Tag Archives: Elder

Can a 19-Year-Old Crush in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Still Spark Excitement?

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fDuring the 10-day span of summer 2006, I handed in my resignation from my first job at a gaming magazine and returned to Scotland to start college. My life revolved around eating, sleeping, and losing myself in an Xbox 360. That was my entire existence. I played as a Khajiit thief, resembling a dark Mankilion in sleek black leather armor, boasting impressive pickpocketing skills. One afternoon, I decided to attempt stealing every item in the quaint town of Bravil, only to be apprehended by the guards for hours. I found myself running around, dropping random planks, cheese wheels, and trails of doublets.

Many of you may share similar experiences in Bethesda games—if not forgetting, perhaps in Skyrim or Fallout 3. Explore as you wish! Experiment with bizarre spells and test your luck against thieves! Venture into caves to battle necromancers, only to be ambushed by vampires! While open-world games like these may seem exhausting now, Forgetfulness was my introduction to gaming. Following Bethesda’s surprise release of a remake last Friday, I’ve been indulging in it nonstop.

It was indeed a surprise. The Oblivion Remake/Remaster is one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets, second only to the Switch 2, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating it for months. Over the last 20 years, Oblivion has gained notoriety for its technical quirks and amusing glitches, alongside its groundbreaking design. I was relieved to discover that Bethesda chose not to fix these quirks. Characters remain stuck in walls, reciting Asinine’s dialogue repeatedly. The facial animations still miss the mark. The game crashed mere minutes after Patrick Stewart’s opening line as the Emperor of Cyrodiil, and I found myself falling through the world, twice. Oddities happen so often that they’re rarely intentional. They are preserved in the Notorious voice-activated blooper, a perfect time capsule of ’00s accidental gaming comedy, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.




Game of choice without consequences… Elder Scroll: Forget.
Photo: Bethesda Game Studios

While Cyrodiil felt vast and picturesque, adorned with gentle, mystical ruins and rivers reflecting the light, by 2025’s standards, it feels quaint, resembling perhaps just the opening section of a much larger game map. (I’m particularly reminded of Avowed. It’s akin to a recent Elder Scroll offering from Microsoft Studio Obsidian.) The grand imperial city at the center feels more like a small village with interconnected districts housing around 30 characters. I still don’t understand how I spent over 100 hours in such a compact space as a teenager, but during a recent playthrough, I was astonished to find I remembered many details and had encounters with new characters from quests I’d not thought of in years.

In Oblivion, character development hinges on your actions. There’s no need to strictly choose between magic, stealth, or strength. Simply pick up a Great Sword and start using it. (The trick back then was to crouch in sneak mode, use a rubber band to hold the analog stick on the controller, and spin it until your stealth stats maxed out.) This mechanics creates a buffet-like experience where you can become a Battle Arena Champion all at once. It’s a game of choice without consequences, both forgiving and abundant, where a compact world unfolds around you.

I theorize that Bethesda RPGs offer only one immersive experience. You savor one life with Elder Scrolls, and each subsequent playthrough feels like an echo of the previous one. I spent numerous years playing Skyrim and Fallout 3, yet neither was completed. It turns out that Forgetfulness remains my game; newer, more refined open-world titles can often overwhelm me and push my patience to the limit. I still cringe at the hellish landscape of Forgetfulness, where battling the devil can feel like an eternity in a tower adorned with a flaming corpse. Its atmosphere recalls ’00s metal album art. Yet, the beauty of such a game is its ability to let you abandon the plot and explore carefree.

The Oblivion Remaster illustrates that older games don’t always need fixing—they may look different, but they retain their original soul. I believe my teenage self would agree.

What to do




One of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played… Blue Prince.
Photo: Dogubomb/Raw Fury

If you haven’t yet played Blue Prince, stop what you’re doing and download it immediately. You play as a teenage heir to a sprawling mansion, but there’s a catch: to keep it, you must uncover the secret 46th room. The mansion resets each time you sleep, making the routes different each day, and you’re left to discover randomly generated rooms you’ve never encountered before.

I played this with my eldest son. Memo Taker is the most captivating puzzle game I’ve experienced. Even upon discovering Room 46, there remains a deep mystery to explore. Several acquaintances I know have become completely engrossed in it. Its calming pace and intellectual challenges make it perfect for when you’re recuperating. Your reward for playing is always greater knowledge.

