Meltdown

I'm having a few problems with my PC. By "a few", I mean *it-literally-melts-if-I-even-try-to-run-a-flash-game*. Which means I've had to order a new computer. I'll probably be unable to update this for a couple of days, but rest assured you'll be able to hear me grumble and rant shortly. The only difference will be that I'll have a loud quad-core PC to drown out the noise.

The computer should arrive late this week and I'm going to a concert on Sunday, which means the next update is likely to be around Monday/Tuesday next week.

Until then, I'll cross my fingers and hope this PC doesn't explode!

Where am I?

I thought I'd post an update to let you guys know where you can find me on the interblag. I check most of these often, so feel free to get in touch!


Facebook - Where I get my (perhaps too regular) dose of social networking.

Flickr - Where I keep a few of my photos.

Strip Generator - Where I make the comic strips for this blog.

Raptr - Where I track the games I play.

Deviant Art - Where I upload some of my artwork.

Kongregate - Where I go to play a few Flash games when I'm bored.

Twitter - I don't use this much anymore. But I might start it again soon.

Form Spring - Where you can ask me anything you want.

Generation Games

Hello world.
I came across an interesting article by Gus Mastrapa, headed: "21st-Century Shooters Are No Country for Old Men" today. It got me thinking (breaking the trend) about the advancement of "skill" through generations.
The argument the article poses is that the younger generation are becoming so adept at playing video games that they have already overtaken the progress of older gamers (even those with many more years of experience).
It's a fascinating concept to be able to see changes so rapid, but also because a high amount of skill in such games (typically shooters) requires faster reactions, sharper visual perception and precise control of the input device (such as a mouse, keyboard, gamepad etc). If these skills are developing and even out-performing the skill level of an older, more experienced player, then at what point will the improvements peak? Have we yet reached that point? Will everybody see the day where they get beaten by a squeaky-voiced, obnoxious 10 year old?

Is it only shooters that the theory applies to? They would appear the require the highest amount of technical skill, with puzzle or strategy games often claiming the prize for working the brain the most. Is it the skills used in this Genre that are able to develop earlier perhaps? Or, as I may suggest, is it down to practice? The "younger generation" undoubtedly have more time to spend playing the games than the typical older gamer.
Another interesting idea is the inclusion of new concepts. When a genuinely game-changing concept is introduced (vastly altering how a game is played), is the skill difference between generations reset? I would say that while the idea is new and unfamiliar, the ground is level. This would eventually change however, as the younger generation has more time to practice and experiment with the concept. And soon the kids will be annoying the adults once more, thus is the circle of life.

Kids: Enjoy it while it lasts, it won't be long until you get beaten by somebody a decade younger than you.



Reference:
Gus Mastrapa's Article

Student Life

Thought I'd write something about my time here at University. For those of you that don't know, I'm studying at DeMontfort on a (BSc) Media Production course (yes, it does exist). I'm 19 weeks in now and everything's going pretty well.
During this time I have:

-Created a website in html using JPad Pro.
(It's basic, but it worked well enough.)

-Created a photomontage with Adobe Photoshop.
(Always been more of a Paint Shop Pro person, to be honest.)

-Learned Animation using Adobe Director.
(Still need to create a final though.)

-Learned to use Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing.
(Sensing an Adobe theme here...)

-Built a Radio
(What a useful skill, eh?)

-Learned that calculators have buttons on them.
(Thanks Captain Obvious... Erm... "Mike Howkins"...)

Some of the lectures are dire (here's looking at you, Tech Fundamentals) but others aren't so bad, and the lab sessions are always useful. Most of the work is done in my room, which has to fight for my attention between the Xbox, Parties and Clubs. It always gets done, though I have no idea how.
Out of tuition life couldn't get much better; cheap drinks, plenty to do and extreme chairing!



Anyway, I should bring this entry to a close. So, without further ado I present the second comic strip. Sorry it's a bit small, you can view it in full by clicking it.

Stripping: A different way

You heard it here first; I'm going to start stripping. Comic stripping that is. From this post onwards I'll be creating a comic strip to accompany my entries on here. I'll try to make the theme tie-in with the topic of the post, but I can't make any promises. It's easy to get distracted from the main subject and wander off a little... So, before I end the post I'd like to- Oh look! A squirrel!

