So what’s new…

Well quite a bit has happened in the last few months, where to start.

For one I have finally gotten rid of my SE P1i and have a BlackBerry Bold as a replacement. The change was really prompted by the support of html email on the Bold, a feature the P1i unfortunately doesn’t have. The number of work related emails I began to receive had doubled so I thought it was definitely necessary and I can say I am more than happy with the switch.

I also decided to take the plunge and build a rig again, something I had been putting off for a while. I picked up a ThermalTake Armor + LCS and gave it a go. I’ve been very pleased with the results seeing as the average temperature here is around 30° C on any given day. Although the case was a little pricey I gave it a try and can say it was definitely worth it. In addition to that I bought some LED 120mm fans and 1 more pump and radiator for extra cooling as I had all intentions of overclocking my Q6600. I managed to get it to average at 40° C idling which isn’t bad at all seeing as the room it’s in is nearly that hot anyway. Under load I haven’t gone over 60° C.

Anyways here’s my specs:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4GHz (OC to 3.2GHz)
MSI 7519 Neo Mobo
4GB Corsair DDR2 PC6400 (4×1GB)
320GB Western Digital HDD
500GB Western Digital HDD
BFG 8800 GTS 320MB OC
Windows 7 RC 64 bit (build 7100)

Aside from the GPU getting extremely hot everything runs like a dream. I will probably drop in a new graphics card when StarCraft II comes out. When I get some extra cash I will also setup a raid array with a couple 1TB drives, the price on those has come down recently.

There is more to tell but I will have to save that for another post, the rigours of work has taken its toll on me today and I need to rest.

A journey at it’s end?

April is here and it’s time for a little update.

I was reflecting yesterday when I had the afternoon to myself (for a change). There were no distractions to speak of so I had the chance to do whatever I wanted. I sat on my bed and contemplated switching on my PS3 or maybe even the Wii. Better yet what about grabbing a couple hours of WoW…

Then it hit me I didn’t really want to play anything. I was confused, as usually I am clamoring for an opportunity to grab a game of something, anything.

I skimmed through my list of PS3 games, nothing interested me in the slightest. The Wii required too much energy to play, more than I was prepared to expend. WoW has just become too repetitive for me to enjoy it like I used to. Still being a little confused I didn’t know what to make of the situtation. Had I finally grown out of playing video games? Or was this a case of having too much choice.

I must say I have noticed recently the desire to power up either of my consoles just hasn’t been there. I am much more inclined to watch tv, read or more importantly sleep. I am actually at the stage where I would like to sell my PS3 as I simply don’t use it often enough to justify having it. The Wii I will definately keep because, well it’s Nintendo. 

Although I have gone through phases like this before, this is definately the longest it has gone on for. Maybe it’s time for me to face to truth and accept console gaming just doesn’t have the same appeal as it used to.

In the future

I can’t believe it’s been nearly 3 weeks since my last post, time just seems to fly by these days.

Anyway I’ve decided to try my hand at writing my own game engine and I predict it will be complete no later than 2015.  Before you gasp and ask yourself why it will take so long bear in mind it took nearly 6 years for Blizzard to develop World of Warcraft. Not that I have any intentions of writing an engine of that magnitude, it’s just I only have an hour a day or so to do any work on it (if I’m lucky). 

Wish me luck and I’ll see you in 2015 when it’s done.

PS3 trophies vs Xbox achievements

I have to be honest, I don’t have much interest in acquiring Xbox Live achievements or PS3 trophies.

My problem with the Xbox achievement system is that it does not necessarily mean you’re a good gamer. While some achievements are harder to obtain than others the fact still remains that there are a ton of games that award players with gamerscore points relatively easily. So what does a high gamerscore really prove? That you have played lots of games? 

Now compare that to the PS3 trophy system where you are awarded bronze, silver, gold or platinum trophies based on challenges with varying difficulty you complete. This allows other players to instantly look at your collection and determine what kind of player you are. Someone who settles for bronze or someone who goes for gold.

When you get to the bottom of it both systems provide nothing more than online rep. Now what would make these kind of systems more interesting would be to have some kind of rewards for completing achievements and challenges.

Both consoles have an online store why not reward players with points that can be used to purchase content and games. The gamerscores and trophies could be maintained for persons who like to show their hard work of course. The point to penny ratio would have to be determined by the online market places but I’m sure it would encourage gamers like me to play their games thouroughly if they knew the rewards could be cashed in for content.

Maybe then some developers won’t be lazy in implementing these challenges in games as they would essentially be giving away money. I believe this would change how we view these systems as it would no longer just be about bragging rights but something more.

Developing a game engine

I’ve been toying with the idea of developing my own game engine. As I mentioned before there are several projects I would like to work on but would like a solid framework to build them on.

This is by no means a small undertaking and is at the very least a couple years of work going at it myself. I have looked at some commercial and free engines already out there but have not been convinced I would want to spend the money on license fees. Besides it’s a great way to gain more experience.

I will do some more reading on engine design/development and see where I go after that.