Message from the Dark Side…

Hi world,

Ok, stupidally, I haven’t posted anything in a long long while. This is mostly because I’ve been lazy but partially to do with my new and improved, fully-loaded university time table in which I have little to no time to myself. Ok, so that’s a little extreme… but you get the point. So where am I at? Well have dug straight into my 2nd semester at UWE and has to be said, am enjoying it far more than the last. We seem to be doing more things and actually getting somewhere now; currently have 3 projects on the go – a short 60-90 seconds film, a photograph installation in and around the campus and a script writing module. As I said, am in most days a week at the moment and certainly loving it.

Today, for instance, we were shown how to develop, process and then print black and white film (see image below). I didn’t know quite so much was involved or indeed how much fun it could be. In some respects, it has even got me questioning whether I wouldn’t mind doing a photography course when I’ve finished this one, just to polish off the skills. Would like to see how colour film is processed too but have been told that this is far more complex and requires a fairly solid understanding of the processes, something that I unfortunately will not have a chance to explore on the the Media course. None the less, I am now able to use the processing and printing rooms at Bower and will definately be buying a shed load of black and white films and photo paper over the coming weeks! Have even had the luck to steal my fathers Nikon FM2 which, I have been informed, is a very good camera. Couldn’t agree more with this; granted I need some new batteries for the light meter that and a smaller 50mm lense, but other than that, a very nice camera and I was able to get some good shots even if some were just luck :p

Shot with a Nikon FM2 ISO: 400 Shutter Speed: 125

Will most likely post some more pictures in coming weeks depending if I can get them developed successfully on my own and then printed too. It’s completely different when you have a tutor watching over you correcting your small mistakes as opposed to when your completely alone! In other news; wow, there have been some damned good game releases these pasts few weeks, Alien Versus Predator and Bioshock 2 just to the name a select few. Naturally I already own Bioshock 2 and what a bloody good game it be! Have very nearly completed it and have loved every second of it. Found it perhaps a little short, but I’m not sure if that’s just because I’m used to the style of game now and have, in some instances, ‘rushed’ it? Regardless, it is a very very good sequel and I would urge everybody to at least play it. Have yet to try the multiplayer function but some friends have assured me it works pretty damned well and is good fun.

AVP; what can I say? Unfortunately not had chance to buy it myself yet, but played the multiplayer demo that was available on Live Marketplace vigorously and have since played a friends copy. From what I’ve played the single player is awesome fun, with 3 stories being player at the same time in which you can dive in and out of, changing your character at any point (well, at the end of your current characters level at any rate). The multiplayer function is sick sick SICK! Despite what you would think to be a truely unbalanced game, with the predators being supremely more powerful, the game is surprisingly well balanced, in fact, I’d go so far as to say THE most balanced multiplayer game I’ve ever played. Again, would recommend this to anyone, though the lack of a split screen feature is some what annoying and disappointing – I half expected another Halo 3 in those respects! Oh well – can’t change it now, just something to consider for AVP 2

And I just could not finish this post with at least mentioning the release of FF13! I don’t think I need to say a great deal here, other than, watch this space. The in-game graphics and battle system look insane and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. As another Square Enix production we can only hope for another epic tale that leads us on a wonderful, magical and enormous adventure. From what I have seen of the trailers and releases I can place my hand on my heart now and see Square Enix have done it again ^^ As I said, got my breathe held for the 9th March.

The In-Game Battle System

Anyways, I think I will leave it there for the time being as I seem to have written more than enough again! Will try and post more regularly again but we shall see what happens – with my weeks so packed at the moment may find it a little difficult to do so :p .

Chris

Hello World,

Dear God I am getting owned by my media project..! I think it’s a wonderful concept and a good project in the losest terms… but seriously this is taking me FAR to long to put together and I only have until 2pm on monday to finish the flash files AND write an evaluation… OUCH! lol. Worried much? MASSIVELY! Bricking it in more ways then I can even begin to explain. That said, if it does get finished – which I really do hope it does – it’ll be one of the most fantastic projects I have EVER completed Far better than anything  I have done before; in the process of this project alone I have learnt a great great deal

Anyways, was just a very short post to vent some steam… will write a proper post again after monday.

