Sunday, March 20, 2011

Capture the Flag

I'm playing StarCraft 2 but the interface takes up my entire field of vision so that I don't even see the sides of the monitor. I have two groups of marines standing in 5 by 5 squares. My base is very sparse and there is a large tree in the middle of it, there is only one ramp up to my elevated fortress. I'm playing a new scenario, capture the flag. I'm focused on my base and flag defense. Unlike other capture the flag games, my units can pick up and move our flag. I try throwing it into a valley next to my base. Enemy units are approaching, also Terran, and I order everyone to the choke point on the ramp.

Then my view zooms in, way in, now I have a first person shooter interface. Jack Bauer is leading me on a covert operation behind the enemy forces assaulting our base, we pick off a large number of troops at the back of the formation. My marines have no problem handling the rest, but Jack and I have more work to do. He leads me to a cave and we plunge into the semi-darkness. Sliver sections of the cave are exposed to open air, wide enough to see out but too small to accommodate even the slightest person. We can see terrorists through some of the slots as we run through the cave system. We exchange fire sporadically, but somehow the echoes are muffled. I find it odd, but Jack isn't concerned about it. Finally the cave outlets after nearly a dozen micro fire fights. Jack scrambles up the steep wall and out the hole in the cave's ceiling, the only exit. I can't seem to get a good hand hold. I've been rock climbing before but nothing is coming to me and I'm starting to panic. I'm never going to get out before the bomb goes off. Jack tries to pull me up but I'm too heavy. I'm in full panic mode and there is nothing Jack can do to calm me down, so he leaves. I sit down and accept my bitter fate, glad I could help my marines as much as I did.

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