It’s no surprise to anyone that knows me how massive of a science fiction fan I am. From an early age, I’ve loved traveling to different worlds, be it by book, video game or film and television.
This has me excited to announce that I’m going to be helping with a very special sci-fi related project. Last week, a Kickstarter was brought to my attention called “Singularity & Co. - Save The Sci-Fi!”. The group of passionate sci-fi fans running the project were determined to preserve out of print science fiction novels any way they could, primarily by obtaining the copyrights and publishing them as ebooks. Not only is that an amazingly exciting thing for sci-fi fans, but it’s a pretty important and exciting historical venture. Preserving the past is important, especially when it involves our (fictional) future!
Immediately upon finding and backing this project, I sent them a message with an idea: Wouldn’t it be cool to feature unique interpretations and fresh renditions of each novel’s cover art? Some books might be missing covers, have badly damaged covers, or have covers that are protected under separate copyrights and impossible to reproduce. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for artists like myself to contribute original cover art designs to a wealth of retro sci-fi books. Luckily they were keen to the idea. After talking about it more in depth, I designed my first cover to show them.
And that brings us to now. They were so impressed with my work that they asked me to assist with the art side of things for the entire project, whether it be designing new covers, or helping to find guests to contribute along with me. I couldn’t be more excited to work with Singularity & Co. to deliver creative and enjoyable supplementals inspired by these classic stories. The covers I design will be included in the eBook releases, and will probably include other downloads like wallpapers for various devices. The possibilities are endless, and I think we could see some really unique stuff come out of this.
If you’re interested in backing this project, there’s still time! Don’t get left in the space dust. Back the project now and you’ll be primed to receive tons of awesome sci-fi classics to read and some nifty art to look at too. (If you look below the post, you can see a special preview of an upcoming cover!)
Thanks for reading!
After getting my new iPad, I immediately needed a cool wallpaper. I didn’t find much I was thrilled about online so I set out to make my own. I decided on making a Mass Effect 3 wallpaper since I’m playing it now and love the series.
Finding art in the right resolution wasn’t as tough as I thought, but finding the right art was. Essentially the original version of the art had a giant logo which I wanted to nix, and the other version cut off right on top of his head. I wanted to see the grand background art with Reapers flying down to Earth and the stars in the distance, so I set off combining the two pieces. I also had to recreate an additional portion of Earth, and more stars, Reaper trails, etc.
Altogether, the wallpaper consists of four different sources all merged together into one, including some painted in colors. Click on the thumbnail above to see a larger version of the progress shot, and the link below to download the final wallpaper.
I think it turned out sweet, and it looks amazing on the iPad’s gorgeous new screen. Enjoy!
Gorgeous
…and Jar Jar.
Hey there everyone! I’m selling my 17” MacBook Pro! It’s awesome and in perfect condition. There isn’t a single scratch or dent or even a speck of dirt. It’s like the damn thing is brand new.
It has the latest version of OSX Lion installed (10.7.3) and has been freshly wiped and formatted for sale.
All the original packaging is included, along with the original charger and documentation. Also included is a custom fitted black sleeve by Radtech and a Clear Speck SeeThru protective case.
I’d love to sell it for $1,000 but I’ll listen to offers.
Round one of my virtual garage sale has begun! I’m not sure how many rounds there’s going to be, probably like 100. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I have some toys up today and I wanted to offer these here first before eBay or Craigslist.
If you see something you like, send me a note and we’ll work something out. These prices aren’t set in stone, feel free to make me an offer for anything you like, including multiple items, etc.
Without further ado:
Superhero Figures (Click an item to view a photo)
Marvel Legends Icons: Venom (12”) - $10
Marvel Legends Icons: Captain America (12”) - $10
Marvel Legends: Captain America (7”) - $6
Marvel Legends Universe: Planet Hulk - $5
Marvel Legends Universe: Red Hulk - $5
Marvel Legends Universe: Ultimate Thor - $5
Iron Man 2: War Machine (7”) - $6
Iron Man: Iron Man MKI and Iron Monger - $10
Diamond Select: Marvel Zombies Set w/ Display Stand - $35
Minimates Marvel Zombies Set - $20
Batman Begins: Deluxe Figure - $6
JLU Figure Set (Doomsday, Lex Luthor, Rocket Red, Ultra-Humanite) - (Darkseid) - (Accessories) - $20
DC Direct: Darkseid - $10
The Dark Knight Movie Masters: Joker - $6
Superman Returns: Ghost of Jor El - $5
Superman Red Son: Set of Superman, President Superman and Batman w/ Accessories - $30
Hellboy: Kriegaffe - $10
I’ve been collecting stuff for a long time. When I moved out from living with my parents, neither of them lived in the house I grew up in, so I’ve never had a “home base” or “nest” to store the stuff I grew up with.
