Devinhttp://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/en-US2010-03-10T19:54:04ZSquarespace Site Server v5.9.2 (http://www.squarespace.com/)The Evolution of Satu Lagi: Shotshttp://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2010/3/2/the-evolution-of-satu-lagi-shots.htmlThe Crew2010-03-02T20:32:23Z
Satu Lagi: Shots started years ago.  My cousin (Craig) had an apartment and I would go over practically every weekend to drink and hangout.  I was commuting to college (one hour each way) and had just finished taking a 2-D graphics class.  It was winter break.  We were watching television and had this concept which we transformed into a 2-D platforming game.  We create characters, back stories, gameplay and the entire plot to this game.  Without giving away much of the story of that game (which I still hope to make) one of the side characters was somebody named Satu Lagi (Malay for "one more").  We decided early one that Satu Lagi was a heavy drinker.  In the game, Satu Lagi had a mini-game associated with him where he could drink alcohol. 

While still in college I was very interested in getting into the gaming industry.  I started to program on my Motorola Razr.  The first game I created was called "Drinkmaster: A Satu Lagi Story".  It was a 2-D game with Satu Lagi sitting at a bar and mugs of beer being slid down to him and he had to grab them and drink them.  The more beers he would have the more he would start tilting on the stool to one side or another and you had to press buttons to sit him upright again. It was simple and there wasn't much game involved in it.

Last year I started fooling around with the idea of making an iPhone game.  My first idea was to take my previous game and port it to the iPhone.  However I knew that I wanted to make changes to make it more interesting and I wanted to make as little art as possible.  I changed the concept to a shot glass sliding on the bar top and having to catch falling drops of alcohol.  I did this because making circles and making a shot glass didn't seem like much of a challenge.  I also had the idea of using the tilt features of the iPhone to control the shotglass.  The game (like most of my ideas) started simple but quickly ballooned.  My original plan was to have a set number of drops and depending on how many the player caught there would be a different ending.  I also wanted each drop to represent a different percentage of alcohol.  That idea quickly changed to multiple characters.  I figured that if I wanted to charge any amount for it I needed a certain level of content.  I settled on 4 selectable characters all from the same original game that Satu Lagi was from. 

It was around the time where I needed the art for the endings that I started to realize my problem, I wasn't that great of an artist.  Sure I could draw an interesting picture or two, but when it came to consistent art I was in trouble.  I was also playing a lot of Drop7 at the time.  So my idea changed into a never ending high score type of game.  I thought I was making less work for myself.  I realized now I needed to make sure that my program could save states if the iPhone got a call or the player "HOME"d out.  I also need high scores, most likely global high scores, but I could settle on local ones.  My other issue is that when I'm thinking of a game I get a dozen other ideas and write those down.  Occasionally I'll get an idea that I start running with and lose focus on the other one.  I also was getting annoyed with updating my Mac programming environment every time my phone updated. 

It was right around this time that Unity3D Indie went free.  I was very excited because I had messed around with the 30 day trial, but couldn't afford the whole program.  After downloading it I wanted to use it.  But that also had it's own issues, mostly involving how can I possibly make any money?  I decided to shelve that until it was necessary.  To me "Satu Lagi: Shots" was not a game I wanted to charge for.  It was meant to be my first game, something to prove to myself that I could do it. 

Developing on Unity3D was a breeze.  The amount of tutorials and the community behind it are all amazing.  I got a version of "Satu Lagi: Shots" up and running in a day or two.  My first hurdle was what to do about the shot glass.  On the iPhone I had created a generic shot glass that filled with a brownish liquid regardless of the color of the drop.  On Unity I was using 3-D models for everything and the 2-D shot glass art looked out of place.  I downloaded Blender hoping to use that, but wasn't in the mood to learn another program.  I wanted results.  I went online and looked for free 3-D models and found a lot, but not what I was looking for.  One of the issues I had on the iPhone was that I wanted to create bonuses for drinking shots of a specific color combination, but since you couldn't see what was in the shot it was difficult.  I thought about putting  a stylized shot glass on the screen, but it would take up too much space.  However because I had to start over I could create from the ground up a shot glass that shows the contents correctly.  The shot glass in the game is a tall cube with a gradient texture that you can see through and a cylinder for a base.  The drops in the glass are all cylinders who's materials change depending on what is in the glass. 

