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Tuesday, January 3, 2006 10:02:00a: *
Hi, folks. I'll try to keep this short, because it's late and I've been busy. Happy New Year, of course; to everyone that's wished me such, thank you, and I hope yours is pleasant and prosperous.
The first thing I'd like to address for the new year here on TFO is that great big ugly banner at the top. I've been "almost" open for business for about a year now, and it's really starting to bother me. One of my key projects this month (yes, this month) is going to be completing the MyTFO project and getting steps in place for the web game. I've been working on that pretty much non-stop over the week and I've gotten to a point where it'll be easier to code once I figure out what I want.
Despite my non-resolution, I've figured out the key things I need to come up with in order to build the web game:
* Stats System (done)
* Battle System
* Exploration System
* Interaction System (started)
The exploration and interaction modules sort of go hand-in-hand, but they have enough encapsulation that they can be looked at as separate pieces. Interaction also covers the plot and its progression, so that might be longer than I thought. The battle system, I'm still working some kinks out in-- might be one-on-one battles, might be player versus party. Don't know yet. I'm leaning more towards one-on-one battles, sinply because they're slightly easier to do the AI for, but they can get monotonous.
I'm taking a sort of PHP-on-bumpercars approach to this (as opposed to Ruby on Rails, or PHP Cake, which would be the Right Way to do this)-- I've developed a class whose sole function is to write class code based on database tables. It doesn't do dynamic stuff-- that is, it's really mostly a framework tool-- but it saves me so much time dealing with the database classes, and it makes me more motivated. So that's a plus.
Also on the agenda is finishing the draft of Incon. Slashing out 8,000 words over the break felt really, really good, and I'm starting to come to a point where I think I can wrap things up nicely in the next 15,000 words or so (I'm shooting for 60,000 words final count). I've been using Writely to jot down basic ideas, and I'll probably be doing a huge rush of writing this week or this weekend. Or both. By the way, Slip, if you had a chance to read what was there, I'd like to know, briefly, what you thought.
I took one of those humor tests a few days ago (this one, thanks to Ewen) and found out my sense of humor is counted as "wit", or "dark, complex, and clean". I never really thought of it like that, but I suppose most of my gags take some time to think about, tend to put folks down, and usually stay in the straight and narrow. Still, it's an online test, and there's not much stock that can be put into those things.
I've been drinking quite a bit more tea lately. I've also been enjoying it far more than I thought I would. Mom and Dad got me a hot pot, so I've been keeping that full and warm when I've been home. At work, of course, I have to use the hot water from the coffee machine. There is also a notable absence of milk at work... but a trip to the store will fix that. Mmmmm... Darjeeling.
And as a final coda to why I've been busy, I realized I hadn't touched Wild ARMs since the middle of December. So I leveled a bit last night and pulled through to just past the Epitaph of the Sea of Wind. By my recollection that puts me at about halfway through the plot; Berserk is gone, I'm about to face Alhazad, and Boomerang just let me go. I could write the review now, but I'd rather wait a little while longer to make sure that I don't forget anything. Of course, I've spent so much time doing other things that now I know I won't be able to finish before WA4 comes out, on the 10th... rats. Ah well.
Later, folks. Makin' lunch, then goin' to work.Thursday, January 5, 2006 8:23:00p: iTunes Refund?*
Hey, folks. I just received an e-mail from the iTunes store claiming that I have a song credit waiting for me...
"Dear iTunes Customer,
Thank you for recently sending a free video or song as a gift. While the recipient received the download free of charge, your account was inadvertently charged one cent ({{content}}.01) per gift sent.
We apologize for the error, and we've deposited a song credit into your account that's redeemable for a {{content}}.99 cent song on iTunes. To view this credit, please sign in by clicking on the account button in the upper right-hand corner of the iTunes Music Store. "
Checking my iTMS account, I see that it is indeed there, acting identically to a song credit from the Pepsi promotions of years past. I haven't yet spent it and I'd honestly be welcome to ideas on what track I should buy.
