Sports, Sports, and more Sports

I keep asking myself: When did I get so into sports?

I've always liked hockey, but I would only watch team Canada games or the Flames games when I could. I found myself watching the entire play off run and found myself watching games from teams that did not have anything to do with me. I would like to point out that my roommate now owes me money because I bet the Kings would win in 6.

And it's not just hockey. Ever since I was acting assistant producer for the FIFA Live Team, I've begun to be engrossed in the sport. From knowing close to nothing, being told that I struggle with football knowledge when one in my position should have it come naturally in order to keep the 'Authentic' feel when making promotions, I have found that I can name a lot of the players by face now, I know the majority of the clubs names in about 11 leagues; I know the major names, the rising stars, and managers/head coaches. I have learned a lot and find myself wanting to watch more. Always more. There has got to be something there that a psychiatrist could pull out and I could only begin to speculate.

I do ask a lot of questions, for there are things out there that I don't know - and thing that I know I don't know. There are often times I sit there, in a wave of doubt, not knowing what I'm doing and have no clue on the direction I need to go. There are times when people expect me to know things, they take for granted the thought that they think  I know what I'm doing, but the story of my career is that I've been winging it. I actually got direction today, though I think I gave my superior at work a scare.

For the most part, my over clueless-ness has been hidden by a good working team. All the processes were set up already, all the major hurdles crosses, all I had to do was tweak what was there to adapt and not screw up. I'm great with taking something already there and making sure it doesn't break and the seems are patched up when needed, but when I was put into a place, told to rock that position, and expand - I was sailing in an ocean without wind and a crew. How do I take it to the next level? How do I row a boat? How do I form a crew?

I managed to get this far without knowing what to asking with the skin of my teeth thinking I would understand it all soon. Truth is, I still don't understand, but I got direction on how I could begin to understand. This is something no-one has truly told me, as nobody truly understood my problems, namely because I did not know how to distinguish my problems. After a nice chat with my bosses boss, he understood my problem without me completely understanding it. I was almost scared of confronting him about it as I did not want to be moved off again to another project, lose my job, ect. Something everyone fears. With the problems kind of understood, I have at least a plan of attack for the initial phase.

It doesn't help that throughout my career, I've felt kind of used and pushed aside or just plainly ignored. I try finding new places to work and I have never gotten past handing in a resume, no calls, no opportunities, nothing. While I've been working, I've left a trail of promotions. Every person that I have worked with, worked hard with, and excelled with, has gotten a promotion once I stopped working closely with them. Have I been that bad of a worker? No, clearly I have not been or I would not be in a project manager position. This just put further doubts into my mind to where I have almost given up doing anything in the career path I once so passionately loved.

However, back to my direction. I have one. Kind of. I want to do this as best as I can and expand as best as I can. and if nothing comes from this, I'll know it's time to throw in the towel. I have learned a lot, but somehow I have never become indispensable, instead I've been a visa, or a ditto. I can be put into any situation and do okay in it, but not excellent. I want to be excellent, but for so many that have had support and have grown to become excellent - I have not quite had that support. So I am going to take what I got, keep my energy as high as possible and push this last effort as far as I can go. After this project is over, I'll know where I stand; either I am promoted to the next level or I walk out the door.

This has been quite a long post, I did miss yesterday, I was watching Prometheus and it was a good moving if I didn't think about it. There are so many loose strings and small details that can ruin the experience for anyone. So remember - If you try to put logic to Prometheus, You're going to have a bad time.

I often wonder if anyone truly reads these or if they just flash, see the text and leave. This is essentially my journal. I should break up my blogs into all the different areas rather than random spewage. Like a game/movie critique blog, I have my novel blog (which I found that the rain removes any form of inspiration and want to write from me) A journal page for just my daily activities and anything else. It would probably be far more efficient to have all these different thoughts on different pages. But that is work for another day.

The Big E3

The grand scale event that is E3 is officially over, I've reviewed each of the presentations, and I have come to a conclusion. This year's E3 was a spectacular flop. It was a steaming pile of donkey flop. I have never been so unimpressed with E3 before this year's lack of showing.

