ThoughtPinions: Dredd

I've been sick from school today, so I decided to watch the movie Dredd today.  When I had first seen the previews for this movie, I was intrigued, but didn't have enough interest to actually see it.  The movie stayed in my head, though, and at the time I had no idea it was based on an old comic series until I was browsing Barnes & Noble the other day and saw volume 1 of the complete Judge Dredd comics.  I bought it and read through most of it, and I was really entertained.

If you don't know much about the Dredd comics, the series takes place hundreds of years in the future in a large, ruined city name Mega City 1.  The human race had suffered a massive nuclear war and much of the world was turned to ruin.  Many people turned into mutants, gaining strange powers and usually having a thirst for blood.  MC 1 is the biggest urban center in the world, housing thousands of people.  Surrounding the city are massive walls to leave out the bloodthirsty mutants and to keep the people away from the horrors of outside.

Crime runs rampant in MC 1, so laws are regulated by people called Judges.  Judges are emotionless, usually very strict "cops" who patrol the city and punish crime.  Judge Dredd is notorious for being a particularly violent judge, and he is the law.

The movie centers around a very large, 200 story apartment complex that is quarantined by a gang called the MaMa gang, run by a bloodthirsty and really disturbing woman named Madeline Madrigal.  Judge Dredd is trapped inside with his new, rookie partner, Judge Anderson.  She is a mutant psychic, and is able to read minds and sense things around her.  Together, they must find MaMa and bring her to justice.

One major thing I really enjoyed about the movie was that it stuck to the comics nicely in a thematic sense.  Its very dark, violent, and over-the-top, which perfectly describes anything Judge Dredd related.  Karl Urban did a great job portraying Judge Dredd as a calm, emotionless machine that the audience can't help but admire.  My only real complaint about the movie was, at times, the pacing was kind of slow.  That could be because of SlowMow, a drug that is consistent through the movie which makes the user feel as though time moves at 1% its usual speed.  It makes for some pretty sections of the movie where the ones using the drugs submerge themselves in this slowed-down reality.  Its nice, but can really break up the pace sometimes.

Overall, I recommend this movie to anyone looking for a fun, action movie with lots of blood and bad-assery.  Also, read the Judge Dredd comics, because they are super cheesy and really fun.

So Many Projects!

Things I am trying to currently work on when I have the time:

1. A podcast idea (the one I have mentioned earlier)
2. Writing a song
3. Finishing a number of short stories and poems I have written
4. Finding time to vlog
5. Finding time to do a let's play.

There are more, but these are things that I am really trying to finish, but work and school are getting in the way.

In class...

Watching a movie about the "Tank Man."  Thinking about what to post.  Not getting any good ideas.  Bored.  Tralalala.

Podcast Series Idea

I've always wanted to make a podcast about something, where I just talked and people listened and it would just be fun, but two problems continued to occur:

1.) Couldn't decide what the focus of the podcast should be.

2.) No one else to do the show with me.

Recently, however, I've began listening to a podcast that has been rising in popularity called Welcome to Nightvale.  Its a fictional podcast that serves as a local radio station for Nightvale, a small town located in the middle of a desert where strange and scientifically boggling events occur.  It is a really fun podcast, and I highly recommend it.

Anyways, out of this podcast, ideas have been forming in my head for my own podcast series, and the more I think about it, the more excited and prepared I feel to do this.  

My idea centers around a teenager around the age of 16 who is completely invisible, and is pretty much going on with his life in this physically-unseeable state.  He's in love with a girl who can't see him, and he is figuring things out about his past that will affect him later in life.  Anyway, its his personal blog about being invisible, and I've already started writing for it.  So, if all goes according to plan, I will be focusing on the production of this for the next few weeks.  I'll post info and stuff on here, too, so keep checking for updates!

"Xbox One" Revealing Impressions

I think I'm not alone when I say that the recent reveal for the Xbox One was pretty disappointing.  Everything from the confusing name to the major lack of information.  With the announcement of the PS4 preceding it, there was a lot of pressure Microsoft's shoulders to reveal something even better, but maybe it was the fact that they wanted to catch up with Sony that they even attempted this unsatisfactory unveiling.

Let me start with the reveal itself.  The event opened with a video that featured many different people, among   them a few internet stars as well as Steven Spielberg, all of them praising the new Xbox.  It wasn't an exciting video, but it acted as an average introduction, definitely heightening the suspense of the new hardware.  After the intro, Interactive Entertainment president Don Mattrick came on and went over some of the history of the Xbox and the Xbox 360, and all the while hailing the new console as a revolution for living rooms everywhere.  This is all normal banter that we would expect from such an event, but as soon as the name "Xbox One" was uttered from his lips, there was a slight pause of, well, disappointment.  Honestly, its not a horrible name, but all this building up only to subtract the original Xbox by 359?  Personally, I think they could have done better with the name, but I mean at least it wasn't the Wii.

Then they showed what the new console would look like.  If you want a good example, just think of a VCR with a smaller looking Kinect and an over-sized Xbox 360 controller sitting next to it.  Compared to the 360,  the console seems bigger and more clunkier.  Although the sleek black finish looks nice, the console still appears clunky and just big.  Not that bigger is bad, but when it looks like it was designed in the 90's, there's a slight problem there.

