Monday, February 21, 2011
Kill Bill's Sources
Quentin Tarantino has spoken elaborately on the influences for the Kill Bill movies. The following is a really well edited display of those influences.
SPOILER WARNING: If you've never seen either Kill Bill movie and plan to, your experience may be ruined by watching the video below.
SPOILER WARNING: If you've never seen either Kill Bill movie and plan to, your experience may be ruined by watching the video below.
Everything Is A Remix: KILL BILL from robgwilson.com on Vimeo.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Guy Cannot Watch the Dead Island Trailer
Pardon me for getting a little bit personal today. I promise that after this post I will go back to saying how things are either "awesome" or "shitty."
SPOILER WARNING: Do NOT read the following or watch the video below if you have not seen the trailer/s for the game Dead Island posted HERE.
I have to be brutally honest: my reaction was similar to this guy's (Rooster Teeth's Geoff). I too am a father of a little girl and have trouble seeing movies or reading news stories that involve little girls in peril - they turn my stomach. All of my previous odd fears (little spiders, clowns, nuns, nuns with clown paint vomiting little spiders out their mouths, etc) have completely washed away when we had our little girl. Now, my single greatest fear is that I won't be able to protect her from all of the nasty things in our world that are out there. Seeing the Dead Island trailer gave me that stomach churning feeling, but I knew I was watching something that I consider to be a piece of art and saw it through to the end more than once. The intention is to make you cringe, to make you... feel. And it works. Well, at least it did for me and obviously for Geoff as you'll see in the following video.
Is it marketing? Is it art? Despite its horrifying display, is it beautiful? Is it good story telling?
Think about it and, while you do, check out Geoff's reaction below.
SPOILER WARNING: Do NOT read the following or watch the video below if you have not seen the trailer/s for the game Dead Island posted HERE.
I have to be brutally honest: my reaction was similar to this guy's (Rooster Teeth's Geoff). I too am a father of a little girl and have trouble seeing movies or reading news stories that involve little girls in peril - they turn my stomach. All of my previous odd fears (little spiders, clowns, nuns, nuns with clown paint vomiting little spiders out their mouths, etc) have completely washed away when we had our little girl. Now, my single greatest fear is that I won't be able to protect her from all of the nasty things in our world that are out there. Seeing the Dead Island trailer gave me that stomach churning feeling, but I knew I was watching something that I consider to be a piece of art and saw it through to the end more than once. The intention is to make you cringe, to make you... feel. And it works. Well, at least it did for me and obviously for Geoff as you'll see in the following video.
Is it marketing? Is it art? Despite its horrifying display, is it beautiful? Is it good story telling?
Think about it and, while you do, check out Geoff's reaction below.
The Art of Flight and SSX Deadly Descents
If this video doesn't make you want to go snowboarding, then you need to shave your neckbeard and get out of the basement.
It reminds me of the next game in the SSX franchise which isn't due until "early 2012," Deadly Descents. Looks like a complete departure from the light hearted take on snowcross but I'm still interested.
It reminds me of the next game in the SSX franchise which isn't due until "early 2012," Deadly Descents. Looks like a complete departure from the light hearted take on snowcross but I'm still interested.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Dead Island Announcement Trailer
I've never watched a video game trailer and actually felt something for the characters... until now. I hope the game has the same kind of emotional impact as this video.
And, in case you're an idiot and can't follow non-linear story lines, here it is again "in reverse."
The reversed one just doesn't feel as powerful as the original but I'll be damned if the very notion of an emotionally charged zombie game doesn't give me the goosebumps. Official website HERE but there isn't much to see just yet and the game doesn't have a release date set.
And, in case you're an idiot and can't follow non-linear story lines, here it is again "in reverse."
The reversed one just doesn't feel as powerful as the original but I'll be damned if the very notion of an emotionally charged zombie game doesn't give me the goosebumps. Official website HERE but there isn't much to see just yet and the game doesn't have a release date set.
Left 4 Dead - Cold Stream
Original article HERE
February 16, 2011
Left 4 Dead Blog
Sorry for the recent lack of updates, we have been working on a surprise and here it is.
Matthew Lourdelet (2 Evil Eyes) has been working on a new community campaign – Cold Stream. We loved 2 Evil Eyes and Cold Stream looks even more promising with innovative game play arenas and effects. Matthew has really shown that there are still plenty of new ideas in L4D2 modding.
He recently shared it with us and we love it so far but it isn’t done. We were tempted to have him quietly finish it with our help and release it as part of an upcoming DLC.
Tempted… but we decided against that. Instead, we think we have a better idea. We want you the community to be part of the process of taking his unfinished campaign and releasing it as DLC on the Xbox 360, PC and Mac.
Since Matthew already has a start on the campaign, we need to back up a little in the process before we go forward.
The very first step in creating a new DLC is deciding on the larger goals and constraints for the DLC. The Sacrifice and the Passing were story heavy, so we want to see what the other end of the spectrum looks like. For this DLC we start with wanting to experiment by releasing a map pack that wasn’t about story. It would just be new campaigns for Left 4 Dead 2.
That makes the first constraint no new audio or story.
The easiest starting point for new campaigns is the three remaining Left 4 Dead 1 campaigns, so the DLC will include those. We also want something brand new and Cold Stream is the perfect fit.
That’s the start of the DLC. We have the basic information but we don't even have a name or release date yet.
We will hold off on the name for now.
That leaves the release date. The answer to when the DLC will be released is simple for now, sometime after Portal 2. Why don’t we set some date in stone right now? Because the real answer to when we are going to release something is always – when it’s ready.
Quality is a function of time and resources. So we can throw more people at the problem and/or take longer. We like to not constrain ourselves by either, so at this point we are willing to say - “Let’s not set a date yet, we’ll know better later.” Of course, that is also why the concept of Valve Time exists but later you will see why “Valve Time” is a good thing, not a bad thing.
For now, that’s it.
In the next few weeks we will add Cold Stream to the UI (user interface) and we will all begin testing it. As we receive feedback and test data we will also share some data we collect on player experience and show how we put that data to use. We will include you with regular posts, polls, and updates.
We have created a special forum just for feedback on the campaign and this project (Cold Stream Forum). While the beta will only be available for PC and Mac users, we appreciate feedback and ideas from the entire community. This is an experiment for us, so please let us know what you think and what you would like to see in the DLC – just remember the constraints.
February 16, 2011
Left 4 Dead Blog
Sorry for the recent lack of updates, we have been working on a surprise and here it is.
Matthew Lourdelet (2 Evil Eyes) has been working on a new community campaign – Cold Stream. We loved 2 Evil Eyes and Cold Stream looks even more promising with innovative game play arenas and effects. Matthew has really shown that there are still plenty of new ideas in L4D2 modding.
He recently shared it with us and we love it so far but it isn’t done. We were tempted to have him quietly finish it with our help and release it as part of an upcoming DLC.
Tempted… but we decided against that. Instead, we think we have a better idea. We want you the community to be part of the process of taking his unfinished campaign and releasing it as DLC on the Xbox 360, PC and Mac.
Since Matthew already has a start on the campaign, we need to back up a little in the process before we go forward.
The very first step in creating a new DLC is deciding on the larger goals and constraints for the DLC. The Sacrifice and the Passing were story heavy, so we want to see what the other end of the spectrum looks like. For this DLC we start with wanting to experiment by releasing a map pack that wasn’t about story. It would just be new campaigns for Left 4 Dead 2.
That makes the first constraint no new audio or story.
The easiest starting point for new campaigns is the three remaining Left 4 Dead 1 campaigns, so the DLC will include those. We also want something brand new and Cold Stream is the perfect fit.
That’s the start of the DLC. We have the basic information but we don't even have a name or release date yet.
We will hold off on the name for now.
That leaves the release date. The answer to when the DLC will be released is simple for now, sometime after Portal 2. Why don’t we set some date in stone right now? Because the real answer to when we are going to release something is always – when it’s ready.
