Selecting my Social Tools

Been a while since i blogged on this old thing. My Loki Persona has become my main persona at the moment taking over the of Demonkid's mantel leaving me with little time to update this blog.

Also since Google's crusade to expose everyone to easy pickings from the likes of LULZchanners by pushing all their users to having just one account across all services, my Demonkid blog is still stuck on Blogger waiting to be moved.

I moved Loki's blog a couple of weeks ago and haven't looked back, the feeling of freedom from google is an amazing experience.

Next up will be Youtube. Just this morning i got a 'content match' warning for a video i uploaded last year. But the content warnings are not enough to make me want to jump ship. With Google merging accounts, my two accounts i used to separate my Demonkid vids from my SL vids have had their wires crossed with the Blogger accounts. Even that is not the main reason i want to frag my Youtube account. It simply fails to upload my videos... thats why i've started using Twitvid.

It's not easy to quit youtube. It's the biggest online video site in the known universe but weighing in the pros and cons i find i don't use a lot of the pros.

Pros:
Biggest video Site.
Encodes HD size videos
Allows ad revenue on your videos
Google Statistics

Cons:
Most of my vids banned in Germany due to Copyright
No Ad revenue option due to account merge cross wiring screwup.
Fails to Upload 80% of the time.
ITS GOOGLE!.

So i've turned to TwitVid for my short videos. They may not be as good conversation quality as youtube, but they upload quick and are adequate and embed well. So what if Twitvid is not watched by millions a day. The people i want to show my vids WATCH the vids and pass them on.

Next on my list is Facebook. I've never really liked the dam site. It's the lazy persons web. Of course this could all be down to my circle of Facebook friends being not very interesting. This is not backed up when i meet them in town and have genuinely interesting conversations about current topics.

I guess i'm just to much of a Twitter user. My carefully crafted selection of friends and resources of interesting topics gives me a constant stream of info across my whole spectrum of interests. So why is this not the same on Facebook? why don't i get a constant barrage of LOLcat pics and Memes of comparative lies on Twitter?

I think it is to due with the nature of twitter users. As a twitter user i don't just use twitter, i use a tool set to expand my content. First there is twitter, then you have a selection of Photo sites to tweet pics from each with their own special abilities, there is twitted as well as some others for tweeting video, and pinterest for collecting interesting stuff.

As a twitter user i enjoy the freedom to select the tools i wish to use. In Facebook everything is built in, no choice. I don't like that.

So while Google and Facebook duke it out to control the way you see and ad content to the web, there are still other choices. I like choices.

Comparing Evolution to file sharing, copyright to mass extinction events

The BBC is running a nice natural history programme at the moment about the evolution of plants and how they shaped our planet. I love this stuff from the BBC, sponging as much info in as possible never likely to be used again. 

But this week the programme inspired debate within my family about evolution. Mum always the traditionalist church of england romantic christian does not disagree with evolution, but rather just does not get it. When you think of evolution it is sometimes hard to grasp that its not a simple case of nature choosing to react and change to a specific thing.

The programme touched on a plant that evolved to attract one specific insect to help it pollinate and populate. Now just the way i wrote that last line for most people automatically conjures up this idea of a thinking plant that one day thinks 'hmmm, i really need to do something different to attract that one specific insect in order to be the fittest innit' *EVOLUTION*.

The actually thinking behind evolution is a far more mind bending idea that some people just can't comprehend without head aches, yet my dad surprised me completely by not only totally 'getting it' but by also beating me to explaining it to my mum.

The plant did not 'choose' to attract a specific insect it just happened randomly after billions of version of the same plant copied each other.

Now at the time i was also reading an article on my iPhone about copyright and i was struck by a comparison of themes. Religion, Evolution, open source, sharing, the internet and copyright. It's fun to place these themes beside each other.

We are vastly more connected than ever before sharing ideas quicker than ever before. We can copy and build upon ideas, surely this is the imitation of evolution? Some of the most world changing technologies to come out in the past decade have done so unplanned and un foreseen.

