Doom 3 Trailer

Man, someone give the editor of this new trailer a raise! Beautifully edited, wonderfully mixed, and showcases everything about the game you need to know: It's gorgeous, it's intense, it's scary, it's...very fucking scary.

Nice work, I'm frothing at the mouth over here!

Light My...Linspire?

Oh boy, this is absolutely hilarious and probably the most embarassing thing since Bill Gates got a free BSOD during his presentation of Windows 98 (or was it SE?). I can't find the video on the latter, but its around the 'net somewhere...

Anyway, I found that link from ye ole Scobleizer, though it was taken down from the official Linspire site almost immediately.

What's really funny is that the parody was recorded and mixed in May 2004. That means someone had to then spend at least a week or two creating the animation for that (probably longer), then they had to package it, get it approved, stick it on the site, and actually think that the parody was an excellent marketing idea.

Jesus christ. It's times like these when you wonder if the apocolypse really is coming soon.

On Choices

Last night was pretty interesting. Not only did I get to watch my next president make a pretty damn good speech, but I also found some great resources via our friends at public radio.

The facts remain to me that through channels such as this flick and this site that my decision is made: I'm a liberal guy, and we all know that liberals and George W. Moron don't exactly go well together.

What pulls me into this matter even more so is that I truly feel the need to vote this year. Last presidential election I really didn't like either canidate. Firstly I can't stand Joseph Lieberman, between his attacks on video games, and his approval of the DMCA put me in a position of choosing the lesser of two evils.

But this year it seems obvious to me. JohnKerry.com is a very informative and admittedly biased point of view on his campaign, and it seems to me that his administration will simply succeed and excel where Bush's has embarrassed and overtaken any sense of...well, sense.

Not to mention John Edwards seems ripe for Presidential victory as well, the guy is a very strong speaker, maybe better than Kerry himself. Check out this speech he made on Wednesday. Wowza. I think we've got a winning combination there, and it will be very interesting to see just how bad Bush is beaten in the election come November.

I can't wait to walk into the booth and cast my vote for the man I feel will lead this country to prosperity and invest in technology while keeping jobs here and rewarding companies who do so, and not others who ship jobs to India.

For some truly neutral facts, go to factcheck.org. They analyze each commerical and slur, and find the truth that lies behind them. Yes, for both sides.

Nintendo Doing Something?

 Well, well, and now we have it. Here is the next Nintendo console coming, the DS. Something that must be seen to be believed.I will freely admit I'm skeptical on the matter. However, I must also admit that there lies a possibility for good games for this thing. The ability to use platformers in a new light (perhaps with a map up top, or inventory information), the sheer scope of what RPGs could do on this thing (which is to say a LOT), and the ability to go in new directions with a stylus, such as the new Warioware that was previewed at E3.Now, with that said, I also get a very Virtual Boy smell coming from this thing.

Why? Well, a few reasons.

1: It doesn't carry the Game Boy brand

This is a huge, monster mistake here on Nintendo's part if they take this thing stateside and don't call it a Game Boy . Why? Because mom's and dad's and kids of the world know a gameboy when they see it. It is the brand which singlehandidly kept them in the black during the dark N64 days. It is the foundation of all current portable gaming. If this is to the next-gen product to combat the PSP, it needs to ground itself in Nintendo history and current customer conscious.

2: It needs killer titles

I'm sorry, but if Warioware that uses the stylus to slice fruit is the most innovative thing shown on the E3 floor, then this thing is sunk. Sure there's Metroid, but the controls were terrible, no analogue at all, and it seems like that's a huge waste of time and only has the novelty factor.

Madden DS and Mario DS will sell because they are existing titles with huge existing fan and customer bases. But I believe there needs to be something New and Innovative (yes, capitalized) to truly carry this system beyond the early adopters. No, a pokemon that lets the kids write in their names for the high scores isn't enough. There just doesn't seem to me like anything has been shown to truly knock a gamer's socks off.

3: The PSP is cooler

Bigger screen. Better graphics. No goofy gimmick. No fliptop. It has more storage.  It has less capabilities, but huge possibilities with built in franchises and a customer base (when comparing ps2 - gamecube) of almost 4 to 1. Even the PS2 to Game Boy Advance has a 20 million install base advantage, and if Sony plays this right, which I have no doubt they will based on cross-market advertising from movies to games and TV, the PSP will crush this gimmicky tech toy the day it is released.

The only thing that the PSP could do to ruin its existing chances would be the Game Gear factor: Battery munching. Unless this thing has some special battery-saving technology that has yet to be revealed, I think it will go through 6 AA's in about 6-8 hours, and that is death in terms of longevity.

Could this achillees heel be the DS advantage? I guess we'll find out soon enough...

The New Mechanic in Town

Oh, for fuck's sake Rockstar North. Is it really necessary to include a food mechanic in a game like Grand Theft Auto? And not just that, you have to be wary of too many calories or you'll end up looking like a fat pimp? Speaking of, what's so wrong with that anyway? I mean, who here hasn't seen a big black guy who gangbangs with the best of them?

And of course, the yin to this moronic yang is the exercise mechanic to build your muscles and prowess. Now I am definitely wanting to be wrong on this, but it doesn't seem to me like keeping track of my carbs while driving stolen cars and banging hookers is my idea of fun.

The Sims was popular because it was a virtual dollhouse. Grand Theft Auto was popular because it let suburbanites enjoy their fantasies of being a criminal. Learn the difference, and stop muddling the game with such absurdities.

