Ah, NeoGAF… what would we do without you? Well, when your fast-typing opinion-driven crowd gets it right, that is. One clever user there named Cheesemeister has put together a fun to pore over little flowchart that, based on all currently available info more or less describes the “simple” act of playing a game on Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox One console.
Well, it’s “simple” if you can meet a few important requirements… enjoy!
Yeah, I just had to do this to you just to screw with your Friday and make you marvel at the universe a tiny bit. “Click away at your peril!” Mr. Water Mite to the left says. What, you thought it was a Sandworm from DUNE or some fancy chastity belt/sex toy deal (eek!)? Well, it’s not (and VERY thankfully, in the latter example, eww). Hey, while you’re running around screaming or maybe standing on your chair screaming after you click that link, remember that it’s only a little science lesson you can pass onto those who think less of the little things they probably should check out every once in a while.
It’s also a nicely nasty collection of inspiring pictures for illustrators and wannabe game designers who need to come up with ideas for a creepy monster or three. That mosquito eye looks pretty tasty… or maybe not. Er, you may want to poke at these during the daytime, as I wouldn’t want to be you trying to sleep at night after viewing these shots…
OK, class: Time for some art appreciation (siddown, you in the back – you went to the restroom three articles back!). I saw some cool hybrid sculptures by artist/musician Ken Butler last weekend at Brooklyn’s AIRPLANE gallery and found his work to be pretty incredible overall. Some pics are below, but you should probably check out his site to see more and find more about him and his rather amazing work. I also shot a bit of video of one interactive piece I forgot to write the name down of (oops), so take a look below the jump and let your imagination go wild (or back to normal) as you make up your own story to go with the projected images on the wall. The fun thing about this particular work is it’s all found objects put together and transformed into a multi-purpose art piece (that can probably call down an alien spacecraft if played outdoors, make your cat or dog crazy when they’re chasing lights around the room or perhaps give a burglar a seizure if you play the keyboard fast enough when he’s breaking into your place to steal what he thinks is a time machine)… Continue reading
Well, I did hear someone say that’s what the game looked like at the event, so I guess that’s how it will seem to a few people who haven’t played it. I was going to title the post “Waiter,There’s a fLow in My Soup!”, but that would mean I’d need to stop writing and go eat something, as food references sometimes make me hungry. Good thing I’m at the library here “stealing” free wi-fi time or I’d be passed out at the pizza place nearby on a cheap (but REALLY good) pie, not getting any work done and feeling not too guilty about it later on.
Yes, it’s the Namco arcade classic, but the version at the show is a bit lame because the joystick isn’t too responsive. Er, tilt your head or watch this on a mobile phone for best results. Anyway, I kept sucking hard at the game but it wasn’t ALL my fault. Right after I got my paws on this machine with the funky as hell joystick that made for QUICK losing battles against Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde, Local NY1 News Tech Beat reporter Adam Balkin stepped up and… proceeded to be as bad as I was at the game. Well, everyone I saw play this didn’t last long, but I think that’s planned in the exhibit in order to keep that ONE guy or gal really good at the game from being a total jerk and play for hours on those free credits…
Hmmm… I should have given Adam my business card, but eh, we’ll meet again at some point…
But you will get a plate full of tasty beefhorsemeatballs covered in an even tastier sauce and lingonberries on the side (yum-o!)*. Anyway, this VERY useful table (currently at MoMA’s excellent Applied Design exhibit) created by industrial design graduate Arthur Brutter and professor Ido Bruno is made for areas in countries where earthquakes are a problem. A main cause of injury and death among children who happen to be in schools in these areas is being crushed while hiding under a desk, so this table is designed to prevent that and even double as an escape route if lined up properly. I can see this being adopted for home and office use at some point, so kudos to Brutter and Bruno for their applied design that turns a common object into a much better common object (er, well… one that’s MUCH better than the old desks they’ll be replacing).
*Hey, I’ve had those meatballs in the past and they’re not bad. Still, I was wondering why I had a craving for apple, carrot and hay salad afterward…
Hokay, I’m sort of on an extended road trip today (and as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions), so this will be brief (with much more to come later). The Museum of Modern Art held a press event to show off one of their new exhibits, Applied Design (in case you didn’t see the video above). In addition to some amazingly practical objects formed from the alteration of nature into things such as furniture, tools and a rather innovative mine sweeping device, a number of important video games were on display, many of them playable. I’ll post a bunch of videos later (and some may even have ME in them – oh noes!), but if you’re in the NYC area from March 2 (tomorrow!) to January 31, 2014, it’s worth checking this exhibit out.
Damned doomsayers and mobile evangelists on industry sites aside, it’s hard to argue against Nintendo’s massive successes in reinvigorating the video games industry on a few key occasions. I’d even go as far to say that EVERY mobile games success wouldn’t even be possible if it weren’t for the company’s proven track record with handheld dominance throughout the late 80’s to today. Granted, the company has made some bone-headed mistakes every so often, but they’ve always recovered and have forged on in terms of innovation and getting their fan base some of the most purely fun game experiences.
With the Wii U shipping out this week along with a healthy lineup of what’s looking like mostly strong titles, that long chart on the left from the eternally smart and busy folks over at MBA Online (you click it, it gets bigger! Whee!) shows that despite its ups and downs, Nintendo is going to be here for quite some time.
Edward Kienholz was an artist you may or may not have heard of (depending on your level of education), so if you know his work and happen to be a gamer, you’re smiling right now. For those of you who are scratching your heads, I’ll let you Google him and more of his work up at your leisure. Before that, take a peek at that image to the left. Go on, it won’t bite (I think)…
OK, maybe this should be ART Appreciation 101, huh?. It’s from Roxy’s, an environmental installation piece from 1960-61 (and the artist’s first large scale work) based (loosely, I hope) on the artist’s memories of a visit to a Las Vegas bordello in the 1940’s. Long story short, I’d seen this image years ago in an art book and it bugged the hell out of me for weeks. As in seeing that figure hovering around in a nightmare or two and maybe wanting to dig my eyes out with a cold spoon after waking up bugged…
“Any resemblance to real events, to persons dead or living, is not accidental. It is INTENTIONAL.”
Sure, today’s political climate here in the US is damned awful to the point of it better to have the country be run by a pack of brainy hamsters with suitcases, but at least we’re not quite in Costa-Gavras territory (er, well… outside of illegal detentions, torture and secret trials, but hey, let’s skip that for the moment). “Loosely” based on actual events, his 1969 film, Z was (and still is) a pretty powerful piece of movie history that’s essential viewing for anyone who thinks the political system here has gone too far off the rails. It has (and how, thanks to too many ill-educated, power-mad people allowed to run for, win and hold office without proper vetting), but things aren’t quite as horrific as they were in Greece around 1963. Although the film doesn’t set an exact time or place, that quote above is placed before things get rolling and if you’re a good enough student of history (or can use the Internet properly) it’s easy to figure out that this isn’t just your run of the mill thriller…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 