A Gamers Guide of Awesomeness! O_O

Final blog summary

2011-01-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

For all my avid usual readers I'm sure you all know that the primary reason for this blog was to keep a frequently updated summary of my experiences in searching for a career.

Sadly this will be my last post as today's entry is to be a summary that will future the experiences of the successes and failures of obtaining a job, meaning it is the ending post for this blog to finally complete this project.

Now don’t go all sadface, I will return most likely from a different blogging source, however just for university purposes, especially since the teachers have to mark this. Unfortunately this post will remain stapled to the front page and there will be no longer any updates from this blog site.

Every aspect in this post will be in relation to the university assignment, factors such as attending gaming events reading up on magazines the use of various websites basically everything that I've pretty much touched upon and follows the criteria of this coursework.

Each area that will be covered will be categorised into different sections to help encourage a clearer and understandable approach in reading this post, so let’s begin!

Introduction: O_O

Back in October I began my voyage on embarking new ground in finding a job in the video-games industry. Honestly at the very beginning I felt slightly sceptical in regards to creating a blog. I hardly update my twitter account, so to keep frequent updates for my career path I felt that it could be quite troublesome.

Regardless I am very open to new things to the creation of this blog was quite early, and with continuous attendances to lectures at University and a special thank you to the teachers I began to understand the variety of sources that were open to aid.

Moreover I didn't know it would be quite fun, especially being given the chance to open yourself to the world in relation to the gaming side of my life.

Self-Promotion:

Everything in this post is going to be taking snippets from the list of various entries from the previous months, which I’m sure you can all review at a later point, at the end of this post for evidence and in-depth information, since these factors will only be briefly explained under this summary.

We'll begin with me and my friends who headed to 'HMV' during the summer holidays in 2010, when we met the designer of my favourite gaming franchise metal gear solid, Hideo Kojima. He was doing a game signing for the latest game in the series. 'MGS: Peace Walker' and I’m sure all you long term readers have seen the images of my signed copy.

'Eurogamer' was another major event; I’ve been to every event since 2008. Playing the latest gaming titles, participating in press conferences and attending the careers fair that was hosted by 'Gamesindustry.biz', where I’ve met many people from the gaming industry.

Last year in 2010 at Eurogamer I applied to volunteer to help out at 'Eurogamer' and this was successful as the event coordinators from this event were happy to take me aboard due to my keen interest and passion for video games.

Furthermore, weeks later there was an opening to help Bethesda and Splash-Damage, to help these companies out at their booths. So I contacted Eurogamer once again to apply, and unfortunately ‘at first’ I wasn’t given the job since all places had already been taken, it was very limited!

This could be stated as a failure for one point, however since the event lasted for three days. And I was helping on the last day leaving me with two days to experience the gaming event, I spoke with Splash-Damage and Bethesda myself to ask for permission if I could help them out, and they were very eager to have me.

So regardless if I failed once I tried again by asking those in person and it worked and then I got given the chance to contribute by aiding the two firms and it also lead to me to obtain their business cards for further contact.

Additionally I was also asked if I could help out other leading companies such as Microsoft, with Epic games latest in chainsaw tearing action ‘Gears of War 3.’ Due to my flexible and very helpful attitude I was praised by the Eurogamer team, I was very enthusiastic to help.

In terms of other job searches, I did look online using various websites such as Gamesindustry.Biz, Linked-in and my own personal research on different games companies such as rare or play-fish. For any job entries where I did apply and am awaiting for any reply from these companies.

Unfortunately I haven’t had great luck in terms of job hunting since there isn’t any company currently who has stated that they are interested in me.

However in the time of writing this, I received an e-mail from Gamesindustry.biz highlighting a game-testing job for 3 months in South-East England. So I have provided the company with my CV and hoping for any contact in return. So this was one highlight of the weekend, to hear about this job entry.

