tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78007014468077049032024-03-04T23:30:05.008-05:00Le Nirvana du joueurReviews, thoughts and opinions from a game developperGames and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-84757046733763119432012-02-12T19:04:00.005-05:002012-02-12T19:19:19.484-05:00Level Designers: Layouts (continued)<div><div>More layouts:<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARZh7xng_TzydZUChfDupFNEDN-sW6I0MJJ4nQmaUQfBmhN4HJ9qWGAYyy2_9ffytE7vER8cwxb_2YzXWq5D-KxJ8_GXx-DX8F72Z13jz2zjM6ufZd6r1lRNJ2nQexQe_2w7gCKOVGvNS/s1600/spacemarineencounterj.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708406435631522386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARZh7xng_TzydZUChfDupFNEDN-sW6I0MJJ4nQmaUQfBmhN4HJ9qWGAYyy2_9ffytE7vER8cwxb_2YzXWq5D-KxJ8_GXx-DX8F72Z13jz2zjM6ufZd6r1lRNJ2nQexQe_2w7gCKOVGvNS/s320/spacemarineencounterj.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnamJ9p4c1jrYBxF4yKLonxpMvyePU2qeaJnr1fbLwvwOxJ4IdGC7-LUpzAGNl2kraJ5FBA6Q8Rj6xAzez0Mcj9-sqZYOZqK0Qdstj9sdOysc-3glG6GxG1y_L73vvUjJl4eBvuvmpi__V/s1600/spacemarineencounteri.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708406423327110530" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnamJ9p4c1jrYBxF4yKLonxpMvyePU2qeaJnr1fbLwvwOxJ4IdGC7-LUpzAGNl2kraJ5FBA6Q8Rj6xAzez0Mcj9-sqZYOZqK0Qdstj9sdOysc-3glG6GxG1y_L73vvUjJl4eBvuvmpi__V/s320/spacemarineencounteri.jpeg" /></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvf7NqsE92M2ckrZRx0ZBzuheK7kccs6GP-tOUvoIgbAGttdWcWatDsiH-rg4oAZjvGNw-mAR7JtsAZ71WxrT03U2ECwJxv3GNVptMK84XTg-MEF4w7QxX6Zt44dU5-V9vej9vuL_yjfa/s1600/spacemarineencounterh.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708406417290118722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvf7NqsE92M2ckrZRx0ZBzuheK7kccs6GP-tOUvoIgbAGttdWcWatDsiH-rg4oAZjvGNw-mAR7JtsAZ71WxrT03U2ECwJxv3GNVptMK84XTg-MEF4w7QxX6Zt44dU5-V9vej9vuL_yjfa/s320/spacemarineencounterh.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVwVUhEcvBNnYlxkRgqfd6_iHhyphenhyphenKS0OIQZhLkxdM68hVLW4iUIPUn11AG8wvPnlQwmGO3HxowuqdZeSf9-XpjmuFc5q5CmHuOc91rzkafrdU6JpHbpAvOKn07JPrBLn3NQmUbhCIPxf_d/s1600/spacemarineencounterg.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708405330420233442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVwVUhEcvBNnYlxkRgqfd6_iHhyphenhyphenKS0OIQZhLkxdM68hVLW4iUIPUn11AG8wvPnlQwmGO3HxowuqdZeSf9-XpjmuFc5q5CmHuOc91rzkafrdU6JpHbpAvOKn07JPrBLn3NQmUbhCIPxf_d/s320/spacemarineencounterg.jpeg" /></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnPckhpRPlDZZKWB8NtvSjQOeBXnKnboEgQV8-yOWVwycUZLNq9ROxxZHzbQP-DTvHSXSJWBinGRdS3LrVjNMW4NOmhCBKrvlPS8sWV-TOHp-f0k7DQOeTZotRAim4R0LRo2QzK7IVppH/s1600/spacemarineencounterf.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708405328928226018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqnPckhpRPlDZZKWB8NtvSjQOeBXnKnboEgQV8-yOWVwycUZLNq9ROxxZHzbQP-DTvHSXSJWBinGRdS3LrVjNMW4NOmhCBKrvlPS8sWV-TOHp-f0k7DQOeTZotRAim4R0LRo2QzK7IVppH/s320/spacemarineencounterf.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEd9uIgvw3HC7zk5xlFGBtoUmCbZ-tVfdmoWoaJq7wfibpRGGwyvKKR5RPjpzZUBr-Xr_nRX4TuCviWkzxPW60v4qtG-ZODjpFE_b81gkq4u9O1Xk8oVkyMeErydzlG83Bgb4LW2Ax9vo/s1600/spacemarineencountere.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708405319181953730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdEd9uIgvw3HC7zk5xlFGBtoUmCbZ-tVfdmoWoaJq7wfibpRGGwyvKKR5RPjpzZUBr-Xr_nRX4TuCviWkzxPW60v4qtG-ZODjpFE_b81gkq4u9O1Xk8oVkyMeErydzlG83Bgb4LW2Ax9vo/s320/spacemarineencountere.jpeg" /></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MNI1WLRTZu_v4SRKzJr6nRg8Mf7nJ9pxNu46V1vV7WnscgjO4L-HRR8brPu_k7poxfiWjEP1X1iGz0-KRtekmDI62lCdQPBGFl_bDB_hVVJHgN0qBIpKfIloJfjN5sj8EVwIDsZKAL8U/s1600/spacemarineencounterd.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708405312509335730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5MNI1WLRTZu_v4SRKzJr6nRg8Mf7nJ9pxNu46V1vV7WnscgjO4L-HRR8brPu_k7poxfiWjEP1X1iGz0-KRtekmDI62lCdQPBGFl_bDB_hVVJHgN0qBIpKfIloJfjN5sj8EVwIDsZKAL8U/s320/spacemarineencounterd.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboujKYUJHd1lcMhK2BJ-s7ZEJJy6JKJTKNpILySM29GydD7_xI5NXH98Q48_99dAfeN2GZPJbH5bj6Kf1VyA9_lEyKNco0Wn9PdnhemA3Pmc-rzKd9SMU70BcU-RZBfztk0NKJDMirnkq/s1600/spacemarineencounterc.jpeg"><img style="width: 233px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708405311111195218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiboujKYUJHd1lcMhK2BJ-s7ZEJJy6JKJTKNpILySM29GydD7_xI5NXH98Q48_99dAfeN2GZPJbH5bj6Kf1VyA9_lEyKNco0Wn9PdnhemA3Pmc-rzKd9SMU70BcU-RZBfztk0NKJDMirnkq/s320/spacemarineencounterc.jpeg" /></a><div><div> </div><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69sXkV_WcB12WaY1gSSjDw9cyCCHJRJ8Z525wIuuKSlbJSdKJkD2Wz5e4w_E3GfpS3z41hv3Y_W7qhM7D7bx3KUBExskEctTHFjthjErFvJ462NjvzTDQHjXi9Zjf66n2LkXCcZtCFUEN/s1600/Sequence_09_Layout_01.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 206px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708406444065757554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69sXkV_WcB12WaY1gSSjDw9cyCCHJRJ8Z525wIuuKSlbJSdKJkD2Wz5e4w_E3GfpS3z41hv3Y_W7qhM7D7bx3KUBExskEctTHFjthjErFvJ462NjvzTDQHjXi9Zjf66n2LkXCcZtCFUEN/s320/Sequence_09_Layout_01.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DxIkl9NLCtAHVqmjiBll04xPANWj4Tp5nlnOMLyohcLJKvZyb2wSzpiuu-yGMNNw4CDYuA75-uajzospbjg8NI930bHPF3mshw02g3yR4Iz7YbKlx8yb_tpT9to52NfzrV7aF8OPwiH8/s1600/Sequence_09_Layout_03.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 230px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708406462685900578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6DxIkl9NLCtAHVqmjiBll04xPANWj4Tp5nlnOMLyohcLJKvZyb2wSzpiuu-yGMNNw4CDYuA75-uajzospbjg8NI930bHPF3mshw02g3yR4Iz7YbKlx8yb_tpT9to52NfzrV7aF8OPwiH8/s320/Sequence_09_Layout_03.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_HAGEC04vRJho3Bv6qYhweuDoa8cUr78giHZAtSrQwNfq12cO54YRnfkfPxZfB8VaziERLGUe9-SWV9O6QdEsUG8rsllIcRd07xlrmmPAIJEfkppWKnr3CDsovrSfKDP7ptRQQTIE7TL/s1600/Sequence_21_LayoutNew.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 206px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708407191415457410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_HAGEC04vRJho3Bv6qYhweuDoa8cUr78giHZAtSrQwNfq12cO54YRnfkfPxZfB8VaziERLGUe9-SWV9O6QdEsUG8rsllIcRd07xlrmmPAIJEfkppWKnr3CDsovrSfKDP7ptRQQTIE7TL/s320/Sequence_21_LayoutNew.jpg" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-79545853795381435832012-02-12T18:43:00.008-05:002012-02-12T19:04:05.572-05:00Level Designers: Layouts/ideas on paper and more<div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div align="center"><strong>Level Designers: Layouts/ideas on paper and more</strong></div><div align="left"><strong></strong> </div><div align="left">So I wanted to share some of the work ive done in the past to show the progression of the design from bulletpoint ideas we have for a level/map, doodles for the map on paper with more of less details depending in which stage of production you are in and full design in 2d programs such as illustrator/Photoshop.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Here are some from Rainbow Six, SP(general design), TMNT and Space Marine.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDadJpxF4i1bjI4MF19Byr9yDl9q7azbCdfOdePDMf1MgSggJ40p1yGE4UI_AypTWO9B36G_SR6BBTvLE8Xj4O8-8BSd_XMYxgH3RVWbAPv2NJbHn6HL_Qqz7wu5qTxGClZsbvkjicp8q/s1600/R6m13a.jpg"><img style="width: 153px; height: 200px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708401898713500706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivDadJpxF4i1bjI4MF19Byr9yDl9q7azbCdfOdePDMf1MgSggJ40p1yGE4UI_AypTWO9B36G_SR6BBTvLE8Xj4O8-8BSd_XMYxgH3RVWbAPv2NJbHn6HL_Qqz7wu5qTxGClZsbvkjicp8q/s200/R6m13a.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrJ5H1N_-FGxydr-QQAKEGIKOEQVtgfPT6mp4GpZFmMIz1j1IdAXa2AMw4bLWZB4eKrkuH3pBdDDUNFwoTHVNsqq7Sf_a18fJ-8a08mm82f_eWbc4HKyV51OJ8KfMjbymqK_3nrKtZqg6/s1600/R6m13b.jpg"><img style="width: 186px; height: 200px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708401906450439186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrJ5H1N_-FGxydr-QQAKEGIKOEQVtgfPT6mp4GpZFmMIz1j1IdAXa2AMw4bLWZB4eKrkuH3pBdDDUNFwoTHVNsqq7Sf_a18fJ-8a08mm82f_eWbc4HKyV51OJ8KfMjbymqK_3nrKtZqg6/s200/R6m13b.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzB1sZdPLQJzWb3CEoJxiovPsneSXKkXQyW6C38c6Wge68zKI_JkwKKw3fxF0Jk3YdgKYbVybF_oYGjXcMNc6NCSoSNukI_ettjMmU5APJH8iogzNe71bcbVN4iFAS0HLFjGzP5Z8eQvrx/s1600/R6mp_bank_a.jpg"><img style="width: 200px; height: 120px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708401912010844994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzB1sZdPLQJzWb3CEoJxiovPsneSXKkXQyW6C38c6Wge68zKI_JkwKKw3fxF0Jk3YdgKYbVybF_oYGjXcMNc6NCSoSNukI_ettjMmU5APJH8iogzNe71bcbVN4iFAS0HLFjGzP5Z8eQvrx/s200/R6mp_bank_a.jpg" /></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKma3ZXu1ibDAcYPb_hR-eeT9-WUA9cZ7dhJIL8RfOG0BQnwQ7MbfQzyw84tUV6pk4vZMK6GizLsB89CpP37aYOTJ4bR8cMNJO-N8uHWec1k_ioMPsGCLy7Hej6mEo_GojuQwKdBJtsrSP/s1600/R6mp_c.jpg"><img style="width: 200px; height: 182px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708401921629682722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKma3ZXu1ibDAcYPb_hR-eeT9-WUA9cZ7dhJIL8RfOG0BQnwQ7MbfQzyw84tUV6pk4vZMK6GizLsB89CpP37aYOTJ4bR8cMNJO-N8uHWec1k_ioMPsGCLy7Hej6mEo_GojuQwKdBJtsrSP/s200/R6mp_c.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FjBByI4atEYC3gEEkuJPi6YqOpBkAP-R2SxaRbjDXuxdA4g03W6V8TIVo4vP87b4rf1cPUH9h3SJ1D7qtzevLmFAONPk1ce64T-PabQ9sEeymccX4qXZs6U8-iC453tFJsKlF861VSIb/s1600/R6mp_a.jpg"><img style="width: 168px; height: 200px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708401924414460626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3FjBByI4atEYC3gEEkuJPi6YqOpBkAP-R2SxaRbjDXuxdA4g03W6V8TIVo4vP87b4rf1cPUH9h3SJ1D7qtzevLmFAONPk1ce64T-PabQ9sEeymccX4qXZs6U8-iC453tFJsKlF861VSIb/s200/R6mp_a.jpg" /></a></div><div> </div><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-io6to2liULIgVCT2P8zoqDh9Zt5W02mnHb_6Lpxy-DJgFU-U-BiSPAsEx4gsjU6N3xmOy27oMQGUUeu2ftUkVQBdPixfg4KQW0rNQTY5YWBXVaCgUIcDCC4OIzIW-mzmfwKzN63o_fyk/s1600/platforms.JPG"><img style="width: 185px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708403857900822850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-io6to2liULIgVCT2P8zoqDh9Zt5W02mnHb_6Lpxy-DJgFU-U-BiSPAsEx4gsjU6N3xmOy27oMQGUUeu2ftUkVQBdPixfg4KQW0rNQTY5YWBXVaCgUIcDCC4OIzIW-mzmfwKzN63o_fyk/s320/platforms.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQNYdVMbrWdMFpqwwZ-oShnawP8Yxhu48b0VuCwX-DxuxtWMdAB56DpJ2Pk4HHzDueyAQGaGhyphenhyphenUGawVLchCPLGVt8nL84MtG5lXg_Jy1XWLiDILKIedx1C7k5FHB8rRTow9bvXC1KYs68/s1600/traps.JPG"><img style="width: 224px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708403864319665618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQNYdVMbrWdMFpqwwZ-oShnawP8Yxhu48b0VuCwX-DxuxtWMdAB56DpJ2Pk4HHzDueyAQGaGhyphenhyphenUGawVLchCPLGVt8nL84MtG5lXg_Jy1XWLiDILKIedx1C7k5FHB8rRTow9bvXC1KYs68/s320/traps.JPG" /></a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ix7TFxYdqQmm3wB4hOCD3_A1zz820HvJHNFpX5SWzAgjpgCtmdQqYCvnDdZxluIK4IjYhqS7pSXmuVw4pKLfH3vdyEABQ6qUaBtfJ6ZnRjiAXP1dj3fXO92PqNQ7r37s2ejifG3QxJGB/s1600/south02.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 245px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708403865957929042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ix7TFxYdqQmm3wB4hOCD3_A1zz820HvJHNFpX5SWzAgjpgCtmdQqYCvnDdZxluIK4IjYhqS7pSXmuVw4pKLfH3vdyEABQ6qUaBtfJ6ZnRjiAXP1dj3fXO92PqNQ7r37s2ejifG3QxJGB/s320/south02.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcL1AL0BymVobyXOfL4bZo4vqS_DMqhr2B8Pg3bCK9jaq7G-frKxlm10SjIr7X4dS88TS-fgIUKE7dd1aslIrhyphenhyphenKAoM4FRcvH_GhgxEu9T1nVSSrzboaw2DZkdmFSzOdOZEw9LNy5zBjz/s1600/south05.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 245px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708403867608489234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTcL1AL0BymVobyXOfL4bZo4vqS_DMqhr2B8Pg3bCK9jaq7G-frKxlm10SjIr7X4dS88TS-fgIUKE7dd1aslIrhyphenhyphenKAoM4FRcvH_GhgxEu9T1nVSSrzboaw2DZkdmFSzOdOZEw9LNy5zBjz/s320/south05.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGJHFHTtF0ralA1e_wLDj8GUk5USkYHaUsUGaVhnIWgL_oXMGywSSRHAGa1gSsmBUa_vyCigh69MlLnbwqJERTYDLncsNdun-DzriITCYybGBCPxEVLweA_PV-MQBKeCgo822NxMxdH6q/s1600/south03.jpg"><img style="width: 320px; height: 245px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708403869412140658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGJHFHTtF0ralA1e_wLDj8GUk5USkYHaUsUGaVhnIWgL_oXMGywSSRHAGa1gSsmBUa_vyCigh69MlLnbwqJERTYDLncsNdun-DzriITCYybGBCPxEVLweA_PV-MQBKeCgo822NxMxdH6q/s320/south03.jpg" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-37012679584812113512011-11-12T14:55:00.003-05:002011-11-12T15:53:33.724-05:00Level Designers: How to get a job in the industry?<div> </div><div align="center"><strong>How to get a job in the industry as a designer?</strong></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">This is a question that people ask me all the time when I tell them I work as a game designer.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">This is actually a hard question to answer.</div><div align="left">When I first started in the video games industry, there wasnt a really clear way for me to get in as a designer because:</div><ol><li><div align="left">There weren't a lot of programs in school to learn the craft of level design.</div></li><li><div align="left"> Most programs were really expensive, if you would find them, and most were targeted towards artists learning to model or sketch...</div></li><li><div align="left">there was a limited number of companies in Montreal</div></li><li><div align="left">There was a limited number of software packages to create content as there are today( UDK for example)</div></li></ol><p align="left">The only way I could see to get in the industry was to become an AI programmer through different programs in school and work as a programmer until I could do the switch to design which was my ultimate dream. Adding Philosophy studies to my studies as well to have a different set of tools for a future employer to consider me.</p><p align="left">Yes this combination of majors might sound weird and unusual, but philosophy is about reasoning about things in life and programming is about logic and structure kinds makes sense in some ways. Most importantly though, all designers Ive met in my career have really different backgrounds. I havent met a lot of designers who came from the same path to reach their goal. </p><p align="left">Having different skills is actually a bonus for companies to hire someone different that will bring a new perspective on the game they are working on. Architecture,English Litt, Psychology, Computer Science, Maths, Arts are some of those skills that designers have.</p><p align="left">In the last 2 years, we have seen a lot of game design programs be added to different universities and professional schools teaching the basics of what you need to learn. Even some high schools and primary schools are getting interested in those programs since children are excited about those and learn more easily while they are having fun and using technologies to learn. This is good news for the future of game development. </p><p align="left">So yes, those programs are good ways to get in the industry, but you must also do more! Since more and more people will get the education, the market will get smaller to get in as companies need some talent they also need people with experience, who have done some games... Couple of things to do to differentiate yourselves from the rest:</p><ol><li><div align="left">An easy one: have a passion for games, play them all the time, play all sorts of games and get to know ingredients and mechanics that those games are using for future references and learn the language if possible.</div></li><li><div align="left">Learn to work with some of those game packages out there that lets you create levels free and usually come with tutorials. Unreal kit, farCry2 kit, Unity, XNA, etc... Make levels using those and even games since those packages are easy enough to create new things without having programming skills or art skills since they offer material to start with.</div></li><li><div align="left">Learn and use 3D programs such as Maya and 3D Studio Max to create levels, objects...you will need to use them to create basic levels and gameplay when you get hired anyways</div></li><li><div align="left">Learn to use Illustrator and Photoshop which will be needed to create visual documents for your future maps</div></li><li><div align="left">If you create a level, also write up a level design document which includes moment to moment gameplay explanation that will show your reasoning and you thoughts behind each area. Dont create useless areas because it doesnt show the focus of your design and seems loose.</div></li><li><div align="left">(again)Play games relevant to the company you apply at. (mostly for interview moments)</div></li></ol><p align="left">Another way to get in a Design role is to get a job as a Tester/QA in a game company. As you work in this job, apply yourself in doing your job as best you can, work hard, learn from others(since you have access to all the different roles), use the tools the designers work with during your time off (if you have any), ask questions, talk to designers about their job, ask the company if you can do more and help the designers (some basic tasks designers dont have time to do such as placing collectable items for example, will put you in a good spot to learn tools and get seen by other designers and most importantly the leads). Well written documents and working efficiently in your tasks will show your professionalism and your willingness to achieve what you want.