...the second version of the Sega Saturn controller (I got 1 original, and 1 redesigned one) is just fantastic. Lovely chunky buttons, mediocre shoulder buttons, and a D-pad to DIE for!!!
Well thats the only niggle I have with it.
But I complain about most controller's shoulder buttons, and to be honest the shoulder buttons on these are FAR from the worst ones out there.
But the other stuff on it, is almost perfect. I'd go as far to say that I'm tempted to get a converter and use them as USB joypads.
(Great for emulators and 2D fighters! )
Besides, the shoulder buttons are not a huge issue when you have 6 face buttons.
The main question that begs to be asked is why Sega went from great controllers, to this monstrosity:
(The VMU is cool, we'll give them that, but all comfort and most of the functionality is sacrificed in the process)
Hey, hey guys. I have a nit to pick. Why do so many people pronounce Caesar incorrectly? Most people say it as "see-zir" when actually, in Latin, it is pronounced as "KAI-sar" and is also pronounced that way in most other European languages. How did we end up with the bastard pronunciation?
Hey, hey guys. I have a nit to pick. Why do so many people pronounce Caesar incorrectly? Most people say it as "see-zir" when actually, in Latin, it is pronounced as "KAI-sar" and is also pronounced that way in most other European languages. How did we end up with the bastard pronunciation?
Because all languages are bastardaziations of their original forms.
I had a online lecture on Creativity in business today.
Learned quite a lot about how our minds work.
I think because I follow so many creative mediums, and have a reasonably decent natural capacity for "play", my ability to be creative hasn't degenerated quite as much as most people.
(Maybe thats one of the reasons why I feel so odd. Because people around me seem to lack this self-awareness and open-mindedness. Has all this focus on rationality truly stunted our true potential?)
I hope I can take some of the activities mentioned in the lecture and apply them to Game Making.
(i.e. Setting rules and resources, and trying to get the most out of them. Posing myself questions to brainstorm, not going with the first good idea I get, and finally, looking at ways to synthesise ideas to create better ones)
So in a way the first thing I need to do is set myself some guidlines, some restrictions maybe.
Possibly something along the lines of Mojam maybe.
(But with setting myself like a month rather than a few days. After all, I'm not a large team of devs with powerful PC's and jhuge experience with coding am I? )
Just get a list of genres and themes, and some dice, and roll myself something to work with.
Hmmm... all this creativity is certainly getting my brain whirring again. (I like it! )
EDIT: *looks at Kotaku article about Pong*
Hmmm.... Maybe I could re-invent Pong..
(*has idea fragments colliding in the brain*)
EDIT 2: Looks like the Pong contest is US only. And the actual contest itself sucks.
But, the idea is still a good one, so I'm not going to throw it away.
I already have an interesting interpretation of Pong.
Okay, so the basic point is the same. To get the ball into the enemies "net", by hitting it with the paddle, but "how" you do that is open to interpretation right?
Also, what is kind of boring about Pong is that the gameboard is very open and kind of dull.
(Matches can last forever because all there is to focus on is the paddles, the ball, and the wall)
So lets make things complicated. Lets make them strategic.
So idea 1 is to turn Pong into a sort of tower-defensy strategy game.
Have the arena turn into a "grid" with objects to place on the battlefield to both help you, and hinder your nemesis.
The objects can be bought with energy and placed on your side of the grid. (There is a middle area of the grid which is the "neutral" zone, which spawns random stuff, and you can't place stuff there)
So far I have 3 types of objects on paper.
The first is "The Mover". Its a simple little block, that moves left and right/up and down (haven't decided on orientation...). Its not too helpful early on, since its only 1 tile large and moves kinda slow, but over time, it can be upgraded to something more useful, (such as making it bigger, or giving it a cannon that you can fire with a button push).
The second is "The Angler"
This block is stationary and small, but what makes it special is that when the ball hits it, it sends in the direction you set it to.
