For my third anniversary with my girlfriend I created for her a series of puzzles to solve to finally reach a video of me singing for her.
While I'm not going to share the video with everyone, I thought I could let others try the puzzle too :)
So yup, the puzzle is over at http://thisisalanzblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/level-0-white-spaces/
The password to unlock level 0 is 'rawr'. (without the inverted commas). Enjoy!
Feel free to leave comments if you need hints!
Showing posts with label Interesting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interesting. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Friday, 27 September 2013
The Escape Artist - Dimension Z review
DISCLAIMER: This post is spoiler-free. Any spoilers will be clearly demarcated and be in WHITE text. There are no answers given about how to solve any of the puzzles, just general hints, which the gamemasters may also give to you anyway when you play. If you want an entirely spoiler-free experience, just don’t read the review/tips!
Brief Intro: If you have played any online room escape games, you would surely be keen on The Escape Artist, a real-life room escape game at the somewhat obscure Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. They have 4 rooms in total, which you can check out on their official website here. The room sizes allow anywhere from 2 – 8 people, depending on the particular room. Each room has a unique theme and a set of puzzles which you have to solve to unlock the door to get out of the room. The success rates are pretty low, probably below 50%, so be prepared for a challenge.
It costs $15 per person for 50 minutes (and an additional $15 for the entire room for a 10(?) minute extension), $12 if you are a student. Pretty reasonable rates for a really great time!
Many puzzles in every room are what I call ‘general lateral thinking puzzles’, where you have to think creatively and figure out how to derive the code from whatever clues you have.
This blog post will be my review of one of their rooms, Dimension Z.
Brief Intro: If you have played any online room escape games, you would surely be keen on The Escape Artist, a real-life room escape game at the somewhat obscure Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. They have 4 rooms in total, which you can check out on their official website here. The room sizes allow anywhere from 2 – 8 people, depending on the particular room. Each room has a unique theme and a set of puzzles which you have to solve to unlock the door to get out of the room. The success rates are pretty low, probably below 50%, so be prepared for a challenge.
It costs $15 per person for 50 minutes (and an additional $15 for the entire room for a 10(?) minute extension), $12 if you are a student. Pretty reasonable rates for a really great time!
Many puzzles in every room are what I call ‘general lateral thinking puzzles’, where you have to think creatively and figure out how to derive the code from whatever clues you have.
This blog post will be my review of one of their rooms, Dimension Z.
The Escape Artist - A Wonderfool Dream Review
DISCLAIMER: This post is spoiler-free. Any spoilers will be clearly demarcated and be in WHITE text. There are no answers given about how to solve any of the puzzles, just general hints, which the gamemasters may also give to you anyway when you play. If you want an entirely spoiler-free experience, just don't read the review/tips!
Brief Intro: If you have played any online room escape games, you would surely be keen on The Escape Artist, a real-life room escape game at the somewhat obscure Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. They have 4 rooms in total, which you can check out on their official website here. The room sizes allow anywhere from 2 - 8 people, depending on the particular room. Each room has a unique theme and a set of puzzles which you have to solve to unlock the door to get out of the room. The success rates are pretty low, probably below 50%, so be prepared for a challenge.
It costs $15 per person for 50 minutes (and an additional $15 for the entire room for a 10(?) minute extension), $12 if you are a student. Pretty reasonable rates for a really great time!
Many puzzles in every room are what I call 'general lateral thinking puzzles', where you have to think creatively and figure out how to derive the code from whatever clues you have.
This blog post will be my review of one of their rooms, A Wonderfool Dream (Version 2)
Brief Intro: If you have played any online room escape games, you would surely be keen on The Escape Artist, a real-life room escape game at the somewhat obscure Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. They have 4 rooms in total, which you can check out on their official website here. The room sizes allow anywhere from 2 - 8 people, depending on the particular room. Each room has a unique theme and a set of puzzles which you have to solve to unlock the door to get out of the room. The success rates are pretty low, probably below 50%, so be prepared for a challenge.
It costs $15 per person for 50 minutes (and an additional $15 for the entire room for a 10(?) minute extension), $12 if you are a student. Pretty reasonable rates for a really great time!
Many puzzles in every room are what I call 'general lateral thinking puzzles', where you have to think creatively and figure out how to derive the code from whatever clues you have.
