Archive for August, 2010
Company of Heroes Papercraft Fail
UPDATED: By popular demand, the diagram is available here. Enjoy!
On the weekend I posted a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it post featuring a Papercraft diagram to make the Command HQ from THQ and Relic’s upcoming Company of Heroes Online. I then took down the posting because I thought I should test-drive the diagram first. It was too small. I then enlarged 50%, making it two pages big, and made another attempt:
It’s held together with scotch tape and curse words. I made the steeples, chimney, and other add-ons as well, but I dare not destroy this building trying to affix them. It would have looked something like this:
I might give this another go with some real glue, some heavier paper, and perhaps a cardboard foundation. Time to surf the web for Papercraft techniques.
If anyone asks, I can provide the 2 page diagram. Just send me an email.
8 comments August 31, 2010
Microsoft Reveals THEIR Transforming D-Pad For Xbox 360
You can find the link with video here.
I think it’s an interesting innovation. The D-pad telescopes to get some clearance from the surrounding encasement. The D-Pad certainly needed an improvement, so kudos to the Microsoft Engineers- who also weren’t given enough credit for remedying the original Big Bertha controller for the first Xbox. Here is a pic:
They also removed all the colors from the buttons, opting for a monotone approach. I think this is another brilliant move, as it makes the controller more adult, and less fisher-price. I think most gamers won’t even miss the colors.
I got all excited when I saw the Kotaku headline, because I thought they were going to do something like mine I designed a year or so ago:
I think this 360 control pad is the best in the business. It just needs a name, like the DualShock, Sixaxis, Wiimote…something cool. HaloPad? WarGear?
Add comment August 31, 2010
Solution For Burrard Street Bridge Bike Lane Found 19 Blocks North
What you are looking at is West Georgia Avenue, a major artery for the downtown core in Vancouver. See those traffic lights? They indicate the current direction of the traffic lanes. Depending on the time of day, these lanes will switch directions to accommodate traffic flow to and from the Lions Gate Bridge, which has only 3 lanes available to motorists:
This past year another bridge that connects to the downtown core, The Burrard Street Bridge, dedicated one of it’s 5 lanes for cyclists only (and one of it’s sidewalks too). I personally applaud the move, as it’s greener and helps with congestion, as Vancouver is literally painted into a corner geographically.
This cyclist lane is apart of an ongoing initiative that is creating more transportation alternatives for the downtown core. It’s already proven feasible in Europe, where cars and bicycles share the roads with little fuss. I think there are many things we can adopt from those zany Europeans, like ordering wine from McDonald’s.
There is a huge opposition to the bike lanes from business owners and motorists. They have many valid arguments, such as dramatically increased traffic jams, accessibility to many streets is a nightmare, and the impact on businesses caused by removed parking lanes and accessibility.Many have argued for a licensing system on cyclists to help pay for this initiative (to be fair, cyclists are taxpayers too, entitled to the using the road).
So my solution to help with this controversy, is to merely adopt the Lions Gate Bridge traffic flow system and install it along the Burrard Bridge and adjacent corridors. This can handle the morning and evening rush hour traffic patterns.
As for the Dunsmuir lane and the upcoming Comox and Hornsby bike lanes, that’s hard to say. I’ve seen downtown cores completely shutdown streets to be transit-only or for a shopping district (Calgary has done both), and I think Vancouver could actually forfeit a street or two to be dedicated to transit buses and cyclists.Vancouver should really bring back Street Cars to help ferry people from the Skytrain to nearby areas.
If Vancouver doesn’t implement a feasible cyclist network, then the city would have to resort to something drastic like what Boston did this past decade: build underground highways. Which would be a shame, as the city has done without freeways so far. And the weather - rain included - is rather friendly to cycling.
Add comment August 29, 2010
Films That Can Be Salvaged Part 2: King Kong (2005)
The Rundown: King Kong was Peter Jackson’s followup to his acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his dream film. It was a solid commercial and critical success for Jackson and Universal Studios.
What made it great: Skull Island, the real star of the movie. Once the film set foot on the island, all heck breaks loose, and the film literally became one action scene followed by another for a few hours. There were a lot of creatures and WTF moments making for an entertaining thrill-ride.
What can be fixed: I’m not going to prescribe re-casting the film, let’s be reasonable! I will say Jack Black did seem a bit out of place - I would have went for Paul Giamatti instead - he pulls off the ‘crazed-scheming’ very well. And Adrien Brody, while good, didn’t seem to be the heroic classical lead a film like King Kong warrants.
