Galli- Galli- Gallimimus!

It's nice to see progress being made on the Ranger Corps front. Last night I got the change to flesh out the body and feet on our Gallimimus Model. This might just be the first herbivore model I've ever made and there's some unique challenges in that alone. Rather than teeth and a certain about of 'snear' Gallimimus are all about speed and raw power. Which has meant a lot of emphasis on muscle groups and giving the Gallimimus the right look that conveys speed. There's a silver lining however when it comes to this model and it's simply the fact that you won't see the animal resting in place but running in a group. This is beneficial because I won't have to put an extreme amount of detail into the model, considering it'll be blurred anyways. Which means a faster turn around for production. What you're looking at now is a good first past, but the final model will likely have twice the level of detail when complete. The feet still need additional work, they have this odd shape in which the toes are thin, the heel is thick and the lower leg bone bulges- finding the right ratio is a bit of trial by error. Tonight, I'll begin work on the hands and head too- which will have come with their own set of challenges. The fingers won't be difficult and again aren't required to be animated too heavily, the head on the other hand will be defined a fair amount. Not that it'll be seen in any high resolution, but I tend to think people's eyes gravitate to the head of most creatures. So I'd like to see it moderately fleshed out.

Other interesting aspects of the Gallimimus I've learned along the way are in response to its growth patterns. The young often has shorter snouts and grew in length with age. This has lead to me to consider creating a secondary model, tweaked to be a sub-adult. It would be a minor variation, but perhaps needed variety for the film.

On the scripting front, not a whole lot of progress has been made. I've been putting a bit of thought into the storyline, but I haven't taken the time to sit down and flesh it out. The problem really comes down to the main antagonist. With so little time for this story (I'm thinking under 5 minutes) that puts a lot of pressure to focus on only one main antagonist, rather than two- which was the original story design (like a one-two punch). But who knows, I have a clever approach to involving two antagonists, but it's really a question of logistics. Not to mention this means double the work.

At the moment, the idea stands that a Ranger has arrived on scene to a truck crash. He realizes the truck operators are dead and the animal cages have been torn open in the chaos that ensued. The problem is what was on board- creatures that were on their way to be euthanized. Predatory creatures with teeth like serrated knives and deadly saliva filled with a slew of incapacitating toxins. Finding and killing them is the Island's top priority. The problem is the Rangers are already deeply involved in a security threat. The island has just received it's first Tyrannosaurus Rex and she's scheduled to wake up soon. It's up to our hero, with limited chopper support to hunt down the creatures before they can escape the area. But even with the advances of 1992 military grade technology, is he the hunter or hunted?

The other issue is physical manpower. I'd like to produce this was as few of people as possible. Two or three would be ideal and I have people in mind- but the problem is again, logistics. More people, more problems. I'd also like to keep the speaking parts to a minimum, but again this becomes an issue with ideas of never before seen dinosaurs or abstract concepts. How do we explain to the audience its mouth is full of toxins if we don't say it? Showing it opens up a new set of problems. In these cases I often look back to Metal Gear Solid, where as an audience member we met Solid Snake, a fielded agent who still had a million questions about the complexity of the the 'Metal Gear' world around him, much like the players. We might be able to field a similar solution here too- perhaps the Rangers in the chopper are experienced, senior members and our hero is still a bit of a rookie. But they provide invaluable radio support and logistics from the air.

That's about all the film notes for today however- hopefully I'll have a much more rendered out picture by tomorrow!

UNITE the Jurassic Crew!

I've spoken to the main resources behind the Ranger Corps production and everyone is back on board. We've decided to shrink the size of the production and instead focus all our effort in a much more intense easily manageable piece of pie. Better to not bite off more than we can chew. I've promised to start work on the script, an early first draft drawn from the previous versions of Ranger Corps. It's a little sad to see all that work we did fleshing out characters get trimmed and cut, but in the end it's really the direction we have to go.

