System Rush
The game I'm working on at the moment was previewed to the Press last week at a big N-Gage shindig in Vancouver. Here's the first preview from
GameSpot.
"
System Rush Hands-On
Ideaworks3D, the developer that brought you N-Gage classics like Tony Hawk and Colin McRae Rally 2005, has flown back into action with System Rush, a futuristic racing game that's one part F-Zero, one part Tron, and two parts Wipeout. If you think that sounds like an awesome combination, you're absolutely right--the beta build we played at a recent Nokia press event in Canada combined all the graphical verve of McRae with an arcade-oriented gameplay approach.
There's no question that racing is already one of the N-Gage's strongest genres, so it's a bit odd for Nokia to place so much additional emphasis on racers in its 2005 portfolio, with titles like Glimmerati, Pit Runner, and System Rush looming large on its pre-E3 radar. Nevertheless, if you're going to make a racing game for the N-Gage, Ideaworks3D is a good choice for a developer. The British company has earned its reputation on the strength of its mobile ports of existing console games. Consequently, the company's creative talent has been overshadowed by its technical prowess--indeed, System Rush represents its first try at making its own game from scratch.
In essence, System Rush will provide you with a window on the esoteric world of network security, minus the millions of lines of code and marathon technical-support sessions. As Ideaworks3D representatives describe it, the game focuses on a valiant hacker's quest to activate a so-called "logic bomb," thereby defeating a consortium of large corporations that are using the Internet to further their nefarious ends--such as cornering the market on secret Nigerian gold mines and tacking a foot on to your vertical jump. We're not sure how this device works, but we do know that the relevant code has been split into five sections and hidden in a like number of corporate intranets. You'll have to recover the bits of code by piloting your ship through these hostile networks (which look suspiciously like futuristic racetracks) and outrunning security software and rival "white hat" hackers who have been tasked with guard duty.
All told, there will be 15 tracks in the final game--three per corporate environment. In a nod to nonlinear gameplay, System Rush will allow you to tackle the first four networks in any order. As in most arcade-style racing games, the game's tracks are filled with obstacles, jumps, and enemies for you to cope with, as well as a liberal number of power-ups. Your data ship is capable of three types of movement: gripping, which is typical traction-based turning; drifting, which allows you to strafe laterally around obstacles when your finger is off the accelerator; and gliding, for when your rig suddenly unfurls a pair of wings in midair. We found that the driving controls were generally very intuitive, although the handling will need some optimization before release. Flying is a very neat addition to the mix, allowing you to jump in front of enemy racers if used properly, but it's difficult to sustain for long periods of time, due to airborne obstacles. The power-ups, which are found both on the track and in the air, will include fairly routine equipment like shields and freeze bombs. But there are two other in-game elements that deserve special mention: the gravity slingshots and "bitstreaming." Slingshots are special round zones that grab your ship and whip it in a fast circle, giving you a huge speed boost. In a nod to the laws of physics, the further you hit from the zone's center, the more impetus you get. Bitstreaming derives from the racing term "slipstreaming," and involves following closely behind a rival to pick up its shower of bits (ones and zeros) to refill your own energy.
There's no question that Ideaworks3D's specialty is graphics, and it appears that System Rush will not disappoint in this department. The company's proprietary 3D engine, called Segundo, coats the game in a slick electronic sheen, featuring lots of planar geometry, neon colors, and blinking lights. The game is already running at a smooth 20 frames per second, and its speed may improve with more development time. Ideaworks3D has plans to include 4-player Bluetooth multiplayer support, as well as shadow racing over N-Gage Arena, although these features had not been enabled at press time.
System Rush is tentatively scheduled for release in early June. Stay tuned for more details.
By
Steve Palley,
GameSpot POSTED: 01/24/05 04:56 PM"
More info as and when... I'll update the games design section soon to include more info.
Nic.
Live in Buddakan...
A few posts back I mentioned that I picked up Korg microKONTROL midi keyboard.
