Its been a while since I posted some photos, so here’s a recent trip to the Long Beach Aquarium (I go to a lot of aquariums):
I was shooting mostly 50mm macro the entire weekend, I love that lens.
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Mar17
Tags: aquarium
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Mar13
Kids on my street wished for a Super Nintendo for Christmas. I wished that they wouldn’t get it so they could play with me outside.
My childhood was made up of video game stigmas, in which it was considered “a waste of time” to play games. Our household was different. While many kids were spending their weekends beating the latest Mario game I was expected to go outside. “GO OUTSIDE?” There’s bears outside! Never mind that, the fact was that my friend just got a Sega CD and I was tying a rope to a skateboard to slingshot myself down the driveway felt unfair (although I now realize my childhood stories can be so much more awesome sometimes).
We had an NES in the house until age 8 or 9. Only rule for the NES is that you get 30 minutes to play it. 30 MINUTES? Man, it took 10 minutes just to blow into the cartridge and get that thing going! The system didn’t last long, as it got removed because I was breaking my 30-minute daily time limit by sneaking into the living room at 3 am to play games. I loved that thing. I could play it for days if I could only get more than 30 minutes with it. After a while I found out that I could get some extra time out of it if no one knew I was playing it. But I got caught, and that was history.
After the NES went away I was given a Game Gear for Christmas, which really only got to come out for car trips and that was about it. I didn’t understand this at the time, but looking back it made sense… I was easily distracted by it and travel was something that is not nearly as enjoyable with a child. Between the cracks of playing outside or getting my homework done there were some educational computer games, but as far as mainstream gaming goes… I was oblivious to anything going on. I sometimes could get my fix off (of all places) my TI-83 calculator or borrowing a computer game or playing a friend’s console. I watched the N64 release come and go, with the other kids getting an N64 under the Christmas tree. 3D? Please, I was still unsure if Mario was even beatable, let alone an extra dimension being added.
Fastforward ten years. I just graduated high school. I was at college, and my life was really my own then. I had to start from scratch, and where best to start? The NES. I bought one on Ebay with a light gun and game for $75. It was a special day. And I played for an hour. Not 30 minutes, but an hour. And I just broke 10 years of stigma.
After that I pursued other games on Ebay, and slowly but surely started to build up my video game knowledge. I finally beat Super Mario Bros, got 10 ducks killed in Duck Hunt, and eventually managed to beat Zelda… all a decade or two late but totally worth it. People at my dorm would walk by and say, “dude, you’re playing an NES? Yours still works?” I would say, “Yep, I just bought it!” The puzzled looks were hilarious.
Because I’m thinking about it at the moment, an interesting sidenote is that I started making Flash games before I purchased my own console. In 2002 and 2003 I launched my first Flash games at my high school and it wasn’t until college that I got the NES.
But back to my story, after 2004 I really starting to discover retro games it became apparent I needed to start getting into more recent systems. I went and bought an SNES and a N64 (which was still 10 years late) in late 2004, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I played Donkey Kong Country from start to finish in a few nights, thinking it was one of the best things I had ever done. But I still felt behind… and just a year later I would buy my first next-gen console: The Xbox360. It was expensive but worth it.
And man did I suck at games! I was about 10-15 years behind everyone and it was hard to get used to everything. The Xbox360 was easily the hardest console to play games on for me. Halo was foreign, there were probably 30 buttons to know, and the analog stick was something still to master (the N64 analog stick was… yeah). I was easily beat and it was embarrassing. But I was getting better, I think only from the sheer amount of energy I was putting into playing games. One Summer was dubbed “Megaman Summer” in which I tried to finish as many Megaman games as possible… I got through the first three and had to call it quits.
Now I am fairly well-versed in video games but I am still fairly bad at most of them. I play on Normal Mode in hope that it won’t be too hard. And I have still never played Street Fighter.
I look back at showing up late to the party and consider what would have happened if I played games throughout my childhood. I am not entirely sure I would be making games for a living right now if that was the case. Games seem so much more special when you can look but not touch, like a museum piece that you can get close to but never really put your hands on. Things are so intriguing when you can only imagine what they are versus actually experiencing them in real life. For me, video games were this magical entity that could only be experienced a handful of times a year… and still today I get that special feeling when I hear the console light turn red and the game boot on the screen.
Tags: video games
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Mar10
I just got back from Flash Gaming Summit in San Francisco, CA. Overall I felt like it was a great conference, lots of interesting little tidbits coming from interesting places.
There are a few things that I really took away from the conference:
+ There are a lot of social network games based in Flash. Usually this is a no-brainer but this year it was really obvious, tonnes of people from Facebook-integrated companies. Crazy.
+ Developers are still way awesome. I met a lot of developers at the conference and they are great people. Flash developers are really special. And it’s interesting finally meeting someone you’ve been interacting with for years but never had a chance to speak to in-person. They make great games but they are even greater people, so thumbs up.
+ Regardless of the incredible volume of Flash Games being produced, people are still innovating and doing amazing things in Flash. Watching Sean Cooper’s Boxhead demo with 500 zombies and full framerate on screen was something special.
+ I find it refreshing to hear stories of developers pushing themselves through failure and persisting to get an amazing game out that does successfully for them. We all have failures in game design and production, but people openly discussing how they approached their problems is really enlightening. Tim Fowers, author of Now Boarding, created an amazing distribution model by offering a free copy of the game to anyone who could get a friend to buy a copy. Obviously, friends would tell all their friends and suddenly hundreds of eyes had access to the game… simple things like that are crazy smart.
