Aidi G.V.

Gongreash Void's List: Top 10 Game Intro

2009-10-23T21:04:00.042+08:00

Recently while reading a top 10 list it occurred to me that I have yet to write one of my own. A list of the 10 best game intros sounds like fun. So let’s get started.

For a game intro to be in the list, the following merits are taken into consideration:
1. Pulls you in. A good game intro has that certain magic of grabbing its audiences’ attention and never letting go.
2. Current impression over nostalgic impression. An intro that makes it to this list has to look good by today’s standards.
3. Presented with flair. More style equals higher standings.
4. Personal preference. Otherwise it won’t be considered as a Gongreash Void’s List now would it?

Just so you know I’m using the one intro per game franchise rule. Alright let’s begin with number 10.

10 Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Games

Did I raise eyebrows with this one? Oh yes, I’m serious and I’m placing this at number 10. Excellent animation work, nicely thought transitions, good pacing, and a semangat music to boot. What I like in particular about this intro are how characters’ face brightened after a successful attempt at the sport (I especially liked Knuckles’s facial expression after he threw the javelin).

9 DJ Max Portable 2

Alright I admit, this one made it to the list mostly because of personal preference. It wasn’t in the list originally and I felt bad about it, so I decided to put in the list by kicking out Kingdom Hearts 2 (did I just raise more eyebrows?). Such an uplifting intro! The addition of attractive chicks helped me decide this was better as well.

8 Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator

This intro is very well done in that it throws a very curious question mark to the player: what will happen when the keys are united? On a separate note, it is funny how this intro still looks good compared to other Septerra Core’s cinematics (especially the characters).

7 SkyGunner

The music and the visuals in this one go so well together. It’s almost as though the animation were made first and the song composed later to follow the tempo and mood of the scenes.

6 World of Warcraft

As just about any gamer would tell you, Blizzard is the leader in game cinematics. So do I really need to elaborate how this intro made it to this list? But you know, I always felt some kind of emo thing going on with any Blizzard cinematic. Kinda like the Spider-Man movies. No wonder they hired Sam Raimi.

5 Thief: The Dark Project

Thief proved back then that there was more to an intro as oppose to making a high quality render of the game you are playing. As though the uncanny fusion of artworks with tiny bits of animation plus some live footage was not enough, the accompanying music went against all expectations of how music for a fantasy/medieval inspired game should be and yet fits the game so well.

4 Metal Gear Solid 2: The Sons of Liberty

When the current master of opening sequences, Kyle Cooper, was hired to make this intro it’s almost as though Hideo Kojima had engaged a cheat mode by wearing the best game intro of all time bandana. It’s the kind of intro that makes you want to buy the game the minute you saw it before realising you don’t even own a PS2.

3 Wipeout 3

Is this me trying to be artsy? Oh no, trust me, I’ve seen works that are too artsy for my taste---even some of The Designers Republic (TDR) other works are too artsy for me. But their work on this one really clicked with me that I prefer this intro above all the other Wipeout intros. TDR seem to have a good sense of how a particular vector shape should move---I especially liked how the Piranha type appeared on the screen, a small but significant mirror movement of the preceding logo. It goes to show that TDR put a lot of thought to their work right down to the motions of the graphics.

2 Homeworld

From the very start of this intro, I could already sense what a great story this game is about to tell. While using artworks to convey the story of a fantasy/medieval game like Thief makes sense, using the same technique for an epic science fiction story does not. It turns out the cinematic team at Relic not only managed to pulled it off, but also end up making one of the best game intro ever. There’s something sublime about the monotone coloured artworks, similar to how one would feel when observing a black and white photograph. And it somehow enhances the narrative as well, drawing the viewer into the tale it wishes to tell.

1 The Beatles: Rock Band

When the guys at Passion Pictures were given the opportunity to make an intro for a game inspired by The Beatles, they looked at each other and said, “Look, this is not some band which chose to represent themselves as cartoon characters. This is a band that defined modern music as we know it. We better do them justice and give it all we got!” So unlike Kyle Cooper and TDR which has arguably done better work in other mediums, this game intro is Passion Pictures’s best work yet. From the Fab Four running past their iconic album covers to the satirical portrayal of how they went from one concert to the other when they were in the States, Passion Pictures have thought about every detail in this footage with great creativity.

All kinds of game intros have been made after all this years and yet someone still manages to come up with something fresh and exciting. There is always space for new and good creativity after all.

Thanks for trudging through this long post. Hope you enjoyed the list.

Happy Raya

2009-09-23T16:32:00.008+08:00

Maaf zahir dan batin.

Compulsory: went to my uncle's house, like every raya. A little different this time: meet an old friend (real and a nice dude this time) later and made some acquaintances while that. Had some friends coming to my house the following day. Pretty neat.

For the past month my creative cerebral activity was all focused on real work. To not burden my thoughts too much, I relieved myself from making some crazy post for raya. So pardon this simple post. And thank you for visit to become visitor.

