PICS
Ink and Acrylic on Arches: We Make Our Own Inspiration 9x12
My last painting of 2010! Be sure to click on it to see it bigger, it's worth seeing some of the detail, even if the digital copy looses some of it! I had so much fun painting this one and I really think I got in the swing of things with the inking.
I learned so much over the past year in all the creations I worked on and I'm ready to set up my studio and get to being super productive in the near future. I'm finally treating myself to a drafting table with a large tilting angle so that it can double as an easel. Not only do I hope that it helps out with the excruciating back pain I end up with but also my productivity. I'm excited to have a studio all to myself where I can loose myself in working with my paintings and illustrations for hours on end.
I got awesome news yesterday that my Andromeda illustration made it into the Dirty Show in Detroit! I heard something on the grapevine about them having a couple of thousand artists submit but only choosing somewhere around 200. If that's true I'm so excited and honoured! Now I just have to hope someone falls in love with it and gives it a good home.
My lovely friend Phoenix also had one of her paintings chosen for the show! I'm really excited that we get to be in a show together. She also has a big solo show coming up in May that I'm really looking forward to, so to know that she squeezed in another painting for the Dirty Show just shows how dedicated she is to her work. She's a painting machine, I swear.
However, Andromeda's partner painting, Perseus didn't make it into the show. I'd have loved for them to have found a home together but I know it's pretty unlikely for people to buy paintings that way these days. This means it's for sale, though! Here it is if you forget which one it is:
Perseus - Ink on Arches 9x12 FOR SALE
I'm really excited to work some more on my portfolio and start submitting to shows more frequently. I think I mentioned in a recent blog that something big happened last year that really screwed up my motivations and commitment to anything and all of my plans fell apart. I'm determined to be stronger heading into the future and stop taking bullshit and letting it affect me so much.
On top of this I'm really excited for more shoots and working even more closely with my amazing assistant Voodou.
The next few months are going to be really exciting!
Here's the Inspiration painting framed in case you were interested!
Ink and Acrylic on Arches 9x12"
I've been struggling this week with translating my physical art into digital representations that really show off the depth and detail but I've come to the conclusion that it's totally impossible. I think I spent a total of over 10 hours with my scanner and photoshop this week fighting with them to cooperate on making these look as good in person. This is fairly close, but you really need to see them at a bigger size so be sure to click on the little magnifying glass.
I'm starting to get a few commissions trickling in for my illustrations and it's seriously making me so happy. All of this year I planned to really pick up on my illustrations and painting. I had a pretty big upset in the first half of the year that really knocked me for six and meant I was totally unproductive for the majority of the rest of 2010. I literally didn't accomplish anything I set out to do.
Instead of dwelling on that fact I've begun to get really stuck in. Weekly art jams and being surrounded by the most amazing friends has helped my motivation no end. I'm surrounded by more talent than ever before and rather than make me feel inadequate it's just motivating me to be better and better.
What's more having Phoenix and Choplogik around so much recently has meant amazing conversations about art and working in that world. It's been so good to have other artists to talk to about the process and all of our fears and hopes, I never really realised that I was lacking that from my life.
I've rambled enough. Here's some detailed scans of the two pieces I submitted to the Dirty Show.
Perseus' Distraction
- Ink on Arches 9x12"
Andromeda's Fate
- Ink on Arches 9x12"
If you don't know the story of Andromeda and Perseus then you should read a little about it. There's so much inspiration in ancient mythology.
I finished this piece yesterday:
Ink on Arches 8x12
At least I think it's finished, I never quite feel like anything is finished these days... like I could always do more but I suppose the skill is to know when to just stop before you make anything worse, right?
It's my birthday tomorrow and I feel so weird about it. I hate to admit it but I've been having anxiety about it all week long. It's so stupid, it's just a birthday; a number, right? I don't know I've always had this fear of getting close to 30 (I'll actually only be 29 but it's my last year of 20s that scares me). 30 always seemed to be really old to a younger me. I mean, really it's not really old but it seems like 30 is supposed to be when you're really an adult (not 21 like everyone pretends). Hell the group on here for members over 30 is called geezers, if that doesn't make you feel old I don't know what does. All of this feels extra silly because some of my closest friends are already in their 30s.
Well, most of my birthdays that I can remember have almost all been entirely sucky, and so it just seems I'm transferring some inevitable misery onto age this time. It's totally melodramatic to say misery of course, I realised that no one else is responsible for our own happiness so why should we expect it just because it's the anniversary of the day we emerged into the world kicking and screaming? Life is what you make it and no one day is an exception.