I’ve been holding on to a lot of things for a really long time and I’m finally getting overwhelmed. Over the course of the next few weeks/months I’m going to be selling off a lot of my stuff.
I know just talking about it is a little vague, and I won’t really have a complete list until I’ve spent more time getting everything ready, but I wanted to let people know it’s gonna happen. My first avenue will be through twitter and if there’s little/no interest, I’ll take to eBay or Craigslist.
Some of the stuff I’ll be getting rid of includes:
Toys
Gaming Accessories/Promotional Materials
Tech Stuff
Books/Comics/Graphic Novels
Preface
Before the advent of the modern smartphone (the iPhone, really), portable gaming was something that only a select few gaming companies could pull off. In America, that was almost entirely Nintendo’s responsibility. The Gameboy’s many evolutions always proved to be the most exciting way to bring gaming outside your house, with things like the Sega GameGear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Bandai’s WonderSwan and even the crappy Tiger electronic games far in Nintendo’s rear view mirror.
Nintendo’s main handheld competitor eventually became Sony, who released the PlayStation Portable the same year Nintendo released their DS in 2004. Sony’s PSP brought extremely high quality graphics to the portable market, something most gamers hadn’t ever seen before. Regardless of that fact, the PSP never quite overcame the dominance of Nintendo’s handheld market and was pretty much always second place.
With iOS, Android and other smartphones now dominating the market, portable gaming is available to anyone with a modern cell phone. Granted, these games aren’t as “in depth” as devoted handheld console games, and smartphones lack the input methods that handhelds have, but they’re massively popular and a proven staple of modern gaming. Nintendo’s latest handheld, the 3DS did uncharacteristically poor in sales, and has struggled against the iron fist of Apple’s iOS.
The next entrant into this race is the PlayStation Vita. Sony’s newest handheld is hoping to stand out in a market that’s now filled with competitors. I’ve had the opportunity to use it a couple of times, once at E3 and more recently at a Vita event, and I wanted to offer my opinions on the device itself and its role in the portable gaming market.
The Hardware
First things first, the Vita is gorgeous. It’s a beautiful looking piece of hardware and it’s obvious a lot of care went into its design. It’s pretty large; it fills up a back pocket pretty easily, and then some. The screen is massive and bright, and looks fantastic in motion. The Vita is also very light; it feels like it should be substantially heavier for its size, but it’s not. It’s sturdy and a joy to hold. I can see getting tired of holding it after extended gaming periods, but that can be said for any handheld console or gaming controller.
The rear touch panel is also very nice, and pressure sensitive, which is something I didn’t know until I used it a second time.The dual thumb sticks feel pretty great, they’re basically mini analog sticks and work just like you’d expect. These will make first person shooters and games with a controllable camera so much better to play.
Overall, I’m extremely impressed with the hardware. Sony seems to have hit it out of the park. I’m not totally sure what the battery life will be like, but employees at the event mentioned “3-5 hours during intense gameplay” or “6-8 hours during video playback”. They said to expect “even more” when just browsing the web or listening to music. I’m not expecting it to be anything incredible though.
The Software
Once I found the power button (it took me a few seconds) the boot up time was quick and I was flung into the Vita’s touch-based OS. A superfluous “peel the page corner to unlock” is the way you enter the OS, and it feels a little contrived. It wasn’t terribly obvious at first and I ended up trying to press multiple buttons before I figured out I had to peel the corner of the screen to unlock the device.
The orb themed design Sony went with is unique, and has some neat visual flourishes when you swipe from menu to menu. Swiping up & down will navigate through the system’s apps and games, and swiping left will bring you to the multitasking area where your different running applications will appear.