I shall start with the Microsoft debacle - it may not have been a bad presentation, but it was not a good one either.

I would like to make my first point - Sports. I'm sure Microsoft has done a lot of analytics and come to the conclusion that a large percentage of Xbox fans are sports fans as well, but that's all the presentation really was; all sports. Sports are all good and dandy if that is all I wanted from the console. I admit the Nike thing was cool, but I don't have enough space in my living-room to ever utilize the thing.

Second point -  they were reiterating what well all already knew. They want to integrate everything Microsoft; the console, the desktop, the tablet, and the phone. I thought E3 was meant for new and exciting news about what upcoming products and games. Reiterating what we already knew then acting as if it is new and forcing some for of enthusiasm ruins the presentation.

Third point - the enthusiasm, there was none. They may have been able to sell everything better if they could just look like they wanted to be there. If they had no energy, at least show professionalism.

This transitions into Sony, Sony was very professional almost too much so. But I do think Sony won E3 hands down. Their presentation was clear, unwavering, and all out better than all other presentations.

First point I want to make with Sony - they gave a new IP. I loved how the first thing they open up with is a brand new IP 'Beyond'. This shows that Sony is still dedicated to making games and not just try and force the idealism of the social environment or the need to be fit on us all. Sometime I want to be alone and eat a bowl of Oreos with a heaping glass of milk. That is how I like to unwind. Not only was it a new IP, it looked like a good IP, something I will be willing to get.

Second point - Sony is bringing more console and handheld integration. This is something Nintendo started then went 'fuck it'. I loved how using my gameboy advanced changed how I interacted with gamecube games and vice versa. With Sony integrating the handheld more, I can see a lot of new ways to interact with games and hope developers utilize this. Though this wasn't the best E3 for Sony, they definately were the best.

From there I want to move into the the Nintendo show.

The first point I want to make is,can Nintendo come up with anything new anymore? All is saw were games that should be out and they presented before, Mario, Mario, more Mario, and Luigi. What the hell Nintendo? Did all your developers walk away because of your Nazi submission process? If Mario is the only major thing you can bring to the table, I think you will be going belly up soon.

Second point for Nintendo - Where is the price point? I want to know how much money the Wii-u will cost me and how much money you are going to lose. Lets face it, gimmicky controls worked for you only because of the price point. If the wii cost $400 like the rest of the consoles, you would have been bankrupt long ago.

Third - Nintendo needs to stop lying to us. They keep pushing about how they are doing things to bring back the hardcore gamer then turn around and come out with Nintendo Land. Seriously, if you want to market to children and grandma, come out and say it. Stop the charade, you don't have a hardcore base, you have the casual base - and they bought the console because it was cheap. If the Wii-u costs anywhere close to $400+ you will most likely lose that base as well; or you better continue developing for the Wii.

Fourth - Nintendo's presentation had no soul and felt like uncertainty ran rampant. The majority of the speakers either had troubles saying their pre-scripted lines or felt completely unconvinced themselves. The life, fun, and lively hood of Nintendo has left them completely. They need confidence if they are to be able to continue to compete in the console market. And for god's sake, improve your online experience. It sucks a pile of nuggets.

Nintendo was the biggest flop of the Exhibition.

I could go into Into the Ubisoft presentation, Valve, or EA(which I would say took second) but I would have most likely a biased position on the matter (Working at EA and all) - So I will tackle that tomorrow.

Remember to keep those teeth healthy and strong, because tooth grinding in disappointment are wearing mine down.

3 days gone

Hi everybody,

it has been three days since I last posted. now I did promise I would update every weekday, but I didn't for a good reason; I was planning and setting up my girlfriends 25th birthday party. It was a surprise event and had to keep it secret and I had to say away from where she could try and talk to me. I told her I was in all day meetings and I could not blow it by going online and writing stuff.

Now you are probably thinking "Well Ian, why not post later that day then?"

It's simply not that easy and it's complicated reason why I did not post anything. The story is far to long and convoluted for me to even begin to transcribe what occurred that fateful day.

