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By Greg, June 28, 2010 7:20 pm

It’s funny when you think about it. To date, 3D has always been a gimmick. A joke perpetuated by crappy theme park cinemas and their "3D extravaganzas". The funky red-and-blue glasses that come with the TV guide every couple of years or so in an attempt to drive sales.

The experience has always been poor. Unclear. Blurry. Lacking colour. Simply a money-making tool by way of being "different" and often targeted at kids.

And then suddenly – very much out of the blue – TV manufacturers started saying that the next generation of TVs would be 3D-capable. Every second movie claimed to be "in glorious 3D". Some were good; others, very bad.

Immediately, the people did cry out, and the response was to be expected. “Why? It’s just a gimmick – who would want a 3D TV anyway?” My own post a few months back said much the same – and it was all based on previous experience. But I think I’ve changed my mind… again.

Continue reading '3D cometh'»

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By Greg, May 10, 2010 8:46 pm

In my youth, I was a big fan of comic books. I used to take a monthly trip into the city (not that I lived in the country or anything, I just didn’t like the city – and let’s face it… there are no local comic book stores in Melbourne – they’re all in the city) to buy a bunch of books. Over a period of about two years, I collected a good 200 books – and I still have all of them locked away in a closet somewhere… Some of them are prized possessions, others are just wasting space…

As I got older, though, I stopped reading – for whatever reason. I guess I was too cool for comics. Now, I have realised the error of my ways, and am getting back into it, but I’m totally not interested in collecting physical books – I’m all for digital. In fact, I’m all for digital EVERYTHING, not just comics. My music collection has been ripped in full to MP3 (that was a trial, let me tell you), many of my DVDs have been ripped to a HDD, and I’m a big fan of downloadable video games. I can not wait for everything to go digital, to be honest (although I do understand concerns around bandwidth, etc.).

Anyway – now that I’m back into comics, I’ve been looking into digital comics. Given that I am a bit of a geek, I’ve also looked over a few forums on the topic, and I often see the same phrase repeated over and over – that is, that "the digital ship has sailed". That is to say that the current market leaders in this space have won the market in full. And you know what? I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, I’m fairly unimpressed by what’s available so far – it’s obviously still in an embryonic stage, although there seem to be a lot of fans of the existing options… Which are really limiting. Let me explain.

Continue reading 'I want digital comics… but I want it done well'»

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By Greg, April 2, 2010 5:49 pm

Nostalgia. In medical terms, the suffix "-algia" refers to pain and suffering. Buggered if I know what the prefix "nost-" might mean, but it seems to me that when we pine for days of old.. it hurts. Anyway, defining the stems of nostalgia is overkill, considering the content of this post. My aim is simply to try to find out why old school games have such a strong nostalgic appeal, while newer titles seem to pale in comparison.

As a gamer that grew up in the 80s, I’ve been around (almost) since the beginning. I played text adventures, I have had to code games prior to playing them (which was sometimes more enjoyable than you think, unless the game turned out to be crap, which was unfortunately often the case), I’ve played games on tape, cartridge, CD, DVD, UMD, BDROM, and by download, and I’ve seen played on many and varying systems. I’m sure there are others out there that have seen much much more, but I’m happy with the experience to date, and look forward to what’s ahead.

However, when I look back on my childhood, and think about old school games – games such as Berserk on Atari 2600, Food fight on Atari 7800, Lock’n'Chase on Intellivision, among many, many others – all I can remember is loving every damned second of the game. But when I think about Bioshock, for example, as much as I enjoyed playing that game… I just don’t care to play it through again (at the moment at least). The same feelings aren’t there. But why? Bioshock is, at its heart, a much more polished title, with a memorable storyline and setting, and a very specific ‘feel’. Some would say it’s a much better game than, say, Food Fight. But why do these feelings exist for the (arguably) lesser game?

Continue reading 'Old school is the best school'»

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By Greg, March 2, 2010 7:38 pm

Since the dawn of time, humankind has argued over the merits of this versus that. In the mighty world of game, there was the Sega vs. Nintendo war of the early 90′s, the PSP vs. DS age, and more recently, the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 (and both vs. Wii) conundrum. However you may feel about any of these machines, one war that has waged in the background without waning is the war between the console and PC fans.

It’s an interesting one, really. Styles of gaming have always differed across these machine types, and there has always been a pervasive divider between the two. There has also, for as long as I can remember, been a consensus amongst console gamers that PC gaming is dead. Well, it hasn’t died yet, and let’s face it… it won’t die anytime soon. Regardless of how you feel (I’m a console gamer myself), I thought it pertinent to list the pros and cons of each, if only to help me understand why such a division exists.

