It's been a couple of years since I last used blogger, and my oh my it's had quite a change. Today I'm gonna talk about the anime/manga/light novel Accel World. If my post title led you to think that there's a MMO for accel world, i apologise for misleading you because there is yet such a MMO. However, I'm gonna talk about what it can be and should be like. If you wanna try a game that I think can be compared to AW, try playing any of the examples I listed below such as Dissidia (PSP), GunZ (Computer MMO).
For those of you who may or may not know, Accel World began as a light novel and inspired later popular production: Sword Art Online. I haven't read much of either, but I was deeply interested in them since the launch of their anime. If you have yet to watch either anime, I recommend you should pick up both anime. Accel World 1st season has been completed and you can watch them all now. Sword Art Online is an ongoing anime with new episodes released every Sunday. They mostly revolve around the concept of Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMO), a popular concept in recent years since the rise of online gaming. Just a fun fact, I used to keep a blog for Atlantica Online (a turn-based rpg), though it's kinda dead since I quitted it again and again lol.
Today however, I am not going to focus on Sword Art Online in this post. For you SAO fans, I'm sorry I'm not gonna comment on SAO for now. Nor am I gonna talk about Accel World's storyline, I'm not gonna spoil it to you. This post will be mostly about Accel World... as a MMO in the real world. Because the novel Accel World is modeled after a MMO (a real world term) concept, I tend to find it difficult to use words to differentiate the original Accel World ITSELF and a real world MMO dedicated to Accel World and I beg you will forgive me for that.
You might think that I'm gonna discuss about Accel World's game concept. Well you are half correct, I am about to discuss how Accel World can be a MMO now. If you haven't realised, Accel World has had a PS3/PSP game published "Accel World: Awakening of the Silver Wings". I haven't played the game, but I've seen gameplay video on Youtube and much to my disappointment, it is not as fast paced as the anime itself. It's genre is instead a turn-based fighting game, similar to that of Final Fantasy. Though I've played quite a number of turn-based games myself, I find this concept somewhat lacking when applied to Accel World, mostly because it just seems too draggy to be planning your battles when the actual Accel World is a contest of speed and reflexes.
After watching the gameplay video, a few thoughts came to me on how to produce a better game for Accel World:
1) Solo/Offline Game for Accel World
creating a game to represent Accel World is theoretically not difficult. the key is to find the correct style of gameplay to represent Accel World, and I can say turn-based action is just too weak for Accel World. In my opinion, it should be created as a fast-paced action fighting game like Dissidia: Final Fantasy and DDFF (look up on Youtube if you have never played them before, they are available on PSP platform).
In the original Accel World, the players (they are also called Burst Linkers) rack up their battle points by fighting duels and purchase upgrades for their duel avatars. This point immediately led me to think of Dissidia, because characters in Dissidia can level up to unlock new skills and master them by repeatedly winning battles. The destructable environment in which fights are conducted in Dissidia is also a plus point that can be used for Accel World. In fact, the game can even be opened on PSN for multiplayer battles, which is exactly what the concept of Accel World is about. Therefore, I think the next PSP game for Accel World should model after Dissidia.
2) ACTUAL MMO for Accel World
as of now, the AW game is limited to solo gaming on PS3/ PSP, which doesn't really showcase the challenge of the actual concept as a MMO that Accel World is. What if there is an MMO dedicated to the concept of Accel World?
Just like Aion (NCsoft MMO, try it if you haven't, it's a beautiful MMO featuring flight combat and racial territory competition) is similar to the concept of ALFheim Online from Sword Art Online, there can also be a MMO produced with the concept of Accel World in mind.
In such a game, it has to be skill-based (leveling is involved but doesn't play much role except new skills or upgrades), and everyone's duel avatar can be customised uniquely. Granted, given that MMOs are developed to reach out to as many players as possible, I'm pretty sure certain customisations will be overrated and used frequently by many players.
There are a few skill-based online games in existence since a decade ago, from GunZ and Guild Wars to the recent TERA, Guild Wars 2 and RaiderZ. These games made the difference compared to many MMOs that use the boring fixed skill lists and shortcut keys with no way of moving the character away from the target while in a fight. In games like GunZ (possibly the more fast paced MMO I've played), you can dash to and from the target in an open world (GunZ is instanced/closed room fight, but games like GW are open world). In other words, you literally control how your avatar attack, block or dodge against your target rather than the usual boring click target->press 1 for attack, spam and repeat. You may even use the terrain to your advantage possibly by sneaking around walls and striking from behind, etc. Among all skill-based games, GunZ is the best in terms of fast paced action despite being extremely old. Its only drawback is the overused K-style which makes sword fights sadly repetitive.
Back to this topic, now what if a MMO for Accel World is developed the same way as GunZ (just an example). Given that such a game already exists for a decade, it should not be difficult to model the game after the same concept. Keep in mind Accel World is supposedly a fighting game, so it doesn't necessarily mean that the actual game has to have a large open map for duels (but this can be an option for the "Unlimited Field" in the original Accel World). It can be "instanced" like GunZ and Dissidia, where the map is neither too small nor too big for a fight and it can include party fights. Guilds (Legions) should also be an option, and it does not necessarily have to follow the original Pure Colours of the novel (a good reason for this is because I'm pretty sure many players will choose Negas Nebulus rather than the other colours). Guild territorial or fort control contests are to be expected in such a game (this is seen in many old games like Lineage 2).
Classes should be introduced to differentiate playing style between players rather than a simple brawling avatar. This is similar to the original AW where colours represent the available fighting abilities of a duel avatar (for example blue for melee, green for defence, red for ranged etc etc). This is common in most MMOs and I think this is the least of a developer's problems except on how to balance the classes.
In the case of battle points, I think that they can use the same concept as Aion, where abyss points (earned in PVP or in a specific PVE) can be used to up new gears or unique skills (we call them Stigma in Aion, abyss stigmas are advanced Stigmas which are unlocked by abyss points and normal prerequisite stigmas that you choose to equip). Skills learnt should also have the option of equipping, so players can only bring a select number of skills (again this is similar to Aion/Dissidia), hence allowing every player to be unique.
So to anyone who is really developing such a MMO (maybe not for Accel World, but using the same genre), do read my comments and consider it a feedback on how you can produce a wonderful fast-paced skill-based (literally) game.
With that, I conclude my post now and I welcome any comments to my idea of an Accel World MMO.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Monday, 21 June 2010
Back to Gunz again~
Recently i haven't been posting much because of tight schedule regarding the ndp rehearsals. Well what do i do in my leisure time then?? It's back to the old school Gunz :D
It's been one month or so back, when my brother suddenly decided to go back to gunz. I joined him and took a venture in the new mode: survival. I was rather fascinated with it and attempted many solo attempts, even coming up with solo tactics guide. I was rather late in posting a survival guide, so it was an addon to someone else's guide to survival.
It's been one month or so back, when my brother suddenly decided to go back to gunz. I joined him and took a venture in the new mode: survival. I was rather fascinated with it and attempted many solo attempts, even coming up with solo tactics guide. I was rather late in posting a survival guide, so it was an addon to someone else's guide to survival.
Monday, 3 May 2010
Agincourt
Back in Germany, when I was about to return to Singapore, I had bought a book titled "Azincourt" by Bernard Cornwell. Personally, I had a brief idea of the battle of Agincourt beforehand, so I was attracted by the title.
When I had returned to Singapore, I played a game called Mount & Blade, with the Hundred Year War mod, and decided to recreate a similar battle. My video editor is kinda down, so I do not have a video for it. But I managed to capture some nice screenshots.
