Machinima Marches Toward Amusing - A film festival hits New York City this weekend, but do you really want to go? Machinima -- making movies from games -- has been long on hype and short on watchability, but that's starting to change. By Jason Silverman. [Joystick]

Recently, I found myself taking interest in independent film production. The latest medium of production takes a most unlikely form, and a production process more “weirdly democratic” than anything I have ever seen. Have I finally put down the joystick in exchange for a more socially-accepted, culturally-rooted medium of entertainment? Not a chance. In fact, the joystick itself is what led me to this wonderful new form of animation. The “machinima” movement in independent film production involves the use of video-gaming systems as the tool for creating animated movies. Rather than trying to achieve the goals of the game, the player uses the characters and the game enviorment to play out premeditated scenarios. The game play is recorded to a digital video format, and then voiceovers are then added – consistent with the physical actions of each character – to provide for the audio portion of the animation. Fellow WIRED columnist Jason Silverman’s recently wrote an article on the enormous growth of the movement – in production and popularity – since it first took shape in the early 90s. Silverman’s article promotes the idea that machinima is “finally growing up,” in that it’s evolving from “self-indulgent, sophomoric” animated clips into “more sophisticated, nuanced storytelling.” To develop his case, Silverman notes the establishment of the “Machinima Film Festival” and the “Mackies,” held at the Museum of Moving Pictures in Queens early last month. I actually wrote a piece for the New York Times a few months back, so naturally I was curious what Silverman had to say. When I come across an article pertaining to a subject I’ve recently had published, I tend to critique the writing and writer’s central ideas to get a better sense of the quality of my own work. This is especially true when the article is written by a co-worker and friend!! Anyways, Silverman mentions Tom Palmer’s “Bot,” a machinima film developed using the first-person shoot RPG titled “Unreal Tournament.” While the intended plot of the game entails a mecha warrior’s *violent* struggle for victory, Palmer directs the avatar toward the opposite direction to “craft the story of a warrior who forsakes violence and embarks on an existential quest.” This is a classic example of machinima general tendency to lead the game’s characters in the direction opposite that of the intended goals. This is the beauty and creativity of machinima. The gamer, who normally interacts with an action game on a ludological level - as intended – shifts their attention to the game’s narrative and symbolic elements. The gamer isn’t playing the game, but rather “altering” the narrative into an entirely different context. It’s a transformation from game play with accordance to physics, where one strives the reach the goals of the avatar based on ability, to playing for the sake of creation. Another best-picture nominee, Freidrich Kirschner used the same game to create “The Journey.” Very different from Palmer’s “Bot,” Kirschner instead focused on the game’s visual-style in order to create what Silverman describes as a “museum-ready piece of art animation, with shadowy, Giocometti-like figures floating through a Dali-esque landscape.” By creating film from the given elements of a video game, machinima’s ability to transform violence into art widens the spectrum of emotional impact that a game exerts on a gamer. Played in accordance to physics, it’s all just vectors and motion; the cognitive and emotional content of the game revolves around achieving ones goals in a fun, fast-paced environment. By ignoring the intended physical goals of a game in favor of the narrative and symbolic features, the degree of emotional impact changes. Unlike static media, video games attempt to create a sense of play, engineering a “new breed” of emotion that movies and novels cannot provide. Machinima transforms a game more into the likes of more traditional static media, such as movies, novels, music, etc. In “Videogames: The Impact of Emotion,” market researcher Huge Bowen conducted a poll of gamers on the emotional impact of video games; all agreed that movies, novels, and music, all had greater emotional impact than video games, respectively. By shifting games to a static medium, the potential emotional impact is increased, as are the nature of these emotions.

