http://design-stuffs.blogspot.com/
Notice how I haven’t been doing a lot of blogging lately? It probably has something to do with being swamped by the school year. Anyway, this is a little design-related blog that I’m kicking off for my Computer Graphic Design class.
The New MacBook Pro Price Tag Is Outrageous
I took a moment to compare Apple’s latest MacBook Pro specs with a Sony VAIO S Series Laptop, and I was shocked how little they differed in specs, and how much they differed in cost. Although, I was not altogether surprised.
The MacBook has a slightly better screen resolution, marginally better up-gradable RAM (4GB more when both computers are upgraded), less storage (sure, it’s a solid state drive, but it still has 128GB less default capacity), has half as much dedicated graphics memory, a few minutes more battery power, a 0.2 less GHz processor, and a small amount of included software that can’t possibly be worth more than a couple hundred bucks.
Both computers seem to be fairly even in their ups and downs, and yet Apple charges a whopping $1530 more for their laptop. That is simply absurd! Sure, some people have grown fond of the operating system (even though it has less compatibility with various games and software than Windows), and it has a sleek lightweight design, but is it really worth over fifteen hundred more than a decent PC laptop?
I am truly amazed that Apple can still compete with other companies with prices that outrageous. It’s just baffling.
Products mentioned in this article:
How Would I Cast The Uncharted Movie?
As many of those who have played an Uncharted game probably already know, an Uncharted movie has been announced, and will be directed by Neil Burger. One thing that is unknown, however, is who will be cast for the film? My personal selection for the protagonists are as follows:
Joe Flanigan as Nathan Drake
Maybe I’ve been watching too much Stargate Atlantis lately, but I think Joe Flanigan has got the look, the personality, and as far as the role goes, he could easily pull it off. Yeah, a lot of people think Nathan Fillion is the only way to go, and he is an excellent actor, but I just don’t think he fits the character as well.
??? as Victor Sullivan (Sully)
I honestly have no clue who could, or should play Sully. If you’ve got an idea, feel free to leave it in the comments below. Who has the look, wit, and voice of Victor Sullivan? Some people say J. K. Simmons, some even say Robert De Niro, but I just can’t quite place my finger on it.
Emily Rose as Elena Fisher
The thing about Uncharted, is the characters basically have designated actors/actresses as it is. The characters are modeled after the voice actors/actresses to an extent, so the face fits the voice. And they act out the animations on top of that. Emily Rose is the voice behind Elena Fisher, and looks incredibly similar. Plus she’s a regular actress, too, so it could work.
Claudia Black as Chloe Frazer
Again, Claudia Black is the voice behind Chloe Frazer. And if you’ve seen her in Stargate SG-1 (again with the Stargate, I know, but it’s a cool show!), you’ll know her acting would completely fit the bill. And, again, she’s a close fit as far as looks go.
Jason Statham as Charlie Cutter
He was introduced later in the series, but Cutter’s got a larger role than some of the tag-along characters. He reminds me of Statham, or Statham reminds me of him. Either way, I think this combo could work out. I’ve even heard some people say he’d make a good Nathan Drake, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
I only hope that Neil Burger makes the right choices in the end, and that the movie comes at least close to my expectations. The Uncharted series will be incredibly hard to live up to, they are amazing games, and I just don’t want some crummy film adaption to leave a shameful mark on the franchise.
Curiosity’s first color image from the surface of Mars!
So proud of our little guy up there in space. Color pictures already!? *sniffle sniffle* They grow up so fast.
I feel like we’re edging closer and closer to the space stage every day!
Why I Dislike Zynga, And Why You Should Too
Zynga has yet again been infringing on copyrights to crank out new marketing schemes disguised as Facebook or iPhone games. Nothing new there, except this time they happened to step on the toe of video game industry heavyweight Electronic Arts (EA).
Zynga does this on a regular basis, sometimes picking on the little guys to turn a profit. One of the more recent or prominent instances is perfectly summed up in this little info-graphic sent out by the guys at Nimblebit, the creators of Tiny Tower, when they noticed an uncanny resemblance between their game, and Zynga’s “Dream Heights” (don’t forget to zoom in by clicking the image). Unfortunately, Nimblebit is a three man independent game studio, and simply doesn’t have the resources to successfully do anything about it.
Now let’s get back to Zynga’s newest rip-off “The Ville.” Finally Zynga has pissed off a company that actually has the resources to sue them — I am, of course, referring to EA.
Now, just to be clear, EA is not my favorite game company out there. Actually, it’s far from it. But as much as I disagree with some of their business choices, I would still prefer them over Zynga any day. At least they aren’t stealing from small indie studios to my knowledge.
The Ville is a clear copy of EA’s Facebook game “The Sims Social.” EA has recognized this; heck, even the players recognized this. And EA wasn’t going to sit there and not do anything about it, so they sued them. Finally Zynga is not going to get away with stealing intellectual property from another company. No one has won yet, but I sure hope that it’s EA.
Bradshaw, from EA, even added this statement, which almost makes me rethink my dislike towards their company:
“By calling Zynga out on this illegal practice, we hope to have a secondary effect of protecting the rights of other creative studios who don’t have the resources to protect themselves. Today, we hope to be taking a stand that helps the industry protect the value of original creative works and those that work tirelessly to create them.”
I really hope it turns out that way, but knowing Zynga, it probably won’t stop them for very long.
