Acid for Blood

Xenomorph at Home

A few months ago, I tweeted about getting a sweet Alien (xenomorph) costume in PlayStation Home. The costume was released to promote the Aliens vs. Predator game, and was available for a limited time only. I'm a big fan of the Alien films, and even though I don't spend too much time in Home, I had to get this costume. Yes, I actually bought it. I didn't bother buying the Predator costume, however I did buy some decorative pieces for my personal space. The costumes seemed to be fairly popular with the Home community, and they even organised an Aliens vs. Predator dance off in Home. Unfortunately, I missed it due to time zone differences.

Anyway, I finally figured out how to take screen shots in PlayStation Home. I have no idea how long the ability to take screen shots has been in place, but better late than never, I guess. Here are some pictures of my female avatar wearing her xenomorph costume in the Harbour Studio personal space:

Interview: Sylvia Liu, Winner of SOE GIRL Scholarship 2010

Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) announced today that Sylvia Liu of Milpitas, CA won the 2010 GIRL Scholarship (Gamers In Real Life Scholarship). The scholarship encourages students toward career paths in the creative and applied arts, with the goal of developing videogames that attract more women to play.

Liu's $10,000 scholarship award will to be applied toward tuition and other educational expenses at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and comes with an optional paid internship of up to 10 weeks at SOE’s headquarters in San Diego, working on one of the company’s hit titles.

I was given the opportunity to interview Liu about the scholarship, her goals, and about gender and games.

Could you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from, and what's your background?

My name is Sylvia Liu and I’m from Milpitas, CA. I studied at Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, CA in the Game Art major which is a really great school where I learned pretty much everything I know about art now. I’ve recently made the decision to go to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA for the Entertainment Design program. Also, during this summer I’m going to be taking three classes at Concept Design Academy in Pasadena, CA where I’ve taken many amazing workshops such as Kekai Kotaki’s Digital Illustration workshop. So, this summer is going to be really fun, especially with the SOE internship.

During your internship with SOE, what do you hope to learn?

I hope to participate and learn more about the process that Sony Online Entertainment goes through for creating appealing video games.

Gaining the real life experience of what the entertainment industry is looking for is valuable to me. I also hope to excel as a concept artist, and learn how to communicate my ideas so that they are visually compelling and easily understood by others. 

What do you hope to do after you graduate and why?

I hope to go into the Entertainment industry and work as a Concept Artist to create visual development for movies, animations, video games, etc. It has always been my passion to design new visual ideas and tell stories through my artwork for others to enjoy. 

Could you talk about your creative process for your art submission for the GIRL Scholarship?

I usually start out my design process by sketching abstract thumbnails and looking for interesting shapes that are appealing at first glance.

From there, I pull things that I like and build on it. I knew that I wanted to do a creature because Everquest II has many interesting creatures as bosses. Everquest II is also a fantasy game so I made sure that my environment and creature were more organic and unique. I went with a forest because its familiar yet there are so many possibilities to making it something people haven’t seen before. My Mosster, which is my creature, inhabits the forest so I made sure that you could instantly tell it belonged in its environment. I also created my designs so they were fun and had a story to them so the player would be more interested in it.

Are there any games that you feel have particularly good concept art? If so, which games, and why do you think the concept art to those games stands above the rest?

Some of my favorite computer games were Harvest Moon, Pokemon Yellow version, Final Fantasy, Warcraft III, and Starcraft. Recently, I’ve been playing Heroes of Newerth, Aion, and Starcraft II.

If I could go back in the past and work on any games, I would work on Final Fantasy X because I love the concept art –all the costumes, vehicles and creature designs are so unique looking! I also feel that my personal style is very similar to that type of art so I think I’d have so much fun working on it.

Are there any well-known industry figures you look up to for inspiration? If so, who are they, and why do you look up to them?

