Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Friday, 27 May 2011
Text-based RPGs were a passion of mine from 10th grade (2002) until very recently. Right now my life is too busy to commit to much gaming, but a break from the hobby can do wonders to renew passion.
Despite my distance I find myself ever-lurking, observing mistakes players make and acknowledging my own failures in the medium. With 8 years experience playing and 6 years modding, I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two. So, here I pass on some wisdom and welcome comments supplementing my knowledge.
"All I know is that I know nothing." -Socrates.
6 Fatal Mistakes Commonly Made in RP Plot
1. Blowing The Load
You heard me! So many great plots get rushed through. A story that could have beautifully, slowly developed over months takes two week and then it's over and done with. This happens most commonly with relationships. Two players get so excited by a ship that they fall in love, get married, and consummate (usually not in that order). Any tension from a forbidden romance, any secret love, gets rushed and done with so that plots have to loop or fizzle out because they were over too quickly.
Worst of all, none of the other players care about these fast-developed ships because they see them as too little development with too much enthusiasm.
2. Becoming Romantically Dependent
Too many players make their romantic plot their only plot. Then if their ship gets boring (because good relationships make bad TV) they end up in an endless loop of fluff/smut or fade away. Even worse, if their ship partner drops they have no friends or plot to fall back on while they NPC the ship and find a new player or adlib a breakup.
3. Isolating
Like becoming Romantically Dependent, if all your plot is with one other character, this spells doom. This is really specific to communities and not personal story lines, but it's a boundary that is dangerous if confused. Other players will come to dislike you if they see you as a pair playing out a personal story line in a community and it will be hard to get involved in the community should your storyline partner fade away.
It's easy to come up with an epic plot and barrel ahead, but it's always a good idea to find little ways for others to play with you. I'm not saying that everyone has to cater to your plotlines, but that you should give others opportunities to fill slots in yours. Offer up roles that an NPC might play to the community for grabs or find a way someone else can complicate it.
Further, don't just stick to plots you came up with. Volunteer to help others and even if you have an amazing plot running with plenty to do, tag open threads. Don't get stuck in your own world. You are part of a community.
4. Hitting an Emotional Dead End
Sometimes plot is so epic that it breaks a character. If you are going to horribly scar your character for life you have to decide if you will be willing to realistically deal with the emotional fallout of certain traumatic events.
Killing a spouse, for instance, makes a character very unpleasant to play for quite a few months.
This is not to say that you're a bad writer if you don't want to deal with it. Writers in prose fiction generally have the luxury of summing up a character's emotional breakdown in a literary montage or at least reflecting it off of a supporting cast of characters. You play one character in role-play and you really shouldn't play anyone who interacts with them. You don't have the luxury of summing it up because games are played in real time. You have to wallow in it.
Consider before you do it.
5. Ignoring Plotholes and Flaws
If there is a simple way your character could solve all of their problems, but they aren't, you'd better be ready to point out in your narrative what psychological reason your character has for ignoring that out or you will be seen as a Mary Sue player.
Too proud to apologize to win her back? Make it clear that this is a flaw in your character and not just you being too attached. It's admirable to make your character flawed, even stubborn. It's annoying when we can't tell if it's the character or the player who thinks they are right.
6. Failure to Recognize the End of an Arch
If a plot has nowhere to go without going in a circle, end it. Sometimes you need to do this with characters, too. If you have a character you've played for years and you love their plot and arch too much to upset it with drama, retire the character. Nobody will fault you for saying that you have no more stories to tell with that character.
Only write the book if you have a story to tell.
Despite my distance I find myself ever-lurking, observing mistakes players make and acknowledging my own failures in the medium. With 8 years experience playing and 6 years modding, I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two. So, here I pass on some wisdom and welcome comments supplementing my knowledge.
"All I know is that I know nothing." -Socrates.
6 Fatal Mistakes Commonly Made in RP Plot
1. Blowing The Load
You heard me! So many great plots get rushed through. A story that could have beautifully, slowly developed over months takes two week and then it's over and done with. This happens most commonly with relationships. Two players get so excited by a ship that they fall in love, get married, and consummate (usually not in that order). Any tension from a forbidden romance, any secret love, gets rushed and done with so that plots have to loop or fizzle out because they were over too quickly.
Worst of all, none of the other players care about these fast-developed ships because they see them as too little development with too much enthusiasm.
 |
| Credit Hannahtess on DeviantArt |
Too many players make their romantic plot their only plot. Then if their ship gets boring (because good relationships make bad TV) they end up in an endless loop of fluff/smut or fade away. Even worse, if their ship partner drops they have no friends or plot to fall back on while they NPC the ship and find a new player or adlib a breakup.
3. Isolating
Like becoming Romantically Dependent, if all your plot is with one other character, this spells doom. This is really specific to communities and not personal story lines, but it's a boundary that is dangerous if confused. Other players will come to dislike you if they see you as a pair playing out a personal story line in a community and it will be hard to get involved in the community should your storyline partner fade away.
It's easy to come up with an epic plot and barrel ahead, but it's always a good idea to find little ways for others to play with you. I'm not saying that everyone has to cater to your plotlines, but that you should give others opportunities to fill slots in yours. Offer up roles that an NPC might play to the community for grabs or find a way someone else can complicate it.
Further, don't just stick to plots you came up with. Volunteer to help others and even if you have an amazing plot running with plenty to do, tag open threads. Don't get stuck in your own world. You are part of a community.
4. Hitting an Emotional Dead End
Sometimes plot is so epic that it breaks a character. If you are going to horribly scar your character for life you have to decide if you will be willing to realistically deal with the emotional fallout of certain traumatic events.
Killing a spouse, for instance, makes a character very unpleasant to play for quite a few months.
This is not to say that you're a bad writer if you don't want to deal with it. Writers in prose fiction generally have the luxury of summing up a character's emotional breakdown in a literary montage or at least reflecting it off of a supporting cast of characters. You play one character in role-play and you really shouldn't play anyone who interacts with them. You don't have the luxury of summing it up because games are played in real time. You have to wallow in it.
Consider before you do it.
 |
| Credit altana on Deviant Art |
If there is a simple way your character could solve all of their problems, but they aren't, you'd better be ready to point out in your narrative what psychological reason your character has for ignoring that out or you will be seen as a Mary Sue player.
Too proud to apologize to win her back? Make it clear that this is a flaw in your character and not just you being too attached. It's admirable to make your character flawed, even stubborn. It's annoying when we can't tell if it's the character or the player who thinks they are right.
6. Failure to Recognize the End of an Arch
If a plot has nowhere to go without going in a circle, end it. Sometimes you need to do this with characters, too. If you have a character you've played for years and you love their plot and arch too much to upset it with drama, retire the character. Nobody will fault you for saying that you have no more stories to tell with that character.
Only write the book if you have a story to tell.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Sunday, 22 May 2011
I randomly stumbled across this comic through a cute fluffy kitty drawing on the front page of DeviantArt (I'm Nimbuschick there, btw, if you feel like giving me points and llamas).
The internet IS made up of a series of cats. The concept is brilliant, the execution is flawless.
ASOC | A Series of Cats
Updates twice a week. Check it out for cute/funny overload!
The internet IS made up of a series of cats. The concept is brilliant, the execution is flawless.
ASOC | A Series of Cats
Updates twice a week. Check it out for cute/funny overload!
Thursday, 19 May 2011
I saw a blog entry a couple of months back about the most expensive dice in the world, and as cool as it would be to have a meteorite as dice, it's just not worth it to me. Gaming is fun, but I can't imagine spending $200 for something that might roll under the table and end up traveling through my dog's intestines.
These dice, though, are cool and reasonably priced. Some of them, I'd say, are even cooler than the world's smallest dice or the world's oldest dice.
1.) We begin with handmade steel dice. These are D6 and are useful for most board games, but probably most desirable to Warhammer players. Steel dice are a subtle, classy, sleek statement. Unfortunately they were made for a gift and aren't available for purchase.
They are good-looking, though, aren't they?
2.) Okay, so maybe these aren't affordable, but these crystal dice sure look nicer than the clear plastic ones you find online. Neiman Marcus sells these dice for $600 which means that you could afford 3 meteorite dice for the price of the pair.
My recommendation is that you either keep these on a shelf or don't own a dog or a small child. I get the idea that these dice are made for the gambler who isn't blowing his money fast enough at the tables.
But they're just so pretty!
3.) I continue the theme with the expensive dice, moving down the price bracked to $98. These crystal-studded black dice are a bit gaudy for my taste, but if you want to show off, they're a lot more reasonable than all crystal.
Barneys New York sells the pair in a leather box and they are embellished with Swarovski crystals.
Once again, I suppose they're intended for the heavy gambler, but I figure anyone who can afford to spend $62 on a soul grinder has disposable income for some bling on their D6.
4.) We're back into the realm of sanity with this Chessex set. The set automatically generates dungeon paths. It's a great way to run a pick-up game or to sluff off on your planning duties as Dungeon/Game Master.
The D6 come in sets of 4 with room numbers on them so you can randomize your paths.
Alternatively it's useful for when you play with that guy who has read all of the core material and knows every canon dungeon in the game. These dice take away the pressure of having to make some random dungeon up from scratch.
5.) This one is called the "Weird yet Fair D6". It has the shape of a normal D6 with beveled corners and carved numbers. The coolest part is how this dice was made. The D6 was made using Shapeways, a company that specializes in converting 3D models into tangible objects.
It's a simple enough concept, but the fact that it was implemented with computer assisted design makes it really cool. The D6 goes for around $10.
6.) Finally a D20! For all of you D&D gamers (I only use D20 in my life for MTG as I play D10 systems) who want a big flashing beacon when you make a critical hit! This ThinkGeek dice does just that!
I'm not sure how you'd change the battery in a dice that runs $9.99, but it is an LED dice so it'll be a while before the power is gone.
The site suggests playing it behind a DM screen or in the dark for a dramatic effect.
