Random interesting stuff

March 23, 2007 @ 3:25 pm · Filed under Rantings

So I’ve seen a bunch of cool stuff over the past few weeks that I couldn’t really fit into any other entries. Having it all in one big post is better than making a half-dozen little ones.

  • Nintendo wanted to do Miis for a long time.

Shigeru Miyamoto revealed this in his GDC keynote (available at IGN – it’s part 2), but it was not in the news, because evidently everyone was too busy whining about how Nintendo didn’t announce game information to consumers at a conference for game developers. Nintendo had been planning the Mii thing since the original NES / Famicom, but never implemented it until the Wii (probably because of the Wii’s internet friendliness). In his keynote, he showed off an early version for the DS that was scrapped as well as a version for Famicom that never got past the early prototypes. It’ll be interesting to see how a long-held dream works out in the end. If third-party games start using them, they could be really cool. As it is they seem to be a proof-of-concept.

If you go to SoSZ you probably knew this already, but James had been planning to scan some really amazing-looking playing cards with Three Kingdoms artwork he had been given by a friend. He scanned and posted them March 1st, but posted the notice and link in a topic that already had 9 pages rather than updating the front page for them. Now he’s AWOL (or in exile, though what happened on the Ides of March has not been fully revealed) and the topic’s back on the 2nd page, but you should check the cards out if you’re interested.

Although Suikosource might have been known to many fans of the series, I had only consulted it for info regarding the Stars of Destiny list or specific FAQs. I hadn’t previously noted the forum, specifically the quite interesting translator’s weblog which contains information on the novelizations of Suikodens 1 and 2 (released only in Japan naturally) as well as more on Suikoden V, short stories of certain characters, et cetera. Basically, the Suikoden 3 manga’s the only Suikoden “extra” to be released in the US, and I missed my chance to buy it when I had money and it was around. Anyway, there’s a wealth of information there, and it’s a haven for those who love the deep story of the series that continually builds on itself.

I never got into the series. In fact, before last year, I had watched maybe 3 anime series. But I can still appreciate the stereotypes that this “abridged series” makes fun of, and from what I hear it’s accurate to the series. Basically, it’s 19 (so far) episodes of the series, each compressed into 4-6 minutes and filled with jokes. All voices are well-done, particularly for having only one voice actor (who can actually perform an episode in real-time – there’s a “live” video on Youtube somewhere). It’s a neat little diversion.

I hate to plug videolamer more than I already do, but in the past two weeks I’ve been absorbed in a flurry of writing because I had a whole bunch of ideas at once. I wrote more in the past two weeks than in the previous 2 months. Anyway, the above links go to a Rogue Galaxy review, an article about the sense of accomplishment in video games, and something about why I play the games I do (or any games at all). The latter two at least I was originally planning to post here and I may do that soon, but I’m not confident they’re polished as much as I wanted them to be (we’ve been kind of rushed at vl lately, but don’t tell anyone!). If you don’t want to click the link, a quick summary of the RG review: RG is a well carried-out, polished game that feels good to play, but it’s lacking a bit in the plot development. Characters are likable but unevenly developed, combat is wonderfully done, music is good, and it’s shiny. Rates higher than FFXII in my book.

I think that’s all for now.

/edit: One more tidbit.

As you may have heard, as of the most recent update PS3s automatically run Folding@Home, a protein folding simulator, to try and improve our knowledge of how proteins work, et cetera.  I don’t know much about the specifics.  Anyway, sometime in the past few days, PS3s overtook PCs in terms of teraflops processed, despite having less than one tenth the amount of machines.  Currently PS3s have more than twice the teraflops of PCs.  If Folding@Home is optimized for the PS3’s Cell processor, PS3s could be the forefront of protein folding research for a while yet.

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