</p><p align="left">A lot of great designers come from a Tester position before becoming a full fledged designer.</p><p align="left">Learn, Apply yourself, Play games, Play games, Show your knowledge and make maps to show your potential!</p><p align="left">Everybody wants to be a designer or thinks he is a designer(by the thinking that everybody has ideas) so it is hard to get in or even being recognised as a designer, but it is feasible to get in if you work hard.</p><p align="left">(Be prepared for your interview as well...maybe a next post)</p><p align="left">Good Luck.</p><p align="left"> </p>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-20824739593222965452011-10-30T22:28:00.010-04:002011-10-31T00:37:16.652-04:00Choices in Games<div>I love games where you have choices to make that will matter in your experience of the game.</div><div> </div><div>Yeah, that doesnt say much about what I really like since all games have some choices that players need to make to progress. There are different types of choices and I'm really interested in only 1-2 of these types when I play games or when i work on some.</div><div> </div><div>Sports games let you make choices every second that will determine your success during the event you are involved. Hockey,Soccer and football games ask you to pass,shoot,hit,block,etc to determine your next move and asking you to react to the AI doing the same. Im not really interested in this one.<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div>Other games give the players a blank slate and ask them to create something where the different elements must interact and survive to progress. Such games may include SimCity, Spore, civilisation (in some regards), etc... This is an interesting one for game designers because designing them is all about excel and balancing. i like playing these games but never good at them since i would need to really understand the system and i dont tend to play them long enough to do so. Im not really such a designer but i respect them a lot.</div><div> </div><div>Other games give players the choice to play some mini-games or side missions that extend the game by many hours, offer players options to play the type of missions they like the most and reward them with the economy in place. Such games include Assassins Creed, GTA, Fallout,etc... This type of choices interests me a lot when the missions in place will tell players more about the story, the world they play in and go deeper in the philosophy of the game. This is something that I love to develop but on a bigger scale that i will talk soon. </div><div> </div><div>Second to last type of game choices that I want to talk more deeply about is the one that includes games where players have the choice to decide how they approach their goals. Action Stealth games offer that type of options to player to come into a space where players can use stealth to go around the mission, use your guns to kill everyone in sight or use squadmates to go about to deal with your objectives. I enjoy those games that will give you options throughout their games, but I usually dislike it when they turn around and make you do the next objective a specific way that you might never have played before and will just result in many failures which results in frustration and these games might end up in the bin. Its fair to ask players to do it one way, but please offer other options if something goes wrong and not just end the players experience, developpers can increase the difficulty at this point or something else to make it an harder experience than it would have been if the player would have succeeded in the first place. At least, players will not feel like their experience just stopped because they didnt player the one way the designers intended it. Such games as Splinter Cell, Assassins Creed Brotherhood do that which is annoying i find. Other games like the Deus Ex, Thief series usually give a lot of different of this type of choices going in action,stealth, exploring around, hacking and even social aspects where you can avoid harder situation by trying to convince NPCs to let you pass or give you different elements to make it easier. Developping these games becomes a blasts because you build the world with options and often players will come up with crazy ways to figure things out and its great to see those. Also, it offers players a lot of replayability options when they want to replay to game. Players will often get new elements of the story by exploring the environments and searching through the world which is great if you are interested in the philosophy of the game and the story. Players also create their own narrative by deciding how to explore the game. I enjoy playing and mostly creating those games. Deus Ex offers so many ways to play the game, but in every boss fight you have to play the action way only ... so if you only decided to upgrade your hacking skills and stealth gameplay, well you are in for a good surprise in these fights...<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div>The last type and the most interesting one for me is the choices that players make which will change the story of the game, the story for players and possibly the mechanics that players can use to succeed and progress through the experience.In this type, there can be some distinctions as well. Some games like some versions of Star Wars, Fable, Infamous offer players with the choice to be on the evil side or good side of the story. Choosing these give everyone the opportunity to live that fantasy that most got from watching the Star Wars movie for example,but not you get to experience it for yourself. The fact that choosing the path of your choice lets you see what it means to be such a character and see how NPCs in the world will react to your actions, using different powers and choosing the fate of different stories and characters within the main story lets players really live it. It changes the game for them and they experience the personal repercussions of actions that you wouldnt take in the normal world but the game reacts to your choices and changes the story as you go through your decisions. Other games use another system which is less black and white and let players have a bigger array of moral choices that seems to be more related to real world situations, give back more to players because they get somewhat touched by those small decisions that might become emotional decisions of a certain morality and in which players will see their decisions change the world the game lives in and will certainly change the way they feel about the game and the video game medium.Obviously some decisions might not only be about what is good or bad, but how you want to interact with the characters or events in the game. In games such as Bioshock,Farenheit, Heavy Rain, Deus Ex (in some ways),etc... offer some of this type of choices which is really what I want to do in a game. The story changes as you make your decisions about the different interactions in the game of challenges that come up. Different outcomes to your decisions will change the game and how you see yourself playing the main character. Some are harder decisions to take: do you harvest the little sister or do you help them?(yes there were issues with balancing) doing the first option, you might feel wrong but players are going probably for personal gains and becoming a stronger character, but the story will let you know how awful it is to do so, the powers you get will be different and the story changes in some aspects until the end comes. Do you make sure that all proofs have been removed after the murder? which is a different kind of choice, but it will then be harder to play as the police officers and find proofs and changes the game as well. Do you kill the other character to maybe save your kid or do you try to find another solution to the problem. This will make the game harder but the moral decision here is hard to take. Which way will you talk to main characters to get what you want in main quests or side quests? What type of characters are you as a player and we can see following these players and see what they are capable of in the setting of a game. These are really special and important to me and that is what I like or would like to do in the games I make where your actions will really change the way the game progresses or even end depending of how you played it and how you really thought of the available emotional decisions you had to take to accomplish your task. Making people think about what they are doing and what they actually did to NPCs in the world and how these actions or decisions had real impacts in those characters lives...<br /><br /><br /></div><div> </div><div>The reason why I wanted to talk about this subject today "Choices in games" is that some games pretend they are actually doing that, but in the end the choices you make dont changed anything in the game you are playing, but they try to reinforce that your changes really do have an impact or try to push strongly (and ineffectively) that the "moral" choices you took had a big impact in that world(in the game). Unfortunately those games fail so hard for me because they didnt try hard enough,but wanted to fake that they did ... im sorry, but that makes the game fail in the end even if you gave me so many options to play the game ... the end HAS to be good as well ... you dont need to let me choose my ending thats not what I desire... I desire an ending to my journey through my choices in the game. So let me choose my ending through my choices that you will actually care about enough to track during the many hours i enjoyed your game. Make games that matter and give options to players to change the way they play it and the decision they make actually matters. One example of this is unfortunately Deus Ex HR and the DLC Missing Link where you have to press button A or B to decide your ending ... thanks about that now I can get a different video at the end or a different speech ... it doesnt change the way you play it or even the options available to you in the end.<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div>obviously I like other games as well and not all of them actually need moral choices, but id like to see these ones more and more and try to touch more people. Look at the japanese game Catherine where you get to answer different questions about relationships which changes the way the game plays and the story unfolds. The game is all about action puzzles but they found a neat way to make the players actually interact with the story and it gives a great experience depending of what you think about some aspects of love relationships.</div><div> </div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-73904494745104373022011-09-25T02:45:00.003-04:002011-09-25T02:58:38.222-04:00News and updatesHey I've been travelling a little this summer so i havent had time to continue my Level Design talks, but I'll do so at some point soonish.<br /><br />So ive been to Hawaii and to Chicago this summer for two different reasons.<br /><br />Hawaii to relax after a long crunch period on Space Marine and to lie down on beaches and discover the amazing scenary of Maui. It was a great time and everything there is amazing and relaxing so it was just perfect :)<br /><br />I went to Chicago mainly to go to Lollapalooza which was celebrating its 20th anniversary of existence. This festival is just the best festival ive ever been to.<br />Its so well organized with fast water filling stations, stages facing each other to make sure that people at the main stages will never have to wait, the variety of food options was just really impressive from organic farmer market options, to vegetarian products to normal fast food but with many options too!<br />Also the little shops, merch tents and shade areas were everywhere.<br /><br />It was soooooo hot in Chicago and it was hard to go through the 3 days with that temperature, but I made it and it was painful at some point, but the festival ended in a muddy field thanks to the torrential rain that pourred during the last hours of the festival and during the Foo Fighters' show.<br /><br />Obviously, the groups were there as well ;) There was so many bands, so many were really good and it was hard to see all the ones I wanted to see so I had to walk around a lot and I missed part of shows to see some bits of others. I discovered a lot of new bands and im adding them to my discography :)<br /><br />Moreover, I left the great company I worked for the last year, Relic Entertainment, and decided to join Slant Six Games to work on Resident Evil. That should be an interesting time ... such a great IP to play and work on...just amazing :) <br /><br />so i will write again in the coming month to continue my Level Design series.Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-81001671258539346832011-09-25T02:21:00.005-04:002011-09-25T02:44:04.761-04:00Nevermind - 20 years already!!<div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">On a totally different note...</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">NEVERMIND is now 20 years old! </span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">wow what a great album it was and it's still great today by most standards.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">When I first listened to Nevermind in 5th or 6th grade, i never expected that music like that existed.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">It totally changed the way I was listening to music and mostly the type of music i was listening to.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">It totally changed me.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">I was listening to Rap (MC Hammer,...) and some pop french singers from Quebec before this incredible happening...then I discovered Nirvana! Then I got interested in Grunge and the groups that created music around that genre.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">To this day I still listen to Nirvana once in a while on my ipod and whenever a radio station plays something from them I really enjoy that time in the car. It still feels fresh to listen to them even though its been 18 years now since Kurt died :(</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">Everytime I see a kid or teenager with a Nirvana shirt, I smile and Im happy that this generation too is enjoying the music I grew up on. This music feels immortal and I hope it stays in the minds of the coming generations for ever.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">I've got so many things from Nirvana, still buying books about them or magazines with old interviews from Kurt and the band or new talks from Novoselic or Grohl. I'm buying the deluxe editions of all the "new" releases to hear anything that I havent heard before from them.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">Everytime i visit Seattle it feels special and it will always feel like a mystical place for me.</span></div><div><span style="font-size:100%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:100%;">Im a huge fan of music and I attend a lot of concerts each year, but I wonder if my interest would be that big if it wasnt for Nirvana and what it brought me as a kid...</span></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-77114975878435491862011-07-04T02:33:00.013-04:002011-07-30T17:58:29.878-04:00Level Designers: What do they do?<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-: FR-CAfont-family:'Times New Roman';" >Level Designers: What do they do?</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';" ><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:85%;" >In missions/objectives oriented games, the level designers are the developpers with the best opportunity to create a bond with the players by offering them an experience they will remember for a long time and possibly create emotions that are stronger than anything else they will experience in any other form of entertainment. If level designers succeed, players will come back to the games they enjoyed and play their sequels or other games from the same studio. One of the main attraction to work as a level designer is that your work will be directly experienced by players because this is really what they see,play, enjoy or hate. </span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';" >Level designers are ultimately responsible to create the gameplay, make sure the game is fun, create a unique experience, make sure the players feel involved and find ways to deliver the story that was created; through different means that we will explore here.</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';" > </span></span><br /></p><br /><p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-: FR-CAfont-family:'Times New Roman';" >How?