Tag: opinion

It has been a while since I have wrote a personal log in regards to what I have been up to so I thought I would write it out. Mind you, there really is not much to put down but let’s go for it.

So Dead Island: Riptide finally came out and I got to play with my brothers. Seeing that we were playing in different timezones, one end were feeling tired and the other was wide awake… I was on the end of feeling exhausted but as we only played it once so far, it is enough to give out my opinion.

Dead Island takes place literally after the first game and to be honest, they did a good job in keeping it almost the same but it did feel a weeny bit slower. However, it was the first time playing on the Xbox version since I played on the PC in the last game so maybe that could be the difference? The characters were the same which made it feel like they made no effort and as my brother said, there really was no point in creating a whole new game for this as the models were the same and possibly the better graphics (a touch better…). But I think I’ve judged it too soon so until my next gaming session, that is where I may can give a full review upon it but so far, 6/10.

I started playing the guitar and it has given me a exhilarating feeling knowing that I have finally picked it up after letting it pick up so much dust! I am currently just looking over YouTube for tutorials and keeping it simple. It is hard for me to switch chords but I am getting used to it though.

As you’ve noticed, these are all home activities and to be honest, I have been at home most of the times to catch up on everything. Keeping a strong focus on projects is my main priority! But I will be changing my blog really soon. Keep a good look out for it.

Even if you put a little effort towards your projects, its better than no effort at all…

My days are beginning to become productive… I can see that when reading my post out loud, I feel a slight relief knowing that at least something is being done. It is not going as fast as I expect to do it but at least I am doing it.

This has been a very delayed blog post and I am hoping I will sit down to write more again. Things have been so difficult lately. Project development takes a big chunk of my time but will probably get back to it.

It’s important to stay focused… 

Ever wondered whether you are being forced to follow a line?

From experience, hearing others or myself complaining is where I have gathered a general opinion towards this matter. This post is not to fix this issue but more along the lines of pointing it out and in hopes that the universe will turn it around…

Lately, its been a zombie-like life. Maybe because its just the fact that I am working from a 9am – 6pm job, coming home and feeling drowsy to do anything else. Its strange but before, I could stay up until 3am, wake up and be ready for the next day. It has not been the same for quite some time… I even get a little annoyed with myself just for sleeping early!

What is this sudden eagerness in myself to try force to do something productive?

However, this is not just me... There are a few others who also suffer the same issue. But this all comes down to a simple thing called scheduling… Recently, I have felt a little stressed just trying to think what I need to do on a day to day basis and even though its only 7 items or so on the list, just the mere thought of it creates a stress ball in my head. But when I jot it all down on my notepad, it feels like that stress ball dissolves!

In my opinion, there is no quick way to step out of this line but my best solution is to prioritise yourself. It doesn’t sound hard but it really is what it is. For me, I just need to schedule my time towards the things that really matter to me.

But of course, the answer doesn’t lie in scheduling. An issue can also be the fact that others do not want to take risks but it means you need to be a little spontaneous. One thing that is worth watching and can be inspirational is Yes Man. However, watching this film didn’t mean that I changed my style immediately… It took me a while to jump into this field. Basically, I came to a point where I was stuck and wondered to myself what I should do next. Then a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to try out this club. I wasn’t much of a clubbing type so I almost said no to this occasion but it turned out I asked myself what do I really have to lose if I go? And with that question answered in my head, I replied with a positive YES! I think that when I did this, I opened my mind a bit and without any regrets, I am absolutely glad I did that. Just makes me want to do more.

I can’t speak for everyone but I can say that sometimes, you need to get out of your comfort zone in order to find out what you really enjoy!

Find yourself…

Mac (also known as the Macintosh) concentrates upon visual sectors. In my opinion, Apple works a whole lot on making things look pretty and this is probably what pulls people in.

Image from Apple.com

The graphics are smooth, the colours makes my monitor brighter and the animations are amazing. Oh and I can create apps for the App store too! Bad points? Well, there are several I’d like to jot down. 

The folder management is terrible! The tidying folders in icon mode is a mess! There is no auto tidy or anything. You have to manually tidy up every time! The only time when it does it automatically is when you right click and click on “Arrange By” and then when a new folder comes in, it ends up messy again.

I know it’s not much of an issue however, it does bother me to always having to right click and manually indicating to tidy it up for me. This is where I result in the columns view and even that its not perfect! To go back folders, I have to scroll back? But hey, its less painful.

I guess the next would be the shifting to other open applications. By using the Cmd + Tab keys, I can access to my opened applications but what makes it a failure would be Apple makes it a Grouped Selection! What does this mean? Well, when you switch over to Google Chrome, it shows you ALL of the windows you have opened with that particular application! So say for example, I have a thousand windows opened for the Finder, when I switch off to another application and decide to come back, it will open ALL RELATED Finder windows and then try and look for the window I really want.