So, I didn't actually come here to lament about my birthday as weird as it seems since I already wrote two paragraphs about it. I actually came by to show you my latest piece and because I finished reading this book just now:
It was quite profound in the end for what some people might dismiss as a Science Fiction detective novel (i.e. cyberpunk) but really I find a lot of these kind of books have a profundity many might pass by and dismiss because of the genre. I have no idea why it gets such a bad rep. Well, it's left me thinking quite a lot and left a big gaping wound in my heart for the protagonist. I read Jon Courtenay Grimwood's End of the World Blues a couple of years ago and it left me with a really similar feeling. This is one of his earlier novels and the writing is definitely not as polished, but the way it centres around Celestial Foxes and Chinese Mythology really caught me.
But it's left me thinking as always that I'll never be able to read all of the books I want to in my life time as well as accomplish everything I hope to at the same time. Not only this, I really love reading but I'm a little slow and have a hard time focusing on it... it comes in fits and bursts. There's good reason for this, but I also realised recently that when I'm done with a book and finish thinking about it, tidying off all my thoughts away I forget any real details of nearly every book I've ever read. I could tell you over and over how much I loved a particular book and I could tell you why. I could even give you maybe a gist of the story but I can't unlock anything in my memories about what actually happened in the book.
It's really frustrating and I don't know if it's always been this way or if it's just something recent that these memories are just stuck. I even tried to think about my favourite comic series or graphic novels and I'm having the same trouble. Of course the more I stress over it the harder it is to remember. It's something I noticed a few months ago when trying to describe a book I'd read to someone and failed.
Now I feel like I have to re-read all of the books I really loved to try and remind myself why they were so incredible. Of course that just can't happen, aside from the fact there's so many out there I haven't even picked up.
And all of these frustrations, my birthday included are all inside my own mind. How ridiculous do I sound right now? I've had some serious problems and hurdles in my life in the past and now I feel like I'm on the verge of a meltdown over entirely immaterial things that really no one can change and it's just a matter of the fact that we're human and have very short lives and so much in the world to fill them with.
What do we choose to leave out?
Well, for now I'll leave you with some details of that piece up there that I originally came here to show you but ended up taking up your screen with all of these words. If you've actually read all of this then I'm pretty impressed, it probably sounds like the ramblings of some self obsessed weirdo. I'm not always like that I promise!
This is just one part of two pieces that will go together, the other will involve a naked guy. They need a collective name, if you have ideas start throwing them my way!
Ink on Arches 8x12
At least I think it's finished, I never quite feel like anything is finished these days... like I could always do more but I suppose the skill is to know when to just stop before you make anything worse, right?
It's my birthday tomorrow and I feel so weird about it. I hate to admit it but I've been having anxiety about it all week long. It's so stupid, it's just a birthday; a number, right? I don't know I've always had this fear of getting close to 30 (I'll actually only be 29 but it's my last year of 20s that scares me). 30 always seemed to be really old to a younger me. I mean, really it's not really old but it seems like 30 is supposed to be when you're really an adult (not 21 like everyone pretends). Hell the group on here for members over 30 is called geezers, if that doesn't make you feel old I don't know what does. All of this feels extra silly because some of my closest friends are already in their 30s.
Well, most of my birthdays that I can remember have almost all been entirely sucky, and so it just seems I'm transferring some inevitable misery onto age this time. It's totally melodramatic to say misery of course, I realised that no one else is responsible for our own happiness so why should we expect it just because it's the anniversary of the day we emerged into the world kicking and screaming? Life is what you make it and no one day is an exception.
So, I didn't actually come here to lament about my birthday as weird as it seems since I already wrote two paragraphs about it. I actually came by to show you my latest piece and because I finished reading this book just now:
It was quite profound in the end for what some people might dismiss as a Science Fiction detective novel (i.e. cyberpunk) but really I find a lot of these kind of books have a profundity many might pass by and dismiss because of the genre. I have no idea why it gets such a bad rep. Well, it's left me thinking quite a lot and left a big gaping wound in my heart for the protagonist. I read Jon Courtenay Grimwood's End of the World Blues a couple of years ago and it left me with a really similar feeling. This is one of his earlier novels and the writing is definitely not as polished, but the way it centres around Celestial Foxes and Chinese Mythology really caught me.
But it's left me thinking as always that I'll never be able to read all of the books I want to in my life time as well as accomplish everything I hope to at the same time. Not only this, I really love reading but I'm a little slow and have a hard time focusing on it... it comes in fits and bursts. There's good reason for this, but I also realised recently that when I'm done with a book and finish thinking about it, tidying off all my thoughts away I forget any real details of nearly every book I've ever read. I could tell you over and over how much I loved a particular book and I could tell you why. I could even give you maybe a gist of the story but I can't unlock anything in my memories about what actually happened in the book.
It's really frustrating and I don't know if it's always been this way or if it's just something recent that these memories are just stuck. I even tried to think about my favourite comic series or graphic novels and I'm having the same trouble. Of course the more I stress over it the harder it is to remember. It's something I noticed a few months ago when trying to describe a book I'd read to someone and failed.
Now I feel like I have to re-read all of the books I really loved to try and remind myself why they were so incredible. Of course that just can't happen, aside from the fact there's so many out there I haven't even picked up.
And all of these frustrations, my birthday included are all inside my own mind. How ridiculous do I sound right now? I've had some serious problems and hurdles in my life in the past and now I feel like I'm on the verge of a meltdown over entirely immaterial things that really no one can change and it's just a matter of the fact that we're human and have very short lives and so much in the world to fill them with.
What do we choose to leave out?
Well, for now I'll leave you with some details of that piece up there that I originally came here to show you but ended up taking up your screen with all of these words. If you've actually read all of this then I'm pretty impressed, it probably sounds like the ramblings of some self obsessed weirdo. I'm not always like that I promise!
This is just one part of two pieces that will go together, the other will involve a naked guy. They need a collective name, if you have ideas start throwing them my way!
Hi SG Friends!
First, I'll show you a handful of sets and then if you can make it past all of the beautiful girls, I'll tell you about them below!
These are some of the sets that Voodou and I have shot together in Vancouver over the past few weeks, I really hope you take the time to have a look and leave us a comment or two!
Parker - Shutter Bug
(One of our most favourite and active members in SGBC she really needs to be pink soon! BTW for you camera nerds, that is just part of my collection, and yes Parker is a photographer too!)
Aadie - Time Out
(This lovely lady was SO excited to get to shoot for SG, she really loves this place)
Alkaline - Unthought
(Another longtime SGBC member... she was going to give up shooting! But she promised one last shot at it with me)
Cruella - Pirateology Storytime
(This set took hours of preparation, shooting and editing! And a whole lot of the BC SGs pulled together to make this awesome, check out their cameos!)
I don't usually post about sets much in my blogs, but so much of my free time lately has been spent shooting local hopefuls and SGs in Vancouver. I've really enjoyed shooting at home again, which isn't always possible because a lot of the work out there is far away.
I've got myself an incredible and helpful assistant (Voodou) and an awesome place that I've been using as my studio spaces and CherryHQ. It's just felt so good to have somewhere to call my home base again. It's also been a lot of fun teaching Voodou the things I've learned about photography over the past 8-10 years of shooting.
We're starting with the basics and it's actually fun to remind myself of how to understand light and framing. If you're naturally attuned to seeing how light forms and spills it can be difficult to really pass that knowledge on because sometimes it's not something that can be learned by everyone. Luckily Voodou is a fast learner and super smart. I barely have to even tell her where to point the light or reflector these days. And let me tell you that lady works hard!
I can really see the difference in my work having her around and maybe you can too?
I've also been getting my portfolio together for a fresh start in getting more commissions that are local to me. That started with Pavement that by now you've probably seen and then more recently with some portraits for composer extraordinaire S_Eldorado which I'm very excited about.
I also had a fantastic, but far too brief visit from my good friend Squeak last week. I really miss that girl! I can't believe we only get to see each other a couple of times a year. We're both huge introverts but when we're together I feel like we never shut up. She was only staying with me for four days, but we did some touristy things and played some board games and video games and generally I just tried to ignore the fact that she wasn't going to be around for very long. My days are so empty now! EDIT: She wrote a much better post about it with lots of pictures so go see: http://suicidegirls.com/girls/Squeak/2448545/
If you want to see us being silly you should take a look at the video she made for her new set:
Gah, so much fun!
We've also been having a lot of art jams and things here in Vancouver with all of my favourite SGBC people. The regulars have been (in no particular order!) Parker, Choplogik, Phoenix, zathril, S_Eldorado, Cruella, pacmanman, Voodou, kumquat, Shanti and myself! It's been so inspiring and fun just to be around amazingly creative people who are all so supportive of each other.
I also had a little pumking carving party with Choplogik, Phoenix, S_Eldorado and Cruella. It was so much fun. You can see photos of the shenanigans here.
