Saturday, December 31, 2005
Oh... Right...
Happy New Year.
I forgot that was today.
Oh well, back to gaming and sleep...
Happy New Year.
I forgot that was today.
Oh well, back to gaming and sleep...
Labels: Random Blargh
Friday, December 30, 2005
The First Dinner Party
But I'll talk about that tomorrow as tonight was spent a) preparing for said dinner party, b) having said dinner party, and c) playing too much Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga post dinner party, and then going to bed.
Or rather, NOW it's time to go to bed, since this post was actually made some time after 2 am, but I hate leaving an empty day on the blog these days...
But I'll talk about that tomorrow as tonight was spent a) preparing for said dinner party, b) having said dinner party, and c) playing too much Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga post dinner party, and then going to bed.
Or rather, NOW it's time to go to bed, since this post was actually made some time after 2 am, but I hate leaving an empty day on the blog these days...
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Nothing To Report
Because I've got a script due out tomorrow and I'm cramming that in between playing Wipeout Pure on the PSP and the Wife's game, Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga on the PS2.
Nope, it ain't an adventurous life, but I've made my peace with it...
Because I've got a script due out tomorrow and I'm cramming that in between playing Wipeout Pure on the PSP and the Wife's game, Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga on the PS2.
Nope, it ain't an adventurous life, but I've made my peace with it...
Labels: Games, RPGs, Television Production
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The Wireless Post
Holy crap.
I'm making this post wirelessly with my PSP at a Starbuck's.
I feel so futuristic...
Holy crap.
I'm making this post wirelessly with my PSP at a Starbuck's.
I feel so futuristic...
Labels: Neat-O Gadgetry
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The Cold
As in, I have one.
Despite the fact that it's a tropical country, I still occasionally find myself coming down with the ol' sore throat and sniffles and this is one of those times. The Wife blames it on the cigarettes. In an act of mercy, she allowed me to buy a "Christmas pack" to smoke, and I went a little overboard on the frequency. She figures I clobbered my immune system by doing that or something.
All I know is I have that tired, run-down feeling. It's good thing I'm a writer and not a construction worker, or this would lay me out. As it is, I'm still able to at least work on the script I have pending, I just do it with a handy box of tissue paper near by to deal with the constantly runny nose.
At least I won't have any trouble going to bed because of the tiredness...
As in, I have one.
Despite the fact that it's a tropical country, I still occasionally find myself coming down with the ol' sore throat and sniffles and this is one of those times. The Wife blames it on the cigarettes. In an act of mercy, she allowed me to buy a "Christmas pack" to smoke, and I went a little overboard on the frequency. She figures I clobbered my immune system by doing that or something.
All I know is I have that tired, run-down feeling. It's good thing I'm a writer and not a construction worker, or this would lay me out. As it is, I'm still able to at least work on the script I have pending, I just do it with a handy box of tissue paper near by to deal with the constantly runny nose.
At least I won't have any trouble going to bed because of the tiredness...
Labels: My Life, Television Production
Monday, December 26, 2005
Boxing Day
In which no boxes were actually tossed, but pasta (In the form of the ultra-rare--at least in Singapore--ravioli) was consumed, coffee was drunk, and generally much hanging out clients--the Wife's--was done, while I either eulogized about my thoughts on the future of the gaming industry, or simply showed off my Christmas gift and thought smugly to myself, "I am no longer a gaming loser! I have a PSP," which in itself, signifies that I am a real life loser, but oh well...
It's black and shiny and sexy and I didn't expect to get one dammit, so I'm pretty darn happy.
Of course this wasn't a one sided affair. I also got the Wife gifts which came in many forms, from a clock, to a lava lamp, to a general art reference book that spanned ancient civilizations to contemporary installation pieces, to a ring, to a necklace, to a, believe it or not, video game for the PS2, because this particular game, Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga is part of the Shin Megami Tensei series of games which tends to explore deeply philosophical themes like Nihilism and the possiblity that the Christian God is an evil sadist that delights in randomly inflicting suffering upon people for his own amusement, and the Wife likes twisted stuff like this, so surprisingly, it was a big hit, rather than turning into one of those Homer Simpson-esque moments where I say, "Well, if you don't want that bowling ball, I'll just use it myself so it doesn't go to waste."
But now that Boxing Day is done, it's back to work tomorrow (Remember kids, Singapore isn't predominantly Christian, so Christmas only really entitles you to a long weekend, not the entire week off) and I've already started up on a script for Nanoboy that I'll have to try and finish by Friday. Normally, this is easily doable. But the allure of Wipeout Pure keeps calling out to me and I find it increasingly difficult to resist its siren call...
In which no boxes were actually tossed, but pasta (In the form of the ultra-rare--at least in Singapore--ravioli) was consumed, coffee was drunk, and generally much hanging out clients--the Wife's--was done, while I either eulogized about my thoughts on the future of the gaming industry, or simply showed off my Christmas gift and thought smugly to myself, "I am no longer a gaming loser! I have a PSP," which in itself, signifies that I am a real life loser, but oh well...
It's black and shiny and sexy and I didn't expect to get one dammit, so I'm pretty darn happy.
Of course this wasn't a one sided affair. I also got the Wife gifts which came in many forms, from a clock, to a lava lamp, to a general art reference book that spanned ancient civilizations to contemporary installation pieces, to a ring, to a necklace, to a, believe it or not, video game for the PS2, because this particular game, Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga is part of the Shin Megami Tensei series of games which tends to explore deeply philosophical themes like Nihilism and the possiblity that the Christian God is an evil sadist that delights in randomly inflicting suffering upon people for his own amusement, and the Wife likes twisted stuff like this, so surprisingly, it was a big hit, rather than turning into one of those Homer Simpson-esque moments where I say, "Well, if you don't want that bowling ball, I'll just use it myself so it doesn't go to waste."
But now that Boxing Day is done, it's back to work tomorrow (Remember kids, Singapore isn't predominantly Christian, so Christmas only really entitles you to a long weekend, not the entire week off) and I've already started up on a script for Nanoboy that I'll have to try and finish by Friday. Normally, this is easily doable. But the allure of Wipeout Pure keeps calling out to me and I find it increasingly difficult to resist its siren call...
Labels: Games, Icky Couple Stuff, My Life, Neat-O Gadgetry
Saturday, December 24, 2005
The Haul
I was a good geek this year. Now it's time to hang out with the in-laws some more...
Labels: Neat-O Gadgetry
You Know You're Married When
Even though you haven't set foot in a church in years, you end up going to Christmas mass because it is, after all possibly the last time you'll be able to have Christmas mass in Singapore with your in-laws.
I guess I'm just lucky that at least I have a Catholic background so I knew what to do, sort of, though I was told I do the sign of the cross differently than they do, which really puzzled me. Also went back to the In-Laws to collect more presents and sit down and have an actual conversation with my Father-In-Law. I am told this is an unprecedented event, and that he must really like me to have an actual conversation with an exchange of information and everything, so he must have already resigned himself to the idea that he's stuck with me.
Merry Christmas and all that...
Even though you haven't set foot in a church in years, you end up going to Christmas mass because it is, after all possibly the last time you'll be able to have Christmas mass in Singapore with your in-laws.
I guess I'm just lucky that at least I have a Catholic background so I knew what to do, sort of, though I was told I do the sign of the cross differently than they do, which really puzzled me. Also went back to the In-Laws to collect more presents and sit down and have an actual conversation with my Father-In-Law. I am told this is an unprecedented event, and that he must really like me to have an actual conversation with an exchange of information and everything, so he must have already resigned himself to the idea that he's stuck with me.
Merry Christmas and all that...
Labels: Icky Couple Stuff, My Life
Friday, December 23, 2005
The Eve Before Christmas Eve Post
Did nothing, hung out with the Wife who got outta' work early because they were having fire drills in her office tower during the afternoon, so the entire company decided to call it a day.
Other than that, went shopping and sat around in a hair salon playing Final Fantasy IV on the Nintendo Dual Screen.
