Quod Scripsi, Scripsi » Games

On Randomness

mjscott — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 16:20:49 +0000

It seems like one major point of conflict over evolution and faith is the idea of randomness. The term has many connotations, but the most common in this case is equivalence with a lack of purpose or guidance. Naturalists point to the randomness of nature as evidence against a rational God who guides His creation. Theists argue that any randomness is localized or illusory and that each creature is an act of special creation, no randomness.

My objection is over the idea of randomness itself. What we do not understand, we tend to call “random”, “chaotic” or “accidental”. I’m not a Deist, but I do believe that God generally lets His design run it’s course. Intervention isn’t necessary because it was perfectly designed in the first place. That’s not to say that He doesn’t intervene at times, just that it wasn’t required by the design. What appears random to us is really just beyond our comprehension. The roll of a die can be calculated according to the laws of physics given near perfect knowledge – without knowledge of physics and mechanics it would be impossible. Is it therefore random?

Perhaps it comes down to time and our place in the flow of it. I had a professor once who challenged my statement that God is outside of Time. I’m not sure that he was serious, but it did make me think about the implications and meaning of such a statement. I guess I don’t believe in randomness, just limits in our ability to see causes and consequences.

Also, I always hated studying probability theory. I suppose in some ways it was/is interesting, but I just couldn’t ever wrap my head around it.

Gaming Shift

mjscott — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:19:20 +0000

So I canceled my WoW subscription and bought a PlayStation 3. I was hunting for a Wii for a week and a half, looking online and driving around the area trying to catch one of the 3 or 4 that the big box retailers got in after Christmas. That gave me time to pause and reflect. I looked at the Wii in EB, checked out the games and what was going to be released. I realized that while the remote is neat, it’s a gimmick. I’m sure lots of folks will find it endlessly amusing, but I could see myself getting tired of it pretty quick. The games available fall heavily on the Zelda/Mario axis, which I also find amusing but not really captivating. Lastly, the Wii does not play DVDs. Not a big deal at home, but I wanted something I could travel with and not have to use a laptop to show the kids movies. I wanted awesome graphics, deep gameplay and multimedia functions. I also knew I would be going high-def eventually. The PS3 does it for me.

Now, I know the XBox 360 has been out for a while, currently has better graphics (it takes some time for game designers to really use a new system), and integrates with Windows. I don’t have a Windows household, and won’t. I don’t mind playing PS2 games for a while until the PS3 stuff really starts shipping, and I think all the graphics comparisons are really premature. I don’t have any complaints, and I’m having a blast. Oh, and I spent about the same on a complete PS3 system as I would have just to upgrade to the latest Nvidia card for my gaming pc.

Neverwinter Nights 2 and other Gaming Goodness

mjscott — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:22:17 +0000

I’m a bit burned out on computer games. I’m just dipping my toes back into World of Warcraft after being away for several months. I might jump back into Anarchy Online for a bit too, but just to visit. I’ve been playing NWN2 for a couple of months, and it’s very excellent. I’m at a point now that I’m not really sure how I want to proceed. The keep management aspect of the game is fun and very innovative, but it’s also buggy and lacks some larger direction. It’s sort of like playing a strategy game with no opponent – do I really need arrow slits in my fortifications? What’s going to be more lucrative, patrolling roads or securing the countryside? It would be nice to have more insight into the mechanics. Storyline is very cool, though similar to the first one in some respects.

I would love to play some real face to face stuff soon. I’m a bit of a gamer, if you didn’t know. Wargames, RPG, Euros, strategy, card, you name it and I’ll probably try it. I have a stack of wargames at home waiting for opponents. I just read the rules to A Victory Lost and it might just be approachable enough to rope in a non-wargamer. The World of Warcraft CCG is big at work, but I’ve sworn off CCGs and – here’s a dirty little secret – I just don’t find the Warcraft mythology all that interesting. It’s disjointed, predictable and in many areas is obviously just pasted on. Some of it is cool, and I’ve obviously enjoyed the MMO, but no thanks on the extra stuff. I now have a BattleLore addiction anyway…