All posts tagged Culture

Back From BlizzCon!

 Martin · 15 years

So anyway, BlizzCon! It was awesome. My brother and I arrived in Orange County bright and early on Friday morning, picked up our passes, dropped off our luggage at the hotel, and made our way into the Anaheim Convention Center to see what Blizzard had in store for us.

The entire convention center was dark, illuminated only by multicolored lights and spotlights shining the Blizzard logo on the ground. Various islands of booths, displays, and photo areas were placed around the floor, and much larger areas were sectioned off to house many rows of computers set up for people to try out all of Blizzard's latest and greatest (Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Wrath of the Lich King).

In the convention center's largest room, a massive hall of chairs had been set up for the opening and closing ceremonies, and for other announcements and forums where the audience size was expected to be large. At the opposite end of the center, a smaller stage had been set up, as a special place for awards to be handed out to tournament players, as well as an alternate viewing area to the live events happening in the main hall.

Various other areas included a small elevated platform with a desk on the top, at which a few commentators would sit and deliver their take on the event as it rolled on (for pay-per-view viewers), two merchandise stores, a retrospective on past Blizzard games, a collection of concept art, a TCG/adventure game store and play area, information booths, and small bars, where drinks of all sorts could be obtained. An upstairs room was also reserved for other segments of the conference, and huge screens were set up all over the convention center so that no matter what one was doing, the important stuff would not be missed.

After a quick breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe (the only restaurant that was open at the time) in Down Town Disney, we arrived at BlizzCon. My brother (Spencer) and I wandered around for a while just taking in the various sights and sounds. We leaned over the low barrier to watch fans trying out Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 for the first time. We gaped at the seemingly endless lines to get into the Blizzard stores. And we checked out the display set up for Blizzard's past endeavors in gaming, which included the Lost Vikings games, an isometric racing game, and of course, Warcraft.

We then settled into the standing-room-only crowd in the main hall to watch the opening ceremony, which lasted an hour, and then filed out again to go look at more stuff. We briefly visited a discussion panel set up for World of Warcraft's UI design, and then decided to head back out for a breather - we both only got about two hours of sleep the night before, and the lack of rest was starting to affect the experience. There was nothing else we wanted to see until later in the day, so we trudged a few blocks down the road and back to our hotel, and after looking through our BlizzCon goody bags for a while, we were both fast asleep.

We ended up heading out again at about five o'clock. We made a quick stop for pizza and were on our way back in only about twenty minutes. I had wanted to check out the World of Warcraft and Diablo 3 art shows, but we'd slept through them. I was happier to have had some revitalizing sleep however, and throughout the show we got plenty of chances to watch the actual games being played, so I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. The /silly contest was in progress when we walked back through the doors of BlizzCon, and we proceeded to watch over two hours of fan-crafted jokes, the dance contest, and though we missed the formal competition, many fans dressed in their best imitations of their favorite characters from Blizzard's games. The dance contest was the best part; seeing a full range of people, men, women, fat, skinny, young, and old recreating the dances their characters perform in World of Warcraft was really funny at times, and slightly impressive at others. We also saw a brief (and funny) interlude by The Guild, and this was all hosted by a very lascivious Jay Mohr.

Once the festivities were over for Day 1, my brother and I walked back over to Down Town Disney and hit up the ESPN Zone for some beers and arcade games. Lucky for us, Spencer is a DisneyLand annual pass holder, so we got 15% off of everything in DTD. He smashed me at hoops, I got winded on a bicycling arcade game, and then we went back to the hotel for the night.

In the morning of Day 2, we went back to ESPN Zone, but this time sat down in their sports lounge for some breakfast and to catch up on all the football going on the weekend. At around noon we made our way back to BlizzCon to catch the show for upcoming World of Warcraft dungeons, as well as part of the Q&A that followed. The dungeons looked pretty sweet, and though I rarely have enough time to do the scheduled runs with my guild, I hope to explore them at some point.

One member of the audience, who asked an argumentative question about hunters and their pets (if I remember correctly), had the gall to tell the game's designers that they were wrong in their judgement of his question, which was met with furious booing from the crowd.

After all that, we decided there wasn't much else we wanted to see until the closing ceremony that night, so we left BlizzCon for our hotel yet again, and ended up playing a few games of the World of Warcraft TCG, which actually turned out to be pretty fun (especially when I almost came back from a near shut-out with just one well-timed card). We had debated whether or not this time would have been a good opportunity to get in line to try out Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2, but we decided against it, as the lines for those games quadrupled after the dungeon preview session ended.

