這個名字是我在食譜上看到的. 但我第一次吃到的時候, 只知道他叫蛋餅. 這是小的時候, 有一天晚上肚子餓了, 爸爸煎給我和小瑋吃的. 第一次吃到可真的是很香! 現在依然是很香. 不過那時看爸爸弄食物吃, 廚房裡只開著抽油煙機的小燈, 我在他背後聞到蛋香, 這情景很令人回味!
這是非常簡單的食物. 只要一個蛋, 一點點鹽, 一小匙麵粉就可以了. 不過通常我都是要兩個蛋. 麵粉不要多, 不然就減少蛋的味道. 所有東西在碗裡攪拌後, 中火熱油, 下鍋煎. 兩面翻翻. 就好了! 全部過程不到十分鐘. 如果你喜歡, 也可以加一點蔥花啥的...
有趣的是, 外國人喜歡吃的 pancake, 也是類似的做法. 但是要加上牛油, 很多麵粉, 牛奶, 還有一些 小蘇打之類的東西. 比較起來, 爸爸的蛋餅味道簡單的多. 我喜歡簡單的味道. 不過, 再加上那個回憶, 或許這味道也不是那樣的單純了.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
soup
my mom loves soup. to prepare for soup, my mom prepared broth almost daily. after experiencing the miracle of soup, i have to agree with her. soup was fantastic.
when she comes home at night, especially in the winter, she said that a hot soup was great for anyone just came in from the cold. i totally agree with her. a broth is the bases of all soup! so it's important to prepare it. once the soup was simmered slowly for 2 hours, or more, it's concentrated enough to use it portion by portion. and it can be used throughout whole week! very convenient. of course, you can buy can broth, but you can't guarantee what was used to cook the can broth.
my mom loved to use pork bones without or with very little meat for the broth. it's important to add some ginger and scallion, sometimes, garlic. adding a bit of rice alcohol would be even better as well. when simmering broth for concentrated form, the broth should looks like white, not clear broth. however, it should not confuse with dirty broth with blood-esque stuff... there are two ways to deal with the blood-esque thing.
1. put bones in a cold water pan, bring them to boil for few minutes. you have to put bones in while the water is still cold. then pouring out the blood-esque thing with boiled water and bones. after that, you can start to cook the broth with worrying.
2. you can directly proceed to cook the broth. however, before simmering, you need to constantly getting rid of the blood-esque thing, until the water is clear. then start to simmer.
soup is good. broth is an essential ingredient. it's awesome.
when she comes home at night, especially in the winter, she said that a hot soup was great for anyone just came in from the cold. i totally agree with her. a broth is the bases of all soup! so it's important to prepare it. once the soup was simmered slowly for 2 hours, or more, it's concentrated enough to use it portion by portion. and it can be used throughout whole week! very convenient. of course, you can buy can broth, but you can't guarantee what was used to cook the can broth.
my mom loved to use pork bones without or with very little meat for the broth. it's important to add some ginger and scallion, sometimes, garlic. adding a bit of rice alcohol would be even better as well. when simmering broth for concentrated form, the broth should looks like white, not clear broth. however, it should not confuse with dirty broth with blood-esque stuff... there are two ways to deal with the blood-esque thing.
1. put bones in a cold water pan, bring them to boil for few minutes. you have to put bones in while the water is still cold. then pouring out the blood-esque thing with boiled water and bones. after that, you can start to cook the broth with worrying.
2. you can directly proceed to cook the broth. however, before simmering, you need to constantly getting rid of the blood-esque thing, until the water is clear. then start to simmer.
soup is good. broth is an essential ingredient. it's awesome.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
two pillars of action games
an action adventure game always comes down to two things. one is fighting, doesn't matter it's gun, cold weapon, or empty handed. the other one is traveling from one area to another. other factors, such as story, puzzles, levels, voice acting, etc, should be included in level designs. if we looked at many other action games. we could do a detailed analysis of each own short comings in either or both areas of fighting and platformers:
1. Oni, it's a great hand to hand fighting games. the developers got inspiration from street fighters. there's no hard lock system, only a very cleverly designed soft lock system. the character can move smoothly through space, had amazing acrobatic ability. however, the platformer gameplay was not incorporated well at all. let's just say, it's randomly designed at best. most of the acrobatic ability was wasted in Oni, imo. in a fight, it would be fun to use acrobatics. however, it's not necessary most of the game. and the lack of the interactivity with the environment was frustrating, and a huge source of my complain about the wasted acrobatics in the game.
2. Blade of Darkness Severance. this game should be hailed as one of the best 3rd person action adventure melee game. the weapon based fighting though flawed, was and still is the best in any games, PC or console unmatched. the game had a hard lock system. but when not using hard system, there's no soft lock system to support the battle. although some claimed it worked better without the hard locks, i could not disagree more. one of the reason was that there's no strafes in the game. navigation without strafes through spaces was ok enough, not the case in fighting though. the platformer ability was kept at minimum in this game. besides few jumps and hanging on to ledges, there's nothing much. this is not much a hindrance to the whole experience though. since the fighting is heavy enough to carry the weight. however, if there's strafes and better designed platformer ability plus a plable level design. this game would be more appealing.
3. Bushido Blades series. this series was a real fighting games with one very special emphasize, which is it's a more fight simulation than an arcadish fighting games. there's no meters, there's only one realistic damage model. one well placed, or timed blow will instantly killed the opponent, or be killed. there are not many fancy combos. the fights usually slows and dull compared with other flashy arcadish fighting games. however, that's where the appeal lies, realitic fighting. as any fighting game, it's viewed from side, not like the ones mentioned before in which the camera was placed from behind a character. the frustrating part of the game was that the defense for the game was automated. so if you can't find a way to break down the defense, the game will be like constantly banging your head against your fryign pane. other frustation of the game was that it's not a action adventure game. i kept wondering what would happen if the camera of the game put behind the characters. the distance of the game character might become hard to perceive. the third frustration of the game that it's not very popular. the platformer ability was very awkward, although implemented. but it's quite adequate for a fighting game with limited stage space to explore.
4. Lugaru. i only have the demo of the game. It's an indie game. there's no lock on system whatsoever. what's very interesting about this game is one gameplay mechanics. It's called "Reflection". the game is basically, attack, defense, and reflection. attack and defense is self explanatory. reflection however, add a genuine new game experience! a well timed reflection will keep the opponent off the balance and throw him afar. if you are "reflected", you also have the ability to stay on your feet, if you timed the reflection well enough. which adds a new dynamics to the game. although it' nothing new, soul calibur already had something like it. it was not found in any other action adventure games. the platformer part of the game was interesting enough. although not very smooth in my opinion.
5. prince of persia sands of time series. This is truly a platformer series. this game incorprated platformer and fighting together. although the fight was not realistic in anyway, and i don't think it would fair well with online competition either. the infusion of platformer and fight however, was something i wish to created for Oni. one of the frustration of the PoP SoT series was it's camera and control for PC. most part of the game was alright, but in some spots was just down right frustrating.
6. Rune. This game was often compared with BoDS. It is much more popular than BoDS as well. there used to be a huge online competition enthusastic crowd. there's no soft or hard lock on system. from my experience, the fighting mechanics was really sad. there seemed to have some combos. but not enough for me to really get into it, except if i want to play online. the differences between Rune and BoDS, is that BoDS is really a fighting game, with detailed fighting mechanics. however, Rune does not. the platformer ability was poor. however, simple running around was more like Oni than BoDS.
7. god of war, devil may cry, ninja gaiden. ninja gaiden was in my opinion worth of mentioning though since it incorporated the platformer and fighting together better. navigation with it's platform ability was ok. not the best, because it's way too fancy even for a console analogue control.
8. Mount and Blade. this game is one that inspires me the most. its weapon fighting and mounted fighting was one reason. it's simple and fun. i loved its defense concept. i wish i could find a way to implemented such mechanic in my dream action adventure game in some ways. however, there's not much platformer ability. but with its design, this ability could be ignored somehow. and since it's a action RPG, this inability was forgivable anyway.
9. assassin's creed. i played the Xbox 360 verions, not the PC version. i am pretty sure that platformer on this game with M/K control would be alright. but i am not sure of the fighting mechanics. however, this game's fighting mechanics probably is not worth mentioning much. way too simple, not much initiation given to players. however, the platformer ability of the game was huge and grandeous. need to find a way to somehow infused within my game! HAHA
1. Oni, it's a great hand to hand fighting games. the developers got inspiration from street fighters. there's no hard lock system, only a very cleverly designed soft lock system. the character can move smoothly through space, had amazing acrobatic ability. however, the platformer gameplay was not incorporated well at all. let's just say, it's randomly designed at best. most of the acrobatic ability was wasted in Oni, imo. in a fight, it would be fun to use acrobatics. however, it's not necessary most of the game. and the lack of the interactivity with the environment was frustrating, and a huge source of my complain about the wasted acrobatics in the game.