(Lame-mans terms: I forgot)

So I write to you now instead. Tomorrow, when I have time, I will write a quick thing about E3 when I finish watching everything. I was too busy watching the LA Kings kick ass and move another game towards winning the Stanley cup; and one step closer to my roommate owing me $10 - $20 if they win on game 6.

I could post some pictures of my day and the party on Friday, but I was too lazy to copy over the pictures; instead I will encourage you to buy this weeks 'Humble Bundle'.

The bundle is worth it alone for 'Psychonauts'. I love that game and it was my friends going though Ai. I suggest you pay more than average as well so you can get 'Bastion' as well. The bundles comes with five games: Bastion, Psychonauts, Amnesia, Limbo, and Superbrothers.

For those of you who don't know the 'Humble Bundle'; A small amount of indie developers put up their games in a bundle and let the users pay whatever amount they want for all the games, even if it is zero. If you pay more than the average, you usually get something extra.


Now be in amazement - I present to you: Banana!

Now this in itself is awesome, but there is an extra bit - some of the money raise goes to charity. The user has the ability to divy up what they pay between charities and the different developers to support them. Go out and get it.You will feel as much regret as the day after a steam summer sale.

Most Un-eventful

Today, today was the most un-eventful day in a long time. At first I was not going to write anything because nothing has happened, but then I decided to post anything, something that came to mind. So I will share with you a bit of good feedback I got today.

I must be learning something at work, which is a good thing, for I action-ed on asking for additional QA resources for our project. This may not be a big thing for most people,but it is a big thing for me. This is the first time I was pro-active on something instead of reactive.

I'm still nervous as this still requires me to leave my bubble, to step up and ask for something needed instead of waiting until my superiors notice and ask me to action on it. Small steps is all I need.

I also managed to speak up and ask questions during both poker planning/ sprint planning meetings today instead of sitting there lost in thought and waiting until later to ask. Next step is to discuss with the Designer of the project to increase the description on the user story criteria so it actually shows design and not ambiguous design hopes. I still have a ways to go to step up/own up and grow into my position.

I have never felt like I have made it into the game industry, yet I have. I still feel like the 20 year old fresh out of college not knowing how to get a job and I think it's because of my contracting company. I never needed an interview, there is really no reward for hard service, the only thing they mostly have to show for hard work is that I get to keep a job.

Until I can get into a place with out being in my current contracting company, is the day I will see myself as a professional, but so far I've been put into temp positions until someone the contractors want fill the position. I guess I feel I will only always be a temporary person. I have the skills to fill the position, but there is something there that people don't want to critique and let me grow. So I sit in a position, do my best to fly a plane, ask how I'm doing, and have the instructor look out the window and say "You're doing good, just keep doing what you're doing" as he hides the fact he is grabbing a parachute and getting ready to jump just in case the real pilot doesn't comeback in time for the crash.

So I find myself filling many different roles, mostly on the same project, never really filling out and growing but pushed out. So it was nice to actually get solid praise, not just a pat on the back saying i'm doing good, but actual solid feedback on exactly what I did that was good. Though I still do not know entirely what questions to ask.

So that is a win for me and that leaves my day a little brighter.

Aquarium Art

Yesterday was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the temperature was in the 20's. That is Celsius for those american folks. We don't need people thinking I'm enjoying a hot beautiful day of 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

With nothing on my schedule but to play some video games, I instead opted to clean and redesign my aquarium tank. As it is a 20 gallon tank, there is not a lot of room to maneuver things - but I do believe I am getting better than my previous attempts. Like every skill, the more one practices and makes it the best their skill can accomplish, they will improve. This would be my fourth attempt at designing an aquarium and I will say that this one is head over heals better than any other one I attempted.

I present to you, the beauty the now resides at the foot of my bed that my girlfriend and I stare at until we drift off into the comforting realm of sleep.

