#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a videogame journalist

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote> 

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's John Sollitto

The gaming industry is having an interesting bout of horrible security. Have you noticed that? “BREAKING NEWS! New trailer leaked of this game!” “SCREENSHOTS LEAKED OF THIS GAME!” “INFORMATION LEAKED ABOUT THAT GAME!”

Whoever is in charge of marketing and PR for all of these companies is either a genius at causing buzz, or quite possibly the worst secret keeper ever. It’s guys like these that get Lily and James Potter killed. DAMN. I just made a HARRY POTTER DEATH JOKE. I’m on a roll right now, I swear. There are like ten of you reading this right now that are so pissed off at me. I don’t even care, that joke was awesome.

Anyway, if you’ve been paying attention to the gaming world you’ll see any number of leaks or breaches of information or hacked games going on the market. It’s like people can’t wait anymore for information to come to them in a timely manner. Has it really come to this? Can we no longer just let the company tell us, when they’re ready, what they’ll be releasing?

Honestly, patience has either totally disappeared or the companies themselves are “leaking” it all just to make it sound controversial. Sooner or later it’s going to get all Boy Who Cried Wolf up in here and we’re just going to stop caring about whether or not the information is leaked and what the information is. Wouldn’t that be something? I mean, we all remember the Assassin’s Creed 3 images leaking close to the release of the Game Informer issue ALL ABOUT THE SAME GAME, right? Coincidence, or just clever wordplay? (Assassin's Creed image goes here somewhere)

Did you hear about those guys who freaking hijacked a truck full of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 games? I kid you not, that happened. In France, yeah, France. People stopped a truck and stole 6,000 copies of the game. They stole approximately $551,000 worth of games. THEY USED TEAR GAS! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!

Do you need to cut out the middle-man that badly that you can’t just pre-order a copy of the game to ensure that you get one, wait till the day it is released, sleep in, then walk to your games store and get the game? No? WHAT THE HELL?!

What about those people hacking Capcom games to play the unreleased characters of Street Fighter X Tekken? You can’t shell out five or ten bucks for some DLC? Honestly, if you’re that invested in a game that you want the DLC, have the courtesy to buy it.

These are games people, not drugs, not weapons, not freaking money, they’re games. They bring enjoyment to your life and to others. The industry is suffering enough with people getting laid-off left and right, don’t screw the companies like that.

As for gaming sites and other journalists, don’t say things are leaked unless they actually are. If so, prove it by naming a source or saying that there was an anonymous source. Can’t do that? Oh, is your definition of leaked getting it in the press packet? Well then I do not think that word means what you think it means.

There’s too much leaking and hacking going around that it is becoming both unbelievable and just unconscionable. Let’s just all realize that if we want something we have to wait for it, and sensationalizing information, true leak or not, doesn’t really get the buzz that it once did. Can we all agree on that? Thanks.

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!

#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a videogame journalist (augmented reality)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote> 

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's John Sollitto

So we had a professor come into class the other day. I’m in one of my journalism classes so I’m totally prepped for some crazy-boring lecture about editing or how to interview someone, when he says that he’s here to talk to us about augmented reality.

Augmented reality? The only time I had heard that term was when the Nintendo 3DS came out and people were going all crazy over it. Then he starts to tell us how it’s been used in advertising and he shows us a QR code demonstration.

You know QR codes. Those weird black and white square thingies that look like messed up bar codes:

Yeah, these things. They’re all over the place and sometimes they have cool little video links or coupons and stuffs. But apparently now they do these cool 3-D things too if you scan certain ones and have the software that reads them.

Then he showed us this video of a guy wearing a cam-projector thing, and going about his day as it made a phone on his hand, a watch on his wrist, a web-browser on a wall, and all this other nonsense. Now, that was some weird tech demo at a symposium dealio but it was AWESOME.

I mean, the camera was using the guy’s hand placement to distinguish what buttons he was pushing and it was usin’ shapes and all sorts of madness and I literally was sitting there with my mouth open. I mean, I knew some of this technology existed but I had never seen it in practice like that before. It some kind of crazy Minority Report crap.