I've already made a decent amount of progress. The 'intro' of the film has essentially been edited together and only a few special effects are left in the way of finishing it off. The speed of which this has been accomplished can be attributed to a few 'advertiser' tricks up my sleeve, namely b-roll. But using this footage has increased production value, by showing aspects I would never be able to film myself (like areal shots over Hawaii). Thankfully, with a lot of animated models previously being created, this means production time is going to be a lot faster in general. This does however provide us with a certain challenge. The script is being condensed and much of the 3D models I've created can and will be utilized. But in a sense it's almost like building this film around a checklist. Does it include 'this, this and this'? Good. That's not necessarily bad and if anything opens up doors to new animation possibilities- without the concern of over burdening myself.

The rest of the crew is on standby until I can produce the first draft of the script. I'm excited and terrified all at once, as every scene and word spoken has to directly feed into the story and move it along in a very direct manor- time is our limiting factor this go around.

In my last post, I spoke about consumerism and how much of a role it takes in Jurassic Park. It was an aspect we previously had in prior versions of the script, but perhaps until now it wasn't fully understood. I'm really excited to see where this line of thought will lead us down the road. In particular, I'd like to offer audiences a certain twisted humor, or dark irony in how this plays out in reality. 'When shit hits the fan- save the park, in the most economic form possible.'

Star Wars Rebels meets The Force Unleashed?

If you're avoiding spoilers, turn back now. However, if you've managed to watch the entire first season of Star Wars: Rebels come with me to bask in it's twist and turns. To really appreciate SW:R you have to rewind the clocks to the days of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In my opinion Dave Filoni can be credited to reviving the SW prequels as actually entertaining. While many have expressed their opinions over the movies, there's really no denying that Filoni took a shamble of storytelling and made sense of it all. Of course he had help, but Filoni pioneered The Clone Wars in a way that mended broken Star Wars fans and brought them back to the prequel table. I was one of them.

Then the day came- Disney took over and suddenly the expanded universe was shattered, it was like as if a thousand voices screamed out at once... Needless to say I was pretty nervous, but I was happy to hear that The Clone Wars series along with the films would be be canon moving forward. While many of the story arcs remained unfinished, such as Asajj Ventress, Darth Maul, Ahsoka Tano and numerous others. We're now starting to see a ray of sunshine in what many fans considered a disservice by canceling the show. There's already reports of novels being written that will close the arcs on characters such as Asajj Ventress and season one of Star Wars: Rebels started a new arc for one very important character: Ahsoka.

As fans of The Clone Wars will tell you, Ahsoka started as the young, whiny kid nobody wanted following Anakin around. But as time went by and her character developed into a young woman fans started to grow fond of her character. In a sense, she complemented Anakin. She grounded him like most kids ground and mature normal people here on Earth. Suddenly Anakin had someone to take care of, to show what was right and wrong- and why. Things weren't always easy and Anakin learned a lot about himself along the way. But their relationship came to a sudden end when Ahsoka, disillusioned by the politics of the Jedi Order, left to follow her own path. It was a heavy blow to Anakin, but honestly I don't think anyone could blame her for leaving. Doing so however, saved her from the Jedi Purge and Order 66.


By the finale of Rebels (14 years later for those who are counting), we learn that Ahsoka is back and a member of the still fragile Rebellion. What position and if people even know she's a former Jedi is unclear. But we know that the spark has been lit. It's important to note that Bail Organa was there too and seemingly in a leader position. This is important, as Bail previously in the old canon- was a founding member of The Rebellion. It's also rather interesting to see that they decided to bring back Ahsoka at all, rather than simply finish her storyline in a novel or comic. Not to say that any of those sources have less merit, but simply because Rebels has a much larger audience at the end of the day. Bringing her back was certainly not an oversight, it's a very calculated move.

What's even more exciting is to see Darth Vader's arrival on the scene. With the Inquisitors exit from the show (or at least we're led to believe), it means bringing Darth Vader into a much more prominent role for the show and much grander scope to the Rebellion movement. Truthfully, I don't see the Inquisitor returning. While it's possible he may return as a supporting character of some sort, perhaps rebuilt like Darth Maul- his death marked a transition in the show. The Ghost Crew wasn't a real rebellion force, nor was the Inquisitor a real Sith. But the finale changed all that- suddenly what wasn't, now is. Which brings me to the future of the series.

We're moving into pretty touchy old canon territory. The formation of the Rebellion has already been covered through numerous sources, most prominently in The Force Unleashed. While many fans disdain the overpowered abilities of the central character: Starkiller- I still loved the narrative. While an overpowered character such as Starkiller does seem a bit much for today's new narrative, that doesn't mean there couldn't be a restructured telling of the old canon and this is why I think we're about to.

