My Favourite Blogs are Dying?!?!

I just followed a link in the comments of Xbox 360 Fanboy to This Site which mentions a huge cut to the budgets of the Gaming Network of Web blogs owned by AOL. I had noticed something odd recently when some of the sites had people posting under the name "(Name of Webblog here) Staff". I had never seen this before and didn't know what to make of it. Apparently a bunch of the blogs are limited to 5 posts a day and every other post must be done under a staff name and they will not be paid for it. How lame is that? The link mentions that this may only be temporary while AOL looks for someone to buy them out or possibly just until Q3 is over. I really hope that everything works out because I spend a significant amount of time on these blogs and love every minute of it.

An Idea for the Ages

I have spent several of the last 24 hours pondering the Xbox Live Community Games announcement. Personally I believe that, if it's done right, Microsoft could radically alter the entire video game industry. It's only a matter of time before there are hundreds of thousands of games on XBLC and people are going to need a way to find the one that's just right. XBLC will need an interface similar to Youtube with games having ratings and number of downloads info as well as a way to see them all listed by top rated or most downloaded. Also people need a way to follow their favourite new indy dev so dev's need their own profile pages with links to their own games. There should also be a comment system on each games page so people can write mini-reviews and give feedback to indy-devs as well as a way to search by title, genre, or keywords in game descriptions(ball-busting action!). None of this is novel and should be part of the service on day one. If it is and their are some true gems, like most people think there will be, then we could see a huge new source of revenue for Microsoft. The revenue generated by these games could easily match or outperform XBLA and even full-size games. This of course will lead to all consoles attempting it and shifting focus towards community developed games.

Now for the really novel idea. This ones for the guys in Cupertino. Apple should release GarageBand(the recording/mixing/mastering program) for free with all Macs(everything with OSX). Here's the kicker though, for the low, low price of $100 per year(to keep retards out) you can join the Recording Artists Club. What this allows you to do is take any recordings that your "band" makes and release them on iTunes for $0.50 a song. Apple would take $0.10 from every song and the rest goes out to the person/people who submitted it. Once again stealing ideas from popular community sharing sites and programs (like youtube) this idea could radically alter the music industry and allow some of the newest and freshest sounds to be found. One important feature that would probably be necessary is a quick song preview. People love to support grassroots/indy music and this would be an excellent way to serve it to them. I think it would be a serious winner.

XNA Community Games fulfills all my wishes!

At a press event in Seattle Microsoft confirmed that XNA Community Games will launch later this year. What is XNA Community Games you ask?

In 2006 Microsoft released XNA Game Studio Express, a full game language and pipeline built on C# that allows average programmers to make video games for the Xbox 360 and Windows, for free. In 2007 they upgraded to XNA 2.0 which allows online gaming and cross-platform gaming from Xbox to Windows. In 2008 they will upgrade to XNA 3.0 which will allow Zune games to be made.

At the Game Developers Conference Microsoft announced XNA Community Games. A service that will allow "average joe's" to make games using XNA for the Xbox 360 and then release them for download to all Xbox Live members. All games are rated by fellow XNA users before being put on the service.

The new deets announced today are as follows:
All XNA games will be either 200($2.50) MS points, 400($5.00) MS points or 800($10.00) MS points.
The games will be limited to 150 MB file size.
The games can allow players to play over Xbox Live.
All games will have a free demo.
All games will have trailers.
Games will not have achievements.
The developer of the game will receive up to 70% of the revenue (MS take is based on advertising and promotion, the more they promote the game -> the more money they take)

I already have the ability to make incredibly simple games like pong and breakout with XNA and honing my skills this year could see me making actual money in game development by the fall! How sweet!

Lightning Ride

So lately I have been reading a lot about hybrid and all-electric cars and I think I really want one. The major problem is that there aren't any good ones available in Canada. My favourite is probably the Tesla Roadster but I also just read that Mini is going to release an all-electric version, but of course it's only in the states and maybe even only in California. Stupid California getting everything awesome.

I also like to read AutoBlog Green every now and then to see what's up with "green" vehicles.

Retrospectives

If you have absolutely nothing to due and need something to kill some time I highly suggest the video retrospectives over at GameTrailers.com. Basically they are recaps of all the games in a specific series. There are ones for Mario Kart, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Metroid and even Star Wars. I don't know who it is that narrates them but his voice is right up there with Alan Cross. Definitely check them out if you have the time cause they are an excellent read? watch? time...(I guess that works).