The controversial aspect of machinima, which Silverman details in the latter half of his article, relates to copyright infringement resulting from releasing a machinima work to the public without the consent of the game’s manufacturer. He notes that “as the films become commercially viable, machinima filmmakers are going to butt up against copyright laws.” While there has been much hype in the media lately about how advances in technology have increased copyright infringement and piracy, game makers have shown very little resistance to the machinima movement. Thus far, these companies overlook the notion copyright infringement, finding value in the machinima movement as means of gaining free publicity. Many game makers have even embraced upon the idea, some even incorporating machinima capabilities within the games provided set of tools. Among them are Valve Software’s “Half-Life 2,” and Electronic Arts’ “Sims 2”. Electronic Art’s was so intrigued by the concept that they hired my buddies over at “Rooster Teeth Productions” – the creators of the Red vs. Blue (Halo) series – to create a reality-TV parody called “The Strangehood,” using the Sims 2 gaming environment. While the concept of promotional machinima was a revolutionary, it didn’t take off like the Red vs. Blue series did. Why? According to Rooster Teeth founders Michael Burns and Matt Hullum, (not “Matt Mullen” – an apparent typo in Silverman’s article) attributed the relative failure of The Strangehood to difficulty controlling the Sims 2 characters with ease and precision, at least in respect to that allowed in Halo. The ability to produce machinima does depend significantly on the game, and the extent of control the player has over the avatar(s). As mentioned in Silverman’s article, graphic designer Friedrich Kirschner chose the RPG “Unreal Tournament” to produce “The Journey” specifically because the game allowed for the creative control that Kirschner desired. While Microsoft has not yet incorporated recording abilities into Halo, its programmers did add a command to the latest version that allows the player to lower their weapon to prevent “accidental shooting,” making it easier for the production of machinima in the Halo environment.

While I can only hope that the machinima movement continues to grow without any obstruction, I fear that copyright laws will eventually become an obstacle for machinima producers. Eventually, just as the “Grand Theft Auto” sex-scene cheat created great controversy, someone will likely cross the line, and abuse the creative control that machinima allows. As far as these laws go, and any other attempts at digital rights management, I feel that any laws implemented to prevent us from being able to sort and mix the vast, ever-expanding digital world around us is just plain ridiculous, as this ability had created a new, super cool way of thinking, necessary in today’s world of rapid technological growth.

Pick up the custom guitar controller and live out your rock-star fantasies -- no matter whether you prefer Ozzy, Queen or Clapton. Game review by Chris Kohler.

Old Movies Spawn New Games - Video games like 007: From Russia With Love and The Matrix: Path of Neo mine classic films for their content, with mixed results. By Chris Kohler. [Joystick]

The views of Kohler presented in his article over old movies spawning new games seems to show his personal opinion on the entire genre of games. Basically, he finds them mundane.

Virtual Vets Flesh Out D-Day - Little footage exists of the bloody action behind enemy lines during the D-Day invasion. So what's a modern documentary maker to do? By John Gaudiosi. [Joystick]

If you've ever watched a war documentary on the History Channel, you know there's always a lot more listening than actual, well..watching. Epic accounts of some of the greatest and most tragic events in the history of civilization watered down by a bunch of bearded, middle-aged southern gentlemen running around a field with old war costumes on. I remember once watching a civil war documentary on the Battle of Shiloh which had a few hundred actors representing 70,000 men-- with numbers like that, it's hard to feel the impact they're trying to convey. So how do they get the full scale effect without a Hollywood budget? Games, baby.

King Kong Game Gets Five Bananas - Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie is an adventure to go ape over. But the Xbox 360 version delivers a nasty surprise. Game review by Chris Kohler. [Joystick]

Over the years, video games based off of movies have been given less than stellar reviews in the past. I’ve played a number of them and I can honestly say that while some of the gameplay might be great on a few, the overall games don’t do the movies justice. For Fantastic Four it might have been great to smash enemies as Ben or go invisible as Sue, and it might have been a treat to see some classic villains from the comics, but the game was barely playable. Mindlessly beating enemy after enemy and not being able to progress unless you use a special gimmick only related to a given team member’s powers or abilities gets to be very repetitive and the story mode (the only redeeming mode in the game) only takes a day and a half of continuous game play to beat. For Enter the Matrix, it was all about following storylines related to two lesser characters from the Matrix sequels, and as far as I could tell, they were only loosely related to the movies. It would have been more preferable to play as Neo, what could be better than being The One himself? I have yet to play the new game that was just released following Neo, though. Even the Spider-Man movie games, as entertaining as I found them, had their gameplay flaws. I mean, I couldn’t have been the only one with sore fingers from the copious amount of webslinging around the entire city of New York.

