Magpie Gamer

I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. Who doesn't? They can be a powerful listening experience in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. Composer: Jack Wall, Sam Hulick, David Kates, Richard Jacques North American Release Date: November 2007 Set within the Milky Way galaxy in the year 2183, during a time when civilization is threatened by a highly advanced machine race known as the Reapers. Commander Shepard, an elite human soldier, attempts to stop a rogue agent from carrying out the Reapers' galactic invasion. Jack Wall combined the electronic instrument palette from the late 1970s to early 1980s with organic elements to create the game's soundscape. Subsequent games in the series have adopted a more cinematic, orchestral style. M...

JOURNAL ENTRY 7   I am not going to rush off after this Ysolda just yet. There is a mystery in this town I want solved. I overhear Jouane (Rorik's friend) telling one of the twin girls in town: "What we do, the things I teach you. The others wouldn't understand." Suspicious. I also can't help but notice how most of the town is male - 9 people, only 3 of which are woman: Reldith and the twin girls, Sissel and Britte. I do some snooping and find a soul gem beside a book on deadra in Rorik/Jouane's home, hidden behind their home bar. I also find a common soul gem in Reldith's house but no one elses. She's a farmer, not an enchanter. What use would she have for such a thing? Could Rorik and Jouane be trading fertile woman for fertile land in some dark demonic bargain? I try speaking with Jouane about the town's crops but he insists there is no secret to their success, just good fortune. I shadow him for a bit; he strolls around town, checking on the f...

JOURNAL ENTRY 6   The man obsessed with the abandoned house continues to harass Markarth's citizenry and its gotten so bad that Raan agrees to inspect the lodgings with him in the hope that it'll get him off the street. For a place that was supposedly vacant, it turns out to be well lived in, complete with food and furnishings. There is also a shrine dedicated to the Deadric lord Molag Bal hidden within. Fitting, as the man we're assisting turns out to be a Vigilant of Stendarr, an order dedicated to combating vampires, werewolves, and Daedric influence. He isn't very good at his job though, succumbing to the daedra's demands with a little persuasion. Our kitty gets on Bal's good side, however, by gifting him the home's former occupant - a priest of Boethiah that had desecrated the shrine. In return, Bal lets us go.   As terrifying as the run-in with the "Lord of Domination" was, it gets Raan thinking about how nice it would be to have a place to c...

JOURNAL ENTRY 5   The College of Winterhold is Skyrim's only school for mages. It sits precariously atop a cliff; the bridge connecting the school to the town having crumbled away with half of the buildings in a recent catastrophe. D'raan stops in for a peek, not that he has any talent in the arcane arts. Luckily you do not need to possess any to walk in the front door, and while poking around the premises, several students remark on how pallor Raan is looking. Apparently all those fights with vampires has left its mark, because Raan has been infected with Sanguinare Vampiris. If not cured within 3 days our kitty will become a full fledged blood-sucking creature of the night. Becoming a vampire would be problematic for this build because vampires need regular blood feedings and are weakened during the day. It is not the easiest affliction to rid oneself of either, requiring black soul gems, human sacrifice, and dark rituals. Rifling through the potion bottles in the guild hall ...

JOURNAL ENTRY 4   Inside Windhelm's walls, I pass by two racist Nords hassling a Dunmer woman on my to the Candlehearth Hall. Inside the tavern I hear about some orphan kid trying to summon assassins and a string of murders committed recently by someone they're calling "The Butcher" . What a cheery place!   The tavern's server, Susanna recommends I ditch Candlehearth Hall for the New Gnisis Cornerclub in the slums. I decide to take her advice and on my way out the door I bump into the racist Nord from earlier. He picks a fight with Do'raan, but unlike the Dunmer lady, this kitty doesn't shy away from a brawl. Checklist: Mikael (Whiterun)   Uthgerd the Unbroken (Whiterun)   Rolff Stone-Fist (Windhelm) Cosnach (Markarth) Chief Burguk (Dushnikh Yal Stronghold) Chief Larak (Mor Khazgur Stronghold) Chief Mauhulakh (Narzulbur Stronghold) Chief Yamarz (Largashbur Stronghold) Benor (Morthal) Borkul the Beast (Markarth) Dryston (Markarth) Hofgrir Horse-Crusher (Ri...

