Those little details: Noises and Clothes.

Got Brendan's blitz yesterday about shooting confessionals in Tiltfactor after my physics lab, so I headed there a little after four, the 'start time' for shooting. I headed to the kitchen nearby and filmed about ten minutes of awkward and pause-ridden footage. Yay for editing.

I got back to watch some playing of Portal, which is an immensely fun game to watch, but what had me even more excited was that eventually I even got to play Portal, and after hearing/knowing so much about the game (I am not ashamed to admit that I can do a very good rendition of "Still Alive" from memory) this was definitely a defining moment. (Also, I played it on the Xbox, which was a more natural mode of playing for me.) But, yes, the game is just mind-boggling in its concept, even though it's so simple at the same time. I had so much fun setting up strange paradoxes of constantly falling or constantly running around in a circle when, really, you just warped into another part of the room.

"Please note that we have added a consequence for failure. Any contact with the chamber floor will result in an "unsatisfactory" mark on your official testing record, followed by death. Good luck!"

Did you know the protagonist's name is Chell? Aw. If I were more aware that I actually play a person in the Portal series, I would feel more connected to her.

"Hey do you remember that time I said I was going to give you cake but instead I tried to murder you and you were all like 'No way!'?"

Anyway, probably because the next-to-last level was so hard, I figured I should get back to the game at hand- Warhammer. And in the Tilt lab, the computer has sound. I found myself very engaged and excited, while at the same time somewhat disoriented by the various voices and sounds that pepper the world of WAR.

My character sounds nothing like I'd imagined- I don't know what exactly I expected, but it certainly wasn't the strange whispery hissing that emanated from my avatar. As you walk up to people, they actually tell you the quest, instead of just handing you a book, and it's just incredibly distracting... but I think it would have helped with immersion. I also noticed some people my level who looked a lot more stately than my scrawny and rag-shrouded character, so I decided to investigate- after all, I'd be so much more attached to my character if I could customize her appearance.

No-one responded, which was a pity. Perhaps people are so absorbed in their customized characters, seeking the next level, that they don't notice when others address them? The social aspect of Warhammer seems diminished somehow, in comparison to what I've heard about World of Warcraft. I even addressed some people by name, to no avail. One's name isn't really used in Warhammer, unless you're chatting with a guild or something... maybe you don't respond to your name the way you would if I typed your given name (the one people call you by!) Yet another example of how integration isn't as complete in Warhammer... I think it is the little things that matter.