Hey, even more random stuff, this time both general and video game happenings.
- For the past two days, SVA has been hosting Nintendo as it’s Street Team undergoes training. I was initially against the idea, but no one else saw the harm in it, hence the green light. I hate saying “I told you so”, but would end up hearing “you were right” by the end of it all.
Yesterday wasn’t so bad; the joke going around the office was that I was just pissed that the “team” didn’t have any free games on hand. I just have strong contempt for any company, even if it’s Nintendo, that uses hapless teenagers to peddle their wares (though it certainly is worse when it comes to video games). So their first day was without incident… at least while I was there. Turns out, after I went home for the day, they left a massive mess (comprised mostly of German potato salad) which my coworkers had to clean up. Also, they gave no indication that people were going to stop by late in the day to pick up packages (we had a list of everyone who was expected, and they weren’t on it) and a coworker also ended up getting tons of flak from security. And at some point, NY1 managed to sneak into the department.
This morning, I had to handle phone calls from numerous parents who had heard via the radio that Nintendo was at SVA and paying $300 to kids who like to play games. How they got SVA’s number is still a mystery; the theory that people just used directory assistance was debunked once multiple people within SVA, people who’s numbers are not publicly listed, also started getting calls. Most of them ended up getting transferred to me, and I had to tell these folks that there was no such deal going on (the training session was for those already chosen from an extensive search). But did these parents, who just wanted their kids to get paid tons of cash for playing games, want to hear this? Of course not, so everyone was extremely asshole-ish and wouldn’t take no for an answer. The guy handling the actual training was nice enough, but even his excuses was not enough for the P.R. firm’s massive fuck up (can’t see why anyone is actually surprised by this; it’s their job to generate buzz, no matter how false the information is).
Once the chair’s office got such a call, the assistant to the chair decided to voice her disapproval of the group’s disruptive behavior and antics, and in return got a ton of attitude from the P.R.’s rep. He was especially pissed at our school’s policy of not admitting members of the press on premises. Considering how much interaction I’ve had in the past with not only Nintendo themselves, but their P.R. firm, I was quite shocked by their actions and behavior, which went way beyond unprofessional. They really should be ashamed of themselves.
As they were wrapping things up, I let it be known that if one of the classrooms they were using was not cleaned up at a certain point (which happens to be the room in which I hold class), I would not hesitate in giving them a piece of my mind, but the guy running the event actually cleaned up this time around. He was also quite apologetic towards myself and the chair’s assistant, and very sincere about it to, but damage was done, and valuable time wasted.
- For lunch, I went to Wendy’s. Not only did I witness two crackheads get into a shouting match over fifteen cents, there was this guy in front of me who must have had torrets syndrome or something cuz he would violently snap his head and swing his arms about every half minute or so. Plus I’ve never heard such heavy breathing through the nose before. Also, he was filling out a application to Wendy’s which was plainly in Spanish, but this guy sure didn’t look like it. I so wanted to take a pic with my camera phone, but this guy seemed legitimately dangerous, so I didn’t bother.
- Found out that there’s going to be a Fight Club musical. I looked at various sources, and it seems totally legit thus far. Author Chuck Palahniuk is apparently cool with the idea since he always detaches himself from his books when they’re in the hands of others for reinterpretation in other forms of media (he’s gone on record by stating that he feels the Fight Club movie is better than the book). Plus he’s “getting his money” and that’s what’s important.
Word also has it both the film’s director, David Fincher, and Trent Reznor are both involved thus far. Interesting…
- Got to see some prototype designs of the Nintendo 64 (still the Ultra 64 at this point) and the Virtual Boy (seen in the pics as just Nintendo Virtual Reality). I really like seeing these kind of things, seeing how things looked right before, or in-between, the final product, even if they’re not from Nintendo themselves. The picture looks very similar to the mockup of the Nintendo PlayStation; I think they were both done by the same artist at Famitsu.
Of course, when it comes to prototypes, nothing ever beats the real thing.
- Came across a site that archives game covers and other stuff related to the Mega CD (the Sega CD as it was originally known in Japan). It’s actually rather old and seemingly abandoned, but there’s still some cool stuff to be found.
Back in the days of heavy Genesis gaming, I always wanted one, but the cost was a hurdle. That and common sense; there was always only two genuinely good games for the system, Sonic CD and Silpheed, and that fact still hasn’t hanged, even ten years later.
Problem was, we only got mostly full motion video crap in America, while in Japan, there was cool games like the one you seee to the right. Hopefully there’s no right wing conservatives reading this blog, otherwise that game could be used to cement Kerry’s defeat.
- In less than ten minutes, I have class. This past week I went to multiple 99 cent stores looking for little doodads and pieces of junk to use as pieces for an in-class game design assignment, but was not able to find anything remotely useful, so I’ve had to change my lesson plan a bit, which I did not like doing. Plus I’m massively tired (again)…. I just wish I could approach teaching class with having to deal with so much bullshit beforehand.
