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17 years?!
Tomorrow will be my account's 17th birthday! So much has changed from when I first joined BZPower. I was only Twelve when I signed up after lurking on the homepage for just a few months during a lull in news on Mask of Destiny. The world had really started to change for me at that time and my interest in Bionicle was the singular constant as my family prepared to move across the country. I didn't know the challenges that I had yet to face, nor the joyous moments to come, all I knew was a sense of fear for my world and great hope in the world of the Matoran.
Bionicle will always inspire my creativity, and BZPower will always be how I began writing, and for that I am forever indebted to this community and those who've been a part of it.
Illustration from my first finished story, Bionicle Legacies: The Return ca.2007 - 49
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I'm Back.....
Hey guys!
As you can see, I've haven't been on for a while. I have been busy. No new ideas yet for my game, but I'm thinking more up.
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Latest Entry
The Theory Of Mocing
There are a couple of important guidelines to building and showing off a good MOC here on BZP (or anywhere online; MOCs in person are harder).
Bolded sentences are the main points. Read the paragraphs for more detail.
It all boils down to what looks good and what does not. MOCing is a subjective art, just like any other art, but there are a few things that I think can be agreed are widely agreed upon as important.
Know your Parts. Take a look at this MOC (ToM Dracone's "Chloros"). Notice how there's a recurring motif of ridges on the parts? Take a look at the Metru leg used on the feet, and compare those notches to the ones found on the Metru armor on the leg, to the piece used on the thighs, to the bits used as barrels for the gun, to the Metru armor on the shoulder, even to the base of the antennae. A similar pattern makes the pieces used look like they belong together, even if they were designed years apart.
Using a technique like this means that you have to KNOW your parts well, and that comes from practice. Lots of practice.
"Custom" matter less than aesthetics. MOCing is about looking good, and it matter less how do it than if you actually do it. Take a look at this MOC. That's built on an Inika body, and features little custom. It still looks supremely awesome. It still looks MUCH better than either of these two MOCs, both with custom bodies (both mine lol). With that said, custom builds do tend to come about as a result of knowing your pieces well, and knowing how parts fit together.
Choose your Colors Wisely. I would say that in terms of BIONICLE, there are 2 "base" or "primary" colors: Black and White. Grey is sort of the in-between that can be used even under those. What do I mean? You can layer pretty much any other color on top of those and it will look half-decent, regardless of build quality. Think about it. I'm not going to point at any MOC in particular; pick pretty much anything from the galleries I link below and you'll see what I mean. Standard combinations include Gold/Black, Gold/White, Blue/Black, Blue/White, Green/Black, Red/White, etc.
Note that Black and White can be used as "main" colors, but when those two are combined in one creation, you will run into other problems on the photography side of things.
Also note that your base does not have to be black OR white; as long as you stay consistent and it looks good, your base can be, for example, red, accented with black.
Choose colors that look well together. The problems is, "look well" is a subjective term. It's all on you to make a color combination work. Usually shades of colors go well with each other, such as Red/Orange, Mata Blue/Sand Blue, Mata Green/Lime Green, Brown/Tan.
Limit the amount of colors you use. I mentioned above that grey is almost more fundamental than Black or White, and that's because, if used well, you can layer a MOC so the "skeleton" is grey, above that is black/white, and above that is your chosen color. At the same time, if you are planning on accenting your chosen color with something else, count 'em, there are then 4 colors on the MOC. That leads to a lot of competition and your MOC will look way too busy.
When accenting, there is too much of a good thing. Let's say you've got your base color and a couple of secondary colors. In this example, our base is grey and our secondary colors would be black and white. The accents (i.e. the eyes) are the only bits of red on the MOC. If there were bits of red sprinkled throughout -- a habit I used to fall into when I was younger -- then the MOC becomes too busy, too messy, for it to look coherent.
In this example, the base is black, the secondaries are keetorange and grey. The accents are green, but the green only shows up in places where it makes sense.
