My OnLive MicroConsole came in today. I was lucky enough to grab one of the free ones they gave away at GDC 2011, and I’ve been wanting to try the service since getting a beta account. The console, at first, is really small. Kinda like a pack of cards. Even the controller is bigger than the console. It does come with all the appropriate cables, including an HDMI cable, and updates everything once it is connected.

My biggest complaint is with the controller. It is a simple Windows XInput controller with a battery pack attached to it. The bulk of the weight comes from the battery pack. The USB cable does have the attachment, and that makes the controller lighter, but you are connected to the console instead of sitting back. When paired up against the Playstation 3 controller, the size is noticeable and the weight plays a big part. It may be a nice big controller for bigger hands, and it feels sturdier than the Playstation 3 controller. What also confuses me is the media buttons on the controller. It seems to only control the videos that you can capture with the software. I would love to see the addition of Pandora or some streaming music service as an app on the OnLive Console, but that is getting ahead of myself. These additional buttons make it confusing when playing a game, because an accidental hit of the button makes me cringe incase it interrupts my game time. Some more explanation as to what these buttons do and I would be happy.

The software is the star of this show. I’ve had an OnLive beta account, but never got to play with it because of the dependency of a wired internet connection. Now that the software can use WiFi and the MicroConsole is wired in, the software seems to be able to handle anything thrown at it. There are some slight hiccups when dealing with the WiFi, but that makes sense. I don’t think the crazy network specs are really worth it, but since it has to drive traffic from controller/keyboard & mouse to the server processing the traffic and then back with high-definition video and sound … it must be really fast to handle all of that.

The controller doesn’t work well with some of the games. The native version of the games working on actual consoles feel more intuitive. This is all because the controller is an XInput controller and not a native one. For example, playing Lego Batman, the analog sticks were too sticky and would cause a character to fall off ledges. When playing a similar Lego title on the PS3, the controls are able to handle whatever I want to do. This is a failing of the controller and the software. If the software were to accomodate finer controls with the analog sticks, then the games could benefit.

Secondly, since the controller is an XInput device, it has to have the same buttons as the Microsoft Windows Game Controller, which incidentally enough is an XBox 360 controller. The OnLive controller does have the same buttons (except for the media buttons), so, the control scheme is like the 360 or Games For Windows Live games that have XInput capabilities. The problem with that is the buttons are inconsistent between each game and their visual representation isn’t the same. This needs to be more tight with the integration, and only shows OnLive as a tech demo and not a real service.

OnLive’s strengths are in the blazing fast speed it takes to start a new game and play the game without install. In less than 5 mins, I’m in a new session of a game and it is running with out flaws. The High-Def streaming is pure High-Def, in 1080p goodness. Even the new Playstation 3, games need to install and run setup game saves,

which all take time. OnLive, it does it flawlessly. This is where I think OnLive’s strength could get it a deal with the major console manufacturers. Slip the software into a new update and have demos of games being streamed and save massive bandwidth by not having the complete game install being downloaded on to the console. This saves space and helps for quicker decisions on buying the new titles.

Final thoughts on the Software: Insist on no Ubi.com DRM. The Account Linking to link the Ubi.com account with your OnLive account to play Ubisoft titles is kinda broken, and confusing, but I was able to link my account, just not as easily as I would have hoped.

There is one thing I noticed about the Game Design classes I have been taking, and my many years of getting with companies that fail. That is when you start a game project up, you are essentially going the same route as a businessperson would take to start up. The overall result is the same, just certain aspects are different. Since they are sort of similar, I wanted to clear the air about what I hate about the “business pitch” with explaining what I learned as a Game Designer.

Before you can pitch anything, you need to be 100% confident about the product you are wanting to create. Many of my pitches are things that aren’t really thought out. One thing I have told myself is, before you pitch the idea, research it before you go in and look like an idiot. Only once have I done my research for a project, and it was met with success.

(Game Designers/Developers: Research is key. Explain what you want to do and prove you can back it up. Once you’ve been in the industry a while, it does come easier and simpler when creating the initial game proposal.)

Look organized, seriously. Don’t give a blank stare when asked about a business plan. Don’t gawk at the expenses needed to setup for your endeavor. Expect it. One of the best life lessons that I have ever gotten was the idea that I needed to put my equal amount of time and money in to my project or idea. Whenever I quit, it was because I didn’t put money in to make it more worthwhile, or it was because I wasn’t behind the idea. If you have the idea, you have to be the one who puts all the work into it. Know the ins and outs of all the systems. How does one person design in photoshop a certain way? If you are going to employ those workers, then it helps to have this knowledge.

(Game Designers/Developers: You are the project’s number one advocate. If this is your idea, you have to be committed to it. While all you may need is money, you need to match that money with the level of enthusiasm for the project. Be committed and the rest will follow.)

Get organized. If you did look unorganized when meeting with a potential investor, you can still regain them. The next time you do the pitch, however, you need to be more than 100% on the project. If you aren’t, then you will lose that investor. Being a businessman doesn’t mean you are the boss until you start employing (and paying) someone.

(Game Designers/Developers: Whether you pitch to a studio, or your boss at the studio you work at, they are still investing in to your game. They are putting the funding up, and their ass is on the line if you fail. Keep that in mind when you pitch. If you flubbed the pitch, then make it up with the proposal. You usually only have two times to impress, and that’s it.)

Start small. Think about the small stuff before you dream the big stuff. Looking at the big stuff and what you can get when you accomplish your goal is nice, but it is also a massive determiner of failure. Get the simple things worked out and then add on as time moves forward. Be realistic. Another favorite from the pitch pile, is one where this random businessman (I met doing my many adventures) had an idea for a website and kept telling me all the things he wanted to see. Complete with no direction. He was talking about blogging and voting and different domains. The ideas were too many and too complicated. He never accounted for the simple things. The small stuff. The ability to show when you expect your ideas to be completed is key to a proper functioning business.

