My PS3 has been dead as a doornail for a few months now. It was part of that ravenous electronics breaking disease I had running rampant through my house for a few months.
I haven't replaced the thing ever since I called customer service months ago because I wasn't all that thrilled about having to spend $150.00 on what essentially is a used system, because they didnt explicity say that they would fix MINE.
Most people my shrug and say big deal, but I would be bummed out if they send me a refurbed machine minus the hardware backwards compatability in it. I inquired about whether or not I would be guaranteed it to the customer service rep, but they said they didn't know, and said I just just put a note in the box with my system. LOL. Yeah, like they will open mine, before they just send me some other random system.
So, here I am months later, with all of these blu ray movies coming out that I want, Resistance is out, LBW is out, Metal Gear Solid is out, and I'm sitting with a paperweight on the entertainment system.
I still havent decided what I should do. Part of me just wants to buy a new one outright, at least I'll know I got the latest build of the system, while the other part of me still wants the hardware backwards compat.
I still don't know what im going to do. Bleh!!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Not Sold on the NXE Yet
After spending some time with the "New Xbox Experience" last night, I'm not entirely sure that I'm sold on the new layout.
I like some of the new features that came with it, like the ability to party up with friends, or the cool new Netflix integration, but I'm just not that happy on the pseudo prettied up version of the Windows Media Extender that they've done.
Have no doubt my friends, this is definitely a gussied up version of the Windows Media extender, it's just spaced out a bit more. I've had nothing with bad luck trying to navigate the media extender, and it's really not my style of interface compared to the old blade system they had in place on the 360.
I find it really odd that they went for the low rez approach that the Wii did on their avatars, despite the firepower that the xbox has. I mean, the face customization options were a blatant ripoff of the Mii's that Nintendo gives you, I mean, couldn't they have at least attempted to do something a little more original and XBOX looking? The avatars in the Home are distinct on their own without blatantly copying the Mii, why not Xbox's?
I do like seeing my friends avatars all standing around when they are playing their games though, it's pretty neat. I think its hard to figure out who is online though, at a glance.
What really boggled my mind was the new usage of the Xbox Button. I don't get the super small, grey window they bring up to do all of your quick commands. It's too small, and looks incredibly bland compared to the rest of the interface. It just seems out of place, and perhaps rushed. It certainly doesn't have the clean look that it used to have, and is definitely a step backwards in terms of aesthetics, and quite possibly, functionality.
I'm sure i'll get used to the change, but for now I'm not as thrilled as I hoped I would be with the new direction they are going with this. It's too bad that I don't get an option to choose between the two modes either, I'm stuck with their decision, when I bought into another interface a couple years ago and have grown to be quite fond of it.
I like some of the new features that came with it, like the ability to party up with friends, or the cool new Netflix integration, but I'm just not that happy on the pseudo prettied up version of the Windows Media Extender that they've done.
Have no doubt my friends, this is definitely a gussied up version of the Windows Media extender, it's just spaced out a bit more. I've had nothing with bad luck trying to navigate the media extender, and it's really not my style of interface compared to the old blade system they had in place on the 360.
I find it really odd that they went for the low rez approach that the Wii did on their avatars, despite the firepower that the xbox has. I mean, the face customization options were a blatant ripoff of the Mii's that Nintendo gives you, I mean, couldn't they have at least attempted to do something a little more original and XBOX looking? The avatars in the Home are distinct on their own without blatantly copying the Mii, why not Xbox's?
I do like seeing my friends avatars all standing around when they are playing their games though, it's pretty neat. I think its hard to figure out who is online though, at a glance.
What really boggled my mind was the new usage of the Xbox Button. I don't get the super small, grey window they bring up to do all of your quick commands. It's too small, and looks incredibly bland compared to the rest of the interface. It just seems out of place, and perhaps rushed. It certainly doesn't have the clean look that it used to have, and is definitely a step backwards in terms of aesthetics, and quite possibly, functionality.
I'm sure i'll get used to the change, but for now I'm not as thrilled as I hoped I would be with the new direction they are going with this. It's too bad that I don't get an option to choose between the two modes either, I'm stuck with their decision, when I bought into another interface a couple years ago and have grown to be quite fond of it.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
A Blogger Frustrated With Bloggers
I wish I got paid a dollar for every patently false and inflaming headline I see in gaming blogs these days. I know people are trying to drive hits to their pages, but what about having a bit of integrity to what you are reporting?
I pretty much write in this thing as a personal outlet about my thoughts on gaming and being a game developer. I have another blog on Livejournal that I save for the personal stuff, mostly because no one there wants to read about whether or not I'm having a good time in Left 4 Dead this week or not.
I can only venture to guess that people would write headlines like "Sony Screws the NXE" and other such drivel to drive traffic to their sites, because these allegations drive hits.
Over the past year or two, I've seen these kinds of headlines about this or that company, and I just don't understand how people can just throw integrity out the window and post wild opinions as news on these "news" sites.
Just recently, I read that Midway Games is supposedly blaming Unreal 3 on their financial woes. The reporter of this news fails to go any deeper into what was really said by Midway, and instead makes this sensation claim, as if they could blame all of their troubles on one engine among all of the engines that they use, and all of their 3rd party products. What really was said was, they spent too much time customizing the engine, without having any real experts on it, which ended up costing them time and quality in the end. In other words, they shouldn't have opened up the hood on the car when they didn't know how to fix the parts they ripped out.
