E is for The Elder Scrolls

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Notable Releases: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

There is nothing quite like getting lost in a fantasy game world.  And on that very note, not many games can boast of the same grand scale or level of detail found in the fictional world of Tamriel.

The Elder Scrolls is a series of open-world role playing games set in that world, a world rich in history and populated by several races. The first game in the series, Arena, was released in 1994. It was followed by Daggerfall in 1996. But it was only after Morrowind was released in 2002 that the series found mainstream success.

It was also at that point that the series found a place on home consoles, in addition to PCs. The next two games in the series, Oblivion and Skyrim, were released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and won multiple Game of the Year awards in 2006 and 2011 respectively.

The Elder Scrolls Online, the latest installment in the franchise, is out now for PC and Mac, with Xbox One and PS4 versions to follow soon.

D is for Donkey Kong

Developers: Rare, Retro Studios
Notable Releases: Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country Returns

I must admit that I am not quite old enough to remember Donkey Kong as the titular barrel-hauling baddie from the 1980s arcade series. And for others like me, our first brush with the Gorilla came much later.

Despite lending his name to the aforementioned series, Donkey Kong didn't take on any adventures of his own until the 1994 game, Donkey Kong Country, a 2D platformer that made use of pre-rendered 3D character sprites and backgrounds. The result was a game that was both beautiful and technically impressive.

Since that first solo outing, Donkey Kong has appeared in a number of other Nintendo franchises. His latest solo outings were in the throwback titles, Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

C is for Crash Bandicoot

Developer: Naughty Dog
Notable Releases: Crash Bandicoot, Crash Team Racing

Way back in 1996, the Sony PlayStation was at the forefront of the 3D game revolution. And way before Naughty Dog, Inc. moved on to other intellectual properties, they were also at that forefront with a game that would eventually become one of the most successful PlayStation games of all time.

That game was Crash Bandicoot, a 3D platformer about a mutant marsupial that wasn't so much a revolution as it was a refinement of existing formulas in a new dimension. The studio went on to develop two sequels, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped, and a spin-off racing game, Crash Team Racing, before handing over the IP to other development teams.

More recently, the studio found success and critical acclaim with another series, Uncharted, and the 2013 multiple Game of the Year winner, The Last of Us.

B is for Batman: Arkham

Developers: Rocksteady Studios
Notable Releases: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City

There have been several Batman games over the years, none of which were particularly noteworthy. But then Batman: Arkham Asylum was released in 2009, a game that was immediately compared to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, and widely venerated as the best superhero game ever made.

Loosely based on the comic, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, the first game in the series not only focused on Batman's detective roots, but also introduced the free-flow combat that has now become a staple of the franchise. The game also featured stealth sequences, and a story and overall tone that was true to its source material.

That winning formula was carried over to its 2011 sequel, Batman: Arkham City, where it was greatly expanded upon, resulting in one of the year's most critically-acclaimed titles. A prequel, Batman: Arkham Origins, was developed by Warner Bros. Games Montréal and released in 2013.

Batman: Arkham Knight, the third and final game in the series developed by Rocksteady Studios, is scheduled for release in October, 2014.

A is for Angry Birds

Developer: Rovio Entertainment
Notable Releases: Angry Birds, Angry Birds Star Wars, Angry Birds Go!

Say what you will about casual games, the fact remains that they are here to stay. This is especially true when you look at the success of Angry Birds. What started as a simple physics-based puzzle game has quickly turned into a franchise spanning several game genres, toys, merchandise, and an upcoming feature-length animated movie.

The series garnered a bit of notoriety recently, with the release of Angry Birds Go, a 3-D kart racing game, primarily for its misuse of the freemium (free-to-play) model and the inclusion of an energy system. But even that wasn't enough to completely mar what was essentially another great game.

The latest installment is a turn-based RPG called Angry Birds Epic.