7.) PC Diagnostic Dice have no gaming purposes. They're like sex dice for nerds and the ThinkGeek site suggests that it's likely as accurate as a real PC diagnostic test.
This set of 3 dice comes in a velvet bag. Roll the dice to see the problem, the culprit, and the suggested action.
Incidentally, as I type this, I am on a shiny new iMac because my PC had a melt down a few months ago and I was tired of rolling the dice.
8.) The final point on this list is pretty much all of DiceCreator.com. The webmaster boldly sent me a link to his blog a couple of weeks ago and I had fun browsing his gallery finding everything from Cthulu to Punisher to Firefly to Portal dice. He does some odd dice but most are D6. I'm not sure how the weighting works out, but the designs are really detailed and amazing.
Browse through the blog if you have an hour or so to kill. Some of these designs are even available from his eBay store.
These dice, though, are cool and reasonably priced. Some of them, I'd say, are even cooler than the world's smallest dice or the world's oldest dice.
They are good-looking, though, aren't they?
My recommendation is that you either keep these on a shelf or don't own a dog or a small child. I get the idea that these dice are made for the gambler who isn't blowing his money fast enough at the tables.
But they're just so pretty!
3.) I continue the theme with the expensive dice, moving down the price bracked to $98. These crystal-studded black dice are a bit gaudy for my taste, but if you want to show off, they're a lot more reasonable than all crystal.Barneys New York sells the pair in a leather box and they are embellished with Swarovski crystals.
Once again, I suppose they're intended for the heavy gambler, but I figure anyone who can afford to spend $62 on a soul grinder has disposable income for some bling on their D6.
The D6 come in sets of 4 with room numbers on them so you can randomize your paths.
Alternatively it's useful for when you play with that guy who has read all of the core material and knows every canon dungeon in the game. These dice take away the pressure of having to make some random dungeon up from scratch.
It's a simple enough concept, but the fact that it was implemented with computer assisted design makes it really cool. The D6 goes for around $10.
I'm not sure how you'd change the battery in a dice that runs $9.99, but it is an LED dice so it'll be a while before the power is gone.
The site suggests playing it behind a DM screen or in the dark for a dramatic effect.
7.) PC Diagnostic Dice have no gaming purposes. They're like sex dice for nerds and the ThinkGeek site suggests that it's likely as accurate as a real PC diagnostic test.
This set of 3 dice comes in a velvet bag. Roll the dice to see the problem, the culprit, and the suggested action.
Incidentally, as I type this, I am on a shiny new iMac because my PC had a melt down a few months ago and I was tired of rolling the dice.
Browse through the blog if you have an hour or so to kill. Some of these designs are even available from his eBay store.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
to skip the rest of the entry and get the latest update on the matter, click here
A few months ago I got a Mac. I discovered that bookmarks within directories in the Firefox bookmark toolbar cannot be right-clicked. The Mozilla feedback listserv admin directed me to a broken link and never got back to me when I said it was broken. It didn't even look like an html file.
I did my own hunting and found other Mozilla admins and moderators telling people that it was actually a Mac problem because nothing else in Mac lets you right click for options (which is crap because you can right click or command click for so many things). Command click, by the way, does nothing, either.
Here is why this excuse is bull. If you want to design an cross OS browser and right click/command click won't seem to work in an OS, you NEED to make some other way to get to that functionality. How do I edit the name or delete a bookmark in a directory within the toolbar? Apparently that function wasn't figured out.
Signing up for the feedback-mozilla list was the start of a nightmare. I receive at least 100 emails a day from the list, 99% of them complaining about firefox and the new upgrade. "Firefox 4 Sucks" and "I hate FF4" are common subject lines.
And I can't get off the list.
According to the CAN SPAM act, you have to let users opt out of mailing lists at any time and make the information accessible or they can report you for spam. There is no opt out link on the list and no way that I have found through countless Google searches over the last 36 hours to get off the list.
It seems like Mozilla set people up for this. A google search for firefox feedback got me this list before any mail in forms. So I signed up, thinking it would be an easy out because that's the law.
One user on the list says:
"On top of that, when I tried to submit this through the "SubmitFeedback" feature on the Help menu, the webpage wouldn't work. The "submit" button of the page was only active as long as nothing was typed in the "remarks" box. The minute anything was typed in, the button was "grayed out" and became inactive."
Are we being set up to sign up for this list? Probably not. If we are, this would be a stupid move as it's mostly hate for Firefox. What I can say is that their web marketers know nothing about search engine marketing and PR if this is how they manage their sites and meta tags.
I've contacted their support and tried various unsubscribe suggestions since coming back from a 6 hour shift to find 75 complaints in my inbox from the list. I got so mad after this went on for more than 24 hours that I downloaded Chrome last night.
The douchebaggery continues. Chrome has a button to import bookmarks from IE and Firefox without having to export as html and then import manually. It doesn't work since the Firefox 4 upgrade. Now, it may be a coincidence as half of the good plugins from Firefox 3.0 don't work in 4.0 and thus make the upgrade even more useless, but it does seem kind of sneaky that abandoning ship to Chrome was made harder by the latest update.
Firefox lured people in saying that FF4 is faster, but most complaints are that it is slow and freezes. This can be attributed to bugs in any new software, but one PC savvy user checked his system usage.
"I've been running FF4 for about 4 weeks now and not long after installing there was a dramatic reduction in performance of my PC (6GB RAM, iCore5 etc etc - good spec) so tested what the cause was today. The primary culprit, I'm sad to say, was FF4. It used considerable more memory than Chrome, IE9 and even VMWare making work very frustrating."
Any complaints about the design or the loss of intuitiveness or user friendly layout is met with direction to go download a customization. I wish I could do sloppy design work and tell users to fix it themselves. Judging by how much time Mozilla gave developers to fix their plugins, I wouldn't rely on yet another plugin to make my browser usable.
Some key browser functions are completely gone!
"I've just finally "up"graded to FF 4, after being nagged by your message every day. I'm still getting to grips with any benefits but I've noticed a very retrograde feature: There is no drop-down page navigation arrow any more. i.e. You can't select to, say, go back to a particular page from the list but must keep clicking on the back page arrow till you reach it.I find this omission baffling - a very useful feature for years now - and if I'd known it would be missing I'd not have upgraded. Why have you done this?"
This influx of hatred is because Firefox used to be loved; they were the only real alternative to IE (because Netscape explorer wasn't really an option) that was cross OS. Firefox started a revolution of independent browsers, but they haven't kept up. Their latest update was rushed to lock out competition and because of that is buggy and has left users who came to rely on plugins stuck without that functionality. When you strip away all of the little tricks that made your browser awesome and then replace it with slow or freezing browsing and awkward design, you give your users no excuse not to bail.
As of this morning I posted a threat to report them for CAN SPAM violations if the moderator of the list does not remove me. I'm so filled with venom for Mozilla now that I may start a hashtag #whyfirefox sucks.
If you know a way to unsubscribe, please throw me a line here. I'm going mad.
UPDATE: Someone finally got back to me with instructions on how to unsubscribe. Funny part is, they managed to do it while all-but telling me that I was an idiot.
You are the one who has to unsubscribe to the list. Sending email to list subscribers is what list servers do. This particular list is populated through "Hendrix" where people provide feedback without the expectation of getting a reply. To unsubscribe reply to any message such as this one and change the subject to only show one word: unsubscribe nothing else in the subject, and remove the content of the reply
If you looked in your message headers you would have seen the following information.
List-Unsubscribe: https://lists.mozilla.org/options/feedback-firefox,
mailto:feedback-firefox-request@lists.mozilla.org?subject=unsubscribe
List-Post: mailto:feedback-firefox@lists.mozilla.org
List-Help: mailto:feedback-firefox-request@lists.mozilla.org?subject=help
List-Subscribe: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/feedback-firefox,
mailto:feedback-firefox-request@lists.mozilla.org?subject=subscribe
Newsgroups: mozilla.feedback.firefox
Message-ID: mailman.48.1305729071.9060.feedback-firefox@lists.mozilla.org
Like that? Well here's the kicker... that info is not in a single of the 200 something emails I've received and one attempt to just send a blank "Unsubscribe" subject just got bounced after being held because it might contain "administrativia".
Here's a sample email:
Name:
Email: [REMOVED BY AMY TO PROTECT PRIVACY]
Product: Firefox
Summary: Miss old Back Button
Comments:
I really miss the old Back Button with the drop down box that let me
pick which recently viewed page I could go back to or am I overlooking
this feature? It's a bother having to click Back one page at a time.
Browser Details: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; rv:2.0.1) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/4.0.1
From URL: http://hendrix.mozilla.org/Note to readers: Hendrix gives no expectation of a response to this feedback
but if you wish to provide one you must BCC (not CC) the sender for them to
see it.
_______________________________________________
feedback-firefox mailing list
feedback-firefox@lists.mozilla.orghttps://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/feedback-firefox
Do you see info on how to get out there? Nope.
Monday, 16 May 2011
Pixar is awesome. If you don't agree with that statement then maybe you should check to make sure you still have your soul. Pixar, Queen, and the Lion King are the trifecta of things that everyone should love (I thought Journey was on that list, but apparently my father-in-law can't stand them).
But why is Pixar so amazing when everyone and their uncle is trying to do 3D animated features? How many came out this spring?
Rango
Gnomeo and Juliet
Mars Needs Moms
Hoodwinked Too!
Rio
Hop
And the list for this summer is insane with spinoffs for Puss in Boots and the Penquins and another Kung Fu Panda! The market is saturated with these movies that are quickly forgotten, but Pixar prevails. Here's why!
Pixar edits. Pixar takes YEARS to develop and idea. They work through brainstorming sessions and develop ideas until they are perfect. Did you know that Wall.E was actually part of a concept that Pixar developed in a brainstorming session that lead to A Bug's Life? That means they worked on Wall.E for over TEN YEARS.
How much time do you think these mass-produced, star-studded movies like Robots and A Shark's Tale took? Judging by the sheer volume of pop culture references... six weeks.
