Ask Grandma Hardcore--Open Forum
Tonight's topic- Gambling in games. Or whatever you want. Hence the "open" forum. Nevermind, I'll shut up now- you know what to do :)
Post away!
Post away!
posted by CtrlAltDelete @ 8:00 PM
31 Comments:
At 8:44 PM,
Anonymous said…
When did OGHC's addiction begin? Pong was invented in the 70s and consoles didn't come out till much later. What triggered the addiction, and when did it begin? She had to be well into her adulthood when she found video games, so I'm just wondering the back story.
By the way, I love Kingdom Hearts, and can't wait till the 2nd comes out in December, I expect to hear a lot about OGHC's dealings with that!
At 8:44 PM,
Anonymous said…
When did OGHC's addiction begin? Pong was invented in the 70s and consoles didn't come out till much later. What triggered the addiction, and when did it begin? She had to be well into her adulthood when she found video games, so I'm just wondering the back story.
By the way, I love Kingdom Hearts, and can't wait till the 2nd comes out in December, I expect to hear a lot about OGHC's dealings with that!
At 8:57 PM,
Anonymous said…
So two prices with the Xbox 360, What's OGHC's opnion on that?
Also, my Mom had her knee replaced late last year and one of the things they gave her was this little ice chest that pumped ice water through a pad straped to the knee. It did wonders to keep the swelling down (although it went though a 5 lb bag of ice in less than two days). Did OGHC get something like that? If not you might want to look for one.
Nick
At 9:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
wow, slow night for Ask Grandma, so might as well get one in.
Is there a game genre that Grandma just doesn't "get"? I personally cannot for the life of me play multiplayer RTS games. Command and Conquer, Act of War, STARCRAFT?! Love em all, have em all, get my ass handed to me whenever I try online.
Also (again, looks to be a slow night), are there games that your whole family gets together and plays? My family plays Euchre and Cribbage on the holidays and I end up having to join in.
At 9:05 PM,
Anonymous said…
Gotta love open forum!
Anyway, I was wondering how tech savy your Grandmother was, outside of games. Is she very computer hip with e-mail and webpages, forum, etc?
Also, does she use any other gadgets such as PDA's or the like?
At 9:56 PM,
CtrlAltDelete said…
Okeedokee! God damn, I thought it was Monday. Turns out it's Tuesday. I'm a moron! I guess camping does that to your mind. Grandma's logged on to XBox Live right now, playing WCP. Let's ask her some shit!
"I played Centipede, Pong of course, all the different Space invader games, at bowling alleys; but my first true love was Zelda for the NES.
I can't fucking wait for Kingdom Hearts 2. I LOVED the first one. Tim didn't play it though, I think."
"I only just found out about the price thing on the 360 from EGM, and all I can really say is- it sucks. After Tim and I discussed how much it would actually cost to get everything that didn't come in the first package- It just sucks. I guess they have to make money somehow.
I did have a machine hooked up to the knee that would move it back and forth while I slept or at least provide continuous movement, but that was only during the first few weeks after the surgery. I haven't heard of an "ice device" though, I'll ask my doctor about it."
"I really couldn't get into the flying games as much. Tim played Starfox back in teh day, and now plays Panzer Dragoon Orta and Crimson Skies, but even if you take away the inverted axis feel and play it as an arcade game I just couldn't get into it. Now Final Fantasy Tactics was a complete switch from the traditional RPG into more of a war game, but I still liked it.
Oh! We play Outlaw Golf together and Katamari Damacy, which I think they're playing in the living room right now. Other than that, Madden or something similar can be fun in a big family group."
As I learned from handing the blog over to her for a week while camping, Grandma isn't really that tech savvy outside of gaming. She'll check her e-mail, pay her bills online, balance her checkbook and look for strategy guides on GameFAQs, but other than that she still asks me what I did to deserve an "illegal operation error" on the computer during an FTP fuck up. I'll get her there :)
Thanks everybody! Keep them coming! We'll keep asking her!
[I seriously thought today was Monday.....good god I have to pay attention.]
At 10:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
When's the camera getting here?! :)
Is Grandma pumped for Fatal Frame III later this year?
At 10:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
ShadesofSteve, RTS gaming is my worst too. I'm okay at Starcraft but not very good at any other one.
Grandma, have you played Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for the Gamecube? I got it recently and I haven't been so immersed with a game in a long time. Some people complain because 1/3 of the game is like a movie, but I like it even more because of that.
At 10:06 PM,
Anonymous said…
Has Grandma played any games in the Shin Megami Tensei family? I haven't played enough of the SMT games to really consider myself a 'true' fan... But what few I've been exposed to all had intriguing* plots and challenging gameplay/battle systems. (For the record, the ones I've played are SMT3:Nocturne and SMT:Digital Devil Saga. Both are excellent games, if you ask me.)
