Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Down with Fraggle Rock
As some of you may know, I've recently gotten Netflix, and I've been going back on my list of shoulda-seen flicks. While going through my list I came across the boxed sets of Fraggle Rock. I decided to watch the first episode again this past fateful Saturday morning, and before I knew it, I had to watch all 96 episodes.
To understand the fascination, I need to take you back to my childhood. Before I was into cartoons, or anime, or comics, or D&D, there was the Muppet Show. I remember learning the days of the week and how to tell time, just so I could know when that show was coming on. But there was another show from Jim Henson, but it was only available on HBO. None of my friends or family had this mystical channel, save my Aunt. Everytime I would come to visit, she'd have a few new episodes saved on VHS, and these were the greatest treats I could ever have. The Muppet Show was great, but it had a lot of filler with pop songs and talkback with the special guest star, most of whom I was too young to know. Fraggle Rock took place in its own world, with all the characters and humor self contained. In fact, people from any generation could pick up the show today and it would be just as relevant and magical.
Though each episode was only 25 minutes, it packed a ton of content. The sets and lighting were always busy and intricate. There were always original songs to sing, and the stories and themes were always layered. There's be a wrap around story with Doc and his dog Sprocket, the main story and a vignette of "Uncle Traveling Matt" all of which would be linked in some anecdotal way.
The brilliance of the show was its construction. The show had world layered on top of worlds, and the premise was based on the relationship between those worlds, not a specific plot or character. Because of this, you could enter the show at any episode and still receive the core message of understanding and tolerance that the show was preaching. Unlike some modern shows (I'm looking at you, Dora) they don't bash you over the head with a lesson, they just show you these fantastic worlds interacting, then let you draw your own conclusions. The fraggles are mysterious creatures that live in the walls, and see our world as "outer space", they live alongside doozers whom are just as small to fraggles as they are to humans. On top of that, there the race of Giant Gorgs, whom see themselves as the centers of-and rulers of- the universe. The fraggles are no bigger than mice to them, and get treated like so many pests. The relationship between them is the ultimate allegory. It could be a stand in for race, class, nationality, or creed. Each group is egocentric, and doesn't truly realize how they depend on the others, and in turn are depended on by them.
This is one of the most satisfying shows I've ever seen. During the course of the series, all possibilities and angles are dealt with, and there is a very satisfying final episode that always bring me to tears. Anyone who has Netflix needs to see this whole show NOW, and if you don't have Netflix, go grab the boxed sets!
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To understand the fascination, I need to take you back to my childhood. Before I was into cartoons, or anime, or comics, or D&D, there was the Muppet Show. I remember learning the days of the week and how to tell time, just so I could know when that show was coming on. But there was another show from Jim Henson, but it was only available on HBO. None of my friends or family had this mystical channel, save my Aunt. Everytime I would come to visit, she'd have a few new episodes saved on VHS, and these were the greatest treats I could ever have. The Muppet Show was great, but it had a lot of filler with pop songs and talkback with the special guest star, most of whom I was too young to know. Fraggle Rock took place in its own world, with all the characters and humor self contained. In fact, people from any generation could pick up the show today and it would be just as relevant and magical.
Though each episode was only 25 minutes, it packed a ton of content. The sets and lighting were always busy and intricate. There were always original songs to sing, and the stories and themes were always layered. There's be a wrap around story with Doc and his dog Sprocket, the main story and a vignette of "Uncle Traveling Matt" all of which would be linked in some anecdotal way.
The brilliance of the show was its construction. The show had world layered on top of worlds, and the premise was based on the relationship between those worlds, not a specific plot or character. Because of this, you could enter the show at any episode and still receive the core message of understanding and tolerance that the show was preaching. Unlike some modern shows (I'm looking at you, Dora) they don't bash you over the head with a lesson, they just show you these fantastic worlds interacting, then let you draw your own conclusions. The fraggles are mysterious creatures that live in the walls, and see our world as "outer space", they live alongside doozers whom are just as small to fraggles as they are to humans. On top of that, there the race of Giant Gorgs, whom see themselves as the centers of-and rulers of- the universe. The fraggles are no bigger than mice to them, and get treated like so many pests. The relationship between them is the ultimate allegory. It could be a stand in for race, class, nationality, or creed. Each group is egocentric, and doesn't truly realize how they depend on the others, and in turn are depended on by them.
This is one of the most satisfying shows I've ever seen. During the course of the series, all possibilities and angles are dealt with, and there is a very satisfying final episode that always bring me to tears. Anyone who has Netflix needs to see this whole show NOW, and if you don't have Netflix, go grab the boxed sets!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Princess and The Frog
I'm a very laid back fellow who rarely 'anticipates' movies. I just let movies fill into the theaters at their own pace, and if I have time to see them, all the better. But growing up with Disney's Golden Age with flicks like Beauty and the Beast, I couldn't help but anticipate their first hand-drawn animated movie in years.
I must, however, start by stating what this is really all about; having a black princess. The 'Disney Princess' like is a major cash cow for the company, and they love to play out the different types of princess' they have, the red-head in Ariel, the brunette in Snow White, the Asian in Mulan etc. IF ONLY they had made a movie with a black princess back in the golden age! Think of all the extra appeal the Disney Princess line would have now! And they had actually made a movie set in Africa during this time! They must REALLY be kicking themselves.
And so, here we are back at the drawing board making a new animated feature and its about a black princess. I had a lot of trepidation about this going in, but I was happy to find that this is one of the best movies Disney has ever made.
Without going into spoiler territory, I will say that the plot and pacing of the film is excellent. The fact that John Lasseter is executive producer probably helped. The fact that the Pixar Story Team got a special note of thanks at the end of the credits probably didn't hurt either. Having the same writing/directing pair from The Little Mermaid is probably what made all the difference.
What makes this movie so good is the content. It has a lot of great stuff in it, visuals, music, ideas and relationships, and it never slows down for a second. I'm going to see this multiple times in the theater and buy it on DVD as soon as humanly possible.
NOW, I will go int Spoiler Territory:
I'd like to go over some of my favorite parts of the movie, just to give testament of how wide its breadth is.
1. Race relations. Setting the movie in New Orleans give a perfect excuse to have a black protagonist, yet they don't get bogged down in animosity. Tianna has a rich white girl for a friend-an annoying one at that-but they don't go as far as making her a villain, which would be the easy route.
2. Journey to Oz. The characters take a funloving journey and meet oddball friends, but they don't have to wipe them from existence when its over.
3. They kill a character. For a family film, this takes balls.
4. John Goodman has a cameo.
5. Good music. Its OK to break into song in this world, but they feel never the need to take it more than a verse or two, just to sell a soundtrack album.
6. The Prince. Disney princes have been tragically wooden. With the exception of the Beast, they have had no characterization, leaving the princesses also hollow by association. Here the prince is along for the whole ride.
I could go on, but I've got a ton to do today. I hope everyone sees this film!
