Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Wednesday, 26 February 2014
Monday, 27 January 2014
To the Moon
Hi, guys.
So after playing Braid at the beginning of the year, I clearly didn't have enough feels because I decided to play this next Indie game as well.
So this next game is called To The Moon.
I thought it was a wholly original concept and even though it was made with the simple and retro graphics of RPG Maker XP, I believe it still conveyed everything it meant to. I loved it and I'd play it again. It's a game that doesn't require too much skill, because most of the game is about you becoming immersed in the story and the actual gameplay is quite straightforward and simple most of the time with moving around and interacting using the keyboard and/or mouse. My only single complaint is that once or twice, the mouse clicking didn't do what I wanted.
So, storyline?
The game is set in the apparent near future.
There's an old man named John. He's dying.
He can't remember why, but he really wishes that he could go to the moon.
We play as a couple of scientists.
But what is the point of the scientists being there if we know this old guy is already doomed?
Well, this team has discovered a new type of technology. They infiltrate the memories of the dying and they edit things in order to make the person as happy about their life as possible.
Yep, my feels also started there and that's only the intro of the game.
I thought this game took me on a really interesting and unique journey.
It almost felt more like a movie than a game.
Also, I've messed around with RPG Maker myself quite a few times but this game used such cool little effects and it flowed so well, that I was actually wondering if it really was the same program I used.
Another one that I recommend. Find it and play it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Moon
freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon
(Late Indie game post 2 of 2)
So this next game is called To The Moon.
I thought it was a wholly original concept and even though it was made with the simple and retro graphics of RPG Maker XP, I believe it still conveyed everything it meant to. I loved it and I'd play it again. It's a game that doesn't require too much skill, because most of the game is about you becoming immersed in the story and the actual gameplay is quite straightforward and simple most of the time with moving around and interacting using the keyboard and/or mouse. My only single complaint is that once or twice, the mouse clicking didn't do what I wanted.
So, storyline?
The game is set in the apparent near future.
There's an old man named John. He's dying.
He can't remember why, but he really wishes that he could go to the moon.
We play as a couple of scientists.
But what is the point of the scientists being there if we know this old guy is already doomed?
Well, this team has discovered a new type of technology. They infiltrate the memories of the dying and they edit things in order to make the person as happy about their life as possible.
Yep, my feels also started there and that's only the intro of the game.
I thought this game took me on a really interesting and unique journey.
It almost felt more like a movie than a game.
Also, I've messed around with RPG Maker myself quite a few times but this game used such cool little effects and it flowed so well, that I was actually wondering if it really was the same program I used.
Another one that I recommend. Find it and play it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Moon
freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon
(Late Indie game post 2 of 2)
Braid [Shift] diarB
Good day, all.
So, I heard about this Indie platform game a while ago from my good friend, Cavie, amongst others.
It was designed by a guy named Jonathan Blow.
It's called Braid.
I know this is a few years late, but hey, I played it this month and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm not giving a full and detailed review on the game. Just expressing some opinions and thoughts.
Story:
It's an interesting and complex story about a guy named Tim trying to find a princess.
There's a lot of metaphors and hidden truths in the storyline of this game.
"Philosophical" is a nice adjective for certain thoughts and questions in the game.
The fragments of the story that you're able to read/see are very vague and I found this quite interesting. I find that some clues hint at a definite truth where others contradict it.
I've checked around a little and I can find a few common thoughts and opinions about the actual point of the story, but I did also see a lot of views saying how it was open to interpretation. I choose to go with the latter view. Purely because I initially thought the common understanding seemed a little far-fetched until I actually played through the game a couple times and realised how the clues made sense. I still like to think there was more to it than just the commonly understood metaphor. The designer even hints that the game shouldn't be restricted to one interpretation.
Graphics and Music:
It's a 2D game, but one of the first things that stood out to me were the graphics and the music. The words "hauntingly beautiful" come to mind. Everything flows together and the rolling sun is something I'll probably remember best.
Gameplay:
It plays very much like Super Mario Bros.
The big twist?
You're able to reverse or manipulate time with the [Shift] key.
A few different game mechanics are introduced in each world.
Logic is such an important part of the gameplay here. It's so easy to overlook something that you are able to do until you fail a hundred times and realise by accident.
(I'm talking about the PC version here. For XBox etc, you obviously have different controls. Yes, it's an Indie game but it did so well that it was on XBox and everything.)
Objectives:
So the main objective of the game is to collect puzzle pieces to properly complete each level.
Eventually
I'm not embarrassed to say that I required some walkthrough help to finish certain parts of this game.
(Especially the SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER hidden collection SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER that is almost literally impossible to find on your own without trying every possible situation in every level.)
This game made me think a lot, feel a lot and fail a lot. Eventually, I succeeded in most of it and I enjoyed it very much.
Well done to everyone that helped to make it.
Go find it and play it, guys.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game)
braid-game.com/
(Late Indie game review 1 of 2)
So, I heard about this Indie platform game a while ago from my good friend, Cavie, amongst others.
It was designed by a guy named Jonathan Blow.
It's called Braid.
I know this is a few years late, but hey, I played it this month and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I'm not giving a full and detailed review on the game. Just expressing some opinions and thoughts.
Story:
It's an interesting and complex story about a guy named Tim trying to find a princess.
There's a lot of metaphors and hidden truths in the storyline of this game.
"Philosophical" is a nice adjective for certain thoughts and questions in the game.
The fragments of the story that you're able to read/see are very vague and I found this quite interesting. I find that some clues hint at a definite truth where others contradict it.
I've checked around a little and I can find a few common thoughts and opinions about the actual point of the story, but I did also see a lot of views saying how it was open to interpretation. I choose to go with the latter view. Purely because I initially thought the common understanding seemed a little far-fetched until I actually played through the game a couple times and realised how the clues made sense. I still like to think there was more to it than just the commonly understood metaphor. The designer even hints that the game shouldn't be restricted to one interpretation.
Graphics and Music:
It's a 2D game, but one of the first things that stood out to me were the graphics and the music. The words "hauntingly beautiful" come to mind. Everything flows together and the rolling sun is something I'll probably remember best.
Gameplay:
It plays very much like Super Mario Bros.
The big twist?
You're able to reverse or manipulate time with the [Shift] key.
A few different game mechanics are introduced in each world.
Logic is such an important part of the gameplay here. It's so easy to overlook something that you are able to do until you fail a hundred times and realise by accident.
(I'm talking about the PC version here. For XBox etc, you obviously have different controls. Yes, it's an Indie game but it did so well that it was on XBox and everything.)
Objectives:
So the main objective of the game is to collect puzzle pieces to properly complete each level.
Eventually
I'm not embarrassed to say that I required some walkthrough help to finish certain parts of this game.
(Especially the SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER hidden collection SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER that is almost literally impossible to find on your own without trying every possible situation in every level.)
This game made me think a lot, feel a lot and fail a lot. Eventually, I succeeded in most of it and I enjoyed it very much.
Well done to everyone that helped to make it.
Go find it and play it, guys.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game)
braid-game.com/
(Late Indie game review 1 of 2)
Monday, 6 January 2014
2014-01-06 Entertainment Update
As the first post for today stated, it's been a busy end of 2013/beginning of 2014.
but here's the stuff that I've enjoyed recently.
Games:
So, I'm still in the Android gaming situation. I thought I'd add a few new games to the previous list. I just left the notes and stuff below as from the last list. I haven't included any of the apps from my previous list, although a few of them have had lots of updates and are a lot better now.
Note 1:
IF YOU'RE READING THIS POST FROM AN ANDROID DEVICE, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD/BUY EACH OF THE GAMES I RECOMMEND (FROM GOOGLE PLAY) BY CLICKING ON THE LINK FOR IT. YAY!
Note 2:
IF YOU DO NOT OWN AN ANDROID DEVICE OR ARE NOT INTERESTED IN ANDROID GAMES, SKIP THIS SECTION, OR I GUESS YOU COULD TRY TO FIND MOST OF THEM FOR YOUR RESPECTIVE DEVICE (IF IT'S A TOUCH SCREEN, HAS A GYROSCOPE AND HAS AN ACCELEROMETER).
Note 3:
SOME APPS ARE NOT FREE BUT I'M NOT GONNA POST FREE LINKS TO THE FULL APP BECAUSE... JUST ... MANY REASONS, OKAY? IF YOU'RE EAGER TO USE YOUR INTERNET SKILLS TO FIND A WAY AROUND THE PAYMENTS, I WON'T TELL YOUR PARENTS. IF YOU GET A VIRUS OR YOU GET ARRESTED OR KILLED, IT'S NOT MY FAULT.
Final Note:
IF YOU FIND/HAVE A BETTER VERSION OF ANY APP/GAME I POSTED HERE, FEEL FREE TO USE THAT ONE. MOST OF THESE APPS ARE THE VERSION THAT I HAVE SO I'M JUST USED TO THEM. YOU MIGHT PREFER A DIFFERENT ONE. IF YOU THINK YOUR ONE IS BETTER, FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW. I'LL APPRECIATE GETTING A BETTER ONE. :)
[Key: *= Top Rated By Yuvi, ^= Appeared in the list already, $= Paid-for app]
=The 3D Endless Runners (ALL of these are for achievement whores and unlockers):
- *Sonic Dash So I became completely addicted to this game since about mid November and I already enjoyed the most out of it. It's a proper Sonic-styled game. I felt at home with it. (Unfortunately, it does use quite a bit of CPU, so expect your phone to get hot after a while. I'm sure they'll work on this.)
- Agent P: DoofenDash To me, this was a slightly less addictive game than Sonic Dash but for those who are Phineas and Ferb fans, you'll probably love it too. I love Doofenschmirtz and even though I found it in November or so, I still enjoy this game up till now. I kinda wish it was less 3D though, so that it would have the cartoon feel to it.