Keepin in relation with finding a career, late 2010 I was asked to come to a role-play of an interview with the games company 'Rebbelion' I had spoken about this earlier in my blog and outlined details from my experience, it was very good and I feel i gained good experience.

Potential Markets:

I have promoted 'Lionheads' mobile phone game on different occasions on my blog, named ‘KingMaker’ and have been contributing towards this game as well as provoking many friends to download this title.

Additionally looking into other aspects in technology such as the 'Samsung Galaxy tablet' and 'Apple's Ipad

Casual gaming was also stated, indicating 'Microsoft’s Kinect' with the use of its hands-free motion controls enabling players to do much more without the requirement of using a controller.

My future plans:

Overall I’ve enjoyed everything in the on-going process of further developing this blog, from promoting new gaming titles, travelling to different events and promoting aspects of the games industry, such as casual and mobile gaming.

Many factors have been met and I have applied for various titles In different companies, and I’ll try to be short since I’m pretty sure I’ve gone a bit over my recommended number count ha! So I’ll finish off by stating my future plans.

Personally I want to work in the industry as a lead games designer, however before I reach that goal, I will be applying as a programmer because it is possibly the fastest route into the games industry because from experiences and research from websites such as 'gamesindustry.biz' there has always been entries for this particular role. And from speaking to the people from the careers fair I’d been told to choose one area and

not a mixture.

My plan is to work for a company for at least a good number of years to gain experience and feel far more confident in the development processes in creating a game. However personally I want to open my own business as a games designer.

It will be very hard, however one of my teachers ‘Dave’ mentioned a company named ‘Tiga’ who help and are for the games industry and people who are looking to open their own firm to develop video games.

So I will be getting some advice from them and looking into deeper research in creating my own business in the near future.

I already have quite a few talented people who are eager to join me in my firm that I am aching to create so once the time is right, gained the experience and hold enough funding, I will be putting my foot down to begin my prospect of becoming a director of a video games firm and forming the name of my business to become a global hit in the games industry.

Alright I’ll conclude with that, sorry if all you teachers felt this summary was quite informal in some cases, however as it is a post for my blog, I felt to keep the language and the style of writing to be casual for all the usual readers of my blog.

Take care all of you and thank you for sharing this experience with me and I really appreciate this. I think I will return again in another blogging website so the markers can be happy and do as they please with this one.

Bye everyone =]

System Reboot [Part 2]

2011-01-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

What are you looking at?!? >__>

Don't stare too deep into these eyes, they'll possess you and lure you into her world of danger survival and despair o_O Alright I'll stop talking rubbish =] so yes we return to the reboot of series article, we spoke about MK yesterday and today we'll finish with the almost dead Tomb Raider series.

Yes I'll be cynical in the approach towards this series. Apologies in advance to Lara fans, I haven't got too much of an issue with the character, it's just ever since that abomination 'Tomb-Raider: Angel of Darkness' back on Sony's Playstation 2.

I honesty began to lose my interest, It was terrible and not only that, it was voted the Christmas turkey by many gaming websites and magazines.

Not stating that the later instalments on the Xbox360 and Playstation 3 hadn't improved. Titles such as Tomb Raider Underworld were actually alright. Not great but it had nice water effects, until *cough* Uncharted :/

Right I'll stop being such a critical *ahem* ( I'll let the haters make up the word =]) however honestly I'm making a point here and at the end of this post I think you guys might even agree with me and leave with happy face ^__^

Behold the line of lara's o_O

For over a decade the Tomb Raider series has been around and honestly I think the series was at it's prime when it was on the original Playstation. However as soon as it set on the newer console such as the PS2, it went down hill.

It did soon move back up a bit when the series hit the next generation of games consoles such as the Xbox360, the water effects, and the gameplay did improve, however the series struggled to really keep that consistency since the series just felt like losing its touch and more of a lets adjust the bust size of Lara from game to game, seriously! Check out the picture above!

