Colourist (continued)

I got the test sheets to colour, and she gave me a little more info about it. The comics aren't as religiousy as I thought, its actually a comic with a story, and it actually looks... friggin' sweet! She's already publishing them, whether its in an actual shop, online, or what I'm not entirely sure.

I'll post the coloured pages here once I've done them, should have them up here by Sunday. I don't mind if you see or critique them, its just nice to make this blog a little more interesting.

Also theres a possiblity for a cut in the money but I'm not too fussed. I guess Cutman will want some, it's the only reason he hangs around with me.

He frikkin' does, too.*




*I'm trying a new thing where I draw stuff for blogs within a minute as a nice way to get back into art, its been a months...

I'm doing some awful nice things, and I'm not even trying to

I've got to say though, doing nice things has actually improved my life quite a bit! In fact, the first 2 nice things I've done gained me opportunities, and a sense ... what is this? Feeling? Hot? Cold? Sick? No...

No, I think I'm... happy!

Funny how the simple things like having a chat to or helping people you don't know can lead to things, real life things! Like Being a colourist! Or being in charge of a few hundred artists and projects!

Exclamation point!

Just got offered a job

Being a colourist for a comic. 3-5 pages a week, its about religion or something. Voluntary (although I volunteered it to be voluntary), because I always love some good experience, of course. And what better way to make someones day by giving them free stuff and helping, yeah?

I think I'll take it, although I need to do an example page and I might not get the job because maybe I suck.

ALSO its a ridiculous workload for no pay, what with college and all. I'll see what the low-down is when I email her asking exactly what a 'low-down' is.

BUT HEY COOL ANYWAY RIGHT?

Foundation French

PS de résistance

Hmm, that was actually quite witty of me.

Right, I fancy reviewing Playstation the Third, its late, I can't sleep, so I will.

I've played on all the 'next gen' consoles, and I enjoy them all, they all have a place in the market, they all fill a niche.

I really enjoy playing the Wii, and am fascinated by its innovativity (I wonder if thats a word...) and its so far ahead in the 'immersive gaming' trend that its awesome. Xbox 360 is the finely tuned, intensely polished version of the original Xbox. I hate to say it but the original had so many flaws, not mentioning that one of them was fire. But no, the 360 is much better, they ironed out the flaws, and I think its great that Bill Gates expanded his horizons. The Playstation kind of came into the market as the main competitor to Nintendo, and its obvious that the design is... influenced by Nintendo in a lot of ways, but I think its acceptable what with the mentioned market spread.

I found it hard to think of any reason a console would need a hard drive and all that, but I must admit that it improves the console quite nicely. A couple of years back I'd never of imagined that you could do anything on your games console other than play games, but now you can do so much more. Whether its needed or not is up for speculation, but I think that it certainly adds to the reason to buy one. The PS3 in particular is an interesting console, because it comes in about 6 different models - all different sizes, all capable of different things. Which begs the question "Why not just put it all into one console?", and the answer would be because they want to appeal to as many people as possible. There are value models, delux models, limited editions, and all the rest. I still don't really get why they've done it that way, there surely must be a better system. But whatever, I'll sort it out if ever I have a say ;)

I'm not really sure why, but console gaming is so much more different than PC gaming. Even if the games are the same, or you buy a controller which is shaped the same; its still somehow not as satisfying as console gaming. Essentially the playstation 3 is just a restricted computer, so.. I don't know, its just... there's something attractive about buying the games, something nice about owning a shiny box which is made solely for the purpose of your entertainment.

I don't really know what I'm getting at but it was nice to talk before I catch some z's.
Whatever the fuck that means.

General blog

I realise I've been a bit game-heavy the past few blogs (I don't count in days or hours any more, I count in blogs), so I guess I'll just talk about m'self a bit.

I've felt really good lately, especially the last 2 days, and concidering the new philosophies and morals I've just taken on, it'll be hard to make this good feeling go away! Literally, everything I do I feel positive about. Nothing can seem to get me down any more. After reading that book I've just felt so... alive!

So thats cool, hopefully I'll actually do something soon, like get back into art or bad comics. Or maybe try and discover some other talents.

Hope everyone else is alright!

