My Influences... and a Happy New Year

Hello everyone!

First things first, my apologies for my uber-slackiness on this blog recently – real life, unfortunately, decided to stick its' size 10s in and writing had to be put to one side temporarily. I am still sans internet as I write this (thank goodness for families' kindness in allowing me to upload from their connection) and will be for another month. You have no idea how much I'm missing gaming!

So, as this is an episode that is a little gaming lite, I'm going to talk about a question that was posed on Twitter last week, a question that has had me thinking heavily for the last few days, and expand on the reply I gave to the question and, hopefully, give you an insight into why I enjoy writing and wish to do this a lot more over the coming years.

The question in, erm, question (!), came from the lovely Kelly Goelz (@KasaiRotasu on Twitter), one of the Community Representatives for Bioware, and was as follows:

Any amateur #Swtor fanfic writers out there? What are you using as your inspiration? #writethethings

Well, as some of you will know, I've written one short story on Star Wars: The Old Republic - “Remnant” - and am currently working on something a little larger following on from that, entitled (ooh, Title Announcement!) “Silent Hunter” that will be released in 2012. But more on that later...

So, I replied with the following:

Current Inspirations: Leon The Professional. @DrewKarpyshyn novels and The Dark Knight. Very high hopes.

Now that I read that back to myself, it is far too simplistic. That is, of course, the nature of Twitter – a wonderful idea enabling you to soundbite your life using 140 characters or less, but very difficult to add more meaning and background to a subject. So allow me to expand a little.

I've wanted to write nearly all my life, indeed when I was 8 years old a lovely schoolteacher, whose name I am ashamed to say has temporarily alluded me, took me under her wing and transformed me from someone who's writing looked as if a spider has gotten ink on their feet and walked over the page into a young boy who was asked time and again to do notices and such for the school because of his Calligraphy skills. It is in no small measure that she changed my life and I am eternally grateful to her. The thing that I remember most, however, is something she said to my Mum and Dad at an End of Year Parents Evening – that I would one day write a book and that I should dedicate it to her. I've remembered that ever since - even if I cannot remember her name!

Twenty five years later and life has gotten in the way. Thankfully, I'm finally writing and determined to fulfil at least part of her prophecy – a book, on a shelf, with my name on the cover. Whether I'll make a living from writing is, to be honest, secondary at best, but the thrill of seeing my words printed will be a fantastic experience, I'm sure.

So, back to the question in hand – my influences. They are, as with all of us, as varied as they are numerous – from other writers, to movies, music, and family.

If we're to start anywhere, I guess I would first have to mention Star Wars. No other movie or book has had more influence on me than that first, wonderful movie that I watched awestruck as a child. My Mother recorded it on videotape one Christmas for me, on an old top loading Ferguson Videostar that sounded like a jet plane preparing for takeoff when it was started up and had a habit of eating tapes if you put them in the machine even the slightest bit off line. But that cassette, for me, was wonderful – I watched it over and over and over again - so much, in fact, that the sound went halfway through the movie – just as the Millennium Falcon was being pulled by tractor beam into the Death Star, in case you were wondering – and only came back just as the X-Wings began their attack during the Battle Of Yavin. It didn't matter to me though – I knew every word anyway, could hear every sound clearly in my mind – so I continued to watch it over and over. I don't remember when I was first able to buy the movie, although I'm sure it was years later, but I remember fondly that little videotape. It started an obsession that has stayed with me till this day.

Movies have had a profound effect on me, if I'm honest, and there are many that I could list as influences other than the aforementioned space opera. Most recently, I would list The Dark Knight as a definite influence – the writing on that movie is superb, both in plot and script, and the acting from all the cast, not just the tour de force that was Heath Ledger's tragic goodbye, but in particular Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent was sensational. For my money, it was the Movie of 2010 and criminally overlooked by the Academy (notwithstanding the posthumous gong for Ledger, of course) – to my mind, no Director has been more robbed of a Best Director Oscar since David Fincher for Fight Club.