Before was a huge issue but gaming was very limited for the Mac. I can’t say if it’s an issue now since I’ve stopped play games on my PC’s generally. But Windows was very ahead on the gaming and I did my research on Macs back then and there were not many Mac related games so that made me not want to buy a Mac. Now that I own a Mac, this may have been the reason why I stopped gaming on the PC just knowing the fact that gaming is limited. Why do I have a Mac? Just because I have the capability of creating apps for the App Store.

The Home and End buttons are a nuisance! So I’d like to specify that I am using a Microsoft keyboard on a Mac machine but still… When I am on Dreamweaver, I am programming and the Home and End buttons work correctly but then when I switch over to Flash or even Chrome, these buttons go to either the top or bottom of the page!? There are times when it even works on Chrome typing out this blog post so thinking logically, the shortcut keys to get to the beginning and end of the line is the Cmd + Arrow Keys which is fine by me. But whats next? Dreamweaver doesn’t want to go to the beginning or end of the line with these keys! So WTF!? Make up your mind! Its either one or the other.

Finally, the access to applications! So on a Mac, you see a docking station at the bottom of your screen. That’s great since it is so easy to access. So what’s the problem? Well, you have to assign what goes on that docking station so how do I access my newly installed applications? So there are 3 ways I can get to them! Either use Apple’s Launchpad displaying all the applications in an iOS themed display, using the Spotlight located on the top right of the screen and typing the application or navigating to the Finder and click on “Applications” there. I suppose my problem is just that there is no easy access to browse my applications. The Launchpad is pretty but the scrolling through applications in that format is a waste of space. iPads and iPhones need to do that since it has limited spacing so why integrate it onto a bigger screen!? The Spotlight feature I cannot browse through the applications I have since I have to type it. There are times I just get frustrated remembering what application I just installed and with the text field blinking at me just makes me want to bang my head! So I use the Finder. It displays my applications in a list format which is a great view and can browse through them. The problem here is that my attention diverts elsewhere as soon I click on Finder since the default view is All My Files resulting that I end up looking elsewhere and forgetting the main reason why I am on the Finder in the first place.

So my review as a whole? These issues have got me at an uneven state and truth be told, the Windows platform beats Apple but just waiting for the right time to switch so I can use this for a little while longer.

If I was to recommend an operating system, I would suggest Windows definitely! DONE!

It didn’t feel like a long time since BF3 was released and now the new one is coming…

The game had a big hype from people and in support of this, I’m excited! The 17 minute gameplay now available on YouTube shows a whole lot for campaign mode. Truth be told, I started at Battlefield 3 and kept in the multiplayer region so I’m not really sure if I can compare but I will put my opinion into it anyway.

For starters, the graphics have never disappointed me since the BF3 era. The environment looks spectacular thanks to the Frostbite 3 engine! The lighting is just so amazing. The way how the glare of the sun and many other factors just keeps you immersed into the game. Sometimes in Battlefield 3, I would just stop and stare at the little details in the environment for a while only until the random individual just comes over to knife me… Not cool! And to top it all off, there is going to be a dynamic weather system!? Now that is going to be something to look forward to!

In compliments to animation, when the characters are talking with each other, their body language indicates they have a history which in my opinion, most games does not successfully grasp very well. But don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen many games achieve this but in comparison to BF3, it has improved.

It seems like the destruction is a big hype in this game. I never got to play Bad Company 2 but reviews and all indicated it was known for the destruction and with that being said, it has been confirmed that destruction is coming back into BF4. Now I thought that BF3 was enough destruction as it was but there is more!? Knowing me, I am definitely looking to do that for certain! Apparently FULLY COLLAPSIBLE BUILDINGS!? Got to try that!!

Maps are going to be bigger. Again, I thought BF3 had large enough environments and yet they’re going to make it bigger… So long the soldiers do not run out of breath like Black Ops, BRING IT ON! But it does make sense for those who like to play in the air. I tried an aircraft a few times in BF3 and it felt as though when I flew in the air, I came to the end of the map too quickly so maybe in BF4, I’ll play a bit more in the sky…

And best of all, this game will be available not only on the current consoles, but also the next-gen ones too! So just imagine how much better the graphics will be… Hmmmm…

These are the main pointers I am looking forward to in regards to this game! Mind you, when I started watching the 17 minute gameplay of BF4, it made me start playing the campaign version of BF3 and I am really starting to love it! With that being said, I may just run off to play some more now!

Thank you DICE for creating this EPIC game! 

