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Playing games with your mind

LucasH — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:14:36 +0100

A very interesting new device is about to hit the market, something that will allow people to interact with a game or computer without mouse, keyboard, or controller...

Okay, okay, so the whole thing seems like a bit of a pie-in-the-sky pipe-dream, but it's interesting as a future possibility. Basically, a company called Emotiv has created something called the EPOC, which is a headset with sensors that pick up facial movements, emotions, and thoughts, and allows you to control certain applications without the use of a keyboard or mouse. Pretty impressive, eh? They've got their own software to help you use the EPOC in lieu of a keyboard, by translating movements or thoughts into certain key-commands or combinations.

Basically, this seems like a very expensive, and largely useless, toy. It's hard to imagine this being used for gaming, or even general computer use. Whilst it would be awesome to have certain abilities in games triggered by thought, eliminating issues like not enough hot-bar space - yes I'm referring to you, Dragon Age - this gadget seems to... how do I put this... be sold as a lot more than it really is.

During one of the demos, they show that emotion can effect colour and music... I'm sorry, but if I'm upset by my game, frustrated at a particularly difficult encounter for instance, the last bloody thing I want is my gamma brought so far down that not only am I fighting for my life, I'm fighting to see. Of course, this would make me angry, which would probably cause a grand crescendo in the music, just the thing a frustrated, gamma blinded, angry gamer needs! See my dripping sarcasm there? That's inhibited by my choice to keep this blog profanity free; keep that in mind.

Another demo showed someone using blinks and smiles set up to turn a little side-module, a laser. What if you just wanted to blink, or something made you smile? This who apparatus seems fraught with issue after issue, and apart from a few neat tricks, seems completely useless, and most assuredly not worth the US$299 that it's retailing at, though of course you have to buy online from the Emotiv sight, too.

A great RPG

LucasH — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:09:10 +0100

It's a great thing when you find a really good RPG, and Dragon Age: Origins is exactly that.

During the lead up to this game, I was trepidatious, I thought, I don't want to get too into the idea of this game and be disappointed by it, but after playing it, I'm hooked, and all my fears have been put to rest.

Okay where to start... character creation is pretty good, it's not the most in-depth I've used, but it's a damn sight better than many out there. The character models can be made to look pretty good, though the elves take a bit of work to get to look anything other than horrid. The dwarves look awesome, too. I've played through the human noble intro, and both the dwarven noble and commoner intros, and they are both quite good, too. I've gotten a moderate way into the game, and it's really very fun.

I've noticed a few of the voice actors from Baldur's Gate II in this game, and that's honestly what this game reminds me of. It's like the Baldur's Gate II of modern gaming, and I'm thoroughly happy and impressed by that. This is a game where the storyline is one that you actually care about, and the level of detail in history and back-story is just fantastic. Along the way you will get many a 'codex' which are the medium through which you learn about the history of the families, lands, and religion, of the people you're fighting to save from an evil horde of 'Darkspawn'. The game is very, very bloody, but there's also a sense of humour to it so it isn't too dark, but this is certainly not a game for children.

So far I've preferred going a noble human, and my normal party consists of my Mabari War Hound, a very large, aggressive, yet lovable dog, Alistair, and Leliana. This is working at the moment, though I'm not adverse to shifting party members around when needed.

The game runs smoothly, and has crashed on me three times in a week, which for a newly released game that's alright. The voice acting is actually very good, with some big names in there, such as Kate Mulgrew and Tim Curry.

All in all, I'm very impressed with the game. It plays well, reads well, sounds good, looks good, and above all, is really very, very enjoyable! My SO hasn't been playing it herself, but has really enjoyed watching it whilst I play. She's going to play it as an elven mage, so that should be good to watch, too. She wants me to play as much as I like to play, because it's enjoyable to view, too.

I think that's enough for now, but suffice to say, if you play RPGs at all, and you've an alright PC, an XBOX 360, or a PS3, pick up this game! I downloaded mine off Steam and it's been very good that way, and you pay less overhead, too, which is nice.