I mean a certain title from Naughty-Dog 'Uncharted 2' which yes did get inspiration from the Tomb Raider series has gained incredible praise in terms of reviews and reaching game of the year status and in all honestly in comparison to a game series that has lasted over a decade, Uncharted 2 has just seemed a lot more, I suppose you could say a 'satisfying thrill ride of epic fun, humour, character and just complete entertainment.'

Honestly this game is epic!

I admit that I am being pretty harsh on the Tomb Raider franchise however the series has lost that magic about it. However the arcade title on the Marketplace and Playstation network store 'Lara Croft Guardian of the Light' did really well and was enjoyable.

What I'm trying to get as is that, the series is going towards a more positive approach and this year the series is going for a whole reboot.

It's to say this whole decade of the gaming franchise 'Tomb-Raider' never happened. The developers Crystal Dynamics are doing a total system restore of the series and starting a whole new Tomb Raider. New looks, basically the whole game is going to be made from the ground up! A fresh new start to reclaim that positive image that Tomb Raider is good live and kicking!

Your eyes do not fool you. This is new Tomb Raider! (I know old news!)

First off all thank you Game-Informer for providing the images that I will be using within this post. I gained the information from the preview that I read off one of the game magazine's I read(GamesMaster). And honestly from what I've seen the new Tomb Raider is not just looking great, but in terms of gameplay very interesting but fun and entertaining at the same time, which is what you'd want =]

Mysteries of the Island

According to what I've read, the sole purpose of the new Lara Croft who has a totally different appearance, and is 21 years young. The developers have given her a far more down to earth look, she seems more vulnerable, delicate and a lot more human, who seems totally inexperienced to a combat scenario.

The Gamesmaster magazine stated that Crystal Dynamics the developers had said their main goal was to "not create a heroin that can overcome any obstacle with sutra pout and a witty quip but a younger, less experienced lead with an inner strength who must overcome overwhelming fear and emotion".

That small quote from the developers alone shows what the new Lara Croft is about; this reboot is like the birth of a new character and a new fresh start for the Tomb Raider franchise.

Oh noos she's hurt =[

The new Tomb Raider is said to be set on a remote island, she and other passengers who were in a ship wreck had been captured and taken away by the native people who live on this island filled with mysterious, suspense and danger.

Captured by the bad Island People? O_O

This new Lara's goal is survival! She will not have the cunning attributes that the previous Lara Croft possessed. She's inexperienced and has not dealt with such situations. It is you the player who must keep her alive. And without the weapons and any other thing that may have come granted in previous titles.

In this game, your alone, just you on an island of danger where you will have to use anything that is at hand, scavenge for anything useful and according to the ‘Gamesmasters’ magazines article, perhaps even design your own weaponry or anything else that could come in handy such as finding an axe to use as leverage to climb a small hill or mountain cliff.

You could say this is like a mixture of lost, castaway anything that comes close. However I don't think Lara is going to become insane and become friends with a football. o_O

So this new Tomb Raider could be said to be hybrid of an action/adventure, survivor, horror game. The story and tone will be far darker and this game from the looks of it seems to be taking Tomb Raider to lengths the series has never come close to reaching, where the main protagonist of the game, can be stabbed or crushed by a rock, there seems to not be any limits towards the brutality and survival atmosphere that this new IP should bring.

Running back to what I said earlier about the Tomb Raider losing its magic and just being a dead series. I'll stick with that comment. However this new reboot of the game franchise. A new Lara, a new persona and honestly I will be forgetting the previous games even existed. To me this is not a new Tomb Raider, but a whole new franchise that will come to home consoles and PC hopefully sometime this year in 2011. My guess, it's near Christmas time.

The gritty new look of Lara really brings out the character and survival antics of what this game will hold.