I bought one of these for a couple of reasons. I wanted a small midi keyboard to sit more permanently on the desk. I also wanted some more control over the soft synths in reason – so was looking for something with a bunch of sliders and knobs.
But the main things that sold the Korg to me were the MPC style drum pads, it’s price, and the fact that it came with a version of Live.
I’ve wanted to try Live for a while to see if it can get me to dump the now prehistoric Sony Acid that I’ve been using for years and years. Sony don’t seem to want to take the program seriously anymore – and when I saw the (lack of) features they had added to version 5 – I knew it was time to spend my upgrade money somewhere else.
Since I’ve been ill this week it’s given me an opportunity to have a quick play with both the Korg keyboard, and start to get my head around Live.
Here are some mp3 samples of my adventures (right click to save).
Chrimed
This was a 10-minute piece. An experiment in using the midi effects that come with Live. The main riff is a bunch of random notes stuck through the chord, scaler, and random plug in. A little editing was required, but not much. I added a couple of loops to give it something to hang off of.
Idm
A 30 minute piece that was basically a test of Live’s audio fx. Lots of gating and crunching on the drums and I added a filter and bit reducer onto the main mix output and tweaked these live as the mix recorded. Again the lead synth part is some random notes put through some of the midi plugins.
Fuzzy Logic
A 2-hour piece that was an experiment in arrangement I guess. I find it easy to arrange in Acid and I was sceptical of arrangement in Live even though that in essence is what is meant to be special about the package. This piece, unlike the others, is entirely sample based and the arrangement is recorded live and tweaked a little afterwards.
So my conclusions? It’s going to take me a little while to get fully familiar with Live. There are a few weird things that got me when recording midi clips, and I did find myself scratching my head over a few looping options – like adding a bar of silence to a clip so it only looped ever 2 bars not one. I’m sure with a little more time to play with it I can work all this out though.
It’s always scary moving over to new software. When you know something well, you work around it’s faults but Sony stabbed me in the back with the lack of development and have forced me on this route. Looks like I’ll be sending Ableton some cash to upgrade to the full version so I can rewire in Reason. I think Acid is finally dead.
Nic.
Muffin...
Seven days till Yoshi returns :)
Yoshi's Island is one of my all time fave games. Famitsu scored this new Yoshi game as so:
"Catch! Touch! Yoshi! (Nintendo): 8, 9, 9, 9 - (35/40) "
Now I just have to make sure I finish XX/YY, confirm Bando Brothers to not be worth playing, and get some fun out of Wario - all in preparation for it's arrival.
It's a good job I'm down with a cold (hence all the recent blogging activity) - I might stand a chance of doing that.
Nic.
Ya don't say...
Warning: Political comments contained below. I know ‘this’ is a sensitive issue, and if you’re pissed off with what I have to say – go make your own blog. It’s what they are there for. There's a link at the side of the page.
"LONDON (Reuters) - A majority of people surveyed in a global poll think the re-election of George W. Bush as U.S. president has made the world more dangerous and many view Americans negatively as well, says the BBC.
The survey by the broadcaster published on Wednesday showed that only three countries -- India, the Philippines and Poland -- out of 21 polled thought the world was safer following Bush's election win in November."
The numbers break down a little like this...
"On average across all countries, 58 percent of the 22,000 surveyed said they believed Bush's re-election made the world more dangerous."
And worryingly...
"The survey found that 56 percent of Americans thought Bush's win was good for the world with 39 percent disagreeing."
This is where I write something about how the US news networks are more worried about something like ‘a 6 year old that stubbed his toe at Disneyland’ than anything else that might be going off in the world.
You see - I truly feel like a citizen of the world. We are all so close in this world of intercontinental travel, cell phones, and the Internet. And in this day and age an insular looking mentality when it comes to world affairs tells me one thing – your days are numbered.
I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next 50 years there’s a massive shift of balance of power in the world. As nations like China become the main economic superpowers, America may find itself becoming the world's poor cousin if it continues to just look solely towards its own shores only.
