Dragon Age Review

Ted Puffer's Review: 2 stars

Dragon Age is a pretty standard RPG with elements familiar to the genre. So much so that I'm not going to write a lot about the characters or the world they inhabit. Although the programmers and writers have tried to add some new elements to the formula, the majority of the story and creatures that inhabit the world of Dragon Age are cookie cutter placeholders and can be easily imagined by anyone who has read Lord of the Rings, or better yet, seen the movie. Notice I said 'movie' singular. Watching the trilogy isn't a necessary prerequisite for understanding Dragon Age.
Dragon Age allows you to create your own character which means two things. You get to add some basic stats to bump up an ability, and create the look of the character.
Stats, no biggie. Nothing new.
Look of the character, now that was actually impressive. Your character starts out looking like a typical WoW character. Handsome or pretty, depending on if your male or female. Slender for elves, more heavyset for dwarfs. But here is where it gets interesting. You can modify each physical characteristic of your avatars face, hair, skin tone and tattoos. There are plenty of other games that allowed this (Conan for example), but I had better results making a unique looking character in Dragon Age. Each change is small. You can make the character's eyes slightly larger or smaller, slightly wide spaced or a bit close together. Each change on it's own isn't that great, but there is such a range of small tweaks to the physical appearance of the character that you can end up with a unique looking player in no time.
These changes are limited to your characters head. Keep this in mind. You really aren't able to make your character smaller or taller, slender or built like a brick shithouse. It just isn't possible. But you can give him dozens of different eyebrows, so that counts for something.
That being said, the meat of the game should be in story and experience, not necessarily in just how wild you can make your avatar. And here is where the game lost it for me.
The story is linear. VERY linear. You are able to make choices throughout the game as you progress from one place to another, but you can't really drastically alter the events that unfold. You can play as a knight or a knave in behavior and choices, but you're still going to end up saving a certain town, rescuing certain people or agreeing to undertake missions whether you want to or not.
So I stopped playing.
I had a similar problem with Neverwinter Nights, but to a much less degree. For Dragon Age, there is just so much gold and experience you can gain as you go along. Lets say that you want to spend a gaming session getting nothing but gold, or beefing up your XP. That's not really possible. Once you clear a band of thieves out of a forest, the forest stays peaceful. Once you've grabbed every bit of loot that isn't nailed down in town, there just isn't any more to be had.
NWN had the same problem, but you weren't as aware of it and they hid it better. Or maybe the voice acting was better so you were more engaged in the world. I couldn't help noticing that Dragon Age is out for the XBOX and PS systems, and the game play shows. Everything can be done with a few clicks. Yes, you do have hundreds of weapons and suits of armor to choose from and plenty of spells and combat tactics to have your characters perform, but you don't really need them. Once you get a pretty good combat strategy, or decent weapon you can settle into a click-fight-click-loot routine which isn't rewarding at all.
Meh.

Avatar Movie Review

Ted Puffer Review = 3 Stars

This movie is the ultimate example of style over substance. Since there are millions of reviews for this movie that I'm going to forgo the opportunity to add my own. Not because there are plenty of reviews already and to make another would just be rehashing what has already been put down somewhere else. I'll hold back on reviewing this movie because it isn't worth the ink that's already been used on it. It's a good movie, case closed.
Special effects are fantastic, etc. etc.
Good movie
3 stars.

Those little differences

If you'd have asked me a few days ago if I was completely finished with the Hyllis painting, I'd have said yes. The painting was done in my mind. It came out exactly how I'd imagined it, and there wasn't any element of the painting that I would have added to or removed from.
But then it sat on the easel for two days and every time I passed in front of the painting I just couldn't escape the idea that I'd forgotten something. I wasn't too happy with the way the colors for the "WAR" text came out. The original was very orange, almost a pumpkin color. During the painting process, the text came out ochre and I couldn't get away from that. I wanted something bright, but the text came out muted and muddy. Other than that, it was fine.
But still....
Finally I couldn't stand it any more and took the paints out for one more go. I'm still not happy with the color of the text, but it's better. Much better. And the aging of the wall is perfect. I knew that it would be, but wasn't sure I wanted to make it look too realistic. This is an image taken from a video game after all, and having a cartoonish feel to it is part of the charm. But even so, the added texture makes all the difference.
NOW I'm done with it!

Robots of the Streets

Part of the ability to gain insight on how unpopular the Alpha Section is to the united war effort on Hyllis is to listen to the voices of protest on the streets of the Pedestrian District or witness the repeated acts of vandalism on the War posters in the area. It may seem strange at first glance that the people would have any negative feelings or resentment towards the Alpha Section, since this is the force under whose authority the population suddenly finds itself for its own protection. However, this is the case, and as you can see from the above painting, citizens aren't above letting their feelings be known.
The standard propaganda poster for the War is simply an armed solider pointing at the viewer with the title WAR above his head. The addition of a hastily scrawled skull is an obvious finger pointing back, accusing the Alpha Squad of death and brutality. This may or may not be justified. Many of the citizens, most in fact, are completely unaware of the full involvement of the Alpha Squad in the disappearances of people. The truth is shocking, but at this time is not known by many so the supposition is speculative at best.
Now it can be inferred from this poster that a Great Robotic Uprising is in the future, if not inevitable. This is true as well. There are many signs that a robotically policed city is just one step away from having the great iron boot of the robotic oppressor being brought down on its throat. However, that's for another painting.

