I play it straight because I don’t believe in pandering to the least common denominator.  If gaming is an artform that is just now ‘growing up,’ as some claim, then the people that report on it are probably just a few steps behind.  As I said at the end of my second article, The Numbers Game: “if we want others to take games seriously, we must take them seriously ourselves.”

But why aren’t videogames taken seriously?  Is it because of their relative youth compared to other artforms such as television and film, or is it because of the immaturity of those that cover it?  Granted, this is the internet, but there are very few places where videogames are covered without a wink and a snarky attitude. What the gaming press needs is the equivalent of The Wall Street Journal or Variety, but what we’re getting is Mad Magazine.

Now, I openly admit, I don’t practice what I preach: I crack jokes in my reviews and perhaps I shouldn’t ‘write myself’ into them.  The latter, I do because think it is important for the reader to get a sense of where I am coming from.  For better or worse, my score will be influenced by whether the game was something I was REALLY REALLY REALLY looking forward to or was just something that got tossed into my lap.  I think it also helps the reader if they are made aware of my biases for or against the game coming in.

Am I impartial? Admittedly not, but let’s be honest, nobody truly is.

In any event, while I am pointing out the problem, I don’t really have a solution.  The best that I can hope for is that the ‘serious guys’ get popular enough to, well, be taken seriously.  Now, does everybody have to take gaming seriously? Not really, there will always be a place for the snarks and clowns, and if worse comes to worse I can always go back to joking about how much I suck at fighting games.

From:  Recently Unemployed Me

Re:  Being Unemployed

Okay, so you lost your job.  It isn’t the first time, and while it may be comforting to think it will be the last, you never know.  You dug yourself into this hole, and you are going to be the one to dig yourself out of it.  Remember these things:

• It is not the end of the world.  Yes, it is easy for me to tell you this from where I am sitting, but you have a plan and it is time to execute it

• You have been here before.  Remember the mistakes you made last time and do not repeat them.

• Always be pessimistic in your planning: hope for the best, but assume the worst.

• You are not alone: you have friends and family that want to help.  Let them.  This is not the time to retreat into a cave and shut everyone out.

• Smile.  Have fun.  Enjoy life.

• To survive, you will have to sacrifice and you will have to suffer.  Deal with it.  When you are back on your feet you will appreciate the things you had to do without even more.

• The only truly bad job is having none at all.  Try something new.

• Do the things you said you would do “if you had the time.”  You now have the time.

• You will get angry, you will get frustrated, and you will get upset.  Don’t bottle it up.  Get it out of your system and move on.

• Above all else, do not fall into despair.  Have faith in yourself and keep moving forward.

Good luck.

I attended the Distant Worlds II concert in Houston recently, and did a write up for original-gamer.com

PODCAST; After finally getting over the ‘space flu’ I get back in the saddle with two new episodes of 300 Seconds: “Those Steenking Badges!” and “Stories From San Japan 3″

Drumming is Serious Business!

I learned how to play drums in grade/high school. I was a band geek through and through, but after school was over, I didn’t pursue it much, though I never lost the desire to maintain a beat, tapping my hands on any available surface whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Eventually, Rock Band came around and I rediscovered my love of playing music, albeit in virtual form. Despite what the naysayers believe, it is possible to learn some drumming basics with the game. If nothing else, learning how to keep a beat is a skill that can be applied to any instrument or form of music.

Earlier in the year, I was asked by my friend and guitarist Eagle-Bear to join The Loliholix, a band in which he played.  They had lost their original drummer and needed a new one.  I warned him that while I did know the basics, I was not accustomed to playing on a full set. He said that we had plenty of time to prepare, and had the utmost confidence in me.  Awww.

After acquiring an electric drum kit (ah, the joys of apartment life) and several months of practice later, I played in my first two gigs.  The first was at the San Antonio Chinese Society Family Fun Day on July 3, it was fun and a good way for us to get our feet wet before San Japan.  It was lots of fun playing to a small crowd, and while it seemed a little odd to be playing J-rock at a Chinese event, they enjoyed the show.

San Japan was The Big One that we had been getting ready for.  I had two big concerns: the occasionally dropped drumstick and also, just what to wear. It sounds funny, but I knew that Kiwi (bass) and Jamie (singer) were going to be all decked out and I wanted to have something different.  I found an elegant solution to both problems: I bought a pair of batting gloves which give me a better grip on the sticks, and when combined with a Superman shirt worn over my Loliholix t-shirt, looks like a half-assed costume. Maybe I’ll add the fox-ears (which look like bat-ears on my huge melon) next time.

