Today I had the chance to watch Parpika (2006) by the same director that did Tokeyo Godfathers (2003) and Paranoia Agent (2004).
The story of Paprika is the story of a research team that has created a device called the DC Mini which allows for waking dreams and for physiologists to enter thoes dreams to help people find answers to their physiological problems. All is well until the dream world and the real world start to merge into one.
Paprika shares a lot of similarities with Paranoia Agent where there is stuff happening that doesn't make sense until the end, you don't know who the bad guy is until the end, there is a policeman that doesn't seen significant until later, a female character who has an alternative female personality, another character who's alternative personality is that of a toy and if you have seen Paranoia Agent then you will be glad this isn't as drawn out as that was.
Paprika is one of those Animes that a lot will rave about and I can agree with those ravers that the animation and characterisation is excellent, but as much as I love the drug endued Super Flat esk styled visuals, stories based in the realm of dreams just doesn't please me (and I know this is a personal thing) because as much as I like dreaming, stories based in dreams where there are no rules but for the willpower of the main character boars me as I know the main characters could aways just will the dream to stop being crazy and it would be. So I do and always have preferred watching stories based in reality, but again that is just a personal thing and Paprika is well worth watching.
4/5
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Joe is Japanese
Japan is a nation of tolerance, dignity, respect for elders, keeping ties with old friends, low rates of crime, a deep love for nature, and sometimes the strangest cultural intolerances or misunderstandings you will ever encounter. And this is kind of what Joe is Japanese an Anime by independent studio Humoring the Fates is about being halfu (half Japanese) and the kinds of things that are caused by it all because you live in Japan.
There is a Clip from Episode One up on the Page which looks stunning, but what happens in it is just one of those things you can only describe as a halfu-moment.
I am VERY much looking forward to Joe is Japanese, but something strikes me as a little odd. Joe McCunney is half Japanese and half Irish, yet like a lot of English speaking people in Japan speaks with an American accent. Being half Irish, one would assume he would speak with a slight Irish accent or maybe that is just me. No idea when or where it is coming out, but if it is as good as it looks I am sure we will be hearing from it again.
There is a Clip from Episode One up on the Page which looks stunning, but what happens in it is just one of those things you can only describe as a halfu-moment.
I am VERY much looking forward to Joe is Japanese, but something strikes me as a little odd. Joe McCunney is half Japanese and half Irish, yet like a lot of English speaking people in Japan speaks with an American accent. Being half Irish, one would assume he would speak with a slight Irish accent or maybe that is just me. No idea when or where it is coming out, but if it is as good as it looks I am sure we will be hearing from it again.
And My 360 Came Home
Tuesday I had two deliveries, the first was Air Conditioning, which is great because it means I at least will survive this year's deathray attack from the sun. And the second delivery was my 360 which arrived as I was looking up the tracking number on the UPS website to make sure it had arrived to it was going.
I think the problem with my 360 might have been something to do with a short one second power outage we had while I was playing Geometry Wars a few weeks ago. But anyway what I got back was a refurbished unit that by it's birth date near the serial number on the back, was manufactured two months after mine. Now I know some people would be unhappy with a nice clean fully working refurbished model, but I am fine as long as it works.
After turning it on and putting Oblivion in and playing for a bit I noticed three things. Firstly upon turning the 360 on the drive tray sometimes forgets that it is closed and requires me to press the eject button twice for the tray to come out, I would be annoyed by this but for the second thing I noticed which is that the drive is quieter! Not silent, but as quiet as the standard PC DVD drive. And thirdly my Oblivion disk had a read error on injured sounds, so if my guy was attacked then there would be a delay as the drive struggled to read the bad area on the disk and sometimes it would popup a disk read error that required me to restart the game (I save often so not a problem, just an inconvenience). So really the whole tray sticking thing is a none issue as sending it back again could mean I get same drive that I had before which looking at Llamma.com's 360 DVD Drive Comparison I had a Hitachi and now have the Samsung which apparently isn't the quietest, yet I know it is way quieter than the Hitachi.
I think the problem with my 360 might have been something to do with a short one second power outage we had while I was playing Geometry Wars a few weeks ago. But anyway what I got back was a refurbished unit that by it's birth date near the serial number on the back, was manufactured two months after mine. Now I know some people would be unhappy with a nice clean fully working refurbished model, but I am fine as long as it works.
After turning it on and putting Oblivion in and playing for a bit I noticed three things. Firstly upon turning the 360 on the drive tray sometimes forgets that it is closed and requires me to press the eject button twice for the tray to come out, I would be annoyed by this but for the second thing I noticed which is that the drive is quieter! Not silent, but as quiet as the standard PC DVD drive. And thirdly my Oblivion disk had a read error on injured sounds, so if my guy was attacked then there would be a delay as the drive struggled to read the bad area on the disk and sometimes it would popup a disk read error that required me to restart the game (I save often so not a problem, just an inconvenience). So really the whole tray sticking thing is a none issue as sending it back again could mean I get same drive that I had before which looking at Llamma.com's 360 DVD Drive Comparison I had a Hitachi and now have the Samsung which apparently isn't the quietest, yet I know it is way quieter than the Hitachi.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Skiing + Escalator = Fun
I got my 360 back from Microsoft earlier and I will do a specific update on the whole experience after I have had some sleep, but in the meantime:
Monday, April 16, 2007
Answer to Pascal’s Wager
So there is this thing called Pascal's Wager by a French guy named Blaise Pascal who essentially said that it is better to worship God because if he exists you go to Heaven. Where as if you don't worship him and he exists you go to hell. I am not sure if god would let phony worshippers into Heaven, but Pascal does pose an interesting point as if God doesn't exist then wither you worship him or not makes no real difference.
My issue with this has always been with by which religion to worship him with, as there are many religions to choose from all stating that they have the correct method. Obviously if God cared which worshipping method he preferred he would say. So I take his continued silence as a message that simply by trying to live my life the best way I can as an ok from him. Obviously if he was to tell me which method he preferred I would dually follow his devine instructions.
Anyway I just read the Atheist's Wager and that puts the whole thing in much better terms that what I can. Pascal's Wager falls down on scrutiny because he ignores the fact that there are multiple religions. Still I would encourage you to read the wonderfully written Atheist's Wager or at the very least the final paragraph.
My issue with this has always been with by which religion to worship him with, as there are many religions to choose from all stating that they have the correct method. Obviously if God cared which worshipping method he preferred he would say. So I take his continued silence as a message that simply by trying to live my life the best way I can as an ok from him. Obviously if he was to tell me which method he preferred I would dually follow his devine instructions.
Anyway I just read the Atheist's Wager and that puts the whole thing in much better terms that what I can. Pascal's Wager falls down on scrutiny because he ignores the fact that there are multiple religions. Still I would encourage you to read the wonderfully written Atheist's Wager or at the very least the final paragraph.
How to Stop Global Warming
Currently the world is starting to show the effects of global warming and it is simply because the resident Human Population is outputting more greenhouse gasses than the planet can deal with naturally. If nothing is done natural disasters like tsunamis and hurricanes will become the norm. Wet areas of the world will become dry and dry areas of the world will become wet. Global Warming will probably not kill off humanity and certainly not spell the end of the planet as planet will survive any disaster that would cause the extinction of the Human race, but the worse global warming becomes the more people will suffer. So I have put together a simple list of things that should halt global warming.
1. Home Insulation
By insulating a home it will be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Insulation represents the biggest energy saving of anything that consumers can do to their home and unlike today's solar panels, insulation will easily pay for itself.
2. Lighting
CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light-bulbs) will save 80% power per lightbulb changed. To think of that differently five CFLs will use up the same amount of power as just one Incandescent Light-bulb. Scale that up to the 24 million homes in the UK and we as a nation are looking at a very significant energy saving. Plus although CFLs might cost a little more, they also last six times longer than traditional incandescent lightbulbs.
3. Electrical Appliances
When buying new appliances make sure you take into consideration the appliance's Energy Performance Certificate as a refrigerator with a D rating might be cheaper to buy, but a refrigerator with an A rating will be cheaper to run.
Simply turning appliances off when they are not in use is an excellent way of saving energy. And if for example you turn your computer off, make sure you also turn off any peripherals connected to it, like screens or speakers too.
Cooking food with a microwave is more energy efficient than useing an oven. Plus using timers and thermostats on appliances can cut energy usage quite dramatically in some cases.
4. Energy Supplier
You can now in the UK buy energy from any energy company you like as opposed to water where there is still a fixed supplier model in place. This means that you can signup to energy suppliers like Ecotricity that only produces power by renewable means.
5. Vehicle Fuel
The use of petrol is an unnecessary resource that we currently use to fuel our vehicles with. This resource will run-out so moving from a dependence on petrol is good for the environment and for future sustainability for when it does run out. Buying a Hybrid car will reduce the amount of petrol you use for transportation, but a better solution is to send a message to manufacturers by refusing to buy any gas guzzling cars. As this will make them take fuel efficiency as a priority without a two tear car consumer model being created.
Alternatives to petrol sound good, but There is an issue with many alternative fuels, Hydrogen is energy costly to produce and Vegetable Oil as well as Ethanol requires large areas of land to grow. So the future for fuels this clearly a purely electric one. Vehicles like the car currently being produced by Tesla Motors is the future because using power from the mains is more environmentally friendly than using petrol and with renewable sources used to produce that power, is CO2 neutral.
6. Recycling
Recycling is a better way of disposing of waist than burying it in the ground as it saves natural resources.
7. Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are an excellent way of reducing CO2. When a new cleaner coal fire power planet is built, a forest can be planted next to the power plant so that the carbon the power plant produces is absorbed by the forest. This offset can make a new development carbon neutral or even carbon negative.
8. Political
And finally politicians are quite willing to get behind green issues if it means more votes. This should be encouraged because politicians can really make a difference to the environment by putting forwards new environmental standards, new policies and they are the ones who choose where public money is spent.
Final Thoughts
Some global warming is quite natural, but the levels we are seeing at the moment means we will all suffer. Poorer countries will suffer more than the rich and it will get worse before it becomes better, but even if you are one of those people who believe God will come and save everybody at the last minuet like Superman did by flying around the earth backwards; or that Aliens will make contact and give us some newkind of technology to produce free energy (I say 2:1 odds against). You should still take energy conservation to heart because it saves money.
1. Home Insulation
By insulating a home it will be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Insulation represents the biggest energy saving of anything that consumers can do to their home and unlike today's solar panels, insulation will easily pay for itself.
2. Lighting
CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light-bulbs) will save 80% power per lightbulb changed. To think of that differently five CFLs will use up the same amount of power as just one Incandescent Light-bulb. Scale that up to the 24 million homes in the UK and we as a nation are looking at a very significant energy saving. Plus although CFLs might cost a little more, they also last six times longer than traditional incandescent lightbulbs.
3. Electrical Appliances
When buying new appliances make sure you take into consideration the appliance's Energy Performance Certificate as a refrigerator with a D rating might be cheaper to buy, but a refrigerator with an A rating will be cheaper to run.
Simply turning appliances off when they are not in use is an excellent way of saving energy. And if for example you turn your computer off, make sure you also turn off any peripherals connected to it, like screens or speakers too.
Cooking food with a microwave is more energy efficient than useing an oven. Plus using timers and thermostats on appliances can cut energy usage quite dramatically in some cases.
4. Energy Supplier
You can now in the UK buy energy from any energy company you like as opposed to water where there is still a fixed supplier model in place. This means that you can signup to energy suppliers like Ecotricity that only produces power by renewable means.
5. Vehicle Fuel
The use of petrol is an unnecessary resource that we currently use to fuel our vehicles with. This resource will run-out so moving from a dependence on petrol is good for the environment and for future sustainability for when it does run out. Buying a Hybrid car will reduce the amount of petrol you use for transportation, but a better solution is to send a message to manufacturers by refusing to buy any gas guzzling cars. As this will make them take fuel efficiency as a priority without a two tear car consumer model being created.
