Due to the recent slump in crypto, my travel plans now have to take a backseat. Thanks to technical analysts, I've lost so much and now have to budget travel! Just joking. Anyway, I've made it to Ancient Egypt. So how did I travel back to 50 BC, 2000 years ago? Well, through my special travel agent that goes by the name Assassin's Creed Origins. At only less than $100.00, who could refuse such an offer?
No idea why I'm forced to travel with weapons.
But they look cool on me, so whatever.
This is the Siwa lake.
What a beauty.
This is Siwa village.
But I soon got bored.
So I went out into the desert just up northeast.
And arrived in the outskirts of Alexandria.
Egyptian monolisks and Greek pillars all around town?
Ancient people really love those things, eh?
The Library of Alexandria, before it got razed into the ground.
Just had to take this shot..
Love the angles and pillars here.
Smoked some kush.
Aesthetic!
Woke up in some random party, with nobody..
Don't know what or who they're praying to.
I just stood around to feel holy for a moment.
Took a shot for my music album cover.
Another one.
Found an accountant counting stocks in the plaza.
A giant drain to funnel water into the city's main sewerage system?
Why's everybody hanging out here?
A poet told me the drain's stuck and needs a redesign.
So I took it to the board. Drew some circles and lines.
The Alexandrians thought I've fixed the problem.
Random picture of what looks like a communist-Egyptian building.
The Grand Palace.
Bling bling.
Sailed out into a picturesque bend of the Nile.
Crashed by some Greek wedding on the seaside.
Two guys were wrestling over food.
Arrived in some luxurious courtyard filled with palm trees.
I love palm trees.
Rode out with the horse race club to the Hippodrome.
Can you spot @donkeypong?
De-toured into some random village.
It was filled with giant kimchi jars.
Gotta keep them fermented.
Further down the road.
Love the view.
At the fringe of the desert, where tax-collectors frequently burn villages.
Along the Nile, by the countryside.
Wheat. Wheat everywhere.
Did you know that wheat turned us into sedentary creatures?
Nice desert picture 1.
Nice desert picture 2.
Nice desert picture 3.
Finally, I found a lady who doesn't mind rowing my boat home. I've only done like 20% of Ancient Egypt after 40 hours even with my parkour skills. Pictures of more places, pyramids, and their interiors in the next episodes!
This is amazing progress from video games and I really wonder about the ratio between historical accuracy and the game developers' imagination. If historical accuracy is good enough, this would be like a billion times more effective as a teaching tool than history textbooks.
I was thinking of using virtual reality for teaching history, but hey, this is already doing an amazing job!
There's actually an educational module without all the battle gameplay! https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2018/02/21/assassins-creed-origins-discovery-tour-may-be-the-best-assassins-creed-ever/#6ba7fd375d32
Sure, they've downsized the entire map to make the fun more condensed, but historically accurate (from other reviews, of course with a mix of fictional stuff thrown in as well).
That is really great! And teaching history or any other subject using virtual reality is such a great idea. How could students not stay attentive in an engaging virtual world?! It just might be the go-to way to educate in the future. The nice thing about it is that we can do it today. To quote Margaret Mead " A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
I just wrote a post on a great VR teaching program and kit: https://steemit.com/virtualreality/@esb/using-vr-virtual-reality-as-a-learning-tool-in-the-classroom
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Kevin, @kevinwong I got excited seeing Egypt in your post title! Reading your first few lines I thought, hey, if you're accustomed to swanky class, then budget is the way to travel to get a new experience :) Then, again, I thought, it's Egypt--everything is budget!
Now, I see that you were time-travelling and I don't feel so bad I was not there to show you around. Yes, the desert is a must-see, only I'd recommend visiting by night (on horseback, or camel) and taking a tour of the pyramids by moonlight. Also, delighted to see picture of sail boat on the Nile, a dreamy way to cool off and take in your surroundings.
Thanks, for the virtual visit. Some things have changed (more crowded, primarily) but the desert, ruins, palm trees and myths are still intact :)
Looking forward to seeing more of your trip in the upcoming episodes!
PS - a pic from my last trip back Home, few months ago:
psst - Interesting tidbit, if this sort of things interests you: It is a common myth that the word assassin comes from the Arabic word haschishin for hashish user.
Awesome Scenery and I like that the game is so long. I'd still not mention crypto to the Pharao. He might see it as a threat to his mightiness.
Ya, big crypto slump. I am also awaiting the turn around, not in a strange Egyptian gaming world, but in the reality of my midwestern home. I have captured a princess and I’m holding her hostage.
Hahaha! Great one mate! With the bloodshed on the crypto market, I have to convince my wife to reconsider our travel plans this year...our destination is Morocco btw!
Looking at these screenshots make me wish to have lived during those periods!
I did find @donkeypong on that picture! Lol!
Wondering what are kimchi jars doing in Egypt though!
Good morning @kevinwong
😂😂😂
Okay, permit me to laugh, haha. Man, for some moment I was wondering if I've gone nuts, now I see the beauty. This blog is a gem of a beauty, I love the way you toured ancient Egypt with the Assassin and yeah, the shots are awesome.
Yeah, I think I spotted @donkeypong 😀😀. He likes helping people, so I guess he was helping someone carry their load A-ha.
I'll be keeping my eyes glued to your blog for the next post. Cheers😊😊
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. you might dig this satirical how-to guide:
How To Earn $100,000 Per Month On Steemit As A High-Profile Crypto Technical Analyst (a.k.a. Bullshit Artist, a.k.a. Reward Pool Rapist)...
Lol. :-)
Man, it’s been years since I played video games, and holy shit, are those graphics ever stunning!!
We’re those snapshots taken from the computer game version, Xbox, PS4, ...?
Ten more year and I bet things will be quite close to the real thing.. lol. This was with my one-gpu pc, probably cost much less than $1000 now..
Hahaha! Smokin' the "Kush" and fixin' the drain sounds about right. This was fun. I've played a couple of these in my day a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Gotta say it brings back some memories. The graphics seem to have gotten loads better for sure bit your commentary was the icing on the cake! Enjoyed!
Hahaha... You got me, took me a while to wrap my head around how a tour of Egypt only cost 100 bucks. Brilliant :) Ok, I'm no gamer but the graphics look so good that I might just take up the tour :)
Wow, thats amazing!
Egypt was rich with ancient artifacts. In the olden times, they were unconquered kingdom until Moses came.
Hahahaha now this is plain awesome. When I started the post ,I thought you actually travelled to the great city if Egypt but on the contrary, you actually did but virtually. I love what you did with this piece man....Nice one here.
Nice @kevinwong you should have burned Egypt and Alexandria as you go by over there with the game.
"Budget travel with me" - that was a good one lol.
Nice screenshots, I hope they don't spoil too much, I still haven't played the last Assassins Creed :D
Nah there's so much to the game!
Amazing attention to detail in this game. Some of it looks so realistic.
Here's hoping for a better turn in crypto and you can continue your usual travel plans. ;-)
It's a work of art, and in a medium that not everything artists/programmers worked on will be discovered by players!
I'm a bit of history buff and I'm spotting some of the details. It's incredible how far games have come. The first game console I had was an Atari back in the 80's, then a Vic20, but it really all began with the C64 for me. It is with this machine that I dived into programming and computer graphics.
(Grandpa voice) "In my day, when I was a boy..."
@kevinwong, That's fantastic budget travel journey to Egypt bu you. It's amazing experience to you and especially to me. I studied before several years ago Egypt history. I have plan to travel Egypt. But not a time now. In future will do. You encourage me via your outstanding blog post. You've to got very cheap offer from your travel agent. ha ha ha.....So marvelous.
Omg...are you want to warrior? I looks like it. Siwa lake and village remind me those days experience with graphically. Alexandria is very ancient and traditional looking.Touch my mindset cool. Graphic designing gaming bringing me there across dream. You arrived me there Lol.... Also you bring me inside Pyramids and carrying The Mummy movie series.
Seems like you had an awesome time travelling on a budget! The photos look so good, somewhat surreal, it's almost as if they're from a game!
Thanks for this post, it really brightened up my day :D
Haha... you got me!! For a momenr I thought you actually went to Egypt! Awesome story telling @kevinwong!! 👍
Have you guys been there? I wanna go there now :D lol
Hehe, this made me laugh. Now I am off to scroll to the bottom comments to entertain myself even further ;O)
Well when you can't visit Egypt the traditional way, you can always do a virtual tour with Assassin's Creed XD!!! Believe me I have seen beautiful landscapes with PoP haha!!!
The graphics of this game is super. Kudos to the programmers. @kevinwong, it seems like you are really having a beautiful time. Carry me along please.
In other news, joke or no joke, the crypto saga is not only in your department. It has hit hard on all of us. I hope we get to smile soon.
One love
Ahh hahahaha good one! I believe it until I scroll and see your tag is funny gaming... very naive me....🙈
LOL. I bet in 10 years time it'll be way more difficult to tell the difference :)
Lol. Right now it's even difficult to tell from a distance.
Not quite photography but it's a pretty good way to travel. Particularly these days where you're dishing out an extra grand to avoid the sardine section on planes and standing in the security line for hours at a time. Or maybe that's just for those of us escaping Canaduh.
Hahaha. You just made me remember that I had a dream about pyramids last night. I search for the meaning of my dreams every morning. Hehehe. Am I weird ? 😛
Anyway, I recently made a travel post too, with my real body traveling places 😛😂. Check it out if you feel like.
Though it wont be as good as yours😅. I didn’t carry weapons with me, just my gadgets 🖥💁🏻♀️😛
I really enjoyed your post etherpunk 😃 keep it up .
Very photos, much egypt.