One thing I was perplexed by was how to actually launch apps/games. Once you tap the respective icon on the home screen, you’re presented with a large graphic/screen representing the icon you touched, and another button to actually launch the app. I felt this was an unnatural extra step and everything should just launch when you actually tap the icon.
Included in the OS are some basic apps you’d expect; Music & Video, Camera, Store, Messaging, “Near” (a location-based social app), Welcome Park (more on this soon) and other basics like Settings and Memory management. One thing of note is how certain apps can’t even open without a memory card present. When I tried to open the Camera app to check out the cameras, I was presented with a full screen window saying to take photos I needed a memory card. The only thing I could do was go back to the main menu. I couldn’t even see through either camera! This was really bad UX and users who opt not to get a memory card off the bat will be confused and angry that there’s core functionality missing. But I’ll touch on the memory card issues soon.
“Welcome Park” is an interesting collection of minigames that use the Vita’s different input methods to teach you the basics of the system while playing some fun games. One game used the gyroscope to control a skateboarding character while avoiding obstacles and shaking the Vita to jump. Another minigame, my personal favorite, was a reflex based game that required you to tap on numbers in order on the screen. It’s very simple but very engaging. One round of the number game requires you to tap the back touch screen at varying pressures to make water jump higher or lower. It’s pretty impressive and a unique kind of input I haven’t really seen in touch-based gaming yet. Pressure sensitive touch is going to be really cool to see implemented in games. Other “Welcome Park” games utilize the cameras to do some AR magic similar to the 3DS. Overall it’s a welcome addition to the system, if not under utilized (very similar to the 3DS’ included minigames).
I’m not going to go in depth about any of the games I’ve played for the Vita in this post, but I can assure you that the quality of the launch titles is impressive. LittleBigPlanet is the standout title along with Uncharted and both of these games will make the Vita worth owning at launch. Some incredibly creative things have been done in these games (and the other launch titles) to take advantage of the Vita’s technology, and seeing them in action can’t help but make you smile. When technology and software are designed to this level of synergy, you can’t help but be impressed with the devotion and care Sony & Co. have taken with crafting this new handheld. It’s obvious that the Vita is a massive gamble and that everyone is on board to make sure it’ll do well and impress consumers.
It’s because of this care and creativity that I’m so perplexed by some of the decisions Sony is making with the Vita.
Opinions
Whether Sony and Nintendo like it or not, iOS and Android are now their competitors. Say what you will about the differences in “depth” of smartphone games vs. their handheld counterparts, they’re in the same market now and immensely cheaper. In a world where consumers can buy AAA titles for $1-$7, selling other mobile games for $40-$50 is going to be pretty difficult. But it’s not even the pricing of games I’m concerned about, it’s the Vita’s requirement of memory cards.
Sony is planning on selling memory cards that will cost between $30 for 4GB and $120 for 32GB. Selling a dedicated game console at $300 is already a gamble, but expecting consumers to plop on another $120 for the same amount of space they already have on their iPhone is a tough sell. At that point, you’re spending $420 for a PlayStation Vita with 32GB of storage. And it’s really only a gaming device…not like the iPhone which is also a, well, phone, and a mini computer that can run anything from word processors to synthesizers.
Worst of all, some games and apps will actually REQUIRE a memory card, and apps like the Camera app, won’t even open without one inserted. How archaic is selling an amazingly high tech piece of hardware with zero storage space? It doesn’t make any sense and it boggles my mind. There are rumors that Vita games will sell cheaper as downloads on the PlayStation Store…if that’s true, the investment in a memory card makes a bit more sense, but still inconvenient. Imagine the amount of gamers and parents buying a Vita who will have no idea they need a memory card, only to find their or their kid’s brand new copy of Uncharted telling them they can’t play without it. Not a good thing.
The Vita is technologically impressive and the games being made for it look great, but some of the early decisions Sony is making challenge the thought that they’ve learned from their past mistakes. Using the Vita has gotten me excited to have one, and I can’t wait to get it in my hands. The positives of the handheld seem (for me at least) to outweigh the negatives, but I hope Sony realizes that iOS is a massive threat and some of their typically terrible business decisions will need to be tweaked to seriously contend in a now congested market.
