Art of Mind Games

One important aspect when playing online/LAN games (especially RTS and FPS) is the ability to play with mind games. The art of mind games, as it called, is the way we predict the opponent action, take the risk and use it to our advantage, "thinking outside the box". Sometimes play as if we're following what the opponent want, only for them to realize later that they have fallen in our trap.

DotA aspect
Mind games in DotA isn't easy. We need to be very familiar with many aspect of the games, particularly each item/spells in the game, their cooldown, the terrain as well as cooperation with teammates. Most of the time, mind games is crucial to determine whether we live or die in an attempt. Of course, sometimes luck plays important role in mind games. Bait the opponent (provoke them) either one-on-one or for tam battle, predict the opponent action, change your play style whenever necessary according to opponent action, use whatever the game feature has to offer (juke spots, runes, hills, wards, blink dagger, fog of war)
"Playing the mindgames is the art of tricking your opponent into doing something that you would like them to do. For example, making your opponents fight a battle where they can't win, or turning around with low HP after they've given up the chase to entice them into coming after you again. Alternatively, it can also mean predicting what your opponent is going to do, allowing you to get the upper hand by responding in the proper manner ahead of time."

some of the best videos showing the art of mind games:

Power of Flower

Title: Power of Flower
Artist: Itou Shizuka
From: Hayate no Gotoku Character vol.4 Katsura Hinagiku

ROMAJI

doko made mo massao na sora
nani yori mo massara na kokoro de!

sono hana ha taiyou o aogi
sono hana ha kaze to yume o uke te
sono hana ha mujaki na iro de
hanabira o hamingu de yurasu no

kakkou dake nara sayounara ' koi ' ja nai desho ?
jibun rashi sa o sono isshun o sakase nasai

Power of Flower
ima ha chiisaku te mo gun! to senobi o shi te
mi rai o miru no
Powerful Flower
sono tsubomi mo itsuka mune no do mannaka de
okkiku hanahiraku yo
Power of Flower

kimi ga moshi pinchi no toki ha
kimi no koto mamotte age tai no
kimi ga ima utsumuku no nara
nikkori to ashimoto de saku kara

kakkou waru sa mo kakkou ii kore ha ' ai ' ka na ?
eien tte kotoba mouichido dake shinji tai no

Power of Flower
ookiku te o hiroge gyu?! to dakishimeru you ni
motome te miru no
Powerful Girl
tenohira ni ha kibou furimui ta sono saki
kimi no egao ga atta
Power of Flower

Power of Flower
make rare nai kimochi!
nee, sokode mi te te ne!
Power of Flower

Power of Flower
ima ha chiisaku te mo gun! to senobi o shi te
mi rai o miru no
Powerful Flower
sono tsubomi mo itsuka mune no do mannaka de
okkiku hanahiraku yo
Power of Flower

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KANJI

どこまでも　真っ青な空
なによりも　まっさらなココロで!

その花は　太陽を仰ぎ
その花は　風と夢を受けて
その花は　無邪気な色で
花びらを　ハミングで揺らすの

格好だけならサヨウナラ　「恋」じゃないでしょ?
自分らしさを　その一瞬を　咲かせなさい

Power of Flower
いまは小さくても　ぐん!と背伸びをして
ミライを見るの
Powerful Flower
その蕾もいつか　胸のド真ん中で
おっきく花開くよ
Power of Flower

キミがもし　ピンチのときは
キミのこと　守ってあげたいの
キミがいま　うつむくのなら
にっこりと　足元で咲くから

格好悪さも格好イイ　これは「愛」かな?
永遠って言葉　もう一度だけ　信じたいの

Power of Flower
大きく手を広げ　ぎゅっ!と抱きしめるように
求めてみるの
Powerful Girl
手のひらには希望　振り向いたその先
キミの笑顔があった
Power of Flower

Power of Flower
負けられない気持ち!
ねえ、そこで見ててね!
Power of Flower

Power of Flower
いまは小さくても　ぐん!と背伸びをして
ミライを見るの
Powerful Flower
その蕾もいつか　胸のド真ん中で
おっきく花開くよ
Power of Flower

