Things on the way…

This was a slow week for the blog, I barely even touched it.

I’m working on a few things, the new Illusionist, Roberto, Alhur and UII stories for starters and a few gaming/media pieces. I already wrote a nice review for the Ys games, but I haven’t posted it because it just isn’t right. I’m still trying to find the best way for me to do these reviews, my main issue being I tend to get rather long-winded . I still need to find a balance (trying to keep them spoiler-free is also difficult as hell). The Assassin’s Creed pieces are well on their way but I had to scrap the one on Gameplay and start again, as it was it seemed less of my thoughts on the different game mechanics, tools, weapons, etc and more like a review of each, with way too much description, so I’m reworking it right now.

I should have a few stuff ready and up this week.

I’m also working on my novel’s second draft, editing every chapter and fixing stuff I didn’t while I was focused on finishing the first draft. I’m also starting work on a new novel, not a sequel on the first one but another universe entirely, new characters, new setting, everything. In fact, I’m working on a two of those while I work on the other novel’s second draft. So I’m busy and the day-job isn’t helping. Especially considering there’s some debate and issues concerning my vacations, and as long as that’s not solved I can’t properly schedule my activities.

But yeah, this week I’ll probably have more stuff on the site. I’m also looking into making some videos. Maybe video reviews or rants, I’m not really sure yet. I’m also waiting on a friend, the beautiful and talented lechatmouille, to finish her internship so she and I can get into a nice collaborative project. I’m really excited about that and I’ll try not to spoil the surprise.

Finally, I’m looking for new ways to sprucing up the blog, but due to some exchange-control issues I’m kind of limited on what I can do. Hopefully I’ll find a way around it and I’ll be able to activate a bunch of features and do some coding on my own and make things better.

See you all around, and thanks for sticking with the blog!

The Star Wars Prequels…and how to fix them…

It’s no secret everyone pretty much hates the Star Wars prequels. I personally like them, but I admit they’re flawed, in both minor and major stuff. I actually like everything that’s been done beyond the movies themselves, i.e. Expanded Universe, like the Clone Wars animated series for example. With the recent Disney acquisition of Lucas Inc., I’ve been mulling over the reason why I have certain issues with the backstory trilogy.

On the outset the Anakin-Trilogy wasn’t a bad idea. Darth Vader is THE iconic Star Wars character, and knowing where he came from was a fantastic project. Sadly, it was a very badly executed good idea. Let’s see why and how it could be fixed (If Lucas can make Greedo shoot first, they can alter the entire trilogy):

Rating

Hello everyone! Just swinging by to let you know you can now rate Posts & Comments. I thought I’d activated this months ago, but apparently I didn’t.

So long!

Six Sigma V – Epilogue – Good men

So, to summarize, your brother fired you from your role as Pillar leaving you extremely depowered. In your place he’s put our nemesis, Sam, meaning he’s got pretty much unlimited power and resources to come after us. Your dear older brother also opened the Lillian & Don hunting season, so we’ll be fighting infernal minions pretty much every day now. I got my job back but my relationship with Collin took a nosedive, blew up and was then cannibalized. When I was reinstated and rewarded (as an apology), my dear old partner was nowhere to be seen. Oh, and SWAT is scared shitless of me because of what you did to them and what I did to Collin.

Did I miss anything?

In Defence of the Silent Protagonist

Silent heroes are a video game staple, from the days when there wasn’t really much of a choice to the modern days where their use is deliberate. Some silent heroes make sense while others don’t, and I’ll go through a few of them in this piece, as well as explain why the Silent Hero is such a good thing, why we need silent heroes in video games.

Silent Heroes such as Link, Gordon Freeman, Adol Christin and Crono from Chrono Trigger to mention a few have been used in the past to enhance the immersion of the player. Some characters aren’t completely mute; they react, like Link silently answering the question “What’s your name?” which makes him seem he’s telepathic or something. Same with Adol Christin from the Ys series, he never says anything, but when prompted, a text-box appears saying “Adol explained the situation and introduced himself” or something similar. You never get to see him actually saying things, but you know he’s saying them. In fact, Link could use that as well, give at least some indication the guy’s talking. Some others, like Crono, Freeman and the Marine from Doom, never say a single word and if they do (within the game world), you’re never given any indication it actually happens.

The word Tolerance…and Respect

If there’s a post that’ll cost me my low amount of readers, this is it! But what the hell, I live to write!

