Zen Gaming Dojo

Students, sit.

Sensei has been wandering. Body and mind have traveled roads both worldly and imagined, real and real. Sensei has been searching for inspiration. It has been a long journey since the last entry, but Sensei feels that while he is not desperate in seeking to pour out knowledge, he should get into a regular pattern of doing so, whether or not there is anything new to say.

This is because the Universe is made of patterns.

Furthermore, the Universe is also made of physical processes.

…

Students, remain sitting.

The study of fractals and how they relate to quantum physics, cosmology, language, yin-yang and zen are all of great interest to Sensei. These are holy subjects, and Sensei highly recommends curious students to look into them. But how do they relate? What business to they have in this dojo?

Patterns and physical processes are related the same way that yin and yang are. Patterns emerge from physical processes, and physical processes are modelled after patterns. In this way, we may consider existence itself to be comprised of alternating, rotating components.

Instead of calling them patterns, let’s call it information. So now we have a two-fold way of looking at existence: the informational, and the physical. How would you recognize the difference?

Have you ever read a specific word, or words, on a sheet of paper, and it just looked…off? Sensei was once reading a paper, and came across the English word “loose”. Five letters, L O O S E. Something was wrong with it. I read it over and over and over again. Loose. L-oooooo-oooooo-se… Loose. loose. LOOSE.

Then I realized it. I wasn’t looking at the word “Loose”, but rather, I was looking at a sheet of paper full of symbols mechanically printed and aligned with each other. I had temporarily separated from the mental processes that process physical things as information, so I was merely experiencing the symbols and not “reading” them.

STUDENTS!!! Do not take such things for granted! For it is a marvel to be alive in this day and age. Existence is a big deal, and the only things that matter are the things that exist. Do not spend your day worrying and not-doing. You only have existence, and what you ARE doing in existence is the only thing that matters. Physical processes.

In other words, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. Learn to output. Get stuff in your mind, then output it. Learn to draw. Learn to play music. Learn to program. Learn a foreign language. Learn to cook. Learn ANYTHING, just learn to EXPRESS yourself.

Do not take existence for granted. Your day-time jobs, your relationships, your everything. Reflect on them. Think about what you are “really doing” and not just what you are doing. Think about what impact you have. Think about how you can improve yourself. Then do it. Do it. Do do do do do. Take a short break if you need to, but keep doing. Become the best. When you’re doing what you want, you’ll be in-alignment. You’ll flow. You’ll become your best.

A lot of people, unfortunately, are not their best. Please, do not hold it against them.

Computers

Gentoo Linux homepage

Sensei has converted back to Linux for three reasons:

1. Security
2. Development environment / Practice
3. Ethics

Among many Linux enthusiasts, Gentoo is long hailed to be difficult to set up if you are unfamiliar with the many facets of a Linux system. A small sacrifice is that many PC games will be unavailable to me now, but there is not a single data storage location that is not encrypted now. This is in addition to the other benefits linux offers someone with working-knowledge of computers.

Sensei is very satisfied with his environment now. Three computers: Kagemono, a Dell Inspiron laptop from 2004 with a 2.4GHz Pentium IV processor is being used to host a file server. Shinobi, an EEEPC 701 is used as a portable netbook for class and home use (but no serious computing is done on it). Lastly, is my home-built desktop, Kunoichi, with a 2.2GHz Pentium Dualcore. Between these three, I have a very computer-invasive bedroom…and I like it.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei @ Wikipedia (English page)

Sensei has a new favorite anime: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, a philosophical/visual feast. This show (and all three of it’s seasons and OVAs) appeals to Sensei in very many ways. The art is very clean and flowy. The colors contrast very nicely. It uses experimental animation at times to advance the story. The characters are all dynamic, unique, and highly indentifiable with. The soundtrack is between pleasant and amazing. Sensei’s watched each season multiple times over, and continues to re-watch it. When this cycle happens, Sensei has found a show he REALLY enjoys.

This is a high-quality art form. Go forth and indulge.

Martial Arts, Gaming, and Language

A highly skilled, powerful man has been the source of some of Sensei’s ideas. The gentleman who runs All Japanese All The Time is most certainly enlightened.

From this man, I am confirming for myself that which I have only figured out in my mind, and have only begun to see in the world. The physical-only aspect of reality is actually the only part that matters. There are no short-cuts. You MUST train diligently (in whatever it is you wish to become skilled at).

