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November 11th, 2009
oogby
 | 09:51 am - whatever works
Made some dinner for ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) daemon82 and towerboy last night. It's nice to have excuses to cook. :)
It didn't come out as well as I would have liked; I was trying to make mushroom gravy stuff again, and the mushroom juice mostly evaporated, and I randomly decided to use wood ear mushrooms, which were kind of strange. I'm guessing wood ears won't produce as much juice as portobellos or porcinis, which I'm used to. But I think it went ok, and we had much fun watching Isaac do silly things.
* * *
After dinner and hanging out, I worked more on Torque. You now have a mouse/keyboard/gamepad controlled stickman who produced things that will eventually be gems around him. And there's the beginnings of a GUI on top of the scene.
I think a big part of what I'm not liking about Torque is this idea of just going with whatever works. So for example, when you run over gems, they're removed from the scene.
Deleting the objects using this delete() function caused Torque to crash. Removing the objects with removeFromScene() caused Torque to crash.
There's another function, safeDelete(), which is working. So I'm sticking with that.
I picked these functions because they sounded right; I can't find any documentation on a canonical, 'proper' way to do that. I don't just want a function reference from my docs; I want some best practices to follow. Which I don't seem to have here. That makes me really uncomfortable.
But it's something I'll have to get used to I guess.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/working.gif) busy
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eirias
 | 07:39 am - Ode to Meep
Hat tip to Language Log.
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exilejedi
 | 05:02 am - Yesterday's Tweets
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November 10th, 2009
oogby
| 09:48 am - points of view
Spent pretty much all of last night cleaning, with a short break to eat dinner and another break to send off a contract to MyFonts so I can sell Positronic Toaster there.
So I'm just going to babble randomly.
Thinking about Aquaria. The soundtrack is getting released on Saturday, and I seem to remember liking the music in-game. Just about every game has an original score, but this is the only game I can think of with an original song, you know, something with vocals. That was pretty cool.
I don't expect to write an original song for my Jennifer Ann thing. But it might be fun. The voice actress I've been talking to has a nice singing voice. I bought her CD. It would totally be doable...
Anyway, we saw Whip It the other day, and many of the reviews praised the movie for presenting its almost entirely female, rollerblading cast in a completely nonexploitative, non-male point of view. I agree with those reviews, and the movie was pretty refreshing because of that. Sure, you had a bunch of people in skimpy outfits beating the crap out of each other, and this could get really oversexualized really fast. Thankfuly, the movie never went there. It never got close. The women were presented as boring, ordinary people; they were not overly fit, particularly athletic, or limber in that oh-so-cheesecakey sort of way that many female action heroes get.
So I'm wondering to what extent Naija, the female lead character in Aquaria is being seen from a male point of view. The game is by no means exploitative, but there were some small things that bothered me: Naija's costume, the tone of her voiceovers, or a mildly dehumanizing effect coming from Naija being some sort of mer-whatever (though I'm grateful she had legs instead of a tail).
And, of course, I stress out about avoiding a distinctly male point of view in my own stuff like the Jennifer Ann remake.
But if all I'm thinking about is avoiding the dreaded Male Gaze, I'm kind of missing the point. This is not just an issue of picking a male or female point of view. My job is to present my character from her own point of view.
So my lead character's defining characteristic (at least in the beginning of the story) is that she is pretty insecure. Now, I would not describe myself as insecure at all, and chances are, only some of the players of this game wouldn't describe themselves that way. But it's important that I'm not presenting this insecure character from the point of view of someone who is fairly confident. That is, players must not see the character as endearingly or comically sheepish; she must not be someone for the player to take care of; I must not trivialize the concerns of people who place what I would call undue importance on the opinions of others.
What I want to avoid is having my players think a lot about the 'otherness' of the character they're playing. What I want is for the players to get immersed in the mindset of a character who is not necessarily like them.
And in the end, that's what makes the whole Male Gaze thing so creepy. It's not about gender equality, necesarily; this is one aspect of a much larger issue in storytelling. It's about being able to get in the heads of the characters of the stories you read or watch or play, and see them as complex people. You can't do that if you're seeing those characters filtered through somebody else's personality.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/thoughtful.gif) contemplative
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reasie
 | 09:05 am - Unsubversive Art
There is a mural in the Grog Shop of a woman wearing only a pair of panties. I should probably say "girl" because she doesn't look to be the age of consent, yet, but near it. Anyway, she is biting her toenail, the pose allowing her leg to block the view of her bare breasts. She is surrounded by grotesque forms.