Any questions? Send me a message on Twitter: @MatthewRex
Forza Motorsport 4 was released last week, and with it a brand new wireless racing wheel from Microsoft. This accessory was obviously a planned piece of the new Forza puzzle, being released on the same day and touting support for the title.
There are some downright shocking missteps regarding the wheel itself and its communication with the game, with blame falling on both Microsoft and Turn 10 studios, the game’s developer. Let’s start with the actual hardware.
The wheel itself feels great in your hands, that’s for sure. The triggers are meaty and really have a nice feel. The grip is good, just about everything about the look and feel of the controller is fantastic. There are, however, two major setbacks. The first is the lack of bumper buttons. Having no LB or RB buttons on an Xbox 360 peripheral is downright maddening. Almost every game uses them, including most racing games. What boggles the mind is that even Forza 4 itself uses them by DEFAULT, and the wheel cannot navigate the menus without plugging in another controller, but I’ll get back to that. Having no LB and RB would seem ok if the game supported controller mapping or a layout without them, but shockingly enough, not every racing game will go back and retroactively patch to work without these two buttons. Sure, I haven’t gone through and tested every racing game for compatibility, but I think it’s a safe bet you’ll run into some issues.
The second big problem with the hardware is the complete lack of a headset jack. That’s right, you can’t plug in your first party or third party Xbox Live headset into this wireless racing wheel. The cynic in me wants to think that this is Microsoft forcing a purchase of their wireless headset on me, but I find that hard to believe. Microsoft’s Xbox division is a lot of things, but blatantly leaving out support for one product in favor for another just feels like a colossal failure. Especially if you use any kind of headphones with your home theatre (like I do at night, so neighbors don’t kill me). If you’d like to chat with your friends while using the wireless racing wheel, you’ll either need to buy Microsoft’s wireless Live headset, or setup a Skype call or something similar. It boggles the mind.
And now onto the software, Forza 4. This is a Microsoft Studios product, developed with this wheel in mind. Product synergy is nothing new, and like I stated earlier, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that this wheel was engineered specifically as a must-have accessory for die-hard Forza fans. This is why it was an incredible shock to me at how broken the connectivity between game and device truly is.
To start, the recognition of the device seems immediate, in the main menu you can use the d-pad to navigate up and down, left and right. But once you enter in any sub-menus, the game changes. The d-pad’s left and right directions begin to get ignored, and interactivity with certain features require mandatory use of LB and RB buttons; buttons Microsoft cleverly omitted from this wireless wheel. That’s right, there are actually lots of examples in Forza 4 where you are downright unable to progress without signing out of your Xbox Live profile, turning off the wireless wheel, turning on a regular controller, and signing back in. This includes the brand new AutoVista mode which right out of the gate requires you to push “up” on the analog stick…a stick that doesn’t exist on the wheel. It gets worse, because by default, the game won’t even let you shift gears in manual transmission without the LB and RB buttons.
If you want to do any car customization, which includes custom paint jobs or tuning, forget it. Want to pick a track? Forget it. Navigate menus? Tour the brand new AutoVista mode? Hope you’re ready to sign out of your profile, power down the wheel and turn on a wireless controller…and then do it all over again to get back to racing with the wheel.
It’s things like this that really blow my mind. How on Earth could this happen? How does the hardware and software it was made for, all created by the same company, not work? How are there not options to play the entire game, menus and all, with this new peripheral? How could this wireless controller not include an audio jack like every other wired or wireless controller? The questions add up, and I’d love to hear them answered.
All this being said, I don’t want to run back to the store and immediately return the wheel. Why? Because once you’re in the game and racing, it feels absolutely fantastic. Microsoft did a great job on one single aspect of this experience, and thankfully, it was the most important one. I have a good feeling a lot, if not most of the software related problems will eventually be patched. Hopefully keeping me from needing to sign in and sign out. If this does happen, I’ll be pretty happy with my purchase, for the most part.
I’ll be able to tell all the competing racers online the same thing too…if they’re in my Skype chat room.
When I think about my life, and where I am…what I do…he’s responsible for the tools I use and the things I create. It’s hard not to cry. I think a lot of us, if not most of us, can say our lives have been greatly influenced by Steve’s work an incredible, immeasurable amount. Let’s remember him and aspire to change the world the way he helped to.
Thanks Steve.