This blog post will be my review of one of their rooms, A Wonderfool Dream (Version 2)
Friday, 16 November 2012
False Confessions
Would you confess to a crime you didn't commit?
I watched a short film today in my Psychology and Criminal Justice class which really disturbed and annoyed me because of what transpired in it. It was a documentary on an actual criminal case in Norfolk, where four men separately confessed to a gang rape and murder which they didn't commit and were convicted to life sentence in prison without parole. How did it all happen? Read on for the ridiculous story.
I watched a short film today in my Psychology and Criminal Justice class which really disturbed and annoyed me because of what transpired in it. It was a documentary on an actual criminal case in Norfolk, where four men separately confessed to a gang rape and murder which they didn't commit and were convicted to life sentence in prison without parole. How did it all happen? Read on for the ridiculous story.
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Amazing Poker Hand!!
I played some poker with some exchange friends today, no money involved, just all for fun. It was pretty fun as I ended up winning by quite a bit:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="336"]
The red chips were the 2nd highest denomination. $1 green, $2 blues, $5 reds, $10 black[/caption]
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="336"]
The red chips were the 2nd highest denomination. $1 green, $2 blues, $5 reds, $10 black[/caption]Saturday, 21 July 2012
The Dark Knight Climbs a Well
Today I went to watch 'The Dark Knight Rises' for free, because of some SAFRA competition that I won. Pretty easy contest, just email them saying that you want the tickets and presto! They replied saying 'Congratulations! You have won... etc'.
I must say, the show was pretty draggy and confusing, and seemed to be filled with plot holes. The movie was about 2 hours 45 minutes long and many scenes felt pretty redundant or draggy. And I was relying on the Chinese subtitles for many parts to try to decipher what they were saying in their try-to-act-cool-mumbling, and given how bad my Chinese is it doesn't always work. I'm going to give my interpretation of what was happening for the movie below... spoilers ahead! Don't read on if you don't want to be spoilt for the movie!
I must say, the show was pretty draggy and confusing, and seemed to be filled with plot holes. The movie was about 2 hours 45 minutes long and many scenes felt pretty redundant or draggy. And I was relying on the Chinese subtitles for many parts to try to decipher what they were saying in their try-to-act-cool-mumbling, and given how bad my Chinese is it doesn't always work. I'm going to give my interpretation of what was happening for the movie below... spoilers ahead! Don't read on if you don't want to be spoilt for the movie!
Friday, 29 June 2012
How the news should be
My mother is a compulsive worrier, and much of it is due to the Straits Times. She's the kind of person who glances through the headlines, spots a sensationalized headline, then reads the whole story, then warns me about it 24 times, then plays through the scenario in her head but this time with me as the protagonist, then warns me another 8 times. Then she continues worrying that it may actually happen to her or someone she knows and tells everyone about it.
It's really all the news' fault. It's an unfair portrayal really - for every 1 robbery reported, there's another 10000 people who did not get robbed in the exact same circumstances. For every molest case on the train, there's another 99999 people who did not get molested on the train. Presenting only the negatives leads to a certain expectation bias in people and unnecessary paranoia.
Here's the kind of news I would publish if I was editor:
A China national who entered the bedroom of a co-tenant and had a chat with her was not jailed for six weeks on Tuesday.Zhong Zihao, 25, then an electrical assembler, admitted to entering into the bedroom of the 19-year-old student, shaking her hands and having a delightful conversation which lasted for two hours.The 19-year-old-student, who declined to be named, had this to say: "(He) was very kind and friendly. He asked about my family and how they were doing, and even offered me some cake!"The court heard that he was in the kitchen in the early hours on Jan 4 when he found some spare keys. He recognized this as the student's bedroom keys and promptly returned it to her."I knew I had to do the right thing," Zhong said. "I always return lost keys when I find them."He entered the victim's bedroom with the pretext of returning the victim's spare keys. They ended up having a long, meaningful conversation and the two still remain friends.