When I was browsing through "Shoparooni" I kept finding images of attractive women, sometimes in unflattering poses, or doing unflattering things, but always beautiful themselves, and always scantily clad. There was also a section of this shop and "This Way Out" devoted to antique pin-up art.
Now, if I got bothered at every exploitative image of women I saw, I'd have a hard time ever leaving my house, or turning on a tv. What bothers me is that so-called "subversive" art, aimed at a hip, cultured audience and supposedly raising a wry eyebrow at art itself, is actually more female-exploitative than the current state of "serious" art.
I imagine a 16-year-old boy, wearing nothing but tighty whities, in the same image as the girl in the Grog Shop, and I imagine lots and lots of male protest because suddenly, the image is to THEM as it is to ME.
I made a little comment about this on Facebook, and it got lots of replies, mostly advising me that culture was against me, and that I should become an artist if I want to fight this.
One comment in particular I'm going to single out to flame examine. A friend mentioned the Seinfeld episode where he dates a nudist, and she wanders around naked all the time, so he decides to do it, and everyone, including her, is turned off. He sums up the moral by paraphrasing the episode, "The consensus was that the female form is beautiful, whereas the male is mostly utilitarian, "like a Jeep" was the phrase used."
Here's the error: Jerry Seinfeld is a pretty unattractive guy. The girl in the episode was gorgeous, model-worthy - like 90% of females depicted nude.
Take a woman who looks like Jerry! One of the vast majority of normal-looking women in the world and have her be the nudist - the reaction would be the same as to Jerry. For the argument to work, unattractive women have to not exist. (In fact, many women of middle age complain about becoming 'invisible' to men as their youth fades.)
I'm sick of being told that the male appreciation is 'normal'. I'm sick of hearing that as a woman I am supposed to prefer seeing other women nude instead of, say, Jude Law.
How would they feel if I were to say that there is no man who wouldn't want to see Jude Law naked. That, my friends, is a work of art!
So, I ask you - guys? Michelangelo's David? Jeep-like? Who would you rather see naked: Jet Lee or your aunt Myrtle?
Which all goes beyond the point, a big fat digression, that the subversive artists aren't being as subversive as they think they are, but remain slaves of the hetero-patriarchy.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/neko/kaokitty/thoughtful.gif) thoughtful
Current Music: Cream: Politician
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exilejedi
| 05:02 am - Yesterday's Tweets
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November 9th, 2009
reasie
| 09:23 am - Pop Music
Friday night Brian and I went to see a concert at the Beachland. It was, in brief, a magical experience. I felt transported, to a world I dreamed about as a kid, listening to the radio late at night.
But first, of course, we had dinner - at Sergio's. Nuff said, really. Sergio's Brazilian fare, intimate atmosphere, and tasty beverage selections make it a glittering jewel in the many-starred panorama of Cleveland restaurants.
Did I have enough hyperbole there? Well, get used to it - like I said, Transported!!
Sergio's is fifteen feet from my office, so we were done with our gelato and cheesecake with plenty of time to get to the concert in Collinwood. (Is the Beachland still in Collinwood, or is it officially another neighborhood after you cross the freeway?)
Waterloo Road around the Beachland is a quaint old shopping district, preserved intact from prettier days, and like most pretty old shopping areas in this town, primarily derelict. However!! Some of the young hip set have decided to remake the area as a gallery district, much like Murray Hill or parts of Tremont. This is always made of win.
Right next to the concert venue is a music store called Music Saves, that had vintage vinyl and lesser-known artists. We bought three CDs and I yearned to buy a little bowl made from a heat-softened and molded LP. The satiny lines of the groove were just beautiful with the warped shape. But, really, where would I put it?
Then there was a shop called "Shoparooni" that was all cute and odd and punk and grrl. Squee! The attached gallery had a show on wooden dolls painted by various artists.
Brian most liked the 80s vintage shop at the end of the row. Probably because it was very full of toys and games, ala Big Fun, but more focused in time frame.
And of course, the weather was very nice for all this, and I was wearing my favorite red dress and feeling v. pretty.
We turned back to the Beachland feeling like there could be so much more explored, but we were concerned with not being too late to get one of the few seats in the tavern. But not so concerned we didn't first go to the "This Way Out" vintage shop in the basement.
I got a 1950s portrait hat! Black felt. Velvet rose. It goes perfectly with the black hand-gloves I got last time we went to the Beachland. Squeeee!!