Hope this post didn't seem too cynical and I agree I did bad-mouth the Tomb Raider series, however like I said before the arcade title did well, and with this new title I see a bright future for Lara Croft and honestly I’m actually quite excited to hear more about this game. Yes I cannot wait and once I find a release date, this might even go on the pre-order list of must have games of 2011 ;)

Oh yes and sorry for being an angry (gamenerd) like the one from Gametrailers o_O Not trying to be unprofessional just stating how much of an improvement this new Tomb Raider seems to be in comparison to what was brought to the table in the previous instalments.

Alright <3 you guys take care ^__^

System Reboot. [Part 1]

2011-01-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in the world of media. Things seem to lose their touch and kind of end up getting nowhere. Sales go downhill, and as hard as the production team works on such games it just leads to more of a..."meh...." scenario.

Edge & GamesMaster =]

I've been reading these magazines for the past thirty minutes now, more like skimming through it. I was just soo eager to post something new today to all you magical people! (No lie! O_O)

The issues are actually a good read, especially the new Games-master! [Yes I know this magazine hasn't been the greatest and Edge rules.] Thing is, the latest issue has quite some nice previews that include the new Tomb Raider (we'll get to that =P) and of course as the front cover shows Mortal Kombat!!!!

Today’s post is pretty much based around the reboot of video games series' that have been here longer than a decade now! And explain why this is a good thing and why these new titles will have a very good chance at not being pure FAIL!

The latest instalment of the MK (Mortal Kombat), 'slowly dying' series. Honestly sorry for being very cynical in this post however it is true. The previous games haven't really been that great, and have seemed to go quite timid on the whole brutality that is MK!

Additionally I don't know where the series was going when the last game brought in superheroes from DC universe. The series seemed to have taken the wrong turn and honestly if this was to continue without any vast improvements it was soon to head first into a pile of ash.

It's not to say the previous games were rubbish, they were good however they lacked the whole insanely gory atmosphere and being able to lunge enemies to their demise using the environment. It just seemed that the series had lost its touch.

That being said a new Mortal Kombat has arrived and was shown to the public last year in 2010. The classic series has been set to redeem its self and we'll begin this preview with a short video of the latest instalment.

Remember to watch in HD. 720p or 1080p =]

Alright that trailer was awesome! And I think It did make people go 'wow o_O' Another factor that you must have noticed was that it had Kratos from God Of War. He is a PS3 exclusive I’m afraid.

And in all honestly I know there may be mixed emotions but for anyone who has played God Of War. I think Kratos would make a great fit into the Mortal Kombat universe.

For the Xbox360 owners, there has yet to be any confirmation on who will be the special guest star for Microsoft. Perhaps there might not even be one o_O

Back to the topic! So yes the trailer looked epic, but regardless of that, the game has been revamped and has gone back to its old roots from the previous Mortal Kombats that were released on home consoles such as SNES or PS1.

Scorpion's uppercut to the chin doubles up as a splash-guard. Aint he Clever XD

The visual pwarness of the game is easily the best for the series, including the brilliant and atmospheric 3D backgrounds.

However the gameplay will be constricted to a 2D plane. Leaving the player to only move forward or back. Classic MK style =P this is what the fans wanted and the developers 'Nether-Realm' (previously Midway) listened. See this is why people should listen; something good can come out of it!

So no more moving around in a 3D arena. Imagine you’re stuck in rectangular steel cage match. Just you and your opponent in a fight to the death. Nowhere to escape! Or waste time by running around other places in 3D-space. So yeah <3 it.

The story (honestly I never really followed this...) will take place on the events from MK 1 to 3. Long story short, from what I've read Raiden was about to get killed by the big bad skelator looking dude 'Shao-Kahn' (the big guy in the skull mask from the trailer)

However before Raiden got killed, he managed to use his telepathic God powers to warn a previous Raiden in a different time-zone. Of what will happen if he doesn’t act fast!

The sweet news is that for people new to the series or who haven't been following the story. It's a great way to reboot the series to bring back the old MK with gory finishers and over the top insane moves o_O as well as environmental fatalities!