Liking the Lake District

2009-09-01T06:12:00.018+08:00

This is Lake Ullswater. A spread of daffodils near the lake inspired the poet William Wordsworth to write one of the most well known English poems I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud. It would have been nice to catch those very daffodils when we reached the lake. Instead out of nowhere a troop of car-boats was what welcomed us at the lake. Uninspired to write poems about car-boats sailing through water, we moved on and stumbled upon some ducks.

Rozanna and Suraya were throwing stones into the lake when the ducks came. Like every other lake we encounter the girls would start throwing stones in hopes of making the stones skip on the surface. The ducks rushed in thinking the girls were throwing food. Later however Suraya would give them real food: bread crumbs. The lake would send waves to its shoreline and the ducks would glide up and down with every passing wave like they were happily bouncing about.

At the recommendation of a brochure we trekked through a section of the forest near the lake to see Aira Force. The walk along the river stream towards its source reminded me of jungle trekking back home. But unless there was such a thing as a wild forest growing on a golf course in Malaysia, then I guess the highland grasses gave it away that it was in fact an overseas forest.

As you may have already known or guessed, Aira Force is a waterfall. For those of you who had guessed incorrectly, I hope you are not too disappointed to not see a line of fighter jets on an airfield.

On our way out of the forest, we came upon a fallen tree with glittering scales. Upon closer inspection, they were actually coins shelved straight into the trunk. It looked like a lot of fun so we joined in and stabbed a Malaysian coin into it. Perhaps every night a poor man would come and relieve the tree some of its coins. Our coin would be safe of course since it would be ignored.

We paid a visit to William Wordworth’s home, called Dove Cottage. It was already closed by the time we reached it so there is not much for me to say about the house other than that it was white in colour. Well, I could comment a bit about the name. I mean, it sounded a bit too feminine to me. I would have called my home Cybernova Fortress. Or maybe Technostrike Tower. Or how about...the Smooth Loft. Oh yeah ladies, you know what I’m talking about.

The rolling hills of Lake District were so inviting that it wouldn’t do our visit justice without us traversing through one of them. We found our opportunity near Lake Windermere (not all hills are open to the public as many of them were private farm properties).

While on our way back, Mama spotted a dramatic view by the hill we were passing through and told me to pose. Now this is more like it. Time to be inspired. Yes, I can feel a poem coming.

Sunbeams From Afar

Sunbeams stream down from the skies
Into light and shadow that rests on rolling hills,
Through the clouds and through the trees,
The hills rejoice like gleaming steels;
These beams may not belong to me,
But for a brief moment I felt almost free.

Thank you to Uncle Pasku, Auntie Hamidah, Suraya, and Rozana. I am glad my mum and I joined you guys to go sightseeing around Britain. Visiting all these places wouldn’t be the same without you guys.

And that last picture of Lake District concludes the article series of my brilliant UK trip. Thanks for reading.

Due north to Scotland

2009-08-30T07:37:00.009+08:00

The highways that lead out of London were pretty straight forward, literally. It was a long straight road between two ridges, with the occasional perpendicular flyover passing above now and then. I’ve seen it in Top Gear before, when the hosts of the show would spear through the road in posh sports cars. But the roads became more winding further up north as more hills and mountains began to emerge. And in turn, the journey became more scenic as well.

It took a whole day of driving to reach Scotland. Khairil, who was Auntie Hamidah’s niece, was kind enough to share his home with us. He and his wife Norida stayed in a simple but comforting apartment in Glasgow. With them were their 2 sons. Suraya and Rozana would now and then play with them. I still recall the television constantly showing the children’s favourite show Scooby Doo, the jingle ‘Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you?’ playing every half an hour. The house was just nice for the family of 4 but our presence made the house jam packed. I must thank them for tolerating so many guests.

On the following day we decided to hunt for the Loch Ness monster. With a battalion of two families armed with cameras, we marched forward to Loch Ness, the second largest loch in Scotland. As expected however, we found no trace of it. You may view it for yourself.

See? Nothing.

I can assure you that this picture of me with two girls is authentic. Unlike the other pictures of me and girls in this blog, they are not in any way pasted to be in this image to stand with me at Loch Ness. It took me long enough to get a picture like this ever since the start of this blog over a year ago but here it is. Thank you Rozana and Suraya!

We hopped back into Uncle Paksu’s trusty Volkswagen van and headed for the Scottish highlands next. As we crossed a highland plain I could not help but be amazed by the barren greenery which spread for endless of miles. My mum, having a history in teaching physical geography, tried to explain to me why no trees would grow around these areas but I never really understood. The only thing that passed through me was that there were insufficient resources for a tree to strive.

Uncle Paksu, who has been here before, wanted to drove to the very spot he drove to last time which he claimed was scenic. “It’s like Afghanistan!” Uncle Paksu would chime now and then to rave about the place. And then he found it. We didn't have time to venture further north so this was more than good enough for us.

The contour of the hills was staggering and yet flowing. Suraya and Rozana were off to a corner again for their compulsory burst shots of jumping poses. Mama spread her arms for a pose and couldn’t resist singing at least a line of The Sound of Music. It’s only natural.