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Finally I've found this lyric after much lurking. By far Nipponsei has released 4 Character CD's of Hayate no Gotoku (Hayate, Maria, Nagi and Hinagiku), and among all character theme songs, I can say that this song is my favorite, second is Zo! by Rie Kugimiya (Nagi).
Now I'm waiting for Character CD vol. 5 (Isumi) and vol. 6 (Sakuya) to be released, perhaps soon enough.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (ひぐらしのなく頃に, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni? lit. When Cicadas Cry), known as When They Cry - Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni in the English version of the anime, is a Japanese murder mystery dojin soft visual novel series based on the NScripter engine, produced by 07th Expansion. The series is focused on a group of young friends and the strange events that occur in the village that they live in. The first game in the series, Onikakushi-hen, was released on August 10, 2002 and the eighth and final game in the original PC series, Matsuribayashi-hen, was released on August 13, 2006. In addition to the original series, new arcs have been created in manga and video game form in order to expand upon the story further.

The series became very popular and was later made into a set of drama CDs; the first, based on the Onikakushi-hen part of the story, was released on May 27, 2005. Later, a manga series adapted from the games began serialization in March 2006 in the Japanese manga magazine Gangan Powered, illustrated by Japanese artist Karin Suzuragi. Following the manga's release, an anime series by the Japanese animation studio Studio Deen aired in Japan weekly, starting on April 4, 2006, and adapted six of the original eight chapters. The second anime series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, began airing in Japan on July 6, 2007; it was animated again by Studio Deen.[4] A live action movie adaptation of the series, to be directed by Ataru Oikawa, has been announced for 2008.

The naku (なく, naku?) of the title has a double meaning. Firstly, naku can mean "to make sound" (鳴く, "to make sound"?), specifically referring to those sounds made by non-human organisms. Secondly, naku can mean "to weep" (泣く, "to weep"?). It so happens that the English verb "to cry" carries the same double meaning as naku. According to the original creator, Ryukishi07, the red Na (な) in the logo is an official part of the title.

wiki

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni/ひぐらしのなく頃に

Plot Summary: On one hot summer day in 1983, a transfer student named Maebara Keiichi comes to a peaceful rural village in Hinamizawa. There, he befriends his classmates Rena, Mion, Rika, and Satoko. Accepted as a full-fledged member of the "club," Keiichi and the gang plays all sorts of activities ranging from card and board games to hide-and-seek. But just as Keiichi was beginning to be assimilated in simple rural life, he stumbles upon the dark history of Hinamizawa. As Keiichi dives deeper into the mystery, he finds that his new found friends may not be all what they claim to be.
Frankly speaking, this series is kinda psiko. Yes, psychologically scary. The character design isn't something that may be appealing to me (looks generic, though their SD expression looks pretty cute sometimes), but the story, and most importantly, the killing scenes are what really horrified me. I do think it's even gruesome than that in Elfen Lied (especially the killing in Shion/Mion story arc). Each story arc end with the death of some, or all main characters in various ways. Some were stabbed with baseball bat, some got poisoned (the whole village actually), one stabbing her head with kitchen knife, one being burned to death, the excruciating nail-jabbing....Urgh...
Overall it's a good horror anime, a mix comedy and suddenly everything turned into horror. It is divided into 4 independent story arc, but the mystery of the whole series is only revealed in the 2nd season, where the truth is that all the previous story arc is related to one another (or should be said, story from different dimension, with Furude Rika being the connector). Then the 2nd season (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai) was released last April, and currently has reach episode 11. I've only watched till episode 5, and now we've got a more clear picture of what happened i season 1, as more secrets were revealed; plus the story is getting more interesting in the last story arc (episode 5 onward).

I started watching the first season of this series last year, after finishing my SSABSA exam and stop at abour episode 13 (the 2nd story arc) due to my holiday (and I need to spend it for my PS2 :3 ) Then about February I resume watching till the final episode 24, before commencing on the 2nd season. I stop watching it for awhile, since it's a continuous story and I feel it's better for me to wait till one story arc end before I start marathoning.


Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Psychological
Age rating: Mature (contain extreme violence, kinda. Murder, killing with kitchen knife, baseball bat, poison, slit throat, anything you ask)

OP of season 1 (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni) | reverse version |
OP of season 2 (Naraku no Hana) | reverse version |
*notice the similarity between the reverse and the ori of the opposite season?