Said to be most visually brutal MK yet, no holds barred this time round and the below two pictures are sure satisfy the awesome goriness that the series has lacked a bit in the previous games.

The X-ray moves are awesome! Pounding your opponent and being able to mock them as they see their own demise!

So far I haven't seen a release date, and there's said to be 16 or maybe even more characters to choose from. According to the games-master preview the set of features will include, (I’ll mention the few not so obvious)

Tag-team mode (you can do co-op combo moves), Challenge-Tower Mode, In-game currency (I guess you'll be able to customise?) 3D-support (If you’re lucky enough to have those expensive TV's. O_O) and blood physics. (So you can see the blood swish away all over =P)

Overall I think this restart of the series was a big necessity. If the game kept on going the way it was, seriously it would have ended up nowhere.

I lost total interest in this series however from viewing the videos and looking at the screens and features honestly I'm actually looking forward to Mortal Kombat.....After probably around 8 years. >_<

Hope you enjoyed this preview, MK I can honestly say will obviously not become Game of year 2011! But it's nice that the developers are trying to being back what MK is and not something that is showing signs of desperation. MK vs. DC seriously WTF? T___T

I'll see you guys later, watch out for part 2 =]

Rare-Jobs

2011-01-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Happy new year to all of you! First new post of 2011. I know It has been a while since the last update been caught up with things however this year my time management will be far improved =] so this blog it all began with me promoting myself to the world to find a profession within the games industry.

I have been doing my research and I did come upon a very successfully established company who have been creating iconic favourites on the Nintendo 64, to becoming part of the Microsoft family. I'm talking about the shiny and magical company....

Conker =P

Years back they designed many memorable titles that included a pretty Lo@d mouth squirrel that was not only fun, packed with action but hilarious! I loved this combination when it came to a video game to keep the player entertained.

Thank you IGN. (Conker-Live and Reloaded on Original Xbox)

Banjo-Kazooie

Banjo-Kazooie held a similar persona as the above game, minus the curse words =P.

Rare is a company that has created
Some very successful titles and now are working under the Microsoft Brand, and developing games such as Viva Pinata.

This doesn't mean the brand has been always creating titles that would not cater for a hardcore gamer who would only enjoy a shooter.

Perfect-Dark <3

Both titles contained brilliant action, and the likes of Conker even contained a third person shooter perspective in various levels.

In fact the company had even created a couple of the finest first person shooters to date.

The likes of 007 Goldeneye was a master-piece and then the release of the co-op frenzy incredible fps title Perfect Dark.

Allowing players to team-up and complete the game together, to help enhance the gameplay and create a more fun play-style.

Games such as the like of Bungie's Halo and Gears Of War who have catered there campaign modes for a cooperative experience must have taken inspiration from what Rare has provided the gaming world.

The coolest part is that Rare love to hire graduates, they like new talent and the reason why is because they like to teach people to work, how they work using their own techniques.

Introducing new-comers to the way of work, helps them to adapt to their ways a lot faster than more experienced talent could be one big factor as to why they <3 young talent! =]

Oh and they do internships, so if you are interested in gaining some experience within a gap-year at university well now is the time to apply!

Shh...Stole this picture from Rare's recruitment site =P

The company is located in Birmingham, two hours from me since I live in London. However I do have family up there so re-locating wouldn't be too much of an issue then ^__^

Never be afraid to re-locate people, I did mention this in some previous posts, its fun to explore and aids in gaining far more opportunities!

Internships:

By following the link, you'll be able to read up on everything Rare are offering. But remember the deadline is 31st of January 2011. So that’s only a few weeks away from now! So get those applications in!

The company provides you with an application form that needs to be filled in, along with a C.V and a covering letter.

See I wasnt Lieing!

http://www.rareware.com/careers/internships101112

If you are lucky enough they'll get back to you by March 2011, to notify that you have the job ^__^

For the rest of us, who will be leaving university this year or any others reading, I'm not sure about any dead-line and the company aren't after any specific type of job role as it states on the website, so If you are interested.

