reviews – Cyclops Creative

The only time we ever argue about the spelling of whisk(e)y, it’s when we read the labels, but does it matter? Even though both of them are essentially a spirit distilled from a variety of grains, their history is intertwined while their essence is enjoyed by people all over the world.

The Irish spelling of whiskey comes from the Gaelic derivations of the word ‘Uisce beatha’, meaning Water of Life. Due to Irish immigration to America in the 18th century, American ‘whiskey’ is also spelled with an “e”. The rest of the world uses the “whisky” spelling, even when they are made similarly.

But, even though whisk(e)y is made in similar ways with similar grains, each part of the world has its variations and rules.

What do whiskey and whisky have in common?

Even though different countries have their versions of whiskey, they do have other similarities.

All whiskey has to have a minimum of 40% ABV (alcohol by volume) with some regions having their own rules for the maximum %ABV allowed in the bottle.
Whiskey is distilled from barley, wheat, corn, and other cereal grains depending on the type. The single-use or combination depends on the specific whiskey or region.
In many cases, the minimum time a whiskey is allowed to mature in a barrel is 3 years before it can be called whisk(e)y.

Irish whiskey

Irish whiskey is very popular around the world as one of the original producers. It’s often experienced as “smoother” than Scottish whisky but is also known as a gateway to bourbon as ex-bourbon casks are often used for maturation.

Irish whiskey is usually distilled in pot stills and attributes its “smoothness” to the fact that they’re often distilled three times instead of the usual two.
Whiskey in Ireland has a minimum maturation age of three years in a barrel.
Irish whiskey may contain a distillate of malt, a barley distillate, and a portion of grain spirit.
Irish whiskey is rarely peated with some small exceptions in the growing industry.

Scottish (Scotch) whisky

Scotch whisky might be one of the world’s most famous producers with the distribution of its wide range of whiskies shared all over the world. It’s also the world’s best-marketed whisky too.

Scottish whisky needs to be distilled, matured, and bottled in Scotland, (to which only whole grains of other cereals may be added) with the addition of only yeast and water.
Maturation needs to happen in oak casks for a minimum of 3 years.
Single malt Scotch whisky must be made from 100% malted barley.

Bourbon

Probably the most popular style of whiskey made in the United States of America, bourbon is very well known for its sweetness. Due to the use of new oak barrels that have been charred, bourbon often has a distinctive oaky flavor too.

Bourbon originated in Bourbon Kentucky and is made from a minimum of 51% corn with rye and malted barley.
Distillation of bourbon usually takes place in a column still and then a pot still.
Straight bourbon is aged for a minimum of 2 years in new charred oak barrels while Bottle-in-Bond bourbon needs to mature for at least 4 years.
Bourbon also has its sub-categories with high-rye and wheated bourbon being two of the most popular variations.
Tennessee whiskey is made in the same way as bourbon, but it is charcoal mellowed before maturation

Rye whiskey

Rye is made in a very similar way to bourbon with just a few differences.

Rye whiskey is often experienced as “spicier” than bourbon even when it’s made in a very similar way.
Rye Whiskey is made from a minimum of 51% rye grain with the other cereals taking more of an accented seat to round out the flavours.

The USA whiskey industry is in a resurgence with craft whiskies becoming more popular and even American Single Malt growing in popularity. You might find that your favourite distilleries and brands now have single malt as part of their core range.

South African whisky

Even though the South African whisky industry is still very small, distilleries are popping up everywhere, with the Western Cape Province still having the lion’s share. South African whisky is also made in a similar style to Scottish whisky.

South African whisky is often made using locally sourced maize with malted barley being used for special editions or as an accent to the mash.

I’ve also written a piece on the reason why South Africans tend to drink blended whisky instead of single malt.

Due to the climate, South African whisky is aged for a minimum of 3 years but also gets more intense barrel impact due to the climate. This means that bottles matured as little as 5-6 years are often part of the core range.

Whether you call it whiskey or whisky, these spirits have many things in common with a few rules that govern how they are made. However, there are no rules about how you can drink your whiskey, as long as you enjoy it with a sense of adventure and a smile on your face.

I’ve been playing video games since the 90s, but after a long hiatus and only getting back into it a short while ago, I’ve jumped back into older games while also enjoying new ones. One of those goals was to try out some popular game franchises I see spoken about daily but never got a chance to play myself. While I finished some and jumped to others, one aspect came up quite often when it came to immersion and fun: the mini-map.

It’s not just the actual inclusion of those small maps on your game’s UI that makes a difference but also the colors, details, and of course, the location used. In many modern games, you can turn off all of the icons and images on the UI to enhance the immersive experience. There are even settings where you can change the colour schemes to help those with colour blindness, but there are often none to move the icons, like the mini-map, to make it easier for those with specific visual impairments.