</span></b><br /></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:85%;" >To be able to bring all those qualities to a game or a level/map, level designers have to be creative to find what to do in the context of the story, but they also have to work with pretty much every other department to be able to combine the script, art, sound, lighting,game mechanics and AI to really create something memorable.</span><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-: FR-CAfont-family:'Times New Roman';" >Creating the gameplay, the technical steps</span></b></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:85%;" >When level designers(LDs) start to think about the next level to be created, they will have to read the script of the area to be designed, take out the most interesting details and organize a general thought of what can be done. As a level designer I usually do some research on the web to find ideas of interesting structures(Castle,Fortress,Army bases, etc...), natural formation and outdoor environments that will give me different ideas to create something that is architecturally sound, could be made and could represent something fun to play. Obviously, I will adapt the areas to create gameplay that makes sense for the game.</span><br /></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia', 'serif'; mso-bidi-: FR-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:85%;" >LDs usually create the space in 2D on paper (thats what i do first) or in professional drawing programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator or some go directly in 3D using SketchUp to draw and organize a space fast to form a general idea of the gameplay and show other people on the team. Documentation should be kept at a minimum(1-2 pages), precise and to the point, with indications of whats going on and combined with a list of required mechanics or elements that will be used.</span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Creating the space in 3D once the sketch was approved or once you feel it will be working using all the mechanics that you will need will be your next step. You dont have to create something beautiful but mostly functional. What does this mean? You want to create a feel for the space, appropriate widths and heights for the rooms, then block out the rest of the game space using even cube if its works. You should have dimensions set for cover objects, corridors, space dimensions for combat or walking around so that you wont have to redo or measure every cube every time. Then Play! Just walk around see how it feels. It needs to look like everything would fit in your universe and not out of proportions.</span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">If the space feels right and you actually have interactive objects or enemies working, place them in the space you just created it will help you to flesh things out better. You should be able to feel the space. Play, fix, play and fix again until all is perfect. It might be a long process, but you'll get it or ask people to test your level...it's good to use others opinion.</span><br /></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">Creating the gameplay, the fun and unique experience</span></strong><br /></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">[Note: I dont pretend to be the best or know it all, since I learn every day new things, techniques, new ways to make everything i do better by working in collaboration with the best game developpers in the world. Everyone on a team can bring something new to the table because everyone has a different background in this industry...there are no 2 people with the same background in the game business]</span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">As you create the spaces for your level, you will obviously be thinking about the gameplay and what will make the level fun and unique and we will explore some elements that will make it so. The process of finding what will make this special is thinking about the universe your game is set in, thinking about the different mechanics available to you and thinking about combining some to create something new, fresh and shows a progression from other levels set before, prototyping scenarios or gameplay features that could be implementing/reused by others, but also talking to other members of the team from different departments to see what they can deliver to you to make your awesome level even remotely possible. If you're thinking about making a scary level with shadows all over the place to scare the player or let him believe that bigger things are coming ahead, but the team doesnt have the technology or doesnt plan to develop anything for it, then you would need to change some of the details you wanted or be creative with your tools to have something that will have the same effect. So the goal here is to create a wishlist of things you would need and talk to the appropriate people on your team to make it happen.</span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">To create the gameplay to be fun and unique will depend on the type of games that you are making and what the narrative wants to convey, but there are "recipes" or little touches that can make your game better and less linear for players to experience.</span><br /></p><br /><ol><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Through the progression of your game, you will be using different mechanics for the players to use and progress. There is always a limited set of those mechanics so it is useful that as the game progress you combine the different mechanics as the player gets better at the game to try and make the gameplay different even if you are using two mechanics that were used before, but seperately. Now you can use a combination of both to increase the challenge or make it a new experience. (an example from Prince Of Persia would be to use the freeze mechanics to freeze waterfalls so you can go up to a new area then have the player unfreeze the water to pass the next obstacle and refreeze to grab ledge made of water.)</span><br /></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">To let players choose how to act in a given fighting space, you will need to have the space constructed in a way that they can see the enemies before they see them, they can see what the enemies are doing, they can see the main objective of the space clearly and they can see the different ways into the space. As an example in Deus Ex, you can use a ladder to go on a higher level than the enemies then get the drop on them or you can access a shaft which will let you sneak behind the enemies and kill them that way or you can blast through forward and use different cover objects to protect yourself and kill them. The important thing is to be able as a player to see the options available to make a good decision for yourself and later try something new if it didnt work the way you wanted to play the level. If you want the player to feel insecure, scared or you want to surprise them so they have a fast reaction to something going on, then you wouldnt want to show what is ahead and make it more small corridors or dark until you decide to throw something at them. It all depends how you want the players to feel in a given area or moment of the game.</span><br /></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">When creating multiple fighting areas, you can use the following "tricks" to make a space feel different to a player even though you are using the same shapes as before, but having the player coming from a different way into the space will offer a new perspective: a) Have the player come from the first floor of a two story space into a space where the enemies are on the same level as them. b) Have the player come the first floor of a two story building, but this time with the enemies on the second floor shooting down at the player. This time the player will feel scared, will have to move around fast to get into cover, will also feel more stressed by this situation since he doesnt have a good vantage point on those enemies and the player wont be certain about the number of enemies around, what they are planning, what kind of weapons they have or where they are located. c) Having the player enter the same space from the second level where the enemies are located below him and doing their own patrols or interacting with the environment will have a different impact on how the player will proceed. The player will feel a lot more powerful since he can see the units, their patrols and he will be the one deciding how to prepare and when to start the attack on them. d) another decision to take into consideration when create a fight scene is to decide if the enemies know about the player coming so they are already alerted and prepared( behind covers, their ai in shoot on sight mode,...) or having the enemies relaxed and doing patrols or random interactions will have a huge impact on the players take on this space. e) Having the enemies set in different space planes will also create something new for players even if its the same space built. By that I mean have the enemies attack on an horizontal plane so on the same level where the player can shoot left and right to kill everyone versus having the enemies attacking on a vertical plane where the player will have to shoot up and down will be a different experience.</span><br /></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Setting up your encounters differently in each encounter, having a good progression(not sending all your units in a melting pot), having a distinct feel to each wave and using the environment to its maximal potential are good ways to make the game more enjoyable in all its small arenas. Consequently, when players are fighting your encounters they must be able to come up with a strategy of their own to defeat the waves you throw at them. They can do so if they see the options easily in the environment which give them the advantage, but most importantly here they must be able to make out which units are coming their way. They must be able to distinguish them and analyse which weapon or mechanic to use to pass the challenge coming their way. Hence, you should not really send on the small plane of play melee units which run towards them and units shooting at them since they will panic and wont be able to attack the more dangerous units shooting from distance. Unless the space is made such that the range units would be elevated or separate themselves from the group easily or if the units have a really different color type,doing so would not be advisable in early levels anyways. Moreover, organising the encounter using units that go together or complement each other is a good way to show off the variety of enemies and also shows their relationship to each other in your universe. Combining units that make sense together is a good progression idea after you have shown these units using their unique ability individually to the players.</span><br /></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">How to end your encounters? There are some elements you always want to have that will tell the player that it is same to go on since the encounter is over such as always having a big finale using your biggest unit thrown in at the end (like fireworks), having a door open up in a closed area with no one coming or setting the last couple of guys coming in reinforcement through a door that was closed before, activating an interactible object to "green" at the end of the fight so players know they have to interact with it to go on, having an special event occur that kills the last enemy or destroys an element that was preventing the player to go forward, having another character call in on the radio letting you know the space is safe or having a light come on to show the player the way out. </span><br /></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Dividing the fighting spaces is important. As I said before it is good to show players what is coming ahead, but dividing the spaces into distinct areas with different functions will make your players understand the space better and how to overcome the challenge will make the experience less frustrating than have a big clustered area that will be confusing to advance forward. Usually, I am dividing the space in 3 areas. The first is located at the entrance(for the player) of the area where there will be some cover objects or a way for the player to move forward from the door to let the player BE in the space and begin the fight when he is ready. Let the player in. In the first area, he will have the options to rest, move around, acknowledge the enemy movements and decide to engage the way he desires. The second area is usually the no man's land where the fight will mostly happen and where it is more dangerous to advance to since the enemy will see the player and attack, but faster to progress to the objective or exit of the area. The third area will represent the main objective, the exit or where the enemies are located or entering the space. Accessing this area as fast as possible will let players advance and avoid more fighting which will be rewarding, but is more dangerous. This doesnt necessarily make it more fun, but will make the space less frustrating to players since he will be able to understand what is going on.</span><br /></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">A good way to find new ideas to make the levels feel unique and fresh is to do research with other games, getting inspired by other mediums such as music, movies, books and boardgames where you will find good ways to combine with your existing ideas and there is nothing wrong with getting inspired by other things you do in life. ;)</span></div></li></ol><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Creating the gameplay, delivering the narrative and making the player feel involved in the story</strong></span><br /></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Usually games have a story to tell which is divided throughout the levels. Elements of the story can represent dialogs between characters or with the player, movies showing a scene that players have to see to understand the story which will fill the gap of the dialogs in game which takes place somewhere else or at another time, a way to introduce some new units doing something in the world, music which gives an insight into an event or a character, sounds representing the landscape or the emotion of a character or a city after an event or even showing an event happening where the player is right now; the main goal is usually to push the player to some emotional responses that will make him engaged in the story and the universe.</span></p><br /><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">There are many ways that games use to deliver the narrative and most of designers are still pushing to find more interactive ways to make the players involved so its in constant evolution and researched constantly in hope of finding the ultimate ways to reach players, but here is a small group of those options that are used:</span></p><br /><ol><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Cinematics</strong> are used to present the story in a non-interactive way to the player who will be able to watch the story unfold so he will understand the events going on around him or that happened as a prequel to the current events. Using a cinematic to tell a story is useful because you can show exactly what you want to the player using your camera with the perfect angle to show the events and using all the processes the movie industry is using to create their masterpiece. Doing so you ensure(to a point) that the player is watching what you want him to watch and listen to what you want him to listen. Unfortunately, using cinematics in games also means you are removing the controls from the player and that breaks the immersion aspects of the game. Moreover, in most games in the last couple of years, there is an option for players to skip the cinematics entirely so they can continue playing the game without pauses which renders your efforts almost useless in the end. So use them, but its better to find another way more connected to the game.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Scripted sequences</strong> <strong>with camera cut</strong> are used to present an element of your story using a camera cut that his happening as the player enters a space or after an action the player has performed. This process is useful because it will show the players something they will find interesting and it will give them the right angle to look at the event, but once again we remove the controls from the players hands to show something. This is less problematic than using a cinematic because it breaks the immersion on a smaller scale since it is only for a couple of seconds and the player's character stays in the same space. I find it useful to show off new units(the first time they appear) and skills to players so they know who appeared and what they can do so players can find a new strategy to beat the unit. Also, it is great to use to show a special moment such as a destruction of a structure opening a space or showing the way to move forward.