Quality is a function of time and resources. So we can throw more people at the problem and/or take longer. We like to not constrain ourselves by either, so at this point we are willing to say - “Let’s not set a date yet, we’ll know better later.” Of course, that is also why the concept of Valve Time exists but later you will see why “Valve Time” is a good thing, not a bad thing.
For now, that’s it.
In the next few weeks we will add Cold Stream to the UI (user interface) and we will all begin testing it. As we receive feedback and test data we will also share some data we collect on player experience and show how we put that data to use. We will include you with regular posts, polls, and updates.
We have created a special forum just for feedback on the campaign and this project (Cold Stream Forum). While the beta will only be available for PC and Mac users, we appreciate feedback and ideas from the entire community. This is an experiment for us, so please let us know what you think and what you would like to see in the DLC – just remember the constraints.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Happy Presidents' Day
Lincoln's birthday was on the 12th so this is a little late.
Yep, you got it right: Abraham Lincoln with an assault rifle and the Emancipation Proclamation riding a bear using a flag saddle. Doesn't really get much more badass than that.
Yep, you got it right: Abraham Lincoln with an assault rifle and the Emancipation Proclamation riding a bear using a flag saddle. Doesn't really get much more badass than that.
Working For Cthulhu
I love the little touches: the "motivational" poster/calender of sheep with the word "OBEDIENCE" under it, the "NO EXIT" sign, the "EMPLOYEES MUST SUBMIT" and then in a smaller font under it "expense reports, the "Necronomicon" paper pinned above the Obedience calender, skull cuff links, and the brand of the printer. I assume the mug reads "Miskatonic U."
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
An Hour Of Video Games Per Day Is Key
(The original article can be found HERE)
Video Games: An Hour A Day Is Key To Success In Life
Jane McGonigal
Author and Game Designer
Posted: February 15, 2011 07:05 AM
The single biggest misconception about games is that they're an escapist waste of time. But more than a decade's worth of scientific research shows that gaming is actually one of the most productive ways we can spend time.
No, playing games doesn't help the GDP - our traditional measure of productivity. But games help us produce something more important than economic bottom line: powerful emotions and social relationships that can change our lives--and potentially help us change the world.
Currently there are more than half a billion people worldwide playing online games at least an hour a day -- and 183 million in the US alone. The younger you are, the more likely you are to be a gamer -- 97% of boys under 18 and 94% of girls under 18 report playing videogames regularly. And the average young person racks up 10,000 hours of gaming by the age of 21. That's almost exactly as much time as they spend in a classroom during all of middle school and high school if they have perfect attendance. Most astonishingly, 5 million gamers in the U.S are spending more than 40 hours a week playing games -- the same as a full time job!
Why are we increasingly turning to games? According to my research, it's because games do a better job than ordinary life of provoking our most powerful positive emotions -- like curiosity, optimism, pride, and a desire to join forces with others to achieve something extraordinary. Games also, increasingly, are a particularly effective way to bond with our friends and family -- strengthening our real-life and online social networks in ways that no other kind of social interaction can.
That's what I mean when I say -- in the title of my new book -- that Reality is Broken." The fact that so many people of all ages, all over the world, are choosing to spend so much time in game worlds is a sign of something important, a truth that we urgently need to recognize.
The truth is this: in today's society, computer and video games are fulfilling genuine human needs that the real world is currently unable to satisfy. Games are providing rewards that reality is not. They are teaching and inspiring and engaging us in ways that reality is not. They are bringing us together in ways that reality is not. And unless something dramatic happens to reverse the resulting exodus, we're fast on our way to becoming a society in which a substantial portion of our population devotes its greatest efforts to playing games, creates its best memories in game environments, and experiences its biggest successes in game worlds.
Fortunately, however, this temporary exodus is not a complete waste of time!