Halo Wars

I've been reading a lot about Halo Wars recently. For those not in the know, Halo Wars is an Xbox 360 exclusive Real Time Strategy game being developed by Ensemble Studios. (makers of Age of Empires and Age of Mythologies) It is set in the Halo Universe (obviously) and takes place before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Basically the big deal is that RTS games haven't really worked on consoles in the past. Mostly this is due to the fact that most RTS console games have been ports from the PC and are too complicated to map to the controller. Halo Wars is being built from the ground up for the 360 so it shouldn't have these same issues. Ensemble is working really hard to make sure that the controls work really well and allow for all the fast, micromanagement style gameplay necessary for a success in this genre.

Check out more at HaloWars.com.

Dark Knight

Just saw it. It was excellent! One thing I noticed though is how it seemed like it was never going to end. It's like there are multiple climaxes and even though it's only just over 2 hours, the high tension and excitement throughout made it seem like it was forever before the credits rolled. Definitely a stellar movie. 2 thumbs up.

Also I heard that it beat out Spider-man 3 for all time highest opening weekend boxoffice take. Of course people wanting to see the recently (and prematurely) deceased Heath Ledger play as the superb Joker greatly increased hype and interest. Good movie though, very good.

KOTOR MMO Confirmed

According to This Post on Portfolio.com, EA has announced that LucasArts is collaboration with Bioware to make a Knights of the Old Republic MMO. EA chief executive John Riccitiello confirmed the news in an interview, saying "We've got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development,". The first of which is the new Warhammer MMO which we knew about but he had this to say about the second, "And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about -- in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it." Now Joystiq mentioned that it seems Portfolio.com is the one to put two and two together to get KOTOR but the original article was update with this question and answer:

Does Riccitiello mean the oft rumored Knights of the Old Republic Online? "Yes," he said.

So there you have it! The greatest news I could have hoped for from E3 this year! I've never really been an MMO kind of guy but this is too good to pass up.

A video you have to see to believe

This video is crazy. A kid makes full on replicas of Halo weapons using only cardboard and paint. The weapons can even be reloaded. Truly mindblowing.

Deeply Disappointed

I just read on Joystiq that Bungie was supposed to announce a new project tomorrow morning but the announcement was canceled by Microsoft. This saddens me to my very core. I had been looking forward to this for quite sometime. Now I'll have to wait to find out about the Superintendent.

The Sword of Inscaprion

Today at work I was blanking parts that take so long I could sit down for 2 minutes after each one. This was cool for the first little while because I got to rest up and cool off a bit. After a while though I began to get antsy. Each part that I blank has an extra piece attached to it when it comes out that I have to remove. These extra bits are thrown in a big bin and eventually sold as scrap. I was playing around with a bunch of pieces of scrap when I found a long straight piece with a funny shaped end. I folded this end to wrap around my wrist a through my middle and ring fingers. I then proceeded to swing it around like an awesome sword. I, of course, was the coolest person at the plant cause I had an awesome sword like weapon until I swung it around real hard and hit the side of the scrap bin. The sword managed to snap apart and really hurt my wrist. Luckily it was pretty much time to go so it wasn't a bit deal that my arm hurt so bad I couldn't do my job. Time well spent.

Microsoft at E3

Yesterday was Microsoft's Pre-E3 Press Conference and it was jam-packed full of megaton bomb-style announcements. I will try to list these announcements in order but I'm going entirely on memory so it may be sketch.

Fallout 3 will be awesome.
Resident Evil 5 will have online Co-op. March 13th release date.
Gears of War 2 will be awesome and have a new 5 person Co-op mode. Nov. 7th release date.
Fable 2 is finished and will launch in October. Online co-op confirmed.

Complete Dashboard refresh this fall.
Includes Avatars, Netflix partnership, Primetime gameshow games, Live Parties, 8 person group chat.

Community Games launches this fall.

Geometry Wars 2 next month.
Galaga Legions next month.
Banjo Kazooie original for XBLA.
Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts this winter.
Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise this winter with 100+ pinata species.

New Scene It game.
New Your in the Movies game with vision camera.
New Lips Karaoke game with strobe light microphones.

Infinite Undiscovery in September, 360 exclusive.
The Last Remnant this Holiday on 360 first.
Star Ocean 4 next spring, 360 exclusive.

Final Fantasy XIII day and date on Xbox 360 in NA and Europe.

The Jays Game

Yesterday my Dad and I went to the Jay's game at the Roger's Center. We had these awesome seats right behind Home Plate about 20 rows up. A.J. Burnett pitched for the Jay's against Andy Petitte for the Yankees. If you haven't been following the Jay's I don't blame you. They are in last place in their division and lose all the time.

The game started off excellently with A.J. pitching three straight strikes to get the first batter out. He continued to be excellent up until the ninth inning when they decided to pull him and bring in the closer, B.J. Ryan. In the second inning the Jay's put up the first run on a RBI single from Scott Rolen. Adam Lind was walked right after and, after trying a bunt on a couple pitches, Marco Scutaro blasted a three run shot into the Jay's bull-pen.

