Oh goody, it's blogging time! Another month of fun passes, and I urgently need to pass on my experiences to other people for some twisted reason. Let's get this show on the road!
===Upgrades===
Here's a fun fact: my very first blog (over two years ago) was about wanting to upgrade my PS3's 60GB hard-drive. That plan never came into fruition until just a few days ago when I went ahead and bought myself a 320GB HDD. To celebrate, I suppose I'll finally buy that Valkyria Chronicles DLC, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, and maybe even Megaman 9. It sure feels nice not having to delete demos after finishing them and being able to install as many games as I want.
To expand upon my memory-whoring, I also bought a 1TB external hard-drive as well. It was initially used to back up and restore my PS3's data, but now it's being used to store music, movies, games, and anime. I feel totally carefree when it comes to memory usage now.
I also bought a PS2 to PS3 memory card adapter, which is actually a pretty useless device to most PS3 owners nowadays if you think about it (no backwards compatibility). I transferred all of my PS2 memory card data onto my PS3 so that I can experience more of my games with the convenience of a single machine.
Oh, and I decided to change my flashy GameSpot profile banner into something a little more subtle and clean. I even went through the painstaking process of creating a blog banner which continues on from my main banner – viewable if you go to my main profile page. I'll probably keep this one for another year or so like my last one.
===Games===
Alright, let's start with the obligatory one: Uncharted 2. After playing it bit-by-bit over the last three days, I got up early in the morning (11:30AM to be exact) and didn't move from my couch until five in the afternoon to finish it up. The game is pretty much one giant cliché executed extremely well. There wasn't a single moment when I felt bored, but there weren't many moments when I felt surprised either. Overall, I loved it.
BlazBlue has been taking away all of my gaming time yet again, instigating a trophy hunt for the first time in my life. I'm just one trophy away from my first Platinum; all I need to do is play 80 or so more ranked matches and I'm good to go. I won't be hunting for any more Plats anytime soon though. BlazBlue just happened to be a very special case for me.
Zone of the Enders 2 also met its end, and it was fabulous as well. I freakin' love mechs so much. 
I'll probably start playing Demon's Souls and Dead Space now. Demon's Souls is souly, and Dead Space is spacey. That's all I can say for now.
I also decided to get DJ Max Portable: Clazziquai Edition. It's definitely a lot easier than Black Square, but I love the song selection.
===Game Development===
School-wise, I decided to take a senior animation course which occurs every Tuesday at night for two hours a week. I get four extra credits upon completion, and it's a course I was supposed to take next semester. This means that my independent game studies has been bumped forward by half of a year – giving me more precious time to create my atrocity of a game.
Speaking of which, remember that pretentious sounding music game I had envisioned? From a design point of view, the idea sounded fun at first, but to execute it well would have been a frustrating process. That's why I decided to simplify things and replicate a tried-and-true formula. Here's how a snobby Hollywood producer might pitch my idea:
StarFox with Mechs!
So yeah, an on-rails, mech-piloting game would be a safer thing to try. It'll be like a love child between StarFox64 and Zone of the Enders 2 – or at least on paper. Here are some random ideas I've put down:
- The cast will consist of 4 pilots – all with their own unique mechs and abilities. You play as a badass guy who always wears sunglasses and screams every syllable (idea pending), because I'm honestly sick of wimpy pilots in badass mechs. There will be two other gals and one other guy as support.
- Lots of voiced radio-chatter with character portraits and subtitles. Yeah – just like StarFox.
- 100% piano soundtrack. I'll be commissioning a friend of mine to compose and record an intensely relaxing soundtrack. It's totally not going to fit the mood, and that's why I want it.
- You won't ever see the pilots rendered in 3D, and you won't ever see the mechs rendered in 2D. The story will be delivered through 2D stills (which I'll have to draw by hand
) and played through a 3D engine. The best of both worlds, no?
So yeah, I'll try posting my progress on this as much as possible – assuming I don't move onto an even simpler idea. Here's a concept drawing I did half-heartedly a few days ago. The best part of making a mech game is drawing those skin-tight plug suits the pilots have to wear. It's because of the synch ratio – I swear!
Rawr.
===More Facts===
Finally, I've been tagged again… again. Just like those other 30 times. Here are 5 more facts you shouldn't have to know about some dude you met over the internet:
1. I love swing dancing. There's nothing like becoming the puppeteer of a female body – manipulating how they turn, spin, jump, and flip on and around my own body like a delusional snake. Oh, and it's fun too.
2. I love dogs – I see them on a scale of living value just as high as or even higher than human beings.
3. Anything I say pertaining to the number 4 will be false.
4. Anything I say pertaining to the number 3 will be true.
5. I've never missed trick-or-treating on Halloween in my entire life, and don't plan on doing so until I graduate from high school next year. It's always a thrill to go out at night dressed up as some sort of abomination – ringing doorbells and screaming for candy with my friends. What can I say? I'll always be a kid at heart.
If you have a mom, then I'm tagging her.
OHHHHHHH YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!