I watched Robots with a group of four and five year-olds a few weeks ago and the plot actually had major holes in it (though I forget what they are now-- mainly because it was not really that memorable of a movie). They didn't get any of the jokes. The movie is only six years old but these kids weren't alive for any of those references, so they talked through the whole thing. The only parts they laughed at were really due to Robin Williams doing silly voices (they think it's the best thing in the world when I read The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish in a British accent). They were bored because the story was weak, the heart wasn't there, and the jokes were obsolete in less than a decade.
When your script is a loose thread for stringing together endless pop culture references, your product has a shelf life of one year or less.
Then there's Wall.E, which barely has any dialogue for half of the movie and yet they were enthralled. Four year-olds knew exactly what was going on and were worried about their little rusty hero.
Pixar did have a fair amount of naysayers who saw Wall.E as an environmentalist plug, but what really stuck with the audience was the heart of the hero and the truth that convenience has been the downfall of human capacity.
People should learn from their mistakes. I think Pixar has. A Bug's Life was not my favorite movie of theirs. Really, each new release tops the one previous. I would argue that Toy Story 3-- while relying on Toy Story the original to set up its tale-- was the real masterpiece of the trilogy. So why aren't these other producers learning from their mistakes? They don't see them as mistakes because they keep making money. They know the formula-- make a few jokes that are hip and current and shove a few hip and current celebrities in their films and everyone will want to see them.
Now, Pixar has celebrities. Pixar has Bonnie Hunt and Owen Wilson and Ellen Degeneres and Tom Hanks. Pixar casts these people, but not because of their name. They cast them because they are talented actors with unique voices. They also have people who might have a famous filmography, but aren't current (like Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter). Pixar casts them for their voice and you only see who they are on webisodes and Disney Channel behind the scenes clips (and do you think kids watching Wizards of Waverly Place know who Michael Cain is?) It's all of these other competitors who make the basis of their ad campaign "WILL SMITH IS PLAYING THIS FISH!"
Pixar wins Oscars and everyone else makes a quick buck before their movie fades into obscurity. Face it, despite SMASH box office and DVD success, Cars, The Incredibles and Toy Story were the only REALLY marketable properties off the Pixar line. Wall.E toys didn't do so well because it's not action centric and Up was never going to move action figures.
So now I wrap up with the one comparison that may not be fair. Pixar has way better animation than almost every other movie out there. I leave this for last because this is the one point where it comes down to money. Pixar invented software and a GIANT COMPUTER called the Renderman than most big Hollywood films use for their effects now (like Pirates of the Caribbean). But they are pioneers in their art for that.
I am convinced that, if you tell a great story in a timeless way, your budget shouldn't really hinder you. But, just because I want to keep slapping Pixar on the back, I leave you with a comparison of Pixar versus one of this year's big franchises...
But why is Pixar so amazing when everyone and their uncle is trying to do 3D animated features? How many came out this spring?
Rango
Gnomeo and Juliet
Mars Needs Moms
Hoodwinked Too!
Rio
Hop
And the list for this summer is insane with spinoffs for Puss in Boots and the Penquins and another Kung Fu Panda! The market is saturated with these movies that are quickly forgotten, but Pixar prevails. Here's why!
Pro Tip: To craft a good story, take the best of two extremes--fantasy and believability--and find a way to merge them.
-@DisneyPixar Twitter
90% of everything we create, draw, or think of will be thrown away--by choice. That's just as it should be. Only the best ideas can survive.
-@DisneyPixar Twitter
Pixar edits. Pixar takes YEARS to develop and idea. They work through brainstorming sessions and develop ideas until they are perfect. Did you know that Wall.E was actually part of a concept that Pixar developed in a brainstorming session that lead to A Bug's Life? That means they worked on Wall.E for over TEN YEARS.
How much time do you think these mass-produced, star-studded movies like Robots and A Shark's Tale took? Judging by the sheer volume of pop culture references... six weeks.
"You should have something to say in a story. But that doesn't always mean a message. It means truth." --Andrew StantonAnother quote off the DisneyPixar twitter train. Profound, really. You can see that these pop-culture splashes on the big screen don't really tell a truth. They find a moral that parents are going to agree with, populate it with celebrities, and then shoot out a silly nonsensical blur of ADHD and product placement.
I watched Robots with a group of four and five year-olds a few weeks ago and the plot actually had major holes in it (though I forget what they are now-- mainly because it was not really that memorable of a movie). They didn't get any of the jokes. The movie is only six years old but these kids weren't alive for any of those references, so they talked through the whole thing. The only parts they laughed at were really due to Robin Williams doing silly voices (they think it's the best thing in the world when I read The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish in a British accent). They were bored because the story was weak, the heart wasn't there, and the jokes were obsolete in less than a decade.
When your script is a loose thread for stringing together endless pop culture references, your product has a shelf life of one year or less.
Then there's Wall.E, which barely has any dialogue for half of the movie and yet they were enthralled. Four year-olds knew exactly what was going on and were worried about their little rusty hero.
Pixar did have a fair amount of naysayers who saw Wall.E as an environmentalist plug, but what really stuck with the audience was the heart of the hero and the truth that convenience has been the downfall of human capacity.
Nobody does things without making mistakes. But we try to take our mistakes, understand them, and then replace them with something better.
-@DisneyPixar Twitter
People should learn from their mistakes. I think Pixar has. A Bug's Life was not my favorite movie of theirs. Really, each new release tops the one previous. I would argue that Toy Story 3-- while relying on Toy Story the original to set up its tale-- was the real masterpiece of the trilogy. So why aren't these other producers learning from their mistakes? They don't see them as mistakes because they keep making money. They know the formula-- make a few jokes that are hip and current and shove a few hip and current celebrities in their films and everyone will want to see them.
Now, Pixar has celebrities. Pixar has Bonnie Hunt and Owen Wilson and Ellen Degeneres and Tom Hanks. Pixar casts these people, but not because of their name. They cast them because they are talented actors with unique voices. They also have people who might have a famous filmography, but aren't current (like Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter). Pixar casts them for their voice and you only see who they are on webisodes and Disney Channel behind the scenes clips (and do you think kids watching Wizards of Waverly Place know who Michael Cain is?) It's all of these other competitors who make the basis of their ad campaign "WILL SMITH IS PLAYING THIS FISH!"
Pixar wins Oscars and everyone else makes a quick buck before their movie fades into obscurity. Face it, despite SMASH box office and DVD success, Cars, The Incredibles and Toy Story were the only REALLY marketable properties off the Pixar line. Wall.E toys didn't do so well because it's not action centric and Up was never going to move action figures.
So now I wrap up with the one comparison that may not be fair. Pixar has way better animation than almost every other movie out there. I leave this for last because this is the one point where it comes down to money. Pixar invented software and a GIANT COMPUTER called the Renderman than most big Hollywood films use for their effects now (like Pirates of the Caribbean). But they are pioneers in their art for that.
I am convinced that, if you tell a great story in a timeless way, your budget shouldn't really hinder you. But, just because I want to keep slapping Pixar on the back, I leave you with a comparison of Pixar versus one of this year's big franchises...
So who's excited about #Brave?
Owing to the huge popularity of the Drama Intervention post, I have turned my article on how to avoid/resolve drama in online role-playing games into an eBook. Share it, enjoy it! I even found someone using it as the default drop box message in their game and someone else had it as their status on tumblr!
Click the cover below to download the eBook in PDF format.
Click the cover below to download the eBook in PDF format.
Sunday, 15 May 2011
If you're a mildly competent person on the computer it can sometimes drive you insane. Face it, tech support is like calling the guys from The IT Crowd. "Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again?"
It's understandable that Tech Support thinks they have to cater to the computer illiterate. I'm sure 99% of their calls are really dumb. My husband works in tech support and he could tell you just how many calls he gets a day from people not even at the computer or people who think their browser is Facebook. That's why your calls are front loaded with recorded messages that ask users to reboot routers, check the FAQ, etc. It slows down the people already frustrated with a real problem and being asked to go to AT&T online to look up your problems doesn't help when you can't get online!
Most of my tech support calls these days end with me hanging up before my problem is solved because I can't stand having my actual knowledge ignored. Someone with an accent I can't peg down keeps telling me to use Internet Explorer when I know that my actual DNS has been hijacked to the Ukraine (true story) or asking me to reboot my router despite the fact that I've told them I've done that and every other wireless device in the house works just fine!
Further, every time I call some services I get asked to sign up for something, even if they didn't solve my problem. Last year when the AT&T setup software was making my computer unable to find my router (irony!) they tried to get my husband to sign up for pay tech support and tried to get him to sign up for a free service to "test that it was working".
One time after a storm when I called to report and outage they told me that there was no outage in my area and then, after furious typing and a pause on the other end, my internet came back. Actually, that was more than one time. The "pretend nothing is wrong and make the user feel insane" tactic is their favourite there. Last week when I called to order a new router because mine was dropping my signal they tried to sell me computer support. I have Apple Care, thanks.
So who are the good guys? Sadly, only TWO companies come to mind in my list of companies I do business with that have excellent tech support. Netflix and Apple. Here's why.
Apple
My first Apple customer service experience came in 2005 when an iTunes gift card download glitched and corrupted. It was probably a problem with my parents flickering router, but here I was thinking I was going to have to pay for the files all over again. I was 19 and geared up for a fight because all of my previous customer service experiences told me to get ready.
I had a short hold time and then my call was answered by a ridiculously friendly sounding woman who spoke perfect, unaccented English and who cleared up my problem right away.
I'm used to getting tech people who don't think I have a clue what I'm talking about, solely based on the fact that I'm a woman and I look 17. Apparently cute girls can't know crap about machines. When I went to buy my Mac this spring the guy at the store listened to what I wanted, listened to what I had researched, and helped me out. He explained to me in terms that didn't condescend, how Pages was a better choice for me than Word and when he asked me to sign up for Apple Care we did it. It was like a 3 year warranty on my computer and my laptop had only survived one and a half. I knew Apple had great service that I wouldn't dread calling.