=The 2D Endless Runners
- *Banana Kong I love this game. It became my new Jetpack Joyride recently. Basically, you're a silly gorilla who has created a tidal wave of banana peels behind him with his over-eating. Run awaaaay! My only complaint is the adverts which are a bit annoying.
- Gravity Guy 2 Definitely not as simple and effective as the original game. I actually thought the additions in this game ruined it. I was only happy about the different characters and the missions etc. But the actual gameplay was quite fun for me. Play both of them and see what you think.
=The Single-Player Level-Beaters
- Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time! Well, you should know the first game by now and this one made me laugh with the title before I even played it. It's still fun and still awesome. A couple small changes and additions and of course a long complicated adventure for absolutely no real reason. :) Just the way I like it.
- The Impossible Line This is a pretty cool concept and a fun game. I only wish it had a level select. Maybe it does and I'm just not seeing it. But either way, I'm sure they'll add that in an update.
- Naught This is an interesting take on platforming where you rotate the screen to shift gravity in order to move your character. I saw that there's already a Naught 2 out but I haven't checked it out yet. Maybe someone can let me know in the comments.
- Polarity ($) This game reminded me of Portal. It's a similar type of 3D puzzle platformer.
- Sonic Jump ($) Another Sonic game, I know. But this was fun too! It's actually much closer to the original Sonic games in look and feel, except that the main objective is to jump up to the top of the level. It plays quite a bit like Ice Climber. Also, high scores, missions and achievements!
=The Arcade Games That Never Really Get Old
- Sir! I'd Like to Report a Bug! What a cool little retro game! I thought it was awesome until I got stuck for a long time on one difficult level. But, hey! That's what these games used to be like. :) Basically, a whole lot of bugs (errors, not insects) appear in the real world and you have to escape them and then report them. If you don't know what to expect from a retro platformer, think of Super Mario Bros.
- RE-VOLT 2 I mentioned the first one in my previous list and I haven't even really bothered to play this one nicely, but I'm sure it's also as much (if not more) fun!
- Jigty Jigsaw Puzzles Yup. Good ol' jigsaw puzzles. I've been a fan of building puzzles since I was a kid, so this game made me feel comfy and relaxed. The music even makes you feel like you're at home with the puzzle next to you and a nice hot chocolate.
=The Multiplayer (On One Device) Games
- Heads Up! ($) Without a doubt, my favourite multiplayer game for the last couple months. You and your team need some general knowledge for this one. If you're a fan of Ellen Degeneres, you probably know this game from her show. It plays like the reverse of the boardgame, "30 Seconds." Here, the other players see the answer and they give you hints for you to guess the answer and win.
- PinWar ($) Are you a pinball fan? I am. So a two-player pinball game definitely interested me straight away. It's got a fully-functional one-player version too, so don't worry. It's just more fun to beat someone else :) Think of it as Pinball meets Arkanoid.
And that's the end of my second list of Android games. Let's consider that the end of 2013's lists.
Music:
Here's some songs that got stuck in my head as of late (I didn't check all the links, but you can Google those songs and find them somewhere):
DVBBS & Borgeous - Tsunami
Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?
Hey, River! - Run Boy
Michael Lowman - Girl Saves Boy
Drake ft Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home
LCNVL ft Tailor - Dreamcatcher
Beatenberg - Chelsea Blakemore
John Newman - Cheating
Azealia Banks ft Pharrell - ATM Jam
Peer Kusiv ft Martin Jondo - Rivers (Sometimes)
Eminem - Berzerk
Far East Movement ft Riff Raff - The Illest
The Parlotones and Jon Savage ft Khuli Chana - Sleepwalker
Series:
Dragons: Defenders of Berk
You'll remember that I watched How To Train Your Dragon and last year, I heard there was a series for the franchise. It started with Season 1 as "Riders of Berk", and continued with Season 2 as "Defenders of Berk". Verushka and I followed this series like a cult a couple months ago.
Dexter
I heard about this series for years and finally started watching it. I admit, I like it a lot. It's dark and demented, much like my usual taste in characters. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst who works in a forensics team. But he likes blood a little too much. (WINK, WINK, NUDGE, NUDGE). I'm still early in the series so I've got a lot to watch.
On a smaller note, I also watched more of New Girl which continued with Season 3, Futurama which continued with Season 7 and a couple random episodes of other series.
Movies:
The Internship
What would it be like to work for Google? What if you applied and you were Technologically Impaired Duck? That's pretty much The Internship. Fun, funny, more interesting if you get all the technology and programming references.
Thor: The Dark World
I thought this storyline was a tad odd for the Marvel Universe, even though I sorta knew about it.
I always love Marvel. The action and sci-fi with a bit of humour always makes me happy.
This one sees the Dark Elves protecting a weapon known as the Aether. Naturally, Earth gets involved.
As usual, stay till the end of the credits!
The Wolverine
I considered this a spin-off of the X-Men franchise because of the timeline. However, after the news that X-Men is continuing, I'm a bit confused. Either way, I thought this was an awesome movie, even though it was pretty disconnected from other X-Men stuff. (Japanese stuff just wins, somehow.)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Of course I had to watch part two of this trilogy.
Is it long, drawn out and is it there to steal our money? Yes.
Did I still pay to watch it? Yes.
I enjoyed it, even though I complained about the length of the movie. (It was pretty damn long).
I may have mentioned it before, but The Hobbit was my favourite of the Lord of the Rings book series. I read it a couple times and so I was glad to see a lot of my fanboy memories brought to life in the second movie too. I think a couple scenes could have been shorter and a couple others could have had more air time. I'd still watch it again though.
Last Vegas
Look at this cast. This movie was actually supposed to be called The Fantastic Four but that was already taken. (No, not really, you idiot.) A feel good movie intended for a bit of an older audience, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Basically, a group of friends grows old and decides to meet for a Vegas trip.
47 Ronin
Keanu Reeves, Japanese people, a samurai tale, magic. This ended up being a last minute decision, but I'd definitely have watched it either way. Yes, it was cool. I enjoyed it. See? Japanese stuff wins. I told you.
Honorable mentions:
The Conjuring
I still haven't watched The Long Walk to Freedom. :/ Oops.
Miscellaneous:
Can't think of much to say apart from this:
I went to the Ballito Street Party for New Years' Eve/Day and it was awesome. I never understood the street party thing until I saw it. It's a select area blocked off for the party. maybe two or three roads that lead through and around a shopping complex. There was grass and DJ stages and it was awesome.
Happy New Year, everyone!
(This marks the end of post 3 of 3 for today)
but here's the stuff that I've enjoyed recently.
-----
"Current and recent" section:
Games:
So, I'm still in the Android gaming situation. I thought I'd add a few new games to the previous list. I just left the notes and stuff below as from the last list. I haven't included any of the apps from my previous list, although a few of them have had lots of updates and are a lot better now.
IF YOU'RE READING THIS POST FROM AN ANDROID DEVICE, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD/BUY EACH OF THE GAMES I RECOMMEND (FROM GOOGLE PLAY) BY CLICKING ON THE LINK FOR IT. YAY!
Note 2:
IF YOU DO NOT OWN AN ANDROID DEVICE OR ARE NOT INTERESTED IN ANDROID GAMES, SKIP THIS SECTION, OR I GUESS YOU COULD TRY TO FIND MOST OF THEM FOR YOUR RESPECTIVE DEVICE (IF IT'S A TOUCH SCREEN, HAS A GYROSCOPE AND HAS AN ACCELEROMETER).
Note 3:
SOME APPS ARE NOT FREE BUT I'M NOT GONNA POST FREE LINKS TO THE FULL APP BECAUSE... JUST ... MANY REASONS, OKAY? IF YOU'RE EAGER TO USE YOUR INTERNET SKILLS TO FIND A WAY AROUND THE PAYMENTS, I WON'T TELL YOUR PARENTS. IF YOU GET A VIRUS OR YOU GET ARRESTED OR KILLED, IT'S NOT MY FAULT.
Final Note:
IF YOU FIND/HAVE A BETTER VERSION OF ANY APP/GAME I POSTED HERE, FEEL FREE TO USE THAT ONE. MOST OF THESE APPS ARE THE VERSION THAT I HAVE SO I'M JUST USED TO THEM. YOU MIGHT PREFER A DIFFERENT ONE. IF YOU THINK YOUR ONE IS BETTER, FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW. I'LL APPRECIATE GETTING A BETTER ONE. :)
[Key: *= Top Rated By Yuvi, ^= Appeared in the list already, $= Paid-for app]
=The 3D Endless Runners (ALL of these are for achievement whores and unlockers):
- *Sonic Dash So I became completely addicted to this game since about mid November and I already enjoyed the most out of it. It's a proper Sonic-styled game. I felt at home with it. (Unfortunately, it does use quite a bit of CPU, so expect your phone to get hot after a while. I'm sure they'll work on this.)
- Agent P: DoofenDash To me, this was a slightly less addictive game than Sonic Dash but for those who are Phineas and Ferb fans, you'll probably love it too. I love Doofenschmirtz and even though I found it in November or so, I still enjoy this game up till now. I kinda wish it was less 3D though, so that it would have the cartoon feel to it.
=The 2D Endless Runners
- *Banana Kong I love this game. It became my new Jetpack Joyride recently. Basically, you're a silly gorilla who has created a tidal wave of banana peels behind him with his over-eating. Run awaaaay! My only complaint is the adverts which are a bit annoying.
- Gravity Guy 2 Definitely not as simple and effective as the original game. I actually thought the additions in this game ruined it. I was only happy about the different characters and the missions etc. But the actual gameplay was quite fun for me. Play both of them and see what you think.
=The Single-Player Level-Beaters
- Plants Vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time! Well, you should know the first game by now and this one made me laugh with the title before I even played it. It's still fun and still awesome. A couple small changes and additions and of course a long complicated adventure for absolutely no real reason. :) Just the way I like it.