And another one:
A young man who did not molest or sexually abuse a 17-year-old girl on their first date was not jailed for any duration on Thursday.Choo Chen Hung, 24, admitted to having a great time at Block 932 Yishun Road at about midnight on April 20, 2011.A district court heard that Choo contacted the victim after getting her number through a mutual friend on April 19. They arranged to meet at McDonald's at Northpoint Shopping Centre at about midnight.While sitting outside the fast-food restaurant, Choo suggested that they order a Double McSpicy meal but she refused.The 17-year-old girl, who only wanted to be known as Lin, said: "I was on a diet so I definitely not want a Double McSpicy. We compromised and got a single McSpicy meal instead."The couple had their supper and chatted late into the night. They are reportedly having their second date tomorrow night.
Disclaimer: This entry was written in an attempt at humor. No plagiarism or false reporting was intended.
Friday, 25 May 2012
[S] Cool story, bro
If you haven't already heard, the latest online furore occurred yesterday or two days ago when pictures of Xiaxue was posted on Temasek (something)'s Facebook Page, inviting people to post (rude) captions.
What ensued is elaborated well here.
The gist of it - dirty old men called XX and her friends sluts and whores, and XX retaliated by posting up their photos in her blog entry.
And Straits Times covers it here too.
I'm not here to debate who's right or wrong, because clearly both are wrong to some extent (though I do find the lewd comments utterly disgusting and think they deserve it), but I was reading the Straits Times' cover story on it when something just made cringe.
Context: One of the disgusting men, let's call him 'SC', posted the Facebook comment on XX's photo:
When asked by the Straits Times about his comment, "he said that his comment was 'incomplete', and that 'he didn't meant that at all', adding that he was actually trying to defend her. "(directly quoted from the Straits Times article)
HAHAHHA BULLSHIT . Yea, insinuating that they are Geylang hookers is totally trying to defend her!
And as for the 'incomplete' comment... well a screenshot tells it all: (6th comment down)
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="466"]
Taken from xiaxue.blogspot.com[/caption]
Yea, it was totally incomplete because the rest of his text is invisible!
Seriously, if you want to post such bullshit then man up and take ownership of your post! Simisai trying to defend her.
Ok that's all I have to say. Cool story bro.
What ensued is elaborated well here.
The gist of it - dirty old men called XX and her friends sluts and whores, and XX retaliated by posting up their photos in her blog entry.
And Straits Times covers it here too.
I'm not here to debate who's right or wrong, because clearly both are wrong to some extent (though I do find the lewd comments utterly disgusting and think they deserve it), but I was reading the Straits Times' cover story on it when something just made cringe.
Context: One of the disgusting men, let's call him 'SC', posted the Facebook comment on XX's photo:
"Pretty and sexy girls, which part of Geylang they work?"
When asked by the Straits Times about his comment, "he said that his comment was 'incomplete', and that 'he didn't meant that at all', adding that he was actually trying to defend her. "(directly quoted from the Straits Times article)
HAHAHHA BULLSHIT . Yea, insinuating that they are Geylang hookers is totally trying to defend her!
And as for the 'incomplete' comment... well a screenshot tells it all: (6th comment down)
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="466"]
Taken from xiaxue.blogspot.com[/caption]Yea, it was totally incomplete because the rest of his text is invisible!
Seriously, if you want to post such bullshit then man up and take ownership of your post! Simisai trying to defend her.
Ok that's all I have to say. Cool story bro.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
An interesting cover letter
Big companies have to process hundreds of resumes and cover letters daily, so how do you make yours stand out?
I saw this off a forum that I frequent (sc2sea.com), apparently this guy was trying to apply to Razer for a job position, and he decided to write a unique cover letter. He got called up for an interview after sending in this cover letter :) Have a look!
(You probably won't get most of it if you're not a gamer, but you should be able to appreciate the gist of it)
I saw this off a forum that I frequent (sc2sea.com), apparently this guy was trying to apply to Razer for a job position, and he decided to write a unique cover letter. He got called up for an interview after sending in this cover letter :) Have a look!
(You probably won't get most of it if you're not a gamer, but you should be able to appreciate the gist of it)
Monday, 9 April 2012
Damn, I ONLY got an A-
This blog entry has to do with the issue of complaining - how do you know when and how to complain?
You're probably scratching your head thinking I have lost it. I'm asking how to ... COMPLAIN?? Isn't that supposed to be Singaporean's #1 pastime besides eating and watching soccer? Well, the problem comes when you consider empathetic thoughts - when you start to consider other people's feelings. Let's go through several scenarios and you'll see what I mean.
