December 19, 2008
December 12, 2008
December 11, 2008
December 10, 2008
December 04, 2008
Twilight Parody
Maybe not exactly a parody, but funny none the less.
Created by the writers of the Colbert show.
Source
Nick Swardson is still a normal guy.
Great video of the comedian living out his day to day life, proving that hollywood and fame haven't corrupted him.
See more T-Pain videos at Funny or Die
This hilarious video makes me reconsider ever buying a vocoder.
November 09, 2008
Levels in LBP being moderated
Interesting article from Kotaku that I found through Joystiq.
I thought it was funny that only a week (if even that long) after complaining about some of the unoriginal levels being created, we see action being taken to remove copies that infringe on copyrights and trademarks.
As much as applaud the action being taken, I find it upsetting that the user community is left in the dark as to why certain things are being removed and not others. There were two great levels in particular (God of War: Demon Skull & Shadow of the Colossus) that were removed and yet there are still other GOW and ICO levels on the servers. Both of these levels borrowed from their namesake but I would consider it more of an homage than a carbon copy; unlike many of the Mario and Sonic levels that are exact clones.
There is a lot of dialogue about a "Failure to Launch" level which only shares it's name with a 2006 movie; the level in question makes no references to the movie itself, but it is assumed it was taken down because of the possibility the name was trademarked. Apparently the way moderation works there is no possibility of reposting the level with a new name, which seems harsh and unfair.
On the positive side, there seems to already be an increase in the number of quality and original levels being created (or maybe they're just easier to find now that some of the lower quality levels are gone). I think the whole process of moderation won't be met with so much anger once their is some feedback for users about what criteria levels are being judged on.
On the negative side, some levels based on other people Intellectual Property are amazing. One particular user from japan recreated Tetris and Gradius, and when you consider the amount of effort put into figuring out how to emulate the mechanics in LBP, it would be a shame for the levels to be taken down. It also seems like there might be a little leeway with IP that Sony owns, which makes it odd that levels featuring a PS3 were taken down.
It seems like most issues will be resolved once users are informed about what specific forms of copyright infringement will result in moderation. Hopefully, MM and Sony will have an answer for us soon.
November 08, 2008
November 06, 2008
November 05, 2008
LittleBigReview Part 1
I've been looking forward to playing Little Big Planet since I heard about it last year, so I was extremely excited to pop it in to the PS3 and give it a try. I had pre-ordered through Gamestop (for the God of War outfits) and was able to get my copy the Saturday before the official release date. Not sure why it worked out that way, although I do know Gamestop's all over were doing the same, but I was glad to have some time to focus on the Story mode until the servers came up. Between work and school work I was able to beat the story mode in a weekend, I got stuck in a few tricky spots because I underestimated the physics of the game. When I heard the servers were up I immediately logged in and started playing. I spent the next week or so playing various levels online and just experimenting with the create mode when I got bored with the levels. This weekend I spent a good 4 or 5 hours of Sunday making my first level and I think at this point I've gotten the entire experience of the game and can give a pretty detailed review.
Play
LBP does a good job of easing you in to the game mechanics with the story mode, the levels are laid out in a way that lets you play through once and learn your way around but offers a good amount or replay value with hidden areas that you might only notice when you understand all aspects of the physics and zones (or planes of movement).The story isn't really cohesive and is pretty short but from what I've seen it offers some of the best gameplay thus far and definitely offers great inspiration for the types of things players can do in their own levels. When I was making my own level I found myself recalling the parts of the story mode I found most enjoyable to play and then attempting to recreate that or at least create some derivative. As I said the replay value is extremely high for the story mode, first I went back through all the levels because I didn't get the concept of sticker triggers and unlocked more pieces implementing a new understanding of the mechanic. My next play through attempt was to see how many levels I could ace and what special accessories I would get if I was successful. Acing in the later levels has been pretty tough because of the increased difficulty, and that definitely leads me to believe that your going to have to do quite a few more play-throughs of later levels to find all the items and get a 100% on the level to get the “All items Collected” item. This kind of replay value is really only substantial for the kind of OCD players who have to 100% a game to consider it beaten, like myself. The controls are a bit frustrating in the later levels when you find yourself having to jump forward and backward between planes and the game doesn't understand and leaves you on the same plane in front of an object that is hurtling straight towards you.