I'd quickly get on the website and start applying as soon as possible, don't rush your CV or covering letter, take it easy however make sure everything looks good and have a nice portfolio to demonstrate to the company. So they can check out what you can do =]

http://www.rareware.com/careers/speculative-applications100712

Best of Luck, to all people who apply! I'll be filling in my documentation soon and sending it off, so hopefully things will go well for me.

If so then I'll be happy like Commander Shepherd!

The picture does look kinda freaky but hey it's still a gaming master-peice!

Right well I'll be taking my leave from here, hope this post was alright and you enjoyed it. I'll be back soon with another post.

I recently purchased a couple of new games magazines and I have yet to read up on them, so I think I'll set myself off to that.

Bye everyone and take care! =]

2010-12-10T03:31:00.000-08:00

I know this was last nights news, however as a huge fan and I'm sure many of you are as well, honestly I knew it was going to happen but finally it's been confirmed.

It's obvious by seeing the picture above as soon as I read up on Kotaku =P (Awesome gaming news site!) So it seems the hardcore awesome developer. "Naughty-Dog" Is back with Uncharted 3 - Drakes Deception.
Check out the teaser trailer =)

Drakes back and it looks like he has a lot of homework to do. The game from the looks of things and from various sites is said to be set in the desert.

The Uncharted series has been brilliant and by far possibly the most visually impressive game to hit any games console.

The previous title (Uncharted 2: 96% metacritic!) has led Drake to various locations, though the game was set to be in a cold snowly environment, it led you to jaw dropping areas keeping things fresh and interesting.

I hope the same for this title, though either way I know Naughty Dog will be providing a top quality product that could possibly be game of the year 2011.

According to Kotaku, you will be on a quest to possibly be in search for desert Atlantis. From what I've seen from the previous games, It is sure to be impressive.

The snow and the whole environment was incredible, this time round your in a desert. I'd love to see the Playstations 3's capabilities being put into action once again, with sand storms and lush locations.

Best of all, (I know not a lot of people have 3D TVs currently) but yes Uncharted 3 will be going 3D. So if you are lucky enough to have a television of this capability or looking to purchase one in the near feature then this is one title to look out for.

Not a lot I can say currently. But I'll be trying to keep people posted on some great gaming news =) And if you do have a Playstation 3 and haven't played the Uncharted series so far. I'd highly recommend it, as this is a crown jewel in Sony's department.

3D modelz!

2010-12-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

The final post for the day. You guys have got 3 now! =3 And if the other previous two posts may have bore you, then hopefully this one can save the day XD

I was tasked to make a few 3D objects using 3Ds Max in my games development course at University. I'm not a huge pro and honestly I was a total noob about 1 month ago. However I thought I'd upload some screen shots so you can check out what I've made.

I know they aren't super amazing. But I thought I'd share these pictures with you guys =3 Good thing is that from this practise using 3ds max.

Since I'm going to be making a 3D game for my final year project. It'll aid towards making the models. I'll be getting to that in a later post =P About the game I'm going to be making.

"Ezio!!!!! Would you like to look in the book??!?"

The phrase above is from Ezio's sister in AC2. (Assassins Creed 2) I bought this special edition today. I was thinking of saving my money at first however I could purchase this for £30 since I had money saved up on my reward card.

I haven't played it yet, but I've heard good news all round on this title. And the reviews are looking great. So should be awesome =)

Well I'm going to be off now. Wonder what I'm going to play after I end this post =P Hmm?!?!?! o_O

I'm trying to keep my posts sort of short and splitting them all into different posts since some people felt my posts were more like huge essays XD aw wells hopefully this method is better.

I'll be posting back soon with more interesting stuff. I'll see you guys later ;)

White Beats

2010-12-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Alright so this is the second post of the day =] since I've not updated in for a few weeks, thought I'd just throw down whatever has been happening to me lately.

