http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSb3IKMjS08&feature=plcp
A Video I made to Encourage the runners of the New York Marathon.
www.wishes4life.com
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Doom and Doomer
I remember the old days, well for me 1993. I was 13. I was always into video games but that year I had a spark, a small one but a spark of creation.
I had been introduced to ID software's Doom, a few years earlier. After endless nights playing their other flagship; Wolfenstein 3D, I had become of fan of what is now refereed to as the FPS or First Person Shooter. Doom was Wolfenstein squared. The light blues and bright colors of my quests to destroy the Nazi's had been replaced by the dark grays and barren locales of Demon infested moon bases. It blew my mind.
After a few years of dooming. I had played all the levels that ID had created but that wasn't enough. I found out about .WAD files. Many people like me who found doom like a second home, wanted to rebuild that home over and over again. The original doom levels were sets of these .wad files. A custom made .wad file could be loaded via MS DOS. That's right, Doom in the old days was pretty much useless on windows. The true Doom fan was very familiar loading the original game and custom levels using DOS.
Many people like me who found doom like a second home, wanted to rebuild that home over and over again. The custom levels were uploaded to Bulletin Board's online. I spent hours searching for custom made Doom levels, and even more time playing them.
The spark hit one day. "Why don't I build Doom Levels?" I was always creative and had plenty of idea's but where do I start?
I found a shareware copy of a doom editor program. I began to mess around with this and many other types of editors that were coming out. Lucky for me, Doom was popular and there were many tools at my disposal. Unfortunately, the programs were complex. The simple task of making a room was simple, but making two rooms was difficult and making a whole level was daunting.
How complex a room can get.
Doom editors were not very intuitive in the early 90's. I would spend just as long putting the pieces of my level together and just as much time troubleshooting and getting rid of misplaced wall textures and the dreaded hall of mirror's effect. The complexity of the editors has resulted in many aspiring editors simply making a large room with 1000's of demons in it in a either a lack of creativity or a lack of level building know how. This didn't stop me from making a few levels, but I eventually had to give it up. I messed around with new editors over the years but never really made anything new.
A few years ago the spark came back. I had found a program called Doom Builder. It was good. It's predecessor, Doom Builder 2 was even better. Gone was the endless trouble shooting. Now I would be able to build those dream levels that I never could make as a teen due to the cumbersome programs.
The Doom Builder Interface.
Here is an example. In the original editors. you would make 4 dots in a square then connect the dots with four lines. you would make a room and connect to other rooms. You had to be perfect. If you made a line too long you might have a glitch. you wouldn't know until you booted up your level in the game. Then you would go back into the editor. You had to build a 3D environment but all you had to go on was an overhead view of your dot's and lines.
With Doom Builder you can build a room in only a few clicks, it has a 3D mode that you can move around in and edit in real time. Any missing walls or glitches are recognized by the program and most can be fixed from within the program. With the editor working for me and not against me, my creativity flowed.
I make levels regularly now, almost 20 years since my first obsession with Doom. There is a small online community that still makes some pretty impressive stuff. Now Doom editors can use new software to make custom sounds, and themes. Simpsons Doom anyone! Newer programs let you make custom levels for games like Half Life and render things in full 3D, and the Unreal Engine let's you make your own games.
One of my more ambitious levels: Castle
Even with all these advances, I still stick with my first love, Doom. I build levels for fun and for myself. I love the new programs that allow me to re-create my nostalgic feelings daily. I thank the community that keeps this game alive even now. Thanks to you and keep dooming.
I also make Hexen levels. Above: Halls of Mist.
I had been introduced to ID software's Doom, a few years earlier. After endless nights playing their other flagship; Wolfenstein 3D, I had become of fan of what is now refereed to as the FPS or First Person Shooter. Doom was Wolfenstein squared. The light blues and bright colors of my quests to destroy the Nazi's had been replaced by the dark grays and barren locales of Demon infested moon bases. It blew my mind.
