Tuesday 31 August 2010

Castle Crashers is coming to PSN!

DADA DA DA DA DADA!

Ok, that doesn't help quite as much if you're not yelling it out of tune along with the game.

I know this game's been out for Xbox live for years now and I've already finished it a few times with some friends, but it's still really exciting that it's finally coming to the Playstation Network (mainly because I've got a Playstation 3 and not an Xbox 360 nowadays).

The official release date is the 31st August . . . which is right about now :) (Although it wasn't available this morning, but that could be because Australia's just a few hours ahead and it's not the 31st yet in the USA)

In terms of games where a bunch of you can sit around a TV smashing the crap out of things and generally laughing at yourselves and the game . . . nothing beats Castle Crashers. If you've got an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3 and 3 friends, this one's a no brainer.

Friday 27 August 2010

9 drones, 1 overlord, drones to 14, spawning pool . . .

Ah hell . . . 7 drones, pool.


If you know what that means, you're lost :P If you know what the difference between the two is, then you're even further gone and should seek help. Or you're a perfectly normal average Korean.

Yes. Starcraft is back and it's better than ever.

I've just joined the new online sensation that's sweeping the globe . . . and been ranked quite solidly in the bottom tier . . . but it's all good, I'm getting about a 50/50 win/loss ratio . . . which makes the game interesting and fun :) (Although having said that it's more like 70% losses in 1v1 and 100% wins in 2v2, so I have my current 2v2 partner to thank for being better than me :P)

I'm hosting a LAN this weekend at my old house (The Bra House) and we're going to be having a little 1v1 Starcraft 2 tourney, the prize for winning being that you have to wear a used (but hopefully empty) bucket of KFC on your head . . . you may, if you wish, wipe chicken on the paper so that it goes transparent and you'll be able to see out of it :P

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Just gave my first University Level Lecture

Yesterday I gave a lecture titled "Stereoscopic Systems and Design".

We went through iCinema's different Visualisation systems and showed off some of our content, both stereoscopic 3D and panoramic/dome apps.

Then I had my little talk about Stereoscopic systems and interesting depth perception gaming . . . including this cute little DSi game:


After a bit of technical talk about rendering into weird environments (I posted a little while back about rendering into a hemi-sphere dome), we moved on to the idea of Stereoscopic 3D in gaming and what kind of relevance it has.

It's interesting when you think about it . . . because as yet, there are no astounding breakthroughs in gameplay being brought about by 3D, but you can't argue against its value in terms of immersion. As we're just on the cusp of stereoscopy taking hold in the industry, I think it'll be a little while yet before we see anything genuinely revolutionary happen in gaming. The film industry's a bit ahead at the moment, rolling out a lot of 3D systems to retail (both cinemas and TVs), but at the moment, there are some key figures in the gaming market that haven't yet announced anything stereoscopic related (ATI and Xbox are my two biggest examples).


Tuesday 24 August 2010

The Australian Federal Election, aka What the Hell Just Happened?

3 days later and still no result.

I like to think this is because of a drop in support for the two major parties, neither of which has the confidence of Australia's population. A major swing to the left (I think it was a 4-5% swing to the Greens) as well as record high informal voting seems to suggest a true lack of confidence.

I voted Green . . . and I was planning on doing this even before Julia Gillard decided to depose Kevin Rudd. I lost confidence in Labor because of the failure of the Emissions Trading Scheme, inhumane treatment of genuine refugees and the internet filter idea. I'm hoping that the Greens' balance of power in the senate (and possibly even in the lower house) will make sure these issues stay on the radar.

I also wouldn't mind if the climate change skeptics move to the USA and join up with the "Flat Earth Society". You can hang out there in your little commune of ignoramuses and do whatever the hell you like . . . I just don't want all our descendants dying out unnecessarily on your behalf.

Wednesday 18 August 2010

The Big 3 Oh

I turned 30 yesterday.

I don't particularly feel any different . . . but in fine tradition I spent my birthday bumping in a theatre :)

I guess I've now thoroughly crossed over into adulthood . . . although some would say that happened a month ago when I got a mortgage and an apartment :P

One thing I can happily say is that life is rolling along really nicely . . . here's to the next 30 years.

Monday 16 August 2010

Freshly Squeezed

Back in the theatre again . . . It's been a while and I don't do nearly as many shows as I used to, but I do still love to work in a theatre.

The current project is called "Freshly Squeezed" and it's a show made up of a series of short individual/small group performances by some up and coming movement artists. It's on this week . . . Saturday is the official "Marc's Friends Night". If you're interested, give me a buzz or just book and show up :)

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Gorillaz are coming . . .

Seriously . . . it's about time.



Having been a studio only "fictional" outfit for years, it's about time these guys took their show on the road. I've been listening to them for years now and really appreciating their characters and animated film clips etc . . . it's great to see that they've taken the show on the road and will be coming to Aus in December.

I've got my ticket already :)

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Irrational Fear of Outsiders

I was talking to someone today about the upcoming Australian National Election . . . and wondering about the whole media beat up about asylum seekers and Australia's unnatural xenophobia.

The question I asked was: "What would the boat people issue be like if all the refugees were white and spoke English?"

My friend told me I should check out this video . . . it's pretty awesome.

Tuesday 3 August 2010

Programmers' Working Hours

Last night I took a bunch of work home because I was getting paranoid about a deadline looming tomorrow (which turned out to not happen and get pushed back, but that's no big deal).

It took me back to years and years ago when, as a student, I realised that my most productive time is usually about 10pm-2am. Since then I've been working in the daytime and not realising that, as a programmer, the dark and quiet times of the night are actually the most productive.

I think in the four hours at home, while there were no phone calls or emails to be answered . . . as well as no food breaks or anything else, I did probably 1.5 days' work. I wonder if there are companies out there who hire computing professionals between the hours of 9pm and 3am instead of in the daytime . . .