I had a random thought this morning (an especially dangerous event): Why do we use the word tolerant and tolerance when used with different lifestyles? Why not acceptance? Tolerance by definition means the ability to live with things you don’t approve of, and that’s the root of the problem, why don’t we just approve and move on?

(By the way I’m talking about our run-of-the-mill lifestyles like different religion, sexuality or political affiliation. If your lifestyle involves skinning people alive, you’ll find me really intolerant if not violent towards you.)

It’s not a hard thing to do, if you don’t accept it, there’s a high probability it’s because your God doesn’t like it. That or you’re just a dickhead. Or both, maybe you’re a dickhead and hide behind your god for justification, in which case I say unto thee, welcome Westboro Baptist Church members, have a look around, this site if filled with magic and wonder, or in your words, THE DEVIL!!!

With the obligatory inflaming Westboro comment out of the way, let’s resume.

Extremis-t: My thoughts on Iron Man 3 (spoilers)

WARNING: Spoilers & Intelligent arguments, so if those aren’t exactly your cup of tea, now’s the time to jump ship!

I liked Iron Man 3, I thoroughly enjoyed it. That being said, I have some issues with it. Let me explain.

When I first read that the plot involved The Mandarin and Extremis, I was stoked. I’m a hard-core Iron Man fan, and the Extremis storyline is in my Top 10, as is The Mandarin on my villain list. I wasn’t entirely convinced on the idea of mixing the story arc with that villain, but I was willing to give it a shot.

I abstained from watching any trailer, as I didn’t want to get my hopes or expectations through the roof. I only saw the first, the reveal trailer and I like what I saw. The Mandarin appeared almost in darkness and you couldn’t make out his features, not precisely, so as far as I knew, he could be the Chinese guy I remembered.

What I saw tonight was both awesome and not so much.

Six Sigma IV – Finale – Corporate Restructuring

After the blowout with Collin I felt tired and numb, and without even knowing I’d made my way to the car and drove back to Mahluo’s. I left everything in the car, ignored everyone and just went to my bed. I vaguely remember seeing Mahluo’s concerned face and he tried to reach out, but I didn’t even have the strength to fake a smile or put him at ease. He’d probably find out what happened on his own if I gave him enough time. I had a plan now, I needed to do some stuff, but I first needed to rest and get my head together. Hope you agree Don. Take your time. I will use it to get around your request…I do NOT like it…but I see your point..

Six Sigma III – With friends like these

After a night and half another day of screaming, swearing, vomiting and being higher than Tony Montana, I woke up sore, hurt, nauseated and very naked. Didn’t remember taking off my clothes. Not a new experience then. You know what? I’m too much in pain for a snappy comeback. Aside from the nakedness, there was a bowl of water and a wet rag on a chair next to me.

Looking at my naked body I realized I needed some urgent maintenance and trimming. A life on the run isn’t as glamorous as movies make you think. You rarely have the time to shave or take a bubble bath. But, I do have this presidential suite, so why not take advantage? After last night, I need some me-time.

Oh please, do indulge yourself, we have all the time in the world…No need to get snippy, this’ll just take an hour or two, and you and sulk and grumble as much as you want, which you would have done either way, so it’s not a loss for you. And you said it yourself, I’m the detective, I’m the one who needs to get this together and I need time to do that. You mentioned going after Crath, the mercenary. I know, but we need a place to start, and I need some quite meditation to get the plan going.

Protectors of The Creed: A look into the Characters of Assassin’s Creed

I love the Assassin’s Creed series, not only do I like the plot and the gameplay but I love how it takes me to places none of us will visit, not as such really. Yes, you can go to Venice, to Firenze, to Jerusalem, Istanbul and Boston; but can you go to Renaissance Venice and Firenze? Third Crusade Jerusalem? Can you visit Constantinople or Revolutionary Boston? The answer to all of these is no.

The Assassin’s Creed series serves as a portal to places and sights we’d only see in books or some movies, where you don’t really get to explore them, you just see or read or listen to what is important. That’s where the beauty of AC lies. You get to meet historical characters in non-historic situations and you can decide for yourself how much you like them, or not. You can explore ancient cities, top to bottom and through every corner, taking in sights that no longer exist.

But none of this would be possible without the characters of Assassin’s Creed, who serve as our eyes, ears and mouths in this time-travelling adventure. Their personalities color our experiences, and their abilities help or hinder our exploration.

While the series is filled with characters, historic and made-up, I’ll just focus on the playable characters, those we control directly and through whom we experience this secret history of the world, this shadow war between The Templars and The Assassins.

I must warn you, there are spoilers here for those who haven’t played the games.