And if Zynga doesn’t sound evil enough already, head over to this AMA on Reddit, where an ex-employee who quit his job at Zynga states “Zynga is a marketing company, not a games company,” and “Tiny Tower + [Dream Heights] is all standard operating procedure here. If you can’t buy em, clone em.” Among some other things you might want to know before playing Farmville, or Words With Friends.
[Via IGN]
Saucony Originals Jazz Low Pro Vegan - Pros and Cons
I recently bought a pair of Saucony’s Jazz Low Pro Vegan shoes, and decided to amass a pros and cons list to see if I should return them or not (thanks to Zappos awesome return policy).
Pros
- The shoes have padding in all the right places, and are very comfortable.
- They’re vegan, so nothing had to die for the sake of protecting your feet.
- It’s a good looking classic design. So there’s no lack of style.
- They have moderate support, which is better than my last pair of shoes (which were, surprisingly, Adidas).
- They don’t eat my socks when walking uphill (again, my old shoes did have this problem).
- Even though they have a canvas shell, they don’t breath very well, which heats up my feet during hot weather. It probably has to do with the padding.
- They don’t have excellent support.
- They are not very flexible, making hiking or running a little less comfortable. Maybe this will improve once they are broken in a little more.
The Freeware Spelunky is still worth playing
Spelunky was recently released on XBLA, but for those who don’t own Xboxes (myself included), the freeware version of Spelunky is still a lot of fun to play on your computer.
I’ve heard that once you’ve played the new and improved version of Spelunky on your Xbox, that it’s hard to go back to playing the original. But lucky for me, I can still enjoy it until the new version is (hopefully) released on PC.
I’ll be honest, the learning curve is steep, and the controls suck. But if you can get past that, the game is still a fun challenge, and the core rogue-like platformer gameplay that has made it so popular is still there. Plus, you’ll most likely get the controls down within a couple of hours, if not less.
Anyway, I just thought I’d remind everyone that there is still a really fun free version of Spelunky out there just waiting to be played.
Top 10 Useful Tips For Minecraft
I’ve been really getting into Minecraft again recently, and I noticed a few habits of mine that made the game a whole lot easier. So without further ado, my top ten useful tips for Minecraft in no particular order:
- don’t make diamond armor; it uses up diamonds way to quickly, and is not that much better than a set of iron armor.
- When mining, always dig up and down in a stairway fashion. If you dig straight up or down you risk landing in a pool of lava. It’s also good to carry a bucket of water around, too, so you can put out the lava when necessary.
- When you set up camp somewhere, or build a house, press F3 to see the coordinates of your homes location, and write it down on a piece of paper. This will be helpful if you ever find yourself lost. You can just press F3 and move around until you reach the proper coordinates.
- Don’t make gold tools or armor, it may seem enticing to be able to break blocks so much faster, but it also breaks the tools so much faster, and is hardly worth it compared to an iron or diamond tool.
- This may be somewhat controversial, but I find that level seven yields the most diamonds when mining. To find level seven, just dig down to bedrock (in a stairway fashion), and then go up seven steps and start digging around.
- If you travel to the Nether, remember to build some stone walls and a stone roof around the portal on the other end. This will prevent Ghasts from shooting explosives at the portal, and putting it out.
- Don’t attack Zombie Pigmen. Remember: they’re just as afraid of you as you are of them, so if you leave them alone they won’t obliterate you. Also, try not to touch them, as you never know how bad of a temper they may have.
- There are often Nether Fortresses somewhat near to your portal, so to find one, just go to a high place, and set your render distance to “Far” in the settings. Look around, and it’s likely you’ll see a Nether fortress in the distance.
- Don’t destroy Blaze spawners, start a Blaze farm! Blazes can be found in the Nether, and will sometimes drop blaze rods when killed (which are very useful for potions among other things). Just put on a set of iron armor, equip a diamond sword, and start farming. You can tell when a Blaze will spawn by how fast it’s spinning inside the spawner. One to three Blazes will spawn at a time, so be careful.
- Always bring lots and lots of wood with you when mining. You’ll probably be going through a lot of pickaxes, so it’s good to have plenty of wood to make a crafting table and sticks for tools and torches.
That’s all! I hope you find some of these Minecraft tips as useful as I have.
I really need to get a new iPod, but I’m waiting for the 5th generation model, hopefully being released in September.
Along with mine just feeling old at this point (it’s the 3rd gen, but buttons are already getting stuck among other things), I’ve almost completely maxed out my 32GB.
This September I am definitely dropping an extra hundred to get a 64GB. And who knows, maybe my old iPod will sell for $100, which will make the purchase that much easier.
I’ll just have to pick a few thousand more strawberries at my summer job to afford it.
On a side note, the newly announced “iPad Mini” or whatever looks sweet! I’ll probably have to wait a while before picking up that thing, though, assuming it turns out to be as awesome as it sounds.
Right when I got over my Tiny Tower addiction, Nimblebit had to come along and slap me in the face with Pocket Planes.
Seriously, though, this game is fun, charming, and, yes, just as addictive as its predecessor (although, I don’t see why that has become a positive descriptor in the game industry, there’s really nothing positive about addiction in the real world).
Pocket Planes puts you in control of a small empire of airports, and leaves it up to you to expand your empire little by little through some quite entertaining flight management gameplay. It’s really great, and you can just tell that the two guys at Nimblebit put a lot of love and care into this game.
I recommend picking this one up on the App Store. And, y’know… It’s FREE, so what do you have to lose?
Pocket Planes Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocket-planes/id491994942?mt=8
