| A Day in the Life |
[17 Jan 2012|11:05am] |
I eat pretty boring cereal, but that's ok. I love me some Shredded Wheat, what can I say? You see this sort of thing with other cereal as well, but the best thing, even since I was a kid, was when I'd pour out a bowl of cereal and there'd be two pieces (or more!) that hadn't been cut properly by whatever manufacturing process makes them, and you get a double-length piece, or maybe double width, or maybe in more extravagant shapes that I may have seen, though can't be sure I remember.
This morning I may have been a little groggier than usual as I poured out my regular bowl. The first few pieces came out regular size, suddenly followed by a 2x2 square of them. They looked completely uncut. It was incredible. Hungry, I continued to pour cereal--more and more pieces came out, all double the size of regular Shredded Wheat. It was unreal. What was going on? Was I dreaming? It wasn't until I set the box down, and thankfully before I poured any milk over it, that I realized I had just emptied a box of Triscuits into my cereal bowl.
|
|
| A story with no climax |
[04 Jul 2011|03:16pm] |
Today while shamelessly procrastinating I decided to re-watch Mr. Plinkett's very entertaining review of J.J. Abram's Star Trek movie, while also doing the laundry. I'm in an apartment complex with 8 apartments to a building and several buildings. The laundry room is downstairs on the opposite side of my building, facing another building. When it came time to pick up my clean laundry, I paused the video, went downstairs, got the laundry, and I heard something surprising and unmistakable--the theme song from Star Trek the Next Generation. It was coming from the next building over, clearly audible from an open window (though the blinds were down). I thought to myself, well, I do not really know any of my neighbors and I think I would like to know who else among my neighbors watches Star Trek on July 4th, so I hurried home, threw my laundry on the couch (I didn't want it to get wrinkled sitting in the basket), and dashed back. The music was still audible. I was trembling with anticipation, nervous that I was about to intrude on a total stranger who would know immediately that I was eavesdropping his TV. I knocked on the door.
No one answered, and the sound faded away.
Maybe it's for the best.
|
|
| Dinosaurs in Granger, WA |
[03 Jul 2011|11:42am] |
|
Last year Sarah and I went to Granger, Washington, to check out the dinosaurs. I neglected to show anyone the photos, until now!
|
|
| Hobbit Cartoons |
[24 Apr 2011|10:28pm] |
I've been reading The Annotated Hobbit. Besides annotations (obviously), it has a lot of art from different editions of The Hobbit from around the world, and it's really interesting to see how varied they are. I'm going to ruin that by focusing entirely on the ones that are cute and cartoony and gosh I just love 'em.
( Watch out for images! )
|
|
| Nintendo Value |
[20 Mar 2011|12:14pm] |
Some observations from Amazon on older DS games from Nintendo.
Kirby's Canvas Curse is only available on the secondary market, Amazon doesn't have any. You can get it new for "as little" as $56, or used ones starting at $20. Yoshi's Island DS is the same, but the new ones start at nearly $80. Super Princess Peach lists on Amazon new for $40 (some cheaper ones are on the marketplace), but the used ones start at $32. Yoshi's Touch & Go, of all things, can still be purchased "new" at $30, or used for around $15. Of course, you can still get deals on any of these if you poke around other places, but I assume this is somewhat representative. These games are not rare, there are lots of them.
Meanwhile, Sega's DS launch title, Feel the Magic, can be had new for $7, or used for $2.50, and Amazon still has new ones list-priced at $20, though it's "on sale" for $13.
