Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

  "Pull up a chair by the Hearth!"

https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/media/

Gather around the fire and let the party begin!

Hearthstone is a free online CCG (Collecting Card Game) made by Blizzard Entertainment. The game is available to play on mobile or PC and supports Android and IOS platforms.

Hearthstone is a card game based on Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" and is considered the king of digital CCGs because it caused the genre to boom. Popular companies like Bethesda and Valve also followed suit to try to reap the success that Hearthstone had gained, but currently, the game is still really popular among a wide range of ages.

Hearthstone incorporates the lore of "World of Warcraft" in the game and uses it as a basis to create unique sets of playable cards. There are also 9 classes to choose from with each having their own different playstyle and theme. The game includes in-game purchases so that it gives the players the choice to spend real money and get packs for additional cards and aesthetics or become a Free-to-Play player and grind for gold to get packs. 

My Ranked match using a Warrior Class

Hearthstone is a game of luck and intellect. It really makes you think of what your next move should be and requires you think ahead of your opponent.  It may look kind of intimidating and hard to play at first but once you get to play for a bit, you will learn that the mechanics are fairly easy to understand but also provides enough depth for the older players to still enjoy. 

If you are already accustomed to the game and you really feel like you learned the basics, you should try climbing the Ladder. The ladder is another term for a Ranked Match where you battle other players to push your rank higher. Ladder is the competitive side of Hearthstone and is  where the current Meta, or strategy, is mostly seen and used in play. Hearthstone also offers other game modes like Solo Games where you can hone your skills against the Innkeeper, the Arena where you construct a deck by choosing form 3 sets of cards, the Adventures where you follow a story and defeat bosses, and finally the Tavern Brawl. Tavern Brawls, or so called TB, is a game mode that happens every Thursday and ends on Mondays. TBs typically follow a specific genre and is changed every week. 

Competitions also happen in hearthstone. Every year, they conduct competitions with contestants around the world to compete and become champions. Mini gatherings can also happen near your neighborhood. These small gatherings are called "Fireside Gatherings". Fireside Gatherings can include exclusive rewards like aesthetics for your class or for your deck depending on the person that created the gathering.

https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/21906557

Hearthstone also has expansions that have different themes. Currently, Hearthstone has 8 expansions and 4 adventures and the 9th expansion will be released this August 7. Hearthstone also has the "Wild" system where old cards and expansions will be sent to the Wild game mode and are unplayable in Ranked or Standard games. Blizzard really did a good job in maintaining and creating Hearthstone and the community really appreciates the effort put into the game.

To conclude, Hearthstone is a very interesting and fun game. It is filled with unexpected events, random plays, and even mishaps and misfortune. It is also easy to understand and easy to learn. Once you get to understand the game, you will become addicted to it and spend more than thousands of hours playing it.

References Used:

- http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/03/13/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-review

- https://www.pcgamer.com/hearthstone-review/

- https://playhearthstone.com/en-us

"Blog #2: Keyboard Warriors and Internet Fallacies"

"Internet Fallacies"

THESE ARE THE INTERNET FALLACIES THAT I CHOSE TO SHOW:

  "APPEAL TO PITY"

This fallacy is "Appeal to Pity" because he is asking
for people to take pity on him by crying and saying
that they do not understand him

"APPEAL TO AUTHORITY"

This fallacy is "Appeal to Authority" because in this post,
Internet was used as evidence for the argument.

"APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE" 

This fallacy is "Appeal to the People" because Albert Einstein was used
and he is an influential and well known person.

"HASTY GENERALIZATION"

This fallacy is "Hasty Generalization" because the woman here
said that all men are the same without much evidence to
support her argument

"EQUIVOCATION"

This fallacy is "Equivocation" because the word "Piston Rod" is
misinterpreted as the male genitalia

Review:

- There are many Fallacies in the Internet and social media these days. People tend to use these fallacies to have the upper hand on an argument but these tend to get the persons arguing to be off topic and lose sight of what they are talking about. The common things about the fallacies I have shown and used is that they are all memes. These memes use these fallacies for fun and to have a good laugh but this is not an excuse to use fallacies. The Internet is a pretty vast and advanced place. There are also advantages and disadvantages in using the Internet and social media for the expression of one’s thoughts. The advantage of these is that you can have a place to unwind and release your inner emotions and feelings. You can also help other people by updating them of the current trend in today’s modern society. Encouraging others and correcting the wrong can also be an advantage in freedom of expression in the Internet and social media. The disadvantages of using the Internet and social media is the over reacting of someone to a post that is not needed to over react upon. The freedom of expression can be a disadvantage because too much freedom in expressing oneself can cause pain and distress to others. Some people can also be offended if you do not use proper netiquette in conversing and correcting their wrongs. I can be a responsible user of the social media and Internet by trying to no use fallacies to get the upper hand in an argument against another person. I will also observe proper netiquette while conversing to other people so that I will not offend or hurt anyone in the process. An advice I can give to the Keyboard Warriors out there about the proper use of social media is that they also need to observe proper netiquette and not just randomly rant about anything they think of or wanted to say. They should also consider the time, place, and their audience to avoid unnecessary dispute and misunderstandings. They should also try to avoid using fallacies just to win an argument because it may be useful this one time but it will not help you next time you use it. If they use fallacies, they will have a hard time having a proper conversation because their conversation will always be derailed and go off to another topic until they will not remember what they are originally having an argument about. Another piece of advice is that ranting and saying nonsense will just waste your time so why not use your time wisely and converse in a proper manner because doing it repeatedly will make it a habit. They should also think before they click and also remember that regret is always at the end.

Blog #1: Movie Review - "Inside Out"

"Inside Out"

Information: 

• Release Date: June 9, 2015
• Directed By: Pete Docter 
• Produced By: Jonas Rivera
• Story By: Peter Docter & Ronnie Del Carmen
• Casts: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Lewis Black, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan

Main Characters:

• Riley Andersen- An 11-year-old Hockey Lover
• Bing-Bong- The Imaginary friend of Riley when she was a little kid
• Joy- Riley's Main Emotion and is the one who makes everything happy
• Sadness- She is the pessimistic emotion of Riley
• Anger- The "Angry" one... no, Literally
• Fear- He's the emotion that keeps Riley safe from harm
• Disgust- She's the Picky one

Synopsis:

- Inside out is a movie about a girl named Riley and her emotions Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. As she grows older her memories are stored in colorful balls(depending on the emotion felt) and is sent to the Headquarters where the emotions operate. There are also 5 "core memories" of Riley's childhood that make up her personality and take form of floating islands in her head. When Riley turned 11, she and her parents moved to San Francisco. So, Joy and the others tries to guide her through the new environment. Being in a new place seemed frightening but Joy, Rileys main/ important emotion, tries to keep everything positive. Everything seemed fine but Joy and Sadness winded up far from the head quarters because they chased the core memories leaving Anger, Disgust, and Fear alone. Now they must return to the Headquarters so that Riley may experience Happiness and Sadness again.

Movie Review:

- In the movie, they told us that emotions are very important to us and is part of being a "Human". Without it, we may not express ourselves thoroughly, know what we like, or know how to react to situations properly. What exactly is being a human? Is it living, breathing and socializing? Is it embracing ones weakness and strength? In my perspective, being a human is to express your emotions and enjoying life no matter the hardships. Suppressing unwanted emotions can be also tell you that you are a living human. When I saw the movie, I thought to myself "Are there really humanoid emotions inside us that controls us and keep our memories?", "Do people change their attitude because of the new environment they are in?", "Are bottled up emotions really bring pain and distress to the person?", "Will losing our emotions do us any harm?". These question seems to bother me from time to time even after the movie. The character I can relate to is Riley Andersen. Why?Because based on my personal experience, going to new places and settling there can be nerve-wrecking because you need to start anew and you do not know anyone. It's hard for me to be acquainted or open up to anyone because of my shy, introverted nature. It is also pretty embarrassing to mess up in the first day of class because it might determine the rest of your school year. To be friendless the whole year or to have a fun school life surrounded by friends. Emotions can be hard to suppress sometimes if you are pushed to the limit. Enduring it for a long period of time may also cause you distress and pain, so letting out some of it little by little will not cause any major problems. Leaving the place you grew up and experienced a lot can also be hard and frustrating, but its just in the beginning. Sooner or later you will feel at ease in the new place you are settling in. The insights that i have gained are: Emotions can really affect your choices of words, Your mood and the way you move. It is not always bad to be sad because you may come to realize something from being sad and it can brighten your mood. In terms of leaving of losing something, it can be a way of encouragement or inspiration to not let something like that ever happen again by improving yourself and trying to learn from mistakes. These insights can be relevant by learning human emotions,if they are moody, optimist, pessimist, etc, and their habits like tilting their head if they are confused. These insights will help guide me to my goal in life by learning to understand someone and react to certain situations. It can also help me make someone's mood better by talking and listening to their worries and problems. Emotions are really powerful. They can change our entire mood or selves just by experiencing something. They also have the power to destroy us internally through depression, stress, and the like. Regulation, suppression, and how to release the pent up anger can help one's mental health a lot.