The new King Kong movie game, however, has been getting excellent reviews. Some even wonder how the movie could possibly top the level of immersion a player gets in the game. Though I’ve yet to play it (but certainly can’t wait to get my hands on a copy,) from the descriptions I’ve read and the screen shots I’ve seen, the game seems to be a lot more fluid and adaptive than your average ‘let’s follow the storyline already present and a couple of other wacky adventures’ movie game. Instead of gauges, meters, and a points system it is designed to be more realistic. So if someone other there was hoping to score 50 points for taking down a T-Rex, sorry, you’re out of luck. The gameplay alternates between Jack Black’s character Jack Driscoll and the big monkey (yes, I am well aware that he’s really an ape) himself. While playing as Kong is likened to a linear ‘Hulk Smash’-a-thon, it’s in the play as Jack where it gets challenging. As previously stated there are no displays of any kind as a default, though a player does have the ability to turn on and off a set of cross hairs and a bullet count gauge. For the most part, the play has to rely on more natural cues to discern what is happening to the character. When he’s near death, the screen will get red and blurry, when he’s out of ammo, he’ll tell you. As for action and actually playing the game, things are dealt with in much the same way. You as a player have the versatility of using the environment around you. It’s possible to take dinosaur bones that you find lying around and use them as javelins to take down the creatures out to get you. It’s possible to use animals as bait to distract some of the more dangerous creatures so that you can either sneak by or close in for the kill without being spotted first. There are even sticks on fire available. For the most part is seems to be up to the players imagination as to how they will proceed through the game, barring, of course, being confined within the storyline.

Now while the game seems worthwhile, there is a bit of a warning to those who recently purchased the new Xbox 360: some of the graphics are poorly rendered when compared to other system’s versions of the game.

Please compare:

Jack Black on PS2

Jack Black on the 360

And the same is true for Naomi Watt’s character:

PS2

360

But in all, don’t worry as much about the graphics (unless they truly frighten you...small children very well might be,) just enjoy what promises to be some outstanding gameplay and a genuinely good movie video game.

Game Battle Heats Up in Asia - The World Cyber Games, the computer industry's equivalent of the Olympics, winds up in Singapore. [Joystick]

As often as I play video games, I always seem to come across those that have far more skill than I. Maybe that’s why I’m not payed the big bucks just to sit and play, unlike the professional gamers who recently finished competing in the World Cyber Games in Singapore. Some of the best from 67 countries gathered to duke it out and see who’s top dog. Most of these gamers are in their teens or early twenties and have various sponsorships that earn them a lot of cash. The Starcraft defending world champion, South Korea's Seo Ji-hoon, earns up to $100,000 in sponsorships, appearances, and winnings annually.

Unlike most other parts of the world, gaming is a fairly respected profession in Asia. Professionals are regarded almost in the same way we in America regard sports or rock stars. In South Korea especially gaming is followed as closely as we follow sports. It is actually the leader of the gaming market in that region, however, many countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia, and even Bangladesh are catching up. But somehow it isn’t at all surprising that the $20 billion game industry is so popular in that part of the world. After all, Nintendo is based in Japan and many games are produced in that part of the world. I was once even discussing Starcraft with one of my good friends who seems to be no novice at the game. He commented on how he hated to go up against South Korean players because many train to be the most insane players possible. It seems that they form various strategies and tactics as if it were true military war. Even the most outlandish concepts, such as sending a single Zergling to take out an enemy’s entire base. Or so he claims is the case. After looking into the matter further, it does seem that there is a very high support of the game in that region. Starcraft is even jokingly referred to as South Korea’s national sport. The most famous of players, such as those going by the online handles [ReD]NaDa and SlayerS_’BoxeR’ , have had the opportunity to make up to $500,000 and $780,000 over the next 3 years respectively.

But in Asia, gaming isn’t all fun and games, in fact as far as traditional culture goes, it’s become part of a double edged sword. Gaming has its popularity, but it is also criticized greatly. Asian countries are known for their strong work ethic and parents place a high emphasis on their children’s studies to improve their future job prospects. I’m sure most parents don’t dream of their children becoming professional gamers, but instead stock brokers, accountants, analysts, etc. But, I think that if they have the opportunity to do what they love and get paid for it, then all the better. We all strive to be content with our current occupations, and many never get to do what they truly love as a profession, so, these professional gamers should consider themselves lucky. No matter how much criticism is given, there is no denying that the amount of skill these professional gamers have isn’t just pure talent. They train, they practice, they strategize. I may not be a professional gamer, but I am well aware of the time and effort it takes to be good at a single game (it once took me over a year of constant and consistent gameplay to just barely beat a few people I know who have extreme expertise at Super Smash Bros. Melee)...and most of the professionals are extremely good at countless numbers of games. If it’s any consolation to these professional’s parents, there’s a lot of work that goes into being a top gamer, and they certainly get compensated well for their abilities.
As the Word Cyber Games came to a close Sunday, top gamers won and lost, and a grand total of $430,00 was awarded. Any casual gamer would love a chance at that kind of money, but as I commiserate with them, I do take some solace knowing that there are those out there who are able to do what they and I love. Something that gives us a common bond, no matter the caliber of our skills. And that thing, my friends, is gaming.

The Bad Lieutenant - Why are the most violent, brutal figures in video games usually police officers and soldiers? Commentary by Clive Thompson. [Joystick]

Xbox 360 Hits a High-Def Homer - Microsoft's updated console boasts great graphics, but the best thing is its nice UI -- and this from the company famous for crappy interfaces. By Chris Kohler. [Joystick]

The lights go dim. A wailing guitar pulses through hundreds of speakers at a mind numbing volume causing your hair to stand on end. Uncontrollable screaming ensues, sending shockwaves from the top of your head to the tip of your toes. The flashing lights and fog machines create an environment so surreal you pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming. And there he is: walking out of the tunnel with expressionless focus while the booming voice of the announcer proclaims his entrance. So confident in his superiority over the opponent he doesn't so much cast a glance across the floor. The roof of the arena seems to be quivering in anticipation, and then it happens.

http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,69475,00.html?tw=rss.GAM

Throughout this article, Clive Thompson discusses the emotional impact of video games on their players. He poses the question “Can a game make you cry?” then continues to give a research study which surveys the impact of video games on emotion. In this study, 535 gamers were told to describe the feelings that arose while playing their favorite video games.

With the merging of real and virtual aesthetics at a breakneck pace, the concept of gaming has become a bit skewed. First person shooters with realistic battlefronts are showing up on the shelves at your local electronics store as soon as a plot can be conjured; hundreds of thousands spend hours each day exploring the breathtaking realms of realistic MMORPG(Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). Now don’t get me wrong, I’m no stranger to the utter joy felt while articulating the battle-hardened Master Chief in Halo 2. In fact, the mere thought of a controller lacking at least one analog thumbstick and axial triggers can easily leave one with a sense of helplessness over game control. How were games even able to survive without today’s robust processors combined with state of the art graphics hardware? It’s simple: they were fun.

Jack Thompson Versus Gamers - What ensues when anti-games crusader Jack Thompson shifts his attention from video-game publishers to enthusiast websites like Penny Arcade? Unbelievable weirdness. Commentary by Chris Kohler. [Joystick]

