Sorry for the late post, folks. Yesterday was an EXTREMELY fun and productive day, meeting with longtime favorite artists and some of my best friends, IRL and on the net. This geek has found the ability to network and communicate is ESSENTIAL for success in artistry and in life in general! Here’s to a great day in artistic geekdom!
Sorry, folks. Life has been a bit more insane than usual.
I’ll be posting about the return of our favorite shows when I get a chance to write more than a couple of sentences.
There’s something really unfortunate about being sick on a weekend. It kinda feels like your body is cheating you out of a day off, instead of during the work week when it’s more like an unexpected reprieve from the drudgery of the office. Fortunately for me, Sunday wasn’t ruined, really, since I did basically what I’d been hoping to do- I sat on the sofa, bundled up, and played video games. Specifically Psychonauts.
Now, if you haven’t heard of this game, it’s a pity. While it came out a few years ago, it’s wasn’t wildly popular like, say, Madden. Which is too bad, because this game is super sharp. The writing alone makes this game worth playing. It’s hysterical, even the throw away dialog that you hear when you walk past other characters on your journeys around the camp. Just wander around and stand near people, honestly it’s worth it. The game basically is this: You play Raz, a young boy who’s run away from home (at the circus) to go to summer camp. Not just any summer camp, of course, it’s a summer camp for kids endowed with extra mental powers. It quickly becomes clear that Something Is Not Right as Raz witnesses a strange and creepy man stealing the brain of one of the other campers!
Now I haven’t gotten too far in the game yet (I kept having to take time off for naps and tea and suchlike. Curse this being ill.) but so far Raz has learned several new tricks including pyrokenisis and what can best be described as mind bullets. I’m not sure how they will top the amazing level where I got to play a godzilla style monster in downtown lungfishopolis, though. There is something deeply satisfying about crushing buildings with a single footstep and throwing tanks at each other, then finally fighting an endboss styled after Ultraman.
Now I do have to admit that Psychonauts has an appropriately bizarre art style, and some of the levels are definitely strange, which can be somewhat offputting, but I think that the genius of the writers and the geme’s designers trumps that. So, if you’re looking for something new and maybe a bit quirky, this game is definitely for you. G’wan, help Raz through the special troubles of a summer camp for really special kids. It’s a fabulous way to spend a sick day.
Howdy!
Before we get started, seeing as I’m the new kid on the block around here, let me introduce myself real quick. I’ve been involved in the anime and video game industries and communities in some shape, form, or fashion for far longer than I’d like to admit. I make my living as a writer — technical writing by day, freelance writer by night. You can find my by-lines in Beckett Massive Online Gamer and in Anime Insider magazines, and yes, I’m the goofball responsible for the Lineage II cheesecake review.
I watch a lot of anime, much more than what should be considered healthy, and yet I still have four or five shelves of DVDs that I still haven’t gotten around to. I love the medium and I believe that as a devout fan, I should never have a reason to nit-pick and criticize shows for their flaws. That’s why you’ll probably never see a review from me; my articles are geared towards the promotion of anime, regardless of its genre, and that’s what the primary focus of this column will be about.
Plugging In will be highlighting new series that will be released, or in the process of being released, in North America, and explaining why you should watch the show. If all goes well, I may be able to get hold of some special and exclusive features as well! For the record, I’m not being paid or sponsored by any anime company; this is just my meager contribution towards the growth of the industry.
And now, on with the show!
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Appleseed: Ex Machina is the action-packed collaboration between Hong Kong gun-fu cinematographer John Woo as producer and anime mecha-master Shinji Aramaki in the director’s chair. This sequel to the 2004 Appleseed movie takes CG action animation to a new level with explosive gun fights, furious kung-fu fighting action, and high-flying Matrix-inspired Guges Landmate dogfighting combat.
The world of Appleseed is a future post-apocalyptic earth devastated by an intense non-nuclear war that wiped out half of the world’s population. The lands were left barren by the massive amounts of ordinance used in the conflict and governments were left shattered and in disarray. As an experiment to prevent further disaster, a genetically engineered race of beings known as Bioroids were created — devoid of emotion, and with their lives strictly regulated and controlled, they were given responsibility for the governance and administration of a new city of hope, Olympus.
Deunan Knute is a strong-willed member of Olympus’ E.S.W.A.T. special forces peacekeeping team who stands out an exceptionally skilled human in a squad full of combat-enhanced cyborgs. Her partner, Briareos, is the only full-conversion cyborg in existence able to control the Hecatonchires cyborg frame. Toss a prototype combat Bioroid, Tereus, into the mix, and you get just over 100 minutes of intense, edge-of-your-seat action.
Those who enjoy action-oriented shows will have plenty to keep their adrenaline pumping. Fans of Shirow Masamune’s works won’t be disappointed with this animated adaptation of his manga either. Deunan serves up one piping-hot, strong female lead character, while Briareos’ gun-toting machismo would make Chow Yun Fat green with envy. The movie offers a plot, story, and some romance and drama as well, but they play second-fiddle to the main attraction of the film: stuff blowing up.
And yes, there are doves too.
Look for the DVD from Warner Bros.
Spring is upon us and love is in the air! So, how shall us geeks celebrate the great out doors?
Typically, we do our best geekery indoors. Our computers live there, our televisions live there, our game consoles live there, our comics live there. Besides driving to the store for geek fuel (teh fudz) or the occasional family barbecue, why would we go outside?