(Game Designers/Developers: Yes, it would be awesome to have a game that can mimic every known genre of video game and meld it in to one awesome, jaw-expanding game. But figuring out how you get there is half the battle. If you start small and iterate, in time, you will have the game you are looking for and a team that is happy. I know it sucks to try and view your game from that vantage point, but you will be glad to say “Remember when that zombie was just a simple, crude model?”. Plus, that would be just cool to say in general.)

Be prepared for failure. This is the way business goes. As a web developer, I’m always approached to do pro-bono work for a friend or former co-worker. My favorite was an old classmate who used to pick on me, came in to where I worked and tried to pitch me a job. I hate to say “No”, but I’ve gotten pretty good on saying no when someone comes up with “The Next Best Idea”. This is one thing that you have to be prepared for. If you are 100% behind the project, look at every “no” as another way to try and get the “yes”. This would be the best time to ask questions, like “What do I need to improve on?” or even a simple “What can I do to make you get on board?”. This is your chance to learn where you failed.

(Game Designers/Developers: Persistence matters. Instead of hearing “No”, try and listen to why they said “no”. It never hurts to ask questions about that. It only prepares you for other people who can give you the “yes”.)

Know when to quit. Don’t let it get to be bad. Most of the time that a startup fails around me is when they don’t have their stuff together. I usually inform them that code will not be written until I have a signed contract that contains all the pertinent data about the project. Usually, this is the one that trips up people and usually kills an idea. The thought that they actually needed to do work, scares most people, and usually the ones who pitch these ideas. There have been some that would go on to draw in another gullible fool and I would walk away hands clean. If you are unflinching in your desire to get your idea running makes you blind to the suggestions of other people, then you do not deserve to run a company.

(Game Designers/Developers: Ever hear about the weird creepy guy [there is always a weird creepy guy] who wanted to make his realistic World War II turn-based video game? Ever see him take advice and alter his idea? If you don’t take the advice from the people you are pitching to, and you don’t change your pitch, expect this to be your destiny. Repetition is only good to a degree, beyond that, it begins to look pathetic.)

There are many things that upset me about this, but the reason why I’m upset is more worse. While I like every idea that comes my way, it ends up being my fault because the business failed. From my prospective, I’m an investor who is providing a service to a company. Once my investment is paid in full by the contractually stated time, then you essentially got a programmer for free at the beginning. This works when both parties have their paperwork together and the mutual understanding that this was a business relationship. Sadly, the people I have met with in the past are pretty much the same. They are idealists who have an awesome idea (and usually, I can pick out those awesome ideas), and they have no sense of direction or understanding of the little picture. While looking at the bigger picture is nice, and very awesome once actually at that position, it is still nothing until you lived on the road there.

In the end, it is the actual work that makes you have the biggest payout. Either as a businessperson or a game designer, all that hard work being paid off is most satisfying. If you aren’t able to cut it, what makes you think you are going to make any money?

What you need to do is open the Sound Settings in the Control Panel in Windows.

Vista Sound Settings

If you notice, my headphones aren’t plugged in, and because of that, I can’t do much of anything. So, once I plug in my headphones, then more options open up.

Vista Sound Settings with Headphones Plugged in

With these settings, my speakers are still the active sound output, and it doesn’t use my headphones. Next thing you need to do is to select the Headphones and hit the Set Default button. This will make the headphones your primary sound device. Once your headphones are disconnected, then your speakers become the default, kinda like a fallback device.

Issues with this:

Coming from the Mac OS X side of things, you can disconnect the headphones and the speakers become the default without having to change settings. This is a wonderful thing because it routes everything without having to deal with settings. The Windows side is a little different. It seems like the driver that is in use with the MacBook Pro doesn’t route properly, and because of that, sounds have a tendency to not work once you disconnect the headphones. For example, when I was watching a video in Windows Media Player, and I disconnected the headphones, the video would not respond and the audio wouldn’t route to the speakers. This shows that the driver still has major issues that Apple needs to rectify.

If you know of anything else that is a problem, let me know in the comments.

To run it, you will have to have php-cli enabled. The base install should come with cURL, but if it doesn’t then make sure to recompile

$> php json.php http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline?screen_name=twitterapi

And the code is here:

<?php
	// Command Line JSON Parser.

	if(isset($argv[1])) {

		$ch = curl_init();
		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $argv[1]);
		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HEADER, false);
		curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);

		$ret = curl_exec($ch);

		if(curl_errno($ch)) {
			print "Error with CURL: ".curl_error($ch);
		}

		curl_close($ch);

		print_r(json_decode($ret, true));
	}

What do you mean ‘free’?

Ok, ok, instead of starting an argument about semantics, I should explain what I mean by “free”. This isn’t the monetary ”free”, but more of the idea of liberty “free”. The same “free” that lets you protest on a street corner in complete opposition to the current government head. So, what do I mean?

All data is free on the Internet.

Scary? This is a hacker’s dream. Exploring and learning more about how an internal combustion system works on a ’75 Mustang while sitting naked on your couch is an ideal world for information seekers, hackers. This isn’t a bad thing. I don’t really have a desire to know more about you, per sé, but if you have something interesting for me to glean from you, then I will pay attention the data you submit freely. If you demand a payment, then I will pay if I am that interested, if not, I will go away and let you be. This is the ideal utopian Internet, where people live in a sort of data synergy.

But, there are people who are up in arms about this whole Facebook “privacy” thing. Why?

I don’t want my mom to see something I want to share with my friends…

The “why” is important to understand before attacking the “how”. Since Facebook only answers to itself, they can make the decisions on what they can do with the data on the servers they own. This is quite simple. They can literally hijack the data of people and those people can’t complain. If they do, then they look like entitled assholes. However, Facebook just changed their Privacy policy and what they do with the data they house, all because entitled assholes made them. If there ever is an example of how to get a company with an Alexa site rating of 2 (!!!) to change something, this is it. And this is because Person A didn’t want Person X to see what they posted. That begs the question, What is it that people don’t want to see?

