Something Different

While I'm working on getting the next two Game Changers ready, I want to do something a little different. It turns out that my first section on Game Changers was actually getting really long, and I wasn't even a third of the way through it. While, yes, my blog is known as Kevin L Neff and His Random Rants, even I recognized when I bit off entirely more than I could chew. Thus, the next posts about TWEWY will probably be my last ones regarding Game Changers. I guess it's hard to relate to the subject matter when there are so few of my friends and family have played the games or seen the shows I want to talk about. Also, I'm not being paid to analyze the game or anything, so it was hard to really enjoy it. This blog is something that I write when I feel like it, and write about whatever the heck I want. The moment it becomes a chore, I know I've done something wrong.

That being said, I'm going to do something different here. I'm not sure what. I was thinking of either sorting through my collection of thoughts, poems, and lists that I found in my mission stuff. There's some great stuff in there, like "My Dream Concert", "Ten Things I Will Never Like", "Movies I Never Want to See Again", and lyrics to "Ox in the Myre" (a parody I wrote to the tune of "Cats in the Cradle", but with a missionary theme. It's hilarious!) among other things. If anyone wants to see any of those things on my Blag (for some reason, spelling it wrong is funny to me), let me know via the comments, Facebook, carrier pigeons, or whatever kids these days do to communicate.

So since I am the list-master (admittedly a pretty stupid super power), I am going to write another list! It's called...

KEVIN L NEFF AND HIS RANDOM THOUGHTS!

1. E3. I need you. I need you now.
2. I listened to "Here (In Your Arms)" by Hellogoodbye like 4 times yesterday while drawing. Yes.
3. I have a brilliant idea for a book series, but because I can't think of a name for it to save my life, I got three pages in and had to stop.
4. During that process I realized I am terrible with dialogue... which is why I was no good as a playwright. I've only written one short play, and it was called "Father Christmas and His Chocolate Orange Sleigh Named Wildfire". Trust me, it's nowhere NEAR as awesome as it sounds. A more appropriate title would have been "Kevin, Don't Write Plays at 2:00 in the Morning After Watching Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo".
5. That burrito I just had was as big as a football.
6. I love sleep. I can't figure out why I don't do more of it.
7. I have the Boss Theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II stuck in my head right now.
8. The next several days are gonna be kind of lonely. Friends on vacations, parents in New York... that kind of thing. I am looking forward to June 8th, though.
9. I am a sucker for Music Boxes. Not sure why.
10. I love my friends. They are all awesome.
11. I miss my Nu buddies. You are all awesome. Can't wait to see ya on the 19th of June (I think?)!
12. I got paid today. YES!
13. I love making people smile.
14. I am paralyzed at the prospect that my actions might hurt someone.
15. I am not very subtle.
16. It's weird to compare what I thought my life would be like after the mission to what it actually is like now.
17. Selfishness and love aren't the same thing, but sometimes I get them mixed up.
18. I need to be a lot braver.
19. I wish I were a better dancer. (The previous item is not related to this one, FYI)
20. I really, REALLY wish I could write music. Or play the piano. Or both.
21. I feel kind of disconnected with a lot of things, and I'm not sure why.
22. I need to feel like what I'm doing matters.
23. Why do I keep going to the same places in my dreams? I mean, I've been to the same hotel, movie theater, swimming pool locker/restroom (always enormous/abandoned, none have functioning facilities), abandoned mansions, packed auditoriums, etc. Once I dreamed of a misty forest with a tunnel full of roses on every side. Let's go back there, eh, subconscious?
24. It's a wonderful thing to have someone believe in you.
25. I want Motoi Sakuraba, Hiroyuki Sawano, Takeharu Ishimoto, and Yuki Kajiura to compose the soundtrack to my LIFE.

Until next time!

GAME CHANGERS Vol. 1

It's here! The thing I promised I'd do a few weeks ago and haven't got around to doing is finally here! My segment that nobody asked for, but you're all going to get it! Hooray!

