NaNoWriMo

As I was going through my YouTube subscriptions tonight, I came across one video by Frezned (check out his channel here") talking about NaNoWriMo.

Now, you're probably wondering, what is NaNoWriMo? Well, beginning November 1st at midnight, the ninth NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, begins. Throughout the duration of November, interested writers are encouraged to write a 50,000 word novel by the end of the month. It works out to be about 1,667 words a day. There are no special rewards, no prizes, no publishing contracts to be had by reaching that goal of 50,000 words. It's simply an effort to gets your creative juices flowing.

NaNoWriMo began in 1999, with about 21 people participating. Of those 21, six people "won". Each year the amount of participants has grown, up to last year, where 101,510 people registered, and 15,333 people won. Winning is simply done by successfully reaching the target of 50,000 words. No real amount of fame of prestige will come your way from getting there, except the knowledge you've stuck it out and gotten to the end.

When writing for NaNoWriMo, you're encouraged to just go for it. Start however you want. Don't try and detail your character down to their brothers daughters sons wife, don't worry too much about consistancy or plot twists. Just start writing and go with it. Don't even go back and edit yourself. In the words of some previous years writers, December is for editing; November is for getting the juices flowing.

So, if you love writing, drop by the site, register, and get yourself going. As of this going up, you'll have 2.9 days to prepare yourself. Don't fret, as I often find I do my best work when utterly unprepared. Check it out.

Oh, another thing I forgot is that each author writing for NaNoWriMo has a profile which you can follow and check up on their progress as they go along. I'll link my profile up there so anyone who is interested can keep up to speed with how I'm doing.

NaNoWriMo
My NaNoWriMo Profile

An Interlude Of Awesome

Alright, so, blogging isn't really a strong spot of mine. I think that's pretty obvious right now. For any who have attempted to stay tuned for my little Wrath of the Lich King beta thing, I so still plan to do it. It will be filled with pictures, and hopefully be awesome.

But, onto the real reason I wished to update for today. I came across an incredible video, and I just had to share it. Violins; one of the most amazing sounding instruments, in that its ability to set tone and shape a mood in any musical piece is extrodinary. I've attempted to play one myself, and it's difficult enough just to get a string of notes that sound decent without having that horrible scratching sound come out. So it goes to say, someone who can play violin is talented and is well deserving of any praise they receive for their skill. Even more so when they bring the instrument to modern music.

Enter this video, an exceptional combination of a classical instrument and modern music. It's definatley worth a watch, and it's a pity this guy doesn't have a personal site (that I know of) to which I could link you all. It took me a minute or so to work out the first of the two songs he plays, mainly because I didn't know the song from its name. Check it out, it's worth it!

MJ Violin (via CollegeHumor)

A Happy Day For A Gamer

You're probably aware, but I'm a World of Warcraft player. I've played for the longest of times, probably to my own detriment. That's not to say I haven't enojyed myself.

Anyways, you'll remember a post I made a few months back now, regarding the Wrath of the Lich King expansion going into closed beta, and Blizzard were giving people the option to opt-in for a chance to join it. Your name is placed into a hat, and if you're lucky, you get drawn.

Last night, a huge wave of opt-in beta keys were sent, and I managed to luck out and received one. As a gamer and a World of Warcraft fan, I'm sitting pretty happy right now. I've beta tested one other MMO in my days (Dream of Mirror Online), and managed to get myself an hour or so on an Xbox game midway through it's development cycle. Both provided and extremely awesome experience, especially for someone such as myself, to whom the gaming industry is a passion.

As there is no Non-Disclosue Agreement (that I'm aware of - there wasn't anything mentioned), I'm thinking of doing a small feature about my journeys in the Wrath of the Lich King beta. I'll talk about my experiences, show you some pretty pictures, and probably answer questions if you have any. Not sure what I'll call the feature, but I'm sure I'll think of something witty. Only thing that comes to mind at the moment is "Beta Luck Next Time".

Game Stop And EB Games

I don't like to think of myself as a vindictive bastard. I'm pretty easy going.