Smart phones huh? I can’t help but look back at what choices we had back a few years ago…

I started with what they used to call a “brick” and a 4cm antenna given to me from my brother. This was once known as the Ericsson. That’s right, Ericsson was not merged with Sony at that time. This phone had a green LCD screen with up to 3 lines of text and the network provider one2one. Not heard of it? That’s because it changed to T-Mobile and now changing again to EE. But since I was a young one, I had to settle with a pay as you go sim card. At that point, text messaging wasn’t even integrated with this phone and everyone else was holding the hip phone Nokia 5110 that had the amazing feature of changing the front face! Oh and they decreased the size of the antenna to 1.5cm. But I couldn’t afford this face changing phone so what could I do because everyone was texting and I couldn’t. Then I discovered the new update that you can text but you need to go through a series of steps. Awesome right? It took about 3 days to setup involving a call to one2one and configuring some settings on my Ericsson. Finally, with a load of frustration, the phone had texting however, it was one liner! In other words, I had to type my text out on one line scanning my wording from left to right! It was painful but I had no choice since money was a huge problem.

Skipping a year or so ahead, I finally saved up £100 to grab my first ever phone! So my choices were either the Sony or the Nokia 3310 (at that time, they were the hottest phone on the pay as you go market after the Nokia 3210). This was a no brainer since I was in need of the game Snake! The game ONLY available for Nokia. The Nokia 3310 with the customisable feature of back and front faces to be changed! Whatttt!? Mind blowing change by Nokia! And not only that, the antenna within the phone!? And to top it all off, it was twice as smaller and lighter too! These were the best features ever! And to overkill, I had the ability to text on 5 lines! 

From there, I had this phone for a while only until I heard that another Nokia phone was released which had the similarities of a portable gaming device; with a d-pad on the left side of the phone, the numbers on the right and the screen in the middle. To top it all off, it was a colour screen! Now that was revolutionary! Although, the only game I really played on this device was Snake (yes, that game was still very good, the d-pad made it really easy to control).

Those years feel like a long time ago and now, the phones have gone bigger and all touch screen phones! I think we have established that size does not matter and in fact, people want even bigger (sounds so wrong)… With phones going off as cheap as £100 or less for a touch screen phone is a bargain! 

What do I have now? I currently hold the LG Nexus 4! Have a look at my previous blog to check the specs on it: http://gamingdood.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/phone-comparison.html

This phone is somewhat great but since I was an iPhone user, I cannot adjust to it just yet. I guess I am taking some time with it before I can say I “love it“. Too soon to tell.

In one generation, gaming has been given the reputation that only kids play on them and then there are another set of people who say that it is an absolute waste of time when we can find something more productive to do. In my perspective, gaming is classified for any age and it is very productive! 

The games have evolved to a point where it immerses the gamer so deeply that its like watching a film. Saying this, there are a variety of games with so many genres available that gives a gamer a wide choice. This is where age doesn’t matter. The evolution of gaming have improved drastically… 

Now the reason why I say ‘productive‘ is that depending on the type of person you are, there are some people who cannot handle stress like others do. It relieves a huge portion of the day you’ve encountered. Of course you can spend that time doing paperwork or do what you feel is important, but sometimes, having that virtual world to do something you’ll never do in reality can really allow you to escape for a few hours…

From my experience, its important to keep control. One is gaming. It can distract you from the world but obviously there are many different ways you can deal with this. 

And then there’s inspiration. Gaming unlocks a part of yourself where it feels like it wants to become creative and motivated. Generally, when playing a game, I tend to criticise it and with this information, I learn that when I ever do create a game, I can develop it and know roughly that my game will not suffer from the same consequences. 

So what I am trying to point out is if you feel like you have disconnected from the gaming world and like to get back into it but don’t know how, don’t think! Go out to your nearest retail gaming shop and buy your most wanted console. Then schedule yourself to go play! I believe that sitting there to just think about things is a waste of time when you can just go for it. 

Rants… What is it really about?

I can’t say for the majority of the world but I can say my views upon it. So last weekend, I had two conversations with two different people specifically aimed about rants. Why we do it? Maybe to just vent out how they feel particularly in a situation but what is the solution for the person hearing these rants? All the person really requires is a person to listen… Not for them to come up with a solution… Its fairly strange but it works! But it benefits both parties! On one side, they can talk out loud regarding their issue and analyse if there is a possible flaw in what is said. As for the other side, you get 2 factors… You level up in the trust reputation with this person and also learn from their experiences you hear. There is one condition… This person puts this amount of trust in you in hopes that you do not repeat it to anyone else! So all in all, it is amazing just how a person can put this level of trust in you. But you have to bare in mind that when they do, speak as little as possible… Otherwise you can offend them…

Saturday evening around 11pm, I had a meeting with my brother on Skype. I skipped last weeks meeting since it was very hectic for me. But finally we sat down and we discussed quite a few things regarding games, what we’ve been up to and obviously the Microsoft Surface. Feels like every week, we discuss the Surface… But more importantly, we discussed our project: the progress report. We added more to the task list but feels like we’re moving forward.

