September 2009

Yet another image heavy post, covering:
1. the past week, along with stuff from way before that I kept forgetting to pass along
2. the wacky world of video games
3. and internet, lol

After yet another week that could be best described as “bleh”, there’s not an awful lot to talk about. Well, actually there is, but it’s mostly the same old, same old: still seriously considering a change in career, and not just because I’m having such a miserable time finding work… though that too. It’s mostly my ever-increasing lack of patience for all the b.s. that seems to embody the world of video game journalism these days. To be completely honest, the reason why I’m not divulging specifics and calling out names has nothing to do with any fear of burning bridges or potentially losing out on a gig, I just don’t want viewed as another jerk-off blogger that’s resorting to mud-slinging for the sake of some cheap hits.

Okay, enough of the cryptic messages and passive aggressiveness. Also, some friendly advice for any would be game writers out there: NeoGAF is a great place for valuable information, as well as brutal criticism, which is sorely needed all around, but holy sh*t can it demoralize and piss one off something big-time. Anyhow, how about a nice healthy does of random pics instead! Apologies in advance for the ridiculous amount this time, even more than usual, but everyone has high-speed at this point, right?

- First off, from last weekend actually, here’s Joe Simko with a little birthday something that Katie whipped up…

It was actually this past Wednesday, but having a celebratory picnic the weekend prior made the most sense, at least for those with real jobs. Afterwards we had punch and pie… actually, root beer flavored vodka (or was it rum, I forget) and ice cream cake… at his and June’s apartment; here’s a shot of his collection of vintage wax pack trading cards that adorns his office/art studio…

… With the latest edition being the Pac Man ones that he got for dirt-cheap from his vintage shop that was closing shop, somewhere in Brooklyn. Not gonna lie, I’m pretty jealous! Later on in the evening, Joe busted out the Donkey Kong Jenga…

… I’m not going to bother to explain the rules, other than it’s a little bit more complicated than regular Jenga, to the point that I honestly can’t see anyone “winning” the game, which involves getting to the very top before everything comes crashing down. Still, a pretty neat use of the license.

- Speaking of birthdays, it was also Hilary’s on Wednesday as well, which was celebrated this past Friday over many glasses of sake and a gigantic plate of kimchee udon at Hagi, our fave midtown Japanese joint. Here she is copying down the hairstyle of some Japanese girl from an iPhone app….

The app in question is something called Pixel Love. It’s basically a slide show featuring various semi-scantily clad Japan girls posing seductively in assorted game oriented environments…

… Oh, and when you touch the screen, you can make colored patterns appear….

… I find out about it via Danny Choo, where one can also find the download link for themselves. Though in all honestly, it’s not even worth the lone dollar asking price. Anyhow, next we have Hilary drawing Katie, based on a random image she stumbled across…

Though by far my favorite of the gf is this one, taken at the NYC Japan Street Fair a few weekend back…

- Back to Wednesday, aside from playing old Dreamcast games ( don’t care what anyone says, the DC version of Rez is still the best one), I went to see the Boredoms at Terminal 5. And nope, these pictures are not from any camera of mine (I wish)…

… You can see many more here, along with my two cents regarding the show almost immediately afterwards. Not sure how the hell they caught that. Guess someone at Brooklyn Vegan follows my blog or Twitter? And if you scroll down, you’ll see why I love hipsters so damn much. BTW, here we have Mike’s two cents, who generally does a far better job of summing up music that I could ever hope to.

- And back to my shitty little iPhone; here’s a bunch of pics that I’ve been meaning to pass along for a good while, but have never had the chance till now. Starting with an oldie, but most definitely a goodie; everyone’s favorite snapshot of Josie once they see it…

… No other image perfectly illustrates how incredibly brain-dead in the eyes she looks all of the time.

Here we have the signage for a dentist that’s in my neighborhood…

And the outside of a local Chinese restaurant, also near my neck of the woods…

This was taken in Chinatown; it’s the front of some store that was the victim of shoplifting, and I guess the guy just got away, but at least they got a picture of the guy… somewhat…

God I love subway graffiti and other forms of expression…

And this is from yesterday, just a gigantic pile of freshly cut vegetables in the middle of the street…

Took this one while taking out the trash; dunno why I find it so fascinating… looks like it’s part of a bomb or something…

- Time to check out some of the neat-o game related imagery from the web that I’ve managed to nab from the past couple of weeks. Starting with the 3D cast of Street FIghter 4, but in 2D…

… If this doesn’t prove that someone dropped the ball, art direction-wise, with SF4, nothing will.