I had learnt about the battle at Agincourt when I was young and playing the Age of Empires 2:Conquerors Expansion. In short, it was a climatic battle between the English and the French during the early ages of the Hundred Years War. Henry V had led his army from England to make war with the French to seize the throne that was rightfully his by claim. He had made war believing that God would support the cause. In the beginning of his campaign, he had lost much just to besiege and attain Harfleur.
When I had returned to Singapore, I played a game called Mount & Blade, with the Hundred Year War mod, and decided to recreate a similar battle. My video editor is kinda down, so I do not have a video for it. But I managed to capture some nice screenshots.
I had learnt about the battle at Agincourt when I was young and playing the Age of Empires 2:Conquerors Expansion. In short, it was a climatic battle between the English and the French during the early ages of the Hundred Years War. Henry V had led his army from England to make war with the French to seize the throne that was rightfully his by claim. He had made war believing that God would support the cause. In the beginning of his campaign, he had lost much just to besiege and attain Harfleur.
Understanding that he would not be seen as capable when he had sent a large army and had only gotten one town, he had continued his conquest, till they reached castle Agincourt (Azincourt for the French). Agincourt was a popular battle because at that time, Henry's army was severely outnumbered by French knights. However, the English's longbowmen had survived the odds and defeated an army probably 5 times larger than theirs (there have been many discussions about the numbers, but none are able to be proven with much evidence). It is a day of sadness for the French, for much of their nobility and their army were lost in that battle itself.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Germany R&R
Back to Singapore at last, and can't forget the R&R in Germany, cuz they've been fun! I think that I should also record down what I've seen so that in the future I may use it for some purpose, either to bring a tour group to Germany, or some others that I have not yet foreseen.
Our first R&R was an additional R&R during the first week. From our camp in Bergen, we set off for Munster, a nearby town. Though there isn't much in town, we did manage to visit the Panzer Museum, which has a collection of previous German tanks as well as other countries' famous productions such as the Merkava. At the end of the entire museum was a dated outline of the evolution of the famous Leopard tanks, of which the L2A4 was included in the display (and we happen to use it now o.0). Munster was a relatively quiet town, but we did see a nice fountain with a model of horses at its centre at the town centre. Walking further down and you will come across a shepherd statue with a dozen or so statues of sheeps. Then we came across another fountain, where its surroundings was having a bazaar for flowers, and it blended in as though it was part of the decorations for the town. Subsequently, we visited the Bergen-Belson Concentration Camp, before heading back to our training area. I felt that the concentration camp's refurbishment has truly brought out the Germans' sincerity in apologising for the war itself. The concentration camp had a few mounds where thousands of bodies lay, and a few graves were erected for a few famous people. Israelis and Polish people left their marks behind in the concentration camp through symbols. The Polish for instance, had built a giant wooden cross in honour of the dead of the concentration camp. The Israelis left behind symbols for the same reason. There were many languages involved, so I couldn't tell much, but the site's introductory hall has explained much. The day I went there was the day right after the Germans celebrated the Liberation Day for the concentration camps, so we kinda missed the nice stuff. I wrote my name in the front page of a book in the introductory hall, and hope I will be there next time for the celebration and to write again in that book.
The next R&R was kinda planned beforehand, but is also considered additional. We were allowed a whole day free and easy in Hamburg. Personally, I went around the city and bus and train stations to take photos, because they were beautifully designed, and there's many shops around the train stations like the Dhoby Ghaut MRT in Singapore. Lunch was kinda complicated because my friends didn't want to have a meal that we can have in Singapore (ie Subway, Starbucks, MacDonalds etc), nor a small expensive meal at the riverside, but we found what we wanted at a train station. I took half a pizza that was so filling that I had already felt full by the time i ate 2 slices out of 3 (3 slice=half a pizza). There were also many churches around, but there was a particular one that had remained as ruins left behind by WW2.
I visited another church nearby (the church of St. James), whose caretaker was a kind old lady who had apparently visited Singapore in her youth. There was a large organ in the back hall of the church, and our arrival was just in time to witness the local choir practise with the overwhelming organ. When the clock strikes 12, the whole area will begin to echo with church bells. At the entrance of the church was an interesting sign labelled "Pilgrimmage in Europe". It listed a few sites with the distance, and the last was a funny sign labelled "Jerusalem (left direction), 4000 km" O.O
Last R&R was at Berlin, and this time it's an arranged R&R. We went to visit the Checkpoint Charlie near the Berlin Wall that had divided the East and West Berlin back in WW2. We also took quite a few pictures painted and graffitied onto the remnants of the Berlin Wall itself. There was a maze built in one of the parks to simulate the Jews getting locked up in concentration camps n surrounded by walls everywhere. We didn't had time to try the maze unfortunately, but in fact I think most of us are able to cheat by just climbing onto the walls! There was also a built-up area that was covering the original location of the bunker Hitler had hid in n died in back in WW2. The bunker is of course, inaccessible anymore to anyone at all, and so presents a mystery behind it. Thankfully, you can see a simulated Hitler's bunker from the movie Downfall.
Our first R&R was an additional R&R during the first week. From our camp in Bergen, we set off for Munster, a nearby town. Though there isn't much in town, we did manage to visit the Panzer Museum, which has a collection of previous German tanks as well as other countries' famous productions such as the Merkava. At the end of the entire museum was a dated outline of the evolution of the famous Leopard tanks, of which the L2A4 was included in the display (and we happen to use it now o.0). Munster was a relatively quiet town, but we did see a nice fountain with a model of horses at its centre at the town centre. Walking further down and you will come across a shepherd statue with a dozen or so statues of sheeps. Then we came across another fountain, where its surroundings was having a bazaar for flowers, and it blended in as though it was part of the decorations for the town. Subsequently, we visited the Bergen-Belson Concentration Camp, before heading back to our training area. I felt that the concentration camp's refurbishment has truly brought out the Germans' sincerity in apologising for the war itself. The concentration camp had a few mounds where thousands of bodies lay, and a few graves were erected for a few famous people. Israelis and Polish people left their marks behind in the concentration camp through symbols. The Polish for instance, had built a giant wooden cross in honour of the dead of the concentration camp. The Israelis left behind symbols for the same reason. There were many languages involved, so I couldn't tell much, but the site's introductory hall has explained much. The day I went there was the day right after the Germans celebrated the Liberation Day for the concentration camps, so we kinda missed the nice stuff. I wrote my name in the front page of a book in the introductory hall, and hope I will be there next time for the celebration and to write again in that book.
The next R&R was kinda planned beforehand, but is also considered additional. We were allowed a whole day free and easy in Hamburg. Personally, I went around the city and bus and train stations to take photos, because they were beautifully designed, and there's many shops around the train stations like the Dhoby Ghaut MRT in Singapore. Lunch was kinda complicated because my friends didn't want to have a meal that we can have in Singapore (ie Subway, Starbucks, MacDonalds etc), nor a small expensive meal at the riverside, but we found what we wanted at a train station. I took half a pizza that was so filling that I had already felt full by the time i ate 2 slices out of 3 (3 slice=half a pizza). There were also many churches around, but there was a particular one that had remained as ruins left behind by WW2.
I visited another church nearby (the church of St. James), whose caretaker was a kind old lady who had apparently visited Singapore in her youth. There was a large organ in the back hall of the church, and our arrival was just in time to witness the local choir practise with the overwhelming organ. When the clock strikes 12, the whole area will begin to echo with church bells. At the entrance of the church was an interesting sign labelled "Pilgrimmage in Europe". It listed a few sites with the distance, and the last was a funny sign labelled "Jerusalem (left direction), 4000 km" O.O
Last R&R was at Berlin, and this time it's an arranged R&R. We went to visit the Checkpoint Charlie near the Berlin Wall that had divided the East and West Berlin back in WW2. We also took quite a few pictures painted and graffitied onto the remnants of the Berlin Wall itself. There was a maze built in one of the parks to simulate the Jews getting locked up in concentration camps n surrounded by walls everywhere. We didn't had time to try the maze unfortunately, but in fact I think most of us are able to cheat by just climbing onto the walls! There was also a built-up area that was covering the original location of the bunker Hitler had hid in n died in back in WW2. The bunker is of course, inaccessible anymore to anyone at all, and so presents a mystery behind it. Thankfully, you can see a simulated Hitler's bunker from the movie Downfall.
