Perspective -- First-Person 2D Puzzle-Platformer

*Puts fake book upon fake bookshelf*

Oh, Hi! I didn't see you there. You've probably been wondering what I've been up to. If you haven't, that hurts and how did your love turn to hate so fast?

In any event, things typically pick up for me writing-wise around this time of year. I don't know why, but I'm currently looking at 7 half-finished documents in Google. I've also been playing a fair amount of indie games, comic book reading and [thanks to the power outage], movie watching. You'll be learning about all those great adventures at a later date.

In the mean time, feel free to check out this innovative little nugget in the first-person vein. Students over at DigiPen Institute of Technology have crafted quite the artistic puzzler.

Instead of using the first-person perspective for shooting-stuff-or-dudes, this student team has used the mechanic to incorporate 2D puzzle aspects in a 3D environment. This pretty much opens up all kinds of doors as far as what else we can and should be doing with the technology available. The game is called, oddly enough, Perspective.

I think that's cool. More updates to come.

Source: DigiPen

Commercial Break: Getting Your Ass To Mars

NASA Jet Propulsion Library in conjunction with California Institute of Technology combine forces. They've managed to make the Mars Science Laboratory wizards words sound transparent and, well, cool. 

And all we needed was an all-too-similar Inception score with fancy-looking computer generated imagery. One thing is for sure, if my kids are going to be visiting Mars as all-access resort (Total Recall teaches us this*), we're gonna need a 1600 degree Faherenheit-resistant ship. Maybe even a couple jetpacks to ensure a safe landing.

Other than that, I'd say Mars as a destination for nude tanning and discussions for all things reddish-brown is a safe bet in the next century.

*And yes, I have thought about this idea of us, over the years, sending rovers and robots to inspect Mars. Only for said robots and rovers to turn on us, creating their own colony. And thusly, charging us higher rates to stay at their robot resort.

Commercial Break -- Top 3 Ways To Be An Idiot

Is there an infograph that proves that our brains are devolving back into the primordial ooze in which we climbed from? Look, I know times are tough and I'm far from a hippie. In that, I'm interested in having systems and infrastructures questioned, but met with newer ideas with tested theory. This argument here, is just, well, you hear this s**t?!

Are times this bad? Do we really need to bend out logic to humor the -- "not-so-badness" of sweatshops?

Going by this man's "Theory of Dumb." We could technically commit crime for profit, based on how we feel our lives have turned and society should just be okay with that. 

C'mon son.

Commercial Break: Cat Functions As Allegory For New Media

Click to read more ...

Commercial Break: Planet Earth's Northern Hemisphere Is Somethin'

My health has been better*. In my stead, enjoy life, anywhere. Like, right now. Perfect time of year to go outside and avoid people, but appreciate that there are things happening thanks to their interference [try and take the positive out of this sentence].

As one Bart Simpson reminds us, "birds and bees are having sex with each other."

[the description of what you see above is after the jump]

Click to read more ...

Commercial Break: Retro Bobby via Copenhagers

I just watched The Avengers and Cabin In The Woods, back to back -- in that order. It's going to take me a while to process writing down something of logic and cohesion. In the mean time, There's this guy.

Retro Bobby Ågren's store, Ruben & Bobby, located Jægersborggade 6, Copenhagen. Yup, that's a mouthful. Thanks to the fine folks at Copenhagers for putting a spotlight on Bobby's retro-game-and-toy-shop, that also doubles as a barbershop.

Also, Bobby's hair is magical.

In all seriousness, it's good to have these reminders as to why you write. Knowing that there is one guy out there in "Jaegerville" doing what he loves and wearing amazing sweaters to boot, in a way, is pretty darn inspiring.

Video: Unfinished Swan Trailer

Giant Sparrow did it! It's all their fault. I got excited for a game centered around using paint to guide my way through an all white world of nothingness. This was three years ago at GDCs Independent Game Festival. 

Then nothing. Three years of silence. Three years of, "Hey remember that game that looked so cool and interesting, what was it's name again?" 

Three years of hard work from a studio that is relatively unknown. Giant Sparrow has teamed up with Sony's Santa Monica Studio to release something that, well, we don't know much about. 

And you know what? That's okay.

Click to read more ...

Commercial Break: To The Greatest Science Professor Ever

Michigan State University's Paul Hunter may not have been the most liked professor, but he was well respected. For years I heard tales for quite sometime about a "grey-haired man of science" making things go boom in his lectures. Friends who defected from Ohio to attend Michigan State gave me mixed-impressions of him. 

As a native Ohioan I'm supposed to be hardcoded to hate anything resembling Michigan or Michigan accessories. However, I'm not eight and this guy is clearly operating on a level far above that of the average Joe Science ... pack?

Last month Professor Hunter past away from a heart attack which was attibuted to a car accident hours prior.

The video above is from the Science Olympiad held at MSU. A very difficult exam most of the students have to take in order to pass their class. At the end of the Olympiad, Professor Hunter would amaze students with his daring science savvy.

Commercial Break: Quite Possibly The Ultimate Troll

Aside from watching video of G.G. Allin antagonizing his fans to the point of punching his face into a bloody pulp, what you are witnessing above is something made of numerous dreams [and possibly nightmares depending on your volume level].

I figured it's gonna take me a while to put up some of my more in-depth writings and ideas. So if any regular readers/stalkers of my little blog are wondering "where's them words at?" They are hiding in several Google documents being edited on daily basis. 

More to come, promise.

Commercial Break: Metal Gear X Lupin The 3rd?

[This one is for my homie Emiko, I'll see you soon! Enjoy.] 

Finally an anime and possible fighting game idea [that I just made up and retain all monetary rights if said game is made in the future] that I can blindly support without any reservations as to how amazing it would be. Unfortunately, everything in this video is fan-made. It isn't real and therefore Earth's biggest tease.

Or is it?

It's no secret that Japanese studios love reaching back into this current cultures nostalgic nerd-past. There's also the sad reality that Japanese games aren't really clicking with American audiences like they use to. I'm going to send this to Konami and try and feel out their excitement level. 

Who knows, maybe this could be what we need to *save Japanese games.

Enjoy the funny and possible spoilers to be had in this homage to [what I feel] is one of the most ambitious franchises in gaming.

*it's debatable if Japanese games need saving seeing as games, in general, appear to be going through some sort adolescent growing pains. Jussayin.