Society for Creative Anachronism!
Nothing says “I love you” more than beating on each other with large, foam-padded weapons. Right?
I’ve only dabbled in this form of geekery so my experience might not be typical. A group of my friends get together every year to set out on a quest. The Dungeon Master spends a few days to create a scenario depending on how many are going to participate. Then he gives everyone their role and they set out to a park to reenact the scenario. Everyone is outfitted with foam padded PVC weapons and foam padded arrows. The game starts and the beatings commence!
Okay, so that doesn’t sound all that romantic. But it’s something geeky that you can do outdoors with your sweetie! And there is a connection between violence and sex. So after a hard day of kicking the crap out of each other, there could be some extra action at home.
As of now, most of my electronics are in a box waiting for transit on Saturday - that’s the day a U-Haul truck comes by and I toss my essentials into the back, and then it’s off to the new digs! As you can probably tell, this makes writing a bit sticky.
Sorry that things are a bit busy - I’ll be back next week for sure.
Wow, I used “nascent” in a title!
A geek’s not a geek unless they are the master of their fandom’s domain, right? Be it cross-stitching, steam engines, The Clash, garage kits, HD television hookupsso the Immaculate Reception comes in at 1080p… the intimate understanding of our hobbies & pastimes are what define this subculture — correct?
Blogging here, and in recent posts (as well as a sedated but strictly adhered theme on this DA page) I feel I haven’t properly brought to light what makes this geek’s eyes glitter: SIDE SCROLLING SHOOTING GAMES. Or, “shmups.”
There’s been a LOT to be excited for lately, even in my last post (Dodonpachi Daioujou & Ketsui disc release, XBOX360) was an unthinkable occurence. And already, the Nintendo Wii & XBOX360 offer some of the best of a “golden age” era of shmups. Soldier Blade, R-Type 3, Trigger Heart Exelica, Omega Five, Tukumi Fighters… All we need is to hear Touhou making an appearance on a next gen console or a full fledged PC compilation, and the whole genre will have ressurected itself in full.
Shooters are my moe. Shmups are my anti-drug. Where people say “NO” to 200 on-screen projectiles, I say “ooooh, graze/scratch bonus!” “1CC”, “rank”, “zako” or “option” are part of the regular language and leaderboards, superplay videos, and arcade PCB kits are the historical records. But then so are some goofy commercials too.
In any case, the genre is healthy and many fine geeks across the net choose Spring as the time to watch the blossoming of danmaku patterns as well as cherry & dogwood. Do your best you have ever done, readers!
Sorry, folks. Work has kept me busy, busy enough that I can’t remember what I was going to write about.
I’ll try to get a post up later this week.
Still another tough question! Aren’t I full of ponderous philosophy lately? But really, how DO you put a price on artistic work? Let’s think about it from a purely business standpoint for a moment. There are the materials to consider, (and if the work is digital, that can be pricey indeed! Yeah, Photoshop and Wacom tablets!) There is the hourly rate of the artist, which will naturally vary from person to person. There is printing, mounting, blocking, packaging, and shipping, that all might be necessary to consider. Then there is a big question- what if it’s a movie of some sort? Distribution is another cost- do you go with DVDs or release it on a digital download system?
Assuming you aren’t going to make one person pay for your entire Adobe CS bill, how do you decide how much to charge for that print? How much should a hand knit sweater cost? Or the CD that took your band 2 months to put together? Or the quilt that your grandmother made? It’s really hard to be honest with yourself when putting a monetary value on your time, your talents, and your passion. Most artists do it because they love the art, not because they want to get filthy rich, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be fairly compensated for what they do.
When I asked Hawk about his work, he talked about his Ebay auctions from a few years ago. He was raising funds for… um… something, and posted a few sketches up on Ebay to help. Auctions are wonderful for determining the value of a piece of work, though it’s sometimes tough to get perspective. Hawk’s work ended up in a last-second bidding war and the sketch sold for several hundred dollars. “I was freaking out when it up just to 20 bucks! In my mind, it’s just a sketch, a drawing. I’m not dead!” The not being dead part seems to be a sticking point- DaVinci and Degas are dead and their work is priceless! That must be the trick! I can’t be alive while my work is valued highly!! What do you do if you’re not dead but still want to make some money off your work?!
I asked Garth Graham about how he puts a price on his art when I talked to him recently- he’s a professional artist making a living off his work. “A lot of it is having a heart to heart talk with yourself and saying, ‘how much am I worth?’ A realistic evaluation of the quality of your work, and how long it takes to make it, and how much that time and effort is worth.” It’s hard to be honest enough with yourself to come to a fair price for your time, but there are ways to start: “I took a look at how much the ‘professionals’ make. I probably should take a look at how much their clients get billed (as one is always bigger than the other in industry). Then I averaged how long it takes me to do a particular kind of drawing and used that as a baseline. I charge commissions based on complexity, using that baseline as a minimum.”
It really still boils down to being honest with yourself about your skills and talents, and how strongly you feel about the work in question. How do you price a creative work?
Spwug is proud to announce that, in one week’s time, Spwug will be joined by the awesome and talented Joe Chan! Joe will be writing about anime, giving us his first impressions and thoughts about what’s hot to watch.
He’ll be taking the Sunday slot, so keep your eyes peeled!
Welcome, Joe!
