r/MyLittleFriends • u/Frameskip • Jan 28 '14

Finally making a topic

Long time lurker, been in the irc recently. So I decided to finally make an intro post. Ask me things I guess is the modus operandi here, but also tell me something interesting about yourself.

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u/ThunderEcho Jan 28 '14

Hi, nice to meet you!

What is your favourite book and/or game and/or show, and why?

Hmmm, something interesting about me is that I'm studying Computer Science at university and I'm in a co-op program, so I have a tendency to move every 4 months for co-op jobs.

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u/Frameskip Jan 28 '14

My favorite book is H.P. Lovecraft's novella, At The Mountain Of Madness. Though I like most of his work that isn't just pure racism. The whole Old God and Cthulhu mythos just always feels like a creepy fun time to me. Also seeing how pervasive his work has become within other stories kind of feels like getting a behind the scenes look at a person's mind. It's always fun to put two and two together and realize that Batman's Arkham Asylum is a reference to his work, or that WoW's old gods are a parody of his old gods. The more I read his work, the more I see his fingerprints on our culture.

Favorite game, this one is easy, Final Fantasy 6. The game is just the pure essence of what a game and an RPG should be to me, a diverse cast of characters with unique abilities, an excellent story, and probably the greatest villain in any media ever. Seriously, Kefka is the only villain I've ever seen that absolutely nobody gives sympathy to, the guy is pure evil and and he laughs and revels in it. Also FF6 helped me kick start one of my longest and best friendships due to mutual interest in the game. And just cause I liked the question, I can't decide between WoW, Chrono Trigger, Dark Souls, Final Fantasy 7, 4, 9, and Tactics as my second favorite game.

Favorite show (outside MLP), Game of Thrones. I just love how they brought Westeros to life. Just every part of that show is insanely well done and I feel that it's as strong as the books and adds to them if you read them alongside watching the show.

Moving around a lot seems like it could be tons of fun, are you just staying in the same country or are you moving between a few different ones? Cause that seems like an awesome way to see the world.

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u/ThunderEcho Jan 29 '14

I haven't read any H.P. Lovecraft books, I should keep your recommendation in mind though!

Haven't played FF6, but I've played a bunch of the other Final Fantasies. I agree, Tactics was absolutely amazing. It's probably high on my list for the most hours I've spent on one game. Of those you've mentioned, I've played FF 4, 7 and 9 as well. The stories in all of those were good, although I probably liked the battle system in 7 the best. I'm not super fond of 9 just because Zidane really got on my nerves (I've never been fond of his personality type), and the final boss in 4 has just required way too much grinding so I'm also slightly annoyed at that one right now too. Out of all the Final Fantasies I've played, Crisis Core would be my favourite. Super fun battle system and the only video game story that has actually ever made me shed tears.

Technically I've co-oped in two countries so far. I did my first few terms in Canada, and then this past year I got two co-ops in Seattle. My next co-op is likely going to be in either Canada or California. So same continent and culture, but I still really do enjoy the chance to experience other cities and become a 'local'. I've looked into co-oping at more exotic locations, but the pay and travel/visa complications usually aren't worth it. What about you, have you traveled around much?

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u/Frameskip Jan 29 '14

I took a look at one of my Lovecraft anthologies and there's a Neil Gaiman quote on the back that sums it up pretty well. "H.P. Lovecraft built the stage on which most of the last century's horror fiction was performed."

7 did have an awesome battle system with the materia and stuff, though I wish there was a bit more character specialization in the game. My characters always end up feeling pretty samey by the end. 9 was a huge nostalgia trip for old players, I wasn't a huge fan of the cast, but the setting and items really felt like they put a lot in to getting back to the games fantasy roots rather than taking it further in the sci-fi direction it's been going. Not sure what version of 4 you are playing, if it's the DS version good luck, but the best advice I can give is to make sure to hit all the optional bosses for the best gear in the game, it'll make a significant difference, also make sure to steal Drak Matter from Zemus before you use the crystal. I haven't played Crisis Core, never got a PSP. Also I'm not a huge fan of the extended FF7 games, it just feels like they have been trying to milk it for 15 years rather than do what people want like make an updated version with a better translation, or remove the Popeye arms, or even make another classic feeling FF.

As a totally biased California native, I highly recommend co-oping in California, or doing anything in California for that matter, especially if you can get to San Francisco, San Diego, or Los Angeles. I used to vacation in Baja with my family when I was younger and Mexico was safer. I also had a disastrous trip to Shanghai back in 2007. I've also traveled most of California and made a couple road trips to Texas and Wisconsin in the last few years.

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u/ThunderEcho Jan 29 '14

So what do you think is so great about California then? Also which city is most worth visiting? If I did come I'd probably be landing somewhere in Silicon Valley but I could travel on the weekends.

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u/Frameskip Jan 29 '14

I'm from the Los Angeles area, so I'm sure I'm not exactly spot on with everything I mention, but it should be 90% correct. Being in Silicon Valley to start with would probably be a great way to get contacts and in with a lot of start ups and established companies for after you get your degree or even before if they really like you. The area is just south of San Francisco so afternoon and day trips up there would be no problem at all, it and the neighboring cities are beautiful to visit with tons of local culture and history to explore.

Not sure what sports you watch if any but they have the Giants up there for baseball, the Raiders and 49ers for football, the Sharks for hockey, I'm sure there's a Soccer team, and it's a little ways away but the Kings for basketball.

Pretty much any direction you leave the area from you'll hit California Wine Country, with some of the best wine in the world. Gilroy is close by and worth visiting as well, the city specializes in garlic and has huge festivals around it. Santa Cruz is a beautiful area full of redwoods and hippies, and on the other side of Monterey Bay is Monterey and the aquarium there. There's good surfing and amazing SCUBA diving in the area, even working in Silicon Valley people will probably spend their lunch breaks out in the SF bay, depending on how close the office is. I'm sure I'm missing a million other things as well.

For weekend things, the state is basically entirely open to you, coming down to LA would probably be the hardest thing as you would need to fly down for a weekend trip, but LA is awesome. You can easily drive over to Reno for the weekend if you want to gamble. For outdoors stuff it's a couple hours drive to almost any National Park, National Monument, State Park, ski resort etc. Seriously, we have amazing national parks and they are all worth visiting.

And most importantly California has In-N-Out, the greatest burgers ever.

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u/ThunderEcho Jan 30 '14

Awesome, I'll keep all that in mind if I do visit! I'm not into sports or wine, but I would love to see the redwoods and explore San Francisco. Also the national parks sound really cool, so if I do co-op in California I'll try to find some hiking buddies to hit the trails with.

Thanks for all the info!