So what does this say about Nintendo's general strategy of having "high value" games, when even something as low-value (I happen to like it anyway) as Yoshi Touch & Go, is still considered fairly high on the secondary market? I figured there'd be tons of them for $1, but that isn't the case at all. This doesn't prove anything or necessarily mean anything, but if even when the market is allowed to set the price (such as used copies of Yoshi Touch & Go), it's still higher than I expected.
|
|
| Astroman Valentine |
[10 Feb 2011|05:00pm] |
It's a little early, I know. :) I made this silly thing to send out to encourage game websites that haven't covered Astroman yet to maybe be aware of it and also to thank the ones who already did. Alternately, you could conceivably print it out and use it as a Valentine card yourself!
|
|
| Astroman Soundtrack |
[07 Jan 2011|11:45am] |
Astroman's soundtrack is now available, for free even! Download it at your leisure.
http://jeffedwardball.com/?p=147
Besides the OST proper, there's also a little bonus track, the chip-based version of the main theme that Jeff used to sell us on it. We requested no chip tunes, because we didn't want the game to be dismissed as overly retro or compared with the many, many free low-res chiptune-soundtracked games out there, but it's still a pretty cool little track!
|
|
| Astroman is now available! |
[23 Dec 2010|10:58am] |
Hey guys! Astroman, the game Danny and I have quietly been working on, is finally out on Xbox 360's Indie Marketplace! Give it a download if you have a 360, or if you don't, find someone else who does and make them do it!
Here's the official Marketplace page, where you can log in and add it to your download queue without even turning on your 360. Handy! (Especially if you, like me, found yourself away from home for the holidays and won't be able to get to your Xbox for a few days..)
|
|
| I am selling some vidja games |
[30 May 2010|12:22pm] |
Sometimes I think about selling down some video games! I mean, why not right? I have so many, and I'm just keeping many around for kicks, under the impression that maybe I'll want to play them again sometime, or that someone I know will want to play them, or just some strange need to preserve. And selling a large number of games is a lot of work! But somehow I got around those collector instincts and picked out nearly 70 games to find new homes for. Before I do something silly like put them all up on ebay, I figured I'd give a few people I kinda know maybe to have a crack at 'em.
Almost all games are in excellent condition, the ones that aren't are mentioned in the descriptions. All prices include US shipping (international or Alaska/Hawaii can probably add an extra $3 to all prices for most places, though if it's crazy shipping we may need to work out something else), and you can contact me via email at rvr67michael at charter,net to confirm anything you want and then I'll send you to PayPal. Japanese imports are labeled, all others are US.
There's something oddly satisfying about a big stack of games. Maybe I'll give up on shelves.... nah.
( Onward, after the jump! )
|
|
| Conan the Barbarian |
[12 May 2010|12:20pm] |
I only just found out there's a new Conan movie in the works, and I gotta weigh in, oh man.
I read all the original Howard stories as "Barbarian Research" recently and I absolutely loved them. I didn't expect to love them, but there you go, I did. I'm sure I had seen the old movie as a kid, but I'd completely forgotten any of it, so I was able to go into the books fresh. I liked what I found so much I deliberately avoided any other interpretations of the character (other authors' stories, comics, and of course the movies) so as not to mess with what I was reading. So I have some bias there.
But then there's the movies, and I gotta admit, that those are fun too. They are completely different. And a lot of the appeal comes from the fact that they are not especially great, they're just fun old movies, and we probably shouldn't be taking them too seriously. But they are what they are.
But there's my problem. My first thought on a new Conan movie is that they could stick really close to the source material--it wouldn't even have to be any specific story, but working with any of the major themes of the books, and keeping Conan's character and appearance in line with the book, they could make something that would really surprise people. It is a huge shame that they aren't doing this, and in a way kind of offensive that they'd let this old hokey stuff stand as their source, like here's a chance to do this right, and they aren't taking it.
So they could build off the movies, and that's what they're doing. But instead of creating a brand new story, they're remaking the original. Why would they do that? Why is it so important to "reboot" these movies? Why not just say "This is the new Conan, and here's his new adventure?" I was going to make a comparison to James Bond, a character who needs no introduction, and they don't waste time with introductions in his movies, even when they replace him with a new actor. But then, is that sort of what they did with Casino Royale, which introduced a new James Bond, and when so far as to "reboot" the series by telling the story of his "first" adventure? At least there it was a story that hadn't been filmed before, not a remake. But was it also modern Hollywood making a fresh claim that this was the New Bond? Does it override existing canon (ie new Star Trek)?