On our last day in Scotland we took a train to Edinburgh. We were clueless about the attractions of the city, so we picked the regular method of taking the tour bus. In many ways, the city looks like London. The only apparent difference to me was the weather. While London’s weather was stinging hot at the time, Edinburgh felt cold and windy because of its location on higher ground and its closer proximity to the ocean.

A post about a vacation in Scotland is never complete without a picture of Scots in kilts playing bagpipes. Maybe Rozana and Suraya should have asked them to be in one of their leaping poses. Or maybe not.

Merdeka Carnival happy hard work

2009-08-26T08:02:00.006+08:00

This picture describes my busy activity when I was at Merdeka Carnival. The cold and windy morning which greeted the event participants at a green field next to the Abdul Razak Research Centre in Hertford was uninviting but everyone had to prepare their stalls before the coming of the crowd. I helped in carrying various stall items in and out of the van but that was about it. I, having no useful knowledge in cooking and sales, sat at the back of the stall and admire the river there, shivering all the while from the winds.

So strong were the winds that at one point it toppled our stall’s main dish: Auntie Hamidah’s chicken curry for the mee rebus. Everyone including our neighbouring stall members could only watch and gasp. For full 3 seconds everyone watched in stunned disbelief at the chicken, pineapple, and gravy which had settled on the grass. But the show must go on. Auntie Hamidah had to salvage what was left in the pot. My mum, aided by a Brahims food packet, helped make more curry gravy minus the chickens and pineapples.

At around 10’o clock the crowd started to line the stalls around the field. Rows and rows of cars started to occupy the temporary car park across the river. I was surprised at the large number of English people who came. One of the English customers told Rozana that most of them were from around Hertford. They were in fact looking forward to this event every year, making sure to get a taste of the delicious Malaysian delicacies.

The karipap was a hit. So frequent were the customers asking for karipaps that Uncle Paksu couldn’t cope up with the karipap frying. Customers were willing to wait, and it was no surprise that the karipap were the first order the stall sold clean.

After I was done trying to look busy at the stall, I ventured around the field to check out what the other stalls were up to. I found that most of the other guys were selling Malaysian food as well. All these food, nice as they were, would be easy for me to find when I get back home. Hence a purchase of some popiahs was enough to make me happy. Near the centre of the field were stage shows featuring Malaysian cultural arts like dancing, singing, martial arts, and the like. An ice cream truck parked nearby. I bought a cone and watched an Englishman perform a Silat act.

At the start of the carnival every year, Rozana and Suraya would help put up the Malaysia flag by their stall. And at the end of the carnival every year, they would take down the flag, grab a camera, and strike a pose. This year they added a little variation to their pose as they had recently developed a habit of jumping about while making burst shots. They handled sales and also the cooking of mee rebus. This was their small way of celebrating a hard day’s work. At the end of the carnival I was again sitting on a chair, shivering under the cold wind as I watched them leap, embracing the air with a genuine smile.

The old friend at London Eye

2009-08-23T14:33:00.017+08:00

BOO! Welcome to the London Eye! Ha! Ha! Ha!

One of capsules eddied along the entrance’s platform with its doors already opened. A group of about 20 visitors was hurried in by the staff. I was among this batch of visitors, all wanting to claim the best pictures of London. I had my camera phone at ready. Nothing was going to get in my way.

“Hey! It’s that boy from London!” said a twisted squealing voice.

I glanced to see 3 men wearing leather jackets. All of them were grinning, their eyes gleaming like predators discovering a possible prey. The one who vocally spotted me bore a red tomahawk hairstyle.

I looked around and noticed that the capsule had risen halfway towards the top of the wheel. By now, the buildings around the giant Ferris wheel were showing its rooftops. Cameras were waved around and picturesque pictures were taken. “Look, I need to snap some views,” I said as I attempted to walk away from the troublemakers.

“Hey, hold on, come back here,” said the tomahawk man as he gripped my shoulder and pulled me back. “We’re not done yet. Besides there’s nothing you can do about taking pictures.” The man pointed towards the other visitors. “These people are not going to let you.”

“What?”

The man shook his head with a smile at me like I was some naive child who thought that the world was flat. Suddenly his hands clawed out and grabbed my hair. “Why are you so clueless huh? Haven’t you been doing your homework?” said the man. My scalp felt like it was being bitten by a thousand mosquitoes. He released me and I dropped to the floor. “Don’t you get it? You have no chance at getting a good picture of London! Only I do! Only I deserve to take a nice picture! You’re nothing!” The tomahawk man looked around him and took his camera out. His friends followed suit.

I stood back up as my eyes trailed the retreating trio, making sure they were really done with me. Then my gaze caught sight of the view outside and I realised that the capsule had reached the zenith of its rotation. The whole of London spread before me. I must take a photo.

The other occupants were already claiming the best spots in the capsule---it would seem that there was no way for me to get the perfect picture. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity, to take chance at this beauty before me. The capsule was leaving the pinnacle of its rotation---it’s now or ever. Do I have the right to claim the moment? I wish not to trouble the people there. It’s just not who I am. Yet I must make a move or I will hate myself later. Yes! Be brave! The beautiful view of London is mine to grasp!