Yes, I look up to so many artists that I learn from and incorporate into my work. Some of my favorites are Khang Le and Veronique Meignaud. Khang Le is one of the best concept artists in my opinion because he's very versatile in his designing and has such a fun, unique style. I really love Veronique's work because of her use of colors and brushes. Her designs are also really interesting and her illustrations are beautiful. Both of these artists have taught me how to look at everything in a different way and see many sides to one thing—which, as a designer, it’s important to come up with different solutions for one problem.

According to a 2007 survey by Game Developer Magazine, women account for only about 20 percent of people working in the videogame industry. Do you have any thoughts on the gender disparity in games industry workers?

I think the game industry is still a pretty new industry and over the past few years it has become more and more popular.  I think it’s just taking more time for women to break into it, although I've already seen amazing female individuals working in video games.  I believe that more and more women will be joining the industry and play a large and important role in the development of games in the near future.

Do you think it is important to have diverse creative development teams, in terms of gender, race, culture, and other areas? If so, why do you think it's important to have more game creators from a variety of social and cultural backgrounds?

Yes, I think it’s very important to have diversity in any kind of industry because every culture, race, gender, etc. has a unique view and opinion. The more variety you have, the more people that you can reach with your product. Also, in games, there's so much potential for creating new worlds and with a mix of different cultures it will make games much more interesting. People from other places can also experience new cultures through their game which is a valuable and fun opportunity to have.

Given the fact that about 80 percent of people working in the games industry are men, do you think there's anything that men can do to help get more women into the games industry?

Maybe making some games with females as the main character!  Whenever my character is a big muscular guy, there's no way I can get into it because that’s just not me—but I know some female gamers who don't mind that. There are definitely more and more women getting into the industry so I just think over time the percentage will become equal.

Many gaming communities are populated mostly by men. Have you ever experienced sexism in a gaming environment? If so, how did you deal with it?

There have been many times where I was never expected to do as well as I have in my major, but I've never experienced any really negative sexism. I actually like that some people make assumptions about me because it gives me more motivation to do my best, and seeing people change their views is nice.

Thank you for your time, Sylvia, and best of luck with your studies and with the internship!

[This entry was cross-posted at The Border House.]

Ada Lovelace Day: Women in the Games Industry

Ada Lovelace Day is a day set aside to recognise women in technology and in the sciences. Earlier, I posted interviews with two women who I wanted to give a small shout-out to today, Tracey John and Nicholle Young. The former already works in technology and games journalism and the latter seeks to enter the videogame development industry. I'd like to do another post, this time about all the women in game development I know of or have met, and the women who want to get into the industry. I know it seems like a bit of an easy out to write a post recognising many unspecific women, however my personal experience as both a member of the games industry and as a longtime observer of the industry, have led me to think about this for Ada Lovelace Day.

I have the good fortune of working at a company that, comparatively, has a large number of women filling its ranks. Nearly every single department—from design, to production, to web, to community, to business and administration, to writing, to quality assurance, to art—has at least one woman (if not more) working there. We have a number of women who are quite influential on the design side of our games. One of the clearest recent examples of that influence is in the design of the female charr (on the right), a feline-like playabe species in Guild Wars 2. Many women in the company (including me) felt quite strongly that female charr should not be vaguely cat-like humans that you attach breasts to. The result is the female of the charr species looking every bit as powerful and deadly as the male, but with a more feminine appearance (at least, feminine according to human standards). And thus, in this instance, we have avoided the "if it's female, just put breasts on it" approach to species design, an approach that is so personally aggravating in a great number of games. Fan reaction? Almost universally positive, with most fans using every superlative under the sun to describe the female charr design. Notably, many women have approached me personally, asking me to thank our developers for the way they designed the female charr.

Would the same thing happen in another company where there were fewer women? I'm not sure. I know that more diversity and more perspectives are better in game design. Game developers need to understand the perspectives of people who don't have the same lived experience as them, because not everyone who buys a game will be a straight, white male.

The fact that we have as many women as we do in game development is unusual amongst game companies, where women tend to be highly represented in business development, marketing, public relations, and administration, rather than in game development. Having said that, we as a company and as an industry are nowhere near as close to the proportionate number of women out there who actually play videogames in general, which is about 40% of gamers. There is still a very long way to go in terms of the percentage of women working in game development at large, in roles in which they're able to shape and influence game design.