Share
Playing online is incredibly fun, which just makes it that much worse when you experience lag or the servers go down. The system, or lack their of really, for hosting a game and joining a game is frustrating; If a player joins a game in progress they have no real way of knowing if they'll even get to play the level, they might be joining a group that is already towards the end of the level and so the player joining doesn't even get to play. There is an object the keeps players from joining a game after the leader has passed a certain point, but very few creators implement the device save the few that are making the incredibly elaborate levels (and they seem to be doing everything right anyways.) Its also some what frustrating to be given all the tools to make fun, interesting, and creative levels and to really see nothing but “Get a coulple trophies really fast,” “Ninja Warrior/American Gladiator/Gauntlet based tv show,” and “_______ recreated in LBP.” I don't know which is worse, the complete lack of originality these levels show or the horrible job most do in recreating whatever it is their based on. So far the best level I've played online is the God Of War level which isn't recreation so much as more of a level that was inspired by GOW and uses the same visuals and some gameplay elements. Ok, maybe thats contradictory but its a really good level unlike the mario level that looks awesome but has an elevator that kills you because its to small to stand on or the Sonic level which looks exactly like Green Hill zone level 1 but is barely playable because the giant sonic you are supposed to ride in doesn't work. I can understand the urge to make these kinds of level because when you get into the create mode the number of options you have is a bit daunting and having a point of reference makes it easier to wrap your head around level making. Hopefully as time progresses players will become more familiar with the creation tools and there will be better levels to play online.
Create
Level creation is like a time vacuum, on the one hand I was upset with how much time it took to create a level but on the other hand was the satisfaction of playing through a level I made. The number of materials and the size of the levels are overwhelming, the little thermometer never seemed to fill no matter how much I added, a surprise compared to my first experiences in level editing way back when the Tony Hawk games would let you make your own levels but they would fill up quickly. Controls for things like winches, ropes and pistons are not nearly precise enough for them to be used easily, for the most part I could get them to work but never exactly how I wanted. It is pretty nice that you can take players from the web into your pod and have them try out your level before you publish it. The feedback provided online also seems to help with the level making since players can tell a creator what works and what doesn't. So far the biggest problem with the Create mode is the amount of trial and error involved, there is so much that can be done but no good way to go about planning. LittleBigWorkshop was supposed to help with that and although it does have a nice blueprint mode its not nearly detailed enough to really encompass all the aspects of a level, leaving most people who chose to plan out levels with no good option other then pencil and paper.
LittleBigPlanet has lived up to the hype for me and each time I play I discover something new that makes me more optimistic about the future of this game and its online community. I'm hoping that level creation will get easier as I make more, and I will post a small follow up in the coming weeks. I'll hopefully finish my level “The floor is lava” this weekend so if you read this please give it a play and leave some feedback in the comments of the game or here.
My PSN id: mondoUNC
November 03, 2008
General Housekeeping
I have finally decided the fate of this blog, for a while I was considering ending it since I'm not shooting as much anymore and was failing to update but I like the idea of having a web presence and I've always meant to write more and this would be a great outlet for that. So in the hopes that I will keep up with posting, I've decided to register a new professional blog for me to have my web content in a centralized location that I can show possible employers and I've also decided to use this as a more personal blog for me to post my thoughts along with videos and photos.
Hopefully, I'll register a domain name soon and get my first writings up. I'm going to start with some observations about Little Big Planet and maybe some brief midseason evaluations of the shows I'm watching.
October 17, 2008
IMG_3680
Wednesday was my birthday, my parents gave me some money to buy a present for myself, so I bought an M-Audio Axiom 25 key MIDI controller. With this I'm getting closer to having something of a full home studio.
Just a few details on what I'm working with now.
(Left to Right)
Epiphone Les Paul Special II
Ibanez GAX-B (with some Ernie Ball flat wound strings)
Thinkpad R51 with Ableton in Windows and Ubuntu Studio
My new Axiom controller
My PSP phat running cfw (Rhythm 8 and PSP-SEQ for on the go music making)
M-Audio FastTrack Pro for recording guitars
My Double Bass
Still working on getting the Axiom to work in Ubuntu, and then pretty soon I'll start writing so music.
I think my next big purchase will be buying parts for a monome which I'll then assemble myself.
October 04, 2008
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