Ripping Art Off

The walls. Almost literally.
There is something great about making a painting about something that I've encountered in a video game. It's especially gratifying when it's a game that I've played all the way through. Beaten. Because most games don't have scores of course. It used to be that you'd get a high score and that would not only be your reward, but a testimony to your ability to beat the game. Not a bad deal, because video games by their nature don't provide anything tangible in the form of a reward for overcoming all the obstacles the game threw at you.
Now there was a game (whose name I can't remember for the life of me) that had a screen pop up at then end asking the player to take a photo of their monitor and send it to the company for a reward. After a week or so, the player would get the coolest thing in the mail from the company. A medal! How awesome is that! I've never seen the medal in real life, but even if it was the cheapest Chinese knock off, it would have been so cool to have a token of accomplishment from the designers of the game.
But no one does that. I'm sure there's good reason for that. For one thing, games are made to be won now. Early games could theoretically be won, but it wasn't an expectation when being played. For the most part, you played as much as you could and got as far as you could and hoped for the best.
But that's OK. Things change, and beating a game feels pretty good.
Except you don't get a medal.
So I like painting something from the game. Not only does it bring back some fond memories, but it's a great token that I was there and had a heck of a good time solving all the puzzles and overcoming all enemies. Think about it as a vacation photograph.

So with "Beyond Good and Evil", I won the game. Not that difficult to do, but a great ride while it lasted. Of course, once the game is done there's not much to do except wait for a possible sequel. In the meantime, there were plenty of little touches in the game which were artistic in their own right and deserved to be painted.
What I've noticed is that many games have digital paintings or posters throughout the levels to add atmosphere. Some of these are extremely well done and I like the idea of a designer making a piece to be shown in the game. It's a great opportunity to capture the mood of the game in another medium. So if you were making a gloomy horror game, you'd get a chance to make a painting that wouldn't be out of place being hung in an abandoned mansion.
You get the idea.
Some of these digital artwork touches are very cool, and I think I'll paint more as I go along.
I wish I'd thought of this earlier, because "Dead Space" is a horror game taking place on a huge, empty space ship and some of the higher levels have posters for movies that are futuristic- but gaudy. Odd little touches that I wouldn't mind painting. However, after I beat the game I erased the thing from my hard drive. So if I want to paint them now, I'd have to reinstall the thing and then play it most of the way through again.
Still. It's a heck of a good game... And I do want those posters..

Magik Poulp

Maramao is the acknowledged master of magic in the realms of poulps. There is little doubt that the time and effort he has taken to create a mastery of the craft is evident in every movement of each limb and sucker. Being a skilled expert in the redirect, he challenges the mind and the eye to keep up with his ever more frenetic and distubring stagecraft.
I was able to witness Maramao at the Akuda bar once, and will never forget the experience. Under normal circumstances, witnessing a crustation juggle balls of fire is enough to make the evening a pleasurable experience. But I'd never fallen under the trance that a juggling encephalopod can provide. Wow.
5 stars! If you do get the opportunity to witness the magik poulp in action I highly recommend it. It not for the feint of heart however. Just a warning.

One Cow Show

Ah yes, the One Cow Show. Not many people know about the One Cow Show, but those who have attended can't forget it! The One Cow Show first made it's appearance in "Beyond Good and Evil" when Jade was passing through the Akuda bar. Now there isn't much point into going through the series of events that led to this point, or how exactly that would impact so many people. But what is important here is to give full support to the One Cow Show.
It was amazing on so many levels. The cow in question is a shy, retiring type. Not the sort of cow you'd imagine would be at the center of a One Cow Show and certainly not the sort who would have so much to say about society and an individual's place within it. But that being said, those who attended the show came away with a renewed sense of purpose and drive. There was something for everybody in the cow's story and unique perspective on issues that affect us all.
If you haven't attended, I suggest you make it a point to catch the next show. I'm not sure when and where the next show will be appearing, but it is something not to be missed. Of course, the One Cow Show is a labor of love for the cow, but not something that can be repeated too often. I'd think that there aren't too many shows in the cow's future.
A cow can only take so much you know.

On a side note, please do not mistake this poster as an advertisement for a "One Show Cow". That is not the case at all. While there are many show cows, and some definitely worth the fame that accompanies the title, this is specifically a One Cow Show which is completely different.

Back to School

Have to love quality bartending, and the best bartenders come from Quality Bartending School. In fact, they are as good as the owner operated Gerlach Trucking and Excavating that services Southern California. Those guys do grading, demolition, excavating with bobcats and more. Nice work!

Health Care Update

My enthusiasm for Health Care Reform has officially waned. A person can only take so much.

Cat's are unhelpful

Just an FYI that I thought I'd pass along. Having a cat, or multiple cats, help you with DIY painting projects around the house isn't a good idea. True, their furry toes look like little paint brushes, but they have a problem getting a uniform coat on the walls or floor.