[2003.08.13 0045h]

   [music] .hack//game music perfect collection \\ ev05

i think the best video game bosses are the ones that kill you the first
time you encounter them, and that you barely beat the second, third, or
fourth time around.  in trying to beat them, you must study their attack
patterns, analyze your resources, and form effective strategies.  the
bosses you defeat the first time around are generally pushovers that you
forget about quickly, and the ones that take five or more times to beat
are usually frustratingly difficult.  but for the ones that take you a few
times to beat, you remember the strategies that failed and the one that
finally succeeded, how the adrenaline coursed through your veins as you
frantically ran around, near death, trying execute those final attacks,
and how relieved you were when you finally defeated the boss.

the song above is the song for the final boss of .hack//infection.  the
boss is formidably strong, and i believe it took me three or four times to
conquer.  the boss' most powerful attacks are both hauntingly beautiful
and gut wrenchingly disastrous at the same time.  the music for the boss
is strangely enchanting and adrenaline inducing, and complemented the boss
stage rather well.

for those of you designing video games, i urge you not to make your final
boss light years more difficult than any of your previous bosses.  about a
year ago, i played a role playing game in which, at first, the final boss
seemed difficult but conquerable.  after dying a few times, i finally
defeated the boss, only to see it take on a ridiculously more powerful
form.  obviously, my resources had already been mostly depleted by that
point, so i was no match for the new form of the boss.  repeated attempts
at defeating the boss were unsuccessful.  it didn't even appear as if i
was even injuring the boss in any significant manner.  eventually, i just
put the game aside, since investing enough time to build my character up
enough to be able to handle the final boss just didn't seem worth it.

i have this huge headache right now.  unfortunately, my room's window
opens right out into the parking lot, and i think some car outside has
been emitting excessive toxic fumes.  i've already closed the window, but
i still have the headache.

at least it's not as bad as my room's window location last year.  for some
reason, the area directly outside my window last year often smelled like
feces.  sometimes, friends who walked up to my window to greet me
commented on the smell.  i had searched multiple times for the source of
the smell, but i never found it.