The capsule was descending now. Some of the strangers there looked at me, perhaps wondering why I did not ask for some space to take a picture. Sometimes the good spots were vacant and I could have moved right in to grab a photo but I hesitated too much that another visitor would claim the spot. I decided to simply take a photo where nobody would crowd.

To my demise, the man with the tomahawk hairstyle approached me again. He said: “Hey, let’s be friends.”

It took me some time to scrutinise what he just said to me. The man who made such an effort to put me down before this wanted to befriend me? What kind of capsule was this? A portable Dewan Rakyat? During this moment the wheel was bringing us towards the bottom again. Considering what strife we had was well behind us, I decided to accept his friendship.

I thought I could be cool about it until I saw the photos he took: fantastic views of River Thames, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, and practically every view of the cityscape. All I had was a photo of some steel bars jutting about. We were sitting on the provided bench when the circle was complete. The doors opened after the staff outside unlatched the lock. I stood up immediately, intending to leave the tomahawk man behind. He told me to wait up.

“No,” I said over my shoulder. “I thought we could be friends but I was wrong.” I resumed my way out. Then it occurred to me that I had left my camera phone inside the capsule. I turned and rushed back inside. The tomahawk man raised an eyebrow when he saw me returning. “I’m not here,” I told the tomahawk man as I collected my camera phone that I left on the bench. As I was putting the item into my pocket it got caught up by a loose fabric from my pants. I pulled it out in order to loosen it but the move somehow made my wallet fall out. Several pennies worth a pound each dropped out, leaping and rolling around the floor. The staff told everyone to leave and everyone did except me who wanted to collect every penny on the floor. The staff had to drag me out. At least I got my pennies again.

I drank more tea than usual in London

2009-08-20T01:27:00.033+08:00

The tea they served at a tea shop in Heathrow airport was much milder compared to the tea you would get in a mamak stall in Malaysia. Uncle Paksu and Auntie Hamidah---who was there to collect my mum and I--- explained that it was normal for the English to have their tea a little lighter. To me, and I believe to every other Malaysian, it tasted more like tea flavoured freshwater than real tea.

The difference in similarities does not end there. Summer had reached this part of Europe and the sun’s heat was streaming down the historical streets of London. I realised something about the heat after an hour of loitering along River Thames from the London Eye to the Royal Festival Hall: despite having the same sun as Malaysia the heat that landed here was not the same. On an afternoon in Malaysia, you would get what I call an oven hot weather; the heat would hang around you even when you get into the shade. But it seemed during a summer in London, on a day when the sun was up and the clouds would hide and the winds refused to move, the heat felt piercing hot on my skin. It was almost as though there was a hole in the ozone layer right above the city.

Uncle Paksu and Auntie Hamidah welcomed us to their home, situated about half an hour drive away from Central London. There we were greeted by their kacak daughters, or should I say my cousins, Suraya and Rozana. Despite having a house just nicely large enough for their family, they were kind enough to share their living room as a space for my mum and I to retire.

I am a person who treasured his space and privacy but without fail, just when I felt like escaping the crowded house, Rozana would bring up something to talk about with me. She does so in such an effortless manner and made me know that I am not a stranger here.

Later in the week Suraya introduced me to Guitar Hero. My interest towards music video games was renewed ever since the next Rock Band would feature The Beatles. Suraya was a real sport, watching me play as I beat her high scores.

Huge public parks filled London with patches of greenery here and there. My mum and I was fortunate enough to find the time to visit Reagent’s Park. I must say that it was brilliant. The park was alive with people doing all sorts of casual activity: picnicking, exercising, boat paddling, feeding the ducks, or simply resting. All admiring the trees and the lake there, absorbing what serenity the park has to offer. While that, my typical ideal day out in Kuala Lumpur were the huge shopping malls. I guess it can’t be helped; it’s just too hot to hang out all day at the parks in Malaysia. After my trips around the highlands of Scotland and Lake District, I felt that escapism through nature was a necessity to relieve one’s stress. And public parks are a quick way for city folks like me to do that. I told myself to start taking the time to sit and watch the trees ever since I returned from this trip. It’s simple and yet it takes my mind away.

This blog post is the start of an article series covering my 2 weeks trip in the UK. I hope to write 4 more articles and each one shall be posted every 3 days or so.

Bridge to the clouds

2009-07-29T19:33:00.026+08:00

Visiting the skybridge at the Petronas Twin Towers was not easy. Physically getting there was the easy part---thanks to the high speed elevators that will take you up there in just 10 seconds. No, the real challenge was getting the tickets itself. Only 1000 visitors were permitted to loiter around the bridge every day. And you can only purchase the tickets on the day of the visit, no bookings allowed.

Thankfully my mum happens to know someone who works in the towers. He was kind enough to get us four tickets. Auntie Gaila, my mum’s long time friend, was there with us. She was the reason we decided to venture into the skybridge; it was also our first time there.