Long story short, keep your MOC to 4 colors or less, and when you have 4 colors, use the fourth sparingly.
Now, you can put together a great MOC, but if I can't see it properly, well, then it's not that great after all. Your photography is extremely important. It's the only way people are going to see the creation you want to show off. Pick almost any MOC from the galleries below, or from the gallery of any really strong MOCist, and you'll see that the pictures are quite minimalist. There aren't any household stuffs in the background; usually the background is one solid color. And that color tends to be the color NOT used as the base color (i.e. if the base is white, then the background is black, like this, and if the base is black, then the background is white, like this.).
Hiding flaws is good. Go back and look at that second poorly done custom body MOC (the white one way up near the top, in the section about custom builds). I hid that horrible body with a cloak. Better, but now there's no detail. Take a look at this gallery. Notice how there are no shots of what's going on inside the top portion? That's because if you removed those plates of armor, it would look pretty ugly. So if you MOC looks bad from a certain angle, don't show that! When you are the photographer, and the pictures are the only way we're going to see the MOC, only show what you want to.
Overall, you need three things:
1. Use your pieces wisely. Know them, and know them well. Know how they fit together, know what works and what doesn't. Know which ones look similar and which ones don't. Know them well enough, and custom builds (if that's what you want) will come naturally.
2. Use your colors wisely. Limit yourself to three main colors, accentuate with a forth SPARINGLY. If your third color is the accent, even better! (You should still use it sparingly though
)3. Take good pictures. You can have the best MOC in the world, but if no one can see it properly, it won't matter. In addition, if the back of the creation doesn't look that good, you don't have to take a picture of it.
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MOC Creds go to Brickeens (Brickshelf: "Brickeens" and "BrickeensBZP") and ToM Dracone (Brickshelf: "MuffinToa")
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Tomato Paste...
I can count to 10! 1...2...6...42...25...Forwardslash...X...Y...11...K...T...Backslash... 10!
See!
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Yeah, Yeah...
So Xinlo's persuaded me to make a blog, now.
He's got me wrapped around his finger... Oh, well. What's the worst that can happen?
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Not Much To Add.
I need a theme for this blog. I have no ideas at all. How about you? Do you have any ideas on what I should do for the next week? 'Cause I'm just really lazy.
Now, off to continue developing new flavors of toothpaste. So far I have bacon, plastic, and guava.
~Av out.
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A Story..and A Day..where Many Died =p
Well school is coming up again...yes, yes, the dreaded 6 hours of boredom keeping me away from me and my beloved video games...*cries*
And to get in the "spirit" I decide to make this entry...a story..when many kids died. This is a true story..just told like I was in a war Here it is:It was a cloudy..and rainy day..the last day I had to deal with school. Field Day. It might have been rainy and cloudy...but..judgement day still came. After taking a break of the constant shooting people and hiking..we went into bonce houses..I still don't remember why ( I am kinda old for them..but..they were there.
). I was bouncing in one of these strange houses..if I knew what were to happen in this bouncing house...I wouldn't of gone near it. My friend and partner in combat was in the other bonce house..lucky him. We were all bouncing and having fun in my bounce house But then all the kids stopped bonceing..somthing..somthing was terribly wrong. We heard one of the Sargents shout "GET OUT! HURRY!" But it was to late. The bonce house was tipping. Long ways. I Jammed my hand in-between the cushions...and held on for dear life. It was a 20-feet drop to the bottom (It really was) I was hanging there..I looked down..I saw other soldiers at the bottom..if I dropped I would hit them dead on. I looked around me..very few kids were hanging over the other kids. I started to ache after about 20 seconds...I couldn't hand on. My hand slipped..I was falling Right on top of all the other people. I screamed "Move!!!!!11111!!!!!1111!!1!!12!ONE!11ONE!!11 Move!!" I whacked one kid dead-on in the nose. It was bleeding. "sorry, man" I said. "Its all right. Ouch.." The Sargents (teachers) had to flip the house back over...A lot of good men died that day...How did you guys like it? I didn't really shoot people..I was just pretending to be one of those dramatic survivors of stuffs.