At any rate, I don't particularly care to see a new modern version of a hokey old movie that I like fine the way it was (see also: Barbarella), but I would like to see new adventures and stories about that character. Why do we need to step back and tell the origin again? I mean, it's Conan the Barbarian: why would it even matter?
|
|
| UmiKawa |
[15 Nov 2009|10:14am] |
I just got the DS port of Umihara Kawase and I'm really loving it, of course. Between this and Ninja Five-O, my DS now has hardcore rubbering action in both holes.
The "DS" version of the PSX game appears to contain an extra 30 levels or so. I don't know how many levels of the original I saw. This game has a new map that shows what levels you've been to (and a "how many levels visited out of how many levels exist" indicator) and how the levels intersect (once you've been to them, anyway), and even the original PSX game has something like 120. I'm pretty sure I didn't even see half of them! The PS/DS versions also have a "zoom" control so you can be zoomed in to see the detail or zoomed out to see more terrain, and a detailed minimap on the lower screen shows your position, enemies, and level exits. You can also set the shoulder triggers to control the zoom (sort of weird, when I tried it). The default setting has the shoulder buttons set to nothing, which is strange, because in the original all four of the PSX's triggers were set to aim your shot at angles. I prefer having them set to the upper angles, this can really help when you're trying to keep Kawase-san from sliding down into spikes but also need to grapple onto something behind you. I do feel like the controls for reeling in are a little sluggish, I'm not sure if it's the game, me, or the DS control pad. If it's the pad, it's the first time I've prefered the PSX' digital pad for anything, ever.
I read over at Tiny Cartridge that the game only sold 4,200 copies its first day. I'm always a little suspicious of the first-day sales really being representative, especially in UmiKawa's case where they may have pissed a lot of people off with the PSP version and players were likely waiting to see how good a port it was. I hope they sold more, but obviously in the west the series is most famous for people emulating the Super Famicom version, so with the precedent already set I can't help but think people are already primed to steal it (also it's an older game being sold at full price, not really a great move). UmiKawa on the PSX is one of my all-time favorites, I've bought it twice already (once new from NCS, and once used while in Japan), and having it on the go is worth a lot to me personally. If anyone wants to buy it over at Play Asia, PM me for my $5 off coupon, I never seem to be able to use those things in time (my last one expired the day before I remembered to order this!)
|
|
| Gunstar Moonwalk |
[28 Jun 2009|11:56pm] |
A friend and I played Gunstar Heroes on the 360 today. The emulated version kind of sucks, they've re-routed all the menus into the blue "Sega Classics" frame, to the extent that you never even see the original title screen (or the extended intro) unless you sit and wait for it at the menu, and even then it's tiny on-screen. The really weird thing about it is that if someone dies he can no jump back in with half of the other player's life. This makes playing with two players of differing skill level really stupid, because the first player to die doesn't get back in until the other player dies too. Also, the achievements are totally lame (you get one for beating the end boss, and one for beating the game) with absolutely nothing interesting in them. No extra incentive to beat the game on other difficulties, no incentive to try to one-credit clear, or any other sort of interesting challenge. Laaaame.
Anyway, there's a weird glitch in the game that I found easier to initiate with the Xbox pad: when walking on a sloped surface, if you quickly press in the opposite direction you're moving, your character turns around but keeps walking forward. So I was doing it pretty much every chance I had because it was just so easy. When my friend (who hadn't seen the move before) asked what I was doing I told him this was just my way of mourning the loss of one of the greatest musical influences of our time.
|
|
| VOOT on 360 |
[29 Apr 2009|11:02pm] |
Gamertag: Gsilverfish
I am loving VOOT on 360, guys. I wish I had a twinstick for it, but the 360 controller is.. hrmm.. tolerable. It seems that Q-Stepping is a lot trickier than before, and I have better luck when I do it with the Right Analog stick, but I'm "trained" to use the left, so it really throws me. In general I've just avoided using it, which is unfortunate, but I think I'll get the hang of it eventually.
