This Is What

This is what I’ve been doing instead of blogging.

And instead of reading. And answering the phone. And talking to anyone.

This is one of the most addictive games I’ve ever seen.

Braid trailer from David Hellman on Vimeo.

Thanks to Rob for the tip. Now, any ideas on how to get my life back?

Michael Atkinson is Pure Evil

The Rudd Government is apparently gunning to out-conservative the conservatives, with a proposed mandatory internet filter that will

(a) significantly slow internet speeds,

(b) put Australian censorship in the same category as that enjoyed by China and Iran, and

(c) fail to stop one single person from downloading illegal content if they want to.

There's naturally been a major industry backlash, so here's hoping the whole ridiculous idea gets shelved.

Then, straight into this maelstrom of Luddite lunacy comes the announcement that Michael Atkinson (remember him?) is no longer satisfied just passively resisting the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games, but is now actively scuttling any chance of advancing the issue by blocking debate.

Back in March it was announced that there would be public consultation on the issue, which has apparently now been completed. It obviously had the results I predicted it would, because Atkinson has rejected its publication.

Just who the hell does this guy think he is?

Bootleg Teaser for TR2N

Twenty-six years after Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner donned their unitards and mounted their light cycles in TRON, we're finally getting a sequel.

It really says something about the anticipation surrounding a movie when shaky footage of the teaser, handycammed at a convention screening, is being bootlegged.



Looks like Jeff's back (note the cheer from the crowd) but sadly there's no sign of Bruce.

What the hell's up with that? It's not like he's got heaps of other stuff on.

Witty Blog Title

For the last couple of days my lovely wife has been in Cape Town, South Africa, presenting some of her design work to various bigwigs and making quite the impression.

Apparently the words "world class presentation" are being bandied about. Well done, babe.

While stuck here in Melbourne, I've had at least one (well, one) text asking why I've not blogged yet, given the scads of free time I obviously have.

Well Shannon, of course I had every intention of using this time productively, and blogging at least once a day. But obviously I've found better things to do.

And this is what they are:

On Monday after I drove Kate to the airport I came home and finished a jigsaw. It's another one of those picture-on-the-box-doesn't-match-the-picture-on-the-puzzle jobbies.

So for posterity and to prove that I finished it, the picture on the box is this:


And the puzzle picture is this:


The second picture is the same scene 50 years on. Or after a geriatric bomb exploded. Oh, the hilarity.

On Monday night I played Guitar Hero with Toby from next door. Toby, of course, being a professional musician in an ARIA award winning band, but I still managed to wipe the floor with him.

This just goes to prove that Guitar Hero is not about playing music.

Furthermore, speaking as someone who has played both the guitar and the piano accordion in real life, I can say authoritatively that Guitar Hero is more like the accordion.

So it's definitely not about playing music.

Then last night Spoon and I went to see The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour at the Athenaeum. Great show. Review to follow.

After the show we had beers in a couple of pubs and argued about the sort of stuff we usually restrict to blog comments. It was very entertaining, and I'm sorry you all had to miss it.

It was nice to do it face to face, but part of me missed the exhibitionism of doing it in a public forum.

For God's sake don't read that last sentence in isolation. Context is important.

Happy now?

Games Rating Redux

The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG . . . no really . . . it's called SCAG . . . tee-hee) met yesterday, to discuss the introduction of an R-rating for video games in Australia.

Surprise, surprise, they failed to reach agreement. South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson is continuing his stubborn opposition to the proposal.

To me, Atkinson's immovability is a clear case of government overstepping its charter, and making decisions for the people that the people should be making for themselves.

The happy news is that the majority of SCAG agrees with me. The outcome of yesterday's meeting was that there will be a public consultation on the issue. In some form or other.

I can predict the results of that consultation already. The last time the public was asked, in a 2005 Bond University study, the public was resoundingly in favour of the proposal.

Of course, whether it translates into a legislative change is an entirely separate question.

An Open Letter to Michael Atkinson

Hon. Michael Atkinson
488 Port Rd
Welland SA 5077

Dear Sir,

I respectfully add my voice to the growing chorus asking you to reconsider your stance opposing an R-rating for video games in Australia.

Your opposition means that many fine games available overseas are simply banned here in Australia, as they do not meet the requirements of the MA15+ classification.

You know that the median age of Australian gamers is 28. You know, for you have been told repeatedly, that video games are not just for children.

Despite knowing all of this, you seem have missed the main point. The point is that video games are not even primarily for children.

I don’t think you fully understand this.

I think that when you envision a group of video gamers, the image in your mind is one of 10-year-olds, not 30-year-olds. If this is the case, it must be a major stumbling-block to your analysis of the issue.

There are, of course, video games designed for children. But there are far, far more designed specifically for adults.

The complexity of storytelling and character development in modern video games like Bioshock, Halo and Mass Effect easily rivals the best Hollywood has to offer.

More to the point, these games require a level of reasoning and patience that, while not beyond children, is much less interesting to a child than it is to an adult.

In your speech to State Parliament on March 6, you made specific mention of the game Reservoir Dogs, banned in Australia in 2006, but which would become available under an R classification.

The game is based on the 1992 film of the same name. The film is readily available in Australia with an R-rating.

Because of this R-rating, there is no concern in the community that children might be adversely affected by this film. The classification system gives parents the information they need to make informed choices for their children.

This classification system works very well, and would work just as well if applied to video games. Were the game to be available with an R-rating, there would be no concern in the community for precisely the same reason.

In closing, we the people of Australia thank you for your concern, Mr. Atkinson.

But we want you to understand that we can look after ourselves and our children. We believe that the responsibility for monitoring a child’s entertainment choices lies with the child's parents. It does not lie with the government, and it does not lie with you.

That, Mr. Atkinson, is not your job. Your job, as an elected representative of the people, is simply that. To represent the people.

The people of Australia are saying clearly that they support an R-rating for games.

Your colleagues in the parliament agree.

Every other developed nation on Earth has an R-rating for video games.

Your views are out of step with the views of your colleagues, the views of the Australian public and the views of the international community.

Mr. Atkinson, I ask you to please consider your position.

Yours Sincerely,

Matt

Vale Gary Gygax

Nerds the world over are mourning the death on Tuesday of E. Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons and the father of the modern role-playing game.

While I was into some role-playing games as a kid, I wasn't hugely into D&D. The fantasy genre always left me a little cold, and D&D was always a bit too Tolkein for my liking.

Some fantasy-buff friends of mine would spend days at a time building D&D characters, creating scenarios and drawing ridiculously detailed maps of mountain paths and dungeons. I'd sit and watch for a while, play the odd game with them, but soon get bored and go read some Asimov or Lovecraft.

Even in the role-playing world it was always the horror and science fiction genres for me, with games like Chill, The Call of Cthulhu and Paranoia.

But still, I appreciate that D&D is where it all began.

Almost from inception, D&D managed to engender moral panic in some of the less imaginative sections of society. I remember hearing a lot about this when I was at school in the early 1980s, with D&D being blamed for everything from the rise in teen suicide to the impending apocalypse.

Of course, this only served to increase its exposure and popularity. Boggle just didn't get that sort of press.

D&D's influence on popular culture in general and gaming in particular cannot be denied. Its notion of immersive and freeform gameplay has influenced a new generation of computer games, with World of Warcraft and Second Life just two of the most obvious examples.

But even this isn't really new. These recent MMORPGs are just the latest in a long line that started way back with text-based adventure games on the very earliest home personal computers. D&D's genesis in the mid-70s coincided with the introduction of the first PCs, and those text-based adventure games were simple attempts to recreate the atmosphere of a D&D round-table.

The tabletop game still exists of course, although its popularity has taken a hit from the ubiquity and quality of the gaming console. But in any high school or university you'll still be able to find, huddled away in some dark corner, a group of nerds quietly rolling their dice and going on their heroic quests.

Gygax really started something special with D&D. It continues to this day and Gygax will be remembered for as long as nerds continue to gather together, fuelled by too much pizza and coke, to lay waste to the armies of orcs and demons in their imaginations.

And when the battles are done, there'll be more than a few mugs of virtual mead raised in Gary's honour tonight.