To quote an American friend of mine:
“It’s like this. Do you really think Paris Hilton is fit to take over her Dad’s empire?”
I hate to come across as bashing America. I’m not about that. To just make a gross generalisation of an entire nation would undue what I am about to say. But I have a war on something too, and this is my version of ‘Shock and Awe’.
So if you’re willing and able – help me and join the ‘War on Ignorance’. The true global terror.
Ignorance exists in every corner of the globe. Sometimes it’s due to ill funded education systems, ingrained religious dogma, or dictators with a personal addenda. But sometimes it’s down to just wanting a manicure.
Not every country needs a McDonalds, and just cos Fox News reports it doesn’t mean it’s the definitive opinion on events. An ‘America number 1’ mentality is akin to gross fascism. Sure, have pride in where you live. I’m proud to be British. But we all sit on the same planet – so just take an interest once in a while. We are your friends and neighbours. We just spell it differently.
Nic.
Sex is Violence...
There’s an interesting article in 1up.com by Zoe Flower about the female image in videogames. It’s really worth a read so check it out
here.
But it got me to thinking about Orchid (the last project I was working on at Argonaut). See – I’ve always strived for positive female personas, be it in the games I work on, or the scripts I write.
So I thought it would be interesting to see what happens to good intensions when a publisher becomes involved with re-shaping the look of a game.
This is Orchid before being signed.
Let’s break down the character archetypes. Left to right we have Maya, Orchid, Kael and Satinka.
Maya is the brains of the bunch – she’s wearing glasses right? I didn’t say my archetypes were subtle did I? You still have to sell things real quick to a player and dressing Maya in casual clothes, giving her glasses and a not to crazy hair cut shows that her mind is on more than her looks. Dig deeper into the games story and you would have found out her true motivations for being in the game were to deal with some deep emotional scars. She hides her true self under a sarcastic façade – preferring to deal with rational problems than looking at her own flows.
Orchid was the main character in the piece. She was originally meant to be around 13 years old. What I was trying to do with this character was contrast perceived physical weakness and vulnerability with actually being the ‘toughest motherfucker in the galaxy™’. Again – hardly subtle and used a lot in comic books and film, but not so much in games. Not for a lead character anyway. The idea was that throughout the game the character evolved both in terms of strength, but also emotionally.
Kael is the big lug with a big heart. The kinda guy who could rip you apart – and on his way home take in a stray cat. Honestly – we had a lot of problems with this guy. One: I’m not so good at writing guys. Two: creating the right balance between kindness and brawn was hard to pin down physically. The original character designs had him as a gun touting, muscle bound killing machine (keep that in mind – I should also point out that originally there were no guns in the game).
Satinka is the girl of privilege, turning her back on the ‘family business’ to pursue her own dreams. In some ways with is a complete contrast to Maya. Loves to look good and goes on instinct rather than logic. But at the same time defends herself with a sharp whit that hides her weaknesses. Satinka was sexy, strong, and knew exactly how to get what she wanted.
Okay – let’s look at what happens when a publisher decides these traits are too subtle.
New Kael. Not a happy bunny. He’s mean – tough – no emotion – a killing machine. He is, every videogame character ever created.
New Satinka. Oh wait – she’s the sexy one. Put her in leather and make her ass really shiny!!
note: new Orchid and new Maya were so bad I don't even want to show them.
And so is the way of the world. Maybe it will just take time to change, but there’s a worrying quote in Zoe Flower’s piece from Brenda Braithwaite (lead designer on the Playboy game).
"If you're going to animate breasts, animate them properly," admonishes Brathwaite. "The breasts in the original Dark Alliance drove me nuts. If my breasts moved like that, I'd go to the doctor...or call an exorcist."
To me – that says if you’re a girl in the videogame world, you better think like a man – because we got no room here lady for your lefty feminist views. I’m sure she’s great publicity for the game. Look we’re creating a dumb, exploitive game with virtual tits – let’s get the female lead designer to say it’s okay and we can all sleep at night.