Honestly, I have no idea what could make people want to have a “private” social experience. Usually it is an image of them partying with their friends where alcohol consumption and semi-naked girls are hanging on some random dude, or it is some REALLY offensive update that they don’t want their boss/parents/priest to see. However, I just don’t get it. I know that people want a private place to show their friends the pictures they have or share their ideals, but at the same time, they shouldn’t expect some place to give in to their demands. The fact is simple, while Facebook replaced Myspace, which replaced internet forums, which replaced dial-up bulletin board systems (there are more, but I am skipping over a lot of it), there will be something that replaces Facebook, and would LOVE to take your business away from them.

But looking away from the business aspect of this, a more simpler mantra is something you should do in your everyday life when dealing with the Internet.

Don’t EVER post ANYTHING on the Internet that you don’t want one person to see.

Chances are, they have already seen it.

To use it, run the script name with the working repository directory as the first argument.

$> svn-helper.sh current_repo

It accepts three options, with any key forcing the auto update. If you want to specify a message, use “1″, if you want to pause the updating, hit “p” and “q” quits the script.

Any questions can be added at in the comments. Enjoy!!

#!/bin/bash
echo "Welcome to Duane's Super Awesome SVN BASH Script"
if [ -z $1 ]; then
        echo "First off, you need to specify a local repository. Please provide the exact path."
        read -p "Path: " repo
else
        repo=$1
fi
echo "Thanks!"
# Change the directory
cd $repo

echo "Starting auto add/commit..."
echo "Remember:"
echo "1 is for adding a message and then commit"
echo "p is for pausing the action"
echo "q is for quiting the process"
while true; do
        read -n1 -t300 -p "Action: " action
        echo
        case $action in
                1)
                read -p "Message: " message
                ;;
                p)
                read -p "Paused" pause
                ;;
                q)
                break
                ;;
        esac
        if [ -z message ]; then
                message="Auto Commit from BASH Script"
        fi
        echo "Adding ..."
        svn add * --force
        echo "Committing ..."
        svn commit -m message
        echo "Updating ..."
        svn update
        message=""
        action=""
done

So, I am sitting here on campus, trying to get an assignment done, and all I can think of is how 2009 was, by far, my best year ever. Many things happened this past year, that I don’t even know where to begin with writing this post. So, I guess I will start at the beginning.

2009 started off with my waking up in Denver, CO, at the home of a good Conference Associate friend of mine, and now my awesome boss at Ideomen, Liz. I had just spent New Year’s Eve driving all the way to Denver, through cold air and ice on the road (and more than 1000 miles driven in less than day … on about 3 hours of sleep). When I woke up, I was greeted to possibly one of the best mornings ever. There was no worry there. Nothing about money or things to do, it was just pure bliss. After spending what seemed to be the best week of my life there, I drove home, through New Mexico and Arizona. Seeing the beautiful sights there prompted me to have visions of road trips and traveling this great nation of ours.

Most of January, I did have a melancholy feeling. I felt like I didn’t belong in Southern California, and I wanted to find a way to get out. I did get reconnected with an old high school friend, Eric, and tried to start up a web development firm with him. Basically, he was looking for work and so was I. We started to get close again, which was nice, and I missed having the connection that I did have with Eric. Even through February, he was there to make me feel better, and I was there to help him through his tough times. My birthday was bittersweet, in that most of my friends and family were not around, and (possibly the only time you will hear me talk about this in any blog post … ever) I was told to stop contacting my ex-girlfriend. It was hard, but my grandmother saved my birthday for me by offering to provide 100% of my travel expenses to San Francisco for the 2009 Game Developers Conference, my fourth year attending as a Conference Associate, and my fifth as an attendee.

February was also noteworthy because of two things. First was the creation of Roadtrip Warriors Entertainment, a California partnership between myself and my really awesome co-host and best friend Aliro. She was the true first person I thought of when coming up with the idea for RTW, and she was even important to the naming (she and I were on a tangent, and she said something about warriors. I, in turn, said “We are like fucking road warriors … ROADTRIP WARRIORS!!!”, and thus, the name was born). She and I were had been out of contact for some time (we have our on and off moments), and when I offered her the chance, she took it. As a gift, I shared my birthday present with her, and had her join me in San Francisco and stay in the hostel where I was staying. The second thing noteworthy thing to happen in February is the two awesome, and new, friends I made in my math class I was attending at Palomar College. Jenn, who became an instant friend when I started to make jokes at the professor’s expense, has been just a super friend. She got married to her, now, husband during this class (not in February, but a lot sooner than her family knows … sorry to spill the beans Jenn), and I have been excited to call her a friend. She does keep things interesting and has no problem with just being super fucking cool. Then there was Britt. Britt, entranced by my awesomeness, started being kinda shy towards me in the beginning, but over the weeks, she opened up and became a quick, close, personal friend to me (a high regard that less than a handful of people can claim). She is quite possibly one of the awesome-est persons I have met this year, and I am happy that I have a great friendship with her.

March rolled around, and I was preparing to have a great GDC by starting a walking regiment that was kinda killer. Because my appetite has started to wain in December, 08, I had begun losing a little bit of weight (about twenty pounds to be exact), but the regiment I had started had me on my feet and walking on my treadmill for more than four miles a day. Because of this training, I started my crazy weight loss that happened this year, and I became more prepared for the walking that accompanies most GDCs. I also started Roadtrip Warriors Entertainment the first week in March. I bought the domain name, roadtripwarriors.net, and started the promotion that made me infamous at this year’s GDC. San Francisco was incredibly awesome. I missed being there, and it was great to see everything I had missed about it. I was also able to reconnect with my GDC family again. My great friends Adam, Josh, and the others, and my other new friends Jeremy, Jamie and Robert (the awesome photographer of the picture of me on the GDC podium on the right), my GDC family keeps getting bigger and friendlier.