- Here’s one that’s been making the rounds, and for good reason: it’s just all kinds of amazing. Just a bunch of kids in the Congo, enjoying some video games…

- Meanwhile, in Japan…

- Related: check out this wacky Tetris set-up…

- Also related, seriously, the most bad-ass of all arcade sticks…

- Here we have a dude who added 8-bit flames to his ride…

- And here we have a work in progress screenshot of Noby Noby Boy for the iPhone…

- Instead of explaining one of the more amusing headlines from the past week, I’ll just let this do all the talking…

- Just a friendly reminder that the auction for the limited edition Xbox 360 with the Beatles on them has a little over four days left…

- Another oldie (at least for anyone that frequents Sankaku Complex), but now that I finally have the source, guess it’s as good a time as any…

- Speaking of the Complex, something that I’m sure many can sympathize with…

- As I’m always happy to point out, you can also find hard-hitting video game journalism at there as well, on occasion. Like this side by side comparison of Tekken 6 for the PS3 and 360…

… Yeah, I can hardly tell the difference either.

- Want to know why I have such a strong preference for games from Japan? Well…

- Though I know it’s just the same in Japan… for example, I’ve been seeing a dramatic influx of Touhou Project fan art all over the place, and it’s somewhat hard to deny that the same problem that persists in the west is also rampant in the east…

- And since we’re talking about fan art, may as well stop by Pixiv once again, mostly for stuff I would post over at Life Meter, but I get the feeling that it’s not the right place for stuff like this…

- From the same artist, because hardly anyone else ever does Hsien-Ko from Darkstalkers, which is a crying shame…

- I’m also certain that everyone there… and maybe here as well… is tried of seeing Persona 4 related art. Too bad!

- Easily the awesomest Pokemon fan-art ever…

- Yet another fighting hottie, and the star of KOF XII, but mostly be default…

… The artist’s original work is even better, with plenty of characters really need to be in games themselves (some of them might already be, I just don’t recognize them).

- Okay, now we’re finally approaching the creepy stuff, but this re-imaging of Tron Bonne is too good to pass up…

- This guy is right up there with the likes of Masao…

… Be sure to check out the rest of his or her work as well. The same applies to everyone I’ve linked, but especially this person, there’s some AMAZING stuff to be found.

- Not via Pixiv but Otaku Mag this time, a nice little illustration featuring two faces from Melty Blood including the always popular “Wolf Cock”! Which on a total coincidental note is something both Katie and I have been getting into as of late, the recently released sequel Actress Again to be exact…

- One last game specific thing, something that’s all about my stomping grounds, one that’s quite timely given the recent anniversary of you know what…

- Hey, you know what I’ve been seriously neglecting? Forum updates. Case in point, here we have just a tiny taste of the splendors that is contained within the awesome pictures thread alone since the last update…

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It’s officially 9.9.9, and you know what that means? Aside from the long-awaited release of The Beatles: Rock Band of course. Why, it’s time to remember an old friend…

… As already mentioned at least once or twice before, a significant part of my love for gaming died with the Dreamcast’s demise in ’01. Despite growing up in Nintendo Country (Washing State, where NOA is headquartered), I’ve been a Sega devotee ever since I first passed on Super Mario World for Sonic The Hedgehog during Christmas of ’91. I’d eventually get a SNES two years later, and became a fan of it as well, but my preference was always for the Genesis. The summer of ’94, in which all I did was play Sonic 3, Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Thunder Force 4, Castlevania Bloodlines, Street Fighter 2: Special Championship Edition, and Virtua Racing, all day and night long still holds many fond memories for me. Without question, Sega’s 16-bitter is my favorite video game system of all time.