Alternatives to petrol sound good, but There is an issue with many alternative fuels, Hydrogen is energy costly to produce and Vegetable Oil as well as Ethanol requires large areas of land to grow. So the future for fuels this clearly a purely electric one. Vehicles like the car currently being produced by Tesla Motors is the future because using power from the mains is more environmentally friendly than using petrol and with renewable sources used to produce that power, is CO2 neutral.
6. Recycling
Recycling is a better way of disposing of waist than burying it in the ground as it saves natural resources.
7. Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are an excellent way of reducing CO2. When a new cleaner coal fire power planet is built, a forest can be planted next to the power plant so that the carbon the power plant produces is absorbed by the forest. This offset can make a new development carbon neutral or even carbon negative.
8. Political
And finally politicians are quite willing to get behind green issues if it means more votes. This should be encouraged because politicians can really make a difference to the environment by putting forwards new environmental standards, new policies and they are the ones who choose where public money is spent.
Final Thoughts
Some global warming is quite natural, but the levels we are seeing at the moment means we will all suffer. Poorer countries will suffer more than the rich and it will get worse before it becomes better, but even if you are one of those people who believe God will come and save everybody at the last minuet like Superman did by flying around the earth backwards; or that Aliens will make contact and give us some newkind of technology to produce free energy (I say 2:1 odds against). You should still take energy conservation to heart because it saves money.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Guitar Hero Custom Tracks
Been playing a bit of Guitar Hero with the 360 controller around a friend's house today and apart from being surprised how well the controller performs in the game, I was thinking about what track above all others I would want added to the game if I could choose and at first I was thinking Alien Ant Farm's rendition of Smooth Criminal. And since the PS2 version of the game can be modded so custom tracks can be added, I actually found an approximate video of what I want to be playing:
However after being through my classic rock collection I am now thinking Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower and Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper, which I found modded.
However after being through my classic rock collection I am now thinking Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower and Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper, which I found modded.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Boom Boom Rocket
The UPS guy came around earlier to fetch my 360. The poor thing doesn't know what it is in for, but it or one just like it should be back in my hand in about three weeks. Until then I have an empty space to look at where it once was.
Anyway Boom Boom Rocket is released on Arcade today and I saved this video for just this event. From the 1UP Blog somebody playing Boom Boom Rocket very well, maybe even too well, for a Human.
Anyway Boom Boom Rocket is released on Arcade today and I saved this video for just this event. From the 1UP Blog somebody playing Boom Boom Rocket very well, maybe even too well, for a Human.
My XBox360 Died
This is one of those things that happens to other people. I was fully aware that there was a severe TRLOD (Three Red Lights of Death) manufacturing issue with 360s that where produced in 2005, but mine was March 2006 so I thought I was safe. I thought that I would never have a technical problem or ever see the red LEDs in the front panel working. But those other people that this happens to, is now me!!!
A few weeks ago we had a slight power outage while I was playing Geometry Wars and when my 360 started again I seen the dreaded TRLOD. After a restart all was well, but now all I can see is the TRLOD.
Not liking my XBox looking like a Cylon I through it was best to Call Support and get it fixed no matter how much it was going to coast me, I want to play Geometry Wars again (plus I have Guitar Hero II on the way). Fortunately as it turns out I still have four days left on my Warranty so it isn't going to cost me anything. I have heard of people being just over the Warranty period, but I was just under and this makes me feel very fortunate.
I have had to package everything myself which cost me some money when I bought the packaging, but UPS is picking it up tomorrow and I should have it back in three weeks, so all is well I guess.
A few weeks ago we had a slight power outage while I was playing Geometry Wars and when my 360 started again I seen the dreaded TRLOD. After a restart all was well, but now all I can see is the TRLOD.
Not liking my XBox looking like a Cylon I through it was best to Call Support and get it fixed no matter how much it was going to coast me, I want to play Geometry Wars again (plus I have Guitar Hero II on the way). Fortunately as it turns out I still have four days left on my Warranty so it isn't going to cost me anything. I have heard of people being just over the Warranty period, but I was just under and this makes me feel very fortunate.
I have had to package everything myself which cost me some money when I bought the packaging, but UPS is picking it up tomorrow and I should have it back in three weeks, so all is well I guess.
Monday, April 09, 2007
The Amazing Graphing Calculator Story
Wikipedia says it best:
And if by any chance you want to have a look at the latest version of the Graphing Calculator, you can do that Here.
Ron Avitzur is a software developer. He worked with Apple Computer in the early 1990's. After Apple cancelled his project, Graphing Calculator he, together with his friend Greg Robbins, continued to work for free, sneaking into the building every day in order to continue development of the software. When completed, the software was so impressive that Apple executives used it as their standard demonstration of the then-new PowerPC chips, and agreed to ship the calculator with Mac OS 9.It is an amazing story that Ron Has Written About, but then you could instead just watch Ron Give the Story in His Own words on Google Video.
- Wikipedia
And if by any chance you want to have a look at the latest version of the Graphing Calculator, you can do that Here.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Cheapest Place to Get Guitar Hero 2 for the 360
Foxy.co.uk has Guitar Hero 2 for £53.75, but if you get a get a voucher code from This Foxy Page you can get the price down to £48.75.
Not a bad saving if like me you haven't owned the PS2 version.
Not a bad saving if like me you haven't owned the PS2 version.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Conspiracy Nuts Hastle Astronauts
I seen this video on YouTube earlier and it is of some conspiracy nut trying to get Apollo Astronauts to swear on a Bible that they landed on the moon. Astronauts have been hastled by these types of people for years so it isn't surprising that they don't meet them with the friendliest of greetings.
The truth of the matter is that American Astronauts did land on the moon and we can show this today because one of the experiments left on the moon by Apollo 11 was a Mirror (NASA calls it a Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector Array) that is used to fire a laser at from earth so we know the true distance that the moon is from the earth. It is from this experiment that We Know the Moon will Eventually Leave Earth Orbit although it is only moving out at 3.8CM per year so it will take a while.
The truth of the matter is that American Astronauts did land on the moon and we can show this today because one of the experiments left on the moon by Apollo 11 was a Mirror (NASA calls it a Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector Array) that is used to fire a laser at from earth so we know the true distance that the moon is from the earth. It is from this experiment that We Know the Moon will Eventually Leave Earth Orbit although it is only moving out at 3.8CM per year so it will take a while.
Opportunistic Documentaries
There seems to be somekind of growing trend amongst new documentary makers to not research their facts and when presented with facts, reinterpret them to fit their sensationalist viewpoint.
The first one of these I seen was Loose Change (you can watch it from this page) which does the whole Bush ordered the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York thing. Certainly if you are someone that believes Georg Orwell's 1984 vision of the future will come true, then you will find complementing viewpoints in this documentary.
The truth of 9/11 is that terrorists hijacked some planes and in acts of Jihad gave their lives to their hatred of America and possibly the west in general. If they hadn't done that America probably wouldn't have invaded Afghanistan, invaded Iraq and Bush probably probably wouldn't have been re-elected.
The second false sensationalist documentary that I knowingly seen was in February this year on Channel 4. It was called called The Global Warming Swindle which states that global warming is a natural phenomena and that Humans are not effecting the earth's climate in any significant way.
The Independent and then The Times where the first to call this one BS and I am now wondering why Channel 4 allowed it to be shown as charts in the documentary have been altered and people have been misquoted (film enough footage of someone speaking and you can do that). The truth is that the earth is getting much warmer and we are causing it. This can be reversed by using low energy compact florescent lightbulbs, by ridding ourselves of our dependency on oil and not protesting politicians that are doing the right thing. Until then the climate is just going to keep getting worse, probably won't mean the end of humanity, but enough people will suffer before it is over to warrant immediate action.
On a side note, nobody ever talks about the success of the Montreal Protocol which was the international effort to save the Ozone Layer. Now Ozone Layer should be repairing itself over time (the first detectable signs will possibly be in 2024), but the replacement gasses we now use instead of CFCs are still greenhouse gasses and so contribute to our current crisis, global warming.
The first one of these I seen was Loose Change (you can watch it from this page) which does the whole Bush ordered the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York thing. Certainly if you are someone that believes Georg Orwell's 1984 vision of the future will come true, then you will find complementing viewpoints in this documentary.
The truth of 9/11 is that terrorists hijacked some planes and in acts of Jihad gave their lives to their hatred of America and possibly the west in general. If they hadn't done that America probably wouldn't have invaded Afghanistan, invaded Iraq and Bush probably probably wouldn't have been re-elected.
The second false sensationalist documentary that I knowingly seen was in February this year on Channel 4. It was called called The Global Warming Swindle which states that global warming is a natural phenomena and that Humans are not effecting the earth's climate in any significant way.
The Independent and then The Times where the first to call this one BS and I am now wondering why Channel 4 allowed it to be shown as charts in the documentary have been altered and people have been misquoted (film enough footage of someone speaking and you can do that). The truth is that the earth is getting much warmer and we are causing it. This can be reversed by using low energy compact florescent lightbulbs, by ridding ourselves of our dependency on oil and not protesting politicians that are doing the right thing. Until then the climate is just going to keep getting worse, probably won't mean the end of humanity, but enough people will suffer before it is over to warrant immediate action.
On a side note, nobody ever talks about the success of the Montreal Protocol which was the international effort to save the Ozone Layer. Now Ozone Layer should be repairing itself over time (the first detectable signs will possibly be in 2024), but the replacement gasses we now use instead of CFCs are still greenhouse gasses and so contribute to our current crisis, global warming.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
And in Local News
I read This today about some guy in Leicester who was jailed because he... well just read it and that film scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Evolutionary Peanut Butter + Walking Efficiently in Japan
These are two videos that made me laugh.
First peanut butter disproves evolution and if you haven't seen it checkout the equally funny Bananas Prove God Video.
And then there is this which might be a setup or it might be a social experiment, but it's funny too.
First peanut butter disproves evolution and if you haven't seen it checkout the equally funny Bananas Prove God Video.
And then there is this which might be a setup or it might be a social experiment, but it's funny too.
28 Weeks Later Trailer
28 days later was a good Zombie film, but the Trailer for the film's sequel 28 Weeks Later looks way better. Firstly they are doing a plot about the re-population of London after the zombie outbreak which I don't believe has ever been done before and then they are doing a very Japanese thing in blowing home cities up with a dash of American firepower.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Akira Manga (Completed)
A few hours ago I finished reading the 2,182 page Akira Manga. The same manga that spawned the 1988 film that changed Anime forever and brought Anime to the west. Although I am a huge fan of Akira the film masterpiece, I have to admit that the manga is a different masterpiece entirely.
I first bought the volume 1 in April 2002 (according to my Amazon account) and the rest soon after because I was a big fan of the film. For some reason I only got to half way through volume 3. I don't remember why but the whole series then sat on a shelf waiting for me to get around to reading it again (after five years I chose to read from the start again). With it's daunting size and such things as final year projects and such to distract my attention I never got around to reading it again.
It is a lot of paper.
The reason why I felt I could just sit and read it is because a few months ago I read the entire of Death Note in about two weeks. Pertly because it was being made into a film and I had seen the impressive trailer, but also once I started grinding through the story I found the whole experience to be very rewarding. Normally I would pace myself, but on this occasion I just read (a lot) and found the story flowed much better with fewer breaks.