The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge

I've been sitting on the fence regarding this one for a while now. But after much deliberation, I have finally decided to give the 2014 Blogging from A to Z challenge a go. That's right, I am all signed up and I've even got the badge to prove it. And just like I did in my past two years of participation, I'll be going in with none of my posts written beforehand. Scary, but all the more exhilarating.

For the benefit of those who don't know, the Blogging from A to Z challenge is a month-long blogfest that has been held every April since its inception by Arlee Bird in 2010. The goal is to post every day in April, save Sundays, with each post centering upon a different letter of the alphabet, starting with the letter A on the first day, and culminating with the letter Z on the last. Anyone interested in signing up can do so here.

I had to think long and hard before I finally settled upon this year's theme. In 2012, I went with a movies theme. Last year, I decided to go with speculative fiction books. This year, I have chosen another area of interest, namely video games. But as I quickly found out while trying to plan my future posts, I have way too many favorite games that settling upon one for each letter of the alphabet seems almost impossible.

So, instead of highlighting my favorite video games for the challenge, I have decided to broaden the scope and highlight my favorite video game franchises. So rather than pick just one out of, say, a hundred Mario games, I can just pick the franchise as a whole. But even then, I would still have to forgo several other franchises; Megaman, Metroid and Metal Gear are but a few from the above example.

All the same, I am really looking forward to this year's challenge. Half the fun is discovering new blogs and the fantastic bloggers behind them. My oft-neglected blog could also use the activity. So here's hoping that I am able to make it to the very end.

IWSG: A Greater Effort

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and time for another round of Insecure Writer's Support Group posts. The IWSG was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, sci-fi writer and blogger extraordinaire. You should definitely pay his blog a visit, if you haven't already. For more information about the group itself, you can also visit www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com

First off, I need to apologize for missing last month's round of posts. The date somehow slipped by me, and by the time I realized it, it was already too late. I did manage to read a few posts from other members since then, but I promise to make a greater effort to keep a date with the IWSG.

Speaking of making a greater effort, my insecurity for the month once again centers around the fact that I haven't been writing nearly as much as I am suppose too. Blame it on the job, blame it on life getting in the way, none of that can really take away the way I feel, knowing that I have been neglecting my current project for way too long.

It's not like I haven't been writing at all. I recently wrote a Valentine-themed short story for my significant other. I was almost tempted to post it on the blog, but then decided it was for her eyes only. Aside from that, I haven't written anything more than a few hundred words here and there. I know that everything adds up at the end of the day, but I really need to put in more time and effort than I am presently putting.

The 86th Academy Awards

Last night was the annual Academy Awards, Hollywood's biggest and most prestigious movie awards. And in the ceremony's 86-year history, never has a science-fiction movie received the top honor. Sadly, history wasn't made last night, even though there were two science fiction movies vying for Best Picture, Gravity and Her.

Instead, the top honor went to 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen's adaptation of the memoir of the same name. The movie also won Best Adapted Screenplay, and a much-deserved Best Supporting Actress award for Lupita Nyong'o. Cate Blanchett won a Best Actress award for her role in Blue Jasmine. The other acting awards, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, went out to Dallas Buyers Club costars, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto respectively.

But the true winner of the evening was the science-fiction masterpiece, Gravity. The movie dominated the awards ceremony with a total of seven wins out of its ten nominations. These included the ceremony's other top honor, Best Director, for Alfonso Cuarón, as well as a slew of technical awards. Other notable winners included Frozen, which won Best Animated Feature and Best Song, and The Great Gatsby, which won the Best Production and Costume Design categories.

As far as losers go, the biggest losers of the evening were American Hustle, which failed to win a single one of its ten nominations, as well as Martin Scorsese's black comedy, The Wolf of Wall Street, which also went home empty-handed. But the Oscars aren't all about winning. It is about getting due recognition, and the fact that they'd been shortlisted as one of the year's finest is an honor by itself.

