Hopefully everyone is recuperating nicely from the tryptophan overload we call turkey.

So I saw Them Crooked Vultures a few weeks ago, Oct. 15th to be exact. In a word, brutal...

Well no, not really. If were really that awesome you'd have known about it and be standing on this line too.

Let me explain...lines are a funny thing (the kind you stand on or in). Also crowds, groups, and loud noises, they all conduct mystery. Why are all these people standing here? Why is everyone waiting outside Barnes and Noble at 8:30 at night? Why is there screeching coming from Main St.? People are curious by nature, it is who we are. I am guilty of this myself, but I'm getting better. I will analyze a situation and THINK before jumping in and wasting my time to see what it's about.

Humans are intelligent and we should act intelligent. Is scouring the internet 18 hours a day for interesting videos and websites really productive? Is finding out all these new and obscure bands before anyone else really productive? Is being hip to all the latest news really productive? What I'm driving at is that we don't ALWAYS  need to be plugged into everything that is going on. We don't have to know everything that is going on around us. Did you know Linkin Park is having a free concert in the park three blocks away from you right now?! No, no you didn't and it's okay. You missed something awesome, but there will be more. There are always cool things going on and you will come across some of them. Be happy with that.

Which brings me back to the point about lines. Lines, especially here in the Big Apple are usually good things, except when mass transit or the DMV is concerned. It means that there is something cool and exclusive happening. It's a fact, New York City is notorious for having cool events and secret things go on all the time. So it may be a little biased to use it largely as my opinion former but I have had it happen in other cities, states, and areas.

What happens is when on a line, or in a group, crowd, or near a loud noise is people instinctively want to know what it is. Always, even if it poses no threat or would affect them in anyway. They ask, preferably someone who is participating in the line waiting what they are standing here for. Could be a celebrity signing. Could be a free concert. They could be giving out life threatening diseases inside. No one outside of the line knows. Now I don't have anything against people being inquisitive, but it's the response that happens 100% of the time afterward, "Oh.". And these people walk away disinterested. And in my head, if and when I see this (or more likely am involved in this exchange of words), I think to myself, "Why did they just ask me what is going on when they clearly have no interest in what I am doing here?". Why bother? Do they think that there's free money being given out? Do they think that this line leads to happiness? I do not know.

So I've created this awesome game to help allievate your line time waiting, because lines are not really awesome. The destination at the end of the line (shouldn't it be beginning) is the proverbial cake. And boy is that cake sweet. Why else would you be standing for so long. The game is simple; all you do is make your self aware of the oncoming people from both directions and make sure your making eye contact. People respond to eye contact, ALOT. If your the one they see, they will invariably ask you that dreaded, go nowhere question. And you tell them ANYTHING BUT what you are actually on line for. The more outrageous the better. Some examples I like to use are:

• Oh it's the second coming of Christ and he's having a town hall style Q & A inside.
• Jay-Z and the Fray are doing secret show for members only.
• Maya Angelou is doing a free poetry reading.
• They're giving out free (insert deadly disease), it's great! (You gotta inject alot of enthusiasm to really make it work)
• Ben Franklin is signing copies of his new book, "Life After Electricity"

So I stumbled across Leo and Diane Dillon while taking a random road on the INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.

These two pieces which I think were book covers or ideas for book covers sure seem to look like old style American made Alteil cards. They have the poses down and everything. Take this one here called Sabriel, she could be a Gowen card - Dark Huntress / Shisihuru with the ability to penetrate three rows deep.

And this other one called Abhorsen looks like a Lawtia - Enchanter of the Night being able to use her auto Canine Triple Attack where it has no range dependencies and a deep Native American heritage. I just found them completely hilarious and very similar to the Alteil character poses. Maybe it's just that I've been staring too long at the Card File. I wonder if anything else looks similar...

So the Tokyo! movie premiere is tomorrow, I've got my camera in hand.

Just to note, the beast shown in the picture is not representative of my date in any shape or form, nor is it is as easy as a quick time event to make out. Trust me I've tried, hitting the wrong button really stinks. I probably should of swapped that character portrait out as well. There will be pictures of the event as soon as I take them. The post is short this week folks, I have many things to do.

I will leave with this awesome song pick of the week. It is by the Tokyo Police Club, coincidentally the same folks that provides music for the Tokyo! trailer, and the song is Graves. it's a neat video where only the band or the customers can be moving at one time. And all manner of lighting fixtures are being controlled by a kid at a switchboard hepped up on Lik-a-Maid(tm). Does anyone remember Lik-a-Maid? Should I have gone with Pixie Sticks(tm)? Or Jawbreakers(tm)? Anyways... enjoy.

Artist: Tokyo Police Club
Song: Graves
Album: Elephant Shell
Music Tags: British Rock, Indie Rock

Michel Gondry? Creative Genius...