And the fruits of my efforts! I Pacman Ghost Gourd and a Robotic Love Scene:
Wow, that was an epic update. I really hope it made up for all of the things I haven't had time to stop to tell you about this year! <3
PS I'm going to be 29 in two weeks and I'm kind of scared. 1 Year until the dreaded Thhhhh
First, I'll show you a handful of sets and then if you can make it past all of the beautiful girls, I'll tell you about them below!
These are some of the sets that Voodou and I have shot together in Vancouver over the past few weeks, I really hope you take the time to have a look and leave us a comment or two!
Parker - Shutter Bug
(One of our most favourite and active members in SGBC she really needs to be pink soon! BTW for you camera nerds, that is just part of my collection, and yes Parker is a photographer too!)
Aadie - Time Out
(This lovely lady was SO excited to get to shoot for SG, she really loves this place)
Alkaline - Unthought
(Another longtime SGBC member... she was going to give up shooting! But she promised one last shot at it with me)
Cruella - Pirateology Storytime
(This set took hours of preparation, shooting and editing! And a whole lot of the BC SGs pulled together to make this awesome, check out their cameos!)
I don't usually post about sets much in my blogs, but so much of my free time lately has been spent shooting local hopefuls and SGs in Vancouver. I've really enjoyed shooting at home again, which isn't always possible because a lot of the work out there is far away.
I've got myself an incredible and helpful assistant (Voodou) and an awesome place that I've been using as my studio spaces and CherryHQ. It's just felt so good to have somewhere to call my home base again. It's also been a lot of fun teaching Voodou the things I've learned about photography over the past 8-10 years of shooting.
We're starting with the basics and it's actually fun to remind myself of how to understand light and framing. If you're naturally attuned to seeing how light forms and spills it can be difficult to really pass that knowledge on because sometimes it's not something that can be learned by everyone. Luckily Voodou is a fast learner and super smart. I barely have to even tell her where to point the light or reflector these days. And let me tell you that lady works hard!
I can really see the difference in my work having her around and maybe you can too?
I've also been getting my portfolio together for a fresh start in getting more commissions that are local to me. That started with Pavement that by now you've probably seen and then more recently with some portraits for composer extraordinaire S_Eldorado which I'm very excited about.
I also had a fantastic, but far too brief visit from my good friend Squeak last week. I really miss that girl! I can't believe we only get to see each other a couple of times a year. We're both huge introverts but when we're together I feel like we never shut up. She was only staying with me for four days, but we did some touristy things and played some board games and video games and generally I just tried to ignore the fact that she wasn't going to be around for very long. My days are so empty now! EDIT: She wrote a much better post about it with lots of pictures so go see: http://suicidegirls.com/girls/Squeak/2448545/
If you want to see us being silly you should take a look at the video she made for her new set:
Gah, so much fun!
We've also been having a lot of art jams and things here in Vancouver with all of my favourite SGBC people. The regulars have been (in no particular order!) Parker, Choplogik, Phoenix, zathril, S_Eldorado, Cruella, pacmanman, Voodou, kumquat, Shanti and myself! It's been so inspiring and fun just to be around amazingly creative people who are all so supportive of each other.
I also had a little pumking carving party with Choplogik, Phoenix, S_Eldorado and Cruella. It was so much fun. You can see photos of the shenanigans here.
And the fruits of my efforts! I Pacman Ghost Gourd and a Robotic Love Scene:
Wow, that was an epic update. I really hope it made up for all of the things I haven't had time to stop to tell you about this year! <3
PS I'm going to be 29 in two weeks and I'm kind of scared. 1 Year until the dreaded Thhhhh
Three and a half months since my last post? I think that may be a new record... I've been conflicted, busy, over worked and broke for a while and I didn't want to get too honest and negative. I've always tried to have a positive, fun spin to my blog here.
So what have I been doing? I've been drawing, gaming and taking photos like nobody's business. And now I'm starting to take time for myself; to develop in the areas that are most important to me. I want to get healthier, I want to be fitter and most of all I want to finally bring focus to all of the different creative things I do. For too long they've just been muddled together.
This time of year is my favourite for documenting public life on the street. Since I've been so inspired and never really had a place to share this aspect of photography I started Pavement. Please take a look and enjoy. I hope to be able to update very regularly.
----
I don't normally post much about the sets I shoot in my blog but:
I want to thank all of you that support the sets I shoot. I'm constantly trying to better myself and bring what the people might want in a set while adding my own touch of cinematic... it doesn't seem to have been working too well lately with a lot of my sets going unaccepted but I read all of the comments and to see such passionate support of the SGs, hopefuls and photography always brings a smile to my face.
