Kizyr

Are you familiar with the Lunar series at all? The "Zophar's Domain" theme from Lunar: Eternal Blue would work out very well as a band arrangement. We have a version of it at LunarNET: http://www.lunar-net.com/media/music.php (check "EB Zophar's Domain") The reason I mention this is that, back in 1996, my Junior High band played a song called "Brentwood Overtures" that reminded me a lot of the Zophar's Domain theme. KF

I first heard it when y'all were playing it right before the Otakon panel, so I downloaded it that evening. I gotta say, I really like the vocals on there; that one line in particular is the one that sticks the most (judging by the DS pictochats going on before the panel, I'm not the only one). Personally, I'd like to see more folks trying their hands at vocals... KF

I was in the front row and have a handful of photos, though they're not of very good quality (on several of them, I didn't use the flash while y'all were performing). I could upload and link to a few of them if folks want? It might be better just to wait a week for the video and all. KF

Wow... The panel was amazing. Pixietricks, zircon, djpretzel, Larry, you guys did an incredible job, getting the audience all involved and into it like that... This was the perfect way to kick off the convention; it certainly made all that effort with early badge pickup and leaving early Friday morning worth it. Also, thanks so much for signing the Antrigravity album for me {^^}. Anyway, for everyone else at Otakon, enjoy the rest of the convention! KF

What you could do is start with remixed music from your favorite games and work from there. Check out the writeup, and maybe the reviews (if there are any) for a quick idea of what the song is like, then download it if that gets you interested. If you really like something in particular, then check out other stuff by the same artist(s)--either the remixer, or the composer of the original song. You can do like Wikipedia and keep following links and downloading things from there. KF

Just got my badge. Looks like I'm good to go for tomorrow. I'll see you folks at the panel, then! I can hardly wait. By the way, line wait for me took about 1 hour, and that was with the line wrapping around three-fourths of the building. They're pretty good this year with efficiency in the line, so I'd estimate about a 1 hour wait on Friday morning (pre-reg and normal reg). <i>However</i> stuff could change, and this year might be busier than normal. Getting in line right at 8:30 will <i>probably</i> be sufficient to get your badge by 10AM and make it to the panel... but it couldn't hurt to get there earlier. KF

Ok, if you're writing a paper on this, the first thing is to know what format. High school papers are pretty brief and superficial, so you wouldn't need to delve that deeply into the topic. College papers, you'll generally need more research put into it. A thesis paper, that's another matter. Anyway, the best place to begin is to start at what you mentioned, the distinction that develops in someone's mind between reality and fantasy. That typically begins at a very young age (e.g., little kids playing house, or cops and robbers, etc.). From there, it'd probably be useful to go into the subject of video games as a specific medium of entertainment, with highlights on things that distinguish it from other media (e.g., the level of interactivity, for one). Then, you'll have two questions to answer: first, to what extent does entertainment in general affect someone's behavior, and second, do the distinguishing characteristics of video games contribute to that affect? Even if that's not how you structure it, it'll be a good start to get you thinking about how you want to make it. And, by the way, I don't know about you, but video games have certainly affected <i>my</i> behavior. Ever since I picked up Phoenix Wright, I keep yelling OBJECTION! every time I hear a contradiction in someone's argument. They keep slapping away my finger when I point it in their face, though... Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, also, has given me a lot of ideas on certain things to incorporate into my work. KF EDIT: Also, that Miyamoto article you linked is pretty good... That's one of the (several) reasons I like his games. Making a hit game based on violence is relatively easy; making one that's just plain fun can be a bit more challenging. KF

It looks like I'm almost certain to be able to make the panel now! I'll likely have a business trip up to Baltimore on Thursday, so I can stick around the city and pick up my badge then, meaning little to no problem getting in by 10AM on Friday. Now I'm really looking forward to this. The only thing is that I think both Cheesecake and Legal Seafoods will seem rather pricey, and I've always seen long waits at Cheesecake (the caveat, though, is that I've never been there around lunchtime, only dinner, so I could be wrong). Of course, I likely won't be going to that first meetup, so... I'm not the best one to take suggestions from {^^}. Come to think of it... all the restaurants that are large enough that I know of in the Inner Harbor area have already been mentioned; and, of those, Cheesecake probably looks like the best option. Is there really anything else around there (large enough, that is) besides Cheesecake, Legal Seafoods, and CPK? KF

Ah, I really like this piece; though, I don't have much in the way of critical comments on it. For some reason, I always imagine the Doctor Who theme (the new series) transitioning into the Diva opera from Fifth Element. KF

Hm, I think it might be about a 3/4 chance that I can go, now that I know the time. I can't come up Thursday for a badge, so I'm banking on getting there Friday in time to pick up a badge and make it to the panel by 10AM. Drats, that second meetup is during a Lunar panel I'm hosting. One question, when y'all did this last year, about how big an audience was it? Was it also two hours that time? Just out of curiousity. KF