So today on Kevin L Neff and His Random Rants, I present GAME CHANGERS Vol. 1, where I will be showcasing the game (and more importantly the lessons learned from such), "The World Ends With You" by Square Enix.

Top: Beat. Left to Right: Joshua, Neku, Shiki, Rhyme

The World Ends With You is one fantastic game. Of course it would be, or I wouldn't be talking about it. Let me give you a spoiler-free rundown of the plot.

Shibuya, Japan, is the hot-spot for pop-culture in Japan. Popular Japanese artists, fashion designers, actors and youth all seem to flock to this postmodern metropolitan mecca. In the middle of the most crowded area, known as "The Scramble", a young boy named Neku Sakuraba wakes up without remembering anything about how he got there, what happened the day before, why anyone can't seem to hear him, and why all of a sudden he can read people's minds. Shortly after waking up, Neku's phone goes off with this message:

"REACH 104. YOU HAVE 60 MINUTES. FAIL, AND FACE ERASURE. -THE REAPERS".

So begins Neku's quest to unravel the secrets of his new-found situation. Who is he? Why can't anyone seem to see him? Who are the reapers? And just what are these monsters --the Noise-- that seem to be attacking him, and why?

Pretty gripping intro. Had me hooked right from the get-go. After finishing the game, though, I was profoundly touched, inspired, and changed forever. So here are five of the most important lessons I learned from the game. (Update: This got long after just two, so I'll be breaking it into manageable chunks over a few days)

He also says charming things like "Shut up" and "Outta My Face." D'awwww!

Lesson 1) "Trust Your Ally, Baby." The first words you hear the protagonist speak are... well, not super friendly or protagonist-like. It is very well established at the beginning of the game that Neku hates people. He is antisocial, spiteful, rude, and impudent. He would sooner crank his headphones up to the max and live a million miles away from anyone than, say, go to a party. So it's quite a shock that Neku is forced into the Reaper's Game, where the only way to survive is to make a pact with another person and partner up. During his quest, he teams up with three different allies over three in-game "weeks": Shiki, a bubbly, fashion-obsessed seamstress, Joshua, a snotty, stuck-up know-it-all brat-face, and Beat, a cocky, jive-talking soul brutha with some serious attitude problems. The game first pairs you up with Shiki, who is exactly the opposite of everything Neku represents. As one might expect, Neku starts out as nothing less than hostile towards each of him companions, but grows to trust them and eventually care for them all.

SEE?!

What this taught me is that there are people in this life that I'm going to meet who I'm not going to get along with. We live in a world where we hear of identity theft every other minute (it seems), corrupt politicians, shady businesses, and what all else. We are essentially conditioned to not trust anyone. However, that's not the way things should be. When people are different from us, in terms of thinking or actions, that doesn't make them bad people or untrustworthy. Neku learned to trust his partners, and so can I, even if it's hard. Even if they hurt you. Trust those who care about you. Let others trust you. Nobody can get through this life alone. So, as one of the songs from its eclectic soundtrack state, "Trust your ally, baby!"

And more!

Lesson 2) Tune Out the Noise. Noise is the name given to the great variety of monsters that Neku and his partners have to fight against throughout the game. Some take the shapes of frogs, penguins, wolves, and others the form of giant bats, nine-tailed foxes, and other mythical beasts. Noise in MY life, however, comes in the form of grudges, mistakes, criticism, trials, and any number of distractions and temptations that keep me from becoming the best person I can be. Interestingly, if Neku chose not to ever partner up with Shiki, he would have been swallowed by the Noise and erased right at the beginning of the game.