You're probably scratching your head thinking I have lost it. I'm asking how to ... COMPLAIN?? Isn't that supposed to be Singaporean's #1 pastime besides eating and watching soccer? Well, the problem comes when you consider empathetic thoughts - when you start to consider other people's feelings. Let's go through several scenarios and you'll see what I mean.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
My MLM Experience Part Two
This is the second part and sequel to my MLM Experience. If you missed the first part, do read it first before reading this second part.
My MLM Experience (Part One)
My MLM Experience (Part One)
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Psycho Douchebag
I am a drama magnet.
Well, at least when it comes to group projects. I seem to attract the weirdest and most complicated group members in my projects in school.
If you have not read about my experience last year with my SEA group, do check it out here.
This post is about my philo group this semester, and the drama that has occurred. Here's a sneak preview:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="There's apparently a convention for using exclamation marks, according to Psycho Douchebag"]
[/caption]
Well, at least when it comes to group projects. I seem to attract the weirdest and most complicated group members in my projects in school.
If you have not read about my experience last year with my SEA group, do check it out here.
This post is about my philo group this semester, and the drama that has occurred. Here's a sneak preview:
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="There's apparently a convention for using exclamation marks, according to Psycho Douchebag"]
[/caption]Sunday, 19 February 2012
Szehong's 21st Birthday
Today was my girlfriend's 21st birthday, and I know some of you have been asking me what on earth I have been planning, so I'm going to blog about it briefly here!
At the stroke of midnight, I posted this on her Facebook wall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPOHS5vjW1E&feature=youtu.be
(Just a 1 minute video of me wishing her happy birthday and singing her happy birthday, with blooper reel. WARNING: My singing is bad)
So that was just the birthday wish.
And as for the main concept of the present, it was to give her an experience, not just a single present. Thus I termed it 'The Princess Treatment' (yes yes, cliche, corny, blabla), in which I would be pampering her with presents and stuff.
The experience basically consisted of 21 unique presents, such as chocolate, her favourite food, her favourite drink, a necklace, a song (specially written for her), lunch and dinner, etc. I compiled everything into a little booklet and used it as an 'itinerary guide' for today, revealing to her one at a time what the present was. Throughout the booklet was little messages I had to tell her, accompanied with photos of us which I printed.
At the stroke of midnight, I posted this on her Facebook wall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPOHS5vjW1E&feature=youtu.be
(Just a 1 minute video of me wishing her happy birthday and singing her happy birthday, with blooper reel. WARNING: My singing is bad)
So that was just the birthday wish.
And as for the main concept of the present, it was to give her an experience, not just a single present. Thus I termed it 'The Princess Treatment' (yes yes, cliche, corny, blabla), in which I would be pampering her with presents and stuff.
The experience basically consisted of 21 unique presents, such as chocolate, her favourite food, her favourite drink, a necklace, a song (specially written for her), lunch and dinner, etc. I compiled everything into a little booklet and used it as an 'itinerary guide' for today, revealing to her one at a time what the present was. Throughout the booklet was little messages I had to tell her, accompanied with photos of us which I printed.
Monday, 13 February 2012
My MLM Experience Part One
Wow the last entry I made was exactly one month ago. And now I'm back!
I've been wanting to write about this for quite some time, but never bothered to get down to it! I finally decided to pen it down now before I forget the details.
So yes, I was very briefly involved in MLM before! Multi-Level Marketing has been talked about endlessly and there are many reasons why it is bad. Just in this sentence I've included 4 links for you to check out what it is and why it's bad if you don't know.
I shall recount the events chronologically, as I think it's the best way to present things. It is a VERY long read, but should no doubt be eye-opening to some of you.
So, grab some chips, a drink, and enjoy!
I've been wanting to write about this for quite some time, but never bothered to get down to it! I finally decided to pen it down now before I forget the details.
So yes, I was very briefly involved in MLM before! Multi-Level Marketing has been talked about endlessly and there are many reasons why it is bad. Just in this sentence I've included 4 links for you to check out what it is and why it's bad if you don't know.
I shall recount the events chronologically, as I think it's the best way to present things. It is a VERY long read, but should no doubt be eye-opening to some of you.