(you can drag the little arrow on it)
So if the ball hits it you can send the ball to hit another block. Yada yada yada
The third type is "The Generator"
So this block is basically like a breakout tile. Its has no durability and once placed, it can't be moved (you can move other block by dragging them with the mouse).
But if you can keep this tile/block intact it will increasingly generate energy that you can use to construct and upgrade other objects.
(So you will need to plan to defend them)
The only issue I have at the moment, with all this strategy and power-ups is how to keep the Ball itself the focus.
Ideas at the moment are that I either make the balls randomly generate in a random direction in the middle of the battleground, (which increase in number and spawn faster as time goes on. Kinda like a Bomber-man like style), or I go with one Uber-powered ball which can be powered up with charged hits with the main pad.
(So the more you hold space, the faster and more powerful the ball moves when space is released (but again, balancing is needed there too since that could be abused (maybe give them a "cool-off" time, maybe to the point that the main pad shuts down while it recharges/reboots))).
Again, I need to remind myself, (before I get carried away), that this is just the preliminary idea. I need to think of some more variants tomorrow, evaluate their strengths, and come up with the best project to go with.
(Though I think this first idea is pretty damn radical! XD)
so a guy ordered a cheese burger. our burgers are 13 dollars, right? so our burger patties are nice and big to make up for the price.
he complains to the waitress
that our restaurant is contributing the obesity epidemic
oh im sorry we dragged you kicking and screaming into our restaurant and forced you into buying a burger that you had to eat in its entirety right then and there
i mean, if we made our patties smaller, we'd save the entire country from getting fat. it's not like people paid for bigger portions or anything like that.
the guy even wrote a comment card to the gm. jesus christ
so a guy ordered a cheese burger. our burgers are 13 dollars, right? so our burger patties are nice and big to make up for the price.
he complains to the waitress
that our restaurant is contributing the obesity epidemic
oh im sorry we dragged you kicking and screaming into our restaurant and forced you into buying a burger that you had to eat in its entirety right then and there
i mean, if we made our patties smaller, we'd save the entire country from getting fat. it's not like people paid for bigger portions or anything like that.
the guy even wrote a comment card to the gm. jesus christ
I think I'll write a complaint to Google saying that they make the internet run so smoothly that they're causing a procrastination epidemic. I mean, if their service was worse, then I'd be able to get some work done. But nooooo.
I can't stop watching the 'Prometheus' viral video. I absolutely have faith that this film is going to be another Ridley Scott classic of Science Fiction; alongside 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner'.
Roll on June 1st, I can feel a new addition to my list of favourite films of all time fast approaching.
So...this last weekend I went to Boston to go visit MIT. I may be in love just a little bit with that place. Just a little. I need to do more research and see if I get in...but, yeah.
So, anyone know Boston well that can tell me more?
The Mazda tie-in to the Lorax movie makes me feel dirty.
Like, I didn't particularly care that the Lorax movie seemed to be leaning away from its environmental roots. It was a movie, it seemed like I might enjoy it, I was going to watch it. But all the tie ins from companies that have dubious environmental records irks me. The thing is, a lot of people just won't know the difference. They take a commercial at its word, and suddenly SUV = environmental friendly. Just no, no, no.
I'm a recycling guy. Actually, even more than that, I like to filter all my own water, reuse my own bottles, make sure to turn off all my electric devices, unplug my television, etc etc. I may not be the 100% guy who completely recycles and composts his own stuff, but I really am concerned about environmental issues. And the commercials are dirtying to me.
I can't stop watching the 'Prometheus' viral video. I absolutely have faith that this film is going to be another Ridley Scott classic of Science Fiction; alongside 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner'.
Roll on June 1st, I can feel a new addition to my list of favourite films of all time fast approaching.
You either? Thanks for sharing it dude. It makes you think.