I got the link for movie from a fellow friend and co-worker. Apparently, he is going to be there for a Q and A after the show. SUPREMELY AWESOME! I have two tickets. Just need to find me a date.

I am so looking forward to this, I hope it's as awesome as my mind is making me think it will be.

The music choice this week just happens to be a music video directed by Michel Gondry, Everlong by the Foo Fighters. I will tell you, I was not a fan of this song for a while. But it slowly grew on me. Anyone must be crazy not to like this song and watching the video imagery bolsters the impact a hundred times. Take special note of the bed scene towards the end, it really makes use of the fake song ending so well.

Artist: Foo Fighters
Song: Everlong
Album: The Colour and the Shape
Music Tags: Alternative, Rock, Supremely Awesome

Foo Fighters - Everlong

Embedding is disabled for some reason. Curse you Youtube!

Ever wonder why we love video games so much, but hate video game movies?

It's a known fact that if you see a trailer for a movie based off a video game, it is going to suck. There is no disputing it, no argument. Just look to Super Mario Bros., In the Name of the King, and House of the Dead as examples.

The point of making something out of a pre-established IP (intellectual property) is because one sees potential for making something good, or at least profit from it. Now these things kind of go hand in hand. No one's going to make a movie out of say Bubsy 3D or Deadly Towers. These games just plain suck.

So we take, let's say the Mario franchise, and you say, "Wow, they're making millions off of this. What can we do to share in some of these profits?", and you land on making a movie. YOUR FIRST QUESTION HAS TO BE: Can we make a believable movie out of this games premise? OR ON AN EVEN SIMPLER NOTE: Is there even something to make a movie out of? (ex. Tetris - No one wants to see falling blocks for two hours) Doing this would weed out so many bad greenlighted projects and save the movie going community alot of grief and groaning.

So then you ask yourself, "Would anyone want to see this movie based off beloved character X?" In the case of Mario, no? The reason Mario does so well is because the game play is flawless and innovative. It's just amazing to play, some of my favorite games are Mario ones. Never once did I say to myself or anyone else for that matter, "Hey, this Mario guy, it would be great to see him in a full length feature film! I'd love to see him do all the cool stuff I can already make him do on the big screen." Nope, not once. You take the essense of why this IP is successful and toss it out the window.

And the final question you ask is, "If I change element Y to try and make it more steeped in reality or to make it more appealing to the audience, does it work?" (ex. the goombas in Super Mario Bros.) Why would you take a silly idea that manages to work within that universe and try and change it, obviously not for any good reason.

That should force people to look for actual movie material instead of cash cow material (which coincidentally does not work). Halo, Fallout, Shadowrun (Genesis version), Final Fantasy IV and VI just to name a few. There's enough interesting material here to make a good movie either in that universe or based on that plot. Gamers don't care if their favorite scene isn't portrayed the way it was in the game as long as it makes for an interesting and believeable movie. You know why Sabin and Cyan fight monsters, standing upright mind you, while failling from a waterfall? Because the power of the console limited what the programmers could do. Now if you changed Celes' hair color to brown just because you think she'll appeal more to the audience, you will have millions of fanboys perched with arrows of flame to rain down upon you.

I just don't see how dumb people can be if they can adapt a novel for the big screen, adapting a videogame can't be much harder. Then again, I think I proved above that it is...

This weeks music choice is probably as far left of mainstream you can go. Shpongle is the band, a two piece consisting of Simon Posford (Hallucinogen, Celtic Cross) and Raja Ram. They are rooted in tribal and electronic sounds which to most people's surprise meld together very well.

Much of the music today starts off with everything blazing, sometimes even the chorus begins the song. They race through the verse to get to the catchy hook and before you know it the song is over. This certainly appeals to the short attention span of America. They don't want to invest more than a few minutes in a song.

Most of Shpongle's material flys over the five minute mark and it never gets boring. Well the songs kind of have to be long because they build up so much and the end result is very satisfying. It's the very opposite philosophy that most mainstream music takes; race to the chorus, keep the melody simple and upbeat, never breach the 4 minute mark. Layer upon layer is laid down, minor tweaks to the rhythm, and fills all serve to vary up the usually monotonous nature of electronic music. The level of difficulty to keep a song cohesive while constantly varying up the beat but not losing the beat is immense. There are many artists who create 8 minute songs, but the music tends to get lost or become uninteresting.

The first two of their albums, Tales of the Inexpressible and Are You Shpongled? are their most impressive work. Sticking with the long song format, you can really get into the music. It's great for your concentration too, I listen to it frequently while coding. A solid pair of headphones works best, there's alot to be missed with a pair of speakers unless you have some really nice ones. Crank it up and drown out the ambient noise.

The song selection is 'Star Shpongled Banner'. It is well, it's a..., well it's just Shpongle. It's very hard to explain in words. Other recommended listens are: Dorset Perception, D.M.T. (Divine Moments of Truth), Around the World in a Tea Daze, Once Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness, and Vapour Rumours.