Tweet
I must, however, start by stating what this is really all about; having a black princess. The 'Disney Princess' like is a major cash cow for the company, and they love to play out the different types of princess' they have, the red-head in Ariel, the brunette in Snow White, the Asian in Mulan etc. IF ONLY they had made a movie with a black princess back in the golden age! Think of all the extra appeal the Disney Princess line would have now! And they had actually made a movie set in Africa during this time! They must REALLY be kicking themselves.
And so, here we are back at the drawing board making a new animated feature and its about a black princess. I had a lot of trepidation about this going in, but I was happy to find that this is one of the best movies Disney has ever made.
Without going into spoiler territory, I will say that the plot and pacing of the film is excellent. The fact that John Lasseter is executive producer probably helped. The fact that the Pixar Story Team got a special note of thanks at the end of the credits probably didn't hurt either. Having the same writing/directing pair from The Little Mermaid is probably what made all the difference.
What makes this movie so good is the content. It has a lot of great stuff in it, visuals, music, ideas and relationships, and it never slows down for a second. I'm going to see this multiple times in the theater and buy it on DVD as soon as humanly possible.
NOW, I will go int Spoiler Territory:
I'd like to go over some of my favorite parts of the movie, just to give testament of how wide its breadth is.
1. Race relations. Setting the movie in New Orleans give a perfect excuse to have a black protagonist, yet they don't get bogged down in animosity. Tianna has a rich white girl for a friend-an annoying one at that-but they don't go as far as making her a villain, which would be the easy route.
2. Journey to Oz. The characters take a funloving journey and meet oddball friends, but they don't have to wipe them from existence when its over.
3. They kill a character. For a family film, this takes balls.
4. John Goodman has a cameo.
5. Good music. Its OK to break into song in this world, but they feel never the need to take it more than a verse or two, just to sell a soundtrack album.
6. The Prince. Disney princes have been tragically wooden. With the exception of the Beast, they have had no characterization, leaving the princesses also hollow by association. Here the prince is along for the whole ride.
I could go on, but I've got a ton to do today. I hope everyone sees this film!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Little Punk People
I'd like to take a few minutes to talk about my friend Daniella. She's been a co-worker of mine at this insurance company for many years, and like myself, her passions lie outside of selling insurance and in the creative sphere.
She make all sorts of custom apparel and crafts, and is a lovely painter. She's started her own online shop with many Google dreams and Youtube wishes. I want the best for her, so if everyone could check it out, I'd be very happy.
Little Punk People
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She make all sorts of custom apparel and crafts, and is a lovely painter. She's started her own online shop with many Google dreams and Youtube wishes. I want the best for her, so if everyone could check it out, I'd be very happy.
Little Punk People
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving
I just wanted to take a few minutes to say what I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for my girlfriend; it's hard to find a girl that cute who knows the Konami code.
I'm thankful for my awesome Anime collection.
I'm thankful for having a 3 console household.
I'm thankful that I'm finally getting my name in the credits of an XNA game.
Most of all, I'm thankful for all my friends, and how they finally learned to stop trashing my house every week.
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I'm thankful for my awesome Anime collection.
I'm thankful for having a 3 console household.
I'm thankful that I'm finally getting my name in the credits of an XNA game.
Most of all, I'm thankful for all my friends, and how they finally learned to stop trashing my house every week.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Antipole
We at Saturnine games have completed our first Live Arcade title, Antipole! We will be building buzz for a few months and adding some extra features and tweaks. I press site is in the works but for constant updates, and to help fight for the cause, check out the Twitter account I created for it:
Antipole_Game
I also got my first batch of Blu-ray disk, look for a review soon.
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Antipole_Game
I also got my first batch of Blu-ray disk, look for a review soon.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Massive updates
Hey guys. I've been sick for the past week, but I've gotten a chance to catch up on a lot of movies thanks to Netflix. Here are some ramblins about what I've been doing.
Movies I've seen:
Braveheart
Dracula VS Frankenstein
Air: episode 8
Ninja Scroll
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Vertigo
Let the Right One In
Don't Look Now
Saw
The Devil's Backbone
The Orphanage
Freaks
The Haunting
House of Wax
Red Mist
Oldboy
Phantasm
Joseph Campbell: the Power of Myth
Pen and Teller: Bullshit
A Tale of Two Sisters
South Park, Season 7
The Fly
Final Destination
Carnival of Souls
Teeth
I've also been working with Gamma Prime Games on something special. More later
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Movies I've seen:
Braveheart
Dracula VS Frankenstein
Air: episode 8
Ninja Scroll
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Vertigo
Let the Right One In
Don't Look Now
Saw
The Devil's Backbone
The Orphanage
Freaks
The Haunting
House of Wax
Red Mist
Oldboy
Phantasm
Joseph Campbell: the Power of Myth
Pen and Teller: Bullshit
A Tale of Two Sisters
South Park, Season 7
The Fly
Final Destination
Carnival of Souls
Teeth
I've also been working with Gamma Prime Games on something special. More later
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Halloween Special and More
Well, we had a hell of a Halloween party at the Haze Mansion this year. We had a ton of food and watched a ton of scary movies. Vid and pix soon, but here's an overview of the festivities.
Shawn of the Dead: Blue Ray
This was the first Blue Ray I've ever seen on my new PS3. I can't say the extra storage space did anything special for a splatter movie, but the movie itself was as fun as ever.
Dead and Breakfast: Netflix
Switching over to the XBox 360, I used the new Netflix service to stream this cheesy monster movie into my living room. I have to say, it was the best country music comedy sing-along splatter movie I'd seen in the past week.
The Beyond: DVD
This is a rare and strange Italian Lovecraftian movie that Rant has never stopped going on about. We popped it in for a bit, but we just weren't feeling it.
On another note, I am loving the Netfix service. It doesn't eat of every minute of my day like Television does, but it enables me to things that have been 'on my list' without wasting hours or days looking for them, or spending a fortune. Things like 'Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon' and 'The Devil's Backbone'.
Ah, I bet you're all still wondering about the game I made at the Philly Game Jam. More on that tomorrow.
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Shawn of the Dead: Blue Ray
This was the first Blue Ray I've ever seen on my new PS3. I can't say the extra storage space did anything special for a splatter movie, but the movie itself was as fun as ever.
Dead and Breakfast: Netflix
Switching over to the XBox 360, I used the new Netflix service to stream this cheesy monster movie into my living room. I have to say, it was the best country music comedy sing-along splatter movie I'd seen in the past week.
The Beyond: DVD
This is a rare and strange Italian Lovecraftian movie that Rant has never stopped going on about. We popped it in for a bit, but we just weren't feeling it.
On another note, I am loving the Netfix service. It doesn't eat of every minute of my day like Television does, but it enables me to things that have been 'on my list' without wasting hours or days looking for them, or spending a fortune. Things like 'Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon' and 'The Devil's Backbone'.
Ah, I bet you're all still wondering about the game I made at the Philly Game Jam. More on that tomorrow.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Philly Game Jam Results
Haze-man here. I just got back from the Philly Game Jam. It was a great experience. We didn't win any prizes, but we made a game. More on that in a later post. For now, here's some pic of the action.