Those of you who know me personally will know that I worked at EB Games for two years. I enjoyed my time there, mostly.

Now, a lot of people know of Game Stop and EB Games for the utter disregard for the customer saying "no", and how they will continue to sell you stuff you never wanted until you almost literally pull out a knife and shank them. That's fair enough, I'd want to do the same. I admit I still go to EB, mainly because they're the only place close enough who sell games. I bypass that by letting the salespeople know I'm a former employee, so I know all their tricks and policies and they won't work on me.

Anyway, the point of this blog is simple. Working for Game Stop (if you're overseas) or EB Games (as they're owned by Game Stop) can be hell. I bore it for two years, and again, while I say I enjoyed my time, I also knew just how badly they were milking me and my replaceability. Looking at the massive stack of resume's in the storeroom each day is enough to reinforce the idea that any other dipshit could take my job at a moments notice.

Enter WhistleBlowerZero, a former Game Stop employee who is fed up with their bullshit. His series of videos, in a direct parody of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame, seek to inform those of us who purchase from Game Stop / EB Games, and those of us who might want to work for them, just how raw of a deal you're getting. Spanning 10 videos totalling around 90 minutes, WhistleBlowerZero goes on to show just how hard employees are being driven, and how much of a cash-cow the company sees the consumer as.

I want to point out, even though WhistleBlowerZero is based in the Unites States, everything he says applies to Australia, and almost assuredly the entire world where you'll find one of their store franchises. I'll recount a story of my own experience, just to emphasise the point that when the customer says "no", to EB it means "keep asking until they're about to punch you."

I had a guy come im looking to buy a PlayStation 2. He already owned one, but something happened, and it died. He was already kitted out with games, controllers, memory cards and the like. All the wanted was a new unit, a cost of $200AU at the time. Upon making the purchase, I continued to offer things to bump up the sale. Dodgy third-party controller didn't work? Okay, how about the dodgy third-party memorycard? On and on until the guy was going red with frustration. But, at the end of that transaction, I'd sold him not only a PlayStation 2 console, but an extended warranty (which as my manager put to me so succinctly "is pure profit to the company"), two games, a couple of pre-orders, gift certificate and the famous "discount" card. So instead of his intended $200 purchase, he left my store carrying roughly $450 worth of goods. My manager, who watched the whole sale patted me on the back with a chuckle, and the next week my hours went up.

So as you're watching WhistleBlowerZero's videos, don't start to think he's blowing things out of proportion. It's all true.

Oh, and if you happen to be a Game Stop / EB Games "gamestopio" (as coined by WhistleBlowerZero), fuck you. I will not close my mouth. For everyone else, the more you know. Don't let this corporate serpent digest whole.

WhistleBlowerZero's YouTube Channel

Toys, Toys, Toys

Toys, toys, toys.

I said I'd update, and here it is. Seeing as my main computer is slowly dieing, I got a much appreciated loan from my mother, and purchased myself a new computer. A laptop, to be precise. Linkages for said machine are here.

The laptop I got from work, which was supposed to work if I purchased a power adapter, was going to be the replacement for my desktop, but, seeing as it died within 10 minutes of receiving the adapter, that idea kinda went down the drain. Now I'm sitting here with a nice shiny laptop, which I'll be paying off in regular installments.

Though, I'm not posting from it just yet. I'm in the process of copying over stuff like my music and other things. That, and I still need to get the hang of using Windows Vista. Typically I've been an anti-Vista-spewing type guy, I'm finding it to be pretty cool so far. It is a little bit of a memory hog, but that can be dealt with pretty easily.

Oh gods, copying folders to my external drive...progress bar predicts an hour of wait time. Though we all know how long that takes in Windows(TM) time. This could be interesting.

Anyways, I'm going to leave with that, and entertain myself while I wait for this to painfully copy over. Oh...I just realised I'll have the same wait putting it all on, too. This will take a while...