This year, I attended the Game Developers Conference. I met many women game developers over the course of my week in San Francisco. Again, male game developers vastly outnumbered the number of women attending the conference. I had so many conversations with women game developers that week, and many of those conversations were discussions about sexism, inequality, discrimination, and hope. While many shared observations (and sometimes firsthand experiences) of sexism in the industry and rightfully griped about sexism in games and games marketing, all of the women I encountered were optimistic and hopeful for the future. There's no other field they'd rather be in, and all of them were passionate about their work and ambitions.

As I ruminate on the goals of Ada Lovelace Day, I realise that I am fortunate to have met a many women in game development and to have a number of women to look up to, both within the industry and aspiring to get into the industry, as colleagues, as friends, and as people I only know of from afar, but admire nonetheless. I respect them for their friendship, professional and personal, for their advice, for their opinions, for their constructive criticism, for their intelligence, for their senses of humour, and for their examples of excellence. So, this post is for all of the awesome women in the games industry. May you continue to inspire by being your fantastic selves!

This post is part of Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc.!) to draw attention to the achievements of women in technology and science. You can read more about Ada Lovelace Day at the website.

[This entry was cross-posted at The Border House]

Ada Lovelace Day: Interview with Nicholle Young

I have been watching The Tester, the Sony PlayStation Network reality show, since the series first started. In the show, cast members compete for a position as a Sony PlayStation Quality Assurance Tester. Nicholle Young is one of the cast members of The Tester, and she graciously agreed to take time out of her busy day and participate in this interview on extremely short notice. In this interview, Nicholle shares her thoughts on what inspires her in games, a career in the industry, and diversity issues in games. Read on for the interview! 

Could you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from, and what's your background?

I'm 23, I work now as a daycare Counselor and a part time student at my local community college. My hobbies consist of reading novels, listening to various genres of music and watching Japanese animation. I love movies. Sci-fi is my favorite genre, so anything Star Wars is a 'must' in my collection. I grew up on military bases, so I like meeting and learning about people and their cultures.

What sort of games do you like to play? Is there a particular genre you're drawn to?

I love to play role playing games, first person shooters, survival horror, and adventure games with an open world theme to it. I dedicate most of my gaming to role-playing games because not only do I love level grinding, but it's really the story that draws me in. I love being a part of it by making decisions—that have consequences—with various characters, and I like exploring new worlds.

Are you currently playing a game, and if you are, how are you liking it?

I am replaying Final Fantasy VIII. It's just as good as I when I first played it. I received it as my Christmas present the year it was released. I'm not playing it to grind all my characters to max status. I'm just taking the time to admire the detail that has been placed into the game—not to mention, test out a theory a friend of mine presented. You can learn more about it at www.squallsdead.com.

One of the things that many people, particularly those in the games industry, said when they heard about The Tester is that the participants had no idea what they were getting into in terms of what QA Testers do. How did you respond to those statements?

I do understand what QA testing is, I have no problem in working minimum wage in an entry level position that may be temporary for some, but for others like myself, [it's] a stepping stone into the career path that one might take into the game industry. I'm not saying I'm going to make the jump from being a Game Tester straight to Creative Director, but at least it's a start—especially if the jobs in between them such as Game Designer and Producer are already filled up. Game testing may not be as high as being Game Designer or Programmer to some, but it's a vital part of any game project. After testing phase, it's all about wrapping things up in order to meet the deadline for the game's release.

Something that really impressed me about the selection for The Tester cast was the fact that women and people of colour were well-represented. In an industry that is dominated by white men, this is noteworthy. Do you have any thoughts on diversity in the games industry and in the content of videogames themselves? 