After a nervous looking Mattrick exited, senior president of the Online Audience Business Yusuf Mehdi walked on and began describing how the Xbox One will introduce a completely new generation of gaming.  This is funny, because throughout the rest of the event, there was little information about games.  At all.  It was there, yes, but for two games- Call of Duty: Ghosts, and a new Forza title.  Those were the only two games that were discussed.  This, to me, is unacceptable. They showed off some new animation hardware, played a trailer or two, then completely turned away from gaming.  This is the one thing that annoys me the most about the reveal: when revealing a GAME console, the primary focus should be, oh, I don't know, GAMES.  Now, Mehdi stated that more will be revealed at E3, but that just proves more that they were completely unprepared for the gaming part of their new GAMING console.  So what did they end up focusing on?

Here, watch these highlights for a hint:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbWgUO-Rqcw

So games were not the focus of the new console, it appears, but much rather the connection it holds to the television.  So, in a nutshell, they made it easier to watch TV...on your TV.  They added cool little features to the new hardware, like voice control and a Kinect that comes bundled with every console, but I'm going to have to see more information on the games themselves before I even think about being excited for this.


Don Mattrick

Details in Video Games

So, recently, I just beat Bioshock: Infinite on my Xbox 360, and it was a fantastic experience from beginning to end.  The narrative was great, the combat was solid, and the scenery was beautiful.  However, one of the largest things that stuck out to me in the game were the small, historical details that the developers scattered throughout the game.  They weren't exactly big, but they supported the narrative in a way that I have never seen a game do before.

The game is set in a steampunk version of 1912 in the floating city of Columbia, a city that represents the independence of man and honors the great prophet Comestock.  Now, that in itself gives enough of a scenery.  Buildings float around you on clouds as you traverse through the massive city, and happy citizens go along their day buying and selling from their shops and enjoying life in Columbia.  It gives off a very happy and peaceful feeling. But if you know your history, you know that 1912 was not the best time for minorities.  As you continue through the game, this is brought out in little ways, such as slaves scrubbing floors and such.  As you pass through buildings  you will see there are separate restrooms for whites and colored people.  At one point in the game, you win a lottery drawing randomly and have a choice on whether to throw a baseball at an interracial couple or at the MC.  It doesn't seem like much, but these little historical details just makes the thought of this massive city even more real and gives off a sort of emotional appeal to the game, playing with your views on racism and segregation.  These details are continuous throughout the whole game, and makes itself more apparent in some areas.  Bioshock is filled with these little moments that connect to the gamer and expand the world of Columbia.  Its these little things that find themselves to be absent in many other games, and it makes the experience very worthwhile.

Ok, so this started to unintentionally turn into slight fan ranting, but what I say is true.  Just a little something I'd sometimes like to see in other games.

"Luke" Preview

Luke

Michael Quigg

I’m not really sure what to do anymore.  I don’t know where I belong.  I have no one to talk to or to play with anymore. I’m not sure what to do without Zach.  Its been so long since I’ve seen him.  I wonder if he remembers me?  I remember him.  How could I forget?  My earliest memory was with him.  We spent every day together, him and I.  He showed me so many great things, and taught me lessons that I would never forget.  When he was sad, I was always there to comfort him, even if I was the one that caused the sadness.  Just my presence seemed to lighten his day, but it’s not that way anymore.  Not since he left.

Not since he left me.

Pokemon Cards

So yeah, I collect Pokemon cards.

Judge me if you will, but I find collecting them relaxing and fun.  Currently I own over 1,000 Pokemon cards, not counting energies and trainers, which I also have a lot of.  I don't usually do competitive play, but that's mostly due to the fact that there aren't many competitive card players in my area that I know of.  My local board game shop does hold Pokemon local tournaments, but I haven't gone there yet simply because I don't want to end up being the oldest one there.

I'm always constantly looking for other people who play Pokemon and aren't children.  I also have a large stack of Pokemon cards I'm looking to give away soon, so if you want to start a collection then it'd be perfect for that.

I know Pokemon is looked upon as childish, and it sort of is, but that is only because children are the easiest to sell cute, fighting creatures to.  But I believe Pokemon is for all ages willing to get into the universe.  Currently getting back into the games as well and I am always trying to collect cards I don't have.  I also have a TCG Online account, so if anyone wants to chat it up on there too, I'll be there.

Anyways, that's about it.  This kind of turned out differently then I originally planned, but yeah.  I'll update more laterz.

Bioshock Infinite!

Bioshock: Infinite is coming out in a few days and I haven't been this excited for a game since Portal 2 (in which I was very excited.)  I am a large Bioshock fan.  Everything about it just seems to intrigue me, from the art design to the story.  I'm a big narrative fan, and the Bioshock franchise has quenched that thirst greatly.  What intrigues me most about this new game though is obviously the new direction that they have decided to go with this new installment, and whether or not it will tie in with the first two games.

Anyway, yeah, that's pretty much it.

Hi there, everyone. I sort of forgot I had this blog until recently, so I'm going to try and re-energize this blog, specifically to get my works out. Recently I've been working on some short stories/creepypastas, so I hope to promote this blog more.  I'm also going to try and gain my own domain name and blog eventually.  So stay tuned for some stories, and also some personal thoughts from me as well.