For those who don't know, Starkiller was Darth Vader's secret apprentice. Promised to rule the galaxy with Vader once they overthrew the Emperor, things went terribly wrong and Vader was forced to turn on Starkiller, using him as bait to bring the enemies of the Emperor together to be exterminated.

First, there's this rumor that has emerged, in which actor Sam Witwer (Starkiller) is interested in playing a role in season two. The article points to him voicing the Emperor. A good choice, considering his experience voicing the Emperor in The Force Unleashed, but I think it's a little odd he's been overlooked as reprising his role as Starkiller. There's really two reasons beyond the rumor that could make sense. For one, the return of Ahsoka is too good of an opportunity for her to reunite with Anakin- now as Darth Vader. As his former apprentice, this just begs for a very uneasy confrontation between the two. Something I'm sure the writers will drag out for a while.

More importantly, Starkiller was Darth Vader's secret apprentice. It's important to note that this notion of a secret apprentice was created before Ahsoka's character was ever conceived. But from a story telling perspective, it would make for a really amazing narrative to see Darth Vader, now evil- with a new apprentice, one in which he tortures physically and mentally as a dark reflection of his relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka.

The best reason to bring back Starkiller is because the writers killed off his character at the end of The Force Unleashed. While his character returned for the sequel, I'd be just as satisfied if they left that story to 'legends'. But it means no loose ends to worry about down the road.

So is any of this possible? Discuss in the comments!

The Gentle Weekend

This weekend has been one of those dream like weekends that can only be accomplished by not having children and the proper application of ignoring responsibilities. Yesterday was dominated by nearly an 8 hour House of Cards marathon which left me shocked and yearning for more as the final episode of Season 3 ended.

I was overall fairly happy with the third season, however I felt it very jarring to see Francis struggling to keep things together. Unlike previous seasons, it felt like things were constantly unraveling and just barely being held together by clinging bloody fingers. That's not to say the season wasn't good- but I left the season feeling unaccomplished. While season 2 left Francis taking control and achieving his dream, Season 3 was more of the struggle to keep what he had earned. So the ending wasn't nearly as grand as the previous season, but led to what should be a very interesting Season 4.

Today however, I decided to actually get up and take care of a few things. Which ultimately led to me to Starbucks where I met up with numerous friends and old coworkers. I was really happy to speak with Ronnie, who I spent close to two hours talking about the grandness of the universe, politics and sci-fi movies. It was really encouraging to talk to someone else who understood the largeness of it all and yearned to know more, like myself.

There's been a lot coming up, in regards to game updates and movies. I'll be writing more in depth reviews soon. So keep an eye out for those-

DLC /Rant

I love the Total War franchise. But I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate the DLC for it. It's not the DLC itself, while I'm sure the majority of it is solid content. But it really annoys the piss out of me when I'm paying an additional $2 for a 'Blood & Gore' pack, when in reality this should have been included in the game. This isn't even a new feature by any extent- as Shogun 2 provided it as DLC (and possibly Empire?). I'm not even against DLC in terms of extending the gameplay- such as Gameplay Campaigns. But when it's frivolous money hording that's another story.

Take The Sims 4 for instance. Here's a game franchise in which has been gutted and strung up for the player to purchase as a full game. But to many gamer's surprise, what they got was nothing short of 'core gameplay' without any of the bells and whistles the franchise had become known for. Admittedly I haven't played it due to the reviews. But in investigating Sims 4, I was shocked to discover the developers left out such things as dishwashers, the toddler stage of growth, or even swimming pools- and their excused for why they choose to simply aren't that great. I fear we are moving into a poorly motivated system where gamers are being exploited for their pockets and love of the entertainment. The problem that I foresee is this becoming far worse before it gets any better. With any luck, the community as a whole will respond in force.

/Rant

Open World to Open Thought - Future of Gaming?