San Francisco was also a bit of an awakening for me. Aliro took me an Alt/Goth club, and it was actually really fun. I also realized how important I was to the gaming industry, by everyone that had even conversed with me. I also realized that I was important to many people, and that all of them cared about me. This is important because if you ask a good sub-sect of my friends if I care about other people, they will all agree. I am (mostly) selfless in my actions, and in return, I get the same selflessness from other people. It was around this time that I came up with the awesome philosophy. Basically, the idea is that I am awesome, and the people stay around me are awesome as well. This way of thinking has ultimately made me more successful this past year, and has helped other people feel even more special.

As March starts ending, I am jazzed. I have been promoting Roadtrip Warriors and thinking up game designs, and I even get an upgrade to my phone to the iPhone. I came up with game designs that would be perfect to put on the iPhone, and even a Twitter game that I have been working on for sometime. March also signals the time I start getting in touch with my friend Zach. He had stopped contacting me because of my ex-girlfriend, and when he found out that I had ended it with her, he started hanging out with me again. We went to go see a couple of movies, including Terminator: Salvation and Transformers 2. Zach has been, and always will be, an awesome guy to hang out with, even if he tends to make fun of me.

April rolled around, and my old buddy Preston came home from the Army, after being discharged. He had hurt himself while in Basic, and he crashed at my place for a couple of weeks. It was great to see him again, and hang out with him again. He gave me a delayed b-day gift of F.E.A.R. 2, to which I still haven’t played it . We hung out and did many crazy things, and I was glad to have the time with him. I sent him off on a bus ride to Illinois, where he still lives. He just announced that he is getting married to his girlfriend Megan, where he is also going to be expecting his first kid here soon! (Very proud of you man!) April also was the start of my epic concert “tour” that was this year. First in the year is the free show that was at the Key Club in Hollywood. The lineup was Aiden, Smile Empty Soul, The Briggs, Run Doris Run, and The Matches (yep, they played as opener). This was awesome because I got to see some great acts for free, and it reignited the love of concerts that I had missed. I even made my buddy Bryan jealous, because of wanting to see Smile Empty Soul.

In May, I went to go see Story of the Year at an all day music festival in Irvine, California. At this festival, I met new friends ALEVELA, an awesome band out of Brea that seriously rocks hard. I also got to see some bands that I have kinda heard of, but never took the time to check them out. Bands like Bullets and Octane, and Escape the Fate. The real surprise of the day was She Screams Remedy. While I was a little put off at first, I heard their music and was totally in love! I hope to see more about this band in the future, and I urge everyone to go and pick up their EP (which you can download from Amazon).

My Buddy Bryan also moved back from Vegas in May, starting off some of the best party times in my life. He moved in with his friends Chris, Ashley and their child Chloe, in Menfee, California. The place they lived in was awesome for many reasons. One, because we could be as loud as we wanted in one part of the house, and it would not be able to carry throughout the whole place. Two, because it was just so massive that you could have many people there, and not have a problem finding a place to hang out and chill if you needed a break (which, if anyone knows me, I am not a huge partier, so I would just hang out and have people visit me … it was kinda awesome when I am just wanting to be left alone, but not leave the party). I am so happy that I got back in touch with Bryan. He was another victim of my former relationship, and I was happy to go and visit him in his Vegas home on New Year’s Eve in 2008 (on my way to Denver). I think he has come a long way since then. He used to live in a garage in Vegas, with a couple of people that he met through Chris and Ashley, but I think that he needed to not be there, because he was kinda treated horribly, in my opinion.

Another big thing that occurred in May was my realization that I wanted to be a game designer. I had been thinking about what I wanted to do, and it kinda hit me hard, like an epiphany that a rock hurling for your head is going to hurt. I started to look at video games differently. See, I always knew that I wanted to do something with video games, but I didn’t know what exactly to do. I like programming, but it always seemed kinda boring to me. Even to this day, I can only program when I have the true desire to, but, when I think about things I would love to do when dealing with games, I always think that I would want to create them. So, it hit me when I was in the Game Design class at Palomar College. The class, taught by the very awesome Alexander Ehrath (Rockstar Games, Incinerator Studios), started revealing all the things I really liked about games, and dealt with the concepts that had always been in the front of my mind. Once I finished the class (in which I got an A in), I started thinking really hard about my future. Liz, my awesome boss, started suggesting the idea of going to Full Sail University pretty heavily once I started confiding in her about my thoughts. She was just finishing off her Master’s in Entertainment Business from Full Sail, so she was pretty much promoting the crap out of the school.

Also, in May, I attended my first show at Chain Reaction in Anahiem. This was a really small venue with an enormous sound system, and the only place to leave me with the ringing for more than a week. The show was for Aiden, and they were pretty awesome. Even though I had just gotten into them, I was decidedly trying to go to more shows for the year. I had the bug, only because I had missed out on some awesome shows in the past few years. There wasn’t really anything of note here, only that the show was fun.

At the end of May, I started to plan on my fantastic trip for Roadtrip Warriors, but there was one thing unanswered. I had planned to use Roadtrip Warriors as a way to finally meet my father, someone who I have never met (consciously), nor had any memory of. To me, the idea of my father was just someone who gave me his genes, and I never knew him. I know that he did send off money to help support me to my mother (through the government), but that was about it. So, the second week in June, I had my mom do a background check on my dad. The next day, I had a fifteen page break down on every last little public thing my mom could dig up on my dad. It was pretty exhilarating. Seeing all this information, just made me feel that there was this person who I could actually know. I even found out that my grandfather, the man who is my namesake, had passed away on my fourteenth birthday. There was one thing that the report didn’t have, and that was my dad’s phone number. I felt a little defeated, but not really out.

