Malik
(5/10/10)
What a crap-tastic weekend. I went to the Friday night Mariners
game, when they extended a seven game losing streak to eight games
(which became nine on Saturday). It was nothing short of a train
wreck of a game. Felix Hernandez gave up four in the first inning,
followed by another four a few innings later. Since it was my first
game I saw live this season, it wasn't exactly an awe inspiring
occasion.
Still, I can't complain too much when it's a Mother's Day outing
with my family and a good time was had for all despite the poor
performance of the team. I mean I got the tickets at a major
discount (about 40% off) and then got upgraded, due to family
connections, to seats worth a good 400% above the price paid for
entrance.
It only got worse when I watched the Sounders FC game on Saturday. I
didn't expect a win, since Seattle was playing against Los
Angeles...playing against the number one Galaxy. Still, a 0-4 loss
is not as close as I expected. I thought maybe it would be 1-2 or
0-2, not a massive four point shutout deficit.
You can always
tell when a game is especially bad when the team offers financial
restitution to season ticket holders. That's what the Sounders
FC owners are doing...now that's just sad. Yet, at the same
time, it at least shows how awesome the Sounders FC are as an
organization.
Anyway, I'm away from geek things lately. I'm trying to build a
greenhouse, for my attempt to live a fantasy life of Harvest Moon.
So, beyond some sports, my weekend was a nightmare of digging
trenches and laying bricks to build a terrace so I can begin to
build a greenhouse. In other words, I spent my waking time doing
real world type of things over playing my neglected copy of Lunar 2.
Maybe, now that the rains have returned, I may finally return to
geek pursuits.
Malik |
Malik
(5/12/10)
I'm still mostly away
from gaming right now. I did take advantage of the Humble Bundle
deal that was going on (I'd put a link, but I think it ended on
Monday night). It was basically a "pay what you want" deal for five
indy games (plus one bonus one), with the money going to charity, as
well as the developers. I only took advantage of the deal for two
reasons; it included World of Goo and I like the Child's Play
charity.
I never played
World of Goo before, and considering all of the fanfare the game has
received, I figured it was time to try it out. Plus, one of the
other games looked pretty cool, although I cannot recall it's name
right now. I am happy, at least, with World of Goo. I've yet to
install the other games, but I'll find time between Lunar 2 and my
more real world based of projects.
On a separate
note, I don't know what to think of Lost last night. It was
interesting getting some background on Jacob and the man in black.
However, I think it felt a bit lame that in the entire episode, we
never learned the man in black's name. Really? As a child, no one
ever called him by his name? Is this supposed to be some sort of
suspense element in which we are all blown away in the end to learn
his name on the final episode? If so, that seems too minor to keep
as a mystery.
Speaking of
mysteries, at least we now know who the "Adam and Eve" skeletons are
from the first season, as well as the purpose of the bag with two
stones in it. I thought that would be a mystery never solved on the
show, but I guess some loose ends, even old ones, will finally be
tied down.
I just hope they
explain, before 11 days from now (when the 2.5 hour final episode
airs) we can learn about the statue, since man in black's people
didn't seem advanced enough to build the statue of such a large size
and we haven't seen any other people ancient enough to build
something from that long ago.
Malik |
Malik
(5/14/10)
I took a break from
back-breaking labor yesterday to play some more World of Goo. Like
with all great indy games, WoG is just too short. I mean it's a
great length for a small budget and small priced game, but I need
more. This is one of the few games I know of that never left me
disappointed. Not a single thing left me wanting, except wanting for
more when the credits rolled.
I'd have to say
that WoG is a perfect representation of why indy games are so
popular and doing so well right now. While the major production and
development houses/studios are making the usual marketable stuff
(sequels, sports, FPS, and mindless explosion filled action), indy
game developers are focusing on something that used to be
mainstream; unique and innovative games. WoG is unlike almost
anything else out there (unless you want to see the connections, of
sorts, to blending Bust-A-Move with Lemmings). The same can be said
about The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, and Braid. Indy games
are offering a breath of fresh air.
Of course, it is
no surprise that major studios are not focusing on these unique game
genres and styles. These are games that could fail. When a major
game release can cost millions upon millions of dollars to develop
and publish, it cannot be a game that may end up being niche. Yes,
some indy games break out into being mainstream enough to be major
successes, but most will always hope for a cult following to be a
true mark of success. It's sad, but it's also reality.
I have complained
many times about the lack of unique games from major publishers.
However, it will always be the case now that games can cost more to
produce than some summer Hollywood blockbusters. On the bright side,
with PSN, Live Arcade, and Wiiware, indy games can find larger
audiences than just the old PC-only route. However, it will always
remain out of reach for an indy game to find a major (disk based)
release on consoles when the games have to go through so much
tighter of control to both be accepted by the console maker and by
the retail outlets that would be expected to sell such games. Some
indy developers don't seem to show this limitation on their
releases, but many are stuck with knowing they will sell their title
for a lower price point and thus they seem to be focused on offering
less of a game (in terms of total size).
I started trying
some other games in the Humble Indy Bundle, but nothing has captured
my attention span like WoG did. I'm intrigued, at best, by a couple
of the other games (and flat out annoyed with some others). However,
when it's all said and done, I paid a certain donation price for
these games, and I feel like I got my money worth since only WoG had
me interested in the bundle to begin with.
I'm hoping to also
return to Lunar 2 soon, but that's a different matter. I have some
good sunny days in my future, and I need to continue with my big
outdoor type project.
Malik |
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