Performing at San Japan was awesome.  The stage, the energy of the crowd, the loudness of our music, everything blew me away.  Granted, it wasn’t perfect (I whiffed a few cymbal crashes but thankfully didn’t drop my sticks) but we got lots of compliments and I even signed a few buttons.  We are hoping that San Japan serves as a springboard to playing at more cons, and I really hope we get to play at RealmsCon in a few months as Corpus Christi is near my hometown.

At the minimum, though, we will be playing at Mizuumi-con 4 and San Japan 4TW next year though and I can’t wait!

Fred Perry’s Gold Digger comic book is one of the oldest examples of what some  call “Amerimanga,” where an American comic artist adopts the style and conventions used in Japanese comics, or “manga” as they are known in Japan.

It is also one of those comics that I repeatedly saw on the shelf of the comic shop but just wasn’t intrigued enough to actually buy.  At the time, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  Recently my friend Chris Holm (who is apparently creator Fred Perry’s biggest fan/stalker) told me that Gold Digger was Tomb Raider before Tomb Raider came along.  After sheepishly admitting to Mr. Perry that I had never read his work at the South Texas Comic-Con, I bought a copy of “Gold Digger Max” to see what it was all about.

I like what I have seen of Gold Digger so far, Fred Perry has created a fascinating world that is filled with exotic locales and lots of interesting characters and adventure.  He does a good job of tightrope-walking between world-ending seriousness and comedy.  It is a shame that it took me so long to discover it.  Comparing it to Tomb Raider is something of a disservice because it is so much better than Tomb Raider.

Fast-forward to the third day of San Japan :3 and as dealers are oft to do on the last day of a con, the Antarctic Press table is having a sale.  I figured I would give the Deluxe Edition of “Gold Digger: The Movie” a try.  According to the box text the movie “retells the very first Gold Digger adventure” so I figured it might serve as a nice little introduction to the GD universe.  After having a bite to eat for dinner and doing laundry for the week, I fired it up.

SOUND PROBLEMS

As the top menu appeared, I heard a blast of music.  I quickly reached for my receiver’s remote and immediately turned down the sound.  I figured I had left the sound up from listening to the radio earlier but that is not the case.  The DVD is just loud.  I normally have the sound adjustment on my PS3 maxed out, because DVDs tend to be relatively quiet, but in this case I ended up turning it down to zero to make sure I don’t end up with angry neighbors or blown speakers.  After making the adjustments, I shrugged my shoulders and started the movie.

THE MOVIE

My initial impression is that Gold Digger: The Movie is intended for fans of the comic: it is assumed that the viewer already knows certain things.  As an example, there is no explanation given as to why Gina and Brittany refer to each other as sisters until near the end of the second act.  We also never find out just why the Digger sisters are looking for the Time Raft, and wouldn’t a 7-foot tall were-cheetah prove that some myths are valid?  That is my inner anal-retentive nerd talking, but a viewer unfamiliar with the series might be a bit puzzled at certain aspects of the movie.  I need to show it to someone unfamiliar with GD to see if my inner nerd should just be quiet and enjoy the show.  Actually that’s probably true, anyway.

The story is fairly straightforward: The first third of the movie establishes the adversarial yet good-natured relationship the Diggers have with each other and showcases their bad-assery in two Big Fights.  The middle of the movie features plenty of exposition and of course, we have the Climactic Battle at the end.  In truth, though, the movie is really all Gina and Brittany, and we gradually learn more and more about them as their adventure unfolds.  The sisterly bickering between the two survives the transition from comic to animation quite well and provides some of the movie’s funnier moments.  The other characters aren’t quite as well developed, and the villain does his duty,

SUMMARY

Much to my chagrin, sound issues persist throughout the DVD.  There is an odd echo whenever Gina Diggers speaks and Dreadwing’s voice sounds overprocessed.  This effect seems to lessen over the course of the feature but it never goes away completely.  The audio mix also gets a bit weird in the second act.  The music becomes too soft, and there appeared to be one or two ‘dead air’ moments.  In one scene Brittany is on the ground struggling to escape and while she appears to be growling or grunting we don’t hear anything at all.

As I watched the 3rd episode again to hear Fred Perry’s commentary, the audio completely turned to crap in the last few minutes.  This combined with Gina’s echo and the loud volume at the start make me wonder if something happened during the process of making the DVDs or if the audio was just poorly done to begin with.  I also thought it might have have been my Playstation 3, but the same thing happens when I play it on my iMac.

The animation gradually improves form episode to episode and really shines in the action sequences.  It is fascinating to see Fred Perry progress as an animator throughout the adventure and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

Gold Digger: The Movie doesn’t quite do as good a job at being “Gold Digger 101” as I had hoped, though.  As I mentioned near the start, there seems to be an assumption that the viewer already knows certain things.