I figured I ought to show off my character if I'm going to bitch so much about his experience. So, introducing Yogota; Jedi Guardian and all around asshole. I like to think he's seen some heavy shit in his upbringing, hence all the facial scars- possibly a run-in with street gangs on whatever backwater planet he comes from. The addition of the mechanical eye only is meant to supplement this notion and in my own way, it's a small nod to Metal Gear Solid's- Big Boss, a hero turned villain. Much in the same way I see my own character turning to the dark side given enough time. While you can't see it here, Yogota is bald as well. Though to be fair I saw some killer chops and mohawk combo I've been digging for a while now- perhaps next go around I'll play as an Imperial Agent with some serious Irish influences haha. There's a certain character from Prometheus I've really wanted to emulate... maybe when I grow up one day I'll be that cool.

I've been reminded more than anything from this game, how much I love choice. But how difficult it can be to offer the player true freedom of expression. For example, the game offers three responses to choose from  with numerous points in which I can respond throughout the conversation. The problem is, three responses often aren't enough- or worse yet, my characters possible reactions don't fit within my personal reactions as a player. While the characters response may be simply 'I don't have time for this.' in reality my thinking may often be much more complicated and rational. That's hard to emulate in a game- and in a world with strict light side/dark side values, this would probably prove impossible. Though that's not to say I couldn't think of a few creative ways to judge a person's light/dark balance.
But all this talk of 'free will' in gaming got me to thinking, and the truth is free will doesn't mean the same thing in gaming as it does in real life. There are always limitations, whether it be the edge of the map, or context of the story. But in this case when we're talking about conversations, they're ideas- and ideas don't need to be visually displayed to be real. They're as real as you thinking them into existence (or typing them in this case). There's a positive- and negative side to this however.

This line of thought lead me to wonder if the next evolution in open world gaming, was an open thought AI. Much like how CleverBot adapts to your conversation and draws upon a database of information to fill in the gaps of conversation with various elements that make CleverBot feel real. I imagine open world games, or MMOs like The Old Republic would benefit from a system where you can stand toe to toe with a NPC and argue your point. Better yet, what if the NPC could avoid giving your a quest based on your responses? It would offer the player an even deeper level of emersion into the world.
Now, an obvious catch would be how difficult it would be to craft a response to the player. Text to text conversations are simple. But in today's world where the NPCs are expected to speak to the character directly using Voice Actors- it would be difficult, if not feasibly impossible to hire hundreds of Voice Actors and record the number of responses required for a full AI system across an open world game such as this. But, who knows- the future leads to a lot of surprises.

But if I could dream a bit: I would be really encouraged to play any game where part of the drama isn't just the action of gunfire and chaos- but the human element. Where people aren't nearly as predictable and your character is forced to deal with not just the situations, but the NPCs emotional state, intelligence level and even factors such as racism, sexism, or personal beliefs.

From Galactic Space to Roman Empire

I've had a busy past few days and my weekend was plesently consumed with my girlfriend and the one day Florida provided us with upper 70s weather. It was a tantalizing cruel taste of the summer we all long for. That goes double for me- who rides a motorcycle 99% of the year.

But my bud gave me a call yesterday and we talked a bit about the new Total War game, Attila that recently launched. Now, I'm usually not the type of gamer that will buy a recently released game- because I'm cheap, but in the case of PC games, due to the all to often buggy problems that are attached I usually wait even longer. In the case of Total War, who's previous title Rome II was a hot mess for months before they supplied enough patches to almost build a new game: that hasn't inspired me to run out and buy Attila. In fact, I'm not even sure I'm going to buy it at this point.

Perhaps I've had my head in the sand, but I didn't even know about Attila until it launched. Which is strange because I'm a pretty big fan of the Total War franchise. So perhaps they didn't PR the shit out of this title, or maybe I really did just miss everything. Either way, from what my bud has explained to me: it seems like a giant apology for Rome II. The era is roughly the same as Rome II and much of the features missing from Rome II have been added in Attila. Best yet, the game seems to be launching rather smoothly from what I hear. So perhaps I'll purchase it eventually, but either way I booted up Rome II recently to give it another go.

My biggest complaint (as I bought the game long after the patches were applied) was how long Rome II was. In my previous campaign, I played as Greece who at the time was occupying Egypt- after dozens of hours of campaigning I had taken most of North Africa and parts of the Middle East. A decent feat in Rome II, but Europe was still immense and terrifying frankly. This go around I did things a little differently and decided to begin as a humble British tribe and as of last night conquered all opposing British tribes- uniting the British Isles under my rule. Problem is where to go from here! Europe is a big place and landing on the shoreline means a massive invasion force in order to take a city and begin my conquest. 200 BC is a long ways off from the 1940s.