Peace,

Chris

Hello World,

So I know it’s been quite some time since my previous post but, if I’m one hundred percent honest, I just got lazy as soon as snow was forecast and then it actually fell and I was snowed in in Surrey… Yep, 3 to 4 inches fall in the UK and the whole place grinds to a stand still – awesome country *thumbs up*. Anyways, decided to go and see Avatar again, only this time in 3D. Still an epic film by any lengths but seriously… what is this whole ‘3D’ thing all about? So the text stood out a little from the screen; so it seemed to rain ash on top of you; so the Ikran’s head popped out of the screen a few times… seriously, little to no difference and for a premium price of nearly £8.00 a ticket, I far preferred it in 2D. I found it was difficult to watch in places with the 3D glasses and sometimes it even appeared blurry (I know my eyes aren’t the best in the world, but I was wearing my glasses and all the 2D trailers at the beginning were perfectly fine). In short, I would still advise that Avatar is a MUST see, but seriously, if your considering 3D over 2D, don’t bother! Pay less for the 2D version and enjoy it more lol.

That’s not to say there aren’t advantages or indeed enhancements through the use of 3D, I’m just not convinced it’s quite there yet or indeed, that they are using it correctly and to it’s full potential. I’m a little bemused as to why Sky for instance, is releasing an array of 3D channels for home viewing. I just don’t see the benefit of it yet… I mean who wants to watch Neighbours or Coronation Street in 3D? Or even the Evening News? Not me! I just want simple, plain viewing that I can sit there and be absorbed in! That and some of the characters in Eastenders are butt ugly enough without them coming out of the screen at you!!!!

Moving on swiftly now; as I said, I am still in Surrey and will be now until Saturday so still have yet to put my computer together and try out the power that is the 5770HD But I’m sure it will be epic and definately looking forward to it As I have stated in the title of this post, it is a New Year and therefore a ‘Fresh Start’ and with the New Year resolutions set, I’m going to do my upmost to achieve them this year – whilst I appreciate I’ve told myself this for the past 10-11 years and never truely succeeded, I have decided I’m going to use my Iron strong will this time round and get myself kicked in to touch. That means, no more unhealthy eating or snaking, plenty of exercise and maybe even a subscription to the gym in Bristol, a little more care where spending and saving is concerned and I WILL sit down and begin completing all the games 100% in my large collection (as it occurred to me despite owning a large array of games and platforms, I have barely completed any of them 0_o ). I think I’ma start with some more recent ones such as Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect and Dead Space. That… or I should probably give up gaming for my own healths sake..! We shall see But the most important is definately to get nice and fit and strong – better get some veg in then hadn’t I?! Spinach right?!

Anyways, I shall leave it at that for this evening / morning.

Peace,

Chris

Hello world,

Firstly, happy Christmas to you all and best wishes for the New Year. I had a fairly uneventful Christmas, but an enjoyable one non the less with the family. Was bombarded with moneys which I have just spent on a lush ATI HD 5770, new case and PSU, some more ram and finally, finally I have upgraded to Windows Vista :O Shock shock, horror horror! Cannot wait to get my hands on all the peices and see how the new Direct X11 looks I’ve never even had 10, so I’m really looking forward to it lol.

HD 5770

Got a nice collection of DVDs for Christmas including classics such as ‘The Crow’  and ‘Sin City’, both awesome movies and will be watching them shortly. Also got my hands on 2 South Park series – good times! I would also have Assassins Creed  II on the PS3 but some knob head in HMV put the disks and instructions for the first one in rather than the second – not impressed and will be returning it tomorrow as a disgruntled customer… be warned HMV .

Avatar… Oh my dear God..! What a completely epic film that is just off the scale. I cannot even begin to desribe how good a movie it truely is. It will be my first Blu-Ray DVD purchase and I will watch it the day I get it, over and over again! I can recommend this to everyone and anyone and believe you will be hard pushed to find a better movie. The thing is, not only is the CGI out of this world and shows just how much times, care and money has been spent on this movie, the story line is touching and moving too. I do not wish to give any of it away right now as the movie is still fairly fresh and I’d hate to spoil it in even the slightest for anyone so will leave it at that – watch it… NOW!

