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I'm moving there. I feel that Blogger is not keeping up with the times, and that its functionality is very limited.
Updates stopped for this blog. Last post 20 August 2013.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
"Why did you decide to learn computer science?"
How do I answer that question?
I'm currently on the end of week 3 of my first year in computer science in university. Why did I take it? Well, I gave this answer to someone once, and it's probably my best answer so far: "I'm comfortable with a computer, and I've always been poking around with it".
But what does it really mean? What's the underlying meaning?
I'm a gamer. I play video games on the computer for long periods of time. I tweak settings using programs found on the Internet to make my games work, or work better. I attempt to edit files sometimes to change the way the game works.
I use Facebook, Twitter, I used to read 9gag. I blog, I read tech news from websites like Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Kotaku. I play around with HTML code for my blog to change the design. I even designed a blog by myself once, using the skeleton code from another design (check my previous blog, design is done by me, coding is not).
I've never even built my own computer before. The only thing I know how to remove or add into the computer are the RAM chips. I barely know how computers really work, both in terms of hardware and software.
I know nothing.
In short, I use the computer more often than the average user.
Do I like computer science? Up to now, do I even know what computer science
really is? Honestly, no.
For the past 3 weeks, I've been thinking of what CCA to join. There's SiG Labs and Hackers, and they're pretty similar except that one gets more official clearance and monetary support. Both of them play around with hardware or programming to do fun and interesting projects. I thought to myself: "Do I really want to do this for fun? There are movies, TV shows, and Guild Wars 2 waiting for me at home". Not to mention, there's enough work to do from my studies alone. So, yeah, I'm done with CCAs.
Then I went to do more thinking. Is there anything at all that I've studied in the past 12 years, and the majors offered in university, that interests me at all? Would I give up time to read up on these studies, to gain more knowledge for the fun of it, or to play around with concepts and theories? Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Social Studies, Art, Geography, History, English, Chinese, Literature, Design & Technology, Home Economics, 3 weeks of computer science...
No. I wouldn't
I've barely started learning anything in-depth about computer science, so it's way too early for me to say if I'll enjoy it. But as of now, on my 12 years and 3 weeks of academic study, I don't think there's anything that I'm really interested in, academically.
Sure, there are certain subjects that I prefer over others, but nothing that I truly desire to learn about.
So, why did I decide to learn computer science?
Actually, why do you ask me that question?
posted @ 1:04 am
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Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I'm gonna just repost what I said on the Bioware forums. This is in response to numerous people saying day one DLC is "Necessary" because game's just cost too damn much to make, apparently:
I just want to jump in here for a second. To the people saying that the industry needs money, that the industry is underfunded and needs to find new sources of revenue in microtransactions and day one DLC, or DLC at all, I point you toward three cases: The Witcher 2, Deus Ex: HR, and Skyrim.
Now, what's unique about all three of those cases? They were all profitable, they were all critically acclaimed, and they were all respectful enough to not launch with cut content, day one DLC, or short, 10-15 hour game times. And, of course, all three were AAA titles. Two of those games provided free post launch support in the form of additional content added via patches, TW2 and Skyrim. Why, then, can all three of these games, two of which were in development for quite a few years, be so successful? Why isn't Bethesda, CDProjekt Red, or Eidos scrambling to milk their consumers out of every last dime? Why aren't they going bankrupt due to "Piracy" or "Games being too cheap", despite the fact that all three games were hugely popular on the PC, known for it's piracy problems?
Three reasons: First, they were good. Really good. Some of them might not have been your cup of tea but the fact is it is undeniable all three of them were high quality in some or all fields. Quality products (often, but not always) sell. Of course, quality does not guarantee popularity, nor does popularity indicate quality, but a quality product is more likely to sell then a low quality product.
Second, strong management. This industry suffers from a Blight! of mismanagement. Games that should not be green lit are green lit all the time, and publishers are astounded when they don't sell. THQ is currently crawling for it's life because it made a prolonged series of poor management decisions when funding games. A more recent, and tragic, example can be seen in the demise of 38 Studios. Kingdoms of Amalur allegedly sold over a million copies. Over one million copies for a brand new IP, at the end of the console cycle, in a saturated market of high quality RPG's. Surrounded by Skyrim and ME3 it still sold one million copies. In any other case that would be astounding, that would be a breakout success, 38 Studios would be high on life at the moment as they'd be already working on a sequel (DLC). Why did they crumble? Why were so many people suddenly financially screwed? Not because of pirates, not because of overexpensive development costs, but because of mismanagement. The management of 38 Studios decided that they would put so much money into their game that it would need to sell 3 million copies to break even. That is astounding. Whoever was in charge there should never work in this industry again, at least not in a management position. Amalur, no matter how good, was never going to sell 3 million copies. And 38 Studios isn't the only studio suffering from mismanagement. It can be seen in nearly every failed product, publishers who either pushed the developer too hard or not enough (being a publisher in this industry requires hitting a sweet spot between respecting the developers abilities and knowledge and knowing when to put your foot down) and developers who overblew their budget. This isn't to even talk about the millions and millions of dollars spent on marketting. Speaking of marketting costs...
