Sidney Blaylock Jr.'s Blog, page 11
October 19, 2020
Mini-Review: Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Video Game)
This mini-review is going to be a departure from the norm–I normally reserve mini-reviews for movies and I do video games either standalone or with the Video Game Log posts. However, I actually finished this game about a month ago this time (has it really been that long ago? Wow, time flies when I’m not actually blogging). I wanted to make sure I got my thoughts out on this game as 1) I have some issues with it and 2) Tomb Raider is one of my favorite “franchises” and it spans multiple mediums.
The Good
Surprisingly, there are some things that I liked about this game. Out of the “trilogy” of rebooted games, I think Rise of the Tomb Raider is the best, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the 2nd best, and the rebooted Tomb Raider is the worst of the lot. I’m glad they didn’t do the “living world” story as they did in the first game, but they did do an apocalyptic story-line in this last game and, while I thought it could have been done slightly better, I still felt this was a compelling plot device to get the story moving and to continue the tension throughout the game. I liked most of the characters and the hub worlds. I liked the graphics and some of the game-play elements (although some I did not like–which I’ll touch on in a moment). I feel like they development studio (which is different from the previous 2 games) tried hard and I could see what they were going for and, while I didn’t think that they ultimately reached their goal, I could at least see what they were trying to do.
The Bad
Ultimately, the first 2 games used the “real world” mythology as a jumping off point to set up a fantastical story which involves Lara Croft and her adventures, but it doesn’t necessarily stay in the “real world.” I felt that Shadow tried too hard to stick with the Mayan mythology that they used as they used it in pretty much every aspect of the game. From the story, the creation myth, the apocalyptic story arc driving the game, to the treasures and artifacts, to the conquistador story running throughout out the narrative, all of it was Mayan overload. The other two games knew when to leave Japanese and Judaeo-Christian myth and veer into fantasy, but because we know so much about the Mayan culture, I feel this was detriment to the creation of the story, rather than an aid to it as they stick to the various myths and gods rather than using them to tell an interesting story of redemption–which is what I feel they were trying to do.
I also didn’t really care for the way in they created a new character to act as a “love interest” for Jonah, Lara’s best friend. I’m not sure of how the original development studio intended it, but the long dramatic pauses of Rise and the bickering in both Rise and Shadow seemed to indicate Jonah (at least) has feeling for Lara. However, it felt like the way the new developers introduced the “forced” love interest, they couldn’t imagine Lara and Jonah together in any other context but “friends” because they are of two different races. Or to be more blunt, Lara would only date someone of her own race, not someone who’s stood by her again and again, and who (in the context of the stories the creators have told) would literally give his life to save her as his race doesn’t match hers. A grim bit of (probably unintentional) meta-commentary there on diversity in storytelling, and the limits thereof.
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The Ugly
While the “ugly” should have probably been reserved for the above observation on the trilogy’s lackluster response to diversity, what really hindered my enjoyment of the game were some of the game play mechanics that this installment introduced. They were really annoying and frustrating; it was almost as if they were designed to hamper the game play experience.
Tomb Raider is known for its underwater sequences, but I have to say that I found the piranhas in this game to be an especially aggravating game play element. They swim around in packs and circle endlessly (never deviating from their scripted paths). The goal (as the player) is to hide in tall underwater grass (conveniently placed) as they pass and then to “sprint” away to the next clump of underwater grass–a sort of underwater stealth run. This is so boring, however. There’s no excitement and the only tension comes from the camera and not being able to see exactly where they are when they swim “behind” you. I hated this sequence so much that I didn’t do several optional missions because I saw that it involved piranhas.
Another game play mechanic that irked me was the fact that even though one earned high powered guns (shotguns, uzis, etc.) through the game’s in-game currency, there were a couple of optional (and story) missions that wouldn’t let you use them. They gave you a rationale in the story that was an off-handed comment that the people of this fairly sophisticated hidden town (many of whom had come there from the outside world) shouldn’t have to know about firearms.
