Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Filmic Games
Now with this new computer running, and due to cold thats put me out of school, ive had a chance to try out some games on the leading edge of technology. Ive tried the Crysis demo, the Bioshock demo and some Colin Macrae DiRT. Particularly for the first two games listed, I've noticed that games are becoming more and more like films. Where instead of interesting activities and challenges are the focus of your experience, the games manage to tell a story, with dialogue, musical score, lighting and sound FX - basically a film with a much deeper involvement.
Peter Jackson, director of the LOTR series and King Kong, plans to produce video games set in the Halo universe. Although being the film director he is, he refers to these proposed games being "filmic games". I think this concept of filmic games is gradually going to become more popular overtime.
On a not-so-separate note, 2K's video game, Bioshock, is actually going to the silver screen, being directed by Gore Verbinski (Directed Pirates of the Carribean and The Ring). Perhaps along with this idea of filmic games, there will be a rise in game-to-film adaptations like this among others (Hitman, Resident Evil, DOOM). Perhaps instead of what we say now, that is something like: "The book was much better than the film", we'll start saying: "I thought the game was better than the film"
Just my thoughts...
Peter Jackson, director of the LOTR series and King Kong, plans to produce video games set in the Halo universe. Although being the film director he is, he refers to these proposed games being "filmic games". I think this concept of filmic games is gradually going to become more popular overtime.
On a not-so-separate note, 2K's video game, Bioshock, is actually going to the silver screen, being directed by Gore Verbinski (Directed Pirates of the Carribean and The Ring). Perhaps along with this idea of filmic games, there will be a rise in game-to-film adaptations like this among others (Hitman, Resident Evil, DOOM). Perhaps instead of what we say now, that is something like: "The book was much better than the film", we'll start saying: "I thought the game was better than the film"
Just my thoughts...
New Computer
Ive recently got a new computer, here are the specs:
Gigabyte EP45-DS3R
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3.0Ghz Dual Core)
Asus EN8800GT (512mb)
2G Kingston DDRII RAM
This was my first computer build (although I got a friend to help with the actual building) and overall, I spent alot of time making sure I was getting the right parts that would last a 3-4 years. Now that it all works (with some slight faults i'll need to sort out), I've found the whole process to be quite satisfying. The research made me learn much about each of the parts and now to see them all together working well, it feels like quite a satisfying accomplishment.
Gigabyte EP45-DS3R
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3.0Ghz Dual Core)
Asus EN8800GT (512mb)
2G Kingston DDRII RAM
This was my first computer build (although I got a friend to help with the actual building) and overall, I spent alot of time making sure I was getting the right parts that would last a 3-4 years. Now that it all works (with some slight faults i'll need to sort out), I've found the whole process to be quite satisfying. The research made me learn much about each of the parts and now to see them all together working well, it feels like quite a satisfying accomplishment.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
FlickerFest '08
Yesterday, i had the privilege to attend the opening night of FlickerFest this year.
It is a international short film festival that screens award winning productions (that go for no longer than 40mins) from around the world.
There were funny films, and there were serious films. Films that just entertained, others that made a deep use of film conventions and positioning techniques to get a message across.
Mostly, it would seem that the funny the film was, the less it would stack up to the others in terms of filming prestige. However, my favourite, an animation involving stick figures from the USA, incorporated plenty of humour, with a strong theme to it. The director used not just dialog, stick figures and sound effects, but used some "real" images around the place coupled with some rather eeryie sounds.This created a much deeper effect on the viewer than you would have expected from an animation with stick figures.
So i learnt last night that i quite enjoy short film festivals, and i want and plan to attend more in the future
doug.
It is a international short film festival that screens award winning productions (that go for no longer than 40mins) from around the world.
There were funny films, and there were serious films. Films that just entertained, others that made a deep use of film conventions and positioning techniques to get a message across.
Mostly, it would seem that the funny the film was, the less it would stack up to the others in terms of filming prestige. However, my favourite, an animation involving stick figures from the USA, incorporated plenty of humour, with a strong theme to it. The director used not just dialog, stick figures and sound effects, but used some "real" images around the place coupled with some rather eeryie sounds.This created a much deeper effect on the viewer than you would have expected from an animation with stick figures.
So i learnt last night that i quite enjoy short film festivals, and i want and plan to attend more in the future
doug.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
MSN-Free Week
For all of my loyal fans that still read this somewhat retired blog, I would like to point out that I am having a (nearly) whole week free of msn.