Finally, and perhaps the biggest reason those games did so well, was that they had a dedicated fanbase. Look back at the most successful developers of this industries short history and what do you see? Each and every one of them fostered a die hard community of fans who would take a bullet for them any day. It can never be overstated the power a strong, loyal, large group of dedicated fans can do for your products. CDProjekt has done loads to earn their fans. There's a reason even knee deep in cultures that support piracy the act of illegally downloading The Witcher 2 is so frowned upon. DEHR, months before release, was not very high on most people's radar, and then the game got leaked. All of a sudden fan videos were popping up all over youtube, people were discussing how good it was on video game forums across the internet, and hype built for the game where before there had been only cynicism, for how could a game even come close to the depth of the original Deus Ex in 2011? Skyrim, of course, was helped along by the loyal fans of both TES series and Bethesda in general. Indeed, Skyrim had a large marketing campaign, but the power of those fans in the early days, the content and word of mouth they created, is no doubt a large part of the reason Skyrim reached such a mainstream success, a genre that very rarely sees such sales. And that's the key, word of mouth. You can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing, or you can cut that budget and develop a band of loyal fans who will do that marketing for you for free. Loyal fanbases are a goldmine. They not only buy your game, they sell it for you too! Bioware should know this all too well. DAO sold based on word of mouth generated by the early adopters, early adopters who were familiar with Bioware's name and the high quality product associated with it. A name that over the last two years has become tarnished greatly with disappointment after disappointment.
For an additional example of how a company can become hugely successful, all while treating their consumers with respect, look no further than the juggernaut known as Valve. For years Valve supported TF2 free of charge. They carried this philosophy over to the L4D series, they released numerous updates for the Counter Strike series, and they're challenging the leviathans of the ARTS genre with the upcoming release of DOTA2 by offering all heroes for free, something League of Legends does not do. All the while they've managed to turn huge profits off their games through continued sales of the main product and the most ethical F2P systems you can find in this industry. Critics point to Steam, but Steam, while hugely successful, does not negate the fact that they've managed to both turn a profit from their games alone and treat their consumers with respect by offering free content, quality products, and microtransactions that don't amount to "Pay 2 Win".
So to sum it all up: The argument that the industry is dying, that game development costs too much and developers must find new ways to make money, is nothing more than a scarecrow, put up to defend mismanagement, unethical or shady business practices, and other failings on the part of the developers and publishers. Numerous examples exist debunking this myth, and it's perpetuation only helps the questionable companies continue their practices without change.
- Tony Danza
http://kotaku.com/5934524/bioware-theres-no-single-right-time-for-dlc?comment=51832286
Good stuff.
posted @ 1:02 am
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Sunday, August 12, 2012
Lol hahaha. I actually wanted to automatically publish this on 5th March 2012 at 12am. That's the date of my ORD. Can't remember why I decided not to post it, but check it out, it's amusing.
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Today is 5th March, 2012.
Doctors have told me that I have been in a coma since 6th March, 2010. I last remembered being conscious the day before, collecting my results for the A-levels. After that, I have absolutely no idea why I went dark.
Doctors tell me that they have no idea what happened to me as well. Researchers have been visiting me, curious about this new medical problem that has befallen me. Two years have passed, and no one has been able to figure out the problem.
But I guess it doesn't matter. I am glad that I am finally awake, and able to continue with my life.
Being in a coma is a horrible thing. You lie down, knocked out cold, oblivious to everything around you. I have a lot of things to catch up to now. The world has changed so much. The world of technology is truly advancing at a rapid rate. This is going to need a lot of getting used to.
For some reason, the university I applied for has been eagerly awaiting my arrival. They have actually reserved a place for me, even though they do not know if I'll ever wake up. Am I special? What did I do to deserve this privilege?
I am worried. I remember almost nothing from my JC days. How am I to get back to studying in my university? Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do.
Even while writing this, I feel absolutely disturbed. Coming home, I found that I have several items that I have never seen before. These items were seemingly from the military, and I have no idea how they appeared in my room. My computer seems to have been used regularly, with many new games and programs installed in it.
Furthermore, my blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts have been updating themselves for the past two years. Who has been using them? I asked my parents what has happened, they said that they have never seen anyone touch them. What is going on?
On further inspection, it seems that those military items belong to me. They have my name on it. Reading the blog posts for the past two years have also revealed a lot about my situation for the past two years. It seems that I haven't really been in a coma at all. In fact, I have been forced into the military, doing things against my will.
What is this? Does the military now capture random people for their own employment and training? Why did my family have no idea about this? They all tell me that I have been in a coma. Is my family playing along with the military too? Why do I have absolutely no memory of what I did?
I don't know who did this to me. I don't know what you want. I don't think I have what you want. But what I will eventually have are a very particular set of skills; skills I will acquire over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let me know what happened to me now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will give you hell.
posted @ 12:55 am
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