We were then whisked away 170 meters up and the door to the bridge opens up to us. The bridge was a modern steel corridor, oblong in shape. Its walls were an endless series of windows to the outside world. The width of the bridge was decent; it would take about five strides to lean from one side to the other. But the clear windows gave the bridge an immense sense of space, as beyond them were the skylines of Kuala Lumpur, from the busy road traffic below to the countless of buildings which stood small in comparison to the twin towers. The view stretched forever on towards the horizon, the blue green mountains that lined the borders of Kuala Lumpur were within sight.

“Quite a view isn’t it?” said a female voice behind me. It was neither my mum’s nor auntie Gaila’s voice. What a rare occurrence of a female stranger approaching me. I decided to keep my cool.

“Yes it is,” I said as I turned to catch a glimpse of the beauty behind the sweet voice.

I can’t remember how long I stared at her but I was certain that my eyes were bulging. A character from a video game was standing right in front of me. I refused to believe my sight. I veered my gaze to the window and back expecting her to vanish. But she was still there.

“Did you catch Istana Budaya?” she said as she held my arm and pulled me back to the window. Now I was grasping for air. “It’s right there!” she said as she pointed with her gloved finger towards the city skyline.

I managed to collect myself and blurted out her name: “Tear Grants?!”

Just then a silhouette passed outside the window in a flicker, which covered us in shadows for a split second. It came back and my eyes caught sight of a woman with wings. Then it dawned upon me on who it was. “Morrigan?!” She smiled slyly and disappeared into thin air before appearing inside the bridge.

“Couldn’t help but notice you here,” said Morrigan as she held my other free arm. “I can take you somewhere for a better view. A view worth your time. What do you say?”

“Aw, don’t you take this good looking bloke away from us,” came another voice. I glanced to see that it was Lara Croft.

“Listen,” said a tall lady next to her, who I identified a few seconds later as Fran. “This seems like a good time to take a photo.”

“What on earth is going on,” I said in a voice half as loud as I intended it to be. To be surrounded by gorgeous women that I couldn’t accept to be outside of video games felt like a blissful confusion to me. “How could you girls be...” I trailed off as I found them to be no longer around. In fact, none of the other visitors were there as well. I was alone.

“Woi BUDAK!” This was not a female voice; instead it was a rough voice that was unmistakably male. I turned to see two security guards, their eyes covered by sunglasses, their arms in akimbo. “Tak dengar ke?!” said one of them as he slid his finger through his long thick moustache. “All yellow card holders must leave ini punya tempat! Your 15 minutes is up!”

I glanced around in hopes of catching another glimpse of the girls. “Tunggu kejap,” I said, “there was this group of girls...”

“Banyak buat alasan lah budak ni!” said the guard with the thick moustache as he came running to me and threw a perfect punch on my face. The other guard held his arms around my shoulder. “Budak macam awak ni ingat boleh dapat perempuan cantik punya ramai ke hah?!” said the guard as he started punching my stomach. I winced in pain at every punch as the impacts waddled through my body. “Kau girlfren pun tak pernah ada! Cium mulut perempuan pun tak pernah! “ He stopped his series of punches and held my neck. The other guard let go off me. “Kau ingat kau boleh dapat perempuan cantik ke hah?! Awak?! Pegi bela lah!!” He threw me off into the air and I landed on the floor some 5 seconds later. I rolled into a halt.

I clenched my fists. “Why...?” I murmured.

Whispers of chatters appeared around me. I gazed above and saw a crowd of foreign tourists walking pass me, one of them taking peeks at me with amused interest. I staggered back up and found no trace of the security guards. Someone called out for me, this time a familiar voice. My mum was standing at the end of the bridge, signalling to me that it was time to leave. I looked around again. No angry security guards. And unfortunately, no fantasy girls. I scowled. I shook my head. I decided to trail the last throng of visitors and leave the skybridge.

SYSTEM COMMENCE

2009-06-05T09:19:00.024+08:00

>Initiate startup sequence .....................OK

>Execute Nana Smart Systems .................OK

robotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobot
robotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobot
robotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobot
robotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobotrobot

>Login blogger.com as Aidi G.V. ...........OK

>Run phonetic audible human interface module ..........OK

Visitor. I am Nana. Aidi understands some visitors frequent this blog. Hence I was created to take blog automatically when Aidi does not post for too long.

Visitor. I will now attempt to make blog post as Aidi G.V. After gathering numerous data inside internet, I gain basic knowledge of how a post is made. I also search inside computer and blog, and have idea of interests by Aidi. I hope you are entertained.

>Execute blog post ver. 2891.72.7 ....................OK

Heys. I am Aidi. I like futuristic stuff. Hey wassup.

Today I thought I should play World of Warcraft. I play as a hunter. Cool.

I also finished Magister’s Terrace. I got an achievement while I was there. Superb man.

Wow this female NPC is hot, I'm going to take a snapshot. Sounds like fun.

Sure.

>BLOG POST CONCLUDED.

Visitor. Thank you for visit to become visitor.