Gaming through sickness

LucasH — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 13:19:03 +0100

During the last... Oh, I don't know, three weeks of sickness, is it three weeks, or four? Anyway, during that time I've still found the energy to play a great new RPG.

Before I go into any of the gaming stuff, in fact, that will get it’s own post next up, as I think it ought to get more than a one paragraph mention! So this entry into my neglected blog shall be a re-cap of what has been going on…

Let’s see, let’s see. Well the weather has obviously been turning cooler and cooler outside, though to be honest I’ve not gone outside for weeks. October is sort of a mucousy haze which is hard to recall with any clarity. H1N1 hit me, I started to get over it, and as you can see from the quietness spreading over my blog once again, I was pushing to get well too soon, and ended up back in bed for four days straight. I’m usually a very healthy person, I rarely get sick and when I do I get over it very quickly, so it was really very shocking to be hit so hard by this swine flu thing.

I’ve done little actual work for the past I don’t know how long, but I’d been working so much up to that point that I’m not really behind all that much, and my bosses are all very understanding of my illness and really don’t want me to push it and end up not working till the new year or something drastic.

I’ve not been paying attention to much of anything outside of my house. It’s fun! I’m like a hermit! All the things I usually keep tabs on, upcoming games, what's happening with mortgage news, finance markets and all that. I peered down my street today when I ventured outside to pick up my post – first time I’ve been outside in a very long time – and I noticed that not just one of the houses on my street are selling, but three homes have sale of house signs up! Wow, the market might be looking up? I don’t know.

Anyway, I’m going to go onto a fresh new post so I can talk about an awesome new game I’ve been playing.

Sickness and old injuries

LucasH — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:22:41 +0100

I didn't realise just how much being sick can resurrect old injuries...

Earlier this year I was involved in a small car accident – I’m sure I’ve written about this multiple times – and I had mild whiplash symptoms and back pain... and I couldn't turn my head for a little while... okay, they weren’t that mild, but anyway, that neck stiffness and the back pain has really bothered me during the worst of the flu, and I was surprised at that. I suppose I’ll have to go back to physical therapy for a while, to make sure everything really is back in order, but my insurance company will cover that, so it’s okay, except that I don’t really have the time, but I suppose I’ll just have to find it.

I’ve also found that my good ol’ familiar friend, ‘gaming wrist’ as I like to call it is back with a vengeance. This is the unavoidable consequence of hours spent on the computer for work, and then also for gaming. I’m back to wearing my wrist guards, which help, and I think I’m going to have to go out and get a wrist rest at some point… or ask my SO to because she has kept me in the house and resting for the last two weeks and with the weather getting the way it is I can’t see her letting me out for a while yet.

Generally I’m feeling incredibly old, and before this flu hit me I was feeling pretty good, actually. I had that nice feeling of health, you know, but now I just feel old and dried up and a little brittle. It’s not a good feeling, and I’m looking forward to feeling much more myself in the coming weeks. I’ve spoken to others who’ve had the virus, and it varies greatly as to how long it takes you to get back on your feet. I just hope that this isn’t a precursor of flu viruses in the future!

Filming for Game of Thrones pilot

LucasH — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:17:12 +0100

The pilot is being filmed, and I've concerns about it all, but still looking forward to it.

Okay, to explain where I'm coming from... If you've seen Rome, which is sort of an equivalent to this series in terms of production values, and the production group - HBO - but I have to say that many of the actors are of a much better calibre than Rome, anyway, back to my point. If you've seen Rome, you'll know what I mean when I say there are moments of complete cringing. It could be a line in the dialogue here, or a gesture there, but sometimes you are ripped so forcibly from your tentatively shallow level of immersion that all of a sudden you realise you're watching a bunch of guys prancing about in little dresses, taking themselves very seriously...

It's not like that all the time, and I think Deadwood didn't quite have this going so much as Rome - again, made by same group, HBO - but I'm still very highly aware of the fact that that just because these are great books, doesn't mean they'll make a great TV series... Can you imagine watching some of the stuff that happens in that book in the form of a TV show? I'm concerned I'm going to feel like I'm watching a school play the whole time. The seriousness of whether or not Jon will be allowed to go and join the Night's Watch or not... yeah, goodness me I hope all the actors really do this well, and that the sets work and everything.

