Suckers, pt. 2

alternateorg on May 24, 2002

Agent Collier and New Deep Cover Agent Horvath infiltrated the E3 again today, but were unable to penetrate Rockstar’s GTA: Vice City blockade. Oh well, the game *was* just announced like last week. If they don’t have a Delorean in it, I will boycott on principle. Didn’t see amazing skateboarding like I did last year. Chris Gentry, Kevin Staab, Neal Hendrix, and Shawn White were all at the halfpipe, but none of them were quite up to what Bucky or Mr. Hawk busted out with last year. My main game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 was somewhat underwhelming, as was the show in general.

Last year we had two console debuts, and the PS2 really coming into its own. Metal Gear Solid 2 was on the way, and stopped crowds everytime its video played. There was really nothing like that this year. DoomIII had a two hour line to see a 15 minute making-of clip. Mario, Zelda, and Metroid will all be amazing games (unless they *really* drop the ball) but none of them are revolutionary in any way. Well, Zelda really does look amazing. Not quite like anything around, but it also doesn’t scream “we have just reached a new level in gaming.”

This year felt more like a trade show. As in: “This is our Fall line of games. Would you like a t-shirt?” Burger, fries and a soda cost $10. And they suck. Everywhere is crowded, especially Nintendo. Booth babes are veeery few and far between, unlike other reports. You start to realize that there really are a lot of really crappy videogames out there. Did you know that people still develop for the Super Nintendo? Scary, ain’t it?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly glad I attended this years E3, but following last year’s show is a difficult act. I got to play all of these amazing games (the big Nintendo ones, THPS4, Shinobi, FinalFantasyXI, and more that would take too long to mention), and I got to play my beloved Super Monkey Ball 2. Sega developing for Nintendo at its best. Leave it to monkeys in hermetically-sealed see-through balls navigating labrynths in search of Dole bananas to brighten my day everytime. Thanks monkeys. Thanks a lot.

I'd call it 'forced negotiation'

alternateorg on May 16, 2002

Episode II: Saw it with my 4-year old today. trying to view it from his perspective and remembering what it was like to see the first ones when I was his age, I think this one (and the last, for that matter) were fine additions to the list.

Why do so many people I’m around think otherwise? I think the reason is because these films don’t have the same oomph as the first series. To this I would say that the lack of interest you have is not because of the movie but because of yourself. You saw this series first when you were a child and were enchanted. You’ve seen the new ones as an adult and are not. This is not Lucas’s fault, it’s yours. The fact that you/I are incapable of having a movie affect us like we used to and like our children are is by no fault of ILG. We cannot suspend our immense disbelief long enough to accept terrible dialogue, and we cannot forget the mass amounts of marketing long enough to enjoy it without thinking about how they’re going to try and sell our children on this starship or that trooper.

But if you go back and view the first (last) three, you’ll find exactly the same dialogue (if performed by perhaps a more suitably put-together cast) said the same way, and still, you’ll find those 3 to be better than the latest 2. Why? Because you still hold onto those from a child’s perspective. And if you go about the difficult task of viewing them objectively as an adult, you’ll probably find yourself wondering why you even thought those were half as good as you did. And then you’ll come to the conclusion that hey, it’s just a movie and that it’s time to enjoy the newest ones as much as you can, because you’ll set yourself up for disappointment if you try to enjoy them as an adult. It’s what happened to me 2 years ago with Phantom Menace and I’ve resolved myself to enjoying it as much like a child as I can.

Oh, and seeing Yoda prove the reverence felt by his fellow Jedi was cool.

Attack of the

alternateorg on May 9, 2002

After dashing my childhood memories with Episode I, George Lucas felt for some reason that he needed to continue making Star Wars movies. I was commericially ravaged by it and vowed never see another one in the theater. Now the first reviews are begining to trickle out and it looks like what most critical thinking individuals would have guessed.

“And for another, while “Attack of the Clones” is many things — a two-hour-and-12-minute action-figure commercial, a demo reel heralding the latest advances in digital filmmaking, a chance for gifted actors to be handsomely paid for delivering the worst line readings of their careers — it is not really much of a movie at all, if by movie you mean a work of visual storytelling about the dramatic actions of a group of interesting characters.”

NYTimes

The ice and the fury

alternateorg on May 7, 2002

Why on earth would anyone choose to be a sports fan? After watching the best hockey game I’ve ever seen, I can’t imagine feeling as nervous for every game.

Fucking Tech Center

alternateorg on May 1, 2002

Why is it that when a company/person can’t explain to you what they want, and you do the work as best as you can but it’s not good enough for them, they treat it as if it’s your fault? I’m getting really sick of that shit. And in my experience, it only happens with companies based out of the Tech Center. It just seems like they’re all full of themselves and totally oblivious to the needs of the outside world and they are utterly terrible at communicating their needs but if you don’t totally fulfill them, it’s entirely your fault. And nevermind the fact that they never want to pay you what the work is worth. It’s getting so I don’t want to take on clients if they’re based in DTC.