My son-in-law, Jacob Semmes, a video game docent for MMORPG and gamespace.com

When I was in my twenties there was an arcade on the way home from work. Sometimes my husband and I, armed with a roll of quarters, would meet there and while away an hour busting asteroids, breaking down brick walls, paddling pin balls, shooting Western baddies and jumping Mario mushrooms. Those games, played for 25 cents a turn, on clunky machines with the most basic of animation required leg stamina and sturdy fingers as you hoped to get enough points or kill enough zombies or break enough asteroids to play for another minute. They were simple and straightforward. Anyone who could stand could play them. It took very little intellect and no learning curve to start. We thought they were fun….but we didn't know any better.

Nowadays the computer generated interactive ever shifting constantly upgraded multi-world role playing games often require clever problem solving skills as well as quick reflexes and a sharp eye. But that won't be enough if you are not familiar with the maps, how to acquire health points or guidance on the best weapons to use in a given scenario. In addition there are nuances to each game which almost acquire a personality of their own and sometimes require a tour guide or video game docent to allow you to get the most out of your experience.

This is where my son-in-law, Jacob Semmes, comes in. He writes reviews for video games for the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game website – or MMORPG for short, which you can access with a free registration at:

http://www.mmorpg.com/index.cfm. He also writes reviews for www.gamespace.com.

These are paradises (paradi??) of computer generated realities where a universe of avatars and challenges await – from fighting orcs in a fantasy forest to shooting tanks for the Allies in WW II to collecting coins in a wizard shop in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

His acumen and observant eye, his background as an IT (information technology) professional, and literary expertise acquired through his English degree make him the ultimate expert in assessing not only the technicals of a game but intuit its ambient storyline objectives. In short he is a gamer’s gamer.

Granted I’m biased, but his reviews are entertaining as well as informative. With a few well chosen phrases he can conjure up from your mind’s eye the first hand experience of wielding swords against powerful wizards or jumping platforms in a candy shop, wetting your appetite and tweaking your curiosity to experience the scenarios yourself.

Full disclosure – reading the reviews will tempt you to want to sign on for the games.

But why not spend some time improving your eye to hand coordination for an hour? Jacob’s reviews will help you anticipate game mechanics and storyline to enhance the enjoyability of the experience. So for a clever hands' on – birds' eye – embedded jorunalist – "you are there" heads up on upcoming releases and old favorites or just a good read —  sign up, log on, and enjoy.

Best of all — you don’t have to stand!!

 

One thought on “My son-in-law, Jacob Semmes, a video game docent for MMORPG and gamespace.com”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *