vLog

Tues. 24th Jul. 2008

A sunny Sunday afternoon and this is my very first venture on to a web site (under guidance of Barnaby of course).

Sorry … just sorry. You are still coming here to read this blog and I have let you down.

Work has been silly busy since late last year. We’ve bought a house and are in the process of moving (more on that later).

These are not excuses, but reasons. And reasons are just words. Rest assured I feel bad for letting you down.

Regular posts (and occasionally requested cartoons) will be forthcoming.

Soon.

First update for a while, sorry; in order to maintain some semblance of order I wanted to publish a number of digital photos from our recent trip before I posted anything else. Hasn?t happened. Will. But can?t say when.

But, in brief ? the holiday was lovely (see soon to be posted pictures).

In Brisbane, it’s summer, the cotton is high and the living is pretty easy. Work is busy but not impossibly so. We’re both well. Life isn’t bad.

I’ve not seen much in the way of movies recently; Death Proof (in short … woah, yawn, yuck, yawn and wow ? in that order), Death at a Funeral (light fluffy and not nearly as bad as it should have been).

There’s an Andy Warhol exhibition (Brisbane?s fifteen minutes) starting at GOMA this weekend which I hope to see.

And (somewhat predictably) I have been playing games since returning from holiday (feel free to skip to the end).

I played Super Mario Galaxy (SMG) which if you dig through the saccharine art direction you will experience what is undoubtedly one of the finest game experiences ever. Playing is all about learning (sadly the reverse is not always true) and SMG manages to capture the very essence of being a child in a world where just walking is a new experience and therefore kind of fun. Put aside your prejudices and find a way to play it for an hour or two and you will remember what is like to be a child.

I have also played Assassins Creed which is another damn fine experience for the patient. Someone described it as the game that you have been telling people about for the last twenty years and in some respects … I think that’s quite a nice summary. Historically “accurate” representations of 10 century Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus are vividly and plausibly brought to life and represent the games greatest achievement. Crowded streets pick through crumbling architecture and ring with the sounds of idle chatter, beggars and preachers; you can almost smell the dust and decay. The rest of the game (story and combat) is so-so.

The Orange Box (!) has also taken a little of my time ? while I can appreciate the HalfLife2 games and enjoy them to a point … it is Portal that stole my heart. A puzzle game that manages to be a revolution, a superbly written script and razor sharp humour elevate a good (and short) puzzle game to must play status. Game designers (and writers and film makers for that matter) take note … focus on quality not quality and the world will be a better place.