That is all.
Did nothing, hung out with the Wife who got outta' work early because they were having fire drills in her office tower during the afternoon, so the entire company decided to call it a day.
Other than that, went shopping and sat around in a hair salon playing Final Fantasy IV on the Nintendo Dual Screen.
That is all.
Labels: Icky Couple Stuff, My Life
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Geek Clock: Counting Down
Whoo hoo! It's now out in Japan as of today!
Kingdom Hearts II, the sequel to one of my surprise favorite games of 2002, Kingdom Hearts. I'd almost totally ignored this game when I first heard about it because of its premise; Square Final Fantasy characters mixed with Disney characters and worlds. I thought this was headed for Disaster and that Square had made another of those missteps like when they made The Bouncer (A side scroller fighting game in the style of Final Fight or Double Dragon. Bad... Idea...) because Disney doesn't understand video games. Every video game based on a Disney character up until this point had been one of those awful platformer style games that weren't much fun to play at all, and were only going to appeal to kids who wanted to make Mickey or Donald jump.
Kingdom Hearts changed all that, and I suspect the reason for it was probably because Square told Disney to Stay The Hell Out Of Our Way. Disney may know how to create entertaining movies, but they didn't understand how to make games AND tell an entertaining story. Square does. Plus it also helps that they included the magic ingredient that Disney has thus far completely failed to incorporate into their stories.
Bittersweet endings.
I won't give away anything here for people that haven't played the game, but I figure it must be a Japanese thing. Since they have this cultural agenda to pursue honor, that often means that a truly honorable act involves sacrifice. And for whatever reason, when you do that with characters in a story, it tends to suck you in emotionally more than a typical Disney happy ending ever could.
2005 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for RPGs. Final Fantasy XII, Rogue Galaxy, and Kingdom Hearts II VERY close on the horizon (Some people are speculating March but no official date has been givien yet). Hopefully Haley Joel Osmet will be returning to voice Sora...
Whoo hoo! It's now out in Japan as of today!
Kingdom Hearts II, the sequel to one of my surprise favorite games of 2002, Kingdom Hearts. I'd almost totally ignored this game when I first heard about it because of its premise; Square Final Fantasy characters mixed with Disney characters and worlds. I thought this was headed for Disaster and that Square had made another of those missteps like when they made The Bouncer (A side scroller fighting game in the style of Final Fight or Double Dragon. Bad... Idea...) because Disney doesn't understand video games. Every video game based on a Disney character up until this point had been one of those awful platformer style games that weren't much fun to play at all, and were only going to appeal to kids who wanted to make Mickey or Donald jump.
Kingdom Hearts changed all that, and I suspect the reason for it was probably because Square told Disney to Stay The Hell Out Of Our Way. Disney may know how to create entertaining movies, but they didn't understand how to make games AND tell an entertaining story. Square does. Plus it also helps that they included the magic ingredient that Disney has thus far completely failed to incorporate into their stories.
Bittersweet endings.
I won't give away anything here for people that haven't played the game, but I figure it must be a Japanese thing. Since they have this cultural agenda to pursue honor, that often means that a truly honorable act involves sacrifice. And for whatever reason, when you do that with characters in a story, it tends to suck you in emotionally more than a typical Disney happy ending ever could.
2005 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for RPGs. Final Fantasy XII, Rogue Galaxy, and Kingdom Hearts II VERY close on the horizon (Some people are speculating March but no official date has been givien yet). Hopefully Haley Joel Osmet will be returning to voice Sora...
Labels: Games
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Games As Art
I don't think there's going to be an answer in my lifetime, but I still think it's worth considering. Since people now acknowledge that movies and comic books can aspire to Art, why is it that games are still in the cultural ghetto?
The thing that confuses me about this even more is that most people acknowledge that one of art's greatest strengths is it's ability to influence people. If you go by that reckoning, games obviously have an enormous influence as America struggles to control the violence and sexual content found in the more adult oriented games. Why then, do people refuse to think of video games as anything other than a "toy" and yet at the same time, regard it as one of the most dangerous influences in modern society? When someone goes and kills another person because they read Catcher In The Rye or watched Taxi Driver people usually talk about how weak-minded the individual who did it was, and marvel at the power of art. When someone shoots a bunch of people because they claim Grand Theft Auto or Doom gave them the idea, people talk about how games warp people's minds as if somehow video games have an ability to steal the decision process in people and manipulate them, whereas "regular" influences like literature and film merely tap into built-in psychological deficits.
I really wish someone would definitively and rationally explain to me exactly why games are not art when everyone thinks they have more power and influence than any art currently in existence. Or at least, that's what America seems to believe, anyway...
I don't think there's going to be an answer in my lifetime, but I still think it's worth considering. Since people now acknowledge that movies and comic books can aspire to Art, why is it that games are still in the cultural ghetto?
The thing that confuses me about this even more is that most people acknowledge that one of art's greatest strengths is it's ability to influence people. If you go by that reckoning, games obviously have an enormous influence as America struggles to control the violence and sexual content found in the more adult oriented games. Why then, do people refuse to think of video games as anything other than a "toy" and yet at the same time, regard it as one of the most dangerous influences in modern society? When someone goes and kills another person because they read Catcher In The Rye or watched Taxi Driver people usually talk about how weak-minded the individual who did it was, and marvel at the power of art. When someone shoots a bunch of people because they claim Grand Theft Auto or Doom gave them the idea, people talk about how games warp people's minds as if somehow video games have an ability to steal the decision process in people and manipulate them, whereas "regular" influences like literature and film merely tap into built-in psychological deficits.
I really wish someone would definitively and rationally explain to me exactly why games are not art when everyone thinks they have more power and influence than any art currently in existence. Or at least, that's what America seems to believe, anyway...
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
The Breather
Whee, quiet.
I guess it must be because Christmas is looming. While there is some work to be done, none of it is particularly pressing, so it's one of those days where things can be a little more free n' easy.
Dragon Quest VIII has been finished. Sort of. I mean, I leveled up to 50, and I killed off the final boss, but of course, that's the not the REAL ending, since once you beat it, the game goes into a pseudo "New Game +" mode where it creates a save file just before you fight the final boss and now opens up some new dungeons so that you can really go to town and get the absolute best stuff in the game.
I also still have a bunch of comics to read. Normally, this would be a happy, or at least pleasant affair, but it is for work and I find it closer to slogging than recreation. I am of course, talking about the comic based on an MMORPG that is based on comics. I'm talking about City of Heroes. The artwork is passable, in a 6 out of 10 sort of way, and the writing... I almost get the sense that the writers are, in fact, not too bad. But they are hamstrung by the limitations forced on them by the material. Try to imagine Franz Kafka or Salman Rushdie being forced to right an episode of Full House under the watchful gaze of the network and you begin to understand what I'm getting at. There are some occasional moments of promise. Of almost good lines, or almost interesting characterization... but it gets pummeled by the need to keep the story recoginizably "City of Heroes-ish." And the problem with that, is it's a game where all the players are super heroes, and what's more, they can't die. When they get badly injured, they end up instantly teleporting to a hospital. Because the city isn't one seamless environment like GTA, they have to hide the loading into other areas by forcing players to take the train.
All these signature features appear in the comic, and it makes for some pretty odd reading. And not in that Grant Morrison, Holy-Hell-Did-That-Really-Just-Happen sort of way.
Whee, quiet.
I guess it must be because Christmas is looming. While there is some work to be done, none of it is particularly pressing, so it's one of those days where things can be a little more free n' easy.
Dragon Quest VIII has been finished. Sort of. I mean, I leveled up to 50, and I killed off the final boss, but of course, that's the not the REAL ending, since once you beat it, the game goes into a pseudo "New Game +" mode where it creates a save file just before you fight the final boss and now opens up some new dungeons so that you can really go to town and get the absolute best stuff in the game.
