Wednesday 22 October 2014

Short update

Hello again,

Sorry for skipping today's game entry but I'm currently busy checking out a muggle game that I would probably be talking about soon and working on another project of mine. It might be a while before I'll make my appearance here but feel free to go check out the videos that the sloth is uploading.

I think the current game he is playing is Still Life 2. For those that have been following the first game, you might be interested to see how this continues.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Saturday 18 October 2014

FutureMe.org - Part 1


Hello again,

I've recently discovered this website called futureme.org. What this website does is to allow one to write a letter for one's future self. It can be dated any time into the future, no matter if it's the next day (although this is rather odd in my opinion) or six months, five years, four decades, three centuries (assuming one lives that long), etc. There are public and private letters, so you'll get to choose the option that you would prefer your letter to be and after writing and selecting all the options, the letter would probably be stored into their database until the date that you chose arrives and they send it to you, through your email.

I think it is an interesting idea. I have done one and it would be received on my birthday although I would probably forget all about it until it arrives. I think that's the beauty of it, especially if you decide to send one that is a couple of months ahead into the future.

With that said, this would be my initial thoughts into this idea. I would be writing another one when I get my letter in the future. Also, I have linked the website below if you are interested in checking it out.

FutureMe

Anyway, my initial thoughts are that it would be interesting to know if what your past self has predicted would happen in the future. It's almost like the muggles trying to come up with a different kind of motivation system. Just imagine, that you've set a deadline to complete something in the future and you've set all sorts of little deadlines to complete it. Sending one of these would be an awesome reminder. Nothing like having the past, check up on you.

Well, I suppose you can tell that I'm quite excited and fascinated by this muggle invention. So, I hope you'll come back to check out my thoughts about receiving a letter from my past self. Do follow or subscribe or whatever is the equivalent so you'll get a notification when I put up part two.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Wednesday 15 October 2014

Cards against Humanity (online game) - thoughts



Hello again,

So I have come across this muggle game called 'Cards against Humanity' and I understand that it's a physical game, in which I meant that it's a game that a group of friends gather around a table and play, much like any game that exists in the physical world. I didn't get a chance to play it with real muggles but I found an online version of it.

The image below is what you will see when you click on the link that I have provided.

Link to play: Cards against humanity

Anyway, I have played a couple of rounds with some muggles and I have to say that some of the things that these muggles think of shows quite a new side to muggles.

Let me first explain the basics of the game. Each player gets a few cards with random words on each that they will have to throw into the play area each round. These cards are called white cards and are used to answer questions or fill in the blanks of statements that are written on black cards. Yes. They are called black cards.

A round starts when there is a new black card and what you do is to play a card or two or three, depending on what is required for that black card from your cards. There will be a judge every round and players take turns deciding the winner (the one who has the funniest, or makes the most sense, or whatever). The judge is called the card czar and no one knows who played which card. The only time you know who played which card is when the white card is picked as the winner.

I first found out about this online game from one of the YouTube channels that I've been following. I've provided a link to one of the videos that she has posted up if you are interested to watch how the game is like.

Link to watch: Cards against humanity gameplay

Anyway, it's pretty fun game, whether it's playing with a bunch of friends or with a couple of strangers. I suppose the whole anonymous thing helps players chose really offensive and yet hilarious answers. If only there were some wizarding community references. That would be fun.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Saturday 11 October 2014

Facebook real name policy


Hello again,

Well, there have been a rather huge backlash from people who were forced to use their real names on facebook. Apparently, as I've read somewhere, someone had taken upon themselves to report people that weren't using their real names. Mostly targeting drag queens and entertainers.

I've got two thoughts here. One, facebook did write in their terms and conditions about requiring people to use their real names, and that we have all signed it (possibly without reading). Now, I'm not defending facebook's policy here nor am I saying that people shouldn't be pissed if their account was taken away. I am just stating a fact that it has always been the case although not heavily enforced.