When we play a good game, we get to practice being the best version of ourselves: We become more optimistic, more creative, more focused, more likely to set ambitious goals, and more resilient in the face of failure. And when we play multiplayer games, we become more collaborative and more likely to help others. In fact, we like and trust each other more after we play a game together -- even if we lose! And more importantly, playing a game with someone is an incredibly effective way to get to know their strengths and weaknesses--as well as what motivates them. This is exactly the kind of social knowledge we need to be able to cooperate and collaborate with people to tackle real-world challenges.
The good news about games is that recent scientific research shows that all of these feelings and activities can trickle into our real lives.
For example: kids who spend just 30 minutes playing a "pro-social" game like Super Mario Sunshine (in which you clean up pollution and graffiti around an island) are more likely to help friends, family and neighbors in real-life for a full week after playing the game.
People of all ages who play musical games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero report spending more time learning and playing real musical instruments than before they started playing the videogame.
And just 90 seconds of playing a game like World of Warcraft - where you have a powerful avatar - can boost the confidence of colleges students so much that for up to 24 hours later, they're more likely to be successful taking a test at school... and more outgoing in real-world social situations.
This "spill-over" effect of games means that young people who identify strongly as gamers have real-world talents and strengths that will indoubtedly serve the well in the future -- if they understand that these are real skills and abilities, not just virtual ones. That's why I wanted to write Reality is Broken: to show gamers (and parents of gamers) exactly how playing games can prepare us to tackle challenges like curing cancer, ending world hunger, and stopping climate change. (Yes, it's true! There are games to help players do all of these things).
Of course, there can always be too much of a good thing. Studies by both university researchers and the U.S. Army Mental Health Assessment Team show that playing games up to 21 hours a week can produce positive impacts on your health and happiness -- especially if you're playing games face-to-face with friends and family, or playing cooperative games (rather than competitive games). That's why I personally recommend that parents of gamers spend as much time as they can playing, too. In fact, just this week, a new study by Brigham Young University's School of Family Life revealed that daughters who play videogames with their parents report feeling much closer to their parents -- and demonstrate significantly lower levels of aggression, behavior problems, and depression.
But when you hit 28 hours a week of gaming or more, the time starts to distract you from real life goals and other kinds of social interaction that are essential to leading a good life. Multiple studies have shown it's the 21-hour mark that really makes the difference -- more than 3 hours a day, and you're not going to get those positive impacts. Instead, you'll be at risk for negative impacts -- like depression and social anxiety.
So what's the optimal level of gaming? For most people, an hour a day playing our favorite games will power up our ability to engage whole-heartedly with difficult challenges, strengthen our relationships with the people we care about most -- while still letting us notice when it's time to stop playing in virtual worlds and bring our gamer strengths back to real life.
Video Games: An Hour A Day Is Key To Success In Life
Jane McGonigal
Author and Game Designer
Posted: February 15, 2011 07:05 AM
The single biggest misconception about games is that they're an escapist waste of time. But more than a decade's worth of scientific research shows that gaming is actually one of the most productive ways we can spend time.
No, playing games doesn't help the GDP - our traditional measure of productivity. But games help us produce something more important than economic bottom line: powerful emotions and social relationships that can change our lives--and potentially help us change the world.
Currently there are more than half a billion people worldwide playing online games at least an hour a day -- and 183 million in the US alone. The younger you are, the more likely you are to be a gamer -- 97% of boys under 18 and 94% of girls under 18 report playing videogames regularly. And the average young person racks up 10,000 hours of gaming by the age of 21. That's almost exactly as much time as they spend in a classroom during all of middle school and high school if they have perfect attendance. Most astonishingly, 5 million gamers in the U.S are spending more than 40 hours a week playing games -- the same as a full time job!
Why are we increasingly turning to games? According to my research, it's because games do a better job than ordinary life of provoking our most powerful positive emotions -- like curiosity, optimism, pride, and a desire to join forces with others to achieve something extraordinary. Games also, increasingly, are a particularly effective way to bond with our friends and family -- strengthening our real-life and online social networks in ways that no other kind of social interaction can.
That's what I mean when I say -- in the title of my new book -- that Reality is Broken." The fact that so many people of all ages, all over the world, are choosing to spend so much time in game worlds is a sign of something important, a truth that we urgently need to recognize.
