Road to work journal =]

Good day everyone. Once again I'm back for a new post however I haven't spoken about my route to obtaining a job in the games industry for a while now.

Especially since this is part of my course at University =P personally I've been pretty sick for the past week and now I've sort of lost hearing in my ears and I need to wait two weeks for them to get syringed! And I've had my friend Triona nag me to take medicine ¬ ¬ (Yes I'm taking them XD)

On other news, last week at University I presented my blog to my teacher Dave so he can see how things are going, and remarkably he really enjoyed it and thought it was very good. That actually pleased me a lot =]

However we did have a discussion based on me trying to find a job. However of course I want a job in the games industry but personally I want to develop my own business who create AAA titles for both home consoles & PC. Network games that include flash and applications for mobile phones such as the I-phone.

Tiga's logo's cool =]

So yeah you guys know what I want to do now and where I'd like to lead my life towards. So the company logo above. What's it about?....Well my teacher Dave, told me about this organisation who as it clearly states on the slogan....

'Represent the games industry' they are there to help game companies throughout the UK to aid them in the media, to get their voices heard and to even help in providing discounts to certain things like motion capture. 

This firm is brilliant and I've been checking out their website and straight on the main page the company provides you with a contact number for you to call them and since I am looking to form my own games business it's ideal.

That goes for all of you people who are looking to form your owns games company. It's a great website and you can at least know that there is help out there for the aid of opening your own firm.

Tiga are willing to contribute and help guide you to what you want to do. However that doesn't mean they'll do all the hard work for you. One thing I've been told, the factor behind creating a successful business isn't just having the money for funds etc....It's (YOU)

Right I'll quit with the whole motivational talk now and get back to the industry talk XD but you really need to make sure if you are looking to develop your own business as I am.

To research and learn about things that you don't already know and stay consistent with what you love and I'm sure at some point all that hard work you put in will come back to you in a positive way, may be it be the public, money, anything!

So yeah....Check out this site: http://www.tiga.org/Default.aspx Look into this, even if you aren't looking to open up a business at least you guys can gain a bit of insight on things related within the games industry =]

Now the whole thing about me wanting to develop my own business is great! I'm being ambitious and I have a goal that I want to reach.

However personally I think it'll be better for me to actually find a job in the industry first. It's far more realistic i feel for my current position, since then I can gain a far greater understanding on how games are created, experience and I'll have a good relation with people and possibly other game companies =] 

On other news! I purchased the latest Edge magazine and the front cover looks sweet! Like Candy sweet! It has Death Wing from Blizzards latest new soon to be released adaptation to World of Warcraft.

I provided you guys with the epic trailer and the editions you can purchase on earlier posts for thous of you following this blog =P

Awesome cover XD

This magazine is great and I purchase it, not just because my friend (Tank-XboxLive Gamertag) says so. Though it may do what other magazines do with reviews and previews of games.

Moreover it also brings in a lot of gaming culture and interesting articles such as PC gaming or interview's with people from the games companies so you can get a better insight but also!

Pages and pages full of useful information on companies that are looking for fresh new talent! In a previous post I was stating that I wanted to look for a job in London however all the companies seem to be out of London such as Rebellion located in Brighton.

Luckily this magazine had an article in companies based around London, that include (Sony Computer Entertainment) SCE London. Who made games such as Singstar and even PSN's own gamers social club 'PlayStation-Home.' Even though dudes just go around chasing after female avatars >__> Or even worse.....

Erm haha....Anyway, it gave me a better insight in the companies based around London. There are quite a lot such as Rockstar London and many more familiar names.

However don't just think I need to get into the big names! There are other companies as well that may be smaller but are just as great and could be a bit more easier to work for since they are smaller companies. 

I'm not saying that they are a crappier alternative alright ¬ ¬ I'm just saying be more open-minded and look and apply for what you have around you already.

Since you'll get a lot of experience and even though for myself I'd like to develop games for home game consoles such as the Xbox360, creating web games or titles for the PC is brilliant enough!

