or two a night while watching TV. Anyway, I'm sure you wanna see the pics!

She really did NOT want her picture taken!

Since Sadie wasn't being a totally cooperative model, here's a better shot. It hasn't been blocked yet, which I'm hoping I can block out some of that puckering around the edge.

I got a great pack of vintage buttons off Etsy, including cherries, bows, and butterflies but I thought the yellow on these was a great match:

Close-up of the bottom edge, with i-cord bind-off

So I did make a few changes to the pattern. As written, it takes only three colors, but I had four, and probably not enough to do it the three-color way. So once I started the part with the pattern, I changed the main color from blue to white, and then when I got to the bottom I went back to blue. I also added an i-cord bind off to the-- button edge? placket? I don't really know what it's called, but you can see where that red border is in the picture. I had planned to only add it to the outer part that could be seen when the sweater is buttoned, but that sort of cinched it up a bit so I had to do it to the other side as well to make them the same length.

I have two more projects going right now that I am excited about. One of them is a gift, so I won't be posting anything until it is received; the other is to donate through a group on Ravelry called Bundles of Joy. The group donates knit items to a maternity ward on a reservation in South Dakota and I am making a blanket to send there. Hopefully it won't be too long until I can post some more finished objects!

Berlin, Finally

So, I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Berlin, which was less than a week before our trip to America. This is probably going to be pretty terse, since it was a while ago and I'm kinda in that just getting it done mode.

On the first day I was there, while Hunter was in conferences and stuff, I took Sadie to the zoo. She walked around a little bit but then eventually fell asleep. I didn't take many pictures of the animals, but this orangutan just looked really badass so I took out the camera, and then I saw the gorilla so I had to get one of him, too.

We saw the Brandenburg Gate, but were there at the time when the light was behind it, so this is the best shot we got:

And then the next two are Sadie and I in front of it.

Sadie and I with the Reichstag in the background:

And some more Reichstag:

Here I am in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall:

And some shots from Checkpoint Charlie:

Berlin seems to have an interesting relationship with its history. At the subway stop near Checkpoint Charlie, there were signs for an English language school that said "We have ways of making you talk" and "You are now entering the English sector" or something like that, which I thought was kind of weird? Like, imagine an ad for Jenga in the NY subway that says, "Don't let these towers fall!" I mean, basically what I'm saying is TOO SOON. But then again, I'm not German so maybe they just don't have the same sensitivities as I do.

They also offer tours around the city in the infamous Trabant and I saw some souvenir stands selling miniature ones. There were posters advertising, and I'm translating here, "East German products with the quality of the Federal Republic!" There is a word, ostalgie, which is a portmanteau of the German words for "east" and "nostalgia," and I definitely saw it there.

So yeah, this post isn't a comprehensive account of what we did and if one of the handful of readers out there has any specific questions, I'd be happy to address them. I just wanted to get these pictures uploaded because we're going on another trip in a week or so, and I don't want to get even more behind.