Still, I have to say that I am quite pleased with the results. The movies that deserved to win won, even though a part of me wishes that Gravity had also taken home the Best Picture award. It was easily the best all-round movie, one of those rare movies that transcend technical boundaries, a true technical marvel. Also, it would have been nice for a science-fiction movie to finally take home Best Picture, but I guess the wait continues.

My Thoughts on the 56th Grammy Awards

For the first time in over a decade now, I didn't watch the Grammy Awards telecast live. But I did follow its proceedings online, and I have since watched the live performances and several choice highlights too. So all in all, I think I have a firm grasp of what went down in the Staples Center last night.

All that said, I can categorically declare this year's Grammys to be my favorite one thus far. And in case you haven't figured out why, it has a lot to do with the two guys in robot helmets pictured above. Daft Punk made music history last night by becoming the first electronic act to take home Album of the Year.

Not only did the French electronic duo win top honor, they also took home Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their song Get Lucky, and Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, for Random Access Memories. In total, they won all five categories they had been contending for.

But it wasn't all Daft Punk last night. The 17-year-old New Zealand native, Lorde, won Song of the Year for Royals; Macklemore & Ryan Lewis won awards for Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for their song Thrift Shop, as well as Best Rap Album for their album, The Heist; while Pharrell Williams took home Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.

As for the other main attraction of the evening, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Imagine Dragons and others all gave stellar performances. Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams took the stage with legends Stevie Wonder and Nile Rodgers. Another standout was Pink, who performed Try and Just Give Me a Reason, with her signature high-wire acrobatics. You would think that the whole circus act routine would be old by now, but no. Instead, she never fails to impress.

IWSG: Goals and Resolution for 2014

First off, Happy New Year everyone! Secondly, it's time for another round of Insecure Writer's Support Group posting. The IWSG was started by Alex. J. Cavanaugh. The group posts every first Wednesday of a new month (with a few exceptions like today). In these posts, members express their writerly insecurities, or provide much needed encouragement, or both.

Right. Today being the first IWSG posting of 2014, I'll be going over my goals and resolutions for the new year. I've been setting such goals since I started blogging three years ago. But last year, I was unable to meet any of my goals (save one) due to certain key changes that took place in my life. So for me, 2014 is all about finding that crucial balance. That said, the following are my goals for 2014:

Goal #1: Be Happy (no matter what)
I am moving this goal to number one this year because of that temptation to neglect it in pursuit of my other goals. So, once again, whether I become the next J.K. Rowling or not, and my series is adapted into a six-movie blockbuster franchise or not, I'll be sure to keep a smile on my face through it all, come rain, come shine.

Goal #2: Write
I am still in the middle of Proxies, a science fiction serial I've been working on since 1998, believe it or not. It's high time I gave the story the attention it deserves, especially since it is one that is ripe with so much potential, and that I am pretty excited about. And once that is done, I'll need to keep those creative juices flowing by delving into other worlds that are just waiting to be delved into.

Goal #3: Publish
Last year, I did very little to expand my virtual shelf space. And my overall visibility (not to mention book sales) ended up suffering the consequences. With that in mind, my ultimate goal as a writer is to come up with stories that are not only worth telling, but worth reading too, and to make those stories available to their target audience in the shortest time possible.

Goal #4: Market
I know I said something along this line last year, and ended up doing absolutely nothing about it. So once again, I must accept the fact that I'll need to take a more proactive approach in helping my books find their target audience, rather than leave everything to chance. It is getting increasingly harder for self-published writers to break out. Some form of promotion is needed to get noticed, now more than ever.

So there you have it, my goals and resolutions for 2014. I hope by the end of the year, I'll be looking back and checking everything I just outlined off my checklist. But whatever happens between the next 12 months, I'll be sure to give it my best shot, but never at the expense of living life to its fullest. After all, in the words of Tallahassee, we must never forget to "enjoy the little things."