At around five o'clock, we descended on BlizzCon for the final time, arriving early in hopes to grab some seats in the main hall. Walking in, we noticed that about 75% of the seats in the hall were already taken, but to our dismay, every available seat left was being reserved by someone for a group they belonged to. At one point, we encountered someone saving four seats for friends, and we also observed at least one man with a disability (he was walking with a cane) being denied a place to sit by one of the seat-savers. I'm still planning on writing Blizzard to complain about this. If people wanted to see save a seat for themselves, they should have sat in them.

In any case, Spencer and I decided we didn't want to watch the three hour closing ceremony standing on the sidelines of the floor, where the acoustics prevented much of the audio from even being understandable, so instead, we made our way over to the second stage on the other side of the center, where only a handful of people had gathered. We weren't sure if they would show the closing ceremony on the handful of screens there, but figured it was worth the chance, as we'd be standing to watch in the main hall regardless of if we were there when it began or had to hustle back over. My brother bought us a round of beers, and we sat and waited.

As it turned out, the closing ceremony was indeed played on the second stage, and we had a good time watching it as we took turns buying rounds of drinks. Two comedians, including Patton Oswalt, gave performances, and were followed by Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain, and finally a performance of various Blizzard game music by Video Games Live. I didn't catch much of the opening comedian (he was dressed like a lumberjack), but I thought Patton Oswalt was pretty funny. L80ETC was alright, though their music isn't really my type, and I really enjoyed listening to Video Games Live. By the time the whole thing was over, Spencer and I were on our fifth or sixth round of drinks, and we stumbled back to our hotel room and got to sleep pretty early that night.

We got up early on Sunday and ran over to Disneyland for a few hours of rides (I hadn't been in over ten years!) and then we made our way back to the hotel a final time to get our stuff together before our mid-afternoon flight home. I would have liked to have had more time to spend at Disneyland, but by the time we were leaving, the park was getting to be so full of people anyway, I was partially glad to be leaving.

All in all, it was an awesome weekend, and despite the amount of running around, standing around, and junk food, I came out of it feeling pretty good on Monday - which is rare for my usual trips. I think I owe a lot of that to the fact that we ended up getting a decent amount of sleep every day of the trip, save the first. I would definitely attend BlizzCon again, but maybe again on another year when they have another slew of huge games on the horizon. It was good to just "nerd out" and enjoy myself for a weekend.

Of all things BlizzCon, there was really only a few things that I didn't like. The seat-saving bit was annoying, and expectedly, the bathrooms at the convention center got particularly gross at times. The only part that I really didn't anticipate (and probably should have) was that when you got into large groups with others, to stand and watch a performance or when a large crowd was exiting one of the halls, you were treated to the overwhelming smell of body odor, with the occasional fart thrown in here and there. I would liken it to the smell of a locker room after a football team just had a big game. Kinda gross sometimes, but not so frequent or strong as to be a deal-breaker. Still, if you're planning on attending BlizzCon, expect to get a good whiff of this smell at least a few times!

For the curious, I thought I'd list the contents of the BlizzCon goody bag, which I was pretty impressed with (even though I know a lot of it is the standard give-away fare, with a Blizzard theme attached):

  •     Blizzon Pass (with World of Warcraft character name included)
  •     BlizzCon Gift Card (includes code for special WoW mount, and participation in upcoming StarCraft 2 beta)
  •     World of Warcraft Heroes of Azeroth TCG Starter Pack
  •     Inflatable Frostmourne Sword (some bags had inflatable Paladin hearth/bubble instead)
  •     Special StarCraft 2 board game square
  •     Rubber BlizzCon keychain
  •     Metallic Diablo 3 keychain
  •     Orc mask
  •     Diablo 3 stress ball
  •     Kleenex packet with "QQ Noob" printed on it
  •     Zerg Creep packet of colored goo
  •     WoW mousepad
  •     WoW Alliance necklace
  •     Pandaren Brewmaster beer holder & bottle opener
  •     StarCraft 2 wristbands
  •     Double-sided WoW/SC2 comic book
  •     Bookmark
  •     Postcard
  •     Hand Sanitizer
  •     Diablo 3 Cinnamints
  •     WoW Pin
  •     Event map & schedule

There was probably more stuff in there that I forgot to list - but that's a lot of stuff as is, and I was anxious to drop that sucker off at the hotel room so I wouldn't have to carry it everywhere!

Anyway, I think I've rambled on long enough. I had a great time, and I hope I can visit sometime again in the future. BlizzCon rocks!

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Gearing Up For BlizzCon

 Martin · 15 years

Soon my brother and I will be packing up and getting ready for what will hopefully be a fun two days down in Anaheim, as we attend BlizzCon 2008!