Now I've had this ear problem for almost a month now. I can't really hear because the wax has gone down my ear canals.

Apparently wearing earphones and going to the gym causes a lot of wax build up. Especially for me! ¬ ¬ Of course! So I had to go purchase some headphones, now I've never looked into headphones that much I've only really owned a couple pairs and stuck with the whole earphone thing.....Till now o_O "dum dum...dramatic music!"

Yes I've purchased the Beats (white ones)

I've been looking into these for ages however I've had my Sennheiser (I think that's the right spelling) earphones for quite a while now and they've worked out great.

Except since now I can't wear them and me being a dude who's not too fond of headphones, mainly due to the looks (usually ugly) and practicality.

So I wasn't really considering the purchase as much, however time passes and I felt well if from what I've heard is true about the amazing audio output and of course the slick looks (they look magic!) It'll have to be the beats.

(Check out the video below....I hate the thumb nail picture T__T)

(Sorry for using one hand again in that video and the scuffling noise, was using my phone o_O)

I'm guessing some people must also be saying how this is involved in gaming. I know ha! But you can still use them when playing video games, the audio would be crisp and clear.

Hope you guys liked the video, I know it's super amature haha! But yeah you can see from the pictures that for the money you are paying, even the box it comes in looks stunning!

Another feature is that they are foldable. However they are still fragile, so its best to be careful when snapping them together again.

Overall I <3 these headphones. You'll be in perfect harmony between you and the music you listen to. However to make the most of these I'd say to make sure your music has a bit-rate of at least 320.

The base, the crisp clarity of the music being played through these is very good! The audio is fantastic and look great! And on top of that are very comfortable to wear.

In the video I did mention a website that for people who already own these the Dre beats or are looking to purchase them. You can get them customised and seriously these people can make them look insane o_O

http://www.colorwarepc.com/p-188-beats-studio.aspx <--- This site is awesome for customisations.

But its not just headphones. They will do Xbox's, Playstations etc...So many things! This site will customise your goods for you and they will look stunning. (the price I bet will be horrible T__T)

http://www.colorwarepc.com/p-235-xbox-360-s.aspx <-- The Xbox link ;) Soo yeah you can see they will do a lot. You can have some pretty sweet stuff =3

On a personal note. It'll be nice but I'd pass on this stuff. But I was told by some retailer dude about this site so thought I'd share it with you.

OK peoples. I hope I didn't bore you guys to bits with the ending >__< I know a lot of text! Hopefully my next post won't be soo bad =P Love u people! =3

Route To work Interview o_O

2010-12-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! So England’s been covered in snow, the university fees are going up to £9,000. Students are protesting and I have a really bad cold and I'm sleep deprived. I've been pretty tired from work but meh it's a new day =3

Back to the working journal since it's been a while since I last got back to it. On Tuesday I had to go into university for a mock interview. Where I had to be part of a role-play of a real interview with a member of the games company Relentless. (I was talking about them in the last post =P )

Relentless keeps on coming back on my blog =P

So the careers adviser started interviewing me. It was basically a role-play of a real interview scenario. And I've been tasked to talk about my day on how this went.

I'm not going to bore you with details on every question, but from what I've learnt I'll just give out a few pointers and how obvious some things are! But due to the pressure or sometimes just trail of thought, all these no brainer answers are missed.

First point, this is obvious but make sure your organized and look respectable. And have your C.V at hand just encase they don't have yours and they ask for it. It shows that you’re prepared and ready!

Do your research on the company that you are going into. It's most likely you'll be asked why you chose X company. You could say soo much, and don't be worried about talking too much. Of course don't waffle around and make stuff up.

Just stay logical and straight to the point, when they ask you something don't just provide one answer. Be ready and confident and provide various other points.

You are there to not only sell yourself but to introduce who you are and what makes you perfect for the job.

