03.13.13

My Philosophy on Collecting

I like watching videos on YouTube of other people’s video game collections.  There are so many different ways to collect games.  Some people go for every game ever released.  Some people collected sealed, never opened games.  Some collect only for a particular brand.  Some like to import.  Some people like collecting merchandise.  And some people go for the really rare and expensive stuff.  Every collector is probably a little bit of all those things.

I appreciate the most extreme collectors on a preservation level.  I respect the people that try to collect games and systems that are complete with all the boxes and materials that would have been included when new.  Without their eccentric obsession, knowing exactly what documentation came with the original Atari 2600, for example, would be impossible now.  99% of people will say, “Who cares?” but if you want to know what something was like “when it was new” as opposed to “when it was garage saled”, then keeping this stuff intact is the only way.  It’s the nuances of history, but it is history none-the-less.

I’m not sure when I began considering myself a “collector” of video game junk.  For the most part, my stuff is just amassed through purchases over the years and I’ve never gotten rid of it.  The only game I’ve ever gotten rid of purposely, was Yoshi’s Story for the N64.  But for the most part gaming has just been a past-time I have enjoyed and blown my disposable income on.  Over the years I have ended up with quite a bit of stuff.  To me it just shows that I’m old.

But I guess I crossed over the line to collector when I started hoarding all these brand new Nintendo 64 controllers.  Since I bought them they have done nothing but sit in their boxes on my shelf, never being played with.  Dissatisfied with third party N64 controllers, my original plan was to use them as my current wore out.  Most of them I acquired for around $30 which is about what they costed back when they were on the market anyway, so using them wouldn’t feel that bad.  But it’s like that nice bottle of wine.  The one that you’re saving for some really special occasion, and every special occasion that comes along, just doesn’t feel quite special enough… so that super special bottle never even gets drank.  That’s when I realized what I was.

So all of a sudden, my 25 years of video game purchases are now a “collection” so I’ve labeled it.  Now I feel like I have to establish some guide lines.  Mostly to set some limits for myself.  Because when you are a “collector” that just means the amount of money you can spend on old junk instantly loses all reason.  If you’ve got the cash to blow, you can buy a certified, sealed copy of “Pinball” for the NES for $19,999.99.  That’s only $19,999.00 more than I paid for my loose cartridge of the same game a year ago.

So what’s the difference between the two?  Well, there’s only one difference that matters.  You can ACTUALLY PLAY one of them.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the $20k version for what it is.  A pure un-altered time warp.  Maybe the only one left in the world.  Sealed behind a plastic enclosure that just as well be a temporal barrier that is impossible to traverse.  And if only two people decide they want it… then it has value.  But one thing is for sure.  If you want to play the game you definitely don’t want that one.  And when it gets right down to it, I’m all about playing my games.

So whatever it is that I happen across, whether its the Vectrex, NES Pinball, or the Wii U, I want to make sure it’s something that I feel like I or anyone that comes over, can pickup and play.  So it should work reasonably well, but not be so pristine that actually using it destroys what it is.  To me the nostalgia of this stuff comes from playing it, not looking at it.

I like to make sure things are as original as possible.  I never got into emulators, because there were always little differences that took away from the experience.  Don’t get me wrong, you could go to great lengths and get very close to the original experience.  But nothing replaces blowing in a cartridge, sliding it into an NES and hearing that springy click as you push the cart down into the system.  The feeling of the original controller in your hand and knowing you don’t have the ability to quick save at any moment.  For me it’s all about being able to shut everything else out, and fore that brief moment, you might be able to convince yourself that it is 1987 again.

That’s where the worth in my collection comes from if you ask me.  Not in its monetary value.  But it’s ability to transport you to another time.  To actually pass through that temporal wormhole and at least let a part of you exist in that world that used to be.  When you’re playing an old game, you remember how simple life used to be.

I really enjoyed growing up, and I have vowed as I get older, to not forget what it was like to be a kid.  Now that I have a little guy of my own it feels important to me that he is able to do the same thing.  I don’t expect him to care about the same things I care about.  I want him to make his own memories.  But I do hope he learns to value his experiences the same way I do.  You can easily get caught up in the desire for more “stuff”.  But in the end, it’s only the experiences that really matter.

So maybe I should finally open up the box on one of those N64 controllers and lay down some blistering Mario Kart 64 times.

…

I’ll think about it.

03.10.13

Backlog

Decided that it was a day for some retro fun.  I picked up Final Fantasy III off eBay a while back.  Weeks ago actually.  I just today finally got around to beginning a file.

While I’d call myself a fan of the Final Fantasy series, my experience with this game is essentially zero.  I’ve heard it’s awesome.  And many people think it’s the best Final Fantasy game of them all, and some people even think it’s the best game ever made.  Again, I can’t comment on any of these claims because until today, I’d never played it!