Maybe it sounds lousy that I'm sitting here defending 2 companies, both that I have worked for, but they are the most recent examples of this behavior. I find it intensely annoying, and it makes me want to quit reading some of these websites.
I pretty much write in this thing as a personal outlet about my thoughts on gaming and being a game developer. I have another blog on Livejournal that I save for the personal stuff, mostly because no one there wants to read about whether or not I'm having a good time in Left 4 Dead this week or not.
I can only venture to guess that people would write headlines like "Sony Screws the NXE" and other such drivel to drive traffic to their sites, because these allegations drive hits.
Over the past year or two, I've seen these kinds of headlines about this or that company, and I just don't understand how people can just throw integrity out the window and post wild opinions as news on these "news" sites.
Just recently, I read that Midway Games is supposedly blaming Unreal 3 on their financial woes. The reporter of this news fails to go any deeper into what was really said by Midway, and instead makes this sensation claim, as if they could blame all of their troubles on one engine among all of the engines that they use, and all of their 3rd party products. What really was said was, they spent too much time customizing the engine, without having any real experts on it, which ended up costing them time and quality in the end. In other words, they shouldn't have opened up the hood on the car when they didn't know how to fix the parts they ripped out.
Maybe it sounds lousy that I'm sitting here defending 2 companies, both that I have worked for, but they are the most recent examples of this behavior. I find it intensely annoying, and it makes me want to quit reading some of these websites.
Friday, November 14, 2008
It's That Season Again
Christmas always comes early for us gamers doesn't it? So much to play and so little time.
The curse really amplifies when you are a game developer, let me tell you. Our deadlines are almost always falling around these dates without fail, whether a game is being released or not, but we want to enjoy the fruits of everyone elses labors in the game industry at the same time.
I've been trying to be "good" and not buy a zillion games, but somehow they keep sneaking into my shopping cart anyway. I didn't intend to buy Dead Space right after it came out, but lo' and behold I'm still playing it one hour at a time.
I also intend to buy Left 4 Dead, whether or not I have the time to play it is yet to be determined.
I've told myself that I can't keep buying games unless I either beat some of them, or cancel memberships to them if they are MMOs. Somehow, I just can't part ways with EVE yet, because it's just so damn good. I get all of my SOE games for free, so there is no reason to quit playing them (hehe), and I haven't gotten burned out on Warhammer Online yet, but I've definitely slowed down my play due to my work habits.
As far as work has been going, well, it's been going amazing. We have made huge strides with The Agency, and I've been really enjoying how things are progressing with the game. It keeps getting more and more fun, and I am really proud that I have had a nice impact on the game since I've joined the team.
I still feel these twinges of sadness though when I think about EverQuest II. The expansion is coming out very soon, and they just celebrated their 4th year anniversary, so it's a bit tough on me in a way because I not only miss my friends who are still on that team, but I miss being immersed in that game as much as I was. I look forward to seeing how the dungeons I initially designed before I left for The Agency turned out, because most of them were empty shells or just lines on map in a wiki page when I last saw them. I have seen some of the Miragul's stuff, which I'm really stoked to see, because the concept behind that content was a long time coming before it saw the light of day. Some of the ideas that sparked those zones were things I wrote up almost 3 years ago right after I finished writing the Splitpaw Saga quests, so it's wonderful to see it come to life finally. I'm sure alot has changed from those initial ideas, but it's nice to see a little bit of me in there somewhere even still.
The curse really amplifies when you are a game developer, let me tell you. Our deadlines are almost always falling around these dates without fail, whether a game is being released or not, but we want to enjoy the fruits of everyone elses labors in the game industry at the same time.
I've been trying to be "good" and not buy a zillion games, but somehow they keep sneaking into my shopping cart anyway. I didn't intend to buy Dead Space right after it came out, but lo' and behold I'm still playing it one hour at a time.
I also intend to buy Left 4 Dead, whether or not I have the time to play it is yet to be determined.
I've told myself that I can't keep buying games unless I either beat some of them, or cancel memberships to them if they are MMOs. Somehow, I just can't part ways with EVE yet, because it's just so damn good. I get all of my SOE games for free, so there is no reason to quit playing them (hehe), and I haven't gotten burned out on Warhammer Online yet, but I've definitely slowed down my play due to my work habits.
As far as work has been going, well, it's been going amazing. We have made huge strides with The Agency, and I've been really enjoying how things are progressing with the game. It keeps getting more and more fun, and I am really proud that I have had a nice impact on the game since I've joined the team.
I still feel these twinges of sadness though when I think about EverQuest II. The expansion is coming out very soon, and they just celebrated their 4th year anniversary, so it's a bit tough on me in a way because I not only miss my friends who are still on that team, but I miss being immersed in that game as much as I was. I look forward to seeing how the dungeons I initially designed before I left for The Agency turned out, because most of them were empty shells or just lines on map in a wiki page when I last saw them. I have seen some of the Miragul's stuff, which I'm really stoked to see, because the concept behind that content was a long time coming before it saw the light of day. Some of the ideas that sparked those zones were things I wrote up almost 3 years ago right after I finished writing the Splitpaw Saga quests, so it's wonderful to see it come to life finally. I'm sure alot has changed from those initial ideas, but it's nice to see a little bit of me in there somewhere even still.
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