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Saturday, October 24, 2009
More Philly Game Jam
This year's quote was "The Dark age is not called Dark because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it."
We're almost at the 24 hour mark here. The game is going rather well, We have an engine set up and have some visual designs that look good. Anything can happen in the last quarter, so stay tuned!
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We're almost at the 24 hour mark here. The game is going rather well, We have an engine set up and have some visual designs that look good. Anything can happen in the last quarter, so stay tuned!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Philly Game Jam
I'm off to one of the most important events for the year for me. Here me and my team will be locked in a room for 48 hours and we need to make a complete video game. It's a great challenge! Last year I came up with Trace Bug. What will happen this year?
Philly Game Jam Site
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Philly Game Jam Site
Monday, October 12, 2009
VGexpo in Philly, PA
I had some ebay related things to attend to on Saturday, so I had to make the VG expo this year a day only trip on Sunday.
Sunday being the most important to me because there is a "breaking into the industry" seminar. I attended this last year and it didn't help, but I'm a sucker for punishment
I managed to get there early and stood on line until 11am. I was happy to see that the whole convention is centrally located, with the
exception of the anime rooms and the speaking rooms for the aforementioned seminar.
"retro-con", my fav part, is again in the main expo hall. This is where you can get used retro games in a bazaar like setting.
Back when this was called the "Philly Classic" this was the whole convention. They have a full arcade on display and some expo tables
on retro-developers. The hackers have left the con, and left only the uprights and vendors. Still, it's better than nothing.
I saw some old friends and industry contacts, and that's great. Seeing new people and making new contacts is what it's all about.
As for the seminar on breaking into the industry, I'll keep my thoughts on that to myself.
Sadly, the only thing that matters about breaking into video games, is... actually breaking into video games.
The only way I could properly judge the seminar is to track all of the attendees and take statistics on
how there fare in the game industry. I don't have time for that.
Nothing great in the Arcade this year. I got some killer stuff from the vendors. More on that on my youtube page.
What I did take from this? Gleam of Force. Google it.
Also, Nintendo had a killer display and I got to play Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
Tweet
Sunday being the most important to me because there is a "breaking into the industry" seminar. I attended this last year and it didn't help, but I'm a sucker for punishment
I managed to get there early and stood on line until 11am. I was happy to see that the whole convention is centrally located, with the
exception of the anime rooms and the speaking rooms for the aforementioned seminar.
"retro-con", my fav part, is again in the main expo hall. This is where you can get used retro games in a bazaar like setting.
Back when this was called the "Philly Classic" this was the whole convention. They have a full arcade on display and some expo tables
on retro-developers. The hackers have left the con, and left only the uprights and vendors. Still, it's better than nothing.
I saw some old friends and industry contacts, and that's great. Seeing new people and making new contacts is what it's all about.
As for the seminar on breaking into the industry, I'll keep my thoughts on that to myself.
Sadly, the only thing that matters about breaking into video games, is... actually breaking into video games.
The only way I could properly judge the seminar is to track all of the attendees and take statistics on
how there fare in the game industry. I don't have time for that.
Nothing great in the Arcade this year. I got some killer stuff from the vendors. More on that on my youtube page.
What I did take from this? Gleam of Force. Google it.
Also, Nintendo had a killer display and I got to play Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Movie Reviews for Halloween
Gearing up for the season, I have rented a bunch of horror movies, and thought I'd share my thoughts with you all.
The Burrowers
This is one of those rare horror movies that you can only see at film festivals. I had read much about it, and was intrigued. If for no other reason that I'm a fan of Tremors, seeing another movie about underground monsters was interesting. And setting it in the old west would give it a new edge as there are no concrete or steal structures to hide above.
The movie has many strong points like good acting, settings and great monster effects, but ultimately it falls flat due to pacing. I have never seen a movie with worse pacing than this one. Even after all the good monster stuff happens, you're left pondering whether it was worth sitting through all of that stuff.
If it does work, this movie works as a "heart of darkness" tale. The characters keep venturing deeper in the monsters territory and further from civilization and aid, and their party keeps dwindling in number. It succeeds at giving you a sense of dread.
Re-Cycle
When I see a Pang brothers movie doing a dark take on an "Alice in wonderland" story, I had to pick it up. I'm a huge fan of the original "The Eye". So much in fact, that I purposely avoided seeing the remake, because I didn't want it to spoil the memories I had of the Asian horror classic.
This movie has much twisting and atmosphere, but is more story driven. There is a lot of great imagery, but I just wasn't feeling it. Normally, I love a movie with lots of puzzles to solve, but this just wasn't speaking to me.
If this movie does have strong points, its in the reveals. I'll leave the review at that to avoid spoilers. If you want some surprises, check this out. If you're just looking for another "The Eye" or "The Ring", perhaps you should pass.
Trick 'r Treat
I've been watching trailers for this for years. When I first saw the trailer, I thought "this has got to be the worst horror movie ever made". But when I learned that the release was pushed back more than 2 years, I started to get some sympathy for the film. When I started reading rave reviews about it online, I was interested. Now I find myself rushing out to Best Buy and getting it on the day of its release.
This is a good movie. I wouldn't catagorize it as a classic, but It's a must have for a Halloween Party. It reminds me of the scary stories they used to show on Nickelodeon on "Are you Afraid of the Dark?". Only they don't suck. Mixing the innocent motifs of Halloween like candy and costumes with real horror elements like monsters and murderers makes for a great mix. I highly recommend this and I'm sure it will be the cult classic it deserves to be.
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The Burrowers
This is one of those rare horror movies that you can only see at film festivals. I had read much about it, and was intrigued. If for no other reason that I'm a fan of Tremors, seeing another movie about underground monsters was interesting. And setting it in the old west would give it a new edge as there are no concrete or steal structures to hide above.
The movie has many strong points like good acting, settings and great monster effects, but ultimately it falls flat due to pacing. I have never seen a movie with worse pacing than this one. Even after all the good monster stuff happens, you're left pondering whether it was worth sitting through all of that stuff.
If it does work, this movie works as a "heart of darkness" tale. The characters keep venturing deeper in the monsters territory and further from civilization and aid, and their party keeps dwindling in number. It succeeds at giving you a sense of dread.
Re-Cycle
When I see a Pang brothers movie doing a dark take on an "Alice in wonderland" story, I had to pick it up. I'm a huge fan of the original "The Eye". So much in fact, that I purposely avoided seeing the remake, because I didn't want it to spoil the memories I had of the Asian horror classic.
This movie has much twisting and atmosphere, but is more story driven. There is a lot of great imagery, but I just wasn't feeling it. Normally, I love a movie with lots of puzzles to solve, but this just wasn't speaking to me.
If this movie does have strong points, its in the reveals. I'll leave the review at that to avoid spoilers. If you want some surprises, check this out. If you're just looking for another "The Eye" or "The Ring", perhaps you should pass.