Shadow Of The Colossus Review

As promised, I bring you the final copy of my Shadow of the Colossus review, which I wrote to apply for a job writing for a gaming website. Some of you may have seen it in some iteration as I did get a couple of people to give it a read and tell me their thoughts, but ultimately this is the final copy, as received by the website, and unfortunately didn't impress them quite enough.

Without further ado, I bring you, Shadow of the Colossus





Remember the awe you felt as a child when standing at the edge of a cliff looking down at the ocean crashing on the rocks below, or the wonder at looking up from the base of a towering waterfall? Can you recall that feeling of just how small you felt in the scheme of things? Team ICO seeks to bring back this feeling with the larger than life Shadow of the Colossus; an awe inspiring game which towers above the rest.

Shadow is a game unlike any other. Rather than follow the all-too-popular trend of rip-offs and rehashes, Team ICO has taken a bold step into the unknown, blending elegance and simplicity to provide a unique gaming experience not easily forgotten. Shadow's story follows an unnamed hero, who's brought his fallen love to an ancient temple in the hopes of returning her to life. A mysterious and intangible presence within the temple promises to revive her if the hero ventures forth and defeats sixteen colossi; the towering armoured creatures who call this place home.

As you begin your journey into this incredibly vast and open land, it becomes evident that the name “Shadow of the Colossus” isn't just another quirky Japanese-to-English translation. Everything in this world is huge; from the vast landscapes you're set to explore, to the colossi you must eventually defeat. With the whole world at such a large scale, you can't help but be reminded just how small and alone you are in your task; and with the exception of your horse, you won't find any other NPC's. Void as the land may seem however, any extra interactivity would simply detract from the games main focus; battling the colossi.

Navigating your way around and finding each colossus is rather straightforward. Raise your sword to the sky, and as long as there is sunlight, a beam of light will point out the direction you should be going. Another simple task is riding your horse. Pressing X will dig in the spurs, while pulling back on the thumb stick will yank on the reins and slow you down. Initially it may take a little getting used to, especially once you build up speed and need to stop suddenly, however it all becomes second nature and soon enough you'll be riding with the best of them.
While finding the general direction of each colossi is a somewhat easy task, actually getting to your destination is a different thing; rarely is the path merely a leisurely stroll from point A to point B. Occasionally you'll find places your horse cannot go, and will need to abandon him in order to climb up steep cliffs and across precarious gaps in a style familiar to a lot of gamers. Engaging in these acts of acrobatic daring are relatively simple, jump and take a hold of a ledge with your grip button and haul yourself up, and plan out your route from there. Don't feel too bad about leaving your horse behind, as a simple whistle will call him to you; as long as he has a clear path, he’ll return to your side.

Soon enough, after pulling yourself up that last ledge you'll come face to face with your first colossi. Now, I don't think I can put into words the feeling you experience when seeing your enemy for the first time, though the first thought through my head was: “I'm supposed to kill that?!” When looking at your modest sword and bow, the prospect of taking down these hulking monsters seems a little daunting and you wouldn't be blamed for thinking twice about your quest. Encouraged by occasional enigmatic clues given by our mysterious benefactor, you venture forth, wondering just what you've gotten yourself into.

In theory, defeating each colossus is a straight-forward task; clamber your way onto your foe, find their weak points, and stab until dead. Finding weak points is done in much the same way as finding the location of a colossi; raise your sword in a sunny area, and its beams of light will focus where your attacks will be most effective; usually an area of the body high-up and out of your reach