So lets switch things up a bit and run back to Star Wars: The Old Republic. I've run into a problem and it's called Alderaan. The 'perfect' utopia of a planet that's split in Civil War. The problem lies in a conflict of interests, where various ruling families are fighting over control of the planets Monarchy. Because nothing says peace, love and equality like a monarchy. Really, what grinds my gears about Alderaan is how upper class most of the characters you encounter are. In my time I spent living in Fort Lauderdale, I recall a similar experience that aggravated the shit out of me. Which is part of why I'm a little sensitive to being bossed around like a simpleton to these rich bastards. Needless to say, I see the value in a Pro-Republic family taking control of the Monarchy, but at the same time I hate everyone I've had to work with on the planet. I doubt the devs planned on encoring the wrath of their players through character experiences, but I feel very strongly behind the decisions I make on this planet.

While nobody has outright said it, I also find it a little suspicious that there is no lower class- even the middle class looks pretty rich. I've seen a few farms or estates- but even they seem to  be doing pretty well for themselves and seem to be more a novelty than actual farming. For all we know they're growing grapes for wine. Which really makes me wonder about this planets economy. There hasn't been an empire on Earth that hasn't been built on the lower class. So when I see these towering buildings and grand gates, all I can think is 'cool, so where is the slave labor?' That being said however, it's curious to note this planet has native inhabitants, a very organic bug like creature that the Alderaan people regard as lesser beings and leave you to exterminate throughout your time there. A rather rash thing to do in my mind, considering the creatures: Killik are part of a hive mind and show enough intelligence to use blaster rifles and other crafted tools. Showing that they aren't just mindless beasts, but together a rather intelligent and powerful force. But the important distinction is this: Alderaan views the Killik as different and like any society that is different and unwilling to conform to society's rules, they are hunted down and exterminated.

Yet once again, as a Jedi I've been tasked to save the people from these creatures by going on various slaughter-fests. While I know what I'm doing is wrong, this is yet again another example of how I see my character falling to the dark side. The Killik have certainly been motivated to swarm and kill the people of Alderaan and honestly I could see this happening even without Imperial influences (which at the moment I'm not sure are even involved.). From what I've read about the Species the majority of their kind left the system some time ago and those who remain often lay dormant underground. Those who do awaken are a mixture of territorial and docile. So does that mean I should be exterminating these creatures? Going as far as to destroy their eggs and plant mines to catch them off guard? It should be no ones surprise that my character would choose to murder an opponent when the opportunity arrives then let them live, when so much of the characters experiences are shaped to enjoy bloodshed and encourages the death and murder of not just the enemy soldiers, but the young and defenseless as well. Worse yet, I feel it says something that the Jedi as a whole haven't stepped up to question the Killik's motives or to even recognize them as a society that deserves its equal respect in a Civil War between monarchies. All this being said however, it does remind me of why I enjoy this time period. The Jedi have a very particular set of rules in mind when it comes to right and wrong. The universe is a very black and white place, but people like me are showing up and asking 'why?' and bending the rules despite the ruling council. You can argue that Reven and I have a lot in common in this sense.

But who knows, maybe we're the outsiders because we see the Universe as a unified being, rather than simply warring factions. In my opinion, to be a true Jedi is to renounce all bloodshed, anger and conflict and pursue a life of knowledge and wisdom. You can pretend you're all that shit while you're lopping off heads and arms- but we both know you're lying. Nobody walks into battle with the emotion of serenity and peace unless you plan on walking out of that battle emotionally scarred with the eyes of the fallen forever burned into your mind. And after a thousand have fallen as with my character, what is death anymore- and are you its instrument?

The Sith, Inquisitors & Force Awakens

As of today, there's been a number of bread crumbs being left by Disney/Lucas in regards to the direction of the Star Wars Saga. But recent news has spurred my imagination and who knows- I might be on to something. Follow me along for this magical ride...