I’m sure Brenda is nothing like this (I don’t know the girl and I’m sure she’d kick me in the nuts for slating her off hand like that) but I just wish she’d said...
“Fuck it – men are stupid and will buy anything with tits in it. I’m on royalties so what the hell do I care. Like taking candy from a baby.”
So the publisher finally pulled out of Orchid – and as a last chance to re-gain a scrap of dignity, this is the final re-design or Orchid.
Nic.
Do robots know how cute they are?
This is so kawaaaiiiiiiii - click the pic for the video.
Also check out these bad boys:
http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~robo-garage/english/index.html
http://www.zmp.co.jp/e_html/products_nuvo.html#nuvo
Nic.
I'll let you photoshop in your own Jawa...
Nic.
Nintendo DS update...
As promised – it’s time to give you some first impressions of the Nintendo DS.
Hardware: Hmmmm... it really does feel like a prototype still. It’s slightly uncomfortable in the hand, and the D-Pad and buttons feel kinda small and cheap. The screens are good – but under some lighting situations they can be a little difficult to see. The sounds from the speakers is pretty good and you get a nice sense of surround from them (bizarre I know). The touch screen is responsive and the mic seems to work fine.
For all of the slight cheapness of the console, the DS cart slot feels reassuringly solid and cart insert and removal is easy and secure.
I’m lucky – I have no dead pixels on my DS. But bless Nintendo – they will replace and DS with dead Pixels.
Setup: Being a Japanese DS – the initial setup was all in Japanese. Luckily my katakana and years of playing Japanese import games served me well and I breezed through that pretty quickly. Basically you need to set the time, date, colour scheme, and player name - things like that. After you’re done the DS resets and then you can change the language to English.
The main boot screen is short and sweet and leads to a main menu where you can see the clock and calendar, and also choose between playing a DS cart, using pictochat, downloading games from a friends DS, playing a GBA game, and changing the DS setup.
Games: I picked up 4 games with my DS – Mario DS, Feel the Magic XX/YY, Made in Wario, and Bando Brothers.
Out of those I’ve played Mario and Feel the Magic the most.
Both are real showcase titles. If you want to show off the DS’s 3D – stick on Mario. Two sceptics where I work were genuinely impressed by the updated Mario 64 graphics and the frame rate. While Feel the Magic showcases the unique gameplay opportunities of the device.
Super Mario DS: It’s basically Mario 64. This is the game I’ve played most on the journey to work. I would have played Feel the Magic but... well – I’ll come to that.
My main criticism of Mario is the controls. Because you’re controlling the character with a digital D-Pad, not the analog stick of the N64, movement feels a little more forced and cumbersome. Still – once you get your head around it, Mario proves to be the timeless classic we always knew it was. In fact I’d say I’m having more fun with it now than on the N64. I’ve only touched the surface of the game – so if anything extra pops up I’ll chime in again.
Feel the Magic XX/YY: I absolutely love this game. It is so different to anything I have played. Yes – it’s completely bonkers, and that is part of its charm. Basically XX/YY shows the potential of the DS’s unique touch screen input and microphone. The game is a series of mini-games, all played to gain the love of an illusive girl. These games range from guiding goldfish back up the windpipe so they can be regurgitated – to rubbing the dirt off of your potential girlfriend.
So far my favourite mini-game involves blowing into the microphone to make a sailboat move up the screen. Honestly - it was a serine experience and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. Blowing into your console is so bizarre – but it really does work. Unfortunately this also means the game can only really be played in the private protection of one’s home for fear of being 'locked up'.
Bando Brothers: Anyone who knows me knows I love a music-based game. So is Bando Brothers any good? Well – so far, not really. It doesn’t really offer anything new to the genre and given the imagination used in XX/YY – this really could have been a lot better. I will play it some more – after I’ve finished XX/YY, and Wario I guess. If it gets better, I’ll post a proper review.