So being unemployed as I am I thought it was about time I paid my respects to the original manga that spawned the film I favour so greatly. If it wasn't for a certain Oblivion Expansion I would have gotten through it quicker, but I was quite surprised at how utterly different the manga is to everything that the film is. The manga has way more characters, happens over a much longer period and is a lot more epic in nature. I don't want to spoil anything about the plot, but if the film was converted to a graphic novel I am fairly sure it would be less than 400 pages. So even if you have seen the film a thousand times the manga is well worth reading and will enhance your understanding of the film's plot. And if you have read the manga, go see the film because it isn't an adaptation at all, but rather a different telling of the same overplot.
While I was reading I spotted this little pain:
The guy is being asked to lift a stone with his physic powers as training. As soon as I read it I thought of the Wachowski Brothers and wondered if they had seen that too.
Anyway the manga is the best graphic novel I have ever read and for some reason I thought it would be interesting to record how must time i spent reading each volume as I went:
Volume 1 (359 pages)
1 hour
47 minuets
32 seconds
Volume 2 (301 pages)
1 hour
15 minuets
52 seconds
Volume 3 (282 pages)
1 hour
18 minuets
37 seconds
Volume 4 (394 pages)
2 hours
5 minuets
5 seconds
Volume 5 (413 pages)
1 hour
59 minuets
38 seconds
Volume 6 (433 pages)
1 hour
10 minuets
48 seconds
Total pages 2,182
Total reading time 9 hours 36 minuets and 32 seconds.
X/5
It's a masterpiece I can't simply give it a score out of five!!!
I first bought the volume 1 in April 2002 (according to my Amazon account) and the rest soon after because I was a big fan of the film. For some reason I only got to half way through volume 3. I don't remember why but the whole series then sat on a shelf waiting for me to get around to reading it again (after five years I chose to read from the start again). With it's daunting size and such things as final year projects and such to distract my attention I never got around to reading it again.
It is a lot of paper.
The reason why I felt I could just sit and read it is because a few months ago I read the entire of Death Note in about two weeks. Pertly because it was being made into a film and I had seen the impressive trailer, but also once I started grinding through the story I found the whole experience to be very rewarding. Normally I would pace myself, but on this occasion I just read (a lot) and found the story flowed much better with fewer breaks.
So being unemployed as I am I thought it was about time I paid my respects to the original manga that spawned the film I favour so greatly. If it wasn't for a certain Oblivion Expansion I would have gotten through it quicker, but I was quite surprised at how utterly different the manga is to everything that the film is. The manga has way more characters, happens over a much longer period and is a lot more epic in nature. I don't want to spoil anything about the plot, but if the film was converted to a graphic novel I am fairly sure it would be less than 400 pages. So even if you have seen the film a thousand times the manga is well worth reading and will enhance your understanding of the film's plot. And if you have read the manga, go see the film because it isn't an adaptation at all, but rather a different telling of the same overplot.
While I was reading I spotted this little pain:
The guy is being asked to lift a stone with his physic powers as training. As soon as I read it I thought of the Wachowski Brothers and wondered if they had seen that too.
Anyway the manga is the best graphic novel I have ever read and for some reason I thought it would be interesting to record how must time i spent reading each volume as I went:
Volume 1 (359 pages)
1 hour
47 minuets
32 seconds
Volume 2 (301 pages)
1 hour
15 minuets
52 seconds
Volume 3 (282 pages)
1 hour
18 minuets
37 seconds
Volume 4 (394 pages)
2 hours
5 minuets
5 seconds
Volume 5 (413 pages)
1 hour
59 minuets
38 seconds
Volume 6 (433 pages)
1 hour
10 minuets
48 seconds
Total pages 2,182
Total reading time 9 hours 36 minuets and 32 seconds.
X/5
It's a masterpiece I can't simply give it a score out of five!!!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Journey to The Shivering Isles
I have been playing the Oblivion expansion Shivering Isles and it's good. My main complaint with Oblivion was that the people in Cyrodiil where just flat and after more than forty hours of listening to that imperial tone they speak in, they all become slightly irritating with most reviewers even saying Bethesda should have hired more voice actors. Oblivion never had any real story progression or character development, not even where it should have been in the main quest line.
That all being said Shivering Isles is brilliant, haven't completed it yet, but OMG it is twice the game Oblivion was with all those character narration faults corrected.
You can download the Shivering Isles from Oblivion's main menu option screen. For 2400 points (£20.40) it isn't a cheap expansion, but I do think it's worth it.
That all being said Shivering Isles is brilliant, haven't completed it yet, but OMG it is twice the game Oblivion was with all those character narration faults corrected.
You can download the Shivering Isles from Oblivion's main menu option screen. For 2400 points (£20.40) it isn't a cheap expansion, but I do think it's worth it.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
David Lynch Speaks on Product Placement
Product placement in video games is currently a hot topic and you would think developers would be saying that it's great because the extra funds help make the game better the consumer benefits from the advertisement, but the truth is that publishers eat all the profits from the in-game advertisement to offset the risk they take from investing in the title. Still it as been described by some that advertisement in necessary for this young growing industry to continue to grow.
David Lynch director of such titles as Twin Peaks and Dune (one of the few films I own) was asked about product placement in films and this is his response:
David Lynch director of such titles as Twin Peaks and Dune (one of the few films I own) was asked about product placement in films and this is his response:
Saturday, March 24, 2007
300
Seen 300 at the cinema today. It's good and I think very character over plot orientated, just like Anime is.
Last year the best film I seen at the cinema was Pirates of the Caribbean 2, good, but no ending. Everything else was either average or just not that great. This year however I have seen Hot Fuzz the best comedy I have seen in a very long time and now 300 a serious bar raising action film. 2007 seems like better year for films already.
P.S Actually the best film from 2006 was Little Miss Sunshine, but I seen that this year.
Last year the best film I seen at the cinema was Pirates of the Caribbean 2, good, but no ending. Everything else was either average or just not that great. This year however I have seen Hot Fuzz the best comedy I have seen in a very long time and now 300 a serious bar raising action film. 2007 seems like better year for films already.
P.S Actually the best film from 2006 was Little Miss Sunshine, but I seen that this year.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Supreme Commander - Story
I completed the last campaign on Supreme Commander today (with the cheats on) and I have to say I am a little disappointed with the story. SC has three great factions to choose from each with a six planet campaign, firstly there is the United Earth Federation who is a Republic that was formed after the Galactic Empire fell. The Cybran Nation is a group fighting for the freedom of enslaved cyborgs led by their creator Professor Brackman (who is now over 1000 years old). And then there is the Aeon Illuminate, religious nuts who happen to have really advanced technology left to them by an alien race that founded their religion.
There are sparks of genius in the story. In-partially the Cybran Nation resembles a struggle for racial equality, like that between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam where instead of unity the Cybran Nation (just like Malcolm X did in his early years) seeks racial segregation as a means to end tension.
Dialogue is done with an emotional alignment that makes you see things from the view of the faction you are currently fighting for. So if you are fighting for the Aeon Illuminate their commanders come across very ethereal in their caring for the civilian population, but play on the side of the United Earth Federation and they will seem like religious zealots. Then play on the side of the Cybran Nation and they will appear to want to cleanse the universe of all Cybrans. This works quite well and no faction seems more evil or good than the others after playing through all available campaigns.
The story however isn't very interesting and the Aeon Illuminate especially seems very unsound as the game doesn't fill in any gaps to help the player understand what this religion they follow actually is. More details about the planets that the player fights on would add more depth to the universe. More information about the factions as the game progresses would also be welcomed as with the Aeon Illuminate and United Earth Federation I found myself not caring wither they won or lost. I did however care about the Cybran Nation, but that was only because the Aeon Illuminate commanders kept calling the Cyberins abominations and that made me identify with them a little as I also get that from religious groups from time to time.
Overall Supreme Commander has an ok story, but it could have been much better if it had just given more information about the universe, what was going on and tried a little harder to make me care about what happened to the different factions.
If you complete the game, watch through the end credits (you actually have to watch the whole credits) and you will be rewarded with a five second FMV sequence after the game results screen which indicates that the game's story isn't over just yet, not that you are given much of a reason to care, but I still look forward to an expansion or something that will build on what groundwork was been laid-out.
There are sparks of genius in the story. In-partially the Cybran Nation resembles a struggle for racial equality, like that between Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam where instead of unity the Cybran Nation (just like Malcolm X did in his early years) seeks racial segregation as a means to end tension.
Dialogue is done with an emotional alignment that makes you see things from the view of the faction you are currently fighting for. So if you are fighting for the Aeon Illuminate their commanders come across very ethereal in their caring for the civilian population, but play on the side of the United Earth Federation and they will seem like religious zealots. Then play on the side of the Cybran Nation and they will appear to want to cleanse the universe of all Cybrans. This works quite well and no faction seems more evil or good than the others after playing through all available campaigns.
The story however isn't very interesting and the Aeon Illuminate especially seems very unsound as the game doesn't fill in any gaps to help the player understand what this religion they follow actually is. More details about the planets that the player fights on would add more depth to the universe. More information about the factions as the game progresses would also be welcomed as with the Aeon Illuminate and United Earth Federation I found myself not caring wither they won or lost. I did however care about the Cybran Nation, but that was only because the Aeon Illuminate commanders kept calling the Cyberins abominations and that made me identify with them a little as I also get that from religious groups from time to time.
Overall Supreme Commander has an ok story, but it could have been much better if it had just given more information about the universe, what was going on and tried a little harder to make me care about what happened to the different factions.
If you complete the game, watch through the end credits (you actually have to watch the whole credits) and you will be rewarded with a five second FMV sequence after the game results screen which indicates that the game's story isn't over just yet, not that you are given much of a reason to care, but I still look forward to an expansion or something that will build on what groundwork was been laid-out.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Singing Accents
I have noticed some perfectly English sounding people sing with American accents and sometimes I mistake American artists for being English because of their singing accents.
So have you ever noticed someone singing in a different accent than their own before?
So have you ever noticed someone singing in a different accent than their own before?
Friday, March 16, 2007
Gamasutra Does the Art Thing Also
As an odd coincidence Gamasutra today posted an article titled Are Games Art? (Here We Go Again...) By Bryan Ochalla which surprised me because I only Posted on the Subject Yesterday and this article comes at the question from the other side of the discussion suggesting that games are indeed all art.
I have a few problems with the article and his first mistake:
Then on the second page of the article Ochalla shows a screenshot from Okami next to a picture of Fountain by Marcel Duchamp and asks below as a caption "Which of the above is art?"
Okami is renowned for having a very unique painted art style and even has a brush that the player must use in the game to cast spells with. Okami is possibly the closest thing any game product has ever come to being considered art. However Fountain on the other-hand was submitted to an exhibition to challenge people's perception of what can be considered art. Even today thirty nine years after the artist's death Fountain is still debated, but widely accepted as art. This is because even though the piece wasn't crafted by the artist's own hands, by him placing the item in a gallery to be appreciated as art makes it art. So maybe the question shouldn't be "Which of the above is art?" but rather "Which of the above emulates art?".
If all games are considered art, then all films should be considered art. And if that is true that makes all the Harry Potter films art which are simply poor adaptations of the books in-order to make money. So if all crap films are art then our definition of art is so broad that I should be able to go to the toilet, shit into the toilet and then call my stool art because it is the result of artistic expression.
I have a few problems with the article and his first mistake:
That, however, is a question to be tackled at another time and in another article. Instead, the question of the day is “are games an art form?”Hideo Kojima was the first developer I ever heard to give his outright opinion on the subject and his stance is that, although games contain art, they are designed as mass entertainment and are not art. I am not sure I agree with his stance from the Official PlayStation Magazine on art, but this was what got me first thinking about the subject. A few other developers this year at GDC also from Japan shared a similar stance (I am sorry I didn't write down their names now). So to say all developers agree that games are art is plain wrong.
Unsurprisingly, the answer among game developers is a resounding “yes.”
Then on the second page of the article Ochalla shows a screenshot from Okami next to a picture of Fountain by Marcel Duchamp and asks below as a caption "Which of the above is art?"