Friday, 9 April 2010
Tribute to Crisis Core
If you haven't read my blog on the woman who is living in a terrible state, read below.. On a happier note, I've managed to upload my amv mix for Crisis Core at last. It took me probably half an hour to make it, but it certainly killed me waiting to book out just to upload it lol.
This video is up now: Tribute to SOLDIER 1st Classes
I'm also surprised to meet an ex-JC classmate in the Singapore General Hospital today haha. Hariz, a bright student back then in my class, walked past me as I was texting sms and said into my face in the middle of the road," Hey William what are you doing here?" For a moment, I was stunned and simply replied," Hey!" Loool. Of course, there were cars on both sides waiting to cross, so I couldn't stop by and talk to him, and it seems he was on some business of his own anyway :D I sure hope to see some of my old friends again like what happened today. I personally was hoping for another friend of mine to appear in the hospital, as her poly's students were there on training where I had physiotherapy.
Well, bon voyage to me to Germany! Panzer Strike, here I come....
This video is up now: Tribute to SOLDIER 1st Classes
I'm also surprised to meet an ex-JC classmate in the Singapore General Hospital today haha. Hariz, a bright student back then in my class, walked past me as I was texting sms and said into my face in the middle of the road," Hey William what are you doing here?" For a moment, I was stunned and simply replied," Hey!" Loool. Of course, there were cars on both sides waiting to cross, so I couldn't stop by and talk to him, and it seems he was on some business of his own anyway :D I sure hope to see some of my old friends again like what happened today. I personally was hoping for another friend of mine to appear in the hospital, as her poly's students were there on training where I had physiotherapy.
Well, bon voyage to me to Germany! Panzer Strike, here I come....
Living in Hell?
Ever seen before a person who is on a wheelchair, appearing without legs, and without hands? There's probably thousands around the world who currently exist in this state, wheelchair-bound, with no limbs at all to control. This was what I saw today on the bus.
She might not be the first person I've seen who has lost limbs, but it's the way her family and her regard life the first I've seen personally. Granted it is not rare to see a person who lost limbs in Singapore (I've seen many near Kuan Im temple hoping for kind souls to spare money to them), but it's the first time I saw one sitting on a wheelchair in the bus. Nowadays (since 3 or 4 years ago), buses have additional space for wheelchair-bound people to board.
This lady is totally sitting-standing on her wheelchair. The only visible limbs left are her upper arms (a small extension from her shoulders is all that's left). But this didn't stop her from carrying things, nor disable her totally to take something out from a bag (she used the remaining portions of her limbs to do so!). I noticed someone sitting opposite her talking to her, whom I assume is her family member. Both of them didn't talk in sombre or sad tone. Instead, they were smiling away as they speak, while the other is taking care of her kid.
Perhaps imminent death might be possible for the lady, but she is not daunted by fears of it. Rather she is happy that she can continue life as though nothing much occured except limitations to her movement, and of course wouldn't it be nice to see someone close who had the potential to live a life she would never have, in the form of the babe her family member was holding onto? I believe she may be living in what most of us would consider as a living hell, but to her it is probably a heavenly life she's living. What could be worse than what she's through now?
She might not be the first person I've seen who has lost limbs, but it's the way her family and her regard life the first I've seen personally. Granted it is not rare to see a person who lost limbs in Singapore (I've seen many near Kuan Im temple hoping for kind souls to spare money to them), but it's the first time I saw one sitting on a wheelchair in the bus. Nowadays (since 3 or 4 years ago), buses have additional space for wheelchair-bound people to board.
This lady is totally sitting-standing on her wheelchair. The only visible limbs left are her upper arms (a small extension from her shoulders is all that's left). But this didn't stop her from carrying things, nor disable her totally to take something out from a bag (she used the remaining portions of her limbs to do so!). I noticed someone sitting opposite her talking to her, whom I assume is her family member. Both of them didn't talk in sombre or sad tone. Instead, they were smiling away as they speak, while the other is taking care of her kid.
Perhaps imminent death might be possible for the lady, but she is not daunted by fears of it. Rather she is happy that she can continue life as though nothing much occured except limitations to her movement, and of course wouldn't it be nice to see someone close who had the potential to live a life she would never have, in the form of the babe her family member was holding onto? I believe she may be living in what most of us would consider as a living hell, but to her it is probably a heavenly life she's living. What could be worse than what she's through now?
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Personal Laptop VS Office Com...
Today is Sunday and it happened to be book-in day, so I didn't bring my lappy to my dad's office when I went.. And this happened to be an unfortunate disaster...
For some reason, my laptop cant really compare against the office com's graphics (which is actually definitely.. intel graphics for laptop is generally weaker than desktops), but my laptop has better desktop management and RAM than this com..
Under 3 circumstances I've gotta use both coms at one go (which I normally do on saturdays):
1. I'm doing video editing! My laptop has more functions in Windows Movie Maker, though both can work well anyway. Hence if i'm publishing a DOTA replay for PSP (just an example haha), I will use both movie makers to publish (cuz there's too many videos to combine).
2. I'm recording videos using fraps. Similar to the point above, I will use the office com to record with fraps (because it has better graphic card it can handle graphic lags better than my laptop), while the laptop does the publishing with WMM.
3. When I'm playing full screen game and want to use MSN at same time. Pretty obvious aint it? One com plays the game, the other uses MSN. Siiiiiiimmmmmpppplllee.
However, I use my laptop for DotA instead, because the warkeys function better on my own com.
So what's the problem today? Well as I didn't bring my laptop, I will have to use only the desktop to publish a video I made today. It was successful, but at the final point, I'm utterly crushed..... THIS COM SOMEHOW CANT UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE T.T
Oh well... The other prob is.. I'm going overseas next week, so I guess I'm gonna wait till I come back to upload it.. Then again, I could do with some improvements in this vid haha.
For some reason, my laptop cant really compare against the office com's graphics (which is actually definitely.. intel graphics for laptop is generally weaker than desktops), but my laptop has better desktop management and RAM than this com..
Under 3 circumstances I've gotta use both coms at one go (which I normally do on saturdays):
1. I'm doing video editing! My laptop has more functions in Windows Movie Maker, though both can work well anyway. Hence if i'm publishing a DOTA replay for PSP (just an example haha), I will use both movie makers to publish (cuz there's too many videos to combine).
2. I'm recording videos using fraps. Similar to the point above, I will use the office com to record with fraps (because it has better graphic card it can handle graphic lags better than my laptop), while the laptop does the publishing with WMM.
3. When I'm playing full screen game and want to use MSN at same time. Pretty obvious aint it? One com plays the game, the other uses MSN. Siiiiiiimmmmmpppplllee.
However, I use my laptop for DotA instead, because the warkeys function better on my own com.
So what's the problem today? Well as I didn't bring my laptop, I will have to use only the desktop to publish a video I made today. It was successful, but at the final point, I'm utterly crushed..... THIS COM SOMEHOW CANT UPLOAD TO YOUTUBE T.T
Oh well... The other prob is.. I'm going overseas next week, so I guess I'm gonna wait till I come back to upload it.. Then again, I could do with some improvements in this vid haha.