So far I’m about two hours in and I have to say I’m enjoying it thoroughly.  Even in 2013 this game is compelling.  I can see how in the early 90’s this game would have been epic.  Not that it isn’t epic now, but it’s not really fair to compare this game’s presentation with something from today’s hardware with HD, surround sound, and fully orchestrated soundtracks.

It hasn’t been too difficult, but I have to confess, I really didn’t understand how to use save points AT ALL for a long time.  I thought just walking over the save point activated it… nope not so much.  A fact I only found out after I got my but kicked in the Vargas fight.  It was pretty obvious to me I was supposed to use Sabin’s “Blitz” command, but I failed to notice any explanation on how to use it!  I kept getting “Invalid Blitz Input”.  I died… then found out all those save points I thought I saved at… didn’t.  But after some brief frustration and going all the way back to the first arrival at Figaro Castle… I regrouped myself.

After an event like that, most games I put away and think, I’ll come back to it when I’m not so pissed (Metroid Prime).  But this time, I was so thoroughly enjoying  the game, that I really wanted to get back where I was, and see where it was going.  It took me about 45 minutes to get back to the Vargas fight (ACTUALLY saving frequently along the way this time).  And I made it a point to pay close attention to where it explains how to use that Blitz command.  Only it DOESN’T!  I can only assume in the instruction booklet it explains how to “Blitz”, because no where in the game did it even hint at what to do.  And as far as I can tell, that’s the only way to win that fight.  I had to seek the guidance of the internets to figure out what I was supposed to do there.

You know, there was a time when all you had was an instruction booklet and maybe a friend that had played the game before you to help when you got stuck like that.  You might be able to go buy a magazine with some hints in it at the store, but that would require your mom taking you there, and you know darn well, Mom wasn’t going to take you to the store solely to buy a magazine for a video game you were stuck on.  So you had to REMEMBER you wanted that magazine the next time you happened to be there.  And even then, you were lucky if begging her to buy it worked.  So thanks for the Internet, I guess.

I think for the rest of tonight, I’m going to play some Guild Wars 2 before it’s back to the weekly grind of work and my 1.5 hours of free time each night.  Man, being a grown up is grueling sometimes.  Remind me to write that blog about how I vowed to make gaming a priority for life back when I was 15.

03.4.13

Meanwhile in Tyria

This weekend I had the pleasure of playing more Guild Wars 2.  Big thanks goes out to Biebs from joshbieber.com for helping me steamroll through a personal story quest I’ve been stuck on for months.

After that I spent some time exploring more of Lion’s Arch and the Gendarran Fields to the north.

By far my favorite part of this game is the exploration.  I’m avoiding all the wikis, and walkthroughs, and guides.  I’m just going down every new path with complete and utter ignorance to what lie ahead of me, and it is a fantastic experience!  Seeing a big brick wall at the top of a hill, only to discover it is the amazing fortress you see above.  I can’t get enough of this game!

02.27.13

B.G. Willers Podcast – Melting Snow

The storm has finally moved on!  I’ve been a bachelor for a few days so I cranked out a podcast.

Topics:

• Winter Storm Agatha
• Vectrex… again.
• Backlog of games grows
• Andrea got Guild Wars 2!
• EA Wants Games to Cost $69
• Podcast Music
• Mystery Song

DOWNLOAD HERE

02.11.13

B.G. Willers Podcast – Vectorized

Well, I bet you can guess what half of this podcast is about.  I promise it’s not all Vectrex though!

DOWNLOAD HERE!

02.10.13

Guild Wars Adventures with Matt & Andrea: Part 1

Sorry about the sound quality.  I had trouble getting my headset working so I ended up using my cellphone which turns out didn’t work well at all.  Andrea’s audio sounded great though.

More than anything this was just something fun we decided to do after listening to the Guild Wars Soundtrack the other day and getting all nostalgic.  We decided to start brand new characters, just like it was day one all over again.

Here’s Part 1, I’ll make sure I get a new headset before I record part 2.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/dKQpuqptVgM]

02.9.13

Unboxing the Vectrex

[youtube=http://youtu.be/pIrZzUjXTdE]

02.8.13

Happy Vectrex Day!

I hereby dub February 7th as Vectrex Day hence forth on B.G. Willers.com!  I wasn’t too sure if it would even show up today, because the the tracking information never updated once the package left Wichita.  So in an effort to not get my hopes up, I just figured it would come in tomorrow.  Then the mailman comes lugging a box up the stairs at the office around 10:00AM today and with “FRAGILE” written all over it, I knew it HAD to be the Vectrex.

Of course each and every passer by had to make the “Frajeelee” joke from A Christmas Story, and plenty of “What’s in the box?” questions.  I had no problem sharing with my co-workers what hopefully sat inside that box, a hopefully functioning Vectrex.  But I wanted to wait until I got home to open it up.  I’ve been dying to make some videos, and this was the perfect opportunity.  So with great restraint I let the box sit on my desk behind the monitors.  It did help that I had a ton of work to do today which served as a useful distraction.

