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Emzee

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Blog Entries posted by Emzee

  1. Emzee
    Rewind back to a couple months ago when I booked and confirmed my trip to the awesome city of Portland. Admittedly, I was unsure at the time about my decision: what would Portland be like? How weird was it actually? Would I have all the fun I hoped I would? Not to mention the fact that I wasn't sure if going to the smaller convention in a new city was better than the larger convention to a city I'd already been to (BrickCon in this case. I doubt you'll see me visit the same con twice in a row unless it's Brick Fiesta).
     
    Nonetheless, I went with it.
     
    Then Deep Web Tour was announced. And guess which weekend Childish Gambino decided to perform in Texas?
     
    No, seriously. Guess.
     
    ... yeah
     
    (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
     
    All hope seemed lost.
     
    But then, something new arose; a Titan would Fall, and there would be much celebration. And... guess what? Childish Gambino likes the game so much that he would be there too! (He really did say during the concert that he thought Titanfall was a cool game).
     
    Here are some pictures from the event. I hope to post videos too, but they need to be edited first because holding a camera steady while getting the zoom right is apparently quite difficult.
     
    Awesome game + awesome rapper + awesome internet celebrities = awesome Monday night. Got a picture with Major Nelson (I don't really listen to his podcast that much, but hey, free photo!) Got to see (but not approach -- I ain't ready for that yet (why are they so tall?)) the Rooster Teeth crew, and got some free stuff including a Titanfall t-shirt. Vince Zampella and Yusuf Mehdi were also there and they talked a little bit about the game. And all for the price of waiting in line for 4 hours after a full work day.
     
    Say what you want, it was totally worth it. Only issues were my lacking in height and weight which sometimes led to me being thrown around like a ragdoll on the quite small standing room space. It also I meant I sometimes had to jump to see the performance. Also, many non-Titanfall fans only there for the concert. Ah well, that just meant more time to play the game myself, as they all crowded the front of the stage an hour before the show began.
     
    I've been spending the past couple evenings catching up on sleep, hence the slight delay. The Titanfall game should also be reaching my doorstep tomorrow.
     
    BZPRPG players, I apologize in advance.
     
  2. Emzee

    Nonononononono

    By Emzee,

    ^ As said by my wallet. Yeah, that's right.
     
    They got me too.
     
    Batman: Arkhan Origins
    BioShock Infinite
    TES: Skyrim
    Mirror's Edge
    Saints Row IV
    Serious Sam (all the games)
    Star Wars: Battlefront 2
    Dragon Age: Origins
    DmC Devil May Cry
    ...
    AND COUNTING!
     
    (This money is supposed to go towards adult things!!)
    <- also my wallet.
  3. Emzee

    Title Grammar Question

    By Emzee,

    Ok, I'm 90% certain that I got it right the first time, but I need to hear honest feedback:
     
    Power Lies Beneath or The Power Lies Beneath?
     
    Which sounds better? Which is better from a title grammar perspective? Does it only depend on what "Power" means or does it really not matter? Let me have your input!
  4. Emzee
    School started this past Thursday, and I'm taking 18 credit hours (which is 6 classes for those not in college yet). I thought I'd just share what I'm taking this semester, so here we go:
    Digital Art - designing professional-looking artwork with Photoshop Understanding World Music - studying the basics of music all around the world Probability and Statistics for Software Engineers - Math Math Foundations for Software Engineers - more Math Business and Public Law - An interesting look at civil court cases involving both small businesses and corporations Professional and Technical Communication - teaches one how to write like an engineer I have a full load this semester. I would say how this will inevitably cut into my activity here at BZP, but my work load here is light and I haven't been that active here. At best, I'll be just as active then as I am now. I'm not looking forward to the new math classes I have to take, mostly because they involve a lot of Calculus, which didn't serve me well when I took Physics. I have to take these classes though, and do well in them, do I'll just deal with it. 
    ...can't like I'm excited about writing either, as I'm afraid this may be another English class -- there's a reason I didn't major in English or Humanities. Math is the lesser of two evils.
  5. Emzee

    I Dropped My Phone

    By Emzee,

    ... and now there's this spider-web of cracks across the top. This has happened to virtually everyone except me, until now.
     
    Oh well, at least it still works perfectly fine.
  7. Emzee

    So This Is The End

    By Emzee,

    As usual, I'm quite excited about the upcoming year. So many high-hopes and resolutions (not that I bother setting any, but it's fun to hear about them ). This year wasn't too bad though, I got my first internship, which most likely helped me spring-board into my full-time job offer (from another company).
     
    I'm also glad I'm not scrambling trying to reboot the BZPRPG like we've been doing for the last oh-so-many years. Continous arcs are fun.
     
    To those fortunate enough to already encounter 2012, happy new year! Hope nothing changed too much.
     
    P.S. I also recommend reading through the RPG entries and casting your votes if you haven't already. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, and I'll let you know my decisions later.
  8. Emzee
    Yeah, I doubt most of you know about those. I know that sounds like the Golden Cheese of Awesomeness or something like that, but don't be fooled. I'm getting one tomorrow and it will be due on Tuesday. Most likely? I will be literally working on it the whole weekend. Still though, I can say that they're a little bit better than have to take an exam in only an hour's time, but I don't know if I can stay in my room for three days straight doing Physics problems.
     