Well, if julio is making my food, I wouldn't want to get julio upset. I might as well throw in my two cents on the subject. I am not obese by a long shot, I work a labour job and the athletic build sort of just happens. I do, however, rather enjoy eating large unhealthy meals when I go out to eat. This, probably isn't doing my heart any favours, but we're talking obesity here. When I do eat these huge meals(while, in Canada, our portions aren't generally as large as a typical American restaurant, some restaurants' are fairly comparable), I tend not to eat or crave food again for another 10 hours or so. I listen to my body. I don't feel I HAVE to eat because it's breakfast, I don't HAVE to eat when it's lunch, I don't HAVE to eat when it's dinner.
I saw a commercial on TV today during my lunch break at work that I couldn't believe was real. It was promoting Mormonism.... and seriously, the whole point of the commercial was to tell women to quit their jobs and become stay at home moms. I'm dead serious. The tagline by some mother was something like "I always felt my career was unrewarding and now I feel much happier with a greater purpose in life". There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a stay at home parent... but this is a commercial? What fucking decade do we live in?! ...and why am I reminded of that Batman Beyond meme?
Comments
Yeah, gotta love those mediocre shoulder buttons!
Well thats the only niggle I have with it.
But I complain about most controller's shoulder buttons, and to be honest the shoulder buttons on these are FAR from the worst ones out there.
But the other stuff on it, is almost perfect. I'd go as far to say that I'm tempted to get a converter and use them as USB joypads.
(Great for emulators and 2D fighters!
Besides, the shoulder buttons are not a huge issue when you have 6 face buttons.
The main question that begs to be asked is why Sega went from great controllers, to this monstrosity:
(The VMU is cool, we'll give them that, but all comfort and most of the functionality is sacrificed in the process)
Because all languages are bastardaziations of their original forms.
Damn it this is why I need to not post from my phone.
Learned quite a lot about how our minds work.
I think because I follow so many creative mediums, and have a reasonably decent natural capacity for "play", my ability to be creative hasn't degenerated quite as much as most people.
(Maybe thats one of the reasons why I feel so odd. Because people around me seem to lack this self-awareness and open-mindedness. Has all this focus on rationality truly stunted our true potential?)
I hope I can take some of the activities mentioned in the lecture and apply them to Game Making.
(i.e. Setting rules and resources, and trying to get the most out of them. Posing myself questions to brainstorm, not going with the first good idea I get, and finally, looking at ways to synthesise ideas to create better ones)
So in a way the first thing I need to do is set myself some guidlines, some restrictions maybe.
Possibly something along the lines of Mojam maybe.
(But with setting myself like a month rather than a few days. After all, I'm not a large team of devs with powerful PC's and jhuge experience with coding am I?
Just get a list of genres and themes, and some dice, and roll myself something to work with.
Hmmm... all this creativity is certainly getting my brain whirring again. (I like it!
EDIT: *looks at Kotaku article about Pong*
Hmmm.... Maybe I could re-invent Pong..
(*has idea fragments colliding in the brain*)
EDIT 2: Looks like the Pong contest is US only. And the actual contest itself sucks.
But, the idea is still a good one, so I'm not going to throw it away.
I already have an interesting interpretation of Pong.
Okay, so the basic point is the same. To get the ball into the enemies "net", by hitting it with the paddle, but "how" you do that is open to interpretation right?
Also, what is kind of boring about Pong is that the gameboard is very open and kind of dull.
(Matches can last forever because all there is to focus on is the paddles, the ball, and the wall)
So lets make things complicated. Lets make them strategic.
So idea 1 is to turn Pong into a sort of tower-defensy strategy game.
Have the arena turn into a "grid" with objects to place on the battlefield to both help you, and hinder your nemesis.
The objects can be bought with energy and placed on your side of the grid. (There is a middle area of the grid which is the "neutral" zone, which spawns random stuff, and you can't place stuff there)
So far I have 3 types of objects on paper.
The first is "The Mover". Its a simple little block, that moves left and right/up and down (haven't decided on orientation...). Its not too helpful early on, since its only 1 tile large and moves kinda slow, but over time, it can be upgraded to something more useful, (such as making it bigger, or giving it a cannon that you can fire with a button push).
