I find mirrors to be very odd. I’m not used to them, really. More accurately, I’m still not very used to seeing myself in them. It’s difficult for me to decide what to make of this form which moves with me. It’s strange to see myself from the outside. Maybe it helps with perspective?
I rarely give much thought to my appearance. It always seems strange to me to remember that I have one. I suppose it would help to learn this more well, someday.
I picked up the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf in the bookstore. Wow. This was just recently completed, and has been highly-praised. I think I see why.
In high school we read it in the original Anglo-Saxon, with a bevy of footnotes. This is a bilingual edition, laid out beautifully with the Anglo-Saxon on the left and a flowing, interesting translation on the right. Breaks are inserted. Weird changes in the text, where there are unlabeled poems-within-poems in the original, are now in italics and set off and written in a somewhat different meter to reflect the aside. There are tiny notes in the right margin to give quick passing reference or explanation to what’s going on in each stanza or section. The introduction is extremely deep, helpful, and interesting.
And the cover’s really neat.
Also, now that I can actually read the fool thing, I can see a lot of from whence Tolkien reaped his ideas. I knew he taught himself Anglo-Saxon when he was in grade school or something of the silly sort and became quickly fluent in it, and it was obvious that Beowulf was one of his influences for his work. But yikes. Actually, he was one of the most vital scholars of the work, ever. He singlehandedly changed the way it was viewed, skewing it as an artistic work of an individual rather than some kind of chronicle of accumulated and traditional information.
Reading the translation discourages and inspires me, just from how well it flows and how verbose and eloquent it manages to be. Elegant, in the sense that it is wordy with few words.
Something about which I wonder, however: the semi-line break I have oft seen in Shakespeare and the like. For instance:
(Heaney, 1441)
In some cases it’s obvious and makes sense — such as when a long quote ends partway through a line. This line of verse must be completed, and yet the remainder is set off to make the end of the quote and the beginning of the next thought more obvious. Maybe that’s really what it is. A sort of a stanza/paragraph break where it seems one is needed but where doing so would sever a line. Interesting.
The hardest part of any project is building up the energy to tackle it. Once the project is finally begun, it practically completes itself.
I’d wondered for a while why Swedish Fish now just said “Swedish” on them rather than the “Malaco” to which I’d become accustomed since youth. Upon further study, it ends up that Malaco is a Swedish company which holds the rights to Swedish fish and a boatload of other common gummi candies. Any which are produced and sold under other brands — and there are several I’ve seen in my time — are done so under license from Malaco.
I guess they decided to switch the fish mold so as not to annoy the other companies who produced the things; why have some other company name on your candies? Also, I guess having “Swedish” so pically inscribed makes a bit more sense just in terms of brand recognition, or inner coherence of the product.
So — now I now. And so do you. We match!
I stopped by the bookstore to grab another couple of non-photo blue pencils, as these two I have are starting to get a bit short. While there, the thought struck me to look for a better eraser than this junky thing I’ve been using — and my eye hit the sketching and drawing pencils. Oh, my this is dangerous. I don’t know much about the different types offhand, but I was fascinated. I contemplated picking up several Conte pencils for the sake of experimentation, until I realized how much these things cost. Gah, it’s something like two dollars for a single pencil!
I stared in disbelief for a moment, then picked up a preset pack of six assorted “sketching” pencils (distinguished from “drawing” pencils and other types by what criteria, I am as yet unsure), and two different erasers (at least these are cheap!), and left. Well, I paid for them and then I left.
After playing with what I’ve got here, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really like this sanguine pencil. Especially when I contrast it with a deep graphite, it has… well, it stands off the page in a really classy way. And I quite like how the lead feels, as well.
Also I have here a sepia pencil, which is sort of interesting (though I like the sanguine one better); a hard charcoal one, which actually feels quite different from the other charcoal pencils I’ve got sitting around; this one feels more like an actual pencil, and doesn’t seem quite as messy.
There’s a rather nice graphite pencil; it seems soft and sturdy, and has a nice flow to it. Also included, for some reason, is a white pencil. I’ve not found use for this yet, though I suppose if I had some coloured paper it could have an interesting effect. Or maybe it could be used for highlights or something. Hrm.
Lastly is a pencil I just don’t understand. “pierre noire”, it’s called. It seems very hard, and it’s rather dark — but it feels very greasy when I move it around. It’s smooth, but it feels like it’s putting on the brakes when I draw with it. Like I’m pushing it uphill. I mean, it’s interesting, but I don’t know yet what to do with it.
UPDATE:
very
Another thing to note is that all of these pencils are pretty hefty; they’ve got a larger-than-usual circumference, and they’re pretty long. Something just feels solid about them. It’s very nifty.