    And I see Hero Factory has touched down on American soil. I hope Smeag and DV can get their hands on them soon - we're overdue for a review from one of them - especially DV.
     
    Oh, and lastly, clickety-click.
  9. Emzee
    Update 2: "On a Quest" has also been added. Like "Cy-Wahi," I was also going for the feel from the MNOLG soundtrack. Let me know what you think!
     
    Update 1: The 'Cy-Wahi' theme has been added. To give you a frame of reference, I'm trying to go for the MNOLG feel (Le-Koro especially), with the techno/vaguely tribal feel. Please tell me how close I've gotten to achieving that. It would really help.
     
    Part of any game development process is music composition (or music ripping if you're lazy =P). I've been having dozens of melodies and rhythms swimming around in my head for the last several months, and only I've recently built upon some of those melodies to the point that they're tolerable to listen to. I'm now in the final stage of these pieces. Usually, I wait a week or two after I finish a piece, and then go back and listen to it again. It allows the song to be fresh to the brain again, and I'll make it easier to spot issues. I'm impatient though, so I'm allowing you to be my ears.
     
    http://cyanproductions.net/media/
     
    If you click the link above, you will see the music section at the bottom. You can use the buttons to navigate through the 7 tracks. Just to make clear: these are DEMOs and definitely subject to change.
     
    Also, I can't really explain the context of most of these tracks, except that Hub is the central location in the game where you will access all the levels, and Sa-Koro is the first level. Any additional information falls under spoilers.
     
    Well, that's all for now. Enjoy!
  11. Emzee

    Postchristmas Entry

    By Emzee,

    Great Christmas indeed! We had a little Secret Santa spiel in our family, so everyone got one another 1 or 2 gifts.
     
    I got three things:
    C++ Primer by Stanley Lippman and Barbara Moo
    $50 Wal-Mart gift card
    Digital Chromatic Tuner (y'know, for instruments)
     
    They were all stuff that I wanted, and I'm really glad to have gotten them. I'm cracking open the C++ book right now improve my fluency in C++.
  12. Emzee
    Whoops, forgot to remind people about the Lego Convention taking place in my city. Between BZP's anniversary and Brickfair VA, people were bound to forget.
     
    Well, there's still one more day to visit the public expo in Austin if you... happen to already be in the Austin area. Apologies for dropping off the radar. Though this is known to happen with me.
     
    Anyway, so far this has been a lot of fun! I didn't win a set this night (not for lack of trying), but I did win a SXSW Interact badge that SXSW donated (what made them want to donate this to a Lego con of all things is beyond me, but heck -- I'll take it!) I also got to watch "Lego Jeopardy" featuring questions and answers that I would never have the slightest response for. Shoutout to those true Lego fans who knew all those things about pieces and Lego history. Apparently white is the most common color in a Lego piece. Black is the second most common color. And neither are technically colors.
     
    Outside of that Will Heron (involved with Brick Fiesta since the beginning) remembered me, and I got to see the rest of the co-chairs too! It's just too bad Kevin Hinkle wasn't there. Also, it looks like they're going to continue rotating Convention locations. I understand why, given the peculiar way that TexLUG is operated... but I still don't believe it's the best way. Still, nothing much we can do about that. It's just how Brick Fiesta's gonna roll.
     
    I have a Facebook album with pictures I took. I don't use Facebook that much so I don't know if it's viewable by everyone. Let me know if this link works.
  14. Emzee

    It Never Stops

    By Emzee,

    I thought that graduation would hit me with a brick-like force. It turns out that I've gotten over with it quite well. My head-first dive into my new career is probably to blame for that.
     
    So I've spending much of the past month transitioning and getting ready for my change in scenery. I'm currently at a six-week training stint in Cincinnati, OH. I'm working for a software company, and I'll be moving (and staying) in San Antonio, which is alright I guess. This does mean that I have to learn yet another city (it took me a while to just learn Dallas). On the upside, I've met my future coworkers that are from San Antonio, so I won't be completely lost.
     
    Anyway, I hope everyone's enjoying summer so far, assuming it's a summer vacation and you're not busy like me.
  15. Emzee

    Just a Thought

    By Emzee,

    If the Brick Fiesta folks* are going to continue to have their cons on the same weekend and in a different city than RTX, I'm not sure how they expect me to attend...
     
    Not saying I definitely won't be doing Brick Fiesta coverage next year, but... chances aren't very high. Driving between San Antonio and here takes 90 minutes - 3 hours round trip. Whoever plans on attending should remember to bring their camera and their photography skills, and maybe some notes to take. I still really want to see how well our Texas LEGO con continues to grow.
     