>Shutting down .OK

Exploring the mountains and valleys of Tomb Raider

2009-04-20T15:03:00.012+08:00

There's a lot to see in Tomb Raider. At any time, I could just lay back and admire the breathtaking views. And when I was ready, I was free to roam the world. Of swimming beneath the wide open sea to discover a hidden cave nearby, of which I entered, deeper and deeper until Lara Croft could no longer hold her breath. Later I find myself lurching though the warm dense jungles which occupies down between sloping mountains. There was also some good dose of gunfights. To deal with the heat, I had to guide Lara Croft into various acrobatic moves to find the best position. There were also some intense moments when I violated the octopus’s lair and agitated its denizens. It was a satisfying experience, worth spending the 12 or so hours.

KL Design Week? More like KL Design Strong!

2009-04-02T18:28:00.034+08:00

It’s all graphic design in KL Design Week but I went still. Sure, 3D animation and storytelling are my greatest passions in the creative arts but I have always had a soft spot for graphic design.

Just wanted to take a quick peek at this event and decided to just go for only one of their many open exhibitions. I picked the one in CapSquare as I’ve heard so much hype about the place, so I thought I should use this opportunity to check out the place as well.

At the small park beside CapSquare’s main complex are some creative works dedicated to the idea of recycling. Here artsy tents are placed amidst twenty plus mock trees which has bags (as in anti plastic bags bags) hung on its branches. Every bag has its own design.

Inside the main complex are 3 floors of various artists’ works. Apparently CapSquare does not have a real atria so the exhibition was placed around the central escalators instead.

Boxy Bats by Roomism.

Each one for Daim, Hazmer, and Dzaid. Hey how about me? No fair.

Ah never mind I’ll just take these two elegant damsels.

I have never heard of USM having an art school but just check out this work by a graduate theirs, Leong Eng Kit. It certainly proves that it’s a promising art school in the making.

Just next to this was an exhibit showcasing augmented reality work. Pictured in the badly taken photo above is Anwar, the head of the augmented reality development in USM. What is augmented reality about? Well to put it quite simply: the technology to see 3d rendered item as though they are placed right in front of you. So even if you move around the 3d item will shift correctly in perspective. You have to wear special glasses to see it work.

USM wasn’t the only one showcasing their graduates work. Here at the other end of the corner were some batik designs by Norhafiezzah, a graduate of Malaysia Institute of Art (MIA).

Of course The One Academy was here too. Oh wait did somebody scribbled MAD RULEZ in the corner there? Heh just kidding.

A blatant attempt at copying somebody else’s idea. But I won’t mention which college did this.

Hey check out the red dude getting struck by lightning.

Apples were blooming inside one exhibit. Konichiwa from Japan---the only foreign independent artist here. Unfortunately she’s not fluent in English and she barely understands what I say. There goes my opportunity to ask her about her obsession with apples. But she did give me this free postcard.

I wanted to take a photo of her with her work but she was too shy. That’s pretty impressive; she has only been here for several days and already she picked up a Malaysian trait.

Some architectural stuff going on as well.

Some are selling merchandise on the spot. The Genesis Culture seen here stood out for me. What it aims to do is promote the works of local illustration artists, including selling shirts of their artworks. The marketing guy there explains that these artists aren’t really design artists by career but have an uncanny skill in drawing. He then proceeded to ask me to support them by buying one of their T-shirt which costs RM50. I couldn’t bring myself to pay that much so I just smiled at him.

Malaysia certainly has some promising talents and hopefully we will be internationally recognised for our creativity one day. Went home to find the parking at CapSquare costing me RM4.00 for a stay of about 1 hour and 25 minutes, which was alright. That pretty much sums up my KL Design Week experience. Day experience. A day of the week experience. Never mind.

Blog’s 1 year anniversary

2009-03-14T11:03:00.005+08:00

Thought I should revamp the design a little, considering it has been one year past since the blog’s first post. Didn’t do anything drastic, partly because I find myself busy with work nowadays, and partly because I wanted to retain some (/most?) of the feel from the old design.

Hope you guys like it.

Bye-bye Purple Flame

2009-02-27T16:24:00.007+08:00

Yep, you read it right. I’ve quitted Purple Flame.

Thanks to my ex bosses, Shaa and Rogue, for giving me the opportunity to work there.

And also thanks to my ex co-workers: Nazim, Man, Mclelun, Ophelia, Sheila, Mira, Nisa, Syac, and Starry.

Minta maaf kepada kedua-dua boss dan rakan-rakan sekerja sekiranya saya ada lakukan apa-apa kesilapan semasa di Purple Flame.

Later dudes.

Attended some creative stuff

2009-02-24T19:29:00.002+08:00

Hmmm wondering on whether I should post this one up, considering this is kinda boring compared to what the other dudes are attending: Hazmer’s Anime Festival, or Daim’s Pixar Festival, or Mclelun’s KLPac Festival. But considering this blog could use some update, I decided to at least make a short post about it.

So I went to this thing called MSC Malaysia Creative Industry Dialogue in Technology Park. Well yeah it’s not a festival or anything happening. Just some session where industry guys talk. It’s alright. The session saw the people behind the series of Saladdin presenting their production pipeline. It’s mostly general stuff, things that 3d people already know. The talk does not go into the detail of things perhaps in favour of educating people who were completely clueless about 3d production.