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Scripted sequences without camera cut</strong> are used to create movements in the space, as a destruction in the space, a special event that only happens once in a while or to create a moment of tension. Basically, it is anything that is animated and we want to show the players movement in the space without stopping the player from playing the game. As an example, an helicopter flies-by shoots at some structure which explodes and falls in front of the player to block his path. Using this technique you dont break the immersion in fact you help put an emphasis that the world is alive around the player, but you cant make sure that the player is looking at the event directly so he might only can the last glimpse of the action which is sad if you wanted to create a wow moment. Some players will see them and the others will never understand what happened behind them ... why is there a platform blocking the way now? </span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Music</strong> is used as a way to create emotions in players while they are playing. It can create tension as in Dead Space, it helps to relax as in Flower, it tells that there are enemies around in the fight as in Space Marine, it helps to create a momentum in games and etc... Using music is an essential part of the games and creates a lot of immersion and emotion in players. Music is an excellent way to keep the tension in a space where nothing is happening and without any enemies which creates a bigger impact on the player in the end.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Sound FX</strong> are used throughout games to help direct the players to the next area, the next objectives, to move the player towards an event happening close to him, to attract players basically where you want them to move and to distract them. Used marvelously in Dead Space. Sound FX can be used to keep the tension high even if nothing is really happening in the space which is a great way to surprise to player in the end as done in Dead Space.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Lighting</strong> can be used to light up an area obviously, but can be used to attract the players where we want them to go or look at so we can pretend they will look at it and we can send enemies there or use a scripted event in that direction or hope they find the path to the next objective/area following the light. Dynamic lighting can be used in stealth games to show players enemies coming towards them or useing shadows to hide themselves from enemies or show them an event using the light and without showing the real action as in Splinter Cell 3 which is a lot cooler than showing something that might not look as good technically if shown in front of the player. </span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Speech</strong> between allies in the space or using radio communications is another interesting way to tell the story without breaking the immersion and helps to create a sense that the world is living around your player's character and current location. If the player is playing with the volume on, he will hear what we are trying to communicate to him so there is no problem with the camera not looking in the same direction or anything like that. So speech can be used to tell elements of the story, which way to go next by giving directions using elements in the map or pointing out enemies coming towards the player or attacking the allies around him. Some people think that giving a voice to your character might break the illusion that the player is playing himself in a space, but i believe its way better since it gives some personality to your character and can create so much more to the universe and the player's experience.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>a Living world</strong> is an important aspect of more and more games lately because it creates some activity in the world and it helps to create a believable world to the game. It consists of having non-playable characters interacting with each other, NPCs interacting with their environment, NPCs interacting with the player when he passes by, having objects react to natural elements (such as water,wind) or using ads in a space shows that there is normal life around. Deus Ex is a good example of this. This will help for immersion in the world, but also tells a story about what kind of world the player is in.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Maps and markers</strong> can be important to help player's move in the space so they should not be stuck and get frustrated by not finding the way to the next objectives. Moreover, if we use names of places on the map it also adds to the believability of the world. Markers can be used as a point in the space or part of the HUD to show the way or some used markers as bread crums to show every step that the player has to take to get to the next space. I think the markers should be integrated in the story or the technology used as part of the game.</span></div></li><br /><li><br /><div style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Point of interests</strong> should be used as much as possible in every map or part of a bigger space to show player's the way to go. They represent a big structure seen from a huge distance, look interesting and high poly enough to attract the player towards them. They should be placed centrally in the space so the player sees them as soon as they enter the space. It should serve as a main plot of the story as well.</span></div></li></ol><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">So all these elements are helpful to create a great story, to show players a universe full of life and real enough so </span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">they are immersed in the game and will remember the game for a long moment. To get all these elements in your </span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">map or game you will have to talk to a lot of people on the team and make sure to follow your request otherwise </span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">you might end up not having them which will change the way your map ends up. Good communication is key.</span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">-------</span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Everything i talked about in this post are things you should think about as a level designer. There are many other things that level designers will have to do, but these are the things that you need to make sure you have planned to create a memorable map or game. Good communication, good planning skills and research are essential skills that you need to be relatively good at your job as a Level Designer.</span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Hope it helps. I will have more posts in the coming weeks with pictures, drawings and more examples of things I have done in the past to illustrate all these things above in case it was not clear enough.</span></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-19118509410186196032011-04-29T02:56:00.002-04:002011-04-29T03:06:07.784-04:00Whats next ? Level Designer, what ?I decided today to try and create a 'project' over the next weeks/months that will answer the questions:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>What is a level designer? </li><br /><li>What do you need to become one?</li><br /><li>What do you do on a daily basis?</li><br /><li>What are you doing throughout game development as an LD? (in detail)</li><br /><li>other questions i think of</li></ul><br /><p>i will try to build examples, a light program maybe, sketches, ... to show what i do during a project. if it helps anybody thats great but mostly doing it for me.</p><br /><p>ive never really done that before so it might be shit at first, but ill try to take some time to do that in the mist of all the things im actually doing for my own leisure. Hope it will get better as i write it as well. </p><br /><p>I will post everything here as they are done. </p><br /><p>Obviously i cant really show all the things ive done during those past projects ive worked on since some i couldnt get anything approved to use. </p><br /><p>we'll see ;)</p>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-92120956922933002042011-04-29T01:55:00.004-04:002011-04-29T02:54:29.482-04:00Catherine, Portal 2, Little Big Planet 2I havent played a lot of games recently but those 3 have been the most fascinating ones I found and loved to play for totally different reasons and here's what captured my attention for each of these classic games.<br /><br />Catherine (japanese version, ps3):<br />--------------------------------------<br /><br />yeah i dont understand the Japanese language but i really wanted to try this game out so I ordered it from Japan.<br /><br />The game is divided in 3 really distinct units that could potentially taken apart and made for different art platform.<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>The main story is told through an japanese anime, with a lot of expressions, great colors, interesting developments and is telling the story of the main character through his love interests Katherine (his girlfriend), Catherine (girl he meets in a bar and sleeps with) and interaction with his colleague friends at work talking about love and what to do in certain circumstances. incredibly well done, I could understand most of it with that language barrier.</li><br /><li>The interaction in the bar where you move around, talk to your friends and answer back(not sure what i was answering), talk to people in the bar, drink some alcool, play a rapunzel arcade game, receive and send messages to the 2 C/Katherine, watch pictures they send and listen to television news. Wasnt as interesting since i could understand anything</li><br /><li>The nightmare puzzles during your characters sleep which is really where the game takes place. The goal of each puzzle is to get your character on top of an environment made of small boxes. You can move left and right, push/pull boxes which will create a path to go up like a staircase. By pulling/pushing boxes you create a path but you also change the environment that collapses around you and time also destroys the boxes below you. Many different box types (exploding, spikes, slipery, desintegrating,...) help you on your journey to the top and resolve your nightmares. It might seem boring or repetitive if you havent played but adding element of time, surprises, boss fights, etc... make this game one of the best ive ever played. Its never the same, always fun, and can be played in chunks of 15mins if wanted or hours.</li></ul><br /><p>ive never been good at puzzle solving or puzzle games which i always find too hard or the answers ridiculous sometimes but this games makes you feel great when you finish a puzzle you been failing a couple of times. it feels you did a mistake when you fail and not that the game tricked you or cheated which makes it so much more edifying when done. Its great and I felt intelligent playing it and finishing it.</p><br /><p>Its a long game, funny, new and interesting to watch. Play it when it comes out this summer in north america.</p><br /><p>----------------------</p><br /><p>Portal 2 (PC)</p><br /><p>----------------</p><br /><p>(might have some spoilers)</p><br /><p>following on the steps of the first one it follows the story of the same character(player) and introduce a friendly english robot who will help you out exit the testing facilities...</p><br /><p>I enjoyed the first game for its mechanics, puzzles, the dialogue with sarcasm and jokes and the way it was playing the players mind.</p><br /><p>The second iteration has more of everything. The dialogue and voice acting is just excellent and so professional. Always making me laugh while I was playing even when the main enemy was toying with me, my mind and the environment/puzzle to try and keep me prisoner and testing its new tricks. Only few games or movies made me laugh out loud as much as Portal 2 did throughout the couple of hours that it lasts. Sarcasm, congratulations (sometimes just to take it back a couple of minutes/seconds later), references from the previous games where you created a lot of damage to the facility and your nemesis and so much more.</p><br /><p>Portal knows its a game and toys with the idea quite a lot. For example, you are asked to talk and respond to questions at the very beginning by pressing the 'Space' key which makes you jump and the response is "at least you can jump, it might be helpful". So the game teaches you different mechanics at the beginning but it doesnt feel like a boring training at all since the interaction makes sense and is part of the game.</p><br /><p>Throughout the game you will learn and use new mechanics or gameplay elements that you will use to solve the many different puzzle each really unique from each other. The new gameplay elements are a welcomed addition to a game that could potentially feel repetitive if it wasnt for those.</p><br /><p>Bits where the main characters were not interacting with me felt a bit boring to me where the only funny things lie on the walls as posters explaining security procedures which are a funny bunch as well.</p><br /><p>Great game, now playing coop which is also a blast.</p><br /><p>-------------------------------------------------------</p><br /><p>Little Big Planet 2</p><br /><p>----------------------</p><br /><p>LBP2 wins for best presentation in a game Ive ever seen. From the details of its cinematics that must have taken a long time to do because they had to create all these creatures and effects and move everything slowly and film it with their engine; the story is funny, has a lot of characters, dialog is simple but entertaining, the sets are just amazingly detailed; the mechanics are plentiful where each world/level has a different mechanic that is never used after, is fun but feels that they should have use more of each mechanics instead of switching to a new one directly; make for a diverse and amazing looking game.</p><br /><p>The art style that the game uses is his own. It looks great, its fresh, its new, its detailed and impressive, it shows emotions and objectives through cinematics and dialogs. Obviously its not pushing for realism and thats one other thing that is good with this game</p><br /><p>Offers the capacity to create so many different types of games. The editor is done to let people create games on their own with more facility than the first one with easy ways to create any type of games that exists out there.</p><br /><p>i enjoyed but did not finish it due to some playstation red ring occuring at the time i was playing it.</p><br /><p></p>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-25818221196531146832011-04-29T01:04:00.002-04:002011-04-29T01:44:53.642-04:00Wow its been so long ... Now : Kinectwow its been so long since my last post!!<br />i guess a lot of time spent at work, shows, trips, playing some games slows me down on my writing time.<br /><br />anyways lets talk about Kinect a little bit.<br /><br />So I got a Kinect System for Christmas ... yeah i really wanted one to play games that would come out and it would be so fun to play with this new controller which ive been using my whole life but not in that way anyways. So yes I mean this body of mine.<br /><br />I had tested this new technology for a couple of months already before wanting it for Christmas and putting it on my list to have. So i knew what could be done with it, its contraints which ive been experimenting for a while at that point and I knew that awesome things could be potentially done with it.<br /><br />Obviously I got Adventure and Dance Central, the first came with the system and the other one was the best game offered at the time... well it still is ... which is the sad thing about it all.<br /><br />So Adventure was a day of playing and then shelf time :(<br />its repetitive, you have to jump (which i believe is not appropriate for everybody for reasons like bad knees for many people, living in an appartment, cant play at night or morning due to noises it makes to land after a jump), its just not really fun unless you are drunk with a lot of people i guess which i havent done yet.<br /><br />Dance Central is great. Still playing it every other weekend with friends.<br />Why is it good ? the interface is easy to understand, learning moves for a guy who likes to dance but not so good at it is great fun and testing it in a club setting after gives opportunities for a good laugh, options to slow the motion down and practice with commentary to help out the less fortunate movement wise, good songs, good diversity of moves, learning curve is slow and easy to progress and get a feel for the moves, difficulty modes for each songs provides different moves instead of getting more picky for scores.<br /><br />of course a couple of things can be better such as the feedback for something you are doing bad colored red but ... and hard to do move and look at whats the next move.<br /><br />anyways this must be the best game on the Kinect so far.<br /><br />I was hoping for more games to be released or use the system in diverse ways but so far only mediocre games have come out if any after the original slate of games and those that come out are dancing games which is a shame when companies try to take advantage of whats doing well and trying to make a buck without really going for quality and originality.