The Jay's won 4-1 and it was probably one of the best games I have been to. I really hope that new Manager Cito Gaston can pull things around after the All-Star break and they can get into the playoffs or something. It looks pretty doubtful right now though.

The Behemoth

Saturday was my works Family Picnic Day at Wonderland. It only cost me $10 to get two tickets to Wonderland and they included lunch. Caitlin and I left early from her house to get to the park at a decent time. Once we arrived we rode Top Gun Flight Deck first. Apparently since the last time I was there they have dropped the Paramount license so now they had to rename anything that was named after a Paramount movie. Totally lame.

The second ride we went on was Psyclone which is still one of the best rides there. While waiting in line we spotted my sister and her friend Megan in line for the Behemoth. The line was ridiculously long but we had to try it so after Psyclone we went and got in line for the Behemoth. The line probably took about an hour for us to get through, which isn't too bad. Also there was vending machines right in the line in case we wanted a $5.00 bottle of vitamin water. (We decided we could wait)

The ride itself has very cool seating. There are three trains and each one has eight cars. The cars themselves have 4 seats that are setup so that everyone gets a good view. This is done by having the two front seats together in the middle and the two back seats apart on either side. The restraint is simply a lap bar that pushes you down into your seat. It is rather comfortable.

The ride begins with a huge hill that goes down at 75 degress. It feels like straight down and is absolutely excellent. After that are several hills that you hit at a good enough speed to feel completely weightless at the top. Its so pimp. If you haven't ridden it then you absolutely must.

Hedgehog!

Caitlin and I went to get her pet hedgehog today. He is still pretty small cause he is only 5 weeks old. He is really, really cute though. He is very adventurous and curious and not nearly as shy as I thought he would be. He really dislikes Caitlin's Mom though. He curled completely into a ball and stuck is quills straight out. He then bit her when she picked him up. I thought it was funny. A little while ago he also pooped on her dad. I don't think he meant anything by it though.

You'll notice I keep calling him "him" or "he" because he doesn't have a name yet. We can't think of what to call him. If you have any ideas make sure to leave them in the comments.

Mood: Cudly

I AM THE BEST!

I Guess I'll Have to Get an IPhone...damn...

Today while I was at work I must have crashed into something. At the end of the day I pulled my phone out of my pocket to check the time (watches are for losers) and the small screen on the front wasn't working! This really pisses me off. Already I have a pretty basic phone but it was in good shape and worked well. Without the front screen though, this phone is trash.

I want to get an IPhone a new phone that isn't too expensive and is rather nice. I don't really know anything about what phones are available though. I guess I'll just keep my crappy one for the summer and then worry about it in the fall. I don't really have any money anyway.

Mood: Distraught!

The Hiccup! (No 'S')

So today while I was working I managed to get the hiccups hiccup. That's right I hiccuped just once. One single, lonely hiccup. It sounds pretty uneventful but that's because you haven't heard what followed. Right after my single hiccup I felt like I was going to hiccup more but couldn't. This was accompanied by some of the worst chest pain I have ever felt. It lasted for about 20 minutes then slowly dissipated. Weird, I know.

Mood: Whimsical

Wall-E

Caitlin and I went and saw Wall-E tonight. I thought that while it started off a little slow, it definitely delivered by the end. Probably up there with the best of Pixar, I was really impressed with how they get the story and feelings across with characters incapable of speech.

There were several children in the theatre(it is for the kiddies you know) and at times it's pretty rough goings for Wall-E. There is one moment in the movie where a child actually jumped out of his chair and screamed because he cared so much for Wall-E's safety. Pretty impressive when you consider that Wall-E can't speak.

All in all I say it's a can't miss. Feel free to wait until it hits dvd or blu-ray if you'd rather see action packed movies on the big screen but you're screwing yourself if you don't get around to seeing this one.

Mood: Impressed

Cold Storage?!? More like Cold Suckage!

Just played some of the Bungie Day Halo playlist on the new map. It was my first time playing Halo since I finished school this year. That may not seem like a long time to some of you but during school I played everyday. Also it turns out that if you don't use it, you lose it. I know because I sucked royally. I did win a round of swords but I've always been the master of swords and with Bumper Jumper on its not even fair for the other players. I'm pretty sure in that match I managed to kill two guys with one sword lunge. After that I played a round of BR starts and got smoked. It was kinda embarrassing. Getting ready for bed now cause I work tomorrow(insert farting sound).

Mood: Embarrassed due to lack of skillz(note the "z").