2. Blade of Darkness Severance. this game should be hailed as one of the best 3rd person action adventure melee game. the weapon based fighting though flawed, was and still is the best in any games, PC or console unmatched. the game had a hard lock system. but when not using hard system, there's no soft lock system to support the battle. although some claimed it worked better without the hard locks, i could not disagree more. one of the reason was that there's no strafes in the game. navigation without strafes through spaces was ok enough, not the case in fighting though. the platformer ability was kept at minimum in this game. besides few jumps and hanging on to ledges, there's nothing much. this is not much a hindrance to the whole experience though. since the fighting is heavy enough to carry the weight. however, if there's strafes and better designed platformer ability plus a plable level design. this game would be more appealing.
3. Bushido Blades series. this series was a real fighting games with one very special emphasize, which is it's a more fight simulation than an arcadish fighting games. there's no meters, there's only one realistic damage model. one well placed, or timed blow will instantly killed the opponent, or be killed. there are not many fancy combos. the fights usually slows and dull compared with other flashy arcadish fighting games. however, that's where the appeal lies, realitic fighting. as any fighting game, it's viewed from side, not like the ones mentioned before in which the camera was placed from behind a character. the frustrating part of the game was that the defense for the game was automated. so if you can't find a way to break down the defense, the game will be like constantly banging your head against your fryign pane. other frustation of the game was that it's not a action adventure game. i kept wondering what would happen if the camera of the game put behind the characters. the distance of the game character might become hard to perceive. the third frustration of the game that it's not very popular. the platformer ability was very awkward, although implemented. but it's quite adequate for a fighting game with limited stage space to explore.
4. Lugaru. i only have the demo of the game. It's an indie game. there's no lock on system whatsoever. what's very interesting about this game is one gameplay mechanics. It's called "Reflection". the game is basically, attack, defense, and reflection. attack and defense is self explanatory. reflection however, add a genuine new game experience! a well timed reflection will keep the opponent off the balance and throw him afar. if you are "reflected", you also have the ability to stay on your feet, if you timed the reflection well enough. which adds a new dynamics to the game. although it' nothing new, soul calibur already had something like it. it was not found in any other action adventure games. the platformer part of the game was interesting enough. although not very smooth in my opinion.
5. prince of persia sands of time series. This is truly a platformer series. this game incorprated platformer and fighting together. although the fight was not realistic in anyway, and i don't think it would fair well with online competition either. the infusion of platformer and fight however, was something i wish to created for Oni. one of the frustration of the PoP SoT series was it's camera and control for PC. most part of the game was alright, but in some spots was just down right frustrating.
6. Rune. This game was often compared with BoDS. It is much more popular than BoDS as well. there used to be a huge online competition enthusastic crowd. there's no soft or hard lock on system. from my experience, the fighting mechanics was really sad. there seemed to have some combos. but not enough for me to really get into it, except if i want to play online. the differences between Rune and BoDS, is that BoDS is really a fighting game, with detailed fighting mechanics. however, Rune does not. the platformer ability was poor. however, simple running around was more like Oni than BoDS.
7. god of war, devil may cry, ninja gaiden. ninja gaiden was in my opinion worth of mentioning though since it incorporated the platformer and fighting together better. navigation with it's platform ability was ok. not the best, because it's way too fancy even for a console analogue control.
8. Mount and Blade. this game is one that inspires me the most. its weapon fighting and mounted fighting was one reason. it's simple and fun. i loved its defense concept. i wish i could find a way to implemented such mechanic in my dream action adventure game in some ways. however, there's not much platformer ability. but with its design, this ability could be ignored somehow. and since it's a action RPG, this inability was forgivable anyway.
9. assassin's creed. i played the Xbox 360 verions, not the PC version. i am pretty sure that platformer on this game with M/K control would be alright. but i am not sure of the fighting mechanics. however, this game's fighting mechanics probably is not worth mentioning much. way too simple, not much initiation given to players. however, the platformer ability of the game was huge and grandeous. need to find a way to somehow infused within my game! HAHA
games i wish to make
i wish to make a video game. it's an action adventure game. the main gameplays are melee fighting and platformer. it's a PC game. the setting should be in around 1000 A.C., in China. the features in the game should be a realistic fighting mechanics in weapon and hand to hand. the fighting should find a way to infuse with platformer. the platformer should find a way to become a competitive racing game for online plays. the idea was inspired by Mount and Blade, where the gameplay of riding horses and melee combats were the selling points. what's more inspiring though is the players made mods. the idea of a racing platformer was inspired by mirror's edge and super mario bro. the fighting mechanics was inspired by bushido blade series, Oni, Blade of Darkness Severance, and lugaru.
i want to see a game with a very realistic but highly adjustable combat system. this system should be very suitable for online competitive. however, because it is highly adjustable, the modes of online play will have many. some like arcadish fighter like tekken, virtual fighter, or soul calibur. some loved bushido blades series and BOD severance with a more realistic approach, best with much improved bushido's damage model and one shot kill. and there're weapon based fight, or no weapon, like Oni. the weapon and empty handed should be able to mix as well! basically, the fighting is the one of the two core gameplays! and should be the primary concern, because, i consdier this to be the most diffifult develope.
the platformer should be combined with mirror's edge, with something like those funny snowskating racing games, where you could find a way to punch, kick, or whatever way to slow down your opponents. But also, the basic platformer gameplay have to be able to stand for a real racing without those interference. the platformer is also best incorporrated with fighting mechanics. some of fighting mode should also consider to involve platformer as well.
as for the single player game. i think, one of the best thing for a developer to interact with players is mods. release the tool, even designate a team to support those who wants to make mod but with little programming experiences. what should developers encourage player to mod the game is to create new scenarios within game's fighting and platformer gameplays. over the course, developers could be freed from doing level designs, or minimal level designs. this free the developers to concentrate on creating new gameplays, improved the old gameplays, and find a way expand the existing formula, like by adding a new strategical gameplay mechanics, like Mount and Blade. it should be eventually expanded into a real Total War style battlefield gameplay! give players options to really his characters to become a real king, or he could choose to be a lonely warrior, or a merchants to amass huge property to influence the diplomacy, or something else. the expansion of the new modes, gameplays, and contents should be in expansion packages.
the graphics and sounds should be barely up to the standards. the improvements of G&S over the course of expanding the gameplays, modes, and contents, should be kept at minimum. the reason behind this is because i want the maximum people who could play it.
the online part of the game should eventually be included the Total War style of Battlefield gameplays. the grand cmpaign of the game that should also be in the eventual expansion package should be online as well. this however, should be kept from being total war style, this has to have a whole new style in real time. a co-op mode should be supported for strategy and action adventure as well. i don't like a mmorpg though. so i will try not to touch such thing.
the total war style of battlefield was not the only options the game should go. what should be kept in mind is the options. always remember this, different modes are optional. the two core gameplays are not. fighting and platformer, and the infusion of the two are my main concern here. how to put a game into an incredible experience all depends on these two factors. other good thoughts should be kept for the future references.
i want to see a game with a very realistic but highly adjustable combat system. this system should be very suitable for online competitive. however, because it is highly adjustable, the modes of online play will have many. some like arcadish fighter like tekken, virtual fighter, or soul calibur. some loved bushido blades series and BOD severance with a more realistic approach, best with much improved bushido's damage model and one shot kill. and there're weapon based fight, or no weapon, like Oni. the weapon and empty handed should be able to mix as well! basically, the fighting is the one of the two core gameplays! and should be the primary concern, because, i consdier this to be the most diffifult develope.
the platformer should be combined with mirror's edge, with something like those funny snowskating racing games, where you could find a way to punch, kick, or whatever way to slow down your opponents. But also, the basic platformer gameplay have to be able to stand for a real racing without those interference. the platformer is also best incorporrated with fighting mechanics. some of fighting mode should also consider to involve platformer as well.
as for the single player game. i think, one of the best thing for a developer to interact with players is mods. release the tool, even designate a team to support those who wants to make mod but with little programming experiences. what should developers encourage player to mod the game is to create new scenarios within game's fighting and platformer gameplays. over the course, developers could be freed from doing level designs, or minimal level designs. this free the developers to concentrate on creating new gameplays, improved the old gameplays, and find a way expand the existing formula, like by adding a new strategical gameplay mechanics, like Mount and Blade. it should be eventually expanded into a real Total War style battlefield gameplay! give players options to really his characters to become a real king, or he could choose to be a lonely warrior, or a merchants to amass huge property to influence the diplomacy, or something else. the expansion of the new modes, gameplays, and contents should be in expansion packages.
the graphics and sounds should be barely up to the standards. the improvements of G&S over the course of expanding the gameplays, modes, and contents, should be kept at minimum. the reason behind this is because i want the maximum people who could play it.
the online part of the game should eventually be included the Total War style of Battlefield gameplays. the grand cmpaign of the game that should also be in the eventual expansion package should be online as well. this however, should be kept from being total war style, this has to have a whole new style in real time. a co-op mode should be supported for strategy and action adventure as well. i don't like a mmorpg though. so i will try not to touch such thing.
the total war style of battlefield was not the only options the game should go. what should be kept in mind is the options. always remember this, different modes are optional. the two core gameplays are not. fighting and platformer, and the infusion of the two are my main concern here. how to put a game into an incredible experience all depends on these two factors. other good thoughts should be kept for the future references.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
some thoughts from reading memoirs
i need a detailed time lines of the memoir so i could compare with other time lines from other memoirs.
i am in desperate need of maps.
i really need to have some knowledge of how finance and economics work.
the more languages i know the better. english, chinese, japanese, russians, french, and german really are necessity to study history around China in modern days.
sources from England was incredibly important. it's a surprise to me. but after some thoughts, it's really natural.
i need to know more about land lease act. what's the contents? what's the relation of it between china and england? how it was actually distributed, from the distribution's end, to the actual receiving end.
from the look of it, the most foundamental conflict between 蔣中正 和 Joseph Stillwell was "should we take on Burma or not?" So a detailed analysis of the strategic importance of Burma should be the most important thing on this subject. The capacity of Stilwell Road (Ledo) would be a good start in the analysis.