But, what is diligent? Diligent means spending time DOING. If you’re just sitting around THINKING about all that laundry you have to fold, or just THINKING about all that homework and studying needed to get a good grade, well…don’t think. Just stop thinking entirely (well, not really, but you get me), and put yourself in the situation required to succeed.

Don’t think: “I have so much studying to do”
DO THINK: “I will open my book and read chapters X thru Y”

Don’t think: “I have so much time left before I’m done with game X”
DO THINK: “I will put game X in, turn the system on, and play a bit”

This is critical to enlightenment. Sitting around and coming up with ideas is one thing, but to get stuck in the loop of ideas is a trap! Do NOT get caught up in this cycle. Break free, make a plan, and do it. It doesn’t have to be a long plan. You can make it short and local, as a piece of a larger plan. Your brain is the computer programmer, and your body is the computer. Make the instructions, and then execute them. You can’t endlessly debug without ever once running the program to find out if it works (you can tell I love computer metaphors, eh? Gosh I thought I was being subtle XD).

With that, students, I have done. What will you do now?

Students, sit.

Last night, Sensei was enlightened to a point of killing a part of his childhood. He sat down with friends to watch a very old, nostalgic movie.

Plumber brothers Mario Mario and Luigi Mario, short of work and living in early 1990s New York City, encounter a girl named Daisy who is into Archaeology and hounded by men in suits over a dig site. Luigi wants to bone Daisy, so they set up a date, followed by a trip to her precious site where the suits fuck with the pipes. Mario is called upon and the plumbers manage to fix the pipes, but afterwards are knocked out by some creeps who then kidnap Daisy and jump into some strange green CG portal. They manage to snatch a crystal that she was wearing around her neck, and resolve to go rescue her.

I will spare you the whole movie summary, but I highly recommend you force yourself to watch it. I say force for a reason.

This movie is so bad that it is awesome. However, any sense of me having loved it as a child is gone. This was one of the first films I’ve seen in theaters, and was released at the box office when I was around 5 or 6 years old. I loved this movie back then, but now I see it for what it really is: B-movie cheese worthy of the Sci-Fi/SyFy channel.

However, even for as bad as the movie was cinema-wise, it has value in entertainment, like all B-movie cheese. People who cannot appreciate such films are hollow, degenerate adults who can only take things at their most serious. It takes a new attitude on life. It takes enlightenment.

Have you been enlightened today?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros._%28film%29
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/super_mario_bros/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108255/

Students, sit.

Sensei has come back this time on Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 (RC1). Many of you may lament at my choice to not use Gentoo Linux on this, my primary computer. However, I was running into problems doing a few things…namely:

1. Playing Starcraft on ICCUP
2. Playing Final Fantasy XI

Beyond that, I was completely satisfied with my linux setup. I can do everything else I want to on linux, as well as a lot of stuff I never got around to doing, or even have a need for. When I get another computer, I will install Gentoo on it and every other computer I own. But for general usage, Windows has satisfied me.

So, why use linux at all, then? I find people on both sides of the coin arguing flippantly over issues such as “security” and “usability”.

People in the linux-exclusive camp will argue that closed-source software is threatening since you (the user) has no way of verifying that a program truly does what the owners (of the source) claim it does. In linux, if you really felt the need, you could browse through all of the code and see for yourself.

Most Windows users do not know enough about computers to even know what that means.

As for myself, I am well aware of the “risk” presented by using Windows. Essentially, my system security (and the security of others’ using Windows) is dependent upon the developers.

At what point does someone sacrifice utility for security?
At what point does someone sacrifice security for utility?

I like the fact that linux is open source. However, as I was born in America, I am already deeply entrenched into “contracts” and “agreements” of many sorts. So, the question of ethics doesn’t matter for me. Using linux means nothing if it cannot do what I want it to.

I also do not wish to spend the time to get every single thing I want working, especially if it is a cross-platforming issue (as was the case for me).

However, I can say this: I will work to get Starcraft 2 working with linux. The whole world deserves this.

As for you, students…just remember that you are not better or worse than someone for choosing to use any OS. The only things that matter are that you are safe and that you can actually use your computer how you’d like to. If you are cool with most of the hard stuff being handled for you (Windows), then that is OK.