Okami is renowned for having a very unique painted art style and even has a brush that the player must use in the game to cast spells with. Okami is possibly the closest thing any game product has ever come to being considered art. However Fountain on the other-hand was submitted to an exhibition to challenge people's perception of what can be considered art. Even today thirty nine years after the artist's death Fountain is still debated, but widely accepted as art. This is because even though the piece wasn't crafted by the artist's own hands, by him placing the item in a gallery to be appreciated as art makes it art. So maybe the question shouldn't be "Which of the above is art?" but rather "Which of the above emulates art?".
If all games are considered art, then all films should be considered art. And if that is true that makes all the Harry Potter films art which are simply poor adaptations of the books in-order to make money. So if all crap films are art then our definition of art is so broad that I should be able to go to the toilet, shit into the toilet and then call my stool art because it is the result of artistic expression.
The Scope of What is Defined as Art
For the past few months I have been deliberating over this whole 'what is and is not art' discussion and Tuesday I came to a conclusion about the word art itself.
A broad definition of the word art would be the product of an artist and an artist being anybody who creates art. Further definitions include words like inspire and creativity. So analysing the definition of the word unlike with a lot of first line research in other areas doesn't result in any realisations or firm beliefs in what the word means as everything to do with the term is very broad. So then I had a look at the use of the word art in the wild (results in other languages may differ):
So to look at this another way, a gun is not a weapon it is a piece of engineered metal. The metal gun could be considered as an expression of creativity and thus art, but it isn't. Instead in the hands of a Human this lump of machined metal can be used to inflict harm. This potential in the hands of the holder is what makes the metal a weapon, just as a video game which is just software is a games in the hands of the player. Without the player, the game is just software, just as the weapon is just metal and neither is art.
So then their is the question of all the art assets that are placed into a game, doesn't that make a game art?
Well earlier this week I was thinking about Hollywood films as products and I came to the conclusion that maybe our definition of art is too broad. In the early days I can see that an art film would be very much like a 'made for profit' film and the film makers who make films for profit would of course want their product to be considered art because art is a highly cultured thing. So although some film can be considered art, films made by Hollywood studios for the purpose of making money should not be considered art at all. I understand that a lot of people who contribute to a commercial film will be producing art for the product, but the objectives of the product is to make money, not for the product to be an expression of creativity. So because our definition of art is so broad people have mistakenly classed games as art.
So to clarify
Monopoly is not art, it is a tool for expressing play. And although Monopoly consists of art assets created by an artist, the game was created to be played by players, to make money and is not the result of a purely expressive process.
And the world needs to stop using art to describe everything because not everything is art.
A broad definition of the word art would be the product of an artist and an artist being anybody who creates art. Further definitions include words like inspire and creativity. So analysing the definition of the word unlike with a lot of first line research in other areas doesn't result in any realisations or firm beliefs in what the word means as everything to do with the term is very broad. So then I had a look at the use of the word art in the wild (results in other languages may differ):
- Paintings
An artist painting of something real is considered art. An artist painting of something they have seen in their mind and is not real is also considered art. - Sculptures
Much the same as paintings. - Poetry
Poetry is considered emotionally expressive on the part of the poet so is considered art. - Stories
Writers have to craft their creative ideas into single linear (no stories don't need to be linear, but this is how writing is taught) structures and the end result is considered art. - Cars
Some cars are considered works of art. - Product Design
Product design is also sometimes said to be an artform. - Architecture
A lot of architects are inspired by art. And a lot of artists have been inspired by architecture. This inspiration factor and expression through design make buildings widely accepted as art. - Films
Film is also considered art as the artists can express creativity through the medium. - Video Games
Video games are still debated as to wither they are art or not. And this seems odd since other areas like Architecture are easily accepted as art.
So to look at this another way, a gun is not a weapon it is a piece of engineered metal. The metal gun could be considered as an expression of creativity and thus art, but it isn't. Instead in the hands of a Human this lump of machined metal can be used to inflict harm. This potential in the hands of the holder is what makes the metal a weapon, just as a video game which is just software is a games in the hands of the player. Without the player, the game is just software, just as the weapon is just metal and neither is art.
So then their is the question of all the art assets that are placed into a game, doesn't that make a game art?
Well earlier this week I was thinking about Hollywood films as products and I came to the conclusion that maybe our definition of art is too broad. In the early days I can see that an art film would be very much like a 'made for profit' film and the film makers who make films for profit would of course want their product to be considered art because art is a highly cultured thing. So although some film can be considered art, films made by Hollywood studios for the purpose of making money should not be considered art at all. I understand that a lot of people who contribute to a commercial film will be producing art for the product, but the objectives of the product is to make money, not for the product to be an expression of creativity. So because our definition of art is so broad people have mistakenly classed games as art.
So to clarify
Monopoly is not art, it is a tool for expressing play. And although Monopoly consists of art assets created by an artist, the game was created to be played by players, to make money and is not the result of a purely expressive process.
And the world needs to stop using art to describe everything because not everything is art.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
XBox 360 Dashboard Theme Previews
Microsoft doesn't provide previews for Dashboard Themes on Live, so this forces everybody to buy themes blind, but today I found DashboardThemes.com which has a preview of all the 360's purchasable Dashboard Themes.
Microsoft does provide previews for some Marketplace content, but they need to give full previews for all content when it goes live on Marketplace otherwise there are always going to be irritated customers who bought something and didn't get what they expected.
Microsoft does provide previews for some Marketplace content, but they need to give full previews for all content when it goes live on Marketplace otherwise there are always going to be irritated customers who bought something and didn't get what they expected.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Almost the Best Pong Tshirt Ever Made
ThinkGeek is now selling a Tshirt with an LCD screen built-in so you can get that Pong Retro Arcade Feel whenever you look down.
There is however several flaws I see. Firstly, the Pong Tshirt is not playable. Secondly it is silent which means the audio immersivity of the full arcade experience is missing. And thirdly it's animation cycle is so limited it won't tell the time.
Still a good attempt and possibly a worthy suggestion as to how the industry should preserve video games for future generations.
There is however several flaws I see. Firstly, the Pong Tshirt is not playable. Secondly it is silent which means the audio immersivity of the full arcade experience is missing. And thirdly it's animation cycle is so limited it won't tell the time.
Still a good attempt and possibly a worthy suggestion as to how the industry should preserve video games for future generations.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Stupid Questions
I have never understood why there is such a term as a 'Stupid Question'. Through my entire life I have been accused of asking stupid questions, but surly it is only stupid people who don't ask questions!?
The answer to a lot of those questions are mostly straight-forward, but what about something more meaty from Professor Walter Lewin at MIT:
The question posed above is very generalised, but does that make it a more or less of an intelligent question?
Anyway see Kelvin's Thunderstorm for the answer.
The answer to a lot of those questions are mostly straight-forward, but what about something more meaty from Professor Walter Lewin at MIT:
The question posed above is very generalised, but does that make it a more or less of an intelligent question?
Anyway see Kelvin's Thunderstorm for the answer.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
The Problem With Voice Recognition
I found this one via Omar Shahine (Microsoft Hotmail Front Door Program Manager) and it shows perfectly what the current issue is with voice recognition software. Plus it is very funny.
Voice recognition software today is very good, but when the computer is trying to match your voice to over one million possible things that you could have said, it fails some of the time. Plus as humans we say a lot that we don't mean and controlling your voice while recognition software is listening can be a little awkward at times as you want to be expressive with your voice, but can't be because the text will read back wrong in the mind of the reader.
I don't know if this problem will be fixed in my lifetime as the solution it isn't simply an increase in computational power or better quality microphones. Computers will have to learn how to listen to a human and then rewrite what they have been told to write on the screen.
Voice recognition software today is very good, but when the computer is trying to match your voice to over one million possible things that you could have said, it fails some of the time. Plus as humans we say a lot that we don't mean and controlling your voice while recognition software is listening can be a little awkward at times as you want to be expressive with your voice, but can't be because the text will read back wrong in the mind of the reader.
I don't know if this problem will be fixed in my lifetime as the solution it isn't simply an increase in computational power or better quality microphones. Computers will have to learn how to listen to a human and then rewrite what they have been told to write on the screen.
Human> "and this will result in a less errors replicated on screen"
Computer Types> and this results in fewer errors being typed by the computer in documents
Saturday, March 10, 2007
♥ Peter Molyneux ♥ and his Fable 2 Presentation
One of the things that is being added to Fable 2 is a dog. I read this when it was first revealed and missed the relevance. I was "ok cool, another pet like in Black & White" yet I had forgotten that Peter has been tackling the issue of companion interaction for a few years now and this has resulted in the dog having three prime directives.
1. Don't piss the player off
2. Love the player
3. Don't hurt yourself
This might sound simple, but directive one requires the dog to not only stop getting in the way of the player (unlike what happened to the NPCs in Half Life 2) but to also be so useful that the player will enjoy having their dog around which aids directive two in that the player will eventually become emotionally attached to the dog wither they intend to or not. This emotional attachment is something that has been talked about in past GDCs and although there are many games that make players express a wide range of emotions by design, no game has conquered love by design. Some have come close, but nothing like I think we will see in Fable 2.
Anyway you can watch the full presentation about the dog and other stuff is Over at IGN and I am very much looking forward to a return to form for Molyneux. And the worlds first video game where the player can become pregnant.
1. Don't piss the player off
2. Love the player
3. Don't hurt yourself
This might sound simple, but directive one requires the dog to not only stop getting in the way of the player (unlike what happened to the NPCs in Half Life 2) but to also be so useful that the player will enjoy having their dog around which aids directive two in that the player will eventually become emotionally attached to the dog wither they intend to or not. This emotional attachment is something that has been talked about in past GDCs and although there are many games that make players express a wide range of emotions by design, no game has conquered love by design. Some have come close, but nothing like I think we will see in Fable 2.
Anyway you can watch the full presentation about the dog and other stuff is Over at IGN and I am very much looking forward to a return to form for Molyneux. And the worlds first video game where the player can become pregnant.
♥ Shigeru Miyamoto ♥ and his GDC Keynote
This was supposed to be the Nintendo GDC Keynote presentation and a lot of journalists where expecting another round of game trailers and enthusiastic executives, but developers conferences are supposed to be about content creators exchanging ideas so they can all create better games, that is exactly what the Nintendo Keynote was.
You can watch the Nintendo Keynote in it's entirety Here on IGN and it is several things. From a presentation standpoint it is Miyamoto standing on stage talking about his creative vision for gaming. From a content point of view Miyamoto talks about how his wife hates games, his dog, how his creative vision has evolved with several projects over the years he has been at Nintendo and what happened to Mario 128. But from a strategic point of view I think this is a call to any developer making a game for the Wii to create their own unique non-traditional experiences for the platform because traditional games don't expand the video game player base.
You can watch the Nintendo Keynote in it's entirety Here on IGN and it is several things. From a presentation standpoint it is Miyamoto standing on stage talking about his creative vision for gaming. From a content point of view Miyamoto talks about how his wife hates games, his dog, how his creative vision has evolved with several projects over the years he has been at Nintendo and what happened to Mario 128. But from a strategic point of view I think this is a call to any developer making a game for the Wii to create their own unique non-traditional experiences for the platform because traditional games don't expand the video game player base.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Aquaria Wins Independant Games Festival 2007 Seumas McNally Grand Prize
The winner of this year's IGF Grand Prize is Aquaria, a game I hadn't heard of until after they won the award, and that makes sense since the game isn't out yet, but after watching the trailer I am so looking forward to playing this once it is released later this year.