Co'mon Markus Persson!!! The dude that developed MineCraft has made over $500,000 and even his paypal account got canceled because he earned soo much over the game! Creating a game for the PC can fork you tons of riches! You could pretty much just live off the interest o_O

If you guys want to know more about it of course, you should look it up =] and perhaps even try it out yourself ;) http://www.minecraft.net/ (This dude just developed the game by home and I think if you have a great idea pursue it, do it by home and see where it leads. If it fails, do something else, keep it up and don't give up!)

So yeah back to what I was saying XD....I really should probably stop getting side tracked but meh...I speak my mind and I'm sure it's entertaining enough ^__^

A business will always start off small but it can also get bigger and way more successful and make a name for itself. Another example is a company that are hiring based in South Kensington who create web-games named Play-Fish. They did really well with certain titles such as  'Who has the biggest brain?' And then EA bought them!

Now they have one of the biggest/ richest game companies in the industry at their side! o_O

 http://www.playfish.com/?page=jobs 

Check this link out above for career opportunities with this business. There were many  other companies however that's for you guys to look into it. For myself to do apply to ;)

Alright so Edge Magazine! Remember it =] You guys should really check it out. Full of tons of brilliantly illustrated interesting articles, job listings and interviews. There's a lot to read and especially on packed up trips in Train to university (in my case!)


I'm off now people! I have a huge headache and I'm also looking to get back on the Xbox360 and play Black ops =P I <3 you all! Take care people ;)

BAN HAMMER!

Super sorry everyone for this extended late update. Last week has been filled with gaming goodness o_O From the record breaking Black Ops to Microsoft's new motion control play-toy 'Kinect.'

Gosh this put a dent in the bank balance ¬ ¬

Being a passionate hardcore gamer, seriously life is expensive o_O with the latest releases of games that are awesomesauce! You honestly can't help yourself to purchase the goods, dash back home and play your new title or toy (kinect =P)

Honestly the above picture, just that is probably over £500 worth of goods. It's time for saving not spending, so for this year I'm done buying video games. And I'll be saving my cash for 2011. 

Alright I won't be going totally nuts like that.

Oh yeah I've also had work and I've got a cold and now I can't hear very well from my right ear =[ I've recently purchased some medicine for it, so hopefully it'll help.

If it doesn't help by the end of this week, then I'll have to just go to the doctors and make an appointment for my ear to get syringed. (Its annoying since I use my right ear for my Xbox Live Headset, but aw wells)

One more other thing that occurred well only recently. I'm sure you guys guessed it from the title of this post! My Xbox live account got BANNED! TrickyAcid got put in the cell and was in total isolation. For guess how long.......

Only 24 hours! The ban occurred 15th of November 2010, so only this Monday and it ended on the 16th of November so on Tuesday.

It was a nice autumn day and the sun was out and the time was approximately 11am. So I was like ahh time to play some Black ops! ^__^ Looking all magical and happy. And honestly I'm a happy gamer =]

Just not on the PC and I don't have Long Orange hair. 

And then I turned on the Xbox360 using the Kinect and used the voice activation to sign in. Yes you can speak to the Kinect! I mean wow it's like soooo far out duuuude O_O Like wooooooow!........

Right anyways XD I signed into my TrickyAcid Xbox (LIVE) profile. And to my surprise an error message popped up saying. That my account has been suspended! I was outraged! The below picture will demonstraight! (It's not me some random dude but w/e...It fits in well!)

 

Sorry about not having a picture to show you guys, I was seriously surprised, pissed off, outraged!!! (yes i repeated the word!) But you guys get the idea hence why I searched for something similar to my own expression.