This story really happened..no lie, I swear! It was a lil' fast pasted, I know but cool right? Is there anyway to advertise my Blog better? B) 
Well, that wraps up today's entry! Lol, Like it?
:wakeup2: :wakeup2: :wakeup2:
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So Long and Thanks for All the...
So I suppose this marks the end of my Premier Perks and the end of this blog. Its been fun, and the moment I can spend money on the internet I'm definitely buying Lifetime PM, cause I mean honestly, if there's one place on the internet I feel deserves my money, it's here. BZPower has helped me grow a lot, both as a writer and a person.
For now so long, and thanks for all the fishmemories!
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So,
Well, this is my first Blog Entry edit, so I wouldn't expect much from it.
I don't know how I'm editing it, though!
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Got It Done!
That is right! Bionicle Parody Piece Numero Uno is up. Check it out in the art topics. Thank you!
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Ocarina Of Time 3D Review
This is long overdue, so here you go. I'm not going to go into too much detail on the actual game itself, since it's a port of Ocarina of Time. This is merely to compare the two games and ultimately decide if it's a good idea to buy this if you've already played the original.
Story: You probably know most of the story even if you HAVEN'T played this game. You're a young boy who lives in the Kokiri forest, and are picked on by some of the others because, unlike most children, you don't have a fairy. That all changes when Navi, the blue fairy, comes to tell you the guardian of the forest, The Great Deku Tree, has summoned you. Navi joins you on your quest as you travel across Hyrule, and even through time to stop the Gerudo King of Thieves, Ganondorf, from stealing the triforce and conquering the world.
Specs: The game was released on June 19, 2011, with almost universal positive reception. Upon beating the game, you unlock Ocarina of Time Master Quest, which was sold separately from the original game on the N64. As of June 30, 2011, it had sold 1.08 million units worldwide, making it the third 3DS title to breach the million units sold mark. A little over 1/4 of these sales were in japan.
Positive points:
I'm going to point this out every time. This is my opinion. Any contradictions you may have can be posted below.
You may think to yourself that there's no reason to purchase this game if you've already beaten it on the N64. I can understand that. But at the same time, I strongly urge you to get it, especially if you never played Master Quest.
Obviously, a high point was the graphics. Remember in ocarina when you were in castle town and whatnot, and ALL the buildings looked like they were in an oil painting? Not anymore. The buildings are actually polygonal now, and seem less static. The updated graphics look nice and clean, but still remind you of the old graphics which are nice. And of course the 3D is good. It really isn't necessary to play the game, and I never found it making things really any easier, but it's nice to have all the same. Like lettuce on a sandwich. It doesn't really change the flavor, but it gives it that crunch to make it a little better. (that analogy made me hungry...)
This next point is probably why I liked it so much. The gameplay. If there's two things I hated from playing the original, it's the way you had to take your boots on and off. (Water temple, anyone?) And archery controls. (Again, Shooting Minigame, anyone?) These were both fixed in this port in a way that makes them super convenient.
The way that boots work, (And any C items, for that matter) is now you can have four equipped at a time instead of three. The items can be pathed to X, Y, I, and II. If your item is at I or II, you use them by tapping their pictures on the touch screen. You can activate the X and Y item by touching them as well, but I can't imagine why you would do that...
What does this have to do with the boots? Boots are now C items like in Twilight Princess. So taking them on and off is as simple as pressing a button or tapping an icon. This makes traversing places like the water temple so much more efficient, without having to go to pause menu, going to the gear subscreen, equipping them, and rinsing and repeating 500 times.