Ah, Jack Thompson how I loathe thee. Utterly vile trash on the roadway of video gaming, one could say. And as much as he could be considered a gamer's bane, he's a lesser evil perhaps even the most acceptable form of opposition to our (gamers') happiness. So, 'who is this Jack Thompson?', you ask. He is a Miami, Florida lawyer who has take it upon himself to crusade against video games, citing them as 'murder and sexual simulators.' He believes that video games are aimed at removing all inhibitions to violence, sex, etc. in today's youth and that every act of violence committed by a child is the result of gaming. Now, while this might seem like a plausible stance for those against games and the gaming industry, it is in Jackie Boy's actions and not just his opinions, that he's proven himself to be nothing more than a garden variety lunatic. His claims are taken to the extremes and in discussions with industry insiders, professionals, and the average gamer, he makes rash accusations, uncivilized insults, and displays himself as a complete retard (not in the sense of those who are mentally handicapped, but in the sense of those who are incapable of intelligent thought or argument when faced with a one on one scenario.) Normally, one would be able to dismiss such idiocy...the only problem, he has easy media access. I will now submit for everyone's consideration proof of Jack Thompson's incompetence and its correlation as to why he is a lesser, possibly even acceptable evil.
Cracker Jack's stance on video games has led to many lawsuits towards entertainment and video game companies. In 1999, Jack filed a class action lawsuit against a number of companies including Time Warner Inc., Polygram Film Entertainment Distribution Inc., Palm Pictures, Island Pictures, New Line Cinema, Atari Corp., Nintendo, Sega, and Sony on behalf of parents of the victims of the 1997 Paducah schoolhouse shootings. Jack had claimed that the gunman had been influenced by the media they produced, but the courts dismissed the case. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals absolved the companies of one man's actions and the US Supreme Court refused to review the case based on it not having been dismissed on 1st Amendment grounds. Jack Thompson has also attempted to link video game use to the Columbine shootings and the Washington sniper. Specifically, first person shooter (FPS) games....and even more specifically, he attacks Rockstar Games' Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto. While these games may contain violence, Thompson doesn't just cite them as motivators for youth violence, but at training tools. As with the Washington sniper case, Thompson tried to emphasize Lee Boyd Malvo's extensive training using X-Box's Halo as grounds to sue Microsoft and hold them responsible. Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't an X-Box controller, just tad bit different than a rifle? Sure, the original design was large enough to easily club people over the head with, but I fail to see the sight, barrel, trigger, etc. on an X-Box controller. I've played Halo, Counter Strike, and many other FPS games, but I have yet to be able to truly simulate holding a gun using a handheld controller. You can't justify suing a company over something such as that...but that didn't stop Jack Thompson from trying. The man seems unfazed by taking an obviously losing battle.
More recently, Jack's been after the latest iteration of the Grand Theft Auto line due to its "hot coffee" patch. Initially, normal players would not be able to access this sexual minigame, but through a third party hack, they were given full access. While that has since been dealt with in court by the game's rating being changed from "mature" to "adults only," Thompson has tried his hardest to find other cheats, mod patches, etc that could corrupt our youth. Sims 2 has been put on his "to hate" list, citing a cheat to remove the censorship fields from nude sims. He claims that it allows pedophiles to see the children nude, as well as blatantly displaying all body parts that would normally be covered. As fervent as he was in that claim, it's since been proven (through use of that cheat code,) that there have been no added details to the nude sim body, no genitals, nothing but the flat, skin-colored skin on top of the wire framed body. Even after it has been proven, he maintains his claims by expressing that because EA (the company that produces The Sims) does not protect its copyright by stopping the mod community from making adult-oriented changes to the game. He's grasping for straws here. People will do what they want with a game when it's in their possession, but he nor anyone has the right to keep someone from creating something for the game and finding a way to implement it in. Unlike the "hot coffee" mod, something like a complete nude patch with all the graphic details wasn't part of the game when it was made, but he can't stop someone from writing their own code. Doesn't keep Jacko from trying though.
