A Modem Dial-Up Sound Slowed Down 700 Percent Is Pure Creepfest [Video] - http://pulse.me/s/qu4R
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Monday 27 June 2011
[film] Immortals - aka Exalted Inspiration #exalted #immortals #whitewolf
New Immortals trailer heralds the hairless, greased up war of the Gods [Video]
IO9 | JUNE 27, 2011
http://pulse.me/s/pj7s
Saturday 25 June 2011
Thursday 23 June 2011
Saturday 18 June 2011
[review] L.A. Noire - Murder Most Horrid
L.A. Noire is set in the post war 40s. The Holywood sign still reads Holywoodland. It is the golden age of cinema. L.A. is a city built about the automobile. There is the fear of Communists. And for the citizens of L.A. the murder of the Black Dhalia is still on the loose.
Into this city of crime and glamour the player takes on the role of Detective Phelps. Starting off on the street as a beat cop you progress to taking on cases on in Traffic crime, then Homicide, and onwards to Vice and Arson. Along the way you have to deal with the opinions of the day, be it sexism or racism, displayed by cops, partners on cases or from criminals. Fortunately, Phelps is of sound mind and liberal, moderate ideals, and so acts as an island of sense in the world. On this note, I feel that compared to some films that depict the genre, L.A. Noire lays it all on a bit too thick. While Sin City displays the same attitudes it does so knowing it is a pastiche, while L.A. Noire seems to present it as fact.
Of course, as to be expected, the city is wonderfully rendered, and one of the things I love is how the game has reinforced the role that you are playing. You can't just go about running people over, or shooting them as you would in GTA.
Of course the main focus of the game is the invesitgation of crime scenes. The manner in which this is done is by walking about, waiting for the telltale vibration to say a clue is nearby. Of course some of the objects that you can pick up are in fact just read herrings. Once a clue is piked up, by moving it about you can look for further information. In a similar manner the bodies can be investigated. It is at this point I have to mention that while there is nothing inherently bad about investigating the bodies, I feel that it would have been better to remove the shock factor and have the bodies shown with a sheet covering them.
With clues collected the next major factor in the game is the interviewing of suspects. This is where L.A. Noire shows its main feature, the amazing rendering of faces the actors. With the level of detail captured you are able to look for the changes in attitude as the questioning progresses, allowing you determine whether the suspect is telling the truth, holding back something, or lying. Of course acqusations of lying requires evidence to back this up.
Added to all this are side missions such as stopping bank robberies, gun men, car heists, and so there are some shoot outs that make use of cover in a manner more like modern over the shoulder fps like Gears of War.
My main gripes so far has really been the amount of deaths that have just been women. I understand that they are try to give a certain vibe to the game, but I don't see why the Homicide desk case could not have be a bit more broken up. Plus more positive women characters in the game would be a bonus, rather than the femme fatal, the whore, the nosey old lady. it would have just eased my resentment for the Homicide desk and the Rusty character. Perhaps cutscenes are a bit long, but then I have to say I find the game rather relaxing to play.
So overall a few faults but a game that rewards careful thinking. I'd be happy to see the same style used for a different time period, and perhaps has a more positive equality (hey how about a female lead detective next time during the 70s).
Thursday 16 June 2011
Monday 13 June 2011
Sunday 12 June 2011
Saturday 11 June 2011
Archie is now a bit of a grump
Seems with old age Sam's mother's cat Archie has become a bit of a grump with old age.
Saturday 4 June 2011
Amaranthine #amaranthine @davidahilljr
Amaranthine
So recently I have had the joy of contributing a little to this game, Amaranthine. It is my first true stab at some sort of freelance writing for an rpg. And I think I can say that it has gone well. It is only a thousand or so words, but I would like to think that I can actually write in an evocative way that is useful both as prose and gaming content. It has been a good learning experience as well as I feel that I have already learnt how to improve my writing just by getting back the red lines.
Anyway, Amaranthine is an rpg by David A Hill Jr and Filamena Young. Daivd is best known for his work with White Wolf on recent projects like Invite Only, a suppliment for Vampire The Requiem covering how vampire socialize and run gatherings, and the Werewolf The Forsaken Chronicler's Guide, a multipart book that remixes the game. He has also worked on such things as writing content for EVE Online, the rpg Eclipse Phase, and his own game, Machine Zeit.
Filamena Young is also co writing Amaranthine with David (duh, David is her familiar... I mean husband) and so also wrote Machine Zeit. Filamena is also known for her work with White Wolf on such books as Nighthorrors: Unbidden (Mage The Awakening), Nighthorrors: Wolfsbane (Werewolf The Forsaken), Ancient Mysteries (Vampire The Requiem) ad Immortals.