Available on: PC, Xbox, PS5
Estimated playtime: Over 30 hours

What to read




Fun and strange… split fiction.
Photo: Electronic Arts

  • Sydney Sweeney stars in the film adaptation of the Hazelight cooperative game Split Fiction. What do you think? Are you planning to work on it? My partner and I are currently midway through the game, and it’s a blast—odd and enjoyable, yet the plot and character development are… not particularly complex.

  • According to Video Game Chronicle, in October they shared details about The Ghost of Yotei, a sequel to the visually stunning, yet bloated, Ghost of Tsushima. “Players will pursue Yotei Six, a group of warriors responsible for devastation in Japan,” they reported. “As players hunt them down, the sash worn by the main character Atsuu will present the names of the Yotei Six being sought,” reminiscent of Arya Stark.

  • Call of Duty’s Warzone has gained fame for its quirky celebrity appearances, enabling players to take down a host of famous figures, including Nicki Minaj and Lionel Messi. The latest addition? Seth Rogen, as part of the new (Heaven help us) “Weed-themed Content Package.”

  • An important essay from Gizmodo raises a pertinent question: Is it time for a Predators game?

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Question block




Divergence… Isabela Merced and Bella Ramsey from Season 2, our final episode 3.
Photo: Warner Bros Discovery

This week’s question comes from reader Toby:

“All video game movies and TV shows seem cursed, and I want to understand how adaptations of Our Last of Us Part II turn out in the end. I really feel that the interactive medium enhances that sentiment and theme. Can a story still carry the same impact when adapted to a passive medium? Which great video game narratives do you think cannot be adapted effectively into movies or shows?”

Having just watched the third episode of Season 2 of Our Last of Us, it’s evident that this season deviates more from the game’s plot compared to Season 1. As you’ve noted, the emotional depth of the game hinges on experiencing it from multiple perspectives, thus necessitating a different approach. Nevertheless, the first game’s emotional weight came from Joel’s actions, whether you agreed with them or not. The series couldn’t replicate that dynamic, so they introduced fresh perspectives and expanded on existing narratives, showcasing the practical, even if less engaging, aspects. I’m particularly drawn to the remarkable episodes featuring Bill and Frank. This embodies the essence of adaptation: offering something novel.

Based on this: No great video game stories cannot be transitioned to film or television by a skilled and insightful writer. The critical terms here aren’t simply related to literal translation; movies and shows need to provide new interpretations and viewpoints. However, many games with weak narratives could make engaging TV shows or films, given that a true visionary is at the helm.

If you have questions for the question block or anything else you’d like to share regarding the newsletter, feel free to hit reply or email us at butingbuttons@theguardian.com.

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Reason Behind Cameras Suddenly Appearing at Elder Care Facilities

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The supportive living facility in Edina, Minnesota, where Jean H. Peters and her brothers operated their mother in 2011 looked lovely. “But you start to discover things,” Peters said.

Her mother, Jackie Hoygan, was 82 years old and widowed with memory problems.

“She wasn’t in the bathroom so her pants would be soaked,” said Peters, 69, a retired nurse prettier in Bloomington, Minnesota. She dropped to 94 pounds.

Most ominously, Peters said, “We’ve noticed that we’ve noticed that there’s no bruise in her arm.” The complaint to the administrator brought “many excuses” directly, by phone and email.

So Peters bought a cheap camera from Best Buy. She and her sisters set it up on the fridge in their mother’s apartment.

Monitoring from the app on the phone, the family watched Hourigan go for hours without any changes. They heard her screaming and yelling at her assiding her, treating her roughly.

They saw another aide woke her up for breakfast and leave the room despite the fact that he opened the door to his heavy apartment and was unable to go to the dining room. “It was traumatic to know that we were right,” Peters said.

In 2016, after filing a police report and lawsuit, Peters helped discover the elder voice advocate after his mother’s death. Minnesota passed in 2019.

Though they are still controversial subjects, care facilities cameras have acquired status. By 2020, eight states will join Minnesota and enact laws that allow them to be made. According to national consumer voices for quality long-term care: Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington.