And like a mass extinction event Religion and Copyright is to some a device to control, censor and profit from the society it created slowing down evolution in it's attempt to keep things the same as long as possible.

But evolution isn't a choice, its a natural unstoppable force that continued on even after the planet was wiped almost clean of life, and if the way humans share, create, copy and evolve ideas follows natures evolution blueprints, then Religion, Copyright or anyone who tries to block it are going to be fighting a loosing battle.

Facebook pissed me off this week

Not Facebook itself (for a change) but the sort of crappy culture it's gestating. Like Twitter my feed spits out content shared from my friends, and i love them dearly but occasionally my Facebook feed resembles something more akin a 4Chan board.

Again i don't mind most of the crappy lulz images that come up as sometimes my friends post something interesting.

What really got me stupidly furious over the last week was this one picture comparing the prison sentences of the Megaupload CEO and a Murderer. I looked at it and seeing as i have been following the Megaupload fiasco on Techcrunch i knew it was a bullshit statement. 

spot the difference, 

The Pic compares a lie with a fact from two different countries and you are left to weigh in the fairness. Megaupload Kim Schmitz has not been sentenced to any years in prison, there has been no trial yet. He's still innocent until proven guilty in a US court once they finally extradite him if ever. Miguel Carano was convicted and sentenced in Spain. It's the most bizarre comparison the creator of this pic could have chosen.

Yet this picture keeps popping up in my Facebook feed with such comments as 'Thats so true'.

It just highlights the sort of culture Facebook has, where any bullshit can be posted and if it sounds right and hits a the right chord, regardless of wether its true or not, it'll get shared. 

There is a lot of bullshit on the Net, don't rely on one source for your information, especially not Facebook! You'll end up just looking like a dick.

Five things i''m gonna Geek out on this year

Nothing makes me more excited than new tools for innovating creativity and as we head into 2012 here are five gadgety tools and software I'm looking forward to appearing this year.

1. iPad 3

Of course the iPad 3. I had the iPad 1 up until before christmas when the screen died. Now getting iPad withdrawal as i await the 3rd gen apple tablet. I don't really care what new features are on it, i just need an iPad again. It allowed me to be social and anti-social at the same time while watching TV. It's just a lot of interesting stuff is going to happen on this device this year, from Publishing ebooks, to using new Linden Lab projects and gaming innovations as apple go head to head with the likes of Nintendo and Sony for living room casual gaming.

2. iOS gamepad.

This is technically already out now, but it'll be a while before I've convinced myself i have money spare to buy one plus I'm not sure how many iOS games are compatible with it yet. Other than laughing at Siri's bizarre replies to questions the iPhone 4s had another feature i enjoyed over christmas. That feature was Airplay and what it does is simply stream the game you are playing on the iPhone to the TV. My family had fun watching me play Infinity blade, real racer, Dizzy prince of the yolk folk then Sonic the hedgehog. As awesome as the iPhone touch screen is, it's not the same playing Sonic without a gamepad. Thats where 60beat has stepped in. They have created a gamepad that connects to the iPhone or iPads phone jack , turning your iPhone into an awesome wireless games console, WIN!

3. Cheaper 3D printing

We're almost there, it's coming. The days when ordinary folk can get their 3D content printed… IN 3D. Sculpteo has had their survive up and running for a while. You can make an account, upload your 3D action figure designs and get them printed out and create a shop front to sell your designs… only real drawback is costs. Last i looked it would cost me £40 for a 6cm high Egnog the Christmas troll. I just think about how every year i buy my mother for christmas a pewter figure based on lord of the rings for her collection, they rarely cost more than £40 and seem far more value than what i might get from Sculpteo. But I'm hoping this year will see costs and curves cut to make 3D printing of content i create into actual physical items more appealing.

4. Second Life: New Frontiers

Ok so this isn't classed as new, but could it? Second life is a platform thats been around for 8 freakin years and while i fail to let anyone i know forget about it, the world as a whole, especial the upper-tech-toffs have forgotten about it. It didn't do what the tech-media hyped it to do. But its still there and it's been evolving. Im looking forward to New tools to help create a more lively atmosphere you'd only expect in AAA games. Proper story driving NPCs, exotic bending and moving AI driven monsters and creatures. Scripting tools that allow creators more control over your experience. Creators are going to find themselves with a brand new exciting frontier of creativity i hope.