Ok, enough of his legal ineptitude (and there's plenty more, and much more to the point of how big of an idiot he is,) but let's get a little more personal. It's a little easier to pick out how big of a moron he is when we're dealing with his everyday dealings against video games. For a big shot lawyer, it seems that he has nothing better to do than roam around online and harass gamers wherever they might gather. Webcomics, more specifically the gaming comics, are a big draw to those who like play in virtual worlds, and many of the artists and writers for comics like Penny Arcade, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, 8-bit Theater, and VGCats are video game insiders who incorporate many elements of games, gaming life, and the gaming industry into their comics. Earlier this year, Jack Thompson took it upon himself to forward an e-mail (the whole exchange found here ) he'd sent to the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) to Scott Ramsoomair creator of VGCats most likely based on this comic. Scott was for the most part clueless as to why it was really forwarded to him, nor did he really care. After their first exchange, the bozo's only response to Scott is "get a name and a life." What professional attorney trying to make a point wouldn't continue to argue their point, but would instead resort to cheap insults? In further e-mails (as can be seen,) Jack calls Scott a twit and when Scott tried to remind the idiot that he was the one who initially started contact, as if in third grade was replied to with, "No, you emailed me. HOnestly, are all of you gamers on drugs, or what?" and concludes with threatening legal action. Yes...he is a smart one. And, if you'll note the addendum at the bottom of the page, Jack gives his reason for acting like a moron. I don't think we can blame Scott for his reaction...and here's hoping he keeps up the great work on VGCats.
Let's fast forward up to last month and Jackal's "Modest Proposal." On October 10th, he issued a challenge to video game companies to produce a violent video game with his exact specifications, which entailed as detailed here: having a father, whose son was killed due to video game related violence, go on a killing spree starting with the makers of the game, the company's legal representatives, distributors, and employees of any stores like Best Buy or Gamestop that might carry the game. If it was made, Joke Thompson claimed that he would donate $10,000 to Paul Eibler's, chairman of Take Two (of which Rockstar Games, the producers of Grand Theft Auto, is a subsidiary of,) favorite charity. He touted this as a true challenge one that would be taken seriously, and even stated as such in a comment on the above article about his proposition: "The offer of $10,000 is real. The real hypocrites here are the game companies, because they'll never make such a game. Paul Eibeler of Take-Two, for example, wouldn't want a game out there that targets him for death, despite his assertions, through Doug Lowenstein of the ESBA that 'no game ever caused anyone to do anything.'"
What was the end result? Alas, a video game was made including all of his specifications. What did Jackalope do? Claim his proposal as satire and refuse to donate the money to charity. Far be it for me to say what a man should and shouldn't do, but if he's going to issue a challenge like that, then he's better make good if he loses. He's lost a lot of credit since then, but probably the most crushing blow was when Tycho and Gabe of the foremost video game webcomic Penny Arcade gathered the money and donated it to the charity in his name . Written on the check: "For Jack Thompson, because Jack Thompson won't." And as a result of that, he tried to get Gabe and Tycho arrested and Penny Arcade shut down. Thompson cited their actions as harassment and extortion, of which neither was motivation...humiliation might have been a factor, though. They were just doing what he refused to make good on, and I commend them for it. And in the end, the Seattle P.D. dismissed the lawyer’s claims and turned it over to the special investigations division, which has yet to find any foul play.