The second is "The Angler"
This block is stationary and small, but what makes it special is that when the ball hits it, it sends in the direction you set it to.
(you can drag the little arrow on it)
So if the ball hits it you can send the ball to hit another block. Yada yada yada
The third type is "The Generator"
So this block is basically like a breakout tile. Its has no durability and once placed, it can't be moved (you can move other block by dragging them with the mouse).
But if you can keep this tile/block intact it will increasingly generate energy that you can use to construct and upgrade other objects.
(So you will need to plan to defend them)
The only issue I have at the moment, with all this strategy and power-ups is how to keep the Ball itself the focus.
Ideas at the moment are that I either make the balls randomly generate in a random direction in the middle of the battleground, (which increase in number and spawn faster as time goes on. Kinda like a Bomber-man like style), or I go with one Uber-powered ball which can be powered up with charged hits with the main pad.
(So the more you hold space, the faster and more powerful the ball moves when space is released (but again, balancing is needed there too since that could be abused (maybe give them a "cool-off" time, maybe to the point that the main pad shuts down while it recharges/reboots))).
Again, I need to remind myself, (before I get carried away), that this is just the preliminary idea. I need to think of some more variants tomorrow, evaluate their strengths, and come up with the best project to go with.
(Though I think this first idea is pretty damn radical! XD)
he complains to the waitress
that our restaurant is contributing the obesity epidemic
oh im sorry we dragged you kicking and screaming into our restaurant and forced you into buying a burger that you had to eat in its entirety right then and there
i mean, if we made our patties smaller, we'd save the entire country from getting fat. it's not like people paid for bigger portions or anything like that.
the guy even wrote a comment card to the gm. jesus christ
Fairly dickish of him. Fo' srs.
"And you, sir, are contributing to the dickhead epidemic. Good day!"
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
Roll on June 1st, I can feel a new addition to my list of favourite films of all time fast approaching.
So, anyone know Boston well that can tell me more?
Mmm... Blue Ribbon.
As an East Asian politics student, this is seriously old news.
They try to sell it over there like fine American whisky.
(For those of you who don't know, Blue RIbbon is a cheap Midwestern swill of a beer in the USA)
pew pew
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70808853/needle-felted-rabbit-made-just-for-you
So cute... And I could actually take care of one of these rabbits.
Alright, time to go scrounge all the pictures I have of Blackavar.
Like, I didn't particularly care that the Lorax movie seemed to be leaning away from its environmental roots. It was a movie, it seemed like I might enjoy it, I was going to watch it. But all the tie ins from companies that have dubious environmental records irks me. The thing is, a lot of people just won't know the difference. They take a commercial at its word, and suddenly SUV = environmental friendly. Just no, no, no.
I'm a recycling guy. Actually, even more than that, I like to filter all my own water, reuse my own bottles, make sure to turn off all my electric devices, unplug my television, etc etc. I may not be the 100% guy who completely recycles and composts his own stuff, but I really am concerned about environmental issues. And the commercials are dirtying to me.
I think Rick Santorum was an actor hired to make all the other candidates look good by comparison.
I actually think that honor fell to Herman Cain.
I really want that burger.
You either? Thanks for sharing it dude. It makes you think.
Then I will get my papers that I am a certified IT-Supporter, and then out on the open market and find my self a job.
But I think I will take a long deserved vacation.
I saw a commercial on TV today during my lunch break at work that I couldn't believe was real. It was promoting Mormonism.... and seriously, the whole point of the commercial was to tell women to quit their jobs and become stay at home moms. I'm dead serious. The tagline by some mother was something like "I always felt my career was unrewarding and now I feel much happier with a greater purpose in life". There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a stay at home parent... but this is a commercial? What fucking decade do we live in?! ...and why am I reminded of that Batman Beyond meme?
I did know that, but I didn't have any idea what Daishi was talking about without the "Pabst" part.
All still more enjoyable than Carling. <shudder>