I've been so busy with work and other things over the last few days, I haven't really had time to even think about it, but now that we're a day before the event I'm getting very excited about going. After only a short flight and a quick ride, we'll be heading over to the Anaheim Convention Center and getting an early start on the long days Blizzard has planned.

I don't have much more to say for now, other than I'm getting more excited as the event draws closer. If you're interested in seeing BlizzCon but weren't able to get tickets, Blizzard's apparently struck a deal with DirectTV for a live PPV broadcast, so you might be interested in that. Either way, with upcoming games like StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3, it should be a great show, and I will be back to say more about everything when I can!

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Game of the Year 2008

 Martin · 15 years

Perhaps it's a bit too early in the year to start worrying about what game might actually win GOTY for 2008, seeing as almost all outlets for gaming have a strong holiday lineup on deck. But I read an article over on DLB-Network, a website run by a buddy of mine, and it got me to thinking - just what games this year are likely to be GOTY? Which one do I think will nab the title on other websites/magazines?

I decided I'd list all the contenders, give my thoughts and my reasoning, and see what other people think. Many of these games came from the list proposed at DLB-Network, and some are from my own line of thought.

Grand Theft Auto 4

I believe GTA4 is a strong contender for GOTY 2008. Some may balk at this, saying that the game wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, but I beg to differ; the game was solid, fun, and even though it didn't always live up to the hype, it was unarguably one of the better games released in '08. The game was epic in size, it sold amazingly well, was a multi-platform release, and became a cultural phenomenon in the weeks building up to and following its release. It pushed the GTA franchise outward in all the right directions and had an interesting message, and it would not surprise me at all if GTA4 piles on the GOTY awards for 2008.

Metal Gear Solid 4

I've not played MGS4, but I've heard a lot of mixed things about it. The game upped the bar for graphics in PS3 titles, as well as for (non-)interactive story-telling, possibly to detriment. Though the game garnered strong ratings across the board, many now complain (much like GTA4) that the game was over-hyped and over-rated. Another common complaint was that the game bogged down players with too many cut-scenes and not enough actual gameplay. The final strike against it however, in my opinion, is the PS3 platform exclusivity. MGS4 had impressive sales numbers, but too few people have played this game for it to be dubbed GOTY 2008, in large part due to its release on a single platform. In an age where reviewers are too afraid to give the same game on different platforms different scores, I just can't see a single-platform title earning GOTY, good as the game may be.

Spore

Will Wright's wet dream, Spore, had always shown promise of being a game-to-end-all-other-games, even from its early unveiling at E3 several years ago. Even a year before its release, I recall talking with people about how great the game would be and being quite excited about it myself. Upon its eventual release, the world found that, while it was a decent and fun game, Spore wasn't exactly all it was cracked up to be. The game also fell prey to the same DRM woes that have haunted other recent PC releases. And though many are playing the game now and will be playing it into the distant future, I think that the possibility for achieving any sort of GOTY commendations were dashed long ago when the game became a shallow amalgam of different game genres, and a rich simulator of none.

Gears of War 2

Though the screens and videos of the new Gears game look promising, and I am sure the game will be a fun title, I don't think we'll see the sequel grabbing at GOTY, both for it's platform exclusivity and because it will be too similar to Gears 1 to show any real innovation.The original Gears of War, though not entirely original in most respects, did everything it set out to do so right that it was hard to say much bad about it. I feel that the sequel will be much the same, but since we've already broken the ground (a Gears pun?) with Gears 1, Gears 2 won't be a contender for GOTY. Of course, I've read that Epic has tried to fix many of the original Gears' shortcomings in the sequel, but unless they really pull off something spectacularly better than the already-great Gears of War, I don't see it. I'll definitely be in line to buy this title, though.

Resistance 2

I feel the same way about Resistance 2 as Gears of War 2. See above.

Little Big Planet

What can I say about LBP without inciting riots among its throng of fans? I think I'll just come right out and say it: LBP will be one of the most over-hyped games of 2008. Developed by Media Molecule, a company whose first game (Rag Doll Kung Fu) was met with a lukewarm response, Little Big Planet puts the developer's tools in the players' hands and asks them to create levels for others to play.

The game has a nice look to it, and the tools look easy enough to use - but I question how interesting most gamers, who don't typically delve into the development side of things, will find it. I also think that people who are truly interested in being creative will be disappointed, as there is only so much you can do easily and comfortably with a dual shock controller (as opposed to a keyboard, mouse, and with real creative tools like Photoshop, 3DSMax, etc.)... and that's ignoring the obvious limitations of the single hard drive and paltry amount of RAM. LBP will be an interesting diversion for sure, but not a system-seller, and for that reason, I don't see it as a serious contender for any GOTY awards.