Screenshots:




Oh and the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni live-action movie is in progress.

Man Utd: Update #2

Unconvincing start

Man Utd start their 2007-2008 unconvincingly, scoring only 4 goals in 6 matches and conceding 2. They draw their first 2 matches against Reading and Portsmouth, lost against local darby Manchester City and then finally be able to make 3 consecutive 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspurs, Sunderland and Everton. Their lack of penetration up front really worries me; Tevez can't do much in forward if he plays as lone striker, Saha hasn't fully fit to play 90 minutes on the field, Rooney got injured in the very first match of the season though he's recovering much quicker than expected, should returning anytime soon), Christiano Ronaldo suspended for 3 matches for his red card against Portsmouth, and latest is Mikael Sylvester had another injury in yesterday match against Everton. I really hope with the possibility of Rooney returning in this wednesday Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon, they could rack up more goals than usual.


Champions League

The group stages of European Champions League has been decided, with man Utd placed in group F with Sporting Lisbon, AS Roma and Dynamo Kiev. This is quite and interesting match, considering 2 former Sporting player will be able to revisit their former club (Nani and Ronaldo), while the clash against AS Roma may involve some crowd conflict and brings back memories of last season quarter final. Overall this may be a tough group for Man Utd.


Solksjaer the legend

Finally Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has decided to retire due to continuous knee injury. It's a tough desicion he had to make after all.
Nicknamed 'The Baby-Faced Assassin', the Norwegian scored a string of vital goals during 11 years with The Red Devils. Solskjaer will be forever remembered in United folklore for scoring the dramatic winner in the UEFA Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 1999. That goal was one of almost 130 he scored for The Red Devils after joining from Molde in a £1.5million transfer 11 years ago.
He made over 360 appearances for the club, but recent seasons have been blighted by injury. The 34-year-old did maintain a level of fitness last season, scoring 11 goals as United won the title and reached the FA Cup final. Upon confirming his retirement, the 34-year-old paid tribute to all those who have offered support during his battle with injuries in recent seasons.
"I would like to thank the manager, the coaching and medical staff and most of all the supporters, who have supported me through my career," Solskjaer told the club's official website. "

Valkyrie Profile Silmeria Revisited

1st part: Valkyrie Profile series

I's almost 2 years since I play Valkyrie Profile Silmeria, and now I really missed this game so much that I can't wait to replay this game when I go home this December.

Dropping here just to give my review of this game:

Valkyrie Profile 2 Silmeria

Platform: PS2
Gameplay :
Field: It's a linear 3D exploration, with various features which enables you to reach various place by jumping, crystal shooting manipulation; Sealstone system which enhance both field and gameplay; beautifully rendered 3D environment; enemies are visible (thus player can choose either to engage or avoid fight)
Battle System Player control 4 characters using corresponding button, the battle skills can be set up at menu and they reach as what the skills has been set. As Heat Gauge arise due to multiple hits and reach 100, player can execute Soul Crush (special power in VP2). Break Mode feature, where player can break apart the enemies piece by piece, and thus gain advantage.
Others: Vast sidequests such as Einherjar recruiting to enhance your party, many unreachable treasure which can only be obtained by manipulating the games feature, great post-game dungeon (Seraphic Gate) which offer even more powerful characters into party. Simply put, I'm very amazed with this game ^^

Party : 4 characters can be chosen for a party, ranging from the main character to the recruited Einherjar to aid you in battle. Releasing einherjar with powerful equipment grants you various stat-boosting items, so it's advantageous to eep the Einherjar till reaching Seraphic Gate so that the einherjar have powerful item for Perfect Release.

Story : Story takes place before the events in Valkyrie Profile Lenneth, where the current Batyle Maiden is Hrist Valkyrie. However, the youngest of the 3 Valkyrie, SIlmeria Valkyrie soul suddenly awakened in a girl body named Alicia, princess of Dipan. While Silmeria is trying to protect Alicia's kingdom, Dipan from being atttacked by the God (Asgard) due to violation of Dragon Orb, the plot twisted midway, where another vilain appeared in pursuit to conquer Asgard and the great 4 Treasures. And thus ALicia, with the aid of a semi-elf Rufus and some more comrades met along the way, makes her journey accross the world in order to save not just Midgard and Asgard, but the balance of the world.
Overall, the story might not be as enticing as it seems to you, with lack of romance, but I still love how the story progress, especially since it involve Norse-Scandinavian myth.