Well perhaps I should share of the new things I learn from there. The animation company, Young Jump Animation, has some tricks to share during the dialogue. For instance, to cater multiple scenes of a city, all the guys had to do was model a handful of buildings and rearrange them for different scenes. It works for a tv series I guess (and games I think). To handle large crowds while that, they use morphing technique to create quick variations, that is, they model a character with two different facial features but with the same number of vertices and use whatever model that will form from the result of the morphing between the two and...

Reader: BORING! I’m off to reading more exciting events that other people have attended!

Seeds marked for removal

2009-02-07T02:04:00.000+08:00

The novel Seeds will be removed in about a week’s time. I hope everyone who wanted to read it have done so. Else, you may quickly save the remaining chapters to read it later.

It’s been real great sharing this story with all of you who were interested, and I thank you once again for your support towards this novel.

Perhaps Seeds is better off as an animated feature film as I had originally intended it to be. The timing of it is all wrong I suppose, considering that I am not mature enough to handle such a heavy story; right now I should be working on stories that have a younger vibe to it. Hopefully the story of Alia is not forever lost. God willing, it will resurface again many years later.

An imaginative journey with the Prince of Persia

2009-01-11T13:25:00.047+08:00

Creating an imaginative art direction for a world is no easy feat. When you stretch your imagination too far the result could appear too foreign that the audience would have a hard time trying to connect with the world as the audience would not feel like they belong there. Ground your imagination too much and the world would appear too similar to our own that it would no longer be considered an imaginative world. Prince of Persia successfully created a world that is both imaginative in its art direction and enjoyable to be whisked away into. Picturesque vistas filled with lavish lakes and waterfalls admist lush foliage makes up the setting of the world. Great old buildings of Persian and Moorish architecture inhabit these secluded areas of the desert. However, a dark menace threatened to consume all of this and the rest of the world.

Apparently the locals had abandoned the state many years ago and the buildings were left to decay. The enemy known as the corruption spread throughout the lands, further damaging the structures. Only a strong and agile warrior could circumnavigate around the labyrinth that was these ruins. And that was where the prince comes in. It was not his choice but rather his fate that brought him to meet the princess, for she wished to cleanse her land from corruption---what man could resist a damsel in distrees? The prince founds himself running, sliding, and jumping along the floors and the walls of an abandoned city, but never feeling completely alone as the princess followed him behind closely.

The princess could do nothing less of what the prince can do to traverse the vast areas. And in some ways she could do more, as she was capable of partial flight through her use of magic---a lifesaving ability for every time the prince missed a jump; the princess would fly down and catch him by the hand. Coupled with her assistance in battle when magic was needed, a bond of attachment seemed to naturally form between the prince and her. But it was subtle, for the two never voiced their affection towards the other throughout the entire journey.

I had thought that the story would conclude the way I predicted it to be. I was wrong. The event I estimated that would occur as an ending did happen but the story did not conclude there. What followed caught me off guard as the true ending of the game was unveiled. The ending does not wrap up the storyline that made the setting but it does conclude the essence of what the story is about. A very well made cliff hanger for a very well made game.

Eid al-Adha

2008-12-08T18:50:00.003+08:00

In Kuala Lumpur, Hari Raya Haji is moderately celebrated unlike the other states in Malaysia. Went to mosque in the morning for the Raya prayers, and that was about it for me. End up spending the entire day playing my death knight in WoW XD

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all of you.

Aidi G.V.’s Exhilarating Short Stories! Issue #3

2008-11-28T17:04:00.008+08:00

Be a gangster

Hubert had just lost his job. News of Hubert's fate traveled fast and his father caught wind of it. The minute Hubert entered his home his father jumped out of the living room. Be a gangster, his father told him. Hubert was uncertain of what to say. Just then his younger brother appeared, still clad in school uniform. His father also told his younger brother to be a gangster. His younger brother frowned and said he only wants to go to school. His father persisted and said being a gangster is more beneficial. Hubert, under the weight of losing his job and having to deal with his father’s unusual attitude, decided to just stalk away and hid in his room. When he dropped on his bed to grasp the comfort of the world being heaved away his handphone rang. It was his boss. Ex-boss now. And his ex-boss told him to be a gangster. Hubert hung up the phone. The door to his room rattled from a series of knocks. Hubert trickled away from his bed and dragged the door open. His mother was there and she offered him his favourite dish: potato salad. As he reached out for the dish his mother told him to be a gangster. Only then did he feel that he should be a gangster. On the evening of the following day Hubert came home with news that he had just lost his job as a gangster.

The End.

Have you seen The White Butterfly?

2008-11-20T18:20:00.005+08:00

Here I present my first short animation that I did back in university. I had posted it before in my old blog but decided to repost it here again for those of you who haven’t seen it.

The characters and the world were modelled and animated in Blender. It was bundled together as a program using Panda 3d.

Seeds concludes!

2008-11-14T09:00:00.002+08:00

Well that’s it I guess.

To anybody who read the entire novel, I hope you enjoyed your read.

Seeds will be around for another 3 months. By early February next year I will take down Seeds from the internet.