I believe that we have come a long way in terms of diversity in the industry, but that doesn't mean we should stop. I think it's awesome that women who are looking to get into the gaming industry can have examples such as Amy Hennig (Creative Director of UNCHARTED 2) to look up to, as well as the growing number of people of color that are now moving into producing games, such as Felice Standifer (Producer at Sony Computer Entertainment America). Many minorities are not encouraged to think about the gaming industry as a career option, so I can see how it has lead to a lack of visibility. 

As far as games go—a wholly different story. Situational stereotyping is the norm in the gaming world. Take any first person shooter about being a soldier. It's all about being the tough guy, or the one guy who has the most experience, or the rookie with ideals that are constantly challenged. Now apply a racial heritage to the tough guy such as Rico from KillZone. He's now turned from the Average Joe tough guy to another hot blooded Latino that has a philosophy of "Shoot first and shoot some more"—[a character] who even has an intended racist view of [the] enemy, referring to the Helghast as "Higgers." Now what could that possibly evolved from, hmm? Whereas, the white guy, Sev, is the one who is balanced, fair, and generally the stereotypical "real White Knight hero" of the series, even to the point of sacrificing himself in KillZone 2.

In a couple of comments you've made on games blogs, you've touched upon your financial resources. Do you feel as if people ignore economic class as a factor in access to games? Could you discuss your feelings and perspectives about this issue?

I think people tend to ignore economic class. After all, here we are playing nearly $65-$70 for games. On top of that, DLC ranges from $1.99 to $15.99. Despite the fact that I am a consumer, I am well aware that this is still a business. Yes, it is about fun and games but in order to exist, you need cash flowing freely all around.

As for my status, being laid off two years ago, and now working minimum wage to support myself, paying for bills and college, has sharply impacted my gaming. At first, it was just about not buying every title that I want  on the release date. Now it is debating whether or not to pawn or sell my games or consoles just to pay bills. The last major game purchase I made was Modern Warfare 2 in November of last year. Since then, I've sold it for gas, as well as few others. I'm holding onto my PS3 mainly because I know I can play PS3 demos and PSOne games I've downloaded, but also because I know how much it is worth used—I may need it to pay for bills if I can't afford to do so with my pay check. There have been many titles that I would like to purchase, but right now I have priorities—to pay bills, have enough money for food, and go to college. 

I'm pretty sure the game publishers are not missing my dollars that much. I think it's rather interesting to note that games may not even been worth as much as the $65-$70, we pay for them brand new. Considering how many times I've seen GameStop advertise that you can trade two games in to equal the price of that not-yet-released title, which you can put on reserve for only $20... I mean what is that about? I guess that's the business aspect of the gaming industry when it comes to consumers. I'll probably understand more as I learn about the industry.

Why do you want to get into the games industry? What sort of profession would you like to get into? 

I want to be able to contribute what I can to the industry that has been a crucial part of my life. I've been inspired by it, and I think it's time for me to give back in any way I can. I would like to become a game Creative Director. I've already mentioned that it's the story that draws me into a game. For me, it has always been about how the story can be different things—an escapist fantasy, a social commentary on today's world, or a learning experience. It's like something one would experience if they read a good book or watched an amazing movie. It's an experience that I want to learn how to create for others to enjoy. I want to start in game design and work my way up.

Is there a game that had a strong influence on you in terms of inspiring your desire to pursue a career in the games industry?

There are two games, or should I say series, that had a solid influence on me, one is Metal Gear Solid and the other is Final Fantasy. They really broke the mold as far as showing how far can they take what would really be an ordinary game, and turning it into an experience that one has to play for themselves in order to understand. For example, in Final Fantasy VII I  thought I knew everything. I expected the twist in the main plot not just being about taking down a corporate government. What I wasn't expecting were character twists, especially learning that Cloud wasn't really who he said he was. Since that revealation, Square gone to many depths and (sequels) to show how Cloud has evolved from his initial hero character persona. You could apply the same thing to Raiden in the Metal Gear Solid series. By the middle of the story, you think you already know who he is: a naive grunt sent on some hostage-freeing mission. Then, you later find out he's an ex- child soldier trying to block out the memories of his past, and is caught up in the conspiracy that has been developing for the past 50 years.