- The Impossible Line This is a pretty cool concept and a fun game. I only wish it had a level select. Maybe it does and I'm just not seeing it. But either way, I'm sure they'll add that in an update.
- Naught This is an interesting take on platforming where you rotate the screen to shift gravity in order to move your character. I saw that there's already a Naught 2 out but I haven't checked it out yet. Maybe someone can let me know in the comments.
- Polarity ($) This game reminded me of Portal. It's a similar type of 3D puzzle platformer.
- Sonic Jump ($) Another Sonic game, I know. But this was fun too! It's actually much closer to the original Sonic games in look and feel, except that the main objective is to jump up to the top of the level. It plays quite a bit like Ice Climber. Also, high scores, missions and achievements!
=The Arcade Games That Never Really Get Old
- Sir! I'd Like to Report a Bug! What a cool little retro game! I thought it was awesome until I got stuck for a long time on one difficult level. But, hey! That's what these games used to be like. :) Basically, a whole lot of bugs (errors, not insects) appear in the real world and you have to escape them and then report them. If you don't know what to expect from a retro platformer, think of Super Mario Bros.
- RE-VOLT 2 I mentioned the first one in my previous list and I haven't even really bothered to play this one nicely, but I'm sure it's also as much (if not more) fun!
- Jigty Jigsaw Puzzles Yup. Good ol' jigsaw puzzles. I've been a fan of building puzzles since I was a kid, so this game made me feel comfy and relaxed. The music even makes you feel like you're at home with the puzzle next to you and a nice hot chocolate.
=The Multiplayer (On One Device) Games
- Heads Up! ($) Without a doubt, my favourite multiplayer game for the last couple months. You and your team need some general knowledge for this one. If you're a fan of Ellen Degeneres, you probably know this game from her show. It plays like the reverse of the boardgame, "30 Seconds." Here, the other players see the answer and they give you hints for you to guess the answer and win.
- PinWar ($) Are you a pinball fan? I am. So a two-player pinball game definitely interested me straight away. It's got a fully-functional one-player version too, so don't worry. It's just more fun to beat someone else :) Think of it as Pinball meets Arkanoid.
And that's the end of my second list of Android games. Let's consider that the end of 2013's lists.
Music:
Here's some songs that got stuck in my head as of late (I didn't check all the links, but you can Google those songs and find them somewhere):
DVBBS & Borgeous - Tsunami
Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?
Hey, River! - Run Boy
Michael Lowman - Girl Saves Boy
Drake ft Majid Jordan - Hold On, We're Going Home
LCNVL ft Tailor - Dreamcatcher
Beatenberg - Chelsea Blakemore
John Newman - Cheating
Azealia Banks ft Pharrell - ATM Jam
Peer Kusiv ft Martin Jondo - Rivers (Sometimes)
Eminem - Berzerk
Far East Movement ft Riff Raff - The Illest
The Parlotones and Jon Savage ft Khuli Chana - Sleepwalker
Series:
Dragons: Defenders of Berk
You'll remember that I watched How To Train Your Dragon and last year, I heard there was a series for the franchise. It started with Season 1 as "Riders of Berk", and continued with Season 2 as "Defenders of Berk". Verushka and I followed this series like a cult a couple months ago.
 |
| Fishlegs and his dragon, Meatlug. |
Dexter
I heard about this series for years and finally started watching it. I admit, I like it a lot. It's dark and demented, much like my usual taste in characters. Dexter is a blood splatter analyst who works in a forensics team. But he likes blood a little too much. (WINK, WINK, NUDGE, NUDGE). I'm still early in the series so I've got a lot to watch.
 |
| Dexter, the title character. |
On a smaller note, I also watched more of New Girl which continued with Season 3, Futurama which continued with Season 7 and a couple random episodes of other series.
Movies:
The Internship
What would it be like to work for Google? What if you applied and you were Technologically Impaired Duck? That's pretty much The Internship. Fun, funny, more interesting if you get all the technology and programming references.
 |
| Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson about to apply for their internship at Google. |
Thor: The Dark World
I thought this storyline was a tad odd for the Marvel Universe, even though I sorta knew about it.
I always love Marvel. The action and sci-fi with a bit of humour always makes me happy.
This one sees the Dark Elves protecting a weapon known as the Aether. Naturally, Earth gets involved.
As usual, stay till the end of the credits!
 |
| The main characters posing instead of fighting. |
The Wolverine
I considered this a spin-off of the X-Men franchise because of the timeline. However, after the news that X-Men is continuing, I'm a bit confused. Either way, I thought this was an awesome movie, even though it was pretty disconnected from other X-Men stuff. (Japanese stuff just wins, somehow.)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Of course I had to watch part two of this trilogy.
Is it long, drawn out and is it there to steal our money? Yes.
Did I still pay to watch it? Yes.
I enjoyed it, even though I complained about the length of the movie. (It was pretty damn long).
I may have mentioned it before, but The Hobbit was my favourite of the Lord of the Rings book series. I read it a couple times and so I was glad to see a lot of my fanboy memories brought to life in the second movie too. I think a couple scenes could have been shorter and a couple others could have had more air time. I'd still watch it again though.
 |
| Smaug interrogating Bilbo. |
Last Vegas
Look at this cast. This movie was actually supposed to be called The Fantastic Four but that was already taken. (No, not really, you idiot.) A feel good movie intended for a bit of an older audience, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Basically, a group of friends grows old and decides to meet for a Vegas trip.
 |
| Michael Douglas, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline together as lifelong friends. |
47 Ronin
Keanu Reeves, Japanese people, a samurai tale, magic. This ended up being a last minute decision, but I'd definitely have watched it either way. Yes, it was cool. I enjoyed it. See? Japanese stuff wins. I told you.
 |
| Four of the characters who look unnaturally cool. |
Honorable mentions:
The Conjuring
I still haven't watched The Long Walk to Freedom. :/ Oops.
Miscellaneous:
Can't think of much to say apart from this:
I went to the Ballito Street Party for New Years' Eve/Day and it was awesome. I never understood the street party thing until I saw it. It's a select area blocked off for the party. maybe two or three roads that lead through and around a shopping complex. There was grass and DJ stages and it was awesome.
Happy New Year, everyone!
(This marks the end of post 3 of 3 for today)
Monday, 18 November 2013
Invasive Adver[CLICK HERE TO WIN AN iPAD]tising
No, you can't really click in the title to win an iPad. Sorry.
But yeah, if you've been religiously following my blog (or if you check it now and then, between your browsing of other websites... or while you're scrolling on Twitter and notice my blog tweets... or while you have nothing better to do while you're crapping or something), you'll know that recently I've posted a fair bit about Android games.
I don't think I'm the only person that has noticed this, but I do play games on my phone quite often recently so maybe it's been much more of a nuisance to me than others.
What am I talking about?
...
... the hell? Did you not read the title?
Anyway, I'm talking about adverts in-game.
I do believe almost every free game on my Android device has become ridiculously overpopulated with adverts.
Now I don't mind the occasional advert. I don't even mind the ones that show up after every single level or whatever.
The problem comes in when it pops up in a place where you're almost guaranteed to accidentally click on it.
I find this really annoying.
A few of the games I still play most often are Jetpack Joyride, Temple Run 2, Subway Surfers, Fruit Ninja (and until recently) Angry Birds. (Don't judge me! There are new challenges etc every day or week and I have to check them, okay!)
Now, before I get back to Jetpack Joyride, lemme complain about the others.
I played all these games since I got my Samsung and even before that (on other people's devices).
All of them were fun, addictive and had excellent replay value.
Recently, however, when I was playing Angry Birds, an advert popped up to annoy me. I accidentally clicked on it, closed the website it opened and continued playing. Then a video advert popped up restricting my game for 20 seconds or so. I eventually got annoyed and stopped playing it because downloading a video every time you finish a level is quite a waste of mobile data. (At least in South Africa it is.)
I mentioned before that I don't mind adverts but when it takes up literally 95% of the screen without warning or wastes your money, it's quite ridiculous. I don't mind when I'm at home and connected to my wi-fi, but I also usually play a game while waiting for a client at their office, when there's no electricity for some reason, and many other situations where I'm not able to save my data.
I've actually taken to playing certain games with my phone in Flight Mode now to avoid this.
I know I actually end up not reaching my data cap anyway, but that's not the point. I'm bitching about something and you should listen.
Yes, mobile game designers. This means you!
The one game I've always been happy with, even when adverts came into play is Jetpack Joyride.
Why?
There's an advert every second time I do a run but NEVER does an advert appear without warning.
It calmly shows up in a block labelled "ADVERTISEMENT" and after it loads, it gives you the option to click "NEXT" just as the rest of the screens in the game work.
Some of the other games show an entire screen-size advert with about an almost-hidden "x" button somewhere on the screen. Does this appear between screens like Jetpack Joyride's adverts?
Of course not. It suddenly appears just as you're about to click a button on the game's menu and you end up clicking the advert instead. Then, half the time, not only does it get in the way here, but when you cancel/exit it and start a new level or a new run, the web page opens up 10 seconds into your game, just as you're about to avoid an obstacle. So naturally, you exit the web page and you die (in the game, I mean. Calm down. the adverts aren't THAT bad...).
So after reading all the above, I bet half the readers (if not more) are thinking "Screw you, man. You got a free game. The adverts pay the developers for the cost and you're spoilt and you suck and RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!"
But then you clearly did not take in what I said about Jetpack Joyride.
Hey, game developers.
Take a leaf out of Jetpack Joyride's book (I can't say Halfbrick's book because even Fruit Ninja annoys me with adverts a second before your level even ends) and make the adverts as invasive as you want, but not enough to interrupt game progress or to ruin the fun of your game. Put them between screen transitions, not after the main menu's buttons are visible on the screen. Make the user aware that it is an advert.
It's not some dodgy website that has 50 download buttons, of which 49 are disguised adverts.
It's a game. It's a professional application that thousands (or even millions) of people downloaded.