When I first arrived in NYC to pursue an education in the arts circa 1996, I came only with a desire to hone my robot and hot dog drawing skills and $200 in my pockets, courtesy of my parents, mostly intended for food. Which was instead blown on a Nomad (remember the portable Genesis?) and a copy of Mega Man: The Wily Wars from whatever the hell Gamefan’s mail order operation was called at the time. But because the money used was seriously intended for food, I found myself having to sell it in order to eat. Though shortly afterward, my dad mailed me my Saturn from back home (which was purchased back on May 11, 1995, on day one, btw) and Sega once again provided many happy memories, this time during my college years. It didn’t matter that I had zero luck with women (mostly due to the fact that I was a cartooning major at SVA, and none of us were getting laid at that point) since I was too busy with Virtua Fighter 2, NiGHTS, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Radiant Silvergun, and all those awesome 2D fighters from Capcom and Japan, the ones that used the 4 meg cart.

In the fall of ’99, I had graduated from college months prior and begun taking the first real steps towards adulthood. I was now living in my first apartment, with Jason as my first roommate, and had just gotten my first job. So to reward myself, I got, what else? A brand new video game system! The Sega Dreamcast, which again was acquired on day one. By this point, my faith in Sega had been severely strained, so the Dreamcast was like a reward for those who had been keeping the faith, even during those darkest of days. There truly was nothing else like it, and I still remember when Dave Roman came over the very next day and checked it out; his interested in where games were heading towards had also waned and also mostly preferred playing stuff from the past. And so impressed he was by Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur that Dave immediately went out and got his own system the day after.

Here we have an old episode of Icon from G4 that covers the rise and fall of the Dreamcast. BTW, since I don’t have cable, do they even do shows like this anymore? Last I checked, all they played was Cops, Star Trek: TNG, and Ninja Warrior (not that there’s anything wrong with those shows). Anyway, as far as Icons go, it’s one of the better ones that I’ve seen, without any glaring inaccuracies and the like. But it doesn’t really scratch the surface as to why the Dreamcast period was Sega’s very best, that being how all the internal teams were made autonomous and all the crazy amount of creativity that came as a result. Though it does feature Jake Kazdal, wearing a Rez shirt no less! But thanks to titles like Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5, Shenmue, Chu Chu Rocket, Crazy Taxi, Typing of the Dead, to name just a few, I honestly can’t remember a time when gaming was so exciting.

So when the Dreamcast’s plug got pulled, Sega as a whole perished in mind as well. I did have faith in the beginning that the move away from hardware would allow them to concentrate on what they did best, which was making games, and finally allow for a true re-invention of themselves that they?ve tried time and time again, but without success. Some early games even illustrated this hope, specifically Jet Set Radio Future and Panzer Dragoon Orta for the first Xbox. But that was pretty much it; the games that have followed ever since have not been of much note, other than the subsequent installments of the Virtua Fighter series and a few other lone stand-outs. A vast majority of the company?s output can best summed as awkward at best, with some being flat-out horrible; what’s happened to the Sonic series immediately comes to mind. I’m still an avid gamer, obviously, but it hasn’t been the same ever since.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be revealing such information publicly, but as everyone already know by now, I’ll be running a few panels at the upcoming New York Anime Fest later this month. One will explore the differences between the American and Japanese video game scenes, both culturally speaking and business-wise, and all areas between. Because Sega will be exhibiting, to show off their upcoming their holiday releases, I extended an invitation; it goes without saying that there?s much they could talk about, not just in regards to the Dreamcast ten years later but the company’s legacy as a whole as it pertains to the subject at hand, which attendees at the show, many of them former and still card carrying Sega devotees would love to hear, or so I?d imagine. But alas, despite repeated inquires (to the point where I was practically begging), they have made it clear that they’re not at all interested. Which is a real shame.

Yet once again, the Sega of today is not the same as yesterday’s. And on that note, I guess it’s worth mentioning “Project Needlemouse”, which will finally give what Sonic fans have been also begging for many years now, a brand new 2D Sonic, period. I?m fairly certain when I speak for quite a few by stating that it’s too little, too late. Sega has repeatedly promised to re-create Sonic from the ground-up and take it back to the good old days, and the end result couldn’t be any different. Beside, the truth is, like so many others, we have all moved on, so it almost doesn’t matter anymore.

Though tonight I’ll be going back in time by having another spin of Sega Rally 2, just for old time’s sake.

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