Incidentally, the "gift" I sent was actually getting the free "Lazy Sunday" video for my iPod. I could choose to see this as rectifying a penny charge, or I could view this as Apple publicly apologizing for inaugurating my video iPod with that crap. Either way, I win.Wednesday, January 11, 2006 8:09:00a: The [CENSORED] T[CENSORED] Interview*
I know that rat bastard is reading this after the interview over at Netjak, so I'm going to avoid saying even his name. He's like freakin' Kibo was (and now I'm REALLY dating myself)-- mention him and he'll come scurrying over to "deal with you".
Rick first addressed the points regarding his "Modest Proposal", and basically re-iterated that yes, every one of those little bitty quirks that Rick said should have been overlooked in the light of the greater good, was enough to block the charity donation. "Anyone in a garage can throw together something game-like", according to [CENSORED]; heck, just look at the guys who made Counter-Strike, and Day of Defeat. Yeah, no talent there, no worthwhile activity, completely overlookable. Sure, Flash, whatever you say.
He then goes on to waffle as to whether the offer was genuine or not. It's a "genuine offer embedded in a satire". Right. Let's say I announce on WABC this morning, "[CENSORED] T[CENSORED] is a goat-felching human being whose sole joy in life is the rape, torture, and psychological murder of free-thinking minds everywhere." That's some genuine truth placed within the middle of heinous lies, so that automatically validates the rest of it (because, like it or not, we have proof that T[CENSORED] is human). Fact of the matter is that either it's all of the way satire, at which point you can't quibble over details because you don't mean any of it; or it's all of the way sincere, in which case, enjoy your libel suit and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Conspiracy, you say? Well, you tell me how your warped little fantasy differs from what Klebold and Harris wrote, and tell me there's not a pattern there. You say you're not really going to go after Paul Eibeler? Sure, Flash, whatever you say.
And as for how you handled Penny Arcade? You played right into their hands, and you did it with gusto. They called you on your lack of logic and they exposed you for the fool you're making of yourself. You claim they were behind some angry gamers spreading leaflets in your yard, but say "I likely will never be able to prove that they were behind it." You jump to the assumption, though, because the leaflets used "very specific phrasing" from their site. Was one of those phrases, perhaps, "print out this leaflet and throw it at [CENSORED] T[CENSORED]?" No? Well, it's entirely possible that the perpetrators behind the exercise of their right to free speech cold have just come up with the idea on their own and culled their information from Holkins and Krahulik's site, no? You say it was deliberate and that it was hypocritical? Sure, Flash, whatever you say.
Fact of the matter is that free speech goes both ways. People literally can say whatever they want so long as they are capable of handling the consequences of their actions. If you shout "Fire" in a crowded theater you will be arrested for inciting a riot. If you post a detailed and specific path of carnage ordering the murder of top officials in an industry-- regardless of the industry-- you cannot wave away the consequences by saying it was a "satire" and that you didn't mean any of it. You will be under intense federal scrutiny for attempted serial murder and you will stain your reputation for years to come, possibly permanently. Now while this piece of advice may come a little too late for you, bear this in mind: nobody is going to listen to the ravings of an even suspected maniac. It's a well-ingrained part of human nature. We listen to what's interesting and we tune out what is crazy. Human beings tend to ignore extremist views in the long run, and it's only recently, with the advent of the information age and the globalization of information, that the human eye is starting to turn on its flaws. I can guarantee you that if there were no internet, there would have been no Columbine media circus, there would have been no frenzy over Hot Coffee, and there would have been nothing to alert you to any of this. I'm not saying the events wouldn't have happened, or that they are somehow exacerbated by the presence of the internet-- but Columbine would have been relegated to the middle of the Denver newspaper that week. Maybe the front page, and maybe a half-segment blurb on the nightly news, but it would have died by then. No copycats, no repeats, no chance for recurring the nightmare. If you ask me, it's irresponsible reporting that made Columbine as bad as it seemed and enabled every "me-too" shooting after it. But you somehow think that it's the violent games that were only tangentially linked to Columbine and haven't even really factored in many other accomplished and attempted school shootings (including one in my hometown). Sure, Flash, whatever you say.