Monday, 15 February 2010
CNY post
Ok.. this is gonna be real weird because i posted my previous blog at 4 am, 1st day of lunar new year, and now I'm gonna do so again on the 2nd day of lunar new year lmao.
For the first time in a CNY, it clashed with Valentine's Day. Not that it affects me, I don't have any one to go out with ;o And usually Chinese will place CNY as the priority over Valentine's Day, even though there may be exceptions. To be honest, my 1st day of lunar new year was so boring I can actually spend at least 4 hours going out with a girl if I could ask anyone out. There wasn't really anything much to do at all. In the morning, I greeted my parents happy new year, and even my dog. We then went to my maternal grandmother's place, as followed by tradition. Meeting relatives is what we usually do during CNY, but in truth we talked so little that 1 hour's worth of meeting is more than enough, and probably another half an hour for the nice lunch made by my grandmother.
As for my paternal grandmother (both my granddads have gone on), she and my dad's sister n brother are living in China, so it's kinda not really seeing many relatives at all. However, usually during CNY, our family will have some events outside... like watching movies etc. This year though, we came back home immediately after we left my grandmother's place. I literally spent the remainder of the day sleeping away, then playing games with my frens online at night -.-
I wonder if CNY is so boring this year, how would it be for the next o.0?
For the first time in a CNY, it clashed with Valentine's Day. Not that it affects me, I don't have any one to go out with ;o And usually Chinese will place CNY as the priority over Valentine's Day, even though there may be exceptions. To be honest, my 1st day of lunar new year was so boring I can actually spend at least 4 hours going out with a girl if I could ask anyone out. There wasn't really anything much to do at all. In the morning, I greeted my parents happy new year, and even my dog. We then went to my maternal grandmother's place, as followed by tradition. Meeting relatives is what we usually do during CNY, but in truth we talked so little that 1 hour's worth of meeting is more than enough, and probably another half an hour for the nice lunch made by my grandmother.
As for my paternal grandmother (both my granddads have gone on), she and my dad's sister n brother are living in China, so it's kinda not really seeing many relatives at all. However, usually during CNY, our family will have some events outside... like watching movies etc. This year though, we came back home immediately after we left my grandmother's place. I literally spent the remainder of the day sleeping away, then playing games with my frens online at night -.-
I wonder if CNY is so boring this year, how would it be for the next o.0?
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Happy CNY :)
This is gonna be my CNY post. Actually I'm kinda waiting for a program to finish patching, so I decided to blog in the meantime. There have been twice I wanted to blog, but didn't managed to do so. So I've decided to add those events into this post.
The first event was the company cohesion LONG LONG ago in January. It's kinda interesting because usually it's hard to plan anything for guys' cohesion, but i'd say my superiors did a good job in bringing us to a bowling alley, because everyone had great fun, with all the competition around :)
Actually, there wasn't competition initially. My own crew had a competition with the other crew within our platoon. Loser buy drinks hehe. So it was a challenge of 4v4, with the accumulated points used to determine the winner. After 2 games (meaning everyone has bowled 10 times twice), the competition began, with each platoon choosing up to 3 of their best players. Mine was a little funny because we had '4'. Ex-PC Alexander was our strong player, with newbie-but-star strike Joshua (my ex-driver, he's not able to take part in anything since he injured his leg) took up the challenge. Our 3rd player was kinda shy because he felt he wasn't good enough, so he asked his crew companion to alternate balls with him :P
Overall, the cohesion was a success in making everyone enjoy their time, compared to the previous one, which consisted of one lame lunch outing that cost everyone to get wet by the rain while running towards the specific location. After the cohesion, my platoon splitted up to two and went to different lan shops to play the now common and famous Left For Dead 2. I guess I don't have to say more about that.. It's gonna be weird to talk about undeads during Chinese New Year lol.
2nd event that I hadn't posted is the Alienware Arena held in Funan The IT Mall 2 weeks back, near the end of January. It's a competition sponsored by DotaSG, featuring Alienware laptops, which are currently almost the best gaming laptops in the modern era. When I mention gaming laptops, I don't mean laptops that can be used for gaming (most laptops obviously can do so). Gaming computers and laptops are products that have stronger graphic cards/processors/memory etc etc, basically enabling higher end gaming experience. Most games will run on such computers and laptops, and will not suffer any reduction in graphic details or lagginess.
The Arena featured 2 popular games in Singapore-DotA and BlackShot. Because I have played both before, I was drawn to the live performance made by those professional players. It felt pretty much like watching a thriller when observing the BlackShot games, seeing how each player in the team collaborate to keep opponents from objectives, or camping around and snipe at unsuspecting targets. As for DotA, I wasn't really interested in watching except for initial skirmishes and team clashes (partly because that's where the fun and excitement lies in), as well as making guesses to the Captains' bans and picks in the tournament style Captain's Mode. However, DotA had the greatest response and attraction from the crowd, as many gathered to watch the famous team ks (KingSurf) attempt a clash with Singaporean teams. The internationally recognised and known Malaysian team did a good job playing with our local teams, and made the Arena alive with their superb tactics.
Only players who take part in the Alienware Arena are given the black Alienware shirt, while moderators/helpers wear red. A friend of mine happens to be a moderator for DotaSG, so he was wearing the red Alienware shirt walking around and observing. As for me, I'm kinda proud to be wearing the black one :D
Annnnnnnd now... time for the CNY post.... which is nothing for now :P I'm posting this post at 4am!! So it's time for me to get to bed now......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The first event was the company cohesion LONG LONG ago in January. It's kinda interesting because usually it's hard to plan anything for guys' cohesion, but i'd say my superiors did a good job in bringing us to a bowling alley, because everyone had great fun, with all the competition around :)
Actually, there wasn't competition initially. My own crew had a competition with the other crew within our platoon. Loser buy drinks hehe. So it was a challenge of 4v4, with the accumulated points used to determine the winner. After 2 games (meaning everyone has bowled 10 times twice), the competition began, with each platoon choosing up to 3 of their best players. Mine was a little funny because we had '4'. Ex-PC Alexander was our strong player, with newbie-but-star strike Joshua (my ex-driver, he's not able to take part in anything since he injured his leg) took up the challenge. Our 3rd player was kinda shy because he felt he wasn't good enough, so he asked his crew companion to alternate balls with him :P
Overall, the cohesion was a success in making everyone enjoy their time, compared to the previous one, which consisted of one lame lunch outing that cost everyone to get wet by the rain while running towards the specific location. After the cohesion, my platoon splitted up to two and went to different lan shops to play the now common and famous Left For Dead 2. I guess I don't have to say more about that.. It's gonna be weird to talk about undeads during Chinese New Year lol.
2nd event that I hadn't posted is the Alienware Arena held in Funan The IT Mall 2 weeks back, near the end of January. It's a competition sponsored by DotaSG, featuring Alienware laptops, which are currently almost the best gaming laptops in the modern era. When I mention gaming laptops, I don't mean laptops that can be used for gaming (most laptops obviously can do so). Gaming computers and laptops are products that have stronger graphic cards/processors/memory etc etc, basically enabling higher end gaming experience. Most games will run on such computers and laptops, and will not suffer any reduction in graphic details or lagginess.
The Arena featured 2 popular games in Singapore-DotA and BlackShot. Because I have played both before, I was drawn to the live performance made by those professional players. It felt pretty much like watching a thriller when observing the BlackShot games, seeing how each player in the team collaborate to keep opponents from objectives, or camping around and snipe at unsuspecting targets. As for DotA, I wasn't really interested in watching except for initial skirmishes and team clashes (partly because that's where the fun and excitement lies in), as well as making guesses to the Captains' bans and picks in the tournament style Captain's Mode. However, DotA had the greatest response and attraction from the crowd, as many gathered to watch the famous team ks (KingSurf) attempt a clash with Singaporean teams. The internationally recognised and known Malaysian team did a good job playing with our local teams, and made the Arena alive with their superb tactics.