At last, we went to the actual concert venue. The bouncer took my ID and squinted at it, then did a double-take, telling me as he handed it back to me, "You look very young."
Double-vanity-squee!
The tavern was looking smaller than ever - I suppose I ought to say "intimate" - and the turn-out was great. They have recently painted the walls, put up a more opaque back-stop to block the women's restroom sign from the stage, and hung (or uncovered) a big "Croatian Society Home" sign over the bar.
(Most large meeting places in Cleveland are the "Some Eastern European" Hall/Home/Society.)
The first opening act was going through their sound check as we were seated. It was this act that we were actually there to see - Lowly the Tree Ghost - they had opened the last concert we saw and we wanted to support their fledgling efforts.
Poor dears - they turned their music way too loud for the space. There were three acts, and you could tell their increasing professionalism by how each act was quieter than the previous.
Lowly did well, anyway. They have this very, very catchy song that I am planing to add to my iTunes. It's all happy and bouncy. I suppose they are rather folkish, with a violinist and songs about tadpoles, but they have a drummer, so I'll forgive them. Me likey the beating noises. :)
The middle act was a country band! Lo, we had no idea! They were from Michigan and had a maudlin song about Detroit and not a one of them looked over 25. Best thing about them was they had a guy playing a saw! A saw!! Major indie points. I think they were called something like "Frontier Ruckus". It seemed the majority of people in the audience were actually there to see them. Really, twang aside, I rather liked them.
The headliner was "Claire and the Reasons" from Brooklyn, New York. Loungey and retro-50s sounding, so I was all over that. They borrowed Frontier Ruckus' saw because their own was lost in a Halloween incident. They decorated the stage before their set with branches of white and black cloths. More work than most little bands go to! And the band members seemed to play every instrument under the sun - an Oboe and a trombone made frequent appearances along with a washboard (goes nicely with the saw) and violin. We were sleepy but glad we stayed.
*happy sigh*
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/neko/kaokitty/tired.gif) tired
Current Music: The Long Blondes: Couples
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exilejedi
| 05:02 am - Yesterday's Tweets
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November 8th, 2009
oogby
| 10:29 pm - about a goat
Game #6: About a Blob.
There's no demo that I can find, nor a video. But uh, the screen shot looks cute. So does this other one.
Guess that's all I can say.
* * *
Saw The Men Who Stare at Goats today. I quite liked it. I thought it was funny and tender and wacky, and, for the sci-fi fans out there, there are lots of amusing moments involving Ewan McGregor's character and references to Star Wars.
A lot of reviewers have complained that it was too happy and that everything was too neatly tied up in the end, but I didn't mind. I think, by the time you get to the opening credits, you shouldn't be expecting anything dark and edgy.
I hear the book the movie is based on isn't so heartwarming as this movie, but as far as I'm concerned, that doesn't really matter. I think it's important, when seeing any movie, to forget about the source material and forget about any marketing materials you might have seen. It's the job of the first few scenes of a movie to let the audience know what they're in for, and you have to be open to what those first few minutes of film are telling you. Here, they make it abundantly clear that you're going to be seeing something fluffy and happy, with a happy narrator and a happy ending.
Anyway, I thought this was one of the more enjoyable movies I'd seen in a while. Just don't expect some sort of dark satire here.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/silly.gif) silly
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exilejedi
| 05:02 am - Yesterday's Tweets
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November 7th, 2009
oogby
| 11:05 pm - falling with style
Game #5: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity.
Yes, it's actually called that.
I love that title.
And this is a pretty fun game. It revolves around base-jumping off of buildings in a far-future city, just to impress people while doing it. You have to avoid obstacles on your way down, but you also have to hug the sides of buildings so you look more daring. You have to wave at your fans, and flip off protesters on your way down. And, of course, you have to land safely, without breaking any bones.
It's very stylish and fun. There's this testosterone-poisoned, Mtn Dew chugging, X-treme sports vibe to the whole thing that works well for what it is. While I wish the graphics were a little less Tron-like so it looked like a real city of some sort, the visuals work okay, and the sound works hard to sell the realism and tension of the experience. I love the ambulance noises you get when you crash.