 Apparently I got banned for 1 day because my bio was too rude. I used a swear word, and Microsoft are totally against this. And of course I got K.O'd over the night with the Ban-Hammer. Looking down you guys can check out my bio. I've starred out the bad evil word XD Being professional here!=P

Bio:    I'm a hardcore gamer! Who was dropped down into the world of Xbox live! Huge fanboy for "Damnit Otagon get a Grip!....METAL GEAR!" Loves God Of War Gears Anime got love for everything! I'm sweet random! Always HYPED and up for anything! you hit brick walls all the time from constant **** overs! Especially on Modern Warfare 2! Perfection is an impossible feat but stare death in the face "Fight Through the LAG!" aim at your target and (unless your name is Kroz) you'll prevail!

So yeah I felt the bio was alright, I made this back in 2009, so it's been over a year and only now I get banned! Guess M$ (Microsoft) Had a lot of profiles to go through till it got to mine.

What I'd like to say is that, the weird thing is that at the time when I did do my profile. Microsoft did allow me to use that certain word. Since when I chose to upload the bio, I didn't receive a message stating that I am not allowed to show this.

Regardless! Do not use swear words in your profile! You WILL most likely get smashed by the almighty ban hammer! 

The consequences as the stick man demonstrates.

Alright well I'll leave it at that, you guys take care. Hopefully I'll be feeling a little better soon. And then I'll be getting back to a constant spamnation of updates on my blog like before =P

Bye people ^______^

Undead Nightmare. My thoughts ;)

Right my magical people =] Sorry for the late post this week. I've been working and had my brain eaten by Rockstars latest and greatest (Red Dead Redemption) DLC.

Ha some of you probably thought I was going to say greatest of all time! Don't worry I'm not going to say anything to start of any flame wars with the dlc that GTA: IV has had etc....But who knows maybe it could be the best ;) ha!

I've been playing this DLC over the weekend, I haven't read up on any reviews I’ve only just seen IGN give this downloadable content a 10/10 score. Which means perfection?

I thought I'd like to give you guys my own type of review. Packed with pictures and gameplay videos that I created! Yes they may look armature because I don't have certain things like a Capture Card (It’s a machine that can record stuff off the TV and directly into the PC)

But whatever, at least it adds to the fact that I'm going to try and provide you guys with a honest review of how I feel about the dlc and try not to bore you guys with an overuse of technical text that just puts people to sleep XD.

Even The nuns are bringing out the guns o_O

Zombie's in games has been going for years! From the Resident Evil series, shooters such as Left 4 dead and insane zombie pandemics inside a shopping centre (Dead Rising)

However you've always felt cocooned in this small world where you are restricted from where you'd like to go, you’re in a certain area filled with zombies in the game ( a level) And you can't explore the vast landscapes as such of what the other areas in the game would could provide.

Now I'm not going to say Undead Nightmare is the best zombie game off all time. (DLC...W/E...) but as a stand-alone game. (Red Dead Redemption)  [IN MY OPINION] was the most immersive and brilliantly crafted sandbox title that Rockstar have probably ever created.

With such a great world to explore, various things happening while exploring different destinations and miscellaneous events occurring around you at any given time.

The game was full of surprises. And a great, powerful, surprising, humours and dark toned story to boot. (Yes that’s a mouthful but it was truly epic!) (And the brilliant voice acting and character personality it held)

The modified map to fit in well with the dlc. The ocean of blood is a nice touch mmmm ;)

The reason for the picture above of the map. Is to make a point that, unlike other zombie titles. Rockstar had the advantage of using such a brilliant immersive open world game with such potential for many things.

And introduce a hostile takeover of an epic zombie apocalypse!

*The brilliant opening video for Undead Nightmare. There aren't really any spoilers. But your choice if you want to watch it.*




If you did watch the video. You can see how the DLC introduced the adaptation of zombies but kept a slight humorous tone to it. (When John Marston started giving food and talking about a fever =P)

This overrun of zombies have really made the world far more lively then before I'd say, with every corner filled with frantic brain eaters, people trying to risk there lives or running away for safety.

The world is live and kicking and Rockstar have done brilliant with the zombie adaptation, keeping to the same immersive and memorable experience that Red Dead Redemption provided.