Going over the report, there was a number for my grandmother, Norene. I contemplated calling her, as I didn’t know if the number was her actual number. My mom and my friend Eric both told me to get it over with and if it wasn’t her number, then just move on. So, one gloomy day, I called her up. I was greeted on the phone with one of the nicest and sweetest voices on the other end. She told me that my father had been trying hard to get a hold of me and that he really wanted to talk to me. She gave me his number and told me to call him. This was one of the most scariest times in my life. This man, whom I had never known, wanted to know me and have a relationship with me. But, I was kinda afraid to call him. I didn’t know how to talk to him, or even if he would like me after all these years. I decided I would wait to call him, but he had another idea.

I had just gotten home from a run to the pharmacy with Eric, the same day I had talked to Grandma Norene. Next thing I know, I get a call from a number from Nebraska. It was my Father, and he wanted to talk. I almost started to cry, but I nearly spent about two hours on the phone with him. The man on the other end of the line was funny, sincere and genuine. He knew he messed up in his life, but he wanted to make it right with me. We started to trade information about each other, we learned so much about one another in the couple of days leading up to Aliro coming to Southern California, and he even expressed his pride in me, because of all that I had accomplished. Finding out about my father has been one of the more enlightening experiences in my life. I feel, now, like I matter to this world. To this day, I am happy that I now have a relationship with him, and I love him. There was some concern from my Mom that I might have him take precedence over her, but that hasn’t been the case. She has been the only person in this world that has been my biggest advocate. When I was in pain, she was there. When I was happy, she was there. She knows me so well, and I am completely grateful for her. I am just happy to have another person who can share the responsibility to being a big advocate for me.

At the beginning of June, I was jazzed for my pending roadtrip with Aliro. She was driving with her grandfather down from Eureka, and she was getting super excited to see me. This year hasn’t treated her well, and I was hoping that I can try and cheer her up. We made the arrangement that she would sleep on my couch for a couple of weeks, and the weekends, she would go to her aunt’s place. This worked out well in the beginning, but then she needed to stay at my house for the rest of her stay in Southern California. We started our a “summer concert tour” of awesome shows that we wanted to go and see. The first was the Julien-K show at the Glasshouse in Pomona. This is one of Aliro’s favorite bands, and when she learned that they were going to be playing, she immediately got tickets to see them. She had been getting me to listen to them, and quite frankly, I liked it. She even scored the chance to meet the band at their merchandise table. We got there and lined up pretty early, but this was so we could get our wristbands. Once we got in, we just sat and waited by their merch table, and hung out with the fans. The first band was on, but we didn’t care, and I don’t think I even caught what the opening act was. We were way to jazzed to be meeting Julien-K. When they emerged, they were super nice and very awesome. Some fans were a bit off-putting, but Aliro was cool with them, and by proxy, they were cool with me. We promoted Roadtrip Warriors to them, even asked them if they wanted to be interviewed on the show. Once the meet-and-greet was over, We settled in the venue to see Julien-K perform. However, what we were greeted to was the awesome sounds of Aesthetic Perfection. These guys were crazy! Being an industrial music fan, I was immediately enjoyed by their sounds. They were an awesome show, and I even took some killer pics of it. Julien-K was up next and they killed it! Their live show was great. Aliro went off to the bar after Julien-K left the stage, but I stayed around to listen to the headlining band, Combichrist. Not too glad I did, but once I was done with listening to them, I joined Aliro in the bar next to the Glasshouse. Here is where we had drinks with Julien-K’s drummer and capped off an awesome night.

A couple of days later, we went to go see the Finch show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. This show was awesome! The new Finch line up (which is just a new drummer and bassist) totally know how to kick ass. The opening bands were kinda ok. American Fangs kicked ass, but the others were just random artists that I couldn’t care about. When Finch took the stage, I was feeling pretty epic. Even though this was my first time at the Troubadour, I felt it was kinda the right size for a this show, especially given the little amount of time that they announced the show. I even met the manager for After Midnight Project, which was exciting! He was getting me ramped up for their show that was going to happen a week later at the Key Club. Another big thing of note happened at this show. While I was sitting in the bar, I let Dad know about my half-sister, his daughter, Jasmine. I had found her on Myspace over a year ago, but, I didn’t really know if it was her or not. I e-mailed my dad the link, and next thing I know, he was over-joyed because I had found her.

The next week, we saw After Midnight Project at the Key Club. Before the show, Aliro and I camped out at the Rainbow Bar and Grill, where we got to meet the band The Morakestra. Literally, the lead singer and his girlfriend just tapped me on the shoulder and was really cool to me. We exchanged stories and phone numbers, but, I still haven’t heard much from them to this day. The After Midnight Project show was freakin’ cool. I had learned from their manager the week before that they were going to record the show for an upcoming DVD, and I was front row center. They played all the songs from their new CD and even some older ones that I knew. Aliro wasn’t too into them, but she just had fun drinking at the bar. My favorite highlight of the night? Singing along with Jason, the lead singer of After Midnight Project, during the song “Through the Night”. My hope is that they will include that part on the DVD … whenever it is released.

Another week went by, and there was the cKy show at the beginning of July, which was Aliro’s choice for a show. Seeing as I had gone to a couple of shows I wanted to see, she was craving for a show that she wanted. The only thing of note from this night would be the fact that she got to meet Bam Margera. I wasn’t too into the show, but I just enjoyed myself. She ended up spending the Fourth of July holiday at her Aunt’s house. Aliro and I did go to the Zoo as well, but nothing huge happened. There were a few parties at Bryan’s place, and just plain fun, but nothing going on with Roadtrip Warriors. It was around this time that we kinda figured that we may not be able to go on the trip. We had no funding, no money, and basically, no real motivation. It was also in July that I made my final decision to go to Full Sail. I was sold pretty hard by Liz, but every moment I thought about it, the idea seemed like a better one. It would also mean that I would have to move out on my own, which was something that I had desired to do since I had moved back from San Francisco. Every day I continued on, I had more desire to finish school and get a job in the game industry. Aliro started to get upset because of my sudden change of heart, but she understood that I had my own direction.

