Introduction and captions: TBD
Here's our chance to get to know Torch, who will soon (4 games from now) be blogging through KGB for us.
Now, over to Torch...
I’ve been thinking of submitting this for a while, but I never got around to it. But I’m falling behind on my CAPs acquisition, so I guess now’s as good a time as any.
My home country is...
Norway
My age is…
Ugh... I regret not submitting this a year ago. Then I would still be in my thirties. Anyway, it’s 40 now.
The first adventure game I played was…
It’s a toss up between Space Quest 1 and Police Quest 1. A friend had them both, and I can’t remember which one we tried first. Regardless, I was insta-hooked.
My favourite adventure game is…
This is like asking a mother to pick a favourite child, but I’ll try. Can I at least present a couple of candidates before deciding upon one….? [No, you cannot - ed]
I’ll just pretend someone said yes. [All right, fine. If you insist - ed]
Despite being introduced to the genre by Sierra games, my top list is still pretty Lucas(film/arts)-heavy. I think the funniest game must be Day of the Tentacle, though Monkey Island is a close second. Before these were even a speck in their creators’ minds, I played through Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders at least seven times, so… yeah.
As for Sierra, I like most of the games, but I have quite a soft spot for the Quest for Glory series, particularly…. well, all of them really. Perhaps QfG2 has the edge…. although QfG1 ( the game formerly known as Hero’s Quest ) was the first one I played and… ok, this is a really tough question. Better move on to the top spot and be done with it. Also, this is starting to look at lot like the top 10 list. ( Btw, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still geeking out a bit every time Corey Cole posts some tidbits about the inner workings of Sierra back in the day. )
To top it off, my number one pick, for reasons which will hopefully become clear some time during 2017, would have to be Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. This game has it all; adventure ( well, duh ), humour, epic story, replayability, graphics, music, I-can’t-believe’it’s-not-Harrison-Ford voiceover. You name it.
When I’m not playing games I like to…
Well, I play saxophone. And also tennis. Not at the same time, mind you. I also like to fiddle with Linux. In fact, I don’t have a single Windows computer in my home.
I like my games in (a box, digital format)…
Both are fine. My old games are in boxes, of course, but they take up quite a bit of space, so buying games on gog or steam or whatever is pretty practical. I prefer buying my Playstation games on disc, but I’ll get them on the online store if they’re not available otherwise.
The thing I miss about old games is…
As long as you can still play them, what’s there to miss? What I really miss is having the time to really get into a game. Being a dad and a husband, I usually only have a couple of hours to play during the evenings after the kids are in bed. ( Unless I’m doing something with my wife, although she sometimes watches me play ).
In the olden days, I could be preoccupied with a game for weeks, even months if I was stuck. I would think about possible solutions to a puzzle while I was away from the computer, and then try them out when I got back. Also having played fewer games ( and watched fewer movies), I think I was more inclined to really “believe” in a game. I think the pure quantity of imaginary settings, fantasy worlds, universes etc. we’re exposed to these days makes it harder to let yourself be immersed in them. Even when I play really story driven games Uncharted and the likes, I get annoyed by stuff like “how can our guy soak up 10 000 machine gun bullets during a fight, but he goes down from a single shot by a pistol during a cut scene”. I think they call it suspension of disbelief. Well, I guess my disbelief is not as easily suspended as it used to be. Maybe age plays a part...
The best thing about modern games is…
Graphics, I guess. Also loading times. I like open world games ( GTA, Red Dead Redemption, etc. ) , games that have physics engines that let you do fun non-predetermined stuff. Newer games are often also more forgiving, letting you save as often as you want, regular checkpoints. Stuff like that. I'm not really sure if that IS better, but in my current grown-up life, it's easier to play games when I can divide my play time up into smaller chunks.
The one TV show I never miss is…
I don’t usually watch regular TV, just streaming services like Netflix, HBO, etc., though I make sure to watch new Game of thrones episodes as soon as they’re available.
If I could see any band live it would be…
Pat Metheny Group. ( Actually I have, but I would definitely go again )
My favourite movie is…
The Incredibles
One interesting thing about me is…
I can tap my right little finger really hard, so it makes kind of a loud noise. My wife claims it hurts if I tap her on the head with it. Not interesting enough? Ok, I have my old Amiga 1200 in perfect working condition, hooked up in my basement, complete with a 420 MB hard drive and a 28MHz Motorola 68030 accelerator card with 8 MBs of delicious Fast RAM. Oh yes.
 |
| Torch is also very useful if you don't want to be eaten by a grue |
My home country is...
Norway
My age is…
Ugh... I regret not submitting this a year ago. Then I would still be in my thirties. Anyway, it’s 40 now.
