Mom's Minute

February is Black History Month

I believe it is fitting to recognize Black History Month, following the call to serve from Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in January.  [Black History Month], of course, was celebrated long before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday became a national holiday.  In fact, the second week in February was designated Black History Week back in 1926.   This week was chosen because it was the time period for both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass' birthdays.

It expanded from a week long celebration to a month in 1976 when the government acknowledged the Leaders of the Black United Students at Kent State University's initiative to make it a month-long recognition. Black History Month in February has been a month-long celebration ever since.

Black History 2013 Theme as shown by San Antonio College

In my opinion, Black History Month -- as well as other months-- can be recognized just as much to celebrate the human spirit as it is to  learn about the achievements of great African-Americans.  Every day, ordinary people, in their own lives have probably overcome trials and tribulations that are not only to be admired, but also to be shared with others as inspirations to demonstrate the power of the human spirit.

Celebrating the human spirit

That being said, it is worthy to reflect and respect contributions to society of those who came before us, are with us now, and will be contributors not only in the present , but for future years to come.

 Here is a link to an interactive game, entitled "Free at Last?" that shows contributions by great African-Americans.  Once on the site, simply click on the icon of your choice and choose the date you would like to find out who and what was done to further advance our society as a whole.

Source is the BBC website, February 2, 2013.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/hist/freeatlast/timeline/enhanced/

Scene from Black Mesa

On this day to volunteer and to provide service, it is fitting to recognize a volunteer video game group working to develop a game.  That video game is Black Mesa.

This game is being crafted by a group composed completely of volunteers.  If you have played this game, you may be able to sense the amount of work and creativity that went into reimaging the original game, Half-Life, to a game that has more detail, yet sticks with the source material.

Black Mesa 

In this game, there are characters and enemies that you encounter that are from Half-Life.  However, the developers have gone a step further and provided more modernized gameplay as well as shorter sections to reduce repetitions. Additionally,  during gameplay, you will spend less time crawling around in vents.  The chapter set in the alien world is missing, and may be added later.  The volunteer development group working on this video game is called the Black Mesa Modification Team.

Black Mesa

Unfortunately, this game has been in development by the team for some time now -- currently more than eight years.  The revamping of the original 14 year old title, Half-Life, does not appear to be an overnight feat. In fact,  due to its extended development time, some gamers are comparing this game to Duke Nukem Forever.

The initial release of the game occurred on September 14, 2012, which consisted of chapters from Half-Life except for those set in the alien nation. It is playable on the PC and is available as a free download from Steam.

A specific date for the final version of the game was unavailable at press time. Hopefully the all volunteer development team will release a final version soon.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2  DLC

If you have been waiting for new downloadable content (DLC) for Call of Duty Black Ops 2 video game, you will not have to wait much longer.  DLC for Call of Duty Black Ops 2, Revolution, will be released on January 29, 2013 for the Xbox 360.  The DLC contains four multiplayer maps, new zombies' environments, a zombie mode, and a bonus weapon.

The maps are:

--Hydro -- Location is the edge of Pakistan which includes buildings joined by a large spillway

--Mirage -- Consists of a demolished China Gobi desert and includes destroyed vehicles at a place that at one time used to be a luxury resort.

--Grind -- A Venice Beach skate park with lots of curved walls 

--Downhill -- The first snow level of Call of Duty Black Ops 2 located in the French Alps

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Revolution DLC

The Zombie level gameplay, Die Rise, begins in a destroyed hotel-like building. During your adventures, not only will you, as the gamer, need to escape zombies, but because of the unstable environment, you will also have to be on the lookout for buildings and infrastructure video game  dangers as well.

The game mode in Die Rise is called "Turned" with a diner as its locale.  The gameplay consists of one human against three zombies.  This is a fast-paced  game where your goal is to survive five minutes without being victimized by the zombies.

According to Zombies Design Director of Activision, Jimmy Zielinski, the zombie environment "brings a lot of verticality and risk to your movements....If you run and turn the corner,  the corner may not be there."  His advice is to  "Take it slow, find out where you are, and make a plan, and don't die."

Scene from Call of Duty Black Ops 2 DLC

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 DLC, priced at 1200 Microsoft points, will be available on Xbox Live on January 29, 2013.  The DLC is expected to be available for the PS 3 and PC a month or so later.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 video game is rated M for Mature.

Magicka

Magicka is celebrating its two-year anniversary by giving you a video game birthday gift.  From January 18, 2013 until January 20, 2013, you can play Magicka on your PC for free.  This game originally sold on Steam for $9.99; was subsequently reduced to $2.49 and is now free-to-play this weekend, ending January 20, 2013. This game is not a demo or downloadable content (DLC) -- you will have access to the full game from Steam for free. If you would like to purchase DLC, there's also a birthday sale going on.  You can get DLC for 75% off, so you will pay less than a $1.00 each for additional content.

Scene from Magicka

Magicka video game is not your "run of the mill" game.  It was released by Steam for the PC in January 2011.  Right off the bat, this game became a best seller, selling over 200,000 in its first 17 days.  Interesting enough, the game was not designed by big buster type developers, but was started by eight students from the Lulea University of Sweden. Since its release, the game has sold more than 1.8 million copies.

Magicka is an action adventure game that is playable on the PC with up to four players.  The players take on the role of wizards who work together to stop an evil sorcerer who has turned the world in a state of chaos and turmoil.  Of course since you are playing a wizard, you can cast spells or a combination of spells. Your goal is to stop the wizard's evil campaign.  Unlike similar type games, there is no character class system.  There is also no mana bars or energy meters that restrict the use of your special abilities in this video game.  Your magic can be cast without limits.

If this sounds like a free game you would like to play, you may download your copy from Steam.  The cutoff date/time for this video game offer is Sunday, January 20, 2013, at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Dust 514

After more than a year in closed beta, the  Dust 514 video game moves to open beta.  CCP Games Executive Producer, Brandon Laurino, states that this game is in true beta.  He goes on to state that every aspect of the game, including the weapons, graphics and overall look of the game have changed. He divulged that the biggest change in the game is with the graphics which will undergo a complete overhaul -- even going so far as to introduce vegetation in the landscape.

Scene from Dust 514

Dust 514 is a free-to-play first person shooter and is the counterpart of another game -- Eve Online, which is CCP's first game.  The two games were joined together on January 10, 2013, with the open beta status announced January 22, 2013.

The game play takes place on the planets found on Eve Online. Gameplay includes Players' alliances and corporations being able to hire Dust 514 players as mercenaries to fight for control over the planets.

Dust 514

This game will be released exclusively for  the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita.  When asked if the game development would be impacted by the prospect of next generation consoles, Laurino seemed to be unfazed.  He stated that Dust 514 would continue to receive support on the PS 3.

CCP is expecting to release  the game some time in the  Summer, 2013  -- in time for Eve's 10th anniversary.