Mystery Blogger Award

Hey guys,

AmbiGaming was recently honored by Red Metal from Extra Life Reviews with a Mystery Blogger Award! Created by Okoto Enigma, this award is meant to spread love and respect to bloggers and, hopefully, build a stronger community. If that’s not something I can get behind, I’m not sure what is.

The rules are as follows:

• Put the award logo/image on your blog.
• List the rules.
• Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
• Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
• You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
• Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny one
• Share a link to your best post(s).

Three things about myself:

1. My favorite color is purple
2. I collect something called blue delft, which is a type of white porcelain that is made and painted in Holland. Since there are a lot of different pieces out there, I tend to focus on figurines. Recently I’ve started branching out to delft made in other countries, particularly Occupied Japan.
3. In addition to all my indoor activities, like reading, video game playing, music practicing, and various writing things, I sail sailboats and am also an instructor through my club.

My Best Post

In regards to views, my best post is the one I wrote on the Indoctrination Theory from Mass Effect 3. I think part of the reason it’s done so well is that I posted the link on Reddit, which slowly trickles a few people my way almost every day. The companion video also now officially has well over 1,000 views, which is more than the rest of my videos combined.

In regards to my personal favorite, I’m not sure I can choose. Pretty much any of the researched Wednesday posts I do are a lot of fun and I enjoy them both as project and product. I was pretty proud of my article on DLC, or the project I ran about video games and coping, and I liked my posts on women in games and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. I think, though, just due to being something so different, I’ll say that my post about hooking up four consoles into a CRT-TV was one of the most memorable ones, as it meant I got to take all my toys out and make a cool guide.

Answering Red Metal’s Questions:

“Which game proved to be the biggest disappointment for you?”

In terms of not living up to its hype, I’d say Spec Ops: The Line was most disappointing. The controls were not good, and the profound story I had been promised was instead morality being shoved down my throat, with a side of smugness. I wanted to like it. I really, really did. And I can’t say I hate it, because I don’t. It was just a huge disappointment. I played the entire thing because I kept hoping it would get better, or that there would be some redeeming anything at the end, but by the time I got there I was so annoyed any profundity just fell flat.

“Which game proved to be the most pleasant surprise for you?”

I’m going to give two answers for this. The first one was Dragon Age: Origins (I know, I’m sorry). I played it, actually, because I saw a preview of Dragon Age: Inquisition (or, actually, I heard a clip of music from the preview), and then I found out that was the third game in the series. I played Origins because after hearing about the world-building, I figured playing the first two games would probably be a good idea. I honestly didn’t expect to fall in love with it the way I did.

Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised by RiME. I was originally going to say Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and while I certainly enjoyed that game a lot, and was pleasantly not disappointed by it, I can’t say that “pleasant” and that game really go together. But RiME is full of charm, and goes about quietly making its point. I went in expecting a cute, ambiguous story like Journey, but instead I was hit with a heartbreaking, yet simply-conveyed, story. Considering I actually shed a few tears at the end – which is not something I admit lightly – I’d say it achieved its goal.

“What is the most memorable scene from a film you’ve watched?”

Again, two, and I’m not even sorry.

The first one is from Wonder Woman, when the Germans attack Themyscira. The amazons ride into battle on horses, led by Antiope. What was so memorable for me – and literally my heart just skipped a beat thinking about it – was that I’ve never seen something like that before: a group of women, clad in armor, riding to battle. The profundity of seeing a scene like that – a charging army – filled with women instead of men… I really can’t describe to you the feeling it elicited.

The second is from Hidden Figures, after Dorothy Vaughn manages to win a better job position for her and the department that she is/isn’t the supervisor for. Much like Wonder Woman, this scene is memorable for both how it presents and what it presents. The shot is of an empty hall, when all of a sudden around the corner marches a veritable army of black women (people of color who are women? Women of color? I’m honestly not sure what the correct term is, so if you know, please tell me).

Anyway, the point is that seeing large groups of people who are minorities slowly fill the screen while marching off to do something powerful (either with their muscles or brains, respectively) is something so unique to cinema that they are the most memorable to me. And as Hidden Figures is also on television, it’s to the point where, if my mother is watching it and I’m in another room, she’ll call me over with, “Your favorite scene is happening!”

“What inspired you to begin blogging?”

An overwhelming desire to do something different than I had been doing before.

“If you could go back in time and see any band that has permanently broken up perform a concert, which one would you choose?”

It seems like an obvious choice is The Beatles, if for no reason other than to see the fuss surrounding them. BUT considering groups I like are either still together or simply retired, I think… I’d want to see Peter, Paul, and Mary. I almost went to see them in college before Mary passed away, but… well there’s a lot of relationship drama surrounding why I wound up not going. But yes, if I can cheat and say “broken up” includes having a member pass away, I’d go with Peter, Paul, and Mary.

Five Questions for My Nominees:

1. What video game has had the most profound impact on you as a person?
2. If you could see a remake (or a remaster) of any game, what game would you choose?
3. Of the games you’ve played, which one has the most profound story?
4. What’s a fun game that makes you happy?
5. If you could only pick one brand of gaming system to use for the rest of your life, what would it be?

And the Nominees Are:

Games with Coffee – I recently started following this fine blogger, who even jumped on board for Year of the RPG when the call went out. But seriously, anyone who has such good taste in games and game music, and comments on them with such a laid-back and fun manner, is definitely someone to check out!

The Keeper from The Codex Online – This guy popped into my comments one day, and when I checked out his site I realized that he’s new to the blogging family! He’s very community-oriented, and even has a page he’s dedicating to community events, so definitely check him out if you get a chance. He’s also a companion for Year of the RPG…

Aluna from AlunaRL – I thought I was following this great blogger, but I… apparently only see him around Twitter. This has been rectified. Anyway, he has a lot of great articles on his site, and is partaking in a 30-day challenge that has been fun to follow.

I also pretty much am going to take a lazy route and say if you’d like to write a post or answer these questions in the comments, please do so!!

Thank you again to Red Metal for the nomination! I’m looking forward to reading all the new nominees’ answers, as well!

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena

What’s next? You can like, subscribe, and support if you like what you’ve seen!

– Support us on Patreon, become a revered Aegis of AmbiGaming, and access extra content!
– Say hello on Facebook, Twitter, and even Google+!
– Check out our Let’s Plays if you’re really adventurous!