No more regular updates on Fridays. This blog will still continue, and I will blog whenever I feel inspired to blog.

Hopefully now I will be able to move on to more visual oriented arts. Okay that’s a fancy way of saying I’ll be more involved with 3d animation work. I have big plans for the coming February next year, God willing. Here’s a little clue of what’s to come:

Eid Mubarak

2008-10-07T21:24:00.005+08:00

Every raya my cousins and I likes to compose a masterpiece picture of ourselves. After a series of formal pictures with our families, we stood just the four of us and let our creativity go.

Pretty neat huh?

Now that Hazmer, Daim, and Dzaid have flown to Japan, I am by myself now. But their depature to anime land dosen’t really bother me. Not for a second am I in any way discouraged during the recent hari raya; I am fully capable of handling the raya picture on my own. What would they think if I don’t keep the tradition alive? I can get by with this easily---it’s the camera that I’m worried about; will it be able to accept my fierce poses and not blow to bits?

So along came raya.

Yeah, there I am. I mean, it’s not too bad. It’s all fun and stuff.

You know what, I’m think I’m gonna take a seat.

No problem at all. It all works out just fine.

I wish you all a belated selamat hari raya. Maaf zahir dan batin.

Sayonara

2008-09-29T11:00:00.002+08:00

Hazmer and Dzaid has flown off yesterday to pursue their dream: to live in Japan. They will be there for one and a half years, joining Daim who is already there.

Sayonara dudes, may you guys have a good time there.

Winning the grant

2008-09-09T17:13:00.007+08:00

“Okay Aidi, I’m at Adrian’s house now. So I’m going to arrive at your house any moment now.”

“Huh? Oh, I just woke up man. Can you give me like an hour for me to ready myself?”

“WHAT? THE PRESENTATION IS IN TWO HOURS TIME AND IT’S IN CYBERJAYA.”

“I’m kidding! Yes I’m already awake and waiting for you!”

Nyin and Yean wished us good luck beneath heaps of paperwork. Daim wished us good luck beneath a sakura tree in Japan.

Here are the 3 heroes representing our team.

You know the other teams were gonna have a problem when people like this are their competition.

Teams presented in turns. When our turn came, I said to Hazmer before he presented: “Make the judges beg to give you 50k.”

This was the part Hazmer would nod heroically. Instead he frowned and said: “What?”

Then I repeated what I just said. “Ohhh, okay,” said Hazmer before making a light chuckle.

Hazmer presented his vision with confidence. Adrain leaped in halfway to lend a little help. Daim’s ideas for the bosses drew amusement from the crowd. I rendered my service by clicking the mouse to roll the slides. Good thing I was there.

The audience laughed and applaud and our show ended. We won.

Now we move on to the real work. Oops yellow card waved for a corny statement.

Hey check out the car I designed for the game.

Pretty neat huh?

Working for projects to win the IP Creators Challenge

2008-07-30T00:56:00.009+08:00

Hazmer has released this image in his blog so I suppose it’s alright for me to post it here. I am currently involved in another game development by Easy Only! Games (EOG). This time Hazmer brings the company to create a game called No Straight Roads, as seen in the mock up image of the game above. Unlike any of the previous games made by EOG, this game will be a little more ambitious in its execution. This is because EOG intends to submit it to the IP Creators Challenge (IPCC) under the computer casual games category---to win top 3 in this category is to be awarded a handsome grant to help fully develop the game. Hazmer is pulling in (should I say) a stellar cast to do his bidding which includes Daim, Nyin, Yean, Adrian, and me. I will be modelling the 3D parts of the game and the vehicle art designs as well.

I will also be involved with another team. They too are entering the IPCC, this time with two proposals. I can’t say much about this other team at this time, but what I can say is that this team will be tackling the animation category and the digital interactive comic category.

Aidi G.V.’s Exhilarating Short Stories! Issue #2

2008-07-21T22:00:00.009+08:00

Despite getting positive comments from issue #1, I didn’t bring myself to write issue #2 until now. Today my boss Rogue complimented my short story in issue #1, saying that it somehow inspired him to start writing short stories. Well as it turns out his kind words inspired me to give this another shot.

Giraffe in the swimming pool

Hubert woke up to the thumping sound on his bedroom’s door. When he gathered himself to open the door he was met by his younger brother. His younger brother told him, with great excitement, that there was a giraffe in the swimming pool. His younger brother then retreated to the theatre room. Hubert thought nothing of what his younger brother just said. Instead he decided to go downstairs to grab a drink. As he stepped out of the stairway he saw his dad walking out of the library room. When they crossed paths his dad asked him if he had already seen the giraffe in the swimming pool. Hubert wanted to ask for clarification but his dad had already entered the study room. Hubert began to wonder if there really was a giraffe in the swimming pool. Hubert proceeded down the hallway when his mum appeared from the laundry room. His mum urged him to go outside and take a look at the giraffe in the swimming pool. This time Hubert became convinced that there was a giraffe in the swimming pool. He sprinted out of the house to survey the swimming pool. Only then did it dawned upon Hubert: his house does not have a swimming pool.

The End.