A detailed analysis on the results of Chennault's air force in China and China south sea is also a must.
Good and reliable Japanese Sources are in desperate need!
a neatly constructed timeline of China's 8 year war struggle against Japan is a must. the extension from 1931 918 to 1945 99 would be prefered but not in priority. because, 1931 918 could be a totally independent topic.
All the names in English sources should translated back into Chinese. It was a horror try to guess the English translation of Chinese names!
i felt that memoirs are always heavily biased. however, it's a great start point to ask questions, especially when the different memoirs have conflict point of views. these conflicts provides easy and quick questions to start researches!
hoover institute, yale collection
i am in desperate need of maps.
i really need to have some knowledge of how finance and economics work.
the more languages i know the better. english, chinese, japanese, russians, french, and german really are necessity to study history around China in modern days.
sources from England was incredibly important. it's a surprise to me. but after some thoughts, it's really natural.
i need to know more about land lease act. what's the contents? what's the relation of it between china and england? how it was actually distributed, from the distribution's end, to the actual receiving end.
from the look of it, the most foundamental conflict between 蔣中正 和 Joseph Stillwell was "should we take on Burma or not?" So a detailed analysis of the strategic importance of Burma should be the most important thing on this subject. The capacity of Stilwell Road (Ledo) would be a good start in the analysis.
A detailed analysis on the results of Chennault's air force in China and China south sea is also a must.
Good and reliable Japanese Sources are in desperate need!
a neatly constructed timeline of China's 8 year war struggle against Japan is a must. the extension from 1931 918 to 1945 99 would be prefered but not in priority. because, 1931 918 could be a totally independent topic.
All the names in English sources should translated back into Chinese. It was a horror try to guess the English translation of Chinese names!
i felt that memoirs are always heavily biased. however, it's a great start point to ask questions, especially when the different memoirs have conflict point of views. these conflicts provides easy and quick questions to start researches!
hoover institute, yale collection
Friday, February 27, 2009
Chennault's the way of a fighter
I finished Chennault's memoir about two days ago. It was a really great read. The style of Chennault's writing really showed what kind of a person he was. It was clear and direct with a very strong personality infused between columns. But most importantly, he spent most of his writing on his own experience. He kept all the hearsay at the minimal which is what I prefer. I consider this memoir to be incredibly important. There are stats to be confirmed. There are events due for further readings.
My feeling right after the reading was how come this was never put into a movie? Chennault was clearly a huge underdog! He was such a huge advocate on Pursuit tactics, but there's no mention of Chennault at all on any of Wiki's pages about Aeriel warfare! Remeber this, the reason he was retired early because he fervently argued for the Pursuit tactics against his superiors. For either his superior was a old army school who believed firmly that land infantry was everything, or his superiors believed an unpoved doctrine of bomber theory. A huge part of reason for him to come to China was a hope that he could prove his theory, which mainly was that bomber plane without fighter plane escorting was useless. He was proved totally correct. From AVG to Fourteenth Air Corp, he led US air force against a huge odd. Japanese air force had to abandon most of the offensive and concentrated on defense instead. Chinese was freed from being bombed again. Chinese army even got support from his superior Air force, which gave Chinese incomparable morale boost. This was all done by very little support from very meager supply, provided by the US CBI command center. Chennault was a man with a vision. He often argued fervently with his superiors, and it's no excpetions during the WWII. Stilwell hated it, Marshall hated, and Arnold hated it, plus many other people. Almost all his superiors hated him, and Chennault was ousted from China right at the time when the tide of war was turned around against Japan in July 1945! It is so easy to see how frustrated he could be! But after 6 months, he returned to China to help out the distribution of civil materials in China! This guy was amazing, tough and resilience.
Chennault's contribution to the Aerial warfare was not acknowledged. His war effort was minialized with Chinese Communist took over China and fictionalized the Chinese history. He was mistreated by his Country. What's more underdog than this?
My feeling right after the reading was how come this was never put into a movie? Chennault was clearly a huge underdog! He was such a huge advocate on Pursuit tactics, but there's no mention of Chennault at all on any of Wiki's pages about Aeriel warfare! Remeber this, the reason he was retired early because he fervently argued for the Pursuit tactics against his superiors. For either his superior was a old army school who believed firmly that land infantry was everything, or his superiors believed an unpoved doctrine of bomber theory. A huge part of reason for him to come to China was a hope that he could prove his theory, which mainly was that bomber plane without fighter plane escorting was useless. He was proved totally correct. From AVG to Fourteenth Air Corp, he led US air force against a huge odd. Japanese air force had to abandon most of the offensive and concentrated on defense instead. Chinese was freed from being bombed again. Chinese army even got support from his superior Air force, which gave Chinese incomparable morale boost. This was all done by very little support from very meager supply, provided by the US CBI command center. Chennault was a man with a vision. He often argued fervently with his superiors, and it's no excpetions during the WWII. Stilwell hated it, Marshall hated, and Arnold hated it, plus many other people. Almost all his superiors hated him, and Chennault was ousted from China right at the time when the tide of war was turned around against Japan in July 1945! It is so easy to see how frustrated he could be! But after 6 months, he returned to China to help out the distribution of civil materials in China! This guy was amazing, tough and resilience.
Chennault's contribution to the Aerial warfare was not acknowledged. His war effort was minialized with Chinese Communist took over China and fictionalized the Chinese history. He was mistreated by his Country. What's more underdog than this?
Friday, February 20, 2009
league of nations
league of nations was not all useless after all... before 九一八, it actually did something to stop the wars from Italy v. Greece, Greece v. Turkey, and some other conflicts!
my info came from "九一八事變史述, 梁敬錞"
my info came from "九一八事變史述, 梁敬錞"
Thursday, February 19, 2009
the longest journey my view
it's a PC point-click adventure game. i bought this game and sold it last time without finishing it. i was frustrated by the fact that i constantly needed to use walkthroughs for the game. but there were just so many places mentioned this game. they all claimed how wonder the story was. eventually, i broke down and got another copy. to my surprise, i was able to complete it with much less trips to the walkthroughs! i am happy about this fact...somehow.
it's a very wordy adventure game. There were a lot of conversations from the non playable characters. most of these conversations were wonderfully acted out by the voice actors. There're times that i skipped some of the dialogues. however, most of the time, i enjoyed them quite a bit! i loved the Alatian's part. Alatians were the winged people who were the best storytellers in the world. i loved most of the tales from them.
there're still some nuinces in the, of course. for example, the character had to to be guided through the background without doing anything else. i could not stand that. the background might be pretty, but i had absolutely no patience for them. most of the story line was fine, however, the ending was really underwhelming! they left many loose ends.
this my second comletely finished point and click adventure games. the first one was still life. although i still feel that this kind games are just a collection of puzzles, the way developer put those puzzles together to build a story is quite interesting!
it's a very wordy adventure game. There were a lot of conversations from the non playable characters. most of these conversations were wonderfully acted out by the voice actors. There're times that i skipped some of the dialogues. however, most of the time, i enjoyed them quite a bit! i loved the Alatian's part. Alatians were the winged people who were the best storytellers in the world. i loved most of the tales from them.
there're still some nuinces in the, of course. for example, the character had to to be guided through the background without doing anything else. i could not stand that. the background might be pretty, but i had absolutely no patience for them. most of the story line was fine, however, the ending was really underwhelming! they left many loose ends.
this my second comletely finished point and click adventure games. the first one was still life. although i still feel that this kind games are just a collection of puzzles, the way developer put those puzzles together to build a story is quite interesting!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
two very interesting books
i just finished a very interesting book, called the Vladimirov diaries. 這是一個叫做 Vladimirov 的蘇聯 TASS 社的記者, 同時也是國際共產駐延安的代表所寫的日記. 時間涵蓋 1942~1945. 有另一本書叫做, thunder out of china, 作者是 Theodor White. 這位美國記者是美國 time 雜誌和其他像 Life 這樣的媒體特派員. 他在中國從 1939 待到 1945. 我為啥說這兩本書很有趣呢?