Language : English/Japanese
Player(s) : 1
My Rating: 10/10

screenshot:

Raison D'etre

Title: Raison D'etre
Artist: KAREN/Denshiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan/電気式華憐音楽集団
From: Gun Katana Sound Archives


ROMAJI

ashita he mayou toki mo kokoro yamu toki mo
kakugo mise ta kase ni kokoro shizume te

kyou o ikiru tsumi mo kiduki shiru tsumi mo
uke te kizamu hodo ni kokoro furuwa se

kiyoki mitama de inori sasageru yori
kegare ta ude ni uketome te i tai

atae rare shi kuroki chikara de kuchiku seyo
senmetsu no jubaku o uchinuke
iki te mamori tai to negau ha
tsuyoku atsui omoi de umare ta inochi no kate
Raison d ' etre

hidoku itamu mune no yurushi kake ni shi te
mayoi tatsu no kodoku kiru ha surudoku

iyashi motome te mae de tomaru yori
erabu tsuyo sa ni kono minage dashi te

atae rare shi kuroki hagane ni te o soe te
senmetsu no junan o kirisake
iki te fure te tai to negau ha
tsuyoku hakanai ai ni umare ta inochi no bake
Raison d ' etre

atae rare shi kuroki chikara de kuchiku seyo
senmetsu no jubaku o uchinuke
iki te mamori tai to negau ha
tsuyoku atsui omoi de umare ta inochi no kate

shishi te nemuri tai to negau mo
tsuyoku itamu omoi ni yagate ha mezame te yuku
iki te fure te tai to negau ha
tsuyoku hakanai ai ni umare ta inochi no bake
Raison d ' etre

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KANJI

電気式華憐音楽集団
歌唱：華憐　　作詞・作曲・編曲：電気

明日へ迷う時も　心病む時も
覚悟みせた枷に　心鎮めて

今日を生きる罪も　気付き知る罪も
受けて刻むほどに　心ふるわせ

清き御霊で　祈り捧げるより
けがれた腕に　受け止めていたい

与えられし黒きチカラで駆逐せよ
殲滅の呪縛を撃ち抜け
生きて護りたいと願うは
強くあつい想いで　生まれた命の糧
Raison d'etre


酷く痛む胸の　許しかけにして
迷いたつの孤独　切るは鋭く

癒し求めて　まえで止まるより
選ぶ強さに　この身投げ出して

与えられし黒きハガネに手を添えて
殲滅の受難を切り裂け
生きて触れてたいと願うは
強く儚い愛に　生まれた命のばけ
Raison d'etre


与えられし黒きチカラで駆逐せよ
殲滅の呪縛を撃ち抜け
生きて護りたいと願うは
強くあつい想いで　生まれた命の糧

死して眠りたいと願うも
強く痛む想いに　やがては目覚めてゆく
生きて触れてたいと願うは
強く儚い愛に　生まれた命のばけ
Raison d'etre

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Fairy Yui is back!!!! I fall in love with this song he moment I listened to them. My first thought is, her voice sound much much similar to Fairy Yui of Yousei Teikoku, though I never heard of KAREN band before. Then I found out that she is indeed Fairy Yui, under different band. Pretty much implies this blog name...
Nevertheless, Gun Katana is an eroge just released in August, with this song as the OP. What a pretty dark themed for this type of games. But the darkish/ gothic style is a trademark of Fairy Yui, things I like about her song :3

IRB Rugby World Cup 2007

Official Site
IRB Rugby World Cup 2007

So today IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 is officially begin, one I'm looking forward since England lift the title 4 years ago, defeating Assie thanks to Wilkinson free kicks in extra time, bringing the trophy to the northern hemisphere.