I'm about halfway through the demo, and I think this may be worth picking up for real. :)
* * *
I have keyboard and joystick support working for my Jennifer Ann remake in Torque. Sure, I'm still frustrated by Torques docs, and you're just moving a stupid stick figure around right now. But I love that feeling of forgetting there's a controller in my hands; of feeling like I've got this direct mental interface with the game. And there's a great sense of accomplishment in having that control in something I myself wrote.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/excited.gif) excited
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exilejedi
| 05:01 am - Yesterday's Tweets
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November 6th, 2009
reasie
| 11:06 am - Poem of the Week
So, this is one I've been working on a long time without satisfaction. Comments and criticisms welcome.
Horror Show
Pastel papers decorated in rattles and ribbons
Bloom like flowers against the swollen fruit belly.
Danny will finally sober up at fifty,
Weak and child-like he'll walk on eggshells
Until his abused body deflates,
A lost paper sack.
Candy pacifies on long strings handed out
Like secrets or condoms, an initiation rite.
Julia will never hold down a job,
And slowly stop pretending to care,
She lives her life on your couch,
Creating nothing,
Being nothing.
The hoped-for president dies at sixteen -
Car wreck, not your fault -
The beauty queen will develop cancer of the womb -
Your mad hopes will slowly winnow out
To old, used, forgettable reality.
Cassandra doesn't get invited to baby showers anymore.
--
Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Music: Butthole Surfers: Pepper
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oogby
| 09:34 am - artiness
I'm still waffling on the whole side view / isometric / top down issue for the Jennifer Ann remake.
Right now, I'm strongly leaning towards an outer space theme with little populated asteroids about a quarter to several times the size of your screen. They'd have recognizable buildings and vegetation on them. You could fly around at will, from asteroid to asteroid, and maybe land on them so you can have platformy type stuff sometimes.
So... imagine the dance where our heroine meets her jerkwad boyfriend. You'd have a little asteroid with buffet stuff set up on it, a larger one with a band encircling it, and a great big one with tables and party decorations. And between them, you'd have people flying around, dancing, spinning around, with stars behind them...
I think it would be cool and unique, if I can pull it off, and you'd get the 2d freedom of movement + characters viewed from the side + buildings & trees & other scenery that I want so much.
But I worry that it would alienate many casual players with it's weirdness. What do you all think?
* * *
Game #4: A Slow Year.
There's no playable version of this available right now, and no video... so all I've got to go on is the rather arty description from their web site.
This is supposed to be the video game equivalent of a poem, but other than that, I'm not real sure what they're trying to get at here. I don't find the description particularly approachable or inviting.
Not sure what else to say about this.
* * *
I know I'm only 1% through this... but I was expecting 306 complete products with as much depth and polish as Braid or Aquaria...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/mellow.gif) calm
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exilejedi
| 05:02 am - Yesterday's Tweets
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darlox
 | 12:20 am - An incredibly dorky art project...
I'm cranky. For the 4th time in 2.5 years, our hot water tank has gone belly-up. This time, the flame won't stay lit. I will not have a hot shower tomorrow AM, and I'm ready to go after GE and Rheem with a torch and pitchfork...
So, by way of stress relief, I decided to engage in one of my long-term art projects. If such can truly be called "art." You see, I got into a conversation about 4 months ago about Internet memes. Conventional wisdom is that such things are fleeting and ephemeral. They show up, everybody laughs, and then they fade into nothingness. By the time next year rolls around, fully 90% of the Internet won't even know they ever existed.
I disagreed. While, true, memes and the copycat works they inspire are meant to be cultural throw-aways, so too were more traditional art pieces in the past. A Rembrandt portrait, hastily done. A still-life found buried under old boxes in a French apartment. How many artists never achieved fame until long after they were dead?
Someday, something that started as an Internet meme might become art. An image that lasted for less than 2 hours on 4chan, might end up hanging in the Louvre.
To demonstrate how this might be so, I took a famous work of art and started incorporating some Internet memes into it. Just as a gag... but then every once in awhile, someone would resurrect it and I'd go home and add something else.
Well, 4 months later, and I have something that's actually pretty funny, IMHO... Click on it to see the large version, which is kind of necessary to really spot all of the details thus far:
Appropriate responses may be:
1) Ha! Win.
2) WTF? I don't get ANY of this.
3) I see what you did there... you should add X to it.
4) Dude. Too much free time, apparently. You suck.
Internet statistics would suggest 90% will go for #2, 6% for #4, and maybe a 2%/2% split between #1 and #3.
#4's, you can bite me. My water heater is broken again, and this is stress relief. I don't need your pity. ;)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/ibrad/angry.gif) bitchy
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