Trick 'r Treat
I've been watching trailers for this for years. When I first saw the trailer, I thought "this has got to be the worst horror movie ever made". But when I learned that the release was pushed back more than 2 years, I started to get some sympathy for the film. When I started reading rave reviews about it online, I was interested. Now I find myself rushing out to Best Buy and getting it on the day of its release.
This is a good movie. I wouldn't catagorize it as a classic, but It's a must have for a Halloween Party. It reminds me of the scary stories they used to show on Nickelodeon on "Are you Afraid of the Dark?". Only they don't suck. Mixing the innocent motifs of Halloween like candy and costumes with real horror elements like monsters and murderers makes for a great mix. I highly recommend this and I'm sure it will be the cult classic it deserves to be.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Gamestop and Honesty
I stopped into Gamestop today just to look around. As usual it go expensive, as I realized I needed a copy of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Kingdom Hearts 365/2 days, both for the DS.
The clerk rang me up and forgot to add the Zelda game and rang me up without it. I was about to leave when I noticed his error. I went back and had him charge me for the other game.
I considered just walking out with it, but I'm really not into that. I consider the clerks at Gamestop to be my people and I couldn't get one of them in trouble by walking out with a game.
I realized later that a lot of people don't like Gamestop because they take back games as such low prices. I never exchange games, I horde them. It's just how I live my life. I can't help but wonder if peoples' disdain for a corporation might lead them to take advantage of this situation. What do you all think?
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The clerk rang me up and forgot to add the Zelda game and rang me up without it. I was about to leave when I noticed his error. I went back and had him charge me for the other game.
I considered just walking out with it, but I'm really not into that. I consider the clerks at Gamestop to be my people and I couldn't get one of them in trouble by walking out with a game.
I realized later that a lot of people don't like Gamestop because they take back games as such low prices. I never exchange games, I horde them. It's just how I live my life. I can't help but wonder if peoples' disdain for a corporation might lead them to take advantage of this situation. What do you all think?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Hacking with Haze-man
Here is my new video about fixing an NES.
Check out the new series on my hayesmanga channel on youtube.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Zombie Pong
This game was the IGDA NJ project for several years. Try the 2 player mode and the challenges! Hold back with the arrow keys to open the coffin and swallow zombies!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Meh to Milk
I know I said this blog would be about developer news from now on, but I saw a movie last night, and I just feel the need to review it.
I love a good story about the downtrodden standing up for their rights--Mississippi Burning is one of my top 10 movies of all time. I got Milk for a discount used a Blockbuster, and I was really looking forward to it. It's one of those everyone-says-its-great-but-I'll-get-to-it-someday movies. Well the day came and it didn't wow me.
It was a good movie, for sure, but it just didn't grab me as a drama should. It was more of a documentary that strings together showcases for Sean Penn to show how likable Harvey Milk was. I'm not sure what it was, but I just felt uncomfortable throughout the movie. I'm all for gays and gay rights, but I just felt uncomfortable with this movie. It might of been because I felt nervous for the characters safety, but the movie didn't do too good of a job setting up the danger they were in.
Overall, I just have to give it a 'meh'. It didn't do anything a standard History channel documentary would do.
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I love a good story about the downtrodden standing up for their rights--Mississippi Burning is one of my top 10 movies of all time. I got Milk for a discount used a Blockbuster, and I was really looking forward to it. It's one of those everyone-says-its-great-but-I'll-get-to-it-someday movies. Well the day came and it didn't wow me.
It was a good movie, for sure, but it just didn't grab me as a drama should. It was more of a documentary that strings together showcases for Sean Penn to show how likable Harvey Milk was. I'm not sure what it was, but I just felt uncomfortable throughout the movie. I'm all for gays and gay rights, but I just felt uncomfortable with this movie. It might of been because I felt nervous for the characters safety, but the movie didn't do too good of a job setting up the danger they were in.
Overall, I just have to give it a 'meh'. It didn't do anything a standard History channel documentary would do.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Developer's Blog
This blog will be a developer's blog for the forseeable future. I love talking about movies and anime and whatnot, but I am very busy on an XNA game my team is preparing for a contest this fall.
I need to be focused and share my work with the world. I need feedback and encouragement, also I need to be able to give instant updates on the games progress.
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I need to be focused and share my work with the world. I need feedback and encouragement, also I need to be able to give instant updates on the games progress.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
IGDA Picnic in Central Park
There was a picnic in central park. I had a hard time finding the place, as central park is huge. When I did get there, I saw some friends of mine and made new ones. There was a great spread of sandwiches and treats. Thanks to Wade Tinny of Large Animal for sponsoring it all.
We had great weather, and we decided to play some outdoors games. Someone set up a game they invented called "Chaun ball". It's like dodge ball, but with a ball tethered to the ground. Later, they set up "live action asteroids" where they recreated asteroid, the arcade game, with live people and a nerf gun.
Can't wait for the next event.
Also, check out this video promoting my new games. They are now on the sidebar of this blog!
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We had great weather, and we decided to play some outdoors games. Someone set up a game they invented called "Chaun ball". It's like dodge ball, but with a ball tethered to the ground. Later, they set up "live action asteroids" where they recreated asteroid, the arcade game, with live people and a nerf gun.
Can't wait for the next event.
Also, check out this video promoting my new games. They are now on the sidebar of this blog!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Trace Bug 2, new game
I have a new game up on Kongregate:
Trace Bug 2
I've worked really hard on it. You can check out the Otakon Trail as well of original Trace Bug on the sidebar ->.
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Trace Bug 2
I've worked really hard on it. You can check out the Otakon Trail as well of original Trace Bug on the sidebar ->.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Otakon days 2 and 3
Suffice it to say, my 1st day did not end where the last post did. I returned to the convention to see the drawing Yuri panel, however I got sick from the bad Chinese and had to step out of line, loosing my place.
Saturday was awesome, I attended panels and the like the Sailor Moon fandom. There were some great costumes and fun to be had. We partied hardy that night.
Sunday, was basically a last trip around the dealer's room. I got Space Pirate Mito and Idol Project at deep discounts. Look for reviews soon!
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Saturday was awesome, I attended panels and the like the Sailor Moon fandom. There were some great costumes and fun to be had. We partied hardy that night.
Sunday, was basically a last trip around the dealer's room. I got Space Pirate Mito and Idol Project at deep discounts. Look for reviews soon!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Otakon Day 1
Otakon this year is quite an adventure. I came down on Thursday, as per usual, but this time I only had my girlfriend and old college friend Dan in tow. We made good time down to Baltimore, only making the one mandatory stop at Cracker Barrel for some awesome biscuits.
We checked into a harbor site presidential suite at the Hyatt. Since I'm not doing any panels and I didn't pre-reg, I couldn't pick up my badge on Thursday night. We went to a piano bar called Howl at the Moon, next to the Power Plant. They played some great tunes like "fly me to the moon" and "dirty diana". Also, they played "gay bar". They even started playing the mario bros. theme as I was leaving.