*and by that, I mean 'screwed up' :)
At 10:09 PM,
Anonymous said…
Ack, I'm sorry this post must be coming way past your bedtime (when DOES OGHC go to sleep?) I'm just wondering, does gamer-grammy have any favourite musical tastes? And has she ever lived anywhere else that Cleveland? If you guys ever want to visit California, there's always a free room and open Playstation 2 :'D
At 10:58 PM,
Anonymous said…
Fatal Frame III preview:
http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/fatal-frame-3/643732p1.html
At 11:43 PM,
CtrlAltDelete said…
Actually we should get the camera tomorrow afternoon sometime. Grandma is defintely getting a copy of Fatal Frame III. If she doesn't buy it or Tecmo doesn't send it to her, I'm going to buy it for her. She loved the series! It HAS to happen.
"I've played a few of the Metal Gear games, but none for the Game Cube yet. It's such a beautifully done concept. Xenosaga was basically a move that you play once and a while, but I liked it."
"It's funny you should mention Digital Devil Saga, my grandson Josh is letting me play his copy after he's done with it this week; I had a problem because he used Gamefly, there was no manual to help me configure the controls. It does look like a fantastic game!"
Oh Jesus, Grandma's music. I'll devote an entire post on the crazy fucking music grandma listens to tomorrow for you, it's too weird not to comment on. And for the record, it's almost 1:00am EST and Grandma is still logged in and playing strong in World Championship Poker. If you want to join her, she's signed in as OGHC- so send a friend request; she's got the headset on and everything.
As for me; I'm putting on Sin City, grabbing a drink and going to sleep. Keep on asking questions, posting comments and I will get to each of them in the morning for West Coast and International readers. Night folks!!
At 11:44 PM,
CtrlAltDelete said…
Fatal Frame III is already giving me nightmares, man. :)
At 2:31 AM,
Anonymous said…
so good to hear another Kingdom Hearts fan, keep it up OGHC, haha I'm saying keep it up to you, THAT should be vice versa.
At 4:02 AM,
Anonymous said…
A while back you guys anticipated possible problems with Xbox Live voice communication and Grandma swearing. Have you guys had any problems? Are you still anticipating problems? Or do you imagine administrators will be lenient with an 'invited guest'? I'd be interested to hear any stories about peoples' reactions to Grandma's voice / language.
At 5:43 AM,
John Goering said…
Does Grandma know about console classix? You can play virtually any good NES game there for free, and it's legal! Just mention that cause I saw she liked Zelda. Major nostalgia at that site.
At 8:20 AM,
Anonymous said…
Hi there! This is Zelda again, the other `granny`. Have been trying to see your videos for 2 wks now and everytime I click on to one a box comes up on `windows media player` that says `ERROR COOD11CD`. I`m really getting pissed! Any ideas? (tried support at microsoft, windows and Dell. no help!)
At 9:17 AM,
Anonymous said…
wish i had an xbox..to play poker vs grandma =P
Hauk
At 11:12 AM,
CtrlAltDelete said…
Oh I gots stories about Grandma's language on XBox Live... I'll dedicate a post to them this week, but the main thing is- Grandma doesn't WANT to get a ban from Live admins, so she tries to be careful.
John- I'll show it to her. Thanks for the site! I'll see if I can get a reunion tour of her and some older games; there may be tears involved.
Zelda18, I'm here to help- Now that I have a couple readers explaining the thrills of video compression, I'll be able to make smaller files, so that means I will also be able to encode them in different formats. I'm thinking of Divx or .mov; depending on which one is most requested. We'll take a poll or something. In the meantime, try Winamp instead of Media Player if it's just not jiveing for you.
Hauk- People are predicting the XBox coming down to the $99 range towards the holidays; add a free trial subscription to XBox Live comes with certain games, so maybe we'll see you on the field of battle!
Thanks for the comments everybody! More posts are coming today for y'all so check back with us!
At 1:29 PM,
Anonymous said…
Hi! very nice blog
I think Grand ma is really cool!
By the way can you ask her if she have tried Lord of the rings THird age!
I think it's awesome! it s an adventure rpg based on the movie but without the caracter of the LOTR.
Thank
At 1:49 PM,
Anonymous said…
What's up, OGHC and ctrlaltdelete! I'm a long time reader, first time poster. I liked the original question that led me to post here, so I'll pose one for the entire forum, y'know, just to stir up some debate.
My question is this: Is gambling in an online game really a bad thing if the only thing you lose is time? And no, the cost of buying the game/online time does not count as losing money...those are supplies for playing the game, making them a justifiable expense.
Anyways, my answer to this question is NO. It has long been my opinion that when you start with nothing and end with nothing, you've got nothing to worry about. The equation is balanced. You didn't lose your paycheck to some random guy with a deck of cards and a face as unreadable as 'The Illiad' in the original Greek. You're not going to have to survive on half a bag of rice and a can of lentils until the end of the month. As long as the time you spent playing was enjoyable, it was a worthwhile investment of that time.