Continue reading 'The pros and cons of console and PC gaming'»

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By Greg, February 22, 2010 6:36 pm

Hi all, I’ve been damned busy recently, due to a number of reasons all culminating in laziness. Actually, I wrote two posts in the last week or so, but I haven’t posted either… Because I chose not to. It’s likely neither post will see the light of day – one because it was pre-emptive, and the other because it was more personal than I intended. Anyway…

As a result of me not posting a damned thing, I’ve been feeling a little restless –I need to post something, but I’m in a bit of a slump. Thus, I added Skribit (see widget in sidebar), where readers can suggest something for me to post about. And I decided to write up this quick post inviting you to my dad’s website:

Newbegin Writing

In block quote form, no less. Why not?

Anyway, my old man writes about various things, and he makes me chuckle, but he also wrote a sci-fi novel. If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, it might be worth your while to check it out.

Oh, and yes, I’m aware the site needs to be updated… I designed his site, so it’s all down to my laziness… Again… I think I’ll migrate the blog to replace the static site – it will be much easier.

So yeah… go to his site, buy his book, and pop a suggestion in skribit to the right. If you like.

Peace, and catch you soon with rad ideas.

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By Greg, February 7, 2010 8:32 pm

In my previous post, I mentioned that the iPad hardware was fine, and wondered as to what people were really expecting from the iPad. Well, in his comment responding to said post, Mr Name of “Internet” clarified exactly what he was looking for, and it made sense. A lot of people were expecting some super mega-awesome tablet of sweet, sweet computing power, which admittedly would be cool. I had to consider why I wasn’t expecting this myself, considering I love my gadgets and my puty bits.

I came to realise it probably had a lot to do with the fact I have a tablet notebook at home, and have been soured on the PC-tablet as a result. Don’t get me wrong – I love it. However, I’ve also learned that – for a fully-fledged PC – touch just doesn’t cut the mustard. A PC needs a keyboard at the very least, and it doesn’t hurt to have a good sized HDD and a DVD drive. This is why netbooks work, as they are not only useful for a spot of portable internet, but also for some mobile computing, word processing, and the like. I found myself very rarely using the notebook as a tablet, as it just wasn’t as functional.

Continue reading 'Why I think the iPad hardware aint all that bad'»

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By Greg, January 31, 2010 3:33 pm

At an inauspicious event, little known start-up "Apple" announced a totally unexpected new device to add to their largely unknown set of devices. Few were there to witness. The Internets did not throb with information, and the world’s media did not report this event. The product appeared on the market several weeks later to critical acclaim, but flopped.

In the real world, however, the truth of the matter is much more interesting. Apple – being Apple – has created buzz of extreme proportions and the reactions of the good people of the Internet were… well, pretty much as expected, really.

Continue reading 'Weighing in on the iPad'»

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By Greg, January 20, 2010 7:58 pm

With talk of the Dreamcast’s ‘Sonic Adventure’ coming to XBLA, as well as the announcement of the “Game Room” for old school arcade/console games (on PC/Xbox), my mind has wondered in recent days to the golden games of old. Well, not that old, but turn of the millennium. And I’ve come to the realisation that one game in particular (although there are many) is due for release on XBLA and PSN – Crazy Taxi.

Crazy Taxi, for it’s time, was a great game. Going back and playing it again now – it still stands the test of time, and above all, it’s virtually the PERFECT arcade game. There’s no need to invest any of your time in story or characters – you simply get in your car and drive (after, uh… choosing a character). Just drive! – In any direction – To beat the timer. The faster you can deliver your passenger, the more time you get, and the more money you make. Very simple mechanics, and much more fun than you think. It really lends itself well to the odd 20-minute stint on XBLA, and the trusty ol’ high score battle with your friends.

Continue reading 'Release more old school arcade games… and start with Crazy Taxi!'»

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By Greg, January 13, 2010 8:57 pm

Hiya all, I said it was gonna happen and I just went right out there and did it. There’s time for me to play around and get things up and running, but you know what? It’s fun for things to be warped for a while. OK, OK, truth is I’m lazy and I want to catch up on an episode of Lost. So some things will work, some won’t. Comments are now working – yay! But the widgets in my sidebar ain’t happening on the home page for some reason… But screw it. Whatever… it looks much better than it used to – already!

So bear with me over the next week or so while I tweak and fix things up. Weeks may turn into months, however, so if you find something’s up, point it out to me.

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By Greg, January 9, 2010 7:35 pm

Reports out of CES from all of my favourite tech sites are noting an influx of 3D-capable TVs and PCs. It seems that most manufacturers consider 3D to be “the next big thing”. Sure – 3D has always been a popular attraction at theme parks for both adults and children alike, but it’s always seemed to me to be a bit of a gimmick. However, with all the major vendors jumping on board, perhaps it will be the new form of home entertainment. But will it be? Will it really? Huh? Yes… this post is full of questions.

Continue reading 'Keep those glasses away from me! [UPDATED!]'»