Original video located here. Accessed 14th September 2018
I have no idea who made this (although i recognize the music as a remix of Terra's theme) but DAYUM
Friday, September 14, 2018
Final Fantasy anime
An inro for a hypothetical anime adaptation of Final Fantasy 6:
I have no idea who made this (although i recognize the music as a remix of Terra's theme) but DAYUM
I have no idea who made this (although i recognize the music as a remix of Terra's theme) but DAYUM
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Tower of Power
Computer opponents in Age of Empires 2: Their single minded commitment to destroy my towers never ceases to amaze me.
By way of example:
Needless to say, these guys aren't heading for those buildings I recently captured.....
By way of example:
Needless to say, these guys aren't heading for those buildings I recently captured.....
Friday, September 7, 2018
I Was Only Nineteen
And so, after nineteen years, Sony has finally ended tech support for the PS2, thus bringing the final curtain down on the console.
Source
Nineteen years. That is staggering to say the least - especially since this is a field that tends to move at the blink of an eye. Indeed, by the way of comparison it took nineteen years to get from Pacman to System Shock 2.
I've already made my peace with the PS2 but I still have give props to any video game tech that's lasted this long. They are nothing short of a rare thing.
Source
Nineteen years. That is staggering to say the least - especially since this is a field that tends to move at the blink of an eye. Indeed, by the way of comparison it took nineteen years to get from Pacman to System Shock 2.
I've already made my peace with the PS2 but I still have give props to any video game tech that's lasted this long. They are nothing short of a rare thing.
Monday, August 27, 2018
E-Maul
A story:
This year makes two decades since my first year at college. At the time, Internet culture was on the rise to a point where it started to look possible that anyone could use it - and it wasn't just confined to the realm of the basement-dwelling nerd. It was during this time that I got my first email account.
And I was real excited: for I now had a power that meant I could reach so many people across the world at my fingertips.
And so I got cocky: I decided to send an email to legendary late-eighties/early-nineties game developers the Bitmap Brothers. Through their website, i found their email address and sent an email asking if they had plans for any future Amiga releases.
In retrospect I'm not sure what possessed me to send such an email: Was I feeling adventurous with this new tech called email? Was I doing it just to get a reaction? Was I refusing to admit the Amiga's time was finished?
But in any case: i did indeed get a reply. One of only five words: 'Sure watch out for Z...'
At the time it was exciting that I got a reply but, now that i look back on it, I can wonder how seriously the Bitmap Brothers were taking my email. Were they dutifully answering a fan query? Or did I look naive to the point of laughable?
Thing is, in recent years, I obtained the Bitmap Brothers Universe book through a Kickstarter campaign, which provided a detailed history on the Bitmaps themselves.
What is of particular interest is part of the book that describes the period of the mid-to-late nineties: where many software houses were making the transition to 3D gaming. Some managed to pull it off and survive but many, many others, including the Bitmap Brothers collapsed (although in some cases not for the lack of trying).
That part of the book paints a picture where the Bitmaps are struggling to get their heads around the new tech of 3D; struggling to keep up with the growing trends of larger development crews, bigger budgets and the integration of FMV; butting heads with publishers and a prototype of Z on the Amiga that was never finished.
Funny how things turn out
This year makes two decades since my first year at college. At the time, Internet culture was on the rise to a point where it started to look possible that anyone could use it - and it wasn't just confined to the realm of the basement-dwelling nerd. It was during this time that I got my first email account.
And I was real excited: for I now had a power that meant I could reach so many people across the world at my fingertips.
And so I got cocky: I decided to send an email to legendary late-eighties/early-nineties game developers the Bitmap Brothers. Through their website, i found their email address and sent an email asking if they had plans for any future Amiga releases.
In retrospect I'm not sure what possessed me to send such an email: Was I feeling adventurous with this new tech called email? Was I doing it just to get a reaction? Was I refusing to admit the Amiga's time was finished?
But in any case: i did indeed get a reply. One of only five words: 'Sure watch out for Z...'