Something confusing is that all of the packaging I saw discussed how various pencils were “stumpable” or not. What does this mean? The only thing I can think of is perhaps that one could cut the lead at a strange angle, for some special effect? It’s mostly the softer and stranger leads which were claimed to be “stumpable”.
UPDATE:
The two erasers I got were a simple Sanford Pink Pearl and one of those kneaded rubber things. I’m not entirely sure what the use is of the latter, but I always saw them in my boxes when I was young and thought they were neat. So I picked one up for the hell of it. Again, it only cost around seventy cents — so what the hell.
UPDATE:
I’m not really sure what to do with these things, but now that I’ve them here I’m inspired to try to figure it out. Only problem is — gah, are these things ever expensive. This fact almost makes me reluctant to use them beyond sparingly. But I suppose I just have to get over that. I’m always so scared to lose things. I might as well put things to use while I’ve got them.
Okay. Experimented a bit. Tried throwing in Vampire Chronicle, thinking it was possible that for some bizarre reason this drive liked Japanese discs instead of US ones. Seeing as how it couldn’t really recognize GDs at all in my earlier tries, this seemed unlikely — and indeed it didn’t work.
But get this. I mentioned that CDs work, right? I stuck in the Game Shark, and it booted just fine. The GS is, of course, on a normal CD rather than a GD. So things will boot. It’s just that the drive doesn’t know what to make of GD discs.
Okay.
Developers:
Who Megaking is to SNK:
They also have had partnerships with Tecmo and CSK (the parent company of SEGA and ASCII and ISAO) in the past, just to mention.
Who Eolith is:
Who UNOTac is:
This is an interesting quote, however, from Madman’s Cafe:
Perhaps that explains why an adult Jae Hoon Kim is one of the main characters of KoF Online. Hrm.
Who Brezzasoft is:
Anyway, they’re now the main SNK developer. Eolith and Megaking seem to be perhaps designing their respective games, and pulling together and managing the appropriate resources, while Brezzasoft appear to be doing the bulk of the actual development. This might not be completely accurate, but that’s how it seems right now.
Management:
Who Playmore is:
They have a logo, though!
UPDATE: Oh, duh. They’re another pachinko company. I knew this; I just forgot it entirely. I’m not sure why SNK holds such interest for pachinko corporations…
Who Sun Amusement is:
But as for who they really are, beyond this, I have no leads.
Who SNK NeoGeo (Korea/HongKong) are (and aren’t):
SNK NeoGeo isn’t a developer, and I’m not sure how much power they have. It seems like they were created mostly to act as a hub for everyone else, and to keep SNK alive as an overall name for this business.
My question, now: Does all of this add up to one entity? Are MegaKing, Eolith, Sun Amusement, Playmore, Brezzasoft, and UNOTac now all committed to being limbs of SNK, or do any of them have other agendas? How is all of this organized? The fact that two branches of SNK NeoGeo were formed to manage this mess, is a positive sign. Sun does at least seem pretty deeply involved with SNK affairs for now. Both Eolith and MegaKing seem to be very enthusiastic about their new games — but are they now SNK subsidiaries, or are they just using the licenses for the moment?
I’m not too sure what to make about UNOTac. The whole concept of KoF Online is dodgy to begin with, and its execution looks… strange. I hope some tight reigns are kept on them, and Playmore didn’t just fling out the rights because they were offered enough money for licensing.
I guess that’s my biggest concern. Does all of this add up to something bigger? If so, it could be very promising. Or is this all just a fragile web of contracts and licensing? If so, I’m a little nervous.
I hope everyone is committed to actually making games rather than milking the properties. And I hope everyone is intending to cooperate.
We’ll see what happens, though.
And here they finally outline exactly what the heck is the current status of SNK.
I’m… not completely sure of how things might go, but I’m actually a little bit encouraged by all of this. Beyond SNK still living on in one form or another, it seems they’re actually larger than ever before, with several development teams. If they could only sort things out in a more permanent manner… It looks like there’s at least the potential for SNK to be healthier than ever before.
Never doubt the power of the undead, I say.
It seems my DC’s drive motor has gone kaput. It just won’t spin up discs anymore. I can’t say I’m too surprised with the abuse I’ve been giving it over this stupid game, but darn it…
I’m leaving it alone for a while, hoping it will heal itself in time. If not, new drives appear to only be $33.00 from NCS. Of course a whole new DC is only $50.00, but I don’t want a new DC. This is my Dreamcast. And besides, my PSO characters would be useless with a new system. No, I must keep this system alive.
I suppose that’s not too expensive. I can probably deal with that. But I hope I don’t have to. Hrm. Poor thing.
I’ll make it better, somehow.
Just using training mode, it would theoretically take 4.51 days straight to gather enough points to unlock the remaining characters in Capcom vs SNK beyond what I’ve already done, and to make both Morrigan and Nakoruru playable. This is ignoring the fact that I’ve not yet faced Gouki. Buying his stage, his character, and the other modes which he unlocks would raise the total up quite a bit higher. Beyond him, there are still a few features left ungathered.
