tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57541609763095370632024-03-05T05:37:45.507-06:00Plenty For AllViews, reviews, and rants on music, movies, games, comics, books, politics, life, and everything in-between from professional game developer, Austin resident, and all-around geek Brian Audette.
Take it or leave it ... do both if you choose.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.comBlogger160125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-31716388441389104032013-04-17T15:24:00.001-05:002013-04-17T15:24:21.609-05:00To Fight Monsters
Originally posted on my Tumblr:
Seriously: circulating photos you and yer Scooby Doo crimefighter pals have determined to be of the Boston Bomber is criminally stupid
— Cory Doctorow (@doctorow) April 17, 2013
The fact that half the posts on my FB feed are about 4Chan and other groups having "found" the bombing suspect is inredibly infuriating for several reasons. Yes, I get it, we want to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-9032547570874924902013-04-14T00:17:00.002-05:002013-04-14T00:17:35.573-05:00State of the PlentyIt's been a while since my last real post so I figured I'd give a quick update. Between life, work, and writing for OVRLD, I haven't had much to blog about. Honestly I think I've just become adept at turning my typically blogable thoughts into 140 character tweets instead. I'm pretty sure this is where the internet at large has gone as well actually.
That being the case, I've decided to start a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-40688429041454598572013-02-23T21:01:00.000-06:002013-02-23T21:01:02.390-06:0085th Oscar Award Picks
I know, I'm down to the wire on my picks this year, but in my defense I didn't see my last "actually has a chance" nominated film till just last weekend, that being Zero Dark Thirty. Anyway, let's get right to it then.
Best Picture
Let's just cut the crap. Prior to the "let's nominate 10 films so we have stuff that more people are familiar with" move of several years ago you could always Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-90412151909887080042013-02-22T13:34:00.001-06:002013-02-22T13:34:23.632-06:00This is ImportantFrom: Get Stuffed!
RE: The recent EA Montreal and LA Layoffs and some of the community reaction
"The people who got laid off were your friends. They spoke your language. They played your games. They fought for you. They argued with their supervisors over decisions you eventually echoed after the game’s release. Nobody goes into games because they have no options left. They don’t sacrifice healthAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-1800062263387669512013-02-07T11:21:00.000-06:002013-02-07T11:21:15.522-06:00EngalusSo my buddy Mark sent me this link earlier and I couldn't help but laugh, mainly because of the link to a portfolio web site I haven't been able to access in over 6 years, but also because I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that anyone would consider my first game project to be anywhere approaching relevant so many years later.
It was roughly 12 years ago this month that I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-43197304500409699832013-01-15T01:08:00.004-06:002013-01-15T01:08:53.289-06:00Gamers and Developers: A Love StoryCommunication between gamers and developers is a tough issue. Most people outside the industry (and plenty inside) have no idea how tumultuous live development can be. I can tell you that in previous jobs I've had experiences where one day I'm working on a feature and the next day it's been cut or de-prioritized. This along with other concerns often makes it difficult to communicate with the end Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-66706077974659007062013-01-14T11:22:00.001-06:002013-01-15T01:15:34.887-06:00On Live Game Development
Update: Seriously ... ranting aside, I love the people who play my games. Infuriating as they can be. I'm sure the feeling is mutual.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-48922716404659541942013-01-04T21:03:00.001-06:002013-01-04T21:03:09.298-06:00Top 5 Comics of 2012
I probably buy too many comics, but I can’t help myself. I’ve been a fan of the medium since I was a kid buying Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles books. Every time I’m in a comic book store I get so enticed by everything I see. Sometimes it’s the art, other times it’s the writing, often it’s both. I’ll take a chance on almost any book and more often than not I get roped in for the long haul. I did Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-33490922767823242872013-01-03T23:26:00.000-06:002013-01-03T23:27:23.985-06:00Top 5 Games of 2012
2012 was a decent year for games if not a slow year for games. We seem to have settled into a bi-yearly cycle for the release of numerous major blockbusters and this past year was the off year for those releases. A look ahead at 2013 has a number of high profile titles slated to launch before the end of FY12 and are very likely to be the last such titles we see during this console cycle with theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-66325668740652935972013-01-01T13:39:00.001-06:002013-01-01T13:39:17.025-06:00Top 5 Films of 2012
I say it every year, but this time I mean it “what a shite year for movies”. I honestly don’t know what the problem is anymore because it’s not just Hollywood, even the independent films were lacking this year. Are there no good scripts out there? Is the creative talent pool running dry? Have we run out of things to say?
Overall I didn’t see as many movies as I should have in 2012 and so farAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-59561212924577716072012-12-31T15:21:00.001-06:002012-12-31T15:38:17.038-06:00Top 5 Albums of 2012
Mainstream, indie, and even the indie-mainstream have been bereft of good, major releases this year. When the best that outlets like Paste and Pitchfork can muster are albums by Best Coast, Beach House, Tame Impala, Alt-J, and the Lumineers, it’s obvious that we’ve been dealt a poor hand in terms of new music on the national level.