So far all the filming has been completed in Scotland, at Doune Castle in Scotland to be precise, which is where they shot all the scenes that took place in the courtyard of Winterfell. Next they move onto Paint Hall Studio in Belfast which is where everything will be shot, except the stuff that's supposed to be happening in Pentos and all that, which is being shot in Morocco.

So yeah, I respect many of the actors involved in this, but still feel like I'll be wearing a grimace throughout the entirety of the first episode.

My last post reminded me

LucasH — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:49:11 +0100

Of something else I've been meaning to write about...

I’ve noticed a growing trend, maybe it’s due to getting closer to the holiday season and what not, but I’ve noticed more and more emails in my Inbox which are little more than spam… no wait, they are spam, but they are spam from companies that I am already affiliated with in some way, or have purchased from in the past, or have some sort of rewards card with or something like that. In some cases the promoted items or services aren’t from companies I’ve dealt with directly, but more a cross-promotion sort of thing.

As with BT - they are notably bad with this, I don’t actually have a phone line with them anymore, but I did a few years ago, and I’m still getting spammy messages from them about upcoming deals on BT home phones. Presumably if I liked the business, I would have stayed with the business, so if I don’t use their services anymore, shouldn’t I not have to put up with them? It’s not just them, either, telecoms companies are pretty annoying with the whole spamming thing, probably because there’s so much competition in the field. I’m happy with my provider at the moment, so no, I don’t want your telephone system, I like mine, thank you!

It’s the same with internet connections, whether they are broadband, ADSL, or SDSL, the company always thinks that they can trick you into upgrading to a more expensive package. Its sort of insulting, I mean, I’m on a very high downloads per month package as it is, and I don’t go anywhere near my limit most months, so why would they send me emails on an almost weekly basis trying to get me to upgrade.

And yet, one of the most frustrating aspects about all of this is that to get off these mailing lists you have to follow link after link, and they are always tucked in the most out of the way parts of the emails or webpages that you go to, and you often find that they’ve sneakily altered the usual button set-ups, so you have to click on the left button, which is normally the ‘Cancel’ button. Anyway, that’s enough out of me for now, on this topic anyway.

Back and removing spam

LucasH — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:47:44 +0100

I've been left with the hateful task of removing all the built up spam.

It's insane how much of it can build up in just two weeks! I have to say, it makes me so damn frustrated with the idiots who spam my blog, even though I know they are only doing it because they are paid to, and okay, sure, things are tough for a lot of people at the moment, but come on, stop spamming everyone! To those who pay people to spam blogs like mine, you are so petty, your advertising methods are pathetic, and you aren't going to sell your stinking prescription drugs and so on.

Gahhhh! I've not got a lot of energy in me at the moment, so to have to deal with all this spam is all the more irritating. I'm not just complaining over nothing, I've got over 200 spam comments to go through... that's an insane amount of spam, and now they are getting more stupid. They are these really dumb jokes with the links to drugs or crap just stuck at the bottom. For instance, and this is the latest spam comment I've gotten rid of as spam - there's about ten pages to go through, so I'm doing a little at a time - and this is a quote... "Fresh joke! What weighs 909 kg (2,000 pounds for all of you inefficient, non-metric “people”) and is bare to the bone? A skeleTON!!!"

Oh my goodness. Not only do I have to go and delete all this crap, I'm now subjected to some of the stupidest jokes I've ever heard. The only way these jokes could be anything less than crap is if they were told to you by a child still in single digits. They have a right to silly jokes, it's like their territory, but to have spammers leaving this stuff there is just... just too much.

Usually I feel the need to be somewhat polite to these people, to be appreciative of the fact that they probably only do this job because they've not been able to get something better paying, but I'm sick and that gives me the right to be a grouchy... So... spammers, get the effing hell off of my blog!

You lose, H1N1

LucasH — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:01:23 +0100

I am now getting over H1N1, the worst flu of my life.