Are there any well-known industry figures you look up to for inspiration? If so, who are they, and why do you look up to them?

I mentioned two of them earlier, Amy Hennig and Felice Standifer. I also look to Hideo Kojima, Hironobu Sakaguchi, David Jaffe, and Katherine De Leon for proving that, through dedication and standing tall in the face of all obstacles, you can make an excellent game if you are passionate about it. Their ability to be honest and think outside the box have really made an impact on how I would like to approach a career in the gaming industry.

What's the next step for you? Do you have any plans regarding your career aspirations that you'd like to share?

Right now, I am finishing up taking some introduction classes at my community college. Luckily for me, my college is starting a new program for an Associate in Applied Science degree. I, along with other students, requested this new program. The new degree is called Simulation and Game Development. I plan on choosing that as my major next year, and my electives will focus on game design. As I start my way into the gaming industry, as a Game Designer and ultimately a Creative Director, I'll also continue going to college. I will be majoring in English, so I can gain more experience in writing stories. I'm also applying for game testing jobs to some studios in Raleigh for the summer as a way to gain some experience as well. 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

In regards to diversity and gender I personally believe it's all in a matter of perception and what people are exposed to seeing and experiencing. Even within specific racial groups, gender rules are influenced and experienced in a profoundly different way. Hopefully we can continue to have more honest dialog in the industry to address this, and not just simply outright deny that inequality happens or throw it under the rug as a "small issue". I would like to thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts. 

Thank you again, Nicholle, for spending some time to talk about what inspires you, and your ambition to get into the games industry. Readers can follow Nicholle on her Twitter: @ChicagoFameGirl.

This post is part of Ada Lovelace Day, an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc.!) to draw attention to the achievements of women in technology and science. You can read more about Ada Lovelace Day at the website.

[This entry was cross-posted at The Border House]

Naughty Dog at GDC 2010

Naughty Dog, the developers of UNCHARTED: Drake's Fortune and UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves are set to make a strong showing at GDC 2010. Naughty Dog staff will appear in at least ten sessions at the Game Developers Conference. Arne Meyer, Naughty Dog's Senior Manager of Marketing Communications, posted a list of their sessions on the PlayStation Blog:

Thursday (March 11, 2010) 1:30pm — 2:30pm
Among Friends – An UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Post-Mortem
Richard Lemarchand (Game Designer, Naughty Dog)
Room 134, North Hall

Thursday (March 11, 2010) 3:00pm — 4:00pm
Behind the Scenes: UNCHARTED 2’s Unique Cinematic Production Process
Josh Scherr (Cinematics Animation Lead, Naughty Dog), Amy Hennig (Creative Director, Naughty Dog, Inc.)
Room 303, South Hall

Thursday (March 11, 2010) 4:30pm — 5:30pm
Micro or Massive: It’s Fricking Tough to Achieve a Vision
Baiyon Tomohisa Kuramitsu (Graphic Artist/Composer, PixelJunk/Eden), Richard Lemarchand (Game Designer, Naughty Dog)
Room 135, North Hall

Friday (March 12, 2010) 9:00am — 10:00am
GDC Microtalks 2010: Ten Speakers, 200 Slides, Limitless Ideas!
Richard Lemarchand (Game Designer, Naughty Dog), Ian Bogost (Associate Professor, The Georgia Institute of Technology), Chaim Gingold (levity lab), Gary Penn (Guru, Denki), Sam Roberts (Festival Director, indiecade.com), Margaret Robertson (Consultant and writer, Lookspring), Kellee Santiago (President and Co Founder, thatgamecompany), Suzanne Seggerman (President, Games for Change), Jesse Schell (ETC Carnegie Mellon, Schell Games), Jane Pinckard (Business Development, Foundation 9 Entertainment)
Room 134, North Hall

Friday (March 12, 2010) 1:30pm — 2:30pm
Creating the Active Cinematic Experience of UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves
Bruce Straley (Game Director, Naughty Dog), Neil Druckmann (Co-Lead Designer, Naughty Dog)
Room 305, South Hall