Just in case you missed any please take a look at all of these sets that I've been shooting.
----
So what have I been doing? I've been drawing, gaming and taking photos like nobody's business. And now I'm starting to take time for myself; to develop in the areas that are most important to me. I want to get healthier, I want to be fitter and most of all I want to finally bring focus to all of the different creative things I do. For too long they've just been muddled together.
This time of year is my favourite for documenting public life on the street. Since I've been so inspired and never really had a place to share this aspect of photography I started Pavement. Please take a look and enjoy. I hope to be able to update very regularly.
----
I don't normally post much about the sets I shoot in my blog but:
I want to thank all of you that support the sets I shoot. I'm constantly trying to better myself and bring what the people might want in a set while adding my own touch of cinematic... it doesn't seem to have been working too well lately with a lot of my sets going unaccepted but I read all of the comments and to see such passionate support of the SGs, hopefuls and photography always brings a smile to my face.
Just in case you missed any please take a look at all of these sets that I've been shooting.
----
I'll warn you this entry will be heavy on videos! I'm going to talk about the games that were shown at E3 this year that I can't wait to play.
Before I launch into it, though, I finally got to play Mod Nation Racers. I'd heard so much about this kart-racing game because my good friend zathril worked on the development team. I haven't played a kart game in years (I didn't much enjoy Mario Kart on the wii due to the controls), but years ago I was completely hooked on the various kart games and I have to say my favourite was Krash Team Racing. So, I was fairly excited to play a new one.
But let me tell you, I had NO idea how much I'd love this game. I didn't get to sleep until around 3am saturday night after we were desperately trying to beat Pandemic the strategy board game, but I woke up at 8.30am and all I could think about was unlocking the mods I needed to make some really cool characters. It's been a long time since I neglected my sleep because I was so fascinated by a game.
Not only is the customisation out of this world (for your characters, karts and courses) but the gameplay is just incredible. I'd read some of reviews about how the actual racing was pretty standard kart racing, which on first appearances it is, but the many things you can do and the FAST races make this the most intense kart racer I've played. It's certainly very difficult, but it's difficult in a totally fun (and not controller smashing) way.
What really had me hooked, though, was the absolutely endless things you can create with the mods. If you have some time to spare and are totally intrigued do a search on youtube and take a look at what some people have been coming up with. It boggles my mind. Mind you, I already made my dream racing cadillac AND a super fantastic bat mobile, which I have to say I'm quite proud of.
If you get this game, we should have a race! My PS3 name is cherryrae, feel free to add me!
-----
Games I'm excited about from E3
(in no particular order)
DEAD SPACE 2
Here's the deal: I LOVE scary films. Love them. Scary games I love too but I have a stupidly hard time playing them. I tried to play the first Dead Space and only got through an hour. Admittedly I did play it somewhere around 10pm and in the dark. If I get time (and my xbox360 fixed) I'm going to play that game during the day. This trailer blew me away and if I never play it I hope one of my friends does and they let me watch!
PORTAL 2
Yesss! All of us Portal fans have heard the rumours of the sequel and here we have it. So so excited. This is like an uber-fan dream. Lots of pandering to fans of Portal 1, I expect. And if not I'll be sadly disappointed! (Hey, pandering is totally cool in the right place).
DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION
I won't lie, I'm mostly excited about this because it's being made by Square. I really enjoyed the last Deus Ex and this new one looks like it'll be so much fun. This is probably the game I'm most excited about. ALSO. FUTURE!
And the music, ugh. If this trailer doesn't give you goose bumps... well, you're not entirely human.
HALO REACH (demo)
We've all heard a lot about Halo: Reach by now, but the hands on demo at e3 show us more of the same that we've come to expect from Halo but INTENSE. Holy crap that's the only way to describe this demo.
ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD
Pretty cool! I don't think I've been really excited for a Zelda game since Majora's Mask and I think that has something to do with the wii platform. I love the wii for the wii fit but playing the last Zelda on this console I kind of gave up because I started to feel like a bit of a tit swinging around the controller to slash enemies. It's either because a. I'm getting old and boring or b. because I'm self conscious even when in a room on my own! This is a pretty cool first look, I just want to see a trailer that shows us the story and some draw!
SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS
Adjectives! I LOVE adjectives! Seriously! Scribblenauts was the first DS game I'd bought in years when it came out. And I finished it in a weekend it was so addictive and fun. Add in some descriptive words and I'm pretty much hooked. Also a game that finally isn't afraid to let us get back to using the d-pad instead of that damn stylus.
ASSASSIN'S CREED BROTHERHOOD
Assassin's Creed II was one of my favourite games in years. I enjoyed playing it through so much. I rarely finish games because 1. there's not enough hours in the day for me to work, create AND play 2. very few games hold my attention to the very end (probably due to 1.). I'm super excited I get to play a whole new game as Ezio, but I wish there were more single player hours built in. I just don't have time to really work at online multiplayers like this. It does promise to be a very different multiplayer experience, though!
I do wish there was the option to buy the singleplayer mode alone since clearly the game is more about the multiplayer, and do I really want to spend $70 for only 15 hours of play?
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
A fantastic comic book turned into a super retro 8-bit (even down to the music) game?! Yes please! Nostalgia aimed at my generation will never fail to hook me in. And I love this comic book series, so it's win-win!
ROCK BAND 3
We have regular rock band nights round these parts, and we've been hooked since the first version. A real six string guitar, a keyboard and harmonics ala Beatles Rock Band and this just makes this an even BIGGER game. I better get some more friends. Haha.
FABLE III
Confession: I never finished Fable I or II. Still both of these games would probably end up on a favourite shortlist for several reasons - the game play, the soundtracks and the stories. ALL genius! And pretty unique in the game world too. Fable III looks similar to the first two with a brand new story. I'm pretty sure I never finished the first two for the simple reason I ran out of time and got side tracked on newer games! These games are HUGE for completists like me.
TRON EVOLUTION
Again a bit disappointed with it being on the wii, but maybe this will be the game that makes me love playing games on that console? Either way it looks SO COOL and futurey. A neat idea for online play and it looks like the kind of thing you can dip in and out without having to devote hours and hours to online play. As IGN pointed out the Light Cycle challenges looks a bit like F-Zero, which I loved so here's to hoping!
BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
Another nostalgia hook for our generation, but it looks like some good old fashioned arcade fun. Mostly I just want to play it because it's a BATMAN beat em up!
FINAL FANTASY THE 4 HEROES OF LIGHT
I'm an old school Japanese RPG addict. That's all!
NEVER DEAD
It's been a while since I've played a good 3rd person from Konami. From this preview the engine looks like it could be similar to Silent Hill with a lot more action (and swords apparently!). It's a game set in the middle of a supernatural war. It could go either way but I'm excited to see.
CHILD OF EDEN
An experience not a game? That sounded pretty pretentious to me until I watched the trailer. It's a really cool concept using the Kinect system to physically envelope you in light and sound. Of course you should probably like dance music if you're going to play this game. Now, if only I still did a lot of drugs...
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA MMO
I'd be the among the first to rush to play this game if 1. it wasn't browser based and 2. I had time for MMOs it's exciting that MMOs are being made from great science fiction but at the same time I don't think you're giving it much of a chance by building it browser based - you're going to alienate hardcore gamers who will shun the browser and thus limiting your audience to the tee vee show viewers who might not have time/care to invest in gaming. It makes me wonder how well those audiences cross!
PROJECT DUST
Very intriguing! I haven't played a good RTS/God sim in forever. I have a feeling this is where this is going, but I could be totally wrong.
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS (iphone)
I really enjoy playing tactical games like Advance Wars and FF Tactics in the spare 10 minutes I get here and there. The iphone seems like the perfect platform for that!
Biggest disappointment:
Final Fantasy XIV online. Why online? Seriously? I heard that Final Fantasy XI really didn't do that well, and that and XII are the only ones I haven't played. I'm right in the middle of XIII and it's seriously the best one I've played since VII (I know everyone harks back to the world favourite). I have a hard time understanding how the FF concept works in the MMO world, so maybe that's really the issue here, but I'd be sad to have to wait another 12 years for a really good FF.
CONSOLE NEWS
Obviously the big news is the 360 Kinect and also Sony's announcement of their own motion hardware (called 'Move' I think?). As you can see from my various ramblings not having really gotten into playing games on the wii I'm not really swinging one way or the other for motion games. But, it does look promising that there'll be a lot more adult oriented games on these consoles and it looks like they're taking the movement to a while new interactivity level, so it'll be interesting to see it develop. Also, I know my good friend S_Eldorado is working on the music for one of Microsofts release titles so it'll be exciting to see how that pans out.
Although I did read several places that one of most people's biggest concerns was whether they could sit down while using Kinect. Really? I'm amazed at how gamers manage to reinforce the stereotypes sometimes.