The voiceover work ranges from good (Gina Diggers) to adequate (Dreadwing appears to be trying to channel Tony Jay but doesn’t quite pull it off) to annoying (I quickly found Brittany Diggers’ voice grating but I think that’s more a reflection on me than anything else) to inconsistent (Elves).  Overall, it does the job, though.

Technical issues aside, fans of Gold Digger will be excited to see it come to life.  Strangers and neophytes to Fred Perry’s fantastic world might find themselves scratching their heads now and again, but nevertheless, Gold Digger: The Movie provides an hour of action-packed fun and I recommend it.

All that combined made me feel about two-foot small, and all I wanted to do for the rest of the day was sit at my desk, fester like a mushroom until quitting time and then unload at home with some good old fashioned videogame violence or Rock Band.  I fired up my laptop, put on some headphones, and turned up some Smashmouth, hoping it would drown out the constant cacophony of ringing phones, conferences and meetings that I have to work through.  It almost does the job.

As I sat at my desk seething while my PC took forever-and-a-day to download a new security update, I heard a chirp from my cell phone.  I picked it up, expecting to see an IM from one of my friends, but instead I saw a Twitter update.  Hm, I didn’t know it did that.  Neato.  The tweet read:  “Thanks to randomizer9 for making an ‘unofficial’ San Japan :3 commercial for us.  Now featured on our YouTube page”

As I read the screen, I smiled and felt so much better.  Putting something before the monkey house that is the Internet is always asking for trouble.  As a budding voice-over artist, I wasn’t sure how my latest effort would be received.  I have gotten very little feedback from strangers on all the podcasts, blog posts and articles I have thrown to the slippery walls of the Internet so far.   Knowing that The Guys In Charge Of San Japan liked it was very encouraging, and gave me a little ego-boost when I really needed it.

I like to think that I have a small ego, but the fact of the matter is that it is still there, and it likes to be thrown a bone every so often.  As a computer programmer, I am accustomed to being on the bottom of the totem pole.  As odd as it sounds; I actually like it there, because that is where the fun stuff is.  I read Dilbert and MyCage and joke about the people in charge just like everyone else, but being constantly stepped on does get old after awhile and I wonder if this is the “epiphany” telling me that I need to get out of Dodge.

But, you know what?  That angst can wait until I fire up Borderlands tonight and pump everything that moves full of hot lead or start up Rock Band and cue up some punk songs.  I’ll gladly ride this little ego-boost through the rest of my crappy workday and give it another shot tomorrow…after sending some resumes out tonight, of course!

Bustin' makes them feel good!

I went to the Texas Comic-Con to support a new con, support my friends, and to check out what was there to see.  The con’s homepage featured a menagerie of guests ranging from indie comic artists, actors, and even The Honky Tonk Man.

I wondered what else awaited me on Friday after lunch as I turned left onto Marbach Street on my way to the San Antonio Event Center.  First-time events are something of a crapshoot.  At best, everything goes off with a minimum of fuss, at worst, it can be painful to both watch and to be a part of.

Even though I was fairly sure I was not going to make it out Sunday, I purchased a three-day pass.  I was disappointed to find that I did not receive a pass to wear around my neck, but instead I was given a red plastic wristband that I apparently would have to keep on my wrist until Sunday afternoon.  Ew.  To make that first impression even worse, the gentleman that took my money didn’t even help me put it on!

After I fumbled with the wristband for a few minutes, I entered the convention proper.  The San Antonio Event Center provided a fairly large space, but one could tell its glory days were far behind it.  As if to emphasize this point, I would find that some of the tables and chairs provided to the exhibitors were a bit on the rickety side.  As is often the case with cons, Friday was a slow day, and indeed, some of the exhibitors were in the midst of setting up their tables as I walked around.

The Texas Comic-Con can best be described in two words: Nerd Gumbo.  While the phrase “something for everybody” is frequently overused, it fits here.  Just off the top of my head, there were comics, videogames, action figures, Star Wars, Lego, Ghostbusters from two cities (Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth), costumers, tabletop gaming, one retired wrestler and a few actors, including San Antonio’s own Jonathan Joss of “King of the Hill” fame.  I wondered if “Comic-Con” was the right description for an event that had such a variety of things and people to see.  To be fair, though, there were a number of booths featuring comics, collectibles and a artist’s area which included my friend Austin “Redbeard” Rogers of redbeardcomics.com

Austin told me that in order to get a table, an artist had to submit examples of his or her work and if they were “good enough” then they were granted a table.  I don’t know if other cons do this, but it is an interesting idea and it seems like a good way for  con organizers to maintain a level of quality.  The dealers were the usual assortment of comic book stores, collector stores and the occasional person trying to make a few dollars by selling their personal collection.

