Ramblings a-plenty

Woohoo, another conclusion to another crappy week right before the likely start of another crappy week. I'm not trying to sound incredibly pessimistic, but it's just how it;s going to be. Y'see, there's a big looming promotional project at work that is supposed to be done and sent out for customers to receive, well... About now. But of course, not only has it not been sent to print yet but it's still has about 1/4 of the work to be done. This project was kind of dragging its feet along the ground since mid-summer, and a few weeks ago my boss completely dumped it on my shoulders, telling me it was now my complete responsibility. At first it felt like a weight was lifted - I was in power to make the changes and get it all done and out of the way. But since then there've been small disasters here and there. Some that merely took me away from working on el projecto grande, and others that, well... Meant I'd need to revisit a significant portion of the content. This has a LOT to do with the plummeting Canadian dollar, and how it'll effect retail prices of everything under the sun. So, in short... As things speed up for Christmas, I just don't know if I can tackle what needs to be done a) on time and b) without getting reassigned to other pressing matters. What to do, what to do...

In other news, a ye fine media roundup:

Heroes is still kinda sucking. Too confusing and convoluted, and a few other niggling problems along the way. The problem is that no character has a strong foundation. I'm not griping that character development is preventing the show from being predictable, far from it. Take a look at Battlestar Galactica - my holy grail of plot and story development. Those characters are always in flux, but it's so smooth and well done how all the little things add up.

Heroes, on the other hand, tends to throw such bizarre plot predicaments at the characters that it doesn't add or modify to the existing personality, it totally rewrites it. Voila, Peter loses his memory. Voila, now he has Sylar's "power" and has been inexplicably turned into a psycho-killer. Hiro has a vision and as a result doubts his closest friend. Nathan has a near-death experience that completely changes his outlook on life, and BANG not four episodes later it's reversed.

These are all mega-huge changes that alter the very foundation of the character. The is no development, only completely overwriting what originally existed there in the first place. As a result, I'm not longer really attached to any of the characters, because well, they don't stay that way for more than two episodes.

And for the record Hayden Panettiere does a horrible job of acting a badass agent.

In other news, Top Gear is still amazing. I've blown through about a season-and-a-half in the past week or two. I can't wait for the show to return (November 2nd, to anyone who's wondering)

The Office is good stuff so far. Unlike a certain other show *COUGH*, the character development is really a pleasure to watch. They do a good job of portraying what they're going through. And all this from a comedy show with a bizarre premise. It's truly a unique hybrid, and some days I can't believe how they manage to pull it off. They must have a fantastic team of writers.

In the world of gaming, I've now been able to put my new system to the test with Far Cry 2. To my excitement, when I loaded the 'recommended' settings for the game, everything was at VERY HIGH. BAHAHAHAHA! Such a wonderful feeling. A few notes about the game itself: it has a very unique presentation, the atmosphere is solid and there are plenty of small touches that make it feel like a grittier kind of game. Repairing your car, pulling a bullet out of your leg before you bleed out, having buddies coming to pick you up when you do, exploding ammo dumps, wildfires... There's so many things that build up to a much more substantial and impressive whole. Having to constantly travel so much is a bit of a bummer though, as is finding some of the hidden brief cases. There are always such issues attributed to giving the player free roam of such and expansive area. More bus stop/warp zones and maybe some para-gliders would be nice.

But by far, the best aspect of this game is the environment. Never before in a game have I been able to stand at almost any given location on the map and be presented with a breathtaking vista. I can't believe how many 'whoa' moments I've had - sunrises, sunsets, valleys, hills, trees, an oasis... It's all so incredibly gorgeous. Even looking up at the night sky in exquisite. I seriously can't describe it - for a virtual environment I have never seen anything that remotely compares. Even the packs of roaming animals caused me to say say "WOW!" out loud. I thought I was being fired upon after hearing a "thomp thomp thomp" getting closer, as I crouched in the brush. But lo and behold and pack of four or five zebras just blew by. For a virtual and interactive environment, it blows me away.

Is it worth a buy? After I beat the erm, extended demo, version I'll decide. Don't get me wrong, it has many merits but a mediocre and hard-to-follow story. And the travel times are just so brutal.

I've played some Spore over the past, oh... Three weeks or so. It's a unique and visionary game, but I just can't connect to it. Maybe it's the complete lack of direction or narrative. But each stage seems somewhat shallow and redundant and obligatory. I've gotten to the beginning few missions of the space stage and really lack all desire to go on. Playing with the vehicle creator tools was fun, but as flexible as it is there are some basic issues that get on my nerves. Why is everything the same size? Why does 90% of the design choice have NO bearing on the usability or effectiveness?

But Frank says I really need to try Dead Space. Something about great sound design at atmosphere. I keep telling him that tense horror games aren't my thing, but he doesn't seem to listen. I think he wants to see me break down into uncontrollable tears as I try to unsuccessfully rock myself to sleep. We'll see - I may give it a go for the first level or two just so I can partake in some of the game's critically acclaimed features.

Some people read books, some people watch movies. I play video games. That's my thing. I like to look at the little-bitty parts that make up a game and bisect them. I'd like to think it isn't just mindless wasting away of the hours - I truly enjoy paying attention to the finer details and seeing how they all fit together. Seeing if I can exploit problems with the AI, finding out just how they cheat when I can't. I appreciate the slick character animations, observe clipping errors as a result of poor map design, and twitch at jarring sound design. And of course I get totally consumed by a strong narrative and thrill at using my supplies as effectively as the level layout permits. I know there's still a large sentiment out there that video games are the lesser-form of entertainment and media, but I couldn't disagree more. I guess some days, like today, I feel inexplicably compelled to defend myself.



A city is still an ugy thing, especially after I try to draw it. This is the first step of a piece I'm trying to refine, so maybe by next week I'll have the finished version. In the mean time I apparently need to listen to more of Spoon's catalogue, finish the Top Gear episode I started, and read a bit before bed. And then begin another crazy week. Ugh. Believe it or not, I have a sticky note I put in my iPod case with a list of a half-dozen things I wanted to mention here and I somehow managed to ramble on without touching on a single one of them. And it's getting embarrassingly late, I think I started this at least forty minutes ago. Sigh...
-Cril

I had a friend named Ramblin' Bob
Who used to steal gamble and rob
He thought he was the smartest guy in town
But I found out last Monday
That Bob got locked up Sunday
They've got him in the jailhouse way down town
He's in the jailhouse now he's in the jailhouse now
I told him once or twice quit playin' cards and shootin' dice
He's in the jailhouse now

Soggy Bottom Boy - In The Jailhouse Now