As for what can be fixed: the length and uneven pacing of the film. It took way too long to get to Skull Island, and once there it was a non-stop action scene, with very few breathers for the audience.
I would start the film on the boat ride to Skull Island. And once there, I’d then sprinkle a few flashbacks of New York (footage from the first hour of the film) throughout to help the audience catch their breath and to provide some much-needed characterization that sort of went absent on Skull Island. Basically chop the film up and piece it together is some crazed Tarantino-inspired chronological remix.
I think a shortened running time, with a balanced story flow will improve upon an already great film, and add a lot of replay value. As it currently stands in my opinion, King Kong is one of those films you can watch once or twice, or in a selective fashion (skipping to the good parts), and be done with.
Add comment August 29, 2010
The Double-Ended Commercial Transport Truck
Gotta feel for the guys who drive these things. Sure, on the open highway there is no issue, but maneuvering in commercial/residential areas, and backing up to loading bays, seems like more trouble than it really has to be.
So I designed this ‘double-ended’ truck, which splits the cab into two and mounts them on each end of the truck. This allows the driver to pull up directly to a loading bay (instead of backing-in), and pull away from the loading bay by simply jumping in the outward-facing cab.
Each end of the truck still has a door to get at the goods. Because the cab is smaller, it is still accessible. The driver can even step out of the cab and open the door directly to the cargo hold, as there is a platform on each end of the truck too.
And if you really need full access to all the pallets/crates of goods, the cabs can swing out to the side of the truck. This is made possible by making the steering ‘fly-by-wire’, which is sending commands to the steering column electronically, rather than a connected steering column directly to the driver.
With the cab split in half, this isn’t adding any more weight to the vehicle. And with less time turning trucks around and moving them into place, there is fuel and time savings.
I would recommend this for local transport trucks. Those long-haul trucks need a few more amenities to help drivers, like an area to sleep.
Add comment August 28, 2010
EUReKA review Season 4 Episode 8: “The Ex-Files”
This was probably one of the more anticipated episodes Eureka has ever had in the pipeline. The return of Nathan Stark, who was vaporized, er, dematerialized one year ago in Eureka time (two years in real time for fans keeping track).
And while his return provided a lot of entertaining mileage, the circumstances that brought him back were fortunately revealed very early on - he was merely a hallucination seen by Carter.
He wasn’t alone in seeing things, as Allison, Grant, Jo, and Fargo were also plagued by hallucinations featuring people from their past. (more…)
1 comment August 28, 2010
Films That Can Be Salvaged Part 1: The Punisher (2004)
The Rundown: Released in 2004, The Punisher was a reboot of the anti-hero franchise, originally brought to screens in 1989 featuring Dolph Lundgren as the title character. This time, Thomas Jane takes over as Frank Castle, out to avenge the brutal massacre of his family.
What made it great: This is sort of a video game movie at heart. You have a hierarchy of bad guys that lead up to the big boss-man, Howard Saint (played by a lively John Travolta). There were some cool assassins in Harry Heck and The Russian that seem almost “end boss”-like.
Besides one of the greatest fight scenes ever (against The Russian), there were plenty of other scenes that were memorable and entertaining. The ‘torture’ scene was hilarious and brilliant. Just about every action scene was well done.
What can be fixed: There are a few scenes that can be deleted. First, the whole opening setup with Castle’s undercover sting leading to the death of Saint’s son doesn’t need to be there. It is far too contrived - the son was a last-minute tag-along, his death the result of a few baffling police breakdowns. The film could actually start at the son’s funeral, where Castle’s identity is revealed, he is recognized as being responsible for the death of Saint’s son, which results in the retaliation hit on Castle and his family being ordered.
One more scene can be excised: the way-over-the-top “cars exploding in the shape of a skull” shot at the end was gimmicky and the effects were not very well done. The film doesn’t really need this sort of ‘Crow’ moment.
And lastly, there were was some horrible, completely out-of-place score music in a film that was supposed to be a dark, brooding action film. Mainly, the ‘theme’ music was very silly, like a 50′s superhero theme (think Mighty Mouse). This theme is extremely noticeable after Castle blows up a boat carrying a drug shipment, and he walks into frame to ‘intimidate’ Saint’s other son. The musical cue in this scene was terrible. A few somber notes would have sufficed.