This is where the fun in Shadow begins. Climbing up onto a colossus can sometimes be as easy as running up to its leg, grabbing hold of a clump of fur and hoisting your way up. More often than not, however, you'll need to think and use your environment to your advantage; climbing up onto some precarious ledge to lure your foe over to take a massive leap of faith. Once you've gotten a firm footing somewhere on these massive monsters, you must navigate your way around, hoisting yourself up onto small spaces on their armour or body until you reach your goal, in a style similar to that found in the recent Prince of Persia games. Unfortunately for long time fans of that series, reaching for the rewind button yields no results, and you'll find yourself cringing as you slightly misjudge a jump and free fall towards the ground. Rest assured, our hero isn't quite as flimsy as the prince, and rarely takes fatal damage when falling from twenty stories up.
Once you've worked out your path to the weak point, you'll find yourself running and ledge-jumping like you're an accomplished free-runner. To make things a little harder, while you're carefully scaling these monsters, they're madly flailing about trying to shake you off like the annoying little pest you are. I don't think gaming has quite topped the feeling I had the first time I was shaken loose and free-fell, screaming “noooo” while mashing my grip button, only just managing to latch onto the tiniest of ledges with my pinky finger. I've never been bungee jumping before, though I imagine it feels a little something like that.
Finally defeating your first colossi is another breath-taking experience, and you're rewarded with a scene showing your now-bested foe come crashing to the ground. Looking back at his decimated ruin, you'd be hard-pressed to not feel proud and accomplished. At least until you realise you still have fifteen of these things to destroy, knowing each one will be bigger and more difficult than the last.

It's true, each colossus tends to grow bigger and more varied as you progress, and killing each is an accomplishment in itself. The styling of each colossus is fresh, and you'll never find yourself fighting a copy-paste version of the last one. From great beasts walking on all fours, to giant dragons soaring the skies, each colossi is a piece of interactive art, as is the land you'll find them in; varying from vast open and dusty plains, to mysterious fog-covered lakes and forests. The colossi themselves are seemingly a strange mix of organic beast and man-made architecture, and are simply stunning to behold. You'll be left wondering just how can the little PS2 pump out visuals on this scale; and at times it does have a little trouble, with a slight but non-harmful drop in frame rate occasionally, though that's easily forgivable.
Shadow's soundtrack complements its artistic direction in every way. While riding to your destinations you'll find little to no sound aside from the environmental ambiance and the clop-clop of your horses' feet, emphasising the already existing feeling of solitude; while meeting a colossus greets you with an eerie, almost curious score. Climbing onto a colossus and holding on for dear life rewards you with the music rising into a swelling crescendo befitting of your epic struggle.

Shadow's game play can seem a little short, lasting anywhere between 10 to 20 hours depending how easily you can defeat the various colossi, however after completing the game, you're rewarded with both hard mode and time-attack mode. Hard mode is pretty much self explanatory; and completing it requires a lot more creative thinking on how you're going to tackle each battle. Time-attack mode allows you to fight any of the colossi at your leisure or against the clock, and is a nice distraction if you're looking for a further challenge, or just to re-live one battle you enjoyed. If Shadow has you hooked, these extra modes should keep you interested for a while longer, however except for the increased difficulty, they don't offer much more. The lack of a multi player mode makes this a game you'd rarely bring out when having friends around, although it's likely they'd crowd around and cheer you on as you struggle and scale the various colossi if you did.

When all is said and done, Shadow of the Colossus is an amazing blend of art and gaming; it's an experience unlike any other found across any gaming platform, and is more than deserving of a place on any serious gamers shelf. It's not for everyone though, so if brain-teasing games don't take your fancy, you may not enjoy it. But do yourself a favour, give Shadow a chance, you just might be surprised. I know I was, and I will never regret a minute of my time playing it.





To those of you have read through it, feel free to drop a comment, tell me what you thought of it.

In A World One Voice Over Legend Less...

In a sad turn of events, voice over legend Don LaFontaine, commonly known as "that voice over guy", passed away on Monday, aged 68. While you may not know him by name, you've no doubt heard him every time you've seen a film at the cinema. Sadly now, when the lights go out and the big screen comes to life, it just won't be the same without his silvery voice selling the various up and coming flicks.


Don LaFontaine Passes Away, Aged 68 (via ZGeek)

On another note, I didn't end up getting that writing job I had so dearly wished for. The three members that were chosen were either a lot more qualified than I am, or more well known. One is already a writer for another magazine, and one is famous though YouTube with his "Girlfriend Plays Team Fortress 2" videos. That being said, I humbly admit defeat to my peers, as I am still just one banana with no claim to fame. Yet. We'll see what the future holds.

As promised, in the next day or two I'll post up my sample Shadow of the Colossus review for you to take a look at.