Red Dead Redemption 2 immersion — The mini-map and UI plays a big role when it comes to game immersion.

In my situation, my visual impairment leaves me with mostly peripheral vision in my left eye, making it difficult to see certain things on the right side of a screen. I specifically noticed mini-map locations when I dove into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt where the mini-map is in the top-right corner, making it very hard to follow certain paths. I went back to games that I’ve played, many of them action, action-RPG, or racing categories where I noticed that most of the maps in my experience had the mini-map in the bottom-left corner. There are genre-specific variations of these maps but more often than not, it’s an abstracted view from the bird’s eye perspective.

There are always exceptions to the rule, but what makes a difference about these maps, especially when you’re visually impaired?

Map Location

For many gamers, the location of the mini-map isn’t noticed because it’s either not used, you’re used to the franchise’s UI, or you turn it off and only want the beautiful visuals on screen to explore without any assistance. However, for many like myself with a visual impairment, finding our way is a bit trickier and the location of the map starts making a difference.

For games like first-person shooters, racing games, action-RPGs, and even strategy games, the mini-map is usually on the left side, especially at the bottom. MMORPGs almost always place theirs in the top-right corner.

Usually, this placement is due to the perspective as it often means this is “behind” the character or in an area of the map where we rarely need to focus on any sort of gameplay. This means that the bottom left corner is perfect because it’s not going to interfere with the action going on in front of you, and you have to draw your attention away just slightly. In Western cultures, we usually read from left to right, which also affects where we look first and then follow to the right. However, just looking to the top-right corner to “check” the map, draws your attention there first which can prolong your reaction times.

All of the detail, or none of it?

The mini-map is usually a smaller version of a larger map that the game already has but we don’t always want to see all of the same details. RTS (real-time strategy) games often have quite a large area section shown as one controls a larger area of the game with units, terrain, and buildings being seen from above. Shooters and racing games will provide you with a much closer view, only showing you your direct vicinity to find out where your character is and maybe which direction you’re going or need to go.

F1 23 McLaren racing at Spa, highlighting the transparent mini-map — How much or how little do you want to see the mini-map when it’s there?

How much detail a mini-map has can make a big difference for those with visual impairments. Certain colour combinations will be better for those with colour blindness and just having too much colorful detail can end up distracting from the real action being displayed on the screen. Mini-maps often have a basic colour scheme to ensure that when there is a contrasting colour for a point of interest or highlighted path, it’s noticed easily. We also want those compass directions on there too, or at least an icon for North, to help with navigation.

To streamline the UI, many games declutter the map by using the often circular mini-map with status bars and other finer details you want to keep note of. However, it can again become quite distracting if done wrong. Too many bars or details will widen the small map and it can bleed into the action happening on the screen. I’ve experienced some mini-maps that use either side of the map for their bar, helping with the diameter.

Full-sized maps usually have recognizable icons for buildings, vehicles, and other points of interest that reflect what they would look like in the real world. They often have the names of these locations too, but should the same happen on the mini-map? These metaphor images are usually enough for the maps without too much extra text making it harder to see the important details.

Immersion with a visual impairment

One might think that adding more information in the UI like a mini-map, status bars and more icons would help somebody with a visual impairment, but it could completely distract from the gameplay. Games can be like big movie set-pieces, so we want that cinematic feeling when we dive into their worlds.

With some visual impairments, it’s not possible to see a lot of detail, so having less on the screen, maybe to a point of no UI at all, might help the gamer find their way and play the game more effectively. When there’s less to look at, the focus can be on the natural environmental clues instead of looking away at colourful maps and numbers across the screen. One of my favourite examples being Dead Space which uses the character’s suit to show Isaac’s health instead of a UI status bar.

“Depending on the game, no mini-map – or even no UI entirely – can really give the game a cinematic feel” – Kervyn Cloete

Being able to partially or completely reduce UI elements may help gamers with visual impairments feel more immersed in the world. For some, audio clues could help but even those can/should be optional.

Do we still want the mini map?

A mini-map is supposed to work as a quick reference for finding yourself or teammates while things are happening or just finding your way to a location you’ve set a waypoint for. These details help to give you a smooth experience to help immerse yourself in the meticulously-created worlds of these incredible games. It can help those with some impairments explore more effectively while still being immersed in the world.

You might not always notice how you experience the inclusion of a mini-map, but when it suddenly changes, it can have a larger impact on those you rarely think about. Whether it be the location, icons, or other details added to the map, details matter, even if it’s less detail than necessary.

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Whisky or Whiskey: Are you spelling it correctly?