I've been playing in the ranked matches and having a great time, though I have to admit it's because I'm winning a lot. xD I have a score that's like 22W 7L or something like that. This is probably because I'm picking my targets, trying to get matches with people who I assume to be around my level but in actuality really aren't. As you win more fights, your rank goes up, so I've been challenging people who are higher and higher, and on the occasions that I went against players who were obviously much higher ranked I got whupped pretty well. The but the best way to gauge skill is clearly from the W/L ratio, not the rank. I didn't see very many players with more wins than losses, and I expect my ratio to drop dramatically as I work my way up the ladder (though I haven't seen anyone with such a high rate yet).
Almost everyone online is Japanese, and I think that's why I have difficulty connecting to them, the majority of my connection attempts end up failing. But once in a game, it runs extremely smoothly. I've noticed a little hiccup only once.
My connection itself is not great: I used a crossover cable to bridge the 360 and my wireless connection (I'll need to feel a lot more invested before I fork over $100 for the official adapter), and it works, but while I have it set up like that, periodically the wireless connection eventually drops, and the only way I can get it to work again is to delete the bridge and build it again. It doesn't take too long to get back on but it's annoying, especially if I get booted in the middle of a match. (No one has dropped carrier on me so far, so I'm a bit embarrassed to have this happening.)
I haven't met up with any of my old VO crew from Japan, but I am told they are all on there. I haven't used my headset yet, I'm saving it for when I meet up with people I know online instead of random strangers.
|
|
| Project Wonderful |
[25 Aug 2008|11:25am] |
Last week I started advertising Dawn of Time via Project Wonderful through a few sites that I like. The interesting thing about this is that so far the costs and result (relative to how many hits the site gets) have been the same on almost every site. For about every 1000 pageviews, I get about 1 unique hit. It varies from site to site but that seems to be about the number. I'm a little impressed by this, because I am sure that I "view" (or ignore) well over 1000 ads before I click on any of them, though of course it depends on the ad, and I imagine with advertising "focused" at webcomic viewers there are a lot of people (1 in 1000 apparently) who are interested in clicking on ads to see new webcomics. The cost so far is about $.02 cents per click, even though some sites cost considerably more, the results seem to be the same.
The main exception is PVP, which is the most expensive site I've used so far, but gets the poorest results despite getting the most views, which is probably due to ad placement way below the comic and even below the current blog where people are unlikely to see it. Although PVP is giving me a lot of hits in total, if I can get the same results for less over a longer period of time (also by taking that money and advertising instead on a variety of sites) then that seems like better use of money (also I believe an ad's effectiveness increases as people see it in more places). The other exception is qwantz.com, where the ads are placed directly below the comic, right before the blog, where I think they DO catch the eye more, and there my cost per click is only $.01 and I am getting a higher number of clicks out of my views.
I'm not getting a huge number of views from any of these sites though, but it's been an interesting way to spend $10 (so far less than that, actually).
|
|
| Webcomic! |
[25 Jul 2008|08:25am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 anxious |
] |
People on my DA site already know, but I have started a webcomic! Unsurprisingly, it's about cavegirls and dinosaurs. Danny has kindly thrown together a proper website for me that's still under development, ie, most links don't do anything, there's a shop button that suggests I will be attempting to sell things, space for ads that doesn't have any ads in it (I plan on using Project Wonderful), etc.
Currently my plan is to update on a MWF schedule, and once I'm sure I'll be doing this for a while I'll spring for a domain name. I'm a little hesitant because I've never quite had the stones to do a webcomic before, and I've wanted to do one for about 10 years so that's 10 years of self-doubt that's lingering over me right now. XD But I'm having fun and I think it's coming along well, and that's the important thing!
Anyway, check it out if you like!
Dawn of Time Comics
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
helldray's journal
