gewgaw

One thing that is *not* happening to me in LA is a tan.

Last weekend Souris was kind enough to document my status as “human bling” – the term Ben, Neb and I coined for this unique beach-blinding status.

Here I am comparing to Mish – the other bright lady on our trip.

We decided that she’s pink, and I’m peach – but I do believe she’s the blingingist of the pair.

Even inside, I glare. Thank god for SPF 50+.

ONE:

I went to see Wall-E on Thursday at midnight (thanks for the invite Disney!!) with a bunch of folks from the team. I know that some people are not really into the switch mid-film to people (from straight up robot romance) but I did not find it as jarring as some. Overall, I thought the film was a triumph of expert, emotional puppeteering – and was especially intrigued by the type of romantic love it explores.

Think of the typical boy-meets-girl stuff you see in film. Rarely, if ever, does such a film feature the kind of strong maternal connection that exists between the two bots. I’m thinking specifically of the scene where Eve catches Wall-E in mid-fall, as his fire extinguisher/space rocket runs out. But the entire sequence, from first kiss to final cuddle, has a tone that resonates with motherly tenderness.

I was also struck by the sequences with Eve, where she is struggling to fulfill her duty almost mindlessly. Frustrated and angry she’s so happy to ignore the advances of her admirer. Focused to a fault, her dedication is destructive on more than one occasion. Career robot of the future meets reformed work-a-day joe with an eye for beauty. Watching that give way to a deeper understanding of what contact could bring – what kinds of unfulfilled longings might somehow blossom when acknowledged… that left me deeply moved.

It’s no secret that women’s lib has introduced complex questions about our professional, personal, romantic and reproductive drives and roles. Media, sometimes brash and alternatively bashful has attempted to address the issues. Sure, it’s a stretch to say that what I saw in Eve’s angry pouting and motherly embrace are allegories for the struggles of modern women. But the fact that I saw something that deep on the surface of this film really surprised me. Even if it was a totally personal, unique response – it speaks volumes to the success of these characters & their creators. Kudos.

TWO:

Los Angeles is spoiling me. Yesterday I woke up at 10 to breezy ocean smells and bright sun. A lazy morning with coffee and a book in the shade led to tea at Jin Patisserie (again, breezy shade & wonderful aromas)… and then to Sunfish Sushi with Team HP. Fantastic fish available in a posh, chain-potential setting… for $35. Then meeting up with Rodrigo to enjoy the karaoke stylings of LA regulars at Boardwalk 11. Strong drinks, kind local demi-celebrities… and Liz Phair in the songbook. What could be better?

I live 5 minutes from the office and have no desire to move elsewhere. But I know I cannot afford to buy a house where I live. And long-term, what ar the chances that my next awesome gig will be in this studio, so close to all that I’m beginning to love? It’s hard to imagine being spoiled like this forever, Westside style. But it’s getting harder & harder to imagine leaving.

THREE:

I miss my Lulu, so much.

Until she returns for E3, the new Death Cab record will have to do.

It’s about time!!.

:)

Finally – I got the Creature Creator up and running on my new laptop!

Meet Boudy – a seahorse-inspired land mammal with rump powered defenses:

and Nubbin – a spiney bird-lizard that lines its nests with smooth, black river stones (duh – they absorb & retain heat!):

Click and save the PNGs to capture for your game, and click through to see videos of them in action!

- – -

One of my favorite things to do right now is to look at human-like bi-pedal animation in the creature system. This video is actually pretty awesome, in that regard – fanciful. Fast-forward to the end to see the babies – it’s bizarre!

Endless hours of fun. You know it’s a Maxis classic when it’s depriving you of sleep!

:P

GO GO GO Team Spore!!

Some interesting number crunching in the vein of my earlier post on data.

After evaluating the raw numbers for the broadest category (both genders, all ages), it’s interesting to divide the total reported sales so far by the number of reporting Nintendo Channel players (which you can get by looking at the total hours played vs. the average playtime for a given player).

MORE fasciniating stuff! Yay – data!!

Props to JR for sharing thoughts on BB’s projected sales, marketing and overall expectations!

I was curious to see all the coverage in the last few days re: sales (overall charts) as opposed to sales on the Wii… and also, to see so few comparisons to other 3rd party titles (say Carnival Games, Zach and Wiki, or even Okami).

