Once again, a couple of things…
- I have like the worst memory these days, because I can’t believe I forgot to pass this along last time: a somewhat momentous thing happened last week. My latest Gamefly selection arrived last Wednesday and it was… Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yup, the last game I worked on at Ubi Soft, my one and only stab at designing a PS2 game. Though as mostly folks might already know, I was only around long enough to lay the groundwork, then it was taken out of my hands before I could refine the design, and then my studio was shut down.
So how is it? Well… I’m going to save most of what I have to say in my big “Super Cool: My Year At Ubi Soft” piece that I’m planning to do for The Gamer’s Quarter (though that may take a while since the deadline is right around the corner and I’m kinda busy with a thousand other things), though I will say that it took about three seconds to discover that Ubi, as expected, did not stick to my plan since it uses every fucking button on the goddamn PS2 controller, and quite poorly. But yeah… the game sucks ass. It not even on the level of bad as say… the Bouncer or Superman 64, which at least people like to point and laugh. CTHD is so bad that people who played it just didn’t want to think or talk about it afterwards.
I’ll also mention that its all the more depressing since the actual developers that were hired was LightWave, the once glorious dev team that was behind one of my fave games of all time, Bushido Blade. Again… I’ll save the full on bitching and moaning for TGQ.
- Also, I think my PS2 is dying. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is just that bad! But seriously, I’ve noticed that the drive has gotten pretty loud when playing blue discs. Which… really sucks, obviously.
- Another thing I forgot to mention before is the email I recently received… from the director of Karate Ruler. In a nutshell, a representative from Sprout contacted me and asked that I pull the video. Why? Basically, certain folks who have seen the video have left some not so nice comments. Specifically the cruel jokes that have been made at the expense of the actors involved, all of whom are special needs. And that’s pretty it; the person also mentioned that I don’t have the right to distribute the video as well, which is true, but upon closer inspection of the email, it really wasn’t much of an issue.
Ultimately, Sprout is in their legal right to ask me to pull the video due to copyright reasons. But… I plan on appealing to them, to ask permission to keep it up. Why? Because, its a great video! Seriously, I’ve been a huge fan of the film for many, many years. I’ve introduced it to a ton of folks, and many of them have become fans as well. Yeah, the vid gets a good laugh from myself and friends, but I also really admire and respect all the people involved. Its a fantastic achievement, and I kid you not, the movie is far more entertaining than some of the stuff that’s produced these days from Hollywood and elsewhere by “normal” people. And I’m pretty sure that, at least the folks I personally know whom I’ve introduced the movie to, feel the same exact way. And in the end, every filmmaker wants their work to be seen and enjoyed by as many people as possible, or so I’d think.
Regarding the shitty comments on YouTube, well, that just can’t be helped. Stupid people will say stupid shit. I could wipe them… I just don’t think anyone should pay any mind to them (and now that I finally checked again, there’s hardly any negative comments!). Anyway, I?ll be emailing the person later tonight, and hopefully something will be worked out. Otherwise, enjoy the video while you.
- Back to video games, it was recently brought to my attention, and from more than a few folks, that my coverage of the Wii launch was perhaps the biggest one that was produced. And to be honest, that’s kinda sad. Apparently, more people would rather read about people getting shot over PS3s, or paying $3000+ for just one.
Though it necessarily hasn’t been all doom and gloom. A lot of folks in the mainstream press are actually genuinely impressed excited with video games once again, and it all has to do with the Wii. There’s been tons of write ups where the author has talked about how much fun the games are, but perhaps more importantly, how accessible they are, with tons of “even my girlfriend/wife/parents/grandparents love it!” sentiments. Meanwhile, they’ve also been especially hard on the PS3 for not living up to the hype, and I’d like to think, justifiable so. Even the gaming press have been going “this is seriously it?!?!”.
As for the hardcore gamers on message boards, well, bear in mind, many of them honestly believe $600 is worth the price of admission for “the next generation” of gaming, and that any one who feels different are losers or pussies or whatever. So naturally, they?re all pretty pissed these days. Word was recently released that 600,000 of the system were sold in the first week, and there were plenty of “Who fucking gives a shit… wait till next year” comments. And it is true, that things could be different next year, but the amount of vitriol in people, who seriously acted as if Nintendo raped their kid sisters is both amusing and sad. Another factor to consider is that a lot of hardcore Nintendo fans are genuinely insane (whereas hardcore Sony fans are just smarmy and diehard Microsoft fans are often deluded) and now that they seem to have a green light to gloat is making everyone even crankier than usual. Hence why I’ve having a harder time than usual when it comes to shifting through the crap.
That’s not to say that I totally discount what the hardcore gaming community has to say. Often, they still know what’s up in relation to the general public. But at the same time, they often dead wrong as well.
- Speaking of message boards… I basically figured that there was perhaps no need, nor interest, in a Fort90 Forums, especially since things seem to be running full steam ahead with the NeoIC forums (and on that note, I have offered to lend a hand, but its remains to be seen if my offer will be taken up on).
Well I was kind wrong. Various friends I’ve spoken with apparently really want a message board on my end to happen. And to be honest, I’m glad that there’s no gap to fill now, so Fort90 Forums can be its own beast completely. But again, I’m spread pretty thin at the moment, so it may not actually happen, but I am back to wanting it to happen. I’m approaching this as an experiment, and actually try to be somewhat hands off (to emulate the component of the IC forums that in my opnion was the very best part). If its a total failure, I’ll just nuke the thing after a month and move forward. But if it sticks… so hang in there for details.
- And finally, a reminder that tomorrow is the big day. Chiptune history WILL be made, as the four day long Blip Festival finally kicks off here in the Big Apple. For those who don’t know, the greatest gathering of artists that utilize Game Boys, NESs, and other video game systems to make beautiful beeps and books will happen. Included are such local legends as Bit Shifter and nullsleep, plus other hometown faves like Bubblyfish and Anamanaguchi, as well as superstar talents from literally across the globe, like YMCK and Goto80. And if you don’t know who these folks are, first I’m very sorry, but secondly get smart.
Its four days long, and the price can’t be beat, so its worth checking out. And remember, when chiptunes becomes all the range next year, thanks to Beck, don’t you want to sound all cool and have indie cred by telling everyone you were there when it finally hit it big?
To check out the schedule, and to buy tickets, simply hit http://www.blipfestival.org/. Again, I will be there for the opener and closer! Can’t wait to see YMCK in NYC!