I’m sorry–what? The vendors in this location are selling me the very weapons that they should never have to see or hear about to maintain their “innocence?” It doesn’t make any sense storywise, but more importantly, it let them craft fights that would have been fairly simple with guns that were nigh impossible with bow weapons. For example, one fight (which I knew was coming having played it and died once already), I equipped the maximum amount of arrows that I could carry, went in, survived 3 or 4 waves (maybe 5), but ran out of arrows and another wave came in and I was dead. As this was an optional mission, I just reloaded the save, left the area, and headed back to the main mission which was the final mission to end the game. Normally, I like to do as many side missions that I can before finishing the game to get my character as ready as possible (experience, weapons, gear, money/currency, whatever). I was so weary of this game and all of its annoyances, that I didn’t even bother to with this mission–I just went on to the final mission just so I could finish it and play something else.
Overall Rating: 75 (C)
Rating: 3 out of 5.
While I didn’t like the first Tomb Raider game (the reboot), I have to say this one is better–but not by much. This was a mediocre game with some really good elements, brought down by a lot of questionable game play mechanics and an insistence on realism in a game that isn’t about realism, but fantasy and adventure. The idea that Jonah was not an “appropriate” love interest for Lara was something that I feel was unfortunate, if unintentional, but sent the wrong message unfortunately about the way in which the character is ultimately viewed by her creators. All of these issues really affected my time with the game and ultimately, made me weary of the game and glad when it was over (and not in that excited glad way as I am for most games). This was more of a chore than a game, something that needs to be addressed before I purchase another one in the series.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (10/2020):
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Out to MarketStarlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
Out to MarketThe Independent (Science Fiction Story)
Out to MarketKnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
October 14, 2020
On the (Writing) Road Again
Sorry for stepping away from the blog, but college classes, under Covid, are something else entirely from what I’m used to as an instructor. I’ll save this rumination for another post, but basically, everything takes 5 to 6 times longer because everything has to be explained (in detail) in this environment and often, multiple times. A simple explanation at the end of class to clear up a misunderstanding often takes at least 1 email, sometimes 2 or 3. So, all that to say, I’m struggling to keep up with it all.
However, what I can say is that, after a two month unintentional hiatus, I am back on the writing path. Oh, I’ve been writing over these two months and while it hasn’t all been for school, most of it has. I even tried to work on other projects, but they’ve all fallen by the wayside until last weekend.
Project Wall
So, the obvious joke would be that I “hit the wall” with this project. That’s not true, however. The fact is, I still believe in this project and I still want to do it, but I don’t really have a strong character to help guide me through. I have a brother and sister duo here, and I’m an only child. I set it up so that the younger brother would try to save the older sister that he idolizes, but even in the very first scenes/paragraphs, I could muster much urgency for the character and his dilemma, even with a literal “clock” ticking in the background to increase the sense of tension with the story. And this isn’t some random bomb explosion, but a time-based story point actually woven into the story’s setting–and yet, I felt nothing as I was writing it. I may have to just make it the main character’s story instead of trying make it about saving his sister. Maybe the solution is to have him out and he has to struggle back before the time runs out. I’m not sure, but just writing those couple of sentences seems more tense than the draft I had been working on.
Project Ranger
The next project I’d been working on was one in which I can see the first scene and the last scene in my mind’s eye. I was able to get the entire first scene down, but without a middle, I don’t really have a narrative going. I have a thing that they are working towards, but it is a longer narrative that can’t easily be told as a short-story because of the number of characters involved and the way in which I want to tell the story.
Also, while I have a fairly distinctive character this time in terms of conflict, I don’t have a good sense of who that character is outside of his one defining trait: anger. Not only that, but I can’t “see” the character. I know he’s African American, but is he short or tall, bearded or clean shaven, bald or dreads down to he shoulder blades? I don’t know, I can’t tell you and it makes it hard when your protagonist is just one emotion: barely contained rage, and nothing else.