If your adverts stop people from wanting to play the game, trust me, it's not making you money.
I love all the games I listed here and a lot more that I didn't mention. I'm not bitching about your game. I'm bitching about you not thinking about something being really inconvenient. So please just edit your take on adverts SLIGHTLY to make it more user-friendly.
Thank you. <3
But yeah, if you've been religiously following my blog (or if you check it now and then, between your browsing of other websites... or while you're scrolling on Twitter and notice my blog tweets... or while you have nothing better to do while you're crapping or something), you'll know that recently I've posted a fair bit about Android games.
I don't think I'm the only person that has noticed this, but I do play games on my phone quite often recently so maybe it's been much more of a nuisance to me than others.
What am I talking about?
...
... the hell? Did you not read the title?
Anyway, I'm talking about adverts in-game.
I do believe almost every free game on my Android device has become ridiculously overpopulated with adverts.
Now I don't mind the occasional advert. I don't even mind the ones that show up after every single level or whatever.
The problem comes in when it pops up in a place where you're almost guaranteed to accidentally click on it.
I find this really annoying.
A few of the games I still play most often are Jetpack Joyride, Temple Run 2, Subway Surfers, Fruit Ninja (and until recently) Angry Birds. (Don't judge me! There are new challenges etc every day or week and I have to check them, okay!)
Now, before I get back to Jetpack Joyride, lemme complain about the others.
I played all these games since I got my Samsung and even before that (on other people's devices).
All of them were fun, addictive and had excellent replay value.
Recently, however, when I was playing Angry Birds, an advert popped up to annoy me. I accidentally clicked on it, closed the website it opened and continued playing. Then a video advert popped up restricting my game for 20 seconds or so. I eventually got annoyed and stopped playing it because downloading a video every time you finish a level is quite a waste of mobile data. (At least in South Africa it is.)
I mentioned before that I don't mind adverts but when it takes up literally 95% of the screen without warning or wastes your money, it's quite ridiculous. I don't mind when I'm at home and connected to my wi-fi, but I also usually play a game while waiting for a client at their office, when there's no electricity for some reason, and many other situations where I'm not able to save my data.
I've actually taken to playing certain games with my phone in Flight Mode now to avoid this.
I know I actually end up not reaching my data cap anyway, but that's not the point. I'm bitching about something and you should listen.
Yes, mobile game designers. This means you!
The one game I've always been happy with, even when adverts came into play is Jetpack Joyride.
Why?
There's an advert every second time I do a run but NEVER does an advert appear without warning.
It calmly shows up in a block labelled "ADVERTISEMENT" and after it loads, it gives you the option to click "NEXT" just as the rest of the screens in the game work.
Some of the other games show an entire screen-size advert with about an almost-hidden "x" button somewhere on the screen. Does this appear between screens like Jetpack Joyride's adverts?
Of course not. It suddenly appears just as you're about to click a button on the game's menu and you end up clicking the advert instead. Then, half the time, not only does it get in the way here, but when you cancel/exit it and start a new level or a new run, the web page opens up 10 seconds into your game, just as you're about to avoid an obstacle. So naturally, you exit the web page and you die (in the game, I mean. Calm down. the adverts aren't THAT bad...).
 |
| The Subway Surfers main menu |
 |
| The advert that suddenly pops up OVER the main menu as you're about to click on something |
 |
| An alternative advert that pops up on Subway Surfers that even literally covers the entire screen. |
So after reading all the above, I bet half the readers (if not more) are thinking "Screw you, man. You got a free game. The adverts pay the developers for the cost and you're spoilt and you suck and RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!"
But then you clearly did not take in what I said about Jetpack Joyride.
 |
| Jetpack Joyride's first "end of run" screen |
 |
| Jetpack Joyride's next "end of run" screen |
 |
| How an advert SHOULD pop up (as just another "end of run" screen). It works with the layout so it doesn't cause an accidental click. It comes up as if it is just another part of the game. It's an advert. I take notice of it. But it is not invasive enough for me to hate it. (For those that studied the pictures, I know it's a different run... forgive me. I messed up the original screenshots, but shh... it serves the same purpose) |
Hey, game developers.
Take a leaf out of Jetpack Joyride's book (I can't say Halfbrick's book because even Fruit Ninja annoys me with adverts a second before your level even ends) and make the adverts as invasive as you want, but not enough to interrupt game progress or to ruin the fun of your game. Put them between screen transitions, not after the main menu's buttons are visible on the screen. Make the user aware that it is an advert.
It's not some dodgy website that has 50 download buttons, of which 49 are disguised adverts.
It's a game. It's a professional application that thousands (or even millions) of people downloaded.
If your adverts stop people from wanting to play the game, trust me, it's not making you money.
I love all the games I listed here and a lot more that I didn't mention. I'm not bitching about your game. I'm bitching about you not thinking about something being really inconvenient. So please just edit your take on adverts SLIGHTLY to make it more user-friendly.
Thank you. <3
---
BONUS SECTION
 |
| I laughed at the detailed status of this install screen in Despicable Me: Minion Rush |
 |
| I had to laugh at the third related app for this PMS Monitor app. (Yes, it's actually a thing. Unsurprisingly, it didn't help me avoid getting crapped on during PMS rage.) |
Wednesday, 21 August 2013
2013-08-21 Entertainment Update
I have a bit of free time right now and I'd like to actually do something else but at work, I kinda shouldn't have anything that looks like fun on my screen. Incredibly, writing a blog post fits because it looks like I'm doing work and I'm also able to talk crap, have fun and waste time.
Well, here's a random update. I said I'd probably do these every so often. I'll use the title as it appears above. That's pretty much what it is, I'd say.
-----
"Current and recent" section:
Games:
So only now, upon starting this post, I realise that I haven't played Plants vs Zombies in a long time.
My poor plants haven't been watered in ages! THEY'RE PROBABLY BONE-DRY. SHRIVELLING UP AND GASPING. USING THE LAST WATER IN THEIR SYSTEM TO SHED A TEAR!
Anyway, so, I have become, once again, addicted to "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul" which I play on my Gameboy Advance Emulator. (Yes, that's why I posted that "comic" a little while back.)
As with most card games, a quick game (or "duel" in this case) can be played in a minute or two whenever you have free time, so it's pretty convenient. Plus, I've always loved the Yu-Gi-Oh card game as well as the anime.
Music:
Much to Verushka's dismay, the song that I currently can't get out of my head nowadays is J.Cole and Miguel's "Power Trip"
My taste in music varies quite a bit, okay. JUST... OKAY? (Cavie and Verushka will know why "varies" is in italics)
Series:
Finally got around to continuing with How I Met Your Mother. I didn't get to watch Season 8 till this month.
I'm quite glad I got back to it. Verushka and I will probably finish it within the couple weeks.
Movies:
Finally got to watch Oz: The Great and Powerful and I thought it was awesome. I am quite fond of James Franco. Still not sure whether I liked the idea of the black and white intro but it definitely made you notice the colour and beauty of the Land of Oz.
Favourite quote: "Look what you've done to me!" - Evanora
[Grins at Verushka]
Miscellaneous:
I may sorta be receiving my Samsung Galaxy S4 within the next couple hours...
I should have got it ages ago, but thanks to some egging on by someone, I finally filled in all the forms, sorted out my bank account and talked to the relevant people.
I've had a BlackBerry Bold 9780 till now and I'm still gonna keep and use it but Yay, I'll be glad to have a new phone to mess around with, jailbreak and probably brick it.
(I shouldn't make this joke because I joked about this with Cavie shortly before my PSP was bricked.)
Aaaanyway... I think that's about it for today.
KAY, BYE.
Wednesday, 14 August 2013
Ib Paints a Wonderful Picture
Hello, readers.
To those of you who don't already know what this post is about from the title, see my post, What? Posts are Evolving!, for a tiny mention of this game.
If you do want to check out a description etc, here's a less spoiler-filled page (there's a download link there. v1.05 is the newest version), but if you really wanna ruin it and find out everything, here's the Wiki page.
So, yeah. I decided to chat a bit about yet another Indie game.
This time, it's a horror game called Ib, created by "kouri".
It's amazing how this game has the graphics of a SNES RPG but it made me jump way more than Slender ever did.
You play as Ib (pronounced "Eeb"), a 9-year old girl who goes on a fun trip with her parents to the art gallery. Naturally, as with any Japanese game, this does not stay as a simple trip to the art gallery (No, it's not porn). After Ib does some exploring and fiddling (not in a pornographic way), everything goes very, very wrong and Ib ends up trapped in the gallery. All you have to do is get out. Sounds simple, right? Well, it would be except that the artist who created everything in the gallery seems to be a deranged psychopath who wanted everyone to die. Maybe I'm judging him unfairly and it's just his creations that like to scare people to death.
Either way, if you're a fan of games, the Japanese, art and crapping yourself, I'd highly recommend this game.
And if you're still thinking about this being porn... Come on, she's NINE. No, Adolf. I'm not summoning you.
I initially, though briefly, mentioned this game a while ago, but I never got around to finishing it... because it was dark... and I was alone at home... and stuff... AND I TOTALLY HAD OTHER STUFF TO DO... AND STUFF.
Anyway, I thought this was an awesome game and it deserved its own post. Play it. Lemme know what you think in the comments, if you want.
To those of you who don't already know what this post is about from the title, see my post, What? Posts are Evolving!, for a tiny mention of this game.
If you do want to check out a description etc, here's a less spoiler-filled page (there's a download link there. v1.05 is the newest version), but if you really wanna ruin it and find out everything, here's the Wiki page.
So, yeah. I decided to chat a bit about yet another Indie game.
This time, it's a horror game called Ib, created by "kouri".
It's amazing how this game has the graphics of a SNES RPG but it made me jump way more than Slender ever did.
Either way, if you're a fan of games, the Japanese, art and crapping yourself, I'd highly recommend this game.