A despreat soul going to get turned into an undead brain eater. [the crouched man in the blue shirt to the right]

When various events occurring in the game, you have various choices to make either to help or to leave any survivors to die. Throughout the world of Red Dead Redemption.

If you manage to save anyone, you are rewarded with ammunition or any other resources that could aid you through this zombie fest. If not you’ll see them transform into one of them o_O

This is great because it makes sense to not earn money; the vast population has turned into undead killers. So there are no more taxies, trains to take or stores that will sell goods. Due to the hostile takeover.

Gameplay / Soundrack / extra goodies :

The dlc plays just like the original Red Dead Redemption game. Obvious, because It's an adaptation to the game.

That's great so it's an easy pick up and play. Also killing zombies is super fun! You feel great going around taking on zombies which eventually can turn into huge hordes of zombies when your actually running for your life!

The horde of Undead who killed that man above, on my case now ¬ ¬

The Aftermath of what happens to Zombies if you F*ck with John Marston.

There are various ways to actually eliminate any threat, but also with the open world to explore filled with Zombies, the game gives a truly immersive experience.

With many additions for the added gaming experience, such as the addition of a new weapon. Called the BlunderBust. It's a weapon that uses body parts and organs of Zombies as ammunition. 

It makes a great weapon in this kind of environment, since if you are out of ammo at any point, by killing zombies you can reload by using their organs.

And trust me the gun packs a huge punch! Check out the video below ;)



Now you may have noticed that the horse I was using was on Fire. It's because it’s WAR! From the four horses of the apocalypse.

The way to obtain them is by finding them; you may think that it may be hard. However as you progress throughout the game, the game alerts you of any of the horses presence and gives u and indication of the whereabouts of the mount.

All 4 horses have unlimited stamina, so will never slow down. Are very fast and have their own unique Power.

The War horse can set people on fire! 

Awesome fire magic horse ^__^

 Now also animals have been turned into undead killers. That includes horses! (However the undead horses are actually still friendly, so just grab one, tame it and it's yours =] )

Undead Horse with unlimited Stamina! (John Marston enjoying the view)

There are many survivors in the game, in many towns throughout the map. Ranging from New Austin and Mexico. That you have the choice to save, it's advised to do it! Since you'll need the extra ammo and other survival items to help you throughout the game.

As you will be rewarded with gifts from the survivors. Once a town has been saved from hordes of Zombies. It will be safe for a good amount of time.

Allowing you to save the game at the destination (and don't worry the town won't all of a sudden get overrun by zombies when you come back to the game when you load up your save =P) and then you can look for chests with ammunition or other goodies.

There are three stages. Safe (so your all good) and then it can lead to under attack (So Zombies have invaded) and then this leads to Overrun (The invasion of zombies has grown stronger in that town and finally (the town is lost) That means there are no more survivors in that town for extra bonuses such as weapons or ammo.

In terms of gameplay, seriously the game ROCKS HARDCORE! Its super fun, insane action and the soundtrack keeps on pumping through the speakers to fit in perfect with the scenario.

[Below are 2 gameplay videos that you MUST MUST MUST MUST WATCH!] 

1: HEADSHOTS FTW( for the win)             2: DEAD EYE (is your new best friend)




Now what you guys saw above, was a video of one of the towns that needed defending against the hordes of zombies.

However for the bigger towns such as Thieves Landing. Protecting a town can get even more intense. With larger waves of zombies.

Trust things get kind of nuts in this video, when I was playing the game and recording this, I was like o_O Arghh!!!! I'm getting rushed!!!!



With also an addition of a few other special zombies such as one type that can shoot out acid at you, as well as some that are very fast. It adds a bit more variety to the gameplay and helps to enhance the gameplay depending on the situation.

