Nightfall

A new Halo series has been showing once a week for a few weeks and I think I have the feel for what it is by now, and at this moment in time, my thoughts are, meh. I don't want to call it bad, because I've keep watching it once a week, but I am not going to call it good because I don't really care for it at the same time. Lets go through what Nightfall is doing right.

Nightfall is about Halo, which is about science fiction, boom, its already in the green. It has a pretty good plot. It also has decent characters, and the whole thing takes place on a Halo ring. Now we can get into what I dislike about it. At times the CGI is terrible. In the first episode there is and elite that just looks off and out of place, and every time I saw it, I wanted it to go away. I also don't care for the small, 15 minute chunks that it comes out in. Most likely I am going to watch the entire thing just at once in about a month because every time something ACTUALLY is about to happen, it ends, and then the same exact thing happens next week.

I don't want you to think that it is something a Halo fan wouldn't enjoy, but honestly if I weren't a fan of the series, I would not watch it; although how could you if you weren't a fan, you need the game to watch it... Well maybe you know someone who is a fan, nevertheless it isn't going to rope you into Halo like Forward Unto Dawn. THAT series was infinitely better than this, and that reason is why I'm most disappointed. Forward Unto Dawn was so great that my family who are not fans of the series, enjoyed and appreciated, but this isn't that. I cannot put a finger on what sets me off about it, it must be a combination of little things but when you go in with so much hype for something and it is, lackluster. So watch it if you are a Halo fan, but if you haven't seen Forward Unto Dawn, I can guarantee you will enjoy that better. Maybe it is the 15 minute bursts that ruin it. Maybe, watching the entire thing, start to finish, will shine some light on it. Another possibility is I am judging it to early. It's like I am sitting down and watching the first 30-35 minutes of a movie and then getting up, leaving, and declaring it lacking. If you have been keeping up with it maybe you already know the answer, or you are like me and have waited. I may come back to this subject at a later date, if my opinion differs then.

Virtual and Social Gaming

A virtual reality has really come close to becoming, reality. Virtual reality is basically what the title says, a virtual reality. It mimics real life but in something like a videogame or movie, anything virtual. Devices like the Oculus Rift which augment your vision so when you look around in real life, you look around in the game. Its just a helmet with a screen in it that displays the game, alone I dont see much of a future for the Oculus Rift because it doesn't quite blow television away, alone at least. But think of the possibilities if we combine that with a 360 degree treadmill. I'm honestly not quite sure what the actual name is for these devices but they are a treadmill you can run in any direction. Not much work has been done in this area, and it is really quite obvious. If you find pictures of it online it looks like a baby chair and I'm sure would feel equally ridiculous to use as is appears. So as long as nobody ever sees you using this it is the coolest thing ever...

I hope in my lifetime technology can reach the peak of virtual reality. I want to be able to go home from work and get immersed in a game literally. I could get sucked into the game and run around inside of another, more interesting, more engaging world. Not to mentions the benefits of this compared to modern day gaming. If the treadmill does end up being used, imagine the health benefits. Gaming sessions can last hours at a time and if your running around for hours it would make the ideal "gamer" much more fit, while at the same time making running and working out that much more interesting. Multiple studies have shown that videogames along with relieving stress, also help brain function and activity. Combine that with now physical fitness and gaming would be quite the recreational activity. That is probably the outcome I look forward to the most about this. Gaming has such a negative connotation with most people. When you say I'm a gamer to someone, the general population begins to think, "lazy", "stupid", "slacker", or/and "obnoxious". Although those stereotypes are true for some of the more, vocal gamers, it isn't true for all. My group of friends and I are all gamers and we are straight A kids with jobs, and although sometimes we wish games could be a priority it never is over our work. Gaming is growing and with that the stereotype will decrease, and if gamers become the majority, they also become the smartest and most fit aswell. I'm just waiting for the day when I can 'step out of the shadows' if you will and not hide behind my other interests in hope that people don't think negatively about my true pass-time. A time where all of us can come out of the dark and talk publically about the new Halo game or the unreal trailer for The Division or that incredibly card draw in Hearthstone, that will be the day...