It's been a while, I know, but I haven't been able to really think of anything worthwhile to say on the blog. Lately all the writing I've been doing has revolved around a little project that I've been working on for a little while now, using a program called "RPG Maker 2003". As you can probably tell, it's a program for making Role Playing Games on the computer. It's pretty user friendly, though there are newer versions of it out now that seem far better, the only problem is that I've used up my 30 day trial for one of them, and the other... well I can't figure out why, but it stops downloading at around 89% every time I try. So 2003 will have to do for now, and I don't mind, it's still a pretty sweet program.
Personally, I think that Video Games are a great way to portray a story, and some of them do an amazing job of bringing you into it. Allow me to give you a couple examples of games I thought were very well done when it comes to story and bringing the player into the game.
Shenmue I & II (Dreamcast and Xbox, in that order) - I was introduced to the Shenmue games a while ago, when I first bought my Dreamcast. I can't remember why I bought it, when I bought it, or where I bought it (I'm assuming Microplay) but I do remember my "older brother" Justin saying something like "Oh, you won't like that game, you'll probably think it's too boring", but I bought it anyways and never regretted it since. I can't really describe the genre of the game... It's a mix of adventure, puzzle solving, mystery, and a bit of acting and fighting. The story is focuses on a young Japanese man named Ryo Hazuki, who's father (a martial artist who created the Hazuki style of fighting, which Ryo is a student of) is murdered at the beginning of the story by a mysterious martial artist named Lan Di, apparently a past acquaintance of Ryo's father. The rest of the story plays out as Ryo swears to find out who Lan Di is and extract revenge on him, a story which by the second game is still not finished. From what I've heard, a long time ago, it was originally supposed to be about 5 games long... from what I can remember.
The story is really great, but the best parts are this game is the freedom, exploration, and interaction that it gives you, especially in the second game. As you walk around the town, or city, you see people walking up an down the streets doing their daily routines, going on walks, shopping, eating, playing at the arcade... I seem to have it a block write now, so I can't explain everything as well as I want to, but the game does an amazing job at making you feel as if you are living out Ryo's life, you can speak to passers by on the street, work, play games, eat, get into fights, gamble, sleep, buy little miniature Sega toys from those machines you see everywhere, buy pop from a drink machine, examine so many different little objects around you... It's really one of my favorite games, and I supposed how I can understand how people don't like it, or may think that it's slow... While it does have it's action, there are huge spaces where all you do is walk around the city/town, which doesn't bother me at all, with all the things you can do in it.
Perhaps today wasn't a good day to start writing on here again. I'm going to head off now, probably take a nap before I take a bus downtown for rehearsal. My last wisdom tooth is coming in, and it's at the part where it's just about to push through my gum, but it doesn't hurt. All it does is swell my gum so it's very irritating to do basically anything on the left side of my mouth right now. Fun fun, I wonder if I will have to get them removed?
-PlayerOne
"(Insert Shenmue quote in here, as I cannot find a good one)" - Shenmue
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Forbidden Blood
Hey again readers! Player One here, at Slices of Cake! Were you expecting someone else? I hope not, I wouldn't want to bore you so intensely that you would begin to think of your own imaginary blog writers! That's just ridiculous, and besides... Those imaginary writers and I have never really seen eye to eye. Mostly because they aren't real and I can't really... See their eyes.
It's been pretty quiet here at Slices of Cake Inc... The phone rug today, but it was a false alarm. I was also reminded of my inability to give blood to anyone in North America. Long story short, because I lived in England for more than 3 months when I was about... a couple months old, from what I can remember (which is nothing at all), I can't give blood because of the whole mad cow scare they had over there. The woman who was screening me told me that I may carry the Mad Cow in my blood, and I could transfer it to someone else if I gave them my blood. If I had it, which, I'm pretty sure, I don't. But what do I know about my blood. Nothing, apparently. She also mentioned something along the lines of "If you do carry it, it could show up in your system in the future" as in I may come down with Mad Cow eventually.... Or something. Goodie. If they don't want my blood, so be it.
The funny thing about that story is that I have given blood previously, and on the previous screening I wasn't stopped at all, even though I had filled the from in the same way as I had previously. Hmm... I suppose it isn't as funny as it is confusing... and possibly very, very, alarming.