After a few years of dooming. I had played all the levels that ID had created but that wasn't enough. I found out about .WAD files. Many people like me who found doom like a second home, wanted to rebuild that home over and over again. The original doom levels were sets of these .wad files. A custom made .wad file could be loaded via MS DOS. That's right, Doom in the old days was pretty much useless on windows. The true Doom fan was very familiar loading the original game and custom levels using DOS.
Many people like me who found doom like a second home, wanted to rebuild that home over and over again. The custom levels were uploaded to Bulletin Board's online. I spent hours searching for custom made Doom levels, and even more time playing them.
The spark hit one day. "Why don't I build Doom Levels?" I was always creative and had plenty of idea's but where do I start?
I found a shareware copy of a doom editor program. I began to mess around with this and many other types of editors that were coming out. Lucky for me, Doom was popular and there were many tools at my disposal. Unfortunately, the programs were complex. The simple task of making a room was simple, but making two rooms was difficult and making a whole level was daunting.
Doom editors were not very intuitive in the early 90's. I would spend just as long putting the pieces of my level together and just as much time troubleshooting and getting rid of misplaced wall textures and the dreaded hall of mirror's effect. The complexity of the editors has resulted in many aspiring editors simply making a large room with 1000's of demons in it in a either a lack of creativity or a lack of level building know how. This didn't stop me from making a few levels, but I eventually had to give it up. I messed around with new editors over the years but never really made anything new.
A few years ago the spark came back. I had found a program called Doom Builder. It was good. It's predecessor, Doom Builder 2 was even better. Gone was the endless trouble shooting. Now I would be able to build those dream levels that I never could make as a teen due to the cumbersome programs.
Here is an example. In the original editors. you would make 4 dots in a square then connect the dots with four lines. you would make a room and connect to other rooms. You had to be perfect. If you made a line too long you might have a glitch. you wouldn't know until you booted up your level in the game. Then you would go back into the editor. You had to build a 3D environment but all you had to go on was an overhead view of your dot's and lines.
With Doom Builder you can build a room in only a few clicks, it has a 3D mode that you can move around in and edit in real time. Any missing walls or glitches are recognized by the program and most can be fixed from within the program. With the editor working for me and not against me, my creativity flowed.
I make levels regularly now, almost 20 years since my first obsession with Doom. There is a small online community that still makes some pretty impressive stuff. Now Doom editors can use new software to make custom sounds, and themes. Simpsons Doom anyone! Newer programs let you make custom levels for games like Half Life and render things in full 3D, and the Unreal Engine let's you make your own games.
Even with all these advances, I still stick with my first love, Doom. I build levels for fun and for myself. I love the new programs that allow me to re-create my nostalgic feelings daily. I thank the community that keeps this game alive even now. Thanks to you and keep dooming.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Can't live with em, can't date without them.
I know that I am not the foremost expert on women. I'm 31, I've only had one girlfriend in the past and my last official date was over 12 years ago. Not that I haven't tried to put myself out there, just no luck.
I just entered the so called "Friend Zone" with a girl that turned me down for an official date, after we had been on at least 4 unofficial ones. In order to be official the girl has to know and agree that it is a date in the first place.
Right now there is an interesting mix of feelings going through me and I want to tell women why they should go on more dates.so here I go.
I am a man which means I am filthy and filled with issues. When I find a girl that I like those issues get a rain check. I will personally make sure that my hygiene, manners, the rate at which I talk, my topics of conversation, the speed at which I eat, what I eat, and how I dress, among other issues are in check. A lot of effort goes into showing a woman all of my strengths and none of my weaknesses. A first, second, and third impression is very important to a guy, or at least me.
So now I am in the "Friend Zone," without a real chance at a relationship or any real dates what so ever. I had originally showed the girl I was interested by taking her hand on an outing while walking around a very romantic spot in the late afternoon on a Sunday. Before that day we had been to a concert, two lunches, and a play. Valentines day was coming up and I really wanted to make it special for me and this lovely lady.