Starting tomorrow (monday) i am going without all communication involving MSN Messenger and other clients that use its protocol. I am to do this up until approximately 3.30pm on Friday when my weekend technically starts...
wish me luck!
Starting tomorrow (monday) i am going without all communication involving MSN Messenger and other clients that use its protocol. I am to do this up until approximately 3.30pm on Friday when my weekend technically starts...
wish me luck!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Hot...hot day
ii aapplogggiizze iff myy fingersss aare sttickking to the keyboard...its just TOO HOT
Here, i am sitting in my bedroom...two fans on me...still rather hot and still rather damp from my own sweat...
At some point now i need to keep working on this English assignment. I have already been to library to get some news articles for it this morning (on my bike). I had then coincidentally decided to go home at theoretically the hottest hour of the day...!
So i think now ive recovered from that trip after drying myself with a towell and about an hour of sitting in front of these two fans...and now its 4 o'clock i think the worst of the day is over...
I made it...
doug.
Here, i am sitting in my bedroom...two fans on me...still rather hot and still rather damp from my own sweat...
At some point now i need to keep working on this English assignment. I have already been to library to get some news articles for it this morning (on my bike). I had then coincidentally decided to go home at theoretically the hottest hour of the day...!
So i think now ive recovered from that trip after drying myself with a towell and about an hour of sitting in front of these two fans...and now its 4 o'clock i think the worst of the day is over...
I made it...
doug.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Fan's check
hello loyal blog fans!
if you are reading this then you are loyal enough to tune into my blog for a month now...
the purpose of this post is just to see how many people are actually still tuning into this
in order to notify me just reply with some random comment just below...
cya round
doug.
if you are reading this then you are loyal enough to tune into my blog for a month now...
the purpose of this post is just to see how many people are actually still tuning into this
in order to notify me just reply with some random comment just below...
cya round
doug.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Gaming through the ages & The Wii
Recently ive been playing (or researching) retro 80's games and some slightly newer SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) games.
Space Impact and Donkey Kong Classic are my favourites for the retro games, and ive been playing some Super Mario All Stars and The Lion King on the SNES.
I happen to be playing these old skool games around about the time that the milestone in gaming known as Crysis has been released. It occured to me, how Space invaders is so incredibly simple compared to the games we have today. I considered the number in which you would have to times the simplicity of Space Invaders to equal the complexity of Crysis. That is one big number.
In other news, I have been looking into the concept of getting a Wii. The major set back is obviously the money, but at the moment it seems theres a slight lack of games available that i would like. Wii Sports appeals to me for its social aspects, something fun for guests, and Mario Galaxy seems like fun being someone who grew up with mario (but not Mario 64).
My main interest would be Virtual Console. On the Wii, for those with wireless connectivity, you can buy classic console games like Zelda: OOT, Mario 64, Sonic and Donkey Kong Country. This feature appeals to me.
What i would really like, though, is to see the old Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie come back. Although, Microsoft bought Rareware (the company that made these games) so Nintendo probally can't do anything with them any more. It's annoying that Microsoft havent done anything with the games either.
and thanks for dropping in, even though its been a while since i posted.
d.
Space Impact and Donkey Kong Classic are my favourites for the retro games, and ive been playing some Super Mario All Stars and The Lion King on the SNES.
I happen to be playing these old skool games around about the time that the milestone in gaming known as Crysis has been released. It occured to me, how Space invaders is so incredibly simple compared to the games we have today. I considered the number in which you would have to times the simplicity of Space Invaders to equal the complexity of Crysis. That is one big number.
In other news, I have been looking into the concept of getting a Wii. The major set back is obviously the money, but at the moment it seems theres a slight lack of games available that i would like. Wii Sports appeals to me for its social aspects, something fun for guests, and Mario Galaxy seems like fun being someone who grew up with mario (but not Mario 64).
My main interest would be Virtual Console. On the Wii, for those with wireless connectivity, you can buy classic console games like Zelda: OOT, Mario 64, Sonic and Donkey Kong Country. This feature appeals to me.
What i would really like, though, is to see the old Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie come back. Although, Microsoft bought Rareware (the company that made these games) so Nintendo probally can't do anything with them any more. It's annoying that Microsoft havent done anything with the games either.
and thanks for dropping in, even though its been a while since i posted.
d.
Monday, November 26, 2007
A video
hey guys, if you're bored and interested in watching a YouTube video i made earlier this year...check it out...
Kids and Football
As some of you may know, I am a leader at my church's junior youth group...
Every Friday afternoon we do something different, but almost everytime, before the night starts, there will be a small game of soccer for the kids.