Would these changes improve the film? I think many films would benefit from some tweaks, and The Punisher was just short of greatness - though it is still a mild cult favorite. These edits would remove the lower-end cheeziness, and still preserve a lot of the film’s memorable oddities - like it’s eye-rolling one-liners: “She had to catch a train.”
2 comments August 27, 2010
Back to the Future Blu-Ray Flux Capacitor Special Edition Case
Today I stumbled on some news that Universal is releasing Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray Trilogy Edition on October 26th. This is awesome news, as the trilogy hasn’t received the HD treatment yet. Also, this set will be packed to the gills with special features, including the never-before-seen footage of Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly (if you don’t know, they decided to re-cast the role after a few weeks of filming).
Unfortunately, the packaging is very vanilla for such an auspicious occasion:
There is nothing wrong with it; it’s unmistakable BTTF imagery. The “Back to the Future” logo is one of the most recognized wordmarks for a film, so it should be prominent.
I decided to create a BTTF Blu-Ray Special Edition tin case that would be really cool and geeky:
EDIT: After my comments regarding the BTTF logo, I figured it best to make a variant case featuring the logo:
And for those of you who don’t know, this is a case based on the “Flux Capacitor” - it’s what makes time-travel possible! Though how it makes time-travel possible is never really explained. Maybe because it looks like a Uterus? But I digress.
A lot of DVD and Blu-Ray releases come in a tin case, which are very snazzy and often sought-out by collectors should this variant be available.
To fit the Flux Capacitor in, as well as the 3 movies, the “lid” would be thicker, and the Flux Capacitor would be fully enclosed inside.
I personally would like to see the embossed labels on there, as though Doc Brown affixed them himself.
There is enough room to insert a booklet. I just didn’t have time to make one.
I think Universal should commemorate this trilogy in a special edition case like this one. Something - anything - that will entice gadget-loving people to buy this.
If you like this, check out several other concepts here.
7 comments August 26, 2010
Video Game Publishers Created Their Own Monster: How They Should Fight It
THQ and Electronic Arts have created initiatives to help combat the used re-sale of their games, as they aren’t too fond of GameStop and EB Games profiting on used games. Currently the two publishers are requiring secondhand users to purchase a license ($10) to enable used video games to play online.
I personally don’t think that will curb the sale of used games, and for a couple of reasons: the video game consumer is extremely savvy, and will factor that additional $10 on top of the already cheap game they are purchasing. Also, online play typically isn’t the main draw of a used game, because the online activity for that game has probably died down by the time it reached the ‘used’ bin. And finally, gamers will usually buy a used game that is top-rated and mostly offline content - these games have a more timeless quality and deliver a lot of bang for a few bucks.
The big irony here, is the Publishers are trying very hard to combat a situation they effortlessly created. They forged the used game market in two ways: by releasing yearly iterations of the same game (Sports, Shooters), and by flooding the market with too many games.
With the yearly titles, gamers clued-in that there would be a new version eventually, may as well get some return on the current title. I adopted this thinking with sports titles, and after a few months of playing NHL or Madden, it was time to trade it in. Sports games are essentially $60 rentals, and trading them in is every bit the ritual as buying them in the first place. In my experience, I wouldn’t get much trade value for sports games - retailers were often flooded with them, sometimes even refusing them outright.
As for flooding the market, with so many consoles, handhelds, and mobile games, it is nearly impossible for most gamers to shell out full price for everything they want (and they want so many - gamers are compulsive!), so they assign purchasing priorities for games. Some titles are must-have midnight-madness purchases like Halo or GTA. Other titles can be put on the back-burner while the current game queue is enjoyed. And some games will be scooped up if it’s a bargain, whether used or heavily-discounted, gamers cannot resist a good value (see: Steam Store).
And once in awhile, gamers will try to save a few bucks and trade in some games to continue their habitual gaming diet. It could be for financial reasons, or simply unloading a few games that are collecting dust. On the flip side, gamers will seek out used games for nostalgic reasons. If Nintendo managed to outlaw the sale of SNES carts somehow, I don’t know what I’d do!