KnightWatch (Graphic Novel)
Which leads me to my final project, KnightWatch, and the one that I actually have worked on for the past two weeks in a row and the one that seems to be “the one.” It is a sequel to my long ago published story “Sister Knight.” This one is also going to take a while (probably all the way through Christmas) as it is a graphic novel. While not my first attempt at a graphic novel, it seems like it could be the first one I actually finish *fingers crossed* as it seems (right now) to be “flowing” where the other two projects did not.
This time, unlike my previous project (which I do hope to go back to at some point), I delved directly into the sequel. I think my beginning point is strong enough and evocative enough to capture the audience’s attention, but if I need to recap my short story as a “first” issue, my rationale is that I know how to do that well now from the previous project and right now, the story I want to tell is the one that I’m telling–a new story, with old characters in an “advisory”/”adjacent” position and new characters taking up the story. I can see the main protagonist of the story with my mind’s eye and the secondary characters are beginning to come into “focus.” I’m going to change my Signature file to reflect this new story. I’m giving myself a while (3 months) to get it done.
Well, that’s all that I have for now. Hopefully, more shortly!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (10/2020):
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Out to MarketStarlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
Out to MarketThe Independent (Science Fiction Story)
Out to MarketKnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
October 7, 2020
Mini-Review: Starship Troopers
Okay, so for the near future, I’m going to have to change my time for writing the blog. Mornings no longer seem to work for me. Mornings have been the best time for me for about 2.5 years and I’ve been able to be fairly consistent, but Covid and my teaching schedule just aren’t compatible with me producing blog posts regularly (at least during the morning as I’m ALWAYS prepping for class, grading, reading drafts, or researching sites/activities. So all this to say, that I’ll be writing and releasing blog posts during the afternoon–while I ma not be back to weekly, you should see more posts than the anemic 2 or 3 that you’ve been seeing lately.
Now on to the review: Starship Troopers was a movie that was on Netflix, but was scheduled to go off and I wanted to see it before it did. I watched it a couple of weeks ago and here’s what I thought.
The Good
I’ve actually read the book by Robert Heinlein years ago from my local library, but I’d never seen the movie. I remember when the movie came to theaters, but it was before I really got back into going to the theaters after my childhood theater going experience. I’d always wanted to see it, so I did before it left Netflix.
I thought it was good, but not great. I liked the premise of it and I (sorta’) liked the sardonic humor of the film in which there’s this “sarcastic” look at the idea of citizenship, the military, violence, and even love. I felt that, while all of these things could have been done better, they come together to create a cohesive whole that I thought makes the movie a good one (just not a great one).
The Bad
For me, the bad is just the way straddles the two lines: action movie and sardonic parody. The filmmakers do NOT stick to one genre and I think that hurts the movie. I really think that it was a mistake not to stick with one genre and run with it. For me, my enjoyment was blunted because the funny and sardonic elements were over the top and veered into farce (think the scene where the kids and the mother are stomping “bugs”), but then asked me to turn “serious” when they wanted to show serious action scenes and emotional beats. It is very hard to take the story seriously when you have the sardonic humor and over-the-top farce in order to make a point. SNL sketches work because they are ALL the way in one camp or the other. When they veer into “seriousness,” things tend to go off the rails. I think that between the two, they should have gone with an “action movie,” but use the violence and the script to make a comment on war, the military, and other aspects that they use the sardonic humor to try to express.
The Ugly
I may use something like the “beautiful” for movies that I think are inherently good and don’t have 2 negative aspects. This movie does have an ugly side. The sardonic and sarcastic humor aside, which can be ugly by itself (again, referencing the kids and stomping scene), I think that this is one of those movies that has not aged well. The “bug” special effects are still pretty good, but the costuming, cinematography, editing, and some space scenes do NOT hold up well, in my opinion. Even for 1990s movies, I felt they were not quite up to par. They remind me of very early special effects for Arnold Schwarzenegger movies such as The Running Man and Total Recall. Again, like the movie itself, many of the elements of the movie have that good, but not great feel.