Which brings me to my next thought. If the policy wasn't heavily enforced, why is it enforced now? Was it because facebook suddenly decided that it was time to "clear out" it's databases? Perhaps, it was because they hadn't thought about the downsides of enforcing the usage of putting your real self out there, so to speak. Or perhaps it was some vigilante or malicious user/s that decided they should report users which aren't using real names.

I do not claim to know what is going on behind the scenes nor what went on during the meetings that facebook had with the drag community. Perhaps this is an issue that has already passed it's "current news" status but it was rather curious that around the same time, a few people I know are facing the same problems on facebook with regards to their real names.

I have stumbled upon a wizarding community on facebook and perhaps some of them are genuine wizards (like me, attempting to mingle with the muggles), most of them are muggles pretending to be wizards, often having the same persona over on pottermore (that website that I talked about which tries to imitate the wizarding community for muggles).

Also, in some ways, I can understand the point of view of facebook, in some ways, to make it a transparent space where people are more mindful of what they write because it's essentially taking away the anonymous factor that plagues many other similar sites or forums. However, I do think that facebook has become such an iconic thing to have of every individual, that people are looked upon as weird if one doesn't have one. With that, it is rather apparent for many who for their own reasons decide to create profiles that may not reflect their real lives just so that they can continue to connect with people they want to without giving away certain things that they do not wish to expose.

My opinion on this is quite simple really. Facebook should take away their real name policy because they have become an essential commodity among muggles and there are many muggles who might have been hiding from certain people or just for the simple reason of wanting to protect themselves online. I do not think that there is a site that can fully protect it's users (no matter how confident they are of doing so) which is rather arrogant (in some ways) to "demand" that their users use their real identity. Would they be held accountable if rape victims are then harassed, victims of abuse are being haunted (yet again) by their abusers, people looking to start a new life elsewhere but having their past lives catch up to them, etc.? Would facebook then cough up money, time and resources to protect these people? Making sure that these people are taken care of emotionally, physically and mentally?

My question is, what is facebook going to do about it? Continue with the real name policy and disregarding the possible danger and or inconvenience they might cause to the users which are affected or take away their real name policy?

Will this cause affected users to find other sites that might be more lenient towards online anonymity? Will this shift of users lead others to follow suit? Will this cause some other person to start their own site for a particular community (just like how facebook started) and then grow from there, perhaps becoming a future rival to facebook?

I think it would be quite intriguing if someone were to create a pottermore version of facebook. All the features (and perhaps more) of facebook, plus the online anonymity that is sometimes quite essential. Well, if someone does this, I want to say it right now, you better credit me for giving you the idea and I'll like a cut of your profits too. After all, I need some way to make muggle money right?

Anyway, that's my two cents (I used a muggle phrase!) on this and I'm hopping that facebook would come up with a satisfactory solution for these affected users soon.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Wednesday 8 October 2014

One lonely night (game) - thoughts

Hello again,

So, I was talking to this muggle who was playing this game the other day and I was watching his play through and I have to say, this game seems quite interesting so far. You are basically left alone at home (I'm assuming it's home) and you're wandering around trying to figure out what had happened to the lights. At least, in the beginning.

As the game progresses, you'll find yourself proceeding into different spaces, trying to figure out your next step without dying needlessly. The atmosphere of the game is quite good with the occasional loud sound that I'm presuming is an audio jump scare.

It looks like a pretty fun game to play and I'm definitely looking forward to finding out what is happening, who that creepy girl is, why are there blood patches around, why is there a pentagram, presumably drawn with blood, why are there dismembered bodies moving about in certain rooms, and etc.

I believe that it is a free game as well so do go check it out for yourself if you're inclined to. I've included a link if you're interested.

One lonely night game

Alternatively, you can continue finding out what happens on the muggle's channel, assuming that he would continue with it. He tends to get quite bored when things are repetitive.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Saturday 4 October 2014

Mystery books

Hello again,

I have been reading a couple of muggle books that are classified under mystery and amazingly, I find myself able to pick out the murderer even if I do not know how the murder was done.