Fallout 3

I'll admit that I haven't done much research about Fallout 3 yet, despite my plans to buy the game. If the experience is a little more polished than Oblivion, but with the same open-endedness and emphasis on exploration and discovery, I think it could be a latecomer to the GOTY arena. From everything I've seen so far, it looks much more crisp and refined than Oblivion. It'll be interesting (and hopefully fun) to see how well Bethesda's role-playing recipe holds up with the company shifting gears into the more modern setting of Fallout. Fallout is also being released for multiple platforms.

Rock Band 2

Like Gears of War 2, Resistance 2, etc. I think Rock Band 2 won't be viewed as particularly innovative purely for the fact that it's a sequel. Also, I don't see a rhythm game as a real contender for GOTY in any capacity.

Fable 2

Lionhead has promised a much longer, more rich experience than the original title with Fable 2, so I'm not sure if I can write this game off as just another sequel quite yet. I really enjoyed the first game, and though I liked the good/evil dynamic, and felt that the game as a whole was a very unique experience, I never really felt like any of the individual elements of Fable were particularly ground-breaking. Fable 2 may change that, but until the game is released, I will withhold judgment. The hype machine hasn't turned its evil eye towards Fable 2 yet, and I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not. At the very least, I hope Fable 2 is a fun and unique experience like the original, even if not GOTY fodder.

The Xbox 360 platform exclusivity may also come into play here, especially since Fable 2 will lack a lot of the universal appeal that propels other titles like GTA4.

Conclusion

Regardless of who actually winds up winning GOTY 2008, I think gamers are the real winner this year. Each system has received a good stack of quality games, and more is on the way soon. Couple that with the Xbox 360's soon-to-come fall dashboard update (the Xbox Experience), which completely redesigns the look and functionality of the system, and I might just have some trouble getting my work done this winter!

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The Patriotism Game: Completely Disgusting

 Martin · 15 years

I've tried not to watch any of it, but by chance I caught a bit of the Republican National Convention this evening, while trying to relax after work. As you've probably guessed from the title of this post, I am completely disgusted by the whole thing.

I try to stay away from the topic of politics here for the most part, but the tiny bit of the convention that I happened to see (Mitt Romney's portion of the show) made my blood boil, and I simply have to say something about it.

During my brief viewing, Mr. Romney continued beating the desparate drum of nationalism and fanning the flames of divison and hatred between countrymen. Over and over, he stated in so many ways that the Republican party is the party of patriotism and love for country, and that to be anything else is anti-American, supporting terrorism, ad naseum.

I'm tired of this utterly stupid stance. It's a pathetic attempt to appeal to your fears of the unknown, and it makes me sick that anyone in any political party would find need to wield this ridiculous argument against his fellow American.

We all want this country to be great. We all want this to be a good place for our children. We want the U.S. to be a prosperous country where anyone who's willing to put in the work can make something for themselves. That is the "American Dream," is it not?

To suggest that someone who strives for the same things as you, but by slightly different means, is completely against the U.S. and ideals that drive it is completely insane. I'm perfectly happy sharing this country with others who have all sorts of different ideas from mine - that's what makes the world work, after all. Working together with people who don't share the same thoughts as me helps me grow as a person, and helps us all accomplish many otherrwise impossible goals. Anyone who has any sort of relationship with other people can recognize that compromise is the corner stone of progress, and yet instead of encouraging people to work together and help maintain unity during these trying times, the Republican party would rather see the nation's citizens bicker amongst themselves.

Demonizing one party or the other for striving to make this country great in a different way than you accomplishes nothing but create divisions between neighbors, relatives, and friends. It makes people look upon others with fear, and it prevents people from enjoying life.

Neither party wants bad things to happen to this country. Neither party is helping terrorists. Neither party is any more patriotic or "American" (whatever that means) than the other.

Let's stop this shit once and for all. Whether you're liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between the two, I urge you to look past all this superficial patriotism garbage, and look at the real issues. The people who use this rhetoric are crooked liars, and you are a fool if you fall for it, no matter which party is pushing it at you.

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A Rhythm Too Far

 Martin · 15 years

As a gamer, I'm not normally the type to look down upon the gaming habits of others. Sure, I'll make the odd quip about "freestyle" DDR players now and then, but generally I don't give my fellow gamers too much grief for doing whatever it is they choose to do.