So what is Amaranthine about? Well a few weeks back on the Darker Days Podcast I had the joy of interviewing David about the game and asked him about the mechanics of the game.
Amaranthine is a game about immortal souls. Souls which have been reincarnated over many lifetimes. So it is clear that you are playing a game about supernatural creatures. But more critical is that the game is about relationships, and how they turn hot and cold and snap over time. Something that is pretty important for characters that can hold grudges and romances over many lifetimes.
Anyway here is the description from the writers themselves.
http://machineageproductions.com/2011/04/amaranthine-introduction/
Something of the things that have jumped out about the game are the mechanics for relationships, and the the method of character design.
Character design is a collaborative effort, similar in some ways to some indie rpgs. In Amaranthine, during character creation a number of questions are answered, and some may be direct towards others in the groups. For example some of the questions are simply filling in the blanks e.g. I have never, I have once, I have sometimes, I always, I will never. Its good fun and something that I would use in other games in future. It also provides a good laugh for the players as they see relationships set up. Go listen to the podcast that David and Filamena recorded with their gaming group when testing this out with some new players.
The main focus of the game is relationships, and this is visually and mechanically tracked using relationship wheels. The idea is to show how relationships can change over time, go sour, or turn a full 180. It can help drive the plot and show how relationships can be driven to break point and that only some other great act can rescue it. Or how a emnity can turn into love. All of this is magnified by the immortal nature of the characters.
The other neat thing is that the game is moving away from an xp driven system for advancement, and instead will focus on roleplay in game actions to drive advancement. It will then reward players for good roleplay, and also prevent stats just magically improving without good reason e.g. no time being spent on training etc. The other neat idea is how a character can discover new skills through roleplaying flashbacks where said skills were used in a previous lifetime.
So Amaranthine is shaping up to be the Highlander like game we have always wanted. A game about epic romances, brotherhood, betrayals, and revenge, taking place over lifetimes. I'm looking forward to having a crack at the finished game and I think my own gaming group would really enjoy after playing things like Vampire and Changeling. Go check it out and read their blog for more.
Friday 3 June 2011
[Review] Androids Revenge #asustransformer #android #asus
So apps. What do I use on my Asus so far?
Well the Asus ships with the Polaris office suite. This is a very cut down version of something akin to MS Office. You can edit documents, spreadsheets, and powerpoint presentations. So far I have just been typing using it, but to be honest I am very happy with the fact that this software exists, as it means the Asus can really be a netbook when you wish for it to act as one. One gripe. No spell check function. Maybe this a feature to make us better writers?
The next app that I really like using on the Asus that I have used on the X10 is Pulse. Pulse has gone from strength to strength, becoming better integrated with google reader. Over time it has made easier to mark items that you have read or like in google reader. Compared to other RSS readers it is more visually appealing to use, and more fun to browse items with. But it really comes into its own on the tablet.
Next is MyZine. Again it is an app by Asus for the Transformer only. The aim is to neatly bring together in a single widget a slide show of your images on the machine, weather information, a quick link to your ebooks, a link and alert to email, and a recently played alert for music and a recently broswed alert for the web. It just seems nice and fresh to use and acts as a good summary.
Speaking of ebooks. Two apps I make use of are focused on that. The first is RepliGo pdf reader. Why this rather than the Adobe app. The ability to highlight and save the pdf. This is a god send for my own work or reading scientific journals so I can highlight and even annotate pdfs for later use. The other app also ships with the Asus only, and is MyLibrary. This also read pdfs. But I have found that it is much more able to read rather large pdfs (like those for rpgs).
Other apps get a make over in Android 3.0+. The Android Market it much nicer to use. Youtube looks stunning. BBC iplayer however is still not ready for this version, but with flash not a problem you can watch iplayer in browser. Evernote is of course even easier to use now that you have the option of a physical keyboard.
Tip: When typing make use of the mouse on/off button on the Asus. It will save you the pain of accidentally selecting and then editing that text already written. Instead just reach out and move the cursor by hand (literally!).
So there you have it, another brieft over view of things. I will give more of an update soon on using the device in games.
Thursday 2 June 2011
Wednesday 1 June 2011
[Exalted] First Impressions?
So far I have been very pleased with Exalted. I have had the joy of running the game twice before (1st and 2nd Ed). As we are only 1 episode in to the story I have been pleased that combat works much smoother than 1st ed.
But what are your impressions?
The setting?
The rules?
The characters?
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