Geek Talk

Saw this last night, and like most people I liked it. I have yet to read the comic, so I think I need to pick it up. What I really liked was the actor who played V, not his voice (voice was fine, don’t get me wrong) but the body language of V. You could see how he was feeling with the mask on. It’s surprising since even Spider-Man movies have to remove Peters mask to show his emotional side. Hell, Spider-Man comics do kinda the same thing by changing the size of his eyes, something that can’t happen in the real world. I also think Ms. Portman was really convincing.

This might have been from the comic (matter of fact I’m almost certain of it), but I really liked the sending of the V masks to the people. From what I’ve read from others V in the comic wanted anarchy not just a government change and that’s been the big gripe with the movie. But who is to know what happens after the 5th of November (since the movie ends). For all we know the people do want a country without government. They’ve been lied to for decades, even the news is controlled by the government. I know a few people think America is now like this, but it’s a little different. Sure we’ve been lied to for many many years, but the only way we know that is because some form of news people uncovers it. And one could argue that V didn’t want a government change at all, he was just using that as a free pass to kill the ones that screwed him over. It’d hard to tell really.

Will Wright recently wrote an article for wired called Dream Machines. Basically talking about how society has this negative opinion on games and doesn’t really talk at all about the positives. Here’s a quote:

Society, however, notices only the negative. Most people on the far side of the generational divide - elders - look at games and see a list of ills (they’re violent, addictive, childish, worthless). Some of these labels may be deserved. But the positive aspects of gaming - creativity, community, self-esteem, problem-solving - are somehow less visible to nongamers.

I think part of this stems from the fact that watching someone play a game is a different experience than actually holding the controller and playing it yourself. Vastly different. Imagine that all you knew about movies was gleaned through observing the audience in a theater - but that you had never watched a film. You would conclude that movies induce lethargy and junk-food binges. That may be true, but you’re missing the big picture.

A side note - I was watching Law and Order over the weekend and they had one where this person killed someone over a video game or got the idea from a video game and usually (all the time) I agree with the cops, but this time it seemed stupid. They instead went after the game creators, and made those game creators seems like uncaring assholes with no morals. Only one person said something like “I don’t think a video game can drive someone to kill”, but its almost like they ignored him and continued on. I never did watch the end of it however so maybe everyone decided to just play Mario 3 and forget about it. Anyway back on topic…

Earlier in the article he says the children use a basic form of the scientific method to play games, they don’t read the manual instead they hit a button or move a joystick to see what happens. And from this simple trial and error method they learn how to play the game.

I never really thought about it that way but its also exactly how users use complex websites. They click on links to see what happens. Where I work I created this php interface for our customers, this was way back when I was first learning php so its kind of messy. And inside their login area are some instructions, really really long instructions. I will venture to be about 90% of our customers never even clicked on the instructions to see what everything does. Why? Well they don’t want to be bothered with it. They’d rather just muddle through and be content (or not content) with that.

Now comparing games and some login interface might be a bit of a stretch, but it seems like its human nature to use things by trail and error. When your a kid your mom always (mine anyway) tell you the stove is hot, yet I would still touch it. Why? It’s not like I enjoy burns. And I’m sure our customers don’t like to get frustrated by a system that isn’t totally straight forward, but they won’t read the instructions either.

Someone in my office sent me this link. You really need to scroll down and look at all of them to understand how he does it. And the last two should really relate to the readers (all two of them) of this blog.

Ok over the weekend I saw UltraViolet. Well more like sat though it, towards the end I really tried not to watch it. For those that don’t read past the first few sentences FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T SEE THIS MOVIE.
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Seems NBC thinKs its new show Heroes could become the next Lost. Here’s a clip

Just as Lost isn’t really a show about a haunted island, Heroes isn’t a show about crusaders, caped or otherwise. It’s about people — albeit ones with extraordinary quirks. “I kind of want to stay away from the superhero aspect,” says Kring. “It’s about very ordinary people all over the world who literally discover that they have special powers, and it’s their dealing with that.” The superheroes, er, ordinary people include a 30-year-old male nurse who believes he can fly — and, unlike R. Kelly, really can; a 28-year-old junkie who has the ability to paint images of the future; a 33-year-old Las Vegas showgirl who can do incredible things with mirrors; a 24-year-old Japanese comic-book geek who literally makes time stand still; a 31-year-old inmate who can transport himself through walls (eat your heart out, Michael Scofield); and a 17-year-old cheerleader who defies death at every turn (think of Bruce Willis in Unbreakable, only with blonde hair and big pom-poms).

You can Read more on SHH. Sounds like it could be a live action Rising Stars / Watchmen. Well not exactly, but based on the whole “reality” thing they both play on. But now I have to wait until the fall to see it

I’ve heard rumors about this game for awhile but this is the first mention of Jim Lee having a part in the game. IGN Jim Lees Key DC Comics RPG Role.

Now I’d hope they’d make it current and if any big time stories happen the effects can be seen in the game. Like if Superman goes missing in the JLA then he shouldn’t be found in the game. I’d also be interested to see how the game mechanics work, I’ve been playing City Of Heroes since launch so I’d love to see a new take on the superhero MMO.

And this is what Penny-Arcade thinks.