Perhaps, I've gone on a ramble. The books that I am currently reading is written by Agatha Christie and I have been going down the list of books that she's written in alphabetical order. Well, sort of. So far, I have to say that the murderer is often someone unexpected and perhaps I have caught on to her style of writing or perhaps her thought processes, I find myself able to ascertain whodunit and am delighted to find myself right when I get to the end of the story.

My reason for bringing this up is not to boast about my crime solving skills, rather, for you to introduce any such books that you think I might find interesting.

On a side note, I have found this rather interesting blog called Beneath the Blanket Book Blog. Although they are currently reviews on romance books, I think it is an interesting concept. I do read books in bed and I loved that this is catered to those "late night" readers as this blog has termed us. If you love books, especially romance types, do go and check it out. I believe that you can recommend books as well.

Anyway, I'm currently onto another Hercule Poirot mystery called "Elephants can remember". Let's hope that I can continue to sit back (or in my case, lie back) and think, exercise my tiny grey cells and solve it along side poirot.



As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Thursday 2 October 2014

Short announcement.

Hello again,

Well, I've been thinking (yes, again) about the muggle channel thing and I have decided to give all my videos to the muggle. So, all videos would be posted on SevTheSloth, so you can head over there to watch the rest of the series. I will of course be creating a playlist so you do not need to hover over two different channels.

Yeah. I know what I said in the previous entry about completing the series in one channel. I just realized that I was too enthusiastic over my new found "freedom".

Anyway, I'll be doing the videos on and off for fun while juggling a couple of other loose ends at Hogwarts. It's rather nice of them, allowing me to keep my rooms here so that's another worry off my shoulders. I seriously wonder how muggles survive without magic. I find it such a hassle to pack even when I'm using magic. Alright, I shall end here. I've got a few students to meet.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Cleithrophobia (game) - Thoughts

Hello again,

Today I'll be talking about this game called 'Cleithrophobia'. It's an Indie RPG horror type game that essentially requires the player to solve puzzles and escape.

First off, cleithrophobia is actually the fear of being trapped and it is what the game is about. You start off in a room that isn't really bright and you'll have to find ways to escape from the room. The door of course is locked. The player will progress to the next "level" once the door is unlocked.

Secondly, even thought it seems as though it wouldn't be very scary compared to other games, I have to say, this game has quite a few jump scares that continue to keep you on edge. There is a monster that would appear at random points in the game, chasing you around and you'll have to run away successfully or basically die (which I have a couple of times).

Thirdly, besides exploring the area, running away from monsters, you'll also have to keep an eye out for shiny objects. These objects indicate that you'll be able to pick them up. They could be stuff that is required for the puzzle you're trying to solve right now, or for later use. Some of them might kill you immediately after picking it up.

The whole experience of playing this game includes feeling fear because of the atmospheric sounds and music in the background, the shock when that monster appears and that adrenaline rush when you'll have to escape the creature. Also, the game is quite annoying when you've died a couple of times from being unable to escape the monster and that's why there is a significant amount of time in between videos.

To be honest, it's a love and hate relationship with this game. Although it's similar to many other games that follow the 'escape the room' format, the puzzles aren't that straightforward and you'll come across things that might not matter to you at that particular moment. That usually confuses me. Yet, I hate the game for making that creature run so fast. It pisses me off that I am unable to run away fast enough and have to repeat that particular section, escape from the monster successfully before being allowed to continue the story. I guess, I'm not very good and you can blame it on my skill but, well, I'm pissed.

Enough of that, you might want to check the game out, it's a free to play game or if you're lazy, I have included a link to my let's play below and you can check that out.

'Cleithrophobia' Let's play.

As always, leave me a comment and let me know what you think, or just say hi!

Farewell,
Lord Severus