Consider your self welcome.

Artist: Shpongle
Song: Star Shpongled Banner
Album: Tales of the Inexpressable
Music Tags: Goa, Psy-Trance, Tribal

It's all about the music this week folks...

This weeks music choice is a big dip waaaaaaaay back into music history. The New Beats were a three piece group who performed in the late 50s to late 60s. They had a few memorable hits, but none more popular than Bread and Butter. If you've ever heard this song before, you were probably certain it was a guy (or two) singing and a girl doing the chorus like some C & C Music Factory woman with a big set of lungs belting it out, but no, it is not. These three guys go to town.

This song roars out of the gate, with Larry Henley holding the best falsetto voice ever award high and screeching the chorus over and over. Be warned, nothing can prepare you for it. But it is quite awesome. The song is about well, bread and butter and how it's this guy's favorite meal. And there's some moral about the evils of your girlfriend eating food with other men. It's apparently a very serious issue in the 1950s.

I think the only time I've heard this song was at a diner which makes it all the more relevant and highly giggleable. You can't not laugh while listening to this, especially if you're unprepared.  I may have been eating toast and jam one of those times too. It is now necessary whenever I go to a diner with those spinny wheel song boxes to look for the Newbeats.

Artist: The New Beats
Song: Bread and Butter
Album: The Very Best of the Newbeats
Music Tags: Motown, Doo Wop

FACT: Four out of five Alteil staff members hate conventions...

Okay so our first convention for the year is happening today. The New York Comic Con. And although it is only a few blocks away from our offices, it is still exciting. Yes granted the convention hall (the magical Jacob Javits Center) is right on the water and located in New York City, it is still in the worst spot possible. Nothing is even remotely located in the area. We will be forced to dig for earthworms in the ground for sustenance at lunch time. But all of that does not diminish the awesomeness of the con environment.

Large, elaborate set-ups from established companies next to  new or unique companies and brands showing off some great product. And let's not forget the costume play (cosplay for short), people dressing in all sorts of comic book, anime, and videogame characters. Great for your MySpace or Facebook page, even your cellphone wallpaper.

Working at a con can be a bit harrowing, standing on your feet for eight plus hours. My flat feet don't take kindly to prolonged standing, let alone standing in a single spot. Having previous customer/user interaction is a big help as well as being able to spice up and inject enthusiasm into a mundane repetitive presentation. And as stated before, there is really no immediate food buying options outside the awful convention food court. Most cons don't really allow you to venture outside of the show floor, the foot traffic is too immense to let up your post.

Now most of those things sure seem like negatives, but they are minute in comparison to a free vacation. Now you may say, "...but but I'm working eight hours plus a day explaining about this game I work for?" To that I say, it's a job, quit whining. If you're not working a con, you're working in an office. I'd much rather be on vacation somewhere, working in a new environment, interacting with new people, doing new things, exploring uncharted (relative to my own travels) territory. I also like planes.

Plus, where else would you meet this guy (and yes, he is holding a Kesaran Pasaran:

The blogs are really supposed to be about something other than Alteil, but yesterday one of the best matches happened. Arfort vs. Edgarfigaro. Big Refess vs. Monster Mash.

None of us GMs are particular skilled as you players are, so victories are few and far between. CSquared gave me an idea for a deck consisting of not one but two Leviathans. Constant returning, quite a headache. Well a few revisions after the initial concept, the Leviathan deck was ready for battle. I stepped into the Folrart Arena with deck held high (cards facing me of course) and pressed find a challenger. Arfort runs a BIG Refess deck, consisting of very high HP and DEF cards. Also, his deck buffs like crazy. My deck involves getting x2 leviathans out plus either Snaf, Catherina, or Azure Beastmaster to buff the sea shark so he wont return himself. I never got to get the second Leviathan out. I really didn't need to though. All of his cards save one or two are agility 1 or 2, one of which was Verlaat. Undines help with the rest. His cards were flying back to the deck like crazy. Catherina stayed out as long as possible. EX Vordore came out at the right time. I almost had him. A few well placed Judgement hammers and Salamander open skills though,  he was right back in it.

The game ultimately came down to the last LP and the last of our cards. I believe he had a few return X cards to file soul skills too. I had a Haste Soldier and a Leviathan on the field and the move that I could of won with was Leviathan's returning ability. It was a dice roll between me and his Folrart Guardian (I think). I, in typical GM fashion, lost. Sadly there is no recorded battle or pictures taken, at least on my end. Arfort, if you hit the print screen key at all, lemme know, I'll post my defeat.

This is me after the battle:

This battle is a testament to trying new types of decks besides the established winners and also to never give up till the Alteil you lose music plays. So go, experiment! See what combinations you can come up with and don't get discouraged by a loss. It's just one step closer to a win.