In the mid-90s, Kevin Smith was approached to write a script for a new Superman movie, which would later be rumored to be directed by Tim Burton with Nicholas Cage playing Superman. We’re lucky it didn’t get made because Burton and Cage aren’t exactly the pair I imagine doing Superman the right way, but it turns out there’s a worse enemy for Superman out there – the producer. Go watch this video of Kevin Smith telling the funniest Superman story you’ve ever heard.
via Binary Bonsai
While researching my last post about video games, I had a startling moment where I realized that Daniel actually works in the game industry. Obviously, I knew this, but I didn’t think much about it. When I thought about Daniel working at game companies, I mentally categorized this the same way I think of Urn working at Xbox Live, or Annie’s cousin working at Microsoft. They work there, but they’re just regular employees in huge companies and don’t make an impact that’s visible from the outside. (No offense, guys.)
I knew that Daniel worked as a producer on Myst III, and was heavily involved in the production of Whacked!, to the point where he was writing dialogue, but it never really clicked that he wasn’t just involved in those games, he was actually pretty high up and making real decisions and influencing the final game.
The thing that made me realize this is pathetic, but as I was looking up information on another game, I stumbled across an interview with Daniel about Dungeon Siege II on GameSpot. That’s what made it real for me. A quick google search for his name later, and I found another interview about Myst III on GameSpy, his profile at Gas Powered Games, and his developer diary on the Dungeon Siege II site. Hell, he’s even been translated into Russian.
The GPG profile is really funny. There’s a team photo right above that where it’s nearly impossible to find him, like a Where’s Waldo book, plus his profile itself is hilarious.
“Well adjusted?” I chortled. “Sophisticated?” I howled. Who wrote this? Is this really the same guy who put up a Green Goblin fanpage and was a member of the Princeton marching band? The guy who told tales of glory about tying for eighth place in the annual Princeton Band White Castle Meat Product Tolerance Marathon? (That’s a cheap shot, actually, he never bragged about taking eighth, he just regaled me with tales of this most glorious of eating competitions). And shouldn’t there be something about juggling in there?
Confusingly, he’s listed as Lead Designer on the profile page, but only as a designer on the DSII page. Even so, it’s pretty funny for me to realize that my old friend who lived a block away from my parents’ house is dispensing official information about games that he makes major contributions to.
Speaking of video games, here’s a funny (if not wholly accurate) rendition of Bush’s presidency as a text adventure game.
Until Knights of the Old Republic came out, I didn’t really have any interest in computer RPGs. I had sampled many of them, like Baldur’s Gate, Diablo, and even a bit of Neverwinter Nights, but none of them managed to grab my interest. Too much hack-and-slash and not enough interesting storyline. As I’ve touched on before, I felt the role-playing aspect of the computer RPG was missing.
I love my work, but the tasks I get are frequently of the mind-numbing kind, and if I’m not careful, my brain turns to pudding by late afternoon. To avoid turning into a zombie, I’ve learned to take a break at about 3:30 every day. I put on my coat, and go walk around the block, and usually give Annie a call. It just takes about 10 minutes, and usually that’s all it takes to snap my brain out of the rut.
I used to feel guilty about this, but then I realized that if smokers can take a 10-minute break every few hours, I can get away with getting some air once a day. Usually, everyone is so wrapped up in what they’re doing that no one even notices me stepping out, but the office was nearly empty today, and one of my coworkers raised her eyebrow at me when she saw me putting on my coat.
I explained that I was just taking a break, but it made me laugh that she thought I was going home at 3:30. It’s like “Well, I’m outta here! *stretch* See you tomorrow, suckers!”
This weekend, Annie and I tried to catch up on all the chores that have been neglected over the last few weeks of illness and holidays. We swept and did laundry and everything, and then we sat down to organize all of our filing while we watched TV in our pajamas. We’re such a married couple, it’s ridiculous.
Of course, the flipside of that coin is that one of the TV shows we recorded is Canadian erotica (It’s girly porn called Bliss on the Oxygen channel). So, married life isn’t all boring.
I’ve been trying to help Annie along with her New Year’s resolution. I’m going to get her to do a big writeup about it soon, and post it here. It’s pretty exciting, because she’s basically making big plans for the future, and I love seeing her motivated by her projects. It’s tough to get her started on something, but once she gets it into her head that she wants to do something, there’s very little that can stop her. It should be awesome to watch this project develop over time.