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#0034 Author Life: Spreading Space Democracy

Writer's picture: AlexanderAlexander

Some measure of the skill I have as a storyteller, no doubt, comes from the absurd amount of videogames I’ve played throughout my life. At least that’s where I attribute some of my storytelling development. Many times, videogames get referenced as mindless violence and wastes of time, but that’s often not the case. The game developers craft a story that unfolds in a world you can experience. Not only do you get to share in victories and failures with the main characters, but you get to make decisions with them. Obviously, not all games are created equal in these aspects, but they can enrich your life just as much as a movie, novel, or another work of art.

At least that is how I justify playing Helldivers 2 a great deal of February, while I should have been writing more book. Every beautiful thing I just said about videogames, doesn’t really apply to Helldivers 2. It’s just silly, mindless fun. The story is about Super Earth’s military forcefully spreading controlled democracy throughout the cosmos. It’s got a good deal of satirical humor, and even more action.

A team of up to four will beam down to a planet and, depending on the planet, wage war against big bugs or robots. Sometimes you blow up a buddy or two, but it’s for a good cause. I’m doing my part. On a planet you have 40 minutes to complete an objective and extract. It can be intense with overwhelming hordes of enemies coming at your team. Fortunately, you can call down assistance from your spaceship with orbital lasers, weapon drops, and more.

Anyway, I’ve been playing with my wife, and we’ve been having a great deal of fun. I’ve still been productive with my authorship and still been putting in ridiculous hours for tax season. But somewhere between those responsibilities, we’ve put in a quite a few hours into Helldivers 2, too.

 

Here are a few screenshots I’ve collected from playing today:

 
CLC

CURRENTLY LISTENING:

As usual, I'm listening to something niche. It's one of my favorite videogame soundtracks of all time. I've got a YouTube video of it saved, so I can fire it up whenever I'm in the mood. It's the Unreal Tournament 1999 OST. I told you it was niche.


Most people played Unreal on a PC, but I wasn't even a teenager when it released. We didn't even have a PC at the time, but I did have a Dreamcast. There's no telling how many hours I put into this game on the Dreamcast. Kid's have a lot of time on there hands, you know. Either way, I've got some good memories of playing solo and with friends. Most of all the soundtrack stuck with me. It's some wonderful 90s VGM.

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