Just take a little bit of time to become educated and start becoming safe.

I originally planned on ranting about various anime and gaming I’ve been knocking out, but I am tired of it.

May you one day be enlightened.

Students, sit.

Sensei righted a grandest wrong. Over 2 months ago, Sensei’s desktop computer fell dead and unable to start, and due to monetary issues, had to settle for using his EEEPC701 until he could fix the problem. Going through a new motherboard and power supply unit, Sensei finally discovered the real problem: the graphics card was dead. So, a short trip to the computer store yielded a cheap NVIDIA card and everything Sensei needed to regain his almighty portal.

In addition, Sensei finally succeeded in installing Gentoo linux on his computer. The level of knowledge required for this task is quite high, as I have tried and failed many times over the last 5 years. However, I have succeeded, and so far I am impressed. With a few exceptions, I have everything working.

Intense job hunting, Physics, Japanese study, and Starcraft (yay!) in the near future. Sensei just wanted to share a small enlightenment.

Just remember, students: You don’t really “need” anything. It just makes stuff better.

Students, sit.

Sensei has endured. He has endured loss. He has endured poverty. He has endured shame. He has endured great pain.

Only after we have lost everything are we free to do anything.

Sensei will once more become a student. This fall, sensei takes the final remaining class needed to become a college graduate. Sensei failed this class last year, and because of this, did not graduate college.

For it to be only one class…and to have failed at such an important time is my great shame. It was my great secret. And now that it is gone from me, I am free to begin again.

Some other things are beginning, too…as well as ending.

Dragon Ball Kai is proving to be a wonderful version of the classic anime series, DBZ. For those of you who have never seen Dragon Ball Z, Sensei will punish you. You will be punished by watching all of Dragon Ball Z, yes, all 290+ episodes. Dragon Ball Kai is cutting out the fat, leaving you with a lean production that is easy to swallow and leaves you hungry for more.

The new season of The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is underway! And wow, it is getting interesting. Like…very. Really cool sci-fi concepts are touched on. It is hard to talk about it without completely spoiling everything, so just get started watching them, will ya?

The final episode of K-ON! has aired at last, and I am sad to see it end so soon. Who knows why it was cut this short, but I enjoyed the moe-train for what it was worth. Guitars and girls. All a man really needs, right?

Besides rest.

I am finally at the very final section of Final Fantasy XII. I have 85 hours clocked on my savefile, and it is time to clear all of the endgame sidequests, get all the best gear, then go beat the game.

It’s been a pretty enjoyable ride, but Sensei will need a break from RPGs for a short bit. It has been a while since he has beaten one, so getting into a rhythm of completing them in a reasonable time again will take practice. Sensei spent a few years solely dedicated to music gaming, which disrupted his other gaming skills’ development. However, that is changing.

What else will change after the summer?

May you reach a summer enlightenment.

Students, sit.

Sensei has been hard at work. Earning that cash money.

Sensei has also been hard at work. Playing Final Fantasy XII.

The game is, relative to new games, quite old, but is the most recent game in the Final Fantasy series. After the old crew left for Mist Walker, Square Enix put some guys to work from the FF Tactics series, and came up with a game that doesn’t feel like anything from the main series. The graphics, music, voice work, gameplay, and story are all very deep, and perhaps even intimidating at times.

I’m not here to review the game itself. I’m here to chronicle my journey thusfar.

The path has been long and hard. At times, tedious, but mostly pleasurable. As both the story and the story’s road are long-winded, I have found myself needing to break out of the efficient “Point A to Point B” style of play, and begin to really explore the world of Ivalice.

There are a lot of people in this world. You may not be able to talk to everyone in a given village or city, but you can talk to a lot of them. They all have names, and sometimes they are involved in other peoples’ business. Or they are walking around. In other words, they have identity. They may not have much identity, even if it is limited to their graphic forms, their linear patterns of movement, and their internal actor identification numbers. They have a place, even if to just tell you story-trivia. It makes the game that much deeper.

The monsters are plenty. You can kill so many monsters that their bodies’ blood combined could be used to ritualistically resurrect the entirety of human civilization and yet more. You can quest for huge, epic beasts who are as old as gods and are an awe to see and humbling to battle. I spent a whole week trying to kill a God Chocobo named the Trickster, and the entire experience was compared against all of my previous experiences with Final Fantasy games. Excluding XI, never had I this much trouble killing a monster. It wasn’t even a question of level, either. The creature was able to put up spells that made it virtually invulnerable when its HP gets low, so you have to strike it with chained Mist attacks just before that happens, and pray. Many times I have failed, but at last succeeded. What an epic battle that was. I had to optimize my gambits, level up, sell loot to buy gear, and have the right amount of luck. I had to gain enough entropy to defeat my enemy.

There is a lot to see and do. Just like in real life, I could find a nice, quiet place to just stand and observe the people move around. Watching the monsters, too. Or watching the environment. The game is very peaceful to look at. At times, its as if you don’t even want to play. You just want to wander.

There is enlightenment on every level in this game. It is quite deep. Layers of existence overlap each other, allowing for a very large world to play in. I like games of epic depth. This is such a game.

However, it tires me. The time expent on extra missions and sidequests is extensive. I am sitting at around 60 hours on the game, and I am maybe halfway through the game. I must take a brief reprieve. Whew. Do not be afraid of taking a short break from a long game.

Sensei is working hard. Hopefully his students are, too.

As part of my daily regiment of gaming, I also consume a lot of Japanese-language media, and English as well. Recently, Sensei completed a few English books at work. Namely, House and Philosophy, regarding the hit medical dramedy and ties with European, Greek, and Asian philosophy. In addition, Azumanga Daioh, in one giant book-form, as well as the Ghost in the Shell manga.

I also consume media without words. Sensei highly recommends checking out soma.fm for your listening pleasure. Sensei is very interested in streaming media, and this is some of the best music you’ll find on the web. Recommending Groove Salad when you wanna chill.

Final Fantasy XII @ Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_fantasy_xii
Soma.fm: http://soma.fm

In no enlightenment, be enlightened!

Students, sit.

Make yourself as comfortable as possible.

I allow eating and drinking in my dojo, but if you make a mess, you will clean it up or be punished to one thousand genuine deaths in Ikaruga.

Feel free to sit crosslegged. Bring your own chair. I have known students who carried entire La-Z-boy recliners on their backs, just for the sake of comfort.

It is well known that you cannot properly operate at your peak levels unless you are allowed to be relaxed and comfortable.

If that was not well known, well, now it is.

Do not listen to the crowds who may laugh at these words, for they are all fools. Every single one of them fails to understand the grand importance of being relaxed.

If you spend a great deal of time fidgetting, readjusting your seat, changing where your arms rest, and other things, then it may be that you are not quite comfortable. You are giving too much energy towards ultimately useless endeaveurs, unless these adjustments will help you become relaxed.

This is true in all places, and is especially true of video games.

I play many video games differently. If it is an attention-demanding game, like Smash Bros. or Starcraft, I am typically more than upright, maybe even a little hunched. If the game is a bit more leisurely in how I play, such as an RPG, chances are my gamer stance will be affected as such.

Remember that term: Gamer Stance. I will this to mean your relative gaming position. Are you sitting in a wobbly chair? Sitting crosslegged on the floor? Butt and back against the wall? Lying down, or sitting upside-down? How do you game?

This goes beyond mere sitting-place. It also means the way you hold your controller. This changes from game to game, as not all games use the same controller, but generally they can be classed into categories.

Typical console-game controllers were designed with the thumbs being the main operators. The opposing ends of a controller fit into your palms, and from the Famicom to the PS2, controllers have gotten quite comfortable to hold! I gain a lot of pleasure from using a PS2 dualshock controller. It is smooth, responsive, ergonomic, and has a very comfortable weight. I dislike the PS3’s controller due to the lack of weight and the fall-off-the-back L2/R2 buttons, but that is besides the point. I love the PS2 dualshock so much that I hunt for them at Gamestops so that I’ll have spares. Every video game that uses a typical controller should use this controller.

It seems I got on a tangent, but anyhow, the point was in the palms and thumbs, which are typically the assumed basis for controller design. However, I have encountered a type of gamer that would hold, for example, a Gamecube controller in an unusual manner. The left side is held as normal, with the controller resting in the palm and the thumb operating the D-stick. However, on the right side, something is different. The players I’ve seen will rest their hand atop the controller and hit the buttons as if it were a keyboard — hovering their index and middle fingers over the A and B buttons, for instance.

While I have been stressing comfort, and these individuals may find this way of holding the controller “comfortable”, in time they will find their chosen preference may be suboptimal in both personal comfort and the ease at which they can experience a game. Others may quite-well excel this way, but having grown up with the classic stance, and having my own personal reasons for being unable to experience this alternative stance, I am unable to judge beyond my imagination. My inability to experience such an enlightenment leaves me unable to soundly judge, so I would like for my students to experience for themselves.

People take general operation of devices for granted. Things are not designed for all people to be able to use, but rather “the majority of people”. People do not normally consider the difficulties associated with using a keyboard, because people normally have the means to become quite skilled typists. This does not consider a person who has one arm, or some other hinderance. Typing would seem wayyyyy more like a chore than a pleasure to a person with two arms who would have to restrict their usage to one hand.

Sensei is such an individual. I was born, against my will, with a quite abnormal body, to a point I could be considered handicapped. My right arm developed such that I have incredibly limited usage, and have been dealing with it since a very young age. As a child, I did not ever see or question the construction of things. I simply adapted and learned to deal with my disadvantage.

However, as an adult, I have begun to examine the world from a “handicapped” perspective. It began with a game called beatmania IIDX. Beatmania is the original music game, consisting of a set of 5 to 7 keys and a turn table on either your left or right side. Musical stages are accompanied by a series of falling notes you are required to hit, and at the stage’s conclusion, you are judged on your performance. Standard fare if anyone reading this is familiar with Guitar Hero. If you did not know Beatmania came before Guitar Hero, then you have been enlightened.

At any rate, I began my quest in Beatmania IIDX in 2006, and progressed rapidly. Having a sense of rhythm developed in DDR, I found no problem in getting decent performance grades on the easier songs, earning as many as 800 different “perfect scores” across the series’ long span of games. However, as the songs progressed in difficulty and complexity, it became clear that I lacked functional use of many of the fingers I would normally use when playing the game. This set me apart from the entire IIDX community. My road was then split in two, and a choice between “continue playing as you are” and “begin playing one handed” resulted in an indefinite reprieve from the game. It has been a long time since I have played.

However, having gone as far as I did, and with the achievements of the famous one-handed players (who could manage all 7 keys with one hand instead of two — see video), I am convinced that with enough dedication and practice, I could become comfortable with the game to a point that I can manage it in the most comfortable way possible for myself, however it may be. If I return to the game, I could choose to one-hand it this time. The effort of one-handing the game versus the typical style is far greater, and many of my peers told me that road is not worth it…but they also do not know the same difficulties of progress. I will have to endure more repetitions to yield the same results as they.

Anyone who is limited in anything because of any reason will find this to be true.

This is true of any game, and of any field.

Repetition yields experience.

Experience yields comfort.

Unless we’ve done something enough times, we will never be comfortable with it.

And unless we’re comfortable with something, we will never do it enough times.

May you one day be enlightened.

Students, sit.

Sensei has been humbled. The fates had brought him to a knee. Upon his genuflection, he has been enlightened.

Do not let your dependency upon one fantastic device hinder your enjoyment of things should your device suffer death.

As such, Sensei returned to a timeless game requiring not only incredible control but also perception and judgement. Like many enlightenment-capable games, this one is of incredible difficulty.

Ikaruga appears to be a mere vertical shooter, but it is so much more. All enemies, as well as all shots fired, and the hero, experience polarity of energy. On normal mode, killing an enemy of the same polarity as you (such as white-white or black-black) causes their ship to blow up and fire many bullets at you. The hero can absorb same-polarity bullets, but this combination leads to a complex strategy-requiring game, in which you must learn when to switch your own polarity and what order in which to kill foes.

I once got into an argument with a friend over which is better: Ikaruga, or the Touhou series. Well, I ended up defending Touhou, but ultimately they cannot be compared. They are both vertical shooters, true…however, they both have very different dynamics, and thus should be considered their own games. Each one is difficult in its own right, so just because you can beat one does not mean you can yet beat the other.

In Ikaruga, there is a stylish backstory that nobody pays attention to, but I highly recommend you google for it.

Just to humble you, as I have been humbled, fall to your knees and cry, for you will never become as skilled as this masterful Ikaruga player.

Ikaruga is available in Japanese Arcades, on the Sega Dreamcast, the Nintendo Gamecube, and now in Hi Definition on the Xbox 360. May you now be humble, and be enlightened.

Official Xbox Ikaruga Site: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/i/ikarugaxboxlivearcade/
Wikipedia - Ikaruga: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikaruga
British Ikaruga Fansite: http://www.ikaruga.co.uk/

Students, sit down.

Let me tell you of cuteness.

Cuteness is a road to enlightenment.

The long-held belief of Japanese Shintoism: That all things have a soul.

This is why we can draw smiley-faces on a computer and suddenly give it life!

This is why we can have talking animals going about their days like humans!

Yes, to entreat all things as soulful entities.

In this way, we are bounded to each other and the entire universe.

But, by soulful entities, I mean entities with “ki”.

As such, the phrase “Genki”, or “Energ(y)/(etic)” can be synonymous to “Kawaii/Moe” or “Cute”.

Being lively, being “genki”…these are traits of Japanese cuteness!

Do not let the heretics slander the true nature of cuteness, for it is the path to enlightenment!

America and the western world has for too long corrupted cuteness into a girls-only ideal!

Japan has long embraced universal cuteness as acceptable by all!

Do not let your years of cultural molding blind you from accepting cuteness into your own life, even if it is only a little bit. Learn for something peaceful to bring a smile to your face.

Become “Genki”. Start the day with everlasting, infinite energy. Be enlightened.

Starting a new part of life is exciting. Entry into high school isn’t as big of a deal in the U.S. as it is in Japan. It is an optional thing, and yet over 90% of the country graduates from secondary education. There are entrance exams, there are a lot of things to grind into your brain, and there are a lot of social implications by who you are and who you hang out with. What club you join is a BIG deal, too. You’ll be known by what club you joined years after graduation.

Yui is a hilariously unattentive girl with a hidden power for concentration. She is a newcomer to high school, and approaches the problem of what club to join. A few passes by the bulletin boards and she looks into joining the K-ON! light music club…along with three other girls, despite not knowing how to play anything…

The show progresses in a similar lazy fashion to Lucky Star and the slice-of-life attitude the show takes is heart warming. The cast is moe and genki and it is enlightening every time I rewatch the episodes. The music soundtrack, between the normal TV tunes and the show’s opening and ending songs, is entirely fantastic.

The show is currently airing in Japan on the Tokyo Broadcasting Station, and the manga is serialized in Manga Time Kirara magazine. Get your K-ON! and be enlightened.

K-ON! Official Website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/k-on/

Students, sit, and listen to your Sensei.

I do not think you are training hard enough.

When Sensei was a boy, he trained long and hard. His everyday struggle was for that of enlightenment. Paths sometimes incur not just stones and pebbles but boulders beyond movement.

It is not enlightening to try to move the boulder. It is impossible to move some boulders. You will only waste your time.

Instead, walk around the boulder, and onto a slightly easier path.

“But Sensei! Is that not to cease one path for another?”

Yes. That is so.

Students, let me tell you of the greatest path of all: Walking.

That is correct. Walking is the point of origin.

In mathematics, we think of position as a derivative of velocity. Sensei is skilled in the ways of the number, but many of you are not. What that means is that the position of a thing is only changing as fast as its speed allows.

A car traveling at 50 miles per hour is only going to move 50 miles in an hour.

A person walking at zero miles per hour is only going to move zero miles in an hour. Such a person is not walking.

Unless you do, you cannot have done.

I have lived as many people. I have thus died many deaths.

Death comes in many forms. Often, for me, death is a giant wave of bullets that require zen-like focus to avoid. The bringers of death are often goddesses, ghosts, and devils that look like cute anime girls.

Death is beautiful. A bullet-hell. THIS IS DANMAKU.

You can only get better at this game through constant death. Constant playing. Every time you die, you get better. By doing, you progress.

There are now 12 games in this series, not including spin-off titles that include a fighting game. The modern series begins around the 6th game, and each game introduces new bullet patterns, characters, and an amazing soundtrack.

The games are the magnum opus of a single human god. His name is ZUN, the lone member of “Team Shanghai ALICE”. He alone created the entirety of the series, from the artwork to the music to the game code. He and these games are a real example that you, alone, have the power inside to accomplish great things.

ZUN had done, and continues to do.

What have you done?

Team Shanghai ALICE website: http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/
Invisible Games and Japanese - ZUN’s blog: http://kourindou.exblog.jp/