So, after nearly two weeks of nothing happening on my blog, it should start to come back to life over the coming weeks, and then things should be as they were. It's been a horrid two weeks, the only saving grace has been the constant love and attention from my SO; she nursed me through the whole thing. It's been grand to have her take care of me, and I really appreciate her for it.

I've never before felt so lethargic in my life, I was sleeping away most of the day, and when I was awake, it wasn't a very nice experience. This virus really knocked the wind out of my sails, I still feel very weak and I know it's going to be a few more weeks before I feel like my old self.

My work has been very understanding, which has been nice. I think everyone is just so concerned when they hear you've got this thing that's been blaring on the news for the last three months, and I have to say, it does pull you up short when you realise you've got it... I knew it was out there, but really thought I was healthy enough that I wouldn't get sick. I suppose you can't tell with these things sometimes.

As I said, I'm on the mend now, and I'm hoping to keep my blog much more up to date with everything that I usually write on. I've missed my daily rant, you know. Well, it's not always a rant, sometimes it's a ramble, it's what it is, and I don't feel the need in my current state to delve too deeply into what exactly my blog is 'about', because in the harsh light of sickness, it seems altogether random, perhaps it's like Seinfeld in it's 'about nothing' but 'about everything' kind of approach... anyway, more later!

Free office supplies for me!

LucasH — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:49:29 +0200

Ahh, how nice! Seriously, my work is giving them to me to keep me working as well as I have been. Oh yeah, nice to be appreciated, eh?

Okay so yeah, I’ve been putting in mammoth hours for work in the last few weeks, leaving me with little time for anything but sleep and hanging out with my SO when I get the chance.

Because of this, my work emailed me with a huge list of office equipment and told me to pick what I needed – within reason – to continue doing so well and what not. Well, I set to it and started in on what I would like to add to my home set up. Computers aren’t any issue, because I’ve got an amazing set up already, but I liked the idea of better fax machines to replce my very old one and a new set of nifty cordless phones.

I sent off my request back to work to see what they say. Considering how giving they wanted to be, and what I actually asked for, I believe I’ll get my new fax and phone set in the not too distant future.

It’s certainly been gruelling of late, and I look forward to a few weeks at a more relaxed pace. I was in a taxi today and heard an ad on the radio for a company building websites, and I felt so like cringing as I sat there. To hear the way that people would say to promote the line of work I myself am in was sort of… well it was horrible. It’s like hearing how your mum talks about you to her friends, like you cured cancer and were the first man to step foot on Mars.

The company had rather exorbitant rates, which made me feel better, because anyone who looks into current prices on website building would find in short order that what this business was charging was on the far end and for not an altogether stellar package.

The hiring of games

LucasH — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:11:44 +0200

Is something I refuse to do, so in spite of finding Mini Ninjas to be mildy interesting, I shall not ever play it.

Basically, I won't pay for a game that I don't think I'm going to get a good amount of play time from or isn't a very good game. I don't like to have anything approaching chaff in my collection, and a game that's overly short, overly easy - is actually aimed predominantly at children, but has same effect - and only got an 8.0 from IGN, unfortunately approaches chaff. I know it's not a bad game, but to me, the comments lead me to believe it's a so-so game.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that, if you were going to hire it. But I won't do that. Want to know why? In the past I've hired DVDs and games, and I've seen what they look like. The scratches, fingerprints, and general grime on these things is utterly revolting. I would rather stamp on my own foot that put one of those disgusting discs in my PS3, or any console or player in my home.

Because in the past, before I was like this, I would try it. I would hire games and DVDs and try them, only to find they didn't work. That was infuriating, but then to go back and have them ask you stupid questions - "did you put the disc in with the shiny side down?" - and in any way attempt to blame you for their piece of crap disgusting disc not working is more than this irate gamer can take.

I've often found that it's best to just avoid these sorts of situations, but it is frustrating, because it would be nice to be able to try a game that you wanted to play for a few hours, but didn't want to all out buy, but ah well. I'd rather miss out on a little game than go through the ordeal that is the hiring process.

The hirsute zombie

LucasH — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:10:38 +0200

I've been playing Plants Vs. Zombies again, and now they have become quite hirsute... yes, they now have moustaches.

