A fucking clock issue screws up the PSN (Playstation Network) and PS3s around the world to the point where Sony recommends that you just don’t use it until they figure it out.

What kills me is that it turns out that somehow the system thought it was a leap year and so, poof! 24 hours later (which corresponds to their claim yesterday of how long it will take them to fix it) it’s all good.

I’ve done my stupid bit of programming before, but man, a clock bug?

Somebody got fired.

There have been a few things that have happened since my last update. My daughter being born being the biggest.

Not sure when I’ll drop back in since I have some things that need to be taken care of.

It’s, well, a game about killing zombies, what else?!

This one I’m going to mix it up with PHP and MySQL (or LAMP as it tends to be called now). So far it’s pretty basic, but I will be adding to it shortly.

This one was pretty important since they can now determine the gender of the baby which Kelly has been really impatient for.

As it turns out, we will be having a girl.

Now, I just need to find a way to survive the next 5 months.

These were originally drawn in 1975 by Carson Van Osten for Disney.

I must admit, I’ve always been impressed by the lengths that Disney has gone to in order to maintain their quality of art.

This came out of the blue.

What would be sad is if this was a cheaper alternative to paying for a hypothetical copyright lawsuit involving the Incredibles vs Fantastic Four? Anybody?

Outside of the PS3 Slim model, this has been the second worst kept secret of this quarter. We all knew it was happening, and we’ve all seen the new box designs that didn’t include the Pro model on the side.

It’s about time they finally announced it.

Now we get to see the PS3 and Xbox systems, again, duke it out!

The controversy is about whether or not we should boycott the game because Orson Scott Card is a proponent of traditional marriage. Or to put it as it is in the original post:

Now why should we boycott it? Card is a notorious homophobe

Here is the full neogaf thread, and here is a decent article discussing it.

Please note that the game has nothing to do with gay marriage, and Orson Scott Card had very little to do with the game.

As a creator this controversy has stirred up some odd feelings.

Before I go on, let me clarify some of my personal views.

First, I’m a big fan of the works of Orson Scott Card. He is is a very talented author. Please keep in mind that I don’t go to him for religious or political news or opinion. I don’t know him personally, nor am I likely to in the future. His personal views are his own and they do not diminish the respect I have towards him as a creator.

Second, I am not against gay marriage. I also don’t believe that a priest, or other religious member, should be forced to perform a gay marriage if it’s against their views.

In one aspect, I’m really scared by this type of thing.

I create works to be viewed and discussed as they are, not as I am. It’s one thing for people to avoid the work because they don’t agree with the subject matter or the way I handle it, but another thing altogether because of me or my personal views. To not even give the work a chance because of something that I think or say.

On the other hand, I firmly believe a person’s money and viewpoint are their own. If they choose not to sponsor a creator because of that person’s views than that is for them to decide.

I do view that this type of thought and behavior can be dangerous for the industry. Most game businesses will not look at why people refused to buy a game. In the end, they will just look at whether or not that game failed in the market, and then decide if they should make a similar game. A boycott, especially one not based on what they game is or what it is about, is only going to hurt the industry as a whole.

For this situation in specific, I would like people to keep in mind the many people who have slaved away to bring this game to market. What of their views, their families, their homes? What if these people don’t agree with Orson Scott Card on this matter that is unrelated to the actual game? You may be putting them out of a job because of someone else’s belief; especially a belief that has no bearing on the product in question.

For works such as novels, where primarily one person is directly effected by sales, boycotting can be an effective tool to express your take on the matter. For something like a game though, which is usually not created by a sole individual anymore, this seems like there would be an excessive amount of collateral damage.

I will leave you with a thought provoking response by xbhaskarx, a poster at neogaf:

Do you not buy products like electronics that are made using raw materials extracted from African countries where millions of people are killed, like the Democratic Republic of Congo? Do you not buy products like [half the stuff you own] that benefit dictatorial regimes that utilize labor camps and engage in organ harvesting like the People’s Republic of China? Do you not drive a car because such a large percentage of our oil comes from countries that ban homosexuality altogether like Saudi Arabia?

After all that thinking, guess what? I forgot my awesome idea. I arrived at the office door and stood there sifting through my brain and finding nothing. But I knew the idea was there. And I knew it was awesome!

You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

While Assassin’s Creed looks and feels a lot better than Alone in the Dark, I just don’t want to fight inaccurate controls for what is effectively a platformer. Jumping from spot to spot, unless one of the automatic jumps, is just touchy, difficult, and annoying.

Yeah, I could play through it, but from what I’ve heard, and now experienced, it’s just not interesting enough to deal with.

At least I’m just borrowing this one.

That’s a burden off my shoulders, or now at least.

Well, I know my daughter will be ecstatic.

Take a look:

P.S.: The HD quality on this video is really nice. So if you have the screen resolution and the bandwidth, I would recommend clicking the little HD button in the lower right corner of the video.

Rosie is my late father’s mother. She was a very sweet and charming lady. Rosie was also very strong. She sadly had outlived all four of her children.

I can only hope that I posses as much strength (and charm), as my grandmother. She will be missed.

The PS3 Slim lands the first week of September with a 120GB hard drive and a price of $299.

Concerning the current models, as of tomorrow, the current PS3 80GB is $299 (and one could only guess that the current 120GB will be $399).

Well, it’s about time. Now, we will just have to wait a month to find out how the new prices will effect sales here in the states (next Thursday we will know the weekly numbers in Japan that reflect the new price).

Balls in your court Microsoft.

[Update]
In case you would prefer real photos instead of the nice rendered “beauty” shots, check this unboxing out.

Sadly, I don’t know if I will continue playing it.

