Dragon Age 2 Demo - First Impressions

You know you're a true badass when you're flanked by a dragon

My blog is full of BioWare love. I can't deny it. I love Dragon Age: Origins and the Mass Effect series. But what happens when two beloved series combine into a mesh called Dragon Effect? Well, there are good and bad aspects.

Let's start with good and work our way down.

Good:

• Aveline looks incredibly kick ass.
• The rogue and mage abilities seem refined; spells seem more robust and rogue abilities feel more, well, roguish. Not just a hack off the swordsman's abilities.
• For the most part, I like the voice actors picked. I like the choice for male Hawke, but female Hawke's voice is a little soft for me and sounds familiar to Bethany's VO. However I love the picks for Fenris and Sebastian (sure they weren't in the demo, but hot damn. Sebastian's VO alone made me glad I pre-ordered.) Isabella's voice actor is still strong and I like Aveline's VO as well (I kinda wish it had been Hawke's...)

Limbo:

• The new Final Fantasy looking experience/attributes/skills system. I realize that the old system didn't give much room to pick different abilities and traits, but I feel like I'm playing FFXII every time I look at it.
• Female Hawke's swaying ass when she runs as a mage. It was... distracting.
• Varric narrating the story. I like Varric as a character, but it's off putting to be pulled out of the storyline at a moments whim. I can only hope it's in better integrated into the actual game. And what's up with Varric having the ability to lie about events? Am I playing the real story of Hawke, or am I just being fed shit?

Bad:

• The font. It looks like ants have creeped onto my television set. I have to be in make-out position before the text is readable. There was a similar problem for people in ME2 that consumers complained about, which BioWare said they'd fix in ME3. And yet we get even smaller print in DA2. Fix it.
• Funny graphic rate. I'll say that it's the demo's fault for now, but on my Xbox, the frame rate seemed sluggish at times and white lines kept appearing out of knowhere. It even froze once while I was playing mage Hawke and kicked me out.

The rest of bad is under cut for SPOILERS.

Sick so here are some vids.

I wanted to talk about the Dragon Age 2 demo that came out recently, but I'm feeling quite under the weather, so here are two videos instead.

Dragon Age Redemption! I will be watching.

I want to learn how to sing this.

Facebook vs. Twitter

Image taken from Radical

I am not the biggest Tweeter or Facebooker in the world. My use of Twitter comes down to tweeting about this blog when I update it, and Facebook I randomly use to update my status. Twitter has become a professional media device, while Facebook is more casual and personal. So really, it is all about professional vs. personal social media.

When I use Twitter, I tweet blog updates and follow other CreCommers and famous people. I try to make engaging sentences for my tweets, limited by 140 characters. It is purely professional for the most part, my Twitter account being a representation of my web persona. It's a PR tool for me to get my word out about school and blog related activities. On Twitter, I don't divulge personal information or talk about how my cat just hurled on my favourite jacket – but I will on Facebook.

Facebook is a more relaxed space. As I'm not a superstar, my Facebook account is used for my own personal benefit to keep in contact with friends. I don't have teachers on my Facebook, or people related to work; on Facebook I don't have to as closely monitor what I say, or care about what audience I am reaching. I don't think about who my latest Facebook status will benefit. Facebook is a place where I can talk about the awesome fantastic sandwich I bought and make meet-up dates with friends.

Facebook can be used as a PR tool, but then it needs to have a focus. I will have to go out of my way to make a group that people will want to join, or make an account that serves my professional needs, never to discuss how watching Vampire Diaries while sipping hot cocoa is the best thing ever. 

In the end, both Twitter and Facebook can be used for PR, but you have to decide on an angle for each one. Twitter for me is a professional medium, while Facebook is a personal one.

Mario Hits The Streets

<br/><a href="http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/mario-kart-in-real-life/1j44psngz?from=video_module&amp;src=v5:embed:&amp;fg=sharenoembed" target="_new" title="Mario Kart In Real Life">Video: Mario Kart In Real Life</a>

Fantastic.

Star Trek - Love Boat

Have you ever wondered how different Star Trek: The Next Generation would have been if it had taken place on The Love Boat? No? Well, good thing this blog is mine.



