Category: General

Ah, blog. It’s been a while. Ever since starting work it seems I haven’t been posting… yes, there appears to be a very high correlation!

I hope people are still out there. Although I haven’t been writing much, I’ve still been reading (other people’s blogs) and feeling that I should start contributing back to the community. I appreciate the effort that others put into posting, and I know that (at least some people) enjoy my posts as well, or find them informative.

Where would I be without blogs? Without Enjoy Perth, I wouldn’t be going to see OK Go (a band I wouldn’t know about without blogs in the first place) or The Cure. Without Planet OneTwenty I wouldn’t really know what some of my friends are up to. I love the personal internet.

Iraq veterans protest the war by acting out, in New York City, everyday scenes from the war in Iraq:

Their protest is called “Operation: First Casualty” because:

The first casualty of war is the truth.

Via IVAW.org

I really like this video.

via Japan Probe

I spent some time yesterday going through my video games and deciding which ones aren’t worth keeping for one reason or another. Some are just plain bad, but a fair few are very well-regarded games that just aren’t my cup of tea.

I figure that I will either put them on eBay, trade them in for store credit at GameTraders, or give them away. I may consider giving some of them away as prizes at future OneTwenty events… but most aren’t suitable.

Here’s the list (organised by console, with older consoles towards the end; everything is in excellent condition with all packaging unless otherwise noted):

Nintendo DS:

• Tenchu: Dark Secret: I got this game because I really liked the original Tenchu. Unfortunately, this game is extraordinarily bad. It’s worth playing (to witness the spectacle), but definately not worth keeping.

XBOX:

• Freedom Fighters: I mostly got this game because of the physics engine (to see how it holds up), but also because it was well-recieved. I couldn’t get into it because of the control scheme.
• Unreal 2: The Awakening: I really, really liked Unreal, and wanted to play the sequel. I don’t really play PC games anymore so I picked this up on XBOX. Played it for a while, but the load times were killing me!
• Deus Ex: The Invisible War: Highly praised in-depth first person RPG. People I have lent it to love it to bits. I should have remembered that I don’t like in-depth RPGs…

Gamecube:

• James Bond 007: Nightfire: One of the first games I got for my Gamecube. A good FPS with novel third-person gameplay elements. Not something I will ever play again though.

Playstation 2

• Jak II: Renegade: I rather liked Jak & Daxter, and this had better graphics and tight controls… but why do you make me collect so much stuff? Why? Why!?! I don’t have the time for this sort of game anymore; particularly with so much competition.
• Automodellista: Anime-style car racing? Oh yeah! But the gameplay is too strongly geared (har har) towards a simulation (rather than arcade) style for my tastes.
• Gungrave: You shoot stuff, look cool, and it keeps track of how many bullets you fired over the course of the game! Awesome!… no real replay value though.
• The Thing: Highly praised for it’s story, suspense, and multiple character gameplay. Turns out I don’t really look for any of those things in a game though.
• Batman: Vengence: Simple graphics (like the TV series). Decent gameplay. Just nothing to make it stand out.

Dreamcast

• Bangai-O: I think I bought this because it was from Treasure, which is a Japanese games company famous for it’s shooters. I’m told this game is absolute bliss for Treasure fans. I realised that I’m not a Treasure fan.
• 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker: Hmmm… it was cheap… never buy things because they are cheap… that said, I can do a great price on this one!
• Tech Romancer: Fighting game with giant robots. Nothing special. Maybe someone out there is collecting Dreamcast fighting games?
• Trickstyle: One of my first Dreamcast games. Fun, but can’t see myself playing it again.
• Jo-Jo’s Bizzare Adventure: Well regarded fighting game from a popular license. Meh. Again, anyone collecting Dreamcast fighting games?

Gameboy Advance:

• Doom: Picked this up cheap. Wondered how it fared on GBA. Guess what? It’s the same old game that I didn’t really like the first time around.
• Sheep: Sounded like a potential hit with me; a novel concept well-executed with unique gameplay elements. Turns out that herding sheep is actually pretty boring (see: Herdy Gerdy)

Gameboy Color:

• Bionic Commando: Elite Forces: Bionic Commando!… now a bit too old-school for me.