The list of his idiosyncracies continues and grows, and while he may be a famed lawyer and crusader for a cause, Jack Thompson seems to have never really grown up. Which is why we gamers really don’t have to worry as much. No matter how many waves he makes, his idiocy is his downfall. He has done little to limit video game production and ratings, even the game described in his “modest proposal” was created. As it’s described on his Wikipedia page (where most of this information can be found): “Many gaming websites report articles regarding Thompson with mocking tones; he is rarely presented as a serious advocate for more sensible controls on game distribution, but more often as a sensationalist striving for fame and recognition or financial profit. Many gamers see him as a caricature of an out-of-touch generation whose knee jerk reaction is to ban something that which is new and unknown, in an analogous way to previous generations' attempts to ban rock and roll, violent films, and comic books.”
There have been complaints lodged against Jack Thompson, but as long as he’s around to crusade, it’s less likely that someone more competent will come along and take up the mantle. So, let us be lucky.

To end this tirade, I’d like to present a few attached webcomics that have also taken issue with Jack Thompson; two from Ctrl+Alt+Del and one from Penny Arcade. Enjoy.

-500 word blogs due by classtime on November 22, November 29, and December 6.

-Blog entries can be split up into two separate blogs over two articles just so long as word count adds up to 500 words each time.

-Two 100 word responses due Thursday night following the dates the blogs are due. (can be completed during class)

-No teacher responses required unless requested by bloggers.

-Have option to respond to multiple blog entries instead of one in order to meet minimum word count requirement for responses.

My name is Charlie Mason and I'd like to introduce myself to this pleasant, little community of bloggers. First of all, I'm a newspaper editor for the Reagle Times in Wisconsin and the father of a lovely little girl named Emma. Most days, I'm in the office editing away at the mundane articles my business writers submit to me. I enjoy breaking up this time by talking to the people within my office, usually trying to make them smirk with my clever comments. In my downtime, I take part in a computer game where I play the perfect dad. I bring home nicknacks and wonderful gifts everyday to my precious daughter in the game that I could not possibly afford in real life. Also, in the game take her on fun vacations to disney world and the zoo on a weekly basis.
My online gaming is what I dream my life could be if only I had sufficient resources and time. With my particular editing position comes being responsible for several columns which leaves little time for my real life daughter, Emma. Also, the pay is barely enough to pay my bills and be able to eat at the end of the month. I feel as if I'm complaining too much. In all actuality, my life is better than most. I have a job that allows me to interact with people's perspectives on the business world and also keeps clothes on my back and food on the table. I just still long to be the perfect dad in much the same way some poeple long to be rich and famous. This is why I choose to spend my down time fufilling a dream of mine that I could not possibly accomplish in real life. That's the just of me, you'll find out more later.

Hi, I'm Simon Reynolds. To look at me, through what could be characterized as a gaunt exterior, lanky brown mop, baby blues, and stick figure frame on a 5'9" body, one wouldn't think me to be a writer. Which is what I am...columnist and occasional investigative journalist at that. No, they would see the geek gamer, often not looking beyond his blank stare and uncertain gaze. Not that I think myself uncertain, but I've heard the talk. While that assumption too is true, I am more. Video games have comprised about half my life: beta testing, playing, collecting, reviewing...it’s what turned me on to column writing about cyber liberties and any endangerment to the virtual worlds I hold so dear, which in turn led to the my need for investigation of said violations.

While half of my life has been spent online and in front of a console, the other half has been spent revolving around small city living and everything incorporated in a rural town...my occasional “Western slang” and country boy way of speaking occasionally shows up in my writing. I've known the ways of no privacy and everyone knowing each other’s business. They know all about my tendencies to sit in front of a screen for hours on end, either in deep concentration or
a mild depressive state. My life as a journalist is slow. I do what I can when I can, but sometimes months will go by before a decent hit.
In my writing I tell what I see, comment on that. Don't know if I have the persepective on everything right, but I call things as I see them. If there’s a story to tell, nothing will keep me from it. That is where I certainly don't go wrong. No lead will go left untraced, no story left untold. Perrsistence is key. I’ll go until I can’t go anymore, and then will find someone
to carry me the rest of the way. Until then I ponder, locked away until the next break catches up.

Hey everyone, Clive here!

I'm excited to be here, can't get enough of blog communities. In fact, I run a blog at www.collisiondetection.net and do my best to post things I find cool ranging from gaming to gadgets. I'm a pretty easygoing and understanding fella. When I'm away working on a project I try to hit up the local e-cafe and grab a nice cup of black coffee and update my blog via my brand new Alienware Area 51-m laptop. On the road I'm normally alone, even though I am a fairly attractive guy; black hair with the occasional 5:00 shadow, you know how it goes. If you're interested in having a little chat I've been pretty into first person shooters and RPGs lately; they've become my passion. It might be that caffeine, but I'm always ready for some intellectually intense convo. Don't worry, I won't try to intimidate you too much with my cool blue stare(haha!) With all the writing I do I must admit I type a bit too fast to be considered cool, and the occasional trip to the basketball court doesn't make me look much cooler. I'm always researching new and exciting technology, so if you're ever curious about the latest game or gadget I'd love to let you know what's out there.