Tech Update

Every now and then, I find it a little disturbing how addicted Andrew and I are to our technology. A couple of days ago, we were building Andrew's new computer desk, which took all afternoon and necessitated unplugging both of our computers. (I inherited his old computer desk.) Andrew commented on how strange it felt not to have internet access for even just a couple of hours. Of course, he uses his computer for work as well, but I felt much the same. We both spend a lot of time on the computers and a fair amount of time with the TV, either watching shows, watching DVDs, or playing video games. Even when I'm out walking the dog, I make the longer walks more interesting by listening to a podcast on the iPod. We end up kind of at a loss when the modem malfunctions, let alone when we're without power for a while.

Nonetheless, I generally like our various technology. Andrew and I each have a MacMini, each with an additional storage drive. Andrew just recently purchased a new Cintiq tablet monitor, which allows him to use a stylus to draw directly on the screen. Hopefully, he'll be able to do more work at home that way. I still have the iPod mini I got about three years ago. It's not as nice as Andrew's, which plays videos and has the nice full color screen and everything. But it still works. I mainly listen to podcasts these days, as they tend to be longer than most music I have and help me to pass time and stay interested while I'm doing something better than a bunch of short songs taking up the same amount of time.

If the internet is something of an addiction for me, video games are even more so, though I try to keep it under some level of control. I got three games for Christmas this year. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is pretty much what it sounds like: the characters from the Mario and Sonic franchises competing for the gold in the summer Olympics. It's for the Wii and actually provides a pretty decent workout. Also for the Wii is Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, a kind of puzzle-adventure game which has been getting hugely positive reviews. However, I've only played "Mario and Sonic" a few times and I haven't even opened "Zack and Wiki" yet. Why? Mass Effect.

We bought an XBox 360 over the summer, largely so Andrew could have the version of the "TransFormers" movie game that came with a bonus disc. I appreciated the system's capabilities and even joined in the occasional Halo online battle. But I wasn't really playing a game seriously on the system until "Mass Effect". "Mass Effect" is a huge RPG from BioWare, makers of the popular "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic". "Mass Effect" is more of an homage to the great science fiction movies of the 80s and early 90s. You play as Commander Shepard, the first human to join the ranks of the Spectres, an elite group charged with maintaining order in the universe with carte blanche to act as they see fit. Your character's appearance is highly customizable. You can choose to be male or female, make up a first name (the game gets around this in dialogue by having other characters call you by your last name), change your hair, eye color, and facial features, and even select from a couple of different back stories. Unlike in many RPGs, your character does talk, with male and female voice actors recording hundreds of lines of dialogue for your character's various response options. Like the best games of its kind, "Mass Effect" gives the player tons of freedom. You can behave virtuously or demand payments from those you help or refuse to take on their problems. You can charm people in to seeing things your way or intimidate them into doing what you want. You can work on your main mission of saving the universe from a threat against all life, take on side missions on various planets, talk people through their problems, or just waste all your money gambling at the casino.

I was playing yesterday while waiting for Andrew to get home and came to a point where I had to make a call. Now a lot of the choices I make in this game are pretty clear cut, like "help this person" or "ignore this person". Some are less so, like siding with one person or another in an argument where both make good points. But this was a really difficult call. Though I couldn't be sure of the outcome, it seemed like something bad was going to happen either way. I made my choice and there were consequences. And I really felt it. I kept wondering if I had made the right decision, if things might have gone better if i had gone with the other choice. Then I realized that I was feeling exactly what I should have been feeling about that situation. If I really was a military commander who had to make a hard call with no clearly "right" choice, I would probably be second guessing myself and wondering if I had done the right thing. I was in love with the game already, but that was the point where it gave me something I had never experienced in a video game before: a real feeling of owning my actions and their consequences. It's an amazing game that I'd recommend you try if you get the chance.