第一, Vladimirov 因為是國際共產的特別代表, 在如此特殊的身分下, 他對中共內部有很深刻的觀察. 觀察的結果是, 中國共產黨很糟糕, 罪魁禍首就是毛澤東. White 是 time 雜誌的特派員. 他長期待在重慶觀察國民政府. 雖說他很親共. 但是他還是極力想保持他的中立立場. 但是無論他多用力, 他對國民政府的觀察和 Vladimirov 對中共的觀察幾乎如出一轍. 國民政府很糟糕, 罪魁禍首是蔣中正.
第二, 他們兩人對他們所觀察的對象在深刻表示厭惡後. Vladimirov 認為中國正在向著內戰前進, 而且他親眼看到中共是如何用力朝著這個方向前進. White 也認為中國戰後一定會有革命, 也就是內戰. 他認為內戰的無法避免, 都是因為國民政府的無能.
第三, 這兩本書一本是美國人的觀察, 另一本是俄國人的觀察. 這是很有趣的. 因為俄國人對中共的所作所為看的清清楚楚, 而美國人卻始終對共產黨存著一絲偏好. 這個美國人對國民政府當時的無力看的非常清楚. Vladimirov 卻在他的日記裡提到中共是如何的利用 White 左傾的態度來達成自己的目標. Vladimirov 認為中共當時是有奶的就是娘. 他的認知和當時美國大使館的一部分人是相同的.
第四, White 對於國民政府所給的資料, 處處存疑. 他似乎對中共的資料存疑較少. 而且, 在他的回憶錄裡, 他雖然坦承他的一大堆資料都是周恩來給的, 他對之仍然信之少疑. 只要是國民政府提到的大戰, 他通通一概認為是誇大不實. 但是他在 thunder out of china 裡, 寫共軍的地方卻是榮褒過甚.
第五, Vlaidmirov 對於共產主義似乎有很深度的研究. 雖說我對他一再批評中共已經把毛澤東當成神很好玩. 因為他似乎也早已是列寧主義的信徒了, 和中共成為毛的信徒實在沒啥兩樣. 但是之後他不僅僅是引列寧的話, 他還引恩格斯的節錄. 都很恰如其分. 很有趣.
第六, Vladimirov 和 White 分別批評中共和國民政府的用詞裡, 幾乎有很多都可以互換著用... 也就是說, Vladimirov 批評中共的用語和 White 評擊國民政府的辭彙很像. 譬如說, 他們分別說中共和國民政府消極抗日. 他們都認為他們所觀察的主要對象都企圖誤導外國人.
雖說 Vladimirov diaries 被認為是蘇聯的宣傳手段, 但是我覺得是一本寶貴的書. 我是很希望有一天他的原本可以真正的出現! 他對於他所親眼目睹的東西有很深刻的描述. 他本人雖說對於共產黨有一種教徒式的信仰, 但是對於分析中共的政治和軍事不盲目. 我還沒有看完 White 的書. 雖然如此, 我覺得他親身所見的資料是非常珍貴的. 他的文筆流暢易懂, 讀起來很舒服. 但是我對他非親身經歷的描述抱持著疑問的態度. 因為在我看來, 他太親共了. 他對共產黨的那份情感在我看是深透了. 他不斷的提到國民政府的消極抗日, 並對其大為不滿. 甚至認為在武漢陷落後, 中國戰場上就再沒有啥巨大衝突了. 其他的小衝突, 都是日軍拿國軍來訓練自己的軍隊用的. 這在我看來是很大的問題. 他在 thunder out of china 裡把幾乎所有的國民政府人員通通罵的狗血淋頭. 這一方面, 我覺得很具有研究的價值. 到底有多少真的, 有多少假的, 有多少是他聽人家說的, 有多少是他自己看到的? 有沒有其他的佐證, 其他人是怎麼說的. 我覺得因該要仔細的就他的書去做研究.
在看完 Vladimirov's diaries 後, 更加強我對中共資料的不信任. 這是一件可怕的事情! 試想, 在日記裡, Vladimirov 提到說 White 把中共那個不正確的數字寫到 Life 雜誌上, 結果其他的各大報紙也跟進... 像中共這樣隨便造假, 我覺得真是可怕! 而要如何從他的資料裡得到真實的數據, 恐怕需要大量的參考對照才有可能! 這不是一個人所能做的... 但是這應該也不是沒以人或著團體在研究... 還得大量的參考日本資料和蘇聯資料才行... 其實, 還有韓國共產黨和日本共產黨的資料...
第一, Vladimirov 因為是國際共產的特別代表, 在如此特殊的身分下, 他對中共內部有很深刻的觀察. 觀察的結果是, 中國共產黨很糟糕, 罪魁禍首就是毛澤東. White 是 time 雜誌的特派員. 他長期待在重慶觀察國民政府. 雖說他很親共. 但是他還是極力想保持他的中立立場. 但是無論他多用力, 他對國民政府的觀察和 Vladimirov 對中共的觀察幾乎如出一轍. 國民政府很糟糕, 罪魁禍首是蔣中正.
第二, 他們兩人對他們所觀察的對象在深刻表示厭惡後. Vladimirov 認為中國正在向著內戰前進, 而且他親眼看到中共是如何用力朝著這個方向前進. White 也認為中國戰後一定會有革命, 也就是內戰. 他認為內戰的無法避免, 都是因為國民政府的無能.
第三, 這兩本書一本是美國人的觀察, 另一本是俄國人的觀察. 這是很有趣的. 因為俄國人對中共的所作所為看的清清楚楚, 而美國人卻始終對共產黨存著一絲偏好. 這個美國人對國民政府當時的無力看的非常清楚. Vladimirov 卻在他的日記裡提到中共是如何的利用 White 左傾的態度來達成自己的目標. Vladimirov 認為中共當時是有奶的就是娘. 他的認知和當時美國大使館的一部分人是相同的.
第四, White 對於國民政府所給的資料, 處處存疑. 他似乎對中共的資料存疑較少. 而且, 在他的回憶錄裡, 他雖然坦承他的一大堆資料都是周恩來給的, 他對之仍然信之少疑. 只要是國民政府提到的大戰, 他通通一概認為是誇大不實. 但是他在 thunder out of china 裡, 寫共軍的地方卻是榮褒過甚.
第五, Vlaidmirov 對於共產主義似乎有很深度的研究. 雖說我對他一再批評中共已經把毛澤東當成神很好玩. 因為他似乎也早已是列寧主義的信徒了, 和中共成為毛的信徒實在沒啥兩樣. 但是之後他不僅僅是引列寧的話, 他還引恩格斯的節錄. 都很恰如其分. 很有趣.
第六, Vladimirov 和 White 分別批評中共和國民政府的用詞裡, 幾乎有很多都可以互換著用... 也就是說, Vladimirov 批評中共的用語和 White 評擊國民政府的辭彙很像. 譬如說, 他們分別說中共和國民政府消極抗日. 他們都認為他們所觀察的主要對象都企圖誤導外國人.
雖說 Vladimirov diaries 被認為是蘇聯的宣傳手段, 但是我覺得是一本寶貴的書. 我是很希望有一天他的原本可以真正的出現! 他對於他所親眼目睹的東西有很深刻的描述. 他本人雖說對於共產黨有一種教徒式的信仰, 但是對於分析中共的政治和軍事不盲目. 我還沒有看完 White 的書. 雖然如此, 我覺得他親身所見的資料是非常珍貴的. 他的文筆流暢易懂, 讀起來很舒服. 但是我對他非親身經歷的描述抱持著疑問的態度. 因為在我看來, 他太親共了. 他對共產黨的那份情感在我看是深透了. 他不斷的提到國民政府的消極抗日, 並對其大為不滿. 甚至認為在武漢陷落後, 中國戰場上就再沒有啥巨大衝突了. 其他的小衝突, 都是日軍拿國軍來訓練自己的軍隊用的. 這在我看來是很大的問題. 他在 thunder out of china 裡把幾乎所有的國民政府人員通通罵的狗血淋頭. 這一方面, 我覺得很具有研究的價值. 到底有多少真的, 有多少假的, 有多少是他聽人家說的, 有多少是他自己看到的? 有沒有其他的佐證, 其他人是怎麼說的. 我覺得因該要仔細的就他的書去做研究.
在看完 Vladimirov's diaries 後, 更加強我對中共資料的不信任. 這是一件可怕的事情! 試想, 在日記裡, Vladimirov 提到說 White 把中共那個不正確的數字寫到 Life 雜誌上, 結果其他的各大報紙也跟進... 像中共這樣隨便造假, 我覺得真是可怕! 而要如何從他的資料裡得到真實的數據, 恐怕需要大量的參考對照才有可能! 這不是一個人所能做的... 但是這應該也不是沒以人或著團體在研究... 還得大量的參考日本資料和蘇聯資料才行... 其實, 還有韓國共產黨和日本共產黨的資料...
Thursday, February 05, 2009
歷史二
最近一直在看有關中國二戰的東西. 看的相關書籍都是屬於傳記或回憶錄, 譬如說魏德邁報告, 馬歇爾傳記, T 懷特的回憶錄, Vladimirov 的延安日記, 還有前天才借到的陳納德回憶錄. 另外直接和戰爭有關的有, 中國抗日戰爭大畫史, 蔣緯國等人主持的紀錄片一寸河山一寸血, 再加上一些辛灝年的影片. 還有一個很有趣的是日本的紀錄片, 在 youtube 上!