Reviews of games I haven't, and probably never will, play

Okay so I just sat down for a few hours and brewed up, downloaded me some free game demos from Playstation's store. I only got a few, I'll go back and get some more later, I'm quite keen on Mirrors Edge and Alone in the Dark, but I got one of my first loves of the superconsoles -
Dead Space.

I heard it was quite short, which I always try to steer clear of in games, so that kind of put me off buying it, at least not before I tried the demo or rented it out or something. Way back when it came out a few months back my first impressions from various trailers, gameplay and synopses (yes sometimes I'm sad enough to keep up with the affairs of games from consoles I don't even own) it looked like an amazing game, I'm always a sucker for anything zombies, so despite amazing graphics, sound, story and gameplay dynamics, somehow it didn't get the incredible reviews I felt it deserved.

I haven't completed the demo, nor have I experienced anything other than what the demo provides, but I'll give my opinions nevertheless, because thats what I freakin' do.

Atmosphere
Each part of the level, each room even has its own different feel to it. Textures and sounds of that room are pretty unique, and visually it looks incredible. It plays very nicely and it just generally feels good. Then the monsters came. I think the best tension in a game is from the anticipation of when they might come, not necessarily when they are coming at you. I went through the level at least 3 times waiting for a zombie to nom at me when I knew there wasn't actually going to be any till I got into the next room, but it really does set the atmosphere so that this kind of stuff takes effect.
The fact that some portions of th game are in zero-gravity makes the experience unique to any other zombie game; one would imagine that having enemies attack from any and every angle in the dead silence of space would be pantwettingly tense.

Enemies
The zombies themselves are just above average I'd say. Sure, they're good, they do the right amount of damage, and respond in the way you'd expect them to - i.e. if you shoot a leg off, they don't just die, they crawl over to you, etc. which is good, but I'm not really sure what, but something makes them look a little bit... mechanic.

Weapons
A large part of why I choose a game happens to be the weapons it contains. Its weird, and not usually a major thing for people but there you go.
I quite like the fact that you have a big melee knuckle slicy thing. It doubles up as a plasma gun, and for the word 'Plasma' alone, I instantly like it. Just a nice word isn't it? Well whatever, it's powerful enough to do enough damage, but not too much, so it feels realistic but not too difficult.
Every game needs a ridiculously overpowered gun, and the 'C99 Supercollider Contact Beam' certainly sounds like one of those guns. It brings me way back to my quake II days, BFG 10k was and always will be my favourite ever gun.

What else, I guess voice acting seems ok. Quite the opposite of like, I dunno... Turok 2: Seed of Evil par examplé. All the buttons seem to be in all the right places, and the menu system is all simple and nice. The method of showing that a door is locked and if you'd like to open it is okay, but I dunno, I feel it should be improved from actually having the word 'locked' hovering over it. Maybe if it said that on a display I wouldn't feel like I was playing a game? I dunno.

I really can't find many flaws with the game though, other than the cripplingly short gameplay and little things, which you'd expect every game to have, really.


I also downloaded Stuntman: Ignition, purely because me and my mate would spend hours, days, bloody weeks on the game, trying to complete the thing. The first one was good. The second one is... better? I mean its got better graphics, but it just doesn't work the same way as the first one did. The car seems quite hard to control, and the accelerator button is R2, (the bottom/right shoulder button) which I personally find kind of difficult to hold down. Its uncomfortable to say the least. They should/could have just moved it up a button, or maybe given the player the option to change the controls. I don't know, but yeah it seems pretty okay. I'd stick with the first one personally, but I've only played the demo so I can't really judge.


I'm kind of disappointed at some of the superconsole games, I mean I know that no game is flawless, but I'm not really sure how far wrong you can go with this much experience and trial and error.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not really sure games are 'games' any more. Mario was a game; Pacman was a game, you didn;t give a shit that you were a yellow cirle eating dots and running away from ghosts through a maze with a time/space portal and giant pixelated cherries in it. But now somehow everyone cares about every detail. Everything has to be beleivable, everything has to be pefect. Whilst playing Resistance 2, I was constantly looking at the enemies wondering about how they would evolve from a human,a nd whether they're realistic in their biological make-up. That's not what I did in Mario. Games these days rely maybe a little too much on story and visuals that they're more like films (or 'interactive films', as Narayan said in my documentary).