I had a chat with the Gamma Prime games group I had to hit at 10:30pm, but that's another story.
Friday morning came, and I hit the Registration line at 7:30am. I brought a manga to read, but I finished it before the line even started moving. I didn't get my badge until 11:00am. Then I took my gf to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We shared on entre, which was a great idea.
We checked out the game room then dealer's room then a panel on traveling to Tokyo on a budget.
We went to a "Make a Manga" panel, and it was alot of work. We mostly just filled out speach balloons from webcomics. Kittyhawk was one of the people running it, and I got her autograph.
The gf was tired, so we retired back to the room and ordered in some Chinese. That's where I'm signing off for today, more tomorrow!
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We checked into a harbor site presidential suite at the Hyatt. Since I'm not doing any panels and I didn't pre-reg, I couldn't pick up my badge on Thursday night. We went to a piano bar called Howl at the Moon, next to the Power Plant. They played some great tunes like "fly me to the moon" and "dirty diana". Also, they played "gay bar". They even started playing the mario bros. theme as I was leaving.
I had a chat with the Gamma Prime games group I had to hit at 10:30pm, but that's another story.
Friday morning came, and I hit the Registration line at 7:30am. I brought a manga to read, but I finished it before the line even started moving. I didn't get my badge until 11:00am. Then I took my gf to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We shared on entre, which was a great idea.
We checked out the game room then dealer's room then a panel on traveling to Tokyo on a budget.
We went to a "Make a Manga" panel, and it was alot of work. We mostly just filled out speach balloons from webcomics. Kittyhawk was one of the people running it, and I got her autograph.
The gf was tired, so we retired back to the room and ordered in some Chinese. That's where I'm signing off for today, more tomorrow!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Otakon Trail Game
Just a notice, I'll be at Otakon this weekend.
In celebration, check out my new flash game on Kongragate.
Click Here.
It's a fun parody that those who are in the know will enjoy.
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In celebration, check out my new flash game on Kongragate.
Click Here.
It's a fun parody that those who are in the know will enjoy.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Transformers 2
Revenge of the Fallen:
As I have stated, I have been mad busy these past weeks with the Life in a Game project. I did, however steal a few minutes to see the new Transformers movie.
What did I think? I liked it.
Like the first movie, there are serious flaws--and like the first movie, non of those flaws seemed to get in the way of my over-all enjoyment of the experience. I had no expectations of this movie going in, so there was little chance it could disappoint me.
For those who were expecting an improvement over the first, there are lots of them. The plot centers more on the robots as characters, and there are lots more of them. The movie does not forget about Megan Fox, Shia or Bubblebee though, and that was enjoyable. Visiting more of transformers lore was also good; the death and rebirth of Optimus, Jetfire, the mythology of the Primes, all good stuff.
There is the issue of whether The Twins are racist are not. They are very shallow and insipid characters, but I was able to live with them. Being ethnic is not enough for a character to be racist, they need to paint an entire group in a certain light in order to meet the criteria. The Twins are a few steps removed from this. I would hate them, but one of their lines early in the movie made me laugh out loud, that doesn't happen often for me. So, I had to concede that they were adequate comedy releif material. At least for one movie.
I'm a fan of this movie, and will probably get it on DVD as soon as I can
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As I have stated, I have been mad busy these past weeks with the Life in a Game project. I did, however steal a few minutes to see the new Transformers movie.
What did I think? I liked it.
Like the first movie, there are serious flaws--and like the first movie, non of those flaws seemed to get in the way of my over-all enjoyment of the experience. I had no expectations of this movie going in, so there was little chance it could disappoint me.
For those who were expecting an improvement over the first, there are lots of them. The plot centers more on the robots as characters, and there are lots more of them. The movie does not forget about Megan Fox, Shia or Bubblebee though, and that was enjoyable. Visiting more of transformers lore was also good; the death and rebirth of Optimus, Jetfire, the mythology of the Primes, all good stuff.
There is the issue of whether The Twins are racist are not. They are very shallow and insipid characters, but I was able to live with them. Being ethnic is not enough for a character to be racist, they need to paint an entire group in a certain light in order to meet the criteria. The Twins are a few steps removed from this. I would hate them, but one of their lines early in the movie made me laugh out loud, that doesn't happen often for me. So, I had to concede that they were adequate comedy releif material. At least for one movie.
I'm a fan of this movie, and will probably get it on DVD as soon as I can
SGC
SGC is over, and I must say it was one of the most fun cons I've ever been to in my life. My review is a nutshell is that it was awesome, and I can't wait till next year.
I will however, detail my experience for those who want the nitty-gritty.
The con actually started for me almost a year earlier when I booked my ticket on travelocity. That roaming gnome is so cute! I volunteered also, to make sure I had full access to the con, and I wanted to help out as much as possible to ensure the con's success. The important this about the con was it was to be the unveiling of the Life in a Game: the game. I didn't get it completely done, but I got enough done to show a demo at a panel.
My friend Rigg drove me down to the airport in his slick sports car. He wasn't working that day, so there was plenty of time. Good thing I was only taking carry-ons, or there would be no room in his trunk. My plane took off at Noon with no incident. In fact, there was a tasty lunch with a cheeseburger, salad and a fun-pack of M&Ms for desert. When I arrivedin Dallas,however, there was some confusion. The air was a somewhat dry 96 degrees the whole time. I attempted to re-visit the hotel I was at for A-kon back in 2000. The hotels and the airport have changed so much I didn't recognize a thing. I then attempted to find the hotel for SGC. I thought it was the Best western, but it was really the Westin. I had to call Dan from Life in a game to sort it out for me. I was there a day early to volunteer, so I had no one to share a room with. I found a days in across the street from the Westin with singles rooms for cheap.
Since I had time, I signed in early at the Westin and offered to help out. They gave me a staff T-shirt and name tag. It seemed like there wasn't anything to do, so I went back to the motel for a swim in the pool. The water was warm, very warm. In fact the swim was not refreshing at all. Is this common in Texas? I need to find a hotel with an indoor, air-conditioned pool next time. I went back to the Westin to ask if I could help out some more. The first thing they tried to do was give me another T-shirt. I declined because I already got one, and they said I was nice guy. I admitted to being an Eagle Scout. As it turns out the guys standing next to me was a life scout, and he was working on his Eagle Scout Project.
This lead to a conversation about Eagle Scout Projects; I haven't had one of those in a while. I told them my project was to paint the fence around my high school's football field. The girl behind the counter asked "Was it a big fence?", to which I replied, "Yes, it was the size of a football field."