When I call Apple Care they walk me through my problems. Sometimes they are PC habits that I feel stupid about, but they never make me feel stupid and they never talk down to me. I've called them twice and each time they've been a huge help. A few weeks ago they helped me troubleshoot a problem with iWeb that turned out to be the webhost I was trying to publish to and not the iWeb software. Together we quickly tested and isolated the problem and then came up with a solution to get around it.
Apple is amazing.
Netflix
I loved my Netflix before I ever had a problem, and I will admit that their system has a few annoying glitches with adding gift subscriptions, but I never have the same frustration of normal tech support when I call Netflix.
Netflix users will be able to tell you that occasionally they get an email apologizing that the Instant Queue was down and that they were crediting everyone's account for 1% or 2% or whatever the time called for. A few hours that I've rarely ever noticed and they actually credited my account before I had to complain! I've never gotten that from an Internet Service Provider or any other pay service that has gone down.
When I call, they listen to me. They give me a code on the website and I type it in, allowing us to skip the identity confirmation bits and get right to the problem. They can look at my account and see my streaming download strength and errors and send me the appropriate solution.
I called Sony, ATT&T, and Netflix this weekend and only Netflix suggested the simplest, actual solution: change the router channel because there's too much competition. Simple!
Now, I know this sounds horrible, but there is something to be said for getting support without an accent. It's hard enough over a phone with other background noise to hear people clearly and accents get in the way. To be fair, mumbling does the same. I live in Alabama and it drives me crazy when I get a recorded message with a thick southern accent because I want to make sure I have the information clear and correct.
Both Netflix and Apple always have clear, cheerful speakers that answer my calls. They get me when I'm not in my best mood and they make me feel relaxed by the end of it. They listen to me and give me simple, clear solutions that don't assume I'm the woman who thinks Facebook is her browser.
Apple and Netflix can rely on my continued patronage because they have such great service. Great products and great service will beat all the ad campaigns in the world every time.
It's understandable that Tech Support thinks they have to cater to the computer illiterate. I'm sure 99% of their calls are really dumb. My husband works in tech support and he could tell you just how many calls he gets a day from people not even at the computer or people who think their browser is Facebook. That's why your calls are front loaded with recorded messages that ask users to reboot routers, check the FAQ, etc. It slows down the people already frustrated with a real problem and being asked to go to AT&T online to look up your problems doesn't help when you can't get online!
Most of my tech support calls these days end with me hanging up before my problem is solved because I can't stand having my actual knowledge ignored. Someone with an accent I can't peg down keeps telling me to use Internet Explorer when I know that my actual DNS has been hijacked to the Ukraine (true story) or asking me to reboot my router despite the fact that I've told them I've done that and every other wireless device in the house works just fine!
Further, every time I call some services I get asked to sign up for something, even if they didn't solve my problem. Last year when the AT&T setup software was making my computer unable to find my router (irony!) they tried to get my husband to sign up for pay tech support and tried to get him to sign up for a free service to "test that it was working".
One time after a storm when I called to report and outage they told me that there was no outage in my area and then, after furious typing and a pause on the other end, my internet came back. Actually, that was more than one time. The "pretend nothing is wrong and make the user feel insane" tactic is their favourite there. Last week when I called to order a new router because mine was dropping my signal they tried to sell me computer support. I have Apple Care, thanks.
So who are the good guys? Sadly, only TWO companies come to mind in my list of companies I do business with that have excellent tech support. Netflix and Apple. Here's why.
Apple
My first Apple customer service experience came in 2005 when an iTunes gift card download glitched and corrupted. It was probably a problem with my parents flickering router, but here I was thinking I was going to have to pay for the files all over again. I was 19 and geared up for a fight because all of my previous customer service experiences told me to get ready.
I had a short hold time and then my call was answered by a ridiculously friendly sounding woman who spoke perfect, unaccented English and who cleared up my problem right away.
I'm used to getting tech people who don't think I have a clue what I'm talking about, solely based on the fact that I'm a woman and I look 17. Apparently cute girls can't know crap about machines. When I went to buy my Mac this spring the guy at the store listened to what I wanted, listened to what I had researched, and helped me out. He explained to me in terms that didn't condescend, how Pages was a better choice for me than Word and when he asked me to sign up for Apple Care we did it. It was like a 3 year warranty on my computer and my laptop had only survived one and a half. I knew Apple had great service that I wouldn't dread calling.
When I call Apple Care they walk me through my problems. Sometimes they are PC habits that I feel stupid about, but they never make me feel stupid and they never talk down to me. I've called them twice and each time they've been a huge help. A few weeks ago they helped me troubleshoot a problem with iWeb that turned out to be the webhost I was trying to publish to and not the iWeb software. Together we quickly tested and isolated the problem and then came up with a solution to get around it.
Apple is amazing.
I loved my Netflix before I ever had a problem, and I will admit that their system has a few annoying glitches with adding gift subscriptions, but I never have the same frustration of normal tech support when I call Netflix.
Netflix users will be able to tell you that occasionally they get an email apologizing that the Instant Queue was down and that they were crediting everyone's account for 1% or 2% or whatever the time called for. A few hours that I've rarely ever noticed and they actually credited my account before I had to complain! I've never gotten that from an Internet Service Provider or any other pay service that has gone down.
When I call, they listen to me. They give me a code on the website and I type it in, allowing us to skip the identity confirmation bits and get right to the problem. They can look at my account and see my streaming download strength and errors and send me the appropriate solution.
I called Sony, ATT&T, and Netflix this weekend and only Netflix suggested the simplest, actual solution: change the router channel because there's too much competition. Simple!
Now, I know this sounds horrible, but there is something to be said for getting support without an accent. It's hard enough over a phone with other background noise to hear people clearly and accents get in the way. To be fair, mumbling does the same. I live in Alabama and it drives me crazy when I get a recorded message with a thick southern accent because I want to make sure I have the information clear and correct.
Both Netflix and Apple always have clear, cheerful speakers that answer my calls. They get me when I'm not in my best mood and they make me feel relaxed by the end of it. They listen to me and give me simple, clear solutions that don't assume I'm the woman who thinks Facebook is her browser.
Apple and Netflix can rely on my continued patronage because they have such great service. Great products and great service will beat all the ad campaigns in the world every time.
Thursday, 12 May 2011
My alma mater, the Savannah College of Art and Design, has a great sequential art program. For those of you who don't know, sequential art is basically defined as comic art. Of course SCAD gets it's fair share of students who naively think that their American-born bottoms are going to go to Japan and take the anime/manga world by storm, but those who stick with the program come out with a really marketable set of skills.
Everyone from SCAD, no matter what major, learns to draw at least a little and everyone takes screen writing and composition. It's only natural that we would want to use these skills.
I recently found out from a close friend that also went to SCAD that a mutual acquaintance, Ellie Pyle, is the assistant editor of The Amazing Spider-Man. That's cool! Of course, one of my recent interests is how people taking the initiative to start their own art online, have used their skills to carve out a little piece of the web for themselves. Marvel comics are amazing, but many more bloggers have much better access to their inside info. I'm going to focus on the self-published work from SCAD alumni, specifically webcomics.
I'll start with 5 today, but I already have plans for another post on this theme this summer.
5 Cool WebComics from SCAD
Lunar Boy
http://lunarboy.com
While Jarret P. William's comic is suffering from a lack of updates lately because of his real job, you have to be impressed with his art. He publishes Super Pro K.O. and attends Comic Con.
Lunar Boy's first strip in 2007 starts with a fight, but Williams is smart to incorporate information into this fight. Too many comics have fights that drag on for weeks with no characterization or story. I stopped reading one otherwise great webcomic because of a 2-month fight. Lunar Boy begins with a wooden sword and it is clear from early on that like in the classic RPGs my generation grew up on, he will find sweet equipment and level up over the course of the story.
Unlike many of the comics we see published on the net, Williams has detailed, well-drawn backgrounds. The fighting quickly yields to plot when Lunar Boy finds an item that increases his intelligence.
The comic has the occasional author note scribbled in the margins but Williams is careful to make sure they are not distracting. Williams also includes features like "Unlockable Acts" with extra story content that brings to mind the bonus rounds of old games like Sonic the Hedgehog.
I will admit that I haven't had time to read the whole arch spread over 4 years, but so far it's cute, funny, and clean. Lunar Boy doesn't rely on dirty humor, which means that you can share it with the under 18s without guilt.
The goal of many webcomics is to get exposure and bring you on to greater things. Some webcomics turn profitable, some get you cool jobs. I just hope that now that Williams has a cool job, he won't completely forget about Lunar Boy.
Tiny Kitten Teeth
http://tinykittenteeth.com/
The writer is from SCAD, the artists is not. From the first page (which is well integrated with the style of the comic) you can see that the art is beautiful. It's full-colour, painted, and a style not regularly seen from webcomics. It's reminiscent of kitsch.
The Tiny Kitten Teeth world is populated by animals and is filled with everyday moments of burnt bread and awkward conversations on the train. While there are a fair amount of single-panel, text-free compositions inserted, the comic still follows a story in between. It tells the tale of a cat who moves to Owl Town and feels out of place, but jumps to a bonus story of a cute littler tiger. Feeling lost in a new place is a story we can all relate to.
Updates are irregular but frequent. Frank and Becky's styles really work well together to tell a simple story with lots of fun moments.
Hawk vs Pigeon: Want To Buy Dignity
http://www.hawkvspigeon.com/2008/11/25/15/
This comic came as a suggestion from my brother, Sam, who took a class with the artist. He's a cool guy and, while at SCAD, I ate lunch with him a few time. The writer, Aaron Sinn, studied film and television-- writing, and not sequential art. Michael Weisner, the artist, graduated with a degree in animation.
Hawk vs Pigeon: WTB Dignity is a fantasy story with ogres and talking skeletons. It began in 2008 and follows the standard RPG story, picking up adventurers to join the party and mocking the conventions of the genre along the way.