Of course, one can only gather 999 points at a time in training mode before it has to be reset — and one can get around 400-500 points simply by playing through arcade mode (not even doing especially well), which takes far less time than the forty to fifty minutes which would required in training. Also, had I the DC link cable, I do own copies of both Card Fighters Clash and Match of the Millennium for the NGPC. So I’m sure I could get some points out of this business, if I just had a method to transfer them. But I don’t, and cables are rare and expensive — they were even when the NGPC was still alive.
Averaging 500 points per game, I’d only have to play through 130 more times in order to get enough points. Averaging a more sensible 400, I’d have to play through around 162 times. On the other hand, I could leave it in training mode again — for an hour and forty minutes each time — around 65 more times.
Just in order to finally purchase Nakoruru (I’d rather Morrigan, but I’ve mostly been ignoring the Capcom characters — so this goal is pretty far off (ah well; at least Nako’s sprite is new and pretty. unlike the grizzly artifact from 1994 or so which Capcom is still using for Morrigan)), I’d only have to play the game through (at 400 points per game) 57 more times. That, or leave the Dreamcast soaking in training on 23 further occasions. It would only take 38 more hours.
Oy. Capcom, in the future could you please be a little less annoying? This isn’t terribly reasonable. Especially given the difficulty level of the game (even when set on the easiest notch) and the extent to which you’ve torn apart my favourite characters, you’re really pushing your luck here.
Take a hint from Namco. Soul Calibur is I think the one instance I’ve personally seen where this process is done /right/ — where it’s actually *interesting* to unlock new features; where there is motivation and interaction through nearly the whole process. It took a few months for me personally to unlock everything possible (including buying up all of the final not-entirely-necessary art pieces and getting the “cleared” title screen), but it rarely felt like work.
I certainly wasn’t just leaving the game to sit without me, waiting for it to steep. I was eager to play through with each character (rather than seeing it as a chore), because the game was actually fun to play. The two-on-two mode which I’ve recently unlocked in CvS does seem quite a bit much more enjoyable and fair-feeling than Arcade mode could ever hope to be, but there are still some big inherent problems with balance.
Something else which is recently making the game more enjoyable is that some of the EX versions of characters manage to either fix the necessary moves which Capcom inexplicably crippled in the characters’ normal variations, or at least provide alternatives which make them a bit more competitive and interesting to use. (Worse are the cases such Terry, Mai, Kim, King, and Yuri. where a character’s standard set of moves are dismantled and spread across the normal and EX versions of the characters — and even worse are those such as Iori and Ryo, in which critical moves and elements of character control are either removed or altered drastically enough to make them feel like other characters altogether.)
Combine these with the much-desired original soundtrack which I’ve unlocked, and a few other cozy features, and things aren’t as annoying as they used to be. But the thing is, the unlocking process is a separate chore. One accumulates points at such a slow pace, and so many are needed for even the simplest features, that it takes forever to seem to make even a dent in the game. Further, when the process of collecting points is separated so much from one’s actual in-game activity (unlike the mission mode in Soul Calibur, where one accomplished specific tasks for specific rewards), then one feels no personal attachment to the process of unlocking. It doesn’t feel like accomplishment. It doesn’t feel like anything’s been earned. I took pride in completing Soul Calibur, as everything I accomplished I did by my own power. With Capcom vs SNK, the only thing required (indeed, the only thing which does much good) is an abundance of patience.
Again, this would not be a huge issue if other factors were not in the way. I can be a very patient person, as evidenced by the fact that I’m actually bothering to do all of this and I’m not complaining overly much about the process. It’s what’s required, and so I’ll do it simply because posterity so dictates. But one must wait for a very, very long time and the game simply isn’t enough fun on its own (due to the overall result of its design) to motivate a person to do so.
Ugh.
However, it seems Capcom have (sort of) been learning a bit from their mistakes. While they pulled this stunt in a few high-profile games they released in 2000, Capcom vs SNK 2 has only a couple of unimportant things to unlock. I’m not sure whether this is the right route to go either, as it always is nice to throw in a few extra things here and there outside of the normal and default game experience.
The typical pedantic hardcore mantra is that secrets and extra features are “fluff” and irrelevant. A lousy game isn’t made good by throwing in extra busy work and toys, and it’s supposedly annoying to hide the “good stuff” even in a good game. In message boards and newsgroups, people go on and on, tooting their own horns on the issue. Ideally these people would be having black boxes for sprites (no pretty character design and animation to distract them), with short “beep”s as audio cues. Those might even be seen as a luxury.
