Long time no update. The last few weeks have been a blur, filled with many ups and downs, from being too numb to care about anything, to one of the most relaxing and comforting day of my life. Anyways, some quick updatez!
I’ve been working for exactly a month now as the Web Manager/IT Support Specialist for the College of Media Arts and Design school at Drexel University, and it’s pretty cool. Pretty much, my job entails of keeping the website up to date and answer requests from the 15 or so different departments in the college, and my office being located in a building where Graphic Design, Fashion Design, and Design & Merchandising have their labs and classrooms, provide them with technical assistance as well.
While I do know my way around Windows pretty well, OSX is still relatively new to me, so I’m not a pro at that yet; luckily my office-mate is, so he handles most of the technical stuff around here while I work on the website until I get more competent at the technical requests. Still unfamiliar with all the settings, procedures and passwords, hopefully I get better at that, and will be able to troubleshoot things beyond cloning monitors and Fonzing printers. While both students and professors come in and ask for help and may catch me offguard, especially since I’m still not entirely confident in the fixing of solutions yet, it is nice to not be stuck behind a computer all day, and I do get to walk around, reimage machines, change hard drives, and even climb in the ceiling and install security cameras!
There are some parts I dislike, though. Mainly making promo DVDs for the college. For some reason, our department was lumped in with the duplication and printing of DVD/CDs, as well as the creation of the data on the discs. While I’m the most qualified to do it out of our team of four, I certaintly don’t remember how to do it well, so it’s taking me more time than I’d like to do it, and I much rather focus on web apps.
That being said, my favorite part has been making suggestions to improve the workflow and processes that go on behind the scene on the website. I’m currently developing a CMS for the news/events and the departments on the site, as well as a management area for the CoMAD portfolio, which will eventually be a full system where eligible professors and staff can edit the content of their departments and such.
Ideally, I want to automate everything, as I watch my code do all the work for me.
Another app I’m working on is the management of the student-late list functionality, and right now, it involves paper, messy emails, and blog posts. Fuck that. This is project is for use in-house, and will hopefully save our department a lot of time in the future. That being said, here’s an obnoxiously “2.0″ interface, using the names of current and former members of Dark Tranquillity and Ensiferum.
Brad Wardell of Stardock has recently issued a “Gamer’s Bill of Rights“, and what his goals are with it and who he wants to get involved:
The Gamer’s Bill of Rights
1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.
His goal is to get publishers and developers to sign this agreement to protect those buying PC games and have the same level of quality assurance as consoles offer. We’re already a few steps there with some publishers, but we still have a way to go, and a little stamp on a box of a publisher/developer’s game would go a long way.
1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
These two are a huge problem with PC gaming. Unfortunatly, I cannot afford a beast gaming rig, so when new games come out, the only thing I have to go by are specs, and I wish I didn’t plunk down $50 on Bioshock and Unreal Tournament 3 to find out that minimum specs mean nothing other than, “Some shit will show up on the screen.” While I disagree with gamers being able to return games that don’t work (too abusive), downloadable demos would alleviate these problems, as well as protect the gamer (slightly) from a bomb of a game.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
I think this goes without saying. Massive games require a large budget and time, and when the publisher starts breathing down the devs neck’s, sometimes shit gets pulled. I’m lookin’ at you, MMOs.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
In a world where we have downloadable live content and expansions, most games want to remain viable for months after the release. Breathing new life into a game via these methods is much more cost-effective than building a game from scratch, but to require updates after a game’s release is a bit much, unless we’re referring to “making sure the game runs on system updates.” /shrug
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
These are the “no shit” ones, but they still happen. Paying $49.99-$59.99 for a Triple-A PC game does not ensure that you’ll have to download extra crap to play the game, and while I don’t know of any games that install controversial software without consent, that sounds like a pretty big red flag. Maybe this would happen more often once the other requirements in this list were met (like Steam, but another distribution system that required something other than a client download).
Gamers treated like pirates? There are many methods of pirate-proofing games that do nothing but to piss off people who have sunk their cash into them. It was cool to know that when I uninstalled/reinstalled my copy of Bioshock that wouldn’t run that I could only do it three more times before I lost access to my game.
7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.
These are both a great step in the direction towards a digital world. CDs are a thing of the past, and I feel like a fucking badass caveman with my binder of games. Steam’s service alleviates these problems, and I gotta say it’s awesome innovation in gaming distribution. Unfortunately, one of Steam’s downsides is…
9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
…to have to be connected to the internet to play a single-player game. While I’m almost always connected, if I want to fire up a game of Half-Life 2, I should be able to validate my account some how to do it.