I think at their heart games are still games, because you control the actions of the main character, but what with cutscenes I'm not so sure I feel as much like its me rather than the actual character in the game. They're still games, just a new type of game.

GAME. GAMEGAMEGAMER.

Reviegamemnonville

YEAH, well I really fancy reviewing some stuff. So thats what I'm going to do. I'll start with PS3 things, but first I need to you know, do some more things. Like buy games. But no I could review demo's of games, for the people in the world who are simply too busy to play the demo.

Now that's a busy person!

But I'd like to do it anyway, also I've been meaning to review the nintendo 64 and games for a while, so I will do that too. Maybe I'll review everything. Yes in fact I will. Right now I'm going to brew up and chill out. Download some PS3 demos, maybe finish Resistance 2 and then come back here and review it (I didn't have high hopes for it, but I'm actually really enjoying it).

I want to do something, like some art, writing, or even just talking with someone, you know, getting to know someone better. If any of the... 3, possibly 4 people who read this fancy it then sweet, freakin' go for it, it'd be lovely!

from jamie.


p.s it'd be cool if I could run computer and ps trio at the same time.

It's like four cups of tea in one giant mug

Finally got my documentary exported and uploaded. I don't really want to moan to the internet about it but I WILL ANYWAY. It took like 5 and a half hours to upload to this site which I thought was unlimited upload, but thy rejected it once it had finished uploading. I stayed behind at college for about 2 and a half hours anyway to export the thing haha. The final size was about 1.11 gb, and no where would take it, apart from google video, so i did that, and it went fine. Quality was a bit balls on google video, but at least it was up and working. So I thought I'd download the 'version for iPod/PSP', seeing as googlevideo ripper wasn't recognising the links. Anyway, that downloaded in a few seconds, and uploaded to youtube even faster. And its better quality anyway (because it smooths everything out). So yes. Without furter adieu, I present to you - "Shambles" the documentary; the energy drink

Well its actually called "Videogamers Anonymous"



Now I can get on with happy things.

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse

I regret wasting my life not taking in some of the culture the world has to offer. Actually, let me start again.

I regret feeling like I've wasted my life not taking in some of the culture the world has to offer.

I just need someone to help me. Someone to talk to about this stuff. I feel quite strongly about music, but I only showed an interest in it at a very late age, so my knowledge of it is very slim. As I'm sure you've witnessed - my capability to create music with structure is pitiful, so thats something I'd like to work on, even if i don't apply it. It's definatly not like it would take any time to do, just listen to a couple of songs and write out the structures, then apply them, or even just listen to some songs. Whatever, I don't know how you'd do it. But it just feels like I've lost that... piece of my mind that I used to have (the ability to create and 'hear' music, rather than just listening to it) which worries me slightly. I mean its not much of a shock, because its happened with a lot of stuff; music, art and general philosophical thought have all taken a massive slide since roughly two years ago (who knows what happened, but I'd bank on a brain tumour!). Its definatly not just my perception of art which is what I'd originally banked on, because comparing some of my sketches to something I do now, the artistic suggestion and pencil control is so much better.

I'm just getting lazy.

I think everyone has the potential to have as much talent as anyone else (not necessarily in the same areas but just generally), I think that people already have everything they need to be whatever they want, but I also think that everyone is different and for some people things come easier, and until you learn how you work, then you won't necessarily be able to.

I didn't really have any kind of aim in this blog and I haven't really been concentrating because my head has been spinning since two years ago.

Now I'm going to go finish my book and be happy!

A Better Poast

I just ate an entire leek straight from the packet.

WELL Narayan thinks I suck at blogs, or something along those lines, and yeah I'd agree that thats a pretty accurate statement. I'll talk about things then, properly. Lets get to know Jamie. Well not really because I don't want to divulge some things, but yeah I'll be as open as appropriate for teh internetz.

I started reading a book, called The Master Key System. I was recommended it at the start of the new year to go along with my resolution. I thought it fitting, so I started to read it, and maaaaaaaan. Its not often that I'm really affected by a book, but this has really changed the way I look at life, I've felt so much better since I started reading. I'm only like section 4 of 24, but apparently it should help me acheive anything, which is nice I GUESS.