The truth is this: in today's society, computer and video games are fulfilling genuine human needs that the real world is currently unable to satisfy. Games are providing rewards that reality is not. They are teaching and inspiring and engaging us in ways that reality is not. They are bringing us together in ways that reality is not. And unless something dramatic happens to reverse the resulting exodus, we're fast on our way to becoming a society in which a substantial portion of our population devotes its greatest efforts to playing games, creates its best memories in game environments, and experiences its biggest successes in game worlds.
Fortunately, however, this temporary exodus is not a complete waste of time!
When we play a good game, we get to practice being the best version of ourselves: We become more optimistic, more creative, more focused, more likely to set ambitious goals, and more resilient in the face of failure. And when we play multiplayer games, we become more collaborative and more likely to help others. In fact, we like and trust each other more after we play a game together -- even if we lose! And more importantly, playing a game with someone is an incredibly effective way to get to know their strengths and weaknesses--as well as what motivates them. This is exactly the kind of social knowledge we need to be able to cooperate and collaborate with people to tackle real-world challenges.
The good news about games is that recent scientific research shows that all of these feelings and activities can trickle into our real lives.
For example: kids who spend just 30 minutes playing a "pro-social" game like Super Mario Sunshine (in which you clean up pollution and graffiti around an island) are more likely to help friends, family and neighbors in real-life for a full week after playing the game.
People of all ages who play musical games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero report spending more time learning and playing real musical instruments than before they started playing the videogame.
And just 90 seconds of playing a game like World of Warcraft - where you have a powerful avatar - can boost the confidence of colleges students so much that for up to 24 hours later, they're more likely to be successful taking a test at school... and more outgoing in real-world social situations.
This "spill-over" effect of games means that young people who identify strongly as gamers have real-world talents and strengths that will indoubtedly serve the well in the future -- if they understand that these are real skills and abilities, not just virtual ones. That's why I wanted to write Reality is Broken: to show gamers (and parents of gamers) exactly how playing games can prepare us to tackle challenges like curing cancer, ending world hunger, and stopping climate change. (Yes, it's true! There are games to help players do all of these things).
Of course, there can always be too much of a good thing. Studies by both university researchers and the U.S. Army Mental Health Assessment Team show that playing games up to 21 hours a week can produce positive impacts on your health and happiness -- especially if you're playing games face-to-face with friends and family, or playing cooperative games (rather than competitive games). That's why I personally recommend that parents of gamers spend as much time as they can playing, too. In fact, just this week, a new study by Brigham Young University's School of Family Life revealed that daughters who play videogames with their parents report feeling much closer to their parents -- and demonstrate significantly lower levels of aggression, behavior problems, and depression.
But when you hit 28 hours a week of gaming or more, the time starts to distract you from real life goals and other kinds of social interaction that are essential to leading a good life. Multiple studies have shown it's the 21-hour mark that really makes the difference -- more than 3 hours a day, and you're not going to get those positive impacts. Instead, you'll be at risk for negative impacts -- like depression and social anxiety.
So what's the optimal level of gaming? For most people, an hour a day playing our favorite games will power up our ability to engage whole-heartedly with difficult challenges, strengthen our relationships with the people we care about most -- while still letting us notice when it's time to stop playing in virtual worlds and bring our gamer strengths back to real life.
Alice: Madness Returns
The sequel to 2000 hit game American McGee's Alice, Alice: Madness Returns, is scheduled for a fourth quarter, 2011 release. Here's the official site and below are the three teaser trailers released to date. Enjoy.
Teaser 1
Teaser 2
Teaser 3
Teaser 1
Teaser 2
Teaser 3
Custom Daft Punk Helmet
I admit it: I love me some Daft Punk and I can't explain why. The vast majority of the music I enjoy can mostly be considered "hippie rock," "jamband," or "classic rock" but there's a decent chunk of my collection that is DJ'ed like dubstep and electronica. Anyway, check out this vid of a dude making a custom Daft Punk helmet.
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