Shooting controls are now as responsive as if you were literally holding the slingshot or bow in your hand. Namely because they are controlled by the gyroscope in the 3DS and you can to move it around to shoot. This makes shots quick and accurate, making places like the shooting gallery actually enjoyable to do. "But LNU!" You say. "The gyroscope controls won't work in a car very well! What then?" Not to worry. You can still use the thumbstick to aim the bow or slingshot as well.
Something else nice about the game is that they dumbed it down a little. Places I noticed this were:
1. Remember that creepy beggar in castle town who would always say "Please! Please sell me something with C!!!"? For some reason, I never could figure out what he wanted. It apparently was that way with more than a few people, because now when you talk to him, he says, "Please! Please sell me the contents of a bottle!!!" At first I thought, "Aw, that's really pandering. Just giving stuff away." But then I thought, "On the other hand, I don't think I would have thought of that if he hadn't said that..." So I guess that works.
2. Something some of you may not have known, is if you played Zelda's Lullaby in front of a gossip stone, a fairy will come out. I didn't know this until Navi said, "There's a fairy inside! Maybe you could find a way to coax it out." WHAT!? NAVI GIVING ACTUAL TIPS!?! BLASPHEMY!!! Obviously, Navi left THAT crucial piece of information out in the previous game...
3. I'm not sure if this happened in the previous game, because of the fact that I never DID this sidequest, so you guys can maybe help me out with this. Did they mark on your map where you were supposed to take the things you traded in the Biggoron sword sidequest? Like I said, I'm not sure, but something tells me they didn't.
4. I heard rumors that the design of the water temple was going to be altered to make it easier. Thankfully it wasn't. However, they did mark the doors you had to go through to raise and lower the water level. This didn't make it more easy per-say, it just made it more accessible which I liked.
5. This is probably the biggest point of dumbing the game down I found. Now, I have to warn you, there's one of these in Skyward Sword. So I have a sinking feeling they're going to show up in Zelda games from now on.
Sheikah stones.
For all my complaining about how I get stuck on certain parts of Zelda games, I pride myself on almost never using walkthroughs. (And if I do, I read JUST the next step, just to get nudged in the right direction.) I do this because it makes me feel good that I kept at it and figured it out for myself.
And now we have Sheikah stones.
What could be so bad about them? Well, I'll tell you. These things are the BIGGEST cop-out I've seen in a puzzle game to date. For NO COST to yourself, you can crawl inside these huge stones and they will LITERALLY show you what you're supposed to do next. I don't mean tell. I don't mean drop a hint or two to nudge you in the right direction. I mean they will show you a video of Link doing what you're supposed to be doing. It's really cheap in my opinion. But I threw it in with positive things because I guess a little kid or some such would benefit from them.
Probably my favorite change is based on the ocarina. Now, you can pull up your songs while playing the ocarina, so it's more convenient playing those long teleportation songs. Also, every time you play one of those teleportation songs, you hear the ocarina/harp duet that plays when you first learn it. Which made me EXTREMELY happy.
Also, they made Master Quest even harder by not only changing the dungeon design around and including more enemies that do double damage, they also mirrored the entire world. So it's a LOOOT more difficult.
Negative points:
There's no way for it to have any negative points that the original didn't have. I guess the only thing I could call a negative issue is the game being to pandering. But that's just me and it didn't bother me TOO much.
Overall:
Thank about all the legistics you didn't like about OT. Got it? They took them out or fixed them for this game. I would highly recommend getting it, even if you already played or beat the original. You'll enjoy it even more than your first experience. I did. And rating the improvements of the game solely, I give it a 5/5. You won't regret your purchase. I can guarantee it.
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Latest Entry
Why The Name.
The name is because, when I logged on this week last year I discovered that I was, in effect, a premier member for a week. Woohoo! There was just one complication-at the time, my family were preparing to leave for Ireland, where I would be stuck, for the rest of the week without internet access. Ah. I named the blog, intending to update it before I left, however, I completely forgot to update the entry, leaving me with a stupidly named blog and waiting desperately for the next anniversary to come. Hence the name.
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