I've made my way through the entire game, once, and have also completed all the puzzles and all the mini games. They have all been rather fun, though some are more difficult than others, but I'm actually finding that I'm still enjoying the game just as much. There's a little Zen garden that you get towards the end of the game, and I'm having a great time using it to get more in-game money to then buy either more stuff for the Zen garden, or grow my big Tree of Wisdom thing. Oh, and buy Stinky the Snail, who helps pick up all the in-game money you get in the Zen Garden. He also likes chocolate.

From this Tree of Wisdom I have learned a couple of things. Two of these pearls of wisdom have given me a laugh when I went back in to kill a horde of the undead. One thing the tree told me was that I could see Zombies from the future, if I simply typed the word 'future' in when I was playing. I did so, and sure enough, I've got zombies from the future. Funnily enough, the only differentiation is that Zombies from the future wear rather ugly, '80s looking sunglasses. Apart from that, they are exactly the same. :lol: Now, the tree also told me to see an horrific transformation in the zombies, if I simply typed 'moustache' in when I was playing. I did so, and now my zombies have an array of moustachios. You can even get them to be zombies from the future <em>with</em> moustachios!

I've not completed growing the Tree of Wisdom, because quite frankly, that sucker bleeds you! But I'm still playing, still going through my second run through of the game and knocking down the Survival modes. I want the gold trophy, rather than the silver I've currently got. I don't usually get like this about games, but something about this game is sort of addictive, I think.

Hang on, how many comments?

LucasH — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:33:14 +0200

I was about to write a new post here, and I happened to check my comments, and my eyes nearly goggled at how many there were, and how long it would take to delete them with Blogr's super slow reaction times.

A new record… 119 spam posts all waiting for me to Approve, Spam, Delete, Edit, Quick Edit, or Reply… Yeah, I think I know what I’ll do there. I always mark it all as spam, and then usually I delete it all, but now I’m thinking of leaving it there for a month and seeing how many spam comments I have sitting there!

I was going to write more about mortgage market news, and what it’s up to. You know, current prices on mortgage deals and so on. Something that did surprise me was the move back towards the more ‘high risk’ mortgages, as in the bad credit mortgage loans and whatnot. I pretty much hate the whole ‘credit’ industry. It’s been a shockingly good way for a few to make money, and a great many to bleed money out their you-know-what. That’s why there are so damn many of those cash for home businesses, and that’s a sad thing, if you ask me.

Spam and mortgages… seems to go together in a way. Constant source of irritation and stress, and the best news you can get about it is that it’s over! The sad thing is that all this spam is unavoidable, there are so many blog posts out there about hatred of spam, or the unfortunate amount of cheap labour employed overseas to spam WordPress blogs. There are a few ways of fighting it, but when you just want to jump on your blog and blog, well, you don’t really want to go through too much to actually get to why you were there in the first place.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. All you Russian spammers, I’m sincerely hoping you get a better job soon. I know what you do much suck, suck pretty bad, and I bet you get paid a pittance for it, too, and really, it’s not your fault so much as the moron who hired you to spam WordPress blogs with links to their stupid website that sells pharmaceuticals illegally. So, to all those spamming my blog, I wish you better luck with your next job!

Looking forward to Winter

LucasH — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:34:42 +0200

I know it's early to be saying that, but it's true nonetheless.

I know it’s still Autumn, and early Autumn at that, but I couldn’t help but smell that certain cold on the wind today that means Winter is on it’s way. It’s a certain icy cleanness, very fresh, almost smelling of nothing. Autumn is a lovely season, too, but I really do prefer Winter… especially after it’s started snowing!

In spite of seeing snow for my entire life, I always find it a little magical when those soft flakes start to fall from the sky. I love seeing how everything looks once it’s been snowed on for a while, to see an entire landscape blanketed like that, it’s breathtaking.

I’ve a friend who hates Winter. He plans holidays around the time of year when Winter hits hardest so he can avoid the cold. It’s always baffeled me as to why he lives in the U.K. if he doesn’t like the cold… but anyway.