The idea with this entire exercise is most likely to draw in more players, perhaps of the RPG variety, or better yet more players of the female variety. Women love the fact that you have to look after and pay attention to your Sims, and care for them as well as decorate their pad. And while every new addition hasn't been revealed, you best believe that's something they've probably added in San Andreas as well. Now not only do you have to count calories, you have to gangbang you way toward Ikea furniture and Todd Oldam style too!

This all seems so tedious to me. The popularity of GTA came from its simplicity, in my opinion.

Here's an idea instead of all this Sims ripping-off stuff: How about creating Non-Player Characters I give a shit about, and can ride along with? Do missions with, or suffer consequences if I fail them? How about they actually die not when they're scripted to, but when I fuck up? To create relationships between these gangbangers and develop them, not simply add more minutia to existing main character mechanics?

It seems to me that having 'events' would be nice as well. For example, there's your niece's birthday party. But you were asked to go kill some guy at a club. If you don't show up for one there are consequences, such as not meeting your future girlfriend at the b-day party, or not getting a nice ride as a result of doing the club job.

These seem to be interesting decisions and not virtual character upkeep which Rockstar seems so eager to include in the game.

Again, if they can pull it off I'll be the first to admit I'm wrong. But as of right now this hybrid monkey seems like the one in Outbreak than the ape from Congo.

The End of an Era

Here is a little blurb I wrote about the end of scwatch.net:

It was fun, it was cool, it was amazing, it led me to a new career.

I loved Star Chamber from the moment I played it. I knew I had found Something Special. I knew that not only had I found that, it was a small and relatively obscure game. It was a game that was ripe with potential, both in the world of games and the small tight-knit community that it had fostered. I wanted to be a part of that community. I knew I had the time, skills, and resources to do it.

I purchased the domain name scfans.net and began working on a phpnuke install along with osCommerce to combine the best of both worlds: The idea of a fansite, and a store created by the fans and for the fans.

There were certain resellers back then whom I felt were taking advantage of players. They had a corner on the small market, and I didn't like that. I didn't like the obvious bias or the obvious pricing. I wanted something reasonable. I loved SC so much that I didn't care if I lost money on it. So losing money is what I planned on doing.

I then saw that shrouded has responded to a post on the old Doom Marine forums about creating a fansite. We spoke long and hard about creating a fansite and a store, and how one could power the other. The store could fund the fansite, and vice versa. With deals in place, ie, I would run the store and he would run the fansite, we started off modding and thinking and doing.

Now while the partnership didn't last (due to what I really see looking back as stupid drama that should've never been given the respect it was at the time), it certainly showed to the world and the playerbase that this was a viable venture. That players needed these things to exist.

It took many (many) months of work to get SCfans dot Net into the shape you see it now. I tweaked it almost daily, adding and removing modules and stats and modifying code. I wanted it to do everything it could for the average player. I wanted to be proud of it. I wanted it to be something that I could call my own. My own business. My own opportunity.

SCWatch on the other hand represented my creative side. I have a knack for producing decent content, so that's what I did. Slowly, over the course of months, I began to work on content from myself and that which was donated from other players. I was immensely proud not only of the work, but also of the relationship that had developed between myself and Paul "Merakon" Dennen. It meant a lot to me, and to my fanboy and childish dreams, that I had an insiders look on my favorite game. I knew about certain cards, changes, and updates before they happened. I was immensely intrigued and humbled.

So when I finally asked him about an official position, to coincide with the new website that I got a sneak peek into, my heart was in my throat. My nervousness was only masked by an internet connection. Had it been face to face, I might've lost some color in my cheeks, some spring in my step.

But he said that he would like for me to come on board. That Incursions would be released soon and that it would be great to have someone on hand for content creation and the ubiquitous title of 'Community Manager', something that I picked out for myself aftering seeing it on another video game forum. I thought I filled out that role very well: I knew almost all of the players, I spent a lot of time in the game, I tried my best with my efforts from SCFans dot Net to do each player right, to treat them how I wanted to be treated, and to hold the most amazing tournaments around. I didn't care if I lost money, I was in it to have fun.

Now I have a very small career in the video game industry. Yes, it's damn near miniscule, but it is a start. It is concrete. It is something to show and to speak of to my friends and be immensely proud of. Who gets paid to be a fanboy? I mean, this was the job I wanted my whole life. And while I do still have the 'day job', it is this job that brings the most satisfaction, and this job which brings the most joy. There are few jobs in life that you can say you truly can't wait to start work on. This is one of them.

So with that I sold my business to Codo, the excellent person who has treated it just as well as I could've hoped for, and I am now quite comfortable with my Nayantara routine. I have a great group that I can work with, even if only by email, instant messaging, and the game in question, and it feels great to be able to speak of my good fortune to the aforementioned friends and family. There is nothing like the wonderment I experience when I explain my responsibilities and the joy I get in keeping them.

I'm a lucky guy. I'm a certified geek. I got my start with a dude from Arizona who, just like me, wanted to make a kick ass Star Chamber fansite.

And we have succeeded. In more ways than one.

I won't bother linking to the exact post, because it might be gone. But nevertheless, I felt that as a final post on the forums, it was significant.

Bang!

In the vast scheme of things, it doesn't seem like a little card game could really out-do the big boys when it comes to sheer fun. But out-done it Bang! has. This is an excellent game that is super fun for 4-6 people. Yes, you need at least 3 people to play. But man it is certainly worth your time and trouble. It's also very cheap and comes with my highest recommendation.

Get it and enjoy. You'll be hard pressed to find a funner time.