Of particular note was Antarctic Press, a San Antonio-based comic company.  They had many books for sale and some of their artists were present.  I purchased some books and spent a few minutes chatting with Fred Perry and David Hutchinson about geeky things.  I must admit though, I felt a little bad telling Mr. Perry that while I had frequently seen his popular “Gold Digger” comic in stores, I had never purchased it.  What can I say?  I’m just not a very good liar, so I don’t even bother trying.

One of the books I purchased was “Oz: The Manga” by David Hutchinson.  I finished reading it last night, enjoyed it immensely and look forward to purchasing the additional books in the series.  It follows L. Frank Baum’s story more closely than the movie “The Wizard of Oz” and was a great read as well as an interesting visual take on the classic tale.  Next, I will take my first step into the world of Fred Perry’s “Gold Digger” as I start reading “Gold Digger MAX Vol 1.”

The con also held a Street Fighter contest on Sunday which I did not see, but they did have a few videogame consoles set up where folks could take a seat and play a round or two of Street Fighter or even some of the old classics like Mrs. PacMan.

Just like the anime conventions I have been to, there were plenty of folks dressed up in costumes, however, these were more recognizable, there were quite a few Green Lanterns, Imperial Stormtroopers, Jedi, and even GI Joe’s Baroness and Street Fighter’s Cammy.

Aside from the dealers and the artists were what I could call the “enthusiast” tables, these represented a variety of fandoms including a Stormtrooper platoon, a Halo costuming group, two Ghostbusters fan groups, the Texas Lego User’s Group and even a group of Sith that I apparently overlooked.  Everyone seemed to be glad to be there and enthusiastically posed for pictures.

Some panels were held, but the lack of a room to host them in made it difficult to hear and see what was going on, especially when the more popular guests were presenting.  There was also no seating set up, hopefully this is something that will be addressed for next time.

I think that the Texas ComicCon got off to a good start.  There was a wide variety of things to see and buy, lots of great artists and fun guests.  With some minor tweaks and adjustments (*cough* BADGES *cough*), I think this could be the start of something big, and look forward to attending next year.

E3 Day 1 Reflections

Nintendo 3DS Hands-On Impressions

E3 Day 2

“This ain’t gonna be Texas.” I think to myself.  This is only the second time I will be in California, the first being a forgettable trip back in college to a conference I really could have gone the rest of my life without attending.  I think the amount of suck involved makes it more of a “symposium.”  Any way you slice it, it was a waste of a weekend and I also didn’t get to see much outside of the hotel.

It wasn’t for lack of trying, though, I remember the Saturday night when we all hopped into a cab to go somewhere.  Upon asking the driver what was in the area, he told us that The House of Blues was nearby. I was excited, I have never been to The House of Blues and it sounded new and exciting.  If nothing else, live music is always a treat.  Sadly, it was not to be, the jackasses I was with wanted to go to a crappy club that was just like every other crappy club I’ve ever been to in my life.  I don’t know, maybe I was supposed to be excited and be all “Oh my gosh, we went to a crappy club but its a crappy club IN LOS ANGELES!”

Whoop-dee-freaking-doo…okay, maybe I’m just a little bitter.

Luckily, I have more in common with the crowd I will be hanging around with this time.  That is to say, we’re all a bunch of socially awkward weirdos.  Actually that probably isn’t completely true, I think we have one or two “cool kids” in the group, you know, balance of the universe and all that.

The thought of occupying the same place with over forty-thousand other socially awkward weirdos is a pleasant one, though, and I can’t wait to get there.

The stream of “Please come to our booth!” emails continued, and before I knew it, this past Sunday was the planning get-together and pre-E3 podcast.  I was happy, but not quite “OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD I’M GOING TO E3!” excited.

Yesterday, I received an email asking me to go to a booth to check out a certain music game.  I’m not sure if I can say the name or not, so I will say that it does involve rock but won’t make me a hero.

“OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD I’M GOING TO GET TO PLAY THIS GAME AT E3!”

I drove home yesterday with a big-ass smile on my face as I banged the drum beat to “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves on the Reliant’s steering wheel.  I was excited again, and I still am.  By this time next week, I will be in the midst of forty-thousand plus fellow members of the industry checking out all the Cool New Stuff and helping to report on it to all the happy-shiny people out in Internetland.

It feels a little odd to think of myself as “part of the industry” though.  In my mind, I am just the “voice guy” for original-gamer.com, and a writer and editor for them as well.

Then again, maybe it isn’t that big of a stretch.

Despite the fact that I will admittedly be (big finger quotes here) “working,” next week’s trip to E3 is my summer vacation.  I had recently been grousing about how I haven’t taken a ‘real vacation’ to somewhere far and/or different in a few years.  Well, if going to California to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of developers, peripheral makers, Really Important People and fellow website multi-hat wearers doesn’t fit that bill, I don’t know what does!

Ready or not, here I come!!