Oh, and under “influences”, let's just put David Fincher, shall we? Alien3, Se7en, Fight Club, The Game. All wonderful movies, fantastically acted, superbly scripted and visually stunning – although the first time I saw a David Fincher at the cinema with my Dad and Stepmum, it was played so darkly that we could hardly see anything and came out thinking that it was an awful film! Thankfully, I gave it a second chance.

As I mentioned in my Tweet, I'd also list Leon: The Professional, especially for “Silent Hunter”. For those of you who have maybe not seen it, it's a tale of a young girl (played by the future Queen of Naboo herself, Natalie Portman) trained as an assassin by the titular Leon, wonderfully played by Jean Reno. Directed by Luc Besson, it's a quite brilliant movie and very highly recommended.

It has not just been the silver screen that has had a bearing on me, though. If anything, the written word has been even more influential than anything at the local multiplex.

Ever since I was a very young child I've had a very active imagination. I'd sit in class dreaming of worlds and places and people until I heard my name being shouted from the front of the class or felt a piece of chalk whistling past my ear. Reading helped me expand that imagination, the words on the pages filling my mind with conjured worlds to populate and see thrive. I will never understand those who don't read – for me reading is unbelievably important and I simply cannot imagine living without some of my books on my shelf - and yes, even in these times of E-readers and Kindle, nothing quite compares to the printed word, in Hardcover, and sat on a bookshelf waiting tantalisingly to be read over and again.

As a child, two books stand out in my memory. First and foremost, the wonder that is “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis – the quintessential childrens novel and my first ever experience of a fantasy story. I loved being transported into the world of Narnia – a land full of mysterious creatures and fantastical places, from the frontier of Spare Oom to the spiralled towers of Caer Paravel and everything in between. It's strange, actually, that whilst I loved the Chronicles of Narnia (and still do, of course), I didn't venture any further into fantasy novels other than those and "The Hobbit" until much later in life. In fact, it was World Of Warcraft that reignited my love of fantasy, something I am grateful for.

The second book from my childhood that I remember vividly – although until recently the title had eluded me – was a book entitled “This Time Of Darkness” by H. M. Hoover. The story was wonderful – a futuristic world where resources are gone, and people are forced to live in a squalid, crumbling tower block with no windows and, basically, no hope. It was extremely dark stuff as a child, and stuck with me. It is, sadly, out of print now and I am desperately trying to get hold of one.

“This Time Of Darkness” has become somewhat of a blueprint for the type of novels I enjoy as a adult. I would list “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell as one of my favourite books of all time – a beautiful constructed, but scarily 'on the money' vision of the future which I return to time and time again.

As for Star Wars books – absolutely an influence on me, especially as its the universe I aspire to one day write about – I would list two authors: Timothy Zahn for the wonderful “Thrawn Trilogy”, and the incomparable Drew Karpyshyn. Zahn's "Heir To The Empire" - recently re-released in a 20th Anniversary Edition - was the first Star Wars book I read, and remains one of the most popular from the 'Expanded Universe' and an excellent sequel to the movies we all know and love.

As far as my Star Wars writing is concerned though, Drew Karpyshyn and Bioware have had most impact - if for no other reason than they finally got me writing. Karpyshyn's style of writing, the fast-paced, engaging way he brings his stories and characters to life is something I completely aspire to - if you have never read his work, I highly recommend the 'Darth Bane' trilogy. His way of crafting his characters is wonderful. And as my first short story was based on Star Wars: The Old Republic, I would be remiss if I did not thank Bioware for actually bringing it to life. I'm genuinely proud of "Remnant" and my plans for "Silent Hunter" as well as my own work in progress (which I will be discussing at the start of 2012), but without the kick of doing "Remnant" I may well be still sat here procrastinating endlessly and doing very little. So, thankyou Bioware!

So there you have it, a small insight into what makes my creative juices flow. Of course, there are other influences - my wonderful wife Laura, the music I listen to which is such a big part of my life. We are all the sum of many parts, but I hope it gives you some idea.

As this is my last Blog of the year, allow me to thank you all for taking the time to read my little corner of Web this year, I hope you have found it at least mildly entertaining. This year has been an important one for me I feel, but 2012 has the potential to be infinitely more so - that is my hope, at the very least. As always, you can keep up with my daily blah blahs on Twitter @crazybladeuk and I always welcome questions and comments here or there, and I promise to keep this more up to date in the new year! Have a wonderful and successful 2012 everyone, and I'll see you all in the New Year.