這些都很有趣. 目前是希望可以由中國抗日戰爭大畫史的紀錄畫出一個時間表. 因為我對於這八年的紀錄很有興趣. 尤其是對國軍的紀錄. 希望可以由此有一個更清晰的輪廓, 至於裡面細節上的對錯, 則可以一邊看其他的紀錄, 一邊對照. 必要的時候可以修正. 對共黨的紀錄也有興趣. 但是我對於共黨的紀錄是非常沒有信心! 尤其現在正在看 Vladimirov 的日記... 不過有一點很好玩, 我一開始以為這本日記是純粹在罵毛澤東的. 但是在我看來, 他更是在笑美國... 因為這個記者對毛的看法和 john S. Service 的看法很像...
我現在面臨的無力感卻不是說有太多的資料. 而是我很希望可以看到很專業的相關研究... 無論是任何文字的相關資料. 另一方面也很希望有人可以予以指導, 也很希望有人可以討論... 網上是無論如何無法進行類似的討論的...
這些都很有趣. 目前是希望可以由中國抗日戰爭大畫史的紀錄畫出一個時間表. 因為我對於這八年的紀錄很有興趣. 尤其是對國軍的紀錄. 希望可以由此有一個更清晰的輪廓, 至於裡面細節上的對錯, 則可以一邊看其他的紀錄, 一邊對照. 必要的時候可以修正. 對共黨的紀錄也有興趣. 但是我對於共黨的紀錄是非常沒有信心! 尤其現在正在看 Vladimirov 的日記... 不過有一點很好玩, 我一開始以為這本日記是純粹在罵毛澤東的. 但是在我看來, 他更是在笑美國... 因為這個記者對毛的看法和 john S. Service 的看法很像...
我現在面臨的無力感卻不是說有太多的資料. 而是我很希望可以看到很專業的相關研究... 無論是任何文字的相關資料. 另一方面也很希望有人可以予以指導, 也很希望有人可以討論... 網上是無論如何無法進行類似的討論的...
Monday, January 05, 2009
grand strategy
Three and a half centuries before Christ, the great Athenian orator Demosthenes chided the people of his city, soon to be conquered by Macedon, for following a day-to-day policy of expediency. His words are relevant to our own case:
Shame on you Athenians for not wishing to understand that in war one must not allow oneself to be at the command of the events. You Athenians are the strongest of all the Greeks in ships, cavalry, and revenue. But you don't make the best of them. You make war like a barbarian when he wrestles-if he suffers a blow, he immediately puts his hand to it. If he is struck again, he puts his hand there. But he has not the skill to evade his antagonist, nor does he think of parrying the blow. You likewise, if you hear that Philip has attacked the Chaeronea, you send help there. If he is at Thermopylae, you run there. If he turns aside, you follow him to right or left as if you were acting on his orders. Never a fixed plan, never any precautions. You wait for bad news before you act.
----except from Wedemeyer Reports! by Albert C. Wedemeyer
Shame on you Athenians for not wishing to understand that in war one must not allow oneself to be at the command of the events. You Athenians are the strongest of all the Greeks in ships, cavalry, and revenue. But you don't make the best of them. You make war like a barbarian when he wrestles-if he suffers a blow, he immediately puts his hand to it. If he is struck again, he puts his hand there. But he has not the skill to evade his antagonist, nor does he think of parrying the blow. You likewise, if you hear that Philip has attacked the Chaeronea, you send help there. If he is at Thermopylae, you run there. If he turns aside, you follow him to right or left as if you were acting on his orders. Never a fixed plan, never any precautions. You wait for bad news before you act.
----except from Wedemeyer Reports! by Albert C. Wedemeyer
Monday, December 29, 2008
platformer with combat in TP action game
platforming in 3D game is an extremely difficult thing, in my opinion. a game without platformer leaves designers very easy at level design. because gamers can be given one or a certain number of finely crafted path. there are certain elements could be largely ignored, for example, the roof of a building can just be left undone. although there're still a lot of players tried to use a limited platforming ability provided by the games they are playing.
but this is not what i want to talk about though. i want to talk about how to combine platformer with combat. the most basic form of the combination i can remember is Mario's jump on the green turtles, or mushrooms. the most wonderful example i have witnessed was prince of persia sand of time series. it was triumphed in warrior within and perfected in the two thrones. with that in mind, i want to ask. how do i create a game like Oni, with Oni's hand to hand combat and BoD's weapon combat, with a platformer like PoP SoT series? so basically, i am asking how do i have a game with great platformer, great and detailed melee combat, and how do i combine both of them?
there are two main situations for players to explore in action games. one is navigation, the other one is combat. why do i want to combine platformer with combat? one of the reasons is that i am so very excited by PoP SoT series. an action game without platformer was boring. you are just merely going from one level to another. the combat will eventually wear thin and repetitive. it is normal to expect your game might have a cult following, but not mass market product. this might not be a bad thing, however, most action games with before mentioned level design pattern was usually bad. because most combat designed was usually sad. combining platformer and combat was a good way to bring variety to the games, even though one of the elements might be too simple. platformer might even be more important than combat. since it keeps player moving without another mind bothering along side of him.
second reason for combining platformer with combat was because it gives different players a chance to explore same situations in different manners. some people like to fight one on one, pure fighting. the other people might like to running around, find a chance not to fight. thus, open a great door for a feeling for the power of coice. third, it also gives a chance for designers to really develope few different characters with different fighting style. the example i could come up with is neo and morpheus in matrix. when neo faced morpheos in a virtual dojo, two totally different style was so obvious, but also very interesting.
there's a very important issue i wish to see solved. that's the camera. i want a realistic fighting mechanics. by integrated platformer into melee mechanics, i am afraid of characters went out of the camera. and since i wish for a camera style like Oni throughout most of the game, i wonder how do i make a wall jump without displacing camera on the far side of room...
by jolly, this is just a writing to distract myself from wantom destruction. i do not see any future of any improvements on the fighting action games at all. since complicated control is always belonged to a handful of players...
but this is not what i want to talk about though. i want to talk about how to combine platformer with combat. the most basic form of the combination i can remember is Mario's jump on the green turtles, or mushrooms. the most wonderful example i have witnessed was prince of persia sand of time series. it was triumphed in warrior within and perfected in the two thrones. with that in mind, i want to ask. how do i create a game like Oni, with Oni's hand to hand combat and BoD's weapon combat, with a platformer like PoP SoT series? so basically, i am asking how do i have a game with great platformer, great and detailed melee combat, and how do i combine both of them?
there are two main situations for players to explore in action games. one is navigation, the other one is combat. why do i want to combine platformer with combat? one of the reasons is that i am so very excited by PoP SoT series. an action game without platformer was boring. you are just merely going from one level to another. the combat will eventually wear thin and repetitive. it is normal to expect your game might have a cult following, but not mass market product. this might not be a bad thing, however, most action games with before mentioned level design pattern was usually bad. because most combat designed was usually sad. combining platformer and combat was a good way to bring variety to the games, even though one of the elements might be too simple. platformer might even be more important than combat. since it keeps player moving without another mind bothering along side of him.
second reason for combining platformer with combat was because it gives different players a chance to explore same situations in different manners. some people like to fight one on one, pure fighting. the other people might like to running around, find a chance not to fight. thus, open a great door for a feeling for the power of coice. third, it also gives a chance for designers to really develope few different characters with different fighting style. the example i could come up with is neo and morpheus in matrix. when neo faced morpheos in a virtual dojo, two totally different style was so obvious, but also very interesting.
there's a very important issue i wish to see solved. that's the camera. i want a realistic fighting mechanics. by integrated platformer into melee mechanics, i am afraid of characters went out of the camera. and since i wish for a camera style like Oni throughout most of the game, i wonder how do i make a wall jump without displacing camera on the far side of room...
by jolly, this is just a writing to distract myself from wantom destruction. i do not see any future of any improvements on the fighting action games at all. since complicated control is always belonged to a handful of players...
你是啥南北!?
我覺得蠻有趣的. 我記得有這麼一個對話, 出處忘了.
北魏的魏孝文帝仰慕中華文化. 凡事都要說南朝的好. 有一回, 又和他的大臣在說, 南朝多好多好.
他的大臣氣死了, 說: "南朝好, 南朝一年換一帝, 咱們幾十年才一帝."
看來, 那時的南朝就已經民主化了...LOL!!
北魏的魏孝文帝仰慕中華文化. 凡事都要說南朝的好. 有一回, 又和他的大臣在說, 南朝多好多好.
他的大臣氣死了, 說: "南朝好, 南朝一年換一帝, 咱們幾十年才一帝."
看來, 那時的南朝就已經民主化了...LOL!!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
first thoughts on fighting mechanics for TP actioin games
i like blade of darkness' fighting mechanics. It is the most complete design for weapon combat on pc.
i love Oni's hand to hand combat mechanics. It is the best fighting mechanics for TP action adventure games on PC.
i will not stress on the things i love in both games. i will however, stress on the things i wish to have for both games with bits of elements from other games that i wish to be included in the future TP action adventure game.