I’ve further read people scoff that any game would have unlockable features, as obviously the first thing anyone does is to download a completed save file so he can just play the thing unperturbed by the false barriers supposedly thrown in by marketing in order to increase play time.
I think it’s safe to say that I am not a hardcore gamer. Furthermore I hope not to be a hardcore anything.
Capcom vs SNK is a perfect example, however, for their primary point — which is a valid one, up to its own particular degree. (As with anything else, there is a need for balance.) It is a so-so game which is simply made annoying through its preponderance of locked material — much of which is not simply “extra” material (as I would consider Nakoruru and Morrigan’s characters, since they are obviously extraneous to and fantastical within the context of the game as a whole) but which is needed in order to make the game feel somewhat complete. However, even with this extra data there’s still an irritating amount left omitted simply by the game’s design — and no amount of extra hidden material could ever make up for this fact.
Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive 2 are other interesting examples of how far the concept can be taken in each direction. Soul Calibur is one of the most excellent fighting games which has ever been made, and it happened to be matched with one of the best systems of extra features (most of which were truly “extra” in one way or another) and methods of discovery which has been in any game of its sort. Soul Calibur is a great game, but the added value of its surplus of surrounding material and the engaging way of gathering this material makes the game all the much better.
The game’s world is gradually enhanced, and through mastery of the game and exploration, the single player is constantly rewarded. Even though it’s just a fighting game, Soul Calibur is one of the deepest and most satisfying games I’ve ever played. Without all of this surrounding material, it would merely just been fun to play. And there’s only so long you can play through arcade mode on your own, and still have fun doing it.
Dead or Alive 2 came quickly afterward, and seemed to promise stiff competition for the best 3D Dreamcast fighter. The game itself is entertaining enough. In some ways it’s deeper than Soul Calibur, while in others more shallow. It has its own feel, and it’s an adequate one. The real problem is that this is all there is. The game has a very solid engine and is reasonably fun to play, but there is nothing more to be done with the game once you’ve tinkered around with arcade mode for a few hours.
One can learn to use all of the characters, and play against other people (if one happens to have friends), and that’s fine; that’s a large part of the core point of a fighting game. But as a home game, and as a complete package, it is severely lacking. There isn’t even the complex plot one finds in Soul Calibur — nor are the character designs anywhere nearly as interesting. The character models are a bit more complex, but they all look like plastic blow-up dolls with different hair and clothes. They have no particular personality. There’s literally nothing to unlock, aside from the hidden ability to restore that nude Kasumi scene in the intro. (I suppose that would be enough to satiate the people who would find Kasumi interesting enough to be attractive.) No extra characters (not even the last boss), no extra rounds, no extra modes, no art gallery, no extra music, no extra options, no extra costumes, and certainly nothing original and creative.
So it’s an okay game, which one plays for a few hours and then, once everything interesting has been studied, puts away forever, at least in terms of the game itself. There’s no reason to keep playing, and as a complete game it really suffers. Again, the game is reasonably fun. If it offered something engaging which simply could not be found elsewhere, then maybe that would be enough on its own. But it’s just another fighting game — a very pretty one, with a sort of interesting system. The same way that Grandia II is a very pretty RPG with a sort of interesting system. It’s simply not original enough, and doesn’t have enough personality, to stand on its own — as solid as its underlying structure might be.
While it might not be true that a fundamentally bad game can be made worthwhile by the addition of bonus fluff, and while an amazing game doesn’t particularly need any filler, it’s exactly this sort of game which suffers for a lack of it. The game is capable and well-made, but there is nothing particularly unique to hold one’s interest for an extended period. If there were a handful of extra elements with which to toy around, if for nothing else than to break up the monotony, then it would reflect back on the existing material, making what is already there all the much more captivating. If enough of the right notes were hit in its presentation, the game could become something really memorable. Maybe not quite good enough, but at least substantial enough to be one of the elite.
Capcom vs SNK 2, from what I hear, is more than complex enough to hold one’s interest for quite an extended period even despite some continued niggling issues carried over from its predecessor — and this is good. My real point, however, is that I hope Capcom isn’t simply going from one extreme to the other and missing the point entirely in the process. It really helps a lot to have some extra material in a fundamentally shallow sort of a game such as this (as infinitely complex as the internal mechanics and the actual process of mastery might be). Otherwise, the game just becomes a toy.
It’s been shown that nearly any type of game has the potential to be far more than that, and it would be nice to see if they’ve come to understand this principle. They certainly have the talent, and occasionally one sees where they could have the heart. There are only so many worthwhile developers out there these days, and the good ones (Sega, SNK, Treasure) always seem to be in the worst shape. Capcom are in a better place than most to carry on the ideal, and it’s irritating to see themselves constantly missing the mark by just enough that it’s obvious they simply weren’t trying hard enough.
Hrm.
Anyway, there’s that.