5. Quama Motion capture.

First announced June last year i think, this is a new product that aims to make it easier for animators to capture poses and movement via a cool looking mannequin style USB doll. Created in Japan so it may take a while to get over to the UK. Im looking forward to this because it would make creating animations for Second Life content much easier in light of future SL NPC tools. It would also help in possible work in 3D animation as well as creating reference poses for illustrative work. It's the perfect upgrade to the traditional wooden artists mannequin.

2012 is here… New Years Resolutions

"I go into 2011 with hope and determination to make good with whats available because even the countries leaders are telling us its going to be a shit year."

Looking back at 2011, those of you who know me well may be surprised to know that describing 2011 as terrible year is not what i feel. It's best described as the most contradictive year of my life.

Two major sources of confidence, inspiration and comfort left my world during 2011 causing me extreme tides of reflection and emotional distress. Reevaluating things i believed about the world, friends and life. Heavy stuff. 

But in the same year i achieved many goals, i proved peers to be wrong and layer down some new foundations. I met new friends and strengthened some old ones. 

And as cheesy as this will sound from a guy brought up on Spielberg films, as the story of one friend ended, a new story was born in that of my Nephew.

So anyway here is my resolutions written this time last year…

1. Look out for technologies that will allow me to self publish comics this year.
2. Create a steampunk computer game
3. simple.. make some money.
4. Balance that second life and use what i recently learnt to promote and reap glory!
5. Manage my time better to allow me to learn to Cook and eat better.
6. Continue to express my appreciation to all those who have been understanding and cared for me.
7. Publish a book
8. Visit the ones i love more.
9. Help parents be more responsible with resources.
10. Do more excersise and be less sick.

So how did i do?

1. And i still have not published any new comics. I did find some interesting tech though. An iPad app that constructed a comic iBook Epub with stupid amounts of ease. I had looked into the cost of buying ISBN numbers in the UK to self publish on the iBook store. But then Apple iOS 5 came out with the NewStand making it much easier to read and store and buy magazines so I'm still in limbo over that. Resolution met? not really

2. Originally this was to be a side scrolling shooter-up game, but that quickly got placed on the back burner. By the end of the year though in Second Life i had created the Dark Aether falls clue hung and bug zapping steampunk game, and while it was not accesable to all my friends or the masses it's still a steampunk game and helped with my virtual world Tier payments. Resolution met? yup

3. I haven't checked yet but i think i made more money than the previous year. It has been an odd year as i move away from the more traditional web and print design jobs to the virtual content design market. One i hope will be a successful move during this economic climate. I find the world of freelance design a dreadful place where clients want work cheaper and faster than ever before due to the pressure to cut costs. It's got to a point where i've glimpsed a possible future where i create what i want and sell it to those who really want it and what artist wouldn't want that? Resolution met? Yup 

4. Balance Second Life with my real life? Hardly, in fact i became even more engrossed in the virtual world. More and more effort and ideas went into the Second Life platform in 2011. Maybe it was due to what happened in the real world that pushed me to be more inworld (logged into virtual worlds). I wasn't just escaping by playing games and socialising, i was burying myself in work and in a twist of fortune this lead me to becoming more experienced in building, scripting and 3D modelling. Resolution met? Kind of

5. I sort of managed my time better but learn to cook, resounding NO. Routines help the days move more fluidly, wake up, breakfast, midmorning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, then tea, then supper then bedtime. Repeat. I'm pretty much a Hobbit now, but having a structure to the day really helps keep time focused. Resolution met? half of it.