So have finally cracked on with my Uni project and have completely animated and coded the first scene (I say ‘animated’ ; I use this term losely as it isn’t really animated, rather uses a series of still images moving and fading in and out – the animation does not tell the story, the story tells the story!).  Am very pleased with how it is coming together and should have the entire introduction done by the end of this coming week and have started the main bulk of the project. Cannot wait to have it finished – going to be great… I hope .

Anyways, it’s kind of early as I did start writing this at 6pm yesterday and have now finished it at 2am today… my bad

Peace,

Chris

Hello World,

One thing that working nights at the Post Office has given me is the ability (or rather the time) to consider what I’m doing, why I’m doing and other bits and pieces. Sounds pretty deep but really, it just got me questioning what I want to be and do with my life. Ultimately I want to be a film / tv director (would prefer film!!) but I’d settle at the least for an editorial position. Obviously I appreciate that everybody starts at the bottom and works their way up, but I really do have the drive and determination to do this and I know I can do it too “Directed by C S Z Waywell” kinda has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? lol.

As well as this, I’ve had time to consider who I am as an individual and I think I kinda worked it out Naturally there are elements of me I’d rather rip out and burn on a massive log fire but hell, we’ve all got sections like that and no one is perfect… right? But a few things that did crop up were “Do I actually like who I am?”, “Have I done myself justice these past few years with the choices I have made?” and “Am I being the best I can be?” Naturally, I couldn’t answer any of these because I just don’t know! I don’t think we’re ever supposed to truely know ourselves; we just have to play each day as it comes. We have our off days and I think they just add to your character . Me no know, but what I do know is I HAVE to do this. I have to work my hardest – I have to reach my goal. Sure, I’m already pleased with myself that I even made it this far as not 8 months ago I was adamant I would never come, but now I’m here, I HAVE to get a 1st honours . Impossible…? Me thinks not!

Anyways, I think I’ve written enough gibberish for the time being – this is mostly for me to look back on and see how I’ve grown / matured and I appreciate most people won’t even read it but heck, I think of this as my form of diary. Oh and for the record… cannot WAIT to see Avatar and I no doubt a review will follow once I’ve seen it lol.

Avatar the Movie

Peace,

Chris

Hello World,

Apologies for the delay in another post but I had my 20th birthday to contend with on the 11th and then disappeared to London for 3 days over this weekend. Again, was a nice break away from University and got to see a few sights here and there along the way, including a shopping trip to Guildford and a trip to the local park, ‘Bushy Park’ where endless deer were seen and captured on film by yours truely. Had the most AMAZING birthday meal at Wagamamas; would highly recommend the Chicken Ramen! lol . Never been to an a restaurant serving ‘authentic’ Japanease noodle meals but I can tell you now, loved it! Thankfully, or so I have been informed, there is one back here in Bristol as well and I intend on visiting it shortly again!

Am seriously getting frustrated with my PC now; I built it just over a year ago – a beautiful Q6600 quad core and nVidia 8800GT combo and now it’s just pissing about and I cannot for the life of me work out why. Have just cleaned out the majority of the dust and crap this evening in the hope that may, or most likey may not, make a difference. Otherwise it’s back to the drawing board and most likely building another rig (will include the ATI 5770HD this time me thinks and 8GB Ram.. yummy! ). Thankfully I have my trusty MacBook Pro to soldier on with for the time being, just a shame that I cannot game on it as well as the good ol’ PC lol. But we shall see.

Unfortunately, whilst visiting Surrey, I seemed to have accumulated some new games… these being Halo Wars and Necrovision. Have played about 5minutes of Necrovision on the PC before it decided to piss about so not 100% into that one yet but from what I’ve played certainly looks interesting! Haven’t even stuck Halo Wars in the 360 yet… have mixed feelings about it but we shall see some time soon when I get round to it! From what I’ve read it’s not too bad but I shall most likely write a review (ish…) of it in a few days time for you lovely people .

Anyways, I think I’ve said enough for this evening so am going to leave it at that. Apologies for the lack of pictures in the post – I’m sure you’ll get over it considering most other photos are of games?! lol!