Around this time was the time I officially met Elora, Zach’s (now ex-) girlfriend. She had been some sort of mystery girl that Zach would talk about, and I would never believe existed. She is very much real, and she started being close friends with me, because of being Zach’s friend. She was pretty cool, but she lived far away that all she had was Facebook to keep in touch, whenever she wasn’t in Southern California. This was kinda interesting because we started having a friendship independent of Zach.

At the end of July, We saw Trapt at the Troubadour, but this show wasn’t anything of note because of the mediocrity of it. Honestly, I had more fun at their show in 2003 than this show. A few more days past, and a tweet on the Roxy’s twitter account clued me into one of the coolest and best shows this year. They announced that My Chemical Romance, a band that I had seen many times previously and have a deep seated admiration for was going to be playing a free show at the Roxy. The only hitch was that you needed to get on the guest list. Aliro, who also loves the band, worked her butt off to get us in to the event, and she prevailed. This show was an awesome one! Not only did we get to see My Chemical Romance, but we were up front and rocking hard to the band. Gerard, the lead singer, would come over to us every few beats and wave or give us high-fives, which was also pretty cool. It was at this show that I met Tammie, the super-awesome lady who had way too much fun with me. We danced a bit, and we chatted up some, and at the end of the night, I gave her my phone number, because she asked for it. This show was ultimately the highlight of the summer with Aliro, because this was the last show and possibly the best one that we both liked. I will contend that the After Midnight Project shows that I attended this year were by far the best, but this show was an awesome highlight.

Aliro went to her aunt’s place shortly after the My Chemical Romance show. She couldn’t stay on our couch anymore and my mom and I couldn’t afford to keep her around. She was very dismayed, and I hated to do that to her. I still, to this day, wish that it was a bit different. That we went on the road trip and had an awesome time, but it didn’t seem to be in the cards for that. Everything that did happen though was a great experience to learn where I went wrong. I even learned a bit more about business that I didn’t know before. I know that soon, I will be able to do the show with Aliro, and that we will have fun. It just might take some time to do it.

Because of my failure with Roadtrip Warriors, I started to push Aliro away. I was upset at myself for failing and upset that I brought her into it. She does contend that her summer was by far one of the best, but her year still wasn’t as awesome. I feel really bad about it, but I know that she doesn’t fault me for it. Into August, I started to think more about going to school at Full Sail, and getting ready to go. However, there were some issues with my buddy Eric. See, we wanted to start a web development firm together, but I think that he needed to his stuff together. He is married and expecting a kid, so he needed to think about getting some money together for himself, so because of that, he would place me in situations that were not profitable for me. While I did say that I would help him to an extent, he started to cause problems that I was not happy about. It was around this time that I actually learned what cyberstalking is, because he wouldn’t leave me alone in my certain places online. I had to use a clause in my contract with Ideomen to stop him from trying to get me to work for him. I told Eric about my plans to move to Florida, and he wasn’t too particularly happy about it. Of my friends, he is the one that I do hope learned something valuable this year. He taught me to learn where my boundaries are and how not to push them, for the sake of helping a friend.

I did take Eric to The Matches final show at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. He spent most of the night somber and didn’t really try to enjoy himself. Meanwhile, I took advantage of the situation and rocked out. This show was particularly special because I got to see a headlining show from The Matches, and I got to hear them play all my favorite songs, even the ones that I didn’t think they would play. It was awesome. This was to be my last show in Hollywood (for a while), and I am glad that it was with The Matches.

August was also a time for epic CD releases. First off, After Midnight Project’s Let’s Build Something To Break was released. This is their first signed CD release, and showed a nice polished version of music from a band I really love. The next week was The Used’s Artwork, which was released at an perfect time. See, with each purchase of the CD from a website, there included a free ticket to their CD release show at Chain Reaction in Anaheim. So, another free show, and my first time seeing The Used. This show was insane! There was no opening band, and the place was a perfect setting for getting up close to the band and just rocking out. They played a couple of my favorite songs, including the new track “Best of Me”, which seemed like a great metaphor for my former relationship, and just a great song. After the show, I got to meet the band at a signing they did next door. The line was really long, but totally worth it. I can’t wait to see The Used again.

Also in August was my first date with Tammie. I went to her place and we just talked for a couple of hours. It was nice to have a night out and someone really enjoyable to spend it with. I would only have a couple of dates with her before I moved, but it was all good nonetheless.

September rolled around, and I was getting ready to move. I started to go hang out with the Math Crew friends, Britt and Jenn, and we had some enjoyable times. We made plans to try and go see The Killers in concert at UCSD, but Jenn ended up not going. So, Britt and I made plans. First off, however, was Tammie inviting me to see Def Leopard and Poison in concert. First time to see both for me, but it was completely serendipitous how lucky we were. See, Tammie got vouchers for the show from an old friend, and we could upgrade them on the night of the show for better seats. We ended up getting orchestra level seating right next to the stage, and in effect, getting close to some really awesome rock, all for about twenty-two dollars a ticket. Needless to say, it was freakin’ awesome!

Near the end of September, I took Britt to see The Killers in concert. This show was kinda important because it was the first show I went to where I had nose-bleed seats, yet still had an enjoyable time, and because it was Britt’s first concert ever. She really enjoyed herself and I was glad to have a companion who would enjoy it. This ended up being the last show in Southern California for me, before I moved.

October rolled around and Mom had an awesome plan. We had just seen an advertisement for Cheap Trick performing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in Vegas, and Mom really wanted to go and see it. We planned it out over the final weekend in September and decided to do a road trip to Vegas, where we would spend the night and drive back. I was excited. This was going to be the last show before I moved, and my last time in Vegas. I am happy that I got to go with my mom, because, I never had a chance to do something like this with her.