And then I remembered the PS Vita. Back when I did my little test-drive with Jen in Santa Monica I got to see a game that put your characters into the world you were at with rear and forward facing cameras. The Nintendo 3DS has these cool cards you can use that make stuff pop out of them when you hover your system over them.

What you do is you put the cards down somewhere and the 3DS scans them from afar, and makes crazy little 3D Pokemon models or little games and whatever. But my question is when is this 3DS technology going to get to something like this:

And I’m not saying I want the technology to turn me into Tom Cruise. I want to have my games be interactive to where I finally feel like I’m a part of the action. I mean, how cool would it be to actually move around and interact with your environment as a part of the game you’re playing. You’d actually get exercise while playing a game for once. You could play virtual tennis on an actual tennis court! You could fight aliens in a parking lot or run through a forest and fight monsters between the trees!

I know, I know, this is kind of far-fetched. I sound a little like Jim Carrey in Cable Guy when he’s talking to Matthew Broderick about “THE FUTURE IS NOW!!” Remember that scene? No? Here’s the clip:

But in all seriousness I’m really excited to see how technology has come along in the last couple of years. I mean, it was only a little while ago we were talking about realistic graphics and now the rage is 3D and augmented reality.

What I am worried about is what might happen when this stuff becomes so mainstream. Right now, augmented reality is a bit gimmicky. It’s not a particularly proven technology and it’s not something that you can build a title off of, nor should you. The reason is that it’s an addition, nothing else. The technology isn’t there to make a game purely based off of that because we don’t have it yet.

It just wouldn’t be practical for a company to put all their efforts into making that because the consoles are doing so well and mobile gaming isn’t exactly a viable platform for all of that. I mean, how are you supposed to get all that tech in a phone or a 3DS or PS Vita? They’re close, but they’re not quite there yet. If companies start making games based off of a gimmick, augmented reality might fade away as a fad and become resented as lame and buggy. I don’t want that. What I want is for people to do something they never do: Take their freaking time with this and perfect it.

Really, what I want is an Omni-tool from Mass Effect. I just want a holographic PDA/phone/gaming system that goes on my arm that can unlock doors and shoot lasers and short-circuit robots. But let’s not get crazy now, okay?

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!

#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a videogame journalist

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's John Sollitto

A while back I did an interview with two of the creators of the Fallout: Nuka Break YouTube series. Fallout is an awesome game franchise that takes place in an alternate timeline where the Cold War never ended and then nukes flew about and everyone was sent to underground vaults and mutants happened and then China and Alaska fought and it got crazy. Nuka Break is a fan series completely fan funded by YouTube subs and whatnot and it’s a totally original story inside that universe. What? You wanna watch it? Okay! Here’s a link.

I heard about it by trolling YouTube and looking at fan films and whatnot, and when I heard they were looking for extras, well, I couldn’t say no to that. So one thing leads to another and I’m driving up from North Hollywood to Agua Dolce to film at this crazy ranch at 5 a.m. in the morning.  To get to the set I had to drive up in these hills, past all these way posh houses, turn down a mountain, past an alpaca farm ( I honestly didn’t think those existed in California but there you go) and then I got to set. I won’t tell you about the giant doorway that I had to open by answering three riddles and fighting a Cyclops because, I mean, how many times have we all heard that story right? Haha, man, good times.

When I got out of my car I immediately see the director and lead actor talking away about fifty feet in front of me. Sort of shuffling my way over holding all my stuff that I brought to help with my costume I said, “Uh, Phil up at the front of the road said I should tell someone I was an extra?”

