Podcast Review: Nerdist Writers Panel

If any of you have been sleeping through the internet age, I’m going to introduce you to a cool new thing: Podcasts.

A podcast is an episodic series of files (either video or audio) that are essentially private radio shows broadcast (and downloadable) online. The word itself comes from an amalgamation of Broadcast and Pod (after the iPod that made digital media so easy to consume). I listen almost exclusively to podcasts when I’m driving and in this series of posts I’m going to introduce you to some of my favourites.

Today’s podcast: The Nerdist Writers Panel

The Nerdist Channel was started by Chris Hardwick and currently has a legion of different podcasts by a variety of hosts, but The Nerdist Writers Panel is easily my favourite. Hosted by Ben Blacker, the Writers Panel is just what it says it is: A Panel of writers (wow… no shit), specifically American TV writers. The guests talk about how they got into the business, what inspires them and what it’s like working on the various TV shows, genres and networks.

I find it fascinating to get this behind the scenes look at what goes into making the TV shows that I admire so much. It turns out that TV is largely a writer’s medium - by which I mean that the writers have the most artistic control over the process, some shows even sending the writer on set to make sure everything goes according to plan – as opposed to feature films where most of the control rests in the hands of the director.

These guys work far to freaking hard (makes me feel completely inadequate), but the collaborative process that happens on most shows (the writers room) sounds thrilling and I always like to hear passionate, creative people talk about their work.

So if you’re looking for something other than crappy pop music listen to on your way to work or while you’re in the gym trying to convince yourself that running on the spot is actually accomplishing something, then why not download a few of the Nerdist Writers Panel’s episodes and give them a listen. I enjoy it, and I’m fairly sure you will too.

-Odd

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." - Ernest Hemingway

Modern DRM

As I mentioned in my last post, I've just gotten back into computer gaming after many years absence. This means that I've had my first proper experience with modern DRM... and that was not positive.

For anyone who doesn't know: DRM stands for Digital Rights Management and in the context of gaming it means various software that is installed along with a game to ensure that it is not copied or pirated. Sounds good, right? Sounds fair? ... Well... not so much.

I'll be one of the first people to say that developers have a right to protect their products from being stolen (which is what piracy is) and I always buy legitimate products when and where I can, but the way companies are handling DRM is broken. It's horrible, and here's why:

Every game you buy these days has to authenticate itself online through whatever portal the developer is associated with (Steam, Orgin, Windows Live, etc.) and by itself that would be fine... but all these portal programs need to be updated and then the game itself needs to be patched (often on the day it releases). The net effect of all this is that (in South Africa at least) it takes hours (literally hours) before you can play a game that you bought.

As a case in point, a while ago a few friends and I bought copies of Kingdoms of Amalur and we all got together to play it. Here's the catch... three of us bought legal copies and one went down to the flea market and got a pirated copy at half price.

For those of us who bought it legit, it took 5 hours (5 Fraking hours!) to get the client and game to install, update and play. The guy who pirated it was playing it in half and hour.

So this is what I don't get: Why are games developers making it more difficult (and expensive) to buy legal copies of their games than it is to get pirated ones? I could understand if all this DRM had stopped people pirating games... but it hasn't. You can find them all over PirateBay or at any flea market you care to explore.

Now there are reports that Sony will block used games in their next console. What madness is this? It's like they're going out of their way to push people into piracy.

The world is mad, getting madder and we're all doomed... Doomed it tell you! Doomed!

-Odd

"Humans make illogical decisions" -Spock

Recent Activities

Hey all, I know there’s been radio silence on my side for the last few… well… for a seriously long time. I wish I could say that I had finished an arcade machine with such a high score that the alien race that invented it came down to earth to take me off to fight in their war and save their people. In reality I have to admit that I haven’t played anything in an arcade for years… so you will just have to write it off as laziness.

But that is now a thing of the past! Yes, that is correct ladies, gentlemen and sentient shades of the colour blue: This blog will once again be ticking over on a regular schedule! I will post something (no comment as to what) at least once a week.

On to other things: I’ve recently bought a monster of a gaming machine. This is the first machine I’ve had in AGES that even approximates the contemporary standard, so I’ve been playing lots of games and I thought I’d give you my thoughts on them:

Batman: Arkham City

Whoo-wee what a cool game! I never did manage to play through Arkham Asylum, can’t even find a copy of it, but I had tons of fun with the sequel. The whole thing feels very batman-y… I loved the combat (both straight-up fights and stealthy sections) and the cross city movement was a complete joy after I got the hang of the controls. I would love to see a Gotham Racer game, using the exact same controls… all I’d want is a little more speed.  Favourite moment in the game:  The Mr. Freeze boss fight… I know it’s not as climactic as the others, but it gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment.

 

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

I don’t know why no one thought of this idea before. It’s essentially a standard RPG format adventure game, you get XP, you level up, create weapons and potions… all very standard fare to gamers by now. Even the story (written by R.A. Salvatore – whom I respect greatly) is nothing ground breaking to anyone familiar with the Heroic Fantasy genre, but what sets it apart is the combat. Combat in this game is spectacular, more on the lines of God of War and the like and it is more than refreshing to enjoy the combat sequences of an RPG as much as the story (in fact, it caused me problems with another game… keep reading). The only criticism I can make about this game is that the last third was FAR too easy… seriously… I snored through it, which unfortunately took all the drama out of the final fights… I knew I wouldn’t have any problem beating anything the game could throw at me, and I was right.

Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim

Ah, Skyrim… I actually bought this one before both Arkham City and KOA and I played a fair amount (lots of any other game… not a lot for an Elder Scrolls title), took over the magic college and all that. My problem came in after taking a break to play KOA. After enjoying the combat so much in KOA, I simply cannot force myself to get back into Skyrim. The story is cool, and the graphics are not bad, but the combat is just horrible… seriously, it’s shit. Also: gravity defying horses… really? WTF?

 And that’s what I’ve been up to… tune in next week for more awesomeness… or randomness… depends on your point of view I guess.

-Odd

“Now with 100% more words”