Blade of darkness doesn't have strafes, which is a huge turn off for many gamers. it could even count as one of the reasons this game failed. the other major reason is because of lacking support for online competition. for me, the decision of no strafe was horrible to me as well. but after watching a match in Rune, i felt i could guess for the reason behind it. my thoughts was that Blade of darkness require higher degree on combos. designers purposely want the fight to be locked on business, so the combo enhanced combat mechanics can then fly. the fighting is suppose to be more meticulous and methodical. but lacking strafe was still horrible for navigating through the corridors. Blade of darkness did not have a grabbing combo and the defense mechanics was a bit lacking, especially when there's no shield. i like the escape mechanics in the game, i think it's a great idea. but need to be improved on maybe variety and precision.
Oni has strafes. but it did not have hard locking on system. it did have a very hard to notice soft lock on system, which automatically fired up when a fight mechanics was issued. Oni featured at least 4 grabbing moves. however, the designers find a way to stop players' abusing the ability. instead let AI cheats, i wish to bump up AI and make evasive moves available. some of the combos in Oni were not realistic enough. i wish for more realistic fighting. we could add a ground grappling system. i wish the evasive movements could be integrated into fighting mechanics.
i also wish to mixed bod with a defensive mechanics like something in the mount and blade. i really loved bushido blade series. what i would love have bushido's elements transfered to BoD is the instant death system, weapons contact reaction system, and body parts hurt system.
i think it's best to have both hard and soft lock on system. each lock on system, i will try to deesign two different fighting mchanics. for instance, the soft lock on system will have less combos, much much less chance for instant kills, but it's best to fight multiple enemies by using platform abilities. with hard locking on system, the combo will be complete, players will have more control over the instant kills, evasive movements are available. but it's best used against one or two enemies, preferable, boss, since switching target will be a huge hassle.
i love Oni's hand to hand combat mechanics. It is the best fighting mechanics for TP action adventure games on PC.
i will not stress on the things i love in both games. i will however, stress on the things i wish to have for both games with bits of elements from other games that i wish to be included in the future TP action adventure game.
Blade of darkness doesn't have strafes, which is a huge turn off for many gamers. it could even count as one of the reasons this game failed. the other major reason is because of lacking support for online competition. for me, the decision of no strafe was horrible to me as well. but after watching a match in Rune, i felt i could guess for the reason behind it. my thoughts was that Blade of darkness require higher degree on combos. designers purposely want the fight to be locked on business, so the combo enhanced combat mechanics can then fly. the fighting is suppose to be more meticulous and methodical. but lacking strafe was still horrible for navigating through the corridors. Blade of darkness did not have a grabbing combo and the defense mechanics was a bit lacking, especially when there's no shield. i like the escape mechanics in the game, i think it's a great idea. but need to be improved on maybe variety and precision.
Oni has strafes. but it did not have hard locking on system. it did have a very hard to notice soft lock on system, which automatically fired up when a fight mechanics was issued. Oni featured at least 4 grabbing moves. however, the designers find a way to stop players' abusing the ability. instead let AI cheats, i wish to bump up AI and make evasive moves available. some of the combos in Oni were not realistic enough. i wish for more realistic fighting. we could add a ground grappling system. i wish the evasive movements could be integrated into fighting mechanics.
i also wish to mixed bod with a defensive mechanics like something in the mount and blade. i really loved bushido blade series. what i would love have bushido's elements transfered to BoD is the instant death system, weapons contact reaction system, and body parts hurt system.
i think it's best to have both hard and soft lock on system. each lock on system, i will try to deesign two different fighting mchanics. for instance, the soft lock on system will have less combos, much much less chance for instant kills, but it's best to fight multiple enemies by using platform abilities. with hard locking on system, the combo will be complete, players will have more control over the instant kills, evasive movements are available. but it's best used against one or two enemies, preferable, boss, since switching target will be a huge hassle.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
my idea of platforming in TP action games
platforming in third person action games should focus on how designers create an engine for competitive platforming. it should require skills from players as well as level designs creativity from the game developers.
the first thing i think should be solved is camera issue though. my idea of ideal camera placement in third person action games is nailed above the back of the character i am playing. but it does have a few problems. first, it minimizes player's estimation for jump distance. second, it sometimes got blocked by the objects between camera and the character; or in the case of cornering, camera could stocked at a weird angle, which then interfered with the gameplay. although second problem was solved in Rune as far as i am concerned. there're still many developers did not use that option. so i say, use something like Rune, please... for the first problems, i'd think that make sure the physics in the game feel right; and make hanging in the air, like gliding an option. in addition to this two, i'd really like to request a weird option, which is design as many camera options as possible. i loved king's quest mask of eternity for a free form camera control although many cried against it. but i loved it. mostly, i'd like to express the wish for good numbers of camera options in the game. for, it's the soul of third person aciton game in my opinion.
Oni was an amazing game. i always loved the quote from avault's Oni review,
"Even a partial list of her moves sounds like a TV commercial for Ginsu knives: “She hits, kicks, runs, rolls, jumps, slides and flips with the greatest of ease! The amazing Konoko!”(Review by: David Laprad) "
and yes, Oni can do all these with never before seen grace, and none can compared to her even today. the problem for Oni was not that she's lacking the movements. the problem for Oni was that there's no meaning for Oni's most of her movements. what i am saying is that you could play through most of the level without using many of the amazingly fluid platformer animations. And in today's standards, lacking wallrun, wall jump, and hanging onto the edge of walls were a big let down also. whatever function game designers were creating for the character, he better assign meanings to it. or otherwise, it got wasted! the jump animation in the game was a bit weird to me too. there seemed to be a gliding senstaion when Oni jumped, which was out of place in terms of physics in the game. at least to me personally, since there're some people who don't feel a thing. Oni did not use a camera like Rune, it used similar but totally different. Rune's camera was not obtrusive because, when cornered, the character can be seen through. Bungie said, no, we don't want that. so they went and designed an environment that when Oni was cornering, players can see through the wall and see Oni... lol
prince of persia SoT series was a prime example of platformer games. the smoothness of doing all the gymastic stuff with the prince was amazing. and since it's a platformer first, combat second, there's almost no waste in prince's gymastic talents. however, there's not much room for competitive multiplayer either. the camera for PC was not very consistent. it seemed to me that some of the platformer manuever, like jump over a long break, was predetermined. players cannot control how far, how strong they are going to jump. the level design was quite linear. however, the best thing in terms of any platforming games was the Dahoka chase. although it does suffer some camera inconsistency, it confirms myself that competitive platforming will be an absolute blast. but camera issue will definetly need to be addressed. and how much player's control over some aspect of platformer game mechanics need to be addressed too.
now let's talk about psychonauts. i loved psychonauts. the camera in the game was quite wonderful until the last level, which was terrible for that type of camera... it has an glide mechanics, which add insurance to the success of a jump. however, there's still not much skill involved. at least that's what i remembered. the feeling of physics was great. which helps in many places. it's a bit different from prince of persia. Prince of Persia's level design was very tight, and linear. but Psychonuats' level design was open and not as linear.
all the games mentioned above, their designers created their platform engine according to their needs, except for Oni, they just created for fun mostly, i felt... now, i haven't tried assassin's creed or mirror's edge. personally, i am interested in mirror's edge right now. because i am wondering what kind competitive platforming do they have? i always felt that with camera placed above my character's back would be impossible to do anything like PoP. However, now i see that i should brainstorm for the new stuff rather than just thinking about PoP. my idea of competitive platforming was from 2D platforming. i remembered that for some jumps, you really need skill to perform in rockman and metroid series. for example, some people could wall jump to the places i could not and the time run trials...etc.
to sum up from what i really said above and questions for further thinking:
the first thing i think should be solved is camera issue though. my idea of ideal camera placement in third person action games is nailed above the back of the character i am playing. but it does have a few problems. first, it minimizes player's estimation for jump distance. second, it sometimes got blocked by the objects between camera and the character; or in the case of cornering, camera could stocked at a weird angle, which then interfered with the gameplay. although second problem was solved in Rune as far as i am concerned. there're still many developers did not use that option. so i say, use something like Rune, please... for the first problems, i'd think that make sure the physics in the game feel right; and make hanging in the air, like gliding an option. in addition to this two, i'd really like to request a weird option, which is design as many camera options as possible. i loved king's quest mask of eternity for a free form camera control although many cried against it. but i loved it. mostly, i'd like to express the wish for good numbers of camera options in the game. for, it's the soul of third person aciton game in my opinion.
