Seth Gorden

Fanboys are everywhere. And some of them are finding interesting ways to bring their fan-tasies to life in their work. Final. Fantasies. As you can see, in the latest Squeenix massively multiplayer masterpiece, Charlize Theron is an Elf.

I just read a great little blog post. It comes from ManagerTools.com, which appears to be a collection of ideas and tools that encourage the improvement of management and business. By name it sounds dry, but there are some gems scattered in there.

Here is an article about Power.

I would put a quote or an excerpt from this post, but it’s so short and the message so succinct that it defies quotation. It’s great reminder of what it means to be powerful, and why that’s relevant, no matter where you are or what job you have. Give it a read.
And thanks to Aaron Melcher for the link to the website.

Who’s Influencing Who?

I’ve recently had a thought about the relationship of Game Design & Player Expectations. There have been complaints all over the internet that games are too easy, with “Burn the Rope” type objectives, too much focus on achievements or graphics, or any of several other common concerns among players attentive to the game industry.

I believe this has generated the idea among gamer-critics that designers are creating a whole new set of expectations among players, giving rise to a generation of fast-paced, short games that do not necessarily appeal to the tastes of hardcore gamers, or long-time casual gamers, or those with nostalgia for the good ole’ days. But I’ve had some thoughts recently, which lead me to believe that players themselves (even the hard core ones) are shaping the game designs we see coming out, perhaps more than we think. The subject of my pondering is centered around the Final Fastasy series, as it has been all over the news recently, with much controversy.

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Having completed the initial versions for major graphical components in my 8-Bit engine, I turn to the equally important and far more mysterious world of 8-bit audio. This is something of a difficult jump in experience for me. I have relied upon 3rd party tools like FMOD for some time, but it’s time to dig in and get some knowledge of Audio Synthesis. I found a few websites and resources to get me started.

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Whoah. I just implemented AVI output in my 8-bit engine. And now I can show a video. Or rather, you can download one. I’m not 100% sure every detail of my file is accurate and compatible with all video programs, but Windows Media Player plays it just fine. I tried it in a video editing program, and it could only read the first frame. If you experience difficulty playing the file, or if you have any advice on properly formed and formatted AVI files, let me know. Leave a comment or email me. In the mean time, enjoy an approximately 10 second video showing my engine in action.

Download the Video

Background Images © Elena Brossa.