So why sit their nervous and thinking of what to say? Speak your mind, say what you know and you'll be fine.

I was only asked a few questions and overall I was told I did a good job, but it was just me lacking that extra information that she told me she was waiting for.

Like for the skills I have, I did explain experience in programming, however when explaining examples it should have been far more in depth. I mentioned that I have experience in C++ and C# programming however apparently I had to elaborate on this by talking about previous experiences that involved this.

In conclusion I'm really glad I had this practice interview as I never would have guessed that even though I did do well that there was a lot of obvious factors that I had missed.

Alright well I'll be closing this post now. Sorry for whole essay look today. This was a task T__T Alright people take care =]

Road to work journal =]

2010-11-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

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 ;)

2010-11-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

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

Random Moments

2010-11-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Just finished off some work. At university right now we need to do our final year project and I’m making a video game. It's going to be a RPG/FPS title...

And right now that's all your getting =P since I'm just researching on information and programming on a games engine known as Ogre3D. I'll be giving a more detailed description with added screen shots etc.... In a later post, sometime in the future o_O

Today I just feel rAndOm (yay rainbow random ^_^ [I just invented that] ) So I thought I'd post a few things that I've come across the past couple of days. It's not that many just a few! So you guys can ease up and take a few things in that might just cheer you up or whatever really....

First up is.....Well I'm a HUGE fanboy for the God of War series. I <3 it! And there was a video of a person on Kotaku.com (great gaming news website seriously use it! If you’re a gamer!) www.kotaku.com

And It was of him pretending to be the main character of the game 'kratos' in an EPIC battle with a sandwich! Seriously you guys should check it out ;)

Now for those of you who are clueless as to why he was doing that and all those quick time events. I'm guessing it's because you don't know what God Of War really is or haven't played it =P

So I'll just provide a small little video below just so you guys can get the jest of things ;)

Even the Art of God Of War is brilliant!

The video below is from IGN.COM just showing you guys some of the best boss battles, just to give a small indication of how the game plays and the brutality behind the quick time events ;)

Alright after seeing that video, some of you guys must be like awesome, some must be like that's gross...Or even boring ¬ ¬ But whatever I <3 the series and before I move onto something else that was totally random that occurred this week.

The painted above was done by a friend named Heather ^__^ she's on deviantArt so check her profile out if you want to. But yeah she painted the main character of the game series Kratos. So yeah <3 it! And coming from a huge fanboy of the series, she's awesome for making it =]

her Link -----> (but finish reading the blog first =P ) http://xheatherps3x.deviantart.com/

Right, now I was playing Fable 3 the other day in co-op mode with my friend TrussingBook, he's been going through a huge lag-fest of issues with the game since the first day he bought it.

For example the butler Jasper wouldn't respond to him, some missions wouldn't work so he'd have to restart the save and so on.....But I found this really funny when I invited him into my game the other day XD

I recorded it because I wanted him to see as well as you magic people, on the few bugs that Fable 3 has currently, so please Lionhead =[ Patch it up!!! XD I'm sure there making one as I type this anyway.
(I hope!)

Soo many glitches o_O honestly I haven't really experienced any glitches so far in the game, I've only heard it from Trussing Book's game so far.

So I'll just have to wait and see, or perhaps I and some other people maybe were lucky enough to grab version without glitches! As stupid as it sounds, who knows O_O Someday game developers start releasing special editions just on the glitches like.

Standard edition (Full of glitches) and then the Special edition (Glitch Free ^__^) It'll sure make people spend that extra money to buy the more expensive one. =P

Right before I end this post and get back on the Xbox360, I’ll just post this random web comic from sinfest =]

Yay! That comic was good! Anime-Awesomness =] I posted the link on this webcomic if you like it on an earlier post. Go find it if you want it XD

(oh and my next post might be a tad boring, need to talk about jobs and stuff because I still need to keep it up-to-date with the jobs i'm trying to find)

Take care everyone!