Made in Wario: I’ve had the briefest of plays of this game. I love the original Wario Ware and this doesn’t disappoint. Like XX/YY, it is genuinely inventive, using the DS touch screen and mic to its full potential. I would be playing this like crazy had I not been so captivated by XX/YY. Definitely an essential DS purchase.
So that’s my impression of the DS so far. I can honestly say it’s the most fun I’ve had playing games for a long, long time. The unique games like XX/YY and Wario are unlike anything I’ve every played, and Mario proves it can push around enough polys for the more traditional titles.
Nic.
Oh fuck...
...I'm 18% chav!!! And to think my mum raised me proper.
http://uk.download.yahoo.com/ne/fu/oa/chavtastictest.xls
Nic.
New Toys...
So finally my Nintendo DS is here. Don't ask why it took so long. I finally went for the Japanese model (note to US and Japanese readers - the DS is not out in Europe) and Mario - Wario Ware - Daigasso! Band Brothers - Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru/Project Rub/XXYY/ whatever else it is called.
Haven't had much of a chance to play with it yet - but I'll chime in with any opinions when I do.
I also picked up one of these:
A Korg microKontrol (midi controller). Again - not had much of a chance to play with it but first impressions are good. I'm still playing with finding a good setup for the mappings on Reason and Live, but I love having some MPC style pads again.
Finally - I just watched a pretty insane movie called 'Primer'. I haven't got the faintest idea what it was really about (okay - time travel) but it was a great little indie sci-fi flick. I'll try and watch it again soon to try and get my head round it. If you like cool but confusing cinema - do check it out.
Nic.
Web Stats for 2004...
...here's the web stats for the medullacorp site for 2004.
Just in case you're interested...
Nic.
Videogames are too fucking hard!!! : Part 2
Moving on from my rant a few days ago, I noticed this quote in this months Edge. It’s from an interview with Kenji Sasaki (director on the new Sega Rally game).
“Games are getting too difficult to enjoy. Most racing games claim they are realistic, but I think realism has several faces and one is the way you enjoy the game”
This is pretty much my point.
When I look at the racing games that I have enjoyed recently – they offer a heightened sense of realism that makes them fun. We’re talking Burnout 3, Initial D, even Project Gotham 2 – which blended realism and fun perfectly.
I don’t need Forza in my life. The same way I don’t like the idea of recreating WW2 in my front room. I’d prefer to play game with some escapism involved – not reminding me what a self-destructive species we are.
There is a tendency in the industry to think that videogames are a mass-market medium. Sure – some games sell a lot of units. And there’s no question that games like Halo 2 generate a ton of money. But when you look at the demographic that these games retail to, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to true mass-market media like TV, radio, and film.
I personally believe we are alienating potential players by developing games that are too hard, and deal in grim subject matter.
Hopefully future distribution methods, hardware and tools will allow us to open up the world of games to everyone. Something like ‘pod-casting’ is doing for radio.
Or maybe we’ll continue to develop what are effectively Chuck Norris, direct to video titles for the rest of our lives.
Nic.
mI Robot...
It’s been a while since I talked about Robosapiens on the blog, and since a lot of people seem to find there way here looking for info on the roboto-chans – may I introduce Robosapien V2.
Now this is what I call a real robot. Unlike it’s dumb older sibling – V2 has some intelligence.
Here’s the key changes that have been published.
• It’s 24” in height!!!!
• Fully autonomous free-roam mode.
• Advanced agility allowing it to bend over, twist, sit down, lie down, and stand up.
• Able to pickup, drop and throw objects.
• Stereo ears allow it to track and respond to voices.
• It has a real voice.
• Infra-red radar vision allowing it to detect objects, track movement, take objects.
• Colour detection allowing it to recognize skin tones.
• “Laser tracking”. Draw a path with a laser pen on the floor and it will follow it.
Suggested retail is $200 and sounds worth every penny. Expect V3 to have usb or wifi.
And there’s more. Roboraptor and Robopet.