Now these kids are from primary school so they love to play soccer...that being an overstatement. It's rather, they love to kick a soccer ball, not so much the rest of the game.
Instead of working as a team by passing and setting up points, the kids' goal is to generally kick the ball. They are are instantly satisfied with themselves if they can be so nimble enough to mosh through the crowd and touch that ball. Although, this satisfaction is short. If possible, they will whip their feet in and out of the area where the ball is until they can hit it again. This tactic wouldn't go to much further until a proximity to the goals are reached and then MAYBE the kids would consider some CONTROL in their kicking. Other than this the kids have no direction, they are scalar, and do not think about hitting the ball in another direction besides the direction their foot's position makes with the ball's position...
And unlike soccer, they don't seem to able to fully grasp the concept of spreading out over the field. Because their goal isn't to pass and work as a team, but rather a personal achievement of kicking something, they don't quite know why spreading out would have some kind of advantage over the other team. The field ends up being bare except for this one large clump of kids hovering up and down.
So moving on, last friday was Sporty Sports night at Junior Underground (thats the name of the youth group). I had the priviledge to be the Referee for a match of "Three legged soccer". So if you can imagine the chaos that is a soccer game of primary schoolers, that i briefly explained earlier, tying the the legs of two kids together, and making them play soccer is like wrapping a stack of small dogs together in pairs and chucking Shmacko's at them...craziness....
So, theres my observations of primary school soccer...until kids reach high school (or join a soccer club), some kids don't seem to fully grasp what the GOAL of soccer is, that is, getting the ball into the goals...
cya
doug.
Every Friday afternoon we do something different, but almost everytime, before the night starts, there will be a small game of soccer for the kids.
Now these kids are from primary school so they love to play soccer...that being an overstatement. It's rather, they love to kick a soccer ball, not so much the rest of the game.
Instead of working as a team by passing and setting up points, the kids' goal is to generally kick the ball. They are are instantly satisfied with themselves if they can be so nimble enough to mosh through the crowd and touch that ball. Although, this satisfaction is short. If possible, they will whip their feet in and out of the area where the ball is until they can hit it again. This tactic wouldn't go to much further until a proximity to the goals are reached and then MAYBE the kids would consider some CONTROL in their kicking. Other than this the kids have no direction, they are scalar, and do not think about hitting the ball in another direction besides the direction their foot's position makes with the ball's position...
And unlike soccer, they don't seem to able to fully grasp the concept of spreading out over the field. Because their goal isn't to pass and work as a team, but rather a personal achievement of kicking something, they don't quite know why spreading out would have some kind of advantage over the other team. The field ends up being bare except for this one large clump of kids hovering up and down.
So moving on, last friday was Sporty Sports night at Junior Underground (thats the name of the youth group). I had the priviledge to be the Referee for a match of "Three legged soccer". So if you can imagine the chaos that is a soccer game of primary schoolers, that i briefly explained earlier, tying the the legs of two kids together, and making them play soccer is like wrapping a stack of small dogs together in pairs and chucking Shmacko's at them...craziness....
So, theres my observations of primary school soccer...until kids reach high school (or join a soccer club), some kids don't seem to fully grasp what the GOAL of soccer is, that is, getting the ball into the goals...
cya
doug.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Election Result
Well, it looks like Kevin Rudd is the Prime Minister of Australia...
personally, i didn't quite want Labour to win it...but i guess thats how democracy works...I guess we will see over the next few years how Labour can handle the economy this time around.
It MIGHT be a good thing if Kevin Rudd actually removes troops from Iraq like he said he would, but who knows, that might be too high a standard...
Another part that I didnt like about last night was Channel Nine's coverage of the election. At the beginning of the night there, on their screen, was a big banner saying how many electorates Labour had to take to win the election, as if it were the GOAL for labour to win, as if that was what everybody wanted...
Then, about 2 hours into the show, Channel 9 had a big banner saying KEVIN RUDD WINS ELECTION, even though no other stations were sure that he had. Sigh
This just goes down well with Channel Nine's use of The Worm on their Great Debate. I'm pretty sure the next time i have a choice between a station and channel 9, it wont be the latter...
Although, i wasnt fully impressed with Channel Seven's plans, who gave Joe Hockey a hard time. They kept probing him with unproffesional questions like "How are you feeling" etc. Then some other guy was trying to cheer him up saying things like "Mate, you'll wake up tomorrow morning", "you'll be right"...probally making it worse for the guy.