I helped move some tables, and helped unload a large truck holding Stuttering Craig and nearly all the contents of their new store, game attack. With the truck unloaded, we couldn't unpack the boxes until Jared. The Jared! From nametags! He was hired to manage the new screw attack retail store, and he was at the convention to run the dealer's room. While me and the other volunteers were waiting for his arrival, we got to talk and I met some very interesting people. I met Mat, a friend of Craig and a major Ghostbuster fan. Him and his legion of fans were spread around the convention, in full costume. It added a lot to the atmosphere. I also me the voice of black ranger on the newgrounds series parody rangers. He was a cool guy, and we both like the webcomic 2kinds.com
When Jared arrived, all hell broke loose. The boxes we had unloaded had thousands of games in them. From Atari 2600 to Wii, they all had to be unpacked and shelved. They were mostly in alphabetical order, but it was still a monumental task. The strategy guides were the worst because they were packed in no sort of order. There were at least a dozen volunteers working on the store setup continuously for hours. It was quite impressive when it was finished, I must say. They had everything a good game store should have, from statues to game mints to retro NES carts. The line was horrible when it opened because they only had one register to use. They made a killing that weekend.
After the setup, we were rewarded with pizzas. We were only supposed to take 2 slices per person, but I only took one. I wanted to leave more for
everyone else. I am on a diet, anyway. We were sent home and told to be back at 7am for orientation. It was supposed to be 8am. I had to rush to check out of the Days in and skipped breakfast just to make the meeting. It was worth it, there was a great tour lead by Stuttering Craig. There was the Iron Man of Gaming room, Guest lounge, Main events stage, Panel Room, Console Room, wifi lounge, tabletop room, LAN room and Vender's Room. After the tour, we had a few minutes, so I went to Denny's with some of the other staff, including Angel. He's awesome. I was in a video of him that went up Saturday morning.
The vendors room is the only thing that would close, but everything else was 24 hours. I worked morning shifts watching the tabletop room. Nothing was scheduled for those times, so I got to just sit around and work on my game code. I got to play a game of Monty Python Fluxx, which was cool.
On Friday, I hosted the Gamma Prime panel, even though there really shouldn't have been one in Marc Marta's absence. I got to show off the new Life in a game: the game there. The panel went well, and the Nerd and Stuttering Craig even stuck their heads in for a few minutes to check it out.
On Saturday, I checked out some panels. The crew from GPX gamers is insane. It would be nice to get their help on the fighting game. I tried to show off my moves in Street Fighter 4, but I was pitiful. I couldn't even win one game the whole day. I as getting a serious case of gamer rage. I'm normally such a laid back player too, but I was becoming a real dick to everyone the more I got pwned. I eventually had to give it up, I'm just not SGC gaming material.
I got some cool games at the vendors room. Look for videos about them on my youtube channel, hayesmanga. I met James Rolfe again and had my picture taken with him. Z and Captain S were there, but they weren't in costume, they just filmed footage and did interviews. They interviewed me about the con, which was nice.
Dan, Jon and I went out shopping for snacks at the local food market with Aaron. He's their friend who was in the first episode of Life in a game, then moved out to Dallas. A happy coincidence. Saturday night saw the premiere of the series finale of Life in a Game. Dan and Jon did a great job MCing the thing and answering questions. I liked the episode myself. I'm sure it will be up on screwattack soon.
Sunday I pretty much had to finish my morning shift and leave for the airport. The flight back was just as pleasant. Rant picked me up from the airport with his new girlfriend. I had a special treat for him; I found a rare Sakura action figure at the venders' room and gave it to him. He was very grateful.
And so life marches on. I can't wait for the next con. I'd like to do more games for screw attack as well, but we'll see what the future holds.
Tweet
I will however, detail my experience for those who want the nitty-gritty.
The con actually started for me almost a year earlier when I booked my ticket on travelocity. That roaming gnome is so cute! I volunteered also, to make sure I had full access to the con, and I wanted to help out as much as possible to ensure the con's success. The important this about the con was it was to be the unveiling of the Life in a Game: the game. I didn't get it completely done, but I got enough done to show a demo at a panel.
My friend Rigg drove me down to the airport in his slick sports car. He wasn't working that day, so there was plenty of time. Good thing I was only taking carry-ons, or there would be no room in his trunk. My plane took off at Noon with no incident. In fact, there was a tasty lunch with a cheeseburger, salad and a fun-pack of M&Ms for desert. When I arrivedin Dallas,however, there was some confusion. The air was a somewhat dry 96 degrees the whole time. I attempted to re-visit the hotel I was at for A-kon back in 2000. The hotels and the airport have changed so much I didn't recognize a thing. I then attempted to find the hotel for SGC. I thought it was the Best western, but it was really the Westin. I had to call Dan from Life in a game to sort it out for me. I was there a day early to volunteer, so I had no one to share a room with. I found a days in across the street from the Westin with singles rooms for cheap.
Since I had time, I signed in early at the Westin and offered to help out. They gave me a staff T-shirt and name tag. It seemed like there wasn't anything to do, so I went back to the motel for a swim in the pool. The water was warm, very warm. In fact the swim was not refreshing at all. Is this common in Texas? I need to find a hotel with an indoor, air-conditioned pool next time. I went back to the Westin to ask if I could help out some more. The first thing they tried to do was give me another T-shirt. I declined because I already got one, and they said I was nice guy. I admitted to being an Eagle Scout. As it turns out the guys standing next to me was a life scout, and he was working on his Eagle Scout Project.
This lead to a conversation about Eagle Scout Projects; I haven't had one of those in a while. I told them my project was to paint the fence around my high school's football field. The girl behind the counter asked "Was it a big fence?", to which I replied, "Yes, it was the size of a football field."
I helped move some tables, and helped unload a large truck holding Stuttering Craig and nearly all the contents of their new store, game attack. With the truck unloaded, we couldn't unpack the boxes until Jared. The Jared! From nametags! He was hired to manage the new screw attack retail store, and he was at the convention to run the dealer's room. While me and the other volunteers were waiting for his arrival, we got to talk and I met some very interesting people. I met Mat, a friend of Craig and a major Ghostbuster fan. Him and his legion of fans were spread around the convention, in full costume. It added a lot to the atmosphere. I also me the voice of black ranger on the newgrounds series parody rangers. He was a cool guy, and we both like the webcomic 2kinds.com
When Jared arrived, all hell broke loose. The boxes we had unloaded had thousands of games in them. From Atari 2600 to Wii, they all had to be unpacked and shelved. They were mostly in alphabetical order, but it was still a monumental task. The strategy guides were the worst because they were packed in no sort of order. There were at least a dozen volunteers working on the store setup continuously for hours. It was quite impressive when it was finished, I must say. They had everything a good game store should have, from statues to game mints to retro NES carts. The line was horrible when it opened because they only had one register to use. They made a killing that weekend.
After the setup, we were rewarded with pizzas. We were only supposed to take 2 slices per person, but I only took one. I wanted to leave more for
everyone else. I am on a diet, anyway. We were sent home and told to be back at 7am for orientation. It was supposed to be 8am. I had to rush to check out of the Days in and skipped breakfast just to make the meeting. It was worth it, there was a great tour lead by Stuttering Craig. There was the Iron Man of Gaming room, Guest lounge, Main events stage, Panel Room, Console Room, wifi lounge, tabletop room, LAN room and Vender's Room. After the tour, we had a few minutes, so I went to Denny's with some of the other staff, including Angel. He's awesome. I was in a video of him that went up Saturday morning.