I've put off starting my new comic with jacob for some time. Too many time. Only because I was a bit / a lot behind on college things, which I am almost over. I'll post a video of my documentary assignment which is about video games! If I have time, I'll edit together a bunch of highly offensive outtakes which I may or may not post ;)

Hmm, what else is new. Ah yes -- something quite cool has popped up, a small business venture which I was going to do in the summer has now suddenly turned into something massive, due to one lovely contact. I won't tell you what it is yet because... I dunno, I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT ALRIGHT? Anyway its nothing to do with music, art or writing so it doesn't concern this segment of the internet...

Whhhhaaat else. Oh yes, my good/horrible friend Narayan (of whom I am a great (or rather grest) fan) created something which is pure goodness. For one of our college assignments, he made a short drama film, which he leisurely uploaded to Yobi TV, turns out they let douchebags into the semi-finals! Please vote for him, because it means that he gets lots of dollars, which means that he might be... tolerable to be around. VOTE FOR HIM HERE NOW PLEASE!
and if you feel like it you can vote for his photo photo which is wickedsick too

In all seriousness, he's a lovely person, and he is going places. Places such as the Corn Exchange for a gig. Yeeaah. But he does some bands which are good, and songs which are better than other songs, and he also does art which is nice. Like 'Nun Chuck' which is a Nun throwing another Nun! Very funny.

Apparently in the band I am in, which is 2 of my friends and me just messing around, we are doing an acoustic cover of a song which not many people have heard of but some so cool.

I got a camera for my birthday, which is a wonderous camera - a Canon HV30. So I will make films when the moment strikes me, or when someone feels like jamming with me (in the visual sense) some time.

I got a PS tripple for christmas, so if anyone fancies adding me, I'm called 'sleepingin' but hey who knows, maybe I'll change my name to some other lyric from The Postal Service? p.s 'suchgreatheights' was taken. Sadfase!

So blogging is interesting, eh? I think it really is, because its different from a diary or a conversation or something, because typing is easier and quicker than writing, so the flow of the mind can go on uninterrupted. If someone is just rambling on, you can find out a lot more about them than in any other way, in some respects anyway. In fact, the Internet as a whole is a very interesting subject. Lets look into it a little further.


The Internet

by Jamie Smith.

--

Foreword by Aaron Bourn.


"The Internet is like the world's largest library. It's just that all the books are on the floor and written by idiots."


Chapter 0 - The Internet

The Internet is incredible. Some may say has been polluted with lolcats, porn and lolcats porn. I say it is thriving with culture. Allbeit moreso in the bacteria way than any other. But nevertheless, it has been the foundation for a culture which is possibly bigger than any other. The number of Internet users is increasing, with more and more being born into this new culture, this new society.

The Internet is often reffered to as an object or a place - somewhere to be or to meet. I think its more of a tool to find information and ultimately make things better, faster or easier. Maybe that makes us lazy? Or maybe its just making us more efficient. I don't know, but whatevers happening, it can't be stopped. Even TV, our huge media we thought could never be replaced, has converted to the religion that is 'Internetism' in new applications like BBC's iPlayer, Youtube, and Digital convergance as a whole.

It has given a capablity for certain enthusiasts to gather, such as gamers, and has contributed to the development and rise of 'Geek Culture'. I'm sure that the internet has contributed to the success of videogames. I don't think I'd be wrong in saying that a large fraction of the population of the Internet play or take an active interest in videogames, so its only natural for the two to be linked. Online games, and therefore more immersive gaming has been developed because of the existance of the Internet. Gaming has therefore become a huge part of society in general, everyone is involved, where as before it was quite niche with a predominatly young male audience.


So there we go, I don't have anything to say about the Internet to the Internet right now.

Winter-een-mas is approaching, so I hope you'll all be celebrating in your own ways. I certainly will be having a geekfest of my own :)

New. Yeah?

We've all been here before, making resolutions and then realising how unacheivable they are given ones laziness. But I hope you all do stick to them, and I hope it turns out pretty freakin' alright for you.

Maybe everyones resolution should be to make and stick to their resolution?
Pfft!

I think maybe as a gimmicky thing mine will be to acheive 9 big things within the year. I guess I'll just see what happens with it, but I've got some fairly weighty projects I have in mind.

I sometimes make bad comics, so as a present here is one I made expecially for the internet: Admittedly I am one of those people who thinks its cool whenever the clock says leet.

On a side note. Ugh. Hangover. rofd.