Then, the smiling Peter Beattie, who made a joke about how he'll have to pay Joe Hockey money now that he's not a minister....Ha...Joe forced a smile.
AAaanyway, i guess i shouldnt be this upset...life goes on...
doug.
personally, i didn't quite want Labour to win it...but i guess thats how democracy works...I guess we will see over the next few years how Labour can handle the economy this time around.
It MIGHT be a good thing if Kevin Rudd actually removes troops from Iraq like he said he would, but who knows, that might be too high a standard...
Another part that I didnt like about last night was Channel Nine's coverage of the election. At the beginning of the night there, on their screen, was a big banner saying how many electorates Labour had to take to win the election, as if it were the GOAL for labour to win, as if that was what everybody wanted...
Then, about 2 hours into the show, Channel 9 had a big banner saying KEVIN RUDD WINS ELECTION, even though no other stations were sure that he had. Sigh
This just goes down well with Channel Nine's use of The Worm on their Great Debate. I'm pretty sure the next time i have a choice between a station and channel 9, it wont be the latter...
Although, i wasnt fully impressed with Channel Seven's plans, who gave Joe Hockey a hard time. They kept probing him with unproffesional questions like "How are you feeling" etc. Then some other guy was trying to cheer him up saying things like "Mate, you'll wake up tomorrow morning", "you'll be right"...probally making it worse for the guy.
Then, the smiling Peter Beattie, who made a joke about how he'll have to pay Joe Hockey money now that he's not a minister....Ha...Joe forced a smile.
AAaanyway, i guess i shouldnt be this upset...life goes on...
doug.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
My Household's Black Hole
My household has a blackhole.
Every now and then i suddenly remember that i once had a shirt, or a jumper...then i wonder why I havent seen it for ages. Matter that was once in this dimension, is now gone. The Result: there is a black hole.
Okay so MOST of the time, i will allow some room to think that PERHAPS i may have just misplaced the item of clothing, but a few days ago, i was led to believe that there IS a gravitation field in my household, and the event horizon is somewhere around my 3rd-from-the-top cupboard.
So I come home wearing my school uniform, and naturally i take off my socks. Later in the day a friend was coming around so i mindlessly collected all the clothes littered on my floor and chucked them into this said cupboard (i.e. the event horizon). Next day i have to get ready for school and one of my socks is GONE.
No, its not missing, no it hasnt been misplaced....it's GONE. It has entered the black hole, gravity too strong for it to resist, and was sucked into it, perhaps in another dimension at this point.
Does anyone else suffer from this undesired household feature? I'm interested to know...
doug.
Every now and then i suddenly remember that i once had a shirt, or a jumper...then i wonder why I havent seen it for ages. Matter that was once in this dimension, is now gone. The Result: there is a black hole.
Okay so MOST of the time, i will allow some room to think that PERHAPS i may have just misplaced the item of clothing, but a few days ago, i was led to believe that there IS a gravitation field in my household, and the event horizon is somewhere around my 3rd-from-the-top cupboard.
So I come home wearing my school uniform, and naturally i take off my socks. Later in the day a friend was coming around so i mindlessly collected all the clothes littered on my floor and chucked them into this said cupboard (i.e. the event horizon). Next day i have to get ready for school and one of my socks is GONE.
No, its not missing, no it hasnt been misplaced....it's GONE. It has entered the black hole, gravity too strong for it to resist, and was sucked into it, perhaps in another dimension at this point.
Does anyone else suffer from this undesired household feature? I'm interested to know...
doug.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
I have just recently gotten Facebook to work, and even though i have done barely anything with it, i am already loving it much more than MySpace.
Myspace never really clicked properly with me. I would consider every now and then, usually after seeing a horrific Myspace page with women with barely anything on them that i should just delete my MySpace account and never come back. Not to mention the terror it is to look at some of the MySpace layouts that you get. A great man once said (imitating the producer of MySpace)
"ooo lets make a social network where we give kids absolute control of what their space looks like...ooo green text on pink background!"
Myspace never really clicked properly with me. I would consider every now and then, usually after seeing a horrific Myspace page with women with barely anything on them that i should just delete my MySpace account and never come back. Not to mention the terror it is to look at some of the MySpace layouts that you get. A great man once said (imitating the producer of MySpace)
"ooo lets make a social network where we give kids absolute control of what their space looks like...ooo green text on pink background!"
- Frase T. (2007)
But FACEBOOK on the other hand has everything you would ever need in myspace, except it loses a wad of advertising, near-nudity and the control to totally destroy the already set HTML code.