JOURNAL ENTRY 3 Two guys attack me at the Ratway entrance and they're tougher than the bandits I fought earlier. I deal with them before making my way further into the sewers. As I approach a door it suddenly swings open and a man named Gian lunges out. Our scuffle is short lived as Do'raan slams the poor homeless man to the ground. I take the only item of value from his corpse - "Gloves of the Pugilist" and have them disenchanted at the Riften court wizard's enchanting table. I then apply the unique "Fortify Unarmed" enchantment to my gauntlets and a ring. My enchanting skill is still very low so I only get a +1 to unarmed on each item. From here, I just need to improve my skills. Perhaps I'll travel from hold to hold and see where that takes me. I do a little snooping around the docks where an Argonian skooma addict asks for a healing potion to clear her addiction. I give her one but she won't tell me where the sellers are. This is something I...

I don't know much about musical theory, nor am I a musically inclined person. However, I do love to listen to video game soundtracks. Who doesn't? They can be a powerful listening experience in their own right, or be as evocative as the scores composed for film. Each of these posts will feature music tracks from a single game title, or series/franchise in some rare cases. Composer: Raney Shockne Singer: Elizaveta Khripounova North American Release Date: November 2014 The story follows the "Inquisitor" on a journey to settle the civil unrest in the continent of Thedas and close a mysterious tear in the sky called the "Breach", which is unleashing dangerous demons upon the world. A series of songs were written for a non-player character at a tavern in the player's base of operations. Instructed to do a "folky ballad, Celtic troubadours-style", Elizaveta received instrumentals and lyrics and recorded the songs in her bedroom with only a mi...

JOURNAL ENTRY 2 I stroll into Whiterun and sell off my accumulated goods. While I'm here I try to convince a lusty bard to leave Carlotta the widow alone, but the talk quickly escalates into a fist fight. The match ends as quickly as it began; one hit and Mikael was on the floor. I also made 200 septims by challenging Uthgerd to a match. I think I am going to have Do'raan challenge every NPC he can to a bar brawl as part of a personal side-quest: Checklist: Mikael (Whiterun)   Uthgerd the Unbroken (Whiterun)   Rolff Stone-Fist (Windhelm) Cosnach (Markarth) Chief Burguk (Dushnikh Yal Stronghold) Chief Larak (Mor Khazgur Stronghold) Chief Mauhulakh (Narzulbur Stronghold) Chief Yamarz (Largashbur Stronghold) Benor (Morthal) Borkul the Beast (Markarth) Dryston (Markarth) Hofgrir Horse-Crusher (Riften) I leave for Riften once more. Along the way I have to fend off wolves, spiders, bandits, a necromancer and an angry bosmer. The only friendly faces I encounter along the way are a w...

For a long time now I have wanted to attempt a Skyrim character capable of beating nearly anyone barehanded - guards, mammoths, dragons... anything. I am going to try this solo - no companion, and without resorting to shouts. "Hand to Hand" is not a skill that can be leveled like in Oblivion, so I will have to use skill perks for this build to work. To that end, I will be using weapons for leveling and perk purposes. Let's see how things turn out...

The Fifth Fleet - a group comprised almost entirely of proven Hunters, is sent by the Research Commission to the New World to establish infrastructure and assist in on-going Elder Dragon research. The New World is an untamed and mostly unexplored wilderness, home an unusually large quantity of Elder Dragons - especially powerful beasts that migrate to the New World every ten years in an event known as the "Elder Crossing". Zorah Magdaros, a mountain sized Elder Dragon making the journey threatens to change the entire ecosystem.   Monster Hunter is a fantasy hunting series that relies on the raw stats of gear, coupled with player skill and perseverance to bring down massive monsters. The player has a set amount of health and stamina that does not change throughout the game, although, it can be boosted temporarily with food and potions. The player's gear is what really matters. It determines damage output, defense, active abilities, elemental strengths and weaknesses - ever...