Gathering up some courage I presented my hand and said "May I?" She took it. She then began to talk about how she's not ready to date because of her busy schedule and "Some things she wanted to get right" with herself first. I was obviously crushed.
Some men can move on and find another person. I felt betrayed. Rejection is not easy for me to take. The main reason is because of how much effort I put in to all of my issues from earlier. After 4 outings with a girl not to mention the vast amount of texts and phone conversations with her and the amount of planning and time it takes to get two people to do something together, I wanted to experience some kind of positive result.
Women, This is for you. Don't string a guy along. Don't go out 4 times and not make it clear. Give the guy a chance. If he is putting forth an effort, acknowledge it with a freakin date. It's not going to kill you and guys like me will greatly appreciate it. If it ends up in the "friend zone" eventually, then at least you tried. Trying and failing at a relationship is much better than never allowing it to bloom in the first place.
If a guy is pursuing a girl and trying hard to hang out with her, correct his issues, and making a tireless effort to be with you, go out with him. If you are worried about that guy being devoted and invested in you as a woman, don't worry he already is.
I just entered the so called "Friend Zone" with a girl that turned me down for an official date, after we had been on at least 4 unofficial ones. In order to be official the girl has to know and agree that it is a date in the first place.
Right now there is an interesting mix of feelings going through me and I want to tell women why they should go on more dates.so here I go.
I am a man which means I am filthy and filled with issues. When I find a girl that I like those issues get a rain check. I will personally make sure that my hygiene, manners, the rate at which I talk, my topics of conversation, the speed at which I eat, what I eat, and how I dress, among other issues are in check. A lot of effort goes into showing a woman all of my strengths and none of my weaknesses. A first, second, and third impression is very important to a guy, or at least me.
So now I am in the "Friend Zone," without a real chance at a relationship or any real dates what so ever. I had originally showed the girl I was interested by taking her hand on an outing while walking around a very romantic spot in the late afternoon on a Sunday. Before that day we had been to a concert, two lunches, and a play. Valentines day was coming up and I really wanted to make it special for me and this lovely lady.
Gathering up some courage I presented my hand and said "May I?" She took it. She then began to talk about how she's not ready to date because of her busy schedule and "Some things she wanted to get right" with herself first. I was obviously crushed.
Some men can move on and find another person. I felt betrayed. Rejection is not easy for me to take. The main reason is because of how much effort I put in to all of my issues from earlier. After 4 outings with a girl not to mention the vast amount of texts and phone conversations with her and the amount of planning and time it takes to get two people to do something together, I wanted to experience some kind of positive result.
Women, This is for you. Don't string a guy along. Don't go out 4 times and not make it clear. Give the guy a chance. If he is putting forth an effort, acknowledge it with a freakin date. It's not going to kill you and guys like me will greatly appreciate it. If it ends up in the "friend zone" eventually, then at least you tried. Trying and failing at a relationship is much better than never allowing it to bloom in the first place.
If a guy is pursuing a girl and trying hard to hang out with her, correct his issues, and making a tireless effort to be with you, go out with him. If you are worried about that guy being devoted and invested in you as a woman, don't worry he already is.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Don't Judge a Game by It's Comment Section.
I believe that a video game is more than just it's youtube video. Game reviews and trailers are more popular than ever. When a trailer for a popular game is uploaded to youtube it becomes food for the savage animal that is the gaming public. Look at any comment section for a new game trailer and you will see the masses of the internet and their reactions splattered on the webpage like a Jackson Pollock Painting.
There is every type of comment imaginable. There is praise, criticism, intelligent and ignorant rants, banter and arguments between posters, incomplete sentences, posts in broken English and some not even in English at all. But above all the major theme is judgment.
Some internet commentators even have the gall to insult other peoples opinions. This happens on a regular basis. Some people will judge the game based on something cosmetic such as the appearance of a character in the game. Such is the case in the new trailer for the new "Devil May Cry" Game being developed by "Ninja Theory." In a daring move the developer has gone with a completely different look for the main character Dante.