The vendors room is the only thing that would close, but everything else was 24 hours. I worked morning shifts watching the tabletop room. Nothing was scheduled for those times, so I got to just sit around and work on my game code. I got to play a game of Monty Python Fluxx, which was cool.
On Friday, I hosted the Gamma Prime panel, even though there really shouldn't have been one in Marc Marta's absence. I got to show off the new Life in a game: the game there. The panel went well, and the Nerd and Stuttering Craig even stuck their heads in for a few minutes to check it out.
On Saturday, I checked out some panels. The crew from GPX gamers is insane. It would be nice to get their help on the fighting game. I tried to show off my moves in Street Fighter 4, but I was pitiful. I couldn't even win one game the whole day. I as getting a serious case of gamer rage. I'm normally such a laid back player too, but I was becoming a real dick to everyone the more I got pwned. I eventually had to give it up, I'm just not SGC gaming material.
I got some cool games at the vendors room. Look for videos about them on my youtube channel, hayesmanga. I met James Rolfe again and had my picture taken with him. Z and Captain S were there, but they weren't in costume, they just filmed footage and did interviews. They interviewed me about the con, which was nice.
Dan, Jon and I went out shopping for snacks at the local food market with Aaron. He's their friend who was in the first episode of Life in a game, then moved out to Dallas. A happy coincidence. Saturday night saw the premiere of the series finale of Life in a Game. Dan and Jon did a great job MCing the thing and answering questions. I liked the episode myself. I'm sure it will be up on screwattack soon.
Sunday I pretty much had to finish my morning shift and leave for the airport. The flight back was just as pleasant. Rant picked me up from the airport with his new girlfriend. I had a special treat for him; I found a rare Sakura action figure at the venders' room and gave it to him. He was very grateful.
And so life marches on. I can't wait for the next con. I'd like to do more games for screw attack as well, but we'll see what the future holds.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Road to SGC
Strap yourselves in, this is going to be a massive post.
The reason I haven't been posting much is because I've been working like a dog to finish Life in a Game: The Game, a project for Gamma Prime Games and Screw Attack. It's been a massive 6 month project and I scheduled it to be done by July 4th, the day of the panel at Screw Attack's Gaming Convention.
I got a lot of it finished, but It's only in Beta. I was hoping to have it totally done by now.
Anyway, the reason for the delays was a few events. Last week I was a guest at Anime Mid-Atlantic. Truly and awesome convention. One of the best. Totally worth the drive down to Virginia Beach. I did 3 workshops this year, How to program video games, how to draw manga and how to draw shoujo. The video game panel had the most people. I took trivia questions from all of them and assembled a flash game and put in on Newgrounds the next morning.
I stayed in a days in and got a lot of coding and sprite animation done.
As soon as I got back we went to the beach house in Seaside Park for a week of beach fun. I was intending to just sit and cod the whole week, but the friends were so destructive, they preventing me from getting it all done. At one point, I took my girlfriend out to see Transformers 2, and when we came back there was a giant whole in the wall. I had to drive to Home Depot and do a rush spackle job because we were leaving the house in 24 hours.
I actually got most of the work done in the 2 days of the weekend after the beach house, and on the plane ride down to Houston.
Tbe beach was nice, I got to go in the ocean for the first time in years.
Now, on to SGC...
Awesome. As I'm typing this it's Saturday night. I'll have to write a complete review when it's all over, so I can give a total assessment. I volunteered and even flew down a day early to help setup. I've met Chad and Craig before at Magfest, but now I got to hang with the entire crew. It's great. More tomorrow.
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The reason I haven't been posting much is because I've been working like a dog to finish Life in a Game: The Game, a project for Gamma Prime Games and Screw Attack. It's been a massive 6 month project and I scheduled it to be done by July 4th, the day of the panel at Screw Attack's Gaming Convention.
I got a lot of it finished, but It's only in Beta. I was hoping to have it totally done by now.
Anyway, the reason for the delays was a few events. Last week I was a guest at Anime Mid-Atlantic. Truly and awesome convention. One of the best. Totally worth the drive down to Virginia Beach. I did 3 workshops this year, How to program video games, how to draw manga and how to draw shoujo. The video game panel had the most people. I took trivia questions from all of them and assembled a flash game and put in on Newgrounds the next morning.
I stayed in a days in and got a lot of coding and sprite animation done.
As soon as I got back we went to the beach house in Seaside Park for a week of beach fun. I was intending to just sit and cod the whole week, but the friends were so destructive, they preventing me from getting it all done. At one point, I took my girlfriend out to see Transformers 2, and when we came back there was a giant whole in the wall. I had to drive to Home Depot and do a rush spackle job because we were leaving the house in 24 hours.
I actually got most of the work done in the 2 days of the weekend after the beach house, and on the plane ride down to Houston.
Tbe beach was nice, I got to go in the ocean for the first time in years.
Now, on to SGC...
Awesome. As I'm typing this it's Saturday night. I'll have to write a complete review when it's all over, so I can give a total assessment. I volunteered and even flew down a day early to help setup. I've met Chad and Craig before at Magfest, but now I got to hang with the entire crew. It's great. More tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
SF4 Tourney this Saturday
Man a month has gone by already and it's time for another tourney. I can't wait for Saturday. Message me if you want in.
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Sunday, May 3, 2009
New Podcast about Street Fight May 30th
Monday, April 27, 2009
Street Fighter 4 Tournament a huge success!
The tournament on Saturday was another great success. Many people came and the competition was fierce. Look for video posts on my Youtube channel of all the action!
Congrats to Leo for winning.
And our next tourney will be on May 23rd.
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Congrats to Leo for winning.
And our next tourney will be on May 23rd.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Lost
Well, I pretty much lost my job today. The writing is on the wall and I have monster.com in the other tab as I'm writing this.
I can't say I'll miss my day job, but I really wish I could have left on a high note. But who can be enthusiastic about a job they never really wanted in the first place? And one the takes up so much time it prevents me from realizing my real goal, programming video games.
Well, I'm going to eat an entire drum of ice cream. God Bless.
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I can't say I'll miss my day job, but I really wish I could have left on a high note. But who can be enthusiastic about a job they never really wanted in the first place? And one the takes up so much time it prevents me from realizing my real goal, programming video games.
Well, I'm going to eat an entire drum of ice cream. God Bless.
Friday, April 10, 2009
So much to post
I applied to Digipen yesterday. It's sort of a sore subject, but back when I was in high school, I applied there and got in. However, my parents wouldn't support my dream. They weren't sure if this whole 'video game industry' would be around in a few years.
So, after years of soul searching it became apparent that I had some unresolved issues and I'm applying to go back there. My day job is not really going so well, so leaving for a few years is no big loss. I'll miss my family and friends, that's for sure, but sacrifices must be made for achieve video game excellence.
