Journeys

First, the most important announcement is of course the one concerning Argus Cameras signing on as a Digital Storm sponsor. They will be contributing some of their very nice, user friendly cameras to our skilled gamers. It is yet to be determined how the cameras will be won, and exactly which cameras will be provided by Argus, but I’m hoping to see some of their new Bean series cameras. They look very cool and rugged.

Second, I’m attending the Autodesk Game Tour which hits town on May 15th. There will be some seminars on using the Autodesk family of products as well as some raffle draws and a social hour. Definitely a great opportunity to learn new things to pass on to the KillaNet Community as well as the networking benefits. I must print up more business cards before then.

There is a Black Bond Book warehouse across the street from the acting studio where Mike was taking his voice-over acting classes. They have lots of books. They have lots of books on sale. They now have fewer books on sale, because some of those wanted to come home with me. What were they? Well – other than another Jack Whyte novel, I’m not telling you, I’m going to make you all wait for the reviews. Don’t worry, they won’t take long for me to read because they are mostly pictures and illustrations. And no, they are not comic books.

hmmm….Scott might have to build me some more shelves to go on the very nice wall unit he just built for our living room – or extend it around the corner and start down the next wall. There’s a plan – more space for more books.

Oh, and something else new and exciting, Scott picked up the first of our servers on Saturday. Just like a kid with a new toy. More equipment for KillaNet – and of course there will be more to come from our excellent source of techie stuff.

…but then if I kept this blog up to date every single day, you’d all think the aliens had kidnapped me. Let’s see…what have I been up to lately.

Well, we did attend the last SIGGRAPH Vancouver lecture night which featured Michael Rubin, author of Droidmaker: George Lucas and the Digital Revolution, and Dr. Alvy Ray Smith, former Director of Computer Graphics Research at Lucasfilm and co-founder of Pixar. It is always fascinating to hear from the people who pioneered much of the technology that many of us take for granted today. I also picked up Michael Rubin’s book and even got it autographed. I had a few moments to chat with him about Digital Storm and the educational centre, and he wished us well on both projects.

The next SIGGRAPH lecture night we’re attending will be an evening with futuristic artist Syd Mead followed by a special screening of BladeRunner: The Final Cut. I am definitely looking forward to hearing about how Mr. Mead finds his inspiration and how he creates his masterpieces.

In Digital Storm news, I was happy to be able to announce earlier this evening that Shaw Cablesystems has very generously agreed to provide full internet service for the LAN. Being a very satisfied Shaw Cable customer, it’s needless to say that I was very happy when I was contacted this morning with confirmation of their sponsorship.

There will be more news this week in regards to Digital Storm 2008, but you all will just have to wait until I have all of the information I need – I wouldn’t want to miss anything important.

We also stopped by the Park Royal Mall last Saturday to check out Nintendo’s Smash Brothers Brawl, then we went to visit a couple of geek friends at their place of work. One geek friend was in, the other was at the Earth Day fair at Jericho Beach, so we stayed for a few minutes to visit with Dave before heading off to visit with Ifny. I’d say more, but it could be tied to one of the Digital Storm announcements we’ll be making very soon, and I don’t want to free the geek just yet. *snicker*

Plans for 2009 are also underway, and I’ve had a couple of meetings in regards to that top-secret project. Watch for future announcements this coming Fall.

Alrighty – I think that’s about it for now; be sure to check back – I’m sure I’ll update this blog sooner than later.

Videogame Marketing and PR – Volume 1: Playing to Win
Scott Steinberg

I bought this book quite some time ago, and I’m regretting not getting to it sooner. Having read a previous title by Scott Steinberg, I should have known better. Videogame Marketing and PR is packed with literally decades of knowledge and experience. Mr. Steinberg not only imparts freely with chapter after chapter of methods and ideas which he has practiced in his own career, he has presented a collection of brief articles from many of the key people in the videogame industry. From these men and women come gems of wisdom, because they have literally been there and done that. While there are many books sitting on shelves in many stores which can tell you all about how to market, none of them carry the unique situations which sets the videogame industry apart from other retail markets.

Videogame Marketing and PR is almost like having your very own personal set of industry mentors sharing with you the methods they have used to get to where they are today. Mr. Steinberg is a very personable author, infusing humour into his wisdom and along with catch phrases and quotes, he manages to get the reader’s mind into gear and thinking about his or her product, company or project. In a world where consumers are bombarded almost every minute with product messages, it is important to find a formula which works for you, and as is mentioned in this book, there is no one single way to do things that will work for all products or all companies.

This book is an invaluable resource for anyone considering going into not only game development, but for anyone working in area of the industry. It will help the non-marketers on staff understand what is needed to make titles and companies successful in the never-ending battle for market share and profitability. In my opinion, Videogame Marketing and PR should be on the required reading list of anyone entering the industry, regardless of the employment track they are following. I am greatly looking forward to the second volume in this series, Videogame Marketing and PR: The Essentials, because I have a feeling that Volume 1 barely touched the surface of all that readers can learn when it comes to videogame marketing. We are in a creative industry, and this book encourages us to create our own marketing success and to reach for the upper pinnacles of this young industry by using the knowledge of our predecessors and contemporaries as our foundation.

Videogame Marketing and PR – Volume 1: Playing to Win is available for purchase from Amazon.com

This game is maddeningly addictive. I opened it up expecting to just take a quick tour, try a few levels to check out the game play, and here I am two hours later writing my review. I finally found the strength to end the game, even though I really wanted to unlock that last volcano level in Survival Mode.

StoneLoops, a game from Polish indie game developer Codeminion is a refreshingly new twist on the “match three or more” puzzle genre occupied by other casual games such as Luxor and Zuma. I found everything about the game to be pleasing – except the failing to clear a level part, that is. The graphics are very well done, with attention paid to detail, depth and colour. The audio soundtrack is a very nice tribal, monastic style combining orchestration with haunting vocals, matching the game atmosphere very well. The entire theme of the game has been carefully thought through, with bits of humour mixed in if you take the time to check trophy descriptions and other subtle graphics.

Power ups and achievements are plentiful, and as you work your way up the level maps you can win improvements for your jungle houses – you can own up to five houses throughout the various geographic areas of the maps. The geography of the maps ranges from jungle and desert to glaciers and volcanoes, with each area richly textured. There are three different play modes – Survival, Strategy and Classic. There are 75 levels to play through as you add to your houses and trophy collection, so while this game is in the casual genre, it is not a game which you can rush through to the end. This factor alone is another notation on the plus side, because there are far too many casual games on the market which have a short play-through time and are lacking in a desire to play through the game again. StoneLoops is definitely not one of those games. I will be playing through this product – or at least trying to – for quite some time yet.

Another feature which I prefer to have in my games is the ability to play at either full screen or small screen. While in small screen mode, if you move your cursor away from the game window it is instantly paused, something I appreciate very much in a game design because this makes it easier for the player to multi-task.

Every aspect of this game shows that the developers cared about their end product, from the little dinosaur holding the scoreboard to the gems appearing as if they really are being rolled along by the scarabs. This is the first title I’ve tried from Codeminion, and if StoneLoops is any indicator of their game quality, I will definitely be checking into their other titles.

I highly recommend this game, and give it a 10 out of 10 rating.

Images are Copyright -2008 Codeminion

Computer Power User magazine, a Sandhills publication, has become the latest Digital Storm corporate sponsor. CPU will be providing a free copy of its magazine and subscription discount coupons for all tournament attendees, as well as some nifty swag for random give-aways.Computer Power User is a monthly print publication aimed at people who know that technology rocks. The kind of person who gets his kicks upgrading graphics cards and smashing benchmarks. The type of person who reinstalls Windows at 2 a.m. on a Saturday because his system keeps crashing while he’s ripping MP3s. Or the person who repartitions his drive to create a dual-boot system and install Linux so he can learn more about how the OS works. It’s for people who enjoy wireless gadgets, fast Internet connections, and Quake III. People who like honest reviews, useful tips, and refreshing commentary from world-class computing experts. People who would rather check out the next exhibit at E3 in person than rely on the latest drivel from some PR flack.

Other technology publications from Sandhills include PCToday, SmartComputing, Processor, and First Glimpse.