Roboraptor is 32” long and multi sensor awareness allowing him to interact with you and the environment. Has 3 different modes, hunter – cautious – playful. It can also ‘run’ apparently. Expect to pay $99
The Robopet can walk, crawl, run, jump etc. Also has the ‘laser leash’ from the V2.
And there’s even more...
Mini Robosapien. A 7” version of the original V1.
For more info, go here: http://www.onrobo.com/content/view/52/2/
(note images are from there too)
Nic.
Videogames are too fucking hard!!!
I’ve been playing a few things recently – and I’ve come to the conclusion that games these days are too fucking hard!
At first I thought maybe I’m just ‘past it’. Maybe I’m just not skilled enough anymore and my reflexes are shot – or something. But, I was proved right.
Here are a few of the titles I’ve looked at recently and put down after 10 minutes.
Forza (demo)– Xbox
Mercenaries (demo)– PS2
Asphalt GT – N-Gage
Forza. This is on the current official xbox magazine (UK) cover disk. I love a bit of Gran Turismo – so I thought I might at least appreciate this.
Problem 1: You have to use the shoulder buttons to accelerate and break. Okay – I understand the theory behind this, and it’s a good theory, but I am unable to play racing games with this configuration. Sorry. Too much Ridge Racer I guess. At least give me an option to change it!
Problem 2: Hmmm... realism really sucks in games. Me? I like to be able to turn a car while breaking. It tends to help you get round corners. Forza doesn’t seem to want you to do this – so I have to turn my car by shaming it into a wall and then turning it around.
My defence: So I thought this is just me being crap at games or something, but I took it in to work expecting to be proven to be a complete monkey. Wrong. Everyone had the same problems I did. Most threw the controller down before a lap was finish. Realism in games – sucks.
Mercenaries. This is on the cover disk of official playstation magazine (UK) this month and I’d heard it was an interesting title – so I booted it up.
Problem 1: A 3rd person game with 1st person controls. I’ve never understood this. Do one – or the other. I find control method like this are akin to rubbing your tummy while patting your head. I just can’t work them.
Problem 2: Since when is it cool to die by being shot from behind. This used to be games design cardinal sin number one. Now it’s ‘realistic’.
My defence: I only got a short way in the demo before I died. Again – I figured it was just me being crap, so I took this into work too. Funnily enough, the guy who played it died at exactly the same point I did and threw the controller on the floor having had enough. Hmmmm... seeing a pattern.
Asphalt GT. I’ve been taking a look at this today for N-Gage research.
Problem 1: The scenery is so ‘detailed’ (realistic??) that you can’t see the corners coming. Because the world is being rendered to a low-res screen, things just get muddy. Also, I was playing this on the train and in the body position that felt natural, the N-Gage screen becomes very small meaning all detail is lost.
Problem 2: The first mission is impossible. Well – for me it is... so maybe it’s just me (again???), but I’m beginning to think not. After 10 minutes, I can’t be bothered to play it anymore.
My defence: I have none, as I haven’t got anyone to play it yet.
So what’s my point? Did I just put this up to moan about? Not really – see...
For me – a game should flatter you immediately.
For example:
Metroid Prime. It gives you a fully upgraded character to blow the crap out of things on the first level – then takes it away. But in doing that you immediately feel indestructible, then when it’s taken away – you want to feel like that again so you continue to play.
EA do this well also. In the Bond game (not Golden Eye – the 3rd person one) the open sequence is so hectic and cool looking – you think ‘how the hell am I going to get out of this’! But you do, with ease. And it makes you feel good.
It’s interesting that EA have picked up on this because I think it is a very Japanese trait - to flatter the player, to make them feel ‘cool’. This is why I still prefer games developed in nihon.
The bottom line is this. I wanna play games to have fun, be entertained, be transported from the mundane and made to feel like a hero. I don’t wanna feel frustrated, cheated and bored.
Please make games fun again!!!
Nic.
insert cheap pun about joysticks and 2 player action...