The new design for the game has angered many fans who have gotten used to the "Classic" look that Dante has had in the first 4 games. The developer is Basically taking a more realistic approach. Gone is the Anime style look with shiny silver hair, leather belt buckle adorned trench coat, and the pretty boy J-Rock look that Dante is known for.
This new Dante design is bold yet simplistic. The new Dante is much younger, this game takes place much earlier in his life.The developers have decided to take an 70's youth culture and rebellion theme to Dante. The character now has short dark hair, is very thin, and looks like a European punk rocker in a shoddy red and black coat. The difference is quite striking.
The internet reactions are pretty typical. The fans are not happy. Here is one angry fan's reaction.
"absolute bullshit! who ever is a fan of DMC I suggest you protest this game and very play or buy it! I bet dante himself is very pissed at this game. I going to find the creator and smack him so hard!"
I have not edited this at all. This is a typical example of the communication skills that the average youtube commentator possess. I'm sorry if this is you.
All of the ridiculousness aside, the reaction to this new Devil May Cry is a great example to show that many of the gaming masses are very reluctant to change. Look at games like Madden NFL, the majority of First person shooters, and even Super Mario Bros. These games don't change very much. Little tweaks are made but the core game play and design of the games remains relatively unchanged.
Devil May Cry is much like this. The game has minor changes with each installment, but the core game play and style of Dante have not changed. Many game critics and fans alike want to make video games more socially accepted and appreciated as a medium. Unfortunately this is one of the roadblocks that keeps it from getting to that point. As long we refuse to allow games to change, they wont.
Most of the fans unfortunately are too invested in a game franchise. I find myself doing this with many of my favorite games. Many people such as myself get comfortable with certain things.
There is every type of comment imaginable. There is praise, criticism, intelligent and ignorant rants, banter and arguments between posters, incomplete sentences, posts in broken English and some not even in English at all. But above all the major theme is judgment.
Some internet commentators even have the gall to insult other peoples opinions. This happens on a regular basis. Some people will judge the game based on something cosmetic such as the appearance of a character in the game. Such is the case in the new trailer for the new "Devil May Cry" Game being developed by "Ninja Theory." In a daring move the developer has gone with a completely different look for the main character Dante.
The new design for the game has angered many fans who have gotten used to the "Classic" look that Dante has had in the first 4 games. The developer is Basically taking a more realistic approach. Gone is the Anime style look with shiny silver hair, leather belt buckle adorned trench coat, and the pretty boy J-Rock look that Dante is known for.
This new Dante design is bold yet simplistic. The new Dante is much younger, this game takes place much earlier in his life.The developers have decided to take an 70's youth culture and rebellion theme to Dante. The character now has short dark hair, is very thin, and looks like a European punk rocker in a shoddy red and black coat. The difference is quite striking.
The internet reactions are pretty typical. The fans are not happy. Here is one angry fan's reaction.
"absolute bullshit! who ever is a fan of DMC I suggest you protest this game and very play or buy it! I bet dante himself is very pissed at this game. I going to find the creator and smack him so hard!"
I have not edited this at all. This is a typical example of the communication skills that the average youtube commentator possess. I'm sorry if this is you.
All of the ridiculousness aside, the reaction to this new Devil May Cry is a great example to show that many of the gaming masses are very reluctant to change. Look at games like Madden NFL, the majority of First person shooters, and even Super Mario Bros. These games don't change very much. Little tweaks are made but the core game play and design of the games remains relatively unchanged.
Devil May Cry is much like this. The game has minor changes with each installment, but the core game play and style of Dante have not changed. Many game critics and fans alike want to make video games more socially accepted and appreciated as a medium. Unfortunately this is one of the roadblocks that keeps it from getting to that point. As long we refuse to allow games to change, they wont.
Most of the fans unfortunately are too invested in a game franchise. I find myself doing this with many of my favorite games. Many people such as myself get comfortable with certain things.
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