Ken’s Blog

So, I’m back from SF and a weeklong adventure in Game Dev land. Maybe it’s because it was the second time through for me but it didn’t really hold the same sort of magic the first one did. Part of it might also be due to the fact that there wasn’t a lot in the way of revelations/announcements. Here are some highlights:

1) The big new announcement: OnLive miniconsole made its debut. It’s basically Slingbox for consoles except that OnLive hosts the source and you just get the video streamed down to your TV. They handle PC and consoles. Pros: No need to upgrade with each new console release; no need to buy games you’ll play for a short time. Cons: It requires a lot of bandwidth for a smooth ride; if the service dies, you’re gonna have to go and get those consoles and games anyway. Time will tell if it’ll grab enough of a slice of the console market (PC too)  to survive.

2) The economic slowdown/apocalypse had an affect on the conference as you’d expect but it wasn’t crazy. The summits and tutorials (Monday and Tuesday) were definitely quieter (seemed like a third less people there) but the main conference itself seemed as crowded as last time. A couple of spaces were empty on the expo floor (big ones). There were still mo-cap companies galore but definitely fewer than last time. Jillians was barely booked…I could actually have lunch there!

3) NeuroSky was there but been-there-done-that.

4) Scotland, Bavaria (Germany), and other regions and countries are pushing for game development investment (couldn’t miss those Scots and their booth).

5) Game development education programs are truly gaining legitimacy. Whether it was the number of wide-eyed, awkward students wandering the expo asking questions and finding the demos “awesome” or if it Peter Molyneux plugging Lionhead’s program for students and recent grads, what was once some vague excuse to make games rather than study classics or physics is now a legitimate career with a path starting in college. So much for my degree…do they take trade-ins?

6) According to Nintendo, the game industry grew ONLY because of the Wii and DS. I guess it’s good, then, that the DSi’s coming out or else we might see a mini-game industry deflation! At least we all got a free game out of Iwata’s talk!

7) Innovation in the game industry is still rampant but I think it’ll be less obvious (i.e. evolution more than revolution as cliche as that sounds). Whether it’s the sculpted cliffs of Halo Wars or improved AI emphasis or better indie games, it’ll come but slowly.

The W is still one of the (if not THE) gathering place after hours. These guys need a bigger place to meet…

All in all, it was a great experience. I doubt I’ll make it next year but I’ll definitely be back some day. One thing’s for sure, though, the game industry isn’t going to be hurt too bad…people need entertainment more than ever at a time like this. I just hope it won’t be too long before something really great comes out…

kn

Gamasutra’s reporting that EA’s decided NOT to use DRM on the upcoming The Sims 3 release. Surprising considering what they’ve done in the last couple years and especially considering how much money they’re probably hoping/expecting to get with the release of that game.

It’s simple, EA, just do this:

1) If an internet connection exists, authenticate the CD Key (Activision/Infinity Ward have done this with the Call of Duty series when it came to multiplayer). If more than one session is active, bounce them.

2) If no internet connection exists, require the original CD (with the correct Key of course).

It’s less disruptive to legitimate customers and enough of a hassle for the “hobbyist” pirates. You’ll never find a solution that permanently halts die-hard pirates (biometrics?) but at least this balances the needs of the publisher with the wants of the consumer.

kn

I’d been wondering if there was a way to crop an image so it fits a defined box without having to create a new thumbnail. Lo and behold, there was a nice solution here. In case the link goes dead, here’s my little version.

HTML:

<div class=”ImageThumbnail”><img src=”/images/whatever.gif”/></div>

CSS (site-specific parts removed):

.ImageThumbnail
{
position: relative;
width: 70px;
height: 70px;
overflow: hidden;
}
.ImageThumbnail img
{
position: absolute;
}

Basically, you’re creating a container with a defined size and overflow set to hidden so anything outside of that size doesn’t get rendered (or counted when laying out the page). Then the image itself is position absolutely within that container. You could also play around with this do to some odd tricks (like making the image centered within a much larger box).

The more I find I need to do with CSS, the more I like it. Now, if the browsers can just get the float crap working smoothly 100% of the time, we’ll be set!

kn

It seems Savannah’s trying to expand on Atlanta’s game dev draw by offering free rent (in their game dev center) for a year along with a subsidy after that.

After seeing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I sorta had a hankering to visit the place but now…maybe it’s worth tossing up a shingle and making games in the Georgian summer heat, assuming they don’t run out of water…

kn

I saw the Watchmen movie today. Now, I’m not a fanboy and I haven’t really read through the graphic novel the movie is based on. I did read up on the characters, backstory, plot, etc (yes, I’m the kind of guy that reads he last page of a book to see how it ends before I get there). Maybe that ruined it for me. Don’t know but I can’t say I’m crazy impressed with the movie.

I liked the 300. I think the graphic treatment and storytelling were great. But this, isn’t really a 300 to me (by the way, be sure to check out the 300 reference on the door to the Comedian’s apartment…).

I can’t say what the fanboys are going to feel like after coming out of the theater on this one. Just like anything else that’s got devoted fans, you’re gonna hear yeas and nays. Someone’s gonna say it was awesome (maybe because they get to see it on the big screen finally…after 20 years of bouncing around in Hollywood–Arnold Schwartzenegger as Dr. Manhattan? Fuck sake…but at least he’s already auditioned for the role…). The guy next to him will say it sucked balls.

I say, it was a decent movie with some cool scenes that spent all of it’s 162 minutes (yes, 2:42, my friends) telling the full story of the Watchmen. And, I realize you can’t break this up into multiple movies (no real point) and that it’s really unlikely there’ll be a sequel (since there isn’t a story to follow it up). So, the writers and the director are stuck trying to compress it all down into one movie. I wouldn’t say they failed outright but there are times when you think, “Oh, crap, we’ve only gone down memory lane with two out of the five Watchmen…someone get me another soda.”

Not to say the stories aren’t pretty well done and at times spot on (pay attention to the way Dr. Manhattan tells his story…it matches who he is like a glove). The various threads of stories unfurl slowly over the course of the movie and I think the director, Zach Snyder, did a great job juggling all of that plus doing his best to please the fans. Be sure to look for all the easter eggs (I noticed a couple but I’m sure there were plenty more…note the digital clock on the left during the McLaughlin scene and check out the folders that are on Ozymandias’ floppy disk).

Plus, the characters are flawed in a good way. I think my favorite character has to be Rorschach. Gotta love the line when he’s in prison: “I’m not locked in here with you! You’re locked in here with ME!” Brilliant.

One serious problem with the film, though? Music. Who the fuck was the idiot that put those stupid tunes in over the scenes they were on? I can’t think of one that really matched the mood of the particular scene 100%. The only one that got close was a sped up version of Mozart’s Requiem (1st movement) but that was sacrilege given the beauty of the original piece. Made me want to throw something at the screen.

All in all, though, I think you all best judge for yourself. If you’re a fanboy, you’ve got to see it in theater. If you’re not and you’re looking for a decent action flick but aren’t into comics, I’d go for a matinee or wait for the DVD if you don’t care about the big screen experience. Definitely worth seeing but a bit disappointing given the hype and interest out there. Too bad…

kn

Found this ridiculous video on break.com of an F-16 flying barely 30-40 ft off the ground. I’m guessing he’s doing 150-250 mph (any faster and he’d be knocking those guys down). Probably filmed in Iraq, one of the Hummer’s reads USAF and since they’re the only branch I know of that flies them, makes sense. I’d love to be in the cockpit of that fighter…

Crazy Jet Pilots Flying Super Low – Watch more Funny Videos

kn