So, grab some chips, a drink, and enjoy!
Saturday, 14 January 2012
A Visit from China
In NUS there are many experiments going on regularly, conducted by honors / PhD students, because NUS is a research-focused university.
What!?! I felt like a celebrity or something la lol and I was dressed in a super cui T shirt (you'll see later) and berms.
The girl on my right asked alot of questions, and the girl second from the right asked the most.
I alternated between Mandarin and English, and I actually used English at the start and when I started using Mandarin they were all like shocked like gasssp your Mandarin is so good!!
Oh and they also asked me what my sleeping hours are, and because I'm a pig and need a lot of sleep, I said I slept by about 12 and woke up at 8-9, and once again they all went 'WAAAAA' and I found out it was because they slept at 1 and woke up at 6 >< rofl
So yea we had a chat for like 30 mins , with mostly just the girls asking questions (and the same 2 girls in general, the others asked the odd question) , the boys just quiet quiet and some looked bored. Asked about Singapore food.. the halls.. CCAs.. essays.. etc
After that they asked for a proper pic which is the one you see above and again here:
How's my paparazzi smile? Not bad right. LOL
btw, this 'photo taking' was like a whole row of people standin in front of us holding cameras and snappin pics (cos alot of cameras ma, all the students wanted photos) so it was really like paparazzi. So I just tried to look at all the different cameras at once and keep my smile on my face lol.
So after phototaking they all thanked me profusely and we said goodbyes, then their teacher or something gave me this bag of stuff that I was supposed to give to the NUS side in charge of inviting them - the thing is that I've NO IDEA who in NUS is responsible for it so I'm stuck with the souvenirs:
Was a really fun experience, I would have loved to stay and talk abit more with them but I had to go so was abit sad ;( I felt bad for leaving! Like they were so eager to just talk more with me and learn about Singapore and stuff.
Ok so now what do I do with the epic souvenirs?
Thus, they regularly need subjects to take part in these experiments, and they pay anywhere from $8-$10, and for some it's really random like $20-100+. The most I've got was 20-40$ for one expt (3 hours), can't remember. Szehong got $100 from that same expt.
Anyway, I 'signed up' for what I thought was another experiment, cos my friend msged me and asked if I was free for an interview. and so I said yes.
Then lo and behold, after some SMS exchanges, I found out that 23 China students were actually coming to talk to me. TWENTY THREE.
wtf?!
So at first I thought was an experiment, then became an interview (I thought maybe 1-2 or 3) then suddenly 23 people coming!
So anyway I arranged to meet them in school and so they came... they were a bunch of China JC students (like from a China JC) visiting Singapore, and touring the universities. So somehow by some random selection I was the 'NUS ambassador!' wtf! Don't they have official channels for this.
Anyway the super weird and awkward thing was the moment they all sat down,
They all whipped out their cameras and started snapping photos of ME.
What!?! I felt like a celebrity or something la lol and I was dressed in a super cui T shirt (you'll see later) and berms.
So I eventually sat down and started chatting with them (some still took photos upclose wtf!) and it was really nice and pleasant they were all super cute and friendly and they asked me about NUS life, uni life, whether I have a gf (and when I said yes they all went 'waaaaaa' SUPER CUTE HAHA)
(and I swear I saw some disappointed faces HAHAHAHA. No seriously ok. And they kept snapping pics! So I either look like a weird interesting creature or I'm good looking and I choose to believe the latter lololol )
(and I swear I saw some disappointed faces HAHAHAHA. No seriously ok. And they kept snapping pics! So I either look like a weird interesting creature or I'm good looking and I choose to believe the latter lololol )
The girl on my right asked alot of questions, and the girl second from the right asked the most.
I alternated between Mandarin and English, and I actually used English at the start and when I started using Mandarin they were all like shocked like gasssp your Mandarin is so good!!