The BAD side of Facebook however, is ofcourse alot less people i know use it. This sortof problem is obviously not caused by facebook, and isnt really a critism of what has been created, yet its a negative feature about it. Although, then again i have many friends who i wouldnt see on MySpace that i do see on Facebook, so everything cancels each other out.
The moral of this story, GET FACEBOOK.
doug.
But FACEBOOK on the other hand has everything you would ever need in myspace, except it loses a wad of advertising, near-nudity and the control to totally destroy the already set HTML code.
The BAD side of Facebook however, is ofcourse alot less people i know use it. This sortof problem is obviously not caused by facebook, and isnt really a critism of what has been created, yet its a negative feature about it. Although, then again i have many friends who i wouldnt see on MySpace that i do see on Facebook, so everything cancels each other out.
The moral of this story, GET FACEBOOK.
doug.
Here we go again!
Hello ....hello...hello....hello
Hello cyberspace and everyone else out there. This is beginning of another blog of doug's!
If this is your first time that you have ever seen me write a blog then you don't have to worry.
But, if youve seen this sort of thing before...I KNOW what you're thinking....
"Oh boy, here we go again with another weak blog of doug's going by, already on its way to crash and burn, just like every time" *looks at Mister-T*
but, to those of you who think that, i implore you to think again. Sure this blog might go down just like every blog of mine has. But consider the differences
this time i have made a blog, not just for the sake of making a blog, but i do think that i have some things to say this time around. Within the last month or more there have been plenty of occasions where i would think, read, hear or hold a viewpoint about something and want to write it down and tell the world (i.e. a Blog). And now i have begun this blog...
so lets hope this blog is more fruitful than my last blogs...
Doug's blog awaits you...
Hello cyberspace and everyone else out there. This is beginning of another blog of doug's!
If this is your first time that you have ever seen me write a blog then you don't have to worry.
But, if youve seen this sort of thing before...I KNOW what you're thinking....
"Oh boy, here we go again with another weak blog of doug's going by, already on its way to crash and burn, just like every time" *looks at Mister-T*
but, to those of you who think that, i implore you to think again. Sure this blog might go down just like every blog of mine has. But consider the differences
this time i have made a blog, not just for the sake of making a blog, but i do think that i have some things to say this time around. Within the last month or more there have been plenty of occasions where i would think, read, hear or hold a viewpoint about something and want to write it down and tell the world (i.e. a Blog). And now i have begun this blog...
so lets hope this blog is more fruitful than my last blogs...
Doug's blog awaits you...
Instant Messaging
As a proud member of the iGeneration I have grown up with the use of instant messaging programs like MSN, its just a simple part of my life just like alot of people my age.
But im learning more and more that this simple part of one's lifestyle can have negative effects.
First of all, theres the obvious reason that MSN and the like take up alot of time, but i am finding that the use of internet chatting has bad affects on your relationships.
I have heard it said once that 80% (or around about) of communication when we are face to face with somebody comes from body language. So none of that communication shows up when you are sending emails, posting on MySpace, or sending a txt. Sure, there are emoticons available but they cant give as deep a message as real life can. With this hole in communication, you can get to know ABOUT somebody, what they like, what their opinions are, but you wont really get to KNOW who they are and what they are like to be around i think.
Okay, so im not saying these things are bad and that everyone should avoid them, i mean, i love these means of communication, but i reckon theres a limit sometimes
I only really see the affects of these communication mediums when you are talking to somebody on msn MUCH more than you see them. You will start to lose idea what they are like in "real life" and then find it difficult to meet with them in real life.
So its something ive been thinking about, the more i use these programs...
doug.
But im learning more and more that this simple part of one's lifestyle can have negative effects.
First of all, theres the obvious reason that MSN and the like take up alot of time, but i am finding that the use of internet chatting has bad affects on your relationships.
I have heard it said once that 80% (or around about) of communication when we are face to face with somebody comes from body language. So none of that communication shows up when you are sending emails, posting on MySpace, or sending a txt. Sure, there are emoticons available but they cant give as deep a message as real life can. With this hole in communication, you can get to know ABOUT somebody, what they like, what their opinions are, but you wont really get to KNOW who they are and what they are like to be around i think.
Okay, so im not saying these things are bad and that everyone should avoid them, i mean, i love these means of communication, but i reckon theres a limit sometimes
I only really see the affects of these communication mediums when you are talking to somebody on msn MUCH more than you see them. You will start to lose idea what they are like in "real life" and then find it difficult to meet with them in real life.
So its something ive been thinking about, the more i use these programs...
doug.
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