Only players who take part in the Alienware Arena are given the black Alienware shirt, while moderators/helpers wear red. A friend of mine happens to be a moderator for DotaSG, so he was wearing the red Alienware shirt walking around and observing. As for me, I'm kinda proud to be wearing the black one :D
Annnnnnnd now... time for the CNY post.... which is nothing for now :P I'm posting this post at 4am!! So it's time for me to get to bed now......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Final year in CCA for my bro
My 'brother' (a term I use for my ex-girlfriend's younger brother because we have always been pretty good friends and treat each other like elder-younger brother) is gonna be in the final year for his and my ex-CCA: Chess Club. Last Saturday, he invited me to come back to my secondary school and hold the CCA recruitment drive together.
Honestly speaking, I didn't really help much, except to give the impression of a loyal alumni who comes back to visit his previous CCA looool. My bro, on the other hand, was helping out to promote to parents about the CCA, something which I also did those few years back. I was Chess Club Chairman, and he is as well.
Regardless, it was still an interesting experience to go back to see all the newbies around wandering about the various CCAs and deciding what to pick. Obviously if I were still Chess Club chairman, I would psycho them to join :D On the other hand, as I look at them now, I could only tell them :"It does not matter what your parents think you should join, you should join only because of personal interest."
Back then, I joined Chess Club partially because I thought it's kinda slack, but also because I felt that was the only good thing I can do. I was turned down at choir's final tryouts, and also didn't really felt like doing any CCAs that takes up time. Hence the choice: Chess Club. However, after I had joined, my interest grew more as I had to keep up with the challenges faced within the club. I was essentially the weakest player right from the start. From there, I attempted to beat every person in my year (or you can say my peers) from my school, then picked up to beat my seniors. That sparkled a new interest in the club, so I was pretty fond of the club even though most of the time people would call it 'slack club'. Yeah, it's slack, but it's fun to rise up to the challenge. Eventually, on my 3rd year, I was picked as chairman for the last 2 years I'm in school.
As for the school, well I managed to talk to a few of my old teachers, such as Mdm Nora (was my music teacher but I know she is now an English teacher in addition), Mr Victor Foo ( he was my A Maths teacher, but surprisingly he was also in Australia last year for Wallaby). Even the drinks stall uncle remembers me lol, n offered me my past favourite from his stall: Green tea :D Another stall owner mistook me for a parent and called me a 'Sir' lol. That's all I have to say for now :)
Honestly speaking, I didn't really help much, except to give the impression of a loyal alumni who comes back to visit his previous CCA looool. My bro, on the other hand, was helping out to promote to parents about the CCA, something which I also did those few years back. I was Chess Club Chairman, and he is as well.
Regardless, it was still an interesting experience to go back to see all the newbies around wandering about the various CCAs and deciding what to pick. Obviously if I were still Chess Club chairman, I would psycho them to join :D On the other hand, as I look at them now, I could only tell them :"It does not matter what your parents think you should join, you should join only because of personal interest."
Back then, I joined Chess Club partially because I thought it's kinda slack, but also because I felt that was the only good thing I can do. I was turned down at choir's final tryouts, and also didn't really felt like doing any CCAs that takes up time. Hence the choice: Chess Club. However, after I had joined, my interest grew more as I had to keep up with the challenges faced within the club. I was essentially the weakest player right from the start. From there, I attempted to beat every person in my year (or you can say my peers) from my school, then picked up to beat my seniors. That sparkled a new interest in the club, so I was pretty fond of the club even though most of the time people would call it 'slack club'. Yeah, it's slack, but it's fun to rise up to the challenge. Eventually, on my 3rd year, I was picked as chairman for the last 2 years I'm in school.
As for the school, well I managed to talk to a few of my old teachers, such as Mdm Nora (was my music teacher but I know she is now an English teacher in addition), Mr Victor Foo ( he was my A Maths teacher, but surprisingly he was also in Australia last year for Wallaby). Even the drinks stall uncle remembers me lol, n offered me my past favourite from his stall: Green tea :D Another stall owner mistook me for a parent and called me a 'Sir' lol. That's all I have to say for now :)
Friday, 1 January 2010
New Year Post
I'm planning to post this on exactly New Year's Day Singapore Time (+8 hrs). Simply a post to wish every one a happy new year and a great year ahead.
Looking back, this whole year has been pretty tiring, especially for all the work I have to do (which brought me twice to Australia since August). There is not many rest days that I'm not playing a game and resulting in my parents often lecturing me for that (haha). It won't take long for this work to be finally over, and I'm really looking forward to it-101210.
This year (2009) has been pretty amazing. I've met up with classmates whom I've not seen for a long time, I've gotten a chance to solo-explore a foreign country, etc. Too many good things, and bad of course... Hopefully the new year (2010) will be just as exciting, which makes me wonder which long-lost friend can I find this time :D
Looking back, this whole year has been pretty tiring, especially for all the work I have to do (which brought me twice to Australia since August). There is not many rest days that I'm not playing a game and resulting in my parents often lecturing me for that (haha). It won't take long for this work to be finally over, and I'm really looking forward to it-101210.
This year (2009) has been pretty amazing. I've met up with classmates whom I've not seen for a long time, I've gotten a chance to solo-explore a foreign country, etc. Too many good things, and bad of course... Hopefully the new year (2010) will be just as exciting, which makes me wonder which long-lost friend can I find this time :D
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
My new wallpaper-inspired by Tiberium Wars
Recently I've been reading a novel for Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars (based on C&C3:TW), n was inspired to try out the game. I tried it once in a lan shop which i 'took shelter' for a night when I knew I had a problem going back home (this is a tale for another time ;x), n the game was pretty terrific. I know I'm kinda slow to try it out, though that's also because I knew my own computer is pretty weak to handle a game like that...
Just today, I was reading the last portion of the book, and it just occured to me that I could make a wallpaper similar to the game C&C3:TW's main screen (the one with earth on the left panel, along with all the menu options etc). Following that, i googled for pictures and came up with a couple of pictures that i could use to make the one i had in mind.
The end product? A cross between matrix and tiberium wars :D
Credits to http://blog.stephanosgnomon.com/media/%27From_Earth_2%27_Remix.jpg for the picture of earth, which i tilted and take the picture of the crescent Earth, as well as http://www.sshock2.com/fanworks/artwork/digital_shodan.jpg for the picture of a digital shodan, which reminds me of something futuristic and scientific, bringing to mind of Matrix as well as TW's EVA unit. The mixing is done by a very simple Microsoft Paint :D (drag copy does the job pretty well).
~Peace through Power~
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Hong Wen Meetup
I was initially surprised to find one of my primary school classmates a few weeks back when she came to book a tour in my dad's office. After saving each other's contact, I got a message that the class was gonna go for a class gathering.
I wasn't much prepared for going to the trip as I had just returned from camp, but it sure was a good feeling to see some old friends once again. Having said that, it's truly many years since I even see one of them (I only saw a few by chance, but we didn't exactly hang around much). It felt almost as if the whole class was there, though I know too that there were a few who weren't there and probably lost contact too.