<br /><br />I have some hope that some companies will put out proper games and mostly original ones using this tech...waiting to see whats next and also trying the new game from Rez creator Children of Eden.<br /><br />hope companies put the money out and let the creative people find ways to use the tech to entertain players in new ways.Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-23315690534818375192010-10-11T16:14:00.003-04:002010-10-11T16:56:40.771-04:00Best Breakfast place everLola (downtown Seattle)<br /><br />----------------------------<br /><br /><br /><br />Lola is the best place Ive ever had a breakfast at.<br /><br />It is located in downtown Seattle on 4th street in the hotel complex of a great looking and surely expensive hotel. The whole lobby of the hotel is amazing, moderne with great chairs and sofas to wait for a table.<br /><br /><br /><br />Anyways the food is the most important thing here.<br /><br />Every element in the plate is fresh, made for you, is chosen based on its quality and not just to sell and make money from (it feels that way) and is just soooo delicious.<br /><br /><br /><br />So Ive had the Lola breakfast which included baked potatoes like you have never seen them, 2 eggs from free range chicken perfectly done to your taste, choice of bacon and sausages... i was offered half of both which is what i got!!!<br /><br /><br /><br />So lets talk about the bacon first... it is the most succulent thing that you will ever eat that is called bacon or has it in its name! 3 really thick slices of the best bacon ive ever had were placed in my plate for me to love. It was juicy, well baked,crispy, none of this fat bacon that is still uncooked.<br /><br /><br /><br />The sausages (2) were perfectly cooked. They tasted so good, they were big sausages, delicious and they made you want more even though there was no way you could eat anymore.<br /><br /><br /><br />It was a perfect breakfast which I dream about sometimes :)<br /><br /><br /><br />i also got an orange juice which for once was a real fresh pressed juice ... unlike other restaurant pretend to have ... just like home! :)<br /><br /><br /><br />hmmmm enjoy!Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-50493479051994149962010-10-01T12:14:00.002-04:002010-10-01T12:31:05.923-04:00Pecha Kucha!So ive been to the last two of the <strong>Pecha Kucha</strong> conferences in Vancouver<br />These events are extremely interesting and everytime I hear those people talk I am impressed with how people are soooo creative and pursue their dreams until they get it done!<br /><br />So the Pecha Kucha events are organized everywhere in the world once a month and it seems that Vancouver is the most popular or fast growing one. Pecha Kucha was invented in Japan and it consists in some people giving 4-5 minutes presentations of their accomplishments or talking about their companies and what they do to realize their dreams. They are talking over slides that are shown on the screen for 20 seconds each.<br /><br />It is really impressive to listen to these people talk from their respective fields, so people come from different background and do different things, the only common factor between those presentations is that they have accomplished something for themselves or others.<br />Helping others or the planet are main themes in a lot of presentations.<br /><br />So yesterday, I took some notes about some of the cool stuff going on...<br /><br /><ul><li>check out Miss604 blog which is talking about a lot of different events in town and some ways to help different organisations.</li><li>Here is now : this guy organises different art galleries in town and next in Portland for one day only. So he goes to an abandonned building and put arts from local artists and shows them to the world.</li><li>In the house festival : this is really great and strange but every months or more often that women organises different events in people's houses who have donated their house for a day where people will present their own shows such as dance, painting, food, music, ... seems awesome anyways</li><li>Ethicaldeal.com : check it out </li><li>Bloodied but unbowed: check out this movie about the Punk scene in Vancouver and how it all started here. that presenter was really interesting and she really follows the music scene around here.</li></ul><p>So many interesting people creating different designs to live better for them and others. Some students are building crazy good looking houses for people in need and come up with awesome architecture designs. </p><p>Im impressed by all those people who pursue their dreams!</p><p>Next Pecha Kucha is Nove 14 in Vancouver i believe</p>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-43882906401289717152010-10-01T11:45:00.004-04:002010-10-01T12:11:23.772-04:00Restaurant<h2 class="title fn org"><h2 class="title fn org"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="street-address"></span></span></span> </h2><p class="title fn org"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Stepho's Greek Taverna (1124 Davie st)</span></p></h2></span></span><div class="adr">---------------------------------------</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">Stepho's has been recommended to me by a friend who used to live in Vancouver and it was said to be the one restaurant that I needed to go to and experience the food and service.</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">Since February Ive seen lineups at this restaurant everyday until 9pm which is crazy(!) ... so I thought! How come this restaurant has lineups all the time (and pretty much the only restaurant in town that attracts so many people)? With a fast service and low cost that might be a reason why but I had to try for myself ...</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">So on a rainy night in Vancouver, I decided to go with a friend and thought that surely people wouldnt lineup outside in such a weather... but I was wrong! After a 45 min wait outside, we finally got in only to sit and wait another couple of minutes and smell the food ... it was painful ;)</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">Then we got a table and looked at the menu. Everything looked so good how could we decide on something when we were so hungry at this point... so many choices we couldnt get to try all we wanted which means i need to go back at some point!</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">Anyways, I got the premium red house wine ... not sure about that premium description though... housewine is housewine i would say.</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">As appetizers we got a plate of hummus with pita bread from the oven and a plate of olives and Greek Cheese. The hummus was delicious and oily hmmm so I ate a lot of it but needed to leave some space for the rest of the meal.</div><div class="adr">The olive plate and Greek cheese was good as well even though i dont really like Greek cheese normally I ate some and it was good mixed with the different types of olives coming with this plate it was a great combination.</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">For the main plate I got lamb on the bone and my friend got the half chicken plate.</div><div class="adr">The portions were really big and full of colors thanks to the vegetables. I think the vegetables were really impressive in their own homemade sauce it was actually really good and helped the plate to live up to my standards ;) It is really rare that I care so much about the vegetables but this time it was perfect. Big potatoes and rice(meh) accompanied the lamb as well. The lamb itself was so tender and juicy and easy to get from the bone. It was melting in my mouth as I was eating it. Hmmm yummy :)</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">The chicken plate I heard was really good as well but I cant describe it so well as I didnt taste it.</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">The service was really friendly, fast and good in general. </div><div class="adr">This restaurant received so many awards in the last years which can be seen on the walls of the place. The interior of the restaurant is really charming with his columns everywhere it feels you are in Greece somewhere. Lighting is low so you feel alone in this beautiful place.</div><div class="adr"></div><div class="adr">i recommend it even if you have to wait in line for a while it is worth it :)</div><div class="adr"></div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-88481701309739384632010-05-02T18:09:00.002-04:002010-05-02T18:35:43.755-04:00Restaurants (continued)As every other Saturday I am trying new restaurants around town.<br /><br />Yesterday I wanted to go to Lucy May Brown but ... its dead now so I walked to La Gavroche which is a french restaurant (again) where you will need to reserve if you want a table and not be seated at the bar between books and wine bottles.<br /><br /><strong>La Gavroche </strong>(1616 Alberni street)<br />----------------------------------------------<br />Setting: This is a really small restaurant which feels friendly and familiar. Unless you are at the bar like me and sitting next to a computer and an employee purse Lollll<br /><br />Service: Lucky for me the service was perfect. Every employee working there came to talk to me during my dinner so it seemed like i wasnt assigned a waiter but everyone pitched in to deliver a good experience for me. And that was great :)<br /><br />Menu: The menu has a lot of options and I was at a lost for a couple of minutes since I didnt know where to start and so many options to choose from. You have special prices for 4 services or 5 services with or without wine pairing. Choose from anything in the menu for that. Or you have many already selected and arranged dinner options that fit each other with or without wine pairing and all wines are listed with their items so easy to select a wine that fits your meal.<br /><br />I decided to get the 4 services (which was a 5 services in the end since you get a trou normand sorbet)<br /><br />Before the meal : With bread comes the butter (obviously) and some pate :)<br /><br />I chose a red Ch La Targue (or something like that ...it was a Bordeaux anyways) wine which i finally had two glasses of in the end. it was a good wine.<br /><br />First I chose the Steak Tartare with fries and pickels and crackers. It was my first time eating a steak tartare so i wasnt too sure what to expect. The good thing about this meal is that the owner comes at your table and prepares it in front of you and the way you want it !! Spicy?, he asked ? I dont know never done that before, I said. He said yeah it should be ;) <br />It was a good experience to eat it and it was big enough that i ran out of crackers and i was getting full so i didnt eat it all.<br /><br />After that I got the cesar salad, which is also made at your table in front of you with ingredients of your choice (well you have some options anyways) This was also a really big portion which i couldnt eat all of it. It was only the second service and was really getting full at this point.<br /><br />Then I had a surprised sorbet (trou normand) for appetite to come back ;)<br /><br />It took a bit for the 5 Spices duck magret to arrive which was good since i needed a breather.<br />The duck came with some vegetable i couldnt really name, a tomato and a carrot. Also, it had duck breast obviously and the carcasse with some meat in it plus it had big pieces of stuffing (which i didnt like). This meal was good but not the best sauce ever. I would get it again though if I wanted duck next time. I recommend it.<br /><br />After all of this I was full...really full, but dessert was going to arrive at some point.<br />I got the Creme Brulee which was really good (not as good as the Faux Bourgeois though). The top was definitly well done which a really tick sugary element lol. It also came with a really good kind of cookie or sugary cracker.<br /><br />It took me 2 hours to eat there and thats incredibly long for me since i usually eat really fast.<br />The music was great there which made the atmosphere really relaxed and made me enjoy it a lot even though I didnt have a great spot to sit at.<br /><br />I recommend to go if you like french food and good service.<br /><br />-------------------------Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-67136668807849217812010-05-01T21:06:00.003-04:002010-05-01T22:21:03.174-04:00RestaurantsI enjoy discovering new restaurants and this tradition continues in Vancouver ;)<br /><br />Here's a list of restaurants i went to so far and how much I liked them ...<br />(will be updated as i try new ones)<br /><br /><br /><strong>Les Faux Bourgeois Bistro </strong>(663 15th avenue east)<br />--------------------------------------------------------<br />I was told this <strong>French</strong> restaurant had the best creme brulee ever so I had to go there and taste it and I love this kind of food anyways so...<br /><br />The restaurant is located in an easy to access and park your car area.<br />The staff was french, but I still got a good service from them ;)<br /><br />Ordered a really good red wine glass of Chateau Rouselle Bordeaux 05 which was the best wine I got so far in Vancouver where good one is rare i find.<br /><br />I started with the French Onion Soup which was really good with plenty of cheese and good bread. Salty just the right way too.<br /><br />Then I went on with some Escargots (snails) which was served with garlic oil and some hard baked bread. it was good but would not really get them next time.<br /><br />I tried the Canard Confit (Duck) has my main meal which was served with potatoes and green beans but the sauce didnt do anything for me. I wouldnt get that one next time.<br /><br />Dessert was next : I obviously tasted the Creme Brulee and it was soooooo delicious. I dont know exactly what made it so tasty and smooth and vanilla flavored but hmmmmm i would go back just for that.<br /><br />Enjoyed the overall experience.<br />Reservations needed if you want a table and not sit at the bar like i did.<br />-------------------------<br /><br /><br /><strong>Glowbal grill & satay bar</strong> (1079 Mainland st)<br />----------------------------------------------------<br /><br />This restaurant has a good selection of satays and some options to select them by the piece or selection of the chef ...<br /><br />I enjoyed 2 pieces of satay : - Salmon<br /> - Something else that i didnt really order tasted like pork<br /><br />these were delicious and i would have gotten more if I only new before.<br />The ribs satay looked delicious too hmmm<br /><br />I also got the Onion Soup which was a great selection too. Lots of cheese, good bread. (not as good as the one at FauxBourgeois)<br /><br />Good wine by the glass.<br /><br />As my main meal I had a big piece of steak. When I got it, I thought it was an amazingly big piece of steak which was great. It was served on a wooden cutting board which I found strange and was sitting over a couple of green beans. The steak was tender, but it wasnt as good as a plate at a Hard Rock Cafe for example.<br /><br />Didnt get any dessert since the bartender didnt really offer me anything or the card ... oh well!<br /><br />like the satays would go back for that but not so much for the steaks.<br /><br />------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><strong>Cactus Club Cafe</strong> ( 357 Davie Street)<br />-------------------------------------------<br /><br />There are a couple of locations in Vancouver but I went at the Davie location.<br /><br />Atmosphere: I enjoyed the atmosphere here, half lounge/bar, half restaurant. It had a darker lighting, romantic, really like the photos on the walls and the structure of the restaurant also.<br /><br />Service: Best service Ive had in Vancouver so far. The waitress was awesome, super friendly, always there to offer something, fast with refill from the other employees. Im really critical for service and it was a perfect one.<br /><br />Menu: the menu as a great selection of every kind of meal and it is the restaurant chain of Chef Rob Feenie, so I had to take one of his creations of course :)<br /><br />Started with a good red wine glass (cant remember which one)<br /><br />Starter was a really generous portion of cesar salad which was delicious<br />Main menu: I took the Rob Feenie's Hunter Chicken which was served in a mushroom sauce. This was the most delicious and original chicken recipe Ive ever tasted. hmmmmm great :)<br /><br />My dessert was a lava chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream. I can say that it didnt ruin my dinner ... great chocolate :)<br /><br />favorite service, great food.<br />-------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><strong>Subeez Cafe </strong>(891 Homer street)<br />-----------------------------------------<br />i was disapointed overall for this place which i was told was good.<br />Maybe the sandwiches are good I might have to try them at some point, but ...<br /><br /><br />The red wine I got was okay.<br />I started with the Mushroom soup which was good.