A Valentine's Day Spesel Sound Only Short Story

Ladies and gents, in commemoration with Valentine's Day, I've made a quick audio based short story. Enjoy.

No Comments for Sunsastera

I missed seeing pay checks. It was about a year ago, our company hasn’t been able to secure any real jobs for the last several months that time. Rogue called Mclelun and I into the meeting room and told us that he would understand if we wish to leave the company. Then Lun suggested we enter IPCC with Sunsastera.

Sunsastera was originally an animated film idea I conceived three years ago, inspired by Lake District during my visit there. It tells the story of a machine that manipulates the weather in any way possible for as long a distressed teenager it cares about can become happy. I wrote the script in my free time before sharing the idea with the team.

I was not too keen on the idea of joining IPCC at first. My skill set, I felt, was simply not ready to attempt something like Sunsastera. However, we were short in money and had no choice but to bring the project forward. Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.

This meeting took place just a week away from the submission deadline. One year before this meeting, we proposed Mesinaut for IPCC 2010. Long story short: it wasn’t even shortlisted for the preliminary round. Learning from that experience, we decided to put more effort on the documentation this time around, reinforced with character designs by Daim who had also joined the team upon our invitation. Our efforts paid off this time when we receive an e-mail congratulating us. With only a week away from pitching day, we scrambled to make a teaser and managed to finish it in four days. It was nerving as the judges had no comments after we presented the idea. But our hard work paid off as we were selected to be among the 20 grant winners.

On the first month of production we had to move out of Plaza Damas because the company could no longer afford to pay the rent anymore. We end up tumpang-ing a room of another company belonging to Rogue’s friend. For 5 months, we had to brace the hot room because the air conditioning wasn’t working. Fortunately we later moved to a more comfortable office in Cova Square. We discussed about the trailer at length for many months mainly on Facebook so that Daim, who was in Japan, could get into the discussion as well. We were very fortunate to have Su Ling, Steven Bones, and Hazo to voice the characters. Our friends and the mentors were also kind enough to give their feedbacks ever since the animatic stage. After endless deliberations and hard work, the trailer was finally completed last June. The judges liked what they saw and we became among the 11 shortlisted for the Super Pitch stage, where this time local and regional broadcaster reps would gather to judge our works instead.

Three months passed and the big day at Cyberview Lodge came. Many presentations didn't get any comments at all. Only three manage to collect very few comments from the judges. It was certainly a suggestion that the number of comments reflected the judges’ interest. When our turn came, I presented while Lun assisted with the changing of slides. As Rogue had previously thought us, we made sure there weren’t too many words in the slides, Steve Jobs style. And learning from a prior presentation, I spent more time on describing the characters, and from there expand the detail regarding the world they inhabit. We ended the presentation with the trailer itself.

Our presentation was done, but the judges did not give any comments. At that moment we felt certain that something went bad, and that getting top place was now out of the question.

We had to wait till nightfall to receive the results. We were very lucky because, to our surprise, Sunsastera shared first place with Rimba Racer, which I believe was the work everyone know is going to win. I became a little dazed when our team collected the award. So spaced out was I that I’ve forgotten to pose and smile for the cameras. Some people approached me macam nak borak but I only managed to answer with thank you-s. If you happen to be one of those people, please forgive me, and feel free to approach me to talk about Sunsastera should we meet again. I’ll be more graceful next time, I promise :)

Right now we’re discussing what’s the next step, including whether or not to start a new company to help push Sunsastera for full production. Have you seen the trailer? Then take a gander below and please enjoy it. If you have any comments please leave em in the youtube page itself. Thanks for reading, watching, and supporting!

Update #1: Unfortunately the team members are not ready to start a new company. So the IP currently resides under a new company owned by Rogue and his business partner, Dhojee.

Update #2: I've since left the team to work elsewhere.

Update #3: Daim choose to leave the team as well.

Uncertain tomorrow for the future of racing

Studio Liverpool, formerly known as Psygnosis, is no more. They made many great games like Lemmings, Rollcage, and...uhh...Discworld. But their biggest franchise, of which they were still making sequels from till this year, is Wipeout.

I’ve already written at length in the past on how best the game was. At present, it is still relevant, of which its sequels seem to be the only product Studio Liverpool is known for nowadays. Apparently, the firm that designed the basis for the look and feel of the franchise, The Designers Republic, had also been out of business 3 years ago.

The series has one of the most well defined art direction among futuristic themed games, and to me is the most appealing looking of the lot. The sleek machines and its maximum minimalist low-gows will continue to influence my designs for many years to come.

It’s sad what happened to the studio, and I am a little angry at Sony for pulling the plug, but at least Sony reassures that the staff are only reshuffled into other departments. Personally I don’t think the franchise will be forever lost, especially since there’s still a decent large fan base for it and I’m sure Sony knows the exclusive pull of the franchise that brings people to the Playstations. So here’s hoping we’ll see them shiny racers gunning past on air again, with pew-pew power ups, sometime in the far future...