Today he told me of the package he bought to spend a fortnight in South America at the beginning of next year. He thinks those first few weeks of January are the coldest, but I’m not sure of that, to be honest. He’s got everything ready, months in advance, from his travel insurance to money converted into the local currency. He always goes over there with some stupid excuse as to why he should be treated like a VIP constantly. It’s rather preposterous. Last year my friend went over there only to find that the phone he so desperately needed to use was occupied, so he told the hotel manager that he needed to use the phone because he had to call his accountant. He said he was going to be buying up a huge swathes of beach front land and property for sale there in Brazil, and wanted to know if the deal had gone through. The hotel manager saw him for what he was, and from what I understand, just nodded condescendingly and told him he’d have to wait! We all thought that was bloody brilliant!

Bloody Ninjas

LucasH — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:25:20 +0200

Well, less bloody, actually. The creators of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 have decided to reduce the blood for this new title in the series.

So, yes, I'm sort of surprised that they can say with such certainty that there is exactly 57% less blood than Ninja Gaiden II, but there you have it. There is still blood in the game, still red cuts when you hit an enemy, still blood spatters on walls and floors, but when you cut off a limb of an opponent in game no longer is there a gout of red, but instead the exact same gout... but now in blue!

It was apparently done to appeal to a broader audience, especially in Japan where violence is frowned upon. That's a hard pill to swallow, considering they are the home of the Yakuza, and have a history - right up to the first half of the last century - of being one of the most violent nations on the planet, and seem to have no qualms in completely and utterly objectifying women. Personally, I don't care for the level of gore in the previous games, but I still find it strange nonetheless that a country that loves Dead or Alive games would have issues with blatant violence.

It's a strange choice, too, to keep in some blood effects, but to alter others only in colour. Why not reduce them, or take them out, or make all the 'blood' blue? This half measure way of doing it is odd, and doesn't seem right to me.

I'm all for maturation of the medium, but I would rather it was consistent throughout the entire game, not just some randomly chosen aspects being changed whilst others left the same. It's a very strange approach, and I'm interested to see how people respond when they get their hands on the games.

So far the response out there is rather mixed. There are those like myself, who appreciate the reduced gore, but don't like the approach, and there are those who think that both those aspects are fine, and then there are those who are now really aggravated about it. Those people I don't understand at all!

Well, we'll find out soon enough how it all goes, the game ships to us Brits at the beginning of October.

Cryptozoology is interesting

LucasH — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:50:23 +0200

Even if it is bunkam! But it is, really, interesting, that is. Because even if this stuff is completely made up, it's interesting to think where it all came from.

I can't remember exactly when I first became interested in cryptids, but I know I have been for some time. I love looking at the folklore stories, and how people still believe in these creatures today. Some of them seem more plausible than others, I'll grant you that, and some are real unexplained phenomena, like the Bloop.

The Bloop is one of my current favourite cryptids, because there is actual evidence backing it up. We've got the 'what' in this case, but not the 'how' or 'who'. You see, The Bloop is the name given to a sound picked up a few times by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who use equipment that was originally designed to keep tabs on that part of the ocean in case of Soviet Subs. They aren't listening for subs, anymore, and are instead using the equipment to evaluate marine health, oceanic weather, and general atmospheric conditions out there.

They've often picked up strange and - in my opinion - ominous sounds, most of which can be explained by ocean currents, volcanic activity , or the movement of Antarctic ice, but The Bloop doesn't conform to any of these. It's the odd sound out.

The Bloop's sound profile suggests that it comes from a living organism. The sound was heard on multiple underwater listening devices, called hydrophones, about 5,000kms apart. Even a Blue Whale can't manage that, the creature creating The Bloop would have to be much, much bigger.

Some people have speculated that a Giant Squid could be behind the sound, however that's extremely unlikely because, according to Phil Lobel, a marine biologist at Boston University in Massachusetts, US they don't have the giant gas filled sac that would be necessary for such a noise. He says it's impossible to be certain at this point, because no Giant Squid has ever been caught alive, though Whales have been seen with tentacle ring marks on their bodies, but he believes it's not the sound of the giant cephalopod.

Anyway, that's a mystery I hope to see solved one day.