In my final weeks in October, and Southern California, I started to get myself packed and I helped my buddy Bryan move into his own apartment in Hemet. The place a nice studio apartment and he really worked hard to get it. There was also Oktoberfest with Tammie, and my last time hanging out with Britt. I ended up making Britt cry because she didn’t want me to leave. It was hard, because we were very close, but I needed to move on and do something with my life. My biggest hope is that I can still be friends with her and hopefully, she will still be around when I move back to California.

So, in the third week of October, I packed up my car started my move to Florida. This was going to be an epic journey across the country, and I was totally ready for it. The first day, I drove from Murrieta, where I said goodbye to my mom, and drove to El Paso, TX. This drive was pretty gnarly, because I made a stop in Phoenix to see some friends, which threw my timing off for the rest of my trip. I was supposed to make El Paso before night fall, so I could get a nice place to stay and enjoy the night. This didn’t happen. Because of spending about four hours in Phoenix, I ended up getting into El Paso around 2 am, and in a really dive motel room. The place was priced ok, but the problem was with the people in the place. Across the parking lot, there was a couple who left their blinds open while doing some pretty nefarious acts, and my next door “neighbors” decided to be loud when entering the complex and slam their doors every time they entered or left. That occurred a couple of times through the night, and I didn’t end up getting much sleep.

The next day in El Paso, I awoke pretty late in the day, started out the day trying to get across Texas. I would need to cover about one thousand miles to get to New Orleans so I can make my scheduled arrival in Orlando. Most of Texas was barren, but once I got close to a city, it would become a massive hive of activity. I decided to stop, after a suggestion from Bryan, to see The Alamo in San Antonio. This was a great idea, because I got to see history and enjoy the surroundings in San Antonio. I even learned about the river that goes through the middle of the city underground. The moment I left San Antonio, I felt good, but also tired. I had to try and make New Orleans, and my GPS was saying that I wouldn’t make New Orleans until four in the morning, when leaving San Antonio at dusk. I spent the trip from San Antonio to New Orleans on the phone with my Dad, just talking and going over the things that we had missed. I pushed myself to try and make New Orleans in time. Around one a.m., I got into New Orleans and in my hotel. I had travelled across Texas in one day. Needless to say, My Dad was impressed.

The next day, I decided to check out New Orleans. This was cool because I had never been and I had always wanted to. I was greeted with a very beautiful sight and a colorful thoroughfare. Aliro messaged me and suggested that I go have a drink at Cafe Du Monde, and taste their cafe au laute. Since I am not much of a coffee drinker, I decided to get that and some Hot Chocolate and their world famous Beignets for breakfast. I enjoyed the Hot Chocolate and the Beignets, the Cafe Au Laute wasn’t for me, but at least I tried it. I left New Orleans at around 11 am to head to Orlando. The drive was enjoyable, and relaxing. I stopped off at the U.S.S. Alabama to visit that for my Dad, and see the type of boat he served on. This was awesome to see all the history in the boat, as well as the type of living conditions that were there. Because of the late start in New Orleans and the stop to see the U.S.S. Alabama, It was late when I got half way in to Florida. Dad told me about Steak and Shake, the East Coast equivalent to Jack in the Box (in my opinion), and I found one on the way to my new home. The only reason why this is getting a mention is because it was extremely good, but it was also the first dinner in Florida. I made it to my home in Orlando at 2am. The next day, I woke up happy and alive.

The following weeks, I went to Full Sail to work out some issues with getting me enrolled. Because I couldn’t get the funding I wanted for the Game Development degree, I had to rethink my degree options. There was something that I qualified for, and seemed more interesting to me, which is the Game Design Bachelor’s program that I am currently enrolled in. This was a better option because it let me do things cheaper AND be able to do something that interested me more. I have been burned out with programming since I got my first web programming job. I am happy with the decision, and hopefully, I will get what I want in the future.

My first concert in Florida was Brand New with Thrice at the House of Blues. This show was awesome, and one I had wanted to see for sometime. Not much I can say, just that it was a well needed show to kick start my time in Florida. I spent the first couple of weeks starting school and trying to get out. I was to really happy that I was in Florida and doing something different.

Then there was the week in November that was quite possibly the best thing to happen to me. I had learned that After Midnight Project was going to be performing at a show in Jacksonville, and the only way to see them was to win tickets. I signed up at the website for the radio station that was running the promotion. A couple of days later, I got a phone call telling me I had won tickets to see them. This was extreme serendipity, because I would never have guessed that I would win.

Now, for some background. I have been a HUGE After Midnight Project fan for sometime. The lead singer has messaged me on Myspace and kept in touch with me through various means, and he always notices me whenever I am at a show. I would say that they know me, but only to an extent that I am a fan. However, whenever they had a show, I would always try to go see them, no matter what. Even my ex-girlfriend would get kinda tired of seeing them over and over again, but I didn’t care. I was supporting a group that I think has massive star power.

So, with my roommate Liz, I headed on up to Jacksonville and entered the bar that the show was in. This place was small. I have only been to one place this small, and that was to see Rock ‘n Roll Soldiers play in San Marcos, CA. But, that is besides the point. I made my way up to the front of the stage, when everyone else was hanging back. And placed myself there waiting for After Midnight Project to take the stage.

I have to admit. When I go to see After Midnight Project in concert, I tend to rock out, enough to give me “gig-neck” for the majority of the week afterwards. In this crowd of about 100 people, it is pretty obvious that I am a fan, because I was the only one moving. I didn’t care. I was seeing my band play songs I love. In the middle of the song “Digital Crush”, Jason, the lead singer looked over at me and recognized me. At first, he was thrown back. He didn’t know that I had moved to Florida, and he was surprised to see me in the crowd. This led to this concert being one of the best of the year. Because I was the only one singing along and rocking out, Jason, and the rest of the band would come over to me and give me high-fives or just to play in front of my energy. I honestly think that I was the person to make that show for them.