Bear in mind, also, that you have to keep in mind the light rail schedule. That might affect your plans if, say, you want to go to any late-night events. However, it's still a good option. KF

Hm, looks like I forgot to make any sort of introduction. Anyway, I'm Kizyr. I've been listening to stuff off of OCR for somewhere around 3 or 4 years now, and I'm always checking back to see when anything new is released. I only just joined the forums once I heard about Pixietricks' work on Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword (since I'm also a huge Civ fan). Couple of my favorite artists here are pixietricks, Reuben Kee, and GrayLightning, among several others. Not to mention that the Chrono Symphonic and Project Chaos albums were incredible as well... Anyway, I hope to stick around. KF

Dangit... It looks like I'm going to have to take off from work now if I want to make this. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I think any of the hotels/motels along I-95, between BWI airport and Baltimore, are pretty good. They're no more than a 15-20 minute drive from the BCC (except during Friday rush hour, around 8~9AM towards & 3~6PM away). Especially if you go into one with 3 other people, it can be pretty cheap for the entire weekend. KF

I hope that I didn't just overlook this info somewhere else in this thread, but... When will the OCR panel be held? The panel schedule is already released, but I don't think it's on the Otakon website yet. KF

Well, the release date for Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword has been updated. It's now July 23rd (which, perhaps unfortunately, is <i>after</i> Otakon weekend). The CivFanatics forum has a ton of updated information on the extras here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=222075 Jill is mentioned once again, re: the soundtrack for the scenario "Fall from Heaven: Age of Ice". The zombie-fighting and space-colonization scenarios also sound good... ...that certainly sounds like her in the chorus. But, I'm no expert. Though I can't wait to hear the solo piece she mentioned. KF

A bit of an update... According to CivFanatics (www.civfanatics.com), GameSpot and EBGames have listed July 2nd as the date, and Amazon lists it as July 10th. Knowing GameSpot/EB's tendency to jump the gun sometimes, I'd wager it'll be closer to July 10th. Also it seems that the box art for Civ4:BTS was taken off the main civilization site, and it's replaced with the generic red box. 2k games' site has a shot of a section of the cover, though, warmechs and all: http://www.2kgames.com/index.php?p=games&title=civbts You mean something else for Civ4:BTS? Or, are we talking something entirely different? Civ4:BTS will include Queen Boudica of the Celts... so if it's for Civ4 it could be related... KF

Well, given that, the opening theme's certain to great! Only 1-2 months left 'til the release. By the way, if anyone's curious, they have the box art for Civ IV BTS on the official site (http://www.civilization.com/ -- are those warmechs?). The box art definitely also contributes to that 'epic and war-like' feel. I think at this point I don't want to know too much more about it; rather keep it a surprise. KF

I look forward to it! I missed it last year because I didn't check the schedule in advance (most of my concern was with partly hosting the Lunar panel that was on the prior night). I'm still kicking myself over it. But anyway, I look forward to coming in this year. I'll just have to make sure to get up early if it's Saturday morning again. EDIT: Some help if it's your first time going... Regarding registration, the wait times are only awful at certain times of the convention. Friday afternoon it tends to taper down. Pre-reg (and early pickup) is strongly recommended if you're coming in from out of town, though. (Another edit: Saturday morning also tends to be a peak time with long lines for registration, so don't wait until then, especially if the panel is that morning). If one of the Inner Harbor hotels isn't in your budget, then anything along I-95 between BWI (airport) and Baltimore will be significantly cheaper and, assuming you have a car or a rental, just as convenient. On that note, if you're driving in, then the best place to park is a garage about two blocks north of the BCC (really, any of the garages along that street are good). If I remember right, they're only $5 or $10 a day, and I've never dealt with it being too full. (If the construction around Camden Yards is gone--beside the BCC--then that's another good place to park, but it fills up early). KF

Oh! He was one of the composers (remixers?) for the Civ IV: Warlords theme, which is nearly as good as Baba Yetu. Regardless, I'm still looking forward to it. ...do you know if it's a rearrangement of an existing song, or if it's something all-new? KF

I pretty much registered mostly so I could congratulate Pixietricks on this--this is great news. You've been one of my favorite artists here since I first heard Journey's End; and, the Civilization series has been my favorite computer game series since I first played Civ I back in '95. So, when I saw this news posted on the CivFanatics frontpage, I nearly flipped. I was already looking forward to Beyond the Sword coming out, now I'm just looking forward to it 10x more. Say, are you able to give us any more information about the song? Is it going to be in English, another language, or a mix? (Civ4's opening was in Swahili, Civ4 Warlords' was in Arabic -- both are incredible) If you can't say anything yet, no big deal; I'll just have to wait 'til July. Anyway, again, congratulations! KF EDIT: If anyone's curious, Christopher Tin offers some samples on his website, including the opening "Baba Yetu" and "Coronation" from Civilization IV: http://www.christophertin.com/samples.html