And if you're still thinking about this being porn... Come on, she's NINE. No, Adolf. I'm not summoning you.
I initially, though briefly, mentioned this game a while ago, but I never got around to finishing it... because it was dark... and I was alone at home... and stuff... AND I TOTALLY HAD OTHER STUFF TO DO... AND STUFF.
Anyway, I thought this was an awesome game and it deserved its own post. Play it. Lemme know what you think in the comments, if you want.
The Posting of the Post about The Binding of Isaac
So this post is about another Indie game called "The Binding of Isaac".
I don't know to what extent a game remains in the "Indie" category, but this one became so successful that you can now find it (and its expansion, "The Wrath of the Lamb") on Steam!
So I mentioned this game recently in my post What? Posts are Evolving! but I thought it was really interesting and awesome (apart from being a horrible concept).
The game sorta jumped out at me because it plays a lot like a dark, gory and emotionally-scarring version of The Legend of Zelda. It was desiged by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl.
The Binding of Isaac is based on the biblical story of the same name. So the basic storyline of the game (you'll find out the same thing in the intro) is that Isaac is a cute, loving little kid that lives with his mum... "Mom".
His mum seems to be a nice lady. You find out she's also pretty religious. Maybe a little too religious.
She sorta proves this when God speaks to her and tells her that her son, Isaac, is a sinner, is being influenced by the world around him and should be sacrificed in order to prove Mom's love for him (where "him" = God).
Mom... as any loving mother would do... obliges. She locks Isaac away, takes away all his toys and even his clothes and prepares to sacrifice him. Naturally, Isaac manages to escape into the basement (or we wouldn't have a game to play, would we?). But has he really escaped? Maybe going down wasn't the best place to go.
In my opinion, this game is basically an incredibly harsh way of saying that you shouldn't blindly follow your religion. It might be a bit difficult to see that behind all the horrible gameplay. If you have a very open mind and actually play the game, it's pretty addictive and if you're an achievement whore, you'll love this game (especially the "Wrath of the Lamb" expansion).
I thought that this game deserved its own post even though I mentioned it before - Purely because I spent quite a while playing it.
Checked it out? Horrified? It's okay.
You'll feel much more comfortable when you play the game in my next post. :)
I don't know to what extent a game remains in the "Indie" category, but this one became so successful that you can now find it (and its expansion, "The Wrath of the Lamb") on Steam!
So I mentioned this game recently in my post What? Posts are Evolving! but I thought it was really interesting and awesome (apart from being a horrible concept).
The game sorta jumped out at me because it plays a lot like a dark, gory and emotionally-scarring version of The Legend of Zelda. It was desiged by Edmund McMillen and Florian Himsl.
 |
| Yes, that's the main image of the game. Pretty much sums up the game as well. |
His mum seems to be a nice lady. You find out she's also pretty religious. Maybe a little too religious.
She sorta proves this when God speaks to her and tells her that her son, Isaac, is a sinner, is being influenced by the world around him and should be sacrificed in order to prove Mom's love for him (where "him" = God).
Mom... as any loving mother would do... obliges. She locks Isaac away, takes away all his toys and even his clothes and prepares to sacrifice him. Naturally, Isaac manages to escape into the basement (or we wouldn't have a game to play, would we?). But has he really escaped? Maybe going down wasn't the best place to go.
In my opinion, this game is basically an incredibly harsh way of saying that you shouldn't blindly follow your religion. It might be a bit difficult to see that behind all the horrible gameplay. If you have a very open mind and actually play the game, it's pretty addictive and if you're an achievement whore, you'll love this game (especially the "Wrath of the Lamb" expansion).
I thought that this game deserved its own post even though I mentioned it before - Purely because I spent quite a while playing it.
Checked it out? Horrified? It's okay.
You'll feel much more comfortable when you play the game in my next post. :)
Yu-Gi-Oh on VisualBoyAdvance (Visually Expressed)
And so, I've decided to occasionally post comics as well as posts. (Yes, the term "Comics" might be slightly vague but it's what I'll keep the category as.)
Wednesday, 31 July 2013
What? Posts are evolving!
Congratulations!
Posts evolved into PostsWithUpdates!
So I've written a fair few posts already, but I realise that a few of the things I've always changed have not been mentioned.
WARNING: EXCESSIVE BLABBING ALERT
Starting from now, I'm gonna include current and recent stuff that I was interested in. (see bottom of post)
I figure that'll be at the bottom of my posts from now on?
This might not feature on ALL my posts, but I'll see what happens.
Seems like a plan.
Otherwise, work has been pretty busy recently. (Not today, obviously, or I wouldn't be writing this post.)
Verushka's been really busy recently, hope she's alright. (She's in Richard's Bay at the moment.)
Her dogs have warmed up to me quite nicely recently and I've become quite fond of them.
Verushka and I managed to see Cavie, Sean and Adrian recently. I was happy about that.
My PSP broke a couple weeks ago because I dropped it during a software update :(
Unfortunately, it's bricked so I can't do much with it, but when possible, I'll need a friend's PSP to help me fix mine. I actually initially wanted to update the software because I had a PSP version of Cave Story (see Games section below)
I recently started using an internet browser called Torch. It's a modified version of Chrome, but peaked my interest with some helpful features like ripping media from webpages, a torrent manager, a built-in Internet Accelerator and more.
I know Cavie is sighing in disapproval here, but I haven't thrown away Firefox. In fact, I've felt uncomfortable with little things that I'm used to. Mostly the fact that it renames images to "download" when saving them. That's been bugging me quite a bit since I love saving pictures from Memebase. #FirstWorldProblems #IDontHaveOCD
Games:
I'm currently addicted to Plants vs Zombies again and I already finished the Adventure mode. I'm incredibly glad I have a USB mouse to plug in or I'd never be comfortable playing it.
I've played a lot of Indie games recently. Most of them were creepy and/or dark and/or disgusting (forgive me). I'm not gonna warn or explain anything since some of them are very arty or abstract concepts until you realise what's going on. Play them and check for yourself. Some of them can be finished within a minute but will make you think a bit. Some of them will not be fun for you if you're easily offended or squeamish. Then again, half this blog might offend you too. So deal with it.
A few Indie titles I enjoyed recently were:
- Cave Story
- Ib
- The Binding of Isaac
- An Untitled Story (Check out the whole page. There's some cool little games there.)
- Eversion
- Knytt Stories
- Chalk
- Kaipuu
- Jumpman
- The "Karoshi" series
- Tower of Heaven
- Inquisitive Dave
- Prior
- Depict1
Honorable mention:
- Corrypt
- Lightmare
- Coma
- Loved
- Silver Stitch's "Colour My ..." series *
- Meat Boy *
- Terraria
* (Hope I put the correct links there. The network at the office restricted access to Newgrounds)
I'll probably add to this list since I enjoy retro games as well as thought-provoking ones.
Incidentally... I've also been working on my own game for a while. It's called Blue (title may be subject to change). I'll release a Beta demo in a post when I'm satisfied with it.
Watch this space. → [ ]
... Okay, you may stop watching that space now.
Music:
I've been happy listening to two new albums recently:
- Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
To be honest, I much preferred Daft Punk's music before this album. But I liked it anyway.
- Shortstraw - Good Morning, Sunshine
Shortstraw is a South African band that I recently came across when I heard their title song "Good Morning, Sunshine"
I quite like them. Somehow most of their guitar work sounds very local. I'm not sure how to explain it.
Series:
Game of Thrones
Okay, so I FINALLY got around to watching this... after being egged on so much that it felt like I was being pushed out of a window.
I know I joined the party a little late, but at least I'm not as late as Ned Stark.
Incidentally, I'm now finished with Seasons 1, 2 and 3.
"Hodor" - Hodor
Movies:
Man of Steel (Yes, that Superman movie)
DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW MY OPINION AND POSSIBLY SPOIL THE MOVIE
I personally thought the acting and character design were carried out well. I thought the cast was decent. I thought that the special effects were pretty damn fine... And THEN I felt like the director, producers, etc took all that and stuffed it in a box without any planning and put it on the big screen. Really, guys? Honestly, I think that if they went down this road, they should have made a Superman Origins, and then this movie. But it felt very segmented and didn't flow and that ruined it for me.
Miscellaneous:
Virtual DJ
I started using this again after ages. I haven't really messed around enough to enjoy it properly but I will do so soon
Game Maker
In the middle of making my RPG, I noticed a few games made with this software so I checked it out and I think it looks awesome. When I have time, I might make a couple simple games with this as well.
So um... yeah. Will chat more soon.
KAY, BYE.
Posts evolved into PostsWithUpdates!
So I've written a fair few posts already, but I realise that a few of the things I've always changed have not been mentioned.
WARNING: EXCESSIVE BLABBING ALERT
Starting from now, I'm gonna include current and recent stuff that I was interested in. (see bottom of post)
I figure that'll be at the bottom of my posts from now on?
This might not feature on ALL my posts, but I'll see what happens.
Seems like a plan.
Otherwise, work has been pretty busy recently. (Not today, obviously, or I wouldn't be writing this post.)
Verushka's been really busy recently, hope she's alright. (She's in Richard's Bay at the moment.)
Her dogs have warmed up to me quite nicely recently and I've become quite fond of them.
Verushka and I managed to see Cavie, Sean and Adrian recently. I was happy about that.
My PSP broke a couple weeks ago because I dropped it during a software update :(
Unfortunately, it's bricked so I can't do much with it, but when possible, I'll need a friend's PSP to help me fix mine. I actually initially wanted to update the software because I had a PSP version of Cave Story (see Games section below)
I recently started using an internet browser called Torch. It's a modified version of Chrome, but peaked my interest with some helpful features like ripping media from webpages, a torrent manager, a built-in Internet Accelerator and more.