Overall Rating (80-82, B-)
Rating: 3 out of 5.
This would get 3.5 stars if I could do .5 stars because I liked it, but there were just so many little flaws (the elements of the movie that I just talked about) in addition to the straddling of the line of genres. I really think that an action movie played “straight” (like Predator) and using the violence to make the points that the “farcical/sardonic humor” tries to make. I think that would have made the movie so much better, but again, it is a good science fiction movie that I’m glad I finally got a chance to watch.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 29, 2020
Grandmaster Mini-Review
So, I’ve been away for a while as grading and school work have kept be super busy (to be honest, I’m now taking an unearned break that may cost me Friday of this week as I have something for school on Friday that needs to get done ASAP, and I have a whole stack of papers to grade right now, I’m still going to quickly write this blog post).
The Good
Grandmaster is a movie that has been on my “watchlist” on Netflix for a while. I knew it was a martial arts movie and I knew that I wanted to see it. It was supposed to go off Netflix (which apparently got pushed back until October here in the US, but I saw it before it left.
I ended up liking it, but just barely. While it is a martial arts movie, it is also a biography/documentary of the famous martial arts master, Ip Man, who trained Bruce Lee and brought the Kung Fu fighting style of Wing Chun to notoriety.
Even though I’ve seen this story through the Ip Man “franchise” (I’ve seen Ip Man 1-3 with Donnie Yen & have Ip Man 4 in my watchlist), it tells about a period in Mr. Ip’s life that the other movies haven’t explored (yet), so I found the story engaging.
The Bad
So, I really wanted to watch a “martial arts” film, and while this film discusses the concepts behind martial arts and has some interesting martial arts fights–they are not the center stage. Rather, the fights (and the fight choreography) are very much stylized in such a way that the viewer infers the intricacies of the moves/fight rather than the fight choreographer actually setting up and showing each move.
The fights are more about the “impressions” of the fight rather than the “specifics” of the fight. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are many clever and inventive sequences, but they are bolstered by fancy camera techniques, shifting angles, slow motion, blurring and transitions, in addition to the “hidden wire” work that makes some moves seem unrealistic to the point of supernatural.
When you really want to see them mix it up, but they use cinematic conventions to make the action more stylized, it can be pretty anti-climatic.
The Ugly
So, I believe they do this for a very specific reason–it isn’t really a martial arts movie–at least, not in the traditional sense. It is more a documentary and it really wants to focus on a woman that Mr. Ip knew in his past who was both intriguing and a tragic figure. I’d say it is about 60% documentary and 40% martial arts. It doesn’t want to get bogged down in the minutiae of fighting–rather, it wants to make sure you understand the “simmering” drama of a life lived by Mr. Ip along with all its incumbent successes and trials.
And it succeeds–again, that just wasn’t what I (personally) was in the mood for when I watched the movie. I wanted more fight scenes and I wanted more detail on them–I wasn’t wanting an extended character piece, but that’s more of what this movie is–although it is a sumptuous movie and very well done (from a cinematic point of view).
Overall Rating: C+ (78-79)
Rating: 3 out of 5.
This a good movie that is just marketed wrong. It should be clearly marketed as a fictionalized biography, rather than a martial arts movie. As a fictionalized biography, the martial arts sections are just a bonus, but when it is a “martial arts” movie, I want to see clever, inventive fight sequences rather than stylized sequences. Expectations in check, I might have rated this movie higher because it is by no means a bad movie.
September 23, 2020
Microsoft Being Microsoft (or The Reason Why Microsoft Still Sucks)
Okay, so I try not to be the “Angry Guy on the Internet,” but sometimes you just have to “let fly.” So yesterday, Microsoft bought a game publisher and rather than being aghast at the news and what it means for the video game industry as a whole, people are going “gaga” for this news as if it was the greatest thing ever, not realizing that this is as hypocritical of a stance as there could be on the internet.