One of the largest hurdles I had was what to put in the background of the game.  My original idea was to draw the background of a bar.  However with all the 3-D objects that now populated my game it didn't fit.  I tried downloading some free bottles and mugs from a forum online but didn't end up using them because they all looked out of place.  I added the Single Malt VS poster and decided to just populate the back with posters.  Instead of doing an "Instructions" section I posted them on the back.  The "Cheng is a bitch" part is an old inside joke from high school.  I would explain it, but it turns out the origin of that phrase isn't nearly as funny as it should be.  Just know that it isn't a malicious statement, it's a statement of love. 

I went back and forth on the name of the game, it was either "The Single Malt: Shots" or "Satu Lagi: Shots".  I went with "Satu Lagi" because it sounds better. 


]]>Devin vs Borderlandshttp://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/11/3/devin-vs-borderlands.htmlThe Crew2009-11-03T22:11:30Z
The Good
************
Shooting: The different classes of guns make for a nice selection and then add to that elemental effects and you have a pretty diverse lineup.  Shooting enemies is fun and rewarding. 

RPG Elements: The leveling up isn't super in depth, you level up your skills with individual weapon classes and your special ability.  But being able to decide that I want to be able to stun enemies rather than getting health back is very rewarding.  It really is these small and simple things that make the character feel "mine". 

Bosses: While I don't think you can actually "lose" a boss fight and start over again, I did die a lot during them.  I have to say there was a good variety of bosses and they were all pretty interesting and fun to fight.  But I do feel like the final boss came out of nowhere.

The Bad
***********
Story:  Anytime I managed to get invested, they pulled me right out of it by telling the majority of the story through text.  A semi interesting character dies and one point and I don't know how or why he ended up dying.  The voice that talks to you is so cliche and uninteresting I wish they would have taken her out completely. 

The Great
***********
Little Things: Some games have it and some games don't.  Borderlands has tons of personality. It really makes the best out of what it has.  There isn't a lot of variety in the enemies, but they make them interesting.



Quick Shots:
***********

  • I really want a life size Claptrap to follow me around.
  • I bought both the opening song and the closing song.
  • Ninja Assassins are awesome.
  • I played as the Siren and got to level 35 on my first play through.
  • Can't imagine why someone would choose a shield that doesn't replenish health.
  • There was only one case where I chose a weapon because I liked it better even though it didn't do as much damage
  • Once the Phase Walk (Siren's special ability) actually is strong enough to damage people I loved it.
  • I wish there were less areas and less loading screens.
  • I might actually play through it a second time, not sure.
  • I played it co-op the entire time.


 

]]>Devin Vs Uncharted 2http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/10/21/devin-vs-uncharted-2.htmlThe Crew2009-10-21T04:22:51ZHaving finished Uncharted 2 recently I decided to write a review for it. Worry not, it's spoiler free.

The Good:
*********
Combat: I have to say, like many people, I was a little disappointed with the shooting mechanic in the first Uncharted.  It wasn't bad, it just felt like every enemy was a bullet sponge.  In the sequel there are bullet sponge enemies, but they take a lot of a hits for a reason.  You can quickly pick out who will take one head shot and who would take a shotgun to the face to take down.  There are time when I felt a little underpowered (mostly towards the end of the game and fighting a particular bad guy) but the experience made it more fun.  The hand to hand combat does feel a little over powered.  I don't think I ever lost a fist fight, the only times I died was when someone shot me while I was trying to take someone down with my fists.