Oh and they also asked me what my sleeping hours are, and because I'm a pig and need a lot of sleep, I said I slept by about 12 and woke up at 8-9, and once again they all went 'WAAAAA' and I found out it was because they slept at 1 and woke up at 6 >< rofl
So yea we had a chat for like 30 mins , with mostly just the girls asking questions (and the same 2 girls in general, the others asked the odd question) , the boys just quiet quiet and some looked bored. Asked about Singapore food.. the halls.. CCAs.. essays.. etc
After that they asked for a proper pic which is the one you see above and again here:
How's my paparazzi smile? Not bad right. LOL
btw, this 'photo taking' was like a whole row of people standin in front of us holding cameras and snappin pics (cos alot of cameras ma, all the students wanted photos) so it was really like paparazzi. So I just tried to look at all the different cameras at once and keep my smile on my face lol.
So after phototaking they all thanked me profusely and we said goodbyes, then their teacher or something gave me this bag of stuff that I was supposed to give to the NUS side in charge of inviting them - the thing is that I've NO IDEA who in NUS is responsible for it so I'm stuck with the souvenirs:
 |
| Some banner from their school (supposedly a v good sch and the students that came were supposedly the best in the school) |
 |
| Some epic looking book about their school's epic history or something |
Was a really fun experience, I would have loved to stay and talk abit more with them but I had to go so was abit sad ;( I felt bad for leaving! Like they were so eager to just talk more with me and learn about Singapore and stuff.
Ok so now what do I do with the epic souvenirs?
Saturday, 17 December 2011
The myopic gamer
Life can be reduced to a video game. Everything and anything we do can be described as some aspect of a game. Many parallels can be drawn between things you do in a game as well as things you do in life.
I will list each example with the real life activity first, followed by the gaming example.
Real Life: Earning money
We all need money. To eat, to travel, to buy frivolous things for ourselves. Unless you were born with a silver spoon or you grow a money tree, most of us would have to actually work to earn money. We slave for hours to end and when we get home everyday, deadbeat and exhausted, we ask ourselves, 'Why am I doing this? Oh right, I need the money."
In a Game: Farming Gold
We have all done it. From breeding Air Dragons to sell in Dragonvale and spamming collect on the Plant Habitats, memorizing mining routes like these to level our Mining profession in World of Warcraft to trade more lucrative ores,
to killing more mobs in Skyrim to collect more material for sale. We often do things that are boring and monotonous and grind-like to get more gold. When you are extremely bored and tired and ask yourself "Why am I doing this? Oh right, I need more gold."
Real Life: Multi-tasking
If you have a dog, a girlfriend, a clique, and a family, that is already 4 different groups that you have to divide your attention between them. You fail to do so in any aspect and that could mean soured ties, and the effects could snowball and just come back and bite you in the butt later on. You could even lose your girlfriend.
In a Game: Multi-tasking (Macro)
In Starcraft 2, players have to multitask constantly to keep their economy going. If you are unable to multitask to keep up your larva injects, Chronoboosts and MULEs, it could snowball and come back and bite you in the butt later on when you cannot produce enough units to defend a push. You could even lose the game.
Real Life: Building friendships
Psychologists list many types of relationships, and a famous related principle is the social exchange theory, in which individuals focus on the costs/benefits of a relationship to determine whether it's a worthwhile relationship.
Whether we like it or not, relationships involve investment, effort and time to maintain, and you have to put in some amount of these, otherwise you will never have good, healthy, friendly relations.
In A Game: Farming Reputation
Anyone who has played some kind of RPG that requires reputation with a faction will know what this point is about before even reading on.
In many games, you have certain ties with groups of people (factions) in the game. You will need to do quests for them, kill monsters for them, etc, to improve your honor/reputation with them. There are various thresholds such as Neutral -> Friendly -> Honored -> Exalted, etcetc, to indicate your level of relationship with the particular factoin.
Whether you like it or not, forming these reputations involve investment, effort and time to do so, and without these, you will never have a good, solid reputation with any faction.
Real Life: Work in a Team
School project groups, work project groups, teammates in a sport... I could go on and on listing the different types of teams we work in. You can't escape it, you have to learn how to work with other people and coordinate efforts to contribute to a joint result. You may have problems such as people not turning up, people being late, conflicts within your group, etc. But if you are the leader, you're going to have to mediate and iron these out, in order to have any level of success in your group's tasks.
In A Game: Work in a Team
Whether you are in a 25-man raid in World of Warcraft or playing a 5v5 DoTA game with your buddies, teamwork and coordination is usually crucial in winning/killing a boss. You can't escape it- you can be the best Rogue, the best Lina Maiden, the best Holy Paladin in your group, but if the rest of your team f**ks up, you're going to fail.