Zack Finfrock, one of the coolest dudes I’ve ever met and one of the series’ stars smiled and shook my hand. He introduced himself and gave me a few quick directions, then thanked me for coming out and introduced me to Vince Talenti, the director. Both of these dudes were way classy and super easy to talk to. I felt like I was going to REALLY enjoy working with and for them. The extra outfitter was in the back of the small ranch town and we were all getting dirtied up and dressing in our finest semi-western-post-apocalyptic wear. I had this cool hat and jacket from home and these old pants I was gonna mess up with combat boots. Then then threw a scarf around my neck, put some goggles there too, and then gave me a bandolier of fake bullets to go around my hate. I looked AWESOME. Like some sort of friendly-yet-slightly trigger happy cowboy. Below is a pic of all of us goofin’ around.

We’re all holding up different drinks because we realized that in horrible horrible desert heat and in like three layers of clothes we were sweating from our eyeballs.

The rest of the morning was devoted to shooting scenes on some roofs of buildings and holding airsoft guns while attempting not to slide to the ground after a 12-foot drop in 100 degree heat. It was a blast, and totally not in a sarcastic way. I mean I was having the time of my life.

My sister works in casting and we’re both big cinema buffs so being a part of a shoot and nerding out with all these other extras was awesome. I mean I got to see how the takes work, how some direction was done, acting, and everything in between. All the cast and crew were SUPER nice and so grateful to us for coming out and they took great care of the extras. I felt really at home and totally a part of what was going on there.

Maybe halfway through the day, all the extras were standing around taking a break and one of the assistant directors yelled at me, “HEY! JOHN! Can you come here?” There were two John’s (which is so freaking weird for me because I literally never run into other John’s on my own) and the AD was like, “No, sorry, the taller one. Big John, c’mere!” I’m 6’1” or 6’2”, depending on who you ask, so I figured that was me.

“We need you to switch roles with Phil cause he’s a little short to be playing the Mayor’s bodyguard. You’ll be with Steve and Doug. Go around that corner, take Phil’s clothes and give him yours and run back, okay?” I nodded and trotted off behind the buildings where Phil and I did the no-pants-dance. No, not THAT no-pants-dance. Get your mind out of the gutter. Pervs.

We ran into a problem once we had the clothes on. So, I’m 6 foot and some change, right? Phil’s like, maybe 5’8”? 5’9”? In any case he was like a head or so shorter than me and my clothes didn’t fit. I’m wearing his two sizes too small pants and he’s sagging in mine and we’re kind of standing there looking at each other and we just kinda laugh it off and I run back out to set. To be honest I just hoped no one saw that I was stretching the tanktop I was wearing down so that it covered up the fact that my pants were completely unbuttoned just so that I could fit in them. The rest of my look was black slacks, combat boots, and some aviator sunglasses. Cameron, the AD looks at me for a second and then takes off his utility vest and slaps it on me, “There you go. You look like a badass now.” He escorts me over to the two other guys I’m going to be working with and says, “John, this is Steve Dengler and Doug Jones.”  We all shake hands and then sort of wait.

It wasn’t till later that I found out that Steven Dengler is the CEO of a company called xe.com.  A big fancy pants outfit in Toronto. He had flown down here on his own money to play dress up in a fan film that he was also helping fund. I mean, the dude is the ultimate fan. I want to be Steve when I have my own dough. The dude is crazy awesome.

Then I found out who Doug Jones was. You ever see Hocus Pocus? How about Hellboy? Hellboy II: The Golden Army? Pan’s Labyrinth? Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer? Doug was in all of those movies, but you probably didn’t recognize him since he is the master of prosthetic makeup roles. He was the Silver Surfer, the blue fishman Abe Sapien in both Hellboy moivies, and he was the guy they resurrected from the grave in Hocus Pocus. OH! And he was the actor playing Pan in Pan’s Labyrinth. So needless to say I had the best co-workers ever.

I spent the rest of the day toting a sawed off shotgun, acting tough and chilling with some of the coolest people ever. Dream come true. I tell you. Here’s a few pics:

Where am I going with this? Well I’ll tell you. The fact that a bunch of people could come together, be funded entirely by fans, and totally create and awesome webseries that even impresses the writers of the game just shows how amazing the gaming community is. Honestly, there should be more things like this, and I want to be a part of them. Hell, I might even write one myself. But I am constantly floored by the cool people in the gaming community and how they all band together to revel in their own nerdiness.