This stance has led me to defend Guitar Hero/Rock Band, games which I have played very minimally, whenever someone brings up the "you should just learn a real instrument" argument. I've even argued this point with my dad, who is an actual musician (he plays bass guitar). I had an epiphany at a GameStop which changed my views on this slightly, and which makes me wonder about how far the rhythm games can go before they've gone too far. It also makes me wonder if I'm the only person who's ever had an epiphany at GameStop.

While I was at GameStop, they had a Guitar Hero III display set up. Instead of the usual speakers, the display was outfitted with headphones so interested players could try the game out without disturbing other shoppers too much. I was waiting in line to order a game. A kid who was obviously familiar with Guitar Hero walked up to it and - headphones on, guitar in hand - got set to play. The people in line in front of me were going back and forth with an employee about trading in games, so I curiously looked on as the kid began to run through a jam session.

Click-click-click. Click-click-click. Click-click-click. Click-click-click.

I heard the game in a way I'd never heard it before. Without the music to accompany the rhythmic input, the mechanical monotony of the whole thing was instantly exposed. And while I know that many games, some of my favorites probably, could be broken down into a series of infinitely repeatable hand motions, the illusion of Guitar Hero, nay all rhythm games, had been broken from this moment forth.

Enter Rock Band.

Guitar Hero got me used to seeing people rocking out holding small, plastic guitars with buttons instead of strings, but I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to accept the ridiculous menagerie that is the full band ensemble of Rock Band. Not only does this setup look completely ridiculous standing before the TV in anyone's living room, but it costs a small fortune, and so starts to encroach on the grounds of "you might as well just learn to play a real instrument." Feast your eyes on this piece of work:

All this for a video game? Really? Do I even need to say anything else...?

If you're going to put all the effort into buying, building, and learning to play these ridiculous game controllers, why not just put in a little extra effort and learn the real thing? It'll likely be more personally satisfying, and could even land you a career you'd always dreamed about, but never really considered.

Don't get me wrong though - I still don't wholly agree with the naysayers; I don't really think anyone is trying to substitute real musical talent with a game of Guitar Hero or Rock Band. There is definitely a place in the world for our beloved rhythm games. I personally think it's awesome that an entire family can rock out to tunes in Rock Band, with each member on a different instrument. I like that Guitar Hero is doing its part to revive interest in classic rock. And hey, even those DDR freaks dancers have impressed me from time to time. I just feel like these things have gone a bit too far (the drum kit above being a prime example), and if there's a possibility for some non-electronic achievements now and then, why not take them? I think that with the advent of more advanced (and expensive) "instruments" that argument is becoming more valid.

Alright, I'm done preaching. Public service time is over. Pick up the plastic guitar, and rock on.

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An Entertaining Weekend

 Martin · 15 years

Though it still feels like I got the required amount of relaxation this weekend, I look back on all the stuff I did (or played and watched, to be more specific) and almost feel like I couldn't have. Throughout the weekend I've watched two movies, beaten one game, played through a good amount of another, spent a good portion of time with my girlfriend, and even got some work done on some web/game stuff I've been meaning to do.

Tropic Thunder

The first thing my girlfriend and I did on Sunday was head on over to the local theater to catch the matinee of Tropic Thunder. I'd read glowing reviews, a little bit of controversy, and I'm a fan of both Ben Stiller and Jack Black, so I had a feeling the movie would be good. And it was. From the opening trailers (go see it, you'll see) to the end credits, the movie was intensely funny. If you're into comedy flicks and you don't mind humor that is occasionally offensive humor, you'll enjoy Tropic Thunder.

Before the movie began, we sat through all the silly trailers. I think that out of the seven to eight trailers shown before Thunder started, only one looked decent. Most of them just left me, my girlfriend, and the rest of the audience making jokes and shaking our heads in shame and disgust. One trailer in particular comes to mind now, for "Disaster Movie," but not because it was particularly good, and surely not because the movie looks like it will be anything but another steaming pile of crap in the line of "_____ Movie" parody films.

I find it funny that the trailer for Disaster Movie was shown though, because after watching Topic Thunder, you can't help but feel bad for anyone who actually believes that that movie, or any of its ilk, is in any way "real" comedy. I guess every now and then Hollywood manages to produce something above and beyond the norm, and it serves to put all the other trash back in its place. That's not to say that Tropic Thunder is a perfect movie (it's certainly not), but it's entertaining, it's damn funny, and it makes you wish more movies could be like it.

Overlord

About a week ago, while I was waiting for my girlfriend to get done picking out some clothes at the local mall, I wandered into the nearby GameStop and found a game I'd been meaning to pick up for some time but hadn't yet seen it available for $20: Overlord.