The first clue was the Episode 7 trailer itself. It's hard to miss the declaration that the force itself has 'Awakened.' Despite the jokes and memes, I don't believe this title is as black and white as it appears- and rather then suggesting the force has somehow become stagnant, I believe this is to say there are new kids on the block- new players in this galactic saga. This could be an obvious nod to the new characters that are intended to move the franchise forward after the Original trilogy characters pass off the torch- and possibly to the idea of a formation of a new Jedi Order by Luke Skywalker. But I believe the line 'Light and Dark' from the trailer also insinuates an introduction to something new from the dark side of the spectrum- something we also haven't seen before in the saga. (This is of course assuming the New Jedi Order is a drastic departure from the Yoda order.)

The second clue comes from this article- the devs of the Old Republic Game explained that Lucas' story group gave a glimmer of hope for Old Republic fans that the game may be canon- or perhaps one day it could be, by stating that because of it's unique time period set 3,000 years prior to the movie saga- it doesn't interfere with the timeline. In a world where all Expanded Universe content has been deemed 'Legends' until brought into the fold, like bits of content that has infiltrated the animated series Star Wars: Rebels- this makes news of Old Republic content possibly canon rather interesting.

Speaking of Star Wars: Rebels, it's been noted before that content from the series may make an apperance later in the film saga. While it's wild speculation from me, the introduction of the Inquisitor as such a central character of the Rebel series only fuels my larger theory. For those who don't know, the Inquisitor's are essentially force sensitive Dark Sided agents of the Empire who's sole job is to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Jedi. But it also serves another purpose- the Inquisitors are pretty much the only dark sided characters that quite possibly are still around by Episode 7 to cause problems.

Now, why The Old Republic canon possibility is important is because of the content. The Old Republic era's main antagonist is the Sith Empire. To put this in perspective, imagine an entire culture and society that centers around force sensitive individuals that clamor for power against one another. It's like a really evil version of Ancient Rome, where the upper class is held up by a massively submissive and subjected slave driven lower class. Complete with families struggling for control over each other. Problem is, as far as I know- the Old Republic era never really clarifies what happens to the Sith. The expanded universe suggests they were all wiped out and only their teachings remained. But that's all 'legends' at this point.

So this is where it all comes together and I'm freely speculating at this point. We catch up with Luke and the gang 30 years after Return of the Jedi, the Empire must be hurting a bit at this point as their two most prominent Dark Sided leaders are dead (The Emperor and Darth Vader). Imperial Leadership is made up of regular folks at this point, but the the Inquisitors still exist and see Luke Skywalker forming a New Jedi Order. The Inquisitors may not have a lot of pull, but they are quick to realize the threat that is involved in the return of the Jedi. In their desperation, they turn to something they don't fully understand and awaken a force long thought to be dead. The Ancient Sith. Who knows, maybe the Emperor knew of the Sith- but even he didn't want to poke that wasp nest. Considering there's little info on where the Sith vanished to- and this is serious speculation: But imagine how cool it would be to see the awakening of a single Sith Lord, who ventures deep into the wild unexplored regions of space to re-establish contact with surviving Sith Colonies. In the Old Republic era, the Republic knew the Sith existed in the unexplored region of the galaxy, but how vast or where exactly the Sith lived remained a mystery. So it's not outside the realm of possibility.

The reason I find this so engaging is because it means wrapping up the saga in a very poetic way. 30 years after Return of the Jedi I can imagine uneasy lines drawn in a galaxy still divided between the Rebel Alliance and Imperial forces. Suddenly a powerful 3rd party shows up and betrays the Imperials and thrusts the galaxy in all out war. The Rebels and Imperials are forced to align together and set apart their differences to end the threat of the Sith once and for all. It would also make for a final end to the Light side / Dark side fighting if Luke's Jedi order and the Inquisitor Sith teachings could find a middle ground where there's this understanding that taking things to either extreme only bloodies the galaxy in their differences of opinion. In order to 'end' Star Wars- there has to be a unification of the force and both sides need to become one. I'd also love to see them become a reclusive monk like order, but maybe that's asking a lot. It would be an order of Batman's basically- only showing up in times of extreme need.

So there it is, my speculation for the Saga. It's vague, but it's supported by a lot of possible scenarios. Leave your thoughts in the comments!