To sum it up, I'm not suffering from the aids, so please don't worry. Slices of Cake Inc is still running like a well oiled machine! But we're not "All work and no play" here, oh no! We (me) had a, "Pants: Optional" day last week. Feedback was pretty good and I plan to have it again soon. I've never really been a fan of wacky tie day, it always ends the same way. Two people end up coming with the same, guitar necktie and the results are not pleasant. Coffee flies, cover sheets are converted into airplanes, staplers are misused, outside food and/or drink is brought inside and some one always makes an improperly placed office joke. The whole ordeal is extremely unpleasant... and it really makes me wonder what I really have against wacky tie days. Maybe I should give it a shot, I had second guesses about Pants: Optional day, but I've never regretted it since.
-Player One
"What sauce!" - Plok
It's been pretty quiet here at Slices of Cake Inc... The phone rug today, but it was a false alarm. I was also reminded of my inability to give blood to anyone in North America. Long story short, because I lived in England for more than 3 months when I was about... a couple months old, from what I can remember (which is nothing at all), I can't give blood because of the whole mad cow scare they had over there. The woman who was screening me told me that I may carry the Mad Cow in my blood, and I could transfer it to someone else if I gave them my blood. If I had it, which, I'm pretty sure, I don't. But what do I know about my blood. Nothing, apparently. She also mentioned something along the lines of "If you do carry it, it could show up in your system in the future" as in I may come down with Mad Cow eventually.... Or something. Goodie. If they don't want my blood, so be it.
The funny thing about that story is that I have given blood previously, and on the previous screening I wasn't stopped at all, even though I had filled the from in the same way as I had previously. Hmm... I suppose it isn't as funny as it is confusing... and possibly very, very, alarming.
To sum it up, I'm not suffering from the aids, so please don't worry. Slices of Cake Inc is still running like a well oiled machine! But we're not "All work and no play" here, oh no! We (me) had a, "Pants: Optional" day last week. Feedback was pretty good and I plan to have it again soon. I've never really been a fan of wacky tie day, it always ends the same way. Two people end up coming with the same, guitar necktie and the results are not pleasant. Coffee flies, cover sheets are converted into airplanes, staplers are misused, outside food and/or drink is brought inside and some one always makes an improperly placed office joke. The whole ordeal is extremely unpleasant... and it really makes me wonder what I really have against wacky tie days. Maybe I should give it a shot, I had second guesses about Pants: Optional day, but I've never regretted it since.
-Player One
"What sauce!" - Plok
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Lesson Learned
I'm finding as things are finally starting to settle down, I'm getting more and more stressed out. The main cause of this... are books!
A friend from university and I took out a few books from the school's library and later on that day I found that I no longer had any use for them. My friend said that he still might have use for them, so I said he could borrow them as long as he returned them on time. That was the big mistake I made that day. About a month later, and I get an email from the library, telling me that I have overdue books.
Shit
After looking at the library's website, and failed attempts at trying to renew the already overdue books, I have found out that I am probably going to have to play a significant amount of money for these damn things I didn't even use in the first place. Oh happy day! Now I dread the day I have to walk up to the librarian, my tail between my legs, and explain my situation. Obviously, the first thing that she/he will tell me is "Well you shouldn't have let your friend borrow the books in the first place". Then I'll nod, apologize and pray that these books aren't worth that much. And yes, I have tried to get a hold of my friend, but I haven't received any word from him yet, and last I checked with him he said he returned them. Chances are I'm going to have to pay this fine, and hopefully he might help out with the charge.
On a positive note though, I'm apparently going to go watch some jazz tonight, so that'll probably help the nerves quite a bit.
"If you're feeling good, don't worry.... You'll get over it" - Bad Street Brawler
A friend from university and I took out a few books from the school's library and later on that day I found that I no longer had any use for them. My friend said that he still might have use for them, so I said he could borrow them as long as he returned them on time. That was the big mistake I made that day. About a month later, and I get an email from the library, telling me that I have overdue books.
Shit
After looking at the library's website, and failed attempts at trying to renew the already overdue books, I have found out that I am probably going to have to play a significant amount of money for these damn things I didn't even use in the first place. Oh happy day! Now I dread the day I have to walk up to the librarian, my tail between my legs, and explain my situation. Obviously, the first thing that she/he will tell me is "Well you shouldn't have let your friend borrow the books in the first place". Then I'll nod, apologize and pray that these books aren't worth that much. And yes, I have tried to get a hold of my friend, but I haven't received any word from him yet, and last I checked with him he said he returned them. Chances are I'm going to have to pay this fine, and hopefully he might help out with the charge.