Good direction and requirements? What do you think?
Lurking on Brenda Brathwaite’s game design blog for quite sometime, I somehow missed she was writing a book! Apparently, her and Ian Schreiber’s book, Challenges for Game Designers, is now available on Amazon for a mere $16. Having over 300 game design challenges, I think this will definitely be worth investing in, as I crack out the dice and pencils and get back into some design roots. This also sounds like a fun party idea, or maybe my friends are just backseat-designer nerds awesome!
Stolen from Conor (who stole it from Heliologue), a pretty cool thing to post ten random songs on your playlist, selected by random, and having the balls to post them. Oof. HERE WE GO.
Incubus - Drive (Track 8 of “Make Yourself”, 1999)
Capcom Sound Team - Sonic Ostreague Stage (Track 50 of “Rockman X 1-2″, 2003)
Blind Guardian - Barbara Ann (Track 10 of “Follow The Blind”, 1989)
Louis C.K. - End of Bank (Track 22 of “Live in Houston”, 2001)
Unexpect - The Fall of Arthrone (Track 6 of “Utopia”, 1999)
Disturbed - Just Stop (Track 2 of “Ten Thousand Fists”, 2005)
This Moment - Tenir Bon Contre (Track 8 of “Star < Parallel”, 2007)
OCRemix - Mega Man 2 BubblemanSoapAndWater OC ReMix (Poorly tagged)
Orgy - Make Up Your Mind (Track 4 of “Punk Statik Paranoia”, 2004)
Soilwork -Sadistic Lullabye (Track 2 of “Steelbath Suicide”, 1998)
Oof. A respectable mix of video game music, metal, and awkwardness. I hope Soilwork at the end saved me from a terrible Disturbed album and Blind Guardian cover. :X
So, the World of Warcraft trailer for the expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, was released a few days ago. I promptly downloaded and began to feel worthless about my skills as a 3D artist in my puddle of awe and drool.
Currently in the middle of WoW and Warhammer: Age of Reckoning (WAR), I’ve been leaning towards WAR lately after playing the open beta. But after watching the WOTLK trailer, it had me second-guessing my decision.
But wait. I always drool over Blizzard cinematics. But the feel of the game isn’t the same as these trailers; if I pick up WOTLK, it would NOT feel the same as this trailer, and neither did The Burning Crusade feel like the trailer (complete with Illidan screaming at me). Why the disconnect? For me, the Warcraft III game felt the same as the cinematics. WHY? The WAR cinematics FEEL like the Warhammer (beta). WHY? I’m just listing and brainstorming some possible reasons why there’s a disconnect between WoW trailers and game, but not Blizzard’s other games, such as WC3, and some comparisons to another high-fantasy MMO, Warhammer.
Graphics
Maybe the disconnect is with the difference in visual quality. We’ve all seen beautiful trailers that look nothing like the terrible game they’re portraying. Both WC3 and WoW have high-poly and extreme special effects, and while WoW cinematics are of “higher quality” the difference between the two for this purpose is neglible (imo), while the difference between actual in-game graphics are more significant. World of Warcraft is a much prettier game, while both using the new Blizzard style of milking the hell out of textures and particle effects for a system-cheap way of creating great in-game visuals.
So the difference between Warcraft 3’s gameplay and cinematics is greater than World of Warcraft’s gameplay and cinematics. Why is there less of a gap in how the game FEELS, though? This leads me to believe that even if the cinematics are beautiful, and significantly better than in-game visuals, it does not mean anything, really. Even having real-time gameplay that looked like a Blizzard cinematic would not promise a similar gaming experience.
Scratch off graphics.
Genre
I’ve been comparing WC3, a real-time strategy game, with World of Warcraft, the powerhouse MMO of the last four years. Maybe transfering the feelings of a cinematic into an MMO is just harder; it’s the ultimate dilemma for MMO game designers. How do you make a character feel important and allow them to change the world? How do you allow this ability for ALL players? Whereas, take WC3, and the player is in command of their entire army. The power of the entire Orcish force at your fingertips!
Above is a trailer from Warcraft III, when the fallen prince, Arthas, returns from being corrupted by the Lich King and takes the throne of Lordaeron from his father. Same guy from WOTLK trailer, actually. Both of these cinematics feature the same character, same feel, same style, and both freaking awesome. When I play WC3, I feel the same tingly, goosebumped feeling as watching this, and while goosebumped by the WOTLK trailer, playing WoW leaves me feeling something different. I WANT TO KNOW WHY.