We went to the Central @ Clarke Quay yesterday night, spending some time taking a few photos and dinner (to be honest, I haven't gone for a dinner with friends and not family for a loooooong time, so I kept looking at my phone for any calls from my parents..) Had a jap ala carte at Waruku restaurant while spending most of the time catching up with the rest. In fact, I nearly forgot some of them until I heard them calling each others' name. Some I hadn't recognise initially because of some change in hairstyle, etc. Others I had truly forgotten, until someone mentioned their names. However, I could remember at least half of them :D
Most of the guys back there are still studying, be it poly or JC. A few of them, like me, are now serving in the army, and it was an interesting experience learning about how other units are operating (for security reasons I will not elaborate anything here). For the gals, they are either waiting to step into uni life, or doing other things.
After dinner, we hung around and wandered without direction for half an hour or so XD Because of my parents wanting me to go back asap to watch over the house, I decided to leave the group at 930, along with one of the friends. Despite my early departure, I felt rather elated at having this meetup and I daresay I'm looking forward to another one, though not too soon haha.
I wasn't much prepared for going to the trip as I had just returned from camp, but it sure was a good feeling to see some old friends once again. Having said that, it's truly many years since I even see one of them (I only saw a few by chance, but we didn't exactly hang around much). It felt almost as if the whole class was there, though I know too that there were a few who weren't there and probably lost contact too.
We went to the Central @ Clarke Quay yesterday night, spending some time taking a few photos and dinner (to be honest, I haven't gone for a dinner with friends and not family for a loooooong time, so I kept looking at my phone for any calls from my parents..) Had a jap ala carte at Waruku restaurant while spending most of the time catching up with the rest. In fact, I nearly forgot some of them until I heard them calling each others' name. Some I hadn't recognise initially because of some change in hairstyle, etc. Others I had truly forgotten, until someone mentioned their names. However, I could remember at least half of them :D
Most of the guys back there are still studying, be it poly or JC. A few of them, like me, are now serving in the army, and it was an interesting experience learning about how other units are operating (for security reasons I will not elaborate anything here). For the gals, they are either waiting to step into uni life, or doing other things.
After dinner, we hung around and wandered without direction for half an hour or so XD Because of my parents wanting me to go back asap to watch over the house, I decided to leave the group at 930, along with one of the friends. Despite my early departure, I felt rather elated at having this meetup and I daresay I'm looking forward to another one, though not too soon haha.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Zack Fair - what if he had never died?
I've been pondering over this question for a long time and so I've decided to write my thoughts on it...
A brief intro about Zack. He's the main character in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, a SOLDIER 1st Class and a friend/mentor of Cloud (who is the main character in Final Fantasy VII). Zack was a person who upheld personal honour and his ideal dream was to be a hero. His former mentor, Angeal (another SOLDIER 1st Class), had passed him his family's Buster Sword when Zack 'set him free' from his monstrous side. In the later parts of Crisis Core, Zack and Cloud were hunted by Shinra for they had escaped a lab experiment. Attempting to flee back into Midgar while remaining undetected by enemies (which failed), Zack supported an unconscious Cloud, who was suffering from mako addiction. In the end, the Shinra Army caught up with them and Zack gets killed as a result (it's always a tearjerker to play this part of the game). Zack passes his legacy to Cloud in the form of the Buster Sword, formerly the treasured blade of Angeal. As Cloud wields the Buster Sword, the plot continues to the original 1997 Final Fantasy VII game.
The question now... is what if Zack and Cloud weren't discovered by the Shinra Army? Before the cutscene of the army finding Zack and Cloud, we see that Tseng of the Turks (an Shinra-employed force used to do underground work) telling his colleague Cissnei (another Turk, unmentioned in later plots) to find him and bring him back... to save his life. Cissnei willingly do it not just for the job, but also likely because she had a crush for him (it's too obvious if you played the game). Tseng said that he still had 88 letters for Zack (Zack only received the 89th. They were written by his own love, Aerith).
Now.. if Cissnei managed to rescue them in time, and ensured that Zack and Cloud were kept in safety (probably somewhere in the slums), Zack would probably be able to spend the rest of his free life with Aerith. The mako addiction in Cloud may not have triggered the overwhelming confusion which led him to live thinking he was Zack (he had believed himself to be in Zack's shoes in the earlier parts of Final Fantasy VII). However, if Zack had wanted to live his life in freedom with Aerith back in his hometown, Gongaga, he may still pass the Buster Sword to Cloud, so as to break free from his SOLDIER life. On the other hand, I don't think that they would move to Gongaga, because Aerith loves the flowers that she can grow in the Church of the slums, and they had wanted to sell the flowers together and spend time with each other.
The only problem is that the Turks are watching over Aerith (the last Ancient of the planet, I don't know how they found out lol), and should Shinra attempts to catch her, the Turks will have to follow the orders (which really happened in the original Final Fantasy VII). Zack will have to pick up the Buster Sword once more to defend Aerith (in a way it's like Cloud's role in Final Fantasy VII).
And what would happen to Cloud then? Zack only knew that Cloud was from Nibelheim, and it would be suicidal to return to it. Maybe he will let Cloud stay with them in the church, or let him wander on his own.
These are just my thoughts for now, on what if Zack hadn't died.
A brief intro about Zack. He's the main character in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, a SOLDIER 1st Class and a friend/mentor of Cloud (who is the main character in Final Fantasy VII). Zack was a person who upheld personal honour and his ideal dream was to be a hero. His former mentor, Angeal (another SOLDIER 1st Class), had passed him his family's Buster Sword when Zack 'set him free' from his monstrous side. In the later parts of Crisis Core, Zack and Cloud were hunted by Shinra for they had escaped a lab experiment. Attempting to flee back into Midgar while remaining undetected by enemies (which failed), Zack supported an unconscious Cloud, who was suffering from mako addiction. In the end, the Shinra Army caught up with them and Zack gets killed as a result (it's always a tearjerker to play this part of the game). Zack passes his legacy to Cloud in the form of the Buster Sword, formerly the treasured blade of Angeal. As Cloud wields the Buster Sword, the plot continues to the original 1997 Final Fantasy VII game.
The question now... is what if Zack and Cloud weren't discovered by the Shinra Army? Before the cutscene of the army finding Zack and Cloud, we see that Tseng of the Turks (an Shinra-employed force used to do underground work) telling his colleague Cissnei (another Turk, unmentioned in later plots) to find him and bring him back... to save his life. Cissnei willingly do it not just for the job, but also likely because she had a crush for him (it's too obvious if you played the game). Tseng said that he still had 88 letters for Zack (Zack only received the 89th. They were written by his own love, Aerith).
Now.. if Cissnei managed to rescue them in time, and ensured that Zack and Cloud were kept in safety (probably somewhere in the slums), Zack would probably be able to spend the rest of his free life with Aerith. The mako addiction in Cloud may not have triggered the overwhelming confusion which led him to live thinking he was Zack (he had believed himself to be in Zack's shoes in the earlier parts of Final Fantasy VII). However, if Zack had wanted to live his life in freedom with Aerith back in his hometown, Gongaga, he may still pass the Buster Sword to Cloud, so as to break free from his SOLDIER life. On the other hand, I don't think that they would move to Gongaga, because Aerith loves the flowers that she can grow in the Church of the slums, and they had wanted to sell the flowers together and spend time with each other.
The only problem is that the Turks are watching over Aerith (the last Ancient of the planet, I don't know how they found out lol), and should Shinra attempts to catch her, the Turks will have to follow the orders (which really happened in the original Final Fantasy VII). Zack will have to pick up the Buster Sword once more to defend Aerith (in a way it's like Cloud's role in Final Fantasy VII).
And what would happen to Cloud then? Zack only knew that Cloud was from Nibelheim, and it would be suicidal to return to it. Maybe he will let Cloud stay with them in the church, or let him wander on his own.