This is by far the best travel post I have seen. It feels like I have now been to ancient egypt to the same capacity that you have. Incredible.
Oh no, get the game and play it. It's pretty awesome!
I am not really the kind of person that love games and I don't hate it either, I am just an in between person when it comes to games, I play sometimes anyways mostly combat and adventure games, I prefer seeing movies more, but with what I read and saw on your post, I now feel like playing this particular game. The whole photography thing plus the way you explained the game stage by stage with pictures to go with it, @kevinwong you simply caught me there and right now the game is really tickling my fancy.
Interesting game I must say judging from what I saw and read on your post and the graphics is fantastic, enjoy yourself because it is a sure way of relaxing and easing stress.
It's a fairly relaxing game, and you can climb every structure you see so that's pretty awesome. I can't do this IRL lol.
The trip alone might be cheap, but the rig to support that trip must be worth a few thousand dollars. Especially we are in the deficit supply of GPU.
Oh I'm playing this on a machine I got 4 or 5 years ago! A single-gpu eth rig actually - R9 270x or something like that.
Wow, they last! But i guess you shouldn't get too much of FPS over high setting.
I'm never into gaming. This is pretty cool. I think saw on TV, there's a game which the work ancient London into the scene. Could be the same. At least I think I've heard about this Assassin Creed thing which also became the movie. :-)
It's amazing. Only played another one like 5 years ago. This one is pretty well produced. I couldn't stop for 48 hours straight haha..
One of the reason I don't play is I'm afraid to get addicted to it.
Especially nowadays the CG is so much better.
hey .... 100 $ it will look a little when compared with the results in the can. hopefully your journey is fun and adds to the experience. Egypt is a city of a million ancient history. I have long wanted to go there. until now has not materialized. Good luck @kevinwong
I got punk'd! I thought i will read about you traveling in Egypt, but got to read this new kind of 'traveling' adventure. Nicee. 😁
Haha, this was great! I don't really play video games much but I always read about ancient Egypt, I suppose this gives a great visual and the closest thing to the the real thing. I wonder about the historical accuracy. I always enjoyed the fact that many video games have an educational side to them. I do play a couple and have learned so much history about various places in the world thru the games. once again Awesome virtual tour and well presented! Thank you for visiting my blog earlier, your help is very much appreciated :)
LOL! OMG you got me for a second.. the photos look real at a glance. hahah This is one way to travel the world :)
I wish photography is as convenient as the camera mode in games haha
Fun Fact: Despite pre-ordering and getting Assassin Creeds Origins on launch date, I still have yet to play it on my PS4
Hah, same! on Steam. Only touched it recently..
You just gave me an idea for a budget travel of my own. In my case I might travel back to 1715 with Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag :) It is one of my favorites in the series, and I started writing about pirates recently, so it will have some inspirational value as well! 🏴☠️
Oh the last I played is black flag. This is like 5x way better!
I haven't tried this one yet, I have been playing Dark Souls for a long time, and now I switched to Furi. I will give it a try after I complete Furi. What has improved from the older games in the series (besides graphics)?
waww.... a very interesting idea to get rid of the mind of the crumbling crypto ,,
maybe playing games would be more convenient for situations like this. I feel like trying asassin game.
Try it!
Press F for respects.
What the... almost fool by your at the first 5 lines...
But the visual is really good, didn't know virtual gaming is that advanced now.
Haha... Now that's some good travelling.
Better days ahead!
ahah! I didn't get it at first!
Those graphics are seriously top notch!
This is called creativity. never saw such an interesting travel shoot :P and you looked like a egyptian prince :D
Almost believed you lol.
Well, am glad I got on with you no this one. But I think am gonna get a $100 and find my own travel agent. Nice place to visit in this turbulent times. Lol
One of the best travel blogs I've seen in a long time. Thanks mate :D
Haha I thought you really did travel to Egypt. I play Assassins Creed too but not often as I want. Thanks for sharing this!
Looks really realistic! I feel like I don't need to visit now! LOL
LOL.. at first I thought was a physical visit to Egypt itself :P
Awesome clickbait 😂 and I tot you really travel to Egypt hahaha, long time no play AC, so nice they improve all the graphic details of the game
I've only played AC like 5 or 6 years ago (the pirate one). But it's nowhere near the production value of this one. Really worth it lol
Yea same, I play until AC3 Brotherhood, then stop due to rig no longer support the intense amount of graphics even setting is just on medium.. 🙈 imagine killing people in 15-20FPS
Damn, this is actually a cool format for posting gaming pics. lol
How's the game? Was thinking of downloa- er...purchasing it. Hehe.
It's worth it! Seriously. I was blown away by the production value.
Cool, thanks for recommending!
Time to get my eye-patch, if yer know what arrr mean. ;)
Hahahaha LOVE it!! I totally fell for this and didn't realize it was Assasins Creed until 1/2 way through 😂
Lol.
You got me for real. This is so amazing, took me a while to figure this out.