Stealth: Upon hearing there was going to be stealth in Uncharted 2 I was probably one of the few that were excited.  They executed it exactly they way the should have.  It is almost never 100% necessary (only that first mission), but is a lot more satisfying to do so.  I know several times where I opted to use platforming and use the "pull the guy over the ledge and watch him fall to his death" mechanic over running in guns blazing.  The majority of my gun battles started with me sneaking around, killing as many people as I could and then finally busting some caps. 

Story: The story in Uncharted 2 is serviceable.  It gives way more than just a reason to move from place to place.  The constant flashback mechanic isn't as lame as I thought it might be.  I feel like the first game's story was a little more compelling because the main characters it introduces (Sully and Elena) seem way more memorable than this ones (Chloe and Flynn).  The mysteries in the story never felt like true mysteries to me.  As much as I feel like the story was "meh", I can remember every plot point and every character and every awesome moment told in the cutscenes.  I can't say the same for a lot of my favorite stories in games. 

Puzzles: The puzzle quality is much better this time around.  The journal still feels a little bit like a "win" button, but at least there is a bit more thinking that has to go into them.  I'm not sure how many of these style puzzles were in the first game, but I can only remember 3 of them in Uncharted 2. 

The Bad:
*********
Treasure Hunting:  I remember caring way more about looking for treasure in the first Uncharted.  I think I found about 14 pieces in the second game and I really couldn't care less.  I love the amount of time I think they may have put into adding the treasures, but I never read the summaries or really pay attention to what they look like.  I managed to earn enough money just playing the game to get all the extra movies and that's all I really cared about.  They could just give you access to the movies and extra content based on game progress and trophies.  Adding these really awkwardly placed glowing stars that signal a treasure just seems out of place in the game.

The Overhyped:
**************
Uncanny Valley: The graphics are great.  But they aren't THAT great.  There is no moment in any of the cut scenes where I doubted whether or not I was playing a game.  The character models still are a little off for me.  Elena still looks slightly mentally handicapped and Chloe just looks off.  For some reason the females' eyes in this game all look overly sparkly.  Up close it looks alright, but from a far they look like little stars. 

The Slightly Annoying:
******************
Climbing: Naughty Dog meet Sucker Punch.  Steal their tech for climbing.  Thanks k bye.  Somehow the majority of the time I got stuck was because I couldn't find the particular brick or door that I could climb up.  I understand that this would probably force the way they create levels to change completely, but I'd rather not have to spent 10 minutes looking for where I need to climb.

The Great:
**************
Writing: There are very few game characters that I care about.  I don't really care about Nathan Drake, but he does seem like someone I'd like to hang out with. 

I still haven't touched the multiplayer and I probably won't for the time being.

Overall it's a great game that should be played.
 

]]>Devin vs Women Over 40http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/8/9/devin-vs-women-over-40.htmlThe Crew2009-08-10T01:59:37ZlistDevin vs Women Over 50http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/8/7/devin-vs-women-over-50.htmlThe Crew2009-08-07T05:24:00ZlistFirst crushhttp://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/8/5/first-crush.htmlThe Crew2009-08-05T12:54:52Z
She was blonde (people that know me are already laughing), she had short (kind of curly) hair. I know I must have talked to her at some point, but I don't remember ever saying any words to her. I was in second grade. She was my first crush ever. I'm not sure how long I had a crush on her. It's odd because I left at the beginning of the fifth grade, but I think she had already moved before that. Back in the day, when I was in second grade, I had learned of this hand sign that meant "I love you." You took your hand, folded your middle and ring fingers into your palm and you had it. I remember sitting in class (I'm pretty sure she sat somewhere in front of me and to the side) and doing this sign and showing her during class. I don't have any memories of any conversations with her, but I remember telling her "I love you" in sign language.