Also, I'm hard at work on the new Life in a Game: the Game. Things are looking up and I can't wait to debut it at SGC.
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So, after years of soul searching it became apparent that I had some unresolved issues and I'm applying to go back there. My day job is not really going so well, so leaving for a few years is no big loss. I'll miss my family and friends, that's for sure, but sacrifices must be made for achieve video game excellence.
Also, I'm hard at work on the new Life in a Game: the Game. Things are looking up and I can't wait to debut it at SGC.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Street Fighter 4 Tournament a success!
Well, things where pretty crazy last night. Tons of people showed up, but we managed to get everything settled and the winner took home a Sakura action figure.
The next tournament will be on April 25th and will have a $100.00 cash prize.
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The next tournament will be on April 25th and will have a $100.00 cash prize.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
New Podcast
Welcome to the latest podcast. This week, we determine the greatest video game ever!
Podcast 4
The podcast relates to a list I have on this site:
look here.
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Podcast 4
The podcast relates to a list I have on this site:
look here.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Street Fighter 4 Tournament
I am hosting a SF4 tournament here in my house in Parsippany. All are welcome, and there will be prizes. Saturday, March 21st.
There will be refreshments available. You must be at least 18 to enter.
Rules include:
Players must use standard PS3 controller.
Only one character and controller configuration per tournament.
Best 2 out of 3.
Matches are 3 rounds, 99 seconds.
Email mike@haze-studios.com to enter and for directions.
On another note, I have a new podcast up:
Podcast 3: Watchmen
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There will be refreshments available. You must be at least 18 to enter.
Rules include:
Players must use standard PS3 controller.
Only one character and controller configuration per tournament.
Best 2 out of 3.
Matches are 3 rounds, 99 seconds.
Email mike@haze-studios.com to enter and for directions.
On another note, I have a new podcast up:
Podcast 3: Watchmen
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-li
I made a podcast about this movie. You need to hear it. It's pretty hilarious.
Legend of Chun-li
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Legend of Chun-li
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Global Game Jam Results
I'm back from the Global Game Jam and properly bruised. I had the time of my life there.
I formed a team called "I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon". We make a game called "What is is not" and we got runner up in the NY site. Our game is something special, and you'll be hearing more about it soon! Good night!
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I formed a team called "I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon". We make a game called "What is is not" and we got runner up in the NY site. Our game is something special, and you'll be hearing more about it soon! Good night!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Global Game Jam
I'm updating live from Columbia University in New York for the Global Game Jam. This is an incredible opportunity, and I'm glad I came. I'm working on a game now and I can't wait to finish it.
I'll be here to Sunday at 4.
We're working on something really special.
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I'll be here to Sunday at 4.
We're working on something really special.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Magfest 7 Sunday
We'll, I'm back from the convention and have caught my breath. Time to document this massive adventure.
It started with a New Year's Eve Party, as it did for so many. I was supposed to have my 3 friends; Ladd, Keri and Matt over for a NYE party. Matt came early, but Ladd and Keri never arrived until after the new year arrived. What's even more amazing is that they didn't drink themselves sick and collapse on my couches.
They went home to sleep in their own beds and came back to my house at 8 am. From there I drove them down to Alexandria, VA for Magfest. The mood was very laid back and relaxed, as they had 4 days this year to execute what is essentially a 2 or 3 day event. I got to meet the Happy Game Nerd, who is awesome, and later the Angry Game Nerd. It was weird because I was talking with the Happy Nerd just as he met the Angry Nerd. It was like being a fly on the wall at a meeting of the minds.
I also got to meet Stuttering Craig and Chad form ScrewAttack. They were cool too. Also, Walter Day was there, the official referee of video games. I know him from the King of Kong movie, one of my fav movies of all time.
They had a ton of free play uprights there, including my favorites, Alien vs. Predator and X-men; as well as Japanese sit-down style arcade machines.
The only thing that sucked was that they canceled the Street Fighter 3 tournament at the last minute, but they did have Street Fighter 4 there, and I could play it for the first time.
I met another developer, DJ Potato, who made an Angry Video Game Nerd game. The guy has some major talent, I hope to talk with him more in the future.
The crew from Life In a Game was there, and it was good to hang out with them. I showed them the progress we're making on the Life in a Game: the Game.
The hotel was a bit of an issue. We had to wait an extra hour to get our room. When we did get the room we wandered around for half an hour trying to find it. They boys decided to get plastered. Ladd took a shower at midnight to clear his head, and he slipped on the way out and hit his head. On the way down, he grabbed the sink and pulled it out of the wall, creating a geyser of hot water. It filled the bathroom with 6 to 8 inches of water. We had to call a workman over to shut off the water supply. In the end we had to pack up and move to another room at 2 am.
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It started with a New Year's Eve Party, as it did for so many. I was supposed to have my 3 friends; Ladd, Keri and Matt over for a NYE party. Matt came early, but Ladd and Keri never arrived until after the new year arrived. What's even more amazing is that they didn't drink themselves sick and collapse on my couches.
They went home to sleep in their own beds and came back to my house at 8 am. From there I drove them down to Alexandria, VA for Magfest. The mood was very laid back and relaxed, as they had 4 days this year to execute what is essentially a 2 or 3 day event. I got to meet the Happy Game Nerd, who is awesome, and later the Angry Game Nerd. It was weird because I was talking with the Happy Nerd just as he met the Angry Nerd. It was like being a fly on the wall at a meeting of the minds.
I also got to meet Stuttering Craig and Chad form ScrewAttack. They were cool too. Also, Walter Day was there, the official referee of video games. I know him from the King of Kong movie, one of my fav movies of all time.
They had a ton of free play uprights there, including my favorites, Alien vs. Predator and X-men; as well as Japanese sit-down style arcade machines.
The only thing that sucked was that they canceled the Street Fighter 3 tournament at the last minute, but they did have Street Fighter 4 there, and I could play it for the first time.
I met another developer, DJ Potato, who made an Angry Video Game Nerd game. The guy has some major talent, I hope to talk with him more in the future.
The crew from Life In a Game was there, and it was good to hang out with them. I showed them the progress we're making on the Life in a Game: the Game.
The hotel was a bit of an issue. We had to wait an extra hour to get our room. When we did get the room we wandered around for half an hour trying to find it. They boys decided to get plastered. Ladd took a shower at midnight to clear his head, and he slipped on the way out and hit his head. On the way down, he grabbed the sink and pulled it out of the wall, creating a geyser of hot water. It filled the bathroom with 6 to 8 inches of water. We had to call a workman over to shut off the water supply. In the end we had to pack up and move to another room at 2 am.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Magfest 7 Friday
Well, I'm here at Magfest 7, or "The 7th Fest" as we call it. It has truly been an awesome experience, and it's only half over. I've met Walter Day from "King of Kong", Stuttering Craig, Chad, The Happy VG Nerd and James Rolfe, the Angry Nerd. I've also met a bunch of other cool gamers and heard some awesome music.
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