Peace,

Chris

Hello world,

So, as promised, I’m going to try and not mention a single game or film in this post (highly unlikely, but I can at least lure you in to a sense of self-secuirty?!). Have finally started my 2-3 weeks of night shifts with the loving Royal Mail. Not exactly the most taxing thing I’ve ever done – sorting mail in to post code areas and placing them in the correct hoppers / pidgeon holes. That and it doesn’t even pretend to drag; the time just seems to fly by. I did from 10pm to 6am last night / this morning and barely noticed the time Hopefully it’ll continue this way! Only downside is it’s a bit of a ruddy prison camp; no mp3 players, no mobiles, no talking… etc. But hell, it’s good money for the most mindless thing I’ve ever done so I can’t complain too much! If your in need of some extra moneys over Christmas, I’d advise keeping an eye out in local papers / job centres around about October time each year for the ads! Personally I keep getting invited back each year August / September time because I’ve done it before. Definately worth while *thumbs up* and will be buying me a new computer this year

Now I know I said I wouldn’t mention any games but just one… I bought FF12 Revenant Wings on DS months ago for like £4.99 brand new (bargain right?!?!) and never EVER played it as I hated FF12 on PS2 (yeah, I can’t work out why I bought it either but oh well).

Final Fantasy 12 Revenant Wings

So yeah, I finally insert it into the top of my DS (after my GF pestered me to grow up and at least try it since I spent the time and money buying it…) and I have to say, despite not playing Tactics, it’s not a bad game. The battle system can be a little annoying sometimes as it is difficult to select separate units with the stylus but all in all a good concept and an enjoyable game. I can’t really comment on the story line as it’s an addition to the PS2 game which I never completed, lol. Am currently on Chapter 2 of the game (about 11% in according to the save / load screen) so haven’t played a great deal of it yet but so far enjoying it. As a die hard FF7 fan, I don’t think the story is as good as it could be, but heck for a DS game it’s not bad going!

FF12 Revenant Wings Battle Scene

As I said, the battle system is very similar to that of FF Tactics (or think RTS for instance Red Alert series) in that you select units using the stylus and then select the enemy you want them to attack and the ability they use. The maps are quite small areas but I think this works quite well – rather than one continuos map / game, it is split into smaller segments that you can explore over and over again (bring on the grinding!!) with monsters and treasures respawning randomly.

So, in conclusion (despite not wanting to write yet ANOTHER game review… ><) a worth while game if you’ve got a few hours to kill on your DS and like the FF series. I wouldn’t rush out and buy it right now personally, but if I were to see it for £4.99 again, I’d advise buying it straight away. Heck, at the very least, it’s another Final Fantasy game… right?

Peace,

Chris

Hello World,

Ok, so my life seems to consist of just gaming and watching movies at this precise moment in time but hell, I’m having fun doing it so what does it matter? Anyway, have also recently been introduced to Valve’s Portal. When Portal first came our I was reluctant to purchase it as, on Steam on my PC, I already owned Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life Episode 1 and 2, Half-Lif e Deathmatch and Lost Coast, so basically 90% of The Orange Box and I wasn’t going to pay £17.99 for what seemed like a demo game. However, having met a guy here at Uni who had it downloaded on his 360, I saw the benefits of purchasing the game. After a quick peak on eBay, I stumbled across The Orange Box on the 360 for a mere £8.00 delivered; BARGIN I thought

Portal: Still Alive

Have now played Portal through from beginning to end several times and it has to be said, what an awesome concept for a game! My only wish is that they could have made it longer and a much more intelligent story line similar to Half-Life 1 or 2. They definitaly should implement the idea into the 3rd HL2 episode – would make for a very interesting tool and I can only begin to imagine where the story could take you.

Anyway, moving on to the game itself. As you begin, the character is awakening in, what can only be described as, a confined room, isolated from any other existence. It soon becomes apparent you are nothing more than a lab rat in quite honestly, a maze of different tasks. At first I didn’t think much of the story, but you soon, or at least I did, grow suspicious of the computer that directs you through the different levels. Needless to say, these suspicions are soon heightened (don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil it for you). Story wise, there is much of ones to follow and in that respect, it is more of a demo than a game, but a ‘boss’ character has been implemented and there is a definitive ending.