When I was in third grade (I'm pretty sure it was third) my mother, who ran a little babysitting operation out of our house, called me into the living room. In there she was talking to another lady. My mother asks me, "Do you know a Mikel in your class?" I froze. Literally. I could not move even if there was a fire. Not that I knew the Mikel they were talking about was the same one I had a crush on, but even the possibility made me lose any motor functions. My mother showed the woman a class picture from second grade and the woman pointed to Mikel and said, "Yah, that's her." At that point my mother informed me that she was going to be babysitting Mikel. Mikel. Babysitting. Coming to my house. In MY room. It was more than my poor little heart could take. I did the only thing that much excitement and adrenaline could do to my small body, I ran. I ran straight out of the living room full speed into my room, I slid under my bed and hid there. Not even the girl being there, but the possibility that she might be made me hide. I layed there, trying to calm down.

Eventually she did come over. I don't remember much about it, but I know I didn't turn on the charm. If anything, the roots of my hopelessness with women started rather early. One day she was in my room. I was there and at least one other boy that my mother was babysitting (there may have been two). The boy(s) and I were standing next to each other near the door (quick exit in case anything weird happened, I guess) and Mikel was standing in front of us. It was like we were in line for some inspection. The other boy (or boys) were significantly younger than Mikel and I. I don't remember by how much, but I remember being older than them. Somehow the conversation made it's way to point where Mikel said, "You know I could kiss one of you." I looked at her, down at the other boy (or boys), back at her, back at him (them) and then back at her. I knew it had to be me. I had this guy next to me beat no problem. Piece of cake, so I took her in my arms and layed a big fat kiss right on her lips. Okay, so I didn't do THAT, but what I did was certainly as romantic. I jumped onto the second bunk of my bunk bed, leaving the poor kid(s) at her wraith. I would like to know what exactly went through my head at the time. I'm thinking it was just a basic surival instinct, the only way this was going to end was her breaking my heart so I fled. I know I didn't think girls had cooties at the time and I know I kind of wanted to kiss her, I just didn't know how to go about that. At some point she moved and I moved and that was about it. What facinates me is the reaction to these feelings I had. There is something about being young and being in love that doesn't happen when you get older.

I'm not sure if this happened before or after the hiding in my bed to avoid a kiss incident, but one day we went to the pool. I think my mother was driving and I was in the back seat. I'm not exactly sure how this worked, but I believe Mikel and another friend of mine (I guess my mother babysitted her too?) Jessica were in the back back of our Chevy Blazer. In retrospect they wouldn't of had any seat belts one which makes me wonder which part of my memory is fuzzy on this. So back there was a bag that my mother kept changes of clothes for everybody, since we were going to be swimming. In said bag, MY clothes sitting in there, waiting to betray me. This was probably still third grade and being a young boy I had a love for comic book characters, and the Ninja Turtles. My mother also bought me my clothes, including my underwear. And like any good young man I loved me some underoos. So inside this bag was my Ninja Turtle underoos. And soon enough these same underoos were in the hand of Mikel. I'm sure the color of my face was beet red as I yelled at Jessica for going through my stuff (I'm sure my voice was more the tone of a wounded baby kitten than that of anger).

I think that's it, the only real memories I have of her. I really don't remember ever saying goodbye to her, which is kind of sad.

]]>Devin vs boredom part 7http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/7/30/devin-vs-boredom-part-7.htmlThe Crew2009-07-30T19:00:38Z

I call this one "I think you dropped something".

]]>Devin vs boredom part 6http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/7/30/devin-vs-boredom-part-6.htmlThe Crew2009-07-30T12:43:52Z

I have a feeling this will be a never ending series. So this is of the girl that sits next to me in bio class. I got tired of drawing young boys and shot glasses. (So I drew a young girl? I am not sure on the logic there). But i do know I'm not the greatest artist so if someone has a very distinct feature I can focus on that and maybe it will look like them (mullet, freckles or bowl cuts for example) in this case it was the hair.

]]>Devin vs boredom part 5http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/7/29/devin-vs-boredom-part-5.htmlThe Crew2009-07-29T13:02:47Z

Mullet boy is battle ready!

]]>Devin vs boredom part 4http://www.thesinglemaltversus.com/devin/2009/7/28/devin-vs-boredom-part-4.htmlThe Crew2009-07-28T14:13:09Z

From my bio class. I'm supposed to be on the left. A simpler time.

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