CB

Sith, Rifts and Pandaren... Oh My!

I write to you in a state of withdrawal.  Cold turkey, if you will - my drug of choice removed from me, leaving me in a condition of perpetual longing.  Of course, I refer not to an addiction to a narcotic, or some other substance.  I refer to the Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta, which is currently in between builds and leaving us Testers shivering in a corner and breaking our F5 keys as we refresh the forums endlessly, awaiting its return with baited breath and damaged keyboards.

So, sadly, I write to you not as a Tester, but as someone who has returned to another MMO.  No no, not World Of Warcraft (although I will be discussing that shortly), but rather another I played earlier this year: Rift.

I played Rift at the beginning of this year, when the game launched (I actually purchased the Collectors Edition, not one of my wisest buys ever) and, whilst it was a decent MMO it had substantial problems - especially during the World Events - that made myself and my wife ultimately unsubscribe and return to World of Warcraft.  I am told that these problems have now been solved so, after getting an offer sent to me of a brand new Rift account and 30 days worth of play for free, I decided to take another look at it.

I'm currently a Level 12 Rogue on a PvE server (carebear, I know, but I cannot be bothered with high levels ganking in an established game) and things seem... fine.  Not thrilling, not in any way enticing me to re-subscribe at the end of my 30 days, just... Fine.  Something to tide me over, and nothing more.  And therein lies Rift's problem - it's simply "more of the same".  Nothing spectacular, no great innovations - yes, the Rifts themselves are fun, yes the PvP Warfronts are enjoyable.  But that's it.  I hate to say it, but it's Warcraft with a different skin and a couple of mild changes - certainly not enough.

It's a shame, to be honest.  Trion Games actually have a decent product with Rift, but for me at least it doesn't do anything new, or have a good enough IP to convince me to stay.  Not, for example, like the above-mentioned SW:TOR.


Which leads me nicely to my old addiction: World Of Warcraft, and the announcement of their next expansion at Blizzcon last week.

Yes, dear readers.  Pandaria - homeland of the Pandaren race.  Pandas, if you will.  Now, for those of you unaware of their history, allow me to quote from WoWWiki:  "The pandaren started as a creation of the Blizzard artist Samwise Didier and an April Fool's joke". 

That's right, folks.  With WoW's slowly dwindling subscriber numbers (they've lost almost a million subscribers this year - a drop in the ocean, maybe, but still significant nonetheless), Blizzard have decided to rely on a joke race to bring back subscribers.  I suppose the question is this: is it a clever ploy that will appeal to younger fans, or perhaps an even cleverer ploy to entice Chinese players to World of Warcraft?  Both, of course, could be very true, and perhaps it will work for them.

The way I look at it is this - World of Warcraft, despite its' numerous detractors, has been unbelievably successful.  I don't think anyone could have predicted the sheer numbers that have played this from it's small beginnings in 2004.  Three expansions later - two of which, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King, were the biggest selling games in their respective launch years - and it's fair to say that, perhaps, World of Warcraft has had its' time in the spotlight.  Indeed, Blizzard themselves may be beginning to realise that themselves, as they prepare for their next MMO, codenamed Titan, which they believe will be their Next Big Thing.

One thing is for certain - with the upcoming launch of SW:TOR in December and Guild Wars 2 in 2012, Blizzard are going to have to up their game when Mists Of Pandaria releases.  I for one am doubtful that they can.

Thankyou for reading.  Please feel free to comment below, and follow me on Twitter @crazybladeuk to hear my daily thoughts on games, life and politics.

Must... Stop... Playing... This... Game...

As a Gamer, there are certain times in your gaming life where a game comes along, slaps you upside the head, ties your arms to the keyboard and mouse / controller and keeps you there indefinitely.  You feel compelled to play with every waking hour, the game drawing you to it like a fated moth to the flame, and nothing and no one can stop your compulsion.  This has happened to me twice before - Baldurs Gate II and, of course, the juggernaut that has been World of Warcraft.  Both these games sucked me in and would not let me go until I'd either completed it (several times) or, as was the case with Warcraft, they finally released content I no longer found compelling.

