Wow... I actually updated this blog!

Well, I finally did it! I made a machinima in Gmod 10!
If you have the time, Would You Kindly watch it? It's here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uBqsBg1etI

I have to apoligise for almost never updating this blog. Basically, almost all of my blogging is done on my DeviantART journal, which is read by only a few people who I mostly know in real life. I must say I far prefer the inerface, and the fact that people in my real world can read it.

So thanks for reading, although I doubt I'll be posting many more blogs from now on. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_o47Gs6DQ0&feature=player_embedded#

o_O

I don't blog much, and this will be a short one. I found this beautful little game at RatherGood.com:

http://www.rathergood.com/small_worlds

Hopelfully some people will read this and experience this jewel. It hhas done incredible things, with outstandingly clever level design, an intersting gameplay concept (play it to find out), and a very moody feel created by both excellent music and an original artistic style (textured Atari 2600 -- it has to be seen).

I have come away feeling sad, and yet also uplifted. I'm not sure what this game is all about to be honest, but I will look into it.

Anyway, if anyone reads this I'd like to know. You know how to tell me! Leave a comment.

You probably know I don't like laptops. Not one bit. And I suppose there's not too much wrong with them. They may not be great but they a few decent features. However, what really sucks is that people are now using them instead of desktops.

Last year, laptop sales boomed while desktop sales slumped.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2008/01/2008-could-be-the-year-laptop-sales-eclipse-desktops-in-us.ars

This is worrying. Very much so.

You see, laptops have this mainstream appeal: ie, teenage girls love 'em. In my school, you can't go into a room without seeing a girl listening to pirated hip-hop music.

This probably wouldn't be such an issue if teenage girls with brain defects actually knew anything about computers. Perhaps they'd realsie that they're paying huge amounts of money for an underpowered desktop? Stores can sell laptops for whatever price they want since you can't build you own: everything is proprietry.

This is one of the saddest things about laptops: despite breaking all the time, nobody seems to care because they're just used to having about 10 companies dictate what they buy, and forcing them to deal with their dire customer service because all the components are the company's own.

In general, you get about half of a desktop's power for double the price, or so it seems. Ie, say you have a £500 desktop. It would cost around £1000 if you were to buy a laptop with half the specs. You can pay £2000 for something with integrated graphics!

At least the screens are big, but then you have netbooks: thoses horrible little disc-driveless things. I used to have a laptop. I wasn't allowed to choose which one I got. And it had NO DISC DRIVE! Believe me, this is immensely frustrating, especially as a gamer. It meant I had to plug in a bug fat external discdrive to use any discs. It was the same size as the laptop itself, and needed to be plugged into the wall just to work.

Netbooks don't even have the afforementioned big screens, but I suppose they're okay for one reason: price. They're inexpensive, and don't question the fact that they're meant for one app: FireFox. But then, of course, they had to spoil it all. Yup, the phone networks are now renting them out like flipping contract phones! This is someone's PC here, people, not just a little, unused phone!

Well, that's enough ranting for now, but I may post another blog if I remember something else that sucks, like constant overheating or lack of USBs.

In conclusion, I suppose laptops are okay for travelling businessmen, but only if used for work. That's what they're for. All these people need to learn that laptops are not the way to go for your own home computer, used for pleause: a desktop is the only way to go. Keep your laptop for browsing the web on the go, but buy a desktop for goodness sake!

And yes, it seems the perfectly normal four letter word beginning with s and ending with k which is a synonym both of to imbibe and to be rubbish is in fact sensored.

Oh my god!

Today, I was at a shopping centre looking for a cheap USB memory stick, and ventured into the pit that is The Carphone Warehouse. As usual, I was greeted by an array of mobile phones, mobile broadband, accessories and laptops.

Now, I may not like laptops and advocate the usage of desktop computers, but one caught my eye -- and not for its stylish colouring and fabulous free bundled rubbish. Instead, it was the promotion displayed on screen.

It was a video of numerous popular and recent PC games, including the smash-hit graphical behometh Call of Duty 4. I found it slightly ironic to tout a laptop with PC gaming. However, even if this specimen was better suited to a teenage girl who's intersts include pirating music and "Fessburk", there are decent laptops out there.

Unsurprisingly, it was decked out with an intel integrated GMA. Yuck, I know, but good enough for Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word, the primary programs of non tech-savvy users. What got to me was the message at the top of he screen,l which read something like this:

"To make sure you are achieving the very best performance in all the latest PC games, make sure your laptop has Intel™ Integrated Graphics!"

:|

Today I was headed to a restaurant which turned out to be shut. I was really annoyed so to consol myself I decided to head to a store and buy some screen protectors for my DS so i can play Zelda without killing it.

It just so happened that the store had a massive sale on PC games, two for 15 quid for some great games. This actually prompted me to shop in retail.

I know what you're thinking; 15 quid isn't so great. but I got all of this:

Star Wars: KotOR (which is REALLY hard to get cheap on Ebay)

Deus Ex + Invisible War

Thief

Thief II

Thief III (it was in a compilation)

Dawn of War (I got it for a fiver buying Thief so I thought why not)

Wowzers! Unfortunately I don't get to play them til Christmas as they're technically gifts... i can't wait!

A few people may remember that I posted a rant on the harshness of Gamespot's swearing rules. I wrote a scensored version of the f-word, but without sensoring the first "f" to make a point of how anal (please tell me that isn't considered rude; it means pedantic) the rules are. I specifically noted in the post, jokingly, that I hoped I wouldn't get moderated.

And now I have. I didn't get punished, but it's the thought that counts, right? If whoever reported me is reading this, you're a nerd. And please don't say that's flaming because I don't know who you are.

I'm so cheesed off at GameSpot. I'm not leaving the site because the forums are pretty decent, despite the trolls and fanboys. But still...

Wow, I have't posted in ages -- I doubt abny of you will read this.

Today school finished for the Summer. We had the customary end-of-year concert. Terribly dull as expected; the only event of note being a certain clasmate's apparent love-song written about her best friend. And her best friend is called Emma. Moreover, after the song she ran off-stage into Emma's arms.

Makes you wonder, no? :-)

Anyway, I've been wondering how to spend the Summer. Welll, apart from doing normal human activities, i'm going to be working on a NeverWinter Nights moudle by the name of "Bose's Gate". I may never finish it, but I feels like I've finally decided on a module that feels... right, if you will.

I may deliver more updates on this soon, but for the meantime, wait for the trailer!

Hi peps, just a quick update. A week ago tommorow I fitted my new graphics card!

Now, I did post before that I was getting a GTS... But they didn't have one and I was waiting weeks for it to arrive. However, then I found a more powerfull 8800GT for the same price, and swapped it for that.

New card is EPIC -- a humongous step up from my old intergrated crap (7050/610i). Now I can actually play TF2 without being fragged every few seconds!

Anyways, I haven't touched my PS3 all week -- I've let my little brother go on it instead. Here's to PC gaming!

Sincerely,

--MV