After work I really just wanted to go straight home and tear into the package, but I had to stop off and do some computer work.  The good news was that by the time I got there, their computer was magically working just fine.  Sometimes just threatening computers with my presence is enough to fix them I guess.  So at long last I was heading home.

Got the package in the house, cleared off the poker table and set it down.  I’d feel a little guilty though if I didn’t spend a little time with my family that I hadn’t seen all day first, so we all ate supper first.  Afterwards, the three of us headed down to the basement.  Luke was in a super good mood and all he wanted to do was play.  I didn’t really want to record a video with his squawks and squeals in the background, so I figured I’d just hold off a little bit longer until he went to bed.  So instead we watched Andrea hilariously play some Gran Tourismo 5.  I say hilariously because it took her some time to get used to the controls, so there was a lot of time where all four wheels weren’t on the ground.

At long last, Luke was going to bed, and Andrea was on her PC, so I could fire up the camera.  I have the video uploading now, but thanks to my awful service provider, it’s going to take 15 hours to upload.  So you’ll just have to enjoy some still images for now.

For the most part it still works very well.  If there are any flaws they are minor.  The images are slightly off center, but I believe there are some Horiz & Vert adjustments you can make inside the case.  There is a bit of a hum in the sound, but I think most Vectrexes had that when they were brand new.  And I found some guides that you can use to help reduce the hum.  In the video I shot, I thought there was a bit of a problem with some re-tracing going on in the middle of the screen, but turns out I just had the brightness turned up too high.

The case is a little scuffed but no cracks.  And the controller could use a good reconditioning as the joystick is a bit loose, and some of the buttons take a little extra effort to push.

All in all, I’m very happy with the purchase.  Now I just need to find a permanent place for it.

02.4.13

VECTREX!

Man, I haven’t been this excited for anything I’ve bought on eBay since the Panasonic Q fiasco.  A long sad story that ultimately ended with me getting screwed out of $400.  Worst case scenario, I’ll get screwed out of a lot less on this deal.

Still holding my breath to see what actually shows up in the mail this week or next, but I still can’t help but be excited.  I’ve said before that the Vectrex is my “holy grail” on my retro gaming wishlist.  Mostly because they have been going for more than we spent on the Wii U recently.  But for whatever reason, it seems like prices have gone down on them in the past few weeks.  I found one that doesn’t look quite perfect, but appears to be fully functional and in pretty good shape for something that’s 30 years old now.

For those not up to speed on what the heck a Vectrex is, here’s a fantastic review from one of my favorite Youtube Channels: Classic Game Room.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/rFlHdlfZQgI]

My infatuation with the Vectrex is a bit perplexing, even to me.  I never had one, nor known anyone that had one.  Honestly I’ve never even seen one with my own eyes.  So it’s not like it’s nostalgia that is drawing me in.  It’s just so totally different than anything else.  It’s like getting the keys to a time machine and being able to go back and experience these games in exactly the form they were 30 years ago.  You can hook up an NES today, but to get the purest retro experience, you need to hook that NES up to a 25 year old cathode tube TV too.  Well with the Vectrex, the video, the sound, the controller… it’s all still there preserved as one unit.

I’ve played some vector games before.  I most vividly remember a Lunar Lander arcade cabinet that they had when I was at “Space Camp” at the Cosmosphere as a kid.  But most of us are far more familiar with raster games.  Like Mario or Tetris.  Where the images are made of pixels.  On the Vectrex, there are no pixels.  Rather the images are drawn from vectors, or lines from point to point.  At the time this gave designers the ability to do some cool things, like scaling or rotating images, which required more processing power than was generally available from console hardware at the time.  One of the drawbacks was the lack of color, which actually lead to one of the Vectrex’s coolest features: the color overlays.

So yeah, I’m stoked.  Hoping not to get my dreams crushed when I open the box… that hopefully eventually arrives.

 

01.31.13

80 Hours of Fun

This past weekend we wrapped up the last of the family Christmases.  I was generously given some Best Buy gift cards from my Grandma and Aunt & Uncle.  Thank you!

In the past this would have been a bit challenging, since the closest Best Buy is 2 hours away.  But thanks to their website and free shipping I scored these awesome deals!

These are two amazing games that I’d had to pass on when they came out but now are on the “Nintendo Selects” line which is Nintendo’s “Greatest Hits” pretty much.  Each of these games was only $20!  Brand new!  I love it!  And there’s a ton of content.  Hell, at the rate I’m going it will only take about a year for me to get through these.  Actually, that’s a pretty good entertainment value if these last that long.

I’ve made some progress on the retro room.  Got the NES hooked up in there finally.  Gave the console a thorough cleaning which it probably hasn’t ever got more than a dusting in the 25 years it has existed.  So I played a bit of Dr. Mario last night before I headed to bed.  Also downloaded Balloon Fight on the Wii U Virtual Console for 30 cents.  Andrea and I had a blast playing that for probably an hour!  Unfortunately outside of that I haven’t had much time to play games.  Hopefully with these two epic additions, that changes soon.

 

 

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