PHEW! This whole thing took me two days to put together, so I hope it's useful for those of you that weren't able to follow the E3 announcements entirely. I'm sure I've forgotten a couple of games I read about and was excited for, so please feel free to tell me about them!
As an aside - while there are a couple of really exciting PC RPGs coming out, I didn't include them because I don't own a PC, sorry!
Before I launch into it, though, I finally got to play Mod Nation Racers. I'd heard so much about this kart-racing game because my good friend zathril worked on the development team. I haven't played a kart game in years (I didn't much enjoy Mario Kart on the wii due to the controls), but years ago I was completely hooked on the various kart games and I have to say my favourite was Krash Team Racing. So, I was fairly excited to play a new one.
But let me tell you, I had NO idea how much I'd love this game. I didn't get to sleep until around 3am saturday night after we were desperately trying to beat Pandemic the strategy board game, but I woke up at 8.30am and all I could think about was unlocking the mods I needed to make some really cool characters. It's been a long time since I neglected my sleep because I was so fascinated by a game.
Not only is the customisation out of this world (for your characters, karts and courses) but the gameplay is just incredible. I'd read some of reviews about how the actual racing was pretty standard kart racing, which on first appearances it is, but the many things you can do and the FAST races make this the most intense kart racer I've played. It's certainly very difficult, but it's difficult in a totally fun (and not controller smashing) way.
What really had me hooked, though, was the absolutely endless things you can create with the mods. If you have some time to spare and are totally intrigued do a search on youtube and take a look at what some people have been coming up with. It boggles my mind. Mind you, I already made my dream racing cadillac AND a super fantastic bat mobile, which I have to say I'm quite proud of.
If you get this game, we should have a race! My PS3 name is cherryrae, feel free to add me!
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Games I'm excited about from E3
(in no particular order)
DEAD SPACE 2
Here's the deal: I LOVE scary films. Love them. Scary games I love too but I have a stupidly hard time playing them. I tried to play the first Dead Space and only got through an hour. Admittedly I did play it somewhere around 10pm and in the dark. If I get time (and my xbox360 fixed) I'm going to play that game during the day. This trailer blew me away and if I never play it I hope one of my friends does and they let me watch!
PORTAL 2
Yesss! All of us Portal fans have heard the rumours of the sequel and here we have it. So so excited. This is like an uber-fan dream. Lots of pandering to fans of Portal 1, I expect. And if not I'll be sadly disappointed! (Hey, pandering is totally cool in the right place).
DEUS EX: HUMAN REVOLUTION
I won't lie, I'm mostly excited about this because it's being made by Square. I really enjoyed the last Deus Ex and this new one looks like it'll be so much fun. This is probably the game I'm most excited about. ALSO. FUTURE!
And the music, ugh. If this trailer doesn't give you goose bumps... well, you're not entirely human.
HALO REACH (demo)
We've all heard a lot about Halo: Reach by now, but the hands on demo at e3 show us more of the same that we've come to expect from Halo but INTENSE. Holy crap that's the only way to describe this demo.
ZELDA SKYWARD SWORD
Pretty cool! I don't think I've been really excited for a Zelda game since Majora's Mask and I think that has something to do with the wii platform. I love the wii for the wii fit but playing the last Zelda on this console I kind of gave up because I started to feel like a bit of a tit swinging around the controller to slash enemies. It's either because a. I'm getting old and boring or b. because I'm self conscious even when in a room on my own! This is a pretty cool first look, I just want to see a trailer that shows us the story and some draw!
SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS
Adjectives! I LOVE adjectives! Seriously! Scribblenauts was the first DS game I'd bought in years when it came out. And I finished it in a weekend it was so addictive and fun. Add in some descriptive words and I'm pretty much hooked. Also a game that finally isn't afraid to let us get back to using the d-pad instead of that damn stylus.
ASSASSIN'S CREED BROTHERHOOD
Assassin's Creed II was one of my favourite games in years. I enjoyed playing it through so much. I rarely finish games because 1. there's not enough hours in the day for me to work, create AND play 2. very few games hold my attention to the very end (probably due to 1.). I'm super excited I get to play a whole new game as Ezio, but I wish there were more single player hours built in. I just don't have time to really work at online multiplayers like this. It does promise to be a very different multiplayer experience, though!
I do wish there was the option to buy the singleplayer mode alone since clearly the game is more about the multiplayer, and do I really want to spend $70 for only 15 hours of play?