Friday (March 12, 2010) 4:30pm — 5:30pm
UNCHARTED 2 Art Direction
Erick Pangilinan (Art Director, Naughty Dog), Robh Ruppel (Art Director, Naughty Dog)
Room 306, South Hall

Saturday (March 13, 2010) 10:30am — 11:30am
UNCHARTED 2 Character Pipeline: An In-depth Look at the Creation of U2’s Characters
Richard Diamant (Lead Character Artist, Naughty Dog Inc.), Judd Simantov (Lead Character Technical Director, Naughty Dog Inc)
Room 135, North Hall

Saturday (March 13, 2010) 1:30pm — 2:30pm
Animation and Player Control in UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune and UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves
Travis McIntosh (Lead Programmer, Naughty Dog Inc.)
Room 135, North Hall

Saturday (March 13, 2010) 1:30pm — 2:30pm
Getting Noticed: Why You Need an Online Portfolio and How to Make One
Jacob Minkoff (Game Designer, Naughty Dog Inc)
Room 306, South Hall

Saturday (March 13, 2010) 3:00pm — 4:00pm
UNCHARTED 2: HDR Lighting
John Hable (Programmer, Naughty Dog)
Room 305, South Hall

I'd love to attend them all, but that'd be impossible even if I wasn't a Conference Associate. All I can hope for is that my volunteer work schedule allows me to attend the Post-Mortem session and the Behind the Scenes session.

In addition to listing the sessions, Meyer began the post with a call for questions to ask the Co-Lead Game Designer of UNCHARTED 2 and the Graphic Artist and Composer of PixelJunk/Eden at the "Micro or Massive" panel.

[Read]

Metroid Director Yoshio Sakamoto Profiled on MDb

Yoshio Sakamoto, Director of the the majority of Nintendo-developed Metroid games, will speak at the Game Developers Conference this year. Sakamoto also happens to be the Director of my favourite Metroid game, and the game that (if pressed) I might call my favourite game of all time: Super Metroid.

The Metroid Database has an extensive feature article about Yoshio Sakamoto:

Sakamoto has become a kind of enigmatic director at Nintendo to outsiders, being overshadowed by the work of Miyamoto and Miyamoto's apprentice, Eiji Aonuma (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess). In some cases, Sakamoto's role has been overlooked or underemphasized and credited to Gumpei Yokoi, who served mainly as the producer or supervisor of Sakamoto's games rather than as a creative director. So Sakamoto is Nintendo's 'other' director, one of the most creative men in the company, yet also one of the least known, considering his body of work. As such, he has not been as widely sought out by the press, but his recent work with Other M is likely to change that, catapulting him into the spotlight.

The in-depth article details Sakamoto's many years of experience at Nintendo, design philosophies and approaches, and discusses the background of Super Metroid's development. It's a really interesting read, particularly since Sakamoto is not as high profile a creative director as other Nintendo luminaries.

[Read]

Mirror's Edge: Burdened by Words

A recent GameSetWatch post, "Design Diversions: The Video Game as a Picture Book", by Andrew Vanden Bossche discussed how Mirror's Edge could have been a stronger game overall, art even, had it not been for the tacked-on plot:

There is more emotion in a half second of Mirror’s Edge gameplay than in its entire script. While it's disappointing that the dialogue couldn’t live up to the standards of the art direction and gameplay, this is DICE’s success, not their failure. Faith’s movements are highly detailed, from the impact of landing to blur of acceleration, and it is these little details that bring the exhilaration, panic, tension, and joy of flying from rooftop to rooftop to life. This wordless story was the real Mirror’s Edge.

I noted in my review of Mirror's Edge that the environment, the city, was a prominent 'character' in the game, and I think the urban landscape and environmental details contribute to a story told through game play. Mirror's Edge, when I wasn't screaming at its frustratingly difficult game play, delivered a particularly immersive experience. All the details of that game world, conveyed in Faith's breathing, the sensation of running and jumping, the background chatter on the radio, posters displayed on the walls—provided a more compelling and emotive experience than the narrative itself.