On a positive note though, I'm apparently going to go watch some jazz tonight, so that'll probably help the nerves quite a bit.
"If you're feeling good, don't worry.... You'll get over it" - Bad Street Brawler
Monday, April 7, 2008
Alive and Well
Well, that last week of horribly long nights which consisted of work I could have done months before has finally finished. Huzzah! Now I'm back in the saddle... I suppose, though I've almost gotten my fill of writing from that last week... But there is important information to discuss!
Some of you, though probably not many of you, may know a few things about the live action Akira movie that has apparently been in the planning. For those of you who don't know, Akira is a great anime co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo (who also wrote that magna the movie was based off of). It was regarded by some critics as one of the greatest animated movies ever made, and it really is a great movie. It's set in the post-apocalyptic future of Tokyo, 2019 to be specific, and stars Shotaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima. In 1988, Tokyo was destroyed by what seemed like an atomic blast, and Neo-Tokyo now stands on an artificial island and is where the movie takes place. Teens Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang, and Tetsuo, his best friend, have ambushed a couple of rival gang members. Something happens and Tetsuo is injured... But that's all I will say for now, because if you don't know what happens then you probably haven't seen the movie. Which you should. Right now. Before you read on. Do it.
Now, like I said before, you may have heard about the plans to make a live action Akira movie. You may have seen some Kanye West video that apparently recreated the bike race scene in it. Either way, something is apparently going down, and I have to say I'm a little excited. The first news I heard from it a while ago was that Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio (of all people) grabbed the rights to make the movie. "Oh dear" I thought "I had better gouge my eyes out now in advance" but I wasn't being very fair with it, I had a change of heart recently when I was thinking about it, and now I'm actually looking forward to it. Also, soon after the first news, I learned that DiCaprio is not only producing it, but also starring as the lead character Shotaro Kaneda. Personally, I can't really see that really working out in my opinion, but who knows. Then, a couple days ago, I found this. Joseph Gordon Levitt is playing Tetsuo. The kid from Angels in the Outfield! ...At least, I think it's that was him, I'm too lazy to go over and check to see if it is. From a recent photo of him shown on the linked site, I have to say that he does seem to look a bit more like his character than Leo, but still... Neither of them are Japanese, and I think there is going to be a lot of people complaining about that. Maybe a creative use of tape-to-eye will be one of the things that the make-up crew will use? Of course, that's politically incorrect, so I obviously didn't just suggest that at all.
Not only have they found actors for the two lead roles, but they apparently even have a director on board now too. Ruairi Robinson is his name, and he hasn't done anything major yet, besides a slew of interesting short films, but that shouldn't stop him from doing something big. I also want to remind all of you that I know that a lot of this is probably either old news (or even rumors), but I felt the need to share it with you, since not very many people even know about the possibility of the movie itself yet.
So, to get away from all of that business... I have painfully remembered the reason for which I do not enjoy to eat liver and onions. For some reason, I had the idea that I may have "grown into" the taste over the years, as I didn't like it when I was younger either. I actually used to pretend to like it as a child, because I was afraid I would hurt my dad's feelings if I didn't like it. So there I was, standing in my dad's kitchen, staring at this pile of liver on my plate. All I have to say is thank god my dad cooked bacon with it, or I would have had to survive on mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for the rest of supper. That's all well and good, and my dad is a great cook, but I was in the mood for animal. To sum it up, I still don't like liver and onions.
That's about it for me today, I think I'm going to go relax for a bit. Maybe I'll watch Akira tonight, it's been a while since I've watched it last. Take care.
-PlayerOne
"The future is not a straight line. There are many different pathways. We must try to decide that future for ourselves." - Kiyoko (Akira, 1988)
Some of you, though probably not many of you, may know a few things about the live action Akira movie that has apparently been in the planning. For those of you who don't know, Akira is a great anime co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo (who also wrote that magna the movie was based off of). It was regarded by some critics as one of the greatest animated movies ever made, and it really is a great movie. It's set in the post-apocalyptic future of Tokyo, 2019 to be specific, and stars Shotaro Kaneda and Tetsuo Shima. In 1988, Tokyo was destroyed by what seemed like an atomic blast, and Neo-Tokyo now stands on an artificial island and is where the movie takes place. Teens Kaneda, the leader of a biker gang, and Tetsuo, his best friend, have ambushed a couple of rival gang members. Something happens and Tetsuo is injured... But that's all I will say for now, because if you don't know what happens then you probably haven't seen the movie. Which you should. Right now. Before you read on. Do it.