I also still have a bunch of comics to read. Normally, this would be a happy, or at least pleasant affair, but it is for work and I find it closer to slogging than recreation. I am of course, talking about the comic based on an MMORPG that is based on comics. I'm talking about City of Heroes. The artwork is passable, in a 6 out of 10 sort of way, and the writing... I almost get the sense that the writers are, in fact, not too bad. But they are hamstrung by the limitations forced on them by the material. Try to imagine Franz Kafka or Salman Rushdie being forced to right an episode of Full House under the watchful gaze of the network and you begin to understand what I'm getting at. There are some occasional moments of promise. Of almost good lines, or almost interesting characterization... but it gets pummeled by the need to keep the story recoginizably "City of Heroes-ish." And the problem with that, is it's a game where all the players are super heroes, and what's more, they can't die. When they get badly injured, they end up instantly teleporting to a hospital. Because the city isn't one seamless environment like GTA, they have to hide the loading into other areas by forcing players to take the train.
All these signature features appear in the comic, and it makes for some pretty odd reading. And not in that Grant Morrison, Holy-Hell-Did-That-Really-Just-Happen sort of way.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neil-O Makes His Presence Known Once More
Though not in the way I expected.
I was trolling through his blog as usual, envying him and wishing I was Neil-O instead of just plain ol' me, when I noticed that one of his posts was from Singapore. Apparently while he was here back in July, he also paid a visit to the Cat Welfare society and they got him to sign some shirts. Those shirts are now up for auction. After going through the links, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter this:
The reason the shirt took me by surprise is because the illustration on it is done by none other than The Wife. When I showed it to her, we both kind of freaked out in a good way. Looks like she can now say she's gotten two things signed by Neil-O...
Though not in the way I expected.
I was trolling through his blog as usual, envying him and wishing I was Neil-O instead of just plain ol' me, when I noticed that one of his posts was from Singapore. Apparently while he was here back in July, he also paid a visit to the Cat Welfare society and they got him to sign some shirts. Those shirts are now up for auction. After going through the links, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter this:
The reason the shirt took me by surprise is because the illustration on it is done by none other than The Wife. When I showed it to her, we both kind of freaked out in a good way. Looks like she can now say she's gotten two things signed by Neil-O...
Sunday, December 18, 2005
The Quick Sunday Night Post
Lazy Sunday, nearly finished with my news article, it should be off by tomorrow afternoon. Also mucked around a bit with From Russia With Love, a game I'd reviewed earlier. It still holds up to my initial review and I stand by it; it's a puff piece. No depth, some mild, shallow fun, but nothing as engaging as Grand Theft Auto or a juicy RPG like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.
I also got around to watchin Final Cut a movie with Robin Williams in it about a new kind of fictional death ritual called "Rememories" where people had implants put into them before birth that recorded every single moment of their lives. When the person with the implant died, the implant was retrieved and given to a person called a cutter (The Williams character) who was half mortician, half film editor, using a souped up non-linear digital video editor to piece together a feature length presentation of the highlights of the person's life, conveniently deleting anything that would prove uncomfortable or disturbing to the living.
It reminded a little in pace, and visuals to Gattaca. Both of the films presented a central conceit, and then ran with it for the length of the story, as most good Science Fiction or Fantasy will do. However, where the theme of Gattaca managed to weave in nicely with the plot, to present an intriguing idea, with interesting characters and an engaging story, Final Cut drops the ball, by having a very, VERY interesting idea, some interesting characters to hang the theme on, and an extremely problematic story that falls apart in the last quarter. I won't say too much about it, except that the personal story of the Williams character and the main plot about a conspiracy to get a hold of footage he has in his possession ends on an entirely unsatisfactory and completely tacked on note. It's not a happy ending. And I didn't need it to be. To be honest, I'd rather it not be a happy ending, especially with subject matter as thoughtful as this. However, I do demand that it emotionally, it do justice to the characters, that it follow the natural rhythm of the story, rather than simply drop the axe down because you know you're getting to the 90 minute mark.
Oh well. Bed time...
Lazy Sunday, nearly finished with my news article, it should be off by tomorrow afternoon. Also mucked around a bit with From Russia With Love, a game I'd reviewed earlier. It still holds up to my initial review and I stand by it; it's a puff piece. No depth, some mild, shallow fun, but nothing as engaging as Grand Theft Auto or a juicy RPG like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.
I also got around to watchin Final Cut a movie with Robin Williams in it about a new kind of fictional death ritual called "Rememories" where people had implants put into them before birth that recorded every single moment of their lives. When the person with the implant died, the implant was retrieved and given to a person called a cutter (The Williams character) who was half mortician, half film editor, using a souped up non-linear digital video editor to piece together a feature length presentation of the highlights of the person's life, conveniently deleting anything that would prove uncomfortable or disturbing to the living.
It reminded a little in pace, and visuals to Gattaca. Both of the films presented a central conceit, and then ran with it for the length of the story, as most good Science Fiction or Fantasy will do. However, where the theme of Gattaca managed to weave in nicely with the plot, to present an intriguing idea, with interesting characters and an engaging story, Final Cut drops the ball, by having a very, VERY interesting idea, some interesting characters to hang the theme on, and an extremely problematic story that falls apart in the last quarter. I won't say too much about it, except that the personal story of the Williams character and the main plot about a conspiracy to get a hold of footage he has in his possession ends on an entirely unsatisfactory and completely tacked on note. It's not a happy ending. And I didn't need it to be. To be honest, I'd rather it not be a happy ending, especially with subject matter as thoughtful as this. However, I do demand that it emotionally, it do justice to the characters, that it follow the natural rhythm of the story, rather than simply drop the axe down because you know you're getting to the 90 minute mark.
Oh well. Bed time...
Saturday, December 17, 2005
More Domestic Stuff
Aside from finishing up Gun (Still haven't finished the review, though I've started it) the only other thing done this weekend was our first Christmas shopping trip as a married couple, which was consummately weird, because all of a sudden I had to consider things like shopping for the in-laws, and it looks like we're going to be hosting our first Christmas party in the new apartment. Well, it's not actually a Christmas party since I hate the damn things, but more like a dinner party, as in only a few close friends are going to be showing up, and presents will be exchanged and all that stuff. I've always been really bad for getting presents for people (Which is why I'm never too fussy about not getting presents in return; anything else would be pure hypocrisy) but it would seem that as a married couple, with other friends who are also married couples, suddenly it seems to be more imperative to actually go ahead and do this.
Also finally got around to watching Kingdom of Heaven the most recent Ridley Scott epic. All the usual Scott trademarks are there; not terrific story, some nice acting moments, but my GOD can that man put a shot together. I sat there with my mouth open over how "painterly" some of the shots were, like the ships leaving Messina for Jerusalem, or the Lord of the Rings scale battle towards end of the Muslim siege of Jerusalem. It was a badly, badly paced film with all kinds of questionable cuts made to the characterization and plot in order to move to the next amazing battle, but the battles were indeed amazing. The thing that really freaked me out about the scale of the battles was the very reality of them. I mean, it's one thing to see Orcs assaulting a gorgeous and obviously fantasy city like Minas Tirith, but to see 200, 000 Muslim soldiers storming Jerusalam with siege towers and fireballs and knowing this actually happened at some point in human history was mindboggling. Maybe it's better, maybe it's worse, but you just don't have battles of that scale anymore in the push-button, full-auto with night vision wars we conduct these days in which heavily armed strike groups have replaced the traditional formation wars of centuries past.
Then again, I'm not a military historian, but it sure was damn impressive looking...
Aside from finishing up Gun (Still haven't finished the review, though I've started it) the only other thing done this weekend was our first Christmas shopping trip as a married couple, which was consummately weird, because all of a sudden I had to consider things like shopping for the in-laws, and it looks like we're going to be hosting our first Christmas party in the new apartment. Well, it's not actually a Christmas party since I hate the damn things, but more like a dinner party, as in only a few close friends are going to be showing up, and presents will be exchanged and all that stuff. I've always been really bad for getting presents for people (Which is why I'm never too fussy about not getting presents in return; anything else would be pure hypocrisy) but it would seem that as a married couple, with other friends who are also married couples, suddenly it seems to be more imperative to actually go ahead and do this.