The Portal Gun

So the idea of Portal is quite an advanced way of thinking; you can generate two portals in which you can use to move between. For instance I place a blue one on one side of the room and an orange on the other then I can walk through one or the other and end up the other side. Naturally, they’ve taken this further, building a set of stages that require you to use portals in an array of ways to navigate through the game. I particularly like the fact that if you go in at a high speed, you come out the other side at a high speed; this allows to you effectively turn yourself in a human projectile, literally throwing yourself hundreds of feet across obstacles (VERY useful in this game!). As I said, this game is highly intelligent and really makes use of a fantastic piece of technology. I would love to see this taken further, I really would.

I would highly recommend playing Portal at least once in your life even if you don’t buy your own copy, borrow it from some one and play it through! Granted, I wouldn’t pay £17.99 (or whatever it is on Steam now) but if you get the chance I would play it. As a quick rating, 8/10 for the graphics; whilst the portal effect is HUGELY impressive, the rest of the game is fairly standard. 8/10 for the sound as sometimes the computer voice can be somewhat incoherent (I know this is sometimes the desired effect…) and the lack of music irritates me sometimes. 10/10 for gameplay; the Portal idea itself is fantastic, but then to take it and turn it into a fully interactive game is even more wonderful. A true Valve masterpiece and I look forward to a future instalment or, indeed, seeing it in Episode 3.

Peace,

Chris

Hello world,

Went to see Paranormal Activity yesterday evening and has to be said, a reasonably good movie but seriously… not at all scary. Sure, there are some ‘tense’ moments, but ultimately, I laughed more than I shat myself. That said, I kinda like the new ’shot at home’ style that seems to be emerging; this and ‘The Fourth Kind’ are shot in very similar ways, opting for more of a documentary / movie as opposed to just a movie. Whilst Fourth Kind uses a mix of movie and archive footage, Paranormal Activity uses handheld footage similar to that found on home movies.

Paranormal Activity - shot from the bedroom

As illustrated in the above picture, a ’standard house hold’ camera is placed on a tri-pod in the couples bedroom where it records the strange happenings over the course of each night. As the movie progresses, these ‘happenings’ get more frequent and worse to the extent that Katie (the main female role) gets dragged from her bed, along the landing and in to another back room. Mika (the main male role) continues to aggravate the ‘demon’ with tremendous consequences as the finale, all be it guessable, sees the couple in grave peril.

Personally I do not think this is a DVD purchase as I cannot see it having much replay value, however, I would still recommend seeing it at least once in the company of friends. As I said above, I personally wasn’t at all phased by it but the three friends I watched it with were all hiding after the first night scene! But for a film made on a budget of JUST $15,000 to then reach the top of the box office charts, raking in $22 million in its opening weekend alone… now that ladies and gentlemen… that is truely truely impressive. Just goes to show any body with a camera and a set of unknown actors can make a Hollywood Blockbuster. I salut you Oren Peli

Peace,

Chris

Hello world,

Again, had another gaming day at a friends in Chippenham – ok am now addicted to L4D2 but I have promised myself that I will not write another blog on it this evening!! I will merely state, we took some more footage, had a kick ass afternoon and the phrase “Rochelle is on Fire!” (sung in a similar style to “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon) has now become apart of our normal dialect here in Brizzle . Moving on as promised… I, today, was introduced to the marvel that is the PSP :O Yes ladies and gentlemen, I will no be purchasing a PSP for Christmas. That, accompanied with Final Fantasy Dissidia, would make for a bloody good Christmas / New Year.

When the PSP first came out I was hugely against it and opted out, buying a Nintendo DS. Whilst I love the DS and the games released for it, the PSP is in a completely different class of its own. Having now bought a PS3 at the beginning of this year having stated I never would, I feel I am about to break another self-promise, but hell… it’s worth it! Not only will I be buying FFD… I will also be buying FF7 : Crisis Core (yeah ok, I adore the Final Fantasy series… apart from 12! That ruined it for me ). I’m thinking I’ll buy the vibrant blue PSP;

Vibrant Blue PSP

Hmm… looks damned sexy ^^. But yeah, a little more expensive than the normal black and white ones, but what the hell I would try and get a hold of the new PSP Go! But I hasn’t got that much money Anyway, shall leave it at that this evening – have now go to get my ass in gear and do some work for this ruddy visual culture essay which, I might add, is a load of bollocks and is the most pointless use of 1,500 words and 2 sheets of A4 paper ever conceived by man.

Peace.

Chris