These are just my thoughts for now, on what if Zack hadn't died.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Darkness and Starlight
If you read the post's title and believe that i'm going to talk about something related to the night sky or even astronomy, you probably haven't realised that this is the title of an album. Darkness and Starlight is the album produced by The Black Mages this day last year. As their 3rd album, Darkness and Starlight is a combination of rock versions of original Final Fantasy games' soundtracks, such as Grand Cross (The Black Mage's version of The Final Battle theme in Final Fantasy IX) and the Opening-Bombing Mission song from Final Fantasy VII's first chapter, as well as original songs including Life ~in memory of KEITEN~. Though this album is up for a whole year by now, I only managed to get all the songs recently as I haven't been free for some time.
Just to briefly introduce about The Black Mages... they are a instrumental rock band organised by Nobuo Uematsu, original producer of many songs in different Final Fantasy games and even movies, such as Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. Most of the songs that they play are like rock remixes of the original, and indeed many of them are a true success. In this way, the songs you hear are not wave soundtracks, or basic tunes originally made from computer softwares, but rather you will hear the song played by proper music instruments like the electric guitar, keyboard, etc.
Up till now, they have only released 3 albums:The Black Mages, The Black Mages-The Skies Above and The Black Mages-Darkness and Starlight. With the addition of all the songs from Darkness and Starlight, my list of Black Mages album songs are finally complete :)
Here's the top 10 of my favourite Black Mages album rock songs:
1.Clash on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V, Gilgamesh's theme!)
2.J-E-N-O-V-A (Final Fantasy VII, Jenova's theme)
3.Those Who Fight Further (Final Fantasy VII, boss theme)
4.The Man with the Machine Gun (Final Fantasy VIII, Laguna's theme)
5.Maybe I'm a Lion (Final Fantasy VIII, Ultimecia fight's theme)
6.Blue Blast - Winning the Rainbow (a non-Final Fantasy song, but still nice)
7.Opening - Bombing Mission (Final Fantasy VII, AVALAUNCHE's first mission's song)
8.The Extreme (Final Fantasy VIII)
9.The Rocking Grounds (Final Fantasy III, battle theme)
10.Dancing Mad (Final Fantasy VI)
Despite having rock songs as their main genre, The Black Mages have come up with melodious songs as well. The ones I particularly enjoy Vamo' Alla Flamenco (Final Fantasy IX) and Matoya's Cave (Final Fantasy I; you might find this song familiar even if you have never played Final Fantasy before).
All in all, even though most people nowadays would listen to other various rock/pop songs, there are still these unique songs that you can try listening to. If ever you think of the darkness and starlight, remember there are also songs that can be equally enjoying as gazing at the night sky.
Just to briefly introduce about The Black Mages... they are a instrumental rock band organised by Nobuo Uematsu, original producer of many songs in different Final Fantasy games and even movies, such as Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. Most of the songs that they play are like rock remixes of the original, and indeed many of them are a true success. In this way, the songs you hear are not wave soundtracks, or basic tunes originally made from computer softwares, but rather you will hear the song played by proper music instruments like the electric guitar, keyboard, etc.
Up till now, they have only released 3 albums:The Black Mages, The Black Mages-The Skies Above and The Black Mages-Darkness and Starlight. With the addition of all the songs from Darkness and Starlight, my list of Black Mages album songs are finally complete :)
Here's the top 10 of my favourite Black Mages album rock songs:
1.Clash on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V, Gilgamesh's theme!)
2.J-E-N-O-V-A (Final Fantasy VII, Jenova's theme)
3.Those Who Fight Further (Final Fantasy VII, boss theme)
4.The Man with the Machine Gun (Final Fantasy VIII, Laguna's theme)
5.Maybe I'm a Lion (Final Fantasy VIII, Ultimecia fight's theme)
6.Blue Blast - Winning the Rainbow (a non-Final Fantasy song, but still nice)
7.Opening - Bombing Mission (Final Fantasy VII, AVALAUNCHE's first mission's song)
8.The Extreme (Final Fantasy VIII)
9.The Rocking Grounds (Final Fantasy III, battle theme)
10.Dancing Mad (Final Fantasy VI)
Despite having rock songs as their main genre, The Black Mages have come up with melodious songs as well. The ones I particularly enjoy Vamo' Alla Flamenco (Final Fantasy IX) and Matoya's Cave (Final Fantasy I; you might find this song familiar even if you have never played Final Fantasy before).
All in all, even though most people nowadays would listen to other various rock/pop songs, there are still these unique songs that you can try listening to. If ever you think of the darkness and starlight, remember there are also songs that can be equally enjoying as gazing at the night sky.
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Basic Uses and Applications of Black Magic
This is just an essay on black magic of Final Fantasy and Warcraft lol. Hope you enjoy my view on it. Please do not attribute me to being a heretic ._. This is simply a 'for-fun' essay that can be used as a guide to GAMING black magic (apologies if there's any resemblance to real life black magic-if it exists).
Black magic, a term used for the ability to conjure spells attributed to the elements of the natural world which our forefathers believed in: Fire, of the Sun; Water, of the Sea; Land, of the Earth; Wind, of the Air. It includes the use of voodoos, curses and hexes. Simple black magic usually involve the use of basic fire, ice, lightning, etc. Tertiary forms include the ability to morph a being. As its name suggests, black magic gives the impression of magic gone dark and evil, and will bring harm to people. While black magic exists for such purpose, it is not necessarily all bad, for it is its user that determines the usefulness of black magic.
The invoking of basic fire and lightning spells is often seen as good as using a sword to fight in a duel. It injures the opponent, but will do no more to add any other advantages, besides weakening the opponent beyond physical damage. Often, it can be used to bring down the vitality of the opponent, as well as ending the opponent's life. The element of Fire is brought out in both fire and lightning spells, generating intensified heat on the target. Victims tend to show scorch marks where the spells hit, burning them with great pain that may last for a long period.
Ice spells are useful in many ways. It brings the temperature of targetted area to almost zero degrees celsius, and sometimes even lower. The sudden change in temperature could make the victims slow down due to the freezing cold, or even freeze in their tracks. The Water element attributed could also injure the opponent with its hard ice smashing on the opponent. A useful element itself, these spells are favourited by the those who seek to freeze their opponents and cause a slow and painful death.
The art of summoning the forces of Gaia and Earth is the trait of a land spell. These spells revolve the help of Mother Earth, unleashing its wrath with terrible quakes and fissures. Those who learn the spellcraft of the Elves could also summon the help of tree creatures known as treants, or 'ents'. With the aid of nature, spellcasters could entangle opponents as they cross into nature's paths, making them immobile and useless against other spells in the mage's repertoire.
Of Wind, few will use spells belonging to this element, although it is severely damaging. Tornados and cyclones are summoned into being by its wielder, wreaking havocs on crowds and destroying camps. Blasts of wind can usually knock down airborne beings easily, making air travel dangerous should the magician feel threatened.
Draining magics are unusual forms of black magic. Depending on how the caster uses such magic, it can channel the magical essence or lifeform of the target into the caster, enabling the caster to be stronger while the foe becomes weaker. Such spells are the favourite of those who hunt other mages for bounty, making them less capable to cast spells. Meanwhile, it also reduces the strength of non-magical opponents, making short work of those who seek to harm the mage himself. These spells do not benefit the caster as much as white magic does, but it brings down the vitality of the target, making it an efficient offensive spell. It is difficult to find anyone who uses such vampiric spells recently, for it is not always useful in every engagement, but it is a useful magic nonetheless. Some even believe that the ultimate black magic is draining magics, for it is more vicious compared to other spells listed among the repertoire of black magic.