Also finally got around to watching Kingdom of Heaven the most recent Ridley Scott epic. All the usual Scott trademarks are there; not terrific story, some nice acting moments, but my GOD can that man put a shot together. I sat there with my mouth open over how "painterly" some of the shots were, like the ships leaving Messina for Jerusalem, or the Lord of the Rings scale battle towards end of the Muslim siege of Jerusalem. It was a badly, badly paced film with all kinds of questionable cuts made to the characterization and plot in order to move to the next amazing battle, but the battles were indeed amazing. The thing that really freaked me out about the scale of the battles was the very reality of them. I mean, it's one thing to see Orcs assaulting a gorgeous and obviously fantasy city like Minas Tirith, but to see 200, 000 Muslim soldiers storming Jerusalam with siege towers and fireballs and knowing this actually happened at some point in human history was mindboggling. Maybe it's better, maybe it's worse, but you just don't have battles of that scale anymore in the push-button, full-auto with night vision wars we conduct these days in which heavily armed strike groups have replaced the traditional formation wars of centuries past.
Then again, I'm not a military historian, but it sure was damn impressive looking...
Friday, December 16, 2005
The Somewhat Busy But Not In Any Interesting Way Friday
Which is to say, played Gun for a good portion of the afternoon. I have come to the conclusion that I like this game, it's quite good, but not quite great. Still, I see a lot of potential what Neversoft has already done here with their Grand Theft Cowboy style game, and this could definitely benefit from a sequel.
Also had a meeting with one of the Nanoboy guys, just to go over the changes to the latest script, and there was nothing unusual about that. Now the only thing we have to worry about is a sick cat. It would seem that an anti-shedding vitamin supplement we picked up recently has had a really, REALLY bad reaction with our cat, Uno. I guess we should have taken the hint when she showed an almost total lack of enthusiasm for eating after we poured some of it on her food, but now she's not even able to digest it, throwing up several hours after eating. We wanted her to lose weight, but this is a bit drastic. I'm feeling incredibly sorry for her right now. It was pretty clear from the way she threw up that none of her food went down.
Which is to say, played Gun for a good portion of the afternoon. I have come to the conclusion that I like this game, it's quite good, but not quite great. Still, I see a lot of potential what Neversoft has already done here with their Grand Theft Cowboy style game, and this could definitely benefit from a sequel.
Also had a meeting with one of the Nanoboy guys, just to go over the changes to the latest script, and there was nothing unusual about that. Now the only thing we have to worry about is a sick cat. It would seem that an anti-shedding vitamin supplement we picked up recently has had a really, REALLY bad reaction with our cat, Uno. I guess we should have taken the hint when she showed an almost total lack of enthusiasm for eating after we poured some of it on her food, but now she's not even able to digest it, throwing up several hours after eating. We wanted her to lose weight, but this is a bit drastic. I'm feeling incredibly sorry for her right now. It was pretty clear from the way she threw up that none of her food went down.
Labels: Games, Television Production, Them Crazy Kitties
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Have Gun, Will Shoot Anything That Moves
Much like the wild west itself, the game Gun tends to be beautiful, and empty, occasionally punctuated by some old fashioned action. I like it, though it's a slower paced compared to the likes of Doom 3 and the rest of the FPS ilk. It borrows heavily from the GTA style open world concept, in that you can break away from the main story anytime you like and just do side missions, or wander out on the massive landscape.
Still putting thoughts together for the full the review that I'm going to write tomorrow.
Much like the wild west itself, the game Gun tends to be beautiful, and empty, occasionally punctuated by some old fashioned action. I like it, though it's a slower paced compared to the likes of Doom 3 and the rest of the FPS ilk. It borrows heavily from the GTA style open world concept, in that you can break away from the main story anytime you like and just do side missions, or wander out on the massive landscape.
Still putting thoughts together for the full the review that I'm going to write tomorrow.
Labels: Games
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Lawyers & Cowpokes
Lawyer game is still not done, but I think I've just about got it licked. I'm pretty sure I'm on the last case anyway. Considering how much of a stickler for detail they're requiring me to be now, and adding onto that the kind of twisted--but still intriguing--logic they leap on sometimes to show contradictions and inconsistencies, it sure feels like the last case.
Next up, Cowboys. With, of all things, a WESTERN video game that goes by the single word, Gun.
But it's got Kris Kristofferson, Tom Skerrit, Brad Dourif, Ron Perlman Lance Henrikson doing voice work, with a nice soundtrack composed by TV and game composer Christopher Lennertz, so at least the production values are there...
Lawyer game is still not done, but I think I've just about got it licked. I'm pretty sure I'm on the last case anyway. Considering how much of a stickler for detail they're requiring me to be now, and adding onto that the kind of twisted--but still intriguing--logic they leap on sometimes to show contradictions and inconsistencies, it sure feels like the last case.
Next up, Cowboys. With, of all things, a WESTERN video game that goes by the single word, Gun.
But it's got Kris Kristofferson, Tom Skerrit, Brad Dourif, Ron Perlman Lance Henrikson doing voice work, with a nice soundtrack composed by TV and game composer Christopher Lennertz, so at least the production values are there...
Labels: Games
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Legal Overload
Was up all night and nearly all day today playing the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Man, that is pathetic...
Was up all night and nearly all day today playing the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Man, that is pathetic...
Labels: Adventure Games, Games
Monday, December 12, 2005
I'm An Amoral, Scum Sucking Lawyer
Or at least, thanks to the Nintendo Dual Screen, I can play one on the go.
Even though I don't have to review it, I still managed to get a hold--courtesy of GameAxis--of a copy of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Yep, that's right, a video game about lawyers.
You play the eponymous lawyer in question (who is of course, the rookie) as he wrangles his way through the labyrinth of courtroom drama, and by God, the game really is dramatic. The way to success is to psychologically assault witnesses on the stand, studying your court documents and evidence, and using it pick apart testimony. IE, a witness claims they must have heard something on the victim's television, and you present evidence showing that the building was having a power blackout, thus showing a discrepancy in the statement and giving you more ammunition to badger the witness with.
It's the kind of game you can only play once since once you know the story, and you know the arguments to present and key pieces of evidence to bring out, and the contradictions in testimony to pick on, there's not much surprise or added content to muck around with. I mean, unless you just LIKE going through courtrooms badgering witnesses...
I gotta' say though, it's an interesting premise and it definitely appeals to one personality aspect that video games have thus far ignored. If you are the kind of person that either feels a compulsion--or just enjoys--winning arguments, then this is a quick fix that will allow you to indulge in embarrassing people with their own contradictions without actually having to lose friends or sleep on the couch.
'Course, you gotta' have a Nintendo Dual Screen to play it. And if you're feeling really brave, you can use the microphone function and actually say "Objection!" or "Take that!" to pick your fights. But really, only a super confident, completely unself-conscious individual would have the guts to do that on a train, plane or bus...
Or at least, thanks to the Nintendo Dual Screen, I can play one on the go.
Even though I don't have to review it, I still managed to get a hold--courtesy of GameAxis--of a copy of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Yep, that's right, a video game about lawyers.
You play the eponymous lawyer in question (who is of course, the rookie) as he wrangles his way through the labyrinth of courtroom drama, and by God, the game really is dramatic. The way to success is to psychologically assault witnesses on the stand, studying your court documents and evidence, and using it pick apart testimony. IE, a witness claims they must have heard something on the victim's television, and you present evidence showing that the building was having a power blackout, thus showing a discrepancy in the statement and giving you more ammunition to badger the witness with.
It's the kind of game you can only play once since once you know the story, and you know the arguments to present and key pieces of evidence to bring out, and the contradictions in testimony to pick on, there's not much surprise or added content to muck around with. I mean, unless you just LIKE going through courtrooms badgering witnesses...