I know Cavie is sighing in disapproval here, but I haven't thrown away Firefox. In fact, I've felt uncomfortable with little things that I'm used to. Mostly the fact that it renames images to "download" when saving them. That's been bugging me quite a bit since I love saving pictures from Memebase. #FirstWorldProblems #IDontHaveOCD
-----
"Current and recent" section:
Games:
I'm currently addicted to Plants vs Zombies again and I already finished the Adventure mode. I'm incredibly glad I have a USB mouse to plug in or I'd never be comfortable playing it.
I've played a lot of Indie games recently. Most of them were creepy and/or dark and/or disgusting (forgive me). I'm not gonna warn or explain anything since some of them are very arty or abstract concepts until you realise what's going on. Play them and check for yourself. Some of them can be finished within a minute but will make you think a bit. Some of them will not be fun for you if you're easily offended or squeamish. Then again, half this blog might offend you too. So deal with it.
A few Indie titles I enjoyed recently were:
- Cave Story
- Ib
- The Binding of Isaac
- An Untitled Story (Check out the whole page. There's some cool little games there.)
- Eversion
- Knytt Stories
- Chalk
- Kaipuu
- Jumpman
- The "Karoshi" series
- Tower of Heaven
- Inquisitive Dave
- Prior
- Depict1
Honorable mention:
- Corrypt
- Lightmare
- Coma
- Loved
- Silver Stitch's "Colour My ..." series *
- Meat Boy *
- Terraria
* (Hope I put the correct links there. The network at the office restricted access to Newgrounds)
I'll probably add to this list since I enjoy retro games as well as thought-provoking ones.
Incidentally... I've also been working on my own game for a while. It's called Blue (title may be subject to change). I'll release a Beta demo in a post when I'm satisfied with it.
Watch this space. → [ ]
... Okay, you may stop watching that space now.
Music:
I've been happy listening to two new albums recently:
- Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
To be honest, I much preferred Daft Punk's music before this album. But I liked it anyway.
- Shortstraw - Good Morning, Sunshine
Shortstraw is a South African band that I recently came across when I heard their title song "Good Morning, Sunshine"
I quite like them. Somehow most of their guitar work sounds very local. I'm not sure how to explain it.
Series:
Game of Thrones
Okay, so I FINALLY got around to watching this... after being egged on so much that it felt like I was being pushed out of a window.
I know I joined the party a little late, but at least I'm not as late as Ned Stark.
Incidentally, I'm now finished with Seasons 1, 2 and 3.
"Hodor" - Hodor
Movies:
Man of Steel (Yes, that Superman movie)
DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW MY OPINION AND POSSIBLY SPOIL THE MOVIE
I personally thought the acting and character design were carried out well. I thought the cast was decent. I thought that the special effects were pretty damn fine... And THEN I felt like the director, producers, etc took all that and stuffed it in a box without any planning and put it on the big screen. Really, guys? Honestly, I think that if they went down this road, they should have made a Superman Origins, and then this movie. But it felt very segmented and didn't flow and that ruined it for me.
Miscellaneous:
Virtual DJ
I started using this again after ages. I haven't really messed around enough to enjoy it properly but I will do so soon
Game Maker
In the middle of making my RPG, I noticed a few games made with this software so I checked it out and I think it looks awesome. When I have time, I might make a couple simple games with this as well.
So um... yeah. Will chat more soon.
KAY, BYE.
Monday, 10 June 2013
It's been a busy period
For those of you who instantly thought of a hard-working menstrual cycle after reading the title, shame on you.
But I high five you for your punny and filthy thoughts.
But really, these last couple months have been pretty damn busy.
I did lots of work and got a lot more responsibility in my job.
I didn't get to say a few things here.
Had an awesome birthday. Verushka spoilt me. :)
Met the guys at The Pavilion ON THE BUSIEST DAY OF THE YEAR or something. Took forever to find a parking. We had some lunch and stuff. It was good. I miss those guys on a daily basis.
I had some interesting training in Johannesburg.
All about Audio/Visual equipment and the science behind it. WENT INTO OHM'S LAW AND EVERYTHING.
WUT.
I started The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time again. In my opinion, still one of the best games ever made.
I'm a fan of the Legend of Zelda franchise and I played most of the games... unfortunately I haven't gotten to play the Gamecube, Wii and 3DS games...
Anyway, Ocarina of Time. Yeah, I've been trying to 100% it (That's right. It's a verb now.) but there's so many sidequests that take patience, many attempts or just searching so hard for things that it becomes quite a mission.
My favourite boss from the game is Bongo Bongo. (Thought I'd mention that.)
I've also finally watched some of Game of Thrones after being harrassed for years (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). I do like it. I think it's a cool concept and that the slight supernatural mix with the relatively realistic take on that time period seems pretty awesome. However, I do admit that it lost its novelty very quickly with me. I've been hooked on series before. Scrubs and Friends are two long-running series that I've watched completely from start to finish in a month (or less) each. I've even more-or-less done this with Heroes and one or two other series (so yeah, not just comedy). But I don't think I could do this with Game of Thrones for some reason.
[Winces apologetically as Cavie falls to his knees, letting out a resounding "NOOOOOO!"]
^ Wouldn't be the first time I've brought Cavie to his knees though.
I'm sorry, Bloggy. I didn't forget about you. I've just been really busy and stuff.
Blog:
It's okay, babe <3 I love you
What??
Blog:
... Nothing. BYE. [click]
... Okay... Anyway.
Well, yeah. So, I'm still alive. Verushka's been really busy recently so it's been a little difficult. But she's been awesome and she's tried to make sure I'm not neglected etc.
Right now she's in Swaziland (since last Monday. She'll be back next Friday) and I miss her. Thankfully she's had some communication privileges. So I've been able to chat and occasionally phone.
She'll be back soon and I'll be happy to see her. Naturally, she ran into some trouble, but here's hoping it gets sorted out. [Raises coffee mug and promptly drinks from it]. The coffee was ice cold. GODDAMMIT.
Anyway, hope everyone's doing well. Good luck with exams to those who are writing. Good luck with results to those who are waiting for results.
See you in issue 48! Until next time, warriors!
But I high five you for your punny and filthy thoughts.
But really, these last couple months have been pretty damn busy.
I did lots of work and got a lot more responsibility in my job.
I didn't get to say a few things here.
Had an awesome birthday. Verushka spoilt me. :)
Met the guys at The Pavilion ON THE BUSIEST DAY OF THE YEAR or something. Took forever to find a parking. We had some lunch and stuff. It was good. I miss those guys on a daily basis.
I had some interesting training in Johannesburg.
All about Audio/Visual equipment and the science behind it. WENT INTO OHM'S LAW AND EVERYTHING.
WUT.
I started The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time again. In my opinion, still one of the best games ever made.
I'm a fan of the Legend of Zelda franchise and I played most of the games... unfortunately I haven't gotten to play the Gamecube, Wii and 3DS games...
Anyway, Ocarina of Time. Yeah, I've been trying to 100% it (That's right. It's a verb now.) but there's so many sidequests that take patience, many attempts or just searching so hard for things that it becomes quite a mission.
My favourite boss from the game is Bongo Bongo. (Thought I'd mention that.)
I've also finally watched some of Game of Thrones after being harrassed for years (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). I do like it. I think it's a cool concept and that the slight supernatural mix with the relatively realistic take on that time period seems pretty awesome. However, I do admit that it lost its novelty very quickly with me. I've been hooked on series before. Scrubs and Friends are two long-running series that I've watched completely from start to finish in a month (or less) each. I've even more-or-less done this with Heroes and one or two other series (so yeah, not just comedy). But I don't think I could do this with Game of Thrones for some reason.
[Winces apologetically as Cavie falls to his knees, letting out a resounding "NOOOOOO!"]
^ Wouldn't be the first time I've brought Cavie to his knees though.
I'm sorry, Bloggy. I didn't forget about you. I've just been really busy and stuff.
Blog:
It's okay, babe <3 I love you
What??
Blog:
... Nothing. BYE. [click]
... Okay... Anyway.
Well, yeah. So, I'm still alive. Verushka's been really busy recently so it's been a little difficult. But she's been awesome and she's tried to make sure I'm not neglected etc.
Right now she's in Swaziland (since last Monday. She'll be back next Friday) and I miss her. Thankfully she's had some communication privileges. So I've been able to chat and occasionally phone.
She'll be back soon and I'll be happy to see her. Naturally, she ran into some trouble, but here's hoping it gets sorted out. [Raises coffee mug and promptly drinks from it]. The coffee was ice cold. GODDAMMIT.
Anyway, hope everyone's doing well. Good luck with exams to those who are writing. Good luck with results to those who are waiting for results.
See you in issue 48! Until next time, warriors!
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Completely OFF Topic
It's been a while since I wanted to write about this game, so I figured: better late than never.
OFF is an Indie RPG with lots of surreal characters, enemies and environments.
The game was initially created in French by Mortis Ghost and Unproductive Fun Time and was translated after being well-received by the French gaming community.
You as the player are acknowledged as a puppeteer controlling the main character, "The Batter" and the characters often break the fourth wall by talking to you or referring to other aspects of the game itself.
 |
| The Batter |
 |
| A random path in one of the Zones |
Basically, your job is to help The Batter with carrying out his self-proclaimed task. What is his task? Purifying the world.
 |
| The Judge |
"The Judge" (an intelligent and interesting cat) gives you advice and introduces you to a few new concepts.
 |
| A battle with a spectre |
Throughout the game, you battle spectres and traverse through different zones, seeing the "Elsens" that live there and learning about the guardians of each zone.
It's difficult to talk about the game without spoiling it, so I won't say much about the storyline. I definitely recommend this game to any RPG lover and anyone that likes a good game that leaves you mind-blown.
My favourite character? Without a doubt:
Creepy? Yes.
Amusing? A little.
He introduces himself as the random sales merchant that often occurs in practically every RPG.
The music by "Alias Conrad Coldwood" also made the game for me. The battle theme is actually my current ringtone.
Did I turn into a screaming little fangirl after playing this game? Of course I did.