6. There were moments where i disappeared for a while into my virtual world of work, but would snap out get on a train and head to the city because of a simple text message at 1am to meet up next day. I made a point of that, especially after jays death. In part because the question would go through my mid, 'what if you ignore?'. I would have liked to hung out more with my friends, but it was a tough year for many of us, yet the moments we did meet up were good and valuable moments we all needed at the time. Resolution met? maybe

7. Publish a book? Resolution met? nope not yet

8. I visited jason for the last time back in march 2011 for his 24th birthday. We watched DVD's and had a drink or two. Next day i had to leave. At the door i considered giving him a hug goodbye, but 2 workmen arrived to do some work on the house so in the confusion i did not get the chance. We said goodbye and that was the last i saw him alive. On the train home i texted him that next time i visit we need to go out and have lunch somewhere because he's a grown man with a girlfriend and we should really start hanging out as adults instead of teenage kids. He replied with "sounds like a plan mate xx". Resolution met? Im reluctant to blame Jay for any of the pain this year but i'll blame him for this resolution not being met.

9. My worst enemy is local news,. The amount off biased, uninformative, low quality reporting that comes out of the presenters of itv west country news is shocking sometimes. It does not take much for my dad to be convinced of anything with his old world views. I failed to convince my parents to get on the solar panel scheme. Failed to get them to invest in new energy saving heating system (current one is broke). I tried to get hands on a electricity monitor to give decent analysis of whats using up electricity. Instead they just moan about how everything is costing more, bloody does my head in! Resolution met? NO

10. Well i was doing excersise at the start of the year, I'm not quite sure when that stopped. Probably when i had my first health scare. I had a crazy episode where i had extreme memory loss which i only noticed when reading twitter and finding i had been having a conversation about not remembering tweets i had posted. I then got pain in my chest and dizzy spells so went to visit my GP who told me i had indigestion and that i probably was suffering from stress. Right ok. Later in the year i then developed a rather strong allergic reaction to something which lasted three weeks. I think i only got a cold virus once, which was last week. Resolution met? Kind of.

So goodbye 2011, the year beset with contradictions, the worst of times the best of times, like building foundations in a hurricane. But with them built I'm strangely excited to crack on with 2012 even though possible recession is looming and the Olympics threaten to bore the shit out of me.

2012 Resolutions are…. 

1. Finally Publish a book or magazine or comic.

2. Build upon the successes of 2011.

3. Make more money than last year.

4. Make it possible for my family to understand and appreciate the work I'm now doing in virtual worlds.

5. Celebrate jays life and share my memories of him with the world.

6. Be the best Uncle ever.

7. Publish or print a concept book with my friend Rob.

8. Be more steampunk.

9. Build on the confidence that i can achieve my dreams.

10. Find balance between work and play, business and community.

Heres to 2012, find out next year how well i did :)

Limbo - Lord of the flies meets Neverland

So being a mac user means games that came out years ago arrive around about now. I've been trying to play Assassins Creed on the mac but the over complicated ported controls system makes for frustrating button bashing confusion. It's as if Ubisoft did not even try to hone the game for PC & MAC users.

So with some free time and a cold virus we took a look at the Apple Mac App Store (not on iOS)and was immediately drawn to a game just out on mac called LIMBO. This has been out for quite some time starting life on Xbox Arcade i think.

Limbo is a side scrolling beautifully rendered 2D puzzle adventure game. It's wonderfully dark with you spending most of your time avoiding gruesome death traps.

The style of graphics harks to early black and white film with grainy flickering backdrops of mist and dust, with wonderfully eerie music that compliments the melancholy atmosphere.

You play a small boy who wakes up in their limbo world and off you run to explore. As you venture further you come across horrible nightmarish giant spiders that seem to chase you with a insatiable desire to impale you. You also come across a gang of misfit lost boys who see you as a threat and try to kill you like something out of Lord of the Flies.

This game had me utterly hooked for an hour before i managed to pry myself away for lunch. You just want to keep running further and discover more and the atmosphere is so calm in a world of dread, it's like you become entranced.

If you like the melancholy or games that are original in style, then you may like Limbo.

HUgo - a magical film about magic with no actual magic in it

I have held off blogging about this film as i wanted some of my SL steampunky friends to go see it first. But i think i have waited long enough and if you have not seen this film yet then shame on you.