Patrick Stewart, never change.

Publishing: A Tale of Two Options

Book image taken from St. Michael's College where they learn too.

I have often fantasized about publishing one of the numerous story ideas that float around in my mind. But in these fantasies, I have never given much thought about the publishing process – my daydream beginning after the publishing aspect, where I sign autographs for adorning fans, get a movie deal, and sit on my couch stuffed with hundred dollar bills. However, as I am starting to writing my novel for school, I have begun thinking more and more about how I will publish it in the future.

There are a few avenues to stardom that I can take:

1. Find a publisher and get them to publish my novel

2. Self-publish an e-book or hard copy

The first option has multiple perks and one great downfall. The perks are that I will have an editor (which is duly needed), and a whack of other people dedicated to selling my novel. But on the negative side, I only get 10% of the royalties from my book. That means if my book is $20, I get 2 bucks a pop. Ouch.

So let's say I sell 100 copies of my book. That's only $200 for all my sweat, tears, and a year (or years) of living like an aquariam dolphin. That $200 would give me enough cash to buy groceries once. So if I go the publishing route, I may just have to sacrifice a goat to ensure that I make it big, or get another job on the side. (And no I wouldn’t sacrifice an actual goat. I’m a hard and true veggie-head.)

The second option is that I publish my book through e-publishing. Going the e-publishing root unfortunately means that I won’t have an editor or publisher (unless a publisher like Harlequin picks me up for their new e-book line), and I won't have a hard copy of my book that bookstores can shelve away. Getting the word out about my book becomes substantially harder as well.

Self-publishing is a difficult route to go, but the venues for self-publishing are growing rapidly. It also means that my profit will substantially increase as companies like Lulu give the writer 50% or more of the royalties for every book sold (depending on how you print your novel – e-book or hard/soft cover style). Or I can just upload it to iBooks and set a price and BAM! Instant book. Yet, these paths are also fraught with the fact that telling the world about my amazing novel will rest on my sole shoulders.

If I want to get the best of both worlds, I could go the e-book route and print off a few hard copies for family and friends (and possibly try to get McNally to pick up a few). I might even think of hiring a freelance editor, which could increase the quality of my work.

For my IPP, I still want to go the publishing root first. Why? Because I would like someone to go over and edit my work and have people guide me through the whole publishing process. But if I get rejected across the board, I am thinking about taking the self-publishing route (or perhaps I`ll take the more undignified option where I sob into my grandmothers tea-towels as I pack all my hopes and dreams into a box in my basement).

In the end, I think both routes are viable ways to get a book published. But in the future, I see e-book publishing being the easy money banker, as technology keeps changing and people and books with it.

My Star Trek Mug

Last summer I went to a Jerome, Arizona and bought one of the most awesome and badass mugs I have ever had the pleasure of looking at.

It's a Star Trek mug that radiates amazing as Kirk and Spock stare off into the distance, the two wearing their serious captain and fascinating faces. On the back (or front depending on how you look at your mug), the Starship Enterprise hits warp speed. The Enterprise obviously going on a journey to a treacherous planet that Kirk and Spock will visit – alone. And like all good fanfics, this is where pon farr hits Spock as fast as a drunkenly acquired STD, Kirk being the only person available to cure the logic debilitating psychophysical condition.

But that’s enough of exposing my hidden fantasies to the world. Let's get on to the pics.

Try not feeling the stir of exhilaration when you look into their sensual gazes.
You can't.
 

You want to watch Star Trek now. I can sense it.

I found this exquisite mug at a movie theater/novelty store hybrid shop. A place that can only exist in a town like Jerome.

Jerome isn't a big town, but it contains some of the most interesting artwork and ideas that I have ever seen. It is a hotbed for art, jewellery, and crazy-wicked stores, making the town very tourist friendly. In fact most people’s livelihood in Jerome comes from tourism.

One of the neatest and bizarre shops in Jerome is a whore house that was turned into an artish-brothel-sex shop-marilyn monroe-1950s call girl-gift shop. Try finding a place like that in Winnipeg.

I also enjoyed visiting the art galleries. At one, I even purchased a painting of a robot in space.

Jerome is one of the best places I have ever had the pleasure of visiting for a day.