It's not the best game ever made; the controls are a little hard to get used to, and the camera bugs me sometimes. But I really like the concept of Overlord, and the way the game actually works is just really amusing to me, so I enjoy playing it. Overall, there's a lot more good stuff here than bad.

In Overlord, you play as the newly resurrected, evil "Overlord," and you lead an ever-growing horde of minions (little gremlin-ish creatures) to do your bidding. At your command, the throng of minions will destroy everything in sight, gang up on baddies, and clear the way for you to continue forth. As you play, you gain the ability to control different types of minions, each with a unique ability. You also learn magical spells and forge new items at your tower. The core game works a lot like Fable, where you pick up new quests as you move along, and have the option to complete them when you want, albeit instead of having to choose between acting good or evil, in Overlord, you usually have to choose between acting evil or acting more evil.

As I mentioned above, I really like the idea behind Overlord - that some nameless, evil guy runs around with his crowd of minions, and together they conquer the land. It's a clever idea, and it runs against the grain of all the traditional "hero" games in a really fine way. The voice acting for the minions and their leader is excellent and brings the game to life in a way that could not have been achieved otherwise. The ability to customize your evil tower and imbue your arsenal with the powers of your minions were also great additions and serve to round out the game in a satisfying way. Codemasters put a lot of effort into making Overlord fun to play, and in my opinion, they succeeded.

Hopefully that opinion doesn't change as I much through the rest of the game!

The Simpsons Movie

I finally had the opportunity to watch <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/simpsons_movie/" target="_blank">The Simpsons Movie</a>, and I enjoyed it a lot. The movie was consistently funny throughout, and not one opportunity was lost to use one of the show's hundreds of characters. I've always liked how the Simpsons works so many levels of subtle (and often not-so-subtle) social commentary into the plots of each show, and the movie followed suit with this trait in spades.

Truthfully, the whole thing seemed a bit like a really long episode of the normal show, only with better animation, but I think this was one of the movie's strengths. It gave the writers time to do jokes that simply aren't possible within the constraints of a thirty minute show, and there's hardly a moment where you feel like the film has lost its momentum.

There are plenty of awesomely funny moments in The Simpsons Movie, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the show.

Braid

After spending over three hours working out the last two puzzles I had left (one of which I solved on accident after giving up completely), I've finally beaten Braid. I won't spoil things for anyone who's playing (or planning on playing) the game, but I will say that the ending is appropriate to the rest of the game, and I can say with confidence that if you enjoyed the game up to the end, you will enjoy the ending a lot.

3D Animated Texture Water

Like that picture above? That's a screenshot of a new 3D water example I've got ready for release - but I really want to write up a tutorial so people can learn how I made the textures included in the example. It looks great in motion!

Anyway, that's my weekend in a nutshell. Thanks for reading, and sorry for the delays between posts, I'll try to be more prompt with future posts.

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Braid Is Incredible

 Martin · 15 years

Every now and then a game comes along and takes you by surprise. I had the pleasure of experiencing this a few days ago, and I feel that my horizons as both a gamer and a developer have expanded because of it.

The harbinger of my elation goes by but a single name: Braid.

By now you've probably heard a little bit about Braid here or there - it seems impossible not to. After only a few days on the XBL Marketplace, Braid became the highest rated game on XBL Arcade, and entered the exclusive list of top 10 all-time highest rated games for the Xbox 360, which includes titles like Grand Theft Auto 4, Gears of War, and Bioshock.

While notable in itself, this is quite an accomplishment considering the game was made by only a small team of indie game designers and artists, on an infinitesimally smaller budget than any of the other AAA titles it's contending with.

So what's all the hoopla about? At the outset, it's simple enough - Braid is a 2D platform game where you traverse an assortment of levels to find and collect jigsaw pieces. Delve a bit deeper though, and the game quickly sets itself far apart from most other platformers you've played. Time, and the manipulation of it, plays an important role in the narrative of the story, and more importantly, how puzzles in the game are solved. Braid's development team went to great lengths to craft smart, unique levels that take advantage of this element of the game. Each chapter of levels offers a different take on the way time affects you and the environment, with each puzzle more devious than the last. And even though most of the puzzles seem to have only one or two possible solutions, each one will leave you with a feeling of deep satisfaction for solving it.

At this point, I could stop writing and you'd have a pretty good idea of why Braid is a good game, but I really feel that merely describing the game for its amazing technical presentation isn't fully doing it justice. There's a lot more to Braid than that. The entire presentation is mentally stimulating.

Braid's narrative, told through a handful of dialog boxes and books placed on a series of podiums before each level, tell the emotional story of the game's main character, Tim, and his troubles. The text in the game is well-written, and is in some ways, very touching.