Hugo is a boy orphaned and left to live alone in a train station in paris. His purpose is to fix the stations clocks and keep them working until he meets a sad bitter old toy shop owner who Hugo identifies with then tries to fix. But the only way he can do this is by uncovering the old mans past where upon Hugo makes amazing discoveries.

This film was astonishing. I might be a bit bias again because the story more than pandered to my steampunk side, but over all the package Scorsese delivered was a box of film delights.

Its a good film about film. It's a homage to the very beginning of the art of film. It's a film that celebrates the art of visual storytelling.

It's a beautifully coloured movie, with gleaming golden brass countered by the cool blues of a steam venting paris in winter. Everywhere you look are clockwork cogs and steam.

Asa Butterfield was an amazing choice to play Hugo, he is very natural and his eyes seem to lure you into his emotions. Scorsese uses Asa's bright blue eyes to great classical effect.

Saha Baron shows again just how brilliant he is art bringing memorable characters to screen and i could not stop laughing as he at one point leaned out of the screen lecturing me.

Ben kingsly was magnificat. He's been in a lot of films recently where he's bee poorly used, but after this film, it will be hard not to remember him in any other role first.

Even Christopher Lee makes a memorable appearance as the Library owner. All such wonderfully romanticised gentlemanly characters of that age.

It is based on a book which i held off reading before the film, which i am very glad, because as soon as i realised what the film was actually about my jaw dropped and i wanted to clap and cheer at that moment (i didn't though cos that would have seemed real odd to the rest of the audience). And i can tell those yet to watch the film, most of what is depicted is true, and i urge you after seeing the film to continue the magical journey of discovery by going on wikipidia and look it all up.

And what i love about this film most. There is no fantasy creatures, magical wizards or alternative realities. No Ray guns, Airships or monsters. The magic is in the characters, in the way the story is told and the presenting of events unfolding.

Its a magical film about magic, that does not actually use anything magical to tell its tale. And i for one was left feeling enriched by the experience.

And watch in 3D, as it is part of the evolution of film and looks stunning. It's not a post production layered gimmick. Honestly, the moment Sacha Baron leers out of the screen at you is probably the most memorable 3D experiences I've had.

So i definitely recommend this to anyone who loves film, loves story telling, loves theatre, as this is a film crafted by Scorsese to tell you an important story you will be thankful to have seen.



I find it interesting that my two favourite films this year have been focused on history of film :-)

YEAHY DIZZY IS BACK - But is he still any good? #dizzy

Getting Dizzy to return was one thing, hoping the development team that brought him back would do so in a decent way is another.

A Childhood Favourite

Dizzy was the first gaming franchise i bought into as a geeky 10 year old with an Amstrad CPC 464. There used to be a small little shop in town with a shelf that displayed small cassettes that were in fact games for the pre console era. Amstrad, Spectrum and commodore the three main home computers at the time.

Dizzy is a little Egg with boxing gloves who in his usual adventures has to rescue his eggy GF called Daisy from the evil Wizard Zaks.

I first played the original Dizzy after getting it on a cover tape of a magazine and then Treasure island dizzy came out. I never completed either because they were too hard but then Fantasy World Dizzy was released along with new characters called the Yolk Folk with a proper story to uncover while solving the puzzles and i was from then on hooked on the series.

I used to ring up my best mate using land line phones to exchange puzzle solving in order to continue through the story. 

Dizzy was great, my memories of playing dizzy are fond and heart warming…. 

But now he's back and I'm going to have to review his new game as an adult who cherishes every little detail of the original classics….

The New Dizzy Game

Whats slightly odd is that there are two version of the game, one for iPhone and one for iPad. Most apps are now universal so this was a surprise and in my late night tired state i ended up downloading the wrong version to my iPad. Not a big issue as i wanted it on my iPhone as well, but does mean if you want the Dizzy experience on iPhone & iPad you have to buy twice.

As the app starts up you are greeted by the iconic 8bit style Dizzy Sprite and as the game loads you are treated to some of the original Dizzy artwork from the games of the 80's.

