Stardew Valley - Addicted To Life

September 10, 2018 by Andrew Uphoff in Blog

Stardew Valley is an indie game that a friend of mine turned me on to. Though I had a lot of fun with games like Harvest Moon, I was a little skeptical of picking up a game like this as a working stiff at the age of 30.

However, I am really happy I gave it a chance.

What Kind Of Game Is Stardew Valley?

Well, it's essentially a farming game, and I do mean this in every sense of the word.

So when I say Stardew Valley is a farming game, you're farming everything from crops, to wood, to slimes, and even fishing plays a big part in the game.

That’s not all the game has to offer though.

Food Service - The Industry Of Culture

September 03, 2018 by Andrew Uphoff in Blog

The Food Industry: An economical beast so large, we can't fully track it's impact on the economy.

Given it's size and demand in the global market, is there a deeper reason that food is such a huge deal to people?

Of course there is.

Food has driven decisions in society from where people settle, to what kind of foods they choose to grow. Flavor, aroma, and presentation - these things are all the driving force behind the food industry.

The most sought after foods these days requires more and more work to prepare. Even basic sandwich recipes require a monumental amount of work to make available on a day to day basis.

When Did The Food Industry Change Everything?

From the start of civilization.

The Way Of The Future: Crafted Currencies

June 17, 2018 by Andrew Uphoff in Blog

For those of you not entirely sure what cryptocurrencies are, they're designed to be a decentralized system of currency run entirely by a new technology called blockchains. The idea is to make a currency valued solely by the users of it which leads the value of said currency to depend heavily on how the users choose to accept it. Seem difficult? It can be.

However I think it's important to remember this is how currency came to be in the first place. Even before paper currency there were resources that were warred over. One such currency is common and in great quantity in the average household. What could that currency be? Salt.

The value of salt was determined by it's uses in food preservation, as well as it's perceived scarcity at times. It wasn't until salt became common that we turned to other valuables as currency such as gold, precious metals, and even other resources like oil(current global trade standard). So what does the future of currency look like as society advances? That really all depends on how cryptocurrencies are handled in the coming years.

Sci-Fi Concepts: The Future of Video Games

June 13, 2018 by Andrew Uphoff in Blog

Video games have taken a strange place in culture as the world develops. With E3 2018 about to wrap up, I wanted to take a look at how video games may shape culture as they become more sophisticated and wide spread. Let's start with the Psychology of Avatars.

Studies have been conducted on multiple games and how the avatars people create effect their overall psychology. The consensus tends to be that a co-relation can be observed in a person's overall image of themselves, and what kind of characteristics the avatar they create will have. If you've ever made a game avatar this consensus probably won't surprise you.

Most gamers have at one point or another had issue with self-image. Not because they're gamers, but because they're people. It's pretty common place in a culture that places social stature on such a high pedestal. Will this trend stay the same as the technology for games becomes more sophisticated? What kind of effects will it have when full-dive virtual reality becomes reality?

Will a gamer be able to say the same about creating an avatar when they can look in the mirror and feel like that avatar? Would this do good? Or would it do harm? I think that highly depends on the person. Playing virtual reality, especially one that can simulate real feeling and emotion, will be a pleasure(or pain for some) that should be treated with caution not unlike any other addictive activity.

Soap Box: Sociocracy

April 27, 2018 by Andrew Uphoff

Democracy: The Cornerstone of modern society. Many cling to this idea as if it's the only thing can save humanity from itself. Yet as the world develops and Democracy is spread, how does this mentality effect the overall population? While I'm hardly a Psychlogist by trade, I do have the fortune to work in one of humanity's earliest culture driving professions: Hospitality.

Every day I spend making coffee and bringing food for every day folks in a small town. These are honest, hard working people who are doing their best for the people around them. Their hearts genuinely believe in the things they do day to day, even if some of those things are acted in ignorance. Yet there's something I can't shake about how they behave on day to day things that just irks me.

I've spent years trying to find why I always feel so angry and frustrated when dealing with people. There's a reason I stay in a job that makes me feel like I want to rip my hair out every day. Part of my observations have been seeing exactly how the concept of voting has changed over the years- and how those overall ideas have effected our culture.

Democracy and entitlement have created a strange sub-section of psychology within people that leads them to believe so fervently in their ideals that they're willing to pass laws to ensure those ideals are enacted. There doesn't seem anything particularly wrong on the surface to this idea. Follow me down this rabbit hole and hopefully I can help you understand.