Friday, May 30, 2008

Updates: Movies VS Games

When George Lucas re-released Star Wars, he replaced bad rubber puppets with fancy CGI, added more scenes, and changed others. This led to nerds around the world crying out in anger (much like Darth Vader in Ep III) because the movie from their childhood was modified and thus ruined.

This never happens to video games.

When a game is updated everyone is happy. In fact, most gamers want to see their favorite games updated for the next-gen consoles. Who doesn't want to see the flat, pixel-ridden Mario from Super Mario Bros. changed into a beautifully drawn cartoon Mario? Heck, add in some extra levels too. Why don't we toss in some new enemies while we're at it? As long as Nintendo kept what was good about it (the gameplay), so very few would ever be bothered by the update. And those that were bothered are probably content playing the original anyhow.

What is it that makes video games different? Why do we mourn the loss of our childhood when a movie we liked gets a fresh polish, but cheer when we see a new update come down the pipe for our favorite game?

Monday, May 12, 2008

Getting spun-up on piracy

Nothing gets me more frustrated than people sticking their fingers in their ears because it's easier to maintain the status quo than to admit they might be wrong and change something. Today's frustration comes from the video gaming industry.

This here is a long-winded article discussing why PC game piracy isn't the real problem. Please take the time to read it. Maybe someone with some clout in the industry will read it and take a stand. If nothing else, perhaps it will help garner enough support in the general populous to get some positive changes made.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Quasihemidemisemiquaver


Let us welcome the 128th note's full name into our vocabularies. "Billy, do play this group of sixteen quasihemidemisemiquavers; it sounds lovely."