April 2011
2 posts
Crab Bot →
I don’t know about you but I have my moments when I wonder when the hell that big shiny technologically driven future that everyone is always raving about is going to show up. Then I see shit like this and remember that it already has.
October 2010
2 posts
August 2010
1 post
Pole Dancing Indian Style!
Me: Check it out! Indian Pole Gymnastics: http://youtu.be/2H1zjRU8hBo
Her: WTF?!
Me: Strippers better step up their game because those Indian boys are looking fiiiiiine
Me: Woops. I think I just threw up a bit in my mouth.
May 2010
1 post
Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action |... →
April 2010
1 post
Ousted Modern Warfare 2 Creators Respawn, Sign... →
March 2010
3 posts
Infinity Ward Ex-Heads Suing Activision →
I have very little doubt that this will further tarnish Activision’s brand.
Security Appears At Infinity Ward, Studio Heads... →
Oh Activision… why do I have a feeling developers are going to be angry at you in the coming days. Right before GDC too. Interesting.
February 2010
5 posts
“Macro is something like a master game design document,” says Lemarchand,...”
– Gamasutra - News - DICE 2010: Naughty Dog’s Lemarchand On Why The Studio Has No Producers
1 tag
~*~
The above is a symbol of great personal meaning, invented by two lovers who wanted to find a way of expressing their feelings to one another without letting on to anyone else what they were saying.
Now, more than ever, I find it to be such a beautiful symbol. Odd how something so simple can be so profound.
2 tags
“If we hope to make games that are truly socially responsible and offer players...”
– Clint Hocking on Didacticism in Game Design
Best. T-shirt. Ever. →
The real reason I became a game designer.
Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain :: Videos ::... →
The easy part of my job is coming up with cool ideas. The hard part is making it. The hardest part is shipping it. The part that feels damn near impossible? Doing it all on time. After watching this video, though, it seems much more plausible.
January 2010
5 posts
“I was a sailor, I was lost at sea
I was under the waves
Before love rescued me...”
– When Love Comes to Town — U2
1 tag
A Different Kind of Shooter
I’m mulling over the idea of designing a game based on child soldiers. I’m starting by reading a book called, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah.
2 tags
The Wong Woman
Me: Dear Blog: Tried to hook up with some hotties at the Ubi Xmas party. Failed. The end.
Her: LOL!!!!! How many was there?
Me: Two. I suck at that sort of thing.
Her: Aw... i didnt know! I would have totally winged woman for u
Me: hehe
Her: I'm a very good wong woman
Me: I'll keep that in mind.
Idolize No Man
“Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized.” - Albert Einstein
Being right sucks
I just logged back into my poor, neglected blog and read the last post. Given my current project and issues that are starting to crop up, I wish I’d remembered my own words sooner. *sigh*
April 2009
2 posts
Design Lessons: What I Learned Last Week
I am a Top Down Designer. Meaning I approach designs with:
- High concept
- Vision
- Overall story
- Characters
- Etc.
Need to balance it out with Bottom Up approach:
- Input
- Moves
- Challenges
- Mechanics
- Scoring
- Etc.
Benefits of a Top Down Approach: The designer has a clear idea of what the game is, what it should accomplish and who it’s for. Throughout development of...
New vs. Old
Because of the tougher economic times I imagine that publishers are less inclined to take chances on new ideas and gameplay, regardless of their instincts or personal feelings. Money is money and money makers certainly can’t take chances on untested ideas.
What a shame.
September 2008
2 posts
“… there are a few tendencies in most reviews which are problematic. The...”
– Kane & Lynch: How it feels to be critically panned | GamesRadar
Capcom Vows No More "Major" Exclusives | Edge... →
Money talks… if you want to remain competitive, increase revenue and broaden your demographic, developing for multi-platform is the way to go. Perhaps this is a sign of the decline of the console exclusive titles.
A boy can dream…
August 2008
3 posts
Heavenly Sword: Brawling to a Standstill
Played the Heavenly Sword demo and was wowed by:
Gorgeous visuals
Lush environments
Mocap galore
Superb acting
Engaging storyline
Fantastic Controls
So, I went out and bought the game. I’ve been playing it for a few days now and still have a great appreciation for the work that went into this piece of interactive art, but… there are some boss fights in this game that follow the...
The Force Unleashed Demo Unimpressive
In The Force Unleashed you can:
alter (read: destroy) your environment
hurl massive objects at your enemies
grab objects 10x + larger than you (tie fighters)
use the force to wreck or move massive doors
use force lighting to electrocute people and vehicles
use force push to hurl enemies, objects, and affect your environment
use your lightsaber to basically reduce your enemy’s...
July 2008
6 posts
Splinter Cell: Conviction Not So Convicted →
Rumor has it that Michael Ironside will not reprise his role as Sam Fisher and is no longer attached to the project so I ran a check on IMDB to see if any credits for Conviction were on his page and found nothing.
The official forums had this to say:
With regard to Micheal Ironside not being in the game: As things stand at this moment it is the first I’ve heard of it and there has certainly not...
WatchThis is possibly the worst choice of music and the most awkward performance used to promote a karaoke game I’ve ever seen. It’s the epitomy of weird.
Emotional robot has empathy - Engadget →
A robot with a combination of empathy and lie detection would be something…
WatchMaybe it’s just me but I think I’ll be replaying this game with Jessica Alba any time she wants to play. Shame it can’t be in person.
FFFFOUND! + IIIINVITATION! →
I’ve been checking this (invitation only) website out for a few months now. The basic principal of it is that as people surf the Net, they come across interesting photos and images. With a Ffffound account you can tag it and it becomes added to your account as interesting and displayed on the front page of the Ffffound site. It’s a very cool concept and if anyone out there has an...
June 2008
2 posts
3 tags
Top Myths About Working in Gaming (according to... →
I don’t feel that Jeffery actually debunks any myths but rather explains why they happen and what EA is doing to work around the many issues that persist, nevertheless it’s an interesting read.
“Any industry which faces a project deadline will have challenges. Project deadlines face all companies in all industries ranging from financial services, retail, film production,...
Making WoW Players into Lab Rats →
May 2008
6 posts
6 tags
WatchThe work that Michael Hollick put into portraying Niko Bellic in GTA IV is astounding. Listen to this radio interview to get a better idea of what it took to bring Niko to life.
6 tags
The Star of Grand Theft Auto IV Finds a Somewhat... →
Shouldn’t we all be getting a piece of the pie? This article is an interesting spotlight on the lack of proper profit sharing within the video game industry. With long hours, hard work and often disproportionate pay, perhaps it’s time we take a better look at the issue at hand.
Harrison Ford on Stunts
“… an ambition of mine … is to keep human scale and reality in the stunt sequences… to stage them and choreograph them, keeping in mind the normal physics that we all live with. I’m less a fan of the kind of matrix-style, fantastic sort of action—which can be really interesting—but, in a way, it draws attention to itself, and you begin to be watching the...
Playboy Model Reveals Her Love of Games →
This is a really thoughtful interview with Playboy model, Jo Garcia, about her love of games and her perception of the female demographic.
About console exclusivity
I’m disappointed to see developers publicizing that their upcoming AAA titles are exclusive to one particular console over another as though it were a perk for gamers. Would PS3 owners really care if God of War III were available on the 360? Would the Xbox 360 crowd care if Gears of War 2 could also be played on PS3? Certainly, it would be odd to see a Sony title, such as GoW, available to...
April 2008
7 posts
5 [Misguided] Tips for Making Games That Don't...
Wired online features Ted Castronova’s 5 tips for making games that don’t suck. Unfortunately, it seems Ted still has a lot to learn. Don’t Be Overly Ambitious “We thought it wouldn’t be too hard to design a realistic War of the Roses-era economy, complete with swords, armaments, horses, food, and clothing. You want to create a suit of armor? First you have to smelt...
WatchIron Man Xbox 360 Trailer - The Uncanny Valley Strikes Again
The Tickle Theory
I think game design should be like tickling. I love tickling. I love it because it brings back a memory from my childhood when my uncle would tickle me. My uncle was both personally and professionally dramatic in all that he did. Tickling was certainly no exception. When he would get it in his mind to tickle-torture me [I’ll get to the torture in a moment] he’d start with an...
WatchJ.J. Abrams: The Mystery Box
Flowcharting
I spent the better part of last week agonizing over flowcharts to describe aspects of my designs. I say “agonizing” because the single most difficult challenge of communicating a design with a flowchart is understanding how the intended recipient of said chart will react to it. In my case, it is (ideally) for programmers and artists, which means it needs to speak plainly, be...
“There’s a lot more to America’s culture of violence than Resident...”
– Stephen King on videogames
“Epic Games has announced a new mod competition around its Unreal Tournament 3,...”
– Epic Announces New ‘Make Something Unreal’ Mod Contest
March 2008
14 posts
1 tag
Are We On Track?
Guy #1: Are you on track?
Guy #2: No!
Guy #1: What?! Why not?
Guy #2: Because the task you gave me is outside my job description and I have no idea what I'm doing.
Guy #1: Oh that... You know *what* you're supposed to do, you just don't know *how* to do it. I thought for a second there, you meant we weren't on track.
Guy #2: Um... ooookay. That's true. I don't know *how* to accomplish what I'm tasked to do and, yes, I know *what* I'm supposed to do and if that means we're on track then... I guess we are!
Guy #1: Great!
Guy #2: great...