Video games are caught somewhere between classical games like chess and board games and an almost futuristic type of escapism like the Holodeck in Star Trek. I think most people, at least with modern games, swing more towards simulated reality even though you're only interacting by means of a controller you're holding and a TV in front of you.
Is the Holodeck the ultimate goal for video games? Is that what people want? More realism but not too much or why would you play the game, right? It's supposed to be realistic, not real.
I would like to think that I prefer that games stay as games. I don't like the idea that the more realistic, the better it is.
When did games become more about realism and less about game mechanics/game play? It seems that for most games, all you need is a real physics engine for good "gameplay." Why does this make it better?
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Los Angeles
People say LA is a tough town. The entertainment industry is cutthroat. There are tough cholo-looking motherfuckers everywhere. Even some of the hipsters look pretty tough. And it's been tough going for me. I've been here almost five weeks now. It feels like two weeks. I don't know why time feels like it's gone by so quickly. It hasn't been that tough, actually, I just really want to land a good job. I really want Square or Bang Zoom to call back with a job offer. It's driving me nuts waiting. Yeah, I'm applying to other jobs but no one has called and it makes waiting for Square even worse.
LA is more than half Hispanic. You feel like you're in Mexico sometimes. You don't have to be in a "cool" place to see a "cool" person either. You can be in the grocery store or the laundromat and see the most hipster looking motherfucker ever or some girl with a lot of make-up on that's probably trying to "make it." When you go to a club, there's a group of hardened Mexican dudes standing stoically in the back. I guess they don't like to dance ...at least not to cracker music.
You can say LA is a place of crushed dreams. So many people don't "make it." I'm not trying to make it. I think maybe I was for a while when I was still in school. I, at least, had the idea of making it after college. You're basically kidding yourself if you're trying to make it because you're exactly trying to get better at what you do. You're just trying to become famous or rich or whatever. I think you should just focus on whatever it is you do and not worry about such trivial things. "Making it" is not the main thing that should happen. It should be a side-effect.
This is one reason I'm not trying to compete with all of L.A. I'm looking into post-production places that do Japan-related projects or to game companies like Square. I feel like it's such a niche that I don't have to worry about crazy competition. I read Japanese every day so at least I can keep my Japanese up until then...if it (hopefully) happens.
I have noticed the relaxed California vibe too ...which is nice.
LA is more than half Hispanic. You feel like you're in Mexico sometimes. You don't have to be in a "cool" place to see a "cool" person either. You can be in the grocery store or the laundromat and see the most hipster looking motherfucker ever or some girl with a lot of make-up on that's probably trying to "make it." When you go to a club, there's a group of hardened Mexican dudes standing stoically in the back. I guess they don't like to dance ...at least not to cracker music.
You can say LA is a place of crushed dreams. So many people don't "make it." I'm not trying to make it. I think maybe I was for a while when I was still in school. I, at least, had the idea of making it after college. You're basically kidding yourself if you're trying to make it because you're exactly trying to get better at what you do. You're just trying to become famous or rich or whatever. I think you should just focus on whatever it is you do and not worry about such trivial things. "Making it" is not the main thing that should happen. It should be a side-effect.
This is one reason I'm not trying to compete with all of L.A. I'm looking into post-production places that do Japan-related projects or to game companies like Square. I feel like it's such a niche that I don't have to worry about crazy competition. I read Japanese every day so at least I can keep my Japanese up until then...if it (hopefully) happens.
I have noticed the relaxed California vibe too ...which is nice.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Internships, etc.
Yesterday, I had an interview for an internship at TokyoPop. I got along well with one of the CEOs. He even knew where Kichijoji was. We also (probably couldn't avoid it but) had a conversation about ninjas. I need to be enrolled in a school to be eligible to even do the internship so they said they might pass along some translation work to me or something.
Today, I have another internship interview provided for me by a friend here who is also actually from Georgia. This one seems more promising too just judging from the way the e-mails are written. The woman that will interview me apparently is in dire need of an assistant. It seem to be more able to become some kind of paid position more quickly than TokyoPop. It's a post-production house that does animation work, voices, subtitling, and localization. I think they did the voice-over recordings for Halo even.
Other than that, still trying to get into Square-Enix and some of my friends are passing along my resumé for at least some kind of PA work.
I wish I could go to Comic-Con (going on right now) but I don't need to spend the money.
Today, I have another internship interview provided for me by a friend here who is also actually from Georgia. This one seems more promising too just judging from the way the e-mails are written. The woman that will interview me apparently is in dire need of an assistant. It seem to be more able to become some kind of paid position more quickly than TokyoPop. It's a post-production house that does animation work, voices, subtitling, and localization. I think they did the voice-over recordings for Halo even.