<br />Then I chose the Maple soy Salmon which was not great but was alright<br /><br />I was sitting at the bar and the service was not so great.<br /><br />not a lot to say when i dont quite enjoy ;)<br />---------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Templeton</strong> (1087 Granville)<br />----------------------------------<br /><br />Great brunch restaurant :)<br /><br />This restaurant looks like an authentic 1950's style dinner. It is a really small place so you will have to either eat at the bar or wait a little bit in line for people to leave. There is a line up usually on Sundays so arrive early or be patient cuz it is good and youll want to wait.<br /><br />They might have the best milkshake ever which is a generous portion of fabulous drink. There are a couple of different flavors but i always get strawberry ( or cherry lol i cant remember) but you can get root beer flavored milkshake. It is so big that it could potentially be a meal for some.<br /><br />The breakfast are delicious and gigantic ... 3 eggs, sausages, really good bacon, good bread and potatoes! hmmmmm<br /><br />The staff is also super friendly and i enjoyed them a lot.<br />---------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><strong>Brix restaurant and wine bar</strong> (1138 Homer street)<br />----------------------------------------------------------<br />This is the first restaurant I tried since it was right by my place.<br />Also I decided to go there because it offered some duck from Quebec ;)<br /><br />You enter the place through an alley which gets you in the garden area of the restaurant where you might be lost like i was bc you have to go through it then enter the restaurant to be seated.<br /><br />I got a seat outside in the garden under a roof . This place was a great place for a romantic dinner because the atmosphere was really appropriate for such meals. The place is heated if its cold outside so no problem there, being in an alley is kinda strange but you get accustomed to it also.<br /><br />The service was great. The guy who would fill my water glass was so fast and im sure he was spying on ever sip i had since he was always around. lol<br /><br />I got a really good red Syrah wine glass.<br />I ordered a soup as the starter but it was a bean soup which wasnt liquid enough ... was rough in my throat and did not like it at all.<br /><br />Fortunately the Duck breast from Lake Brome which was served in a blueberry sauce with tomato ragout, wild mushroom and spinash was a great meal.<br /><br />For dessert, I didnt get anything because i was full even though now I regret not having this good looking Chocolate Pot de Creme (chocolate mousse) hmmmm oh well<br /><br />i had a great time at this restaurant<br />---------------------------------------<br /><br /><br /><strong>Earls Restaurants</strong> (they are everywhere)<br />-----------------------------------------------<br /><br />Everytime I go there I like it. Ive been there 3 times until now and always get a good meal.<br /><br />The combo soup,salad or sandwich is the best deal and most people take that.<br /><br />The earls own wine is not good i hopefully will never get that one again.<br /><br />I tried the clam chowder soup and different home soups and they are always tasty and good.<br /><br />For meals:<br /> I tried the chicken caesar salad which is really big and good.<br /> The Cajun Chicken Cheddar sandwich is good.<br /> The salmon was alright i found with a high price i wouldnt consider it for future choices.<br /><br />Never tried the dessert since i usually go at lunch<br />good eat at low price<br />---------------------------------<br /><br />The list is long for japanese restaurants where i eat but cant remember the names, but the sushi is always good and really not expensive here in vancouver.<br /><br />For a good poutine (30 flavors): La Belle Patate (1215 Davie)<br /><br /><br />Oh man I shouldnt have written this before i eat ... im so hungry now !!!Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-10383445027381905702010-04-18T00:44:00.008-04:002010-05-01T21:06:00.016-04:00Music ShowsIve seen a couple of shows since im in Vancouver, ill discuss a little each of them :)<br /><br />***Update***<br /><br /><strong>Japandroids with No Gold @ Lifetime Collective</strong><br />---------------------------------------------------------<br />Lifetime Collective is the smallest venue Ive ever been to. It looks like a small warehouse or really small lounge.<br />I didnt know much about Japandroids(heard a couple of samples of some songs before) and nothing about No Gold.<br />Show started an hour after it was supposed to so it was really a long wait and I was getting sleepy. Then No Gold started and i found out a really interesting band: funny, changing rythmn, easy listening, good beats and really friendly musicians.<br />Then came on Japandroids... first time since im in vancouver that i actually see Vancouver people actually move during a show and when they move they move! it was a non-stop trash and mosh pit pretty much everywhere in that small venue. Incredible i would say ;)<br />It was a lot heavier than I expected. I danced around to the music with people I just met and I had a blast. They played a pretty long show playing all songs on their new album + old ones.<br />Anyways i enjoyed the evening once it started and now have another band to follow around.<br />Plus i met a bunch of really fun people who I talked to during the evening :)<br />-------------------<br /><br /><strong>Stars with Hey Rosetta! @ Orpheum</strong><br />---------------------------------------<br />The Orpheum is the most beautiful music theater ive ever been to. Covered in gold, paintings on ceilings, greek columns, marbre all over the place... its like a palace for music kings.<br />Usually the place is used by orchestra, but that day was Stars and Hey Rosetta! playing.<br />Unfortunately I was sitting down on the balcony level and it seems that those who build the theater made it beautiful and all but not so practical since the inclination of the balcony levels is not high enough for everyone to see correctly so you had to stand up to actually see the scene down there because when there was someone sitting in front you could see much.<br /><br />Hey Rosetta! was a really impressive band they only played approx 20min but that time was worth it to me and people next to me also. They were entertaining and the sound was good thanks to the acoustic of the place.<br /><br />I didnt know much about Stars, but they revealed to be a good listening even though I wouldnt bother to buy an album. It's calm and relaxing to listen to.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Korn @ Queen Elizabeth Theater</strong><br />-------------------------------------<br />Old Songs, Old Singles! :)<br /><br />I wasnt expecting much from Korn since I hadnt listened to them in 10 years and last saw them during their Family Tour back in Montreal a while ago.<br />They ended up pleasing everyone including me by playing all the best singles and songs from earlier albums. Changing the background to the album covers of their next songs made people happy about what was going to happen next. People were dancing to the songs, standing up and having a good time to those old songs and bringing back great memories of the past.<br />Interesting fact about the singer: Jonathan would inhale Oxygen through a mask after each song and a sip of energy drink<br />great show!<br /><br /><br /><strong>Metric with Nico Vega@ Showbox Sodo (Seattle)</strong><br /><strong>---------------------------------------------------------</strong><br />Nico Vega: Big Surprise and so much energy from the singer. she was jumping all over. Also, they have great songs live!<br /><br />Metric: Energetic! Crazy! Fun!<br />what can i say about metric really ... Emily is just a fantastic front(wo)man with a great voice, a superb aptitude to captivate the crowd and bring it to her world. She is playing keyboard, singing, jumping, dancing and talking to the fans. All the songs they played were good and dancing prone and the fans were dancing to the beats and having a great time.<br />I saw metric in montreal at the beginning of their tour and it was not has energetic as the Seattle show... maybe the enthousiastic fans made a difference, maybe Emily felt more in shape,... i dont know what happened but it was definitely worth the travel to Seattle. Go Metric Go! Hope they continue improving and creating music that more people can enjoy.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Crystal Castle @ Gossip Nightclub</strong><br /><strong>-----------------------------------------</strong><br />Noise, Crazy people, Crazy singer<br />I love Crystal Castles albums. I cant say I like all their songs since the songs are so different and some are more noises than beats, but during a show it becomes all noises ... maybe the acoustics of the club wasnt great or soundcheck was not done properly but ...<br />I enjoyed it but couldnt say it was one of the best experience at a concert ;)<br /><br /><br /><strong>You Say Party We Say Die @ Rickshaw Theater</strong><br /><strong>---------------------------------------------------------</strong><br />Great Band, Dancing, shortened, ironic ...<br /><br />After 3 opening bands, YSPWSD came on stage and the party started!<br />The Rickshaw located in the dodgy area of Vancouver is a small venue with some character.<br />There wasnt a lot of people at the show, but this doesnt mean its not a good band ... people should listen to this great band. So they started playing and it was fun. I was really into it, until the ironic event happened during the 5th song of the show ... so while we were partying, the drummer collapsed on the ground without anybody noticing it even the band continued playing until the sound guy ran to the stage to rescue the poor drummer who was knocked out.<br />The show stopped, the drummer wasnt moving for 15 minutes until the ambulance arrived.<br />They announced that people should leave and so I did. Its sad that it happened ... just read that the drummer had a brain hemorrhage and is now on life support with poor prognostic ... :(<br /><br />got the news that he died after a surgery that did not help after all.<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Jonsi @ Vogue</strong><br /><strong>--------------------</strong><br />Genius, Relaxing, Moving, Energy, Incredible Visuals, Outstanding Performance<br /><br />This could be words used to describe this fabulous singer, musician and his music.<br />It could be described as Sigur Ros++ since Jonsi (singer from Sigur Ros) created here the same quality we would wish for from a Sigur Ros album, but he adds energy and beats uncommon to his other band. Also, the presentation of the concert added so much to the musical performance with animated videos projected on many different screens and each screen showed a piece of the puzzle to this great story he was telling us. Burned stage, animal life, rainy night, art pieces created in front of the audience.<br />The band playing with so many unusual instruments such as a suitcase used as a bass drum, playing guitar with violin bow, etc...<br />The songs really take a different twist live and they are all playing diffently than on the album and it propagates emotions to the crowd.<br />One of the best shows Ive ever been to ... I even wanted to go back the day after, but word of mouth had to happen and the next show became sold out really fast!<br /><em><strong>To be enjoyed absolutely!</strong></em><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Charlotte Gainsbourg @ Vogue</strong><br /><strong>--------------------------------------</strong><br />Good songs from her albums, great songs from her father, most boring performance ever<br /><br />I didnt know what to expect going to a Charlotte Gainsbourg show... she's an actress I figured she could act and create a great performance, but that did not happened. Charlotte seemed like someone who was really shy, unsure of herself and unable to move an inch through her performace except during a song taken from her dad's catalog and in the encore.<br />Holding the microphone in one hand, other hand in her pocket, looking at the floor in front of her and not the crowd... this was a receipe for disaster and it was! More insulting was the fact that at some point she got a chair and actually sat down ... really and did this is at a moment when I thought it couldnt be more dull :(<br />Fortunately, her main guitarist Nicole was moving, seemed to have some fun and tried to entertain the crowd a little bit. Great band though behind her and great songs from Air and Beck who wrote her albums.<br />Just an unfortunate spending.<br /><strong></strong><br /><br />Soon:<br />LCD Soundsystem @ Malkin Bowl<br />Melvins @ Rickshaw<br />Our Lady Peace (Clumsy Set) @ VogueGames and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-26220325976643761422010-04-17T20:01:00.002-04:002010-04-17T20:02:41.902-04:00Great artist with storiesIm currently working with Sean and found out that he was doing great drawings and telling everyday stories through them.<br /><br />look at his blog its interesting to me anyways :<br /><br /><a href="http://seankaremaker.blogspot.com/">http://seankaremaker.blogspot.com/</a>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-16150310423583300982010-04-17T18:51:00.004-04:002010-04-17T20:00:06.466-04:00hello VancouverIve been visiting Vancouver for 3 months now (already!) and here's what i think of it as of now.<br /><br />So far I've visited most of downtown area, a little bit of Burnaby, Granville Island, Squamish and drove through a portion of south west Vancouver.<br /><br /><strong>Downtown</strong><br /><strong>--------------</strong><br /><br />I live in downtown Vancouver and i love it! (Yaletown)<br />This is certainly the most fun area if you are into music shows, bars, shopping, nightclubs and good restaurants, but its also really loud on weekend through the early hours of the night.<br />Ive been walking a lot trying to visit and see as much as possible.<br />Granville street and Robson are the streets with the most activities and traffic at night since a lot of people are going out at night even on Sundays so everyday is a day where you can go out and have some fun! The hardest part of it all would be to select the bar/nightclub that you will like... which will not be a trivial task. So many of them right next to each other doesnt help a lot, maybe you can look at people going in and you'll figure it out...<br /><br />Vancouver Art Gallery<br />-----------------------<br /><br />Here you can find the Leonardo Da Vinci human body drawings covering all possible muscles, bones and their reason to be there. This is an incredible exposition since it shows how clever Da Vinci was at that moment in history where the only information about the human body was found by actually doing dissections on dead body at night. Moreover, you will be amazed at how much detail he could draw using ink that you couldnt erase ... so its a one time think... dont screw up otherwise you start all over and with all those details im sure he wouldnt want that.<br /><br />Really interesting to see.<br /><br />Stanley Park<br />--------------<br />Stanley Park on a sunny day is one of the best things about Vancouver ... enjoy a day biking, hiking, getting a tan at one of the beaches and going to the Aquarium. The park has those huge trees that you can only find in Pacific Northwest area. The waterwall is a great place to bike around the park next to the water, beaches and mountains. On the beaches you will have great views of the water(obviously), boats and the best part of it all the high mountains with snow on the top while you get a tan in the hot sun. On the beaches you will find big tree logs that you can use to sit on or relax leaning on them. Each beach has a variety to it some with volleyball nets, kids games or restaurants.<br /><br />Aquarium<br />-----------<br />The Aquarium is a must see visit because it has some of the weirdest fishes, reptiles, and animals that live in the area and tropical settings. You will get to see astonishing black and white Dolphins that were rescued after being trapped and injured in nets. You can listen to some trainers who will talk about those dolphins and entertain the crowd playing with the dolphins who do great tricks. Those dolphins cant be released in the wild since they would not survive with those injuries they have so they are taken care of here and used as research to help understand more about them.<br />Also, you will be able to see a family of Belugas who seem to be enjoying their pool swimming around, playing with each other. You'll be able to learn more about them as well.<br /><br />Throughout the aquarium you will see things you never saw before and maybe touch a see star ... its a great place to go. I enjoyed it for a couple of hours before leaving for third beach.<br />Going there on a sunny day is a better option since you will be spending a lot of time outside.<br /><br />Gastown (Chinatown)<br />---------------------<br />I visited Gastown/Chinatown the other day and it was a stressful time I found.