The problem is, however, that there are so many online casinos nowadays. They cost you real money to play, and if you lose, you can't just hit reset, create a new character, and start over. Your money is gone, lost to someone else's electronic pocket. There are stories of people who have gone bankrupt because of online casinos, and it's because they're so easily accessible. Wanna play the slots all night long, but can't afford to drive to Nevada? Just log on to the casino's site, give them your credit card information, and soon you're watching reels spin and lights flash right from the comfort of your own home. Pretty sweet deal, right?
Childish as it sounds, the Neopets site (www.neopets.com) has some fun gambling games, such as slots, dice, blackjack, poker...and it doesn't cost a thing to play! That's an even sweeter deal! Who needs online casinos when you've got Neopets, hmm?
(climbing up on a soapbox)
Hurray for free games that satisfy the gambler in me! Down with online casinos! Down with tyrrany! Rise up, my people, and fight the oppress...uh, what was I ranting about again?
(reads through the post again)
...Oh yeah, gambling in games...well, anyways...you all know my opinion now. Now let's hear yours...floor's open.
(gets off the soapbox)
At 3:51 PM,
Unknown said…
I think gambling controversies are crap. It's your money. Gamble if you want. Loose all your money for all I care! It's YOUR money! Do it online, do it in person, just do it if it makes you happy! Lord knows I have more credit card debt than I know what to do with. Isn't that just as bad? I spent some of it in person. I spent some of it online! Wether I put the money into a slot machine, or actually bought something the money is GONE. Period!
I don't know if that was the point in bringing up gambling online or now. I'm sicker than a...fuck. I'm sick, whatever. BUT, that is my stand. Gambling anywhere is fine. Just do it.
God I feel like shit. goodnight!
At 4:11 PM,
Anonymous said…
Gambling is not fine when one member of a family has a habit that hurts everyone else. Whole families have lost their homes and savings because mom or pop or both can't stop flushing it all away.
It is true that some people without families hurt only themselves by gambling - unless they become so broke that they need public assistance......
Gambling is like any other costly habit. In moderation its fine. As an addiction its devastating.
Mama Lombax
At 4:22 PM,
CtrlAltDelete said…
She hasn't played The Third Age yet; I forget exactly which LOTR title she choose to destroy. She's all about the RPG's however so I will relay this to the old woman.
Neal, you bring up an interesting element of gaming, though- the element of time. We all know it takes some work to level up in an RPG, sometimes just going through the motion paying with the only curreny worth anything- your very LIFE. So one has to accept that with whatever they choose to entertain themselves must have an proportionatly high value of play. We may gamble because we like the thrill of using our winnings to buy something; we may play video games (gambling or otherwise) for the thrill of obtaining a new weapon or style of play, or simply to advance an interesting plot.
Shit, there isn't anything wrong with gambling, online or otherwise if you're responsible. If there are no monetary concequences, then what's the problem with XBox Live "faux gambling"? You wouldn't believe the hate mail I've gotten about this. (At least I didn't believe it.)
Aw, Stephanie! Eat some chicken soup; lay around, watch some Powerpuff Girls, play some Tetris- get better!! Just don't buy a lottery ticket. Apparently that's a ticket to HELL. :)
Thanks for the forum everybody!
At 4:26 PM,
CtrlAltDelete said…
Mama, you snuck that in while I was typing :) How do you always do that?
I agree- an addiction can be devastating. But responsible people can enjoy a hand or two of blackjack at the local church of goodness and happy. Gambling addictions, unforunately, are much easier to acquire than drug addictions because of the legality involved. I've seen gambling addiction personally, it aint pretty. I've also seen horoscope addictions, and while not financially destructive, it's pretty hard to watch.
I don't think anyone could argue that gambling addictions = good.
At 5:04 PM,
Anonymous said…
Regarding language on Xbox Live:
That is completely up to those that play with OGHC on Xbox Live. If they are offended, and choose to report it by submitting bad feedback on her, then she could be banned. I would hope that anyone putting her on their friends list would know what they were getting into.
Of course, we expect all Xbox Live members to abide by the Code of Conduct. If Grandma gets bad feedback, then she will be treated just like anyone else who violates the code of conduct.
At 6:14 PM,
Anonymous said…
Thanx so much! Will get back to you! I just want to see `granny`. I`m 62 and my kids say I`m just like her---and i really enjoy her!!
At 6:01 AM,
Anonymous said…
trixie knows just as well as the rest of us that receiving bad feedback barely does anything. ;)
Unless you get a ton of it.
But if a dozen people report you for "cussing" in Halo 2, you won't even know.
At 12:49 AM,
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At 2:35 AM,
Anonymous said…
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