While the "Noise" in my life doesn't have the ability literally erase me, it can have a profound effect on my spirituality, and ultimately my very salvation. Yeah, yeah, we've all heard it before; eliminate distractions, focus on what's important, etc. etc. etc. But what really sticks out to me is that truly eliminating the Noise isn't possible unless someone is there by your side. This life was never designed as a solo experience. Now, someone somewhere is probably thinking, "Oh sweet, naive Kevin. When you partner up with someone, you also take upon yourself their burdens, problems, and baggage. Seeing as how you've got your own issues, is that added investment really worth it?"

While you raise a valid point, hypothetical naysayer, I ask you... have you ever been close to someone? Like, really close? I'm not talking just hanging out with friends and partying every once in a while. I'm talking making a deep, meaningful, and lasting connection with another human being. Have you ever gotten to the point where someone trusts you enough to confide in you their problems, pasts, and concerns, knowing full well you have issues, trials and temptations of your own? In my experience, an amazing thing happens. Your problems don't, in fact, double. What happens is that what I previously perceived as "MY problems" and "THEIR problems" becomes "OUR problems." And that three letter word makes all the difference. When you believe in someone else, and they believe in you, there is a real power there... I mean, when I'm with the right person, I feel like I can do anything.

Golly, I want to play this again. Sheesh.

There is so much good in the world and in people and with it set to what can only be described as music; the soulful serenades of the wounded of heart, the dirges of the downtrodden, and the languid lyrics of the lonely. Tune out the noise, "open up your senses", and listen.

Part Two coming soon.

HULK SMASH

Hey there, true believers!

It's been a while, hasn't it? So, I regret to inform you all that while I intended on starting my "Game Changers" segment this week, I think I will put that off for another post. I am mulling over a few ideas and what all else on how to make it bigger, better, and more spectacular.

Instead, I'm dedicating this post to a little-known fact about me.

When I was a little kid, my absolute favorite super hero was the Incredible Hulk. I have no idea why that is. I recall owning a tiny Hulk toy... and I must have watched the old Incredible Hulk tapes we owned about ten bajillion times (slight exaggeration). As I got older, I remember being super excited for the movie version of the Hulk in 2003. My favorite superhero was finally getting a movie! So while I was expecting something along the caliber of my childhood admiration and fantasies, I get this.

Not pictured: Whining

I wanted a rip-roaring, pulse-pounding, Hulk-smashing good time and instead got a plodding, bizarre, comic-book cropped, way-too-dang-serious-for-its-own-good work of schlock. I was heartbroken. Years passed, and the Hulk kind of fell out of graces with me. I was embarrassed to admit he was my favorite superhero.

Flash forward several years. I was told that they were rebooting the Hulk for a new movie, and at first I was outraged. The previous film had only come out around 5 years previous! Anyhow, I watched it once I returned from the mission, having heard nothing but glowing reviews from my family.

MUCH better.

And lo and behold, it was so very much better... except for one thing.

"The Hulk just heard you say, 'Bwuce'"!

Liv Tyler. Good GRAVY I hated her in the role of Betty Ross. So then I kind of forgot about the Hulk after a while... until last night.

 Pictured: The most butt-kickingest green rage monster EVER.

I saw the midnight showing of The Avengers, and while I was plenty excited to revisit the delightfully self-absorbed Tony Stark, the "aww-shucks" humility and embodiment-of-the-American-spirit Captain America, the "I-totally-had-a-better-movie-than-I-had-any-right-to" Thor and the others, I braced for another somewhat disappointing Hulk.

And NOTHING could have prepared me for what was to come. It seemed like the whole movie was almost geared toward giving audiences the Incredible Hulk they'd always dreamed of. And the movie delivered in spades. The Hulk of my childhood was front-and-center, smashing just about everything in the whole dang movie to smithereens and generally being the coolest Avenger of them all. My sister Marianne will testify that I squealed like a fan boy multiple times during the Hulk's scenes.

Long story short, go see the Avengers. IT'S. FREAKING. AWESOME.

"Hulk SMAAAAAASH!"

(Translation: He's my favorite superhero again. Awwwww yeah!)