Only took six years...

Once again, though, I find myself in the same situation, and this time with a Beta.  This is where I have to be careful - there is still an Non-Disclosure Agreement in place for the game in question, so I do not in any way want to risk losing my access.  So, I will refrain from naming the game and will certainly not give any details on it.

I will, however, say the Force is strong with this one.  Very, very strong.  And God do I wish I could say more - I could literally ramble on for hours.

With the Christmas season rapidly approaching us (where the hell did this year go?), games companies are pulling out the big guns ready to take our cash and spare time away readily.  Whilst I'm not a First-Person Shooter fan - mainly because I suck at them worse than a street walker in the midst of her day job - I have to admit the Battlefield 3 v Modern Warfare 3 battle is shaping up to be extremely interesting.  We've seen tidbits of both and, frankly, no winners can yet be announced. 

Hell, either one could well tempt me online.  If nothing else, I will provide the cannon fodder for someone, somewhere.  I see it as a public service.

EA are, naturally, releasing their yearly "updates" by the shed load, all with "brand new features" and all the other advertising guff they use to sell these things.  FIFA 12, for example, has become the biggest game of the year within a week of release.  How much has changed from FIFA 11?  I would hazard a guess at "not much".  Sadly, though, consumers will be consumers; and gamers always want the newest version of a game. 

Maybe one day we'll learn.  I won't hold my breath.

It's not just EA, of course (although they do seem to be the worst of the offenders), with Pro Evolution Soccer 12, Forza 4, and many others heading our way between now and Santa's busiest day.  My money, however, will be spent on December 22nd, and a little known game called Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Be warned - Christmas is cancelled, I'm locking my doors and hiding away.

In a Galaxy far, far away...

CB

Eurogamer Expo and The Old Republic

Saturday 24th September, 2011.

"It shall be a day long remembered..."

A first games exhibition is, as myself and my wife found out this past Saturday, a strange but exhilarating experience.  The 4th Annual Eurogamer Expo was held at Earl's Court for the second year running and expected to host over 20,000 gamers in its' four day run this September, boasting many of the major current and forthcoming releases in both PC and Console gaming.

We headed down to London on the Friday night, staying at the Travelodge at Heathrow Terminal 5 (one word - bargain!) over the weekend to enjoy some sightseeing as well as the exhibition, and on Saturday morning headed into London and joined the good-natured geekville that was the queue into Earls Court.  Honestly, I've never seen more tablets and smartphones in one area ever in my life - nerd heaven!

Despite the huge amount of games on display at the Expo, I was personally only there for one game - Star Wars: The Old Republic.  Now, for those of you not aware, Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SWTOR) is the forthcoming Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game from Bioware and Lucasarts, set in the Star Wars universe in a time long before the movies and following on from Bioware's classic RPG "Knights of the Old Republic".  If that sounds like your cup of tea, click on the link above (after you've finished reading this of course!) and take a look.

Needless to say, I headed straight to the SWTOR stand, and very luckily within minutes was sat in front of an Alienware laptop, grinning like a maniac and loading into one of the Origin Worlds.  Now a little disclaimer here - I've been waiting for this game since before it was officially announced, and am planning on playing a Sith Warrior when the game is finally released but, as I didn't want to spoil the storyline at all, I decided to take a look at the other faction - The Republic - and the Smuggler class.

Now if you're a follower of Bioware in any way, shape or form, you'll probably be aware that they have been making role-playing games for many years, back to the days of Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, to the epic Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises.  At the heart of most, if not all Bioware games, is a true sense of a deep story to each and every character, and even as you start your character in SWTOR, this is brought to the fore.  Now I'm going to be very careful and try not to spoil anything here, but as you click into the game world you begin on the planet of Ord Mantell, and are shown a cutscene of your Smuggler landing in their spaceship and then talking to a fellow Smuggler, before heading off to a task that they're given.  That's pretty standard stuff for an MMO, of course, but the presentation is what sets it apart from what has come before - each conversation is voiced over in full, so no reading through boring quest logs to be told to go and kill eight thousand boars, and a real sense of choice is given with each conversation.  It drags you into the game right from the outset.