Both of these cinematics are focusing on the player. The player feels like they’re important; I feel like I’m spying on Arthas going insane in the Northrend, or someone in the court watching the murder of King Tyrannus. I feel important and if this cinematic is made FOR me. As mentioned above, this importance can be conveyed in a RTS setting, but much harder in an MMO one. Maybe this is a reason for the disconnect?
But wait, take Mythic’s Warhammer MMO. They conveyed the same feeling, but how?
They did not take the “personal” approach that Blizzard does. While I do feel like I’m there, in the middle of this battlefield, observing and even participating in the carnage, I do not feel like this is “for” me. But this is okay; while it’s not a personal importance, it’s a team game, and I do feel like I’m rooting for my side (Chaos, obviously) in this cinematic. And, from what I gathered from my short time playing the beta, this feeling is conveyed in gameplay as well. And the whole focus of WAR is the guild. I do not feel individual importance, but I do want to wave my guild’s standard in both the cinematic and gameplay.
I conclude the genre of the game, while does need a cinematic tailored for that specific style of game, whether RTS, MMO, or team PVP oriented MMO, does not confirm a disconnect. You CAN make a cinematic for a game like World of Warcraft that conveys the gameplay, but you cannot “individualize” a cinematic while not doing it in game.
Storytelling
Storytelling in MMOs is much harder than in an RTS. Strategy games are most of the time linear, single-player narratives where the storyteller has full control over what the player experiences, and the gameplay in MMOs are most often disconnected from actual storytelling. When Illidan was screaming at me in The Burning Crusade cinematic, why do I care? I never raided enough to get to Black Temple to see him, as most players never saw him either. Sure, there’s an overarching storyline going on in WoW, but the things non-hardcore players do is neglible compared to the effect of the single-player experiencing all the story in a RTS.
I think this is the same conclusion as the genre; The cinematics have to be tailored for the gameplay.
Gameplay?
World of Warcraft feels like too much of a game. When playing Warcraft III or other MMOs such as Everquest, I never really thought I was playing a game. I was too engrossed in the virtual world, becoming my character and just be completely enveloped by the experience. I was wizard, droppin’ Ice Comets on monsters threatening Neriak. WoW, with all the add-ons, and messages popping up, telling me, “FROST NOVA COMING IN 5 SECONDS, BACK OUT”, makes me realize I’m playing a game. Everquest, on the other hand, told me nothing. I didn’t even know what half the buffs did because they hid things from me. Now I’m starting to miss it.
Maybe immersion also has an affect on this disconnect.
——-
This has been something I’ve been thinking about for awhile, and this post is pretty disjointed, but I think there are some points in there somewhere. Maybe I’ll clean it up a bit sometime; I think this has potential to be a good paper, maybe, if I was a better writer.
My point is why does a company such as Blizzard create cinematics that are so removed from the actual game? Keep the cinematics, make World of Warcraft FEEL like those cinematics! While focusing on mainly World of Warcraft’s failure in this disconnect, this can be applied to other games. Game developers, when a player watches your cinematics and trailers, transfer that same emotional response INTO the game!
So me and the girl were having a fight. Things were going great for a few days, and a hypoglycemic episode ensued. I didn’t know what to do, so I was just like, “Hey, relax, I’m going to get some food.” Can’t get the car started so come back inside and ask her how to work her ignition (was some weird prob). Not as hostile as before, but not exactly inviting, so I sigh and open the door to go back outside. But this time there was a little kitty cat mewing right outside the door.
The cat immediately ran up to us and was rubbing his head against our arms and just being an adorable purr-box. The girl saw my face glow and already knew my next question: “Can we keep it, can we keep it!?”
We went to Harrisburg that night and brought him with us. Along the way he decided to have a disgusting accident in his carrier. Had to stop at a place on the turn pike (wtf are those called?) and clean both the cat and cage out. Gross as hell, but I still loved that little cat. We get back to Harrisburg, and he’s more energetic, still a bit exhausted it seemed, but was eating and drinking a little bit. Had some diarheea and mewed a lot while using the litter box (his nickname was “Poopscream”). He had some strange quirks to him, but if they were of any concern, we figured the vet would figure it out the next day.
His vet visit went great; didn’t have FIV, leukeimia, got rabies and distemperment shots, he was all good. Figured he wasn’t eating/drinking much because of the shots, as that usually knocks them out for a day or two.
A day goes by and he’s still lethargic. Getting worried, I call around to the vets and tell them the story, each has a different opinion. Nothing seemed that serious, though.
This morning, I go to his room and he’s just sitting in a corner, looking forward. Not even turning his head towards me to look at me. I hop around, try to get him to play a bit. Nothing. I check his food and water, as I haven’t been at the house for a day. Hasn’t eaten anything. I rush downstairs to look up the closest vet.