I gotta' say though, it's an interesting premise and it definitely appeals to one personality aspect that video games have thus far ignored. If you are the kind of person that either feels a compulsion--or just enjoys--winning arguments, then this is a quick fix that will allow you to indulge in embarrassing people with their own contradictions without actually having to lose friends or sleep on the couch.
'Course, you gotta' have a Nintendo Dual Screen to play it. And if you're feeling really brave, you can use the microphone function and actually say "Objection!" or "Take that!" to pick your fights. But really, only a super confident, completely unself-conscious individual would have the guts to do that on a train, plane or bus...
Labels: Adventure Games, Games
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Pimping Level-5
It's a bit early to tell, but there's a definite chance that there may be a new kid on the RPG block. Square's been around for almost 20 years (Starting waaaay back in 1987 for you kids that care) and truthfully, it's been getting a little long in the tooth. Final Fantasy, while still a great series, has become, like so many success stories, a Franchise, an Intellectual Property, and as such, has all the attendant restrictions placed on it because of branding and marketing concerns so as not to upset its audience.
But here comes some new blood in the form of Level-5, who are already making waves in Japan and look set to possibly take up the mantle that Square has held almost uncontested for the last few years. There just may be a new RPG heir to the throne, and it could be these guys. They made waves initially with their cel shaded Dark Cloud series on the PS2, but they made their big debut when Square-Enix hired them on to create Dragon Quest VIII for them. Now they've got a new game that's just been released in Japan and is likely due to hit English consoles by March.
The game is called Rogue Galaxy, which I've mentioned before, and man, the more I find out about it, the more I really, reeeeally want to get this in a way that supersedes even my interest in Final Fantasy XII.
The thing that first caught my interest is the world the game is set in. It looks like someone over there must have really dug the whole galactic swashbuckling motif of Treasure Planet because the entire game is based on a similar premise of the 18th century style nautical life, writ large on a space-faring scale. There are many worlds to explore, many characters to meet, but all of it in a weird Science-Fiction/Quasi-Victorian sort of way.
Like the upcoming Final Fantasy XII, but more similarly, like Kingdom Hearts (Not too long now for Kingdom Hearts II, by the way, that's also due for release next year, in summer, I believe) the combat in Rogue Galaxy is not turn based, but twitch based, meaning the success of your fighting will be far more dependent on your reflexes than your character's current level, or equipment, though those obviously factor in. You will need to physically manuever around, jump and hit your opponents. But you can also pick them up and toss them into each other, and some bosses only have certain vulnerable points that will require you to jump around and gain access to them since the bosses can be FREAKIN' HUGE.
Like Dragon Quest VIII, the graphics are cel-shaded so it looks like a classic anime yarn, with the usual assortment of exotic characters, and like DQ VIII, it also has an alchemy pot system of sorts, although in this case, it's not a pot, it's a purple talking frog. Yeah, I know, I got weirded out by that too, but apparently it has two MASSIVE cheek sacs, so you pop items into its mouth, and it moves them into its cheek sacs and then starts "gargling" them together like mouthwash to form your new item. The future is a strange and uncomfortable place.
I'm really looking forward to this one now. It has the feel of something new and excited about it, kind of like Square did back in the day. The Japanese have already been going nuts over the game, which is a good sign for RPG fans in other countries, so here's hoping that the localization process to English goes by FAST. Level-5 has already hinted that they don't want to get lost in the avalanche of Square RPG goodness coming in the summer with Kingdom Hearts 2, and more importantly in the fall with Final Fantasy XII, so spring seems to be the most logical time for them to release what will likely be the first RPG hit of 2006.
Keeping going, Level-5, we're watching you, and we like what we see so far...
It's a bit early to tell, but there's a definite chance that there may be a new kid on the RPG block. Square's been around for almost 20 years (Starting waaaay back in 1987 for you kids that care) and truthfully, it's been getting a little long in the tooth. Final Fantasy, while still a great series, has become, like so many success stories, a Franchise, an Intellectual Property, and as such, has all the attendant restrictions placed on it because of branding and marketing concerns so as not to upset its audience.
But here comes some new blood in the form of Level-5, who are already making waves in Japan and look set to possibly take up the mantle that Square has held almost uncontested for the last few years. There just may be a new RPG heir to the throne, and it could be these guys. They made waves initially with their cel shaded Dark Cloud series on the PS2, but they made their big debut when Square-Enix hired them on to create Dragon Quest VIII for them. Now they've got a new game that's just been released in Japan and is likely due to hit English consoles by March.
The game is called Rogue Galaxy, which I've mentioned before, and man, the more I find out about it, the more I really, reeeeally want to get this in a way that supersedes even my interest in Final Fantasy XII.
The thing that first caught my interest is the world the game is set in. It looks like someone over there must have really dug the whole galactic swashbuckling motif of Treasure Planet because the entire game is based on a similar premise of the 18th century style nautical life, writ large on a space-faring scale. There are many worlds to explore, many characters to meet, but all of it in a weird Science-Fiction/Quasi-Victorian sort of way.
Like the upcoming Final Fantasy XII, but more similarly, like Kingdom Hearts (Not too long now for Kingdom Hearts II, by the way, that's also due for release next year, in summer, I believe) the combat in Rogue Galaxy is not turn based, but twitch based, meaning the success of your fighting will be far more dependent on your reflexes than your character's current level, or equipment, though those obviously factor in. You will need to physically manuever around, jump and hit your opponents. But you can also pick them up and toss them into each other, and some bosses only have certain vulnerable points that will require you to jump around and gain access to them since the bosses can be FREAKIN' HUGE.
Like Dragon Quest VIII, the graphics are cel-shaded so it looks like a classic anime yarn, with the usual assortment of exotic characters, and like DQ VIII, it also has an alchemy pot system of sorts, although in this case, it's not a pot, it's a purple talking frog. Yeah, I know, I got weirded out by that too, but apparently it has two MASSIVE cheek sacs, so you pop items into its mouth, and it moves them into its cheek sacs and then starts "gargling" them together like mouthwash to form your new item. The future is a strange and uncomfortable place.
I'm really looking forward to this one now. It has the feel of something new and excited about it, kind of like Square did back in the day. The Japanese have already been going nuts over the game, which is a good sign for RPG fans in other countries, so here's hoping that the localization process to English goes by FAST. Level-5 has already hinted that they don't want to get lost in the avalanche of Square RPG goodness coming in the summer with Kingdom Hearts 2, and more importantly in the fall with Final Fantasy XII, so spring seems to be the most logical time for them to release what will likely be the first RPG hit of 2006.
Keeping going, Level-5, we're watching you, and we like what we see so far...
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Last Minute Article
Well, it shouldn't have been last minute, but it ended up being that way since I'd almost entirely forgotten about it. For some reason, some one from the local magazine Female wrote in and asked me if I'd be interested in doing an article for them based on my take on Valentine's Day. I said sure, and they said they needed it by December 11, which is a Sunday, and that seems darn strange, but hey, maybe they like starting the work week early...
So I promptly forgot about it until a few hours ago and when I realized it was due manically pumped it out. The irony of it is, the article isn't even true. Well not for me, anyway. I figure they wanted something about the insensitivity of men and how confused they are by Valentine's Day and what a frightful experience it is. To be honest, Valentine's Day for me isn't even really that big a deal, but then I think that's because the Wife is one of those girls that actually doesn't buy into the scam that the day is.
I did however learn some interesting things about the day itself, like the fact that the exact origins of the day are unclear. It would seem that there are at least THREE Saint Valentines in Christian history, and all of them died martyrs. Some myths and legends persist that one of these Valentines actually did stuff like help arrange marriages with Romans when marriage was temporarily banned, but there is no clear root for why Valentine's Day is celebrated as and when it is. This makes me feel immensely better about world building in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels, because usually when you introduce some tradition or ritual, most people will insist there be some logical origin to explain it. Now I can always say, "Explain Valentine's Day" and whoever I'm talking to will suddenly realize that he or she has no explanation at all for it.