<br />Why? Because this area includes the infamous approved drugged/poverty district of vancouver... pretty much a dodgy area i would say... it doesnt feel safe at all with fights occuring, drug dealing and other such activities.<br />I walked around avoided certain areas as much as possible, the best thing to visit is the free garden but not really worth the walk i found.<br />Walked there at night yesterday to get to a music venue that was located in the middle of that dodgy area... I survived but ...<br /><br /><br /><strong>Granville Island</strong><br /><strong>-------------------</strong><br />I went to Granville Island during the Olympics so obviously there was a lot of people there. Next time I go might be a really different experience, but I found a great micro-brewery, good fish & chips, good restaurants and a good art institute (Emilie Carr). Nice to visit and you can get there by boat-taxi which is a faster and cheaper way to get there.<br /><br /><strong>Kits beach area</strong><br /><strong>------------</strong><br />Kitsilano beach area has a lot to offer from the beach itself with volleyball nets laying around, the huge pool, restaurants, Space Museum, Vancouver museums.<br />It was really windy when I went so it was so great, but the view was really nice with those nearby snow covered mountains and the bike trails is used by a lot of people and you can pretty much go anywhere using it.<br /><br /><strong>SouthEast-ish Vancouver/UBC area</strong><br /><strong>------------------------------------</strong><br />The area around British Columbia University is the next best thing after the downtown area Ive visited so far. The area feels like a calm suburb with really great looking houses and grass around! This could potentially be a great place for families since it looks good and safer than some areas in gastown... The University with its museum, soccer fields, japanese garden and great architecture needs to be visited. I need to do it too ;)<br /><br /><strong>Burnaby</strong><br /><strong>----------</strong><br /><br />I travelled to Burnaby twice. The first time to go see the Vancouver Whitecaps playing the Seattle Sounders at the Vancouver stadium. It was a boring game ending in a 0-0 draw, but still got to see some soccer action with an MLS team. The way to Burnaby is not so beautiful and you really know when you leave downtown Vancouver heading east to go to Burnaby since everything looks older and poorer which looks a lot like Hollywood Blvd in L.A.<br />Today I went to 2 soccer shops outside Vancouver: The soccer shop, which had great selection, but the staff was really not friendly so it was not a great place to go. Then I found in Burnaby on Eastings Saveco Sports which is smaller, feels more like a family shop and the owner was really friendly and we had a talk about Holland and having a hard time selling those shirts. is it that holland fans dont buy merchandise or they keep their old jerseys and never change them ?<br /><br /><strong>Squamish</strong><br /><strong>------------</strong><br />I went to Squamish to visit but mostly to do some marketing research not so long ago.<br />Squamish is the Outdoor activities capital of Canada where you can pretty much do any outdoor sports you want in a great natural setting. The mountain called the Chief is one of the highlight of the area where you can do some hiking, moutain climbing, jump off the cliff, skiing (?). In the area, you can bike, kayak, kite surfing, skating and any other outdoor activity you can think of. People we met there were really interesting and friendly. You can get all the gear you desire in the area with great local shops to really get the info you deserve to know about everything.<br />Worst place I went to was the Activity Information Center where we were really poorly received (thats the least i could say) and left almost as fast as we arrived eheh.<br /><br /><br />well this is it for the places i visited so far ...Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-85891290127269313692010-02-14T12:08:00.003-05:002010-02-14T12:32:42.066-05:00Ubi Vancouver, trip through Canada, OlympicsSo I finished working on Splinter Cell a couple of weeks ago. Its finally coming out and will be great!<br /><br />-----------------------------------<br /><br />I decided to go start another project which is located in Vancouver working for Ubisoft there at the old Action Pants Studios.<br /><br />To get there I decided to cross Canada by car all alone during Winter ... which is a long trip and when I arrived they considered me crazy to have done so since usually during winter you can get pretty big storms in the prairies but this year it was actually calm.<br /><br />so anyways, the trip took me 5 days (10-11 hours drive per day plus stops to eat at lunch) through a multitude of vary different landscapes. In Ontario, I had to go through a lot of small villages on the main road and there was a lot of circular paths and a lot of trees around. It was a good two days of travel just for Ontario and I thought that that was boring ... until I got to the prairies (manitoba and Saskatchewan)<br /><br />prairies: a flat land colored in white powder + some foggy sections that I couldnt see anymore further than 100 meters ... which is getting things worst since usually its pretty boring but now i couldnt see anything! funny thing is that they made the speed limits at 110 km/h so we can get out faster of these provinces ;) <br /><br />so nothing really interesting here, i went around winnipeg which was the only big cities worth it on my path in Manitoba; to keep going fast .<br /><br />Then on the 4th day ... Alberta!!!! I was happy to get in this province since it means mountain coming soon... then I got to Calgary which is a big city and host of the other Canadian winter olympics. I stopped to see the installations of the old olympic park where they had the bobsley and luge competition ... a lot of people were there skiing around etc ... This was the first mountain before the Rockies!!<br /><br />Rockies: and then after slowly exiting Calgary I could see then mountains in the distance and i was soooo happy to see them after 4 days of flat land this was awesome. Got a couple of pictures on the way there and while driving through the mountains. I stopped at Banff and Lake Louise to visit (this was my first real stop since the beginning of the roadtrip).<br /><br />Banff: this village looks incredible, i love how the houses are made (wooden stuctures), right over them you see the biggest mountain ever (well for canada). its an amazing view... i would stay here for a while too bad i dont ski or snow. <br /><br />lake louise: after that i stopped at lake louise where a lot of competitions took place back at the olympics, at this time of year the lake is frozen and people were playing hockey on the ice, but this area must be incredible in spring time when the lake is clear blue and mountains are covered in snow all around wow! i had a good time here also, village is not as great as Banff though.<br /><br />then i stopped to sleep in Golden right in front of the mountains was my room awwwwww :)<br /><br />the fifth day i arrived in Vancouver and here i am before the olympics for a couple of months!<br />-------------------------<br /><br />Olympics<br />----------<br /><br />they have just started and the city is being overrun by tourists (ok im a tourist at this point).<br />there are so many free events to see and participate in which includes music shows all over the place from the best Quebec's singers/groups to all different groups of canada ;) Places where people can watch the games together have been assembled around the different Pavillion and they offer so many screens to look at which is great. Go Canada!<br /><br />i am going to a olympic hockey game soon. ive been walking around in downtown district where most events occur (and where i live) and people are excited in the streets ... even protesters are excited to cause some damage to some property but anyways ...<br /><br />so ill be working on this new project and trying to be over excited by all that is happening around in the city until after work hours ;)Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-84650411862343968382009-10-25T09:13:00.002-04:002009-10-25T09:41:06.086-04:00Uncharted 2, The Saboteur, SplinterI was so excited that Uncharted 2 was coming out that I bought it the day it came out, finished it in like 2 days (which i never do anymore for a lack of time) and thought it was simply an incredibly fun and beautiful game!!!<br /><br />Sometimes you are so excited by a product coming out, but in the end they let you down and made a crappy game after all with the marketing making sure everybody bought it anyways ... wont mention any big franchise here ;)<br /><br />This was definitly not the case with Uncharted... which was absolutely amazing graphicly: walking in the snow which glues itself to Drake's feet and legs, the extraordinary backdrops where you get views of the whole area which is jawdropping.<br /><br />The story is good and don't want to skip any part of it even though we know some plots will arrive well in advanced since like all treasure hunting games/movies there is always somebody trying to screw you to get the gold ... but nonetheless it is great and one of the best presentation of any games out there including the camera shots and how it's "filmed".<br /><br />The characters are interesting (except the bad guy) they are unlike most games like the first one was, but it seems that the company has trouble making believable female characters compared to the male counterpart. For example, Drake has some scars that tells a story about him, there is some kind of personality in his body/face, whereas the female seems to be bland, and all shiny with not a lot of definition there is something missing I think.<br /><br />The acrobatic gameplay is really fun, there is some movement and events happening during the different moments in the game, it's not only go up this area, there is a feel of urgency, the elements move around as we can see in the first 10 min of the game and the building collapsing part. its fun and unexpected.<br /><br />the shooting sections of gameplay are better done than in the first game where some parts were frustrating. here we dont get that sensation, i like how they tried to give us a lot of different scenarios and different elevation which changes how we handle things. shooting mechanics work, had some troubles to get from cover to cover sometimes something that has to do with the controls.<br /><br />puzzles were a little to easy but thats better than a hard one I have to get on the net to find the solution to ;)<br /><br />great experience that i would replay again if time permits. really good reference for any games on cinematic aspects and how to present a story.<br /><br />----------------------------------<br /><br />The Saboteur is coming out on December 8!!!!!! Finally it comes out I'm so glad they made it ... those people were really great to work with and I'm really happy for them. Last time, I played the game design had finally been tweaked to make it a lot better than when I was working there.<br /><br />the game is getting a lot of coverage from the different medias and events and im waiting for players response when the game comes out.<br /><br />So glad!<br /><br />---------------------------------------------<br /><br />Splinter is coming along nicely. A lot of coverage has been done at the last couple of events where we showed a second map. the different medias seem to really enjoy it.<br /><br />It is a beautiful game which plays really well. With the extra time we got we are making sure the experience will be fun and new to everyone.<br /><br />hope people enjoy it when it comes out in a couple of months :)Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-86854019871814811242009-09-01T19:38:00.003-04:002009-09-01T20:47:05.546-04:00VFest TorontoI was at the Virgin Mobile Music Festival in Toronto this week-end located at the Molson Amphitheater next to Ontario Place.<br /><br />It was a great festival in a venue that I'd never visited before and I was impressed by the architecture. Its an outdoor venue but not all of it ... since part of the seats are covered with a roof and the section 300 and grass areas are not. There are walls to hold the roof structure, but it gets windy everywhere. The floor section is really small, but makes the first sections that much closer :)<br /><br />So the tickets I had were for the floor (100 level) and the 200 level seating so I was really close to the stage at all times.<br /><br />There were 3 stages ( 2 of them quite far from the main stage ) but because of the schedules and their distanced location I didnt really got to see other stages but I only missed one of the groups I really wanted to see (Von Bondies). The fact that there was only one stage was kinda bad since we had to wait for the stage to be set for the next act everytime unlike at Osheaga in Mtl where the two main stages are side by side and we dont have to wait between bands.<br /><br />Here are the bands that played and some comments about them ( if I remember them ):<br /><br /><strong>Saturday </strong><br />---------------------<br /><br /><em>Mates of State</em> : first band playing at the festival they had a good first song and I was into it, but then 10 min later I was bored and wanted something different since it was all of the same<br /><br /><em>Lights : </em>She was young, full of energy, kinda shy, shes talented and has some good songs, but ...<br /><br /><em>Grizzly Bear : </em>I was waiting to see them, I was told it was a good band, but maybe my expectations were way too high cuz I was bored except for one song that was a little bit like Wolf Parade on the piano and all ...<br /><br /><em>Sloan :</em> I had heard some of their older songs and I thought I liked it back then ... and I really<br />enjoyed their music now it was a lot of fun and they were enjoying themselves even though the singer couldnt play his instruments so they invited other people to play with them ... funny too.<br /><br /><em>Paolo Nutini</em> : Scottish, weird posture, weird faces, screaming a lot, zzzzz music but people seemed to enjoy it on the floor dancing with their Scottish flags<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>Franz Ferdinand: </em></strong>Last time I saw them in Montreal I loved them, but for some weird reason I never listened to them after that show ... it never happened to me before and I still dont know why. I was expected a great performance from them and ... they delivered everything I was hoping for !! They kept playing some great songs ... in fact all their songs were major hits. I loved their energy, singing, interacting with the crowd and everybody was dancing. Great Performance at the festival ... one of the best.<br /><br /><strong><em>Pixies: </em></strong>I already saw them before, but i dont remember where exactly, but they produced an amazing show also with rythmic songs like the good old days of alternative and grunge ... a band I'm really happy I saw again and wish to see them another time in a full show.<br /><br />Ben Harper : I left before his show ... didnt really cared<br /><br />------------------------------<br /><br /><strong>SUNDAY</strong><br />-----------------<br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><em>Coeur de Pirate:</em> A lovely girl from Quebec with her band doing good songs that nobody could<br />understand, but delivered a good performance. A little shy since nobody really<br />got what she was singing about.<br /><br /><em>Datarock: </em>Electronic music, red jumpsuits, extreme energy, jumping all over, playing many<br />intruments, good!<br /><br /><em>Mew:</em> Bad music, really bad voice ... awful live anyways<br /><br /><em>Mutemath</em> : didnt know at all the band, thought they were really good ( but playing after Mew<br />might be a reason I liked them so much lol ), people seemed to like them too so...<br /><br /><em>Cold War Kids</em>: Dont remember them that much ... but I dont remember them to be good or as<br />good as other bands<br /><br /><strong>N.E.R.D.</strong> : HipHop with 2 drums ... a lot of energy, not my style but was good live, brought<br />people on stage for most songs, good opening band<br /><br /><strong><em>Our Lady Peace:</em></strong> This was a band which I loved the first 3 albums (mostly the first one though), but then they made some boring albums and still do which they should stop doing and just play their old material which is soooo good and grungy. So the show reflected that: old songs made people sing, dance and enjoy them, but half of the show was new stuff which should have never been invented ... ;)<br /><br /><strong><em>PET SHOP BOYS:</em></strong> I knew the name but never really listened to them ... them being from the 80s or something ;) but they were excellent live! keywords to describe the show: Electronic, singing Robots, Cubes, Sports, Adidas, costumes, crazy videos, entertaining a lot, good songs. Excellent show !!!