Then the game starts and you get straight into the classic dizzy game all be it with enhanced graphics. I was a bit dubious about the enhancing of the graphics, i loved the old style as it was instantly recognisable as Dizzy. But the graphics do little to disguise the feel of the game which at its core is classic Dizzy and  the new updated sprite bounces just like the 80's original hero.

The controls are brilliant, i was worried they would be intrusive but they actually work really well.

So this is Dizzy back from the dead and looking and feeling as great as ever. The only gripes i have with this new game is he does not make an sounds when jumping or walking :( and the other is to do with the music. One of the most memorable aspects of Dizzy was the ditty tunes that would repeat over and over again, and they were good. They are a vital part of the nostalgia of Dizzy as well as helping you concentrate through repetitive noise.

You would have thought with chip tune music as big as ever at the moment they would have done something as memorable and nostalgic. Instead we have some weird music that starts off pretty good with a very slight hint of chip tune in it which then goes into some weird power metal thing that TOTALLY distracts from the happy fantasy aspect of the game. You can switch the music off but there is no ability to play your own music over it.. shame as i think i would have played Adz.M awesome dizzy remixes downloaded from yolkfolk.com.

Glad Dizzy is back

Dizzy totally works in the mobile market. It's game mechanics are still great and i hope lots of new people will enjoy the puzzle story adventures. Fingers crossed it does well as i would love to see brand new adventures in future. CHECK IT OUT! NOW ON iTUNES APP STORE!

iPhone Link
iPad Link
Android Link

Why Bother Blogging

I rarely seem to write about what I'm up to these days. I mostly blog reviews on films i have seen or Apps i have bought. Well to be honest i don't seem to do anything much other than work…

No wait that is a Lie, as only two weeks ago i met up with my mate Rob in exeter where we hung out and chatted about life, Rob you are such a great guy :)

Couple days before that i met up with Ronan and Jack to see Immortals which was great fun and looked stunning but nothing overly special.

The thing is blogging has changed. I used to blog as a way for my friends to read what i had been up to and if you read some of my early posts from 2003 you will see i wrote as if it was a diary. 

Microblogging on twitter and Facebook has totally taken the need away for that. Those who are my friends who are interested in knowing what I'm up to are now informed via short up to the minute messages. After seeing a film i tweet what i thought as soon as i leave the cinema, no need to write it all up on a blog. 

So the purpose of the blog has to change. The subjects have to be more thought out , more like writing a dissertation on subjects that might mean something or educate in someway. Unless you are a tumblr blogger who just reposts other peoples junk.

My Blog for my Second Life persona is a lot more active than the Demonkid Blog. More people view what i have to say on that as it deals with subjects that a lot of people are actually interested in and are helpful to those in second life. 

So the Loki Blog has a real sense of purpose compared to the Demonkid blog which is only as interesting as my real world persona :) But so what if my real world persona is only interested in bloggin about fun apps and going to the double locks pub in exeter. Is it really about writing content that interests people?

My posts i wrote about Jason were extremely important to my grieving process. The act of writing down how i felt and what i experienced allowed me to consider what i was feeling. And those who do know me who did read it contacted me and expressed sorrow and shared similar experiences they had. 

I don't think i would have written anything similar on Facebook or twitter, it was something that manifested on my blog as the Blog seemed the only choice for such outpouring of grief.

We take for granted the powers we have gained from blogging, tweeting and friendface we have  constant peer attention with instant feedback which didn't let me grieve alone.

Amazing Breaker for iPhone

It's been a while since i've reviewed any apps, i guess my last post about digital magazines can be classed as an App review but... megh...

I've found myself lacking in time with regards to mobile game playing. Games either seem to big to get involved with or just to boring so it was great to find this game called Amazing Breaker while my dad watched football.

Very simple premiss, blow up crystal sculptures. Its a very pretty game with lots of sparkling effects and zen music. The blowing up quickly becomes a game of strategy as you deploy the different types of bombs at your disposal in order to destroy 90% of the sculpture to move onto the next level.

Looks great, sounds great, addictive and original.