The first adventure game I played was…
It’s a toss up between Space Quest 1 and Police Quest 1. A friend had them both, and I can’t remember which one we tried first. Regardless, I was insta-hooked.
My favourite adventure game is…
This is like asking a mother to pick a favourite child, but I’ll try. Can I at least present a couple of candidates before deciding upon one….? [No, you cannot - ed]
I’ll just pretend someone said yes. [All right, fine. If you insist - ed]
Despite being introduced to the genre by Sierra games, my top list is still pretty Lucas(film/arts)-heavy. I think the funniest game must be Day of the Tentacle, though Monkey Island is a close second. Before these were even a speck in their creators’ minds, I played through Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders at least seven times, so… yeah.
 |
| Zak McKracken held top spot in our leaderboard for three months, before Hero's Quest took its place |
To top it off, my number one pick, for reasons which will hopefully become clear some time during 2017, would have to be Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. This game has it all; adventure ( well, duh ), humour, epic story, replayability, graphics, music, I-can’t-believe’it’s-not-Harrison-Ford voiceover. You name it.
 |
| Coming soon to an Adventure Gamer Blog near you |
Well, I play saxophone. And also tennis. Not at the same time, mind you. I also like to fiddle with Linux. In fact, I don’t have a single Windows computer in my home.
 |
| This happy gentleman is also a Norwegian sax player, but I don't know if he uses Linux |
Both are fine. My old games are in boxes, of course, but they take up quite a bit of space, so buying games on gog or steam or whatever is pretty practical. I prefer buying my Playstation games on disc, but I’ll get them on the online store if they’re not available otherwise.
The thing I miss about old games is…
As long as you can still play them, what’s there to miss? What I really miss is having the time to really get into a game. Being a dad and a husband, I usually only have a couple of hours to play during the evenings after the kids are in bed. ( Unless I’m doing something with my wife, although she sometimes watches me play ).
In the olden days, I could be preoccupied with a game for weeks, even months if I was stuck. I would think about possible solutions to a puzzle while I was away from the computer, and then try them out when I got back. Also having played fewer games ( and watched fewer movies), I think I was more inclined to really “believe” in a game. I think the pure quantity of imaginary settings, fantasy worlds, universes etc. we’re exposed to these days makes it harder to let yourself be immersed in them. Even when I play really story driven games Uncharted and the likes, I get annoyed by stuff like “how can our guy soak up 10 000 machine gun bullets during a fight, but he goes down from a single shot by a pistol during a cut scene”. I think they call it suspension of disbelief. Well, I guess my disbelief is not as easily suspended as it used to be. Maybe age plays a part...
The best thing about modern games is…
Graphics, I guess. Also loading times. I like open world games ( GTA, Red Dead Redemption, etc. ) , games that have physics engines that let you do fun non-predetermined stuff. Newer games are often also more forgiving, letting you save as often as you want, regular checkpoints. Stuff like that. I'm not really sure if that IS better, but in my current grown-up life, it's easier to play games when I can divide my play time up into smaller chunks.
The one TV show I never miss is…
I don’t usually watch regular TV, just streaming services like Netflix, HBO, etc., though I make sure to watch new Game of thrones episodes as soon as they’re available.
If I could see any band live it would be…
Pat Metheny Group. ( Actually I have, but I would definitely go again )
 |
| They will be playing in Oslo on May 20th. Buy your tickets here, Torch! |
The Incredibles
One interesting thing about me is…
I can tap my right little finger really hard, so it makes kind of a loud noise. My wife claims it hurts if I tap her on the head with it. Not interesting enough? Ok, I have my old Amiga 1200 in perfect working condition, hooked up in my basement, complete with a 420 MB hard drive and a 28MHz Motorola 68030 accelerator card with 8 MBs of delicious Fast RAM. Oh yes.
 |
| This may or may not be a picture of Torch's basement |
But the real question is - does Torch look like Chris Evans or Michael B. Jordan?
ReplyDeleteI'd say more like Michael Chiklis.
DeleteAt least I look nothing like hairy the dude with the sax. Although, honestly, he DOES have a great Linux beard...
Hmm.. I meant to type "the hairy dude", but "hairy the dude" does have a certain ring to it
DeleteIf we weren't in the middle of a Zork Marathon you would have been depicted as a Human Torch, but it would have been a cartoon picture, so neither.
DeleteI'm also pretty sure that in 30 years time 'hairy the dude' will be taking over as Santa - he's already got the jollyness going for him.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI can attest to the effectiveness of my grue-repellent powers. I have to date NOT ONCE been eaten by a grue.
ReplyDeleteBtw, how did you get a picture of my basement?
Hi Torch, welcome. Looking forward to your KGB coverage. It will be interesting to compare that with Dune.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm looking forward to that as well.
Delete