Hi, everyone. And welcome back to Geek Time. 歡迎回來【極客時間】. Hi, Brad.

Hey, lulu, how are you doing?

I'm doing fine. And I thought today let's talk about gaming, which is like one of the geekiest topics there is, right? 我們來講講游戲.

First of all, Brad, would you call yourself a gamer?

Yeah, I've played most of the systems out there. I even started out on the Atari. I have had Nintendo, Sega,X-box, PlayStation. I've had most of the consoles out there.

What about like computer games and mobile games?

I don't play so many mobile games, but I do play a lot of like PC games and those kinds of like simulators and things on my computers.

Online games.

A few like online games.

I see, but why not mobile games?

I just think the mobile games don't really have the depth that a lot of bigger games have. They're kind of just like simple, repetitive... I have played mobile games in the past, like Tower Defense and things like that. I just they kind of repetitive and I don't really see much depth in the game. So I don't really get much into them.

Yeah, I think there are lots of limitations, right?

Yeah, definitely.

And last time we were talking we're chatting, you're also getting on to VR games. You have a VR set at home.

Yeah, I've had a VR set for probably at least 5 or 6 years now, I kind of think about getting a new one. But just because the one I have it's a cabled one, so I have to like jack into the computer. But you know some of the newer ones you can play without having to directly connect to the computer and so you're a little bit more free. I see, I think VR is... VR is quite fun.

Yeah, so you've basically played them all, at least you experienced all of them.

Yes, pretty much.

I guess I picked the right person to talk to. So let’s start, let's sort of trace back.

Even nowadays sometimes you hear students in China, like learners of English, they say video games, video game sounds like such an ancient word to me now. Why is it called video games? Is it just because they're hooked to TV?

Just because when you watch it, you're watching a video as you're playing the game, whether it's a really simple video of pixels moving across the screen or a more cinematic game that you see in a lot of consoles nowadays. It's basically kind of like a video that you see whether it's on your TV or your computer.

Okay, 所以 video games基本上就是原來那種就插一個主機, 可以插電腦上, 或者說插到比如電視機上那種游戲.

You mentioned the word “console” is that machine? Is that little thing that you hook up, be itX-box, Playstation, is that machine that gets hooked to your TV?

Yes, they're called a video game console, right. You're either use a console or a computer basically to play computer game or to play video games.

Video games. Okay. When did that start? What was the sort of the earlier video games?

A lot of people think of Pong as being the first video game, but it was really just like the first popular video game.

Before that, in the early 1950s, there was a game called Space War. This may not be the first game ever, but it's like the first one that they've really found to be what could be considered a video game.

OK, Pong is the Ping Pong thing, I did a little bit of research on this topic, is that very simple ping pong thingy?

Now there was a game before that like called Tennis For Two, but Pong was the one that was what really became like the most popular. It's just you have kind of like your racket which goes up and down the one side of the screen. And then you have the ball that moves from one side to the other. And you basically just kind of have to go back and forth with it until someone loses.

Yeah, now you look at those and they think I cannot believe people used to play that, but back then I think it would have been like the really fun thing to do.

So now getting back to console就是這些游戲機本身的主機, and then pretty much most of the games started from there. Right? Is it one of those the ancient now I'm not going to tell my audience how old I am. So that is way way way before my time. Yes, I was born very recently.

So those things I've seen I've researched online. So it's one of those things that you can put like a game inside. It's almost like you can put a new game inside it. And it's like modern day, like nowadays you have the, what you might call it, you have the switch. Is it that kind of idea? You can switch games or swap games, the early console?

Yeah, the early consoles actually had games built in. So when you bought it, it would have like one or two games, and you would take it home, hook it up to your TV, and then you would just play those two games.

Okay.

And it's kind of like basically just like an arcade game (街機游戲：一種通常需要投幣才能玩的游戲) that you play it at home, like an arcade game. You put in a few quarters and you could play a game for a few minutes.

Yes, but nowadays you still can see arcade games就街機, 外面那種游樂中心那種街機, so you put in quarters and you can win things or points. So you're saying that's basically bringing the arcade games back to your home in a smaller version.

Basically, but then in the 70s, they started coming out with more swapable(可更換的) ones where you put in a cartridge(游戲卡帶). It's basically just like a nowadays people use CDs or DVDs, right? They put the DVD into the system and then you play the game off of that.

Now, while the more modern consoles are actually moving away from physical media, and they're going online and downloading the games. Some consoles don't even have a slot anymore for like a CD or a cartridge. They're just going directly off the internet and pulling like downloading the game, software.

Yeah I see. So but whether it's putting in the game, whether it's a cartridge, like you said, or if a CD or DVD or nowadays downloading, the whole concept is still the same. You have a console and then you can play multiple games on it. I've heard Japan was leading the way for a while. Wasn't it? You have Nintendo. You have Sega. It's like世家, 還有任天堂. These are big ones, I've also heard like Sony, right?

Sony is also a Japanese company. I think like one of the more popular non Japanese ones was the X-box.

X box. What about Playstation?

Playstation is actually Sony, which is in Japan as well. So now it was actually kind of funny is in the 70s, there wasn't really a big you know like there was only really one main system, which was the Atari.

But in the 80s we had Sega, we had Nintendo, and they kind of entered this war where every couple years they would put out a new system that was stronger than the previous system.

And then people would have to go out and getting new games. And it was like, Sega would do it, then Nintendo would do it, then Nintendo would do it, then Sega would do it.

