Zipp
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Posts posted by Zipp
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I think you have a good point about it feeling like an indie film, Strike (especially as I'm surrounded often by amateur indie film projects and try hard to not be amongst their number). Sadly, I think that's better than the majority of video game writing and direction.
Very few games have had amazing scripts. Only a few come to my mind. Longest Journey, Uncharted 2 (which wasn't anything DEEP, mind you, but fit perfectly for its genre), parts of the Metal Gear Solid series, and maybe FFX depending on who you are. ICO, too, but that was because it was so damn minimalistic. Oh, Blade Runner, as well.
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NOTE: I'm going through and fixing up some basic typos right now. Sorry about that.
EDIT: Done.
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I spent a lot of time playing the demo today. For anyone interested in a comprehensive look at how Heavy Rain plays and whether it will hold up to the hype, check out the following link:
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Haha, sorry you got stuck with it. The last game I reviewed for HonestGamers was middle ground, but enjoyable for a reviewer's single playthrough (Madballs: Invasion in BABO).
Ah, so that was your review! I missed it when it was posted the first time due to... I don't know what. Oh I think I was getting ready for Grad School.
Anyway, I checked it out later and thought it was a great review of that kind of game. I rarely check out 360 review because, well, I don't have a 360.
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Yeah, I've bought tons of things from them with no problem, especially through Amazon. What are you looking at, specifically?
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Was it so bad it almost became good again?
No. Not at all. I thought it was going to be that way and it started down that path... but then it u-turned and just kind've hovered around unbearable. The narrator didn't help.
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This whole game raises issues, for me, in how we view our children. I'm a graduate student in education (eventually seeking to teach film) and a proponent of Imaginative Education (http://www.ierg.net/) which shows how certain forms of media can really screw with the development of cognitive abilities. I'm a big fan of video games and actually believe that they have the ability to increase cognitive ability, but not when they are this mindless.
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Can you send me Ultimate Alliance?
Maybe, if my friend Ryan ever gives it back.
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Did you write that line? It's awesome.
Yeah, that's me, thanks.
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I'm a video game reviewer for Honest Gamers. I get many games from them, including such titles as Bioshock, Call of Duty, Ultimate Alliance, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories... all of which were games that offered some fun and enjoyment (though I actually dislike Bioshock quite a bit and Ultimate Alliance really needs to stop being boring).
But every once in a while I get sent something that completely blows those titles out of the water. Something amazing that only comes your way once in a lifetime.
This week, it was Hello Kitty Party.
Full review here, for those who are interested: http://www.honestgamers.com/reviews/8680/Hello-Kitty-Party.html
Honestly, these kind of games make me question our perception of what children find fun.
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Definitely keep an eye out for it! Also, our other film coming out this Summer: The Bobbsey Twins Go To Hell!
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Hey everyone. Some of you know that I own a film company in Portland, OR. Here's some stills from our latest film, "Population 2." Expect to see it in theatre this Summer (or Winter... you never know with film).
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=180552&id=667564992&l=5660bfc2ed
I have more pics coming; in particular, I'm awaiting high-rez shots of the footage.
Cheers!
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Look man, I've heard all sorts of statistics around failure rates. I don't really trust any of them anymore.
What I DO know is that I don't have a single friend with an Xbox360 who hasn't returned at least two of them, while of all my friends who own PS3's, only one had a problem and their PS3 was pre-owned. Also, it was fixed within the week by Sony and they were sent the same model of PS3.
In my entire life, I've never had a Sony system fail on me but it seems every time I go over to play Xbox at a friend's house, it's a new system.
So I'm gonna go off my personal experience on this one and say that Xbox's are an accident waiting to happen.
Note that I'm not calling you out, or anything. Your statistics may be spot on. But I'm not going to change my argument because, aside from a couple internet posts, I have absolutely no evidence that Xbox's don't die frequently.
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I like the PS3's design a lot better, plus it is much quieter and infinitely less prone to breaking. The menu design is easier to navigate on the PS3, too. And the Blu-Ray player is nice. In a couple of years, Blu-Ray is going to dominate the DVD market, so it's nice to have a player available for that.
Ultimately, it really depends on what games you'll be playing. Xbox has a stronger online community (though there are a lot of assholes, more so than on the PS3 community) and better shooters. It's also got Mass Effect, which is far and away its best exclusive.
The PS3 is more for innovative or single player titles and much better on the RPGS, with titles such as Heavy Rain, Little Big Planet, Valkyria Chronicles, and Uncharted 2 gracing it and it alone. MAG is also exclusive for the PS3, if you do happen to get the online thing going.
A lot of games go cross platform, like Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age, and I think Resident Evil 5 and Dead Space as well, though I could be wrong on those last two. In any case, it's not like owning a Wii, where you miss out on 95% of the games that are released. Both systems only have a handful of exclusives that are worth their price. Just depends on which exclusives you are more interested in.
If you're a Final Fantasy fan, go for the PS3, because FFXIII plays much better on the PS3 than it does on the Xbox.
My only problem with the PS3 has been that my fans happen to be louder than the earlier models of the PS3, but it's still quieter than the Xbox360 and it's not that hard to switch out fans if it really bothers you.
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I feel like a bit of a tool telling you his name is spelled "Isaac," but if you're going around telling everyone, you'd probably want to spell it right so they'll believe you.
I appreciate it, actually. Maybe not enough to go back and change every instance of it, but enough to spell it correctly from now on.
