Zero Hour Productions -- Archive

19 / 9 / 2007 -- And the List Grows

Greetings.

First off...ZHP direction and the PD mod
Last time, I referenced my weakening ambition toward finishing the ZHP network proper. While that's not strictly true (in the spirit of the word), I do feel as if I've lost quite a bit of the zeal I once had. At any rate, I also mentioned the possibility of going back to UT modding until I regain the ambition I so sorely want. More specifically, I've made the decision to return to working on the Perfect Dark mod.

So I guess the first step is to evaluate just where I left off. This includes reinstalling UT, getting my whole "workspace" set up again with the latest utilities and such...then a whole bunch of digging through old stuff to find the code and documentation, et cetera. Shouldn't take more than a single day's worth of solid work for that stuff. Then when I get down to business...heh. We'll see.

As far as ZHP is concerned, I'm taking less and less interest in its style -- I no longer really care what it looks like so long as it works the way I want it to. Therefore, for the first time ever, I am open to outside suggestions as to color, layout, theme, whatever. Styling was never exactly a thrilling part of the design, and if I can delegate that to someone else more inclined in the arts, then that's all the less thinking I have to do.

Second...Okami
For anyone who knows me just a little bit, you know that I am a Nintendo fan through and through. I don't really care much for the other companies' systems, so it's very rare that I play (much less like) games outside the Nintendo family. Still, it's not like I have an active passion against the "others", so if I do find a particularly nice title (i.e., Halo, Guitar Hero), it's a pleasant surprise.

For the past five days, I have had the pleasure of experiencing one of those rare titles: Okami. If you've seen the game (or even the box art), you understand just how much of a swing it is from "traditional" gaming. Not only did Okami enter the market late (2006 in North America and Japan, 2007 in Europe), but its storyline is far from typical (unless, of course, you're a connoisseur of early, classical Japanese works). I won't spoil the story, as I think it is best experienced first-hand. I'm not sure if it has any basis in the real world, past, present, or future, but with any game, that's hardly a concern.

I picked up Okami on a whim, thanks to my roommate's collection of PS2 games. I thought it would be a nice, short filler game for a Thursday night (from the name, I expected Okami to be strange and easily quit-able should I get bored or confused). Instead, I found myself pulled into the story and gameplay for the entire night, and the next four days besides. The downside, as I soon discovered, was that my roommates singular memory card did not have enough free space to save my progress. So, for the entire game, I left the game running, and hoped that no random crash would occur. I got lucky.

Having completed the game, I can say with 100% certainty that, should the PlayStation 2 ever need a single game to justify its existence, Okami is that justification. Perhaps some day I will write a more comprehensive review of the game...but until that day comes, know this: Okami is a great game with a compelling story, unique gameplay mechanics, and impressive soundtrack to boot.

Third...Voices of the Lifestream
Under normal circumstances, I am not a music buff. However, there is that certain niche that I follow with almost obscene ferocity: video game remixes. Personally, I believe that lyrics just get in the way (with a few extraordinary exceptions) of enjoying the music, which is why I like remixes so much. Anyways...

OverClocked ReMix, a site dedicated to the preservation of video game music as an art form, has just recently released their latest remix collaboration project: a full remix album tribute to Final Fantasy VII, dubbed Voices of the Lifestream. 40+ artists, 45 tracks, 4 CDs worth of musical goodness. Thus far, I've only listened to 4 of the tracks, and from those, I can tell it's a spectacular collaboration. If you are of the interest, I would highly recommend you give Voices of the Lifestream a listen (or any other track on OverClocked ReMix, for that matter).

Finally...Code Monkeys!
I've been watching the show for a few weeks now. Absolutely hilarious. The art style is similar to old 8- and 16-bit console graphics; all pixelated and...simple. It contributes to the hilarity, too. Also check out the full Code Monkey theme song. Story of my life...

Old Perfect Dark mod stuff can be found at http://zerohour-productions.net/transfer/pdark, and, as always, forums are available for your discussion pleasure.

Mr. Bond, signing off.