Braid opens with what looks like a painted title screen. After a few moments, you realize that what you're looking at isn't really just a title screen - it's the actual game, and you can actually play it right from the start. I really liked the way the game opens without an interface, and I think it says a lot about how great the game's design is that you don't even need to access any menus until you're ready to leave.

The game's graphics (courtesy of David Hellman) are incredible though; I think I spent the first 20 minutes of the game just looking at the backdrops. Scenes that would look amazing as flattened artwork scroll with depth unimaginable, and everything in the foreground is gorgeous to boot. So much effort was put into making Braid a visual feast, it's almost impossible to imagine that time was spent to ensure the game was enjoyable as well. The soundtrack, licensed from some very talented people at Magnatune, is equally as good as the graphics, and wraps the game in an enchanting veil that lends credibility to the story and completes the presentation in a satisfying way.

I've been playing Braid over the last few days, taking small bites at a time, and trying to complete each puzzle I come across. Everything about the game is incredible, and though I've gotten to the point where some of the puzzles seem a bit on the hard side (or maybe I'm just not trying to do things the right way), I'm having a blast. The $15 price tag sounded steep before I tried the demo, but after only a few minutes of playing, I made the choice to buy.

Braid is the collective work of many people who obviously care about their craft, and this shows at every turn. I hope that the Braid team goes on to do create more unique games. This should serve as a lesson to the nay-sayers who cry that indie games don't have a place in the highly commercial world of video games. They do, and Braid proves it without missing a step.

If you've got an Xbox 360 (or if you can hold out for the PC version), buy Braid. It's an amazing game that deserves to be experienced by everyone.

braidculturegameageindiepcreviewsxbox 360
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Seriously, It’s Just A Phone

 Martin · 15 years

Driving to work today, I only passed by one Cingular store, but I could see a small throng of people standing outside of it, waiting for it to open. Listening to the radio, I heard that the frenzy had reached a higher pitch in the bay area, where some people have been waiting outside of Apple stores since Wednesday, and lines have extended to span almost a block of city streets.

What earth-shattering, ground-breaking, head-exploding new product are all these sad souls waking up early for?

The iPhone 3G, of course. A slight upgrade to the iPhone.

As a somewhat frequent visitor of Digg during the work week, I'm actually quite sick of hearing about it, if you want to know the truth. Almost every other story submitted has been about the iPhone 3G, and each one seems to try to make something as mundane into something interesting more so than the last, and not coincidentally, insult my intelligence more.

Want to watch someone activate their iPhone?

Or navigate an application store?

Or take it out of the bloody box, and handle it?

All covered, courtesy of fanboys, Engadget, and the piece of trash that is Gizmodo. And it makes me sick. How pathetic has our society become that we waste minutes and hours of our lives standing in line for an upgraded telephone?

It's gotten to the point where I feel like I'm about the only man in his mid 20's in California who doesn't shit himself every time someone mentions the iPhone - a sad reality. I even had the displeasure of listening to KGO interview a guy who was first in line at one of the Apple stores in San Francisco, who admitted he already had an iPhone, but wanted a second version phone as well.

Yes, in this time of economic downturn, people are buying a second version of the same phone they already own because it has a few more features than the last. At the time of this writing, Apple's stock is down 1.9% - on a big product launch day, no less - and people are still casting away their barely-year-old old iPhones so they can browse the internet on it slightly faster. And people wonder why our economy is tanking.

This foolishness must stop. Currently, I'm using an LG Chocolate 2, and I really like it - it's easily the best phone I've ever owned. It does everything I need it to do, and it looks cool. But I am not going to rush out and buy the LG Chocolate 3 when they release it, especially not if my current phone is working fine. In fact, the next time I buy a phone will likely be when this one stops working. And I'm not going to participate in the ridiculous douchebaggery that permeates the iPhone crowd, and take videos of myself opening the box, using the phone, or buying applications. I'm a tech guy, and even I find this crap completely neurotic, obsessive, and just plain disgusting.

It's a phone, people. Get over it.

applecultureeconomyiphonemobilenewsrant
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Twitter – The Internet’s Newest Cesspool

 Martin · 15 years

Clichéd as it is, let me start this with a few definitions:

Mundane -adjective

2. common; ordinary; banal; unimaginative.

Uninteresting -adjective

1. arousing no interest or attention or curiosity or excitement.

Stupid -adjective

2. characterized by or proceeding from mental dullness; foolish; senseless.

Mundane, uninteresting, and stupid. These three words perfectly describe one of the newest internet cesspools, Twitter.