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Because it's just easier and more flexible for the artist to work with a nude model than one wearing clothing. He mentioned that it only took a few minutes, meaning it was merely a sketch, meaning the artist most likely didn't put all those details into it. It's easier to capture the pose of a person wearing nothing than it is to capture the pose of a person in jeans and a baggy t-shirt because you know where their body is. With baggy clothing, it's harder to see the person underneath. Also, as was stated, artists tend to keep poses that they can reference. The guy probably didn't even know what he'd use the pose for when he sketched him.
Also, congratulations, Zipp!
Thank you!
Also, yes, your explanation is exactly right and well stated besides.
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Perhaps a dumb question: why do they need nude models to draw a dude wearing a full-body space suit MacGyvered into anti-space-zombie armor?
I mean, even before they started bolting random bits of metal to it, it wasn't like it was skin tight.
Well, it would be incredibly expensive to buy a model all that armour or something that looked good enough to pass as that armour. Better is to just draw a nude model, get the basic pose down, and then cover it in clothing. Like I said, I only did the pose for 5 minutes and wasn't even aware that it would be used for the cover until later when he said he ended up using it.
Character Artists tend to keep big books full of various poses they've sketched that they think are cool or might be useful. Some of them get used, others collect dust... but still look damn cool.
As for getting into modeling, my advice is to start walking around naked inside universities.
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Pics of the cover? I don't think they've been released yet. But it's a very active pose, kind've a leaner with one hand to the side curled up and the other extended which I bet he'll end putting a gun or something in. He's good. I only held the pose for about 5 minutes, but he got the whole damn thing down.
And yes, nude modeling pays well. $60 an hour.
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One of my side jobs is being a nude model for the art institutions around town. I happened to model last year for the guy who did the cover for Dead Space II.
I just found out he used my pose for the cover. So, yeah... that's me on the cover, more or less.
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I'm hoping that by the Summer of 2010, my collection will include the following:
- God of War 3
- FF 13
- Trine
- Braid
- Dragon Age
- Assassin's Creed 2
- Heavy Rain
- Bayonetta
On New Years I had someone scream out "Dragon Age!" while I was having sex with her. That kinda sold me.
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The chances of me roping in anyone here who is not already reading this are slim, I know, but it's never too late to start checking out my work, now the efforts of more than a year's worth of writing.
What better way to start the new year than with another part?
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First off, I really liked the film. But my enjoyment comes with some baggage.
For one thing, it's sad that such a high concept has to be given such a Hollywood treatment. There are so many places to go with the concept of putting ourselves into alien bodies and experiencing alien cultures first hand and the film has this sense like it wanted to let the audience know it was aware of those things so it touches on them briefly before charging ahead with the usual "humans versus aliens" science fiction battle plot.
I also am upset by some of the racial imagery associated with the film. The aliens draw direct parellels to native americans. Or, I should say, a White Man's understanding of Native Americans. That's the biggest problem with the film, in my opinion. It has a message of befriend nature and the native Americans were right, but as usual, White writers and directors (in this case James Cameron on both fronts) miss the whole point. Being in touch with nature isn't some mystical thing that's exciting and filled with graphic splendor. It's hard work and requires a loss of our comforts and our inflated visions of who we are as a species. Similarly, the Native Americans weren't magical shamans who respected nature because they could talk to it and feel its pain. It was common sense. Shit in your own backyard and you'll have to clean it up someday. Cut down all the trees and you may have a house today, but tomorrow your children won't be able to eat. When you kill an animal, try to end its pain quickly because it's not pleasant to watch anything die in pain. Cats play with their food. Humans have the ability to choose not to do that. That's part of what makes us special. These are common sense things but White people can't seem to ever call it for what it is. They always have to disconnect it with fantastical terms and mystical trappings.
"Oh please," some folk might say. "You can't do anything these days without offending someone." Offending someone isn't the real issue, though. I mean, we took these people's land and murdered their kinfolk. We're kind've past offense. At this point, it's about education. Continuing to propagate a Native American stereotype as being "Tribal" or connecting issues of environment to mysticism isn't particularly an ill-intentioned decision. In fact, in Avatar's case I would say it was well-intentioned. Nonetheless, it's an uneducated decision and that can be dangerous.
Other than that, the film is beautiful, well-acted, and is pushing forward new ways of filming that are going to reshape the industry... at least for those who have the millions of dollars to utilize the techniques. It's also highly reminiscent of Ferngully. There's one scene in particular where I was waiting for Tim Curry to make a cameo appearance and start singing about "slime beneath me..."
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The next part of my dark treatment of the Chrono series is up.
Part 20: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5066583/21/Chrono_Break
Enjoy!
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Not a big poster here, but a huge user and someone who constantly promotes this site in his daily life. I've been here since '02 (ever since hearing MacVaffe's Tetris remix) and have been using the music to make CDs for myself and people (well, now its playlists) ever since. Most of the 5000 songs I have on itunes are from this site.
Thanks for being here, a beacon of joy amidst the desolate junkyards of the internet.
Zipp
Heavy Rain Demo
in General Discussion
Posted
Yeah, Heavy Rain is one of the first games that you simply can't play on an SDTV and one of the reasons I bought an HDTV. Uncharted 2 was another one in this category. I'm sure FFXIII will be the next and then God of War III. Oh, and Bayonetta is also impossible in SD.
We're reaching that point where SD is no longer a viable option. Like when MGS1 criticized players <i>in-game</i> for having mono speakers. I was one of those players.