Gameboy:

• Metroid 2: Return of Samus: I realised after playing this game that I don’t really like old Metroid games. Metroid Fusion for GBA is far better IMHO. (No packaging, permanent marker writing on cartridge)

If you are interested in any of these games, please let me know!

Note: I also have a number of games that I am undecided on (whether to keep them or not) and I’ll be evaluating them on weekends over the next month or so (hopefully with the help of fellow Onetwenty-iens!)

I like doodles.

I’m thinking of adding an oekaki message board to the OneTwenty server… would anyone out there use it?

Note: I thought that this was a funny story until I told it to spinboy (who gave it a 3 out of ten). Maybe it’s something that you need to have been there for, or to know the people involved. Tone gave it a 6… anyhow, here it is.

Heidi, Jim, and I decided to try out this new dessert parlour called Icey Ice. We had no idea what to expect, but the name was appealing. After perousing their menu for a while, we ordered. Heidi and I asked for a Strawberry Snow Ice and Jim asked for a Watermelon and Strawberry crushed ice drink.

Seemed normal enough. Then just after Jim ordered, the woman behind the counter cocked her head to one side and glared at him. After a slight pause she said:

You want a drink?

Perfectly delivered in a you-can’t-be-serious kind of voice! She continued with:

This is your first time here right? Our specialty is Snow Ice. You can get a drink anywhere. Nowhere else does Snow Ice… Are you suuure you want a drink?

We were flummoxed. Jim wanted to buy something and he absolutely got told off by the salesperson! Things don’t work like that! However… her argument made sense… and Jim changed his order to a Mango Snow Ice.

In other news, Snow Ice are pretty good. They taste like the sound of butterflies in a fruit orchid on a cold winter morning… (hmmm, that only sort of makes sense) … oh, and we got a plush Icey Ice mascot with our order. Jim kept it as a momento of his getting told off. 🙂

A very quick post. GameTraders Carillon City are selling Playstation 3 consoles for $799 until the end of the month. That’s $200 off RRP! Dharmesh (the owner) is crazy! Crazy I say!

GO3 was an awesome experience; it was only 3 days, but it really felt like a week!

The main highlight for me was definitely the conference. I played a strong role in suggesting potential speakers and the final line-up contained a lot of game developers that I really admire (and some that I now have a new level of respect for). My favourite talks were very introspective and honest, and communicated the internal processes which go into designing and developing games.

I hope to find time to write more about the conference, but for now I’ll direct you to the PerthNorg GO3 blog and PALGN’s excellent coverage, and post a few photos.

Note: Keep reading to see some photos. Also check out the photos on Hideo Kojima’s blog!

Continue reading “GO3 wrapup”

I’ve posted before about Interzone Games possibly setting up in Perth. Since then… they have… and I’m working for them.

Due to an NDA I can’t really say much more than that. However, I can provide a few (publically available) details on the company and some general feelings on what it’s like to work for the only large games developer in Perth. Here’s all I’m going to say about the company:

Interzone Games is an MMO publisher based in the USA with a development studio (its first) here in Perth. It recently announced that it’s licensing BigWorld (an MMO middleware platform).

So I guess that gives you some idea of the company I work for and the technology I work with. Now for some general feelings. Hmmm… it’s pretty exciting to be working for a new company. People are joining every week and this creates a very dynamic work environment. Being part of a company in these early stages provides a unique vantage point from which to view the company’s growth, and I appreciate this opportunity.

Note: Wow. I just read this post and it came off as really dry. It’s not really; I’m just not sure what to say!

It’s been a long time since my last post (and even that one was quite a bit after the one before it). I will try to post a bit (over the next week or so) about recent goings-on including:

• My new job at Interzone Games!
• Keeping it real with OneTwenty
• The GO3 Conference and Electronic Entertainment Expo

As you can see, a lot of things have been happening recently and really cutting into my internet time. I don’t expect to have much time for posting in the near future, but if you add me to your feed reader or keep reading Planet OneTwenty, I’m sure to pop up now and then. 🙂