New Years Resolution: Regarding Cynicism

Written on January 19, 2012 – 11:56 am by Ding

I dislike resolutions.  I dislike what they do to my brain the rest of the year.  If there is something worth making a resolution about then you probably shouldn’t have to wait until you start writing on a new calendar and you should instead just start doing it and the idea of New Years Resolutions makes me not want to start doing something until I get to a neat round number of a date.

It’s probably the same reason I strongly dislike Valentine’s day.  Someone can be a filthy scum-weasel to their significant other all year round and get a free pass if they take them to Paris on Februrary 14th.  Similar with “Christmas spirit” (as in good cheer, not drinking before noon), you should be a good and cheerful person all year round, not just when the world tells you to buy a few cards and presents.

With that being said, with 2012 rolling around, it got me thinking about what I would like to change about myself.  I considered that maybe doing a bit of exercise might be a good idea, drinking less would also be good and possibly being a little more generally organised in terms of diet and lifestyle, but to be honest I’m in a good place with all of that.  The thing that I really want to change is my attitude towards things.  It’s not that I have a particularly bad attitude towards life in general and I consider myself optimistic and irritatingly chirpy at times, but when it comes to media and entertainment, I have been passively brainwashed to hate and despise everything without giving it a fair chance.

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Categories: Blog-like, Comics, Computer Games, Film, General, TV | Tags: , | 1 Response

An Introduction to Video Games – A Different Side to Gaming

Written on November 22, 2011 – 4:23 pm by Ding

In this episode, I have a look at a different side to gaming.

 I know the plan was to look at some more genres, but a good plan is a plan that can change and something more interesting came up!

 Apologies for the sound and lighting.  I’m very much learning by doing, or at least learning by making mistakes and seeing what I can get away with.

Categories: Computer Games, TV | Tags: | 7 Responses

Out-Takes

Written on November 3, 2011 – 2:30 pm by Ding

Putting together a semi-coherent web-show is actually a lot of hard work and easy to mess up.  Considering my episodes are around the 7 minute mark, it keeps me awake at night thinking about the poor, if not slightly lucky, souls who have to edit full TV shows together.

From my two episodes I have about half an hour of film that I’ve scrubbed through of me messing up and getting things just slightly wrong.  If you want an exercise in maintaining self confidence, or if you just want to see how long it will take for you to want to punch yourself in the face, film yourself making endless little mistakes and then sort through it.

Oh, also, the music:  That’s completely my music!  I made that this morning!  I’m oddly proud!  Exclamation mark proud!

Categories: Computer Games, TV | Tags: | 1 Response

An Introduction To Video Games – Genres Part 1

Written on November 1, 2011 – 5:00 pm by Ding

I present episode 2 of An Introduction to Video Games.  In this episode, we have a look at some different genres of video games.

This took forever to put together and I learnt many things, for example my video editing software does not like video files over 3GB in size and when you are 98% done with the editing process, it will crash constantly in a desperate and successful attempt to get your attention and make you want to cry/explode/both.

An Introduction to Video Games should always appear here, but you can also catch it on my blip TV show page.  I think you can also find it on iTunes…but I wouldn’t put money on that.

Additional Notes:

Incidentally, Blip TV:  Actually pretty cool and well worth taking a look.  I think they’re doing something very interesting that could very well be the next big thing.

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Production Difficulties

Written on October 28, 2011 – 11:43 am by Ding

Visit the AITVG show page at http://blip.tv/aitvg

I’ve often seen shows cite ‘Production Difficulties’ for delays.  I think I see what they mean, or at least I have a rough idea of what it COULD mean.

For me, Production Difficulties ™ are currently encompassing the ‘but it takes a long time’ end of the scale, and issues caused by a reluctance to write a full and carefully constructed script, saying ‘oh I’ll fix it in post’, which is a truly poisonous phrase as anyone who has ever worked on a film of any kind will attest to.

I’m also expecting the production speed of my web-show to speed up with time.  The pilot was a learning experience, this episode will be a slightly more refined product with any luck, and in a few months time, I’ll be able to get them done much much quicker.

 

Hopefully.

 

The main reason I’m posting this drivel is actually to say thank you for watching.  My stats from Blip TV say it has been watched just under 150 times, which is in my mind a big number.  I realise lots of blogs and sites get traffic in numbers that make my eyes water and my brain hurt, but I’m inordinately proud of my three figure number.

Categories: Computer Games, TV | Tags: , | 1 Response

An Introduction To Video Games – Pilot Episode

Written on October 13, 2011 – 9:40 am by Ding

A while ago, I wrote about how I couldn’t understand why more people didn’t try to make their own television shows.  I then couldn’t work out why I hadn’t tried to make one before.

As a result of these musings, I bring you my pilot episode of ‘An Introduction To Video Games’.

Making this, whilst fun, has taught me why more people don’t try it.  It’s much harder than it looks and takes ages to put together.  I do suspect that if I make another one, it will be produced much quicker!

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Legitimate Critic

Written on September 8, 2011 – 12:58 pm by Ding

I have a problem whenever I review things.  There is an inner monologue that I seem to maintain that repeats the phrase “Who am I to say this?” over and over again driving me into a guilt spiral if I’ve been asked to review something that I deem to be not-very-good.