Man, what a crazy world...
Well, it shouldn't have been last minute, but it ended up being that way since I'd almost entirely forgotten about it. For some reason, some one from the local magazine Female wrote in and asked me if I'd be interested in doing an article for them based on my take on Valentine's Day. I said sure, and they said they needed it by December 11, which is a Sunday, and that seems darn strange, but hey, maybe they like starting the work week early...
So I promptly forgot about it until a few hours ago and when I realized it was due manically pumped it out. The irony of it is, the article isn't even true. Well not for me, anyway. I figure they wanted something about the insensitivity of men and how confused they are by Valentine's Day and what a frightful experience it is. To be honest, Valentine's Day for me isn't even really that big a deal, but then I think that's because the Wife is one of those girls that actually doesn't buy into the scam that the day is.
I did however learn some interesting things about the day itself, like the fact that the exact origins of the day are unclear. It would seem that there are at least THREE Saint Valentines in Christian history, and all of them died martyrs. Some myths and legends persist that one of these Valentines actually did stuff like help arrange marriages with Romans when marriage was temporarily banned, but there is no clear root for why Valentine's Day is celebrated as and when it is. This makes me feel immensely better about world building in Science Fiction and Fantasy novels, because usually when you introduce some tradition or ritual, most people will insist there be some logical origin to explain it. Now I can always say, "Explain Valentine's Day" and whoever I'm talking to will suddenly realize that he or she has no explanation at all for it.
Man, what a crazy world...
Labels: Journalism, Writing
Friday, December 09, 2005
Burbly Friday
Not too much happening, just lots of little things. A little writing on articles, scripts, some gaming, both review related and Dragon Quest VIII related, some shopping, and I'm finally privy to one last RPG on the Playstation 2 that I'm really looking forward to other than Final Fantasy XII. It's called Rogue Galaxy it just came out in Japan, and it's done by Level 5, the same guys that did Dragon Quest VIII for Square-Enix. It's a good time to be an RPG fan if you own a Playstation, this hasn't been a bad year for games. And my cat hurt himself running into a door. Twice.
He's stupid, that's all you need to know.
Not too much happening, just lots of little things. A little writing on articles, scripts, some gaming, both review related and Dragon Quest VIII related, some shopping, and I'm finally privy to one last RPG on the Playstation 2 that I'm really looking forward to other than Final Fantasy XII. It's called Rogue Galaxy it just came out in Japan, and it's done by Level 5, the same guys that did Dragon Quest VIII for Square-Enix. It's a good time to be an RPG fan if you own a Playstation, this hasn't been a bad year for games. And my cat hurt himself running into a door. Twice.
He's stupid, that's all you need to know.
Labels: Games, RPGs, Them Crazy Kitties
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Comics & Cartoons
Amid the sea of games that have to be played there was also a meeting with the Nanoboy folks on the changes to be made to the next script. That went pretty smoothly and then after that an article that should have been a breeze took an entire day to finish 'cause I kept backtracking and wondering if I'd made the right decision.
I'm supposed to write a short piece about 5 essential writers in comics. After initially going on reflex as to the Big Three of Miller, Moore and Gaiman, I found myself doing a lot of shifting about the last two. I did resolve it eventually, but it's just like any short piece; you wish had a ton more space to do the writers justice and in a perfect world, you'd be able to devote an article exclusively to each one so you can show the arc, the history and the analysis behind each writer.
I always get a kick out of the biographical data of these guys. They all seem to come from such diverse backgrounds but there seems to always be that one phrase, "And then they decided to write comics." As if it was, in fact, the easiest thing in the world.
I can't really comment on the difficulty of it or not as I've never actually seriously tried to submit anything to either DC or Marvel. It's a foregone conclusion that my writing sensibilities could not give them what they require and I seem to lean far more heavily into the Vertigo camp of magical/mysterious/non-super hero stuff. Though I've never actually tried submitting anything to them either.
If at some point I had the opportunity to write a comic, I probably would do it, though I would never touch any of the existing big franchises. No Avengers, Justice League, Spiderman or Batman for me. I'd be a lot happier on the fringes with the likes of Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and of course, Neil Gaiman.
But I guess I'll worry about that on the day that I have to...
Amid the sea of games that have to be played there was also a meeting with the Nanoboy folks on the changes to be made to the next script. That went pretty smoothly and then after that an article that should have been a breeze took an entire day to finish 'cause I kept backtracking and wondering if I'd made the right decision.
I'm supposed to write a short piece about 5 essential writers in comics. After initially going on reflex as to the Big Three of Miller, Moore and Gaiman, I found myself doing a lot of shifting about the last two. I did resolve it eventually, but it's just like any short piece; you wish had a ton more space to do the writers justice and in a perfect world, you'd be able to devote an article exclusively to each one so you can show the arc, the history and the analysis behind each writer.
I always get a kick out of the biographical data of these guys. They all seem to come from such diverse backgrounds but there seems to always be that one phrase, "And then they decided to write comics." As if it was, in fact, the easiest thing in the world.
I can't really comment on the difficulty of it or not as I've never actually seriously tried to submit anything to either DC or Marvel. It's a foregone conclusion that my writing sensibilities could not give them what they require and I seem to lean far more heavily into the Vertigo camp of magical/mysterious/non-super hero stuff. Though I've never actually tried submitting anything to them either.
If at some point I had the opportunity to write a comic, I probably would do it, though I would never touch any of the existing big franchises. No Avengers, Justice League, Spiderman or Batman for me. I'd be a lot happier on the fringes with the likes of Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and of course, Neil Gaiman.
But I guess I'll worry about that on the day that I have to...
Labels: Comics, Journalism, Writing
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Too... Many... Games...
Here's a pleasant problem.
I've been doing a bit more regular work for GameAxis and as a result, went down to meet up with a couple of the guys there to make a review run. I ended up getting flooded with a bunch of Playstation 2 games, and I'm kind of drowning in the dilemma of whether to just play the hell out of them or get back to Dragon Quest VIII.
In addition to a new RPG called Wild Arms: Alter Code F which is a remake of the original Wildarms on the Playstation 1--and one of my minor RPG favorites for that system--there's also Soul Caliber III, Jax, and a handful of titles for the GameCube and Nintendo Dual Screen.
I played Mario Striker, the GameCube soccer game. I played it way, WAY more than I should have.
Speaking of which, I still have a review to write on it...
Here's a pleasant problem.
I've been doing a bit more regular work for GameAxis and as a result, went down to meet up with a couple of the guys there to make a review run. I ended up getting flooded with a bunch of Playstation 2 games, and I'm kind of drowning in the dilemma of whether to just play the hell out of them or get back to Dragon Quest VIII.
In addition to a new RPG called Wild Arms: Alter Code F which is a remake of the original Wildarms on the Playstation 1--and one of my minor RPG favorites for that system--there's also Soul Caliber III, Jax, and a handful of titles for the GameCube and Nintendo Dual Screen.
I played Mario Striker, the GameCube soccer game. I played it way, WAY more than I should have.
Speaking of which, I still have a review to write on it...
Labels: Games
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Right In The Middle
That's my impression of the move Aeon Flux.
It's a difficultl thing. I watched the Peter Chung's original animated shorts and they always came off as brilliant, but positively loopy and entirely non-linear. Heck, the title character, Aeon herself, had a tendency to die a lot in these escapades only to return without explanation for another adventure that usually killed her off again. And let's not forget the obscure dialogue; whenever Aeon or the other characters actually spoke to each other, it always seemed like this had been an ongoing series for years, and if you'd only just watched episode 22 of season 6 12 years ago (And by the way, that's made up, the series didn't last that long), that reference in the dialogue would have meant something, really.
It was one of the most unlikely of intellectual properties to bring to the silver screen and yet, somehow, Paramount decided to go ahead and turn this:
Into this:
And I really don't have anything bad to say about it.
Or good, for that matter.
