Gaming

We need to start making that game where the Smeary Hero has to defeat the Great Handless Baddie to save the Unfinished World.

But before that...
Once the sun was up I went for that death-defying inland stroll in ARK and it was quite an eventful hour.
I started off going up past that big waterfall which is pretty noisy and that's quite annoying cos you can't hear the baddies coming, but I wasn't attacked and most of the smaller carnivores do ignore you when you have a decent level even when you get close to them. But even so I dispatched a couple of Dilos and dared a small Oviraptor to attack me. It didn't. It got REAL close but I stared it down and it went on its way.
I rather liked that little cove up there so I thought I'd craft a sleeping bag and drop it there as a one off rescue point if things got out of hand further north. Didn't quite have enough hide so I decided to bola a passing Parasaur for the necessary resources. And as I hit it with my axe an entire swarm of those massive dragonflies swooped in from the trees and devoured the damn thing before I could kill it!
And with the Parasaur gone they all turned on me.
Much panicky flailing with the cheap axe ensued.
I then got harrassed by small pack of Compys and they provided enough hide for that bed. But as soon as I set off further north the ants came. Where there are dragonflies there are also ants. More frantic axe flapping.
Is everyone dead now? Can I walk peacefully for a bit? Right, let's go.

Didn't get far before seeing this...



Glowy Red is bad, isn't it?
But I've got my backup bed nearby, so let's sneak a little closer to see what it is.
Pretty sure it's an Alpha Carno.



And I'm not fighting that.
I'll go back and pick up my bed and...
Uh-oh!


Hard to tell on this screenie but that's definitely an Alpha Raptor eating a Trike.
Trapped between two alphas!
While it was still feeding I grabbed my bed and dived in the water to swim to the other side and was relieved to look back and see the raptor skulking off in the trees. I'm not scared of Raptors now I have experience of taming them but the Alpha is something else so it can stay over there.
This side of the water seemed less dangerous but I still removed a couple of foolish Dilos and more pesky Compys before deciding to double back southwards across to that recently built hut near the obelisk.
I kept close to the water's edge as I thought that would be safe but then heard a crazy noise to my right and, right in front of me, a Lystrosaurus burst out of the trees being chased by a big Carnotaur. Thankfully not the glowy red one from earlier but it was sooo close.
Was a bit like the moment in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex bursts out of the trees to catch the Gallimimuses. And just like those kids I sneaked back behind a tree trunk and watched as it killed the poor thing. "So much blood."
I then scarpered and succesfully made it back to my hut still alive.

What I'm missing are all those nice weapons at the other base.
Hence all that manic flailing with the stone axe where each blow does a measly... 11 damage.
My sword does up to 90 per swing and my sniper rifle can knock off 500 health points with one well-aimed shot. But I don't have them here and this location isn't like my safe, productive metal factory on Herbivore Island.
I think I do have enough goodies to make a metal axe here so I think I'll be doing that before my next northward jaunt.

Finally finished Life Is Strange.

Don't worry, my ineptitude with a sword and my general incompetence with boss battles will no doubt make that game much longer than it's supposed to be.

Despite those slight misgivings about Episode 5 I did greatly enjoy Life Is Strange. It's the kind of game that stays with you long after you stop playing and in quiet moments I still often find myself worrying about the characters' futures and feeling nostalgic about their past.