As far as I am concerned, the best critics have a deeper understanding of whatever it is they are critiquing.  As my field at the moment is predominantly games, I have a wide range of peers to look to for inspiration or despair.   As an example of a good critic, Yahtzee from Zero Punctuation is someone I appreciate not because of his oft hilarious turn of phrase but because I always feel he has a grounding of knowing what he’s talking about.  He can be pedantically critical, but that’s the best way to help a medium improve and it is always very clear just how much he loves the games he reviews.  Most importantly for me, his understanding has come from his contribution to the Indie games field and he has self published several titles and following his blog will reveal that he often works on several more that never see the light of day due to a mix of inertia, lack of time, or a realisation that the idea was better on paper.

Other reviewers also tend to read better in my opinion when they have game design experience.  The Rock Paper Shotgun reviews are always solid because they are also written by people who not only have a passion for games, but also have some experience with designing games or mods.  Likewise the Bit-Tech reviews (and yes I am a little biased here) are generally good because the guys that write them have dabbled in game design as well.  In this day and age, if you are interested enough in games to write about them, it would be crazy if you hadn’t dabbled in a little hobby-coding at some point, even if it’s playing around with a level editor or something.

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Categories: Computer Games, Film, TV, Writing | Tags: , , , , | 1 Response

Uninspiring Television

Written on August 19, 2011 – 1:24 pm by Ding

Nothing gets me more depressed than watching an excessive amount of television.  There is something undeniably soporific about the process but it can easily lead to you watching things that you’ve seen before or things you have absolutely no interest in just for the sake of slumping in front of it for a little longer.

I very rarely come away from a television show, no matter how good it is, with a fired up sense of enthusiasm.  Even a short five minute webisode can instead just leave me wanting to watch more moving images, but no matter how much I get dragged down by television that is actually of a high quality, it’s nothing compared with the way I get dragged down by something that’s trashier and as I often think, if this is happening to me, it must be happening to other people as well.

I can’t help but feel we are being fed poor ideals by the box of flashing lights that sits in our living room.  Cheap to make easy to digest competition shows, such as the box opening non-game No Deal or No Deal, the Weakest Link or Who Wants To Be a Millionaire have all set the tone for what should be desired and sought after and that is money.  I remember watching game shows when I was little where the prizes were somewhat a bonus as opposed to the goal, with any monetary incentives being incredibly small and the prizes taking the form of washing machines and fridges presented on slowly rotating platforms.  It was the actual taking part, being on television and playing a game that was what was important.  I suppose when Countdown starts offering money to its winners, then we know we’re doomed.

The other form of cheaply made easily digested yet simultaneously nauseating show is the reality contest.  Thankfully survival shows like Big Brother seem to be on their way out and really in later years I got the sense that Big Brother was abusing the mentally ill rather than providing solid entertainment, but they have been replaced with the trend for talent shows.  There’s the excruciatingly drawn out X Factor, or Britain’s Got Talent (And Must Be Stopped) or the inexplicably popular Strictly Come Dancing, the show with a title which has never quite made much sense to me.

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If you could have your own TV show…

Written on August 5, 2011 – 10:30 am by Ding

It is common knowledge that we as a whole take technology for granted.  At this very minute you are reading my words projected onto your screen through an immensely complicated mathematical processes involving 1s and 0s that have been transmitted from some undisclosed location to your machine after being sent to the undisclosed location by myself from a similar machine via a mix of telephone wires and other cables.  I’m hazy on the specifics and am fairly certain that the internet runs on magic.

We take the internet for granted and we take many of the things we have come to rely on for granted too.  I still remember a time when mobile phones were small if you could squeeze one inside a briefcase and when “wireless” meant “not plugged in which is why it’s not working” (I’m not quite old enough to associate wireless with a radio). Now we not only take mind blowing technology for granted, if it stops working for a second we become Bruce Banner on a bad day.

The one that always trips me up that I take for granted is online video on demand and broadcast technology.  In other words, sites like YouTube, Blip TV, Justin TV, Vimeo and several others sat across the internet are an absolute wonder when you stop and think about it.

If you had come up to me when I was 11 and told me that within about ten years, anyone could make their own TV show and put it somewhere where the world can see it, I would have laughed.  After all, not even the BBC has that sort of potential audience.

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The Script Game

Written on May 6, 2010 – 10:50 am by Ding

This is something that a friend of mine has got us doing which is, in my humble opinion, great.

The rules are simple and the game is played over a long period of time via email. The first player writes two minutes (which is approximately two pages) of script involving two characters. The second player then starts something new with two new characters and writes two minutes of script but has to include the first two characters at some point in the background doing something in character. The third player then does the same but with the second player’s characters. This is repeated until you have run out of players.

We have  just started our game, and it’s highly manageable. Two pages isn’t that much but it is enough time to get an idea across, establish two characters, and get something to happen. More than anything else however, it is fantastic script writing practice.

I’ve had my turn, so maybe I’ll post the results if I get permission.

Additional Notes:

In fact, if you’re on task, you can establish whole films and multi-season TV shows in two minutes. Next time you watch something good on TV or see a decent film, pay careful attention to the first couple of minutes and see just how much they cross off in a short space of time. An example from the top of my head would be Serenity, which as soon as you get to the opening credits with director / producer names materializing on the screen and it starts moving through the ship, they manage to establish the seven major characters, the relationships between them and the situation they’re involved with in well under two minutes. Plus, it’s actually quite funny.

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