Saturday, March 2, 2013

Its been a while

It has been a long time because I have been on a journey of the mind. Serving in the Iraq war and my reentering civilian life really fucked me up a lot more than I thought and I was not ready to be happy again. I tried college which didn't work. Not to mention trouble with the law. Now I feel like I have a purpose again. That purpose is to become closer with computers.

I have started to learn code in the hopes of one day creating a game. Well languages are hard and I hope to update my progress here as well as other things or requests from the audience for creative material.(music, art, ect.)

TL DR: I'M BACK

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My Show AKA Project Ad-Roc

So I have NetFlix so while I sit and watch TV I usually write or play video games etc. So I have decided to write a show. I leave you with this.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Star Gate: Worst Sci-Fi Show Ever

I started watching Stargate Atlantis and have made it through the first season and would like to say that it is the worst Sci-Fi show I have watched in a great while. There are so many elements that just make it the worst put together show since the Super Mario Bro's Super Show. Now that I have moved on to the second season Ronin has made the overall show better but it still has its flaws.

My biggest problem is that every race speaks English. In SG-1 almost all planets are populated by races that originate on earth and is basically the same with Atlantis. These races are descendants of people like Ghangis Khan, Ancient Egypt, etc. There are also other alien races known as the Goa'uld, Asgaurdians, Atlantians, etc. Now for some reason all of the people they meet speak English. Even the Atlantians who write in a different language always speak English. I understand that people would be even more upset if the writers used languages and called them something else, but every other Sci-Fi universe finds a way around this. In Star Trek it is universal communicators and in Dr. Who the TARDIS translates everything using peoples brain waves. I have always been told that if you want to complain about the flaws of something have a solution so here it is, the star gates translate it or they manufacture universal translators. Either of these things would work. With a civilization that could build a star gate I am pretty sure they could make a translator. They could just use a fish...

Another problem I have with the Star Gate series so far is  the lack of continuity. One day people will want to kill an alien race and then next they don't. Other times they are all about gene therapy and other days they are not. Sometimes the greater good is a theme and sometimes it is the needs of the one that are addressed and themed. When you have a show like that you can't get into the characters because no characters exists.

Now there are a lot of other little problems with the series that I have but those will be better discussed in the comments. I mean when you have an inconsistent show where everyone speaks English for no good reason when one is easy to find that is just a good concept with a lazy staff. Thanks for coming again and have a good one.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

By Pure Definition...

What really confuses me is when people use words that have a definition and use those words as they see fit. 1) The definition of role http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/role. 2) The definition of role-play: to act out the role of OR to represent in action. 3) The definition of game http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/game. So in summation a role-playing game (RPG) is a game in which you play the role of a character. So by definition it is a game where the player makes choices for the character he/she is assuming the role of. Now because most people "know" the definition of role playing game the first paragraph here may seem pompous but it serves a purpose. Now on to the examples.

Now Dungeons and Dragons is the first good example of a role playing game that is still around. In this game you create a character. You live out every decision of this character within the bounds of the game rules and the dungeon masters imagination. This is the closest to RPG you can get by its pure definition.

Now when you start talking about video games the developers only have so much leeway. It is impossible to make a game in which the character can make every decision of your character, have every setting, etc. With a game like Oblivion (without mods) you have a game with a permanent, unchanging setting. The laws of the world will always be the same not matter what the player does. A player cannot travel in the future and live an adventure there or to go into the past is also impossible. You also cant move through out the entire land, instead you are given boundaries that are made of invisible walls. Now with the addition of mods you are given even more leeway. The possibilities are almost endless but are never infinitely dynamic. The other games that fit into a category like this one are Mass Effect, the Fallout games, The Elder Scrolls games, etc.

Now onto Japanese RPGs (JRPGs). Final Fantasy VII is a disgrace to the RPG genre. You make no choices for your character except minimal choices like what dress Cloud will wear or what equipment each playable character will wear and even that is mostly made for you. At least in FFVII you choose your characters names. You don't role play ever in this game. FFVII is a turn and menu based game with cinematic making it almost like an interactive movie like the Halo series. I guess at least the Halo series calls the stuff in the middle of the cinematic first person shooting which is exactly what the game play actually consists of. The other games that fit in this category are every Final Fantasy game, every Dragon Warrior/Quest game, Xenosaga, etc.

In summation people often get really confused and say that games like Oblivion and Mass Effect are not RPGs, where games like Final Fantasy are RPGs. I hope that after reading this article you will no longer be confused about which is which. Thank you and have a great day.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

An Introduction

Hello! My name on the webs is Ad-Roc. I created this blog so I could share with the world my opinions of the things that make up the world around me. I believe that you will mostly agree with my opinions because most of my ideas are based on very elementary truths. So all of you out there, welcome to my blog.