Now, like I said before, you may have heard about the plans to make a live action Akira movie. You may have seen some Kanye West video that apparently recreated the bike race scene in it. Either way, something is apparently going down, and I have to say I'm a little excited. The first news I heard from it a while ago was that Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprio (of all people) grabbed the rights to make the movie. "Oh dear" I thought "I had better gouge my eyes out now in advance" but I wasn't being very fair with it, I had a change of heart recently when I was thinking about it, and now I'm actually looking forward to it. Also, soon after the first news, I learned that DiCaprio is not only producing it, but also starring as the lead character Shotaro Kaneda. Personally, I can't really see that really working out in my opinion, but who knows. Then, a couple days ago, I found this. Joseph Gordon Levitt is playing Tetsuo. The kid from Angels in the Outfield! ...At least, I think it's that was him, I'm too lazy to go over and check to see if it is. From a recent photo of him shown on the linked site, I have to say that he does seem to look a bit more like his character than Leo, but still... Neither of them are Japanese, and I think there is going to be a lot of people complaining about that. Maybe a creative use of tape-to-eye will be one of the things that the make-up crew will use? Of course, that's politically incorrect, so I obviously didn't just suggest that at all.
Not only have they found actors for the two lead roles, but they apparently even have a director on board now too. Ruairi Robinson is his name, and he hasn't done anything major yet, besides a slew of interesting short films, but that shouldn't stop him from doing something big. I also want to remind all of you that I know that a lot of this is probably either old news (or even rumors), but I felt the need to share it with you, since not very many people even know about the possibility of the movie itself yet.
So, to get away from all of that business... I have painfully remembered the reason for which I do not enjoy to eat liver and onions. For some reason, I had the idea that I may have "grown into" the taste over the years, as I didn't like it when I was younger either. I actually used to pretend to like it as a child, because I was afraid I would hurt my dad's feelings if I didn't like it. So there I was, standing in my dad's kitchen, staring at this pile of liver on my plate. All I have to say is thank god my dad cooked bacon with it, or I would have had to survive on mashed potatoes and corn on the cob for the rest of supper. That's all well and good, and my dad is a great cook, but I was in the mood for animal. To sum it up, I still don't like liver and onions.
That's about it for me today, I think I'm going to go relax for a bit. Maybe I'll watch Akira tonight, it's been a while since I've watched it last. Take care.
-PlayerOne
"The future is not a straight line. There are many different pathways. We must try to decide that future for ourselves." - Kiyoko (Akira, 1988)
Monday, March 31, 2008
Procrastination Rules the Nation
I don't really have much time to update at all this week, it's one of the few times a year my procrastination catches up with me. The next couple days will consist of panic, sudden flashes of rage, pathetic sobbing and then I'll slowly lose all sense of reality as I try to drink the contents of a glow stick.
I love this time of the year.
So wish me luck, I'll leave you with a neat YouTube video to tide you over.
"Yummm, I wanna to go back to my castle and munch sweet tacos!" - Twinkle Star Sprites
-PlayerOne
Edit: I had to include this. That's a lot of effort to put into an April Fool's joke, probably a lot of money too.
I love this time of the year.
So wish me luck, I'll leave you with a neat YouTube video to tide you over.
"Yummm, I wanna to go back to my castle and munch sweet tacos!" - Twinkle Star Sprites
-PlayerOne
Edit: I had to include this. That's a lot of effort to put into an April Fool's joke, probably a lot of money too.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Either Way, it's Cold.
Chris over in How'da be a Pimp already addressed this topic a little while ago, but recent events have encouraged me to further comment on it.
When I woke up this morning, it was snowing. That's fine though, that's been happening on and off for the past two weeks. Apparently we are getting a storm tonight, so it wasn't surprising when the snow started to come down almost horizontally. I was fine with all of this, but then something strange happened.
The snow changed.
Today, we watched the war between Spring and Winter as it switched from rain to snow as each side tried to take dominance over our city. At one point I saw it both rain and snow at the same time. It was at that point where I gave up, closed the blinds and retreated back into the depths of my house.