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD
A fantastic comic book turned into a super retro 8-bit (even down to the music) game?! Yes please! Nostalgia aimed at my generation will never fail to hook me in. And I love this comic book series, so it's win-win!
ROCK BAND 3
We have regular rock band nights round these parts, and we've been hooked since the first version. A real six string guitar, a keyboard and harmonics ala Beatles Rock Band and this just makes this an even BIGGER game. I better get some more friends. Haha.
FABLE III
Confession: I never finished Fable I or II. Still both of these games would probably end up on a favourite shortlist for several reasons - the game play, the soundtracks and the stories. ALL genius! And pretty unique in the game world too. Fable III looks similar to the first two with a brand new story. I'm pretty sure I never finished the first two for the simple reason I ran out of time and got side tracked on newer games! These games are HUGE for completists like me.
TRON EVOLUTION
Again a bit disappointed with it being on the wii, but maybe this will be the game that makes me love playing games on that console? Either way it looks SO COOL and futurey. A neat idea for online play and it looks like the kind of thing you can dip in and out without having to devote hours and hours to online play. As IGN pointed out the Light Cycle challenges looks a bit like F-Zero, which I loved so here's to hoping!
BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
Another nostalgia hook for our generation, but it looks like some good old fashioned arcade fun. Mostly I just want to play it because it's a BATMAN beat em up!
FINAL FANTASY THE 4 HEROES OF LIGHT
I'm an old school Japanese RPG addict. That's all!
NEVER DEAD
It's been a while since I've played a good 3rd person from Konami. From this preview the engine looks like it could be similar to Silent Hill with a lot more action (and swords apparently!). It's a game set in the middle of a supernatural war. It could go either way but I'm excited to see.
CHILD OF EDEN
An experience not a game? That sounded pretty pretentious to me until I watched the trailer. It's a really cool concept using the Kinect system to physically envelope you in light and sound. Of course you should probably like dance music if you're going to play this game. Now, if only I still did a lot of drugs...
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA MMO
I'd be the among the first to rush to play this game if 1. it wasn't browser based and 2. I had time for MMOs it's exciting that MMOs are being made from great science fiction but at the same time I don't think you're giving it much of a chance by building it browser based - you're going to alienate hardcore gamers who will shun the browser and thus limiting your audience to the tee vee show viewers who might not have time/care to invest in gaming. It makes me wonder how well those audiences cross!
PROJECT DUST
Very intriguing! I haven't played a good RTS/God sim in forever. I have a feeling this is where this is going, but I could be totally wrong.
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS (iphone)
I really enjoy playing tactical games like Advance Wars and FF Tactics in the spare 10 minutes I get here and there. The iphone seems like the perfect platform for that!
Biggest disappointment:
Final Fantasy XIV online. Why online? Seriously? I heard that Final Fantasy XI really didn't do that well, and that and XII are the only ones I haven't played. I'm right in the middle of XIII and it's seriously the best one I've played since VII (I know everyone harks back to the world favourite). I have a hard time understanding how the FF concept works in the MMO world, so maybe that's really the issue here, but I'd be sad to have to wait another 12 years for a really good FF.
CONSOLE NEWS
Obviously the big news is the 360 Kinect and also Sony's announcement of their own motion hardware (called 'Move' I think?). As you can see from my various ramblings not having really gotten into playing games on the wii I'm not really swinging one way or the other for motion games. But, it does look promising that there'll be a lot more adult oriented games on these consoles and it looks like they're taking the movement to a while new interactivity level, so it'll be interesting to see it develop. Also, I know my good friend S_Eldorado is working on the music for one of Microsofts release titles so it'll be exciting to see how that pans out.
Although I did read several places that one of most people's biggest concerns was whether they could sit down while using Kinect. Really? I'm amazed at how gamers manage to reinforce the stereotypes sometimes.
PHEW! This whole thing took me two days to put together, so I hope it's useful for those of you that weren't able to follow the E3 announcements entirely. I'm sure I've forgotten a couple of games I read about and was excited for, so please feel free to tell me about them!
As an aside - while there are a couple of really exciting PC RPGs coming out, I didn't include them because I don't own a PC, sorry!
If I posted just to say all I can muster right now is a blank stare would you stop by and say hello?
Lets find out...
PS Only because I'm so tired I can barely do anything else!
/creepy
Lets find out...
PS Only because I'm so tired I can barely do anything else!
/creepy
[ink and pencil on bristol board]
Life is so fragile, don't waste it. This week I fully realised how it can all just disappear in an instant.