The Polls:
Group A:England, South Africa, Samoa, USA, Tonga
Group B:Australia, Wales, Fiji, Canada, Japan
Group C:New Zealand, Scotland, Italy, Romania, Portugal
Group D: France, Ireland, Argentina, Georgia, Namibia

The opening match on Saturday morning involve France vs Argentina, where the South American make an impact by beating the host 17-12 (a boring game, full of free kicks rather than tries), followed by Italy vs New Zealand, Aussie vs Japan, England vs USA etc etc the following day (Saturday night). New Zealand and Australia totally demolish their opponent in their opening game. New Zealand beat Italy 76-14, while Aussie vs Japan, the only yesteday match that I watch, win by 91-3. That's quite impressive, considering that at halftime, they only at 23-3 (and getting 60+ score on the other half!)

pawned by time

This weekend is one of the most busiest day in my life as University of Adelaide student...ever! I (as well as other biotech student whom take Bio: Organism) need to hand in 5 assignment, 3 of which need to be submitted this Monday, 10th September. Plus, I got 2 practicals next week, so I need to make preparation for them as well.

First, Biology: Human Perspective online quiz, which is due to today, 4pm. I finish them yesterday afternoon for 17 marks out of 20. Hm..kinda OK for someone who didn't go to Stephen Wood lectures due to his boring speech which manage to hypnotize me to sleep. Well even reading the lecture notes won't help much in that test, as they're extremely hard, some of which you need to repeatedly lurk in the internet for the answer.
Then, this Monday I need to submit Statistic: Life Science assignment 3, Biology: Organism Scientific Essay and Biology: Human Perspective Practical Report. I've already finish my Statistic assignment, and halfway through the Bio report, but the essay really going to kill me. I already accumulated sources from Barr Smith Library, and had my draft ready, but editing them to meet the requirement is what makes me pain. I may be able to finish it by Monday, but I prefer to extend it to maybe Wednesday, as I can consult my tutor for more guidance.
And then by the end of next week, I need to finish Chemistry Online Quiz which covers up to the first part of this semester lecture (worth 6 weeks of lectures). It's not that I'm not ready or what, but I doubt I have enough time to revise before taking the test, as I had my Chemistry and Biology Practical on the same day, Thursday. Uh...these are the most painful weeks...

Nevertheless, mid-semester break is just one week away, yaay!!!

Gun Katana Song Archives

album : Gun Katana Song Archives
artist: KAREN(Denshiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan/ 電気式華憐音楽集団)
year : August 2007
genre: games soundrack

Tracklist:
1. Raison d'etre
2. CHAIN
3. mugen no nemuri 夢幻の睡り
4. nemuri no mayu ネムリノマユ

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ok, this is sound archive from an eroge, but who cares, it's not like I'm going to play these (though it's kinda intriguing, an ADV/FPS style games, seems interesting). This voice....it sounds extremely similar to Fairy Yui of Yousei Teikoku!!!! And the music, just like those from Yousei Teikoku, are very nice!
Then I do some searching, and found this:

電気式華憐音楽集団 (Denkishiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan)

Denkishiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan (or Denkare) is a band (I think) created on the year 2001, which is formed by the next members:

- Denki (Lyricist, Composer)
- Karen (Vocalist, Lyricist)
- Shiki (Guitarrist)
- Dang (Chorus, I think)

They aren't very known in the musical world, except by some performance made for H-games, for example, MinD DeaD BlooD, GUN-KATANA, and others.

Their musical style is a blend of Heavy Metal (a la X Japan, HIZAKI, and others) and Electronic, with some gothic elements. I think that is the best form to describe their musical style.

Simply. Karen, the vocalist of Denkare sounds like Fairy Yui because she's Fairy Yui (or Yui Itsuki, their real name) from Yousei Teikoku, or this seems to be, because in the Yui's official site doesn't appear the information about their musical performances on both bands, but there are other additional date, and is the birth date of Yui Itsuki. The birth date of her is October 25 (the year is unknown), which is the same birth date of Yui from Yousei Teikoku and Karen from Denkare. With this date, I can conclude that Fairy Yui and Karen are the Yui Itsuki's alias on their musical projects.

*Credit to LightChild for this infos*

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Full (or most) archive of Denkare Music collections can be found in this post:
http://serph-siden.blogspot.com/2009/12/denkare-music-collection.html

Desktop ver.3

this month theme, after reformatting =.= Still have no time to configure much, except for foobar2k.