Those who know me know that I’m pretty PC when it comes to issues of gender exploitation. Don’t get me wrong – I have no issues with pornography (legal – consenting pornography), but I do kinda hate trashy flesh fests like FHM and those terrible phone in soft-core things we have over here as the cheap TV stations close down. (note: mainly because the girls are just so fucking stupid!!!)
So it was with guilty pleasure that I loaded up the demo of Konami’s ‘Rumble Rose’.
This game is out in the US – but it has yet to hit these shores.
Now – I gotta say I’m a little confused by it all. I have no problem with a bit of digital flesh (so long as the modellers and animators were consenting). I’m a ‘huge’ Dead Or Alive fan – and that includes the Beach Volley game.
My confusion reigned from having never played a wrestling game before. Something about sweaty men in bad clothes putting each other in compromising positions has never really been something I wanted to see – or play.
Slightly perspiring women in trashy clothes putting each other in compromising positions?? Hmmm... let’s have a look.
I chose the mud-wrestling mode first. You wanna know the saddest thing? I chose it because I wanted to see how they (technically) did the mud. Sigh.
So anyway, mud-wrestling. I got my ass kicked. But for some reason, I didn’t mind as I watched my kawaii nihon-jin character twisted and manipulated into Kama Sutraesque positions by a bikini-wearing cowboy.
Actually, I lost pretty quickly because I was too busy 'enjoying' my pinned position and was soon out for the count. Hmmmm...
Onto the main wrestling game. It’s the same thing, but my random button mashing managed to get me out of a few compromising situations and the ‘fight’ lasted a little longer.
And so the demo ended, and I ask myself – would I buy this??
Not sure. If it was cheap – yes. Fully price – nope. I’m still bewildered by the wrestling controls – and while I had the widest grin on my face while playing the demo – I’m just not sure 'my glow' would last an entire game.
So there you have it. Rumble Rose. Interactive (very) soft porn.
If they do a sequel - I hope they include a pillow fight mode, complete with particle system feathers (natch).
Nic.
I hate when I don't know how things work...
...but here's a freshened Medulla Corp blog. Another stolen template from Blogger - and I have no idea how this voodoo magic works. I'll change the gfx at the top later today... welcome to 2005 :)
*UPDATED*
So here it is - the new format Medulla Corp 2005 Blog Alpha Zero + DX.
It's still based on a Blogger template (not clever - wait - not patient enough to work out all that weird ccs stuff myself) - but resonably customised by moi.
There's new stuff like the blogger bar at the top, and comments are back - but since only Wayne ever commented I wouldn't get too excited.
In other words - it'll do for now!!!
BTW: This blog seems to look a lot better in Firefox. If you're not using it - you should. Get it from
http://www.mozilla.com.
Happy New Year!
Nic.
Geek skills to fail me?
Thinking about updating the format of this blog since it's pretty old and based on an existing template. Thing is - I haven't got a clue how to do web stuff like that... and do I have the time to work it out... Hmmmmm...
Nic.
Best of 2004...
Top 5 Movies of 2004
1: The Incredibles
2: Supersize Me
3: Appleseed
4: Cypher
5: Ghost In The Shell 2 : Innocence
Top 5 Games of 2004
1: Half Life 2 - Valve
2: Onimusha 3 - Capcom
3: Burnout 3 - EA
4: Donkey Konga - Nintendo
5: Ninja Gaiden - Tecmo
Top 5 Albums of 2004
1: Jack Dangers - Loudness Clarifies
2: Air – Talkie Walkie
3: Mouse On Mars – Radical Connector
4: Plus Tech Squeezebox - Cartooom
5: Sixtoo – Chewing on glass
Top 5 Web Sites of 2004
1: Slashdot (http://slashdot.org/)
2: VCD Quality (
http://www.vcdquality.com/)
3: The Chaos Engine (forums) (
http://www.thechaosengine.com/)
4: Eat Sushi (
http://www.eatsushi.com/)
5: Kid Robot (
http://www.kidrobot.com/)
Nic.