I'm not even going to sugar-coat this next part. You have made a serious and fatal mistake when you purchased stock in Take-Two. You are now hip-deep in accusations of hypocrisy and stock fraud. Yes, I am accusing you of pulling probably the single biggest scam ever on Wall Street and the Securities Exchange Commission. Your intention of arguing your case on Take-Two's board of directors is a cover story, a sham. Your true intention-- and you even told it to Rick!-- is to inflate the stock price artificially and get rich based on that before you're disbarred and forced to retire. Take-Two's stock tanked in the aftermath of Hot Coffee and Rockstar's antics, but even a B-student in Macroeconomics (like me) can see that it's just a "gut reaction change". The market will correct itself shortly, and when it does, all of those shares of Take-Two will mysteriously go back to what they were worth before and maybe even a little more. Actually, with the fact that you're going to be on the board, trading activity from the so-called Religious Right cabal will pump the stock price up even higher. And just when it looks like it's hit it's peak, you'll declare Take-Two's directors to be "godless criminals" who are only interested in "peddling filth", and take your leave of them, pocketing the difference as you cash in your shares. If you were at all altruistic, if your intent was pure, certainly you wouldn't have waited for Take-Two's stock to falter before stepping in. Someone sincere in his actions would have stepped in at the height of Hot Coffee and taken the stock hit, writing it off as the cost of doing the right thing. You don't want to do the right thing. This is a pump-and-dump scam trussed up in the trappings of a First Amendment battle and you will go down in flames. Mark my words.
Your claim is that the adult video games should stay with the adults. WRONG. Never once have you said that. Your strident cries have been to prevent "adult" video games from coming into the hands of anyone. You wish to censor this industry, which has had an ennervating effect on the economy. You would neuter the economy because you believe the ESRB isn't doing enough to classify games correctly. Well, that's sort of like hacking off your arm just because you got a mosquito bite. The truth that you don't want to see, the truth that you're not listening to, is that even the gamers think the ESRB is faulty. Yes, that's right, to a certain extent I share your opinion. Games with adult content should be clearly labeled and marketed properly. THAT'S IT. This is not a matter for the government, this is not a matter for the retailers, this is a matter for the parents and a matter for the marketers. This is the way capitalism works, [CENSORED]: if a developer makes a game that's unsellable, no reliable marketing firm will pick it up and it will die. If the people want to buy a game for their children, they are free in this country to do so, even if it's a ridiculously inappropriate game. They should be told that the game is bad, they should have every amount of information about the game possible; but they cannot, should not, and must not be prevented from purchasing it if they really really want to. At every step of the way a decision must be made whether to take the course of the just or the course of the wicked. Developers must be allowed to create any game they want and let the marketplace bear out whether or not the game is released or successful. Games are violent because people buy violent games. Games are sexually-charged because people buy sexually-charged games. Of course, as you say yourself, "Video games are like any other technology ? it?s neutral, capable of either good or evil." Of course you invalidate that statement seconds later: "Video gaming is an escapist activity and you?re being exploited by these companies. It?s not healthy; [...] It?s a masturbatory activity, and it would be better if people put down the controller and went outside." They're not good or evil, but they're "escapist", "masturbatory", and "not healthy"? Sure, Flash, whatever you say.
You made one good point in your interview, only one element that I will concede to you: the video game media has not treated you fairly. This is because you have not treated the video game media fairly. It's a tit-for-tat exchange. Dealing with Netjak on a polite and even keel resulted in an argument that you lost fair and square, as opposed to having your arguments invalidated due to all the obscenities. And you're right: the mainstream media has treated you differently. They don't give a shit. You're ten years too late to this party, [CENSORED], and no amount of screaming is going to get you back in the limelight. So go ahead and play your little game on Wall Street. We know you're cheating and we know you'll get caught.
You say America wants you to win and that you can't be stopped? Sure, Flash, whatever you say.Wednesday, January 11, 2006 9:53:00p: *
Onan extremely lighter note, and related to The M Word, one of the Wendy's commercials running of late features a techno song titled "Satisfaction". The lyrics, something like "Touch me, and then just push me, until I can get my, satis-faction." Yeaaaaah, THAT sells burgers.