I encourage you all to revel in your nerdiness. Start a blog, make a fan film, make a fan site, dress up, do whatever. Because if we don’t do any of that? Then the dinosaurs come back. And no one wants that now do they?

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!

#NerdsUnite: Confessions of a videogame journalist

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy John. We started talking on the twitter not too long ago, and then he reached out and asked if he could write for us regarding his journey through the nerdy realm. I was all DUDDEEE!! That's so raaaddd!! And now, here we are. Like right now, in real time, this is happening. Pretty cool huh? HIT IT JOHN!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's John Sollitto

Awwww yeah! Rock and roll baby! It’s been a heck of a week so far. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been conducting an experiment with my team to see if the game Rocksmith to see if it can teach a couple of guys like us how to play guitar.

Not only that, we had a couple of guys learn with tabs to see if there was a difference in learning on your own without the game and learning with the aid of Ubisoft’s newest game.

So this week we’ve been buckling down cause we’re going to test ourselves and see if we can actually play the songs we’ve been learning for the past two weeks. If you want a rundown of the WHOLE experiment look at my last article here on TNTML and you’ll get the whole explanation.

Here’s a couple of pictures of science happening:

This here is Russell, he’s one of our tab guinea pigs and he’s workin’ away. ^

Little artistic over-the-shoulder-shot of Heath, our other tab guinea pig, playing his first round on the game this week. ^

Mike is rockin’ out and I’m all tuckered out napping behind him from…well I was just napping. ^

I won’t give you all of the observations we’ve made because then what would be the point of watching the videos we’re painstakingly making. And by “we” I mean Michael, since he’s our editor and camera dude. Jesus too. That being said I’ll tell you a couple of things that are somewhat personal for me about the experiment and keep the academia out of it.

My. Fingers. HURT. I mean seriously. I have such a newfound respect for all guitar players just from the sheer amount of pain my fingertips are feeling. Also, the rest of my hand is cramping from trying to stretch up the guitar neck to get to the frets. Having written that sentence, I now feel a little bit dirty. But in all seriousness, you would think that after years of playing videogames I would have some marginal hand and fingers strength. Apparently that is a fallacy.

Funny thing too. Now, I’m not as good as Mike and Jesus have become, which I am totally okay with admitting;  but, despite all the frustration and hundreds of times I’ve practiced, I really haven’t given up at trying to really learn this song. This has been a REALLY great exercise in patience for me.

There’s also something to be said about learning music that’s really therapeutic. I mean, this has been a BLAST, win lose or draw. I mean, even if in two weeks I still can’t play the whole song, I don’t care. I’m going to keep at this. I love doing it. It’s a peaceful thing to me and I really enjoy being a part of the music in a way I never really was before. Sure, I sang along, but now I feel really connected to it and I can really “rock out” you know? It’s another form of expression for me that I’m definitely going to pursue.

Looking at all the work I’ve put in (all the work meaning two weeks of just learning which is infinitesimal to the years of work other musicians put into this), I really look at musicians as artists and artisans more than I did before. Sure, I knew they were skilled, I mean, how they could not be? But looking at how their music is structured, looking at how dexterous their hands are and the amount of patience and concentration they must have, there really is a whole different level that people don’t see if they don’t enter the world of actually playing or making music.

On the gaming side, I can say this: EDUCATIONAL GAMES CAN WORK! Holy crap! I really didn’t think I would ever say that but sweet-tap-dancing-Moses this game WORKS. I mean, if this game could be used for anything after this experiment, it should be used as a model for other companies to just see how practical and fun a learning game like this can be. I am just so impressed and incredibly proud to see that our generation of games has produced a game like this that is both functional and fun.

Now all they have to do is increase the set-list. :D

Well nerds, it’s been fun but I gotta get back to rockin’ out! Love all, serve all!

#nerdsunite

Want more from John? Click here to follow him on the twitter!