You may have problems with people being late or not turning up for raid, and maybe even conflicts over whose fault it was that you failed the last wipe. But if you are the leader, you're going to have to get everyone focused on the task at hand and stop pointing fingers, in order to have any level of success in your group's tasks.
These are just 4 of the more common examples, there are probably others more trivial cases which you can easily draw a gaming parallel as well. I think this will suffice to prove my theory though.
Life is a video game.
I will list each example with the real life activity first, followed by the gaming example.
Real Life: Earning money
We all need money. To eat, to travel, to buy frivolous things for ourselves. Unless you were born with a silver spoon or you grow a money tree, most of us would have to actually work to earn money. We slave for hours to end and when we get home everyday, deadbeat and exhausted, we ask ourselves, 'Why am I doing this? Oh right, I need the money."
In a Game: Farming Gold
We have all done it. From breeding Air Dragons to sell in Dragonvale and spamming collect on the Plant Habitats, memorizing mining routes like these to level our Mining profession in World of Warcraft to trade more lucrative ores,
 |
| Typical Mining Route in World of Warcraft |
to killing more mobs in Skyrim to collect more material for sale. We often do things that are boring and monotonous and grind-like to get more gold. When you are extremely bored and tired and ask yourself "Why am I doing this? Oh right, I need more gold."
Real Life: Multi-tasking
If you have a dog, a girlfriend, a clique, and a family, that is already 4 different groups that you have to divide your attention between them. You fail to do so in any aspect and that could mean soured ties, and the effects could snowball and just come back and bite you in the butt later on. You could even lose your girlfriend.
In a Game: Multi-tasking (Macro)
In Starcraft 2, players have to multitask constantly to keep their economy going. If you are unable to multitask to keep up your larva injects, Chronoboosts and MULEs, it could snowball and come back and bite you in the butt later on when you cannot produce enough units to defend a push. You could even lose the game.
 |
| Don't lose your MULES! |
Real Life: Building friendships
Psychologists list many types of relationships, and a famous related principle is the social exchange theory, in which individuals focus on the costs/benefits of a relationship to determine whether it's a worthwhile relationship.
Whether we like it or not, relationships involve investment, effort and time to maintain, and you have to put in some amount of these, otherwise you will never have good, healthy, friendly relations.
In A Game: Farming Reputation
Anyone who has played some kind of RPG that requires reputation with a faction will know what this point is about before even reading on.
In many games, you have certain ties with groups of people (factions) in the game. You will need to do quests for them, kill monsters for them, etc, to improve your honor/reputation with them. There are various thresholds such as Neutral -> Friendly -> Honored -> Exalted, etcetc, to indicate your level of relationship with the particular factoin.
Whether you like it or not, forming these reputations involve investment, effort and time to do so, and without these, you will never have a good, solid reputation with any faction.
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| Someone with leet In-Game reputation but probably terrifail Real Life relations. |
Real Life: Work in a Team
School project groups, work project groups, teammates in a sport... I could go on and on listing the different types of teams we work in. You can't escape it, you have to learn how to work with other people and coordinate efforts to contribute to a joint result. You may have problems such as people not turning up, people being late, conflicts within your group, etc. But if you are the leader, you're going to have to mediate and iron these out, in order to have any level of success in your group's tasks.
In A Game: Work in a Team
Whether you are in a 25-man raid in World of Warcraft or playing a 5v5 DoTA game with your buddies, teamwork and coordination is usually crucial in winning/killing a boss. You can't escape it- you can be the best Rogue, the best Lina Maiden, the best Holy Paladin in your group, but if the rest of your team f**ks up, you're going to fail.
You may have problems with people being late or not turning up for raid, and maybe even conflicts over whose fault it was that you failed the last wipe. But if you are the leader, you're going to have to get everyone focused on the task at hand and stop pointing fingers, in order to have any level of success in your group's tasks.
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| Mid-fight in a game of Dota 2 |
These are just 4 of the more common examples, there are probably others more trivial cases which you can easily draw a gaming parallel as well. I think this will suffice to prove my theory though.
Life is a video game.
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