Still working on finishing Wild ARMs Alter Code F. I picked up WA4 to keep the streak alive, though after playing an hour of that the other day I'm less than impressed. I haven't logged in to City of Heroes in quite some time, so I might be doing a little of that this week. And I have yet to get up the time to proceed into the Underworld in FF4 Advance (probably because I haven't had any transit time where I wasn't driving). So, four open games, not even counting the fact that I'll have to restart my town in Animal Crossing. I haven't had the chance to check in on it since December 26th... much as I love the game, if it never gets played, and the time spent away is detrimental to the game experience, there's little point to hanging on to it. Thus, it's probably going to get traded in this week for Phoenix Wright or something.
Managed to pick up the Cardcaptor Sakura movie (the second one) for... a very low amount the other day. The one good thing about Media Play closing, I guess. Anyway, good movie, just shy of perfect (it rewrites the manga ending just enough that I'm a little upset... but not enough to be really upset over it). I glance over at my media rack and I see that I haven't gone beyond the first three episodes of Kino's Journey, which I should really do; and I also have episodes of Mai Otome piling up (but I'll probably wait until that's done before I start that). Incidentally, I really, REALLY wish I knew of a program that will rip directly from DVD to iPod-compatible format. iTunes sucks in that regard.
Finally, programming for the site is on hold until I complete a few of these projects I've got open. Projects meaning games, anime, etc. Once things settle down, I'll probably go ahead and do more coding.
I'm going to try to take a more positive attitude for the next few weeks, and also try to write here more often. We'll see how that works out.Tuesday, January 24, 2006 10:10:00a: *
I've yet to trade in Animal Crossing, though I'll probably do that today. Assuming I remember to bring it this time. I have, however, finished Wild ARMs Alter Code F, and I think I ought to say something about it.
I have often been asked why I like the WA series so much. I can never really give a good answer-- certainly it's not for the gameplay, which has remained average to mediocre (until WA4, but I'm getting to that). And while the music has been stellar, the graphics have traditionally been not so hot (again, excepting WA4 and WA3 this time, but again, I'm getting to that). What it really boils down to is that there is something innate in the storylines that has always been to my liking. Each game has had a very positive story, a wonderfully uplifting final message that has always just stuck with me. In an age of emo-freak necromancers and ridiculously-overpowered crybabies, that's relatively rare.
So why, then, am I having such a hard time warming up to WA4? It might be because the game has tossed away many of the signature elements of a Wild ARMs game-- there's no opening multiple storylines, no explorable world map (which has the useful side effect of eliminating the stupid Search System), the game is almost fully voice acted (well, about as much as FFX was, at any rate), and there are four characters. The game is very pretty and the character models are exceptionally well done-- you'd almost swear a couple of characters were lifted straight from a Square game. The translation work is decent to good (it's making me laugh at the parts it wants me to laugh at, at any rate). The music remains exceptional (but the opening theme was butchered horribly in transition... it should have been left in Japanese or had its vocals stripped). And the combat system is engaging and fun-- I even continued a battle (partly because I hadn't saved, and partly because I enjoyed fighting).
What's wrong with this picture?
Maybe it's just because I'm only two or three hours in. The characters might grow on me, and the storyline (which, sadly, is a bit cliched now-- it's your standard 'aftermath of a war that the bad guys still want to fight' plot so far) might pick up... but I'm a bit skeptical. What if it doesn't? What if the story just kind of goes "bleh" three more hours from now and gives up without delivering the kind of twist I'd expect?
Yeah, I'm not quite sure how the story itself could go "bleh", but it might. For an example of this, look at Star Ocean 3. Which I still haven't finished and have no intention of doing so because NOTHING IS FREAKING HAPPENING. I'm just traipsing from one point to another and not accomplishing anything-- or at least, not feeling like I'm accomplishing anything. It's not like I could even sell the game back and get some use out of it because it's near worthless.
So what exactly happened, here? Have I lost my taste for gaming? I'd hate for that to happen. I'd hate to have to go back to TV and the Internet for my primary electric sources of entertainment. Because, let's face it, with a few exceptions TV sucks, and the best the Internet can offer is 'the Star Wars kid' and 'the numa numa song', and all the interminable variations thereof. Heck, even anime has been less than appealing to me ever since I lost most of my collection. That's not to say I'm not in the process of rebuilding, but when I see the prices on the stuff I lost, I wonder, "can't this money be put to better use? Maybe something new instead of what I've already seen". The problem is there's not really too much new stuff that's appealing.