<br /><br /><strong><em>Nine Inch Nails: </em></strong>This was one of their last performances ever (4 left). Ive been listening to them since their first album(20 years ago) and Trent has delievered great albums one after the other, trying to change his formulas, live they've always been incredible with stuff that you would never have seen before with screens effect and ... This show was more than any Ive seen from them before minus some of their technical scenic material since it was a 20 min stage construction. They gave a solid 2 hours finally to this festival and their career in Canada anyways. He sang so many of their greatest hits which are energetic and transmits it to the crowd who showed up for this last performance. Changing to more calm songs at times to relax a little bit even though after a while Trent's voice was a little bit irritated he kept singing for our pleasure.<br /><br />The show started great and at the end of the first song the mic and its support was thrown off stage by Trent as he does sometimes ... the show was set to be a great one!! During the second song, Trent destroyed his guitar on his synthetiser right in front of the crowd and thousands of pieces flew all over the stage and some in the crowd... technicians had to give him another guitar and had the change the now destroyed synthetiser as well LOLL great start of the show !!!<br />Songs after songs they gave us the energy that we needed after such a long festival. During the show other guitars or instruments were trashed all over the stage for the fans pleasure and surely Trents own.<br /><br />It was a great festival overall and a great time I had in Toronto for 3 days.Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-79849485470108866802009-08-15T13:30:00.004-04:002009-08-15T14:38:42.593-04:00A lot has happened<div><div>A lot has happened since I last posted ... I quit my job, went in Europe for 2 weeks and started at a new place...</div><br /><div>So unfortunately I had to leave this great place that was Eidos and leave good friends for many reasons that made my stay on Deus Ex unbearable. That is not too say that the game in the end will not be an awesome beast that everyone will want to buy cuz I truly believe that the people who <strong>really</strong> create it will be able to achieve such of a complex game (like Deus Ex 1 was).</div><br /><div>I really enjoyed the work I did as a Living World Specialist for them and I really wish I could have continued my tasks, but ...</div><br /><div>This is all I'm going to say about it since all that happened after was great and positive :)</div><br /><div>-----------------------</div><div>Europe</div><div>--------<br /></div><div>So I decided to take some time off (2 weeks) and relax (as much as travelling in multiple cities can be) to see the world and experience something new since the opportunity to take some time off in this industry dont happen often.</div><br /><div>I quit my job, buy a plane ticket and the next day I was on a plane to Paris without any sort of planning on my end ... my only plan was to go to Germany (frankfurt, Munich, Berlin), Amsterdam and Paris. Details like the when, where to stay, how to get there, etc... were not planned at all... all I had was a backpack and a will to explore and have fun!</div><br /><div>I flew during the night to arrive in Paris at 10am. From there I wanted to get to a train to Frankfurt ... so I looked around and searched for a train ticket ... unfortunately I had to wait all day in Paris to get a train that wasnt filled up ... so I visited a little bit the 18 and 19th arrondissement of Paris in a really hot sunny day...ended up not drinking enough and kinda got sun sick ... a great way to start a trip ;)</div><br /><div>Got on my train to Germany at 5:30pm and got in Frankfurt at 9pm and headed to a youth hostel. </div><br /><div>No I dont speak German at all ... knew only 2-3 words. Fortunately for me, Germans are REALLY nice and speak English (most of them anyways) AND are happy to help tourists who are looking for their way... YES people actually came to me to help when I had a map in hands or I looked lost :D</div><br /><div>Frankfurt which I visited for 2 days didnt had a lot to show, but I enjoyed the different types of architecture and old churches. My hostel was a great place to stay also.</div><br /><div>Left by train to go to Munich 2 days later. Arrived in Munich and walked around a little bit without a map to discover by myself for the first night before entering my new hostel which was as crappy as ever with a welcoming flow of piss in front of the main door!! LOL<br /></div><div>I stayed 3 days in Munich visited a lot to see as much as possible all the history that Munich had to tell about hitler and his movement, etc... I went to visit Neuschwanstein Castle which was one of King Ludwig II unfinished castle and who inspired Walt Disney to create his iconic Disney castle tha<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO03z5C6BqMHEEUxrSOwLpdEc9qwS-3U-HhWsp6M8pqPj7HFHjsJKZHrspQoW9aY0wh1L6mGtUxLvrPrYF-i0dLmis4cXj5Sta9G1IkQ6NeA7vXMDVtVm8OjPw06m54lHFqHiSjycP5I5l/s1600-h/160.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370252511146175250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO03z5C6BqMHEEUxrSOwLpdEc9qwS-3U-HhWsp6M8pqPj7HFHjsJKZHrspQoW9aY0wh1L6mGtUxLvrPrYF-i0dLmis4cXj5Sta9G1IkQ6NeA7vXMDVtVm8OjPw06m54lHFqHiSjycP5I5l/s200/160.JPG" /></a>t you see in all Disney movies. This was a great site to experience. </div><br /><div>It is unfinished but all rooms that are finished are just amazingly well made and most things were new inventions at the time. The visit didnt really last long since it is a big castle but only two stories are completed. I met fun people on this tour and we had a long time to talk since we had a 2 hour trip to get to the castle and another 2 hour to come back, but it was worth it and talking to other people about thier experience during their own trip was cool since I was all alone in Europe at least I could speak to someone here.</div><br /><div>Also, I went on a tour of Hitler and Third Reich in Munich which showed us all the areas where they met and told us all that happened in Munich which was the capital of that movement. I took some time to go to a lot of bars, pubs, beer gardens to experience their incredible Municheen beer hmmmmmmmm :) Best beer I tasted in Europe by the way...</div><br /><div>Then I went to Berlin where a lot has happened also (world war, Berlin Wall,...) There was a lot of history here to hear, to look at (the wall is still present in some areas), but Berlin unlike other cities in Germany has been rebuilt but modernly so we cannot see all the great buildings that were pre world wars, but it feels fresh and modern though. During my stay I took some time to go to a concentration camp which was a strange area to visit.</div><div> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi93LvCZc49FnedRK3_LFwKVvQq8zboSdAmUoCvVgDDTsI7pkEQge8Ubh7Ak266zhFCBekEKjG5cJO_xtV7zn9FnbJn44MQQfUaUkgdvJLMxdaQbWdXwEzKOxROBs00GG-XZ-zn5xaG7V7/s1600-h/396.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370255341811914610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi93LvCZc49FnedRK3_LFwKVvQq8zboSdAmUoCvVgDDTsI7pkEQge8Ubh7Ak266zhFCBekEKjG5cJO_xtV7zn9FnbJn44MQQfUaUkgdvJLMxdaQbWdXwEzKOxROBs00GG-XZ-zn5xaG7V7/s200/396.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Left after a couple of days to get to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is different from what I had visited before since its a city built by men on some docks. I really liked how the Dutch created their city since the different canals makes it fresh to look at and offers a lot of ways to get lost like I did a couple of times with the many circular streets that go around town hehehe. Its a different language, but feels like it is still some kind of German language ... so I couldnt understand people and unfortunately people speak English but will not help you as the Germans did before so ... I had to find my way around town hence me getting lost sometimes trying to find my far away hostel. I had the opportunity to join a free tour of the city which was really interesting. </div><div> </div><div>After a couple of days, I went back to Paris for three days before going back home. Visited almost all major attractions of Paris in one day which was sometimes incredibly hot sunny day then extremely rainy with a friend I met there. I was really happy to arrive in Paris since after more than a week and a half I could understand people around me and talk to them in French...even though some faked that they did not understand me and asked me to speak in English and slowly ... damn Parisians!!! But the fact that I could listen around was a great plus in this city. The second day I visited placed I didnt have time to go to the previous day like the Sacre-Coeur church in Montmartre where I attended church for the first time in more than 18 years, but there was something so great about this place and the fact that my feet hurt so much at his point that I stayed for something like 45 min.</div><div> </div><div>I had the best ice cream ever in Paris and some great meals in some small restaurant around. The best meal I had during my trip was at a french restaurant in Amsterdam though.</div><div> </div><div>Then I tried to come back to Montreal through Charles de Gaulle airport... I was unfortunately stuck during more than 3 hours in line at the customs since some Marocans whose flight was cancelled had decided that they were angry about it and blocked off all entry to everyone ... and since in France workers tend to go on lockouts as soon as possible well the customs officers didnt do anything and waited from 3am to 10am to do anything ... well in fact they called the police who came in mass, but decided not to do anything either ... until 10am !! at this moment they huffed and puffed and pushed people until they all were out of the customs lines ... finally I could go home ... well when everyone in line would be through which meant waiting in the airplane for more than 2 hours ... finally got back home :)</div><div> </div><div>-------------------------------</div><div>This is becoming a long post ... but almost done here!</div><div> </div><div>So I came back on Sunday and Monday I was starting at my new great job :)</div><div> </div><div>YES I am back at Ubisoft Montreal on a great and huge project that will sell an incredible amount of copies due to its future status of game of the year when it comes out next year!!! </div><div>Just took over the map of another designer this week and starting to make magic again :)</div><div> </div><div>Im happy to be back at Ubi with a positive attitude!! Im meeting so many people that I worked with before and friends I had not seen in years that Im really happy about this new adventure.</div><div> </div><div>I will post later to talk more about my <strong><em>conviction</em> </strong>that this project will be great.</div><div> </div><div>have fun during this end of summer hot sunny days!</div><div> </div><div> </div></div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-351506547342846512009-06-27T13:04:00.002-04:002009-06-27T13:11:22.877-04:00Michael Jackson ...So now everyone knows that MJ is no more.<br /><br />I just want to say that I think it's a sad thing that such a great pop star dies at a young age of natural causes, but mostly sad because nobody seemed to care too much about him until he passed away. I guess that always happens, but doesnt it feel right though ... now I hear his music all day on most radio stations and people buy his CDs which is a great thing since he made so many great songs and mostly hits. Making songs to make a difference in the world.<br />Of course, he had a lot of problems and people really focused on those in the last couple of years forgetting what he had done and now we can't even show our appreciation to the king of pop.<br />Now we will always remember him for his music which stays with us on different formats ;)<br /><br />Lets just keep in mind for next time that we should not take anyone for granted since life can be short and stop at any moment for anybody.Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-34352323160647148492009-06-27T12:35:00.002-04:002009-06-27T13:03:45.585-04:00Back from E3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AZLhD7gXLsNV3G-J_25DuK4UxcloD8TmUavxvi4iFIwpuDCDUOTNYAXXjVnfOGmJR8e4QNvlvWyk4jMfBqMUj7tbmkYIIy39dhKxOYxfblQ9DywUQY4cwqYOhRW04brVECLp5O3KijLU/s1600-h/IMG_6264.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352047373875639138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9AZLhD7gXLsNV3G-J_25DuK4UxcloD8TmUavxvi4iFIwpuDCDUOTNYAXXjVnfOGmJR8e4QNvlvWyk4jMfBqMUj7tbmkYIIy39dhKxOYxfblQ9DywUQY4cwqYOhRW04brVECLp5O3KijLU/s200/IMG_6264.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITW0KInW4h5DjpKzDk0XdwIVyFhSripLhJdcOCJcotjv95nlrhn2GXnDasbMTAoywHgtmgfAlxO89pv3hd7ULmZWAClTqJUXiISkvtcG-o5lGs7mQ7rqlSDFlrBWR6L-TpkqvVSOcbkWl/s1600-h/IMG_6277.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352047368914339762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjITW0KInW4h5DjpKzDk0XdwIVyFhSripLhJdcOCJcotjv95nlrhn2GXnDasbMTAoywHgtmgfAlxO89pv3hd7ULmZWAClTqJUXiISkvtcG-o5lGs7mQ7rqlSDFlrBWR6L-TpkqvVSOcbkWl/s200/IMG_6277.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>So I've been back from E3 for a couple of weeks now, but I've taken the time to do a recap yet so here goes.</div><div> </div><div>As I said before it was my first time at the BIG event and I was really enthousiastic about it to say the least. I had a lot of fun there talking to a lot of interesting developpers about their games, experience and our games, Deus Ex and Thief, playing the demos on the floor, meeting with old friends from Pandemic (and playing Saboteur) and representing Eidos Montreal, but I was way too hyped about E3. I liked it, but playing demos isn't really my thing. Fortunately, there was not as many people as other years so we could walking around easily and play games almost instantly without waiting except for Zelda and God Of War 3.</div><div> </div><div>I played great games though such as God Of War 3 which was just incredible. Watching it while waiting was something and kinds ruined the surprises, I thought, but playing it was a whole different thing. It was thrilling, exciting and I really felt powerful while playing. Its bloody, disgusting and wow! ;)</div><div> </div><div>Also, I played Ghostbuster which was great to first play it and no lines to get to it. I bought the game when it came out and it felt like a Ghostbuster movie but with me playing in it. :)</div><div> </div><div>Moreover, I played Brutal Legend ... we'll see if the story makes it good, cuz I was a little disapointed by the game in itself.</div><div> </div><div>Played Saboteur, obviously, at Pandemic and watched the demo being played at the event and I'm really impressed as to where it as gone to... it looks better than ever, some cut features have been reborned (which is great news) and the missions are fun to play. By the way cinematics look really good also.</div><div> </div><div>Games I loved include: Splinter Cell, Batman, Saboteur, Ghostbusters, God Of War, Modern Warfare 2(looks amazing) and Alan Wake (game of the show for me)</div><div> </div><div>Had a great time on the rest of the trip with the Pandemic guys, at the beach, going out and doing most of the things I missed from Los Angeles.</div><div> </div><div>I met a lot of great people there and mostly the guys from Deck13 (<a href="http://www.deck13.com/english/index.html">http://www.deck13.com/english/index.html</a>) check out their stuff done with a small team of developpers in Germany.</div><div> </div><div>take care</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div></div>Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7800701446807704903.post-16182785258485386652009-05-28T13:43:00.002-04:002009-05-28T13:55:54.543-04:00Going to E3 + updatesHavent done updates for a while...<br /><br />Ive been too busy with our current milestone on Deus Ex which is a huge thing for us and all looks great at this point.<br /><br />Kinda put on hold the idea of iphone games for now since needs more research on my side for programming tasks and our little team doesnt have that focus yet. So maybe at some point ... lol<br /><br />Ive designed a level on paper (for now) to be created using the Little Big Planet assets and engine, but to create something cool and fun using the ps3 version of the engine will take a longer time than expected since the tools lack precision for platforms etc...<br />--------<br /><br />Im going to <strong>E3</strong> with a colleague.<br /><br />This will be my first E3 and I'm so excited about it.<br />Last year I was working in L.A., but there was no real E3 ... this time is the real thing :)<br /><br />Happy to finally live this experience. I will try to get a glimpse of the most games possible.<br />Ill try to check out the <strong>Saboteur</strong> demo to see where its at now with Tom French as presenter.<br /><br />I'll be representing Eidos in some ways ...<br /><br />Hope E3 will be as awesome as it used to be.<br />Will spend the rest of the week around L.A. and going back to all the things I'm missing here in Montreal... including E3 parties and crazy lounges ...<br /><br />I'll come back after E3 to post about it.<br /><br />2 days before leaving for Los Angeles ... wow so soon :)Games and Music enthusiasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09332959494005172332noreply@blogger.com0