The past seven years have seen a rather stark evolution in videogames, and how they are used to tell a story. For the first time, developers have had the technology available to them to bring game characters, and the worlds they inhabit to life. More than technology, however, are the stories developers have chosen to tell.
Continue reading “Violence and Story in The Last of Us (SPOILERS ABOUND)”
The hardest, and most time consuming, aspect of writing is editing. I try not to edit right after writing something. When I finish a project, I put it aside and forget about it, so that when I come back to it months, years and now, decades (a recent development that I don’t like to think about, lol), it almost feels like I’m discovering it for the first time. It also allows me a chance to look at it through the lens of different life experience–I may not be in the same state of mind, or I’ve learned something more since I wrote it. With the oldest stuff it’s like a completely different person wrote it, and what I wrote ten, fifteen or even twenty years ago can surprise, amuse, or even disgust me.
Continue reading “Some Thoughts on Editing”
“I can’t believe you tried to kill me,” Violet said.
Eli pretended not to hear her. He had been doing this a lot since the encounter with the Toad had left him deaf in one ear. Given the confined space of the train car, and the fact that she spoke loud and clearly, she wasn’t buying it. That and she saw his left eye glance at her before flicking back toward the train window and the lush jungle speeding by.
Violet sat back, frustrated. The socket where her right used to be itched something fierce. She clenched her hands and crossed them in front of her.
Don’t go poking at it, she told herself, repeating it several times in case she forgot. You’ll only make it worse.
Anybody who has tried to seriously make it as a professional writer knows that it isn’t easy. We need help, just like anybody else! So when it comes to my attention that someone is making a real bid at success in their field, I try to do what I can to help them out, meager as that contribution may be.
It was my hope to have a video to post this week, but YouTube being YouTube, it uploads to around 92% and then stops, so I need to figure that out. And besides, I should probably make a few tweaks to it before showing it anyway.
In the meantime, I thought I’d share a project I’m working on that’s in the very rough stages of development. It’s meant to be my final for my “Organic Modeling and Hard Surface Texturing” class, due next week. Normally, I wouldn’t post something this early, but what the hell. Maybe some 3DS Max guru will see it, see how jacked up my poly-flow is, and give me some pointers.
The Rains of Castamere. Where do I even begin with this one? Chances are by the time this goes up, you’ve seen something, somewhere, talking about the audience reaction to the events of last night’s episode. You’ve seen people familiar only with the show freak out, and you’ve probably seen people who read the books years ago telling them not to freak out and stop watching the show, because you’re in for a treat soon (that treat probably getting pushed to sometime next year).
Continue reading “Vicarious Viewing- Game of Thrones: The Rains of Castamere”
This week’s episode being the third to last the season, it’s no surprise that its main purpose is to set up what’s going to happen in the final two episodes of the season.
The episode begins with Arya waking up, still alive and unharmed after being dragged into the woods by the Hound last week. Thinking that he is asleep, she tries to bash his head in with a rock, but he’s already awake. He tells her he’ll give her one free shot, and if he lives, he’ll break her hands. Arya backs down, and they hit the road.
Continue reading “Vicarious Viewing- Game of Thrones: Second Sons Review”
Yeah…so with Person of Interest done for the season, I find myself at an impasse for content. I guess I got a bit too dependent on having something given to write that I let it sneak up and bite me in ass.
So.
What shall I do? I know! I’ll come up with another semi alliterative faux-column title and use it to riff on whatever the hell I’ve got on my mind.
I just saw this story on the local news about a guy who broke into a Walgreens, dressed like a ninja. I don’t know how to feel about this. Houston apparently has a ninja problem now, and that can’t be good. On the other hand, Houston has a ninja problem now, and NINJAS ARE AWESOME.
Okay, so he’s not really a ninja. For one thing, a ninja would have left no trace. This guy left a huge hole in the ceiling. They had to call the fire department to find the hole, but the hole was found.
Also, I doubt ninjas are in business of stealing painkillers from local drug stores.
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Naughty Dog’s Last of Us is on track for release next month. I’m a huge fan of the Uncharted series, but like many others, I found the disconnect between the Everyman Nathan Drake was supposed to be versus the unstoppable Murder Machine he turned into during game play to be quite jarring. Last of Us will no doubt be brutal (It’s garnered an ‘M’ rating versus Uncharted’s ‘T’), but the previews are saying that violence is rare, and often avoidable. I like to play non-lethally whenever I can (recently completed pacifist runs in Dishonored and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and did the same in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, once upon a time); not because I have an aversion to violence, I just find it more rewarding.
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I recently discovered a science fiction and fantasy bookclub/ podcast called Sword and Laser. I picked up the book they’re reading now, called Wool, by Hugh Howey. Unfortunately, I’m stuck in the middle of Neal Stephenson’s REAMDE, which despite being quite enjoyable, doesn’t seem to want to die. I swear to god, I’ve been at the half way point for a month now. It’s like two pages take the place of every one I read.
I started it about a year ago, read half-way through it, and then stopped because of school/waning interest/wanted to finish Storm of Swords (another book I put down at the halfway point, but found much easier to get back into).
In the meantime, I’ve been listening to older episodes of the Podcast that deal with books I’ve already read (like Neuromancer), or don’t care about. They talk about quite a bit more than just their selection for the month, so check it out if you’ve never heard of it, or are looking for something interesting to read.
The Doomsday Toad
A Tale of the Blackwood Empire by RB Pierce
Lots of weird things go through a man’s mind when he hasn’t moved in twenty four hours. He begins to question things. It starts with “what am I doing here”, in regards to the task he is currently performing. That then leads to the same question, only in regards to existence. Eli had gone past both points and back again.
Arufina Villanova is a member of a society of assassins known as the Scarlett Circle, an organization trumped in mystery and cloak-and-dagger-ness by only the Ephemeral Cartographers. Her older sister was a Cartographer before the war, and Aru might have been as well. Something else happened, however, and Arufina’s sister disappeared, putting Arufina on the run.
Blackwood Empire 