“Evil” Microsoft is Back!
Aaaaaaannnnnndddd here we go again! Micro$oft is back to its old tricks. For them, they think this is a stunning and bold business move, but it is simply business as usual. For those who have not heard the news, Microsoft has gone out and “bought” themselves a publisher, Bethesda. Yes, you heard right–thwarted in buying Tik Tok, the most popular platform out there right now, they’ve gone and bought themselves a publisher.
So now, they get to have two problems solved: 1) lack of content/games and 2) denying Playstation (and Nintendo, but let’s be real, it’s really Playstation they’re gunning for with this move) content for their system. Why is this not a sound business move, I hear you ask? Simple, it takes a 3rd party publisher off the table and “artificially” bolsters the competition. We’re not talking about a developer that has proven itself through multiple games, delivering on deadlines, quietly cultivating talent, producing high quality work again and again, until a publisher notices and buys them to become part of their stable *cough* Insomniac Games *cough.* No, this is buying your way into a competitive stance without putting in all the work, without taking any risks, without doing it the right way.
If these were baseball teams, then Playstation would be the plucky, hardworking Atlanta Braves of the late 80s early to mid 90s, building their team through hardwork, strategic acquisitions, and good old fashion moxy (“The American Spirit”/”The American Dream”) and Microsoft would be the Arizona Diamond Backs of the same era, spending wads of cash, using their corporate dominance to finance a winning team to outspend and out muscle the other teams (“Corporate Capital”–which no individual can match).
This move is as much about denying Playstation a swath of games as it about Microsoft bolstering its anemic lineup with games that are already in development and in the pipeline (AND already have a certain amount of hype generated–not by Microsoft–but by the publisher, Bethesda, who’ve featured snippets on their previous E3 stages, with the unstated implication that it is coming to both consoles to generate that hype). As usual, Microsoft only wants a PROVEN WINNER and are unwilling to 1) take chances on unique concepts that have a chance to fail and 2) grow something small and nurture it into a legend. Let’s see: Guerrila Games, Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Sony Santa Monica, Ready at Dawn, Bend Studios, and I could go on. While every project isn’t a hit, at least Sony is willing to try new things. Microsoft only wants hits–they’d be the ones to buy the Marvel license only after the movies got big. Sony would at least take a chance on something (and although they might drop it if it didn’t hit, they’d at least give it a chance). How do I know? The “SoulsBorne” games started with Demon Souls, a Sony exclusive, but they let the license and didn’t purchase the studio which allowed for Dark Souls, a cross-system game, to find an audience. Had they locked up Demon Souls, the entire “Souls” games could have been Playstation only.
Hypocritical Much?
But what irks me the most isn’t so much that Microsoft is still evil. No, I knew that all the time–no matter how much goodwill that the industry is willing to give them for their self-serving Game Pass program. No, it is that ALL the people who were crying out for BLOOD because Spider-Man wouldn’t be on X-Box & PC systems in the new Avengers game are absolutely over the moon with this announcement. Which means that they weren’t AT ALL interested in LESS exclusivity, but rather, not allowing Sony to have exclusivity.
I want that to sink in.
The industry is fine with exclusivity–so long as it is Microsoft who does it. A playable Avengers game without Spider-Man, then my X-Box/PC game is devalued and worth less than a Playstation copy. An unplayable copy of Elder Scrolls, then it sucks to be you Playstation. Apparently, Sony is the only company who the Internet won’t allow to have exclusives–even though it is through content that Sony tries to find value from on 3rd party games. Microsoft says, “screw it, let’s just deny everyone the whole game and then they’ll have to come and buy our system if they want to play it.” Halo (which appeared on an Apple stage), Gears of War, and now Bethesda’s games. And they’ll just run these series into the ground, just like they did with Halo and just like they did with Gears, and in a few years, they’ll be looking for the next publisher who’s hot and has already generated buzz to acquire.