    * yes Fiesta announced their dates first... but RTX is bigger, and they use the same convention center at year. I'd say BF has the easier time budging on their dates, not they should HAVE to, but... ah, forget it. Just move everything to Austin. That's always the right choice.
  17. Emzee

    RIP Big Tex

    By Emzee,

    Sure, you were Nightmare Fuel that disturbed the minds of countless children (and some adults too), but you were also a 60-year old tradition and official mascot of the State Fair. Farewell, big guy.
  18. Emzee

    Intriguing

    By Emzee,

    I'm not sure who bundled up their snow and shipped it to Texas (I'm thinking it was Andrew, but I'm not sure), but thanks! No classes today.
  20. Emzee

    Guess Who's Back?

    By Emzee,

    Eh, with the new sig guidelines finally being rolled out, I think BZPower deserves a little something from me.
     
    Now to clean this place up a bit... *gets broom and dustpan*
  22. Emzee

    War is Coming

    By Emzee,

    It's been awhile since I posted an update on my upcoming Bionicle game. During the period of silence, I've actually gotten a lot of features completed (though they're still virtually all core game features). Anyway, I just thought I post some updates to my project. Check out this entry to learn more about what I'm working on.
     
    Character Customization System
    You can probably guess what this does. In Power Lies Beneath, players, upon creating a new character / save file, will be able to choose their character's gender, name, primary color, secondary color, mask color, and mask shape. I may put in other customizable parts like arm and leg type, but these would take considerable amount of work, so we'll see. Also, you can zoom in/out and pan the camera to get a good view. Lastly, the character will do some sword movements to give an idea of how he/she moves.
     
    Spinning Main Menu
    If you've played Secret of Mana, then that's pretty much what you can expect the main menu to look like. Five or so icons rotating around the camera. It's one of the very few scripts that managed to be carried over from Influx (that's one of the main reasons that I'd like to keep it, plus it looks cool).
     
     
    Dialogue System
    Dialogue in this game will be simple. Player says something, NPC says something, then player says something, etc. This is an action adventure game, so the branching dialogue isn't really needed, except perhaps exposition. Though I would prefer to do almost all of my plot-explaining through discovery of objects and clues, with some slide shows here and there for massive events that took place in the early days of the Bionicle universe.
     
    Ranged Combat
    Your character, lacking any innate elemental powers, must use the objects on the mysterious island of Mata Nui to his advantage. Among these objects is the Madu Cabolo fruit. For enemies who are difficult to fight up close, you can simply throw an exploding fruit at it using the same "sword attack" key, but with your sword sheathed. Also, enemies can shoot their own balls of dark energy. That script has a couple glitches that need fixing though.
     
    Bionicle-themed GUI
    I've been taking pictures of my own sets in order to incorporate Bionicle set pieces into the menus and GUIs, like in the cancelled PC game. So far, it looks goooood.*
     
    *Not quite good enough to post yet. Still needs more pieces.
     
    More Sound FX
    As per my last entry, I need snag some free-to-use sound FX for the character and enemy's actions (e.g. unsheathing sword, shooting poison blob, throwing madu fruit, walking).
     
    While this may seem like a lot of progress (and it certainly felt like that), all of these accomplishments are, in fact, a mere drop in the bucket in what's needed before I release the public beta. There's still so much to do, but the fact that I'm making semi-consistent progress is really helping me stay motivated.
     
    Right now, I'm working on two major things:
     
    A Complete Walking, Talking NPC Matoran
    So far, unfortunately, it looks like I'll have to custom script each and every NPC if I want them to do more than just walk in a circle, which I do. Very much. Ideally, every moving NPC in the game will have places to go and people to see, like in MNOLG2. Otherwise, they'll be behind a table or inside their huts. The pathfinding system I have set up works. Now it's just a matter of programming exactly where I want my Matoran to go, and what that Matoran will do when he gets there.
     
    Addition Enemy AI features like dodging
    Honestly, the dodge / deflect mechanism is really the only big thing I need for this enemy AI script. Outside of some glitches and animations that I need to make. The enemies in this game are almost complete. The dodge mechanism won't be very complex at all. I intend to mostly use random values along with a little bit of logic (e.g. it the enemy's at a corner or near a cliff, don't bother dodging, but deflect if possible).
     
    Most of my attention is being given to this NPC Matoran (who is Kongu -- he'll likely be the first Matoran you speak to in this game). I want to know what all it takes to get this character operating like it should. Hopefully I'll be able to use at least some of it for a template for other NPCs.
     
    Lastly, I'm doing more storyline stuff. I may have to change the synopsis slightly when it's all done. Basically, I want Power Lies Beneath to have no ties to my past games. There's no point.
     
    Well, I hope you enjoyed reading these updates, and I'll catch y'all later!
     
    Visit my Gallery to see the screenshots!
  25. Emzee
    When I joined BZPower, I twelve years old.
     
    And today marks the twelfth anniversary of that late night decision (I had joined shortly after midnight after my folks were asleep. Still remember that, lol) to join the site I had been lurking for so long. Had it not been for this site, I honestly cannot imagine what kind of person I would have become. It was BZPower that formally introduced me to the glorious geek culture, and made me feel like that was an okay culture to be a part of (actually, it made me feel like it was the best culture to be a part of).
     
    All the best to both the veterans and the newbies. I still can't believe I've been a member of this community for almost as long as I had been alive when I joined.
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