...if not as a game, then the real thing! In 36 years! Because Wipeout 2048 said so!

Quick update on Sunsastera

We could have finished it earlier but if we wanted to be serious about this then we might as well push it a little further. It was a month ago, some days before the deadline. An extended deadline at that. After multiple renders the Sunsastera trailer was flawless enough to be presentable. As great the urge it was to share it public, we refrained ourselves. Reason being, number 1: we would like to keep the production quality as secret as possible from our competition and number 2: we want the audience to be blown away during the Super Pitch session itself, in hopes they will give an honest after show applause.

Last Friday, Rogue got an email from MDEC saying Sunsastera is qualified for the IPCC Animation Super Pitch. You could say the Super Pitch is the extra last boss of the IPCC process, where local plus regional broadcasters and potential investors will gather to view our work. We won’t be the only one presenting, mind you, as there are other teams who are qualified as well. And there’s some serious competition this year believe you me. Despite that we will do our best. It’s set to take place this 19th September at Cyberview Resort.

The trailer will be available for public viewing after that. So look forward to it okay!

Hologram Cafe

It only looks like an ordinary maid cafe from the outside but upon entering you will be greeted by an anime character! This is Cure Hologram Cafe. It's a concept cafe which Cure hopes to revolutionise the maid cafe industry.

The technology used here is similar to the one used in Hatsune Miku’s concerts; virtual maids are projected from various arrays on special glass. And since there's glass on just about every corner of the cafe, virtual maids can saunter around as they take orders from their customers. Food will be served via a machine that moves by a rail on the ceiling. What's more, for every table there’s another piece of this special glass, making it possible to have the company of a virtual maid during your meal. To maintain the sense that the virtual characters are really there, the cafe owners plan to only allow a single projection for each character throughout the entire cafe. Hence, if the character you want to dine with is busy attending another customer, then you will have to wait for your turn, just like a real maid!

A speech recognition system allows for a more immersive interaction. The customer can give simple responses such as yes and no. Hence the virtual maids would be the one doing most of the flirting. For example, the maid can ask, “Would you like to put in the power of love into your coffee?” Here the customer can reply, “Yes,” of which the virtual maid would then request the customer to follow their hand gestures. On the other hand a customer who answers “No,” can result in the virtual maid reacting all moe with “Aww, why don’t you want to?” or a more tsundere virtual maid can react “Fine! See if I care! Hmph!”

Like a regular maid cafe, there will be themes to celebrate certain anime or games, but this time with a difference: you will be attended by the authentic characters themselves. Expect to meet the cast of Evangelion, Azumanga Daioh, Star Driver, and Shining Tears in the following months of its opening. For the opening month itself however—expected to be in the first quater of 2013—Cure Hologram Cafe will be introducing a line of staple maid characters which serves as mascots of the cafe, each with their own unique personality. So the question is, do you mind the glass?

I just found out that it’s actually pronounced Deeyus Ex

I’ve joked a bit about how sloppy the moments felt in past Deus Ex titles. The story and the world that takes place in the franchise had always been great but lacked conviction. When Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DXHR), the newest title in the line, starts up the facility the protagonist was in got destroyed and burned as black ops soldiers stormed in to track down fleeing researchers. When that ended an awesome title sequence jumped in, letting me know that the Deus Ex franchise has finally received the cinematic treatment it deserved.

The game takes place in the near future of 2027, a world where corporations have power than surpasses governments. It is a time when human augmentation has become common technology. People who opt its use became superior in physical and mental abilities. This creates pressure for everyone else who remained natural as they are left behind. Tension rises as opposing opinions regarding the technology threads towards a breaking point.

You play Adam Jensen, head of security from a leading biotech firm behind augmentation technology. When a sudden attack at the firm’s headquarters took place Adam’s life was turned upside down, thrusting him into a world of conspiracy as he struggles to discover the truth.

It’s a very interesting premise for sure. In execution the cyberpunk themed story starts off pretty slow but once the ball started to roll it can get pretty gripping. The world felt alive as every event that the player goes through is echoed through news broadcast and newspapers, emails and conversation between NPCs. There are talks about other happenings across the globe as well. A lot of reading material can be found for anyone who likes to know more about the world and the technology behind it. Also, the soundtrack behind the game fits the atmosphere really well and sounds great. At times I feel like a tourist strolling around the city hubs, just watching the night life there. The developers spend a great deal into making the world of DXHR as immersive as possible and it shows.

One look at a screenshot of the game and you can see how stylish everything looks. The developer calls it Cyber Renaissance. What this suave term means is that certain building interiors and fashion styles in the game has a Renaissance flair in their design and was done so in an ultra modern way, hence the Cyber part. This Cyber Renaissance approach was picked to reflect the themes behind DXHR. It’s a very interesting concept but unfortunately the idea was not completely applied throughout the game, as only the Cyber part really made it throughout the game. But it’s still pretty nevertheless.