At the time it was exciting that I got a reply but, now that i look back on it, I can wonder how seriously the Bitmap Brothers were taking my email. Were they dutifully answering a fan query? Or did I look naive to the point of laughable?
Thing is, in recent years, I obtained the Bitmap Brothers Universe book through a Kickstarter campaign, which provided a detailed history on the Bitmaps themselves.
What is of particular interest is part of the book that describes the period of the mid-to-late nineties: where many software houses were making the transition to 3D gaming. Some managed to pull it off and survive but many, many others, including the Bitmap Brothers collapsed (although in some cases not for the lack of trying).
That part of the book paints a picture where the Bitmaps are struggling to get their heads around the new tech of 3D; struggling to keep up with the growing trends of larger development crews, bigger budgets and the integration of FMV; butting heads with publishers and a prototype of Z on the Amiga that was never finished.
Funny how things turn out
Friday, August 17, 2018
Monday, July 16, 2018
Sky High
Another game has been struck down from my Hall of Shane. Goodbye Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter!
Clearly I liked the first one enough to find out what happens next.
Well what can i say about this one? There's a lot of charm to it, the dialogue is hilarious, the plot has some great twists and the boss battles are nothing short of epic. Funnily enough, I've often found with RPGs that I spend more time grinding to a point where the final boss seems like a pushover when compared to their predecessors - but this one was a rare exception. The end boss was just as challenging as some of the previous bosses that, somehow, the grinding didn't really feel like I was levelling the playing field.
Which is fine by me as I enjoy a challenge and appreciate the fact that the game was keeping me on my toes.
Ultimately though, this game has had an interesting localization history: It came out eight years after it's initial release, and the localization team, XSeed, had a series of well-documented troubles of their own to deal with. You often hear about how fans are left hanging when their favorite series comes to an abrupt end (Firefly anyone?) but you never hear (as much) about how fans are grateful when their favorite series has a proper follow-up let alone one that resolves everything.
So while I have no idea if anyone within XSeed would bother with this corner of cyberspace, may I say the following regardless:
You did good.
You put yourselves through a lot to get this game to the eager punters who have been left hanging.
You went out of your way to make sure the cliffhanger in the first game was properly resolved.
You did a Herculean task in translating a game with a monumentally large amount of dialogue
And I, along with so many gamers, are grateful for the effort.
And you have certainly earned those big sales.
You did good.
Original image located here. Accessed 15th July 2018
Clearly I liked the first one enough to find out what happens next.
Well what can i say about this one? There's a lot of charm to it, the dialogue is hilarious, the plot has some great twists and the boss battles are nothing short of epic. Funnily enough, I've often found with RPGs that I spend more time grinding to a point where the final boss seems like a pushover when compared to their predecessors - but this one was a rare exception. The end boss was just as challenging as some of the previous bosses that, somehow, the grinding didn't really feel like I was levelling the playing field.
Which is fine by me as I enjoy a challenge and appreciate the fact that the game was keeping me on my toes.
Ultimately though, this game has had an interesting localization history: It came out eight years after it's initial release, and the localization team, XSeed, had a series of well-documented troubles of their own to deal with. You often hear about how fans are left hanging when their favorite series comes to an abrupt end (Firefly anyone?) but you never hear (as much) about how fans are grateful when their favorite series has a proper follow-up let alone one that resolves everything.
So while I have no idea if anyone within XSeed would bother with this corner of cyberspace, may I say the following regardless:
You did good.
You put yourselves through a lot to get this game to the eager punters who have been left hanging.
You went out of your way to make sure the cliffhanger in the first game was properly resolved.
You did a Herculean task in translating a game with a monumentally large amount of dialogue
And I, along with so many gamers, are grateful for the effort.
And you have certainly earned those big sales.
You did good.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Six Shooter
I got bored so I made a got a whole bunch of ESO screen caps and came up with this:
Yep, these are all my guys fashioned in a homage to the boxart to The Chaos Engine.
Erm......"Wayshrine Activated"?
Yep, these are all my guys fashioned in a homage to the boxart to The Chaos Engine.
Erm......"Wayshrine Activated"?
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