Evil is as Evil Does
Mark my words: Microsoft, as a company, has not changed nor learned one iota from their hubris. This acquisition proves it. Give them market dominance (or even a hint of it) and gamers will be staring at an always online system that wants to check “home” for authorization (remember the original reveal of the X-Box One, anyone? I know I do.)
Microsoft only wants to be #1, and will use any tactic (including their war chest) to accomplish their mission. 2013 was ONLY 7 years ago. Why does it feel like I’m the only one who remembers the devastation and the dissolution of the video game industry that Microsoft intended from its lofty, hubris-filled position of being #1? I hate to say it, but many of my fellow gamers are either extremely forgetful or extremely hypocritical in praising Microsoft’s move.
This is not a move we should be celebrating, but rather one we should be condemning and mourning. What happens when hard work and careful planning don’t matter any more and corporate purse strings can turn people’s heads and make a sow look like a prince? Well, we’re about to find out thanks to the Microsoft Corporation.
Think I’m full of it: well, have a gander at this blast from the past Kotaku article: https://kotaku.com/that-xbox-one-reveal-sure-was-a-disaster-huh-509192266.
Here is a key paragraph that might interest you: “The lead-up to the One’s unveiling had been a parade of negative press for Microsoft, as allegations of forced connectivity, mandatory Kinect usage and the blocking of used games had people fearing that their control over the consoles and games they purchased was being taken away from them. That’s an important issue.”
And here’s another link, just for good measure: https://www.svg.com/101430/everything-microsoft-wrong-xbox-one/
And you can be very sure, that if Microsoft is up to its old tactics of denying games to other platforms to enhance its own platforms value, then its other tactics as listed above haven’t gone anywhere either and are just waiting for a more palpable climate (or more likely, a slower, more phased in rollout combined with a more docile gaming community) to implement some of the features that it wanted all along.
Everyone keeps telling me (even old Phil Spencer himself) how much of a different company it is: with Game Pass and Crossplay and Game Pass and Game Pass, ad nauseum. Today, I saw for myself how much Microsoft has pulling the Game Pass over people’s eyes and is still very much the same company that wants to control people’s entertainment choices/decisions.
I, for one, will not fall for it. If it comes to a choice between Microsoft and leaving gaming, I’m leaving gaming behind and I’m not looking back.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 22, 2020
Playstation 5 Showcase, September 2020
So, I reread my last post and it came across as really cross and petulant. It isn’t that I hated the Showcase–exactly the opposite, in fact. I loved it. The problem was with the marketing. This year has been a “drip feed” approach and I think that doesn’t help me, and actually hinders me. The event and the games were great and I don’t think I gave it enough credit before going into discussing the marketing moves that Sony was making. However, I feel like I should talk about the games that were discussed.
Final Fantasy XVI
For me, this game was a surprise. I don’t follow rumors and leaks, and I actively try to avoid them and this came as a surprise for me. I’m not really a huge Final Fantasy player. I tried FFXIII, but didn’t really manage to finish it. I’m playing FFXV now and while I’ve gotten pretty far, I still haven’t finished it either. FF is a series that I’ve heard about, but not really been able to get deep into. The story of this game looks like it is going into a more traditional fantasy setting. I think that the surprise of it (thanks to not looking for leaks or rumors) made this reveal something that was fun and special, more so than the actual game itself.
Spider-Man Miles Morales
This is a game that I’m really looking forward to, especially after watching Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse. I really like the idea of Miles Morales as a character and I have the Spider-Man game which I really like. Thanks to school, I’ve not yet finished the original game–I’m hopefully going to try to finish it in the near future, but I really enjoyed what I’ve played of it so far and I feel like that the this upcoming game will take the game mechanics to another level (along with the graphical fidelity). This is perhaps the favorite of all the trailers.