Scapegoats and Tanks

I was stumbling through the internet this morning (anything to distract myself from giving a presentation...) and came across a couple of articles that caught my attention.

The first, "Tanks, but no tanks" details how an iPod game ("Tank Battles in Suburbia"), a game that features New Jersey towns in it's level design, was received in New Jersey. To say the least, it had mixed reactions. The Mayor of Edison "Antonia Ricigliano" claims:

"Some of these video games are — my goodness — why are they so bent on destruction?"

An interesting question, Mr Ricigliano. May I retort? Have you ever played the game? Does your opinion on the subject extend any further than the title of the game? Are you, for lack of a better term, reading a book by it's cover? It would seem that Antonia hasn't done his research. So, I did it for him; TBiS (Tank Battles in Suburbia) is a top-down, low budget arcade shooter. It features a small tank sprite that fires small pellets (shells) to eliminate other tank sprites. Add to that buildings that are destroyed in ~2 hits and you have yourself an iPod game. (To see the game for yourself check the links at the end of this post.) It's about as destructive and dangerous as a cotton bud wrapped in bubble-wrap.
In a somewhat redeeming conclusion "Kathryn Weller-Demming" (a Councilwoman-at-large for Montclair) stated:

"I don’t think there’s anything a fictional video game can take away from what’s great about Montclair. Certainly no one should be encouraged to perpetuate violence, but video games don’t raise people. Parents raise people."

Somebody get that woman a cookie. It's uplifting to see somebody ready to say it how it is. After all, who's going to be driving tanks through New Jersey because they played it on their iPod? "Haha! I've come to the Suburbs to shoot at Tanks! What...? There aren't any here but me?... Hmmm... I didn't really think this through..."

The second article is considerably worse.
A nine year old boy from Stewart Creek Elementary School hung himself in the school restrooms. Stemming from this, a Clinical Psychologist Dr. Brenda Wade stepped in to offer her views.
She claims that tragedies such as this are due to two main factors:
-“More instability” in families, because of external stresses and the economy.
-Violent video games.
Yes. That's right: Violent video games kill... Or do they?
Dr Wade claims:

"We just covered, a couple days ago, the story that children are watching as much as 52 hours a week of TV and sitting in front of a screen."

Fair enough, a reasonable observation. But then she continues:

"A lot of that content is not uplifting and it’s not teaching our children how to handle problems and feelings."

Woah. Hold on there a second. We went from research to opinion in seconds. Since when are games not uplifting? They are played because they are enjoyed by the player. Another interesting point is that at no point is it ever shown that this boy played video games, never-mind those that are restricted. It seems like blatant scapegoating of a tragedy to me.

Perhaps the problem is elsewhere? Perhaps for example in family life?
Dr Wade seemed not too fond of this idea and stated that she doesn't "want to blame and cast dispersions” at what role the boy’s family may have played in the tragedy. This is an unusual claim as she previously said:

"The other factor is that younger and younger children are exposed to very violent videogames with content that I would shudder to have an adult watch on a regular basis."

So, to summarise; Children are playing adult rated games. Parents are buying their children adult rated games. The parent's are not at fault? Yeah, that makes perfect sense. Thank you Dr Wade.

Well, rant over. There are links to everything I've mentioned below.
What do you think about the articles? Let me know.


Sources:

TBiS Gameplay video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XzHm7F-3rQ

TBiS Sample Image:
http://iphone.iusethis.com/screenshot/iphone/tankbattlesinsuburbia.png

Game Poltics Article - Tanks but no Tanks:
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/01/27/tanks-no-tanks-nj-civic-leaders-react-game

Game Politics Article - Dr Plays Violent Game Blame Card:
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/01/26/after-tragedy-dr-plays-violent-game-blame-card

A Warm Welcome

Well, I finally caved in and made a blog. Doubting anybody will ever actually read this gives a sense of freedom, so I can write pretty much anything. Though, as I've come to learn, just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Basically, this will be a place I'll try to keep updated with random thoughts and ideas. A (hopefully not too scary) insight into my impersonal life.
It will undoubtedly be awful and ill-structured at first, but bare with me, I'll get there.

Here's to the birth of something that probably won't last too long [insert politically incorrect joke here]: My Blog.