The Getting of Knowledge Should Be...Smelly

Hello again!

Well, we just got the latest "Game Informer", the one with "The Last of Us" on the cover. If that still doesn't help maybe #227 will. We get the paper copy because we face facts in this house. And he fact is I don't read much on the computer. I'm a bit more like Rupert Giles than you might think. I want to touch it. I want to hold it. I want to smell it. Because when we add sight and sound together, then add smell and touch on top of that, well, a smell, a scent can take you back.

 

Think hot buttered popcorn, or woodsmoke, or cotton candy. If you're like me popcorn makes you remember your childhood. Sometimes when I hear and smell popcorn it takes me back to a night when I wake up in bed. First I can smell the aroma of corn from the top of the stairs. Then I can hear (and smell) the sound of popcorn rocketing around inside the metal pot my Dad cooks popcorn in. Then I open the door to the family room, light falls across my face and blink rapidly several times... Or maybe popcorn for you is all about the movies. A dark theater, a big bucket of hot buttery corn...either way, it all comes back to: Sight. Sound. And touch. They can bring us back to a place in time, a moment, a memory. I like to read things I can hold in my hand. (This might be one of the reasons I like Postcrossing more than Facebook! Not that I don't enjoy the FB, because I do!)

So back to Game Informer #227...

First off I have to say this: I want a PlayStation!!!! "The Last of Us" looks freaking awe-some! It is basically a zombie-esque game based in a post apocalyptic world. I want this game! But, funnily enough that isn't what I wanted talk to you about. Nope. I wanted to talk about the article entitled, "Expiration Date: Will Modern Video Games Go Bad?" by Jeff Marchiafava. The gist of the whole article is that at some point that DLC (downloadable content) will no longer be there. One day you might

go on Xbox Live but you will no longer be able to play your favorite game there because it is no longer supported. As a new gamer I find this all somewhere between terrifying and mind boggling. I haven't been on Xbox Live yet (come on Nate and Rachel, we're willing to pay!), so you can see that I am still green when it comes to much of this stuff.

A case in point of games no longer being supported is the MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online, AKA MMOG Massively Multiplayer Online Game) "The Old Republic" which is part of the Star Wars Universe.

 "Old Republic" is a good example of this, Jeff says in his article. After 8 years of support it was turned off--forever. But 8 years is no guarantee. NBA 2K11 was canned after only thirteen months! Popularity doesn't guarantee longevity. So if you love it, play it today because there one day in the near future there may no longer be a tomorrow.

Lastly, this is also a wake-up call for all of you out there who have gotten a new console but haven't yet moved all your games over there. If you're using the authentication code each time you play, this too might become obsolete. And there may be little or no notice given. So take the time to really move those games over today. Microsoft offers a tool to transfer your DLG over to your new system (look on Microsoft's website).

And for those of you who want to know what Giles said" Buffy The Vampire Slayer" in the episode "I Robot...You Jane", here it is:

"Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell... musty and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is... it has no texture, no context. It's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then the getting of knowledge should be tangible. It should be, um... smelly."

Read more: http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/irobot.shtml#ixzz1nqhTdHhA