"Nintendo Wii is Shit"
One of the Spore developers Isn't Happy with the Wii saying it is just two Gamecubes Ducktaped together. Which it is, and from the standpoint of many developers they are having to scale down their visions of next generation gaming for the Wii and use a control scheme which they don't seem to care about. If the development community had of taken the Wiimote to heart and embraced it for what it is then I am sure more fun experiences would be coming to the Wii, but as it stands only first party titles are using the Wiimote effectively.
Developers for this generation seem to be trying to create games that are bigger than what the Wii can handle. This generation is big on Physics, but this is one area that the Wii can't enter and neither can it do truely threaded processing because of it's single CPU. So although the Wii is supposed to be a next gen console, to develop for the Wii is like keeping one foot firmly planted in the last generation. Nintendo clearly doesn't care about anything other than re-imagineing the same games over and over so graphics and CPU power doesn't matter to them, but for the rest of the development community this is a problem.
Incidentally there is a new Paper Mario game coming out for the Wii. Switch from 2D to 3D while playing, er, ok.
Developers for this generation seem to be trying to create games that are bigger than what the Wii can handle. This generation is big on Physics, but this is one area that the Wii can't enter and neither can it do truely threaded processing because of it's single CPU. So although the Wii is supposed to be a next gen console, to develop for the Wii is like keeping one foot firmly planted in the last generation. Nintendo clearly doesn't care about anything other than re-imagineing the same games over and over so graphics and CPU power doesn't matter to them, but for the rest of the development community this is a problem.
Incidentally there is a new Paper Mario game coming out for the Wii. Switch from 2D to 3D while playing, er, ok.
Sony Actually Does Something Cool
First video the PS3's Hall of Fame in Home is up, which is just XBox Achievements by the backdoor, but at least Sony is trying.
Secondly, LittleBigPlanet looks awesome. An emergent connected experience that is part artbox, part toy and part community experience makes it look like a awesome game.
The video below shows the tutorial bit of the presentation, but if you want to see the full video then I suggest you watch Part 2 of the Sony Keynote Presentation instead.
Secondly, LittleBigPlanet looks awesome. An emergent connected experience that is part artbox, part toy and part community experience makes it look like a awesome game.
The video below shows the tutorial bit of the presentation, but if you want to see the full video then I suggest you watch Part 2 of the Sony Keynote Presentation instead.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Sony Copies Both Second Life and Microsoft in One Package
Sony has this Second Life clone coming out called 'Home' which looks better than what Second Life does, but without the user created content aspects of Second Life. You can watch the presentation trailer below, but the thing that caught my attention is the ability to gain objects in Home by completing set objectives in games. So say kill 100 guys in Warhawk and you get a Warhawk trophy. This is just XBox Live Achievements by the backdoor, but they need to do it by the frontdoor because at the moment if a game I want is launched on all platforms I will either buy it for the PC because it will be the cheapest version, or the 360 version because of the achievement points. Obviously Sony wants to do something similar to Achievements, but this backdoor approach is half hearted and I don't think it will help their position at all.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Adobie Reader Alternative
I am not happy with this as a blog post, but I can't really think of any way of dressing this recommendation up. I could post a screenshot of Foxit, but really it looks just like Acrobat Reader.
Adobe Acrobat Reader the internet's number one PDF displaying application, is slow and makes my hard drive clunk everytime I used it. Then I tried Foxit and OMG I am never going back to that bloated Adobe version. Foxit loads quick and scrolls quick.
Adobe Acrobat Reader the internet's number one PDF displaying application, is slow and makes my hard drive clunk everytime I used it. Then I tried Foxit and OMG I am never going back to that bloated Adobe version. Foxit loads quick and scrolls quick.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Crackdown Achievement Annoyance
There is one type of achievement that I hate and that is the kind that requires you to become the number one player in the world, but just today I think I found another.
There are two achievements that I have been trying to get in Crackdown and they are to get all the Agility Orbs and the Hidden Orbs. Firstly I didn't care about the Hidden Orbs, but after getting 499 of 500 Agility Orbs I started to look for all the hidden Orbs with Some Help in the hope that the last Agility Orb would appear. I now have 299 of 300 Hidden Orbs and I still haven't found the last Agility Orb.
So after putting in more than eight hours respecify on these two achievements with no sign of completion (as I don't know where either Orb is, even after checking off all the orbs on walkthroughs). I feel a little bit dejected and wish the game offered just a little more help than what it does for finding that last Orb. Even the Official Prima Guide is missing Orbs from their walkthrough so I guess I won't be the only one in this position, but I am not happy after putting so much time into searching.
If there was some stats for each island on how many Orbs where available still to collect, that would help me a lot and on that it would also be helpful to have stats on race times as I don't know witch races I am competing against my best time and which are set for the race achievement, which is another annoyance. Good game though.
There are two achievements that I have been trying to get in Crackdown and they are to get all the Agility Orbs and the Hidden Orbs. Firstly I didn't care about the Hidden Orbs, but after getting 499 of 500 Agility Orbs I started to look for all the hidden Orbs with Some Help in the hope that the last Agility Orb would appear. I now have 299 of 300 Hidden Orbs and I still haven't found the last Agility Orb.
So after putting in more than eight hours respecify on these two achievements with no sign of completion (as I don't know where either Orb is, even after checking off all the orbs on walkthroughs). I feel a little bit dejected and wish the game offered just a little more help than what it does for finding that last Orb. Even the Official Prima Guide is missing Orbs from their walkthrough so I guess I won't be the only one in this position, but I am not happy after putting so much time into searching.
If there was some stats for each island on how many Orbs where available still to collect, that would help me a lot and on that it would also be helpful to have stats on race times as I don't know witch races I am competing against my best time and which are set for the race achievement, which is another annoyance. Good game though.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
U.S Presidential Candidates 2008
So next year is a big year for the USA as they vote for a new president. So I had a look earlier at the candidates just to see if there is anybody worse than Bush was running and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to distinguish the candidates apart.
Now remember that that these guys have several objectives to get people to vote for them. Firstly they are going to appear friendly, trustworthy, strong and then appeal to several core human concepts of Vulnerability (protecting the weak), Injustice (we didn't ask for the war), Distrust (those lying whoever, who's fault it is) and Superiority (we are stronger than them).
Now remember that that these guys have several objectives to get people to vote for them. Firstly they are going to appear friendly, trustworthy, strong and then appeal to several core human concepts of Vulnerability (protecting the weak), Injustice (we didn't ask for the war), Distrust (those lying whoever, who's fault it is) and Superiority (we are stronger than them).
- Sam Brownback
If you watch the video you will see he is just another smiling idiot like Bush is. I don't trust this guy at all because it all feels very fake. - Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton
Hillery does ok, but her message feels very coached and empty (Link to Video). - Barack Hussein Obama
Barack's sitdown face talking video has Bad Audio so instead I have linked below to the speech he did announcing his race for presidency which I think shows him off well.
Out of the three I like Barack because he doesn't feel like he is putting anything on or using any tricks to get support (which in itself could be seen as a tick). I think he imagines himself to be a natural public speaker like Abraham Lincoln was. So his site has lots of videos with him surrounded by the public in the open air engaging with his audience. He also doesn't make things simple by talking about "You & Him Vs Them" which I always hate because it makes people bipolar and is a distraction from how the world really is (we all breath the same air). Instead he talks about listening to what people want and then giving people what they want by compromising and working for what people want.
And then there are a few other things I like:
-He doesn't come from a wealthy family as is common for presidents
-Would be the first black president
-Is Protestant
-Has the middle name Hussein
And I like how he leverages his personal experiences to bring people around to his way of thinking, instead of the usual shouting or demanding (like what Hillery does).
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Dance Dance Revolution Universe UK
Looks like Dance Dance Revolution Universe won't be coming to the UK. Usually when I get to ask official people about this they cite that the game would need translating from American-English to English-English. And that really pisses me off. To think I was looking forward to this.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Quick Crackdown Post
Crackdown is a very good game. Some have said the missions are repetitive, I found the game ended before the missions even became repetitive. Still it is probably the closest thing anybody is going to get to a good Matrix game. Enjoying it a lot (except for the high dynamic range lighting that I hate, but that is probably just me) and I much recommended it.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Post University Job Hunting Post
I was going to write this once I actually got a job myself, but I know what I want to say, so here is some advice that I didn't get.
On Graduate Job Applications
Lots of companies try and recruit graduates directly from university. Most want a 2:1 degree rating or they arten't interested. And the time you are supposed to apply for these positions is the summer holiday before your final year, not after you graduate.
On Agencies
Agencies are designed to match people with jobs. Unfortunately this means some lame stuff happens on the agency's part. When a company phones them and says they want an office junior with no prior experience the agency will by policy always put a requirement of two years office experience on the job description.
On Part Time Work
If you are going to get a part time job to fund a healthy drinking habit while you are at university, get a job in an office or a shop for two years so you can get some experience marked on your CV. Nobody wants to take a chance on somebody who hasn't done the same job they are applying for someplace else.
On Government Benefits
Unless you have a job lined up after you graduate, sign on for benefits early. Don't do what I did and wast months thinking a job would come soon.
On Graduate Job Applications
Lots of companies try and recruit graduates directly from university. Most want a 2:1 degree rating or they arten't interested. And the time you are supposed to apply for these positions is the summer holiday before your final year, not after you graduate.
On Agencies
Agencies are designed to match people with jobs. Unfortunately this means some lame stuff happens on the agency's part. When a company phones them and says they want an office junior with no prior experience the agency will by policy always put a requirement of two years office experience on the job description.
On Part Time Work
If you are going to get a part time job to fund a healthy drinking habit while you are at university, get a job in an office or a shop for two years so you can get some experience marked on your CV. Nobody wants to take a chance on somebody who hasn't done the same job they are applying for someplace else.
On Government Benefits
Unless you have a job lined up after you graduate, sign on for benefits early. Don't do what I did and wast months thinking a job would come soon.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Brain Challange
I have seen many wonderful things on the net in the past few weeks since I haven't been posting much, this is all in effort to break my daily RSS addiction and I think I can get my aggrigation addition down to just one four hour session on a sunday. Giving me a nice compromise between keeping up to date with all my RSS subscriptions and not needing to boot the computer up first thing every morning. Anyway I have bought a few games for my mobile phone recently and I thought I would tell you about one.
Brain Challenge by GameLoft is essentially a Brain Age clone, but since I don't have a DS (still not got job) I thought I would give a mobile version a go and it's quite good. The game calculates brain usage by pitting the player against various brain taxing games, if the player beats the level of difficulty that the game is set at then next time they player the difficulty is increased and so on. So you end up with a nice upward curve of performance to start with until you reach your limit at which point playing daily should help you improve and continue increasing the game's difficulty settings. And I think my maths is improving through playing daily, so I am very pleased.
Brain Challenge by GameLoft is essentially a Brain Age clone, but since I don't have a DS (still not got job) I thought I would give a mobile version a go and it's quite good. The game calculates brain usage by pitting the player against various brain taxing games, if the player beats the level of difficulty that the game is set at then next time they player the difficulty is increased and so on. So you end up with a nice upward curve of performance to start with until you reach your limit at which point playing daily should help you improve and continue increasing the game's difficulty settings. And I think my maths is improving through playing daily, so I am very pleased.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Moral Dilemma
Imagine you are at the opening of an art gallery. To commemorate, the gallery is holding an art competition, there are many great works of art up for a modest prize and you are looking at the exhibits with one of the of the judges. There is some contemporary paintings of landscapes, photographs of old people, a jar of toenail clippings, some models and all attending the viewing seem to be in agreement that it is a wide showing of art.
Then you approach a jar of jam with an airline ticket glued to the side. The tag reads "From Hong Kong, symbolising the absurd distance food travels to get to shops". It is obvious that the airplane ticket is unused and that the jam was bought at the local supermarket. The artist is standing next to the exhibit and the judge you are with starts talking to the artist about the pieces and they both seem to agree that indeed food does travel around the world more than it needs to when local produce is just as good. Then judge turns to you and asks if you are in agreement with the piece as a work of art.