Other than that, still trying to get into Square-Enix and some of my friends are passing along my resumé for at least some kind of PA work.
I wish I could go to Comic-Con (going on right now) but I don't need to spend the money.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
L.A. and the Future
It's been a while.
I have never moved to a place that was so comfortable so quickly. The more I am here the more it becomes apparent to me that this was the right move. I know so many people here. I like the weather and the laid-back lifestyle and the culture. California and NYC are probably the most important areas in the U.S. and it's just really nice to be living in one of them.
I've been going to bars, surfing, house parties, watching movies at Grauman's Chinese Theatre (which I have seen on TV when watching the Oscars, etc. since I was a little kid), eating all kinds of great food.
Speaking of being a kid, I've always been the guy that wanted to live out his dreams of adventure. I used to watch Street Fighter (the animé) and thought it was so cool that Ryu was a traveling vagabond warrior. I don't want to be a vagabond but I do like the idea of traveling the globe. Also, later in my life, I saw Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" which is basically the most inspirational speech ever recorded and that helped me in prying me out of a non-nomadic lifestyle.
After Japan, ever since I was a kid, I was always fascinated with California. It was sunny, always on TV, and movies were made there. If California was its own economy, it would have the fourth largest GDP in the world. The state just seems to have a lot to offer.
I feel like I did what I wanted. I feel like now I've basically accomplished all of my childhood dreams. I really do. I'm 25 and I've done it. I know more dreams will pop up but basically everything that I wanted to do and was dreaming of doing as a kid ...I've done it. I haven't even done much since I've been here and I've done it. Just moving here was enough.
I kind of wish I could figure out my job situation but overall things are great. When people ask me what do I want to do here, I am sometimes at a loss. I think working on movies or game localization would be cool. I still don't have just one thing I'd want to do. I love to watch movies and talk about movies so working in movies would be great and I've always loved video games and where they might be going in the future as well as the ability to use Japanese at a company like Square-Enix here in L.A. Maybe things are just too good to decide on just one. I really don't know. I'm kind of waiting for some kind of natural conclusion to just happen ...not just around me ...but internally...a kind of inner-conclusion that will bring about some closure to this mystery in my mind of "what should I be doing with my life?"
If I work at Square, I feel like I will have successfully linked two dreams, Japan and California, into one. Living in L.A. and working for a Japanese company in a media-related field sounds like it would suit me just fine. The execution on this one will be a little tricky though.
I have never moved to a place that was so comfortable so quickly. The more I am here the more it becomes apparent to me that this was the right move. I know so many people here. I like the weather and the laid-back lifestyle and the culture. California and NYC are probably the most important areas in the U.S. and it's just really nice to be living in one of them.
I've been going to bars, surfing, house parties, watching movies at Grauman's Chinese Theatre (which I have seen on TV when watching the Oscars, etc. since I was a little kid), eating all kinds of great food.
Speaking of being a kid, I've always been the guy that wanted to live out his dreams of adventure. I used to watch Street Fighter (the animé) and thought it was so cool that Ryu was a traveling vagabond warrior. I don't want to be a vagabond but I do like the idea of traveling the globe. Also, later in my life, I saw Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" which is basically the most inspirational speech ever recorded and that helped me in prying me out of a non-nomadic lifestyle.
After Japan, ever since I was a kid, I was always fascinated with California. It was sunny, always on TV, and movies were made there. If California was its own economy, it would have the fourth largest GDP in the world. The state just seems to have a lot to offer.
I feel like I did what I wanted. I feel like now I've basically accomplished all of my childhood dreams. I really do. I'm 25 and I've done it. I know more dreams will pop up but basically everything that I wanted to do and was dreaming of doing as a kid ...I've done it. I haven't even done much since I've been here and I've done it. Just moving here was enough.
I kind of wish I could figure out my job situation but overall things are great. When people ask me what do I want to do here, I am sometimes at a loss. I think working on movies or game localization would be cool. I still don't have just one thing I'd want to do. I love to watch movies and talk about movies so working in movies would be great and I've always loved video games and where they might be going in the future as well as the ability to use Japanese at a company like Square-Enix here in L.A. Maybe things are just too good to decide on just one. I really don't know. I'm kind of waiting for some kind of natural conclusion to just happen ...not just around me ...but internally...a kind of inner-conclusion that will bring about some closure to this mystery in my mind of "what should I be doing with my life?"
If I work at Square, I feel like I will have successfully linked two dreams, Japan and California, into one. Living in L.A. and working for a Japanese company in a media-related field sounds like it would suit me just fine. The execution on this one will be a little tricky though.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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