If you took MySpace, dropped it into a special machine designed to wring out everything but the superficiality, narcissism, and lust for attention, and then you took what was left, put it into some bullets, and then fired them at the internet with an automatic machine gun, you'd have Twitter. And probably a few dead bystanders.

For anyone out there who is not familiar with Twitter, it's a lot like having a blog, except instead of taking the time to think about and actually write a cohesive collection of sentences, your updates consist of one-liners and simple thoughts. To better illustrate my description, here are some example Twitter entries:

"its already 10:30???!?!? when did that happen??"

I dunno, maybe while you were sitting there posting stuff on Twitter?

"Speaking of food.....lunchtime!"

Nobody was speaking of food.

"At the hospital waiting on Labor and Delivery."

It really sounds like you've got more important things to do than Twitter.

"Why do I hear windchimes in the office?"

I dunno, but you should get that checked out.

"confused by backpack"

Average Twitter user.

"I can't stop eating DORITOS!!! mmmmmm"

Perhaps the first advertisement on Twitter?

"i started a juice fast yesterday... i now think my stomach is eating itself!"

Yes, that rare feeling us humans call "hunger".

Twitter users call these small messages "tweets." I refuse to do that.

There's a reason why I don't speak aloud every little random thought that goes through my head, let alone post them in my blog. It's because, like everyone else, most everything I think about throughout the day (and most of the stuff I do, for that matter) isn't interesting enough to share with people. And the same goes for everyone else, regardless of who you are.

Nobody cares if you're eating Doritos. Nobody cares about your momentary confusing over a backpack.  Nobody cares if you hear windchimes in your office. These things are not important.

And yet, thanks to Twitter, the internet is bombarded with a constant stream of similar garbage.  I honestly can't think of a bigger waste of time - sitting around posting and reading things on Twitter makes a full day of World of Warcraft seem like an exceedingly productive thing to do. It gives a bad (worse) name to social networking on the internet, and cheapens somewhat more legitimate outlets of information, like blogging.

Twitter annoys me worse than lolcats, and I think that given the chance, I would purge every memory of its existence from the collective consciousness of mankind. If you use Twitter, please just stop. You're ruining the internet for everyone.

cultureinternetranttwitter
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Background Music: 8-bit Orchestra

 Martin · 15 years

Ever get absolutely lost in a game's soundtrack? With the increased capacity of game media, like DVD and Blue-ray disc, it's become much more commonplace for games to include epic, fully performed / orchestrated music. Of course, there's been great game music in all periods of gaming history, whether the music was a masterfully sequenced chip tune or prerecorded by a live orchestra.

Over the years I've found myself drawn to many games by their amazing music, and I'd like to share a few of those games (and their music) here so that you might also find some enjoyment in them. I've actually found so many game soundtracks that I like, I've collected them in a series of installments from different eras of video game history, starting with 8-bit systems and below.

Many of the soundtracks for the games listed below can be found online and can be listened to as MP3's or via a plug-in for Winamp, and I've provided links to these resources where possible. Plug-ins for Winamp which allow you to play the raw music files of games can be found at Zophar's Domain, which is an excellent source of a lot of different video game utilities.

Sega Master System
Not a particularly strong performer in the music department, the SMS had a few games that really took music to a new level among the other games on the system. Though repetitive, and not particularly lengthy or diverse, the music on the SMS could be catchy at times, and like all good game music, would often get stuck in your head long after you'd finished playing. Here are a few of the stronger performers, from games I've played long, long ago - you can find the raw music files for at least one of these games in the GMS section of Zophar's Domain.

  • Aztec Adventure
  • Penguin Land

Nintendo Gameboy
My library of games for the Gameboy was quite small. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the games I had, and even found that a few of them had some fantastic tunes within. The GBS section at Zophar's Domain includes links to music files for both of the games listed below.

  • Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
  • Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land

Nintendo Entertainment System

The NES seemed to have a better sound system inside than the SMS, but the tunes included in most of its' game were all just as repetitive, short, and above all, catchy. Whether we bought the games or only rented them, my brother and I bumbled through a decent portion of our childhood constantly humming the music from many NES games. Perhaps that's why I can still remember half of the music from these games, almost 20 years later! You can find files for many of the games listed below in the NSF section at Zophar's Domain.

  • Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers
  • Ducktales
  • Maniac Mansion
  • Mega Man 2
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Tetris

That should do it for my list of favorite 8-bit music! Feel free to mention other game soundtracks you've enjoyed in the comments below and be on the lookout for the next post sometime in the future, which will cover my favorites from the 16-bit era.

culturegameboylistsmusicnessega master systemsoundtracks
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