The comic has been going since Autumn 2008 and is a good read if you're a tabletop gamer who got sick of waiting for the fights in Keychain of Creation to end.
Olive Peril
http://www.wevolt.com/Olive_Peril/
Olive Peril already has been published and can be purchased on Amazon-- at least the first episode. There's more being made all the time. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' comic is about a girl, Olive, who is being forced to marry an evil man who intends to steal her inheritance and finds herself in a fantasy world. It's a fairy tale complete with fairy godmothers and fabulous blonde hair.
The Olive story is engaging and the art really shines. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' style works well with rich colors and dramatic shadows. Her long, elegant figures are expressive and beautiful.
Check out Olive Peril and start from page one (as I write this she's on page 243!) and if you like it enough, find the first anthology on Amazon.com
Chorus of the Neverborn
http://www.neverborncomic.com/
If you liked Keychain of Creation but longed to see more of the Abyssal, this one is for you. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' second webcomic is written by Kyle Strickland (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will say is my husband.) It's a fan comic but you don't really need to understand the world of White Wolf's exalted to get it.
Chorus follows the Contessa and Lance, a pair of Abyssals (undead Knights) who left their Death Lord, fell in creepy, hateful love, and had creepier children who have voices in their heads. The comic has updated regularly on Wednesdays for over a year and has a pretty loyal following.
I have the inside scoop to tell you that the story is about to get really good. Check it out and hopefully I'll have another comic from the Strickland/Shelley-Reuss team to report in the next entry of this theme.
Everyone from SCAD, no matter what major, learns to draw at least a little and everyone takes screen writing and composition. It's only natural that we would want to use these skills.
I recently found out from a close friend that also went to SCAD that a mutual acquaintance, Ellie Pyle, is the assistant editor of The Amazing Spider-Man. That's cool! Of course, one of my recent interests is how people taking the initiative to start their own art online, have used their skills to carve out a little piece of the web for themselves. Marvel comics are amazing, but many more bloggers have much better access to their inside info. I'm going to focus on the self-published work from SCAD alumni, specifically webcomics.
I'll start with 5 today, but I already have plans for another post on this theme this summer.
 |
| Art by Laurel Shelley-Reuss from Chorus of the Neverborn |
5 Cool WebComics from SCAD
Lunar Boy
http://lunarboy.com
While Jarret P. William's comic is suffering from a lack of updates lately because of his real job, you have to be impressed with his art. He publishes Super Pro K.O. and attends Comic Con.
 |
| Cut from a Lunar Boy Strip by Jarret P. Williams |
Unlike many of the comics we see published on the net, Williams has detailed, well-drawn backgrounds. The fighting quickly yields to plot when Lunar Boy finds an item that increases his intelligence.
The comic has the occasional author note scribbled in the margins but Williams is careful to make sure they are not distracting. Williams also includes features like "Unlockable Acts" with extra story content that brings to mind the bonus rounds of old games like Sonic the Hedgehog.
I will admit that I haven't had time to read the whole arch spread over 4 years, but so far it's cute, funny, and clean. Lunar Boy doesn't rely on dirty humor, which means that you can share it with the under 18s without guilt.
The goal of many webcomics is to get exposure and bring you on to greater things. Some webcomics turn profitable, some get you cool jobs. I just hope that now that Williams has a cool job, he won't completely forget about Lunar Boy.
Tiny Kitten Teeth
http://tinykittenteeth.com/
The writer is from SCAD, the artists is not. From the first page (which is well integrated with the style of the comic) you can see that the art is beautiful. It's full-colour, painted, and a style not regularly seen from webcomics. It's reminiscent of kitsch.
Updates are irregular but frequent. Frank and Becky's styles really work well together to tell a simple story with lots of fun moments.
Hawk vs Pigeon: Want To Buy Dignity
http://www.hawkvspigeon.com/2008/11/25/15/
This comic came as a suggestion from my brother, Sam, who took a class with the artist. He's a cool guy and, while at SCAD, I ate lunch with him a few time. The writer, Aaron Sinn, studied film and television-- writing, and not sequential art. Michael Weisner, the artist, graduated with a degree in animation.
Hawk vs Pigeon: WTB Dignity is a fantasy story with ogres and talking skeletons. It began in 2008 and follows the standard RPG story, picking up adventurers to join the party and mocking the conventions of the genre along the way.
The comic has been going since Autumn 2008 and is a good read if you're a tabletop gamer who got sick of waiting for the fights in Keychain of Creation to end.
Olive Peril
http://www.wevolt.com/Olive_Peril/
Olive Peril already has been published and can be purchased on Amazon-- at least the first episode. There's more being made all the time. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' comic is about a girl, Olive, who is being forced to marry an evil man who intends to steal her inheritance and finds herself in a fantasy world. It's a fairy tale complete with fairy godmothers and fabulous blonde hair.
The Olive story is engaging and the art really shines. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' style works well with rich colors and dramatic shadows. Her long, elegant figures are expressive and beautiful.
Check out Olive Peril and start from page one (as I write this she's on page 243!) and if you like it enough, find the first anthology on Amazon.com
Chorus of the Neverborn
http://www.neverborncomic.com/
If you liked Keychain of Creation but longed to see more of the Abyssal, this one is for you. Laurel Shelley-Reuss' second webcomic is written by Kyle Strickland (who, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will say is my husband.) It's a fan comic but you don't really need to understand the world of White Wolf's exalted to get it.
Chorus follows the Contessa and Lance, a pair of Abyssals (undead Knights) who left their Death Lord, fell in creepy, hateful love, and had creepier children who have voices in their heads. The comic has updated regularly on Wednesdays for over a year and has a pretty loyal following.
I have the inside scoop to tell you that the story is about to get really good. Check it out and hopefully I'll have another comic from the Strickland/Shelley-Reuss team to report in the next entry of this theme.
Monday, 9 May 2011
The internet has changed the way we research and shop for books. Amazon.com has been hugely successful and allowed millions of customers around the world to shop for books not available on mainstream retailer shelves. Now self publishing is cutting out the middle man. And it's not just books that are doing it...
eBooks
A few years ago if you asked me about eBooks I would have told you that they were a flawed concept. Face it, there's a reason we don't sit at our computer to read books. The screen hurts our eyes after long periods of time. Sans-Serif fonts, while easier to read on paper, are difficult on the web, and we have better things to do on the computer than to read a whole book.
Books get read-- by most people-- when the power is out or we have a place to take them. Sure, some great books start off that way and then demand to be devoured in one sitting. Sure, we don't care where we read the latest Harry Potter book, so long as we find out what happens. Sure, some people love to read more than watch TV and browse the internet. We still have to realize that the average American doesn't read as much as they did 100 years ago.
And then there's the satisfaction of putting your finger in the page to see how far you've read. That still can't be replaced.
But eBooks have become much better realized since the introduction of the Sony Reader and the Kindle. These two devices were the first to really make mainstream portable readers work. The Reader and the Kindle used digital ink, which made books easy to read because there was no backlight. The flaw of the Reader? There weren't that many books available on it and it was too easy to pirate. Target sold Sony Readers for years and then stopped and only started carrying them again after the Kindle explosion, so I'm going to give credit for the eBook revolution to the Kindle.
Now we have the iBook (because iPads are just cool) and the Nook. These were great because they brought color to publish magazines and graphic novels. Their shortcoming is in eye strain and battery life.
When I buy a book on my Kindle I can download it instantly. Smart publishers made it cheaper and I can take it anywhere without worrying about the pages getting wrinkled. The best parts?
The process of selling a book used to involve writing pitches and hoping someone even wanted to read your manuscript. Then, if they even liked it, you signed over control to a company who didn't really care about your book. Books are seen by large publishers as a diversified investment portfolio and they really only care about the lucky book that takes off. Further, authors lose control of design and marketing. You can't even dictate what age/demographic you intended to pitch to.
Sure, it's nice to be in a retail store and it's great to have a publishing house to pay for ads, but with the internet marketing can be done more effectively than TV and Newspaper ads and for little or no money at all (this book is awesome.)
Newspapers
The Newspaper is dying. Many Newspapers are already dead! Why? Well, the printed paper was great for hundreds of years, but the flaws of the newspaper have been solved by the internet.
It's easy to browse an online paper and then look up unfamiliar events in the archive. You can find every archived article with a few mouse clicks and a well-chosen search term.
You don't have to throw anything away (now, this may stink for people who do a lot of crafts and miss having cheap drop-cloths).
You can sign up for RSS feeds from specialized news outlets to read about events you want to read about. Don't care to know who won American idol? You no longer need to weed through those kinds of stories to get the real information you want.
News Releases
The death of the newspaper and the easy access of the internet has changed the way news releases are written. Instead of news releases being filtered by reporters and delivered as articles in newspapers, users can read news releases directly from the source!
Blogs are Replacing Magazines
Magazines used to be where we turned for entertainment reading. But really, who likes paying $4-15 for a piece of casual reading full of ads? Magazines these days are filled with so many ads that it's hard to find the articles.
People used to publish Zines, independent magazines. They weren't easy to get out there and you had a limited market. Now anyone with something to say (or any group) can start a blog. Readers can follow it for free (once again, RSS is king) and you can amass regular followers.
Magazines suffered from many of the pitfalls of traditional Newspapers and now Blogs have replaced them. GameInformer? I'll just go to IGN. Entertainment Weekly? Just Jared gives me the information faster!
Blogs allow word of mouth information to spread faster and allow any writer to publish their own periodicals for free.
Web Shows
Heard of The Guild? If you haven't, you may soon be part of a minority. It's a web series starring Felicia Day and now Will Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) that is free for viewing on the internet and XBoxLive. It's hysterical but it targets a very niche group of viewers-- outcast gamers.
The web series allows small budget productions to be seen around the world on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, iTunes, etc. They are generally bite-sized and mostly comedies, but they are opening a new door in entertainment.