I thought it was awesome. I already played it twice properly.
I actually hope that if I ever manage to finish any of my RPG ideas, they will be as good as this game or at least near the benchmark.
Anyway, just a random dedicated blog post from a fan of the game.
If anyone is interested in downloading it, make sure you find v2.0 (or newer, in case it's been updated since this post)
I think this is the link I used: http://www.2shared.com/file/q5LfIihi/Off_translation_V_20.html
If that doesn't work, I'm sure download links are easy to find as it's a free game.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling. Hope this little post makes the game even more popular.
Enjoy!
Thanks to all the people who worked on the game. I'm really glad I found it.
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Pokemon X and Y
So, Generation 6* is soon to be released!
Why the over-excitement?
This will be the first 3D Pokemon game released in the main series!
(Not only is it a 3D platform, but it's also literally in 3D thanks to the Nintendo 3DS. I meant the platform, though.)
You'll now actually be seeing the Pokemon world from a different point of view.
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/08/pokemon-x-y-announced-for-3ds-worldwide-release-this-october/
I may not have a 3DS but I'll definitely want to check this out. Can't wait.
I may not have given much input here, but as a fan, I'm just saying I'm excited about seeing this release and finding out how much is going to be different. The battle scenes and gameplay look amazing (compared to the norm in Pokemon RPGs)
I've been out of touch with the Pokemon games recently due to my lack of Nintendo products, but I'm definitely interested.
Let's see what comes of this.
*Generation 6 is the 6th group of main RPGs in the Pokemon series. The 6th generation MOSTLY refers to the 6th set of official Pokemon introduced.
The main games of each generation are as follows:
Gen 1: Red/Blue(/Green), Yellow
Gen 2: Gold/Silver, Crystal
Gen 3: Ruby/Sapphire, Emerald
Gen 4: Diamond/Pearl, Platinum
Gen 5: Black/White, Black2/White2
Gen 6: X/Y
Why the over-excitement?
This will be the first 3D Pokemon game released in the main series!
(Not only is it a 3D platform, but it's also literally in 3D thanks to the Nintendo 3DS. I meant the platform, though.)
You'll now actually be seeing the Pokemon world from a different point of view.
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/01/08/pokemon-x-y-announced-for-3ds-worldwide-release-this-october/
I may not have a 3DS but I'll definitely want to check this out. Can't wait.
| 3 Starters of Gen. 6 |
 |
| Gameplay |
 |
| Legendary X - "Xerneas" |
 |
| Legendary Y - "Yveltal" |
I've been out of touch with the Pokemon games recently due to my lack of Nintendo products, but I'm definitely interested.
Let's see what comes of this.
*Generation 6 is the 6th group of main RPGs in the Pokemon series. The 6th generation MOSTLY refers to the 6th set of official Pokemon introduced.
The main games of each generation are as follows:
Gen 1: Red/Blue(/Green), Yellow
Gen 2: Gold/Silver, Crystal
Gen 3: Ruby/Sapphire, Emerald
Gen 4: Diamond/Pearl, Platinum
Gen 5: Black/White, Black2/White2
Gen 6: X/Y
Thursday, 24 May 2012
I mean, this post and, you know?
I mean, introduction to post and is you for the hurdle is hard and, you know?
http://www.foddy.net/WinnervsLoser.html
^ PLAY THIS (it's 2-Player, though.)
In fact, all the games on Foddy.net have helped me de-stress throughout this semester.
Silly as they are, they're pretty damn addictive.
Foddy's been famous for QWOP for a while, but we killed it this year by visiting it every day.
Sean and I competed daily in Winner vs Loser, Pole Riders (where we added our own rules to make it fair) and 2QWOP. Even the 3 best one-player games (QWOP, Too Many Ninjas, and Little Master Cricket) had us competing via high scores.
Eventually, Winner vs Loser became a meme for us where we ended up talking like the end-of-race speeches.
IF YOU DIDN'T PLAY IT YET, GO CHECK IT BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF THIS POST.
(Yes, I'm aware that I should be studying for exams. I took a break. This didn't take me long. I swear.)
Okay, okay.
I'm going.
BYE.
... ... ... you know?
Confused?
http://www.foddy.net/WinnervsLoser.html
^ PLAY THIS (it's 2-Player, though.)
In fact, all the games on Foddy.net have helped me de-stress throughout this semester.
Silly as they are, they're pretty damn addictive.
Foddy's been famous for QWOP for a while, but we killed it this year by visiting it every day.
Sean and I competed daily in Winner vs Loser, Pole Riders (where we added our own rules to make it fair) and 2QWOP. Even the 3 best one-player games (QWOP, Too Many Ninjas, and Little Master Cricket) had us competing via high scores.
 |
| My high score in Too Many Ninjas. |
IF YOU DIDN'T PLAY IT YET, GO CHECK IT BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF THIS POST.
 |
| Example of the awesome winning/losing speeches. |
 |
| Well, he posed for it. I had to. |
Okay, okay.
I'm going.
BYE.
... ... ... you know?
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Ya, Brad?
Taking a break from studying to write something here.
Since I made something for Brad, it seems fit that he also gets his own blog post in order to receive it.
I'm not sure how long this link lasts, so download it sharp-game, Brad.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g0j7mgb98g5iybp/PoekmonGaem.exe
Sameer and my dear Cava may also appreciate this so you guys should dig in. (Cava, you may also wanna download this after you dig in.)
Sorry, guys. I was lazy to do the intro screen of it.
ALSO take note that it's 30mb.
UPDATE:
I changed a few things and actually put a title screen in now.
Since I made something for Brad, it seems fit that he also gets his own blog post in order to receive it.
I'm not sure how long this link lasts, so download it sharp-game, Brad.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g0j7mgb98g5iybp/PoekmonGaem.exe
Sameer and my dear Cava may also appreciate this so you guys should dig in. (Cava, you may also wanna download this after you dig in.)
Sorry, guys. I was lazy to do the intro screen of it.
ALSO take note that it's 30mb.
UPDATE:
I changed a few things and actually put a title screen in now.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
One week. Many stories.
So prepare yourself, readers, for a rather long post.
It is filled with tales of romance, action, magic and ... okay, no, not really.
... Well, I guess in its own way, it actually is...
ANYWAY, point is: it's been an eventful week, so I figure a nice post would be ideal to cover everything.
No? Well then maybe just read the stuff you think is good.
VERUSHKA'S GRADUATION
So, Verushka invited me for her graduation on Friday.
I understood that it was to be 2-4 hours of sitting in a crowded room full of formal procedures and boring speeches. I understood that Verushka would not be with me during any of this and that I had to wear a too-tight suit all evening. I also understood that I would have to be stuck alone with Verushka's parents, the thought of which frightened me a bit. :x
The reason I cared not for any of these problems?
MY GIRL WAS GRADUATING. :)
I'd have gone even if it was in the desert. (for those of you who know me, you'll know I die in the heat/sun.)
WELL. It was actually quite a different story from my expectations. :)
I firstly and THANKFULLY got to see her before the ceremony. I got to talk to her a bit and make sure she was okay. (Okay, fine. She had to make sure that I was okay. Same thing.)
She looked stunning :)
(She also chose the one sari that I mentally tagged as my favourite. I am quite sure that this was done purposely to make me all sweaty and nervous when I saw her.)
Secondly, her cousin, Trishanta, came along to give me company. An incredibly sweet gesture that I shall not forget anytime soon. THANKS CHAMPS :)
Thirdly, Verushka's parents were awesome :) I should have expected no less. They were fun, entertaining and pretty sweet about everything. (More on this in a bit.)
Fourthly, the function itself turned out to be pretty light-hearted and fun :)
It was quite annoyingly loud and rowdy at times, but it was quite interesting to watch :)
Finally, my suit made it through the evening without exploding! :D
I held in my fat half the time and I couldn't button up my shirt's top button so I just pulled up my tie to block it, but I think I pulled it off well enough.
So anyway, Verushka graduated, hey. :)
She was in the second-to-last row of people, if I remember right, so it was a pretty long wait for us, but the time eventually came and although we didn't get the best view of things, we have some pictures, a video, and (more importantly) the awesome memory of that evening. :)
I wish I had clearer photos of the event, but this is what we saw:
So, yeah. That was her part of the graduation :)
I'm so very proud of her :)
Of course, we knew she had her degree already, but I was happy to see it again, and to see it being publicly acknowledged. I planned to scream; shout; make some sort of noise when they called out her name, but for fear of my voice breaking during my proud nature call, I decided against it. Also, I was trying to take photos, so I couldn't clap much either :(
Hope she was happy, though :)
After this event, when we finally found each other outside the heavily-packed Sports Center, we went out for a celebratory dinner. I had an awesome time with Verushka, Champs and Verushka's parents. We went to Spiga d'Oro on Florida Road.
I ordered "Tagliatelle Della Roma" with chicken, Verushka had chicken and mushroom lasagne, Champs had some awesome pasta thing, Verushka's mum had a steak or lamb roll, and Verushka's father ordered something he didn't enjoy with chutney in it. :/
All in all, an awesome evening, and I was really appreciative for the supper and stuff. (And the bubblegum-related entertainment from Verushka's father :P)
I'll be glad to hang out with them again :)
PREVIN'S VISIT
So during the graduation, Previn arrived in Durban and wanted to visit, but unfortunately, I didn't notice until after the function (at, like, 10pm) when we were going for supper. I figured I'd talk to Previn when we sat down for supper.
Because we live in such a small world, I got to talk to Previn in person, because, of course, he showed up at the same restaurant with some Nikita Reddy girl. :)
Anyway, I got to talk to him and Niki for a bit. Then we got to see him yesterday (Saturday) and again today.
It's always awesome seeing him. We just chill, but we have some good times. PLUS HE BOUGHT ME TIM TAMS. (H)
I also forgot to mention to most of my friends that he ran the Two Oceans marathon and got a Bronze medal.