Do you?
1) Politely agree
3) Fain ignorance
3) Politely state why their work doesn't deserve to be there
4) Start ripping into the artist at how lame their work is even though they probably bought the airplane ticket for the exhibition
Then you approach a jar of jam with an airline ticket glued to the side. The tag reads "From Hong Kong, symbolising the absurd distance food travels to get to shops". It is obvious that the airplane ticket is unused and that the jam was bought at the local supermarket. The artist is standing next to the exhibit and the judge you are with starts talking to the artist about the pieces and they both seem to agree that indeed food does travel around the world more than it needs to when local produce is just as good. Then judge turns to you and asks if you are in agreement with the piece as a work of art.
Do you?
1) Politely agree
3) Fain ignorance
3) Politely state why their work doesn't deserve to be there
4) Start ripping into the artist at how lame their work is even though they probably bought the airplane ticket for the exhibition
Thursday, February 08, 2007
SideTrack
Every so often something comes along that not just amazes me, but I also wonder why nobody did it before and SideTrack is one of those things.
So you know that video is 24 to 30 frames per second and you know how fast a train travels down a tunnel. So there is the question of, what is someone was to fix 360 posters on the wall of a subway tunnel and flash light on them as the train went by!?
Well the answer is a Full Motion Picture Tunnel and I think it's cool, not cool if they start pumping music into the train to go with the video however.
Japan:
New York:
So you know that video is 24 to 30 frames per second and you know how fast a train travels down a tunnel. So there is the question of, what is someone was to fix 360 posters on the wall of a subway tunnel and flash light on them as the train went by!?
Well the answer is a Full Motion Picture Tunnel and I think it's cool, not cool if they start pumping music into the train to go with the video however.
Japan:
New York:
Calling All Cars Design Document
Not too many game Design Documents have mode their way onto the internet, but David Jaffe (he is a loud drunk) of God of War fame has put up the initial Concept Document of Calling All Cars in His Recent Blog Post. The game isn't a full A retail title, but it has been made into to a game that will be sold on Sony's PS3 download network (or whatever it's called). I was a little surprised to see how many times TBD (To Be Determined) had been written, but still very interesting.
For a little background: A Concept Document is a first stage document that literally just outlines the game to give someone an interest in the concept in ten pages or less.
Then is it is good enough (someone is willing to pay for the game to be made) then there is a real Design Document that outlines all the small stuff like the game's menus, levels, sound, AI and stuff. Then that is turned over to the Production Team who will make the game and over the course of the game's development stuff is added and the Design Document turns into a Production Document or Design Bible. So although people talk about two design documents, it's really three as the Design Document will turn from being under one hundred pages to over two hundred once the game is finished.
For a little background: A Concept Document is a first stage document that literally just outlines the game to give someone an interest in the concept in ten pages or less.
Then is it is good enough (someone is willing to pay for the game to be made) then there is a real Design Document that outlines all the small stuff like the game's menus, levels, sound, AI and stuff. Then that is turned over to the Production Team who will make the game and over the course of the game's development stuff is added and the Design Document turns into a Production Document or Design Bible. So although people talk about two design documents, it's really three as the Design Document will turn from being under one hundred pages to over two hundred once the game is finished.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Microsoft SoapBox
Got an invight into Microsoft SoapBox (yes yet another Flash Video Site).
Video: Panda sneezing
Video: Dave vs Carl: The T-Shirt
Video: japanese pen spinning
Video: Ghosts in Virtual Earth
The above city is San Francisco, you will need the 3D Add-on for MS Live Maps, but I don't know how to release the ghosts (Something about putting mouse cursor over cathedral and pressing G, but it doesn't work for me).
EDIT: Anonymous commenter points to Here for the whole ghost thing. Didn't know you could make add-ins for Virtual Earth.
Video: Panda sneezing
Video: Dave vs Carl: The T-Shirt
Video: japanese pen spinning
Video: Ghosts in Virtual Earth
The above city is San Francisco, you will need the 3D Add-on for MS Live Maps, but I don't know how to release the ghosts (Something about putting mouse cursor over cathedral and pressing G, but it doesn't work for me).
EDIT: Anonymous commenter points to Here for the whole ghost thing. Didn't know you could make add-ins for Virtual Earth.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Random Fact
Hitler was a vegetarian.
As this fact has been challanged, some clarification is needed. In 1931 Hitler's Doctor put him on a vegetarian diet to cure him of flatulence and a chronic stomach disorder (1). So indeed not a principled vegetarian, but he still eat like a vegetarian for a time. Thus he was a vegetarian.
As this fact has been challanged, some clarification is needed. In 1931 Hitler's Doctor put him on a vegetarian diet to cure him of flatulence and a chronic stomach disorder (1). So indeed not a principled vegetarian, but he still eat like a vegetarian for a time. Thus he was a vegetarian.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Winner of Best Unreleased MOD of 2005 Wins Best Unreleased MOD of 2006!
Turns out the winner of Best Unreleased mod 05 took the same prize for 06 as well. And the mod is Black Mesa previously known as Black Mesa Source. Yes that is the one where some natters are recreating the original Half Life in the Half Life 2 engine. From what I seen when they started the project they have moved a long way. The Official Site has loads of exceptional music on the front page that is much better than what Valve included in Half Life and they have released a new trailer that just looks stunning, short, but stunning. You can get the trailer from FileFront and FilePlanet.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Poopsockers
A lot of people have been talking about World of Warcraft the Burning Crusade and I have learned a new word!
You know how there are those people who for some reason when they are playing games feel they have to have a bottle next to their computer to wee in because they can't bare to walk away from their computer to go the toilet. And I have been there, I have considered on a few occasions using something like that just to avoid a bathroom break, but I won't permit myself to cross that line and I know that if I am quick the whole operation can be done in less than a minuet or less if I don't mind a little bit of leakage (that's a joke), but what to do if you need to take a crap!?
Well it turns out that a few players have started to keep next to their empty bottles, a sock. Thus the term poopsocking. I pitty anybody who actually does that because there might be some people like truck drivers that have to pee in a bottle to keep on schedule or maybe if you where lost in a really big house and couldn't find a bathroom you might resort to that, but pooing in a sock is just unforgivable, anybody with any decency would would just say sorry to whoever they are playing with because they have to poo or at least use a bucket, have a little class people.
You know how there are those people who for some reason when they are playing games feel they have to have a bottle next to their computer to wee in because they can't bare to walk away from their computer to go the toilet. And I have been there, I have considered on a few occasions using something like that just to avoid a bathroom break, but I won't permit myself to cross that line and I know that if I am quick the whole operation can be done in less than a minuet or less if I don't mind a little bit of leakage (that's a joke), but what to do if you need to take a crap!?
Well it turns out that a few players have started to keep next to their empty bottles, a sock. Thus the term poopsocking. I pitty anybody who actually does that because there might be some people like truck drivers that have to pee in a bottle to keep on schedule or maybe if you where lost in a really big house and couldn't find a bathroom you might resort to that, but pooing in a sock is just unforgivable, anybody with any decency would would just say sorry to whoever they are playing with because they have to poo or at least use a bucket, have a little class people.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Crackdown Demo
Been playing the Crackdown demo off of XBox Marketplace and the game is a lot of fun. I want to buy it, but I don't know wither it is £39.99 fun. Might wait for the price to drop below the £30 as I normally do.
Monday, January 22, 2007
LiveVideo
And so the first competitor to YouTube has emerged in the form of LiveVideo.com. The picture quality seems to be slightly better, but the sound quality is much better. And the whole site seems a little less clunky even through the search isn't as good as YouTube.
Below is an embedded sample video. This is from Naruto episode 133, the one where Naruto and Sasuke fight, best fight sequence in the whole Anime thus far. The track playing in the background is Darude's Sandstorm.
Naruto- Sandstorm
Additional: Found the same video on YouTube and thought it would be a good idea to post that too so you could see a direct comparison. The YouTube video has significantly more artifacting. But you can decide for yourself now.
Below is an embedded sample video. This is from Naruto episode 133, the one where Naruto and Sasuke fight, best fight sequence in the whole Anime thus far. The track playing in the background is Darude's Sandstorm.
Naruto- Sandstorm
Additional: Found the same video on YouTube and thought it would be a good idea to post that too so you could see a direct comparison. The YouTube video has significantly more artifacting. But you can decide for yourself now.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
XNA Game Programming in Paperback
The book is Professional XNA Game Programming by Benjamin Nitschke (ISBN 0470126779).
This is the first book that will be released (May time) that covers XNA programming. Won't teach you how to program C#, but if you can do that and want to get a book that then teaches you how to do XNA then this is the very first one that will do just that. Written by the same guy who did Rocket Commander and XNA Racer (see YouTube video).
This is the first book that will be released (May time) that covers XNA programming. Won't teach you how to program C#, but if you can do that and want to get a book that then teaches you how to do XNA then this is the very first one that will do just that. Written by the same guy who did Rocket Commander and XNA Racer (see YouTube video).
Top of the Limeware Torrents
FreeLimewire for some reason and somehow been tracking the Torrents people have been using to download stuff. And have produced a Top Torrents of 2006 list.
As you go down checkout the number of downloads per torrent, number two is over two million, number one is way over one bllion downloads and number one proves that the internet does have taste after all.
As you go down checkout the number of downloads per torrent, number two is over two million, number one is way over one bllion downloads and number one proves that the internet does have taste after all.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
And The Winner is HD-DVD What a Surprise!
Apparently there is a format war going on between HD-DVD and Blue-Ray, but with the wide selection of HD-DVD players on the market and the cheaper price, superior features that HD-DVD has I was betting on that winning, but then I read This and that just confirms it.
Essentially there will be no Porn on Blue-Ray. All the Porn film distributors are being forced by Sony to use HD-DVD as their format. To clean minded people this might sound like a none issue, but Porn is big business and people with dirty minds want their Porn.
I can think of a few business decisions that are probably worse, but they where all made thorough mostly negligence or naivety. So whoever at Sony made this call deserves to be credited as making the worst business decision ever.
Essentially there will be no Porn on Blue-Ray. All the Porn film distributors are being forced by Sony to use HD-DVD as their format. To clean minded people this might sound like a none issue, but Porn is big business and people with dirty minds want their Porn.
I can think of a few business decisions that are probably worse, but they where all made thorough mostly negligence or naivety. So whoever at Sony made this call deserves to be credited as making the worst business decision ever.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Geometry Wars on CRT and VGA
I realised earlier that in the last post I could have shown the difference between playing a game (in this case Geometry Wars) on a standard CRT screen and said game on a monitor with the VGA cable. And yes the VGA looks even better when moving and not being a photo.
CRT
VGA
CRT
VGA
360 VGA Cable
Currently the best thing I have bought for my 360 is a VGA cable so I can connect it upto a monitor. Now the funny thing is that I keep stealing my Dad's LCD screen from his computer, but his monitor is 14" and the portable TV that I used to play on is also 14". Yet everything still looks 100% better with the VGA cable.
Only problem I have had so far is that some games have strange aspect ratios in some of the higher resolutions on the cable, but like Gears of War a patch has been released to fix this and Gears looks especially nice on an LCD.
So if you have a monitor you can use, but don't have a HD-TV I would highly recommend spending £20 to get the VGA cable.
Only problem I have had so far is that some games have strange aspect ratios in some of the higher resolutions on the cable, but like Gears of War a patch has been released to fix this and Gears looks especially nice on an LCD.
So if you have a monitor you can use, but don't have a HD-TV I would highly recommend spending £20 to get the VGA cable.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Quest for Air Conditioning
Recently I have been trying to buy an Air Conditioning unit because last summer was too hot. July 2006 was the hottest summer ever recorded in Britain and predictions are that this year will be no better. So I have set a target of having air conditioning by the end of February (that is next month).