Believe me, it may not sound that there's not enough type of zombies. But when you’re in a huge rush of zombies that are trying to kill and your risking your life and doing insane things to overcome these hordes. You'll be glad there are not any more types of insane abominations o_O

Side Missions & Randomness o_O :

Another addition would be to save 'lost souls' as the game likes to call it. You’re going to look for missing people. If any of you people have played Red Dead Redemption already, you could do 'Wanted' missions where you had to go searching for other people and either kill or send them to prison. Dead or Alive.

A similar concept is being used in the DLC, however this time there are endless hordes of Undead blocking your path from saving the missing person.

He or She may have trapped themselves inside a home however the undead will try to break in, this makes for great combat scenarios, since you never quite know what to expect.

 Stranger quests are still around just like the original game. Except of course they are keeping to the whole   zombie infested plot. Still brilliantly done, honestly sometimes they feel just as much as part of the main story mode, instead of side quests.

These two videos below are just scenes taken from a certain stranger quest, it's pretty funny and entertaining. Just to show the quality of what is in store for you guys for even the side missions don't fail to impress =P




After that delightful conversation with the delightful shop clerk, you had better got back to the quest at hand. Brilliant how even with a zombie apocalypse, the scenes in the game just put a smile on your face =] and you get a glimpse of one of the random events that could take place.




Hope you enjoyed those two videos....Now with almost every other free-roam Rockstar game. Mainly the GTA series they've always added mysterioes in their game. Such as Big-Foot or any other thing that may lead players to scoat for secrets.

I'm quite glad that in this DLC they just get rid of these random roumers and just let you know about mysterious creaters that my lurk in the wild. One of which is a Unicorn =P (that shoots a rainbow out of it's ass! Trust me on this haha!)

But what I encounterd was a sasquatch XD (I swear that spelling better be correct ¬ ¬ ) I found a few and honestly this guy was hating his life and crying about a lot of things....I guess because everyone in Red Dead Redemption is after killing there species and are roumerd to eat babies O_O

Chilling with the sasquatch, by the tree ^__^

Alright before you guys say anything. He asked me to do it! He provoked me to shoot him! So yeah I'm innocent.

Honestly...Who would do such a thing!

Story

Not as dark toned as the main story behind Red Dead Redemption, however it is brilliantly told. I'm not going to go far in depth with this, that’s for you guys to find out and buy the dlc! =P

But it brings back familiar faces from the original game, contains great action packed adventures! And holds the classic comedy that Rockstar usually always brings to the table.

Seth the grave digger, playing a card game with the undead....Seriously wtf? He's cheating!

Even Old Man West is back. With old favourites from the original game, it holds a familer feel and bond to the game which I think most fans of the title will appreciate. We <3 old faces ^__^




Overall the story, the side missions and the dlc as a whole will keep you very entertained. With action packed mayhem, brilliantly designed cut scenes and funny moments. It's a package worth purchasing.

The cost is 800 Microsoft points for Xbox Live Arcade and £7.99 on PSN. For all you PlayStation games =3

For that price it's a bargain! For what's in store for all you magic people =] Not to mention the co-op multiplayer mode where you and friends can party-up and take on hordes of Undead. You can become a zombie in multiplayer mode =P

If I was rate this game. I'd give it an overall rating of 90% everyone does this percentage thing or best out of 10 score, I'm going to do this achievement thing.

Don't ask why, it just popped into my head. 0 - 100 gamerscore. Similar to a percentage thing but meh....This game gets a well-deserved 90 and I’ll some this up in 3 words even ^_^ 

 

Sorry if you guys felt that this review was quite unprofessional and stuff. Honestly I could be very formal in what I say.

But I've just done it my way. Straight to the point of things, giving you guys the low down of pretty much everything. So when making a purchase you can be really sure if it'll be worth it or not =] And believe me it is!

If you haven't already got Red Dead Redemption. I highly recommend it, it's a brilliant game! And is a great contender for game of the year 2010.

Alright well I'm out now. Going to play Xbox ^__^ Hope you guys enjoyed. And wasn't tooo boring. If so let me know! I can try to change anything I'm always happy to listen to people =3