A couple of things stand out in my mind from the show. First, when Jason forgot the opening lyrics to “The Real Thing”, he came over to me and had me get him started (The resulting tweet about it is here: @ampla). Then, when talking about the song “Through the Night”, I yelled out “I love that song!”, Jason replied “I know, you tweeted it!”. Throughout the whole show, he would come over to me and just rock out with me. It quite literally made my whole night, week and sealed the fate that it was a fantastic year.

For the final couple of months of the year, I have been dealing with school, and working my ass off. I am maintaining a 4.0 GPA, having achieved an A+ in both English Comp. and Game History, and I have some wonderful friends. I learned many things this past year, and I am happy for every lesson. I have learned that even through failure, there is never defeat. And what we think is bad, doesn’t usually happen to be. I have also learned that every action is an opportunity in disguise, and not to be dissuaded for something that might not go your way.

Now that I am in 2010, I am looking forward to making this year another great one. Wish me luck. I am gonna need it!

Prompt: From the TED videos from this week we see two great designers (Dave Perry and Will Wright) discussing games and toys. Do you agree or disagree with their views on games and why? Can you see alternate views on design from their discussions?

Coming from the perspective that games are art, I fully agree with Dave Perry’s assertion that games should create emotion in the future. While Perry was only talking about the visual aesthetic that will come in the future for games, the student video he played talked about varying parts of games as art. I do think that, if video games need to have a legitimate view, games should be produced with the same depth and feeling as art. However, I do disagree with the theme of the student’s movie, which is trying to create a feeling that soon all interaction will be in the digital space. Theorizing that we will all be bytes in a world scares me a bit. This will create a feeling of sterility and alienation between the player and the real world.

Watching Will Wright’s talk, which was more like a 20 minute presentation of Spore, I can agree that gameplay can be considered to allow games to be more like “toys”, where each aspect of gameplay is like a separate toy that has a specific function. However, looking at games from this perspective fails to allow for innovation with the emotion making elements in video games. Ultimately, the innovation will be in the direction of technology, which can only be improved until it is no longer possible to improve it. Basically, this way of thinking will ultimately be the downfall of the industry, where we will have more games like Spore that will have no true value to video games other than the technology it employs.

As I said earlier in my post, I think that if games strive to become more like art, then we will have more games that push the boundaries, creating a form of video game renaissance where the only the visceral emotion is created in the player. Right now, since technology that drives video games (hardware and software) are now mature enough to drive innovation with how we perceive the world, we should use it to express our feelings about that same world, while giving players the tools to do the same thing. It is a hard mix to maintain, but it can be done.

Prompt: Personal Computers also became a contender for the gaming market during this time. What made PCs a popular choice for gamers over the typical consoles?

As a primarily PC gamer, I can easily say the reasons for PC being a choice is because of three factors: One, the low cost entry for hardware; two, the upgradability; and three, the amount of software available. In the beginnings of PC gaming, PCs did have a higher cost associated with it, however, the machine life would more than make up for it. When consoles were being constantly upgraded every two or three years, the PC form factor would stay the same and not change much. This even led it to being a choice for businesses to purchase them. Once businesses took advantage of the PC, the cost would be dramatically reduced, which led to more people being able to purchase them for gaming.

My second reason, upgradability, comes after the PC was purchased. When a new processor (CPU) or chipset was released, one would only have to purchase a one hundred dollar upgrade, while still being able to use the same amount of memory (RAM), same peripherals, and case. The upgradability made PC gaming a more lucrative experience, as the gamer would get more for their money. Also, since they were able to sell the old parts to companies who were on the older form factors, a better investment. Once a console life was over, there was no option but to either junk it, or keep it for hopes that you could use it again.

Third and more important, would be the software availability. Since most of the console manufacturers would have rules in place for the content of games on their systems, you had to deal with an imposed form of censorship by the console manufacturers. PC gamers didn’t (and still don’t) have to deal with this. While you still have censorship at the level of the Publisher/Distributor, a Game Developer can create a game with any sort of content and release it by themselves (either a diskette on a corkboard at a local game store, a CD via mail, or the internet). The famous shareware model, that iD Software used, is a perfect example. The content of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom made it so that the game had to be released by iD, but became one of the foremost first person shooters. Consoles would never have a game like that until Game Publishers proved the sales were there.

The Prompt was: There was a time when people had thought the video game industry had died. Why do you think the industry fell into this slump?

Trying to surmise why the game industry failed in the early 80’s is very difficult because there are so many variables that I can explore. One specific reason would be the over use of video game licenses. Many of the manufacturers felt that the only games that could be made and marketed to gamers was “established” arcade hits. Since the market was flooded with the many versions of titles out there, and the lack of quality that games being produced offered, people just decided against buying. However, it may be true that the several consoles that were produced offered a better experience, many of the game buying public couldn’t “see” the difference.

Additionally, the lack of “arcade” quality games for the home also contributed to the game industry’s demise in the 80’s. Most of the game hardware couldn’t produce the same quality graphics, or substantial gameplay, which caused the buying public to hold off on purchasing the systems. A great example to look at would be Atari’s version of PacMan for the Atari 2600. The arcade version had vivid colors and well defined pixels for the main character (PacMan) and the enemies, as well as the maze and the “food” PacMan would consume in the game. The Atari 2600 version of the game had horrible graphics (instead of balls, PacMan would consume lines), two-tone colors, and the maze was more rectangular than square (The game’s maze would be stretched to all corners of a screen instead of having a black outline around it).

When companies did try to innovate (and not “upgrade” games), they did miserably at it. The first movie tie-in game, E.T., was also the first game to have many returns and bomb. The design was rushed and the game was put together in such a haphazard manner, that it became Atari’s final nail in their coffin. Had they waited for the game to be complete, and better, then they could have made more money and wouldn’t have needed to close up shop. Ultimately, the creation of shoddy games and no innovation killed the industry in the 80’s.