My requirements for an Air Conditioning unit are:
For the past six years in a row I have been considering getting air conditioning every year during the hottest two weeks of the year, but last year was the first year I made a concerted effort to find something. Even then everywhere was out of stock, but obviously for another reason so this year will be different.
My requirements for an Air Conditioning unit are:
- Be Just Air Conditioning Unit
I am not settling for anything that circulates water around a fan, water sprayer or any other device like a humidifier. And then there are a lot of units that do extra stuff like HEPA Filtering which seems conflicts with point three. So I want just an air conditioner solely for air conditioning purposes. - Have Thermostat
I do not want to be playing around with dials or a remote control all the time, plus having a thermostat will reduce the unit's power consumption down to only what is necessary. - Be Cheap (under £300)
I only intend on using the unit for a few weeks in the hottest month of the year (July) so obviously I do not wish to pay for a permanent unit to be installed in the house. And having a crappy air conditioning unit is still going to be much better than having no air conditioning unit. So even if it only just has enough power to bring the temperature of one room down to near 24'C then I will be very happy.
For the past six years in a row I have been considering getting air conditioning every year during the hottest two weeks of the year, but last year was the first year I made a concerted effort to find something. Even then everywhere was out of stock, but obviously for another reason so this year will be different.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
iPhone Delightful, but Missing One Feature
So I finished watching the Apple Presentation where Steve unveiled the iPhone and I was concerned that they wouldn't have the multi-touch LCD that devices needed to make a screen keyboards really work, but they have, so I think indeed they are five years ahead of everybody else, but where is the built-in GPS!?
There is a section of the iPhone presentation where Steve is showing the web browsing and Google Maps feature, which means that the phone has not just England's citys and roads (like my TomTom-GPS has), but the whole WORLD! And it can tell you where all the Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger Kings, Hospitals, Taxi Companies, Cinemas etc are in relation to wherever you are viewing and tell you their phone numbers, so you can phone them up wherever you are (quite a useful feature to have on a phone I think you will agree). BUT! The phone doesn't know where IT, IS, because it doesn't have built-in GPS. I am sure Apple will fix this slight issue in the next version, but for me I want GPS in my phone because that means that I will never ever have to face the minor inconvenience of being lost ever again.
Nodought Apple's competitors in the form of Nokia and Sony Ericsson will try and get there first, but I do believe the iPhone is indeed one of those Milestone devices in history. And is yet another device that is better than it was envisioned in Star Trek as looking at it now the DataPad looks old.
And I will happily buy one, when it supports GPS or Better.
There is a section of the iPhone presentation where Steve is showing the web browsing and Google Maps feature, which means that the phone has not just England's citys and roads (like my TomTom-GPS has), but the whole WORLD! And it can tell you where all the Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger Kings, Hospitals, Taxi Companies, Cinemas etc are in relation to wherever you are viewing and tell you their phone numbers, so you can phone them up wherever you are (quite a useful feature to have on a phone I think you will agree). BUT! The phone doesn't know where IT, IS, because it doesn't have built-in GPS. I am sure Apple will fix this slight issue in the next version, but for me I want GPS in my phone because that means that I will never ever have to face the minor inconvenience of being lost ever again.
Nodought Apple's competitors in the form of Nokia and Sony Ericsson will try and get there first, but I do believe the iPhone is indeed one of those Milestone devices in history. And is yet another device that is better than it was envisioned in Star Trek as looking at it now the DataPad looks old.
And I will happily buy one, when it supports GPS or Better.
Internet ON!
Ok back now, and I can tell you that I did not like my three week off-the-grid exsperiance at all. On onehand I rearlised the ammount of time I wasted checking my email and RSS (I will be removing some RSS feeds), but I wasn't exspecting to miss Wikipedia as much as I did. I even have a list of things that I want to read about.
And just for the record I have 226 unread messages in my inbox and my SPAM folder has the number 2069 next to it.
And just for the record I have 226 unread messages in my inbox and my SPAM folder has the number 2069 next to it.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Hay Ho
Yes the mighty Orange has cut my Internet off. The bastards.
Currently sitting in Leicester Library using the Internet here as being on support from the government requires me to keep looking for a job to continue getting free money and the papers have had no job listings all week so my little job hunting diary has very little written since the last meeting I had with my Job Centre person.
Apparently I can signup to a new ISP on the 3rd next month, but even then I still have to get that all setup so I should be back blogging proper by the middle of next month.
New years resolution will be to make blog more interesting and more personally relevant to me and my musings as not having the Internet has made me realise how little time I spend free thinking on my normal routine.
And incase I don't get back to you by the end of the month, Happy New Year!
Currently sitting in Leicester Library using the Internet here as being on support from the government requires me to keep looking for a job to continue getting free money and the papers have had no job listings all week so my little job hunting diary has very little written since the last meeting I had with my Job Centre person.
Apparently I can signup to a new ISP on the 3rd next month, but even then I still have to get that all setup so I should be back blogging proper by the middle of next month.
New years resolution will be to make blog more interesting and more personally relevant to me and my musings as not having the Internet has made me realise how little time I spend free thinking on my normal routine.
And incase I don't get back to you by the end of the month, Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Oops
I know I haven't been updating much in the way of actual content on what I have been doing of late, but it looks like my ISP might have closed the account I have with them. Not sure why but I might have pushed my Unlimited account over it's 40GB limit. So might be away for a week and a bit.
Merry Christmas to all.
P.S My ISP is or was, Orange.
Merry Christmas to all.
P.S My ISP is or was, Orange.
Pinata Sacrifice
Kotaku is reporting that on bonfire night Rare sacrificed a giant Pinata to the gods of hell. The Photos look very scary indeed and only adds the the growing concern that Viva Pinata isn't such a cute game after all.
Game Demo From Hell
So some company is looking to employ student game designers. You go to their game presentation and then this happens:
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
Maybe Maybe Maybe
So I was reading a few video games industry bits today and I just got tired of it. Nobody says anything affirmative or insightful anymore. For example everybody seems to be very bipolar about the Wii controller. One says it is a gimmick that is working to capture the mass market, the other says it is the way of the future that everybody will emulate. The fact is that the controller is a good pointing device like a mouse is for the PC, but it becomes quickly awkward when the user has to move the camera and point at something, yet nobody says this. It's all maybe maybe.
Maybe the Wii will win this generation because of it's innovative controller.
Maybe the 360 will win because it is an all rounder and is pushing things like connectivity, video on demand, exstensability to make into new areas at a wim and indie development into new directions.
Or maybe the PS3 will win because the PS2 sold 112 million units and that means the PlayStation brand carries weight.
Less and less do I see insightful commentary like This (and click link on page). So here is what I will do, I will make some predictions and reasonings because I am annoyed nobody else will.
The Wii will sell better than the GC and with every console sold because Nintendo is making a profit will put Nintendo in a better position for generation eight, but the Wii will ultimately sell badly towards the end of this generation because of the lack of third party support just like the N64 and just like with the GC. Without the powerful graphics chip capable to handle direct ports from the PS3 or 360 it won't even get cheap licence titles as publishers don't don't see the Wii as worth the investment.
The 360 will continue to do well this generation as the XBox did last, but will fail to do well in Japan. Microsoft launching in japan without a sound product was a mistake and they will be paying for that into the next generation. But Microsoft's attacks into the areas of online and their efforts in making their platform open to indie developers will reap bountiful rewards to struggling studios, thus helping Microsoft in the long term. Microsoft will come second with about 40 million units sold. And further more will entre generation eight in an even stronger position.
The PS3 despite no reason (what so ever) will do well this generation possibly winning, but with a significant unit loss from what the PS2 sold.
I will most likely be completely wrong, but at least I am committing to something and not debating bipolar phantom issues like gameplay over graphics which is BS because everybody knows a game isn't fun without gameplay and will put people off if it is ugly.
Maybe the Wii will win this generation because of it's innovative controller.
Maybe the 360 will win because it is an all rounder and is pushing things like connectivity, video on demand, exstensability to make into new areas at a wim and indie development into new directions.
Or maybe the PS3 will win because the PS2 sold 112 million units and that means the PlayStation brand carries weight.
Less and less do I see insightful commentary like This (and click link on page). So here is what I will do, I will make some predictions and reasonings because I am annoyed nobody else will.
The Wii will sell better than the GC and with every console sold because Nintendo is making a profit will put Nintendo in a better position for generation eight, but the Wii will ultimately sell badly towards the end of this generation because of the lack of third party support just like the N64 and just like with the GC. Without the powerful graphics chip capable to handle direct ports from the PS3 or 360 it won't even get cheap licence titles as publishers don't don't see the Wii as worth the investment.
The 360 will continue to do well this generation as the XBox did last, but will fail to do well in Japan. Microsoft launching in japan without a sound product was a mistake and they will be paying for that into the next generation. But Microsoft's attacks into the areas of online and their efforts in making their platform open to indie developers will reap bountiful rewards to struggling studios, thus helping Microsoft in the long term. Microsoft will come second with about 40 million units sold. And further more will entre generation eight in an even stronger position.
The PS3 despite no reason (what so ever) will do well this generation possibly winning, but with a significant unit loss from what the PS2 sold.
I will most likely be completely wrong, but at least I am committing to something and not debating bipolar phantom issues like gameplay over graphics which is BS because everybody knows a game isn't fun without gameplay and will put people off if it is ugly.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Will it Bland?
I have been holding onto this one for a while now wondering what to say about it, but really you just got to go over to Blendtec on YouTube and watch for yourself.
After that you had better watch the spoof posted below. I could have listed all the WIB videos, but there are just so many. The Bottled Beverage it my favorite so far.
After that you had better watch the spoof posted below. I could have listed all the WIB videos, but there are just so many. The Bottled Beverage it my favorite so far.
Ubuntu Satanic Edition: Evil Edgy Released
Ubuntu (oo-BOON-too) is the worlds most user friendy Linus Distrobution and in July a Christian Edition became avalible. Well Satan didn't like that so he set his minions to work and they have created Ubuntu Satanic Edition whitch is just a theme at the moment, but as more people use it and the distrabution's dark powers grow should be getting some more features soon.
A Visual Walkthrough is available so you can see what it is like before you turn to the darkside. Not that there should be any doubt for anybody with a cold heart or one who wants a cool looking theme.
P.S Using the Satanic Edition might be evil, but is still not as evil as using Windows XP.
A Visual Walkthrough is available so you can see what it is like before you turn to the darkside. Not that there should be any doubt for anybody with a cold heart or one who wants a cool looking theme.
P.S Using the Satanic Edition might be evil, but is still not as evil as using Windows XP.
Zelda Guide (spoiler free post)
TheHylia.com has finished posting all their videos of their Legiond of Zelda Twilight Princess for the Wii Visual Guide. Meaning you can now download a video of somebody playing the entire game from start to finish.
With not enough room to swing a Wii-mote in, I thought I might as well watch the thing as it is going to be the closest I will get to actually playing the game from start to finish (less time consuming too). And there are a few questions I have after watching, but all in all it seems like a good Zelda title. I particularly liked how the game reminds the player of how big the game is towards the end with both the Credits and the final battle with the Twilight King.
Anyway one of the guys who runs the site has obtained the Limited Edition Twilight Princess guide and the thing Looks Beautiful. The only place I could find that sells it however is Play-Asia.com who sells it at a very reasonable £15 (plus import tax). I would buy it if I was a fan of the series, but I have no use for it.
With not enough room to swing a Wii-mote in, I thought I might as well watch the thing as it is going to be the closest I will get to actually playing the game from start to finish (less time consuming too). And there are a few questions I have after watching, but all in all it seems like a good Zelda title. I particularly liked how the game reminds the player of how big the game is towards the end with both the Credits and the final battle with the Twilight King.