I’ve been a huge fan of the series for a very long time. The 4th installment was a bit disappointing, but I was willing to look past that. The movie… well, let’s not go there.

It’s just sad to see such notable franchises go down the drain.

What probably gets me the most is just the controls. They suck! If I have to fight to just move and look around, it’s just not worth it.

Which brings me to where I’m at now, it’s just not worth it.

In essence, this will be a RPG engine using only native web technologies such as HTML, CSS, Javascript / AJAX, PHP, and MySQL.

I tried this project about 10 years ago, but between the narrow standards support and poor javascript performance, I decided to hold off for a while. Now with all the new advancements to the browsers, I thought I would give it another go.

Currently there is not much there (in fact, it only displays a basic view with no movement options). I’m going to be hacking at the project as I have time. Unlike normal software production, there will be no production / feature map. I’m going to be experimenting and prototyping as I go to see how the technologies handle the strain of basic game programming (and to figure out the limits of the browsers).

Go take a look!

P.S.: Two notes of caution. One, when I’m working on the project, I will be working on it live. Meaning it might not work if I’m currently messing with it (in fact, it probably won’t). Not to worry though, I will post a notice when I’m currently under the hood. Two, because of how the browsers work, and the technologies I want to use, this will only be developed with Safari 4 and FireFox 3.5 or later (or other equivalent browser – sorry IE). If you want to view it, you will have to use one of those.

While I still have a few minor things to do, such as code cleanup, I’m done with the overall look and feel of the site. There are still a few features I’m tossing around in my head, and more content that needs to be added. Overall though, I’m happy with the end result.

After three treatments, Chloe is now in partial remission, which is a very good sign. Hopefully she will continue to show signs of recovery.

There is not much there yet (just a cool splash screen if I do say so myself), but I will be adding more as I gear the project up to speed. I’m just crossing my fingers that I can actually pull off the art, either that or I find a good artist that is willing to gamble some time and effort on the project with me.

More to come soon!

(Note: You currently will not get the full effect if your using Internet Explorer. I have not yet had the time to explore all of the issues with the code concerning IE. Sadly, this has to do with using newer standards that Microsoft is really behind on implementing. When I have some spare time I will either fix the code or convert the effect to something IE can handle. In the meantime please use Firefox, Safari, or Opera to view the splash screen)

P.S.: Not to worry, I plan on restarting The Carnic Chronicles, but I’m waiting until at least next year to do so.

[Update]
So, yeah, that was fast. Seems almost anti-climatic. Anyway, if your wondering what I’m talking about, well, the splash page works just fine in IE now (including IE8 – bloody Microsoft!). It should be working in all major browsers. If your having any issues, please, let me know at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Why am I cycling to work you ask? Good question, and it deserves a mild response. As I’ve mentioned in my prior post, I’m cutting costs. So, the insurance for my car was cut. Therefore, leaving me with only a two wheeler to get to and from work when Kelly is working (she does not get home until well after I need to be at work).

So, I will be cycling 4 or so days every two weeks. I like to think of it as cutting costs and getting in shape all at the same time.

But it’s really not missing at all. I’ve removed most of the old posts (and will remove all in the near feature) mostly because I’m done with them. I’m leaving what I have up for the time so I have enough “content” for any site modifications.

In brief, I was running a bit of an experiment for a while. To see if I like game journalism (at first it was just blog posting in general – ala Daring Fireball). While not my best work, I was able to get a feel for enough of it to know that it’s not something I really would like to do. Unless it’s straight academic articles, which I doubt I will be able to make a living off of. So that will have to wait for another time.

So, what’s happening next?

Well, I will let you know soon. I have my plans, but I’m working through a lot right now that just does not leave enough time to fully focus.

This post will self-destruct in…

The reality that most PC game publishers ignore is that there are people who buy games and people who don’t buy games. The focus of a business is to increase its sales.  My job, as CEO of Stardock, is not to fight worldwide piracy no matter how much it aggravates me personally. My job is to maximize the sales of my product and service and I do that by focusing on the people who pay my salary – our customers.

(…)

When the focus of energy is put on customers rather than fighting pirates, you end up with more sales.  It seems common sense to me but then again, I’m just an engineer.

[UPDATE]

We really need to start calling this bootlegging. Really.

In all honesty, what makes anybody think for a moment that games are art? Does it not occur to people that games have been around for thousands of years? What makes “video games” so special that it all of a sudden needs to be art?

Is it because of interactivity? No.

Most games up until the “electronic” era were completely ran by humans. Last I checked, humans make for more interactivity than a computer can any day. They can change rules as necessary, adapt, learn, modify, or plain just break things as needed. For example, walk in on any table top RPG and you will see this in action (or a child’s game of hide and go seek).

Or is it because developers need to be justified? Unsure.

Some developers believe deep down that games are art, some do not. While I think this does play a minor role, I do not believe that it is a strong, or strongest, motivator in this discussion.

In the end, if you want to make games, make games. If you want to create something more, than create something more.

Just don’t call games art since you’ve done nothing to change what a game is the last several thousand years.

All in all, it just seems like a more accurate term, especially since the digital act is normally not violent.

(…)They may be artistic – having beauty, or carrying subtextual meaning (you can see sports as metaphors for many things) – and they may be used as art objects – an exquisitely hand painted Monopoly board, for instance – but games are not art. The carved chess pieces are art, the actual playing of the game of chess is not (although, and this is really only going to serve to confuse the matter, but I have to be fair, a film of that chess game would be). The moves of a baseball pitcher as recreated by a dancer are art; on the mound they’re simply artful. But in the end a game is simply a series of rules that the players follow. Those rules are not intended to communicate ideas or feelings, but simply to facilitate play. If rules themselves were art, the US Congress would be the most prolific artists of our time.