So far, the EA and THQ online pass initiatives aren’t penalizing the person who plopped down $60 to buy the game, which is a good thing (unlike the accusatory DRM) . And $10 is a reasonable fee for countless hours of online play, so the person who bought it used has little to gripe about. However I think Publishers could try a few different ideas to make everyone happy:
- They could include a gift card to receive a discount on next year’s version of the franchise upon trade-in. If EA gave me a $10 discount on Madden 12 for trading in Madden 11, I’d happily make that trade.
- Some loyalty down-loadable/bonus content or achievements. DLC has been very effective at extending the life of a game, but not all games are DLC-friendly, so perhaps offer gamers extended demos or beta invites to other games just for being regularly active with a title for an extended period. You could also include some Trophies or Achievements that commemorate how long the gamer has been active with a title. There are many ways to recognize consumer loyalty.
- Publishers could offer a direct outlet for trading in their games for credit. They could send out envelopes to collect titles from gamers and then send a credit back. With Netflix (and many questionable Cash4Gold companies), people are conditioned to this kind of transaction. It is going the extra mile, but it cuts out the middle man (GameStop).
- Publishers could offer legacy games as trade bait. Many publishers have a library of games reaching back as far as three decades. A lot of these games are considered ‘Abondonware‘, because they aren’t in circulation, and are just plain dated. Publishers aren’t really making money on these older games. So if EA enticed me to swap in my NHL 10 for a disc of 12 classic games like Road Rash, Need For Speed II, James Pond, NBA Street, etc., then I’d be inclined to accept. Trading one used game for a bunch of older games works for me. EA doesn’t suffer lost $ on the resale, and they make the customer happy. It’s win-win.
- Go the upgrade option. Microsoft gives consumers the option to upgrade to the newest Windows OS at a discounted price. When a new version of the game comes out, I’d like to have the option to download it to my console, using the previous year’s disc as the enabler of the new game. And I want a discount. This route will also help ween people onto the impending digital-only future the game industry is heading towards (then used games will no longer be an issue). An excellent incentive to hold onto that disc.
- Give those game discs extra functionality. Remember when Metal Gear Solid read your game saves from other games? Well game discs should trigger content in other games. For example I am in the middle of playing Tiger Woods Golf 11, and I want to unlock some additional content. I swap in a Mass Effect 2 disc, and Commander Shepard is now inexplicably teeing it up in his spacesuit as a bonus character. Yes that example is silly cross-pollination, but there are so many ways you could proceed with this mechanic. If I have no idea what potential content my game disc will unlock in other game releases (current or future), I may be more inclined to hold onto it. I’d kick myself if I traded away the ultimate unlockable or upgrade.
That’s all I can think of for now. What’s your take?
2 comments August 25, 2010
Here Is A Great Idea: Go See Scott Pilgrim
No, the folks at Universal didn’t pay me to promote their film. In fact I plunked down $12.75 to see it this evening, and I was grinning the whole time - when of course I wasn’t laughing.
I didn’t read the comic books, but was sold on the premise: having to battle seven evil ex’s for the love of a girl. And the characters have to battle CAPCOM-style. With that formula the film should be an all-out success. Even if you aren’t a video game fan…do you like Kung Fu? No? How about a good comedy? Romance? More than enough incentive to see this film - especially in a year that has been dismal in quality films so far.
Many have tried to dissect why the film has bombed. Heck, I’m guilty of waiting 10 days to see it. My personal take? When I saw the trailers, I knew the film was aimed at me, but then all I saw were a lot of kids. It kinda felt like this was more for teens than a mass audience. Perhaps they could have played up some of the cast’s more mature thespians, like Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwartzman - all three have plenty of cred with audiences. I like Cera, but he still seems like a kid to me. I think he was good in the role, but I think Pilgrim could have benefited from a more charismatic-but-grounded presence with comedic timing. Dare I say it, I think Shia Labeouf would have been better suited.
And secondly, this is probably the first film that was severely harmed by not going the 3D route. Pilgrim had the action sequences, imagery that literally popped, and even some crafty editing/scene transitions that truly lent itself to the 3D conversion. I think Universal should pull a Braveheart and re-release the film, but with 3D. And good 3D…not the Clash of the Titans or Airbender quality.
This isn’t the first time I watched a film that went criminally unloved by the masses. 2007′s The Mist was amazing. As is Soderbergh’s one-two combo of Out of Sight and The Limey.
Long story short: definitely check Pilgrim out. You’ve already skipped a lot of films this year (don’t blame you), so indulge in this one.
2 comments August 23, 2010