When it came time to actually turning such a bizarre animated concept into a movie, I, when I honestly thought about it, had no clue how to possibly even begin such a process. The animated character is an overwrought, fetishistic enigma that can contort herself into humanly impossible positions, and her relationships, alleigances and story itself were subject to constant change dependent on the needs of a particular episode. She lived up to her name in that regard, the series and the character itself were in a constant state of flux with no permanence or narrative reliability. When it came time to make the movie, it was clear that while they they kept the names intact, and some general characteristics (ie, Aeon Flux has dark hair and is a consummate acrobat and combatant) everything else was up for grabs.
In the end, it was a harmless diversion. One of the people I saw the movie with fell asleep 20 minutes into the film. I myself never felt particularly engaged or drawn into the characters, although I marveled at the art design. And from a photographic perspective it was a prettily shot movie. There were also some moments that had me cringing at how painful certain combat sequences looked, or marveling at how elegant some of the action/acrobatic sequences appeared, but, much like the original series itself, I found myself not particularly drawn to the story (Even though this time around, there actually WAS one) and sat back to simply soak in the spectacle. It was a harmless movie really, though not the kind of thing I'd be dying to add to my DVD collection, I might consider it once the price goes down as it makes for good visual reference material.
That's my impression of the move Aeon Flux.
It's a difficultl thing. I watched the Peter Chung's original animated shorts and they always came off as brilliant, but positively loopy and entirely non-linear. Heck, the title character, Aeon herself, had a tendency to die a lot in these escapades only to return without explanation for another adventure that usually killed her off again. And let's not forget the obscure dialogue; whenever Aeon or the other characters actually spoke to each other, it always seemed like this had been an ongoing series for years, and if you'd only just watched episode 22 of season 6 12 years ago (And by the way, that's made up, the series didn't last that long), that reference in the dialogue would have meant something, really.
It was one of the most unlikely of intellectual properties to bring to the silver screen and yet, somehow, Paramount decided to go ahead and turn this:
Into this:
And I really don't have anything bad to say about it.
Or good, for that matter.
When it came time to actually turning such a bizarre animated concept into a movie, I, when I honestly thought about it, had no clue how to possibly even begin such a process. The animated character is an overwrought, fetishistic enigma that can contort herself into humanly impossible positions, and her relationships, alleigances and story itself were subject to constant change dependent on the needs of a particular episode. She lived up to her name in that regard, the series and the character itself were in a constant state of flux with no permanence or narrative reliability. When it came time to make the movie, it was clear that while they they kept the names intact, and some general characteristics (ie, Aeon Flux has dark hair and is a consummate acrobat and combatant) everything else was up for grabs.
In the end, it was a harmless diversion. One of the people I saw the movie with fell asleep 20 minutes into the film. I myself never felt particularly engaged or drawn into the characters, although I marveled at the art design. And from a photographic perspective it was a prettily shot movie. There were also some moments that had me cringing at how painful certain combat sequences looked, or marveling at how elegant some of the action/acrobatic sequences appeared, but, much like the original series itself, I found myself not particularly drawn to the story (Even though this time around, there actually WAS one) and sat back to simply soak in the spectacle. It was a harmless movie really, though not the kind of thing I'd be dying to add to my DVD collection, I might consider it once the price goes down as it makes for good visual reference material.
Labels: Movies
Monday, December 05, 2005
Xbox 360 & Nausea
It's hard to decide whether to blame it on the food or the hype.
This morning I went down with the rest of the GameAxis crew to see the big presentation to the press by Microsoft for the Xbox 360, which has already launched in North America and will launch in South East Asia by March, a fact that is conspicuously in total opposition to early Microsoft announcements of a simultaneous global release. But then it's easy to see why they scrapped that idea when there are so few 360's to go around that people that have pre-ordered it may still not get their consoles in America until January. So much for supply and demand...
The presentation was pretty much what you'd expect; slick, full of hype, with a lot of free food.
I have to admit, I was slightly underwhelmed by the whole experience. I know it's because the games are first generation, but the games present at the press conference for play (Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing and Kameo: Elements of Power) had the very slick, polished look of games that pushed an Xbox to the max. The true power of the multiple 3.2 GHz processors was nowhere to be seen in the demos.
I also got into a mild disagreement with the marketing guy, but that's to be expected if you disagree at all. It was pointed out by my fellow GameAxis cohorts that I was indeed the Resident Skeptic of the group and have grave doubts about the system. When I was asked why, one of my concerns (There are many, but this is the first that came to mind) was the fact that Xbox 360 is still using DVD as its storage medium as opposed to going for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, both of which have much larger storage capacities and both of which are in contest to see who inherits the standard from DVD (Last I checked, Blu-Ray was winning). When I expressed my concern that sticking with DVD was a rather backwards decision, I was told, "Hey, who buys an Xbox to watch movies?"
Which kind of side-stepped the issue entirely and I had to explain my ACTUAL concern was one of simple math. Data storage space. The new consoles have greater processing power, meaning that they can render larger environments, more detailed characters and more complex cut-scenes. Up the polygon count, up the number of environmental effects and up the amount of voice-over work you're going to require and it figures--quite simply, I thought--that you would need MORE storage for all that increased data.
I ended up having to explain then, that my worry was that if the PS3 were, for example, to come out with the lastest installement of Grand Theft Auto, with locales much larger by several orders of magnitude, more cutscenes, far more detailed characters, vehicles and buildings, etc... and it were to just barely fit on a Blu-Ray disc (Which is what the PS3 is using) then how the hell were they going to squeeze that data onto a DVD? Developers have already expressed concerns about this themselves, speculating that it means games will have to be broken up into multiple DVDs, or, more depressingly, they'll simply have to cut down on "game assets" in order to get it all to fit.
When he finally got it, he said, "You think the 360 can't do that?"
I replied, "It's just physics."
Then he said something about how Microsoft hasn't revealed all the tricks up its sleeve.
I was sorely tempted to say, "So you're saying you've lied to the public about the capabilities of your machine," but after a moment of thought, went with the more diplomatic, "But the DVD player is built in, it's part of your system specs, the only way you can provide more storage like that is as an add on peripheral."
"If there's a demand for it, Microsoft will meet that demand."
At this point, it was a foregone conclusion that the guy didn't really understand how the game industry works. Past consumer history has shown that the market generally HATES add ons to their consoles. Sega bombed with the Sega-CD and Sega 32-X. Microsoft itself learned this lesson from their competitor SONY, when Sony tried to sell an add on hard drive and the majority of consumers just didn't go for it. Microsoft capitalized on that by pointing out their own hard drive was built into the console. Of course, with the new console, in order to keep costs down, they've removed the hard drive ANYWAY, and are selling it as... you guessed it, an additional add on.
To think that you can simply provide a new storage format, then go to your developers and say, "Okay, we've got an additional Blu-Ray drive for our Xbox 360, so, uh... even though we don't know how many people will actually buy it, please try to support that format in addition to our current DVD delivery system" is naive in the extreme.
I finally gave up at that point and said, "But to be fair, it's all about the games," which we both agreed on, and I left it at that. Man, I wish people who tried to market games actually knew something about the games industry. Street credibility is still pretty important in the gamer community.
After that, I hung out with my friend James, who had been called up by a friend of his that was also attending the Xbpx 360 launch. We ate, and I promptly got food poisoning.
At least I think it was food poisoning. All I know is that I developed a steadily increasing case of nausea and about 15 minutes after I got home, promptly threw up and was laid out feeling wasted on the bed with a very sore throat from all the vomiting.
Too much information, but oh well... Back to Dragon Quest VIII...
It's hard to decide whether to blame it on the food or the hype.
This morning I went down with the rest of the GameAxis crew to see the big presentation to the press by Microsoft for the Xbox 360, which has already launched in North America and will launch in South East Asia by March, a fact that is conspicuously in total opposition to early Microsoft announcements of a simultaneous global release. But then it's easy to see why they scrapped that idea when there are so few 360's to go around that people that have pre-ordered it may still not get their consoles in America until January. So much for supply and demand...