Overall it feels like the indie-mainstream in particular is Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-13048660398085397592012-12-30T09:00:00.000-06:002012-12-30T09:00:03.596-06:00One, Two, Three, Four Who's Punk/Geek, What's The Score?This article on The Mary Sue discusses one of 2012's biggest pot stirring topics in the world of geekdom: the fake geek girl. I'll let the article speak for itself as the first 2/3 does a great job of introducing and analyzing the issue at hand. The part that really interests me comes after the line "Why does the impostor who represents a small fraction of our community, seem to have Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-87788852481628336602012-12-29T15:42:00.000-06:002012-12-29T15:42:52.521-06:00My 2012 Music StatsWhen I tell people how much I like music, I don’t think they really get an idea of how much music I actually acquire and consume in a given year. Here’s some stats from this past year on what my music purchases and listening actually encompassed:
1289 new tracks across 154 new albums by 95 artists 47 of whom I had never heard before. And I make it a point to listen to every new album I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-81128054065129784942012-12-18T10:54:00.001-06:002012-12-18T10:55:32.656-06:00Greetings from the Rook Islands
I've managed to spend about 27 hours in the world of Ubisoft's Far Cry 3 up to this point and just when I thought the game had shown me all it had to offer, it pulled something new out of it's bag of tricks. Far Cry 3 drops you off on the Rook Islands as Jason Brody, some rich, young douche bag who has unwittingly gotten himself captured (along with his rich, young douche bag friends) Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-70803225758269617862012-12-13T23:37:00.001-06:002012-12-13T23:55:08.192-06:00The Final Zlam
Bands come and bands go, and it seems that the closer you get to the local level the greater that churn becomes. Making a livable career out of making music is a huge undertaking and one that even for full-time touring bands doesn't pay much. There comes a point in the life of many bands where a decision has to be made as to whether people want to continue putting the effort into making music Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-334124531654888332012-08-15T18:16:00.000-05:002012-08-15T18:17:34.302-05:00Objectivist LessonsThis kind of shit makes me sick! People shouldn't have to deal with this kind of thing at all, suffering because of something that happens due to no fault of their own. It's first, second, and third hand experiences like this that drove me to become a Socialist, to understand the need for a leveled playing field to balance out the inequities emergent in all power structures.
Libertarians and Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-33889976806115775132012-08-04T19:55:00.001-05:002012-08-04T19:55:27.252-05:00Thoughts on The Secret World
I've put about 3 hours into The Secret World free weekend now and I think that's about all I need to invest. When I asked some other developers what they thought of The Secret World I got back an answer that I've heard before in regards to other games: "well, it has some interesting systems." For game developers this is roughly the equivalent of "well, she has a nice personality" in dating. YouAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-53760072041655052332012-07-26T21:31:00.003-05:002012-07-26T21:32:05.595-05:00Meta Madness
I saw this linked off of the Penny Arcade Report today and given my already public feelings on Metacritic and how we use it in game development, I couldn't simply remain silent.
Every game developer should be appalled at the notion of using Metacritic scores as the basis of a hiring decision. Maybe Irrational is just looking within that select (and lucky) caste for this position, a Design Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-66117142722135725022012-07-04T15:32:00.001-05:002013-07-04T14:30:18.411-05:00Declarations and IndependenceLooking at my Twitter and Facebook feeds today is making me ashamed to call myself a "Liberal". All I seem to see is people using the 4th of July as a launching point to to attack conservatives in one way or another or to just generally let our displeasure with the state of the union be known.
I know we're all groaning at the fair weather patriots and the conservative nut jobs who come out Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-49450356235221057912012-06-23T13:19:00.002-05:002012-06-23T13:19:33.079-05:00Thoughts: Moonrise Kingdom
Does anyone else feel like Wes Anderson is just going through the motions these days? Moonrise Kingdom was good, but it just felt like it was a paint-by-numbers version of how to make a Wes Anderson movie:
Wide-angle shots ... check
Cross-section cutaway sets ... check
Symmetrical compositions ... check
Vibrant, deliberate color palette ... check
Semi-detached yet resonant dialogue delivery Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-68052179813351267252012-06-16T12:38:00.000-05:002012-07-31T15:54:31.216-05:00Free-to-PlayWhenever a new subscription-based MMO comes out there's this invisible countdown that begins in the collective unconsciousness of the game community: time till "Free-to-Play". Sometimes the countdown isn't so invisible, sometimes it's the topic on everyone's lips whether it's being whispered or shouted. As a perfect example, in the first few weeks after Star Wars: The Old Republic's release, web Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-78568497483156939692012-06-15T11:30:00.000-05:002012-06-15T11:30:10.070-05:00I Heard You Driving In My CarEarworms, we've all had experience with them at one point or another whether desirable or not. I find that on most days I wake up with one song or another stuck in my head. Instead of loathing the endlessly repeating tunes, I've learned to take this as a suggestion from my brain for what I should listen to on the way to work that day. Granted I realize that not everyone carries their entire musicAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-53744068282106352952012-06-11T18:50:00.000-05:002012-06-11T18:50:15.133-05:00E3 2012 - Part 4Here it is, my final E3 post. When all is said and done, while technically we didn't see a lot of new stuff this year, we saw a lot of stuff that was still in early production or only mentioned in passing last year and it's all stuff that is on the horizon for the next 12-18 months. I'm coming away from E3 very excited, even if I know I'll never have the time to play all these games.
HawkenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-17936642903326045512012-06-11T14:07:00.000-05:002012-06-11T14:26:27.837-05:00Quick Thoughts - PrometheusI'll have my final E3 report up later, but I wanted to give some quick thoughts on Prometheus while they're still fresh in my mind.
Ultimately, you should go see this movie, but realize that while the production is magnificent, the same cannot be said of the script. If you are willing to comb through the details of the film in search of rumored symbolic elements then you may have a better Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5754160976309537063.post-54533007472245463612012-06-09T19:48:00.000-05:002012-06-11T17:46:32.058-05:00E3 2012 - Part 3I'm back with the penultimate installment of my E3 coverage. First up, another game about zombies:
ZombiU (video link)
Nintendo (like mobile phone game developers) is largely trying to entertain an audience that is not me. Because of this fact I believe I should be forgiven for thinking that the Wii U was simply a Wii add-on for the past year. As it turns out, this is a new system Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01821477307755468339noreply@blogger.com0