My Sunday was absolutely quiet. It involved being at home and getting down to a bit of work. The very small things have been ticked off the list. But I suppose the small things are better than nothing at all. Besides having those little tweaks, I’be been sitting around watching films. Seems to be my go to move nowadays…

Monday after work was a day of badminton. With all the trash talk constantly falling out of my mouth, the game was a good one. I felt an improvement somewhat than the other weeks. Maybe because there was constant rotation after each game. It seems as though every week goes by, I begin to improve my doubles skills. Relying upon the other to return was once a hard thing to do but now an easy thing. Roll on next week…

Tuesday came on with the purchase of the new Tomb Raider developed by Square Enix. With this being said, I played on Wednesday as well. This game is a very well developed game. It has a mixture of Uncharted and a hint of theLl old Tomb Raider games embedded into it. I must say I have not been addicted to a game like this since the Metal Gear Solid days. It consists of values I expected but more! The game literally makes you feel precisely how Lara Croft is experiencing. It feels like in the beginning, the game was very well thought of. But as the story moves forward, it gets even better. The game is definitely worth playing and is given a 9/10. Reason why I didn’t give it a 10 is probably because I feel like the graphics could have been better but the gameplay covers that small issue.

To sum up my feelings as a whole, it is very hard to steer. I tend to dwell upon what I thought was forgotten. I’d like to think what I’ve done to this very point, it was all for a reason. Although I don’t know that reason right now, I’ll find out sooner or later… But can I really rely on that hypothesis?

Its been a while since I wrote a blog post… I had a few things I needed to sort out but I think things will start to calm down from here. Things have been hectic. I didn’t even have time to even play games or develop stuff. Its almost embarrassing just to write this post since productivity has been at its minimum… But one way or another, I must write so here we go… 

So I just received my new LG Nexus 4 and I must admit, it does the job very well. The screen size is great, the device looks solid and the interface is user friendly. However, there are very minor changes if I had the chance to change it. Me being an iPhone user before transferring to an Android OS was somewhat frustrating to me. Some features that I was used to on the iPhone like tapping the top of the screen to get to the top of the screen or the way I always accidentally hit the home button when I am typing on the virtual keyboard. With the many complaints I see, some of them do resolve themselves as I continue to use the device so eventually, the small things will disappear but still leaving my iPhone on standby if I find a major disappointment… This was also one of the reasons why my blog has been on pause for a while… Usually I type my post on the iPhone but now I transferred, the system I was once used to was broken and needed to repair it. But now seeing I am beginning to get used to the phone, I can start firing out posts… 

Project planning has begun to initiate recently although development has been terrible lately. Just writing ideas on a bit of paper just makes me realise how much I rely on computers and mobile devices. I think its about time I pull out my notepad more and use devices less. So with several projects in motion, if procrastination is going to occur, resulting into planning doesn’t sound so bad. I’ve written a methodology in regards to a back end script for the website project. Progression seems to be happening in terms of front-end since my brother just keeps giving. This week, I will definitely have some solid showing. Just need to write a document for him. My mini games have been on super slow as it has been all about going out lately, but it will probably calm down from here. Projects are on priority now. 

Monday morning has started and it started with a morning I was familiar with; motivation to code! I walked out my house feeling once again, proud of myself. Although the code was little, it felt as though things are looking up. But seeing as badminton is happening tonight, my evening will be a relaxing one.

Speaking of relaxing, so on Saturday, I went out to Game on a random day and found that Crysis 3 was released! Seeing that although I had hesitation about the price, I ended purchasing it but ended up playing it on a Sunday. This game was everything I ever expected but only with the gorgeous graphics and of course, the crossbow! With the “Cloak engaged” and the crossbow equipped, it absolutely accomplishes immersive gameplay! Just the way how you also can lock on to the cel operatives just initiates tactical advantage! Although I only played an hour of it, I definitely will play more tonight… Rating out of 10? I’d give it a good 9!

Just to summarise, I think things have been too crazy lately that now, I need to take a step back. I have a vision but I just need to pursue it… Procrastinating is fine but too much of it can end up being a routine… Just having a think through what needs to be done. There are many things on my list but all I need to be is motivated. This morning was a good start. Can I keep the ball rolling? Only time will tell….