Anyway one of the guys who runs the site has obtained the Limited Edition Twilight Princess guide and the thing Looks Beautiful. The only place I could find that sells it however is Play-Asia.com who sells it at a very reasonable £15 (plus import tax). I would buy it if I was a fan of the series, but I have no use for it.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Coolest 8 Year Old In The World
I was on YouTube earlier and noticed this video (see below) featured on the front page. It features some girl doing a rebuttal to some ass named Bill O'Reilly. And I think the world would be a much better place if everybody took to heart what she is saying and was more empathetic towards other Humans.
Bill's response was to suggest that social services be called and take the kid away from her parents, but he is just some old guy who hates liberals, I don't think anybody takes him seriously.
I did some research (as you can probably tell) on who this Bill guy is and I think this video (below) sums up what I foundout about him, in that he is a very hate filled old man that should probably take some anger management classes and learn to listen to people once in a while.
Incidentally the parents of the little girl have a band going that is rather good and has an album up for download form their website www.TheBastardFairies.com.
Bill's response was to suggest that social services be called and take the kid away from her parents, but he is just some old guy who hates liberals, I don't think anybody takes him seriously.
I did some research (as you can probably tell) on who this Bill guy is and I think this video (below) sums up what I foundout about him, in that he is a very hate filled old man that should probably take some anger management classes and learn to listen to people once in a while.
Incidentally the parents of the little girl have a band going that is rather good and has an album up for download form their website www.TheBastardFairies.com.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Happy Wii Day
So the Wii launched in the UK today. And from me thinking before November that Nintendo would be playing catchup with Sony, it is now apparent that Sony is playing catchup with Nintendo, as thay have had three good launches now and Sony is still yet to ramp up production to meet the needs of people who want one, even though there is little reason for anybody to be buying one now.
Looking at some of the games like Rayman Raving Rabbids (see video) the Wii looks like a lot of fun. I am tempted to get one for that and other reasons, but there is the consideration that the Wii does not do HD output. Nintendo has been launching new Game Boys and then improved versions of the same model for a while now, and that means there is a chance that Nintendo will also be be doing that with the Wii and brining out a new version of the Wii that does HD. And I want a Wii that does HD-out, so I don't know what to do.
Looking at some of the games like Rayman Raving Rabbids (see video) the Wii looks like a lot of fun. I am tempted to get one for that and other reasons, but there is the consideration that the Wii does not do HD output. Nintendo has been launching new Game Boys and then improved versions of the same model for a while now, and that means there is a chance that Nintendo will also be be doing that with the Wii and brining out a new version of the Wii that does HD. And I want a Wii that does HD-out, so I don't know what to do.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Gears of War (Completed)
I thought it was about time I wrote something.
Gears of War is an excellent action game. The story is deep and interesting. It feels like the story is being told in a TV drama type way with the game having an overall plot, the viewer not knowing the full story/backstory, and several slight subplots happening while you are watching the action. This is opposed to a film where there is really just one two hour story.
GOW does several gameplay things that seem like stokes of genius. Like in most games when I check my objectives I press START the game pauses and then I navigate a menu to view my objectives. In GOW checking my objectives is as simple as pressing the LEFT BUMPER button on the top of the controller. When I do that the screen goes gray and I can see my objectives, but the action keeps going and I can still interact with the game.
The only showstopper to the gameplay is death, which is handled by loads of seamless checkpoints. Walk through a door 'checkpoint', kill all the Locusts in a section 'checkpoint' it all works very well and doesn't pause or slowdown the action (unless you just died of course).
The cover system in GOW is rather interesting, it isn't the first game to use a cover system and many of the cover actions are used the same as they are in many other games, but there are three major things that make the cover system so good in GOW. The first major improvement in is that cover isn't entered and exited by pressing the left thumbstick down or by holding down Y, instead you simply press A. This is interesting because the A button is a primary function button, not something to be used for game actions that are not used often. So obviously the person who designed the controls wanted you to have easy and frequent access to the cover system. Secondly pressing A doesn't just allow you to enter and exit cover when you are standing next to a wall like in other games. Instead at any time when you press A your character will enter and exit cover by either immediately slamming themselves into whatever is infront of them or by holding down A, do a crouch-run forwards and slam into whatever they run to. This makes getting into cover very easy and is preferable to simply running away from the line of fire because using A and the cover system is quicker. Once in cover moving the left stick and pressing A will preform different actions relating to cover, so pressing forwards and A will command your character to leap over whatever cover they are behind and forwards. Pressing left or right and A will either activate a dive from behind cover or an automated move to another piece of cover. This means you can hop from one bit of cover to the next simply by pressing a direction and tapping A. And that brings me to the third thing that makes the cover system so sweet and that is the fact that cover is everywhere. The levels don't just look good, they also play good and work very well with the cover system. The game was obviously designed from the ground up with all this in mind as the game also has blind fire so you can fire at people without lifting your head from cover (sounds odd, but much appreciated during play) and the player health is done in a Call of Duty style where you regain health simply by not being shot and waiting behind cover which obviously encourages you to stake your territory.
Weapon wise GOW has a good spread with grenades, sniper rifle, automatic rifle, pistol, shotgun and such. But just like the RPG Fallout where killing someone will result in a completely over the top killing effect shooting a shotgun at close rang in GOW results in meaty chunks flying everywhere. You can plant a grenade on someones back and then dive away before it explodes. The automatic that is your primary weapon has a chainsaw on it that allows you to activate a death move where your character saws another character in half with blood spurting everywhere and a corpse of two halves that has organs and intestines all showing. When it happens it looks horrendous, but feels so satisfying.
Graphically GOW is the best looking game money can buy, today. There are times when I found myself just walking around looking at stuff, especially later on as the levels become quite stunning.
Soundwise the game is great, the music is excellent and there are sounds in the game that will spark panic. Voice acting is brilliant with the main character Marcus being voiced by John Di Maggio who is known for doing a lot of voices, but most notably Bender from Futurama.
Multiplayer is good if you can stand overly competitive jerks, but they are to be expected since a lot of the game's Achievements are earned online. I haven't tried the cooperative play yet, but from what I have heard it is nothing short of the model all games with cooperative play from now on will be copying as a fiend can join your singleplayer game at any time by taking control of Dom, a character who is with you the whole way through of the game.
On the negative side the main campaign could be said to be a little short on first play through, but I have replayed it a few times and trying to complete each section on harder difficulty is something I see most players wanting to do because of the game's achievements. There are sections that mildly frustrated me because of their level of difficulty, but I am all smiles when I do complete the section because sections are challenging and not purposefully made difficult for the sake of being hard. Difficulty is not auto-balanced and GOW never gets to that point where because you are playing a later level the designer though that the game deserved infinite spawning hordes of bad-guys.
GOW is one of the best action games that I have ever played. It is one of those game that when I tell someone how good it is, I have a big smile on my face.
5/5
Gears of War is an excellent action game. The story is deep and interesting. It feels like the story is being told in a TV drama type way with the game having an overall plot, the viewer not knowing the full story/backstory, and several slight subplots happening while you are watching the action. This is opposed to a film where there is really just one two hour story.
GOW does several gameplay things that seem like stokes of genius. Like in most games when I check my objectives I press START the game pauses and then I navigate a menu to view my objectives. In GOW checking my objectives is as simple as pressing the LEFT BUMPER button on the top of the controller. When I do that the screen goes gray and I can see my objectives, but the action keeps going and I can still interact with the game.
The only showstopper to the gameplay is death, which is handled by loads of seamless checkpoints. Walk through a door 'checkpoint', kill all the Locusts in a section 'checkpoint' it all works very well and doesn't pause or slowdown the action (unless you just died of course).
The cover system in GOW is rather interesting, it isn't the first game to use a cover system and many of the cover actions are used the same as they are in many other games, but there are three major things that make the cover system so good in GOW. The first major improvement in is that cover isn't entered and exited by pressing the left thumbstick down or by holding down Y, instead you simply press A. This is interesting because the A button is a primary function button, not something to be used for game actions that are not used often. So obviously the person who designed the controls wanted you to have easy and frequent access to the cover system. Secondly pressing A doesn't just allow you to enter and exit cover when you are standing next to a wall like in other games. Instead at any time when you press A your character will enter and exit cover by either immediately slamming themselves into whatever is infront of them or by holding down A, do a crouch-run forwards and slam into whatever they run to. This makes getting into cover very easy and is preferable to simply running away from the line of fire because using A and the cover system is quicker. Once in cover moving the left stick and pressing A will preform different actions relating to cover, so pressing forwards and A will command your character to leap over whatever cover they are behind and forwards. Pressing left or right and A will either activate a dive from behind cover or an automated move to another piece of cover. This means you can hop from one bit of cover to the next simply by pressing a direction and tapping A. And that brings me to the third thing that makes the cover system so sweet and that is the fact that cover is everywhere. The levels don't just look good, they also play good and work very well with the cover system. The game was obviously designed from the ground up with all this in mind as the game also has blind fire so you can fire at people without lifting your head from cover (sounds odd, but much appreciated during play) and the player health is done in a Call of Duty style where you regain health simply by not being shot and waiting behind cover which obviously encourages you to stake your territory.
Weapon wise GOW has a good spread with grenades, sniper rifle, automatic rifle, pistol, shotgun and such. But just like the RPG Fallout where killing someone will result in a completely over the top killing effect shooting a shotgun at close rang in GOW results in meaty chunks flying everywhere. You can plant a grenade on someones back and then dive away before it explodes. The automatic that is your primary weapon has a chainsaw on it that allows you to activate a death move where your character saws another character in half with blood spurting everywhere and a corpse of two halves that has organs and intestines all showing. When it happens it looks horrendous, but feels so satisfying.
Graphically GOW is the best looking game money can buy, today. There are times when I found myself just walking around looking at stuff, especially later on as the levels become quite stunning.
Soundwise the game is great, the music is excellent and there are sounds in the game that will spark panic. Voice acting is brilliant with the main character Marcus being voiced by John Di Maggio who is known for doing a lot of voices, but most notably Bender from Futurama.
Multiplayer is good if you can stand overly competitive jerks, but they are to be expected since a lot of the game's Achievements are earned online. I haven't tried the cooperative play yet, but from what I have heard it is nothing short of the model all games with cooperative play from now on will be copying as a fiend can join your singleplayer game at any time by taking control of Dom, a character who is with you the whole way through of the game.
On the negative side the main campaign could be said to be a little short on first play through, but I have replayed it a few times and trying to complete each section on harder difficulty is something I see most players wanting to do because of the game's achievements. There are sections that mildly frustrated me because of their level of difficulty, but I am all smiles when I do complete the section because sections are challenging and not purposefully made difficult for the sake of being hard. Difficulty is not auto-balanced and GOW never gets to that point where because you are playing a later level the designer though that the game deserved infinite spawning hordes of bad-guys.
GOW is one of the best action games that I have ever played. It is one of those game that when I tell someone how good it is, I have a big smile on my face.
5/5
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Random Fact
The Human body sheds 1.5 Grams of skin every day which under ideal conditions is enough skin to feed 1 million Dustmites.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
All is Right With The World When
The Human mind has quite an interesting ability to always be concerned with something and incessantly worry about whatever that concern is. Wither it is a mortgage, test, relationship concerns or just plain anxiety about work, being a Human means that you will always have something that is your top concern and needs sorting as it is preventing you from being happy or content.
So if your first concern of the day is how deep the layer of cheese is on your double cheese pizza, then you should remind yourself that things are good.
In Mordeth's case however he just seems to be angry at everything.
So if your first concern of the day is how deep the layer of cheese is on your double cheese pizza, then you should remind yourself that things are good.
In Mordeth's case however he just seems to be angry at everything.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
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