Oh, incidentally, I'm making a concerted effort to lose weight before E3 and Otakon. We'll see how that works out. For those of you interested in my diet method, it's pretty simple and goes right with what is recommended. I'm trying Slim-Fast shakes, one in the morning, one at night, and my regular meal (lunch at work) is going to be exclusively from the light and salad menus from here on out. I can have as much tea and water as I want, which is good because those shakes taste AWFUL. I mean absolutely revolting, like Captain Crunch that's fermented for a year and a half. Still, it's all about the discipline-- I spent seven years eating junk, and now it's time to take my medicine. Based on the nutritional information for the shakes, they offer 200 calories each, meaning I have to make up 1100 calories during the rest of the day. Most of this should come from a split between lunch and veggies. Carrots, in particular, for obvious reasons. The grilled chicken salad and Coke I had for lunch yesterday is roughly 650, while (and this bothers me) a Whopper with cheese is somewhere on the order of 800 by itself. I also have started a workout DVD, which I do three times a week, and am doing 1/2 hour of DDR three other times a week. So hopefully I'll succeed. At the very least, after a week of this Slim-Fast crap, I'll know if I need to continue that part or not.
I weighed myself just now and wondered why I'd gone up a pound and a half. Then I looked at the empty gallon jug of water and it clicked. Wish me luck, folks.Wednesday, January 25, 2006 8:29:00a: *
And just above me you'll see a couple changes to the top-level layout. Nothing really to see here, move along...Sunday, January 29, 2006 9:39:00p: The Cure Is Not Worse Than The Symptom...*
With as much complaining as I've done about the diet and exercise routine, it's really not so bad. I've noticed quite a few changes and improvements, and I'm well on my way to where I want to be in terms of not having my own zip code anymore. However, much to my dismay, I'm finding myself increasingly tolerant of diet soda. Prior to this fiasco, my usual attempts to drink the native beverages at home would end up in "Johnny, are you all right? You've been praying to the porcelain god for an hour now, should we go get an ambulance or a Jolt?". Today I drank a Diet Dr. Pepper, and found that it tasted almost like regular Dr. Pepper. Which, as Mitch Hedberg said, means "they f***ed up", but not in the way he meant. However, I did not eject the jealously-counted calories I'd consumed heretofore. So, I guess it balances out.
Also. This sort of goes along with the "So You Want To Be An Otaku" that I really ought to re-write. But. Onigiri (those triangular rice ball things found in many anime). Not nearly as easy to make as anime would have you believe. There's probably a trick or a rule to it. After the carnage was cleared and the rice cooker put back together, I was successful in creating seven; which worked out better than I had initially hoped. I also gleaned a valuable experience out of it-- Spam does not lend itself very well to being an onigiri filling. Meh, I worked with what I had.
There was a big game sale. Buy two, get one. Yes, I partook, and I am no longer doubtful that I am a gamer. Phoenix Wright is an awesome experience, but kind of quirky for anyone expecting Law & Order. It's more like Night Court meets Matlock. But with a ditzy shrine maiden. Hm. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter had me interested until they got to the point where it's like NINE MILES BETWEEN SAVE POINTS AND YOU CAN ONLY USE THEM IF YOU HAVE A STUPID SAVE TOKEN GOD DAMMIT WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE. If you think I'm going through this piece of crap more than once you'd better make with the awesome story, and fast. Though the battle system is interesting, I'll give it that. Reclaimed Xenosaga II, Kingdom Hearts, and Metal Gear Solid 3 as well (of course, I found that my MGS3 save data was somehow deleted. Yes, I have the PS2 hard drive, implying nearly limitless storage, but somehow the saves are gone). Also, I picked up Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the PS2 (and subsequently downloaded a fully-unlocked save for the title). The controls feel much more natural and the graphics are just as they were. I'll probably talk more about that once I've had more time to mess with it, though it is nice to have those titles back. Oh, and last but not least, We <3 Katamari clung tenaciously to my cart when I went to get more diet shakes today. I can honestly say I wish I'd picked it up sooner.
With any luck I'll get back into my writer's groove this week and have at the very least another post. I also want to get back to work on Incon, but there's only so much time in the day. Anyway, that's that for now.