God of War (Ragnarok)
This was just a teaser trailer, but it really was both a surprise and gratifying to know that there is a sequel on the horizon. Of the list of games in this post, this is the only one that I’ve finished so far. I won’t go into details to avoid spoilers, but I like where they left the ending of the first game and I can’t wait to see what they have and where they take this new game.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 17, 2020
Playstation Marketing
Author’s Note:Once again written without the aid of glasses. Typos should be ignored.
Yesterday, Sony held an event that showcased some more gameplay of the Playstation 5 games and the price. The console will will be $499 dollars (Us) and it will be releasing on a staggered worldwide launch with 2 different release dates depending on where you are in the world. I hope to get one, but rumors and reports suggest that demand might outpace supply in this case, we’ll see what happens.
Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
Unfortunately, I have to “wrap Sony on the knuckles” (which is an American idiom meaning that I need to chastise them. Much of the PS5 “news” this year has been rumor and conjecture due to a lack of information on the company’s part.
Yes, I understand the “new thing” in marketing as a “drip feed” approach, where you release little bits/teases of information at carefully controlled times to build hype and marketing buzz. I don’t like that as it 1) caters to social media and 2) allows for rumor mongering and speculation to replace real information and it doesn’t give me the information I need to make an informed decision.
Playstation 4 vs Playstation 5 Marketing
In the Playstation 4 era, we knew most of the key elements of the system thanks to a consumer facing event focused on showcasing the features and upcoming games of the new system. This was thanks to a news conference that happened towards the end of February. While Covid obviously altered plans, we’ve never gotten a forward consumer focused event for the PS5. Even now, we still have no idea of the UI (outside of one brief tease that was shown in between the games at the first Showcase). or any of the day-to-day real world use cases for the system and it si the middle of September. That is very annoying to me. Mark Cerney’s in-depth dev talk convinced me that he and the other engineers were interested in pushing the PS5 forward while addressing the PS4’s shortcomings. However, having to take someone’s word on it (even a man as credible as Mark Cerney) and not getting to see and judge for myself is just a bit of a crappy move by the marketing team. It means that I have to rely on trust rather than critical thinking, and that never sits well with me.
Matching Microsoft
When pundits were floating these astronomical figures of $599, $650, and even $699, I knew they were wrong. I suspected the cost would be in the $499 – $549 range. While I’m not employed by Sony, I guessed that they did NOT want to be undercut by Microsoft as they did to Microsoft on the previous generation. They wanted to at least “match” their competition’s price, which is what lead to this game of price “chicken” over these past few months. Thus, while these two corporations “fight,” it is we consumers who don’t get enough information to make informed purchasing decisions. Competition may lead to lower prices and feature parity, but it isn’t always lead to the best outcomes for consumers as popular wisdom might suggest.
While it seems I’m angry or unhappy about the knowing the PS5’s price and release date, nothing could be further from the truth. I’ll actually cover some of the games I’m excited for in a later blog. I just don’t think that the “drip feed” approach is particularly consumer friendly nor the right way to market a premiere product. Drop feeding for me has exactly the opposite of its desired effect. Instead of getting me hyped for a product, it only serves to annoy me rather than to excite.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 16, 2020
Of Broken Glasses and Student Conferences
As I write these very words, I can’t see them. Well, that’s not completely accurate. I can see them, but they are formless mass on the page. I’m trusting in my typing skills (and the red underlines for typos and misspellings) to make sure that the words I’m typing are correct. How did we get here? Well, keep reading, dear reader, keep reading.
Broken Glasses
To be fair, the pair that I’ve had are old. They predate my teaching years and go back to my time working at the library. At this point, that is some 7 years ago. however, I’m pretty sure they were in the middle of their life cycle even then, so they are probably 10+ years old now. Luckily, I have contacts but they are not the ones you wear during the night. Until I get up and put them in, all I can see are blurry shapes unless I get I get super close on the object. My usual routine is contacts by day and evening until I go to bed or the contacts become uncomfortable and then I take them off and put on my glasses. However, without my glasses, the early morning is pretty much a wash for doing anything as I can’t see well enough to do it well.