The presentation was pretty much what you'd expect; slick, full of hype, with a lot of free food.
I have to admit, I was slightly underwhelmed by the whole experience. I know it's because the games are first generation, but the games present at the press conference for play (Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing and Kameo: Elements of Power) had the very slick, polished look of games that pushed an Xbox to the max. The true power of the multiple 3.2 GHz processors was nowhere to be seen in the demos.
I also got into a mild disagreement with the marketing guy, but that's to be expected if you disagree at all. It was pointed out by my fellow GameAxis cohorts that I was indeed the Resident Skeptic of the group and have grave doubts about the system. When I was asked why, one of my concerns (There are many, but this is the first that came to mind) was the fact that Xbox 360 is still using DVD as its storage medium as opposed to going for Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, both of which have much larger storage capacities and both of which are in contest to see who inherits the standard from DVD (Last I checked, Blu-Ray was winning). When I expressed my concern that sticking with DVD was a rather backwards decision, I was told, "Hey, who buys an Xbox to watch movies?"
Which kind of side-stepped the issue entirely and I had to explain my ACTUAL concern was one of simple math. Data storage space. The new consoles have greater processing power, meaning that they can render larger environments, more detailed characters and more complex cut-scenes. Up the polygon count, up the number of environmental effects and up the amount of voice-over work you're going to require and it figures--quite simply, I thought--that you would need MORE storage for all that increased data.
I ended up having to explain then, that my worry was that if the PS3 were, for example, to come out with the lastest installement of Grand Theft Auto, with locales much larger by several orders of magnitude, more cutscenes, far more detailed characters, vehicles and buildings, etc... and it were to just barely fit on a Blu-Ray disc (Which is what the PS3 is using) then how the hell were they going to squeeze that data onto a DVD? Developers have already expressed concerns about this themselves, speculating that it means games will have to be broken up into multiple DVDs, or, more depressingly, they'll simply have to cut down on "game assets" in order to get it all to fit.
When he finally got it, he said, "You think the 360 can't do that?"
I replied, "It's just physics."
Then he said something about how Microsoft hasn't revealed all the tricks up its sleeve.
I was sorely tempted to say, "So you're saying you've lied to the public about the capabilities of your machine," but after a moment of thought, went with the more diplomatic, "But the DVD player is built in, it's part of your system specs, the only way you can provide more storage like that is as an add on peripheral."
"If there's a demand for it, Microsoft will meet that demand."
At this point, it was a foregone conclusion that the guy didn't really understand how the game industry works. Past consumer history has shown that the market generally HATES add ons to their consoles. Sega bombed with the Sega-CD and Sega 32-X. Microsoft itself learned this lesson from their competitor SONY, when Sony tried to sell an add on hard drive and the majority of consumers just didn't go for it. Microsoft capitalized on that by pointing out their own hard drive was built into the console. Of course, with the new console, in order to keep costs down, they've removed the hard drive ANYWAY, and are selling it as... you guessed it, an additional add on.
To think that you can simply provide a new storage format, then go to your developers and say, "Okay, we've got an additional Blu-Ray drive for our Xbox 360, so, uh... even though we don't know how many people will actually buy it, please try to support that format in addition to our current DVD delivery system" is naive in the extreme.
I finally gave up at that point and said, "But to be fair, it's all about the games," which we both agreed on, and I left it at that. Man, I wish people who tried to market games actually knew something about the games industry. Street credibility is still pretty important in the gamer community.
After that, I hung out with my friend James, who had been called up by a friend of his that was also attending the Xbpx 360 launch. We ate, and I promptly got food poisoning.
At least I think it was food poisoning. All I know is that I developed a steadily increasing case of nausea and about 15 minutes after I got home, promptly threw up and was laid out feeling wasted on the bed with a very sore throat from all the vomiting.
Too much information, but oh well... Back to Dragon Quest VIII...
Labels: Games, Gaming Industry, Journalism
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Dragon Quest VIII Weekend
So much for doing work.
Went off to visit the in-laws who had just come back from a trip to Maine. They brought back some gifts, one of which was this:
SSX 3.
An oldie but a peerless CLASSIC. One of the most fun games I have ever played in my life. The music, gameplay and sheer insanity of the tricks you could pull off made me go for this even over the formidable Tony Hawk series.
And there's still a script to write as well as Dragon Quest VIII to play.
I'm so screwed...
So much for doing work.
Went off to visit the in-laws who had just come back from a trip to Maine. They brought back some gifts, one of which was this:
SSX 3.
An oldie but a peerless CLASSIC. One of the most fun games I have ever played in my life. The music, gameplay and sheer insanity of the tricks you could pull off made me go for this even over the formidable Tony Hawk series.
And there's still a script to write as well as Dragon Quest VIII to play.
I'm so screwed...
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Dragon Quest VIII Weekend
Hardcore gaming. No time--or to be more honest, inclination--to post.
Hardcore gaming. No time--or to be more honest, inclination--to post.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
No Television
As incredible as that may sound, this has been the state I've been living in for over three years now. I have a television set, obviously, but it has never been tuned to an actual channel in all these years, and has been reserved entirely for the viewing of DVDs and playing video games.
Partially this is the result of local televison; it's pretty bad, and I don't feel any loss in not watching it. Yes, they do import American shows over, but when the DVD season compilations are available at--or sometimes sooner--than these shows finally start broadcasting here, it seems kind of pointless. I mean, what would you do if you presented with A) Watch a possibly censored Buffy The Vampire Slayer series (Since excessive drug use or acknowledging the existence of homosexuality is a local no-no) which will likely show at 2 or 3 in the morning anyway... Or just buy the DVD season set and watch them all at once commercial free?
When local TV sucks and shows from North America don't always survive the trip intact, this one is practically a no-brainer.
Of course there's also the other side of it as well. From a professional perspective, if you write scripts for television, then watching television feels a little too much like work. Movies of course, are something that I have yet to be involved with, so I don't feel that same sense of weariness and ditto for video games.
I've often wondered if working in the games industry (As a developer not as a journalist) would ever dampen my enthusiasm towards games. Writing about games certainly hasn't put out the flames of my love for gaming, but if I were to wrestle with development issues every day, actually get stressed out by them, would I actually look on the latest GTA or FF installment with a sense of cynical dread? Or could I still get all excited like a little kid at the thought of it, the way I do now?
Oh well, enough of this. Time to bash more skulls in with The Warriors...
As incredible as that may sound, this has been the state I've been living in for over three years now. I have a television set, obviously, but it has never been tuned to an actual channel in all these years, and has been reserved entirely for the viewing of DVDs and playing video games.
Partially this is the result of local televison; it's pretty bad, and I don't feel any loss in not watching it. Yes, they do import American shows over, but when the DVD season compilations are available at--or sometimes sooner--than these shows finally start broadcasting here, it seems kind of pointless. I mean, what would you do if you presented with A) Watch a possibly censored Buffy The Vampire Slayer series (Since excessive drug use or acknowledging the existence of homosexuality is a local no-no) which will likely show at 2 or 3 in the morning anyway... Or just buy the DVD season set and watch them all at once commercial free?
When local TV sucks and shows from North America don't always survive the trip intact, this one is practically a no-brainer.
Of course there's also the other side of it as well. From a professional perspective, if you write scripts for television, then watching television feels a little too much like work. Movies of course, are something that I have yet to be involved with, so I don't feel that same sense of weariness and ditto for video games.
I've often wondered if working in the games industry (As a developer not as a journalist) would ever dampen my enthusiasm towards games. Writing about games certainly hasn't put out the flames of my love for gaming, but if I were to wrestle with development issues every day, actually get stressed out by them, would I actually look on the latest GTA or FF installment with a sense of cynical dread? Or could I still get all excited like a little kid at the thought of it, the way I do now?
Oh well, enough of this. Time to bash more skulls in with The Warriors...
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