Lost a Day and Diablo III

I will open up with an apology. Yesterday there was no post posted up on my blog. That is not to say I did not actually write something up, which I did, it was just that I had to remove the page and the grounds of my own stupidity and misunderstanding. I did not know how to fill the void and re-edit the page, so I just took it down.

I was on an amazing rant about how awesome Stumbleupon is and how everyone and their dog should use it, as it is the best tool for a procrastinator.

Anywho,

I shall open up today with a post as well as a post later tonight to make up for the gap.

This morning's post will be about Diablo III and how it urks me. Don't get me wrong, I like the game, I do find it fun - but working in the development of games myself, Diablo III is complete mediocrity. 

Now I'm going to set a standard and that standard is 'Torchlight'. Great game and they did amazing things for the budget they had. The game was great, it was fun, colourful, and exciting. For a lower budget game, this took the icing off any cake. I am incredibly excited for Torchlight 2, namely because it has multi-player.

Not only was Torchligh a low budget game, it was developed in 11 months. That is incredibly impressive for any game. The FIFA and NHL franchise can boast the same development time, however, those teams have a much higher budget and far more people to throw at the product as well as a previous iteration to work from. But 11 months for Torchlight to go from concept to release, that is an amazing feat.

The game itself can sell for $20 about and the studio makes enough to live on to create Torchlight 2.

Jump to Diablo III:

The aesthetic appeal, looks just above par to Torchlight.

The player and monster animations look about on par with Torchlight.

The story would be on par with torchlight.

The audio, music and all, would be on par with Torchlight.

The only thing that Diablo III blows every single game in the world out of the water, would be from the cinematics. The skill and amazing detail in the cinematics is absolutely stunning. But put this aside, as this actually hasnothing to do with gameplay or the ability to draw the player in.

Now that Diablo III has been set to just above par, lets look at some of the things that makes this game 'Bad'.

Diablo III was in development since 2001, It was probably shelved a couple of times, but the concept was there in 2001, 2008 the game was first announced; then finally, May 2012, the game was released. 

Development Time:

Diablo III - 11 Years

Torchlight - 11 Months

If you actually watch the credits to Diablo III, there were a ton of people who worked on the title, this game's budget was massive.

The game needs to be sold at $60 a unit, minus the collectors edition crap.

Product Cost:

Diablo III - $60

Torchlight - $20

This is starting to look like a common theme. Though Diablo III and Torchlight are amazing games, Diablo III was vastly over budgeted and it looks as though they wasted the money to come out with a game that would be 'Good Enough'. Either that, or the millions upon millions it took to develop the title went into their animators for those amazing cinematics.

I will also put in a big minus for the DRM system they have.

I don't want the argument of "You're on the internet all the time, what does it matter if you want to play single player and have to be online?"

I work on server games enough to know, it's not the user that is the problem. Generally the servers will fuck up, the server will be at fault, and when the servers go down for any reason, millions of people now cannot play the title and enjoy the game. This is an example of a poorly implemented DRM and the people who orchestrated this should be ashamed. This is a slap in the face to any and every aspect of user experience. They get an automatic 0 to the score's average for this mess up.

To put Diablo III to a score using Torchlight as the base of 5, it would be the following:

Diablo III:

Animation: 5

Story: 6

Aesthetics: 6

Audio: 5

Voices: 7

Gameplay: 6

Online: 10

Game Length: 5

Dev Time: 1

Unit Cost: 3

DRM: 0

Final Score : 4.9/10

For this style of game, I will always refer to Torchlight until a new par is set. Until then, my review for Diablo III is a 4.9/10. This game was definitely a flop in achievement and it looks as though they paid way too much much to reach par. That is why Diablo III is a mediocre slosh.

I will reiterate my first comment, I in know way hate Diablo III, I like it and play it and enjoy it. But for the amount of effort that went into the game, absolutely nothing shows for it except that blizzard has an amazing marketing team who I applaud. If this was any other studio, the game alone would have been an utter waste of money and the studio would have had to close, if the project was not already permanently shelved. Thanks to marketing, the fans of blizzard that eats anything they throw, the game is a success.

Now to keep with tradition, enjoy a bit of distraction: