364, 365… 370… 412….. 504…………..

Many hours, days, weeks, months, and a few years have subsided throughout my life. This is obvious though, I am alive, I am 23, and time is said to exist. I commonly try to utilize time as best to my ability, and like everybody else I fall into modes of tired, no good, lazy, unproductive, blah like attitudes. This is in fact normal, to some degree, it seems unnatural to have a fast forward, can do attitude 24/7. My point is… people waste time, and that’s okay! People just need to unwind and realize that their minds become dry, tired, and in need of rejuvenation. From this moment I assume this blog post can go in many directions, I am sure that if you have actually read this far  then you may want some clarity. Here, let’s just say a common human being is going about their day… They wake up, pamper up, usually go to school or work, eat, come home to relax, and maybe do some hobbies of theirs. I can only assume that MOST people live in such a way, and I certainly do as well. I go (went) to school, go to work, eat, come home, relax, and then usually do things I enjoy. And if you have read any of my previous posts it is clear that I take part in various forms of gaming (video games, board games, game creation…).

So video games, let me hit that on the head, I and many others on any given day will pick up a controller and play a few games here or there. May it be the hottest new title, or something near and dear from way back when, us gamers need our fix. I tend to pick out older games, old school titles if you will, and I commonly pick out a game that maybe I have not taken down yet. I like to think of classic games as a “list of nostalgic importance,” or more clearly, games I would play when I was younger. And when I was of young age I certainly did not conquer old titles as much as I would have now-a-days. For example, as a child the “idea” of Bomberman was fantastic, I loved the game but, I just wasn’t nearly as committed to it as I am presently. So actually as of recently I have beaten most of the Bomberman titles and am continuing to do so. For better words, “commitment” is a great way to put it.

At this point I can reveal my most recent “commitment,” and I initially always tell myself, “this game, will be finished, with all entirety…” I wish now I haven’t let myself come to such terms, what if the game really fucking sucks, or ask myself, “how much of my life is going to dust.” It may sound like I am driving myself to insanity, but it’s not like that, I feel as though I can be conscious of when to take a step back and realize what the hell I am doing with myself.

Though… maybe this time around I went completely blank.

Gauntlet, more specifically Gauntlet II, has been my most recent expedition. I would hope most individuals have heard of the title, seeing as it had sprouted many of today’s popular dungeon crawling experiences.

Screenshot from NES version. (the one I played)

May it be Gauntlet one, two, three, four, genesis variation on four, PC variations, Dark Legacy, Seven Sorrows, arcade versions, NES cartridges… (probably missed like 70 possibilities…). Seems that Gauntlet pretty much holds on to its name. That being, four player hack’n’slash, hundreds of monsters, treasure rooms, and “[insert character here] needs food badly.” We should all take notes on the title(s), being the predecessor(s) to our dungeon exploring cravings, it placed structure upon today’s most popular titles.

*Shot from NES Version

You would be looking at a screen shot from Gauntlet II on the Nintendo, it is one of many Gauntlet II titles. Yes, Gauntlet II specifically, the game originally was an arcade cabinet, and with increasing popularity had reached the homes of many counsels alike. So I talk about the second installment, and that’s because it was in-fact the one I decided to play. I ran the game through “Nestopia” which is an emulator for the NES. I had done this because if I was playing a Nintendo I would not be able to save my progress. Not that the original Nintendo system did not support a saving feature, just because this game specifically did not save. I needed to “save state” in order to keep control of my sanity and not play Gauntlet for days on end. Okay, so at this point it seems that I have made clear that I had spent “valuable” time investing my life into this game. I shouldn’t go out and say, “invest my life,” I would play a few levels here, few levels there, maybe take down like twenty at a time or so. If your new to Gauntlet, or are completely oblivious to its concept, I’ll make something clear… there are A LOT of levels. I mean hundreds, some even more! Though, the end can always be reached… I think…

…I started this game probably a year ago, and actually stopped playing it say, a couple of months ago. Thinking to myself, “I love Gauntlet, but I never reached the end of one…”

I always loved the pink floors in some levels.

So with my spirits high and “commitment” set, I had at it. I probably made most of my progress throughout the first few nights. The game, having no music, and its poor sound quality started to get to me, although most people would supply their own tunes or turn the sound off; I wanted to keep the nostalgic vibe, if anyone understands. Regardless… I felt accomplished after level 100, and no not “leveling up” to level 100, but traveling to the physical “level 100.” The game supplied minimal stats, you could pick up extra speed… armor… strength… magic… yaddaaaa… After a while the view following my character on-screen could not keep up with him due to the amount of “extra speed” power-ups I obtained. Oh, I should have said this earlier… I picked the red wizard, who was better with magic, or using potions that were picked up to clear enemies on-screen.

Onward… level 120, level 146, level 189…! LEVEL 200! Nope… after level 100 not being the last, beating level 200 and then seeing level 201 on was discouraging. Although, I kept going, and I had more reasons than it being a commitment at this point.

I did, before I started, do a small amount of internet browsing and read a sort-of “game FAQ or walk-through.” From what I read, Gauntlet II, for the NES certainly had an end to it. This is what kept me pushing on, level by level, monster by monster, treasure room by treasure room…

Those shadowy bars across the floor are unbelievably obnoxious. I am not sure if it’s the damage done or the sound it makes.

One day I reached, I’d say… level 380 something… so I thought, “okay, 400 is it, and if it’s 500… god damn it… I’ll be sure to reach it.” I of course reached level 400 and… nothing. Level 401, another level with… hey…wait… this level… looks awfully familiar… I recall a level that had teleports, and the teleports for whatever reason would always send you exactly where you didn’t want to go. So upon reaching “level___” …I don’t even know anymore, I came to realize that I was once again faced with this mother fucking teleport level. It was hindered by a different color scheme, same exact setup, same enemies, same items. I then thought about how many levels I could have very well completed already… I was sick at this point, I then proceeded to the game FAQ once again and read some information that didn’t quite correlate with the info I had discovered before even playing the game…

As said in the newly found information, the game does not end… the levels keep repeating, some get mirrored, flipped, wrapped, or get a slight change in hue… there was even a large picture showing all the possible types of layouts for all the levels formed. My supposed “research” before taking into the dungeons of Gauntlet proved horribly incorrect. It makes me wonder if someone out there did that to fuck with someone like myself, it almost seems so.

Pertaining to the beginning of this post I talked on behalf of people commonly wasting their time throughout their days. I had clearly lost this “precious” time, maybe because the game doesn’t end or just the fact that I was playing a video game. Who knows… I am over it now, and I think it’s pretty hilarious. The only commemoration I deserve is the fact that I did NOT die. I swear, and it wasn’t like it was terribly hard to survive. Unlike other installments of the game, this one seemed to be slower, had fewer enemies, and food was supple. So positive vibes I suppose, I lived through 500 plus levels, with my character and my sanity in tact.

Even if you still think video games are a waste of time, then I can understand your reasons. I actually gave you an extremely good example of video games as a waste of time, hours spent… nothing obtained. This can though apply to anything, people smoke marijuana, waste time staring at each other, then eat a bunch of food. I do support this too though, and getting to my whole point is that ANYTHING can be a waste of time. You can think I conceived this post because I want to make myself feel better for wasting so much time playing games. Yes… no… maybe… I enjoy my video games, and I can only assume other gamers enjoy their games. So don’t waste your time! Enjoy it, in any sense, utilizing your time is relative, subjective, and personal.

So if you want to play Gauntlet II… don’t try to find the end. You won’t. Though Gauntlet 4 or many of the others (like the Ps2 ones) do indeed hold an end.

Enjoy your games people.