And then you're into the combat.  Now, I should just prefix this with an admission of sorts - I am a World Of Warcraft player, and have been for almost six years.  Yes, yes, I know, such a bad addiction.  If you've played WoW, of course, you will know that, at least in the beginning of the game, it tends to be a case of "Kill one mob, rest, move, kill one mob, rinse and repeat...".

I am very pleased to be able to say that that is absolutely not the case in SWTOR.

Right from the first group you encounter, its three or four mobs at a time, having to use more than just an Auto Attack in order to take them out.  For the Smuggler, the use of your Cover ability is, frankly, paramount and I can imagine at later levels it will just become more and more important.  I cannot begin to describe how refreshing it is to be a Level One character and have to actually watch your health bar!!  Even at this early stage the combat feels engaging - yes, its essentially a hotkey MMO in the same vein as the aforementioned WoW and Rift, amongst many many others, but the 15 minutes that I experienced far exceeded the first 15 minutes I've had on any other MMO.

There are going to be people who feel its a "WoW clone" or something of that nature.  Are there similarities?  Sure, of course there are - but that can be said of countless other MMOs out there.  What also has to be remembered is that I saw two character levels, barely scratching the surface on what I hope will be an awesome game.

If what I have seen so far is any indication, I have absolutely no doubts whatsoever.

I'll post my thoughts on the rest of the show at a later date, taking in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and the ridiculousness of having a 40 minute demo at a games conference - yes, Guild Wars 2, I am looking at you!

I'll leave this "review" with two things - firstly, a mention to the wonderful Bioware / SWTOR team at Eurogamer who were, frankly, awesome, Stephen Reid and Daniel Eriksson in particular to whom I am eternally grateful; and secondly, leave you with this, a video of the second half of the Bioware Developer Session with Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk filmed by the awesome Totalbiscuit.  Those of you who know me will, I'm sure, recognise the guy at the front to the left and the lady sat next to him.  Believe me when I say it was an amazing feeling to be there and hear the Release Date announcement!

A Must-see Bioware Talk presented by "The Bioware Doctors"

Till next time, The Force will be with you...

CB

And so it begins...

"The beginning of all things are small..."
Cicero.

So this is it, my first blog, and as with all beginnings, I feel it is wise to begin with a greeting and an introduction.

So Hello All, and welcome to Crazyblade's little part of the World Wide Web.  Actually, it's like the little cubbie hole in the arse end of nowhere, but that's ok.  Cicero was indeed correct, and I am a patient man.  Oh, and yes, the observant among you will have caught the "arse" instead of "ass" there - I am a Englishman, a Brit if you will, so don't worry if spellings look a little strange, we just spell things correctly.

:)

So who am I?  Well, I'm a 30 something year old man from the North of England.  I'm your average joe, I guess.  A lover of movies and music and, yes, love and romance.  I'll happily face the music, but be warned, I don't dance.  At all.  Something to do with balance, and a lack of co-ordination, amongst other things.  I'll tap my feet along, but I'll leave the dancing to the dancers, thankyou very much.

I'm a big gamer - yes, adults play games too - and love a variety of genres from racing to RPGs to shooters and everything in between.  I'm sure I'll discuss games at length very soon.  I am a 'metalhead', for want of a better term, but my I-Tunes is an eclectic affair.  There are certainly the head nodding bands on there - the wonderful new album from Machine Head, "I Am Locust", being my latest purchase and an absolute masterpiece - but I'm also known to listen to soundtrack albums; a little rap every now and again; hey, even the odd show tune if I'm in the mood (and if the wife has had "Glee" on in the background! Grr...).

Am a also an amateur writer (aren't we all?) working on my first full novel currently.  It's not easy to do, but I am absolutely determined.  I hope that I can keep people up to date here.

So there we go for a first blog, and a little bit of an introduction.  Where do we go from here??  Only time will tell.  If you do like what you hear so far, and you'd like to kept up to date with when my blogs go up, and hear my daily babble on all things Star Wars, my beloved Sheffield United, and the world in general, feel free to follow me on Twitter @crazybladeuk.

Keep smiling!

CB