During the writer's strike, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and his brother Jed got Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion (Castle) to do a 3 part web series that has a sequel in production and is available on DVD and Blu Ray. If you're a nerd and you don't know Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, you're a Pariah.
Web Shows can even use create space to sell DVDs and The Guild got a bigger budget because it was picked up by the smart people running XBox Live.
Traditional TV will not go out for a long time, but smart marketers are supplementing popular shows (like The Office) with webisodes and nearly everything that runs on TV is available online one day to one week later.
One web show even got copied by MTV.
Games
This is the final point for this article. Even the games you buy in a store have already been effected by this revolution. Nintendo is getting out of the casual gaming market with the Wii 2 because the iTouch/iPhone is too hard to compete with. How can a 50 dollar game compete with Plants vs Zombies for $2? Games aren't even finished anymore. If you buy an RPG for the X-Box360 or the PS3, it's an expectation that you will have to download patches.
Digital distribution makes it worthwhile to sell cheap, short games. Independent developers can publish their work to the iTunes store for cheap or for free!
Yes, hardcore gaming like Mass Effect and Oblivion will still remain on the console for a long time, but you can even buy DLC (download content) to expand those games.
There have been a few major setbacks in this market. Sony has also made the fatal flaw of making electronic versions of their games (which can't be resold or loaned, cost nothing to ship, and have no physical purchase in hand) cost the same as hard copies. Then Sony was hacked this past week and I have to order a new debit card in case my information was stolen. We know Amazon has very tight security, as eSales are their business. True, my information could have been stolen from my bank, but after constantly having to update our account and then this hiccup, we'll be watching Netflix through my Wii from now on. Sony will have to step up security or they will lose consumer confidence.
Then there's the troubling terms of the Android store that, among other problems [link], require that the price for any game not exceed the lowest price in its history (you can't have a limited time promotional price because you would have to make that your permanent price).
ePublishing and eDistribution are still very new and so there are a few flaws to work out. The Newspaper is circling the drain and Amanda Hocking has already proven that you can get rich as an indie writer. Publishing houses are crying that this is the apocalypse, but the rest of us should see it as a thing of beauty. The ePublishing revolution is cutting out the middleman. If we play it smart, we could see a greater diversity in our media and receive it economically without wasting so many resources like paper and plastic.
eBooks
A few years ago if you asked me about eBooks I would have told you that they were a flawed concept. Face it, there's a reason we don't sit at our computer to read books. The screen hurts our eyes after long periods of time. Sans-Serif fonts, while easier to read on paper, are difficult on the web, and we have better things to do on the computer than to read a whole book.
Books get read-- by most people-- when the power is out or we have a place to take them. Sure, some great books start off that way and then demand to be devoured in one sitting. Sure, we don't care where we read the latest Harry Potter book, so long as we find out what happens. Sure, some people love to read more than watch TV and browse the internet. We still have to realize that the average American doesn't read as much as they did 100 years ago.
And then there's the satisfaction of putting your finger in the page to see how far you've read. That still can't be replaced.
But eBooks have become much better realized since the introduction of the Sony Reader and the Kindle. These two devices were the first to really make mainstream portable readers work. The Reader and the Kindle used digital ink, which made books easy to read because there was no backlight. The flaw of the Reader? There weren't that many books available on it and it was too easy to pirate. Target sold Sony Readers for years and then stopped and only started carrying them again after the Kindle explosion, so I'm going to give credit for the eBook revolution to the Kindle.
Now we have the iBook (because iPads are just cool) and the Nook. These were great because they brought color to publish magazines and graphic novels. Their shortcoming is in eye strain and battery life.
When I buy a book on my Kindle I can download it instantly. Smart publishers made it cheaper and I can take it anywhere without worrying about the pages getting wrinkled. The best parts?
- I can look up definitions with a click. That would have been really helpful while I was wondering what the heck akimbo meant reading The Invisible Man
- I can turn pages with one button. No more holding the book open with my elbow while trying to eat a sandwich and read!
- I can carry a library in a tiny leather folio. My "guest room" is full of packed book cases and we can't fit the airbed for actual guests!
The process of selling a book used to involve writing pitches and hoping someone even wanted to read your manuscript. Then, if they even liked it, you signed over control to a company who didn't really care about your book. Books are seen by large publishers as a diversified investment portfolio and they really only care about the lucky book that takes off. Further, authors lose control of design and marketing. You can't even dictate what age/demographic you intended to pitch to.
Sure, it's nice to be in a retail store and it's great to have a publishing house to pay for ads, but with the internet marketing can be done more effectively than TV and Newspaper ads and for little or no money at all (this book is awesome.)
Newspapers
The Newspaper is dying. Many Newspapers are already dead! Why? Well, the printed paper was great for hundreds of years, but the flaws of the newspaper have been solved by the internet.
- Printed newspapers kill trees!
- Printing costs money!
- Researching past news events required sorting through library archives
- Newspapers accumulate a lot of trash
- Delivery costs money
- Newspapers are full of a wide variety of stories to appeal to the masses
It's easy to browse an online paper and then look up unfamiliar events in the archive. You can find every archived article with a few mouse clicks and a well-chosen search term.
You don't have to throw anything away (now, this may stink for people who do a lot of crafts and miss having cheap drop-cloths).
You can sign up for RSS feeds from specialized news outlets to read about events you want to read about. Don't care to know who won American idol? You no longer need to weed through those kinds of stories to get the real information you want.
News Releases
The death of the newspaper and the easy access of the internet has changed the way news releases are written. Instead of news releases being filtered by reporters and delivered as articles in newspapers, users can read news releases directly from the source!
Blogs are Replacing Magazines
Magazines used to be where we turned for entertainment reading. But really, who likes paying $4-15 for a piece of casual reading full of ads? Magazines these days are filled with so many ads that it's hard to find the articles.
People used to publish Zines, independent magazines. They weren't easy to get out there and you had a limited market. Now anyone with something to say (or any group) can start a blog. Readers can follow it for free (once again, RSS is king) and you can amass regular followers.
Magazines suffered from many of the pitfalls of traditional Newspapers and now Blogs have replaced them. GameInformer? I'll just go to IGN. Entertainment Weekly? Just Jared gives me the information faster!
Blogs allow word of mouth information to spread faster and allow any writer to publish their own periodicals for free.
Web Shows
Heard of The Guild? If you haven't, you may soon be part of a minority. It's a web series starring Felicia Day and now Will Wheaton (Wesley Crusher) that is free for viewing on the internet and XBoxLive. It's hysterical but it targets a very niche group of viewers-- outcast gamers.
The web series allows small budget productions to be seen around the world on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo, iTunes, etc. They are generally bite-sized and mostly comedies, but they are opening a new door in entertainment.
During the writer's strike, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and his brother Jed got Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion (Castle) to do a 3 part web series that has a sequel in production and is available on DVD and Blu Ray. If you're a nerd and you don't know Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, you're a Pariah.
Web Shows can even use create space to sell DVDs and The Guild got a bigger budget because it was picked up by the smart people running XBox Live.
Traditional TV will not go out for a long time, but smart marketers are supplementing popular shows (like The Office) with webisodes and nearly everything that runs on TV is available online one day to one week later.
One web show even got copied by MTV.
Games
This is the final point for this article. Even the games you buy in a store have already been effected by this revolution. Nintendo is getting out of the casual gaming market with the Wii 2 because the iTouch/iPhone is too hard to compete with. How can a 50 dollar game compete with Plants vs Zombies for $2? Games aren't even finished anymore. If you buy an RPG for the X-Box360 or the PS3, it's an expectation that you will have to download patches.
Digital distribution makes it worthwhile to sell cheap, short games. Independent developers can publish their work to the iTunes store for cheap or for free!
Yes, hardcore gaming like Mass Effect and Oblivion will still remain on the console for a long time, but you can even buy DLC (download content) to expand those games.
There have been a few major setbacks in this market. Sony has also made the fatal flaw of making electronic versions of their games (which can't be resold or loaned, cost nothing to ship, and have no physical purchase in hand) cost the same as hard copies. Then Sony was hacked this past week and I have to order a new debit card in case my information was stolen. We know Amazon has very tight security, as eSales are their business. True, my information could have been stolen from my bank, but after constantly having to update our account and then this hiccup, we'll be watching Netflix through my Wii from now on. Sony will have to step up security or they will lose consumer confidence.
Then there's the troubling terms of the Android store that, among other problems [link], require that the price for any game not exceed the lowest price in its history (you can't have a limited time promotional price because you would have to make that your permanent price).
ePublishing and eDistribution are still very new and so there are a few flaws to work out. The Newspaper is circling the drain and Amanda Hocking has already proven that you can get rich as an indie writer. Publishing houses are crying that this is the apocalypse, but the rest of us should see it as a thing of beauty. The ePublishing revolution is cutting out the middleman. If we play it smart, we could see a greater diversity in our media and receive it economically without wasting so many resources like paper and plastic.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
As my blogger profile says, I am a teacher, writer, and an actress. My BFA is majoring in Performing Arts and while I haven't done paid work since leaving the Boston area, I am currently involved in an exciting local Birmingham film project, Lost in Reality. LIR follows Angelo, a struggling actor who gets himself roped into a drama-centered reality TV show where he has to play the part of "The Animal." Unsatisfied with his life, Angelo decides to change directions when he meets Maggie, a down-to-earth girl with a great family.
I play Maggie.
We've been filming on weekends since March and today was my last day. I should really have kept a set diary the whole time, but it's never too late to give you a glimpse of the experience.
I was on set for 6 long days (Day 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 14) With the exception of Day 1, I was on set each day for 10-12 hours. While it was easy to pour myself into bed after those long days, I have to say that even 12 hours working on a project I'm passionate about is easier than working 4 hours in retail.
Last night I made the horrible mistake of touching up my hair color at the very last second. After going to see Thor I decided to pull out the dye I had bought 4 days ago to make sure that my sun-blonde highlights were back to a fiery copper. The bottle on the shelf had been mislabeled and I ended up staying up late trying to come up with strategies to hide my hair and worrying myself sick about continuity.