I find the Germantown Animal Hospital is only a few blocks away, so I run upstairs to put him in the carrier to take him. He doesn’t budge and can barely move. How did this happen so fast? Fuck the carrier, I scoop him up in my arms and dash outside. Breathing slowly and not moving from whatever position I put him in my arms, I get to the hospital.
I get in and retell them the story and when the doctor comes out, he immediately just sighs and says “Awww.” Fuck, this isn’t good. I say he hasn’t been eating or drinking, and he’s skinny as is, and he explains how dehydrated he is, judging from the elasticity of his coat (I think?) and his eyes. And a fever as well. He explains the options of giving him treatment and pumping fluids into him and giving him antibiotics, but has a low chance of survival. Would be $200 for that, plus $80 to put him to sleep if the treatment doesn’t work in 3 days. I’ve known this cat for 5 days, and already spent $150 on vet visits and food/litter.. I can’t afford this..
The doctor says the best thing to do is to just put him to sleep. Debating it, I go outside to make some calls and get some advice. This cat was like my sign of hope. Right now, I don’t have a job, no school, not even a place to call home in the area, and recently separated from the girl, but when I saw that cat, he just resonated with me that everything will be okay.
Everything will be okay.
So now my sign of hope, my good omen, my angel was literally dying in my arms. After deliberation, I signed the papers to have him put to sleep. Kissed my boy on the head and told him goodbye.
Went outside behind a bush and broke down over a cat I never knew.
He didn’t have a name officially. But I called him Leviathan. See you in the stars, boy.
So, last week, I had a meeting involving several people from Drexel’s Biomedical Engineering/Science faculty, including the director, as well as the director from Digital Media and others from the College of Media Arts and Design. They discussed a possible curriculum merge for the two disciplines for those interested in pursuing a joint focus.
At the suggestion of the Biomedical Science graduate advisor, I think they’re going to make a concentration of Digital Media as “Biomedical Science”, rather than a joint master’s, to lessen the red tape of Faculty Senate approval and what not (which can take a year plus). So while not as cool as having a Dual M.S. in Digital Media and Biomedical Science, I guess I can think of some cool way to name it. “Master’s of Science in Digital Media with Pseudo-Telekinetic Powers… In a game.”
Also, was suggested some classes that the DIGM’s would find beneficial, such as:
Medical Sciences
Neuro study
Cognitive Psychology
Biomechanics
BCI/Psychology
Brain Imaging
Education
My only problem with their suggestion is that they take the 12 directed electives in the DIGM master’s and turn that into Biomed classes, makes sense, but then they take the New Media Project (9 credits, a “practice” thesis project, if you will) and then the Thesis Development classes (9 credits as well) and turn those into Biomed Classes. I want to have the New Media Project for a chance to synthesize these two fields, as well as get credits for thesis development, as I do not want 3 grad classes on top of a thesis. This plan removes no DIGM classes I find no use for, and removes classes I want to take. So if they’re all about custom-tailoring, then we’ll need to tweak that a bit.
Now I need to sign up for the grad program and then try to get an assistanship somehow, because without that, I don’t know how I’ll be able to afford this. And have been going through a lot of stress, so need to decide if this is what I really want. Them being all about it was really intimidating and sort of an eye-opener of, “Shit, this could really happen.”
Only thing I’ve heard about SC4 was that Darth Vadar and Yoda were in it, which kind of left me in a state of, “Oh, well, that’s cool, but what? Why?” I guess I approve now, since it means I can fight in a star destroyer hanging bay. Isn’t that every little boy’s dream?
And this character creator is awesome; I didn’t even know SC4 had this, most likely due to me avoiding gaming news lately to not be pressured to buy (and decide on) a Next-Gen system. But man, I guessed all those characters (minus some X-Men/DC chars) and they look awesome.
Just had a meeting with the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Adviser and it went pretty well. He suggested I may be better off just pursuing a Biomedical Science degree with some Digital Media classes to augment my studies, rather than a dual master’s in Biomed and Digital Media. He seemed excited about the possibility of someone with my background entering the program, potentially bringing in new ideas, and explained to me some possible avenues that this education would afford me, virtual reality and such.
For a stipend/tuition waiver, I’ll need to talk to someone else and since my GPA is good, but not awesome, I may have to kick myself in the ass for an assistanship and gave me a contact for that, as well as the Biomedical Science advisor.
No concrete updates at this point, but he did his job of advising me and made some suggestions at a possible route to take, as well as the next go-tos. Will let you know!
