Cloud computing is, in a nutshell, location independent computing. It is when shared servers provide resources and software to computers and other devices (such as smartphones and tablets) on demand.
“The cloud” is not a new addition to our everyday lives, it has been used for quite some time in the areas of file-sharing and movie streaming. Services like Dropbox, Netflix and Pandora all utilize cloud-computing principles that allow you to access their resources via your own personal account anywhere in the world.
In recent years the gaming industry has started to use cloud-computing as well. Steam, for example, uses cloud-computing to store game settings and saves so that you can load them on any computer you log-on to Steam with. Even games like World of Warcraft have some minor cloud-computing principles in use; World of Warcraft stores player-created macros locally so that you can access them anywhere.
But what’s more interesting, and what this article is about, is the advent of playing video games via the cloud. Services like OnLive and Gaikai allow users to access and play games on their own computers using the hardware power of other computers and, just recently, I found out NVIDIA is offering the same. But is it all candy canes and lollipops, or are there some problems with cloud-computing in relation to gaming?
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I’ve been a gamer for 19 of my 22 year life. I’ve played games from numerous genres ranging from the old school platformers to the wondrous action-adventure titles to the more recent role-playing and first-person shooter games. I’ve played a range of consoles but my roots are dug deep into the wide world of PC gaming.
I want more.
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As anyone who knows me would attest to, I’m an extremely opinionated person.
I talk not just because I love the sound of my own voice but also because I love to talk about the things I love. I read comments and post on forums because not only do I love sharing my own opinion, I also enjoy reading the opinions of others, despite how ignorant some people can be.
Some call my outbursts of anger and frustration as “rage”. I call it passion. In truth, it’s a mixture of the two, but don’t mistake my passion and rage for hatred, because it’s anything but that.
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Ah, romance. That thing two (and possibly more!) people share with one another. Those feelings of excitement and mystery!
Makes you sick just thinking about it, doesn’t it?
Romance appears in quite a number of role-playing games, most notably BioWare’s, who have even gotten in a bit of shit by some raging bigots who can’t stand the idea of same-sex romance options in a video game let alone real life. But let’s not get into that old debate.
Let’s get down to business; I have a love-hate relationship with romance options in video games. Here’s why.
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THIS IS NOT A REAL WEBSITE. ALL COPYRIGHTED LOGOS AND IMAGERY USED IN THIS DESIGN AND THE FINAL PRODUCT ARE SUBJECT TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS AND HAVE BEEN USED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.*
“Cage Rage” (or “Nic Cage Film Rage” in the finished product) was a website interface designed for a film festival.
The concept was to choose three movies that all corresponded with each other in some way (actors, genre, directors, etc), create a brand for them and then use that brand to make a website.
You can see the design and read a brief explanation after the break or check it out in full-size over at deviantART: Web Design: Cage Rage.
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It’s come to my attention that the link found on WowHumor.net leads to very much dead article created last year, possibly because I forgot to re-submit it to my blog after re-creating it.
To cut a long story short for anyone still curious about WowHumor (though I don’t know anyone who would be): It’s doors closed sometime near the start of last year (if I recall correctly, and my memory is pretty shot so I probably don’t) due to an issue that occurred when I updated WordPress. The template I used as a base for WowHumor was never designed for the latest version of WordPress and so I’d have to have gone back and updated everything relating to it. I didn’t feel doing so was necessary due to my living conditions at the time (no reliable internet access) and so I just left it to die a slow and painful death.
However! For some reason or another I’ve decided I might revive the old project, dust off the old plans and see what I can make of it with a new facelift and what-have-you. I’m also considering doing similar for a few other games and we’ll see how those pan out (if they “pan out” at all).
I won’t instil some false sense of hope into anyone, however. Whether I spark new life into an old project mostly relies upon whether I get the free time to actually do it.
Whilst on my search for information relating to Guild Wars 2 I came across the idea of “Dynamic Events”, something that is apparently being thrown around in Guild Wars 2 as the primary way of levelling. I thought the idea of removing quests in an RPG as incredibly strange, very alien, but also extremely interesting. So interesting I thought I’d write an article on my thoughts.
My thoughts are focused around removing quests as a necessary function to level, not merely as “something to do”.
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“Cage Rage” (or “Nic Cage Film Rage” in the finished product) was a logo designed to go with a film festival website interface.
The concept was to choose three movies that all corresponded with each other in some way (actors, genre, directors, etc), create a brand for them and then use that brand to make a website.
Continue reading →
Hardcore modes pop up here and there but are usually included in action RPGs such as Torchlight and Diablo. They play exactly like their normal mode counterparts with the catch that you have but one life, and if you lose it by screwing up then you must restart your character from the beginning.
Same games let you continue playing in the normal mode after your characters been killed, some don’t, but the idea of hardcore modes is the all the same: It’s an adrenaline-packed thrill-ride and many gamers, myself include, thrive on this style of play. But there’s a certain mentality surrounding the modes that new players should be aware of, so here’s my take on it.
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Yup, that’s all I got for now.
