In celebration of our recent re-launch, we are looking for a few quality up and comers to join us in blogging about the Game, Mod'ing, Animation and Visual Effects industry developments and the politics that are rapidly threatening to take over these bastions of creativity. If you think you'd like to join us,
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in and we'll check you out and let you know! Everyone who tries out will be considered and you WILL receive feedback!
If you haven't already done so, turn on your Wii or PC and download 2DBoy 's masterpiece of game design World of Goo right now. Yes, it really is that good.You may have seen review scores elsewhere: 9, 9.5, 10--and it deserves every single one of them. While we don't do numeric scores here, if we did you can rest assured that World of Goo would get an 11. I'm sure you're asking in your very best faux Eric Cartman voice, "but why?" Well let me tell you why.
In one theory of game design (one with which I agree wholeheartedly,) it is deemed a wise practice to make your game accessible--which is to say that it should be easy for people to pick up and play with minimal instruction. World of Goo achieves this better than any game I have ever seen-it literally requires no instruction whatsoever. You point, you click, you drag, and if you have 2 brain cells floating around in your skull you will have figured out the basic mechanics of the game exactly 5 seconds into the first level. Now don't mistake that for me saying the game is easy--this game will kick your ass in ways that most others could only achieve by breaking your thumbs.
So there's this fantastic new site you've just GOT to check out! It's called Damn Short Stories , and it's a combination of a personal blog and a Short Story site. It has a very interesting angle in that it focuses on stories that are only one page long, with the goal of presenting a high level of polish in the space of that one page.
OK, OK, you caught me: it's my site. While on occasion I've posted a personal blog or two here at the Ugly Baby Studios team site (sorry guys), from now on all my personal work and story work will appear on that site instead. As you might expect I will continue to provide news and reviews pertaining to the games industry via this site, and--oh yes, I nearly forgot to tell you: we'll be having an announcement soon about a project we're working on. It's got me very excited, and I hope it will get you riled up a bit too!
Today saw the release of Harmonix and MTV Games' Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360 (sorry other platforms, you're just going to have to wait!), and I spent several hours with the title--with of course some friends--to really get to know the game. Rock Band 2 starts out much the same as Rock Band 1 (even to the point of having a remarkably similar intro sequence set in what appears to be the same desert), and aside from new items such as an improved calibration utility and access to the new "Challenges" in multiplayer it never really diverges from the first game in any significant ways.
For the sake of curiosity I spent a little time wandering the local stores after the Xbox 360 price cut. I live in a fairly major metropolitan area (Orange County, CA) so it's fair to say that there is a pretty high population density here. While anyone could have easily predicted an upsurge in 360 sales, what I found was pretty shocking: Not a single 360 of any flavor in stock anywhere. My visits included a couple of Targets, Wal Marts, Best Buy, Circuit City, and even a Gamestop. Not one place had a single 360.
So this basically begs another question: Is it possible that the 360 will, in fact, outsell Wii for September? There is a strong contingent who believe that the Wii sells solely based on price alone (I tend to think they're wrong), but if that's indeed the case then what we should see is a 360 powered leapfrog of the Wii, not just for this month but on an ongoing basis.
What's it like in your area? Leave a comment and let us know!
It is now 4 days and 7 hours since my father passed away. As is always the case, more of reality has emerged and more facts revealed thananyone could have guessed, perhaps except for me, because I finally understoodmy father years ago. It’s that understanding that drove me away from him, andit’s that understanding that, I hear, now illuminates for others why I walkedaway.
So this is it. The moment after the call came in. The moment
after my dad has finally died. What is in this moment? I can’t call it pain. I
certainly can’t call it joy. Confusion might be overkill. I know what this is:
it’s the end of a man to whom I desperately tried to connect as a child, and
haven’t really even spoken to in 10 years. It’s not completely true, of course,
the 10 year bit. I spoke to him for about 3 hours this past Christmas. I spoke
to him two hours ago as my sister held the phone to his ear in the hospital as
he lay in a coma, dying.
An in depth and advanced look at the 'words beneath the words' in real life & the movies.
The difference between 'US' and 'THEM'. Or; identifying useless enemies for the lower classes to hate.
As a scriptwriter, you are eventually going to need to 'jazz up' your crappy scripts to add interest where there just isn't any. This can be easily achieved by the use of distraction,
plus a decent sprinkling of manipulation of a generalized or specific
character obsessed with hatred and blame, possibly focused on Gov't or
corporate entities.
More specifically, document and broadcast language usage differs in reference from individuals to corporations and other large faceless entities, which ultimately minimizes any easily seen evil, probably due to the fact that large corporations are indeed, very, VERY evil. But, it remains that giant bugs & hideously deformed demonic-nazi terrorist- zombie-space monsters are still far, far more exciting, easy to hate, and action filled, not that different from a gas station twinkie. Just with more 'oomph'.
Elaborates on the aspect of writing about boring subjects and making them interesting enough to sleep through.
"Based on a true story" these are movie 'adaptations' (read: fabricated exaggerations) that actually have only the thinnest grain of truth,
which are re-told and rewritten to "enhance excitement & interest",
altering characters, details, or any facts not considered pertinent to
the roller-coaster ride of a 1 & 1/2 hour plot. Rethink
'non-fiction' to 'adapted non-fiction'. Note: This method can also be adapted and adjusted for any movie format, such as fiction.
In this way, all movies are essentially similar, having a
connected heritage that possesses little actual difference from fiction
to non-fiction (since they are ultimately all fiction), but remain somewhat entertaining, at least until a commercial...
(UPI) The Government has reported in a national warning, “All of our
public use loony bins are now full”, as told by a top official, Ima N.
Ocrasi. Ms. Ocrasi went on to say: “Most soft walled bins only hold
about 10-20 people, maximum.
It’s not like the old days when you could forcefully stuff in several
hundred. We now have fire regulations to observe.” The bins, which by
law are expected to allow some minor comforts of life for the
modern loon, are equipped with all sorts of modern luxuries, such as
easily smearing Gov't cheese, televisions and automated medication
dispensers; oddly enough looking not too different from modern work cubes, but with far, far more luxury.
“Now that the Government bins are full we will need to find other
locations, and seek other resources to place individuals who lack the
ability to 'function normally' in our oblivious, nutball society.
Currently, we are considering electoral options, as we have previously
utilized this method with a specific individual on a 8 year trial
basis.” Said Ms. Ocrasi.
A moderate review of Bad Company, and critique of current FPS's.
When I first started playing single player Bad Company, I suppose I was really looking for something a bit more... innovative, which it is not. It offers modern physics and real world destruction, but the plot remains not too different from an old Soldier of Fortune
(+ 5 other games, & stir) rehash with some buddies (COD2, anyone?).
About 1/2 the game is fighting in small towns, with some forays using
vehicles, like a boat. Then come obligatory 'change it up because it's
getting boring' tank level, 'helicopter level', 'no buddies level, etc.
Lets not forget the oh-so-typical boss battle at the end, which in my
opinion IS a direct rip from Soldier of Fortune Double Helix.
If you haven't already done so, turn on your Wii or PC and download 