-PlayerOne
"An Afro is the symbol of a man" - Flip Shot
When I woke up this morning, it was snowing. That's fine though, that's been happening on and off for the past two weeks. Apparently we are getting a storm tonight, so it wasn't surprising when the snow started to come down almost horizontally. I was fine with all of this, but then something strange happened.
The snow changed.
Today, we watched the war between Spring and Winter as it switched from rain to snow as each side tried to take dominance over our city. At one point I saw it both rain and snow at the same time. It was at that point where I gave up, closed the blinds and retreated back into the depths of my house.
-PlayerOne
"An Afro is the symbol of a man" - Flip Shot
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Night's Post
I'm slowly trying to get my sleep schedule back in order, but something tells me this blog isn't going to help me overcome my bad habit of staying up much too late. But I'm not complaining, I can see myself having fun and exciting times on the blog.
Two and I had just recently seen a sneak preview for "Run Fat Boy, Run" with Simon Pegg (well known for Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz) and I enjoyed quite a bit. It didn't have the same feel as "Hot Fuzz" or "Shaun of the Dead", both of which were written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by Edgar Wright, though it was still a good movie. Having actually stayed in my seat just long enough to catch the first bit of the credits, I noticed a familiar name noted as the director. David Schwimmer, or as many people would know him, Ross from friends. Apparently it was one of his first, if not his first, directing job, so good for him. He and Simon Pegg probably started to get the idea of working together after they both played in a movie that came out to dvd a couple months ago. A movie which I can't remember the name of. Also, something I found even more interesting, Simon Pegg wrote the screenplay with another familiar face. Micheal Ian Black wrote the screenplay with Simon Pegg! A lot of you probably don't know who he is, but he was a part of one of my favorite T.V. shows, "Stella". Which only had one season, but it was a damn fine season. Anyways, "Run Fat Boy Run" is a good comedy, while it has a bit of romance in it, it's not a romantic comedy. It has some great characters, some really funny moments but lacks a bit of the wit in Pegg's last couple of well known films. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a review, but I do thinks it's something you should check out. Just don't rush to the theaters to see it, it's probably more of a rental. Although I have to admit, there's just something about watching a comedy with a huge audience. The roaring laughter of the entire theater is something I actually enjoy quite a bit.
Also, I was talking to Two about the blog a bit. Hopefully he'll be able to get some posts on the site soon, but I'm still not sure how often he's going to be writing. We'll see, hopefully he'll be able to stay on board for a while. If not, that's alright, I can hold things down on my own pretty well.
For now, I'm out.
-PlayerOne
Two and I had just recently seen a sneak preview for "Run Fat Boy, Run" with Simon Pegg (well known for Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz) and I enjoyed quite a bit. It didn't have the same feel as "Hot Fuzz" or "Shaun of the Dead", both of which were written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by Edgar Wright, though it was still a good movie. Having actually stayed in my seat just long enough to catch the first bit of the credits, I noticed a familiar name noted as the director. David Schwimmer, or as many people would know him, Ross from friends. Apparently it was one of his first, if not his first, directing job, so good for him. He and Simon Pegg probably started to get the idea of working together after they both played in a movie that came out to dvd a couple months ago. A movie which I can't remember the name of. Also, something I found even more interesting, Simon Pegg wrote the screenplay with another familiar face. Micheal Ian Black wrote the screenplay with Simon Pegg! A lot of you probably don't know who he is, but he was a part of one of my favorite T.V. shows, "Stella". Which only had one season, but it was a damn fine season. Anyways, "Run Fat Boy Run" is a good comedy, while it has a bit of romance in it, it's not a romantic comedy. It has some great characters, some really funny moments but lacks a bit of the wit in Pegg's last couple of well known films. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a review, but I do thinks it's something you should check out. Just don't rush to the theaters to see it, it's probably more of a rental. Although I have to admit, there's just something about watching a comedy with a huge audience. The roaring laughter of the entire theater is something I actually enjoy quite a bit.
Also, I was talking to Two about the blog a bit. Hopefully he'll be able to get some posts on the site soon, but I'm still not sure how often he's going to be writing. We'll see, hopefully he'll be able to stay on board for a while. If not, that's alright, I can hold things down on my own pretty well.
For now, I'm out.
-PlayerOne
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