Student Conferences
So, this week I’m conferencing with students about their very first papers for the semester. While I love this part of the process in that I’m giving hem specific help to make their papers/writing better, I’m finding the logistics of doing this “remotely” and via Zoom to be a nightmare.
Scheduling is the very first thing that has me down. II set it up so that my students just had to email me a time and I would put them down for the time. They were also supposed to give alternate times, but many different. However, we were able to work around that, but the requests have come in all hours an times via two different email systems (D2L and the school’s email) making it hard to have to keep up with. Add to the fact that apparently the school’s email system had some sort of outage and some students’ emails didn’t reach me has turned this into a mini-nightmare.
Then I had major issues with Zoom and it creating a different room for students, so that only half who signed up were able to attend on time. Very messy and very chaotic. And I still have 2 more days of this to do–next paper will probably have 2 days and that’s it.
Well, you’re caught up on what’s been happening this week so far. Nothing but the usual heartache and problems. Thanks for reading and have a nice dayy.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 10, 2020
New Writing Project: Project Meat
I’ve not updated my writing files at the bottom of my signature in a while because, frankly, I’ve not been writing at any real pace. However, I did decide that I should, now that I have a new computer, go ahead and buy a new version of Scrivener (approx. $50 US). That cost, combined with an annual subscription fee for Duotrope (also approx $50 US), and that means that I’ll need to sell a story (or multiple stories) for $100 US in order to break even for my costs (not calculating the computer in here as I would never break even unless I sold a movie script or something else equally lucrative (when your highest sale is $56 US, you learn to keep your estimations and expectations in check). Still, I decided I should try to earn the two payouts back, so I decided to start on a new story for the month of September and that story is Project Meat.
From a Dream
“Project Meat” comes from the tentative title that I have for the project. It was originally a dream that I had. The dream, in broad terms, deals with a crashing ship on an alien world. Something very odd happens during the crash and then we see the consequences of that odd thing after the ship lands safely on the planet below. Now, the dream wasn’t a nightmare and ended just before things got “seriously” scary, but the implication of Sci-fi horror was definitely what intrigued me about the dream.
I also thought it was a creepy and not really a horrifying idea and that really is what I like when I’m thinking of Sci-Fi horror. I don’t really like “horror” movies or novels, but I do like some sci-fi horror because of the creepiness factor. Essentially, if you can fight back (Alien, Aliens, Mass Effect) then I like it, even if it is a little creepy and eerie. However, if you can’t fight back or the ammo is severely limited (Deadspace, Alien Isolation (game), etc.) then I’m not going to like it.
Plot, Setting, and a Little Bit of Characters, but no Conflict
Conflict is the heart of storytelling and right now that’s what I’m missing for the story. Well, that’s not totally true. There is conflict, but the way the dream ended, it ends just as the conflict is established.
The plot: I described it above, but something extraordinary happens as a ship is crashing. It isn’t the extraordinary thing that’s the plot–its surviving the aftermath of the extraordinary thing (and this is where the dream ends)
The setting: an alien world. The extraordinary thing either happens in space before they get to the planet or in the atmosphere as they descend to the planet.
The characters: in the dream, there was one family. I’m thinking of expanding it to multiple families. One family is more intimate, but more families give you more people to worry about and may increase the tension (if and when I find a strong conflict). One family means that any conflict would be family member vs family member and that is something I don’t want to do (unless it is an allegory for America where our divisiveness seems to be inculcated in our society).
Anyway, I thought I’d update you on a project that I bought a software package to work on. Hopefully, it turns out to be a good investment and one that I will be able to turn a profit from in the future. Have a great day!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
Currently Working On (8/2020):
“Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
Drafting: 2nd Draft
Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
September 9, 2020
The Travails of Being a Writer
Revising: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
KnightWatch Graphic Novel (Fantasy Graphic Novel)
Drafting: 1st Draft (Issue 1)
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