Oni was an amazing game. i always loved the quote from avault's Oni review,
"Even a partial list of her moves sounds like a TV commercial for Ginsu knives: “She hits, kicks, runs, rolls, jumps, slides and flips with the greatest of ease! The amazing Konoko!”(Review by: David Laprad) "
and yes, Oni can do all these with never before seen grace, and none can compared to her even today. the problem for Oni was not that she's lacking the movements. the problem for Oni was that there's no meaning for Oni's most of her movements. what i am saying is that you could play through most of the level without using many of the amazingly fluid platformer animations. And in today's standards, lacking wallrun, wall jump, and hanging onto the edge of walls were a big let down also. whatever function game designers were creating for the character, he better assign meanings to it. or otherwise, it got wasted! the jump animation in the game was a bit weird to me too. there seemed to be a gliding senstaion when Oni jumped, which was out of place in terms of physics in the game. at least to me personally, since there're some people who don't feel a thing. Oni did not use a camera like Rune, it used similar but totally different. Rune's camera was not obtrusive because, when cornered, the character can be seen through. Bungie said, no, we don't want that. so they went and designed an environment that when Oni was cornering, players can see through the wall and see Oni... lol
prince of persia SoT series was a prime example of platformer games. the smoothness of doing all the gymastic stuff with the prince was amazing. and since it's a platformer first, combat second, there's almost no waste in prince's gymastic talents. however, there's not much room for competitive multiplayer either. the camera for PC was not very consistent. it seemed to me that some of the platformer manuever, like jump over a long break, was predetermined. players cannot control how far, how strong they are going to jump. the level design was quite linear. however, the best thing in terms of any platforming games was the Dahoka chase. although it does suffer some camera inconsistency, it confirms myself that competitive platforming will be an absolute blast. but camera issue will definetly need to be addressed. and how much player's control over some aspect of platformer game mechanics need to be addressed too.
now let's talk about psychonauts. i loved psychonauts. the camera in the game was quite wonderful until the last level, which was terrible for that type of camera... it has an glide mechanics, which add insurance to the success of a jump. however, there's still not much skill involved. at least that's what i remembered. the feeling of physics was great. which helps in many places. it's a bit different from prince of persia. Prince of Persia's level design was very tight, and linear. but Psychonuats' level design was open and not as linear.
all the games mentioned above, their designers created their platform engine according to their needs, except for Oni, they just created for fun mostly, i felt... now, i haven't tried assassin's creed or mirror's edge. personally, i am interested in mirror's edge right now. because i am wondering what kind competitive platforming do they have? i always felt that with camera placed above my character's back would be impossible to do anything like PoP. However, now i see that i should brainstorm for the new stuff rather than just thinking about PoP. my idea of competitive platforming was from 2D platforming. i remembered that for some jumps, you really need skill to perform in rockman and metroid series. for example, some people could wall jump to the places i could not and the time run trials...etc.
to sum up from what i really said above and questions for further thinking:
- i would like a game character do all the stuff like Oni with new tricks as well.
- i would like a game designed around those tricks Oni had plus new tricks too.
- the camera is mighty important, i would love to have as many options for it as possible.
- how much should be controlled by the designers in terms of platofrm manueverablity?
- should competitive platforming be designed in an open environment or all following a linear path?
- what modes should be in the competitive platforming? what's the reward? and what should be considered skills in such competition?
Tp action game brainstorming
i love third person action games. to me, good action games should always have two satisfying game mechanics, one is melee combat, the other one is platformer. i think every gamer would always dreamed what his dream game would be. I am no exceptions.
i love Prince of Persia SOT series, Oni, Blade of Darkness Severance, bushido blade series, and Psychonauts. so i keep thinking how to combine all of the great elements in those games. I know i need to try to convince other people so i could start my project. (that is...in my dreams...) because doing a third person action game focused primariy on melee combat is a dangerous thing. Oni and Bod Severance were two prime example of it. The market share for this type of games is very limited. it seemed that only the hardcore of the hardcore would be willing to invest time and energy to play through a game, in which the only meaningful gameplay was one repetitive melee combat after another. However, i know there're people who'd die to play this kind games. so what i'd propose to solve the profit problem for this kind game is to integrate melee combat and platformer together. but instead focusing on single player mode, we focusing on multiplayer mode. I mean, console fighting games went online, sports game like madden went online, racing games went online. why not creating a engine to integrate both platformer and melee combat online?
what i have in mind is a very hardcore melee combat mechanics. it is a combination of weapon and hand to hand, or weapon against empty handed combat system. it should be much more detailed and realistic in both departments than in Oni, or BoD Severance. in addition, by adding platformer, i hope to open a numerous modes of online plays, with some integrated with the combat engine. which could include time trials, 2 to 8 people racing, or mario cart style of platforemer racing...etc. i wish to hone the online multipayler to the perfection, but let the players, or modders using both melee engine and platformer engine to create their own stories. The game will be released with simplest game structure, something like Mount and Blades, with level design tools. and for the add-ons, it's not just new single players campaign, or story, it may not even have that. there would be new stuffs modders and gamers could utilize to create their levels, new skins, new movements, new formations for armies, maybe to improve upon the dialogue systems, and many other things. by publishing adds on, it's a service to a huge community. but also a chance to expand our multiplayer experience.
but of course, it's just never to happen ideas...:p
i love Prince of Persia SOT series, Oni, Blade of Darkness Severance, bushido blade series, and Psychonauts. so i keep thinking how to combine all of the great elements in those games. I know i need to try to convince other people so i could start my project. (that is...in my dreams...) because doing a third person action game focused primariy on melee combat is a dangerous thing. Oni and Bod Severance were two prime example of it. The market share for this type of games is very limited. it seemed that only the hardcore of the hardcore would be willing to invest time and energy to play through a game, in which the only meaningful gameplay was one repetitive melee combat after another. However, i know there're people who'd die to play this kind games. so what i'd propose to solve the profit problem for this kind game is to integrate melee combat and platformer together. but instead focusing on single player mode, we focusing on multiplayer mode. I mean, console fighting games went online, sports game like madden went online, racing games went online. why not creating a engine to integrate both platformer and melee combat online?
what i have in mind is a very hardcore melee combat mechanics. it is a combination of weapon and hand to hand, or weapon against empty handed combat system. it should be much more detailed and realistic in both departments than in Oni, or BoD Severance. in addition, by adding platformer, i hope to open a numerous modes of online plays, with some integrated with the combat engine. which could include time trials, 2 to 8 people racing, or mario cart style of platforemer racing...etc. i wish to hone the online multipayler to the perfection, but let the players, or modders using both melee engine and platformer engine to create their own stories. The game will be released with simplest game structure, something like Mount and Blades, with level design tools. and for the add-ons, it's not just new single players campaign, or story, it may not even have that. there would be new stuffs modders and gamers could utilize to create their levels, new skins, new movements, new formations for armies, maybe to improve upon the dialogue systems, and many other things. by publishing adds on, it's a service to a huge community. but also a chance to expand our multiplayer experience.
but of course, it's just never to happen ideas...:p
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
thinking of you
thinking of you.
illusion
for comfort.
but no more
than
illusion itself
think of you
like tomorrow
big smile flow through
the door
yellow
like old comfort picture
burn
yet desire for you to be
here
imagination with wild
amazement
bloom
to spring
hop and hop
and yes
till i drop
illusion
for comfort.
but no more
than
illusion itself
think of you
like tomorrow
big smile flow through
the door
yellow
like old comfort picture
burn
yet desire for you to be
here
imagination with wild
amazement
bloom
to spring
hop and hop
and yes
till i drop
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
boring trends in third Person Action game
i love third person action games. but i feel unease about the current trends of designing philosophy behind this genre.
The first game i bought was king's quest mask of eternity. It's a blend of adventure, RPG, and action genre. i was hooked since then. I played Oni, MDK, Rune, Heavy metal FAKK2, Blade of Darkness Severance, Max Payne series, Devil may cry, bushido blade series, Tenchu series, Outcast, Prince of Persia SOT series, Zelda Wind Waker, psychonauts, and many many more. I found each one of them was an exciting piece of work. i was very excited to look forward for new games to come. But i was disappointed gradually. Very disappointed nowadays even.
the reason for this is because, most of the TP action games went to one of the two directions, shooting or quicktime event. I loved melee and platform in TP action games. I don't hate shooting if designed well, like MDK. most of the TP games now revolved around shooting, not melee. it is degrading in my opinion. because 8 years ago, fighting in TP game was much more diverse and awesome. Oni and Blade of Darkness Severance were the prime example of melee combat excellent games. There are other hardcores would even point to Die by the Sword as a reference.
i'd like to venture a guess for why shooting is extremely popular among the game designers. It's a very easy mechanics to design compared to melee combat. there's not so much collision detection to sweat over. There's not as much animation to grudge about. although today's standard of shooting in games were already raised much higher than MDK. It seemed to me, the whole process still just came down to Person A shoot Person B, Person B react animation to where bullets supposed to register, animations of being shot was then activated. i don't see the need for collision detection. Even it does need to have Collision Detection, the amount of it was largely reduced compared to the real melee combat. And you even need to consider, what happend if the melee combat has multiple enemies. Collision Detection would be hell. animation would be a torture.