This paragraph gave me pause for thought:

Faith herself was supposed to be a bold step forward for heroines; tasteful, independent, and not overly sexualized. While she is these things, she is ultimately just built out of less offensive stereotypes rather than the depth of real person. Her somewhat irrationally violent personality is, disappointingly, all too common in videogame heroines. Again, Mirror’s Edge seems to step forward only with its visuals: Faith’s character design is far more revolutionary than her personality.

Faith is indeed "tasteful, independent, and not overly sexualized", but is Faith "built out of less offensive stereotypes"? I'd argue that the charactacterisation of Faith having an "irrationally violent personality" as an example of a common trait amongst videogame heroines isn't entirely inaccurate. I feel that the majority of videogame protagonists, male or female, seem to have "irrationally violent" personalities. To specifically call out videogame heroines and citing Faith as an example of this obscures this key point.

The article goes on to critique Faith as a character, stating that she lacks iconic status and is not memorable, which I completely agree with. Faith is not a very deep character. Whilst she has a driving motivation in the game, unfortunately it falls into tired story modes: her sister is in danger, and Faith must go save her. Whilst Mirror's Edge is quite unusual in that we have a woman saving another woman, bypassing the disturbingly common videogame trope of a man saving a woman, it is still something we've all played before.

Getting back to the main point, while Mirror's Edge disappointed on the writing and the character side, the incredible game play (apart from the unforgiving design and crushing difficulty) and art direction are unique in games.

Sakura-Con 2009

Sakura-Con took place last weekend, from 10 - 12 April in Seattle. I took a bunch of pictures, and met up with some friends.

I didn't buy anything. I wasn't even remotely tempted to buy anything. I haven't been watching much anime in recent years, and a lot of the merchandise was related to anime that I'm not familiar with. These days I try to be selective about the merchandise I purchase, not just because I'm trying to watch my expenses, but after two long-distance relocations, as well as a slight shift in attitude away from the collector mentality, I just feel less inclined to accumulate a lot of the stuff I would have bought in a heartbeat five or ten years ago.

I didn't even recognise half the costumes at the con. Sometimes I wonder whether I should keep going to anime conventions, given the fact that I'm out of touch with what's popular these days.

There were several anime series that were well-represented in terms of cosplayers, and they decided to take group photos.

This is the Bleach group:

This is the Pokemon group:

I do really like seeing people dressed up in costumes. This is one of my favourite parts about attending fandom conventions, and I think anime cons are amongst the best in terms of quality and quantity of cosplayers. I certainly think that the calibre of costumes at Sakura-Con outshone the cosplay at Emerald City ComiCon 2009. In general, I think that anime cons are much better places to go if you're interested in looking at people dressed-up in costume, than comic book, science fiction, or gaming conventions. Fewer people at the other types of fandom conventions seem to dress-up, but I am biased since I've been attending anime cons for a very long time so I'm most familiar with the culture there.

There are loads more photos in the Flickr photoset I created.

Wintersday Calendar

The Wintersday Calendar is the Guild Wars version of an Advent Calendar. There's a new piece of fan-created artwork each day from December 1st - 24th.

[Via the Guild Wars LiveJournal Community]

Guild Wars Galleries on Flickr

Whenever I take screen shots from Guild Wars, I put them up on my Flickr page. Many of them have been compiled into photosets. I have collected all of the photosets and they can be found in my Guild Wars gallery collection.

Some highlights from the current photosets:

From the Travels in Tyria set:

From the set depicting the Ascension of my first Guild Wars character:

From the first Wintersday celebration in 2005:

From a set which contains random screen shots of my characters:

From Halloween 2006 (I missed Halloween 2005, which is why there are no pictures from that):

From Wintersday 2006:

From Canthan New Year 2007:

From the Guild Wars: Eye of the North set:

You might notice that the newer shots are in wide screen. I got a wide screen monitor in December 2006.