+ FGS had great talks from game developers, but there was still a lot of talk about money. This year was definitely better given the talks from several developers and new panelists, and I applaud Mochi for the improvement over last year. That said, we still have a few remaining holes in the art, sound, and game design panels. Some of these topics were covered briefly in single-developer presentations (which were really neat) but I would love there to be more multi-dev panels on approaches to game development and what developers do during the game development process. The two track (development/distribution and financials) conference model really helped this year though, I’m glad that happened.
Overall, fun 24 hours. Also, pictures soon to follow. Thanks to Tass, Dan, Joey, Greg, Alison, Con, Jared and HI, Mike, Emily, Nick, Tyler and all the other awesome cool people I had time to talk to, you guys are neat.
Tags: flash gaming summit
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Mar07
I have this strange urge to talk about airplanes, mostly inspired by my trip tomorrow to Flash Gaming Summit. For over two years Carlie and I had a long distance relationship that spanned California, or nearly 450 miles (750 km) for just weekends at a time. Needless to say, our time together was short. To maximize time we would fly to see each other. There were a LOT of flights, and although they were only a few hours each way there was much to be learned. In the course of that time I have picked up many strategies and tips for maximizing comfort while on an airplane.
+ Seat position is so important. Aisle seats gives you legroom and dedicated armrest, window seats gives you view and dedicated armrest, and centre seats just suck in-general. Choose accordingly. Also remember that if you sit next to someone who has to get up a lot you’ll be getting up a lot too if you choose the aisle seat. Alternatively, window seat benefits from no one needing to bother you the entire flight, so really… it’s a nice “I’m just going to sleep” seat.
+ Between three seats there are four armrests. If you really care about armrests you should sit window or aisle. Centre has no guarantee whatsoever and people are really not nice about sharing.
+ Front of the airplane has last boarding group but first-off privileges. If you are in a hurry after the flight lands its best to board near the front of the plane. If you are lugging bags the back of the plane has the best chance to find overhead space.
+ Front of the plane benefits from first beverage and snack service (if available) meaning you’ll have the most selection (if available) AND the most time to consume it.
+ Very back rows of the plane suck. They feel the most movement of the plane and they are next to the lavatories, where people typically wait for the bathroom and stare at you while waiting. Also, these seats do not recline. There is no merit to these seats, EVER. Alternatively, the very front rows of the plane rock. While they have no storage for personal bags they have nearly twice the legroom (this area is often called bulkhead and can sometimes be requested!). Some seats near the fire exit feature the same sort of arrangement.
+ If open seating, remember that babies cry on descent due to discomfort in ear-pressure. If you don’t like crying sit elsewhere.
+ Sitting next to someone can be uncomfortable sometimes. If choosing a seat for whether you sit next to someone or not, remember that planes usually fill front to back. You have the best chance of not sitting next to someone near the back, especially in open-seating situations.
+ When airplanes are cleaned the armrests are put up to ease the cleaners. Many people sit on top of me because the armrest was never put back down. Divide your space by insuring arm rests down on either side. Also, avoid that awkward situation of pulling the seat belt out from underneath someone by putting your seatbelt on your seat as soon as you sit down.
+ Seatback pockets are vortexes of doom. Never put anything in there you plan on keeping.
+ Lavatories are hard to use. Try not to drink too much while on the plane or in the airport.
+ Some people like to talk on flights. Airplane seats are like a chatroom to them. Every conversation on a plane is the same: Where are you from? What do you do there? And then the conversation follows with comparing what you do for a living with what their friends/relatives do for a living or how they relate to your job. For example, half my conversations are about what games their kids play home on their Wii since I tell them I make games. Not to say that conversations won’t turn elsewhere; one time I listened to war stories from a meth-user-turned-clean Vietnam War vet for four hours, complete with explanation of each of his tattoos. Sometimes conversations can turn a bit uncomfortable, so headphones ultimately end any uneasy conversation, as does a trip to the bathroom (you don’t really have to go).
+ Airplane peanuts are salty and require extra beverage. Extra beverage requires going to the bathroom. Are you eating those peanuts because you are actually hungry or because they are sitting there? Sounds like trouble.
+ Don’t lean your seatback. The person behind you will appreciate it and the angle of lean is not nearly as comfortable as the person behind you will be. Fire exit rows cannot recline, so if you hate recliners this is a good place to be.
+ People put their bags in sideways which fills way too much space. The overheads are made to fit with bags put in wheels first, so if room is tight in the overheads you can just turn another person’s bag.
I’m sure I have more, I can’t remember anything else at the moment since I’m packing.
Tags: airplanes
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Mar03
It’s March, and there is a few things going on this month.
We’re starting out with Flash Gaming Summit in San Francisco, CA. I spoke last year at the event but now have the honour of showing up and listening to other people talk. Last year someone was giving out wicked awesome finger puppets, I’m hoping they show up again. Also I would love to hear what the community is up to, and to catch up with fellow developers and portals.
I’ve busted open a few new projects. The first project is a multiplayer game, my first one I’ve ever attempted. So far it’s rolling along fine, and it’ll be a bit tough to finish but I’m on it. Lots of spikes and pointy things. There will also be a single player mode for people who want to go solo. I will need beta testers in a few weeks. The second is still in the think tank, but I’m thinking something a bit less ambitious and a bit more heavy skill-based.
On the homefront I’m attempting to finish my taxes and trying to figure out why my back hurts so much. Both seem to be incredibly painful at the moment and I hope I can find a way to get both of them not feeling so awful.
And finally, Bagel turned 1 on Sunday. He’s now officially more cat than kitten. Picture related:
Tags: bagel, multiplayer