The quicktime event... le sigh. it must be one of the worst invention in video game history. From God of War's big battle to Resident Evil 4's wagging to escape situation. To me, the invention is invented to relieve game developers' brain cells. Of course, there's consideration for the gamers as well. But rather than saying it's for the gamers, Market share should be a bigger blame for it. As the video game emerging to become a huge profitable industry. the goal for any coporation is to increase profit. So, nintendo invented the wii, and other game companies, including Sony, microsoft, invented quicktime event to lure more people to gaming. no, nintendo invented Wii alright, others just recycled old stuff and mass produced it. what's quicktime event? as a player, you just randomly pressed buttoms according the queue on the TV screen. What's easier than this? It's also easier for the developers to pull off some dramatic and awesome looking sequences without messing with the control. However, games with quicktime events do not feel like playing anymore. because as players, they are not doing the action on the monitor which translated to mean that players are not playing in my opinion. They are merely like a well trained dog responding to the bell, which reminded them of lunches.
Talking about melee, which made me so sad. when we looked back 10 years ago. everybody is experimenting with their own ideas. from those years, Oni was born, BoD Severance and Rune were born. Heavy Metal FAKK2 was there. Bushido Blade series was out. even crazy as die by the sword attracted die hard fans everywhere. The combat, with hand or with weapon was getting more and more detailed. Some of the game, like Oni, bushido blade, and Blade of Darkness Severance were almost as good as any real fighting games on the market; even had a lot more potention in creating an exciting story line than any of the fighting games on the market. but they withered and died... now, we de-evolutioned into arcadish action games, like ninja gaiden, devil may cry, and god of war. i don't hate those games. i played two out of three from the list. but it's so different from Oni, blade of darkness, or bushido blade. even when the blood was flying like a raging volcanoe in ninja gaiden, i felt detached. i didnt feel empowered or involved when god of war groweled like female cat in Spring time. i cant' even mention about the quicktime event in god of war, it made no sense at all. it's a very sad decade when most of the game developers are trying to make movies rather than games. using quicktime as a device, i felt it's game designers who are playing gamers rather than gamers playing the game the designers made.
as a side note, i am more a pc gamer than console. i felt in this degrading trend for melee combat console was a huge factor. It is very sad and extremely annoying. But there's always a light shine through darkness. For me, it's the arrive of the Mount and Blades. I could almost felt through my hand when my opponent blocked my weapons! it's incredible!
The first game i bought was king's quest mask of eternity. It's a blend of adventure, RPG, and action genre. i was hooked since then. I played Oni, MDK, Rune, Heavy metal FAKK2, Blade of Darkness Severance, Max Payne series, Devil may cry, bushido blade series, Tenchu series, Outcast, Prince of Persia SOT series, Zelda Wind Waker, psychonauts, and many many more. I found each one of them was an exciting piece of work. i was very excited to look forward for new games to come. But i was disappointed gradually. Very disappointed nowadays even.
the reason for this is because, most of the TP action games went to one of the two directions, shooting or quicktime event. I loved melee and platform in TP action games. I don't hate shooting if designed well, like MDK. most of the TP games now revolved around shooting, not melee. it is degrading in my opinion. because 8 years ago, fighting in TP game was much more diverse and awesome. Oni and Blade of Darkness Severance were the prime example of melee combat excellent games. There are other hardcores would even point to Die by the Sword as a reference.
i'd like to venture a guess for why shooting is extremely popular among the game designers. It's a very easy mechanics to design compared to melee combat. there's not so much collision detection to sweat over. There's not as much animation to grudge about. although today's standard of shooting in games were already raised much higher than MDK. It seemed to me, the whole process still just came down to Person A shoot Person B, Person B react animation to where bullets supposed to register, animations of being shot was then activated. i don't see the need for collision detection. Even it does need to have Collision Detection, the amount of it was largely reduced compared to the real melee combat. And you even need to consider, what happend if the melee combat has multiple enemies. Collision Detection would be hell. animation would be a torture.
The quicktime event... le sigh. it must be one of the worst invention in video game history. From God of War's big battle to Resident Evil 4's wagging to escape situation. To me, the invention is invented to relieve game developers' brain cells. Of course, there's consideration for the gamers as well. But rather than saying it's for the gamers, Market share should be a bigger blame for it. As the video game emerging to become a huge profitable industry. the goal for any coporation is to increase profit. So, nintendo invented the wii, and other game companies, including Sony, microsoft, invented quicktime event to lure more people to gaming. no, nintendo invented Wii alright, others just recycled old stuff and mass produced it. what's quicktime event? as a player, you just randomly pressed buttoms according the queue on the TV screen. What's easier than this? It's also easier for the developers to pull off some dramatic and awesome looking sequences without messing with the control. However, games with quicktime events do not feel like playing anymore. because as players, they are not doing the action on the monitor which translated to mean that players are not playing in my opinion. They are merely like a well trained dog responding to the bell, which reminded them of lunches.
Talking about melee, which made me so sad. when we looked back 10 years ago. everybody is experimenting with their own ideas. from those years, Oni was born, BoD Severance and Rune were born. Heavy Metal FAKK2 was there. Bushido Blade series was out. even crazy as die by the sword attracted die hard fans everywhere. The combat, with hand or with weapon was getting more and more detailed. Some of the game, like Oni, bushido blade, and Blade of Darkness Severance were almost as good as any real fighting games on the market; even had a lot more potention in creating an exciting story line than any of the fighting games on the market. but they withered and died... now, we de-evolutioned into arcadish action games, like ninja gaiden, devil may cry, and god of war. i don't hate those games. i played two out of three from the list. but it's so different from Oni, blade of darkness, or bushido blade. even when the blood was flying like a raging volcanoe in ninja gaiden, i felt detached. i didnt feel empowered or involved when god of war groweled like female cat in Spring time. i cant' even mention about the quicktime event in god of war, it made no sense at all. it's a very sad decade when most of the game developers are trying to make movies rather than games. using quicktime as a device, i felt it's game designers who are playing gamers rather than gamers playing the game the designers made.
as a side note, i am more a pc gamer than console. i felt in this degrading trend for melee combat console was a huge factor. It is very sad and extremely annoying. But there's always a light shine through darkness. For me, it's the arrive of the Mount and Blades. I could almost felt through my hand when my opponent blocked my weapons! it's incredible!
Monday, December 15, 2008
random
i read a book about the big predators of the world, their roles in the ecologic realm, their present status in recent years, and the impact of their declination from nature. i read another book with the same attitude a while back, the monsters of god. it's an interesting topic. i wish to know about it more.
+++++++++++++++
i am not in a good state of mind lately. i could do something alright. but more and more annoyed i became. wished for a tender encounter. but of course, i hated that feeling. not really deserving it in any possible way. comparing with my mom, she's the one that need the utmost comfort. Not me. wished to take her up high, honor her. but the more i think i could not. cursing myself would at the same time cursed her. but how much i hate, despise, resent, look down upon myself. it's absolutely terrifying. now talking about it riled me up with hatred and evil intent. no, not really... that's another sad and funny part, i am too tired to do anything.
+++++++++++++++
i made a dumpling the second time last Sunday. i finally made a successful fillings this time. when i say successful, i meant there's a soup came out after you cooked the dumplings. i was quite happy. i am not really sure about the reason of the success though. my guess is that compared to the first time i made two weeks ago, the veggie-meat proportion of the fillings a lot more veggie this time around. yet, the fillings did not feel less meaty than two weeks ago. this is an interesting notion.
+++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++
i am not in a good state of mind lately. i could do something alright. but more and more annoyed i became. wished for a tender encounter. but of course, i hated that feeling. not really deserving it in any possible way. comparing with my mom, she's the one that need the utmost comfort. Not me. wished to take her up high, honor her. but the more i think i could not. cursing myself would at the same time cursed her. but how much i hate, despise, resent, look down upon myself. it's absolutely terrifying. now talking about it riled me up with hatred and evil intent. no, not really... that's another sad and funny part, i am too tired to do anything.
+++++++++++++++
i made a dumpling the second time last Sunday. i finally made a successful fillings this time. when i say successful, i meant there's a soup came out after you cooked the dumplings. i was quite happy. i am not really sure about the reason of the success though. my guess is that compared to the first time i made two weeks ago, the veggie-meat proportion of the fillings a lot more veggie this time around. yet, the fillings did not feel less meaty than two weeks ago. this is an interesting notion.
+++++++++++++++
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Quino's comics
When i was young, my mom brought me many books. For books was and still is the symbol of knowledge, knowledge of all kinds. She even brought me many picture books like comic strips from Tsai Chi Chung(蔡志忠). Few of them survived the journey when we moved to USA. When I got older, I became very fond of a series among those remaining picture books. It's called Mafalda. The author was an Argentina man, Quino is his pen name. Mafalda series was translated by San Mao(三毛). I was so fond of Mafalda, I searched internet for other things created by Quino. The result was a spectacular discovery! There are very few words in Quino's works, even less coversations, especially for the work outside of Mafalda. However, every picture brought something surprising and delightful view of the world. Quino wrote a lot of things with his pictures. Sometimes, it's about politics, sometimes, it's about humanity. No matte which subject, Quino found so many amusing ways to hone his ideas into his pcitures. I shall not describe them with the stupitidy of my pen. Here're a few of them to showcase Quino's great comics.
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