Isn’t that like modern day smartphone. Right ?

Kind of, like you have to get the new phone every couple of years or every couple of months even.

But they have to, like, one up each other. What is your favorite? Like right now if you play console games like which is your go to system?

Actually, the only system I have on my desk right now is my Playstation four. I haven't gone out and bought the Playstation five yet. But I can swap between playing computer games and playstation four games.

Why not X-box?

It's often referred to as the wrong box, X means wrong.

Actually, when the X-box first came out, there were a few games that were both on like the Playstation and the X-box. I actually liked the X-box versions a little bit better. I thought the X-box was a little bit better because it came out a little bit later, so it had a little bit better like set up.

But as games were coming out, the games that I liked were often only on like the Playstation, or if there was like one or two games that were on the Playstation that weren't on the X-box that I liked, and so I usually went with the Playstation rather than the X-box.

All right. So speaking of the games you like, let us wrap up this episode by talking about a few most popular kinds of video games. I mean I'm not really a gamer. I do play games. I have played games growing up. Currently, I'm also playing games, but I guarantee the games I play are significantly different from the games you play.

So I'm assuming you will play things like, I don't know, like shooting games. What are they called Shooters?

I don't play many shooters nowadays. When I was younger, I would play shooting games with a few friends. We would get together and play on like Nintendo or play online and play. I don't really play a lot of shooting games, but that's something I did play when I was younger.

That I know like there's a lot of shooting games or like real time strategy where people are playing a strategy and you have to pay attention to what's going on because you're real... in the game real time. It's not like you're taking turns like a board game or something like that.

So it's more like thrilling, really.

Yeah, a lot of my students would talk about mobile games which are like multiplayer online battle arena games like LOL, League of Legends (英雄聯盟) and things like that. And that was kind of like a really popular strategy battle game. but the games that I really liked when I was kind of younger were more like action adventure games, like the Legend Of Zelda（塞爾達傳說） or like RPG (role-playing game 角色扮演游戲) is like Final Fantasy (最終幻想：一款由日本游戲公司Square Enix（前稱Square）制作的角色扮演游戲系列。)

I love RPG, I mean when I was younger and even now I like RPG, so it's like role playing games角色扮演類的. Usually I like a game with an actual storyline instead of just going in real time strategy實時戰略那種.

Maybe I'm gender stereotyping, but guys usually focus a little bit more on real time strategy, shooting. And girls are seemed to be more into RPG with a longer storyline

In general, that can be the case. Well, like I think most guys in the states also like final fantasy like they don't like other rpg games, but when it comes to like Final Fantasy, they're really like that's just a really popular one .

That really is like a legend, isn't it? Final Fantasy. Anyhow, there's one type of game I know that you won't really like, but I like. I like puzzles.

Okay, I think Nintendo kind of went the route of a lot of like puzzle and party games, and I kind of lost track of Nintendo a couple years ago, but yeah. Yeah, like those are more for like groups of people and more of a solitary gamer.

So you like sort of indie games（獨立游戲） instead of ...is that what you mean? Oh, you like sort of one player that sort of thing instead of online multiplayer.

Like there are people who play one game and they get really, really good at one game and it's really difficult to fight or to play against those people. And it just it kind of disheartens you from playing. And so I just kind of like playing games where I don't have to try to be the best or I can kind of enjoy it, right?

Yeah, but when I say puzzle games, I probably also mean puzzle/adventure. It's like going around solving crimes that sort of thing. And the other one is simulators就是模擬器這種.

So for example, like The Sims 《模擬人生》. I always think that is funny, so you live your life and you wanna play like Sims to simulate life.

I actually do a lot of like sim for racing. I kind of getting into racing and one thing it's really difficult is getting enough track time and so I've actually kind of bought a whole like racing sim set up where I have like a real steering wheel and pedals.

I can hook it up to my computer and VR and play just like I'm in a real car on a racetrack.

You really love driving and racing, so you go out racing real cars, you have four cars in Japan. At home you still have like a racing simulator.

Yeah, I have a three computer screens in a row that way I can feel like I'm in a real cockpit or a real car.

Like die hard racing fan. Okay. Do you know the type of game that I have been playing? I mean it’s a little bit embarrassing. So I've been playing the sort of game called Otome game. Have you ever heard of them?

I've heard something. It's kind of like a dating sim, right?

Yeah, but for girls就是叫乙女游戲("乙女" 日語：おとめ，Otome在日語中指的是少女，特指未婚的年輕女性。這個詞在不同的語境中有不同的含義和用法), 日本這邊出來叫乙游.

It’s basically a dating sim for women. So you basically see all these gorgeous guys and they all love you. Yeah, developed like different story lines and I mean it's a healthy fantasy. Let's face it.

One of my first trips to Japan, I was looking at video games. I was trying to find like a video game that was only in Japan. I came across this section. It was a whole section of games that were dating sims. I was just like what is this? and so I had to buy one and just to see what it was. But it was a dating sims. I was like okay, this is really strange.

Oh I guess the thing is people don't even want to date real people anymore. They are just more fantasizing about their... the lovers in the games, this virtual partners, perfect partners in games. Anyhow, not more on that because I cannot divulge more.

All right.

All right. We're gonna wrap up this episode. Leave us comment in the comment section. If you have ever being a gamer or you're still a gamer with what type of game or which particular game is your favorite? Leave us comment in the comment section.

Thank you, Brad, for coming to the show.

All right. See you in the next episode.

See you next time.

Bye,everyone.

Bye.