The photo to the left shows my hair wet because after wearing a hat until 1p, I had to wet it to tame it for my last on-camera appearance in the film.
Today was Day 14, the Duck Pond day and also time to pick up a few shots we didn't get when we filmed at the Maggie's house location. I headed to Mountain Brook for 9:30a and was, as always, way early. I'm chronically early. It's a good thing unless you're the one who has to explain to the guard at the gated community what you're doing there.
For those not familiar with the greater Birmingham Metropolitan area, houses in Mountain Brook have a reputation for being grand like this (see right). That's not the house we filmed at, that was the neighbor across the street.
The Mazer family has been kind enough to let Bernadette Chapman's cast and crew invade their back yard and their picturesque little lake that they share with a few other neighbors. The cast and crew were there last weekend to film some shady bedroom business and made friends with a duck we've named Jett (more on that later).
This pond was the setting for our picnic date and also for a scene at the end of the film where Maggie comes to meet Angelo. There is a running joke about the ducks at this pond.
Angelo feeds the ducks in this scene and believe me, they loved it. Our ducky friends were named after members of the reality TV show cast after we realized that one adorable duck had a poof of feathers on his head that mirrored the haircut of the character Jett, Angelo's friend on set. Jett duck was greedy, hogged the crackers, and was always trying to waddle into the shot. He actually walked right up onto our picnic blanket in the middle of the scene. I'm hoping this is in the blooper reel.
We put our PA on the task of duck wrangling. Thad's a real trooper.
You can sort of see Jett's poof in this cell phone shot. He's the white duck. The Mallard next to him is named Memphis after another character in the film.
The other excitement of this scene, aside from the ducks and the inconspicuous hat (which was at least a way to sneak a very subtle Harry Potter reference into the flick as it was my special July 16, 2005 hat from volunteering at Barnes & Noble), we had to deal with a beautiful but territorial swan.
I'm not sure if it's a he or a she, but we named it Natalie Portman for the obvious Black Swan reference. As long as we kept Natalie Portman fed, he/she seemed alright but there were a couple of times that Natalie Portman challenged Corey Merrida with a display of impressive wing span and Natalie Portman hissed at me because I didn't throw a cracker fast enough.
After the shoot at the duck pond we headed over to the other side of town to Lee Green's house to pick up some outside shots from last month. Between shots we had to wait for nightfall so we played a game of touch football. I admit that I got a little dehydrated and was boiling by the time I quit. Moody (sound) and Kyle (camera, not my Kyle) showed us some game and I caught a touch down pass that knocked me over.
We finished off the shots and said goodbye. I'll be looking forward to seeing those guys at the wrap party!
Follow our progress on the Lost in Reality Facebook page.
I play Maggie.
We've been filming on weekends since March and today was my last day. I should really have kept a set diary the whole time, but it's never too late to give you a glimpse of the experience.
I was on set for 6 long days (Day 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 14) With the exception of Day 1, I was on set each day for 10-12 hours. While it was easy to pour myself into bed after those long days, I have to say that even 12 hours working on a project I'm passionate about is easier than working 4 hours in retail.
The photo to the left shows my hair wet because after wearing a hat until 1p, I had to wet it to tame it for my last on-camera appearance in the film.
Today was Day 14, the Duck Pond day and also time to pick up a few shots we didn't get when we filmed at the Maggie's house location. I headed to Mountain Brook for 9:30a and was, as always, way early. I'm chronically early. It's a good thing unless you're the one who has to explain to the guard at the gated community what you're doing there.
The Mazer family has been kind enough to let Bernadette Chapman's cast and crew invade their back yard and their picturesque little lake that they share with a few other neighbors. The cast and crew were there last weekend to film some shady bedroom business and made friends with a duck we've named Jett (more on that later).
Angelo feeds the ducks in this scene and believe me, they loved it. Our ducky friends were named after members of the reality TV show cast after we realized that one adorable duck had a poof of feathers on his head that mirrored the haircut of the character Jett, Angelo's friend on set. Jett duck was greedy, hogged the crackers, and was always trying to waddle into the shot. He actually walked right up onto our picnic blanket in the middle of the scene. I'm hoping this is in the blooper reel.
We put our PA on the task of duck wrangling. Thad's a real trooper.
The other excitement of this scene, aside from the ducks and the inconspicuous hat (which was at least a way to sneak a very subtle Harry Potter reference into the flick as it was my special July 16, 2005 hat from volunteering at Barnes & Noble), we had to deal with a beautiful but territorial swan.
I'm not sure if it's a he or a she, but we named it Natalie Portman for the obvious Black Swan reference. As long as we kept Natalie Portman fed, he/she seemed alright but there were a couple of times that Natalie Portman challenged Corey Merrida with a display of impressive wing span and Natalie Portman hissed at me because I didn't throw a cracker fast enough.
We finished off the shots and said goodbye. I'll be looking forward to seeing those guys at the wrap party!
Follow our progress on the Lost in Reality Facebook page.
Friday, 6 May 2011
OMG, just got back from THOR and IT WAS AWESOME. I really wasn't too hyped up for this movie because of all of the cheesy product placement and trading cards I'd seen, but nothing I had heard coming out of the behind the scenes stuff seemed bad and the cast seemed awesome and anything with Natalie Portman gets bumped up a letter grade in my book, so I had to drag my husband tonight.
The movie was pitch perfect, blending the current Marvel Movie canon with the Marvel Universe's sci-fi take on the Norse Pantheon to make an entertaining, moving film. It was well written and visually stunning. If I had to give it a score I would give it an 11. 11/10 (because remember, Natalie Portman gives you bonus points!
Thor, directed by Professor Lockhart... I mean Hamlet... I mean Kenneth Branagh, tells the tale of a haughty immortal who is cast down to earth and stripped of his powers after he stirs up an old war with the Frost Giants. The Norse Gods in Thor are not Gods, but aliens-- so to speak. They come from another "Realm", which is really another world across galaxies. To understand how the Marvel Universe treats their mythological pantheons you have to understand that magic is just science you can't yet understand. The Gods of Asgard are not Gods, but a more advanced race that visited earth and were revered as Gods by a primitive culture.
The Thor movie takes this sci-fi twist and combines it with the classic Norse motifs to create a whole other world that is beautiful and engaging. Scenes on Asgard are compelling and gorgeous. Every sky is a matte painting of the cosmos. The rainbow bridge (which looks far cooler in the movie than it would ever sound) is a constantly shifting, nearly digital pathway of changing light and crystal. The monolithic golden buildings suggest a paradise and the roadways and spires suggest a utopia with technology so integrated into its culture and aesthetic that these items seem magical. Costumes combine the classic comic motifs with expert selections of materials to look real and wearable while still being epic and iconic. There are lens flares and particle effects but they never cross the line to being cheesy or standard.
The scenes on Asgard are epic and tell the tale of a mythic war. The scenes on earth are a direct contrast. In the scenes in New Mexico with Jane and her colleagues, we find humor dashed in with humble moments. Kat Denning's character threatened, in the trailers, to be a bit annoying but her jokes were used sparing and her character never crossed that line to Jar Jar Binx land.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) share undeniable chemistry. Portman commented in an interview that it was easy to play giddy in his presence as he was so tall and cut. Hemsworth's performance was bold and emotional. His shift from arrogant God to humbled man is heartbreaking and his wrath as he screams at his father was a scene best saved for the film-- without context in the trailer it was ruined.
Tom Hiddleston made a good Loki (though admittedly I was hoping for a more intimidating casting than the slender, almost elfish actor) and Anthony Hopkins was a perfect casting for Odin. It took powerful classical actors in these roles to make these characters seem real and Hopkin's Shakespeare background (as well as the director's) made us never for one moment doubt that he was really a king of an immortal race of beings.
The film also ties into the Avengers series perfectly. The after-the-credits scene of Iron Man two happens mid-way through the movie and after-the-credits here we have a peak at the villain for Avengers (JOSS WHEDON! WOOO!) We got a taste of Hawkeye, a casual mention of the Hulk, and even Thor's original comic roots as a crippled amnesiac were sneaked in with a cleverly placed ex-boyfriend.
I was compiling a list of points to make in this review but 5-10 minutes or so in I lost track because it was just so awesome. It was as good as Iron Man (the first, the sequel had a few flaws) and I look forward to seeing Captain America this summer.
The movie was pitch perfect, blending the current Marvel Movie canon with the Marvel Universe's sci-fi take on the Norse Pantheon to make an entertaining, moving film. It was well written and visually stunning. If I had to give it a score I would give it an 11. 11/10 (because remember, Natalie Portman gives you bonus points!
Thor, directed by Professor Lockhart... I mean Hamlet... I mean Kenneth Branagh, tells the tale of a haughty immortal who is cast down to earth and stripped of his powers after he stirs up an old war with the Frost Giants. The Norse Gods in Thor are not Gods, but aliens-- so to speak. They come from another "Realm", which is really another world across galaxies. To understand how the Marvel Universe treats their mythological pantheons you have to understand that magic is just science you can't yet understand. The Gods of Asgard are not Gods, but a more advanced race that visited earth and were revered as Gods by a primitive culture.
The Thor movie takes this sci-fi twist and combines it with the classic Norse motifs to create a whole other world that is beautiful and engaging. Scenes on Asgard are compelling and gorgeous. Every sky is a matte painting of the cosmos. The rainbow bridge (which looks far cooler in the movie than it would ever sound) is a constantly shifting, nearly digital pathway of changing light and crystal. The monolithic golden buildings suggest a paradise and the roadways and spires suggest a utopia with technology so integrated into its culture and aesthetic that these items seem magical. Costumes combine the classic comic motifs with expert selections of materials to look real and wearable while still being epic and iconic. There are lens flares and particle effects but they never cross the line to being cheesy or standard.