Curses and hexes usually does not injure the target, but rather enfeeble him, thus rendering him weak against the spellcaster. The common forms of such spells will simply transform the target into a lesser being (a weak animal, for example). Such spells may not bind forever, for it may be broken when a certain condition is met, but is nonetheless useful in a black magician's repertoire. Weakening the foe to the extent where he cannot fight back, the spells can be used defensively or offensively.
Overall, black magic is widely used offensively, making the targets and victims weaker and giving an edge to its caster. However, to label such magics evil is not a correct interpretation of magic, for it is the nature of the caster himself that influence the goodness in black magic. A chaotic sorceror, for example, could use black magic for evil ends, while a lawful-natured wizard could use black magic for good, helping the community rid of evil beings.
Black magic, a term used for the ability to conjure spells attributed to the elements of the natural world which our forefathers believed in: Fire, of the Sun; Water, of the Sea; Land, of the Earth; Wind, of the Air. It includes the use of voodoos, curses and hexes. Simple black magic usually involve the use of basic fire, ice, lightning, etc. Tertiary forms include the ability to morph a being. As its name suggests, black magic gives the impression of magic gone dark and evil, and will bring harm to people. While black magic exists for such purpose, it is not necessarily all bad, for it is its user that determines the usefulness of black magic.
The invoking of basic fire and lightning spells is often seen as good as using a sword to fight in a duel. It injures the opponent, but will do no more to add any other advantages, besides weakening the opponent beyond physical damage. Often, it can be used to bring down the vitality of the opponent, as well as ending the opponent's life. The element of Fire is brought out in both fire and lightning spells, generating intensified heat on the target. Victims tend to show scorch marks where the spells hit, burning them with great pain that may last for a long period.
Ice spells are useful in many ways. It brings the temperature of targetted area to almost zero degrees celsius, and sometimes even lower. The sudden change in temperature could make the victims slow down due to the freezing cold, or even freeze in their tracks. The Water element attributed could also injure the opponent with its hard ice smashing on the opponent. A useful element itself, these spells are favourited by the those who seek to freeze their opponents and cause a slow and painful death.
The art of summoning the forces of Gaia and Earth is the trait of a land spell. These spells revolve the help of Mother Earth, unleashing its wrath with terrible quakes and fissures. Those who learn the spellcraft of the Elves could also summon the help of tree creatures known as treants, or 'ents'. With the aid of nature, spellcasters could entangle opponents as they cross into nature's paths, making them immobile and useless against other spells in the mage's repertoire.
Of Wind, few will use spells belonging to this element, although it is severely damaging. Tornados and cyclones are summoned into being by its wielder, wreaking havocs on crowds and destroying camps. Blasts of wind can usually knock down airborne beings easily, making air travel dangerous should the magician feel threatened.
Draining magics are unusual forms of black magic. Depending on how the caster uses such magic, it can channel the magical essence or lifeform of the target into the caster, enabling the caster to be stronger while the foe becomes weaker. Such spells are the favourite of those who hunt other mages for bounty, making them less capable to cast spells. Meanwhile, it also reduces the strength of non-magical opponents, making short work of those who seek to harm the mage himself. These spells do not benefit the caster as much as white magic does, but it brings down the vitality of the target, making it an efficient offensive spell. It is difficult to find anyone who uses such vampiric spells recently, for it is not always useful in every engagement, but it is a useful magic nonetheless. Some even believe that the ultimate black magic is draining magics, for it is more vicious compared to other spells listed among the repertoire of black magic.
Curses and hexes usually does not injure the target, but rather enfeeble him, thus rendering him weak against the spellcaster. The common forms of such spells will simply transform the target into a lesser being (a weak animal, for example). Such spells may not bind forever, for it may be broken when a certain condition is met, but is nonetheless useful in a black magician's repertoire. Weakening the foe to the extent where he cannot fight back, the spells can be used defensively or offensively.
Overall, black magic is widely used offensively, making the targets and victims weaker and giving an edge to its caster. However, to label such magics evil is not a correct interpretation of magic, for it is the nature of the caster himself that influence the goodness in black magic. A chaotic sorceror, for example, could use black magic for evil ends, while a lawful-natured wizard could use black magic for good, helping the community rid of evil beings.
Friday, 2 May 2008
Singapore's Shinra Headquarters
Yup! Shinra Headquarters found in Singapore!!! Lol.. it's actually some building near Chinatown, seems to me it's an office building, but its exterior reminded me a lot of Shinra's headquarters in Midgar. Hence, I took a photo of it from my mom's car, and modified the centre for Shinra's logo.. of course, in Midgar, Shinra Headquarters is the tallest building, but there's an equally tall building beside the one i edited in this photo, so it aint perfect lol.. Just made it for fun and for those who enjoys FF7. Hope you guys like it lol. O and for my music sheets, please give me some time to upload the rest because I havent got time to do so lately. Will get it done soon though.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
My favourite piano pieces
Yup these are my favourite piano pieces from Final Fantasy series. Too bad, I can only play the melody portion, but these are still nice songs... I've just updated my music sheets for those who like to play these songs on your very own piano. The songs uploaded are as follows: Final Fantasy 3-The Invincible (the airship that was said to be ranked second in that game.. it's more in terms of speed), Final Fantasy 10-To Zanarkand (a very popular song in the piano collections), Final Fantasy 7-Ahead on our way, Tifa's Theme, Aeris' Theme. I have to post the sheets below in smaller sizes because it's hard to shift the sheets into a good position. Hope you enjoy :)
The Invincible-Final Fantasy 3
To Zanarkand-Final Fantasy 10
Monday, 24 March 2008
Cloud in Gunz
Well after I made the picture of Sephiroth in Gunz, I thought I should also do justice for Cloud. And here you go, Cloud Strife with his Buster Sword (it looks in bad shape though, couldnt do it well using Windows Paint). His hair looked a bit more funky lol... but it's still ok overall.. I used dungeon as the background to depict him trying to find Sephiroth in the basement of the Shinra Mansion (you will know this if you either played FF7 PS version or look out for their story). Although in Gunz, the next room is supposed to be a dungeon hall and stairs, it's supposed to depict the library of the Shinra Mansion. My tags for this picture would be Cloud chasing Sephiroth... Cloud hunting Sephiroth... Cloud in Shinra Mansion... Cloud and his buster sword.... Cloud in Gunz.. Again a disclaimer: Cloud does not exist in IJJI Gunz (if there is it aint me lol). My Cloud account has been deleted to make room for Vincent Valentine (I'm trying to make him next). O and ya, the REAL Cloud doesnt wear pants with GZ on the back lol.. but there aint another suitable pants in Gunz, so i used it for him.. This picture really took a lot out of me, because I have to modify the original Gunz armour to make it have what looks like Cloud's shoulder guard, and change the armour to a vest (both of which are not available in actual Gunz).. Hope you like the picture and feel free to comment.
Saturday, 15 March 2008
Sephiroth in Gunz
Yup Sephiroth in Gunz... I made a picture of him in the MMORPG GunZ the Duel (N.A-Ijji). The end result is just right at the header and here in this post... Feel free to express your views about this picture!
Comments by the maker (which is me): If you are all wondering, I actually made this using only Windows Paint. Took me half an hour to do it.. I don't have the money to buy Photoshop equipments so ya.... My tags for this picture would be-Sephiroth paying his respects to Jenova....Sephiroth and Jenova...Sephiroth in Gunz... The statue is in this context, Jenova lol (looks like anyway if you played FF7). Anyway I will try to 'up' his level in future lol.. and make it to 50 (which is the level he appears as in the original FF7 game). O and don't bother searching for Sephiroth in the GunZ high scores, because my character name is actually Sephiroth XII, and the rest of the pictures are done by using my main-Amornica and my other male character-MasterKenobi.