DXHR seem to have branded itself with black and gold (fits right in with this blog don't you think?). I read from somewhere that the black and gold colour scheme is supposedly a reference to the colour of ink and parchment from the Renaissance blueprint drawings. Sound reasoning but it’s not that simple. It’s very likely that they were inspired by GITS 2: Innocence, which used the same colour scheme as well. Visual design philosophies aside, it gives the game a warm dystopian feel.

Check out the mechanical designs in this game. For the augmentations, they wanted to avoid over the top cyberpunk designs of wires spewing all over the place and went for the sleek approach. It’s more likely it would look this way in the near future, the developer say. I approve. And not forgetting are the vehicles and the robots that inhibit the areas which looks sweet. One that stands out is the Boxguard, a quad-pedal robot (about the size of a car) that can fold itself into a cube for easy transportation.

One of the central themes of Deus Ex has always been about moral choices. On many occasions, the issues presented to the player are grey, that there’s never a clear right or wrong solution. A player who strictly prefers to role play only as the guardian of light should totally avoid this game; it is practically impossible to be a 100 percent good guy in this game I tell you!

Deus Ex can be described as a first person stealth/shooter/action rpg. Its core gameplay is that you can complete an objective in various ways. For example, to enter a secured building, you may either enter with your guns blazing, or sneak through a hidden vent, or sweet talk your way with the guard at the front door to gain clearance. And there are many augmentations to help you win your game. Among them are cloaking, the ability to punch through weak walls, the ability to see through walls, super strength, jump higher, slow fall, and more. But you can only get them through experience points, and which augmentation you choose should depend on your play style.

However, Deus Ex tries to do a lot that it rarely excels in any of them. This is not to say that the game play is bad, just that it’s decent enough. The game can get punishing at times; if the enemy gets a very clear shot of you then expect the game over screen within 3 seconds. There’s are some minor bugs in my experience playing the PS3 version of the game, the most annoying of which was that my character would initiate one of his weaponry augmentation instead of cloaking/de-cloaking, therefore instantly sounding the alarm—makes me facepalm all the time. I find that pressing the cloaking button while not moving solves the problem.

It’s likely that gamers who are not so much into cyberpunk would walk away thinking it’s not that spectacular but it’s not too bad either. But if you do appreciate this stuff, then what are you waiting for? Deus Ex: Human Revolution is probably the best big budget cyberpunk game out there in the market right now.

Sunsastera in the making

When people think about Malaysian themed animation, typical ideas would include Kampung, Silat, or Sepak Takraw in the mix. This is not to say them typical ideas are necessarily bad. But how about the weather? It’s something all Malaysians can quickly relate to. Let’s face it: we all complain about how hot the weather is here.

Sunsastera was originally an animated film idea I conceived two years ago, inspired by Lake District during my visit there. It tells the story of a machine that manipulates the weather in any way possible for as long a distressed teenager it cares about can become happy.

Joining this year’s IPCC was actually a last minute decision, first suggested by Mclelun. It was only a year ago we submitted Mesinaut for IPCC 2010 and was not even shortlisted for it. Learning from that experience, we decided to put more effort on the documentation this time around, reinforced with character designs by Daim who had also joined the team upon our invitation. Our efforts paid off this time when we receive an e-mail congratulating us for being shortlisted. With only a week away from pitching day, we scrambled to make a teaser and managed to finish it in 4 days.

Pitching day came. It wasn't frying hot that morning despite the venue being the Cyberview Lodge Resort in Cyberjaya. Yet in the presentation hall (puts on shades), things were about to get heated (YEEAAAAAAAAAH).

When our turn came Rogue handled the presentation. We proposed the idea as a TV series instead of film in hopes our budget would appear more attractive. Rogue gave a clear and concise pitch (he claims he learnt from Steve Jobs’s style of presenting). Then we played the teaser for Sunsastera.

For a while, the judges were silent. It was odd for we were expecting the torrent of questions like how the other teams got it. Finally one of them started asking question about budgets and the planned schedule for production. One nice comment she gave was that our idea is of very high quality and that it should be a film production instead. The judge from Astro said he only had one question: “What can we expect if we give you the RM50k?”

The other judges however decided to keep mum. And that made us unsure. Where were the questions about story, characters, and art direction that the other groups received? Is it a good or a bad thing that they’re not asking for any further detail? Perhaps Mesinaut’s past failure had also played a part in fuelling our uncertainty.

The results were announced some days later on a Friday. 20 winners were given the grant and fortunately, we were among them.

By the end of this program, we are expected to produce the complete Sunsastera trailer. Please look forward to it. We’re going to deliver our best.