The scenes on Asgard are epic and tell the tale of a mythic war. The scenes on earth are a direct contrast. In the scenes in New Mexico with Jane and her colleagues, we find humor dashed in with humble moments. Kat Denning's character threatened, in the trailers, to be a bit annoying but her jokes were used sparing and her character never crossed that line to Jar Jar Binx land.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) share undeniable chemistry. Portman commented in an interview that it was easy to play giddy in his presence as he was so tall and cut. Hemsworth's performance was bold and emotional. His shift from arrogant God to humbled man is heartbreaking and his wrath as he screams at his father was a scene best saved for the film-- without context in the trailer it was ruined.
Tom Hiddleston made a good Loki (though admittedly I was hoping for a more intimidating casting than the slender, almost elfish actor) and Anthony Hopkins was a perfect casting for Odin. It took powerful classical actors in these roles to make these characters seem real and Hopkin's Shakespeare background (as well as the director's) made us never for one moment doubt that he was really a king of an immortal race of beings.
The film also ties into the Avengers series perfectly. The after-the-credits scene of Iron Man two happens mid-way through the movie and after-the-credits here we have a peak at the villain for Avengers (JOSS WHEDON! WOOO!) We got a taste of Hawkeye, a casual mention of the Hulk, and even Thor's original comic roots as a crippled amnesiac were sneaked in with a cleverly placed ex-boyfriend.
I was compiling a list of points to make in this review but 5-10 minutes or so in I lost track because it was just so awesome. It was as good as Iron Man (the first, the sequel had a few flaws) and I look forward to seeing Captain America this summer.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
 |
| Rep. Dean Urdahl 18B, Minnesota. |
Minnesota's Rep. Dean Urdahl is one of these bullies. What started out as a poorly explained attempt for the GOP politician to cut budgets and save the state some money turned into an immature spat of name calling Tuesday (Star Tribune).
Urdahl targeted funds given to the arts, specifically legacy funds that are given annually to certain groups without them having to reapply or compete for these grants. While one opponent of the opponents of the Stillwater Library's legacy funding is a group that wants the money for a stadium, it is understandable how anyone toughing out this economy might be unsure about allocating sales tax money to arts and parks. We're talking about millions of dollars here. If Urdahl had some sense he could compose a well-worded argument for why our government, in unimaginable amounts of debt, can't afford entitlement programs for non-essentials, no matter how enriching they may be.
It seems, however, that Urdahl could not even find this basic conservative argument and instead had to resort to name calling. In an ill-conceived attempt to point out what he saw as inappropriate use of program funds, Urdahl missed the mark completely and began spewing insults at acclaimed author, Neil Gaiman. Urdahl used the phrase "who I hate" when talking about Gaiman and continued to call him a "pencil-necked little weasel." Uncalled for? Entirely.
I'm going to address 3 major points now:
- The level of immaturity in his statement
- The misinformation in his continued statement about Gaiman's involvement in the legacy funds
- Why it is a very foolish idea to target Gaiman
Playground Insults
First of all, public name-calling is usually something reserved for rowdy supporters of political candidates, not the politicians themselves. Politicians with a scrap of dignity and poise are careful to avoid being quoted with playground insults. Being quoted name-calling can do a lot of damage to a reputation. That is why politicians who sling mud usually, at least, stick to political mud.
"Socialist", "Fascist", "Naive", "Under-qualified", and "Corrupt" are examples of the type of mud we expect to hear slung. Urdahl's comments are immature jabs at Gaiman's physical appearance. They are weak choices. Can you imagine if the 2008 Presidential debates dissolved into McCain calling Obama "Big-Ears" and Obama retorting with "Grandpa"? Do we want petulant children running our country? Urdahl's remarks are childish.
Do Your Ever-Loving Research
Urdahl cites his motive for these insults as a response to Gaiman's payout for a Minnesota library speaking engagement. He claims Gaiman "stole" $45,000 of government money. Gaiman tells it differently. (Gaiman)
Gaiman charges high fees for speaking to discourage frivolous requests so he can focus on writing. For some libraries he speaks for free. For some corporate events he charges more. Speakers like President Clinton and Sarah Palin charge at least twice his fee but he admits that his fee is high for a writer.
Gaiman asked the Stillwater library if they were sure they wanted to pay so much for a small venue and they said yes. The funds had to be spent by the end of the fiscal year or they were cut. We've all seen the spend it or lose it. A former employed of mine once put a plasma TV and a Blu Ray player in our break room to avoid losing money that another year might be needed to replace a refrigerator or patch the ceiling. Is it Gaiman's fault that this flaw is built into most budget systems? No. They were looking for a quick way to blow the money and asked him to help.
These funds used to pay Gaiman were part of a program meant to pay hard-to-snare authors market price to bring them to Minnesota. It did what it was meant to do and the event was even broadcast to a wider audience on a radio show also supported by these legacy funds. More bang for your buck!
Here is the kicker. Here is what Urdahl failed to mention. The $40,000 (not $45,000 as Urdahl cited) was donated 75% to a social charity and 25% to a literary charity for a grand total of a %100 donation! If you failed basic math, that means Neil Gaiman kept 0%. Gaiman, who Urdahl claims "stole" it, donated it all to charity before Urdahl even shot off his mouth.
The Wrong Enemies
So does Urdahl think he did himself any good picking on Neil Gaiman? Gaiman and his wife are very influential people. Neil Gaiman is not only a best selling author and film writer (Beowulf, Coraline, Mirror Mask). His best-selling books, such as The Graveyard Book and Wolves in the Walls are loved by parents and children alike. Most dangerous of all, Gaiman is part of the Twitter dynasty.
Palmer is so influential that a joke she started on Twitter sold $11,000 worth of t-shirts in one night. This story can be found in David Meerman Scott's (@dmscott) best-selling book The New Rules of Marketing and PR as an example of brilliant customer relations via Twitter.
Can you really afford to be bullying someone with that many devout followers?
Urdahl had best pick his battles wisely. It may seem easy to pick on a British guy to win conservative votes in a cheap way, but Gaiman lives and payes taxes in America and his wife is an American citizen. Some people never grow up and Urdahl effectively told voters that he is overgrown bully who takes pot shot at others to stroke his own ego. Gaiman's exactly the kind of guy bullies like Urdahl can't stand. He's a clever nerd who got rich being a nerd and married a hot rock star. How dare he!
UPDATE: I have learned from this blog that Gaiman posted a link to Urdahl's blog and so many people flocked there that they CRASHED it. Don't mess with that kind of following!
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
I was at Gamestop at the Galeria the other day-- by the way, after the gas they wasted me on a bait and switch, I will not go back there-- and I had a conversation with an employee that I frequently have with such individuals. I was buying a 1st anniversary present for my husband, a copy of Dragon Age II and I expressed shock that less than 5 weeks had passed and it was already sold back. He bragged that he beat the game in 3 hours.
I often hear video-game enthusiasts who take pride in bragging about how quickly they beat games. Most often, though, I have to pull at my hair and scream at the sky in my mind, as they are bragging about how fast they beat open-world RPGs.
Major console RPGs cost 60 bucks at release. If you work in retail, that's a whole day of work after taxes (or before taxes if you work in Massachusetts. ZING!) So I have to ask myself why you would blow a day of wages on 3 hours of entertainment. It's like you are paying them 20 dollars an hour to entertain you. It's not because the game is bad. It's because you are a bad player.
Beating a game fast does not make you a good gamer. It will not make you elite. Yeah, sure, you can beat a lot of these games really fast if you blow off the side plot, but why? Why would you miss the emotional involvement, the plot diversity, and the entertainment by skipping side quests? Why would you blow off the fat loot, new moves, and trophies that you paid for so you can brag about it?
And before you say that you can go back later-- ask this-- would the end of Black Swan be nearly as awesome of you fast-forwarded through the movie and then after watching the ending, came back and watched the movie? We're trying to elevate gaming to an art form and yet the people who claim to be the most elite gamers are the ones lowering its status by blowing off what makes these games art! If you breeze through the story without exploring conversation and relationship-building options, you're going to miss the emotional impact of the plot.
YES, you can beat most RPGs on blitz, but that's because most modern RPGs are designed so that the baddies level up with you. So sure, you can claim you beat it in 3 hours, but that doesn't make you any more skilled than my husband, who milks games for the maximum plot and development and spends 60-70 hours on any decent RPG.
Why would you pay them 20 dollars and hour to entertain you when you could be getting your value at less than 1 dollar an hour? So you see, it doesn't make you a better gamer, really, just a dumb one.
 |
| Wario knows a thing or two about video games and douche-baggery |
Major console RPGs cost 60 bucks at release. If you work in retail, that's a whole day of work after taxes (or before taxes if you work in Massachusetts. ZING!) So I have to ask myself why you would blow a day of wages on 3 hours of entertainment. It's like you are paying them 20 dollars an hour to entertain you. It's not because the game is bad. It's because you are a bad player.
Beating a game fast does not make you a good gamer. It will not make you elite. Yeah, sure, you can beat a lot of these games really fast if you blow off the side plot, but why? Why would you miss the emotional involvement, the plot diversity, and the entertainment by skipping side quests? Why would you blow off the fat loot, new moves, and trophies that you paid for so you can brag about it?
And before you say that you can go back later-- ask this-- would the end of Black Swan be nearly as awesome of you fast-forwarded through the movie and then after watching the ending, came back and watched the movie? We're trying to elevate gaming to an art form and yet the people who claim to be the most elite gamers are the ones lowering its status by blowing off what makes these games art! If you breeze through the story without exploring conversation and relationship-building options, you're going to miss the emotional impact of the plot.
YES, you can beat most RPGs on blitz, but that's because most modern RPGs are designed so that the baddies level up with you. So sure, you can claim you beat it in 3 hours, but that doesn't make you any more skilled than my husband, who milks games for the maximum plot and development and spends 60-70 hours on any decent RPG.
Why would you pay them 20 dollars and hour to entertain you when you could be getting your value at less than 1 dollar an hour? So you see, it doesn't make you a better gamer, really, just a dumb one.
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