Since then, the pace of legislation has been featured, with nine states in place: Connecticut, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. Several other laws are pending.

California and Maryland use guidelines rather than law. State governments in New Jersey and Wisconsin lend cameras to families who are interested in the safety of their loved ones.

But Bill was defeated too. Recently in Arizona. March, second year, Camera invoice It overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives, but failed to get floor votes in the state Senate.

“My temperatures are getting a little higher now,” said Rep. Quang Nguyen, a Republican, who is the main sponsor of the bill and plans to reintroduce it. He denounced Arizona’s opposition from industry groups, including Reading, representing nonprofit aging service providers, for the failure of the bill to pass.

The American Medical Association, whose members are primarily for commercial use, has not achieved national status on camera. However, the local affiliate also opposed the bill.

“These people who vote for no should be called out publicly and said, ‘You don’t care about the elderly population,'” Ngguen said.

Some camera laws only cover nursing homes, but most also include living support facilities. Most obligations require residents (and roommates) to provide written consent. Some people are looking for signs to warn staff and visitors that their interactions may be recorded.

The law often prohibits tampering with cameras and retaliation against residents who use them, and “contains stories about people who have access to the footage and whether it can be used in lawsuits,” added Lori Smetanka, executive director of National Consumer Voice.

It is unclear how seriously the facility takes these laws. Some relatives In the interviewed report for this article, the administrator said that cameras were not allowed, but never mentioned the issue again. The cameras placed in the room remained.

Why is it a surge in legislative conditions? During the Covid-19 pandemic, families have been locked up from the facility for several months, Smetanka noted. “People are looking at their loved ones.”

The change in technology has probably contributed to Americans as they become more comfortable with video chats and virtual assistants. Cameras are almost ubiquitous in public places, in workplaces, in police cars, in police uniforms and in people’s pockets.

Initially, camera propulsion reflected fears about the safety of loved ones. Kari Shaw’s family, for example, had already been sacrificed by a trusted home care nurse who stole the painkillers her mother had prescribed.

So when Shaw and his sisters, who live in San Diego, moved their mother to life in Maple Grove, Minnesota, they quickly set up a moving camera in her apartment.

Their mother, 91, is severely disabled and uses a wheelchair. “Why wait for something to happen?” Shaw said.

In particular, “people with dementia are at high risk,” added Eilon Caspi, a gerontologist and researcher of elder abuse. “And they may not be able to report the incident or recall the details.”

But these days, families simply use cameras to keep in touch.

Anne Sewardson, who lives in Virginia and France, uses the Echo Show for a video visit with her 96-year-old mother at Memory Care in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Art Siegel and his brother had a hard time talking to their mother, who was 101, who was helping her live in Florida. Her cell phone frequently died as she had forgotten to charge it. “I was worried,” said Siegel, who lives in San Francisco and had to call the facility and ask staff to check on her.

Now, an old-fashioned phone is installed next to her favorite chair, and a chair-trained camera uses a trained camera to know when she can speak.

As Camera discussion Continuing, the central question remains unanswered. Do they enhance the quality of care? “There are studies that are not cited to back up these bills,” said Clara Bellidge, a gerontologist at the University of Washington. We are researching elder care techniques.

“Do cameras actually prevent abuse and neglect? Will the facility change or improve its policies?”

Both camera opponents and supporters cite concerns about the privacy and dignity of residents.

“You should also consider the importance of ensuring privacy during visits related to mental, legal, financial or other personal issues,” Reading spokesperson Lisa Sanders said in a statement.

You can turn off the camera, but it’s probably unrealistic to expect residents and growing staff to do so.

Furthermore, surveillance can treat these staff as “survivors who have to stop bad behavior,” Dr. Bellige said. She has seen facilities that have cameras installed in all residents’ rooms.

Ultimately, experts can’t replace the improved care that hinders problems, even if the camera detects them. It is an effort that requires engagement from families, better staffing by facilities, training, supervision, and more aggressive federal and state oversight.

“I think of cameras as a symptom, not a solution,” Dr. Bellidge said. “It’s a band-aid that can distract you from the difficult question of how to provide high-quality, long-term care.”

The new old age, KFF Health News.

Source: www.nytimes.com