Life in Cutscenes

About Life in Cutscenes

In video games, a “cutscene” traditionally refers to when the action is taken away from the player temporarily, and a series of events plays out that the player has little to no control over. This is usually used for the player to progress through the storyline, and can be done through many ways: sometimes they use full-blown cinematic videos, while other times they may use in-game polygons or sprites.

The important part is that even in a medium where people get to interact with the environment, video games still provide a sense of narrative. To me, certain aspects of video games are not that different from real life, such as how we interact with the world and its inhabitants on a daily basis, but at times we can only watch and witness what happens around us.

So what does this have to do with traveling? Not much. However, I can’t help but feel that traveling to different countries and cities helps me regain the sense of adventure that I used to feel when I was a kid playing video games. Entering a new land in some RPG often triggered a cutscene, where the hero and his or her party would take in the sights and the story would move on. Similarly, when I go somewhere new (or even somewhere not-so-new), it’s the start of a brand new experience and a new part of the story of my life.

Cutscenes, much like the events in our own lives, can give us insight. We learn about ourselves, the people around us, and the vast world in front of us. By no means do these experiences (within reality or in gaming) always lead to a positive outcome, but there is a beauty to how everything we experience intertwines to become a story that we may never fully understand.

Perhaps that’s how the world should be.

 

About the Author

So just who is the author of this humble blog?

My name is Lester. As of this writing, I work as a consultant in the technology industry. It can be a hectic job, but I find it very interesting and rewarding; I’ve definitely learned a lot in my (very short) career, and traveling for clients has opened my eyes to more of the people and places out there.

Outside of work? You probably could have guessed, but I enjoy traveling. This interest of mine is admittedly fairly new, but I am trying to go to at least one new country each year. I also love taking photos of the places I go, and I plan to include at least one of my photos in each of my blog entries, along with links to my Flickr photo gallery for those interested in more.

I also love playing video games. I don’t play them nearly as much when I was younger, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy a good game every now and then. While this is a travel blog at heart, don’t be surprised if you see the occasional reference to a video game I used to play.

Like many others raised in the 1990s, I grew up playing video games. In my case, I lived off of Nintendo games, from “Super Mario World” to “Pokemon Silver,” from “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” to “Fire Emblem: Awakening.” As a schoolboy, I was obsessed in challenging my friends and family in “Mario Kart 64” and “Super Smash Bros.” As the years passed, my tastes changed and led me to a strong preference for other Japanese games, going from popular role-playing games like “Final Fantasy 9” to obscure fighting games like “Melty Blood: Actress Again.”

It doesn’t matter if you don’t recognize a single game that I mentioned above. Considering the number of relatives and friends who played these games with me over the years, I can honestly say that they have been a very influential part of my life. Even now as a working adult, I still bond with other gamers, whether through friendly virtual sparring or enjoying an epic, interactive storyline together.

As you may have guessed from reading this blog, I also enjoy writing. I am constantly making up characters and worlds in my head, and I always think about how to make stories out of whatever I think of. While the articles on this blog are not works of fiction, I want to take the ideas and experiences that I have from traveling and share them with whoever is willing to listen.

Question? Comment? All of the above?

Just fill out the form below if you want to contact me about Life in Cutscenes. Whether you liked (or disliked) one of my posts, or you want to know more about the games I write about, I’m open to feedback and would love to talk to others who have something to say. Don’t be shy!