PS: Best wishes to Neil – we’ll miss you, and know you will rock in your next gig! Also – big ups and congrats to Lucy and Lou on their new roles within Maxis and my new home, Blueprint! Super things ahead!

PPS: Thanks to MJ for the sneak peek at MSK – so so so cute!!

The most recent Nintendo Channel update introduces a data publishing feature. Now, you can type in the name of a game and see the stats they have downloaded for playtimes – as well as some user rating info.

For example: You can see how Mario Galaxy rates in terms of casual perception/appeal within different age and gender segments. You can also look up raw play times (first party games really dwarf those of most third party offerings) and see what players like in addition to the title at hand. It’s fascinating!!

Seriously – it’s worth checking out! Depending on how you slice it (ie: this is a voluntary service, it doesn’t touch all Wii owners, etc), it’s certainly the first time I’ve observed just how deep the cross-appeal of Nintendo titles is. EG: The favorites list for Mario Kart = Super Smash Bros, Mario Party 8, Mario Strikers Charged, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Hoops 3-on-3.

Wow – that’s a lot of Mario!! In light of recent posts, I’m once again curious to see what this means for folks like me – who want to reach people out there on the Wii!

Ars nods to BB in a post on the continued domination of Wii charts by Nintendo software.

Woot!!

Still – it really is a problem. I find myself wondering what Nintendo will do to continue supporting third-party developers. More direct marketing in Nintendo Power? More support for improved feature sets (online multiplayer, content sharing and maybe even sd card support)? Will continued improvements to offerings on the Channel delivery service open up new avenues for non-Nintendo games?

We are all waiting, fingers crossed!!

A funny (and sadly resonant) piece in the SF weekly on the serious space-eating problems caused by the battle between Rock Band and it’s former incarnation/now rival (the name “Guitar Hero” was purchased by Activision), among other peripheral-enabled games.

At the moment I have 3 game guitar controllers, a game drum kit, a digital drum kit (”real drums”), and standard Fender bass in my living room… and taiko drums (abandoned for the new DS game which is so fun!) and DDR dance pads stuffed in the closet.

I’m considering it a personal mission to encourage the next wave of small, unobtrusive and integrated controllers. Get on it, folks!!

Hahahah – the Sporepedia has the best 404 evar!!

Congrats to everyone who has worked so long to get the Creature Creator and related content systems up and running – you know who you are.

It really is a work of art!!

Another awesome set of comments from the guys at Penny Arcade:

“Boom Blox has experienced a resurgence here, as we have travelled out of the main modes – some of which devolve into shooting-gallery style minigame abortions – and into the adversarial modes. There are a few options in here, as is often the case in this game: going into one menu will open up four menus which then bloom into eleven more options. This is probably why we had not discovered that there is a fully-loaded version of fucking Warlords in there, queued up and ready to go.

Warlords is my heart’s delight, as Gabriel is quite aware. The spirit of the game has been scrupulously maintained, though it now works in a way that makes it a more strategic experience. The two player mode has a ton more maps, but the three included in four player all have their virtues. The concept is surprisingly elegant: each identical castle has a number of gem blocks inside and on its ramparts that must be destroyed. This is the standard Boom Blox motif that you already know about. But there are two sizes of gem blocks, and knocking out the larger of the two gives that person another cannonball on their next turn, making you think twice about your targets. Also, because of the unintended consequences shots can have, it’s easy to knock an enemy’s block into another opponent’s castle, or even into your own. This complicates matters in th best kind of way. Let’s break it down even further: it is a delicious, vandal thrill to throw heavy bowling balls at your friends’ shit. The level of spite on offer here is comparable to a Gears chainsaw fatality, and if you don’t believe me, it’s because you haven’t played it. The couch diplomacy common to four player contests moved very quickly, as shifting allegiances, canny trick shots, and bizarre accidents altered the field of play.

This mode could use about a thousand more maps.

Souris took two of the most LA photos of us I’ve ever seen last weekend around the corner from our place, on Abbot Kinney:

Once I got over how silly they were – I started getting hungry for some tacos & “Silken Skin” – the juice specialty of our corner favorite. Viva LA!!

Check out her interview here!

Go indiegirl – go!!

BB is featured in this week’s Onion AV club!! Check it out!

An interesting article on the ethics of exclusive reviews and other practices within the game reviewer community – which links to the stuff I mentioned over at MTV as well.