EPIC, PREV! [Gives Previn a high-five followed by a click of the fingers]
I won't forget to mention Onashan (Onny) who also ran with an exploded leg and still got Bronze.
EPIC, ONNY!
Prev, we shall see you again soon! Have a safe trip back and an awesome time... at work :/
CAVA'S DBN GAMERS MEET-UP
So, on this same weekend, Cava went to a DBN Gamers event. It's a meeting for gamers in Durban (obviously) and I don't know too much about it, but it seems really interesting and informative as well. It also includes my dearest Caveshen Rajman, so of course I wanted to go. It apparently had a Star Wars theme and everything. I would have liked to go but unfortunately, it was quite a busy weekend (I'm also supposed to be studying for - ONCE AGAIN - Economics.)
Verushka and I will try to attend the next event :)
Promise.
Also... something's coming up tomorrow :)
Ya? You thought I forgot?
We'll be sure to do something this week or weekend.
YASHAAR'S SUCCESSFUL MEME
Next topic for today: Another good friend of mine, Yashaar, made a meme on videogames.memebase.com.
It's Mass Effect-related, so I'm sure Mass Effect fans will appreciate it more than me. No, I'm not against Mass Effect. I just don't have the console/PC capability to play it. Sii-iigh...
His post is http://videogames.memebase.com/2012/04/21/video-game-memes-picks-destroy-causes-synthesis/ if you're interested in checking it/voting for it :)
Well done Yashaar! :D
THE RETURN OF ARTEMIS FOWL
No, it's not about a new book in the series or something, I just happened to stop reading Artemis Fowl And The Atlantis Complex for a while and I finally got back to it when I should be studying :)
Can't think of someone who would appreciate the ideas and concepts of this book more than Caveshen Rajman. He really needs to read this series.
I was also quite interested in the twisted love story in the background of this story. No, I'm not gonna put up any spoilers. :)
Read it yourself if you're interested.
Anyway, just wanted to mention this before I got to the next awesome topic:
POTTERMORE. 'NUFF SAID.
So Pottermore came out this week. :D :D :D
WHAT?!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS?!
WHAT THE ... [breathes and calms self down]
Ahem. So, yeah.
POTTERMORE...
THE Harry Potter interactive website.
Yes. That one.
That's out now.
I signed up :)
Got sorted into Ravenclaw. :)
I'm smart and shit, yo.
"I'm an intellect" :P
My sweet, wonderful, caring Verushka joined as well and got sorted... into... Slytherin... of course.
But it's okay. Even though I'm going to kick her ass at all the interhouse activities, I'll still love her :)
My good friend, Adrian Naidoo, helped me get into the sport of Duelling.
At the moment, only book one is out, and there aren't many other things to do on the site, but I'm sure there will be much more added once the website passes its beta stage.
Another thing I had to mention, being a very big Harry Potter fan. :)
So yeah. An eventful week.
More crap soon!
It is filled with tales of romance, action, magic and ... okay, no, not really.
... Well, I guess in its own way, it actually is...
ANYWAY, point is: it's been an eventful week, so I figure a nice post would be ideal to cover everything.
No? Well then maybe just read the stuff you think is good.
VERUSHKA'S GRADUATION
So, Verushka invited me for her graduation on Friday.
I understood that it was to be 2-4 hours of sitting in a crowded room full of formal procedures and boring speeches. I understood that Verushka would not be with me during any of this and that I had to wear a too-tight suit all evening. I also understood that I would have to be stuck alone with Verushka's parents, the thought of which frightened me a bit. :x
The reason I cared not for any of these problems?
MY GIRL WAS GRADUATING. :)
I'd have gone even if it was in the desert. (for those of you who know me, you'll know I die in the heat/sun.)
WELL. It was actually quite a different story from my expectations. :)
I firstly and THANKFULLY got to see her before the ceremony. I got to talk to her a bit and make sure she was okay. (Okay, fine. She had to make sure that I was okay. Same thing.)
She looked stunning :)
(She also chose the one sari that I mentally tagged as my favourite. I am quite sure that this was done purposely to make me all sweaty and nervous when I saw her.)
Secondly, her cousin, Trishanta, came along to give me company. An incredibly sweet gesture that I shall not forget anytime soon. THANKS CHAMPS :)
Thirdly, Verushka's parents were awesome :) I should have expected no less. They were fun, entertaining and pretty sweet about everything. (More on this in a bit.)
Fourthly, the function itself turned out to be pretty light-hearted and fun :)
It was quite annoyingly loud and rowdy at times, but it was quite interesting to watch :)
Finally, my suit made it through the evening without exploding! :D
I held in my fat half the time and I couldn't button up my shirt's top button so I just pulled up my tie to block it, but I think I pulled it off well enough.
So anyway, Verushka graduated, hey. :)
She was in the second-to-last row of people, if I remember right, so it was a pretty long wait for us, but the time eventually came and although we didn't get the best view of things, we have some pictures, a video, and (more importantly) the awesome memory of that evening. :)
I wish I had clearer photos of the event, but this is what we saw:
 |
| The graduation ceremony outline/structure/proceedings guide thing. |
 |
| Verushka getting her graduate (sigh... okay, GRADUATOR) name called out. |
 |
| Verushka getting capped and getting the degree conferred upon her. |
 |
| No, she's not getting strangled, that's the sash thing they have to wear. |
 |
| Verushka's walk of success |
 |
| Verushka glancing up at us proud audience members |
So, yeah. That was her part of the graduation :)
I'm so very proud of her :)
Of course, we knew she had her degree already, but I was happy to see it again, and to see it being publicly acknowledged. I planned to scream; shout; make some sort of noise when they called out her name, but for fear of my voice breaking during my proud nature call, I decided against it. Also, I was trying to take photos, so I couldn't clap much either :(
Hope she was happy, though :)
After this event, when we finally found each other outside the heavily-packed Sports Center, we went out for a celebratory dinner. I had an awesome time with Verushka, Champs and Verushka's parents. We went to Spiga d'Oro on Florida Road.
I ordered "Tagliatelle Della Roma" with chicken, Verushka had chicken and mushroom lasagne, Champs had some awesome pasta thing, Verushka's mum had a steak or lamb roll, and Verushka's father ordered something he didn't enjoy with chutney in it. :/
All in all, an awesome evening, and I was really appreciative for the supper and stuff. (And the bubblegum-related entertainment from Verushka's father :P)
I'll be glad to hang out with them again :)
PREVIN'S VISIT
So during the graduation, Previn arrived in Durban and wanted to visit, but unfortunately, I didn't notice until after the function (at, like, 10pm) when we were going for supper. I figured I'd talk to Previn when we sat down for supper.
Because we live in such a small world, I got to talk to Previn in person, because, of course, he showed up at the same restaurant with some Nikita Reddy girl. :)
Anyway, I got to talk to him and Niki for a bit. Then we got to see him yesterday (Saturday) and again today.
It's always awesome seeing him. We just chill, but we have some good times. PLUS HE BOUGHT ME TIM TAMS. (H)
I also forgot to mention to most of my friends that he ran the Two Oceans marathon and got a Bronze medal.
EPIC, PREV! [Gives Previn a high-five followed by a click of the fingers]
I won't forget to mention Onashan (Onny) who also ran with an exploded leg and still got Bronze.
EPIC, ONNY!
Prev, we shall see you again soon! Have a safe trip back and an awesome time... at work :/
CAVA'S DBN GAMERS MEET-UP
So, on this same weekend, Cava went to a DBN Gamers event. It's a meeting for gamers in Durban (obviously) and I don't know too much about it, but it seems really interesting and informative as well. It also includes my dearest Caveshen Rajman, so of course I wanted to go. It apparently had a Star Wars theme and everything. I would have liked to go but unfortunately, it was quite a busy weekend (I'm also supposed to be studying for - ONCE AGAIN - Economics.)
Verushka and I will try to attend the next event :)
Promise.
Also... something's coming up tomorrow :)
Ya? You thought I forgot?
We'll be sure to do something this week or weekend.
YASHAAR'S SUCCESSFUL MEME
Next topic for today: Another good friend of mine, Yashaar, made a meme on videogames.memebase.com.
It's Mass Effect-related, so I'm sure Mass Effect fans will appreciate it more than me. No, I'm not against Mass Effect. I just don't have the console/PC capability to play it. Sii-iigh...
His post is http://videogames.memebase.com/2012/04/21/video-game-memes-picks-destroy-causes-synthesis/ if you're interested in checking it/voting for it :)
Well done Yashaar! :D
THE RETURN OF ARTEMIS FOWL
No, it's not about a new book in the series or something, I just happened to stop reading Artemis Fowl And The Atlantis Complex for a while and I finally got back to it when I should be studying :)
Can't think of someone who would appreciate the ideas and concepts of this book more than Caveshen Rajman. He really needs to read this series.
I was also quite interested in the twisted love story in the background of this story. No, I'm not gonna put up any spoilers. :)
Read it yourself if you're interested.
Anyway, just wanted to mention this before I got to the next awesome topic:
POTTERMORE. 'NUFF SAID.
So Pottermore came out this week. :D :D :D
WHAT?!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS?!
WHAT THE ... [breathes and calms self down]
Ahem. So, yeah.
POTTERMORE...
THE Harry Potter interactive website.
Yes. That one.
That's out now.
I signed up :)
Got sorted into Ravenclaw. :)
I'm smart and shit, yo.
"I'm an intellect" :P
My sweet, wonderful, caring Verushka joined as well and got sorted... into... Slytherin... of course.
But it's okay. Even though I'm going to kick her ass at all the interhouse activities, I'll still love her :)
My good friend, Adrian Naidoo, helped me get into the sport of Duelling.
At the moment, only book one is out, and there aren't many other things to do on the site, but I'm sure there will be much more added once the website passes its beta stage.
Another thing I had to mention, being a very big Harry Potter fan. :)
So yeah. An eventful week.
More crap soon!
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